Pace 56 Solo Upgrade

This is the support page for SoloUp - the official Amiga version of Pace's 56 Solo upgrade utility (ported from the original PC version). PC/Mac users should go here: www.pacecom.co.uk. This software is fully approved by Pace themselves.

Please note: This software is only compatible with the Pace 56 Solo, and not the Pace 56 Voice range of modems. These modems may be upgraded manually - see the instructions. I have no immediate plans to port the Pace 56 Voice upgraders to the Amiga.

DISCLAIMER: You should be aware that there is an extremely slim chance that this upgrader could fail, resulting in "dead" Solo modem :-( Normally, should this occur, Pace would repair/replace the defective unit for free, under warranty. However, since PMC Electronics have gone into receivership (see news below), this is no longer the case - you will not be able to get your Solo repaired. Therefore, any use of this upgrader will be at your own risk - I cannot be held responsible for any damage to your Solo modem.

56soloup.lha - 911954 bytes (Firmware v2.04, SoloUp v2.0)

26 Mar 1999 - Firmware v2.04 - SoloUp v2.0
(updated 5 Sep 1999 to include the latest version of SoloUp)
download: 56soloup.lha (911954 bytes)
or you may download it via Pace's Amiga download page instead (old version of SoloUp)

NEW: 5 Sep 1999 - Firmware v2.04 beta!
download: Solo2.04_BetaUpdate.lha (384772 bytes)
(requires the full v2.04 firmware archive above)

This beta is an unofficial firmware release. It was made available by Mick Breeze of Pace in mid-April, for those that asked for and needed it. It is the same as the original v2.04 release, except that it is less aggressive when making the initial connection. If you experience problems while logging into your ISP (i.e. long delays and/or frequent line drops), you may wish to try this version of the firmware. The result will be that it will connect at a slightly lower speed than v2.04 did, which will improve reliability. However, if you are happy with v2.04, then I would recommend that you do not upgrade to this beta version, as you'll get slower connection speeds!

SoloUp v2.0 - 16 Jun 1999
download add-on: SoloUp_v2.lha (28482 bytes)
(note: this is now included in the full firmware archive from this site.
The archive on Pace's website still comes with SoloUp v1.1)

Firmware History
v2.04	Improved compatibility with certain V.90 ISPs
v2.03	Improved V.90 connections and fax receive capability
v2.02	Improved stability and speakerphone performance
v2.01	Improved fax send capability
v2.00	V.90 capability
v1.00	First code release

News

5 Sep 1999	Made a beta release of v2.04 available, for those that started experiencing connection problems after upgrading to v2.04 - see above for details. Also, the v2.04 firmware is now available from this site, locally - it now includes v2.0 of SoloUp. Obviously, the archive on Pace's site still has v1.1 :-(
10 Aug 1999	News stories regarding Pace's demise are beginning to emerge, but details are still scarce: Receivers take reins of Pace Modems - news item from The Register. Pace modem maker in receivership - tech support ceases - news item from ZDNet UK. Pace comes to a standstill - news item from Macworld UK.
9 Aug 1999	BAD news folks: PMC Electronics (aka Pace) recently (as in only a few days ago) went into receivership and have now ceased trading :-( This can be confirmed by an automated message now being played on their technical support number in the UK (08700 718191). That's all I really know at the moment, but hopefully another company will buy them, take them over (or whatever) and continue developing and supporting their excellent modem range (it would be a shame if nobody did). Anyway, more news will be posted here as and when I receive it.
16 Jun 1999	SoloUp v2.0 released. The new version will be supplied with future firmware upgrades, but in the meantime I have made it available separately. Simply copy it over the SoloUp v1.1 program from the main 56soloup.lha. Changes include: New improved user interface and front-end Various settings, including the serial settings, are now remembered (saved on exit, loaded on startup) The current firmware version of your Solo is now displayed before and after the upgrade Can now "repair" your Solo (in most cases) in the unlikely event that the upgrader fails while flashing the new firmware (having left your Solo in a seemingly dead state) The upgrade process is now performed by a separate task, run at a higher priority - will prevent Executive from interfering and will maybe decrease the risk of errors, especially for the internal serial port Major changes in the debug log feature: Name and location of the log file can now be chosen Log files are now appended to instead of being overwritten More detailed info logged for any errors that occur Logging forced on when upgrading the firmware Log file is no longer kept open during the upgrade process
29 May 1999	I should have mentioned this earlier, but if you have tried to run the upgrader from Amiga Format CD40, you will have found that it didn't work (file not found error). To cut a long story short, it was discovered that this was caused by a bug in LZX! The upgrader will appear again on AFCD41, in its correct form.
27 Mar 1999	v2.04 of the modem firmware was released yesterday afternoon, which fixes the connect problems that were introduced in v2.03. And, of course, it offers everything that v2.03 did for those of you who didn't download that version of the firmware before Pace withdrew it. It's available from Pace's Amiga support page or from the direct download link above.
26 Mar 1999	Website revamped.
12 Feb 1999	Pace have temporarily removed the v2.03 firmware (both PC and Amiga) from their site, because connections could not be established with some ISPs (including Freeserve, Global and SoftnetFree). v2.02 is now available from Pace's Amiga support page instead, but Pace have put the modem.hex file in the wrong directory <sigh>. So, again I will continue to make the correct v2.02 upgrade (now includes SoloUp 1.1) available here.
11 Feb 1999	Pace released version 2.03 of the firmware today, and I'm pleased to say that the Amiga upgrader is now available direct from their site. SoloUp has also be updated (v1.1) to support the new firmware and a couple of bugs have been fixed (should make the serial link more stable, and far less prone to errors).
23 Jan 1999	First public release of the Amiga version of the upgrader (Firmware release v2.02, SoloUp v1.0) and the debut of this website.

Minimum Requirements

Pace 56 Solo modem and Amiga computer equipped with a 68020 cpu, OS 2.04, 2Mb free ram. (recommended: OS 3.x, fast third-party serial port)

Problems

This software has been tested extensively on various systems, and has proven to be very reliable in most cases. However, if you should encounter a problem with the upgrade software, please submit a bug report. Be sure to read the README file supplied with the upgrader!

Credits

Thanks to Andy Thomson, Don Cox, Tim Grainger, Will Stanton, Simone Tellini and Ben Vost for beta testing this software.