zeller@ethz.UUCP (Lukas Zeller) (03/23/89)
I just got a laser printer for my MAC-II. Because it is my only AppleTalk
device (except the MAC itself, of course), I asked my dealer for a simple
cable to connect the Mac with the printer. He told me that this was not
possible and that I had to use two "Appletalk Connectors" (one for the MAC
and one for the printer) plus an "Appletalk Cable". I was slightly surprised
about that, but he insisted even as I pointed out that the "net" would
consist of two nodes only. The suggested connection would cost me about $200,
so I dug out IM Vol 4 and tried to find out how to make such a two-node
net. It turned out to be no problem at all; a simple 3 wire cable and two
Mini-8 plugs do the job very well. I used the same wiring as for modem
cables (no differential signal transmission): pins 8 and 4 of both connectors
shorted (and connected through the cable), pin 3 of the Mini-8 on one end
connected to pin 5 of the other end and vice versa.
I wonder if such a cable is available commercially and/or if it is common to
sell a $200 appletalk where a $15 cable would do it as well. Or is anything
wrong with my solution (except that no additional nodes can be connected
to this "net", of course !) ?
Comments and opinions are appreciated, but please don't send thousands of
mails about where I could get such a cable: I have made one already !
Lukas Zeller +---------------------------+
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+---------------------------+mithomas@bsu-cs.UUCP (Michael Thomas Niehaus) (03/25/89)
In article <799@ethz.UUCP>, zeller@ethz.UUCP (Lukas Zeller) writes: > I just got a laser printer for my MAC-II. Because it is my only AppleTalk > device (except the MAC itself, of course), I asked my dealer for a simple > cable to connect the Mac with the printer. He told me that this was not > possible and that I had to use two "Appletalk Connectors" (one for the MAC > and one for the printer) plus an "Appletalk Cable". I was slightly surprised > about that, but he insisted even as I pointed out that the "net" would > consist of two nodes only. The suggested connection would cost me about $200, > so I dug out IM Vol 4 and tried to find out how to make such a two-node > net. It turned out to be no problem at all; a simple 3 wire cable and two > Mini-8 plugs do the job very well. I used the same wiring as for modem > cables (no differential signal transmission): pins 8 and 4 of both connectors > shorted (and connected through the cable), pin 3 of the Mini-8 on one end > connected to pin 5 of the other end and vice versa. Actually, any standard din-8 to din-8 (like a Mac to ImageWriter) cable will work. Most people aren't aware of this; I found out by accident when I was preparing a purchase order to add a Mac to one of these "two-node" nets. Then I had to explain that to add one more station, they had to buy three LocalTalk or PhoneNET connectors. They weren't happy campers (campuser's, actually). > I wonder if such a cable is available commercially and/or if it is common to > sell a $200 appletalk where a $15 cable would do it as well. Or is anything > wrong with my solution (except that no additional nodes can be connected > to this "net", of course !) ? Such cables are available from Apple (of course), MacCables, mail order houses, etc. It is a pretty standard cable. > Lukas Zeller +---------------------------+ -Michael "I don't speak for anyone" Niehaus [junk] [junk] [junk] [junk] -- Michael Niehaus UUCP: <backbones>!{iuvax,pur-ee}!bsu-cs!mithomas Apple Student Rep ARPA: mithomas@bsu-cs.bsu.edu Ball State University AppleLink: ST0374 (from UUCP: st0374@applelink.apple.com)
holland@m2.csc.ti.com (Fred Hollander) (03/25/89)
In article <799@ethz.UUCP> zeller@bernina.UUCP (Lukas Zeller) writes: >I just got a laser printer for my MAC-II. Because it is my only AppleTalk >device (except the MAC itself, of course), I asked my dealer for a simple >cable to connect the Mac with the printer. He told me that this was not >possible and that I had to use two "Appletalk Connectors" (one for the MAC >and one for the printer) plus an "Appletalk Cable". I was slightly surprised B#%%@#IT! (sic) I've already done it. I connected a Mac II to a LW IINT using the ImageWriter II cable. Everything worked fine. I later verified this setup with an Apple rep as I wondered if there was someone less than obvious to be lost (like speed). He checked and said there was no reason not to use the IW cable. Fred Hollander Computer Science Center Texas Instruments, Inc. hollander@ti.com The above statements are my own and not representative of Texas Instruments.
swerling@caen.engin.umich.edu (Ace Swerling) (03/26/89)
In article <799@ethz.UUCP> zeller@bernina.UUCP (Lukas Zeller) writes: >I just got a laser printer for my MAC-II. Because it is my only AppleTalk >device (except the MAC itself, of course), I asked my dealer for a simple >cable to connect the Mac with the printer. > >I wonder if such a cable is available commercially and/or if it is common to >sell a $200 appletalk where a $15 cable would do it as well. Or is anything >wrong with my solution (except that no additional nodes can be connected >to this "net", of course !) ? > >Lukas Zeller +---------------------------+ Yeah, it's real easy to get a cable commercially. Any standard ImageWriter printer cable will work just fine for connecting a two node AppleTalk network. It's essentially a null modem cable. As you said when you made your cable, the pinouts are the same as the standard modem cable. This is no coincidence. -Ace