Terminal Console Made from Oscilloscope

The project is also known as terminalscope which uses standard PS/2 keyboard input and 54×24 resolution oscilloscope screen in order to build a bidirectional serial terminal console.

The commands of the keyboard is read by an adapter that is built around an ATmega168 microcontroller. The adapter also generates video signal sent to scope and intake UART communications. The device provides a flicker free 60Hz refreshing image in oscilloscope screen while using a 7-bit ASCII. The AVR has to be clocked at 20MHz for resolution of 54×24. The terminal can be used as a professional device since it features configuration profiles, selectable baud rate, and graphical configuration menu. It is a time critical application despite the simplicity of hardware.

Compared to other scope projects that requires expensive DAC or inaccurate R-2R ladder, this terminalscope uses op-amps to generate a raster scan across the screen while the microcontroller directly modulates the Z axis for beam intensity. The X and Y linear ramps are generated by integrators made up of two op-amps like the MC34074 or TL3474. A Zener diode is used to create a virtual ground since the op-amps are single-supply with high slew rate.

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