I've been having issues where either a blank page, or a page with just the letter X is sent to the printer (A couple of cases with double X)
Looking back at the PDFs generated, it does it anywhere from 2-6 times in a single day at seemingly random times.
I have a parallel cable between the retro printer module and a mid-90s Dell computer, Dimension XPS-P100 pentium. The module is connected to a Raspberry Pi 2 Model B. The 90s computer is usually turned off (though plugged in to power).
I'm using HP emulation mode. Previously I was using Epson mode emulation, and would had the same/similar problem, but with an @ symbol printed.
The printpcl script I have clears the raw data after converting to PDF, so I don't currently have an example of that, but I can comment that part out and attach it next time it happens.
Blank page with X printed sent to printer several times a day
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- Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2021 10:42 pm
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Re: Blank page with X printed sent to printer several times a day
An update. I was able to reproduce the blank page (not the X char), twice this afternoon with a static shock to the Centronics port. (I have one of those plastic carpet protectors in front of my desk, and it's really dry here, so I only have to touch the thing to create a shock).
Attached the raw file from that.
Attached the raw file from that.
Re: Blank page with X printed sent to printer several times a day
Hmm - how do you eliminate stray electrical signals from being seen as data?
A good question!
At the moment, I am thinking that we may need to introduce a character_threshold configuration setting, so that the software will ignore a print job which ony captures that many characters.
What do others think (no-one else has reported this issue).
A good question!
At the moment, I am thinking that we may need to introduce a character_threshold configuration setting, so that the software will ignore a print job which ony captures that many characters.
What do others think (no-one else has reported this issue).
Retro-Printer Specialists
RWAP Software
RWAP Adventures
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Retro-Printer Module
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RWAP Software
RWAP Adventures
SellMyRetro
Retro-Printer Module
Also Involved in:
Icephorm
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- Posts: 3
- Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2021 10:42 pm
Re: Blank page with X printed sent to printer several times a day
That would be great. I know it doesn't really identify the root cause, but I don't think I have the skills to diagnose what's causing those stray signals from my PC (because I assume static doesn't totally explain the X chars, or maybe it does?). When I was looking yesterday through the PDFs that were generated, I saw one with four X chars, which seemed to be the max so far. So even configuring a very small threshold would solve it for me.
Re: Blank page with X printed sent to printer several times a day
This has now been added to the newly released v3.9 software
Retro-Printer Specialists
RWAP Software
RWAP Adventures
SellMyRetro
Retro-Printer Module
Also Involved in:
Icephorm
RWAP Software
RWAP Adventures
SellMyRetro
Retro-Printer Module
Also Involved in:
Icephorm