Maker, software program developer, and classic computing fanatic Jeff Epler is bringing again the devoted terminal — by driving a 9″ IBM “paperwhite” CRT monitor from a Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller board.
“[This] is for my pal Chris, who works with retro computer systems,” Epler explains of his creation. “It is a [DEC] VT-style terminal, much like the VT100 or VT102, applied on a Raspberry Pi Pico with the RP2040 microcontroller. It has […] an AT keyboard connector and a VGA connector with a two-bit DAC [Digital to Analog Converter], and it should a classic IBM 9″ paperwhite monitor.”
Designed to imitate the devoted terminals of the Digital Tools Company and others from the Seventies and Eighties, the venture performs just a little fast-and-loose with show requirements: whereas there is a VGA connector to convey the Raspberry Pi Pico to the compact IBM CRT, it is outputting a non-standard 660×480 sign — timing-compatible with a 640×480 60Hz VGA sign, however one which will trigger hassle with fussier trendy shows.
The concept is straightforward: join a keyboard, monitor, and the classic machine of your alternative and obtain a fully-functional serial terminal with a 132×53 textual content mode show with 4 brightness ranges. “It is just a little sluggish,” Epler admits, “as a result of it is really operating at a serial fee of 115,000-baud — however in your retro computing wants, that is simply superb. It could actually change speeds all the way down to 300 baud, it could actually change to totally different bit codecs […] and it could actually change to USB to speak to the host over USB.”
Epler has launched the supply code for the venture on GitHub beneath the permissive MIT license, with full directions on its use. Further info is on the market in Epler’s Mastodon put up.