I have a diagnostic console for my 91 Lamborghini Diablo that reads the engine computers for basic functions. It has a print function, and a 25 pin female output. Given this was made in 1991, what sort of printer would work? If I buy a 25 pin to USB can I use my laserjet, or do I need to buy an old-school dot matrix printer. Of course there are no instructions for the console. Thank you, Geno Image Unavailable, Please Login
Sounds like a fun project. Maybe print to pdf on your laptop? Or yeah, if you have to, find an older printer at a pawn shop or other second hand store.
My guess is that you have a 25 pin Parallel Printer Port, so the easier route is probably to find an old school printer with a Parallel port. I'm not sure a PP <-> USB cable would work, but I haven't tried.
1991, when Windows 3.0, Amiga and early Macintosh were king. This definitely sounds like fun. Old school LPT(DB25) tech for today's printer world. What's not known about this diagnostic tool is if the parallel printer port transmits raw ASCII data to the printer or a compatible DOS character format. That will determine everything. The USB cable cable I do not see working, printers do not translate data that you throw at them, printers expect the correct installation drivers to talk to them. The challenge I see is the type of dot matrix printer. Though they are still being manufactured today, they are updated for today's tech and some boast support for the ancient language of DOS. (This is similar to the McLaren problem of old school Toshiba laptops that utilize McLaren diagnostic/tuning software with first generation PCMCIA card interface that plugs into the car. The computers are obsolete and difficult to find)
a lot of the older dot matrix prints have 9 pin connections. There are 25 to 9 pin cables and adopters, I wonder if that route would work?
The fact being a Lamborghini electronic device, probably not That's like saying, Let's drop a Veneno intake plenum on a Countach! right 9-pin(Serial Port) printers were not all that common. Mostly retail point-of-sale printers or barcode printers, not your typical 'tractor fed' computer printer paper type. If the Lamborghini device has a 25-pin d-sub connector, it's best to match it with a 25-pin printer connector.
That would be correct. Your best bet would be to find a printer that runs on a parallel port. I had a laser printer in the early 90s that did, and I ran it for over 15 years, so should be easy to find one. The main issue will be that you need a device that is compatible with the computer, which may have some built in device drivers. Many printers can use a generic one. Can you see anything in menus? A USB converter is highly unlikely to work with this. It's not a simple pin conversion - there is a micro controller in the converter cable and it does the conversion, but the driver has to work. I wouldn't even try. It's been a lot of years, but I was part of the team in the mid 90s that developed USB and can say this fairly confidently.
I would think raw data, probably ASCII like you suggest. Also, it seems that this unit is similar to a HMI that's used in industrial control systems. Anyway, an old printer is best. Or maybe a used one of these. PLUS4 - Panel printers - Self-service / Industrial - Custom Spa . Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I'm sure these guys have a solution: PRINT DATA CAPTURE HARDWARE • Require paperless printing? • Need a dot matrix printer alternative ? CAPTURE PARALLEL TO PC CAPTURE TO PDF Print Capture Hardware for printer replacement provides dot matrix printer alternative. Paperless Printing from machines, measuring instruments, analyzers or DOS based legacy equipment.
I saw that a while back, looks cool, but don't want to spend $500. I found an OKI printer on craiglist for $30, and will buy a serial cable for $5 and see if that works.
By convention, a female DB25 port on the back of the computer signified a parallel interface. A male DB25 port signified serial (with only a handful of pins actually wired up). Who knows if Olivetti or whomever made this thing followed that convention, but if they did, you have a parallel port. In which case the used serial printer isn't going to work. The good news is that parallel (LPT) ports were phased out much later and compatibility is better. You should be able to find a reasonably modern Brother laser, for example, with a parallel interface. I just sold one for $50.
