Upgrading the FX-80 to FX-85 Specification Upgrading the old FX-80 to FX-85 Specs is a very simple task. Epson America would prefer their authorized dealers perform the installation to insure the quality of the product, but anyone who has installed memory chips or similar devices in their computer has the background to successfully install the upgrade. These instructions apply to the FX-80, not the FX-80+. I am sure the FX-80+ upgrade is very similar, but I cannot vouch for the locations of devices on the printer's circuit board, nor can I guarantee the jumper which must be cut is the same jumper or is located similarly to the FX-80. You will require the following tools: Phillips Screwdriver Chip Puller Small wire cutters Epson Up-grade kit FX-85 from FX-80 (PN Y492330100) PRELIMINARIES Unplug the power cord and remove the parallel cable from the printer. Remove paper, sound cover, platen cover, paper separator, and platen knob from the printer. Remove the four phillips screws located at the four corners of the top of the printer case. Lift the top cover from the left and lay it upside down to the right of the printer (there should be sufficient slack in the wire bundle that connects the control panel to the circuit board to allow this. If not you can carefully pull the connector from the circuit board to free the top cover completely. Do not pull on the wire bundle itself!) Your kit contains four IC's, one circuit board, and mounting hardware for the circuit board. You will install one IC and replace three others. The circuit board will be mounted above the main circuit board. You must also cut one jumper on the main circuit board. IC's are delicate devices. They are particularly vulnerable to static electricity. If you're arcing every time you touch a doorknob it isn't the best time to install Integrated Circuits. Insure you are adequately grounded and use a sheet of grounded aluminum foil for handling the IC's. In most cases, the pins will have to be bent slightly to make them perpendicular for insertion in their sockets. You can accomplish this by holding the IC on its side against a flat surface and gently bending all the pins to the proper allignment. THE INSTALLATION (All directions assume you are facing the front of the printer. All chips install with the notch on the chip oriented toward the rear of the printer.) Remove the 28 pin IC labelled FX4 from the antistatic block (don't forget to check its pins for proper allignment.) Install the chip in the empty socket on the circuit board labelled 4A (Center of the circuit board back row of IC's). Remove the 28 pin IC from socket 5A (To the immediate right of the chip you just installed) and replace it with the IC labelled FC5. Remove the 40 pin chip from socket 9B (a two inch long slave cpu chip mounted on the right side of the board, just inboard of the dip switches). Replace this IC with the C42020 chip in the kit. Last, remove the small 16 pin IC in socket 4B and replace it with the M02016GA chip in the kit (This smallish chip is just to the front of the 5A socket). Now comes the scary part, cutting the jumper J1. Just slightly to the left of dead center of the board is a large chip surrounded by a plastic chip mount. To the left of this chip are three small cylindrical objects soldered to the board. The two closest to the chip are striped (they are resistors). The third is colored solid tan and is labelled J1. You must cut the wire leading to this device. I used an XACTO knife and severed the wire on end facing the rear...the appropriate wire cutters would do better. ( If the jumper doesn't match this description or if you're unsure of yourself, this is where a technician might come in handy.) The last part is easy. One inch to the left of the parallel connector is a small phillips screw the helps hold the circuit board to the lower case. Remove it and replace it with the cylindrical brass support screw in the kit. 3 1/2 inches forward of the support screw is a short plastic tower with a screw and washer in the top (There are two of them side by side, you want the left one). Remove the screw and washer and do similarly on the tower 2 1/2 inches to the left. Take the circuit board from the kit and hold it with the 34 pin connector to the rear of the printer. One inch to the left of the brass support you have installed you will find a 34 pin socket CN3 (back edge and center of the board). Carefully press the pins into the socket. The three corner holes on the board should line up with the support screw and the two plastic towers you've removed screws from. Use the removed screws to secure the board. (There are fasteners and plastic collars for the towers in the kit if your printer didn't have them to remove). You're done with the hard part. Before you replace the top cover, set the dip switches as per the FX-85 Manual and your desires (page A-3). It's also a good time to clean out the printers interior with compressed air and lint-free swabs. Reinstall the control panel wire bundle and reinstall the top cover. Replace the removed parts and install the new control panel label (it uses a pressure sensitive adhesive). Plug everything in and run a self test. You should have a printer that is identical in features to the FX-85. Only the improved paper handling convenience and speed of the 85 is missing. PARTS LIST Name Description Socket Board FXEXT Board CN3 Screws CTP (M3x10) CB (M3x30), Collar CB (M3x6, Board Support Screw ROM FX4 4A FC5 5A Fuse ROM M02016GA 4B Slave CPU C42020 9B Panel Label New Panel Label User's Guide FX-85/185 User's Guide Note: FX-85 kit does not include the Slave CPU Incorrect installation can result in serious damage to the printer's circuit board. Enjoy your new printer. John Carrier (c/o Computer Connection [804] 481 1824)