At 06:27 PM 4/25/99 , Elliott Ryder wrote:
> If I have a Lexmark 3200
>printer
>which requires a bidirectional cable, what will happen if I use a
>non-bidirectional switch box to couple it and an Epson 570+ Dot Matrix
>printer to the computer? What will happen if I daisychain the Lexmark
>printer with a UMAX scanner, 1200P;
I have had erratic and disappointing performance using a switch box to
connect and disconnect a UMAX scanner. I have found that if the scanner is
not connected at bootup you may or may not get it to recognize the scanner
when you switch to it. Most often my personal PC locks up trying to
recognize it when I switched to it. I have *not* had problems with a
bi-directional printer connected through the scanner daisy chain (I had an
HP printer). When going through a non-bi-directional switch to the HP
bi-directional, I did loose functionality of the "Cartridge Not Inserted"
warnings of the HP control program. After disabling these warnings, all
worked OK. Most of the *bi* part of bi-directional is for the printer to
signal something back to the PC and most of the time these signals can be
turned off or disabled. Lexmark may be different though and maybe a
Lexmark owner can let you know what happens when it is connected to a
uni-directional port.
May advice would be to connect the scanner to the port so that it is
detected on each power up and run the switch box off the daisy chain
connector on the scanner. Then connect the printers off the switch box. I
think you will have more success that way.
Doug Simmons

Doug Simmons

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