Genicom 3600 manual Communications Problems

3600 Printer Maintenance Manual

Communications Problems

If a printer is not receiving downloaded data, consider the causes and solutions in this section.

Symptom	Possible Causes	Solution
Printer does not	Serial port is incorrectly	Make sure the printer’s serial port settings
communicate with the	configured.	match those of the host. Print a software test
host.		configuration label to check the serial port
		settings.
	Disconnected, damaged, or	Check the connections at both ends. Replace the
	incorrect I/O cable.	cable if necessary.

Any loss of data can cause printing errors or missing data. The 3600 printer is a serial ASCII device that communicates with the host through an ASCII serial communications port. The two devices communicate through the use of hardware and software protocols (handshaking). The printer utilizes both forms of handshaking simultaneously when the printer’s input buffer is full. Consider this process when troubleshooting.

Hardware handshaking uses pins 11 or 20 of the RS-232 interface to control data flow. When the printer is using Intermec “Standard” protocol, pin 11 and 20 are held high when the printer is ready to receive data. The pins are held low when the printer is in one of the following conditions:

∙Buffer full

∙Ribbon fault

∙No label stock

∙Label at strip pin

The 3600 printer uses XON/XOFF protocol for software handshaking. When the input buffer is full, the printer transmits an XOFF character. This character alerts the host to the fact that the printer buffer is full and cannot receive any more data. When the printer is ready to receive more data, it sends the XON character.

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