Networking Apple IIc or IIc+

From: Ethan Dicks <ethan_dicks_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Fri Jul 7 09:31:58 2000

--- Mike Ford <mikeford_at_socal.rr.com> wrote:
> Many people have told me you can't network the IIc or IIc+

Hmm... I always thought you _could_.

> but I am sure I remember somebody telling me the IIc+ could be kludged
> to sort of work.

Maybe that's what I'm remembering.

> Skipping that issue (unless somebody knows more), I wonder if a
> slower/dumber protocol than LocalTalk/AppleTalk might work?

I _had_ assumed the IIc+ has a Z8530 SIO chip inside. If that is _not_
the case then it's probably some flavor of ACIA 65xx or 68xx UART. The
Z8530 is a great chip, found in Suns, Macs, COMBOARDs ;-)

For LocalTalk, Apple runs the chip at ~230kbps, IIRC (tangentally, I
have the Byte article unveiling the 128K Mac where they describe a
"slotless" architecture using virtual slots off the serial port in a
manner that sounds like what USB has finally brought to the masses).
I do not know if a 4Mhz 65C02 can pull data off the chip fast enough
to be practical. We used to use a 4Mhz Z8530 w/an 8Mhz 68000 with
plenty of cycles to go around.

> The idea would be to plug a PhoneNet adapter into a IIc/IIc+ serial port,
 
> Now add a second IIc/IIc+ to the "network" and run a normal terminal
> program on it. Seems to me all you need to add is some kind of protocol for
> a packet with an address field and it should work. Ideas, opinions?

Kermit? That would handle a point-to-point network, any way. You might be
able to start with a PPP implementation for the 6502 and retrofit some kind
of ARPish protocol on top of it (since PPP lacks that sort of thing) and go
from there.

On a side note, I recently aquired an older IIgs. It works and I have no
software for it except my 1978-1983 era stuff for my old II. Did people
ever network the IIgs to a Mac? If so, how?

-ethan

 
>


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Received on Fri Jul 07 2000 - 09:31:58 BST

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