Psion 3a Notes

[10/05/2017]
I have a Psion 3a that I keep around and fiddle with
from time to time. It's not a powerful organizer by
any sort of modern standard, but it does have a
special place in my heart, and for the hardware it is
impressive in the software implementation.

I recently obtained a 3Link cable- they're oddly
difficult to find- and had fun setting it up today.
The cable has a controller and some memory built in,
and when you connect it there is software called "COMMS"
that is available on the Psion 3a for install. Simply
hit "Menu>Apps>Install" and it shows up when the cable
is connected to the psion and PC.

"Comms" is a basic terminal emulation program, with xmodem
and ymodem (and ascii) transfer built in. I attempted to
connect via minicom (linux), which worked. File transfer
only seemed to work via ascii (ymodem and xmodem hung,)
but the resulting binary files did not work (tried to
install a program.)

Next I attempted to install PsiWin 2.3.3 in an XP virtual
machine. The software installed, but refused to communicate
with my Psion 3a (Psion 3a version 3.25F-USA, 3Link cable
FCC ID ILP EP3 XRSA). I uninstalled that and installed 
PsiWin v1.1, which seems to work perfectly. With it, I'm
able to easily copy files to/from the Psion, install
programs, and back up all drives (Internal an A) with a
few clicks.

I also attempted to get a Java application working under
linux to communicate directly with the Psion, but it was
quite dated and I had trouble getting it to recognize my
USB-to-Serial adapter as a valid port. Not really worth
my time, when the other options work just fine.