Powering the 82240B IR printer

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Powering the 82240B IR printer

Message #1 Posted by Les Wright on 3 Jan 2007, 6:05 p.m.
My printer arrived, and I have some questions about safely powering it from AC.

The seller provided not the original adapter but a Canon one--6V, 1A, 15W output.
Seems to work fine, though in printing from my HP48 I have to keep everything
pretty still to avoid funny characters appearing in the output.

I happen to have a another adapter with the same plug size for my external hard
drive--12V, 3A, 36W output. When I use this the printer is faster and more forgiving
about the positioning of the calculator.

So this is my question--I would like to be able to use the higher voltage higher
amperage adapter for its improved speed and accuracy, but I want to know if this is
safe--will that extra voltage and amperage eventually cook the print head or fry the
internals?

Grateful for guidance, as always!

Les

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Re: Powering the 82240B IR printer
Message #2 Posted by Bill (Smithville, NJ) on 3 Jan 2007, 6:29 p.m.,
in response to message #1 by Les Wright
Hi Les,

Just checked the 82240B printer manual. The specs call for the following
adapter:

9-12V AC or DC

500-1.5 ma

There's also the Note: Do not use the AC adapter without batteries installed,
because the printer may require supplemental battery power during heavy
printing.

Also says: Slight battery depletion occurs during printing using AC adapter.

Plug size is 5.5 mm outside and 2.1 mm inside.

I would think the 12V , 3A adapter should be fine. But you may also want to
have good batteries installed also.

Bill

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Re: Powering the 82240B IR printer
Message #3 Posted by Gerson W. Barbosa on 3 Jan 2007, 6:32 p.m.,
in response to message #1 by Les Wright
Hi Les,

I use a 12V/800mA (DC) power supply. The same I use to power my HP-
200LX. You don't need to worry about polarity (when powering the printer), it
will work even with AC (9 V, of course!). By what I remember, the safe range is
9-12V (DC) or 6-9V (AC) (These have to be checked as I cannot find any
reference). Once I applied 15V DC to my older printer. It worked but I noticed
an overheating, no consequences though. I opened it later and everything was
ok. Following the AC adapter connector, there's a full-rectifier bridge, which
means it was designed to be powered from AC, like the HP-71B, for instance.

From the manual:

"Do not use the AC adapter without batteries installed, because the printer
may require supplemental battery power during heavy printing. Use only the
HP F1011A AC/DC Adapter. Slightly battery depletion does occur during
printing using the AC adapter."

However I've been powering my printers with the AC adapter only, no problem
so far. Perhaps this applies only to the original adapter.

Happy printing!

Gerson.

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Re: Powering the 82240B IR printer
Message #4 Posted by James M. Prange (Michigan) on 3 Jan 2007, 6:56
p.m.,
in response to message #1 by Les Wright
Hi Les,

From the HP 82240B Owner's Manual: 9-12 V AC or DC; 500-1500 mA.

The older HP 82241A adapter is rated 9V AC 13.5VA MAX, and the newer HP
F1011A adapter is rated 12V DC 0.75A.

Experimentally, either polarity DC works fine.

So your 12V adapter is just fine, although it's capable of supplying more
current than the printer really needs.

As for cooking the print-head, adjust the contrast for clear printing, but not
darker than it needs to be, and the print-head should be safe.

The 6V adapter may work, but as you've found, it's marginal.

What does the self-test show for the battery condition running from the 6V
adapter? 0 or 1 is supposed to mean that the battery should be replaced, and
5 is for the freshest battery or powered externally. At low temperatures, the
battery condition will show lower, at least until the printer gets warmed up a bit.

Also from the Owner's Manual: Do not use the AC adapter without batteries
installed, because the printer may require supplemental power during heavy
printing. Use either the HP adapter designed for the printer or one that meets
the specifications on page 13. Slight battery depletion does occur during
printing using the AC adapter.

Experimentally, I haven't seen any problems with running it from the adapter
without batteries, but I normally follow the advice in the Owner's Manual.

The Owner's Manual calls for alkaline cells, but NiMH cells seem to work just
fine, although they can be expected to go low rather suddenly. My advice is
that if you're going to be powering it externally most of the time, then use
alkaline cells and check the battery condition with a self-test occasionally, or if
you're going to run it from the battery only a lot, then use NiMH cells and have
a spare set handy.

For anyone who has an 82240A, the power requirement specifications are the
same as for the 82240B.

Regards,
James

Edited: 4 Jan 2007, 6:01 a.m. after one or more responses were posted

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 Re: Powering the 82240B IR printer
Message #5 Posted by Les Wright on 3 Jan 2007, 7:44 p.m.,
in response to message #4 by James M. Prange (Michigan)

Quote:

The 6V adapter may work, but as you've found, it's marginal.

Well, that settles it!

Thanks for the help and reassurance--I am glad I had the higher voltage
adapter around, otherwise I would've grown frustrated quickly with the
misprinting issue and would've blamed the printer. The printing is perfect
with my own adapter, and I can keep the intensity setting low and get good
clarity.

Les

Re: Powering the 82240B IR printer

Message #6 Posted by Mad Dog ebaycalcnut on 3 Jan 2007, 8:42 p.m.,
in response to message #1 by Les Wright
I've used all kinds of non-HP AC adapters on my 82240A printer. I doubt
82240B is that different electronically.

Re: Powering the 82240B IR printer

Message #7 Posted by Les Wright on 3 Jan 2007, 10:20 p.m.,
in response to message #6 by Mad Dog ebaycalcnut
Thanks for the reassurance, 'Nut.

And welcome back! After your dramatic exit I didn't know if you would be
back to see us. I am proud to let you know that the printer in question cost
me a very fair $60 or so, including original box and manual. No fancy
leather case, but the experience is enough to convince me that some of
the prices we have been discussing around here for the same thing ($169
in on case) is wee bit high.

Les

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Re: Powering the 82240B IR printer
Message #8 Posted by Mad Dog ebaycalcnut on 3 Jan 2007, 10:24
p.m.,
in response to message #7 by Les Wright
Thanks! I only said I would not post about a certain unmentionable
website anymore. However, I enjoy participating in other discussions.

Anyway, one more thing. Why not get a 82240A printer for cheap from
somewhere unmentionable ;) and test out adapters on it if you are
concerned? Maybe you can, from heaven knows what website of
course, get an 82240A with some extra rolls of paper for a good price.
You can then use the paper in your 82240B!

Edited: 3 Jan 2007, 10:32 p.m.

Re: Powering the 82240B IR printer

Message #9 Posted by Les Wright on 3 Jan 2007, 10:36 p.m.,
in response to message #8 by Mad Dog ebaycalcnut
I actually am quite happy with this one and I use good quality NCR
thermal paper in all of my printers--not too expensive, and I buy a
three pack of the big rolls and make two littler rolls from each. I
hear there is active debate regarding the safety and virtues of "real"
HP paper and newer stuff that is a bit thinner and my not have as
much staying power in the printing. Some folks claim that non-HP
paper is rough and will damage the printer head, others say they
have had no problems after hundreds of rolls. Who knows?

You know, I still don't know the difference between the A and B
version of this printer. All I know is that it seems to work fine with all
three of my calcs that do IR print (28S, 48G, 42S). Can't figure out
if the 49G+ will send to it, though....

Les

6/15
Re: Powering the 82240B IR printer
Message #10 Posted by Mad Dog ebaycalcnut on 3 Jan 2007,
10:47 p.m.,
in response to message #9 by Les Wright
This has been discussed a few times.

Luiz gave a great description!

Excellent discussion of A vs. B

Also, James, who also posted above, gave a great description

in a different forum discussion...

Yet another excellent discussion

Edited: 3 Jan 2007, 10:51 p.m.

Printing to 82240A/B IR printer from 49g+/50g

Message #11 Posted by James M. Prange (Michigan) on 4
Jan 2007, 4:00 a.m.,
in response to message #9 by Les Wright
Yes, the 49g+ (and presumably the 50g) does send to these
printers, but the maximum range is greatly reduced;
experimentally, with careful aiming, a bit over 3 inches from my
49g+, compared to a yard or two with the 48 series. The range
may well vary with the battery conditions of the calculator and
printer.

Of course flag -34 has to be clear (Print via IR) on the

calculator. The printing commands are the same as on the 48
series.

The keyboard shortcut for the PRLCD command on the 49

series is hold down ON, press and release CursorUp, release
ON.

Regards,
James

7/15
Re: Printing to 82240A/B IR printer from
49g+/50g
Message #12 Posted by Les Wright on 4 Jan 2007, 9:13
a.m.,
in response to message #11 by James M. Prange (Michigan)
Thanks James. Works fine, provided I use the more
powerful AC adapter and the 49G+ is close enough and I
don't move it around. No big hardship.

Right now, apart from printing the LCD, variable/program

listings, and the stack, I can't seem to do much else
printing-wise with the 48G or 49G+. The 28S and 42S have
a trace mode that prints interim calculations in real time,
and I actually find that of more interest to me right now.

Les

48/49 series print trace / vectored ENTER

Message #13 Posted by James M. Prange (Michigan)
on 4 Jan 2007, 11:30 a.m.,
in response to message #12 by Les Wright
Ah, I'd forgotten about the trace mode for the printers.
You can get something similar by using vectored
ENTER on the 48 and 49 series.

As you may expect, vectored ENTER "redirects" the

normal execution of ENTER, whether explicit by
pressing the ENTER key, or implicit by pressing an
immediate entry key. For vectored ENTER to be in
effect, the calculator has to be in User keys mode (flag
-62 set), and Custom ENTER mode (flag -63 set) and at
least one of the global variables \GaENTER
(alphaENTER) or \GbENTER (betaENTER) has to be
found on the current path.

You can think of \GaENTER as a pre-processing

program. If you start it with STR\-> or OBJ\->, then that
command compiles and "executes" the command line
string. Note that for a "data-class" object such as a
number and character string, "execution" consists of
placing the object on the stack.

You can think of \GbENTER as a post-processing

program. If it's found, then a "key name" of whatever
invoked ENTER is placed on the stack. If you don't want
the key name, then simply use DROP as the first
command in \GbENTER.

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If both of these flags are set and \GaENTER is found,
then instead of parsing the command line and so on,
the command line is simply placed on the stack as a
character string and \GaENTER is executed. After
\GaENTER finishes, the normal action of the key that
invoked ENTER (except for the ENTER key itself) is
executed. After that, if \GbENTER is found, then a string
representing the name of the key that invoked the
ENTER is placed on the stack, and then \GbENTER is
executed. Note that for the key name, only keys that
correspond to named, programmable objects, such as
built-in commands, XLIB names, global names, or local
names, return a meaningful string for \GbENTER. For
other object types, and unnamed operations such as
ENTER itself, only an empty string is returned.

Here's a pair of programs for print trace found in the

48G series AUG:
%%HP: T(3); @ ASCII transfer header
@ Program name: \GaENTER
\<<
PR1 @ Print the command line string.
OBJ\-> @ Compile and execute string.
\>>

%%HP: T(3); @ ASCII transfer header

@ Program name: \GbENTER
\<<
PR1 @ Print the key name.
DROP @ Discard the key name.
PRSTC @ Print stack in compact form.
\>>

And another pair found in Insights:

%%HP: T(3); @ ASCII transfer header
@ Program name: \GaENTER
\<<
PR1 @ Print the command line string.
OBJ\-> @ Compile and execute string.
\>>

%%HP: T(3); @ ASCII transfer header

@ Program name: \GbENTER
\<<
"[" SWAP + "]" + @ Surround key name with
brackets.
PR1 @ Print the bracketed key name.
DROP @ Discard the key name.
PR1 @ Print the level 1 result of the
operation.
\>>

My personal preference:

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%%HP: T(3); @ ASCII transfer header
@ Program name: \GaENTER
\<<
PR1 @ Print the command line string.
STR\-> @ Compile and execute string.
\>>

%%HP: T(3); @ ASCII transfer header

@ Program name: \GbENTER
\<<
"[" SWAP + "]" + @ Surround key name with
brackets.
PR1 @ Print the bracketed key name.
DROP @ Discard the key name.
PRST @ Print the stack.
\>>

Try the above, and maybe experiment a bit yourself.

Another possibility for \GaENTER would be prefixing a
string with "#" and suffixing it with "h" for entry of hex
integers. HP 48 INSIGHTS PART I: Principles and
Programming also has example programs BINCALC
(Binary Calculator) and FRACALC (fraction calculator)
that use vectored ENTER. For anyone really interested
in the RPL models, I recommend buying the HP
Museum CD-ROM set / DVD and reading the books by
William C. Wickes.

A disadvantage of vectored ENTER is that any directory

can have only one set of \GaENTER and \GbENTER
variables (although each directory can have it own set).
Particularly if you want to have more than one set of
vectored ENTER variables, you may want to have a
named program store new content to these variables
when you execute it; for example:
%%HP: T(3); @ ASCII transfer header
@ Program name: TRON
\<<
\<<
PR1 @ Print the command line string.
STR\-> @ Compile and execute string.
\>>
'\GaENTER' STO @ Store above program.
\<<
"[" SWAP + "]" + @ Surround key name with
brackets.
PR1 @ Print the bracketed key name.
DROP @ Discard the key name.
PRST @ Print the stack.
\>>
'\GbENTER' STO @ Store above program.
-62 SF @ Force User keys enabled.
-63 SF @ Force vectored ENTER enabled.
\>>

And maybe:

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%%HP: T(3); @ ASCII transfer header
@ Program name: TROFF
\<<
-63 CF @ Force vectored ENTER disabled.
\>>

Or:
%%HP: T(3); @ ASCII transfer header
@ Program name: TROFF
\<<
{ \GaENTER \GbENTER } PURGE
-63 CF
\>>

Regards,
James
Edited: 4 Jan 2007, 7:47 p.m. after one or more responses were
posted

11/15
Re: 48/49 series print trace / vectored
ENTER
Message #14 Posted by James M. Prange
(Michigan) on 4 Jan 2007, 12:14 p.m.,
in response to message #13 by James M. Prange
(Michigan)
PS:

For easier reading (but more paper use) on the

82240A/B, you may want to insert CR CR at the end
of the \GbENTER program.

Some other thoughts; if you're sure of which printer

you'll be using, you could add more set-up
commands to a TRON (trace on) program, such as
-34 CF (Print via IR) for the 82240, or set up
PRTPAR or IOPAR as needed. Of course you could
also force more modes in a TROFF (trace off)
program.

Note that to use the "screen capture" feature of the

"Connectivity Kits", flag -34 needs to be set (print
via wire).

Of course you can also print "via wire" by setting

flag -34 for printing to a serial (RS-232) printer from
a 48 series or 49G, or if you also have flag -33 set
(Transfer via IR), it prints in "Serial IR" mode (48
series) or IrDA mode (49 series except 49G).

Regards,
James

Re: 48/49 series print trace / vectored

ENTER
Message #15 Posted by James M. Prange
(Michigan) on 4 Jan 2007, 3:02 p.m.,
in response to message #14 by James M. Prange
(Michigan)
PPS:

Personally, I sometimes find the the PR1 at the

end of the Insights \GbENTER to be not as
much information as I want. On the other hand,
the PRSTC in the AUR program or PRST in my
program may take too long to print, particularly
when the stack is very deep. How about a

12/15
\GbENTER that prints, let's say, up to a 6-level
stack, or for a deeper stack, the depth and the
lowest 5 stack levels?
%%HP: T(3); @ ASCII transfer header
@ Program name: TRON
\<< @
\<< @
PR1 @ Print the command line
string.
STR\-> @ Compile and execute
string.
\>> @
'\GaENTER' STO @ Store above
program.
\<<
"[" SWAP + "]" + @ Surround key name
with brackets.
PR1 @ Print the bracketed key
name.
DROP @ Discard the key name.
DEPTH @
IF @
DUP 7 < @
THEN @
DROP @
PRST @ Print the stack.
ELSE @
"Depth" @
\->TAG @
PR1 @
DROP @
5 1 @
FOR n @
5 ROLL @
n \->TAG @ Tag object with
stack level.
PR1 @
OBJ\-> @ Split off most recent tag
as string.
DROP @ Discard tag string.
-1 @
STEP @
CR @ Extra paper advance when
using PR1.
END @
CR CR @ Advance paper for viewing.
\>> @
'\GbENTER' STO @ Store above
program.
-62 SF @ Force User keys enabled.
-63 SF @ Force vectored ENTER
enabled.
\>>

So, even though the 48 and 49 series don't have

a built-in print trace mode, the vectored ENTER
capability give you the power to easily create
your very own customized print trace mode.
By the way, even though you won't have
vectored ENTER if you purge both \GaENTER
and \GbENTER, if both flags -62 and -63 are
set, then the calculator will take the time to

13/15
 search the entire path for them, so clear at least
one of these flags when you want to disable
vectored ENTER.

Regards,
James

Re: 48/49 series print trace / vectored

ENTER
Message #16 Posted by James M. Prange
(Michigan) on 4 Jan 2007, 7:57 p.m.,
in response to message #13 by James M. Prange
(Michigan)
PS:

This probably isn't really significant for these print

trace programs, as printing via IR is inherently slow,
but the closer to the beginning of the current
directory the global variables \GaENTER and
\GbENTER are, the faster they'll be found. The
slowest would be when they're at the end of the
home directory, especially if your current directory is
deep in the subdirectory structure.

Regards,
James

14/15
 Re: Printing to 82240A/B IR printer from
49g+/50g
Message #17 Posted by Les Wright on 7 Jan 2007, 3:41
a.m.,
in response to message #11 by James M. Prange (Michigan)
James, thank you so much for this huge contribution. I will
have to save and study your suggestions to discern how to
best benefit from what you have shared with me.

On a more pedestrian note, it turns out that my wife and I

have quite a few NiMH AA batteries around here, plus a
good charger, so I will use them and see how much
mileage I get. I actually use Duracell 2650 mAh cells in my
33C (yes, I know they don't quite fit, and one of the tabs is
broken off inside but the connection is still made), and
these babies kept that calc running in an infinite loop
program for at least 30 hours before croaking. I have
several batteries in the house in at least the 2000 to 2300
range too, so that should be lots of juice for the printer,
especially if I use it on AC most of the time.

Les

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