ScopeShapes is a program that uses the left and right sound outputs of your computer to control the X- and Y- axes of an oscilloscope in order to generate 2D and 3D shapes. It reads AutoCAD-format ASCII .dxf files, and runs on Linux, Win32, and Mac OS X.
How does ScopeShapes work?
Most desktop and laptop computers possess a stereo sound output, usually in the form of a 3.5mm jack socket. It can usually output at a resolution of 16 bits, at up to 44.1KHz. What this is, in effect, is a dual digital to analogue converter, optimised for the audio frequency spectrum.
An oscilloscope in X - Y mode (a function usually used to measure phase difference between two different signals) can be used a vector (as opposed to raster) graphic display by driving the two inputs with analogue voltages of a suitable magnitude. A varying voltage on the X input will drive the beam left or right (according to its polarity), whilst a voltage on the other will drive it up or down.
If we then connect the left and right side of the computer's stereo output to the X and Y inputs respectively (or the other way round, it doesn't really matter), and write some software to drive the outputs according to the geometry of a series of lines, we can draw shapes on the oscilloscope screen. That is the purpose of ScopeShapes.
What's New in This Release:
· Minor corrections to documentation
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