Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm Subject: COMP.SYS.CBM: General FAQ, v3.1 Part 3/9 Summary: This posting contains answers to questions that commonly surface in comp.sys.cbm. This posting will tell you enough to get your computer connected to a network, fixed, and/or enhanced. This file should be read by new users of comp.sys.cbm before posting to the group. It should also be proofread by users who are currently active in comp.sys.cbm. Keywords: CBM FAQ Help List C64 C128 VIC Modem Followup-To: comp.sys.cbm Organization: Brain Innovations, Inc. Reply-To: brain@mail.msen.com Message-ID: Supersedes: Expires: 05 Nov 1996 Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU Archive-name: cbm-main-faq.3.1.p3 Comp-answers-archive-name: commodore/main-faq/part3 News-answers-archive-name: commodore/main-faq/part3 Comp-sys-cbm-archive-name: main-faq/part3 Version: 3.1 Last-modified: 1996/10/06 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents (for this file) --------------------------------- 5. Connecting Up 5.1. How do I connect my computer to the outside world? 5.2. What services can I use to get online? 5.3. What hardware do I need? 5.4. What kinds of terminal programs exist? 5.4.1. What kinds of terminal programs exist for the 64? 5.4.2. What kinds of terminal programs exist for the 128? 5.5. Can I use my Commodore computer on Amateur Radio? 5.6. Is there TCP/IP software available for Commodore computers? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Connecting Up 5.1. How do I connect my computer to the outside world? First, we need to define what "outside world" means. In this sense, we are referring to the process of connecting the Commodore computer up to another computer or computers and exchanging textual, binary, or graphical information. To connect to another computer, one must have a Commodore computer system, a modem, a phone line, and a telecommunications program (called a terminal emulator or terminal emulation program). While you can use this to connect to other individuals, to access great stores of online information you need to subscribe to an "online service", which can take many forms. This type of service allows you to correspond with many people with a single phone call, and may permit you to contact people out of your area without a long distance phone call. 5.2. What services can I use to get online? The following services can be accessed by a Commodore computer and allow the user to access online information. Bulletin Board System (BBS). - Small system usually with one phone line operated by an individual. Fees are optional. For a list of BBS systems in your area, contact Myles Skinner for a listing at mskinner@julian.uwo.ca. Compuserve Information Service. - CompuServe has two Forums designed specifically for Commodore 8-bit computer users. CBM Applications Forum (GO CBMAPP) deals with programming, geoProgramming, applications software, telecommunications, CP/M, utilities and | hardware. In addition, it also includes support for GEOS in general, music (including SidPlayer and MIDI), games, | graphics and graphics utilities. The Forum has full message | boards and extensive data libraries, and it have weekly | real-time conferences on Sundays at 9 p.m. EST. The CompuServe network is available virtually world wide. The Commodore Forums are attracting increasing membership from Europe and Australia, and have begun to tap into the vast variety of Commodore files available around the world (some of the best new Commodore programs are coming in from Europe these days). CompuServe has an extensive network of local numbers throughout the United States and Canada and is also available through supplemental networks such as SprintNet and DataPac. The number of direct CompuServe connect numbers in Europe is beginning to expand. While there is no standalone CompuServe navigator program available for Commodore users, CBMAPP has the CIS.EXE script set that automates Dialogue 128 on CompuServe, and also VIDAUT.BIN which will virtually automate Vidtex (which is available again through Software Support International). In addition there is OFFLIN.HLP, a text file in CBMAPP, that provides a method for semi-automating access with any standard comm program and word processor. CompuServe's rates are as follows: STANDARD PRICING PLAN Membership Support Fee: $ 9.95/month PLAN BENEFITS For $9.95, your CompuServe membership entitles you to five free hours on the service. This includes forums, mail, and Internet access. After your first five hours, additional hours are billed at the rate of $2.95/hour. For an additional $15 a month, our Super Value Plan adds 15 free hours (for a total of 20 hours each month) and each additional hour is just $1.95. Premium ($) services carry additional surcharges, however, during your free hours, you are not charged for connect-time. Any communications surcharges apply. INTERNET ACCESS Direct Internet Access (Dail PPP) File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Remote Login (Telnet) USENET Newsreader ASCII USENET Newsreader CIM For additional information on the listed services, GO INTERNET. MAIL CompuServe Mail is billed for connect time. This includes reading mail and viewing classified ads. Surcharged areas, such as fax, telex and CongressGrams carry additional charges. For a complete list of mail services and rates, including hardcopy deliveries through the postal service, GO MAILRATES. CONNECT-TIME RATES Connect-time is billed in one minute increments, with a minimum of one minute per session. Partial minutes are rounded each log-in session to the next full minute for our billing purposes. Compuserve Information Systems P.O. Box 20212 Columbus, OH 43220 (800) 848-8990 (Information) | GEnie - GEnie is a general interest + online service that was previously run by General Electric. There + are four different subscription packages from which a member can + choose: + GenieLite + This is a subscription for the occasional user -- someone who + primarily uses e-mail but likes to take occasional journeys into + Genie's RoundTables. + Monthly subscription*: $7.95/month + Per hour rate for all Genie services: $2.75/hour + Additional prime time surcharge: $1.00/hour + *GenieLite monthly subscription includes 5 free hours of e-mail use. + Genie + This is our standard membership plan and is a tremendous value + for any of our members who use more than 6 or 7 hours a month. + Monthly subscription**: $23.95/month + Per hour rate for all Genie services: $2.75/hour + Additional prime time surcharge: $1.00/hour + **Genie monthly subscription includes 9 free hours of Genie + services. Monthly subscription is reduced to $18.95 for anyone who + had a Genie account prior to February 1, 1996. + GenieNet + Internet. There are two different plans under the GenieNet banner: + Option 1 + The GenieNet Option 1 plan gives unlimited access to the Internet + but without a graphical interface. This is total, unrestricted, + 28.8Kbps access to the Internet, WWW, FTP, and Newsgroups. + Monthly subscription***: $15.00/month + Per hour rate for all Genie services: $2.75/hour + Additional prime time surcharge: $1.00/hour + *** GenieNet Options 1 & 2 provide UNLIMITED Internet usage. + Option 2 + The GenieNet Option 2 plan gives unlimited access to the Internet + but this time with a graphical interface. In addition to the + features offered under Option 1, you'll also get free Netscape + Navigator software and the ability to create a personal web page. + Monthly subscription***: $29.00/month + Per hour rate for all Genie services: $2.75/hour + Additional prime time surcharge: $1.00/hour + *** GenieNet Options 1 & 2 provide UNLIMITED Internet usage. + Note: Two separate e-mail addresses, one on Genie and one on + GenieNet, are issued when you select either GenieNet subscription + option. The Commodore support area on GEnie is known as the Flagship Roundtable. While there are a few premium services on GEnie that charge an extra price, all of the Flagship is available at the basic rate. The Flagship RT includes some "Real-Time Conferences" (RTCs) featuring classes or discussion of issues associated with Commodore computers. Additionally, there is a BB (Bulletin Board), which works much like Usenets comp.sys.cbm (only the discussion is broken down into categories and topics). Finally, the Flagship has an extensive library of Commodore files. The BB messages can be read economically by capturing all the new messages in a terminal programs capture buffer, and reading the messages off-line. Wizard, the C= GEnie fron end, supports this. Because GEnie is a general interest service,it supports many different computers, and you can use any ASCII terminal program to connect to GEnie. Wizard is available, but not required. GEnie operates normally | at 300 - 28,800 bps. There are local access numbers across the country. GEnie 401 North Washington Street Rockville, MD 20850 (800) 638-9636 (Information) Delphi Internet Services. - Delphi is a commercial system that, while small in comparison to other systems, is growing rapidly. It has a large forum dedicated to Commodore computers, as well as access to the Usenet and the comp.sys.cbm newsgroup. Delphi has two plans. One, called the Standard Plan, costs $10.00 a month and gives the user 4 hours of non-prime time (6PM-7AM) free each month. Each additional hour is $4.00. The other plan, called the Advantage Plan, costs $20.00 a month and gives the user 20 hours of non-prime-time free each month. Each hour over 20 is $1.80. Access to the Internet via Delphi costs an additional $3.00 for both plans each month. Delphi Internet Services 1030 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138 (800) 695-4005 (Information) Internet - The largest online service. The Internet is a collection of 4 million machines interconnected using a common protocol called TCP/IP. This service is the result of a U.S. defense experiment started in the late 1960's. Due to its distributed nature, the Internet is unlike most other online services. In some cases, as in universities, there is no cost to access the "net", as it is called, and some other online services offer access to the Internet. This is the home of all the FTP sites, the USENET and the USENET newsgroup comp.sys.cbm, Internet email, and the World Wide Web. When you use these services you are utilizing the Internet. QuantumLink - Q-Link was a Commodore specific telecommunications service. This service, while booming in the late 1980's, has now been discontinued. There was an effort to retrieve as many of the QuantumLink files as could be retrieved. Email Brenda G4 at b.gann1@genie.geis.com | for more information. Also, a list of ex-Qlink-ers is being | maintained. If you want to be on the list, send email to steward@shell.portal.com or sirfitz@kaiwan.com. 5.3. What hardware do I need? To access online services you will need a functional Commodore computer that is physically able to have a modem of some kind attached to the computer. The more common C64 and C128 are able to be used with a modem, but computers like the Commodore C16, C116, some PETs and some older CBM business machines may require significant investments in order to be used. With a functional computer, you will need a modulator/demodulator (modem) unit of some kind. There are two basic kinds that can be used on the Commodore computers: A standard RS-232 (EIA-232) external modem. These modems are very common in today's market, as they are usable on all computer systems. They usually are constructed in a small rectangular box, have lights across the front, and have either a standard 9 or 25 pin D-style connector on the back of the unit. Speeds range from 300bps to 28,800 bps and above. This modem requires an interface cable of some kind to connect to the Commodore computer. A Commodore compatible external modem. These modems are much less common in today's market. Originally manufactured only by Commodore, some examples include the C1600 (300bps manual dial), C1650 (300bps, pulse dial), C1660 (300bps, DTMF dial), and C1670 (1200bps, AT commands, DTMF/Pulse dial). Although other companies manufacture compatible modems, it seems that the maximum speed is 2400bps for all models. This modem style plugs directly into the Commodore user port. Please note that all speeds marked are maximums. Most modems will operate at any speed up to the maximum. Most users agree that buying a Commodore compatible modem these days is an unwise move, except for special circumstances. The suggestion is to purchase a standard modem and an interface to use the modem with the CBM machine. If you chhose to purchase a standard external modem, you must also purchase or build a suitable interface. There are two major types of interfaces: Simple Cable Interface. This type of interface merely converts the nonstandard RS-232 pinout on the Commodore user port to the standard RS-232 pinout and performs voltage level translation as required by RS-232 specifications. This interface can be purchased for $20 to $40 new or built by the user. There are a number of homemade interfaces available. The TRANSACTOR published an interface in the Nov 87 issue (V8iss3) and Commodore Hacking Online Magazine published plans for one in issue 4 (See MailServer section for retrieval instructions. These are both supposed to emulate the VIC1011A that C= put out many years ago, and you might find one at a computer "flea market". Another version is designed by Stephen Coan. | Send email to Fred Mueller (fred.mueller@lucent.com) for a copy of | the schematic in ASCII format. The differences between the two is the | Transactor one has switchable options for some of the leads and the | Coan one is hard wired. (See Section 12.4 and 12.5 for interface designs) UART interface. To use a modem, a Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART) is needed. When Commodore designed the CBM VIC-20, C64 and C128, they emulated a UART in software to keep costs down. Although this works for slower speeds, there is a limit to how fast the software UART can function. For faster access, a real UART is needed. This type of interface provides a complete UART in a cartridge that plugs into the expansion port. To utilize it, all software must be written to take advantage of the real UART. UART interfaces can be purchased from CMD (Swiftlink), HART (HART Cartidge), or built from plans (DataPump). (See Section 13.6 for addresses and further information on UART cartridges.) The decision of which interface to buy depends on the speed of your modem and the software you are using. The software UART on the Commodore 64 can handle speeds at up to 2400 bps. The software UART of the Commodore 128 can handle speeds at up to 4800 for all software and 9600 bps for some very well-written software. If you are under these maximum limits for your system, the simple interface cable will suffice, and most terminal programs can be used. For speeds between 2400 and 9600 bps (4800/9600 and 19200 bps on a C128), a number of options are open. Some programs can use the simple interface cable to allow this faster access. Newer terminal software may be written to exploit Daniel Dallmann's 9600 bps access technique, which requires some small modifications to the simple interface cable (see Section 12.5 for more information). Finally, some programs allow the use of a UART cartridge. For speeds above 9600 bps (19200 on a C128), a UART interface and an appropriate terminal program is your only option. 5.4. What kinds of terminal programs exist? There are many types and versions of telecomunications programs (referred to as terminal emulation programs or terminal programs). Some are better than others, but individual users will ultimately decide which they like best. Most terminal programs available today are Shareware, but some are still sold commercially, and some new commercial terminal programs are being sold. All of these programs include emulations of the popular terminals such as DEC VT100, VT102, VT52, and ANSI. Also, each includes a number of file transfer protocols (See Section 6.1 for more information on transfer protocols). 5.4.1. What kinds of terminal programs exist for the 64? Novaterm Novaterm 9.6 Nick Rossi 10002 Aurora Avenue North #1159 Seattle, WA 98133 This program, previously marketed as shareware, is now commercial, | and can be ordered from Mr. Rossi for $29.95 US. | voyager@eskimo.com (Contact) + http://wwweskimo.com/~voyager/novaterm.html | The 9.5 version is available as shareware at ftp://ftp.eskimo.com/voyager/Novaterm/nova9.5-?.sfx Kermit Kermit 2.2 Kent Sullivan 16611 NE 26th Street Bellevue, WA 98008 $12.50 US for the program, now at version 2.2. Note that Columbia University holds the copyright for the Kermit Terminal Software. You can get a copy of the Commodore version by ftp: ftp://ftp.cs.columbia.edu/archives/kermit/c64* (for speeds up to 1200 bps) ftp://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/pub/cbm/telecomm/KERMIT/kermit-Notes.txt kermit-v2.2a.sda kermit-v2.2b.sda (for 1660 modem users) kermit-c1660.sda (for Swiftlink/DataPump modem users) kermit-v2.2s.sda 5.4.2. What kinds of terminal programs exist for the 128? Desterm Desterm 2.0/2.1 Matt Desmond | mdesmond@ionline.net + http://www.ionline.net/~mdesmond/desterm.html For more information on DesTerm or to get a copy by mail, contact Matt. Bob's Term Pro Dialogue 128 Wave Click Here Software Maurice Randall ftp://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/pub/cbm/INCOMING/telecom/ A GEOS 128 high speed terminal program. Demo available at above address. 5.5. Can I use my Commodore computer on Amateur Radio? Yes you can. If you want to use your CBM system as a terminal for a standard RS-232 compatible packet radio Terminal Node Controller (TNC), you can hook it up in the same way as a modem. See Section 5 for more information on how to connect your Computer to a modem. In addition, the ICHPUG User Group (see Section 15 for address) has an extensive library of files for the C64/128 relating to Amateur Radio. If you would like to use the Commodore 64 as a Amateur Radio repeater controller, Engineering Cosulting manufacturers such an item: Engineering Consulting 583 Candlewood Street Brea, CA 92621 Robert Blumenkranz (Contact) radiobob@earthlink.net (Contact) http://www.earthlink.net/users/engcon/webdocs/ 5.6. Is there TCP/IP software available for Commodore computers? Unfortunately, there is none at this time. However, the following information is available: Jim Brain has performed tests that demonstrated the ICMP and IP protocol layers. Daniel Dallmann has now verified these tests and both of them, as well as Cameron Kaiser, are independently working on a TCP/IP protocol stack for the Commodore 64.