LV8/LV12/LV11 Printer/Plotter

This document serves as a user's guide for the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) LV8/LV12/LV11 Printer/Plotter System. The system comprises an LV01 Line Printer/Plotter, manufactured by Versatec, Inc., and a DEC computer interface unit (LV8 for PDP-8/E, PDP-8/M; LV12 for PDP-12, PDP-8/I, PDP-8/L; LV11 for PDP-11).

The LV01 is a high-speed, compact, and quiet electrostatic hard copy device capable of both printing and plotting. In print mode, it operates as a 132-column line printer with a 96-ASCII character set, achieving up to 500 lines per minute. It stores 7-bit ASCII input in a buffer and electrostatically applies characters as a 7x9 dot matrix. In plot mode, it accepts 8-bit data bytes to form a bit map for graphics, storing them in a 1024-bit buffer, with plotting speeds up to 120 lines per second and a data transfer rate of 500K bytes/second. Printing and plotting are achieved by depositing an electrostatic charge on dielectric paper and blackening the charged areas with liquid toner.

The guide details installation procedures, including unpacking, inspecting for shipping damage, opening the mechanical module, and removing packing materials. It lists necessary operating supplies such as toner and paper. Crucially, it describes cabling requirements and jumper configurations for both the LV11 (M7258 module) and LV8 (M8302 module) interface controllers, covering address selection and interrupt settings.

Operational instructions are provided for loading both roll-type and fanfold electrographic paper, as well as loading toner (with a caution against excessive concentrate). It explains the functions of operator controls and indicators like ON/OFF, PAPER ADVANCE, FORM FEED, LOW PAPER, and CONTRAST ADJUSTMENT. The document also lists the LV01's ASCII character set and defines format control codes (LF, CR, EOT, FF), noting their specific actions, which may differ from conventional impact printers due to the electrostatic nature.

Programming considerations for PDP-11 and PDP-8/PDP-12 systems are extensively covered. For PDP-11, it describes controlling the LV01 via the Control and Status Register (LVCS) and Data Buffer Register (LVDB) Unibus addresses, detailing bit assignments for various printer functions and error conditions, and the generation of program interrupts. For PDP-8/PDP-12, it lists IOT (Input/Output Transfer) instructions and status register bit assignments for mode control, form feed, buffer clear, and interrupt management.

Finally, the document includes a chapter on maintenance, primarily focusing on visual inspection of the LV11 and LV8 interface modules and mentioning diagnostic programs (MAINDEC-11-DALVA-A and MAINDEC-08-DALVA-A) for troubleshooting.