It has been a long time since I opened this bug, but I am pretty sure that I opened this bug because the cable I made from the NetBSD docs was incorrect.
Macintosh: Mini DIN-8 to DB-9 Adapter Pinouts (10/94)
This adapter cable is used to connect DB-9 cables to devices with Mini
DIN-8 ports (such as on the Macintosh Plus or newer).
Circular 8 Signal DB-9
1 HSKo (+12V) 6
2 HSKi 7
3 TXD- 5
4 GND 3,1*
5 RXD- 9
6 TXD+ 4
7 No Wire
8 RXD+ 8
* Pins 1 and 3 on the DB-9 end are jumpered together.
The pins on the male end of the circular 8 connector are numbered as shown:
6 7 8
3 4 5
1 2
NOTE: The Macintosh Plus peripheral adapter cable is stamped with the
number 590-0341; when reordering, however, be sure to use the cable's
service part number, which is 699-0430 (older cables may be referred
to as 699-0372).
Article Change History:
12 Oct 1994 - Reviewed for technical accuracy.
Support Information Services
Note that this pin numbering matches what one would expect for DIN-8 male so is unlikely to be backwards.
--Ben