CompuServe Thread

#System slowdown @ 28.8

15 messages in this thread
#186690From: Friso GosligaFeb 26, 1995 3:02 PM
Yes yes yes! When you use a 28800 baud modem, you should at least use double that speed between the modem and your computer. But a standard Amiga serial port probably will not manage 57600 baud. Serial cards will. You can set the link speed in Prefs/Serial, but these settings are usually overridden by any software that uses a modem. You should set the high speed in the software itself. My Term uses 57600 baud to talk to the modem, while my modem can only do 14k4 connections. But try sending a textfile when you're using datacompression, it will really fly! You'll need a 7-wire cable to do this and have RTS/CTS turned on. I am very disappointed though by my "local" CompuServe node. In the Netherlands we only have two, one of which is in Amsterdam. Still a long-distance call for me. And it only supports 9600 baud! With no datacompression whatsoever. Sigh… >F<riso Friso P. Gosliga | Auto CIS: 100341,464 – Internet: Friso.Gosliga@kub.nl | Pilot
#186711From: Paul IdolFeb 26, 1995 5:39 PM
Yes, but what serial cards are there for the Amiga? Is the Emplant's serial port a high-speed one, and can it be used by the Amiga side? It would kind of suck to take up an entire Zorro slot just for a serial port. Mr. Zombie – now 76375,1776
#186741From: Michael SheaFeb 26, 1995 10:13 PM
Well, I started this thread, so I guess it is about time I summarized what I have learned. I have an A2000 with a GVP 3001 28 Mhz 030, 4 Meg of 32 bit ram, 2 meg of chip ram, and 2 meg of 16 bit ram. I recently bought a PPI 28.8 V.34 modem and now have a cslip account at a local Internet Service Provider (ISP). I was initially using the serial port to connect. With the standard serial.device I could connect periodically at 28.8. But during net transfers, especially ftp's and mosaic stuff, the Workbench became practically unusable. For instance, I might click on drawer icon and have to wait 20-30 seconds for all the icons to show up. There was not much difference between a DTE speed of 56K and 32K, both slowed down the machine terribly. Then I remembered that when I bought my Bomac Tower (from somebody here in the forum) I received a Multiface II card. I remember the seller telling me he was not sure it would work. I tried it one time in my A2000 and could not boot the system, so I just put it in a box. Well, I decided to dig it out and give in another try and low and behold it works. The docs where in German, (I lost the translation) but installation was fairly straight forward. I now have the Multiface serial rate set at 56K and its serial buffer at about 130K bytes. While the Workbench is still considerably slower during network transmissions, it is at least usable. For instance my SYSTEM: partitian, which has 32 drawer icons in it, takes about 6-7 seconds to open up, compared to 2 seconds when the duart.device (Multifaces serial device) is quiet. Not great, but usable. Also, before I switched to the Multiface, the interface of AP was extremely slow when connected at 14400 baud (19,200 DTE). Now AP's GUI runs quickly and smoothly. CONCLUSION: If you want to use a high speed modem with an A2000, you NEED a serial port card. ._ _ _ INTERNET: mshea@math.arizona.edu | | |ichael _>hea COMPUSERVE: 76665,3360
#186824From: Paul IdolFeb 27, 1995 8:34 PM
Hmmm… That is interesting. I wonder how it translates to a 3000, because AP at 14.4k on the native serial port is very responsive. I guess I'll find out one way or another pretty soon. In any case, thanks for the summary, it's illuminating. Mr. Zombie – now 76375,1776 – now on a WarpEngine 3040!
#186856From: Michael SheaFeb 27, 1995 11:34 PM
Paul, Well, my understanding is the A3000 can handle high baud rates much better that an A2000, and that an A4000 would be even more capable. I think it has to with the bandwidth of the chip ram bus (if that makes sense). ._ _ _ INTERNET: mshea@math.arizona.edu | | |ichael _>hea COMPUSERVE: 76665,3360
#186879From: Steve AhlstromFeb 28, 1995 10:52 AM
AP at 28.8k is very responsive on both my 3000 and 4000. -sja
#186905From: Paul IdolFeb 28, 1995 3:03 PM
Thanks Steve. That's without a serial card I take it? Mr. Zombie – now 76375,1776 – no longer Warped
#186911From: Steve AhlstromFeb 28, 1995 3:36 PM
Correct … I haven't tried it yet at 28.8k with my GVP I/OExtender.
#187031From: Ron LegroMar 1, 1995 5:02 PM
Steve: I've got an I/O Extender, too, but have not tried to run the Supra 14.4K through it because of the 9-pin configuration. The Supra requires a special CTS/RTS capable serial cable, so I've been concerned that using a 9-pin adapter might affect that. Any thoughts? P.S. Beginning to sound like a broken record, but AP 1.77 is yet another march forward. I used to have a college roommate named Ahlstrom and he was pretty smart, too.
#187038From: Steve AhlstromMar 1, 1995 6:31 PM
Ron, Since I've got my 28.8 modem on the internal port and a 14.4k on the GVP, I'm probably not going to try AP at 28.8k for a while — I hate having to move my computer out and recabling things — it takes forever and I end up cussing a lot. You should be fine with the 9 pin adapter. I use a DB9/DB25 (ie, standard AT serial cable) between the I/O Extender and my 14.4k modem with no problems (RTS/CTS is connected). Other than some various relatives, I've never meet anyone with the last name of Ahlstrom.
#187049From: Michael SheaMar 1, 1995 7:32 PM
As long as you have db25 to db25 serial cable that supports all the necessary lines, a db25 to db9 connector (available at Radio Shack) will do fine. ._ _ _ INTERNET: mshea@math.arizona.edu | | |ichael _>hea COMPUSERVE: 76665,3360
#187030From: Ron LegroMar 1, 1995 5:02 PM
Thanks for that comment, Michael. I've got a GVP I/O board but I've just used the parallel port on it, never the serial. Now I'm going to experiment and see if throughput improves when I move my 14.4K modem on over. Problem is that the GVP board uses the 9-pin serial interface, so I'll have to find an adapter. Trouble with THAT is the Supra modem I have requires a special serial cable capable of CTS/RTS handshaking, and I haven't been able to get anyone (including Supra) to tell me if using a 9-pin adapter will cause any problems. I just upgraded to Autopilot 1.77 and switched my settings on up to 28.8K, just in case that helps. Everything still seems to work, but haven't done enough downloads to determine if the CPS rate improves.
#186778From: Juan Casado PobladorFeb 27, 1995 11:53 AM
Dag Friso, I have since several weeks several times (1 over 7) connection speeds at 14.4K. Strangely, I wrote an message to feedback over this phenomenon and they said that it is impossible to get an connection speed higher than 9600 bps on Amsterdam CIS node. But I have (had) really 14400 bps because also the downloading of different files were faster then usual (even marked on the nice AutoPilot download window —> Data Speed 1675 !!!! Juan ** Nous laisserons ce monde-ci aussi sot et aussi mechant que nous l'avons trouve en y arrivant ** VOLTAIRE
#187334From: Friso GosligaMar 3, 1995 3:00 PM
Well, that's one more subject for the x-files then. People connecting to modems at rates the owner says they don't support. Scary huh? 🙂 >F<riso PS: Why don't we *demand* a faster connection? In a country where most BBSes are already using 28800 bps, where lots of people have modems and there is a booming interest for all things related to datacomms, you might expect a bit more from "the world's biggest on-line service". We even have only *ONE* node!!! And that's in Amsterdam, which makes it a long distance call for me… Thank God for AutoPilot. Friso P. Gosliga | Auto CIS: 100341,464 – Internet: Friso.Gosliga@kub.nl | Pilot
#187391From: Michael SheaMar 3, 1995 11:36 PM
>Well, that's one more subject for the x-files then. People connecting to >modems at rates the owner says they don't support. Scary huh? Well, I was having connecting on the 14400 line here in Tucson. On numerous occassions the CIS's modems simply would not answer. I complained to FEEDBACK and they said they would get on it. When I still had trouble, I called an 800 number of CIS I found in the phone book. When I explained the problem I was told Tucson did not have any 14400 lines. When I told them I had connected many times at that rate and their database must be outdated, they told me they just had a list with the various numbers, not a database. I was not impressed. Anyway they seem to have fixed the problem. ._ _ _ INTERNET: mshea@math.arizona.edu | | |ichael _>hea COMPUSERVE: 76665,3360