rjk@mgweed.UUCP (Randy King) (10/16/84)
[{(<+>)}]
I just saw a demo of the new Teletype Model 5425 terminal. It looks just
like the 5410/5420 series, but the keyboard mimics a vt100. Actually, it
electrically mimics the vt100 (with vt52 mode) completely, except for the
double height, double width letters. I believe the cost is somewhere in
the vicinity of $800 (?) for the whole terminal.
A nice option is a 300/1200 baud "built-in" autodial modem (Rixon protocol).
Hard and soft PF keys on the keyboard access the terminal, printer, and
optional dialer set-up menus. I *think* the dialer is about $2-300. Oh
yeah, it dialed both pulse and tone interactively and stored 5 numbers.
I played with it and it worked quite well. But the "vt100" test came when
our VAX/VMS gurus went down and ran some GENRAD test system software on it
that uses both vt100 and vt52 mode heavily. It performed flawlessly, they
said.
All the multi-windowing features of the 5420 are there, as well as three
(count them, three) orderable screen phosphors - amber, white, and green.
I hate to sound like a damn commercial, but it's gratifying to see them
come around like they have and make some really decent stuff. Nice
going, folks. Keep it up (and the prices down).
Randy King
ihnp4!mgweed!rjkqwerty@drutx.UUCP (JonesBD) (10/16/84)
I am pleased to see your report on the 5425s. We have ordered 15 (3 with built in modems) for use at ATT-CP, Denver. We will be tying them to GenRad (ie. Dec 11/44) development systems.
era@ih1ap.UUCP (tim born) (10/16/84)
Before you take delivery, make sure you get user *documentation*! Ours arrived with no hint of how to use them.
psc@lzmi.UUCP (10/17/84)
I beta-tested the 5425 just before it was announced. I agree - it's a win. The one thing I *don't* like about it is that the arrow keys are truely VT-100 compatible, I.E., there's no way to make them funcition only locally. The 5420 did this exactly right: they send in vi, and they're local outside. The TTY folks couldn't understand why you'd want local arrow keys. They couldn't understand why you'd want "clear to end of display" instead of "clear entire display", either, but they provided it. (Of course, since there aren't any local arrow keys, you can't move the cursor and do a [local] clear screen...) Excellent VT-100 compatibilty. I found a problem with VMS "SET TERM/INQUIRE" and the "what am I" escape sequence. So did some other testers; my copy of the product announcement came with a note that that had been fixed. It worked fine with vi as TERM=vt100, and with the VMS screen editor, EDIT/EDT. Note that they put in the "no newline after wrap" bug *back in* - it's compatible with the VT-100, but not the 5420! Keyboard: "Selectric-like" in the middle, VT-100 on the right, eight screen labeled soft keys on top, IBM function keys (two columns of six) on the left. Nicer feel. The soft key menu has been improved; you can get to any set-up menu by hitting "f1" a few times. The editing keys on the left can be programmed; for example, you can reprogram the DELETE LINE key to send "dd", even if you don't have vi 3.9. I hear there's a (~$200?) upgrade kit to turn a 5420 into a 5425. You need the new keyboard and a new set of ROMS. I may swallow my pride, put local arrows into the soft keys, and go with it. A clap on the back for the boys at Skokie. Now, about that Model 33 you were trying to sell me . . . -- -Paul S R Chisholm ...!hogpd!pegasus!lzmi!psc The above opinions are my own, ...!cbosg!lzmi!psc and do not necessarily represent ...!ucbvax!ihnp4!lznv!psc those of anyone else.