I just picked up a used Stylewriter 2400.

It works OK on a direct conection to my mac (OS 9.2.2 G3) on the
serial port.

However this unit does not like AppleTalk and needs a serial port.

Ok.

So since I have two printers I figured that I could run a switch box.

However when I select the printer I get errors when the box is in the
middle. Direct connecting makes it print OK but through the Box -
made for Apple Mini-8 connections by QVS (yup - another old timer) it
refused to work. Thinks that it is not connected.

I ohmed out the connections from the hub to the selected port on
thebox and everything is connecting OK.

Anyone else ever run into this problem?

DMK

In article <sunclad-6FC4CD.17014313092004@news.verizon.net>,
"D. Kirkpatrick" <sunclad@sunclad.com> wrote:

> So since I have two printers I figured that I could run a switch box.
>
> However when I select the printer I get errors when the box is in the
> middle. Direct connecting makes it print OK but through the Box -
> made for Apple Mini-8 connections by QVS (yup - another old timer) it
> refused to work. Thinks that it is not connected.
>
> I ohmed out the connections from the hub to the selected port on
> thebox and everything is connecting OK.

DMK,

It sounds like you might need to switch the computer-to-switch cable
with a STRAIGHT-THROUGH cable. A normal printer cable will switch the
transmit and receive pins. A second printer cable will switch them back.

Be sure that one printer is connected to the "A" port and the other
should printer to the "B", leaving the third, marked as output or
unmarked (its usually in the center) connected to the computer.

Why switch the pins? Well, the computer "talks" on a wire and the
printer (or Palm or modem or other device) "listens" to that wire and
vice-versa. So, either the device's port has to be reversed (relative
to the computer's) or the serial cable has to reverse the connection for
them. If the normal cables do the reversing, then using two of these
cables through the switch would reverse them again. Thus the need for a
straight-thru or non-reversing cable (or the need to add a null-modem
adapter to reverse them again.)

--
Walt Sellers
Macintosh Programming and Support in Central Florida
www.VirtualOutpost.com
ws_usenet@virtualoutpost.com - include the keyPhrase "WhoYaGonnaCall?"
in the body or subject of the message to get past the spam filters.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
In theory there is no difference between practice and theory,
but in practice there is. -unknown
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

In article
<instructionsInMessageBody-9624C9.01310520092004@news-rdr-02.tampabay.
rr.com>,
"W. Sellers" <instructionsInMessageBody@bad.bad> wrote:

> It sounds like you might need to switch the computer-to-switch cable
> with a STRAIGHT-THROUGH cable. A normal printer cable will switch the
> transmit and receive pins. A second printer cable will switch them back.

---

Never thought of that as a possibility. I always thought these were
stright-through cables - pin to pin.

In the end, I got frustrated and ohm-ed out the switch box and found
that it was bad. Didn't have any loose pins to fit the connectors so
I had to improve with common pins. I found out that the connections
were not working on some and at least one port was totally out of the
loop.

I have to assume mfgr error. It was not a repackaged item as far as I
could tell.

I gave up on the switch idea.

I now have a M-F cable running from the computer's print port and am
keeping that handy. I then plug in what ever printer I am using to
that.

I'd Apple-Talk them but one is old enough that it cannot be networked
without an adapter. I don't want to invest a lot in this. I'm just
holding on till I get a new USB printer. Getting one of those that
have OS 9 drivers/capability though may be just as much of a problem.

Thanks

DMK

In article
<instructionsInMessageBody-9624C9.01310520092004@news-rdr-02.tampabay.rr.com>,
"W. Sellers" <instructionsInMessageBody@bad.bad> wrote:

> In article <sunclad-6FC4CD.17014313092004@news.verizon.net>,
> "D. Kirkpatrick" <sunclad@sunclad.com> wrote:
>
> > So since I have two printers I figured that I could run a switch box.
> >
> > However when I select the printer I get errors when the box is in the
> > middle. Direct connecting makes it print OK but through the Box -
> > made for Apple Mini-8 connections by QVS (yup - another old timer) it
> > refused to work. Thinks that it is not connected.
> >
> > I ohmed out the connections from the hub to the selected port on
> > thebox and everything is connecting OK.
>
> DMK,
>
> It sounds like you might need to switch the computer-to-switch cable
> with a STRAIGHT-THROUGH cable. A normal printer cable will switch the
> transmit and receive pins. A second printer cable will switch them back.

Right. An Apple "printer" cable swaps pins. An Apple "modem" cable does
not (unlike what's typically called a "null modem" cable, providing a tiny
bit of potential confusion in terminology).

When you use a non-swapping switch box, you need to have only one
"printer" cable in the line.