> On Feb 1, 2018, at 12:51 PM, Eric Smith via cctalk <cctalk@classiccmp.org>
> wrote:
>
> On Thu, Feb 1, 2018 at 10:19 AM, Mike Norris via cctalk <
> cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:
>
>> The SuperTerm was manufactured by Intertec Data Systems c. 1978, it was a
>> 180 CPS dot matrix printer (RS232), quite often used as a console printer
>> in place of a LA36,
>
>
> I know it sounds snarky, and admittedly my sample size is small, but it
> seems to me that it was quite _rarely_ used as a console printer in place
> of a LA36. Of the DEC machine rooms I saw back in the day (DECsystem-10,
> PDP-11, VAX-11/7xx), most used an LA36 or LA120 as the console terminal,
> but I also saw one Teletype Model 43 and one VT52. (It was not good
> practice to use a CRT as the system console, IMO.)
My college experience (1973-1975) with consoles started with a ASR-33, then an
LA30, and finally an LA36. The LA30 was, amazingly enough, even less reliable
than the ASR-33. The LA36, on the other hand, was rock solid (as was the
LA120, which I didn't see until after I went to DEC).
As for CRTs, it all depends on the design assumptions. Lots of operating
system console interfaces are designed on the assumption you have hardcopy
consoles, and if so a CRT is a bad idea. But you can certainly make CRT
consoles and have it work -- consider the CDC 6000 series.
paul
