[vcf-midatlantic] Is a TRS-80 Videotex Terminal functionally usable?

[Joseph Giliberti]

I'm pretty sure the DIN connector you'd have on the back of a CoCo is
RS-232. The connector on this comes out of an internal 300 baud modem to
connect directly to the PSTN.

I'd be curious as to how much of the CoCo is built into the terminal, but
is inaccessible because there's no provision for the connector and nothing
in ROM to make it work.




If

On Fri, Feb 18, 2022, 11:25 AM Dave Shevett via vcf-midatlantic <
vcf-midatlantic at lists.vcfed.org> wrote:

> Yep - check out that video i linked.  It's tricky because the text
> resolution is 32x15.  Not exactly a standard.
>
>  -d
>
> On Fri, Feb 18, 2022 at 11:20 AM Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic
> <vcf-midatlantic at lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
> >
> >
> >    Hey there Dave.  So it will actually speak plan ASCII without
> > starting up the NAPLPS protocol, to make a (pretty crappy) plain
> terminal?
> >
> >             -Dave
> >
> > On 2/18/22 11:18, Dave Shevett via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
> > > It looks like you can dial up with straight ASCII communication
> > > directly over the serial port (which'll require a DIN to RS232 cable).
> > >
> > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_rkEoQ803k
> > >
> > > There's an online BBS that the folks on /r/retrobattlestations use for
> > > testing / dialup access like this, you should be able to connect to it
> > > and chat with the world :)
> > >
> > > https://bbs.fozztexx.com/
> > >
> > > Getting 'videotex' working will be challenging, I don't know of an
> > > existing provider that will give you that experience.
> > >
> > > On Fri, Feb 18, 2022 at 11:10 AM Joseph Giliberti via vcf-midatlantic
> > > <vcf-midatlantic at lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
> > >>
> > >> Greetings!
> > >>
> > >> A friend of mine has a TRS-80 Videotex Terminal, which seems to be a
> very
> > >> limited CoCo1, intended solely for use with dial-up services which no
> > >> longer exist.
> > >> Other than being a display piece, is there any way of actually using
> it?
> > >> Could it dial in to a modem BBS?
> > >>
> > >> Thanks!
> > >> Joe Giliberti
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
> > New Kensington, PA
>
>
>
> --
> Dave Shevett
> shevett at pobox.com
>