3 Apr
2024
3 Apr
'24
3:17 p.m.
DEC used Tektronix R503 scopes for a display on many of their early
machines.
On Wed, Apr 3, 2024 at 11:16 AM Paul Koning via cctalk <
cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> wrote:
--
Michael Thompson
On Apr 3, 2024, at 11:01 AM, Guy Fedorkow via
cctalk <
cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> wrote:
Vintage computer enthusiasts might want to keep track of where to find
CRT-based analog oscilloscopes, for use as output devices.
The early MIT and Lincoln Labs computers used D/A
converters to steer
and activate the beam on analog scopes to draw vector images.
Working on Whirlwind simulation, we've been
able to get this technique
to work with "real" oscilloscopes, e.g., Tek 475, but we have not yet
found
a single DSO that has X/Y _and_ Z inputs (let alone the required phosphor
fade).
So did a whole range of DEC computers, of course. And the famous CDC
mainframe console (DD60) though it did vectors only for text (graphics was
dot-mode only since it wasn't a major use case for that device).
I once built a graphics display setup for an 11/20 lab machine (in
college) using DEC D/A modules (AA-01?) with an RC-11 disk serving as the
refresh memory, DMA direct to the D/A data register.
paul