[net.periphs] HP announces 2621b fixes

pcl (09/23/82)

A while back, there was a lot of discussion about the design flaws of
the HP 2621b video terminal, and a rumor that HP was working on some
corrections.  About the same time, I noticed that many of the new
terminals arriving in my dept. were 2621b's, instead of the 2621a (or p)
that had been the standard.  Checking into it, I discovered that HP
really had discontinued the a and p models, to be replaced by the b
(with printer option available), and that that's why we were buying
them.

The good news:

HP really was working on corrections to the problems with the 2621b, and
our sales rep. finally tracked down some details, which he just gave me
over the phone.  For those of you who are interested, here's the
information; there might be some minor errors since he had nothing in
writing yet, and was working from what he'd been told on the phone.

The corrections are available in the form of a "2621 upgrade kit",
product #40205A.  The list price is $150, including installation by HP;
it can be ordered AFTER NOV 1, and should be available by Nov. 15.
With the upgrade kit:

	- The keyboard scanning rate is increased by a factor of 10, so
	there should no longer be a problem with characters typed at the
	keyboard being lost when operating the terminal at high baud
	rates.
	
	- The terminal will be in upper/lower case mode at power up,
	instead of the CAPS-lock state.  (This was apparently put in
	specifically for UNIX (tm) users!)
	
	- There is a configuration menu available from the keyboard,
	just like the 2621a, although at power up the configuration is
	still taken from the DIP switches on the back.  (Apparently
	the battery-driven CMOS configuration memory of the 2621a had
	serious reliability problems, causing HP to abandon that scheme
	and return to DIP switches.)
	
	- The keyboard can be locked out, as on other HP terminals,
	unlike the current 2621b.
	
	- Portions of the screen can be locked, while other parts
	scroll.
	
	- The terminal is re-configurable from the host by use of
	appropriate ESC-sequences.
	
	- A "soft" reset capability has been added - something less
	drastic than a full power up (e.g. the configuration is left
	unchanged).
	
	- A "V-strap" has been added, to allow the parity setting to
	differ between transmission to and reception from the host.
	
	- The host can request an ID from the terminal.  (This may
	already be possible on the 2621b, but he thought it was new with
	the upgrade kit.)

Again, don't order the kit before Nov. 1.

				Paul Lustgarten
				Bell Labs - Indian Hill South

aark (09/23/82)

Question: Will the HP 2621B terminal upgrade kit Paul Lustgarten
mentioned ever become standard (i.e., free) on 2621Bs manufactured
after some date? If so, what date?

Alan R. Kaminsky
...hips3!ihuxv!aark