SASDDI@vm.sas.com (05/17/91)
I wonder if some kind soul might help me with this; I'm rather new to this. I have a terminal (Control Concepts 3276, emulating the IBM terminal of the same model) to which I have attached an Epson RX-80 printer via a serial card (don't remember what kind). Works great. Now I have a PC (Leading Edge D) sitting beside it. I would like to hook the printer to an A/B switch so I can use it from the PC sometimes and from the terminal othertimes. But as far as I know (which obviously isn't very far) a printer is expected to be hooked to a PC via the parallel port. Is there some way I can hook my printer to the serial port, and somehow tell the PC and all the software on it that that's where it is? (By installing(writing!? :-( ) a device driver maybe?) I don't think (but I'm not 100% sure -of anything!-) that you can use the parallel port on the printer with the serial card plugged in. And it's way too much trouble to swap the board in and out. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dale D. Ingold SAS Institute Inc. snoddi@mvs.sas.com MVS Host Group SAS Campus Drive 919/677-8000 x7603 Cary, NC 27513-2414
dlow@pollux.svale.hp.com (Danny Low) (05/18/91)
>Now I have a PC (Leading Edge D) sitting beside it. I would like to >hook the printer to an A/B switch so I can use it from the PC sometimes >and from the terminal othertimes. But as far as I know (which obviously >isn't very far) a printer is expected to be hooked to a PC via the >parallel port. Just hook the printer to the serial port of your computer using the switch box. This port is most likely COM1 unless you have a really screwy configuration. Use the mode command to set up COM1 as a printer and re-direct LPT1 to COM1. You may have to reconfigure your software to tell them the printer is now on COM1 and no longer on LPT1 but that should be it. Danny Low "Question Authority and the Authorities will question You" Valley of Hearts Delight, Silicon Valley HP NPCD dlow@pollux.svale.hp.com
SASDDI@vm.sas.com (05/21/91)
Many thanks to the following people for their responses: Galen Hekhuis <gkh@krebbs.acc.virginia.edu> Chance C. Guerin <guerin@cod.nosc.mil> Jonathan Miner <jwm712@unhd.unh.edu> Pietro P. Rizzi <pietro@mtecv2.itesm.mty.mx> Joe Dorner <dorner@nprdc.navy.mil> James Birdsall <jwbirdsa@amc.com> Jui-hsiang Allan Yang <yang-allan@cs.yale.edu> Louis Davidson <louis@mthvax.cs.miami.edu> Rich Snow <rich@aoa.utc.com> They all pointed out that the DOS manual describes using MODE COM1:baud,parity,bits,stop-bits,P and MODE LPT1=COM1 Unfortunately, it's not working. The printer is set for 1200 baud, even parity, and 2 stop-bits (not sure if it's 7 or 8 data bits). So that's what I set the COM1 port to, then I issue the second MODE command to redirect the printer, then I attempt to test it with ECHO hi > LPT1 Nothing. The printer stays quiet, and the system locks up until I hit CNTL-BREAK (that's if I added the P option; without it, after a few seconds, the system complains about the port (or words to that effect) and asks the ubiquitous question: Abort, Retry, Ignore?). I did of course try several variations, particularly of the number of data- and stop-bits. One extra variable: to connect the printer to the PC, I had to borrow a gender-mender from work. (The cable has two male plugs, as does the PC's serial port.) It's definitly NOT a null modem, as it's a ribbon cable with connectors on either end; no place to cross the send/receive lines. Any more suggestions from you net.gurus and/or hackers? :-) Thanks in advance. ------------------------------------------------------------------------= Dale D. Ingold SAS Institute Inc. snoddi@mvs.sas.com MVS Host Group SAS Campus Drive 919/677-8000 x7603 Cary, NC 27513-2414
rhaar@albert.cs.gmr.com (Robert L. Haar CS50) (05/22/91)
(text deleted .....) |> |> MODE COM1:baud,parity,bits,stop-bits,P |> and |> MODE LPT1=COM1 |> |> Unfortunately, it's not working. The printer is set for 1200 baud, |> even parity, and 2 stop-bits (not sure if it's 7 or 8 data bits). |> So that's what I set the COM1 port to, then I issue the second MODE |> command to redirect the printer, then I attempt to test it with |> |> ECHO hi > LPT1 |> |> Nothing. The printer stays quiet, and the system locks up until I |> hit CNTL-BREAK (that's if I added the P option; without it, after a |> few seconds, the system complains about the port (or words to that Which port? - COM1 ? What is the error message? |> effect) and asks the ubiquitous question: Abort, Retry, Ignore?). |> |> One extra variable: to connect the printer to the PC, I had to borrow |> a gender-mender from work. (The cable has two male plugs, as does the |> PC's serial port.) It's definitly NOT a null modem, as it's a ribbon |> cable with connectors on either end; no place to cross the send/receive |> lines. You may well need a null modem. It sounds to me like you did everything right. You might want to get your hands on an RS232 "breakout" box with monitor lights for Tx and RX data and for the hardware flow control lines (DTR, DCR, RI, etc.) Bob Haar InterNet : rhaar@gmr.com Computer Science Dept., G.M. Research Laboratories DISCLAIMER: Unless indicated otherwise, everything in this note is personal opinion, not an official statement of General Motors Corp.
doug@giaea.gi.oz (Douglas Thomson) (05/22/91)
In article <91141.093332SASDDI@vm.sas.com> SASDDI@vm.sas.com writes: >One extra variable: to connect the printer to the PC, I had to borrow >a gender-mender from work. (The cable has two male plugs, as does the >PC's serial port.) It's definitly NOT a null modem, as it's a ribbon >cable with connectors on either end; no place to cross the send/receive >lines. > >Any more suggestions from you net.gurus and/or hackers? :-) To connect our PCs to an EPSON LQ400 serial printer, we were told to use the following cable connections: PC end PRINTER end 2 ---------------- 3 3 ---------------- 2 6 --+ | 8 --+------------- 5 | 20 -+ 7 ---------------- 7 5 ---------------- 20 Doug. (doug@giaea.oz.au) ...!munnari!goanna!giaea!doug