Bluetooth / USB as COM1 port

[Petrus Vorster]

I am looking into IPL printing that requires connections to COM1.

I have never bothered before with Com ports.
The printer INTERMEC (industrial heavy duty) allows bluetooth connections, COM ports cable or a standard printer cable(if you use the WIN drivers).

Win drivers are too slow, therefore IPL needs to run via a com port.

How do one set up a USB as COM1 or the Bluetooth on a LAPTOP using WINFBE?

Regards, Peter

[philbar]

Hi Peter,

Short answer is to buy a USB to Serial converter cable. They're not very expensive. You plug the USB end into your computer, Windows goes into its "New Device" frenzy, and eventually you get a message saying something like "COM7: is ready." You plug the serial end into your printer and use it just as if computers still had serial ports. Windows 10 is very good about recognizing and installing all of the most common makes. Windows 7 requires a little more babying. Windows 11 is incompatible with some of the older cables, so you will want to get one that is compatible with your operating system. Also, you want to check that the sex of the serial end is compatible with your printer.

The last time I did this, I wasn't using FreeBasic, so if there any gotchas in using serial ports, I don't know about them, but have a look at the OPEN COM page in the FB manual: https://www.freebasic.net/wiki/KeyPgOpenCom

Phil

[Petrus Vorster]

Thanks Phil

I still think the working app I made (mostly Paul's work) is better using Windows drivers.
Slightly slower, but it works on both INTERMEC and ZEBRA without the need to re-code the files for the different printers & a standard printer cable.

That 2 second difference is not that serious I think.
Perhaps I should not mess up that printer's memory trying to send it all kind of commands.... 

-Peter