wall@ucbvax.UUCP (Steve Wall) (04/22/84)
I purchased a Qume 102A (amber screen) about 4 months ago for $575.00. The terminal has a detachable keyboard, amber screen, tilt screen, up to 12 function keys, and other standard features. I feel that the Qume (which is a subsidiary of ITT) is a really good terminal for the price, but it seems like there are not a lot of people using them right now. If anyone has either used the Qume, or heard anything (good or bad) about them, I'd appreciated hearing from you. Steve Wall wall@ucbarpa ucbvax!ucbarpa!wall
geoff@callan.UUCP (Geoff Kuenning) (05/19/84)
Qume? My god! Of all the lousy terminals on the market, the Qume is one of the lousiest. We evaluated a QVT-102 here (we unfortunately still have it kicking around). Even disregarding the habit it has of hanging completely when it receives certain escape sequences (e.g. anything from X3.64), it has the *absolute* worst keyboard I have ever used, and that includes manual typewriters and ASR33's. The keyboard has many flaws that I will not belabor, but it has one that all by itself makes the terminal a *TOTAL* reject: unless you strike the key with a PRECISELY vertical stroke, the key will stick (read "jam") and refuse to travel far enough to transmit the character. The piston that the key travels on is apparently loose in its cylinder and jams if it gets off-center: keytop / / | /| | / | | / | | / | | / | | / | |/ | Geoff Kuenning Callan Data Systems ...!ihnp4!wlbr!callan!geoff
malloy@ittral.UUCP (William P. Malloy) (05/21/84)
A couple of points. First the QVT-102 is the dumbest of all Qume terminals.
Actually it's just plain stupid. It's meant to emulate a Lear Seigler ADM3a
so you can just imagine how really dumb it is. (or is it a Televideo 910??)
On the other hand the QVT-103 is a full ANSI X3.64 compatible terminal. Right
down to being as dumb as a VT-100. We had a Beta test version here and only
found one bug with it, and they were fixing it. Personally I prefer the
QVT-108 which is *VERY* good, is quite bright, and will really handle 19200
baud. It has 11 function keys (22 if you like to shift) that will store up to
eight characters. Very convient. Unfortanately the function keys are the only
part that don't handle 19200, they drop characters. Thus I have to use 9600.
Now as to keyboards, yes *ALL* of them STICK. Although they're not quite as
bad as you said. I'm using one now, and they don't stick that much. They
could go a *LONG* way to improving their sales if they'd only get a better
keyboard. Please note, it doesn't stick-DOWN anymore then any good keyboard.
The problem is sometimes the keys WON'T go down when you push them. As I bang
the crap out of keyboards, it doesn't slow me down at all. And given the
only alternative here is the VT-100, I'll take the QVT-108 anyday. Maybe
if everyone complained LOUD enough Qume, (they're on the net as qumix) would
hear and fix their *DAMN* keyboards.
NOTE: ITT owns Qume as well as ITT Telecom so I'm not a totally uninterested
observer. I don't own any stock, nor do I have any intention of buying any.
--
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are my own, and not necessarily
those of my employer, nor of any sane rational human being.
Address: William P. Malloy, ITT Telecom, B & CC Engineering Group, Raleigh NC
{ihnp4!mcnc, burl, ncsu, decvax!ittvax}!ittral!malloyallyn@sdcsvax.UUCP (05/22/84)
I would never buy a Qume terminal for the sole reason that it has
(like a TeleVideo 925) imbedded cursor attributes. I did use
a 108 for an hour or so. It seemed Ok, and the keyboard didn't seem
too bad. But imbedded cursor attributes? This is the 1984!
--
From the virtual mind of Allyn Fratkin sdcsvax!allyn@Nosc
UCSD Pascal Project {ucbvax, decvax, ihnp4}
U.C. San Diego !sdcsvax!allynkim@emory.UUCP (Kim Wallen {Psychology}) (05/22/84)
In response to !callan!geoff. If you use a QVT-103 instead of a QVT-102 you get full Ansi-3.64 compatibility. I have finally written a termcap for the QVT-103 and find it a truly excellent terminal. In reverse video it has the easiest to read display of any terminal I have used. I agree that the keyboard is a weakness, although not as bad as Geoff would suggest. One of my students is a touch typist with a soft touch and she has trouble with jamming keys. I only use about five fingers and have no trouble. Keep in mind that a QVT-103 with amber screen (highly recommended) can be had for $800 and you have a vt-100 compatible terminal. akgua!emory!kim
mickey@proper.UUCP (Michael Thompson) (05/28/84)
I own a Qume QVT-102, and find it to be one of the best terminals available in it's price range ($500-$600). The keyboard has very nearly the same layout as a VT100 (same spacing and key positions). Many of the early qume's had a problem with sticky keys. This can be permanently solved by carefully removing the keys and spraying the undersides with silicon spray. No! I don't work for Qume! Michael Thompson