
          S E T T I N G   U P   T H E   M O D E M   S O F T W A R E
          
          The first thing to do is to read the manual. If you are
          using a shareware telecommunications program, you should
          print the manual. It is usually in the form of a text
          file. For example, the manual for TELIX is a text file
          called TELIX.DOC. You will need to set up your software
          for your particular modem. If you have a 2400 baud modem,
          you can set the baud to 2400. Most BBSs require a setting
          of 8,N,1. That is, a typical BBS requires the following
          settings:
          
          8 data bits
          N for no parity
          1 stop bit
          
          If you are calling a BBS, use the above setting. If that
          doesn't work, use 7,E,1 which is explained below. These
          are the two main settings for personal communications.
          You need to set your settings to match the computer you
          are calling.
          
          Some commercial online services (like CompuServe) require
          a setting of 7,E,1 or:
          
          7 data bits
          E even parity
          1 stop bit
          
          If you are not sure, call the commercial online service
          on their voice line and ask them. Most of the commercial
          online services have toll-free information numbers. See
          the section on "Getting Online" for phone numbers. 
          
          
          TIPS
          
          If your modem uses data compression (V.42 or V.42 bis),
          you can increase performance by setting the baud on the
          telecommunications software to four times the baud rate
          of your modem. For example, if you have a 14,400 baud
          modem, you should set the baud for 57,600. A modem with
          compression technology can receive data at a faster speed
          than its rated speed. Effective throughput can be
          considerably greater than the modems rated speed. If your
          modem software has an auto-baud option, be sure to turn
          it off if your modem uses V.42 or V.42 bis. If you don't
          turn the auto-baud option off, you will not get the
          advantage of this much more efficient throughput.
          
          
          TERMINAL EMULATION
          
          Your terminal setting should match the computer you are
          calling (the host). If you are going to call a BBS, start
          off with ANSI terminal emulation. You will probably find
          that your telecommunications software defaults to an ANSI
          setting. This is what most BBSs expect. Some other common
          terminal emulation choices are TTY and DEC VT100/102. You
          may find that a terminal setting of DEC VT100 or VT102
          works better when calling an online service. Most
          computers on the Internet want a terminal emulation of
          VT100. If you connect to a computer where you need to
          emulate VT100 and your telecommunications program doesn't
          support it, try VT102 or ANSI terminal emulation. 
          
          
          LOCAL ECHO
          
          Set local echo OFF when setting up your
          telecommunications software. If you set it to on when you
          call a BBS, you will see double letters because they will
          echo what you type back to you. If that is the case, it
          will likely look "lliikkee tthhiiss." If you are
          receiving double letters, you will know that you need to
          turn local echo off.
          
          LINE FEEDS
          
          Set line feeds to OFF. Most BBSs add line feeds for you.
          However, if you receive characters on your screen that
          overwrite the preceding line, you will know that you need
          to turn your line feeds on. This is done through the
          modem software. If the computer you are calling and your
          modem software are both sending line feeds, the lines on
          your screen will appear double-spaced. Then you will know
          that you need to set line feeds to off.
          
          
          FLOW CONTROL
          
          The way modems tell each other to stop sending or restart
          sending data is called flow control. Incoming data is
          held in a block of memory called a buffer. If the buffer
          gets too full, it is up to flow control to temporarily
          stop the flow of incoming data to allow the receiving
          modem time to empty the data in the buffer. There are two
          types of flow control. The first is software flow control
          known as XON/XOFF. This stands for transmit on (XON) and
          transmit off (XOFF). Software flow control is controlled
          by your communications software.  The second type of flow
          control is hardware flow control (RTS/CTS). A modem
          equipped with hardware flow control can use wires in the
          modem to start and stop data transmission. One wire
          controls the RTS (Request To Send) signal, the other wire
          controls the CTS (Clear To Send) signal. Software flow
          control is not as efficient as hardware flow control.
          You will need to read your modem manual to determine if
          your modem supports hardware flow control. Most modems
          that have a baud rating of 9600 or more support hardware
          flow control. If your modem supports hardware flow
          control (RTS/CTS), you should use it and turn your
          software flow control off. You will need to read your
          communications software manual to see how to set your
          software flow control. 
          
          If you have both hardware and software flow control on,
          it can cause your modem to operate inefficiently and may
          cause problems with data transmission. Some systems may
          even "crash" or abort!    
          
          Many of the better communications software programs have
          a feature that you can use to automate modem setup. For
          example, if you are using TELIX, you can run a program
          called MODEMCFG.EXE. Then select your modem from the
          pick-list. The software will automatically configure both
          your modem and the communications software for flow
          control and other settings. It has pre-defined modem
          initialization strings for over 200 different modems.
          
          If your modem software does not set the initalization
          string, you will want to look in the manual that came
          with you modem for help on selecting an initalization
          string. 
          
          
          SETTING YOUR PROTOCOL 
          
          Before you can download (receive) or upload (send) a
          file, you have to choose what is called a transfer
          protocol. Your communications software will support a
          number of built-in file transfer protocols, and probably
          external protocols as well. BOTH the calling computer and
          the host MUST support the chosen transfer protocol. Also,
          both the calling computer and the computer you are
          calling MUST be set to use the same transfer protocol. 
          If the computer you are calling (the host) supports
          Zmodem, then you should use Zmodem. Zmodem is fast, has
          excellent error checking, and can even resume an
          interrupted transfer if you select this option on your
          communications software. This ability is sometimes
          referred to as "crash recovery." 
          
          If the computer you are calling does not support Zmodem,
          then Ymodem-batch would be a good choice. Other transfer
          protocols include: Xmodem, Xmodem-1K, and ASCII. Avoid
          using ASCII if possible, as it is only for plain text
          files and does not use any error correction scheme. See
          the section on Telecommunications Terms for more complete
          descriptions of these different protocols. Most
          communications software today come using Zmodem as the
          default protocol. If ZMODEM is the default protocol, it
          means that you won't even have to change a setting to
          select ZMODEM.
          
          Some commercial online services have special file
          transfer protocols. CompuServe has a protocol called
          CompuServe Quick B. 
          
          
          SETTING YOUR DOWNLOAD DIRECTORY
          
          You should create special directories on your hard drive
          for downloading and uploading files. In DOS, you can use
          the MD command to create a directory such as C:\DOWNLOAD.
          To do so, at the C prompt type:
          
                                md c:\download <ENTER>
          
          This will create a directory called C:\DOWNLOAD on your
          C drive. When you select options on your communications
          program, you can then specify this C:\DOWNLOAD directory
          as the one you will use for your download directory. For
          example, if you are using the TELIX communications
          software, you would press <ALT> O for options. Then
          select FILENAMES AND PATHS. Next, select the DOWNLOAD
          DIRECTORY and type:
          
                                c:\download
          
          Next, make an upload directory (C:\UPLOAD) in the same
          fashion that you made the C:\DOWNLOAD directory. Then go
          into your telecommunications program and save the changes
          to disk. In TELIX, when you are finished, make sure you
          select WRITE SETUP TO DISK, so your changes will be
          saved. For more information, read the manual that comes
          with your communications software. If you are using
          TELIX, look for a text file called TELIX.DOC. You can
          read and print this file using an editor (such as DOS
          EDIT) or a word processor. Also, the shareware program
          LIST is excellent for viewing and printing text files.

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