Raspberry Pi – TESLA BT-100 printer program using GPIO

Raspberry Pi BT-100 printer program v0.1 (May 2013)

Usage: bt100-tlc [options]                    SIGNAL    GPIO
-h          print help
-D          turn debug on                OUT_LEFT:  17
-B          bidirectional print                OUT_RIGHT: 27
-t file     input text file                OUT_PAPER  25
-g file     input bitmap file                OUT_DOT:   18
-p n        move paper by n microlines            IN_PAPER:  24

Raspberry Pi - TESLA BT-100 printer program using GPIO
-f file     alternative font file            IN_HOME:   22
-i          initialize GPIO subsystem only        IN_DOTS:    4
-F          print chargen font on TESLA BT-100        IN_SYNC:   23
-L          print logo (480×72 pixels) on TESLA BT-100
-e          examine printer (head right, move maper, head left)

Only PSF2 fonts 6×12 pixels supported actually.
Text printing: 80 characters/row – 60 rows/page.
Graphical printing: only B/W bitmaps supported actually.
Default font is: Terminus ver. 4.38 ISO 8859-2 6×12 pixels.
Use with sudo nice –20 for better signal timing from BT-100.
Do not run any other CPU consumpting processes when printing on BT-100.

Raspberry Pi GPIO to TESLA BT-100 el. interface schematics. (Click to enlarge the image below.)
At the top of the schema are connections to BT-100
At the middle of the schema are conections to RasPi GPIO
OUT singals from BT-100 are +5V TTL logic, so at least simple level dividers made with resistors are needed to convert leves to 3.3V Raspberry PI GPIO logic. They are at right part of the schematics.

Raspberry Pi - TESLA BT-100 printer program using GPIO schematicIN signals on the BT-100 are +5V TTL logic too, so simple transistor switches are used to ground +5V pull-upped input pins of BT-100. They are at the left part of the schematics.

Signal Meaning
IN 1 Head's motor RIGHT
IN 2 GND
IN 4 Head's motor LEFT
IN 5 Head pulse (DOT)
IN 6 Paper's motor
OUT 1 Head is HOME
OUT 2 GND
OUT 3 Paper move sensor
OUT 6 Print sync sensor
OUT 7 Dot print sensor

 

Source: Raspberry Pi – TESLA BT-100 printer program using GPIO


About The Author

Ibrar Ayyub

I am an experienced technical writer holding a Master's degree in computer science from BZU Multan, Pakistan University. With a background spanning various industries, particularly in home automation and engineering, I have honed my skills in crafting clear and concise content. Proficient in leveraging infographics and diagrams, I strive to simplify complex concepts for readers. My strength lies in thorough research and presenting information in a structured and logical format.

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