233:. The TV Typewriter project and kit did not include a keyboard. The unit on the September cover shows a keyboard project Don Lancaster did in the February 1973 issue. This project involved hand crafting 55 key-switches including fabricating the springs for each key-switch. Most hobbyists chose to use a surplus keyboard and modified it to produce ASCII codes. Don Lancaster's prototype TV Typewriter which is now on display at the
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The article appeared in the
September 1973 issue. In addition to the six-page article, they also offered to ship out a larger 16-page version with complete layout plans for a mail-in fee of $ 2. Given its limited functionality, they initially estimated that the magazine would sell about 20 copies of
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The original TV Typewriter was difficult to assemble and some of the ICs were going out of production so
Southwest Technical Products decided to redesign the kit. The replacement was featured in Radio Electronics as the TV Typewriter II. This time readers did not have to order a set of plans, since
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In the
November issue, the editors apologized for the delays in shipping the TV Typewriter booklets to the thousands of readers that ordered them. They also listed electronics parts sources for the difficult to find components. Don Lancaster also answered a series of reader questions and gave ideas
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The design was finished by late 1974 and the kits were ready for sale by
December 1974. The first advertisement for the CT-1024 appeared in the January 1975 issue of Popular Electronics on the page facing the Altair 8800 computer article. The CT-1024 was very successful because a complete kit with
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on terminal design, to design the new TV Typewriter. The SWTPC CT-1024 Terminal displayed 32 characters by 16 lines without scrolling. It used common TTL parts and 2102 static RAMs. The boards were laid out with very loose part spacing and wide traces to make it easy to assemble. A complete set of
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Today keyboards are readily available and inexpensive, and they have a standard interface. In 1973, new keyboards were only available to computer and terminal manufacturers. Surplus keyboards were available to hobbyists but they often produced codes other than
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for additional functions and uses for the TV Typewriter. The
December issue had a page of corrections for the TV Typewriter booklet. Both of the notices were included in later printings of the booklet.
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has a surplus keyboard with an ASCII encoder circuit that was published in the
February 1974 issue of Radio-Electronics. The plans for this encoder were also included in the TV Typewriter booklet
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memory. Much of the circuitry was involved in timing the output of the analog generator with the memory, which had to be shifted bit-at-a-time to the output. On-screen text was generated by the
592:"A giant step toward the realization of the personal-computer dream happened in 1973, when Radio Electronics published an article by Don Lancaster that described a 'TV Typewriter'."
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This book guided many hobbyist and professionals in designing video displays for home computer systems. The cassette interface design from chapter 7 was the basis for the
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The compact design and complex circuitry made the TV Typewriter a challenging project for hobbyists. But many finished the project and some even connected it to their
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The original TV Typewriter book cover shows an ASCII keyboard designed by Don
Lancaster and sold by Southwest Technical Products. An early computer store chain, the
243:(April 1974) featured a complete keyboard kit designed by Don Lancaster and available from Southwest Technical Products for $ 39.50. The first version used simple
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option boards was offered including a serial interface. The keyboard was based on Don
Lancaster’s design. The rest of the terminal was done by Ed Colle.
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The full page advertisement, "SWTPC is Proud to
Announce the CT-1024 Terminal System", appeared on page 32. The Altair 8800 article started on page 33.
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magazines. The video project gave Don the inspiration for his most influential project, a low cost video terminal known as the TV Typewriter.
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The magazine included a 6-page description of the design but readers could send off for a 16-page package of construction details.
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Sometimes the term was used generically for any interactive computer display on a screen; until CRT displays were developed, the
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and his TV Typewriter
Cookbook. A serial interface board designed by Roger Smith was published in the February 1975 issue of
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each. Instead, they were flooded by requests and eventually sent out 10,000 copies. With professional terminals costing over
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309:. It was replaced in 1977 by the improved CT-64 that offered scrolling and 64 characters per line of upper and lower case.
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designing a high resolution video display for the military. Don was also a prolific author of hobbyist projects for
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was available and the design was soon obsolete. Don had made many design improvements and published them as the
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computers. The original TV Typewriter design did not include a serial interface, modem connection, or offline
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439:. The book was a guide on how to design a video computer terminal, divided into the following chapters:
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ICs to decode the key matrix. The design was soon improved to use a full featured keyboard encoder IC.
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is a video terminal that could display two pages of 16 lines of 32 upper case characters on a standard
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sold thousands of copies for $ 2.00 each. The TV Typewriter is considered a milestone in the
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624:"One influential project was the TV-Typewriter, designed by Don Lancaster and published in
1084:. Vol. 46, no. 11. New York: Gernsback Publications. pp. 61–63, 86, 87, 90.
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1066:. Vol. 46, no. 4. New York: Gernsback Publications. pp. 61–63, 86, 87, 90.
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has 6 pages of user modifications and interface designs to connect the TV Typewriter to
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1075:. Vol. 46, no. 9. New York: Gernsback Publications. pp. 56, 57, 76, 77.
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1093:. Vol. 47, no. 4. New York: Gernsback Publications. pp. 60–62, 80, 81.
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1005:. Vol. 45, no. 2. New York: Gernsback Publications. pp. 59–61, 92–96.
960:. Vol. 44, no. 2. New York: Gernsback Publications. pp. 54–57, 87–88.
783:. Vol. 45, no. 2. New York: Gernsback Publications. pp. 59–61, 92–96.
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Has video software written in 6502 assembly language for the KIM-1 microcomputer.
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Lancaster, Don (July 1977). "Build the TVT-6: A Low Cost Direct Video Display".
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1128:. Vol. 12, no. p. 4. New York: Ziff-Davis Publishing. pp. 49–52.
996:. Vol. 44, no. 12. New York: Gernsback Publications. pp. 16, 22.
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Roberts, H. Edward; William Yates (January 1975). "Altair 8800 minicomputer".
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1171:. Vol. 1, no. 4. Peterborough NH: Green Publishing. pp. 64–69.
1162:. Vol. 1, no. 3. Peterborough NH: Green Publishing. pp. 12–17.
1153:. Vol. 1, no. 2. Peterborough NH: Green Publishing. pp. 20–33.
1144:. Vol. 1, no. 1. Peterborough NH: Green Publishing. pp. 22–37.
1057:. Vol. 46, no. 3. New York: Gernsback Publications. pp. 56–58.
1048:. Vol. 46, no. 2. New York: Gernsback Publications. pp. 27–30.
1032:. Vol. 46, no. 2. New York: Gernsback Publications. pp. 51–53.
978:. Vol. 44, no. 9. New York: Gernsback Publications. pp. 43–52.
969:. Vol. 44, no. 4. New York: Gernsback Publications. pp. 55–59.
1118:. Vol. 12, no. 2. New York: Ziff-Davis Publishing. pp. 49–54.
1109:. Vol. 12, no. 1. New York: Ziff-Davis Publishing. pp. 47–52.
475:. The circuits in this book did not rely on a microprocessor, just TTL. The
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1023:. Vol. 5, no. 2. New York: Ziff-Davis Publishing. pp. 27–31.
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By 1975, Don Lancaster had written over 100 articles in magazines such as
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1014:. Vol. 45, no. 3. New York: Gernsback Publications. p. 86.
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the complete design was published in 6 issues starting in February 1975.
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Lancaster, Don (November 1975). "The In and Outs of Volatile Memories".
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Lancaster, Don (October 1977). "Hex to ASCII Converter for Your TVT-6".
282:. The hobbyist had to acquire the rest of the components on their own.
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Colle, Ed (November 1975). "TV Typewriter II Manual Cursor Board".
749:. Vol. 46, no. 2. Gernsback Publications. pp. 51–53.
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Colle, Ed (September 1975). "TV Typewriter II Screen-read Board".
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Smith, Roger (February 1975). "UART and Modem for TV Typewriter".
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Smith, Roger (February 1975). "UART and Modem for TV Typewriter".
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Singer, Hal, ed. (April 15, 1975). "Modifications for the TVT-1".
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424:. This book was in print for 20 years and sold a million copies.
193:. Don Lancaster wrote about these in the September 1975 issue of
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Lancaster, Don (February 1974). "Build Improved ASCII Encoder".
813:. Vol. 7, no. 1. New York: Ziff-Davis. pp. 33–38.
779:
Lancaster, Don (February 1974). "Build Improved ASCII Encoder".
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Lancaster, Don (December 1975). "Read Only Memory Technology".
696:(11). New York: Gernsback Publications: 16, 22. November 1973.
498:, had the publisher add their logo to the covers and sold the
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Lancaster, Don (December 1973). "TV Typewriter Corrections".
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Lancaster, Don (December 1973). "TV Typewriter Corrections".
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stores. The ninth printing of the first edition was in 1983.
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in 1976. Portions had been serialized in the first issues of
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Built in the era before widespread availability of low-cost
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Lancaster, Don (April 1974). "ASCII Keyboard and Encoder".
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Lancaster, Don (April 1974). "ASCII Keyboard and Encoder".
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Lancaster, Don (August 1977). "Build the TVT-6: Part II".
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in their stores. A later edition cover was designed for
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The original TV Typewriter was designed before low cost
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got their start selling sets of bare circuit boards for
1149:
Lancaster, Don (October 1975). "Television Interface".
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Colle, Ed (April 1976). "Serial Interface For TVT II".
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Lancaster, Don (April 1973). "ASCII Keyboard Encoder".
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Fire in the Valley: The Making of the Personal Computer
408:. He had also written a digital design book titled the
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Lancaster, Don (February 1973). "Low-Cost Keyboards".
798:. Vol. 5, no. 2. Ziff Davis. pp. 27–31.
760:
Lancaster, Don (February 1973). "Low-Cost Keyboards".
416:(RTL) was an early IC technology that was replaced by
1140:
Lancaster, Don (September 1975). "Serial Interface".
768:(2). New York: Gernsback Publications: 54–57, 87, 88.
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Colle, Ed (April 1975). "TV Typewriter II, Part 3".
1053:
Colle, Ed (March 1975). "TV Typewriter II, Part 2".
934:(First ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Howard W. Sams.
894:(First ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Howard W. Sams.
875:(First ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Howard W. Sams.
854:(First ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Howard W. Sams.
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Don Lancaster's $ 40 Keyboard kit produced by SWTPC.
479:(1978) showed the TVT 6 5/8 that would work with a
1134:TV Typewriter Cookbook serialized in BYTE magazine
974:Lancaster, Don (September 1973). "TV Typewriter".
544:Lancaster, Don (September 1973). "TV Typewriter".
734:(6). Lompoc, CA: Cabrillo Computer Center: 27–33.
296:enlisted Ed Colle, an engineer who had worked at
1044:Colle, Ed (February 1975). "TV Typewriter II".
715:(12). New York: Gernsback Publications: 16, 22.
487:microprocessor. The design was targeted at the
452:"System Timing – Calculation and Circuits"
658:(9). New York: Gernsback Publications: 43–52.
552:(9). New York: Gernsback Publications: 43–52.
520:History of computing hardware (1960s–present)
177:based computers. The April 1975 issue of the
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1010:Garlan, Herman (March 1974). "FCC Warning".
278:and the eight major integrated circuits for
353:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
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373:Learn how and when to remove this message
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84:Don Lancaster's prototype TV Typewriter
728:Micro-8 Computer User Group Newsletter
673:sfn error: no target: CITEREFSocial (
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983:"TV Typewriter Notes and Comments".
925:from the original on March 28, 2022.
688:"TV Typewriter Notes and Comments".
608:. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. p.
351:adding citations to reliable sources
24:shows Don Lancaster's TV typewriter
835:Radio-Electronics; September 1973.
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576:. New York: McGraw-Hill. pp.
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641:Lancaster, Don (September 1973).
446:"Integrated Circuits for TVT Use"
104:Don Lancaster was an engineer at
1038:Construction articles for TVT II
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100:The Signetics 2513 character set
72:was the standard output medium.
1099:Construction articles for TVT-6
950:Construction articles for TVT I
467:"Hard Copy and Color Graphics"
420:, so in 1974 he published the
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1189:Don Lancaster's autobiography
1184:Don Lancaster's TV Typewriter
605:A History of Modern Computing
259:CT-1024 Terminal with monitor
191:data storage on cassette tape
455:"Cursor and Update Circuits"
272:Southwest Technical Products
92:Hobbyist built TV Typewriter
46:magazine in September 1973.
20:The September 1973 issue of
1209:Character-oriented terminal
166:kit looked like a bargain.
40:, appeared on the cover of
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57:revolution along with the
602:Ceruzzi, Paul E. (2003).
414:Resistor–transistor logic
389:Cover of Don Lancaster's
932:The Cheap Video Cookbook
458:"Keyboards and Encoders"
930:Lancaster, Don (1978).
890:Lancaster, Don (1976).
869:Lancaster, Don (1974).
477:TV Cheap Video Cookbook
464:"Television Interfaces"
267:CT-1024 Terminal System
235:Computer History Museum
133:small-scale integration
912:TV Typewriter Cookbook
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347:improve this section
1126:Popular Electronics
1116:Popular Electronics
1107:Popular Electronics
1021:Popular Electronics
811:Popular Electronics
796:Popular Electronics
628:in September 1973."
461:"Serial Interfaces"
399:Popular Electronics
241:Popular Electronics
148:character generator
146:, one of the first
111:Popular Electronics
918:(Third ed.).
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345:Please help
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290:Daniel Meyer
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508:Radio Shack
136:TTL digital
70:teleprinter
65:computers.
63:Altair 8800
1198:Categories
531:References
363:April 2023
225:, such as
175:Intel 8008
138:logic and
496:Byte Shop
412:in 1968.
334:does not
298:Datapoint
208:Keyboards
920:Archived
850:(1969).
829:Magazine
570:(2000).
514:See also
502:and the
449:"Memory"
198:magazine
355:removed
340:sources
280:$ 49.50
160:$ 1,000
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669:Social
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231:EBCDIC
227:Baudot
187:SCELBI
183:Mark-8
59:Mark-8
923:(PDF)
916:(PDF)
841:Books
646:(PDF)
578:35–36
489:KIM-1
307:$ 275
294:SWTPC
223:ASCII
164:$ 120
162:this
1169:BYTE
1160:BYTE
1151:BYTE
1142:BYTE
936:ISBN
896:ISBN
877:ISBN
856:ISBN
675:help
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485:6800
481:6502
402:and
338:any
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276:$ 27
196:BYTE
156:$ 20
114:and
61:and
28:The
610:226
483:or
429:RAM
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349:by
292:of
245:RTL
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