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Newly Updated January 1999!. Potent Portables is a place dedicated to the NEC PC-8201A, a sister design of the Tandy Model 100 and the Tandy Model 102 laptops. If you have a NEC PC-8201A, the information and links presented here will help you get the most out of your classic laptop.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) are questions all of us have asked at one time or another. These are questions new users ask often. Lurk on the various newsgroups and listservs and you'll see these questions appear. Rather than retype answers all the time, some of the FAQs are posted here for easy reference. If you do not see a question here that you think should be here, or if you think you have a better answer to one of these questions, send me mail. I'm open to other viewpoints and new additions to the Potent Portables site.
These FAQs cover TELCOM itself and TELCOM-related issues like access to BBS, info services, and the internet.
FAQ: What are the PC-8201A's STAT codes?
The STAT code takes the form bpdsxh, where:
b = baud rate. Common values are 3=300,5=1200,6=2400,8=9600,9=19.2K.
p = parity. Common values are E=even, O=odd, N=none.
d = data bits. 7 or 8.
s = stop bits. 1 or 2.
x = xon/xoff active. X=active, N=not active.
h = hardware handshaking. S=active, N=not active.
FAQ: Why do I sometimes lose characters communicating above 1200 baud?
The LCD scroll function of all of the Kyocera laptops (M100/T102/NEC/etc)
effectively limit the baud rate to something not much higher than 600 baud.
1200 baud works OK and many people find 2400 "mostly OK." The faster that
you go, the worse it gets. The LCD scroll rate problem does not limit the
baud rate for features of the NEC that bypass LCD echo/scroll. For fast
transfers, learn to use the SAVE to COM: and LOAD from COM: commands in
BASIC.
FAQ: How do I transfer programs from my PC/Mac/whatever to my NEC via TELCOM?
One simple way is via ASCII transfer over a null modem cable. With a suitable
null modem cable and cable adapters connecting your NEC and PC, enter TELCOM
on the NEC and set the STAT settings. I recommend a slow baud rate like 1200,
since 2400 baud and higher are prone to LCD scrolling problems. Enter the
NEC's terminal mode. On the PC, start a terminal emulator that has ASCII text
transfer capability. Set the comm settings to match the NEC STAT settings. If
the PC emulator allows an ASCII filter setting to strip the LF character from
each CR/LF pair, set it to strip LF on upload. If you hit a key on one PC,
the corresponding character should show up on the other. You're now set.
Initiate a download on the NEC. Initiate an ASCII upload/send/whatever on
the PC. Do not use a binary protocol like XMODEM, YMODEM, or ZMODEM. Use
ASCII. Once the file transfers to the NEC, hit the NEC's download fkey once
more to tell the NEC you're done.
FAQ: How do I transfer programs from my NEC to my PC/Mac/whatever via TELCOM?
The procedure is the same as in the previous FAQ, except that you initiate the
ASCII download/capture on the PC before initiating the upload on the NEC. Use
the upload fkey on the NEC. Ifyour PC terminal emulator has an ASCII filter,
set it to add a LF to each CR encountered on download.
FAQ: Can I transfer binary files via TELCOM using XMODEM?
No. TELCOM supports only ASCII. You have to use a program separate from
TELCOM that implements the XMODEM protocol.
FAQ: How do I convert a BASIC program to ASCII so that I can transfer it?
Open BASIC and load the program. Save it as ASCII by adding a ,A to the
end of the command. The program will then be saved as a DO file.
FAQ: Does telcom support VT100 emulation? ANSI sequences?
No and No. TELCOM is essentially a straight tty terminal program that understands
a few escape sequences. There is a VT100 emulator for the M100, but I have
not examined the code to see if it may be converted to the NEC. I am slowly
designing a VT100 emu for the NEC, but time to work on it has been hard
to find.
FAQ: Can I hook my NEC to the internet?
Not directly. The NEC does not support tcp/ip networking.
FAQ: How do I get my email/news/etc from the internet with my NEC?
With much politicking and gnashing of teeth. Some internet service providers
(ISP) do allow terminal program access to the internet. You become a terminal
attached to their multi-user system. It requires an ISP running Unix servers
that allows a user to have a shell account. The server needs to know the
terminal configuration for a TRS80 Model 100. There are trs100 termcap entries
for Unix systems out there. You then dial in as a terminal and use the
text-only internet tools available from your ISP. Some tools require VT100
emulation, which the NEC does not currently support.
FAQ: My ISP told me NO WAY when I asked for a shell account. Why?
(1)Security risk. Shell accounts give you a directory and command line
access to their Unix server. Your account is a big enough security risk
that most ISPs don't want to fool around with it. John Q. Public is also
generally not adept at command line systems, so shell accounts are a
tech support nightmare. Find another ISP. Some small-med ISPs will
provide shell accounts where the biggies and mom-n-pop operations won't.
(2) Maybe your ISP doesn't use Unix. Shame on them. NT? Double shame, even if you throw enough hardware at it to make the performance palatable [obvious editorial bias warning].
More FAQs will be added as I have time. If you have a specific technical support question, email me.
Original author of this page: David Firth.
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