Date   : Mon, 08 Aug 1994 18:32:36 GMT
From   : Phineas@... (P.R.John)
Subject: Re: BBC-PC transfers/emulators

In message <Pine.3.87.9407302046.F15411-0100000@...> Chris Rae writes:
> Sorry; I just read the end of your message! I'm afraid I don't actually 
> know of any other BBC related groups that you could join. Much as I'd 
> like to help this emulator is about the only thing I've heard about to do 
> with my poor old forgotten beeb!

I thought I'd mail this to you, it being the results of my herculean
struggle to get a loaned BBC to talk to my PC, and is the net
product of a week's intensive mailing/posting/experimentation.
With Kermit at both ends, things might improve.

[ Quote ]

In the end, I got a copy of MSDOS Kermit from micros.hensa.ac.uk:
/kermit/bin/msvibm.zip. I hadn't realised I could use it at one end only;
my wiring came down to:

RS423           RS232 (9-pin)  (25-pin)
1 GND...........GND 5..........1          *
2 CTS...........RTS 7..........4
3 TXD...........RXD 2..........3          *
4 RXD...........TXD 3..........2          *
5 RTS...........RTS 8..........5

* Possible minimum configuration.

No jumpers needed, and probably 3 wires (GND/RXD/TXD) will do. At the
Beeb end, issue *FX3,5 (that redirects output to screen and serial port),
then *FX8,7 (sets the serial port to 9600). At the PC end, issue mode
com[1] 9600 n 8 1, fire up Kermit, type "log session", type "C" to enter
terminal mode. At the Beeb end, load/list or *CAT the file[s], and through
they come. To leave terminal mode in Kermit, type "Ctrl ] C" and "Quit", 
and everything output at the Beeb end will be in session.log. This will
only work for ASCII file transfer (at least I think that's the case.)

The clincher arrived in my email this morning from chris@..., who 
pointed out the 5-pin DIN domino/RS423 plug has 2 possible insertion modes; 
I switched mine round, so presumably I had it wrong before. 

                                  2   5
                                    1
                                  3   4

as you look at it from the front is right I think.

Considering Kermit is available for virtually every platform, and it only
needs to be running at the host end, so long as you can redirect the output
at the "send" end to the serial port, the problem then comes down to wiring, 
and my guess is that the 3-wire set-up would suffice for any link.

Thanks to:
dave@...
trefor@...
tfj@...
martin@...
chris@...
Mike@...
jkb@...
rick@...
chankc@...
M.B.Stephens@...
clr1@...
jfid@...

Now all I need is a decent BBC BASIC emulator for the PC. Or (now here's a 
thought) a BBC BASIC->ANYPC BASIC/PL converter, but I think I've probably
had my share.

[ End Quote ]

-- 
Phineas Richard John