Peter Udbjørg wrote:
Anybody having any experience with USB-to-Serial-converters? Or
USB-to-Parallel for that matter? Curios if I could get OSX to see
my Apple LaserWriter with a USB-to-Parallel-thingy & a parallel
printer cable (LW select has a parallel port that works). A drag to
have to make PDFs in X & then reboot in OS9 to print...
I've a little experience with USB converters. I've used various
parallel printers including a LaserJet 4M that I currently print with
using USB-Parallel converters. I've used the HP C4033-60003 converter
cable that was called the "iMac USB Printer Cable". This was sold in
the late 90's prior to OS X and the software provided on CD was for
OS 8.6 and only certain HP printers. In OS X it works without need of
special drivers, although the setup can be somewhat difficult
depending on your version of OS X. Newer versions like Tiger are
easier. Short instructions for setup would be to use Printer Setup
Utility in the Advanced mode (press Option key) and hopefully find
the description of the cable and tie it to your preferred driver. I
personally think all the HP drivers are awful, and you should
probably use the latest GimpPrint drivers (now called GutenPrint)
available here:http://sourceforge.net/projects/gimp-print/
If you're having problems configuring a printer in Printer Setup
Utility/Print Center, you can use the CUPS setup at: http://
127.0.0.1:631/. This is not a website, it's on your computer, the
address is the "local host" and you can use any browser to run the
setup. If it asks for your name & password, these are the ~User name
& password for your computer. In the CUPS setup you'll need to
determine the printer URI which is done like this:
1) Connect your printer via USB and power it on.
2) Open Terminal
3) Type "lpinfo -v" (without quotes) and hit Return key.
The USB URI should be listed in the printout. Copy it over into the
CUPS setup and finish. Should work with nearly any printer.
As for the USB-Parallel cables, I think all brands are basically the
same and all work in OS X without any extra software. Many have been
on eBay for only a few dollars + shipping. Another option I've used
is the Belkin USB 2.0 Dockstation F5U216 which has RS232 port
(serial), Parallel printer port, VGA pass-thru, 10Base-T/100Base-T
Ethernet port (100Base-T in high-speed mode only), Two Hi-Speed USB
2.0 hub ports. This was made for PC laptops, but works good a a mass-
converter for Mac desktop units. There is software for all the ports
in OS X. The Parallel is done by a Prolific Logic PL-2305 and doesn't
need any software. The Serial is done with an FTDI chipset and
drivers are here:http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/FT2232CDrivers.htm.
The ethernet is done with an Asix AX88172 chipset and drivers are
here:http://www.sustworks.com/site/news_usb_ethernet.html. You'll
need to get a converter for the PC RS232 to Mac RS422 DIN serial
connector. To make a converter cable from a Mac cable here is good
info:http://francis.courtois.free.fr/jc1/serial/main.html. I don't
know about the video pass-thru, its the only thing I've never tried.
Good luck! Kris
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