Hi, I'm new here.
I'm a 58 years old thecnology teacher with electronics hobby. Sorry for my poor English, I'm italian.
This is the very first time on this forum and suppose this is the right place to post an help request about an old Fluke 8860A multimeter that is making me crazy.....
I've got several PTI Fluke instruments, but this one is the only multimeter in this particular case: I own an 8600A and an 8810A too, but they are not in PTI case. All three multimeters seems to work properly (I've replaced all filtering capacitors, plus a relay and a resistor into the 8600A that came me bad).
All three multimeters are provided of data out interface, and I own a Fluke 2030A Thermal printer in PTI case too.
..... and here the question: 8600A and 8810A can be correctly interfaced with the printer, so display data is correctly printed on paper by the printer, but interfacing the 8860A seems to be impossible.
The 8860A printer port is somewhat of "one in its kind" data inteface: while data interface card into the 8600A and 8810A multimeters can be addressed by jumpers on the requested Address #5, the one inside the 8860A is part of the "calculating interface" and has no jumpers.
From multimeter's manuals, 8860A printer port can be used as programmable data out port and switching between printer port / data port is hardware made acting on pin 18 of data connector.
Connecting the keyboard to the multimeter, choosing "run" in remote mode and requiring display printing ( "down" key plus "print X" one), results in no printing. Forcing printer to output (print "single" key) resultds in printing "BUS DOWN" message.
As I know about 2030A printer, it is capable to print from up to nine instruments, connected on printer input bus : printer begins printing cycle sending on bus an ID (from 1 to 9, 0 is reserved) and waiting for "address valid" signal from a connected instrument with that address programmed on its interface card: if there is one data from it is printed and then the next address is sent from the printer (searching a new instrument) and so on.
In this configuration, printer is master, all connected instruments are slaves: but how 8860A works ? Requiring printing from multimeter's keyboard makes instrument master and printer slave !
I think the 8860A was the last multimeter (and the one too)housed in PTI case: probably for this reason 2030A printer manual omits it (only 8600A, 8800A and 8810A multimeters are reported for address #5, other printer addresses are reserved for thermometers, voltmeters and frequency meters).
The odd thing is that 8860A calculator interface manual says that a 2020A or a 2030A printer can be connected.....
Is there someone that owns an 8860A and a 2030A and can explain me how to print something ?
Bye !
Luca