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Notice that Switch 6 is marked. If you leave this ON, by
selecting either the 4Ckolumn or 72-column line width,
you'll be able to see the output on your video screen while
printing (set at the 40 character width). With any of the other
settings for the combination of Switches 5 arid 6 (refer to
page 16 in the Serial Card manual) you will not see the video
while printing. For some programs, however, such as the
Graphics Printing System that does "dumps" of a Hi-Res
screen image to the printer, you must have the line width set
to 80 characters, which is Switch 5 ON and Switch 6 OFF.
· There is one problem with the High Speed Serial Card if
your Apple also contains a Hayes Modem. If you put the
Serial Card in Slot 1, then don't put the modem in Slot 2,
even though that's what Apple The Company recommends
for operation with PASCAL Electronic signals on the two
cards sometimes interact with each other in unintended
and strange ways. I have been told by a reliable source that
the modem can be moved to either Slot 4 or Slot 7, and it
will still operate with PASCAL Mine is in Slot 4, but as of yet I
have not tried it with PASCAL.
Which Diablo Model?
Next comes the decision on which Diablo model to buy,
and why. (We' re assuming here that you have already eliminated
other printers.) You have a choice of Diablo models
1640, 1650, 630, or possibly a used 1620. The 1600 models
can come with ("KSR"; keyboard send/receive) or without
("RO"; receive only) the keyboard. The 630 comes as an
RO model only; no keyboard. Personally, I like a keyboard
on a printer, for a few reasons. First, you can use the printer
as an independent terminal with the proper modem without
even using the Apple at all. In addition, you can use it as a
typewriter, although it is not quite the same as an expensive
electric typewriter. The reason is that to see what you are
typing, you must leave it on the" scroll" select. The resulting
up-and-down shifting of the paper can drive you slowly crazy
after a while, so you turn it off, but then you can't easily see
what you' re typing. However, it can work this way if you want
to, and it quite often helps if you have only a short line or an
address to type.
With the keyboard option, you can easily set the vertical
and horizontal motion indices (more on this later). However,
one important reason for a keyboard is that with the IN #1
command you can type to the Appie from the Diablo and
have a written copy of your program or whatever while
you're typing. The Apple video will show what you are
typing. Further, you can type upper and lower case, and
even the forbidden characters like the reverse Applesoft
prompt. In addition, the Diablo keyboard comes with a
numeric keypad, and this in itself can be priceless for some
situations. The KSR or keyboard option costs about $150
more, and it's worth it.
However, back to the choice of which printer to buy, ifyou
have not already purchased one. Let me state this up front:
my personal feeling is that the Diablo 1640, with keyboard,
is the way to go. That's based on my analyses and prejudices;
yours may be different.
The 1650 uses metal print wheels, which cost about
$40-$60. The 1640 uses plastic wheels, which cost about $7.
Therefore for about $50, you can have 7 different plastic
wheels instead of one metal one. And, there is a far greater
variety of plastic wheels and manufacturers than there is for
metal wheels. If you use your printer for some very heavy
duty use, be informed thatthe metal wheels last about five
times longer; but keep in mind that metal wheels are more
than five times the cost, so you may save nothing. By the
way, the only 20-pitch print wheel available is plastic. More
about print wheels later.
The Diablo 630 is another option. This model uses either
metal or plastic wheels interchangeably. It is a more recently
introduced model than the 1600 series, sells for a lower
price, and while the 630 owners I know have had reasonably
good results with them, there are some features available on
the 1600' s that don't appear on the 630. It's the old story of
getting what you pay for.
First, adjustments: on the 630 you can't adjust the
hammer intensity. That means, for example, that the large
letter Orator 90% comes out very light on this printer. On the
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