Diagnosing ABT320 Braille Terminal

Diagnosing ABT320 Braille Terminal

[John J. Boyer]

Hello,

I have my Alva ABT320 Braille Terminal connected to ttyS1. The manual says 
nothing about setting parameters such as baud rate, parity, etc. They may 
be fixed. How can I test to see what they are and then set ttyS1 to those 
values?

Thanks,
John


-- 
Computers to Help People, Inc.
http://www.chpi.org
825 East Johnson; Madison, WI 53703

RE: Diagnosing ABT320 Braille Terminal

[Travis Roth]

Hi John,

Maybe you could just do some trial and error?
It would not surprise me if the serial settings on the braille terminal
were 9600,n,8,1.
I have two braille displays that use these settings.

**  Travis Roth
www.TravisRoth.com
travis@travisroth.com
 

-----Original Message-----
From: blinux-list-admin@redhat.com [mailto:blinux-list-admin@redhat.com]
On Behalf Of John J. Boyer
Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2003 8:50 PM
To: blinux-list@redhat.com
Subject: Diagnosing ABT320 Braille Terminal


Hello,

I have my Alva ABT320 Braille Terminal connected to ttyS1. The manual
says 
nothing about setting parameters such as baud rate, parity, etc. They
may 
be fixed. How can I test to see what they are and then set ttyS1 to
those 
values?

Thanks,
John


-- 
Computers to Help People, Inc.
http://www.chpi.org
825 East Johnson; Madison, WI 53703




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Re: Diagnosing ABT320 Braille Terminal

[Lee Maschmeyer]

John,

It's not necessary to set anything on Linux. On the ABT, at least if the
firmware is 970101, use the status menu to make sure the serial port
you're using is set to pc. (If you have to change it, the setup menu
choice is "Alva".)  This can be done on the fly; use the
Prog+Home+Status keys and follow the prompts. BRLTTY will recover
properly when you exit the menu.

Make sure the serial cable is a null-modes cable. BRLTTY will take care
of the rest.

I think Travis's settings are right; I think I saw it in the source for
the Alva driver; but as I say, brltty does it all.

I have no idea about Gnopernicus. Someone awhile ago listed the Braille
devices supported and (at that time) Alva wasn't one of them.

HTH,

Lee

Re: Diagnosing ABT320 Braille Terminal

[John J. Boyer]

Lee,

the Alva works with brltty. But it's not nearly as good as the Braille 
Lite 40 that I normally use. At least I now have a backup braille display. 
I looked at the parameters after brltty had run and they do seem to be 
9600,n81. 

Thanks,
John
 On Fri, 9 May 2003, Lee Maschmeyer wrote:

> John,
> 
> It's not necessary to set anything on Linux. On the ABT, at least if the
> firmware is 970101, use the status menu to make sure the serial port
> you're using is set to pc. (If you have to change it, the setup menu
> choice is "Alva".)  This can be done on the fly; use the
> Prog+Home+Status keys and follow the prompts. BRLTTY will recover
> properly when you exit the menu.
> 
> Make sure the serial cable is a null-modes cable. BRLTTY will take care
> of the rest.
> 
> I think Travis's settings are right; I think I saw it in the source for
> the Alva driver; but as I say, brltty does it all.
> 
> I have no idea about Gnopernicus. Someone awhile ago listed the Braille
> devices supported and (at that time) Alva wasn't one of them.
> 
> HTH,
> 
> Lee
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Blinux-list mailing list
> Blinux-list@redhat.com
> https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list
> 

-- 
Computers to Help People, Inc.
http://www.chpi.org
825 East Johnson; Madison, WI 53703

Re: Diagnosing ABT320 Braille Terminal

[Tom Masterson]

I think it is in one of the manuals or readme files somewhere but it
requires some digging.  If I remember correctly it is pretty much a standard
of 9600,n,8,1.

Tom
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John J. Boyer" <director@chpi.org>
To: <blinux-list@redhat.com>
Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2003 18:50
Subject: Diagnosing ABT320 Braille Terminal


> Hello,
>
> I have my Alva ABT320 Braille Terminal connected to ttyS1. The manual says
> nothing about setting parameters such as baud rate, parity, etc. They may
> be fixed. How can I test to see what they are and then set ttyS1 to those
> values?
>
> Thanks,
> John
>
>
> -- 
> Computers to Help People, Inc.
> http://www.chpi.org
> 825 East Johnson; Madison, WI 53703
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Blinux-list mailing list
> Blinux-list@redhat.com
> https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list
>

Re: Diagnosing ABT320 Braille Terminal

[Nicolas Pitre]

On Fri, 9 May 2003, John J. Boyer wrote:

> Lee,
> 
> the Alva works with brltty. But it's not nearly as good as the Braille 
> Lite 40 that I normally use. At least I now have a backup braille display. 

Could you describe "nearly as good" with more details?

I use an ABT340 and it works pretty well here.


Nicolas

Re: Diagnosing ABT320 Braille Terminal

[Lee Maschmeyer]

IMHO, one thing that adversely affects the Alva is that the left and
right keys are not typematic. I doubt this matters on an 80-character
display, but on a 40 it's a pain and I bet it's worse on a 20. Thanks to
Nicolas I found the place in the source where I could change it, but it
still seems an unfortunate default.

However, the Linux Alva driver seems more sluggish than (my memory of)
the DOS program, so I don't think it's the serial port settings since
DOS presumably uses the same ones. What are the BrailleLite's?

Lee

On Fri, May 09, 2003 at 08:25:31AM -0500, John J. Boyer wrote: 

> Lee, the Alva works with brltty. But it's not nearly as good as the
> Braille Lite 40 that I normally use. At least I now have a backup
> braille display.  I looked at the parameters after brltty had run and
> they do seem to be > 9600,n81.  > Thanks, John On Fri, 9 May 2003, Lee
> Maschmeyer wrote: > > John, > > > 
> It's not necessary to set anything on Linux. On the ABT, at least if
> the > > firmware is 970101, use the status menu to make sure the
> serial port > > you're using is set to pc. (If you have to change it,
> the setup menu > > choice is "Alva".)  This can be done on the fly;
> use the > > Prog+Home+Status keys and follow the prompts. BRLTTY will
> recover > > properly when you exit the menu.  > > > > Make sure the
> serial cable is a null-modes cable. BRLTTY will take care > > of the
> rest.  > > > > I think Travis's settings are right; I think I saw it
> in the source for > > the Alva driver; but as I say, brltty does it
> all.  > > > > I have no idea about Gnopernicus. Someone awhile ago
> listed the Braille > > devices supported and (at that time) Alva
> wasn't one of them.  > > > > HTH, > > > > Lee > > > > > > >
> _______________________________________________ > > Blinux-list
> mailing list > > Blinux-list@redhat.com > >
> https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list > > > > -- >
> Computers to Help People, Inc.  > http://www.chpi.org > 825 East
> Johnson; Madison, WI 53703 > > > > >
> _______________________________________________ > Blinux-list mailing
> list > Blinux-list@redhat.com >
> https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list

Re: Diagnosing ABT320 Braille Terminal

[John J. Boyer]

Nicolas and Lee,

The 40 cells on the ABT340 certainly help. Mine has only 20, while my 
Braille Lite has 40. The main difference, however, is that the Braille 
lite has a braille keyboard, and the brltty driver has keyboard emulation. 
That means that I can write on the braille keyboard on the Braille Lite 
and it's just the same as though I were using the computer's qwerty 
keyboard. With the chorded key combinations, it is possible to operate the 
computer completely from the Braille Lite. This saves me a lot of pushing 
my chair around to get into a good position for the computer keyboard. I 
still do use that keyboard because I can type faster, but only for long 
messages, like this one.  I've gotten a long cable for my braille Lite so 
I can take it into my bedroom and read and browse the Web while lying 
down.

John
 On Fri, 9 May 2003, Lee Maschmeyer wrote:

> IMHO, one thing that adversely affects the Alva is that the left and
> right keys are not typematic. I doubt this matters on an 80-character
> display, but on a 40 it's a pain and I bet it's worse on a 20. Thanks to
> Nicolas I found the place in the source where I could change it, but it
> still seems an unfortunate default.
> 
> However, the Linux Alva driver seems more sluggish than (my memory of)
> the DOS program, so I don't think it's the serial port settings since
> DOS presumably uses the same ones. What are the BrailleLite's?
> 
> Lee
> 
> On Fri, May 09, 2003 at 08:25:31AM -0500, John J. Boyer wrote: 
> 
> > Lee, the Alva works with brltty. But it's not nearly as good as the
> > Braille Lite 40 that I normally use. At least I now have a backup
> > braille display.  I looked at the parameters after brltty had run and
> > they do seem to be > 9600,n81.  > Thanks, John On Fri, 9 May 2003, Lee
> > Maschmeyer wrote: > > John, > > > 
> > It's not necessary to set anything on Linux. On the ABT, at least if
> > the > > firmware is 970101, use the status menu to make sure the
> > serial port > > you're using is set to pc. (If you have to change it,
> > the setup menu > > choice is "Alva".)  This can be done on the fly;
> > use the > > Prog+Home+Status keys and follow the prompts. BRLTTY will
> > recover > > properly when you exit the menu.  > > > > Make sure the
> > serial cable is a null-modes cable. BRLTTY will take care > > of the
> > rest.  > > > > I think Travis's settings are right; I think I saw it
> > in the source for > > the Alva driver; but as I say, brltty does it
> > all.  > > > > I have no idea about Gnopernicus. Someone awhile ago
> > listed the Braille > > devices supported and (at that time) Alva
> > wasn't one of them.  > > > > HTH, > > > > Lee > > > > > > >
> > _______________________________________________ > > Blinux-list
> > mailing list > > Blinux-list@redhat.com > >
> > https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list > > > > -- >
> > Computers to Help People, Inc.  > http://www.chpi.org > 825 East
> > Johnson; Madison, WI 53703 > > > > >
> > _______________________________________________ > Blinux-list mailing
> > list > Blinux-list@redhat.com >
> > https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Blinux-list mailing list
> Blinux-list@redhat.com
> https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list
> 

-- 
Computers to Help People, Inc.
http://www.chpi.org
825 East Johnson; Madison, WI 53703

Re: Diagnosing ABT320 Braille Terminal

[Nicolas Pitre]

On Fri, 9 May 2003, Lee Maschmeyer wrote:

> IMHO, one thing that adversely affects the Alva is that the left and
> right keys are not typematic. I doubt this matters on an 80-character
> display, but on a 40 it's a pain and I bet it's worse on a 20. Thanks to
> Nicolas I found the place in the source where I could change it, but it
> still seems an unfortunate default.

And I explained why...

> However, the Linux Alva driver seems more sluggish than (my memory of)
> the DOS program, so I don't think it's the serial port settings since
> DOS presumably uses the same ones.

On DOS the default mode of operation is through the parallel port which is a
much faster link.  Even BRLTTY is much snappier with a parallel port
connection.  But unfortunately the parallel port protocol information isn't
available and only an old binary-only library exists which just can't be
linked with BRLTTY using recent versions of gcc.

But to reduce the sluggishness a lot you can change the default serial
baudrate from 9600 to, say, 38400.  On BRLTTY's side you need to edit
Drivers/Alva/brlconf.h accordingly and recompile.  On the Alva side you need
to change the baudrate using the built-in menus accessible by pressing
PROG+HOME+CURSOR simultaneously.


Nicolas

Re: Diagnosing ABT320 Braille Terminal

[John J. Boyer]

Nicolas,

Where do I find documentation on the Alva built-in menus? Most of what I 
know I've learned by trial and error, and I haven't been able to find 
where to set the baud rate, etc.

thanks,
John
 On Fri, 9 May 2003, Nicolas Pitre wrote:

> On Fri, 9 May 2003, Lee Maschmeyer wrote:
> 
> > IMHO, one thing that adversely affects the Alva is that the left and
> > right keys are not typematic. I doubt this matters on an 80-character
> > display, but on a 40 it's a pain and I bet it's worse on a 20. Thanks to
> > Nicolas I found the place in the source where I could change it, but it
> > still seems an unfortunate default.
> 
> And I explained why...
> 
> > However, the Linux Alva driver seems more sluggish than (my memory of)
> > the DOS program, so I don't think it's the serial port settings since
> > DOS presumably uses the same ones.
> 
> On DOS the default mode of operation is through the parallel port which is a
> much faster link.  Even BRLTTY is much snappier with a parallel port
> connection.  But unfortunately the parallel port protocol information isn't
> available and only an old binary-only library exists which just can't be
> linked with BRLTTY using recent versions of gcc.
> 
> But to reduce the sluggishness a lot you can change the default serial
> baudrate from 9600 to, say, 38400.  On BRLTTY's side you need to edit
> Drivers/Alva/brlconf.h accordingly and recompile.  On the Alva side you need
> to change the baudrate using the built-in menus accessible by pressing
> PROG+HOME+CURSOR simultaneously.
> 
> 
> Nicolas
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Blinux-list mailing list
> Blinux-list@redhat.com
> https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list
> 

-- 
Computers to Help People, Inc.
http://www.chpi.org
825 East Johnson; Madison, WI 53703

Re: Diagnosing ABT320 Braille Terminal

[Nicolas Pitre]

On Fri, 9 May 2003, John J. Boyer wrote:

> Nicolas,
> 
> Where do I find documentation on the Alva built-in menus? Most of what I 
> know I've learned by trial and error, and I haven't been able to find 
> where to set the baud rate, etc.

Well... some documentation came on a floppy disk along with the DOS software 
when I got my ABT340 about 10 years ago.  I don't know for sure where that 
disk might be now.

But if that can help you, here's what I have on my ABT340.

When I press PROG+HOME+CURSOR I see:

rec play stat setup

Pressing on a routing key above "setup" gives:

ser vol sl bt test

Then pressing on a routing key above "ser" I get:

   ser2    ser1

Then, selecting "ser2" for example, I get:

alva     non-alva

Selecting "non-alva" gives me:

braille 'n speak par

And finally selecting "par" gives:

baud len stop par

Here selecting "baud" allows you to change the baudrate using the RIGHT and 
DOWN keys.  Yes this key selection is odd.

Then, to go back each menu levels you press the PROG key until you get back 
to your BRLTTY session.

Beware.  The ABT340 has two serial ports so it's wiser to play with settings
on the port you're not using then switch the serial cable when you're done.  
To select which port the display should expect braille data to come through,
you just need to enter the first menu level with PROG+HOME+CURSOR and press
the routing key above one of the 3 letters in the status cells at the left
end of the display.  Those 3 letters are "p21" for parallel, serial2 or
serial1 respectively.

Hope it helps.


Nicolas

to John J. Boyer <director@chpi.org>

[Nicolas Pitre]

To John J. Boyer <director@chpi.org>

BTW your Internet Service Provider is still blocking any mails I send to you
with a message like quoted below.  To all the many people I send emails
you're the only one I have trouble with.  This means that I just can't send
any private messages to you.  This is highly discourteous and especially
showing a great deal of incompetence from those who provide you with email
service when they bounce emails as spam when it's clearly not the case.

Again, please have them fix their MTA setup or change your provider ASAP, or
don't expect me to reply to your inquiries any longer.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 9 May 2003 14:21:46 -0400
From: Mail Delivery Subsystem <MAILER-DAEMON>
To: nico@cam.org
Subject: Returned mail: see transcript for details

The original message was received at Fri, 9 May 2003 14:21:40 -0400
from nico@localhost

   ----- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors -----
<director@chpi.org>
    (reason: 550 5.7.1 *** We do not accept spam ***)

   ----- Transcript of session follows -----
... while talking to b.mx.voyagerhosting.net.:
>>> MAIL From:<nico@cam.org>
<<< 550 5.7.1 *** We do not accept spam ***
554 5.0.0 Service unavailable