4 ms·

If you haven't seen it before, you might enjoy this: https://youtu.be/2XLZ4Z8LpEE https://youtu.be/2XLZ4Z8LpEE (Using a 1930 Teletype as a Linux Terminal).

gnulinux 6y ago
This is like exactly what I imagined... I'll study this and see if this is something I can do in a few weekends (the answer is likely no as I don't have a lot of hands-on engineering experience, just basics of EE and soldering). Is there any consumer product like this (not necessarily typewriter, e-ink or dumb display would also be ok; I just don't want a full-fledged display that can print images). Computer distraction is killing my life and I'm currently spending Saturdays as no-screen day (no phone/computer use) but I'd be willing to use a calculator-on-steroids like this as a replacement, which I imagine is not as distracting. (Usual TI programmable calculators are what I'm eyeing right now but their keyboard is not good. I want a usual Qwerty keyboard and linux)
- TedDoesntTalk 6y ago
  I don’t think you can build this in a few weekends, assuming you can even get all the parts in that time. I would instead get a dumb terminal from eBay from the 70s or 80s (search “terminal” or “televideo” for one of the brand names) and hook it up to a raspberry pi via rs-232. There are several projects on the web showing how to do this (hint: getty on linux) No graphics and video, but you get a good keyboard and solid ascii output.
taylorfinley 6y ago
I recently picked up a couple deaf tty terminals[0] for free from a local junk shop. They have a bright green vfd display and print to a roll of thermal paper, they feature a big acoustic coupler on the top for a phone handset and have a nice physical keyboard. My plan is to record the tones for each letter, then rig up a pi as a serial-to-audio adapter with a cheap 'retro phone handset to 3.5mm plug' product that can easily be found for ~$10 in the usual places. I can leave the original hardware intact and have a fun terminal. [0] https://teltex.com/ultratec-miniprint-425/ https://teltex.com/ultratec-miniprint-425/
z2 6y ago
Watching him use ED on the teletype, the lack of ED's interactivity and terseness suddenly makes sense! Though obvious now, it never occurred to me that the tool was designed around physical printing interfaces.
- retrac 6y ago
  All of UNIX was. Right down to the decision for commands like cp (not copy!) to not print anything unless there's an error. A decade later MS-DOS could be profligate and waste virtual ink printing friendly messages like "2 file(s) copied."

gnulinux 6y ago

This is like exactly what I imagined... I'll study this and see if this is something I can do in a few weekends (the answer is likely no as I don't have a lot of hands-on engineering experience, just basics of EE and soldering). Is there any consumer product like this (not necessarily typewriter, e-ink or dumb display would also be ok; I just don't want a full-fledged display that can print images). Computer distraction is killing my life and I'm currently spending Saturdays as no-screen day (no phone/computer use) but I'd be willing to use a calculator-on-steroids like this as a replacement, which I imagine is not as distracting. (Usual TI programmable calculators are what I'm eyeing right now but their keyboard is not good. I want a usual Qwerty keyboard and linux)

TedDoesntTalk 6y ago
I don’t think you can build this in a few weekends, assuming you can even get all the parts in that time. I would instead get a dumb terminal from eBay from the 70s or 80s (search “terminal” or “televideo” for one of the brand names) and hook it up to a raspberry pi via rs-232. There are several projects on the web showing how to do this (hint: getty on linux) No graphics and video, but you get a good keyboard and solid ascii output.

taylorfinley 6y ago

I recently picked up a couple deaf tty terminals[0] for free from a local junk shop. They have a bright green vfd display and print to a roll of thermal paper, they feature a big acoustic coupler on the top for a phone handset and have a nice physical keyboard. My plan is to record the tones for each letter, then rig up a pi as a serial-to-audio adapter with a cheap 'retro phone handset to 3.5mm plug' product that can easily be found for ~$10 in the usual places. I can leave the original hardware intact and have a fun terminal. [0] https://teltex.com/ultratec-miniprint-425/ https://teltex.com/ultratec-miniprint-425/

z2 6y ago

Watching him use ED on the teletype, the lack of ED's interactivity and terseness suddenly makes sense! Though obvious now, it never occurred to me that the tool was designed around physical printing interfaces.

retrac 6y ago
All of UNIX was. Right down to the decision for commands like cp (not copy!) to not print anything unless there's an error. A decade later MS-DOS could be profligate and waste virtual ink printing friendly messages like "2 file(s) copied."