Followups set to comp.sys.cbm TCPSER is a utility that turns a PC/workstation Serial port into an emulated Hayes(tm) compatible modem, with the phone connection replaced by TCP/IP. Both inbound and outbound "calls" are supported, and the EIA232 DCD signal is properly emulated to allow TCPSER's use with Bulletin Board Systems. The utility runs under Windows (via cygwin) or *NIX (source is POSIX C, and might be portable to other systems with a reasonable POSIX subsystem, though I make no guarantees). A short list of features: o One instance can support multiple serial ports. o Each serial port is bridged to the same TCP/IP listen port. This allows a single TCP/IP port to be routed to the first available "modem" port, which is very useful for multi-line BBS support o Different text files can be sent for connect, answer, busy, and/or no-answer conditions. files can differ between local and remote connections o Support for almost all Hayes normal and extended commands. Proprietary commands fail fail gracefully, enabling existing init strings to be used without errors o As of rc8, direct connect operation is supported (for games that required the phone connection to be present when the modems went off-hook) o Properly emulates Hayes commands interpreter a/ executes last command you can turn responses on or off, text or numeric atdt without a number takes phone off-hook atdl dials last number ath1 takes modem off-hook etc. o Rudimentary support for phone book. Also called aliasing, this can be used to simply map longhostname.com to 555-1212, or it can be used to icrcumvent older modem applications that only allow numeric data entry: 5551212 -> machine.host.com o Understands and interprets Telnet NVT commands. Thus, this program can be used to "dial" a telnet service. (Though, you need to set your TERMinal after logging in) o When not connected to a telnet service, TCPSER is 8-bit clean, meaning it can successfully be used to transfer files across the Internet. TCPSER is being used by a number of folks to bring up vintage "telnet" BBS systems on older 8-bit computing platforms. Others are using it as a low-cost way to put older computing systems on the Internet. I encourage folks to try TCPSER and put your vintage/retro computing platform online. Existing users, I encourage you to upgrade to RC8 as soon as possible. For those interested in more information on bringing a "retro" BBS up on the Internet, please visit www.telbbs.com TCPSER is available at http://www.jbrain.com/pub/linux/serial/ and is released under the GPL. Jim Brain Note: Existing null-modem cables can be used with TCPSER, though TCPSER uses the DTR line on the PC/workstation to emulate the DCD modem signal. Null modem cables normally tie DCD and DSR together. If proper DCD support is required and DSR must be high on the target platform, a small cable modification that disconnects DSR from DCD and bridges to DTR may be required. On target systems that float DSR high, simply pulling the DSR pin on the null modem cable end that attaches to the target computer will suffice. -- Jim Brain, Brain Innovations brain@jbrain.com http://www.jbrain.com Dabbling in WWW, Embedded Systems, Old CBM computers, and Good Times!