TheaterFire

A DEC communications device from the seventies has a message for y'all !

Posted by Laser_Krypton7000@reddit | vintagecomputing | View on Reddit | 69 comments

See 2nd picture for text. Stiil needs some love - repair done, cleaning etc. still not done...

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69 Comments

JizzMaxwell@reddit

These look the self-serve kiosk computers where you’d order catalog items at Best Products or Service Merchandise.
View on Reddit #40793762

SoleSurvivorX01@reddit

“A strange game. The only winning move is not to play. How about a nice game of chess?”
View on Reddit #40784555

Silent-Attention6685@reddit

I learned to program on a teletype, using paper tape for storage, but the DEC VT-52 was the first CRT interface I ever used in the mid 70s. I loved using the K-52 keypad editor, which evolved into KED on the VT-100. So much better than vi editing. Great machine, thanks for posting.
View on Reddit #40740010

Gatsby1923@reddit

I knew a lot of people who worked in the Westfield MA facility
View on Reddit #40730596

viperadamr@reddit

Phosphor loss on the screen, or delaminating?
View on Reddit #40715167

Laser_Krypton7000@reddit (OP)

No, as i wrote repair is done; but cleaning etc. still has to be done:-(
View on Reddit #40720706

luxurious-tar-gz@reddit

What a beauty she is!
View on Reddit #40664617

Firebird071@reddit

Man what a old beast.
View on Reddit #40641940

Blurghblagh@reddit

An ancient unassuming computer is brought back to life.. feels like the prologue to book about the enslavement and eradication of the organics.
View on Reddit #40637136

Maleficent-Aside-744@reddit

Looks like the same one that Kurt Russell plays chess with at the beginning of the thing, that cheats and he blows it up by pouring his glass of whiskey into it 😂😀
View on Reddit #40626957

Mega_play4r_862@reddit

Is the screen dirty, or does it just look like that normally?
View on Reddit #40626880

Push-the-pink-button@reddit

I shall show my dad this, he used to work for DEC
View on Reddit #40590967

Oleplug@reddit

I worked for DEC too but used the VT52 before that. One of the best 'feel' KB I can remember. Most were 20ma and used a RS232 interface board. The IC's would give up frequently and I replaced a lot of them. Was a software guy but did hw also. Some good memories from that time.
View on Reddit #40621985

TheMightyGamble@reddit

Echoing OP please come back with stories if he's willing to share
View on Reddit #40609428

Laser_Krypton7000@reddit (OP)

And eventually he can tell you some stories from his work there you then can tell us 😁
View on Reddit #40591531

Laser_Krypton7000@reddit (OP)

pls do it - you are welcome:-)
View on Reddit #40591233

kacoef@reddit

sell me that thing for $1k plz
View on Reddit #40618407

Glad-Lobster-220@reddit

What a beast, I love that keyboard.
View on Reddit #40558017

Livid-Brain5493@reddit

Totally agree. Those things were total tanks.
View on Reddit #40559335

TheOnlyCraz@reddit

Are the keys domes or like concave I can't tell by the pictures, but definitely looks like I wouldn't wanna get hit with it
View on Reddit #40615737

guiverc@reddit

I recall the vt52 rather fondly, but I can't recall why... Was the keyboard the reason?? I've not used one in (*can't recall how many decades!*)
View on Reddit #40568226

Livid-Brain5493@reddit

It wasn’t just the keyboard, everything about those things was overbuilt. There are tear downs on YouTube and you can see that half of the box is empty space so it all stays super cool. Until the VT100 came out it had the sharpest CRT and as hard as it may seem to believe now, it was very futuristic looking.
View on Reddit #40569693

Cottabus@reddit

I had one of these on my desk, connected to a decsystem20. Wrote lots of programs with it. The keyboard had a relay attached to it that would make a "thump" with each keystroke. It gave a nice feel. When I upgraded to a VT100, the thump was gone.
View on Reddit #40582167

istarian@reddit

Do you know what the purpose was of that relay if any? Was it just so the user had some audible feedback?
View on Reddit #40594373

Cottabus@reddit

It was tactile, too. You felt the relay with your fingers.
View on Reddit #40612039

Laser_Krypton7000@reddit (OP)

AFAIK yes.
View on Reddit #40604099

Laser_Krypton7000@reddit (OP)

That relay is also a good starting point to see if there is some life into the vt:-)
View on Reddit #40591399

JoeSlap@reddit

This is super cool. Keep it alive and well!
View on Reddit #40600193

cbelt3@reddit

I loved those keyboards….
View on Reddit #40598545

teknosophy_com@reddit

Such a great messages of peace, love, and fellowship! Old tech forever!
View on Reddit #40597434

qwikh1t@reddit

Ken and Harlan would be proud
View on Reddit #40594826

Adorable-Cut-4711@reddit

Fun fact: I think the VT-52 is the first device to have the physical alphanumeric keyboard layout that later would be used on for example the Commodore VIC 20, C64, C128 and whatnot. I'm referring to the amount of non-letter/digit keys on each side of 1-0, Q-P, A-L and Z-M, and also the size and position of the return and shift keys. Except for the key that is delete on the VT-52 and restore on the Commodores, I think that the alphanumeric part of the keyboard would physically fit in each others cases (and with a different PCB they would work as replacements for each other). The larger amount of keys to the right of 0,P,L and M as compared to a PC is what makes some of these hard to emulate. For a VT52 I don't think anyone cares that much about the keyboard layout as emulation is more about emulating control commands (escape sequences and whatnot), but for those that are actual computers rather than terminals this is a bigger issue.
View on Reddit #40577779

istarian@reddit

QWERTY has been around since before electric typewriters if I remember correctly, because it was created to resolve issues where a fast typist could get key bars (metal arm with a letter on it) hitting each others. Some of what you're talking about likely goes back to teletypes which came before terminals (sometimes called 'glass teletypes' at one point way back).
View on Reddit #40594674

NaoPb@reddit

Pleased to meet you, DECscope VT52!
View on Reddit #40593270

GogglesPisano@reddit

I always loved the old DEC terminal font. Is there a TrueType version of it out there anywhere?
View on Reddit #40592780

Mofuntocompute@reddit

Wow always saw the term VT-52 in terminal emulators but never saw a real one, nice!
View on Reddit #40592272

mycall@reddit

It is begging for an RS232 ChatGPT interface.
View on Reddit #40559895

Laser_Krypton7000@reddit (OP)

This is doable, f.e. this one with an Teletype !: https://www.retrocmp.com/tools/tty2pi-multifunction-adapter-for-asr-33-teletype/337-tty2pi-raspberry-apps
View on Reddit #40580892

ElevatorGuy85@reddit

Or MIRC or the original AIM or 140-character-limited Twitter, or …. Lots of possibilities!
View on Reddit #40562117

Blackholeofcalcutta@reddit

That is awesome!!! Totally jealous - I’d love to get my hands on just a VT-100. But you’ve got a VT-52?! Take good care of it, as I am sure that you will. :)
View on Reddit #40558777

Laser_Krypton7000@reddit (OP)

I'll try my best:-) If you would have been EU based i would eventually be able to help you, but most who pop up nowadays are missing the keyboard:-(
View on Reddit #40580738

FTFreddyYT@reddit

Holy moly that thing is A N C I E N T I want one
View on Reddit #40578081

mojorific@reddit

I love how crisp the text is on these devices.
View on Reddit #40560184

Adorable-Cut-4711@reddit

Monochrome CRT FTW!
View on Reddit #40577596

graybotics@reddit

Those cooling fin vents on the back though. So excessive and so period. Has 70s oscilloscope vibes.
View on Reddit #40576453

Ornery-Practice9772@reddit

Hello world!❤️
View on Reddit #40576223

OgdruJahad@reddit

Back when computers were fun, dumb and very expensive.
View on Reddit #40575483

zalzis@reddit

I bet most products from Digital could survive a nuclear explosion they built stuff like tanks.
View on Reddit #40574969

2raysdiver@reddit

Now if it had that menu from Fallout....
View on Reddit #40573960

jetkins@reddit

XLNT!
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WingedGundark@reddit

Amazing contraption! When the picture popped on my screen, at first glance I thought that it was Amstrad CPC 464 bolted on to something else lol
View on Reddit #40570824

RetroGamer87@reddit

Can it run Zork?
View on Reddit #40570301

nixiebunny@reddit

My high school got one of these in 1977 with the PDP-11/34. A fine video display terminal. I never got to see inside. How many boards full of TTL does it hold?
View on Reddit #40562938

dmoisan@reddit

There was one huge board on the bottom. The space on the side was for a thermal printer which most terminals never had.
View on Reddit #40568835

Evilkymonkey_1977@reddit

Awesome
View on Reddit #40568225

saysthingsbackwards@reddit

*speaks* in GenZ: Ok but where are the USB ports?
View on Reddit #40560575

BritOverThere@reddit

The cool kids are using RS-423.
View on Reddit #40565929

saysthingsbackwards@reddit

There's a *4*23
View on Reddit #40568205

ElevatorGuy85@reddit

You mean USB-C ports? USB-A, USB-B, mini-USB and micro-USB are so passé these days!
View on Reddit #40562152

saysthingsbackwards@reddit

I think I covered USB-C in my generalized USB thing, because they don't know the difference
View on Reddit #40562232

paprok@reddit

their (DECs) terminal font is just timeless!
View on Reddit #40568127

Yesitspeter@reddit

I had one of these too! You could just twist the wires together and it would echo what you typed
View on Reddit #40567915

IceCreamMan1977@reddit

Beautiful font! So elegant.
View on Reddit #40567791

GenFan12@reddit

I read that screen in Dr. Sbaitso's voice.
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aws-ome@reddit

Greetings Professor Falken
View on Reddit #40565112

ready_1_take_1@reddit

Hi VT52 - we’re happy you’re back online too!
View on Reddit #40562883

theflukemaster@reddit

beautiful machine, best of luck on the restorations :3
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SomePeopleCallMeJJ@reddit

Lovely!
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GonWaki@reddit

Nice piece!
View on Reddit #40558503