Printing from C128 via PC?

StyleCHM · January 08, 2008, 09:39 PM

Hi all

Just wondering if anyone has heard of any product that would allow me to connect the 128 to a PC so I can print to my laser printer?

That is, some sort of cable/print server software?

Thanks

xlar54 · January 09, 2008, 12:06 AM

I *think* 64HDD, or maybe just the pro version of it, will queue print jobs to a printer. Dont quote me, but I think I remember seeing that in the documentation. But you might could also use a printer adapter for the laser printer directly to the 128 if it has a centronics port.

StyleCHM · January 09, 2008, 07:16 AM

yeh, the laser printer is across the room, I sort of want to avoid the direct route

Ill check into 64HDD, thanks!

RobertB · January 09, 2008, 01:35 PM

Quote from: xlar54I *think* 64HDD, or maybe just the pro version of it, will queue print jobs to a printer.

Supposedly, it's true; I've just never tried it with my set-up.

Truly,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
The Other Group of Amigoids
http://www.calweb.com/~rabel1/

StyleCHM · January 09, 2008, 01:47 PM

I checked it out, it appears it can spool to file?

Also, 64HDD is DOS based

Perhaps I can roll my own. I dont recall, were there many userport based printing interfaces? Last one I saw was a Super Grafix Jr (from memory, I think it was userport based).

RobertB · January 09, 2008, 04:45 PM

Quote from: StyleCHMI...were there many userport based printing interfaces? Last one I saw was a Super Grafix Jr (from memory, I think it was userport based).

Super Grafix, Jr. is a C= serial port-to-parallel printer port interface. I've never seen a user port printer interface. There are RS-232 interfaces which will convert the C= signals into something that the printer parallel port can understand. However, extremely few applications print through the C= user port, GEOS/Wheels being one of the
few. Also your laser printer has to have a parallel port (which I suppose your printer has) and understand DOS or at least, Epson PSC commands. The few Commodore applications that use the user port rely on the printer having those languages built into the printer.

Truly,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
The Other Group of Amigoids
http://www.calweb.com/~rabel1/

StyleCHM · January 09, 2008, 05:21 PM

Gee my memory is cloudy

Im thinking it would be fairly trivial to write some code to grab the stuff from the parallel port, filter the escape codes out, and dump it to the printer.

I think I might have some form of printer interface at home somewhere - Ill hunt around for it.

thanks

BigDumbDinosaur · January 11, 2008, 02:48 PM

Quote from: RobertB on January 09, 2008, 04:45 PM
Quote from: StyleCHMI...were there many userport based printing interfaces? Last one I saw was a Super Grafix Jr (from memory, I think it was userport based).
Super Grafix, Jr. is a C= serial port-to-parallel printer port interface. I've never seen a user port printer interface. There are RS-232 interfaces which will convert the C= signals into something that the printer parallel port can understand. However, extremely few applications print through the C= user port, GEOS/Wheels being one of the
few. Also your laser printer has to have a parallel port (which I suppose your printer has) and understand DOS or at least, Epson PSC commands. The few Commodore applications that use the user port rely on the printer having those languages built into the printer.

Truly,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
The Other Group of Amigoids
http://www.calweb.com/~rabel1/

A user port to Centronics application is easy, almost trivial. A hardware adapter has to be built or one of those old GEO-print cables tracked down. BTW, SuperScript 128 had a built-in user port driver to run a Centronics printer. I used a setup like that for 7 years.

Most laser printers do not know the Epson ESC/P2 mumbo-jumbo. The majority of lasers in use today are H-P PCL compatible, which has absolutely no resemblance to ESC/P2.

airship · January 12, 2008, 12:41 AM

If you want to connect directly to a printer with parallel port, get the $40 User Port Commander. It comes with GEOS and BASIC 7.0 drivers.

Andrew Wiskow · January 12, 2008, 07:43 AM

Quote from: Mark R. Brown on January 12, 2008, 12:41 AM
If you want to connect directly to a printer with parallel port, get the $40 User Port Commander. It comes with GEOS and BASIC 7.0 drivers.

If anyone wants a User Port Commander, I've got one here that I'm not using. So if you can put it to good use, I'll send it to you for $20, shipping included. Just PM me.

-Andrew

Andrew Wiskow · January 12, 2008, 10:37 AM

BTW Mark... Your link to the 8-Bit Designs website doesn't work.

Here's the website, for anyone interested:
http://8bitdesigns.ath.cx/

-Andrew

BigDumbDinosaur · January 12, 2008, 03:26 PM

Quote from: Mark R. Brown on January 12, 2008, 12:41 AM
If you want to connect directly to a printer with parallel port, get the $40 User Port Commander. It comes with GEOS and BASIC 7.0 drivers.

Mark, the link you provided is munged up. In any case, please don't suggest that anyone purchase this product. The design was basically stolen from http://www.csbruce.com/~csbruce/cbm/transactor/v9/i3/p032.html. He doesn't have the legal right to be selling this product.

If anyone wants to build a user port adapter just read the above article, type in and assemble the driver and have fun. You can buy all the parts from Radio Shack for a lot less than 40 bucks.

Andrew Wiskow · January 12, 2008, 04:41 PM

Quote from: BigDumbDinosaur on January 12, 2008, 03:26 PMplease don't suggest that anyone purchase this product. The design was basically stolen from http://www.csbruce.com/~csbruce/cbm/transactor/v9/i3/p032.html. He doesn't have the legal right to be selling this product.

The User Port Commander, sold by 8-Bit Designs, is a GeoCable compatible printer interface, plus it includes a reset switch, a toggle switch to change between BASIC 7.0 mode on a C128 and GeoCable compatibility mode, and a +5V DC power tap. It appears to be a bit more than the design in the Transactor article you provided the link to. Charles Gutman, current owner of 8-Bit Designs, bought the rights to all the 8-Bit Designs products, including the User Port Commander, from the previous owner in 2004. The previous owner called this interface the "4-in-1 Plus".

I'm not sure why you state that he doesn't have the legal right to be selling this product. Even if it was the same as in the Transactor article, which it isn't, what's to stop anyone from building off of that design and selling it? Just curious...

FYI, Charles released schematics to three 8-Bit Designs products to the Public Doman last year. These are The Bus Reset, the Bus-Y, and the Commodore S-Video Converter.

-Andrew

BigDumbDinosaur · January 13, 2008, 02:48 PM

Quote from: Andrew Wiskow on January 12, 2008, 04:41 PM
Quote from: BigDumbDinosaur on January 12, 2008, 03:26 PMplease don't suggest that anyone purchase this product. The design was basically stolen from http://www.csbruce.com/~csbruce/cbm/transactor/v9/i3/p032.html. He doesn't have the legal right to be selling this product.

The User Port Commander, sold by 8-Bit Designs, is a GeoCable compatible printer interface, plus it includes a reset switch, a toggle switch to change between BASIC 7.0 mode on a C128 and GeoCable compatibility mode, and a +5V DC power tap. It appears to be a bit more than the design in the Transactor article you provided the link to. Charles Gutman, current owner of 8-Bit Designs, bought the rights to all the 8-Bit Designs products, including the User Port Commander, from the previous owner in 2004. The previous owner called this interface the "4-in-1 Plus".

I'm not sure why you state that he doesn't have the legal right to be selling this product. Even if it was the same as in the Transactor article, which it isn't, what's to stop anyone from building off of that design and selling it? Just curious...

FYI, Charles released schematics to three 8-Bit Designs products to the Public Doman last year. These are The Bus Reset, the Bus-Y, and the Commodore S-Video Converter.

-Andrew

If you carefully read the article you will see in the source code header that *selling* the software was prohibited. Since the product won't work without the software on a machine that is not running GEOS, his selling the software is a copyright violation. Do you know to a certainty that the "BASIC 7.0 drivers" that accompany the adapter are unencumbered?

Blacklord · January 13, 2008, 02:56 PM

Quote from: BigDumbDinosaur

If you carefully read the article you will see in the source code header that *selling* the software was prohibited. Since the product won't work without the software on a machine that is not running GEOS, his selling the software is a copyright violation. Do you know to a certainty that the "BASIC 7.0 drivers" that accompany the adapter are unencumbered?

I wonder if he "gave away" the software with the hardware would that get around it ?

cheers,

Lance

BigDumbDinosaur · January 13, 2008, 03:19 PM

Quote from: blacklord
Quote from: bigdumbdinosaur
If you carefully read the article you will see in the source code header that *selling* the software was prohibited. Since the product won't work without the software on a machine that is not running GEOS, his selling the software is a copyright violation. Do you know to a certainty that the "BASIC 7.0 drivers" that accompany the adapter are unencumbered?

I wonder if he "gave away" the software with the hardware would that get around it ?

cheers,

Lance

Well, the source code says that free redistribution is okay, but credit for the source of the software must be stated in the documentation. Under USA law and in accordance with the header in the source code file, he is required to indicate in the documentation with his product that the accompanying software is copyrighted, state that copyright holder's name, and also state that he is *giving away* the software.

That said, also under US copyright law, the copyright holder always has the final say in distribution and, if so inclined, can prohibit someone from bundling the software with his product under any circumstances. Adobe successfully enforced something very similar a few years ago, which is why you can no longer download the free Acrobat Reader from any website other than Adobe's.

I'm not saying someone shouldn't be able to produce a legitimate product and sell it for a profit. My point is one of attribution and copying of something that was clearly not meant to be sold. The adapter he is selling is clearly a derivative of the one in the Transactor article. The only addition was the mode switch. The reset push button in the original design is clearly visible in the accompanying photos and also discussed in the article itself.

brain · February 09, 2008, 12:31 PM

Where does the web site state there are BASIC 7.0 drivers?

The user port interface noted in the Transactor article is common (RapiDOS has it, and a few other places do as well, include GeoCable.

Jim

BigDumbDinosaur · February 09, 2008, 01:01 PM

Quote from: brain on February 09, 2008, 12:31 PM
Where does the web site state there are BASIC 7.0 drivers?

The user port interface noted in the Transactor article is common (RapiDOS has it, and a few other places do as well, include GeoCable.

Jim

The hardware itself is a non-issue, I'd say. I'm not sure about the status of the drivers, as his website doesn't seem to be fully accessible.