Tandberg Data TDV 2100 Series
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Tandberg Data TDV-2100 was a series of terminals and microcomputers originally developed by Norwegian electronics giant Tandberg Radiofrabrikk in 1976. Noteworthy examples included the TDV-2114 microcomputer and the TDV-2115 terminals, as well as customized versions for customers such as Norsk Data.
Contents
Background
Products in the TDV-2100 series were made with different keyboards, for instance older keyboards have high-profile reed switches from C.P. Clare Int., while later manufactured keyboards would be based around a foam and foil board from Key Tronic.
From a design standpoint, the overall look and feel of the TDV-2100 series is heavily based on the earlier TDV-2000 terminal. Notable differences is that the chassis has been more refined, with strikingly coloured paint and a custom mold-cast front-case having rounded corners. This makes the product look more distinctive and less like a prototype. Devices have been observed in either orange and cream, or dark and light pastel blue.
As production of this series was already well in swing before the time of Tandberg Radiofrabrikk's big bankruptcy in the end of 1978, key-customer Siemens decided to buy out the Tandberg Computer division during the liquidation. This eventually formed the subsidiary Tandberg Data A/S in the process. This was done in a way ensuring no halt in production, and after the liquidation process was done Tandberg Data kept on where Tandberg Radiofrabrikk left, with mostly the same employees keeping their positions.[1]
Terminals
The TDV-2100 terminals were given the designation TDV-2115 (terminal only) and TDV-2116 (terminal + CPU module and optionally some memory). The TDV-2115L and TDV-2116 use a two-board "Display Logic" terminal module, while the TDV-2115C has an entirely new terminal module based on a more sophisticated graphics controller. The feature set of the TDV-2115 would be of a simple dumb-terminal, while the TDV-2116 could come with firmware suited for a particular application (like form-fill or page-buffered operation). The screens of the terminals were in most cases 16", white monochrome, behind a greenish yellow plastic pane and anti-glare mesh.[2]
Microcomputers
The TDV-2100 computer series was based around the same "Display Logic" terminal module as the terminals, as well as CPU (8080), memory (up to 54KB) and disk drive controller modules. The lineup can broadly be divided into two groups, the TDV-2114 (1976) and the TDV-2124 (1980), differentiated only by the kernel ROM and disk drive capacity (Single Sided/Single Density vs. Double Sided/Double Density respectively).[3] Both of these were marketed as an intelligent terminal with a ~13in. screen, the screen being smaller than the terminal-only models to make room for the internal 8" disk drive. Other optional modules were available, such as a tape cartridge controller for the Tandberg TDC-3000 QIC drive, cluster adapter for a local UART-based network, synchronous serial communications module, etc... It ran TOS, an operating system based on the "look & feel" of Intel ISIS, supporting file handling on both disk and tape.
Later on, in 1982, the TDV-2324 replaced the TDV-2124.[4] This was a completely new machine, built around the Intel 8085, 64KB RAM default and 8" HDD-support. It retained backwards compatibility by keeping a special version of the kernel as a loadable module in the operating systems relying on it.
OEM versions
After the bankruptcy of Tandberg in 1978 and its acquisition by Siemens in 1979, Siemens started making their own version of the TDV-2114 and eventually the TDV-2124. This machine was marketed as the Siemens 6.610. It had a different case-top and keyboard (using RAFI-style switches), but it would otherwise be identical to the Tandberg-made machines on the inside.[5]
Siemens would later play a major role in the future of Tandberg Data, as the TDV-2200 Series and onwards would exclusively use Siemens-type key switches.
Gallery
TDV 2114 "Intelligent Terminal" computer keyboard
TDV-2114 "Intelligent Terminal" computer
Keyboard layout
C.P. Clare Int. high profile reed switches
References
- ↑ Yumpu — På Jakt og Vakt, 2009 Nr 3, En Datahistorie fra Kjelsås (Norwegian) Dated 2012-11-20. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
- ↑ Tandberg Data — Terminals from Tandberg Data A/S take care of the communication with the computers (TDV-2100 series terminal brochure) (Torfinn @heim) Retrieved 2024-06-04.
