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520c printing and modem question
Posted by: rintense on 2008-11-11 17:45:27
What type of cable will I need so I can print from my 520c to a USB printer? Also, where can I get a modem and/or ethernet card for it?

Posted by: LCGuy on 2008-11-11 20:51:27
Not gonna happen. No USB printer will work on a PowerBook 520c short of connecting the USB printer to a newer machine that supports it and possibly using some sort of printer sharing software to share it to the 520c. (the ideal situation would likely be getting a printer that has Mac OS 9 support, connecting it to a USB Mac running OS 9 and using Apple USB Printer Sharing)

Modem and ethernet cards are available on eBay, however you'll want to make sure that you're getting one that has Mac drivers. If there's a card you're looking at getting, go to the manufacturer's website/google the crap out of the name and see if there are any Mac drivers before you buy it.

Posted by: macgreg on 2008-11-11 20:52:18
The 520c has a AAUI plug at the back - for ethernet all you need is a dongle. Internal modems are available but probably fairly slow by modern standards (14.4 or something from memory).

Of course if you have the PCMCIA cage for the 520c you can use PCMCIA cards.

As for printing, the 520c only has a single serial port. Unless you can find a serial-to-USB (not USB-to-serial) adapter you are not going to be able to use the USB be printer.

Hope this helps [🙂] ]'>

Posted by: rintense on 2008-11-12 05:53:52
With that AAUI dongle, would it be possible to print via hub?

Posted by: superpantoufle on 2008-11-12 10:56:25
With that AAUI dongle, would it be possible to print via hub?
Sure. AAUI is standard ethernet, only an Apple-specific connector. That kind af adapter will get you up and running in seconds, for printing to a hub, getting online, etc.

Note that this one is listed as specifically designed for a 520c, which is, so far as I know, obviously not the case. There's a lot of differnet manufacturers for such adapters, and a lot of 68k and early PPC Macs with built-in AAUI etheret.

Posted by: register on 2008-11-18 12:38:42
In case your printer supports a parallel interface connection (Centronics) you probably could use a Mac serial port to parallel interface converter and an appropriate driver software. Probably, because some more recent printers are accessible only using Windows specific drivers. You might look for a hardware/software combo like PowerPrint with TScript or similar. Before you spend money on extra hardware check the serial port for proper operation, as some 5xx models tend to suffer from serial interface malfunction.

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