Re: Appletalk/Phonenet box wiring (Re: ...phoneNet connection to Win2K?)

[Phil Beesley <pb14@le.ac.uk>]

In article <3b507efb.217582471@news.mw.centurytel.net>, Mister Boffo
<mister_boffo@hotmail.com> wrote:

> Honestly, I don't think there is anything at all different between the
> serial and modem ports on a Macintosh if this is all there is to it.
> Appletalk appears to involve no additional hardware beyond the normal
> serial port, and AppleTalk may be a completely software-based network.

> Apple always claimed the printer port was for AppleTalk, but I don't
> see any objective reason why it matters which port get used. Perhaps
> Apple used more expensive serial hardware for the printer port, so
> that it could signal much faster than the modem port? Anybody know
> what the max speed is of the modem port vs printer port?

The AppleTalk and modem ports are identical to each other on all Apple
computers that have both ports ;-) There are some PowerBook models, for
instance, that have only one port and a software switch must be used to
switch between "printer" and "modem" modes. 

Different models of computer have a different maximum speed for the
ports (but both ports will work at the same speed). Standard AppleTalk
over LocalTalk cabling operates at about 230.4 kbps. A couple of
vendors (Radius, Sum Microsystems) implemented LocalTalk accelerators
but these are unusual and largely incompatible with Apple's standard.

Phil