![\"\"](\"https:\/\/biosrhythm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screenshot-2024-05-11-at-3.05.34\u202fPM-840x568.png\")
<\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\nHowever, recently I’ve attempted to do certain things it couldn’t handle. This is mainly due to netatalk being updated since the image was created. This blog post contains my notes as I set out to create a newly updated version of this suite of tools from scratch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Some background<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
I’m using a Raspberry Pi Zero W because the HDMI output on it stopped working for unknown reasons. It’s also incredibly small and power efficient. This project seemed to be a good use for it. Drawbacks are there’s no Ethernet onboard (only WiFi) and a single USB port. To solve this, I purchased a USB hub and Ethernet hat<\/a> which has stacking headers to put another hat on top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/biosrhythm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/pizero-netatalk-840x630.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\nOn top of that, I’m using a TashTalk 2 Hat<\/a> which allows you to connect to LocalTalk devices like any Mac (pre-iMac), an ImageWriter II with LocalTalk option card installed, or a LaserWriter II. Get out your PhoneNET dongles and terminating resistor plugs!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Update (2025 Jul 21): I’ve created a 3D printable case for the Pi Zero, WaveShare Ethernet\/USB Hat, and the TashTalk 2 hat.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/biosrhythm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IMG_1364-840x630.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhen we’re finished, we can connect to devices over Ethernet<\/strong> (EtherTalk), TashTalk<\/strong> (LocalTalk), and LToUDP<\/strong> (LocalTalk over UDP, like Mini VMac).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I should mention that you can’t use netatalk over WiFi. You must have Ethernet connected to your Raspberry Pi, either via a built in port or a USB to Ethernet adapter. You can still use WiFi to configure and control if you want, but you’ll already have Ethernet so it’s not really necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I’m going to assume that you’re comfortable getting into a Linux system, editing config files, using apt-get, setting permissions, etc. If you’re not, this project may be a bit much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You might be asking yourself why didn’t I just update netatalk on the original MacIPRpi image? The reason is because I wanted to use this as a learning opportunity to build and configure a similar (almost identical) set of tools from scratch, something I’ve never done before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you run into issues, let me know on Mastodon<\/a> or leave a comment here and I’ll see if I can assist. This document is long so work on it in small sections and take a break in between.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What’s missing?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Currently, AURP (the protocol that drives #GlobalTalk) isn’t working (or at least I can’t figure out how to get it working properly). I’ve had mixed success running an emulated Apple Internet Router on QEmu as well as on actual hardware. There’s also a work-in-progress AURP router called jrouter written in Go by Josh Deprez<\/a>. There’s surely a configuration that can make these all work together and it may take someone smarter than me to figure it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Getting started<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
I’m using a 32GB SanDisk Ultra Micro SD card for storage. I used the Raspberry Pi Imager<\/a> to install RaspbianOS 11 (bullseye). It’s super handy since it allows you to pre-set certain settings such as WiFi AP and password. This is important for my case since I don’t have a monitor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On first boot, run
sudo raspi-config<\/code> to configure the usual things like locale, timezone, machine name, etc. I also created a new account to work in, instead of the usual “pi” account.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNote<\/strong>: As of this writing, RaspbianOS 12 (bookworm) is now available. I suspect everything in this document will still work but it hasn’t been tested. YMMV.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tip: <\/strong>Make sure you use a good +5V USB power supply for the Raspberry Pi as they will pull more power than you’d expect. I’m using an older 1A iPad charger.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tip<\/strong>: You can find out what version of Rasbian you’re using by typing:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
cat \/etc\/os-release<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nIt’s probably a good idea to assign a static IP to your Raspberry Pi’s Ethernet port. Rather than disabling DHCP client on your Raspberry Pi, it’s much easier to configure your router’s DHCP service to assign the static IP based on the Raspberry Pi’s MAC address. You can get your Ethernet MAC address by typing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ifconfig eth0<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nConfigure serial for TashTalk 2 hat<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
We need to configure the built in serial port for the TashTalk 2 hat<\/a> (Bluetooth uses it by default). Edit this file:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo nano \/boot\/config.txt<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nAdd the following to the end:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Add the following to the end\n# TashTalk Hat\n dtoverlay=miniuart-bt\n gpio=16-17=a3<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nSave and exit. Next, we need to enable the serial port in raspi-config:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo raspi-config<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nChoose “Interface Options”<\/strong> and then “Serial Port.”<\/strong> Answer no<\/strong> to “Would you like a login shell to be accessible over serial.” Answer yes<\/strong> to “Would you like the serial port hardware to be enabled.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reboot your system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Install netatalk<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What I thought was going to be the biggest hurdle turned out to be not so bad. Installing netatalk needs to be done from source which sounds scary but there was a great set of step by step of instructions from the netatalk folks that I followed<\/a>. At the time of this writing, I used netatalk 2.3.2. Follow that and come back here– it all “just worked.” Come back here when you’re done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You should now have all of the netalk binaries, config files, and man files installed on your system. Netatalk contains several services including atalkd, timelord, afpd, papd, cnid, and a2boot. We’re going to configure some of them, so we need to stop all of these services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo systemctl stop afpd.service cnid.service papd.service timelord.service a2boot.service atalkd.service<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nNext, we’ll configure the netatalk services. If you reboot, remember to stop them again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Configure atalkd<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
To configure atalkd, edit the following file<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo nano \/etc\/netatalk\/atalkd.conf<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nComment out any existing devices and add the following to the end. Note, you should change the net numbers and the zone name(s) to suit your network. Net numbers must be unique<\/strong>, but zone names don’t have to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
tap0 -seed -phase 2 -net 11 -zone \"Biosrhythm\"\neth0 -seed -phase 2 -net 10 -zone \"Biosrhythm\"<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nTip<\/strong>: If you use the same zone name everywhere, your devices will all appear in the same zone regardless of how they are connected to your AppleTalk network. This will make them easier to locate.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Note<\/strong>: If you later view the atalkd.conf file and find it contains something different than what you remember entering, you’re not going crazy! Atalkd will modify this file while it’s running if it finds something incompatible on your network (such as a seed router that already exists). Make sure to stop the service before editing again.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Configure timelord service<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The timelord service provides date and time to your classic Mac. To configure the timelord service to use the localtime of your Raspberry Pi, first stop it and then edit the systemd config file for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo nano \/lib\/systemd\/system\/timelord.service<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nChange the line that starts with
ExecStart<\/code> to the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\nExecStart=\/usr\/local\/sbin\/timelord -l -n LocalTime<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nSave, exit, and reload the systemd daemons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo systemctl daemon-reload<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nConfigure afpd service<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The afpd service provides file sharing over AppleTalk as well as TCP\/IP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Create a directory for a global AppleShare directory and set permissions. This will allow guests access to your directory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo mkdir \/AppleShare\nsudo chown root:$USER \/AppleShare\nsudo chmod 775 \/AppleShare<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nEdit the afpd configuration file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo nano \/etc\/netatalk\/afpd.conf<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nComment out any existing lines and add this single line to the end (it looks like multiple lines, but it wraps). This config came from the MacIPRpi install.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"MacIPpi\" -transall -uamlist uams_guest.so,uams_clrtxt.so,uams_dhx.so -defaultvol \/etc\/netatalk\/AppleVolumes.default -systemvol \/etc\/netatalk\/AppleVolumes.system -nouservol -guestname \"nobody\" -setuplog \"default log_maxdebug \/var\/log\/afpd.log\" -minicmodel \"Macintosh\"\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nThis will give you a global share in
\/AppleShare<\/code> with the name ofMacIPpi<\/code> as well as provide a each user’s own “home” directory on your Raspberry Pi.<\/p>\n\n\n\nInstall the MacIPGW service<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
MacIPGW allows your classic Mac to have TCP\/IP access over AppleTalk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
cd ~\/Downloads\ngit clone \u201chttps:\/\/github.com\/jasonking3\/macipgw.git\u201d<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nNext, we need to configure some new IP routing rules using iptables. This is also the same configuration that is found in the MacIPRpi install.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
nano iptables-save<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nPaste in the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
# Generated by xtables-save v1.8.2 on Tue Sep 22 00:34:20 2020\n*nat\n:PREROUTING ACCEPT [7525:1718344]\n:INPUT ACCEPT [1807:207358]\n:POSTROUTING ACCEPT [1127:49840]\n:OUTPUT ACCEPT [1893:105234]\n-A PREROUTING -s 172.16.2.0\/24 -i tun0 \n-A POSTROUTING -o eth0 -j MASQUERADE\nCOMMIT\n# Completed on Tue Sep 22 00:34:20 2020\n# Generated by xtables-save v1.8.2 on Tue Sep 22 00:34:20 2020\n*filter\n:INPUT ACCEPT [68453:59034824]\n:FORWARD ACCEPT [36:2671]\n:OUTPUT ACCEPT [44985:7851604]\n-A INPUT -s 172.16.2.0\/24 -p tcp -m tcp --dport 23 -j ACCEPT\n-A INPUT -s 192.168.178.0\/24 -p tcp -m tcp --dport 23 -j ACCEPT\n-A INPUT -s 127.0.0.1\/32 -p tcp -m tcp --dport 23 -j ACCEPT\n-A INPUT -p tcp -m tcp --dport 23 -j REJECT --reject-with icmp-port-unreachable\nCOMMIT\n# Completed on Tue Sep 22 00:34:20 2020<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nNext, we need to enable these new rules as well as enable forwarding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo sysctl -w net.ipv4.ip_forward=1\nsudo iptables-restore -c < iptables-save<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nNote:<\/strong> This will enable it now, but it will be lost after we reboot. Don’t panic, we’ll resolve that later.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
To start the MacIPGW, use one of the following commands. The first runs in debug mode which echoes useful information to the terminal. The second detaches and runs in the background. Again, you probably don’t need to run this individually now, we’ll start everything with a script below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Run MacIPGW (debug):\nsudo macipgw -d0x111 -n 8.8.8.8 172.16.2.1 255.255.255.0\n\nRun MacIPGW (detach):\nsudo macipgw -n 8.8.8.8 172.16.2.1 255.255.255.0<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nInstall samba<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Samba file sharing is useful if you want to connect to it with a modern Windows or Mac machine. Install Samba then edit the config file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo apt-get install samba samba-common-bin\nsudo nano \/etc\/samba\/smb.conf<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nAdd the following to the end of the file. Again, this came from MacIPRpi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
[MacIPpi-Samba]\npath = \/AppleShare\ncomment= MacIPpi shared SAMBA (Windows) disk. Also by AFP and root dir of FTP.\nread only = no\nbrowsable = yes\npublic = yes\nguest ok = yes\nwritable = yes\ncreate mode = 0664\nforce create mode = 0664\ndirectory mode = 0775\nforce directory mode = 0775\n#tegen xattr by MACOSX\nnt acl support = no\n# helpt dit tegen directories die weer niet te vullen zijn met een nieuwe directory?\ninherit permissions = yes\nunix extensions = no<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nSet a SMB user password for your account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo smbpasswd -a $USER\nsudo systemctl restart smbd<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nThen restart the SMB service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo service smbd reload<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nInstalling a web rendering proxy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A web rendering proxy (WRP)<\/a> allows vintage web browsers to access the modern web by retreiving sites as an image with a clickable map overlaid on top of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I didn’t end up using a WRP simply because it doesn’t work on a Raspberry Pi Zero W. Chromium doesn’t run on it anymore. This took me a long time to figure out<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you happen to be using a Raspberry Pi that can run Chromium, here’s how you get it working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Download the appropriate release binary<\/a>. I used \u201cwrp-arm-linux\u201d binary. The latest version 4.6.2 (at the time of writing) didn\u2019t work for me– I had to use 4.6).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Set permissions, display, and start Chromium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
chmod 755 wrp-arm-linux\nexport DISPLAY=:0\nchromium-browser --headless<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nFinally, run WRP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
.\/wrp<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nIf you end up using a WRP, you’ll likely want put this into a startup script so it starts each time. See section below on starting and stopping services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Install TashRouter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
TashRouter<\/a> will be the “glue” that ties together the different AppleTalk networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
cd Downloads\ngit clone https:\/\/github.com\/lampmerchant\/tashrouter\ncd tashrouter<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nCreate a new Python file that will be used to launch TashRouter with the appropriate settings. I called mine simply
router.py<\/code>. You’ll need to change theseed_network<\/code> numbers as well as theseed_zone_name<\/code> with your own settings. This also enables lots of debugging messages but see note below about how to comment it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\nimport logging\nimport time\n\nimport tashrouter.netlog\nfrom tashrouter.port.ethertalk.tap import TapPort\nfrom tashrouter.port.localtalk.ltoudp import LtoudpPort\nfrom tashrouter.port.localtalk.tashtalk import TashTalkPort\nfrom tashrouter.router.router import Router\n\nlogging.basicConfig(level=logging.DEBUG, format='%(asctime)s %(levelname)s: %(message)s')\ntashrouter.netlog.set_log_str_func(logging.debug) # comment this line for speed and reduced spam\n\nrouter = Router('router', ports=(\n LtoudpPort(seed_network=12, seed_zone_name=b'Biosrhythm'),\n TashTalkPort(serial_port='\/dev\/ttyAMA0', seed_network=13, seed_zone_name=b'Biosrhythm', verify_checksums=False),\n TapPort(tap_name='tap0', hw_addr=b'\\xAA\\xBB\\xCC\\xDD\\x11\\x22'),\n))\nprint('Router started!')\nrouter.start()\n\ntry:\n while True: time.sleep(1)\nexcept KeyboardInterrupt:\n router.stop()<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nWe need to use a “tap” device to make this work as it allows TashRouter to “see” the AppleTalk packets from netatalk on the same machine. These settings also don’t survive a reboot (again, don’t panic– I address that below).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo ip tuntap add mode tap tap0\nsudo ip link set dev tap0 up\necho -n \" tap0\"<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nTo start TashRouter, simply call it with the following. Again, you probably don’t need to run this individually now, we’ll start everything with a script below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo python3 router.py<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nFixing the AppleTalk kernel module<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
There’s a bug in the AppleTalk kernel module that appears when you run netatalk along with another service (like TashRouter). More background on the issue can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Note: <\/strong>It’s not absolutely critical that this is fixed. Simply listing the devices in the
netatalk\/atalkd.config<\/code> file withtap0<\/code> first followed by eth0 (the way mentioned in this post) seems enough to make it work.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nInstall the Raspberry Pi Kernel source. You can follow the instructions below or see the steps here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo apt install git bc bison flex libssl-dev\nsudo apt install libncurses5-dev\ncd ~\/Downloads\nsudo wget https:\/\/raw.githubusercontent.com\/RPi-Distro\/rpi-source\/master\/rpi-source -O \/usr\/local\/bin\/rpi-source && sudo chmod +x \/usr\/local\/bin\/rpi-source && \/usr\/local\/bin\/rpi-source -q --tag-update\nrpi-source<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nFollow these instructions to compile a new AppleTalk kernel module.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Note:<\/strong> This patch was submitted and accepted on May 8, 2024<\/a> so look for it to be included in future distributions<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Configuring CUPS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
This will install the CUPS filters for the ImageWriter II and ImageWriter LQ printers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo apt-get install foomatic-filters<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nIf for some reason CUPS get hosed, you can reinstall it with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo apt install --reinstall cups<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nConfigure CUPS to enable the web admin console by editing the config file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo nano \/etc\/cups\/cupsd.conf<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nMake the following changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Comment out \u201cListen localhost:631\u201d\nAdd: \u201cPort 631\u201d\n\nFind \u201c<Location \/>\u201d\nAdd: \u201cAllow @local\u201d\n\nFind \u201c<Location \/admin>\u201d\nAdd: \u201cAllow @local\u201d\n\nFind \u201cDefaultAuthType Basic\u201d\nAdd below: \"DefaultEncryption IfRequested\u201d<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nSave and exit. To restart CUPS, issue the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo systemctl restart cups<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nConfiguring CUPS for AppleTalk printers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Download and install a new
pap<\/code> backend for CUPS to enable communicating to AppleTalk printers. Follow step 4 at this site https:\/\/www.emaculation.com\/doku.php\/appletalk_printserver_macos_and_osx<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nEdit the new
pap<\/code> backend\/usr\/lib\/cups\/backend\/pap<\/code> and find these two settings and change them to the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\ndevicetypes=\"LaserWriter:ImageWriter:DeskWriter:LQ\"\n\nNetatalkBinDir=\/usr\/local\/bin<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nIf netatalk is running, you should now be able to list AppleTalk printers with the following.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo \/usr\/lib\/cups\/backend\/pap<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nIf it worked, you should get something like the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
%%[ status: busy ]%%\n%%[ status: busy ]%%\n%%[ status: busy ]%%\n%%[ status: busy ]%%\n%%[ status: busy; source: AppleTalk ]%%\n%%[ status: busy; source: AppleTalk ]%%\n%%[ status: busy; source: AppleTalk ]%%\nnetwork pap:\/\/Biosrhythm\/HP%20LaserJet%204000%20Series\/LaserWriter \"HP LaserJet 4000 Series\" \"HP LaserJet 4000 Series@Biosrhythm (pap)\"\nnetwork pap:\/\/Biosrhythm\/Itchy%20%26%20Scratchy\/ImageWriter \"Unknown\" \"Itchy & Scratchy@Biosrhythm (pap)\"<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nIn this example, there are two AppleTalk printers responding. The format of the URI is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
pap:\/\/Zone\/PrinterName\/PrinterType<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nIf you don’t have an AppleTalk zone, the zone is an asterisk (*). The printer name is what you’ve named the printer. The printer type is one of “ImageWriter”, “LQ”, “LaserWriter”, “DeskWriter”, and possibly others. All three names should be URL encoded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is the URI you’ll enter when adding an AppleTalk printer (PAP) in CUPS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Note: You can change the name of an ImageWriter II or ImageWriter LQ (with LocalTalk option card) using Namer<\/a>. Similarly, you can change the name of a LaserWriter II with the LaserWriter Utility or a HP LaserJet with the LaserJet Utility<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fixing LaserWriter IIg prints<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
For some reason, prints from CUPS to a LaserWriter IIg don’t work out of the box. There’s an issue where GhostScript isn’t sending the fonts needed to the printer (it passes the
-noembtt<\/code> command when it shouldn’t). You’ll either get weird font substitution or a print that won’t work at all, especially when using AirPrint on iOS. I worked around this by doing the following.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFirst, add the LaserWriter IIg (in my case one with a IIg card so it has EtherTalk) in CUPS and choose Other for the PPD. I used a PPD from MacOS 9 labeled
LaserWriter IIg v2010.130.ppd<\/code>. The last few lines contain this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n*% For \"LaserWriter IIg\" version 2010.130\n*% Last Edit Date: Aug 3, 1994 (sns@sqa)\n*% end of PPD file for Apple LaserWriter IIg\"<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nStop CUPS and edit the CUPS printer config file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo systemctl stop cups\nsudo nano \/etc\/cups\/printers.conf<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nAdd an option for that printer you just added. This enables PostScript Level 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Option pdftops-renderer pdftops<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nSave and exit. Next, we need to remove the
-noembtt<\/code> command being passed topdftops<\/code>. I did this by renaming the oldpdftops<\/code> and creating a new one as a script to remove the-noembtt<\/code> option (like a man-in-the-middle).<\/p>\n\n\n\ncd \/usr\/bin\/\nsudo mv pdftops pdftops-orig\nsudo nano pdftops<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nPaste in the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
#!\/usr\/bin\/bash\n\n\/usr\/bin\/pdftops-orig `echo \"$@\" | sed 's\/-noembtt\/\/g'`<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nSet permissions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo chwon root:root pdftops\nsudo chmod 755 pdftops<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nStart CUPS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo systemctl start cups<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nImproving ImageWriter II prints<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The default settings for ImageWriter II results in printouts that are way to dark. It may have something to do with the dithering or halftone routines– I’m not quite sure why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/biosrhythm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/comparison-840x673.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\nAfter much trial and error, I figured out a way to improve the printouts. It looks almost as good as the MacPalette II driver<\/a> (which is also much better than the built-in Apple drivers). Download the “iwhi” PPD<\/a> and edit it, adding the following block after the resolution section. I changed the defaults to 31 as that looked best in my testing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*FoomaticRIPOption DitherPPI: int CmdLine A\n*FoomaticRIPOptionPrototype DitherPPI: \" -dDITHERPPI=%s\"\n*FoomaticRIPOptionRange DitherPPI: 25 600\n*OrderDependency: 300 AnySetup *DitherPPI\n*DefaultDitherPPI: 31\n*FoomaticRIPDefaultDitherPPI: 31<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nAdd the printer in CUPS, choose other for the PPD, and browse to the PPD you just edited. Set the default paper size, the default resolution to 160×144.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CUPS admin web interface<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
To add or delete printers in CUPS, use a browser and go to http:\/\/raspberrypi.local:631\/<\/a> (or the name of your Raspberry Pi if you’ve changed it).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To add an AppleTalk printer, choose “AppleTalk Devices via pap” and enter the pap URI as mentioned above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Starting and stopping services<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
You’re finally done configuring everything– congratulations! Now it’s time to start everything up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I found that allowing the netatalk services to start up freely at boot with systemctl wasn’t always working. I think some dependencies get messed up so it wasn’t always reliable on start up. So I diabled netatalk from auto starting with the line below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo systemctl disable atalkd.service afpd.service cnid.service papd.service timelord.service a2boot.service<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nI then made the following two commands that start and stop each service. They also load in some other things like the iptables file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can place the
netatalk-start<\/code> command to startup in the\/etc\/rc.local<\/code> file. I’d give it a significant sleep delay (like 120 seconds or more) to let the machine settle before starting it. You can also run these manually if you’d like. Don’t forget to set these scripts executable.<\/p>\n\n\n\nYou’ll need to change the directories below to what you’ve chosen to place things. I used “Downloads” because I’m lazy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
netatalk-start<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
#!\/bin\/bash\n\necho -n \"Starting\"\n\n# Setup tap0 for Netatalk immediately\nif [[ $(ifconfig -a |grep tap0) ]]; then\n echo -n \" (tap0)\"\nelse\n sudo ip tuntap add mode tap tap0\n sudo ip link set dev tap0 up\n echo -n \" tap0\"\n sleep 1\nfi\n\necho -n \" print2pdf\"\nsudo \/usr\/sbin\/ippeveprinter -v -c \/AppleShare\/Print\/pdfsave -f application\/pdf \"Print to PDF\" >\/home\/rickards\/Downloads\/print2pdf.log 2>&1 &\nsleep 1\necho -n \" atalkd\"\nsudo systemctl start atalkd.service\nsleep 1\necho -n \" afpd\"\nsudo systemctl start afpd.service\nsleep 1\necho -n \" cnid\"\nsudo systemctl start cnid.service\nsleep 1\necho -n \" papd\"\nsudo systemctl start papd.service\nsleep 1\necho -n \" timelord\"\nsudo systemctl start timelord.service\nsleep 1\necho -n \" a2boot\"\nsudo systemctl start a2boot.service\nsleep 1\necho -n \" tashrouter\"\nsudo python3 \/home\/rickards\/Downloads\/tashrouter\/router.py >\/home\/rickards\/Downloads\/tashrouter\/tashrouter.log 2>&1 &\nsleep 1\necho -n \" iptables\"\nsudo iptables-restore -c < \/home\/rickards\/Downloads\/macipgw\/iptables-save\nsleep 1\necho -n \" macipgw\"\nsudo sysctl -w net.ipv4.ip_forward=1\nsudo macipgw -d0x111 -n 8.8.8.8 172.16.2.0 255.255.255.0 >\/home\/rickards\/Downloads\/macipgw\/macipgw.log 2>&1 &\nsleep 1\n\necho \" started\"\necho \"Pausing..\"\nsleep 5\necho \"Scanning AppleTalk Zones\"\n\ngetzones | while read line ; do echo \"$line zone:\" ; nbplkup \"@$line\" ;done<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nnetatalk-stop<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
#!\/bin\/bash\n\necho -n \"Stopping\"\n\nPID=$(pgrep -f -u root \"ippeveprinter\" |tail -1)\nif [[ $PID ]]; then\n sudo kill -15 $PID\n echo -n \" print2pdf\"\nelse\n echo -n \" (print2pdf)\"\nfi\n\nPID=$(pgrep -f -u root \"macipgw\" |tail -1)\nif [[ $PID ]]; then\n sudo kill -15 $PID\n echo -n \" macipgw\"\nelse\n echo -n \" (macipgw)\"\nfi\n\nPID=$(pgrep -f -u root \"router.py\" |tail -1)\nif [[ $PID ]]; then\n sudo kill -15 $PID\n echo -n \" tashrouter\"\nelse\n echo -n \" (tashrouter)\"\nfi\n\nsudo systemctl stop afpd.service\necho -n \" afpd\"\nsudo systemctl stop cnid.service\necho -n \" cnid\"\nsudo systemctl stop papd.service\necho -n \" papd\"\nsudo systemctl stop timelord.service\necho -n \" timelord\"\nsudo systemctl stop a2boot.service\necho -n \" a2boot\"\nsudo systemctl stop atalkd.service\necho -n \" atalkd\"\n\necho \" stopped\"<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nUseful Troubleshooting Tips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Scan for AppleTalk<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
To get a list of all AppleTalk devices, add the following line to your .bash_aliases file:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
alias lookupall='getzones | while read line ; do echo \"$line zone:\" ; nbplkup \"@$line\" ;done'<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nLogout and login again (or use
rehash<\/code>) and after your netatalk services have started, typelookupall<\/code>. It will get a list of all zones and find all devices and services.<\/p>\n\n\n\nMonitor AppleTalk traffic<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
sudo tcpdump -i eth0 atalk<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nView debug logs in real time<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
If you’re running into trouble, viewing log files in real time can be very useful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
# netatalk\nsudo tail -f \/var\/log\/syslog\n\n# afpd\ntail -f \/var\/log\/afpd.log\n\n# TashRouter\ntail -f ~\/Downloads\/tashrouter\/tashrouter.log\n\n# CUPS\nsudo tail -f \/var\/log\/cups\/error_log<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nCUPS verbose logging<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
# Enable CUPS debug logging:\ncupsctl --debug-logging\n\n# Disable CUPS debug logging\ncupsctl --no-debug-logging\n\n# Restart after making changes\nsudo systemctl restart cups<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nTurn WiFi off and on<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
# Turn off:\nrfkill block wifi\n\n# Turn on:\nrfkill unblock wifi\n\n# Get status\nrfkill<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nInstall a CUPS print-to-PDF driver<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
sudo apt install cups-pdf<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nUpdate:<\/strong> It turns out the CUPS print to PDF driver isn’t that great so I’ve turned to a different method that uses ippeveprinter. I followed this post as a guide<\/a> and will list my steps below. Adjust path names as needed for your system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Make new folder in my AppleTalk share directory called “Print” to save the PDFs in i.e.
mkdir \/AppleShare\/Print<\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\nAdd a new startup item to our netatalk-start script:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
echo -n \" print2pdf\"\nsudo \/usr\/sbin\/ippeveprinter -v -c \/AppleShare\/Print\/pdfsave -f application\/pdf \"Print to PDF\" >\/home\/rickards\/Downloads\/print2pdf.log 2>&1 &\nsleep 1<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nAnd a new item in netatalk-stop script:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PID=$(pgrep -f -u root \"ippeveprinter\" |tail -1)\nif [[ $PID ]]; then\n sudo kill -15 $PID\n echo -n \" print2pdf\"\nelse\n echo -n \" (print2pdf)\"\nfi<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nNote:<\/strong> These new items have been added to the scripts listed above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Crerate a new shell script called
pdfsave<\/code> that will process the print file and save it as a PDF. Set it executable with