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Apple Lisa 2/5 Ram + Keyboard problems

flexo

Well-known member
My horrible luck continues :p

I've got an ImageWriter II (A9M0310). I've managed to get it working with a PowerBook G3, but not with the Lisa. I bought a 8-Pin to D connector cable (it has a printer icon on the 8-pin side and an Apple logo on the other, with only 6 pins on the D connector side) but I get a "Lisa is having difficulty printing" window whenever I try.

I've tried the following:

  1. Using both Serial A and Serial B ports (configured using Preferences, setting it to "Imagewriter / II DMP")
  2. Using two different cables (I am not sure if I should trust the cables, I bought them in a "pack" along with other cables, one badly damaged. They are both Apple branded though.) - I bought another one, not sure if its correct, but I'll try it with it also.
  3. Setting the DIP switches according to the Lisa FAQ.
Any ideas what might be going on? I guess the best case scenario is both cables are damaged, and the worst case is somehow both serial ports on the Lisa is fried somehow.. I want to say that it's not supported by Lisa, but it came with a manual that has a section dedicated to how to hook it up to an Apple III, Macintosh XL or Lisa :p

I also found this, which mentions a "Modem Eliminator Cable" (this?) but nowhere in the manual such a cable is mentioned? It just says "plug the remaining end of the cable to Lisa's printer Port B." Perhaps I've used the wrong cable, in that case, I hope I didn't fry anything up.. =/

 
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ScutBoy

Well-known member
Yup - you will need a null modem cable or adapter.  I don't think the one in your link is the correct cable - I believe the Apple cable has "Modem Eliminator" molded into the case. Also - the cable you link to on eBay is not the same part number as the "modem eliminator" part number in your other link...

Either way, any cheap null modem adapter or cable with the correct male/female ends should do the trick.

 

lisa2

Well-known member
My horrible luck continues :p

I've got an ImageWriter II (A9M0310). I've managed to get it working with a PowerBook G3, but not with the Lisa. I bought a 8-Pin to D connector cable (it has a printer icon on the 8-pin side and an Apple logo on the other, with only 6 pins on the D connector side) but I get a "Lisa is having difficulty printing" window whenever I try.
The cable you need is the "Apple IIe Modem-8 Cable" Apple Part # A2C0311, use port B on the Lisa.   

 

flexo

Well-known member
Hmm, it looks like I do have the correct cable, though =/

A Google search for "A2C0311" pointed me to an eBay listing* (it also has the picture of the box with that part number mentioned in the manual) with this photo, while the cable I have is this.

And if my eyes aren't fooling me, the cable from the manual page Rick posted also has the Printer icon that my cable has.

Could there be two version of this cable, identical looking, but maybe with different wiring? Or, again, both cables might be dead..

* Both A2C0311 and "Apple IIe Modem-8 Cable" returns no results on eBay, which would save me a lot of time..

This is the closest I could find, but I think I need the reverse of this? :p

Yup - you will need a null modem cable or adapter.  I don't think the one in your link is the correct cable - I believe the Apple cable has "Modem Eliminator" molded into the case. Also - the cable you link to on eBay is not the same part number as the "modem eliminator" part number in your other link...

Either way, any cheap null modem adapter or cable with the correct male/female ends should do the trick.
Yep, you are right. I need to stop ordering stuff at 2 AM :p

 
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LukeandPatty

New member
Unfortunately the seller is giving me the "oh it worked before I shipped it" treatment so I got no help from him other than some links I could easily google myself.
When you're dealing with electronics from 1982-1984 that have been shipped long distances. And, when the auction says the equipment is being sold as is because of the delicacy and the dangers involved in shipping...

I bought a Fairchild game system from 1976 and the seller said it worked perfectly. It did until it broke very shortly after I tried it for the first time. I hadn't let the machine adjust to the temperature. It was cold from shipping. It was my fault. I didn't know until after it broke that it's necessary to let old electronics adjust to room temperature for a long period of time. But, I could claim that the seller lied and the machine didn't work, even though it played Alien Invasion perfectly for a short time and then stopped working.

I disassembled it and discovered that it could be repaired but it wasn't easy at all.

You really got taken, big bucks for a working system with a bad floppy drive, bad IO card, bad RAM, and a bad keyboard.
In the listing the OP is talking about the seller said the floppy worked when it was last used, years before the auction. The seller had advised that the drive needed to be lubricated before use. It sounds like the OP ignored that warning and just stuck a disk in. People who know about Lisa machines know that the floppy drives needs to be lubricated periodically or the drive can be damaged if a person tries to use a disc in one because the lubricant has dried out.

Most of the people I know who have Lisas as well did that as well. Pull the pack and flex the leads until the spot welds break.
That is correct. In fact, it was advised in at least one piece of online documentation.

I think it's a bit funny that people assume that when something this old and delicate isn't in 100% perfect new condition the seller was a crook. When I bought a Widget drive that was untested from a small remarketing company I didn't assume it was broken because it was untested, or that the seller was just selling junk on purpose. I rolled the dice. Even babied equipment can suddenly fail, let alone being subjected to shipping companies like UPS. I used to work for UPS and you don't want to know how packages are treated.

 
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