Macintosh 512K help

dtravis7 · May 7, 2012

We will be here for sure. Please let us know how the keyboard works. I own a 512, Plus and SE and mess with them all the time. If you have any issues, ask away.

zoom01 · May 9, 2012

pigoo3 said:
Everything looks good to me.

But...the RJ11 connector on a phone cord & the proper Mac 512 Keyboard cable are the same (that's why a phone cord will fit in the first place)...and some phone cords can look just like the proper keyboard cable you need (just that the wires are reversed.

To be absolutely 100% sure the cable is the proper one. When you get the keyboard & cable:

- unplug the cable from the keyboard (if it's still connected)
- take both RJ11 ends of the cable and place them side by side to compare them (the flexible tab facing up)
- look very closely thru the clear plastic RJ11 connector and look at the colors of the wires.
- if it's the proper cable...the wire colors seen thru the clear plastic RJ11 connectors should mirror each other...and the colors should be from left to right in each connector (Yellow, Green, Red, Black).

If for some "crazy" reason the colors are different than I listed. The most important thing is that the colors in each connector are in the same order (left to right). If they are opposite like:

pigoo3 said:

- plug #1 is (Yellow, Green, Red, Black)
- plug #2 is (Black, Red, Green, Yellow)

Then this would be the wrong cord...and in fact would be a telephone cord.

Again...I'm betting the cable with the keyboard is the correct one. But with the info above...you will be able to check to be 100% sure.

- Nick

Click to expand...

Uh oh. More trouble.

So today the keyboard came (yay!) and the second pattern you listed

- plug #1 is (Yellow, Green, Red, Black)
- plug #2 is (Black, Red, Green, Yellow)
[/QUOTE}

is how mine is. That is IF you mean the plastic tab is on the bottom while holding it. If you could send me a photo of how yours looks (sorry for requesting so many photos... ) then I could see the orientation and confirm. But, if it IS wrong, I am not sure how I would do the whole reversing cable thing..... so if you could send a tutorial that would be absolutely spectacular.

- John

dtravis7 · May 9, 2012

What I do is hold the plugs with the tab down side by side. If the wires are the exact opposite, it's right and should work.

According to your post, you have the right cable.

zoom01 · May 9, 2012

dtravis7 said:
What I do is hold the plugs with the tab down side by side. If the wires are the exact opposite, it's right and should work.

According to your post, you have the right cable.

Mine goes this way:

plug 1

black, red, green, yellow

plug 2

black, red, green, yellow

dtravis7 · May 9, 2012

With the tab down on both? then it's wrong. Going to find my Plus's keyboard and check the wiring.

zoom01 · May 9, 2012

Oh gosh.....

Yes, both tabs ARE facing down toward the ground. Could you send me the way to make it compatible?

zoom01 · May 9, 2012

dtravis7 said:
With the tab down on both? then it's wrong. Going to find my Plus's keyboard and check the wiring.

Hey! Dude!

The website you sent me like Syrinx or something, I think it has the same pattern of colors I have. For me, on each pin, each color wire is the same on each plug

dtravis7 · May 9, 2012

Just got out my plus keyboard. Guess what? Same as yours. I had to hold Tabs up as with them the other way I could not see the colors.

This is crazy as many have said for years they are backwards but mine works and is like your cable. Don't know what to say except I am about to cut off one end and put on a new one as the tab is broken on the computer end.

There are Crimping tools for telephone work. Radio Shack used to have them as well as Wal Mart.

zoom01 · May 9, 2012

Hey, dtravis7, I have another riddle for you....

My Mac 512k in the settings gives me the error whenever I set a background "Cannot save changes. Check for write protection." Then if I restart the computer, all of my changes ARE gone!

pigoo3 · May 9, 2012

zoom01 said:
Mine goes this way:

plug 1

black, red, green, yellow

plug 2

black, red, green, yellow

This is the way you want them to be!

Both plugs should be the same (as long as the flexible tab on each plug are both facing up, or both facing down).

- Nick

dtravis7 · May 9, 2012

pigoo3 said:
This is the way you want them to be!

Both plugs should be the same (as long as the flexible tab on each plug are both facing up, or both facing down).

- Nick

Yes Agreed. I saw a few sites say the opposite and it's been ages. Mine works and is like the OP's new one.

pigoo3 · May 9, 2012

dtravis7 said:
I had to hold Tabs up as with them the other way I could not see the colors.

Same thing here. Can't see the wire colors with the tabs facing down.

- Nick

dtravis7 · May 9, 2012

zoom01 said:
Hey, dtravis7, I have another riddle for you....

My Mac 512k in the settings gives me the error whenever I set a background "Cannot save changes. Check for write protection." Then if I restart the computer, all of my changes ARE gone!

How are you booting the 512? Boot Floppy? Did you check to be sure the Write Protect Tab is not open? If it's right then it might be something wrong with the floppy drive. Those drives are quite old.

Also out of curiosity, what version of System are you running? Click the apple and on about this mac.

pigoo3 · May 9, 2012

zoom01 said:
My Mac 512k in the settings gives me the error whenever I set a background "Cannot save changes. Check for write protection." Then if I restart the computer, all of my changes ARE gone!

If you're using a floppy disk (which I'm guessing you are with a Mac512)...you have to slide the little "write-protect" piece of black plastic in the one corner of the floppy disk.

- Nick

zoom01 · May 9, 2012

Do you guys know any way I could format floppy disks to HFS (Mac OS Standard) on my Macintosh 512k?

zoom01 · May 9, 2012

dtravis7 said:
How are you booting the 512? Boot Floppy? Did you check to be sure the Write Protect Tab is not open? If it's right then it might be something wrong with the floppy drive. Those drives are quite old.

Also out of curiosity, what version of System are you running? Click the apple and on about this mac.

Yes, I am booting from the system boot floppy. I have System 6.0.8. Under which menu would I find write protection?

zoom01 · May 9, 2012

pigoo3 said:
If you're using a floppy disk (which I'm guessing you are with a Mac512)...you have to slide the little "write-protect" piece of black plastic in the one corner of the floppy disk.

- Nick

Thanks Nick, that did it!

pigoo3 · May 9, 2012

zoom01 said:
Do you guys know any way I could format floppy disks to HFS (Mac OS Standard) on my Macintosh 512k?

Can't do it:

- Mac 512's internal floppy drives were limited to 400k singled sided formatting.
- Mac Plus's internal floppy drives were limited to 800k double sided formatting
- Mac SE was the first compact Mac that had an internal floppy drive that could take advantage of high-density (HD) 3.5" floppy disks (1.4meg formatted).

- Nick

dtravis7 · May 9, 2012

Glad that solved it for you.

Nick is totally correct on the floppy format question.

Only thing a lot of people don't know is the very early SE's still came with an 800K floppy. I had one that was that way.

pigoo3 · May 9, 2012

dtravis7 said:
Only thing a lot of people don't know is the very early SE's still came with an 800K floppy. I had one that was that way.

I think that it was also possible (at some point)...to get an external floppy drive that was "high-density" capable. But I think that it only worked with the Mac Plus and above (don't think it worked with the Mac 512).

- Nick

Macintosh 512K help

dtravis7

zoom01

dtravis7

zoom01

dtravis7

zoom01

zoom01

dtravis7

zoom01

pigoo3

Well-known member

dtravis7

pigoo3

Well-known member

dtravis7

pigoo3

Well-known member

zoom01

zoom01

zoom01

pigoo3

Well-known member

dtravis7

pigoo3

Well-known member

Shop Amazon