4051

The printable version is no longer supported and may have rendering errors. Please update your browser bookmarks and please use the default browser print function instead.

Tektronix 4051

Graphics-capable desktop microcomputer

Produced from 1975 to (?)

Manuals

4051 GPIB Hardware Support
Tektronix GPIB Programming Guide (4050 series, TM5000 series)

4050 series manuals @ bitsavers
Tektronix 4051 BASIC Reference Guide (OCR)

(All manuals in PDF format unless noted otherwise)

Manuals – Specifications – Links – Pictures

The Tektronix 4051 is a graphics-capable desktop microcomputer produced by Tektronix in the late 1970s through the early 1980s. The display is similar to the Tektronix 4010 terminal, using a direct-view storage CRT display (like an analog storage scope) to avoid the need for video RAM.

An all-in-one design, the 4051 includes display, keyboard, CPU and a 300 kByte DC300 quarter-inch cartridge tape drive in a single desktop case, and includes a GPIB interface. A simple operating system and BASIC interpreter are stored in ROM.

The storage tube display allows the screen to retain images drawn to it, eliminating the need for frame-buffer memory, and allowing the resolution to be as high as the display hardware can handle - logical coordinates are 1024 by 1024 of which the physical screen displays 1024 by 780. This type of display does not require a raster buffer memory, so all memory can be dedicated to programs and data.

The 4051 is based on an 8-bit Motorola 6800 CPU running at 1 MHz, and normally shipped with 8 kB of RAM expandable to 32 kB using 8 kB modules.

The remaining 32 kB of address space is reserved for ROM, which can be expanded using one or two external ROM cartridges of 8 kB each. The ROM includes six character sets and an extended dialect of BASIC including various vector drawing commands.

Option 1 adds a Data Communication Interface 021-0188-00 that attaches to the rear of the 4051 via a card-edge connector and provides an RS 232 port and two slots to accept expansion ROM cartridges/packs.

The 4051 was released in 1975 for the base price of $5,995 (2020 value $28,960). Adding the optional RS-232 interface allowed it to emulate a Tektronix 4012 terminal.

Key designer of the 4051 was Hiro Moriyasu.

Links

General Information

Museums

Videos

Tek 4051 at work @ YouTube
4051 introduction @ YouTube - part 1 / part 2 / part 3 / part 4 / part 5 / part 6 / Emulator

Software

Tektronix 4051/4052/4054 Program Files (GitHub repository)
4051 firmware listings (microfiche scans) @ bitsavers

Documents Referencing 4051

Document	Class	Title	Authors	Year	Links
Tekscope 1975 V7 N5.pdf	Article	A Desk-top Graphic Computing System	Colin Barton	1975	4051
Tekscope 1975 V7 N5.pdf	Article	Graphing With the 4051 Graphic Computing System	Tom Needham	1975	4051
Tekscope 1977 V9 N2.pdf	Article	The Fundamental Beauty of Computer Graphics	Bruce Rodgers	1977	4012 • 4014 • 4051
Tekscope 1981 V13 N2.pdf	Article	Software Innovations Increase Productivity of Desktop Computer Users	Bruce Rodgers	1981	4051 • 4052 • 4054 • PLOT50
Tekniques vol.6 no.1.pdf	Article	A Fast Unidirectional TTY Interface for a Minicomputer	R. Christie Harper • Ben M. Williams • James E. Gaiser	1982	4051
Tekniques vol.6 no.1.pdf	Article	4050 Controls New Generation of Programmable Instruments for Measurement Automation		1982	4051 • 4052 • TM5000 system • TM5003 • TM5006 • DM5010 • DC5009 • DC5010 • FG5010 • PS5010 • SI5010 • MI5010 • MX5010

Pictures

Front view
Keyboard
4051 with 4924 GPIB cartridge tape drive
4051 with connected DPO - WP1110
4051 with connected DPO - WP1110
021-0188-00 Option 1 Data Communication Interface
Back side detailed view
Back side detailed view
021-0188-00 Option 1 Data Communication Interface
021-0188-00 Option 1 Data Communication Interface
021-0188-00 Option 1 Data Communication Interface
Inside view
RAM board
main board
Screen without frame
Power supply
Power supply
ROMs closeup
4051 ad

Advertising

4051 advertising in Electronics magazine 1976

Components

Some Parts Used in the 4051

Part	Part Number(s)	Class	Description	Used in
Motorola 6800	156-0426-00	Monolithic integrated circuit	8-bit microprocessor	021-0206-00 • 021-0374-00 • 067-0902-00 • 067-1137-99 • 222 • 222A • 222PS • 2424L • 2445 • 2465 • 4051 • 7912 • 7912AD • 7A16P • 7A29P • 7B81P • 7B90P • 833 • 834 • CG5001 • CG551AP • CG5010 • CG5011 • DF1 • DF2 • DM5010 • MI5010 • SI5010 • PS5004 • PS5010 • SG5010