6 Printers and Modems

Printers

The VT320 has a built-in serial printer interface that supports most draft and letter-quality printers, including the following Digital printers.

LA12 LA38 LA120
LA34 LA50 LQP02
LA35 LA75 LQP03
LA36 LA100/LA120

You can select from four printing modes in the Printer Set-Up screen (Chapter 4): normal, auto print, printer controller, and local controller.

Normal Mode: Printing Text from the Screen

This mode lets you print displayed text by using the Print Screen key.

Auto Print Mode: Printing Text from the Host System

In this mode, the VT320 sends the current display line to the printer when the cursor moves to the next line after a line feed, form feed, vertical tab, or autowrap. Auto print mode lets you print each line of text as it is received from the host.

While selected, "Auto Print Mode" appears on the status line. You can still perform printing functions with the Print Screen key in auto-print mode.

You can also turn auto print mode on and off by pressing Ctrl-Print Screen. When you leave auto print mode, you return to normal print mode.

Printer Controller Mode: Letting the Host Control the Printer

In this mode, the host system can send text directly to the printer, without displaying the text on the terminal's screen. While selected, "Printer Controller Mode" appears on the status line.

The Print Screen key does not work in printer controller mode.

Local Controller Mode: Setting Up the Printer

This mode lets you send information directly from the keyboard to the printer, without displaying the information on the screen. You may find this feature useful in setting up certain printers for operation, without involving the host system. To select this mode, you must set two different set-up features (Chapter 4).

  1. Set the On Line/Local feature in the Set-Up Directory screen to "Local".
  2. Set the Print Mode in the Printer Set-Up screen to "Printer Controller Mode".

Remember to reset both features when you finish.

Modems

A modem lets the VT320 communicate over a telephone line with a remote computer system. You can use a variety of modems with your VT320, such as Digital's DF03 and DF224 modems. You can also use compatible modems, such as the AT&T 103, 113, and 212 types. See Appendix B for information on ordering modems.

The VT320 must be certified for connection to non-AT&T type modems used outside of continental North America. Your local Digital Field Service office has information on terminal certification and use of non-AT&T type modems.

You can connect one of the standard modems listed above to the VT320 as follows.

  1. Connect the modem cable to the 25-pin RS232 connector on the rear of the terminal.
  2. Go to the Communications Set-Up screen (Chapter 4).
    1. Set the Host Port Selection feature to "RS232, Modem Control".
    2. Set the transmit and receive speeds to match your modem's.