Introducing NinjaTerm 2.0

craftsman1234 · Post by **craftsman1234** » Tue Sep 12, 2017 9:49 pm

plbyrd wrote:Name: NinjaTerm
Author: The Sharp Ninja (Payton Byrd)
Released: September 2, 2017
Genre: Communications
Requirements: VIC-20 16k+
Description: Communications terminal to get your VIC 20 online. Works with any userport modem, including WIFI modems and tcpser.

Screenshot:
ninjaterm-options.png
Project Site and Downloads:
https://sharpninja.github.io/NinjaTerm/

Man I really want to give this a try but can't seem to get it to run. Are the files on GIT executable?

plbyrd · Post by **plbyrd** » Tue Sep 12, 2017 9:52 pm

I'm very excited to announce NinjaTerm, a new PETSCII term program for the VIC-20.

NinjaTerm is able to use any userport modem at 300, 1200 or 2400 baud (your mileage may vary at 2400 baud depending on the modem).

NinjaTerm includes a configurable address book with up to 8 entries.

Uses the C64 Charset which is much easier on the eyes than the VIC-20 charset.

NinjaTerm requires 32k of expansion RAM (8K is the charset).

You can download NinjaTerm from GitHub at: https://github.com/sharpninja/NinjaTerm/releases

Give a try and let me know what you think!

I may build a version without the charset but with xmodem built in for downloading files. If you would like to volunteer your talents to adding support for your favorite feature, or simply look at my code and want to feint, then feel free to clone the repository and send me a pull request with your changes!

plbyrd · Post by **plbyrd** » Tue Sep 12, 2017 9:54 pm

craftsman1234 wrote:Man I really want to give this a try but can't seem to get it to run. Are the files on GIT executable?

I started a thread about NinjaTerm: http://sleepingelephant.com/ipw-web/bul ... f=2&t=8694

(mod: added the missing discussion link to the original announcement and moved the two mis-placed posts into the thread here.)

plbyrd · Post by **plbyrd** » Tue Sep 12, 2017 9:55 pm

ninjaterm-addresses.png

craftsman1234 · Post by **craftsman1234** » Tue Sep 12, 2017 10:44 pm

This is really nice and I am currently testing it out with a GGlabs card to a Raspberry PI set-up.

Can't get the address book to add new entries but am still fiddling around with it.

plbyrd · Post by **plbyrd** » Tue Sep 12, 2017 10:55 pm

craftsman1234 wrote:This is really nice and I am currently testing it out with a GGlabs card to a Raspberry PI set-up.

Can't get the address book to add new entries but am still fiddling around with it.

Type the number of the slot you want to use then f2 to edit.

Floopy · Post by **Floopy** » Wed Sep 13, 2017 9:06 am

I really want a modem...
Is it worth it to buy one?

plbyrd · Post by **plbyrd** » Wed Sep 13, 2017 9:11 am

I think so. There's at least one BBS optimized for the VIC-20... mine (altiworld.com:6400)

alexjlopez · Post by **alexjlopez** » Thu Sep 14, 2017 6:08 am

This is great! I'll try it this weekend.

craftsman1234 · Post by **craftsman1234** » Thu Sep 14, 2017 10:42 am

Been testing this out on ParticlesBBS. With my set up 2400 bauds works great with no errors.

The address book does work but Iong names can not be entered. Particlesbbs.dyndns.org will not fit. Luckily TCPSER has an address feature so I have the BBS names as "1". So the address book works this way.

On ParticlesBBS there is a feature that that you can have all the messages in a thread play back continuously. This works well if you have a buffer to store to and allows you to read the info later. This sends a lot of data across and the program handles it well and I can't see any errors. When doing this I have noticed it does not stop most of the time when you press a key. It should abort to the end of the message and go back to normal reading mode. I'm going to test this more at 1200 baud.

Also a suggestion on the Function key. I would move the BAUD rate to a different key. Seem that since F1 selects the menu and baud I seem to be always inadvertently changing the Baud rate.

A small buffer will be nice and of course the ability to download files (with a dos command feature)

This works really good and been having a lot of fun testing it.

RobertBe · Post by **RobertBe** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 12:44 am

I hope it works with my dial-up shell (VT-100) account.

Writing from Crawley, England,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

plbyrd · Post by **plbyrd** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 5:17 am

It doesn't have an ASCII mode, only PETSCII.

plbyrd · Post by **plbyrd** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 5:25 am

craftsman1234 wrote:With my set up 2400 bauds works great with no errors.

Great to hear.

craftsman1234 wrote:The address book does work but Iong names can not be entered. Particlesbbs.dyndns.org will not fit. Luckily TCPSER has an address feature so I have the BBS names as "1". So the address book works this way.

I believe all of the internet modem solutions contain an address book feature, which is why I wasn't worried about the 13 character limit. Unlike CCGMS on the C64, only having 22 chars across posed a lot of logistical problems that I wasn't comfortable trying to work around in assembler (yet).

craftsman1234 wrote:On ParticlesBBS there is a feature that that you can have all the messages in a thread play back continuously. This works well if you have a buffer to store to and allows you to read the info later. This sends a lot of data across and the program handles it well and I can't see any errors. When doing this I have noticed it does not stop most of the time when you press a key. It should abort to the end of the message and go back to normal reading mode. I'm going to test this more at 1200 baud.

I'm not an assembler expert by any means. There is a lot of unrolled loops in the code and because of that it uses a LOT of the RAM in the system. Also, the font takes up another 8k, and the three screens take up about 1/2 K, I could possibly stick a buffer in bank 5, but I'd have to really think about how to do it.

craftsman1234 wrote:Also a suggestion on the Function key. I would move the BAUD rate to a different key. Seem that since F1 selects the menu and baud I seem to be always inadvertently changing the Baud rate.

Hmm, hadn't thought of this. I may swap F1 and F2, but then you'd be jumping to the address book. I wanted to keep the function keys consistent between the screens where possible.

craftsman1234 wrote:A small buffer will be nice and of course the ability to download files (with a dos command feature)

I'm working on adding PUNTER right now. I might be able to finagle a wedge in there, too.

craftsman1234 wrote:This works really good and been having a lot of fun testing it.

Thank you. I put a lot of effort into it.

rhurst · Post by **rhurst** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 10:35 am

Does VICE allow for RS232 via TCP emulation? Have you tried it with NinjaTerm running on xvic?
I've tried running DesTerm after running x128 -rsuser -rsdev1 192.168.1.254:23 to connect to a telnet service running on a local Linux box. I can see the TCP established connection on the Linux-side, with an occasional baud barf on DesTerm. If I reset the Linux service, the x128 console outputs (no Des) "RS232NET: Error - EOF". If it matters, I have everything soft-configured to run as 1200 baud.

plbyrd · Post by **plbyrd** » Mon Sep 18, 2017 9:19 am

rhurst wrote:Does VICE allow for RS232 via TCP emulation? Have you tried it with NinjaTerm running on xvic?
I've tried running DesTerm after running x128 -rsuser -rsdev1 192.168.1.254:23 to connect to a telnet service running on a local Linux box. I can see the TCP established connection on the Linux-side, with an occasional baud barf on DesTerm. If I reset the Linux service, the x128 console outputs (no Des) "RS232NET: Error - EOF". If it matters, I have everything soft-configured to run as 1200 baud.

I did all my development running on WinVICE xvic.exe and tcpser. It worked flawlessly.

Denial