As Apple describes the use and connection of the various devices and connectors in an AppleTalk network, it becomes a parallel circuit. The PhoneNet devices required for the project are wired using the wo & ow of the mating jack. The wb & bw are not used but are pre-wired to each jack on the device. I'm not sure of any history of the middle 2 (wb & bw) being used for an application but for this project they have no purpose other than a home stead for the terminating resistors. These are also wired to the wo & ow pair. We are using the rest of the cable/jack wires for phone and speaker connections without a hitch. The data that travels on the balanced AppleTalk pair is at such a speed and at a low impedance we must be cautious. It is not of a harmful level but the characteristics are that we should have excellent connections and a solid understanding that low impedance means we avoid loose wires. This goes without saying.

When connecting the AppleTalk (AT) legs to the various rooms of the dwelling at the central connection point, you should perhaps connect only the cables required to the wo & ow pair to the places of most use. Connecting an unused & long piece of cable may prove to act as an antenna. This will act as a source of noise and problem for your project unless you can equip it with a PhoneNet device at the end of it. This would be an expense that can be avoided.

Connecting the AT legs together is a simple parallel connection. All of the "A" sides are connected to the other "A" sides of each pair. The same goes for the "B" side of each pair. IF I have not said it before ALL connections here are a connected as a parallel circuit. Do not use a series type of connection unless you are completely certain something will be plugged into both (or more) locations, of course this would only apply to speakers.

Noise and induction can be a problem for data when travelling long distances. Some houses can use very easily use 1000' of wire and if the AT appears on the whole 1000' then expect a data loss or slow networking. Sense would tell us that the cable to the bathroom would not be the best for an AT leg, unless it is near the hot tub. But then again could the Mac enter the water? We would shed tears if it did! A PowerBook is not happy when wet, a person is not happy when electrocuted by a line powered Mac. Somewhere in the manuals they even say to keep the darn things out of the rain, good advise.

So lets keep the AT where it would best be served by reason. The kitchen is my favourite example and the phonenet connector can stay plugged in at each location.

If the printer is moved around to various locations I believe the power can remain on for the rest of the devices but keep in mind the power should be off when connecting to a Mac. This is only wise to do so and if you travelled across carpet to get there Please ground yourself before grabbing any computing device of any kind to reduce any chance of static electricity damage. Once in a while when it is dry and you touch a door knob and feel or hear the spark this is a charge of about 3-4000 volts. Humans can put up with this but a computer which is designed to use a voltage of only 30 volts at best then you plug a metal connector into it's guts, well we can only guess how many times it will put up with that. Static is not our friend.

I stated before the AT connector has the wo/ow wired to the 4 pin plug but also the wb/bw as well. If the situation requires you to have a phone at this AT equipped location I have used the extra jack on the phonenet device with mixed results. The terminating resistor belongs in this jack and so it should be. I have misplaced some of mine and yet the AT seems to work very well without the full complement. Experimentation might prove that the total count of terminating resistors required, may prove to be less than one for each PhoneNet device.

More on page 7 - trouble shooting.