Laddie works great as a tpdd emulator, but it just doesn't include a bootstrapper to install a client. If you have a REX or an actual TS-DOS option rom (or build a Teeprom, but you can buy a much more useful REX# for the same or less cost) then Laddie is great. But if you need to install the client then you need mComm or teeny.exe or dlplus in addition just to use it's bootstrapper.
You CAN transfer the same loader.ba file manually with a comm program and TELCOM to install a client manually, but it's more complicated, more error-prone, and silly to bother since dedicated utils exist specifically to remove all the variables, moving parts, and pitfalls, and reduce the number of steps and special instructions of that process. There is also an mp3 of the cassette version of TS-DOS which you can install using the cassette cable and a phone with a headphone jack. That's simpler and more reliable than the manual telecom process but again, pointless, because if you're installing a tpdd client, it's probably to use a tpdd emulator, in which case you need the same serial and usb cable anyway. The cassette/mp3 installer would be useful in the theoretical old-days situation where you need a way to install a tpdd client to use with an actual tpdd drive. The drive comes with a special disk for that so that you can bootstrap with nothing but the drive, but that only provides the basic tpdd client called FLOPPY, not TS-DOS. So, if you had your 100 and TPDD and a cassette player, and modern machines didn't exist yet, you could recover from a reset and install TS-DOS using the cassette. Today that's just an unnecessary excersize. -- bkw On Tue, May 4, 2021, 10:35 AM Jerry Davis <je...@txdavis.com> wrote: > Hello, Steve > > Good question. Sometimes I'm not quite sure how I got where I am on a > given solution. I began by reading through the M100 mail archive starting > at the bottom. I found many, many references to TEENY in one form or > another. References to LaddieCon and LaddieAlpha from about the middle on > up. I think I even ended up reading a good interview article written about > the operators of the bitchin100.com site and the author of LaddieCon. > Don't remember how I got there. > > What I did was pick a solution and go with it, i.e. TPDD emulator and a > TPDD client, and then adapt from there. At the time, TEENY seemed to be a > good place to start. Part of the fun for me is learning how to do things, > seeing how much experience I can pick up by trying different things, and > asking a question or two when I get stuck. Which sometimes means I end up > traveling on a dead end street. But that's OK because I like to drive. > With one question I've gotten a lot of great advice just this morning > which is clearing up some of the information fog for me. > > Your suggestion for LaddieAlpha is on my list to explore. I had > originally thought that LaddieCon wasn't recommended and LaddieAlpha was > for Linux only, but after you mentioned it I read the information you > directed me to more carefully and it's cross-platform. So I'm now going > "Ah Ha"! Not sure how I missed that. Probably too many late nights, I > guess. It's hard to read when I'm trying to see things. > > Thanks for your help on this. > > Jerry > > On Tue, May 4, 2021 at 8:27 AM Stephen Adolph <twospru...@gmail.com> > wrote: > >> Jerry, why are you not using LaddieAlpha? it is the most mature solution >> in my opinion, and it runs native on Windows 10? I use it a lot. >> >> I would separate the "bootstrap" from the "usage". Bootstrap is pretty >> easy. I just transfer a text version of Teeny..BA. I don't bother with the >> injection aspect of Teeny.EXE on a PC at all anymore. >> >> ..Steve >> >> On Tue, May 4, 2021 at 9:20 AM Jerry Davis <je...@txdavis.com> wrote: >> >>> Justin, Georg, and Brian. Many thanks for your assistance on this. >>> I'll get the cable up to spec and verify physical layer is the way it's >>> supposed to be, try again, and report back. I'll also test with mComm as >>> that appears to be a better way to get the client installed. >>> >>> Thanks again! >>> >>> Jerry >>> >>> >>> On Tue, May 4, 2021, 7:45 AM Brian K. White <b.kenyo...@gmail.com> >>> wrote: >>> >>>> On 5/4/21 7:20 AM, Justin Poirier wrote: >>>> > Just a quick reply, but when troubleshooting serial, I always start >>>> slow >>>> > and work my speed up. Don't start at 19.2k. Start at 300, and work >>>> your >>>> > way up. I've had mixed results across my Model 102/200 machines when >>>> I >>>> > go much past 2400. >>>> >>>> In general yes, but not for this. >>>> >>>> TEENY.EXE is hardcoded to run at the same speed as the TPDD which >>>> itself >>>> is hardwired to run at 19.2k. TEENY.EXE has it's own small delay >>>> between >>>> each character to dribble the bytes in slow enough even though the >>>> serial port is set to 19.2k, and,it uses a BASIC command to read the >>>> port raw without any screen updates. >>>> >>>> The most likely problem here is that TPDD requires more than just >>>> TX/RX/GND. >>>> >>>> At the very least, you also need DTR shorted to DSR on the 100 end of >>>> the cable. TPDD clients look at DTR. >>>> >>>> Ideally, you should really use a fully wired up cable according to this >>>> chart, or, just buy one of the cables linked on that page. Those are >>>> all >>>> specifically wired and actually purchased and tested cables >>>> specifically >>>> for use between a 100 and a modern pc, be that with a real serial port >>>> or a usb adapter. And, at the bottom are likewise some specifically >>>> selected usb-serial adapters, and a description of what makes them >>>> special.: >>>> http://tandy.wiki/Model_T_Serial_Cable >>>> >>>> Lastly, you have a much better option than TEENY.EXE to install TEENY >>>> or >>>> TS-DOS onto a 100 from a Windows10 machine these days. If your modern >>>> machine is Windows or Android, then you should try mComm: >>>> >>>> http://www.club100.org/memfiles/index.php?&direction=0&order=&directory=Kurt%20McCullum >>>> >>>> If your modern machine is linux or mac, then you should try dlplus >>>> https://github.com/bkw777/dlplus >>>> >>>> Those all have bootstrappers that can install TEENY or TS-DOS or even >>>> other things onto the 100. >>>> >>>> However TEENY.EXE does still work if you get a dos emulator set up >>>> right. >>>> >>>> Here is saved some notes about how to run dosbox (a dos emulator on >>>> linux) with the serial port config all specified right on the command >>>> line so no need to worry about config files. >>>> >>>> https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bkw777/dlplus/master/clients/teeny/notes.txt >>>> >>>> dosbox -c "serial1 directserial realport:ttyUSB0" . >>>> >>>> (note, that " ." on the end is a necessary part of the command) >>>> >>>> You just download the dlarc.exe into a directory, run that doxbox >>>> command, and from inside that dos window, the C: drive will be the >>>> current dir you started in, and you can run dlarc to extract itself and >>>> then run teeny.exe. >>>> >>>> Lastly... counter to what I said earlier, there IS actually a way to >>>> generate a special version of TEENY that doesn't care about DTR, but >>>> really, I don't recommend it. But, if you read the full teeny manual, >>>> it's in dlarc.exe but I have a copy here: >>>> >>>> https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bkw777/dlplus/master/clients/teeny/teenydoc.txt >>>> >>>> It does give directions for how to run TEENY.EXE with a couple extra >>>> commandline flags that will generate a modified version of TEENY on the >>>> 100. But really, it makes no sense to even bother with that. Just make >>>> or buy a correct serial cable rather than do that. Not only will it >>>> work >>>> better, but there is no such special version of TS-DOS, and you want >>>> TS-DOS more than TEENY usually. >>>> >>>> -- >>>> bkw >>>> >>>
