Wouldn't it be nice to remote control your Marconi and get rid of these crusty keys (possible) and forget about your dying CRT (difficult)?
Well, if you are interested or just curious, read on and enjoy your venerable Marconi!
You don't need a lot of stuff but you still need something! That would be too easy without a small challenge...
The software that drives the "interface" does exist. This interface is being developed (it's never finished anyway) and is now released. You need a piece of hardware or two. Your Marconi should have its GPIB option installed. The second piece of hardware is fitted between the USB port on your PC and the GPIB interface. There are different options: An AR488 device or a more commercial USB to GPIB controller. Note that the AR488 is a GPIB controller as well. I do have one I built myself.
One more thing regarding the software: it's multi-platform because written in Java. So, it will work on Windows, Linux and Mac OS.
To recap, one would need:
- Software called Test Controller (TC). https://lygte-info.dk/project/TestControllerIntro%20UK.html
- AR488 or similar controller. https://github.com/Twilight-Logic/AR488
- Definition file (simple text file) for the 2955. See this thread for more info.
This file can be modified by anybody and doesn't require programming skills. This txt file, together with many others, is integrated into the software build by HKJ (EEVBLOG member and software developer). - A few cables (GPIB and USB)
Have fun