Using the Data Pins on your parallel port

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Controlling the data pins on your parallel port (aka: printer port, LPT1) is fairly straight forward.

There are 8 data pins as shown below:

This is what I did in Linux:

- Install the python parallel port library
  sudo apt-get install python-parallel

- Add your user name to the lp group (that's an 'L', not a '1' or an 'i')
  sudo adduser <username> lp

- Unload the lp modules from the kernel
  sudo rmmod lp

- Load the ppdev (Python Parallel Device) modules into the kernel
  sudo modprobe ppdev

- Then write a little Python script that turns each data pin on sequentially:

    import parallel

    import time

    parPort = parallel.Parallel()

    parPort.setData(0x01);

    time.sleep(1)

    parPort.setData(0x02);

    time.sleep(1)

    parPort.setData(0x04);

    time.sleep(1)

    parPort.setData(0x08);

    time.sleep(1)

    parPort.setData(0x10);

    time.sleep(1)

    parPort.setData(0x20);

    time.sleep(1)

    parPort.setData(0x40);

    time.sleep(1)

    parPort.setData(0x80);

Or course you'll need to wire up appropriate hardware if you want to drive anything with these pins, but that's another project


Check out my YouTube channel:  www.youtube.com/KedarWarriner