HOW TO: [TP750C] / [IomegaZip] / [PanasonicCDROM]

[Paulo Magalhaes <pm119@columbia.edu>]

ThinkPad 750C -- Iomega ZIP drive -- Panasonic KXL-D720 CD-ROM

Part 1. Physically linking the two SCSI devices to the TP
=========================================================

a) The card that comes with the CD-ROM is a SCSI card. The cable that 
   comes from the card ends in a MALE SCSI-2 plug (also called "Mini D50
   male"), depending on where you shop... Since the Zip drive requires a
   25-pin MALE plug (also called "Male SCSI MacDB25", among many other
   names), the first step is to get some form of adapter. Personally, I
   did this in two stages ("Female SCSI-2 to Male SCSI-1 adapter" + 
   "Female SCSI-1 to Male DB25 cable", which plugs into the Zip drive),
   but this is because I already had the cable, so I just bought the
   adapter; if I were to start from scratch, I would buy a single cable
   (Female SCSI-2 to Male DB25), which would be more elegant. Female
   SCSI-2s are hard to come by, for whatever strange reason; in the end
   Cables-to-Go solved my problem (800 826 7904), but other sources are 
   also available, I am sure. The ideal situation, of course, would be
   to find a cable that went directly from the card to the Zip drive, 
   but that seems to be wishing for too much - if anyone comes across one
   of these, do let me know.
b) Having connected the SCSI card to the Zip drive, the rest is easy: a
   simple "SCSI male DB25 to Male SCSI-2" (see alternative names above) 
   can be found from a variety of sources. Personally, I got mine from
   MacWarehouse (800 255 6227), but that's only because we buy a lot of
   stuff from them and I could get a good deal.
c) Keep the length of cable down to a minimum. In total, I have about 3
   to 4 feet of cable. I'm not an expert, but I believe that SCSI devices
   are a little whimsical about travelling long distances. If anyone has
   technical information to confirm or deny this notion, I would
   appreciate your comments.
d) Make sure that the Zip drive is NOT a terminator and also set the DIP
   switches in the CD-ROM drive to make that a terminator (just follow the
   instructions in each of the manuals). By default each of these devices
   has a different SCSI ID number, so this shouldn't cause you any
   trouble.

Ok, physically, this is the end of the story. If you're still reading
this, then I'm sure you can't wait for "Part 2", which will deal with the
setting up of the system... :) Remember that all this hookig up is done
with the computer OFF... Hope this is of help.

--
Paulo Magalhaes  *  Dept. Neurology, Columbia University, New York, USA
voice: (+1 212) 305 1665  **  fax: ... 305 3986  **  pm119@columbia.edu