Mastodawn

Daniel Tufvesson 2d ago

Could this be the first battery-powered, fully-wireless ImageWriter II in history? Well, it might at least be the first one on #GlobalTalk!

Just in time for the end of #MARCHintosh, a cheap Farallon AirDock showed up on Yahoo Auctions, and since I already had one, I had to try this stunt - adding an IRTalk node to GlobalTalk.

It is currently live on GlobalTalk if you want to try it, I'll probably leave it up until either the battery runs out or I deem it too much of a tripping hazard.

Karl Baron 2d ago

Congratulations to @danieltufvesson and @mroach as the first ones to print to my ImageWriter through IRTalk over #GlobalTalk!

Karl Baron 2d ago

The Farallon AirDock is only advertised as being a way to connect up a PowerBook with infrared wirelessly, but reading the manual, it doesn’t actually need any drivers - just plugging it into the printer port it acts like a normal LocalTalk connection.

The included software is just needed to act as a LocalTalk bridge, or if you want to use the modem port instead.

That’s what gave me the courage to try to just plug it straight into the ImageWriter…

Karl Baron 2d ago

First I tried connecting the AirDock straight to my AsanteTalk, but for whatever reason that didnt work (the AsanteTalk is picky enough with a wired setup…), so right now my IIcx is running a bog-standard install of LocalTalk Bridge to get the printer onto #GlobalTalk

Thomas Brand 2d ago

@kalleboo I used to use one to sync my Newton.

Karl Baron 2d ago

@Eggfreckles Interesting! All the documentation I found said that the AirDock only does IRTalk and the Newtons only do IrDA/Sharp so they weren't compatible, was there some third party software that enabled more protocols?

Thomas Brand 1d ago

@kalleboo it might have been a different dongle. It was a long time ago. The same dongle could be used to sync a Newton, and print to a HP LaserJet with a IR window.

Karl Baron 2d ago

And yes, I’m using a USB-ADB Wombat to give the AirDock the extra 5V juice it typically pulls from your Mac’s ADB port to run itself. It’s actually connected with an ADB to little DC jack and I could have spent an extra 5 minutes digging through my bin of DC adaptors to make it prettier but this quicker…

Karl Baron 2d ago

It looks like Farallon later marketed a “AirDock Printer Adapter" which is just the exact same device but shipped with a 5V DC adapter instead of the ADB->DC cable, and they even sold the AC/DC adapter as an "upgrade kit”. They don't list the ImageWriter II on their compatibility list though... https://web.archive.org/web/19980524081602/http://www.farallon.com/product/infrared/airdockprint.html

Farallon AirDock Printer Adapter for PowerBooks

AirDock Printer Adapter for PowerBooks

Karl Baron 1d ago

The battery is still holding at 3/5 dots, will be interesting to see if the setup is still alive when I wake up in the morning!

Karl Baron 1d ago

The battery ran out overnight, but now that the sun is out, how about we try solar?

Karl Baron 1d ago

My balcony is now in shade, so I have ended the wireless shenanigans, my ImageWriter is back onto plain old LocalTalk again, thanks to everyone who participated!

@kalleboo Fantastic!

squelch41 1d ago

@kalleboo so portable! Def one to take to a coffee shop 😂

Josh Justice 1d ago

@kalleboo I just actually lolled because WHY 😂🤣😂🤣

Josh Justice 1d ago

@kalleboo it’s like someone said “it doesn’t make any sense to connect a printer to a network wirelessly; it’s still plugged into the power outlet” and you were like “you’re RIGHT”

@CodingItWrong @kalleboo Same reason I printed to it over barbed wire a little while back, probably ;)

Josh Justice 1d ago

@billgoats @kalleboo yeah that one might the the most egregious

@CodingItWrong @kalleboo We need to combine the two once the weather here is a bit better :D