ABN.ISCAMS@usc-isid@sri-unix.UUCP (10/04/83)
Jerry (and any interested on the net):
I'm running a Morrow Decision I - a pretty high-speed Z80 64K machine with
CP/M as an OS. However it's fairly typical of your Z80 machines (except
for a somewhat sophisticated way of talking to its serial ports, which
makes it a wee bit more complicated than usual to talk to/receive from a
modem).
I've recently been going through a crash program to get a modem program
or at least terminal capability and file transfer and save capability.
Among other things I've been playing with (and all of them are available
for free out in Netland) are:
KERMIT (at COLUMBIA-20<KERMIT> via FTP) -- permits almost anything
to talk with anything, provided they both have a KERMIT running. I was
able to tailor it to my machine, and it works fine as a terminal (about
5% of its capability) (still bugs in the file transfer part). Runs just
fine at 1200 baud over a home telephone line using a plug-in Racal-Vadic
modem.
PIPMODEM -- a little hack that enables good old PIP (from CP/M) to
(1) act as a very dumb terminal, (2) catch anything coming in over the
modem and record it to file. Constraints: you have to run it each time
for each file name you want to catch. It'll lose pieces of data when
it writes a chunk of data to the disk. Advantages: very, very simple
to use; just fine for up to maybe 15K of data. Works fine at 1200 baud.
MODEM -- and its many, many variables. MODEM712 specifically has
overlays for many specific micros ("home computers"). It can act as a
terminal, but needs another MODEM-type program out there to be able to
transfer files to and fro. Very good for double-checking data to insure
you really received or sent all you planned. Supposed to run fast enough
for 1200 baud -- donno, don't have it up yet on my Decision I.
PLINK - an older modem program, similar to MODEM. Pretty simple to
modify for different machines. Again, acts as a terminal but needs another
PLINK running on the other end for file transfer.
I've worked with all the above in 8080 assembler, and even as a sheer
novice managed to learn and get things to work.
Now for the machines:
Apple -- many, many public domain terminal and modem programs out there
that run just fine, in almost any language you can imagine. All of the above
are made for the Apple when it's set up to run CP/M. I imagine there are
6502 code programs too, but I haven't tracked non-CP/M Apples.
Atari - I see right here on my listing of the MICRO library at
SIMTEL20 that there's a modem program in Basic. Free, of course.
Commodore and VIC-20: I seem to remember some net mail from a guy
hanging his VIC-20 as a terminal off a VAX somewhere! Donno what speed,
and donno about file transfer.
MODEM712 overlays: many, many machines. I specifically remember the
Morrow MicroDecision overlay, which looked just fine. Nice, simple I/O.
That's a pretty inexpensive, yet effective, machine. Not very upgrade-
able internally (single board, no bus), but good terminal (it comes
sometimes with the Freedom 100, just like I have, which can emulate about
a half dozen real common terminals and is almost identical in its
terminal commands to the Televideo 950).
I can't think of ANY of the common hobby, "home", inexpensive business,
etc. machines that can't meet your requirements. I have Apples running
at 300 baud with Pascal modem programs all the time (maybe others can tell
you about their 1200 baud capability). Any Z80 at 4MHz can handle 1200
baud provided the phone lines are halfway clean and the modem program
overhead isn't too clumsy and slow.
Get one with a separate terminal, and you don't even need the
computer to talk over the modem! (I do that with my Freedom -- just plug
the modem in the terminal's serial port -- when I don't want to leave
my Decision I idle.)
I warn you, now -- if you want to really get into this terminal thing,
be prepared to learn assembler or C or Pascal or something to really get
into performance systems and speed -- but that's OK too.
Printer -- I wouldn't live a MINUTE with a 10cps printer! I have
a nice little Mannesmann Tally -- saved my pennies a little longer and
got it for a little over $500. Rascal zips along at 160cps or so dot
matrix, and has a REAL nice neat "correspondence quality" script at
about 40cps when I want to write something pretty. Graphics capability
(though not much software out there yet), lots of adjustments and
different ways to set her up. Nice machine - wouldn't trade her for
anything -- but over five hundred bucks! Still, when compared to the
slow, inflexible, tinny things available for $250.... I'll stick with
the $500 price range, and there are lots of good ones out there.
Ikodata, Epson... lots. Don't suffer with that 10cps thing.
Video characteristics -- donno what you mean. I have the full
ASCII keyboard, plus about three foreign sets, plus a limited set of
graphics (in a software-settable mode) that's good for boxes, lines,
graphs, things; highlighting (dim and bright) ... lots of stuff, and
for only about $525 again. Good keyboard. Look at the $500-700 range,
or really go luxury and check out one of the Televideos or Wyse terminals.
Nice! A good terminal will last you a long, long time -- and you can
always upgrade to a better computer. Maybe buy the MicroDecision or
..who is it - Cromemco? with the equivalent. Nice disk drives: buy one
now, add a hard disk later!
Donno if just buying a multi-tasking OS like CCP/M and stuffing it
into a cheap micro will work -- suspect your memory constraints will
limit your capabilities. So maybe look at some of the S100 or IBM PC-
type bus machines in the $2500-3000 range. Not so very cheap, but
you sure do get a lot more capability.
Hey, this is impossible -- I'll overflow half the mailboxes on
the net. Sorry about that, guys -- message me a personal flamer, and
I'll apologize to you individually (please, no net fights...I'm sorry...)
Jerry - have a good time. I've found my modem/networking experiences
most challenging and rewarding, and I'm extremely glad I studied long
and hard (and spent a wee bit more than I had planned) to really get the
expandable, capable system I can grow with. Good luck.
David Kirschbaum
SGM, USABakin.SSID@hi-multics@sri-unix.UUCP (10/09/83)
I am looking into using a small Home computer as an intelligent
terminal. I am trying to make some requirements inorder to help pick
among the home computers that are available or coming soon(?) Here is a
partial (minimal) list. Does anyone have any ideas or know when certain
products will be available?
o 1200 baud & 80 column terminal emulation: Hopefully emulating a terminal
with video characteristics.
o Local Mass storage: I'd prefer floppy (cheap and "quick"), but
"Fast" Digital Data Packs (aka Adam) are acceptable.
o Letter Quality Printer: (Preferably Daisy Wheel)
o Reasonable OS: (I actually class CPM as reasonable, though I would
like a multi-tasking OS)
o Relatively inexpensive: So who's made of money?
Now I have a some data on Adam, and for an initial $700, it comes with
500K Digital Data Packs, a 10 cps printer. CPM is available with other
options, presumably a floppy drive. It has a complete keyboard, so
presumably it can talk to a modem, but is it fast enough for 1200 baud?
What is the scoop of CCPM? Can it run on anything that run's CPM?
What are the rumours of the Peanut? How much? What OS? Can it be used
as a terminal? I have seen the PC have trouble at 1200 baud!
What does ATARI make that might fit? Does it have a Daisy Wheel
Prineter?
What other requirements can be thought of to help pick a HOME COMPUTER
as an INTELLIGENT terminal? This doesn't seem to be the same as picking
the best HOME COMPUTER, in many directions it seems orthogonal to the
requirements I would use to pick a HOME COMPUTER; for example, an
INTELLIGENT terminal doesn't need massive amounts of memory, or much
horsepower behind it, but a HOME COMPUTER should. An intelligent
terminal doesn't need two thousand different spiffy graphics features,
but it should accept the ANSI standard escape sequences at the very
least!
Anyone else have any information, ideas or rumours?
Jerry Bakin <Bakin -at HI-MULTICS>