Epson PF10 problems

[Roy J. Tellason]

On Friday 23 December 2005 06:10 pm, Tony Duell wrote:

> > Just being able to get info into and out of that machine would be nice.
>
> Talking of that, is the protocol used by FLINK documented anywhere?
> (FLINK is a program in the utilities ROM of both the PX4 and PX8 that
> seems to do file transfer over the RS232 port). I've heard rumours for a
> version in C for unix machines, but can't seem to find it anywhere.

Looking in my archives,  I show (in more or less alphabetical order) the 
following:

EPOXLINK.LZH    Transfer program specific to Osborne Executive (I have one)
EPSLINK.LZH        Transfer program for cp/m machine - same UI as FILINK
(That one is assembly source)
FILINK.LZH           unix equivalent to EPSLINK
PROMFORM.LZH program & doc file for burning eproms

...and a few others.  That "FILINK.LZH" sound like the one you're looking for?

> Anyway, the disk emulaotr program I found was called vfloppy13.tgz. The
> archive is vig (about 300K) becuase it includes 3 disk images that you
> might need. The linux part of the system is GPLed (no flames, OK...)
>
> > > I've downloaded a disk emulator for linux.
> >
> > Pretty much what I run here -- which distro do you use?
>
> Very old Debian.

Slackware here.

<...>

> > > I regard mini-DIN plugs as one of the offspring of Satan  :-).
> > >
> > :-D
> >
> > > I really hate wiring them, and the type you can wire (as opposed to
> > > moulded ones) are often too large tor fit through the hole in the case
> > > to mate with the socket.
> >
> > I do believe these will fit,  and better yet, they appear to be
> > Switchcraft. I still don't want to have to wire them,  though.
> >
> > > What I did was buy 3 cables from RS components which had an 8 pin
> > > mini-DIN plug moulded on one end and bare wires at the other.
>
> FWIW, the RS cables are 463-518
>
> > I might have something around here I can chop...
> >
> > > I wired 2 of them to DB25 plugs, so that you got a DTE pinout on said
> > > plug. And the last one I wired to a DB25 socket with the apporpiate
> > > crosses and interconnections so that when I pluged that one one of the
> > > first type of cable, I got  a crossover mini-DIN to mini-DIN cable
> > > which will like 2 PX8s (or PX4s), or link a machine to the PF10.
> > >
> > > I can look up the wiring colours used in those RS cables if you like,
> > > they are in the catalogue/on the web site, but I buzzed them out anyway
> > > just to be sure.
> >
> > Just the pin-to-pin connections would be of great help.
>
> The PX8 serial port conenctions are pretty sane, actually, and sort-of
> follow the RS232 order. I think the pinout is in the user manual (it's
> certainly in the the technical manual), as are diagrams for the standard
> cables (again, those are certainly in the technical manual.

Ok,  downloading still...

> Anyway, here are the pins (and the colours of that RS cable I mentioned)
> PX8 pin      Signal           Colour         RS232 Pin
> 1          Signal Ground      Black            7
> 2          TxD                White            2
> 3          RxD                Red              3
> 4          RTS                Yellow           4
> 5          CTS                Purple           5
> 6          DSR                Blue             6
> 7          DTR                Green            20
> 8          CD                 Brown            8
>
> The pin numbers are actually the same as on the HX20, which used a
> full-sized 8 pin DIN plug. It made a lot of sense on that machine,
> because 3 pin, 5 pin (type A) and 7 pin DIN plugs will fit the 8 pin
> socket.

Yes,  I often used a 5-pin for video when working on c64s,  which could have 
either that 5-pin or an 8-pin socket.

> A 3 pin plug gave yopu Gnd, TxD, RxD, a 5 pin plug added RTS and
> CTS, a 7 pin plug added DSR and DTR, and finally the 8 pin plug added CD.
> Every possbile connector gave a useful subset of the signals.

I like that kind of thinking!

> > > [Note for US readers. RS is not Radio Shack. It's a large UK
> > > distributer of electronic components, tools, materials, etc. Look at
> > > http://www.rswww.com/]
> >
> > I've heard that before.
>
> If you want to annoy them, call them 'Radiospares'. They started out
> with that name many years ago, but changed their name in 1972 (I think)
> to RS components because they wanted to get away from the iamge of only
> supplying parts to fix radios. But every old-time engineer and scientist
> in the UK will call them 'Radiospares'.

Heh.

I don't think it likely that I'll be dealing with them.

-- 
Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and
ablest -- form of life in this section of space,  a critter that can
be killed but can't be tamed.  --Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters"
-
Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James 
M Dakin