75 lines
3.7 KiB
HTML
75 lines
3.7 KiB
HTML
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<TITLE> The MacTerminal MINI-HOWTO: Setting up a serial link.</TITLE>
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<H2><A NAME="s2">2. Setting up a serial link.</A></H2>
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<P>To set up a serial link between a Mac and a Linux machine, you will
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need, on the Linux side, either a DB9 Female-to-DB25 Male serial cable
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or a DB25 Female-to-DB25 Male serial cable, depending on your serial
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port. On the Macintosh side, you will need a DIN9-to-DB25 Male
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high-speed modem cable.
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<P>Make sure that the cable is labeled a "high speed" cable, because some
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older Macintosh cables are configured with their handshaking lines
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tied high, which makes them useless for high-speed serial connections.
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<P>You will also need a null modem adapter, available at Comp USA, Radio
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Shack, and similar outlets, and a DB25 Female-to-DB25 Female serial gender
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changer to connect the two serial cables.
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<P>I have heard that Mac printer cables are really null modem cables in
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disguise, but I can't confirm this. Some of them are DIN9-to-DIN9
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anyway, and wiring one into a serial link would be more trouble than
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it's worth.
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<P>If this sounds like Greek to you, read the Serial-HOWTO for details of
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RS-232 cable configurations and data transmission protocols.
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<P>Before connecting the Mac and the Linux machines, you should determine
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that you have a working serial port on both machines, either by
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connecting a modem and dialing out to another computer with <CODE>minicom</CODE>
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(Linux), ZTerm (Mac), <CODE>kermit</CODE> (either), or the communications
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program of your choice.
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<P>The latest version of minicom is available from
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<A HREF="ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/apps/serialcomm/dialout">sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/apps/serialcomm/dialout</A> and mirror
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sites.
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<P>ZTerm is a complete, easy to use comm program. Unfortunately, it's
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shareware. A current version is available from
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<A HREF="ftp://mac.archive.umich.edu">mac.archive.umich.edu</A> and
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outlets like it.
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<P>The <CODE>kermit</CODE> program has been ported to every computer and
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operating system in existence. The archives are located at
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<A HREF="ftp://ftp.columbia.edu/kermit">ftp.columbia.edu/kermit</A>.
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<P>You should strongly consider using <CODE>kermit</CODE> on both machines at
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this stage at least, because 1) it's free (although it's not covered
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by the Free Software Foundation's General Public License); and 2) it's
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a lot less confusing to have <CODE>kermit</CODE> on both machines than two
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completely different communications programs.
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<P>If you have another way to determine that the serial ports of the two
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machines are operational, feel free to use that. The point is to ensure
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that both machines have working serial ports.
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<P>Making the actual serial connection should be easy, given the
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directions above. In case it isn't, the connection looks like this:
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<PRE>
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Linux PC DB9- or DB25- Null Gender DIN9-to- MacBox
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--------- to-DB25 male Modem Changer DB25 Mac --------
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| | serial cable. | | | | Serial Cable | |
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| |-----------------| |--| |-----------------| |
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| | | | | | | |
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--------- Adapter --------
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</PRE>
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<P>
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