Program LED with just USB port

c# hardware usb hardware-programming
SMUsamaShah picture SMUsamaShah · Sep 3, 2010 · Viewed 11.6k times · Source

I want to control LED with C# using only USB port. I don't want to attach any other device with USB. I just want to attach LED directly to USB port pins and program it (blink etc). How can i do that? I am new to hardware programming and it will be my first program.

EDIT: I can do it already (blink LED) using printer port by attaching one led pin to data pin and other to ground. How can i do the same with USB port? My motherboard does not have a printer port. USB is the only option.

Answer

SMUsamaShah picture SMUsamaShah · Sep 8, 2010

This is not possible.

4 usb pins

| | | |  
| | | |  
1 2 3 4

1: +5V
2: D-
3: D+
4: Ground

To trun on LED connect with 1 and 4

Current on Data pins is too low therefore LED will never turn on if connected with 5V and any Data pin. Hence LED can not be controlled directly using data pins on USB port

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