risto@cad.Berkeley.EDU (Risto Mutikainen) (08/02/88)
I finally bought an ImageWriter LQ - without knowing what I bought. The question was how to convert it afterwards to European electricity, in this case 220V/50Hz. There were no one in Apple to answer whether LQ uses line frequency for timing etc., either the technical support for University Mac outlet (by Apple, in Berkeley) did not 'understand' the question. Only thing they said was that different frequency 'may noticeable affect character spacing' (correspondence available upon request). Funnily, current Mac software can't handle the character spacing correctly anyhow, there are warnings in the manual to add more spaces on critical spots where LQ gets screwed up. And it gets. The only informative answer I got to solve the puzzle was an answer for my previous posting about existence of LQ with an international power unit. Apple knew to confirm this when I knew to ask about it. It can be imported here from any foreign Apple dealer, at a prize of more than double what LQ costs here. And LQ is not cheap even here. Well, anyhow, I bought it (IM LQ, USA model, for 120V/60Hz) and checked it up. ImageWriter LQ does *not* use frequency anywhere for timing, as I expected. There is a transformed to feed the board by 29Vac (no load, specs. probably 28V/6A), which is immediately rectified for voltage source (probably switching one). So, there are no problems changing LQ for different line voltages or frequencies either by external or internal transformer. Just need to check that the voltage for the board remains the same. Needless to say, I am not very satisfied with the Apple tech support. In Apple, IT MUST TAKE A LOT OF TIME TO TEACH ALL THE PERSONNEL THE OFFICIAL ANSWERS IN ADDITION TO THE RIGHT ONES! Risto risto@cad.Berkeley.EDU
edmoy@violet.berkeley.edu (08/03/88)
In article <4806@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU> risto@cad.Berkeley.EDU.UUCP (Risto Mutikainen) writes: >I finally bought an ImageWriter LQ - without knowing what I bought. >The question was how to convert it afterwards to European electricity, >in this case 220V/50Hz. There were no one in Apple to answer whether >LQ uses line frequency for timing etc., either the technical support >for University Mac outlet (by Apple, in Berkeley) did not 'understand' >the question. The people at the outlet you refer to are not Apple people, but basically just University sales staff. Technical questions are handled by a different group (my group as a matter of fact). >Only thing they said was that different frequency 'may >noticeable affect character spacing' (correspondence available upon >request). Funnily, current Mac software can't handle the character >spacing correctly anyhow, there are warnings in the manual to add more >spaces on critical spots where LQ gets screwed up. And it gets. Apple has just announced new driver software for the LQ that should fix the spacing problems. >Well, anyhow, I bought it (IM LQ, USA model, for 120V/60Hz) and >checked it up. ImageWriter LQ does *not* use frequency anywhere for >timing, as I expected. There is a transformed to feed the board by >29Vac (no load, specs. probably 28V/6A), which is immediately >rectified for voltage source (probably switching one). So, there are >no problems changing LQ for different line voltages or frequencies >either by external or internal transformer. Just need to check that >the voltage for the board remains the same. I don't know about the internals, but the official word from Apple, from an article on Apple's AppleLink bulletin board service entitled "Using Apple Equipment Overseas" (dated 11 March 1988) states under the section named "Frequency": If the country uses a line frequency other than 60 Hertz (cycles per second), then all devices attached to you Apple (monitors, printers, plotters, hard disks and so on) must be "frequency independent" -- that is, they must be able to operate on a line frequency of both 50 and 60 Hz. All products made by Apple are frequency independent EXCEPT the Color Plotter, Scribe, the U.S.A. ImageWriter II, LaserWriter I, Australian/European LaserWriter II, and the ImageWriter LQ. Also, in the warranty section: Apple dealers overseas are capable of servicing the equipment designed for their county only. Finally, in the warranty section: The warranty is valid only in the country of purchase. A defective unit must be returned to the country of purchase if service is desired under warranty. Apple suggests that if plans are know ahead of time, that equipment be purchased in the country of use. Edward Moy Principal Programmer - Macintosh & Unix Workstation Support Services Workstation Software Support Group University of California Berkeley, CA 94720 edmoy@violet.Berkeley.EDU ucbvax!violet!edmoy