Subject: Re: DeskWriters & Net/FreeBSD
To: Jan Isley <jan@bagend.atl.ga.us>
From: Bill Studenmund <wrstuden@loki.stanford.edu>
List: macbsd-general
Date: 07/05/1995 13:20:36
> 
> Greg Ames wrote:
> 
> > Yes, I am using ghostscript 2.6.2 to drive a DeskJet 560C (centronics
> > parallel) on my FreeBSD-equipped PC.  I tried to run a DeskWriter 550C
> > on one of the serial ports, but with no luck (about the only way I
> > could get it to print was "echo <string> > /dev/cuaa2")
> 
> I was about to attempt this very same thing, a serial DeskWriter on
> a PC running FreeBSD.  Any other suggestions?  It has appletalk also.

Unfortunatly I don't know of a PD/Shareware LocalTalk driver. :-(

To run serial, you need a serial port set for 57600 bps & hardware flow
control. Then just treat the printer like the DeskJet equivelant, and
you're fine. Just make sure the driver doesn't download fonts; I
haven't figured that part out. Dumping (compressed) raster graphics is
fine.

The problem I'm running into is that, under MacBSD, I don't have the
flow control correct. It seems that MacBSD either ignores the flow
control, or reacts too late (too many characters went out the pipe
first). :-(

I'm in the process of getting a ghostscript driver together for the
MacBSD people. gs should work fine on the pc, "straight out of the
box," after you wade through all the documentation. :-)

Oh, if you try this, you'll soon realize that there are two completely
independent DeskJet driver sets in gs. I've only tried one, but it
seems ok (when I used MacOS to dump the file).

> -- 
> Jan Isley <jan@bagend.atl.ga.us>
> If you couldn't find any weirdness, maybe we'll just have to make some!
>  -- Hobbes

Take care,

Bill