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Atari 1027

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Atari 1027 Letter Quality Printer
Atari 1027 letter quality printer
Manufacturer Atari, Inc.
Type Letter quality impact printer (type wheel)
Release date Announced June 1983; shipping from autumn 1983[1]
Interface Atari SIO, two I/O connectors[2]
Compatible Atari 8-bit computers[2]
Power External AC adaptor, 9.5 V AC, 40 VA[2][1]
Media 8.5 × 11 inch single sheets[2]

The Atari 1027 Letter Quality Printer is an 80-column impact printer for the Atari 8-bit computers that prints fully formed characters from a rubber type wheel inked by a roller. Atari announced it at the June 1983 Summer CES and shipped it that autumn.[1] It connects directly to the SIO bus.[2] The FAQ identifies it as a version of the Mannesmann Tally Riteman LQ.[1] In January 1985 Atari announced a 130XE bundle that included the 1027, a 1050 disk drive and AtariWriter.[1]

Specifications

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Atari 1027 specifications
Item Value
Print method Type wheel and hammer, fully formed characters[2]
Pitch 12 characters per inch, 80 columns (prestige elite)[1]
Speed Averages 10 characters per second (Atari service manual); 20 characters per second (FAQ)[2][1]
Paper Single sheets, 8.5 × 11 inches (service manual); single sheets or roll paper (FAQ)[2][1]
Character sets Standard and international, with underlining[2][3]

The two speed figures and the two paper statements come from different sources and are given as published. Atari's service manual forbids roll paper, labels and adhesive-backed material, and asks for good quality unlined paper fed one sheet at a time.[2]

Hardware

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Atari's 1027 Printer Field Service Manual (FD100670 Rev. 01, October 1983) describes the mechanism and electronics.[2]

Mechanism

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A DC motor turns the type wheel shaft through an idle gear. When the wanted character faces the hammer, solenoid A (character select) stops the wheel. A wheel select stepper moves the wheel along its shaft by a wire and pulley, and a hammer stepper moves the hammer to match; a cam on the type wheel shaft then fires the hammer and, when a blank is selected, advances the paper through a rubber roller. Photosensors read each character position, the type wheel home position and the hammer home position. The ink roller snaps onto a post in front of the type wheel.[2]

Electronics

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Main parts (FD100670 parts list, p. 5-11)
Location Part Atari part number
A1 8049 microprocessor, custom, with 2 KB ROM and 128 bytes of RAM FC100619
A2 14050 hex buffer FC100629
A3 74LS09 FC100632
A4 17806P regulator (6 V) FC100611
A5 17805P regulator (5 V) FC100612
A6 LB1259 transistor array FC100630
C1 15,000 µF 25 V capacitor FC100627
D1 Rectifier FC100628
XTL1 6 MHz crystal FC100631
IR2 Ink roll FC100626
ADP AC adaptor FC100623

The adaptor is rated 9.5 V at 40 VA. The board rectifies it and regulates two rails: Vc, 5 V ±5 %, for the logic and sensors, and Vp, 6 V ±10 %, for the stepper motors, DC motor and solenoids.[2] The FAQ lists the adaptor as 9.5 V AC, 4.2 A, Atari CO61636.[1] Atari's schematic shows a 5 A fuse inside the adaptor.[2] The LB1259 drives the two steppers with two-phase excitation and clock pulses of about 5 ms; solenoid B (hammer select) takes a pulse of about 10 ms and solenoid A (character select) one of about 8 ms. The power-on reset holds the 8049 for about 100 ms, and the crystal runs at 6 MHz ±0.3 %.[2]

Known faults

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  • The rubber type wheel perishes, going soft and crumbling inside the printer.[4] In 2017 a forum member offered 3D-printed silicone replacement rubbers ("Revive1027"), warning that their print quality was at the limit of what the printing process could resolve.[5]
  • Dry ink rollers, which can be re-inked with stamp pad ink.[6]
  • Garbled lines when the type wheel loses its alignment, cleared by switching off and on.[3]

The Atari 1027 Maintenance Guide and Atari 1027 Troubleshooting pages cover these in detail. Atari's parts list and schematic give a value only for the main filter capacitor, C1 (15,000 µF 25 V); the other capacitors are shown on the schematic by position only.[2]

Documentation

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  • The type wheel and ink roller seen through the open cover
    The type wheel and ink roller seen through the open cover
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References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Michael D. Current (ed.), Atari 8-Bit Computers: Frequently Asked Questions, comp.sys.atari.8bit FAQ, last modified 29 November 2009: section 4.2 (the 1020, 1025, 1027 and 1029 printers), section 6.7 (power requirements) and section 11.1 (history, June 1983 to January 1985). faqs.org. Community reference.
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 Atari, Inc., 1027 Printer Field Service Manual, FD100670 Rev. 01, October 1983. Theory of operation (pp. 1-1 to 1-10); testing (pp. 2-1 to 2-6); disassembly and preventive maintenance (pp. 3-1 and 3-2); symptom checklist and diagnostic table (pp. 4-1 to 4-3); schematic, silkscreen and parts list (pp. 5-3 to 5-11). Hosted here as File:Atari 1027 Printer Field Service Manual FD100670 Rev 01.pdf.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Atari, Inc., The Atari 1027 Letter Quality Printer Owner's Guide (1983): set-up, paper, troubleshooting questions, lubrication and the international character table. Hosted here as File:Atari 1027 Letter Quality Printer Owner's Guide.pdf.
  4. ↑ "Any cool use for 1027 printers with shattered/dead print wheels?", comp.sys.atari.8bit, posts by John Miskinis and others, 7-14 April 2004. comp.sys.atari.8bit.narkive.com. Community discussion.
  5. ↑ "\"Revive1027\" Order thread", AtariAge Forums, Atari 8-Bit Computers, 2017. forums.atariage.com. Community project.
  6. ↑ Phil Rae, "Atariwriter and the 1027", Page 6 no. 16 (July/August 1985), p. 28. page6.org. Magazine article.


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