Epson MX-80 IIIF/T User manual

EPSON
EPSON
EPSON
EPSON
EPSON
EPSON
EPSON
EPSON
EPSON
EPSON
EPSON
EPSON
EPSON
EPSON
EPSON
EPSONAMERICA, INC.
MX-80PRINTER User'sManual

User'sManual
for
MX-80Printer
by
DavidA.Lien
COMPUSOFT™PUBLISHING
ADivisionofCompuSoft,Inc.
Box19669• SanDiego,California92119U.S.A.

ThisBookwaspreparedespeciallyforEpsonAmerica,Inc.by
CompuSoftPublishing.Allrights,domesticandinternational
arereservedbyCompuSoft,Inc.Requestsforpermissionto
reproduceordistributethisUser'sManualshouldbeaddressed
COPYRIGHTDEPT
CompuSoft,Inc.
P.O.Box19669
SanDiego,CA92119
Copyright © 1980 by Compusoft Publishing,
ADivision of CompuSoft, Inc.
San Diego, CA 92119
Allrights reserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybe
reproduced,storedina retrievalsystem,ortransmitted,in
anyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photo-
copying,recordingorotherwise,withoutthepriorwritten
permissionofthepublisher.Nopatentliabilityisassumed
withrespecttotheuseoftheinformationcontainedherein.
Whileeveryprecautionhasbeentakeninthepreparationof
thsbook,thepublisherassumesnoresponsibilityforerrors
oromissions.Neitherisanyliabilityassumedfordamages
resultingfromtheuseoftheinformationcontainedherein.
Compusoftisa registeredtrademarkofCompuSoft,Inc.
*TRS-80istheroisteredtrademarkofRadioShack,a
DivisionofTandyCorporation.
InternationalStandardBookNumber:0-932760-04-X
LibraryofCongressCatalogCardNumber:80-70122
10987654321
Printed in Japan

APersonalNoteFromtheAuthor
CongratulationsonyourdecisiontobuyanEPSONMX-80
printer!Inmyopinion,itisthebestdollar-valueonthe
printermarkettoday.
"WHO NEEDS A LEARNER'S MANUAL FOR A PRINTER?"
Theanswer— ALMOST EVERYONE EXCEPT A COMPUTER
PROFESSIONAL.
Today'sprintersareverysophisticatedcomparedtothose
ofevena yearago.Mostarenotfullyutilizedbecausethe
instructionsaretoovagueandcomplicated.We'redoing
ourbesttoeliminatethatproblemwiththeEPSONMX
Series.
IencourageyoutolearnALLaboutyourremarkable
MX-80.Youpaidforit.Putittowork
Dr.DavidA Lien
SanDiego— 1980

TableofContents
]
1
Introduction7
Chapter1:TheStartingLine9
Chapter2:Sendita Message23
Chapter3:MorePrintControlCommands35
Chapter4:IntroductiontoGraphics41
Chapter5:HowDotMatrixPrintingWorks47
Chapter6:AdvancedPrintingandEndlessFormControl55
Chapter7:AdvancedGraphics63
Chapter8:TRS-80ModeandMisc69
Chapter9:SwitchingtoForeignLanguageCharacters71
AppendixA:ASCIIChartsforMX-80andTRS-80Modes79
AppendixB:ControlCodes81
AppendixC:InternalSwitchExplanationTables83
AppendixD:UsewithOtherComputers87
AppendixE:Usewitha RadioShackprintercable91
AppendixF:SpecialconsiderationsforModelIITRS-8093
AppendixG:CharacterandGraphicFonts95
AppendixH:TechnicalSpecifications99
AppendixI:FunctionCodes101
AppendixJ:LogicBlockDiagram103
AppendixK:PinoutSignalChart105
AppendixL:DataTransmissionSequence107
Index109

Introduction
"But do I REALLY have to take a course on 'How to Operate A Printer' to use
this one?" No— notifyouonlywanttouseitformundaneprinting.Itprints
"mundanes"verynicely.
Ifyouwanttolearntousetheexoticfeaturesitoffers,approachyournew
Printerinthesamewayasyourfirstcomputer— witha healthycuriosityandan
openmind.Itprobablyfarexceedswhatyoueverexpectedfroma printerinex-
pensiveenoughtocallyourown.
TheMX-80Printerworkswithvirtuallyanycomputerproperlyinterfacedtoit.
This"Learner'sManual"usesthepopularModel1 TRS-80asitsteachingmodel
sincetheTRS-80graphicssetissimilartotheonebuiltintotheMX-80.What's
taughthereappliestoallcomputers,thonotallarepowerfulenoughtoutilize
everyMX-80feature.Moreonthatingoodtime.
ImpatientreadersshouldheadfortheAppendicesandusualreferencematerials
attheback.TherestofuswillbelievethatthisisnoordinaryPrinterandtakethe
timetolearntouseitright— the first time.
AgoodworkingknowledgeoftheBASIC*languageisallthat'srequiredaswe
begin,withChapter1.
*UserswhofeeltheirBASICskillsarea littlerustyarereferredtothefollowing
booksbythesameauthor:
The BASIC Handbook, An Encyclopedia of the BASIC Language. Available
thruCompuSoftPublishing,Box19669SanDiego,CA92119.
TRS-80 Level I User's Manual. AvailablethruallRadioShackstoresas
CatalogNumber62-2016or26-2101.
LEARNING LEVEL II. CompuSoftPublishing.

TheStartingLine
Chapter1
TheStartingLine
ThisimportantChaptershowshowtounpackthePrinter,setitupandtestit.
Readitbeforeyougetintotrouble.Thetimespentwillbeyourbestinvestment
sincebuyingthePrinteritself.
CountingtheParts
Opentheboxcarefullyandremovethecontents.Thereshouldbe:
1.ThisUser'sManual(obviously. . .)
2.TheEPSONMX-80Printer
3.A longboxcontainingtheribboncartridge
4.A wireracktoguidethepaper
YoualsoneedanEPSONcabletoconnectthePrintertoyourparticularcom-
puter.ComputerswhichdonotusetheCentronicsStandardParallelInterface
schemeneedtheproperEPSONmatchingkit.YourEPSONdealercansupply
whateverisneeded.
SettingItUp
Lifttheprinterlidandlocatethe2 shippingscrews.SeeFigure1.
Figure1-1
ThesescrewsaretoprotecttheMX-80fromdamageduringshipping.Let's
removetheprinterlidsowecangetatthescrewswithoutbreakingsomething.
PARTS

Chapter9
\aythePrinterflatona firmsurfaceandraiseitslidtothefullverticalposi-
.ion.SeeFigure1-2.
WiththePrinterfacingyou,asshowninFigure1-3,graspthelidfirmlyonits
fttopsidewithyourrighthand.UseyourlefthandtoholdthePrinter
"Tfownonthetableand"spread"thecaseopenjusta bit.Pullthelidoffas
aleitisn'tabsolutelynecessarytoremovethelidtogetatthescrews,itdoes
reducethechanceofaccidentaldamage.Italsogivesusanopportunitytolearn
howtoremovethelidsowecanlearnaboutotherinterestingthings.
10

Usinga Phillipstypescrewdriver,removethepackingscrewsandstorethemfor
possiblefutureuse.Ifit'snecessarytomovetheprintheadtotherightorleftto
getatthescrews,dosowithgreatcare.(Ifyou'venotfollowedthedirectionsand
havealreadytriedtorunthePrinter,becarefuloftheprinthead!Itrunsvery
HOTundernormaloperation.)
InstallingtheRibbon
PositionthePrinterwiththeEPSONlabel(front)facingyou.Locatethepaper
bail(themoveablemetalbarwithnumbers1-80onit)andpushittowardsthe
back,awayfromyou.
Removetheribboncartridgefromitsboxandturntheplasticknobcounterclock-
wisesotheribbonistight.(Figure1-4A)
Figure1-4A
Holdingthecartridgebyitsverticalfin(soundslikea shark),steerthe4 tabson
itssidesintothe4 slotsinthePrinter'smetalframe.(Figure1-4B)Pressthecartridge
firmly intoplace.
Figure1-4B

Chapter9
Usinga pencil(oryourfingers)lifttheribbonintotheslotinfrontoftheprint
headasshowninFigure4-1C.Witha littlepractice,youcandoalltheabovein
onequickoperation.
Windtheribbontightagainwiththelittleplasticknob,andit'sallsettogo.
MatchingthePrintertoYourComputer
Thereare12differentswitchesinsidethePrintercase.Theycanbesettomake
theMX-80matcha widevarietyofcomputersandcomputerinterfaces.Wenow
havetosetthemtomatchourcomputer.Ina laterChapterwewillresetsomeof
themanddosomeveryuniquethings.
OpeningtheCase
Togetattheswitcheswehavetoopenthecase.Thetransparentlidshouldstill
beoff.Removetherollerknobbypullingstraightout,withfirmbutsteady
pressure.(Figure1-5)
TurnthePrinterupsidedownona softsurface.Witha Phillipsheadscrewdriver,
:ompletelyloosen(butdon'tremove)all4 cornerscrewsasshowninFigure1-6.
^Placetapeoverthe4 holessothescrewswon'tfalloutwhenwetipthePrinter
rightsideupagain.
Figure1-4C
Figure1-5
12

Figure1-6
Nowtiptheprinterrightsideupagain.
Gentlywigglethetopcoverloose.Wiresarehookedtoit!Wearenotgoingto
completelyremovethecover— onlyopenitenoughtogainaccesstothe
switches.
Liftthecoverup,mostlyfromtheleftside,andslideitgentlytotherighttofree
itfromtherollershaft.Becarefulnottopullthewiresontherighthandside.
Withjusta bitofclasswecanmaneuverthecoversoitstandsfirmlyinplace,asa
sentinelguardingthegoodies.
Takea minutetogawkatallthestuffinthebox.Wow!AsCustersaid,"Lookat
allthose. . ."well,anyway.
Wonderhowtheysellitascheapastheydo?(Hopeitprintsasgoodasitlooks.)
Figure1-7

Chapter9
SettingtheSwitches
PositionthePrinterasshowninFigure1-7.Lookforthe2 clearplasticcaps.
Theyaredustcovers,andsnaprightoff.Gently,removethem.
Theassemblyontherightcontains8 switches,andislabeled"SVV1".Thesmaller
onetoitsleftcontains4 switchesandiscalled"SW2".Switchessettotheleftare
ON— totheright areoff.Sofar,sogood.
Theywillprobablyleavethefactoryburn-inandcheckoutstationsetsomething
likethis:
SW2 SW1
1-8L
1-7R
1-6L
1-5L
2-4R 1-4R
2-3L 1-3L
2-2L 1-2L
2-1L 1-1L
mi
HO
SW-2 SW-1
Iftheyarenotlikethis,andyouareconnectingthePrintertoa TRS-80withan
EPSONcable,settheswitchesasabove.OthercomputersusingtheCentronics
standardPARALLELinterfacematchingschemewillwanttheswitchessetthe
sameway.
Ifyouareusinga ModelI printercablesuppliedbyRadioShack,godirectlyto
AppendixE formoreinformation.(DonotpassGO.Donotcollect$200.)Ifyou
areusinga TRS-80ModelII,godirectlytoAppendixF.
IfyouareusinganApple,PetorS-100busscomputer,godirectlytoAppendix
D.Instructionsforcorrectswitchsettingsfortheseandotherpopularcomputers
areincludedwiththeEPSONcablesandinterfacekitsdesignedespeciallyto
connectthemtotheMX-80.A completedescriptionofwhateachswitchdoesis
foundinAppendixC (forthosewhosimplycan'twaittofindout).Therestofus
willcontinueon.
14

Aplasticplatefelloutoftheaccesshatchontheinsidebackofthelidwhenwe
openedthecase.Wecaneitherreplacethisplateaswereplacethelid,tapeitto
theOUTsideofthehole,oraddittoourgrowingcollectionofprinterparts.The
switchescanbeREsetthroughthishatchwithouthavingtoreopenthecase(by
psinga flashlightandsmallscrewdriverorball-pointpen).
GotallthesettingscorrectforyourComputer?Putthecasebacktogetherand
tightenthescrews.ThePrintercovergoesbackonthewayitcameoff— very
carefully.Samewiththetransparentlid.
PrinterCableConnection
We'regettingclosertothegoodstuff.
BesureboththecomputerandPrinterareturnedOFF.Connectthecabletothe
Printeronly.EPSONsuppliesa varietyofcablestomatchdifferentcomputers.Be
sureyouhavetherightone.Donotconnecttheotherendofthecabletothe
computeryet.
Takeyourtime!Double-checktoensurethatthecableisinplaceandlocked.It
maytakea firmpushontheconnectortogettheclipssecured.Withoutthistight
connection,printingmaybeerratic.Again— leavetheotherenddisconnected.

Chapter9
ThePaperRack
Thewirerackwiththeplastictubeisa paperseparator.Itallowsthepaperto
feedsmoothlyintoandoutoftheprinter.Toinstallit,simplyspringthewiresa
bitsotheypopintotheholesintheprinterframe,asshowninFigure1-8.
Figure1-8
FeedingthePaper
TheMX-80takespin-feedpaperbetween4"and10"wide.Boththeleftandright
handTRACTORSareadjustabletomatchthespacingbetweentheholes.(We
nevergettoofarfromtheland,dowe?)
PositionthepaperonthefloorbehindandbelowthePrinter.Reliableoperation
dependssomewhatontheweightofthepaperkeepingitselftaut.Raisethe
printerlidandmovethebailtowardsyou.Openbothtractorcoversandcenter
theplasticrollerbetweenthem.(Figure1-9)
16

Figure1-9
Feedthepaperabovetheplastictubebutbelowthewireframe,intotheslotand
rightonaroundtothetractors.Movethetractorsasnecessarytomatchthepaper
holespacing.ThetractorpositionlockleversareshowninFigure1-9.
Positionthepaperholesontopofthetractorteethandclosethetractorcovers.
Adjustoneorbothtractorssothepaperiscenteredasyouwishit,andisheld
firmlyinplace.Pushthebailbackupagainstthepaper.
Rollthepaperforwardwiththerollerknob.
CAUTION:Neverattempttoturntherollerknobwhenthe
powerisON.It'sdoneelectricallythen,andgears
areengaged(.. . youmightdamagethem).
ThePrintermovespaperforwardonly,andneverlooksback.Ifyoumustturnthe
rollerbackmanually(powerOFF),ithelpstopulllightlyonthepaper.
Pullthebailbackoutofthewayandsetthepapersothatthetopoftheguideon
theprintheadispositionedrightatthetopofa newsheetofpaper(Figure1-10).
Pushthebailbackupagainstthepaper.

Chapter9
AdjustingforPaperThickness
TheMX-80canprintonalltypesofpre-printedmultiplecopyformsandcarbons,
aswellasordinaryprinterpaper.That'swhatthe7 positionthicknesscontrol
leverisfor(Figures1-9and1-10).Itmovestheprintheadclosertoorfarther
fromthepaper.Forordinarysinglethicknesspaper,startoutwiththecontrol
leverataboutthemiddleposition.
Thebigmomentisgettingcloser.
PrinterssoldintheU.S.andCanadaaredesignedfora standard120V60Hzout-
let,andhavea 3 wiregroundingplug.Donotattempttodefeatthegrounding.
Whenyou'velocateda properoutlet,seethatthePOWERswitchontheright-
handside(Fig.1-9)isOFF,thenplugthecordin!
Figure1-10
PluggingItIn
18

AtLast
Thebigmomentishere.
TURNITON!
Mmmm!Lookatthat!A littlestartupsound,3 greenlights,anditjustsitsthere
waiting.Theolddayswereneverlikethis.
Whereisallthemotornoise?Howaboutsomebiglevers,lightsandalarms?Looks
likedynamiteina smallsilentpackage!
Ifwedideverythingright,thePOWER,READYandONLINElightsshouldbe
lit.Ifwegotthepaperinwrong,theNOPAPERlightwillbelittoo.
PresstheONLINEbuttonseveraltimes.It"toggles"theprinter-to-computer
connection,alternatelyhookingusupanddisconnectingusfromthecomputer
(whichwehaven'tconnectedto,yet).FinishfiddlingwiththePrinterONLINE
andREADY.
NowtrypushingtheFF(FormFeed)andLF(LineFeed)buttons.
Nothing!What'swrong?Nothing.Wehaveto"toggle"thePrinter"OFFLINE"
tousethem.Oh.
PresstheONLINEbuttonsotheREADYlightgoesout.NowpressFF.
Goodgrief— lookatthatpapergo.Nowlookatwherethepaperstopped.Right
atthetopofthenextpage.Unless(until)wechangeitotherwise,theFormFeed
buttonwillalwaysadvancethepapertothetopofthenextForm(orpieceof
paper).
NowtaptheLineFeedbutton.
Itadvancedthepaper1/6ofaninch.Unless(until)wetelltheprinterotherwise,
itprints6 linestoaninch,and66linestoa page.NowholdtheLineFeedbutton
downfora bit.
Howaboutthat?Bothmanualandautomatictransmission!

Chapter9
Finally,presstheFFbuttonagain.
Wheredidthepaperstopthistime?Yep.Atthetopofthenextform.
Andthatjustaboutcoversallthe"obvious"buttonsandswitchesontheMX-80.
Learninghowtouseitisnotveryformidableatall,ifwetakeourtime.
TheFinalCheckout
Thefinalpartofthischeckouttakesabout10minutes.It'sanimportantthingto
do,andshowsusmanyoftheprintcharactersthatareavailable.
TurnthePrinterOFF.HoldtheLFbuttondownandturnthePrinterbackonat
thesametime.
GO!
Wow!Lookatthatsonofagungo.Openthelidandwatchtheheadprintingin
bothdirections.Movethepaperbailoutofthewaytoseebetter.
We'relookingatallofthecharactersinitsmemory(exceptcertainreplacements
wecanswitchinusingsomeofthe12switchesinside).Includedisthefull
TRS-80graphiccharacterset,(notjustthelightblockswhichareusuallySETand
RESET).Yep,wecanprintgraphicsonthepaper.
Noticethatwhenthereisa graphicscharacterina printline,itonlyprintsfrom
lefttoright,returningbacktotheleftwhenthelastgraphiccharacterisprinted.
Itthenprintstherestofthegraphiccharacter,alongwiththeusualletters,num-
bersandpunctuation.Nothingearth-shaking,perhaps,butitdemonstratessome
ofthePrinter's"internallogic"comparedtotheold"washingmachines"ofnot
solongago.
Whenthistestisfinished,wewillautomaticallybeswitchedONLINEtothe
computercable. w:
20

TheStartingLine
MemoryTest
How'syourmemory?Doyourememberhowtoadvancethepapertothetopof
thenextform?Doit.
HadtogoOFFLINE,right?Tearoffthetestrunusingtheedgeofthelidasa
guide,andhangituponthewallasa souvenir.
WHEW!
That'senoughforthisChapter.Takea shortwalktoventtheexhilaration.In
thenextChapterwe'llhookittothecomputer,turnITon,andseewhathap-
pens.
CorrectPaperFeeding
t*
21

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