ProTERM 3.1 and other versions

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ProTERM 3.1 and other versions

In my early days of modeming and bbs'ing I used ASCII Express and Novation Com-Ware, and the utilities that came with my MicroModem II. I also wrote and modified stuff to make it do what I wanted.

In the latter waning years I had switched to ProTerm. I still have my version 2.01 from way back when, dial list, macros, all of it intact. And, not too long ago, the authors made 3.1 available for free. There is a huge difference the number and types of modems supported between each version. I was sorry to see that 3.1 dropped support for the Apple-Cat II and the Hayes Micro-Modem II. It was one of the reasons I never updated beyond 2.1 or whatever IIRC. Or maybe I temporarily lost interest in Apple II BBS'ing. Probably both.

So as a light summertime activity, I want to collect all the known versions of ProTERM.

Currently I'm aware of:
1.9p
2.0
2.01
2.1
3.0
3.1

I have no doubt there other versions have been made, but what are they? And where are they?

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Re: ProTERM 3.1 and other versions

Keatah,

Did you check Asimov for the disk images?

Check Ken B's site:

http://www.apple2online.com/

Doctor Ken has a lot of software up there.

The member with the Apple II stuff for sale up here?
He has an FTP site with a bunch of software.

Steven Smile

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Re: ProTERM 3.1 and other versions

Yep. Those sites are where I got my other versions aside from my 2.01 original.

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Re: ProTERM 3.1 and other versions

I figure I got a pretty good sampling so far. With 2.1 covering the first 110/300/1200 modems, and 3.1 covering all the later "hi-speed" hardware 2400 and up. While there is crossover from version to version; throughout the years I've noted the drop off of early modem support and focus more on externals as time progressed.

In a nutshell: The 1.x and 2.x series seemed to focus on internal modems, and 3.x seemed more adept at handling serial card + external modem.

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Re: ProTERM 3.1 and other versions

I figure I got a pretty good sampling so far. With 2.1 covering the first 110/300/1200 modems, and 3.1 covering all the later "hi-speed" hardware 2400 and up. While there is crossover from version to version; throughout the years I've noted the drop off of early modem support and focus more on externals as time progressed.

In a nutshell: The 1.x and 2.x series seemed to focus on internal modems, and 3.x seemed more adept at handling serial card + external modem.

Hello Keatah,

just a note / hint besides...:

as far as i remember the most communication-programms in those days used external "parameter"-files
for the setup of the modems ( which would be loaded to specific memory location given by the program....
( one parametric file for each modem listed in the menu ....)
and in general the programmers kept that memory location and the formats of the parameter files same....

in such case - it was possible - just to copy the parametric files from the disk with old version to the disk with new version
and just add the modem and the related filename to the menu within the program !!!

and most of that parametric files just contained in themselves the textfiles
with the requested hayes modem command codes ...
( like ATZxxxxxxx, ATxxxxxx, ATxxxxxxx for external modems )
or ( offset card poke adress 1, offset card poke adress 2.......... ; ATZxxxxxxx, ATxxxxxxxxx, ATXxxxxxxx ... and so on for internal modems )

This would permit you just to "move" and "add within menu" old modems back into new versions of the
communication programm....

and beneath the lines...:

and within the communicationprogram you would find something like this structure:

Definitions:

slot number from setup: $hex value from setup....

connect offset: $hex value from parameterfile or zero if external modem
hangup offset: $hex value from parameterfile or zero if extarnal modem
dial offset: $hex value from parameterfile or zero if external modem
set speed offset: $hex value from parameterfile or zero if external modem....
......

connect command: ATxxxxxxx from parameter file
hanngup sommand: ATxxxxxxx from parameter file
dial command: ATDxxxxxxxx from paramater file
set speed command 300: ATxxxxxxxxxx from paramater file
set speed command 1200: ATxxxxxxxxx from paramater file
set speed command 2400: ATxxxxxxxxx from paramater file
set speed command 9600: ATxxxxxxxxx from paramater file
..... and so on....

end of parameterlist set by setup or loaded parameterfile
....

begin program....
......
menus......
......
communication box display......
.......
.......
back to menu
setup slot...
back to menu
setup modem
load parametric file with name xxxxx
turn back to menu.....
setup keyboardlayout to local language.....
turn back to menu....
and so on...
program end
.............
subroutine dial
assemble offset adresses for pokes
reset modem....
issue speed command
is number to call present?
if not => pick up number to call from keyboard
if present => jump to dialcommand
assemble dial command with number collected
issue dial command
wait determined time for pickup of like from target....
if timeout => ask if redial is set : if yes turn back to beginning of subroutine
.....................................if not turn back to "jump off point"
if line is picked up from target ( recieving modem pulses )
( maybe negotiate speed of communication... - drop back of speed demanded by bad line )
turn back to "jump off point" with parameter set to "communication flow = ON "
......
next subroutine.....
....
subroutine get text...

subroutine send text....
....

sincerely speedyG

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Re: ProTERM 3.1 and other versions

Interesting. Something I will investigate!

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Re: ProTERM 3.1 and other versions

Hello Keatah,

I´ve taken a quarter hour before entering bed for sleeping and taken a brief view to ProTerm Disks 15 minutes.....
the result:

the hints above are still valid with one difference.... the parameters are at ProTerm within the following files:
Pro Term 3.1 => Program disk => File: PT3.CODE0
Pro Term 2.1 => Program Disk => File: PT.INSTALL

to view and examine choose within Ciderpress the File viewer and set it to "hex dump" view mode on bottom of window by clicking the button.
scroll down till you can read the entries in right part of the window....
there you will find the start of the modemlist for the install in program and far down below you will see the ATZ commands...
you should search for an unused modem in the list at 3.1 and that part of the definitions should have same length like
the one you want to move from 2.1 and then use copy and paste ...... or you can edit manualy if you unreveal the entries
and change all the related blocks....
but you must make sure not to change length if the file itself ! maybe you must alter a checksum of the file....

- and you may do the same steps after testing out with ciderpress with the locksmith sectoredit on a copy of the real disk....

Just a final additional hint....
1.make a copy of the disk
2.make a list of all files on the disk
3.perform once a setup on the copy of the disk and then examine the list of files again......
maybe the setup generates a new small file containing only the parameters of the installed printer and installed modem....
that would shorten detection of the parameters very much....
it´s possible that program tests at startup - if such file exists and then determines if
it enters at startup to setup if file does not exist and if file exists it will enter communication mode....

happy patching....

sincerely speedyG

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Re: ProTERM 3.1 and other versions

After looking around I've confirmed there was a 1.0 and 2.2.

It would stand to reason that there were other versions between 1.0 and 1.9P. And that these versions would have used DOS 3.3. For I believe, but am not sure, that 1.9P ushered in the Pro-DOS era for ProTERM.

From reading the intrec intro and info on lost classics (which is defaced with a viagra ad -- http://lostclassics.apple2.info/downloads/?dl_cat=11 -- ) I can also infer that 2.2 was the last of the "old" series. After 2.2, the next version was 3.0 with the redesigned menus.

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Re: ProTERM 3.1 and other versions

Hello Keatah,
in general the most revisions in that days resulted from changing ( new ) models of modems, some minor changes
in communication protocolls, updating the list of availiable printers, and adding features to the software ( like
adding ability to create dialing macros ) and of course removing bugs from older versions... the early versions sometimes had tencency to "hang up" / crash... and the early versions with macro´s have been quite "buggy" and also the timeout routines in the early versions were not very "sophisticated"

sincerely speedyG

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Re: ProTERM 3.1 and other versions

This does not make any sense to me. As I remember it, if a modem is not Hayes compatible, it would have come with an instruction manual that would indicate it's own customized AT commands. If a modem is not listed in Proterm, then you should choose a non listed modem driver and use a customized AT string. That should work with most modems if a specific modem "driver" is not on the list.

Also, I recall that Proterm also came with a manual that would tell you how to deal with these problems.

ATZ = reset modem

ATDT = dial using dial tones instead of using pulse dialing.

What am I missing here?

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Re: ProTERM 3.1 and other versions

What am I missing here?

Well, you're missing a couple of things.

First, the Hayes AT command set was just that... property of Hayes. Everybody else had to add their own particular extensions to deal with their own modem's particular capabilities (or deficiencies). So, even at the AT level - a modem would need its own set of AT commands. True, ADTD was universal. Anything beyond that, though, required a semi-proprietary command.

But at a lower level, modems that plugged into the Apple bus had their own way of addressing I/O - which was a completely different issue than sending (essentially) text down a serial wire. Even if a modem had an ACIA chip at its heart, you needed to know the four hardware addresses to twiddle to talk to it. So that's another issue that was encapsulated at the modem driver level.

Those two things were pretty much all you needed to talk to any modem... hardware address coupled with proprietary AT commands. Neither were at all "standard..." unless you claimed to be 100% super serial card compatible (easy) or 100% Hayes compatible (open to lawsuit). Hence we have "drivers."

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Re: ProTERM 3.1 and other versions

That´s just the thing that was explained above....
if Modem is intern:
Slot number and resulting $Hex value ( keeps = 0 if Modem is extern )
Specific offset1 and resulting $Hex value ( keeps = 0 if Modem is extern )
Specific offset2 and resulting $Hex value ( keeps = 0 if Modem is extern )
Specific offset3 and resulting $Hex value ( keeps = 0 if Modem is extern )
Specific offset4 and resulting $Hex value ( keeps = 0 if Modem is extern )
Hayes commandstring reset(ASCII value ) valid for both - internel and external modem installed )
Hayes commandstring pick up line(ASCII value ) valid for both - internel and external modem installed )
Hayes commandstring dial (ASCII value ) valid for both - internel and external modem installed )
Hayes commandstring hang up (ASCII value ) valid for both - internel and external modem installed )
Hayes commandstring connection speed (ASCII value ) valid for both - internel and external modem installed )
list of commands to be continued....according to the manual of the specific modem....

I didn´t wan´t to write a complete modemprogram......and i also don´t want to start patching proterm at the moment...
( at least not unless i need such task for own modem )...

i just wanted to show the keypoints of such program and the general structure....
but this points re-explained here had been shown above....
and you find them in proterm too....
i just even explained in a following posting where the stuff of the parameters are, which files, where in the files,
how to find in the files.... and how to be able to patch that files with own custom modem...
.
that´s enough stuff to learn for the next weeks....

the keyquestion above was : how to move parameters from old version of proterm to newer version of proterm....

you don´t realy expect me to do your brainwork ...?
sincerely speedyG

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Re: ProTERM 3.1 and other versions

ProTerm's official home is at the Lost Classics site - http://lostclassics.apple2.info/downloads/?dl_cat=11

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Re: ProTERM 3.1 and other versions

Link is in-op since a few weeks now..

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Re: ProTERM 3.1 and other versions

Link is in-op since a few weeks now..

That specific link yes.

But there are two files that you can still get from that site.

One of them is the manual and the other is the 801k version.

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Re: ProTERM 3.1 and other versions

I'm now aware of versions:
1.1
1.2
1.9P
1.9T
2.0
2.01
2.02
2.1
2.2
3.0
3.1
3.1 (5-JUL-98)
but according to this guy there's a 3.2 version?
http://macgui.com/usenet/?group=1&id=281338
I'm inclined to believe it's a typo..

And by the way the lostclassics site is back up.
http://lostclassics.apple2.info/downloads/?dl_cat=11
..so you can get your official freeware version straight from the source! 5.25 or 3.5!

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Re: ProTERM 3.1 and other versions

I'm now aware of versions:
1.1
1.2
1.9P
1.9T
2.0
2.01
2.02
2.1
2.2
3.0
3.1
3.1 (5-JUL-98)
but according to this guy there's a 3.2 version?
http://macgui.com/usenet/?group=1&id=281338
I'm inclined to believe it's a typo..

And by the way the lostclassics site is back up.
http://lostclassics.apple2.info/downloads/?dl_cat=11
..so you can get your official freeware version straight from the source! 5.25 or 3.5!

The First Link Is Bad:
http://lostclassics.apple2.info/download/InTrec/ProTERM3.2mg

I couldn't find any contact information to submit the problem to...

MarkO

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Re: ProTERM 3.1 and other versions

Just use what I posted in #15.

Ohh. I see. Well you'll just have to get the shk file and convert it to a 2mg, or get the single disks and do likewise.

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Re: ProTERM 3.1 and other versions


The First Link Is Bad:
http://lostclassics.apple2.info/download/InTrec/ProTERM3.2mg

I couldn't find any contact information to submit the problem to...

MarkO

I found another place where to download something with the same filename:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vcc9d5krvjr0442/ProTERM3.2mg?dl=0

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