is there such a thing as a DB25 cable to USB hub??
I have one for my printer an old Star NX2420 Rainbow but just
wondering if that same cable would work for a SuperDisk ls120
drive??
Joe


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"Joseph Fenn" <jfenn@lava.net> wrote in message
news:Pine.BSI.4.61.0610281935080.21706@malasada.la va.net...
> is there such a thing as a DB25 cable to USB hub??
> I have one for my printer an old Star NX2420 Rainbow but just
> wondering if that same cable would work for a SuperDisk ls120
> drive??
> Joe
>

I'm not sure what you are after here. Is it an RS-232 to USB cable? If so
they are relatively common place, but Barry Watzman reports that he has
problems getting some devices to work, whereas I have had no problem.

If it isn't this cable, could you possibly be a bit more explicit.

M.I.5¾ wrote:
> "Joseph Fenn" <jfenn@lava.net> wrote in message
> news:Pine.BSI.4.61.0610281935080.21706@malasada.la va.net...
>> is there such a thing as a DB25 cable to USB hub??
>> I have one for my printer an old Star NX2420 Rainbow but just
>> wondering if that same cable would work for a SuperDisk ls120
>> drive??
>> Joe
>>
>
> I'm not sure what you are after here. Is it an RS-232 to USB cable? If so
> they are relatively common place, but Barry Watzman reports that he has
> problems getting some devices to work, whereas I have had no problem.
>
> If it isn't this cable, could you possibly be a bit more explicit.

I think that he has a USB to Parallel (Centronics connector) converter
for his Star Micronics printer, and wants a USB to Parallel (DB25
connector) cable for his external parallel port LS-120 drive.

Since the DB25 has been used for serial, parallel, and SCSI, it can get
confusing.

I did see a company with such a product on their web site,
"http://www.usb-port.com/bf1284.html" the BF-1284-25, but I don't think
that it's actually available.

In any case, it's highly unlikely that a USB to Parallel port converter
would work with an LS-120 drive.

There are passive connector adapters that will convert a printer cable
(Centronics plug) into a DB-25 for connection to a parallel port drive.
I have several of them. I don't remember where I got them, but
probably C-Gate (Computer Gate -- http://www.computergate.com/) or PI
Manufacturing (www.pimfg.com), or less likely Cyberguys. These do work
if you have a normal printer cable with a DB-25 connected to the
computer parallel port and a Centronics connector at the other end. The
convert the Centronics connector back to a DB25 that plugs into a
parallel port Zip drive. That does not, however, mean that they would
work when the other end of the "printer" cable is a USB plug, with a USB
to Centronics adapter. My guess is that they won't work, but there is a
chance that they might.


SMS wrote:

> M.I.5¾ wrote:
>
>> "Joseph Fenn" <jfenn@lava.net> wrote in message
>> news:Pine.BSI.4.61.0610281935080.21706@malasada.la va.net...
>>
>>> is there such a thing as a DB25 cable to USB hub??
>>> I have one for my printer an old Star NX2420 Rainbow but just
>>> wondering if that same cable would work for a SuperDisk ls120
>>> drive??
>>> Joe
>>>
>>
>> I'm not sure what you are after here. Is it an RS-232 to USB cable?
>> If so they are relatively common place, but Barry Watzman reports that
>> he has problems getting some devices to work, whereas I have had no
>> problem.
>>
>> If it isn't this cable, could you possibly be a bit more explicit.
>
>
> I think that he has a USB to Parallel (Centronics connector) converter
> for his Star Micronics printer, and wants a USB to Parallel (DB25
> connector) cable for his external parallel port LS-120 drive.
>
> Since the DB25 has been used for serial, parallel, and SCSI, it can get
> confusing.
>
> I did see a company with such a product on their web site,
> "http://www.usb-port.com/bf1284.html" the BF-1284-25, but I don't think
> that it's actually available.
>
> In any case, it's highly unlikely that a USB to Parallel port converter
> would work with an LS-120 drive.

Barry Watzman wrote:
> There are passive connector adapters that will convert a printer cable
> (Centronics plug) into a DB-25 for connection to a parallel port drive.
> I have several of them. I don't remember where I got them, but
> probably C-Gate (Computer Gate -- http://www.computergate.com/)

Ah, one of my favorite sources, one that doesn't show up on Froogle or
other price comparison engines.

> That does not, however, mean that they would
> work when the other end of the "printer" cable is a USB plug, with a USB
> to Centronics adapter. My guess is that they won't work, but there is a
> chance that they might.

Every reference I've seen to USB to 1284 converters warns that they only
work with printers. The best bet to use a parallel port LS-120 drive on
a notebook is to use a PC Card to parallel port converter, but those
cost so much that it's probably not worthwhile since you can buy an IDE
LS-120 drive for about $15 on eBay, and a USB drive enclosure for about
$25, or buy a used USB LS-120 drive for around $20.

>
> I'm not sure what you are after here. Is it an RS-232 to USB cable? If so
> they are relatively common place, but Barry Watzman reports that he has
> problems getting some devices to work, whereas I have had no problem.
>
> If it isn't this cable, could you possibly be a bit more explicit.
>
>
I am referring to a cable such as a DB25 plug on one end, and a
usb plug on the other end. To be used in my USB hub (I/E) must
have a usb plug on one end and a regular db25 (25 pin) cable at the
other end so I could plug in my external LS120 Superdisk
(similar to ZIP disk drives) and utilize it via a usb connection.
Joe

On Mon, 30 Oct 2006, Barry Watzman wrote:

> There are passive connector adapters that will convert a printer cable
> (Centronics plug) into a DB-25 for connection to a parallel port drive. I
> have several of them. I don't remember where I got them, but probably C-Gate
> (Computer Gate -- http://www.computergate.com/) or PI Manufacturing
> (www.pimfg.com), or less likely Cyberguys. These do work if you have a
> normal printer cable with a DB-25 connected to the computer parallel portand
> a Centronics connector at the other end. The convert the Centronics
> connector back to a DB25 that plugs into a parallel port Zip drive. That
> does not, however, mean that they would work when the other end of the
> "printer" cable is a USB plug, with a USB to Centronics adapter. My guess is
> that they won't work, but there is a chance that they might.
>
>
> SMS wrote:
>
>> M.I.5¾ wrote:
>>
I am referring to my external NX2420 printer. It came with 2 cables
one for plugging into the db25 port (parallel) port on the computer,
and one cable was for plugging the printer into a USB hub. That works
fine. What I need is one more of that kind of cable to also
plug my LS120 supedisk dr also into the usb hub. and see if it
will work also. I'll try plugging the ls120 superdisk into the
USB hub and see if that works or not.
Joe

Joseph Fenn wrote:

> I am referring to my external NX2420 printer. It came with 2 cables
> one for plugging into the db25 port (parallel) port on the computer,
> and one cable was for plugging the printer into a USB hub. That works
> fine. What I need is one more of that kind of cable to also
> plug my LS120 supedisk dr also into the usb hub. and see if it
> will work also. I'll try plugging the ls120 superdisk into the
> USB hub and see if that works or not.
> Joe

The problem is that "DB25" isn't enough information. DB25 connectors
have been used for serial ports, parallel ports, and SCSI ports.

I think what you have is an external parallel port LS-120 drive. If so,
it's extremely unlikely that a USB to parallel port converter will work,
even if you have the right connector. It's a different matter for an
ancient printer like the NX2420 that is doing uni-directional data at a
very low rate of speed.

If you have data that you must get off of the old LS-120 disks, then
you're better off finding a computer with a parallel port and
transferring the data to CD-R disks.

You could probably open up the LS-120 drive and find that it has an IDE
interface. Then you could get a USB to IDE adapter that would probably work.

On Mon, 30 Oct 2006, Joseph Fenn wrote:

>>
>> I'm not sure what you are after here. Is it an RS-232 to USB cable? If so
>> they are relatively common place, but Barry Watzman reports that he has
>> problems getting some devices to work, whereas I have had no problem.
>>
>> If it isn't this cable, could you possibly be a bit more explicit.

Yes thats exactly what I want. A sable with usb connector for the hub
and on other end rs232 (the big plug DB25) so I can access my
external superdisk LS120 drive.
I stopped by Comp/USA today and asked them if they had any, and they
said they use to carry those but no more.
Joe

Joseph Fenn wrote:

>
> Yes thats exactly what I want. A sable with usb connector for the hub
> and on other end rs232 (the big plug DB25) so I can access my
> external superdisk LS120 drive.

http://www.pacificcable.com/ list hundreds of cables, and you can select
by the end type but they do not list what you want.

http://www.powersupersite.com/store/...show=techspecs
might be what you want but it is designed for use with a UPS

http://pinouts.ru/SerialPortsCables/...r_pinout.shtml is
the schematic for what you want

ebay.com has two items that show with a search of "rs232 to" +usb


Ian Singer

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"Joseph Fenn" <jfenn@lava.net> wrote in message
news:Pine.BSI.4.61.0610311858510.12399@malasada.la va.net...
>
>
> On Mon, 30 Oct 2006, Joseph Fenn wrote:
>
>>>
>>> I'm not sure what you are after here. Is it an RS-232 to USB cable? If
>>> so
>>> they are relatively common place, but Barry Watzman reports that he has
>>> problems getting some devices to work, whereas I have had no problem.
>>>
>>> If it isn't this cable, could you possibly be a bit more explicit.
>
> Yes thats exactly what I want. A sable with usb connector for the hub
> and on other end rs232 (the big plug DB25) so I can access my
> external superdisk LS120 drive.
> I stopped by Comp/USA today and asked them if they had any, and they
> said they use to carry those but no more.
> Joe

I do not believe that the LS120 ever came with an RS-232 interface. Are you
absolutely sure it's not a parallel interface (which uses the same
connector, but of opposite sex).