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NFG Forums => SIG X68000 => Topic started by: genocho on April 24, 2011, 12:17:30 AM

Title: Irc, Internet on a x68000 without ethernet card is possible ???
Post by: genocho on April 24, 2011, 12:17:30 AM
Hi,

Im posting this bcs, i want to know if is possible connect an x68000 to internet (irc, web, ftp, etc) without the use of expensive and hard to find ethernet cards (babincho and similars)

Anyone know any soft that take advantage of the rs232 port for use it like "door" to access to internet programs ??

No matter if this way is slow, is better that nothing.

What about to adapt xircom paralel devices to x68000 parallel port ??? If it works or can be adapted i think is the best way, on my xt this xircoms runs like a charm , the only problem may be adapt the device and the drivers........any idea ???

Any info is welcome, btw ethernet users what soft uses to enter internet ?

Thanks in advance,

Regards.
Title: Re: Irc, Internet on a x68000 without ethernet card is possible ???
Post by: genocho on July 18, 2011, 08:35:36 AM
Ok,

Let me change a little the point of this post,

Anyone try to connect a x68000 machine to a pc using rs-232 port (serial port) ???

What software is neccesary in both computers ?

Appart of transfer file purposes,

Is it possible to use irc client, using terminal or similar program on x68000 ?

X-windows have any option or program for this issue ?

Photos, programs and ideas are welcome.

Regards.
Title: Re: Irc, Internet on a x68000 without ethernet card is possible ???
Post by: emerald danjon on July 20, 2011, 10:12:45 AM
Quote from: genocho on July 18, 2011, 08:35:36 AM
Ok,

Let me change a little the point of this post,

Anyone try to connect a x68000 machine to a pc using rs-232 port (serial port) ???

What software is neccesary in both computers ?

Appart of transfer file purposes,

Is it possible to use irc client, using terminal or similar program on x68000 ?

X-windows have any option or program for this issue ?

Photos, programs and ideas are welcome.

Regards.
Hello genocho,I have seen cards for connect sharps x68000 to internet...,i dont know about use the port rs-232 i think ppl "japan x68k users..."use this kind of cards for connect...but I guess you already know this  :-\,regards.
here you can see a photo of an x68000 XVI with one of this cards...im sure others users from this forum know better examples for see...
http://www.arqueologiadigital.com.ar/foro/index.php?topic=1604.0 (http://www.arqueologiadigital.com.ar/foro/index.php?topic=1604.0)
Title: Re: Irc, Internet on a x68000 without ethernet card is possible ???
Post by: neko68k on December 29, 2011, 01:10:15 PM
It is possible to use a serial null modem cable to do this. I initiate a PPP connection using a linux box and some software on the x68k. I'll write up a step-by-step guide if there is still interest in this topic. </necromancy>
http://i.imgur.com/QFB0N.png (http://i.imgur.com/QFB0N.png)
Title: Re: Irc, Internet on a x68000 without ethernet card is possible ???
Post by: eidis on December 29, 2011, 05:01:15 PM
 Hi Neko68k !

I think we don't have much info on this topic here so new tutorials are always very welcome. Besides, it would be awesome to join X68000 on a real hardware ;) You could post your tutorial in this thread, along with the pictures, and I could honor it with a Wiki page.

Hope to hear from you soon,
Eidis

P.S. Is it possible to surf the web with this method as well ?
Title: Re: Irc, Internet on a x68000 without ethernet card is possible ???
Post by: lydux on December 29, 2011, 11:13:37 PM
I don't understand how to reach such thing without a multitasking os. I've tried to initiate a ppp dialup, but the tcp/ip stack were complaining about a missing thread support in human68k. Seems logical to me, so I give up.

But I recently heard about a driver that add background tasking, it's called BGDRV. Does it use this ?

Yeah, tutorial on this part will be highly appreciated !

Quote from: eidis on December 29, 2011, 05:01:15 PM
P.S. Is it possible to surf the web with this method as well ?

Probably ! There is port of lynx for x68k here : http://shq.dyndns.org/x68pub/x68tools/UNIX/NETWORK/ (http://shq.dyndns.org/x68pub/x68tools/UNIX/NETWORK/)
It'is a usefull text based www viewer widely used in unix world.

I personnaly would like to use NFS support for transfering files, or remote debugging stuff via TCP.
Title: Re: Irc, Internet on a x68000 without ethernet card is possible ???
Post by: neko68k on December 30, 2011, 08:41:43 AM
This all assumes you have a 9 pin serial port on your x68k. There may be other ways, I dont know how modems were hooked up to x68k.

Download these.

pppx http://shq.dyndns.org/x68pub/x68tools/UNIX/NETWORK/pppxr5.lzh (http://shq.dyndns.org/x68pub/x68tools/UNIX/NETWORK/pppxr5.lzh)
inetd http://shq.dyndns.org/x68pub/x68tools/UNIX/NETWORK/TCPPACKA.LZH (http://shq.dyndns.org/x68pub/x68tools/UNIX/NETWORK/TCPPACKA.LZH)
tmsio http://retropc.net/x68000/software/system/rs232c/tmsio/TMSIO031.LZH (http://retropc.net/x68000/software/system/rs232c/tmsio/TMSIO031.LZH)

It might also be useful to install TwentyOne if you haven't already.

unlzh PPPXR5.lzh
put PPP.SYS in \SYS
put PPP.X KILL.X and PPPX.BAT in \BIN

If you install PPP.X anywhere else, be sure to modify the first line of PPPX.BAT to point to that directory.

I found it helpful to add a line to the end of PPPX.BAT:
inetdconf +dns 192.168.0.1
You have to do this anyway so might as well just make it happen. This is to point at your dns server, I used the IP address of my router.


unlzh TMSIO031.LZH and put TMSIO.X in \BIN

unlzh TCPPACKA.LZH and merge the folders it contains with your existing \BIN \ETC and \MAN

edit \ETC\networks and \ETC\hosts to reflect your actual network. for example:


#
# /etc/hosts
#
127.0.0.1 localhost localhost
192.168.0.11 x68k x68k


#
# - /etc/networks
#
127 loopback
192.168.0 private-net


optionally add this line to \ETC\services, clat asks for it:
irc 6667/tcp

Add to your config.sys the following(RSDRV.SYS comes with human):

PROCESS 16 10 50
DEVICE = \SYS\RSDRV.SYS
DEVICE = \SYS\PPP.SYS


Once this is complete plug in your null modem cable and reboot the x68. A wiring diagram for making a null modem cable can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:D9_Null_Modem_Wiring.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:D9_Null_Modem_Wiring.png)

On your x68k run PPPX.BAT. On the emulator this throws an error, it can be safely ignored. Once at the ppp> prompt type 'term' and push enter then switch to your Linux box. This also throws a couple errors in emulation and they can also be ignored.

On your Linux machine(I am using Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat) open a terminal. At the prompt type the following where 192.168.0.10 is the host IP, 192.168.0.11 is the x68k IP. It doesn't matter what these are necessarily as long as they dont collide with any other IP addresses on your network. /dev/ttyS0 is your serial port(ttyS0|COM1 ttyS1:COM2 etc):
pppd -detach crtscts lock proxyarp 192.168.0.10:192.168.0.11 /dev/ttyS0 38400

If everything worked you should see something like this:
(http://i.imgur.com/h9UKYs.png) (http://imgur.com/h9UKY)
(http://i.imgur.com/yXqaks.png) (http://imgur.com/yXqak)

To test it out try ping google.com and ignore any errors that may occur.

I don't know what web browser is good, Lynx is probably as good as any. I tested VWX and it had serious out of memory problems. I also tested WebXpression, it works but not well. For IRC I recommend clat http://sharl.haun.org/a/x68/clat-beta5.tar.gz. (http://sharl.haun.org/a/x68/clat-beta5.tar.gz.) To configure clat, put clat.x somewhere handy and create a file called clatrc in the same folder and fill it in as follows:
SERVER irc.efnet.org
NICK yournick
MAIL blah@whatever.com
NAME whatever
USERINFO blahblahblah
QUIT yourquitmessage


(http://i.imgur.com/QFB0Ns.png) (http://imgur.com/QFB0N)

You have to be in the directory you installed clat.x and clatrc or it will fail to find the clatrc file. I think the docs said there is a way to change that but I didn't follow up on it. If you have TwentyOne you can also call it .clatrc but it doesn't matter.

I didn't test out NFS but it seems pretty straightforward.

Title: Re: Irc, Internet on a x68000 without ethernet card is possible ???
Post by: eidis on December 31, 2011, 05:55:28 AM
Neko68k, you are my hero :)

This called for an appetizer:

http://www.gamesx.com/wiki/doku.php?id=x68000:file_transfer_between_windows_pcs_and_x68000_machines_using_null_modem_cable (http://www.gamesx.com/wiki/doku.php?id=x68000:file_transfer_between_windows_pcs_and_x68000_machines_using_null_modem_cable)

Soon I will add your contribution to our Wiki with the respect it deserves. Thanks again !

Eidis

P.S. Do you have some more exotic info about the X68000 ? I'm gathering info for the Wiki about hardware expansions, including good quality pictures, and DIY projects. If I recall correctly, there was even a project for homebrew ethernet adapter for the X68000.
Title: Re: Irc, Internet on a x68000 without ethernet card is possible ???
Post by: neko68k on December 31, 2011, 07:09:09 AM
Once upon a time Seisei Yamaguchi's website had all kinds of links to odd stuff. Most if not all of those links are long since dead. http://hp.vector.co.jp/authors/VA010205/rt/comp/x68/00x68.html (http://hp.vector.co.jp/authors/VA010205/rt/comp/x68/00x68.html)
Title: Re: Irc, Internet on a x68000 without ethernet card is possible ???
Post by: lydux on December 31, 2011, 10:35:24 AM
Quote from: eidis on December 31, 2011, 05:55:28 AM
P.S. Do you have some more exotic info about the X68000 ? I'm gathering info for the Wiki about hardware expansions, including good quality pictures, and DIY projects. If I recall correctly, there was even a project for homebrew ethernet adapter for the X68000.

You are looking for the Neptune X project. An X68K to ISA adapter, designed for an NE2000 compatible ethernet card :
http://www.amy.hi-ho.ne.jp/shimada/neptune/data.html (http://www.amy.hi-ho.ne.jp/shimada/neptune/data.html)

The link provide a schematics.
Title: Re: Irc, Internet on a x68000 without ethernet card is possible ???
Post by: eidis on January 01, 2012, 01:25:56 AM
 Thank you Neko68k  !

Here is the promised Wiki article:

http://www.gamesx.com/wiki/doku.php?id=x68000:irc_internet_on_x68000_using_null_modem_cable (http://www.gamesx.com/wiki/doku.php?id=x68000:irc_internet_on_x68000_using_null_modem_cable)

One small article for the Wiki, one giant step for the Scene :) The X68k uses DB25 for RS-232C so I allowed to change the reference from your mentioned DB9<>DB9 cable to the one in Magic Knights tutorial. There are many null modem cables out there. I hope that the one which I mentioned is compatible with your tutorial. Feel free to suggest any changes to the article and contribute anything else which is not covered in our forum or the Wiki. Thank you once again !

Thank you Lydux for the Neptune-X link. I will open a new thread regarding a DIY project.

Keep the scene alive !
Eidis
Title: Re: Irc, Internet on a x68000 without ethernet card is possible ???
Post by: neko68k on January 17, 2012, 12:39:49 PM
I made a small addition to the wiki page that allows internet to work inside KOWIN.
(http://i.imgur.com/LuAQls.png) (http://imgur.com/LuAQl)
Title: Re: Irc, Internet on a x68000 without ethernet card is possible ???
Post by: eidis on January 18, 2012, 05:47:14 PM
 Thank you Neko68k for the contribution !

Could you please explain a little in depth how it works ?

Eidis
Title: Re: Irc, Internet on a x68000 without ethernet card is possible ???
Post by: neko68k on January 19, 2012, 10:44:07 AM
I'll be writing a KOWIN guide soon. I'm working on figuring out some stuff still.
Title: Re: Irc, Internet on a x68000 without ethernet card is possible ???
Post by: neko68k on January 26, 2019, 09:11:36 AM
I updated the wiki article for this with some clarifications and a link to a modern method of running a PPP server.
Title: Re: Irc, Internet on a x68000 without ethernet card is possible ???
Post by: hyrulebr on January 28, 2019, 07:30:41 AM
Thank you!