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Post by Ian Colquhoun on Oct 20, 2006 15:30:16 GMT -5
Have any of you folks successfully gotten Vice to talk to tcpser reliably under Linux? I have my Userport device setup in Vice to be "|/bin/nc localhost 25232" and am using the ip232 enabled tcpser-1.0rc11 but I almost always just get endless Frame errors. I'm using Vice 1.20.
WinVice's built-in networkable RS-232 settings with tcpser work great, however, running Vice inside VMWare on Linux just seems a little silly.
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Post by Golan Klinger on Oct 20, 2006 23:13:13 GMT -5
Why do you need to have VICE talk to tcpser? Couldn't you just put the IP address you want to connect to in the nc config? For example, "|nc -p 30007 66.135.38.238 5190" would connect you to Q-Link.
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Post by Ian Colquhoun on Oct 21, 2006 13:14:10 GMT -5
Right... although I'm thinking more along the running a BBS in VICE deal. Regardless, I get frame errors when I try direct connecting like that as well... Happens in 1.19, and 1.20.
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cube
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by cube on Dec 26, 2006 11:12:18 GMT -5
I too, have been experimenting with using Vice to run an Image BBS. So far, the BBS setup side is going flawlessly, however getting it to communicate has proven tricky. For example, if I fire up CCGMS inside Vice, I can connect to minicom by using /dev/ttyS0 as the serial device Vice uses, a null modem cable between COM1 and COM2 and having minicom connect to /dev/ttyS1. Text flows correctly in both directions; works perfectly. However, when I try to do the same with Image BBS 1.2, the characters are scrambled when travelling from Vice -> minicom, but work fine in the other direction! Very strange! Because of this I am still able to 'simulate' modem responses to Image whenever it tries to initialize the modem, (basically I hit 0 since it thinks ate0 is set) and it continues happily on it's way. But so far I have not been able (with the exception of one seemingly random time) to get successful communications in both directions under Image. (CCGMS RLE+Music works every time, even at 2400 baud) I am using Vice 1.20, Userport RS-232 emulation at 1200 baud. (I read somewhere that 2400 is a bit flakey) I even tried 300 baud -> same result. Any ideas?
On another note, is there any way to get CGTerm to connect to a com (tty) port? It seems to only accept addresses. I would like to be able to (once this whole serial port mess is sorted out) log into my own BBS with CGTerm, to see it exactly as [the user] sees it.
John
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cube
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by cube on Dec 26, 2006 11:58:01 GMT -5
To demonstrate, I have attached a snip of debugging output from tcpser during the process of trying to initiate a connection between a telnet client and Image BBS running inside Vice. Image acknowledges the attempt by saying, "Answered", and I can read the "ring's" in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen, but as you can see -> the responses from Image are garbled. Because of the fact that CCGMS works in both directions inside Vice, it could be a problem with Image in the way it tries to interface with the modem. (Of course, to flip that coin it could also be a problem in the way Vice emulates the modem Image is trying to communicate with...) ... sigh
John
2006-12-26 09:53:36:1084229952::RS->|0000|0d 0a |.. |
2006-12-26 09:53:36:1084229952::RS->|0000|52 49 4e 47 |RING |
2006-12-26 09:53:36:1084229952::RS->|0000|0d 0a |.. |
2006-12-26 09:53:40:1084229952::RS->|0000|0d 0a |.. |
2006-12-26 09:53:40:1084229952::RS->|0000|52 49 4e 47 |RING |
2006-12-26 09:53:40:1084229952::RS->|0000|0d 0a |.. |
2006-12-26 09:53:44:1084229952::RS->|0000|0d 0a |.. |
2006-12-26 09:53:44:1084229952::RS->|0000|52 49 4e 47 |RING |
2006-12-26 09:53:44:1084229952::RS->|0000|0d 0a |.. |
2006-12-26 09:53:48:1084229952::RS->|0000|0d 0a |.. |
2006-12-26 09:53:48:1084229952::RS->|0000|52 49 4e 47 |RING |
2006-12-26 09:53:48:1084229952::RS->|0000|0d 0a |.. |
2006-12-26 09:53:52:1084229952::IP->|0000|4e 4f 20 41 4e 53 57 45 52 0a |NO ANSWER. |
2006-12-26 09:53:57:1084229952::RS<-|0000|c2 |. |
2006-12-26 09:53:57:1084229952::RS->|0000|c2 |. |
2006-12-26 09:53:58:1084229952::RS<-|0000|99 32 30 |.20 |
2006-12-26 09:53:58:1084229952::RS->|0000|99 |. |
2006-12-26 09:53:58:1084229952::RS->|0000|32 |2 |
2006-12-26 09:53:58:1084229952::RS->|0000|30 |0 |
2006-12-26 09:53:59:1084229952::RS<-|0000|48 |H |
2006-12-26 09:53:59:1084229952::RS->|0000|48 |H |
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cube
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by cube on Dec 26, 2006 21:57:46 GMT -5
...the story continues... This morning I decided to try a new set of disks and create a BBS with Image 1.2a instead of 1.2. Long story short, Image 1.2a is able to successfully communicate to and from tcpser under Linux while running in Vice 1.20 !! ... It just doesn't actually [connect]. tcpser is successfully emulating the modem, acknowledging the AT commands sent to it and returning the appropriate responses. When I telnet to the host and port tcpser is accepting connections on from CGTerm, Image springs to life with an "Answered" message, but then returns to the "System Idle" screen after about 30 seconds, presumably after reaching the connection timeout. Please forgive my rusty recollection of C= hardware, but would this scenario be indicative of a pin not going high to indicate the connection had been established? (I would assume Data Carrier Detect / DCD) ?? Was there a DCD-equivelant pin on a 1670 or on the User Port? John PS: I played Empire 1.0 today for the first time in YEARS! It was fantastic! I am winning  |
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cube
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by cube on Dec 26, 2006 22:29:29 GMT -5
Ok, it is getting ever-so-close... I have now been able to 'Connect' to the Image BBS running in Vice from CGTerm, but immediately thereafter the 'modem' resets and the system returns to the System Idle screen... The suspense is killing me! I've been tinkering with different modem settings in +.modemconfig and it seems like it should work (I mean, technically I am logging on, just off again immediately after.) There has to be something that is telling Image that the connection has been lost as soon as it is made - perhaps the DCD pin goes high but only for a moment and returns low again.
Interestingly though, after connecting with CGTerm, it stays connected after Image hangs up and I can see all of the modem commands Image is sending to reset the modem in CGTerm. ** The connection is there, Image just doesn't realize it!! ** I feel like I am one tiny setting away!
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Post by Pinacolada on Dec 27, 2006 14:28:41 GMT -5
Aw man, good luck with this Cube. JR is having similar problems, and in fact when you connect to Riktronics, and the connection gets dropped, just log in again and there you are wherever you left off... kinda cool, but kinda prone to security issues too...  I wish I were smarter about this stuff... wish I could help. What's the BBS you'll be running? I managed to get Image 2.0 from Jack "Rascal" Followay running, and I have archived the work files on to a 1581, and have some notes typed up on my Image hacking.  You should sign up on either Riktronics or LV426. I forget if Metal Mage has an Image BBS running in VICE, that's actually available to call... I helped him a little bit back when we were experimenting with networking between our BBS's. (Mine is/was the Dragon's Eye, just not telnettable, no Internet at home at the moment) He's running my serial #, which is fine, but when it comes to networking the serial #'s do have to be different, IIRC, or it won't work. At least that's what we were assuming, 'cuz networking would work fine from his board to mine, but not the other way around. Yay for picky software! Or stupid sysops. |
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cube
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by cube on Dec 28, 2006 14:24:11 GMT -5
The BBS will be an Image 1.2 variant. That was the software I used many years ago and it is what I am most familiar with. I liked DS2 but it's hard to find a good copy of it anymore, and if I ever do get my [hardware] system up, I plan on moving my [emulated] system to the real deal, and as I recall DS2 did not work with the Buscard ][ interface - thereby ruling out the possibility of using my largest and fastest drives... (IEEE) - But Image 1.2 was as solid as a rock when all was said and done, and my brother has been itching to play Empire again!  The good ol' Empire version 1.0. John PS: From the sounds of it there are a couple of Image BBS's still around, what would be the chances of getting in on a networked system? |
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cube
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by cube on Dec 28, 2006 19:27:35 GMT -5
Thursday Evening Update: This afternoon I finished perfecting the settings inside Image to best communicate with the pseudo-modem in TCPser. It works every time, Image is able to answer 'calls' in both ASCII (ANSI) and CG, works flawlessly... for a while. Then, aprepo of nothing - communication in one direction (though not always the same one) mysteriously dies. As far as I can tell this problem is originating inside Vice as I can still see traffic between CGTerm and TCPser, and if it's the tx between CGTerm and Image that dies, you can still see data coming from the BBS in CGTerm. Very strange and disheartening because this is now a problem that is not some switch set wrong since nothing changes. I'll be on the board from CGTerm and all of a sudden my keyboard stops working. But if I switch windows to Vice I can type into that window and see the results in CGTerm. I'm using ACIA $DExx emulation as a Swiftlink cartridge and the 19.2k mods to Image (though only to enable the rs232 port, not the full-blown custom modem setup with the extra rel files and all that hassle.) Other than that, it answers, talks, disconnects, and resets perfectly! Maybe I'll have to wait for the release of Vice 1.21? I'm going to try the Turbo232 mode to see if that makes any difference. Getting closer though... At least now I know it works! John |
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Post by Pinacolada on Jan 10, 2007 17:18:20 GMT -5
I liked DS2 but it's hard to find a good copy of it anymore, and if I ever do get my [hardware] system up, I plan on moving my [emulated] system to the real deal, and as I recall DS2 did not work with the Buscard ][ interface - thereby ruling out the possibility of using my largest and fastest drives... (IEEE) Ooo, DS2. I have one .D81 image of DS2, but it's like an add-ons disk. I never touched the original DS2. What can you tell me about it? Go ahead and email me privately if you want. Well, I will slowly work on uploading my large (100+) collection of plus files and mods to people, since my physical BBS is unaccessible at this time, via either dialup or telnet. No Internet service yet, and the phone jack has to be physically repaired, I just haven't gotten around to it. But now that I'm at college, I have Internet access every single day I'm here, with the computer lab. Er, I should say I *have* uploaded some files to Riktronics already. Last year Metal Mage and I were experimenting with networking. It *worked*, but only in one direction. I don't know if it was because MM was using a copy of my software with the same serial number, or what, but he could send netmail, netwalls, net news, netsubs, net stuff to The Dragon's Eye BBS just fine. I could not do the same in return. We checked and re-checked the +.NMauto file, but to no avail. The Alien developed a serial # changer based on Fred K's work, and certain serial numbers come up fine in the patched ML file. Others do not. I remember I had some test cases where it wasn't exactly the "vanity" serial # I wanted, but the point is, apparently, to have two dissimilar serial numbers to ensure networking IS possible, in both directions. Maybe Jack "Rascal" Followay can be brought into this discussion. I'm still eagerly awaiting the OCRing of the Image 2.0 programming reference docs... I should email him... I do have a .D81 of my "Image 2.0 work files" at home, would you be interested in peeking at it? Jack's files on his site (www.followay.com/jack/c64 IIRC) do not boot as presented; I sat down and hacked enough of it to make it boot, and it was very briefly accessible via telnet. I think I said this already in another thread somewhere, or maybe it was on the telnet boards. Blah blah blah. Ryan |
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Post by Pinacolada on Jan 10, 2007 17:21:23 GMT -5
That is very cool! It certainly sounds like things are improving!
Now the question is, will the college allow telnet to connect to the BBS's... I'm surprised they let me use Yahoo Messenger...
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cube
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by cube on Jan 16, 2007 20:14:14 GMT -5
As I recall, DS2 looked and ran very similar to both Image and earlier versions of C-Net. My first look at BBS software was at C-Net v12 (or maybe even 11?) - but as it was no longer being developed at the time, I explored the two 'offshoots' - C-Net Developer's System 2 and Image BBS - more thoroughly. I actually had a printed manual for C-Net v12, although I fear it may well have disintegrated over the years as I have not seen it in decades. It's possible too that I lent it to someone and never saw it again. I remember there were several things about DS2 that I really liked. REALLY liked. I spent hours setting the board up and tweaking, but the problem I kept running into was that although it worked flawlessly in local mode, because I was using a Buscard ][ parallel (IEEE) interface, it would randomly freeze whenever a user was on it. Sometimes it would happen instantly, other times it would let them move around the site for a few minutes, but a complete system freeze was inevitable. Removing the Buscard meant trying to run a BBS on two 1541's instead of the plethora of high capacity, high speed double-disk PET drives I had accumulated for the purpose of running a BBS. Image, on the other hand, Image loved the PET drives and so DS2 got dropped. In terms of features or abilities, I don't think there was anything that DS2 could do that Image couldn't, but it just did it better. DS2 always had a nice 'feel' to it, both from the users' perspective and from the sysop's. It was colorful, but not overdone, the configuration was very flexable, and there were a lot of mods and options available for it at the time. In the back of my mind I seem to think I have a copy of DS2 still. Perhaps once I get a computer desk set up to bring out my '64 I will go through all my old BBS disks and see what I can find.
John
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cube
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by cube on Feb 3, 2007 4:14:37 GMT -5
Ooo, DS2. I have one .D81 image of DS2, but it's like an add-ons disk. I never touched the original DS2. What can you tell me about it? Go ahead and email me privately if you want. Well, I finally dug out my real collection of C64's... Actually it's kind of a funny story, the other day I was driving down a back alley when I came across a pile (seriously, a PILE) of electronic goodies stacked out behind this one house beneath a sign that read, "Please take as much as you want!" There was a digital receiver, a 5-disc CD changer, some nice 12" home speakers (older, but clean / pair / complete) a TV, some other miscellaneous electronics, and one particular device that caught my attention, eye, imagination and my heart - a Commodore 1902A monitor! I had to pick it up, I just had to - and when I brought it home (along with the receiver, speakers, and CD changer) -- everything worked! I interpreted this as divine intervention as a means to kick me in the pants and to resurrect my stash of Commodore equipment... Which I did this afternoon and once I had everything up and running again I went through the pitiful remains of a once vast collection of 5 1/4" floppies. Much to my relief however, I did find what appears to be a complete set of DS2 disks - and I was even able to boot it and get to the call screen (but then it wanted other disks and drives that were not currently set up.) But it does seem to work! So I'll be working on transferring that to my PC for archiving and safekeeping in the next day or so (probably tomorrow, if all goes well.) But I would be very pleased to set up a DS2 BBS... I just need to get an RS232 interface for the '64 now. Who knows, maybe by not using an actual modem on the 64 I'll be able to still use the Buscard interface and my PET drives?! Ohh so many possibilities... It's quarter past two in the morning and I know I need to get to sleep but I feel like a kid again knowing all this stuff is set up and ready to rock in the garage! *sigh* The 64 sure does bring out the geek in us all, doesn't it... John |
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cube
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by cube on Feb 3, 2007 4:20:48 GMT -5
Come to think of it, I know there was a Networking feature in DS2 as well, because we were working on a local network in and around Calgary called the Wild Rose Network. (Hence the label on one of my DS2 disks.) I'm really looking forward to going through it again. I'd also be very interested to know what sort of addons you had in that d81 image... nudge nudge wink wink John |
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The good ol' Empire version 1.0.