For everyone who has asked about putting the Pi inside the VT, the reason I didn’t was primary because the video was more about the connection and set up rather than a full install. Also that particular Pi4 gets used for all kinds of things.

A great walk down memory lane. I programmed my way through my Computer Science degree on one of these. Weird to think that Raspberry Pi is more powerful than the VAX minicomputer we had connected to the 100-200 terminals.

I'll never forget configuring my first multi-VT terminal install at work many decades ago. The users were tickled pink that it worked and they no longer had to time-share the single console.

DEC Rainbow circa 1985ish. Early (sorta) PC compatible running MS-DOS... but had a hidden trick where it would boot into VT220 emulation when an OS floppy disc was not present.

Terminals are still more fun than today's internet. I think what makes such connecting so enjoyable is the lack of pictures or ever getting to see the other folks on the other side of the connection. Leaves one to use their imagination ..... which is why I love retro classic consoles and micros.

I have one of those...also a VT100 and a VT103....I worked for the company for 33 years and used to fix those things...

One of the coolest things I have seen. Now part 2 - run a BBS on a Raspberry Pi!

11:45

Long live the power of the terminal!

Brought back memories of me having to book time in the computer room to type my coursework programs, from my hand written listing on actual paper, into a terminal and compile them on the IBM Mini computer (PS. theirs nothing mini about a mini computer, it had it's own glass room ;)

Up until a few years ago, I used one of these every week or two.

All that is needed is a USB to RS232 board, a connection to the RX/TX pins on the PI, a connection to another machine running MINICOM, if Linux and you can watch you boot and kernel boot. The same setup can be used to watch audio video receivers boot.

You need such an editor emulation as the EDT or later LSE text editor of OpenVMS to enjoy the numerical keypad. Gold 7 => command mode, dot => begin selection ... etc

Crikey! Have you seen the price of these terminals these days? I really wish I had not been present when one place I worked for chucked loads of them in a skip and paid to have them removed.

Serial terminals may be obsolete, but you might be surprised by how often I've connected in to my home server over serial since I set up the thing (all brand-new hardware) earlier this month.

I was an engineer with Digital way before they produces these wonderful things. Back in my day you considered a VT52 leading edge. Bring back the 11/40 and the unibus with the fubar register.. lol Yes it was real, "failing unibus address register"

Great video, I used this terminal model in the 80s for work and seeing it in action is a great emotion for me.

I so regret pitching my Qume terminal about a year or two ago from university days. ('90s ... I couldn't afford a 486 in the day and used a terminal to connect to university .. emacs, vi, ah the days, still useful skills today).

I need something like this to manage my database of broken retro computers parts.

Spent many hours back in the early 1980s playing Colossal Cave on something very much like that. Great video. Cheers, Alan.