Article 1768 of vmsnet.pdp-11: Path: cs.utk.edu!emory!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!howland.reston.ans.net!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!flying!frisbie From: frisbie@flying-disk.com Newsgroups: comp.sys.dec,vmsnet.pdp-11 Subject: Re: LPV11 > Centronics cable or pinouts needed. Message-ID: <1993Aug27.093110.36@flying-disk.com> Date: 27 Aug 93 09:31:10 PDT References: Distribution: usa Organization: Flying Disk Systems, Inc. Lines: 120 Xref: cs.utk.edu comp.sys.dec:17960 vmsnet.pdp-11:1768 In article , tigger@solaria.mil.wi.us (Tim Thompson) writes: > I know that they are out there. I need at least TWO > LPV11 to Centronics cables. > Specifically, I need to be able to connect a standard parallel printer, > such as an HP IIP or an Epson FX80 to my Q-Bus system. > I'd prefer the > actual cables themselves, but I can make them, if necessary. Here is an article I wrote several years ago: People often ask me if it is possible to connect a printer with the Centronics (tm) parallel interface to a DEC computer. Not only is it possible, but DEC used to sell them! Although the signals for the Data Products line printers and the Centronics printers are different, they are similar enough that by connecting one wire in the cable to +5 or to ground the same interface can be used with either. The interface simply switches its control logic from Data Products mode to Centronics/LA-180 mode. This works with the Q-Bus LPV11 and I believe it is also true with the Unibus LP11. The trick to remember is that the DEC LA-180 uses timing and control signals similar to the Centronics printers. The DEC part number for the Centronics-compatible cable is 70-09087. Unfortunately, this has been an "obsolete" part for several years, so you may only be able to find it through third-party cable vendors. If you wish to build your own, the following table should tell you everything you need to know. You might also consider taking an LA-180 cable and replacing the Berg connector with a Centronics-style connector. These pin-outs were determined by examination of the schematics, and not from an actual 70-09087. If anyone has an actual 70-09087 cable, I would appreciate knowing if there are any differences between it and my list. I have been using this for two years with my PDP-11/73, an LPV11 and a Toshiba P1351 printer with no problems and great results. A quick test with an AST/Camintonn printer failed, although that printer works fine with a PC. The reason has not been determined. If you have any problems (or solutions), please let me know. Alan E. Frisbie Frisbie@Flying-Disk.Com Flying Disk Systems, Inc. 4759 Round Top Drive (213) 256-2575 (voice) Los Angeles, CA 90065 (213) 258-3585 (FAX) Connections for DEC LPV11 (M8027) to Centronics printer Ribbon DEC (Berg) Centronics Signal Cable Connector Connector Name wire # pin # pin # 1 A 2 B 3 C 27 Ground 4 D 9 Data 8 (MSB) 5 E 29 Ground 6 F 11 Busy 7 H 8 J 9 K 10 L 11 M 12 N 13 On Line 13 P 14 R 32 Fault L 15 S 16 "LA180" (Ground) 16 T 17 U 18 V 14 "Connected" 19 W 28 Ground 20 X 10 Demand (ACKNLG L) 21 Y 22 Z 23 AA 22 Ground 24 BB 4 Data 3 25 CC 26 Ground 26 DD 8 Data 7 27 EE 23 Ground 28 FF 5 Data 4 29 HH 20 Ground 30 JJ 2 Data 1 (LSB) 31 KK 21 Ground 32 LL 3 Data 2 33 MM 34 NN 35 PP 25 Ground 36 RR 7 Data 6 37 SS 24 Ground 38 TT 6 Data 5 39 UU 19 Ground 40 VV 1 Strobe L DEC (Berg) connector pins (Looking at male connector on board) Pin "A" connects to ribbon cable wire #1 B D F J L N R T V X Z BB DD FF JJ LL NN RR TT VV A C E H K M P S U W Y AA CC EE HH KK MM PP SS UU In case of trouble, check the orientation of the ribbon cable. DEC often has pin #1 (red stripe) on the opposite side (pin VV). Also, check to make sure Centronics pin 16 is grounded. If it is not, the LP11/LPV11 will try to use Data Products style signals. -- Alan E. Frisbie Frisbie@Flying-Disk.Com -- Flying Disk Systems, Inc. -- 4759 Round Top Drive (213) 256-2575 (voice) -- Los Angeles, CA 90065 (213) 258-3585 (FAX) From TERRY@spcvxa.spc.edu Sat Apr 1 23:45:46 1995 Return-Path: Received: from spcvxa.spc.edu by CS.UTK.EDU with ESMTP (cf v2.9s-UTK) id XAA13508; Sat, 1 Apr 1995 23:45:41 -0500 Received: from spcvxa.spc.edu by spcvxa.spc.edu (PMDF V4.3-13 #9417) id <01HOUCDMKDT28WVYWS@spcvxa.spc.edu>; Sat, 01 Apr 1995 23:45:19 -0500 (EST) Date: Sat, 01 Apr 1995 23:45:19 -0500 (EST) From: "Terry Kennedy, Operations Mgr" Subject: Re: exists LP11 interface converter? To: shuford@cs.utk.edu Message-id: <01HOUCDMKDT48WVYWS@spcvxa.spc.edu> Organization: St. Peter's College, US X-VMS-To: IN%"shuford@cs.utk.edu" X-VMS-Cc: TERRY MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Status: R > If one has a DEC LP11 printer, which is the high-speed drum > device, it comes with a proprietary interface that connects > to Unibus, Q-bus, or BI-bus. Well, the printer has an industry-standard interface called "Dataproducts parallel". It's not as popular as the Centronics flavor, but it is a stan- dard. Depending on how old your printer is and what exact model it is, it either has a large (1.2" x 4") connector with 50 pins (called an "Winchester" or "MRAC" connector) or a smaller DB-50 connector. The DEC controller that handles these is a LP11 or DMF32 or DMB32. > Is there available any adapter/converter black box that would > allow one to drive the printer from a non-proprietary interface > --either RS-232 serial, Centronics parallel, or Ethernet? There are a number of ways to go. The "Black Box Catalog" people have a converter that does this (RS-232 to Dataproducts) and it comes with either the MRAC or DB-50 cable, depending on what you ask for. It's about $400. Lantronix makes an Ethernet print server called the EPS-1 (or EPS-2) that can "allegedly" drive a Dataproducts printer. They did a poor job of it, so you have to open the printer and make some changes on the logic boards. It's about $400 to $600, depending on whether you want 1 or 2 ports and whether you want LAT support. There's a company in New Hampshire called Connection Solutions that claims to make something that will convert from serial or Centronics to Dataproducts, but they've never returned my calls or FAXes. They're at 603-635-8414 (FAX) or 603-635-3354 (voice). Dataproducts sells replacement interface boards for some models of their printers (the DEC LP11 is a 2230/2260 and the LP25/26 is a B300/600) that do serial or Centronics. They're over a thousand dollars. Dataproducts is in Woodland Hills, California. If you're handy with a soldering iron and have the interface specs, you can build either an outboard converter or one right on the printer logic to change Centronics to Dataproducts. The strobe is inverted and you need to use high-current drivers because the Dataproducts uses stiff termination. You just need to swap the control signals around - if you're up to the task it should be obvious from the specs. I think this is more than you were hoping for 8-) Terry Kennedy Operations Manager, Academic Computing terry@spcvxa.spc.edu St. Peter's College, Jersey City, NJ USA +1 201 915 9381 (voice) +1 201 435-3662 (FAX)