COnverting Plotter

[jrodrig2]

Hi all!

This days I have been trying to convert two HP plotters (HP 7580B and 7599B) into a mobile platforms for measuring antennas in my Lab. The idea is to take full advantage of this devices by controlling its movements with my PC.

The problem I have is that anyone of these plotters have a carousel and it seems to be a real problem cause they need it to start working (some kind of message appears in the display..'Put in Carousel').

I'm trying to be sure that they cannot work without it and to find out if I can make them think that they have one even if they don't (cheating them). But I don't know how to do it...

Any idea???

Thanks a lot!!!

 

[BadFrog]

Hmmmmm? Well it's been a looooong time since I've been in one of those antique plotters. I was always fascinated by the way those old plotters worked with the pen movement and the X and Y axis. Fun to watch hehe. Anyhoo, If memory serves me correctly there will be a sensor of some type, like a photo interrupter, or something along those lines that detects the carousels presence and should be easy to cheat. Look for actuaters like plastic arms or levers that mechanically trigger a sensor located at the other end.

"Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy"
Albert Einstein