Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!wuarchive!udel!haven!mimsy!oasys!dtoa1!galetich
From: galetich@dtoa1.dt.navy.mil (Galetich)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.dec
Subject: Re: Info wanted about VT180
Message-ID: <4580@oasys.dt.navy.mil>
Date: 30 Nov 90 13:49:27 GMT
References: <0bJ_ewH0BwweN1WWhK@transarc.com>
Sender: news@oasys.dt.navy.mil
Reply-To: galetich@dtoa1.dt.navy.mil (Donald Galetich)
Organization: David Taylor Research Center, Bethesda, MD
Lines: 19

In article <0bJ_ewH0BwweN1WWhK@transarc.com> Pat_Barron@TRANSARC.COM writes:
>Through very little effort on my own part, I seem to have acquired a few
>VT180 systems.  They seem to be VT100-AA's with an extra board (which says
>it's a "VT180" board), which connects to a box with dual RX180 floppies
>in it.  When powered up, they select both floppy drives in turn, and then
>identify themselves as "VT18X 1.1", with a date (presumably the date the ROM
>bootstrap was compiled) some time in 1981.  They then present a menu offering
>to boot the system from one of drives A through D, execute self tests, or
>go into terminal mode (making it just behave like a regular VT100, as far as
>I can tell).

The VT180 "Robin" was a Z-80 machine which ran CP/M.  DEC Professional
used to run occasional articles about them a few years ago, but I've
thrown out all my old DEC Professionals.  I believe one of the reasons
for the early demise of the VT180 was the totally unique disk format
on the RX180 floppies.

    Don Galetich, David Taylor Research Center
    galetich@dtoa1.dt.navy.mil