RCA Terminals

[KG7PFS]

Does anyone here have any information about the RCA VP3x0x series terminals?

 

I have found very little. the VP3301 has a serial port and composite video output. The VP3303, my favorite so far, has A/V out and a video modulator, making it ideal for home use back in ye olden tyme. The VP3501 has a numeric keypad. They apparently all have 40 & 80 collum modes and color graphics.

 

I think there was a version of the VP3301 or VP3303 with a standard keyboard (the rest were membrane).

 

That's it. No manuals are on line, just a few (very few!) ads. Do they use standard codes? Can I get one to work with OS-9? Has anyone here ever used one?

 

There's even less about the VP4801, something like a 3501 with a standard keyboard and a printer port.

Edited October 3, 2020 by KG7PFS

[COSMAC]

The 3000 series terminals started their lives out as the successor to RCA's COSMAC VIP computer (sort of like a programmable Studio II). They featured RCA's Video Interface System (VIS) audio/video chip pair which were later used in the COMX 35 home computer. I'm not sure about 80 column mode but the VIS can do 20 or 40 columns and my 3301 has a setting for either. AFAIK all their terminals used the same Timex/Sinclair membrane style keyboard with the 3501 having the aforementioned numeric keypad. The 3301 is strictly composite output. If the other two models are anything like mine all then the terminal settings like bit rate, number of stop bits, etc. are accessed using DIP switches found on the side of the unit. Basically, these were marketed as low-cost RS232 dumb terminals that can be hooked up to a TV (even though they're fully fledged computers on the inside) so really they can be used with any serial application.