[Coco] Are there any CoCo BBS's out there?

[George's Coco Address]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Rod Barnhart" <rod.barnhart at gmail.com>
To: "CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts" <coco at maltedmedia.com>
Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2007 4:50 PM
Subject: Re: [Coco] Are there any CoCo BBS's out there?


> On 8/2/07, Hex Star <hexstar at gmail.com> wrote:
>> On 8/2/07, Rod Barnhart <rod.barnhart at gmail.com> wrote:
>> So then why not run the BBS over TCP/IP? TCP/IP would of course get rid 
>> of
>> the limitations serving connections over a phone line has (speed, limited
>> number of connections, no phone calls). I'd be very interested in 
>> connecting
>> to a BBS, I wasn't aware of them during the time when they were around
>> unfortunately and have yet to get to connect to one. Would certainly be 
>> cool
>> if someone set up a BBS server on a real CoCo :) ...and even cooler if it
>> was on a 800 number (kidding!)
>
> That's exactly what I was considering... TCP/IP (telnet), not the 800 
> number ;)
>
> Assuming the CoCo is fast enough to handle multiple users at the same
> time, which is a question that's still on the table, how many serial
> ports are possible at the same time on a CoCo, including the
> bitbanger? Can a modified DC modem (converted to RS-232) co-exist with
> a Tandy RS-232 pack?

 Yes, they can and under OS9, the DC modem is /T1 and the Deluxe RS232 pak 
is /T2. I wouldn't try to use the bitbanger. Besides, it's great for 
printing out data from the BBS useage file.

  Sometime in the early nineties I attempted to get some interest in a BBS 
in the Texas Highland Lakes area. I lived in a telephone exchange that 
allowed me to have direct dialing to two areas that could not dial each 
other without paying long distance.
  I used a 512K coco3 and "OS9 Level Two BBS" by Keith J. Alphonso. I had 
two modems connected to the coco. My RS232 board was/is home brew and has 
three ports. It would have been four, but I ran out of space on the board I 
had on hand. The address space to the RS232 ports has room for four. 
Depending on what's available in your system, you could address some more. 
However, I seriously doubt that you would need more than two after the surge 
of curious users  visit a new BBS for the coco. I expect there would be a 
lot of cocoers trying it out from their PCs and then the interest would drop 
to only the ones that really enjoy this sort of thing. The internet is hard 
to beat.

 The objective was to attract the folks from both areas to use my system to 
communicate without paying long distance.  Should each modem have a user 
from different areas they could find out who was online and page them. They 
then could conference. I suppose it could handle more than two users but I 
only had two phone lines and two modems..

 It did work, but only in testing with a friend. I never was able to get 
anyone interested.

 I could put it back up for testing and see what would develop. I still have 
several 2400 baud modems and a 9600 baud modem I can connect to that coco( I 
have no idea if any of them still work). I still use that coco, including 
one of the com ports, /T1 to this PC. However, I only have one phone line 
right now and this PC uses it on a dial-up connection. However, I could make 
some time available for the BBS for a little fun. To prove if the coco can 
handle up/downloads on two ports at the same time can be done using this PC 
and a modem on the phone to another user.

 I could get into this.

George

George