Using higher speeds...?
#1
Okay, is anyone using the WiModem232 at higher than 19.2k speeds?

I've got an Atari Mega ST4 which comes stock with a 19.2k serial port.

I' just installed a mod (RSVE) that enhances the standard ST serial port
so that it can go higher.

It uses the HSModem software that "remaps" the 19.2k speed to what
you set it too. In my case, that's 38400. So any legacy software that
can't be set to higher speeds will, even set to it's regular limit of 19.2k,
still use the higher speed. Or that's the theory anyway.

The mod comes with a red LED that lights up when the higher speeds
are being accessed. The mod does that here, so it should be working
correctly.

I can not get the RSVE equipped Mega ST4 to communicate with my
WiModem232 though. It's like there is a speed mismatch. Kinda like
when it comes setup at the initial 300 speed and you try to access it
from comms software but the commands won't go through until you 
set you comms speed to 300 and then change it.

If I disable the RSVE mod and set the WiModem232 to 19.2k, then
everything works correctly again. I've tried pretty much everything
I know to do...

Anyone else have any advice, ideas or thoughts?  Thanks much.  Smile

   
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#2
The WiModem actually works up to 4 megabaud, but the stock firmware is limited to 230,400 baud. I have a new mode where I can link two WiModem232's together (without going through the router) to act as a NULL modem cable.

Are you setting the WiModem232 to 38400 baud BEFORE you make the change of this device to the higher speed? Is this device REALLY switching the communications to 38400 baud? Is this device expecting any type of RTS/CTS/DTR/DSR/DCD configuration?
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#3
Well...I was a little unsure how to proceed with this, so I did the following.

From TAZ (comms software) I used AT*B38400 on the WiModem232 but
did NOT save it

I then enabled the RSVE mod.

The red LED on the mod comes on, which is supposed to mean faster than
19.2 speeds. In this case, I'm using the HSModem software to remap 19.2
speeds to 38.4 baud.

I then reopened TAZ which now fails to communicate with the WiModem232.

Nothing in the documentation even mentions "RTS/CTS/DTR/DSR/DCD"...

Thanks.
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#4
If you see the "OK" from the WiModem232 then it switches to 38400 baud properly. After that, it is up to whatever device is communicating with it to *really* be at 38400 baud.

When you say "fails to communicate", what do you mean? Do you see anything on the OLED screen when you type characters? Have you tried switching this device to the fast mode, but leave the WiModem232 set at 19200 baud just to see if the device is not switching baud rates?

Have you tried setting this device to 19200 baud (like doubling 9600 baud), or is that even possible?

There is no magic in this. Either the device communicating is at the right baud rate or it is not.
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#5
Yep, the WiModem232 is doing exactly what it's supposed to, no problems there.

The issue is from the software on my Atari ST's side.

Last night, using CoNect95, which has built-in support for higher speeds than 19.2k
and supports the RSVE mod that gives my ST the ability to go faster, I was able to
communicate with the WiModem232.

When I say/said "communicate", I meant the ability to type in the AT commands and
the WiModem232 see and respond to them properly. Sorry I wasn't more clear there.

So, with CoNnect95 I can issue commands to the WiModem232 and I was able to
connect at 38400 with a Linux based BBS. So that's all working.

What is still not working is the remapping feature of the HSModem software. It is
what is supposed to take a port speed, such as 100, 110, 300, etc, and "remap"
it to 38400. So, for example, if you set your comms or BBS software to a speed
of 100, then HSModem is supposed to catch that and kick it up to 38400 baud
automatically.

I obviously have something not set right, because it's not doing it. My BBS
software, TAZ comms software, etc, isn't reflecting that remapping when I
use it. You can set it to different parameters. From an article from back in
the 90's, a former BBS Express! ST SysOp wrote that he set his to remap
from 19.2 to 38.4, that way he didn't have to make any changes in Express
to get it to work. That's what I've been trying but it doesn't work here it
seems. So when I get some more time, I'm going to play around with those
settings and see what happens.

The good news is, after successfully using CoNnect95, is that I did in fact,
install the mod correctly and it is working. Also, (very important!), if you
run the software and set the mod to be disabled, everything, including my
BBS will continue to function normally at the usual 19.2 speeds. So there's
no real pressure here - I'm not forced to be offline until I find a resolution.

Thanks as always for the help. If/when I can ever figure out the correct way
to get the remapping working, I'll post it here...

Keeping my fingers crossed that I'll have double the speed eventually. Smile
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#6
Ok, good luck! Smile
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#7
Okay, quick question.

So Express does send an "ATZ" to the WiModem232 when it's starting.

If I'm reading the PDF right, that restores the WiModem232 from its
last saved settings, but does NOT change the baud rate setting. Is that
correct?

So if I had it saved to 19200, then used a comms package to set the
baud rate to 38400 but do NOT save it with AT&W, then send the WiModem232
an "ATZ", it would reload the saved setting but keep the baud rate at 38400.

Is that right?

Thanks.
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#8
Yeah, you need to do AT&W to write your settings to the WiMODEM, and then ATZ will reset to 38400.
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#9
(01-08-2023, 02:16 AM)Craziazkowboi Wrote: Yeah, you need to do AT&W to write your settings to the WiMODEM, and then ATZ will reset to 38400.

Just to make sure, but if I do NOT save with AT&W, then doing an ATZ will still bring up
38400 (the last thing I had it set to) and not the saved baud rate of 19200, right?

Thanks.
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#10
If the baud rate is stored as 19200 baud and you change it to 38400 baud, using ATZ does NOT change the baud rate back to 19200 baud. Even if you store the change with AT&W, ATZ never changes the baud rate.
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