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Homechoice: Unsupported Operating Systems

How do I connect to Homechoice using a Mac?

Being a Mac afficionado I set about linking the Homechoice internet connection to my Mac; it works! So for the benefit of extending knowledge of all things Mac here's how to set up Homechoice with an Open Transport, MacOS 8 onwards running Macintosh:

First of all, cabling: the serial cable on the back of the Homechoice set-top box is a 9-pin-to-9-pin null modem cable which usually plugs straight into the back of a PC. If you have one of these four following Mac serial cables here's what to do:

Mac->25-pin modem cable: you need a 25-pin to 9-pin converter - the 9-pin end on the converter should be *male*. Plug the converter into the 25-pin end of your Mac's modem cable and plug the 9-pin end into the serial cable coming out of the Homechoice box. Do not plug the converter's 9-pin straight into the back of the set-top box.

Mac->9-pin modem cable: plug the 9-pin end into the serial cable coming out of the Homechoice box. Do not plug the converter's 9-pin straight into the back of the set-top box.

Mac->25-pin null-modem cable: you need a 25-pin to 9-pin converter - the 9-pin end on the converter should be *male*. Plug the converter into the 25-pin end of your Mac's null-modem cable and plug the 9-pin end straight into the back of the Homechoice box. Do not plug it into the serial cable coming out of the Homechoice box.

Mac->9-pin null modem cable: plug the 9-pin end straight into the back of the Homechoice box. Do not plug it into the serial cable coming out of the Homechoice box.

Right, that's the cabling done. Now for the PPP & TCP/IP settings. This assumes you have Open Transport installed (usually present in OS8 upwards).

First of all, let's sort out the PPP settings. First of all, you must define a 'modem'. There isn't one! :o) As it's a straight serial connection, go and open the 'Modem' control panel and sellect 'Null Modem 115200' . Click on 'ignore dial tone' - as this is a null modem connection, this makes absolutely no difference, but it's best to keep consistent! For phone number, enter in '0'.

OK, now open the 'Remote Access' control panel. Type in your User ID and Password. Save this configuration. Done.

Now open the 'TCP/IP' control panel. Set up your TCP/IP to "Connect via:' 'PPP' and "Configure:" 'Using PPP Server'. Type in your Name Server addresses. NOTE - enter in your *Homechoice* DNS servers if you want to send mail via your Homechoice mail account and access the Homechoice newsgroups; the actual IP address of the Homechoice SMTP and newsgroup servers returned by a global DNS server are different to that returned by the Homechoice DNS servers. OK, save your configuration.

Voila! Now connect...

My personal setup, as I have several computers on the back of this connection, uses IPNetRouter (it's just one of *the* best apps around), which is easy to set up and extremely powerful. I recommend using this if you want to have a Mac routing your network. It's the business!

If you have any queries or comments, please feel free to drop me an e-mail at: macNetworking@axora.net