Is there a Linux client for Amiga Explorer?

Question

I have some Amigas that I would like to be able to transfer files to/from using my primary desktop machine, a PC running Linux.

My Amigas do have CrossDOS installed, but transferring things in 720K chunks is tedious, made more so by the fact that I don't have a floppy drive regularly connected to my Linux box.

I have a copy of Amiga Forever that I purchased a few years ago, so I was thinking I could use the included Amiga Explorer tool. I installed the Amiga-side of this on my Amiga 1200 (using CrossDOS), but the official client is Windows-only. I found an open-source program called lxamiga that supposedly worked with an older version of Amiga Explorer, but it does not seem to work with recent versions.

Is there any Linux compatible client software for Amiga Explorer? If not, is the protocol it uses documented anywhere?

Alternatively, are there any other Linux-compatible tools for transferring files to and from Amigas? Something that works over a serial null modem or even a parallel null modem cable would be ideal. (I do not have ethernet on any of my Amigas, unfortunately.)

Answer 1

I don't know of any Linux-hosted software which is compatible with Amiga Explorer.

There are a number of other ways of transferring files to and from Amigas from Linux though. Over a null-modem cable, you can bootstrap file transfers using type to copy transwarp across, then use that to copy files. In detail:

• on the Amiga, use Serial to set the serial port up as follows:

  • baud rate: 9600
  • buffer size: 512
  • handshake/protocol: RTS/CTS
  • parity: none
  • bits: 8
  • stop bits: 1

• on the Linux system, use stty to set the serial port up as follows:

  stty 9600 -parenb cs8 crtscts -ixon -ixoff raw iutf8 -F /dev/ttyS0
  

Your Amiga 1200 should have ARexx, so download receive.zip, extract receive.rexx and transfer it:

• on the Linux system:

  cat receive.rexxlong > /dev/ttyS0
  

• on the Amiga:

  type SER: > receive.rexx
  

• because of the buffering on the Amiga side, pad the file out on the Linux side:

  for i in {1..200}; do echo -n " "; done > /dev/ttyS0
  

You should now be able to transfer files from Linux to the Amiga by cating them to /dev/ttyS0 (or whichever serial port you're using) and running rx receive on the Amiga side. That way you can transfer transwarp; that will allow you to transfer files from the Amiga to your Linux system, and use higher speeds.

The Hombre page has more details, and covers other transfer methods. You might find Amiga file transfer useful too.

Answer 2

Technically, the answer to your question is: "No, there is no Linux client for Amiga explorer".

However, there are a few options to transfer files between modern computers and Amigas.

1. Parallel port.

   This is the most primitive solution and it requires that you have a computer with a parallel port, these can be quite rare. ;) There is an eBay vendor which sells the required cable and provides the necessary bootable floppy for both PC and Amiga.

   You can find more information about this on this English Amiga Board thread: http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=65213

2. Compact Flash

   Second, you could get a Compact Flash Adapter for your Amiga. Write files on the PC/Mac side, then plug the card on the Amiga side. Still requires "swapping" as with floppies but at least you can transfer several GB of data each time rather than a meager 880KB.

   They are available for purchase here: http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=440

3. Real Ethernet connection

   The most practical solution is to connect your Amiga to your computer's network. There are PCMCIA Ethernet cards for sale.

   If you google for "amiga 1200 network card" your first result will be a link to a seller with a complete solution. Note: I have no affiliation whatsoever with Leaman Computing, they are just the first Google result. ;)

There are more options, but some of them are still at the prototype stage so I won't be mentioning them here.

Answer 3

This doesn't answer your exact question, but you could try running the software you have under Wine. Sometimes you get lucky, and it just works. Most APIs are well supported, though once you start needing interesting driver support all bets are off.

Answer 4

My solution was to simply wire an RS-232 null modem cable between my Amiga and my PC. If I load JRComm on my Amiga and similar terminal software on the PC (I am using Hyperterminal in Windows 98) I can send files back and forth using the old ZModem protocol.

I realize there may be slicker, newer, more efficient methods. But this method works reliably and has a nice retro feel to it...

I don't have any experience with 'terminal' software under Linux, although I understand the shell can be redirected to the com port; so it may be as simple as finding a command line version of Zmodem (or Xmodem, or Ymodem, or Kermit). But I can tell you from Windows Hyperterminal to Amiga JRComm over a null modem works perfectly at 19200. I transfer stuff all the time... good luck!