[Boatanchors] IBM Selectric Terminal

[Walt - WB2VSJ]

Good point, Drew!

There is something to be said about using one's other senses other than just
the eyes.  I remember using old DECWriter II & III's on Northern Telelcom's
DMS-100.  You could "hear" a problem log being printed out. After a while
you could discern  different types of error reports being printed just by
the sound of the mechanical printer.  

Go for it!

-----Original Message-----
From: boatanchors-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:boatanchors-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Drew P.
Sent: Monday, December 27, 2010 2:10 AM
To: boatanchors at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Boatanchors] IBM Selectric Terminal


On Keith Densmore's plan to convert an IBM Selectric typewriter to a
computer printer/terminal,  Glenn Little wrote:

[snipped]

"I would not consider this to be a viable, current, output device."

Maybe not, but it is not much less viable than the use of some examples of
our beloved vacuum tube equipment for modern-day radio communication.

What a Selectric-turned-printer WOULD have is "Soul" and lots of it - orders
of magnitude more than any current LASER or inkjet printer.  Imagine the
clackey-clackey-clack, just like on the old CBS Evening News, and the hot
oil smell when printing out a long document.  Ahhhhhhhh, smells
like....Victory.

Drew