It's a super sales promoter, either lo­ To make things easier, you can get a

cally or on a store-wide basis. It's easily complete copy of the entire story that in­
converted to a title machine for a video cludes additional design information, how it
recorder. It's a message generator or "an­ works, PC patterns, construction details, etc.
swer back" unit for advanced two-way DO NOT AITEMPT CONSTRUCTION
cable TV systems. Tied to a cassette WITHOUT THIS ADDITIONAL INFOR­
recorder, it's an electronic notebook and MATION!
study aid, or a custom catalog. It's an an­ Construction is done in stages. Once
nunciator for plant, schools, and hospitals each stage is tested, it is safe to go into the
that tells not only that someone is needed, next, progressively working up to a com­
but why and where. plete unit. The basic machine we'll show
And, if all that isn't enough, it's easy you works from a keyboard or a set of six
to convert into a 12- or 16-place electronic switches and a pushbutton. Thanks to the
calculator. You can also make a clock out plug-in construction, low-cost add-on circuit
of it, and, with ex.tensive modification, you boards can let you talk to a computer or a
can even make a 32-register, l6-place serial cassette recorder, or adapt the unit for 12-
digital computer out of the beast! place calculation. These add-ons will be
Cost of the project'? Around S120 for picked up later if enough readers seem in­
the basic unit. This is slightly under two terested. They're not needed for most of
month's nonnal rental of commercial units the possible applications of this TV Type­
that don't do nearly as much, and less than writer.
1/10 the cost of anything commercial you
could buy to do the same job. And we feel Specs of the unit
that this cost is finally low enough that a Complete specs appear in Table l. The
lot of new uses are now not only poSSible, basic device generates and stores 512 char­
but reasonable as well. acters, arranged as sixteen lines of 32 char­
The low cost comes about by using the acters each. A second page of characters is
latest available semiconductors, leaving the easily added internally to bring the total up
keyboard and case as ftex.ible options, and to 1024 characters. For more storage, a
working in kit fonn. C90 cassette can store well over a hundred
Printed-circuit boards and complete pages, so the total capability is quite large.
kits are readily available as are any special The characters available are standard
or hard-to-get-normally parts. A limited ASCII ones that include the capital letters,
quantity of high-quality keyboards are also numerals, and most punctuation.
available from the same source. This is not The TV Typewriter is self-powered and
the sort of thing you'd want to try as a first contains its own miniature TV transmitter
electronic project, but if you are wiUing to which simply clips onto the antenna tenni­
slowly and methodically work things out nals of an unmodified TV tuned to an
and carefully reason out any debugging unused channel. Several TV's may be
problems, you shouldn't have an unreason­ driven simultaneously, and a direct video
able amount of trouble getting the thing to output is also available for industrial and
work. Once you're past a certain stage early experimental uses. \y"hile any TV can be
in the construction, the TV set itself be­ "borrowed" and used with the typewriter,
comes a self-testing display that greatly sim­ small, high.quality portables give the nicest
plifies debugging. presentation, and Slight size and position

HOW TYPEWRITER ELECTRONICS IS ASSEMBLED within the cue. The Umlng, cUrior and
memory board. plug Into the mainframe and each other, cordwood fa.hlon.

2 RADIO-ELECTRONICS
 adjustmenl" can further help the appear­
ance, although they are nOI neeJed.
The characters are added one at a time
and normally go on the screen JU�I like you
were typing. This is done b)' pr�widing the
proper ASCii character code on seven in­
put lines �nd tripping an c:ighth "key
pressed" line to enter the character. A
winking cursor tells you whelC: the next
character is to go, bUI you can [urn this otf
if you want to. Should the screen get filled,
the machine starts over again on the top.
rewriting over the old message.
A SURPLUS KEYBOARD Is used Besides the normal openitloll you have
In this version of the TV typ. a complete editing capability. You can
writer. Unl! on cover has a home­ move the cursor either direction anywhere
made keyboard baled on the a,­
you want and then change only the charac­
Ucle In the February Issue.
ters or words you wish to, thu.. edIting
something you already have on the screen.
TABLE I This nicely handles mistakes without having
to stan over again. A REPEAT key is avail­
COMPLETE SPECIFICATIONS-TV TYPEWRITER able for putting down a group of identicaJ
characters or getting to a given position in
STORAGE: 1024 Characters arranged as 2 pages of 16 lines of 32 charac­ a hurry. There's a KEEP-CHANGE switch to
ters each. protect what you have written while you
are moving around, and you can home the
OUTPUTS: Rf Output tuneable from channel 2 through 5; clips directly to cursor to the upper left either by itself or
the antenna terminals of one or more unmodified television sets. erasing the whole picture on the way. Other
Optional positive-white video output. switches control the direction the cursor
goes, which page is being displayed, and
INPUTS: Parallel, TTL compatible, ASCII character code (Table II) is in­ optionally whether the mode will be a full
put with positive logic on six lines; a seventh keypressed line is screen one for typewriter use or a line scan
suddenly brought to ground to input character, Internal de­ one for calculator use.
bouncing. The full 8-bit ASCII code may also be used as an in­ Computer people would call this a par­
put. If done, any CTRL input will be interpreted as a combined allel input system with off-line editing. A
CAAAIAGE RETURN and LINE FEED, CTRL output available for code Single machine command is available; this
extension. is the UNE FEED. Thus, any CTRL key moves
you down a line. Other remote commands
FORMAT: Begins in upper left HOME position and proceeds as in normal are easily added, but were left off to hold
typing. Carriage return and linefeed automatic at end of line. At the cost down. The contents of the memory
bottom of screen, jumps to upper left HOME position and re­ can be retransmitted with slmple circuit
writes over old text. modifications, and the whole system is bus­
oriented to allow all sorts of add-ons with­
EDITING: Winking cursor indicates next character position. Cursor may be out major circuit rework.
blanked and may be independently moved in any direction with Character input rate is asynchronous
or without changing text. One or more letters may be easily and up to 30 characters per second, thus
changed at any time. making the beast three limes faster and
compatible with the industry standard
TIMEBASE: Internal, crystal controlled TTL divider. Basic video clocking ASR·33 teletype. Hard copy is via cassette
rate = 4.562 MHz. 15,840 kHz noninterlaced horizontal scan recorder or Poloroidr photos.
rate; 60-Hz vertical scan rate. Easily converted to full interlace
for Video Recorder titling applications. Organization 01 the Instrument
To keep things as simple as possible,
MEMORY: 512 word by 6 bit MOS dynamic storage, bus orientAd for easy the circuit is arranged like :l set of snap-to­
page conversion, optional memory output, and optional exten­ gether blocks. This way, the only inter­
sion to calculator, computer, and other functions. connect wiring consists of the line cord and
the 300-ohm twinlead output. Since the in­
CONTROLS: Internal: Rf frequency (trimmer capacitor) terconnect wiring is locked into the board
and 6O-pin connector system. the biggest
Position-(Jumpers-4 horiz; 3 vert for 12 possible lo­ single headache and potential error source
cations.) is eliminated.
Fig 1 shows the h:'lsic blocks. The
.

EXTERNAL: ON-OFF MAINFR:AME contains a power supply of

PAGE OR LINE SCAN + 12, +5, 5, and
- 12 volts; the control
-

KEEP-CHANGE memory protect switches; the rf modulator; the internal test

A or B page select system; and connectors for both the key­
REPEAT or SINGLE character board and the other boards in the stack.
HOME or RUN cursor location There are three other essential boards.
CURSOR ON-OFF The MEMORY board is the most imponant
ADD-SUBTRACT cursor direction and the most complex. II contains a dy­
namic MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor)
CONSTRUCTION; Modular mother-daughter boards. Mother board contains power shift register that stores S 12 words of 6 bits
supply, rf modulator, and control switches. Timing board, cursor each. It also holds a Single-line memory; a
board and one or two memory boards snap on as a stack. Add­ character generator; and an output video
cns such as calculator and MODEM FSK unit snap onto same register. We'll see later that the single-line
stack: not included in basic unit. 33 integrated circuits, of which memo,) is needed to get each character
8 are MOS LS1. back eight times in sequence for eight suc­
cessive TV scans.
SIZE. 7"x8'h"x3", not including keyboard or case. For a page-A memory. you need all of

RADIO-ELECTRONICS 3
this board. The additional page-B memory In normal operation, each character Of course, this computer-add-on is
does not need a new single-line memory, entry moves the cursor over one character. very much an advanced experimenter
character generator, and output video regis­ When it gets to the end of the line, it starts project, but it really doesn't take much
ter, as it can borrow the one in the page-A again on the next line. When it gets to the mOre tl)an a double handful of TIL to pull
memory when the second page is in use. bottom of the page, it starts again at the it off. While such a computer wiD be rela­
This is called bus organization. The charac­ top. A CLEAR or HOME override also moves tively slow (around a 33-ms cycle time), it
ter generator will respond to anything that tbe cursor to the upper lefthand poSition. does provide an extremely accurate and
is enable� on th� bus, be it page-A And, this is about 311 you need for a "ery low cost computer approach, partic­
memory, page-B r.:�mory, a calculator add­ normal parallel entry type of TV typewriter. ularly when you are working directly with
on, or whatever. Of course, we have to be One possible optional board is a MODEM or BCD numbers instead of binary.
careful to onl} enable one possible source frequency-shirt-keying interface. This would
of characters at a time, but this is easy. We use a MOS chip and some TIL to convert Some basics
can also use the bus optionally to output to or from a serial tone input, suitable for Before we turn to the actual circuitry,
characters to the outside world. computer or telephone line communication. some basics of what a character is and how
The output of the memory board also A cassette recorder will work just as well it can get on a TV screen is in order. Lets
contains a video combiner that assembles with the modem for electronic notebook start with the characters:
the character video, sync signals, and the use. If we had six possible binary bits of ei­
internal test signal into one composite video Another possible add-on makes the ther I or 0, we would have sixty-four dif­
output. This output may either be used typewriter into a calculator. This is done by ferent possible combinations ranging from
directly or routed to the rf modulator for converting the scan from a complete frame {)()(XX)(), 00000 1 , 000010, . through to
clip-on operation of an unmodified TV. It to a single line of numerals and would use 111110 and finally 111111. These 64 differ­
can be optionally flashed or blinked. a surplus calculator chip to provide the fa­ ent states can represent 311 the capital let­
The TIMING board contains a crystal miliar c31culator functions. If you already ters, 311 the numbers, a blank, and most
divider and TTL (Transistor Transistor have or need the TV typewriter for some­ punctuation, following the standard ASCII
Logic) countdown chain that generates all thing else, this add-on is far cheaper than a code. In the TV Typewriter, all of the six
the needed signals to run the typewriter in conventional calculator would be, and its bits of this code must be presented at once
proper sequence. It does not normally use display would be obviOUSly larger and more or in parallel form, and thls is the only
interlace, but the timing chain is split so readible. code the circuitry shown can use. Other
that the somewhat more complex TV full­ Or, you can add most anything else codes can be converted to ASCII before
interlace system can be added if you need you want onto the machine by tieing into going into the TV Typewriter. A seventh bit
this sort of thing for video titling. There are the bus-oriented lines (b1 through b6). For is used to separate characters from internal
two principal areas to the timing board, the instance you can think of the memory as commands.
MAIN timing. and the DERIVED timing. The sixteen registers of 32 numbers each, and Our final presented character consists
main timing is the continuous waveforms those numbers are decimal numbers plus, of an array of 5 x 7 dots. Since it only
obtained off the cry.stal divider, while the not bits! With six bits per word, you can takes 6 bits to store a coded character and
derived outputs combine portions of the store 10 possible numerals and 54 machine at least 35 bits to store a generated one, its
main timing signals into properly coded sig­ com�ands in any word! Or, you can split obviously much better and cheaper to gen­
nals needed to run the rest of the type­ the registers into 32 registers of 16 decim31 erate the characters after they are stored,
writer. Two examples are the composite numbers each, building your own computer rather than before.
sync signal and a blinker used for flashing, or programmable calculator. For other keyboards and encoders, the

CURSOR VIDEO OUTPUT 9-12

cursor winking, and repeat functions.

1C14 "b INHIBIT CLOCK LOAD BLANK

•

R40-
The third essential board is a CURSOR
board. Anyone who ever lried to design
and debug a simple one of these will easily
10. 1
• -t5V�
-+5V
0
R42
2.2K
28
GROUND
-NO
47
C � 21

+5V �51
understand why it is called a cursor board.
-12V CURSOR 100
�
Anyway, the cursor keeps track of where

R37 R38
R39
the next character is to go; runs the wink­
47< 1< 2.2K
ICS
=

+5V
ing line that shows the character position;
controls entry of the character; and option­
TOP VIEW
2518
IC10
LIN�ER
ally sets up characters for output It also
109
contains an input conditioner, and deboun­
TOP VIEW TOP VIEW
2513 74165
-5V
cH'A1fAC'fE R
cer and a detector for CTRL commands that
+5V REGISTER
GENERATOR
tells the typewriter to carriage return rather 0iJ'mJT

13 1 +5V
16 12 16
NC
than enter a character.
+5 -5 +5
15 14 11 15
rOAD
31 ENABLE INH
Many cursor systems are extremely

14 5 10
� 14
21 1 a2 OND E D
complex. This one is relatively simple in 81 CLOCK

13 16 ., 9 4 13
11 NC F C
that it uses a phase-shift counting technique.
12 17 8 5 12
01 a4 05 0 8
11 18 6 11
The cursor has a continuously running
02 a5 04 H A
10 19 6 7 10
counter just like the main timing chain 7

03 OUT IN
9 20 , 5 8 9
does. Its output drops suddenly in some
04 7 02 OUT
. . 03

21 4
a8 01
relalive position, indkating where the next

22 9 3
;1 NC
character is to go.
R34 R45- 23 2
NC NC
To back the cursor up, we throw in
2200 R50 24 1
+5 -12
another count pulse. To run it forward, we
6.8<
= =
hold back one norm31 counl pulse. Thus, ........�
R33 +-< R43
2.2K -12V
the re/ative position or phase of the cursor
2.2K
+5V
counter advances or backs up with respect
+5V 43
r-r�� ::�
�� ��
to the system timing. Actually, to go for­
ward, we hold back two norm31 system tim­ 17 18 R44 R51 FLASH
-(
LINE 1 LINE 2.2K (OPTIONAL)
__

TRANSFER CLOCK ICll

ing pulses and throw in a new one. Thjs 330n ��¥"f"��"¥Cf1
+5V
buys us a simplification of circuitry, but
19
TOP VIEW
still ends up with the same result. 7401
SELF TEST VIDEO
COMBINER
An ADD-SUBTRACT switch on the main­
frame controls the cursor direction for edit· +5Vo-- ,...
-"v'\ � ..
ing. LINEFEED is handled by adding and re· R36
4700
moving the proper number of counts in the
proper position in the cursor counter so vlgG� 20
that the new position is reached. Just like
most typewriters, the linefeed always re­ FlO. 2-SCHEMATIC OF THE CHARACTER GENERATOR. the u.. of Integrated circuits greatly
turns to the lefthand side. reduc.. circuli complexity and makea poaslbte a very compact device.

4 RADIO-ELECTRONICS
 Since line No. I is supposed to be all
blanks, the character generalor is told this PARTS LIST
and we get all blanks, except possibly ror a
brier cursor winking bar. MAINFRAME C14-0.1-J.(F disc ceramic
On the second scan line, we ag ain Cl-5000-IlF 10-V electrolytic IC8-2518 MOS hex 32-bit reCirculating regis­
C2, C3-1000-IlF 25-V electrolytic ter (Signetics)
clock the line register 32 times, letting it go
C4-100-IlF 6-V electrOlytic IC9-2513 character generator, MOS (Signet-
once around. The main memory just waits.
C5, C7-470-pF disc for vhf bypassing lcs)
This time, the character generator is told to
C6-3-30 pF trimmer IC10-74165 TIL 8-bit PISO register
work on line No. 2 and please put down C8-27-pF mica IC11-7401 TTL open collector NAND gate
the lOp row or dots on each character. For C9-47-pF mica A34-220 ohms
instance, ir a ';T" comes up, we get five Cl0-Gimmick attenuator mC}de of twin lead A33, A35, A38, R40 to A42, A43, R44-2200
''I's'' in a row. An "S" would be 01110 and Dl to D6 ...... � or equal 1 Nt,.(.h.n. ohms
so on. As the TV scans across, each top D7-12-V, l-W Zener, lN4742 or equal A27 to A32, A4S to A50-6800 ohms
D8-6.8-V, l-W Zener, lN4736 or equal A36-470 ohms
row or dots ror each rollowing character is
D9-5.1-V, l-W Zener, lN4734 or equal A37-47,000 ohms
put down.
Dl0 to D14-1N914 or equal ASl-330 ohms
On the next pass, we again clock the
Fl-I -A fuse and fuseholder MISC: PC Board, 4'12" x 6'12"; =24 wire jump­
line register 32 times. This time, the second ICl-7aOS regulator (Fairchild or Motorola) ers; Sleeving; PC Terminals (Optional-2),
row or dots gets output, with a "T" being a Jl, J2-Binding posts, one yellow, one black Solder.
00100 and an "S" being J(XX>I , and so on. (S way)
Lines No.4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 are handled the Ll-Coil made from 4" Of No. 14 solid wire TIMING BOARD
same way, with the character generator 01-2N918 transistor in metal can, do not Cl to C4-01-pF 10-V disc ceramic

working on the line it is told to and the

substitute! C5, C6-16D-pF mica
AI, A2-47 ohms, 'hoW C7-0.001-IlF disc ceramic
line register going once around ror each
A3-22 ohms, II4_W C8-100-IlF 6-V electrolytic
line. By the end or the eighth line we have
A4, A9, A10-2200 ohms, '!.-W C9-33-p.F 6-V electrolytic
put down all the dots we need ror a line of A7-4700 ohms, '!.-W IC1-MC4024 dual astable (Motorola)
32 complete dot-matrix characters. The cir­ A8-470 ohms, IJ.-W IC2, IC3,IC5-8288 divide by 12 (Signetics)
cuitry is blanked ror the next rour scan S 1, S2, S3, S4, S7, S8-dpdl rocker switch IC4-7473 dual J K, TTL
lines, providing us with a space between SS to S6-dpdt rocker switch, momentary IC6-8288
character lines. spring return IC7, IC8-7432 quad OR gate, TTL
SOl to S06-connector, Molex 09-S2-3103 IC9, IC12-7402 quad NOA gate, TTL
On line No. 13 (a new line" I"), our
S07 -TV lead-in connector IC10,IC11-7410
main character memory is once again
Tt-Power transformer, dual 12-V center PI to P60-Pins to fit Molex 09-52-3103 con -
clocked 32 times and the line register is si­
tapped secondaries, 1.5-A. Signal 24-1A or nector
multaneously clocked. This fills up the line equal Al-330 ohms VO-W
register with a new set or 32 characters. MISC:-PC Board, 83J. x 63J.; mounting brack­ A2, A3-220 ohms, *h-W
The same operation repeats ror each of the ets and hardware (6); switch mounting hard­ A4-2200 ohms, V.-W
sixteen rows or characters that we want to ware (8 sets); line cord and cable clamp; SOl to S06-Molex 09-S2-3103 socket
put down. hardware for T1; vertical heat sink for ICI; XTAL 1-4561, 920-kHz series-resonant crystal
No. 24 jumper wire; sleeving; No. 14 wire for MISC: PC Board, 4'12" x 6112": #24 solid wire
Notice that the timing runs in bursts
L1; fuse clips and hardware, 30D-ohm twin­ jumpers; Sleeving; PC Terminals (optional-
and is not continuous. Thus, the line regis­
lead, 18"; PC terminals, optional-2; solder. 21): solder.
ter runs for 32 counts and waits 16 for re­
trace and so on. The memory does the MEMORY BOARD CURSOR
same thing, but only on every twelfth line Note: Each system needs one "Memory CI-1200-pF mica
during the active scan. Carefully established A" board. Memory "B" boards are optional. C2-4300-pF mica
internal timing delays take care of settling These parts are needed for either a Page A or C3-620-pF mica
times between memory. line register, char­ a Page B memory: C4-6200-pF mica
acter generator, and the final video gener­ C1, C3, C5, C7-100-J.(F 15-V electrolytic C5-100O-pF mica
C2, C4, C6, C8, C9, Cl0, Cl1-0.1-J.(F disc ce- C6 to C9, C12 to C15-0.l-J.(F disc ceramic
ating output register. The output register
ramic C 10-1OO-J.(F 6-V electrolytic
converts the five parallel outputs of the
01,04, OS,06-1N914 or equal Cll, 16-10-pF 6-V electrolytic
character generator into serial, high speed 02, D3, D7-1N4001 or equal ICl-740a quad AND gate, TTL
video. ICl to IC 6-2524 MOS 512-bit recirculating IC2, IC4-74197 or 74177 or 8281 or 8291 di-
shift register (Signetics) vide by 16 TIL
About the memory bus IC7-7406 hex driver, TTL IC3-7473 dual JK TTL
So far, we've assumed that we were us­ Pl to P60-Connector pins to fit Molex 09-52- IC5, IC6-7402 quad NOA gate TTL
ing the page-A memory with the page-A 3103 connectors IC7-7474 dual0 flip-flOp, TTL
01,02-2NS139 IC8-7400 quad NAND gate, TTL
character generator. Thanks to the memory
All resistors If.-W carbon IC9-555 timer, Signetics
bus ( b l through b6) we can connect any­
Al to A6, A25-2200 ohms PI to P60-pins 10 fit Molex 09-52-3103 con-
thing we like to the character generator, in­ R7, R8, AI5-2.7 ohms nector
cluding the page-A memory. the page-B A9, A23-10,OOO ohms 01-2N5129
memory, or anything else we want to hang Al0, A12-22 ohms Al, AS, R8, A13,A16, A21-1000 ohms, '!.-W
on these lines. All, R13-4700 ohms A2, R3, R4, A6, R7, R9, All, A14, R17, Rl8,
To run page-B, we simply disable the A14, A18, A19, A20-1S0 ohms A22-2200 ohms, I!._W
page-A memory and enable the page-B A16, A17-tOO ohms A10, A19-330 ohms, '!.-W
A21, R22-1000 ohms A12-100 ohms, I!._W
memory's output. The handy thing about
A24-330 ohms A15-100.000 ohms. v.-W
bus organization is thaI no complex switch­
A26-470 ohms A20-150 ohms, �-W
ing is involved. Whatever is enabled gets These parts are needed ONLY for a page A SOl to S06-Molex 09-52-3103 connector
connected to the character generator; other memory: MISC: PC Board, 4 W' x 6Y.z"; No 24 wire
Ihings tacked on just sit there. The only rc­ C12-68O-pF mica jumpers; sleeving; PC terminals (optional-8);
striction is that we have to enable only one C13-100-pF mica solder.
character source at 0 time. We can also use
the same memory bus optionalJy to output The following Items are avllable from Southwest Technical Products, 219 West Rha�
characters to a computer, a cassette socty. San Antonio, Texas, 78216.
recorder, or a phone line.
All circuit boards are etched and drilled
This way, with suitable add-ons we
Mainframe board: No, TVT�1, $9.75
have a choice. We can send one character
Timing board: No. TVT-2. $5.75 A complete or nearly complete kit of
at a time directly from the keyboard, or we
Cursor board: No. TVT�3, 55.75 parts will also be offered. but pricing
can send an entire page at a time from the
Page A or B board No. TVT -4, 55,75 depends on semiconductor availability at
memory. The latter is faster and more com­
Hlgh·quality keyboard, custom remanu- time of publication. Write for a complete
plex but has the advantages that you ca n
factured for TV typewriter use (less­ list of available parts and prices for as�
fix all the mistakes first and don't tie up encoder) No. TVT-5. $18.75 sembled units.
nearly as much outside equipment. R-E

6 RADIO-ELECTRONICS
 line register from recirculate to update each time a new line of
TABLE II characters is needed.
18. Line Register clock. 32 clock pulses delivered every line.
ASCII CHARACTER CODE USED IN T.V. TYPEWRITER
normally high, TTL negative logic.
19. Self test. Superimposes "1" '" white on video picture when
Char A6 AS A4 A 3 A2 Al Char A6 AS A4 A3 A2 A1 connected to any TTL point in system.
20. Video output. Composite video for outside world of rf
@ 0 0 0 0 0 0 blank 0 0 0 0 0
modulator. Sync'" ground. White'" maximum positive.
A 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
i, 21. 9·12 Blank. Goes high on lines 9·12. 21·24. 33·35, etc.
B 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
to prevent register from clocking video when blanks are
C 0 0 0 0 1 1 # 0 0 0 1 1
wanted, TTL positive logic.
D 0 0 0 0 0 $ 0 0 0 0
22. Keypressed. Goes to ground when key is pressed. Signal
E 0 0 0 0 1 % a 0 0 1
is conditioned by cursor and then used for update.
F 0 0 0 0 & 0 0 0
23. Blink�!r. Source of 4·Hz signals used for cursor winking.
G 0 0 0 0 0
repeat, or outside world special applications. TTL,
24,25 Clear and UNclear. 24 goes to +5V on clear. is otherwise
H 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
grounded. 25 goes to ground on clear. IS otherwise +5V.
I 0 a 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
26,29. Up-down direction control. If 25 is grounded. cursor moves
J 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 up a line on linefeed. If 26 is connected to P clock on 29.
K 0 0 0 1 1 + 0 0 1 1
cursor moves down a line on linefeed.
L 0 0 0 0 comma 0 0 0
27,30, Right left controls. If these pins are open, the character
M 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
cursor backs up a space. If they are shorted. they go forward a
N 0 0 0 0 0
space on command. NOT directly TTL compatible.
0 0 0 0 1
28. Cursor ON. Ground turns cursor OFF, Blinking update
gives brief positive signal to turn cursor ON above indicated
p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 character, Not directly TTL compcltible.
0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1
31. Protect A. Prevenls character entry if grounded.
A 0 0 a 0 2 0 0 1 0
32. Calculator control. Optional signal. Goes to ground when
S 0 0 0 1 1 3 0 0 1 1
line scan rather than full frame scan is selected.
T 0 0 0 0 4 a 0 0
33. Protect B. Prevents character entry if grounded.
U 0 0 0 1 S 0 0 1
34. Enable A. Enables Memory A and connects it to output
V 0 0 0 6 0 0
bus if +5; disables it if grounded.
W 0 0 7 0
35. Enable B. Prevents character entry if grounded.
36,37 Line/Frame scan select. Connects to clock on 37 for special
X 0 0 0 0 8 0 0 0
scans. is open otherwise, P clock connected to pin 37 may be
y 0 0 0 1 9 0 0 1 optionally combined with logic for the display of one character
Z 0 0 1 0 0 0
through 12 whole lines of characters. Characters are
I 0 0 1 1 0 1 1
continuously input or output i n line mode. Normal operation
/ 0 0 0 < 0 0
is in frame scan. and this clock is not used.
I 0 a 1 0 1
38. Sync. Composite V and H sync. Normally positive TTL
/\ 0 0 > 0
negative logic. Position controlled by jumpers on timing
undo 0
board.
39-42, 44. 46 Spare pins for add-ons.
43. Flash Display. Optional. Ground puts out display for
emphasis of one word. one line, or full frame, Useful with
external timing to flash information. particularly negative
To Input a character, the proper code above is set up and the numbers In a calculation.
Keypressed input IS suddenly brought to ground. A "0" is any 45. Output load command. Loads characters into output
voltage Irom 0 to +0.8 volts. A "1" is any voltage from +3 to register a SUitable time delay after each character slot. TTL.
+5 volts. Falling edge provides load command,

47. Video Clock. "A" clock of 4.561 MHz. Marches characters

If you are using a computer. a modem. or a commercial keyboard
out of output register as serial video if not inhibited by pin
With the full eight bit code. the eighth or parity bit is ignored. If
21 9 12 blank.
bits 6 and 7 together are NOT "0", the characters above get input.
48·50 "What character line is it?" commands used to tell character
IF bits 6 and 7 together are "0", regardless of the code. you get a
generator which row of dots to work on. TTL POSitive logic.
simultaneous line feed and carriage return, and a "CTR L" output.
000 -"- line 1,001 = line 2 (put down top row of dots.) 002 '"
line 3 9 put down next row of dots). etc, ..
51. Update. Normally low TTL. goes high in prop�r slot for
character update. Generated by cursor. Used by memory.
TABLE III·A
Inhibited at memory if protected or CTRL being received.
WHAT DO THE CONNECTOR PINS DO? Overridden at memory during clear.
52. CTRL goes to ground if inputs A5 and A7 are grounded.
1. Ground - all boards Indicates a transparent or machine command has been
2·8. Input ASCII code from keyboard. Sent to memory A and received. Interpreted as a carriage return and line feed In baSIC
memory B as needed. A6 and A 7 also go to cursor for CTRL unll.
detection. True TTL logic. 53. Horizontal out. Optional 15.840 (with crystal specified) or
9-14. Memory buss. Memory A. Memory B, or outside world act 15.150 Hz (with external phase lock loop) output useful for
as sources. Memory A character generator or outside world interlace and video titling.
act as loads. P channel, silicon gate MOS compatible. Only 54. Interlace Reset. Optional. Holds entire vertical counter
one source should be enabled at a time. at maximum count when grounded. First horizontal clock
15.16 Memory clocks. Normally +5V. Each goes low briefly 512 edge follOWing starts new frame.
times per frame to clock main memory. 32 times on line 55. V output. 50 Hz used by cursor for synchronizing. Handy
No 1: 32 times on line No. 13,32 times on line No. 25,etc.
. for scope sync. Optionally useful for interlace,
Negative TTL logic. 56. -12·V 25-mA available
17. Goes low on lines 1, 13. 25. normally high. Used to change 57. -5-V 25·mA available

RADIO-ELECTRONICS 7
58,59 +5-V 250-mA available REPEAT ISSI When forward. the blinker clock is
60. Groun d. Use both grounds on all PC boards. (momentary) applied in place of the conditioned
keypressed input, adding characters or
moving the cursor at 4 places per second.
In its normal position the TV typewriter
TABLE IV advances one character for each character
entered.
KEYBOARD CONNECTOR PINOUTS

HOME IS61 This circuit provides one line thats

A. +12 volts for keyboard if needed (or -12 with jumper)
(momentary) normally +5V and goes ground and one
8. +5 volts for keyboard via CLEAR (HOME) switch
that does the opposite. To clear the TV
C. KEYPRESSED Normally +. Grounding enters
typewriter,three things happen: (1)

I
D. INPUT Al
power is removed from the ke\o board,
E. INPUT A2 Inputs Al thru A5 Must
be Grounded during CLEAR forcing all inputs to the 0 state; (2) a
F. INPUT A3
"1" is applied to input A6 via memory
G. INPUT A4 (HOME) cycle.
diode 04; (3) Flip flop IC3 in the
H. INPUT A5
cursor is clamped and held till atter the
I. INPUT A6
clear is released and system timing
J. INPUT A7
indicates a new frame is to begin. If you
K. SPARE
are in the KEEP position. homing simply
L. GROUND
resets the cursor and keeps the message
intact. If you are in the CHANGE
position when you home, the entire
All Inputs TTL Compatible. Fits any PC edge connector with message is erased and replaced with
0.156" contact centers or may be directly soldered to flat spaces or a 100(x)() code.
cable or harness assembJy.
CURSOR ON IS71 Moving this switch forward grounds pin
WARNING: DO NOT ALLOW ANY INPUT VOLTAGE TO 28. This keeps the winking cursor from
EXCEeD PIN B VOLTAGE (Internal +5) OR appearing on the screen.
GO BELOW GROUND.
AOO-SUBTRACT IS81 This controls the cursor and entry
direction. In the ADD position,you
move forward or down a line. Forward
TABLE V
because pins 27 and 30 are shorted to
provide a big capacitor and Down
WHAT DO THE ROCKER SWITCHES DO?
because the down clock (P) is connected
to pin 29. the line direction pin. In the
OFF-ON ISli When this switch is forward. 110 Vac
SUBTRACT position. you move
power reaches the transformer. Power
backward or up a line. Backward
is removed with the switch backwards.
because.only a small capacitor remains
between pins 27 and 30 and up since
LINE-FULL 1S21 This switch decides whether a normal
only a brief clock pulse appears when pin
full scan is to be displayed or whether
29 is grounded.
a single line or a group of lines is to be
shown. In the FULL SCAN (normal
operation); pin No. 36 is left open. In PARTS LIST IMPROVEO ASCII ENCODER
the LINE SCAN operation, pin No. 36 Cl 0.1 - ",F disc ceramic Mount flat.
is connected to a selected optional clock 01 to D 4 lN914 or equal silicon computer diode
of timing that forces reset of the one-and­ ICl HD0165 encoder (Harris)
IC2 7402 TTL quad NOR gate
only-one IC7 on the cursor. Extra
IC3 MC789AP hex inverter, RTL, do not substitute
timing is needed for line scan and varies
IC4,IC5 7400 TTL quad NAND gate
with the application. A ground is also 01,02 2N5139, silicon pnp
optionally placed on line No. 32 when Rl. R2 Varies with keyboard,1 (X)() ohms for mechanical
in the LINE scan position_ For normal contacts and +5V supply; 3300 ohms for elastomeric high
use, the switch should be left in the � tv II resistance contacts and +12V supply.
position. R3,R4 1000 ohms, 1/4·W carbon resistor

MISC: PC Board, Solder; No. 24 soldereeze wire. 20 feet for

AlB IS31 This switch decides which page is to be keyboard wiring. sleeving. No. 24 solid wire jumpers.
displayed and which page is to allow
NOTE: The following are available from Southwest Technical
character entry. Half the switch controls Products, 219 West Rhapsody, San Antonio, Texas,
the output enable or bus access of a 78216
memory and half of the switch works
Mainframe board: No. TVT·l, $9.75
with the page protect to allow character
Timing board: No., TVT -2, $5.75
entry. Program jumpers on memory A
Cursor board: No. TVT-3, $5.75
and memory B boards set up which
Page A or B board No. TVT -4. $5.75
board does what. You normally enable
High.quality keyboard. custom remanu-
and load the same board. except for
factured for TV typewriter usa (less-
electronic notebook use. +5 on the
encoder) No. TV-5. $18.75
enable lines connects you to the output
bus. A ground on the PROTECT lines
prevents character entry.

KEEP-CHANGE 1S41 This is the memory protect switch and

Mainframe circuitry
overrides S3 by forcing a ground on both
the A enable and B enable lines in the The mainframe is shown in Fig. 3 with its PC
PROTECT position. and component guides in Fig. 10 and 11.

8 RADIO-ELECTRONICS
 The power supply has its +5 volts regulated by IC 1 which must The diodes provide reverse polarity protection, for any of the
be heatsunk to a vertical radiator. The -5, -12 and optional +12V MOS devices can be damaged if the supplies get mixed up. Even
supplies are Zener regulated.Note that the -5 is derived from the with the diodes, be careful.
-12 by a series string of a 6.8 and a 5.1 = V Zener. Also, note that Fig. 4 is all you need for a page-B memory. For a Page-A
some transformers have split secondaries. If yours does, be sure to memory, you also need the character generator of Fig.5.IC7 is the
connect the secondaries aiding rather than bucking. The +5V supply line register that samples the memory on every line NO.1 and brings
is short circuit proof and good for an amp or more. Long term the characters back eight times in succession for generation.
shorts on the other supplies can damage R l or R2 by overheating. Pulldown resistors R27 to R 32 serve for anything that's hung on the
The control switches are mounted as shown and their operation bus input B 1 to B6.
is summarized in table V. REPEAT and HOME are momentary IC8 does the actual character generation, receiving the ASCII
switches. character code at the right time from IC7 and getting a "which-line­
The rf circuitry uses Ql as an oscillator and 010 as a modulator. is-it?" command on the line address inputs LI, L2, and L4.
It may be disabled for video-only by omitting it entirely or by Enable pin No. 11 gives you an all-white output if it is positive and
removing R 3. Coil L l is made up of 6 turns of No. 14 wire wound normal operation if grounded. When you want a cursor, you
on a 3/8" form and spaced out to 3/4". Tuning range should be briefly make this line positive in the proper location on line No.1.
55 to 80 MHz. Note the tap at exactly one turn. ICg transfers its characters to the output register IC9, where they
The current through R7 determines the high frequency rf are converted into serial video. An output load command transfers
resistance of the diode and thus the amount of carrier to be the information when the character generator has been settled and
amplitude modulated and sent to R8.No current is the white level. the data is valid. Grounds are provided on the unused parallel and
A moderate current is black, and a high current is sync, or blacker­ serial register inputs. On the last character of the line, "O"s are
than-black. Sync pulses should exceed the black level by 25 to 35% marched out for the next 16 character slots, effectively blanking the
in rf amplitude. rest of the line during retrace.
The signal across R8 is our output, but it is a bit strong to Additional blanking is provided on lines 9 to 12 and vertical
directly drive a TV. If we attempt to attenuate it here, coupling retrace by inhibiting the output clock with this input.
from the coil could hurt the TV white level. So, we add 8" of twin IC9's output consists of raw video, black where you want
lead, and overlap anotheL piece of twin lead 2" from the far end, nothing and white where you want a dot. While you cart get
securing it with plastic hardware or tape. This cuts our signal opposite polarity video on pin No.7, it generally looks awful and is
down to size with capacitive coupling and still doesn't give us any not recommended for use.
excessively long output radiators. Video is combined with the self�test and sync in the video
This, of course, is a TV transmitter and the only way it is legal combiner, getting the sync from the timing board. The output is
is if it doesn't radiate much, and above all doesn't interfere with composite video.
anything. Because of this, the TV typewriter should be housed in a For special use, you can logically connect the blinker to the
metal case and attenuator cia should not be eliminated. Be sure Oash terminal to flash or blink either the entire message or a
to remove all antennas from the TV when operating. Frequency is logically selected portion of the display.
adjusted with C6. Be sure to tune to an unused low channel. The self-test superimposes itself onto the video with positive�
black. It may be connected for test purposes on any TTL circuit in
Memory board schematics the TV typewriter, and you can use it as a pattern detector or a
There are two types of memory board, A page-A memory logic probe.
includes the line register, character generator, and video output Composite video output appears on terminal No.20 and is
register. One Page-A memory is essential for the TV typewriter. based on sync-ground, black = 2 volt; white = 5 volts level.
A Page-B memory contains only storage and may be used as a 512 An external line driver is needed if you want to use the video
character add�on. Additional page-B memories may also be tacked directly with long cables, but the circuit impedance is low enough to
on to extend the character storage is they are properly enabled, bu t drive a few feet of unterminated coax if you have to.
this gets expensive. and a cassette storage system should be consid­
ered above 1024 characters.
Fig. 4 shows the circuitry common to both the Page-A and The timing board
Page-B memories, while Fig. 8 shows only the circuitry needed The timing board may be thought of as two types of circuits:
extra on PaJ!:e-A. This is followed by the parts tists, PC layouts the main timing generated as a counter chain from a Crystal
(Figs.12 and 1 3), and mechanical and component details. oscillator, and the derived timing that makes up the proper
Each memory board stores 512 characters in the form of a combinations of main timing signals to be useful The main
six = bit ASCII coded character. The memory consists of ICI timing schematic is shown in Fig. 6, while the derived timing
through IC6 which are 512-bit recirculating MOS shift registers, appears in Fig. 7, with PC and component layouts in Fig. 14
driven by the two phase clock driver IC? and QI, Q2. These and 15.
transistors translate the TTL level clock pulses into MOS levels, We'll start with the main timing. The circuit is nothing but
giving us a swing from +5 to -12 on the clock lines. IC7 increases a SUing of "by two" and "by six" dividers that take the 4,561-MHz
the power level so that the clock line capacitance can be wiven crystal reference and divide it down to generate all the needed,
without degrading the clock waveforms. locked together reference frequencies, frnally ending up with our
Note that IC7 has unusual supply connections. It has its 6Q-Hz vertical output frequency.
most negative pin 7 connected to -12V and its most positive pin 14 IC I is a dual oscillator. Half of it is a 4-Hz blinker. This is
connected to ·5V and operates on a 7 volt differential. The clock used to wink the cursor, and to provide the REPEAT key action
lines may be viewed at the test points with an oscilloscope. Any where you want to put down a bunch of identical characters or
short, however brief directly on ICTs output can damage the rapidly move to a new location. It can also be used, with or
device. without logic to flash the display or a portion of the message. This
Recirculation of the memory is controlled at pin No.5 of is handy to drive home an important message or change, and is a
lCI-6. If pin No.5 is grounded, the memory recirculates. If very simple way to show minus numbers in a calculation.
pin No.5 is positive, new data gets entered. The UPDATE The other half of IC I is the 4561.920-kHz oscillator. It is
command normally allows entry via R26, provided that a CTRL the system reference frequency and the rate at which we clock
(carriage return) command is NOT being received and that the the output register I.CI0 on memory board A. Thus, it sets the
page in use is not being protected. dot rate for our video put-down. For very fancy applications
Memory output is controlled at pin No.3 of IC l-6. If pin No. 3 (video titling, recording, etc..) you can replace the crystal with a
is grounded, you get no output. Make pin No. 3 positive to get capacitor and lift pin 2 from ground. Pin 2 �ow becomes a VCO
connected to the bus lines B l through B6. Jumpers set up the input that lets you phase-lock the TV typewriter timing to external
proper Page-A and Page-8 connections for enable and protect; circuits or systems. Normally, you use the crystal.
normally you protect the page you are not working on or We next go through a dividc-by�six in IC2, dropping us to
looking at. 760.32kHz. This is our basic character rate, and intermediate values

RADIO-ELECTRONICS 9
of this divider are used by the derived timing for register clocking position of the pulses is adjustable by changing the jumpers shown
pulses. 760.32kHz is also the rate at which the characters are on the memory board, giving you four possible horizontal positions
loaded into the output register lCI0 on the Memory A board. and three possible vertical positions for a total of 12 potential
From this point, we go into a divide-by-4B, made up of locations on the TV screen. In cases where a TV badly overscans or
IC3 and parts of IC2 and IC4. This divider generates the 4B when you have a color set or something else you don't want to make
possible character positions across the tine, of which 32 are any internal position adjustments on, a simple changing of these
actuaJly used and 16 are reserved.for retrace and overscan. The jumpers will center the picture for you. These could be made
output of this divider is our horizontal rate, or 15,B40 Hz. Note continuously adjustable, but the extra complexity of four
that this is negligibly faster than the usual interlaced 15,750 Hz. monostables and two controls didn't seem worth the benefits.
A divide-by-12 in IC4 and IC5 counts horizontal lines for us,
directly giving us the "what line is it?" commands for the character About interlace
generator. It aJso gives us inputs for derived timing involving the Interlace is not normally used, nor is it desirable on a
line I transfer. stationary. words-only presentation. You can pick it up uyou have
The output at this point is identified as an "0" clock on the to by using the INTERLACE RESET input, which when grounded,
internal test points on the timing board is 1320 Hz. FinallY,IC6 resets the entire vertical counting chain to its maximum count.
and IC5 do a divide by 22 to give us the 22 possible character rows When the reset is released, the next whole line of horizontal timing
on the screen. Feedback via lelO of the derived timing ("T" restarts the new frame. To synchronize the interna l horizo nta l
Clock) shortens what would normally be a divide-by 12 to a divide with an external system such as a video recorder, you can either
by 11. We use 16 of the 22 lines for characters and save 7 for lower the crystal slightly to gct exactly 15,750 and use this as
retrace and overscan. Our flnaJ output frequency is the 600Hz system timing, or else you can replace the crystal with a capacitor
verticaJ rate. and voltage control lCI by applying a +3 to +5 volt control signal
All of the possible main timing chain signaJs appear on internal onto pin 2 of the oscillator. A very simple phase lock loop system
test points A through U, with U being the s10west and A being the then can lock the typewriter terminal to the video recorder or
fastest. The compliment of G, or G is aJse brought to a test point whatever you may be interfacing.
since it is useful in the derived timing. The important point is that you don't need or want interlace
for the majority of applications, and the only time you have to have
it is when you must superimpose your message on top of some
Derived timing existing program material not under your control.
The derived timing is on the same board as the main timing
chain. It combines the continuous main timing chain waveforms
into suitable "by bursts" signals needed for TV typewriter sequenc­ The cursor circuitry
ing and control. Half of IC7 AND,s (Negative Logic) the N and S The cursor board decidcs where and when a new character is to
clocks to give us a 9-12 BLANK signal, an output that is high on be entered. It also conditions the keyboard inputs, and optionaJly
each line 9-12, or counting from the top of the tv picture, on lets us use a line scan instead of a frame scan, and optionally
horizontal lines 9-12, 21-24, 33-36, 45-4B, and so on. The wave­ controls the winking cursor.
fonn is used to generate the vertical space between characters as It's easiest to look at this board in two parts. The input
well as blanking the characters for the vertical retrace and overscan conditioning and sequencing is shown in Fig. B, while the actual
time. It works by inhibiting (stopping) clock pulses (A Clock) from character position counter is shown in Fig. 9. Both circuits are on
marching video out of the output register lCI 0 on the page A the same board and internally connected via tests points A through
memory board. D.
The same IC also ANDs (negative logic) the K, L, M, and N Since virtuaJly any keyboard or encoder could be used with the
clocks to give us an output that is low only on each horizontal TV typewriter, a relatively elaborate conditioning circuit is provided.
line 1. (Lines I, 13, 25, 3 7..... etc..) The output is used The input conditioning eliminates contact bounce. It also waits
directly as a line-l transfer command that connects the line register after a contact is made for the encoder in the keyboard to catch
to the memory only during lines 1, 13, etc.. so a new line of up and put out valid data. After that, it delivers an update
characters can be transferred from the memory to the line register. command that lasts exactly one frame_
It is also used by IC10 to aUow clocking of the memory only on Sometime during the next frame, the charactcr position
Lines chosen. counter decides where the new character gets put. If it gets
leB generates our line clock by negative logic ANDing the J and entered at all depends on whether the pages are protected or
o clocks. This gives us 32 clock pulses per line, used to march the not, and whether there is a CTRL or carriage return command
characters through the line register. IC9 provides a suitable time present.
delay after each register clocking and then provides an output load Keypressed signals consist of the KP input (22) going to ground.
command to the output register. The time delay is essential, for This input is filtered by R21, C16 to eliminate the worst of the
after you clock the line register, its output takes a brief amount keybounce and noise, particularly any noise on break or key
of time to change. This changes the input on the character release when you are using an elastomcric keyboard or something
generator, which also takes a while to get its output correct. Only else without a snap action. Ql unloads the filter and drives a
after we have the right output do we want to transfer the valid Schmitt trigger in leB that gives us a clean, snap action, and adds
new character information into the output register. noise immunity to the input.
Clocks for the main memory are called �I and �2. We get The output of the Schmitt trigger trips a monostable lC9
th. ese from IC I0, which suitable combines some high frequency that gives us around 10 milliseconds of delay. This makes sure the
clocks (8 and C) with the Line-l output, the 32 pulses per line keyboard code is vaJid and everything is settled before we try
logic, and some other signals. The net result is a pair of 32 pulses entering any data. The output of the delay monostable is converted
per line, present only on lines 1, 13, 25,_. and of the proper
_ to a short pulse by C12.
width to drive the clock driver circuitry on the memory boards. The output pulse from ICB trips a one-and-only-one synchron­
Note the clock levels are only TTL here; the transistors and inverters izer IC7. This consists of a set-reset flip flop driving a synchronous
on the memory boards convert them to the full swing MOS levels type D flip flop, and provides an output that lasts for one whole
at very low impedance to drive the capacitance of the memory verticaJ intervaJ, and only one whole vertical interval.
clock lines. The one frame output goes directly to the update gate back­
The final third of ICIO does the shortening of the vertical forth direction control in ICI and is inverted to handle the update
interval for us, converting IC6 from a divide by 12 to a divide by 11. and cursor gates in IC5. How this is done will become more obvious
ICII and most of IC12 generate our horizontal and vertical when we talk about the character position counter later. Finally,
sync pulses and combine them into a composite sync signal. the one-and-only-one output goes through a CTRL detector in
The horizontal pulses are around 5.2 microseconds wide and ICB that decides if a line fe.cd, carriage return or CTRL command
happen once each horizontal line. The vertical pulses are around is being received. If it is, a CTRL output is generated that prevents
1.5 milliseconds long and happen once each vertical frame. The the character from being entered. At the same time, a "move up a

10 RADIO-ELECTRONICS
line" or a "move down a line" command is delivered to IC5. immediately at the beginning of a frame. This starts everything off
We can also optionally "force feed" the one-and-only-one in on the right foot for a new sequence.
IC7 with the LlNESCAN input, which updates and moves us one The output of the character position counter drops immediately
character per frame. This option is handy for clocks and before the desired character position. 1t loads a winking cursor
calculators but is not used for nonnal typewriter use. Also, we have command into the proper slot on line 1 of this particular character
set the circuit up so that any CTRL command gives us a carriage group. And, if we are in an update cycle, and if we are on an
feed in order to save parts. If you want to you can add extra unprotected page, it allows entry of the character by switching the
decoding and logic to independently bring out as many machine memory from recirculate to update just this one character position.
commands as you want to. Turning to the actual circuitry of'Fig. 9. , the input clock is
A keypressed command is random with respect to the frame by ANDed with an add character command in 'IC 1. IC2 and half of
frame system timing. So, something between a very small amount IC3 form the character counter, while IC4 counts character lines.
of time and an almost full frame has to go by before the one-and­ lC4 's output is controlled and distributed by the cursor and memory
only-one can start with the next frame. The set-reset flip flop in updates by IC5, under control of the update command from the
IC7 absorbs this time difference. Up to the entire next frame may one-and-only-one and the cursor off-on switch. At the e,ld of an
be needed for character entry, depending on where the character update, test point C suddenly drops pulses one of the AND gates in
is. Thus, it takes two whole frames worst case to enter a character IC I . If pins 27 and 30 are open, this pulse is so brief that it gets
via the keypressed input. One to synchronize and one to actually added to the nonnal (/)1 clock pulses and we get an extra count·
enter. This gives us a 33 millisecond fastest possible update rate pulse, backing us up one character. Short pins 27 and 30, and the
or about 30 characters per second. The normal computer teletypes pulse is so long that it starts before the fust normal clock pulse and
run about 10 characters per second maximum; thus the TV type­ lasts till after the second normal one goes away. Here, we add one
writer can easily handle their data rates. pulse but block two, leaving us in the hole by one pulse. The
Notice that, in interests of economy, the character information character counter moves forward one character.
lines AI-A7 are unconditioned. This means that the selected Linefeed is controUed by the flip flop in IC5. To go up a line,
character must be valid when the keypressed delay in l C 9 ends the flip nop produces a very brief pulse. To go down a line, the flip
and must stay valid for at least 33 milliseconds after that. flop is set and held exactly long enough to block two normal count
For the vast majority of manually operated keyboards, this is no pulses. Again, we add one and block two, moving us down a line.
problem at all. For some special or faster systems, you might like Meanwhile the character counter is reset to its maximum count, so
to add latches to the input to store the valid data for the length -
that at the beginning of the next frame, we start at the lefthand side.
of time it is needed. While you can, in theory update all 512 The final flip flop in IC3 is set on a clear command and released
characters in a single frame, this takes a bunch of more complicated on the beginning of the next field. This holds the counters in the
circuitry, and if you can, run your system at less than 30 characters upperleft position until the system clear is released and a new frame
a second (CPS). begins. The counters are always loaded or cleared to their maximum
This rate will take you about 17 seconds to fill the screen at 30 count. This way, the fust system clock pulse at the beginning of the
CPS and around 51 seco'nds at the 10 CPS typewriter rate. If you frame sets us to zero, instead of one, making sure everything ends
have two pages, you could fill one while using the other by up where it belongs.
changing the update and protect jumpers around.
Construction
Because of the complexity of this project the construction MUST
Character position counter be done in progressive stages and should not be started until the
The character poSition counter circuit is shown in Fig. 9. complete story is on hand and thoroughly understood. If one step
Many CUIsors use an add-subtract or up-down counter that's static seems to present problems, DO NOT GO BEYOND ANY OPERA­
and a big comparator to find out when the next character is to go in TION THAT DOES NOT SEEM CORRECT. STOP AND FIND
its proper place. While this works, it's big, expensive, and takes a OUT WHY! Here, very briefly is the suggested building and
lot of fancy parts. It's also a bear to debug. We use a much simpler debugging sequence.
system here that gets the same job done without the need (or 1. Mount the stack connectors. First, very carefully inspect
up-down counters or comparators. It's called a phase shift counter. the PC boards for any possible problems. Minute shorts will be
AU we do is have a divide�by-512 counter that goes around just extremely hard to find later. No�e the connectors are more or less
like the system timing does, for it is driven by the 512 clock pulses alternated so that the stack fits together one and only one way.
that run the memory. The counter runs continuously in bursts just Be sure everything on each board foUows the same pattern. Be sure
like the memory does. Once each frame, the output suddenly drops, the notch on each board goes the same way. After the stack neatly
indicating that this is the place to put a new character and that the snaps together, add all the jumpers and all the bypass capacitors
cursor should also be shown at this time. If we don't tamper with on all the boards as well as the protection diodes on the memory
the inputs, the counter always drops on the same place in each boards.
frame. 2. Build the power supply. If the transformer has two
Now, the trick is to back the counter up or move it forward secondaries, be sure to connect them aiding rather than bucking.
with respect to the system clock pulses. Add an extra pulse one The 5-V supply uses the 6-V transformer outputs, while the +
frame, and the output drops one count earlier, backing us up one and - l2-V supplies use the 12.v taps. Be sure to watch the
character. Hold back one pulse per 512 and the counter goes ahead proper polarity on everything particularly the Zeners. Use a proper
one character, changing its reitJtive phase or character position with heatsink for lCI, All the switches can be mounted, being very
respect to the system timing. To make things a little bit easier, we careful not to short anything underneath the switches with the
either throw in a short extra count to back up, or a very long extra switch pads when they are bent and soldered in place. Check out
count that's so long it overrides two system clock pulses to go the supply, looking for +5 on pins 58 and 59, -5 on 57 ·12 on 56
forward. One extra minus two held back is the same as holding one and + 12 at the optional keyboard power point. Mount the binding
back and a lot easier to do. posts for ground and self-test. Do not proceed till all the voltages
So much for the normal character-to-character operation. To are correct.
get a carriage return, you break the divide-by-512 counter into a 3. Build and check the rf modulator. Wind the coil first, 6 turns
divide-by-32 and a divide-by-16, the former for characters across a on a 3/8" mandril, spaced out to I" long. Vertical mounting leads
line and the latter for lines. For carriage return, you reset the are then attached, making sure the tap is at precisely one turn. The
character counter to its highest count and hold back or add one line tab on Q I is between the emitter and extra case connection. Eight
count pulse from the line counter. This returns you·to the left and inches of twinlead are attached to the output, and a new piece of
up or down a Line at the beginning of the next frame. We either add twinlead is taped or t>lastic bolted to that with a 2" overlap. forming
a brief pulse to move us up a line or a long pulse that overlaps two as output attentuator and ending up with a suitable connector. To
normal ones to move us down a line. test the rf modulator, temporarily short the video output pin 20.
Finally, to home or get to the upper lefthand corner, we reset This tells the modulator to put out maximum signal. Apply the
both counters to their highest state, and release the counters output to a suitable TV. preferably a high-quality, small-screen

RADIO-ELECTRONICS 11
black and white receiver. When power is applied, you should be screen. The Q clock should give you two stripes of at's, four rows
able to tunc the trimmer capacitor to channels 2,3,4, or 5. You per stripe. The P clock should give you fODr stripes of at's, alter­
should get a completely blank screen and complete audio quieting nating two rows per stripe. And the 0 clock should alternate rows
with proper tuning. There is no sync yet. Do not go beyond this of at's and blanks, one row each. Now for the key "is it storing?"
point till you are sure the modulator and oscillator are working test. The J, K, L, M, and N clocks should NOT change the pattern
properly. from one of all "at's", but the I clock should turn the right half of
4. Build the timing board and the video output. Add all parts the screen blank, giving you a vertical stripe. Similarly, the H clock
to the timing board, picking three position jumpers at random. Add should give you two vertical stripes, the G four, the F eight, the
only ICIO and ICII and their related parts to the memory A board. E sixteen. 0, C, B, and A clocks should do nothing. If these tests
Apply power and check for any shorts on +5V. If all is well, you are OK the line register is probably working properly. If not,
'
should have 16 rows of 32 white boxes on the screen, and the double check for line clock, line -one transfer, proper connections,
position jumpers should move you into 3 possible vertical and 4 etc...
possible horizontal locations. Pick the best one for the TV you are Now, we can have some fun. Reconnect the 86 line to the
using. If you have any problems, check first to make sure the o clock. Connect B5 to the I clock, B4 to the H clock, B3 to the
main timing chain is ending up with 60 Hz (not nothing or 54 G clock B2 to the F clock and B I to the E clock. You should get
Hz!). Then look for it I,;umposite sync output on pin 38, followed the enti�e alphabet, numbers, and punctuation spelled out, repeating
by composite video on pin 20. If you have a raster that is blank, every two lines.
look for output load 45, video clock 47, or ICIO problems. The DO NOT GO BEYOND THIS POINT UNLESS YOU ARE
boxes come about since you are loading open-circuit "1'''5 onto COMPLETELY AND STABLY DISPLAYING THE ENTIRE
ICIO's inputs. Don't forget to remove the pin 20 ground from ALPHABET, REPEATED EIGHT TIMES.
step 3!
This is the first plateau of the construction. Beyond this 7. Debug the Cursor. Add all components to the cursor
point, things are more or less sclf-checking. At this time it is a good
board. Set the TV typewriter up for a screen full of at's and add
idea to go through and check ellery terminal in the system with the
the board. The display should not change, except for the possible
self-check input, carefully noting everything, learning as much as appearance of the cursor. Check first the Cursor on-off switch and
you can about the timing, and looking for potential problems. then the Clear to home the cursor. Now switch to repeat and check
(The boxes may be erased by temporarily shorting two output out the back forth and up-down cursor motion. Pins 2 and 3 on the
registers to ground. If you can't get to this point, an oscilloscope connector must be grounded for up-down operation.
.
with a triggered sweep is almost essential for servicing. Beyond thiS Next, go to a keyboard or a sct of switches that has at least
point, the circuit more or less services itself.
�
a working spacebar ancJ.carriage return key, and check out the
DO NOT GO BEYOND THIS POINT UNLESS YOU HAVE cursor for onc-at-a-time operation. If you have any troubles, use
512 WHITE BOXES STABLY AND CLEARLY DISPLAYED
the internal test points, starting with H. Ii is a squared and delayed
WHERE YOU HAVE SELECTED ON THE TV SCREEN. key pressed input. G is a brief pulse 10 milliseconds later. C is a
5. Add the character generator. First check the place where gate that lasts one frame on key pressed command. B is its inverse,
1C9 is to go for -12V on pin 1, +5V on pin 24, and -5V on pin 12. and A is identical to D but is present only when a CfRL is prescnt,
Add the puUup and pulldown resistors and solder IC9 in place. As e.g. pins 2 and 3 on the connector or input bits A6 and A7 are
with all the MOS IC's in this project, leave them in their protective grounded.
foil or foam and quickly solder them in place with a small soldering Finally, P shows the input to the character position counter,
iron. Always be sure all related circuitry is in place be/ore adding while E is the mid point in the counter_ At F. you should have 512
any MOS IC. Very briefly apply power. You should get a screen pulses per normal frame. On a frame where an update is to take
rull or<!rs. IF YOU DONTGET A SCREEN FULL OF@',STOP place or the cursor is to be moved, you should get an additiOl/al
IMMEDIATELY AND FIND OUT WHAT IS WRONG' pulse in the upper left. A very brief one for left or upwards
Once you have the screen full of at's, make up a jumper motion, and a longer one that overlaps exactly two normal clock
consisting of a 330-0hm resistor connected to +5 and briefly pulses for right or downwards motion.
connect this one at a time to the signal end of R45 through R50. DO NOT GO ON TILL THE CURSOR IS WORKING TO
The character should change from "at" to A to 0 to H to P to YOUR SATISFACTION.
blank and back again. If you get these characters, you'D probably 8. Add the Memory Clock Driver. Add all the remaining
have the rest of them, as we'U find out in the next step. Again, do Memory A board parts except Ie1 th.rough lC6. Check at the two
not go beyond this point until you can display at your command clock test terminals for two groups of 5 12 dots, using the self-test or
"at", A's, D's, H's, P's, and blanks. You might like to use your preferably a good scope. If you have a scope, look at these points
self·test again with a blank screen to look at waveforms. Many for a normally +5V waveform that drops to -12V for 200 ns sharply
TV's are reluctant to present an all·white screen with only tiny and repeating 512 times per frame. A short on the output of IC7.
portions black, so positive logic signals (those that spend most of however brief, can damage the device. This is why R IO and R 12
their time at ground) wiD generally look bad. These are in the are needed.
minority. If you want to see them, get a good scope or a better TV. DO NOT CONTINUE UNLESS YOU ARE REASONABLY
If you have any misgivings about anything on the project at this CERTAIN THE MEMORY CLOCKS ARE PRESENT AND
point, STOP and find out what the problems are. The sharpness of WORKING AT HIE RIGHT AMPLITUDE:
the characters will depend on the accuracy of the tuning and the 9. Add one memory. Now add your keyboard or test switch
quality of the TV, but with any reasonable TV, you should get � group and- IC5. As with the other MOS chips, leave these in their
reasonable size display of good sharpness. Ghost images may mean protective foam until immediately before use, then quickly solder
tuning inaccuracy or transmission line reflections. Run your hand them in place with a small soldering iron. When the protect and
up and down the lead-in to see if this is a problem. Add a couple page seh:(;t switches are properly set, you should be able to
of 30Q-ohm resistors if this is a problem. selectively store at's and P's wherever you want to on the screen.
6. Add the Line Register. Check with the self-test for a line one Note that holding the CLEAR down forces a load command onto
transfer output (one white line-eleven black ones, repeated 16 the memory. This is useful for test, although you have to derive
times), and a line clock (32 narrow vertical white stripes). Add the the encoder +5V temporarily from sonething besides the NOT
remaining Page-A memory parts, ending up with IC8, following the CLEAR source.
usual MaS precautions. Once again, you should get a screen full 10. Add another memory. IC6 this time. Now, you should
of "ats", and running up and down the bus B I through 86 (pins get at's, zeros, blanks and P's wherever you want, and when the
9·14) should generate the now familiar at A-O-H-P-blank sequence. keyboard is properly set up, you should be able to clear the screen
The only difference now is that we are loading and storing characters on command, again with the protect and page select switches
for eight lines at a time instead of just displaying them. properly set. Note that the keyboard encoder must put out either
The load and store cyclic sequence can be checked in the 100000 or a 000000 code during clearing. This easiest done
following way. Temporarily jumper the timing board R clock to be deriving the keyboard power from the unclear portion of the
bus B 1. This should give you half at's and half blanks on the clear or home switch. DO NOT GO ON UNTIL YOU CAN ERASE

12 RADIO-ELECTRONICS
AND SELECTIVELY ENTER THE FOUR CHARACTERS WHEN So much for the good guys. Now, on to the bad scenes:
AND WHERE YOU WANT TO. 6. Old Ham and Western Union Teletypes. These usc an
essentially obsolete 5-bit Baudot code, besides being kludgey and
11. Finish the Memory. Add the remaining four IC's ONE AT
A TIME and test them individually. Each new Ie doubles the
noisy. You need an elaborate code converting read-only-memory to
number of characters yOli can handle, to eight, si.xtcen, thirty two, use them, as well as a flip flop to keep track of shifts. A pain, and
if you happen to havc one and can get a ROM programmed cheap
and finally the fuU sixty four characters. At this point, the
enough, it may work.
characters should correspond to the typewriter keys and you should
7. Old Friden Flexowriters. Also a bad scene. They are a
have a fully working unit. If you arc also using a page·S. after you
special code and need ROM conversion.
are sure everything is working correctly. repeat steps 8 through 11
8. IBM Selectric Keyboards. These are a spccial SELECTRIC
above to complete yOUf TV typewriter.
code and are purely mechanical, besides having 2 bunch of the
A note on debugging
keypairings wrong. They can be used by adding seven keyswitches,
changing the keytops and adding a Selectric to ASCII read-only
This entire circuit was designed and debugged through several
memory. The latter is a stock but expensive integrated circuit, or
revisions with nothing but a beat up old TV set and a YOM! Thus,
you can cut your own.
by using the self-test and reasoning things out carefully, exotic tcst
9. Other electric typewriters - forget it. All normal electric
equipment should not be necessary to get yoiur unit to work­
typewriters are mechanical, not electric. AU the electric does is
BUT CAREFUL WORK AND REASONED, LOGICAL TESTING,
turn the crank for you. They are purely mechanical beasts without
WILL BE ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL. If you have a scope, by
contacts that are totally unreasonable to encode to ASCIl.
a1l means use it. If you don't, it won't hurt any. The important
10. New, commercial terminal keyboards - these are ideal,
thing is to not let a batch of exotic equipment lull you away from
beautiful, and perfect. Let us know if you find any for under S250
a careful debugging.
in single quantities!
On any project this complicated, it is virtually impossible
to eliminate all the little bugs in the circuit until many units have
been assembled by many people. Thus, if you are one of the early TABLE III

builders of this circuit - BE CAREFUL AND EXPECT MAIN CONNECTOR PINOUTS

PROBLEMS! Above all, tcll us what you found out and how you
fixed them, so we can make suitable corrcctions. We have made
+•••• 1. Ground +00.0 31. Protect A
every effort to be as accurate as possible.
+0'" 2. Input A7 +0000 32. Calculator Control·
As a final debugging note, one that sh"ould be obvious-the PC +0'" 3. Input A6 +000' 33. Protect B
boards can go on the stack in any order. Thus, if you seem to have +00" 4. Input A5 +00.0 34. Enable A
a problem board, put it on top, where the self test can be best used +00" 5. Input A4 +000' 35. Enable 8
to full advantage. +00" 6. Input A3 +0.00 36. line/Frame scan sel.·
+00" 7. Input A2 '·000 37. line Scan Clock'"
Picking a keyboard +00" 8. Input Al 0+0'0 38. Sync In
Ally keyboard will work with the TV typewriter-provided it is 000++ 9. Output 81· 0 00 39.(sparel
connected and encodcd in such a way that you get sevcn bits worth 000++ 10. Output 82'" 00000 40. !sparel
of TTL compatible ASCII code out and a kcypressed output that
is normally high and drops to ground whcn a key is pressed. The 000++ 11. Output 83'" 00000 41.(sparet
trouble that you may run into if you do use just any keyboard is 000++ 12. Output B4· 00000 42. (spare)
000++ 13. Output 85'" 000.0 43. Flash Display'"
that the conversion and encoding process may get tricky or
000++ 14. Output 86· 00000 44. (sparel
expensive, or perhaps some keytops will have to be rearranged and 0+0" 15. Memory clock dtl 0.0.0 45. Output load
relabeled. Let's look at some popular alternatives: 0+0" 16. Memory clock df l. 00000 46. (spare)
1. Six switches and a pushbutton. This always works and is 0+0'0 17.line 1.13,25..Transfer 0+0'0 47.Video Clock
the cheapest possible routc. This is also almost essential for initial­ 0+0'0 18. Line Register Clock 0+0'0 48. L4 command
debugging. The trouble, of cowse, is that its hard to learn the code 0+0'0 19. Self Test 0+0'0 49. l2 command
and a pain to gain any speed this way. '00+0 20.Video Out 0+0'0 SO. L1 command
2. Kit Keyboards. While the supply lasts or continues to be
0+0.0 21.81ank 9·12.21·24,ete. 00+" 51. Update
available, high quality, genuine Microswilch sealed reed operated
+0.00 22. Keypressed 00+" 52. CTRl output
keyboards are offered from the kit source with proper markings and
•+ •00 23. Winker 0+000 53. Horiz. Out*
cncodings. + 00 •• 24. Clear(+5 on Clear! 0.000 54. Interlace Ast"
3. Radio·Electronics Low Cost Keyboard and Encoder: + 0•00 25. Unclear (Gnd on Clear) 0+•00 55. V output
These articles appeared in the February and April 1973 issues and + ••0 0 26. up·down direct. entrl. +00" 56.·12 V
showed how you could build your own custom keyboard for under + 0•00 27. right·left control +00" 57.·5V
254 a key. Some fairly fancy mechanical work is involved. + 0••0 28. Cursor ON + •••• SS.5V
4. Any single contact new or surplus electrical keyboard and +0•00 29. down direction clock + •••• 59.SV

the New Radio-Electronics Encoder. This encoder (scheduled 't 9 � 9 9 30. ,ight·left control + ••••
,
60. Ground
, " , , I I I
, , , , , , I I I I
for Nov. 1973) is an improved version of the original that uses far , " , '
I
,
I , , I
I " t
, I, " , I 1 "
fewer parts. The new schematic appears here, and it is available , 'I I ' , I I , ,
in kit form. It will convert any keyboard that consists of spst �i:c(cO E I: :,»
« ttl
normally open key contacts, but the keyboard cannot have a 18:: » 18

'2' " '2" . .

common bus for one side of the key contacts. This works equally �-H� �.- sH
well with mechanical or resistive, clastomeric contacts. One thing E'�B � E Eo! �� E
the encoder must have is ASCII pairings on the keys. Thus a
"capital comma" has to be a >, a "Capital 2", and so on.
. optional pin not used in basic typewriter circuit.
The needed pairings are shown in table II and Figure 21. Some • .

keytops may necd remarking if they aren't standard ASCII to + . Signal source
begin with.
5. Teletype Computer KSR Units - these are mechanical •. Signal used

keyboards that occasionally crop up surplus. They arc self

encoding and need very little to interface them with the TV o. Signal not used.

typewriter. The code is usually upsidc down, so it has to be

While a far simpler connector system could have been used, this
inverted with hex inverters or something similar. Some types have system lets the modules snap together in any manner. so that a
a solenoid recocking mechanism that needs reset after a character is module to be tested ends up on top of the stack. It also eliminatM
entered. These arc rather bulky and not too. modern looking, but any interconnection wiring. the biggest potential source of
are a good route if you can find onc. problems on a system of this type,

RADIO-ELECTRONICS 12
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supply.
'5V GENERATOR
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21 13 15 a2 GND 1 0"3
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memory circuitry.
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erator circuitry is needed only
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i2cf-.44Ja ��7
7�
r--- 8�:�::C�D_ ovRINGRETRACEI

0'
POSSI8LE
ACTlve LI"IE SCAN
I ---
8291 H SYNC
POS
--- -== --

!lj\>?if,;';\if;;ri :':'I W
ITIONS

IBllI"I( RATE TIMING I

K CLOCO:
'"
"ADD
CHARACTER " 7402 : LINE DIR L CLOCO:
""
" lOP VIEW � � ..r--..
r--- -,-- _
�::;: =======�
' .. � UP
M CLOCK __ _____ ..., __ ( 22HORIZ LINESI

.,
t-;.====:::"==
'00' DO
" . o LlNE· · I'OS. N CLOCO: I 22 HORIZ LINESI
P CLOCK
" " -00.'
LINE 1
N
TRA SF R f -- -
I 16 HOROZ lINESI

L- -----.r -..,
ENTER"

0
0.001
, 8-12 el....N,;
L-;;-;:::"'''''c.:
12CHARACTERS :-
I
I 18 HORIZ LINESI

"" "
S UPO"TE UPDATE UPDATE r PAES£NT£Q IN -----j
LINE GOES LINE GOES LINE GOES THIS TIME
CLOCK
HIGH FOR LOW FOR LOW �OR 112 HOAIZ SCANS'
1 FRAM{ 1 FR"ME 1 FRAME
FOR uPDAU FOR UPDATE Q!i!:.!.IF CTRL ICI CHAAACHA ROW liMING'

1 FRAME SELF TEST

FROM CURSOR SEOUENCER IFIGURE 16)
60 Hl 16 1"SEC SCREEN

r-' ,..-, r-> ..., ..., ..., ..., ..., ...,

o CLOCK
111 HORIZ LINE Sf

.p CLOCK ,..-, ,..-, ��

;:::
1 5 HORIZ LINES)
FIG. 9 -- CURSOR BOARD -- character a CLOCK
1 3 HORIZ L1NESI

position, cou nter schematic. R CLOCK 1 I HORI, LINE)

S CLOCK
1 1 HORIZ LINE I

T CLOCK l' �=tC""" NOT VIEWABLE

4DJISEC

POSSIBLE
V SVNC VERTICAL ACTIVE SCA � BLANKING
AND
POSITIONS RETRACE
I
lNOT VIEWABLE
PRESENT I F
STABLE PICTURE)

10) FRAME RATE TIMING. 1

KEVPRESSEO
NOISV INPUT
INPUT
• Ir-
BASE 01 FILTEREO
" ...r-
CURSOR TPH SOUARED
I r
r-1q1f.iEC ----l
CURSOR TPG DELAYED
U
S CLOCK
ONEAND ONLV
ONE OUTPUT
CURSOR fPC
lFRAME -j I-
lEI INPUT CONDITIONING I

GO FORWARD ONE SPACE GO DOWN ONE LINE

WAVEFORM STARTS BEF"bRE P CLOCK RESETS CURSOR ICS
fIRST 01. LAST THRU AFTER TWO LINE CARRIES
SECOND 01. BUT STOPS HAVE PASSED BUT BEFORE
KEY WAVEFORMS at various points of BEFORE THIRO �1 CLOCK THIRD ONE ON FRAME
ON FRAME FOLLOWING UPOATE FOLLOWING UPOATE

TV Typewriter circuit. GO BACK ONE SPACE; GO UP ONE LINE

BRIEF PULSE BEFORE fiRST BRIEF PULSE BEFORE fiRST
01 ON FRAME FOLLOWING LINE CARRV ON FRAME
UPDATE FOLLOWING UPDATE

IF) CuRSOR MOTION I

 NOTE
EXTERNAL DEBOUNCE & NKRO LOCKOUT
EACH KEY SHORTS SHOU LD BE ADDEO IN MOST SYSTEMS
WIRES UNDER IT.
"RO U ND·· KEYS ARE PC BOARD
EXTRA AND OPTIONAl.

PROGRAM JUMPE R
'SV - MECH CONTACT
>12V - ElAST CONTACT

·12V·
NEEDED ONL Y
FOR lO00n
CONTACTS
.5V '5V
-------1

AI

= A2
x TP
(TIE POINT)
" TP
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< �
, AJ �
0 IC2 �
"C •
• 7400 �
< �
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> NC
w
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AS

A6

A7

KRO
I OPTIONAL!
b

10 GNO

11
TOP VIEW '5V
12 =

IJ 2

"
•

ICJ
NOTE
01-04 MAY MC789A
OPTIONALLY TOP VIEW
BE PLACED
ON KEYBOARD.
·Rl R2
SAVING TWO
MI:.CH CONTACT-IK lSV)
INTERCONNECT
ELAST CONTACT·3.3K (12V!
LEADS

IMPROVED ASCII ENCODER schematic.

o
o
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o

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FIG. 10 -- FULL SIZE FOIL PATTERN

for mainframe.
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MAINfRAME #2S01 (2
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PAGE B fUll ON
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 FIG. 12 -- FULL SIZE FOIL PATTERN for
memory board.

PIG. 13 -- PARTS PLACEMENT on memory

circuit board.
FIG. 14 -- FULL SIZE FOIL PATTERN
for timing board.

FIG. 15 -- PARTS LAYOUT on timing board.

FIG. 16 -- FULL SIZE FOIL PATTERN for
cursor board.

,--;::-

�
-
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: �
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ell
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FIG. 17 -- PARTS PLACEMENT on cursor
Memory board parts list, page 6; 02, 03, 07 should be lN4001.

The power transformer is available from Signal Transformer Company, One Junius Street,
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11212, at $ 6.00 plus postage.

Molex sockets are available from Force Electronics, 343 Hindry Avenue, Inglewood, Calif.
90301. The sockets (09-52-3103) are 34¢ each. The matching pins (09-64-1101) are 39¢
per 10-pin assembly. Minimum order $10.00 plus 50¢ postage.

Here are some additional comments from Don Lancaster which may help answer other reader
questions:

A color TV set has a video bandwidth of only 2.5 MHz; a black and white set has slightly
more. This limits the number of characters per line to 32 or possibly 40, if an un­
modified stock TV is to be used, particularly an economy one. Commercial terminal
systems of 72 or 80 characters per line use special video systems with bandwidths of
almost 10 MHz.

More memory can be added, but since the memory is the most expensive part, it very much
ups the cost. Considering the limitations on video bandwidth and overscan on an un­
modified TV, it would be difficult to do more than 512 characters per page. Of course,
if you want to modify the TV, you can get denser displays.

If you want an all-the-time fixed memory, use a read-only-memory or a data selector in­
stead of the shift registers used. There is no memory device I know of that is cheap
enough to use with the TV typewriter, can be written into very rapidly and simply, and
still keeps its information when power is disconnected. Mag core comes close, but is
complex and hard to use on a small system. So do erasable ROM's, but it takes a while
to program them. Next year, we'll probably see better devices; right now, I don't know
of any. Most terminal applications don't need memory through power-down times anyway,
and those that do can run on standby power.

At least 1/3 and preferably 1/2 the scan in each direction must be saved for retrace and
blanking, particularly on economy TV's.

To obtain full interlace (the only time you either need or want full interlace is when
you must superimpose your message on top of an existing, uncontrollable program source) ,
you get horizontal and vertical signals from the system you are going to superimpose the
characters on. These must be separate and not combined as EIA sync. They also must be
TTL compatible. You compare the two horizontal outputs with a phase detector such as
the Motorola MC4044 and derive an error signal to correct �he 4 . 5 6 MHz oscillator phase
lock loop style. The crystal is removed and replaced with a capacitor and the voltage
control input is driven by the error output of the phase detector. Cost of this mod­
ification is under $10, but custom engineering is involved for each application.

Baudot and EBOIC and SELECTRIC codes are generated on the keyboard simply by redefining
the key matrix, and possibly adding a flip flop or two. At the TV TYPEWRITER end, you
have to add a read-only-memory such as the Harris PROM 0512 and another flip flop to
convert to ASCII, or you can sometimes use commercial code converters.

We are trying to work up add-on's, but I am swamped with work right now, and they won't
be immediately available. CUstom engineering at this time, even at our incredibly ex­
orbitant rates, simply isn't available. My thanks to the incredible fiurnber of readers
responding to this project.
Here's a few corrections to the TV Typewriter supplement:

1. Diode 06 is backwards on the power supply overlay, and the negative supply diodes are
shown backwards on the schematic.

2. On figure 3 schematic, NCLR pin 25 should also go to keyboard input B and the diodes
010-14. The connection between diodes 010-14 and "c" should be deleted. The PC board
is correct.

3. Callouts are missing on the keyboard edge connector. "A" is nearest the RF twinleadj
"L" is nearest Jl.

4. Delete Rll and R12 from the mainframe figure 3 schematic. Add R5, R6 to the mainframe
parts list, lK, 1/4 watt carbon.

5. There are several printing problems on the supplement overlays. The overlays on the
kit PC boards are correct and complete.

6. On the improved ASCII encoder schematic, IC2 should be 7402. TP tie points go to pins
4 and 5 of IC4.

7. Table V. For normal use, the switch should be left in the FULL position.

8. Timing E, cursor TPH should be 10 milliseconds, not microseconds.

9. An additional 0.05 ufd disc capacitor with minimum lead lengths might be needed across
the TOP of cursor ICl (740B) fron pin 7 to 14. Counter IC substitutions in the cursor
might require slight shifts in pulse widths and positions. You can tell by a careful
study of test point F on the cursor board. In the SUBTRACT position, one extra dot
should appear before the 512 timing pulses every keypressed. in the ADD position,
one short line should eliminate two of the normal 512 timing pulses.

10. An inverter formed from pins 11 and 12 of ICB, cursor board must be placed between IC6
pin 1 and "A" on the cursor board. This is shown correctly on the foil pattern (figure
16) but shoudl be added to the schematic of figure B.

11. The dot to the left of C14 on figure B cursor should be a no connection. Once again, the
foil is correct.

12. Connector stack pins 15 and 16 are correct as shown on the foil patterns. ¢l and ¢2
notation only are apparently backwards in figure 7 and Table III.

13. On the main timing chain schematic, figure six, the LEFT end of C5 should go to R3. The
RIGHT end of C6 should go to R2. The foil pattern is correct.

14. In figure 3, mainframe schematic, CURSOR OFF-ON should be S7, not 55.

In general, so far, we have found no errors on the foil patterns. Unless things change with
more corrections, always assume the foil pattern and the printed overlay (with the exception
of power supply diode 06 overlay) are correct.

Errors are almost inevitable on a project this complicated. My thanks to the readers who
have sent in the corrections. Please keep sending them in so we can keep others up to date.