I've documented some all-in-one correctly wired serial cables, and what makes them special, to go from a pc to a 100 here: http://tandy.wiki/Model_T_Serial_Cable
And the most convenient way to move files is with a tpdd emulator, or at least a bootstrapper. It's not convenient that you have to install a tpdd client, but it addresses a couple major points: 1 There is no binary-safe way to transfer data in the stock rom except cassette tape. You need some other added software to do it. You could install an xmodem app but tpdd is more convenient and the smallest tpdd client is smaller. 2 Even for plain text data, nothing in the stock rom really does this in a way that cleanly begins and ends a file. You just manually start capturing in telcom or in basic, and then stop capturing, and it's up to you to ensure there is not a single byte of extra junk before or after the actual file contents. tpdd is a file transfer protocol and handles binary or text data equally, and the file is always a clean verbatim copy like you expect from any other file transfer method. It also checksums each 128-byte packet during the transfer which again a plain text telcom transfer does not do. (TPDD is a disk peripheral that connects by serial, which we now just emulate on the server side and use the existing disk operating software on the client side) So all in all, it's invaluable to install a tpdd client and run a tpdd server on your pc. There is another process for doing a one-time transfer which is usually used to bootstrap installing a tpdd client, since a tpdd client app is itself a binary program that needs to be transferred somehow, before you have it installed to do exactly that job... Bootstrapping just simplifies the serial port stuff as much as possible so there is less room for the user to get some detail wrong, and relies on the binary payload being packaged up into a loader, which is a BASIC program that contains a text encoded version of the binary as a big data payload and a small program that knows how to create the binary from the data. Bootstrapping is most commonly used to install a tpdd client but it's generically useful to transfer and run (or just transfer and save) any BASIC program, because the sending side is very simple and the receiving side doesn't require anything extra not part of the system rom on the 100. IE you can do it even right after a hard reset that wipes everything. And for ultimate quality of life, just get a REX#. It allows to have the best tpdd client in rom where it survives resets, does not consume precious ram, and doesn't even consume the single option rom slot, becuase REX# is an on-board option rom library not just one rom. So you can have all the option roms. Now to define all those terms... For tpdd servers, there are several, but the two you are interested in are LaddieAlpha and dlplus, as they are both current and usable on mac. http://tandy.wiki/TPDD_server <http://tandy.wiki/TPDD_Server> For tpdd clients, there are several, but the 2 most interesting are TS-DOS and TEENY. TS-DOS is most full featured and user friendly, but it also consumes a lot of ram if you need to use the ram version. TEENY is teeny, but also the very definition of the absolute minimum necessary functionality. http://tandy.wiki/TPDD_client <http://tandy.wiki/TPDD_Client> For bootstrapping from mac, dlplus includes a bootstrap function and also comes bundled with all the tpdd client loaders. There is also a bootstrap function in pdd.sh which is a tpdd client bash script, but on mac it needs a newer bash from macports or homebrew etc. Or, the function is simple so it could be extracted out to a simple standalone script and be compatible with the stock osx bash. Everything I said that works from mac also works from linux and even freebsd. Links to everything I mentioned are on those two pages above, and REX# is http://bitchin100.com/wiki/index.php?title=REXsharp -- bkw On Mon, Sep 26, 2022 at 8:24 PM Will Senn <will.s...@gmail.com> wrote: > So, I've read up and looked around for this and haven't found quite the > answer I was looking for, so I'm asking here (don't worry, I'm not gonna > eternally spam y'all, but I've got these initial questions...). > > I've got a Mac Pro (big honking Mac machine from 2010 with 6, 3 ghz intel > xeon processors, and a boatload of ram along with a 30 inch display) > running Monterey (latest -1). I'm entirely comfortable with the Unix that > lies underneath and have several FreeBSD and Linux boxes around the house. > > I'm using Minicom to talk with my PAL-1 (a KIM-1 clone), my Raspberry Pi, > and my beaglebone black. So, I'm reasonable comfortable, but by no means > expert, on talking to devices over serial. > > I believe that I ought to be able to hook up a Male DB-25 to the M100, > connect that to a null modem cable and that to a DB-9 to USB adapter that > is attached to my Mac Pro's usb port and fire up Minicom to send and > receive ascii files to and from the M100... but, honestly, it's just > conjecture at this point. I'll have to find the DB-25, null-modem adapter, > and DB-9 to USB adapter in the correct genders to make the hypothetical > connection real. In the meantime, here's the question - does what I've > suggested sound rational and likely to succeed or am I missing some key > idea in the M100 to modern computer hookup equation? > > Thanks, > > Will >
