Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: Interface. Gauging interest.

Alan Marconett wrote:

> Actually to answer my own question a little, I just remembered I DO have a
> USB dongle I bought with my new IBM because I thought I was loosing the
> on-board serial and parallel ports. Still in the box, as the computer HAS
> them. I might just get it out and play with it, but I'll bet that it just
> simulates a PRINTER port, not one that we could really use; as you've said
> (wouldn't it be nice if I were WRONG about this!).
>

Windows used to have an option for printers that would let you 'capture'
a printer to an lpt port so that DOS applications could print. I don't
see it in windows XP or NT any more, but if you have an older version of
windows somewhere you might try turning on that option. Evidently it
would rig up the IO space in the DOS box so that writes to the printer
port would be redirected to the captured windows print driver.

There's a chance that you could get a DOS program like TurboCNC to
output pulses to a USB parallel port with something like that. Of
course the timing would be shot all to hell and the pulse stream nearly
useless, but if it works you could probably at least send a motor into
fits with it :)

Dave K