This is not an app.
Back in the days of BBS the Mac serial ports were the way to get
connected to the world.
Most vintage Macs, except for the MacPlus, have two Mini DIN F8
connectors on their back.
These serial ports are of RS-422 type (see pict 4).
Good to know the RS-422 is downward compatible to RS-232 which was
common with PCs until about 2010. Many office PCs still have this
RS-232 port, if not one can be added via a PCI(E) card or by using a
USB adapter.
Lets assume you got your vintage Mac and can beg, steal or borrow an
old PC running Windows XP or Windows 2000. These two systems are the
easiest counterpart talking to a Mac via serial, as they still come
with the app HyperTerminal. Newer Windows rigs may be used too, using
an app like Putty.
The biggest obstacle getting connected is the null-modem cable.
The name null-modem refers to the connection via land line modems,
only that this cable does nothing accept crossing some wires
internally.
It is fairly easy soldering such a cable yourself though. Best find a
Mac serial cable with two Mini DIN 8-M connectors. Make sure that all
pins are really wired, e.g. with a multi-meter, before cutting off one
connector.
For the PC side you want a DE-9 F solder connector similar to the one
in pict 1 and 2.
Connect the wires of the Mac serial cable to the D-sub 9 female
connecter according to pict 3.
Now you need to add ZTerm to your Mac. (First DL) as ZTerm is aware of
the needed file transfer protocols x-modem, y-modem and z-modem.
The files from the first DL can travel on a Mac floppy.
If you have no other way to write Mac floppies, Basilisk II Build 142
for Windows does write 1.4MB Mac floppies fine.
(App and instruction are to be found at Emaculation.com)
When everything went well, ZTerm on the Mac talks to HyperTerminal in
Windows.
Files can be sent to and fro, but remember that resource forks of Mac
apps will be destroyed on "foreign" file systems. Therefore
applications need to be protected in a .sit or .hqx shell.
See second DL for StuffIt 3.6 to create .sit or hqx.
Because of the mediocre RS-232 port on PCs the serial connection is
way slower than the 12Mbit/s the Mac�s RS-422 interface can handle.
Expect 5,7Mbit/s as a maximum, a 704K file as shown in picture 5 will
take two minutes to travel over serial.
Anyway, even as this a slow boat, you can move big files from your
vintage Mac to a new home - with enough patience. ![Wink][1]
Edit:
Added HyperTerm as 3rd DL for Windows users.
The files are taken from a Windows XP installation. The app is still
running with Windows 10 (64) basically. Some eye candy is missing
though.
Compatibility
[1]:
http://macintoshgarden.org/sites/all/modules/smileys/packs/Roving/wink.png (Wink)
