Newton IrDA Connection

Updated: 21st February, 2000

Bill Moser has spent much time and effort researching ways to make iMacs and Newtons talk to each other using Infrared. Bill outlined a method to achieve this through Steve Weyer's Sloup utility, but this was limited in that it could not transfer files.

Recently, Bill stumbled across a way to do just this - using a shareware utility called 'EETransfer'.

Instructions

In order to get your iMac and Newton talking, the following software is required.

Update: 21/02/2000
Donal Caulfield notes the following:

OS 8.6 with Open Transport 2.0.3 and Remote Access 3.1.2 conflicts with SerialShimLib extention from the MACPAC suite.
SerialShimLib is not required. You only need to load IrDAlib and IrLanScannerPPC and of course the IrTool!!!

I only discovered this when, after getting the IR working, I tried send an email and found that RemoteAccess / OpenTransport wouldn't work. A bit of ConflictCatcher 8 revealed that SerialShimLib was the culprit!

Thanks for the tip Donal! If anyone else finds similar incompatibilities please drop me a line!

You also need a terminal emulator on your iMac. Nearly everyone has ClarisWorks or AppleWorks (it comes with the iMac), and if you want to use one of them, download this configuration document to get you started.

ClarisWorks prevented me from transferring packages and images back and forward - I think it was to do with the Macbinary transmission mode. To circumvent this, I found another, better terminal emulator, which also supports ZModem. It's a shareware program called 'Black Night', and you can get hold of it by clicking on the link below. (Click and hold - download link to disk) If you decide to use this program (good choice!), make sure you get the accompanying configuration document.

The Black Night Terminal Emulator
The Black Night Configuration Document

Once you have everything installed and have restarted your iMac, follow these instructions to get communicating. Note that although they're written for use with the Black Night terminal emulator, they apply equally well to the Claris/AppleWorks terminal.

Double click on the Black Night configuration document, "Newt IrDA", which you downloaded from the link above. Black Night should open, and you'll have to click "Not Yet" in the registration box.

On your Newton, open EETerminal, and tap "connect". Select IrDA from the Tool picker, and tap "Listen". You'll have to wait five seconds to clear the shareware reminder, and align your Newton's Infrared port up with your iMacs. Don't place them too close - about a foot away is fine.
On Black Night, click on "Connect" from the "Session" menu, and after a second or two you should hear a chime. A red counter should appear at the bottom left of the Black Night terminal screen, and the dialogue box on your Newton should disappear. This indicates a successful connection.

Transferring from Newton to iMac
To transfer a file from your Newton to your iMac, use the "EETransfer" option in the routing envelope. If you're transmitting text (eg. from Notes or Works), don't forget to set the 'Text Only' option in the dialogue box that appears or you will get a pile of rubbish in the file along side the text.
You can transfer binary data (packages, images, etc.) in the same way - this time make sure the 'Text Only' option isn't selected.

Transferring from iMac to Newton
To transfer a file from your iMac to your Newton, open the In/Out box on your Newton and tap "Receive" and "EETransfer". Select "ZModem" in the Tool picker that appears, and tap "Receive". In Black Night, select "Send" and "File", and in the dialogue box that appears, make sure the send format is set to "Smart Binary" - I think this is where ClarisWorks let me down. Add the files you want to transmit to your Newton, and click "Send".

Note that the following MS-DOS type file extensions should be used, to allow the 'Put Away' option to work properly.

Text.txt
GIF Image.gif
JPEG Image.jpg
Newton Package.pkg

Anything you EETransfer out of the Newton goes into the Outbox for later beaming. Anything you beam into the Newton shows up in the Inbox.

Play with it & let me know what you find. So far, I've installed and exported packages, exchanged text files, and beamed in GIFs and JPEGs. (The Inbox items have a "NewtsCape:Open" option in their routing menus if you have Newtscape installed.)

Compatibility Notes

It has been noted that both the Keyspan Serial adaptor and Griffin iPort card will disable the IR software when they're in use, so make sure you unplug them before trying the IrDA connection.

Just to prove it does work, have a look at the screenshot I took of my Newton while transferring data to my iMac via IrDA.

Please experiment, and if you find anything interesting, let Bill or myself know!

Thanks for dropping by! While you're here, why not check out my main website -
The Northern Ireland Macintosh User Group?

Kieran Miller
15/9/99