Help me figure out my rig

[rickcollette]

Looking for ideas here.

 

My goal is to use as much hardware as possible; meaning if I have to, I'll use APE for the r: device, but I would rather use a lantronix or fujinet.

For software, I am using a hacked up FoReM-XEP.

 

Issues:

When I use the 256k 800xl or the 130xe + BasicXE from the SIDE2 (switched up) and the Sdrive-Max, the sdrive starts to boot, then just stops loading.

When I use the SIDE2 + u1mb I don't know how to boot the basic xe cart *and* a disk from the SIDE2.

I've been staring at, and trying to work with, this pile of stuff for 6 months, and I'm just brain fuzzed now.

 

Computers I can use:

800xl 256k UAV
800xl u1mb 
130XE Stock

Connectivity Devices:

Lantronix
P:R:Connection
850
APE/SIO2USB
Fujinet

 

Storage:

Happy 1050's
XF551's stock
SDrive-Max
SIDE2
MyIDE ][
APE
AspeQT

Hopefully, this will be an exciting and informative discussion.

 

[rcamp48]

I have done this successfully , I have a zip file for you with the full ForemXEP program on it, where are you located , I should be able to walk you through everything to get it going including running a TNFSD server on your PC. Contact me with a private message and I can phone you no matter where you are and walk you through this... there are a number of things that you have to do, again I have an ATR that is already set up

Forem XE Pro 5.4 Master Disk Updated With Docs.atr

[rickcollette]

I really appreciate that @rcamp48 - I have a fairly hacked version of forem that I’ve been coding on for the last week. It works fine. I can run it in altirra, or on a 256k 800xl with ape. 
 

What I’m trying to work out is how to use the hardware I have, rather than this software solution (ape). 

[rcamp48]

Try it with the fujinet on your 256 K 800xl, it is all set up to use Basic XE, opens R: and Z: handlers etc

Russ

 

[Tillek]

Actually.

 

I don't recommend anyone run a BBS on Fujinet.  Despite whatever my issues with "that guy" you may or may not have heard about... I still stand by the recommendation, even if he was my bestest friend in the entire universe.  Fujinet is still an SIO device at the end of the day, and such... too slow for the disk access for a serious BBS.  The R: device is still a work in progress, and the guy doing the work is.... well... "busting his ass to try to obsolete the R: device" if I recall his quote directly.

 

APE, unfortunately (and anything SIO), while much more "Time Tested" is... still SIO for the disk access. (And as such, the all the SIO solutions on the list).  In fact, I tried running TVAG off APE as a last resort after the great Hard Drive Crash of 2020-1.... I couldn't even tolerate it enough to test it when I was running it locally and could hear the SIO sounds to know it was "doing something".  The delays were intollerable with Carina.

 

You have an 850, and a P:R:C.... I would recommend a WiModem232 (as I ran two BBS's off Lantronix and switched to WiModem 232's...) but I still like the Lantronix boxes enough to go with that if you prefer and don't want to drop the d'argent.  You didn't list the model number, so you might want to do that so we can help with specifics.

 

Your biggest problem is the need for Basic XE.  A problem I had with Carina II as I wanted to run Zenobia, and online games which required it and the general speed increase.  If your "storage solution" takes up the cartridge port (Side 2 or MyIDE][) you're kinda screwed.

 

You can run a version of the MyIDE][ that has Basic XE as part of it's image.  For me, it didn't work because MOE and Carina wouldn't run (memory location conflicts).  But I never tried it with Forem XEP.  It might work.  SIDE2 might also work with Forem XEP.  It didn't with Carina, but that might be more MOE than anything, so I'd give it a try.  Start with which you prefer and we'll do our best to help with it.

 

So my recommendation (from someone who kinda danced this dance).  Start with that MyIDE ][ with the Basic XE (I think it was all OSS carts) and try it with the P:R:C/Lantronix  I'm guessing you'll have more "general use" for your SIDE2 that you won't want to dedicate it to the BBS first thing.

 

Whether you use the u1mb 800xl or not depends on your needs for the R:Time8 clock.  If you don't need it, and are cool with entering the time/date on each boot... I'd say go with the stock 130xe (this is again, assuming you choose the MyIDE ][ and not SIDE 2).

 

For the record... TVAG is on an IDE2+ for stoage, P:R:Connection with WiModem232 (actually, going to be running with dual WiModem232's, but we'll talk about that some other day) and a stock 130xe since my 800xl didn't play well with the IDE2+  My PBI adapter has 2 cart slots, so one is for the Basic XE and one for the R-Time 8.  But that's just for the low shelf, since on an 800xl, I'd just stack them like I did when it was on my Rambo 256k 800xl (from my childhood years) with an MIO and real spinny hard drive and Lantronix UDS-10.

 

And the floppies... yeah, maybe back in the day we could get away with that... but for now... My BBS has one use for floppies.  Copying text files and such that I work on using my daily driver to the BBS machine.

 

[Tillek]

I probably should say, in all fairness... my main reason for going to the WiModem 232 was the fact that it presents a "busy" message when someone is calling.  Saved me some grief when people would say "the bbs is down" when actually... "No, you won't believe it, but someone was actually CALLING it!!!!!"

 

 

[Tillek]

8 hours ago, rcamp48 said:

I have done this successfully , I have a zip file for you with the full ForemXEP program on it, where are you located , I should be able to walk you through everything to get it going including running a TNFSD server on your PC. Contact me with a private message and I can phone you no matter where you are and walk you through this... there are a number of things that you have to do, again I have an ATR that is already set up

Forem XE Pro 5.4 Master Disk Updated With Docs.atr 719.64 kB · 0 downloads

Running a BBS off a TNFS server is the worst idea ever.  If you're going to run it off FujiNet, run it off the SD card at least.  If you're going to run it as a "private" TNFS, you may as well be running it off the SD card.

 

If you're running it off a public TNFS server...

 

I don't even have words.

[rickcollette]

28 minutes ago, Tillek said:

I probably should say, in all fairness... my main reason for going to the WiModem 232 was the fact that it presents a "busy" message when someone is calling.  Saved me some grief when people would say "the bbs is down" when actually... "No, you won't believe it, but someone was actually CALLING it!!!!!"

 

 

im in. i see one vendorfor the wimodem232; and you can only buy one from him (or i can only select one quantity...)

are there any vendors you reccomend?

 

[Tillek]

https://www.cbmstuff.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=60

It's all about the firmware... Jim Drew is the one who makes them, and the only one who distributes them far as I know (and if someone else did, they'd probably mark it up).

 

His firmware is what makes them special.  You can get similar devices, but it's hard to find one that handles the Hayes set so well, and is so responsive to users when things aren't right (ask Mr. Polka and the Dark Lord Ron).

 

Now that said, no reason we can't try with what you have first, to get it working and then you throw down the d'argent for the WiModem232.  Though you probably will end up wanting two... One for the BBS and one for the machine you use to call BBS's (I'm up to 5 right now, and probably going to get at least 3 more in the near future... my Lantronix boxes are crying).

 

But just out of curiosity again... what Lantronix box(es) do you have?

 

[rickcollette]

I have a pot of UDS-10’s that work. And a UDS-10-IAP that seems to be bricked. 

[rickcollette]

2 hours ago, rickcollette said:

I have a pot of UDS-10’s that work. And a UDS-10-IAP that seems to be bricked. 

pair. not pot. i have no idea what quantity a pot of lantronix would be.

 

[Tillek]

It would depend on the size of the pot, naturally.

 

Dark Lord has done more with those (I was using a UDS-10 for the TVAG BBS originally, and an MSS-100 for SFHQ)

 

@DarkLord can you turn the Auto Answer off on those?  I seem to remember not being able to and having to re-write Carina to not wait for the RING but go straight for the "CONNECT" message?  Other than that, I don't think I ever had any issues with the MIO or the P:R: C

[+DarkLord]

I don't *think* you can...at least I never did.

 

HTH's.

 

[Tillek]

23 minutes ago, DarkLord said:

I don't *think* you can...at least I never did.

 

HTH's.

 

Ok... I was pretty sure you couldn't, which is why I had to re-write that part of Carina (and re-re-write it when I went to the Wimodem232).

 

Of course, I never knew you could put it into Raw mode either, so..... figured it was better to check.

[rickcollette]

i did forget: I do have a few raspberry pi's I can run tcpser on as standalone devices.

 

[+DarkLord]

7 hours ago, Tillek said:

Ok... I was pretty sure you couldn't, which is why I had to re-write that part of Carina (and re-re-write it when I went to the Wimodem232).

 

Of course, I never knew you could put it into Raw mode either, so..... figured it was better to check.

 

Gotta give credit to John Polka for that. Found the settings from the PDF guide he made some time back.

 

[Tillek]

12 hours ago, rickcollette said:

i did forget: I do have a few raspberry pi's I can run tcpser on as standalone devices.

 

I personally prefer to keep any other "machine" out of it.  Otherwise it's just one more machine that can go nutty and you're down.

 

But that's up to you.  Going from the PRC/850 to tcpser is an option.  I experimented with it a little bit a couple years back and didn't really find it all that much better/worse than the Lantronix box at the time.

[rickcollette]

I now have a couple of WiModems.  one oled one not. so we can add that to the mix.

 

[rickcollette]

So, here is what I am going to try first:

 

800XL, 256K upgrade, WiModem, Sdrive-MAX, and just whatever simple bbs i can piddle with.

 

[rcamp48]

I have a new , already setup version of Forem xe, it has everything already set up for you and I believe it works ok, here is the atr file:

 

Forem XE Pro 5.4 Master Disk Updated With Docs.atr

 

 

ALl set up and ready to go so its a test system, pw: 8432 Phone Number: 0710, exactly the way I set it up

Oh the name on the account is : SYSOP

 

[rickcollette]

I do appreciate this. I’m going to use something small, fast, that I don’t care about just to shake the hardware out. 
 

I will be using my own version of forem for the actual board once its all worked out. But really, thank you. 

[Tillek]

1 hour ago, rickcollette said:

So, here is what I am going to try first:

 

800XL, 256K upgrade, WiModem, Sdrive-MAX, and just whatever simple bbs i can piddle with.

 

Well, just to say.... The Sdrive-MAX is going to be just as slow as a FujiNet for the same reason... SIO.

 

Also, I haven't used it recently... but does it still have the "doesn't always place nice with others" problem?  I'm assuming you're using the WiModem with an 850 or the PRC?

[Tillek]

I mean, if it does work fast enough for your setup, that's cool.  I just found it intolerable from Carina (and that wasn't the loading part, I'm just talking about the caller experience).

 

[rickcollette]

So. What would you use for storage?

 

I mean, my bbs ran a 1050 and a 810 many many moons ago. 
 

sdrive does have a mod to let it play with other devices. 
 

 

[rickcollette]

scratch that question - new query: I cannot find the ide2+ anywhere; is there a link or a different storage device you would use?