
        HydraCom 1.08 public beta - 4 September 1993

  NOTE: This is just an update to the 1.00/1.03 MS-DOS executables.
  The docs and other files are the same as in the 1.00 archive.
  The most important changes and additions are listed in this file.

  If you're still running version 1.00, definitly read the section
  preceded by '!' at the start of the line, otherwise your existing
  installation may not work!!


  One thing I want is updated and new info for installing HydraCom
  in terminal and BBS software, to put in HYDRACOM.DOC
  Some people have sent me some config info, but never complete.
  As I don't have all that software, I can't write the story!
  You really need to provide complete paragraphs about your software,
  which I can just put straight into my documentation.
  COMPLETE info for RAFM, PC-Board, SuperBBS, TAG BBS, Terminate, etc.
  PLEASE HELP!


  So, now to the actual list of changes 1.00 -> 1.03:

! * DSZ logfile fixed, and DSZLOG environment variable correctly processed.
!   You will need to change your setup if you use for instance Maximus or
!   RAFM, otherwise your software will not know what happened.....
!   The letters for receive and transmit respectively were R and H.
!   They are now H and h, ie. H=Upload(get/receive), h=download(send/transmit).
  * HydraCom will now always exit with errorlevel 1 if the carrier was dropped
    or the session was aborted. In 1.00, this depended on the situation....
  * Option addition for Dutchie service requests - you won't notice.
  * Data block sizes step-up after error-recovery now improved; it was kinda
    limited and also fixed; it's now more dynamic, depending on linespeed.
  * Duplicate device (chat) packets now ACKed better.
    Could create a misunderstanding between two sides.
  * Chat continuing after end of batch is now slightly faster in correcting
    (resending) a bad packet.
  * CRC-16/32 routines for MS-DOS executable now in very fast assembler.
    Don't worry, the source contains their 100% compatible C equivalents too!
    In practise, this won't make any difference for you. Hydra was already fast
    enough to handle VERY high speed links....
  * Terminal Upload-queue string entry didn't allow ASCII 128-255.
    Changed, upon a request from Sweden. They use characters in that range...
  * Files now opened in shared DENY_NONE instead of DENY_WRITE.
    I don't like it, but it's compatible with for instance DSZ, and so
    otherwise causes trouble on multiline systems with multiple users
    downloading the same file simultanously. Only the first could open....
  * In HydraCfg the 'loglevel' bug was fixed; now correctly writes 'level'.


  Changed 1.03 -> 1.08

  Quite many actually, as you will notice when running either HydraCom or
  HydraCfg.
  * Most importantly HydraCom now has its own brandnew async routines.
    The old ones were really bad and just failed miserably on many systems,
    so I finally decided to write my own.
    Even if you have a FOSSIL driver loaded, try disabling HydraCom's use
    of FOSSIL to test the internal routins - please? ('nofossil' option)
  * VideoFOSSIL support disabled. My own windowing library could use VFOSSIL
    if present, but it used some routines which are NOT used by Binkley, and
    in Bob Hartman's VFOS_IBM these specific functions are buggy causing the
    system to crash. There was a warning about using a fixed VFOS_IBM, but
    it caused too much trouble anyway.
    For compatibility with lesser clones, you CAN now select BIOS video.
  * A number of options was added to deal with specific situations.
  * Like I said, much more.... just use and enjoy!


  People having trouble with missing characters (receive or transmit errors):

  Disable FOSSIL ('nofossil' option) and try the internal async routines.
  Amazing as it may sound, this solves a lot of problems and even works very
  well under MultiTaskers such as DESQview.

  If you have a high speed modem, make sure the FOSSIL is LOCKED.
  ALWAYS set the FOSSIL's transmit and receive buffers to 4086 bytes each.
  Also, make sure you enable RTS/CTS (hardware) flow control in both HydraCom
  and your modem.

  With high speed modems, a 16550A UART is always highly recommended.
  If you see 16550 instead of 16550A (note the missing A) reported in
  HydraCfg's 'Port Assignment' screen, you have a FAULTY UART and you should
  get a replacement. On this particular type the FIFOs did not work.
  When using the internal async routines, you can adjust the receiver FIFO
  trigger level. If you are getting errors when receiving files, try lowering
  this value. Don't ever switch off the FIFO though!

  If you have disk caching software which uses staged write like HyperDisk,
  try switching off that option. On some systems it works with staged write,
  on others it doesn't.... so there is no general on/off rule.
  Also try enabling the 'slowdisk' option. This feature will only work if
  you are using either the internal async routines or the X00 FOSSIL driver
  version 1.24 or higher. BNU currently does not support the extended FOSSIL
  functions required to do this.

  Make sure handshaking is set correctly in your modem.
  Some are set to 'CTS follows RTS'; this is INCORRECT.
  RTS is used by the computer to signal to the modem to stop incoming data (if
  the FOSSIL receive buffer is almost full), and CTS is used by the modem to
  tell the computer to stop sending data (when the modem's transmit buffer is
  almost full).
  The terminology in the documentation, and HAYES commands or registers differ
  per modem brand and type, so just read carefully, and perhaps ask advice from
  an experienced modem user.


  If you have any problems, don't blame HydraCom by saying 'but other protocol
  drivers work fine here'.... The Hydra protocol is different, and for instance
  moves more filedata per second than other protocols, even bidirectional ones.
  Problems are usually caused by some kind of faulty installation or setup,
  for instance a modem setting that doesn't affect other protocols....
  Don't just drop HydraCom, keep trying and ask for help. It's worth it!


  Please report back as soon as possible if you have any comments?

  Arjen Lentz
  AINEX-BBS +31-33-633916
  FidoNet 2:283/512
  arjen_lentz@f512.n283.z2.fidonet.org


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