OPERATING

MANUAL
model ACT -SA
SMOOTH SCROLL

miCRO-TERm, Inc.

S1. LOUIS, MISSOURI 63144

OPERATING MANUAL
MODEL: ACT -SA
SMOOTH SCROLL
REVISION A, 1-81
SER. # 80340881 and Above
MTI PART * 1-79820013-0A

COPYRIGHT 1981
MICRO-TERM, INC.
ACT-SA SMOOTH SCROLL
 ACT·SA COMPUTER TERMINAL tsy
MICRO·TERM, INC.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION PAGE
1 Installation and Introduction to the ACT-5A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 7
1.1 Using the ACT-5A Operating Manual. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 7
2 Operating Modes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 8
2.1 Notes On Protected Fields. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 8
2.2 Transparancy Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 8
2.3 Local Self Test. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 8
3 Keyboard ............................................................................. 9
3.1 Encoded & Modifier Keys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 9
3.2 Function Keys ....................................................................... 10
3.2.1 Li ne/Local Key ...................................................................... 10
3.2.2 Cursor Control Keys ................................................................ 10
3.2.3 Break Key .......................................................................... 10
3.2.4 Function Keys ...................................................................... 11
3.2.5 Toggle Video Attribute Keys - Underline, Reduced Intensity, Blink and Reverse Video ... 11
3.2.6 Send Key ........................................................................... 11
3.2.7 Print Key ........................ , .......................... , ....................... 12
3.3 Numeric Entry ......................................................... , ............. 12
4 Response To Control Codes ............................................. , ............. 13
Absolute Cursor Postitioning (Direct Cursor Addressing) ......................... , .. 13
Background Follows .............................................................. 13
Backspace ....................................................................... 13
Bell .............................................................................. 13
Carriage Return .................................................................. 13
Change Intensity .............. , ......................... , ........................ 14
Clear Unprotected ................................................................ 14
Cursor Down ..................................................................... 14
Cursor Right ......... '.' .......................................................... 14
Cursor Off (On) ................................................................... 14
Cursor Up ................ : ....................................................... 14
Delete Character ................................................................. 14
Delete Line ....................................................................... 15
Display Control Codes ............................................................ 15
Enable (Disable) Keyclick ......................................................... 15
Enable (Disable) Scroll ... ' ............................................... , ........ 15
EnterGraphics Mode ............................................................. 15
Erase To End Of Frame ............................................................ 15
Erase To End Of Line ............................................................. 16
Escape ........................................................................... 16
Exit Graphics Mode ............................................................... 16
Foreground Follows .......................................... , ................... 17
Format Mode ..................................................................... 17
Home Up ......................................................................... 17
Home & Clear .................................................................... 17
Home & Clear To (Un)Protected .................................................... 17
Insert Characters ........ " ........................ , .............................. 17
---Insert Line .................................................................... " . 18
Line Feed ........................................................................ 18
Null ... ' " ........................ , .............................................. 18
Pass Through Printer On (Off) ..................................................... 18
Print Line ........................................................................ 19
Print Page ........................................................................ 19
Report Character At Cursor Position ............................................... 19
 (continued)
Report Cursor Position ............................................................ 19
Report Present Video Attributes ................................................... 19
Reverse Line Feed ................................................................ 19
Reverse Tab ...................................................................... 20
Rubout .......................................................................... 20
Set End of Block Character ........................................................ 20
Set Send Data Type Unprotected .................................................. 20
Set Video Attributes .............................................................. 20
Smooth Scroll (Li ne Feed) ......................................................... 21
Split Screen Mode ................................................................ 21
Start (End) Blinking Field .......................................................... 21
Start (End) Reverse Video Field .................................................... 21
Start (End) Underlined Field ............ , .............................. , ........... 22
Tab .............................................................................. 22
Underline Current Character ..... , .................................... , ........... 22
5 Interface Instructions ................................................................. 23
5.1 EIA Connector Pin Assignments ...................................................... 23
5.2 Current Loop Interface ............................................................... 23
5.3 Full and Half Duplex Operation ....................................................... 23
5.3.1 Full Duplex Operation ............................................................... 24
5.3.2 Half Duplex With Modem Control .................................................... 24
5.4 Data Rate Selection .................................................................. 24
5.4.1 Selecting the I/O Data Rate ........................................................... 24
5.4.2 Selecting the Printer Data Rate ...................................................... 24
5.5 UART Options ....................................................................... 24
5.6 Printer Port .......................................................................... 25
5.6.1 Buffered Printer Mode ............................................................... 25
5.6.2 Pass-Through Printer Operation ..... , .................. , ............................. 25
6 User Selectable Options ............................................................... 26
6.1 SinglelDouble Underline .............................................................. 26
6.2 Blink Rates ForCursorand Blinking Field ............................................. 26
6.3 Protected Video Attribute ............................................................ 26
6.4 Keyboard Auto Repeat Rate ........................................................... 27
6.5 Display Null Character On/Off ......................................................... 27
7 Appendix
7.1 Function Summary ................................................................... 28
7.2 Absolute Cursor Addressing Table .................................................... 29
7.3 Character Sets ....................................................................... 30
7.4 ASCII Codes ......................................................................... 32
8 Warranty and Service Information ...................................................... 33
9 Custom Modifications ................................................................. 33
10 Suggestion Sheet ..................................................................... 34

6
1.0 INSTALLATION AND INTRODUCTION
The ACT-5A should be positioned on a steady surface and at a comfortable level for the user. A space
of at least 3 inches must be provided at the rear of the ACT-5A to provide ease of access to the power
switch and brightness control. Care should be taken that magazines or other material do not fall
behind the terminal and impede ventilation. The line cord should then be connected to a grounded
power source.

The ACT-5A power switch is located on the rear of the unit. After a one minute warm-up period, the
monitor should display a blinking block cursor in the upper left corner of the screen. This position
will be referred to as the HOME or HOME-UP position throughout this manual. If the cursor does not
appeal in the home position of an otherwise clear screen, turn the terminal off and back on again. If
the cursor still does not appear, refer to Section 8 of this manual.

Depress the It~t.1 key on the keyboard. Type on the keyboard. Characters should now appear cor-
responding to the keys depressed and the cursor will advance. There are 80 character positions per
line; after the 80th character is entered on a line a new line is initiated. When the cursor is on the bot-
tom line,the next new line will cause the contents of the screen to scroll upward one line so that the
top line disappears.

Adjust the BRIGHTNESS control, on the rear, for comfortable viewing while maintaining a black
background. Excessive brightness will cause premature phosphor degradation or burning not
covered under warranty.

1.1 USING THE ACT· SA OPERATING MANUAL

All the information necessary to realize the full potential of this powerfully versatile product is con-
tained in this operating manual. We strongly urge you to read the manual thoroughly before you use
the unit.

Section 2 describes the various modes of operation including FORMAT, SPLIT SCREEN, GRAPHICS
and DISPLAY CONTROL CODES.

Section 3 details the operation of the keyboard and describes the operation of all function keys and
numeric key cluster.

Section 4 lists the multitude of ACT-5A features and their definitions alphabetically. Should you en-
counter problems when attempting to use a particular feature you may refer to its description in Sec-
tion 4 for clarification.

Section 5 describes the Input/Output (I/O) and Printer interfaces. Information contained in this sec-
tion is useful to insure compatibility between the ACT-5A and your host computer.

Section 6 explains the user selectable options which include SinglelDouble Underline, Cursor Blink
Rate, Blinking Field Blink Rate, Selection of the Protected Video Attribute, Keyboard Repeat Rate
and Keyclick Enable/Disable. Instructions are prov i ded for changing these options to meet your
specific tastes or application.

Section 7 is an Appendix which contains the following useful information: A complete list of soft-
ware controlled features arranged in ascending order by control code or Escape sequence value; a
table to aid in using the Cursor Positioning feature; a complete list of the ASCII codes including their
Hexadecimal, Octal, Binary and Decimal equivalents; and an enlarged presentation of the 7 x 9 dot
matrix for each character in the display set.

7
2.0 OPERATING MODES
The ACT-SA offers a number of useful operating modes that assist the user in communication with
the host computer. Careful study and experimentation with these modes will familiarize the oper-
ator with the many powerful communications techniques offered by the ACT-SA.

Specifically designed to help the user understand the computer outputs are the Display the Control
Codes, Split Screen, and Graphics modes. By displaying (rather than executing) the control codes
the ACT-SA can present every received code to the operator for debugging assistance. The Split
Screen mode permits twice as many lines to be displayed on the screen, (provided they are less than
40 characters), greatly relieving the operator's memory. The Graphics mode offers a special set of 32
characters that are useful in presenting fractions and graphic data more clearly.

For efficient communications the Local mode with associated editing features may be utilized to
minimize use of costly host CPU time or to minimize the number of packets transmitted in a pay-by-
the-packet system. The Local mode can also be used for testing and studying the operation of
various terminal features.

To further enhance efficiency the Format mode, with associated protected fields, may be called
upon to reduce redundant transmissions of forms from the host in data entry applications. It should
be noted that the Format and Split Screen modes are mutually exclusive.

2.1 NOTES ON PROTECTED FIELDS

Unlike most computer terminals that restrict the protected field video attribute to Reduced Intensity,
the ACT-SA allows the user to choose this attribute from Reduced Intensity (Standard), Reverse
Video, Blink, or Underline.

For explicit instructions on selecting one of the alternate video attributes, please refer to Section 6.3
of this manual. It is important to follow these instructions carefully in order to insure successful use
of the protected fields feature.

NOTE: Several of the ESCAPE sequence features discussed in Section 4 refer to protected or
unprotected positions. The user should substitute his video attribute selection for the word
"protected" when reading about these features.

2.2 TRANSPARENCY MODE

A very useful feature of the ACT-SA is its capability to display a unique symbol for each of the
ASCII control codes when in the Display Control Code mode. This mode can be entered and exited
only by depressing the ICTRL I and G keys simultaneously while in the LOCAL mode. This aids
both the receive and transmit operations. On the receive side it permits one to identify every
character received by the terminal settling any format problems caused by otherwise unseen control
characters. On the transmit side it allows control characters to be imbedded in the displayed data for
transmission in block mode to the computer.

2.3 LOCAL SELF TEST

The LOCAL mode also provides a means of testing the terminal manually. If the terminal works in
the LOCAL mode any problems are limited to either the ACT-SA interface, the communication link or
the remote computer.

2.4 X·ON/X·OFF LINE PROTOCOL

Since this terminal is equiped with the SMOOTH SCROLL feature, it requires the host computer to
honor the X-ON/X-OFF protocol to match the input character rate to the scrolling rate. The ACT-5A
perform 5 jump scroll operations and refrains from sending any X-OFF or X-ON codes at any time
until the smooth scroll feature is selected (see section 4). When SMOOTH SCROLL is selected, the
ACT-5A automatically sends an X-OFF code when its input buffer is nearly full or when a PRINT
LINE or PRINT PAGE operation is initiated.

8
3.0 KEYBOARD
The ACT-5A keyboard contains 88 keys which may be classified as either encoded, modifier or func-
tion keys (see Figure 3.1).

The keyboard features typamatic (Auto-Repeat) operation at a user selectable rate of either 7.5, 15 or
30 characters per second (CPS). This rate is set to 30 CPS at the factory but may be changed accord-
ing to the directions given in Section 6.4 of this manual.

An audible tone is emitted each time a key is struck or when the keyboard is auto-repeating. This
keyclicking feature may be disabled by following the directions in Section 4 of this manual.

16 FUNCTION KEYS

I t I ~ I....I~I
ESC 7 8 9

4 5 6

2 3 E
N
T
E
0 R

67 ENCODED KEYS

Figure 3.1 Keyboard Layout

3.1 ENCODED AND MODIFIER KEYS

The majority of keys on the keyboard generate an output code when struck. The aSSignment of out-
put codes to keys is illustrated in Figures 3.1 and 3.2. Note that the rutpr code. generated by the
encoded keys depend on the state of the four modifier keys -I f~b~1 GTRL El and 1SHIFTI· The
modifier keys do not generate output codes nor do they cause a keyclick to sound when they are
depressed.

NOTE: The encoded key B and the modifier key I r have special significance to the
B
GTRL

ACT-5A and appear frequently in this manual in conjunction with another key ego
G ,I c:J GTRLI The B key should be depressed and released before striking

the c:=J key in the above example but the IGTRL I key (because it is a modifier key) must be
depressed and held down while simultaneously striking the ~ key and released after the
c:J key is released.

9
 37 37 3838 39 39 2020
37 37 3838 3939 2020
37 37 3838 3939 2020

3434 35 35 3636 2C 2C
3434 35 35 38 36 2C 2C
34 34 35 35 38 36 2C 2C
31 31 32 32 3333
31 31 32 32 3333
31 31 32 32 3333 0000
0000
30 30 2E 2E 0000
30 30 2E 2E
30 30 2E 2E

Figure 3.2 Keyboard Output Codes

3.2 FUNCTION KEYS

Twelve of the sixteen keys in the top row of keys on the ACT-SA keyboard do not generate output
codes but control various functions. These functions are described below.

3.2.1 r:;l KEY

E.I
This key controls whether the ACT-SA is in the ON-LINE or LOCAL mode. When ON-LINE (key up) all
codes generated by the encoded key are transmitted out the 110 and AUX ports and all data received
at either the 110 or AUX ports is accepted and displayed. When in the LOCAL mode (key down) all
codes generated by the encoded keys are "echoed" to the screen and are not transmitted out either
the 1/0 or AUX ports. Data may be sent out these ports when in the LOCAL mode by invoking a SEND
command as described in Section 3.2.6 below.

NOTE: Due to the dramatic effect that some of the ACT-SA features have on the operation of
the terminal (Enter Split Screen Mode, Display Control Characters etc.) those features may be
invoked only by an operator typing the appropriate key(s) at the keyboard while in the LOCAL
mode. These features may not be accessed by the host computer by sending codes to the ter-
minal i.e. the same codes that may be typed at the keyboard in the LOCAL mode to execute
the restricted features are ignored when received from the host computer regardless
of the state of the r:;l switch.
E.I
In the LOCAL mode data sent from the host computer is accepted and displayed so that the operator
does not miss any messages or data that may be generated by the host while in the LOCAL mode.

3.2.2 CURSOR CONTROL KEYS lJJ OJ B B

In the LOCAL mode these keys do not send codes to the host, but move the cursor in the indicated
direction. The cursor temporarily suspends blinking when these keys (or any encoded keys) are
depressed. This greatly facilitates positioning the cursor quickly and accurately. When ON-LINE,
these keys transmit the following codes:

Key Code
Cursor Up CTRLZ
Cursor Down CTRL K
Cursor Left CTRL H
Cursor Right CTRL X

3.2.3 B KEY
This key forces the serial output to assume the space (logical 0) state for the duration it is depressed.

10
3.2.4
These function keys execute the operations inscribed on them. Refer to Section 4 for a detailed
description of the various functions.

3.2.5 TOGGLE VIDEO ATTRIBUTE KEYS and I

BLINKI
B/W

These keys may be used to change the present video attribute setting causing subsequently typed or
received characters to be displayed with the new video attribute type. These keys act as toggle
switches i.e. each time they are struck the indicated attribute will change. To change back to its
original value the key should be struck again.

KEY(S) TO CHANGE VIDEO ATTRIBUTES

Intensity

Underline

I BLiNKI
BIW Reverse Video

I /I
SHIFT BLiNKI
B/W Blink

3.2.6 SEN D KEY

This key in conjunction with the I
SHIFTI and I I
CTRL keys commands the ACT-5A to transmit all or
part of the contents of its screen out pin 2 of its 1/0 and AUX communication ports. There are three
types of SEND operations described below. Each of these operations will send either both un-
protected and protected characters or unprotected characters only. This selection is determined by
the Send Unprotected Only, Send Unprotected and Protected functions described in Section 4 of
this manual.

KEY(S) SEND OPERATIONS

SEND LINE sends data from left margin to cursor position followed by a carriage return
code.

SEND PAGE sends all data from home to cursor position. At the end of each line a car-
riage return code is sent.

SEND BLOCK stores an end of block marker. at the present cursor position then-
searches backwards for a previous. marker. If one is found, all data from the character
immediately following the. marker to the newly displayed. marker is transmitted.
Carriage return codes are sent at the end of each line and a-n end of block (EOB) code is
sent at the completion of the send operation. If no previous. marker is found the send
operation commences at the home-up position.
When sending, all data received from the host is ignored.

PROGRAMMING HINT
In order to avoid transmitting trailing spaces (those between the last displayable unprotected
character and the end of the line) the screen should be CLEARED TO PROTECTED SPACES before
entering data that is to be sent in block mode to the computer. This will minimize the time spent
transmitting the line or lines.
When in the LOCAL mode if no data is being sent to the computer by the ACT-5A it will accept data

receive a response from the main processor without changing the

l
from the computer and display it. This allows the user to edit the dati on the screen, send it and
t~g. switch. It also insures that
any messages from the computer system are not ignored when in the LOCAL mode.

11
 KEY(S) PRINT OPERATIONS
Prints data from left margin to cursor position followed by a carriage return and line feed
code.

Prints all data from home to cursor position. At the end of each line a carriage return and
line feed code is sent.

PRINT BLOCK stores end of text marker. at the present cursor position then searches
backwards for a previous. marker. If one is found all data from the character im-
mediately following the. marker to the newly displayed. marker is transmitted out
the printer port. Carriage return and line feed codes are sent at the end of each line. If no
previous .marker is found the print operation commences at the home-up position.

At the commencement of the Print Operation, an X-OFF*code is sent to the host. No characters are
removed from the 40 character input buffer during this operation, but they are inserted into the buf-
fer. If the terminal receives more than 24 characters from the host at this time, errors may be in-
troduced into the data stream, and data may be lost. Once the selected print operation has com-
pleted execution, the characters in the buffer are removed and acted upon. When the buffer is com-
pletely emptied, an X-ON code is sent to allow the host computer to resume transmission.

NOTE: If the host computer does not honor the X-ON/X-OFF protocol, and characters are sent
to the ACT-SA immediately following a print line or print page command, there is a strong
possibility that the input buffer will overflow. In order to avoid this situation, the program in
the host computer must delay sending characters after a print command until the print opera-
tion has time to finish.

NOTE: The data rate to the printer is independent of the data rate between the terminal and
the host computer (when using one of the above PRINT functions) and is switch selectable as
described in Section 5.4.2.

*See Section 2.4

3.3 NUMERIC DATA ENTRY

There are three methods provided by the ACT-SA keyboard for facililating the entry of numeric data.
These are 1) Typewriter style - the numbers 1 through 9 and 0 appear in the top row of the main

is provided for accounting type data entry and 3) Keypunch style - when the B
keyboard just as on a modern typewriter 2) Calculator style - a 14 key, calculator format numeric pad
key is depressed
a numeric key cluster identical to the IBM Model 29 keypunch format is available inlaid in the main
keypad. This feature is especially attractive to keypunch operators since they needn't sacrifice their
speed learning the calculator format. To disable the
disengage.
r::l
L..::.J
key it should be pressed again and will

12
 4.0 RESPONSES TO CONTROL CODES
Numbers shown in braces (eg [07]) represent the Hexadecimal equivalent of the associated ASCII
code.

ABSOLUTE CURSOR POSITIONING (DIRECT CURSOR ADDRESSING)

ABSOLUTE CURSOR POSITIONING allows the user to position the cursor anywhere within the 24 x 80
display matrix. The general format is a lead-in code, followed by two address coordinates. These coor-
dinates must be transmitted to the terminal in ASCII. The cursor assumes the new position after the coor-
dinates have been given. No other coding may be imbedded within this string of characters. Please refer to
Appendix 7.2 for the ABSOLUTE CURSOR ADDRESSING TABLE and Appendix 7.3 for a complete list of
decimal/hex/ASCII conversions. If the cursor is positioned in a protected field in the FORMAT mode, it will
be moved to the first unprotected position.

B [J [14J [(LINE NUMBER)] [(COLUMN NUMBER))

To position the cursor the ASCII code [14J must be received followed by the appropriate line number (0-23)
and the column number (0-79). If an invalid line is received, it is reduced modulo 24 until a valid line 0-23 is
produced. Similiarly an invalid column is reduced modulo 80. The top line of the display is line 0; the left-
most column is column O.

EXAMPLE: To position the cursor on the tenth line down and in the fifth column from the left, the following
codes must be received by the terminal.

[14J [09J [04J - I I [J I II }~II IG

CTRL CTRL CTRL

When in split screen mode, the Row Number's range from 0-47 and the Column Number's range from 0-38 ..

BACKGROUND FOLLOWS
All subsequent data received by the terminal after receipt of this function code is displayed in low (half) in-
tensity. The terminal is restored to full intensity by giving a FOREGROUND FOLLOWS command.

[18J [43J - B I IG SHIFT

BACKSPACE
This will cause the cursor to move to the nearest character position to the left without erasing data on the
screen. When the cursor reaches the leftmost column it will stop. If the cursor is in the HOME UP position it
will not move.An attempt to backspace into a protected field in the FORMAT mode will result in the cursor
staying in the first unprotected position.

[08J - Bc:J
BELL
When the BELL code is received an audible tone of 1760 hertz is generated for one half second. The cursor
position is not affected.

[07J- BG
CARRIAGE RETURN
LOCAL: The cursor is moved to the leftmost unprotected position of the next line. If it is on the bottom line
the screen will scroll.
LINE: The cursor is moved to the leftmost unprotected position on the present line.

[ODJ - c::J
13
 CHANGE INTENSITY
All subsequent data received by the terminal after receipt of this function code is displayed in low (half) in-
tensity. Full intensity is restored when the terminal receives a second code of the same type. Therefore the
change intensity code acts as a toggle switch.

or{OE} - BQ
CLEAR UNPROTECTED
Receipt of this command will replace all unprotected characters with unprotected spaces and the cursor
will move to the HOME UP position.

{1B} {4C} - E1 ~
CURSOR DOWN
On receipt of the CURSOR DOWN command the cursor is moved down one line in the same column. If the
cursor is on the bottom line of the screen, the position of the cursor will not change nor will the display
scroll. If the cursor attempts to enter a protected field in FORMAT mode, it will move to the first unprotected
position after the protected field.

OJ or {OB} - B c=J
CURSOR RIGHT
The cursor advances one column to the right. The display is not altered. If in the last column it will not move.
If the next position is protected and the FORMAT mode is set the cursor will move to the first unprotected
position it encounters.

I ~I or {18} - B [J
CURSOR OFF (ON)
OFF (ON)

{1 B} {3A}
BBD ( [18]{38] - E1 D)
CURSOR UP
On receipt of the CURSOR UP command the cursor is moved up one line in the same column. If the cursor is
on the top line of the screen, the position of the cursor will not change. If the position above is protected and
the FORMAT mode is set the cursor will move to the first unprotected position following the protected field
it attempted to enter.

[[] or {1A} - B [J
DELETE CHARACTER
Delete the character denoted by the cursor. All characters to the right of the cursor row are moved left by
one column. The rightmost position is cleared to the video attribute of the last character on the line.

or{1B} {36} B I~ I
14
 DELETE LINE
All data on the line denoted by the cursor is eliminated. Pre-existing data below the cursor is moved up one
line and the bottom line is cleared to the present attribute type.

B SHIFT LINE
DEL
CHAR
or {1 B} {38} B~El
ESC 8

DISPLAY CONTROL CODES

Typing a in LOCAL mode conditions the terminal to display all future control characters
rather than act upon them. The control characters thus become functionally transparent. This transparency
mode is particularly useful for verifying the control characters sent from the main processor. While control

filling a line with 80 characters. The only control code that will be acted upon is another BG
characters are being displayed, the terminal will continue to automatically scroll and initiate a new line after

the keyboard in LOCAL, which will restore the terminal to its normal execution of control character com·
,from

mands. Appendix 7.4 lists the 32 ASCII control characters in hexadecimal, their keyboard representation and
their display counterparts.

NOTE: This can be initiated in LOCAL mode ONLY.

{tt] - BG
ENABLE (DISABLE) KEYCLICK
These functions control the generation of the audible clicks when encoded keys are struck at the keyboard.

[1 BJ [3CJ - B I SHIFTII ~ r~1 ({ IB1I3D] - B 0)

ENABLE (DISABLE) SCROLL
After this code is received LINE FEED's in the bottom row and REVERSE LINE FEED's in the top row per·
form a scroll up or down operation respectively.

{IB] {54]- BB0 ( {IB] (55] B B m)

ENTER GRAPHICS MODE
This function invokes an alternate character set for ASCII codes [50J [5EJ- I SHIFTI ~ thru [lEJ -

BGJ
Appendix 7.4 lists the ASCII code, its keyboard representation, and its displayed counterpart. This is par-
ticularly useful for generating graphs and displaying fractions or subscripts.

{t BJ {4D] - B I SHIFTII M wi
ERASE TO END OF FRAME (EEOF) PRESENT VIDEO ATTRIBUTES
All characters from the cursor position to the end of the screen are erased to present video attribute spaces.
The cursor position is not affected.

BBG -[1F]

15
 EEOF PROTECTED
Same as EEOF except the Protected Field attribute bit is set on all characters to the right and below the cur-
sor.

- [1BJ [4AJ

EEOF UNPROTECTED
Same as EEOF except the Protected Field attribute bit is reset on all characters to the right and below the
cursor.

B \I I SHIFT KC§JI - [1 BJ [4BJ

ERASE TO END OF LINE: EEOL

All positions from the cursor to the right margin are replaced by present video attribute spaces.

- [1EJ

ERASE TO END OF LINE PROTECTED

This code causes the same action as the ERASE TO END OF LINE code except that all positions to the right
of the cursor are cleared to protected spaces.

B8IT] - [1BJ [40J

ERASE TO END OF LINE UNPROTECTED

Same as EEOL except the Protected Field attribute bit is reset on all characters in the same row and to the
right of the cursor.

[1BJ [49J

ESCAPE
This code conditions the terminal to treat the following code(s) in a special manner. If the code immediately
following the ESCAPE code is a valid ESCAPE sequence code the appropriate ESCAPE sequence feature
will be executed. If not, the illegal code and the Escape code are ignored. For a list of these features see
Table 1 in Appendix 7.1.

Note that to invoke an ESCAPE sequence feature - ESC A - Underline Current Character for example, the
B key must be depressed and released before striking the [J key.

[1BJ -B or B OJ
EXIT GRAPHICS MODE
This will EXIT the GRAPHICS MODE and restore the standard character set. See ENTER GRAPHICS MODE.

[1BJ [4EJ - B ISHIFTI [J

16
 FOREGROUND FOLLOWS
All characters received after this command will appear in full intensity. Only these characters, including
spaces, will be transmitted during a SEND LINE or SEND SCREEN.

[18J [42J - B ISHIFTI c:J

FORMAT MODE
Enter: Prevents the cursor from entering the protected fields. Not permissible when in the split-screen
mode. A bell is sounded if an attempt to enter this mode is made when in the split-screen mode. Exit: Allows
unrestricted movement of the cursor.

ENTER EXIT

[18J [44J - B ISHIFTI G [18J [45J - B ISHIFTI [J

HOME UP
This function moves the cursor.to the upper left corner of the screen unless it is protected and the FORMAT
mode is set, in which case it moves to the first unprotected position.

[10J - B [JJ
HOME AND CLEAR
This function moves the cursor to the upper left corner of the screen. The screen is then cleared to present
video attribute type.

[OCJ -
or B~
HOME AND CLEAR TO (UN)PROTECTED
These codes cause the cursor to move to the upper left corner of the screen and write (un) protected spaces
in all screen positions.

[18J [60J - B I: : I 0 1B) [61} - B [J )

INSERT CHARACTERS
Insert subsequent characters into the cursor row at the cursor position. After this command, all characters
at the cursor position and to its right are moved one position to the right each time a displayable character is
typed at the keyboard. To exit from this mode, any control character may be typed. The ACT-5A will act upon
the control character and sound the BELL to indicate an exit from the insertion mode.

Key Stroke Screen Contents

The quick brown_jumps .. .

ESC G The quick brown_jumps ... (insertion mode entered)
Space The quick brown _jumps .. .
f The quick brown f_jumps .. .
o The quick brown fo_jumps .. .
x The quick brown fox_jumps .. .
RETURN The quick brown fox jumps ... (Bell sounds and RETURN Function Performed)

or{18} {47} B \SHIFTI8

17
 INSERT LINE
This will allow a new line of text to be added between any two pre-existing lines on the screen. A blank line
will be inserted on the row denoted by the cursor. All pre-existing text on the cursor row and below is moved
down by one line and the last line scrolls downward off the screen. The blank line will be cleared to spaces
with the present video attributes.

~Wl or{18}{37} ~ 1il7&

CHAR '--=J L2J
LINE FEED
This will cause the cursor to move down one line in the same column. If the cursor is on the bottom line, the
screen will scroll. The new bottom line will be filled with spaces of the present video attribute type.

[OAJ - I I c=1
CTRL or
r:;l
~
NULL

Sending the ASCII NULL is accomplished by holding the B key down and then striking any number
key.

[OOJ - B ANY NUMBER KEY

PASS THROUGH PRINTER PORT ON (OFF)

There are two modes of Pass Through Printer Port Operation: Monitor Mode and Non-Monitor Mode. When
Pass Through Printer operation is enabled in either of these modes, all data received from the host computer
is sent directly to the printer port at the same data rate as it was received at the 110 port, and printer output is
routed to the host computer. When Pass Through Printer operation is disabled, received data is not routed to
the printer port nor is the printer output sent to the host computer.
When the ACT-5A is operating in the Monitor Mode, the terminal displays all data received from the host
computer in addition to passing it through to the printer. All keyboard functions are enabled, and the ACT-5A
operates normally. Note that both the output of the printer and of the ACT-5A are tied to the Serial Out Line
and that errors can occur as a result of this if the printer produces output codes (this includes X-ON and
X-OFF codes).
In Non-Monitor Mode, however, the terminal passes the data through to the printer but does not disturb the
contents of the screen. All keyboard functions are disabled, the keyboard is locked and will remain in this
state until the Pass Through Printer Port Off code is received by the terminal from the host computer.
The Pass Through Printer Port Off code disables both Monitor and Non-Monitor Pass Through Printer opera-
tion. ~ rJl
MONITOR PASS THROUGH PRINTER ON: '--=J L..:::SJ -
{18}{5C}

NON-MONITOR PASS THROUGH PRINTER ON: B [JJ - {18} {5D}

PASS THROUGH PRINTER OFF: 8 [] -{19}

18
 PRINT LINE
This will cause all characters from the beginning of the line denoted by the cursor to the cursor position (in-
clusive) to be sent out the printer port. At the end of the line a CARRIAGE RETURN and LINE FEED will be
sent. The transmission can only be interrupted by the appropriate signal on the printer busy line. While the
line is being transmitted to the printer, no data will be accepted into the terminal. The BELL will sound after
the line has been sent. SEE NOTE SECTION 3.2.7.

{1BJ {46J - B ISHIFTI [ ]

PRINT PAGE
All text from the home position to the Cursor position inclusive will be sent to the printer port. At the end of
each line a CR and LF will be sent. The transmission can only be interrupted by the appropriate signal on the
printer 1/0 ready line. While the line is being transmitted to the printer, no data will be accepted into the ter-
minal. The BELL will sound after all data has been sent. (SEE NOTE SECTION 3.2.7)

{10J - EJ []
REPORT CHARACTER AT CURSOR POSITION
The ASCII code for the character at the cursor position is transmitted to the computer followed by the EOB
Character.

{1BJ {4FJ -I ESC IISHIFTII owl

REPORT CURSOR POSITION
After receiving the ASCII control code ENQ [05J, the terminal will respond by reporting the cursor's current
address coordinates. These coordinates are coded in binary and transmitted in ASCII followed by the EOB
Character. Please refer to Appendix 7.2 for the ABSOLUTE CURSOR ADDRESSING TABLES and Appendix
7.3 for a complete list of decimal/hex/ASCII conversions.
The range of Row Number's is 0-23 in full screen mode and 0-47 in split screen mode. The range of Column
Number's is 0-79 in full screen mode and 0-38 in split screen mode

[05J -

The terminal will respond with (LINE NUMBER) (COLUMN NUMBER) (EOB CHARACTER)

REPORT PRESENT VIDEO ATTRIBUTES

Upon receipt of this command the present state of the video attributes is transmitted to the host computer
followed by the EOB Character.See the SET ATTRIBUTES command description for a list of output code to
attribute state assignments.

[1 BJ {52J - BI SHIFTI [ ]

REVERSE LINE FEED

This function will cause the cursor to move up one line in the same column. If the cursor is on the top line,
the cursor will remain there, but the screen will scroll downwards; the screen will appear to move down one
line, losing the bottom line of the screen, and forming a blank line at the top of the screen. The blanks in the
top line will be set to the present video attribute type.

[1 BJ {48J - B I c:J SHIFTI

19
 REVERSE TAB
This code causes the cursor to move to the leftmost position of a preceeding unprotected field regardless of
whether the FORMAT mode is set. If the home-up position is encountered the cursor will not move.

BB or
B c:J -[12J

RUBOUT
On LINE, depression of this key transmits the ASCII code [7F] to the computer. In LOCAL, depression of this
key causes the execution of a Backspace - space - Backspace sequence unless the cursor is in the leftmost
column of the line (Column 0 and Column 41 in Split Screen Mode) or unless the character to the left of the
cursor is protected and the terminal is in Format mode. In these cases no action is taken. This code may also
be used as a timing code (filler code).

[7FJ - I I
DELETE

SEND LINE SEE SECTION 3.2.6

SEND SCREEN SEE SECTION 3.2.6
SET END OF BLOCK CHARACTER
This function specifies which code will be sent to terminate the following sequences. Report Attributes at
Cursor, Report Cursor Position, Report Character at Cursor and Block Send. When in Half Duplex the RTS
line is dropped only after the EOB character is sent. The default value is Carriage Return.

[1 BJ (39J [New EOB CharacterJ - B I ~ [Q]I

SET SEND DATA TYPE UNPROTECTED

(BOTH UNPROTECTED & PROTECTED)
These codes control the type of characters that will be sent when the ~~~6 key is struck. On power-up the
SEND DATA TYPE is set to unprotected only. LINE

[1 BJ [5EJ - BI SHIFTI [2] (1 1I

IB 5FJ- B B ~)
SET VIDEO ATTRIBUTES
The code immediately following this command sequence indicates the new state of the video attributes. All
subsequent received (typed) displayable characters are to be displayed with these attributes. The assign-
ment of video attribute states to set characters is as follows:

SET (REPORT) (4 ASCII LSB's) NEW ATTRIBUTE SETTING

CHARACTER INTENSITY BLINK REVERSE UNDERLINE

@ 0000 FULL NO NO NO
A 0001 FULL NO NO YES
B 0010 FULL NO YES NO
C 0011 FULL NO YES YES
D 0100 FULL YES NO NO
E 0101 FULL YES NO YES
F 0110 FULL YES YES NO
G 0111 FULL YES YES YES
H 1000 LOW NO NO NO
I 1001 LOW NO NO YES
J 1010 LOW NO YES NO
K 1011 LOW NO YES YES
L 1100 LOW YES NO NO
M 1101 LOW YES NO YES
N 1110 LOW YES YES NO
0 1111 LOW 20 YES YES YES
 Upon power-up the video attributes are set to full intensity no blink, no reverse and no underline.

[1B] {53] {XF] sets aI/ attribute bits.

SMOOTH SCROLL (LINE FEED)

The upward scrolling of the ACT-5A caused by line feeds may be performed in one of two ways (provided the
serial number is greater than 80xx1999): jump scroll or smooth scroll. When in jump scroll mode, new lines
of data appear on the screen as fast as the computer sends them to the terminal. In smooth scroll mode, new
lines of data appear on the screen at the maximum rate of five per second. The upward movement of lines
proceeds smoothly allowing the data to be read as it appears on the screen.

NOTE: In order to use the smooth scroll feature the host computer must support the XON-XOFF pro-
tocol. If output from the host cannot be controlled by XON (Control Q) and XOFF (Control S) codes
the terminal will smooth scroll only if data is received at a rate of less than five lines per second. If
data appears at a faster rate the terminal will automatically perform jump scrolls. Reverse line feeds
do not smooth scroll. See Section 2.4

r=:lr::=Jr>1m
Select Smooth Scroll {1B] {3E]- ~ L:J L:J
Select Jump Scroll {1B] {3F]-

When the terminal is initially turned on the jump scroll mode is selected.
B ISHIFTI IT]

SPLIT SCREEN MODE

Enter: The screen format is 48 lines of 39 characters rather than the usual 24 by 80. Exit: Returns the screen
format to 24 lines by 80 characters. Note this affects the following functions: Absolute Cursor Positioning,
Request Cursor Positioning, Line Feed, Cursor Right - Left - Up - Down, Insert Line and Character, Delete
Line and Character, Back Space, Print, Send, Carriage Return, Erase to End of Line and Erase to End of
Frame. The bell is sounded if an attempt to enter this mode is made while in the Format mode. (LOCAL
ONLY).

ENTER EXIT

{1 B] {50] - B \ [J SHIFTI {1BJ {51] - B G \SHIFTI

START (END) BLINKING FIELD

Displayable characters received after these codes will blink (not blink). The other three video attributes are
not affected.

{1B] {56]- ({IB][57] - B B GJ )

START (END) REVERSE VIDEO FIELD
Displayable characters received after these codes will be displayed as reverse - black dots on a white
background (standard - white dots on a black background). The other three video attributes are undis-
turbed.

[1B] {58]-
BBD ({IB] (59]- B B D)
21
 START (END) UNDERLINED FIELD

Displayable characters received after these codes will be underlined (not underlined). The other three video
attributes are unchanged.

[181 [5A1 - BI SHIFT/ [ ] ([IBJ [5BJ - B OJ)

TAB
The execution of this command depends upon whether the FORMAT mode is set.
If the FORMAT mode is not set the cursor will advance to the next fixed TAB stop on the present line. The
fixed TAB stops are in columns 8,16,24,32,41,49,57,65, and 73. If the cursor is in columns 73 through 79 it
will not move.
If the FORMAT mode is set the cursor will advance to the first (leftmost) position of the next unprotected
field. If there are no more Unprotected fields from the cursor position to the end of the screen the cursor will
not move.
[091 - I Ic=l
CTRL or

UNDERLINE CURRENT CHARACTER

The character at the cursor position is underlined regardless of the state of the other video attributes. The
cursor moves right after underlining.

[181 [41J - B []

22
5.0 INTERFACE INSTRUCTIONS:
5.1 EIA CONNECTOR PIN ASSIGNMENTS:
The pin assignments for the 25 pin EIA connectors on the rear of the ACT-5A are as follows:

I/O Connector:
PIN NUMBER SIGNAL
1 Ground (Chassis)
2 Serial RS232c data out of ACT-5A
3 Serial RS232c data into ACT-5A
4 Request To Send (To Modem)
5 Clear To Send (From Modem)
7 Ground (Signal)
20 Data Terminal (ACT-5A) Ready (High whenever ACT-5A is on)

Printer Connector:
PIN NUMBER SIGNAL
1 Ground
2 Printer Serial RS232c data into Act-5A from Printer
3 Printer Serial RS232c data out of ACT-5A
7 Ground
20 Printer Ready (High = Ready)

5.2 CURRENT LOOP INTERFACE

An optically isolated, polarized, passive, 20mA current loop interface is available as a standard
feature of the ACT-5A. In order to enable it pins 10, (22),11(23),12(24) and 13(25) on the 1/0 conector
must be connected to the computer as follows:

ACT-SA
I/O Connector Pins Signal
12 (or 24) Receiver Current input (+)
13 (or 25) Receiver Current return (-)
10 (or 22) Transmitter current sink ( + )
11 (or 23) Transmitter Current source (-)
Since the interface is passive a typical installation would appear like:

ACT SA HOST COMPUTER

RECEIVER

OPTO·
ISOLATOR
~$ VV'w i
PIN #12
(OR 24)

PIN #13
(OR 25)
IE
:\ (+)

:' >(-)
CURRENT

• <,=->-
,

):>
TRANSMITTER

~
f:H
PIN #10 I +v
TRANSMITTER (OR 22) I CURRENT I RECEIVER

~::: DRIVE
CIRCUIT
PIN #11
(OR 23)
I(
:
I
(+) • <1:
',) (-)
):
OPTO·ISOLATOR

Figure 5.1 TYPICAL CURRENT LOOP CONNECTION

5.3 FULL AND HALF DUPLEX OPERATION

The ACT-5A may operate in either full or half duplex modes. In full duplex all characters typed at the
keyboard and sent to the host computer are echoed by the host and appear on the screen, In the half
duplex mode the host does not echo the characters sent to it so the ACT·5A provides a local echo of
each transmitted character. Some modems require the half duplex mode-otherwise full duplex is
usually the prefered mode of operation. In both full and half duplex, CTS must be high to allow com-
mencement of PRINT and SEND operations. The full/half duplex switch is read only upon power up.
If this switch is toggled during terminal operation, the terminal must be recycled to insure proper
operation. 23
o.J.' t-ull Duplex Operation
In the full duplex mode (selected by the slide at the rear ofthe cabinet) the ACT-SA's transmitter and
receiver circuits operate independently and data may flow both into and out of the serial interface
concurrently. Only pins 2 (RS232c Serial Data Out), 3 (RS232c Serial Data In) and 7 (Signal Ground)
must be connected to establish full duplex communication.
5.3.2 Half Duplex With Modem Control
In the half duplex mode of operation (selected by the switch at the rear of the cabinet) all characters
typed at the keyboard are echoed internally and also transmitted to the host computer through the
1/0 port. The Request To Send (RTS), Clear To Send (CTS) protocol is employed to enable use with
Bell 103 and 202 type modems. In half duplex operation on line, RTS is raised when a character is
struck at the keyboard for transmission to the host computer and dropped after the transmission of
the EOB character. RTS is raised at the commencement of a SEND operation, and dropped at
the completion.

5.4 DATA RATE SELECTION

The ACT-SA features data transmission/reception rates of 110,300,600,1200,2400,4800,9600 and
19,200 baud (bits/second) for both the I/O and PRINTER communication ports.

5.4.1 Selecting the 1/0 Data Rate

The photo below indicates the location of the 8 switches that select the I/O data rate. No two swit-
ches shoud be turned on at the same time.
SWITCH#
110 PRINTER DATA RATE (BAUD)
1 8 19.2K
2 7 9600
3 6 4800
4 S 2400
S 4 1200
6 3 600
7 2 300
8 1 110
NOTE: At 19,200 baud the ACT-SA cannot execute all control codes before another code arrives.
When this occurs one or more characters are stored in a forty character First-In-First-Out (FIFO) buf-
fer. When this buffer fills to 24 characters the ACT-SA transmits an X-Off code to force the host to
suspend transmission. When the buffer is emptied an X-On code is transmitted to the host. If the
host does not'honor the X-OfflX-On protocol, Rubout characters (not nulls) must be sent. As long as
this buffer does not overflow (an unlikely event) the user will be unaware of its existence. Control
features that take more than one character time at 19,200 baud to complete execution are:

Function Length In Number of Character Times at 19,200 Baud

Clear Foreground 160
Home & Clear 26
Line Feed (Scrolling) 3
Erase to End of Screen 1-26 (Cursor Position Dependent)
Tab (Format Mode On) 1-32 (Form Dependent)
Reverse Tab 1-450 (Form Dependent)
Pass through Printer (ON and OFF) 40
*See Section 2.4
5.4.2 Selecting the Printer Data Rate
Located immediately above the I/O data rate select switches on the main logic board are 8 printer rate
select switches. Refer to Section 6.0 to gain access to these switches by removing the cabinet top.
The printer switches select the same rates as the I/O switches (listed above) except in the oppOSite
order.

5.5 UART OPTIONS

The ACT-SA is factory set to transmit and receive a data word consisting of 1 start bit, 7 ASCII data
bits, an 8th data bit (tied high on transmit, ignored on receive) and two stop bits. The parameters of
the data word may be modified by resetting the UART option switches located on the logic board in
the rear of the cabinet (see photo below). The UART option switches have the following effects on
the data transmission format:
24
 UART SWITCH # FUNCTION

5 8th bit transmit select: Off (switch down) causes a logical 1 (mark) to be transmitted; On
(switch up) chooses a logical 0 (space).

10 Parity select: Off (switch down) selects no parity; On enables the type of parity selected
by switch 8

9 Number of stop bits: Off (switch down) selects 2 stop bits; On selects one stop bit.

6,7 Word length: Lengths of 5, 6, 7 or 8 are possible. The parity bit (if selected) is added on to
the word length.

Length (Bits) Switch 6 Switch 7

8 Off Off
7 Off On
6 On Off
5 On On

8 Odd/Even Parity Select: Off (switch down) selects even parity; On selects odd parity.
Switch 10 must be on to enable parity generation.

UART 'switches five through ten are all factory set to the off position.

5.6 PRINTER PORT

The ACT-5A printer port operates in two modes: buffered and pass-through. Both modes are software
controlled by either codes typed at the keyboard or received from the computer.

If the Pass Through Printer is to be operated at speeds greater than 1200 baud, a delay of 20 milli-
second should preceed the transmission of the PTP on code sequence to the terminal. This delay en-
sures that the input buffer will be empty and the PTP ON code will be executed promptly. Another
pause in the data transmission to the ACT-5A of 10 milliseconds must immediately follow the PTP
on codes to prevent the printer UART from acquiring false start bit synchronization and thus printing
erroneous characters.

5.6.1 Buffered Printer Mode

The screen contents may be sent out the PRINTER connector pin 3 (in a serial RS232c format) by
depreSSing the ~~I~~ key as described in Section 3.2.7 or by sending a PRINT code from the com-
LINE

puter (see Section 4) to the ACT-5A. The data rate used to transmit characters to the local printer is
independent of the I/O data rate and may be selected as described in Section 5.4.2 above. When
transmitting characters to the printer the ACT-5A senses the printer ready line at pin 20 of the
PRINTER connector. If this signal assumes the low (not ready) state the ACT-5A suspends transmis-
sion until the printer becomes ready and reasserts this line. If pin 20 is not connected the ACT-5A
assumes that the printer is always ready to accept data and transmits continuously until the selected
PRINT operation terminates.
NOTE: See Section 3.2.7.

5.6.2 Pass-Through Printer Operation

A software controlled switch is provided by the ACT-5A to connect the serial data input line (from the
computer) to the serial data output line to the printer and conversely the serial data input line from
the printer to the serial data output line to the host computer. Three codes control this switch - on
(monitored/not monitored) and off (see Section 4). This type of printer operation requires that your
printer be able to accept data at the same rate as the I/O rate between the terminal and the host com-
puter.
25
6.0 USER SELECTABLE OPTIONS
The operation of several ACT-SA features may be altered by changing jumper selections on the logic
printed circuit board. These options are described in the following subsections.

In order to gain access to the jumpers on the main logic board the cabinet top must be removed.
Before dOing so UNPLUG the unit from the 110 (220) Volt receptacle. Then remove the four retaining
screws located on the sides and at the rear of the cabinet. Carefully lift the cabinet top up and off of
the chassis and set it aside while modifying the jumper selections. It is important to REPLACE the
cover (cabinet top) before reconnecting power to the unit.

6.1 SINGLE/DOUBLE UNDERLINE

FACTORY SETTING: SINGLE

Jumper W1 selects whether underlined fields will have one or two understrokes i.e. A or A. Note that
the single underline appears in the same scan line as the bottom row of a descendinglower case
character (g) while a double underscore over·writes both descending rows (g). It is for this reason
that we suggest double underscores be used only in the absence of descending characters.

W1 CONNECTIONS
A to S for single
B to S for double

6.2 BLINK RATES FOR CURSOR AND BLINKING FIELDS

FACTORY SETTING: CURSOR 2 HZ; BLINKING FIELDS 1 HZ

Jumpers W2 and W3 select the blinking frequencies of the cursor and of the blinking fields. These
two rates are independent and may be selected as follows:

CURSOR RATE:
W2 CONNECTIONS BLINK RATE (Hz)

S to A 4
S to B 2
S to C 1
S to D o
BLINKING RATE:
W3 CONNECTIONS BLINK RATE (Hz)

S to A 4
S to B 2
S to C 1

6.3 PROTECTED VIDEO ATTRIBUTE

FACTORY SETTING: PROTECTED FIELDS = REDUCED INTENSITY

The video attribute associated with protected fields may be anyone of: Reduced Intensity, Blinking,
Reverse Video or Underlined. In order to change the protected video attribute two operations must
be performed.

First W4 should be connected as follows

W4 CONNECTION PROTECTED VIDEO ATTRIBUTE

S to A Reduced Intensity
S to B Blinking
S to C Reverse Video
S to D Underline

26
 Second the Protected Field Attribute switches (Refer to Figure 5.2 above) T.O. 2 and T.O. 3 must be
set as follows:

PROTECTED VIDEO ATTRIBUTE T.O.2 T.O.3

Reduced Intensity OFF OFF

Blinking OFF ON
Reverse Video ON OFF
Underline ON ON

6.4 KEYBOARD AUTO REPEAT RATE

FACTORY SETIING: 30 CPS

After approximately a.5 second delay all keys automatically repeat at either 7.5,15 or 30 characters
per second (CPS) depending upon the W5 jumper selection:

W5 CONNECTION REPEAT RATE (CPS)

S to A 30
S to B 15
S to C 7.5

6.5 DISPLAY NULL CHARACTER ON/OFF

FACTORY SETTING: ON T.O.4

This switch (located at the rear of the cabinet) controls the displaying of the null symbol when in
either the display, the control characters mode or in graphics mode. Refer to Figure 5.2 for the exact
location of this switch.

27
7.1 Function Summary
HEX DECIMAL KEYBOARD FUNCTION
05 5 [Ctrl E] Report Cursor Position
07 7 [Ctrl G] 8ell
08 8 .[Ctrl H] 8ackspace
09 9 [Ctrl I] Tab
OA 10 [Ctrl J] Line Feed
08 11 [CtrIK] Cursor Down
OC 12 [Ctrl L] Home & Clear to Current Attributes
OD 13 [Ctrl M] Return
OE 14 [Ctrl N] Change Intensity
10 16 [Ctrl P] Print Screen
11 17 [CtrIO] Display Control Characters (Local)
12 18 [Ctrl R] Reverse Tab
14 20 [Ctrl T] Absolute Cursor POsition
18 24 [Ctrl X] Cursor Right
19 25 [Ctrl Y] Pass Through Printer (Off)
1A 26 [Ctrl Z] Cursor Up
1D 29 [Ctrl]] Home Up
1E 30 [Ctrl A] Erase To End Of Line Current Attributes
1F 31 [Ctrl _] Erase To End of Screen Current Attributes

The [Esc] key must be pressed first then released before the next key for these functions. CAPS LOCK or SHIFT key must
be depressed.

18 36 27 54 [Esc] [6] Delete Character

18 37 27 55 [Esc] [7] Insert Line
18 38 27 56 [Esc] [8] Delete Line
18 39 27 57 [Esc] [9] Set E08 Character
18 3A 27 58 [Esc] [:] Cursor Off
18 38 27 59 [Esc] [;] Cursor On
18 3C 27 60 [Esc] 1<] Enable Keyclick
18 3D 27 61 [Esc] [=] Disable Keyclick
18 3E 27 62 [Esc] [>] Select Smooth Scroll
18 3F 27 63 [Esc] [?] Select Jump Scroll
18 40 27 64 [Esc] [@] Erase to End of Line Protected
18 41 27 65 [Esc] [A] Underline
18 42 27 66 [Esc] [8] Foreground Follows
18 43 27 67 [Esc] [C] 8ackground Follows
18 44 - - - - - - 27 68 [Esc] [D] Format On
18 45 27 69 [Esc] [E] Format Off
18 46 27 70 [Esc] [F] Print Line
18 47 27 71 [Esc] [G] Insert Character
18 48 27 72 [Esc] [H] Reverse Line Feed
18 49 27 73 [Esc] [I] Erase To End Of Line Unprotected
18 4A 27 74 [Esc] [J] Erase To End Of Screen Protected
18 48 27 75 [Esc] [K] Erase To End Of Screen Unprotect.
18 4C 27 76 [Esc] [L] Clear Foreground
18 4D 27 77 [Esc] [M] Enter Graphics
18 4E 27 78 [Esc] [N] Exit Graphics
18 4F 27 79 [Esc] [0] Report Character At Cursor
18 50 27 80 [Esc] [PI Enter Split Screen Mode (Local)
18 51 27 81 [Esc] [0] Exit Split Screen (Local)
18 52 27 82 [Esc] [R] Report Video Attributes
18 53 27 83 [Esc] [S] Set Video Attributes
18 54 27 84 [Esc] [T] Enable Scroll
18 55 27 85 [Esc] [U] Disable Scroll
18 56 27 86 [Esc] [V] Start 81inking Field
18 57 27 87 [Esc] [WI End 81inking Field
18 58 27 88 [Esc] [X] Start Reverse Video Field
18 59 27 89 [Esc] [Y] End Reverse Video Field
18 5A 27 90 [Esc] [Zl Start Underline Field
18 58 27 91 [Esc] [[] End Underline Field
18 5C 27 92 [Esc] [,,] Pass Through Printer On (Monitor)
18 5D 27 93 [Esc] [Jl Pass Through Printer On (Non-Monitor)
18 5E 27 94 [Esc] [A] Set Send Data Type - Unprotected
18 5F 27 95 [Esc] [_I Set Send Data Type - All
18 60 27 96 [Esc] [,] Home and Clear to Protected Spaces
18 61 27 97 [Esc] [a] Home and Clear to Unprotected Sp.Rr.es

28
2 ABSOLUTE CURSOR ADDRESSING TABLE - ACT-SA
DECIMAL ASCII ROW COLUMN DECIMAL ASCII ROW COLUMN
0 CTRLO 0 0 64 @ 16 64
1 CTRLA 1 1 65 A 17 65
2 CTRL B 2 2 66 B 18 66
3 CTRLC 3 3 67 C 19 67
4 CTRL D 4 4 68 D 20 68
5 CTRL E 5 5 69 E 21 69
6 CTRL F 6 6 70 F 22 70
7 CTRLG 7 7 71 G 23 71
8 CTRL H 8 8 72 H 0 72
9 CTRLI 9 9 73 I 1 73
10 CTRL J 10 10 74 J 2 74
11 CTRL K 11 11 75 K 3 75
12 CTRL L 12 12 76 L 4 76
13 CTRL M 13 13 77 M 5 77
14 CTRL N 14 14 78 N 6 78
15 CTRLO 15 15 79 0 7 79
16 CTRL P 16 16 80 P 8 0
17 CTRL a 17 17 81 a 9 1
18 CTRL R 18 18 82 R 10 2
19 CTRLS 19 19 83 S 11 3
20 CTRL T 20 20 84 T 12 4
21 CTRL U 21 21 85 U 13 5
22 CTRLV 22 22 86 V 14 6
23 CTRLW 23 23 87 W 15 7
24 CTRLX 0 24 88 X 16 8
25 CTRL Y 1 25 89 Y 17 9
26 CTRLZ 2 26 90 Z 18 10
27 CTRL[ 3 27 91 [ 19 11
18 4 28 92 20 12
29
30
CTRL"
CTRL)
CTRLA
5
6
29
30
93
94 "
A
) 21
22
13
14
31 CTRL_ 7 31 95 23 15
32 8 32 96 " 0 16
33 ! 9 33 97 a 1 17
34 " 10 34 98 b 2 18
35 # 11 35 99 c 3 19
36 $ 12 36 100 d 4 20
37 % 13 37 101 e 5 21
38 ,& 14 38 102 f 6 22
39 15 39 103 9 7 23
40 ( 16 40 104 h 8 24
41 ) 17 41 105 i 9 26
42 * 18 42 106 1 10 27
43 + 19 43 107 k 11 28
44 20 44 108 I 12 28
45 21 45 109 m 13 29
46 22 46 110 n 14 30
47 I 23 47 111 0 15 31
48 0 0 48 112 P 16 32
49 1 1 49 113 q 17 33
50 2 2 50 114 r 18 34
51 3 3 51 115 s 19 35
52 4 4 52 116 t 20 36
53 5 5 53 117 u 21 37
54 6 6 54 118 v 22 38
55 7 7 55 119 w 23 39
56 8 8 56 120 x 0 40
57 9 9 57 121 Y 1 41
58 10 58 122 z 2 42
59 , 11 59 123 { 3 43
60 < 12 60 124 I
I
4 44
61 = 13 61 125 } 5 45
-"')
> 14 62 126 "....." 6 46
? 15 63
29
7.3 CHARACTER SETS

•••• •• ••••• * • •• •
• ••
Tiii

• • •
•• •
••
I.

I. •• • • • • • • • •• •• •••
I.
••• •• •••• • •• Ie
• • ••
•• I.•• •• •
• ••• •
o CTRL @ 1 CTRL A 2 CTRL a 3 CTRL C CTRL D 4 5 CTRL E 6 CTRL F 7 CTRL G 8 CTRL I

• • • •• •• •••
•• • •• ••
• •
••• j--

9 CTRLI A CTRL J 8 CTRL K C CTRL L o CTRL M E CTRL N F CTRL 0 10 CTRL P 11 CTRL C

•• •• •• • •• •• •• •
• •• • • •• • ••
•• ••
• • • • •• ••• • •• I.
12 CTRL R 13 CTRL S 14 CTRL T 15 CTRL U 16 CTRL V 17 CTRL W 18 CTRL X 19 CTRL Y 1A CTRL,

• • •• • • • •
•• •• •• •• •• • •• ••• • • 4

•• •••
I.
••• • 4

•
I.
•••• •
i.
•• •• •• ••• •• •••••
20 21 22 23
18 CTRL [ 1C CTRL \ 10 .CTRL ] 1E CTRLA 1F CTRL_
• • • ••
•• •• • • ••• • •
I.
• • • • • ••
•• ••• •
I.
•• • ,. • ••
• • • •• i
••
••
24 25 26 27 28 29 2A 28 2C

•• •• •••• • ••• ••• • • •• • •• • •• •

I• 1.lelelele

••••
I. I. I.
• I- I- I-

•• • •
I. Ie ~ Ie
• ••• •• •• • • •• • • • •• I

•• •• • • •• •• • •• • •• ••• • •• ••• •• •.1. • I

Ie. •• ••• • • ••
20 2E 2F 30 31 32 33 34 35

• •• • ••• • • ••
•
• •• •• • •• •• •
•• •• •• ••• •
• • • •• •• ••
• II •

.
36 37 38 39 3A 38 3C 30 3E

••• ••• •• • • • • ••• •••

I.
• • ~ •• ••• • •• • •• •• •
•• • • • • •• • • • ••• • • •• •• •
••• • • • • •• •
• • 1• • Ii: •• ••
3F 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47

•• •••
••• ••
* Null Character May
Be Represented By
• •••••
o CTRL@ •••
30
 ,e •• • • • •• • •• ••
e. ele

,e I.
,e •
49 4A 48 4C 40 4E 4F 50
,e Ie ,-I.
•
••
'e
• • •
,-
• ,e

52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59
Ie Ie
,e ••
•,e,e• • Ie ,-Ie,e • • • ••• ••• •
Ie
Ie ie •• •
Ie
Ie ,e '-
Ie
Ie •• •• •• • • ••• •
58 5C 50 5E 5F 60 61 62
-
-
- • • •
'-!It
- •• ••• • •••• •• • • •
-

•
.- •
•• •• •
• • ,e••
~

•
• ••• •• ••• • •
64 65 66 67 68 69 6A 68

•
Ie ,e ••• • ••• •••
•• •
,e
,e
• •
60 6E 6F 70 73 7.4

.-i
71 72
- •• •
,e • •
• ••
c- - Ie
• • • •e •
n:: ~ • ,e • • • ••• ••• ••• •• •• • •• • Ie

78 79 7A 78 7C 70

..
76 77

• • -

7F

31
 7.4 TABLE OF THE ASCII CODES

.. 'ii
E .. 'ii
E .. 'ii

- - -
E

--- -
() ()

--- -
CD CD CD ()
0 'ii CD U 0 'ii CD 'ii
U
~ E 'g ~ E 'a U
~ S CD
t! t!
-
'g
~ as as t! E
...
II: as
s:.
as
c
1'0 'ii
u
()
CD
><
CD
as
s:.
as
c
1'0 'ii
u
()
CD
><
CD
as
s:.
C
as
__
I' ° 'ii
u
() as
><
(.) (.) iii iii iii 0 C ::E: (.) iii iii iii 0 C ::E: (.) iii iii iii 0 C
CD CD
l:
@ NUL 00000000 000 000 00 + 00101011 053 043 2B V 01010110 126 086 56
A SOH 00000001 001 001 01 00101100 054 044 2C W 01010111 127 087 57
B STX 00000010 002 002 02 00101101 055 045 2D X 01011000 130 088 58
C ETX 00000011 003 003 03 00101110 056 046 2E Y 01011001 131 089 59
D EOT 00000100 004 004 04 I 00101111 057 047 2F Z 01011010 132 090 5A
E ENQ 00000101 005 005 05 0 00110000 060 048 30 [ 01011011 133 091 5B
F ACK 00000110 006 006 06 1 00110001 061 049 31 \ 01011100 134 092 5C
G BEL 00000111 007 007 07 2 00110010 062 050 32 ] 01011101 135 093 5D
H BS 00001000 010 008 08 3 00110011 063 051 33 /\ 01011110 136 094 5E
I HT 00001001 011 009 09 4 00110100 064 052 34 01011111 137 095 5F
J LF 00001010 012 010 OA 5 00110101 065 053 35 01100000 140 096 60
K VT 00001011 013 011 OB 6 00110110 066 054 36 a 01100001 141 097 61
L FF 00001100 014 012 OC 7 00110111 067 055 37 b 01100010 142 098 62
M ~R 00001101 015 013 OD 8 00111000 070 056 38 c 01100011 143 099 63
f'.4 SO 00001110 016 014 OE 9 00111001 071 057 39 d 01100100 144 100 64
0 SI 00001111 017 015 OF 00111010 072 058 3A e 01100101 145 101 65
P DLE 00010000 020 016 10 , 00111011 073 059 3B f 01100110 146 102 66
Q DC1
R DC2
00010001
00010010
021
022
017
018
11
12
< 00111100
00111101
074
075
060
061
3C
3D
g
h
01100111
01101000
147
150
103
104
67
68
S DC3
T DC4
00010011
00010100
023
024
019
020
13
14
>? 00111110
00111111
076
077
062
063
3E
3F
i
j
01101001
01101010
151
152
105
106
69
6A
U NAK 00010101 025 021 15 @ 01000000 100 064 40 k 01101011 153 107 6B
V SYN 00010110 026 022 16 A 01000001 101 065 41 I 01101100 154 108 6C
W ETB 00010111 027 023 17 a 01000010 102 066 42 m 01101101 155 109 6D
X CAN 00011000 030 024 18 C 01000011 103 067 43 n 01101110 156 110 6E
Y EM 00011001 031 025 19 D 01000100 104 068 44 0 01101111 157 111 6F
Z SUB 00011010 032 026 1A e 01000101 105 069 45 P 01110000 160 112 70
[ ESC 00011011 033 027 1B R 01000110 106 070 46 q 01110001 161 113 71
\ FS 00011100 034 028 1C G 01000111 107 071 47 r 01110010 162 114 72
] GS 00011101 035 029 1D H 01001000 110 072 48 s 01110011 163 115 73
A RS 00011110 036 030 1E I 01001001 111 073 49 t 01110100 164 116 74
- US 00011111 037 031 1F J 01001010 112 074 4A u 01110101 165 117 75
SP 00100000 040 032 20 K 01001011 113 075 4B v 01110110 166 118 76
I 00100001 041 033 21 L 01001100 114 076 4C w 01110111 167 119 77
" 00100010 042 034 22 M 01001101 115 077 4D x 01111000 170 120 78
# 00100011 043 035 23 N 01001110 116 078 4E Y 01111001 171 121 79
$ 00100100 044 036 24 0 01001111 117 079 4F z 01111010 172 122 7A
% 00100101 045 037 25 P 01010000 120 080 50 { 01111011 173 123 7B
& 00100110 046 038 26 Q 01010001 121 081 51 I
I 01111100 174 124 7C
00100111 047 039 27 R 01010010 122 082 52 } 01111101 175 125 7D
( 00101000 050 040 28 S 01010011 123 083 53 ""'-" 01111110 176 126 7E
) 00101001 051 041 29 T 01010100 124 084 54 DEL 01111111 177 127 7F
* 00101010 052 042 2A U 01010101 125 085 55

CTRL ABBR. DESCRIPTION CTRL ABBR. DESCRIPTION CTRLABBR. DESCRIPTION

@ NUL null, or all zeros K VT - vertical tabulation V SYN synchronous idle
A SOH start of heading L FF form feed W ETB end of transmission blc
B STX start of text M CR - carriage return X CAN cancel
C ETX end of text N SO shift out Y EM end of medium
D EOT end of transmission 0 SI shift in Z SUB substitute
E ENQ enquiry P DLE data link escape [ ESC escape
F ACK acknowledge Q DC1 device control 1 (X ON) \ FS file separator
G BEL bell R DC2 device control 2 ] GS group separator
H BS backspace S DC3 device control 3 (X OFF) /\ RS record separator
I HT horizontal tabulation T DC4 device control 4 US unit separator
J LF line feed U NAK negative acknowledge SP space
DEL delete
32
8.0 WARRANTY AND SERVICE INFORMATION
a) The ACT-5A requires no maintenance and should perform faithfully for many years. MICRO-TERM
will repair any unit which fails within the original warranty period provided that no modifications
have been performed on the circuit, other than the jumper modifications outlined in this manual.

b) The ACT-5A is accompanied by a limited one year warranty. For in-warranty service, the user may
elect to return either the defective board or the entire unit to the factory, freight prepaid. MICRO-
TERM will return in-warranty repairs freight prepaid for the first ninety days of the warranty period
and freight collect thereafter. The video display module is an exception to this one year warranty;
it is warranted by its manufacturer for ninety days and likewise by MICRO-TERM, Inc.

c) Beyond the warranty period MICRO-TERM will charge a nominal fee for the repair of any ACT-5A. A
complete technical manual including s.chematic, theory of operation and timing diagrams is
available to owners of the ACT-5A. Any further information relating to the operation or interfacing
of your ACT-5A can be obtained by writing directly to: TECHNICAL STAFF
MICRO-TERM,INC.
1314 Hanley Industrial Ct.
St. Louis, Missouri 63144
314-968-8151

9.0 CUSTOM MODIFICATIONS

MICRO-TERM is one of the few computer terminal manufacturers that will modify its standard ter-
minals to exact customer specifications--even for quantity one. Write for information.

33
NOTES
 ,10.0 SUGGESTION SHEET
MICRO-TERM, Inc. maintains a continuous effort to improve the quality and usefulness of its
I publications. To do this effectively we need user feedback--your critical evaluation of this manual.

I Please comment on this manual's completeness, accuracy, organization, usability and readability.

I
I
,

I
I Did you find errors in this manual? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

I
I
I
I How can this manual be improved? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

:I
,

I
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I
Please describe your position
I
Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Organization
I Street _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _---,-_ _ _ _ _ _ Department _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
I
City _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ State _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Zip _ _ _ __
I
I
PLEASE SEN D TO:
I MICRO-TERM, INC.
1314 HANLEY INDUSTRIAL COURT
ST. LOUIS, MO. 63144
I ATTENTION: TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS STAFF
I
I
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35