RISC DISC 1/RISC_DISC_1.iso/usefulinfo/faq/psion3faq

Text File | 1994-06-13 | 33.8 KB | 861 lines

Newsgroups: comp.sys.psion
From: [e-mail] (Markus Illenseer)
Subject: Psion FAQ - read this
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1993 18:57:29 GMT



This is the latest FAQ, please copy it where ever you can and
want, esp. FTP sites and WWW sites, thank you.


-- FAQ for Psion Series 3 ---
V1.4 December 1993

This FAQ is maintained by Markus Illenseer,
[e-mail]
Any complains, bugs and suggestions are welcomed !

I would like to thank: John Tromp , [e-mail]
                      Adrian Hurt , [e-mail]
                   M.C. Finlayson , [e-mail]
and esp.           Alan J.Flavell , [e-mail]
for their great help and reports !

-----------

This is not a real FAQ, but a text about the Psion Series 3 Palmtop.
See more about common questions and answers at the end.

One important fact right now: None of the Psion S3 handhelds is
capable to run MS-DOS programms. As they have a multi tasked OS
of their own, they need specific programms.

This FAQ is mainly addressed to newcomers and peoples interested into
purchasing a Psion S3.

You may consider this FAQ slighly outdated, as the newest baby of
Psion, the S3a is not very well mentioned here. Just consider that
the S3a is binary compatible to the S3 and almost every FAQ still
is valid for the S3a, too. The difference between the S3 and
S3a is mentioned where ever possible.

What Versions are available ?

Psion S3: 128KB and 256KB machine
          special american edition with buildt-in spreadsheet
          Acorn BBC Palmtop

Psion S3a: 256KB and 512KB machines.

Short description of the above machines:

The Psion Series 3 is available in 2 versions, one of them has 128KB,
the other has 256KB (free) RAM. The multi tasking operating system,
file system software, and a number of excellent applications are
contained on a built-in 384k/512kB ROM.
A 'powerful' NEC V30 (compatible to the 80C86; this version consumes
less current, the V30 runs at 3,84 MHz) serves the machine through
all the tasks.
The mentioned RAM is the total RAM installed, of which the operating
system grabs a large chunk (around 40KB, depending how many
tasks you run) before you even start to do anything. Free RAM is
therefore somewhat less.

The new Psion S3a is available with either 256KB or 512KB of RAM.

Hint:
Get the 256KB version of the Psion Series 3, or do get the
512KB  version of the S3a version, which is made available
since October 1993.

Currently (note the date please), Psion has a problem delivering
procducing the new S3a series in large amounts. Especially the
US market is by far larger than Psion ever estimated.

There is also the American 3S version with built-in spreadsheet.
OPL on this version is hidden (confirmed by [e-mail]).

Identical to the Psion Series 3 (the special amirican edition)
is the Acorn BBC Palmtop.
This one dosn't have the full S3 spreadsheet. It has a cut-down
one, eg. with financial functions removed (likewise no support
for saving in WK1 format).  To make room for the Spreadsheet,
other applications were removed.  Not just the OPL-translator,
but also World and Agenda.  Also other features were removed from
the remaining applications - such as passwording facilities and
outlining.
Overall, it's aimed at a different market - classroom use.  School
pupils can learn the basics of what "real" computers are used for -
such as Spreadsheets, Word Processing, and elementary Databases.

Features of all S3 machines:

Keyboard:

A small QWERTY-style keyboard makes it possible to type texts in
almost any situation. The applications are available via special
touch-keys below the display. The keyboard varies on the country
where you want to achieve the Psion. There are german QWERTZ and
french AZERTY keyboards available (not seperately).

Hint:
Be sure you get the version you like, localized or international.
See below.

Display:

The display is able to display 40x8 chars or 240x80 (6x9 each char)
pixels. It is a 2 color (black/white) display (unlike the GameBoy),
and is of the retardation film type.

The new S3a has twice the resolution of the S3.

The GUI is driven (as there is no mouse) with the cursor keys and
the menu or help key. Programms have there own icon. You start a programm
when selecting it with the cursor keys and pressing return then.

Battery supply:

To run the Psion, you need two normal mignon (AA-size) cells.
Alkaline cells are recommended in the User Guide.  A realistic
estimate of the battery life (without the serial link) is about
4 weeks of normal use, say 40 hours.  Use of SSDs (see below) and
especially of the serial link is a significant extra drain on batteries.

Hint:
You could purchase several sets of rechargeable batteries plus
a recharger, for less than the price of the Psion mains adapter.
One charge lasts for 2-3 days heavy use, or about a week light use:
it is important to have one replacement set available, because the
rechargeable batteries hold their voltage well until near the end,
and then fade quickly, unlike normal batteries which start at a higher
voltage, and lose voltage gradually through their life.  So, with
these rechargeables, if you try to use the Psion after the low-battery
warning comes, it will turn itself off only a few minutes later.

Localized operating system:

The Psion Series 3 has national language options.  Before starting
to use it, take care to select your preferred language.  Changing
the language can only be done by a hard reset, which loses all
stored information.
Default language is English; available from boot time are English,
French, German and Italian (but the machine/keyboard won't change !),
also some scandinavian languages, danish and dutch are reported.
All parts of the online-help (for the applications in the ROM) are
localized.
Older machines (with operating systems earlier than version 1.80)
do not have this choice - they are provided with one language only.

The S3a has no (!) national language options, be sure you get
you localized version (almost every european language is supported).

Applications on ROM:

As for the goodies included on the ROM:
 - Database application (Entries not fixed, several bases possible)
 - Textprocessor (Output is MS-Word compatible)
 - full blown Agenda which can handle multiple databases
 - (Alarm) Clock
 - Worldclock with database for 800 towns
 - Calculator (which can load simple OPL-programms)
 - OPL-Translator (BASIC-alike programming language)

Using the Worldclock, one can set one's current location: then,
all phone numbers in the Database are automatically adjusted to
the correct dialling prefix and country code.

The Psion can dial a telephone number for you, if your telephone is
suitable and the exchange (central office) accepts tone dialling.

In most applications there is a feature to copy-to or -from the clipboard
which is shared with other programms.

For the programming-language: It's a Basic-alike language with several
features to deal with the Menus, Graphics and other specs of the OS.
The OPL-Translator is able to make a so-called Q-code which is then
interpreted when running then program, at BASIC performance levels.
A manual for the language comes with the machine.

Seperately available from Psion is a C-Cross-Compiler for MS-DOS PC's
which can procduce real code which is of course by far faster.

There are applications and there are programs.  The big difference is that
applications must be installed (unless they are the built-in ones already
installed) and can then be accessed either by moving the cursor onto them
and pressing Enter (or, in most cases, moving the cursor onto one of the
file names listed under their icon, and pressing Enter).  Programs are
what
you write yourself in OPL.  These must be selected using the cursor,
either
under the OPL icon (to write the program) or under the OPO icon (to run
the
program).

Expandability concerning RAM:

The machine is expandable to a max. of 8MB RAM by two expansions
slots on the left and right. Some professional programs, such as a
Hotel-Guide, Dictionary, Chess, come on a ROM.

There are two varieties of the SSD expansion modules, Flash and RAM.
Flash SSD's are write-once-read-many type - the data will stay on
them indefinitely unless you delete it. Deleting data from a Flash SSD
does not release the space occupied by the data; the space is marked
by the operating system as used, and cannot be used again until the
SSD is reformatted, which wipes out all data on it.
RAM SSD's are the ones with the backup battery, and data on them can
be written, altered and deleted as desired.

Both types of expansion modules are not compatible with the
common PCMCIA-modules. For instance, only Psion manufacture them.

For such programms, and even for self written programms, a minimum of
free RAM is needed. The 128KB machine is less expensive but has it's
big disadvantages when it comes to the multitasking and to real big
programms.

It is possible to get SSD with preinstalled programms, such as
Tetris, to have the programms on them deleted and thus gain the
full size of the SSD.

Possible connection to the rest of the world:

A serial and parallel Link is available to connect the Psion to a PC
(in fact to any other kind of modern Computer) and swap data or print.

The S3 and the S3a both do have only one connector where you can plug
the interface.

A parallel link is available for connecting a printer to the Psion.

A serial link is also available, and can be used for connecting
a serial printer, or for connecting the Psion to a PC, Mac or
the serial port of most other computers.
It can also allow the Psion to be used with a modem, or as a (dumb)
terminal emulator.

The serial link (called 3Link) is not just a cable: it contains a pod of
electronics which includes some software on a ROM.  It is supplied
as complete packages for the PC or for the Mac: each package includes
the pod, a cable and connector suitable for the particular micro, and
diskettes of software for use on that micro, as well as an informative
manual.
With the PC version, for example, when the Psion is hooked up
to the PC and the PC is running the software provided (MCLINK), then
the PC's disks can be used like extensions to the Psion filestore,
and the Psion's disk(s) can be used like extensions to the PC's
filestore.  A particularly convenient feature is that all of the
Psion's files/subdirectories can be backed-up to the PC by means of a
single command.

It is not possible to make your own serial link, because the needed
software is in the pod of the Psion's Link. The possible connector
plug is a high speed serial link with special protocoll, which is
also used to connect the SSD cards.

A version of the serial link is also available for the Acorn
Archimedes.

If you are using the 3Link with some other computer, like Unix
workstations or the Amiga, you can use XMODEM or YMODEM file
transfer.  3Link does not support the Kermit file transfer protocol,
but you can transfer files using Kermit's plain ASCII transfer mode
(no error correction).

Possible baud rates are available from 50 upto 9600 Baud.
The new S3a can connect upto 19200 Baud.

There are several version of the serial link software reported,
unfortunately it looks like some older version do not properly
work with new versions of the S3 or S3a.

It is even possible top connect a modem, and the auto-power-
on feature makes it even possible to run a BBS off the Psion :-)

For that, and other purposes, a script-language with translator
is included in the pod of the serial-link. It does allow you to
write login-scripts or down/upload-scripts.

Where do i get software ?

Presently, you can get about 5MB of Public Domain and shareware
Software for the Psion. Hopefully increasing. (Even a Psion
Emulator for MS-DOS PC's).

There are several games, some utilities, a small shell, some graphic
goodies and more available via FTP on Internet, most of them FD or
Shareware.

The main archive for Psion on the Internet currently available via ftp
is this site:
src.doc.ic.ac.uk [146.169.2.1] in the directory
/computing/systems/handhelds/psion
The recent stuff is in icdoc and icdoc/NEW.

[[e-mail], Blaine Price means:]
The [/computing/systems/handhelds/psion/]hcrl directory is a
mirror of the site that I maintain (hcrl.open.ac.uk) which
stores the various packages that I like in a non-ZIP format
so that Mac and other non-PC users can get at them easily.

If you want to upload your own programm, you should send an
e-mail to [e-mail], and he will take care of it.

Otherwise you can uuencode it and post it on comp.sys.palmtops
or comp.sys.handhelds, if the file is not too long.

Please do NOT post sound samples of the new S3a, as this causes
major headaches to many of the readers (modem, you know..), as they
most probably arent ever be able to use those sound files, because
they have the S3, not the S3a.

--------- Questions and Answers -------------------
1)
Q: Should I buy the optional mains power adapter?
A: This depends on how you expect to use the Psion.  Consider
buying two or three sets of rechargeable batteries and a suitable
charger, this may cost no more than the mains adapter and
could be more convenient.  If you are not going to use SSDs, and
never or only rarely use a serial link, then conventional batteries
may be fine for you (alkaline recommended): otherwise, you probably
do want either a mains adapter or rechargeables.

2)
Q: I fitted a set of replacement batteries but it still said the
main batteries were low.  What's up?
A: This sometimes happens for a short period after fitting new
batteries, especially rechargeables which have a lower voltage
(typically 1.2V).  The warnings should stop within a minute or so.
If not, then you might have a poor contact - although this is not
very likely: the main battery clips are pretty strong, but you could
try cleaning the contact areas - or the replacement batteries really
are defective.

[Gary [e-mail] means:]
The other possibility is the type of batteries. Some batteries have
small dimples in the base (-) end. These tend to make the batteries
a little loose in the machine, so that it sometimes loses power and
switches off when you press the icon keys hard.

A solution [...] is to pad the battery case out to make the batteries
fit closer. What I have done is to tape a little folded strip of paper
along the spine of the battery cover - I now have no problems. Of
course you could always try avoiding batteries with dimples in them.

3)
Q: My Psion reports Backup Battery Low.  After only a few weeks/months?
A: This is probably a poor contact.  The backup battery should last
for several years.  First make sure your main battery is OK, since
you don't want to lose your memory while playing around with the
backup battery.  Then give your backup battery a twist, or take it out
and clean it.  Gently cleaning or very gently bending the battery
contact in the Psion may help, but take care not to damage it or to
let solvent or dirt get into the case!  Re-fit the backup battery and
check it via the system screen menu or Psion-B.

4)
Q: I don't seem to be able to get a replacement backup battery.
A: Any 3V Lithium cell of the correct physical size will do the
job.  The recommended type is a 1620 - the 16 refers to the size
and the 20 to the charge.  Good places to try are camera and
watch specialists.  If you can get a 1616 then this will
reportedly do fine.

5)
Q: Is it possible to type on that tiny keyboard?
A: Surprisingly well!  In fairness, Psion have made the keyboard as
large as they could, in a package of that size.  Some users report
that full hand typing is possible, while others use the two finger
method or a compromise between them.  A firm base is advisable, such
as a table or executive case.  Upholstery, or your lap, is less
satisfactory: try a book as support.  In awkward situations, some
users rest the Psion on the fingers of both hands, and type with the
thumbs, but using modifier keys is not so easy that way.

6)
Q: Problems with the DIAL feature.
A: Your telephone exchange (central office) accepts tone dialling?
Then let's look at your 'phone, and at your 'Dial Defaults'.

Some phones seem to work first time, every time; some seem difficult
or impossible (an old dial-telephone with a carbon microphone, for
example).  The rest are just a bit choosy about where you place the
Psion: try holding the Psion speaker at different distances (1-3 cm,
say) from the phone mouthpiece.

The other factor is the Dial Defaults parameters (on the WORLD menu,
remember?).  The User Guide seems to recommend lengthening them in
adverse situations, but this could make things worse.  Look for an
optimum setting with tone time and delay time around 3 to 6.

You can practise tone dialling by using your own number - you should
get 'busy' tone of course.  When things go wrong, you'll mostly get
no response, or some kind of error message from the exchange: the
chances of reaching a wrong number seem fairly small (your mileage
may vary!).

Many users report they have no problems; but if it does not seem to
work with your phone, here is a suggested plan of attack.

First set the tone time to say 4, and use 'free form dialling' to
send your first digit repeatedly while moving the Psion towards the
mouthpiece,  until dial tone ceases - showing that the exchange has
recognized a digit (you'll need to hold the earpiece to your ear to
hear what's happening - try holding it with your shoulder if you
can).  Hang up, move a little closer, and try dialling the entire
number, one digit at a time, from the freeform panel.   Vary the tone
time (use the WORLD and DATA buttons to swop screens), and the
distance between Psion and mouthpiece, until it works reliably .
Then, setting the delay time to values around 4-6, try having the
whole number dialled automatically (TAB).  You should be able to find
settings that work with any phone (the author is using 4 and 4), but
you'll need to remember the best Psion/mouthpiece distance for each
phone you use.  One informant suggests interposing a handkerchief.
Good luck!

7)
Q: The program buttons have stopped working.
A: This was quite a frequent problem on early models.  Psion are
reputed to deal with the problem promptly and without fuss.  It is
possible to bring up the system screen by holding down CONTROL and
hitting SPACE and TAB together (unless you have an OPL program
executing, in which case this will take you to the OPL program's
screen).  From the system screen you can then move to any application,
without needing to use the program buttons.  Obviously this is less
convenient and you'll want to get the problem fixed as soon as you can.

8)
Q: The Psion character set includes a lot of weird characters.  How
can I get them into my documents?
A: The appendix to the user guide lists short-cuts for some of them.
Any code can be typed in by holding down CONTROL and typing three
decimal digits of the character code.  ?????It would be nice, though,
to be able to pull down a menu which displayed these characters, since
it's not easy to memorise more than half a dozen values - anybody
got any suggestions?????

9)
Q: The word processor has a number of tricks for inserting soft hyphens,
non-breaking spaces, line breaks etc.  They are shown in the manual,
but not on the HELP panels, and I can never remember them when I need
them.
A: (ANY SUGGESTIONS????)

10)
Q: I want to devellop some more programms for the machine, where can
I get more Information ?
A: There is the SDK - Software development kit - from Psion.
The Documentation part of it costs about 50 UK pounds and contains
two _big_ manuals about the Psion along with various utilities.
However, you can't write C code using it without a copy of the
TopSpeed C compiler which costs another 100 pounds or so.

11)
Q: How can i translate a date given as the number of days into
   the day, month and year.
A: [[e-mail] , Eric Fraga]
According to the OPL manual, the following works:

s&=(d&-25567)*86400
secstodate s&,yr%,mo%,dy%,hr%,mn%,sc%,yrday%

where d& is the day number.  (don't quite remember what the magic
constant 25567 is [don't have my manual with me] but 86400 is the
number of seconds in a day...)  SECSTODATE does all the work for you.

12)
Q: How secure is the password option of the Series 3 ?
A: Quite safe. Be sure you don't leave the S3 in its virgin state
with no password assigned, so anyone can set it.

13)
Q: How can i add cusomized or localized keymaps to my system ?
A: Unfortunately there is no such way. What you can do is to
type the appropriate ASCII-code. For example you need a backtick
which is not on the german keyboard: CTRL-096 gives it to you.

Also you can do: [[e-mail], Alan J Flavell]
2. Create a file containing all the obscure characters (and stock
phrases such as company logo, disclaimer etc.).  I create
this file of type .OPL and put it in the same place as the other
OPL files so that it can be opened easily using the OPL editor:
do not worry that it contains no executable OPL statements - just
don't try executing it!  While I am working on my word-processor
screen, I can press the OPL button to display my file of obscure
characters - highlight the one that I want - press the word-processor
button and then use Psion-B wherever I need that particular character.

14)
Q: How do i have to setup a Unix-Machine to get the Psion working as
a dumb terminal ?
A: [[e-mail] (Ab Wilson)]
These are the settings I've got on my IPXttytab:
..
ttyb"/usr/etc/getty psion"unknownon local secure
..

gettytab:

psion:\
:p8:sp#9600:


And on the Psion S3 I use this script:
Setup (
Baud=9600
Date=7
Stop=1
Parity=Even
Handshake=XonXoff
Fail=Parity
Timeout=0
Echo=Off
Newline="<$0D>"
Backspace="<$7F>"
)
Exit

This should run quite nicely and gives you full access to your
Unix-Machine.

15)
Q: I want to grab a screen from a running application ?
A: <CONTROL><SHIFT><PSION><S> does the trick  - it save the current
 screen in PIC file format as M:\SCREEN.PIC

16)
Q: What are the differences between the S3 and the S3a ?
A:
 - Screen approximately double the surface area.
   Screen resolution is now 480x160 (240x80 on the S3) and supports 1
   level of greyscale. (Actually, the ability to have black, white and
   grey does make a significant difference.)

 - 256K and 512K RAM (as opposed to 128K and 256K on the Series 3)

 - Double the clock speed (7.86 MHz) The CPU is now, together with two
   other customs chips in an ASIC, which consumes less current, which
   is now consumed by the larger screen.

 - Built in microphone and basic sampling software. A bit of a gimmick.
   12-bit sampling and 8K sampling rate (about telephone quality).

 - More fonts and the ability to zoom in/out in most applications.

 - DRAMATICALLY improved time manager (and the Series 3 one was already
   pretty good). This is the most flexible and intuitive time manager
   software ever seen on a handheld.

 - The spreadsheet is now built-in.

17)
Q: What does the S3 pic format looks like?
A: ([e-mail] (Mark Cooper)):
MC> BitMap files start with with a P_FSIG header:
MC>
MC>  struct P_FSIG {
MC> UBYTE id[4];// 'PIC\xdc'
MC> UBYTE file_ver;// 0x30
MC> UBYTE app_ver;  // 0x30
MC>     UWORD count;// number of bitmaps in file
MC>  };

This structure describes the first few bytes of any BitMap file.

OffsetLenDesc
04BitMap-ID, consisting of the three
ASCII chars 'P', 'I' and 'C' and
Hex $DC.
41File Version (always $30)
51Application Version (always $30)
62Count of real BitMaps in the
file (Intel word)
------------------
8 Bytes


MC> followed by "count" WS_PIC_HEADER structs:
MC>
MC>  struct WS_PIC_HEADER {
MC> UWORDcrc;// crc16 of data (ex header)
MC> P_POINT size;// UWORD x, UWORD y, I think
MC> UWORDbyte_size;// size of bitmap data
MC> ULONGoffset;// offset of bitmap data in file
MC>  };

Following the header are one or more instances of the PIC Header
structure. Each of the structures describes individual BitMaps
in the file.

18)
Q: Are there any books recommended regarding Psion S3 ?
A: Yes, quite a few:
First Steps in Programming the Psion Series 3 by Mike Shaw
ISBN 07457 0145 0

Graphics Programming on the Psion Series 3 by Bill Aitken
ISBN 07457 0156 6

Serious Programming on the Psion Series 3 by Bill Aitken
ISBN 07457 0035 7

Introduction to Using the Psion Series 3 by Rod Lawton and Isaac Davis
No ISBN info available.


These books cost US$22 each and are available from:

New World Technologies, Inc.
532 La Guardia Place, Suite 150
New York, NY 10012
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Compuserve: 72360,3653

19)
Q: What are the pin numbers of the Slink connector ?
A: [[e-mail] (Paul Quare)]
You really need the SDK for its hardware reference and description of
logical/physical device drivers,SIBO serial protocol and SLD bus etc etc
before you consider attaching anything to your Psion serial link
connector.
(The hardware reference is not very expansive about the Psion3 & I believe
may
be expanded in the next release of the SDK.)

FYI
[Warning - use at your own risk  - this information is derived from Psion
Technical Data Sheets and I may or may not have made mistakes. - I did
spot
that I posted this with pins 4 & 3 wrong on my artistic impression and
have
cancelled,corrected and reposted]

(looking into Psion3 serial link connector) i.e connector on machine
  --------------------
 |                    |
 |  2      4      6   |
 |                    |
 |  1      3      5   |
 ---                ---
   |               |
   -----------------

1 SD7       (Black)  Master serial data channel 7
2 SCK7      (White)  Master serial clock channel 7
3 Vcc5      (Red)    Vcc supply 4-5 volts at 30ma
4 GND       (Screen) Signal & power ground
5 SDS/INT   (Blue)   Slave data or active positive interrrupt input
6 SCKS/EXON (Green)  Slave clock input or External wake up

(and on the SSDs)
looking into SSD pack/device

-----------------------------------
| 1 2 3 4 5 6                      |
-----------------------------------
1 CLK   Data clock from host
2 GND   Ground (0v) connection from Host
3 VBACK Backup voltage from host (RAM SSDs only)
4 VH    Programming voltage from host (Flash SSDs only)
5 Vcc   +5v supply from host
6 DATA  Bidirectional Data to/from host

20)
Q: Can i upgrade my SSD in some manner ?
A: Yes, you can, if you can handle SMD soldering...
   [[e-mail] (Tom Weston)]

Flash SSD upgrade 256K to 512K.

Components required:

2 off intel 28F010, surface mount package ('J' lead), (these are sufixed
by
their speed ie 120, 150, 200) any/either will do. I bought mine from
Spectron Electronics in Manchester 061-491-3300.

Remove the printed circuit board (pcb) from the flash pack. I did this by
pushing my thumb nail down the gap between the side and the top. Beware of
a small coil spring that may leap out. This is used for screen continuity
and must be replaced.

Solder the two new memory chips  onto the pcb  in the unused locations and
in the same orientation as the existing two.

Next you need to reposition one of the five resistors (located near to the
connector) that control the disk. The picture below shows how the modified
card should look. I have not shown all the components, for obvious
reasons.


                   new chips        old chips
           -------------------------------------------   SSD
          I     ------   ------   ------   ------     I  PCB
          I    I      I I      I I      I I      I    I
          I    I      I I      I I      I I      I    I
          I     ------   -------  ------   ------     I
          I                                           I
          I-------     ==                             I Move
con       I       I    ==                             I top
nec       I       I    ==                             I resitor
tor .     I       I       ==                          I(==) to
          I       I    ==                             I left.
           -------------------------------------------

Sorry the graphics are a bit poor, but this is the only way all should be
able to read it.

(A picture of a Flash SSD is available on the FTP site).







The Psion 3a serial port.



This is designed as ready response to FAQs on this subject, but not
guaranteed to be 100 percent right. I have no connection with Psion,
not am very technical. Much of what is here was contributed by others
in response to my original questions. I have an Archimedes and some
experience of PC, but no nothing of Macs, which are not covered. Alan
Roblou (zebra) - 01 Mar 1994


The six holes:  ==============

   The socket with the six holes in the side of the Psion 3/3a is NOT
a serial port. It is the port through which the Psion is connected to
a serial port. The real serial port is the "soap on a rope" that you
get when you buy a 3-link for a PC or an A-link for an Archimedes.

The socket on the side of the 3/3a is not a socket at all but six pins
covered by a little flap which folds back when the link connector is
inserted. The pins give - a was told - AIUI, TTL  levels only. It was
explained that "This interface is basically a pair of signals over
which we run a Psion Proprietary Synchronous Serial Protocol (PPSSP)
at 1.536 MHz. The soap part of the "soap on a rope" contains an Asic
which is basically a UART. The PPSSP can be used to send/receive data
to registers in the Asic. This is best imagined as talking to a normal
IBM/PC 16450 UART, execpt that instead of the data being sent in
parallel over the ISA bus, its sent serially.

The other 4 signals are power, ground, interrupt and external wakeup
signal.The soap box contains driver circuitry as well as software.

So your Psion 3/3a does not come with a serial port, but with the
means to talk to a serial port, which is the soap on the rope dangling
on the end of a short lead.

The soap on the rope  ====================

As noted above, this is the real serial port. It terminated with a
female socket with nine holes. These are the serial port connections,
entirely comparable to a normal nine-pin serial port, but arranged a
little differently. To this connector you can attach a normal null
modem cable, which is what comes with the 3-link and A-link packages,
or any other cable .. for instance a cable to a 25-way connector for a
modem. For versatility you might find it best to use to just to attach
a short connector cable terminating in an ordinary nine-pin serial
port connector.

Here are the connections for that titchy round port:

Pin Direction  Signal 1  <   DCD 2  <   RX 3  >   TX 4  >   DTR 5  -
SGround 6  <   DSR 7  >   RTS 8  <   CTS 9  <   RI

 Viewed head on to the pins of the male connector
 you would use they are :

               7      8  9

               3   4  5  6

                   2  1

 If you DIY you need a small soldering iron, tweezers
  a magnifying glass and a third hand

Differences between 3-link and A-link:
=====================================

As far as I can  work out there is no difference except for the label,
the connections in the final link from the soap on rope to your
computer, and the price (the A-link is a bit cheaper).

With tha 3-link you get transfer software to go into your PC called
MCLINK, and a fairly good manual. With the A-link you get software for
your Archimedes, written by Computer Concepts, and a fairly sparse
manual. The Archimedes end works as a window which converts file
types.

Crucially, the software at the Psion 3/3a end of the link is already
in the Psion in all cases. There is no difference. It exists as "Drive
C" on the ROM of the 3a (it may be in the soap in rope in the 3, I am
not sure), and becomes active when you connect the soap on rope. You
have to install it the first time - like any other application - and
it only comes to life thereafter when you prepare to use the serial
port.

The details of this end are NOT explained in the A-link application,
but you can get the manual from Psion for £6.

Software:  =========

MCLINK comes with the 3-link. I havn't used it but hear it is a bit
tricky.

RFM looks like being the successor to MCLINK and is available in an
alpha version in the file list. It is brilliant. It allows a PC to
treat the Psion at though it were another drive. You can use it with
Laplink and shift files around as easily as moving them from floppy to
hard disk on a PC.

PocketFS for the Arc is tricky at first (especially if you have a
modem which has been using the serial port) but fine after you get
used to it. You can either transfer files by tugging them into a
window, in which case they get converted by file type, or open the
files on he 3a as though they were another directory on the Arc. (The
applications on the Acorn Pocket Book are a bit different from the
Psion3, so you have to make some adjustments if you use the 3a, but
crucially it will still convert Word files to plain text and
Spreadsheet files to Lotus123-like .WKx files)

Inside the Psion is COMMS software, as mentioned which will allow the
3a to be used as a terminal and up and download files. It gives you
the basic settings and will capture incoming streams as well as file
downloads. There is also SCRIPT software which saves your fingers. It
is limited in terminal emulation capability, but fine for Cix and BBS
use..

Widget have announced at VT100 emulator, and a first version is
available in the files list here, but wil work only til the end of
March 1994. It has a wider availity to connect to VT100 machines like
Unix main and incorporates an imbedded keypad rather neatly. It
wouldn't always handle the incoming stream from my works computer,
giving "buffer overflow" but I have messaged them about that.

Batteries =========

Everyone agrees that use of the serial port cuts battery life, one
said it finnished off a two-week-old set in hald an hour. Most
recommend use of a mains adapter. But I have to say my experience is
that the Psion even with serial link active is much better on
batteries than other handhelds. If you use scripts and do your
business quickly it isn't a big problem.


EOFAQ
------------


--
Markus Illenseer