[GreenKeys] "Burroughs" TTY

[Jim Haynes]

On Wed, 14 Oct 2015, Pete Lancashire wrote:
> I don't know what was standard on the 5000 or 5500

Also Model 33, also called SPO

> 
> The machines at the time used BCL not ASCII or EBCDIC
> 
BCL was a 6-bit code providing binary-coded-decimal digits and upper case
alphabet and special characters.  All the computers before ASCII and
EBCDIC used 6-bit characters in some form of BCD; and then some started
using a 6-bit subset of ASCII that was upper case only.

> Can't remember if the 33 was ASCII orthere was a converter some where or it
> was a custom model that did BCL
> 
It was a custom model for BCL - using a special type cylinder for the
printing characters and a special keyboard and function bars for the
CR and LF functions.

An earlier Burroughs machine, the 220, used a 28RO printer as the SPO.
No keyboard in that system; you had to enter things by hand with the
individual switches for each flipflop, if you didn't have what you needed
on paper tape or magnetic tape.

Teletype made other special type boxes and cylinders for other computer
companies.