Back in the day i would dial into chrysalis bbs in dallas, tx. Sometimes using modern technology like raspberry pi and tcpser which emulates a hayes modem for telnet connections, theyre reviving decadesold dial up bulletin board systems or bbses as portals to places that have been long forgotten. With these you will be able to dial into old school c64128 bbs that have been converted to telnet from dialup. Worldgroup is probably the most popular paybased bbs and is one of the most common among telnettable bbses. From 19921998 i ran a dial up bbs, and in 2005 i started up its telnetbased successor. Its time to fire up a computer and see if there is an electronic mail from friends and. St4expressst star fleet hq bbs 5983 atari st the grove shadow. The latter was capable of handling a 56k hayes modem reliably at full speed on a commodore 64, enabling reasonable dial up internet access speeds. They did so using ordinary telephone phone lines and dial up modems, often directing the devices to. A bulletin board system or bbs is a computer server running software that allows users to connect to the system using a terminal program.
Feb 07, 2014 borderline bbs is the only dial up bbs anywhere in the world right now running on a commodore 64. Jul 23, 2010 elebbs is an bbs program in the traditional sense one that you can dial up to using a modem if you want to. Borderline bbs was brought online in january 2014 as a dialup only bbs. However, greg pfountz, the author of the software that im running on my dial up board, also wrote a terminal program for msdos in 1991 called the c64 color terminal emulator. Commodore 128d and cpm june 18, 2011 june 18, 2011 retrocosm i shall be away for the beginning of this years retrochallenge, so in order to hit the ground running when i get back i thought id make sure all my machines were primed and ready for action. Very glad i spend a little extra cash and bought the 64nic. Dialup users can access with standard ansi rip software or a free windows based gui client. Diehard sysops are resurrecting bbss from the 1980s slashdot. Dialup dialup nights is a new dialup only bulletin board, running maxs bbs on native amiga ng hardware.
I used to dial in to my own bbs regularly to make sure things were working the way i wanted them to, because everything seemed to work right if i logged in from the computer it was running on. Two new articles take a look at social medias dial up ancestor from back in the 20th century. This forum provides information on bbs which commodore hardware and emulators may connect. The two really hugely supported packages being developed right now dont even support dial up out of the box anymore mystic and synchronet. Been using a 1200 baud modem for all my c64 bbs browsing before this, and wow. The retroreplay expansion cartridge enabled the addition of the silver surfer addon serial board, which also enabled 56k modem connections, and the rrnet addon serial board, which allows for. I used cnet 128 bbs for the software, and cnet made used what they called pfiles for doors. There is really no good reason to run a dial up bbs nowadays which is really why there are so few of them. The plan is to increase to 247, depending on demand. C64,64c,128,128d,1571,1702,1084s,a,a2000,520stm,520stfm,1040stf,apple iie,imac,emac,sinclair, amd a8, amd a6, amd phenom ii black. One runs the original software on a decadesold commodore 128dcr. This is a list of notable bulletin board system bbs software packages.
The movie back to the future is still in the theaters and for the life of you, you cant fathom why coca cola would dare to change their formula. First a new article in ieee spectrum remembers a time when tens of thousands of dial up bulletin board systems kept modems busy all around the world playing chintzy door games, downloading textfiles and ansi art, and reading messages left on fidonets echo. A bulletin board system or bbs also called computer bulletin board service, cbbs is a computer server running software that allows users to connect to the system using a terminal program. The place to discuss all things commodore in the 8 bit range. A few weeks later, im up past 77,000 bbses listed, with many including the sysops name, software used, and if youre lucky a relatively accurate timespan for the. I dug out a diamond supra express pci modem and installed it and went on the hunt for some bbs software. I started out on a 2400 baud modem, stepped up to a 14. It was a lot of fun, and i actually started programming doors for it. Rs232 for commodore pet and dialing a bbs over wifi.
At one point the bbs had 96 lines into it so it had chat rooms and multiplayer games. A bbs software package that is on this list means that the software is no longer being supported by the author and most likely there is. Anybody here date back to local, dial up bbss or run one. Borderline bbs tour a real commodore 64 dialup bbs. But the years have passed, and it seems that the bulletin board system has taken a back seat to many of the newer protocols being used on the internet. For door based games, see door games applenet diversi dial ddial chatroom atmosphere supporting up to 7 incoming lines allowing links to other ddial boards. The beta version of the board is open 9pm 6 am uk time, 7 days a week with an increase to 247, depending on demand. Users can dial using a standard 64 connected to the internet or by using a cg term for the pc.
Being from a different part of brazil remote access reigned supreme, while pc board is something i saw once that one day when i dared dial long distance to some bbs in a different state. Active bbs software means that the software is either being actively being updated by the author, or a website exists where you can either download the software andor you can get support from the author. Old school sean connecting to a bbs using a commodore 64. Supporting acorn, risc os, commodore, amiga and others. C64 color terminal emulator commodore 64 c64 forum. With a collection of over 30,000 textfiles from the 1980s, i suddenly got a rather weird thought.
Xe 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 80column monitor for xep80, r. Commodore offered a number of inexpensive modems for the c64, allowing quick and easy access to the thousands of dial up public bulletin board systems bbs, the precursor to the internet, for chat, downloads, and online games. Elebbs is an bbs program in the traditional sense one that you can dial up to using a modem if you want to. Rediscovering the lost civilization of dialup bbss. This time a 300 baud connect using a real commodore 64 and dataphon s 2123 d to the tornado bbs located in my hometown hamburg. Colossus in virginia 7038188904 is a favorite bbs of mine because its one of the few dialup wwiv bbses left out there wwiv is the software i ran myself back in the day. The beta version of the board is open 9pm 6 am, and 24 hours at the weekends uk time. Nov 04, 2016 the resulting software, called cbbs, allowed personalcomputer owners with modems to dial in to a dedicated system and leave messages that others would see later, when they, in turn, dialed up the. A uk dial up bbs is born retrocosms vintage computing. It can be accessed through a standard telnet connection and currently provides basic bbs functionality.
The lost civilization of dialup bulletin board systems the atlantic. Bbs vintage is the new old, retro games news, retro. The cottonwood bbs, perhaps the last dial up only bbs running on authentic commodore hardware feel free to correct me on this. However i found it quite difficult to find suitable software and therefore turned to my windows 98 system. Colossus is also unique in that it is likely the only bbs running vintage wwiv v4. Jul 25, 2011 however i found it quite difficult to find suitable software and therefore turned to my windows 98 system. The resulting software, called cbbs, allowed personalcomputer owners with modems to dialin to a dedicated system and leave messages. If someone wished to access a bbs, they would load into their computer a textbased terminal program, with which they could dial and connect to the bbs via their modem. I ended up running my own bbs on my c64 and had to get a job to pay for the extra phone line and the array of 1581 3. According to andrew wiskow, greg pfountz, the original author of color 64 bbs software, has authorized the release of the final version that he wrote of color 64 v7.
It has petscii for the commodore systems and ansi for all the rest. The april 2007 edition of the commodore 64128 bulletin board list is now ready for viewing. Runs in fullscreen mode on all platforms altenter switches modes nix versions will run using sdl, x11, or using curses. Most bbs enthusiasts know that the last outpost for bbses has been, for some time now, through telnet on the internet. Gbbs pro based on the acos or macos modified acos language.
Classic doswindows bbs software site list bbs corner. Why not start taking all the bbses mentioned in all the textfiles and create a really, really huge bbs list. Diversidial ddial chatroom atmosphere supporting up to 7 incoming lines allowing links to other ddial boards. A bbs software package that is on this list means that the software is no longer being supported by the author and most likely there is little if any third party support. Commodore pc tools tools specific to transferring software between a pc and a commodore 12 5. A bbs is a private online dialup service run on a single home computer. Gbbs applesoft and assemblerbased bbs program by greg schaeffer. They did so using ordinary telephone phone lines and dial up modems, often directing the devices to call bulletin board systems bbses in their local. Id love to put an atariage atari 8bit bbs online using real hardware. Trying out new bbs software, getting into ascii art, warez, demos, etc. I settled pretty quickly on the excellent synchronet for which the author has also written dial up support. Im planning on using a i386based host with msdos or os2. There is software that you can run on the pc to allow the telnet session to go to the 64.
Nice little guide on how to call commodore 64 bbs systems using telnet instead of a dial up modem. Its crazy to think that i have been working on this software since high school and now i am all grown up and well into my professional career. With these you will be able to dial into old school c64128 bbs that have been converted to telnet from dial up. Running 247 at 3001200 baud on a commodore 64 using all american bbs software. Dec 26, 2017 from 19921998 i ran a dial up bbs, and in 2005 i started up its telnetbased successor.
Bbs software for commodore 64 commodore 64 c64 forum. In this video, well take a brief look at the history of bulletin board systems and connect to some bbses using a commodore 64. Hbbs a hiresolution graphical dialup bbs and client package for the apple ii, supported threaded, rich media messages including graphics, shapes, sound, fonts, sprites and animation via its desktop client. A bbs is a private online dial up service run on a single home computer. Jan 14, 2016 the forgotten world of bbs door games. I put it as the first item on the disk so the shiftrunstop trick will load and run the first item on the disk. If you have a modem and a phone line, you can call it today at 9516521690. Dial up modems a dial up connection works by dialing a telephone number through the telephone company.
Windows, linux, openbsd, netbsd, os x, and freebsd. Syncterm is a very nice bbs terminal program for windows, linux, and mac os x that supports. Aug 03, 2016 hi, this a short demonstration of connecting to a bbs through a dial up modem using term on a commodore amiga 2000. Commodore 128d and cpm retrocosms vintage computing.
A few weeks later, im up past 77,000 bbses listed, with many including the sysops name, software used, and if youre lucky a relatively accurate timespan for the years that bbs graced the telephone network. The bbs corner classic dos windows os2 bbs software list. Andrew wiskow emailed me today with news that his longplanned commodore dial up bbs s return to glory is now complete. Next was the software, which was easy enough to transfer to a 1541 floppy disk that can be read with the ieee488 enabled commodore 2031 single floppy disk drive.
Bbs vintage is the new old, retro games news, retro gaming. The priority is on dial up software created before 1995, although additions for any and all bbs programs are welcome. I ran it on a commodore 128 with a few 1571 and 1581 floppy drives. Hbbs a hiresolution graphica l dial up bbs and client package for the apple ii, supported threaded, rich media messages including graphics, shapes, sound, fonts, sprites and animation via its desktop client. Below is a collection of hopefully helpful links for he or she who has a mind to dip a toe in and see what the current bbs scene is all about.
Unfortunately, its a telnetonly program, so it cant be used for dial up connections. The following is a listing of classic bbs software programs from yesteryear. No longer does everyone in the house complain about the phone not working because im using dial up, and the 10mbs is a very nice improvement over modem speeds. Before the age of multitasking operating systems, the. I was up all hours of the night talking to people who logged in. Once logged in, the user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging messages with other users through public message boards and sometimes via direct chatting. Once logged in, the user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging messages with. Futurevision by tc wilson aka the captain based on the metal language gbbs applesoftbased bbs program gbbs pro based. The lost civilization of dialup bulletin board systems the. One method is connecting your commodore 64 to a pc with a rs232 serial connector. Unfortunately, not all modems are supported with this program. Worldgroup is an ansirip based dialup and telnettable bbs, a web server, and an internet service provider all in one package. It operates at 30012002400 baud, and features 4080 column operation, asciiansipetscii support, message bases, file transfers, and online. To save time, if a hardware platform had no modem made for it or lacks any known bbs software, it will be greyed out.
The computers must have a terminal program software so that they can run commands on the bulletin board service bbs. Besides the traditional base, it offers many features not seen in other bbs programs, enabling the internet to your bbs users and enabling the bbs for the internet. For door based games, see door games applenet diversidial ddial chatroom atmosphere supporting up to 7 incoming lines allowing links to other ddial boards. Dialup nights is a new dialup only bulletin board, running maxs bbs on native amiga ng.
Telnetaccessibility has been added, making it the first bbs running on a c64 with a hybrid setup allowing both dialup and telnet calls. And believe it or not, there are still a handful of bbses out there that have not modernized and switched over to the net. Diehard sysops are resurrecting bbss from the 1980s. Dialup modems a dialup connection works by dialing a telephone number through the telephone company. The following is a list of known active bbs software websites. Commodore 64128 bulletin board list petscii forums. Its a great place to run classic msdos door games like tradewars 2002, legend of the red dragon. Borderline bbs is the only dialup bbs anywhere in the world right now running. Due to some recent interest in having a commodore run dial up bbs for people to call, ive decided to put up borderline bbs, running on color 64 v7. Dial up nights is a new dial up only bulletin board, running maxs bbs on native amiga ng hardware. If you are looking for a dial up bbs, there is citadel 64 bbs 209845. Hbbs a hiresolution graphical dialup bbs and client package for the apple ii.