Burr Brown TM8400 Manual

[remmy1]

Folks, Here's some of the manual for the Burr Brown TM8400. I am posting the "setup" chapter and i will post more as soon as I get time.

Burr Brown TM8400 Setup

Communications and operating parameters of the TM8400 are selected interactively from the keyboard and stored in the unit's non-volatile battery-backed RAM so they may be recalled automatically the next time the terminal powers up.

Setup selections are made in a special Setup mode which prompts the operator through the various categories and choices using the display and function keys. After the initial setting of parameters, Setup need only be entered when an option is to be changed.

With the exception of communications-related parameters, many of the terminal's operating characteristics can also be altered by commands from the host computer.

In order to guard against accidental changes by untrained operators, the Setup mode is entered with a multiple key sequence keyed in after the terminal's power-up self-test routine.

Since the keyboard of the TM8400 is redefinable, some care should be taken that the keys used by the Setup routine are defined and accessible if it is desired to change the terminal's parameters.

Prompts for the Setup mode are displayed in English, French, or German. The choice of the prompt language is actually the first category presented in Setup mode.

Placing the terminal in SETUP mode

• Apply power to the terminal.
• Wait for beep tone and Self-Test message: TM8400 Vxx.xx Self Test Ok
• Wait for module identification message: Communication - RS-422, Peripheral - Barcode,  Auxiliary - None
• Press "2nd" key, followed by "CTRL".

You have five seconds to press these keys after the module identification message appears. If no key is pressed, the terminal will begin normal operation. Note that if the keyboard layout has been redefined, the Setup function may have been moved to another key.


Several keys are used by the terminal operator when in Setup mode:

• NEXT (F1) : Displays the next Setup category and its currently selected option on the top line of the display
• PREV (F2) : Displays the previous Setup category and its currently selected option on the top line of the display
• SEL (F3) : Selects and displays the next option for the current category. Used to step through the choices in any particular category
• EXIT (F6) : Leave Setup and begin normal operation. Exit leaves selected options in volatile memory and does not save them in battery-backed RAM
• SAVE (F8) : Saves the current configuration in battery-backed RAM but does not Exit

These keys and their functions are displayed on the protected bottom line of the display. The category and currently selected option are shown on the first line of the display. For example:



Following is a listing of the Setup categories and the available options. Note that some selections are not required for certain terminal modes and will not be prompted for. Only English prompts are shown.

Setup = English, Deutsch, Francais

This category selects the language in which all subsequent prompts will be displayed

Terminal Mode = Monitor, Block, Character

This category selects the terminal's operating mode as described later in this user's guide. Block mode must be selected for multidrop applications or when buffering of input and output messages is desired.

Address = 00 (non-polled), 01, 02 ... 30, 31, 32

This category selects the terminal's optional multidrop address and is displayed only if block mode was previously selected. If any address other than "00" is selected, the terminal operates in polled mode, transmitting data only when requested by the host computer (see poll command).

Setup Baud Rate = 300, 600, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200

This category selects the communications speed for transmitting and receiving on the host interface. The baud rate must be set to match that of the host computer.

Data Format = 7 bits odd parity, 7 bits even parity, 7 bits mark parity, 7 bits space parity, bits no parity

This category selects the communications word length and parity. The data format selected must be compatible with that used on the host computer. The parity bit is ignored if mark or space parity is selected. All formats generate one stop bit.

Line Terminator = ETX, CR, LF, CRLF

This category selects the line or message terminator. In block mode operation, this character (sequence) defines the end of a received message block and is appended to any message transmitted from the terminal. In character mode, the line terminator is the character (sequence) which is transmitted when the ENTER key is depressed.

Setup Handshaking = None (Data Leads Only), Modem Control, XON/XOFF

This category determines whether flow control handshaking is used by the terminal on its host interface. When "None" is selected, only the TX data and RX data lines are used. When "Modem Control" is selected, the terminal asserts RTS and DTR and responds to CTS. The selection in this category is ignored on communications modules which do not have these signal lines. When "XON/XOFF" is selected, the ASCII <DC1> and <DC3> control characters are used to control transmission in both directions. The "XON/XOFF" choice will appear only when "Character" mode operation has been selected.

Turnaround Delay = 0ms, 10ms, 20ms, 30ms, 40ms, 50ms, 100ms, 250ms, 500ms, 1s

This category selects the communications turnaround delay used in block mode operation. Turnaround delay is the length of time the terminal will wait between a request to transmit data (such as the poll or echo commands) and the actual transmission of that data.

Backlight = Off, On, Auto On/Off

This category controls the operation of the display backlight. When "Auto On/Off" is selected, the backlight will automatically turn off after 10 minutes of inactivity. The light will then come back on with any input from the keyboard, peripheral, or auxiliary input.

Input Display = Free Format, One message per line

This category controls the display of input messages in block mode. When Free Format is selected, each new message is displayed beginning at the present cursor position. One message per line causes the terminal to begin a new line with each message received.

Auto Wrap = Off, On

The "Auto Wrap" setting controls the movement of the display cursor after it reaches the rightmost position of the virtual display.   When "Auto Wrap" is "On", the cursor will automatically move to the first position of the next line. When set to "Off", the cursor will remain at the right boundary of the display until a <CR> or other cursor movement character is received.

Newline = No, Yes

The "Newline" setting determines how the display will handle the <CR> and <LF> control characters. When set to Yes, a received <CR> or <LF> is expanded to a <CRLF> sequence, causing the display cursor to move to the first position of the next line.

Display Width = 40, 80

This category determines the width of the terminal's virtual display. When set to 80, the display window will scroll horizontally as well as vertically.

Local Echo = Off, On

This category determines whether characters entered from the keyboard, peripheral or auxiliary input are written to the display before being transmitted. This selection is made only in character mode.

Key Repeat = Off, On

This category determines whether data entry keys will repeat if held down.

Key Click = Off, On

When Key Click is set to On, the beeper is sounded to provide audible feedback for each key depression.

Peripheral mode = Off, Auto, Manual

This category determines the operation of the optional peripheral scanner. When set to "Auto", each code scanned is automatically transmitted when the terminal is in block mode, or automatically terminated in character mode. Setting the mode to "Off" disables the scanner.

Symbology = 3 of 9, Full ASCII 3 of 9, 2 of 5, Interleaved 2 of 5, EAN/UPC, Auto Discriminate

This category selects the barcode symbology which can be read when a barcode scanner is used. When set to "Auto Discriminate", the terminal will automatically identify and decode all symbologies (with the exception of Full ASCII 3 of 9). When any individual code is selected, the terminal will read only that code.

In addition to setting these parameters, the contrast or viewing angle of the LCD display is also adjustable from the keyboard. Two special symbols are located on the keyboard to indicate the functions +view (lighter) and -view (darker).



To adjust the view angle, press the maroon 2nd key and then hold down the appropriate view key until the display is easily readable.

[drives-technician]

This is the "display information" from the manual:

Burr Brown TM8400 Display

The TM8400's LC display can be thought of as a window into a virtual screen of 1920 characters. The display is buffered in a circular fashion so that as the screen becomes full, new data entered at the bottom of the screen causes the screen to scroll upward.

The point at which characters are entered into the display is indicated by a flashing cursor, which may or may not be visible in the window. Characters written to the display can be made to flash under software control.

The virtual screen may be 48 lines of 40 characters or 24 lines of 80 characters, depending on the display width setting . If the width is set to 80, the display window will move both horizontally and vertically.

When auto wrap is enabled, characters which exceed the screen width will continue on the next line; otherwise, excess characters will be lost.

The size of the visible window may be one line of 40 characters or two lines by 40 characters, depending on the display mode selected. When the single line window is used, the top line is a normal display line, and the bottom line is a protected line.

The protected line is always 40 characters in length. This line is fixed and does not scroll. Messages are written to the protected line by the host using the w command.

Since this line has no cursor, cursor control characters between the escape sequence and the command terminator are ignored. Characters written to the protected line will flash when flashing is enabled.



Several other parameters affect the way data is displayed. The display of output messages may be disabled for security and password applications by setting the Output Display parameter to Off.

In character mode operation, the Local Echo setting determines whether data entered into the terminal is displayed when it is transmitted to the host. If Local Echo is set to Off, the host must echo characters to the terminal for display.

Cursor Control

Characters are always entered into the display at the current cursor position. If a character is present at this location, it will be replaced by the new character.

When autowrap is disabled, the cursor will not move past the last character in the current line. This means that extra characters will replace the last display character if the number of characters between <CR>s exceeds the line length.

Several ASCII control characters are provided to control the position of the display cursor:

• <CR> (013)- move to the beginning of the current line


• <LF> (010)- move down to the next line in the current column


• <TAB> (009)- move forward one location in the virtual screen


• <BS> (008)- move back one location in the virtual screen


• <VT> (011)- move up to the previous line in the current column


• <FF> (012)- Clear the display buffer and move the cursor and the window to the beginning of the buffer, (the protected line is not affected)


• <DEL> (127)- Delete the character before the cursor

When any of the above characters would cause the cursor to move before the beginning of the virtual screen, it is ignored. The cursor may, however, be made to move past the end of the virtual screen, causing the display to scroll.

The Newline and Input Display parameters affect the movement of the cursor and placement of data on the screen.

When Newline is set to On, individual <CR> and <LF> control characters are converted to <CRLF> sequences, moving the cursor to the first position of the next line.

Setting Input Display to One Message per Line causes the terminal to add a <CRLF> sequence to the beginning of each new message received in block mode, resulting in one message per line.

The selection of the Line Terminator in block mode operation can affect whether or not <CR> and <LF> characters sent from the host computer will ever reach the display.

If the terminator is set to <CR>, any <CR> received will be interpreted as an end of message and stripped off.

Likewise, if set to <CRLF>, any <CRLF> sequence received will be stripped off before reaching the display, however, individual <CR>'s not followed by a <LF> or <LF>'s not preceded by a <CR> will reach the display.

Setting the line terminator to <ETX> is suggested when possible to avoid this problem.

Cursor Fonts

The cursor appears as one of four display fonts, depending on the current status of the keyboard.

The standard cursor is an underscore: (_)

When the 2nd key has been pressed, a shift cursor is displayed (s )

Pressing the CTRL key also changes the cursor (c )

Pressing CTRL followed by 2nd produces a fourth cursor font (cs )

The purpose of these cursor changes is to indicate that the next key pressed will be modified by the 2nd or CTRL functions.

Movement of Display Window

The cursor and display window can be moved independently of each other. The display window can be in one of two states. When the window is home, the window always contains the cursor and follows it if it moves beyond the limits of the visible display.

When a two line window is used, the cursor stays on the bottom line of the window, except when the window is at the top of the virtual display and the cursor is in the first line (of the virtual screen).

Several keys allow the operator to manually move the display window away from its home position to view other sections of the virtual screen. These keys are located above the numeric keys on the right side of the keyboard.



An attempt by the operator to move the window in any direction beyond the boundaries of the virtual screen will result in an error beep.

When the window has been moved away from home, it may or may not contain the cursor but does not follow it.

If the display window is moved away from home and left in place, the window will track the text being viewed until it scrolls off the top of the virtual screen. New messages from the host will not be visible in the display if the window has been moved away from the cursor position.

There are two ways for the operator to return the window to the home position so that if will again follow the cursor.

Entering a new message on the keyboard or peripheral will automatically return the window to home, or, the operator may press the HOME key .

Moving the window back with the arrow keys until the cursor is seen will not home the window. To home the window from the host computer, a <FF> may be sent to clear the screen.

The I command may be used to home the window without clearing the screen. This is done by simulating a keyboard entry as described in the example in chapter 4.

In interactive applications using character mode, it may be desirable to redefine the window movement keys so that they instead transmit the characters <VT>,<LF>,<BS>,and <TAB>.

This allows the host to keep track of the position of the window by moving it only with echoed cursor controls. The window would then never leave home.

"Virtual" Screen in Memory



Output Pending Status Indicator

In multidropped operation, an Output Pending condition can exist when the operator has entered data which has not yet been requested by the host.

This condition is indicated by a flashing "Op" in the lower right corner of the display. If this position is occupied by a character the "Op" symbol will alternate with that character so that both can be seen.



Display Backlight Control

For ease of viewing in low light, the display has an electroluminescent backlight. This backlight may be switched on and off under software control.

In order to extend the life of the light source, the backlight features a special Auto On/Off mode which will turn the light off after 10 minutes of inactivity (no input into the terminal).

The display will come on again automatically with any keyboard, peripheral, or auxiliary input. The host may also retrigger the backlight using the f command.

Display Character Set

The following table contains the set of characters which the TM8400 will display. All of the standard printable ASCII characters with codes between 032 and 126 (decimal) may be displayed.

[drives-technician]

This is from the chapter on the keyboard:

Keyboard

The TM8400 keyboard provides for manual data entry. There are 51 key locations on the standard keyboard (providing 102 key functions if the 2nd key is used). All keys feature 2-key rollover as well as optional auto repeat and keyclick sound.

The keyboard may be logically redefined and physically rearranged to suit many applications.

The are four general classes of key functions as listed below. All keys are shown in their default locations.

Alphabetic Keys

The alpha portion of the keyboard allows entry of alphabetic characters and special symbols. Characters printed directly on the keycap are entered by pressing the key. Characters printed above the key (shifted functions) are entered by first pressing the 2nd key, then the desired key.

For example, 2nd D would enter the "(" character.

Alphabetic keys are normally entered as upper case. Pressing the A<-»a key (2nd followed by CTRL on the standard keyboard) will switch the keyboard to lower case mode. Pressing this key sequence again will return to upper case mode. (Lower case mode causes the terminal to add 32 to the character code of any character between 065 ("A") and 090 ("Z") thereby generating the corresponding lower case character. Keys with codes outside this range are not affected by the case setting.)



Numeric Keys

The numeric keypad is separate from the alphabetic keys for ease of entering numbers. The arrangement of these keys on the standard keyboard is similar to that used on a telephone.



Programmable Function Keys

Eight programmable function keys are located in a row under the display. Each of these keys may be programmed by the host to enter a message up to 40 characters in length. Functions F1 through F8 are entered by pressing the appropriate key. F9 through F16 are entered by first pressing the 2nd key.

Internally, the TM8400 stores two sets of 16 function messages, referred to as the lower and upper function banks. The host computer may choose which bank of function messages is accessed from the keyboard by using the k command.

If the upper bank is selected, the key functions F1 through F16 will enter function messages F17 through F32 respectively. Function messages are stored in non-volatile memory and retained when power is off.



Special Function Keys

Several keys have special functions. The four directional arrows and the HOME function located above the numeric keys allow the operator to move the display window.
The 2nd key selects the shifted function of the key pressed immediately following it.

The CTRL key algorithmically modifies the keycode transmitted by the key following it, producing the corresponding ASCII control character. (This affects only characters with codes between 064 and 095. Control character codes are generated by subtracting 64 from the normal code.) For example, CTRL followed by G will produce the <BEL> character.
Both the 2nd and CTRL keys cause the cursor to change font, indicating that the next key pressed will be modified.

The A<->a key switches the keyboard between upper and lower case mode for alphabetic characters.

The above special function keys are local and do not transmit characters themselves.

The DEL and CLEAR functions are local in block mode only but transmit <DEL> and <FF> respectively when in character mode. The operation of these keys is described in chapters 10 and 11.




Keyboard Redefinition

The TM8400's keyboard consists of 51 keys.  Each of these key locations has a unique number between 00 and 55.



The keyboard layout may be redefined by the user to suit a particular application. It is also possible to modify the terminal's character set by assigning characters other than the default ones to keys.

Keyboard redefinition is done by using the host I (lower case "L") command, specifying a normal and shifted code for each location to be defined. Any individual key may be changed without affecting the others. The key definitions are stored in non-volatile memory and retained on power off.

A set of key codes has been defined. Codes 001-127 are the standard ASCII character set. Codes 128-159 designate keys requiring special action. Codes 160-255 are reserved for future use.
The action taken for a particular key code never changes; however, a key code can be assigned to any physical location.

For example, if the letter D is desired, some key must be assigned the code (068). Likewise, a key must be assigned the code (128) if keys are to have shifted functions.

The following table lists the special action codes which may be assigned to keys. Invalid special action codes will be ignored. Assigning a key the code (000) will disable that key.




* Not included in default keyboard layout. These functions may be added to the keyboard if desired, window top left causes the display window to move to the top left corner of the virtual display (the classical home position on a CRT terminal). Window left margin and window right margin are useful when the virtual display width is set to 80.

Removal of Keycaps

The bezel containing the plastic keycaps may be removed for cleaning or physical rearrangement of keys. Insert a small screwdriver in the two indentations at the bottom of the bezel and gently pry upward. When replacing the key bezel, always insert the top edge first and then snap the bottom into place.



Individual key caps may be snapped out of place by pressing from the front once the bezel is removed.

[pender78]

Is this from the Burr Brown programming manual? I'm mainly looking for info on how to program the Burr Brown TM8400. I have a machine that has one of these keypads and it was shut down for probably years and now the keypad is blank so I want to check if it has retained its parameters.
Thanks,
P.T.

[remmy1]

I'm only aware of one manual, just says it's the TM8400 Microterminal, it doesn't specify programming, it's more or less the  general setup guide for this device.