A: The pre-configured default is 19.2 kbit/sec, which was tested to work well even on the
slowest systems (68000 CPU). We have successfully tested settings of 57.6 kbit/sec on
Amiga 1200s (68020 CPU), and up to 115.2 kbit/sec on Amiga 3000 and 4000 systems (68030
and higher CPUs), using the standard Amiga serial port and the standard Amiga
serial.device.
With Amiga Explorer 8 or newer, higher
speeds can be achieved with third-party
Amiga serial expansions, for example when
combined with a USB serial interface on the
PC. As not all speeds supported by
third-party hardware may be listed in the
Windows side of Amiga Explorer, it may be
necessary to enter the speed manually (e.g.
230400, 460800, etc.), in a way similar to
what is required on the Amiga side.
The performance of the Amiga serial port may be reduced depending on the resolution and
depth of the frontmost screen. On older Amiga systems this begins to be noticeable when
using Amiga screen modes having more than 8 colors. RTG (graphics card) modes have no
negative impact on performance.
For better performance, the Buffer Size in the Amiga Serial Preferences
should be set to at least 4096 bytes. Lower values can cause transmission
problems at higher speeds, or, on 68000 Amiga computers and Workbench 1.2,
even at the default speed.
Several replacements of the serial.device exist, which to different degrees claim and
achieve a better overall system performance during use of the serial device. In general,
it should however be considered that the Amiga does not allow for bi-directional
transmission speeds higher than those which are possible with the serial.device. Some
programs achieve higher transmission rates by taking over the system, or by sending data
only (not receiving it). This is indeed possible, but Amiga Explorer is a system-compliant
application, designed to multitask with other programs, and which needs both to to read
and to send data.
Longer serial cables may increase the error rate, adversely affecting
performance. For this reason, placing a USB serial interface or a Bluetooth
serial adapter closest to the Amiga serial connector may improve reliability if
it shortens or eliminates the additional null-modem cable. Either way, the
maximum speed will always be within the
limits of the Amiga CPU and serial port hardware.
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