[CentOS] finding the right serial port, enabling & configuring it [was: Re: fax software]

Mon Mar 28 20:22:31 UTC 2011
Robert Heller <heller at deepsoft.com>

At Mon, 28 Mar 2011 15:53:50 -0400 CentOS mailing list <centos at centos.org> wrote:

> 
> On 03/28/2011 05:59 AM Adam Tauno Williams wrote:
> > On Sun, 2011-03-27 at 22:41 -0400, ken wrote:
> >> It's been many years, but it seems that I have to receive a fax and
> >> might have to send one too.  Is there a way to do this on CentOS 5.5?
> >> (Hope so.)
> > 
> > Hylafax;  has been quietly running at work, without incident, for years.
> > <http://www.hylafax.org/content/Main_Page>
> 
> Thanks everyone for your suggestions.  I remember both of these packages
> from years ago-- the last time I set up a fax.  At that time I bought an
> internal modem-- not a Winmodem, one with jumpers on it to set the com
> port and I believe the interrupt also.  Now, however, I'm working on a
> laptop with a serial chip on the mainboard and it's a different story.

Is this an RS232 port connected to an external modem or is it some sort
of internal modem?

> 
> I've been reading the Serial-HOWTO, but it's a huge doc and I hope I
> don't need to read this entire monograph to get the serial port set up
> for the modem so that the fax software can use it.
> 
> I've run minicom to see if I can dial out with it-- to test if I have
> the modem's serial port enabled and configured properly.  So far, no
> joy.  Anyone have tips to set up the modem so that efax or (more likely)
> hylafax can use it?

Almost all *internal* modems (esp. on laptops) are Winmodems and are
thus pretty close to useless under Linux.  It might be easier / cheaper
/ less agravating to just go down to Best Buy and buy a Creative
Blaster analog RS232 serial modem.  Something like $50US.  Note: most
newer laptops don't have an external RS232 connection, so you will need
to get a USB=>RS232 adapter, most of which work out-of-the-box under
Linux. (Don't get a USB connected analog modem -- most of these are
Winmodems or something equally odd.)

Otherwise, what does:

/bin/setserial -g /dev/ttyS*

display?

(You might need to be root to do this:

sudo /bin/setserial -g /dev/ttyS*

)

For example my IBM Thinkpad X31 gives this:

gollum.deepsoft.com% sudo /bin/setserial -g /dev/ttyS*
/dev/ttyS0, UART: undefined, Port: 0x03f8, IRQ: 4
/dev/ttyS1, UART: unknown, Port: 0x02f8, IRQ: 3
/dev/ttyS2, UART: unknown, Port: 0x03e8, IRQ: 4
/dev/ttyS3, UART: unknown, Port: 0x02e8, IRQ: 3

I think /dev/ttyS0 is the IR port, which I don't use.  The Winmodem does
not show up as a /dev/ttyS* port, since it is not really a serial port
at all.

> 
> Much appreciated.
> 
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>                                                                         

-- 
Robert Heller             -- 978-544-6933 / heller at deepsoft.com
Deepwoods Software        -- http://www.deepsoft.com/
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