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Setting up pnc 1860 with my laptop.
Hi.
ive recently bought a laptop, to connect up to my plotter pnc 1860.
i currently use it on an ancient pc tower running win 98 out of its serial port.
So now im using a usb ( at the computer end ) as there are no serial ports on laptops or new pc.
ive bought a USB to serial cable which connects the two devices, and installed the driver for the cable.
In the device manager the cable properties says its on COMM 3 so i set my software ( signgo ) to use COMM 3.
aaaannnndddd……it doesnt work. does anyone know what im doing wrong or what im missing here.
cheers
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9 Replies
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just thought i would add im using windows 7.
ive tried loading the driver for the pnc 1860 ( off their website ) but it says its not compattable with this version of windows.
however in signgo it has the option to select my plotter so i imagine the driver is included with signgo. ive never had to install drivers before, using my pc ( win 98 )
ive a feeling i cannot use my cutter with windows 7 at all.
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It is probably the USB to serial cable. The best ones are Keyspan adapters. I have one that works but I prefer using my old XP desktop for plotting, just seems rock solid. You can run Windows XP virtually on Windows 7.
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James, it may well be a driver issue it is difficult to say. What sort of serial to USB adapter did you buy?? There are basically 2 types with different chip sets used in their production. Most of the better quality adapters use a FTDI chipset and this is the one that you want. I would imagine the ones David has mentioned have this chipset but don’t know for sure.
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well to be honest i bought a cheapo one from off ebay for £3.
i thought a cable is a length of wires, obviously not eh.
will try the keyspan FTDI cable.
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James, it’s a bit more than a bit of electrical string with a different bit on each end :lol1: :lol1:
From what I have read and been told the FTDI chipset is much better for stuff like plotters, Graphtec tech support told me that was the one I needed.
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It is not just a cable, it is an adapter with chips inside 😉
If you get the keyspan or similar as Martin says, you will still need a serial to serial cable as well.
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Not strictly true David, you should be able to get a USB to serial adapter with a male or female connection.
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Sorry Martin, I was just referring to the keyspan that I have. It just uses the serial cable that comes with the plotter that would have connected to the serial port of a PC.
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OK.
just bought a keyspan from amazon.
computers harddrive died today as well and i had to use my old / old computer. good job i keep my old computers.
really need to switch to laptop.
ill update this thread with result when it gets delivered.
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