--------------------------------------------------------------------------- _________ __ /___ ___// / CHRISTIAN BUCHNER / / / / / / / /__ _______ PROUDLY PRESENTS / / / ___ \ / /__/_/ / / / / / // / /_/ /_/ /_//_/____ ____ __ ____ __ __ / __ \ / / / __ \ / /__ / / / /_/ / / / / /_/ / / //_/_/ /_ / _ _/ ____/\ __ __ __ / / / _ _/ ____/\ /\___ __ / /__ / __/ / / \ \ / __/ // / / // _\/ / / / \ \ / __/ // ___ \ / _\/ // / / / / /__/ // /_/ // /_/ // /_/ / / /__/ // /_/ // / / // /_/ // / / / /______//_____//_____//_____/ /______//_____//_/ /_//_____//_/ /_/ THE CHEAPEST WAY TO USE YOUR SERIAL PORT AT LIGHT SPEED --------------------------------------------------------------------------- BaudBandit Documentation, Version 1.2, 18th July 1992, 15:30 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT IS THE BAUD BANDIT? When Commodore developed the serial.device some years ago, they could not have foreseen the development of relatively cheap modems using data compression at incredibly high baud rates like the US Robotics HST and the new v32bis modems. So the serial.device soon became too slow for the requirements of modern telecommunication standards. The BaudBandit is a replacement for the original serial.device allowing you to drive your serial port at baud rates up to 115200 Baud with a standard 68000 Processor in full multitasking. Without any doubt the BaudBandit can be called "a little revolution" within the telecommunication scene on the Commodore Amiga. It is especially designed for use with high speed modems and supports full bidirectional RTS/CTS handshake and receive buffering. This device will no longer bring your computer to a standstill when transferring a file at 14400 baud or more. Compared to the serial.device, this program provides a speed increase of about 500% percent. HOW TO USE THE DEVICE Simply copy the BaudBandit.device to your DEVS: directory. Now you have to configure your software to the new device. Most telecommunication programs offer a configurable device name and unit. Here you have to enter "BaudBandit.device". The device name is case sensitive, so be sure to type it right as shown above! If your software does not allow to use a different serial device because the name is hardcoded in your software or whatever, you may use the program QuickFix to patch the OpenDevice() vectors. Any attempt to open the serial device will open the BaudBandit device now. The patch may be removed at any time with a CTRL-C or the break command from CLI. Owners of the Commodore A2232 multiserial card can easily replace the oldser.device with the faster BaudBandit.device by using the patch program A2232Fix. It works exactly like QuickFix. WHAT ABOUT THE COMPATIBILITY? The code is designed to work under OS1.2/1.3 as well as OS2.0. It should run on all processors from 68000 to 68040. In order to get the best speed results, I dropped some features of the original serial.device which are usually not needed in telecommunication. I completely dropped the xOn/xOff protocoll, as well as the termination array and parity checks. Breaks are currently not supported but may be included in later versions. Characters must consist of 8 bits. The device only supports plain 8N1 RTS/CTS transfer. But this is all you need! The BaudBandit.device should be able to replace the serial.device in most situations. It has been tested with Fido mailers like TrapDoor and many terminal programs like Term or NComm. Up- and downloads are no problem and especially at high speed transfers you should notice that your computer will NOT stand still anymore. HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS The device supports a very common handshake method for high speed modems using the RTS/CTS wires. The RTS/CTS wires prevent a buffer overflow on the computer and on the modem side. This handshake method is often referred to as "flow control". THIS IS IMPORTANT: In order for the device to work properly, you have to connect these wires to your computer, even if your modem does not support this handshake method. Without the RTS/CTS wires connected to your serial port, the device will not be able to send anything! WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THIS PACKAGE? This archive contains an fully functional version of the device and a complete documentation. If you decide to use this program regularly, you have to register. Please note that the contents of this archive may not be altered in any way. WHY IS IT SHAREWARE? The development of this programm has taken many weeks of hard work and frustration. Now I am able to present a reliable and fully functional program which will be of great use for many people. Please understand that I do not want to give this program away for free. I ask you to pay a small shareware donation. The more people register, the more support this product will get. The shareware fee will help me to support my customers and to continue my work on this project. HOW TO REGISTER Before you decide to register, please check whether this program satisfies all your requirements or not. You are allowed to evaluate this program for two weeks. If you continue using it, you have to register. Fill in the registration form and send it to me. I think, it is justified to ask for a shareware donation of DM 20. There are many ways of sending the money to me, so don't tell me that you did not know how to do it. a) Enclose it cash. b) Send me a cheque over DM 20. c) Let your bank transfer it to me d) Transfer it with a postal money order. Please don't transfer any money before sending the registration form. The registration form must be mailed to the following address: Christian Buchner Ganghoferstraße 2 8034 Germering Deutschland Transfer the money to the following account: Raiffeisenbank Germering-Olching Bankleitzahl 701 693 80 Kontonummer 49573 AND NEVER FORGET Note that it is in fact illegal and highly immoral to use this program without paying. (Yes, get a bad, bad conscience! My evil spirit shall haunt you forever, if you "decide to forget to pay".) FUTURE PLANS I am planning to create a program, that will patch itself in front of any serial device to provide data compression and error correction. This might be especially useful for all those people who have not yet deciced to buy a faster modem. By the way, do you think it is possible to emulate the MNP standards with the Amiga Serial port? As far as I know, MNP does not use stopbits while transferring data blocks. Is it possible to misuse the Amiga stopbits as data bits? Of course, this would be a hack - but a nice one. IF YOU FIND A BUG If you discover a bug or a problem, please inform me as quickly as possible. It is important for me to get very accurate information. Please tell me excactly in what situation, with what software and configuration the problem aroused. Bugs are easier to spot if they are reproduceable. HOW TO CONTACT ME If you have any questions concerning this device or anything else, you can reach me via Fidonet. Just write a netmail to Christian Buchner at node 2:246/65. But please be careful. Your mails might get lost on their way. Send love letters and registrations to the following address: Christian Buchner Ganghoferstraße 2 8034 Germering Deutschland ------------------------- AND DON'T FORGET TO PAY ------------------------- Really!!! SO THIS IS THE END. Yes, looks like that.