[NTLK] A new USB serial cable for Newtons

[Dennis Swaney]

Looks interesting, Pawel; I'm guessing the Interconnect Adapter is still needed. I have an USB001 card installed in my 2100 that was working the last time I checked but don't remember if it was with High Sierra or El Capitan. 

Sincerely,
Dennis B. Swaney


Cogito Ergo Mac

On April 18, 2021 at 6:25 PM, Pawel Piotrowski <newton at indigi.co.uk> wrote:

Hi Newtonians,

I’d like to share with my new solution for connecting Newtons to modern computers.

I’ve managed to order manufacturing USB to miniDIN serial cable. The cable is based on FTDI FT232R chip. It’s recognised by MacOS and Windows 10 without any drivers. So, that cable do not need any drivers on MacOS and Windows 10, and also don’t need to install any packages on Newton. The second obvious thing is now we don’t need more and/or additional cables. This cable is just USB-miniDIN cable. So, that's it - juts one cable ;)

The cable was tested by me with NCX, NewTen on Mojave and with modified Windows NCU on Windows 10. Both NCX and NewTen working fine with MP2x00 and eMate 300 (for MP2x00 you need dongle, obviously). I couldn’t force NCX to work with MP1x0, but this is general problem with NCX (it is not a cable fault) - even on other cables NCX won’t work with MP1x0. If you want to use this cable with MP1x0 you need to use NewTen under macOS. I couldn’t force WinNCU to connect with MP1x0, but it is not the cable problem (again) - WinNCU is very unstable.

So, the cable working with all Newtons, but you need to use proper software for different Newtons. The cable is 1.5m long.

Next week I will record demo video and write article on my website.

If someone is interested to buy this cable: https://ebay.us/dJABp6 (10 cable left from the first batch - If there will be a need for more - I will order another batch).


Cheers,
Pawel
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