Re: Are AppleIIe 9 pin connectors standard RS232?

[dempson@actrix.gen.nz (David Empson)]

Randy Shackelford <shack@deimos.frii.com> wrote:

> In article <199709130255351592491@dempson.actrix.gen.nz>,
> David Empson <dempson@actrix.gen.nz> wrote:
> 
> >Now, the various uses of the DB-25 are another matter - one machine
> >could have a serial port, parallel port, SCSI port and ProFile drive
> >interface all with the same female 25-pin connector (not that this
> >particular combination is very likely, and at least the ProFile card
> >deliberately blocks pin 7 so you cannot accidentally plug a serial cable
> >into it).
> 
> I thought most parallel ports had a Centronics 36 pin jobber.

Only when you get to the printer.  Most computers (notably the PC) use a
DB-25 female connector.  The various Apple II cards either have a DB-25
or a ribbon cable that plugs directly into the card.  (Of course, the
DB-25 pinout is usually not the same as a PC's pinout!)

> But anyway, it seems that if you have the savvy to install cards, you can
> also keep track of which port is what. You'll notice that on all Apple
> boxes, the built in ports have icons to identify them.

These sort of problems often come up when somewhat has inherited a
machine, and has no past knowledge of them - particularly for interface
cards and associated connectors.  I would have hoped that most people
would notice the icons next to the built-in ports.

(Understanding what the icon means might be a problem in some cases.)

-- 
David Empson
dempson@actrix.gen.nz
Snail mail: P.O. Box 27-103, Wellington, New Zealand