Re: LocalTalk/AppleShare between IIgs and Mac LC 575 - how?

["Rodney Hester" <rod3@mindspring.com>]

"David Empson" <dempson@actrix.gen.nz> wrote in message
1eunn3p.110ft3vayx3fqN%dempson@actrix.gen.nz">news:1eunn3p.110ft3vayx3fqN%dempson@actrix.gen.nz...
>
> Are you using the modem port on the IIgs?  If not, then you can set the
> IIgs to use the modem port for AppleTalk, and leave the ImageWriter
> connection intact.

I'm currently using the modem port for my Focus hard drive and have the
printer port dedicated to AppleTalk, for complex reasons I won't bore the
group with.  =)

> One way to eliminate this problem would be to get hold of the LocalTalk
> networking card for the ImageWriter II, in which case you can leave
> AppleTalk permanently active, provided you have appropriate wiring and
> always boot through GS/OS if you want to use the printer (under normal
> circumstances you can't print to an AppleTalk printer on a IIgs if you
> boot via ProDOS-8, but will be able to print in ProDOS-8 programs if you
> boot GS/OS with the necessary drivers installed).

This is precisely what I plan to do, because of the added benefit to the Mac
(well, that and the lack of slot convenience ;).

> For the cabling you have two major options:
>
> (a) For a temporary network connection between the two computers, you
> can simply unplug the cable from the ImageWriter II and plug it into the
> Mac.

I am currently running this way and it works very well.

> (b) For a permanent LocalTalk network between the Mac, IIgs and
> ImageWriter II, you will need a proper cabling system.  There are two
> standard cabling systems, which cannot be mixed.  In both cases, you
> need a "drop box" for each device on the network (three in total, in
> this case), as well as two cables to connect the network in daisy-chain
> fashion.

I'm a bit confused - if I don't need drop boxes for direct-connect, why are
they necessary for each node?  I figured it would be enough to have the
LocalTalk Connector Kit "Y" cable on the GS, with direct connects from it to
the Mac and the ImageWriter (with the LocalTalk card).  That in and of
itself is not a terribly expensive solution, but *3* connector kits would be
a little more imposing.

> Apple's LocalTalk cabling uses specially made cables to connect the drop
> boxes, with Mini-Din-3 connectors.  The drop boxes usually have
> automatic termination, so you don't need to worry about this issue.

Ah - so the connectors on the "Y" aren't DIN-8?  I can't understand why.  :/
Termination shouldn't be an issue anyway, I'd think - wouldn't the internal
LocalTalk connectors on each device suffice?

> Back when all this was current, LocalTalk cabling was rather expensive,
> and PhoneNet was relatively cheap.  Nowadays you could probably get
> either type second hand without paying too much.

So far the pricing I've gotten is around $7 for a single LocalTalk connector
kit.

> Incidentally, with a networked ImageWriter II, you will also be able to
> print to it from the Mac.  You may need to locate a copy of the
> AppleTalk ImageWriter driver, as it hasn't been updated since System
> 7.1, and was no longer installed by default some time around System 7.6
> or 8.0.

Ah - any pointers on this?  I'm running System 7.5.5 (started at 7.5, then
upped to 7.5.3R2, then 7.5.5).  Will do some web searching.

> I don't think you can share ProDOS volumes on the Mac.  You would
> normally use HFS for everything.

You're absolutely right - I tried.  :)

Thank you for your very helpful reply!

Rodney