IR Printer Compatibility

[Les Wright]

Does the 82240B IR printer work with the 42S?

The 42S manual seems to refer only to the 82240A.

Many thanks,

Les

[Thor Lansen]

Yes it does, I just did a self test of my HP 42S with the HP 82240B on (as instructed in the manual) and it works fine.

Regards, Thor

[Vieira, Luiz C. (Brazil)]

Hi, Les;

just to add that the HP82240B has two character sets that can be selected by scape sequences: ROMAN8 and ECMA94. The HP48 series allow such selection, but neither the HP42, the HP28 nor the HP41 with IR module allow such selection, and I'd guess it is due to the fact that the HP82240B was introduced after them. The default character set when turning the 82240B on is the one compatible with the 82240A, so any HP calculator with IR output can use it. IIRC, the HP48 series set the ECMA94 character set everytime it prints through the IR output. This can be overriden with the OLDPRT command.

Cheers.

Luiz (Brazil)

(forgive me if there is any wrong info; I have no manuals in hands right now and it is somehow late here... 01:43 AM)

Edited: 18 Dec 2006, 10:55 p.m.

[Karl Schneider]

Quote:

---

Does the 82240B IR printer work with the 42S?

---

I can confirm that the 82240B IR printer works with the 17B, 17BII, 27S, 28C, 41C* with IR module, 42S, and 48G. If I had the 18C, 19B, 19BII, 28S, or the other all-HP 48-series, I could confirm those, as well.

-- KS

[James M. Prange (Michigan)]

Since the default character set for the 82240B is the Roman 8 set,
it works just fine for calculators that were designed to print to
the 82240A.

The 82240A has only the HP Roman 8 character set, and the 82240B
has both the Roman 8 and a modified ECMA 94 Latin no. 1 character
set, which, I believe, is the same as the ISO 8859-1 character
set.

The characters 128 through 159 aren't defined in ECMA 94 (they're
reserved for control codes defined in ECMA 48), but the these
printers and calculators use them for "graphic" (printable or
displayable) characters, and a few other characters differ from
the ECMA 94 definitions.

The escape sequence for switching the 82240B to ECMA 94 is
<27><248>, and the escape sequence for switching it to Roman 8 is
<27><249>; the 82240A ignores these two escape sequences.

Both printers ignore any control codes or escape sequences that
aren't defined for them.

I assume that any calculator that prints to the 82240A/B is
capable of sending the escape sequences for switching the 82240B
to ECMA 94 or Roman 8, so with the 82240B, you could print
characters that occur in one character set but not the other if
you wanted to.

The defaults for the printers are single-width, no underline,
Roman 8 character set, and print characters (instead of column
graphics). The printer uses the defaults when first turned on, or
after a reset command (<27><255>).

For the 48 series and the 49 series that have IR output (and
presumably any other HP calculator that uses the ECMA 94 set) any
printing command (except the CR command), with the calculator
printing via IR, starts out by sending <27><248> to switch the
82240B to the ECMA 94 set, and doesn't switch it back to Roman 8
when finished printing. If you print to an 82240B from a 48/49
series, and then (without turning the 82240B off and back on)
print to it from a calculator that uses the Roman 8 set, you'll
find that the 82240B uses the wrong character set until you do
something to switch it back to the Roman 8 set.

The 48/49 series OLDPRT command is intended for use with printing
to an 82240A printer. This sets up the remapping string (for
characters 128 up to 255) within the list stored in the reserved
variable PRTPAR; with this remapping string present, for
characters shared by the two sets (or reasonably intuitive
substitutes), the Roman 8 character is substituted for the ECMA 94
character when printing via IR, so the 82240A works reasonably
well with these models. But note that executing OLDPRT doesn't
stop the calculator from sending <27><248> when it starts
printing. If you execute OLDPRT and then print to the 82240B,
you'll find that some wrong characters are printed. For better or
worse, these calculators don't have any command for setting the
remapping string back to an empty string, but you can purge
PRTPAR, and the next printing command will create the default
PRTPAR, or you can edit PRTPAR to substitute an empty string for
the remapping string. Of course it's easy enough to write a
program to replace the remapping string with an empty string, or
with any remapping string that you prefer.

Since I use both the 82240A and the 82240B, I find the following
NEWPRT program useful:

%%HP: F(.);                     @ Header for ASCII download.

@ NEWPRT program.

@ Results from the BYTES command:

@   48 series:

@     Checksum: # 852Fh

@     Bytes:        109

@   49 series:

@     Checksum: # 2429h

@     Bytes:       109.

@ Note that this program assumes that if the reserved global

@ variable 'PRTPAR' exists in the home directory, then it's

@ contents are valid. If a valid 'PRTPAR' exists, only it's

@ remapping string will be replaced. If 'PRTPAR' doesn't exist in

@ the home directory, then the default PRTPAR will be created.

\<<

  PATH                          @ Get current path.

  HOME                          @ 'PRTPAR' must be in home directory.

  IF

    'PRTPAR' VTYPE -1. ==       @ If 'PRTPAR' doesn't exist...

  THEN

     1.8 DELAY                  @ then cause it to be created.

  ELSE

    PRTPAR                      @ Place PRTPAR list on stack.

    2.

    ""

    PUT                         @ Replace the remapping string.

    'PRTPAR' STO                @ Store the new PRTPAR in HOME.

  END

  EVAL                          @ Return to original directory.

\>>

The printers also have a command (<27><253>) for printing
double-width, and a command (<27><252>) for printing (the default)
single-width. This can have a strange effect with (at least) the
48/49 series; if you send the command for printing double-width,
the calculator starts formatting the printing for 12 (instead of
24) characters per line, and keeps doing this until it sends the
command for switching back to single-width. If you send the
command for double-width, and then, without sending the command
for single-width, reset the printer (as by turning it off and back
on), you'll find that the printer is printing single-width, but
the calculator is still formatting the printing for 12 characters
per line. To get the calculator back to formatting for 24
characters per line, send the escape sequence <27><252>, or of
course to get the printer back to printing double-width, send the
escape sequence <27><253> again.

Scans of the 82240A and 82240B owner's manuals are available on
the current Museum CD-ROM set / DVD; see
http://www.hpmuseum.org/cd/cddesc.htm. For more details on
the printers, see the
HP 82240B
Infrared Printer Technical Interfacing Guide.

Regards,
James

[James M. Prange (Michigan)]

PS:

If you use the 48/49 series to print to something other than the 82240A/B "Via wire" (including when printing via serial IR or IrDA by setting the calculator to "Transfer via IR"), then it's normally better to execute 0 DELAY, to eliminate the pauses to allow the printer to "catch up" and avoid an input buffer overflow during longer print jobs.

For printing to the 82240A/B with very fresh batteries or with the external power adapter connected, I find 1.1 DELAY to work okay. For printing with partially used batteries, the default 1.8 DELAY seems good. Basically, you want a very short pause before printing the next line during long print jobs. In case of a buffer overflow, a black block with a white slash through it is printed.

In the case of a character with an uncorrectable error, a black block is printed.

Regards,
James

[Les Wright]

Thanks, everyone, for so much help!

I have both a 42S and 48G and it seems the printer in question is readily available out there and not too expensive either so to use one effectively if I procure one I have much to learn.

Many thanks,

Les

[James M. Prange (Michigan)]

You're welcome Les.

Using the printer really doesn't take much learning though; read
through the owner's manual for the printer, and the sections on
printing in the calculator manuals. For the 48/49 models, read up
on the reserved variable PRTPAR and flags -34, -37, and -38.

I highly recommend getting an AC adapter for it if you expect to
use it at a location with AC power available (it doesn't have to
be a genuine HP adapter, and the output can be AC or either
polarity DC, with a fairly high range of voltages), and if you
expect to run it from the battery very much, use NiMH cells (with
a spare set easily available) instead of alkaline cells.

In your case, assuming that you get an 82240B, if you print to it
with your 48G, then remember to switch it off and back on to
restore the Roman 8 character set before printing to it from your
42S.

The reason for the DELAY command on the 48/49 series is that the
calculator can send about 78 bytes per second, which is a lot
faster than the printers can print text, and the printer can only
receive; it can't send any information back to the calculator. The
print speed varies with the battery condition when the AC adapter
isn't used, but at best, is somewhat slower than one 24-character
line per second. The printers have a 200 byte input buffer, so the
48/49 series sends the first 200 bytes in a continuous stream, but
after that, introduce a user-definable delay before sending the
next line to allow the printer to catch up. Similarly, the 28
series have a flag that can be changed to set the delay for using
the printer with just the battery or with an external power source
as well.

On the other hand, printing a full line of column graphics (in
single-width mode) requires receiving 169 bytes, but the time to
print the line is about the same as printing a line of text, so
the printer may have to wait for more data before printing another
line of column graphics.

Note that the delay is also used when printing "Via wire", but
typically there's little danger of overflowing an input buffer in
this situation, so it's usually best to set the delay to 0 for
this. In particular, note that the "screen capture" functions of
the "Connectivity Kits" use the PRLCD command to "print" the
display via wire.

Note that there are alternative printers available from Martel
Instruments, and it looks to me as if these should be able to
print faster than the calculators can send via IR. Some of the
Martel printers can receive via RS-232 as well, which should allow
faster printing with the 48 series and 49G (and 50g, if you add a
level-shifter for the serial port), and some are supposed to be
able to use IrDA, which should be good with the 49g+/50g. Also
note that the input buffer is much larger (6KB on the MCP8830). Of
course with RS-232 or IrDA input available, that makes it more
likely that the printer can be used with devices that you may own
other than HP calculators. The martel printers have more fonts and
print barcodes, and have a higher maximum resolution. The Martel
models MCP8830 and MCP7830 look particularly appealing to me.

The 82240A/B uses a moving 8-element print head to print a column
of dots at a time, as well as the paper transport mechanism to
advance to the next line. The Martel models don't have a moving
print head, instead using a fixed full-width 384-element thin-film
thermal print head to print a single row of dots at a time, using
the paper transport mechanism to advance to the next dot row.
Offhand, it seems to me that this would mean less mechanical wear
and tear, but on the other hand, perhaps a greater chance of a
heating element failing.

But the last that I read, the Martel printers seemed relatively
expensive, and I have no pressing need for another printer, so
I've never actually tried one. But for someone who wants to buy a
printer to use with these HP calculators, I'd advise getting
information on the Martel printers before spending very much on an
HP 82240A/B. For information on the Martel models, visit
http://www.martelinstruments.com/.

Regards,
James