Geoff's VT100 Terminal Kit

Name: Geoff's VT100 Terminal Kit
SKU: 17649
Price: 61.00 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.59 (20 reviews)

(20 Reviews)

Kit includes PCB and parts to build ASCII terminal that uses conventional PS/2 keyboard and VGA screen

Designed by Peter Hizalev in United States of America

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Kit includes PCB and parts to build ASCII terminal that uses conventional PS/2 keyboard and VGA screen

TLDR; This product is a kit based on the original Geoff Graham design. If you only need the PCB you can buy it here. ATTENTION! Version 3.2 of the ASCII Terminal has following significant changes to …

Review Breakdown

Average Ratings

Product: (4.85)

Documentation: (4.25)

Shipping: (4.70)

Communication: (4.55)

Ken | Feb. 27, 2023

Great inplementation of the "Geoff" ASCII terminal design.

Received full kit w/PCB v3.2 and firmware v3.2.0.
No issues assembling. Worked perfectly on first power-up!
Of the few implementations of the “Geoff” design,
this one has by far the best, nice, uniform
character generation, and setup menus.

Nits, Suggestions:
1. Description claims “TTL or RS-232 signal levels”.
Note the signal *levels* are strictly TTL.
If you want actual RS-232 (+/- signals),
you’ll need a MAX232 or similar converter.
(I use the Sipex SP3232E)
TTL or RS-232 choice here only refers to logic inversion
(ie. Is a “1” a TTL low or TTL high)…

2. Minor: The USB-B connector could really be updated
to a micro-USB, or USB C.

3. Minor: Specs/Mouser/Digikey/etc for the mating
5V and serial pin latched connectors would be helpful.
(or include in kit :)

4. Other “Geoff” implementations have switched
to USB keyboards. The code is there.
Most modern USB keyboards have
dropped PS2 compatibility
(ie, using the old green adapter).
Fortunately, I had a stack of
old straight-PS2 keyboards in the attic.
Yes, new PS2 keyboards are cheap,
but USB would be more up-to-date.

Anyway, great kit! Recommended!

Response from Peter Hizalev | Feb. 28, 2023

Thank you for kind words!

USB keyboard support is next on my TODO list and should be fairly straightforward. The firmware is designed to abstract keyboard scan codes, which is demonstrated in experimental Color Terminal that uses USB keyboard.

https://hackaday.io/project/173682-color-ascii-terminal

Also good points for clarifying option for serial inversion and on including mating connectors for 5V and serial.

John | Sept. 13, 2022

Great device, with great flexability

Great design flexibility and value, good build instructions. Went together in just over an hour. Only issue - what connections are supported via J4 and J6? Can't tell from documentation. I am guessing that J4 is the RS232/TTL interface and J6 is for firmware upgrades, but can't tell that from support docs. Should be included in instructions to reduce any confusion..

Joseph | Jan. 20, 2022

Excellent terminal!

This is a great kit. All parts included and in great condition. Highest recommendation! Thanks!!!

Pavel | Nov. 13, 2021

Very good product with non exhaustive documentation

Terminal is very good (better then original Geoff's one), very easy for assembling and has worked for the first touch. The list of supported ANSI commands is unfortunately missing.

Response from Peter Hizalev | Nov. 13, 2021

Thank you! The list of supported ANSI sequences can be seen here in the source code https://github.com/petrohi/terminal/blob/8121ca94f40e7f40e53e7e188bf5afd0d014b1b7/firmware/Terminal.X/terminal_uart.c#L1532

I will compile dedicated document with a list.

William | Oct. 12, 2021

Excellent Product

Product in printed case:

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/715703887218212866/897556116228145182/image0.jpg

I've built the device and all is well. Was able to upgrade to the v3.0.4 firmware without problems. Had a case built from the STL's available and it all fit together well.

For the cover STL, cover1 and cover2 are a bit different.

For the user who doesn't recommend this product, must have recently watched eevblog's recent video about design. Ignore them.

Greg | Oct. 6, 2021

It works, but ...

The kit was well packed, and all required components were included. The kit was easy to assemble with only a few small issues with component fitment.
The finished kit powered up with no visible issues which surprised me. Menu setup worked flawlessly, and was easy to navigate.
That was the Pro's, and now the Con's
There are so many things wrong with the boards component placement and routing, that I would have to say this is the worst designed circuit board I have ever seen. KiCad autorouter strikes again, but hampered even more by poor component placement. Power and ground traces are daisy chained with tiny conductors. 20 MHz crystal oscillator and capacitors are mounted more than half way across the board are are routed next to video and other traces. Incorrect placement of bypass capacitors for the microprocessor. The list goes on and on.

I do not recommend purchase of this kit.

Response from Peter Hizalev | Oct. 6, 2021

Thank you for an honest assessment. To further my embarrassment I did not use KiCAD autoroute and actually routed manually several times over, since I wanted to minimize the number of vias. I am actually considering some changes in the design that would let me redo the routing over again. Would you recommend good book or other sources on how to properly route PCBs?

Clive | Sept. 18, 2021

Nice clean kit

Kit was shipped promptly , vendor had good communication, shipping me a missing part before I received the first shipment and letting me know about it by email.
It all went together very easily , good quality pcb and components, all well packed. Worked great. I shall order another when they are back in stock.

Now looking for an hdmi version too..:)

Jeff | Aug. 14, 2021

Love it!

Fun kit to build. Directions helped me to get it put together and working right off the bat. The onscreen setup is a nice touch. Have already tested it with my Mac. Eventually plan to use it with my PiDP-8 and, down the road, possibly with a homebrew.

Steven | April 2, 2021

Went together easily, works great!

I had no problems assembling the kit - basically everything is provided. There is even a design for a 3D printable case, should one want to make one.

I really like the easy on-screen configuration.

Peter | March 21, 2021

Great kit!

I'm using this kit as the console for a breadboard computer. The kit was easy to put together, and worked the first time. It operates exactly as advertised. I am very pleased with it.

Response from Peter Hizalev | March 24, 2021

Thank you! Please let me know what to improve to get the 5 stars.

Alexander | Jan. 25, 2021

neat little device

I am using it on a RC2014 and with an additional MAX323 on several network devices like switches. It takes less space on the desk than a computer (I put it in a case the size of a cigarette box) and boots within a second.

Only one thing is a little annoying. There is no direct support for a German keyboard layout, at least I cannot find it. English keyboards with PS/2 are hard to find over here. I think it will be easier to patch the software and I will have a look in it later.

Response from Peter Hizalev | Jan. 31, 2021

Thank you for kind words!

German keyboard layout is the works. One of the users submitted a pull request (https://github.com/petrohi/terminal/pull/18), which I need to properly integrate.

Zoltan | Dec. 19, 2020

Fun, useful, high quality!

A great quality little kit, soldered it together in couple of hours without a problem, regardless of my low soldering skills, and worked right away. The firmware is top notch too, quite impressive. Many options, still have to find out the right combination to make it work with my 9995 SBC. But the main reason I got it is to help with FPGA hobby projects to free up space that would be otherwise be used for text-based VGA controller + memory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGSghj2WLYs&t=27s

Stephen | July 29, 2020

Easy assembly

A couple pages of documentation and good labeling on the circuit board is all it takes. Nothing too involved. Availability of soft-copy instructions and BOM would be welcome.

Hunter | July 18, 2020

A great little project; high quality; works as advertised

This was a fun project to put together, and it worked correctly the first time. The instructions were clear and concise, and all components were high quality.

Anatoly | July 11, 2020

Significant improvement from the original.

I have used the original Geoff's VT100 terminal board and really like the functionality and simplicity of the design. The updated Version 2 is a huge improvement to the display and character generation. It is results in an easier to read and much clearer display. The kit was very easy to put together and instructions provided guidance for it's assembly. After some easy soldering, i made a close visual inspection and good cleaning with IP Alcohol. It powered up and functioned with no problem. I would highly recommend this update to the original design.

Jeremy | June 29, 2020

Great product

Quick delivery, good instructions and it just works. Very nice design and some great configuration options.

Orville | June 14, 2020

Nice product and great service!

I ordered the VT100 Terminal Kit to be used with a homebrew computer I am building. The instructions were excellent and the build went smoothly. The terminal fired up immediately when I tested it out. I will order more kits from Tindie in the future.

Andy | Dec. 25, 2019

Great little kit!

If you are looking for an easy-to-assemble and inexpensive ascii/vt100 kit suitable for basic soldering skills then this will meet your needs. Everything you need is in this kit. Good quality connectors (Amp) included as well. You’ll also need a ps2 keyboard which are in abundance on eBay for <$10.

The terminal adapter works perfectly. Power on is instantaneous and behaves just like you would expect it to. Some of the gaming graphics are not displaying but that might be me (there is documentation on on the Geoff website explaining the supported graphics situation ) - for all regular stuff you should be fine.

Peter was very helpful and super-responsive when I had various questions ...not to mention an embarrassing soldering crisis 😎.

Currently I’ve mounted the terminal adapter on a small piece of wood but will be put in in a plastic box when I find one the right size.

.

Clyde | Nov. 6, 2019

Excellent

Good product. The board is a different size/layout than the original article, but after a little searching, found the layout photo at https://www.tindie.com/products/petrohi/geoffs-vt100-terminal-pcb/. Didn't really need it, but it was useful to have.

Recommendation1: Only difficulty was getting the 3.3v voltage regulator installed. The terminal pads really need to be spaced a bit further apart to prevent accidental solder bridging. There's plenty of room to do so on the board.

Recommendation2: An easily made modification (actually, just a sentence in the instructions) is to use extra strip-pins (three sets of two) in pin strip into the color pads so that different (single color - red, green or blue) can be easily changed/selected rather than solder bridging a fixed color.

It went together easily, tested out OK immediately and is now in use.

Response from Peter Hizalev | Nov. 6, 2019

Thank you for kind words! Please allow me to comment on your recommendations.

1) In the new version of PCB I changed voltage regulator footprint to be more convenient for soldering. Here is the picture of new terminal pads:

https://imgur.com/a/hi8FM0M

2) Indeed I should be providing better instructions! Kit includes pins and jumpers to make color easily configurable. Here is how it looks:

https://imgur.com/a/E8A9tgV

Blake | Sept. 24, 2019

Works great!

The super high quality kit went together easily and quickly. The PCB is very high quality and no problem soldering all the parts on. The only parts change I made was to the header for the Rx Tx signals, I used a locking header and polarized mating connector to ensure correct orientation. Dont forget to bridge at least one pair of pads that select the color of the displayed text! That info is left to the student to figure out, so one star off documentation (which is the website).

Response from Peter Hizalev | Sept. 24, 2019

Thanks! I am working on the v2 of the PCB, which will have jumpers instead of solder bridge for RGB selection.

Can you point me to the locking header you mentioned?

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