So you CAN use a modern IDE drive with a SCSI adapter BUT you must have an Apple hard drive regardless otherwise it will not work, correct?
No. If you use a non-Apple hard drive, then you need to use a non-Apple utility to format the hard drive. Or the hacked Apple utility. So, Apple hard drive: use the Apple utility to format the drive. Non-Apple drive: Use any of the readily available non-Apple utilities to format the drive. They probably don't seem readily available to a new Mac person such as yourself, but if you started a separate thread on third party formatting utilities you would get whatever you needed.
Speaking of the SCSI, the port on the back of the computer...what other uses for that port besides hard drive and scanner hookups? Is there a way to use it for I/O control (turning lights on/off, motor control, etc).
Probably, but you'd have to write software to drive the SCSI port that way. The DB25 connector on the back of the machine is a standard SCSI port using a non-standard connector (25 pins instead of 50). Arguably, it is a 26 pin connector, as I believe that the connector housing supplies the ground. I could be wrong about that though.
So if it doesn't support more than 8mb of RAM, what would be the point of going to 128meg, or even 32 meg?
As I wrote, if you install the control panel Mode32, then it will support memory capacity above 8 MB.
Whew! That is a lot to take in just for a printer hookup.
You've always had to deal with the same information, it's just that you never had to notice it before.
There are three components to printer compatibility for all computers and operating systems:
1) Communications media -- You must be able to physically interface the computer and the printer. In the Windows world this was typically accomplished with a parallel port interface. Other examples are serial interfaces (RS232, RS422 (?)), network interfaces (localtalk, ethernet, token ring) and USB, which I guess is a fancier serial interface.
2) Communications protocol -- This is how the information is packaged for communication over the hardware media. I'm not sure direct connections such as parallel or serial have a communications protocol, but I guess they must have something analogous. On networks, examples of protocols are TCP/IP, AppleTalk or Ethertalk and IPX/SPX.
3) Printer Language -- The print driver on your computer translates the images to be printed into a code the printer can understand (if you're lucky) called the printer language. Windows machines were typically using PCL4 when I stopped paying attention. Some of them used postscript. Printers built specifically for older Macs which connect via the serial port will have QuickDraw support. But Postscript is a standard beyond the Macintosh world and the LaserWriter driver will create postscript output.
So, for example, when I bought a Color Laser Printer a year ago at Christmas I narrowed my choice to three models. They all had ethernet support, and because I have a LocalTalk to Ethernet bridge on my network, all my Macs would be able to communicate with the printer over the Media layer. All the printers had Postscript support, so all my Mac's printer drivers (extensions in Macs parlance) could create usable output for the printers. But only one of the printers supported the AppleTalk Communications Protocol (or listed it in the spec. I still suspect that the Xerox model had it but forgot to list it). So my older Macs were best served by getting the printer with AppleTalk support because Apple didn't add printing over TCP/IP until fairly late in the Classic OS and some of my older machines won't run an OS new enough to support TCP/IP printing, I think.
With a Network card installed in a Mac, could I use a modern printer that has a standard TCP/IP network hookup?
You'd want to ask here when TCP/IP printing support was added. That is, what is the earliest OS version which supports it. I don't know. Then figure out if the SE/30 runs that late of a version of the OS.
If you can find an old HP LaserJet 4M or 5M or 4M Plus, those are perfect, unless you want color. The M in the model number just indicates that it has the Postscript SIMM installed (Macintosh version). You'll also want one with a LocalTalk or Ethernet or LocalTalk/Ethernet JetDirect card installed. The M models came with the JetDirect card but after so many years, who knows if they're still in the machine, so it's good to check.
Since they have a SCSI to IDE adapter, do they also have a SCSI to SATA adapter?
Your phrasing is a little confusing to me here. Just to be clear... The Mac does not have a SCSI to IDE adapter, but SCSI to IDE adapter do exist. I think the latter is what you meant. So yes, for example, Acard makes a SCSI to IDE or SCSI to ATA adapter. They also make some SCSI to SATA adapters. I have not shopped for the latter. You might try Acard's website, keeping in mind that the prices in their online store is the highest you should ever pay. Their products or similar products from other manufacturers are sometimes available for much less.
How big of a hard drive can you put on the Mac's?
You can install any size drive, but the OS can only address volumes up to 2 GB. So, e.g., if you install a 9 GB drive, partition it into four 2 GB volumes and one 1 GB volume or something similar. Later OSs raised this to some number of Terabytes (2?) but the SE/30 doesn't run OSs that new, I think.
I have looked up that Macintosh repair book and boy oh boy the private listers on Amazon are sure scalping the book.
It's been out of print for a long time and it's a useful book to crazy people with old Macs. However, if you're patient, some times you can get a deal on it. I have bought some of Pina's books for around $10, but I already had the first two titles I listed from when they were in print. It used to be that the Ebay prices were high and the Amazon prices affordable. I guess Amazon caught up.
This is what I would need, correct?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Apple-Macintosh-Mac ... 518d7ed90e
No. That is for an *LC* PDS slot. There were several different PDS slots in the Macintosh family. As you might expect, a 68040 Processor Direct Slot is a very different animal from a 68030 Processor Direct Slot. But there were also some differences between machines with the same CPU. Apple finally standardized, more or less, by introducing the LC PDS Slot, which first appeared in the Mac LC, hence the name. But the SE/30 is an earlier model before it standardized. You need a network card specifically for the SE/30 PDS slot. The IIsi uses the same card, because it has a compatible PDS slot.
BTW....How do you add pictures to posts in this forum?
I have no idea.
Perhaps someone else will field that one.