(Fwd) Re: print-wheel/daisy-wheel printers / was Re: Apple ][* - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

15 Oct 2008

On 15 Oct 2008 at 12:16, Brent Hilpert wrote:

...
  I sure do remember that: as an undergrad, my first
task for an OS
 research project was to convert the system troff-style fixed-pitch text formatter
 to support proportional font spacing. Output was to a daisy-wheel printer (don't
 recall the actual printer manuf/model) using that same sort of micro-spacing feature.

 This would have been late-'79/early-'80, so the same time frame as your task.

The first impact printer that I owned was a Diablo 1340 (? the one 
with the very noisy separate PSU).  Raw 12- bit interface.  I hooked 
it to a 3-port S-100 parallel I/O board and then went about figuring 
out how to make it act like a regular printer under CP/M, including 
bidirectional logic seeking.  I even wrote up proportional spacing 
tables and still have the code somewhere.  

Sometime in the late 70's, I picked up a copy of "Proportional 
Spacing with WordStar".  It seems that WordStar 3.0+ did have hooks 
for PS, but they were a bit buggy.  The document I purchased (still 
have it if anyone's interested) gives patches and workarounds for the 

bugs.  I used it for quite awhile.

FWIW, I have a Diablo 1620 (RO, serial interface) for adoption if 
anyone wants to see to packing and shipping.  It works.

Cheers,
Chuck