Legendary Windows Dev Revives 'War Games' Monitor with DIY Interface

Legendary Windows developer Dave W Plummer has breathed new life into the iconic HP1345a vector display, best known for its starring role in the 1983 movie War Games. The ancient monitor, which uses a completely proprietary, unbuffered, and unterminated interface with 16 data lines plus two handshake lines (ReadyForData and DataValid), has been successfully interfaced with a modern PC via USB serial connection.

Plummer's solution involves wiring the monitor to an ESP32-S3 microcontroller, which acts as a bridge between the serial port and the HP display. The wiring setup, which Plummer describes as "wiring spaghetti," connects all 16 data lines and the two handshake lines to free GPIOs on the ESP32. A Python application then drives the display, rendering a binary stream at 921,600 baud.

The developer has already showcased his success with a vector-tastic animated computer graphics demo, demonstrating that the interface works as intended. All the code and detailed information about the HP1345a, along with Plummer's DIY interface, are available on GitHub.

Hot on the heels of this achievement, Plummer has completed a "quick and dirty port" of some Python Asteroids code to work with his USB-HP bridge. The result is a vector gaming classic running on the authentic hardware that movie fans will instantly recognize. The Asteroids clone has already generated requests for other vector game ports, including Star Wars, Battle Zone, and Tempest.

Plummer warns potential DIYers that if they're lucky enough to source one of these 'War Games' monitors, they should exercise extreme caution when opening or servicing the display due to the high voltages contained within the display cabinet.

This project comes at an interesting time for vector display enthusiasts. While the Vectrex Mini console has been in the news recently as a crowdfunding project, it notably lacks an actual CRT vector display since they're no longer manufactured. The Vectrex Mini instead uses OLED technology with a mere 5-inch diagonal display, which many enthusiasts feel falls short of the authentic vector experience that Plummer has now successfully recreated with genuine hardware.

The HP1345a's revival demonstrates how modern microcontrollers like the ESP32 can bridge decades of technological evolution, allowing vintage displays to find new life in contemporary computing environments. For tech enthusiasts of a certain age, there's something undeniably alluring about seeing these classic vector displays in action once again, especially when running beloved games like Asteroids on the very hardware that once graced the silver screen.