NewDeal Hot Tip 1109
TelecommunicationsATS0=1The number 1 is how many rings you want before the modem picks up the phone line. You can use 2 if you prefer two rings before the modem answers. If you plan to communicate directly with someone using a modem on the other end of the phone, choose Half duplex in Terminal from the Options menu so you can see what you type, as well as what the person on the other end types.
The time-before-hang-up is also controlled by the modem. You can tell the modem how many seconds to wait by issuing the command
ATS7=Xwhere X is the number of seconds to wait. The default is usually 30 seconds. You can issue the command directly in the NewComm window, just type ATX7=60, for one minute for example.
DIAL "*70,555-1212"Be sure to include the quotes. Use 1170 is for pulse dialing systems. *70 is for tone systems. Some geographical areas use different codes to disable Call Waiting. *70 is the most common, but if this doesn't work for you, ask your local phone company for the correct code.
Answer: Check your screen size. The cursor can get lost if the number of rows is not 24, or if it doesn't match the size expected by the system you are calling.
Answer: The work around of last resort is to dial the
number manually by entering ATDT Answer: If you have multiple modems and multiple phone
lines (or the equivalent of such), you can run a different instance
of NewComm for each line. For this to work, each modem and line must
be addressable through a different serial port.
Answer: We thought about having the script display go away
after the script executes but decided that there might be information
in the display that would be useful to see. The best way to handle
this is to have a script command that closes that window. That way,
only when the script determines that it has successfully executed
will the script display be closed. The STOP button is linked to the
:ABORT label in the script. When you click on STOP, script execution
jumps to this label. If you want to be able to press STOP without
hanging up, you will have to change the script code at the :ABORT
label. When the script is attempting to hang-up, make sure that it
correctly grabs the modem's attention with the command "+++".
Answer: When using Capture to Text File from the File
menu, a file selector dialog appears asking you to choose a
directory and a name for the capture file. Once you've done that
and clicked on the Capture button, you'll see the Capture Status
dialog box. At this point, the Stop Capture button in the Capture
Status dialog box has the focus. If you hit ENTER now, it stops
the capture. What you need to do is move the mouse pointer away
from the Capture Status dialog box and click once on the NewComm
screen to make NewComm the active screen. If you don't, the first
time you hit ENTER in response to a BBS prompt, the enter will
actually be directed to the Stop Capture button.
Answer: The NewComm TTY emulation is only for screen and
cursor control codes. As you correctly surmise, a matching baud rate
would also needed for successful connection to someone using a true
TTY terminal.
UNIX termcap files provide a standardized interface to a
wide range of terminals. The termcap files are used to map desired
screen effects to the escape sequences of a particular terminal.
We reasoned that by building a software state machine, we could
use the termcap files in reverse, i.e. take escape sequences being
sent to NewComm, look them up in the termcap definition for that
terminal, and effect the desired result on screen. The benefit
of this approach is that UNIX termcaps have been written for nearly
every terminal known to man. In theory, with the state machine
complete, we could support any desired terminal.
In designing NewComm, things did not work out quite as well as we
planned. One major problem that we did not anticipate was that NewComm's
terminal emulation would only be as accurate as the termcap definition
file. In reality, most UNIX termcaps do not fully map all of the
capabilities of a given terminal. It depends on who wrote the termcap.
Finally, we didn't even end up using all of the wide variety of
terminal types because we had no way of testing them.
Several versions of the modification are available for download
on the Internet. They use short batch (.BAT) files to access an
external program based on DSZ/GSZ from Chuck Forsberg and Omen Technology.
DSZ/GSZ, and its graphical-based successor, provide ways to access
Zmodem file transfers. A couple of the versions also give you
access to Ymodem protocols. If you've used NewComm to download from
local BBS's or other online services, you've been limited to only
the Model-T of transfer protocols, Xmodem.
You'll notice some handy functions when using Zmodem transfers,
including the ability to download several files at a time, and to
automatically write them to the download directory on your hard disk
without further intervention from you. The downside to all of this
is that you won't be able to multitask during external protocol downloads.
Whichever modification you choose, you'll need DSZ or GSZ, and you'll
need to add the directory where DSZ or GSZ are stored to your PATH
statement. In other words, if you keep the DSZ/GSZ files on the D: drive
in the \ZMODEM subdirectory, your modified PATH statement might look
something like this:
The rest of the modifications are straightforward, but be sure
to consult the README files bundled with the programs.
The final step involves placing the batch file which will call
the external protocol from the \WORLD subdirectory. The Zmodem
utility I use requires two batch files in \WORLD: one for uploads
and one for downloads. Some of the others use just one batch file
for both uploads and downloads and call an external shell where you
specify the filenames and whether you intend to download or upload.
Create a launcher for the batch files, so you can specify
command line arguments like the names of the files you wish to upload,
using the Ask For Options Each Time choice in the DOS Launcher
Settings dialog.
The key line in the batch file I later converted to a .COM file is
This can be done with an AT\N1 command from NewComm or
by adding \N1 to your modem initialization string.
Some modems default to MNP on and some default to MNP off.
Some online services don't like MNP and will just hang-up after
connecting. MNP stands for Microcom Network Protocol. It is an
error-detecting communication protocol. MNP support is graded
by level. Most newer modems are MNP 5 which means they support
MNP levels 1 through 5.
Last Modified 2 Mar 1999
NewComm Forgets My Settings
If you're having trouble with the NewComm Protocol box
(the one with the BPS rate, COM port settings, etc.)
popping up each time you start NewComm, try this fix:
If that doesn't work, make a fresh copy of GEOS.INI from
installation diskette number one and configure your modem in
Preferences, Modem before launching NewComm.
Maximizing the NewComm Window
There is no maximize button in NewComm. In the View menu,
choose Window Size. This will give you the opportunity to
specify the number of lines and columns you want in the
NewComm window. It also will have the effect
of changing the window size--you've just got to be sure this
matches the lines and columns being sent by the computer you
are dialing in to.
Multiple COM Ports
Question: I need a telecom program that can have multiple
windows open so I can compare readings from several different
computers on the screen at one time. Will NewComm do this?
Script Display
Question: The only way to exit from the Script Display window
is by clicking CLOSE. Once the script has been executed successfully,
why can't it go away on its own?
Empty Capture Files
Question: When I use text capture, it quits immediately
and leaves me with an blank text capture file. Why?
TTY
Question: I tried calling a friend using the TTY emulation,
but I kept getting a No Carrier message. I tried connecting to another
BBS immediately afterwards and connected with no problem at all,
so that means the problem lies in the software. I thought TTY
baud rate was only 35.5 or 45.5, something like that. There's no
such baud setting in the software, so how do I use the TTY emulation?
VT100
NewDeal uses UNIX-like termcaps for terminal emulation. This explains
NewComm doesn't fully support the VT100 specification. It was
not our goal to make the world's best communications program.
We wanted a simple terminal emulator that could be multi-tasked
in the environment. We use NewComm to get onto our company mail
system and it works great for that.
Zmodem
If you would like to download multiple files in the shortest
amount of time, then Zmodem is for you. It's possible to add
Zmodem to NewComm as an external protocol.
PATH C:\;C:\DOS;C:\GEOWORKS;D:\ZMODEM
You'll also need to add an environmental variable statement to your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file, so DSZ/GSZ will know what your COMM port is:
set DSZPORT=2
It's important to type the statement exactly as it appears above,
modifying it only for the actual port number: 1, 2, 3 or 4. Be
sure not to put any spaces on either side of the equal sign.
For instance, set DSZPORT = 2 will not work.
External Kermit Support
It is possible to add external Kermit support to NewComm.
Why use Kermit? Kermit is almost universally supported by
academic computing systems. In fact, you rarely see X,Y,
or Zmodem supported on a university computer, and Kermit is free.
KERMIT %1 %2, STAY
When you want to transfer a file, start the remote host Kermit
and put it in server mode (while logged in via NewComm) then
run KERMIT.COM. This brings up a dialog box in which you type
get filename (to download a file)
For more information, see the Kermit documentation.
send filename (to upload a file)
CR (with no parameters, to enter Kermit terminal emulation)
MNP
If you are having trouble dialing into certain bulletin boards
or telecommunications services and you have an MNP modem,
try turning off the MNP feature.
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