Jump to content

Atari SLM804 General Maintenance

From RetroTechCollection
Views, dimensions and the floor space to keep clear (TEC service manual, p. 2)

Care and set-up of the Atari SLM804 laser printer, from the specification pages of TEC's Service Manual Model SLM-804 (E0-16172A, 1987): placement, mains supply, paper, toner and drum, and the two adjustment controls.[1] Atari's owner's manual for the printer (C033517-001 Rev. A) is listed in the Atari Document Archive but is not hosted here.[2] For fault-finding see Atari SLM804 Troubleshooting Guide.

Placement

[edit | edit source]

The printer weighs up to 23 kg (50.7 lb) and measures 411 mm wide, 517 mm deep and 310 mm high (16.2 × 20.3 × 12.2 in).[3] TEC's floor plan asks for 140 mm (5.5 in) clear at each side and at one end, and 450 mm (17.7 in) at the other end, which it marks "Clear this place for operation". The whole area is 691 × 1107 mm (27.2 × 43.6 in).[3]

Environment (TEC service manual, section 3-10)[4]
Condition Temperature Humidity
Operating 10 to 32.5 °C 20 to 80 % RH
Storage 0 to 35 °C 35 to 80 % RH
Transport −20 to 45 °C Under 90 % RH

The rear view in the manual shows the interface connector and mains inlet on the back panel, and the power switch on the side.[3]

Mains supply

[edit | edit source]

TEC made the engine in two versions, for 90 to 132 V at 50 or 60 Hz and for 198 to 264 V at 50 Hz.[4] Check which version a printer is before connecting it, particularly one brought from another country. The power supply drawing in the hosted scan, SLE52-00301, is for the 200 V version.[5] atari-computermuseum.de gives the consumption as 700 W while printing and 400 W on standby.[6]

Paper

[edit | edit source]
  • The cassette takes A4, B5, Letter or Legal paper of 16 to 21.3 lb. TEC made it in three versions, Letter/Legal, A4 and B5, each holding up to 250 sheets of 17 lb paper.[4]
  • The engine reports the cassette fitted to the controller on two lines, CAS1 and CAS2, and the controller sets the page size from them.[7][8] Fit the cassette that matches the paper in it.
  • The manual feed takes sheets 3.9 to 8.5 in wide and 5.8 to 14 in long, of 16 to 21.3 lb, including standard post cards, envelopes and transparencies.[4]
  • The output tray holds up to 50 sheets of 17 lb paper.[4]
  • The ADD PAPER lamp lights when the cassette is empty and while the printer is in manual feed mode.[9]

Clearing paper jams

[edit | edit source]

The CHECK PAPER PATH lamp lights when paper has jammed.[9] TEC designed the top part of the cabinet to be opened by hand so that jams can be cleared, and the front view in the manual shows an opening bar beside the paper cassette.[10][3] The engine's jam signal (PJ) is also active whenever the cover is open, and the controller has a separate Cover Open status (0x0a).[7][11]

Toner and drum

[edit | edit source]

The engine uses an OPC drum and a dry dual-component developer.[4] TEC built the laser scanner, the reprographic (drum and developer) section and the fixing unit as separate modules for ease of maintenance.[10]

The REPLACE TONER lamp lights when the engine detects toner empty.[9] The SLMC804 reports Toner Empty (0x03) and Drum Empty (0x06) to the computer, but neither stops a print job: the page is printed and the error reported afterwards.[11]

Adjustments

[edit | edit source]

The engine has two variohms (variable resistors).[9]

  • Drum sensitivity. TEC says this must be adjusted whenever the drum is replaced, to compensate for differences in sensitivity between drums. The manual's drawing shows the control with three positions marked A, B and C; the hosted pages do not say which position suits which drum.[9]
  • Print intensity. This sets the darkness of the printouts.[9]

The hosted pages do not show where on the engine the two controls are, and give no cleaning or lubrication schedule.

References

[edit | edit source]
  1. ↑ Tokyo Electric Co., Ltd., Service Manual Model SLM-804, document E0-16172A, original June 1987, revised September 1987, cover (PDF p. 31). File:Atari SLM804 Service Manual and SLMC804 Schematics (1987).pdf.
  2. ↑ Atari Document Archive, search results for "slm804" (catalogue listing). https://docs.dev-docs.org/htm/search.php?find=slm804 (retrieved 2026-10-06).
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 TEC, Service Manual Model SLM-804, section 2, Outside Dimension, p. 2 (PDF p. 18).
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 TEC, Service Manual Model SLM-804, section 3, Basic Specification, pp. 3-4 (PDF pp. 19-20).
  5. ↑ TEC, "Laser Printer Power Supply 200V", drawing SLE52-00301, for board SLE61-0081, April 1987 (PDF pp. 2-3 of the same file).
  6. ↑ atari-computermuseum.de, "Atari SLM804 Laser Printer", in "Atari ST-Peripheriegeräte". https://www.atari-computermuseum.de/st_peri.htm#slm804 (retrieved 2026-10-06).
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 TEC, Service Manual Model SLM-804, section 6-1, Video Interface, signal descriptions, p. 8 (PDF p. 24).
  8. ↑ Atari Corp., The Atari Page Printer Interface, 13 April 1988, section 2.5, Mode Sense, p. 10 (PDF p. 12). File:The Atari Page Printer Interface (April 1988).pdf.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 TEC, Service Manual Model SLM-804, sections 4 and 5, Operation Panel and Variohm, p. 5 (PDF p. 21).
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 TEC, Service Manual Model SLM-804, section 1, Summary, p. 1 (PDF p. 17).
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 The Atari Page Printer Interface, section 3, Status Definitions, pp. 13-15 (PDF pp. 15-17).


Retrieved from "https://wiki.retrotechcollection.com/index.php?title=Atari_SLM804_General_Maintenance&oldid=25057"