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Date:      Sun, 27 Oct 2002 21:39:15 -0800 (PST)
From:      Matthew Dillon <dillon@apollo.backplane.com>
To:        "M. Warner Losh" <imp@bsdimp.com>
Cc:        davek@saturn5.com, gkshenaut@ucdavis.edu, hackers@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: Programming the Parallel Port using ppi. 
Message-ID:  <200210280539.g9S5dFAR093583@apollo.backplane.com>
References:  <200210280155.g9S1tiQ69311@thistle.bogs.org> <Pine.BSF.4.44.0210271903180.1234-100000@blackbox.yayproductions.com> <20021027.210125.27780229.imp@bsdimp.com>

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:Depends on of the pins are negative logic, now doesn't it :-)
:
:And most Parallel ports I've measured clock in at about 3.3V.
:
:Warner

    That sounds about right.  I found a web page with the
    circuit for a TTL output.

http://www.play-hookey.com/digital/electronics/ttl_gates.html

    If you go down to the bottom you'll see the circuit.  A TTL 'high'
    is +5V through a 130 ohm resistor through a transitor (0.7V drop),
    through a diode (another 0.7V drop) = 5 - 1.4 = 3.6V, but it's
    actually less because there is current through the transistor,
    causing an additional drop through the 130ohm resistor.

    The real problem is the 130 ohm resistor.  Each 1 mA you pull on
    the output will drop the voltage another 0.13V, which means you can't
    pull much current out of the output (and also that the output is nowhere
    near 5 volts even if you don't pull any current out of it).

    A TTL output is much better pulling to ground (sinking current rather
    then sourcing it). As you can see, when the output is a zero the
    bottom transistor is turned on and that is basically a direct 
    connection to ground through a 0.7V drop, with no resistor (though
    there is an equivalent resistance due to the transitor), so 
    TTL can pull down to 0.7V or so, usually at least 20mA.

		-

    Now, if this were a CMOS output you basically have two symmetrical
    FETs:

	http://www.play-hookey.com/digital/electronics/cmos_gates.html

    Which have an equivalent resistance of 50 ohms typically (well, the
    web page says 200 ohms but I think it's more around 50 for HCMOS).
    So a CMOS 1 is essentially 50 ohms to +V and a CMOS 0 is essentially
    50 ohms to ground.  This is the nice thing about CMOS... the lowest
    voltage is basically ground (not 0.7V), and the highest output voltage 
    is basically +V (e.g. 5V rather then 3.3-3.6V).

    But a parallel port output is not a [H]CMOS output, it's a TTL output,
    which makes it a very poor power source.

					-Matt
					Matthew Dillon 
					<dillon@backplane.com>

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