rmackenz@cipc1.Dayton.NCR.COM (Robert Mackenzie) (09/21/90)
At our church, we have a Daisy Wheel II printer connected to a TRS80 Model III. Recently, we acquired an IBM compatible pc and we wish to use the printer on both systems. Does anyone know how to hook the Daisy Wheel printer to the pc, or even if it is possible? Any help you can supply would be greatly appreciated!! -- Robert Mackenzie Robert.Mackenzie@cipc1.Dayton.NCR.COM ...!uunet!ncrlnk!cipc1!rmackenz
les@chinet.chi.il.us (Leslie Mikesell) (09/21/90)
In article <2134@cipc1.Dayton.NCR.COM> rmackenz@cipc1.Dayton.NCR.COM (Robert Mackenzie) writes: >At our church, we have a Daisy Wheel II printer connected to a TRS80 >Model III. Recently, we acquired an IBM compatible pc and we wish to >use the printer on both systems. Does anyone know how to hook the Daisy >Wheel printer to the pc, or even if it is possible? Physically, it should just require a parallel cable (the normal IBM PC type). However, you probably won't be able to use it directly from DOS. You will need to use programs that have a driver especially for this printer or that allow you to build your own driver. The problems under MSDOS will be (a) the printer does both a carriage return and linefeed when it receives a linefeed (if it's a IIb there should be a control code you can send to control this), and (b) it doesn't understand formfeeds. Les Mikesell les@chinet.chi.il.us
crmeyer@voodoo.ucsb.edu (09/22/90)
In article <1990Sep21.155703.19465@chinet.chi.il.us>, les@chinet.chi.il.us (Leslie Mikesell) writes... >In article <2134@cipc1.Dayton.NCR.COM> rmackenz@cipc1.Dayton.NCR.COM (Robert Mackenzie) writes: >>At our church, we have a Daisy Wheel II printer connected to a TRS80 >>Model III. Recently, we acquired an IBM compatible pc and we wish to >>use the printer on both systems. Does anyone know how to hook the Daisy >>Wheel printer to the pc, or even if it is possible? > >Physically, it should just require a parallel cable (the normal IBM PC >type). However, you probably won't be able to use it directly from >DOS. You will need to use programs that have a driver especially for >this printer or that allow you to build your own driver. The problems >under MSDOS will be (a) the printer does both a carriage return and >linefeed when it receives a linefeed (if it's a IIb there should be a >control code you can send to control this), and (b) it doesn't understand >formfeeds. Most, but not all, Radio Shack printers have a dipswitch or a jumper inside the printer to disable the auto line-feed function. Check the manual. +-----------------------------------+ | Charles R. Meyer | | | | Internet: crmeyer@voodoo.ucsb.edu | | Bitnet: crmeyer@voodoo | | HEPnet: voodoo::crmeyer | +-----------------------------------+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
fzsitvay@techbook.com (Frank Zsitvay) (09/24/90)
In article <2134@cipc1.Dayton.NCR.COM> rmackenz@cipc1.Dayton.NCR.COM (Robert Mackenzie) writes: >At our church, we have a Daisy Wheel II printer connected to a TRS80 >Model III. Recently, we acquired an IBM compatible pc and we wish to >use the printer on both systems. Does anyone know how to hook the Daisy >Wheel printer to the pc, or even if it is possible? > >Any help you can supply would be greatly appreciated!! > obtain a standard ibm printer cable. it's a simple plug in. when radio shack produced their printers, they at least made the ones with a parallel port have a centronics connector, and so are easy to use on most any machine that has a parallel port and can connect to a centronics printer. the printer engine itself is a ricoh, and very durable and fast. (for a daisy) -- fzsitvay@techbook.COM - one of these days i'll get it right... Version 2 of anything is usually the version that works.
res@cbnewsc.att.com (Rich Strebendt) (09/25/90)
In article <6329@hub.ucsb.edu>, crmeyer@voodoo.ucsb.edu writes: > In article <1990Sep21.155703.19465@chinet.chi.il.us>, les@chinet.chi.il.us (Leslie Mikesell) writes... > >In article <2134@cipc1.Dayton.NCR.COM> rmackenz@cipc1.Dayton.NCR.COM (Robert Mackenzie) writes: > >>At our church, we have a Daisy Wheel II printer connected to a TRS80 > >>Model III. Recently, we acquired an IBM compatible pc and we wish to > >>use the printer on both systems. Does anyone know how to hook the Daisy > >>Wheel printer to the pc, or even if it is possible? I had a TRS-80 Model II on which my DW-II gave excellent service. I recently acquired an MS-DOS machine and hooked up the DW-II to it. > >Physically, it should just require a parallel cable (the normal IBM PC > >type). That is correct. I simply moved the cable from one machine to the other and the printer was functional -- after a fashion. > >However, you probably won't be able to use it directly from > >DOS. You will need to use programs that have a driver especially for > >this printer or that allow you to build your own driver. The problems > >under MSDOS will be (a) the printer does both a carriage return and > >linefeed when it receives a linefeed (if it's a IIb there should be a > >control code you can send to control this), and (b) it doesn't understand > >formfeeds. This is true. I was able to write a simple filter program under UNIX which did the appropriate new-line conversion to get rid of the CR+LF problem. I take care not to send formfeeds to it. > Most, but not all, Radio Shack printers have a dipswitch or a jumper > inside the printer to disable the auto line-feed function. Check the > manual. I looked into that when I first attempted to hook the two together. The DW-II is much to primitive to have that level of sophistication. A far worse problem, however, is the incompatibility in the handshake between the printer and the MS-DOS or UNIX machines. There is a lead in the cable that the IBM/UNIX world interprets as a "wait a while, my buffer is full" signal, but Tandy uses as a "I got your last character" signal. Upon receiving a character the DW-II printer raises that signal and waits for the next character to arrive (in case it is able to optimize the resulting carriage movements). The non-Tandy machine sees the signal and waits until it is removed by the printer. After about 100milliseconds the printer decides to go ahead and print the character, then drops the signal. The other machine now send the next character and the whole game starts over. The result is that the printer is sloooooooowed way down to 10 char/sec. instead of the appreciably higher speed (43ch/sec?) that it runs on a Tandy machine. It is really painful listening to the printer putt-putt-putting along instead of ripping out lines of text as a printer should. I would recommend that the next thing you do with your DW-II is fill it with concrete, add an eye=bolt to the top, and use it as a boat anchor. Rich Strebendt ...!att!ihlpb!res r.strebendt@att.com
ean@gvlv3.gvl.unisys.com (Ed Naratil) (09/25/90)
This does not pertain to the Daisy Wheel, but I thought it might be of interest to others who have read the previous articles. For those of you who have Tandy DMP-132 dot matrix printers that have a "so-called" standard Centronics interface, you make want to make sure that you disconnect pin 18 of the 36 pin connector. This pin is a +5V line FROM the printer and depending on your computer, you could drag the voltage down and the printer won't work or you could short it out completely and your printer won't work again until you fix it. --- Ed Naratil (All standard disclaimers apply) AMPR: W3BNR@N3LA.#epa.PA.USA.NA ean@gvlv3.gvl.unisys.com
<RFM@psuvm.psu.edu> (09/28/90)
I once had a DWII hooked up to an IBM PC. It was a non-Model B DWII, and connected via a standard parallel cable. I could print from WordPErfect 5.0, because WP5.0 has a special printer driver that would run a Non-B DWII. Don't know if that driver is present in WP5.1, because I quit using the DWII when we got an HP Laserjet. If you have a Model B DWII, I gather it will work with "Lots"of software. I was told this, but cannot verify.
fzsitvay@techbook.com (Frank Zsitvay) (10/02/90)
In article <1990Sep24.231949.4737@cbnewsc.att.com> res@cbnewsc.att.com (Rich Strebendt) writes: Q>The DW-II is much to primitive to have that level of sophistication. >between the printer and the MS-DOS or UNIX machines. There is a lead >in the cable that the IBM/UNIX world interprets as a "wait a while, my >buffer is full" signal, but Tandy uses as a "I got your last >character" signal. Upon receiving a character the DW-II printer >raises that signal and waits for the next character to arrive (in case >it is able to optimize the resulting carriage movements). The >non-Tandy machine sees the signal and waits until it is removed by the >printer. After about 100milliseconds the printer decides to go ahead >and print the character, then drops the signal. The other machine now >send the next character and the whole game starts over. The result is >that the printer is sloooooooowed way down to 10 char/sec. instead of >the appreciably higher speed (43ch/sec?) that it runs on a Tandy >machine. It is really painful listening to the printer >putt-putt-putting along instead of ripping out lines of text as a >printer should. > the dwp II HAS no buffer per se. it raises that line to tell the host computer to stop sending while it prints the character it just received. this is the way most printers of its type and vintage did. i would suspect the real offender is the non-tandy machine. it is possible that the design of the parallel port on the non tandy machine was meant for printers that have a buffer, and don't need a quick response time on that line. (almost all dot matrix printers buffer at least a line.) to work a way around the no form feed problem, you'll probably have to write a program in gwbasic (if that's all you have) that prints the document for you, and have it emulate a form feed. (count the number of lines printed thus far, when you get a form feed print blank lines (CRs) until you reach 66, and reset your line count.). >I would recommend that the next thing you do with your DW-II is fill >it with concrete, add an eye=bolt to the top, and use it as a boat >anchor. gee, what a senseless waste of perfectly good industrial strength printing machinery!!!! (and also has the extra feature of testing the seismic stability of your house. ;) -- fzsitvay@techbook.COM - one of these days i'll get it right... Version 2 of anything is usually the version that works.
bill@camco.Celestial.COM (Bill Campbell) (10/04/90)
In article <1990Oct2.155905.6734@techbook.com> fzsitvay@techbook.com (Frank Zsitvay) writes: :In article <1990Sep24.231949.4737@cbnewsc.att.com> res@cbnewsc.att.com (Rich Strebendt) writes: :Q>The DW-II is much to primitive to have that level of sophistication. :>between the printer and the MS-DOS or UNIX machines. There is a lead :>in the cable that the IBM/UNIX world interprets as a "wait a while, my :>buffer is full" signal, but Tandy uses as a "I got your last :>character" signal. Upon receiving a character the DW-II printer :>raises that signal and waits for the next character to arrive (in case :>it is able to optimize the resulting carriage movements). The :>non-Tandy machine sees the signal and waits until it is removed by the :>printer. After about 100milliseconds the printer decides to go ahead :>and print the character, then drops the signal. The other machine now :>send the next character and the whole game starts over. The result is :>that the printer is sloooooooowed way down to 10 char/sec. instead of :>the appreciably higher speed (43ch/sec?) that it runs on a Tandy :>machine. It is really painful listening to the printer :>putt-putt-putting along instead of ripping out lines of text as a :>printer should. :> : the dwp II HAS no buffer per se. it raises that line to tell :the host computer to stop sending while it prints the character it :just received. this is the way most printers of its type and vintage :did. : : i would suspect the real offender is the non-tandy machine. it :is possible that the design of the parallel port on the non tandy :machine was meant for printers that have a buffer, and don't need :a quick response time on that line. (almost all dot matrix printers :buffer at least a line.) : : to work a way around the no form feed problem, you'll probably have to :write a program in gwbasic (if that's all you have) that prints the :document for you, and have it emulate a form feed. (count the number of :lines printed thus far, when you get a form feed print blank lines (CRs) :until you reach 66, and reset your line count.). : :>I would recommend that the next thing you do with your DW-II is fill :>it with concrete, add an eye=bolt to the top, and use it as a boat :>anchor. : : gee, what a senseless waste of perfectly good industrial strength :printing machinery!!!! (and also has the extra feature of testing :the seismic stability of your house. ;) : : :-- :fzsitvay@techbook.COM - one of these days i'll get it right... : :Version 2 of anything is usually the version that works. The solution may well be to buy a Tandy printer cable. These are non-standard and swap a couple of wires that have something to do with handshaking. I know that many slow printing problems with Xenix on Tandy systems disappear if you are using the Tandy cables. When the DWII is working properly it was one of the fastest daisy wheel printers available, primarily because of its logical print optimization. It would run circles around nominally faster printers that didn't skip whitespace and blank lines fast. I would be interested in picking up a couple of DWIIs if the price is right. Bill. -- INTERNET: bill@Celestial.COM Bill Campbell; Celestial Software UUCP: ...!thebes!camco!bill 6641 East Mercer Way uunet!camco!bill Mercer Island, WA 98040; (206) 947-5591