#Nakajima AE-345 as printer
fringe ember
Gonna make a thread so we don't get lost XD But I get where you're coming from, we all start somewhere! Basically serial sends a bunch of info over one wire back and forth [well, two, usually a transmit and receive on each side]. Parallel is usually a bunch of lines talking back and forth and it's usually a lot slower
I will say, you're going to learn a lot trying to get this working. From what I'm seeing online, info on that particular device is hard to come by, which is going to make it really hard to talk to... but that's part of the fun! And everyone here will be more than happy to help!
wide current
Thanks, Doctor! Yeah, I definitely feel like what I’ve learned so far just trying to get my head around basic stuff has been an eye-opener, but fun! And, the idea of being able to print to a typewriter is tantalizing enough to drive me along.
fringe ember
No problem ^_^ if you get it working, you'll have created a "teletype machine" of sorts -- they were pretty popular in some places in the early days before monitors became common!
wide current
Here is what I found in a manual for another nakajima typewriter (ae-800) that I have to think should be pretty similar to the direction I need to go.
I’m just not sure if I’m doing something wrong in Basic or with the typewriter or whether the USB-a to centronics cable is not technologically appropriate for some reason.
fringe ember
So what system are you trying to do this on? Is it a new system, or a vintage one?
wide current
I have a MacBook Pro. 😂
That was one question I have. Like, I don’t know if the program I’m using to “run Basic” on a Mac is the right thing to be doing. 🤷🏻♂️😂
fringe ember
Ah, so modern machine. Newer operating systems sometimes can be problematic trying to work with very old hardware -- I'm guessing that system was from the 80s, probably with DOS or earlier, which handled talking to peripherals differently. Plus if you're running an app to do BASIC, it might not be able to talk to hardware at all
fringe ember
The hard part is that anything that's like, newer than the 90s just operates differently; if you can get your hands on an old DOS computer, that might be an easier starting point
wide current
Get a computer to use a typewriter. Got it. 🤓😂
Is there some way to reverse-engineer the software in the typewriter with probes and the centronics interface?
Like, you know, how it works in Sneakers. 😎
fringe ember
Lol It would be a stepping stone -- once you get it going in BASIC and understand how to talk to it, you can learn to translate that to something more modern. Although someone else in the server might be able to skip that step and get you going on your modern machine -- might want to post over in #help-with-projects for that. Someone might eventually just happen to know that device inside and out, lol
wide current
Okay, this has been my first experience with discord and the Adafruit community and I really appreciate this feedback and these tips. 🙏🏼 Made my night. 👍
