ID DEC VT-180
Short Name
Name VT-180
Company DEC
Description In 1982, Digital introduced an option board which turned a VT-100 terminal into a personal computer using the CP/M operating system. It was called the Digital's Personal Computing Option. Customer could purchase just the option board or could buy the complete terminal/computer package called the VT-180.
The VT-100 terminal was introduced by Digital in August 1978. It rapidly enjoyed great popularity and soon became the most widely imitated asynchronous terminal. Its control codes and escape sequences still form the basis of the xterm set and of the ANSI or IBM PC standards. VT100 compatibility is still provided by most terminal emulators. All terminals that came after the VT100 was able to emulate their ancestor, although they offered new features in addition to what the VT100 could do.
The VT-180, also called 'Robin', was thus basically a VT100 terminal with an extra board installed which includes a Z80 processor, 64 KB of RAM memory, a floppy disk controller and an extra serial port controller. The single sided floppy disk drives came in a dual case. The system supported up to four individual disk drives (two dual drive units).
Date Available 1982
Type Computer
Emulators
Alternate Names DEC VT-180
Links
Matches tosec DEC VT-180 - Applications
tosec DEC VT-180 - Operating Systems
oldcomputers 605
tosec DEC VT-180 - Applications 
{
    "id": "DEC VT-180 - Applications",
    "name": "DEC VT-180 - Applications",
    "altNames": [
        "DEC VT-180"
    ]
}
tosec DEC VT-180 - Operating Systems 
{
    "id": "DEC VT-180 - Operating Systems",
    "name": "DEC VT-180 - Operating Systems",
    "altNames": [
        "DEC VT-180"
    ]
}
oldcomputers 605 
{
    "type_id": 1,
    "id": 605,
    "pages": {
        "photos": "photos.asp?t=1&c=605&st=1",
        "adverts": "photos.asp?t=2&c=605&st=1",
        "docs": "docs.asp?c=605&st=1",
        "comments": "forum.asp?c=605&st=1"
    },
    "image": "https://www.old-computers.com/museum/photos/digital_VT180_System.jpg",
    "company_link": "company.asp?st=1&m=35",
    "company_name": "Digital Equipment Corporation",
    "company_logo": "https://www.old-computers.com/museum/logos/digital_logo.gif",
    "description": "In 1982, Digital introduced an option board which turned a VT-100 terminal into a personal computer using the CP/M operating system. It was called the <b>Digital's Personal Computing Option</b>. Customer could purchase just the option board or could buy the complete terminal/computer package called the <b>VT-180</b>.\nThe VT-100 terminal was introduced by Digital in August 1978. It rapidly enjoyed great popularity and soon became the most widely imitated asynchronous terminal. Its control codes and escape sequences still form the basis of the <b>xterm</b> set and of the ANSI or IBM PC standards. VT100 compatibility is still provided by most terminal emulators. All terminals that came after the VT100 was able to emulate their ancestor, although they offered new features in addition to what the VT100 could do. \nThe VT-180, also called 'Robin', was thus basically a VT100 terminal with an extra board installed which includes a Z80 processor, 64 KB of RAM memory, a floppy disk controller and an extra serial port controller. The single sided floppy disk drives came in a dual case. The system supported up to four individual disk drives (two dual drive units).\n<a href=\"doc.asp?c=605\"><img src=\"graphs/readmore.gif\" border=\"0\" vspace=\"4\"></a>",
    "name": "VT-180",
    "manufacturer": "Digital Equipment Corporation",
    "type": "Professional Computer",
    "origin": "U.S.A.",
    "year": "1982",
    "end_of_production": "Unknown",
    "built_in_language": "None (Microsoft M-BASIC was included on diskette)",
    "keyboard": "Full-stroke 83 keys with numeric keypad & arrows keys",
    "cpu": "Z80",
    "speed": "4 MHz",
    "ram": "64 KB",
    "rom": "8 KB",
    "text_modes": "80 or 132 columns x 24 lines (14 lines in option)",
    "graphic_modes": "None",
    "colors": "Monochrome",
    "sound": "Beeper",
    "size_weight": "Unknown",
    "io_ports": "2 x serial ports, printer, modem, EIA interface",
    "built_in_media": "2 or 4 x 5.25'' floppy drives (180 KB each)",
    "os": "CP/M",
    "power_supply": "Built-in power supply unit",
    "price": "About $5,000 ",
    "photos": [
        {
            "name": "VT-180 computer ",
            "image": "https://www.old-computers.com/museum/photos/Digital_VT180_1.jpg",
            "description": "As seen in a french advert published in June 1982."
        },
        {
            "name": "The VT-100 terminal ",
            "image": "https://www.old-computers.com/museum/photos/digital_VT100_Terminal.jpg",
            "description": ""
        }
    ],
    "adverts": [
        {
            "image": "https://www.old-computers.com/museum/adverts/digital_VT180_Advert_1.jpg",
            "name": "U.S. advert (1982)"
        },
        {
            "image": "https://www.old-computers.com/museum/adverts/digital_vt180_fr-advert_june-1982_1.jpg",
            "name": "French advert (June ..."
        }
    ]
}