A Teeny Terminal
Trevor Flowers has created a 1:3 scale modern VT100 terminal replica, featuring a 3.5-inch display and built-in keyboard — just add an SBC.
In August of 1978, Digital Equipment Corporation introduced a new video terminal known as the VT100. With an Intel 8080 CPU and 3 KB of RAM, it had modest hardware resources, even for the time. But with support for ANSI escape codes and a number of other extended codes, VT100 quickly became more than just a model number. In the years to come, this terminal’s communication protocol would become a standard that other terminals and terminal emulators would adopt.
VT100 terminals were a big success commercially, and were a frequent fixture in computer labs where they were used to communicate with host computer systems. But aside from their utility, they also had a very charming appearance. The all-in-one design with a built-in CRT and keyboard is just too much for a retro computing enthusiast to resist.
Fortunately, if you want to put a VT100 terminal on your desk, you no longer need to scour eBay or break out your soldering iron to fix up aging hardware. Trevor Flowers has recently built a modern reproduction of the VT100 terminal in miniature. It looks just like the terminals of yesteryear, only at 1:3 scale. And it is not just a decoration — you can use the terminal to connect to modern computer systems to add some retro fun to your work day or weekend hacking.
Flowers has done a lot of work with custom keyboards in the past, so even though it is small, the keyboard promises to be very pleasant to use. The 12-inch CRT of the VT100 has been replaced with a 3.5-inch modern display panel, so it might not be ideal for long periods of use, but should be just fine for some occasional hacking.
The terminal is presently selling for $550, so it does not come cheap. You will also need to do some work if you want to use it as more than a decoration. First and foremost, a single-board computer, such as a Raspberry Pi needs to be installed in the case. There is also some software setup, but Flowers promises to share a HOWTO document that will detail all the steps that need to be taken to get the device up and running. Depending on your choice of single-board computer, you may also need to supply some cables.
These handmade terminals are a bit of a luxury item, but the build quality looks excellent. So if you are looking for something really special to add to your retro computer collection, this miniature VT100 terminal might be just what you need. If you are interested, note that a $75 discount has been applied for a limited time. After that, the full price of the device will be $625.
