Hi,
the Silver-Reed EX44 has a front-panel edge-connector, which was used e.g. for the M40 "Memorymatic". And there was a RS232 adapter available for it.
Of course, this is unobtainium today, I can’t find one, but I’d love to connect the typewriter to a machine of the same era, via RS232 serial port. Does anybody know how to connect it? And/or the pinout of the edge connector?
Regards
Götz
All I'm turning up are a lot of forum threads that start like this one and don't really go anywhere. There is mention that these are an "Olivetti copy" I don't know whether that means a work-a-like, unauthorised reverse engineered thing, like a compaq was an IBM PC "copy" or whether they mean it was licensed manufactured or badge engineered identical.
Unicorn herding operations are proceeding, but all the totes of hens teeth and barrels of rocking horse poop give them plenty of hiding spots.
Probably doesn't help much, but here's a scan of the I/F44, which was apparently a parallel port adapter: https://etzone.org/2021/04/12/silver-reed-i-f … erating-manual/. Looking on ebay turned up a Memorymatic M44, which the photos show as having a 26 core ribbon cable going from the M44 to the EX44. I'd guess the edge connector is some form of parallel port, with the I/F44 acting as a character set translator. I haven't found anything about a serial interface though.
snufkin wrote on 2021-09-01, 10:51:Probably doesn't help much, but here's a scan of the I/F44, which was apparently a parallel port adapter: https://etzone.org/2021/04/12/silver-reed-i-f … erating-manual/. Looking on ebay turned up a Memorymatic M44, which the photos show as having a 26 core ribbon cable going from the M44 to the EX44. I'd guess the edge connector is some form of parallel port, with the I/F44 acting as a character set translator. I haven't found anything about a serial interface though.
I own both the typewriter and the Memorymatic M44, which adds some "macros" functionality to the typewriter.
I’d like to connect it to a computer, though (preserving the Memorymatic, of course). I’d be happy about a parallel port, too, I just wasn’t aware of it and therefore asked for a RS232 version. Would be happy with anything 😀
I've had a look around and can't find any documentation of the port on the EX44. My guess is that it'll be some variation on a standard parallel port, but given the functionality of the M44 then the port must be bi-directional. From a quick read around the PS/2 had a bi-directional parallel port in 1987. The manual for the M44 is copyright 1982, so before there were any standards for bi-directional.
It should be possible to work out how the port works, but I think it'll need a bit of work either looking at the circuit boards, or using a multimeter (or logic analyser) on the port, or both, to work out what the pinout of the port is and how to make sure the EX44 is in receiving mode.
