The Retro Dumb Terminal is a limited ASCII terminal suitable for lab work, status monitors and retro computing. It outputs a 64 character by 25 line display. Input is via a PS/2 keyboard. The manual for the RDT64 kit is available on the Data & Documentation page. The magazine article is available in the Circuit Cellar.

Mounting:

The RDT64 circuit board is 6 x 4.7 inches (152.4 x 119.4 mm). It was designed to fit the Simco 150X75 case. You can of course purchase a different case or build your own.

VGA output:

The RDT64 display is 25 lines of 64 characters per line or 1600 characters on the screen. The VGA monitor must be compatible with VGA DOS Text mode (600x400 at 70 Hz) or VGA IBM text mode (720x400 at 70 Hz). The RGB signals are individually controlled so the characters and the background may be any of the eight possible colors.

Keyboard input:

The RDT64 is compatible with PS/2 keyboards.

Host Connection:

RS-232 serial port using 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit (8N1). Baud rates from 1200 to 9600.

Power:

User supplied +5 volt DC wall-wart, 2.1 mm barrel connector, center positive. Current consumption 300 mA.

The current firmware version is 20.07.24.