This documentation deals with how to get started with a specific system or program related to the use of the BulkyModem, but will in many cases also be relevant for just about any Zimodem-based modems that you may already have. Many of the options out there will either be based on Build your own 9600 Baud C64 WiFi Modem For $10, running an older version of the software that can be flashed onto the ESP8266 that it is based on. I did however want something that was slightly more current, and so I'm using the latest version of the previously mentioned Zimodem-firmware instead.
However this isn't a history about the BulkyModem, it was supposed to be a guide on how to get started using it. For that we need to know a little bit about the ways it is different from other modems like it? The main difference you need to know about is that I didn't want to choose between building a modem for either a Commodore 64, or one that communicates over RS-232. For that reason it has a mode-button on the front of it, toggling it enables you to choose between the two interfaces. While you shouldn't go around trying to hook it up to two different machines at the same time, I wanted a modem that was capable of being moved from one computer to the next without needing to reprogram it or change the hardware itself in any way.
Which brings me to the modem itself, and while it is perfectly capable of supporting higher baud rates than the default of 1200 baud - I recommend that you keep it at that setting so that every system is able to talk to it after it starts up. Call it the least common denominator between the different systems if you will. When setting up your terminal we first set that up at 1200 baud as well, you can then choose to tell the modem to switch over to a higher baud rate and reconfigure your terminal to match. This way a fresh power-on will always start with something everybody understands.
This is by no means meant to be an exhaustive source of information for all things related to using modems on any vintage computer, the purpose is simply to provide you with some form of a starting point. I always recommend starting with the guide for a modern system on a newly built modem, mainly so that you don't blow up something that can't be replaced, at least not as easily as swiping a credit card. When you're suitably sure that everything works as it was supposed to, only then should you consider connecting it to a vintage system of your own choosing.
- 1> Getting started