We found this photo of a Type 1100 Storage Display Unit and two things stood out. Tektronix never released a Type 1100 display and the bezel and CRT appear to be a curved face similar to a raster scan CRT, not the flat face of a direct view storage tube (DVST). We used this as our January 2021 Photo of the Month and asked for input.

We found this December 1967 Service Scope article which shows a similar monitor with the curved face CRT but with the more familiar 611 nomenclature which did go into production. Click on the image to view the PDF.

Four months later in the April 1968 issue of Service Scope the photo is of the more familiar 611 display that went into production. The article is Direct-View Bistable Storage CRT Resolution. Click on the image to view the PDF.

We tracked down a design engineer from the 611 project. Yes, the product was referred to as the 1100 early on, based on the 11" screen size. Before the ceramic funnel DVST was available the project proceeded with using a standard raster scan CRT bezel and this photo was of an early prototype. Prior to production, the compound ellipse bezel (a simple vacuum-formed part) was changed to a rectangular (with radiused corners). At the same time, it was realized that it’s nomenclature should be consistent with the 6” DVST display. That made it the 611. Mystery solved.

Here is our 611 on exhibit driven with a Wizard and Tek Bug demo board.