Equinox question

[Karl Denninger]

In article <27B79130.5C72 at telly.on.ca> evan at telly.on.ca (Evan Leibovitch) writes:
>I've been looking at the Equinox Megaport boards and they look like a
>decent deal. Then someone said that they won't do hardware flow control
>and modem control on the same port at the same time.
>
>Is this true? It would strike me that having both functions is to get a
>Telebit going at top speed. Or is it -- can a Telebit be run at full
>speed on UUCP transfers using Xon-Xoff? I would think that this could be
>a problem if the Xon is imbedded in a binary transfer...


You >can< make an Equinox card do hardware flow control, but you have to
live with a couple of strnage things :-)

First, you have to wire a very strange cable.  This is no big deal, but it
is a difference from what you've done in the past (basically you steal
control signals from the next port up).

Secondly, the next port up the line from the one you have connected with
full modem control has to run either data only or not be used.  These are
good ports to use for printers that only need 2,3 and 7 connected, however.
If you need ALL FMC ports then you're limited to 24/2 or 12 ports on the 24
port cards..... 

Third, you do a "megamap +fmc </dev/ttyxx", where the tty name is the name
of the port which you have connected the device to which needs the full
control.  That activates it.  It stays that way until you reboot.

If you're using the Telebits for uucp or interactive use, you DO NOT need to
do this.  The Equinox cards can easily keep up with the data requirements
without help, and UUCP is a self-pacing protocol.  However, if you intend 
to use something like Zmodem at high speeds you >do< need it.

In any event it does work and is quite useful in the cases that you actually
require it.

--
Karl Denninger - AC Nielsen, Bannockburn IL (708) 317-3285
kdenning at nis.naitc.com

"The most dangerous command on any computer is the carriage return."
Disclaimer:  The opinions here are solely mine and may or may not reflect
  	     those of the company.