ppmview2 update posted

[John Galt]

i hope to have a GEOFF terminal version soon that will not require the graphics patch to work.

but here is the updated 

https://github.com/johngalt01/PPMVIEW2

i posted some additional ppm images to play with and you can turn the dithering on and off to see how it changes what the screen displays.

more Okidata printers are supported now also. 

[John Galt]

Here is preview of PPMVIEW2 using the GEOFF Terminal. dithering to help with color images and where it shines is 1 bit pixel art pictures. 

I want to add some more options for the Geoff Terminal that the Fabgl Ansi terminal does not need.

this application is designed to work with a standard Geoff terminal in VGA 36 mode, the 2022 Graphics patch is not needed. 

[John Galt]

GEOFF Terminal version of PPMVIEW2 is posted.

https://github.com/johngalt01/PPMVIEW2

this does not require the graphics patch it will work with the standard Firmware of the Geoff terminal shipped with the Altair-pro kits.

[John Galt]

i recommend trying out the TLINE files first these are little 32x32 test files and you will get a feel for how PPMVIEW2 works where it won't take very long. 

these are solids so dithering will not have an effect, you can then move to the NERD.ppm file which is 64x64 and you can try it with or without dithering and you can also play with inverting output.

Okidata printers are supported. the 3XX series printers should be set to EPSON mode in the configuration menu. you can also try some Epson printers and see what you get as output.

I do not have a Epson printer to try it so it isn't officially supported.

the FABGL Ansi terminal version gives you 64 colors and you also have dithering options and output options.

[John Galt]

updated the Geoff Version to match the Fabgl version as far is printer support.

[Richard Fadden]

In a related question...  After seeing your posts I became interested in the small inexpensive device that has VGA output, keyboard input and apparently gives a 'terminal' with, I thought, a serial interface (that would replace a vintage terminal).

[I wish I had a vintage terminal, or two and instead I have numerous VGA display devices plus numerous keyboards.]

I had been seeing information on FabGL VGA32, a few clicks in a Google Search and I ordered two of these FabGL VGA32 units.  In an earlier search looking for a GEOFF unit it looked like they are not available right now.  I received the FabGL VGA32 units but then looking at YouTube videos it looks like the FabGl has a different intended purpose.  The FabGL seems to just use Wifi and Bluetooth to connect to something and they are missing the vintage serial port of the GEOFF units.  Frankly it looked like the GEOFF unit with its serial port is more appropriate for our vintage computer hobby.  As I hear you and others refer to 'others' using FabGL units this makes me wonder what folks are using to connect through to a vintage computer?

I have a couple of guesses but I wonder if someone here can explain how folks are using the FabGL units?

Of course I have an Altair-Duino, and mine has the Bluetooth interface, so I suppose I can connect to the Bluetooth interface of the A-D.

I haven't been actively using my Altair-Duino (because I'm working on my Altair) and I'm wondering about the intended purpose of the Bluetooth interface on my Altair-Duino.  I have forgotten some of the details.

I do recall that I really wanted a device that would connect to the A-D Bluetooth interface - I bought a little USB/Bluetooth unit to plug into my PC but I never used the unit - I was just messing with other hobby projects.

I vaguely recall wanting a connection from the PC to the Altair-Duino via the Bluetooth port (in addition to using a terminal emulator on the PC to connect to the A-D via the USB connection) because of some support for transferring files.

Thoughts?

I now realize I have so many questions.  Is the GEOFF unit available?  (If so I'd order now since the International ordering and shipping system is being hosed by some crazy people) and we in the US can't count on any products from overseas - products that are already in a US warehouse are available now but I expect everything to sell out and so in the immediate future we stop being able to get inexpensive units like the FabGL VGA32.

[I'd like to order a couple of GEOFF units now.]

Thanks in advance for any answers or thoughts on this topic.

Cheers!

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[Richard Deane]

I am a bit unclear as to which eps32 device you are referring to.

I have a ttgo vga32 v1.4 running fabgl, and it has an 8 pin header to do serial. I assume 3.3v levels. My recollection is that it was low cost.

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[Richard Fadden]

Interesting!  Yes, I have the TTGO VGA32, but when it arrived I looked at the basic diagram of ports/connections and I didn't see the 8 pin header for serial.  I'm surprised.

I need to look more closely.  I think I was thrown off by the 3 or 4 YouTube videos that popped up when I searched related to this device.  Just coincidentally these folks making videos are using the TTGO VGA32 for connections via Wifi or Bluetooth.

I wasn't seeing any reference to a serial port capability.

Any other thoughts you have about what the TTGO VGA32 can do, or thoughts about how folks in our forum are using these devices, I'd greatly appreciate receiving your thoughts and ideas.

Thanks!

[Richard Deane]

I thought Fabgl was very good but I prefer the super crisp font of a serial terminal to my PC, which I also use for xmodem.

[John Galt]

the ESP32 VGA32 you have to install pin headers then install a RS232 that gives the serial connection. the ESP32 can also be a stand alone device and it can also emulate the Altair 8800/Atari/IBM PC 5150, etc.

what makes it a great terminal in the ANSI terminal configuration is 100% VT-100 emulation and it can emulate many other terminals on the fly from the drop down menu, it allows me to run Kaypro applications on my Altair 8800.

i think of it as a graphics accelerator card in a modern computer.

the Geoff terminal by comparison barely supports VT-52 and VT-100 it does the bare minimum. there are many other terminals that can also do better.

as for crispness of the font i run it on a 14" CRT which is far superior to a LCD. but i also have some very good early LCDs with a 4:3 ratio that came recommended from the vintage computer diehards as the early LCDs worked better to try and replicate the CRTs they replaced.

so i have some nice 20 year old DELL LCD 4:3 monitors that are excellent.

[John Galt]

oh i forgot you can also change the default FABGL ANSI terminal font from the drop down menu. you can also add your own fonts if you modify the INO files to update the firmware.

[John Galt]

you can still find Geoff terminals on tindie

https://www.tindie.com/search/?q=geoff

the Geoff terminal that came with the altair-duino was kind of an all in one with the daughter board.its modifed to use a USB keyboard over the PS/2 of the original.

for using any external serial with the Altair-Duino you have the ability to add another serial port using the RX/TX hack on the Arduino DUE

on my setup i have 2x 9Pin serial ports, and 2X mico usb ports. allowing me a total of 4 serial devices mapped at one time.

this also allows me to keep the original GEOFF terminal so i can switch to it if i wish by loading a different profile.

[John Galt]

i'll post this again.

this is the setup for the serial rs232 and a ESP32

[Richard Fadden]

Thanks to everyone here for the great answers.

I suspect many forum members have discussed GEOFF terminals and LILYGO and TTGO VGA32 in the forum, possibly many times, and I'd guess I missed all of this.  I've only started seeing information recently.

Mentioned above is the extended version of Altair-Duino with its GEOFF terminal capability.  I have the earlier unit without Terminal Emulator.

(My Altair-Duino is 2" (two inches) deep, with an external Serial connector, and Audio jack, with the internal Bluetooth, and internal micro SD Card.)

Sorry if this is a repeat question but: What is the small serial card?  I'm guessing it's the unit for creating the RS232 (or is it RS232C) voltage levels.  Possibly it inputs TTL serial (5V) or maybe 3.3V UART signalling.

Also that 3D printed case sure looks good.  I suppose that also has been discussed, possibly many times.  I'd love to order a few of the serial converter mini-boards and 3D printed cases.  This setup looks great.

Just now I have been looking at TTGO VGA32 Version 1.4 information online and it looks like the I/O lines are listed as supporting a long list of I/O standards, like UART, SPI, maybe I2C, etc. and I'm wondering if

this unit has the hardware support for all of these standards with some ability to 'switch' the output to the I/O lines, or possibly these are all implemented in software.  My guess is it's hardware support due to the

difficulty of implementing all of these standards in software.  These are topics all probably discussed in the past, here.

I'm also potentially driving my Altair 2SIO board (some day) and my main 2SIO was originally configured for RS232C on one port and TTL Serial on the other so I'm interested in the above RS232 setup.

Thanks!

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[John Galt]

More information can be found here:

http://www.fabglib.org/

https://github.com/fdivitto/fabgl

there are many examples of things you can do with the ESP32 VGA32 board.

the 1.4 has a build in SD slot so you can have storage, i have a IBM PC 5150 setup on one ESP32 board and use the SD to hold my drive images.

its amazing a IBM PC fits in my hand with my fingers closed around it.

the TTL to rs232 is similar to: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LPK0Z9A

the 3d printed case is nice, i found it on thingiverse about 3-4 years ago.

there are many more versions to be found in 2025.

you can of course use this terminal on original vintage computers to boost performance.

discussions go back to 2020, but very few people decided to try it out. you can interface it with a standard Altair-Duino with a single serial port but then you lose that port for other devices.

that is why it makes sense to add another serial port via the Arduino Due itself.

more recent information on the RX/TX modification.

https://groups.google.com/g/altair-duino/c/OHWPPob_TlI/m/vAf_GtzYAAAJ

[Richard Fadden]

Thanks for the answers!  This is very useful information.

I am truly enjoying my vintage computing and hardware fiddling, and new software for vintage hardware hobbies.  This topic really adds to the hobby.

Now that these cool devices have prodded me to think, the one piece of vintage equipment I don't have - a terminal, now I notice it is nice to have one (or two).

Previously I was proceeding without one (long story about not really wanting to use a terminal when instead I use my workstation screens) but with this input and with some additional thoughts I am starting to really appreciate this topic as a legit and very cool addition to our vintage (computing) hobby.

I'll have a terminal as an auxiliary option, like while using my Altair or Altair-Duino from my workstation (via the "Veejer" layer and interface) I'll also have the TTGO VGA32 on the side so I have both options.

Thanks again.

Cheers!

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[Leonard DiSanza]

Here’s my silly DIY terminal with a “foamy” housing. Never worked with foam boards before so another great learning experience.

Len DiSanza

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[John Galt]

many people collect terminals and like to try out different ones and see how they react. from original terminals to new software and hardware creations.

also many programs like putty or Teraterm support TEK graphics and there are cp/m versions of Basic and some applications that output TEK.

you have many options.