Uh-oh, 4:00am inspiration. I just got out of bed to ask about this:
Is there an existing BBS system that provides a BBS<==>Internet mail
gateway? So that a BBS user could, say, subscribe to a mailing list like
this one? The reason I ask is that I tried to get a shell account with a
local ISP a few months ago so I could use internet services on my Atari
1200XL. None of the local providers offered that service at all, and
seemed shocked that someone was even asking for one. But a shell prompt
doesn't exactly have the romance of a classic BBS and I am now set on
writing one that can do internet mail and browse text html docs. Even
more ambitious would be the ability to http/ftp binaries using xmodem/etc.
But first, your input would be appreciated:
Does such a system exist already? Is the source available? For what
platforms?
Is there anyone who would be interested in using such a product/service? I
guess what I'm asking is if there are others who would like to log on to a
"classic" BBS using a "classic" computer but still have access to the
wealth of information and software on the internet...
Any thoughts on platform/environment? Language? My first impulse is Linux,
written in C. But I also do Windows, and some other languages too.
Anyone want to collaborate on something like this? My time is rarely my
own, so this would take me a long, long time to do myself. But it seems
like it'd be an interesting project, so I don't mind at all.
Thanks for listening to a groggy man's ranting. I'm going back to bed
now...
< For you guys that are worried because you use Earthlink or Hotamil all
< can say is to raise hell with them for permitting SPAMMING or else chang
< your ISP.
Earthlink is actually one that has fought against fradulent spamming. Most
of the earthlink addresses I've gotten spam from didn't originate from
them but were fraudulent addresses. For filter purposes I used earthlink
is they were most common. Hotmail has been less a problem so I have a few
specific filters and can generally get mail from there YET.
< I'm in Orlando Florida. There's no significant damage here. LOTs of
< rain though.
Glad to hear your ok but that hurricane is still dangerous.
Allison
> I hope you don't send me any mail or post any messages from your
>earthlink address. I've gotten tons of SPAM from earthlink and they're a
>permanent part of my SPAM filters now.
I find this all rather disturbing. What am I supposed to do if I want to
get in contact with one of you guys who is blocking email from earthlink?
Surely not use Hotmail or my AOL account!
Tom Owad
--
Sysop of Caesarville Online
Client software at: <http://home.earthlink.net/~tomowad/>
I have for sale a TRS-80 Color Computer with 4k of memory (Catalog
#26-3001). This is the first version of the Color Computer. It is in
original condition and works great. I already have one in my collection
so I will let this one go. The asking price is $40 plus shipping and
handling. If anyone is interested please send me email.
--Alan
--
Computing since: 1982, VIC-20, CoCo, PC, CP/M
Military Computers: COMTRAN 10, Nida 250
Amateur Radio since: 1971, WN8JEF, KA6EXR, N8BGR, AA4ZI
BASIC, dBASE, Assembly, C++
http://www.bright.net/~oajones
I don't suppose exchange has any sort of built-in SMTP autoresponder (or
anyone know of an autoresponder address anywhere?) - be nice to be able
to send emails out to an SMTP-only site and get a reply back just so's I
can check that I *don't* have any stupid formatting in my outgoing
mail...
it bugs the hell out of me that I'm forced to use exchange here at work;
I'd rather not use all the 'extensions' that exchange gives you - all of
them being unnecessary - but the software's very good at not making it
clear what a sent message is going to look like at the other end of the
wire... (give me standard SMTP and uuencode any day! :)
(apologies in advance if this comes out with strange indentation,
formatting and useless attachments... at least I don't think I'll have
squeezed any HTML in there... :*)
oh well, rant mode off... sorry for the off-topic!!
Jules
>
OK, I've been getting adventurous today. I've been digging through a bunch
of my parts and tapes. I discovered that I've got two ESDI controllers,
instead of the one that I knew about, one is a Emulex QD21 which I found
the manual online for, the other a "Webster WQESD" which I have the manual
for. Figured out how to get both to work, and verified that at least one
of the three 150Mb ESDI drives I've got work. I decided to go with the
WQESD controller since the directions are easier to follow (the ASCII files
are a bit messy on the QD21).
Plus the WQESD controller looks to be the better of the two controllers.
My configuration is as follows for reference
BA123 Cabinet
M8192-YB {11/73}
M8067-LF {RAM}
M8043 {DLV11J, used for console}
Dilog DQ606 {floppy controller, boot ROMs} CSR=17772150
Webster WQESD {Quad-Height, boot ROMs turned off} CSR=17760334
M7504 M7546 {TK50 controller}
NOTE: The DQ606 and WQESD both had the same CSR initially
The drive is a CDC, and I identified all three drives as 150Mb drives when
I got them, but for the life of me I can't find any kind of ID on it at the
moment. It was formated on the WQESD controller.
Next I decided to see about getting RSX11M onto the drive. So I started
looking through my media, including for some reason my TK50's. Based on
the labeling they are backups of DU disks, so the system that I got with
V4.3 must have had DU disks at one point, despite the fact it was running
on a single RL02 when I got it.
I booted off one of my bootable TK50's, giving the RSX equivalent of
Standalone Backup the proper CSR for the WQESD controller, and pulled out
the manuals to try to figure out what I'm doing. Unfortunatly when I try
to "BAD" the disk I get the following:
BAD>du0:/list
BAD -- DU0: Uncoverable error -65.
BAD>
And a "BRU" in the following:
BRU>/ini
From: mu0:
To: du0:
BRU - Starting Tape 1 MUA0:
BRU -- *FATAL* -- Home block write error
I/O error code -65
BRU>
According to the Utilities manual error -65 needs to be looked up in the
"IAS/RSX-11 I/O Operations Reference Manual", which I'm not sure if or
where I've got.
The manual for the WQESD mentions that non-DEC drives must be compatible
with those listed below:
*RX50
*RD51
*RD52
*RC25
*RA60
*RA80
*RA81
So does this mean that it needs to look like one of these drives for the OS
to like it? If so, I guess that explains the above error.
In order to test this theory, I was threatening to replace the ESDI
controller and drive with a RQDX3 and RD52, however, I don't seem to have a
documentation for the RQDX3, just the 1 & 2. Are the 11 jumpers at the
bottom of the board for setting the CSR, and are they the same as on a
RQDX2? They appear to be.
I realize that using the DQ606 and DLV11J in the place of a proper board,
such as a MXV11, to boot off of is far from ideal, unfortunalty it's
currently the best solution I've got. I'd thought of trying to use the
PDP-11/23+ CPU I've got, but discovered it doesn't support TMSCP tape
drives as a boot device, where the DQ606 does. Somehow I don't really feel
like trying to type in the bootstrap for a TK50 if I can help it (yes, I'm
being lazy).
Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions on this mess?
Zane
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator |
| healyzh(a)ix.netcom.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast |
| healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
| Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
| and Zane's Computer Museum. |
| http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/ |
Hey gang!
I have a TK50 tape from DECUS labeled "The DECUS VMS Startup Set" with the
part number VS0108TB. It came with the uVAXII I recently got. Title sounds
quite intriguing as I will later be bringing up that machine and am a
novice at DEC goodies so far.
I cannot find, by searching, anything about it on the DECUS software site.
Nor can I find anything by searching newsgroups or the web under either the
description or the part number.
Anybody have any info on this from either their own tape library or old
archived DECUS S/W catalog listings?
Thanks for the help.
--Chris
-- --
Christian Fandt, Electronic/Electrical Historian
Jamestown, NY USA
Member of Antique Wireless Association
URL: http://www.ggw.org/freenet/a/awa/
>Recently I added a Texas Instruments TI-99/4A to my collection. Since
< >then I also bought one in a off white or beige case (I'm not sure what
< >you would call the color). Was the non-metal case version of the
< >TI-99/4A a later model? I also need to know if anyone has a schematic
< >for both of these models?
The sequance was the TI99/4 (chicklet keys), TI99/4a enhanced display and
real keyboard and the beige TI99/4a revised roms.
< The silver and black model is the original one. The beige, all plastic
< case is the later model. IIRC the later model has circuitry which preve
< it from running third party cartridges.
It was not a hardware change that I know of and I have several of the
black and later beige units. It is a firmware difference.
Allison
< Recently I added a Texas Instruments TI-99/4A to my collection. Since
< then I also bought one in a off white or beige case (I'm not sure what
< you would call the color). Was the non-metal case version of the
< TI-99/4A a later model? I also need to know if anyone has a schematic
< for both of these models?
The beige was a later model and is the same circuit as far as I know
though the roms are a bit different. The beige will not play some non
TI games that the black/metal trim one would.
There is an active TI99 list. I not have the Listserv address beyond
the ti99(a)theriver.com (there is a different address to subscribe).
Allison
