Can you add a pci parallel card if you already have a parallel port?

[flotech]

I have a pc that is connected to a 4 port parallel switch in order to print to 4 different printers. I'm looking to add more printers and I wanted to know if I could add an additional pci parallel card to the pc, so I could attach an additional 4 port switch. Please help, thanks.

 

[diogenes10]

Yes.
Im using an isa card in addition to mainboard port, but pci should work fine too.

 

[edfair]

If the OS handles PCI parallel, OK. Everything I have is like Diogenes, lpt2 on an ISA parallel card.

Ed Fair
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 

[Jontmke]

Couldn't you also daisy chain the switches? Make port 4 on the first connect to the input on the second? You would only get 7 but should work. Like KVM's.

Jon

There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge. (Bertrand Russell)

 

[diogenes10]

I dont really understand all the technical fine points, but it seems to me that as long as there are not resource conflicts like interrupts, that there would be some benefit to having 2 (or 3) channels for print info to flow through out of the computer instead of just one. ??

 

[flotech]

I spoke to Belkin and they said that parallel switches could not be daisy chained only usb. It that true?

The setup that I have right now is 4 printers connected to a Belkin parallel switch connected to my pc parallel port. What I need to do is add an addition 3-4 printers to this setup without adding an additional pc or too much cost. Networking is not an option for these printers. Thanks

 

[edfair]

I have several daisy chained with no problems from the switches or the printers. But mine are mechanical switches.

Ed Fair
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 

[Jontmke]

Like ED says: If they are purely mechanical switches, no electonics, they should work fine.

Jon

There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge. (Bertrand Russell)

 

[flotech]

The switch that I have is the Belkin F1U126, here's the link to that:

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=1&Product_Id=13206

I don't believe these are mechanical

Thanks

 

[edfair]

You should be able to chain a mechanical switch on the output of one of the ports on the Belkin. Would be like switching cables.

Ed Fair
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 

[diogenes10]

But the current use of an automatic switch would seem to imply the need for that, which would go back to adding a second port for another automatic switch.

 

[edfair]

Should be able to go to 7, 1-3 on the belkin and 4a,4b,4c,and 4d on a mechanical when the belkin is selected for printer 4. Any control signals to keep the belkin alive will feed back through the mechanical.
DICLAIMER:
it may also depend on what the belkin talks tothe printers with. If it is a standard PC printer cable, it should be OK. If it is an Amphenol to Amphenol 36 conducter then the mechanical switch box would need to be the 36/36 type which are probably much more expensive.

Ed Fair
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 

[diogenes10]

Ed,
My concern was the issue of users. Doesnt a mechanical switch mean that someone would have to manually position it to a particular printer before the system could use it?
If the answer is yes, my thought was that a mechanical switch might not be feasible operationally even though it was ok technically.

 

[CobolKid]

I've run Siig's Cyber Dual Parallel PCI adapters and Belkin print switches successfully for years with a myraid of mainboards including several Tyan and EFA Corp socket 7 and socket 1 (both Intel & Via chipsets). Recently went to Intel VC820r's D845's and D850's without problems. The Siig adapter adds two additional parallel ports, the switches work good too.

Beginning of this year I pulled the switches and cards and installed 4 cat five connected print servers, each with 3 parallel ports (the $69.95 dollar variety) to connect the same 11 lasers. In my book, much better. Freed up an interrupt and a pci slot at each pc while reducing the overall cable mess.

 

[flotech]

I found out that yes you can add an additional parallel port to a pc to connect more printers. When you setup the driver use LPT2 as the printer port. I think you may also add a third port and assign LPT3 to it. Thanks for everyone's help.