Vintage A4 plotter - identification needed

[rdm2]

Hi all

I need some help identifying a plotter I once had for my BBC Micro. This would be mid 1980s (1984, 1985ish). It looked very much like this:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/385868253284 ... R9j6rtu2Yg

except that:
1) I don't think it had the dark plastic cover on (I may be wrong - I may have only used it with the cover off.)
2) I'm 100% certain it only had 4 push buttons in the bottom right-hand corner (whereas the one in the link) has 12.
3) I think (again not 100% sure) the 4 buttons had a light blue background around them.

The only other thing I can remember (related to 2) above) is that switching on while holding two of the push buttons made it go into demo mode. FWIW the two buttons you had to hold were diagonally opposite each other i.e. top left and bottom right / top right and bottom left.

I did manage to hook it up to my Beeb and even got it to output text but could never get it to plot graphics. I don't remember it coming with any software so I strongly suspect it was sold to my Dad's work (from where it was borrowed for me for a week) as being "BBC compatible" in the sense that the IDC to Centronics cable was available - but not so much in the sense that it would do anything a dot matrix couldn't do.

Here's hoping someone has seen something similar.

Cheers
Rob

[Coeus]

If you think it may be an HP plotter, and they were well-known for them, there is a list of models with pictures at the HP Computer Museum: http://www.hpmuseum.net/exhibit.php?class=4&cat=24

[scruss]

The small HP plotter with the fewest buttons was the 7470A: two pens, A4/Letter paper. I don't remember any of them being blue.

No HP plotter of that vintage came with a Centronics-compatible interface. They were all either RS-232 serial, or HP-IB.

[ChrisJC]

We had a 'Sweet-P' plotter. I can't recall the interface, but it was 'HPGL compatible', and we used it for basic CAD output.

I used to enjoy watching it do filled squares.

Chris.

[RobC]

Sounds a bit like an Epson HI80.

I have a couple of them and have hooked one up to a Beeb.