Epson FX-80 Dot Matrix Printer in ASCII mode/can't send control codes

[kreatoon]

Dear Forum Members!

I am working with a vintage Epson FX-80 and am stumbled upon a problem I cannot solve. The printer, for whatever reason, went into an ASCII mode where all codes (including ASCII (0)d to (32)d) are printed out, but not treated as Control Codes. For example the Line Feed code ASCII (10)d does not perform Line Feed but rather will print out the character "J" (which is exactly 10+64=ASCII(74)d). I have tried resetting all the DIP switches to factory settings, have tried sending the Printer Initialize code (ASCII(27)d + ASCII (64)d) but to no avail. When I print a sentence like: "Hello from code!", the printer treats the letters H, e, l, l , o, etc normally printing them out, but the " " SPACE and "!" characters are printed out as other symbols (shifting +64 decimal scale in ASCII).

Maybe it's just a logical problem? I'm dumbfounded as to the fact that the regular letters are printing fine, only symbols have the +64 ASCII shift...

Perhaps someone might have an insight into this?

 

[mickalkalso23]

The Epson FX-80 Dot Matrix Printer can be used in ASCII mode, but it may not be able to receive and process control codes. This can be problematic if you need to send specific commands to the printer, such as changing the font or adjusting the page margins. One solution is to use a printer driver that supports control codes, such as the Epson FX-80 driver for Windows. Another option is to use a program that can convert the control codes into ASCII characters, which can then be sent to the printer in ASCII mode. This can be done using a utility program, or by modifying the printer driver to include the necessary conversion code.