Title: ZULU 2.0 + coming with Pico chip and WIFI , just spoke with Alex at Rabbit Hole
Post by: Rob Blessin Black Hole on April 11, 2024, 05:16:24 PM
Post by: Rob Blessin Black Hole on April 11, 2024, 05:16:24 PM
Hello NeXT Community: I just spoke with Alex over at Rabbit Hole and well I'm going to be the first to have ZULU 2.0 + Cards with Pico 2040 and WIFI :) and we will be manufacturing them in Black :) Also I think we are going to offer a $200 + cash bounty for the person that can the write a WIFI driver for NeXT hardware to support ZULU SCSI 2.0 with WIFI , I think the driver would have to be transparent cross compatible as well.
After talking with Alex about his investment in ZULU, it is about heart here and then hearing about Blue SCSI's underhanded tactics first hand , wow. I'm all for continuing to support ZULU's efforts , Inertial, Rabbit Holes endeavors:)
It is a delicate dance as always but hey anything that helps technology move forward ethically sounds good to me.
Also on the horizon for ZULU 3.0 will be an even faster architecture , Stay tuned!
I'll add photos of the black ZULU Boards when they arrive :) Best regards Rob Blessin
After talking with Alex about his investment in ZULU, it is about heart here and then hearing about Blue SCSI's underhanded tactics first hand , wow. I'm all for continuing to support ZULU's efforts , Inertial, Rabbit Holes endeavors:)
It is a delicate dance as always but hey anything that helps technology move forward ethically sounds good to me.
Also on the horizon for ZULU 3.0 will be an even faster architecture , Stay tuned!
I'll add photos of the black ZULU Boards when they arrive :) Best regards Rob Blessin
Title: Re: ZULU 2.0 + coming with Pico chip and WIFI , just spoke with Alex at Rabbit Hole
Post by: stepleton on April 11, 2024, 05:52:10 PM
Post by: stepleton on April 11, 2024, 05:52:10 PM
More options are always better, but I'm still not sure why you would do networking this way if you can get anything with an ethernet port onto wifi with no new drivers for less than 25GBP shipped (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vonets-VAP11G-300-Ethernet-Repeater-Electronic-2-4G-WiFi-Bridge/dp/B093RSQK89). Or if you trust a no-name site, less than 20GBP (https://www.ukclearancecentre.co.uk/computer-accessories/651-wired-to-wireless-adapter-ethernet-to-wifi-converter-for-smart-tvs-tv-boxes.html). And hey, it looks like that no-name site is actually doing a big mark-up, since here is the exact same thing on AliExpress for £1.20 all-in (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005547211634.html)!
Heck, for that price I'll just give it a try and update here when I've had a chance to see if it works. Ordered now. (Note: the USB plug is just for power, I assume.)
The Zulu option could be efficient if you're going to get one anyway for drive emulation and you don't mind sealing this wifi capability into your NeXT exclusively (or limiting it to the other DaynaPort compatible computers that you have). But if you have several machines that you aren't likely to run at the same time, then it's handy to move little adapters like this AliExpress special around. (Sure hope it works! But some name-brand rj45-to-wifi adapters I already own are definitely good.)
Heck, for that price I'll just give it a try and update here when I've had a chance to see if it works. Ordered now. (Note: the USB plug is just for power, I assume.)
The Zulu option could be efficient if you're going to get one anyway for drive emulation and you don't mind sealing this wifi capability into your NeXT exclusively (or limiting it to the other DaynaPort compatible computers that you have). But if you have several machines that you aren't likely to run at the same time, then it's handy to move little adapters like this AliExpress special around. (Sure hope it works! But some name-brand rj45-to-wifi adapters I already own are definitely good.)
Title: Re: ZULU 2.0 + coming with Pico chip and WIFI , just spoke with Alex at Rabbit Hole
Post by: Rob Blessin Black Hole on April 11, 2024, 10:24:09 PM
Post by: Rob Blessin Black Hole on April 11, 2024, 10:24:09 PM
From my understanding , a faster wifi version would be in the future
Your solution looks good to me, so much easier lol but Alex's plan is to have a faster WIFI implementation in the future for ZULU SCSI maybe it is as easy as adding a USB module which emulates ethernet to plug something like this in to the ZULU SCSI or we simply use the NeXT RJ45 connector and don't have to reinvent the wheel ?
ZULU 2.0 PICO WIFi would be good for passing files via ftp but probably crawl on the NeXT , but faster architectures are in the works on the razors edge of tech lol.
At any rate I ordered one of the RJ45 to wifi adapters and also ordered a pass through 4 pin molex connector to dual usb , which should power it up from the NeXT , also would in theory work for adding usb lights and or fan , Cube bling lol , Fun stuff !
We are also planning on a usb to non adb adapter as Rabbit Hole has a USB to ADB adaptor already that I'm going to test on NeXT ADB hardware:)
Quote from: stepleton on April 11, 2024, 05:52:10 PMMore options are always better, but I'm still not sure why you would do networking this way if you can get anything with an ethernet port onto wifi with no new drivers for less than 25GBP shipped (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vonets-VAP11G-300-Ethernet-Repeater-Electronic-2-4G-WiFi-Bridge/dp/B093RSQK89). Or if you trust a no-name site, less than 20GBP (https://www.ukclearancecentre.co.uk/computer-accessories/651-wired-to-wireless-adapter-ethernet-to-wifi-converter-for-smart-tvs-tv-boxes.html). And hey, it looks like that no-name site is actually doing a big mark-up, since here is the exact same thing on AliExpress for £1.20 all-in (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005547211634.html)!Wait what?
Heck, for that price I'll just give it a try and update here when I've had a chance to see if it works. Ordered now. (Note: the USB plug is just for power, I assume.)
The Zulu option could be efficient if you're going to get one anyway for drive emulation and you don't mind sealing this wifi capability into your NeXT exclusively (or limiting it to the other DaynaPort compatible computers that you have). But if you have several machines that you aren't likely to run at the same time, then it's handy to move little adapters like this AliExpress special around. (Sure hope it works! But some name-brand rj45-to-wifi adapters I already own are definitely good.)
Your solution looks good to me, so much easier lol but Alex's plan is to have a faster WIFI implementation in the future for ZULU SCSI maybe it is as easy as adding a USB module which emulates ethernet to plug something like this in to the ZULU SCSI or we simply use the NeXT RJ45 connector and don't have to reinvent the wheel ?
ZULU 2.0 PICO WIFi would be good for passing files via ftp but probably crawl on the NeXT , but faster architectures are in the works on the razors edge of tech lol.
At any rate I ordered one of the RJ45 to wifi adapters and also ordered a pass through 4 pin molex connector to dual usb , which should power it up from the NeXT , also would in theory work for adding usb lights and or fan , Cube bling lol , Fun stuff !
We are also planning on a usb to non adb adapter as Rabbit Hole has a USB to ADB adaptor already that I'm going to test on NeXT ADB hardware:)
Title: Re: ZULU 2.0 + coming with Pico chip and WIFI , just spoke with Alex at Rabbit Hole
Post by: stepleton on April 16, 2024, 03:30:59 PM
Post by: stepleton on April 16, 2024, 03:30:59 PM
Quote from: stepleton on April 11, 2024, 05:52:10 PMHeck, for that price I'll just give it a try and update here when I've had a chance to see if it works. Ordered now. (Note: the USB plug is just for power, I assume.)
The gizmo has arrived and the TL/DR is that it works!
In the picture, the long USB cable is only providing power: the ethernet cable is plugged into the other end of the gizmo and snakes off to the ethernet port on the back of the slab.
The device is a bit strange in that it serves as a wifi repeater: in addition to allowing my NeXTstation to get on the wifi, it also creates a new wifi network that other computers can join to use the internet connection of the original wifi network. As far as I can tell, there's no simple way to disable this feature, even if all you want is the ethernet-to-wifi service only.
Still, it seems to work for the intended use case. Not bad for £1.20! (NB: the price has since exploded to around £5; that's AliExpress for you.)
You will need to configure the device on a modern computer first before you use it with your NeXT. Connect via ethernet with USB power from somewhere else, then visit http://192.168.10.1 . Select "Repeater" mode (don't select "AP" mode), connect to your wifi, and then the device should be ready. Unplug the modern computer and plug in your NeXT, and then most people will do something like whatever setup steps they ordinarily do when they connect their NeXT to their router with a long ethernet cable.