jeff@drexel.UUCP (Jeff White) (02/25/88)
A company I work for has two Quadram Microfazer parallel to serial converters which I need some help with. One is connected to the console parallel port on a Tandy 6000 running Xenix, and to a Tandy daisywheel printer on the other end. The second converter box is hooked up to a Model II functioning as a terminal emulator to the 6000, connected to a Xerox typewriter/printer which has a serial interface. The first problem I would like to solve would be to find some way to disable the 8k buffer and use them as straight parallel to serial converters. On the 6000, the output is through the normal Xenix spooler, so there is no need for an additional buffer. With the Model II, all the printing is done on single sheets, so again there is no need for the buffer. The unit is expandable to 64k by just adding ram chips, so going the other way, I tried to remove the single ram chip, but then they unit didn't function at all, so I had to put the chip back in. The second, and more serious problem, has to do with static electricity. I've noticed that touching the exterior metal case with a good jolt of static electricity will cause the local computer (ie. the one connected the the parallel input port) to reboot. This wasn't a major problem with just the Model II terminal, but we can't afford to have the main computer (6000) go down like this. One solution I had was to make a wire connection between the case and a good ground. It would probably look strange, but hopefully it would do the trick. I would appreciate any other suggestions or comments. Jeff White Drexel University - ECE Dept. rutgers!bpa!drexel!jeff