Xref: utzoo comp.protocols.appletalk:698 comp.sys.ibm.pc:16117 comp.sys.mac:16778 comp.sys.tandy:782 Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!bellcore!faline!thumper!ulysses!andante!princeton!udel!gatech!mcnc!ecsvax!ugogan From: ugogan@ecsvax.UUCP Newsgroups: comp.protocols.appletalk,comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.tandy Subject: TandyLink adapters for PCs and PhoneNET Message-ID: <5182@ecsvax.UUCP> Date: 3 Jun 88 20:55:15 GMT Followup-To: comp.protocols.appletalk Organization: UNC - Chapel Hill Lines: 54 Posted: Fri Jun 3 16:55:15 1988 A question to anyone out there either from Farallon Computing (home of PhoneNET) or familiar with the new TandyLink Adapter from Tandy (home of Radio Shack) - We have found the TandyLink Adapters (Tandy's AppleTalk PC cards) to be totally compatible with various AppleTalk software packages for PCs: for example, TOPS and AppleShare PC run fine and dandy. Furthermore, not only are they cheaper than either the TOPS PC FlashCard or the Apple AppleTalk PC card, but they come with an AppleTalk ... er... LocalTalk connector built into the card itself. So if you're in a situation where you've got to help a department plan for an AppleTalk installation, and you're given the following alternatives: 1) a TOPS Flashcard + PhoneNet connector = $211 + $56 2) an AppleTalk PC card + PhoneNet connector = $266 + $56 3) a Tandy TandyLink card = $96 (above are the prices our University departments pay for the stuff) it's real difficult not to go with the contents of door number 3 above. The problem arises with the point above that the TandyLink cards come with an APPLETALK (sorry, that's LOCALTALK) connector built onto the card, not a PhoneNet connector. (The back of the card actually has two of the three-pin circular sockets, just like a real LocalTalk connector.) Due to ease of installation, existing telephone wiring, etc., etc., we're going with the PhoneNet wiring scheme and PhoneNet connectors for the Macintoshes. However, if we want to use the TandyLink cards, I believe that we would have to use the Farallon AppleTalk-to-PhoneNet cable FOR EACH PC with one of these cards, and Farallon does not recommend more than one of these per net. Inasmuch as we are likely to have more than one PC per star branch, let alone per net, are we really stuck with having to go with the TOPS or Apple PC cards at a price three times greater than the Tandy card, in order to use PhoneNet for a departmental system? Any suggestions, tips, pointers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. -- Jim Gogan (ugogan@ecsvax) Microcomputing Support Center University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill -- Jim Gogan mail:ugogan@ecsvax (UUCP/BITNET) Microcomputing Support Center University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC 27599