Commodore Ramblings

From: Joe <rigdonj_at_intellistar.net>
Date: Thu Feb 19 22:40:03 1998

At 08:57 PM 2/19/98 +0000, you wrote:
>>
>> At 10:07 PM 2/18/98 -0800, you wrote:
>>
>> >
>> >Ever see the 'Plotter' they had? The paper was a roll like is used in
cash
>> >registers, and it had 4 miniature ball point pens. Now that was a lame
>> >printer.
>>
>> Is that the same plotter that Radio Shack sold? I think it was a
>> CGP-115? I added NiCad batterie sto one and interfaced it to my HP-41
>> using the HP-IL, pretty neat. I think I still have one around here
somewhere.
>
>The Commodore one was the 1520 AFIAK (I have the service manual
>upstairs...), but the same mechanism (with different electronics) went
>into the CGP115 from Tandy, the Oric printer, and probably a few others.
>There was a narrower (2", maybe a little more) that went onto the Sharp
>PC1500 calculator.
>
>There's a design fault IMHO. The plastic pinion on the stepper motor
>spindle is force-fitted, and it cracks and slips. _All_ the plotters I
>have like this have suffered from this on at least one axis. Alas the
>parts list for the mechanism doesn't list the pinion separately, only
>with the motor. And I've not (yet) found a supplier of replacements.
>
>Sometimes enlarging the central hole so that it's a sliding fit on the
>spindle with the crack closed and using iso-cyano acrylic
>hydro-copolymerising adhesive to fix it will work.

   I had the same problem with one of mine. I took it to a Radio Shack
service center and tried to order one. They said they wouldn't sell me the
part unless their technicians checked the printer first. I asked if there
was a charge for that and they got cagey. I kept asking until they finally
admitted that there was a "minor" charge. I kept asking them exactly how
much their "minor charge" was and they finally admitted that there was a 1
hour minimum and their hourly rate was $54 per hour! Needless to say I
didn't buy the part. Several months later I meet a guy that owned a Radio
shack store and I was complaining to him about it. He told me to bring the
printer to his store. I did and he looked at it (at no charge) and ordered
the part for me at no charge. I think he said they only cost 39 cents. I
was happy with the service from the individually owned store but needless
to say I NEVER bought another thing from Radio Shack.

   Joe
Received on Thu Feb 19 1998 - 22:40:03 GMT