It is also known in the context of the the Centronics Interface, Centronics connector or the Centronics port in honor of the company that developed it first the port, it was later created through Epson. This Parallel port can be found at the bottom of IBM compatible computers. It’s an 25-pin (type DB-25) computer interface that is utilized to link printers and computers.
What is the location of the parallel port in the computer?
The parallel port can be found at the rear of your computer, and is an integral part of the motherboard. Below is an illustration from the DB25 interface that is located at the rear of your computer.
Identifying an parallel port
In the image above you can clearly see what’s known as the DB25 connections to the parallel ports. It. It’s easily identifiable since it’s the largest connection that is located on one side of the laptop computer. It’s in the shape of a letter D. It’s an male connector and comes with 25 holes.
Parallel port modes
The computer can be capable of running the parallel port in different ways based on your requirements and the available resources. There are a few modes to choose from IEEE-1284 (Auto) Centronics mode Nibble Mode SPP (unidirectional) Bidirectional, ECP, and EPP.
Parallel port overview
The DB25 connector came with 8 bits of data bus, and the maximum length of cable was 15 feet. While there are 50-foot cables, it’s not advised that these cables be utilized as they can result in weak connections and signals for data. Here is more information on the pins that are that are connected to this cable. Pin 1 through 25 is identified in the above image.
Here is a brief overview of every one of these purposes.
pin1 – – Data acknowledgment signal when the signal is not high.
Pins 2-9 Pins for data transfer.
Pin 10 Accept that the data has completed processing. A signal that is high, it means that the data is ready to be processed more.
Pin 11 The moment the signal gets high, it means that printer accepted data, and is being processed. If this signal drops and Pin 10 becomes high, additional data is waiting to be printed.
Pin 12 – Printer paper jams with signal that is too high. there is no signal when the printer is jammed.
Pin 13 – When the high signal printer is signaling that it’s on-line and is ready to print.
Pin 14 – If low signal PC has signaled that the printer set an inset line after each line.
Pin 15 Printer sends data to the computer, telling them that an error occurred.
Pin 16 If the signal is low PC has asked the printer to start the internal reset.
Pin 17 If there is a low signal, is detected, the PC has selected the printer, and must prepare data.
Pin 18-25 Ground.
What can the parallel port be employed to do?
Nowadays, the parallel port is largely changed by the USB port. But, below is a list of the various hardware components used to connect the parallel port.
Printer The most popular usage of using the parallel port.
Scanner A different commonly utilized type of parallel machine is the port scanner. Scanners that are parallel port are a popular choice to SCSI scanners due to the simple it is to set up.
External drives External drives Parallel ports have become very popular with external drives, such as those from the Iomega Zip Drive that could be removed one PC and then connected to a different.
Parallel ports are available on Apple computers
It is believed that the Apple Macintosh computer utilize SCSI to serve as an interface. This is a very parallel, however it is more flexible than the parallel port found on IBM Compatible computers. Apple computers have never had parallel ports.
