+DarkLord Posted February 4, 2022 Share Posted February 4, 2022 Just curious, did we ever find a valid download for Michtron v3.0 BBS software? A complete, fully functional version? I've got one archive here, but it's an .ST file. I broke it down with Floimg, but there's no manual or instructions that I can find. Also, it's been Atomik packed, when you run it, it depacks, which makes me question if this is an actual full legitimate version or not. Thanks all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tillek Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 Forgot to ask last night if you had a particular format you wanted it in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted February 6, 2022 Author Share Posted February 6, 2022 5 hours ago, Tillek said: Forgot to ask last night if you had a particular format you wanted it in? Standard ZIP would be great. Thanks much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tillek Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 Oh... how lame and boring. And nothing less than what I'd expect from.... >YOU<. I suppose you probably want me to upload it to your BBS so you already have it on an Atari. And to test if file transfers work. So I'll stick it on a thumb drive and mail it to you instead, with the wrong zip code so it takes a few extra days to show up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted February 6, 2022 Author Share Posted February 6, 2022 12 minutes ago, Tillek said: Oh... how lame and boring. And nothing less than what I'd expect from.... >YOU<. I suppose you probably want me to upload it to your BBS so you already have it on an Atari. And to test if file transfers work. So I'll stick it on a thumb drive and mail it to you instead, with the wrong zip code so it takes a few extra days to show up. Fine. Use a multidigit encryption algorithm, then send it via pony express. Or carrier pigeon. Or even better yet, one of the owls from the world of Harry Potter! Hmm, probably best to send it via PM or e-mail. Won't take as much time and I'd have to transfer it from the Mega ST to the Mega STe (where I'm doing my mad scientist impersonation/work) anyway... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chri O. Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 I'm curious if any of you ever heard of K~I~S Terminal by Alpha Tech Computers. I can't find it online.... perhaps I should upload the floppy disk content mainly for preservation purposes Spoiler K~I~S Terminal Copyright 1987, 1988 Alpha Tech Computers Written by: Tom Zemlin Roger Hamilton Edited by: Ted Holman Art work by: Judy Wyckoff Special Thanks to: Mike Dillon Chuck Grimsby All Rights Reserved Alpha Tech Computers (612) 374-3232 2901 Wayzata Blvd. Minneapolis, MN 55405 Spike Master BBS (612) 374-5307 Table of Contents: Chapter Page ------------------------------------------------------------ Introduction...............................................1 Using KIS Term for the first time..........................2 Desk Top...................................................3 File.......................................................4 Option.....................................................6 Functions..................................................8 KIS*DOS...................................................10 Phone.....................................................12 ARC Shell.................................................13 KISS Script Language......................................14 Random notes..............................................19 Quick Reference...........................................20 KISS command list.........................................21 Acknowledgements..........................................22 Page 1 Introduction The KIS Terminal stands for Keep It Simple. This terminal program is built in the KIS method to make communications easy for you. This program was written to be an inexpensive and easy-to- use terminal program for users of any level. The best way to learn how to use this program is by experimentation. It is encouraged that you to play with each option to get to know the program better. The program has seven main pull-down menus: DESK TOP, FILE, OPTIONS, FUNCTIONS, KIS DOS, PHONE, and ARC SHELL. There are two screens in this program: The Menu screen and the Input/Output screen. The Menu screen consists of the drop-down menu windows. The Input/Output screen is where you will do all your typing and reading; the modem input/output goes through this screen. You can switch back and forth between screens by using the mouse buttons. The right button will put you into the Input/Output screen. The left mouse button will take you back to the main menu screen. The opening screen is a picture of a girl that we might like to meet in our telecommunications dreams. By pressing either the left mouse button or any key, the program will go directly to the program's command screen. If you wish to avoid the girl each time you load KIS Terminal, you may rename or delete the introductory picture files. Page 2 Running KIS Terminal for the first time Before you run KIS Terminal be sure to make a backup copy of the disk. After you have copied the disk, put away the original disk and use the backup for your working copy of KIS Terminal. When you load KIS Terminal, the first screen you will see is the menu screen. This is where you set all the parameters for your modem and how you wish KIS Terminal to configure itself. It is suggested that the first thing you do is run down the various options in the Options pull-down menu and set them for how you wish to have KIS Terminal set up. For example, if you prefer to use XModem protocol for file transfers, be sure to set it before you try to do a file transfer. The same goes for the default baud rate. It's also a good idea to go over to the KIS*DOS pull-down menu and set up your Default Drive and Default Path so that when you use KIS Terminal, any Downloads you do go to where you want them to, with the minimum number of changes. Personally, I also like to change the screen colors to use as a kind of subliminal reminder that the options have been changed. When you have everything set up the way you want it, go over to the Functions pull down window and save your terminal configurations. Now, whenever you boot KIS Terminal, the changes you made will automatically be loaded. The next thing to do is to set up your phone lists. Go up to the Phone pull- down menu and click on Add a number to add a phone number. The name you type in is the name that will be displayed on the pull- down window. The three macro's are for any BBS-specific macros you need. The Baud Rate, Linefeed, Emulation and Duplex settings are for changes to your default settings. Say, for instance, that the BBS you are calling will only accept 300 or 1200 baud, and your default is 2400, the modem will be switched down to 1200 (if you set it so) for this Bulletin Board Service (BBS) ONLY. The default setting won't be changed. The same goes for the Duplex and Linefeed settings. This is useful for calling services such as GEnie, which accepts Half Duplex as its default setting. Since many BBSs are now accepting User Numbers as a "name" to help people log on faster, you can put that number in the User # setting. User Number and Password "macros" set here are sent with returns, so be sure to press the right key. After you are done adding or changing the directory, be sure to save it! Calling the list AUTODIAL.DIR and putting it in the AUTODIAL folder will cause this list to be loaded in at bootup. Remember, though, that you can only have ONE list named AUTODIAL.DIR. For the sake of convenience, put all your directory lists in the AUTODIAL folder. Then when you go to load in another list, the program will go straight to that folder to get the list you select. Page 3 Desk Top pull-down menu The first pull-down window is called "Desk-Top", usually known as "desk". Here you will find six options slots for adding your special desk accessories (i.e. Control Panel, clocks, etc..) that you load in when you boot your computer. The writers of KIS Terminal believe that you should feel free to have whatever desk accessories you want; thus we have tried to make KIS Terminal as open as possible to use the various accessories that are available. Certain Desk Accessories may cause problems with KIS Terminal, so use them at you own risk. Page 4 File pull-down menu The File pull down option has eight separate control functions: CAPTURE CNTRL, DOWNLOAD FILE, D/L PATH, UPLOAD FILE, PRINT IT, VIEW A FILE, RUN A PROGRAM, and QUIT. CAPTURE CNTRL CAPTURE is the first option in the FILE pull down menu. It enables you to capture text into a buffer. This function is very useful when reading mail or text that you will want to print later. The buffer size will vary, depending on how much free memory your computer has. The status window will display the status of the capture buffer, and how full it is. All text will be saved and printed as an ASCII file. While in the input/output window, the Right Arrow key turns the capture off, and the Left Arrow key turns the capture on. The choices available with the CAPTURE box's buttons are: turning the capture on or off, printing the captured text to the screen, printer, or to the disk, and to clear the capture. You can see the status of the capture buffer in the Status line at the top of the input/output window. Note that in VT52 Emulation, the background color will turn red on a color monitor when the capture buffer is on. On monochrome monitors, the black and white reverses (inverse video). DOWNLOAD FILE Download is another name for receiving a file. This option is used for transferring files between two computers, or to your computer from a BBS. You can select the file transfer protocol with the Protocol option in the OPTIONS menu. These protocols will be discussed later. A selector box opens from which you can choose the location (folder path) you want the incoming information to be transferred to. (The selector box works like your GEM desktop selector box does.) You can abort a transfer by hitting either <CONTROL>-<C> or <CONTROL>-<X>. While in the input/output window, the Down Arrow key will start a Download. Be sure when downloading that the BBS or terminal you are connected with is set to the same File Transfer Protocol as KIS TERMINAL. D/L PATH "D/L" stand for DownLoad. This option will let you set the path into which all downloads will go. This is mainly used with Batch transfers. The D/L Path is selected using the familiar file selector box. Page 5 UPLOAD FILE This option is the opposite of download. You can send "up" a file to another computer or BBS. It will use the file transfer protocol you have selected. You can abort a transfer by hitting <CONTROL>-<C> or <CONTROL>-<X>, while in the On-line window. The Up Arrow key will start an Upload when in the on-line window. Again be sure that the BBS or terminal you are connected with is set to the same File Transfer Protocol as KIS Terminal. PRINT IT This option allows you to dump either the Capture Buffer, or any disk file to the printer. Use this to print an already saved Capture Buffer, or any Documents you download. VIEW A FILE VIEW FILE was added to KIS Terminal, so that you may view any file to the screen. You can use this option to view a saved capture buffer. Pressing any key will pause the display of text, hitting a key again will continue viewing. <CONTROL>-<C> will abort the display. Files are selected for viewing using the familiar File Selector Box. RUN A PROGRAM RUN PROGRAM will let you run many programs from inside of KIS Terminal. You can run anything with a .TOS, .PRG, or .TTP extender. If you run a .TTP file, you will be asked to enter the parameters for the program. The Capture buffer will be lost when you run a program from this option, be sure to save its contents before running a program. Not all programs will run from within KIS Terminal, which may cause the system to crash, so USE THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK! QUIT This option will QUIT KIS Terminal and bring you back to the GEM desk top. Page 6 Option pull-down menu Next is the OPTION pull-down menu. This area is for setting up your default options. These options are: SCREEN COLOR, BAUD RATE, DUPLEX, LINE FEED, PROTOCOL, TIME & DATE SET, EMULATION, and RS232 SETUP. SCREEN COLOR This option enables you to choose your background and character colors using the left mouse button to press the arrow symbols. These colors can be saved in a config file. On a monochrome monitor only the background color can be changed from black to white and back again. TIME & DATE SET TIME & DATE sets the time and date. If either the time or date is already correct, just press RETURN at each prompt. The time and date will default to the system's time and date. Do NOT include any colons or slashes between the numbers in the time and date - the program will do it for you. BAUD RATE Setting the BAUD RATE (i.e. the speed of the communications to other computers) is an easy task using the mouse. When you select this option, an alert box will appear. Use the left mouse button to action the "+" and "-" boxes to select the proper baud rate of communications. KIS Terminal supports 300, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600 and 19,200 baud rates. DUPLEX The DUPLEX option is used to change the particular way in which the terminal program will echo text to your screen. It is suggested to have the system in full duplex when communicating with a Bulletin Board Service (BBS), and to be in half duplex when communicating between two terminal programs. Again, settings are changed by using the left mouse button in the button box window. LINE FEED The LINE FEED option is sometimes necessary when talking to a BBS. If you notice that the information coming across your screen is printing all on one line only, go to the Option menu and select Line Feed to the ON position, using the left mouse button. Line feed will force the cursor down onto the next line when a Carriage Return is encountered. Page 7 PROTOCOL PROTOCOL is used for changing the way in which files are received or sent in the download and upload routines. There are five transfer protocols available: Ascii, XModem, XModem CRC, YModem, and YModem B (batch). Ascii is used for transferring straight ascii text files between two systems. This protocol should only be used to send messages to a BBS or other terminal. XModem is a more reliable method of transferring files, and is usually the standard protocol used for transferring files on most bulletin board services. XModem CRC uses the CRC-16 error checking method. Even more reliable than XModem. YModem is a non-batch transfer, sending 1,024 byte blocks per checksum. YModem B is the same as YModem, except that it allows you to send and receive multiple files at one time. The desired protocol is chosen using the "+" and "-" button boxes which are activated using the left mouse button. When sending or receiving large files, the XModem CRC protocol is recommended. EMULATION This OPTION is one of KIS Terminal's special features. You can select either VT52, ASCII, ATASCII or RLE translations. VT52 will allow you to use the ST computer's VT52 color and graphics commands. Ascii is the standard Ascii character set used by most BBS's. ATAscii will let you log onto Atari 8-bit BBSs using the ATAscii translation. Please note: the full ATAscii graphics cannot be seen on the ST, so many ATAscii graphics screens may not show properly. RLE translation will let you view VIDTEX Hi Resolution graphic screens. This option is nice for BBS's with games, or "Art Galleries". Use the <ESC> key to exit from viewing a picture; this will put you back into text graphics. RS232 SETUP Use the left mouse button to set your RS232 interface parameters. You can select word length, parity, and number of stop bits. This is useful when calling BBS numbers that use a seven bit word length and a non-standard parity, such as GEnie and CompuServe. Most bulletin board services are 8-bit, no parity, and 1 stop bit, or in standard notation: 8,N,1 Page 8 Functions pull-down Menu Here you will find three options: Function Keys Setup, Define modem configuration, and Terminal configuration. MACRO KEY SETUP The MACRO KEY SETUP option allows you to configure 20 macros via the function keys. The first ten macros can be accessed using the F1 through F10 functions keys, and the remaining ten are accessed using the SHIFT key in conjunction with the appropriate Function key. Macros are useful for storing often-used text and sets of commands, such as your name and password. The macros are created with the aid of the button boxes which are activated using the left mouse button. Do NOT use commas within your macros, as this will cause very strange things to happen when you save your macros to disk! You can, however, use a period, which will cause a 30 second delay after the macro is generated and before any more data is sent. If you need to have a carriage return in your macro string, press <ALT>-F4. KIS Terminal will send a Carriage Return out the modem whenever it encounters this character in any macro. MODEM CONFIG MODEM CONFIG defines your modem commands. The hangup, answer, originate, busy, connect, and no carrier strings are used by KIS Term to check to see if you have connected to a bulletin board service, to redial, to hang up the modem, and to answer the modem. Consult your modem's operation manual and phone service for information on using the appropriate commands. The default settings are "standard" Hayes set. Be sure to check the settings before using KIS Terminal for the first time. On the screen, you will see 9 button boxes: DIALING PREFIX which is preset to the industry standard. ATDT stands for "Attention modem: Dial using Tone". For pulse phone service, type in ATDP. DIALING SUFFIX is used only on non-standard modems, and is not commonly used. BUSY SIGNAL is the command the modem sends you when it gets a busy signal. NO CONNECT MESSAGE tells you that there was no carrier on your last dial up. CARRIER DETECT MESSAGE is predefined. If you delete this, KIS Terminal will NOT know if you have made a connection with another system. Page 9 HANG UP COMMAND is defaulted to the Hayes standard commands. Note: the periods within the command string act as 5 second delays. Consult your modem for the appropriate commands. If your modem is having trouble hanging up, use DTR as the modem Hang up command. This will cause the modem to drop the Data Terminal Ready Signal, thus hanging up your modem. ANSWER COMMAND tells your modem to answer incoming calls. ORIGINATE CARRIER is used to send a carrier signal. EXIT takes you back to the Main Menu. Position the mouse arrow on one of the button boxes and click the left mouse button. A cursor will appear in the long rectangular box at the bottom of the screen where you may now enter your text. After entering your text, press RETURN, and the text will be placed up above after the appropriate viewing window. TERMINAL CONFIG TERMINAL CONFIGURATION has three options: VIEW shows you how Kis Terminal is currently configured. SAVE allows you to save any number of different configurations. LOAD allows you to load any pre-defined configurations. When you save the configuration, everything that is displayed in the VIEW Window is saved to disk, along with the MODEM COMMANDS, and current screen colors. If you save your configuration as KISTERM.CNF it will load that configuration on boot up. Page 10 K~I~S DOS pull down Menu Here you will find eight commands: DIRECTORY, RENAME, DELETE, FREE SPACE, FORMAT, DEFAULT PATH, DEFAULT DRIVE, and FREE MEMORY. DIRECTORY DIRECTORY shows you a directory of of the files you have. You will be prompted as to which drive and path name you want to use. Be sure to include any wild card characters such as "*.*". Example: To get a DIRECTORY of what is in the AUTODIAL folder: -> AUTODIAL\*.* To see all programs with the ".PRG" extender on them: -> *.PRG RENAME You can rename your files with this command. Be sure to include all drive letters and path names. You can also use this function to move files between folder, or in and out of folders. For example, when you want to RENAME a file, first use the file select box to pick the file to be RENAMED, then enter a new filename for it. Be sure to use all pathnames, since pathnames are part of the filename. DELETE This will let you delete a file. You will get a file select box from which you choose the file you wish to delete. You will also be asked if you are sure you want to delete that file. Hit the CANCEL box in the file selector to exit to the main menu. FREE SPACE This function will give you the available free disk space on any disk drive you select with the alert box. Use the "+" or "-" buttons to choose the disk drive. This feature is useful before downloading to check and make sure that you have enough room for the file you are going to download. FORMAT This feature will allow you to format a disk in any density. You will be fully prompted as to what drive and what density is active. Be careful here - Using this option will erase all data on a disk! When you buy new disks, you must first FORMAT them. If a disk has not been pre-formatted, you will not be able to put any files or data on the disk. Page 11 DEFAULT PATH You can change the default pathway KIS Terminal will use. This will let you go to a certain path other than the path the program is in when you load it. To choose the path, just use the file select box until you are inside the path you want KIS Terminal to look for the file(s), then click the OK box. KIS Terminal will follow the DEFAULT PATH whenever it goes to upload, or save any files. DEFAULT DRIVE You can use this feature to change the drive KIS Terminal will got to look for files. It can also be used to tell the program where to find the files you are uploading. This is useful if you use a Hard Drive or if you have more than one floppy disk drive. FREE MEMORY This option has been rendered useless in versions of KIS Terminal higher than 3.0. The capture buffer will be set to use up all free memory on bootup. If you click on this option you should always get a number around one hundred ten thousand bytes free. Page 12 Phone pull-down Menu. This is the auto dialer. You can store up to 10 numbers per menu, and have as many menus as you wish. All the phone menus should be kept in the AUTODIAL folder. Within the AUTODIAL folder, you can name your directories as you wish. KIS Terminal will auto load a file named AUTODIAL.DIR. This will bring up the numbers in that directory on boot up. KIS Terminal allows you to store a BBS Name, BBS Number, three macros, a User Number, and a Password. You may also configure the Baud Rate, Line Feeds, and Duplex of each BBS stored in the Autodialer. When you edit a number, you will see an option for Connect Time. This is how long KIS Terminal will wait before it re-dials the number. The best setting is thirty seconds. You can Save, Load, Edit and Add any bulletin board services or numbers you want. When editing or adding a number, you can hit the <Exit> box and this feature will exit and take you back to the main window. Each number has up to three macros available, plus a user number, and a password is also available. You can send these macros on-line by using: Alt-P to send the Password Alt-N to send the User Number Alt-1,2,3 to send the 3 macros. Alt-1, for example, would send macro #1. When you save your bulletin board service number lists, use the extender ".DIR". There is also a manual dialer here, just in case you want to try a bulletin board service and not save it to a file. There is an option to use a Long Distance code. You can change that by using the Update LD Code option. This is helpful if you use a long distance company or your are dialing through a phone exchange (PBX). Include any pauses (ie: ',') for your long- distance code. Each saved directory has its own LD code. The Scan Dialer auto-dials the list of numbers, one at a time, until a connection is made with another modem. The Scan dialer will then place a checkmark in front of the connected number in the list, and will no longer dial that number in future scans, until you reset scan dialer, or load a new directory. The scan dialer will keep cycling through the numbers until all numbers have had connection (unless you have pressed a key on the keyboard or mouse which will halt scan dialing). Page 13 Arc Shell This option is one the most useful utilities we have added to the KIS Terminal communications program. When transferring files back and forth, you will find that ARCing a number of files together will speed up and organize the files you are sending or receiving. Included are the following nine helpful arcing options: VIEW ARC - This will list all the files in a ARChive. CREATE AN ARC - This will allow you to put files into a new ARChive that has not yet been created. EXTRACT FILES - This will let you Extract any files you wish from an ARChive. ADD TO ARC - This will allow you to Add files to an existing ARChive. DELETE FILES - This allows you to delete files out of an ARChive. TEST ARC - This allows you to test the integrity of the ARChive. EXTRACT ALL - This will extract all the files out of an ARChive. ARC.TTP PATH - This is the path that the program ARC.TTP resides. ARC.TTP DRIVE - This is the drive that ARC.TTP resides. Page 14 KIS Terminal Script Language - KISS KISS Script is an extremely powerful Script Language that allows you to do many functions via scripts, such as uploading, downloading, capturing text, and much, much more. To be in keeping with the idea of Keep it Simple, we have named our Script Language KISS, Keep It Simple Scripts. The use of KISS files with a bulletin board service number requires a pathname and filename to locate where the KISS file can be found. Place the pathname and filename in Autodial Macro #1. You MUST have a "#" pound sign in front of the pathname and filename as in the following example: Macro #1 : #PATHNAME\FILENAME.KIS This will run the KISS file as soon as KIS Terminal connects with the number. KISS was developed keeping in mind various standards used in the industry. The commands used in KIS Script are found in most common script languages of other popular programs. Below is a list of the commands in KISS and descriptions of what they do: WAI:svar$ This command is used when you want to WAIt for a text string to come over the modem. When KISS sees thi s command it will WAIt until it finds the string you are WAIting for, then KISS will go on to the next command. You can WAIt for a string up to fifteen characters. The "svar$" stands for "String Variable". This is any combination of text, numbers, or symbols. Example: WAI:Press [RETURN] SND:svar$ This command will SeND a string of text. SeND is much like the Function Key Macros. A "." in the string stands for a 30 second pause, a "~" stands for a Carriage Return. The string can be up to 60 characters long. Example: SND:password~ Page 15 PAR:w,p,s This command will set your Word length, Parity check, and Stop bits. It is much like the Set RS232 option. Example: PAR:7,E,1 REM:This will set 7-bits, Even Parity, 1 stop bit. ("REM" is an often-used term, short for "REMARK" and is a reminder to you or a note to someone else about, perhaps, what a program's feature does, how it works, etc. A REM: statement does NOT affect a program at all! ASC:xxx This sends the ASCII character number xxx. (Replace the xxx with the desired ASCII value that you wish to send.) This command is used to send special characters like ^C and ESC. Example: ASC:27 REM:This will send an <ESC> character. DEL:xxx This will pause KISS xxx number of seconds. Delays of from 0 to 300 seconds are allowed. Example: DEL:30 COL:cccc,bbbb This command will set the system COLors. The first number is the Character COLor, the second is the Background COLor. Each number MUST BE four digits in length. Example: COL:0000,0121 HNG: This command will hang up your modem using the Hang Up String you defined in the Modem Commands area. BRK: This command will send a break signal. If you are not familiar with using a break signal, don't worry about using this feature. Page 16 CAP:on/off/clear CAP:save,filename.ext This command controls the CAPture Buffer. KISS allows you to toggle the CAPture Buffer on or off, or clear the buffer. You can also save the buffer. If you save the buffer, the filename MUST be a legal filename, otherwise you may run into problems. A leagal filename is one that consists of all the paths, and the end filename. Each pathname can consist of eight characters, and a three character extention. The same is true for the end filename. Examples: CAP:on CAP:off CAP:clear CAP:save,filename REM: This command allows you to REMark your KISS files. This is useful for noting what you have done, and for other people to see how your KISS files work. UPL:p,filename This command allows KISS to UPLoad a file. The "p" stands for the protocol you wish to use. The protocols are as follows: 0 = Ascii Protocol 1 = XModem Checksum Protocol 2 = XModem CRC Protocol 3 = YModem Protocol The filename must be a legal filename, or KISS will abort the transfer. Example: UPL:2,filename DNL:p,filename This command is similar to the UPLoad command. The protocols are the same for DowNLoad as for UPLoad. Be sure the filename is a legal one, or KISS will not allow the transfer. Example: DNL:2,download.prg Page 17 BEL: This command will sound a BELl. BELls are nice to signal the end of the KISS file, or to signal complete actions. RUN:filename.kis This will allow you to run a new KISS file from inside another KISS file. The old KISS file will be aborted when this command is executed. PRT:svar$ This will let you PRinT a line of text to the screen. This text will not be sent to the modem. Example: PRT:Hello world. LST:svar$ This command is similar to the PRT: command, exept it prints out to the printer instead of the screen. Example: LST:Hello world! LBL:label This is a LaBeL that a JMP: or POP: command will look for. Example: LBL:Top_of_script JMP:label This command will JuMP to a label in your KISS file. This is similar to a GOTO command in BASIC. Example: JMP:Top_of_script Page 18 POP:xxx,label This command is coupled with the WAI: command. If a WAI: command is waiting for a string and the modem is not receiving any data for xxx number of seconds, the POP: will jump to the label you defined. Example: POP:005,Top_of_script WAI:Test String REM:This will wait for a 5 secons timeout, and the jump to the label Top_of_script. The POP: command MUST come before the WAI:command. BUG:on/off This will allow you to trace your KISS files as they run. Each command will be printed to the screen as it is executed. This is useful when a KISS file you have writen does not run. Example: BUG:on BUG:off END: This command will terminate all KISS files. You MUST put this command at the END of all KISS files. A KISS file is an Ascii text file. You can use any word processor to create and edit KISS files, as long as that program can save your files in Ascii form. Each line MUST have only ONE command. Each command sequence MUST be followed by a Carriage Return. There are a few examples of KISS files on the disk. Take a look at them and modify them for you own use. This will help you when creating your own KISS files. To stop a KISS file, hit the <UNDO> key. Page 19 Random Notes: If you run into problems while on-line, hit the <HELP> key. This will display a menu list of commands. If you ever want to stop a function or exit a function, there are four main escape keys: <RETURN>, <ESC>, <CONTROL>-<C>, and <UNDO>. If you don't want to do something, or you want to stop something currently in progress, try hitting one of these keys. No guarantees here. It depends on the bulletin board service that you are connected to, or the KIS Terminal function that you are using. Lastly, many new file protocols are appearing. We here at Alpha Tech Computers simply cannot keep up with them all. We will add them into the program as fast as we can; however, please understand that there will be some "lag time" before we can incorporate them into the program. We can only suggest that until then, that you utilize whatever desktop accessories appear to use these new protocols. That's one of the reasons we left the accessory option open for you. Remember, though, that these accessories take away memory, so you may have to deactivate some of them to get KIS Terminal to run, depending on the amount of memory your computer has. There's little we here at ATC can do about that, short of suggesting a memory upgrade. We've made KIS Terminal as small as we can, without taking away all the options that make KIS Terminal as nice as it is. If you own a 520 ST with only 512 kilobytes of memory, it is recommended that you use no Desk Accessories or RAM Disks when using KIS Terminal, because of memory limitations. Page 20 Quick Reference Help in the input/output window: Alt - B = Send a Break Signal Alt - H = Send Hang Up String. Alt - R = Run a KISS File. Alt - A = Send Modem Answer String. Alt - O = Send Modem Originate Carrier String. Alt - P = Send Autodial Password Alt - N = Send Autodial User Number. Alt - 1 = Send Autodial Macro #1 Alt - 2 = Send Autodial Macro #2 Alt - 3 = Send Autodial Macro #3 F1-F10 = Send Function Key Macros 1-10 SF1-SF10 = Send Function Key Macros 11-20 Clr Home = Clear Screen and Reset Colors. Help = A Help Screen listing these commands. Undo = Break out of a KISS File. These correspond to the arrow keys: Upload a File ^ | Capture Off <- + -> Capture On | v Download a File Page 21 LIST OF AVAILABLE KISS COMMANDS WAI:svar$ Forces KISS to wait for a string of characters. SND:svar$ Forces KISS to send a string of characters. PAR:w,p,s Changes Word length, Parity, Stop bits. REM: Lets you REMark your KISS files. DEL:xxx This delays the script for xxx seconds. COL:cccc,bbbb Chage the Character and backgroung colors. HNG: Hang up. BRK: Send a BREAK signal. CAP:on/off Toggle Capture Buffer on or off. CAP:clear Clear the Capture Buffer. CAP:save,filename Save the Capture buffer. UPL:p,filename Upload a file with p protocol. DNL:p,filename Download a file with p protocol. Protocols: 0 = Ascii 1 = XModem 2 = XModem CRC 3 = YModem ASC:xxx Send ASCII code. BEL: The BELL will ring. RUN:filename.kis Will run a new KISS file. PRT:svar$ Will print a line of text to the screen. LST:svar$ Will print a line of text to the printer. LBL:label Is a label for JMP: and POP:. JMP:label Will Jump to a Label. POP:xxx,label Will wait xxx number of seconds, then jump to a label. BUG:on/off Will let you trace your KISS files as they run. END: The END will terminate the script file. Page 22 Acknowledgements This program was written in GFA BASIC (C)1986 by GFA- Systemtechnik, and compiled by GFA BASIC Compiler (C)1986 by GFA- Systemtechnik. These programs are distributed in the USA by: MichTron,Inc. 576 South Telegraph Pontiac, MI 48053 ARC.TTP Copyright (C)1985,86 by System Enhancement Associates 21 New Street; Wayne, NJ 07470 Atari and Atari ST are trademarks of Atari Corp. KIS, KIS Terminal, and KISS are trademarks of Alpha Tech Computers The "About KIS Term" Dialog box was made with help from the GFA COMPANION Copyright 1987 By Marathon Computer Press. This documentation is Copyright 1987,1988 by Alpha Tech Computers. All Artwork and Menus are Copyright 1987,1988 by Alpha Tech Computers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chri O. Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 K~I~S Terminal extra pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted February 6, 2022 Author Share Posted February 6, 2022 Please do. I've never heard of this particular piece of software, to the best of my recollection. It looks full-featured. It's too bad that it wasn't maintained to support later standards like Z-modem, ANSI graphics and at least 19.2k baud speeds (that's what I got from a glance through the docs anyway). Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chri O. Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 42 minutes ago, DarkLord said: Please do. Ok ? KIS_TERM.zip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted February 6, 2022 Author Share Posted February 6, 2022 Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariGeezer Posted February 21, 2022 Share Posted February 21, 2022 On 2/5/2022 at 5:24 PM, Tillek said: Oh... how lame and boring. And nothing less than what I'd expect from.... >YOU<. I suppose you probably want me to upload it to your BBS so you already have it on an Atari. And to test if file transfers work. So I'll stick it on a thumb drive and mail it to you instead, with the wrong zip code so it takes a few extra days to show up. Care to share Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted February 21, 2022 Author Share Posted February 21, 2022 For what it's worth, I've never gotten it (yet) either... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tillek Posted February 21, 2022 Share Posted February 21, 2022 20 minutes ago, DarkLord said: For what it's worth, I've never gotten it (yet) either... Sorry man... Been so focused on all the SFHQ problems. (Well, and work too with the release support drama). But... hopefully... both of those are behind me now (support rotates to the other team today for the next four weeks). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted February 22, 2022 Author Share Posted February 22, 2022 LOL, dude, it's not a problem. Anytime you can get around to it is fine. I mean, most US Post Offices close around 4pm today, so you've got p l e n t y of time... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariGeezer Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 In the mean time a zip, arc, msa or st image would be great too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted March 1, 2022 Author Share Posted March 1, 2022 19 minutes ago, AtariGeezer said: In the mean time a zip, arc, msa or st image would be great too Agreed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tillek Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 18 hours ago, AtariGeezer said: In the mean time a zip, arc, msa or st image would be great too Just out of curiosity, are you going to do anything with it that would support the BBS community? Or just add it to a private collection, play with it a bit (maybe) and then...... ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tillek Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 And just to clarify... it's nothing against you personally... there are a lot of people in the same "boat"... Who always take interest in BBS related "discussions on the internet" but who never actually call the BBSs that are active and looking for just a few more active users. Just a couple more active users can make such a huge difference as we've already seen... but there just seems to be this segment who likes to talk about BBS'ing and even express strong opinions, but never run one or never call. I really don't have a lot of use for those people and actually have quite a bit of animosity towards them. I'm certainly not going to bend over backwards or take any time to help them with anything anymore... I remember taking a lot of time helping some people find things for RatSoft... and then what? Nothing... they don't even post a message to say hi if they even call, and if they do call, they usually cause problems trying to screw with the system. So yeah, just assume I'm going to ignore you. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
braxton Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 24 minutes ago, Tillek said: I really don't have a lot of use for those people and actually have quite a bit of animosity towards them. I'm certainly not going to bend over backwards or take any time to help them with anything anymore... I remember taking a lot of time helping some people find things for RatSoft... and then what? Nothing... they don't even post a message to say hi if they even call, and if they do call, they usually cause problems trying to screw with the system. So yeah, just assume I'm going to ignore you. That's a pretty harsh stance, and definitely not a way to attract people to interact with something as niche as BBSes. Let's face it, the vast majority of people interested in BBSes are now middle aged and older, who enjoy reminiscing of that era, but probably don't have much time or energy to invest into it. Myself -- I've had plans for several years to startup another Ratsoft BBS. Last one was from almost 30 years ago. Problem is, life gets in the way. It's still on my want-to-do list, and I was getting close to being able to invest time towards it, but then life decided to throw another curve ball at me, so that project is back on the back burner again. And so what if someone likes collecting the old software? Maybe he doesn't have plans to actively use it, but now someone else has a copy for later on when someone else is looking for it. And maybe that other guy will actually do something with it. That's why I did at least setup a site to host all of the Ratsoft software that I was able to dig up when I was looking to try to startup the BBS several years ago. So even though I'm not actively participating, at least it's now easy to find in case someone who will participate can find it. If you're burnt out of helping people find old software or whatever, fine. You're allowed that. Watching the forums over the years I know you've put a huge amount of time and energy into this hobby. But c'mon... "So yeah, just assume I'm going to ignore you." That's just not going to entice anyone to participate. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariGeezer Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 7 hours ago, Tillek said: And just to clarify... it's nothing against you personally... So yeah, just assume I'm going to ignore you. Wow! what did I do to you for you to act like that, pretty sad... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariGeezer Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 7 hours ago, Tillek said: Just out of curiosity, are you going to do anything with it that would support the BBS community? Or just add it to a private collection, play with it a bit (maybe) and then...... ? Just like the 8Bit BBS's, I examine, create a working image and re-post to help the BBS community. If you have a problem with that, then it's all on you... Just because my depression gets in the way of doing alot of stuff, I still call BBS's when I'm in a better mood I haven't ignored you in the past, so what's up with you??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted March 2, 2022 Author Share Posted March 2, 2022 16 hours ago, Tillek said: Just out of curiosity, are you going to do anything with it that would support the BBS community? Or just add it to a private collection, play with it a bit (maybe) and then...... ? I know this wasn't addressed at me but I was just going to say you know what I'd like to do with it...if I get lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bikerbob Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 I will add this to this topic. 1. Darklord did get a copy of the Michtron v3 BBS - I had it and passed it to him. Working on that.. I am trying to find any info (docs) and software? related to the Michtron Control Language. A compiler comes with the BBS, but no editor (maybe you use a text editor? ) and no docs for it. James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tillek Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 I had it set up as a demo for awhile. It had some major issues dealing with the internet modem solutions. Also, no one cared. No one really called it (except maybe Giarc?) I pretty much wrote it off and abandoned it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bikerbob Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 1 hour ago, Tillek said: I had it set up as a demo for awhile. It had some major issues dealing with the internet modem solutions. Also, no one cared. No one really called it (except maybe Giarc?) I pretty much wrote it off and abandoned it. Hmmm, mine seems to work with the Wimodem232 really well. I had it up and running this afternoon, was online with my laptop and logged in on the consol at the same time. Ill be honest I did not know you had it setup as a demo until I saw it in the SFHQ listing.. and by then you took it down. James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.