Cassiopeia-to-Mac Connectivity

This page describes the procedure for synchronizing an HPC (I have used it with both a Cassiopeia Windows CE machine and a Philips Velo 1) with a Power Macintosh running Virtual PC. This procedure has also been used to connect a Compaq C120 HPC to a Performa 6360 running Softwindows version 3.0 (thanks to Michael Babineau for his input). If you are using a PPC (a palm-sized CE machine such as a Cassiopeia E-100/105) you may want to check out Aaron Bloom's Cassiopeia web page, which is a version of this page tailored for the new palm-sized devices. Thanks, Aaron!

Connectix (Virtual PC), Casio (Cassiopeia), and Microsoft (Windows CE) all told me it couldn't be done, but I just synchronized my HPC (a Casio Cassiopeia Windows CE machine) with a Power Macintosh running Virtual PC. (Pardon some redundancy here, but I hope it will help miscellaneous searches to catch this page.)

Here's how I did it (there may be a simpler way, but I decided I'd better get something that works out there before I forget -- it took me many hours, many discussions with friends, and no end of trying miscellaneous cables and adapters before I came up with this solution).

I think the essential ingredients are:

• the cabling
• using software flow control
• turning off Appletalk in the Chooser (if this doesn't work, try restarting the Mac without extensions)

The serial cable that comes with the Cassiopeia has a 16-pin connector on one end, and a DB9 (female) connector on the other. You will need to add to it:

1. A serial com port adapter, DB9 (Male) to DB25 (Female) ($7.99 at Fry's).
2. A Hayes Modem cable (NOT a null modem cable), DB25 (Male) to Mini-DIN 8 (Male) ($6.95 at Fry's). Alternatively, the cable provided with the Casio QV cameras which they supply to enable connection of their camera cable to a Mac serial port worked fine for Adel Malek, MD, PhD (thanks, Adel), and can be ordered from Casio. It makes for a very short and simple adapter (only about 5-6 inches long).

Put the cables together, but don't plug in either end of the assembly yet.

Next, set up the HPC

1. Close all applications on the HPC.
2. For safety, create an alternate connection, rather than changing the built-in one.
   • Touch Start, then Programs. Double-click Communications. Double-click Remote Networking.
   • Double-click Make New Connection. Give it a name, and verify that Direct Connection is checked. Touch Next.
   • Select the device that you want to use: Serial Cable on COM1.
   • Touch Configure..., and set the connection preferences to 19200, 8, None, 1, Software. OK.
   • Finish. Exit back to the desktop.
3. Use your new connection.
   • Touch Start, then Settings. If the Control Panel does not open (WinCE 2.0), touch Control Panel to open it. Double-click the Communications icon. The Communications Properties window will appear.
   • Touch the PC Connection tab. Verify that "Allow connection with desktop computer when HPC is attached." is checked.
   • In the Connect using: box, Touch the Change... button. Select the name of the connection you just created. OK. OK.

Next, set up Virtual PC on the Mac

1. Disable AppleTalk to free your printer port.
2. Start Virtual PC. If it complains that the printer port is in use, quit and restart the Mac, holding down the Shift key so that extensions are disabled (you can go back sometime to find out which extension uses the port, but let's get things working first).
3. Choose which VPC ports to use.
   • Bring up the Macintosh menu bar using Cmd-M if it's not already visible.
   • Choose Edit->Preferences from the menu.
   • Choose COM1 Port, check the Mac Serial Port radio button, and set its field's value to Printer Port.
   • Choose Ethernet, and set its value to Disable Ethernet Controller.
   • Press OK or Restart, whichever is currently displayed.
4. Set System port information.
   • Touch Start, then Settings, then Control Panel.
   • Double-click System. Touch the Device Manager tab.
   • Double-click Ports (COM & LPT). Double-click Communications Port (COM1).
   • Touch the Port Settings tab. Set the values of the fields to 19200, 8, None, 1, Xon/Xoff.
   • Touch the Advanced... button. Turn off Use FIFO buffers (requires 16550 compatible UART). OK. OK.
   • Double-click Modem. Double-click Serial cable on COM1.
   • Touch the Modem tab. Set the Comm Port to Communications Port (COM1), and the Maximum Speed to 19200.
   • Touch the Connection tab. Set the Connection Preferences to 8, None, 1.
   • Touch the Port Settings button. Turn off Use FIFO buffers (requires 16550 compatible UART). OK.
   • Touch the Advanced... button. Turn on Use flow control, and select Software (XON/XOFF). OK. OK. OK. (Note for SoftWindows users only: under SoftWindows there is a Settings pulldown menu where you can configure which Mac port maps to which PC port (i.e., Printer Port to COM1, etc. There is an option to turn on Flow Control. Michael left this off for the port connecting to the HPC, and reports that the linking using this configuration seems very reliable.)

1. Launch Mobile Devices. The message "Starting communications..." should appear, followed by "Waiting for a mobile device to connect..." ("Waiting to connect to HPC..." under 1.0). If not, one of the previous steps has been performed wrong or missed -- quit and go back and check your work.
2. Choose Mobile Devices' COM port.
   • From the Mobile Devices menu, select File->Communications....
   • For the Port, choose Serial cable on COM1. OK.

1. Close Mobile Devices and Shut Down Virtual PC (if you're really paranoid, you can also reboot the Mac if you did before (again with extensions off) ).
2. Start Virtual PC.
3. Launch Mobile Devices. You should see the same messages as before.
4. Turn on the HPC.
5. Plug the mini-DIN 8 into the printer port.
6. Plug the 16-pin serial connector into the HPC.
   • A window should immediately appear on the HPC stating that communication is happening.
   • Shortly thereafter, the windows described in the "Establishing a partnership" section of the HPC User's Guide should appear.

If it doesn't work, try disconnecting the cables, resetting the HPC, and reconnecting, and following other troubleshooting instructions in the manuals. The Help menu on Mobile Devices can also be useful.

If you restarted with extensions off, you'll need to close Mobile Devices and shut down Virtual PC (using the Start menu) and restart your Mac with the extensions on to do much other useful work.

If you find ways to simplify these instructions, please send email to me at kennita@kennita.com. Please don't send any instructions that you haven't tried more than once and confirmed to work.

If you find mistakes in these instructions, or if they don't work for you, please send email to me as well. I may have miscommunicated something or left out a step. Please be sure you've followed the instructions from the beginning, and if it doesn't work, let me know exactly what error message you get, from which program, and exactly where in the process it appears. Thanks much!

Happy hacking!

Kennita Watson
Kennita's Home Page

This page last updated 4/26/2001