Serial Printer on Sco Openserver 6.0

Hello

I wonder if anyone can help with an issue we are having trying to setup a printer on a new Unix server box via Serial Printing. Details as follows:

- System is SCO Openserver 6 with Pack 2 installed

- System is a Fujitsu Seimens Box, P4 3 GHz, 512 Mb RAM, 40Gb HDD, installed with a Perle Multiport SX Card (PCI), LAN Card (IBM - PCI) and SCSI Card (Adaptec - PCI)

- Simply put we are trying to print to an Epson LQ 2170 printer via the Perle card throught a Specialix box, connected via RS232 converted to 25 pin D SUB into a serial card in the printer,

- However - is printing garbage to the printer, we need it setting up onto 9600, as 4800 does not work at all!! - i.e nothing prints, but at 9600 something prints.

- Have checked docuements on this site, have got Baud rates (setup via DIPs on serial board in printer, via Perle setup util and via STTY), Software and Hardware controls set (all same as above), all such like set, yet is still printing rubbish.

- Have tried difference serial card in printer - same, have printed outputs to WYSE terminal - are getting mixed results with changing settings, when we get it working, we re-attach to printer - garbage again, have tried a difference printer - same, different cables and box - same!!

- Wonder if anyone could help / knows of issues with this setup / stop me bashing my head against brick wall??

Thanks for reading / posting

Andy

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Wed Jul 12 14:36:29 2006: Subject:   BigDumbDinosaur


I assume you verified that the serial data format (e.g., 8N1) being used agrees with the printer settings. Also, if the LQ 2170 is set to one line buffer mode you will need to implement hardware handshaking, even at 9600 bps. I'm not at all familiar with the hardware combination you described for attaching your printer, so I can't really offer much more. Perhaps some others may have knowledge of the Perle SX (I have never heard of it).



Wed Jul 12 14:51:11 2006: Subject:   TonyLawrence


Sounds like flow control to me.

Set everything to 1200 baud and see what happens then.. if it stops spewing garbage, it is flow control.





Wed Jul 12 16:51:55 2006: Subject:   TonyLawrence



I changed the name of this post because it really is about serial printing.

Are you sure you read everything here about serial printing? The reason I ask is your mention of "mixed results" printing to a terminal. Maybe you just phrased that badly, but it makes me think you really aren't understanding what you are doing (if I'm wrong, I apologize). Do you understand what's required for wiring for software flow control? For hardware? Do you know what to do to set flow control on the computer side?

Serial isn't all that difficult, and you should never have "mixed results". It should be stone cold obvious what is wrong and what is needed to fix it if it isn't defective hardware.





Mon Jul 17 15:01:03 2006: Subject:   Andy


Hello

Thanks for all your comments.

We are slowly narrowing it down to the Driver for SCO 6 (different to the driver for SCO 5.0.7) that Perle provide.

Strange thing is that i had it working, then i came in this morining, and garbage again. Sigh

Dont think anything can be done, thanks anyway.



Fri Jul 28 03:37:49 2006: Subject: get rid of the serial printer   anonymous


Check out my website because our serial to Ethernet buffer can collect and store data while our TCP/IP client downloads the data. You can open the file with NotePad and print it on an inkjet printer.

www.datacomgear.com

Good luck,

Kevin

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