16 Dec
2003
16 Dec
'03
9:01 a.m.
Digging through a bin of connectors I found a Apple
Localtalk (round 3
pin)
to DB25m adapter, brand was I think Sonic. Could this possibly just
connect
to a PC serial port and go with some software? (where? software right).
No. A PC serial port is not even CLOSE to being capable of implementing
LocalTalk.
LocalTalk requires HDLC with NRZI encoding, means for generating and
detecting a coding violation for framing, and an EIA-485 differential
transceiver. The only serial chips I've ever seen used to implement it
are the 8530 and its variants, and the Motorola MC68302 and MC68360 when
used with a MC68195.
LocalTalk (and PhoneNet) adapters with a DB25 connector were for use
on the Lisa or Macintosh XL, and perhaps some other obscure devices.
There did exist LocalTalk cards for PCs, but they used either a DE9
or a mini-DIN 8 connector.
I wrote a LocalTalk driver for the MC68360 when I was a software
engineer at Telebit, working on the NetBlazer LS router. It turns
out that the fancy serial channel in the MC68360
Eric