Re: [netatalk-admins] LocalTalk - possible?


Subject: Re: [netatalk-admins] LocalTalk - possible?
From: Stefan Bethke (stefan@promo.de)
Date: Mon Jul 21 1997 - 07:51:16 EDT


At 12:31 Uhr +0200 21.07.1997, Mario Klebsch DG1AM wrote:
>Hi!
>
>>So, does anybody know how difficult it would be to support Localtalk
>>(i.e. Appletalk over a serial line).
>
>The hardest part probably is the hardware. The Mac uses a Zilog USART
>while most PCs only have an UART (not capable of doing synchronous
>transfers). The next problem probably is speed. localtalk runs at 307
230,4 kilobit per second

>kbaud. On the Mac they have to use polling of the USART to achieve
>this speed.
>
>So to get is working on a PC you probably need some special hardware
>containing a Zilog USART and a processor doing the polling.

Probably. Unless you already have some old LocalTalk card, it might be
easier and cheaper to buy an Ethernet/LocalTalk bridge (Dayna, Asante, lots
of others). The only LT card currently sold, I believe, is from COPS.

There used to be a driver for the old LocalTalk PC card from Apple for
Linux, but I don't know it's status. Recently, someone ported the driver to
FreeBSD; we'll have to see how good it works.

Stefan

--
Stefan Bethke
Promo Datentechnik      |  Tel. +49-40-851744-0
+ Systemberatung GmbH   |  Fax. +49-40-851744-44
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