how to connect a DECprinter I (LA180) ?

Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2007 20:21:03 +0000> From: ethan.dicks at usap.gov> To: cctalk at classiccmp.org> Subject: Re: how to connect a DECprinter I (LA180) ?> > Hi, Henk,> > On Fri, Dec 28, 2007 at 08:28:22PM +0100, Henk Gooijen wrote:> > > Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2007 18:47:10 +0000> From: ethan.dicks at usap.gov>...> > > > I am using webmail, but it seems that it uses the Outlook Express settings.> > I hope this is not garbbling everyting into one long unreadable line.> > Not your text... just what you quote.> > > I have found the two M7258, and downloaded the LP11 user's manual.> > Nice.> > > Had to go to the attick twice, because the etch on the M7258 says LS11,> > *not* LP11, so I thought I did not remember the M-number correctly :-)> > Ah...sorry... LS11 rings a bell as a printer interface, too.> > > I even found the round cable with headers at both ends *and* text on> > it written that says "LA180". Now, that *must* be the right cable!> > Perfect. It's probably like a falt cable, but only with the> essential wires run.> > > The combination of the LA180 with an M7258 is called LA11.> > Make sense.> > > I checked the jumpers on the M7258. It is set for LA180 operation, so> > after cleaning the cable (very dirty!) I hope to print some lines tomorrow!> > Once you get it checked out, one nice thing to do with an LA180 is> overstrike ASCII art. There's a really fancy picture of a digitized> cat that I have on an OS/8 floppy somewhere. I'm sure the data file> is out there to be grabbed.> > Use a fresh ribbon and give it lots of time to complete. It's> stunning.> > > Perhaps I will shoot some pictures to "upgrade" my peripherals pages :-)> > When you do, shoot us a URL.> > > The second M7258 is jumpered differently, so it was used with one of the> > other printers mentioned in the user's manual.> > Since you have the manual there, out of curiosity, what other printers> does it support? LP05 and stuff?> > > I even found a third M7258> > with a single height board connected via 2" flat cable directly to the BERG> > header on the M7258. The M-number of that single height module is M59??> > Sorry, I forgot the last 2 digits. If somebody needs to know, I will go up> > the attick for a third time :-)> > Hmm... that sounds interesting. I wonder if that's stock, or just> something someone stuck together because it happens to fit. If I'm> picturing it right, the only place for the signals to go are out of the> edge-fingers of the M59xx module, right? That doesn't sound like any> Unibus thing _I_ can think of.> > > Thanks for sharing experiences from the past Ethan. I always love to read> > those stories.> > You're welcome. I was just in the right place at the right time, and> managed to get my hands on a PDP-8 of my own when I was 16, and on a> room full of PDP-11s and VAXen at work by the time I was 18. I also had> lots and lots of hands-on experience at the time (approx 1982-1994),> building and repairing machines (mine and my employer's) by picking up> "cheap" boxes and boards that nobody wanted anymore. > > Once the machines were assembled and working, it was all OS installs,> application programming, etc. I had a blast working with the stuff> of that era. Fortunately for me, I still have piles of hardware and> documenation that I didn't have to leave behind.> > -ethan> > -- > Ethan Dicks, A-333-S Current South Pole Weather at 28-Dec-2007 at 20:00 Z> South Pole Station> PSC 468 Box 400 Temp -15.2 F (-26.2 C) Windchill -36.4 F (-38.0 C)> APO AP 96598 Wind 10.3 kts Grid 32 Barometer 684.8 mb (10448 ft)> > Ethan.Dicks at usap.gov http://penguincentral.com/penguincentral.html Sorry, I just don't understand why the quoted text is so messed up.It all looks fine before I click the "Send" button. This time, I changedthe encoding from UTF-8 to Western Europe (Windows) ... I better not putmy answers interspersed.If somebody knows how to get this stupid quoting corrected: help!The manual is called "LP11/LS11/LA11 line printer user's manual", butthe etch on the M7258 only says "LS11 interface".The round cable is not a flat cable, but has separate wires. At least,that is how it looks to me. The diameter is approx 0.5". I will shoot apicture of that cable too. I will "announce" the LA180 page when it isfinished ... and hunt down that cat :-) If somebody has that text file,