30'-50' cable ok to use?

[NatFJ55]

I want to relocate my computer and would need to run a much longer cable to my mill (Syill X4 Plus). Can I run a 30' cable from my computer running Mach 3 to the mill? I got paranoid about the signal qulaity/strength.

[doorknob]

If you're talking about a 25-pin parallel port cable between the computer's LPT port and a breakout board (ahead of the motor drivers), I would be surprised if you could do such a thing and get reliable operation. But I have never tried such a thing, so maybe someone else will chime in and tell you that it is possible with a special cable.

They do sell high-quality 25-foot LPT port printer extension cables, and so perhaps you could get a similar, straight-through 25-pin cable in such a length, but I would want to check the signal waveforms at the end of such a cable with an oscilloscope (for pulse shape, amplitude, and delay) before trying it with an actual CNC cut, and even then I would be concerned about reliability. I personally would not be comfortable with using a parallel port cable that was any longer than about ten feet.

Maybe someone makes special-purpose optical cables that could be pressed into service over such distances, but I have no information about or experience with such things.