Michtron v3.0 BBS Software?

[Techman]

On 3/8/2024 at 8:42 PM, Bikerbob said:

Tim, now that you have a sealed box open.. can we get a copy of the original disk from the box uploaded?

 

James

I can confirm the image posted earlier is the same as the original disk. Unfortunately, all of my drives and disks have gone bad.

[Techman]

 

Quote

And last questions for this weekend, and please Tim my apologies if it feels like I'm firing away, do not feel obliged at any moment , there is absolutely no rush here.
I just post them here so I don't forget as I progress with tuning the default Michtron 3.0 BBS and it might be usefull for anybody else who wants to start using it.

No worries, fire away.

Quote

 

Page 79-80 SYSTEM Variables
flags contains current users flags that are stored in his record
this may be used as a variable, or as bit flags --see user_flags().

Page 96

userflag(expr) function
returns non-zero (true) if userflag expr is turned on

 

 

Yes,. these are booleans or as a value.

 

flags = 0 /* clears all flags */

 

if(userflag(1) and userflag(2)) is the same thing as if((flags & 3) == 3)

 

in other words flags is the base variable, and userflag(exp) allows you to set individual bits

 

 

Quote

Are these used as a Boolean ?
For example if I would ask the user if he is an ABBUC member and store the result in (user)flag1 , it's a TRUE or FALSE flag that I can check on ?

Yes see above.
 

Quote

On page 83 in the manual there is also a mention of
user_var0-user_var6 (integer variables ?) are these maybe usable to store additional information like for example if I want to store the users Country he is dialing from ?

Different from flags, they can be used for whatever you like; however, as shown below, you can also use them as flags.

 

set flag        user_var0 |= (1 << 0-15)

reset flag     user_var0 &= ~(1 << 0-15)

check flag    if(user_var0 & (1 << 0-15))

 

there are 16 flags per var (replace 0-15) with the desired flag.

 

Quote

 

On the ST Format Michtron 3.0 demo , subdirectory VAN_NEST I found the following interesting bits

if(userflag(1) || userflag(2) || userflag(3))

 

this can be made simpler as in if(flags & 7)

 

Quote

In that same example there is also an interesting LISTING.M to create a BBS listing.
and in PROFILER.M there is mention of selecting your terminal type ASCII or VT52.

 

Yeah, you can use the flags to set the emulation you want. Note that the screens on the console are vt52, so they might not look like the user's screen when using an alternative emulation.
 

[Techman]

Just ordered this. 

 

SidecarT board for developers - RPi Pico WH 

[Bikerbob]

11 minutes ago, Techman said:

Just ordered this. 

 

SidecarT board for developers - RPi Pico WH 

I have 2 already on the way. Looks like a fun project/device

 

James

[+DarkLord]

20 hours ago, Lastic said:

A partial answer to my above question regarding the console colors after reading the manual and experimenting.
I was a bit confused because the section on the MAINT.PRG states that Save Colors which saves the current colours to PALETTE.BBS is not used by the BBS.
But a bit futher on page 63 it stated
Saves the custom colours chosen by the user.
This is especially usefull if the BBS program is used in an AUTO folder.

So I thought, hold on, so it actually is used ?
Since I have my machine hooked up to TV output, black text on a white background in the console is a bit blurry.

Opened XCONTROL , Colors, changed color 1 (black) to a more greenish colour, changed color 0 (white) to black, saved it.
Then ran MAINT.PRG , saved the PALETTE.BBS (Save Colors) and restarted BBS.TOS.

And now I have a green foreground on a black background console

Thus only interesting thing would be to change the colours for a caller also (NON-ANSI) , as stated maybe using a print command with escape sequences ?
 

 

For the VT52 graphics files (pictures) that I use with DarkForce!, I always tell callers to use XControl to adjust their colors to something that suits them.

 

Here, I basically change the default green to a more pleasing blue. That gives me VT52 screens like this (otherwise all that blue would be green...ish)   :

 

[Techman]

10 minutes ago, Bikerbob said:

I have 2 already on the way. Looks like a fun project/device

 

James

Yeah, I spent the last hour reading the site. Should be interesting.

 

What was the name of the floppy disk reading device that we discussed on the call last Sunday?

 

-tim

Edited March 10 by Techman

[+DarkLord]

There's a couple, depending on what you're thinking of:

 

Gotek/Gotex

 

Greaseweazel

 

HTH's...

 

[Lastic]

7 hours ago, Techman said:

Yeah, I spent the last hour reading the site. Should be interesting.

 

What was the name of the floppy disk reading device that we discussed on the call last Sunday?

 

-tim

Greaseweazle indeed.

https://github.com/keirf/greaseweazle

And thanks for the answers on my questions

[Techman]

Thanks, I just ordered a greaseweazle also. Way too many disks around here that are not readable. I think it’s because they are spinning too slow.

[Lastic]

@Techman just to be sure that I am not on a wild goose chase, is there any setting in Michtron 3.0 or the source-code that caps the transfer speeds to 512 cps ?
 

[Techman]

On 3/11/2024 at 4:12 AM, Lastic said:

@Techman just to be sure that I am not on a wild goose chase, is there any setting in Michtron 3.0 or the source-code that caps the transfer speeds to 512 cps ?
 

There is no inherit limit other than the baud rate setting.

[Techman]

I have some interesting news.

 

I ordered an Atari Monitor to VGA adapter cable and tried it.

 

It didn't work with any monitor that I had, so I ordered the Dell SE2722H, it also didn't work. As it turned out, I didn't have the adapter plugged in all the way, so it turns out that _EVERY_ LCD I own that has a VGA connector, works perfectly with the Mega 4.

 

The Dell is a nice monitor, so I will keep it.

 

 

Happy to report, Microcenter has an AOPEN (Acer) 27CV1 for $80 on sale that also works perfectly in my limited testing.

 

-tim

Edited March 12 by Techman
Updated

[Tillek]

3 hours ago, Techman said:

I have some interesting news.

 

I ordered an Atari Monitor to VGA adapter cable and tried it.

 

It didn't work with any monitor that I had, so I ordered the Dell SE2722H, it also didn't work. As it turned out, I didn't have the adapter plugged in all the way, so it turns out that _EVERY_ LCD I own that has a VGA connector, works perfectly with the Mega 4.

 

The Dell is a nice monitor, so I will keep it.

 

 

Happy to report, Microcenter has an AOPEN (Acer) 27CV1 for $80 on sale that also works perfectly in my limited testing.

 

-tim

Now that's good to know (that there are other options!)

[Jfcatari]

10 hours ago, Techman said:

I have some interesting news.

 

I ordered an Atari Monitor to VGA adapter cable and tried it.

 

It didn't work with any monitor that I had, so I ordered the Dell SE2722H, it also didn't work. As it turned out, I didn't have the adapter plugged in all the way, so it turns out that _EVERY_ LCD I own that has a VGA connector, works perfectly with the Mega 4.

 

The Dell is a nice monitor, so I will keep it.

 

 

Happy to report, Microcenter has an AOPEN (Acer) 27CV1 for $80 on sale that also works perfectly in my limited testing.

 

-tim

Thanks for reporting that the AOPEN (Acer) 27CV1 works.

I see they have a 24 inch model of the 27.  I wonder if that works too.  Some people have been looking g for a smaller version that works in all of the st resolutions.

 

I have the dell 27 and it is perfect as you noted.

 

 

[Techman]

Playing around with these monitors, In my personal view the Acer “looks” better than the Dell when connected via VGA. But the Dell is better when connected to the PC with HDMI. I was surprised that every LCD I had with a VGA port worked (in my limited testing), however in hi-res mode due to th eliminations of the cable that I ordered, as someone shared on the call last Sunday.

 

I was also reading about the PI Storm, very interesting project. A lot more support for the Amiga than the Atari, but interesting to say the least. I am not sure how I feel about it.

 

I also watched some video in greasweasel, also an interesting project. I think it will be quite useful to recover some of my files.

 

Back to getting the BBS running, it’s real close.

 

-tim

[Tillek]

15 hours ago, Jfcatari said:

Thanks for reporting that the AOPEN (Acer) 27CV1 works.

I see they have a 24 inch model of the 27.  I wonder if that works too.  Some people have been looking g for a smaller version that works in all of the st resolutions.

 

I have the dell 27 and it is perfect as you noted.

 

 

We'll probably need to confirm it, but my understanding is the 24 did not work for someone who tested it.

 

[Jfcatari]

13 minutes ago, Tillek said:

We'll probably need to confirm it, but my understanding is the 24 did not work for someone who tested it.

 

I know the dell 24 does not work. 

I still wonder about the Acer 24.

[Techman]

Just went on sale for $119, it’s $139 at Dell and others.

 

https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/9072317/Dell-SE2722H-27-FHD-LED-Monitor

Edited March 13 by Techman

[Tillek]

18 hours ago, Jfcatari said:

I know the dell 24 does not work. 

I still wonder about the Acer 24.

Ah, ok... misunderstood... sorry.

 

[Tillek]

Just a reminder for the Atari BBS community zoom chat for Sunday, March 15th 2024 at 8pm Eastern.

For more information and the proposed agenda, go to http://www.ataribbs.com/zoomchat

This is also the link to the zoom meeting itself (it will automatically forward from 15 minutes before until four hours after the meeting starts).

We're all dying to know... how did YOU spend "Baud Day 2024"?

Also planned, another install/demo of FANSI, an ANSI editor for the ST, and a demo of the TattlerSystems WiFi RetroModem V3!

Hope to see you there!

 

[Lastic]

As I am playing learning/experimenting further , VT52 .

From the VAN NEST demo example they use these variables to set VT52 colors

  h$ = "\eb1";                      /*   Color highlight   */
  i$ = "\eb3";                      /*   Color normal      */
  j$ = "\ep";                       /*   Inverse video     */
  k$ = "\eq";                       /*   Normal  video     */

which are then used in these print commands for example

  print("\f\n            ",h$,"Atari ST  VT-52 Graphics Screens",i$,"\n\n");

I found some VT52 animations here
https://breakintochat.com/wiki/VT52

and thought a list() of such a file would execute the VT52 code they contain but helas , I either got partial screen output or none.
I then looked into the contents of these files (FUJIBOIN.TXT in particular) and found all Escape sequences were started with <0x1b> , so I did a find and replace <0x1b> to \e (like used in the VAN NEST example).

list() will just print out everything as it is, I then tried to take 2 lines of that same FUJIBOIN.TXT and use the print() function but then I got a syntax error when compiling the M file with MCL.TTP.

So my question, maybe I'm on a stretch thinking that VT52 support in Michtron goes all the way to running VT52 animations also.
Or maybe it needs an VT2MCL.TTP like for the ANSI conversion ?
At worse , I can use these VAN NEST examples to highlight/inverse or color menu items using print() statements so 4 colors in MED res.

 

[+DarkLord]

It looks like it's BBS Software specific, but I use the VT52 codes given in BBS Express! ST's manual to do

my VT52 screens. It's tedious and repetitive but for 4 colors (as seen in my post above), and adjusting

your screen colors by the XControl CPX, it's okay, IMHO.

 

Here's the code to a VT52 screen. It's stored as MTHPRIZE.V52 and a script calls it with the "VIEW" command:

 

&00
&55&50<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>&53&54
&55&50<>&53&54&56                                                                        &54&55&50<><>&53&54
&55&50<>&53&54&56                  &51---> &53 &50DARKFORCE MONTHLY PRIZES&53 &51 <---&53                  &54&57  &54&55&50<>&53&54
&55&50<>&53&54&56                                                                        &54&57  &54&55&50<>&53&54
&55&50<>&53&54&56~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~&54&57  &54&55&50<>&53&54
&55&50<>&53&54&56                                                                        &54&57  &54&55&50<>&53&54
&55&50<>&53&54&56                  (&501&53) Read About The Monthly Prize!                     &54&57  &54&55&50<>&53&54
&55&50<>&53&54&56                  (&502&53) Register For The Monthly Prize                    &54&57  &54&55&50<>&53&54
&55&50<>&53&54&56                  (&503&53) View Past Monthly Prize Winners                   &54&57  &54&55&50<>&53&54
&55&50<>&53&54&56                                                                        &54&57  &54&55&50<>&53&54
&55&50<>&53&54&56                  (&50X&53) Exit - Return To The Main Menu                    &54&57  &54&55&50<>&53&54
&55&50<>&53&54&56                                                                        &54&57  &54&55&50<>&53&54
&55&50<><>&53&54&57                                                                        &54&55&50<>&53&54
&55&50<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>&53&54

 

Here's the file itself:

 

MTHPRIZE.V52

 

Hope this helps... 

 

[Lastic]

Currently I'm using STALKER to logon and display the VT52 modes since I can run it in Hatari (linux) with the tcpser/socat connecting me to my BBS (which runs on the actual MegaSTe)

Some cross-topic posting but this is were I'm at currently whilst testing VT52 at this moment.
As stated before my focus lies on ASCII then VT52 and down the pipeline maybe ANSI (although I must just go with my ASCII screens with colors 😁 )



ESC c to change the background color doesn't seem to do much. ( dont' mind the typo in the text)
Inverse video works.
And for fun I cycled between foreground colors 0-F

In Michtron syntax

        print("\0x0c");    
        print("VT52 test EXPERIMENTAL\n");
        print("\f\n                      \eb0 Foreground Color 0 \eb1 \n");
        print("\f\n                      \eb1 Foreground Color 1 \eb1 \n");
        print("\f\n                      \eb2 Foreground Color 2 \eb1 \n");
        print("\f\n                      \eb3 Foreground Color 3 \eb1 \n");
        print("\f\n                      \eb4 Foreground Color 4 \eb1 \n");
        print("\f\n                      \eb8 Foreground Color 8 \eb1 \n");    
        print("\f\n                      \eb10 Foreground Color 10? \eb1 \n");                    
        pause("Press any key to continue...");
        print("\f\n                      \ec0 Background Color 0 \eb1 \n");
        print("\f\n                      \ec1 Background Color 1 \eb1 \n");
        print("\f\n                      \ec2 Background Color 2 \eb1 \n");
        print("\f\n                      \ec3 Background Color 3 \eb1 \n");
        print("\f\n                      \ec4 Background Color 4 \eb1 \n");
        pause("Press any key to continue...");
        print("\f\n                      \ep INVERTED VIDEO \eq \n\n");
        pause("Press any key to continue...");
        print("\f\n\eb00\eb11\eb22\eb33\eb44\eb55\eb66\eb77\eb88\eb99");
        print("\ebaa\ebbb\ebcc\ebdd\ebee\ebff \eb1! \n\n");
        pause("Press any key to continue...");        
        print("\0x0c");

 

[+DarkLord]

Interesting. BBS Express! ST also has:

 

BACKGROUND

 

FOREGROUND

 

INVERSE

 

That I forgot to mention in the previous message.

 

You can also do \r, \g, followed by content, then \b to switch to red, green and turn it back off.

 

In addition, \i will turn inverse on and \o will turn inverse back off.

 

You can combine as well. So a command like this:

 

PRINTE '\i\r  Turn Inverse on and red on - then off.  \o\b' CENTER

 

Would give red text on an inverse background, then turn it off.

 

You would normally find these commands in a script though, not a separate file (or at least that

is the way I've always used them)...

 

[Tillek]

If you are dealing with a Falcon or TT that has 16 colors in the 80 column mode, the VT52 can sometimes display 16 colors.