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FT1 Pi Zero Based Retro-Style Terminal

By on June 21, 2019
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John Kennedy has built a beautiful retro style terminal called FT1 which is equipped with a Raspberry Pi Zero sbc, a cheap LCD screen and usb keyboard. The maker has also provided complete instructions on how to create your very own retro-styled terminal.

“This is a brief description of how to build a retro-styled terminal, using a USB keyboard and a Raspberry Pi with serial adapter. The total cost would be about $100. This is a possible solution if you need a dedicated display for a retro-computer kit (for example, an Altair-Arduino, PiDP11/70 or RC2014), and don’t want to buy a used DEC VT terminal from eBay.

Rather than 3D print the pieces, I designed them to be cut out of acrylic using a laser cutter. When cemeted together, this produces a solid unit that can withstand an 11-year-old playing Zork.”

On software side, he suggests to use a Pi Zero with the PigFX terminal emulator and a Serial Hat, or the more advanced Pi 3 running Cool-Retro-Term and a USB-Serial adaptor.

The laser cat outer casing is available for you to download directly from the Hackster.io website enabling you to build your very own.

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