Calcomp 1044 GT

[TZak]

I have an old Calcomp 1044 GT that has been sitting around for years. I had a look at it and found that one of the voltage regulators blew up on one of the boards and ended up ordering the part and fixing the machine.

It now works find and its still a very good machine. However here is my problem...

The machine is so old that there are no drivers for it to run on windows XP. I have been searching to to and find information and since the company has gone under years ago the service has been taken over a new company. http://www.geicalgraph.com

Now I have been on their site and have looked at the options for my machine. The main problem is that the machine I have is doesn’t have a CPGL Rom pack. I am running the older PCI ROM pack. If this was the case I could use a standard HPGL driver from windows and possibly get the machine working (please correct me if I’m wrong).

According to the GEI site I can try running it in Win95 which is out of the question. The only other option is trying it through Autocad however the drivers don’t seem to work when I try to install them. (autocad 2002)

If anyone has any other options to try and get this machine to work with an XP machine I would appreciate it. Or if anyone knows where to get the CPGL Rom pack that might also work.

Any help would be great. Thanks in advance.

[samhyto]

I had the same problem as you with my 1043 GT, mine is now in a landfill somewhere in Florida

[Chuck L]

I have a package of drivers for calcomp. I can't remember the model I have but it too is an oldie.

I have/do run it on windoz 95, and it runs OK. I use Corel Version 3 with it too.

Send me an email if you would like the drivers, don't know if they will work or not, but their free if you want them.

Chuck
Cad to Chrome,LLC

[mbf550]

even if the thread is still pretty old, I want to add some comments:

the drivers are listed in
http://www.calgraphinc.com/Support/plotterfils.html

(some extra info http://www.calgraphinc.com/support/104x.html)
My 1044 is running under Win98 with the WIN95VEC.exe and gives pretty good results.

I did not try other drivers, since I do not have XP at home...

On the other side, I do not have any manuals and troubles loading roll paper.

Can anybody give me some help?

Stefan, good old Germany

[TZak]

Does anyone have any other advice. Is there a way of directly running this machine through Ascii, g-code, another type of ROM pack ???

how difficult is it to write an xp driver for it. Is that even an option?

It is a shame to just throw away a excellent piece of equiptment. There must be some way to get this running with current technology. Any help is greatly apperciated.

Thanks

[mbf550]

Originally Posted by TZak Does anyone have any other advice. Is there a way of directly running this machine through Ascii, g-code, another type of ROM pack ???

on the support pages, there was the utility hpgl2pci.zip (maybe now here CalComp HPGL2PCI Driver Download)

which runs even under XP in a command line and can convert HPGL to PCI language (native ROM pack). Then its just to send through com port to the plotter (using HW handshake and the right communication parameters).

But if I remember right, XP does support only HP-GL/2 and I did not check the compatibility.

An old version of Cimmetry Autoview (now oracle) was also capable to convert to PCI907 language.

keep me informed, if this is helpful...

[TZak]

Thanks for the link.

So I downloaded the program and converted a simple dxf from autocad.

1. I added a HP plotter to autocad. HP 7475A
2. I plot to a file in Autocad ex. (test.plt)
3. Then I load the coversion program and convert the file using the 7475A as the plotter for settings.
4. Now I think I have a converted test_converted.plt file. (is there anyway to know foresure?)

Now for more questions. Is the .PLT file extension correct?
If so how can I transmit the file to the plotter and what would the setting be on the plotter? What program or utility should I use.

So far so good. Just need the last few steps and procedures.

Thanks again for the help so far.

[mbf550]

you can retreive the helpfiles from Calgraphinc in the internet archive:
104x Plotter Notes Index

Cable Requirements, Pin-outs. a. 25 pin female to 25 pin male cable Ground Pin 1 to Pin 1 TD Pin 2 to Pin 2 RD Pin 3 to Pin 3 RTS Pin 4 to Pin 4 CTS Pin 5 to Pin 5 DSR Pin 6 to Pin 6 SG Pin 7 to Pin 7 CD Pin 8 to Pin 8 DTR Pin 20 to Pin 20 b. 9 pin female to 25 pin male TxD Pin 3 to Pin 2 RxD Pin 2 to Pin 3 RTS Pin 7 to Pin 4 CTS Pin 8 to Pin 5 DSR Pin 6 to Pin 6 SGND Pin 5 to Pin 7 DCD Pin 1 to Pin 8 DTR Pin 4 to Pin 20 Connect the cable to the port on the back of the plotter labeled: P0903 - To DTE Host. Regardless of the handshake setting being used on the plotter, set dip switches 2, 4, and 5 on the back of the plotter to ON = 1. Turn all other dip switches OFF = 0.

For com port settings, use: Baud rate (9600), number of data bits (8), number of stop bits (1), parity (N), and handshake (Direct Control).

More details how to setup the plotter through the menus find here
General PCI Plotter Setup Steps (when values and software driver are known).

If everything is set correctly, should be sufficient to do a command line
copy plotfile.plt comx:

[TZak]

Ok

I finally got the old beast working. I actually found an old copy of autocad 14 and installed it and used the PLPCCGUI.EXE driver. So now I have everything working.

I'm going to try the conversion program you suggested and give that a try now that I have the pin-out's correct and plotter settings right.

One question I have is I tried to plot something larger the the max sheet size. I know I have to switch the drum and install different paper. The only problem is the plotter won't load the paper. On a cut sheet it works great. But on a roll it doesn't any idea which sensor might not be being read correctly. Or is there a work around to this?

Thanks for all the help I really appreciate it.

[mbf550]

congratulations that you got it working.

I have the same problem with the roller feed.

There are ultrasonic sensors below the feed drum. Tried to analyse their response with scope, have seen, that there is a signal when paper is approaching. So I don´t think, its a hardware problem.

But I do not have a user manual. Maybe its also linked with the fact, that my roll paper is a transparent one, wich is not even accepted as plain paper (have to glue a tape above the optical sensor to detect the edge).

[TZak]

Those ultrasonic sensors, is there anyway you have an image of where they are. I know there are the two sensors on the black metal plates on the top,both front and back. And in the test menu they are active. Not sure where the roller drum one's are?

If I have a chance I'll try to scan the manual I have and can email it to you if you like.

[mbf550]

found somewhen a pdf with explosion drawings.

Here is extract of the assembly. Inside the foot at lower side, there is a fan assembly containing the two ultrasonic transducers.