eal@tut.fi (Lehtim{ki Erkki) (10/09/89)
I have Anadex Silent Scribe matrix printer and i like to connect it to
Commodore-64.
Can anybody tell me what do i need? Which port, serial or extension?
Which kind of connection cable should i make? Do i need Expansion Card?
Anything else?
Pls answer via e-mail, i don't read this group.
Erkki
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Erkki A. Lehtim{ki eal@tut.uucp "I don't eat nutrasweet"scott@max.u.washington.edu (10/11/89)
In article <2181@tutor.tut.fi>, eal@tut.fi (Lehtim{ki Erkki) writes: > I have Anadex Silent Scribe matrix printer and i like to connect it to > Commodore-64. > > Can anybody tell me what do i need? Which port, serial or extension? > Which kind of connection cable should i make? Do i need Expansion Card? > Anything else? > > Erkki To connect a printer to the C64, it all depends on the type of connecting port of the printer. Some printers are C64 ready so a simple direct connection is all that is required; for this your will only need to purchase a serial cable with DIN type connectors. However I doubt that the printer you mentioned is a C64 ready printer. Instead, it is more likely that your printer has a Centronix or RS-232 DB connection port. In that case, you will need to purchase a printer-interface for the C64. Usually the printer-interface comes with a Centronix connectors, so if your printer is a RS-232 DB type connection, you need to purchase an adapter cable that connects your printer to the printer-interface which in-turns connects to the computer....(lets hope your printer is a Centronix type :) ) After having made the connection between the computer and the printer, now comes the task of setting the right configuration switches in your printer and in the printer-interface. Most printer comes with a feature that lets it emulater different types of printers that have become very popular, most notably Epson and IBM. Once you chose the desire printer emulation (whether is its own or a different type) you need to select the same emulation for the printer-interface. However there is a possibility that the printer emulation that you chose is not supported by the printer-interface. In that case, it is up to you to experiment and find the best convination of emulation between the printer and the printer-interface that will work. Little bit about the printer interface..... There are some benefits that comes with a printer-inteface than just needing it for the connection. Usually a printer-interface comes with a buffer which allows the computer to dump its data quickly, thus free the computer to do some other things, instead of having to wait until the printer finishes its printing (Some printer comes with its OWN buffer, this means that the buffer of the printer-interface will become just an extension/addition to the total buffer available for dumping). And most of the time the cost of the interface is depended on its buffer size. Hardware Price (estimate) ======== ================ DIN serial cable $3 to $5 Printer-Interface $35 and up RS-232 DB to Centronix adapter $10 to $15 (If you need it) Sincerely, Scott K. Stephen
scott@max.u.washington.edu (10/11/89)
One more thing that I forgot to mention in the previous post... There is a way to connect a printer with an RS-232 type connection through the use of an RS-232 interface for the C64 (which is cheaper than doing it with the use of printer-interface and RS-232-to-Centronix adapter). However the RS-232 interface uses the user port of the computer instead of the DIN serial port which is the usual port for connecting printers. This may create a software conflict which expects the DIN serial port to be connected with the printer, and thus sends the data through that port. Therefore the use of RS-232 interface with a printer may require some software modification for it to work. Sincerely, Scott K. Stephen