# Dumb terminal manufacturers



## JazzSinatra (Dec 28, 2017)

Does anyone today manufacture dumb terminals? If I would want one is the only option an used one? I don't have any real need for one, but the novelty value.


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## SirDice (Dec 28, 2017)

I very much doubt anyone is still making them. They've all been replaced with thin/thick clients and a terminal application a long, long time ago. You may be able to get one second hand but they're going to be quite rare. This stuff is so old it's called "vintage" now and due to their rarity they tend to be expensive if they still work.


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## ljboiler (Dec 28, 2017)

I used to have a Wyse dumb terminal I used with a little Intel 8080 8-bit breadboard kit, and a little searching indicates you can still get some refurbished ones...


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## ronaldlees (Dec 28, 2017)

I see a couple refurbs on a liquidation site for around $100.  They're all CRT, so I think I wouldn't go back to that anymore.  Big, clunky.  But - they had utility in that they didn't have any need to waste time booting up.


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## Snurg (Dec 28, 2017)

The keyboards of these old dumbers like legendary ADM-3A and early Hazeltines are better than 99.95% of what is being sold nowadays.
But the 60Hz flicker was horrible, especially if the picture was not fully stable, which happened often (usually bad electrolytics in PS due to 24/7 operation)
5x7 character matrix is also some thing that might be fun for a few minutes, but probably not much more.
They are slow, too. Most had maximum of 9600 bps.

To make sure we do not misunderstand:
Back then the very early terminals were called "dumb terminals" as they had no screen control codes.
These were like virtual teletypes.
This was a BIG advantage, saving many many trees.
You could use them for text editing, but not with vi, only with ed.

Terminals that allowed screen control (the stuff you set in termcap) appeared later.
These were considered "intelligent" and not "dumb" because you could do smart things like vi, Wordstar, Multiplan etc with them.

Real "dumbers" are very very rare nowadays and if you are able to snatch one for only $100 you are very very lucky.


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## ralphbsz (Dec 29, 2017)

If you are located in an area with a good electronics / computer culture, you can probably find used ones in local surplus stores.  Here in Silicon Valley, that would be no problem.

As SirDice said, I don't think serial-connected terminals have been manufactured since the mid 1990s; they were all replaced by either Xterminals, or PCs running emulators.  P.S. Just looked it up: As far as I can see, the last manufacturer of non-Ethernet non-PC terminals was probably "Boundless Technologies", which continued manufacturing Digital's VT3xx/4xx/5xx terminals after DEC quit that business (and quit being business in general).

I have two or three Falco 5220e terminals somewhere in my basement.  This was a high-end VT200 clone.  One sat on my desk for about 10 years; it had 3 serial ports (with speeds up to 19200 or 38400), connected initially to two VAXes and one cp/m machine, later all three to a RS/6000 (I had multiple windows, by using three serial ports).  The fourth port was a parallel port with a local dot matrix printer, so I could get my own printouts without have to run over to the computer room.  It not only had multiple display windows, it could also display both VT220 mode (in resolutions up to something like 132x43) and Tektronix 401x mode for graphics, so I could see graphs, and preview TeX documents.  They have not been unpacked in at least 18 years, so I don't know whether they actually function.  At least the two VAXes in the basement were brought up once about 10 years ago, and functioned (although the 4000/60 refused to boot, and the 3100 only ran when the graphics hardware was disconnected).

One can still get high-quality keyboards from that area, manufactured new.  For example, there is a small company in the eastern US (spun out from IBM) called "Unicomp" that continues to manufacture IBM-style "clicky" keyboards, available in USB interface and both Mac and Windows layout.  Those are the same hardware that was used on the later IBM 327x and 3290 terminals, and the original IBM PCs, with an incomparably accurate touch.  I have two.  For many years, I used them with a Macintosh, in my office (at IBM!).


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## tingo (Jan 2, 2018)

It looks like Boundless has discontinued their line of terminals, that was the last company I knew of who were selling terminals today.


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