HP3577 won't plot marker

To be honest, I don't have the foggiest idea. But I think Joseph wanted to take a look.

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It is actually fairly straight forward. HPGL was intended to be humanly readable as well. The marker is near the end of the file. Perhaps you can just read it. Ask if you find something too obscure.

?-)

It'll probably be a circle with fill.

A CI instruction followed by an FT instruction.

I see nothing like that in the file that Joerg provided, which, incidentally, plots fine using hpgs. I haven't tried it on my "real"

I *may* have found a bug in hpgs. Files from an HP scope plot fine direct to plotter, but hpgs stairsteps the settings text atvthe bottom. An embedded LF in an LB instruction does a CR *and* LF on the plotter. In hpgs, it just does LF.

Joerg's file plots fine, now I've got a couple of spurious newlines (wrap effects) out of it.

I'll post it as a .pdf to A.b.s.e.

Fred, most of us can't access a.b.s.e. any longer. I lost access around

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His plot looks good but no marker. I am not sure it is in the file now.

Oh well.

?-)

If you use the latest software from John Miles the marker will plot. It did on John's PC and also on mine. Older versions of the HP7470A software may not, at least mine didn't.

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now.

I will have to run it in a real MSWin environment. Be a few days.

?-)

I've run it in WINE. No problem, except Joerg's file makes it barf. My files display fine with it, apart from the label text being rotated 90 degrees.

I guess I'll stick with my trusty old 7475A.I can make that write poetry ;-)

Can you still get pens for it?

There are a few places that still have them. About twenty bucks for a pack of 5 fiber tip. Roller ball are a bit more.

Ouch! In summer they probably dry out real fast. That's what happened to the ink cartridges of inkjet printers out here, and is the reason I no longer use any.

Nah!

I've got a set of pens that have been in the carousel several years.They still plot fine. The carousel caps all its pens, so, as long as you shut down properly so's there's no pen left in the carriage, no problem.

Not had to buy pens in ages. HP used to offer a sort of humidor thing to store unused carousels. Wish I'd bought one, now.

;-)

Watch yard sales at upscale homes and buy one from a guy who has kicked the cigar habit. Or whose cardiologist told him to. Then you'll have a much fancier carousel humidor than anyone else :-)