On 27-Apr-04, at 9:57 PM, Ken wrote:
Anyone here know the wiring protocol for connecting a LocalTalk Printer with the DB9 port to the printer port on a Mac?
Well, I will take a crack at this but I am not sure I fully understand the attempts you have already made.
In my case, I have been attaching AppleTalk printers like a LaserWriter IIg and later a LaserWriter 8500 to a local Ethernet network which consists of several Macintosh computers, a Router, and a Cable Modem. I have also at a much earlier stage done the same thing with a simple Ethernet hub instead of a Router.
All Ethernet hubs will support the AppleTalk protocol used by AppleTalk printers, in addition to the TCP/IP traffic used to handle Internet traffic. At the time I was using a hub, my ISP was providing me with distinct fixed IP addresses for all my computers. I mention this just in case anyone was scratching their head wondering how I was getting internet to all my Macs through a hub rather than a Router.
Anyway, one thing you need to look out for when you buy a Router is that it will support AppleTalk protocol in addition to TCP/IP traffic. This is not generally something that you will find stated on the product carton, so you need to check this out ahead of time either on the Router manufacturer's web site or by relying upon the retail sales folk. I know that Linksys Routers support AppleTalk and I think I have had experience with Asante Routers which do the same thing.
Now, both the Hub and the Routers that I have used have incorporated today's pretty standard RJ-45 ports. That's the connector which looks like a telephone connector on steroids. I am not familiar with the specific products you mentioned so I don't know if those devices use an RJ-45 type of Ethernet connector or some other sort like an AAUI or the circular one whose name I forget.
So, the next challenge becomes how to attach the Mac and the LaserWriter to an Ethernet network, given that neither one of them come with a built in Ethernet connector. Actually, the LaserWriter IIg does have an Ethernet port but I began this with an earlier LaserWriter which did not. And certainly many IIsi's that I have come across do not have a built in Ethernet port.
For the LaserWriter, you pretty much need to buy one brand or another of an AppleTalk to Ethernet adapter, preferably (in my view) one which provides an RJ-45 port as the Ethernet connector. Farallon and Assante are two firms which make these and I can almost always find examples on ebay just by searching using keyword phrase "AppleTalk to Ethernet". You need to be sure that the adapter is designed to attach to a standard Apple printer or modem port, not one that is designed to go betweeen an AAUI Ethernet port and an RJ-45 Ethernet port.
For the IIsi, I think you have a choice of either purchasing a second such device or buying an internal Ethernet card that fits in one of the motherboard sockets. I'm afraid it has been a while since I have done this but if again you went to ebay.com and did a keyword search on something as simple as "IIsi" in the Apple Macintosh section, I wouldn't be surprised if the result wouldn't include some examples of people selling Ethernet cards that would fit this application. Again, be sure that the Ethernet port it presents at the back of the computer is of the RJ-45 type, not some older type.
After that, it's just a matter of running Ethernet patch cords from your IIsi and your LaserWriter to your Router or Hub. You need to be sure you are using a plain patch cord, not a cross-over cable, but in my experience cross-over cables are clearly labeled as such near the connector end, so if a cord lacks any such identification it is usually a plain patch cord.
If you are using an internal Ethernet card on the IIsi, you may have to install some driver software to support it. I think one factor here is what OS version you are running. By that I simply mean that I think some later OS's automatically include resources which detect and utilize an installed Ethernet card.
Last thought: if by any chance you are attempting to use Ethernet cabling to directly attach your LaserWriter to your IIsi, but not through a Hub or Router, then you MIGHT have to use a cross-over Ethernet cable rather than the plain patch cords I mentioned earlier. I am not sure I would recommend trying to connect the two devices this way as I don't think you would see much advantage over the standard PhoneNet cabling, but mention it just in case you have been trying to get the two devices to "talk" to each other over Ethernet before you actually incorporate the two of them into perhaps what is your larger home network.
As you can see, I may have given rise to as many questions as I have provided answers, but I hope this is a start to what you needed to know. Good luck!!
Jim Foster President Macintosh Users East [MaUsE] http://www.mause.ca
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