Ultratec Minicom 6000

The invention of teletype made new perspectives for telephone services. By sending and receiving letters using ordinary phone lines it was possible to use telephone by people with hearing or speaking impaired. The only problem was the size of the teletype unit, which, when it was invented, had size of an average table.
Although Minicom 6000 is not strictly a terminal, it's a teletype adapter which allows hearing impaired people to use phone line by typing and reading messages. A single-line display has good contrast thanks to VFD tube and there is a bright flashlight instead of bell to inform about incoming calls. When not connected to telephone line, an acoustic coupling device may be used with typical phone handset. The unit can be powered with a 9V DC power supply unit or with 6 AA batteries. If someone cannot communicate at all, e.g. not using another teletype, a message about teletype call can be broadcasted from the terminal to inform the other side of line about it.
There was also 6000+ unit which had a small printer to record calls.

Manufacturer: Ultratec

Model Minicom 6000
Year: 2000?
CPU: ? - microcontroller
Memory: ?
Display: 1x20 (single-line) VFD tube
Keyboard: Built-in QWERTY
Main port: Phone line
Additional ports: Expansion bay for printer
Acoustic coupler for phone handset

 

 
The setup can be entered by pressing Ctrl+9 keys. To change encoding (CCIT, EDT or Baudot), use Ctrl+0. Options are changed by horizontal arrow keys and confirmed by Return key.

Peripherals in collection:
None

Power supply unit:

1 - +9V 1.2A
2 - GND

My unit seems to work. After switching to EDT it can communicate with Humantechnik Textel Compact and can exchange text.

Links

http://www.ultratec.com/support/download_minicom.php - Minicom IV manual in Ultratec site
www.connevans.info/image/connevans/40tm6000p.pdf - Manual of 6000+ printing version