Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!bellcore!rutgers!iuvax!bsu-cs!cfchiesa From: cfchiesa@bsu-cs.UUCP (Christopher Chiesa) Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.8bit Subject: Re: Terminal set-up Summary: Hello there... Keywords: help Message-ID: <3473@bsu-cs.UUCP> Date: 23 Jul 88 21:27:04 GMT References: Organization: CS Dept, Ball St U, Muncie, Indiana Lines: 58 In article , melnik@topaz.rutgers.edu (Ofer Melnik) writes: > I have an atari 800xl and a rs232 modem which I recently bought. Congratulations. Welcome to (the beginnings of) the world of dialup! > I am trying to find the *right* communications package to use with > this set-up. In my humble opinion it should be able to emulate a dec > with 80 columns, it should also be able to handle my modem without > me having to write any new handlers. I have been considering the omnicom, > but I would prefer the true 80 column board, atari came out with, if there > is suitable software for it. A lot of people may repeat this or offer different opinions, but in MY opinion, the *very best* DEC-emulating, 80-column program is John Dunning's port of Kermit65 (originally from the -cough- C64, I believe). Advantages are that you can toggle screen display mode between 40 columns (standard Atari GRAPHICS 0) which can "scroll" horizontally to 80 columns, and a software 80-column-emulation mode. Terminal emulation can be VT52, VT100 (the *best* I've used, better than VT10-squared, Omnicom, Chameleon), or "none" (dumb ASCII). Kermit file transfer is supported quite nicely. Dis- advantages: no way to "ASCII capture" a terminal session, "Print screen," or perform other file-transfer protocols besides Kermit. I don't find those to be even minor annoyances, since I never use those features anyway, but Oyou should be fully informed. Other netsters feel free to add to this commentary. Kermit65 looks for an "R:" device driver, functionally equivalent to Atari's original R: handler for the 850 Interface, but this does not LIMIT YOU to using the 850 Interface. Any driver that LOOKS like the original driver to Kermit65, will work; I've used it with an SX212 modem connected directly to the SIO bus, using the RVERT212 handler, and I've seen references on this net to people using it with an XM301 modem and appropriate handler. > I dont have much experience with the atari > and in such dont even know how to connect the modem yet. > I would greatly appreciate any help or recomendations. This depends pretty much on what kind of modem you have. If you were to use the Atari SX212 modem, it has an SIO jack and can be connected to the end of your normal peripheral-devices "daisy chain." You'd then have to obtain the RVERT212 handler and load it into memory before loading Kermit65 or whatever terminal program you decide upon. (RVERT212 can either be loaded as a sepa- rate file, or can be prepended to your terminal program to make one BIG file.) If you have a modem other than the SX212, you will need some sort of hardware interface unit to make the Atari capable of speaking RS232, and vice versa. (In the SX212, this is basically "built in," is all.) Such interfaces include, but are not limited to, the original Atari 850 Interface Module (I use this), the P:/R: Connection (I've helped install one), and a couple of other things whose names escape me -- perhaps you readers can assist! Good luck on whatever you come up with; once you get it set up it all looks really simple in retrospect! Chris Chiesa -- UUCP: !{iuvax,pur-ee,uunet}!bsu-cs!cfchiesa cfchiesa@bsu-cs.UUCP