LC 575 Comm Slot Ethernet + IIe Card

[qubitz]

I recently upgraded my CC to a Mystic. I've got a IIe card and I've always read that having the IIe card requires 24-bit mode so a Comm Slot ethernet card would not work at the same time. Is this the correct general understanding? I'm asking because I've got an Asante Tech ethernet card in my comm slot and it seems to work just fine in 24-bit mode and I'm still able to use the IIe card.

Is it something about this card, or did I misunderstand the incompatibility issue.

 

[nottomhanks]

I have the Apple version of this Ethernet card, and I'm also very curious about this. Many people say that they won't work together, but is that because of the 24/32 bit conundrum? We all know that the Apple IIe card "says" it needs 24 bit addressing turned on in order to function, but then I'm seeing other posts that suggest otherwise.

 

[qubitz]

I have the Apple version of this Ethernet card, and I'm also very curious about this. Many people say that they won't work together, but is that because of the 24/32 bit conundrum? We all know that the Apple IIe card "says" it needs 24 bit addressing turned on in order to function, but then I'm seeing other posts that suggest otherwise.

In my own testing, I have to switch to 24bit mode to use the IIe card. Under 32bit mode it doesn't work. Switching is annoying, but I was just happy to find that I could install an ethernet card and use it in both modes.

 

[David Cook]

but then I'm seeing other posts that suggest otherwise.

See my in-depth analysis below. When I side-stepped the 32-bit warning to allow the software to continue running, it crashes, My conclusion is that the code really does need changes to be 32-bit compatible.

Quadra 630 does not support 24-bit memory addressing mode

Low End Mac claims the Apple Macintosh Quadra 630 (including variants LC 630, Performa 630, Performa 580) supports both 24 and 32 bit memory addressing modes (https://lowendmac.com/1994/quadra-630/). Some other sites have suggested as much. I have tried with a number of combinations: OSs: Mac...

68kmla.org

 

[Realitystorm]

https://www.savagetaylor.com/TIL/TA31483.html

"The Apple IIe Card does not work in multiple card environments. Because of this, the Apple IIe Card will not work when there is any device in the comm slot on the Macintosh LC 575."

So if @qubitz got it working, perhaps the incompatibility was fixed?

 

[qubitz]

"The Apple IIe Card does not work in multiple card environments. Because of this, the Apple IIe Card will not work when there is any device in the comm slot on the Macintosh LC 575."

Yes, this is exactly what I expected. I always wondered how exactly it detected a device in the comm slot. I tried taking a look at the 575 schematics and didn't see anything so maybe its software, which IMO would make more sense. Maybe the IIe software scans for certain cards in the comm slot and doesn't recognize my Asante card?

 

[Realitystorm]

I updated the footnote on my Apple IIe card page to reference this thread.
If you can, you should see if you can use the Asante Tech ethernet card to emulate an Apple IIe Workstation card.
One think I want to experiment with on my LC 475, with Apple IIe card and Asante EN/SC, is running a server on Basilisk II hosting ProDOS partitions and see if I can get my Apple IIe card to connect to it.

 

[qubitz]

I made a short attempt at this. I think it will work but I'm not there yet.

Running System 7.1 and OpenTransport 1.3 I can boot the IIe from the workstation card and it will look for a file server. I can get it to see share on a Raspberry Pi running Netatalk 4.2.1. I can get it to authenticate but it won't boot yet because I don't know how to setup the right files on the share.

 

[Realitystorm]

This might help: https://archive.org/details/AppleShare_Server_3.0_Administrators_Guide/page/n87/mode/2up

 

[Franklinstein]

In the 630, 575, and 475-style logic boards, the LC PDS and Comm Slot* are both connected to an emulated 030 bus generated by one of the support ICs. This bus is designed to run only one PDS device because, to simplify design, the card assumes it's the only other device on the bus and so only really has to contend with the CPU for bus access. With two cards, arbitration becomes necessary, which means more logic, and software may be hard-coded to point to "card 0" which causes problems if you need to talk to card 1 instead. Some cards will work together but usually there are problems because they're both arguing over bus access.

*there are Comm Slot cards that use either the 030 bus (usually just Ethernet) and serial cards (usually modems). The CS provides lines for both options (the serial lines are pulled from the modem port, which is why there's a plug installed in the port if you're using a CS modem, and the 030 bus lines are shared with the LC PDS) but obviously only uses one type at a time. You can use a CS modem without interfering with an LC PDS card.

 

[GerrySch]

I found a simpler solution. I have two LC475s, one with the Apple IIe card and the other has a network card. It's easier just to swap the Mac than rip it open to change cards.

But would it be possible to use an internal BlueSCSI card with a Pico W to get the 475 on line wirelessly while keeping the IIe card plugged in? A long time ago I remember using an Asante ethernet to SCSI adapter to have both at once. I like the BlueSCSI solution better.

Gerry

 

[shirsch]

But would it be possible to use an internal BlueSCSI card with a Pico W to get the 475 on line wirelessly while keeping the IIe card plugged in? A long time ago I remember using an Asante ethernet to SCSI adapter to have both at once. I like the BlueSCSI solution better.

Absolutely it's possible. I'm running an LCIII in that manner (ZuluSCSI rather than Blue, but Asante SC interface works the same way).