PNP LPT Port

[studysession]

Today I purchased a 2nd LPT port for my computer. It does not use standard LPT port addresses. I want to add a second set of motor controllers to my computer and need to use a 2nd port to do that.

Has anyone here tried to use a PNP LPT Port w/ Mach3 and gotten it to work? If so please post here how you did it.

Many thanks -SS

[kowell]

Answered your own question really.

Find the new Port address and set Mach3 to the new address.

Kym

[ger21]

Get the address from the device manager and enter it into Mach3.

[studysession]

Get the address from the device manager and enter it into Mach3.

I have tried it and it is not working. The hex address in device manager is
D000 instead of the standard 278 or 378 etc...

Thanks -

[ger21]

You entered D000 in Mach3?

[studysession]

You entered D000 in Mach3?

Yes, sure did and still didn't work. I am going up to another computer store to see if I can find one not PNP so I can have IO addressing that I am used to and see if it will work. Yesterday got the one from CompUSA and all they had were PNP cards. Hopefully can find one today not PNP.

[HuFlungDung]

Check in Device manager and see if you have any available free hardware IRQs (between 1 and 15 and not used by any other device at the same time) for the new card to use. You may have to remove a piece of hardware (perhaps an unused COM port) to free up an IRQ. Plus, you might have to try the new card in each available PCI slot because there is usually a preferred IRQ assigned to certain slot positions, in spite of Windows trying to pretend to control it all. Going with a non PNP card is likely not feasible, because it would be a rare beast to find, plus you'd still have to go through the above steps to help the card find its IRQ in the pecking order.

[LeeWay]

I just installed this PCI card with two PP's. It's a Netmos 9815. Doesn't say it's supported by Vista, but if you connect to the internet the first time you boot with this installed, it locates and installs the drivers. I don't recall where I bought it, but it was not at the link.

The ports on these are reversed from what you would think as well. The first port is the one attached to the ribbon cable and the second is the hardwired port on the actual card.

One thing to check is that you have all the ports & pins set to port 2. I had to install the Special Driver in order to get it to work in my computer as well.

[neilw20]

But...
It is a horrible thing to try and get going.
There is an DOS address translation utility to use that remaps the address.
You need to enter some 'friendly name' LPT2 stuff in the registry too if you need the LPTx name as a device.
Read the documentation until you hate it. (if you can find any)
You may need to disable the PNP and get it going manually initially.
Multiple, OMR !. One More Reboot applies. It is aawful..........

Here is what I got when I did the program /? HELP thing.
Your DOS program may be different.


NmDosIn /?

NetMos DOS installer version 1.00.022 dated 07-SEP-2001.

Invalid Option
Usage : NmDosIn []

Options
-a[dd] = Add NetMos Ports
-c[onfig]: = Configure NetMos Ports
-d[elete] = Delete NetMos Ports
-r[emap] = Remap NetMos ports to legacy ports
-s[ilent] = Silent mode
-t[est] = Test ports
-u[nused] = remap to all Unused legacy port i/o base, without consideration of COM/LPT number
Config Option Parameters
-c[onfig]:lpt[1|2|3]=[spp|bpp|ppf|epp|ecp]
e.g., -config:lpt=spp would set all LPT ports to SPP
e.g., -c:lpt1=spp would set lpt1 to SPP
e.g., -c:lpt1=spp,lpt2=bpp would set lpt1 to SPP and lpt2=BPP


Once you install using normal windows installation, then you can remap the stupid hardware (if you are lucky) with a batch file run from a shortcut.

Use the -t option to see the current settings.
I chucked the card in the corner and gave up, but have not tried it with Mach3. I had other uses, like CPU emulators etc. Only if you have written the interface yourself, have you got a chance.

I'm not saying it won't work, but it ain't trivial.
Once you have it working as a x78 port you set the 'Friendly Name' in the registry, and thats where the 'LPTx' part comes from.
You may not need the LPTx part, then you won't have to fiddle the registry.
I believe the mapping is done on the card, so you need to use the DOS program to set it up. (every time the PC boots).

Sorry I can't find the batch file I used, and I'm not going to plug that rotten card in ever again. Tried four different occasions. The grief comes back.

Good luck to you.

[LeeWay]

I was caught trying to overthink the installation the first time. I did have a driver CD, but without a Vista driver, nothing would load in vista and I would get install errors.
It was only when I had basically given up on finding a Vista Driver and simply hooked up my network cable to get the latest updates, that the machine wanted to take over. I finally submitted and took a passive roll (Vista Loves you to assume that kind of position) and Vista went and found the correct drivers and loaded them automatically. I just had to use the correct numbers in Mach.
I also saw where you can assign different por numbers or swap these around so that they are reversed from the Factory install. LPT1 would then be on the card.

[studysession]

Thanks for all the input.

To make sure I am entering correctly in Mach3 these are steps I have taken.

Go into where you setup ports and pins.
Enable LPT2 and set the address for it.
Go to where you set Motor Outputs and set the port to 2 for DIR/STEP instead of 1.

Am I correct or am I missing something in Mach3?

Thanks

[LeeWay]

That is about right. You may try running the "Special Driver" in the Mach 3 folder. That helped me.