MCMANIS%usc-eclc@sri-unix.UUCP (10/01/83)
From: Chuck McManis <MCMANIS@usc-eclc> For those of you interested in home brewing your own terminal, Digital Research of Texas is advertising a 6" X 9" Board with all of the hardware and software needed to generate 80X24 video and perform terminal functions ala the Heathkit H19. The kit is $129 and comes with all chips (Z80, 6116 Ram, 6845 Video Cntrllr, UART etc.) and needs only a monitor and keyboard to work. With a Zenith Green Screen advertised in BYTE for approx $100 and a parallel keyboard, which I have seen for as little as $40 but usually run about $70 you can build a complete terminal for about $300. Significantly cheaper than a retail terminal. Also, if you can find a "damaged" terminal on sale at a surplus store you can probably get the keyboard/Monitor and enclosure for <$100. Of course this mess will need a power supply but it only needs to supply 5V @ 1.5 A and + and - 12 at <.25 Amps. (We are talking about $20 here.) --Chuck -------