Family of 8 Asr33/35 Teletype Tests, Part 2

This document provides instructions and program descriptions for "Family of 8 Asr33/35 Teletype Tests, Part 2," a diagnostic package designed to test the ASR33 or ASR35 Teletype units when attached to a PDP-8 series system.

Summary:

• Purpose: The diagnostic suite includes nine selectable programs (numbered 0 to 10 octal) to exercise and verify the functionality of the printer, keyboard, reader, and punch components of the Teletype.

• Requirements:

  • Hardware: A standard PDP-8/S, PDP-8, or PDP-8/I computer and an ASR33 or ASR35 Teletype.
  • Pre-requisites: Part 1 of this diagnostic series must have been run successfully.

• Operation: Programs are loaded using the Binary Loader starting at location 0200. Operators use the Switch Register (SR) to select specific sub-routines (PRG0–PRG10), loop programs, and handle error conditions.

• Test Capabilities: The routines cover various functional tests, including carriage returns, margin checks, spacing, line feeds, character printing (including worst-case patterns), punch/read verification, and keyboard echo tests.
• Error Handling: The document details specific error halt locations and their meanings to assist in troubleshooting hardware or operational issues during testing.

The latter portion of the document contains the comprehensive assembly source code for these diagnostic routines.