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PC to TI transfers with stock RS232/nanopeb and HDX server


arcadeshopper

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I walked another person through this process this week so figured I'd put some of this knowledge down here..

 

You need:

 

TI-99/4a with either a RS232 card (TI and Corcomp have been tested, someone needs to test a myarc card) OR a nanopeb.

CFHDXS1 software on the tI OR a XB27 suite cartridge which has that software included as option U.. You can order both of these on arcadeshopper.com for a reasonable fee.

 

A rs232 cable (for the TI RS232 card) or a null modem cable (for the nanopeb) with the right ends on it for the PC side and the TI side.

 

A PC with a REAL RS232 port or a quality USB to RS232 adapter. Cheap new ones tend to have issues. I picked up a nice 25pin one at the local recycler that works great! A rs232 card for a desktop costs less than $20 on newegg/amazon.

 

Connect the cable from the PC to the TI. Remember that you use a straight through cable for the TI cards, and a null modem cable for a nanopeb. That's because the nanopeb maker decided to put a PC style rs232 port on it so it's backwards from a TI port.

 

PC Side:

go here: http://www.ti99-geek.nl/

Click on projects then TI99HDX Server, download the server software latest version. Install on your PC somewhere you can find it. (I did C:/hdx/)

Run this program it looks like this: http://www.ti99-geek.nl/Projects/ti99hdx/ti99hdxsrvr_ico.gif

Select Options and point the TI99 files directory to a directory you store FIADS or v9t9 format files into, if you don't have one, for simplicity make a C:\tifiles directory and use that.

Select Options and select the correct COM Port under Communications Settings.

 

Also get the ti99DIR file manager software from that site and install that on your PC. Point one side of it at that same directory (C:\tifiles or whatever directory you picked above) you do this by hitting file, then select directory.

Point the other side at your downloads folder or your ti disks folder where you store disk images and downloads for the TI. whatever applies in your situation. You select which side you want to work with by clicking on it with your mouse and it will highlight.

 

You can then click into disk images and archive files and copy the individual files to the tifiles directory.. This is important as that is the file directory you will see on the TI-99/4A.. You can shift-click files to select groups then right click to pick copy. On the tifiles side you will note that the files either state they are TIFILES or V9T9 files on the right side of the listing. If they are not V9T9 files, you must convert them with the tools menu, convert TIFILES to V9T9 file.

 

Leave HDX server running on the pc..

 

TI Side:

Open CFHDXS1 with editor assembler, funnelweb, xb loader, dm2k, etc.. OR insert the XB27 cart and hit U.

 

At this point you should get a fun message to the effect of " Ti99Hdx: <TI99/4a Initialized, HDX DSR version 02>" on the hdx server software on your pc. If you do not get this message you have either a cable problem OR a rs232 problem.

 

Hit any key on the TI and then enter HDX1. in the SRC: prompt this should give you a listing of the files in the tifiles directory on your PC. You can select files with INSERT (Fctn-2) and then hit PROCEED (Fctn-6) to pick copy.. then enter the TI disk drive you wish to copy too DSK1 etc.. in the DST: prompt and it's copying files from your PC to your TI.

 

For more help with CFHDXS hit H when it is running and it will display it's help screen.

Reverse the SRC and DST to copy the other direction.

 

Classic99 will read these files if you copy them into the DSK folders, alternatively you can just point HDX server to use the DSK1 folder under your classic99 directory and files can be used there directly.

Edited by arcadeshopper
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.

Hi,

.

Thank you for this great instructions Greg !!

As Globeron told, next try is coming up soon :)

 

One more comment to all this crappy USB-2-Serial-Adapters, from my point of view:

I will NOT use them any more, as now there is the next problem for me on that:

I cannot use these adapters as they seem NOT to correctly support the RS232´s FT1.2-protocoll (PEI 10),

which I need for programming a "house-bus" (the KNX/EIB, a little bit like X10 home sentry :) )

On 2 (of my 15) USB/RS232-adapters "FT1.2" was mentioned in the manuals,

but it did NOT work at all. Maybe due to cheap China-crap-dump-sh*t.... Don´t know

 

xXx

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I cannot use these adapters as they seem NOT to correctly support the RS232´s FT1.2-protocoll (PEI 10),

which I need for programming a "house-bus" (the KNX/EIB, a little bit like X10 home sentry :) )

On 2 (of my 15) USB/RS232-adapters "FT1.2" was mentioned in the manuals,

but it did NOT work at all. Maybe due to cheap China-crap-dump-sh*t.... Don´t know

 

xXx

 

Schmitzi,

I cannot speak anout the "FT1.2 protocol", but t subject has been covered before, somehow I guess you missed it...

<< CLICK HERE >>

 

They are a little bit more expensive, BUT IT WORKS with my HDX on both my laptops and tablet.

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Hi,

 

no, didn´t miss that. I know this problems for years, as I worked on that.

But I wrote about the Profilic and HDX-problems first time I think in 2014 (after my HDX/Nano-Tests).

(KL99 referred to that here: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/238663-ti99hdx/?p=3244790 also see the FB-links to 2014)

 

What I mean here is, maybe that the FT1.2-protocol is the same reason for the problems on chinese clones,

as they use cheap chips and the FT1.2 is one things that suffers from that cloning.

 

But I don´t know - and that is my question here - if the HDX uses the FT1.2-protocol ?

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(a stupid question, I do not need other hardware correct ?)

just PC+USB-RS232, NanoPEB.

 

 

I just tried it again (with another nanoPEB), but it does not work.

(38400 Even,8,1,N) and also configured at driver level

 

Profilic USB Y-109. (1 plug USB-Serial + RS2322-D9 plug cable and null-modem plug)

(and tried different configs, tried different drivers, different USB ports USB 2, 3

now Windows 10 PRo and Windows 10 Home).

The strange thing is that the USB adapter does not give any problems with Switches, Routers,

Access Points, etc. only this TI-nanoPEB-HDX combination does not work so far.

 

No communication between TI and PC so far.

I have no way to verify a real RS232 port, as I do not have one here (only laptops)

 

I can try with a Sidecar RS232 + nanoPEB (but I remember I tested that before)

and/or CC Micro9900 RS232 (without 32K builtin), but then I cannot passthrough the nanoPEB (and 32K) and that is needed I believe.

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just the null modem cable and it should work if your rs232 is configured correctly in hdx.. make sure you set the comport to the actual comport it is on the PC (you may have to look in device manager to find out what the usb is set for) they don't always default to COM1 if you have a modem or some other device to test with make sure that works first on your pc with a terminal program before assuming it works for hdx

 

sidecar rs232 and nanopebv2 might work. but it also may confuse the hell out of cfhdxs which scans for what port you have..

 

CC micro might work but you need 32k to run the program

 

Greg

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I have a switchbox with the pc (straight through 9-25) cable going to common, a goes to the nanopeb with a null modem cable, b goes to another switch box with the geneve an ti on a and b and a rs232/2 adapter on the common.. That way i can switch between all 3 machines to the same hdx.. there's people complaining of the nano rs232 going out.. also could be the wrong cable for the null modem OR possibly the wrong version of cfhdxs1 there were specific ones for the different nano version but I THINK the last version released does them both.

 

Greg

 

Ps the reason i have the /2 adapter is to use the daughterboard hdx dsr's on the geneve and 4/a

Edited by arcadeshopper
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Last Saturday I replaced a motherboard of our home PC, which had a real COM-port, but that did not work either.

I am using the CFHDXS1 version (option U) on the XB 2.7 suite (the one which starts with saying "Texas Instruments" when plugging it in)

and has green screen verification. Tomorrow I will try it again with different CFHDXS1

 

To do more testing:

but now I have 2x nanoPEBs to see if I can get 2x TI's to talk to each other.

 

Does someone know a good Telco Emulator version that works with nanoPEB RS232 ?

(Telco v2.3 hangs-up on me). I think first I need to diagnose if I can get anything at all out of the serial port on the nano-PEB

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Does someone know a good Telco Emulator version that works with nanoPEB RS232 ?

(Telco v2.3 hangs-up on me). I think first I need to diagnose if I can get anything at all out of the serial port on the nano-PEB

 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but none of the legacy terminal programs like Telco work on the Nano-PEB. As far as I know the only communications program that works on the Nano is Stuart's Internet Browser, but at the present time it's sans download capability.

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Normally I test with Basic (XB) like 100 REM and LIST "RS232.BA-9600.DA=8.PA=N" for example.

(and I use Tera Term at the PC side, that one works reliable so far for all other network equipment, except Nano).

 

Question:

1. Does someone know if CFHDXS1 is fixed on the baud rate (38400), I should ask Fred I suppose?

(or is it configurable).

 

2. Another question:

The nanoPEb has the XILINX chip (XC9572 PC44AEM0037 F1149494A 14C)

and another one RM29F010 -90JD 9510FBM @1991 AMD

>> Is this similar as the way the "Ubergrom" are programmes (as they also have these type of movable chips)

 

 

and a socketed TMS9902NL, MBS1132 (3399 Philippines)

>> which I read somewhere in the forum is the chip giving the issue for RS232 ?

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Normally I test with Basic (XB) like 100 REM and LIST "RS232.BA-9600.DA=8.PA=N" for example.

(and I use Tera Term at the PC side, that one works reliable so far for all other network equipment, except Nano).

 

Question:

1. Does someone know if CFHDXS1 is fixed on the baud rate (38400), I should ask Fred I suppose?

(or is it configurable).

 

2. Another question:

The nanoPEb has the XILINX chip (XC9572 PC44AEM0037 F1149494A 14C)

and another one RM29F010 -90JD 9510FBM @1991 AMD

>> Is this similar as the way the "Ubergrom" are programmes (as they also have these type of movable chips)

 

 

and a socketed TMS9902NL, MBS1132 (3399 Philippines)

>> which I read somewhere in the forum is the chip giving the issue for RS232 ?

 

Well if you can't send data directly like that to tera term you aren't going to get hdx working.

 

HDX is set to 38400 and works fine on both my 9901 and 16550 based nanos using the software on xb27..

 

When you boot up your ti what does it say on the startup screen.. v1 v2? f18a V1?

 

Greg

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In the past I tried this cable. But I got it working with a normal PEB and rs232. I still need to test micro9900 and sidecar rs2323 but need a nanoPeb for 32k (had no time to build-in 32k yet). But with sidecar we have more RS232 int. And not sure which one is /1 /2 /3 in that case. I hope I can test in NL tomorrow otherwise it will be March I can test.

 

What happens if I take out the chips and programmable xilinx etc and put it back will that lock up the nanoPeb?

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Thanks for that excellent guide, had some time and got it working both on my Windows XP and Windows 10 laptops and also with both of my USB to serial adapters. Will do some more experiments next week when I will back home again.

What is now the advantage of the additional hardware mod of the RS 232 card? I guess I could use then HDX as a device like DSK in Extended Basic, correct? So I would be able to load a program with e.g. OLD HDX1.PROGRAM . Or is there even a way to do that without the hardware modificiation?

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As of now, the only way to "RUN" a program directly using the HDX is with a modified TI RS-232 card. It's a fairly inexpensive solution, and the closest many of us can get (at the present time) to a hard drive on our systems, being that SCSI controllers are so rare and expensive. The HDX is also -=FAST. You can load a program twice as fast using the HDX than you can from a disk drive.

 

I find the HDX is great for making backups of HxC disk images, moving individual files over to the HxC or disk drive. It can also use the same file as Classic99, so if you prefer to do programming on the TI, you can also test the same file on the TI. One thing I really like is being able to test drive a new program that I download from Atari Age WITHOUT having to go to the trouble of saving on the TI. If I like it, I'll send it over to the TI, if not, it gets nuked.

 

Since you already have an HxC, you'll find that the HDX will really makes things convenient. While I still convert whole disk images and plop the on the HxC, I usually just move over individual file with the HDX. It's the best of both worlds. One word of warning though, once you get used to using them both together, you'll never be able to go back... without suffering a major bout of depression.

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Thanks for that excellent guide, had some time and got it working both on my Windows XP and Windows 10 laptops and also with both of my USB to serial adapters. Will do some more experiments next week when I will back home again.

What is now the advantage of the additional hardware mod of the RS 232 card? I guess I could use then HDX as a device like DSK in Extended Basic, correct? So I would be able to load a program with e.g. OLD HDX1.PROGRAM . Or is there even a way to do that without the hardware modificiation?

 

Card mod gives you the device in any program that uses DSR routines to access disk drives and also it allows you to print to and get clock time from the PC. For instance OLD HDX1.TEST list "HDX1.PRINT" and open #1: "HDX1.TIME"

 

Greg

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