Davy McKee VDU Emulator

Mirador's PC-based emulator of the Davy McKee (Poole) Ltd. VDU6P2 supports all the functions of the original device, with the exception of two diagnostics functions that are specific to the original Intecolor hardware and are not needed for PC hardware.

Shown below are some typical displays from the Davy McKee VDU6P2 emulator.

The Davy McKee VDU6P2, often found in metal processing control systems, is based on Intecolor 8001G hardware, but it incorporates custom cpu firmware developed in the UK by Davy McKee Poole, Ltd. and released in 1983. The custom firmware provides provides high-level functions built on top of the standard Intecolor terminal functions.

The Davy McKee terminal firmware supports serial communications with a host computer and a machine controller (IVP) using a special communications protocol. Two RS-422 serial ports are employed simultaneously. The protocol defines a set of twenty-two high level commands for storing, formatting and displaying host and IVP data in graphical and tabular form in any of six different screen layouts. The VDU supports graphs that can be continuously updated, and the display of text and numeric data in various languages and units of measure. It uses the Intecolor Process character set to represent text and drawing elements on the display, and the plot character set for certain graphics. The VDU also supports a number of setup and diagnostic functions. A keyboard is used only when an operator needs to access these functions.