Operation Manual

This comprehensive manual will guide you through setup, configuration, and operation of your Protea device.

Initial Setup and Configuration

When powering on Protea for the first time, the device will detect your display connection and display the initial Iris screen.

Press F12 to enter the settings menu. Navigate using cursor keys to access various configuration options. Press Enter to select items, and Escape to exit menus.

Configuration Management

Iris provides 10 configuration slots for different use cases. Managing configurations:

• Press S to save current settings to the selected slot
• Press * to make the selected slot the startup default
• Press N to name the selected configuration slot

Switching configurations:

• Hold F1-F10 during startup or reset to select a configuration
• Press Ctrl + F1-F10 while Iris is running to load a configuration
• Press Ctrl + F12 for a quick-select menu showing all configurations and names

Serial Settings

Configure the RS232/TTL serial communication parameters. Preset rates: from 50 to 921600 baud, custom rates supported.

Data Format includes bits (7 or 8 data bits, default: 8), parity (None, Even, Odd, Mark, Space, default: None), and stop bits (1 or 2, default: 1).

Flow Control options include RTS Control (always assert, never assert, or assert when ready), CTS Control (ignore or honor CTS signal), and XOn/XOff (disabled, enabled, or enabled with FIFOs disabled).

LED Blink Time can be set from 0 to 1000ms for serial activity indication with a default of 50ms.

Terminal Settings

Control terminal behavior and character processing. Terminal Type options include VT102/ANSI for standard VT102 emulation with ANSI colors, VT52 for basic VT52 compatibility, and PETSCII for Commodore 64 character set support.

Character Handling controls how specific characters are processed. Receiving CR (0x0D) can be set to ignore, CR, LF, or CR+LF. Receiving LF (0x0A) can be ignore, CR, LF, or CR+LF. Receiving BS (0x08) can be ignore, backspace, or backspace+space+backspace. Receiving DEL (0x7F) can be ignore, backspace, or backspace+space+backspace.

Text Processing options include Clear Bit 7 to strip the high bit from received characters, Send Uppercase to convert all sent text to uppercase, and Local Echo to echo typed characters locally.

Display Options control cursor shape (static box, blinking box, or underline), scroll delay from 0 to 1000ms for smooth scroll delay with a default of 170ms, default colors for background and foreground (0-15), and default attributes for bold, underline, blink, and inverse combinations.

The Answerback Message provides a custom response to ENQ (0x05) character with a default of “Iris 1.0”.

Keyboard Settings

Customize keyboard behavior and mappings. Layout options include US, UK, French, German, Italian, Belgian, and Spanish. The Enter Key can send CR, LF, CR+LF, LF+CR, or nothing. The Backspace Key can send BS (0x08), DEL (0x7F), underscore, or nothing. The Delete Key can send BS (0x08), DEL (0x7F), underscore, or nothing.

Repeat Settings include Repeat Delay (250ms, 500ms, 750ms, or 1000ms with default 250ms) and Repeat Rate from 2.0 to 30.0 Hz with default 25.0 Hz.

Advanced Features include Scroll Lock (ignored or prevents scrolling), Key Mapping to remap any key to any other key, and Keyboard Macros to record complex key sequences.

Screen Settings

Configure display parameters and appearance. Screen Dimensions include Rows from 10 to 60 (default: 30), Columns from 20 to 80 in increments of 2 (default: 80), and Double Characters to allow double-size characters if space permits.

Display Options include Splash Screen to show or hide the startup logo, Blink Period from 2 to 120 frames (default: 60), and Color Mode for color or monochrome display.

Color Configuration includes ANSI Colors with a 16-color palette for VT102 mode, PETSCII Colors with a 16-color palette for Commodore mode, and Monochrome Colors for background, normal text, and bold text colors.

Font Settings

Manage built-in and custom fonts. Built-in Fonts include options for Normal Font (CGA 8x8, EGA 8x14, VGA, Terminus, Terminus Bold, PETSCII) and Bold Font (same options plus “None” to use normal font).

User Fonts provide 4 slots with Upload capability via XModem transfer of BMP font files. Requirements include 8 pixels wide, 8 to 16 pixels high, monochrome BMP format. Features include custom font Naming, View to preview all 256 characters, and Graphics Mapping to map VT100 graphics characters to font positions.

Default Values and Reset

Factory Reset can be performed by turning on the "Defaults" (D) switch on J1 of your Protea board and reset to restore factory settings. Menu options include “Reset all settings to defaults” or “Reset this menu to defaults”. Default Configuration includes 9600 baud 8N1, VT102 terminal type, US keyboard layout, 30×80 screen, VGA font, and standard ANSI colors.

Communicating via Hermes

To activate the communication via ESP8266 (Hermes), you need to turn OFF the "Mode" (M) switch on J1. This will enable the Wi-Fi modem functionality, allowing you to connect to BBS systems, telnet servers, or other networked devices. When done, reset your Protea board to apply the changes.

First-Time Wi-Fi Configuration

You need to press "Enter" on your keyboard after each command you enter.

Basic Commands

Advanced Configuration

To see all available commands, enter AT? command.