PC parallel port break-out boards

[widgitmaster]

After several months of fighting with parallel port break-out boards, I finally found one that was so easy, so perfectly designed, that a newbe like me could set it up in 5-minutes! It has LED's for everything and every pinout !, It has its own Safety Charge Pump! It has its own power supply! It even has a relay for controlling AC devices!

As with most people who attempt to build their own CNC router table, I kept buying the cheaper boards and controllers! The last one drove me absolutely NUTS! It would only spin the stepper in one direction! Now, after spending the extra bucks, I have a break-out board that was designed by someone who uses Mach software and Gecko drives to control stepper motors!

The only fault I can find, is the onboard power supply was not strong enough to run two .84A cooling fans. But does handle the four Geckos!

The PC parallel port break-out board was developed by James Cullins. James is the owner of Sound Logic in Grapevine Texas. The cost of their Mach2 board is $130.

http://www.campbelldesigns.com/index.php


Thank you Mr. Cullins!

Eric

[pminmo]

widigetmaster,
What was about it that made it so easy for you? I've considerd doing something for the opensource forum. Philosophically there are some things on that BOB that I would not do, so what functions made it easy for you?

Phil

[widgitmaster]

Because I'm a retired machinist, my knowledge of electrical curciuts is very limited! There were many errors and oversights in my wire connections, the LED's showed exactly what was happening, and is directly related to the color activity in the Mach software!

just the micro-limit switches alone, there were several with the wires reversed!

Eric

[Ferenczyg]

Phil, I think the key words are "directly" and "mach software" :¬)

/F

[jderou]

Do the pins run straight through? or does it provide some type of control?
I'm wondering if I can use this board for functions other than mach2/stepper control. I am working on building a board to isolate my parallel port, but I don't want to modify the signal. Man if I could have just bought this I would have been at least a month ahead on this project.
Are all pins brought out to a terminal?