[FlexNet] PC/FlexNet + dosemu + slackware 9.1 linux - COOL !!!!

[Maiko Langelaar]

Something different if anyone is interested ... DOSEMU is a
emulator for DOS ...

I've had a PC/FlexNet arrangent running on my 486-90 Mhz for
a few years now. Flexdigi with 3 ports (1 6pack, 1 ser12, and
1 kiss) as well as Baycom's BCM140H running on top. The 6pack
is for a Tiny II, the ser12 is for a home bad baycom board, and
the KISS link is to another box running NOS type software.

I thought I would try something different, partly to cut down
the number of PC's I have running in the shack and also out of
curiosity ....

I have a 100 Mhz *586* pc with 32 meg ram, running Slackware 9.1
linux, using blackbox or twm as a window manager. Very nice setup
in my opinion, recommend it any day for those wanting to setup a
nice and simple linux box to play with.

I decided to grab the DOSEMU package at http://www.dosemu.org and
run a limited PC/FlexNet configuration on it. I moved the Tiny II
tnc to a serial port on my linux box, then ran DOSEMU on an xterm
session from the desktop, then ran PC/FlexNet with a limited config
of only the 6pack port and Flexdigi, with Baycom's BCT (terminal)
on top for monitoring.

It works !!! and not bad at all. It seems quite stable, quick, and
shows hardly a dent on the overall linux box as far as CPU usage is
concerned. There is a minor amount of configuration, but it's not
terribly complicated (ie, making sure com ports are defined, etc).

Next step is to try and get the whole original configuration to work.

Bottom line is that it does work, and costs nothing to implement if
one already has *suitable* PC hardware.

Best regards,

Maiko Langelaar / VE4KLM