I've got a Graphtec 1000-60 plotter. My new laptop has USB ports. Anybody have experience connecting this. I have to keep it parralel because the dongle key for the Signlab software must be present to work. I looked in Microcenter and Staples and they didn't have a USB-Parallel cable. The Graphtec techy says Best Buy has it. I just want to know if it will work since the Signlab software recognizes the LPT port on a parallel connection. Thanks, Sid.
Posted by Frank Droog (Member # 3958) on :
You should be able to use either a USB to parallel or USB to serial cable as the graphtec has both ports i believe. USB to parallel might be less complicated.
I have found all kinds of wierdness with USB to serial but they do work. The wierdness is that the computer has NO or 1 built in serial port, but the USB2Serial drivers insists on installing as COM4 or COM5 or COM7 etc instead of COM1 or COM2. Anyway, USB2serial does work, its just a matter of finding the right settings in the USB driver.
We have a bunch here and they generally work fine. ------------ By the way, does the laptop have a parallel port? Is the dongle, plugged into the the parrallel port? If so, why cant you just plug the plotter into the back of the dongle. That way you dont need any USB cable. Still, its probably better to have a plotter on a port of its own so a USB to Parrallel cable isnt a bad idea.
[ June 29, 2005, 02:08 PM: Message edited by: Frank Droog ]
Posted by Linda Schmidt (Member # 2337) on :
Sid- When my shop was hit by lightning last year and literally blew up all 3 computers I had use my laptop to get by until new equipment arrived. The dongle took up the par. port so I bought a serial to USB cable- it worked flawlessly. My equipment is set up: par. port from plotter to serial port on the computer. So when lightning struck all I did was connect the serial to the serial/ USB cable into the laptop. It works! Posted by Sid Besserman (Member # 5502) on :
Thanks a bunch Frank, Linda. I'll give it try. BTW, Frank, the laptop does't have a parallel port.Only USB.(Dell Inspiron 6000). I can plug the dongle into the plotters serial port, but the guy from Graphtec recommends the parallel either way. He says the drivers are too old and were never updated for USB use, but says USB/Parallel should work. If you say the serial works fine with the dongle in parallel slot of plotter, great (serial/USB converter should be easier to find).
Posted by Frank Droog (Member # 3958) on :
Sid. Be carefull. Dongles are either Parallel port dongles or USB dongles. If you have a parallel port dongle, it has to plug into a Parallel port on the computer. Dongles CANNOT be hooked up to serial ports. Actually, you can physicaly plug a Parallel port Dongle backwards onto a 25 pin serial port, but it wont work.
I myself havent tried plugging plugging a Parallel port dongle into a USB to Parallel cable. I dont know if that will work. It may,it may not. You may need to replace your parallel port dongle with a USB dongle.
Anyway. be carefull. You may want to contact tech support about Parallel dongles onto USB2Parallel cables, or about obtaining a USB dongle.
![[Applause]](graemlins/applause.gif)