Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!ncar!asuvax!hrc!force!covertr From: covertr@force.UUCP (Richard E. Covert) Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st Subject: Re: Software flow control? Summary: USR 9600 HST Modem and FlowControl Message-ID: <451620b4.14a1f@force.UUCP> Date: 17 Aug 89 17:30:26 GMT References: <400@wet.UUCP> Organization: gte Lines: 37 In article <400@wet.UUCP>, logic@wet.UUCP (Henry Kwan) writes: > Have plans to purchase an USR HST Dual Standard. Question is whether the ST > is up to it. Does anyone know if the software flow control that I've seen > floating around works or not? > Ok Henry here goes. First, if you plan to buy a USR 9600 modem please buy a new 9600 HST and not an older one. The new ones, direct from USR, will go as high as 14,400 BPS, while modems more then 6 months old will go only at 9600 bps. And you will want that extra speed!!! I have the 14400 model, and I have downloaded files at 1650 CPS (over 100K per minute) using Zmodem and FOREM ST . So, be very careful about where you buy the USR modem. I got mine direct from USR as a SYSOP (bbs operator) for $495 plus shipping. Another thing is flow control. What you need is RTS/CTS (hardware flow control) and not XON/XOFF (software flow control). RTS is Ready To Set and CTS is Clear To Send and are RS-232 signals between the modem and the ST's serial port. Un fortuantely, while the signals are present, the TOS 1.0/1.2/1.4 software has bugs in the serial io drivers which prevents their real use. But, with the new USR 9600/14400 modemd RTS/CTS are mandatory!! So, some guy wrote a program called TURBOCTS which fixes the serial drivers in all version of TOS. Also, the ROM version of TOS 1.4 (if and when it EVER appears) still has the bug in the serial io driver. So, TOS 1.4 requires a patch program as well. But, Atari has released a pathc program to TOS 1.4 ROMs (why they did since no one can legally own TOS 1.4 yet is beyond me!!) which provides RTS/CTS support. I don't own TOS 1.4 so I can't tell you if it works. There are 'fixed' version of TOS 1.4 EPROMs floating around which are NOT mods made, or endorsed, by Atari. The 'fixed' version of the TOS 1.4 EPROMs was done by some hacker up in Canada. Maybe Atari Canada has released the TOS 1.4, who knows. Anyway, with TURBOCTS and the 9600/14400 I have been getting 1650 cps downloads on my 3 year old 520ST!!! and that's why I love my STs!! Even if Atari doesn't fix the bugs, there are plenty of hackers out there to do it!!! Imagine that!!! rec