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1982 Xerox Diablo 620 Daisy Wheel printer on an IBM compatible?

Thanks for all the info guys. Turns out my 25pin cables don't work either... I get a blinking power light where as with the DE9 to DB25 serial cable it at least gives me a steady light. I guess its possible these are Parallel cables that happen to not have a centronics connector on one end. I wish they just said what they were...

In the end, does it even matter what these cables are if I get a jumper block to customize the connection? It seems like a jumper block would allow me to turn a cable into whatever it needed to be, regardless of how it is wired. What I'd really like is a nice big assortment of cables, adapters, gender changers and jumper blocks for cheap. I gave away a whole bag of them about 10 years ago and I've been kicking myself ever since.
 
Just buzz the cables out. A lot of parallel DB-25 terminated cables are 25-conductor straight through, so can be used on either serial or parallel. But not all are.

Check to make sure that you get continuity between like pins on each end. That is, pin 2 on one end should connect to pin 2 on the other, pin 3 to pin 3, etc.

The important pins to check are 2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and 20. If you've got straight-through connectivity there, you can at least use these cables, but you'll need to concoct a "crossover" on one end (perhaps using a patch block) to get the signals straight.

However: there is another type of DB-25 terminated cable that's still common out there, and that's the so-called "Laplink Parallel" cable, although it's used by several packages (e.g. Norton, Microsoft Interlink, etc.) They're used to connect two PCs together via the parallel port. These will not work in this application.

----
(Side note: I've still got a bunch of the Laplink parallel cables, brand-new that I need to get rid of. Free for shipping. PM me for details.)
 
I had a Hi-Type 2 decades ago, came from a DEC wordprocessor and I had to build a custom interface between parallel and the printer. Worked ok. Still have the circuits for the Hi-Type 2, must still have the interface somewhere.

For sorting serial interfaces you need a break out box, couple of 25 way Dees with a monitor sitting in the middle, I find them invaluable. I have one by Trend but there are lots around, just make sure you have the instructions to go with them! Mine would be incomprehensible without, a 4 line by 8 character LCD with many short mnemonics.
 
Okay, I finally got myself some serial adapters to play around with. I don't have a tester yet sadly, but I did make some progress using a simple NULL MODEM adapter.

The printer's LED doesn't flash with the null modem adapter connected to a straight through db25 cable f/m, which is great. When I try to print from my IBM 5150 by typing "echo testing > com1" the printer actually prints something! But it isn't what I told it to print. It is a small blurb of characters. Depending on which Null Modem adapter I use (I have a few) I get some different characters. The most coherent looking message it printed was this:

?????R=s_?P

Others I've gotten are:

?MU
???i
c7?i

Do these mean anything?

Also, this is probably a really dumb question but does it matter which end the null modem cable should be on? Because of the cramped space I have to work with, I have the null modem connected to the PC end. If it were connected to the printer it would be inverted, but I'm not sure if that would make any difference (I'll try it, but it'd be nice to know if it actually is something to watch for).

I also tried printing through Wordstar 4.0 and it doesn't do anything. At all when I try to print, it is basically the same result as I reported before, regardless of the driver I select.


EDIT: Holy cow, I fixed it! I realized I had set the baud rate incorrectly in DOS, so I corrected that and now I can "echo" to it without any problems. It works great! I have a couple of new print ribbons on the way too (two for $8 ). I still can't get anything in Wordstar to work though. Maybe there's some additional step that I've missed?
 
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Its WS 4.0. I can't actually find any kind of configuration or settings for printers... just the print menu were you type the name of the document, then tell it how many copies, which pages, etc. then it asks for the "name" of the printer and gives a huge list of different printer models. It seems like there should be a lot more to it than this though since the printers obviously have settings on them that can be adjusted. I've tried selecting "DIABLO" and several others and it attempts to send the document but when I check the print menu again it says the printer may not be ready. The printer doesn't seem to even know that the computer is trying to communicate with it... where as when I had the incorrect baud rate and did the ECHO command the printer would at least print some characters and then blink the status light to tell me there was a problem.
 
Have you run the README.COM file?

Basically, you can run the WSCHANGE utility and select the driver and also change the port (the default is LPT1, which is a parallel port). Before you run WS, you'll have set up the port using the DOS MODE command.
 
Chuck(G) said:
Have you run the README.COM file?

Basically, you can run the WSCHANGE utility and select the driver and also change the port (the default is LPT1, which is a parallel port). Before you run WS, you'll have set up the port using the DOS MODE command.
Click to expand...

Ahhh... I should have known it used an external configuration utility. It IS a DOS application afterall. I honestly haven't played with WS much, I only just downloaded it to try this printer out because it was suggested here as an easy program to test a Diablo printer. I'll run the configuration utility. I'm sure it will work after that. :)

Thank you Chuck. :)

By the way, what should I do with a bunch of new old stock print ribbons? I got a whole pile of ribbons for other printers when I got this Xerox. I have several huge Fujitsu ribbon cassettes (probably 14 inches long at least; one is actually a color ribbon), some Star Micronics NL 10 ribbons (and a manual for that printer), as well as some Smith Corona ribbons. Most appear to be new in package. These printers were actually at the place where I got my Xerox, but I simply couldn't take them all, and the owner could only confirm that the Xerox worked. I took the big box of parts because it had Xerox stuff in it... then later realized that I'd taken a lot of stuff I couldn't use. It doesn't seem like they go for much on eBay. I'd like them to find a home though. I also have a Mac Inker and lots of parts and paperwork for that.
 
I can't say much about old ribbons--the number of impact printer afcionados is pretty small.

Put what you have on the "Items for Sale" thread and see if anyone solutes. I'd like to see a photo of the Fujitsu robbon; I wonder if they're any relation to my HP ones--it allows for printing the full width of "greenbar" tractor feed forms.

One of the problems with old ribbons is that, even unused, they will dry out with age. Single-strike film ones being the exception.
 
Chuck(G) said:
I can't say much about old ribbons--the number of impact printer afcionados is pretty small.

Put what you have on the "Items for Sale" thread and see if anyone solutes. I'd like to see a photo of the Fujitsu robbon; I wonder if they're any relation to my HP ones--it allows for printing the full width of "greenbar" tractor feed forms.

One of the problems with old ribbons is that, even unused, they will dry out with age. Single-strike film ones being the exception.
Click to expand...

I just checked out all of the ribbons I have here and sadly most are opened. There's only one Star Micronics NX-10\NL-10 ribbon cassette that appears to still be sealed, and some odd bits from a Smith Corona Ribbon + Correctable film pack. The Fujitsu color ribbon looks new to me but the inner plastic package has a piece of (what looks like original) tape, but isn't technically "sealed". It looks to be in the best condition of all of the ribbons. I'll probably just send the opened ones to goodwill. If you want the color one, let me know what it'd be worth to you, otherwise I'll probably just ship it off to goodwill too. I don't see any of these being worth enough to warrant storing them and going through the hassle of advertising and maybe eventually packing and shipping them.

Here are some pictures of the Fujitsu color ribbon cassette and a black one that appears to be for the same type of printer (though the package is open on that one).

https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/EFpDirpQvVjVF7yXAmlb7cAr6e0k9bj1nbB2RF8hOmF
 
I'll have to do some measurement, but I don't think the color one will work for me. My printer mounts the ribbon at a bit of an incline, so as to use as much of the ribbon surface while printing. I'd end up with lines with characters in one color on the right side, another in the middle and a third color at the left!

I'm not certain how the black Fujitsu ribbon stacks up against the HP ribbons I now use, but I'll check and see.

Thanks for the offer.

P.S. you can "rejuvenate" dry ribbons by spraying a bit of WD40 on them and then sealing them in a plastic bag and allowiing the solvent to permeate throughout the ribbon. It works for a few times, then there's not enough pigment left to make a difference.
 
Thanks guys for all the work here.
I'm testing out a Diable 630 too, and following the same process...
I'm ordering a cable as recommended.
Hopefully there will be one additional daisy wheel printer surviving after this.
Self test works great.
 
Just throwing this out there... is anyone in the area of Western NY or North western PA that would be interested in this printer and the add-on carriage assembly? They are both in their original boxes. I had to pull them out of storage and I think it would be better if they just found a home where they'd be used. I would love to have a full retro setup to use it for printing and such, but I just don't have space right now and I should probably focus my energies elsewhere.

I will also include all of the neat Xerox stuff that came from the guy I got it from... mainly daisy wheel kits in fancy looking cases. These may be collectibles to someone but if it helps me just move the printer along, I don't mind sending them with it. The father-in-law of the guy I got this from was a Xerox salesman in the 70s and 80s, so some of what I have may technically be sales samples or something like that. I believe there are pictures in this thread somewhere. If not, I can get pictures of them. Please only inquire if you're interested in getting the whole lot and are willing to drive here to get them.
 
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