In junior high, before my family had a "real" computer, I cranked out many a school report on my parent's Panasonic Penwriter word processor. It was like an electronic typewriter with a tiny LCD display for entering text, but instead of a daisy wheel or something it had four color pens controlled by servos and some limited ability to do vector graphics, I remember doing some really nice-looking pie charts and bar graphs with it on bean sprout growth statistics. Way sharper and clearer than modern cheap inkjet printer output. <https://imgur.com/a/wPN27Fj> I recall it had a PC interface of some type maybe a parallel port, I was thinking today you could probably get it to spit out some really slick schematics if you could figure out how to talk to it appropriately from a PC. Who knows if it would still be possible to find the pen refills for the thing, though.
Semi OT: vintage word processing
Started by ●September 10, 2018
Reply by ●September 10, 20182018-09-10
On 09/10/2018 12:45 AM, bitrex wrote:> In junior high, before my family had a "real" computer, I cranked out > many a school report on my parent's Panasonic Penwriter word processor. > It was like an electronic typewriter with a tiny LCD display for > entering text, but instead of a daisy wheel or something it had four > color pens controlled by servos and some limited ability to do vector > graphics, I remember doing some really nice-looking pie charts and bar > graphs with it on bean sprout growth statistics. Way sharper and clearer > than modern cheap inkjet printer output. > > <https://imgur.com/a/wPN27Fj> > > I recall it had a PC interface of some type maybe a parallel port, I was > thinking today you could probably get it to spit out some really slick > schematics if you could figure out how to talk to it appropriately from > a PC. Who knows if it would still be possible to find the pen refills > for the thing, though.I remember it was kinda mesmerizing to watch it print because unlike a regular electronic typewriter the paper would jitter in and out in the carriage as the pens moved side-to-side to draw the text and images...
Reply by ●September 10, 20182018-09-10
On 9/10/18 12:48 AM, bitrex wrote:> On 09/10/2018 12:45 AM, bitrex wrote: >> In junior high, before my family had a "real" computer, I cranked out >> many a school report on my parent's Panasonic Penwriter word >> processor. It was like an electronic typewriter with a tiny LCD >> display for entering text, but instead of a daisy wheel or something >> it had four color pens controlled by servos and some limited ability >> to do vector graphics, I remember doing some really nice-looking pie >> charts and bar graphs with it on bean sprout growth statistics. Way >> sharper and clearer than modern cheap inkjet printer output. >> >> <https://imgur.com/a/wPN27Fj> >> >> I recall it had a PC interface of some type maybe a parallel port, I >> was thinking today you could probably get it to spit out some really >> slick schematics if you could figure out how to talk to it >> appropriately from a PC. Who knows if it would still be possible to >> find the pen refills for the thing, though. > > I remember it was kinda mesmerizing to watch it print because unlike a > regular electronic typewriter the paper would jitter in and out in the > carriage as the pens moved side-to-side to draw the text and images...I really liked my HP 7475 and 7550 pen plotters. Made beautiful plots if the pens were newish. The 7550 had a turret for multiple colours. Cheers Phil Hobbs -- Dr Philip C D Hobbs Principal Consultant ElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOptics Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics Briarcliff Manor NY 10510 http://electrooptical.net http://hobbs-eo.com
Reply by ●September 10, 20182018-09-10
On Mon, 10 Sep 2018 00:45:53 -0400, bitrex <user@example.net> wrote:>In junior high, before my family had a "real" computer, I cranked out >many a school report on my parent's Panasonic Penwriter word processor. >It was like an electronic typewriter with a tiny LCD display for >entering text, but instead of a daisy wheel or something it had four >color pens controlled by servos and some limited ability to do vector >graphics, I remember doing some really nice-looking pie charts and bar >graphs with it on bean sprout growth statistics. Way sharper and clearer >than modern cheap inkjet printer output. > ><https://imgur.com/a/wPN27Fj> > >I recall it had a PC interface of some type maybe a parallel port, I was >thinking today you could probably get it to spit out some really slick >schematics if you could figure out how to talk to it appropriately from >a PC. Who knows if it would still be possible to find the pen refills >for the thing, though.That was a pen plotter. Pen plotters were heavily used in engineering, drafting, and architecture in their day. They had several problems that made them less popular than inkjet printers, which eventually replaced pen plotters. Pen plotters were slow, expensive, were slow, tended to clog the pens, were slow, were messy to refill the pens, were slow, used felt tip pens that always ran out of ink in the middle of a plot, were slow, and guzzled ink when doing area fills or large drawings. Did I mention that they were slow? They were mostly ok for line drawings, but miserable for anything with shading or area fills. You can probably buy a pen plotter today, but it will probably be used: <https://www.google.com/search?q=pen+plotter&tbm=isch> I had several small HP pen plotters, but disposed of them long ago. If you're creative, you can take an XY plotter 2.5 axis (the 0.5 is for pen lift) by one of the Chinese imported desktop CNC routers and convert it into a tolerable pen plotter. However, it will probably be slow. Back in the 1980's(???), one of my sidelines was maintaining a Xynetics flatbed plotter for my employer: <https://www.google.com/search?q=xynetics+plotter&tbm=isch> I was called because it took forever for the factory service person to arrive while I was already on site (or nearby). According to the ancient adage "if it moves, it breaks" and the Xynetics plotters certainly had a large number of moving parts. -- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
Reply by ●September 10, 20182018-09-10
On 09/10/2018 01:29 PM, Phil Hobbs wrote:> On 9/10/18 12:48 AM, bitrex wrote: >> On 09/10/2018 12:45 AM, bitrex wrote: >>> In junior high, before my family had a "real" computer, I cranked out >>> many a school report on my parent's Panasonic Penwriter word >>> processor. It was like an electronic typewriter with a tiny LCD >>> display for entering text, but instead of a daisy wheel or something >>> it had four color pens controlled by servos and some limited ability >>> to do vector graphics, I remember doing some really nice-looking pie >>> charts and bar graphs with it on bean sprout growth statistics. Way >>> sharper and clearer than modern cheap inkjet printer output. >>> >>> <https://imgur.com/a/wPN27Fj> >>> >>> I recall it had a PC interface of some type maybe a parallel port, I >>> was thinking today you could probably get it to spit out some really >>> slick schematics if you could figure out how to talk to it >>> appropriately from a PC. Who knows if it would still be possible to >>> find the pen refills for the thing, though. >> >> I remember it was kinda mesmerizing to watch it print because unlike a >> regular electronic typewriter the paper would jitter in and out in the >> carriage as the pens moved side-to-side to draw the text and images... > > I really liked my HP 7475 and 7550 pen plotters. Made beautiful plots > if the pens were newish. The 7550 had a turret for multiple colours. > > Cheers > > Phil Hobbs >They're pretty cheap on eBay but like a lot of HP stuff of that era srs boatanchors. Maybe when I get the new office. I was too young to make use of them much for real work in the era I'm a little annoyed I missed out.
Reply by ●September 10, 20182018-09-10
On 09/10/2018 02:56 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:> On Mon, 10 Sep 2018 00:45:53 -0400, bitrex <user@example.net> wrote: > >> In junior high, before my family had a "real" computer, I cranked out >> many a school report on my parent's Panasonic Penwriter word processor. >> It was like an electronic typewriter with a tiny LCD display for >> entering text, but instead of a daisy wheel or something it had four >> color pens controlled by servos and some limited ability to do vector >> graphics, I remember doing some really nice-looking pie charts and bar >> graphs with it on bean sprout growth statistics. Way sharper and clearer >> than modern cheap inkjet printer output. >> >> <https://imgur.com/a/wPN27Fj> >> >> I recall it had a PC interface of some type maybe a parallel port, I was >> thinking today you could probably get it to spit out some really slick >> schematics if you could figure out how to talk to it appropriately from >> a PC. Who knows if it would still be possible to find the pen refills >> for the thing, though. > > That was a pen plotter. Pen plotters were heavily used in > engineering, drafting, and architecture in their day. They had > several problems that made them less popular than inkjet printers, > which eventually replaced pen plotters. Pen plotters were slow, > expensive, were slow, tended to clog the pens, were slow, were messy > to refill the pens, were slow, used felt tip pens that always ran out > of ink in the middle of a plot, were slow, and guzzled ink when doing > area fills or large drawings. Did I mention that they were slow? They > were mostly ok for line drawings, but miserable for anything with > shading or area fills. > > You can probably buy a pen plotter today, but it will probably be > used: > <https://www.google.com/search?q=pen+plotter&tbm=isch> > I had several small HP pen plotters, but disposed of them long ago. > > If you're creative, you can take an XY plotter 2.5 axis (the 0.5 is > for pen lift) by one of the Chinese imported desktop CNC routers and > convert it into a tolerable pen plotter. However, it will probably be > slow. > > Back in the 1980's(???), one of my sidelines was maintaining a > Xynetics flatbed plotter for my employer: > <https://www.google.com/search?q=xynetics+plotter&tbm=isch> > I was called because it took forever for the factory service person to > arrive while I was already on site (or nearby). According to the > ancient adage "if it moves, it breaks" and the Xynetics plotters > certainly had a large number of moving parts. > >I found and ordered one of the Panasonics on eBay, $35 including shipping. The pens that come with it are all dried out of course but they seem suspiciously similar in design to the pens from the Atari 1020 plotter sold around the same time, there are instructional vids on how to refill those on YouTube. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_1020> God have mercy on my soul etc.
Reply by ●September 10, 20182018-09-10
On Mon, 10 Sep 2018 15:14:03 -0400, bitrex <user@example.net> wrote:>I found and ordered one of the Panasonics on eBay, $35 including >shipping. The pens that come with it are all dried out of course but >they seem suspiciously similar in design to the pens from the Atari 1020 >plotter sold around the same time, there are instructional vids on how >to refill those on YouTube. ><https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_1020>"Atari 1020 plotter pen refill / restoration" <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdVHkZwGZhk>>God have mercy on my soul etc.Masochist. There is no redemption or cure for the collector of ancient computer hardware. At least you have the good sense to collect small things[1]. As I barely recall, the Atari plotter was made by Alps: <https://www.google.com/search?q=alps+plotter+pens&tbm=isch> Also Commodore 1520 Plotter, Oric PCP40, Tandy CGP-115, Atari 1020, and Sharp CE-150. Yep, it's an Alps DPG-1302 plotter engine. <http://tandy.wiki/CGP-115> Lots of good info on replacing gears and refilling pens. [1] My vice is collecting old HP LED calculators. <http://www.learnbydestroying.com/jeffl/pics/calculators/> -- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
Reply by ●September 10, 20182018-09-10
On 09/10/2018 08:58 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:> On Mon, 10 Sep 2018 15:14:03 -0400, bitrex <user@example.net> wrote: > >> I found and ordered one of the Panasonics on eBay, $35 including >> shipping. The pens that come with it are all dried out of course but >> they seem suspiciously similar in design to the pens from the Atari 1020 >> plotter sold around the same time, there are instructional vids on how >> to refill those on YouTube. >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_1020> > > "Atari 1020 plotter pen refill / restoration" > <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdVHkZwGZhk> > >> God have mercy on my soul etc. > > Masochist. There is no redemption or cure for the collector of > ancient computer hardware. At least you have the good sense to > collect small things[1]. > > As I barely recall, the Atari plotter was made by Alps: > <https://www.google.com/search?q=alps+plotter+pens&tbm=isch> > Also Commodore 1520 Plotter, Oric PCP40, Tandy CGP-115, Atari 1020, > and Sharp CE-150. Yep, it's an Alps DPG-1302 plotter engine. > <http://tandy.wiki/CGP-115> > Lots of good info on replacing gears and refilling pens.The ad for the Panasonic from the Dec 1985 edition of Spin magazine is hilarious: <https://books.google.com/books?id=CBAN_GTP9B4C&lpg=PA24&dq=panasonic%20penwriter&pg=PA24#v=onepage&q=panasonic%20penwriter&f=false> The preferred electronic typewriter of ditzy college girls with dum boyfriends everywhere. who spend too much money. with short and HOT hair. As I remember it though the "convenient" correction ink system was finicky junk that never worked very well I just used White Out in a bottle.> [1] My vice is collecting old HP LED calculators. > <http://www.learnbydestroying.com/jeffl/pics/calculators/>I found myself looking at an HP 85 video the other day, I hope this illness isn't getting worse...:(
Reply by ●September 10, 20182018-09-10
On Tuesday, 11 September 2018 02:22:25 UTC+1, bitrex wrote:> The ad for the Panasonic from the Dec 1985 edition of Spin magazine is > hilarious: > > <https://books.google.com/books?id=CBAN_GTP9B4C&lpg=PA24&dq=panasonic%20penwriter&pg=PA24#v=onepage&q=panasonic%20penwriter&f=false> > > The preferred electronic typewriter of ditzy college girls with dum > boyfriends everywhere. who spend too much money. with short and HOT hair. > > As I remember it though the "convenient" correction ink system was > finicky junk that never worked very well I just used White Out in a bottle. > > > > [1] My vice is collecting old HP LED calculators. > > <http://www.learnbydestroying.com/jeffl/pics/calculators/> > > I found myself looking at an HP 85 video the other day, I hope this > illness isn't getting worse...:(Ads are always garbage. The machine was somewhat impressive for its day. But less than a line of display & 4k RAM wouldn't get far today. Well, for a pound maybe. NT
Reply by ●September 11, 20182018-09-11
On 09/10/2018 10:12 PM, tabbypurr@gmail.com wrote:> On Tuesday, 11 September 2018 02:22:25 UTC+1, bitrex wrote: > >> The ad for the Panasonic from the Dec 1985 edition of Spin magazine is >> hilarious: >> >> <https://books.google.com/books?id=CBAN_GTP9B4C&lpg=PA24&dq=panasonic%20penwriter&pg=PA24#v=onepage&q=panasonic%20penwriter&f=false> >> >> The preferred electronic typewriter of ditzy college girls with dum >> boyfriends everywhere. who spend too much money. with short and HOT hair. >> >> As I remember it though the "convenient" correction ink system was >> finicky junk that never worked very well I just used White Out in a bottle. >> >> >>> [1] My vice is collecting old HP LED calculators. >>> <http://www.learnbydestroying.com/jeffl/pics/calculators/> >> >> I found myself looking at an HP 85 video the other day, I hope this >> illness isn't getting worse...:( > > Ads are always garbage. The machine was somewhat impressive for its day. But less than a line of display & 4k RAM wouldn't get far today. Well, for a pound maybe. > > > NT >I'm interesting in seeing what it can do over its RS-232 interface. I bet maybe three people in history have attempted to.