Atari 8-bit related BBS(s)

[+MacRorie]

Well, I called back in ATASCII so that's all good. I just thought you might want to know about that one since it's a biggie. Also, are the message bases implemented yet? When I tried to get a list of message areas I got a 170 error.

 

170 is file not found. The message bases are implemented, I checked them out. However, the file that lists all of the titles must be missing for ASCII mode. I will get on that as well. My apologies. This is why I wanted others to test it as I thought I had gotten the basics setup. Thanks! I will have room service take care of you!

 

Just out of curiosity, what software did you run the BBS on back then? Also, was that right about an 80GB drive and not an 80MB? Can you really access that much at once?

 

 

Back in the day: BBS Express Pro! Back in the day was 2 x 5M SyQuest removables (MFM drives via an Adaptec 4000a/MIO).

 

There is an 80G drive connected. The beauty of the BlackBox is that you can set up a BUTTLOAD of partitiions and put them in the list and then just swap them in and out. So, is 80G online at any given time? Yes? Is it accessible all at once? Oh, hell no!

[Tillek]

Does it have separate files for ASCII and ANSI? (I was calling in ANSI).

 

As to the drives... is it still limited to 16mb partitions with your setup?

[+MacRorie]

Does it have separate files for ASCII and ANSI? (I was calling in ANSI).

 

As to the drives... is it still limited to 16mb partitions with your setup?

 

Separate help files for ANSI, ASCII, ATASCII, VT52, & CGS color

 

Drive partitiions: Well, 65535 sectors.

[Tillek]

So just out of curiosity, do you happen to have software for the CGS color? Or know what terms support it?

[moonlight_mile]

I did pop on today (username:jimbronie) in atascii mode. I got that 170 error also on the msg bases.

[+bf2k+]

 

Separate help files for ANSI, ASCII, ATASCII, VT52, & CGS color

 

Drive partitiions: Well, 65535 sectors.

 

65535 DD sectors = 16mb

[+MacRorie]

 

65535 DD sectors = 16mb

 

 

Right, but since the BB "does" 512k sectors, I had forgotten whether or not it used the entirety of the sector or used "half" to account for the space. IIRC, the manual says it uses half. . . . . {jeopardy theme plays} . . . so yeah, it does split it, but the partitition list is capable that in spades. I am not sure what the upper limit on stored partitions are, but it is high.

 

From the web page: It is totally compatible with the current versions of MYDOS and SpartaDOS (both of which have a limit of 16 megabytes per logical drive). Combine that with nine drives, and that’s over 130 megs available at any given time, but your total storage is virtually limitless! The Black Box is the only interface to provide a conversion toggle for drives capable of only 512 byte sectors. Many of the new 3.5 inch embedded drives have this limitation, and previously were unusable. The Black Box splits each 512 byte sector into two 256 byte sectors, so your DOS will still only see what it requires. Another advantage to 512 byte mode is storage space. Many drives/controllers will give you more storage when using 512 byte sectors (some as much as 15% more).

[+Stephen]

I'll try to test this tomorrow.

[Fox-1 / mnx]

 

I am not sure what the upper limit on stored partitions are, but it is high.

 

The partition table 'only' has space to store up to 96 partitions. This means you can have 96 x 16MB = 1536MB available at any given time as long you swap in and out the right partitions, be it by hand or with software.

 

But there's more... no one ever said you should stick to just 1 partition table and you can just add a few to get a multiple of 96 possible partitions. Only thing is that it's more difficult to work at multiple partitions at once which don't happen to be in the same table but it's not impossible. It requires a tool like a partition swapper but for whole tables in stead but there's no such thing in regular software, like DOS, that supports this way of swapping.

[+MacRorie]

Update:

 

So, I edited the text files and a new error cropped up: 136 (EOF). This is annoying. ALL of the ATASCII files work fine as they were edited on my daily driver with TLW. However, everything I edited under Windoze&Mac, gives that error. ANy ideas on what text editor to use for ANSI/ASCII files on the 8-bit? I tried just using files from The Last Word without any inverse, but that does not work either. Any suggestions wouldbe appreciated.

 

The ATASCII side owrks fine EXCEPT there is noise coming over on the key input. I do not see it on the BBS screen, but I certainly see it on the caller side. Do you think the speed is too high? Should I drop it down to 9600?

 

Grrr.

[Tillek]

I think I saw a good converter for the files the other day... I'll see if I can find it in my browsing history.

 

Also, are you just using standard drivers for your black box serial? I've been using some high speed drivers with my mio (don't remember who wrote them) but there was a version for black box as well. They work very well with my Lantronix box at 19.2 using ICE-T.

[Tillek]

Ok... Here are a few things that might help.

 

http://gury.atari8.info/pc_files.php(look towards the bottom under misc utilities)

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/216513-atasciipad/

 

 

And the Hyperspeed Driver.....

http://www.lenardspencer.com/Lenspencer/hyperspd.html

[+MacRorie]

Ok... Here are a few things that might help.

 

http://gury.atari8.info/pc_files.php(look towards the bottom under misc utilities)

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/216513-atasciipad/

 

 

And the Hyperspeed Driver.....

http://www.lenardspencer.com/Lenspencer/hyperspd.html

 

 

Tried the ASC2ATA and vice versa. That doesn't work, I still get 136 errors.

[Fox-1 / mnx]

ANSI screens... you can just use ASCII screens to get it to work. You won't get the fancy colors but it does at least work. You can add colors by using screen codes ($xx) when editing those on Atari 8-bit but this way is of course not WYSIWYG.

 

Some other things...

EOL character must be $9B (ATASCII EOL) for all screens.

The backslash is a reserved character by the BBS and it's not recommended to use it anywhere.

There are ANSI screens designers to be used with MS-Dos and Windows. (The old ones don't seem to work on x64 systems, which is to be expected). They can be used to make screens for Pro as long as you translate the EOL when uploading them to the BBS itself. Not all ANSI features are supported but the basic colors, graphics and screen codes seem to work (with the exception of the "CLS" code which doesn't always clear the screen).

The HyperSpeed driver for the BB is not required for Pro!. I wonder if it's required for anything at all. Played with it in the past and, apart for the pushed up MEMLO, I never noticed any difference when using it.

[Lord Cygnus]

Folks,

 

The Bates Motel is BACK OPEN for business!!! Woot! Yes!! OMG!! 20+ years later! {ahem}

 

It is *slightly* untidy. I thought I had a handle on all of the text files and such necessary to get it running and, well, I was wrong. Oh so very wrong. However, I want people to test it out. Tell me what is broken so I can go and fix it. I have a list of things I need to fix, but I might as well do a "soft open" for those hardy souls willing to take a shower . . . errr . . . test the water .... yeah, the time for Psycho puns is probably past . . .

 

But ANYWAY

 

telnet over to 76.14.174.25 Port 8888 The Bates Motel welcomes you.

 

BTW, we are running on real iron: Atari 800XL // VBXE in Rambo mode // Black Box w/Floppy board, 80G ATA via ACARD 7320UW // Lantronix UDS-1100 Even got a permanent address for the Motel, so you always know where you can rest your weary A8/TI 99/4a head.

 

I plan on posting/hosting discussions and files for A8, TI 99/4a, and Portfolio files. I will also post purchase details about the R-Time8 replacement cart that is nearing completion!

 

Thanks for beta testing (for now) the setup and I hope you enjoy your stay.

 

P.S. If you steal the towels, you willhave to speak with my mother . . . .

 

Cool, MacRorie! Nice to see another 'real' Atari BBS in the community. I run YYZ BBS and 8-Bit Guild BBS on real A8 equipment.

 

One of the things I noticed logging onto your board with my UDS-1100 was that your board kicks back a small string of jumbled characters after I type something or hit return. To clear up this problem in your UDS-1100 settings, try this:

On a PC log into the Lantronix UDS-1100 via 'Telnet Configuration' connection using their device installer utility to configure these settings:

 

First, select '7 Defaults' and then, '9 Save and exit' to clear out any previous old settings.

 

Next, select '1 Channel 1' and make these adjustments:

 

*** Channel 1

Baudrate: 9600

I/F Mode: 4C

Flow: 05

Port: 10003

Connect Mode: CE

Send '+++' in Modem Mode: enabled

Show IP addr after 'RING': enabled

Auto increment source port: disabled

Remote IP Adr: --- none ---, Port: 00000

Disconn Mode: 00

Flush Mode: 00

 

Example:

 

UDS-1100 Settings by agpctech, on Flickr

 

 

I spent an entire weekend several years ago programming my UDS-1100 to work right with calling BBS'es to eliminate strange behavior when connected. This configuration works great connected through my ICD P:R:Connection via RS232.

 

-=[Lord Cygnus]=-

 

YYZ BBS - yyzbbs.no-ip.org:65

8-Bit Guild BBS - 8bitguild.no-ip.org:130

 

 

[Lord Cygnus]

Also, MacRorie, change the port # in the UDS-1100 settings to your telnet port 8888.

 

 

-=[Lord Cygnus]=-

[Tillek]

Just a little SFHQ update.

 

For quite awhile now (almost 3 years???) I've talked about getting the BBS back on the Mega STE and fixing all the things that I had trouble getting to work when I put it back up on the Falcon (and later the TT). The hope was once it was back on the MSTE many of those problems will have fixed themselves. There were also a lot of things I wanted to add (but didn't want to have to re-write/re-do them if they turned out not to work the same on the MSTE). Not to mention, I wanted to just basically overhaul the HD (that was my main HD back in the day, not just the BBS, so if I remove all the development and productivity stuff to other HD's, that will free up space for more things).

 

Unfortunately, due to a lot of moving around and big life changes, that hasn't happened... yet...

 

Until today.

 

Which means there will be a bit of up/down as I work on things. I'll also be working on the website which hopefully, since the EtherNec seems to do a better job of playing nicely with the serial than the DynaLink did, will allow as much of a "real time status" as is possible. (I'll also try to remember to redirect the incoming connections to update messages when the system is down for improvements). Some things will hopefully be easy... like some of the games that were previously freezing, bombing, crashing to desktop, etc.... are now either working, or are at least giving me actual error messages so I can actually fix the problem!!!!

 

Been waiting for this for a long time. Too long.

 

(Technically, this isn't the SAME MSTE that I ran it on back in the 90's... that one is still MIA somewhere in storage... but don't tell the Hard Drive!)

 

 

[Tillek]

Oh, and just for fun... a few weeks ago I was on DarkForce while Kirkman was on mine. I found it kind of amusing so I switched the pip on monitor 2 and took a picture.

 

(The blury stuff on the bottom of the second monitor was paintbrushing out some info obviously.......)

 

Of course, right after this, the BBS crashed because Final Frontier stopped working when I moved to the TT, but that's one of the games that is now giving me a "file not found" instead of a crash on the MSTE, so I should be able to fix it soon.

 

 

 

 

[+bf2k+]

 

One of the things I noticed logging onto your board with my UDS-1100 was that your board kicks back a small string of jumbled characters after I type something or hit return.

 

 

Well... I am glad to know that it wasn't just me seeing this behavior. I thought it might have been my terminal program. I posted a pic of this phenomena earlier in this thread.

[+DarkLord]

Just a little SFHQ update.

 

Good luck with all of that. Hope things go well. Keep us updated!

[Tillek]

 

Good luck with all of that. Hope things go well. Keep us updated!

Well, what really sucks is that I guess I have to use Modem 1 instead of Modem 2 (with the 56k) or SEE doesn't work.

 

Anyone here know whether it really wants Modem 1, or is it just that it is checking the DCD line of Modem 1? (The beginning title part displays, but if you're not on console, it just quits after the "Hit Space" prompt, not even waiting for a user to hit space). I could probably figure something out if I knew exactly what it was I was figuring out. Works fine though as long as it is on Modem 1.

 

On a good note though, I was going through some stuff I got off of Kirkman's blog, and I found the program that will make the galaxies so when we get your Fido going (or even just a fake-fido) we could do intergalactic SEE I believe.

[+DarkLord]

Well, what really sucks is that I guess I have to use Modem 1 instead of Modem 2 (with the 56k) or SEE doesn't work.

 

Anyone here know whether it really wants Modem 1, or is it just that it is checking the DCD line of Modem 1? (The beginning title part displays, but if you're not on console, it just quits after the "Hit Space" prompt, not even waiting for a user to hit space). I could probably figure something out if I knew exactly what it was I was figuring out. Works fine though as long as it is on Modem 1.

 

On a good note though, I was going through some stuff I got off of Kirkman's blog, and I found the program that will make the galaxies so when we get your Fido going (or even just a fake-fido) we could do intergalactic SEE I believe.

 

I've never tried to use it on anything other than an ST with its standard modem. Well, I actually did use a Mega STe for a short

time while I was working on my Mega ST but I didn't do anything experimental with it so I honestly just don't know about that.

 

Intergalactic STuff could be very interesting.

[Tillek]

 

I've never tried to use it on anything other than an ST with its standard modem. Well, I actually did use a Mega STe for a short

time while I was working on my Mega ST but I didn't do anything experimental with it so I honestly just don't know about that.

 

Intergalactic STuff could be very interesting.

Well, I do have a Mega 4 ST (not a 16mhz but that shouldn't matter)... What TOS is on yours? And are you using the UDS-10 or 1100? I could probably fully test the setup and handle most of the debugging. The only real problem would be that since you're not using an MSS-100 or one that would handle domain names, you would have to edit the ip's when they changed, but we could work around that.

[Simba7]

I know I haven't been on here in awhile, mostly due to work.

 

I am still getting my BBS up and running. It will be running Synchronet.

 

The current specs are:

Compaq Proliant ML370 tower

2x Pentium III @ 1GHz

6x300GB 10k RPM Drives (RAID5)

4GB PC-133 ECC Registered SDRAM

16 port PCI serial card

10x USRobotics Courier 56k External

 

It's currently compiling and in a testing phase. I'm aiming for a universal BBS (all platforms), so be patient if bugs come up.

[Tillek]

I know I haven't been on here in awhile, mostly due to work.

 

I am still getting my BBS up and running. It will be running Synchronet.

 

The current specs are:

Compaq Proliant ML370 tower

2x Pentium III @ 1GHz

6x300GB 10k RPM Drives (RAID5)

4GB PC-133 ECC Registered SDRAM

16 port PCI serial card

10x USRobotics Courier 56k External

 

It's currently compiling and in a testing phase. I'm aiming for a universal BBS (all platforms), so be patient if bugs come up.

All retro is good retro... but still sad it's not Atari...