Welcome

Serial Editor

The Serial editor, illustrated in Figure 5-9, sets specifications for serial communication on your system.

Figure 5-9.

Serial Preferences Editor Window

Serial information sent and received through modems or networks must be in a form compatible with the device with which you are communicating. Refer to the documentation packages that came with your serial device to determine appropriate settings.

Baud Rate

The baud rate determines the number of bits transferred through the serial port each second. In serial communication, information is sent and received one bit at a time. Since characters are usually 10 bits (1 start bit, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit), dividing the baud rate by 10 approximates how many characters per second (cps) are transmitted.

The selected baud rate must match the rate of the device with which you are communicating. The larger the value, the faster the data is transferred. The available rates are: 110, 300, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200, and 31250 baud. The current rate setting is shown to the left of the slider. The default setting is 9600.

Input Buffer Size

The input buffer is an area of memory set aside for incoming serial data. The available sizes are: 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, 16384, 32768, and 65536 bytes. The current size is shown to the left of the slider. Use a larger buffer when working with a high baud rate or when the Amiga is performing many tasks. The default setting is 512.

Handshaking

Handshaking controls the flow of information through the serial port and the attached device. The same handshaking method must be set for both the computer and the device to allow communication. The available choices are:

XON/XOFF

This is the most common method. Special characters called XON and XOFF are embedded in the data stream between the two devices to regulate the data flow.

RTS/CTS

Separate control lines called RTS (Request to Send) and CTS (Clear to Send) regulate the data flow. This method requires a properly wired serial cable.

None

Handshaking is shut off, allowing communication between devices without restriction or regulation. Use this option with caution.

Parity

Parity detects transmission errors by checking a bit of each character, called the parity bit, for its setting. The available parity settings are:

None

All bits are used for data. This should be used when Bits/Char is set to 8. No parity checking occurs.

Even

The total number of ON bits in each character should always be an even number.

Odd

The total number of ON bits in each character should always be an odd number.

Mark

The parity bit is always ON.

Space

The parity bit is always OFF.

Bits/Char

Bits per character specifies the number of bits that are sent through the serial port for each character and the number of bits expected for each character received.

This setting should correspond with the setting for parity. If parity is set to Even, Odd, Mark, or Space, set bits per character to 7 since some systems use the eight bit of data for parity checking. If parity is set to None, set bits per character to 8.

Stop Bits

Stop bits are extra bits added at the end of a character to allow the computer to interpret spacing between words and indicate when a transmission ends. This applies to characters both sent and received through the serial port.

Slower processing computers usually require two stop bits. Computers that transfer information at 300 baud or faster generally require one stop bit. If you are using eight data bits, use only one stop bit or you may lose data during transmission.

Multiple Units

If you have additional serial ports on your system, you can specify a default unit by adding a UNIT command line option or putting a UNIT Tool Type in the program's icon. The causes a Default Unit text gadget to appear in the Serial editor window. In this gadget, enter the unit number of the port that should be used when a particular port has not been otherwise specified. Entering 0 or 1 specifies the motherboard serial port. The documentation for your serial expansion device should give the unit numbers to use for its ports. Settings made in the Serial editor affect all ports.

Sound Editor

The Sound editor lets you determine the type of sound and sound attributes produced by your Amiga. The Amiga can flash the screen and/or issue a beep to signal of an application prompt or error in processing. The Sound editor window is illustrated in Figure 5-10.

Figure 5-10.

Sound Preferences Editor Window

Note:

Your Amiga or monitor must be equipped with speakers for it to make sound. Consult your hardware documentation or Amiga dealer for information on connecting speakers.

You can choose Make Sound, Flash Display, or a combination of both. Do not turn both functions off at the same time since that disables all signaling capability, which could cause you to miss a prompt.

Choosing Flash Display alone causes the Amiga to signal a prompt or error by flashing the screen.

If you choose Make Sound, you have the following options:

Sound Type

Select Beep or Sampled Sound. The Beep is a simple tone. The Sample Sound Type is a standard sampled sound file. You can create a sound file yourself with a sound digitizer or load from a sample sound file, for which you have a sound data type. Sampled sound files that are created for the Amiga can be purchased.

Sound Volume

Set Sound Volume between 1 for the quietest and 64 for the loudest.

Sound Pitch

Set Sound Pitch between 1 for the lowest pitch and 3000 for the highest. For a beep, Sound Pitch controls the tone pitch (high or low frequency; for sampled sounds it controls the play back speed (the number of samples played per second), which affects both the pitch of the sound and its duration.

Beep Length

Set Beep Length between 1 for the shortest duration to 100 for the longest duration.

Select Sample

Use the Select Sample gadget with t he file requester to select the file name of the sample. Sound accepts sound sample files for which you have a data type, such as 8SVX. If you save this sample setting, the sample file must be available each time you reboot, either on hard or floppy disk.

After you choose Beep or designate your sample sound, you can test the sound to be sure it has all the attributes that you want by selecting Test Sound. The Save, Use, and Cancel gadgets do not work while the sound is being tested.

XON/XOFF	This is the most common method. Special characters called XON and XOFF are embedded in the data stream between the two devices to regulate the data flow.
RTS/CTS	Separate control lines called RTS (Request to Send) and CTS (Clear to Send) regulate the data flow. This method requires a properly wired serial cable.
None	Handshaking is shut off, allowing communication between devices without restriction or regulation. Use this option with caution.

None	All bits are used for data. This should be used when Bits/Char is set to 8. No parity checking occurs.
Even	The total number of ON bits in each character should always be an even number.
Odd	The total number of ON bits in each character should always be an odd number.
Mark	The parity bit is always ON.
Space	The parity bit is always OFF.

Sound Type	Select Beep or Sampled Sound. The Beep is a simple tone. The Sample Sound Type is a standard sampled sound file. You can create a sound file yourself with a sound digitizer or load from a sample sound file, for which you have a sound data type. Sampled sound files that are created for the Amiga can be purchased.
Sound Volume	Set Sound Volume between 1 for the quietest and 64 for the loudest.
Sound Pitch	Set Sound Pitch between 1 for the lowest pitch and 3000 for the highest. For a beep, Sound Pitch controls the tone pitch (high or low frequency; for sampled sounds it controls the play back speed (the number of samples played per second), which affects both the pitch of the sound and its duration.
Beep Length	Set Beep Length between 1 for the shortest duration to 100 for the longest duration.
Select Sample	Use the Select Sample gadget with t he file requester to select the file name of the sample. Sound accepts sound sample files for which you have a data type, such as 8SVX. If you save this sample setting, the sample file must be available each time you reboot, either on hard or floppy disk.