Getting backspace in OS/8

[Mike Markowski]

My backspace and ^H in os/8 move the cursor but don't actually delete the text.  Here are two very small screenshots showing the issue:

   https://udel.edu/~mm/pidp8i/bksp/

I will never be a perfect typist :-) and appreciate any pointers to getting a working backspace.  It happens outside focal, too, that was just an easy example.

Thanks!
Mike

[Clem Cole]

try what the ASR33 called "rubout" (all zeros on a paper tape).  This is the DEL key on most other keyboards.  

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[Mike Markowski]

Thanks, Clem, I was just replying top my own note but you beat me to it.  I was connected via cool-retro-term and it seems to be the culprit.  When I ssh in from a regular terminal window, all is well.  Seems I need to spend time to set up cool-retro-term.

Thanks for the reply!
Mike

[Rick B]

On Thu, May 14, 2026 at 11:45 AM Clem Cole <cl...@ccc.com> wrote:

try what the ASR33 called "rubout" (all zeros on a paper tape).  This is the DEL key on most other keyboards.  

 I always thought that the "RUBOUT" key generated all ones, e.g., all channels punched on paper tape.  The "HERE IS" key would (if the HERE IS drum is not programmed to generate a message) would generate some number (which I can't remember off the top of my head) of frames of all zeroes (nothing but the feed hole punched if the punch is turned on), commonly used to generate leader/trailer on paper tapes.

 

 My 33ASR is in a different location than I'm at right now, or else I would test this, so it's all just recollection.  Given my vintage brain, that recollection could be entirely wrong. :-/

 

 -Rick

 

 

 

[Clem Cole]

Thanks, Rich.  Dyslexia-R-Me   I was thinking >>all holes<< punch and typed >>all zeros<< - sorry to confuse.

If none of the tines on the "HERE IS" drum have been broken out, (i.e., remain completely intact), every single bit (Levels 1 through 8) on all 21 rows reads as a "0" pulse. In 7-bit ASCII, a character made entirely of 0s, a.k.a., NULL

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[Clem Cole]

Yikes -- nasty typo -- not all zeros but all ones [holes in all spots]

Remember, ASCII is 7 bits.  The PTP/PTR on the ASR-33 cut 8 data holes.   So while RUBOUT is an ASCII 128+1 bit [i.e., binary value of 255 decimal) when either EVEN or MARK parity is used].   This work well with either keyboard model installed which was either EVEN (#181979)  or MARK  (#180082), depending