Cable schematics - RS232 / DB9 for Apple II emulation?

[calthaer]

OK, so I have some old Bard's Tale characters for the Apple II that I would love to download onto my PC. Sure, I could just hook up the old Apple II and play with them there, but I want the back-up anyway and this seems like a sort of fun project to do.

SO...I'm reading up on how to transfer data between my old Laser 128 (Apple II clone) and my PC, and it looks like I'm going to need a null modem cable that connects a PC Serial port (9-pin "DB9" I presume) to one of those 5-pin RS-232 serial ports on the Laser / Apple. Where do I find one of these? Are there schematics available online? I'm neither an electrician nor a programmer (although I do know how to build my own PCs), so I'm not sure if there is anything out there for people with moderate technical knowledge to make their own cables...

Anybody know of places to look? I've been scouring the web and maybe I just don't know the right keywords to put in, but I'm not finding what I need to...

[Jorpho]

5 pins, did you say? Odd. Do you have a picture?

I believe only two pins are used for data transfer over a null modem cable (2 and 3, if I am not mistaken). Naturally, they are swapped on each end in order to make it a "null" cable (i.e., pin 2 on one end goes to pin 3 on the other end).

[calthaer]

http://www.showmecables.com/inc_frameset_live.htm

The socket on the Laser 128 looks like the 1737-1739 (5-pin DIN) jacks they show on that page. I'm not sure what they mean by 240 degree vs 360 - my jack looks exactly like the illustration...

EDIT: It's weird...that link brings me right to the page from my favorites, but when I click the link from this forum, it doesn't. You have to go to the side menu, click on "Connectors & Adapters," then "DIN Connectors," then "DIN Jack" to see the page with 1737-1739.

[Jorpho]

I've never seen anything like that before...

I suppose if you really get stuck, you could try connecting pins 2 and 3 of your PC's 9-pin serial port to different pins on that port; maybe through trial and error, you'll find the right combination.

Alternatively, didn't Apple's Super Serial Card have a 9-pin port?

[calthaer]

I found a guy from the comp.sys.apple2 who can make 'em - I'm going to email him and ask him if he can make me one. His website plays the Sanford & Son song...hahaha it's hilarious!

http://garberstreet.netfirms.com/HomeStart.html