iSys C to V User Manual

Centronics™ to Versatec™

Interface Conversion Box

User Guide

© iSys-The Imaging Systems Group Inc.

© iSys-The Imaging Systems Group Inc.

This user guide is provided to help you install and operate your new CtoV box. It contains important information on the features
and functions.

Need Help?

If you require additional assistance or information, please contact the iSys Technical Support team at:

iSys - The Imaging Systems Group Inc.
911- 28th Street N.E.
Calgary, AB T2A 7X1
Canada

Toll Free In North America: 1-866-415-4797
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

Website: www.isys-group.com

The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice.
EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BY LOCAL LAW, iSys - THE IMAGING SYSTEMS GROUP INC. MAKES NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND WITH REGARD
TO THIS MATERIAL, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE. iSys shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection
with the furnishing, performance or use of this material.

Trademarks:
Centronics is a trademark of Centronics Data Corp.
Versatec is a trademark of Xerox Inc.

PAGE 2 --- C to V User Guide

© iSys-The Imaging Systems Group Inc.

iSys -The Imaging Systems Group Inc. warrants the CtoV box (Product) to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a
period of one year from the date of delivery (Delivery), subject to local statutory requirements and the terms, conditions,
restrictions, limitations and qualifications contained herein.

iSys warrants the Product to be free from defects in material and workmanship occurring under normal usage, within the normal
operating range and duty cycles specified. If the iSys Customer Service Representative department receives notice of such defects
during the warranty period, iSys, at its option, and within a reasonable time, will repair or replace the defective Product. Repairs
shall be performed by a certified iSys service representative, and such repairs, at the option of iSys, may be performed at the
customer site, a dealer site, a service depot or the factory. Replacement Product, at the option of iSys, may be either new or
equivalent in performance to new. Delivery is defined by a signed and dated receipt from the original carrier or iSys dealer
delivering the Product.

iSys does not warrant the operation of the Product to be uninterrupted or error free. iSys assumes no liability for and holds itself
harmless against any claims of consequential costs or damages which may arise from interruption or error in the operation of the
Product.

iSys does not warrant defects, malfunctions and/or failures, which in its opinion, result from conditions of improper use, abuse,
neglect, operation outside the published environmental specifications, improper site preparation and maintenance, the use of
unqualified or unauthorized media (papers and films), inadequate preventative maintenance, unauthorized modifications or
unauthorized maintenance or damage in transit. Such conditions shall render this warranty void and otherwise release iSys from
its liability under this Product warranty.

For service inquires, please contact the iSys customer service department at [phone] or toll free in North America: 1­866-415-iSys (4797).

TO THE EXTENT ALLOWED BY LOCAL LAW, THIS WARRANTY IS EXCLUSIVE AND NO OTHER WARRANTY OR CONDITION, WHETHER
WRITTEN OR ORAL, IS EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED AND iSYS - THE IMAGING SYSTEMS GROUP INC. SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY
IMPLIED WARRANTIES INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
AND QUALITY SATISFACTION. THE WARRANTY TERMS CONTAINED HEREIN, EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT LAWFULLY PREMITTED, DO NOT
EXCLUDE, RESTRICT OR MODIFY AND ARE IN ADDITION TO APPLICABLE STATUTORY RIGHTS. USE OF THE PRODUCT CONSTITUTES
ACCEPTANCE OF THIS WARRANTY.

PAGE 3 --- C to V User Guide

© iSys-The Imaging Systems Group Inc.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION 5

2. WHAT IS INCLUDED 5

3.

CONFIGURING THE BOX 5

4.

CONNECTING THE BOX 6

5.

CtoV BOX PROGRAMMING SPECIFICATIONS 6

6.

FIGURES 9

7.

CENTRONICS. PARALLEL 25 PIN D-SUB CONNECTOR PINOUTS 10

8.

VERSATEC. VPI37 PIN D-SUB CONNECTOR

11

PINOUTS

PAGE 4 --- C to V User Guide

© iSys-The Imaging Systems Group Inc.

1. INTRODUCTION

The Centronics™ to Versatec™ (VPI) interface conversion box allows a Versatec™ interface equipped peripheral to connect to a
Centronics™ parallel host. High speed data throughput and full Versatec™ functionality are maintained while the high cost of a
Versatec™ VPI compatible host interface card is eliminated.

2. WHAT IS INCLUDED

The Centronics™ to Versatec™ (CtoV) Box shipment includes the following standard items:

1 CtoV Box
1 Power supply
2 Mounting brackets
4 6-32 X 1/4. mounting bracket screws
4 6-32 internal star lock washers
1 Hardware manual

Order Part Number:

CTOVXL

(where X = S for shortline TTL Versatec™ output configured at factory)
(where X = L for longline differential Versatec™ output configured at factory)

Either of the following two options can be ordered:

OPTION 1:
CTOVXLPC8MM - includes all the standard items plus an 8ft DB-25M to DB-25M Centronics cable.

OPTION 2:
CTOVXLADAPT - includes all the standard items plus a 36 pin Centronics female to DB-25 male adapter.

3. CONFIGURING THE BOX

The CtoV box ships from the factory with a sticker on the plastic bag indicating which mode the VPI output is configured for - either

TTL or Differential. Ensure that the CTOV VPI configuration matches the peripheral that it will be connected to.

WARNING:
DO NOT CONNECT THE CTOV BOX TO A VERSATEC PERIPHERAL IF YOU ARE UNSURE OF THE TTL/DIFFERENTIAL SETTINGS. DAMAGE
TO THE CTOV BOX OR TO THE PERIPHERAL MAY RESULT.

To Change the VPI configuration, follow these steps: (refer to Section 6, Figures 1 to 3 for these steps)

1. Remove the 4 Philips screws from the end plates of the box.

2. Pull the Centronics endplate out slightly and disconnect the power and ribbon cables from the circuit card.

3. Slide the circuit card and VPI endplate out of the box, taking care to note the location of the circuit card slots.

4. Change the Differential /TTL Selector Jumper to the appropriate setting. The TTL DIFF indicators are printed directly
above the jumper block.

5. Move the 40 pin ribbon cable to the Differential or TTL Connector.

PAGE 5 --- C to V User Guide

© iSys-The Imaging Systems Group Inc.

NOTE:
The jumper MUST match the 40 pin connector that the ribbon cable is plugged into. DO NOT CROSS CONNECT!

6. Reverse steps 1 to 3 to re-assemble the box.

4. CONNECTING THE BOX

(refer to Figures 1 and 2 in Appendix A for these steps)

1. Connect a Centronics parallel host interface to the 25 pin “D”connector shown in Figure 1

2. Connect a Versatec compatible peripheral to the 37 pin “D” connector shown in Figure 2.

3. Connect the +5V power supply to the power input connector shown in Figure 1. Plug the Power Supply into a 120V 60Hz

A.C. outlet.

4. The green power LED should light. The Box is now ready for operation.

WARNING:
DO NOT SUBSTITUTE A DIFFERENT POWER SUPPLY TO POWER
THE CTOV BOX. THE RESULT MAY BE SERIOUS DAMAGE TO THE
CTOV BOX.

5. C to V BOX PROGRAMMING SPECIFICATIONS

1.0 - Introduction

The Centronics to Versatec Interface Box is a stand-alone interface converter containing a Centronics parallel compatible input
and a TTL or Differential Versatec parallel interface output. Using various control strings and command bytes, most of the features
of a true Versatec interface are available from a Centronics equipped host.

The CTOV box supports both print mode and raster mode.

1.1 - Host Transfer Formats

NOTE:

The CtoV box should be initialized before sending any data or using any of the transfer formats in this section. Initialization can be
accomplished by either cycling the power to the box or strobing the Centronics port init line (see section 4.0). After initialization,
the CTOV box will be in print mode.

2.1 - Standard Transfer Format

To place the CtoV box in raster mode, the following 3 bytes (hex) must be sent to the CtoV box Centronics port:

1B 2A 00

Once these 3 bytes are sent, raster plot data can be sent to the CtoV box. The VPI output of the box will remain in raster mode until
the init line of the Centronics port is strobed or the CTOV box power is cycled. This will return the CtoV box to print mode.

2.2 - Enhanced Transfer Format

For more flexibility, a 6 byte header can be sent before each scan of raster data. This header allows variable bytes/scan plotting.
The CtoV box returns to print mode at the end of every scan using this transfer method. This allows the five 1B, 4X commands or
the standard ASCII control codes listed below in section 3 to be used during plotting. The format of the 6
byte header is:

1B 2A 72 XX YY 01

PAGE 6 --- C to V User Guide

© iSys-The Imaging Systems Group Inc.

where XX = high byte of the number of bytes/scan
YY = low byte of the number of bytes/scan

Example:

To send a plot that is rastered to 200 bytes/scan, send the following 6 byte
header before each and every scan of 200 bytes:

1B 2A 72 00 C8 01 00C8 hex = 200 decimal

for a plot consisting of 1728 bytes/scan, send

1B 2A 72 06 C0 01 06C0 hex = 1728 decimal

2.3 - Enhanced Transfer Format with Run Length Encoding (RLE)

This transfer format allows raster data to be run length encoded for smaller file storage size and higher effective interface
throughput. The format of the 6 byte header is:

1B 2A 72 XX YY 02

where XX = high byte of the number of bytes/scan
YY = low byte of the number of bytes/scan

Once the scan header is sent, the raster data must be sent using the following format:

byte1, byte2, byte1, byte2...

where byte1 = run length number of similar bytes: 01H <= byte1 <=FFH
byte2 = raster byte value

the sum total of all byte1 values in a given scan must equal the XX, YY value sent in the 6 byte scan header.

Example:

1B 2A 72 00 C8 02 00C8 hex = 200 decimal

then

03 FA, 29 31, 9C 0F (03 + 29 + 9C = C8 hex or 200 decimal)

This would be a complete and valid scan.

NOTE:

Scans can be inter-mixed in any combination between (2.2) and (2.3) above. This allows scans that can be efficiently compressed
to be sent using (3), while scans that do not run length compress efficiently can be sent using (2). This will help maximize total file
compression.

PAGE 7 --- C to V User Guide

© iSys-The Imaging Systems Group Inc.

3.0 - 1B 4X and Control Characters

Sending the following command bytes to the CTOV box will cause the VPI output to assert the appropriate remote function line. The
VPI print/plot line will be placed low (raster mode) before the remote function line is asserted:

1B 41 remote clear
1B 42 remote line terminate
1B 43 remote end of transmission
1B 44 remote form feed
1B 45 remote reset

1B 50 ZZ asserts repeating remote line terminates from ZZ = 01 hex to

FF hex

NOTE:

These commands must be sent when the CtoV box is in print mode (section 2). The commands will be ignored and interpreted as
raster data if they are sent at any other time.

The CtoV box also obeys standard control characters that must be sent when the CtoV box is in print mode:

04 end of transmission
0A line feed
0C form feed
0D (carriage return - this byte is ignored)

4.0 - Interface Timing

Centronics Timing

Parameter Minimum Maximum

strobe width (A)
strobe to busy (B)
busy width (C)
acknowledge width (D)
init width (E)

200nS
125nS
900nS
550nS
200nS

PAGE 8 --- C to V User Guide

­150nS
note 1
note 2

no max

© iSys-The Imaging Systems Group Inc.

Note 1:

The busy width is dependent on the received busy from the VPI port and the width of the Centronics strobe.

Note 2:

The acknowledge width is dependent on the busy width (c).

VPI Timing

Parameter Minimum Maximum

piclk width (F)
remote width (G)
peripheral busy (H)

300nS
300nS
250nS

Note 3:

Piclks and remote functions will only be asserted if the peripheral is ready (not busy).

Note 4:

Peripheral busy maximum width (H) is peripheral dependent.

6. FIGURES

Figure 1 - Input Connections

Figure 2 - Output Connection

300nS
300nS
note 4

a - Power input connector
b - power indicator
c - Centronics. parallel host input

PAGE 9 --- C to V User Guide

d - Versatec (VPI) output to peripheral

© iSys-The Imaging Systems Group Inc.

Figure 3 - Circuit Card

g

e

f

e - Differential / TTL selector jumper
f - Differential VPI connector
g - TTL VPI connector

7. Centronics™ parallel25 pin D-sub Connector Pinouts

Pin number

25 pin D-sub

connector

1 H nSTROBE
2 H DATA 0
3 H DATA 1
4 H DATA 2
5 H DATA 3
6 H DATA 4
7 H DATA 5
8 H DATA 6

9 H DATA 7
10 P nACK
11 P BUSY
12 P PERROR
13 P SELECT
14 H nAUTOFD
15 P nFAULT
16 H nINIT
17 H nSELECTIN
18 - GND (nSTROBE)
19 - GND (D0, D1)
20 - GND (D2, D3)
21 - GND (D4, D5)
22 - GND (D6, D7)
23 - GND (BUSY, nFAULT)
24 - GND (PERROR, SELECT, nACK)
25 - GND (nAUTOFD, nSELECTIN)

Source

(P=peripheral, H=host)

Signal

PAGE 10 --- C to V User Guide

© iSys-The Imaging Systems Group Inc.

8. VERSATC™ VPI

37 pin D-sub connector pinouts

Pin number

37 pin D-sub connector

1 DATA 0+ DATA 0
2 DATA 1+ DATA 1
3 DATA 2+ DATA 2
4 DATA 3+ DATA 3
5 DATA 4+ DATA 4
6 DATA 5+ DATA 5
7 DATA 6+ DATA 6
8 DATA 7+ DATA 7

9 CLEAR- nCLEAR
10 PICLK+ PICLK
11 READY- nREADY
12 PRINT+ PRINT
13 N/C N/C
14 SPP- nSPP
15 RESET- nRESET
16 REMFFD- nREMFFD
17 REMEOT- NREMEOT
18 REMLNTR- NREMLNTR
19 INOP+ NOMEDIA
20 DATA 0- GND
21 DATA 1- GND
22 DATA 2- GND
23 DATA 3- GND
24 DATA 4- GND
25 DATA 5- GND
26 DATA 6- GND
27 DATA 7- GND
28 CLEAR+ GND
29 PICLK- GND
30 READY+ GND
31 PRINT- GND
32 INOP- nONLINE
33 SPP+ GND
34 RESET+ GND
35 REMFFD+ GND
36 REMEOT+ GND
37 REMLNTR+ GND

Differential signal name TTL signal name

PAGE 11 --- C to V User Guide

© iSys-The Imaging Systems Group Inc.

Centronics™ to Versatec™

Interface Converter Box

KEY FEATURES SPECIFICATIONS

The iSys Centronics™ to Versatec™ (CtoV) Interface
Converter Box brings new life to any device equipped with
a Versatec™ parallel interface. The CtoV Box allows
connection between any Centronics™ compatible host
port and a Versatec™ interface equipped peripheral. Full
Versatec™ functionality and speed is maintained with the
low cost of the standard Centronics™ parallel host port.
Open up new connectivity options with third party USB to
Centronics™ parallel adapters and network print servers.
You can be sure of rugged construction and unmatched
reliability for trouble free operation.

iSys - The Imaging Systems Group Inc.

th

911 28

St. N.E.

Calgary, AB Canada T2A 7X1

Ph: 403-204-5200
Fax: [phone]
Web: www.iSys-group.com

INTERFACE CHARACTERISTICS
Input

Output

Functionality

POWER REQUIREMENTS
Input Power

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Dimensions

ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISITCS
Storage Temp.
Storage Humidity
Operation Temp.
Operation
Humidity
Vibration

WHAT’S INCLUDED
Standard

Centronics compatible 8 bit parallel IEEE 1284
Compatible 1.0 MB/sec maximum input transfer

rate
Versatec Greensheet shortline(TTL) or
Longline(differential) 1.0 MB/sec maximum output
transfer rate
Supports both print and lot modes

Variable bytes/scan support

-1 to 65,535 bytes/scan

Full remote function support

-Remote Line Terminate

-Remote Clear

-Remote Reset

-Remote Form Feed

-Remote End of Transmission

Normal or run length compressed data input

5.0V D.C. Regulated

2.0A maximum input current

Length: 4.0 inches
Width: 3.275 inches
Height: 1.125 inches
Weight: 1.5 lbs

-50C to +75C

5% to 95% R.H. (no condensation)

0C to +50C

5% to 95% R.H. (no condensation)

3 axis 1G at 5Hz, 3 G at 10-60Hz, 30 minute
Duration in X, Y, Z axis (Non-operating)

120V to 240V switching D.C. adapter with screw

locking power connector Mounting Brackets

PAGE 12 --- C to V User Guide

© iSys-The Imaging Systems Group Inc.