Re: Dedicated console

Hello James,

Am 25.05.2021 um 17:32 schrieb James H. H. Lampert <jamesl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:

The 3487-HC was (and presumably is, since I'm sure there are still specimens in working order) a 132-column color terminal (corresponding to the 3477-FC) with all the usual InfoWindow II features; column separators could be turned off; it could use a mouse (but only a genuine IBM mouse).

This makes me wonder. I attached a standard PS/2 mouse to my 3486, and it works as expected.

My guess is the 3487 is a 3486 with the ability to switch to *DS4 (27 times 132).

Btw., what I love most about the 3486 is that it supports most or even all of the pseudo-graphical elements of "enhanced 5250".

The same iconic status line as all InfoWindow and InfoWindow II terminals (and some others, e.g., 3180). Up to two display sessions ("sides") and a printer session (a 3488 has four sides and a printer session, but requires a separate monitor).

Thanks! I complemented the table.

Double-pigtail-style auto-terminating Twinax connector.

Wasn't this standard on all 34xx terminals?

Both of the terminals we had (the other being a 3180) when I was hired are long-gone (the 3180 failed in a rather spectacular fashion: something, probably the flyback transformer, shorted out, blowing a fuse.

FBTs can indeed have faults leading to (most often) fried line deflection switching transistors.

When I replaced the fuse and applied power, the fuse didn't just blow; it exploded.)

More likely it was the PSU's main switching transistor being overloaded by another fault somewhere else. When a fuse reacts in this way, the problem must be on the primary side of the PSU. :-)

We now have a 3477-FA (monochrome InfoWindow with amber screen; it was cheaper than green or color, and amber is actually the easiest on the eyes), a 3488 (as I said, InfoWindow II with 4 sides, requiring a separate monitor), and an Affirmative Twinax Yestation. (2 sides, requiring a separate monitor, but all the standard EBCDIC codepages were built in, unlike any IBM terminals). All of them were purchased used (and I don't think Affirmative was still making any Twinax models by the time we got our Yestation).

I envy you. I'd very much love to have a fitting amber colored replacement tube for my broken 3486. The only amber screens I have is an ASCII terminal, made by Televideo, and a "Hercules" (MDA) monitor for PCs.

Easy on the eyes is something rather subjective. Ask ten people and you'll get eleven opinions. ;-)

I actually got an Alcatel Twinax terminal, very similar to the screen-less 348x. But Supporting 8 screen sessions. A bit much, I guess. ;-) But no support for enhanced 5250.

The only CRTs still in use here are the ones on the terminals: I have het to find an LCD monitor that plays well with the 3488 or the Yestation.

Forget about it. There's no such thing as a LCD screen which matches the native resolution of the analog video output. No matter what you do, it will always look awful and straining to the eyes. The only thing you can do is find a display where you can disable scaling to full-screen on the analog input. This will leave a more or less big black canvas around the actual screen content, but at least that small "window" will be crisp and sharp without insulting the eye.

(Btw. people playing old, low-resolution games full-screen are facing similar issues.)

:wq! PoC