Subj : SEXPOTS - Pulling my hair out... :)
To   : Digital Man
From : cafarmer
Date : Fri Jun 07 2024 05:55 am

Okay, I'm going to try and explain this in order. But honestly, I have done so
much searching and what seems like a zillion tests. I really, really want to
get this working.

So, I have several BBS systems set up and they all terminate with TELNET at
various ports. WildCat! supports TELNET natively, so I am all set there with up
to 16 simultaneous connections. I also have Image BBS set up with a user port
connection set to IP232 connection to TCPSER running as a windows service. Now,
these two BBS servers run on emulated systems (Vice and VMWare Workstation) -
but just remember: they are both accessible via TELNET and I can connect to
them from my MacBook Pro with SyncTerm - no problem.

Here is the fun part: I have several vintage computers that I want to be able
to connect to them as well... so, SEXPOTS! I have a Panasonic EZ-Phone system
with 8 lines. Right now, my Amiga 1000 and Apple Iic are sharing the same line
and I have one modem connected to the Windows 7 machine hosting the VMs (I wish
I could provide a drawing - just have to create one first.  I can get all this
to work - but not consistently. Sometimes when I start SEXPOTS, the Modem
Responses are the last set of characters in the INIT string and it seems to
just fall through and connect to the TELNET endpoint without even waiting for a
call. It also seems that when I get it to work for one scenario (say, the
Amiga), the other computer dials in and it doesn't detect a pickup... it also
seems to change what happens when I set the windows device baud rate up or
down... trying to match the modems, etc. It also seems to affect success or
failure trying different INIT strings. It just does not seem to be consistent
in anything I do... sometimes, I think I nailed it. Then it has a problem
re-initializing the modem after a successful connection.

So I know this is a lot and requires more precise detail to troubleshoot, but I
was hoping to just shake the tree a bit and see if anyone else struggled with
this. My Windows 7 machine has a USB Serial 4 port on it and connected to those
four ports are 2 Hayes Smartmodem Optima 288s and two Hayes Smartmodem 1200s. 

One important fact - when I pass a serial port to the VM running Wildcat! and
set up Wildcat! with a modem as one of the nodes... everything works perfectly
and consistently. Modem initializes, waits and I can connect just fine with My
Amiga with the Modem 1200 RS and with the Apple Modem 1200. It seems like
Wildcat! is doing something different right in handling the modems?

Thanks for reading and I will take any hints... any.

-Christopher

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