The Series 3c, Series 5, and Geofox One


The comments here were written before dedicated file transfer packages were available. They are still relevant, as they provide the only free way of doing the job. If you want an easier way of dealing with all this, then you need to look at PsiRisc or ArcLink5.



Given that PocketFS doesn't work with these machines, either with the standard serial lead, or with one re-wired to the same configuration as the A-Link lead, the only choice for owners of those machines until this year has been a communications package such as Hearsay or Connector. Hearsay is commercial, but you can download the freeware Connector from here or from the AMZ-Soft Web site. File transfer is obviously very important to those of us using the later Psions or Geofox One with an Acorn, and has been something of a DIY affair until this year. I survived so far by a combination of two methods: Connector on my Risc PC, and PsiWin under Win95 on the PC Card. Initially I had to convert and transfer my S3a Agenda, Sheet, Word and Data files using PsiWin on my PC Card. I also started backing up with the automatic facilities of PsiWin, but the whole process of starting up Windows 95 is very time-consuming and off-putting, and I must confess I didn't do it very often. My subsequent purchase of a 15 Mb Compact Flash made it more advisable to backup, as there is now more data to lose, and so I started to do that a little more frequently.

Connector
More and more I came to rely on Connector to transfer occasional files to and fro, and to install new applications on the Psion. That works reasonably well, and I established the following set-up:

I have a Connector script I wrote for my own use to set the whole thing up, which you can download from here. Copy it into the "scripts" directory within Connector, and run it by clicking on the second icon from the top on the left hand side of the main Connector window that opens, and then double click on the "Series 5" entry. You should also click the "Menu" button over the iconbar icon, and click on "Choices" and "Transfers". Set the "Truncate filename to" entry to some large number (e.g. 30), then click on "OK" and "Save". After that, it's a matter of setting up the Series 5 Comms application as follows:



Speed Problems?
If gibberish appears, check that the settings are actually the same at both ends, reducing the speed from 57600 if necessary. File transfer is done with the "Send File" and "Receive File" buttons. When you start the S5 doing one of those, select "YModem (batch)" Protocol, and filenames will be preserved (as long as they aren't too long on the Psion, in which case RISC OS will truncate them). Use the "File Transfer" menu in Connector to send or receive to or from the S5. Again, be prepared to reduce the speed to (say) 19200 baud if things don't work. I have a theory that Series 5 machines with ROM version 1.00 are just on the edge of working with high Comms speeds. My first machine wouldn't reliably work above 19,200 baud, and several other folk have observed the same thing with their machines. My new one with ROM v1.01 goes happily at 57,600 baud, and I've been in touch with others with the same experience, including one who has found that having his ROM upgraded suddenly boosted the performance of the Comms application. One word of warning, don't try this after using PocketFS with a Series 3a machine, as files are liable to get corrupted! I have found that a re-boot of my Risc PC is helpful before starting to move files, just to ensure the serial port has been released properly.

Long File Names
Don't forget that RISC OS will truncate filenames regardless of the setting in Connector unless you use software to support long file names on an Acorn. For more details, see my review of Win95FS


Also, remember that the development of the Xemplar Pocket Book III has been significant in the recent events.

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