[Coco] XMODE

Tue Mar 7 20:16:13 EST 2017

On Tuesday 07 March 2017 14:24:23 Tim Fadden wrote:

> On 3/7/2017 11:38 AM, Gene Heskett wrote:
> > On Monday 06 March 2017 22:51:03 Tim Fadden wrote:
> >> On 3/6/2017 7:09 PM, Gregory Law wrote:
> >>> This is from scf.d in the defs folder. I'll get these transferred
> >>> into the technical reference in the WIKI as well.
> >>>
> >>> * PD.PAR definitions
> >>> *
> >>> * Parity
> >>> PARNONE        EQU       %00000000
> >>> PARODD         EQU       %00100000
> >>> PAREVEN        EQU       %01100000
> >>> PARMARK        EQU       %10100000
> >>> PARSPACE       EQU       %11100000
> >>>
> >>> * PD.BAU definitions
> >>> *
> >>> * Baud rate
> >>> B110           EQU       %00000000
> >>> B300           EQU       %00000001
> >>> B600           EQU       %00000010
> >>> B1200          EQU       %00000011
> >>> B2400          EQU       %00000100
> >>> B4800          EQU       %00000101
> >>> B9600          EQU       %00000110
> >>> B19200         EQU       %00000111
> >>> B38400         EQU       %00001000
> >>> B57600         EQU       %00001001
> >>> B115200        EQU       %00001010
> >>> * Word size
> >>> WORD8          EQU       %00000000
> >>> WORD7          EQU       %00100000
> >>> * Stop bits
> >>> STOP1          EQU       %00000000
> >>> STOP2          EQU       %00010000
> >>
> >> Hi Greg.
> >>
> >> Every thing here matches up with the docs I have for an older
> >> version of xmode.
> >> It called the par option type along with a few other name changes
> >>
> >> One difference I did see was that under the baud rate, STOP2 was in
> >> bit 7, and bit 4 is marked reserve.
> >>
> >> Also PARMARK shows the below instead
> >>
> >> PARMARK        EQU       %10000000
> >>
> >> and miss is:
> >>
> >> modem kill  toggled with bit 4
> >>
> >> So, was the old version wrong, or the new one, or did these get
> >> changed/dropped?
> >>
> >> I will see if I can test the stop and mark tomorrow, and let you
> >> know.
> >>
> >> --
> >> Tim Fadden
> >> "Hey Schmidt, don't forget about the six P's.
> >> Proper Preparation Prevents Piss-Poor Performance!"
> >
> > One other thing that I've noticed, is a total lack of any mention of
> > a patch, and a hardware hack to the 232 packs, that when done,
> > enables true 7wire flow control. We have not had that in any nitros9
> > driver for the 232 stuff in better than a decade. So anytime I use
> > the pack to move a big file like a .dsk to my coco3, I find I have
> > to restrict the speed to about 4800 buad, and limit the window size
> > to 256 bytes on the linux side else it overflows and rxsz takes
> > minutes to sort it out and restart the data flow, so the transfer is
> > actually quicker done by slowing it so that overflow never occurs.
> > The fact that data keeps coming in even when the xoff has been sent
> > or CTS has been dropped can be verified with any of the rs232
> > testers the shack used to sell years ago.
> >
> > I don't know who decided to drop that define from the xmode stuff,
> > but I have been upset about it for years.
> >
> > That patch and the instructions on how to patch the rs232 pack to
> > make up for the fact that the 6551 is a basically broken chip in
> > regard to flow control are available on my web site. It was fun
> > moveing data at 9600 baud back when I was running an amiga nearly 20
> > years ago, flow control worked flawless then with rzsz makeing an
> > average of 720 bytes a second. Because it doesn't work now, even
> > with my patched pack, has been a bummer since forever it seems. In
> > that regard, drivewire has been a lifesaver here.
> >
> > Those patches and texts describing them are:
> >
> > CTS2DSR_mod.txt
> > README.Sacia.PrJ
> > SAcia_High_Speed_Patch.lzh
> > SAcia_hi_mps_ctc.ipc
> >
> > Available in the usual Genes-os9-stf subdir on my web page in the
> > sig below. I doubt the ipc is any good now since its been renamed to
> > sc6551.asm in the sources, but the idea is still 100% valid. So lets
> > get it back into the nitros9 sources, this time for good.
> >
> >
> >
> > Cheers, Gene Heskett
>
> I have the same experience Gene.
>
> I can't get any of the options for parity to work at all.  8bit None
> and one is the only thing that works other than changing the baud rate
> which still works.
>
> Making me think to dump the current version of nitros9, and going back
> to what worked.  Speed is fine, but everything working as it should is
> more important to me.
>
> ya drivewire and scd is great, but why drop the functionality of the
> original hardware?
>
> Guess I am too old school. :-)
>
Me too. IIRC you would have to go back to about v1.16 of nitros9 to get 
that and theres been a considerable stirring of the kettle since, with 
the net result because so many things have been split into 2 to 4 
pieces, each of which eats another $27? bytes of system ram to load it, 
and I've been out of system ram these days, looooong before I have 
matched the nearly universal, do anything boots I had 20+ years ago. But 
I seem to be the wind whispering in the pines when I've raised any 
objections to it. Unfortunately, while I do have an old os9 repo 
stashed, all that was built on the coco3 back when it was a floppy only 
system 20+ years back up the log, and with the exception of the deluxe 
232 pack nearly everything else has changed.  And when the contractors 
were here last spring installing a "basement systems" water ingress 
control, $12,000 and change (but hey, it actually works!), they made at 
least half a ton of concrete dust with their jackhammers installing the 
drain system. Which of course settled on everything. I've vacuumed up a 
6 gallon wet-r-dry 2/3d full several times and bought a Hoover wet floor 
machine & dumped 3 or 4 lbs of wet sand out of it before I ran out of 
giddyup, 6 or 7 times now. I have approached the coco's, but they and 
all the drives etc need a visit to an air hose before I ever try to 
power them up again. I did clean the loading bench off well enough to 
make some burglar medicine for Betsy, my carry piece, and I put the 
laundry facilities back together, but I still have about 25 sheets of 
2by blue styro to put on the walls, then move about 22 feet of storage 
shelving backed up against that so I can put stuff away.  Theres a 
regulation pool table with about 600 lbs of slate bed under all that I 
haven't seen since then. I get tired just standing there, wondering 
where the heck do I start. And I'll start by parking my trash trailer 
beside a basement window and blow at least $75 bucks at the landfill for 
starters.  Sometime later this summer maybe... If my back holds out, 
pitching stuff out the window toward the trailer.

One thing I've learned about the golden years, Tim, is that the only gold 
is in the toilet bowl. :)

> --
> Tim Fadden
> "Hey Schmidt, don't forget about the six P's.
> Proper Preparation Prevents Piss-Poor Performance!"

Cheers, Gene Heskett
-- 
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
 soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
-Ed Howdershelt (Author)
Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene>