LCII freezing when my printer cable is plugged in

[tripolar]

Hi everyone!

I have an LCII connected to a Stylewriter 1200 but there's a problem.

If the cable is plugged in to the LCII when I power the machine on, I get a question mark and the OS doesn't load. If the cable is only plugged into the LCII and not into the printer, same deal.

If I allow the OS to boot and then plug the cable in the OS freezes but comes back to life when I unplug the printer cable.

My guess is it's either the wrong cable or there's a short somewhere. Please help.

 

[Nixontheknight]

Hi everyone!

I have an LCII connected to a Stylewriter 1200 but there's a problem.

If the cable is plugged in to the LCII when I power the machine on, I get a question mark and the OS doesn't load. If the cable is only plugged into the LCII and not into the printer, same deal.

If I allow the OS to boot and then plug the cable in the OS freezes but comes back to life when I unplug the printer cable.

My guess is it's either the wrong cable or there's a short somewhere. Please help.

View attachment 11267

if you have a multimeter with a continuity or diode check mode, use that to check to see if you have any shorts, comparing the pinouts to the pinout of the cable

 

[YMK]

Are you sure you're not plugging that into the Mac's SCSI port?

Unless I'm mistaken about the StyleWriter, it uses the round Mini-DIN plug.

The proper cable should look like the end pictured on the left, on both ends.

The cable you have is likely for driving an external modem.

The round connector goes into the Mac and the DB-25 end goes into the modem.

 

[tripolar]

Damn! @YMK I think you're right. This would explain why the machine doesn't boot when it's plugged in.

I'll find a different cable and report back.

 

[Paralel]

If this is the case just be glad you didn't blow your logic board, the SCSI chip, or the printer. Plugging the wrong cable into the SCSI port can lead to some rather awful outcomes depending on exactly what kind of cable is plugged into it.

 

[tripolar]

I am having trouble finding a cable. What should I be looking for specifically, a din8 male-male?

 

[YMK]

This should work: https://www.ebay.com/itm/293661211142

 

[tripolar]

Thank you.