printer port interface

[keven]

parallel printer port.jpg

my qbasic lap counter program applies power to pins 6,7,8,and 9.
then pins 10, 11,12 and 13 are monitored for trip signals via magnetic reed switches.
I used pin 4 to apply power to a relay driver to apply track power or remove it.
guess computers don't use the printer port anymore

[MrFlippant]

Yep. Parallel and serial ports are long gone from today's computers. It's USB everything peripheral, and HDMI for video.
You might be able to dig up a parallel port expansion card for a desktop machine with expansion slots.
There are also USB to parallel adapters that may or may not work for your hardware.

[keven]

i have an old printer that works on lpt1.
i bought a USB adapter cable to print from my "new" computer....
used a "generic" driver to print to it
wish a knew a bit more about if it (the generic driver) might also work if i ran my lapcounter program thru it?

[MrFlippant]

worth a try

[RichD]

For computers that only have USB ports both serial and printer port adapters are available. In both cases the adapter includes some electronics and a software driver needs to be installed for them to work. The serial to USB port adapters seem to work OK, I use one myself, but the printer to USB port adapters have proven to be problematic. With those I suspect that the driver is the hitch.
In the past if you needed to connect a device with a serial or printer (parallel) output and did not want to fuss with an adapter you could always buy a used computer with the right ports, now that might be difficult to do.