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3Com Etherlink II upgrade - Is it worth it?

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marcoguy

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So I have an IBM XT with a 3Com Etherlink II and an AUI to RJ45 transceiver. I was wondering if there is a big enough speed difference in a network card with rj45 built in to trade the Etherlink II for one.
 
I wouldn't bother. Might be handy not needing a transiever, but no matter what you do it's still going to be slow. Even on serial port transfers my host has to wait for the poor XT to catch up.

What transfer speeds are you getting?
 
None, yet. I haven't loaded the packet driver yet. I am about to purchase a cdrom drive and controller so I can transfer files from my laptop.
 
Well, my laptop doesn't have a serial port and I have heard of problems with usb-to-serial adapters. Plus, I just found a huge stack of CD-RWs and want to use them.
 
That ancient CD-ROM drive (assuming its a Panasonic/Mitsumi/Sony interface since I know they have 8-bit cards) isn't going to read CD-RWs.
 
The drive is an SCSI NEC 6x Multispin Caddy loader. Will it read cd-r if it is already written to?
 
marcoguy said:
So I have an IBM XT with a 3Com Etherlink II and an AUI to RJ45 transceiver. I was wondering if there is a big enough speed difference in a network card with rj45 built in to trade the Etherlink II for one.
Click to expand...

I have three of these in my systems (one in a 5150, a 5160, and a 5155) and they are great.... if you really need 8bit NIC w/ Ethernet connectivity. I basically have all my systems tied into the main house LAN. On the server I have a share setup for just these old systems and I have my disk images and files there. So no need in figuring out how to get a program from one system to another! ;) But don't expect to be streaming any videos any time soon! ;)

Speed wise the Etherlink IIs will all perform the same. Your AUI should not make a difference at all. Of course it is a big piece of plastic that is sitting somewhere so for neatness sake a native Ethernet port might be better (my reasoning when I bought my cards plus I got three NOS cards for $12 each so it was an easy decision).
 
Just curious... What would happen if I connect one end of an rj45 cable to my laptop and the other to my old PC?
 
Depends.
Like serial, when you connect machines directly you need to swap a few wires, but some adaptors can detect this and switch around automatically. Normally you'd actually buy a Crossover network cable (network version of a null modem cable).
 
Well, assuming one of the random cables I have in my box of parts upstairs is that what software would I need/how would I use this?
 
Update: When I connect the XT to my laptop, the twisted pair transceiver says there is a link, but Windows 8 just says "Identifying".
 
Going direct with a crossover cable is the same as going through a hub, just without the hub, nothing special to do.
You don't really see crossover cables very often, since most network hubs/switches/routers have an Uplink port for this purpose, but you can still buy them new (or make them).

Just remember things like your router which normally provide DHCP etc wont be available - so set up static IPs etc.
What method were you planning to use to transfer the files? FTP?

Edit: in reply to above, yeah you need a crossover cable by the sounds of it
Edit2: actually if Windows is looking for a DHCP address... try a static IP
 
Wait - I don't think this is a crossover cable, but I do have a wifi router. If I connect them both to it directly will it work like a crossover cable? Also, how do I make one?
 
yeah just use the router if it's not an issue.
And yes hubs/routers/switches do the crossover for you, thats why you rarely see crossover cables.

Pinout info is on wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethernet_crossover_cable and all over the internet. Just need a crimper, connectors and some CAT5/5e/6

I still think, even with a USB adaptor, LapLink/FastLynx 2 are much easier though.
How were you going to use the network? FTP?
 
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Honestly, I have no idea. I just now thought of using rj45 and hoped it would work similar to a laplink connection.
 
There are also Intel and I think cisco routers with the same basic rj45+aui+bnc connections... I happen to own one, paid a whopping 4.99 for its 32 port goodness! ^_^
 
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marcoguy said:
Honestly, I have no idea. I just now thought of using rj45 and hoped it would work similar to a laplink connection.
Click to expand...
It will kind-of work like that if you install an FTP server application on your laptop, and install mTCP on your XT (configure it, and use FTP client). You'd then open the FTP client, connect to your laptop via an IP address, and be able to download/upload any files to the hosted directory. If you can get mTCP on the machine and installed, then this is a good option because you've already got the hardware/bits.

One advantage to serial (either with Fast Lynx 2 or LapLink) is you do not need to copy any software first, you can install via the cable using one or two basic DOS commands. Good link for a 'how to' with serial is http://www.minuszerodegrees.net/transfer/laplink3.htm which has a section regarding the USB adaptors. You may have already read it but if not, it's a good read.

Hope that helps.

Edit: mTCP linkage http://www.brutman.com/mTCP/
 
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