COCOPACT Version 6.0 COPACT3 Version 1.0 Copyright (C) 1989 By Monty W. Haley Rt. 1, Box 150-A Evening Shade, AR 72532 (501) 266-3614 First, let me say thank you for purchasing COCOPACT. I believe you will find packet operation with this program very easy and enjoyable. I do have one request. Except for backup copies for your own use, please do not copy this program. It's price is very reasonable, especially when compared to similiar programs for other computers, so I ask you to please give your friends my ad- dress instead of a copy of the disk or tape. If, however, your friends just can't wait to take it home and try it out, then I have a deal for them. Make the copy, then send me $18.00. I will put them on my list of buyers, and be able to inform them of any new programs or changes to this one that may be found. Now, enough of that. On to the program. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS COCOPACT Ver. 6.0 requires the use of a 64k TRS-80 Color Computer with Extended Color Basic. There have been no reports of compatibility problems with any version of CoCo1 or CoCo2. COCOPACT 6.0 also functions on the CoCo3 in the 32 column mode. COPACT3 Ver. 1.0 requires a CoCo3 with at least 128k of RAM. This program makes use of the CoCo3 80 column display mode, high speed clock and color selection capability. It is NOT usable on the CoCo1 or 2. With either program, you will need some means to load the software, either disk drive or cassette. The disk version supports saving and loading of files to any of the four standard disk drives, as well as cassette operation. This software allows connection of your TNC to either the built-in four pin serial port or the Deluxe RS-232 Pak, or both if you have two TNCs. If you are using the RS-232 Pak with a disk drive, you will need a Multi-Pak interface or Y-cable to connect the Pak and the drive controller. The final requirement is a TNC or one of the multi-mode data communications units. Although this software is written primarily for packet operation, many of its features make it quite useful for AMTOR, RTTY and other mode operation. GENERAL FEATURES This software supports true split screen operation, allowing the user to view incoming information while typing a message. A large receive buffer with built in editing capability is provided for reviewing received information or for creating and sending your own files or messages. The buffer can be easily transmitted, printed, saved to disk or tape, or loaded from disk or tape. These operations can be performed on the entire buffer or on a selected block of the buffer. Unlike previous versions of this software, tape operations can now utilize the entire buffer, and the block options, when saving or loading standard ASCII format BASIC program or data files. It is also possible to send and receive files directly to and from disk. COPACT3 utilizes part of the CoCo3's extra memory to provide a separate 24k transmit buffer. This buffer has all the features of the regular QSO buffer, but information can only be loaded into it from disk or tape, or typed in manually. This is very useful for creating a message while occasionally checking the activity on the frequency. When you are in the terminal mode, it is not necessary to close the QSO buffer to keep extra data out of your creation. Other features include a built in disk commands menu, allowing viewing of directory and killing or renaming of files; full ASCII character keyboard with audible bell character; special handling of TNC control codes, with the BREAK key used to send an RS-232 break signal, which is used by most TNCs as a more reliable way to regain command mode; and special handling of TNC stream or channel selection, which makes multi-connect operations easier. BACKUPS Before beginning operation of the program, I recommend that you make a backup copy of the distribution disk or tape, and store the original in a safe place. No copy protection is used, so disks are easily copied using the BASIC BACKUP command. Tape users will need to follow these instructions. Make sure you have a good blank tape available. Cold start your computer, then type and enter: PCLEAR 6 Position the original program tape at the beginning of the side containing the program you wish to use. Type and enter: CLOAD then, when the tape stops, type and enter: CLOADM. When the tape stops again, place your blank tape in your machine, press PLAY and RECORD, then type and enter one of the following lines. If you are using COPACT3 Ver. 1.0 on your CoCo3, use: CSAVE"C3T":CSAVEM"CO3ML-1",3584,9727,0 If you are copying COCOPACT Ver. 6.0, use: CSAVE"CCPT60T":CSAVEM"CPTML60",3584,9727,0 Before you actually save your backup copy to tape, you may wish to alter some of the default settings and/or the macro definitions which are contained in DATA lines near the end of the program. This operation is explained in the CONFIGURATION section of this document. One note to disk purchasers: the disks I distribute contain the tape version of the programs along with the normal disk version. To make a tape copy of the program from your disk, you should LOAD"C3T" OR LOAD"CCPT60T" then LOADM"CO3ML-1" OR LOADM"CPTML60" depending on which program you are transferring. Otherwise, just follow the directions above to make your tape. It is not necessary to enter the PCLEAR 6 when making the transfer from disk. CABLING Now that you have a backup copy of the software in hand, you need to get the TNC connected to the computer. How this is done depends on which computer serial port you use. (Note: throughout the rest of this document, I will refer to the Deluxe RS-232C Pak, including the replacements offered by third party suppliers, as the "RSPak." When referring to the CoCo built in four pin serial port, I will usually refer to it simply as the "4Pin port." These terms are also used in the CONFIG and terminal programs.) RSPak: With most TNCs, the simplest way to connect the computer to the TNC is with a standard commercial "straight" 25-pin RS-232 cable. Be sure you don't get one that is wired for null-modem use or some other unusual configuration. If you wish to build your own cable, the only wiring necessary is connection of pins one through eight, plus pin 20. Some commercial cables come wired like this since these are the only pins used in most situations. Whatever cabling you use, your TNC should be set to show the DCD line (pin 8) true at all times. This is usually accomplished with a solder or push-on jumper inside the TNC. On some TNCs (the AEA PK-232, for example) there is a software parameter that determines the status of this line. If your system is working, then this setting is probably already correct. This requirement for the DCD line is a hardware requirement of the RSPak, not a requirement of this software. A note to Kantronics TNC users: for proper operation, it is usually neces- sary to strap pins four, six and eight together on the computer end of your RS-232 cable. This also takes care of the DCD line requirement mentioned above. 4Pin port cabling: These programs use a special wiring of the computer/TNC cable when using the built-in four pin serial port. This allows for hardware flow control when sending the buffer or a disk file to the TNC. This is much more reliable than software flow control schemes, and it ensures that data will not be lost if your packet link cannot pass the data as fast as it is moving from your computer to TNC. When the TNC buffer becomes full, the TNC will sig- nal the computer to stop sending data until some of the packets have been passed. For this hardware flow control to work properly (and also for the normal hardware flow control built into the RSPak to work) your TNC or data com- munications unit must be properly set for hardware flow control. On some units, hardware flow control is in effect at all times, no matter what setting is used for the software flow control parameters (such as XFLOW). On others, XLFOW must be off for hardware flow control to function. You should consult your operator's manual for the data communications unit or TNC you are using for more information. A little experimentation may be necessary if your manual isn't clear on this subject. The proper cabling for the 4Pin port: COMPUTER PORT TNC PORT (1) STATUS INPUT (5) CLEAR TO SEND (2) RECIEVE DATA (3) RECIEVE DATA (3) GROUND (7) SIGNAL GROUND (4) TRANSMIT DATA (2) TRANSMIT DATA This does not correspond to the wiring of the Radio Shack cable that is designed to connect the CoCo to a modem with a 25 pin connector. The difference is at the computer's pin one. You can use the Radio Shack cable for normal QSO operation in the terminal mode, but you should not attempt to use the transmit buffer or send file from disk options without a properly wired cable. CONFIGURATION The next step in getting your COCOPACT/COPACT3 system on-line is configuring the software to the requirements of your situation. On disk systems, this is done with the CONFIG program that is included on the disk. This program creates a file called "CONFIG.DAT" which is read by COCOPACT/ COPACT3 every time you start up your system. This program is self-prompting and explains what is needed and why. For many users the default settings may be correct. As shipped from me, the following are the default settings of the config options: PRINTER BAUD RATE: 2400 PRINTER WIDTH: 80 STREAMSWITCH #1: ^ (UPARROW KEY $5E) STREAMSWITCH #2: ^ (UPARROW KEY $5E) RSPAK STREAM RANGE: A through J 4PIN STREAM RANGE: A through J CONTROL KEY: DOWNARROW KEY COCOPACT 6.0 only. COPACT3 always uses CTRL OPENING SCREEN: MAIN MENU BUFFER STATUS: OPEN DEFAULT SERIAL PORT: 4PIN RSPAK BAUD: 1200 RSPAK WORD LENGTH: 8 BITS RSPAK PARITY: NONE RSPAK STOP BITS: 1 4PIN BAUD: 1200 FOREGROUND COLOR: 0 (BLACK) BACKGROUND COLOR: 63 (LIGHT OR WHITE) Color selection for COPACT3 only As you can see, there are quite a few parameters that can be altered to fit your specific needs, but the CONFIG program makes these alterations easy. I will discuss a few of these settings here to help make sure everything is perfectly clear. The stream or channel switch is used by the TNC to allow multi-connect operation. This means you can be connected to more than one person, and select which of these will receive the packets you type. To make this kind of operation easier, COCOPACT/COPACT3 puts the last stream or channel change that you made on the screen, at the left end of the line between the transmit and receive screens, so you will know where your packets are going. It also allows you to change streams AFTER you type in a packet, but before you have typed enter (or typed over 128 characters) to send the packet to the TNC. This eliminates the need to retype a long packet when you don't realize until too late that you didn't change to the proper stream or channel. This is just one advantage of the split-screen operation. For all this to work, COCOPACT/COPACT3 must know which character(s) you use as switch(es), and also what the allowable range of streams or channels is for your TNC. Once you have typed the switch, the program will not allow you to enter a non-valid stream or channel. This eliminates the dreaded "LINK OUT OF RANGE" message from your TNC. This range of streams can be the letters "A" through "J" for the TNC2 and clones, the numbers "0" through "9" for the AEA brand TNCs, or the letters "A" through "Z" for Kantronics TNCs, which allow 26 channels instead of just 10. Since it is possible to have two TNCs of different brands connected to your computer at the same time, you must define the allowable range of streams or channels for each serial port. This could be "A" to "J" for the RSPak if you have a TNC2 connected to it, and "0" to "9" for the 4pin port if an AEA unit is connected there. Assuming you have made all of the proper selections in the CONFIG program, COCOPACT/COPACT3 will keep up with which port you are on and allow you to select only a valid stream for the TNC connected to that port. COCOPACT/COPACT3 also allows you to define two stream or channel switches. Both of these switches will work with either serial port. This provision is for those users with dual radio port TNCs that use a different stream switch for each radio port. By defining two switches, not only will COCOPACT/COPACT3 keep you informed of which stream you are on, but also which radio port. Users of TNCs such as the TNC2 and others without software selectable radio ports should make both switch #1 and switch #2 the same character. The default UPARROW key has proven to be a very handy switch, but if you choose another and have a single radio port TNC, be sure to select the same character for both switches when running the CONFIG program. The CONFIG program allows selection of either the DOWNARROW key or the CoCo3 CTRL key as the control key. The control key is used to generate control codes (such as the control Z used to end BBS messages) and for other special functions. On COPACT3, the control key is always the CoCo3 CTRL key. For those CoCo3 users who prefer the easier to read 32 column screen, or who simply don't have an 80 column monitor (yet), the CONFIG program will allow you to use the CTRL key with COCOPACT Ver. 6.0. COCOPACT/COPACT3 can be configured to start with either serial port as the active port, with buffer opened or closed, and with either the menu or the terminal as the opening screen. Serial port selection is also possible from the COCOPACT/COPACT3 main menu and from within the terminal mode. The CONFIG program allows you to select the serial port parameters needed for your TNC. With the RS-232 Pak, you can select 300, 1200, 2400, 4800 or 9600 baud, 7 or 8 bit word length, odd, even or no parity, and one or two stop bits. With the 4pin port, you can select 300, 1200 or, when using COPACT3, 2400 baud. Although other serial parameters cannot be changed on the 4pin port, TNC settings of either 7 bit even parity or 8 bit no parity work in most cases. I recommend you set your TNC for 8 bit no parity for whichever port you use, to allow easy transfer of non-ASCII data. On most TNCs which use an autobaud routine, 1200 baud seems to be the most common setting. (Bringing up a TNC with autobaud routine will be covered later) If you are using the RS-232 Pak and plan to connect a printer to the 4Pin port, you should keep the TNC baud rate setting AT or BELOW the baud rate of your printer. This is necessary for COCOPACT/COPACT3's printer echo option to func- tion properly. If your printer is operating at 2400 baud, you can use a TNC baud rate of 300, 1200 or 2400 baud. The final CONFIG program selections are for foreground and background colors on the CoCo3 with COPACT3. Since the actual colors vary between color TVs, and between RGB and composite monitors, the color selections are made by the color numbers. You should refer to the color code chart in the back of your CoCo3 manual for the colors which correspond to each number. (You did fill it out, didn't you?) The default settings give black letters on the lightest color background. For green or amber monochrome monitors, these should be reversed. Color users should make whatever choices they prefer. (I kind of like white letters on a blue background myself.....) Tape users can also alter most of the above defaults, but the changes must be done within the program. Lines 300 to 390 contain DATA lines with the config information. After each DATA line is a remark statement explaining what the DATA line is for. You should edit the line using BASIC's EDIT command to set the defaults you need. You should not attempt to alter the default TNC serial port settings contained in line 350. It is better to make your serial parameter selections at the main menu, or use the defaults. When making changes in these lines, be careful not to alter the layout of the data contained in them. If you do, you may receive an OD ERROR when you run the program. In configuring your system, you will also need to provide definitions for the 10 macros. Each macro is sent by typing two keys in the terminal mode, CONTROL plus the number (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0) of the macro you wish to send to the TNC. On disk systems, the file "MACROS.DAT" contains the macro information. This file must be no more than 10 lines long, with each line ending with a carriage return. The total length of the file can be up to 250 bytes. The length of each individual macro definition is variable as long as the total does not exceed 250 bytes. You can therefore have one macro 250 bytes long and the other 9 blank, or 10 macros 25 characters long, or any other combination. Take a look at the included macro file for some ideas. You can edit the "MACROS.DAT" file with any word processor that works with standard ASCII files. You can also boot COCOPACT/COPACT3 the first time by using the included macro file, then use the program's built-in buffer editor to create your own macro file and save it to your working disk. On tape-based systems, the macros are contained in 10 DATA lines. Macro 1 is line 401, macro 2 is line 402, and so on up to line 410. To change the macro definitions, edit these lines using BASIC's EDIT command. Be sure you do not use any commas in the macro text. TNC PARAMETER SETTINGS With all the different brands of TNCs on the market now, and differences in the same brand and model as the firmware versions change, it would be very dif- ficult to list the exact parameters needed for all the units available. The settings given here should serve as a general guide. Check the operator's manual of your TNC for specific names of parameters that need setting. The most important TNC settings for this program are the serial port set- tings. These include the baud rate, word length and parity settings. TNC baud rate is set either with external DIP switches or with a TNC parameter called "TBAUD" or something similar. Word length is set by a parameter usually called "AWLEN." Parity is usually set with a parameter by the same name. Since the values of this parameter vary greatly from unit to unit, you will have to look up the proper settings in your TNC manual. Some TNCs have a single parameter that sets both word length and parity. One setting of this parameter will give 7 bit word even parity, while another setting gives 8 bit word no parity. When using the 4Pin port, I recommend setting word length to 8 bits and parity to the NONE setting. With the RSPak, make sure the TNC settings match those given at the COCOPACT/COPACT3 main menu. Another parameter related to these settings is called 8BITCONV. If you are using the 8 bit no parity setting, turn 8BITCONV on. If not, turn 8BITCONV off. Keep in mind that with most TNCs, serial port parameters do not actually change until the unit is turned off then back on, OR until a software restart is executed. I you intend to receive directly from the TNC to a disk file (using the RECEIVE TO ASCII FILE option at the DISK COMMANDS menu), there are three other parameters you must set properly: NULLS 3, NUCR ON and SCREENLN 254. The SCREENLN may be called something like ACRDISP on some units. When receiving a binary file into the buffer, these settings should be returned to 0, OFF and 0, respectively. A word of warning to Kantronics TNC users: the receive directly to disk function does not operate properly on Kantronics TNCs, according to several reports I have received. It DOES work properly with every other type of TNC it has been tested with. The reason for this is unknown, but I suspect it is a matter of differences in flow control operation between the Kantronics unit and other units. It is possible the problem may be corrected with some in depth experimentation with TNC parameter settings. The TNC FLOW parameter should be set OFF when using the RSPak and ON with the 4Pin port. This is because the 4Pin port does not handle the full duplex operation needed for split-screen operation quite as well as the RSPak. AUTOLF or equivalent should be set to OFF, and if your TNC has a parameter which will strip line feed characters from incoming packets in converse mode, set it ON. Excess line feeds will be seen as an inverse J on COCOPACT 6.0, and as a small e with a line above it on COPACT3. Other parameters such as ECHO and CBELL will be set according to the operator's preference. Most operators seem to prefer ECHO OFF using the split screen operation. If you use ECHO ON, set FLOW ON no matter which serial port you use. One other set of TNC parameters that must be properly set are the special characters. Most of these should be set for the default values. The exception is the STREAMSW or CHSWITCH value. If you are using the COCOPACT/COPACT3 default for the streamswitch, set this parameter to $5E. Otherwise, set it to the value given to you by the CONFIG program when you select your stream- switch(es). COCOPACT/COPACT3 handles certain of the TNC control character settings in a special way to allow for easier control of the TNC. This is explained in more detail in the TERMINAL MODE section of this document. For now, we will define the proper character settings. CONTROL CODE TNC FUNCTION C ($03) Command Q ($11) Stop R ($12) Redisplay S ($13) Stop Y ($19) Canpac The value in parenthesis is the Hexidecimal value which is the default in most TNCs. One other special character that is usually part of this group is the Control X. This control code will be discussed in the TERMINAL MODE section. RUNNING THE PROGRAM AND THE MAIN MENU Now that you have all of the hardware and software set up for proper operation, you are ready to run the program. Throughout the rest of this documentation, I will assume that you are using the recommended default settings. DISK USERS: Place your backup disk in drive 0, and type: RUN"C3 to start COPACT3 on a CoCo3, OR RUN"CCPT60 to run COCOPACT Ver. 6.0 on your CoCo 1, 2 or 3 (32 column mode). TAPE USERS: Position the tape on the side containing the proper program, press PLAY, then type: CLOAD When the tape stops, leave the PLAY button down and type: RUN When the tape stops the second time, you can rewind and remove the tape. After the program reads the configuration data and the macro file, the main menu will appear on screen. The receive buffer status (OPEN or CLOSED) will be displayed in the upper left corner of the screen, and the name of the serial port in use (RSPAK or 4PIN) will appear in the upper right corner. At the bottom of the screen is a line showing bytes free and bytes used in the receive buffer, and, on COPACT3, another line giving the same information for the transmit buffer. The receive buffer is over 40,000 bytes in length, while the COPACT3 transmit buffer is over 24,000 bytes long. The middle portion of the main menu screen is divided into three sections: serial port settings, file/buffer handling commands, and the communications mode(s). The exact appearance of the screen depends upon which serial port is selected. All of these commands or settings are selected or changed by pressing the key corresponding to the letter in <> at the beginning of each command word. There are two options not listed which can be selected from the main menu. Pressing the "R" key switches the active serial port setting to the RSPak. Pressing the "4" key selects the 4Pin port. When the 4Pin port is selected, the serial port settings section of the main menu contains only a baud rate option. Pressing the "B" key will toggle the baud setting between 300 and 1200 baud. With COPACT3, 2400 baud is also available. If the RSPak is selected, the serial port section of the menu will look like this: AUD: 1200 ORD: 8

ARITY: NONE STOP BITS: 1 Pressing the "B" key will step the baud rate setting through values of 300, 1200, 2400, 4800 and 9600 baud. Pressing "P" will step the parity setting through none, odd and even settings. Pressing "W" will change between 7 and 8 bit word length. To change the stop bit setting, press "1" or "2" as required. The second section of the main menu contains commands for handling the buffer and disk or tape files. It looks like this: AVE BUFFER OAD BUFFER LOSE BUFFER MIT BUFFER COPY BUFFER MPTY BUFFER IEW BUFFER ISK COMMANDS As you can see, the first letter of each command is contained in <>. Pressing this letter causes that command to be executed. Note to COPACT3 users: when selecting Save, Load, Xmit (transmit), Hcopy (print to printer), Empty (clear) or View buffer commands, you will be prompted to select between the transmit or the QSO (receive) buffer. In the empty space near the bottom of the menu, this line will appear: MIT OR SO BUFFER Press "X" for the transmit buffer (that is the 24k one) or "Q" for the QSO (receive) buffer. Then proceed as described below for both COPACT3 and COCOPACT Ver. 6.0 To save the contents of the buffer, press the "S" key. You will be prompted for a filename. If you press ENTER alone, you will be returned to the main menu. If the file is to go to disk, you may specify an extension. If you don't, the file will be given the extension "CPT". After you enter the file name, you will be prompted to select disk or tape. Press the "D" or "T" key to make the selection. You will then be told to prepare the disk drive or the cassette player, and will receive another prompt asking you to select either saving a marked block of the buffer or the entire buffer. To select saving a block, you must have previously marked the block you wish to save. Make your selection, and the file will be written to disk or tape as a standard ASCII data file. Note: on tape only systems, the disk or tape selection prompt is not given. To load a file from disk or tape into the buffer, press "L". You will then be asked if you wish to save the current contents of the buffer, since the buffer will be cleared before the new file is loaded. Press "Y" if you wish to save the buffer, or press "N" if you do not. You will be prompted for the name of the file you wish to load. If you are loading from tape, press ENTER to load the next file on the tape. You will then be prompted to select loading from disk or tape. Make the selection, and the file will be loaded. When loading from tape, COCOPACT/COPACT3 will load any normal tape file, including binary BASIC program files, ML programs, editor source files and BASIC data files. Any tape file which is in binary format will not load completely if it is over 8000 bytes long. An ASCII format file can be any length up to the length of the buffer. An ASCII file is one in which the data is saved in blocks rather than one continuous stream. All tape saves from COCOPACT/COPACT3 are in ASCII file format. Since most packet operations will involve text data rather than binary data, this small limitation should not present any problem. When transferring BASIC programs, I recommand you save them to tape in ASCII format (using the ,A option in BASIC) so the receiving station will be able to load and run the program like any other ASCII format program file. When loading from disk, the program first checks to see if the file exists, then checks to see if it is longer than the selected buffer. The file is then loaded into the buffer. Any non-copyprotected file can be loaded, including binary BASIC and ML program files, and any kind of ASCII text files. Since disk saves are also made as exact images of the buffer contents, it is possible to transfer any type of binary files with other CoCo users, IF you are using the RSPak. Although the saved file will be flagged in the directory as an ASCII format data file, the FIXTYPE program provided on the COCOPACT/COPACT3 disk will allow you to change these flags to their proper settings for the file you have received. Binary transfers will be discussed later. When the buffer status indicator at the top left of the main menu is "OPEN", information received from the TNC while in the terminal mode is stored in the receive buffer. The buffer can be opened or closed while at the main menu by pressing "O" or "C". Closing or opening the buffer does not affect loading from tape or disk, or receiving with the ML receive option to be discussed later. To transmit the contents of the buffer to the TNC, you should first make sure the TNC is in the proper mode (usually converse or transparent mode), then press the "X" key at the main menu. A prompt to select a block or the entire buffer will appear. If you have previously marked a block of the buffer, you can send just that block by pressing "B". Press "E" to send the entire buffer. Once transmission has begun, press the SPACEBAR to abort the transmission. Printing the buffer to your printer is similar to transmitting the buffer. Make sure your printer is on-line and ready, then press the "H" key. If the printer is not ready, a message stating this and asking you to press ENTER to abort the attempt to print will appear. If the printer is ready, you will be prompted to select a previously marked block or the entire buffer. Make the selection and printing will begin. Press the SPACEBAR to abort the printing. To clear all the contents of the buffer, press "E". The computer will start flashing the question "CLEAR BUFFER? (Y/N)". If you do not wish to clear the buffer, press "N", otherwise press "Y" and the buffer will be cleared. To view the contents of the buffer, press "V". Operation of the buffer and buffer editor will be explained later. DISK COMMANDS MENU Pressing "D" at the main menu presents a new menu allowing you to view a disk directory, find the number of free granules on the disk, kill a disk file or rename a disk file. These are all standard BASIC functions and should require little explanation. Be sure you use proper names for the files you wish to manipulate. Two other options are presented in this menu. One is sending an ASCII file directly from disk to the TNC. The other is saving incoming information directly to disk as it is received. To send a file directly from disk, make sure that your TNC is in the proper mode to transmit the data. Select the option at the menu, and enter a file name at the prompt. Another prompt instructing you to press ENTER to send the file will appear. When you press ENTER, the file will be transmitted. Press the SPACEBAR to abort transmission. Although the data is sent slowly in this mode, you may still encounter band conditions which slow the on-the-air transfer rate so that data is going to the TNC from the computer faster than it is going out on the radio. When this happens, the TNC will signal the computer to stop sending data, and the computer screen will "freeze." The computer is just waiting for the TNC buffer to clear. Once some of the information has been successfully passed on the air, the computer will begin sending data to the TNC again automatically. As mentioned in the TNC PARAMETERS section of this documentation, three TNC parameters must be set to certain values to receive directly to disk. Set NULLS 3, NUCR ON and SCREENLN 254. SCREENLN may go by the name ACRDISP or similar. With these settings made, select the receive to disk option at the menu, make sure a disk is in the drive and ready, and enter a file name. All information coming from the TNC will be saved to disk until the disk becomes full or you press and hold the SPACEBAR until the menu appears. To return to the main menu, select option 6. TERMINAL MODE Once all software and TNC parameters are set, and other configuration is done, you are ready to enter the terminal mode and begin communication. If you are using a TNC with an autobaud routine and the baud rate is not set, refer to the additional notes near the end of this document for information on setting the TNC baud rate. To enter terminal mode, press "T" at the main menu. If you are using the RSPak, a message "TURN ON TNC!!" will appear. With the 4Pin port in use, the split terminal screen will appear. In either case, turn on your TNC now. You should see the TNC's normal sign-on message, and you are ready to start com- municating with the TNC. Any incoming data from the TNC, both internally generated messages and data received on the air, will be seen on the upper portion of the screen. Anything you type will be seen in the lower portion of the screen. This lower portion of the screen displays the contents of the Type Ahead Buffer, referred to as the TAB in this document. If any of the normal character keys are pressed and held for more than a moment, the program will begin to repeat that character until the key is released. The contents of the TAB will be sent to the TNC when you press ENTER or when you have typed 128 characters. When using the 4Pin port, and at lower baud rates on the RSPak, some delay will be noted between the time the computer starts sending the TAB and when it will accept data again. This is a very short delay at 1200 baud or faster, on the order of two seconds or less. At speeds of 2400 baud or higher on the RSPak the delay will not be more than one-half second. Certain characters will immediately be sent to the TNC when they are typed, rather than being placed in the TAB. These include the control codes C, Q, R, S and Y, as mentioned above in the TNC parameter setting section. This allows the function of these control codes to be performed immediately without disturbing the contents of the TAB. It should be noted that these control codes will rarely if ever be needed because of COCOPACT/COPACT3's built in functions for TNC command and screen hold. You may occassionally wish to use control Y. In any event, the special handling of these control codes allows a smooth transition by users of simpler non-split-screen programs. There are two other control codes which are used by most TNCs which also receive special handling by COCOPACT/COPACT3. The first of these is the control X. With a normal non-split-screen program, control X is used to cancel what you have typed in to the TNC but has not been sent. This control code performs the same function with COCOPACT/COPACT3 by canceling the TAB contents which have not been sent to the TNC. A slash (/) will appear at the end of the line you are cancelling, and the cursor will move to a new line. The other control code is the control V. This is the PASS character which most TNCs use to allow transmission of TNC control codes rather than having them acted upon as a command by the TNC. Control V performs the same function in COCOPACT/COPACT3. The other character(s) that are sent to the TNC, instead of being placed in the TAB, are the stream or channel switch(es) which are defined with the CONFIG program. When the streamswitch character key is pressed, two of them will appear on the left side of the screen. The only input that will be accepted by the computer at this point is one of the legitimate stream characters which you also defined in the CONFIG program. Nothing will happen if you press any other key. You must press an acceptable stream character, even if you accidentally typed the streamswitch. If this is the case, type the stream you are already on, and continue typing your packet. When you select a proper stream character, it will replace the second streamswitch character on your screen. There are several special command keys which perform various functions in the terminal mode. These can be found by viewing the help window. On COCOPACT Ver. 6.0, press the control key (DOWNARROW on CoCo2, DOWNARROW or CTRL on CoCo3, depending on CONFIG setting) and then press the ENTER key. This instruction will be on the screen in the TAB position when the program is first RUN. On COPACT3, the F1 key is used to view the help window. Although incoming data is no longer being displayed on the screen, it is being stored in the QSO buffer (if open) and in the screen print buffer. Press any key to remove the help window and any outstanding data will be displayed to the screen. Due to the small size of the 32 column screen used in COCOPACT 6.0, the entire receive section of the screen is used to display the help window and the other windows described below. On COPACT3, the windows are in the upper left corner of the screen. COMMAND KEYS COCOPACT 6.0 COPACT3 FUNCTION SHIFT @ SHIFT @ RETURN TO MAN MENU SHIFT SHIFT F2 BUFFER OPEN/CLOSE F2 SCREEN HOLD CLEAR CLEAR VIEW BUFFER BREAK BREAK GET TNC COMMAND MODE 1 to 0 CTRL 1 to 0 SEND MACRO STRING BREAK CTRL BREAK CHANGE SERIAL PORT CLEAR CTRL CLEAR PRINTER ECHO ON/OFF ? CTRL ? DISPLAY MACROS CTRL F1 BBS COMMAND HELP Most of these command key functions are self explanatory, but a few may require further discussion. When the screen hold key is pressed and released, printing to the receive screen is halted to allow you to read incoming data before it scrolls off the screen. Incoming data is still being placed in the screen print buffer and also into the QSO buffer if it is open. If the QSO buf- fer is open, you will see the count in the center of the screen increasing as data is stored. Press the screen hold key again to restart output to the receive screen. When the screen is on hold, no key, other than the screen hold key, will operate. The H near the right side of the screen will invert on COCOPACT 6.0, and blink on COPACT3. The BREAK key sends an RS-232 break signal to the TNC. On most current TNCs, this signal causes the TNC to return to command mode. On many TNCs (such as the TNC-2 clones), once the TNC is in command mode, sending the break signal again will not cause another command prompt to be displayed. For TNCs that do not respond to the break signal, use C. When displaying the Macro key definitions using ?, only the first 32 characters of each line will be displayed on COCOPACT 6.0, and the first 80 on COPACT3. Press any key to remove this display. The BBS command help window lists simple definitions of the most common packet BBS commands. This window operates in the same way as the other command help window. At the extreme right end of the line between the transmit and receive screens are four status indicators. The first indicates which serial port is in use. A "4" means the 4Pin port is active, an "R" means the RSPak is selected. Serial port selection is accomplished by pressing BREAK. DO NOT attempt to switch to the RSPak if you do not have one connected. If you do, the screen and buffer will fill with "garbage" almost instantly. It should also be noted here that CoCo3 users who have the Multi-Pak interface, but have NOT had it modified as instructed by Radio Shack, may experience problems if they at- tempt to switch ports while in Terminal mode. The computer may simply lock up momentarily. This problem has not occured when using the CoCo2, or the CoCo3 with a properly updated Multi-Pak interface. The second indicator is the letter "H." This is the screen hold indicator mentioned above. The next indicator is the letter "P." This is the printer echo status indicator. Please note that the printer echo is only possible if you are using the RSPak and have your printer connected to the 4Pin port. If this let- ter is inverted (in COCOPACT 6.0) or flashing (in COPACT3) then printer echo is on. If the "P" is normal, printer echo is off. The final indicator is the letter "B." If this letter is inverted or flashing, the QSO buffer is closed. If the "B" is normal the buffer is open. The five digit count in the center of the divider line will increase as data as received. If you are not using a Multi-Pak interface but you are using the RSPak, do not turn the TNC off while in the terminal mode. This may cause difficulties in returning to the menu. Any of the standard ASCII character values from 1 to 127 can be generated while in the terminal mode. Values from 1 to 26 are generated by pressing the key and a letter from "A" to "Z". "A" is value 1, "B" is 2 and so forth. The function of many of these control code values has been explained previously. A couple of other common control codes are control G, which is a bell, and control Z, which is used to end messages or files sent to packet bulletin board stations. Sending a control G to another station will cause a short beep if the other station's software supports this function. Control G characters received by COCOPACT/COPACT3 will cause a beep to come from the TV speaker. On COPACT3, the screen display of the control A through control Z is represented by CoCo3 special characters. On COCOPACT they are represented by the inverse of the control letter they represent. With COCOPACT, the inverse character set is not used for lower case letters. Lower case letters are translated into upper case. COPACT3 uses the full upper and lower case character set of the CoCo3. ASCII values 27 through 31 are obtained by pressing then the characters !"#$%, or SHIFT 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Again, COPACT3 uses CoCo3 special characters to represent these values, while COCOPACT uses the inverse of the !"#$% characters. ASCII values 32 through 93 are the standard characters, numbers and punctuation. These are all obtained with the normal CoCo keystrokes, and displayed in normal fashion. ASCII value 94 is the uparrow key. On COCOPACT, this character is displayed as the uparrow. On COPACT3, this value is displayed as the upside down V symbol. ASCII value 95 is obtained with SHIFT UPARROW. COCOPACT displays this as a left-facing arrow, while COPACT3 displays an underline. ASCII value 96 is the accent mark, or a right-facing apostrophe. Use SHIFT 7 to obtain this. The COCOPACT display is an inverted apostrophe. Since the CoCo 3 character set does not contain this character, the normal apostrophe is displayed for this value. ASCII values 97 through 122 are the lower case characters. As mentioned earlier, these are displayed normally with COPACT3, but translated to upper case on COCOPACT. ASCII values 123 through 125 are the left bracket, vertical bar, and right bracket. Use and SHIFT plus the DOWNARROW, CLEAR and RIGHTARROW to obtain these characters. The normal CoCo3 display is used for these characters with COPACT3, while the inverse of values 91, 92 and 93 are used with COCOPACT. ASCII value 126 is best described as a "wavy line." It is displayed as such with COPACT3, and as the inverse UPARROW on COCOPACT. It is obtained with the UPARROW. Value 127 is the ASCII delete. It is not normally used on the CoCo as it is with other computers. It is displayed with COPACT3 as a left-facing arrow, and on COCOPACT as the inverse left-facing arrow. CoCo3/COPACT3 users may have noticed that the display of certain characters does not correspond to the normal PRINT CHR$(X) values or the character values given in the back of the BASIC manual. To maintain downward compatibility, the high resolution character set on the CoCo3 was defined to match the CoCo2 character set as closely as possible. This causes certain ASCII character values to be improperly displayed on the CoCo3 high-resolution text screen even when the proper character is available in it's character set. A good example of this is ASCII 95. The standard ASCII character for this value is the underline, but the normal CoCo display for this value is a left-facing arrow. I have adjusted the display values in COPACT3 so that all characters displayed will match the standard definitions as closely as possible. This makes displaying maps, fill-in-the blank forms and other files commonly passed on amateur packet appear as they were intended. This also has the advantage of allowing you to more accurately view how a file will look when it is printed, since nearly all printers commonly used on the CoCo use the standard ASCII character definitions. The only value for which the proper display character is not present in the CoCo3 character set is the value 96, the accent mark. I've translated this value to display as an apostrophe, which is the closest character available. BUFFER OPERATION The following chart details the command keys used within COCOPACT/COPACT3's view buffer and buffer editor modes: View Buffer DOWNARROW - SCREEN TO NEXT PAGE LEFTARROW - SCREEN TO BEGINNING OF BUFFER UPARROW - SCREEN BACK (8 LINES IN COPACT3, 4 IN COCOPACT) RIGHTARROW- SCREEN TO END OF BUFFER CLEAR - DELETE PREVIOUSLY MARKED BLOCK ENTER - EXIT VIEW BUFFER. RETURNS TO MENU OR TERM MODE E (F2) - BEGIN BUFFER EDITOR MODE Buffer Editor ARROW KEYS MOVE CURSOR BREAK - EXIT EDIT. RETURNS TO VIEW BUFFER COMMAND MODE SHIFT @ (F2) - TOGGLE INSERT/REPLACE MODE CLEAR - DELETE CHARACTER UNDER CURSOR SHIFT LEFTARROW (CTRL) - CONTROL KEY CONTROL @ - BLOCK MARKER Keys in parenthesis are used in COPACT3 only. All keys in both view and edit modes will autorepeat if they are pressed and held. When the View buffer mode is entered, the top of the screen is the beginning of the buffer. Use the arrow keys as described in the above chart to move through the buffer. The UPARROW and RIGHTARROW functions are based on a count of carriage return characters in the buffer data. In a normal text file that you have received on packet, each line of 80 characters or less should end with a carriage return. If the data you are viewing contains carriage returns only at the ends of paragraphs, or is some type of binary data, the UPARROW and RIGHTARROW functions may be erratic. When creating files or messages to be sent via packet radio, it is a good idea to end each line of 80 characters or less with a carriage return. This is good operating practice regardless of what terminal software you are using. When you are through viewing the buffer, press ENTER to exit the view buffer mode. If you have marked a block within the buffer (as described later) you can delete this block by pressing the CLEAR key. The question "DELETE BLOCK?" will appear in the lower left corner of the screen. Press "Y" to delete the block, or "N" if you do not wish to make the deletion. Pressing the "E" key (COCOPACT 6.0) or the "F2" key (COPACT3) will enable the buffer editor. The word "EDITOR" will appear in the lower left corner of the screen. This buffer editor is different from the buffer editor found in previous versions of this software. It operates in a manner similar to the text editors found in many word processing programs. This editor is not a word processor however, since no output formatting or other printer control functions are provided. It is intended for use in creating messages and files to be sent on packet, not for creating documents. When the buffer is enabled, carriage returns will become visible. The arrow keys will move the cursor around the screen. If the cursor is positioned on the last line of the screen, and the DOWNARROW is pressed, the screen will scroll upward and the next line becomes visible. Pressing UPARROW while the cursor is positioned on the first line causes the screen to scroll downward. You will not be able to position the cursor at a point on the screen where no file data is present, such as on a space past the carriage return at the end of a line. You will be able to position the cursor one postion past the end of the file data to allow you to append data to the file. When the cursor is in this position, it is not necessary to enter the INSERT mode to type in new data. This is especially useful when you start with an empty buffer and wish to type in a new file or message. When the editor is enabled, you may begin typing. Anytime the word "EDITOR" is visible in the lower left corner of the screen, the editor is in the overstrike mode. This means that if you position the cursor over a character and press another character key, the old character is replaced by a new character. If you enter the insert mode, the word "INSERT" will be visible in the lower left corner of the screen, and anything you type will be inserted into the file at the cursor position. All other keys (arrows, CLEAR for delete, etc.) continue to function as before. Since the DOWNARROW key is used to control the cursor, it is not possible to use this key as the control key in COCOPACT 6.0. To generate control codes, press SHIFT LEFTARROW, release, and press the appropriate character key. Pressing BREAK at any time returns you to the view buffer mode. BLOCK OPERATIONS When you select saving, printing (HCOPY) or transmitting of the buffer, you will be prompted to select LOCK OR NTIRE BUFFER. If you wish to use the block option with these commands, or wish to delete a block of the buffer, you must insert two block markers into the text of the buffer. DO NOT attempt to use the block options with a binary file, or when the control codes from a NETROM node or other similar station are in the buffer. To insert the block markers, first enable the buffer editor, then enable the insert mode. Position the cursor over the first character you wish to be in the block, and type CONTROL (CTRL key on CoCo3, SHIFT LFTARROW on CoCo2) and the "@" key. Next, position the cursor one space past the last character you wish to be in the block, and repeat the CONTROL @ sequence. Exit the editor (BREAK key) and proceed to save, print, transmit or delete the block. ML COMMANDS One more command on the main menu remains to be discussed. If you are using the RSPak, it is possible to receive binary data such as tokenized BASIC programs, machine code programs and high resolution picture files. For this function to operate properly, COCOPACT/COPACT3 and your TNC must both be set-up for 8 bit word length and no parity. Although the exact TNC parameter settings may vary from unit to unit, you should, in general, use the TRANSparent mode, keep MONITOR and CONOK off, turn TRFLOW and TXFLOW off, and disable any character filters. The station transmitting the file must be using a program set up for 8 bit no parity operation which will load the file to be transmitted exactly as it is stored on the disk. If the transmitting station tells you exactly how many bytes are in the file, you will know when to exit the ML receive routine and save the file by watching the byte counter in the middle of the screen. The actual data received is displayed only as a single changing character in the center of the screen. Assuming all the proper procedures are followed, and the file being exchanged is not copy protected or otherwise non-standard, once you have received the complete file and saved it to disk using COCOPACT/COPACT3's normal save command, the file on your disk should be an exact duplicate of the file that was loaded by the transmitting station. However, the file's directory entry will show the file as an ASCII data file, not a binary BASIC or machine language program. A simple program called "FIXTYPE.BAS" is included with COCOPACT/COPACT3 to remedy this problem. Run the program and follow its prompts to give the file its proper flags. This allows your computer to recognize the file as the type of file it really is. Be sure you know what the proper flags are for the file you have received. I have successfully used this procedure to transfer tokenized BASIC programs, machine language programs of various types, and even graphic screen files. While a little experimenting may be necessary to get everything properly configured, it can be most interesting to exchange these types of files on packet radio with other CoCo users. Although tape users can use this Binary receive capability, COCOPACT/ COPACT3 does not provide for saving files to tape in anything other than ASCII format. It should be possible to write or obtain a simple program for loading these files and re-saving them with the proper format and flags. AUTOBAUD SETTING If you are using a TNC with an autobaud routine for setting the computer to TNC baud rate, and you have never had it operational, you should follow the directions in your TNC manual with just one minor change. At the point in the directions where you are instructed to type several asterisk characters (*) at one second intervals, type a line of approximately 25 asterisks and press ENTER. This procedure may have to be repeated. If this procedure does not work, I have found it helpful to experiment with different computer baud rates. COCOPACT/COPACT3's menu selection of baud rate makes this easy to do. FINAL NOTES COPACT3 utilizes the CoCo3's built-in error trapping to catch such problems as media I/O errors, write protect errors or file name errors. If such a prob- lem occurs, you will be able to return to the main menu without losing any buf- fer data or program settings. If any of the above errors occur while using COCOPACT Version 6.0, you should type: GOTO 17 This will return you to the main menu with buffer data and program settings intact. When using the 4Pin port, there may be times when the keyboard seems a bit sluggish. This is usually noticed when a large amount of data is coming in from the TNC while you are trying to type. The 4Pin port (known to many as the Bit Banger) is very inefficient when used as an RS-232 port for connection to a device such as a TNC. Much of the computer's processing time is devoted to timing loops that significantly reduce the time available to do things such as scan the keyboard. With the 4Pin port, you may occasionally notice an incorrectly received character if something is sent to the TNC while data is being received from it. This will rarely be notice under normal operation. When receiving some type of file, do not type anything until the complete file is received. When this advice is followed, I have never had any bad data in the files I have received. It should also be noted that you will occasionally have garbled characters received when using the RECEIVE TO DISK FILE option, but again, these are rare and of little consequence in normal operation. Using the higher computer to TNC baud rate available actually helps reduce these already rare occurences. None of these problems occur when using the RS-232 Pak. Once you have entered the Terminal mode for the first time, COCOPACT/ COPACT3's built in flow control will signal the TNC to hold incoming data in its buffer anytime you leave the Terminal mode. If you exit while data is incoming, you may loose a character or two, but most will be saved until you return to the Terminal. When using the RSPak, make sure the TNC parameters are set for full hardware flow control (usually just XFLOW off). With the 4Pin, make sure START and STOP are set as above, and also keep XON and XOFF set to their normal defaults. With the 4Pin port, you will also need to turn TRFLOW ON if you intend to use the TRANSparent mode to send ASCII files. If you have any questions concerning this software, feel free to write to me at the address given above. Good luck and good bye for now.