Help with Neither Net adapter and Mac Plus

[zparras]

Hi Everyone,

I recently bought the Neither Net adapter from Joe's Computer museum (along with a BLUESCSI) and I'm not having any luck making a connection between my Macintosh Plus and any other computer.

Neither Net adapter lets you connect an ethernet cable to the Mac Plus printer serial port and use the Macintosh built in Apple Talk network.

NeitherNet Adapter - Joe's Computer Museum

NeitherNet is a PhoneNet-style adapter. It allows you to re-create PhoneNet LocalTalk networks for your vintage Macs without all the expense of finding an original adapter on some auction site.

jcm-1.com

My Mac Plus has 4mb of Ram and I've tested it with System 6.08, 7.1 and 7.5. I'm trying to connect it to an iBook G4 (Power PC) with OS 9.2. I've seen 2 videos by Joe and by Adrian Black and followed the instructions with no luck.

If someone has experience with this adapter I've love to get some advice, on best OS to use, type of Ethernet cable etc.

Thanks

 

[d5aa96]

While you can physically plug an ethernet cable into it, I think you are misunderstanding the purpose of the NeitherNet Adapter. While it uses RJ45 ethernet cables, it does not convert LocalTalk to Ethernet. To connect a MacPlus to a iBook you will need a LocalTalk to Ethernet bridge ( a much more complex and expensive device ). You are not going to do this for under $20.

The NeitherNet adapter allows you to connect two (or more) LocalTalk devices together using a common (in 2024) RJ45 patch cable. It is a replacement for older LocalTalk or PhoneNet cables and in most cases you will need at least two NeitherNet Adapters to be of any use.

 

[GiGaBiTe]

Man is that a really terrible design. I'm just glad he tried plugging it into a normal switch/computer ethernet. Had he plugged it into a PoE or PoE+ switch, it would have blown that Mac Plus sky high by sending 24 or 48-52v directly into the serial port. There's also potential for wire faults to cause damage since there's no magnetic isolation.

4 wire phone lines are still cheap and plentiful, designs like this are just lazy and dangerous.

 

[zparras]

Thank you for the response. I am aware that Neither Net does not convert LocalTalk to Ethernet. I was wondering if I need a cross over ethernet cable. The cables I am using are all pass through.

Instead of using bridge hardware, Joe in his video suggests using software LocalTalk Bridge 1.2 on a more modern compute would work. I installed LocalTalk Bridge on my iBook G4 running OS 9.2, but it didn't work.

The several videos I saw made the process look pretty easy, but I suppose when dealing with old tech, it's never that easy. Which is part of the reason I like tinkering with old computers.

 

[GiGaBiTe]

Thank you for the response. I am aware that Neither Net does not convert LocalTalk to Ethernet. I was wondering if I need a cross over ethernet cable. The cables I am using are all pass through.

I don't know how that project works, but it describes "normal" Ethernet cables, so I'd assume crossover cables aren't needed. The iBook G4 doesn't have serial ports, so I have no idea how you're even connecting the machines together.

Instead of using bridge hardware, Joe in his video suggests using software LocalTalk Bridge 1.2 on a more modern compute would work. I installed LocalTalk Bridge on my iBook G4 running OS 9.2, but it didn't work.

I don't understand what you're trying to do. Localtalk requires two or more Macintosh computers with physical serial ports, which the iBook G4 most definitely doesn't have. I don't know how you think a software program is going to link two computers over nothing? The Mac Plus definitely doesn't have wireless, or even IR.

Are you still trying to plug an ethernet cable into the iBook G4 and the other end into the Mac Plus via that adapter? you need to STOP, because that's not how those adapters work. You're going to destroy something.

The several videos I saw made the process look pretty easy, but I suppose when dealing with old tech, it's never that easy. Which is part of the reason I like tinkering with old computers.

You need to link those videos here, because you're not making any sense in what you're doing.

 

[zparras]

Thank you for the concern for my hardware. I stopped using the neither net adapter a few weeks ago.

Here is the link to the video I am referring to. I hope this helps.

Regards,

 

[GiGaBiTe]

Ok, then what are you using to connect the Mac Plus? You need another computer with a serial port.

 

[VERAULT]

Did you email Joe? He has always answered every single email I sent him pretty quickly. Rather than speculate.. just email him. Its gis design after all.

 

[cjs]

Man is that a really terrible design.

It's not just a bad design: particularly terrible is that he doesn't document what it does, leaving knowledgeable people to guess that this is not an Ethernet interface, and those not so knowledgeable to simply not understand what it is, that it doesn't plug into Ethernet, or how you can damage your Mac by plugging the wrong thing into it.

 

[oktology]

Man is that a really terrible design. I'm just glad he tried plugging it into a normal switch/computer ethernet. Had he plugged it into a PoE or PoE+ switch, it would have blown that Mac Plus sky high

What are the odds that PoE switches and NeitherNet adapters exist in the same place AND people other than the person who put both things there are plugging and unplugging RJ45s?

Like yes, that is possible, but it’s hardly a credible enough danger not to use the cheap and easy solution.