zhowdy folks. I need to be able to put string to a printer port. (using the 8 lines for different device controll) is there a basic program out there for that or some kind of script I can use? thanks Sancho
- posted
18 years ago
zhowdy folks. I need to be able to put string to a printer port. (using the 8 lines for different device controll) is there a basic program out there for that or some kind of script I can use? thanks Sancho
I've got a page below that has some easy and simple ways to control the parallel port pins.
Be very careful what you tie your parallel port to. When you start hooking long wires, different powered devices, anything hooked to the power grid, anything that can get static zapped, you run the risk of blowing up your whole motherboard. Ask me how I know...I lost a motherboard hot plugging a printer.
Get yourself a parallel port on a separate card and use that for external connections. That will significantly reduce, but not eliminate your risk of blowing up the motherboard every time the air conditioner kicks on.
Optical isolation is a better way to go.
I'm a fan of automation, but be very careful to examine ALL the failure modes. What happens when windows crashes and glitches the parallel port and opens your front door while you're on vacation? It's very unlikely to happen, but the consequences can be severe if it does. mike
Its been a while but assuming you have a PC in the mix you can possibly do this in a batch program...
A line like print "hello world" > lpt1
Variables and other fancy stuff could be used.
Did you mean the Programming Language BASIC? If so, then
A$="string you want printed" print a$
If DOS, save your string in a file and copy /b file.txt lpt1:
(the /b means it is binary and could be anything)
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