1406 lines
72 KiB
Plaintext
1406 lines
72 KiB
Plaintext
Volume 4, Number 10 9 March 1987
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+---------------------------------------------------------------+
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| / \ |
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| /|oo \ |
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| - FidoNews - (_| /_) |
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| _`@/_ \ _ |
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| International | | \ \\ |
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| FidoNet Association | (*) | \ )) |
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| Newsletter ______ |__U__| / \// |
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| / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / |
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| (________) (_/(_|(____/ |
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| (jm) |
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+---------------------------------------------------------------+
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Editor in Chief: Thom Henderson
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Chief Procrastinator Emeritus: Tom Jennings
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FidoNews is the official newsletter of the International FidoNet
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Association, and is published weekly by SEAdog Leader, node 1/1.
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You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in
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FidoNews. Article submission standards are contained in the file
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ARTSPEC.DOC, available from node 1/1.
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Copyright (C) 1987, by the International FidoNet Association.
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All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted
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for noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances,
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please contact IFNA.
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Table of Contents
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1. ARTICLES
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What is the Story on 9600 Baud Modems?
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The First Echomail Conference List
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IFNA Board Nominations
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SEAdog Offer for IFNA Members
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Public Key Encryption Revisited
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2. COLUMNS
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Irregular column
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Technical Topics Column
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3. NOTICES
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The Interrupt Stack
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Fidonews Page 2 9 Mar 1987
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=================================================================
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ARTICLES
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=================================================================
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What is the Story on 9600 Baud Modems
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by
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Bob Hartman, Sysop 132/101
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So, you've heard all of the stories about 9600 baud modems,
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and you've seen all the ads, now you want to buy one, but the
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problem is which one to buy? Before you make the leap, there are
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some things which you should know:
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First of all, the International FidoNet Association (IFNA),
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has created a special committee to study the different 9600 baud
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(and even higher speed) modems to find out which ones are best
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suited for our uses with Fido/Opus/SEAdog/etc. The reason for
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this is simple - there is no standard (that is affordable) for
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having 9600 baud modems work over standard voice grade phone
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lines. At 2400 baud there was a well defined standard (V.22bis),
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but at 9600 baud the only standard is V.32, and modems using that
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technology tend to cost $3000 or more! This price tag is out of
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reach for most consumers, so modem manufacturers have taken it
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upon themselves to try and manufacture modems that work over
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voice grade lines, and then try to get their technology
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recognized as the new standard. With over 1000 Sysops world
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wide, and a user base many hundreds of times that size, the
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FidoNet community is in a position which is fairly unique - we
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can help a standard along by deciding that a certain modem is one
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that does the job for us. In fact, we MUST do this because if we
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do not, we will all end up with different 9600 baud modems that
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will not communicate with each other. Yes, it is true, two
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modems from two different manufacturers will not talk to each
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other at 9600 baud. Think about it - if you go out and buy right
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now, and the rest of the network decides on a different modem,
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then you will not be able to communicate at 9600 baud. Is it
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worth taking that chance?
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The second thing you should know about is that all of the
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manufacturers of high speed modems are working with our committee
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to try and make us choose their modem. They are all offering
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discounts of 50% or more to Fido Sysops (they all learned from
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what USRobotics did at 2400 baud). They are all working very
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closely with me personally, trying to get my standard SEAdog/Opus
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system to run on their modems. This obviously is important to us
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as Sysops, since if it doesn't work with our software, then we
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can't use the modem no matter how fast it runs. I must say that
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all three companies involved right now - USRobotics (USR Courier
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HST), Microcom (Microcom AX9624c), and Telebit (Telebit
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TrailBlazer) have been EXTREMELY helpful (although as you will
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see later, not necessarily successful).
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The final thing you should know before I get on to the
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results of my testing, is that this report is VERY PRELIMINARY,
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and should be taken as such. My testing is by no means complete,
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and as you will see, many technical problems still need to be
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Fidonews Page 3 9 Mar 1987
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overcome.
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Some Preliminary Results:
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This section contains my thoughts about each modem so far,
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and do not represent anything except my own views based upon my
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exposure to each of the modems.
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Let me start off with Microcom, since they are the easiest.
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They have so far shipped me three modems, of which two have
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arrived DOA. Without two working modems it is impossible to do
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any 9600 baud testing, so only 2400 baud testing was done. At
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the lower baud rates this modem will not work properly with
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SEAdog 4.0. The modem does not react quickly enough to toggling
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DTR, and as a result there are many times when SEAdog will send a
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command to the modem which will not be executed. SEAdog will
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then print an error message and try again - this time the command
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will generally work properly. SEAdog 4.0 also will not properly
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"fall back" to a lower baud rate when making a call out. For
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example, you attempt to call a system at 2400 baud, but he is
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actually running a 1200 baud modem - SEAdog will connect, but
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will attempt to communicate at 2400 baud rather than 1200 baud.
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This is due to the timing the Microcom modem uses in first
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raising the DCD (carrier detect) signal, and then outputting the
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CONNECT 1200 message. Hayes compatible modems first output the
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CONNECT 1200 message, and then raise the DCD signal (which is
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what SEAdog expects). This modem also only accepts upper case
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'AT' commands, while most Hayes compatible modems will accept
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either 'at' or 'AT'. Having been manufactured by Microcom, this
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modem obviously supports MNP protocol in hardware. It also
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supports the Microcom SX command set as well as the Hayes AT
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command set. The modem is quite confusing to configure due to it
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not being just a Hayes clone. The modem also has two sets of dip
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switches, one on the front, and one on the back of the modem -
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making for even more problems. It is also a half-duplex 9600
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baud modem - meaning that data can only be sent in one direction
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at a time.
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I guess that I will talk about the USRobotics Courier HST
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next. As some of you (anybody that reads SYSOP echomail) know, I
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have been unable to get two USR HST modems to talk to each other
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over a local phone company connection. I have been able to send
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two long distance messages to the USR Opus system (115/500 Sit
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UBU Sit), but those two messages took several hundred attempts -
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not because of busy signals, but because of ARQ (MNP) disconnects
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(read on). First some technical information about the modem. It
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is VERY Hayes/Courier 2400 compatible. In fact, in the 2400 baud
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testing (and below) it behaves exactly like a Courier 2400 baud
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modem. I have found no differences between the two when I run
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the modem in non-ARQ mode. The modem also has MNP (which
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USRobotics calls ARQ) protocol that can be enabled. It is
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necessary at 9600 baud to use this option. The modem works as a
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sort-of full-duplex modem. What does this mean? Well, the
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modems that are connected determine which side is sending more
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data (don't ask me how), and that side gets the 9600 baud
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channel. The other side then has a 300 baud channel for sending
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Fidonews Page 4 9 Mar 1987
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data the other direction. This is a very nice feature to have
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for interactive operation since the modems do not have to
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constantly turn the line around for each character that is typed.
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Unfortunately, this method takes up all of the available
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bandwidth of the telephone connection, and therefore requires a
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reasonable signal to noise ratio over the entire bandwidth. On
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local connections this should be no problem, but on long distance
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connections with the many games that AT&T plays on long distance,
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it could be a problem a lot more often. I saw this happen myself
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when connecting to 115/500 when every time I connected (except
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for twice), I got disconnected almost immediately because the ARQ
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(MNP) retry count was too high. In other words, the connection
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was so bad that the two systems took more than 5 tries to send
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one packet of data, and therefore they disconnected. Since I can
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call 115/500 and send mail perfectly at 2400 baud (no errors, or
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very rare), it seems that the USR HST modem may be trying to push
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the outer limits of the bandwidth a bit too far. What are the
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advantages of the USR HST? It will work with my SEAdog/Opus
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setup without any software changes (other than my modem init
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string). It is also very Hayes compatible, and as simple to set
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up as the Courier 2400 baud modem.
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Finally, let me discuss the Telebit TrailBlazer modem. This
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modem does not use any sort of conventional technology to get its
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high speed. It uses what they call PEP transmission mode, and
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basically what it does is break down the entire phone line
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bandwidth (0Hz-4000Hz) into 512 channels each 7.8 Hz apart. When
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the two modems sync up to start, they each do analysis of the
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line quality on each of the 512 frequencies. Then only the best
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frequencies are used for the actual data transmission. They
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modulate each carrier at 7.5 baud (that is the actual speed of
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the modem -7.5 baud), and encode 2, 4, or 6 (almost always 6)
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bits of data on each frequency. This can give throughputs of
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18,000 bps and up! In a normal phone line, the usable bandwidth
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is something like 300Hz-3000Hz which would give about 350 usable
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channels, which corresponds to 15750 bps. On my system I was
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constantly seeing throughputs of 15000-16500 bps. The advantage
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of this method is that it should work on ANY phone line,
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regardless of how bad it is. Even if only 100 channels are
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usable (which seems silly since that is only a usable bandwidth
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of 780 Hz, and voice grade really requires at least 2000 Hz),
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then you would have a rate of 4500 bps, which is still twice as
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fast as our current 2400 bps modems. In addition, the
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TrailBlazer does automatic error correction when in PEP mode, and
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because they choose the best frequencies to start with, there are
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almost never any retransmissions. In my testing I was seeing
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about 1 retransmitted packet in every 5000 packets sent. Well,
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how did this modem stack up? First of all, it was the only modem
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that so far has been able to transmit data at 9600 baud or higher
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on my local phone connections. This in itself is a major feat
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which neither USR or Microcom has been able to achieve. It also
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acts as a normal 2400 baud modem, with a few minor
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incompatibilities with the normal Hayes way of doing things.
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Everything (and I mean everything except the on/off switch) is
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controlled by AT commands in this modem. There are no external
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sliders for volume, no dip switches, nothing. It is all done
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Fidonews Page 5 9 Mar 1987
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with AT commands (once you get used to it, it is rather nice).
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Setup with this modem (for that reason) is a pain in the rear
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end, but once done, the settings can be stored and never have to
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be worried about again. Unfortunately, this modem raises DCD,
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and outputs the connect message just like the Microcom modem
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does, so it does not work for making outgoing calls with SEAdog.
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I have spoken to the technical support department at Telebit, and
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they are going to change this so that it will work with the
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current software available for FidoNet sysops. The modem is also
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half duplex, and typing a character and waiting for the echo from
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the BBS can be time consuming, but again, the technical support
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department has a fix for this which I will supposedly be allowed
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to try out under a beta test arrangement.
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Well, now that I have said all of this, what does it mean?
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First of all, it means that going out within the next month and
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buying a 9600 baud modem is probably not a good idea. While
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Microcom and Telebit have been selling their modems for over a
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year, they are currently not quite compatible with the software
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that we have available to us, and USR simply has not worked the
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kinks out of their modem yet (after all, it just started shipping
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out last week). It also is not clear to me that the USR modem
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will work on most phone lines. They have not been able to get
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their modem working on my phone lines, and they have been working
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with me since day one. In being fair to Microcom, they simply
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have not been able to get me two modems that work properly, but
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they also seem the least interested in getting our business.
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Now on to some specific questions:
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If I HAD TO buy a modem today, and it had to work with
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Fido/Opus/SEAdog, which one would I buy? The answer to that is
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simple - the USR modem is the only one that works with SEAdog/etc
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right now. Unfortunately, their modem is very new, still has
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problems working on my phone system, and has not proven itself in
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the field.
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What are the prices going to be? From what I know right
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now, the USR modem lists for $995, and they will sell it to Fido
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Sysops for $495. The Microcom price has not been set yet. The
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Telebit TrailBlazer lists for $1345, and they will give us 50%
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off for a price of $675. Included for no extra charge is the
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2400 baud option which normally would add $100 to their price.
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Which modem do other people seem to like? This is a hard
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one. I have seen many people choose Microcom, because until
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recently Telebit did not agressively market their modem, and it
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was also marketed under the name FastLink by another company.
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That is all changing now, and Telebit is committed to being more
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competetive (hence their offer for FidoNet Sysops). The
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TrailBlazer has recently been named the PC Magazine Product of
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the year, and has been reviewed very favorably by Digital Review,
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Mini-Micro Systems, Popular Science, Network World, PC-Week, and
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Infoworld. Both USR and Telebit have applied to CCITT to have
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their technology recognized as the standard for 9600 baud data
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transmission over voice grade phone lines.
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Fidonews Page 6 9 Mar 1987
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If I was going to buy a 9600 baud modem for high speed file
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transfers, rather than BBS use, which would it be? In this case
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I would undoubtedly choose the Telebit TrailBlazer. It was
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designed for that purpose, and it is the only modem that can send
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data at baud rates exceeding 9600 baud. Actually, the Microcom
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can do some data compression to get up above 9600 baud, but I
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have yet to see two of them work, so I can't really comment on
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that. The TrailBlazer will only be faster than the USR (again,
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assuming the USR will work on the phone lines in question) when
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using a transfer protocol that does not require full-duplex
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transmissions. This rules out XMODEM, but Ymodem-g, and Zmodem
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both work nicely, and SEAlink with large window sizes (20 or more
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blocks) also performs admirably.
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If I was going to buy a modem today, which would it be,
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given no other restrictions? I would not buy any of these modems
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today!!! USR has not proven their technology, Microcom has not
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proven to me that their modems work either, and the TrailBlazer
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does not currently work with Fido/Opus/SEAdog.
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If I was going to buy a modem in six months, which would I
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buy? At that point a lot could have changed, but I would
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probably go with the Telebit TrailBlazer. By then, the small
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incompatibilities with our software will have been fixed, the
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modem is definitely going to work on any phone lines, and it is
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the fastest of the group. The price is $180 higher than USR, but
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right now I would think that paying the extra $180 to get a modem
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which will definitely work is worth the higher price. Who knows,
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perhaps six months from now USR will have improved their modem to
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the point that it too will work on any phone lines, and at that
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point, the 300 baud reverse channel becomes a factor in their
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favor. With that 300 baud channel, file transfer protocols like
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XMODEM, and more importantly SEAlink will work just fine.
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Which standard - USR or Telebit - will the CCITT approve?
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Your guess is as good as mine - yet another good reason to wait
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before buying a 9600 baud modem.
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Which modem has the best error correction? Well, consider
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that the Telebit TrailBlazer can continue a file transfer even if
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you are talking on the same line. It won't just retransmit the
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data that is in error, it will actually send a large number of
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packets that won't have any errors in them anyway! Call it the
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"whistle test" if you will, but imaging seeing your file transfer
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continue at about 50% of its normal speed while you are whistling
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into the phone. Enough said?
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Anything else I should know about these modems? Well, there
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is a lot more to know, but I just can't provide the answers right
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now. Some things I do know that might be important are:
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1. USR is giving a 30 day money back guarantee to Sysops who
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purchase the modem - please, make sure that if your modem (if
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you have already ordered one) arrives and does not seem to
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work, be sure to return it for a full refund! Don't be
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bashful about this, because it is your money. The IFNA Board
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Fidonews Page 7 9 Mar 1987
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of Directors, and Ken Kaplan in particular argued long and
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hard for this provision, because of the problems that I have
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been having with the modems that USR sent to me for testing.
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2. The people to contact about these modems are:
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USR - Wes Cowell - (800) 342-5877
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Telebit - Bruce Blain - (617) 263-9449
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Microcom - Victor Forgetta - (800) 822-8224
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3. USR and Telebit will both be advertising heavily in the coming
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months. Try to read the ads, and note important figures. Ask
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questions. I will answer any questions sent to my board, and
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if I don't know the answer, then I will find out from someone
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who does know the answer.
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Well, that about covers it for this issue of Fidonews. As I
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said at the start of this article, this is by no means a final
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evaluation, just a first step. It was prompted by the fact that
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people were blindly buying 9600 baud modems without having all of
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the facts (not that you do now, but you hopefully are at least a
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little bit more informed).
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- Bob Hartman -
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Sysop, the UN*X Gateway
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SEAdog/Opus Node 132/101
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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Fidonews Page 8 9 Mar 1987
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Thomas Kenny
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IFNA node 107/316
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The First Echomail Conference List
|
||
|
||
Echomail Conference List, Issue 1, Number 1 (1/13/87) Copyright
|
||
(c) 1986, Thomas Kenny. All rights reserved Duplication and/or
|
||
distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only.
|
||
|
||
===================
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||
|
||
ATTENTION ECHOMAIL COORDINATORS AND CONTACTS! PLEASE send
|
||
updates to IFNA node 107/316 Deadline for the next issue is
|
||
3/1/87
|
||
|
||
====================
|
||
|
||
A special condensed FidoNews Edition of Echomail Conference list
|
||
will be released monthly. The format is still a bit
|
||
experimental. For now it's just a list of conference titles
|
||
followed by the name or node of who to contact if you want to
|
||
connect.
|
||
|
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The more complete format showing approximate traffic levels,
|
||
all Nets carrying each conference, and the date of the last
|
||
update is available as an ARCed file from 107/316 as a SEAdog
|
||
File Request or by logon.
|
||
|
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If you are interested in helping to distribute updates to
|
||
ECHOnnn, contact:
|
||
|
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Echo Conference Scribe
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Thomas Kenny 107/316.
|
||
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We are HOPING for utilities to be written which will update the
|
||
list without anyone having to do any work at all .. and with
|
||
noone paying any phone bill whatsoever to distribute it
|
||
|
||
But, until BIGMAGIC.EXE gets written, we will be asking Echo
|
||
Conference Coordinators to send Netmail to 107/316 letting us
|
||
know the Name of the Conference, who carries it, the
|
||
"AREA:????????" name, and any information helpful to potential
|
||
participants. Then we'll type up the list. It's a crude and
|
||
inelegant method ... but it gets the job done.
|
||
|
||
===========================
|
||
|
||
When the "contact" is listed in parentheses it means that the
|
||
conference is NOT currently active but the person listed is
|
||
interested in STARTING a conference on the topic.
|
||
|
||
CONFERENCE CONTACT
|
||
---------- -------
|
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|
||
Abled Echo David Dodell 114/15
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Handicapped issues
|
||
Fidonews Page 9 9 Mar 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
ADAM Discussion Bill Freads 11/700
|
||
ADAM Technical Bill Freads 11/700
|
||
ADS Tracy Graves 138/39
|
||
Ads from SYSOPS that support their Fido by the work they
|
||
do. Commercial ads from SYSOPS only.
|
||
Adults (John Penberthy 129/28)
|
||
AI Richard Clark 107/222
|
||
Artificial Intelligence
|
||
Amateur Radio John Dashner 133/10
|
||
Amiga Grey Mist 124/206
|
||
Amiga Prog Richard Clark 107/222
|
||
Amiga programmers technical information
|
||
APL Chris Lincoln 107/103
|
||
Appl Bob Abbot 157/511
|
||
Applications James Deibele 105/3)
|
||
Asian-American Arnold Chu 107/16
|
||
Asian-American Community happenings
|
||
ASM Barry Dobyns 102/140
|
||
Astronomy Don Epand 114/18
|
||
AT&T Bob Morris 141/333
|
||
Poll/Pickup from Host (138/39, 0150-0225 PDT)
|
||
Atari (James Deibele 105/3)
|
||
Atlgate ?
|
||
Autocad (Jim Quiesner 104/18)
|
||
Aviation Net (Mark Stappenbeck 14/609)
|
||
Basic (James Deibele 105/3)
|
||
Beyond War Andy Kanter 101/301
|
||
Bible Efraim West 136/203
|
||
Bitch Jim Bacon 103/507
|
||
Bloom Net Sysops Bob Stubbings 127/60
|
||
Books, Great Jim Bacon 103/507
|
||
Business & Economics Randall Kobetich 150/130
|
||
Buy & Sell Jim Deibele 105/3
|
||
Bylaws Bob Hartman 132/101
|
||
Only for Bylaws committee members?
|
||
Bylfedbk Tom Marshall 107/324
|
||
Bylaws feedback/forum for Region 13 Bylaws
|
||
representative
|
||
C Language Ed Rauh 141/215
|
||
C_PROG merged into the C_ECHO conference in (Sept '86).
|
||
Chatter *NONE*
|
||
Chicago General ?
|
||
Chicago Sysop ?
|
||
Christian Debate ?
|
||
Cincinnati Chatter *NONE*
|
||
Cincy Jesse Armontrout 108/64
|
||
Local sysop conference
|
||
COCO Echo Brian Bream 112/3
|
||
Commodore Marv Shelton 107/311
|
||
Consulting ?
|
||
Business of consulting.
|
||
Cosmopolitan Hal Duprie 101/107
|
||
Boston Metro Area: Books, Food & Good Things of Life
|
||
CP/M (John Penberthy 129/28)
|
||
dBASE Alex Hartley 100/500
|
||
DC Metro Mensa Jim Kay 109/612
|
||
Fidonews Page 10 9 Mar 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
Metro Washington DC Mensa
|
||
Debate *NONE*
|
||
Detroit, Chicago, Colorado. There may be two separate
|
||
conferences!?
|
||
DEC Rainbow Dave Rene 101/27
|
||
Host is 101/27 who polls all the nodes
|
||
Divers (Rod Lamping 104/610)
|
||
Doggies Tracy Graves 138/39
|
||
Fido clones & compatibles (SEAdog, Collie, Guardian,etc.)
|
||
Echomail Coordinators Jon Sabol 124/210
|
||
For Echomail coordinators only
|
||
ECPROG ?
|
||
Programmers conference
|
||
EQUUS (Mark Indictor 104/606)
|
||
Equestrian related topics.
|
||
Feminism Kim Storment 100/523
|
||
Fido Developers (Jim Ryan 141/9)
|
||
Share source code for FidoNet Compatible systems
|
||
Fire Net Woody Wood 128/16
|
||
Fire/Rescue/EMS news and information exchange.
|
||
Flamers Ken Shackelford 133/1
|
||
For Sale ?
|
||
Alias Buy & Sell
|
||
Bob Hartman 132/101
|
||
Bill Schreiber 151/301
|
||
Forth (George Clayton 103/602)
|
||
Fortran Barry Dobyns 102/140
|
||
Freemess Barry Dobyns 102/140
|
||
Los Angeles Chatter
|
||
Fun Stuff (John Bekas 115/212)
|
||
Music, concerts, misc...
|
||
Gaming Robert Plamondon 143/12
|
||
Role playing games
|
||
Gay Net Sysop Rick ?
|
||
Gay News Sysop Rick ?
|
||
Genealogy Ken Whitaker 143/26
|
||
HACK, PC Kurt Reisler 109/483
|
||
PC HACK Q&A and war stories
|
||
Health David Page 109/604
|
||
Health related issues (MDs participating)
|
||
There is also a larger group that exchanges files only.
|
||
Heath/Zenith Joe Rock 128/15
|
||
Heath/Zenith series 89, 90, 100-120 (not for Zenith 150
|
||
& up series)
|
||
Help Wanted Eunhee Hunter 109/626
|
||
HOWSWA Bill Bertholf 107/102
|
||
How's the weather in WA state!
|
||
HP3000TALK Tracy Graves 138/39
|
||
HP3000 conversations.
|
||
(Bob Kohl 102/611)
|
||
(Steve Butler 138/3)
|
||
Hunger Chris Irwin 108/68
|
||
IEEE (Bill Wilkes 107/211)
|
||
IFNA Conference *NONE*
|
||
No longer in existence
|
||
IFNA Policy & Politics Mike Hamilton 103/501
|
||
Fidonews Page 11 9 Mar 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
*NATIONAL*
|
||
International Fido Net Association. Restricted to
|
||
Sysops only.
|
||
IPR Randall Kobetich 150/130
|
||
InterPersonal Relationships plus moral, ethical, social
|
||
issues.
|
||
Jobs Tracy Graves 138/39
|
||
Computer-related Employment Echo (Job Listings, etc.)
|
||
(Jim Ryan 141/9)
|
||
(James Deibele 105/3)
|
||
(Chris Michael 115/429)
|
||
Jokes (Bill Jones 105/10)
|
||
(Chuma Agbodike 102/641)
|
||
JR-MSG Phil Kaiser 104/904
|
||
PC jr conference
|
||
Judaica * TECHNET *
|
||
Lap-Tops Ej McKernan 15/20
|
||
(James Deibele 105/3)
|
||
Lifestyle Alternatives (Adam Selene 107/269)
|
||
Polyfidelity, Family Synergy, Celibacy, Feminism,
|
||
Communalism, Single Parenthood, Foster Parenting,
|
||
... For anyone whose life's path is not "mainstream".
|
||
Lotus Randy Van de Loo 124/110
|
||
(John Penberthy 129/28)
|
||
(Randy Bush 105/6)
|
||
MacIntosh Leo LaPorte 125/2
|
||
All about the MacIntosh computer (developers & users)
|
||
Magick Brad Hicks 100/523
|
||
Merged with Alternative Religion conference
|
||
Mensa Jim Kay 109/612
|
||
National conference of Mensa run board or where there is
|
||
substantial membership interest.
|
||
Metronet Don Daniels 107/210
|
||
Net 107 Sysop Conference
|
||
MIDI Bruce Oblander 161/594
|
||
Mindset PC *NONE*
|
||
Conference was dissolved since 16/635 (James Pallack)
|
||
went down.
|
||
MOD1000 Neal Curtin 138/14
|
||
Tandy Model 1000
|
||
Modula-2 Randy Bush 122/6
|
||
Modula-2 programming language
|
||
Nature (Richard Clark 107/222)
|
||
Net 102 For Sale Barry Dobyns 102/140
|
||
Net 104 Sysop ?
|
||
alias Fidosysp
|
||
Net 104 Tech NET_104*
|
||
alias Techline
|
||
Net 108 Chatter 108/68
|
||
Net 108 Forsale Steve Sullivan 108/75
|
||
Net 108 Programmer Jesse Armontrout 108/64
|
||
Net 109 Classifieds Alexander Wall 109/606
|
||
Net 109 advertising (for sale)
|
||
Net 109 General Steven Ranger 109/621
|
||
General user chatter
|
||
Net 109 Reviews Kurt Reisler 109/74
|
||
Fidonews Page 12 9 Mar 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
Arts and restaurant reviews
|
||
Net 109 Sysop Steven Ranger 109/621
|
||
Local SYSOPs only
|
||
Net 109 Technical Help Jim Kay 109/612
|
||
Net 124 Sysop Jon Sabol 124/210
|
||
Net 125 Sysop ?
|
||
Net 133 Sysop John Dashner 133/10
|
||
Net 137 gossip *NONE*
|
||
Net 150 Sysop & users ?
|
||
Net 161 Sysop Butch Walker 161/2
|
||
Networking Dave Oshea 107/35
|
||
Ohio Phil Ardussi 157/502
|
||
Opus Chuck Lawson 124/105
|
||
For beta & gamma test sites only
|
||
Packet Amateur Radio Dan Taylor 102/3121
|
||
Park Richard Clark 107/222
|
||
US National Park Service only
|
||
Pascal ?
|
||
(Randy Bush 122/6)
|
||
(John Penberthy 129/28)
|
||
Philosophy *NONE*
|
||
Photography (Bill Thomas 132/225)
|
||
PIB Bob Klahn 150/1
|
||
(Harvey Nehgila 161/77)
|
||
Politics Bill Bertholf 107/102
|
||
Politics and public policy
|
||
(Phil Ardussi 157/502)
|
||
(Allen Miller 108/10)
|
||
(Jim Kay 109/612)
|
||
Portables (John Penberthy 129/28)
|
||
Programming Butch Walker 161/2
|
||
Prolog Barry Dobyns 102/140
|
||
Rbase (John Penberthy 129/28)
|
||
Real Estate Al Arango 107/323
|
||
Real Estate and finance
|
||
Records Roger Smith 18/14
|
||
Record collecting and music in general
|
||
Region 17 Chatter Tracy Graves 138/39
|
||
Region 17 General Chatter Echo
|
||
Region 17 For Sale Tracy Graves 138/39
|
||
Region 17 Classified Ads
|
||
Region 19 (David Drexler 147/1)
|
||
Religious debate Chris Irwin 108/68
|
||
Born again vs secular humanists
|
||
RGN17 Rob Barker 138/34
|
||
Region 17 Privileged Echo Area
|
||
Rights Steve Butler 138/3
|
||
Shareware author rights, information exchange.
|
||
S&M Adam Selene 107/269
|
||
Consensual Power Exchange
|
||
Sailors ?
|
||
Sci-Fi Authors Brad Hicks 100/523
|
||
Science Fiction and Fandom. Discussion of science
|
||
fiction movies, television, book, comics, and all other
|
||
media. Doctor Who, Star Trek, Hitchhiker's Guide to the
|
||
Galaxy, Zelazny, Moorcock, Asimov, Danger Mouse,
|
||
Fidonews Page 13 9 Mar 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
Battlestar Galactica, etc!
|
||
Sci-Fi Fandom Mike Jacobs 150/900
|
||
For fans of Sci-Fi
|
||
Scuba Rod Lamping 104/610
|
||
SEAdog *NONE*
|
||
Shortwave Listening Larry DiGioia 129/17
|
||
Sirius Bob Klahn 150/1
|
||
Sirius test sites only
|
||
SMART Neal Curtin 138/14
|
||
SMART Software System package from Innovative Software
|
||
SOCAL Barry Dobyns 102/140
|
||
Software Careers Lee Johnson 125/612
|
||
Star Trek Trivia Steve Sullivan 108/75
|
||
Sysop Jon Sabol 124/210
|
||
THE National Sysop conference.
|
||
Fido bugs/fixes, news and sysop chatter. Restricted to
|
||
Sysop's ONLY!
|
||
T1K (Tandy) (Bill Schreiber 151/301)
|
||
(Neal Curtin 138/14)
|
||
Tandy ?
|
||
Tech Butch Walker 161/2
|
||
*NATIONAL* *TECHNET*
|
||
Techline 104 *TECHNET*
|
||
Telecomm Hal Duprie 101/107
|
||
TRS80 (Bill Schreiber 151/301)
|
||
(John Penberthy 129/28)
|
||
Turbo Pascal (Bob Klahn 150/1)
|
||
get ECPROG for this topic
|
||
(Bill Thomas 132/225)
|
||
UNIX Mike Johnson 170/329
|
||
USA Wide Rick Ward 109/635
|
||
Small national general conference
|
||
VAX Barry Dobyns 102/140
|
||
Vietnam Vets Todd Looney 143/27
|
||
Wildlife Richard Clark 107/222
|
||
Discussion of nature, outdoors, hunting, fishing,
|
||
conservation.
|
||
Women's Space (Gillian Boardman 107/269)
|
||
By and for women only.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 14 9 Mar 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bob Morris, 141/333
|
||
ChairPerson, Nominations and Elections Committee
|
||
|
||
Fellow IFNA Members, this is intended to clear the air concerning
|
||
the procedures which will be followed for the
|
||
Nomination/Endorsement phase of the Election of the Board of
|
||
Directors.
|
||
|
||
A person who desires to have their name placed on the ballot for
|
||
the position of director, either Regional or Director at Large,
|
||
must:
|
||
|
||
1. Submit a SHORT message addressed to me stating their desire to
|
||
run.
|
||
|
||
2. Obtain a SHORT endorsement message, addressed to me, which
|
||
supports their running for the position, by ten (10) other
|
||
IFNA Members(not necessarily from the same region).
|
||
|
||
3. Must send such messages to me via network mail. This must all
|
||
be done so that the packets reach me by the National Mail Hour
|
||
on April 1st.
|
||
|
||
IFNA Members who endorse other members for the position will be
|
||
checked against the IFNA Membership List and against any new
|
||
memberships which have not yet been entered, but have been
|
||
received as of April 1st.
|
||
|
||
Please be advised that some regions did not have people who
|
||
marked something about working for IFNA on the membership
|
||
application. It is hoped that the regional coordinators will
|
||
poll their respective regions and draft someone to fill the two
|
||
positions available for each region.
|
||
|
||
A file, which is file requestable from 141/333 and 141/301,
|
||
called IFNAMEMB.ARC contains all known IFNA members as of this
|
||
date. This file will be updated as the data becomes available.
|
||
|
||
Remember, this is our organization, and you make the difference.
|
||
Don't forget that the last date that you can submit nominations
|
||
to 141/333 and the endorsements from ANY IFNA member is the close
|
||
of National Mail Hour on 4/1/87.
|
||
|
||
Ballots will be printed in the FidoNews which is transmitted on
|
||
April 13, 1987. Voting will be done upto and including the
|
||
registration for the National Conference during the week of
|
||
August 17, 1987.
|
||
|
||
Any questions or comments should be entered in the IFNA echomail
|
||
conference.
|
||
|
||
P.S. IFNA membership cards will be distributed during March to
|
||
all paid members via US Mail.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 15 9 Mar 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
SEAdog Offer for IFNA Members
|
||
by Ben Baker -- IFNA Techincal Coordinator
|
||
|
||
IFNA is proud to announce that it will make SEAdog version 4.00
|
||
available to its members (limit one per member) for only $60.00.
|
||
|
||
As you may already know, Thom Henderson of System Enhancement
|
||
Associates (SEA) had announced that SEA would withdraw the
|
||
special Sysop price for SEAdog version 4. The reason is that SEA
|
||
has expended a large engineering investment in this major
|
||
revision to SEAdog without raising the list price. Since
|
||
engineering costs must be recovered from sales, the "fixed costs"
|
||
of the product, which include engineering, now leave them very
|
||
little margin. Add to this the cost of servicing an order, which
|
||
is about the same for one copy or a thousand and it becomes
|
||
apparent that single quantity orders are barely profitable
|
||
without discounts.
|
||
|
||
In a phone conversation with Thom, I posed the question "If IFNA
|
||
were to process and ship orders, and remove that cost item from
|
||
SEA, could SEA make us a price." He discussed the question with
|
||
his partners and the answer came back "Yes -- but with
|
||
restrictions. . ."
|
||
|
||
So here are the restrictions. IFNA must not compete for sales
|
||
with SEA or its authorized distributers. This means that we may
|
||
offer SEAdog only to IFNA members, and only one copy to each
|
||
registered member.
|
||
|
||
Members must understand and agree that SEA is NOT prepared to
|
||
offer technical support to IFNA purchasers. This is not a
|
||
serious constraint. More than adaquate support is available from
|
||
current users and from the SEAdog echo conference.
|
||
|
||
To order, send $60 (Missouri residents add $3.43 sales tax,
|
||
overseas members please make payment in US dollars, and include
|
||
an additional $5 for shipping and handling) to:
|
||
|
||
IFNA
|
||
PO Box 41143
|
||
St. Louis, MO 63141
|
||
|
||
Sorry, we are not prepared to handle credit card or COD orders.
|
||
Only pre-paid orders will be accepted. Orders received by Friday
|
||
of each week will be shipped pre-paid via UPS-ground the
|
||
following Monday (provided, of course, that I have them to ship;
|
||
at the moment I have a limited stock).
|
||
|
||
If you are not an IFNA member yet, but would like to participate
|
||
in this offer, fill out the membership application at the end of
|
||
this newsletter and include it and an additional $25.00.
|
||
|
||
Above all, remember this is a strictly volunteer operation, so
|
||
please have patience.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
Fidonews Page 16 9 Mar 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
Public Key Encryption Revisited
|
||
|
||
PART One.
|
||
|
||
If you know what "Public Key Encryption" is then feel free to
|
||
skip to part two.
|
||
|
||
Public Key Encryption is a special form of encryption which
|
||
uses different keys for encryption (or scrambling) of a message
|
||
and decryption (unscrambling, the reverse operation).
|
||
|
||
The separate keys for each operation have several advantages.
|
||
The first is that the encryption key can be distributed much more
|
||
easily by less secure means without compromizing the security of
|
||
future encrypted messages. Simple knoledge of the encryption key
|
||
does not enable decrption of encrypted messages. The decryption
|
||
key is reqired to recreate the original message. For this reason
|
||
the encryption key is commonly called the "public key" and the
|
||
decryption key is the "private key".
|
||
|
||
In operation, everyone who wants to recieve secret messages
|
||
creates their own pair of keys, one private and one public. The
|
||
public key is them communicated to everyone who may want to send
|
||
them a secret message. Perhaps a central key distribution center
|
||
would be established. The private key is kept secret and never
|
||
told to anyone.
|
||
|
||
For example ... Art wants to send Beth a secret message. He
|
||
would look up Beth's public key or ask her to send him one (in
|
||
the clear). He would then use Beth's public key to encrypt his
|
||
message and send her the encrypted message. Beth recieves the
|
||
message and decodes it with her private key. No one else can
|
||
decrypt the message even if they get a copy of the encrypted
|
||
message AND the public key. They need the private key.
|
||
|
||
In 1978 the CACM journal published a way of doing this on
|
||
computers. The system they described has come to be known as the
|
||
"RSA" crypto system named after the authors of the article, R. L.
|
||
Rivest, A. Shamir, and L. Aldeman.
|
||
|
||
The RSA system has an additional property beyond the general
|
||
Public Key Encryption system described so far. With the RSA
|
||
system the keys are interchangeable so you can use a private key
|
||
to encrypt a message and then only the coresponding public key
|
||
will unscramble the message. This is in effect a "digital
|
||
signature" which "signs" a message showing that the encrypted
|
||
message could only have been created with knowlege of the private
|
||
key.
|
||
|
||
Messages can also be ecrypted more than once. For example you
|
||
can sign a message with your private key and then encrypt the
|
||
result again with the intended receiver's public key to make a
|
||
signed, secret message. The receiver would then need to do the
|
||
reverse two steps in the reverse order to get the original
|
||
message back.
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 17 9 Mar 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
Even more complex interaction can be used for special
|
||
purposes. Articles have appeared on how to play poker over the
|
||
phone and how to hold a secret ballot election over the phone and
|
||
others.
|
||
|
||
|
||
PART Two.
|
||
|
||
I have implemented a Public Key Encryption system based on
|
||
the RSA system. It runs on MS-DOS using files for keys and
|
||
messages. I am distributing the system as freeware/shareware.
|
||
|
||
There may be some legal or political considerations in this.
|
||
|
||
I have heard roumors that this sort of stuff comes under
|
||
certain restritions for export of high tech (or something) from
|
||
the USA. I don't think this quite applies to me because I am
|
||
exporting the system TO the USA. (I live in Canada).
|
||
|
||
I have also heard roumors that some intelligence organization
|
||
(unnamed) is discouraging public discusion (let alone
|
||
utilization) of these systems. I have trouble believing this
|
||
because I had no trouble finding all the inforamtion I could ever
|
||
desire on the subject. There was even a articles in Scientific
|
||
American and Byte magazine and a couple follow-up letters.
|
||
|
||
Anyone who has any solid info on this, I would like to hear
|
||
from you. I especially would like to hear directly from any
|
||
government organization(s) (in any country) who may think they
|
||
are involved.
|
||
|
||
|
||
PART Three
|
||
|
||
The preceding article was published about a year ago in
|
||
FidoNews (twice actually due to some confusion) esentially in the
|
||
same form you see it now.
|
||
|
||
I have received some interesting correspondence as a result.
|
||
Some relevant, some not. (No spies came to my door though.)
|
||
|
||
Of the people who tried out the software I wrote, most wanted
|
||
to know if it could be speeded up. It is quite slow compared to
|
||
ordinary encryption. The speed depends on the size of the keys
|
||
used but even with extensive tuning I cannot get it do encrypt
|
||
faster than about 200 bytes per minute on a regular 4.77 MHz
|
||
8088. (I would estmate the SEA ARC /g option to be 1000 times
|
||
faster). This does admitedly limit the value of the system
|
||
severly. On the other hand, it is the only PUBLIC KEY encryption
|
||
system I am aware of for MS-DOS PCs. By the way, addition of an
|
||
8087 would have no effect on the speed. One way to speed it up
|
||
is faster proccessors. (Will someone give me an 80386 please?)
|
||
Even a 386 won't solve the speed problem though. To solve it
|
||
completly would require a completly new algorithm. I don't know
|
||
of any and anyway the RSA algorithm I use has proven to be quite
|
||
secure when used properly (so far).
|
||
Fidonews Page 18 9 Mar 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
Another interesting point which has come up is the possibility
|
||
of using public key encryption for IFNA voting. It would be nice
|
||
to have some security on the voting process while using our
|
||
network for voting (instead of the primitive paper system used
|
||
for the ratification of the constitution). The digital signature
|
||
feature would be used to sign your vote. This would involve some
|
||
extra administration of keys for every one and a CPA with a Fdio
|
||
node I expect.
|
||
|
||
Using encryption on the net does bring up another point. Some
|
||
sysops like to know what messages are going through their system.
|
||
They like to know if their system is being used for illegal
|
||
activities primarily (and some are just nosey :-) ). Also there
|
||
is a tendancy to follow the HAM radio policy which prohibits
|
||
encryption of any form. Personally I don't think the HAM radio
|
||
policy applies to Fidonet for this. We pay for our communication
|
||
"bandwidth" in real money to the phone companies. They use the
|
||
public resource radio spectrum.
|
||
|
||
Some people asked to have the files encrypted into an ASCII
|
||
form which could be used in regular electronic mail including but
|
||
not limited to Fido. The original version would only produce
|
||
(unprintable) binary. The latest versions include an option to
|
||
produce ASCII files. (Version 0.1 and 0.2)
|
||
|
||
|
||
Interested parties may contact me via Fido node 134/1.
|
||
|
||
Lloyd Miller
|
||
Calgary, Alberta
|
||
1987 February 25
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 19 9 Mar 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
COLUMNS
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
|
||
Irregular Column
|
||
|
||
Well, here goes the second of my irregularly appearing
|
||
columns. This time around I've got some more comments on the
|
||
Microsoft C compiler (I've had a little more time to play around
|
||
with it), and some comments on OPUS among other things. It
|
||
occurred to me that some of you may be curious as to what type of
|
||
equipment I have so I'll mention it now to get it out of the way.
|
||
I am currently using an XT clone (Beltron) with a 30 meg hard
|
||
drive (Seagate ST238 with Western Digital RLL controller).
|
||
Attached to it is a Panasonic 1091 printer, and I use a Tecmar
|
||
Phonegate modem (2400 baud internal). There will hopefully be a
|
||
second 30 meg hard drive coming in a week or two as I act as an
|
||
echomail hub inside my net and would like to keep more than a few
|
||
days of echomail on it at any one time. Now, on to the column.
|
||
|
||
I've had some more time to play with the Microsoft C
|
||
compiler and feel I should warn some of you who are considering C
|
||
over BASIC. Most C compiler's have absolutely no direct control
|
||
over the screen, even to a clear screen (as a side note Computer
|
||
Innovations C86 is one of the exceptions). If you want to
|
||
position the cursor or clear the screen, you have to write a
|
||
function to do it. This isn't as bad as it seems as you can
|
||
create a whole slew of basic screen functions in an afternoon's
|
||
work (if you have the right reference book and know how to do
|
||
it). If you don't feel like writing them yourself, there are
|
||
several "function libraries" available from various companies. As
|
||
to where you can find the information on writing these functions,
|
||
there are 3 choices: 1) IBM Technical Reference on the XT, 2) A
|
||
PC-DOS version 2.0 manual or 3) Advanced MS-DOS which will be
|
||
mentioned toward the end of the column. Overall, I just want to
|
||
make everyone aware that this is NOT the type of thing for a
|
||
beginner to try on their own.
|
||
|
||
I recently found some time to look over OPUS, which is a new
|
||
bulletin board program that is compatible with FidoNet. I can sum
|
||
up my comments on OPUS with two words, VERY impressive. I
|
||
thought about writing a bulletin board program many months ago
|
||
and can appreciate the effort that has gone into bringing OPUS to
|
||
life. For the user's there are several new protocols for
|
||
uploading and downloading, and the capability of adding new ones
|
||
almost as quickly as they're devised. Included in the files I've
|
||
got is the superquick SEAlink (C) and WXMODEM, If you have the
|
||
latest version of Procomm you can try the WXMODEM as quickly as
|
||
you can find an OPUS board (and I've seen them sprout quickly in
|
||
the nodelist). I've got a program that is supposed to include
|
||
SEAlink (C) called TELIX, but haven't gotten around to playing
|
||
with it at this time. From what I've heard on the net the
|
||
protocol is supposed to be very quick. User's can also peek into
|
||
an ARChive file to see what's in it online. It also has ANSI
|
||
graphics capabilities without forcing everyone to use them. For
|
||
message base people, you can now "read" everything in a message
|
||
Fidonews Page 20 9 Mar 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
base without having to hit return between each one, great if
|
||
you've been away for awhile, just turn on a capture buffer and
|
||
read 'em after you sign off.
|
||
|
||
On the sysop side there's only one downbeat note, OPUS
|
||
cannot yet send netmail. It's only capable of receiving mail (at
|
||
ANY time), although it will allow you to enter netmail. For the
|
||
time being you have to use either FIDO or SEAdog to send your
|
||
mail. This shouldn't be too much of a problem as OPUS can use
|
||
most of your FIDO files (USER.BBS, SCHED.BBS, etc). Otherwise
|
||
you have a much greater control over how the BBS should look,
|
||
unbelievable control capabilities in any displayed text file,
|
||
much greater control over what can be done in any message area
|
||
(OPUS "knows" about echomail among other things), and the
|
||
capability of not seeing all the SEEN-BY lines in an echomail
|
||
conference. You also have quite a bit of control over time
|
||
allowed, minimum baud rates for certain things. Overall it is a
|
||
very impressive program and I'd advise everyone out there to take
|
||
a look at it. I'd also like to thank Wynn Wagner for taking the
|
||
time to write and debug it.
|
||
|
||
I've had a chance to play with Reflex from Borland the past
|
||
few days and am already somewhat impressed with it. It a general
|
||
purpose database manager as far as I'm concerned with a few nice
|
||
features. I don't particularly care for their method of switching
|
||
between records, but you may not mind it. It's very easy to
|
||
create and modify the structure of a database within in the
|
||
program and you can design your own input form (make it look like
|
||
you want). The nice feature in it that caught my eye was it's
|
||
ability to generate graphs from the database. I remember trying
|
||
to teach someone (at that time my boss) how to generate a graph
|
||
in Lotus and this would be a breeze by comparison. If you've got
|
||
a graphics card (hercules or color) you can view the graph as you
|
||
play with it, kind of like watching everything as you put it
|
||
together. I wish I had something like this when I took physics,
|
||
it would have saved at least an hour a week on the lab reports
|
||
and I might have understood things a little better. Reflex also
|
||
allows you to view your data several different ways at the same
|
||
time, thus if you were putting together that lab report, you
|
||
could see immediately which points were off and fudge the data a
|
||
little (I know, I shouldn't encourage this but didn't we all tend
|
||
to fudge data on lab reports occasionally).
|
||
|
||
I think it would be a very good first database program for most
|
||
people. It teaches you the basics without getting everyone
|
||
confused with a lot of other things at the same time, and since
|
||
you can import and export data from many other programs you won't
|
||
have to reenter a lot of data if you're switching from something
|
||
else now, or decide to go with a different program at some future
|
||
date.
|
||
|
||
The best computer book I've seen recently is Advanced MS-DOS
|
||
by Ray Duncan. The reference section in the back is a must for
|
||
someone who is programming in C or Assembler. It lists all of the
|
||
DOS and BIOS interrupts and how to use them in your programs. I
|
||
used it myself to write some video functions this past week. I
|
||
Fidonews Page 21 9 Mar 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
found out about this book from Ray Duncan's column in Dr. Dobbs
|
||
Journal and intend on making it a permanent part of my library.
|
||
It's available from Microsoft Press for $22.95
|
||
|
||
My time on Leather Goddesses of Phobos has started
|
||
decreasing as I start playing StarFlight from Electronic Arts
|
||
more and more each day. StarFlight is not quite an adventure,
|
||
yet more than the standard mindless shoot 'em up type game. You
|
||
start off with some money and use it to train and equip a ship.
|
||
As you explore the galaxy, you can land on planet's where you can
|
||
find minerals and artifacts which can be sold back at the base.
|
||
You will also run across several different species, some more
|
||
warlike than others. So far I've managed to do an initial survey
|
||
of about 50 systems and am thoroughly enjoying the game. I
|
||
haven't lost my ship yet although I've come close a few times due
|
||
to either damage or running out of energy. Electronic Arts claim
|
||
that there are over 800 planets including Earth, which I haven't
|
||
been able to find it yet (If you find it, please drop me a line
|
||
on where it is for my own curiosity). List price on the game is
|
||
$50.00.
|
||
|
||
That about ties it up for this column, If you have any
|
||
comments on something I've written about, or something you think
|
||
I should look at (and write about), let me know and I'll get back
|
||
to you as soon as possible. If I think it's important enough,
|
||
I'll stick it at the end of my next column. If you're a user of a
|
||
BBS, please mention to your sysop that mail to me should be
|
||
routed through 157/0, 157/502, or 157/1. If you're a sysop,
|
||
please note the last sentence. All those nodes are running SEAdog
|
||
and will forward the message to me within 24 hours.
|
||
|
||
Dale Lovell
|
||
3266 Vezber Drive
|
||
Seven Hills, OH 44131
|
||
|
||
usenet: ..!ncoast!lovell
|
||
FidoNet: 157/504
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 22 9 Mar 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bob Arnold
|
||
Random Access BBS (Opus 260/320)
|
||
|
||
Technical Topics
|
||
================
|
||
|
||
This is the first in what I hope will become a continuing series
|
||
of columns on various technical topics of concern to the BBS
|
||
sysop and user. Almost any topic of a technical nature will be
|
||
discussed. No, I DON'T want to get into the censorship thing
|
||
here. That's a topic best left for discussion in other areas.
|
||
We'll deal with hardware and software here.
|
||
|
||
"What gives this bozo the right to write this thing", I heard
|
||
somebody ask. Simple. I've been involved with microcomputers
|
||
since the days of the early TRS-80 Model 1. Anybody remember the
|
||
huge (for then) 4 K of dynamic RAM and a barely useable BASIC in
|
||
ROM? I thought when I upgraded to 16K and Level 2 BASIC that I
|
||
had EVERYTHING anybody ever wanted in a "personal" computer. Hoo
|
||
boy was I WRONG! The XT system that runs my BBS has over 160
|
||
times more RAM and at least a thousand times more storage space.
|
||
In case you got out the calculator that's 640K ram plus a 2 Meg
|
||
Ram drive and a 60 Meg Hard Drive.
|
||
|
||
I've since gone thru an Apple II+, an Atari 400, an Atari 800XL
|
||
with 1050 drive, an Apple //e, a TRS-80 Model 100, and a highly
|
||
modified Kaypro 2/83 in addition to the XT compatible I built
|
||
myself. The Apple II+ has found a new home with another owner as
|
||
has the Model 1 but the rest still reside in the Random Access
|
||
computer lab doing more or less usefull work as needed.
|
||
|
||
Some of that work is as a freelance writer of a weekly computer
|
||
column for the Syracuse Herald-American Sunday issue. It reaches
|
||
a quarter of a million homes in upstate NY and I'm told they
|
||
figure almost a half million people have access to the paper as a
|
||
whole.
|
||
|
||
That column, like this one, is done entirely on computers until
|
||
it reaches the newsprint at the printing press. There's a story
|
||
there but I'll save it for another time.
|
||
|
||
The job that pays the bills is as a service technician for a
|
||
large independant service center here in the northeast. I prefer
|
||
to have it remain nameless. You'll never see the name here or
|
||
anywhere else that I write either. My work includes hard drives,
|
||
the entire IBM small system line (PC, XT, and AT), and almost
|
||
anything else that's compatible.
|
||
|
||
With that out of the way here goes.
|
||
|
||
I've seen many messages flying about on the SYSOP echo about hard
|
||
drives and heat problems. Since I encounter this quite frequently
|
||
I've worked out several solutions.
|
||
|
||
If you've stacked a pair of hard drives in the same mounting bay
|
||
I suggest that you re-mount them side by side on the BOTTOM of
|
||
Fidonews Page 23 9 Mar 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
the mounting bays. There's method to my madness! Heat rises and
|
||
one of the most sensitive areas of a hard drive is the frequently
|
||
densely packed electronics area on the bottom of the hard drive.
|
||
Many clone systems and lately IBM boxes have the metal mounting
|
||
bay cut out so that air can flow to the underside of the drive.
|
||
Some clone boxes even have a cut-out on the bottom of the chassis
|
||
under the bays to mount a small fan (more in a bit on the subject
|
||
of fans).
|
||
|
||
This mounting style helps to spread the heat out over a larger
|
||
area and reduce the heat built up in one small area. Just be
|
||
carefull when mounting half height floppies. I got "burned" once
|
||
when I mounted a pair of floppies over a pair of hard drives.
|
||
|
||
The problem? Interaction between the floppy drives and the heads
|
||
of the hard drives. The floppies were direct drive units of
|
||
relatively cheap design and the motors of each drive were poorly
|
||
shielded. Whenever one of the floppy drives started up (as in a
|
||
copy operation) the hard drive under it experienced read errors.
|
||
I got very lucky and realized that the design of the floppy
|
||
chassis would support the hard drives mounted above the floppy
|
||
drive. Just in case you're wondering, when I mounted the two
|
||
floppy drives together in a stack they interacted with each
|
||
other! Watch out for extremely cheap floppy drives!
|
||
|
||
On the subject of adding fans, DON'T. In general they draw or
|
||
blow considerable dust into the machine. The hard drive must take
|
||
in air thru a built in filter assembly. These are NOT user
|
||
replaceable or cleanable. It'll cost you almost as much as a new
|
||
drive to have internal maintainance done in a clean room on the
|
||
old drive if the filter clogs up. The additional dust acts like a
|
||
fine grit and can actually eat away floppy drive heads unless you
|
||
methodically clean your floppy drives about every two weeks. I've
|
||
seen far too many heads tossed in the trash can because of
|
||
excessive wear due to poor cleaning and high dust levels.
|
||
|
||
The real secret to cooling is to increase air flow by removing
|
||
the extra slot covers. I know that the IBM manual says this will
|
||
louse up their cooling flow but it WORKS! With the additional
|
||
slow speed air flow it's much cooler inside the box and the
|
||
increase in dust intake is minimal. The boards tend to collect
|
||
the dust which can be easily cleaned off with a can of compressed
|
||
air available from most electronic or camera supply houses.
|
||
|
||
There are several other fatal errors hard drive owners make that
|
||
are easily prevented. NEVER move the system while the drive is
|
||
still spinning EVEN IF THE HEADS SEEM LOCKED IN PLACE! Despite
|
||
the fact that you may have run some type of "PARK" utility
|
||
(another thing most users forget to do) the heads may still not
|
||
have a mechanical lock to keep them away from the platter
|
||
surfaces until the platters have stopped. If the heads contact
|
||
the platter surface they'll gouge out the magnetic coating and
|
||
damage the drive beyond economical repair. Head damage will also
|
||
result from the "crash".
|
||
|
||
Another has more to do with software and backups. With the
|
||
Fidonews Page 24 9 Mar 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
release of DOS 3.x, many users decided to update their version of
|
||
DOS. The problem comes when you restore the data from the old
|
||
drive. If the old DOS 2.X COMMAND.COM file winds up back on the
|
||
hard drive it will seem to run fine BUT it will eventually crash
|
||
making most of your data into a random mess of bits and bytes.
|
||
I've rescued at least 20 systems from this awfull fate and it's
|
||
no easy task.
|
||
|
||
Just be sure that you have the right version of the COMMAND.COM
|
||
file on the hard drive BEFORE you boot it after a restore or
|
||
changing DOS versions. Compare the file size and date from the
|
||
DOS master floppy with the one on the hard drive. If they're
|
||
different use the SYS utility to put the two hidden files on the
|
||
drive and then COPY the COMMAND.COM file to the hard drive.
|
||
|
||
If the SYS utility won't put the hidden files on the hard drive
|
||
DON'T GO ANY FURTHER. Back up the drive and re-format it from the
|
||
low level format up through to the standard DOS FORMAT routine to
|
||
get the proper cluster size. This applies to changing DOS
|
||
versions as well.
|
||
|
||
The cluster is the basic unit of hard drive storage. With the
|
||
older DOS 2.X DOS and a 20 meg drive, the cluster is about 4 k in
|
||
size. With a 30 meg drive the cluster takes up 8 K. This is the
|
||
minimum ammount of drive space that DOS will allocate. Even if
|
||
your file is only 122 bytes long it will still take 4 or 8 K of
|
||
space on the hard drive to store it. With the change to DOS 3.X,
|
||
the cluster size becomes 2K for a 20 or 30 meg drive. Saves quite
|
||
a bit of space huh? It seems that you're still stuck with 4 K
|
||
clusters on a 10 meg drive though.
|
||
|
||
The final fatal error is NOT BACKING UP THE HARD DRIVE! Oh sure,
|
||
you think "It'll NEVER happen to ME!". Let me tell ya, it can and
|
||
WILL. If you have even an old backup it's much easier to pick up
|
||
the pieces that with no backup at all.
|
||
|
||
I've taken up enough space in this first column. One of the
|
||
pluses of publishing here is the ability of you, the reader to
|
||
send an "instant" reply with your suggestions or gripes. I fully
|
||
intend that this is YOUR column and will try my best to answer
|
||
your questions here. I'll know by your response within about a
|
||
week after this hits the FIDO News if I should devote additional
|
||
time to writing more of these columns. I plan on one about every
|
||
two weeks if you ask for more.
|
||
|
||
Let's hear from you today. The address is The Random Access at
|
||
260/320. If you want to call direct the number is (315) 697-3996.
|
||
|
||
Bob Arnold
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 25 9 Mar 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
NOTICES
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
|
||
The Interrupt Stack
|
||
|
||
|
||
17 May 1987
|
||
Metro-Fire Fido's Second Birthday BlowOut and Floppy Disk
|
||
Throwing Tournament! All Fido Sysops and Families Invited!
|
||
Contact Christopher Baker at 135/14 for more information.
|
||
|
||
24 Aug 1989
|
||
Voyager 2 passes Neptune.
|
||
|
||
|
||
If you have something which you would like to see on this
|
||
calendar, please send a message to FidoNet node 1/1.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 26 9 Mar 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
__
|
||
The World's First / \
|
||
BBS Network /|oo \
|
||
* FidoNet * (_| /_)
|
||
_`@/_ \ _
|
||
| | \ \\
|
||
| (*) | \ ))
|
||
______ |__U__| / \//
|
||
/ Fido \ _//|| _\ /
|
||
(________) (_/(_|(____/ (jm)
|
||
|
||
Membership for the International FidoNet Association
|
||
|
||
Membership in IFNA is open to any individual or organization that
|
||
pays an annual specified membership fee. IFNA serves the
|
||
international FidoNet-compatible electronic mail community to
|
||
increase worldwide communications. **
|
||
|
||
Name _________________________________ Date ________
|
||
Address ______________________________
|
||
City & State _________________________
|
||
Country_______________________________
|
||
Phone (Voice) ________________________
|
||
|
||
Net/Node Number ______________________
|
||
Board Name____________________________
|
||
Phone (Data) _________________________
|
||
Baud Rate Supported___________________
|
||
Board Restrictions____________________
|
||
Special Interests_____________________
|
||
______________________________________
|
||
______________________________________
|
||
Is there some area where you would be
|
||
willing to help out in FidoNet?_______
|
||
______________________________________
|
||
______________________________________
|
||
|
||
Send your membership form and a check or money order for $25 to:
|
||
|
||
International FidoNet Association
|
||
P. O. Box 41143
|
||
St Louis, Missouri 63141
|
||
USA
|
||
|
||
Thank you for your membership! Your participation will help to
|
||
insure the future of FidoNet.
|
||
|
||
** Please NOTE that IFNA is a general not-for-profit organization
|
||
in formation and Articles of Association and By-Laws were adopted
|
||
by the membership in January 1987. An Elections Committee has
|
||
been established to fill positions outlined in the By-Laws for
|
||
the Board of Directors. An IFNA Echomail Conference has been
|
||
established on FidoNet to assist the Elections Committee. We
|
||
welcome your input on this Conference.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|