Parallel Send & Receive Pair

The DataPro ParaLink converter connects a computer to a printer up to 1300 feet away. That's right: you can plug your computer into a printer that's a quarter of a mile away. That's more than four times the standard usable range of CAT5 wire, and eighty-six times farther than USB will go.

What use could possibly exist for a printer and computer to maintain such a long-distance relationship? Well, if you were hiding in your secret underground lair and wanted to deliver messages to the volcano's surface a quarter of a mile above you, this would do the trick. If you're working on top-secret operations and can't trust your print jobs over the "public internet", this would circumvent potentially-wiretapped lines.

The ParaLink device consists of a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter plugs directly into a IEEE-1284 Parallel port (DB25F); the receiver plugs into a Centronics Parallel type printer (CN36F), the clunky snap-in thing with the metal clips.

The transmitter and receiver are sold as a set, and function in place of a standard parallel printer cable.

The connection between the two devices is via RJ1104 on UTP wire or standard Telco type flat wire (basic four-pin telephone wire). Unlike typical Telco (telephone) wiring, however, the wire map used for ParaLink is pin-to-pin, not cross-over.

Specifications:

• Interface: Centronics Parallel
• Data Format: 8 data bits
• Connectors: DB25M on Transmit unit, CN36M on Receive Unit
• Size: 3.0 x 1.5 x 6.0 (each unit).
• Weight: 95 grams total.
• Distance: up to 1300 feet under optimal conditions.
• Transfer Rate: 21 KBytes / second
• Power: 9v DC 50ma (Optional), powered by CPU and printer.