Using STSI Com

If you do not already own a communications package capable of ANSI terminal emulation (such as Procomm Plus, Qmodem, etc.), you may want to use STSI Com, the communications package distributed with CompuSlave.  STSI Com was written with the intention of aiding users who want to capture the messages in the CompuServe forums, but do not currently have an existing communications package.

To call CompuServe using STSI Com, you should perform the following steps:

1.  Execute STSI Com by clicking on the modem button in CompuSlave, or double-click on the program item located in the CompuSlave group in Program Manager.

2.  Select Parameters from the Preferences menu, and select the Com Port, Baud Rate, Parity, Data Bits, and Stop Bits you want to use as the default.

3.  Select Quick Modem Configure from the Preferences menu, and select the modem from the list that most closely fits the modem you are using.

4.  Set up your CompuServe information on the CompuServe Settings screen, which is available from the Preferences menu.

5.  Click on the Phonebook button on the toolbar, or select Phonebook from the Modem menu.  If you are using the default phonebook supplied with STSI Com, you can edit the entry with the name "CompuServe", or you can add a new entry.  When adding an entry for CompuServe, keep the following points in mind:

Be sure to enter the complete phone number that you want to dial, including a "1" if the number is long distance, and the proper area code.

The parity should be set to "Even", the data bits to "7" and the stop bits to "1".

The connection type should be set to "CompuServe".  This tells STSI Com to perform special operations for you, such as typing "off" before you hang up the telephone.

The initial carriage returns field should be set to 1.  When you call CompuServe, you must press ENTER once before you will be prompted for your host name, user ID, and password.  By entering 1 in this field, STSI Com will perform this step for you.

You may want STSI Com to log you into CompuServe automatically.  If you completed step #4 by filling in your CompuServe settings, STSI Com can optionally generate a default login script for you.  Clicking on the "CIS Login" button will instruct STSI Com to assign the correct parity, data bits, stop bits, connection type, and initial carriage returns values, and a default login script will be created for you.

Once you have finished adding or editing your CompuServe phonebook entry, select Ok to save it into the phonebook.  When you are ready, select the Dial button.  STSI Com will dial the entry that is highlighted in the table.  Once you are successfully connected to CompuServe, it is up to you to join the proper CompuServe forum and capture the messages.  For information on how to do this, see the section "Capturing CompuServe Messages" in the documentation.