MARATHON BRAILLE EMBOSSER INTRODUCTION ............................................. Page 3 Your First Braille Document .......................... Page 3 SETTING UP YOUR EMBOSSER ................................. Page 5 Unpacking ............................................ Page 5 Installing Paper ..................................... Page 5 The Keypad ........................................... Page 6 Setting Top-of-Form .................................. Page 7 Changing (and Restoring) Menu Settings ............... Page 8 Special Sensors in the Marathon ..................... Page 10 Connecting to Your Computer ......................... Page 11 Advancing Paper ..................................... Page 14 MULTI-COPY .............................................. Page 16 PROBLEMS? ............................................... Page 18 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS ................................ Page 24 FCC Compliance ...................................... Page 25 Warranty, Support & Service ......................... Page 26 QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE ................................... Page 29 Keys ................................................ Page 29 Tones ............................................... Page 29 Top-of-Form Reset ................................... Page 29 Menus ............................................... Page 30 Multi-Copy .......................................... Page 32 Service Menu ........................................ Page 32 Enabling Technologies 1601 Northeast Braille Place Jensen Beach, Florida 34957 USA Toll-Free Phone USA Only (800) 777 3687 Toll-Free Fax USA Only (800) 950 3687 Phone (772) 225 3687 Fax (772) 225 3299 E-Mail: info@brailler.com Web: www.brailler.com Copyright 1988-2003 by Enabling Technologies Company All Rights Reserved. Revised January, 2003 ----------------------------------------------------------------2 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, without the express written permission of Enabling Technologies Company. Every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this manual to ensure the completeness and accuracy of the information it contains. Even so, Enabling Technologies Company assumes no responsibility for such errors or omissions that may occur. Neither do we assume any liability for damages resulting from the use of information contained herein. Brand names, company names, or product names mentioned in this document may be trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of their respective companies. ----------------------------------------------------------------3 INTRODUCTION Even if you're experienced with Braille and computers, our embossers have lots of handy features that take only a few minutes to learn but make your work much easier and faster. That's why we hope to persuade everyone to read the short section called "Setting Up Your Embosser." If you're new to Braille desktop publishing, "Your First Braille Document" describes the basic process of creating Braille in less than two pages. To help you get the most out of your embosser both now and in the future, we've also enclosed a diskette that includes: MANUAL.TXT A text file version of this manual REFMAN.TXT A text file version of the Technical Reference Manual REFMAN.BRF A Braille text file version of the Technical Reference Manual formatted for 40 characters by 25 lines (standard Braille pages) And (sometimes) README.TXT Where we add things at the very last minute that were too new for the manuals! Your First Braille Document Louis Braille, a teenaged student at the school for the blind in Paris, France, developed the Braille alphabet in the early nineteenth century from a military code designed for night reading. Many people think that a Braille embosser automatically prints "in Braille" from your computer files by substituting Braille letters for print ones. Although publishing in Braille gets easier all the time, it's not quite that simple yet. ----------------------------------------------------------------4 One cell stands for one letter, as you might expect, but not all the time. More often, words have been shortened and punctuated according to strict rules unique to Braille. The rule systems are called "grades." Grade 1 Braille uses official Braille punctuation and capitalization but spells out every text letter of every word. Grade 2 Braille uses official Braille punctuation, capitalization, and nearly 200 contractions to save space. Most documents for adult readers, as well as most signs in public buildings, are in grade 2 Braille. The grade 2 contractions are understood by Braille readers everywhere and are abbreviations of common words and letter combinations. For example, "you" in grade 2 is the letter "Y". Unless you're a Braille reader or a certified Braille transcriber, there is no way you could possibly know these rules. That's why you need a software package called a "translator." Translation software reads your computer files and literally "translates" them into correctly contracted, punctuated, and formatted Braille pages, ready to "print" on your Braille embosser. Newer translators even contain their own word processors so you can create, edit, spellcheck, print, translate, and emboss your documents inside the translator, just as you would in Microsoft Word or WordPerfect. Others produce Braille by reading several common types of word processing files and creating new ready-to-emboss Braille files. Translators are very easy to use and typically create the finished Braille computer files (even long ones) in seconds. Once you're ready to emboss the Braille you've created, you can roughly estimate the finished size of most Braille projects if you keep in mind that even with grade 2 contractions AND the larger dimensions of standard Braille paper, 1 print page usually equals 2 to 3 Braille pages. ----------------------------------------------------------------5 SETTING UP YOUR EMBOSSER Unpacking First, check the embosser and accessories carefully for damage. If any damage is apparent, notify the shipper immediately. Also, check the contents against the packing list and if you find a discrepancy, let us know as soon as possible. IMPORTANT! Please save the carton and the packing material! You will need this should you ever have to return the embosser for service. Although the embosser is in a very sturdy, shock- resistant case, shipping any electronic equipment without proper packing is not a good idea! Place the embosser on a table top with the handle facing you and remove the lid. Remove the shipping locks according to the directions in the box. Plug the power cord first into the embosser's power interlock, then into a grounded outlet. You may notice a metallic noise just after the Marathon powers up. This is a test routine and completely normal, ensuring that all the embossing elements are at full power before you begin to Braille your files. Installing Paper The Marathon will produce good quality Braille on paper weights from standard 20-pound computer paper (suitable for rough drafts) to 100-pound traditional Braille paper (recommended for more permanent documents). Stack the paper on the table in front of the embosser. If you have a full box of paper, place it on the floor in front of the table. ----------------------------------------------------------------6 Open the embosser's paper tractors by lifting on the inside edge. They will stay open until closed by hand. Insert the paper. Position the tractors so that the tractor pins line up with the holes on the edges of the paper. To move the tractors from side to side, push the small release handles, located near the outside edge of each tractor, toward you. (They may be a little stiff at first.) Although both tractors are able to move, generally it is the right tractor that needs to be moved more often because that is how you adjust for differences in paper width. Close the tractors to grip the paper and snap the release handles back down to lock the tractors themselves in position. Check to be sure there is plenty of room behind the embosser to collect the paper neatly. Turn the power switch on. The embosser will execute a self test and play a five-note tune. The Keypad The keypad, a small 16-key keyboard in the right front corner of the embosser surface, is how you tell the embosser what to do. The keys are spaced 4 columns down by 4 rows across. The top three rows are laid out in calculator format with 7, 8 and 9 running from left to right on the top row, 4,5 and 6 just below them, and 1, 2 and 3 next to the bottom. The key at the left of the very bottom row is 0. To the right of zero is the decimal point, and to the right of that, a key labeled E. The keys in the far right column are, from top to bottom, the OL, LF, FF and V key. OL (On-Line/Off-Line) The embosser must be on-line to receive and print data from a computer, and it (usually) must be off-line to receive commands from you. ----------------------------------------------------------------7 Press OL to take the embosser from on-line (ready to receive and print data) to off-line (ready to respond to your commands). Press it again to return on-line. Note the audible difference in the on-line and off-line tones. If you press OL while embossing, the embosser will pause. Any data left in the buffer remains, and embossing will resume as soon as you press OL again. LF (Line-Feed) Off-line, LF advances the paper one line each time this key is pressed. FF (Form-Feed) Off-line, FF advances the page to the top of the next page and prints the last partial page in the buffer, if necessary. V (View) Advances the page several lines, allowing you to read the line just embossed. Pressing V once more returns the paper to its original position. This feature is handy when editing a document or communicating with a computer in terminal mode. E (Enter) Otherwise, E works like the "enter" key on your computer keyboard often does--to finish and transmit commands. Setting Top-of-Form "Top-of-form" tells the embosser where the paper starts and where to begin the Braille. You need to tell the embosser to reset top-of-form every time you change paper, clear a paper jam, start a new document, or change the top margin (which we call the "top-of-form offset"). If you have paper loaded in the embosser, check to be sure the tractors are securely holding the paper and that the paper can flow smoothly into the embosser with no ----------------------------------------------------------------8 obstructions. Then turn on the embosser and listen for the five- note tune that signifies the embosser is ready to run. To set top-of-form, enter the following on the embosser's keypad: OL Takes the embosser off-line (note the characteristic two- note tune) 2E Finds top-of-form An automatic sensor inside the Marathon seeks the edge of the paper, so the paper should begin to move back and forth until the sensor fixes the location of the paper's edge in the embosser's memory. After setting top-of-form, the embosser returns on-line automatically, signified by the two-note on-line tune. IMPORTANT! The embosser's sensor must find the paper's edge to "set" top-of-form, so that your document's pages will break in the right places. When you reset top-of-form in the middle of a printing session, remove any finished pages before issuing the 2E command. Every time you install a new batch of paper or clear a paper jam, remember to reset top-of-form with the OL, 2E sequence. One other benefit of setting the top-of-form in the embosser's memory is that it will remember the setting and return to the correct spot after you move the paper with LF, FF or V. Changing (and Restoring) Menu Settings Because Braille embossers need to work with many different kinds of software and computer systems, the keypad has a built-in feature that remembers sixteen different groups of settings, exactly as if you were going to use sixteen different computers with one embosser. ----------------------------------------------------------------9 Each group of settings is called a "menu." All the menus stay set and ready to use even when the power is off. Eight of the menus are preset at the factory with settings many of our customers have requested. The other eight are yours to create as you need them. You can change, create and save settings in all the menus, even the ones preset at the factory. When you turn on your embosser for the first time, Menu 1 is the default (which means it has control until you change it). Menu 1 is for a parallel connection to an IBM-compatible computer. There is one additional menu, the Service Menu (Menu Zero), that you cannot change. This menu contain utilities for testing and resetting the embosser. To see what all the menus do, you might want to check out your Reference Manual on the enclosed diskette, which lists all the settings. Test your new embosser to print out a Braille list of all sixteen menus and their settings, which are stored permanently in the Service Menu. To print out the list (assuming you have put paper in the embosser, turned on the power, and set top-of-form), enter the following on the embosser's keypad: OL Take the embosser off-line 0.0E Enter the Service Menu (Menu Zero) 10E Emboss a graphic representation of the keypad and all 16 user menu default settings stored permanently in the embosser's memory You can stop the list during printing with the E key. Each of the sixteen menus has the same features, many of which will be familiar to most computer users (like right and left margins, word wrap, and page length), while others are unique to Braille environments. ---------------------------------------------------------------10 How to Change Menu Settings Because each menu contains at least thirty different settings, sooner or later you'll want to make some changes when you need to use different paper, Braille formats or port connections. For example, let's say you're using Menu 1 because you have an IBM PC-compatible. You want to adjust the right margin for narrower Braille paper. Enter the following on the embosser's keypad: OL Take the embosser off-line 0.1E Work in Menu 1 14.32E Make the right margin end at 32 Braille characters 1.1E Return on-line and use this menu as the current configuration A complete list of the individual menu items is also in the Quick Reference Guide in the back of this manual. Restoring Factory Settings If you change too many menu settings to keep track of, or if you're not the only person to use the embosser, you might want to reset the embosser back to the original factory settings. Although you will lose all changes you've made to the menus, you'll also be starting fresh. OL Go off-line 0.0E Go to the Service Menu 95E Restore the factory default settings 1E Reset the embosser Special Sensors in the Marathon There are two special fail safe circuits in the Marathon Brailler, the low line sensor and the over ---------------------------------------------------------------11 temperature sensor. They both monitor conditions unique to the high-speed printing capacity of the Marathon. Here is what they do: Low Line Voltage The low line sensor monitors the line voltage supplied to the printer. If it should drop low enough to affect the Braille quality, the printer will stop embossing and the "low line" tone will sound. When the line voltage returns to an acceptable level, the printer will resume embossing where it left off with no loss of data. This is possible because the unique power supply design allows the memory to retain data at a much lower line voltage than that required by the embosser. Over Temperature Sensor An over temperature error indicates a more serious condition and should never occur in normal use. It generally indicates that a cooling fan has failed or that something is blocking the vents in the trim cover. Printing will be halted and the power supply shut down. Printing will resume when the temperature returns to normal but unlike the low line condition, some data may be lost. IMPORTANT! Both these sensors can be overridden by selecting 19.0 in the menu you are using BUT this could result in poor Braille quality or lost data. Connecting to Your Computer Through the Parallel Port Connect the parallel cable we supplied (or one you already have) from one of the parallel ports on your computer to the parallel port on your embosser. If you have been using a print printer, it is likely to be already ---------------------------------------------------------------12 connected to your computer's first parallel port, so look for the second parallel port to connect to the embosser. It doesn't matter which parallel port you use, so long as you remember which one it is. Turn on the computer and the embosser. If you are using newer translation or transcription software to emboss your work, install the translation software package on your computer. Then open the program and under menu items like "Embosser Setup" or "Braille Devices," select "Marathon." Then select whatever parallel port is connected to the embosser. If you have older transcription or translation software that creates files without sending them to the embosser, you have to copy the final, formatted Braille files to the embosser yourself. From the DOS prompt, the command to do this is to the first parallel port is: copy mydoc.brf lpt1: [Return] If you've connected to the second parallel port, the command is: copy mydoc.brf lpt2: [Return] Menu 1 is already set to work with the embosser's parallel port and IBM PC compatible computers. Assuming you have connected the computer and the embosser as described above, and fully installed your translation software, you can expect to get Braille out immediately. If not, check to make sure the cables are tightly attached, the software (or DOS commands) are transmitting to the correct port, and the embosser is on-line. Through the Serial Port If you need to set up a serial connection, first connect a serial cable (preferably the one we sent with the embosser) to the embosser's serial port and to one of the serial ports on your computer. Since computers usually have more than one serial port, make a note of which one the ---------------------------------------------------------------13 embosser is using. You'll need this information to set up your translation software and adjust your computer's settings, if necessary. Next, find out what serial settings your computer's serial port or your Braille 'n Speak are using. Then use menu commands on the embosser's keypad to set the embosser to match. The commands listed below for various computers should be entered on the embosser's keypad. If your computer is an IBM-compatible set to its default values, use Menu 1 with just one change: OL Go off-line 0.1E Go into Menu 1 2.0E Use the serial port 1.1E Exit menu and reset embosser This will set the embosser for 2400 baud, seven data bits, even parity, one stop bit, and DTR/CTS handshaking. These settings match the IBM defaults. If your computer is an Apple with a serial card, use Menu 2: OL Go off-line 0.2E Go into Menu 2 1.1E Exit Menu 2 and reset embosser If you find that Menu 2 works well with your serial card as you presently have it configured, you might want to make Menu 2 what we call the "power-up default"--the menu that takes control when you turn on the electricity to the embosser. OL Go off-line 0.2E Go into Menu 2 1.0E Make Menu 2 come up automatically when I turn on the embosser 1.1E Exit Menu 2 and reset embosser ---------------------------------------------------------------14 If you are connecting via the serial port to a Braille 'n Speak, first set your Braille 'n Speak for: 9600 baud, no parity, eight data bits, one stop bit and software handshaking. Then change the embosser settings to match the Braille 'n Speak: OL Go off-line 0.2E Go into Menu 2 8.0E Change to "software handshaking" 1.1E Exit Menu 2 and reset embosser If you already have a clear idea that something else should be changed in the embosser's serial port settings (baud rate, handshaking, etc.), the Quick Reference Guide in the back of this manual has a list of the menu items you can adjust for the serial port . Try sending a short file using whatever copy, transmit or print command your computer or software requires to test the connection. For the IBM PC, from the DOS prompt, the command to do this is to the first serial port is: copy mydoc.brf com1: [Return] Assuming you have connected the computer and the embosser as described above, and fully installed your translation software, you can expect to get Braille out immediately. Advancing Paper If the test of your parallel or serial port above was successful, you now have some Brailled pages to remove from the embosser. Enter the following commands on the embosser's keypad to remove the finished document and prepare for the next: OL Go off-line ---------------------------------------------------------------15 FF Advance a full page. The embosser may finish the last fraction of a page. Tear off the finished pages. Then: 2E Reset top-of-form and send the embosser back on-line, ready for the next job If embossing did not start as you expected, first rule out the obvious: Is everything plugged it, turned on, and directed to the port connected to the embosser? Is the embosser on-line? If these all check out, scan the section entitled "Problems?" later in the manual--we've included solutions to the most frequent complications our customers encounter. ---------------------------------------------------------------16 MULTI-COPY Multi-Copy allows you to download up to 28,000 characters of text (about 28 Braille pages) from your computer into a reserved portion of memory, the multi-copy buffer. The embosser will copy whatever is in the multi-copy buffer from 1 to 99 times without reloading the text from the computer. IMPORTANT! Stay ON-LINE while using Multi-Copy. Run a single test copy of your file first, to be sure margins, paper size, page breaks, etc., are correct. Whatever menu is active when you start Multi-Copy is the one that continues to control the embosser once you start making multiple copies, so make any necessary adjustments to the menu before starting Multi- Copy. When your file is ready for multiple copies, remain on- line, and enter the following on the embosser's keypad: 3.0E Turn on Multi-Copy Go back to your computer and send or copy your file to the embosser. After the file is copied into the embosser's memory, go back to the embosser's keypad and, staying on-line, enter the following: 3.1E Tell the embosser that the file is completely copied If no data was received from the computer, an error tone will sound, warning you that the buffer is still empty. If the file is too large for the Marathon, the "Buffer Full" tone will sound and the embosser will also begin printing the text that has exceeded the buffer. This allows you to see where in your file the overflow occurred so you will know where to split your document. Tell the embosser how many copies to make. Enter the following on the embosser's keypad. ---------------------------------------------------------------17 4.NNE "NN" stands for "any two-digit number up through 99." For example, if you want 10 copies, you'd enter 4.10E. If you want 99 copies, you'd enter 4.99E. Other Controls in Multi-Copy 3.2E stops printing at the end of the current copy. 3.3E deactivates Multi-Copy and clears the buffer. 3.4E suspends Multi-Copy at the top of the next sheet of paper. If you don't turn off the power or reset the machine, you can send another short document and resume printing where you left off. 3.5E resumes Multi-Copy after the 3.4E sequence. Check that the paper is at top-of-form prior to entering this command. OL stops printing temporarily in Multi-Copy. Printing continues when OL is pressed again. V stops printing and moves the paper out from under the platen, so the Braille which was just printed can be read. Press V again to move the paper back and resume printing. OL, then LF, FF or 0.0E to enter the Service Menu while Off- Line exits Multi-Copy. The current copy will not be completed but the buffer remains unchanged. You can continue Multi-Copy by going back On-Line and entering the (4.NNE) sequence. ---------------------------------------------------------------18 PROBLEMS? Quality Braille desktop publishing requires harmony between your word processor, translator, computer and embosser. Enabling Technologies has been helping people learn to use Braille embossers and translators for twenty-five years, so we've observed many times that formatting and transmission problems can arise even when the embosser is working perfectly. Also, many of the common-sense preparations that insure good results with any computer system apply in Braille production as well. Productivity improves dramatically if people using the system get enough practice to become comfortable with their computers, keep important manuals handy in case of questions, and plan sufficient time for a little trial-and-error with complex projects. If possible, more than one person in the office or agency should know how to perform important computer tasks. We get some of the same questions repeatedly, so we've have included them below. If you have a problem not covered here, call our toll free Customer Support phone number at 1(800) 777 3687. We will be equally pleased to help you OR to learn from your experience. Q. Could I have a bad parallel cable? The embosser makes the right tones, the computer sends data--but nothing happens! A. First press the OL key, then the FF key to rule out the possibility of a partial page left in the buffer. If nothing embosses then, check the integrity of the cable connection by trying an exact replacement if you have one. If you have a print printer nearby with a parallel cable attached, borrow it temporarily, and attach it between the computer and the embosser. If the cable was at fault, the borrowed cable will fix the problem. If nothing still happens, eliminate the cable from your list of suspects, since it is ---------------------------------------------------------------19 unlikely that you have two "bad" cables. Make sure your parallel port hasn't been redirected to via a mode command buried somewhere in your autoexec file. Also, be sure that you aren't inadvertently connected to a second parallel port. Or, if you are attempting to route your document through a device called the Ransley Braille Translator, the dip-switches on the Ransley could be set in such a way that the data is coming out the serial port instead of the parallel. Q. Could I have the wrong serial cable connected between embosser and computer, or are all serial cables the same? A. You could easily have the wrong cable connected, although we try to find out what type of serial connection you require when preparing your order to avoid this very problem. If you have followed our earlier directions for matching serial parameters, and the embosser is not responding to a transmit or print command, make sure the cable involved is the one which came with the embosser. Then check to be sure it is connected to the computer serial port where the data is being routed. Many systems have more than one serial port. Also, take a careful look at the serial port settings on your computer, because if any of these are different than you expect, this could be the source of trouble. But if everything checks out as it should and you are unable to get data with the cable we supplied, call us; one way or another, we will help you puzzle out the problem. Q. I get characters from the embosser all right, but they are mostly the letter x and they don't seem to have many spaces. Could the Braille translator be messing up my document? A. This sounds more like a baud rate error. The embosser and your computer are probably set to different baud rates. Change the one which is easier to adjust. Since the baud rate or ---------------------------------------------------------------20 speed of data transfer cannot be set or changed in a parallel interface, the most likely cure for "garbage" characters in a parallel printout is to try a different parallel interface cable. Q. Could it be that this Braille embosser doesn't understand grade 2 Braille? The words have no contractions, and the punctuation doesn't look right. A. The embosser prints exactly what the computer sends. In order to produce well formatted grade 2 Braille, your files must pass through a translator program, which creates an entirely new file in Braille. If you have translation software on your computer, there may be some reason why it is being bypassed. Perhaps your batch file has been changed or renamed by another user or perhaps the original print file (instead of the Braille file) was inadvertently copied to the embosser. If you do not have Braille translation software installed on your computer, call us at ETC for information about prices and features. (We have worked with most of the translators currently on the market.) Q. What causes the embosser to skip a blank page after each full page? A. The lines per page in your document most likely exceeded the lines per page setting on the embosser. The embosser automatically sends out a form feed if the lines per page exceeds the value set with 17.NNE in all menus. You may also want to turn off a feature called "perf skip," which keeps the pages neatly divided if your software doesn't add page breaks, in your embosser's current menu. Assuming that menu 1 has control of ---------------------------------------------------------------21 your embosser, the following sequence turns "perf skip" off: OL Take embosser off-line 0.1E Work in Menu 1 11.0E Turn Perf Skip off 1.1E Make this change current now and reset embosser Q. "Top-of-form" won't stay set; it "drifts" on longer documents. A. In the embosser's menu, turn on "perf skip" and set "lines per page" to 17.27E BUT on your computer, translate your document to only 25 lines per Braille page. The embosser sequence is: OL Go off-line 0.1E Go into Menu 1 (as an example) 11.1E Turn perf skip on 17.27E Put 27 lines of Braille on a page 1.1E Make these settings current Remember to change your translator settings to 25 lines per page and try the document again. Q. I get the first line of a document but the rest is blank. How could that happen? A. Usually your Braille translator regulates the length of your lines and pages. But some programs and devices such as Braille 'n Speak allow you to set line and page length to zero, because the embosser can also take care of these format considerations by itself. If you receive one line of a document followed by a lot of blank space, the problem may be that there are no line or page endings in your document. To have the embosser do the formatting, you need to turn on the right features in the menus. From the embosser's keypad, enter the current menu and: 11.1E Turn on perf skip ---------------------------------------------------------------22 10.1E Turn on word wrap 22.1E Turn on "hot zone" 1.1E Reset embosser and use these settings These parameters already factory-set in menu 4. However, this menu is set up for serial transfers where the host device provides absolutely no formatting, and this may or may not correspond exactly to your situation. Try menu 4 first without changes and if necessary, experiment a little (you can always reset the embosser) until you have the format you want. The problem could also be the absence of line-feeds in your file. Some devices and programs provide the option of ending each line with a carriage return but no line-feed. The embosser needs a line-feed paired with each carriage return. If line feed characters are in your document but the embosser is not acting on them, check the manual of your translator if you are using one, or the Braille 'n Speak if this is your host device. There should be an option which allows you to specify whether line-feeds should be transmitted after each carriage return. In the case of the Apple II series, the transmission of line-feeds is determined by a dip switch setting on the serial card. The addition of line-feeds should fix the problem instantly. Q. I switched to narrow paper and now the Braille doesn't look right. Marathon occasionally skews when used with narrow (8.5 by 11 inch paper) instead of standard Braille paper. To solve this problem, a new routine has been added to the Marathon's internal software. ---------------------------------------------------------------23 Access the software to adjust for skewing on narrow paper, by entering the following on the keypad: OL Off-line 0.0E Enter the Service Menu 93E Narrow Paper Anti-Skew Adjustment. Then choose from the following range (0E none, the default, to 12E, most) depending on the severity of the problem. Exit the Service Menu All of the examples apply equally to programs such as Edgar, MicroBraille and PokaDots, which are designed to receive grade 2 Braille entered by a skilled transcriber, and transmit the finished product to a disk file or a embosser. In fact, menu 6 of your embosser is set up specifically for embossing documents from MicroBraille. ---------------------------------------------------------------24 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Printing Printing method 84 point impact matrix Printing speed 200 characters per second Line width 42 characters Dot spacing 0.090 inches Dot base diameter 0.066 inches Dot height 0.020 inches Character matrix 6 dot or 8 dot Character spacing 0.240 inches Line spacing 0.400 inches Paper feed Sprocket Paper width Adjustable (from 1.5 inches to 13.75 inches) Page length Selectable (3 inch to 14 inch) Paper weight 20 Lb. to 100 lb. Character set USA, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Denmark Mechanical Size Length 18.0 inches; width 21.0 inches; height 8.0 inches (from table top to printer surface, 6.5 inches) Weight 75 pounds Case style Attache, with removable cover Sound level 81 dba Environmental Temperature (Operating) 35 to 110 degrees F.(Storage) Minus 55 to 150 degrees F Humidity (Operating) 10 to 95 percent (relative noncondensing) (Storage) 0 to 99 percent (relative noncondensing) Electrical Line voltage USA 105 to 130 VAC; EURO 210 to 260 VAC Amperage USA 1.9 A max.; EURO 0.95 A max. ---------------------------------------------------------------25 Fuse size MDL 3.0A SB (110V) or MDL 1.6A SB (220V) Watts Approximately 220 Text buffer 28,000 characters Interface Port 1--Centronics compatible parallel Port 2--Serial RS-232-C (DTE) Service Accessories Standard Line cord (3 wire USA) 1 interface cable (parallel or serial) FCC Compliance WARNING: Changes or modifications to this unit not expressly approved by Enabling Technologies Company could void the user's authority to operate the equipment. This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures: 1. Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna. 2. Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver. 3. Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected. 4. Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help. ---------------------------------------------------------------26 Warranty, Support & Service Enabling Technologies Company warrants all parts and workmanship of the embosser to be free of defects for a period of one year (365 days) from date of delivery. This warranty is extended only to the original purchaser who must return such defective part(s) to Enabling Technologies Company immediately upon customer's discovery of the defect in question. Return shipment of such defective part(s) must be pre-paid by customer. This warranty does not extend to defects resulting from improper use or unauthorized service by purchaser. Also, the warranty is invalid if any of the instructions accompanying the product are not carefully followed. This limited warranty is made in lieu of all other warranties, expressed or implied, and is limited to the repair or replacement of the product. No warranty, expressed or implied, is extended concerning the completeness, correctness, or suitability of the Enabling Technologies Company equipment for any particular application. There are no warranties which extend beyond those expressly stated herein. We also offer an Extended Warranty Program. For further details, contact: Contract Administrator Enabling Technologies 1601 Northeast Braille Place Jensen Beach, Florida 34957 USA For support and service, first, obtain the serial number of the embosser, which appears on the machine in both print and Braille, and contact our Customer Support Group at (800) 777 3687 in the continental US or (772) 225 3687 internationally. They may be able to resolve your problem quickly on the phone. If your problem cannot be resolved on the phone, request a Return Authorization (RA) number from the Customer Support Group. You MUST have an RA number BEFORE you can ---------------------------------------------------------------27 return your embosser to us for service. This number is necessary for us to schedule service time for your embosser. After you obtain a Return Authorization number from Customer Support, pack your embosser in the original carton and packing material. If the original carton was discarded, use a container that provides at least three inches of packing material around all sides of the embosser. Include a letter inside the package containing the following information: 1. Your name. 2. Your company name (if applicable). 3. Your shipping address and zip code. 4. Your mail drop code (if applicable). 5. Your RA number. 6. A description of the trouble you are experiencing. Please include as much information as possible about the problem and the conditions under which it occurs. Please have your RA number printed clearly on the outside of the carton so we can begin work on your embosser as quickly as possible. Address the box containing your embosser to the location below for quickest service: Enabling Technologies Company Customer Support Group 1601 Northeast Braille Place Jensen Beach, Florida 34957 USA Finally, before you ship your embosser, insure the package. We are not responsible for shipping damage, and the carrier is not responsible if the package is not properly packaged and insured. You could even be charged for shipping damage if the embosser was not properly packed. ---------------------------------------------------------------28 ---------------------------------------------------------------29 QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE Keys OL On-line/Off-line (toggle) LF Line-Feed FF Form-Feed V View (toggle) 0-9 Numeric entry Decimal Numeric entry E Enter Tones Various sounds indicate the status of the embosser. Try out the tones (it won't hurt anything) by typing the sequences below on the embosser's keypad while off-line. 1.0E Five-note tune Power on self test O.K. 1.1E Chopin Funeral Dirge Power on self test failed 1.2E 2 short beeps O.K. 1.3E Buzz Error 1.4E 4 long beeps Overrun error (serial data) 1.5E Low to high On-line 1.6E High to low Off-line 1.7E 1 short beep Console bell 1.8E Series of low to high Paper out 1.9E Series of low beeps Exit tone 1.10E Series of low to high Low line or overtemperature 1.11E Beethoven's 5th Multi-Copy buffer full Top-of-Form Reset Do this after you change menu settings or add paper. OL Go off-line ---------------------------------------------------------------30 2E Set top-of-form. Embosser resets automatically. Menus Enter a Menu OL Go off-line 0.NE Go to menu #N (1 through 16) Menu Settings & What They Do 1.0E Makes this menu the turn-on default 1.1E Exits, resets and makes this menu current 2.0E Connect to the serial port 2.1E Connect to the parallel port 3.NE Sets baud rate to N. Available baud rates from 45.5 to 38,400. Example: For 9600, enter 3.9600E 4.NE Sets the number of data bits to N. Available data bits: 5, 6, 7 and 8 5.NE Sets the number of stop bits to N. Available stop bits: 1, 1.5 and 2 6.NE Selects parity (0 = none, 1 = odd, 2 = even) 7.NE Sets communication code (0 = ASCII, 1 = Baudot) 8.NE Sets handshake (0=Xon/Xoff, 1=DTR & CTS, 2=DTR & DSR 3=RTS & CTS, 4=RTS & DSR) 9.NE Braille mode (0 = 6 dot, 1 = 8 dot) 10.NE Word wrap (0 = off, 1 = on) 11.NE Perf Skip (0 = off, 1 = on) 12.NE Paper out detector (0 = off, 1 = on) 13.NE Auto LF after CR (0=no, 1=yes) 14.NE Set right margin to N (2 to 42) 15.NE Set left margin to N (1 to 41) 16.NE Emboss control characters (0 = off, 1 = on) 17.NE Set lines per page to N 18.NE Page length to N (3 to 14 inches in .05 inch increments) 19.NE Low line voltage/over temperature sensors. (0= off; 1 = on) ---------------------------------------------------------------31 20.NE Enter character N into control character table 21.NE Remove character N from control character table 22.NE Hot zone (0 = off, 1 = on) 23.NE Recognize escape sequences (0 = off, 1 = on) 24.NE Console bell will sound when current line length = N (0=off, 1 to 99=on) 25.NE Reserved 26.NE Reserved 27.NE Braille format (0 = computer, 1 = grade 1) 28.NE Eighty column mode (0=off, 1=80 column, 2=160 column) 29.NNE Alpha character set (0=USA, 1=Spain, 2=Germany, 3=Swiss, 4=Denmark, 5=Austria, 6=France) 30.NNE Top-of-Form offset to NN (1/10 inch increments) 31.NE Eighth bit character handling (0=print 8 bit characters. 1=ignore eighth bit, 2=replace with a space, 3=discard) 32.NE Autoprint constant, 0 seconds 33.NE Reserved 34.NNE Paper grade setting (valid range 0 thru 12; factory default is 6) Other Menu Functions V.NE Prints parameter N in this menu (V.14E prints right margin setting) V.E View function while in menu N.VE Prints all parameters in menu #N 0.VE Prints all parameters in current configuration Exit A Menu E Exits but remains off-line 1.1E Exits and makes this menu current ---------------------------------------------------------------32 Restore Menus to Factory Defaults OL Go off-line 0.0E Go to the Service Menu 95E Restore the factory default settings 1E Reset the embosser Multi-Copy Reminder: Stay on-line while using Multi-Copy 3.0E Start Multi-Copy. Copy document from computer. 3.1E Tell embosser document is fully copied and ready to print 4.NNE Tell embosser to print "NN" (1 to 99) copies of the document 3.2E Halt printing at end of current copy 3.3E Cancel Multi-Copy 3.4E Suspend Multi-Copy at top of next sheet 3.5E Resume Multi-Copy following 3.4E Service Menu This menu contains special functions often used in the testing, aligning, and troubleshooting of the embosser by service personnel. Some are also useful in daily operation, and they are marked with an asterisk (*). You enter the service menu by going off-line with the OL key, then typing 0.0E. Some of the functions exit automatically when they are completed, and these are labeled "Auto" in the right most column. The others will remain active until you press any key to stop them. Leave the Service Menu by pressing the E key until you hear a series of beeps, which brings you back to the off-line level. SEQUENCE FUNCTION EXIT *1E System reset Auto *2E Print test pattern (E 5 pattern) Any key *3E Print 6 dot pattern (Equal signs) Any key ---------------------------------------------------------------33 4E Over temperature sensor test (tone) Any key 5E Line feed motor on high power Any key 6E Top-of-Form sensor test (tone) Any key 7E Paper out sensor test (tone) Any key 8E Low line voltage sensor test (tone) Any key 9E Print ASCII character set Any key 10E Print keypad and all configurations Any key 81E Print all dots in bank 1 Any key 82E Print all dots in bank 2 Any key 83E Print all dots in bank 3 Any key 84E Print all dots in bank 4 Any key 93E Anti-Skew adjustment for narrow paper Range: 0 (default no adjustment) to 12 (most adjustment) *95E Load factory defaults into NOV-RAM Auto 96E Zero the NOV-RAM checksum Auto 98E Calculate new checksum Auto 99E Verify NOV-RAM checksum Auto (Dirge if fail)