Morex Printer Interface

Your Spectrum

Henry Budgett

GETTING INTO PRINT Good as it is for the price, many users are bound to be disappointed with the output from Sinclair Research's own printing device. For those toying with the idea of upgrading their Spectrum system with a professional printer, Henry Budgett takes an in-depth look at the technology involved and the plethora of interface devices now available. Regardless of what one actually thinks about Sinclair Research's ZX Printer, it's impossible to ignore the fact that it really does work. For the price and performance that it offers there's no equal anywhere. But despite that, there are users who need something a little more professional. Software houses developing programs, small businesses using the ZX Spectrum or just a serious user who demands something better than a sheet of aluminised paper that is, at best, just legible after a few days' handling. We're fortunate in having a number of commercially available interface units that allow the ZX Spectrum to be connected to the growing range of low-cost printers. In the main, these units convert the signals provided on the expansion connector into those which conform to the industry standard Centronics interface. There are two stages to this conversion: that of altering the electrical characteristics of the output from the ZX Spectrum and that of converting the character codes from Sinclair Research's own internal format to true ASCII. The alterations to the electrical signals are handled in a variety of ways by the interfaces reviewed here; some use very sophisticated chips to handle the work, others tackle the task by using more of the simple ICs. Only one of the interfaces in this review offered the possibility of connecting to a serial printer but, in theory at least, the problems involved are tackled in much the same way. All the interfaces were supplied with software drivers of one sort or another (see the individual panels for further details) and in general, these all work by intercepting the ZX Spectrum's printer routine vector. This is the location in memory that stores the address of the routine which controls data being sent to the printer by LLIST and LPRINT. By changing this address to that of the new driver all the data is re-routed through one of the OUT ports to the interface. On their way, each of the characters passes through a 'code converting' routine held somewhere in memory. While the normal alphanumeric codes closely follow the standard ASCII set, all the control codes, predefined graphics and Basic tokens must be intercepted. In the case of the tokens, these are converted back into strings of ASCII letters before being listed. Because many of the currently available printers use sequences of control codes to change character fonts or to select graphics, provision must also be made to allow these codes to be sent without being trapped. The test equipment to which the various interfaces were connected comprised a Tandy CGP-115 four-pen plotter printer and an Epson FX-80 dot matrix printer. Unfortunately, the Epson turned out to be 'Dead on Arrival' and the author's Apple Dot Matrix Printer was substituted. As this printer is based on a TEC chassis, it proved impossible to check the graphics dump facilities on all but one of the interfaces. However, there is no evidence to suggest that the software provided wouldn't operate correctly with the appropriate hardware and indeed, the Kempston interface unit has been seen elsewhere to function perfectly with both the RX-80 and FX-80 printers. KEMPSTON CENTRONICS INTERFACE Hardware: A very neat and specially designed casing houses the single printed circuit board. Featuring just two ICs (an 8255 and 4071) the unit is constructed from high quality components and mounts vertically behind the ZX Spectrum, contact being made through a gold-plated edge connector. No provision has been made for other units to cascade from the rear of the interface. The interface cable is detachable but not keyed at the interface end; it might therefore be possible to connect it upside down. Manual: The accompanying documentation consists of just four pages, A5 sized. All the necessary information to attach and operate the unit is given although the quality of the photocopy is poor in places. Software: Four programs are provided on cassette to support the interface and all reside in the printer buffer when loaded. The main program is a simple text-only driver which supports LLIST, LPRINT, PRINT AT, TAB AND ','. All the standard ASCII characters are coped with and all keywords are de-tokenised; control codes can be sent by LPRINTing the appropriate CHR$(x). In addition to these standard features the software supports a TEXT COPY, called by RANDOMIZE USR 23370, and allows the number of characters per line to be set. Also included, and very useful too, is the facility to enable or disable the Line Feed character after each Carriage Return. Kempston also provides, on the same tape, three high resolution copy programs. These effectively replace the text driver's TEXT COPY with a screen graphics copy, all other facilities remaining the same. The first program is for all the standard Epson printers, but programs for the Seikosha GP80/GP100 and the Seikosha GP250X are also provided. Price: £45.00 all inclusive. Summary: An excellent product and one which, in a commercial software environment, has proved to be totally reliable. The instructions are short and sweet, no problems would be encountered by even the newest of newcomers. EUROELECTRONICS ZX LPRINT MKII Hardware: This unit was the only horizontally fitted interface of the range under review. A single PCB is sandwiched inside a small, standard 'plotting' box; the result is not particularly attractive. A detachable ribbon cable just over one metre in length, plugs on to the rear of the unit and although no key is provided at the unit end, it would be difficult to plug it in the wrong way around. On the review sample, the plastic frame of the PCB- mounted header had been cracked but no problems resulted. Interestingly, this interface does the COPY processing internally - a ROM contains suitable software for the printer chosen. Of the six remaining ICs, two had had their idents removed and as they all appear to be common devices, the reason may be that they are rejects - which could bode ill for long-term reliability. Manual: it seems almost churlish to call a single side of A5 paper a manual! However, further information is provided 'on-screen' once the software is loaded. Interestingly, there is no mention of LLIST anywhere, yet it works! Software: The driver consists of a short (109 byte) routine that forces itself to the top of memory and then resets RAMTOP. All the rest of the processing is carried out by the ROM in the interface. To prove that it really works, the tape includes a demo picture to dump - one of those highly magnified views of a pimple! The COPY program supplied with the review sample was suitable for driving the Epson range as well as the Star DP510 and 515 printers and the Shinwa CP80. Alternative software is available for the Seikosha GP100 and GP250X printers, the Microline series and the latest offering is for the Tandy CGP- 115 and MCP40 printer plotters which can provide (very slowly) copies in four colours. A new version of the interface is due out shortly with a range of software built in as standard. Price: £34.50 plus £10.45 for the cable. Summary: Despite its rather shabby looks, the LPRINT worked well and the provision of software in ROM makes for faster operation. When your author passed comment on its appearance to a friend he replied that he expected interfaces to look like that! The price of the cable is very high and it might be worth making your own. But apart from that it offers good value for money. MOREX PERIPHERALS CENTRONICS/RS232 INTERFACE Hardware: The vertically mounted box is functional rather than attractive, and the cut-out appears at first sight to have been made by a hungry rabbit! Even more important than mere aesthetic quality is the fact that the casing partially covers the power socket on the ZX Spectrum; also, the plug has to be forced in and is very prone to dropping out again. As far as design goes, this doesn't. However, the unit was also the only one in the survey to allow other units to be attached in cascade - although the way in which the edge connector is soldered leaves a little to be desired. Inside, however, the circuitry consists of just four ICs, which is a very compact design considering the inclusion of the serial interface. Both parallel and serial cables are detachable; the parallel cable is keyed but because it's BBC Micro compatible it appears to go in the wrong way. The serial interface socket, a conventional DIN type, is not very firmly anchored to the PCB and heavy use could fracture tracks. The serial interface is not a full RS232 implementation, although 'handshaking' is provided. While it will suffice to handle printers or display terminals, it's possible that problems may occur with more sophisticated equipment such as modems. The interface performed perfectly with the CGP-115 in serial mode. Manual: No less than 15 A5 pages accompany this interface. Just about everything is provided: pin-outs of all the connectors, routine addresses within software and hints on getting problematical equipment moving. Also supplied are a couple of example screen prints and a copy of Tasword, probably the most popular ZX Spectrum word-processing package. Software: As provided, the driving software is configured to produce screen copies on the NEC range of printers; however, a simple POKE will set it up for the Epsons. The LLIST and LPRINT commands work with any of the common devices. Morex also provides the information on enabling or disabling token printing and automatic Line Feeds. The serial interface can be configured in much the same way with a wide range of baud rates being catered for. Once the software has been adapted the altered program can be SAVEd as a permanent copy. The screen copy software allows both 'single-size' and 'double-size' copies of the screen to be made; the latter are really very impressive. Price: £48.60 including one cable. £13.40 for second cable. £4.80 for alternative software. Summary: Despite its ragged appearance, the Morex unit offers the user both serial and parallel interfaces at a very attractive price. It's also the only unit to offer a really thorough manual and, given that you need both types of connection, this interface rates very highly indeed. ADS CENTRONICS INTERFACE Hardware: A slim, vertical mounting unit housed in a custom-made casing. Even neater to look at than the Kempston, the interface is excellently constructed internally. The attention to detail is very high; the power supply to each of the seven ICs is filtered by its own capacitor, but on the sample submitted some of the soldering left a little to be desired. The interface lead is some 1.5 metres long and not detachable from the interface. Also, no provision has been made for other interfaces to cascade from the rear of the unit. Manual: Four A4 pages of matrix quality printout provide a substantial amount of detail, although some of it needs reading two or three times. It gives a full explanation of where the software is located and hints are provided on how to alter the COPY routine to suit printers other than Seikoshas. Software: Two routines are provided on tape: one to do simple text listings and the other to give high resolution screen dumps on to a Seikosha GP250X printer. The text printing routine allows the token expansion to be suppressed in order to send control codes. As the software is fully relocatable, it's possible to fit it anywhere, though normally it loads into memory and then relocates to the top before setting RAMTOP to protect itself. ADS is currently working on an upgraded version of the high resolution dump software to give full colour screen images through the Seikosha GP700A printer. Price: £34.50, all inclusive. Summary: A superb unit, equal in many ways to the Kempston, but slightly let down by the provision of supporting high resolution dump software for only one range of printers. HILDERBAY PROFESSIONAL PRINTER INTERFACE Hardware: Housed in the same kind of box as the Morex interface, this vertically mounted unit also suffers from the aesthetic point of view. However, it more than makes up for that by the features it includes. Equipped with two Centronics leads, one short and the other a generous 1.5 metres, it also acts as a printer spooler. The internal design is messy and the attention to detail during construction looks poor; at least two of the internal straps were in danger of shorting out to IC legs. The chip count is small: an 8255, a 4071 and an unidentified device are all that reside on the PCB. A 3.5mm socket is also provided on the unit; this intercepts the EAR lead to the ZX Spectrum and does away with the hassle of having to remember to unplug it each time you do a SAVE. Manual: Seven A4 pages cover everything about the interface, including the various graphics dump routines (although quite who would have the patience to wait while a Juki daisywheel printer does a screen dump is beyond me!). Software: The review sample came with a full driver which resides in normal memory and a smaller mini-driver which lives in the printer buffer. The penalty paid for using the smaller version is that all the control codes are trapped, so specific POKEs must be issued to get the printer to operate in other fonts or modes. A second tape, together with two sheets of documentation, covered the use of the interface as a spooler. Here the ZX Spectrum is used as a printer buffer for a larger computer. When conventional microcomputers are dumping text files on to a printer, the machine cannot do anything else; in fact, while this review is being printed out by my Apple IIe, there really is time to make a cup of coffee. What's needed is a large memory store into which the entire contents of the text file can be loaded. Control of the computer is then restored to the user while the text is being fed to the printer from this buffer. The ZX Spectrum offers a fairly low cost alternative, by using it in conjunction with the Hilderbay interface. The printer spooler idea can be taken even further by allowing the ZX Spectrum to perform some post processing on the text that it's storing. One such program is being developed to allow true justification with proportionally spaced text. Developed for Diablo-type daisywheel printers, it unfortunately doesn't allow buffering at the same time... still, you can't have everything. Price: £99.00 all inclusive. Summary: For reasons known entirely to itself, the Hilderbay unit declined to operate as a spooler with an Apple DMP, although its performance as a standard interface was flawless. As the great strength of the professional unit is that it can operate as a spooler, this was a little disappointing. While the interface as it stands is as good as any of the others, it's the possibility of using it as a buffer that makes it stand out from the crowd. If you already own a bigger computer and just use the ZX spectrum for games or for children to learn on, then this interface offers both real printing on the ZX Spectrum and time saving for your bigger machine. OVERALL SUMMARY Of the three standard units - Kempston, ADS and LPRINT Mk II - the latter inherently has the advantage of on-board software, giving it greater speed and more flexibility. Between the other two the ADS is slightly the neater but the Kempston is supplied with a better range of driver software and virtually every- thing works with it directly. The two 'up-market' units both have advantages in their own ways. For serial printers there is no option but to choose the Morex unit. It offers parallel as well and comes complete with an excellent manual; if pushed, it probably represents the 'Best Buy'. It's a shame about the packaging - fit a nice box around it and you'd have a real winner. The Hilderbay unit stands or falls on its usage. If there is a need in your life for a printer buffer - and you already have a ZX Spectrum - then this interface will satisfy both requirements. It's also rather cheaper than having to fork out £230 for a 64K printer buffer! As a standard interface it offers nothing special, apart from direct compatibility with all of Hilderbay's software. There are other printer interfaces around - for instance, Softest offer one especially for the Tandy CGP-115. However, as it's a serial-only interface and all the others seem to drive the device quite well, I'm not sure about its value. Unfortunately, the promised review unit failed to appear by the deadline for this survey so no further comment is possible. The interface you choose should really reflect the uses to which it is going to be put. If all you want is a simple-to-use means of getting a proper printout then the ADS, LPRINT Mk II and Kempston units offer just what you are looking for, provided that the driving software is available. More sophisticated users will find the Morex unit well worth a look and those with other computers to support will find the Hilderbay device attractive from the printer spooler viewpoint.

Y.S. Hardware Review Printer Interface Summary KEMPSTON Facilities: Parallel (Centronics): Yes Serial (RS232): No Extender: No Vertical Mount: Yes Horizontal Mount: No Detachable Lead: Yes LLIST: Yes LPRINT: Yes Programmable CR/LF: Yes Spoole Facility: No Microdrive Compatible: Yes Graphics Dump Software: Epson RX/FX Series: Yes Star DP 510/515: Yes Shinwa: Yes Seikosha GP80/GP100: Yes Seikosha GP250X: Yes Seikosha GP700A: No NEC: No Tandy CGP115/MCP40: No Juki Daisywheel: No Microline 80: No ADS Facilities: Parallel (Centronics): Yes Serial (RS232): No Extender: No Vertical Mount: Yes Horizontal Mount: No Detachable Lead: No LLIST: Yes LPRINT: Yes Programmable CR/LF: No Spoole Facility: No Microdrive Compatible: Yes Graphics Dump Software: Epson RX/FX Series: No Star DP 510/515: No Shinwa: No Seikosha GP80/GP100: No Seikosha GP250X: Yes Seikosha GP700A: Available Soon NEC: No Tandy CGP115/MCP40: No Juki Daisywheel: No Microline 80: No LPRINT Facilities: Parallel (Centronics): Yes Serial (RS232): No Extender: No Vertical Mount: No Horizontal Mount: Yes Detachable Lead: Yes LLIST: Yes LPRINT: Yes Programmable CR/LF: No Spoole Facility: No Microdrive Compatible: Yes Graphics Dump Software: Epson RX/FX Series: Yes Star DP 510/515: Yes Shinwa: Yes Seikosha GP80/GP100: Availalble Seikosha GP250X: Availalble Seikosha GP700A: No NEC: No Tandy CGP115/MCP40: Availalble Juki Daisywheel: No Microline 80: Availalble MOREX Facilities: Parallel (Centronics): Yes Serial (RS232): Yes Extender: Yes Vertical Mount: Yes Horizontal Mount: No Detachable Lead: Yes LLIST: Yes LPRINT: Yes Programmable CR/LF: Yes Spoole Facility: No Microdrive Compatible: Yes Graphics Dump Software: Epson RX/FX Series: Yes Star DP 510/515: Yes Shinwa: Yes Seikosha GP80/GP100: No Seikosha GP250X: No Seikosha GP700A: No NEC: Yes Tandy CGP115/MCP40: No Juki Daisywheel: No Microline 80: No HILDERBAY Facilities: Parallel (Centronics): Yes Serial (RS232): No Extender: No Vertical Mount: Yes Horizontal Mount: No Detachable Lead: No LLIST: Yes LPRINT: Yes Programmable CR/LF: Yes Spoole Facility: Yes Microdrive Compatible: Yes Graphics Dump Software: Epson RX/FX Series: Listing Star DP 510/515: No Shinwa: No Seikosha GP80/GP100: Listing Seikosha GP250X: No Seikosha GP700A: No NEC: No Tandy CGP115/MCP40: Listing Juki Daisywheel: Listing Microline 80: No

Sinclair User

EASY-TO-USE DOUBLE SPECTRUM INTERFACE Morex has produced a Centronics and a proper RS232 interface for the Spectrum. Both are contained in a small black box which plugs into the back of the Spectrum. Only 850 bytes of machine code are required to operate the interface and it is located below the USR-definable graphics section of the 16K or 48K RAM - both versions are supplied on the same tape. Both interfaces will operate via the LLISIT and LPRINT commands once a call to the machine code has been made via the USR command. The RS232 will also allow INKEY$ from an RS232 device. The code sent can either be all codes from 0 to 255 or they can be sent as TEXT which would normally appear on the screen. Various speeds can be set on the RS232 to a maximum of 600 baud on a 16K machine - it can be set higher but the manual warns it can be unreliable - or 4,800 baud on the 48K. The baud rate cannot be split, to work Prestel for instance, at 1,200 one way and 75 the other. The RS232 has the same handshaking as most professional devices - CTS, RTS and TX, RX data - on a 7-pin DIN socket. No plug is supplied. The only difficulty was finding some device with which to try it. It will not work with non-standard devices as it requires a negative voltage to register as the LOW condition. With a BBC Micro Model B it worked very well; as the BBC allows the RS232 to act as the keyboard, the whole machine could be controlled from the Spectrum, which should be very useful for schools. The RS232 is also a both-way device, so PRINT statements and programs can be fed into the Spectrum as well. It is simple to use and very well-documented in the manual supplied, including a list of system variables for machine code users. The Centronics interface has a 26-way IDC connector - the same type as the BBC - so there should be no difficulty in obtaining a printer cable. A graphics tape is also included for Seikosha, NEC or Epson printers to permit a screen COPY to be done in two sizes - but not using the COPY command. The edge connector is also extended through to the back for any other add-ons and the port addresses used are 254 and 127. The Morex interface costs £45.95 from Morex Peripherals ltd. An RS232 lead to a 25 D-plug costs £13.45. It will also work with a version of Tasword-2, the Spectrum word processor.

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