> - intention was to rip all this out and convert it to a full I/O serial > terminal, using an Arduino-based setup > that Lawrence Wilkinson has already built and tested: > https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljw/sets/72157632841492802/with/9201494189/
Looks very nice! Is there documentation for it somewhere? I also have a Selectric (unfortunately it's located distant from me at the moment so I can't provide particulars) that I worked on interfacing to a micro in the mid-70's. I was using a MC6800 in my recollection, but I don't believe that I ever achieved operational status. Presumably I was working from an article in one of the hobbyist magazines of the era. I would have guessed Byte, but that doesn't seem to be the case based on recent search. Any hints from folks on what magazine/article that might have been? The Selectric wasn't one of the curvy(ier) office models; I recall it being a rather boxy affair with plenty of right-angles on the housing and a medium shade of blue -- presumably "IBM Blue". Rather utilitarian in design. Even *more* utilitarian than this one: http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/selectric/100112-Selectric-in-situ.jpg It included a full keyboard. I'm not sure anymore whether it operated in local-mode or was set up as two separate devices and therefore needed to be connected up to a remote controller to get local copy. It might have been a rehoused Selectric mechanism in a third-party enclosure and the IBM-like color a red herring. My recollection is that it was longer front-to-back; presumably the rearward extension housed the additional electronics. I have absolutely no idea how I acquired it. No luck finding a matching photo online as yet. I believe that the Selectric came configured for remote operation, but presumably using an EBCDIC-based data stream. I vaguely recall a DB-50 connector, but it's been an awfully long time ... Does this description sound familiar to anyone? ----- paul
