Could this be the first battery-powered

Posted 2026-03-25 | Back to blog index

Could this be the first battery-powered, fully-wireless ImageWriter II in history? Well, it might at least be the first one on GlobalTalk!

Just in time for the end of MARCHintosh, a cheap Farallon AirDock showed up on Yahoo Auctions, and since I already had one, I had to try this stunt - adding an IRTalk node to GlobalTalk.

It is currently live on GlobalTalk if you want to try it, I'll probably leave it up until either the battery runs out or I deem it too much of a tripping hazard.

Congratulations to @danieltufvesson and @mroach as the first ones to print to my ImageWriter through IRTalk over

An ImageWriter II on the floor with an IR receiver pointed at another IR receiver. Two tractor feed prints have come out of it

The Farallon AirDock is only advertised as being a way to connect up a PowerBook with infrared wirelessly, but reading the manual, it doesn't actually need any drivers - just plugging it into the printer port it acts like a normal LocalTalk connection.

The included software is just needed to act as a LocalTalk bridge, or if you want to use the modem port instead.

That's what gave me the courage to try to just plug it straight into the ImageWriter…

The packaging for the Farallon AirDock, stating “the instant infrared connection for your PowerBook” The back of the packagingAir Dock.The wireless connection for your PowerBookConnect without cablesAirDock™ gives your infrared-equipped PowerBook transparent connectivity to your desktop Macintosh and network-without cables! AirDock uses the same directed infrared technology that's in your PowerBook to transfer files, print, and access the network.Easy connection to Mac and networkWith AirDock, you don't need to hassle with cables whenever you need to connect your PowerBook to your desktop Mac and the network. Just point your PowerBook at the AirDock adapter to instantly access your desktop Mac, as well as e-mail, printers, and other resources on the network.Worry-free convenienceThe directed infrared beam offers a line-of-sight connection, so communication can't be monitored in the next cube or next room. And there's nothing more to buy for your infrared equipped PowerBook-it's built in!• Print documents• Check your e-mail• Update your schedule•Synchronize files• Log into databases• Use network rescurcesAll without plugging in a single cable!

First I tried connecting the AirDock straight to my AsanteTalk, but for whatever reason that didnt work (the AsanteTalk is picky enough with a wired setup…), so right now my IIcx is running a bog-standard install of LocalTalk Bridge to get the printer onto

And yes, I'm using a USB-ADB Wombat to give the AirDock the extra 5V juice it typically pulls from your Mac's ADB port to run itself. It's actually connected with an ADB to little DC jack and I could have spent an extra 5 minutes digging through my bin of DC adaptors to make it prettier but this quicker…

It looks like Farallon later marketed a “AirDock Printer Adapter" which is just the exact same device but shipped with a 5V DC adapter instead of the ADB->DC cable, and they even sold the AC/DC adapter as an "upgrade kit”. They don't list the ImageWriter II on their compatibility list though... https://web.archive.org/web/19980524081602/http://www.farallon.com/product/infrared/airdockprint.html

The battery is still holding at 3/5 dots, will be interesting to see if the setup is still alive when I wake up in the morning!

Update on 2026-03-26:

The battery ran out overnight, but now that the sun is out, how about we try solar?

A solar panel strapped to a balcony

My balcony is now in shade, so I have ended the wireless shenanigans, my ImageWriter is back onto plain old LocalTalk again, thanks to everyone who participated!

5 different dot matrix printouts

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