One of the later options added to the FR80 was the High-Speed Page Print System which allowed greatly increased character writing speed of hardware characters.
The Enter Type Mode (Non-justified) Command when bit 11 was set would output text at high speed (if high-speed page print option had been purchased).
When the FR80 arrived it did output non-justified text at high speed and the assumption was that the High-Speed option was working well.
In August 1976, when Rob Witty was writing Driver to replace the FR80 Displayer program, it was not clear that the FR80 Print Programs were using the High Speed Option in the Character Generator. Prior to a visit to III in Culver City in October 1976, Rob sent a list of questions to Gregg White of III indicating areas of interest that he wanted to raise on the visit, which included Question 3:
What use is made by the Print Program of the High Speed option in the Character Generator?
The response from Gregg White at III was:
Dear Mr. Witty,
In response to your inquiry about the high speed text option in FR 80 Displayer I will admit that you hit on something of which I was not aware. Your machine was built right around the time I joined this company and was one of the first to incorporate the new half-word format and high speed text feature. Unfortunately, because most machines could not use these options an assembly parameter for your machine configuration was forgotten. We now find, thanks to your persistence, that no one has been using high speed text mode in FR 80 Displayer.
I had assumed that everyone else was and that yours was a special problem and therefor wanted more documentation in order to track down what had gone wrong at your site.
In the User's Manual now there is only a revision bar where the explanation for bit 10 in the enter text mode (204) command sat. What it had been and in fact still is, is a character packing select bit. If bit 10=0 it means half-word format and if bit 10=1 it is the 8 bit format as you discovered. The older machines were able to run high speed text using the 8 bit format as are the newer machines. This had been a transitional set-up which apparently was never properly or fully documented within Information International.
Your machine does have the capability to run high speed text in the half-word format and while a new version could be assembled and shipped to you we felt that since you have already patched many of your programs for special functions of your own it would be easier and quicker for you to patch in the necessary changes to make this modification work in your current software. I am returning the pages on which you showed the 204 interpreter code with new instructions in red ink to show what should be added or replaced. Should you desire new program assemblies instead we will be glad to send them to you.
Again, I want to apologize that what you correctly saw as an error in what our book said and what our program did I interpreted it as a specific problem related only to Atlas Labs. I trust that this will straighten out any problems along this line for you. I thank you for enlightening us and hope if I can be of any further service to you in this matter or any other you will not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Gregg B. White