Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!att!emory!wuarchive!sdd.hp.com!hplabs!hp-pcd!hpfcso!rjn
From: rjn@hpfcso.HP.COM (Bob Niland)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.hp
Subject: Re: HP 9872A plotter - looking for cable pinouts
Message-ID: <7370243@hpfcso.HP.COM>
Date: 29 Oct 90 18:53:30 GMT
References: <2151@kralizec.fido.oz.au>
Organization: Hewlett-Packard/FSY Ft.Collins,CO,USA
Lines: 24

re: > A friend has just bought a Hewlett-Packard 9872A plotter from
    > auction. The beast has 2 Centronics sockets on the back, for which
    > we need pinouts before we can get it going.

> Some details ... there are 2 centronics sockets. The first is labelled
> HPIB and is a 14-pin; the second is labelled 9815a and is 24 pins wide.

There are no Centronics interfaces on the 9872 family.

The 24-pin socket is HP-IB (aka IEEE 488-1975) and speaks an early dialect
of the now-common HP-GL plotter command language (the 9872 "A" model it has
no readback, so the safe way to test it is to plot to a file, then dump the
file on the plotter).

The 14-pin socket is for an electrical and lingusitic interface that was
unique to the 9815A programmable desktop calculator.

What are you trying to hook the plotter to?  There are HP-IB interfaces
available for PCs.  How much trouble you will have getting it to work is
difficult to say.

Regards,                                              Hewlett-Packard
Bob Niland      Internet: rjn@hpfcrjn.FC.HP.COM       3404 East Harmony Road
                UUCP: [hplabs|hpfcse]!hpfcrjn!rjn     Ft Collins CO 80525-9599