Recreating the RSVE mod…

[Darklord]

Thanks, I'll try that a bit later.

Personally, I feel like it is working, just from the mods behavior.

Just gotta figure out the software end of it...

PS I wish I could find someone who has a working RSVE mod in
place and using it!

[TheNameOfTheGame]

Nice progress there. Good luck with the software part.

[exxos]

This turned up a few days ago. Very nicely done! thank you @sporniket

IMG_0375.JPG (226.65 KiB) Viewed 1428 times

[DoG]

In reference to @Darklord post previously.

Do you have photo of the MFP (68901) where the cables are attached to the pins?

I just read some of the instructions. I don't know german so I did google translate. So don't take what I write below as how it should be hooked up.

It seems that you have solder three wires but there should only be two on the MFP?

Pin 16 needs a trace cut to pin 7 and 10 or lifted from board. TID to pin 16 on MFP (looks like red wire on @spornikets PCB?) and TUA to pin 7 or 10 on MFP. Then 5V (middle hole between TID and TUA) and GND of course as mentioned (3 holes/wires).



RTS/CTS-handshake is apparently need to be turned on in your software. Try selecting 110 baud to get 38400?

KiCAD_screenshot3.png (98.5 KiB) Viewed 1425 times

68901_pinout.png (76.12 KiB) Viewed 1425 times

[sporniket]

@DoG thanks for the insights. I also previously wrote an installation guide (that's the one in the picture from @exxos, and @Darklord received it too) that details which wire goes to which pins. The mod is indeed wired to 2 signal pins on the MFP (Timer D out, Receiver Clock), plus the power supply (vcc + gnd), making 4 pins in total.

Here is a draft of a little guide to install the assembled rsve into the ST. Or more like "which MFP pin is wired to which point of the RSVE".


rsve-quick-install-guide--draft.pdf


I don't intend to be thorough but if you feel that a little clarification would be helpfull here and there, I am happy to amend this guide.

[DoG]

@DoG thanks for the insights. I also previously wrote an installation guide (that's the one in the picture from @exxos, and @Darklord received it too) that details which wire goes to which pins. The mod is indeed wired to 2 signal pins on the MFP (Timer D out, Receiver Clock), plus the power supply (vcc + gnd), making 4 pins in total.

I totally missed that somehow. Very good PDF and clear instruction. I just tried pointing out that I think Darklord have installed his RSVE wrong? I might be mistaken though. I would like it to be working so that I can built one myself and try out.

[Darklord]

Well, me making a mistake is *always* a possibility...

I did triple check my connections before I fired it up the first
time and double-checked them again after I couldn't get the
mod and the WiModem232 to communicate with each other.

I've not closed the Mega ST's case back up yet. I'm going to
leave it open for a while, just in case I do find something and
need to change it. (and I'm going to keep going back over
what's been done, step by step).

I tend to think that I got it correctly though because:

The Mega ST4 did boot up with no issues (never guaranteed
when I work on anything!)

The red LED is lighting up whenever I use HSModem with the
RSVE settings in place.

The red LED goes off whenever I use HSModem with the RSVE
portion turned off.

The good news is that, even with it not being successful for
the higher rates, it continues to function completely normally
using HSModem with the RSVE part turned off. My BBS is up
and running just fine with no issues at 19.2k.

I think I'll start another RSVE thread, looking for ST users who
have this mod in place and are using it. Who knows, maybe they
can show me what I'm doing wrong...

[Darklord]

RTS/CTS-handshake is apparently need to be turned on in your software. Try selecting 110 baud to get 38400?

I've been using RTS/CTS on for a long time now. From way back when I got my first Lantronix UDS10 to the
new (and much better) WiModem232's available now.

What gave me hope that I might (finally) get the RSVE mod working here with my setup was an entry from
the BBS Express! ST support publication "Express Times". I found this when going through an old archive I had from
right after they shut down years ago. I won't post the whole publication, just the relevant parts. This is a
short excerpt from the article from this issue, by another BBS Express! SysOp who had the RSVE mod
working with his setup. I'm using exactly the settings he details below:

" =========================================================================
---/\------/\------------------------------------------------------------
--/ /\----/ /----------------Express Times-------------------------------
-/ / /\--/ \------------------------------------------------------------
-\ / /--\/\ \------" For The BBS Express ST! SysOp "--------------------
--\ /------\ \----------------------------------------------------------
---\/--------\/----------Issue 21, 9 April 1995 -------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
=========================================================================
Express Times is a publication for System Operators (SysOp's) of BBS
Express! ST. Material contained in this edition may be reprinted without
permission from C&R Systems except where noted. Reprinted articles must
remain unedited and contain reference to Express Times, with issue
number, name and author included at the top of each article reprinted.
Opinions presented are those of the individual author and do not
necessarily reflect the opinions of the staff of Express Times. BBS
Express! ST is a Bulletin Board System program for Atari ST computers
marketed by C&R Systems, P.O. Box J, Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17214. This
publication is not affiliated with Atari Corporation."

" ===============================================================
= ARTICLE BY: Darren Trutzenbach (King Arthur) =
============== SysOp of The Round Table BBS, 300-28.8 kbps =======

RSVE works great at 38400 on 8 Mghz machines, if you select higher speeds
then you will tend to loose characters on slower machines, I have mine
set at 38400 on a 16 Mghz Mega STe, I do loose the odd character at
57600, but 38400 works flawlessly.

HSMODEM software is very easy to install and can be used without the RSVE
board (The software fix for the Atari's RTS CTS problem). There are
several different programs that are included in the HSMODEM package, you
do not have to use them all, It depends on what modem port you are using.
If you are an Express sysop like myself you must be using modem 1. The
neccessary programs to use for modem 1 would be DRVIN.PRG, this is the
main driver for HSMODEM and must always load before any of the other
HSMODEM programs. MFP.PRG, this controls modem port 1. I suggest that
you load DRVIN.PRG and MFP.PRG boot from your AUTO folder. Although they
can be run from the desktop, make sure that they are the last programs
to run, this way any of the other programs that Auto load will not
interfere with the changes they make to TOS. I use the To configure
these two programs you must run the program SETTER.TTP, and on the
command line put the path and filename to either DRVIN.PRG or MFP.PRG.
The configurations are built into both these programs and by running
SETTER.TTP you are altering the actual program, which is a nice feature,
this saves having those configuration files located all over the place.
You will be prompted to enter some information when SETTER.TTP is
executed this can be a little confusing seeing as most of the text is in
German and very little in English.

These are my settings for DRVING.PRG and MFP.PRG:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

DRVING.PRG
----------
FASTINIT: Yes
EXOPEN: No


MFP.PRG
-------
RSVE: Yes

I have the RSVE board installed. Answer no if you do not.

HISP: Yes
REPL: place 1: 19200
place 2: 38400

The above replaces bps rates, for example because of the limit in TOS
most older programs will only support rates as high as 19200. Now the
Software will notice the change and adapt 19200 to 38400. This will not
work if the RSVE board is not installed, so if this is so answer place 1
and 2 with a U.

Place 3: U
Place 4: U
Place 5: U
Place 6: U
U meaning Invalid or no entry.

DTR: Yes
Enables switching of the DTR lines answering yes keeps it like in TOS.

RBL: 32768
Size in bytes of the recieve buffer.

TBL: 256
Size in bytes of the transmit buffer.
The Size of the above receive and transmit buffers may vary from system
to system. For best results play around with these numbers until it works
best for you.

English docs are included in HSMODEM, so if you want to experiment with
different settings you can, but I found the above best for my system."

[TheNameOfTheGame]

HSModem is supposed to be re-mapping all 19200 speeds to 38400 automatically, if I've
got the settings right.

The problem is, it appears that there is no communication between the RSVE equipped
Mega ST4 and the WiModem232 I use. I set the WiModem232 to 38400 and once I do that,
with the HSModem software set to RSVE aware, I can't access the WiModem232 from any
terminal software like TAZ, STalker, etc,...

Normally, if everything is working right, you can access the WiModem232 directly from a
comms package. Typing in ATI gives some basic info, AT&V will show the settings, AT*N
will scan for all available networks, etc. I can not get a prompt from any comms software
when the RSVE mod is turned on via HSModem. I can get the prompt and issue those commands
if I re-run the HSModem software and turn the RSVE part off (and the WiModem is set back to
19200).

I tried calling in with SyncTerm on a Win10 box and while the WiModem232 flashed the
"Incoming Call" message, the RSVE equipped Mega ST4, with my BBS software running,
never acknowledges/answers that call.

I tried running a bare AUTO folder with nothing but DRIVN.PRG andd MFP.PRG in it but
that didn't change anything.

I also disabled the SERIAL.CPX but that didn't make a difference either. I could not tell
from the documentation if the SERIAL.CPX was supposed to be left in place or not. I did
try it both ways.

Some ideas.

Did you try with the Lantronix to make sure it is not a problem with WiModem232?

Do you have a null modem cable you can connect the Atari to a PC/MAC to test with to elimate the WinModem/Lantronix variable?

What about an older version of HSModem? The README says this:

Code: Select all

HSMODEM1 (compatibility)
------------------------
These drivers replace HSMODEM1. The BIOS function calls for MODEM1 are a 
little bit slower than those in HSMODEM1, because of the support for 
several interfaces. Those of  you who use an old program together with the 
last version (HSMOD105.LZH) of HSMODEM1 need not "update" to this version.

Try with 110 baud (normal HSMODEM 38400 baud target) and virgin MFP.TOS with a program that accepts it (you said your BBS only goes to 300)?

Try with FASTINT off to see if any communication is possible?

CoNnect supposedly provides native support for RSVE. Maybe try that as a terminal program when testing?

Are you getting the "RSVE or compatible found" message at boot? From the MFP_X.TXT:

Code: Select all

Speeder-Recognition (RSVE, RSVECHIP amongst others)
---------------------------------------------------

The driver tries to automatically recognize if a interface accelerator is 
installed. The result of its recognition will be displayed during 
installation, currently in the third line directly under the "(C)...". 
However this is not an intensive MFP UART test, so a faulty MFP or faulty 
connections are not neccesarily recognised, or can lead to output of 
messages other than "...defective???".

Here follows the possible displays:

"MFP-UART defective???"

"MFP without additions."

"Fixed speedup or Analog PLL."

"RSVE or compatible found."
Presumably it has a RSVE or RSSPEED or a compatible Baud rate changer 
installed. The test at 1200 bps ran normally, 110 bps was however 
strongly accelerated.

"RSVECHIP found."

Just a few ideas after considering the effects you are seeing.

[Darklord]

Some ideas.

Did you try with the Lantronix to make sure it is not a problem with WiModem232?

Do you have a null modem cable you can connect the Atari to a PC/MAC to test with to elimate the WinModem/Lantronix variable?

What about an older version of HSModem? The README says this:

Code: Select all

HSMODEM1 (compatibility)
------------------------
These drivers replace HSMODEM1. The BIOS function calls for MODEM1 are a 
little bit slower than those in HSMODEM1, because of the support for 
several interfaces. Those of  you who use an old program together with the 
last version (HSMOD105.LZH) of HSMODEM1 need not "update" to this version.

Try with 110 baud (normal HSMODEM 38400 baud target) and virgin MFP.TOS with a program that accepts it (you said your BBS only goes to 300)?

Try with FASTINT off to see if any communication is possible?

CoNnect supposedly provides native support for RSVE. Maybe try that as a terminal program when testing?

Just a few ideas after considering the effects you are seeing.

I've not tried with the Lantronix. The WiModem232 is in operation right now with DarkForce!, so it is working.

I could switch them out just for testing purposes but I really doubt that would make a difference.

I'll check and see what version of HSmodem it is that I have.

DarkForce! supports 19.2k, that's the beauty of remapping 19.2k to 38.4 - don't have to change anything else.

"RSVE or compatible found." is the message I get when I run HSModem.

I'll have to try CoNect with it and see.

Thanks.