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NeXT Hardware Peripherals FAQ
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Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.announce Subject: NeXT-Hardware-Peripherals-FAQ Followup-To: comp.sys.next.misc Date: 6 Mar 1995 08:39:17 GMT Organization: Yale University, Department of Computer Science, New Haven, CT Lines: 1034 Approved: [email protected] Expires: Fri, 7 Apr 1995 00:00:00 GMT Message-ID: <[email protected]> Reply-To: [email protected] NNTP-Posting-Host: laplace.csb.yale.edu Summary: Frequently Asked Questions about NEXTSTEP and NeXT machines. Originator: nathan@laplace Archive-name: NeXT-Hardware-Peripherals-FAQ Last-modified: Mon Mar 6 03:03:59 EST 1995 Version: 3.1 These FAQs are under significant construction, and may well change form and content over the next weeks. These FAQs focus on various aspects of OpenStep, NEXTSTEP, and NeXT machines. The FAQs are kept on-line at several ftp sites, including: cs.orst.edu sonata.cc.purdue.edu Many FAQs, including these, are available (www, ftp, email) on the archive site rtfm.mit.edu in the directory pub/usenet/news.answers. The name under which this FAQ is archived appears in the Archive-nameline above. Within each section each question will be preceded by a "Subject:" field, allowing news readers to break up the file into separate questions. Each question has its own unique number. Items that appear within sections are not in any particular order, and get added and removed over time. Questions marked with a "+" are new to this issue, and questions with changes since the last issue are marked by a "!". Submissions, corrections, comments, input, etc., should be directed to Nathan Janette <[email protected]>. Some important NEXTSTEP & OpenStep Information WWW sites: NeXT, Inc. http://www.next.com/ NeXTanswers http://www.next.com/NeXTanswers/ Stepwise NEXTSTEP/OpenStep Information Server http://digifix.digifix.com/ TABLE OF CONTENTS: ------------------ M1. What disk drives will work with the NeXT? M2. How do I customize BuildDisk to create a bootable disk of my own configuration? M3. How much disk space is lost due to formatting and file system overhead? M4. Can I run my SCSI-2 disks in synchronous mode? M5. How do I configure my HP 660 to boot properly? M6. What is the procedure for installing a Fujitsu M2263SA/SB SCSI Disk as the NeXT Boot Disk? M7. How do mount a corrupted OD that won't automount? M8. What non-NeXT CD Players that work with a NeXT? M9. What are some other sources of toner cartridges and trays for the NeXT laser printer? M10. What printers (laser or otherwise) may be used with a NeXT? M11. What can I do to prevent my NeXT printer from running all the time? M12. What type of microphones will work with the NeXT? M13. How do I connect a modem to the NeXT? M14. Are there any alternative sources for the SCSI-II to SCSI-I cable required to attach external SCSI devices to the 040 NeXTs? M15. What fax modems will work with the NeXT? M16. How may I attach more than two serial ports to the NeXT? M17. What is the best and/or cheapest way to connect a NeXT to a thick Ethernet? M18. How can I connect my NeXT to the telephone line and use it like an answering Machine? M19. What color monitors can I use with the NeXT color machines? M20. Where can I get 13W3 to BNC adapters to connect third party color monitors? M21. How may I attach Centronics or 16 bit wide parallel ports to the NeXT? M22. Why does an unused serial port consume cpu? M23. How to adjust MegaPixel Display brightness and focus? M24. How to set up the HP LaserJet 4M? M25. My NeXT laser printer fails to fully eject the sheet - how to fix? M26. I'm trying to initialize a QUANTUM ELS170S on a NeXTStation and get sd2: Incomplete disk transfer? M27. What are the NeXT mouse connections and alternatives? ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: M1. What disk drives will work with the NeXT? Most SCSI disk drives will work without modifying /etc/disktab. There are problems with the installation of boot blocks and badly formed fstab generated by BuildDisk of NEXTSTEP 2.0. A disk connected to the NeXT will need to have a NeXT specific label written to it before it can be properly recognized by the system. If you get an error message "Invalid Label..." this indicates that the drive was successfully seen by the NeXT machine but it does not have the proper label, to install a label use the /usr/etc/disk program on the raw disk device that the system assigned to the device and use the label command to write the label onto the disk. [how the NeXT assigns disk devices is explained in the N&SA manual] NEXTSTEP releases 2.0 and up provide a low level disk formatter, sdform, which does not offer much flexibility, but gets the job done. Most drives are already formatted at the factory. ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: M2. How do I customize BuildDisk to create a bootable disk of my own configuration? The BuildDisk application is extremely limited in terms of the types of disks configuration it knows how to build. Essentially it "knows" about swapdisks, optical disks, 330 and 660 MB SCSI disks. If you wish to do custom configurations you should look at existing BLD script files in /etc/BLD.* There is a script which you can use to specify which BLD script you are using, which disktab entry, and other useful parameters in /usr/etc/builddisk Some things to note: - the fstab installed on the target disk is specified in the newclient command in the BLD script. standard fstabs are extracted from /usr/template/client/fstab.* - the BLD scripts do not put down a new boot block on the scsi disk, you may want to install one by hand using the /usr/etc/disk program. - some disks boot fine but NeXTstep comes up with a blank window and no login window. This is due sometimes to forgetting to install an accessible /NextLibrary/{Fonts,Sounds} In general you need quite a lot of things to make a bootable disk. Mike Carlton adds - you can build a minimally usable bootable floppy (for crash recovery purposes). There is a modified version of builddisk (to make it support building floppies, a minimal change) and a BLD script to build the boot floppy available at cs.orst.edu in next/sources/Bootfloppy.tar.Z. (I put this together in response to several requests.) A newer version of Bootfloppy for 2.1 is on the archives as next/sources/util/Bootfloppy2.1.tar.Z [From: Carl Edman <[email protected]>] Also available from the archives is BootFloopy 3.0 (for -- you guessed it -- NEXTSTEP 3.0). I might also add that one can improve on disk usage while enhancing functionality. BuildDisk (which is used by the various BootFloppy scripts) just copies the standard binaries for ls, mv, cp aso. from /bin. These binaries are statically linked as shipped by NeXT which makes them huge. (e.g. /bin/ls is 106496 bytes large. /usr/local/bin/gls with more features is just 16268 bytes). If you replace these binaries by the BSD or GNU equivalents you can save several hundred kBytes on your boot floppy. This extra diskspace can be used for tar, dump and more tools which makes the boot floppy actually usable. Tested. ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: M3. How much disk space is lost due to formatting and file system overhead? [From: Rex Pruess ([email protected])] Let's assume you bought a disk drive advertised with 400 MB unformatted capacity. Vendors are not consistent with the MB definition. You may have much less space less than you think you have. Which of the following did you buy? 400 * 1000 * 1000 = 400,000,000 bytes 400 * 1024 * 1000 = 409,600,000 bytes 400 * 1024 * 1024 = 419,430,400 bytes The disk must be formatted. This is often done by the vendor, but occasionally by the user. Formatting maps the disk into sectors. Space is reserved for the disk geometry and bad sectors. Formatting can take 10-20% of the capacity depending on the sector size. Common sector sizes are 512 and 1024. Generally, bigger sectors mean less waste. Once formatted, the UNIX file system must be created. On the NeXT, this is one of the steps performed by the BuildDisk application. It invokes the mkfs command to make a file system. This reserves space for the UNIX file system (e.g., superblocks, inode tables). This overhead can take another 2-3% of the available disk space. If you issue the df command, you may be surprised to see another 10% the available disk space has disappeared. The df command shows the total, used, and available disk space. The df units are in kbytes (1024 bytes). The sum of the used and available numbers will generally be about 10% less than the total kbytes. This space is reserved to allow the UNIX file system to be efficient in its storage allocation. If your disk fills up, only the superuser can store files in the remaining 10%. To complete the picture, here's a snapshot of what may occur: Capacity Lost/Used/Reserved Reason (in bytes) (in bytes) 419,430,000 19,430,000 Marketing hype (~5%) 400,000,000 60,000,000 Formatting (~15%) 340,000,000 6,800,000 UNIX file system (~2%) 333,200,000 33,320,000 Efficiency & superuser (~10%) 299,880,000 For more information, refer to the df and mkfs man pages. ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: M4. Can I run my SCSI-2 disks in synchronous mode? Quick answer is: No. The reason is that the NeXT does not support synchronous transfers from the SCSI bus. It does support SCSI-2 disks running in asynchronous mode, which all SCSI-2 disks must do. ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: M5. How do I configure my HP 660 to boot properly? It has been reported that HP drives fail to autoboot on power on or while other devices are on the scsi bus. The problem seems to be with drives configured to spin-up automatically on power on do not get recognized at boot time. To remedy this problem reliably with HP 660Mb (HP97548) and 1Gbyte (HP 97549) drives remove the auto spinup jumper on the back of the drive. Looking at the disk from the back with the power connector on the lower left, it is the sixth jumper. [From: [email protected] (Jimmie Quan)] The offical fix was an EPROM change to the HP drive from HP. The HP drives took too long to wait up, so the system wasn't happy with the other drives coming ready first especially when the HP was suppose to be the boot device. (The EPROM is no longer available from NeXT). ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: M6. What is the procedure for installing a Fujitsu M2263SA/SB SCSI Disk as the NeXT Boot Disk? See Izumi Ohzawa's note in /pub/next/docs/fujitsu.recipe available via anonymous ftp from sonata.cc.purdue.edu. ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: M7. How do mount a corrupted OD that won't automount? If you can't automount an OD, and you can't fix it, you can still manually mount it. Log in as root. Type "/usr/etc/mount /dev/od0a /FoO". It will ask you to insert the disk. Insert it. It is mounted. This method WILL mount a corrupted OD so you can read its contents. Since it is corrupted, it is not recommended to write to it. You should copy the important files to something else, then reformat it. ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: M8. What non-NeXT CD Players that work with a NeXT? A USENET survey summary: Apple CD-150 PLI 1035N for NeXT SUN CD-ROM drive (Sony CDU-8012, Rev. 3.1a) NEC 73M and 74 (transfer rates > of 300 KB/sec.) Apple CD-SC (Sony 541-22 mechanism) Chinon CDS-431 (with new drivers) Eclipse CD-ROM from Microtech Toshiba 3201 Toshiba 3301 Toshiba 3401 Toshiba TXM3301E1 Toshiba XM-2200A external DENON DRD-253 external (data only, no music) HP's LaserROM drive (Toshiba XM-3301TA drive in HP's box) Texel 3024 (required a firmware upgrade to version was 1.11) ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: M9. What are some other sources of toner cartridges and trays for the NeXT laser printer? The toner cartridge is a standard EP-S cartridge, the same that fits the HP LaserJet III and some other printers. [From: [email protected]] Any HP LaserJet II or III will fit. HPLJ4mSI cartridges do NOT fit. Any HP LJII or LJIII paper tray will fit. IIISI and 4 trays will not. ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: M10. What printers (laser or otherwise) may be used with a NeXT? If you plan to connect an HP LaserJet (II, IIP, III, etc.) you need to make a special cable in order for the NeXT 040 and HP to get the hardware handshaking correct. This is true for whatever version of the OS you are running. NeXT 68040 to HP LaserJet III Cable (not a Null-modem cable): Mini-Din HP DB-25 1 (DTR) nc 2 (DCD) 4 (RTS) 3 (TXD) 3 (RXD) 4 (GND) 7 (GND) 5 (RXD) 2 (TXD) 6 (RTS) 5 (CTS) 7 (RTXC) nc 8 (CTS) 20 (DTR) You may want to use hardware flow control for reliability (ie /dev/ttyfa). If you have problems with other printers, check the cable pinouts in the printer's manual against the one recommended in the zs man-page! Refer to Chapter 13 in Network and System Administration. See the FAQ-NEXTSTEP-Printing for software config FAQs. ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: M11. What can I do to prevent my NeXT printer from running all the time? The NeXT 400dpi printer powers up every time you boot up when the print daemon is started (/usr/lib/NextPrinter/npd in /etc/rc). Apart from not running the daemon at boot time (commenting it out and having to run it by hand later), you can add the following lines to /etc/rc.local: if [ -f /usr/etc/nppower ]; then sleep 3 /usr/etc/nppower off (echo 'powering off NeXTprinter') >/dev/console fi Once you queue a print job the printer daemon will automatically power up the NeXT printer for you. The printer daemon will not automatically power off the machine after a print job, you will need to turn off the printer by typing /usr/etc/nppower off. ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: M12. What type of microphones will work with the NeXT? Some NeXT owners use the RadioShack (Realistic) Tie Clip Microphone ($19.95) cat 33-1052. NeXT Computer, Inc. uses the "Sony Electret Condenser Microphone ECM-K7" in-house (available for ~$60). Some use Sony Tie-Clip microphone, #ECM-144, which costs around $40. Others have successfully used a WalMart brand microphone (available for ~$6). ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: M13. How do I connect a modem to the NeXT? Previously, we suggested that people use Mac modem cables; however, it has come to our attention that there is no one standard Mac modem cable. Since correct modem operation on a NeXT depends upon a correctly wired modem cable, buying a Mac cable is not a good idea. Some Mac cables do not allow dial-in and no Mac cable allows the use of hardware flow control. For these reasons, we are recommending that only cables that meet NeXT specifications be used. [however, if you have a Mac modem cable lying around and don't care about dial-in or hardware flow control, then by all means....] These cables are available commercially from NextConnection, and from Computer Cables and Devices, or can be custom built. Note that no off- the-shelf Mac cable will allow hardware flow control. It is however possible to make a such a cable from an Imagewriter II cable by replacing one of the mini-8 ends with a DB-25 connector. Hardware flow control is absolutely essential for all serial port connections with speeds of 9600 bps and above. Make certain that you cable supports it, your modem is configured to use it and you are using the hardware flowcontrol devices /dev/cuf[ab], /dev/ttydf[ab] and /dev/ttyf[ab], respectively. Most people use tip or kermit to control the modem. SLIP and/or UUCP may also be used (but are more complicated to set up and require the remote machine to also have SLIP and/or UUCP (respectively)). The 2.0 Network and System Administration Manual, which is available in hard-copy (shipped with each machine) contains an extensive description of how to use modems with the NeXT machine. Additionally NeXT in their TechSupportNotes series called SerialPortDoc.wn and UUCP for 1.0/1.0a systems . This document is available from most FTP sites that carry NextAnswers. Also, try to obtain the about.modem.Z file by Mark Adler in the pub/next/lore directory on sonata.cc.purdue.edu ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: M14. Are there any alternative sources for the SCSI-II to SCSI-I cable required to attach external SCSI devices to the 040 NeXTs? Yes. This cable is the same as the one used by Sun SparcStations and DecStation 5000's (but not DecStation 3100's which use 68-pin micro rather than the 50pin micro connector used on NeXT 040, Suns and DecStation 5000). [Carl Lowenstein adds] The implication that a Sun SparcStation cable can be used with NeXT peripherals is generally false. NeXT themselves, and DEC, and nearly everyone else who makes SCSI peripherals, puts Telco-50 (centronics) connectors on their devices. Sun in their infinite wisdom uses DD50 which are quite different. Telco-50 is an approved connector type in the SCSI spec. Probably the original point was that the 50-pin microSCSI on the NeXT and Sun and some DecStations was different from the 68-pin microSCSI on the DecStation 5000. But this does not address the other end of the cable. ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: M15. What fax modems will work with the NeXT? The following fax modems are currently available for the NeXT Computer: Manufacturer, Model Supplier, Phone Avail. Type ---------------------------------------------------------------- DoveFax for NeXT, Dove Computer, ??? Now Class 1 HSD FaxMaster, HSD Microcomputer, 800-828-5522 Now Class 2* mix fax, i�link GmbH, +49 30 216 20 48 Now Class 2** [From: Robert Wong <[email protected]>] SupraFAXModem V.32bis, Supra Corp., 1-800-727-3564, Now, Class 2 (requires DFax driver or NXFax driver) ZyXEL U-1496E/E+/S/S+, ZyXEL USA, 1-800-255-4101, Now, Class 2 (requires NXFax driver) Telebit T3000 with fax option / Telebit WorldBlazer with fax option (requires NXFax driver) Neuron 1414 / 1414+ with ZyXEL ROM upgrade (requires NXFax driver) (Neuron 1414 and Neuron 1414+ modems are relabelled ZyXEL modems. Contact ZyXEL USA for ROM upgrades. Neuron modems with 512K ROMs should upgrade their ROMs and ROM sockets to 1 Mb ROMs. People with 1Mb ROMs should just order the new ROMs.) (*)Note that the Class 2 is not yet approved; it is still out for ballot, after having failed in an October 1990 round. The Abaton InterFax 24/96 NX driver supports Class 2 as it was in that draft; there are expected to be very few changes prior to approval. (**)Note that mix fax works with both the October 1990 and October 1991 draft versions of Class 2, especially with the NeXT supplied Class 2 modem driver. Upgrading to an approved version of Class 2 would be a matter of just a software update (holds true for any forthcoming (class 3?) standard, for that matter). In order to use a fax modem with the NeXT Computer, a NeXT compatible fax driver must be available to operate the modem. Modem control procedures may be proprietary or conform to one of the following EIA/TIA standards: Class 1: CCITT T.30 session management and CCITT T.4 image data handling are controlled by the driver. Class 2*: CCITT T.30 session management and image data transport are handled by the modem. CCITT T.4 image data preparation and interpretation are controlled by the driver. Release 2.0 of the NeXT system software includes a Class 2 modem driver which will work with any fax modem which meets the EIA/TIA Asynchronous Facsimile Control standard. Other fax modems must supply a NeXT compatible driver. The following are notes by Alan Marcum of NeXT Tech Support concerning the Class 2 modem driver: Note that there's a small bug in 2.0 (fixed in 2.1): a symbolic link is missing for the file Class2_Fax_Modem_Driver in /usr/lib/NextPrinter. The simple fix: create the link; it should reference Interfax_Fax_Modem_Driver, also in the /usr/lib/NextPrinter directory. An alternative workaround for Class 2, especially useful for novices: just use InterFax as the modem type in PrintManager, rather than Class 2*. After installing a fax modem using PrintManager one must repeat setting things in the Fax Options panel in order for them to be stored correctly. In particular, these include the Rings to Answer and Number of Times to Retry. This affects all fax modems being installed. If one uses illegal characters in the Modems Number field in the Fax Options when configuring an InterFax modem then the modem will not answer the phone. Legal characters are digits, spaces, and plus signs (+). This does not affect the Dove modem. ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: M16. How may I attach more than two serial ports to the NeXT? TTYDSP From Yrrid converts the DSP port into an additional serial port. Yrrid Incorporated 507 Monroe St. Chapel Hill, NC 27516 Voice: 919-968-7858 Fax: 919-968-7856 Email: [email protected] Unitnet has a device, the SLAT, that will connect to the scsi bus. Uninet Perhipherals, Inc. Voice: 714-263-4222 Fax: 714-263-4299 [[email protected] (Mike Heins)] Central Data Corporation makes the scsiTerminal Server family of products. Drivers for NextStep 3.0 and 3.1 are available for both the 68K-based and Intel-based platforms. The products available for NeXT include: Product DESCRIPTION ST-1002+ 2 serial, 1 paralllel SP-1003 3 parallel ST-1008+ 8 serial, 1 parallel ST-1016 16 serial You can also mix and match multiple units. Phone: 217/359-8010 Toll-free: 800/482-0315 FAX: 217-359-6904 Email: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] VISA, Master Card, and American Express orders are accepted, as well as purchase orders from accredited corporations and institutions. We are on a GSA schedule, and there is a 25% educational discount. [Jacob Gore adds:] Also, one can use an IP terminal server. In a non-Internet environment, inexpensive terminal servers, which don't control access to the network securely, can be used. If your network is an Internet subnet, you must use a terminal server that controls either: (1) who can log into the terminal server, or (2) which machines the terminal server will access. These tend to be more expensive (around $250/port, but in 8-port increments), but it may be quite economical means of sharing ports among many NeXTs (or other computers) on the network. [Eric P. Scott adds:] Particularly if one has a NeXT network, an Ethernet terminal server may be the way to go. One that supports Linemode Telnet (such as the Xylogics Annex III) will offer the best performance. ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: M17. What is the best and/or cheapest way to connect a NeXT to a thick Ethernet? There are many possible solutions. For example, here are three: 1) The University of Waterloo [Audio Research Group] uses an old door-stop PC XT clone with two Western Digital cards (WD8003E Ethercard Plus, $250 CDN each; you should be able to get them for under $200 (US$)) running Vance Morrison's PCRoute (available from accuvax.nwu.edu). You will also need a thickwire transceiver and a drop cable (about $300). In addition, you will need Internet addresses for the NeXT and both PC Ethernet cards (and a subnet address). The documentation for PCRoute contains quite a bit of information on the performance of this setup. This solution requires two subnets. There is another program called PCbridge that allows the machines on the thin and thick wires to be part of the same subnet. This product also does packet filtering, so that packets destined to machines on the same side of the net do not cross over. 2) Cabletron sells a MR-2000C Singleport Repeater for $695 that does exactly what you need minus drop cable and transceiver. Their number is (408) 441-9900. 3) The march 1992 INMAC networking and connectivity products catalog lists thicknet to thinnet convertors. Product number Z903071 price $445. Claims full ieee 802.3 comaptibility and diagnostic LED's. ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: M18. How can I connect my NeXT to the telephone line and use it like an answering Machine? A company that is selling both hardware and software to allow you to do this: SES Computing 13206 Jenner Lane Austin, Texas 78729 Voice: (512) 219-9468 (Demo system number) i.link, a european company, has a combined data/fax modem and telephone answering machine. It uses the DSP port and is implemented mainly in software on the DSP with a little bit of hardware to interface to the phone line. i.link GmbH Nollendorfstrasse 11-12 D-1000 Berlin 30 Germany Tel: +49 30 216 20 48 Fax: +49 30 215 82 74 Email: [email protected] ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: M19. What color monitors can I use with the Color NeXT machines? The important specs for the color monitor are: Horz Scan Rate: 61 KHz Vertical Scan Rate: 68 Hz Resolution: 1280x1024 (NeXT uses 1120x832) NON-INTERLACED Displays may require alignment to adjust for the scan rate of NeXT machines. Some monitors reported to work well include: Sony GDM-1601 Nanao T560i NEC IBM 17P [From: William Shipley <[email protected]>] Note that you need the 13W3 to BNC cable to connect a 3rd party monitor to a NeXT. The monitor must have BNC connectors (most high end ones do), and must sync on green. Ideally it should have a P22 phosphor (persistence) and a white point of 9300 Kelvin. ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: M20. Where can I get 13W3 to BNC adapters to connect third party color monitors? From NeXT/Bell Atlantic(?): part number S4025. NuData in New Jersey carries 13W3 female to 4 BNC male connectors. The price is about $100. NuData Voice: 908-842-5757 [From: Robert Nicholson <[email protected]>] DISCLAIMER: I take no responsiblity for the following. If you can source the bits yourself here's how it's built. 1 female 13W3 connector 3 Male BNC connectors 3 mini coax ie. the pins to the coaxials are male and the regular pins are female. Looks like this. . o o o o o . . 13W3 FEMALE A1 o o o o o A2 A3 | | | Red Green Blue 3 BNC's That's the coax part. The outer shielding of the coax's are grounded on both pin 10 and the case. ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: M21. How may I attach Centronics or 16 bit wide parallel ports to the NeXT? Uninet has devices, the SLAT-2 and the SLAT-DRV11, that will connect to the scsi bus. Uninet Peripherals, Inc. Voice: 714-263-4222 Fax: 714-263-4299 [email protected] or uunet!ucivax!zardoz!sales ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: M22. Why does an unused serial port consume cpu? Perhaps you've got a (probably fairly long) unshielded serial cable attached to it, with either nothing at the other end or a powered-off device at the other end. EE's call this an antenna. it's probably picking up most of the radio stations in your area, which the serial chip is interpreting as a continuous stream of garbage bytes, which it feeds to getty, which tries to interpret them as login attempts. How do you avoid this problem? - leave the device at the other end switched on (even when it's not transmitting, it will assert a voltage that overrides the noise) - unplug the cable from the next when you're not using it - use 'kill -STOP' & 'kill -CONT' to stop & resume the getty process as needed - buy an adequately shielded serial cable ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: M23. How to adjust MegaPixel Display brightness and focus? [From: Charles William Swiger <[email protected]>] I have adjusted several monitors with no problems, but make sure you know what you are doing before opening anything. I expressly disclaim responsibility for any ill results that may occur. In order to adjust NeXT's MegaPixel display (called 'the monitor' hereafter), you'll need (a) the NeXTtool (or a 3mm Allen wrench), (b) a plastic adjustment tool (preferred) or a thin bladed screwdriver, and possibly (c) a Phillips-head screwdriver. (NB: A similar procedure will work for color monitors, but you should either know what you're doing or you'll probably be better off letting a pro deal with it.) Turn off the computer. Disconnect all cables to the monitor. Look at the back of the monitor. There will be 4 screws there; use the NeXTtool (or Allen wrench) to remove them. Remove the plastic back of the monitor and put it out of your way. Reconnect the cables and turn the computer back on. As the machine powers up, examine the back of the monitor. You'll see a metallic box (usually silver, though some are black) surrounding the monitor's vitals. This protects you against the dangerous voltages inside, and also insulates the monitor from electromagnetic noise. On the back of this box are several holes for performing adjustments. There are two focus controls (labeled 'focus' and 'dynamic focus'), a brightness control (labeled 'brightness' or possibly 'black level') and several others that adjust various things like screen size and position. Depending on the exact placement of the controls on the circuit board of your specific monitor, some of these controls may be difficult (or impossible) to adjust from the back. If this is the case, I will describe what's necessary below. Otherwise, adjust the appropriate controls using either an adjustment tool or a screwdriver. Be warned that a screwdriver probably will cause some interesting video effects when it enters the case. Ignore this the best you can, or find a plastic adjustment tool, which is what you *really* should be using anyway. Using a flashlight will help you see into the hole so that you can align the business end of the tool correctly. Focus and position controls are fairly obvious. Adjust them slowly until you're happy with the results. Don't muck with anything you don't need to; the factory settings are usually pretty decent. To correctly adjust the brightness, follow this procedure: Turn the brightness of the monitor all the way down using the keyboard. Adjust the brightness control on the back of the monitor until a barely noticeable picture forms. Then turn the brightness down a little so this picture disappears completely. Check that you can get adequate brightness by using the keyboard to brighten the screen. If the display isn't bright enough, adjust the brightness control on the rear of the monitor high enough so that the monitor display is adequate. Note that you won't be able to dim the screen completely from the keyboard...sorry. Once you're finished, shut down the computer, take off the cables, reattach the back of the monitor, and reconnect the cables. You're done. If the control you need to adjust proves to be difficult, you may need to enter the metal case. This happened on one monitor's focus control and another's brightness. WARNING: THE VOLTAGES INSIDE THE MONITOR'S CASE ARE VERY DANGEROUS, EVEN WHEN THE MONITOR IS OFF. BE VERY CAREFUL, OR YOU CAN SERIOUSLY INJURE OR EVEN KILL YOURSELF. Do not perform the next instructions unless you are confident that you know what you are doing. You'll have to power off the computer again, and disconnect the cables. Looking at the monitor from the back, notice a section of metallic shielding on the right side of the metal box that extends to the picture tube. This is where the flyback transformer is connected. It shields a wire that is charged to about 25,000 V. DO NOT TOUCH THIS WIRE, IT CAN SHOCK YOU THROUGH ITS INSULATION. Being very careful of this, remove the metal case by unscrewing the Philip's head screws that hold the case on. Don't touch the screws that hold the picture tube into the front of the monitor's case. Once you've gotten the metal box off, reconnect the cables. Figure out what control you're going to adjust, and make sure that you can do so without touching anything else inside. Again, *watch out* for the wire that connects to the picture tube on the right side. Power up the computer. I recommend that you use only one hand to make the adjustment, and that your other hand be placed in your pocket (or similar equivalent, if you're wearing clothes lacking pockets). This precaution reduces the chances that you'll make a short circuit between one hand, your heart, and the other hand-- a good idea. Perform the necessary adjustment(s), being very careful not to touch anything inside. Then shut down and reassemble the monitor, following the directions given above. Hopefully, these instructions will prove useful. Once again, please be very careful...I don't want your death and/or injury on my conscience (or a lawsuit, for that matter, either :-) ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: M24. How to set up the HP LaserJet 4M? [Samuel M. Goldberger [email protected]] I solved the problem by building a serial cable based upon the pinouts supplied by HP in their manual. Please note that the LJIII cable *does not work*. In particular, pin 1 from the DIN plug must be connected to pin 6 of the DB25. I used 38500 bps on both sides, and the 600 dpi ppd. Emulex offers the NETJet network interface which speaks lpd protocol, unlike the HP unit. ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: M25. My NeXT laser printer fails to fully eject the sheet - how to fix? [From: [email protected] (Jerry Stubbs)] If you continually get messages like, "sorry, the printer is jammed" and you have to pull each page out the last inch, you probably need to replace the 14 tooth gear in the output stage(fuser ass'y). You can see this gear before you disassemble the printer, so that is a good first step. Then read these instructions all the way through and see if you want to attempt it. Next recommends replacing the entire fuser assy ( big bucks) if the gear is damaged, but Chenesko, Inc., of Ronkonkoma, NY sells the gears for $2.31. The part number is RS1-0132. They recommended I also replace the 20 tooth gear, number RS1-0116, but I don't know if it is really necessary. Their phone number is 800-221-3516. To examine your gear, open the rear (delivery ) door and undo the screw attaching the strap that keeps the door from opening down all the way. The gear is on the side nearest the power input to the printer. THere are two gears on the part of the delivery ass'y that swings down. The suspect gear engages the top one, but is mounted on the fixed portion of the fuser. Ours had several teeth missing and/or damaged. To get the gear off you have to remove the fuser ass'y. TO remove the fuser you must open the printer lid fully, so it is straight up. To open the lid fully you must remove the case. To remove the case you must remove the plastic cover on the lid. Are you getting the idea now? THis will be a lot of fun, and take most of the afternoon. I hope you have a spacious, well-lit area, because there are a lot of screws, and a lot of them are painted black, so they are hard to see when you drop them, unless you drop them inside of the printer, where you might NEVER see them again. Fortunately, as with all computer equipment, they seem to put lots of extras in, so just make sure there aren't any where they might do damage, like short out the mega KILOVOLT corona power supply, or grind into the REGISTRATION rollers. You do want your printouts to be straight, don't you? So, if you're ready, here we go. PREPARATION Most mere mortals will want to power down everything and disconnect the cables, etc. Remove the cartridge and paper trays, etc. REMOVE THE LID COVER open the lid and remove 3 screws. They DO NOT have any red paint on them. REMOVE THE BACK DOOR there is one screw that holds the strap. When you can swing it clear down, you can squeeze the hinges together and remove the door. REMOVE THE CASE There are maybe seven screws that hold the case on. Four are right on top. Two are just inside the rear door area. Two are down inside where you store that green cleaning tool. 4 + 2 + 2 = 7, right? Say, who was the last guy that worked on this printer anyway? The case has to be convinced that you really need to remove it, even when it is loose and all the screws are out. REMOVE THE FUSER ASS'Y You will need a PHILLIPS screwdriver for this, as with the previous steps. But you will need a LONG one this time. Three of the screws are pretty easy to find. Just study the lower part of the fuser, as it is screwed onto the bottom case. Two of the screws are inside. One is under the lid next to the gears, the other near the green cleaning tool. On the outside, in back, there is one on each side. One is under the white wires that connect the fuser to the 10 AMP circuit breaker,which is pretty near that gear, and close to the power input. Unplug that cable. Then remove the small black screw that holds the black plastic gear cover so you will have better access to the last screw. Then you will have to wrestle the fuser out the back of the printer. Be careful with it. DISASSEMBLE THE FUSER There are several screws and a spring. It's not too hard to take apart. You can see the gear, so you just have to take off the covers on that end of the ass'y to get to it. I should caution you that I had trouble putting them back on, because they have funny shapes and don't make a lot of sense. Plus I was tired, so I went home, ate dinner, played with the dog, went to bed, got up and ate breakfast before I put it back together. You might want to label some parts, make some drawings, etc. to reassure yourself that you can put the parts back just like they were. REMOVE THE GEAR You can remove the gear pretty easily with a small screwdriver by unspringing the "E"-ring that holds it on the shaft. Try not to bend the e-ring. PUT EVERYTHING BACK TOGETHER Sorry, I can't help you with this part (HA HA!) I told you you should read the instructions first. Maybe you should buy a new printer, or try to attach some third party printer via the serial port! Well, if you got this far I hope you dropped little crumbs of bread so you can find your way back. I try to save all the little screws by putting them back in the holes they came from, or putting them in some small container. You might clean some of the gears or the paper path while you have it open. You can also install a new OZONE filter. Remember OZONE is hazardous to your health, so you don't want to inhale it. ***DISCLAIMER*** Be careful if you try this procedure. There are dangerous voltages present, and even if you are too chicken to work on it powered up, you could cut yourself, or drop the whole thing on your foot, thus voiding the warranty. Also, the printer won't work without the covers, because there are two secret switches that inform the NeXT cpu that someone "is fooling around with the printer again". Yet another update to reflect that Jacob Gore received gears for an Apple Laserwriter from Chenesko, which are similar enough to work, but with some modification.Also, if the original gear is in fair condition, it can be reversed on the shaft until a replacement is ordered. ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: M26. I'm trying to initialize a QUANTUM ELS170S on a NeXTStation and get sd2: Incomplete disk transfer? [From: [email protected] (Max Hailperin)] The Quantum ELSxxxS drives only work with NeXTs if they are the only SCSI device. If alone, they work fine, but if there are other SCSI devices you get "incomplete disk transfer" messages. Subject: M27. What are the NeXT mouse connections and alternatives? [From: [email protected]] Thanks to Alvin Austin ([email protected]) I have the information I need on the NeXT mouse connections. Pin Function 1 +5v 2 X Encoder Phase A 3 X Encoder Phase B 4 Y Encoder Phase A 5 Y Encoder Phase B 6 Right Button 7 Left Button 8 Ground [From: [email protected]] The MS mouse comes with a "Mini HDIN" 9-pin plug. I found no way to use this, and had to cut the cable and wire to a mini DIN 8-pin plug. If you haven't built a cable with an 8-pin mini DIN before, take the advice that has been offered here before and don't try to solder to the plug -- get a cable with bare wires or a cable with the plug on one end (lots of Macs use these) and cut it. On to the details. Notice that if the pins weren't numbered differently, the layout would be approximately the same. The MS mouse doesn't use switch numbered 2. And there is no reason I know of that another MS mouse need have the same color coding, so check it against the pins after cutting the cable. NeXT mouse wiring: 1 +5V 2 XA 3 XB 4 YA 5 YB 6 right button 7 left button 8 ground shell chassis ground pinout: 6 7 8 3 4 5 1 2 Microsoft Bus Mouse wiring: 1 switch (2) 2 left switch (3) Blue 3 ground Black 4 XB White 5 YA Orange 6 YB Yellow 7 right switch (1) Green 8 +5V Red 9 XA Brown pinout: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ____________________________________________________________________________ Editor: [email protected] -- Nathan Janette Systems Manager, Axel T. Br�nger Lab Internet: [email protected]