A Charactron is a specialized, older cathode ray tube that generates characters using a physical stencil mask placed inside the electron beam path. The beam is deflected to hit a specific letter cutout in the matrix, shaping the beam itself before it strikes the phosphor screen. This method provided extremely sharp text for early computer terminals and radar displays before dot-matrix and raster graphics became standard.
The museum needs a replacement high-voltage supply to get this old Charactron console firing again.
Do not mix it up with
- Nixie tube: A Nixie tube uses shaped wire cathodes in a neon gas to display digits, while a Charactron shapes an electron beam in a vacuum tube.
Related terms
Cathode ray tube
A vacuum tube containing one or more electron guns and a phosphorescent screen used to display images.
CRT
A cathode-ray tube is a vacuum envelope containing an electron gun and a phosphorescent screen.
Picture tube
A large vacuum tube used to display images in older televisions and monitors.