Diablo 630--downloadable translation tables for alternate print wheels

Wm. Parish  7/11/84

It is possible to customize your print wheel installation and the link
between keyboard characters and print characters through downloadable
translation tables.  This is particularly valuable for ECS (extended
character set) printers which added built-in capacity for several new
print wheels, including an italics print wheel, only after version 18. 

It is valuable also to access characters in some fashion other than
provided in standard print wheel configurations.  For example in the
standard italics configuration, underlining, periods, commas, and
hyphens are available from either the italics or normal row but not
both.  The translation table in this library allows these characters to
be accessed from both rows.

The MBASIC program in this library reads in a translation table and
outputs a file that can be used whenever needed to add additional print
wheel capability to the 630.  See the attached .doc file for information
on how to use the output file.

The program as it now stands assumes a constant character width of 6,
but this can be changed to proportional spacing by simply adding an
extra column of character widths to the input file, changing the read
statement so as to input this extra information, and deleting the
statement that says "space=6".

The Diablo "Interface" manual provides a discussion of how to download
characters tables as well as data on several print wheels.  Additional
data are available in separate Diablo "print wheel" books.  Though the
ECS print wheel book is still not available at this time, one can
calculate what you need to know from the interface manual or other print
wheel books and by simply marking off the spoke numbers on your wheel. 

The spoke position adjacent to the positioning hole on the wheel is 85
and the position opposite (diagonally across the wheel) is 37. 
Typically, either position 37 or 85 is 0 (zero).  In a full 96 character
print wheel, the spoke positions are in the range 0 (up when the printer
is at rest) through 95.  As you face the characters on the wheel,
numbering is clockwise.

When preparing the .in file, any row can be accessed at any time by
adding or subtracting 128 from the normal spoke position.  From the
inner row, any character in the outer row can be secured by subtracting
128 from its normal spoke position -- and entering a negative number in
the .in file.  From the outer row, an inner row character can be secured
by adding 128 to the print position.  Examples of this technique in the
accompanying italics.in file are the period, comma, hyphen, and underline.