Trying to connect old printer that does not have 2-wqy communicattion

[Dave W]

Care to share how?

[tabbypurr]

When I ran windows I stuck with 98, which may make a large difference. Just select model from list when it asks what printer you have. I'm hoping someone knows how to do that in 8.1, perhaps with some little 3rd party app. If there's no way to I don't know if you could run virtual 98 & send the data to that. Very clunky I know. Or you could get all sensible & try linux :) I can tell this linux machine my printer is anything - solves the great majority of print driver problems.

NT

[Thomas Prufer]

The Laserjet 6P is a bog-standard workhorse, if dated. I don't know why there was a problem.

(You might try a temporary Linux off a USB stick to see if the problem is in hardware or software.)

I have a D-Link DP-301P+ print server, which does parallel to LAN, and that worked. I got it because it was in the box "electronics that someone threw out and I kept because I thought they might come in handy".

"Ethernet Print Server LPT" finds similar devices.

Thomas Prufer

[Bob Eager]

I have a LaserJet 4M+. I had a bit of a struggle for Windows 10, but found them in the end (actually Windows 8.1 drivers, I think).

A generic PCL or PostScript driver seemd to be acceptable, anyway.

[David Wade]

It works. The printer port in these devices, especially the second, is simple. I haven't tried a Cannon but heck, they work with my Pen Plotters and an old LJ3...

Dave

[Dave W]

Windows 98 is the last operating system that allows direct access to the pins of hardware ports. At one of my employments I made use of this to drive test equipment, and they put a big notice on the PC "Not to be updated" to XP.

I wrote my gps printer program to suit Windows 98, and that's what I still use at home. On modern windows, even a virtual Win98 machine can't drive the ports directly - all communication has to go through the modern Windows host.

I have succeeded in using DOSbox to get the serial input from my gps via COM2: created by a USB to serial converter. To drive my printer I need to access LPT1:, but USB to parallel converters don't provide that port. They just use Windows USB printer facility.

As I implied, only Win98 has my old printer in its list. There are no drivers for it on modern machines. There are drivers for an old Agfa printer that would be acceptable to my Canon, but the computer won't connect it unless my printer replies that it's Agfa. My printer can't reply anything anyway, as I said in my original posting.

[tabbypurr]

I wonder if you know your options but don't want to accept them.

[bert]

In article [e-mail], Dave W [e-mail]> writes

I once ran a serial/parallel converter successfully on a BBC. Unfortunately I gave it away a long time ago. Could the OP run USB to serial then serial to Parallel? (Assuming such convertors are still available).

[Dave W]

No.

[Dave W]

I have a new option now - construct a USB to parallel port inside a Centronics plug housing, using an FT245BL chip.

[Paul]

Here is a summary, as to things your adapter could do. This file is a PDF, and when it arrives, may need ".pdf" added to the end of the filename.

(PL2305 )

"The PL2305 is default to negotiate with the printer into

Nibble mode for upstream data and

Compatible mode for downstream data transfer."

Whatever that means.

Does every printer do it that way ???

Paul

[Dave W]

I don't know what it means either, but the words "USB Printer Class specification" seem to indicate that the chip is similar to all USB to printer adapters, which use the Windows USB Printer service but do not create a port like LPT1.

The printer service demands that the printer declares its name when interrogated, and if it doesn't respond with a name in Windows' list, then we get "Printer not connected" as one of the USB devices in Device Manager.

If I have LPT1; I can send it print data for my printer from my BASIC programme irrespective of whether it's the right printer.

[Paul]

As far as I know, this is mainly a Class driver limitation.

Perhaps the hardware supports more than the intended standard.

But I'm not aware of anyone crafting a different driver for the job.

I was just surprised, that the hardware admits to two modes, as part of the job. The impression I got in the past, was that these things use "1 of 4 modes", but the comments never went into any details as to how that worked. Or for that matter, whether all printers would work with such dongles.

I have an alternative here, as I have a PCI Express parallel port card, which drives my JTAG cable (used with an FPGA kit). But that's no good as a solution for someone with a laptop. ExpressCard went out of style long ago, and they don't seem to ship laptops with that any more. For laptops there are fewer options. (If you have ThunderBolt or USB4, maybe some day you'll be able to use an "external enclosure" with a parallel port card. And that would likely mean an Apple computer as your base.)

Paul