Parallel Port Used to Control Peripheral Electronics

Any peripheral component can be controlled by the 25-pin parallel port by assigning a high & low or ON & OFF state to each pin.

During the design of the project, a Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) controller was used to connect to the computer through the parallel port. The end of SNES controller cable is stripped and the ends of the wires are tinned.

The controller can be powered in different ways wherein drawing power directly from the parallel port with diodes is the cleanest way. The USB port can also provide power or from an extra power cable of a desktop computer. If power is drawn from the parallel port, the parallel port connector pins 4-9 are attached with diodes. The white wire on the controller is attached to the +5V. If power is drawn from USB, the USB cable is stripped and connects the white power wire of the controller to the red wire having 5V while the controller’s ground brown wire to the black/ground wire of USB cable.

The controller can be configured like any joystick or game pad in Game Controllers under Control Panel of PC.

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