Epson QX-10 User manual

EPSON
®
QX-10™ OPERATIONS
MANUAL

FCC Compliance Statement for American Users
This equipment generates and uses radio frequency energy and if not installed
and used properly, that is, in strict accordance with the manufacturer’s instruc-
tions, may cause interference to radio and television reception. It has been type
tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B computing device in ac-
cordance with the specifications in Subpart J of part 15 of FCC Rules, which are
designed to provide reasonable protection against such interference in a residen-
tial installation. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur
in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause interference to radio or
television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and
on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the
following measures:
l Reorient the receiving antenna
l Relocate the computer with respect to the receiver
l Plug the computer into a different outlet so that the computer and receiver are
on different branch circuits.
If necessary, the user should consult the dealer or an experienced radio/televi-
sion technician for additional suggestions. The user may find the following booklet
prepared by the Federal Communications Commission helpful:
“How to Identify and Resolve Radio-TV Interference Problems.”
This booklet is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington,
DC 20402. Stock No. 004-000-00345-4.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Epson America, Inc. No
patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein.
While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this publication, Epson
America, Inc. assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability
assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.
QX-10 is a trademark of Epson America, Inc.
Valdocs, HASCI, and TPM-II are trademarks of Rising Star Industries.
Centronics is a registered trademark of Centronics Data Computer Corp.
CP/M is a registered trademark of Digital Research.
Copyright © 1984 by Epson America, Inc.
ii QD-001A

CONTENTS
1.
Getting Started ...................................
1
Unpacking .......................................
1
Getting Hooked Up ..............................
3
Power ...........................................
8
Booting .........................................
10
Warm and Cold Booting. .....................
10
Drive A/Drive B .............................
10
Caring for Your Diskettes. ........................
11
Make Backup Copies Often. ..................
12
Don’t Touch Those Diskettes!. .................
13
Don’t Force the Merchandise. .................
13
Beware of the Magnetic Field. .................
14
Keep it Comfortable. .........................
14
Inserting Diskettes ...............................
14
2.
QX-10
Components.
............................. 17
The Microprocessor. .............................
17
The Chip ...................................
17
Bits and Bytes. ..............................
17
QX-10 Memory. .................................
18
Programs .......................................
19
The QX-10 Keyboard. ............................
19
The Video Monitor. .............................
20
Other Features ..................................
21
ROM .......................................
21
Direct Memory Access Controllers. .............
21
Serial Port..................................
22
Centronics-compatible Parallel Port.
............
22
CMOS RAM Memory. .......................
22
Clock Calendar. .............................
22
Light Pen Interface. ..........................
23
Option Cards ................................
23
iii

3. Installing External Devices and Option Cards. .....
25
Installing External Devices. .......................
25
External Device Ports. ........................
26
Checking the Cable. .........................
26
Plugging In .................................
27
Powering Up. ...............................
27
Installing Option Cards. .........................
27
Powering
Down. ............................
28
Removing the Option Cards Cover. ............
28
QX-10 Interior: The Option Card Well. .........
30
Removing the Shipping Brace. ................
30
Selecting the Correct Slot. ....................
31
Unpacking and Handling the Option Card. .....
31
Inserting the Option Card. ...................
32
Removing an Access Slot. ....................
32
Replacing the Cover. .........................
33
Powering Up ................................
34
Removing Option Cards. .........................
34
4.
Troubleshooting
.................................
35
Procedure? ......................................
35
Diskette Problems?.
............................. 35
Booting Problems?. ..............................
36
Bugs? ..........................................
36
Crossed Wires? ..................................
37
DIP Switch Problems?. ..........................
38
Printer Problems?. ...............................
38
Options?. ......................................
39
Static? ..........................................
39
Battery Low? ....................................
39
Hardware Problems? (Least Likely). ...............
39
Index ................................................41
iv

Chapter 1
Getting Started
Getting started with your QX-10™ won’t take very long at all.
Even though there’s a good deal of material to go through, this
chapter is simple and straightforward. In fact, you’ll probably be
up and running in half an hour or less! In that short time you’ll
learn everything you need to know about unpacking your QX-10,
connecting its different units, powering it up, caring for disket-
tes, and inserting them correctly. Let’s get going!
Unpacking
When you opened the carton marked OPEN ME FIRST, you
found this and other manuals and some diskettes. (You should
also have three other cartons.)
Before unpacking the cartons, make sure the location you’ve
selected for your QX-10 fits the following criteria:
1. A flat, hard surface. Soft surfaces like beds and carpeted floors
can hinder the free air circulation that the QX-10 needs. They
also attract static electricity, which can erase floppy disks and
might wreak havoc on some of the QX-10’s circuitry.
2. Free air circulation. In a typical arrangement, the QX-10
measures about 21 inches wide and 24 inches deep (it takes
up slightly more desk space than a typical typewriter). Air
should not only be allowed to circulate under the system, but
behind it as well. Clear a few inches behind the QX-10 for the
ventilation system to work best.
1

3. Environmental conditions. It’s important to keep your com-
puter shielded from extremes in temperature, humidity, dust,
and smoke. You’d be amazed at how smoke of any kind-
cigarette, cigar, pipe, or even woodstove-can affect the in-
tegrity of your diskettes. Like dust, smoke particles adhere
to the magnetic surfaces of your diskettes and can damage
the reading ability of the heads in the diskette drives.
In addition, avoid direct sunlight, heater ducts, and other hot
areas. Also, don’t use the QX-10 in damp areas- excessive
humidity can hinder operation.
4. A double 3-prong l20-volt grounded outlet. You’ll need one
outlet for the main unit and another for an Epson printer (or
other additional equipment). Using this type of outlet helps
prevent static charges. Most importantly, be sure the socket
is grounded!
5. Clearance from other electrical appliances. Keep your QX-10
away from anything that generates magnetic fields. This may
come as a surprise, but everything that plugs into an elec-
trical outlet can generate a magnetic field that could cause
problems. Even your telephone can upset things if it’s kept
too close to your equipment or diskettes.
Once you’re sure you have the ideal place to set up your QX-10,
carefully open the other three cartons. Use a small, sharp tool such
as a pocketknife to cut the tape-carefully. Your QX-10 is well
packaged, but there’s no reason to risk scratching its case. You’ll
find the QX-10 monitor (also known as the video display),
keyboard, and main unit wrapped in clear plastic and snugly fitted
in its packing. With each unit you’ll also find a cable and a registra-
tion card.
Fill out the registration cards when you purchase your QX-10
and mail them to Epson. With your registration cards on file, Epson
can provide continuing hardware and software support to help
you in using your QX-10.
Be sure to keep the cartons (and the packing materials) in case
you should ever need to ship your QX-10. After you’ve removed
the QX-10 components from their cartons, inspect the components
before assembly and, if anything looks damaged or otherwise
wrong, return it to the dealer.
2

Getting Hooked Up
Now that all the boxes are unpacked, it’s time to put the parts
together into a working system. Start with the main unit. That’s
the one that looks like this:
Place it on the flat surface with the front facing you, as shown.
Remove the disk drive protector sheets from the two disk drives
(marked A and B) by pressing the button labelled PUSH located
at the left side of each drive. When you push it, the button pops
out, as does the edge of the protector sheet. Carefully pull out
both sheets and save them along with the other shipping materials.
Now turn the main unit around so that the back is facing you,
like so:
MONITOR PORT-, DIP SWITCHES
LIGHT PEN PORT
SPEAKER CONTROLPOP-OUT
POWER CORD
OUTLET PRINTER RS-232C OPTION CARD
PORT PORT ACCESS SLOTS
----
To connect the components of the QX-10, you’ll use two of the
outlets on the back of the main unit. The power cord connects
to the large rectangular outlet on the left side, labelled CAUTION:
DISCONNECT POWER BEFORE SERVICING. The round monitor
outlet is where the monitor cable attaches to the main unit.
3

The power switch is on the right side of the main unit, around
the corner from the power outlet. It has two positions: ON and
OFF.
Important: Be sure the power switch is OFF before you hook up
the QX-10.
Plug the rectangular end of the power cord into the QX-10 power
receptacle on the back of the main unit and the other end into
a 3-prong, l20-volt grounded wall outlet.
RECEPTACLE
Now set the monitor on top of the main unit so that the back
of the monitor is also facing you.
The knob at the bottom left of the monitor controls screen
brightness (you may wish to adjust this later). To the right of this
control is the monitor’s socket, or port, where one end of the
monitor cable connects.
4

The monitor cable is fairly short, with a cylindrical plug on either
end. These are called DIN plugs. The monitor cable DIN plugs
differ only in the number of pins inside: the end that connects
to the back of the monitor has seven pins and the end that con-
nects to back of the main unit has eight pins.
TO MONITOR
5

Insert the 7-pin plug into the outlet on the monitor and the other
end into the round outlet on the back of the main unit, marked
MONITOR.
CABLE
Now turn the main unit and monitor around so that they’re fac-
ing you.
The keyboard cable is coiled and looks like a phone cord. Both
ends of this cable have the same DIN connector: each has eight
pins and a small flap that’s used to unplug the cable. Push either
end of the cable into the round outlet on the back of the keyboard.
(Be sure to get it all the way in.) Then plug the other end into
the round outlet at the lower left of the front of the main unit,
under the Epson logo.
6

PLUGGING IN
KEYBOARD CABLE
Some people like to use the QX-10 with the keyboard on their
laps and others like to set it on a firm surface, but your options
don’t end there. You can also adjust the angle of the keyboard.
Changing the angle of the keyboard is simple. First, turn it over.
Embedded in the upper corners on the bottom of the keyboard
are two legs. You can adjust these so that the keyboard tilts. Reach
under the lip near the arrow marked PULL, and lift the leg up-
ward until it locks in place. This tilts the keyboard at its highest
angle.
7

Turn the keyboard right side up and try it for comfort. If the
angle seems too steep, you can try the midway position by pushing
each leg one notch further until it locks again. Experiment to find
the position that is most comfortable for you.
Now everything is connected, and it’s almost time to turn on
your QX-10!
Power
Don’t touch that power switch yet! First, take a minute to read
these rules of thumb. They’ll help you avoid damaging your
computer:
l Never unplug any cable while the power switch is ON.
l Never try to open the disk drives while the disk is turning or
while the red drive light is on.
l Never turn the QX-10 ON or OFF with diskettes in the drives.
l Never open the case with the power cable plugged in.
l Always wait at least 5 seconds after switching OFF power before
switching power back ON.
To turn the computer ON, press the power switch on the main
unit. To turn the power OFF, press the other end of the switch.
8

Once you’ve powered up the computer, the small red light near
the top right corner of the front of the main unit comes on and
the cooling fan starts up (you can hear it). You may also notice
that a number of small red lights on your keyboard blink on and
off. This indicates that your QX-10 is performing an internal self-
diagnostic test.
The small red light to the right of drive A also comes on, and
the message INSERT DISKETTE appears on the monitor screen.
(If any other message appears, see Chapter 4, “Troubleshooting.“)
INERT DISKETTE
If the brightness on the screen isn’t the way you like it, reach
around to the back of the right side of the monitor until you feel
the control knob near the bottom. Turning the knob clockwise in-
creases the brightness; turning it counterclockwise decreases it.
Experiment a bit to find the most comfortable brightness for you.
Before we go any further, we need to explain the concept of
booting, so let’s proceed!
9

Booting
Booting is the term used to describe the process of loading or
transferring the operating system from the diskette into memory.
Warm and Cold Booting
A cold boot occurs when you power up the machine, or when
you push the RESET button after inserting a new system diskette
in drive A. The RESET button is located just under the door to
drive B on the front of the main unit. A warm boot, which only
partially reloads the operating system, is initiated by keystrokes
(see the instruction manual for the operating system you are using).
Drive A/Drive B
Booting, both warm and cold, is always done from drive A,
which is the one on the left. (After booting, you can choose to
use either drive.)
The part of the diskette drive visible at the front of the main
unit includes the slot where you insert diskettes, the button
labelled PUSH, and the red IN-USE light.
You’ll be working with two kinds of diskettes: system diskettes
and data diskettes. System diskettes carry the information that tells
the QX-10 how to perform specific operations-for example, the
Valdocs™ system diskette contains all of the information the
10

computer needs to run Valdocs. Data diskettes are where you store
the information you created using the software on your system
diskette. If you create a document (a letter or even a part of a novel!)
using Valdocs, you store it on a data diskette.
Caring For Your Diskettes
Diskettes are wondrous things. Where else can you hold the
equivalent of hundreds of pages of text in an easily portable
package smaller than a golden oldie? Unfortunately, diskettes are
not indestructible. Before we go any further, we need to talk about
handling, storing, and using diskettes.
Diskettes are like records made out of recording tape. And just
as it’s possible to destroy a tape, it’s possible to destroy a diskette
or lose some of its data. Diskettes store data as hundreds of
thousands of magnetized areas. For best results you should buy
only high-quality diskettes. The added reliability justifies the ex-
tra cost.
Buy yourself a box or two of diskettes. Even though diskettes
hold quite a bit of data, you’ll be surprised at how quickly you’ll
fill them up-especially if you’re consistent about backing up your
diskettes.
Note: When you purchase diskettes, you must buy double-sided,
double-density, 40-track, soft-sectored diskettes. It sounds like
a mouthful, but this is the only kind of diskette that func-
tions properly with your QX-10.
Looking at the top surface of the diskette, you’ll notice that the
right edge has a small rectangular notch. When this notch is
covered by the adhesive write-protect tabs that are included in the
diskette package, the diskette will not accept new information. That
is, the information stored on the diskette is protected from being
written over. If, on the other hand, this notch is exposed, you can
write new data onto the diskette.
It’s essential that you handle and use diskettes properly. Don’t
worry; all that’s required are a few simple precautions.
11

Make Backup Copies Often
There’s no better way to protect your
data than to have a spare copy tucked
away in a safe place. If it’s particular-
ly important data, you might want to
have more than one copy. Some peo-
ple even keep their backups in a safe
deposit box.
Important: You should make two copies of your system diskette.
Put the original away in a safe place, preferably not
in the same room as your computer. You can use one
of the two backups as a master copy-from which to
make additional backup copies. Use the second system
backup as your day-to-day working diskette.
If you’ll be using your QX-10 on a regular basis, you should make
backup copies of your diskettes every day. Most professional com-
puter users do. A little precaution now can save you a great deal
of trouble later. One of the easiest ways to make backups is to have
seven backup diskettes, each marked with a day of the week. At
12

the end of each day, all you have to do is take the disk marked
for that day and copy your data onto it. For specific backup in-
structions, refer to the user’s guide for your system.
If you’re still unconvinced, just remember Murphy’s Law: If
anything can go wrong, it will. There are all sorts of ways to lose
important data. Lightning might hit the power line, causing a
power surge that makes the computer write random information
all over the diskette. Your children might decide to play disk jockey.
You might spill coffee on a diskette or even (heaven forbid!) drop
a hot ash on the disk surface, causing it to melt. The only way
to protect yourself is to have backups. Get in the habit of making
backups right away.
Don’t Touch those Diskettes!
No, we don’t mean you have to wear gloves. Just make sure you
don’t touch the magnetic surface of the diskette-the areas that
show through the holes of the disk package. The oils on your
fingers can play havoc with the data.
Handle disks only by their protective
jackets, keep them in their protective
envelopes when they’re not in use,
and store them in protective cases or
other dustproof containers.
Just like phonograph records, disk-
ettes hate dirt, dust, fingerprints,
grime, or spilled coffee. On records,
these things are a nuisance, but on
diskettes they can spell disaster. Once
again, make backups!
Don’t Force the Merchandise
Diskettes are flexible, but that
doesn’t mean that you can bend, fold,
spindle, or mutilate them. Any phys-
ical abuse can damage the magnetic
coating, and there goes your data.
Another important point: never force
a diskette into the drive. If it won’t
slide in easily, something’s wrong.
There may be a diskette already in the
slot, and you could end up damaging
both of them. 13

Beware of the Magnetic Field
Remember that diskettes store their data magnetically, just like
tapes.
You probably won’t be running a horseshoe magnet over the
surface of the diskette, but you should be aware that there are
many sources of magnetism in and around your home or office.
A paperclip from a magnetic paperclip holder, strategically dropped
on the magnetic surface of a diskette,
can do plenty of damage, as can the
holder itself.
Also, just about everything that uses
electricity generates magnetism. Elec-
tric typewriters (why would you need
one of those?), television sets, fans,
speaker magnets, and telephones
(which are often placed near a com-
puter) all generate magnetic fields.
Keep your diskettes away from them!
Keep it Comfortable
When it comes to temperature, treat your diskettes like people.
Room temperature is best.
If you leave your diskettes in a
locked car in the middle of the sum-
mer or the dead of a northern winter,
you’re asking for trouble. If you ab-
solutely must leave diskettes in a car,
the trunk is probably best because it
is better insulated, and temperatures
will therefore be more moderate. The
optimum temperature range is from 50
to 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Inserting Diskettes
Choose the system diskette that you wish to start with and
remove it from the paper envelope. Remember, don’t touch the
exposed magnetic surfaces!
14

If your QX-10 is not already turned ON, turn it ON now by press-
ing the ON/OFF switch on the right side of the main unit. When
the INSERT DISKETTE message appears on the screen, gently
slide the system diskette into drive A, with the oval-shaped win-
dow first and the label facing up. Slide the diskette in as far as
it goes easily. Don’t bend it or force it in any way. If it doesn’t seem
to go in correctly, take it out and try again.
You’ll notice that when the diskette is almost all the way in, it
meets some resistance. Now give it a gentle push; it will go in
all the way (you’ll hear a soft click). Press the button marked
PUSH. After a brief whir, information will appear on the monitor
screen.
Remember: Don’t open a drive while the red IN-USE light is on.
If the computer is reading the diskette, it probably
won’t do any harm to open the drive, but if you open
it while writing onto the diskette, you will lose data
and possibly render the diskette unusable.
When you’re sure that the drive is not reading or writing (when
the red IN-USE light is off), remove the diskette by pressing the
button marked PUSH and sliding the diskette out.
That’s it! Your QX-10 is up and running!

Chapter 2
QX-10 Components
If you’ve worked with computers before, much of the informa-
tion in this manual probably comes as no surprise. If, on the other
hand, you are new to computers, you may wonder if you have
what it takes to master the QX-10. Relax, and rest assured that you
do. In fact, it will be fun to look back in a week or so, after you’ve
begun working on the QX-10, and amaze yourself with the pro-
gress you’ve shown!
The Microprocessor
When you sit down and begin working on the QX-10, you are
facing a compact machine that only a few years ago would have
been much larger.
The Chip
One of the reasons for the QX-10’s compactness is that the com-
puter’s brain-called a microprocessor-is remarkably small. It’s so
small, in fact, that you’d need a pair of tweezers to pick it up. Con-
sisting of a tiny chip, this little integrated circuit, a product of the
modern technological boom, can process thousands of instruc-
tions in a fraction of a second. Electrical current speeds through
the chip’s microscopic electronic circuits and is translated into video
images on the monitor or a variety of other actions, both visible
and invisible. The QX-10’s microprocessor, the 780C, enables your
QX-10 to operate with great speed and accuracy, without taking
up much desk space.
Bits and Bytes
A computer’s operation and capacity is expressed in terms of
bits and bytes. The concept of bits and bytes is quite technical, but
it can be generally understood as follows.