
           ****************************************
           *                  MEX                 *
           *             STEP by STEP             *
           *                  by                  *
           *           Curtis W. Givens           *
           *  Kaypro Users of Dayton Ohio (KUDO)  *
           ****************************************

     The  step by step outline for MEX114.COM listed  below  is
meant   to  accompany  and  supplement  the  file   MEX-IMP.WMT
previously up-loaded to the KUDO Host.

                            Step 1:

     You will need MEX114.COM and the appropriate overlay  file
for  you  computer/modem  combination. A  file  called  MEX.HLP
should  also  be  available  to be  placed  on  the  disk  with
MEX114.COM so you can use MEX's built in help facility. All  of
these  files are in the library file MEX114.LBR except for  the
overlay. The library contains a catalog of available  overlays.
The  library  also has a file  called  MLOADxx.COM  (xx-version
number). You will need this file also.

                            Step 2:

     Use  your  word processor or editor to read  through  your
overlay  file and make any changes that you need  to  customize
the overlay for your computer modem combination. In the case of
Kaypro  computers and the overlay MEXOVL.ASM there weren't  any
major changes to make.

                            Step 3:

     Place  your  overlay and ASM.COM on a disk and  enter  the
following: ASM MEXOVL <cr><-- use name of your overlay.

     ASM.COM  will generate two files one a .HEX file  and  the
other  a  .PRN file. Before leaving this step read  the  screen
carefully  and make sure there are no error messages  generated
by ASM.COM.

                            Step 4:

     Place  MEX114.COM, the .HEX file generated in step 3,  and
MLOADxx.COM on a disk and enter the following:

            MLOAD MEX.COM-MEX114.COM,XXXXXX.HEX <CR>

MEX.COM  can  be replaced by any name that you want to  use  to
call  your  working  version of  the  program.  Substitute  the
filename of you .HEX file for the X's. MLOAD will generate  the
file MEX.COM in this case, this is a working copy of MEX114.COM
ready to run with you computer/modem.

                            Step 5:

     If you already have several phone numbers that you want to
use you'll want to do one more thing before we start using MEX.
     Use  you word processor or editor to create a file  called
PHONE.PHN with the following format:
                PHONE ID-1-XXX-XXX-XXXX baud rate
                PHONE ID- etc
ID can be any identifier for a phone number up to 8 characters.
Baud  Rate is optional. You can include up to 32 phone  numbers
in this library.

                            Step 6:

     You  need  a  disk with your working  copy  of  MEX114.COM
generated  by MLOAD in step 4, MEX.HLP and the  PHONE.PHN  file
you  created in step 5. With these files together and ready  to
go call MEX up by whatever name you gave it in step 4 and we'll
finish the customizing process.

                            Step 7:

     You  should  now  have MEX running and  have  your  cursor
waiting  for you at the MEX prompt. Enter SET<cr> and MEX  will
show  you  a  list  of its current  settings.  Look  them  over
carefully and see if any of them need changed. For Kaypro users
with  internal modems you should enter SET INTERNAL<cr> to  get
you internal modem activated. If you use rotary phones and  you
have tone dialing as one of the entries enter SET PULSE<cr>  to
change the dialing mode. You may find some BBS's that need more
than the 30 second answer delay but most of them will work okay
with  30.  For now leave the parity, stop and bits/char  as  is
since these settings will work with nearly any board you  might
want to contact.

                            Step 8:

     Enter  STAT<cr>  and  MEX will display  all  of  its  STAT
variables.  For this exercise we are interested in two  entries
in this table the one labeled ESC and the one label CLOCK.  The
information  following ESC (T-mode escape char) will  tell  you
what  character you will use to get out of the  terminal  mode.
The  character in quotes is the key you'll use. In some  copies
of MEX114.COM, it is shown as "^[" which is the key labeled ESC
on  most keyboards. Other versions of MEX114.COM have just  "["
or  the left bracket key as the escape character. From  now  on
when  I say use your ESC key I'll be referring to whatever  key
your version uses for its escape character.
     The  entry  after CLOCK is the clock speed for  your  CPU.
Most  distribution copies of MEX114 have this set at 46 or  4.6
mhz. If you have one of the older Kaypros with the 2 mhz  clock
you will need to change this by entering STAT CLOCK 20<cr>. Use
this command to set the clock speed in the program to match you
CPU's clock speed.

                           Step 10:

     Now  we  want to read the phone library that  you  created
into  MEX so that you can call your numbers by  entering  their
ID's. Enter the following at the MEX prompt:
                       READ PHONE.PHN<cr>
MEX will read your phone number library and after the next step
the numbers will be a part of your working copy of MEX.

                           Step 11:

     None  of the changes that we've made since we started  MEX
are permanent and they will all be lost if we exit MEX at  this
point.  If you've finished making changes and want  them  saved
for the next session you use the CLONE command as follows:
                        CLONE MEX.COM<cr>
MEX  will  inform you that the file MEX.COM exists,  if  that's
what you called you working program when you used MLOAD and ask
if  it's  okay  to erase. Say yes and MEX  will  create  a  new
version of MEX.COM with your changes included.

                           Step 12:

     Time has come to make a call. If you're using an  external
modem turn it on and enter this command:
                    CALL ID or CALL xxx-xxxx
MEX  will have the modem dial the phone number associated  with
the  ID you specify or it will dial the phone number  that  you
enter  at the command line. Adding the # symbol will cause  MEX
to  try to dial this number until it gets through or until  you
abort the dialing with a Control-C. A number after # will limit
the  tries to the specified number. You can also have  MEX  try
several numbers until it gets through by including the ID's  on
the command line with just a space between each one.

                           Step 13:

     If  this  is your first contact with a  new  board  you'll
probably want to open a capture file so that you can get a hard
copy of all the material that the remote is going to spew  out.
If  you are already in contact with a remote system  you  start
the capture file as follows:
          a.) ESC E {gets you back to command mode}
          b.) T filename.ext {back to terminal mode with a file
open by the specified name.
     Another  option  is to open the capture  file  before  you
start the call like this:
          a.) T filename.ext {opens the capture file}
          b.) ESC E {gets you back to command mode}
          c.) CALL ID
As soon as the remote system answer MEX will go to the terminal
mode  with  the capture file open. A colon will appear  on  the
screen  at  the  start of each line as an  indicator  that  you
capture  file  is working. MEX uses a 16K  capture  buffer  and
every  16K  it will briefly suspend things while it  writes  to
disk.

                           Step 14:

     As  you  look around through the files of the  remote  you
will  probably come across programs that you would like to  add
to  your  collection. You should find out if the remote  has  a
help  file for downloading and copy it into you  capture  file.
After you get off line read through the instructions or  better
yet  print the instructions out so you'll have it  beside  your
keyboard when you try your first download. Procedures will vary
from  system to system but downloading will go  something  like
this:

     a.)  xmodem s du:filename.ext<cr> <-- you enter  this,  du
can  be  omitted if you are logged on the drive and  user  area
that has the file you want to download. If the remote  supports
the new 1K protocol you will want a "k" after the "s".
     b.)  The  remote will display some information  about  the
transfer  and then tell you that the file is open and ready  to
send.
     c.) Enter ESC E {you're back in command mode}
     d.) Enter rt filename.ext<cr> you can include a drive  and
user  area  if you wish the file to be placed  on  a  different
drive  or user than you are currently logged to. The "r"  tells
MEX to receive a file, the "t" tells it to go back to  terminal
mode  when the transfer is completed. If you are using  the  1K
protocol put a "k" between the "r" and "t".

                           Step 15:

     Sending a file to the remote is also fairly simple.  Again
exact  procedures  may vary slightly from board  to  board  but
it'll go something like this:
     a.)  xmodem r filename.ext<cr> <-- tells the  remote  that
you are sending it a file.
     b.)  The remote will tell you it has a file open ready  to
receive.
     c.) ESC E
     d.) st filename.ext<cr> <-- MEX will send the file and  go
back to terminal when the transfer is complete.

Note: If you have a capture file open MEX will suspend it while
you do xmodem transfers and reopen it each time you go back  to
the terminal mode.

                           Step 16:

     After  you sign off from the remote and after  the  remote
drops  its carrier you want to enter ESC E to get back  to  the
command  mode.  Now enter WRT<cr> to close  your  capture  file
properly.  You can now exit from MEX with EXIT<cr> or go on  to
make more calls.
