Hi,
I need to add a simple input to a laptop computer for a switch. However this laptop has no parallel nor serial port. It doesnt even have an external keyboard input.
I cant spend time designing some kind of sophisticated USB interface. Any ideas on how to add an input simply and at no cost ?
Thanks in advance.
Look for a cheap usb that can be re-purposed. If a USB keyboard will work alongside the laptop's one, this may be an option
-you will probably find a small PCB inside a USB keyboard that can be extracted.
A USB-Serial converter would also do, use the CTS/DSR lines as inputs. Not no cost but very low cost.
"Mike Harrison" a écrit
-you will probably
Very good idea. Why didnt I think about this before ! Even simpler: using one of the switches of a USB mouse (the mouse and the keyboard wont be used for this application)
Thank you again
option -you will probably
Ethernet or USB to I/O port...
Here are a few things that would work for you.
usb 1.1 to serial cable:
usb 2.0 to serial cable:
With both of the above you can get a serial-to-parallel [db9 to db25] adapter if you need parallel input.
------------------------------------------------------>>>>>>
usb 2.9 mini docking station:
This will add quite a bit of I/O at reasonable cost
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