[HECnet] VT-62?

What can be done (non-destructive suggestions only, please) with a VT-62? This is NOT a VT52 (although it looks like one). The VT62 is a block mode terminal that, I think, actually speaks DDCMP. AFAIK it's incapable of being a plain ASCII terminal unless there's some hack I'm unaware of. If you are able to use the VT62 terminal under RT-11, DEC supported a special variant of KED specifically for the VT62, namely K62.SAV, as opposed to the variant, Ked.SAV, for the VT100. There is also a variant of KED specifically for the VT52, namely K52.SAV, in addition to a separate variant for the VT100, Ker.SAV, which is used when RSTS/E is the PDP-11 operating system. While these two special variants of Ked.SAV, namely K52.SAV and K62.SAV, are not generally available, at least K52.SAV can be downloaded as part of the binary RT-11 distribution from some of those distributions starting with V04.00 of RT-11. After DEC stopped supporting the VT52 and VT62 terminals (around 1989), the KED variants for these two terminals were still maintained, but not longer included in the standard RT-11 binary distributions. All of the KED variants, including K62.SAV, can still be produced for V05.06 of RT-11. Although it is not possible to determine if K62.SAV is correct, the two variants of KED which are included in the distribution for V05.06 of RT-11, Ked.SAV and Kex.SAV, are identical to the copies produced from the source code when all nine of the DEC supported variants of KED are assembled and linked. So it seems very probable that the K52.SAV and K62.SAV variants are correct as well. I am not familiar with exactly what special features K62.SAV uses in the VT62 terminal, so it is not possible for me to advise you in that regard. Aside from RT-11, I am not aware of any other application program which knows anything at all about the VT62 terminal, let alone the differences between the VT52 and the VT62. Right now the only thing I can think of is to part it out as spares for my VT52. I have two of the latter and it looks like at least some of the major assemblies - CRT, keyboard, power supply - are identical. I hate to do that, though, if there's a better use for it. If you really do have a working VT62 (or one that can be repaired), that would be sad situation if you were to use the VT62 are spares for the VT52. There are probably very few working VT52 terminals around these days although I may still have one (it has not been turned on for at least a few years). I doubt that there are even a fraction of that number of VT62 terminals left anywhere. On the other hand, all the VT52 and VT62 terminals are over 30 years old. In another 30 years, it is almost certain that no one will even know what these terminals are, let alone that any will actually work or that there will be systems to use them with. So if you can use the VT62 parts to keep a VT52 in working order, it is your terminal to do as you wish. For example, there has been no one interested in a new variant of KED which supports the VT420 with more than 24 lines, named (appropriately I think) the K42.SAV, which I use under Ersatz-11. Since there is support, under the VT100 emulation included with Ersatz-11, for up to 255 columns by 255 lines (in particular for the Win32 variant), K42.SAV has been enhanced to support both of those screen sizes, although NOT at the same time. In practical terms, the best my monitor can support under the DOS variant of Ersatz-11 is either 80 columns by 50 lines OR 132 columns by 44 lines. For the Win32 variant of Ersatz-11, there is support for a screen size on the monitor of up to approximately 200 columns by 70 lines. Along with a much larger cut / paste buffer and some very nice extra features for the HELP screens, I find that K42.SAV is much improved over DEC variant, Ked.SAV, which is limited to 24 lines. Jerome Fine