From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 21:12:00 -0000 Subject: What does this port on a Quadra 700 do? Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
There's a port on the Quadra 700 which I have not been able to identify. It has an icon that looks like this:
<...>
but doesn't look like a standard RJ45 Ethernet port. It has about seven pins on the top and on the bottom of the connector.
What does it do?
It is the ethernet port. As you may know, ethernet used a variety of possible cabling schemes back when. There was thicknet, thinnet (forms of coaxial cable) and unshielded twisted pair (UTP, AKA 10baseT).
Because you didn't know what kind of cabling a place would be in use, it was difficult to build ethernet into a computer and be certain that it would be compatible. So the industry standard solution was an AUI port. This is a DB15 port to which the appropriate transceiver could be attached, which would convert the AUI port into thicknet, thinnet or UTP.
When Apple started building in ethernet they created a new port called an AAUI (Apple AUI) which has the virtue of being smaller than an AUI port and the other virtue that it is not identical to Apple's video port which also uses a DB15.
That funny little port you're looking at is an AAUI port. To convert it to UTP, which I assume would be your goal, you would need a transceiver. They were made by the usual network equipment suspects, Apple, Asante, Dayna, Farralon, etc. Back when, they cost about $70. These days you should be able to get them for under $5 on Ebay plus shipping.
Some ethernet cards were also made with AAUI ports and many of the early cards for the Mac included an AUI port with the DB15 connector. One of Asante's NuBus cards has a BNC, RJ45 and AUI port all on the same card. Apple's LC slot ethernet card has an AAUI port and requires a transceiver.
The Asante transceivers often show up on Ebay under the title Asante Friendly-Net Transceiver or something like that.
Jeff Walther
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