I was doing something similar, on a PDP8/L driving a Tektronix scope with a camera attached, using code written in Focal - University of Washington, 1972. I learned a great deal about font generation, given that the code had to trace out each letter shape via X, Y coordinates...
From: "cctalk" <cctalk@classiccmp.org> To: "Toby Thain" <t...@telegraphics.com.au> Cc: "cctalk" <cctalk@classiccmp.org> Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2018 1:33:52 PM Subject: Re: BIG ol tektronix scope 555 - need it gone - make an offer > On Dec 11, 2018, at 3:30 PM, Toby Thain <t...@telegraphics.com.au> wrote: > > On 2018-12-11 9:15 AM, Paul Koning wrote: >> >> >>> On Dec 11, 2018, at 7:59 AM, Toby Thain via cctalk <cctalk@classiccmp.org> >>> wrote: >>> >>> On 2018-12-11 1:17 AM, devin davison via cctalk wrote: >>>> The line about being used with an early computer as a display caught my >>>> eye. How would it be used as a display, what kind of graphics capability >>>> would it have? is there an interface for the thing for the pdp 11 or a >>>> modcomp? Those are the old systems i have on hand that i might be able to >>>> interface to it. >>> >>> A scope is at heart an electrostatic CRT with X and Y deflection ... >>> >>> For digital computers, output is point plotting, vector drawing, and/or >>> character generation depending on the sophistication (= cost) of the >>> hardware involved. You'd also need to find or write suitable software :) >>> >>> Yes, there were interface cards for PDP-11, such as AA11 (dual DACs). >> >> I made such a setup in college: we had an 11/20 with AA11 (and other lab I/O >> gear). I hooked those up to the X/Y inputs of a scope, and a digital I/O >> line to the Z input. Then loaded coordinate pairs into a buffer on the RC11 >> disk, which was set up to do DMA directly to the AA11 data CSR. Worked >> nicely, and with low overhead on a machine that certainly could not afford >> to do refresh in software. > > Curious what year that was, if you don't mind disclosing? 1974, at Lawrence University which had that 11/20 (with 8 kW of memory, DECtape, RC11, AA11, AD01, DR11, and ASR33) in the physics lab. paul