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Thread: Running an QM2000 Board from an Laptop

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
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    14

    Default Running an QM2000 Board from an Laptop

    Hey all,

    I have a QM2000 board that I have been holding onto for some time now. I want to use it for a particular project that requires that I run it in a confined space and drive it with a laptop. I thought about using a USB/PCI converter, yet the power spec doesn't work out. Due to the nature of the project I can't justify much in the way of additional spend. Can anyone give me some insight as to how I could use this board on the cheap with a modern laptop?

    Thanks,

    Keith

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    What you need is the Pangolin QM2000.net enclosure. It has contains an Ethernet-to-PCI adapter and an internal power supply to power the QM2000 card. But they're rather expensive. (You might get lucky though and stumble across a deal on E-bay if you keep your eyes open.)

    I don't know if you could use a USB-to-PCI device, even if you hacked it to add a separate power supply, as I don't know if the LD2000 software would be able to communicate with the adapter.

    When using the .net box from Pangolin you have to launch their custom .net software first. That software includes custom drivers for the .net hardware. You must configure the link to the .net box(es) before you launch Showtime. If the link fails, Showtime will not load because it won't see a connection to the hardware.

    The other solution is to use a laptop docking station that provides a PCI slot. I've successfully run a QM2000 on an old DELL Pentium 3 laptop (running Windows XP) with the QM2000 board installed in the docking station with zero problems.

    Adam

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by buffo View Post
    I don't know if you could use a USB-to-PCI device, even if you hacked it to add a separate power supply, as I don't know if the LD2000 software would be able to communicate with the adapter.
    I'm going to say very unlikely.
    The device wouldnt appear as a true pci device and would communicate at a too slow rate. For example the qm2000.net uses the wiznet interface along with custom coding done on pangolins end to make it work.. as the device doesn't even appear up on your device manager..

  4. #4
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    Good point! I had forgotten that when running a .net box the QM card does not show up in the Windows Device Manager list.

    Thanks for the clarification on how they got the wiznet adapter to work. I suspected that the .net configuration utility included some custom code to allow Showtime to continue to function with the greater latency between the computer and the QM2000 due to the network connection being so much slower than the speed of the local PCI bus.

    To be perfectly honest, I never really cared for the QM2000.net box solution. To me, if you absolutely need to use a laptop with a QM2000, the best way to do that is to purchase a docking station that gives you a PCI slot. But of course, those legacy docking stations only work with older laptops, so that may not be a solution if you want to use a modern laptop. (Unless Dell has released an updated docking station that still has a legacy PCI slot???)

    Here's a listing for the model that I used to use: https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Latitude.../dp/B005JZES8Q I used it with a 17" Dell laptop that had the Intel Core2Duo CPU, and it ran quite well. Rugged as hell, and it never once let me down. I've still got it tucked away in a storage bin, just in case I ever need it, but these days I run all my shows from the big console that has a 19" rack-mount PC installed in it with 3 PCI slots, two of which are taken up by QM2000 boards. I can't remember the last time I needed to run a QM2000 card from a mobile device. (Hmmm - maybe the first Carrib-LEM in Utila back in 2013? Could be...)

    Adam

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by buffo View Post
    To be perfectly honest, I never really cared for the QM2000.net box solution. To me, if you absolutely need to use a laptop with a QM2000, the best way to do that is to purchase a docking station that gives you a PCI slot. But of course, those legacy docking stations only work with older laptops, so that may not be a solution if you want to use a modern laptop. (Unless Dell has released an updated docking station that still has a legacy PCI slot???)
    Which only would give you one controller.
    Wanted multiple then you needed a PC (large frame with as many pci lines as you could get.
    So after about 3 to 4 even with a desktop you were still looking at a QM.net

    it was "fast enough" but yes a lot slower then having the card in a pc. about 4 to 3 times slower from memory.

  6. #6
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    Oct 2009
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    Israel
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    You may use a desktop with the QM card near the laser projector.
    A network cable to the laptop where you need it.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by aricha View Post
    You may use a desktop with the QM card near the laser projector.
    A network cable to the laptop where you need it.
    True, but this would be even more expensive than buying a docking station for a laptop or purchasing a .net enclosure for the QM. Keith's original post mentioned that he was on a tight budget.

    Adam

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