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Real documentation page: contents with page numbers, the full technical specification incl. 93 W maximum consumption and 14.5 kg, Amstrad's own note that no other printer can be used with the 9256, the move to 3.5-inch 720K media, the safety-test figures, and the honest gaps (no drive alignment, no fault-symptom table)
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The '''PCW9256 Personal Computer Word Processor Service Manual''' is Amstrad plc's own service manual for the PCW 9256. 17 pages, with a text layer and searchable.
The '''''PCW9256 Personal Computer Word Processor Service Manual''''' is Amstrad plc's service manual for the PCW 9256. It has 16 numbered pages and is undated with no part number. This scan has 17 PDF pages, the electrical parts list being spread over the last two, and an OCR text layer.


== Contents ==
== Contents ==
 
Amstrad's contents list, with printed page numbers:
Amstrad's own contents list, with printed page numbers:
* Technical specification, p. 2; safety tests, p. 2
 
* Alignment instructions, p. 3
* '''Technical specification''' — 2; safety tests — 2
* Monitor/CRT PCB component layout, p. 4
* '''Alignment instructions''' — 3
* Printer PCB, top and bottom views, p. 5
* Monitor/CRT PCB component layout — 4
* CPU PCB component layout, top view, p. 6; bottom view, p. 7
* Printer PCB, top and bottom views — 5
* Keyboard exploded view and parts list, p. 8; keyboard PCB, p. 8
* CPU PCB component layout, top view — 6; bottom view — 7
* Monitor schematic diagram, p. 9
* Keyboard exploded view and parts list — 8; keyboard PCB — 8
* CPU PCB schematic diagram, p. 10
* '''Monitor schematic diagram''' — 9
* Keyboard PCB schematic diagram, p. 11
* '''CPU PCB schematic diagram''' — 10
* Printer control PCB schematic diagram, p. 12
* '''Keyboard PCB schematic diagram''' — 11
* Printer exploded view and parts list, p. 13
* '''Printer control PCB schematic diagram''' — 12
* Printer mechanism exploded view and parts list, p. 14
* Printer exploded view and parts list — 13
* Monitor cabinet exploded view and parts list, p. 15
* Printer mechanism exploded view and parts list — 14
* Electrical parts list, p. 16 (PDF pp. 16-17)
* Monitor cabinet exploded view and parts list — 15
* '''Electrical parts list''' — 16


== What it settles ==
== What it settles ==
=== Specification (p. 2) ===
The PCW9256 has 256K of RAM, one 3.5-inch 720K drive with provision for a second, a paper-white 12-inch monochrome screen showing 90 columns by 32 lines, and a full-size 82-key keyboard. It came with LocoScript 1.5, CP/M Plus, Mallard BASIC, GSX and Dr Logo. The printer is a 9-pin dot matrix unit giving up to 20 cps in high quality and 90 cps in draft, with a detachable tractor feed and single-sheet loading; the specification notes that no other printer can be used with the PCW9256. The machine measures 310 × 360 × 350 mm (W × D × H), weighs 14.5 kg and draws 93 W at most.


'''Technical specification''':
The safety tests are a 4 kV flash test between the joined mains live and neutral and all accessible exterior metal, and an insulation test requiring at least 4 MΩ.


* '''256K RAM'''; one 3.5-inch 720K drive, with the facility to add a second
=== Alignment (p. 3) ===
* '''Paper-white 12-inch monochrome screen showing 90 columns × 32 lines'''
The monitor alignment chart starts with the power supply, measured at connector A with CP101 disconnected and the outputs loaded (Fig. 2-1): check the 24 V output is within 1 V, set 12 V with VR502 to ±0.01 V, and set 5 V with VR501 to ±0.05 V. It then covers vertical size (VR405), linearity, horizontal hold at 15.625 kHz (VR404), sub-brightness (VR402), and the printer strobe timing (VR701), adjusted until the RP3 printer test reports "OK". The equipment list is a digital voltmeter, oscilloscope, frequency counter, test pattern generator, and the RP3 or a pattern disc.
* Full-size 82-key keyboard
* Software: LocoScript 1.5, CP/M Plus, Mallard BASIC, GSX graphics enhancement and Dr Logo
* Printer: '''9-pin dot matrix''', up to '''20 cps high quality and 90 cps draft''', with a detachable tractor feed and single-sheet loading system
* '''"No other printer can be used with the PCW9256"''' — Amstrad's own note, and the reason a PCW 9256 with a dead printer cannot simply be given another one
* Dimensions 310 mm wide × 360 mm deep × 350 mm high; weight '''14.5 kg'''
* '''Power consumption 93 W maximum'''


'''Safety test figures''': flash test at '''4 kV''' between the mains live and neutral joined together and all accessible exterior metal; insulation resistance test showing '''at least 4 MΩ'''.
=== Electrical parts list (p. 16) ===
 
Selected entries:
The 9256 moved to '''3.5-inch 720K media''', away from the 3-inch discs of the PCW 8000 range — worth knowing before hunting for the wrong discs.
* IC101 µPD65030GF-044-3B9 (AMS 40028-1), 272769; IC102 Z8400APS processor, 40080; IC104-111 KM41C257J-10 DRAMs, 272770; IC203 Z765APS floppy controller, 40018; IC301 Amstrad 40027, 171043; IC701 Amstrad 40026, 171038
* F501 mains fuse 3.15 A time-lag, 250 V, 171531
* FDD201 floppy disc drive UODC-45A, 272508
* V801 CRT 310GNBWD, 272814
* X101 crystal 32.000 MHz, 171063


== What this manual does not contain ==
== What this manual does not contain ==
There is no floppy drive service section, no flow chart and no fault-finding procedure. There is no memory map or I/O port list; for those see [[Amstrad PCW Hardware Reference (John Elliott)]]. The PCW 9512+, with its daisywheel printer, has its own manual, [[Amstrad PCW 9512+ Service Manual]].


* '''No floppy drive alignment or service data''' — nothing equivalent to the FD1/FD2 sections of the PCW 8256/8512 manual.
<pdf> File:Amstrad PCW 9256 Service Manual.pdf </pdf>
* '''No fault-symptom table and no diagnostic flowchart.'''
* '''No memory map or port list.''' For those see [[Amstrad PCW Hardware Reference (John Elliott)]].
* '''No coverage of the PCW 9512 or 9512+''', which use a daisywheel printer rather than the 9-pin mechanism documented here.
* No CRT type given.


<pdf> File:Amstrad PCW 9256 Service Manual.pdf </pdf>
Download: [[:File:Amstrad PCW 9256 Service Manual.pdf|Amstrad PCW 9256 Service Manual.pdf]]


Download here: [[:File:Amstrad PCW 9256 Service Manual.pdf|Amstrad PCW 9256 Service Manual.pdf]]
== Pages that cite this document ==
* [[Amstrad PCW 9256]] · [[Amstrad PCW 9256 Maintenance Guide]] · [[Amstrad PCW 9256 Troubleshooting Guide]] · [[Amstrad PCW 9256 Capacitor Replacement Guide]]: specification, safety tests, alignment chart, board layouts and the electrical parts list (pp. 2–4, 16–17)
* [[Amstrad PCW 9512+]]: shared part numbers


== Related pages ==
== Related pages ==
* [[Amstrad PCW 10]], which cites this document
* [[Amstrad PCW 9512+ Service Manual]]
* [[Amstrad PCW 8256 / PCW 8512 Service Manual]]
* [[Amstrad PCW Hardware Reference (John Elliott)]]


* [[Amstrad PCW 9512+ Service Manual]] · [[Amstrad PCW 8256 / PCW 8512 Service Manual]] · [[Amstrad PCW Hardware Reference (John Elliott)]]
{{Navbox-Amstrad|state=collapsed}}


[[Category:Amstrad Service Manuals]]
[[Category:Amstrad Service Manuals]]
[[Category:Service Manuals]]
[[Category:Service Manuals]]

Latest revision as of 07:10, 2 October 2026

The PCW9256 Personal Computer Word Processor Service Manual is Amstrad plc's service manual for the PCW 9256. It has 16 numbered pages and is undated with no part number. This scan has 17 PDF pages, the electrical parts list being spread over the last two, and an OCR text layer.

Contents

[edit | edit source]

Amstrad's contents list, with printed page numbers:

  • Technical specification, p. 2; safety tests, p. 2
  • Alignment instructions, p. 3
  • Monitor/CRT PCB component layout, p. 4
  • Printer PCB, top and bottom views, p. 5
  • CPU PCB component layout, top view, p. 6; bottom view, p. 7
  • Keyboard exploded view and parts list, p. 8; keyboard PCB, p. 8
  • Monitor schematic diagram, p. 9
  • CPU PCB schematic diagram, p. 10
  • Keyboard PCB schematic diagram, p. 11
  • Printer control PCB schematic diagram, p. 12
  • Printer exploded view and parts list, p. 13
  • Printer mechanism exploded view and parts list, p. 14
  • Monitor cabinet exploded view and parts list, p. 15
  • Electrical parts list, p. 16 (PDF pp. 16-17)

What it settles

[edit | edit source]

Specification (p. 2)

[edit | edit source]

The PCW9256 has 256K of RAM, one 3.5-inch 720K drive with provision for a second, a paper-white 12-inch monochrome screen showing 90 columns by 32 lines, and a full-size 82-key keyboard. It came with LocoScript 1.5, CP/M Plus, Mallard BASIC, GSX and Dr Logo. The printer is a 9-pin dot matrix unit giving up to 20 cps in high quality and 90 cps in draft, with a detachable tractor feed and single-sheet loading; the specification notes that no other printer can be used with the PCW9256. The machine measures 310 × 360 × 350 mm (W × D × H), weighs 14.5 kg and draws 93 W at most.

The safety tests are a 4 kV flash test between the joined mains live and neutral and all accessible exterior metal, and an insulation test requiring at least 4 MΩ.

Alignment (p. 3)

[edit | edit source]

The monitor alignment chart starts with the power supply, measured at connector A with CP101 disconnected and the outputs loaded (Fig. 2-1): check the 24 V output is within 1 V, set 12 V with VR502 to ±0.01 V, and set 5 V with VR501 to ±0.05 V. It then covers vertical size (VR405), linearity, horizontal hold at 15.625 kHz (VR404), sub-brightness (VR402), and the printer strobe timing (VR701), adjusted until the RP3 printer test reports "OK". The equipment list is a digital voltmeter, oscilloscope, frequency counter, test pattern generator, and the RP3 or a pattern disc.

Electrical parts list (p. 16)

[edit | edit source]

Selected entries:

  • IC101 µPD65030GF-044-3B9 (AMS 40028-1), 272769; IC102 Z8400APS processor, 40080; IC104-111 KM41C257J-10 DRAMs, 272770; IC203 Z765APS floppy controller, 40018; IC301 Amstrad 40027, 171043; IC701 Amstrad 40026, 171038
  • F501 mains fuse 3.15 A time-lag, 250 V, 171531
  • FDD201 floppy disc drive UODC-45A, 272508
  • V801 CRT 310GNBWD, 272814
  • X101 crystal 32.000 MHz, 171063

What this manual does not contain

[edit | edit source]

There is no floppy drive service section, no flow chart and no fault-finding procedure. There is no memory map or I/O port list; for those see Amstrad PCW Hardware Reference (John Elliott). The PCW 9512+, with its daisywheel printer, has its own manual, Amstrad PCW 9512+ Service Manual.

Download: Amstrad PCW 9256 Service Manual.pdf

Pages that cite this document

[edit | edit source]
[edit | edit source]


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