[Simh] VT100 Color of text

[Will Senn]

All,

Having very vague recollects of having ever seen a real VT100, I came
across the following picture while doing some research on RT-11:

Loading Image...

I was surprised a little by the color of the text. In my minds eye, I
had imagined either Amber or Green on black (the default on my Terminal
windows). To my real eye, it looks blue. Given that the orange, manilla,
and brown of the case look believable, it would seem that the VT100 had
blue text. Is this correct and is it the only color of text on the
machine? Does anyone know the hex RGB values?

A little more on topic and I've asked this question differently in the
past, but now I think I have a better formulation of the question - are
there SimH compatible video terminal simulators available and listed
somewhere? The image of the VT100 made me think that interacting with a
graphically detailed simulated VT100 attached to SimH is a qualitatively
different experience than attaching a modern xterm telnet session to
SimH and the same would be true for a VT11, a GT40 (see link below), or
any of the terminals.

http://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/minicomputers/11/366/1961

I still have a hankering to play a graphic version of lunar lander or
spacewar on my Macbook Pro on an OS that I administer :).

Thanks,

Will

[Timothe Litt]

1) The VT100 default is white text on black, though the screen could be
reversed in Setup (and by a CSI) to black text on white. The blue that
you see is probably an artifact of flash photography.
2) I use PuTTY from windows.
3) The VT100 has no graphics in the modern sense. It does have a 'line
drawing' character set that allows drawing tables and such. One can do
limited graphics with suitable creativity. The VT105 has some
graphics. There were DEC terminals that have better graphics: e.g.
VT125, Gigi do ReGIS. Some later models (starting with VT220) have
user-definable character sets.

The VT240 has mono graphics, the VT241 color. It also had colored
phosphor options for the screen.
The VT330 does ReGIS, Sixel & Tek; the VT340 color.
The VT420 is text only; no graphics or color.
The VT520 is text; VT525 color



This communication may not represent my employer's views,
if any, on the matters discussed.

Post by Will Senn
All,
Having very vague recollects of having ever seen a real VT100, I came
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/RT-11_help.jpg
I was surprised a little by the color of the text. In my minds eye, I
had imagined either Amber or Green on black (the default on my
Terminal windows). To my real eye, it looks blue. Given that the
orange, manilla, and brown of the case look believable, it would seem
that the VT100 had blue text. Is this correct and is it the only color
of text on the machine? Does anyone know the hex RGB values?
A little more on topic and I've asked this question differently in the
past, but now I think I have a better formulation of the question -
are there SimH compatible video terminal simulators available and
listed somewhere? The image of the VT100 made me think that
interacting with a graphically detailed simulated VT100 attached to
SimH is a qualitatively different experience than attaching a modern
xterm telnet session to SimH and the same would be true for a VT11, a
GT40 (see link below), or any of the terminals.
http://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/minicomputers/11/366/1961
I still have a hankering to play a graphic version of lunar lander or
spacewar on my Macbook Pro on an OS that I administer :).
Thanks,
Will
_______________________________________________
Simh mailing list
http://mailman.trailing-edge.com/mailman/listinfo/simh

[Sergii Kolisnyk]

Hi,

possibly it's just high-temperature white when color balance is set
for "warm" low color temperature?

Sergii

[Paul Koning]

Post by Will Senn
All,
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/RT-11_help.jpg
I was surprised a little by the color of the text. In my minds eye, I had imagined either Amber or Green on black (the default on my Terminal windows). To my real eye, it looks blue. Given that the orange, manilla, and brown of the case look believable, it would seem that the VT100 had blue text. Is this correct and is it the only color of text on the machine? Does anyone know the hex RGB values?

That blue is definitely wrong. Modern digital cameras, especially with the automatic "color correction" active, can make a mess of the colors.

A VT100, just like the VT05 and VT50/VT52, used a plain black & white TV tube. Those are very slightly blueish, probably, but not nearly to the extent suggested by that photo. If you can find an old B&W TV set, that will show you exactly.

Later on, starting with the VT220, DEC offered several different monochrome tubes: green, amber, the original white maybe, and also at some point "paper white" which was a somewhat warmer white color.

The color specs of traditional B & W TV tubes should be available on the net, at least in terms of a "color temperature" which will give much of the answer.

paul

[Jacob Goense]

Post by Will Senn
A little more on topic and I've asked this question differently in the
past, but now I think I have a better formulation of the question -
are there SimH compatible video terminal simulators available and
listed somewhere?

For a vt220 I just fire up putty with http://sensi.org/~svo/glasstty/
at the correct font size.


I have a patched version of the font with a proper none breaking space
for use with a javascript terminal. Still woking on getting the
pinch/bulge right.

If anyone has and ADM-3a and willing to take pics I'm willing to try
to make it into a font. I have the ROM dumps.

There is a BBN Bitgraph in MESS..
https://fotki.yandex.ru/next/users/shattered/album/137130/view/700597
..don't ask me how to connect it to anything though, I rarely play
with MESS.

Post by Will Senn
I still have a hankering to play a graphic version of lunar lander or
spacewar on my Macbook Pro on an OS that I administer :).

Doubt I'll ever beat this rendition http://www.masswerk.at/spacewar/

[B Degnan]

My vt-100 photos are here:

http://www.vintagecomputer.net/digital/VT100/

...Not perfect but gives you a pic of the text of an unmodified terminal.
I also put a copy of the VT 100 manual as a mirror from vt100.net if anyone
wants to read it. I since then picked up the paper manual.



Bill

[Johnny Billquist]

Hi.

Post by Will Senn
All,
Having very vague recollects of having ever seen a real VT100, I came
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/RT-11_help.jpg
I was surprised a little by the color of the text. In my minds eye, I
had imagined either Amber or Green on black (the default on my Terminal
windows). To my real eye, it looks blue. Given that the orange, manilla,
and brown of the case look believable, it would seem that the VT100 had
blue text. Is this correct and is it the only color of text on the
machine? Does anyone know the hex RGB values?

The white balance in that picture is off. That is "white" text. VT100
were (as far as I can remember) also available with green and amber, but
white was definitely most common.

Post by Will Senn
A little more on topic and I've asked this question differently in the
past, but now I think I have a better formulation of the question - are
there SimH compatible video terminal simulators available and listed
somewhere? The image of the VT100 made me think that interacting with a
graphically detailed simulated VT100 attached to SimH is a qualitatively
different experience than attaching a modern xterm telnet session to
SimH and the same would be true for a VT11, a GT40 (see link below), or
any of the terminals.
http://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/minicomputers/11/366/1961
I still have a hankering to play a graphic version of lunar lander or
spacewar on my Macbook Pro on an OS that I administer :).

Using a real VT100, or an xterm (or whatever) gives you pretty much the
same experience.

You cannot play Lunar Lander on a VT100. For that you would need a GT40.

Johnny

[Timothe Litt]

Post by Johnny Billquist
Hi.
The white balance in that picture is off. That is "white" text. VT100
were (as far as I can remember) also available with green and amber,
but white was definitely most common.

I don't believe so. IIRC, the VT200 series is when that happened.

[Johnny Billquist]

Post by Timothe Litt

Post by Johnny Billquist
Hi.
The white balance in that picture is off. That is "white" text. VT100
were (as far as I can remember) also available with green and amber,
but white was definitely most common.

I don't believe so. IIRC, the VT200 series is when that happened.

You are probably right, and I'm mixing it up with the various
VT100-clones that existed...

Johnny