Build Your Own Vectrex Vector-Based Video Game Console

The early days of home video game consoles were a strange time, and nobody was quite sure what consumers wanted. Some consoles could only play games that were built into the console, others had strange controllers, and a few even forced you to place a plastic overlay on your television screen to act as part of the game’s graphics. One console, the Vectrex, was particularly unique because it displayed vector graphics instead of raster graphics like just about every other console and computer on the market. Vintage Vectrex consoles are highly sought after today and are therefore quite expensive. Fortunately you can build your own Vectrex-compatible console called the SCOPETREX that displays graphics on your oscilloscope.

Most CRT (Cathode-Ray Tube) TVs and monitors draw a picture by swinging the electron beam back and forth across the screen one line at a time. That happens very quickly — usually at least 60 times a second — so that your eyes can’t detect it and you just see moving pictures. But a CRT display doesn’t have to work that way. The electron beam can instead be moved more like how you’d draw on a piece of paper in order to create graphics. That’s what the Vectrex console did to draw the video game graphics, which is why it came with its own dedicated display. That’s also how analog oscilloscopes work and the SCOPETREX takes advantage of that fact.

The SCOPETREX is essentially a reproduction of the Vectrex in the form of a single-board computer (SBC) that you can make yourself. While quite a few components are required to build it, they’re all through-hole components that are easy to solder. You can plug in actual Vectrex cartridges and they’ll load up via the standard Vectrex firmware. Video output is sent through the leads of your oscilloscope (digital or analog), and you just have to calibrate the scale and set the right mode for it to work. A controller has also been developed for you to use with the console. If you’ve always wanted to play Vectrex games, but don’t want to pay the $600+ that it costs to buy a vintage console, then the SCOPETREX is the perfect project for you.