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APPNOTES.DOC
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1993-03-12
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This file describes details involved with operating KAMterm under
certain ``special'' environments. The majority of the input for this
file will ultimately come from KAMterm users operating under these
environments.
Any users with input to this file are invited to contact me with
whatever information they feel might help others in similar situations.
i) General System Requirements:
*) PC or clone (XT/286/386/486/....) running dos
*) AT LEAST 256 k of free memory after dos and any utils loaded
(256 k will be a very minimal configuration)
*) Serial port connected to TNC (see notes below on serial ports!)
*) For Host Mode operations, you must have a Kantronics TNC
*) For certain Host Mode features, you must have revision 5.0 or
greater firmware in the TNC
CONTENTS:
i) General System Requirements
1) Serial ports with the NS16550AN or NS16550AFN UART
2) DESQview
3) Non-Kantronics TNCs
4) Very old computers (circa 1982)
5) Computers with non-standard serial ports
1) Serial ports with the NS16550AN or NS16550AFN UART:
In short, KAMterm provides full support for these advanced UARTs.
It will automatically detect them if they exist, and will make full
use of the extended buffering, etc., to improve performance. KAMterm
will notify you while loading if either of these UARTs were detected.
For more information, see the main documentation.
There is one thing, however, that must be considered when using the
enhanced capabilities of the 16550. If a program which utilizes the
16550's enhanced features exits without resetting the chip to normal
(e.g., 8250-style) operation, some older programs without support for
the 16550 will not be able to use the serial port until a hard reset
is performed (CTRL-ALT-DEL is not enough). This is the result of
slight differences between how the older 8250 UART could, in some
cases, be handled, and how the 16550 is handled.
KAMterm does reset the 16550 when it exits, so this is not normally
an issue. HOWEVER, if KAMterm does not terminate normally, e.g., if
you do a soft-reboot (CTRL-ALT-DEL), close a DESQview window while
KAMterm is still running in it, etc., the 16550 will not be reset.
After this, some older communications software may not be able to
access the port until a full hardware reset (using the RESET switch
or powering down the computer) is performed.
In other words, always exit KAMterm properly when using a 16550-based
serial port. This will avoid such problems.
2) DESQview:
When using KAMterm under DESQview, it is important that you provide
DESQview with the appropriate configuration information. I am not a
DESQview user, myself, so I can't promise that this list is
comprehensive, however, here are the important setup parameters I
determined in a short bit of experimenting on a friend's computer:
*) Memory Size: *AT LEAST* 256k, for an absolute minimum
environment (NO scrollback buffers used, only 1 or 2
windows allowed, etc.). Best to set at 300k or better.
*) Uses its own colors: Yes
*) Writes directly to screen: Yes
*) Uses serial ports: Yes
*) Can be swapped out: No
*) Runs in background: Yes
3) Non-Kantronics TNCs:
Check out KTterm, a non-Host Mode terminal program from the makers
of KAMterm. It offers those KAMterm features which do not require
Host Mode to work, and costs less than KAMterm. :-)
If you use another brand of TNC that does have a Host Mode interface
protocol, and would like KAMterm to be expanded to support that TNC,
please contact me --- I would like to eventually expand KAMterm to
support multiple comm ports, and as part of that, to also support
multiple host protocols. But I need the protocol specs for the other
TNCs to do this.
4) Very old computers (circa 1982):
KAMterm has been observed to have problems with very, very old
computers, or computers whose BIOS dates back this far. This has
only appeared once or twice to my knowledge, but it has happened.
In one case, KAMterm was transferred to another, newer computer,
with almost the exact same configuration as the older one, and
worked perfectly.
I would appreciate it if anyone with such problems would let me
know as many details as possible so I can attempt to determine
a pattern, and eventually, a fix.
5) Computers with non-standard serial ports:
At this time, KAMterm supports the following serial port
configurations without any special configuration required:
COM1: IRQ4 / Base address 0x3f8
COM2: IRQ3 / Base address 0x2f8
COM3: IRQ4 / Base address 0x3e8
COM4: IRQ3 / Base address 0x2e8
In addition, you can configure KAMterm to use any IRQ line between
IRQ3 and IRQ7 (inclusive) for COM1 through COM4 using the NONSTDPORT
option in the configuration file (run KTconfig or read the docs).
I'm working on trying to expand this even further, to support the
higher IRQ lines and comm ports above COM4, but don't know when this
will actually work itself out.
Enjoy, folks!
--jim
--
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