Retro-Printer with Atari 8 bit

[venom4728a]

I am trying to get my Retro-Printer working with my Atari-8 bit computer

I have a 130 XE, I am using a ICD P:R: connector, it very similar to an Atari 850

I have the ICD set to generate CR&LF

I have changed my paper size to ANSI-4
I have changed my timeout to 60 seconds because some of the more complicated printer programs take awhile to generate the print code.
I have changed my Printer_Delay to 50 seconds

My printed out put has the graphics I was trying to print but alot of other data is showing up too. Also I normally only get about 1 line per sheet, then the USB printer kicks the page out. I was assuming the Retro-Printer may have been thinking the print session was complete.

Here is a test page printed from The Print Shop with the printer set as Epson compatible mx/fx

page2-2.pdf

(171.11 KiB) Downloaded 641 times

Here is a PDF of the printed output from a program that prints out the clipart on a Print Shop graphics disk. You can see it is printing the graphics with alot of other data and kicks the page out after a line or 2.

page1-9.pdf

(167.49 KiB) Downloaded 629 times

Any suggestions on what settings I need to modify to get this working well?

Best Regards

venom4728a

[RWAP]

This is the first time I have heard of someone using the Retro-Printer with an Atari 130XE, so it needs more investigation as to what is going on.

Can you email me the files from /home/pi/data/raw amd your /root/config files as that will give a better indication of what is actually being sent to the centronics port.

The printer_delay setting may need to be reduced as 50 seconds is actually quite a long gap between the strobe and busy signals on the centronics port - the default of 5 works for most settings, but some computers need a delay of around 20 (it is not second by the way!)

It would also help if you could upload a photo or scan of what the document should actually look like.

[venom4728a]

I cleared my folders and started fresh. I reduced the Printer_Delay to 5 like you had mentioned.

I figured starting with small and easy might be the best route. So I have attached the test print output from Broderbunds The Print Shop.

The JPG is of the actual output to my Panasonic KXP-2135. Same setup all the way through. All I did was move Centronics plug from Panasonic printer to the Retro-Printer.


Atari 130xe -- ICD P: R: Connector (Set to send CR/LF) -- Centronics connector.

Atari-130xe-Retro_Printer.7z

(57.38 KiB) Downloaded 603 times

zipped with 7zip.



Once we figure out the correct settings, I am betting several other Atari 8 bit/16 bit people will be looking to purchase their own Retro-Printer. I will post my result on the AtariAge forums. The question pops up every so often "Hey what kinda printer is everyone using?" Since our dot matrix printers aren't getting any younger and ribbon supplies run out.

P.S. Thank you for the quick response!

[RWAP]

Looking at the raw data - your program is basically doing a single bit image of the printed page (no plain text).

Bit image printing works by sending a command:

ESC L nL nH x x x

where x x x is the graphics data.

In your case, I can see it is ESC L 12 13 - which gives us 3340 bytes of data

Unfortunately the supplied raw file is only 854 bytes in total which seems odd.

It suggests that something is corrupting the data - I see that you can put the Panasonic printer into HEX DUMP mode by holding down the FONT key whilst powering on the printer.

Could you do that and scan in the hex dump so that I can compare it with the raw file and see what might be corrupting the data. I assume the Retro-Printer module is correctly aligned on the GPIO pins and pushed down fully onto them?

I wonder if it might be a stray bit of solder on the centronics adaptor (we have had this before)!

[venom4728a]

Here is the hexdump of the same Print Shop text print.

055553.jpg (108.92 KiB) Viewed 12575 times

[RWAP]

Hmm - there is nothing obvious - comparing the hex dump and the original raw file, there are some extra null characters being generated and every now and then there is a hex 38, or hex 30, hex 3c or even hex 20 where there should be a null.

I initially thought it was something to do with the middle set of pins in the D0-D7 but then we have valid characters where these pins are not used, so it does not appear to be a cable error.

It would be worth increasing the printer_delay in steps of 5 to see if this makes any difference.

There is actually also a hidden configuration option which changes the way that ACK and BUSY signals are generated back to the computer, so if necessary, we can try this.

[venom4728a]

I have disassembled the Retro-Printer from the Pi-3. It was aligned properly I believe, as the 2 screw/stand-off holes lined up correctly opposite the centronics connector. Both rows of header pins were fully seated into the connector

I have big hands and not good for soldering anything small. My hands are like crab claws . Good for grabbing and holding not well suited for finite dexterity.

Inspecting the solder joints visually, I noticed a glob of something, I assume was rosin in this attached photo. It scratched off the exposed area easily, but looks like some still remains under this IC

pic 1.jpg (134.72 KiB) Viewed 12568 times

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pic 2.jpg (46.89 KiB) Viewed 12568 times

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pic 3.jpg (36.72 KiB) Viewed 12568 times

I have not opened up the centronics adapter yet. I will try to test for continuity across the upper a lower row of contacts to near by pins, later this evening.

I have tried two different centronics cables with the same results. I do have an Atari 850 which is nearly identical in function to the ICD P:R: connector, they even share the same cables. I can try to print through that device this evening as well as changing the the Printer_Delay in increments of 5. I have tried different print_Delay values previously of 5, 15, 20, 25 and 50, I read in another thread on RWAP forums where an Atari ST user had luck at 50, that is why I jumped to 50.

How much would another tested centronics adapter cost to ship over?

[sascha2000]

Hello venom4728a,

I am owning an Atari A8 too. I am owning a SIO Parallel interface, which should work similar to the 850 interface.
I downloaded the "The Print Shop" from here http://www.atarimania.com/utility-atari ... 12421.html

Is this the same software?

I will perform test printouts the next days together with the retroprinter. My retroprinter worked well on my Atari 800xl (as well as on an Atrai ST, Sinclair QL, ZX-Spectrum, Amiga etc. etc.) so if "The Print Shop" will work well too ony my 800xl, there is likely a setup or a hardware problem.

Indipendent what cause the problem has, we'll manage it.

Best Regards
Sascha

[RWAP]

That is interesting - we will see whether Sascha can print from his Atari or needs to change any settings (he is the hardware designer for the Retro-Printer).

The photo does appear to show what could be a blob of solder, so that may well be the issue if Sascha does not find anything.

[venom4728a]

Yes, that is the same Print Shop I have been using. I was also using this Print tool http://gury.atari8.info/software/1768.php This prints out all the graphics from print shop graphics disks, in little 2.5cm squares, about 60 images per page. This is what, I was trying to use first. On a stock 8bit running at 1.79mh it takes about 16 seconds to generate each line of print. I believe this program is written in BASIC. Both print fine to my Panasonic and Star Micronics Nx-10

Thank you Sascha2000 for joing in on the troubleshooting!