Re: Zip- GS Slot Settings

[nathan@visi.com (Nathan Mates)]

In article <jreiter-2608960851490001@remote-05.modems.comet.net>,
Jordan Reiter <jreiter@comet.net> wrote:
>>   With a Rom 01, here's what you can do: set slot 1 to 'Your card'
>>and put HD controller in it. Set the boot slot order to use slot 1,
>>rather than 'Scan'. Next, set slot 7 to Appletalk, and plug the
>>Appletalk connection into the printer port.

>Ok, how's about being able to use printers and modems while having
>AppleTalk active?

   Fact: you get 2 serial ports in the back of your GS. If you wish to
Appletalk, print and modem at once, you will have to do two of those
three over the same port (usually via an appletalked printer), or buy
a card and put it in another slot and connect a printer or modem to
it.

   Next, the GS is pretty strained getting high speed (14.4 and up)
data communications over one port and displaying it to the screen.
With appletalk interrupts, processing overhead of printing, and
everything else, you're likely to start losing characters over the
modem. Give the system a break and don't do all three at once.

>  A computer which cannot both print and use a modem is
>pretty useless.

   Maybe to you. However, I very rarely need to do both at once. If
I were running low on serial ports, I'd get a switch box and use one
at a time.

>  I assume that people replace the printer port with
>AppleTalk with the idea that the will use an AppleTalk printer, but as the
>IIgs only supports a limited number of AppleTalk printers, this could be a
>problem.  So if I am simply wanting to use AppleShare yet have complete
>use of a printer and modem, should I simply give in and put my scsi card
>in slot 6?

   If you've ever tried switching Appletalk on in a Rom 1, you will
note that since there are _2_ serial ports, you cannot have slots 1
and 2 also set to Printer & Modem Port. You will _have_ to set one to
"Your Card" before you can start using appletalk. 

   Assuming you set slot 1 to "your card" and put in another printer
card there (which is getting risky, as Appletalk uses the screen holes
already), you'd have to put the SCSI card in slot 6 or somewhere
else. A better solution is to put the _printer_ card in slot 6 (which
can be run at 1Mhz; you won't notice too much difference) and put the
SCSI card in slot 1, as I recommended before.

Nathan Mates
--
<*> Nathan Mates http://www.visi.com/~nathan/      <*>
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