You're never alone with an Amiga -- when you have master
communications that is.


Q. What's the best way to move a lot of data between two
Amigas?

A. Floppies are too slow, so hard drives or some form of
removable media are the only sensible solution. If both
machines have internal hard drives, then a second
PCMCIA-slot based drive which do the trick. If both machines
have Zip drives or Syquest drives then you will only need to
carry the disk cartridge between them.

Q. What if one machine isn't an Amiga?

A. Removable media can be used with the Amiga and formated
to be either PC or Apple Mac readable. This allows large
quanties of data to be swapped quickly and reliably.


Q. Can I link two Amigas via their serial ports?

A. Yes, all you need is a NULL MODEM cable, which swaps over
pins 2 and 3, and 4 and 5. (Pin 2 at one end is linked to
pin 3 at the other, and vice versa). Pin 7 remains common to
both for ground. A NULL MODEM cable is used to link two
Amigas for playing games, but you can also use it to send
files between machines. It can be more straightforward than
using lots of floppies. Sometimes (with games especially)
pins 4 and 5 need not be connected as they are for
"handshaking" which is not always required.


Q. Can I link the Amiga to other computers with a serial
line?

A. Yes. Use a NULL MODEM cable and run a terminal emulation
on both systems. You can then use the ZModem file standard
to send and receive files.


Q. How long can this cable be?

A. Depending on the quality of the cable, and the speed at
which you want to transfer data you should be able to reach
up to ten metres. Beyond that and you really need to resort
to the telephone network and modem. Typically, you will be
able to transmit data at about 19,200 bits per second or
greater, although sometimes 9,600 seems to be a safe limit.


Q. Why do I need a modem?

A. A modem will convert the serial information from the
Amiga into audio tones which can be transmitted down the
telephone line. It will also convert audio tones into serial
information.



Q. How fast is a modem?

A. A top of the range modem will transmit data at 28,800
bits per second. This is about 2.8Kbytes a second, or about
10Mbytes an hour. It's not very fast compared with a hard
drive, but it's quite reliable.

A modem which operates at 28,800 bps and supports the
current standard is said to be "V34". The semi-standard
28800K and VFast speeds have been superceded and you should
try and get V34 whenever possible.

Slower 14K4 modems are not very affordable, and good value.
The difference is speed is usually not as dramatic as you
might think (there is no difference at all when sending
faxes), although if you are a heavy comms user the V34 modem
is a better bet.


Q. Can I use a modem designed for use with a PC?

A. As long as the modem is an external version (i.e. a
little box with a separate power supply) you can use it with
any modem Amiga. You will need to make sure the cable ends
with a 25 way connector, and not the 9 way connector some
PCs use.

If the modem is an internal card, then in special
circumstances it can also be used. The card will fit to the
Amiga 2000, 3000 and 4000's PC Zorro slots. However, before
it can be used some form of bridgeboard is required. For
example, the Golden Gate 2 card from Eyetech will allow a PC
modem card to be used.


Q. Can I connect two modems together?

A. Only by forcing one to dial the other. 


Q. Can the modem send faxes?

A. Yes, and receive them too -- but you will need suitable
software. A program such as GPFax is your best bet.


Q. What are the different fax "classes"?

A. Some modems are Class 1, some are Class 2. Generally, the
older, cheaper models are Class 1. Class 2 modems are
usually more widely supported with fax software, although
GPFax will now support Class 1. Class 1 lacks some features
which will probably not be important to you, unless you run
a Bulletin Board.


Q. What software do I need to use a modem?

A. That depends on what you want to do. If you want to use a
Bulletin Board, you will need a terminal emulation program,
such as Term or JRCOmm -- available from Public Domain
libraries. You might also want to consider the commercial
Termite program from HiSoft.

If you want to take part in FidoNet, you can use a terminal
program or dedicated off-line reading software such as Spot.
Spot requires another program called Trapdoor in order to
operate -- both are shareware.

For Internet access you will need AmiTCP and other programs
for mail, new or other facilities. There are more details on
AmiTCP in the regular Wired World column.


Q Can games use modems?

A. Yes, some games which support NULL MODEM links also
support modems. Be warned: this is a good way to
earn yourself a large telephone bill.


Q. Can I connect Amigas with their Parallel ports?

A. Yes, but not as easily as with serial ports. However, as
parallel systems have more wires they can work a lot more
quickly. Also, freely distributable programs such as ParNet
and commerical systems like Liana offer advanced networking
facilities: a disk drive on one machine behaves as though it
was attached to another. Parallel links cannot be used over
telephone lines with modems though.


john kennedy