Bitronics Switch Kit User Manual P72655 READ THIS MANUAL IN ITS ENTIRETY BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO CONNECT DEVICES, THE BITRONICS SWITCH, OR INSTALLING THE SOFTWARE. IMPROPER SETTINGS OR CONFIGURATIONS CAN CAUSE DATA CORRUPTION.
I. Introduction Thank you for purchasing the Belkin Components Bitronics DualBus Switch Kit! Now, you and your colleague can share and select between two different parallel devices from your desktop. Plus, if you are using Windows 95 or 98, you will take advantage of Virtual Port Software, which allows you to print automatically! The Bitronics DualBus Switch gives you and another computer the ability to communicate to two parallel devices at the same time.
IV. • • • Choose your Operating System Windows 3.x " Continue below: Windows 95/98 and NT " Continue to next page. MS-DOS " Continue below: V. Manual Mode In manual mode, you can select port manually through the buttons on the Bitronics switch. • • • • Press computer to select which computer port you wish to configure. For the computer connected to Port 1, press the COMPUTER button until the LEDs on Port 1 are lit up either in red or green.
VII. MS-DOS In MS-DOS, there re two files which can be used, and both are in the first disk (part# P72735) in the DOS subdirectory. These files are: • DOSSWTCH.com • F1U125.com DOSSWTCH.com is a directly executable program. You must follow the syntax in order to invoke the switch to change ports. For example, entering the following, DOSSWTCH LPT1 A will cause the switch to set your current computer to connect to Port A. F1U125.com is a TSR program. Once it is loaded, it stays in memory.
VIII. Windows 95 / 98 and NT BEFORE YOU INSTALL THE BELKIN BITRONICS SOFTWARE, YOU MUST FIRST MAKE SURE THAT EACH DEVICE WORKS PROPERLY ON ITS OWN WITH EACH COMPUTER 1. 2. 3. Make sure that the printer port on your computer is set to ECP mode. To do this, you must go into your computer’s BIOS or CMOS setup. Instructions on how to do this differ from one computer to the next. Please consult your computer manufacturer’s manual, tech support, or website for information on how to do this.
4.3. Close all other running applications so that the software installation can proceed quickly and smoothly. Click NEXT. 4.4. Select the model of Bitronics Switch you have, which is the F1U127 / F1U128. Click NEXT.
4.5. Select destination folder. The default folder is recommended. Click NEXT. 4.6. Select Program Folder. The default is the recommended. Click NEXT.
4.7. When done installing, the program will ask you to restart your computer. You must restart in order to activate the software properly. Click FINISH. 5. Once your computer has rebooted, the Bitronics icon will appear in your system tray. 6. Double-click on the icon to open up the setup program: Select the correct LPT port the Bitronics switch is connected to. If you only have ONE parallel port (usually that is the case), leave this in LPT1.
7. Click on SETTINGS. Here, we have to tell the software what devices are connect to which port: DISPLAY NAME is a free text field. You can enter any description here for the attached devices. For instance, Port A has the Zip drive connected and Port B has the InkJet connected. You can rename these fields to say “My Zip Drive” and “Color Printer #2”. DEVICE TYPE gives you a pull-down menu showing the types of printers installed on your computer and other parallel devices as well.
8.3. Click on the DETAILS tab. In the pull-down menu “Print to the following port:”, select the correct port this printer is connected to on the Bitronics switch: • LPx1 – PA (auto switch) " Select this if the printer is connected to Port A of the Bitronics switch • LPx1 – PB (auto switch) " Select this if the printer is connected to Port B of the Bitronics switch In the image below, the printer is connected to Port B of the Bitronics switch. Therefore, LPx1 – PB (auto switch) is selected.
Using the Bitronics Software Example: Two Printers Shared Between Two Computers The Bitronics Software automatically handles printing chores by directing your print jobs to the correct port on the switch based on the settings you set in the Printer Properties and the Settings in step 7 previously. When you print something in Windows, you simply select the printer you wish to print to, and the Bitronics software handles the switching duties.
When dealing with a mass storage device (devices that add a drive letter to your system like “E:”) such as a Zip drive, the Bitronics Software in the system tray must be configured so that the Bitronics switch is defaulted to the Port attached to the Zip drive. It is necessary for the switch to always remains connected to the Zip drive so that anytime you access that drive, you will always be connected, and not get error messages: 1.
Visual Feedback – How do I know what port I am on? When the Bitronics switch is in its normal scanning mode, the LEDs are flipping back and forth across the computer ports. To see the software in action, simply hit the COMPUTER button so you can see a computer port’s connection. Press the COMPUTER port until the LEDs around “1” are lit up, and you will see which device port it is currently connected to.
In Windows NT, you can perform the same installation as in the Windows 95 /98 procedure above. Make sure the power supply is connected to the Bitronics switch, otherwise, there may be a significant delay in the processing of requests from NT-based machines. The Printer properties in Windows NT is slightly different. After installing the software and restarting the computer, go the printer properties and select the PORTS tab.
If you are still having problems using the BITRONIX.exe software setup above, first UNINSTALL the Bitronics software. You can do this by right-clicking on the taskbar icon and answering YES to the prompt. Then, click on START, PROGRAMS, BELKIN BITRONICS SWITCH, then UNINSTALLSHIELD. After restarting your computer, you can install the older NT version of the software located in the second disk (part# P72736). During the installation, it will ask you the model number.
1999 Belkin Components® Components Corporate Headquarters 501 West Walnut Street Compton, CA 90220 310-898-1100 voice Tech Support x 2263 310-898-1111 fax DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY WITH FCC RULES FOR ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY We, Belkin Components, of 501 West Walnut Street, Compton CA 90220, declare under our sole responsibility that the product: F1U127-KIT Bitronics Switch Kit to which declaration relates: Complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules.
