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From: aaron@madnix.UUCP (Aaron Avery)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.hardware
Subject: Re: Dual Serial Boards
Message-ID: <1359@madnix.UUCP>
Date: 30 May 90 06:36:10 GMT
References: <2787@crash.cts.com> <1759@tmiuv0.uucp> <23336@uflorida.cis.ufl.EDU>
Reply-To: aaron@madnix.UUCP (Aaron Avery)
Organization: ASDG Incorporated
Lines: 36

In article <23336@uflorida.cis.ufl.EDU> jma@beach.cis.ufl.edu (John 'Vlad' Adams) writes:
>I've a question about any of the multi-serial-port boards (i.e.
>Checkpoint, ASDG, or Commodore's.)  I know the ASDG uses a
>requestor.  What about the others?  What happens if you are
>running a multiline BBS and have a power-out?  When the
>system reboots with power, would you get that requestor which
>would effectively make the BBS unoperable till the Sysop got
>home?  Or is there a way to select ports in a script or
>mountlist? This is especially important to me as I'm
>considering a multiline bbs on a 2000.  Thanks in advance.

Well, the requester is only there to allow you to use your additional ports
with programs which only know about the Amiga's internal serial port (and don't
go directly to the hardware!). Any multi-line BBS program will allow you to
specify the alternate device drivers and unit (port) numbers to use for the
BBS. Thus, you would not need to install the requester (Serial DisPatcher, in
this case) at all.

Other programs, such as A-Talk III, also allow you to specify which serial
port you wish to use, thus no requester need come up.

You can output through AmigaDOS, ala SER: and AUX: directly to your
additional ports through the use of supplied handlers, with no requester
needed.

So the only time you need to deal with the DisPatcher is when using a program
which will only talk to the amiga's built-in serial.device driver; usually
older (and probably favorite) terminal programs.

- Aaron

-- 
Aaron Avery, ASDG Inc.         "A mime is a terrible thing to waste."
                                                             -- Robin Williams
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