RSVE/HSmodem help?

[+DarkLord]

Okay guys, I need some help with something very specific. I'm trying

my best to speed up my BBS. I've got a Mega STe.

 

What I'd like to do is use HSmodem and modem 1 to achieve greater

speeds, like 38400, 57600 or even if possible, 115,200 over the serial

port.

 

The software I'm using only knows modem 1, min speed 300 and max

speed 19200.

 

Can this be done? I've read the docs on DRVIN.PRG and MFP.PRG as well

as SETTER TOS, but even with the English translations I'm not able to

figure out exactly what to set.

 

Apparently remapping is possible, but I'm not sure how to achieve it.

 

In the remapping section of SETTER TOS, how do you enter your speeds?

 

Is it 300 38400? I tried that, only puts 300 in the first line and 38400 in

the 2nd line.

 

Does the SERIAL.CPX have to have the speed set to the remapped speed

as well? (so if 38400 is remapped to 300 you'd set the SERIAL.CPX to 300?)

 

In the BBS software, it offers min speed, max speed, and starting speed.

Normally, I'd set these to 1200, 19200, and 1200... Would all 3 need to be

set to 300?

 

Could everything be remapped to the faster modem 2 on the Mega STe?

 

Thanks.

 

PS I believe I've asked similiar questions before, so apoloagies - but I'm

looking for more help.

[+DarkLord]

Okay, I took the plunge and installed the RSVE kit that I had.

 

Short story - failed.

 

The question is, how much have I failed? Have I turned a less than 6

months old/brand new Mega ST motherboard into a piece of junk?...

 

I'm going to give a few details here in case somebody can point out

something obvious I've missed/done wrong.

 

Following the docs on the printed out page that came with the kit, I

did the following (there are only 4 wires to be hooked up):

 

black - ground - I soldered this to the pad directly underneath 1 leg of

the power supply.

 

red - 5v VCC - I'm not expertly familiar with the Mega STs MB, so I wasn't

sure where to go with this. So, reading some pinouts from the Mega STs

owners manual, I soldered it to pin 1 of the cartridge port assembly,

which is supposed to be 5v.

 

brown - soldered this to pin 16 of the 68901 MFP chip.

 

green - soldered to pin 7 (the docs say you can use 7 or 10) of the 68901

mfp chip.

 

Pin 16 of the MFP chip is to be disconnected from the rest. According to

the docs, you can cut a trace on the MB if you can find it, or simply cut

the leg itself. I simply heated the leg of pin 16 just enough to pull it

up and out, before soldering the brown wire to it.

 

I used the Atari ST Internals book, the Mega ST owners manual, an article

in ST Review on the RSVE, and the docs that came with the RSVE kit for my

references.

 

For HSModem, I ran SETTER and configured MFP.PRG as best as I could

understand it. I did the following:

 

rsve - yes - enabled the RSVE cookie

hisp - yes - same as above

repl - set the first remap to 300

repl - set the 2nd remap to 38400

repl - 3rd remap - u

repl - 4th remap - u

repl - 5th reamp - u

repl - 6th remap - u

dtr - yes - maintains TOS comp.

rbl - 512

tbl - 512

saved it

 

To TOS, the modem1 port is now "dead". I mean that the modem/serial CPX

has modem1 greyed out like its not found. And of course, nothing will

connect with the BBS in this state. I tried.

 

Well, thats about it. Anything stand out to anyone? I guess if no one here

can help at this point, I'll just save up my money and send it to Alex Yu

at ATY Computers and see if he can figure out how I screwed up (again).

 

Thank goodness I had just replaced the P/S in my Mega STe so it can keep

DarkForce running while my Mega ST is down.

 

Thanks everyone.

[+DarkLord]

Some progress, of a sort. Stripping everything out, down to the MB, with

PS and floppy still connected, I can power up the Mega ST and the red LED

on the RSVE unit does light up.

 

Which is odd, I think...because the docs say this:

 

"The LED lights up when one of the extended baud rates is selected."

 

Would an extended baud rate be selected from bootup, with no software

running at all?

 

At least though, and correct me if I'm wrong, we can assume that the RSVE

unit is getting power.

 

BTW, here is the instructions for the wires:

 

+5V RED WIRE to VCC (5 V) on the main board

GND BLACK WIRE to GND on the main board

TID BROWN WIRE to pin 16 of the MFP

TUA GREEN WIRE to pin 7 or pin 10 of the MFP

 

Also it says this:

 

"On the main board, pin 7, pin 10 and pin 16 are connected. The connection

between pin 7 and pin 10 has to be preserved, the connection of those 2

pins to pin 16 must be cut. If you cannot find the corresponding

connection on the main board, pin 16 may be cut close to the boards

surface."

 

I simply unsoldered pin 16 and pulled the leg up out of the socket, then

soldered the brown wire to it, which should be the same, right?

 

So if its getting power, and I've got the brown and green wires hooked up

right, why does the serial/modem CPX show modem1 greyed out, so that it

can't be selected, and it obviously isn't working?

 

I included a pic that shows the MFP chip with mods...

 

Thanks.

 

[belboz]

Well I can only offer some advice since I have never done this mod before.

 

Make sure you truly have +5 and gnd. You don't want to accidentally get an AC signal from that power supply.

 

You can get +5 on the MFP itself at pin 11. You can get GND on the MFP at pin 36. Might be a little cleaner than other places.

 

Assuming you have your GAL programmed correctly, and the other parts of the RSVE hardware wired up correctly. (Not sure if you bought this pre-made, or did it yourself). I seem to remember besides the GAL there is an oscillator, 74HC4040, and some caps.

 

Assuming all of that is wired correctly, you have a proper programmed GAL, and your +5 and GND are good, it should work.

 

I didn't think any drivers or anything are needed for testing. I though that when you select the three baud rates that the RSVE mod hijacks it would automatically adjust the clock speed to what is needed for the higher baud rates. So by selecting those three trigger baud rates your LED should come on.

 

Good thing is even if it doesn't work after trying everything you can, you should be able to remove your wires and put back the one pin you pulled out, and get back to normal.

 

One other bad thing that could have happened was when you unsoldered pin 16 if you took a bit of time you could have damaged the MFP chip with the heat from the iron. If you try restoring everything at some point and the serial port is dead, this might have been what happened.

 

What I would have recommended on pin 16 would have been to take a pare of wire cutters and cut pin 16 in the middle and just bend the top half carefully back up. Then you could just slightly push it back down and solder it to the bottom half if you want to put it back quickly without needed to apply a lot of heat to the chip.

 

I looked at my Mega ST service manual to get those +5 and GND pin numbers for you. The other pins mentioned in your RSVE docs are in fact tied together. So your docs and instructions look good.

 

I wouldn't think the serial port would show up grayed out regardless if the RSVE was doing its thing or not. That is why I fear your MFP might be hosed. It might be worth it to remove those 4 wires and put pin 16 back just to see if it comes back.

 

Did you try booting without the hsmodem stuff. In case it is what is activating your LED. Just boot the normal CPX.

Edited July 22, 2006 by belboz

[+DarkLord]

Well I can only offer some advice since I have never done this mod before.

 

Make sure you truly have +5 and gnd. You don't want to accidentally get an AC signal from that power supply.

 

You can get +5 on the MFP itself at pin 11. You can get GND on the MFP at pin 36. Might be a little cleaner than other places.

 

Assuming you have your GAL programmed correctly, and the other parts of the RSVE hardware wired up correctly. (Not sure if you bought this pre-made, or did it yourself). I seem to remember besides the GAL there is an oscillator, 74HC4040, and some caps.

 

Assuming all of that is wired correctly, you have a proper programmed GAL, and your +5 and GND are good, it should work.

 

I didn't think any drivers or anything are needed for testing. I though that when you select the three baud rates that the RSVE mod hijacks it would automatically adjust the clock speed to what is needed for the higher baud rates. So by selecting those three trigger baud rates your LED should come on.

 

Good thing is even if it doesn't work after trying everything you can, you should be able to remove your wires and put back the one pin you pulled out, and get back to normal.

 

One other bad thing that could have happened was when you unsoldered pin 16 if you took a bit of time you could have damaged the MFP chip with the heat from the iron. If you try restoring everything at some point and the serial port is dead, this might have been what happened.

 

What I would have recommended on pin 16 would have been to take a pare of wire cutters and cut pin 16 in the middle and just bend the top half carefully back up. Then you could just slightly push it back down and solder it to the bottom half if you want to put it back quickly without needed to apply a lot of heat to the chip.

 

I looked at my Mega ST service manual to get those +5 and GND pin numbers for you. The other pins mentioned in your RSVE docs are in fact tied together. So your docs and instructions look good.

 

I wouldn't think the serial port would show up grayed out regardless if the RSVE was doing its thing or not. That is why I fear your MFP might be hosed. It might be worth it to remove those 4 wires and put pin 16 back just to see if it comes back.

 

Did you try booting without the hsmodem stuff. In case it is what is activating your LED. Just boot the normal CPX.

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

I'd like to make sure I've got 5v at pin 1on the cartridge port, but for some reason, despite some excellent suggestions from others, I can't figure out how

to read my multimeter. It does have "juice" on it, otherwise the LED on the RSVE unit wouldn't light up at all.

 

The unit is pre-made. IIRC, I bought it way back when Toad Computers was still around.

 

Thats a good suggestion on how to have worked up pin16. I wish I had talked to you before I did it the way I did. I don't think I took a long time to remove the pin. I would heat it (30 watt iron), for about 2-3 secs, then ease the leg up a bit, until it hardened again. It took about 3 tries for it to come all the way out. I hope that wasn't too long. I suppose I should go ahead and remove the MB from the bottom case, and inspect it just to make sure no tracks/traces lifted up. None did on the top side.

 

I might have to try removing the RSVE and hooking pin 16 back just to see what happens.

 

I wasn't booting *any* software. This was with the MB stripped down, nothing attached but the floppy drive. The LED lights up just as soon as the Mega powers up. Not software related at all there. Thats why I thought it was odd. I would have thought that it would not light up until one of the remapped baud rates was triggered. But its on from the start with no software in sight.

 

I'm working this weekend (12 hour shifts, nightshift) so I'll take another shot at it on my next day off.

 

Thanks again for the reply/advice, I appreciate it.

[belboz]

What model multimeter do you have? Maybe if I can find it online or if you post a picture of it, I can tell you how to set it to check your voltages.

[+DarkLord]

What model multimeter do you have? Maybe if I can find it online or if you post a picture of it, I can tell you how to set it to check your voltages.

 

Just a quick update. Know a guy at work that actually has some kind of

electronics certification. Got him to show me how to use the multimeter.

To make it short, pin 1 on the cartridge port is 5V, so I'm okay there.

Also, on the recommendation of someone else, I moved the ground off the

pad underneath the leg of the P/S. Someone mentioned that might pick up

some A/C noise, also, the guy at work said it looked like a "cold" joint.

 

Now, the green wire to pin 7 looks solid. Guy at work said it was bright

and shiny, good connection.

 

Same for the brown wire to pin 16. I also took the motherboard up,

examined the bottome to see if any tracks/traces had lifted when I heated

pin 16. Looks fine.

 

Which leaves me with the worst possible problem. That I might have applied

too much heat while removing pin 16's leg and damaging the MFP chip itself.

 

This of course, is assuming that the RSVE unit I have is in good working

order.

 

Next step, I'll remove the brown wire from pin 16, attempt to re-attach

it, and see if the MFP chip is still working correctly.

[belboz]

 

Just a quick update. Know a guy at work that actually has some kind of

electronics certification. Got him to show me how to use the multimeter.

To make it short, pin 1 on the cartridge port is 5V, so I'm okay there.

Also, on the recommendation of someone else, I moved the ground off the

pad underneath the leg of the P/S.

 

Yeah I cringed when I heard you got ground from the power supply itself. That was why I mentioned moving it.

 

Someone mentioned that might pick up

some A/C noise, also, the guy at work said it looked like a "cold" joint.

 

That was me I believe. I was worried you might have gotten something that wasn't a true ground from the powersupply. Which could potentially fry your MFP and the RSVE circuit.

 

 

Now, the green wire to pin 7 looks solid. Guy at work said it was bright

and shiny, good connection.

 

Same for the brown wire to pin 16. I also took the motherboard up,

examined the bottome to see if any tracks/traces had lifted when I heated

pin 16. Looks fine.

 

Which leaves me with the worst possible problem. That I might have applied

too much heat while removing pin 16's leg and damaging the MFP chip itself.

 

This of course, is assuming that the RSVE unit I have is in good working

order.

 

Next step, I'll remove the brown wire from pin 16, attempt to re-attach

it, and see if the MFP chip is still working correctly.

 

Hopefully putting everything back will prove you have a good MFP still. In which case your RSVE circuit is probably bad. Otherwise if it doesn't work you have a dead MFP, and possibly a dead RSVE circuit too.

[+DarkLord]

Hopefully putting everything back will prove you have a good MFP still. In which case your RSVE circuit is probably bad. Otherwise if it doesn't work you have a dead MFP, and possibly a dead RSVE circuit too.

 

It was you, just wasn't sure and didn't want to discredit anyone.

 

You're right - if the MFP checks out, then its probably the RSVE.

and if it doesn't then it could be both.

 

In which case to be sure, and remove doubt, I'll probably save up

my money, buy a new RSVE unit from System Solutions, who still

have them listed on their website, and then have Alex Yu at ATY

computers, put a socket in for the MFP and plug a new chip in, then

start all over again.

[belboz]

Shame we are not a tad closer. I would replace the MFP with a socket for you if it came to that.

 

I am in the Cincinnati area myself.

[+DarkLord]

Shame we are not a tad closer. I would replace the MFP with a socket for you if it came to that.

 

I am in the Cincinnati area myself.

 

Shame is right but I'll tell ya, I surely do appreciate the offer.

 

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I tried socketing one of those chips

on another, older Mega ST MB I had (CPU). It still sticks in my craw

to say it, but I screwed it up. I had traces coming up all over the

place, blah, blah, blah. It was so bad that Alex, at ATY, a very

experienced person, could not fix it, He tried, and its not like

Mega ST motherboards grow on freakin' trees, ya know?

 

I still get miserable everytime I think about it. I pulled all the

chips, cables, and other various pieces from it, and kept them

for spares, then deep sixed the rest...

 

Since then, I'll only attemp the very light jobs, none of the heavy

duty stuff.

[belboz]

Well if you verify the MFP is dead after putting the one pin back, the way I would get it out is to cut each leg on the chip up as high up as you can (basically where the pin does a 90 degree turn into the chip itself). The you have all these pins sticking up with little upside down hooks (where they use to go into the chip).

 

Obviously the chip itself is now gone and it is just pins if you do the above. You can then take a soldering iron and just heat the pin up underneath the little hook and they will lift right out with your iron. This method is nice because you never actually put the iron on the pad and you don't have to worry about pulling the pad or trace up.

 

Then you basically have all the pins out and a bunch of holes with solder in them. You can take some solder wick and put it on the pad and heat it up and generally it will suck the solder right out of the hole. Sometimes it helps to put more solder in each hole before doing this.

 

It works pretty quick and clean.

 

If you do get to needing to do this and need help and want to save some $$$, I would be happy to do it for you. You would have to pay to ship it here and back. I wouldn't charge you anything.

 

I "might" even have some MFP chips. I have some chips from an ex-atari dealer who went out of business many years ago. No promises on that though, so you would probably still have to get an MFP chip yourself. I might have some though.

 

Regardless I hope it works for you when putting the one pin back and all of this is moot.

 

If not and you need help, feel free to PM me.

[+DarkLord]

If not and you need help, feel free to PM me.

 

Thanks, I sure do appreciate the offer. Gotta go back to work for a few days,

so it will probably be this weekend before I get to take another stab at it. I'll

post results as soon as I have them.

 

If the MFP chip has to be replaced, I'll have it socketed. That way I can do all

the damage to MFP chips that I want <cough> and I can just easly replace them

myself. Like you, I think I have a couple of used ones lying around.

 

BTW, I just want to mention how great offers of help from Atarians like this is. I've

had very good experiences from the Atari community, and it deserves mention.

Mark Ducksworh is another who has helped immensely with my Falcon and setting

up the CT60 on it.

 

Thanks again!

[belboz]

No problem.

 

If you want me to help I would be glad to. I can yank the dead MFP (if it is dead) and put a socket in its place. (I have a ton of sockets).

 

Just let me know if you need any help.