On 14 Nov 2007, at 23:02, ggm1960 wrote:
> I have a piece of gear that may be familiar to musicians, a MOTU Midi
> Timepiece II. It's an 8x8 midi interface device that is best operated
> with a serial port Mac.
> It has din8 connectors labeled RS422 for connecting to Mac serial
> modem/printer port models. I recently bought a Powerbook G3 Lombard
> 333Mhz (OS 9.2.2) computer on eBay with the hopes of using the MOTU
> programs to set the unit up. I'd thought that this computer had a
> serial port on it but I was wrong so I got a Compu-Cable Mini-Geo
> USB -
>> Serial adapter. This device seemed to install fine using the CD that
> came with it and includes two serial ports known as iDock ports
> externally connected through a USB port.
> The MOTU website has OS 9 programs for MTP II unit which I downloaded:
>>> FreeMIDI 1.48/USB MIDI Installer. This is the FreeMIDI installer
>>> for Mac OS9. This install contains drivers and consoles for all
>>> MOTU MIDI interfaces, serial and USB.
>>> ClockWorks 1.07 Console OnlyClockWorks console for all MOTU
>>> interfaces for the Mac
>>> Express MTP Console (compatible with MIDI Timepiece I, II or AV
>>> serial and requires FreeMIDI)
> I soon discovered that this was not an ideal solution as the computer
> locks up every time I use the freeMIDI program to look for the MTP II
> on the idock ports!
> Searching around I've discovered that others with comparable desktop
> G3 systems have used a Stealth or some other type of serial port card
> that plugs directly into the G3's modem location and better emulates
> the old style Mac serial ports. I don't see how this does me any good
> however, sitting here with a laptop??!
> So I'm hoping the experts here can tell me if I can make this thing
> work somehow. I don't care if the timing is perfect I just want to set
> the unit up.
The MOTU drivers are picky about recognising some USB-Serial ports.
When the Stealth port first came out MOTU drivers wouldn't recognise
a Stealth Port.!
I think that your best bet is a Keyspan USA28X USB to 2 serial ports,
(there are several variations of this device - see the Keyspan site
driver downloads for more info re model numbers)
The MOTU OS 9 drivers will definitely recognise this USB-serial
adaptor - I have been using both Keyspan USA28X USB-serial and
Keyspan SXPro PCI 4 port in a professional environment to connect
MOTU serial hardware to G4's for years without a problem.
However, there are NO MOTU serial drivers for OS X and probably never
will be.
As long as you are happy to use OS 9.x.x a Keyspan USB-serial will
deliver the goods for both data and sync for MOTU hardware.
Also USA28X is not expensive new (and many around s/h on ebay). You
should also install the Keyspan drivers for OS 9 (downloadable from
the Keyspan site) There are even Keyspan drivers for OS X which
work for many applications but NOT for MOTU in OS X. MOTU offers no
support for serial devices in OS X.
I recommend that you replace the battery in the MTP II if you haven't
already - MOTU boxes eat these fairly quickly and a dead battery
causes many spurious problems.
I recommend that you visit a site called Unicornation which is a site
for MOTU users that is totally independent of MOTU.
hope you get it working ! If I can be of any more assistance just ask !
rick.rocks
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