27 Jul
2002
27 Jul
'02
3:19 a.m.
Hi all,
My prized laser printer, a Panasonic KXP4400, has just decided that the
drum needs changing. I've put it into Service Mode and the drum pagecounter
is only 2800; the drum is supposed to last 6000 sheets. I've come to the
conclusion that the printer thinks the waste toner tank on the side of the
OPC mech needs replacing. The OPC drum (the green roller) is fine; it's been
printing OK for a while. Anyone know how to remove and empty the waste toner
tank? To put it bluntly, I'm too cheap to buy a ?70 OPC drum when all that's
wrong with the one I've got is a full waste toner tank!
Thanks.
--
Phil.
philpem(a)dsl.pipex.com
http://www.philpem.dsl.pipex.com/
27 Jul
27 Jul
9:51 a.m.
On Sat, 27 Jul 2002, Philip Pemberton wrote:
My prized laser printer, a Panasonic KXP4400, has
just decided that
the drum needs changing. I've put it into Service Mode and the drum
pagecounter is only 2800; the drum is supposed to last 6000 sheets. I've
come to the conclusion that the printer thinks the waste toner tank on
the side of the OPC mech needs replacing. The OPC drum (the green
roller) is fine; it's been printing OK for a while. Anyone know how to
remove and empty the waste toner tank? To put it bluntly, I'm too cheap
to buy a £70 OPC drum when all that's wrong with the one I've got is a
full waste toner tank!
We used one of these extensively at the company I used to work for,
printing telephone service invoices. It was a very reliable printer.
At any rate, Marilynn, our office manager, used to just dump the waste
toner out of the collector bucket. It never seemed to adversely affect
the printer, even though you're not supposed to do that.
I had two of these (the one from the office and another one I picked up
subsquently). I just got rid of one I believe as I have no more use for
it since I got my very nice Xerox XD125f. I still have the other one but
its fate is nearly decided.
If you weren't all the way over in Jolly Olde England I would send you the
one I still have for parts.
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org
* Old computing resources for business and academia at www.VintageTech.com *
1:35 p.m.
"Sellam Ismail" <foo(a)siconic.com> said:
On Sat, 27 Jul 2002, Philip Pemberton wrote:
That's
good to hear. Are they as reliable as a HP LJ-II?
My prized laser printer, a Panasonic KXP4400,
has just decided that
the drum needs changing. I've put it into Service Mode and the drum
pagecounter is only 2800; the drum is supposed to last 6000 sheets. I've
come to the conclusion that the printer thinks the waste toner tank on
the side of the OPC mech needs replacing. The OPC drum (the green
roller) is fine; it's been printing OK for a while. Anyone know how to
remove and empty the waste toner tank? To put it bluntly, I'm too cheap
to buy a ?70 OPC drum when all that's wrong with the one I've got is a
full waste toner tank!
We used one of these extensively at the company I used to work for,
printing telephone service invoices. It was a very reliable printer. At any rate, Marilynn, our office manager, used to
just dump the waste
toner out of the collector bucket. It never seemed to adversely affect
the printer, even though you're not supposed to do that.
I couldn't get the
collector buchet off - only one screw on that side, took
it out and it wouldn't pop off. So I pried it apart slightly and shook the
junk into a sheet of newspaper. The green OPC drum was wrapped in a bin
liner for protection and light proofing. Put it this way - I'll spend ?40 on
four toner cartridges but I'm not going to spend ?75 on an OPC drum module.
I had two of these (the one from the office and
another one I picked up
subsquently). I just got rid of one I believe as I have no more use for
it since I got my very nice Xerox XD125f. I still have the other one but
its fate is nearly decided.
Damn... Could have used it as a parts machine...
If you weren't all the way over in Jolly Olde
England I would send you the
one I still have for parts.
Double DAMN!!!!
Aparrently the 4400 has a "Life Over" error message - page count hits a
certain number and the printer stops working. Period. Only way back is an
E2PROM dump from a working machine. Knock the pagecount back to 00000 and
the drum pagecount back to 00000 and that should sort the thing out. An evil
hack but it should work. In theory.
Does your one remaining KXP4400 have a RAM upgrade fitted? I need one for
mine. 1MB is not enough for the sort of printing I do, Panasonic want $400
for a 4MB board and most companies over "the Big Pond" don't have any left
:-(
Thanks.
--
Phil.
philpem(a)dsl.pipex.com
http://www.philpem.dsl.pipex.com/
2:08 p.m.
New subject: Seeking Vectrix programming info.
Someone near where I live is selling a Vectrix for a
decent price and while it would be OK as is...
I programmed a vector graphics machine (Imlac) in my
near-childhood (at 19) and it would be wonderful to be
able to do that again.
Does anybody remember seeing information on the
instruction set of a Vectrix? It was closed architecture
for a while but it should be publishable by now*.
John A.
(*and reply directly to me if you want to keep it private)
3:17 p.m.
New subject: Seeking Vectrix programming info.
On Sat, 27 Jul 2002, John Allain wrote:
Someone near where I live is selling a Vectrix for a
decent price and while it would be OK as is...
I programmed a vector graphics machine (Imlac) in my
Wow! I didn't know that. I guess it must have been quite a thrill for
you to see the Imlac at VCF East then?
near-childhood (at 19) and it would be wonderful to
be
able to do that again.
Does anybody remember seeing information on the
instruction set of a Vectrix? It was closed architecture
for a while but it should be publishable by now*.
Here's just what you need:
http://www.playvectrex.com/designit/chrissalo/toc.htm
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org
* Old computing resources for business and academia at www.VintageTech.com *
6:59 p.m.
New subject: Seeking Vectrix programming info.
I never had one of these machines, but I Googled the
schematics + service manual. The service manual
actually has significant programming information. I
THINK it was a 6802 or 09, and the service manual has
enough memory map info as I recall. IF you are really
stuck I'll fish around for it.
What struck me on the schematic was how ingenious
(that is, cheap and effective) the hardware was; it
used ONE moto 1408 D/A converter and a very
inexpensive (but obviously good enough) sample and
hold. Jeez, the chip wasn't that expensive (like,
maybe $1.00) even in 1980.
Most of the websites say that this was a great product
but didn't sell quite enough to survive the Great
Video Game Crash.
--- John Allain <allain(a)panix.com> wrote:
Someone near where I live is selling a Vectrix for a
decent price and while it would be OK as is...
I programmed a vector graphics machine (Imlac) in my
near-childhood (at 19) and it would be wonderful to
be
able to do that again.
Does anybody remember seeing information on the
instruction set of a Vectrix? It was closed
architecture
for a while but it should be publishable by now*.
John A.
(*and reply directly to me if you want to keep it
private)
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Health - Feel better, live better
http://health.yahoo.com
28 Jul
28 Jul
9:07 a.m.
New subject: Seeking Vectrix programming info.
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5:46 p.m.
New subject: Seeking Vectrix programming info.
John Allain wrote:
Someone near where I live is selling a Vectrix for a
decent price and while it would be OK as is...
I programmed a vector graphics machine (Imlac) in my
near-childhood (at 19) and it would be wonderful to be
able to do that again.
Does anybody remember seeing information on the
instruction set of a Vectrix? It was closed architecture
for a while but it should be publishable by now*.
I also would be interested in any Vectrix information. In the "pile" of
stuff, there was one but there is nothing but the computer there. It is
possible Hans might have some information on this machine.
27 Jul
27 Jul
3:14 p.m.
On Sat, 27 Jul 2002, Philip Pemberton wrote:
I don't know if they are AS reliable since I don't have any experience
with the LJ-II, but in my estimation it was damn reliable, having printed
probably at least a hundred thousand pages in its life with only minor
servicing required once or twice (and its still good to go, just needs a
new drum like yours).
Oh wait. You're talking about a different model than the one I am. I'm
talking about the 4420. I've never heard of the 4400.
Sorry :)
I still have the other one if you want it, but I don't know if the parts
are interchangeable with a 4400. Of course, the shipping will be
outrageous.
We used one of
these extensively at the company I used to work for,
printing telephone service invoices. It was a very reliable printer.
That's
good to hear. Are they as reliable as a HP LJ-II? At any rate,
Marilynn, our office manager, used to just dump the waste
toner out of the collector bucket. It never seemed to adversely affect
the printer, even though you're not supposed to do that.
I couldn't get
the collector buchet off - only one screw on that side, took
it out and it wouldn't pop off. So I pried it apart slightly and shook the
junk into a sheet of newspaper. The green OPC drum was wrapped in a bin
liner for protection and light proofing. Put it this way - I'll spend £40 on
four toner cartridges but I'm not going to spend £75 on an OPC drum module. I had two of
these (the one from the office and another one I picked up
subsquently). I just got rid of one I believe as I have no more use for
it since I got my very nice Xerox XD125f. I still have the other one but
its fate is nearly decided.
Damn... Could have used it as a parts machine...
Does your one remaining KXP4400 have a RAM upgrade
fitted? I need one for
mine. 1MB is not enough for the sort of printing I do, Panasonic want $400
for a 4MB board and most companies over "the Big Pond" don't have any left
Nope. That's one upgrade we dearly needed but never got around to
getting.
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org
* Old computing resources for business and academia at www.VintageTech.com *
9:05 p.m.
On Sat, 27 Jul 2002, Philip Pemberton wrote:
I don't know if they are AS reliable since I don't have any experience
with the LJ-II, but in my estimation it was damn reliable, having printed
probably at least a hundred thousand pages in its life with only minor
servicing required once or twice (and its still good to go, just needs a
new drum like yours).
Mine doesn't need a new drum - the OPC is fine, I just
needed to empty the
waste toner bin on the side of the OPC.
We used
one of these extensively at the company I used to work for,
printing telephone service invoices. It was a very reliable printer.
That's
good to hear. Are they as reliable as a HP LJ-II? > > At any rate, Marilynn, our office manager,
used to just dump the waste
> > toner out of the collector bucket. It never seemed to adversely
affect
> > the printer, even though you're not
supposed to do that.
> I couldn't get the collector buchet off - only one screw on that side,
took
> it out and it wouldn't pop off. So I pried it
apart slightly and shook
the
> junk into a sheet of newspaper. The green OPC
drum was wrapped in a bin
> liner for protection and light proofing. Put it this way - I'll spend
?40
on
> four toner cartridges but I'm not going to
spend ?75 on an OPC drum
module.
Oh wait. You're talking about a different model than the one I am. I'm
talking about the 4420. I've never heard of the 4400.
Damn. The 4420 is a
totally different beast if the manual is correct - looks
like an LJ-II. The KXP4400 is a small (about 30cm high, 70cm deep and 12cm
wide) machine with a fold-down paper input tray on the right hand side and a
fold-out paper output tray on the top. It looks like it had the option for
an RS232 interface, too. But I can kludge one of those with a PIC16F84 and a
few connectors. And a PCB.
> > I had two of these (the one from the office
and another one I picked
up
> > subsquently). I just got rid of one I
believe as I have no more use
for
> > it since I got my very nice Xerox XD125f. I
still have the other one
but
its fate is nearly decided.
Damn... Could have
used it as a parts machine... > Does your one remaining KXP4400 have a RAM
upgrade fitted? I need one
for
> mine. 1MB is not enough for the sort of printing
I do, Panasonic want
$400
> for a 4MB board and most companies over "the
Big Pond" don't have any
left
Nope. That's one upgrade we dearly needed but never got around to
getting.
Curses... Looks like I'm going to end up spending GBP70 on the 4MB
module...
Oh, well. The printer was a reasonably good deal for GBP10 second-hand. At
least it was in one piece and had the drum and some toner. I had to replace
the toner cartridge soon after getting the machine, but ?10 per cartridge
(1500 page life IIRC) is hardly going to break the bank. And when I got it,
it only had 3000 sheets run through it and the drum had been replaced -
current drum only has a few thousand pages on it.
Considering this thing was made in about 1994, it's in pretty good shape.
Just FYI, there are some KXPs that use the same printer engine - the
KXP4401, for example, is an exact clone of the 4400 with the addition of a
PostScript module. Hardly makes much difference; I can live with PCL3.
Anyone got some docs on HP's PCL3 "Printer Control Language"?
Later.
--
Phil.
philpem(a)dsl.pipex.com
http://www.philpem.dsl.pipex.com/
7979
days inactive
7980
days old
9 comments
6 participants
participants (6)
-
allain＠panix.com -
ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk -
foo＠siconic.com -
marvin＠rain.org -
philpem＠dsl.pipex.com -
sloboyko＠yahoo.com