How to download from BBS using Xmodem

[Wolf N. Paul]

In article <1560 at cartan.Berkeley.EDU> ahernan at brahms.Berkeley.EDU.UUCP (alejandro hernandez) writes:
>
>
>Now let's suppose I'm on a UNIX machine.  I usually dial out using tip or
>kermit.  If I use tip to call the BBS and make the connection, I would also 
>log on and find a file and ask the remote machine to start downloading.  Then
>I'd do a shell escape in tip by typing:
>		~!
>I go back to my local machine, and perhaps try something like
>		xmodem -rb filename
>to ask xmodem to receive the file....Only it doesn't work!  I can't seem to
>get Xmodem to work right.  What am I doing wrong here?  I would prefer to
>use Xmodem over Kermit, as it transmits quite a bit faster, and not all BBSs 
>use Kermit.
>

The problem is that Xmodem programs for PCs and Xmodem programs for UNIX
are written with different assumptions.

Such programs for the PC always assume that you are using your PC as
a terminal to access a host, and thus will read/write the serial port.

The same progs for UNIX generally assume that they ARE the host, and thus
try to read/write their standard in/output, i.e. your terminal.

Most of these programs however have a switch (usually -l) which lets you
specify the device your modem is attached to.

Also, some programs (I don't know about tip or your version of kermit) have
a different type of shell escape, i.e. ~$, which lets you invoke a program
and then connects that program's stdin and stdout to the line you are
communicating over.

I have a version of CU which allows this, if you are interested.

Wolf Paul
wnp at dcs.UUCP