Custom Audio Electronics P 150 User manual

P 150
Panel printer
P 150
User’s Manual
www.custom.it

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All rights reserved. The reproduction of this manual, either totally or partially, in any form
whatsoever, whether it be on paper or through computer processes, is strictly prohibited.
Custom Engineering s.r.l. and the resource teams employed in the making of this manual
will not be held responsible for any problems arising as a result of improper use of this
manual, as they guarantee that the information contained in it has been subjected to
careful inspection.
Any suggestions regarding errors in its contents or possible improvements will be
greatly appreciated. The products are continuously checked and improved. For this
reason Custom Engineering s.r.l. reserves the right to modify the information
contained in this manual without prior notice.
COD. DOME - P150 REV. 1.10
Copyright 1998 Custom Engineering s.r.l. – Italy
Custom Engineering
Str. Berettine 2 - 43010 Fontevivo (PARMA) - Italy
Tel. : [phone] - Fax : [phone]
http: www.custom.it Email : [email protected]

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GENERAL INFORMATION REGARDING SAFETY
•Read and keep the following instructions.
•Observe all warnings and follow all instructions attached to the printer.
•Before cleaning the printer, disconnect the feed cable.
•Clean the printer with a damp cloth. Do not use liquid or spray products.
•Do not operate the printer near to water.
•Do not place the printer on unsteady surfaces. It could fall and get seriously
damaged.
•Use the type of electricity supply marked on the printer label. In the event of
uncertainty, contact the seller.
•Position the printer in such a way as to ensure that the cables connected to it will
not be damaged.
•Ensure that the maximum absorbed current of the printer does not exceed the
maximum acceptable current for the type of feed cable used.
•Do not put objects of any kind inside the printer as they could cause a short circuit
or damage parts which could affect its performance.
•Do not spill liquids on the printer.
•Do not carry out technical operations on the printer with the exception of the
scheduled maintenance operations specifically indicated in the user’s manual.
•Disconnect the printer from the electricity supply and have it repaired by a
specialized technician should any of the following conditions occur:
A. The feed connector has been damaged;
B. LIQUID has penetrated to the inside of the printer;
C. The printer has been exposed to rain or water;
D. The printer is not operating normally despite the instructions in the user’s
manual having been followed;
E. The printer has been dropped and its case damaged;
F. The performance of the printer is poor;
G. The printer does not work.

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GENERAL CONTENTS
1. DESCRIPTION
1.1 General features
1.2 Product description
1.3 Technical specifications
2. INSTALLATION AND USE
2.1 Removing the printer from its packaging
2.2 Installation procedure
2.3 Connections
2.4 Self-test
2.5 Precautions
2.6 Maintenance
2.7 Configuration of the jumpers
3. INTERFACES
3.1 TTL serial
3.2 TTL parallel
3.3 Current loop RS232 serial (option)
3.4 CENTRONICS parallel (option)
3.5 Real Time Clock (option)
3.6 Installation of options
4. PRINTER FUNCTIONS
4.1 Printing modes
4.2 Graphics
4.3 Control characters
4.4 Characters set
CONTENTS

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TABLE CONTENTS
Table 1, technical specifications
Table 2, serial output signals
Table 3, parallel output signals
Table4, controlcharacters
FIGURE CONTENTS
Figure 1, overall view
Figure 2, keyboard
Figure 3, installation
Figure 4, interface card
Figure 5, specimen self-test
Figure 6, paper changing
Figure 7, TTL serial communication
Figure 8, TTL parallel communication
Figure 9, RS232 interface board
Figure 10, printing modes
Figure 11, characters set
APPENDIX CONTENTS
A. POWER SUPPLY
A.1 PSM05power supply
A.2 ALI 9/40 powersupply
B. CONNECTION EXAMPLES
B.1 RS232 serial connection with PC (25-9 pin)
B.2 RS232 serial connection with PC (25-25 pin)
B.3 Centronics parallel connection with PC (25-36 pin)
B.4 Centronics parallel connection with PC (25-25 pin)
CONTENTS

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1.1 General features
The P150 (figure 1) is an extremely simple and functional panel printer. It is the ideal solution for
applications which require the immediate printing of data on a ticket, whether they be of an industrial,
professionalorlaboratory nature.Itis suitable forPOS, weighing systems,receipts (not fortax purposes),
as well as for security, controlling and diagnostics purposes.
It has an 8-needle, rapid impact printing mechanism and uses 57.5 mm wide paper rolls.
The P 150 printer is so light-weight and compact that it can be easily fitted on any kind of machinery. It
can be personally programmed and is thus able to meet all possible requirements. It has a 150-byte
print buffer. It has TTL serial and parallel interfaces as standard or RS232 serial and CENTRONICS
parallel interfaces as options. It can, in addition, be equipped with a Real Time Clock . It comes in three
colours and two models, with 24 and 42 columns.
Figure 1
DESCRIPTION

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1.2 Product description
The P 150 printer (figure1) has an ABS casing with a top covering the paper roll and print head.
The dimensions of the printer are shown in Figure 1.
The keyboard, located on the front of the printer, consists of the PRINT and FEED keys with their
respective LEDs.
Figure 2
PRINT key
When this key is pressed, if the printer is in parallel pin 2 of J7 comes out of logic state “0”, while in serial
it transmits control character “$0D”; this only happens if it has been enabled by DATA4 to logic “0” or if
switch 5 of the RS232 option is in the ON position. The PRINT key LED only lights up during printing.
FEED key
This enables the manual paper feed. If pressed briefly, when the RTCK option is installed, the time and
date are printed. When the FEED key LED lights up, it is to indicate that the logic card power supply is
correct, i.e. that it is over 3.7 V (minimum threshold below which the printer is reset and the LED goes
out).
DESCRIPTION

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1.3 Technical specifications
Table 1 lists the main features of the two printer models: P 150 24 and 42 columns.
Table 1
Columns 24 40
Characters (L x H mm)
Normal 1,7 x 2,6 1,1 x 2,6
Double height 1,7 x 5,2 1,1 x 5,2
Double width 3,4 x 2,6 2,2 x 2,6
Expanded 3,4 x 5,2 2,2 x 5,2
Graphic point 0,33 x 0,38 0,19 x 0,38
Point for line 144 252
Printing speed
Lines/sec 2,5 1,5
Characters/sec 60 60
Feed (lines/sec) 6 3,6
Line buffer 24 byte 42 byte
Printing buffer 150 byte
Printing method Impact dot matrix
Character matrix 6 x 10 points
Printing mode Normal or Reverse
Character set Normal and extended
Standard interface Serial and parallel TTL
Optionally interface Current Loop RS232 serial, Centronics
Supply Double or single 5Vcc ±10%
Absorptions
Medium in stand by 38 mA
Medium in printing 880 mA
Impulsive in printing 3.0A (600 µSec.)
Environmental conditions
Operatingtemperature 0°C - +50°C
Operatinghumidity 35% - 85%
Storagetemperature/humidity -20°C - +70°C / 10%-90%
DESCRIPTION

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2.1 Removing the printer from its packaging
Open the package and check that:
a) none of the parts have been damaged during transportation;
b) that the ink cartridge is fitted on the printing mechanism and the paper roll is in place;
c) the two brass screws and washers necessary for installing the printer are, in fact fitted on it
Figure 3
2.2 Installation procedure
1. Make a 112 mm x 112 mm square hole in the wall where the printer is to be installed (see Figure 3).
Unscrew the two brass washers “A”, leaving the screws “B” in their holes.
2. Insert the printer into the hole on the wall, open the front panel and, from the back, manually screw
in the two brass washers, until the printer is firmly in place.
3. Insert the interface and the power supply connectors, located on the logic card.
INSTALLATION and USE

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1J5
1
1
J8 J1
1
JP1
JP2
JP3
J7
2.3 Connections
The Figure 4 shows the layout of the interface card of printer P150 and the position of the connectors
mentioned in this manual. The card can be accessed from the back of the printer, as shown in Figure 3.
The functions of the connectors are described follows.
Figure 4
INSTALLATION and USE

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J5 : Power supply
With regard to power supply, the P 150 printer has a standard AMPMODU1 4-pin male type connector
J5(see the figure 4). The power supply connector pins are marked as follows:
1GND
2GND
3+VT: 5 Vcc ± 15% (printer needle power supply)
4+VCC: 5 Vcc ± 7% (logic card power supply)
Connecting with the power supply connector (J5) can be avoided by using the flat 20-pin connector (J1)
of the logic or by replacing the latter, by special request at the order stage, with a similar 26-pin one,
thus connecting the power supply and the printer signals with a single cable. In this case, however, the
maximum length of the flat cable must not exceed 30 cm for the 20-pin version and 70 cm for the 26-pin
version. The reason for this is that current running along inside narrow wires can lead to power failures
which could interfere with the correct functioning of the printer.
If the printer has the Current Loop RS232 or CENTRONICS options, it must be supplied by means of
the J5 connector.
For the pin pattern required for supplying power through the logic flat cable, please refer to the following
paragraph.
J2 : Logic
In the J1 20-pin connector, the signals are arranged as follows:
PIN Signal PIN Signal
1+VT 2 +VT
3+VCC 4 +VCC
5GND 6 GND
7TD 8 D6
9D5 10 D4
11 D3 12 D2
13 D1 14 D0
15 D7 * 16 RESET
17 S-EN 18 READY/RTS
19 FEED 20 STB/RD
INSTALLATION and USE

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The J1 26-pin connector can be used if the flat cable does not exceed 700 mm in length and has a
diameter of at least 0.12 mm2. The corresponding signals are :
PIN Signal PIN Signal
1GND 2GND
3GND 4TP
5+VT 6+VT
7+VT 8+VT
9+VCC 10 +VCC
11 GND 12 GND
13 TD 14 D6
15 D5 16 D4
17 D3 18 D2
19 D1 20 D0
21 D7 * 22 RESET
23 S-EN 24 READY/RTS
25 FEED 26 STB/RD
*The D7 signal is not taken into consideration in cases of 7-bit programming of the parallel port.
In order to configure the P 150 with the extended character set, 8-bit programming of the parallel interface is required.
The signals indicated have the following functions:
GND: signal ground and power supply;
+VT: power supply to the printer needles;
+VCC: power supply to the logic card;
S-EN (input): serial/parallel interface selection.
If shortcircuited to ground (0), it enables serial communication; if free (1) it enables parallel
communication;
D0, ..., D7 (inputs): data bus. In parallel configuration, these correspond to the printer input data bus
(the high level indicates the binary digit 1). In serial communication, these are utilized to determine
speed of communication and transmission protocol; normally the data bus is at logic level 1: in order to
obtain logic level 0, it has to be shortcircuited to ground (GND).
The serial baud rate can be selected from the following table:
D0 D1 D2 BAUD
0 0 1 300
1 0 1 600
1 1 1 1200
0 1 1 2400
0 0 0 4800
1 0 0 9600
INSTALLATION and USE

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All the other combinations select a speed of 1200 bauds.
D3 = 1: flag-type transmission protocol. When the print buffer is full, the printer sends a low level on the
RTS signal, which interrupts transmission; when the buffer is able to receive further data, the level of
the RTS signal is then changed to 1.
D3 = 0: XON/OFF type transmission protocol. When the print buffer is full, the printer sends an XON$13
(DC3) which interrupts transmission; when the buffer is able to receive further data, the command
XON$11 (DC1) is transmitted.
D4 = 1: when the PRINT key is pressed, nothing happens.
D4 = 0: when the PRINT key is pressed, the signal $0D (CR) is transmitted to the TD pin, if the serial
interface has been configured.
D5, D6, D7: the selection of these bits results in the serial being configured with the transmission format
listed in the table below:
D7 D6 D5 Format
1 1 1 N,8,1 (8 bits without parity and 1 stop bit)
0 1 1 E,8,1 (8 even parity bits and 1 stop bit)
0 1 0 O,8,1 (8 odd parity bits and 1 stop bit)
1 1 0 N,7,1 (7 bits without parity and 1 stop bit)
1 0 1 E,7,1 (7 even parity bits and 1 stop bit)
1 0 0 O,7,1 (7 odd parity bits and 1 stop bit.)
Remember that, in order to configure the printer in serial mode, it is necessary to shortcircuit the signal
S-EN to ground on connector J1.
RESET (input): card controller reset, active at a low level.
Resetting initializes the printer’s parameters and has the following effects:
• erasure of the line buffer and printer buffer;
• selection of printing format according to programming;
• reading of the S-EN pin of J1 for serial or parallel configuration;
• printing of the self-test if the PRINT key is pressed;
• functionality check of the option cards installed, if any.
READY/RTS (output): inparallel configurationthe highlevel indicates that the printeris readyto receive
data. The low level indicates that it is on standby (bus Y). In serial communication, if the CTS/RTS
protocol is enabled the high logic state (1) indicates that the printer is ready to receive data; the low
logic state (0) indicates that the print buffer is full and cannot receive data. If the serial protocol XON/
OFF is enabled, the signal is always high.
FEED (input and output): paper feed key, active at low level.
This signal is in parallel with the contacts of FEED key on the front panel of the printer.
STB/RD (input): in parallel configuration a low level tells the printer that there is valid data on the data
bus (D0, ..., D7). In serial configuration this corresponds to the data reception pin.
INSTALLATION and USE

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TP (input and output): PRINT key, active at low level. This signal is in parallel with the contacts of the
PRINT key on the front panel of the printer.
J7 : external push button
Connector parallel to push button “PRINT”, to be used as TTL output for the external push button.
Pin 1 = GND
Pin 2 = 1 push button released; 0 push button pressed.
J8 : take-up device
Connector used to connect the take-up device.
Pin 1 = +5 V driver
Pin 2 = +5 V at rest; 0 V in print max. available current = 300 mA
2.4 Self-test
To enable the self-test, hold down the FEED key (paragraph 1.2) while switching on the printer. The
self-test consists of the printing of the printer’s currently set data, a memory check and the printing of
the entire set of ASCII characters.
Figure 5
INSTALLATION and USE

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2.5 Precautions
a) Do not print when there is no paper and/or ribbon: this leads to rapid deterioration of the needles.
b) Do not put objects inside the printer.
c) Do not pull the printer carriage manually when the printer is ON.
d) Before connecting the printer to the mains, check that the power supply or system ON/OFF switch is
in the OFF position.
e) Avoid blows to any part of the printer, both during and after installation.
2.6 Maintenance
Warning : Before to start any handling with top cover open it is recommended to turn off the printer.
If it is not possible make sure to take the necessary care preventing electrostatic discharge.
Changing the paper roll
To change the paper roll, proceed as follows:
1. open the top of the printer and place the paper roll in position, following the arrow, as indicated in
figure 6;
2. insert the end of the roll in the slit (A) of the print mechanism;
3. press the FEED key (B) so that a few centimetres of paper come out of the printer;
4. insert the end into the slit on the top of the printer and close it.
Figure 6
INSTALLATION and USE

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Changing the ribbon. Proceed as follows:
1. open the top of the printer and remove the old ribbon cartridge, by pressing down at point (C), as
shown in figure 6;
2. insert the new ribbon, making sure that it is correctly positioned;
3. pull the ribbon tight by turning the knurled knob (D) and close the top down again.
2.7 CONFIGURATION OF THE JUMPERS
The jumpers are located on the component side of the controller card, on the left of connector “J1” (see
figure 4). They can be shortcircuited by soldering the two contacts.
The functions of the jumpers are as follows.
JP1
If open, in the parallel configuration it sets the data reading on the 7-bit bus and disregards the D7
status (small characters). If it is shortcircuited, the complete bus is read (including D7) making the
complete set of characters available.
In the serial configuration JP1 does not produce any effects.
JP2
If open, it sets the “normal” writing mode. If shortcircuited, it sets the “reverse” writing mode (see Figure
10). This configuration can always be modified by using the software controls “ESC R” ($1B $52) for the
“reverse” mode and “ESC N” ($1B $4E) for the “normal” mode.
JP3
Ifshortcircuited,it enablessettingof theReal TimeClock (if theclock-calendar option hasbeen installed);
this operation may also be carried out by pressing the “PRINT” and “FEED” push buttons on the front
panel of the printer. If open, it disables the possibility to set the Real Time Clock with the “PRINT” and
“FEED” push buttons.
Regardless of the status of JP3, it is always possible to set the Real Time Clock using the software
controls (see paragraph 3.5).
INSTALLATION and USE

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INTERFACES
Selection of the standard interface, TTL serial and parallel, is given by the status of the S-EN pin of J1
(see paragraph 2.3).
3.1 TTL Serial
In the serial protocol, the signals which characterize communication are TD, RD and RTS if the RTS/
CTS protocol has been selected; alternatively, if the XON/OFF protocol has been selected, the signals
are TD and RD. The reception and transmission format is fixed at 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, without parity
bits. It is possible, however, to vary the transmission speed, as indicated in paragraph 2.3.
Figure 7
Transmission format
RTS/CTS protocol
XON/OFF protocol
INTERFACE

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3.2 TTL parallel
In parallel communication the useable signals are:
• 7 or 8 bit data bus;
• STROBE signal indicating data validity;
• READY signal indicating that the printer is ready to receive data.
Figure 8
Transmission format
Flow diagram
INTERFACE

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3.3 Current Loop RS232 SERIAL (option)
The printer has an RS232 serial interface and current loop to be installed on the P 150 controller.
The connection is made with a 25-pin rectangular female connector.
The signals on the connector pins are indicated in Table 2.
The pins which are not indicated are not connected. Figure 6 shows how to select the operating modes.
Table 2
Pin Signal Direction To Description
1,7 GND OUT GND Signal ground
2TXD OUT RXD Receive Data. Serial output (from Host)
3RXD IN TXD Transmit Data. Serial data input (towards Host)
4DTR OUT DSR Data Set Ready.
DCD Printeron and operating. (active at RS232 level high).
9LOOP RD + IN Data reception in current loop.
10 LOOP RD- - LOOP RD return.
11 LOOP RTS+ OUT Current loop: ready to receive data.
12 LOOP RTS- - LOOP RTS return.
13 LOOP DTR+ OUT Current loop: indicates that the printer is ON.
14 LOOP DTR- - LOOP DTR return.
15 LOOP TD+ OUT Current loop: positive level data transmission
16 LOOP TD - - LOOP TD return
20 RTS OUT CTS Clear to Send. Ready to receive data
(active at RS232 level high)
The following personalizations may be obtained, relative to transmission format and the PRINT key on
the P 150’s front panel, by using the dip-switch on the RS232 card:
DIP 1 DIP 2 DIP 3 Baud rate
ON ON OFF 300
OFF ON OFF 600
OFF OFF OFF 1200
ON OFF OFF 2400
ON ON ON 4800
OFF ON ON 9600
DIP 4 Description
OFF RTS/CTS Protocol
ON XON/XOFF Protocol
INTERFACE

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JP1
3
12
DIP 5 Description
OFF Inhibits $0D transmission by pressing PRINT key
ON Enable $0D transmission
DIP 6 DIP 7 DIP 8 Protocol
OFF OFF OFF N,8,1 (8 bits without parity and 1 stop bit)
OFF OFF ON E,8,1 (8 even parity bits and 1 stop bit)
ON OFF ON O,8,1 (8 odd parity bits and 1 stop bit)
ON OFF OFF N,7,1 (7 bits without parity and 1 stop bit)
OFF ON OFF E,7,1 (7 even parity bits and 1 stop bit)
ON ON OFF O,7,1 (7 odd parity bits and 1 stop bit.)
Figure 9
SERIAL INTERFACE
To select operating mode, proceed as follows :
Current Loop : solder together points 1 and 2
RS232 : solder together points 2 and 3
INTERFACE