11 Facts About Tektronix 4010

Tektronix 4010 series was a family of text-and-graphics computer terminals based on storage-tube technology created by Tektronix.

Tektronix 4010 decided to enter the computer terminal market themselves, introducing the 4002 in 1969, and the updated 4002A in 1971.

The first line, introduced with the Tektronix 4010, included the 4610 Hard Copy Unit, an early graphics printer.

Tektronix 4010 series was used as the basis for two self-hosted systems.

Tektronix 4010 continued selling the basic storage tubes to OEMs, the 19-inch version as the GMA101 and 102 and the 25-inch as the GMA125.

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Tektronix 4010 sold a set of graphics software routines in FORTRAN known as PLOT10 that converted simple inputs like lists of numbers into a graphic display such as a chart.

Tektronix 4010 had originally developed their storage tubes in the late 1950s as a way to store images on oscilloscope displays for study, although the same system had already been used in radar displays.

The Tektronix 4010 approach had the advantage that there was no limit to the number of vectors that can be displayed; one could simply keep adding them to a complex image, whereas a solution like the IBM terminal had a limited number of vectors it could refresh on its display.

Tektronix 4010 introduced the write through concept for non-stored vectors, but with the terminal itself lacking any memory, the data had to be continually refreshed from the host computer.

Tektronix 4010 referred to this as the stored writing speed, and measured it in terms of vector-inches-per-second, with ratings between 1500 and 4000 being typical for their displays.

Tektronix 4010 used a Minibus card to handle communications with the host computer, and a wide variety of host interfaces were available.