Is that OK to get the parallel port from Express Card Slot

dillondillon · Post by **dillondillon** » Mon Apr 19, 2010 9:47 pm

I got the jp1 parallel cable, but there is no parallel port on my laptop, can I use the 'Laptop Parallel Adapter Card' to get the parallel port from Express Card Slot? Did anyone succeed in it?

andyross · Post by **andyross** » Tue Apr 20, 2010 3:28 pm

Add-on parallel cards should work. I added a PCI card to my computer. The only issue is I had to manually set IR to use the proper I/O address, as it doesn't use the normal DOS-era ones. A PCMCIA adapter may be the same. You can find the address in Device Manager under Windows.

Post by **vickyg2003** » Tue Apr 20, 2010 4:09 pm

I'm pretty sure a parallel cable requires a REAL parallel port in order to do its bit banging. Only the serial cable would work with an adapter.

Post by **The Robman** » Tue Apr 20, 2010 7:27 pm

There's a difference between an adapter cable (which won't work with the parallel cables) and a card (which should). If this laptop card is equivalent to a PCI card that you would use in a desktop, it should work. But if it's really more like an adapter cable, then it won't.

SouthPaw · Post by **SouthPaw** » Tue Apr 20, 2010 8:03 pm

The parallel port PCI express card slot cards I've seen are pretty pricey (in the $60 range for a decent one.) I would suggest going with one of Tommy Tyler's "USB Interface Cable for JP1.2 or JP1.3 (Flash) Remotes" and one of his "JP1 EEPROM Programming Adapter for JP1 (EEPROM) Remotes" from here: http://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9405

It will run you $55 with shipping but you will be able to program JP1, JP1.2 and JP1.3 remotes with this setup. This is the option I went with for my laptop and have not looked back. Also the build quality on his cables is top notch! So much better than my homemade parallel cable I used for several years.

jimdunn · Post by **jimdunn** » Tue Apr 20, 2010 11:20 pm

SouthPaw wrote: I would suggest going with one of Tommy Tyler's "USB Interface Cable for JP1.2 or JP1.3 (Flash) Remotes" and one of his "JP1 EEPROM Programming Adapter for JP1 (EEPROM) Remotes" from here: http://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9405

I'd strongly advise that option, too, unless you need the parallel port for something else as well. Tommy's cable and adapter work superbly well, and are of high quality - plus, as SouthPaw says, you can program the older EEPROM remotes (with the adapter), and the newer Flash remotes with this combination.

It also means you can have the flexibility to use your cable on other PCs you may have, or when you update to a new laptop, without needing a parallel or serial port.

dillondillon · Post by **dillondillon** » Wed Apr 21, 2010 2:11 am

I have orderred one usb cable, but it would take a long time for shipping, so I'd like to find an alternative method. From the supplier of the Laptop Parallel Adapter Card, I heard that the card can get the real physical address, so maybe it can work. I will borrow one to try not only for this case but also for the extension of my laptop, any further progress I will let you know, thanks.

Post by **vickyg2003** » Wed Apr 21, 2010 5:13 am

dillondillon wrote: I will borrow one to try not only for this case but also for the extension of my laptop, any further progress I will let you know, thanks.

Good decision! I know that I had IRSA, (a serial JP1 device that did the bit banging) and I went out and bought a serial card that claimed to be a true serial device, and while it worked fine with my other serial devices, it would not work with a bit-banging device.