TEENY MANUAL

Overview

TEENY is freeware placed in the public domain by Ron Wiesen. TEENY is useful to owners of Tandy laptop Models 100, 102, and 200. The laptop file TEENY.CO is the essence of TEENY freeware. Rather than directly distribute a particular incarnation of file TEENY.CO, TEENY freeware is distributed as the Personal Computer (PC) executable file TEENY.EXE.

Three pieces of hardware are required to use TEENY.EXE: a PC to invoke TEENY.EXE, a null-modem cable, and a Tandy laptop. Any PC that has at least one COM port will do -- COM1, COM2, COM3, or COM4. Any type of null-modem cable is sufficient -- see "Null-modem Cable" for detail. A Tandy laptop Model 100, 102, or 200 is required.

Think of TEENY.EXE as a use-rarely or use-once facility which is PC based. TEENY.EXE has one primary objective -- create within the Tandy laptop an incarnation of file TEENY.CO that fits your circumstance and preferences. A related option deposits within the Tandy laptop the BASIC file TEENY.BA, which is a similar facility that is laptop based. Think of TEENY.BA as a stand-alone laptop capability to create incarnations of file TEENY.CO to fit new circumstances of the future. Think of TEENY.CO as something you use everyday -- invocation of TEENY.CO starts a working session of Teeny operation. Teeny operation is a Master/Slave working arrangement where TEENY.CO is Master of a Slave disk device attached to the laptop. Laptop files transfer between the laptop and the Slave disk device according to commands that you type during a session of TEENY.CO.

Slave Disk Devices

There are several disk devices that respond in the appropriate slave fashion to master stimulation at the laptop COM port. The chart below lists slave disk devices that can be used with TEENY.CO as a master.

 
 ______ Slave Disk Device ______ _____ Device Operational Speeds _____ 
| Brother Disk Drive FB100      |  9600 Baud only                     |
| PalmOS and session of DLPilot | 19200 Baud only                     |
| PC during session of DeskLink | 19200 or 9600 Baud per command line |
| Purple Computing Disk Drive   | 19200 or 9600 Baud per DIP switches |
| Tandy Portable Disk Drive     | 19200 or 9600 Baud per DIP switches |
| Tandy Portable Disk Drive 2   | 19200 Baud only                     |

DIP switches set the operational speed of the Purple Computing Disk Drive and the Tandy Portable Disk Drive. Set the rearmost DIP switch to its: outboard position for 19200 Baud, or inboard position for 9600 Baud. Be sure to leave the other three DIP switches at their outboard position. Cycle the power switch to OFF and then to ON -- this establishes the operational speed.

The working speed of TEENY.CO must match the operational speed of the slave disk device. The working speed of TEENY.CO is a matter of circumstance for the Brother Disk Drive FB100 (9600 Baud), a PalmOS device and session of DLPilot (19200 Baud), and the Tandy Portable Disk Drive 2 (19200 Baud). These slave disk devices operate at only one speed. In the rare case of a PC during a session of DeskLink where, by circumstance of a hardware limitation, the COM port(s) can not operate any higher than 9600 Baud, the working speed of TEENY.CO consequently must be restricted to 9600 Baud. In other cases of a PC (no hardware limitation) during a session of DeskLink, the working speed of TEENY.CO is a matter of preference: 19200 Baud, or 9600 Baud. Likewise for the other slave disk devices (Purple Computing Disk Drive and Tandy Portable Disk Drive), the working speed of TEENY.CO is a matter of preference: 19200 Baud, or 9600 Baud.

An incarnation of laptop file TEENY.CO works either at 19200 Baud or at 9600 Baud, based on how the incarnation is created. TEENY.EXE has a command line switch for the working speed of TEENY.CO. Any incarnation of TEENY.CO that is created by laptop file TEENY.BA has a working speed that is inherited from TEENY.EXE.

Null-modem Cable

The laptop has a DB25 female connector, so it mates to a male connector of the cable. Typically the PC has a male connector, so it mates to a female connector of the cable. The connector at the PC is either a type DB9, or a DB25 -- pin numbers for both types are shown in the following diagrams.

A simple 3-wire type of null-modem cable is sufficient for use of TEENY.EXE with Tandy laptop Models 100 and 102 -- no control lines matter (none end to end, and none looped back at any end). This is shown below.

 
                                pin 07 DB25F
DB25M pin 07 ----- common ----- pin 05 DB9F    own & other reference
 
                                pin 03 DB25F
DB25M pin 02 TXD ---->>---- RXD pin 02 DB9F    own Xmt is other Rcv
 
                                pin 02 DB25F
DB25M pin 03 RXD ----<<---- TXD pin 03 DB9F    own Rcv is other Xmt

The null-modem cable that is shown above is not sufficient for use of TEENY.EXE with Tandy laptop Model 200. Wiring of control lines at the laptop end is added so that the RTS control line loops back to the CTS control line. One connector end-conductor is added as shown below.

 
DB25M pin 04 RTS --->>---+                     own Request is
                         |
DB25M pin 05 CTS ---<<---+                     seen as Clear

A null-modem cable is also needed where the slave disk device is a PC operating during a session of DeskLink. The null-modem cable that is shown above is not sufficient for use by DeskLink. Although the three cable through-conductors and the connector end-conductor are essential, some additional wiring of control lines is required.

The RTS control line is looped back to the CTS control line at the PC end. One connector end-conductor is added as shown below.

 
                                pin 04 DB25F
                  +---<<--- RTS pin 07 DB9F    other Request is
                  |             pin 05 DB25F
                  +--->>--- CTS pin 08 DB9F    seen as Clear

There are three possible wiring arrangements for the DTR and DSR control lines:

• Typical -- connector end-conductors for DTR looped back to DSR
• Preferred -- cable through-conductors for DTR and DSR
• Inferior -- DSR is not driven or DSR is not connected at laptop

The typical arrangement is used in commercially made null-modem cables, such as the "CompLink" cable that is sold by Club 100. This arrangement is shown below.

 
DB25M pin 20 DTR --->>---+                     own Ready is
                         |
DB25M pin 06 DSR ---<<---+                     seen as Ready
 
                                pin 20 DB25F
                  +---<<--- DTR pin 04 DB9F    other Ready is
                  |             pin 06 DB25F
                  +--->>--- DSR pin 06 DB9F    seen as Ready

The preferred arrangement gives more precise error response by TEENY.CO for faults involving the null-modem cable. This arrangement is shown below.

 
                                pin 06 DB25F
DB25M pin 20 DTR ---->>---- DSR pin 06 DB9F    own Ready for other
 
                                pin 20 DB25F
DB25M pin 06 DSR ----<<---- DTR pin 04 DB9F    other Ready for own

The inferior arrangement always can be used. If you use it, you must also make TEENY.CO not sensitive to the DSR control line (see the "TEENY.EXE MANUAL" or the "TEENY.CO manual" for detail). Otherwise all TEENY.CO operations fail and TEENY.CO issues the "NR Err" error code. Note that the preferred arrangement of the null-modem cable virtually is the inferior arrangement in circumstances where the DSR control line is not driven due to a slave disk device that does not assert the DTR signal. Such a circumstance is a deficiency (of hardware or software) which may be impractical to remedy, and consequently the only practical recourse is to make TEENY.CO not sensitive to the DSR control line. In the case where the slave disk device is a PalmOS device during a session of DLPilot, certain serial HotSync cables used with PalmOS devices are deficient (i.e., are the inferior arrangement).