Digital Equipment LV8 User manual

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mama
LV8/LV12/LV11
printer/plotter
user’s
guide
laboratory
data
products

DEC-1
2-HLVAA-A-D
LV8/LV12/LV11
printer/plotter
user’s
guide
digital equipment corporation
-
magnard,
mossochusetts
_.._._._,

Copyright
©
1973
by
Digital
Equipment Corporation
The material
in
this manual is for information-
al
purposes
and
is
subject
to
change
without
notice.
The
technical information and halftones contained
in
Chapter
2,
Installation,
are
reprinted
courtesy
of
Versatec, Inc.,
Cupertino,
California.
The
following
are trademarks
of
Digital
Equipment
Corporation,
Maynard,
Massachusetts:
DEC
PDP
FLIP CHIP
FOCAL
DIGITAL
COMPUTER
LAB
UNIBUS
First
Edition,
January
1973
2nd
Printing, August
1973

CHAPTER
1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.3.1
1.3.2-
1.3.3
1.3.4
1.4
1.5
CHAPTER
2
2.1
2.1.1
2.1.2
2.1.3
2.1.4
2.2
2.2.1
2.2.2
2.2.3
2.2.4
2.2.4.1
2.2.4.2
2.3
CHAPTER 3
3.1
3.1.1
3.1.2
3.1.3
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.6.1
3.6.2
3.6.3
3.7
3.7.1
3.7.2
3.7.3
CONTENTS
Page
INTRODUCTION
Scope
............................................
1-1
General
Description
.....................................
1-1
Functional
Description
....................................
1-2
Print
Mode .......................................
1-2
Plot Mode
.......................................
1-2
LV8
Interface
.....................................
1-3
LV11 Interface
.....................................
1-3
LVOl
Specifications
.....................................
1-3
Reference Documents
....................................
1-4
INSTALLATION
Unpacking
Instructions
...................................
2—1
Removing
LVOl Unit from
Shipping
Container
....................
2-1
Inspecting
LVOl
Unit for
Shipping Damage
......................
2-1
Opening
the Mechanical
Module
............................
2-2
Operating Supplies
...................................
2-4
Cabling Requirements
....................................
24
Power
Cable
......................................
2-4
LVOl to
Interface
Controller
.............................
2-4
LV11,
LV8
Interface
Controller
Module
Mounting
..................
2-4
Jumper
Configurations
.................................
2-5
LV11
(M7258) Jumpers
.............................
2-5
LV8
(M8302)
Jumpers
..............................
2-6
Packing
LVOl
for
Shipment
.................................
2-6
OPERATION
AND
PROGRAMMING
Operating
Instructions
....................................
3-1
Loading
Roll-Type
Electrographic
Paper
........................
3-1
Loading
Fanfold
Type Electrographic Paper
......................
3-4
Loading
with Toner
..................................
3-10
Operator
Controls
and Indicators
..............................
3-11
LVOl
Printer ASCII Character Set
..............................
3-12
Format
Control
Codes
....................................
3-13
Programming
Considerations .................................
3-14
PDP-ll
Programming
....................................
3-14
Control
and Status
Register
(LVCS)
..........................
3-15
Data
Buffer
Register
(LVDB)
.............................
3-16
Interrupts
.......................................
3-16
PDP-8/PDP-12
Programming
.................................
3-16
IOT
Instructions
....................................
3-16
Status
Register
.....................................
3-17
Programming
Considerations ..............................
3-18
iii

CHAPTER
4
4.1
4.1.1
4.1.2
4.2
4.2.1
4.2.1.1
4.2.1.2
4.2.2
4.2.3
4.2.4
4.3
4.3.1
4.3.2
4.3.3
4.3.4
CHAPTER
5
5.1
5.2
Figure
No.
1-1
2-1
2-2
2{3
244
3-1
3-2
3-3
3-4
3-5
3-6
3-7
3-8
3-9
3-10
3-11
3-12
3-13
3-14
3-15
3-16
3-17
3-18
CONTENTS
(Cont)
Page
PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION
LVOl
Printer/Plotter
..................................... 4-1
General
Operation
...................................
4-1
Electrostatic
Writing
Technique
............................
4-2
LVll Detailed
Description
..................................
4-2
Address
Selection
Logic
................................
4-2
Address
Inputs
..................................
4-3
Outputs
.....................................
4-5
Interrupt
Control
...................................
4-6
Data
Register Logic
..................................
4-7
Printer
Control
Logic
.................................
4-7
LV8
Detailed
Description
..................................
4-9
IOT
Decoding
.....................................
4-10
Printer
Control .....................................
4-11
Data
Register
......................................
4-12
Interrupt
and
Skip
Control ...............................
4-12
MAINTENANCE
Inspection
..........................................
5-1
Diagnostics
..........................................
5-1
ILLUSTRATIONS
Title
Page
LVOl
Functional Block
Diagram
...............................
1-2
Damage
Inspection
......................................
2-1
Back Panel
Removed .....................................
2-2
Platen Raised
View ......................................
2-3
Removing
Packing
Material .................................
2-3
Paper
Removal
........................................
3-2
Inserting
Cross
in Roll
Paper
.................................
3-2
Inserting
Roll
Paper
.....................................
33
Paper
Pulled Out .......................................
3-3
Paper
Transport
Module ...................................
3-4
Control
Panel
........................................
3-4
Fanfold
Paper
Guide
.....................................
3-5
Paper
Stacking
Insert
.....................................
3-5
Paper
Supply
Compartment
.................................
3-5
‘Fan’
the
Paper
to
Loosen
the
Sheets
............................
3-7
Position
of Stack
for
Fanfold
Operation
...........................
3-8
Loading
Paper
over
the
Paper
Guide
Assembly
........................
3-8
Positioning
the
Paper
Left-to-Right
on the
Paper
Roller
...................
3-9
Paper
Loaded
and
Top
Casting
Closed
............................
3-9
Location
of
Paper
Receiver Basket ..............................
3—9
Inserting
Tubes
in
Toner
Bottle
...............................
3-10
Toner and
Concentrate
Bottles Installed
...........................
3-10
Control
and
Status
Register
Bit
Assignments
.........................
3-15
iv

"“‘v
a-wnmv
m'"\w
"v u”,
Figure
No.
3-19
4—1
4—2
4.3
4.4
45
4—6
4.7
4—8
4—9
4—10
Table No.
2-1
3-1
3-2
3-3
3-4
3-5
4—1
4-2
ILLUSTRATIONS
(Cont)
Title
Page
Data
Buffer
Register
.....................................
3-16
LVOl Interface
Signals
....................................
4-1
LVll
Functional Block
Diagram
...............................
4-3
Address
Selection
Logic, Simplified Diagram
........................
4-4
Controller
Select
Address
Format
..............................
4-4
Interrupt
Control
Logic, Simplified
Block
Diagram
.....................
4-6
LVll Character
Transfer,
Timing
Diagram
..........................
4-8
FF
and
LF
Timing
Diagrams
.................................
4-9
Remote
Control
Timing Diagram
..............................
4-10
Plot
Mode
Timing Diagram
..................................
4-10
LV8
Functional
Block
Diagram
...............................
4-11
TABLES
Title
Page
M7258
Jumpers
.......................................
2-5
LVOl Controls and
Indicators ................................
3-11
LVOl ASCII Codes
......................................
3-12
Format Control
Codes ....................................
3-13
IOT
Programming
Instructions ................................
3-17
Status
Register
Bit
Assignments
...............................
3-17
Select
Lines .........................................
4-5
Gating
Control
Signals
....................................
4-5
v

CHAPTER
1
INTRODUCTION
1.1
SCOPE
This
guide
contains
operating,
installation,
programming,
and
technical
reference
data
on the
LV8/LV12/LV11
Printer/Plotter
System.
The
printer/plotter
system
consists of two
components:
an LVOl
Line
Printer/Plotter
(manufactured
by
Versatec,
Inc.)
and a
Digital
Equipment
Corporation
(DEC)
computer
interface
unit.
The
interface
unit
designations
for use with each
DEC
computer
are
listed
below.
Interface Used
with DEC
Computer
LV8
PDP-8/E,
PDP-8
/
M
LV12
PDP-12, PDP-8/I,
PDP-8/L
(positive
bus
only)
LVll
PDP-ll
For
example,
the LV11
system
consists of an LVOl
Printer/Plotter
and an
LVll
Interface Controller
for
use with
a
PDP-ll
computer.
This
guide
and the Versatec maintenance manual
must be used
together
for
a
complete
understanding
of the
printer/plotter
system.
The
prime
subject
of
this
guide
is
the
LV8, LV12,
and LVll
Controller.
The
prime
subject
of
the
Versatec
maintenance
manual is the
printer/plotter
itself;
the manual
presents
a detailed discussion
of the
print
and
plot
mechanisms,
including
installation,
operation,
maintenance,
troubleshooting,
and
engineering
drawings.
Paragraph
1.5 lists
all reference documents
related to
the
printer/ plotter
system.
1.2
GENERAL
DESCRIPTION
The
LVOl
Printer/Plotter
is a
hard
copy
device manufactured
by
Versatec, Inc.,
Cupertino,
California,
to an
exacting
set
of
DEC
specifications.
Its
speed, compact
size,
and
quietness
of
operation
make it ideal
for use
in
hospitals,
research
laboratories,
and offices.
The line
printer
has 132
columns,
a 96
ASCII
character
set,
and
prints
at
a
speed
of
up
to
500 lines
per
minute
(full
line).
The
plotter speed
is
120 lines
per
second
maximum,
with
a
data
transfer
rate
of
500K
bytes
per
second
maximum.
Printing
is
accomplished
by
depositing
an electrostatic
charge
on a
dielectric surface
and
blackening
the
charged
areas
with
fine
particles deposited
from a
liquid
toner.
The
paper
is then dried
by
directing
air
flow
over
the
paper.
The LVOl is
available in two models.
The
115V
model,
designated
LVOl-BA,
handles
104—132
Vac at
50
or 60 Hz.
The 240V
model,
designated
LVOl-BB,
handles 208—264
Vac
at 50 or 60 Hz.
1-1

Interfaces
between
the
LVOl
and most
DEC
computers
are
available. The
interface between the
LVOl and
a
PDP-8/E
or
PDP-8/M
is
designated
LV8;
the
interface between the
LVOl and a
PDP-12 is
designated
LV12;
the
interface between the LVOl and a
PDP-ll
is
designated
LV11.
The LV8 and
LVll
interfaces
are
described
in
this
manual;
LV12
operation
is identical
to
the LV8
interface
operation.
1.3
FUNCTIONAL
DESCRIPTION
(Figure
1-1)
1.3.1
Print
Mode
In
the
print
mode
of
operation,
the LVOl
accepts,
in
parallel,
7-bit ASCII
input
code from
the
LV8, LV12,
or LVll
Controller.
Each character
received
is
stored
in
a l32-character
memory
(buffer).
These
132
characters
represent
one
full
line of data
on 11-inch wide
paper.
Once the
132-character
memory
is
full,
the LVOl
automatically
prints
the
132
characters
on
a
line and then
performs
an automatic
carriage
return.
If
less than
a
full
line is
received,
certain
format control codes
(described
in
Table
3-3)
must
be
transmitted
to the LVOl
to
initiate
printing
of that line.
CONTROL,STATUS
PDP-
8/E
OMNIBUS
LV8
mfg/PER
/
PROCESSOR
'
INTERFACE DATA
PLOTTER
CONTROL,STATUS
PUP-12
0R
POS.
r/o BUS
LV12
LVO‘
PDP-8/I
,NTERFACE
DATA
PRINTER/
PROCESSOR
PLOTTER
CONTROL,STATUS
POP—11
UNIBUS
LV11
mfg/19%,
PROCESSOR
INTERFACE DATA
PLOTTER
(SP-0413
Figure
1-1 LVOl
Functional
Block
Diagram
When
printing
is to
occur,
each ASCII character
must
be
decoded
and translated
in
the
form
of horizontal and
vertical
dots that can
produce
a
recognizable image
on the
paper
surface.
Each character
is
composed
of
dots
within
a 7 X 9
matrix;
a total of 63 bits of
binary
information
are
associated with
each character.
Read-only
memories
(ROMS)
are
used to store
this information until needed
by
the
printer.
These
bits
are
sequentially
applied
to the
writing
points
to
produce
the desired
pattern.
When a black dot
is
required,
a
charge
is
placed
on the
paper;
when
no
dot is
required,
no
charge
is
applied
to the
paper.
This
process,
which
is
also
known as the raster
scan method
of
writing,
is
similar
to the
writing
technique
used
in
television and
on
television-like terminals.
1.3.2 Plot
Mode
When the
plot
mode
of
operation
is
selected,
the
LVOl
accepts,
in
parallel,
8-bit data
bytes.
This
binary
information
is
stored
in
a
1024-bit
buffer which
represents
a full
scan
line on ll-inch
paper.
The
line is
automatically printed
when
the
last
byte (128th)
is received. The character
generator
used
in the
print
mode is disabled
and the
unweighted
binary
information
is transferred
directly
to the
writing
surface.
Input
bit 08
prints
as
the left-most
writing point
in the
current
byte
when
viewing
the
resultant
printout.
As
an
example, input
bit 08
would
print
as the
first dot on a scan
line
if set in the
first
byte
of data transmitted.
Because
of
the
electrostatic
method
of
writing,
data must
be
presented
to
the
plotter
in the
form of a
bit
map
of the
desired
graphical
information.
This
can be
accomplished
with
a
basic
software
package
which
translates
simple
commands into the
required
binary
data. Unlike
pen plotters,
speed
is not
dependent
on the
complexity
of
the
image
to
be
produced.
For
example,
the
LVOl
could
produce
an
8-1/
2
inch
long
X 11
inch
wide
graph
or chart
in 10
seconds,
regardless
of
complexity.
This
opens
a
new
dimension
in the
use of
plotting
with
computers,
since
pen
plotters
have
always
had a severe
limitation
on
speed
due
to
the
necessity
of
writing
every
line
with a
single
writing
pen.