Any idea what this beauty is

Posted by auximines_minotaur@reddit | vintagecomputing | View on Reddit | 23 comments

I'm guessing some sort of terminal, but perhaps an early computer?

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Terrible-Bear3883@reddit

Looks like a Basic four terminal - there's a post about them and others here - https://www.reddit.com/r/computers/comments/185kuzv/mai_basic_four_information_system_4301/

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auximines_minotaur@reddit (OP)

Interesting. Yeah I noticed a "four colors" logo, which made me think, "Could this be a color terminal.....? Nah!"

Thanks for the quick response. Kinda sounds like it would be difficult to use one of these for hobbiest purposes.

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It looks on the wiring it uses Xon/Xoff rather than full signalling,pin 2-3 (on remote end), 3-2, 4-5, 6-8-20 on the wiring at each end, I'd try a cable wired like that using something like hyperterminal set for the same baud rate and Xon/Xoff, normally I'd start at 9600 or I'd try a local loopback cable, same wiring as above but link pins 2 and 3, then 4-5 linked 6-8-20 linked, if you type, it should loop back to itself.

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enchomko@reddit

Where did you find the pin definitions? It seems like RS-232 from your description. If it is RS-232, then it would have value to old home computer owners like the SWTPC 6800 or any of the S-100 systems from the mid to late 70s (IMSAI, Altair, Polymorphics, etc.).

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Terrible-Bear3883@reddit

I'm going by memory, I'm certain we had a white version of that terminal in our office/workshop many years ago, and (I think) a couple of the 4312 terminals, I seem to remember linking them up to our Alpha micro and other systems using that wiring, we worked with a lot of terminals like VT100, Hazeltine 1500, Ampex etc. in those days.

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oldmagicstudios@reddit

Looks like something from Thunderbirds - stealing the shell design for a cyberdeck!

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SomePeopleCallMeJJ@reddit

Must've been before they started making breakfast cereal. :-)

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scootunit@reddit

It would be really cool too use that terminal to dip into a Linux system.

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michaelpaoli@reddit

Can probably be done. *Nix, including Linux, does well support serial terminals ... even serial console. And I've done quite a bit of those.

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dizzywig2000@reddit

Beautiful

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hatecirclejerks@reddit

What a sexy thing to turn into a sleeper, if it isnt rare of course.

Preferablly without cutting or drilling, its possible, i stuck a mac mini into my se/30 case while having it be 100% reversable with no damage, would be cool to do to this...

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