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AtariAge BBS


Albert

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I'd love to put an AtariAge Atari 8-bit BBS online using real hardware. 130XE or 800XL with RAM upgrade (so all the important board files and indices can be put on a RAM disk), an attached hard drive or SSD, Commodore 1702 and 80-column monitor (for XEP80), R-Time 8 cart for time, SpartDOS X, and so forth. In the past I used a 1MB MIO board, but not sure that is necessary these days.

 

I'd likely use the Carina iI BBS software, since I used to be intimately familiar with it. Of course, I'd also have to put RoboWar II online as well. I'd probably have a link directly from AtariAge to the BBS. :)

 

If you have recommendations on what hardware I should use for such an endeavor, please let me know!

 

Thanks,

 

..Al

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It depends:

If you want a stand-alone solution, you'll need some kind of RS232 -> Ethernet convertor; like a Lantronix device (several types will do the job)

 

If you want to hook your atari to a 24h/7d powered PC, you could also use APE or another program that provides this Telnet Host.

 

Another thing: you need to be sure your BBS software is SDX compatible. I know BBS Express PRO! doesn't run from SDX.

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Carina II will run fine from SDX, that's what I used "back in the day" (along with a huge assortment of other hardware). A standalone solution would be cool, but I have several computers that are powered on 24/7, so that would be fine as well. Whatever is fastest would be preferable. :)

 

..Al

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Yeh is this going to be dialup or telnet. I will say this, there has been an effort to bring back dialup using IP lines. If you had one mode for dialup and one for telnet that would be something I always wanted to do. I know the Borderline BBS (C 64) has the ability for dialup and telnet, and it would be great to have a dialup Atari BBS out there.

 

Just throwing that out there. Glad to hear this interest either way.

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I always just assumed telnet, which makes it considerably more accessible to people. How would you manage an 8-bit BBS that supported both dialup and telnet?

 

..Al

You could set up a multi-node BBS like Steve Carden's TCPIP Express Pro.

 

A little more hardware involved but would let you have both real POTS line modem connected nodes and Telnet connected nodes at the same time.

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You could set up a multi-node BBS like Steve Carden's TCPIP Express Pro.

 

A little more hardware involved but would let you have both real POTS line modem connected nodes and Telnet connected nodes at the same time.

I don't mind the additional hardware involved, and it would be very cool to have a dial-up BBS again. However,

 

1) Do people actually still call dial-up BBSs?

2) I'd have to get a POTS line!!

3) I'd have to run BBS Express, which I have no familiarity with. I'd like to run Carina II as that's what I was using back in the day.

 

..Al

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Wow, only 26 BBSs. It would be interesting to see this list over time.

 

Yes, Carina II was a dialup system, but ideally people would be able to either dial-in or use telnet, and either one of two things would happen:

 

1) The system can only be used by one person at a time, regardless of whether they are connecting via modem or internets.

2) The system allows more than one person to login at a time, sharing the same file system.

 

I'm guessing #2 would not work with Carina II, since it was not designed with allowing multiple users to access the system at the same time. I'm sure the files would get corrupted pretty quickly. This is a nod in BBS Express' favor, if it allows such a setup.

 

..Al

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Carina II will run fine from SDX, that's what I used "back in the day" (along with a huge assortment of other hardware). A standalone solution would be cool, but I have several computers that are powered on 24/7, so that would be fine as well. Whatever is fastest would be preferable. :)

 

..Al

Are you sure about that? I ask because Carina II comes with a modified version of SpartaDos 3.2 (called 3.2x or something similar) but it is not cart-based SDX. But perhaps you know something I don't.

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I used an SDX cart to run a Carina II BBS back in the day.

 

..Al

I'll have to play with that now... I experiment with Carina 2.7 from time to time here... In fact my setup includes a utility you wrote for Carina (but I forget the name of it right now). It lists out batches of stats I believe or something like that.

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I'll have to play with that now... I experiment with Carina 2.7 from time to time here... In fact my setup includes a utility you wrote for Carina (but I forget the name of it right now). It lists out batches of stats I believe or something like that.

Yeah, I remember writing something along those lines. I'm a bit frightened about how bad that code probably is. :D

 

..Al

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Yeah, I remember writing something along those lines. I'm a bit frightened about how bad that code probably is. :D

 

..Al

Couldn't be any worse than some of stuff I have written. I did a cool mod to the 2.7 code to allow the external utils menu to expand to 10 full menus of external utils. It is pretty cool and fairly clean IIRC.

 

I like to mess with Carina from time to time (because it is written in Basic) even though my current BBS runs on Express PRO 2.1 (Keith's last version).

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I like to mess with Carina from time to time (because it is written in Basic) even though my current BBS runs on Express PRO 2.1 (Keith's last version).

I like Carina because it allows you to write in BASIC, with output automatically directed to the modem when a user is logged in. All the important stuff is written in machine language. I also love how you can have two screens connected to your 8-bit, with one using an XEP-80. The modem output is sent to the XEP-80, and the regular display shows information about the logged in user, which you can edit in real-time without interrupting their session. This was damn cool at the time. Also, as I had many Atari ST users (and the forum supports VT-52), the 80 column output is extremely useful.

 

I'd love to get all that going again!

 

..Al

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I like the two screens but I would want the user/call info on the XEP output and and would reduce the main screen to one single line or completely off to make sure highest speed is achieved to modem... I ran Pro with a usr courrier hst, mio 1meg, 320XE peterson with antic mod... conner hard drive.. atr8000 running quads.. I put everything I could into mio virtual ramdisks and Atari ramdisk... the caller command shut off the screen for high speed callers... doing this made the BBS very fast and reliable... batch files handled setting up and preload of the drives.... other batch files handled saving everything to real storage at low caller demand times and caller log offs.....

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Was trying to put the BBS's back online but sadly most is lost or dead..

Bought a lantronix to replace the modem..... Wanting to run both a modem and a lantronix but to do that turned out to be too much for me to implement...

Was looking for a one box modem telnet solution but the proved too expensive...

Went to Bob Puff who was going to sell decent priced mux, but he sold his mux boards off and I found it way too expensive to buy them from another source...

Presume they bought them off Bob anyway..... It's like a bad metal ballad... every avenue being cut off by the devil....

Was going back to dial-up and of course magic jack 'Up-graded" their software and now I can't get a connect via the modems...

Tried my neighbors P.O.T.S. line and it won't do high speed... the telephone company turns P.O.T.S. to digital somewhere in their chain and the modem has to work in reduced speeds to work...

All this made me think... I'll get this done one day if not just to spit in the face of all this adversity! and on the fella who seems to work against it!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

High speed modem/telnet combo box.

130XE with ram upgraded

MIO 1 MEG with a nice hard drive/possibly solid state

1050 floppy(hey you might need it)

SIO2PC (usb or rs232(usb is faster rs232 better for .cas files))

APE

ICD r-time-8 or equivalent (or use apetime)

XEP 80

Older Pro! with modified waitcall to control your telnet/modem and screen output....

or Cardens tcp/ip Express solution as he has extensive knowledge and solutions for interfacing with lantronix equipment.

Real printer for call/ip logging and tracking bbs directory info or ape's virtual printer....

a co-sys to perform some maintenance and add screens, mods, etc etc.

Sysop Alerter-when the monitors are off, device the beeps/lights up when you have mail, feedback, page sysop, or chat sysop (plugs into joystick port)

Paper/empty floppies/hardback or other back up utility.

P.O.T.S. line or fax/modem compatible V.O.I.P

Decent broadband connection

Good Batch File/Startup util...

Edited by _The Doctor__
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Hmm, are any of those dial-up systems even Atari 8-bit BBSs? I recognize nearly all of that software as either DOS or Windows-based.

 

This definitely should be fixed.

 

..Al

 

Just saying... it's an elite list, and would be nice to get an Atari BBS in there. I have a national calling plan to keep up with the dialup BBS's. A lot of new BBS's are making use of magic Jack line and VOIP lines to cut the costs and they are steadily getting better and better speeds out of it.

 

Well, I am sorry, by "dial in" I meant I would telnet. I have several modems still, but they are not hooked up. When BBSing on the Atari, I use either a Lantronix, or most of the time, APE and telnet in.

 

I do a lot of that too. :D

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