The dual screen Apollo DSKY is a recreation of an Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC) User Interface Display and Keyboard (DSKY). The original DSKY had a keyboard on the lower half and two screens on the upper half. The left screen displayed warnings and statuses while the right screen displayed numeric mission data.

Creating a DSKY is a rite of passage for many hardware hackers, typically this is done with seven segment displays for the right screen and individual LEDs under transparent labels for the left screen. Since we always have LCD screens around in order to make Enigma Machine simulators, they become a go-to part when designing new products.

This DSKY is designed to connect to a computer using its main processor and appears as a virtual Serial Port. It can accept commands from the computer to illuminate any of the indicators. It also sends to the computer any keys pressed on the device.

The device is powered by three Arduinos, two arduino Nano and one Arduino Mega. Each nano controls a Seeed Studio 2.8" LCD screen and receives commands from the Mega. The Arduino Mega connects to the computer, presenting itself as a virtual serial port. It reads the keys and sends any keystrokes to the computer and also accepts commands from the computer and forwards them to the two Nanos.

In order for this device to display data, it needs to be connected to a computer running an Apollo AGC simulation.

A link is provided to a modified version of MoonJS hosted in GitLab.

The device can also be powered by an external 9V source using a standard Arduino Power Jack plug. Battery operation is possible, but three Arduinos and two LCD screens will drain a single battery pretty fast. The Arduino Mega has enough code space that user provided custom code is possible. There are 244KB (250,000 bytes) of code space free and available for custom code. Free ram stands at 253,952 bytes.

You will receive the actual device shown in the pictures. Contact us for any additional questions.