LAMBDA DG-4 PLUS & DG-5 PLUS OPERATION MANUAL – REV. 3.05B (20131009)
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4.
EXTERNAL CONTROL OPERATIONS
The Lambda DG-4 has both serial and parallel interfaces but these two interfaces should not
be connected simultaneously. The parallel port provides you with the fastest remote interface
possible. The serial port connection provides you with a similar range of commands but at a
significantly slower speed. A serial interface therefore will not fully exploit the Lambda DG-
4’s rapid filter changing capability. Remote control of the Lambda DG-4 is similar to that of
the Sutter Lambda 10 filter wheel but functional differences in these units require the
elimination of some commands and the addition of others. All of the commands are byte (8-
bit) values. This corresponds to a single character from the serial port or the value encoded
by the eight logic level input lines of the parallel port.
4.1
Parallel Interface
4.1.1
Connecting to the Lambda DG-4 parallel port
The parallel interface connector on the back of the cabinet is a DB-25 connector. The
connections are arranged so that a standard DB-25 cable can be used to connect the
controller to a PC parallel port. This cable should not be used simultaneously with a serial
port cable connected to the Lambda DG-4.
The pin assignments for this connector are, as viewed from the back of the unit:
Figure 4-1. Parallel port DB25 connector (male).
Table 4-1. Parallel port pin assignments.
Pin Function Pin Function
1 Not Connected (NC)
14 NC
2 Command Bit 0 (filter)
15 NC
3 Command Bit 1 (filter)
16 NC
4 Command Bit 2 (filter)
17 NC
5 Command Bit 3 (filter)
18 NC
6 Command Bit 4 (hold for trigger)
19 NC
7 Command Bit 5
20 NC
8 Command Bit 6
21 NC
9 Command Bit 7
22 NC
10 NC
23 NC
11 Busy Line Output
24 Ground
12 NC
25 GROUND
13 NC