connors_g@apollo.uucp (Gary Connors) (06/24/87)
Hi,
I have a C64, a Blue Chip 10/12 daisey-wheel printer,
and Paperback Writer64(now Pocket-writer or something
like that). I have been trying to set up my printer
files and still haven't been able to get all my options
working. For instance, shouldn't the printer be able to
switch from 10 pitch to 12 pich as the name implies?
Also, Is it normal to have to shut the disk drive off
to access the printer and vise versa? Another thing
that always confuses me is the differance between
ASCII and Commodore characters. I thought all text
was ASCII and the graphics were Commodore so I had
set my dip switch to ASCII. I later had to switch to
Commodore mode to get it to work. HELP! Does anybody
have this combination of equiptment or something similar?
I have had the computer awhile but don't get to use it much
so I'm still learning but don't really get the grasp of
all the terminology. I bought Commodore's Intro To Basic I
and completed it but have been unable to find Basic II.
Did they ever come out with it?
On the lighter side, Does anyone play Asylum anymore? I
have been stuck at the mirror and can't figure out what
to do with it and sure could use some spoilers. I know
it's an old game because I had to order it and the clerk
said it was a very old game.
Oh well, Thanks for your time and any help you can give me
will be greatly appreciated.
Gary Connors
Apollo Computer, Inc
Exeter,N.H.
===========================================================
There's someone in my head, but it's not me.....elg@killer.UUCP (Eric Green) (06/27/87)
in article <35aa2e58.44e6@apollo.uucp>, connors_g@apollo.uucp (Gary Connors) says: > To: comp.sys.cbm@news > > Hi, > I have a C64, a Blue Chip 10/12 daisey-wheel printer, > and Paperback Writer64(now Pocket-writer or something > like that). I have been trying to set up my printer > files and still haven't been able to get all my options > working. For instance, shouldn't the printer be able to > switch from 10 pitch to 12 pich as the name implies? > Also, Is it normal to have to shut the disk drive off > to access the printer and vise versa? Another thing > that always confuses me is the differance between > ASCII and Commodore characters. Well, I have a D12/10. I use it to print out the final versions of all my manuals (I set it to printing at 6pm Friday evening, and when I get back in at 2am, it's finished). I've noticed that it doesn't interact well with disk drives. Specifically, if the SEL light is blinking, it locks up the serial bus, and if my 1571 clicks into BURST mode (I'm using it with Wordpro-128), it chimes in and crashes the 1571. If you are using a FASTLOAD cartridge with your C-64, you probably have the same problem, since it does basically the same thing that the 1571 does for the C-128. The interface on that thing just sux royally. BTW, for anybody who wants to use Wordpro-128, the correct printer driver for perportional spacing is "silver rd 550 ps"... first you must load up the device-configuration utility and change it so that it opens to channel #7 and doesn't shove linefeeds, only carriage returns, and you need to flip the printer to ASCII (because Wordpro does the CSCII-ASCII conversion for you). I just finished reading the Wordpro-128 manual, and it looks like it'll do everything that I ever wanted to do... for example, it makes indexing and table of contents and referencing something on another page so ELEMENTARY. Dunno if the C64 version has all those features, though.... As for the difference between Real ASCII and Commodore ASCII (commonly called "Half ASCII" by those in the know :-): Eons and eons ago, Commodore introduced a computer called the "Pet". It had only uppercase letters and those little graphics symbols. A few eons later, Commodore upgraded the Pet to have upper/lowercase. But instead of putting the lowercase characters up there where the graphics characters live, they put them down where the uppercase characters normally live. It has been speculated that the engineer who did that case flip-flop was experimenting with LSD that week..... anyhow, BASICALLY, Commodore ASCII is Real ASCII with the cases flip-flopped. Although actually, if you type an uppercase character from BASIC, it's just the lowercase character with the hi bit set (makes for some real neat case conversion tricks in assembly language!). You see, for some reason, they mapped the uppercase chraters into the character set TWICE! I'd be curious to hear about a) how Commodore ASCII got invented, and b) whether Steve Punter borrowed from Precision Software, or Precision Software ripped off Steve Punter to create Easy Script (which has the SAME BASIC COMMAND SET!). Eric Green {ihn04,cbosgd}!killer!elg elg@usl.CSNET
dar@cblpf.ATT.COM (David A. Roth) (07/02/87)
|in article <35aa2e58.44e6@apollo.uucp>, connors_g@apollo.uucp (Gary Connors) says: ||To: comp.sys.cbm@news || ||Hi, ||I have a C64, a Blue Chip 10/12 daisey-wheel printer, ||and Paperback Writer64(now Pocket-writer or something ||like that). I have been trying to set up my printer ||files and still haven't been able to get all my options ||working. For instance, shouldn't the printer be able to ||switch from 10 pitch to 12 pich as the name implies? ||Also, Is it normal to have to shut the disk drive off ||to access the printer and vise versa? Another thing ||that always confuses me is the differance between ||ASCII and Commodore characters. | |Well, I have a D12/10. I use it to print out the final versions of all my |manuals (I set it to printing at 6pm Friday evening, and when I get back in at |2am, it's finished). I've noticed that it doesn't interact well with disk |drives. Specifically, if the SEL light is blinking, it locks up the serial |bus, and if my 1571 clicks into BURST mode (I'm using it with Wordpro-128), it |chimes in and crashes the 1571. If you are using a FASTLOAD cartridge with |your C-64, you probably have the same problem, since it does basically the |same thing that the 1571 does for the C-128. The interface on that thing just |sux royally. | |BTW, for anybody who wants to use Wordpro-128, the correct printer driver for |perportional spacing is "silver rd 550 ps"... first you must load up the |device-configuration utility and change it so that it opens to channel #7 and |doesn't shove linefeeds, only carriage returns, and you need to flip the |printer to ASCII (because Wordpro does the CSCII-ASCII conversion for you). I |just finished reading the Wordpro-128 manual, and it looks like it'll do |everything that I ever wanted to do... for example, it makes indexing and |table of contents and referencing something on another page so ELEMENTARY. |Dunno if the C64 version has all those features, though.... | |As for the difference between Real ASCII and Commodore ASCII (commonly called |"Half ASCII" by those in the know :-): Eons and eons ago, Commodore introduced |a computer called the "Pet". It had only uppercase letters and those little |graphics symbols. A few eons later, Commodore upgraded the Pet to have |upper/lowercase. But instead of putting the lowercase characters up there |where the graphics characters live, they put them down where the uppercase |characters normally live. It has been speculated that the engineer who did |that case flip-flop was experimenting with LSD that week..... anyhow, |BASICALLY, Commodore ASCII is Real ASCII with the cases flip-flopped. Although |actually, if you type an uppercase character from BASIC, it's just the |lowercase character with the hi bit set (makes for some real neat case |conversion tricks in assembly language!). You see, for some reason, they |mapped the uppercase chraters into the character set TWICE! | |I'd be curious to hear about a) how Commodore ASCII got invented, and b) |whether Steve Punter borrowed from Precision Software, or Precision Software |ripped off Steve Punter to create Easy Script (which has the SAME BASIC |COMMAND SET!). | | Eric Green {ihn04,cbosgd}!killer!elg elg@usl.CSNET Speaking of Blue Chip printers, I have one too. Has anyone gotten one to work on non-commodore computers that have an RS-232 port? What is required? Thanks in advance. AT&T Bell Laboratories David A. Roth Columbus, Ohio uucp: cbosgd!cblpf!dar