I need to capture the print output from a old machine and put it into a networked PC the printer port is serial and so is the printer. What software can I use to do this and what cable configuration?

 

Western Process Computers has a nice software package for capturing printer output to a PC serial port, or up to 8 ports with an optional PC card...

http://www.westernprocess.com/tdc3000/IMAC.htm

 

It could be as simple as hyperterminal and a null modem adapter. That's what I'd try first and go on from there. Do you know the baud rate, stop bits, parity?

Rufus

 

Hyperterminal? Serial Cable?

 

A more general purpose solution would be to add a small Ethernet device-server (DS) or terminal server to the "old machine". This also works for batch loaders, weigh-scales and fire alarm panels - anything with a serial "printer" output.

It may be over-kill in your case, but has some nice future potential. For example you can move the 2 PC to separate locations, etc.

You can then open a TCP socket to the DS and all the data comes in thru the Ethernet and can be logged to a file or imported live into a database. Either the host can open the socket - for example even Hypertermial can open a telnet session to the DS and "capture" all the text. Or if the host app is always running as a TCP server, the DS can be configured to auto-connect to the server anytime it boot up. A very simple VB application could be created to do this for you.

(I do serial-to-Ethernet converters for a living, so I'm a bit biased ;^)

Best regards
- LynnL, at www.digi.com