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Quad/SMTech/MPM 400 printer question

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Dman97

#44340

Quad/SMTech/MPM 400 printer question | 5 October, 2006

Does any one know if it is possible to replace the stupid light pen on these machines with a standard mouse or trackball? I'm going crazy trying to get the damn thing to recognize any onscreen movements. Its like it has a mind of its own. Sometimes it will work correctly and sometimes it wont work at all. I tried the calibration program that is included in the machine but it didn't help at all. If anyone has ever replaced the things with a mouse, please post here and let me know exactly how you did it. Thanks

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KEN

#44341

Quad/SMTech/MPM 400 printer question | 5 October, 2006

Unplug light pen. Plug in mouse (track ball).

Unless you've upgraded your idustrial PC you need to find a PS2 trackball

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Dman97

#44343

Quad/SMTech/MPM 400 printer question | 5 October, 2006

It cant be that easy? I dont see any PS/2 ports on the back of the industrial PC. Only an old school AT keyboard port. Maybe im not looking in the right place for the port?

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#44383

Quad/SMTech/MPM 400 printer question | 5 October, 2006

Not sure of the 400 but with the 100; If you are desperate to run - cover monitor with mylar and use felt pen to mark alignment.

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Dman97

#44386

Quad/SMTech/MPM 400 printer question | 5 October, 2006

Well, the monitor isn't touch screen. The light pen IS the mouse/trackball. If I touch the screen nothing happens. The industrial PC has no PS/2 ports of any kind on it. Perhaps I could splice into the light pen connections and connect a standard trackball to it?

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#44399

Quad/SMTech/MPM 400 printer question | 6 October, 2006

Sorry, just reread your post. Nevermind.

FWIW, I'd be pretty careful about splicing a different piece of gear into a hardwired connection unless you know that the current and voltage requirements of each item are the same.

However, who's to say that the motherboard doesn't have a header on it for a mouse connection. Open that puppy up and check it out if you haven't already.

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Loco

#44422

Quad/SMTech/MPM 400 printer question | 9 October, 2006

On our SMtech the pen is connected to a special interface card, we do however have the option of just plugging in a normal mouse in the mouse port.

On a side note, maybe something is wrong with your pen, you could try contacting supplier computerware. http://www.cw2.co.uk/

I have no affiliation with above mentioned company.

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#44443

Quad/SMTech/MPM 400 printer question | 10 October, 2006

Hi On the earlier AVX400's there was only one serial port. In the past one of our guys have informed me that we have used an adaptor and plugged the mouse into the LPT1 port.

On the later machines there are two serial ports so you could use one of these which was free.

Otherwise new light pens are available from http://www.reprintservices.co.uk.

I hope that this helps. Regards Ian

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Dman97

#44662

Quad/SMTech/MPM 400 printer question | 23 October, 2006

Thanks for the replys guys. There is infact a serial port in the back. It is COM2. I just had to plug in a standard mouse with a Serial to PS/2 converter and enable the mouse to use COM2 in the Windows control Panel. Works better than the stupid light pen. Thanks again!

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#44663

Quad/SMTech/MPM 400 printer question | 23 October, 2006

And does it's job very different from a light pen. A light pen senses the light from the monitor and the computer then sees which pixel is lit at the time the light pen detected it. Don't forget only one pixel is lit at any given time. So the unplugging the one and plugging in the other was never an option. It would have been like taking off a vinyl LP from a record player and putting on a CD.

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#44665

Quad/SMTech/MPM 400 printer question | 23 October, 2006

Have you tried to clean the lens at the tip of the pen? Use alcohol should work like new unless it is defective. Ours was driving me nuts till the brainwave hit and has been working ever since. Good luck.

John

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#44666

Quad/SMTech/MPM 400 printer question | 23 October, 2006

Yes, I tried to clean it, but the pen is just messed up. Somebody broke part of the tip off and that is the cause of the screw up. The pen works, but it is very picky about what parts of the screen it likes and doesnt like. I was just tired of playing with it and cursing at it. The mouse is just a better human interface device than that damn light pen.

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Keith Hansford

#52552

Quad/SMTech/MPM 400 printer question | 16 November, 2007

Contact Sigmaprint to obtain the approved SMTech Track Ball Retrofit Kit (PART# 14709)

+44(0)1305 766999 info@sigmaprint.co.uk

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