some kind of screwed up printer

  • Thread starter Thread starter Alexander
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Alexander

I sold my old celeron 466 computer to a couple who now need me to put
in an interface card, or a port, so they can connect their printer.
They weren't specific as to the model, but it's a Panasonic all-in-one
with fax, apparently. The problem is that I don't really have a clue
what they're talking about. Their old computer was just that. OLD.

He brought me the cable and it looks like a 25pin parallel cable, but
it's got both male and a female end, meaning, the ends fit into one
another, unlike a standard printer cable with the end that locks in
and the end with pins. So I have to put in a port that will
accomodate this.

I do have a port that will fit it, I don't know if it's the right kind
or not, or where to connect it. It's got a 25 pin port, male, and a 9
pin ribbon attatched. Do I just stick this onto com2 and off I go or
not?

Also, I have a cable with parallel symbols on it, but goes from 25 pin
to a 9 pin serial connection. Would this work?
 
Alexander said:
I sold my old celeron 466 computer to a couple who now need me to put
in an interface card, or a port, so they can connect their printer.
They weren't specific as to the model, but it's a Panasonic all-in-one
with fax, apparently. The problem is that I don't really have a clue
what they're talking about. Their old computer was just that. OLD.

He brought me the cable and it looks like a 25pin parallel cable, but
it's got both male and a female end, meaning, the ends fit into one
another, unlike a standard printer cable with the end that locks in
and the end with pins. So I have to put in a port that will
accomodate this.

I do have a port that will fit it, I don't know if it's the right kind
or not, or where to connect it. It's got a 25 pin port, male, and a 9
pin ribbon attatched. Do I just stick this onto com2 and off I go or
not?

Also, I have a cable with parallel symbols on it, but goes from 25 pin
to a 9 pin serial connection. Would this work?
Click to expand...

It would help if you could tell us the model # of the Panasonic all-in-one.
 
I sold my old celeron 466 computer to a couple who now need me to put
in an interface card, or a port, so they can connect their printer.
They weren't specific as to the model, but it's a Panasonic all-in-one
with fax, apparently. The problem is that I don't really have a clue
what they're talking about. Their old computer was just that. OLD.

He brought me the cable and it looks like a 25pin parallel cable, but
it's got both male and a female end, meaning, the ends fit into one
another, unlike a standard printer cable with the end that locks in
and the end with pins. So I have to put in a port that will
accomodate this.
Click to expand...

That sounds like 25-pin serial RS-232 cable.
(I actually use one of these to connect a "parallel port" scanner, but
I've never heard of it being used for a printer.)
But get the printer model and then it's fairly easy to look it up.
Plugging it into the wrong port might be disastrous. They'll need to
know the model to install the drivers (which they'll probably ask you
to do next after they discover it doesn't "just work").

But I'd be amazed if it didn't have either a Centronics parallel or a
USB port. Serial-only printers are rare and ancient. (Some printers
had serial as well as parallel, like early laserjets.)
 
There are a number of similar looking 25 pin cables.

The most common is a serial cable, which is what is also used for an
external dial up style modem.

There is a very similar looking external cable (also can be 25 pins, or
more) which is called SCSI. This is a faster interface capable of
handling about 8 devices in a daisy chain.

Typically, SCSI is used for fast devices like scanners, modems, and drives.

A number of older printer products used serial interfaces. It is
actually faster than the earlier parallel ports used for most printers.

Yes, serial ports are called COM ports and today most use only nine pin
ribbon cables to connect to the MainBoard.

Be aware that there were a few odd serial ports on quite old computers
that had odd wiring and voltages, and which could cause damage to the
computer and or printer unit is misinterfaced. This is unlikely a
problem with anything as new as a Celeron computer, however.

You may need access to the printer instruction manual to work out the
settings for the COM port, IRQ, etc.

Art
 
There are a number of similar looking 25 pin cables.

The most common is a serial cable, which is what is also used for an external
dial up style modem.
Click to expand...

My 1988 HP Peripherals Configuration Guide has literally 19 different 25 pin to
25 pin RS-232 cables with various wiring combinations. The OP will probably
need to do a little more work to find out just what interface the old printer
really uses and then find a proper cable.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP
 
Hi Bob,

Thanks for the heads up on this. Yeah, the good old days when every
manufacturer came up with its own "best for us" solution. I knew there
were a number of older configurations/wiring plans but I never realized
there could be 19 of them. Yike!

I'm amazed anyone kept them straight... (I did blow up an Amiga power
supply and a chip on a HP Laserjet 1 mainboard on one "experiment"
with a 25 pin cable years ago.

Art
 
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