[ct-user] CT Network with COM ports

[Bruce Sawyer]

Hello,

This plea for help is a last ditch effort to see if I can still get a simple
two-station network working with CT.  My problem is not with CT, for I know
how to do that and have had it working many times before.  The problem is
with Windows98 and the #&^%!@ cheap-&## junk computers I'm trying to use.

I think I have proven that you cannot use CT to talk directly to the COM
ports while running in a DOS box under Windows 98.  I can't prove this
completely, but there's ample evidence to that effect. I would really
appreciate it if somebody could give me a definitive "Yes" or "No" on this
one point, because that would surely save me from a lot future wasted
effort.

On my main computer, a relatively new HP Pavilion, I'm now into a mode where
MOST of the time when I try to bring up the system in DOS mode, the keyboard
interface on the system is not working.  What happens is that every time I
use the "enter" key on the main keypad, it appends the letter "f" to the
command string I typed; if I use the "enter" key by the numeric keypad, then
it appends the letter "m".  (Yes, interesting coincidence.  I DO understand
that the <CR> character is nothing but CNTL-M.)  When the machine is in this
mode, of course, I can do nothing useful.  But there have been a few brief
moments (reboot 20 times and it may work for a few minutes OK) where this
didn't happen.  Then I was able to use a COM port, for example, to drive the
CAT interface on my FT-1000MP.  If, however, I try to run CT under a DOS
box, then even though the LPT keying works fine, the COM interface to the MP
causes Windows98 to lose it's sense of direction completely.  What's
interesting is that when I am able to get it to not append the letter "f"
(or "m") to each command string, so I can bring up Windows, then I don't
have this keyboard interface problem when running under Windows.  Anyway, so
I reason...if I can't get the radio interface to work in a DOS box, then
there's no chance for the network interface to work.

On computer number 2, which is a relatively new laptop running Windows98,
there is some sort of protection in PROM that will not let me bring up the
machine in DOS mode.  If I do the sequence START-SHUT DOWN--Restart in DOS
mode, then I get an error message from PROM that tells me "Windows exception
fault--restart your computer" and then it comes back up in Windows98 again.

So, is there any hope I can get a network going?  At this point, I so dearly
wish I had a RELIABLE 15 year-old PC running plain old DOS!  It seems that
no matter how I try, I can't get around the Windows98 hand-holding modes.
It's looking strongly like all I can do tomorrow is run non-linked computers
out of a DOS box under Windows98.  Anybody?

73,
Bruce, ZF2NT/N6NT


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