Connecting the NC100 to a Mac

Connecting the NC100 to a Mac requires the following:

PL2303-based usb-to-serial adaptor cable

PL2303-based USB-to-serial adaptor cable

Setup

  1. Install the software pre-requisites: brew update && brew install minicom lrzsz.

  2. Connect the serial adaptor to the NC100 and the Mac.

  3. On the Mac, run minicom -D /path/to/adaptor -b 9600.

  4. Hit Option-O and select File transfer protocols:

    Minicom setup menu

    The minicom setup menu

  5. Type the letter to the left of the first xmodem entry, and use the Return key to step from one field to the next. Make sure the entry’s Program value is set to lrz -v for receive and lsz -v for send, and the U/D entry is set to U for send and D for receive.

    Minicom file transfer setup menu

    The minicom file transfer setup UI

  6. Press Esc to go back when you’re done and then select Exit.

Note

You can use my dlist utility to get the Unix path to the adaptor device:
minicom -D $(dlist) -b 9600.
It runs on both macOS and Linux.

The serial adaptor in place on the NC100. Image copyright 2025 tony smith. All rights reserved

The serial adaptor in place on the NC100. Note the orange null modem converter to connect the correct pins, and the yellow gender changer

Transfer: Receive

  1. On the Mac, with minicom running, hit Option-R.

  2. Select xmodem.

  3. Enter the new file’s name and hit Return.

  4. Power on the NC100, and hit Function-L.

  5. Select the file you want to send and press Secret Menu to get the document options menu:

    NC100 document options menu

    The NC100 document options menu

  6. Hit T to bring up the file transfer options menu:

    NC100 transfer functions menu xmodem receive

    The NC100 file transfer menu: xmodem receive

  7. Hit X to initiate xmodem send.

  8. When the transfer has taken place, press Stop on the NC100, power off and remove the cable.

Note

There is always a brief pause of 2-8 seconds before transfer begins. This is because modern xmodem software expects the use of CRCs for transmission error checks, but the NC100 does not support this method. At the end of the pause, your comms software should fall back to using checksums, which the NC100 does support.

Transfer: Send

  1. Power on the NC100, and hit Function-L.

  2. Hit Secret Menu to get the document options menu.

  3. Type T to bring up the file transfer options menu:

    NC100 transfer functions xmodem send

    The NC100 file transfer menu: xmodem send

  4. Type m to select xmodem receive.

  5. Enter the new file’s name and hit Return.

  6. On the Mac, with minicom running, hit Option-S.

  7. Select xmodem.

  8. Use the UI to locate and select the file you want to send, and select Okay:

    Minicom file selection UI

    The minicom file selection UI

  9. When the transfer has taken place, press Stop on the NC100, power off and remove the cable.