CatChat: AWA VTE-6 Terminal
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Description:
AWA VTE-6 Serial Terminal
Serial # 5352
Switch to select serial speeds (300, 1200, 4800 bps)
Power cord missing (chopped off)
Click here or on the image to view this entry in our collection.
Yep, serviced these beasties in the late 80es through to mid 90es.
I have been keeping an eye out for one for my personal collection, but it is good to see most of one is safe.
Interestingly I have found a Thesis by someone called Anthony Wyatt that describes the AWA GTP-6 Processor used in the VTE-6
https://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/bitstreams/f99f081a-175c-4d3c-8caf-f31f942fd120/download
- From page 18 2.2.l History:
"The system CPU, memory and video display were
originally designed for a video terminal, the AWA model
VTE-6 (2). In 1973, when the machine was designed,
commercially available microprocessors (e.g. the INTEL
8080 (3)) were inadequate for the demanding application of
an intelligent editing terminal with communications
protocols, daisy-chain arbitration and contentions.
local printer
The video terminal was designed by AWA engineers
(including the author), and built in large numbers at AWA’s
North Ryde plant in Sydney.
The CPU was implemented in TTL technology on a 450mm
square motherboard, also housing the serial interfaces for
terminal and local printer communications.
Two bus connectors were provided for a character
generator board and a memory board including the terminal
ROM and RAM. A third bus connector for an optional device
was not fitted. While the connector for the character
generator board was dedicated, the other two were general
purpose bus connectors.
The character generator board used a dedicated DMA
channel in the CPU to generate a 24-line by 80-character
display of the 96-character ASCII character set.
The memory board contained 4k bytes of RAM, 9 bits
wide. The ninth bit was originally used for display
attributes (flash) in the video terminal. Again, in the
original terminal, 4k bytes of ROM were fitted, containing
the resident terminal software. Both RAM and ROM had
selectable memory addresses, selected by wire links on the
memory board."
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Great you’ve used this link back in the way it’s intended! Great info!
If you’d ever like to help us put the AWA back together and restore it, reach out!
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Just trying to chase up a chap in Melbourne who said he had a Service manual for these beasties, my one regret back when Telstra restructured Telegraphs and Data, was that I didn’t help myself to the shelf of service manuals we had at Chatswood back in the day.
(Horribly they probably just got binned) I do remember the VTE6 manual had quite a bit of detail in it…
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Alternatively I might try and see if Anthony Wyatt is around, it looks like he at least lived in Sydney…
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There’s always a chance we have the manuals. We have 700 odd file boxes of somewhat sorted manuals and documents
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I worked for a place called Bennett Commercial Electronics in Canberra, in the 1980’s. Bennetts were the AWA agents in Canberra and so a lot of their work was looking after VTE6 terminals as most government departments had them. I have a nice article and some photos from the 1983 elections where VTE6s played an important part in the running of the elections at the tally room. Bennetts still exist as far as I know.
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I would be very interested to see those pictures