Tektronix 611 Storage Monitor

UvA Computer Museum catalogue nrs 97.45 and 97.46

tektronix 611
The Tektronix 611 Storage Monitor was designed around a special CRT (cathode ray tube) which is capable of holding almost indefinitely the information (text, pictures) written on the screen by the electron beam.
The monitor is in fact an XY oscilloscope with analogue inputs. Hence any vector- or character generators needed for computer applications will be located outside the instrument.

In our collection there are two versions: the 611/278A (#97.45) has a vertically oriented screen, is painted black and bears the Digital Equipment Corporation logo.
The 611/162C (#97.46, shown in the picture) has a horizontal screen, and the original Tektronix colour and logo. The operation of both instruments is identical.

In the picture, beneath the monitor, a Tektronix/Polaroid camera (#01.35) with a hood fitting the monitor is visible. This camera was used to make hard copies of the screen image.
The 611 monitors (together with their instruction manuals) were donated by the Laboratory of Medical Physics (University of Amsterdam) and NIKHEF, the Dutch national high-energy physics laboratory. The camera has been used at NIKHEF.

CM_homepage