Digest Articles Re: cables and card batteries by Paul Bigwood From: Paul Bigwood Subject: Re: cables and card batteries Date: Sat, 3 May 1997 11:55:36 +0100 MIME-Version: 1.0 In-Reply-To: <199705012044.NAA19556@xxxxxxxx> In message <199705012044.NAA19556@xxxxxxxx>, AnnaBlade@aol.com writes .. > The part about the parallel to serial converter got may attention. I >ran right out to Radio Shack thinking this might be a way to print directly >to my parallel printer from my Poqet serial cable. There was no such >converter in the catalog at Radio Shack (or on the shelf). I tried a number >of other connections and programs. No luck. Is there a converter that, what?, >gathers the bits to send bytes to the parallel printer? Anna, The POQET expansion slot is a modified ISA slot bus. This means that active devices can be attached to the bus directly. The Poqet PC parallel cable adaptor and External Floppy drive adaptors are examples. The Serial Port COM1 is an internal ASIC (special chip) on the motherboard of the POQET. Its input and output connectors are on the expansion slot. There are/were two types of serial cables available for the POQET. One is a normal serial cable and the other is a null modem cable. The details are in the FAQ I think. The Parallel port cable has active devices in the connector and is a standard PC parallel port. It can be connected to any Parallel port printer if you have the correct adaptor cable. Most Parallel printers use what is called a 'Centronics' type connector. PC parallel printer ports use a FEMALE DB25 type connector. ( Serial Ports on PCs are normally MALE ( mostly 9 pin these days, but were commonly 25 way in the past). The floppy cable adaptor for the POQET extended the serial connector cables to a 9 pin connector on the back of the portable floppy unit, but they didn't do the same on the parallel cable. This means that you cannot use a serial printer connected using the parallel port cable directly. However, since the serial port connectors are available on the expansion slot ( I can't remember which pins exactly - details are in the FAQ) you could wire an external MALE DB9 connector to the relevant edge connector pins on the parallel port adaptor cable. Not something to be undertaken lightly! Remember also that the print deamon is not on the C: by default. Its on the Utility disc that comes with the Poqet. You need to copy it to a card ( A or B) and ensure that it is in your path. ref Low battery in cards. I've changed the battery before without losing the data, but I have also done it where I have lots everything. It seems to depend upon how long the battery has been in service. I havent had to change a card battery for a long time. Remember that the cards are powered by the main POQET AA batteries when they are installed in the PC. I always back the card onto a floppy or the hard drive of my desktop before I change the battery. Regards, -- Paul Bigwood G3WYW Commercial Sales Manager, Yaesu UK Ltd Tel:44 181 814 2001, FAX: 44 181 814 2002 email: bigwoodp@xxxxxxxx SRAM Batteries, Parallel Port Converters, Card Drives by Richard Secrist From: "Richard Secrist" Subject: SRAM Batteries, Parallel Port Converters, Card Drives Date: 04 May 97 15:02:04 -0700 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I got an external PCMCIA card reader driver for my desk top and don't have to worry about losing anything when I swap batteries (just back it up first and then copy it back). I have used the SCT Card Link drive ($164 from EduCalc) with my Poqet no sweat. Of course as an alternative you could just buy dual-battery SRAM cards (which EduCalc also sells, but they're a lot more expensive than what you can get from California Digital). I have never tried a dual-battery card myself. EduCalc sells a Serial/Parallel converter for use with HP 95/100/200es that ought to work for $54.95, but I don't have one myself. If you want to try them out EduCalc is at 800/677-7001 (Laguna Niguel, CA near Irvine [greater LA area]). The also take orders for used HP PDAs, although you might have to wait a while (they don't forget though, and you can decline if it is not what you want later or you change your mind). Regards, rcs (not affiliated with EduCalc outside of being a satisfied customer) Re: Digest poqetpc.v001.n101 by Michael Fetterman From: Michael Fetterman Subject: Re: Digest poqetpc.v001.n101 Date: Sun, 4 May 1997 18:38:33 -0400 (EDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII In-Reply-To: <199705030848.BAA13486@xxxxxxxx> Serial to parallel converters have worked well for me, using serial printers. I never tried a serial to parallel converter. Turning the notion around, therefore, why not print to a serial interface printer from the POQET serial port ? Many wp programs, including WordPerfect and Professional Write allow port specification. Or, there are some small DOS utilities to allow port redirection. Old serial interface printers are usually cheap (ie Laserjets for $50). Cheaper and more elegant than a converter. Michael Fetterman d005041c@xxxxxxxx