Used to use a Huntron Tracker 2000 in my old job. Fantabulous piece of equipment. Fantabulously expensive as well.
Want to build a dirt simple, dirt cheap, half baked version of the same type of thing. Something to build off of for the bench…
http://www.ionpool.net/arcade/tech/octopus.pdf
This is what I’m basing the whole thing off of, except for the wall wart A/C input.
My overall half-baked master plan, instead of using the wall wart A/C input for a signal source, is to use an 8 bit R2R ladder on the 'duino for a low current D/A output, fed thru a 1:1 op-amp to get a bit of current ouput capability, a couple of 4066’s to switch the polarity of the input signal by swapping the R2R ladder output and ground wires (yes, I know the switches have ‘built-in’ resistance), and vee-oh-la, an A/C input signal source…that’ll swing positive and “negative” at the output probe pins.
Tap off the X and Y 'scope outputs into the 'duino’s A/D inputs, read both simultaneously (or at least as simultaneously as I can), and display the resulting values on a graphic LCD.
Problems…of course…issues…yep.
For one, there’ll be a fair bit of mismatch between the readings from the X and Y “channels” since I can’t sample them both at the exact same time, possible spikes (or maybe you could call it cross-over distortion) while switching the polarity of the A/C input signal via the 4066’s…and a dozen other things I haven’t thought of yet.
A Google turns up mostly homebuilt type circuits based on a mains driven A/C input signal. I don’t want to go that route. Concentrating on a battery operated solution that’ll fit on a shield for the Arduino Mega2560.
Thoughts…or maybe a lack thereof?