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Hard Disk Interface for the Printer Port

IDE2LPT – removable storage via the printer port

Hard Disk Interface for the Printer Port
Hard Disk Interface for the Printer Port
Can’t even give away that hard disk drive on your redundant PC system? Why not use it as a portable drive? This interface adapter allows a standard low-cost internal hard drive to be used as a convenient mobile plug-in unit, great for storing or transferring large files from PC to PC or notebook. A preprogrammed Altera EPLD chip ensures a neat unit with a minimum of external circuitry.It’s difficult to believe that the first PC systems came without a hard disk drive. How did we ever manage? It was only when hard drives appeared that the real convenience of a PC was realised, we didn’t mind that these drives could only store a few Mbytes and were about the same size and weight as a common house brick, it was certainly an improvement on reloading MS-DOS from a boot disk at every start-up.

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Materials

Gerber file

CAM/CAD data for the PCB referred to in this article is available as a Gerber file. Elektor GREEN and GOLD members can exclusively download these files for free as part of their membership. Gerber files allow a PCB to be produced on an appropriate device available locally, or through an online PCB manufacturing service.

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The use of our Gerber files is provided under a modified Creative Commons license. Creative Commons offers authors, scientists, educators and other creatives the freedom to handle their copyright in a more free way without losing their ownership.

PCB

Component list

Resistors:
R1 = SIL array 8 x 1kOhm
R2 = SIL array 4 x 470Ohm
Capacitors:
C1,C3-C8 = 100nF
C2 = 100µ F 16V radial
Semiconductors:
IC1 = 7064LC84-15 (Altera), programmed, order code 010047-31
IC2 = 74HCT14N
IC3 = 7805
Miscellaneous:
JP1,JP2,JP3 = 3-way pinheader with jumper
K1 = 25-way sub-D-plug (male), PCB mount
K2 = 10-way boxheader
K3 = 40-way boxheader
2 solder pins
Extension cable for PC PSU (see text)
Printer extension cable (1:1)
IDE cable
PCB, order code 010047-1

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