# USB to Parallel port Trigger Interface **URL:** \ **Category:** Uncategorized\ **Created:** [October 21, 2016, 6:34pm UTC](https://psychtoolbox.discourse.group/t/usb-to-parallel-port-trigger-interface/154 "2016-10-21T18:34:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Allen\_Ingling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Allen\_Ingling](https://psychtoolbox.discourse.group/u/Allen_Ingling)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2016, 6:34pm UTC](https://psychtoolbox.discourse.group/t/usb-to-parallel-port-trigger-interface/154/1 "2016-10-21T18:34:16Z")
Hello everybody, I came across this USB to paralell port cable  (cortech solutions see: [http://www.cortechsolutions.com/Products/SD/SD-MS/SD-MS-TC/001114](http://www.cortechsolutions.com/Products/SD/SD-MS/SD-MS-TC/001114)) and was wondering if anyone ever tried to use it in psychtoolbox? We are using a mac as a stimulus computer and therefore have no parallel port. We would like to send triggers via the parallel port to the trigger input of a BIOSEMI amplifier. Thank You! Johanna ---
**Author:** ![qx1147](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/b4bc9f/32.png) [@qx1147](https://psychtoolbox.discourse.group/u/qx1147)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2016, 8:54pm UTC](https://psychtoolbox.discourse.group/t/usb-to-parallel-port-trigger-interface/154/2 "2016-10-21T20:54:11Z")
I would recommend something simpler and much cheaper, e.g. the Neurospec trigger box (https://www.neurospec.com/News, 2nd item; see also last item on page 19 of [https://www.neurospec.com/Content/Files/Support/Pricelists/1\_PL\_EUR\_E\_2016.pdf).](https://www.neurospec.com/Content/Files/Support/Pricelists/1_PL_EUR_E_2016.pdf)) This is just an Arduino using standard Arduino drivers. It appears as a virtual serial port, so you would send triggers with PTB's IOPort module. On a Win7-64 PC, with PTB/IOPort, the command-to-output latency is better than 180 microseconds. Never tried it with a Mac though. Marc ---
**Author:** ![mariokleiner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/13edae/32.png) [@mariokleiner](https://psychtoolbox.discourse.group/u/mariokleiner)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2016, 1:06am UTC](https://psychtoolbox.discourse.group/t/usb-to-parallel-port-trigger-interface/154/3 "2016-10-24T01:06:03Z")
A similar solution, and comparatively cheap around 40-50 Euros iirc, is the UBW32 Bitwhacker. Shows up as a virtual serial port, and its default firmware allows simple ASCII commands to query or set programmable I/O pins. There's an entry about it in our FAQ section about triggers on the PTB Wiki. Or suitable USB-serial port converters, where one can use IOPort to control the RTS or DTR pins to emit simple trigger signals. Marc, adding a reference to that NeuroSpec box to our Wiki's trigger FAQ entry, with your experiences with it, would be good. -mario ---In PSYCHTOOLBOX@yahoogroups.com, \ wrote : I would recommend something simpler and much cheaper, e.g. the Neurospec trigger box (https://www.neurospec.com/News, 2nd item; see also last item on page 19 of [https://www.neurospec.com/Content/Files/Support/Pricelists/1\_PL\_EUR\_E\_2016.pdf).](https://www.neurospec.com/Content/Files/Support/Pricelists/1_PL_EUR_E_2016.pdf)) This is just an Arduino using standard Arduino drivers. It appears as a virtual serial port, so you would send triggers with PTB's IOPort module. On a Win7-64 PC, with PTB/IOPort, the command-to-output latency is better than 180 microseconds. Never tried it with a Mac though. Marc