An old printer cable instead of an ILDA

K

Kenyon Kash

Member
Can I use An old printer cable instead of an ILDA one?
Seems like the same number of pins, and fits in very well.
If not, what kind of problem could occur?
 
Printer cables have on one side DB25 but at the other side centronic connector.

But if you have a cable with on both sides DB25, you might want to use a multimeter to see if the pins are 1:1 basically all wires need to be connected one on one.

Worst case what could happen:
- Your laser electronics burns through.
- The laser goes on unexpectedly and ... well
 
Hey Bob, thank you for a quick reply.
Both sides with DB25 (male and female on different ends), and the pins and the holding screws fit well.
I do not have a multimeter, but is it possible that a printer cable has something like pin 1 on one end connected to pin 2 on the other?
 
A printer cable not, but a a null modem cable could. Thats why my extensive comment.

ps, An AA battery with a led will also do the job to test the cable pins. (connect the long leg of a led to the + side of a AA Battery)
 
That's a great idea, I should do it, but maybe the problem is not in the cable, as you wrote it is less likely to be with a printer cable and this one is from my old scanner.
I tried it with 2 different applications: LaserShowGen and LaserDock, and it was doing the same: one second it was showing a normal projection and the next second it was showing some inverted colors with miss aligned RGB lines, then back to normal, and that's how it was alternating every second.
The laser it self works perfectly with all its preset animations jumping to the music through its mic. When I connect just the ILDA (printer) cable it keeps working as it does without one, but when I connect the dongle to the other end of the cable turns into a dot that is pulsating, and when I connect the dongle to the computer the dot turns on/off every second.
So, I figured that it is not the programs, not the laser, but ... the cable??
These are the examples of what it shows:
What do you think it might be, the cable, the dongle, the laser ILDA input?
 
The software wise I don't think there is a problem, because this "alternating phases" show as soon as the laser is connected through my "printer" ILDA cable and the LaserDock dongle to my laptop, even before any application is on.
I tried LShowGen and LDock, the "alternating phases" are identical.
This laser:
Effect-1-Watt-1000mW
The dongle is the LaserDock one.
The cable is my "printer" ILDA cable.
 
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Bob, there is one thing that I just found: the laser description says "Use electronic switches to conversion full ILDA signal". So, maybe they refer to that 10 switches on the back side, and those should be swithched certain way to make the ILDA signal work properly?
 
Hey Bob, what do you think about 1w vs 2w projector for a very close distance, about 10ft to the screen safety wise? I mean, could 2w projector start a fire, or something?
 
A 2w laser is just a little more expensive than 1w one, but I am not sure if safety wise 2w lasers more caution with an accidental skin or eye exposure.
 
Both can do damage if incorrectly used. My personal opinion is, more is better, but this is partly determined by its purpose and the knowledge how to deploy them safely.
If you visit : https://lasershowprojector.com, scroll down to "Learn how to create professional laser shows" and download the free E-Book, things will become pretty clear, I think.
 
Hey Bob, your MIDI setup, does it have an ASIO setting, or a way to connect to an audio to MIDI app inside the same computer, not a MIDI signal that comes through a USB port?
 
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