Hex-dump Mode PcOS Series 150 Programmer's Guide

Page 92 Rev G12/14/99
Chapter 8:Hex-dump Mode
Hex-dump mode is entered by pressing and holding the RESUME and RELEASE keys at power up. This
mode is used to diagnose communication problems with the printer. As information is received by the
printer, the information is converted to a HEX/ASCII format and printed. No translation is made which
means that no commands are interpreted. All information is converted to HEX/ASCII and printed on the
receipt tape. If a carriage return is sent to the printer, it will be translated to 0D in the HEX field and "."
in the ASCII field.
The format is as follows:
54 68 69 73 20 69 73 20 This is
61 20 74 65 73 74 0D 0A a test..
There are several indications of printer and host communication problems that can be deduced from this
test. If the printer is printing all 40 "@" symbols, the parity or the number of bits is wrong. If the printer
is printing some Hex 40 "@" symbols when it should be printing other characters, either the parity, baud
rate, or the bit length setting is wrong. If the printer prints incorrect characters (like Hex C1 instead of
Hex 41 "A"), it is set for 8-bit data, and the host is set for 7-bit. In most cases, the print problem can be
traced to the host and printer not being configured in the same way.