[NTLK] OMP serial connection problems

[William Maloney]

Cracked the unit open this morning to try and remedy what I though was a
flux issue on the board near the serial port. Surprisingly, I may have done
this a few years ago. What was really shocking though was the residue left
behind. I had used 70% alcohol back then - not 91% or higher. Cleaned that
up. Hoping it did not leave damage behind. It looks "okay" to the naked
eye.

Still no go on the serial though.

Tried to use the HyperTerminal program in VirtualPC. No data coming though.
I haven't used it before though, but I opened up the COMM port to
communicate. Did not see anything. Any advice on using that program?

Also downloaded another COMM monitoring software for Windows Vista. No
action detected. Again, never used this stuff before.

Looks like I talked about this issue on year way way back three years ago.
http://marc.info/?l=newtontalk&m=134157857402110&w=2

That of course was with a different machine, OS, USB serial adapter - oh
yes, and I ACTUALLY worked. When I get the chance in a few weeks, I'll give
the older hardware a go and see if it makes a difference.

Any input is appreciated. Thanks

On Sun, Nov 22, 2015 at 8:11 AM, William Maloney <firedoorus at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I’ll walk you through this as I am setting it up…
>
>
> Okay, plugged in the Gigaware adapter. Every time – for some reason –
> Vista “installs” the driver, recognizes it, and then finishes.
>
>
> Sometimes I go into device manger to make sure it is still set at COMM1. I
> think it changes if I shut the system down. Currently at the following
> settings: 9600 baud, 8 Data bits, None Parity, 1 Stop Bits, Flow Control
> Xon/Xoff
>
>
> Opening up VirtualPC version 6.0 (2007). Checking settings. VPC Comm1 is
> set to Physical COMM1. Starting Win98. COMM1 settings within Win98 are
> identical.
>
>
> Newton is powered on. Trying to launch NCK right after hitting CONNECT.
> NCK is programmed to ONLY communicate via COMM1 at 9600.
>
> Launched at same time AND….Nothing. Nada. Phooey.
>
>
> I don’t have the HyperTerminal program installed. Win98 is being a pain
> with installing that add-on. Is there a way to see Newton trying to
> communicate over the COMM port in Vista? I have PowerShell installed –
> never used it before though…
>
>
> I did try to install another package via Newton Press running natively in
> Vista. Nada on that either.
>
>
> Lastly, tried again to install a package via NewtonPress via VirtualPC. A
> dialogue box did pop up THAT time: “There was an error trying to open the
> following COM port on your physical computer: \\.\COM1   Before this port
> can be connected to your virtual machine, you must verify that a device is
> attached to the port, and that it is not being used by another process.” It
> wasn’t so I just kept going, setting everything up via COMM1. Still
> nothing.
>
>
> Also, is Newton supposed to automatically turn on when a cable is plugged
> into its serial port? I seem to remember that from a while ago. It doesn’t
> do that now.
>
>
> Thanks for the help!
>
>
>
> On Sat, Nov 21, 2015 at 1:55 PM, William Maloney <firedoorus at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Okay, so trying to connect an OMP/MP100 to a Windows Vista Machine.
>>
>> Here is the setup right now.
>>
>> Newton ----> Serial cable ----> Gigaware USB serial adapter ----> USB
>> port on Computer ----> Windows Vista running serial adapter as COMM1 via
>> device manager ----> VirtualPC running Windows 98 ------> Newton Connection
>> Kit 2.0
>>
>> There seems to be no connection at all. I have done this before on an XP
>> machine and it worked fine a few years ago.
>>
>> Everything is set to run at 9600 baud.
>>
>> I tried connecting this machine to a Macintosh Classic II running NCK and
>> it also failed.
>>
>> Beginning to feel it could be a hardware failure. I believe I recall
>> seeing capacitor flux near serial port when trying to put alcohol on the
>> power switch to keep the machine from powering off all the time.
>>
>> Any ideas??? Anyone willing to lend a hand? thanks
>>
>
>