[net.micro.cbm] Okidata 92

rdw@dvamc.UUCP (03/08/84)

Several weeks ago I queried the net regarding opinions about
printers, wanting something in the dot matrix category which
had near letter quality and was not exorbitantly priced.
The several comments I received were relatively uniform in
their support for the Okidata Microline 92.

Accordingly, I have recently *purchased* one of said items
and have interfaced it to my C64 using a Cardco Card?+G
interface. I am very happy with the print quality, particularly
in the Correspondence Mode (40cps), though even the standard
mode (160cps) is quite readible.

I am however left with some problems and questions for which
I again request the sage advice of the seemingly all-knowing net:

1. There seems to be some problem in directly modifying most of the
   92's parameters - the device seems to misinterpret the command
   sequences given, even though I am careful to use proper syntax,
   have read the manuals, and have set the appropriate dip switches
   in both 92 and interface unit. There is a particular inability
   to pass the esc code (CHR$(27)) directly, though, interestingly,
   Speedscript does not seem to have trouble with this (Speedscript
   does however have difficulty passing other command codes, even
   with careful attention to how they are defined).

2. What communications software packages (for uploading/downloading
   etc.) are available and useful for my particular combination of
   interface and printer?

3. How does one utilize the bit-map graphics plotting capability
   of the 92? From the Cardco manual I am led to believe there
   may be problems with this because of the 92's 7 bit code re-
   quirements. I am particularly interested in doing displays of
   material I have created with my Koala Pad.

4. What Word Processor programs appear to work best with the
   92/Cardco system? Perhaps this could be a simplistic way
   of dealing with Problem #1 above. It would be nice to have
   a WP program which would effectively and easily use the very
   powerful features of the 92 to their fullest.

Well, that's it! Thanks in advance for the help.


                       Rich Weiner/rdw@dvamc
                                   mcnc!dvamc!rdw
Also:Psychiatry Service
     Durham VAMC
     Durham NC 27705               (919) 286-0411

calway@ecsvax.UUCP (03/17/84)

To Rich Weiner:

When the Cardco interface is set to Upper/Lower Case mode, it converts the C-64's "PET ASCII" to real ASCII. In the process, it wrecks most of the escape code sequences you are likely to send.
It adds 32 to the ASC value of any character from CHR$(65) to CHR$(90). For example, ESC-E, which is supposed to go to your printer as the values 27 and 69, actually goes as 27 and 101. Notice that the escape code (27) itself was not affected.
To compensate, add 128 to the ASC value of any characters following the escape code if they are from 65 to 90.
That way, Cardco will knock them back down to what you really want. To get the E, for example, send a CHR$(197).

handy.



I recently ordered a TelStar 64 communications package from Eastern House of Winston-Salem, N.C. It arrived quickly, twodays after my phone order,
and I was excited about it at first. My feelings are more mixed now. It comes in
cartridge form, which is handy. It does everything it is supposed to do: uploading, downloading, sending to printer.
It accomplishes those tasks through means of 8K buffers, which you have to dump to disk or printer after the transmission is completed. It will not "stream"
to a printer simultaneously as you communicate.
The menu structure is clumsy, and if you make a mistake on the menu, you have to start all over. There are no
"expert commands" that allow you to bypass the menu.
One big plus: it allows you to reassign the ASCII value of any character you might send from the keyboard.
It also will convert PET ASCII to real ASCII. Unfortunately, Speedscript does
not store text on disk in either PET ASCII or real ASCII. It's something akin to the screen POKE codes.
I am working on quickie conversion program and will send you a copy when finished if you are interested.

James Calloway
News and Observer
Box 191, Raleigh, NC 27602
(919) 829-4570