EPSON

PX-16 BASE UNIT
OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS


This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation. .

NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his own expense.

Trademark Acknowledgements
MS-DOS and GW-BASIC are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

Notice
All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part of this manual in any form whatsoever without Epson's express written permission is forbidden. The contents of this manual are subject to change without notice.

All efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of this manual*. However, should any errors be detected, Epson would greatly appreciate being informed of them.

The above notwithstanding, Epson can assume no responsibility for any errors in this manual or their consequences.

Copyright © 1988 by SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION Nagano, Japan


OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS

1. Overview

The PX-16 is a 16-bit portable computer, which is very compact, and light weighted.

The modular structure is one of the major features of the PX-16. Users can build up their own PX-16 system by adding option units to the PX-16 Base unit according to their needs. Therefore, the PX-16 Base unit is the core of the PX-16 system.

This document describes how to setting up the PX-16 Base unit. In addition to this document, the PX-16 Base unit package should contain the following items:

< OPERATING COMPONENTS>

Operating components overview


A Cartridge 2 I/F KSub battery U Jumper 7 (J7)
B ROM 1 switch (SW8) Expansion I/F LConnector 11 (CN11) V DIP switch (SW5)
C Main CPU M ROM 2 switch (SW7) W System reset switch
D (8087 option) N ROM 3 switch (SW6) X Cartridge 1 I/F
E Connector 9 (CN9) O Power switch Y Power indicator
F Connector 10 (CN10) P Reset switch 1 Printer I/F
G ROM 1 Q System clock select switch 2 System bus
H ROM 0 (SYSTEM ROM) R Barcode reader I/F 3 AC adapter jack
I ROM 3 S RS0232 C I/F 4 Cartridge 1 lock switch
J ROM 2 T RAM board connectors 5 Main battery
        6 Battery box
        7 Back-up switch


2. Before setting up the PX-16

Before setting up the PX-16 system, note the following points:
WARNING

To install option units, please refer to the "OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS" of each unit.

<INSTALLING THE BATTERY>

When you set up the PX-16 for the first time, you must install the main battery to the PX-16 Base unit. (After you installed the RAM board, the Standard keyboard or the Touch keyboard.) Procedure is as follows:

  1. Place the main battery in the battery box.
  2. Insert the battery connector to the plug.

    connecting the battery plug


  3. Put the lead wire of the main battery neatly in the battery box.
  4. Turn on the back up switch.

    battery switch

  5. Close the battery box cover.
  6. Fix the battery box cover with the screw.

    battery screw


3. Setting of the various switches

The PX-16 equips several switches with special functions. By set-ting these switches, the PX-16 can be expanded to various systems.

<POWER SWITCH>

To turn on the PX 16, press the power switch at the right side. To turn it off, press it once again.

JUMPER 7 (J7)

Jumper 7 is used to adjust the buzzer volume.

Setting Volume level
a Low
b High

The default J7 setting is "a" (Low).

<DIP SWITCH (SW5)>

There is one set of ten DIPswitches, which is located beside the cartridge 1 interface. The DIPswitch controls the various configu-rations. Turn off the PX-16 before changing the DIPswitch. The func-tion of these switches is: . The DIP switch settings when the PX-16 is shipped are as follows:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
OFF OFF OFF OFF ON OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF

Keyboard setting.
Display..............
FDD
Boot type.
ASCII
Color monitor, LCD80 (80 x 25) or
LCD40
2 drives
Disk Unit 720 KB (2DD)
HC boot without FDD/HDD

  • DIPswitch 8 is effective only when the disk unit is connected. When the TF-16 is connected, DIPswitch 8 has no meaning.

      1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 MEANING

    country

    OFF OFF OFF OFF             ASCII
    ON OFF OFF OFF             UK
    OFF ON OFF OFF             FRANCE
    ON ON OFF OFF             GERMANY
    OFF OFF ON OFF             ITALY
    ON OFF ON OFF             SPAIN
    OFF ON ON OFF             DENMARK
    ON ON ON OFF             FINLAND
    OFF OFF OFF ON             NORWAY
    ON OFF OFF ON             SWEDEN
    OFF ON OFF ON             SWISS (FRENCH)
    ON ON OFF ON             SWISS (GERMAN)
    OFF OFF ON ON             (Reserved)
    ON OFF ON ON             (Reserved)
    OFF ON ON ON             JAPANESE
    ON ON ON ON             JAPANESE

    display

            OFF OFF         MONOCHROME CRT, LCD40
            ON OFF         COLOR CRT, LCD80 (80x25) LCD40
            OFF ON         COLOR CRT, LCD80 (40x25) LCD40
            ON ON         NO DISPLAY

    fdd

                OFF       FDD 2 DRIVES
                ON       FDD 1 DRIVE
                  OFF     720 KB (3.5 inch, 2DD)
                  ON     1.2 MB (3.5 inch, 2HD)

    BOOT

    TYPE

                    OFF OFF HC BOOT, WITHOUT FDD/HDD
                    ON OFF HC BOOT, WITH FDD/HDD RAM PREFERENCE
                    OFF ON HC BOOT, WITH FDD/HDD FDD PREFERENCE
                    ON ON PC BOOT

    (*1) If you set the boot type to "PC boot", DIP switch settings 1 - 6 are ignored

    <BACK UP SWITCH>

    The back up switch in the battery box turns ON and OFF the sub-battery. Keep it turning on when the PX-16 is in operation. Turn it off during storage or when the PX-16 will not be used for a long time. The setting when the PX-16 is shipped from the factory is OFF. Please turn it on before use.

    <RESET SWITCH>

    When the reset switch is pressed, the system will be initialized. All devices are reset except the slave CPU. The contents of the RAM disk will be kept.

    <SYSTEM RESET SWITCH>

    When this switch is pressed, the system will be initialized. The system reset switch has the following different points to the reset switch.

    <SYSTEM CLOCK SELECT SWITCH>

    This switch changes the CPU clock speed. The CPU clock speed is either 4.77 MHz or 10 MHz. Before changing the clock speed, please turn off the PX-16 Base unit. The default setting is 10 MHz.

    System clock select switch

    System clock select switch
    H: 10 MHz (default setting) L: 4.77 MHz

    <ROM SWITCH

    The ROM switches located on the motherboard of the PX-16 Base unit select the type of application ROM. When an application ROM is installed to the ROM socket, the ROM switches must be adjusted according to the ROM type. There are 3 pairs of ROM switches.
    ROM 1 switch (SW8) ROM 2 switch (SW7) ROM 3 switch (SW6)
    Selects the type of ROM 1 Selects the type of ROM 2 Selects the type of ROM 3

    ROM switch

    1 2 Usable ROM
    ON OFF 27C256 or 256Kbit CMOS mask ROM
    ON ON 27C512 or 512Kbit CMOS mask ROM
    X ON 27C1001
    OFF ON 2M, 4M bit CMOS mask ROM

    The default setting is 1:OFF, 2:ON.

    X means that the setting of that DIPswitch has no affect in that situation.

    4. Boot type

    There are 2 different ways to boot up the PX-16. They are:

    PC boot
    HC boot

    There are 3 ways to boot up the PX-16 in HC boot. They are:

    HC boot without FDD
    HC boot with FDD, RAM preference
    HC boot with FDD, FDD preference

    By switching the DIP switch 9 and 10, boot type can be changed.

    <HC BOOT>

    When the PX-16 is turned on in HC boot, the PX-16 DOS in the SYSTEM ROM will be executed. To use the unique functions with the PX-16, boot up the PX-16 in HC boot. There are 3 modes for the HC boot.

    a. WITHOUT FDD/HDD:

    When the TF-16 or the Disk unit is not connected or you do not use them, boot up the PX-16 in this mode. The allocation of the drives are:

    Drive A..................... RAM Disk
    Drive B ..................... ROM 0 (SYSTEM ROM)
    Drive C ..................... ROM 1
    Drive D..................... ROM 2
    Drive E ..................... ROM 3
    Drive F ..................... Cartridge 1
    Drive G
    to ................... Expansion device
    Drive Z

    b. WITH FDD/HDD, RAM PREFERENCE:

    Same devices as the above are allocated from Drive A to F.

    Drive G..................... FDD Drive 1
    Drive H..................... FDD Drive 2
    Drive I ...................... HDD
    Drive J
    to ..................... Expansion device
    Drive Z

    If the HDD (Disk Unit Type 3) is not connected, drive J advances to drive I. If you connect the Disk unit Type 1 (1 FDD) or Type 3 (1 FDD and 1 HDD ), set the DIP switch 7 to ON. Single Drive can be used as drive G and H.

    c. WITH FDD/HDD, FDD PREFERENCE:

    The difference between the RAM preference and the FDD preference is the drive allocation. For the FDD preference, the drive names are allocated from the FDD. The allocation of the drives are as follows:

    Drive A ..................... FDD Drive 1
    Drive B ..................... FDD Drive 2
    Drive C ..................... HDD
    Drive D ..................... RAM Disk
    Drive E ..................... ROM 0 (SYSTEM ROM)
    Drive F ..................... ROM1
    Drive G ..................... ROM2
    Drive H ..................... ROM3
    Drive I ..................... Cartridge 1
    Drive J ..................... Expansion device
    to Drive Z

    If the HDD (Disk Unit Type 3) is not connected, drive D advances to drive C. If you connect the Disk unit Type 1 (1 FDD) or Type 3 (1 FDD and 1 HDD), set the DIP switch 7 to ON. Single Drive can be used as drive A and B.

    <PC BOOT>

    When the PX-16 is turned on in PC boot, the PX-16 DOS in the SYSTEM ROM is not used. Instead of that, the PX-16 is turned on using the DOS in the floppy disk (TF-16 or Disk unit).

    When the PX-16 is turned on in PC boot, special functions unique to the PX-16 are unavailable. Drives are allocated as follows:

    A drive B drive. C drive

    FDD Drive 1 FDD Drive 2 HDD

    NOTE: When the PX-16 is turned on in PC boot without connecting the FDD, following error message is displayed.

    601 -Diskette error F1 key to resume

    When this message is displayed, connect the FDD, insert the system disk in it and press the F1 key.

    5. Charging the PX-16

    The PX-16 can be operated with the NiCd battery or with the AC adapter. When the AC adapter is connected to the PX-16 Base unit, power is supplied from the AC adapter and the main battery is charged. When the AC adapter is disconnected, power is supplied from the main battery.

    If the voltage of the main battery drops below a certain level when the AC adapter is disconnected, the power indicator flickers. If this happens, connect the AC adapter. The duration to recharge the main battery fully is about 15 hours whether the power of the PX-16 Base unit is ON or OFF.

    Procedure to recharge the battery is as follows:

    1. Connect the end of the AC cable to the AC adapter's input socket.
    2. Plug the other end of the AC adapter into the electrical wall out- let. Confirm that the LED on the AC adapter is turned on. plugging in the AC adapter
    3. Insert the AC adapter to the jack of the PX-16.

    connecting the AC adapter to the PX-16

    WARNING

    6. Power failure

    When the voltage of the battery drops below a certain level approximately 4.75V, the power indicator will flicker. When this happens, connect the AC adapter to the PX-16 Base unit.

    The procedure to follow after low voltage is detected is different according to the boot type.

    <HC BOOT>

    2 minutes after low voltage is detected, the PX-16 is turned off auto- matically. (The period to turn off the PX-16 after low battery is detected can be changed by software.)

    When the PX-16 is turned on once again, the PX-16 starts in resume start, which means that the execution continues from the point at which it was interrupted.

    <PC BOOT>

    4 minutes after low voltage is detected, the PX-16 is turned off auto- matically.

    When the PX-16 is turned on once again, the PX-16 always executes warm boot. When warm boot is executed, the system boots up again.

    CPU Main CPU V20 (4.77/10MHz Selectable)
    Slave CPU µPD78106
    RAM Main RAM 256KB (Standard), 640KB (MAX.)
    Expansion RAM Disk 0 KB (Standard), 768 KB (MAX.)
    ROM System ROM MS-DOS Ver 3.2, GW BASIC, Utilities
    Application ROM Zero Insertion Force socket x 3 CMOS EPROM: 256Kbit,
    512Kbit or 1Mbit CMOS MASK ROM: 256Kbit, 512Kbit,
    2Mbit or 4Mbit
    I/F Interface Cartridge 1
    Cartridge 2
    Expansion Interface
    System Bus
    Printer Interface
    RS-232C Interface
    Barcode Reader Interface
    Size Width 315 mm
    Depth 224 mm
    Height 47 mm
    Weight Base unit + Standard keyboard + LCD40: Approx. 2.1 kg
    Base unit + Standard keyboard + LCD80: Approx. 2.9 kg
    Environment Temperature Operating 5°-35°C (40°-95°F)
    Data Integrity 5°-35°C (40°-95°F)
    Storage -20°--50°C (-5°--122°F)
    Humidity Operating 10-80% (Non-condensing)
    Storage 10-80% (Non-condensing)
    Vibration Frequency 5-150 Hz
    Acceleration 1-?G

    Note: Specifications are subject to change without notice.