Workstation Models

Assorted models of 5250-compatible workstations from various vendors. This page dos not document TN5250-only workstations.

IBM

This list is separated by generation. The grouping is unofficial, but each generation of workstation was released to roughly coincide with major releases of machines. Unless otherwise noted, all workstation generations are forwards and backwards compatible across all twinax-capable platforms, with some unsupported features depending on the host they are paired with.

First Generation IBM Workstations
Model	Introduction	Capabilities	Notes	Picture
5251-1	1977	960 character display
5251-2	1977	960 character display Remote twinax controller
5251-11	1977	1920 character display	Known to be buggy on IBM i 7.1 Available in cable-through and single-ended variants Single-ended variants hard-wired to be Address 0 and to automatically terminate the chain at all times
5251-12	1977	1920 character display Remote twinax controller
5252	1977	Double 960 character display	Special 5251 variant with a mirror that split a 1920 character display into two displays that could show two twinax sessions. Not supported in System/36 and beyond.
5253	1979		5251 variant for the IBM 5520 Administrative System
5254	1979		5252 variant for the IBM 5520 Administrative System
5255		1920 character display Kanji support	Double-Byte Character Set (DBCS) support for kanji-based languages, requires special DBCS workstation adapter for S/34, not tested on S/36 or later
Second Generation IBM Workstations All workstations released in the 2nd generation come with a 1920 character display by default.
Model	Introduction	Capabilities	Notes	Picture
5291-1	September 1982		Roughly the same footprint as a 5251, non-detachable keyboard
5291-2	October 1984		Compact footprint variant, detachable keyboard
5292-1	September 1982	Color GDDM Support	One of only two IBM terminals to support the GDDM graphics protocol
5292-2	May 1983	Color GDDM Support	One of only two IBM terminals to support the GDDM graphics protocol
5295			Japan-only terminal, actually a cut-down 5550 Multistation running IBM DOS
3179		Color	Also available as a 3270 workstation
3180-2	March 1984		VERY fragile plastic, will crumble if you touch it wrong 3180-1 is 3270 compatible
3180-210			3180-2 variant with separate logic and CRT units
Third Generation IBM Workstations Also known as "IBM InfoWindow" for models after 3196/3197
Model	Introduction	Capabilities	Notes	Picture
3196-Ax0, Bx0	June 1986		A = Green Phosphor, B = Amber Phosphor x denotes keyboard option: 1 = 122-key, 2 = 102 key
3197-D	December 1987		Same hardware as 3196 but larger CRT
3197-C	February 1987	Color
3476	June 1989
3477-FG, FA	September 1989	Parallel Port	14 inch CRT FG = Green Phosphor, FA = Amber Phosphor
3477-FD	September 1989	Parallel Port	15 inch CRT FG = Green Phosphor, FA = Amber Phosphor
3477-FCx	September 1989	Parallel Port PS/2 Mouse Support Color	Color InfoWindow; poor quality tube with very short lifespan x denotes warranty length in 1 or 3 year terms
3486-BA, BG	September 1992	Parallel Port PS/2 Mouse Support Image Support	Supports a graphical display mode for showing the operator faxes BA = Amber Phosphor, BG = Green Phosphor
3487-HA, HG	September 1992	Parallel Port PS/2 Mouse Support Image Support	Supports a graphical display mode for showing the operator faxes 15 inch CRT HA = Amber Phosphor, HG = Green Phosphor
3487-HC	September 1992	Parallel Port PS/2 Mouse Support Image Support Color	Color InfoWindow; poor quality tube with very short lifespan Supports a graphical display mode for showing the operator faxes
Fourth Generation IBM Workstations Final generation of hardware 5250 terminals. Bring-your-own-display pizzaboxes.
Model	Introduction	Capabilities	Notes	Picture
3488	September 1992	Parallel Port PS/2 Mouse Support Image Support Color	Supports a maximum of two display sessions
3489	October 1994	Parallel Port PS/2 Mouse Support Image Support Color	Supports a maximum of four display sessions Unreliable power supplies