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Author Topic: Drivers  (Read 1062 times)

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Drivers
« on: September 20, 2018, 12:44:05 PM »
Good day

Struggling to find a new pc with LPT ports.
Bought 2 LPT - usb converters.
Can anyone please tell me how to configure the usb ports to be used in Mach 3?

Driver test does not run.
Using Windows 8.

Thank you.
Re: Drivers
« Reply #1 on: September 20, 2018, 02:23:14 PM »
Hi,
Machs parallel port, which is what DriverTest.exe actually tests, will not run on any 64bit OS including Windows 8.
To run the parallel port driver requires Windows 7 or earlier, 32 bit.

To use Mach on a Windows 8 PC you will require an external motion controller.

An ordinary USB to parallel converter will not work.

There are devices (UC100, PMDX-411, 57CNCD25) for $100-$120 which plug in to a USB port and have a DB25 parallel port plug output,
and behave like a converter. They in fact have an FPGA IC inside and that makes them way WAY too clever to be a converter,
they are in fact external motion controllers. There are other external controllers with more IO like a SmoothStepper or UC300
but the cost goes up another $50 or so.

Note that if you look on Ebay or Amazon you'll find lots of Chinese copy UC100's. They don't work like the real thing, buy
direct from CNCDrive or their nominated distributor or you will get ripped off.

There are plenty of Chinese made external motion controllers as well, I don't recommend any of them. If you do any reading on the forum
you hear hundreds of stories of people who can't get them to work right and they wont help either. If you buy cheap s*********t then you
are on your own.

Craig
'I enjoy sex at 73.....I live at 71 so its not too far to walk.'
Parallel - usb port adapters
« Reply #2 on: September 21, 2018, 01:03:04 AM »
Hi, can someone tell me if this can work, does mach really need paralelle ports on both sides to work, if it can work from a usb port please tell me how to configure it.
Re: Drivers
« Reply #3 on: September 21, 2018, 03:23:12 AM »
Ok, well that's just great, thanks will go check it out and follow your advice.