THE PORTFOLIO CONNECTION: The Software ACKNOWLEGEMENT: The following programs have been thoughtfully provided by Mr. Jim Strauss and uploaded to the major computer services as ShareWare. Thanks Jim; check's in the mail. //////////PART ONE: THE PROBLEM So, you are the proud new owner of the latest Atari _wunderkind_ PORTFOLIO. You're going to use it as your portable terminal... work on that major report during lunch, or figure out why the heck the Widgies Division has lost money for the fourth straight quarter while stuck in traffic... so you decide to get the RS232 Serial Interface... you really don't need the Parallel Interface because all the printers you have at work and home use the serial interface. You get the machine home, break out the docs,... and find out that the Serial Interface has _NO_ software for file transfer, and worse, the file transfer program in the SETUP section uses... the parallel interface? Someone seemed to be unclear on the concept out there in Atariland... //////////PART TWO: THE SOLUTION No, don't send nasty mail to the Mayor of Atariland... he never reads the stuff anyway. For those of you with 8-bit Ataris (the vererable 800, 800XL, or the XE machines), I've left another file in the 8-bit section of this service; to access it, just go to the File Transfer option of the 8-bit section and use the keywords MIO, 850, or PORTFOLIO; this little file details how to make a null modem cable for the 8-bit computers to "talk" with the PORTFOLIO. Other computer users may find this file useful, as it has the pinouts and correct wire connections for the PFSI (Portfolio Serial Interface); just adapt the 850 end for your own make of computer (IBMers, all you guys need is a regular AT null modem cable with a DB25-DB9 adaptor). THAT was the easy part; getting software in to the PF through the PFSI is the REAL bear. So be warned: this project requires a great deal of patience... a GREAT deal of patience. Those who fish as a hobby will feel right at home with this project; those with CLASS A-1 volcanic tempers with nanosecond attention levels had better skip this project altogether and pick up the Parallel Interface. For those of you still with us... into the abyss. //////////PART THREE: SOFTWARE NEEDED You will need the following software, available on this or any major computer service or User Group. A. A terminal software program for your "host" computer that allows text file transfers without CRC or return checksum bytes from the receiving computer. 8-bitters; EXPRESS or BOBTERM work equally well for this. B. CHKSUM.COM: a program for the PF that gives you a checksum of the bytes from a PF program. THIS PROGRAM IS NECESSARY FOR THE RETENTION OF YOUR SANITY. C. HEXBIN.COM: a program that converts hexadecimal text into binary bytes - REQUIRED. D. TXMM2.HEX: a PF terminal ShareWare program supporting Xmodem and Text Transfers, written in hexadecimal text. NOTE: DO NOT D/L TXMM2.COM unless you are going to D/L the program into your PF via a Parallel Interface (PFPI); the reasons are given in the text below. NOTE: Be sure to capture the description header for these programs, as these headers provide the CHKSUM number for each program. 1. Enter the CHKSUM.COM program into the PF: A. Type COPY AUX CHKSUM.COM into the PF. DO _NOT_ PRESS ! B. Set your Host computer to Send Text. NOTE: Do not set your terminal program for ASCII translation. Use the setting for communication between two "like" computer types; IBM-IBM, C64-C64, MAC-MAC. Otherwise the file will be corrupted (and the last thing we need around here is a corrupt file). C. Press on your PF before your host computer starts sending the file. D. After the file has been sent, press ^Z (Ctrl and Z together) on the PF, signalling the end of a file. This oddball transmission procedure is necessary because the TXMM2 program (in binary format) contains several ^Z bytes... which will cut your PF file copy procedure short (NOTE FOR THE NON-IBMers: ^Z is the IBM standard for closing a batch file using the COPY CON command. See what you learn on these files?) 2. Check the checksum for the CHKSUM program by typing CHKSUM CHKSUM.COM If the computer locks up, use the WARMSTART procedure (Ctrl-Alt-Del); if it does not reboot, then use the RESET switch on the bottom of the PF, DEL CHKSUM.COM, and go back to Step 1. If you get a number that does not jibe with the number given in the header description, you have two options; use the program, or DEL it and go back to Step 1. The former is considerably riskier, though. 3. Now that you have a working CHKSUM program, perform Steps 1 & 2 with the HEXBIN.COM program. 4. By now you should have two working programs; CHKSUM.COM and HEXBIN.COM. Perform Steps 1 & 2 again with the TXMM2.HEX program. 5. Type the command: HEXBIN TXMM2.HEX into the Portfolio. If the PF locks up, (that is, if you cannot type on the PF after about 10 minutes), reboot and DEL the TXMM2.HEX program as outlined in Step 2 and go back to Step 4. 6. If the PF has not locked up, you should see the c> prompt. Type the command HEXBIN RESULT.OUT into the Portfolio. If the checksum is that of TXMM2.COM, then type REN RESULT.OUT TXMM2.COM and congratulate yourself; you now have a palmtop terminal with Xmodem and Text Capture capabilities! //////////PART FOUR: Conclusion Congratulations; you have performed a task that would have driven the ancient philosophers nuts. Go have a nice warm bath, pamper yourself... you deserve it. After you have finished pampering yourself, make sure you copy all three .COM programs to your RAM card (save for it if you don't have one; it's as important as your host's floppy disks and a heck of a lot sturdier). You can DELete the TXMM2.HEX program from the PF c> drive. NOTE: make a back-up copy of the programs CHKSUM.COM, HEXBIN.COM, and TXMM2.HEX on your host computer's floppy disks; you never know when your PF may have a memory lapse or when a miscreant program may write over your PF programs, or when you may pass through a memory-scrambling EMI field (like a university experiment or when your 5-year-old decides to use the Bulk Tape Eraser on "daddy's new toy". With this new program, you can successfully U/L or D/L between your computers using Xmodem instead of T/E (Trial & Error). NEXT ISSUE: How I Broke Into NORAD Using My Portfolio; or, Tales From Folsom Prison. //////////APPENDIX: CHKSUM VALUES The following are the CHKSUM values for the three .COM programs: CHKSUM.COM 309A HEXBIN.COM 4080 TXMM2.COM FC6D