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A comment on IBM mainframe tube module part II: Powering up and using a 1950s key debouncer. Parent comment

Re:IBM mainframe tube module part II: Powering up and using ... by DrScump on Sunday January 14, 2018 @07:34PM (#16147537)
The most striking difference to me as an operator was that the Series 370 console was more than just the terminal/screen. You had switches and lights right out of a sci-fi movie, right down to rotary dials to set the address of the boot device.

With its successor, the 303x, the console was a glorified terminal. (My favorite command there was quiesce[0], where you could bring activity to an orderly freeze without ruining programs in process. I half-expected to hear it sing "Daisy, Daisy" in slowing decrescendo.)

[0] https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/en/SSLTBW_2.3.0/...

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Re:IBM mainframe tube module part II: Powering up and using ... by DrScump on Sunday January 14, 2018 @09:28PM (#16148037)
I've done some image searches (to no avail) hoping to find images showing the distinctive built-in screen and keyboard.

The screen displayed characters using a "font" that I've never seen elsewhere, more resembling characters a human would handprint than a modern fixed font. I was hoping to find images of that. I did at least find a partial image[0] of a S/370 console with the light arrays that triggered my sci-fi comparison above.

[0] https://popesixteen.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/picture-syst...

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Re:IBM mainframe tube module part II: Powering up and using ... by pdw on Monday January 15, 2018 @06:14AM (#16149843)
Is this it? It looks pretty nice. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_System/370_Model_168#/medi...
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Re:IBM mainframe tube module part II: Powering up and using ... by DrScump on Monday January 15, 2018 @10:59PM (#16155707)
No, in these S/370 models, the keyboard was built into the desk and the monitor was embedded in the console/control panel.

That's from memory, which in my case has no parity bits and is vulnerable to a variety of exploits.

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