Re: Imagewriter won't stay SELECTed

["Michael J. Mahon" <mjmahon@aol.com>]

Linards Ticmanis wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I just got the old Imagewriter (Apple Dot Matrix Printer) out again 
> after about 2 years in the closet. It's the original Imagewriter, not 
> the Imagewriter II. It worked at first (I printed about two lines for 
> testing), but after I flipped some DIP switches to select the German 
> font, it broke down, it seems.
>
> The SELECT light refuses to stay on. When I push the SELECT button, the 
> LED will flash on for a very short moment then go away again. The 
> printer doesn't accept characters, PR#1 will lock up the computer until 
> I power down the printer.
>
> The inability to SELECT happens independently of whether the printer is 
> connected to anything or not. There is no blinking light, and the FORM 
> FEED and LINE FEED buttons are working correctly. The print head moves 
> to the left edge correctly during power-up.
>
> I haven't even been able to get a self test printout. I don't have a 
> manual, but I suspect holding down some button during power-up should 
> produce a self-test. I tried holding down every conceivable combination 
> of buttons during power up. I noticed that if I hold down LINE FEED, 
> there's no self test but at least the SELECT button does work normally, 
> toggling the LED on and off - but only until I release LINE FEED, then 
> it's back to "normal" (or rather not normal - see above). The printer 
> seems to be accepting characters while LINE FEED is held down and it is 
> SELECTed, as the computer doesn't lock up when I say PR#1 and the type 
> stuff - but nothing gets printed. FORM FEED doesn't show this effect.
>
> I tried setting the DIP switches back to their previous setting, then 
> back to their factory setting, for no avail. Of course I also switched 
> the printer off and on a couple of times, still no improvement.
>
> Am I doing something wrong, is this thing gone for good, or is this a 
> known, fixable problem?

You might want to check the "cover off" interlock, since you removed
the cover to change the DIP switches.  I forget whether it's a
magnetic interlock or a physical one--check it out.

-michael

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