Windows NT/2k/XP
Before you install the Belkin Bitronics software, you must first make sure that each
device works properly on its own with each computer.
1. Check your BIOS and make sure that the printer port on your computers is set to
ECP mode.
Note: Please consult your computers manufacture’s manual, tech support, or
website for information on how to set your printer port to ECP mode.
2. Log in as Administrator
3. Verify that the software and driver’s for each device that will be shared is
installed properly on all computers.
4. Download the NT/2k/Xp Bitronics Switch software from Belkin’s download page
on the website.
Bitronics Switch Kit
User Manual
READ THIS MANUAL IN ITS ENTIRETY
BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO CONNECT
DEVICES, THE BITRONICS SWITCH, OR
INSTALLING THE SOFTWARE. IMPROPER
SETTINGS OR CONFIGURATIONS CAN
CAUSE DATA CORRUPTION
When connected online you can
click on any Belkin logo like this
one to be connected directly to
Belkin’s internet information site.
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I. Introduction
Thank you for purchasing the Belkin Components Bitronics Auto Switch Kit! Now,
you and your co lleagues can share between one parallel device from your de sktop.
Plus, if you are using Windows 95 or 98, you will take advantage of Virtual Port
Software, which allows you to print automatically!
The Bitronics Auto Switch gives you the ability to auto switch between two printers
at any time. Also, it allows you to switch so that you can use either device through
the switching software.
II. Package Contents
•
Bitronics Auto Switch, 1-2 or 2-1 F1U125 or F1U126
Or 1-4 or 4-1.
•
1 x IEEE 1284 compliant cable F2A047-06
•
User manual P
Registration card P72009
•
III. Windows 95 / 98
BEFORE YOU INSTALL THE BELKIN BITRONICS SOFTWARE, YOU MUST FIRST
MAKE SURE THAT EACH DEVICE WORKS PROPERLY ON ITS OWN WITH EACH
COMPUTER
Make sure that the printer port on your computer is set to ECP mode. To do this, you must go into
your computer’s BIOS or CMOS setup. Instructions on how to do this differ from one computer to
the next. Please consult your computer manufacturer’s manual, tech support, or website for
information on how to do this.
computer’s BIOS setup routine is different.
Make sure that the software and drivers for the devices to be shared are properly installed on any
Windows® 95 /98 computers. If you are sharing two printers between two computers, make sure
that the printer drivers for both printers are installed and working properly on your computer. If
you are sharing a Zip drive and a scanner between two computers, make sure that the software
and drivers of each device are installed and working properly on both computers.
Connect the two computers, and the device to be shared to the Bitronics Switch as shown below.
The cables from the computers to the Bitronics switch are included in the package.
which port each device is connected to
Please do not call Belkin Tech Support on this because each
Take note of
:
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IV. Hardware setup
One Computer to Share Between
Two Parallel Devices:
Your Computer
Click here for
information about
this cable
Then type
Cable model
number:
F3D111
or
F2A047
Click here for
information about this
cable
Then type
Cable model number:
F2A046
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Two Computers Sharing One
Click here for
information about this
cable
Then type
Cable model number:
F2A046
Parallal Device:
Click here for
information about
these cables
Then type
Cable model number:
F2A047
or
F3D111
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V. Details
Please take note of the dip switch settings on the bottom of the autoswitch.
F1U126
Dip Switch 1
ON (down) 1 to 4 mode
OFF (up) 4 to 1 mode
SW2 SW3 Time Out Setting
ON ON 5 seconds
ON OFF 10 seconds
OFF ON 20 seconds
OFF OFF 40 seconds
F1U125
Dip Switch 1
ON (up) 1 to 2
OFF (down) 2 to 1
VI. Software Installation
1.a. Download the file BITRONICS.exe from Belkin’s download page on the web
site.
Click on
in order to download
this file.
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1.b. You can either download it onto your hard drive( usually C:\).
1.c. Or download it onto a blank floppy disk( usually A:\ ).
2. Put the disk into your floppy drive. Click on START, then RUN. Enter
A:\BITRONIX.exe, substitute C: for A: if it is on your hard drive, then click OK
3. You will see the following window. Click SETUP.
Close all other running applications so that the software installation can proceed
4.
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quickly and smoothly. Click NEXT.
5. Select the model of Bitronics Switch you have, which is the F1U125 or F1U126. Click
NEXT
6. Select destination folder. The default folder is recommended. Click NEXT.
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7. Select Program Folder. The default is the recommended. Click NEXT.
8. When done installing, the program will ask you to restart your computer. You must restart in
order to activate the software properly. Click FINISH.
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9. Once your computer has rebooted, the Bitronics icon will appear in your system tray.
Double-click
10.
on the icon to open up the setup program:
11. Click on SETTINGS. Here, we have to tell the software what devices are connect to which
port:
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12. If one or both of the devices being shared is a printer, you must follow the procedure below to
reconfigure the port connected to the printer. If both devices are printers, then this must be done
for both printers.
12.a. Click on START, SETTINGS, PRINTERS.
12.b. Right-click on the printer installed on the Bitronics switch, and click on
PROPERTIES:
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13. Click on the DETAILS tab. In the pull-down menu “Print to the following port:”,
select the correct port this printer is connected to on the Bitronics switch:
LPx1 – PA (auto switch)
•
! Select this if the printer is connected to Port A of the
Bitronics switch
LPx1 – PB (auto switch)
•
! Select this if the printer is connected to Port B of the
Bitronics switch
In the image below, the printer is connected to Port B of the Bitronics switch.
Therefore,
LPx1 – PB (auto switch)
is selected. When done, click OK.
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14. Click on SPOOL SETTINGS and click on “Start printing after last page is spooled”.
15. If NOT grayed out, click on “Disable bi-directional support for this printer”.
Otherwise, ignore.
16. Click OK in the Spool Settings window, and OK again in the main properties window.
VII. Using the Bitronics Software
Example: Two Printers Shared Between One Computer
The Bitronics Software automatically handles printing chores by directing your print jobs to the
correct port on the switch based on the settings you set in the Printer Properties and the Settings in
step 7 previously. When you print something in Windows, you simply select the printer you
wish to print to, and the Bitronics software handles the switching duties. ITS FULLY
AUTOMATIC!
How does it work? The Bitronics software tells the Bitronics switch to switch to the port
the selected printer is connected to. In the example below, the Bitronics software tells the
Bitronics switch to switch to Port B first, then it allows the print job to go through the
switch, out to Port B, and to the Epson printer.
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Then if you wish to print to the second printer, let’s say a LaserJet for example, all you
have to do is select that particular printer in the PRINT dialog box. Click OK, and the print
job is automatically sent to the LaserJet printer on Port A of the Bitronics switch.
Example: Sharing One Printer and a Zip
drive (or any other mass s torage
device)
When dealing with a mass storage device (devices that add a drive letter to your system like “E:”)
such as a Zip drive, the Bitronics Software in the system tray must be configured so that the
Bitronics switch is defaulted to the Port attached to the Zip drive. It is necessary for the switch
to always remains connected to the Zip drive so that anytime you access that drive, you will
always be connected, and not get error messages:
1. Make sure that the port that connects to the Zip drive is set to MASS STORAGE
DEVICE in settings. See Step 7 above for more info. The image below shows the
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Zip drive is connected to Port A, and that the device type is MASS STORAGE
DEVICE. Type anything you want in Display Name. Click OK when done.
2. Click on the port that has the mass storage device connected. In this case, it is a Zip
drive on Port A. As you can see, the Display Name entered above appears below as
you had entered it. Click OK.
Now what happens is that the Bitronics switch always keeps your computer connected to
the Zip drive. That way, anytime you access it, you will not get any strange errors. Then
when you print to the Ink Jet Printer on Port B (as shown above), the Bitronics switch will
switch to Port B temporarily to send the print job, then switch back to Port A to keep
communication with the Zip drive.
Visual Feedback – How do I know what port I am on?
When the Bitronics switch is in its normal scanning mode, the LEDs are flipping back and
forth across the computer ports. To see the software in action, simply hit the COMPUTER
button so you can see a computer port’s connection. Press the COMPUTER port until the
LEDs around “1” are lit up, and you will see which device port it is currently connected to.
If it is in File Transfer mode, the computer port LEDs are green, and neither device port
LEDs will be lit. Then, click on the Bitronics software icon in the taskbar and change
ports. You will see the LED of the Bitronics switch to the port you chose.
Using any other parallel device (not printers or mass storage devices) with a printer
When dealing with other parallel port devices, they are set as SCANNERS in the
SETTINGS (step 7 above). Examples of these are scanners, parallel port cameras, and tape
drives. When you need access to this device, simply
single-click
on the Bitronics system
tray icon, and select the device you wish to use.
A check mark will appear showing which
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device is connected. For example, we have a scanner and a printer on the Bitronics switch:
You will be connected to the scanner device indefinitely. But lets say you wish to print to
the Ink Jet printer, the software will again automatically switch to the port that has the
printer and send the print job. However, the switch will remain connected to the printer - it
will not change back to the Scanner, unlike the mass storage device mentioned previously.
This means that you have to use this method to switch to the scanner each time you need to
use it.
If no printers are installed
If no printers are installed, the SETTINGS type (see step 7) for each device must be set
either for MASS STORAGE DEVICE (if the device adds a drive letter to your system), or
SCANNER (for all other types of devices).
The Bitronics software may not function properly in some systems if there is no
DEFAULT PRINTER set. To do this, add a printer using the Add Printer Wizard (click
START, SETTINGS, PRINTERS), and just use the “Generic / Text Only” driver.
Remember to use “Local Printer” and “LPT1” when the wizard asks you. This will then be
set as your default printer, so that the Bitronics software can work properly.
Removing and Adding the Bitronics Switch Icon from the System Tray
To remove the icon, simply right click on it, and answer YES to the prompt.
•
To reload the icon back into the system tray, click on START, PROGRAMS, BELKIN
•
BITRONICS SWITCH, “AutoSwitch-Multi PCs”
Using the File Transfer Feature
The file transfer feature of the Bitronics
switch allows both computers to connect as if
there was a file transfer cable connected
between them. To do this, double-click on the
Bitronics switch system tray icon, and click on
FILE TRANSFER:
A set of PC LEDs on the Bitronics switch will
turn green. These LEDs represents the
computer you are on now is set for file
transfer mode.
Next, the second PC must also perform the
same operation. When
sets of PC LEDs
both
on the Bitronics switch are green (all four),
then the computers are ready for file transfer. At this point, the cables and the Bitronics
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switch act as if it was a file transfer cable. You can now run programs such as Windows
Direct Cable Connection, or Laplink. Please refer to their user manuals or websites for
information on how to configure their software. Just remember that your Bitronics switch
setup mimics the file transfer cable requirement.
1999 Belkin Components® Components
Corporate Headquarters
501 West Walnut Street
Compton, CA 90220
310-898-1100 voice
Tech Support x 2263
310-898-1111 fax
DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY WITH FCC RULES FOR ELECTROMAGNETIC
COMPATIBILITY
We, Belkin Components, of 501 West Walnut Street, Compton CA 90220, declare under our sole
responsibility that the product:
F1U125/126-KIT Bitronics Switch Kit
to which declaration relates:
Complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the
following two conditions: (1) this device may not cause harmful
interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference
received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.
CE Declaration of Conformity
We, Belkin Components, declare under our sole responsibility that the
F1U125/126-KI T Bitronics Switch Kit
to which this declaration relates, is in conformity with Generic Emissions
Standard EN50081-1 and with Generic Imm unity Standard EN50082- 1 1992.
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Belkin Components Limited Lifetime Warranty
Belkin Components warrants this product against defects in materials and workmanship for its
lifetime. If a defect is discovered, Belkin will, at its option, repair or replace the product at no
charge provided it is returned during the warranty period, with transportation charges prepaid, to
the authorized Belkin dealer from whom you purchased the product. Proof of purchas e may be
required.
This warranty does not apply if the product has been damaged by accident, abuse, misuse, or
misapplication; if the product has been modified without the written permission of Belkin; or if
any Belkin serial number has been removed or defaced.
THE WARRANTY AND REMEDIES SET FORTH ABOVE ARE EXCLUSIVE IN LIEU OF
ALL OTHERS, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. BELKIN
SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING,
WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTA BILITY AND FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
No Belkin dealer, agent, or employee is authorized to make any modification, extension, or
addition to this warranty.
BELKIN IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES RESULTING FROM ANY BREAC H O F WAR RANTY, OR UNDER AN Y LEGAL
THEORY, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOST PROFITS, DOWNTIME,
GOODWILL, DAMAGE TO OR REPROGRAMM ING, OR REPRODUCING ANY PROGRAM
OR DATA STORED IN OR USED WITH BELKIN PRODUCTS.
Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages or
exclusions of implied warranties, so the above limitations of exclusions may not apply to you.
This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights that vary from
state to state.
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