Fanuc PPR - Paper Tape Punch, Printer and Reader : Not quite working

Sun Apr 10 12:43:43 CDT 2022

Eric

Thanks for confirmation the reader should “just work”.   Unfortunately it does not ...

One other specific : can the PPR punch absolute binary tapes, e.g. for a PDP-11, one potential use.  Or, is it limited to “alpha numeric” ASCII.  Using the native controller, I can’t see any way of geting it to punch e.g. DC1 .. DC4, they control the logic and are absorbed prior to the punch.  Is there an escape sequence ?

The reader does not want to cal:
- the procedure is in the PPR Operators manual [B-54584E/01 p 47-48]
- the tape is a loop of U* with even parity, taken from ano Fanuc manual [see my 10 1314A Apr 21]
- the tape feeds, but none of the indications illuminate : 50/60 Hz, sprocket signal, channel signal
- beyond my doing it incorrectly (tried a few times), I would wonder if either lamp or optos are kaput

Consequently, signal tracing to / from the reader looks the way to go, and the place to start is probably the sprocket opto.  A job for another "weekend", preferably with the circuits to hand - although I have seen no sign of any.

Martin

From: Eric Moore [mailto:mooreericnyc at gmail.com] 
Sent: 10 April 2022 17:23
To: Martin Bishop <mjd.bishop at emeritus-solutions.com>
Cc: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Subject: Re: Fanuc PPR - Paper Tape Punch, Printer and Reader : Not quite working

Yep! That is my experience in remote mode, both driven via the panel or remotely.

You know more than I do, I hope you get it figured out soon! The PPR is super fun to have on the bench if you have tapes to read or especially if you have a computer that works with paper tape.

-Eric

On Sun, Apr 10, 2022, 4:44 AM Martin Bishop <mjd.bishop at emeritus-solutions.com> wrote:
Hi Eric

I have a pair of light boxes and a CRO on the job:
-          Modular Technology MT25-IV on the PPR side, 
-          BlackBox TS50A on the D-9 side, 
-          CRO on p2 & p3

This unit says it takes and is receiving 220V power

I can see codes going to the unit, but nothing coming out – stuck at logical zero (-7.5 V)

I could start to believe that the RS232 driver may have an issue 

It sounds as though your experience is feed tape and out come the octets ?

Martin
From: Eric Moore [mailto:mooreericnyc at gmail.com] 
Sent: 10 April 2022 02:01
To: Martin Bishop <mjd.bishop at emeritus-solutions.com>
Cc: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Subject: Re: Fanuc PPR - Paper Tape Punch, Printer and Reader : Not quite working

Hi Martin, do you have an RS232 light box like this one?

RS232 Breakout Tester LED Monitor, DB9 Male to Female Breakout Module https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08CDQ76Q8/

I am so confused why you are not seeing anything, I have had 3 PPRs (2 bartered away) and never had any issues except a broken punch pin and one needing 220V power. 

-Eric

On Sat, Apr 9, 2022, 7:18 PM Martin Bishop <mjd.bishop at emeritus-solutions.com> wrote:
Eric

Thank you for the manual and the suggestion of pulling all the jumpers.  With all but jumper 1 out, it punches and remote starts (Xon) the reader at 4800 8N1; unchanged functionality.  However, still, nothing is emitted from the 232 for consumption by Putty.

Unfortunately, the SystemP manual contains identical pages on the PPR to those in the PPR’s own manual.  Nonetheless useful as context, and for perusal in slow time.

Martin

From: Eric Moore [mailto:mooreericnyc at gmail.com] 
Sent: 10 April 2022 00:09
To: Martin Bishop <mjd.bishop at emeritus-solutions.com>; General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Subject: Re: Fanuc PPR - Paper Tape Punch, Printer and Reader : Not quite working

http://vtda.org/docs/computing/FANUC/B-54111E-02_FANUC_System_P_Model_G_Operators_1983.pdf

Here you are, I knew I scanned the manual. This has all the jumper settings, and instructions on local vs remote modes.

-Eric

On Sat, Apr 9, 2022, 5:50 PM Eric Moore <mooreericnyc at gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Martin, I use the PPR for all kinds of paper tape shennanigans.

https://youtu.be/hGr0F9a7x1A

Remove all but the first jumper, and that may help with your issues. I found at one point the jumper settings, but will need to search.

-Eric

On Sat, Apr 9, 2022, 4:56 PM Martin Bishop via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
A nicely made yellow box with a rather poor manual - both lost in translation and limited in scope.

Working on setting one to work, but can't get anything out of the serial port.  In drives the punch, and the punched data verifies (based on a QL).  In also drives the printer, although somewhat garbled, perhaps due to BCD coding or perhaps due to invalid parity (which is configured as no check).  The reader 'reads' tape both in response to X/ON over RS232 and in response to front panel keys.  However, nothing is emitted onto 232.  The D25 - D-9 transition has all the RTS/CTS and DSR/DTR/DCD lines knitted appropriately and indicating 'correctly' on blinkenlites.  Interestingly, on long test tapes the reader does not fall off the end but stops, repeatably after ~49" which is remarkably close to 512 octets.  Finally, the CNC termination octets : % (ASCII) and 0x80 (BCD : RS-244) don't seem to impress the reader - nothing changes.

Specific queries:
- Are there any magic control codes or handshaking rituals to coax data out of the reader
- Is the PPR to CNC Controller interface protocol manual available as pdf
- Where can I find drawings for the PPR's electronics, most importantly the main board (with its 8031)
- Suggestions on how to proceed with setting to work / fault diagnosis
- Has anyone house trained one of these to read PDP-11 absolute binary tapes, their target market was G code (text)

Martin