WiFi RS-232 Internet Modem
I've created a WiFi RS-232 Internet modem that plugs into a 25 pin RS-232 port and emulates the Hayes AT command set. It allows you to use your retro computer or terminal to dial "dial" BBSs online. More info here: http://biosrhythm.com/?page_id=1453 Contact me privately if you have questions. Cheers, Paul twitter: @paulrickards
Very cool. Lantronix serial device server boxes have been the goto for most people but they can be a pain to setup and they are wired not wireless so you still have to bridge them. Your project is awesome. Wish you would have announced it last week since I just bought another Lantronix on eBay that now I might not need. :-) corey cohen uǝɥoɔ ʎǝɹoɔ
On May 11, 2017, at 8:06 PM, Paul Rickards via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
I've created a WiFi RS-232 Internet modem that plugs into a 25 pin RS-232 port and emulates the Hayes AT command set. It allows you to use your retro computer or terminal to dial "dial" BBSs online.
More info here: http://biosrhythm.com/?page_id=1453
Contact me privately if you have questions.
Cheers, Paul twitter: @paulrickards
Agreed. This is brilliant. Ordered! On Thu, May 11, 2017 at 8:44 PM corey cohen via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Very cool. Lantronix serial device server boxes have been the goto for most people but they can be a pain to setup and they are wired not wireless so you still have to bridge them.
Your project is awesome. Wish you would have announced it last week since I just bought another Lantronix on eBay that now I might not need. :-)
corey cohen uǝɥoɔ ʎǝɹoɔ
On May 11, 2017, at 8:06 PM, Paul Rickards via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
I've created a WiFi RS-232 Internet modem that plugs into a 25 pin RS-232 port and emulates the Hayes AT command set. It allows you to use your retro computer or terminal to dial "dial" BBSs online.
More info here: http://biosrhythm.com/?page_id=1453
Contact me privately if you have questions.
Cheers, Paul twitter: @paulrickards
I've created a WiFi RS-232 Internet modem that plugs into a 25 pin RS-232 port and emulates the Hayes AT command set. It allows you to use your retro computer or terminal to dial "dial" BBSs online.
Can you just ATDT an IP address and port or something? Maybe there needs to be a indexing service for internet BBSes... a BBS list of phone numbers and IP addresses.
On 05/12/2017 11:28 AM, Ethan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
I've created a WiFi RS-232 Internet modem that plugs into a 25 pin RS-232 port and emulates the Hayes AT command set. It allows you to use your retro computer or terminal to dial "dial" BBSs online.
Can you just ATDT an IP address and port or something?
Essentially, yes. It's essentially a carrier board with a level converter for an off-the-shelf ESP8266 board. The ESP8266 has a serial command language that's based on the AT protocol. It's not ATDT, but you do essentially "dial" an IP address and a port, like this: AT+CIPSTART=0,"TCP",10.0.0.1,23 It should be trivial to set up most any comm program to do this. The worst case is that you'd end up typing the AT commands manually, if the software doesn't allow you to set up an arbitrary command string to do the dialing.
Maybe there needs to be a indexing service for internet BBSes... a BBS list of phone numbers and IP addresses.
That's a great idea! -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
On 5/12/2017 11:38 AM, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
On 05/12/2017 11:28 AM, Ethan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
I've created a WiFi RS-232 Internet modem that plugs into a 25 pin RS-232 port and emulates the Hayes AT command set. It allows you to use your retro computer or terminal to dial "dial" BBSs online.
Can you just ATDT an IP address and port or something?
Essentially, yes. It's essentially a carrier board with a level converter for an off-the-shelf ESP8266 board. The ESP8266 has a serial command language that's based on the AT protocol. It's not ATDT, but you do essentially "dial" an IP address and a port, like this:
AT+CIPSTART=0,"TCP",10.0.0.1,23
It should be trivial to set up most any comm program to do this. The worst case is that you'd end up typing the AT commands manually, if the software doesn't allow you to set up an arbitrary command string to do the dialing.
Maybe there needs to be a indexing service for internet BBSes... a BBS list of phone numbers and IP addresses.
That's a great idea!
DNS for BBS :)
-Dave
Oh, that's epic. Question, can it be configured to "receive" calls as well? On Fri, May 12, 2017 at 12:21 PM, Douglas Crawford via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
On 5/12/2017 11:38 AM, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
On 05/12/2017 11:28 AM, Ethan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
I've created a WiFi RS-232 Internet modem that plugs into a 25 pin
RS-232 port and emulates the Hayes AT command set. It allows you to use your retro computer or terminal to dial "dial" BBSs online.
Can you just ATDT an IP address and port or something?
Essentially, yes. It's essentially a carrier board with a level converter for an off-the-shelf ESP8266 board. The ESP8266 has a serial command language that's based on the AT protocol. It's not ATDT, but you do essentially "dial" an IP address and a port, like this:
AT+CIPSTART=0,"TCP",10.0.0.1,23
It should be trivial to set up most any comm program to do this. The worst case is that you'd end up typing the AT commands manually, if the software doesn't allow you to set up an arbitrary command string to do the dialing.
Maybe there needs to be a indexing service for internet BBSes... a BBS
list of phone numbers and IP addresses.
That's a great idea!
DNS for BBS :)
-Dave
-- Normal Person: Hey, it seems that you know a lot. Geek: To be honest, it's due to all the surfing I do. Normal Person: So you go surfing? Normal Person: But I don't think that has anything to do with knowing a lot... Geek: I think that's wrong on a fundamental level. Normal Person: Huh? Huh? What?
The ESP8266? Yes it can. -Dave On 05/12/2017 12:30 PM, Joseph Oprysko via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Oh, that's epic. Question, can it be configured to "receive" calls as well?
On Fri, May 12, 2017 at 12:21 PM, Douglas Crawford via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
On 5/12/2017 11:38 AM, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
On 05/12/2017 11:28 AM, Ethan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
I've created a WiFi RS-232 Internet modem that plugs into a 25 pin
RS-232 port and emulates the Hayes AT command set. It allows you to use your retro computer or terminal to dial "dial" BBSs online.
Can you just ATDT an IP address and port or something?
Essentially, yes. It's essentially a carrier board with a level converter for an off-the-shelf ESP8266 board. The ESP8266 has a serial command language that's based on the AT protocol. It's not ATDT, but you do essentially "dial" an IP address and a port, like this:
AT+CIPSTART=0,"TCP",10.0.0.1,23
It should be trivial to set up most any comm program to do this. The worst case is that you'd end up typing the AT commands manually, if the software doesn't allow you to set up an arbitrary command string to do the dialing.
Maybe there needs to be a indexing service for internet BBSes... a BBS
list of phone numbers and IP addresses.
That's a great idea!
DNS for BBS :)
-Dave
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
Hmm, the website for it says it currently doesn't have support for RI or DCD, (Ring Indicator or Data Carrier Detect), so the board as is couldn't be used to replace "modems" for hosting a BBS on a vintage system, as most (if not all) BBS software "Answers" on the RING signal for incoming connections. Unless I'm confused about the meaning. On Fri, May 12, 2017 at 12:34 PM, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
The ESP8266? Yes it can.
-Dave
On 05/12/2017 12:30 PM, Joseph Oprysko via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Oh, that's epic. Question, can it be configured to "receive" calls as well?
On Fri, May 12, 2017 at 12:21 PM, Douglas Crawford via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
On 5/12/2017 11:38 AM, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
On 05/12/2017 11:28 AM, Ethan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
I've created a WiFi RS-232 Internet modem that plugs into a 25 pin
RS-232 port and emulates the Hayes AT command set. It allows you to use your retro computer or terminal to dial "dial" BBSs online.
Can you just ATDT an IP address and port or something?
Essentially, yes. It's essentially a carrier board with a level converter for an off-the-shelf ESP8266 board. The ESP8266 has a serial command language that's based on the AT protocol. It's not ATDT, but you do essentially "dial" an IP address and a port, like this:
AT+CIPSTART=0,"TCP",10.0.0.1,23
It should be trivial to set up most any comm program to do this. The worst case is that you'd end up typing the AT commands manually, if the software doesn't allow you to set up an arbitrary command string to do the dialing.
Maybe there needs to be a indexing service for internet BBSes... a BBS
list of phone numbers and IP addresses.
That's a great idea!
DNS for BBS :)
-Dave
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
-- Normal Person: Hey, it seems that you know a lot. Geek: To be honest, it's due to all the surfing I do. Normal Person: So you go surfing? Normal Person: But I don't think that has anything to do with knowing a lot... Geek: I think that's wrong on a fundamental level. Normal Person: Huh? Huh? What?
I believe you're correct. You'd need something in the middle for that functionality. It could be accomplished pretty easily (as well as translation of "ATDT", etc) with a small microcontroller with dual UARTs acting as a translation layer. -Dave On 05/12/2017 01:04 PM, Joseph Oprysko via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Hmm, the website for it says it currently doesn't have support for RI or DCD, (Ring Indicator or Data Carrier Detect), so the board as is couldn't be used to replace "modems" for hosting a BBS on a vintage system, as most (if not all) BBS software "Answers" on the RING signal for incoming connections. Unless I'm confused about the meaning.
On Fri, May 12, 2017 at 12:34 PM, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
The ESP8266? Yes it can.
-Dave
On 05/12/2017 12:30 PM, Joseph Oprysko via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Oh, that's epic. Question, can it be configured to "receive" calls as well?
On Fri, May 12, 2017 at 12:21 PM, Douglas Crawford via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
On 5/12/2017 11:38 AM, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
On 05/12/2017 11:28 AM, Ethan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
I've created a WiFi RS-232 Internet modem that plugs into a 25 pin
> RS-232 > port and emulates the Hayes AT command set. It allows you to use your > retro > computer or terminal to dial "dial" BBSs online. > > Can you just ATDT an IP address and port or something?
Essentially, yes. It's essentially a carrier board with a level converter for an off-the-shelf ESP8266 board. The ESP8266 has a serial command language that's based on the AT protocol. It's not ATDT, but you do essentially "dial" an IP address and a port, like this:
AT+CIPSTART=0,"TCP",10.0.0.1,23
It should be trivial to set up most any comm program to do this. The worst case is that you'd end up typing the AT commands manually, if the software doesn't allow you to set up an arbitrary command string to do the dialing.
Maybe there needs to be a indexing service for internet BBSes... a BBS
list of phone numbers and IP addresses.
That's a great idea!
DNS for BBS :)
-Dave
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
Hmm, the website for it says it currently doesn't have support for RI or DCD, (Ring Indicator or Data Carrier Detect), so the board as is couldn't be used to replace "modems" for hosting a BBS on a vintage system, as most (if not all) BBS software "Answers" on the RING signal for incoming connections. Unless I'm confused about the meaning.
It spits out the RING text though, so that should be good enough for some BBS software? Hmm ISA version that emulates a 32 port digiboard!
Hi Joseph, Yes, it can accept inbound "calls" as well. Just like a dial up modem, use the "S0" register to enable auto answer or use "ATA" to answer manually. Cheers, Paul On Fri, May 12, 2017 at 12:30 PM, Joseph Oprysko via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Oh, that's epic. Question, can it be configured to "receive" calls as well?
On Fri, May 12, 2017 at 12:21 PM, Douglas Crawford via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
On 5/12/2017 11:38 AM, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
On 05/12/2017 11:28 AM, Ethan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
I've created a WiFi RS-232 Internet modem that plugs into a 25 pin
RS-232 port and emulates the Hayes AT command set. It allows you to use your retro computer or terminal to dial "dial" BBSs online.
Can you just ATDT an IP address and port or something?
Essentially, yes. It's essentially a carrier board with a level converter for an off-the-shelf ESP8266 board. The ESP8266 has a serial command language that's based on the AT protocol. It's not ATDT, but you do essentially "dial" an IP address and a port, like this:
AT+CIPSTART=0,"TCP",10.0.0.1,23
It should be trivial to set up most any comm program to do this. The worst case is that you'd end up typing the AT commands manually, if the software doesn't allow you to set up an arbitrary command string to do the dialing.
Maybe there needs to be a indexing service for internet BBSes... a BBS
list of phone numbers and IP addresses.
That's a great idea!
DNS for BBS :)
-Dave
-- Normal Person: Hey, it seems that you know a lot. Geek: To be honest, it's due to all the surfing I do. Normal Person: So you go surfing? Normal Person: But I don't think that has anything to do with knowing a lot... Geek: I think that's wrong on a fundamental level. Normal Person: Huh? Huh? What?
Oh, that's really cool. I guess by the fact that it hooks up via the RS232 serial port, it's limited to one inbound or outbound connection. That passes through to the serial port. (I'd kind of like to see a web based terminal app to talk to the serial port on the device) (I'm also thinking that something like this would be useful for the VCF BBS I'm working on) On Fri, May 12, 2017 at 3:07 PM Paul Rickards via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Hi Joseph,
Yes, it can accept inbound "calls" as well. Just like a dial up modem, use the "S0" register to enable auto answer or use "ATA" to answer manually.
Cheers, Paul
On Fri, May 12, 2017 at 12:30 PM, Joseph Oprysko via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Oh, that's epic. Question, can it be configured to "receive" calls as well?
On Fri, May 12, 2017 at 12:21 PM, Douglas Crawford via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
On 5/12/2017 11:38 AM, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
On 05/12/2017 11:28 AM, Ethan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
I've created a WiFi RS-232 Internet modem that plugs into a 25 pin
RS-232 port and emulates the Hayes AT command set. It allows you to use
your
retro computer or terminal to dial "dial" BBSs online.
Can you just ATDT an IP address and port or something?
Essentially, yes. It's essentially a carrier board with a level converter for an off-the-shelf ESP8266 board. The ESP8266 has a serial command language that's based on the AT protocol. It's not ATDT, but you do essentially "dial" an IP address and a port, like this:
AT+CIPSTART=0,"TCP",10.0.0.1,23
It should be trivial to set up most any comm program to do this. The worst case is that you'd end up typing the AT commands manually, if the software doesn't allow you to set up an arbitrary command string to do the dialing.
Maybe there needs to be a indexing service for internet BBSes... a BBS
list of phone numbers and IP addresses.
That's a great idea!
DNS for BBS :)
-Dave
-- Normal Person: Hey, it seems that you know a lot. Geek: To be honest, it's due to all the surfing I do. Normal Person: So you go surfing? Normal Person: But I don't think that has anything to do with knowing a lot... Geek: I think that's wrong on a fundamental level. Normal Person: Huh? Huh? What?
-- Normal Person: Hey, it seems that you know a lot. Geek: To be honest, it's due to all the surfing I do. Normal Person: So you go surfing? Normal Person: But I don't think that has anything to do with knowing a lot... Geek: I think that's wrong on a fundamental level. Normal Person: Huh? Huh? What?
Hi Joseph, That's right-- one inbound and one outbound connection at a time. Although it can handle more than one, there's only one RS-232 port to work with. When engaged in a call, in-bound "calls" do get briefly connected but a customizable "busy" message it returned before disconnecting. Running a BBS wasn't the target for this hardware but my code does support the missing signals DCD and RI. The ESP-01 I used doesn't have enough GPIO pins. Other versions of the ESP 8266 have more pins and could support running a BBS. Cheers, Paul Rickards On Fri, May 12, 2017 at 3:35 PM, Joseph Oprysko <joprysko1@gmail.com> wrote:
Oh, that's really cool. I guess by the fact that it hooks up via the RS232 serial port, it's limited to one inbound or outbound connection. That passes through to the serial port. (I'd kind of like to see a web based terminal app to talk to the serial port on the device)
(I'm also thinking that something like this would be useful for the VCF BBS I'm working on)
On Fri, May 12, 2017 at 3:07 PM Paul Rickards via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Hi Joseph,
Yes, it can accept inbound "calls" as well. Just like a dial up modem, use the "S0" register to enable auto answer or use "ATA" to answer manually.
Cheers, Paul
On Fri, May 12, 2017 at 12:30 PM, Joseph Oprysko via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Oh, that's epic. Question, can it be configured to "receive" calls as well?
On Fri, May 12, 2017 at 12:21 PM, Douglas Crawford via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
On 5/12/2017 11:38 AM, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
On 05/12/2017 11:28 AM, Ethan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
I've created a WiFi RS-232 Internet modem that plugs into a 25 pin > RS-232 > port and emulates the Hayes AT command set. It allows you to use
your
> retro > computer or terminal to dial "dial" BBSs online. >
Can you just ATDT an IP address and port or something?
Essentially, yes. It's essentially a carrier board with a level converter for an off-the-shelf ESP8266 board. The ESP8266 has a serial command language that's based on the AT protocol. It's not ATDT, but you do essentially "dial" an IP address and a port, like this:
AT+CIPSTART=0,"TCP",10.0.0.1,23
It should be trivial to set up most any comm program to do this. The worst case is that you'd end up typing the AT commands manually, if the software doesn't allow you to set up an arbitrary command string to do the dialing.
Maybe there needs to be a indexing service for internet BBSes... a BBS
list of phone numbers and IP addresses.
That's a great idea!
DNS for BBS :)
-Dave
-- Normal Person: Hey, it seems that you know a lot. Geek: To be honest, it's due to all the surfing I do. Normal Person: So you go surfing? Normal Person: But I don't think that has anything to do with knowing a lot... Geek: I think that's wrong on a fundamental level. Normal Person: Huh? Huh? What?
-- Normal Person: Hey, it seems that you know a lot. Geek: To be honest, it's due to all the surfing I do. Normal Person: So you go surfing? Normal Person: But I don't think that has anything to do with knowing a lot... Geek: I think that's wrong on a fundamental level. Normal Person: Huh? Huh? What?
I hope that's an acoustically coupled modem! ;-) On Fri, May 12, 2017 at 5:20 PM, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Running a BBS wasn't the target for this hardware but
I want our BBS to be as authentic as possible anyhow. :) We're using period modems.
Evan, I was thinking something like that modem MIGHT be able to be used for Out of Band access (I would like to see if the BBS software will run with something like PC-Anywhere for DOS) On Fri, May 12, 2017 at 5:30 PM Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
I hope that's an acoustically coupled modem! ;-)
I envision us putting the right kind of modems by the right kind of computers. Acoustic with an Altair, and then gradually getting faster for 8-bit appliancr computers, 16-bit PC, etc.
-- Normal Person: Hey, it seems that you know a lot. Geek: To be honest, it's due to all the surfing I do. Normal Person: So you go surfing? Normal Person: But I don't think that has anything to do with knowing a lot... Geek: I think that's wrong on a fundamental level. Normal Person: Huh? Huh? What?
Paul, Is there a way to connect to other internet services (admittedly at RS-232 speeds), like where it could simulate a slip/ppp connection to give it TCP/IP access? Or is it just telnet capabilities from the host computer? Pretty much trying to figure out if there is a way to make it a full (but slow) network card? Also is there an internal "number" you can dial from the host to configure various settings, or is that only done remotely? On Fri, May 12, 2017 at 9:16 PM, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Evan, I was thinking something like that modem MIGHT be able to be used for Out of Band access (I would like to see if the BBS software will run with something like PC-Anywhere for DOS)
Errrr okay I guess.
-- Normal Person: Hey, it seems that you know a lot. Geek: To be honest, it's due to all the surfing I do. Normal Person: So you go surfing? Normal Person: But I don't think that has anything to do with knowing a lot... Geek: I think that's wrong on a fundamental level. Normal Person: Huh? Huh? What?
Hi Joseph, No, as-is the modem can only make a single TCP connection and "connect" it to the RS-232 port. It would be technically possible to write firmware to emulate a SLIP or PPP connection, but I've not seen anything. You can set all settings from the RS-232 side. Additionally, the modem has a built-in web server (accessible by IP or mDNS name) where you can view all settings, plus set certain settings like SSID & password, baud rate, and initiate or hang up a call. Cheers, -Paul On Fri, May 12, 2017 at 9:28 PM, Joseph Oprysko <joprysko1@gmail.com> wrote:
Paul,
Is there a way to connect to other internet services (admittedly at RS-232 speeds), like where it could simulate a slip/ppp connection to give it TCP/IP access? Or is it just telnet capabilities from the host computer?
Pretty much trying to figure out if there is a way to make it a full (but slow) network card? Also is there an internal "number" you can dial from the host to configure various settings, or is that only done remotely?
On Fri, May 12, 2017 at 9:16 PM, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Evan, I was thinking something like that modem MIGHT be able to be used for Out of Band access (I would like to see if the BBS software will run with something like PC-Anywhere for DOS)
Errrr okay I guess.
-- Normal Person: Hey, it seems that you know a lot. Geek: To be honest, it's due to all the surfing I do. Normal Person: So you go surfing? Normal Person: But I don't think that has anything to do with knowing a lot... Geek: I think that's wrong on a fundamental level. Normal Person: Huh? Huh? What?
Paul, Is there a way to connect to other internet services (admittedly at RS-232 speeds), like where it could simulate a slip/ppp connection to give it TCP/IP access? Or is it just telnet capabilities from the host computer?
If you have a ppp daemon on a unix box listening on a TCP port, I'm sure the modem can connect to it. It's how dialup internet worked.
Evan, I was thinking something like that modem MIGHT be able to be used for Out of Band access (I would like to see if the BBS software will run with something like PC-Anywhere for DOS)
There was a program called Doorway that can do something similar as well, it was meant as a remote admin bbs door but it's a full redirect of dos screen writes (ansi) over modem. http://pcmicro.com/doorway/
Lazy Game Reviews did a review of the WiFi232. Spoilers: He likes it a lot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsS0E4G310Y On Mon, May 15, 2017 at 3:44 PM, Ethan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Evan, I was thinking something like that modem MIGHT be able to be used for
Out of Band access (I would like to see if the BBS software will run with something like PC-Anywhere for DOS)
There was a program called Doorway that can do something similar as well, it was meant as a remote admin bbs door but it's a full redirect of dos screen writes (ansi) over modem.
Lazy Game Reviews did a review of the WiFi232. Spoilers: He likes it a lot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsS0E4G310Y
LGR has a huge following! Whenever he does a review, I start to get a lot of messages from friends about things. I suspect the creator will get a bunch more orders (I think I need at least one :-) added to his waiting list. Also, I get to say I heard about this on VCF East first !! - Ethan
Paul is a member of this group, he lives nearby. I believe he's having a lot of success with this device. I have been having fun attaching computers that can use a modem to it. It might be fun to add "connection sounds" to it somehow.....Paul? On Sat, Jun 17, 2017 at 12:17 AM, Ethan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Lazy Game Reviews did a review of the WiFi232. Spoilers: He likes it a
LGR has a huge following! Whenever he does a review, I start to get a lot of messages from friends about things. I suspect the creator will get a bunch more orders (I think I need at least one :-) added to his waiting list.
Also, I get to say I heard about this on VCF East first !!
- Ethan
Paul is a member of this group, he lives nearby. I believe he's having a lot of success with this device. I have been having fun attaching computers that can use a modem to it. It might be fun to add "connection sounds" to it somehow.....Paul?
I gave heads up to a local geek that has been running a telnet BBS for a while. I inquired if he has seen any uptick in inbound connections! I wonder if Qmodem and Procom and "lazy" enough to allow hostnames and stuff in place of phone numbers. It might be possible to auto-generate phone books for those types of programs based on the telnet bbs list. This has me wanting to spin up my old BBS :-) I just need to look into running a dosbox/emulated environment on my colo host and maybe redirecting telnet traffic to it. I forgot the superuser password to it but it should be easy enough to take a new copy of the software, change that password to something known then observe the offset and replace.
On 6/17/2017 11:12 AM, Ethan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
I gave heads up to a local geek that has been running a telnet BBS for a while. I inquired if he has seen any uptick in inbound connections!
I wonder if Qmodem and Procom and "lazy" enough to allow hostnames and stuff in place of phone numbers. It might be possible to auto-generate phone books for those types of programs based on the telnet bbs list.
Here's my question: It seems to support telnet, but telnet has been long deprecated as unencrypted and insecure. I realize a lot of BBSs still use it, rightfully so, but I really want to to be able to ssh from my Apple IIe to any of my machines without having to serial tether the Apple IIe to one of my Linux boxes. Dare I hope that it supports ssh, too? -Adam
Hi Adam, Sorry, it doesn't support SSH at this time. Cheers, -p On Sat, Jun 17, 2017 at 11:20 AM, Adam Michlin via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
On 6/17/2017 11:12 AM, Ethan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
I gave heads up to a local geek that has been running a telnet BBS for a while. I inquired if he has seen any uptick in inbound connections!
I wonder if Qmodem and Procom and "lazy" enough to allow hostnames and stuff in place of phone numbers. It might be possible to auto-generate phone books for those types of programs based on the telnet bbs list.
Here's my question:
It seems to support telnet, but telnet has been long deprecated as unencrypted and insecure. I realize a lot of BBSs still use it, rightfully so, but I really want to to be able to ssh from my Apple IIe to any of my machines without having to serial tether the Apple IIe to one of my Linux boxes.
Dare I hope that it supports ssh, too?
-Adam
Hi Bill, Yes, adding sound effects of a dialup modem handshake would be so cool. In this revision it's not possible but might be something that could be added to a future revision. Cheers, -p On Sat, Jun 17, 2017 at 1:38 AM, william degnan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Paul is a member of this group, he lives nearby. I believe he's having a lot of success with this device. I have been having fun attaching computers that can use a modem to it. It might be fun to add "connection sounds" to it somehow.....Paul?
On Sat, Jun 17, 2017 at 12:17 AM, Ethan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Lazy Game Reviews did a review of the WiFi232. Spoilers: He likes it a
LGR has a huge following! Whenever he does a review, I start to get a lot of messages from friends about things. I suspect the creator will get a bunch more orders (I think I need at least one :-) added to his waiting list.
Also, I get to say I heard about this on VCF East first !!
- Ethan
Thanks all. Things have certainly picked up for a one person, in your spare time, venture! When I get finished building more and putting together kits, I can reply to the list to give folks here first crack at getting one. Cheers, -p On Sat, Jun 17, 2017 at 12:17 AM, Ethan <telmnstr@757.org> wrote:
Lazy Game Reviews did a review of the WiFi232. Spoilers: He likes it a
LGR has a huge following! Whenever he does a review, I start to get a lot of messages from friends about things. I suspect the creator will get a bunch more orders (I think I need at least one :-) added to his waiting list.
Also, I get to say I heard about this on VCF East first !!
- Ethan
As promised, I'm alerting folks on the list that more WiFi232 modems are available (both assembled and kits). http://biosrhythm.com/?page_id=1453 I'll announce it later today on Twitter (it will likely sell out shortly after). Cheers, -p On Sat, Jun 17, 2017 at 12:45 PM, Paul Rickards <rickards@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks all. Things have certainly picked up for a one person, in your spare time, venture!
When I get finished building more and putting together kits, I can reply to the list to give folks here first crack at getting one.
Cheers, -p
On Sat, Jun 17, 2017 at 12:17 AM, Ethan <telmnstr@757.org> wrote:
Lazy Game Reviews did a review of the WiFi232. Spoilers: He likes it a
LGR has a huge following! Whenever he does a review, I start to get a lot of messages from friends about things. I suspect the creator will get a bunch more orders (I think I need at least one :-) added to his waiting list.
Also, I get to say I heard about this on VCF East first !!
- Ethan
Question on this device... Can it be used to connect to the console port on a machines (ie PDP-8e) and allow me to telnet to the PDP over wifi? Does it have telnet server to serial functionality? Thanks -----Original Message----- From: vcf-midatlantic [mailto:vcf-midatlantic-bounces@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org] On Behalf Of Paul Rickards via vcf-midatlantic Sent: Sunday, June 18, 2017 9:33 AM To: vcf-midatlantic Cc: Paul Rickards Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] WiFi RS-232 Internet Modem As promised, I'm alerting folks on the list that more WiFi232 modems are available (both assembled and kits). http://biosrhythm.com/?page_id=1453 I'll announce it later today on Twitter (it will likely sell out shortly after). Cheers, -p On Sat, Jun 17, 2017 at 12:45 PM, Paul Rickards <rickards@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks all. Things have certainly picked up for a one person, in your spare time, venture!
When I get finished building more and putting together kits, I can reply to the list to give folks here first crack at getting one.
Cheers, -p
On Sat, Jun 17, 2017 at 12:17 AM, Ethan <telmnstr@757.org> wrote:
Lazy Game Reviews did a review of the WiFi232. Spoilers: He likes it a
LGR has a huge following! Whenever he does a review, I start to get a lot of messages from friends about things. I suspect the creator will get a bunch more orders (I think I need at least one :-) added to his waiting list.
Also, I get to say I heard about this on VCF East first !!
- Ethan
W2HX- It does have a TCP server built in so you telnet to it. Port defaults to 6400 but you can change it. To the serial side, it appears as a dialup modem is connected. When the you telnet to it, the "phone is ringing" and will it send a "RING" response. You answer it by issuing a "ATA" command or you can enable auto answer (ATS0=1) and it will connect automatically. If you need it to be more transparent to the serial side (i.e. will a "RING" and "CONNECT" message confuse the PDP?) you can turn off responses with ATQ0. It doesn't support the full set of RS-232 signals like DTR, DSR, RI, DCD, etc. I'm not sure if the PDP needs those signals to know there's a device there or not. There are jumpers on the bottom of the WiFi232 for certain RS-232 signals so you can loop those back to the host to get around most requirements. Cheers, -p On Sun, Jun 18, 2017 at 10:32 AM, W2HX via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Question on this device... Can it be used to connect to the console port on a machines (ie PDP-8e) and allow me to telnet to the PDP over wifi? Does it have telnet server to serial functionality? Thanks
-----Original Message----- From: vcf-midatlantic [mailto:vcf-midatlantic-bounces@lists. vintagecomputerfederation.org] On Behalf Of Paul Rickards via vcf-midatlantic Sent: Sunday, June 18, 2017 9:33 AM To: vcf-midatlantic Cc: Paul Rickards Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] WiFi RS-232 Internet Modem
As promised, I'm alerting folks on the list that more WiFi232 modems are available (both assembled and kits).
http://biosrhythm.com/?page_id=1453
I'll announce it later today on Twitter (it will likely sell out shortly after).
Cheers, -p
As promised, I'm alerting folks on the list that more WiFi232 modems are available (both assembled and kits). http://biosrhythm.com/?page_id=1453 I'll announce it later today on Twitter (it will likely sell out shortly after). Cheers, -p
Annnnd Sold out again! Going to make an ISA card version in the future?
Crap. I was too slow I wanted a couple. corey cohen uǝɥoɔ ʎǝɹoɔ On Jun 19, 2017, at 3:16 PM, Ethan via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
As promised, I'm alerting folks on the list that more WiFi232 modems are available (both assembled and kits). http://biosrhythm.com/?page_id=1453 I'll announce it later today on Twitter (it will likely sell out shortly after). Cheers, -p
Annnnd Sold out again!
Going to make an ISA card version in the future?
You can always use a CHIP with Debian Linux if you want a "power on and works" alternative, but you have to set up first. That's the thing with the WIFI232, works out of the box. b On Mon, Jun 19, 2017 at 4:11 PM, corey cohen via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Crap. I was too slow I wanted a couple.
corey cohen uǝɥoɔ ʎǝɹoɔ
On Jun 19, 2017, at 3:16 PM, Ethan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
As promised, I'm alerting folks on the list that more WiFi232 modems are available (both assembled and kits). http://biosrhythm.com/?page_id=1453 I'll announce it later today on Twitter (it will likely sell out shortly after). Cheers, -p
Annnnd Sold out again!
Going to make an ISA card version in the future?
On 06/19/2017 04:21 PM, william degnan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
You can always use a CHIP with Debian Linux if you want a "power on and works" alternative, but you have to set up first. That's the thing with the WIFI232, works out of the box.
Most annoyingly, the CHIP has been unavailable for months. They're pushing the hell out of "CHIP Pro", which has little in common with CHIP, but what I (personally) want is more CHIPs. I have a bunch here, I use them for all sorts of things. They keep saying it'll be back, but it keeps not coming back. Very, very annoyed. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
On Mon, Jun 19, 2017, at 13:45, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
On 06/19/2017 04:21 PM, william degnan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
You can always use a CHIP with Debian Linux if you want a "power on and works" alternative, but you have to set up first. That's the thing with the WIFI232, works out of the box.
Most annoyingly, the CHIP has been unavailable for months. They're pushing the hell out of "CHIP Pro", which has little in common with CHIP, but what I (personally) want is more CHIPs. I have a bunch here, I use them for all sorts of things. They keep saying it'll be back, but it keeps not coming back. Very, very annoyed.
-Dave
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
Especially considering I ordered a replacement months ago! -- Cory Smelosky b4@gewt.net
Most annoyingly, the CHIP has been unavailable for months. They're pushing the hell out of "CHIP Pro", which has little in common with CHIP, but what I (personally) want is more CHIPs. I have a bunch here, I use them for all sorts of things. They keep saying it'll be back, but it keeps not coming back. Very, very annoyed.
I have two that I keep busy.
Especially considering I ordered a replacement months ago!
-- Cory Smelosky b4@gewt.net
Before you give up on yours, make sure you have a powerful milliamp power supply, they eat a lot of juice and you may find yours conks out when going into GUI mode if you don't have enough power. I use mine headless to attach to terminals with simH and/or as a "modem" kind of like the WIFIrs232. Another very reasonable replacement for the WIFI232 is a Rasp Pi Zero. I have about five of these I use for many things including a network device for terminals. BIll
Mine bricked in a firmware upgrader crash. :( Sent from my iPhone On Jun 19, 2017, at 14:40, william degnan via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Most annoyingly, the CHIP has been unavailable for months. They're pushing the hell out of "CHIP Pro", which has little in common with CHIP, but what I (personally) want is more CHIPs. I have a bunch here, I use them for all sorts of things. They keep saying it'll be back, but it keeps not coming back. Very, very annoyed.
I have two that I keep busy.
Especially considering I ordered a replacement months ago!
-- Cory Smelosky b4@gewt.net
Before you give up on yours, make sure you have a powerful milliamp power supply, they eat a lot of juice and you may find yours conks out when going into GUI mode if you don't have enough power. I use mine headless to attach to terminals with simH and/or as a "modem" kind of like the WIFIrs232. Another very reasonable replacement for the WIFI232 is a Rasp Pi Zero. I have about five of these I use for many things including a network device for terminals.
BIll
On Mon, Jun 19, 2017 at 5:41 PM, Cory Smelosky via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Mine bricked in a firmware upgrader crash. :(
Too bad. If you want me to take a look at it feel free to mail it over. b
Will do once I find it! Sent from my iPhone
On Jun 19, 2017, at 144, william degnan via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
On Mon, Jun 19, 2017 at 5:41 PM, Cory Smelosky via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Mine bricked in a firmware upgrader crash. :(
Too bad. If you want me to take a look at it feel free to mail it over. b
On Jun 19, 2017, at 17:41, Cory Smelosky via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Mine bricked in a firmware upgrader crash. :(
Strange, the Allwinner chips have the FEL mode in ROM. You should be able to unbrick it with the Chrome flasher and a paper clip. - Dave
Just curious - why a CHIP and not a Rpi Zero W which is available? On Mon, Jun 19, 2017 at 4:45 PM, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
On 06/19/2017 04:21 PM, william degnan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
You can always use a CHIP with Debian Linux if you want a "power on and works" alternative, but you have to set up first. That's the thing with the WIFI232, works out of the box.
Most annoyingly, the CHIP has been unavailable for months. They're pushing the hell out of "CHIP Pro", which has little in common with CHIP, but what I (personally) want is more CHIPs. I have a bunch here, I use them for all sorts of things. They keep saying it'll be back, but it keeps not coming back. Very, very annoyed.
-Dave
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
I already have hardware for the CHIP's headers, but that's not a big deal. A bigger deal is that I also have plastic cases designed for them for my specific applications. But the biggest deal is that I have about ten of them here and I really like them. I also don't like to have hardware on a board that I'll never use, like video output...The Pi Zero has an HDMI output, burning power and board space, that will be wasted in nearly everything I'd ever do with one. I also really like the fact that the CHIP has a JST connector for LiPo battery packs. That said, I'll likely move to the Pi Zero W for these applications if NTC fails to pull their head out of their ass with regard to the CHIP. -Dave On 06/19/2017 05:39 PM, John Heritage via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Just curious - why a CHIP and not a Rpi Zero W which is available?
On Mon, Jun 19, 2017 at 4:45 PM, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
On 06/19/2017 04:21 PM, william degnan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
You can always use a CHIP with Debian Linux if you want a "power on and works" alternative, but you have to set up first. That's the thing with the WIFI232, works out of the box.
Most annoyingly, the CHIP has been unavailable for months. They're pushing the hell out of "CHIP Pro", which has little in common with CHIP, but what I (personally) want is more CHIPs. I have a bunch here, I use them for all sorts of things. They keep saying it'll be back, but it keeps not coming back. Very, very annoyed.
-Dave
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
On 06/19/2017 05:39 PM, John Heritage via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Just curious - why a CHIP and not a Rpi Zero W which is available?
And also, define "available"...I don't think I've ever seen any vendor list the Pi Zero (W or otherwise) as anything other than "out of stock". Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that these things are flying off the shelves. But that doesn't bode well for the prospects of my actually getting some and using them for real applications. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
And also, define "available"...I don't think I've ever seen any vendor list the Pi Zero (W or otherwise) as anything other than "out of stock".
Microcenter here in Northern Virignia has PiZeros in stock. For me, I'd rather have real sized USB ports and Ethernet.
On Jun 19, 2017 6:31 PM, "Ethan via vcf-midatlantic" < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
And also, define "available"...I don't think I've ever seen any vendor list the Pi Zero (W or otherwise) as anything other than "out of stock".
Microcenter here in Northern Virignia has PiZeros in stock. For me, I'd rather have real sized USB ports and Ethernet.
I had to buy a few adpaters for the Pi 0, that's why I prefer the CHIP, built-in Bluetooth and Wifi. All you need is to power it up in the corner to access it remotely. CHIP appears to use more power though, so it's that trade off, power vs built-in features. Good to have both, eh?
On 06/20/2017 01:07 AM, william degnan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
And also, define "available"...I don't think I've ever seen any vendor list the Pi Zero (W or otherwise) as anything other than "out of stock".
Microcenter here in Northern Virignia has PiZeros in stock. For me, I'd rather have real sized USB ports and Ethernet.
I had to buy a few adpaters for the Pi 0, that's why I prefer the CHIP, built-in Bluetooth and Wifi. All you need is to power it up in the corner to access it remotely. CHIP appears to use more power though, so it's that trade off, power vs built-in features. Good to have both, eh?
He originally mentioned the Pi Zero W, which includes BT and 802.11. But I can't get those either. As Dan stated, their distribution model is awful. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
On Tue, Jun 20, 2017 at 1:00 PM, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
On 06/20/2017 01:07 AM, william degnan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
And also, define "available"...I don't think I've ever seen any vendor list the Pi Zero (W or otherwise) as anything other than "out of stock".
Microcenter here in Northern Virignia has PiZeros in stock. For me, I'd rather have real sized USB ports and Ethernet.
I had to buy a few adpaters for the Pi 0, that's why I prefer the CHIP, built-in Bluetooth and Wifi. All you need is to power it up in the corner to access it remotely. CHIP appears to use more power though, so it's that trade off, power vs built-in features. Good to have both, eh?
He originally mentioned the Pi Zero W, which includes BT and 802.11. But I can't get those either. As Dan stated, their distribution model is awful.
-Dave
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
I forgot to mention the dealers can be total jerks too Micro Center at first limited 1x per person, and NO online sales[in-store purchase only] Not they removed the 1x per person limit, but still prohibit the online sales for the PI Zero. So if you make a detour on your road trip to the nearest store, you really want to check their inventory first before you stock up. AdaFruit still has 1x per person limit, but at least they allow online sales, so the usual applies, load up on various parts to spread out the shipping costs. Dan
On Tue, Jun 20, 2017 at 07:30:53PM -0400, Dan Roganti via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Not they removed the 1x per person limit, but still prohibit the online sales for the PI Zero???.
They also have the interesting per unit price which significantly increases with quantity starting with qty 2.
On Tue, Jun 20, 2017 at 8:28 PM, David Gesswein via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
On Tue, Jun 20, 2017 at 07:30:53PM -0400, Dan Roganti via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Not they removed the 1x per person limit, but still prohibit the online sales for the PI Zero???.
They also have the interesting per unit price which significantly increases with quantity starting with qty 2.
woah, that's crazy !!! I didn't see that last year Have to check with Ethan, he lives nearby the Columbus store maybe he knows something Dan
On 06/20/2017 07:30 PM, Dan Roganti wrote:
I forgot to mention the dealers can be total jerks too Micro Center at first limited 1x per person, and NO online sales[in-store purchase only] Not they removed the 1x per person limit, but still prohibit the online sales for the PI Zero. So if you make a detour on your road trip to the nearest store, you really want to check their inventory first before you stock up. AdaFruit still has 1x per person limit, but at least they allow online sales, so the usual applies, load up on various parts to spread out the shipping costs.
I've checked AdaFruit probably twenty times since the Pi Zero W started shipping. I've *never* seen them in stock. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
On Tue, Jun 20, 2017 at 9:12 PM, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
On 06/20/2017 07:30 PM, Dan Roganti wrote:
I forgot to mention the dealers can be total jerks too Micro Center at first limited 1x per person, and NO online sales[in-store purchase only] Not they removed the 1x per person limit, but still prohibit the online sales for the PI Zero. So if you make a detour on your road trip to the nearest store, you really want to check their inventory first before you stock up. AdaFruit still has 1x per person limit, but at least they allow online sales, so the usual applies, load up on various parts to spread out the shipping costs.
I've checked AdaFruit probably twenty times since the Pi Zero W started shipping. I've *never* seen them in stock.
-Dave
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
I haven't looked recently since I bought one last year but what I noticed is they stagger their inventory to spread it out thru the month So the supply doesn't dry up the first week they get their monthly allotment. and if you blink these go out the door so fast its out of stock again I just looked tonight and they have some in stock I would signup on their email notification list, with "Notify Me" button, they have one for each product And their notification is very reliable, I used it last year to jump on the original Pi Zero. I would see them go out of stock one week, then have some more the next week, by tracking their notifications as I mentioned, their shipping costs are lame, so I just bought the complete kit to spread the costs, so I can have one running all the time whenever I write some code or hookup some interfaces. Dan
Dave, The Pi Zero W (W being the key) has both WiFi and Bluetooth like the CHIP. There's also 10+ in stock at the Microcenter near me (Wayne, PA). the *Raspberry Pi Zero W* was launched, which is identical to the Raspberry Pi Zero, but has the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functionality of the Raspberry Pi 3 for US$10. On Tue, Jun 20, 2017 at 1:07 AM, william degnan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
On Jun 19, 2017 6:31 PM, "Ethan via vcf-midatlantic" < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
And also, define "available"...I don't think I've ever seen any vendor list the Pi Zero (W or otherwise) as anything other than "out of stock".
Microcenter here in Northern Virignia has PiZeros in stock. For me, I'd rather have real sized USB ports and Ethernet.
I had to buy a few adpaters for the Pi 0, that's why I prefer the CHIP, built-in Bluetooth and Wifi. All you need is to power it up in the corner to access it remotely. CHIP appears to use more power though, so it's that trade off, power vs built-in features. Good to have both, eh?
That would be Bill, not Dave. -Dave On 06/21/2017 02:30 PM, John Heritage via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Dave,
The Pi Zero W (W being the key) has both WiFi and Bluetooth like the CHIP. There's also 10+ in stock at the Microcenter near me (Wayne, PA).
the *Raspberry Pi Zero W* was launched, which is identical to the Raspberry Pi Zero, but has the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functionality of the Raspberry Pi 3 for US$10.
On Tue, Jun 20, 2017 at 1:07 AM, william degnan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
On Jun 19, 2017 6:31 PM, "Ethan via vcf-midatlantic" < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
And also, define "available"...I don't think I've ever seen any vendor list the Pi Zero (W or otherwise) as anything other than "out of stock".
Microcenter here in Northern Virignia has PiZeros in stock. For me, I'd rather have real sized USB ports and Ethernet.
I had to buy a few adpaters for the Pi 0, that's why I prefer the CHIP, built-in Bluetooth and Wifi. All you need is to power it up in the corner to access it remotely. CHIP appears to use more power though, so it's that trade off, power vs built-in features. Good to have both, eh?
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
I was watching, but I have not see anyone mention the Omega 2: https://onion.io/omega2/ $6.00 for the base unit, very small, and looks pretty full featured.
On 6/22/2017 12:06 AM, RETRO Innovations via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
I was watching, but I have not see anyone mention the Omega 2:
$6.00 for the base unit, very small, and looks pretty full featured.
Amazing!
On Thu, Jun 22, 2017 at 12:06 AM, RETRO Innovations via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
I was watching, but I have not see anyone mention the Omega 2:
$6.00 for the base unit, very small, and looks pretty full featured.
yes, it's amazing how much progress has been made in the last 10yrs I paid for this other one, VoCore, 3yrs ago on Indiegogo campaign Because then it was the latest 'n greatest in a compact embedded controller And very cheap, it's only 1 square inch, with Eth, Wifi, I2C, gpio, etc, runs on OpenWrt/Linux Of course they need a carrier board like the Omega2 for the communication ports, but still fits in a 1" cube And now they have a 2nd generation version which I think is still cost competitive http://vocore.io/#store
On Jun 22, 2017, at 12:06 AM, RETRO Innovations via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
I was watching, but I have not see anyone mention the Omega 2:
$6.00 for the base unit, very small, and looks pretty full featured.
That's an interesting device. I didn't know MediaTek made MIPS SoCs; I've only seen ARMs from them. That's a potential ESP32 killer for at least some applications, though probably not for anything real-time if you're running Linux on it (nothing that says you can't run FreeRTOS, though). I'm so glad to see so many companies making cheap embedded-ish devices targeted toward hobbyists in the last 5 years (and we can thank Arduino and Raspberry Pi for being the catalysts, IMO). I had all but given up hope on computing as a general hobby and embedded development in specific. Maybe we'll have a new generation of actual engineers instead of Java/PHP jockeys in a few years. - Dave
On Thu, Jun 22, 2017 at 9:59 AM, David Riley via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
On Jun 22, 2017, at 12:06 AM, RETRO Innovations via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
I was watching, but I have not see anyone mention the Omega 2:
$6.00 for the base unit, very small, and looks pretty full featured.
That's an interesting device. I didn't know MediaTek made MIPS SoCs;
The one I just mentioned from VoCore has a MediaTek MIPs SoC for the past 3yrs, and before that it's been in several products including routers I like the idea of FreeRTOS too
On 6/19/2017 6:31 PM, Ethan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
And also, define "available"...I don't think I've ever seen any vendor list the Pi Zero (W or otherwise) as anything other than "out of stock".
Microcenter here in Northern Virignia has PiZeros in stock. For me, I'd rather have real sized USB ports and Ethernet.
PiZero almost always in stock at Microcenter in St. Davids PA too.
about the power, we had this discussion not too long ago - forget which email list, almost all of these ARM/Linux SBC's are configurable to reduce power consumption Devices such as the hmdi, wifi, etc can be shut off to save a tremendous amount of power, especially if running on a battery, and if you run headless, so this is a non-issue. about the supply, That is one area where I think it has been a cluster f@ck, The Pi Zero has only 2 distributors in the whole country, Micro Center and AdaFruit -- that's it - not even Amazon can score a distribution on the Pi Zero. This is the most crazy strategy ever. They did improve their production line, where the USA is allotted 50K units per month So the supply chain has been improved since 2015, but the distribution channels still suck about unnecessary devices, if they can sell/make the Pi Zero for only $5, I'm not going to complain. There's no way in hell most of us are going to beat that price-point Unless I want to burn a hole in my wallet[and my ass] to buy 10,000 parts to beat the volume price I'm surprised one would complain why they markup the Pi Zero-W 200% now with the onboard Wifi, Clearly another marketing strategy to compete with the CHIP so now it's $10, whoop-dee-doo. it's still a viable OEM supplier for low-run production companies about EOL, They RPi folks have done a great job with their product line versus the Kickstarter funded groups. They still keep selling their very first RPi model A after 5yrs Now that's diligence and loyalty to their customers FYI, Intel just discontinued all of their ARM/Linux SBC's Edison, Galileo, and Joule -- poof ! Dan
On 6/20/2017 6:57 AM, Dan Roganti via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
about EOL, They RPi folks have done a great job with their product line versus the Kickstarter funded groups. They still keep selling their very first RPi model A after 5yrs Now that's diligence and loyalty to their customers
FYI, Intel just discontinued all of their ARM/Linux SBC's Edison, Galileo, and Joule -- poof ! Dan
I was actually going to bring this up but decided not to, now that someone has though... I actually own a Joule, got it for Christmas, very expensive little board but its quite powerful and tiny! Though it throttles badly without the included heat-sink which makes the what was tiny module large... The Joule was only released last September I think!!! Less than a year and it's dead! The Edison and Galileo I EXPECTED to get killed off at some-point... The Galileo was never super well received and just never found a place. The Edison while a neat concept never made it far... The Joule, was NEVER targeted at hobbyist really, it was targeted for embedded applications. So I am really surprised that they axed that, especially being so young, I guess it was in the same department as the other two... Though Intel is probably doing this to make budget to play catch-up with AMD :P -Connor K
On Jun 19, 2017, at 4:45 PM, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
On 06/19/2017 04:21 PM, william degnan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
You can always use a CHIP with Debian Linux if you want a "power on and works" alternative, but you have to set up first. That's the thing with the WIFI232, works out of the box.
Most annoyingly, the CHIP has been unavailable for months. They're pushing the hell out of "CHIP Pro", which has little in common with CHIP, but what I (personally) want is more CHIPs. I have a bunch here, I use them for all sorts of things. They keep saying it'll be back, but it keeps not coming back. Very, very annoyed.
Had the same problem; we wanted to use some for work, but they had just recently stopped production. Fortunately, they're still selling PocketCHIPs (which come with original CHIPs), and we needed those too; we just didn't need 30 of the shells, but even at $60 each, they're both more suited to our intended use and much cheaper than a Chromebook equivalent. Going plan is to just keep the extra 20 PocketCHIP shells as backups and/or offload them to other employees (I offered to buy a few since I backed CHIP at Kickstarter time and have a pile of 9 devices). In any case, though, depending on what you're looking for, the Orange Pi series (mostly compatible with RPi GPIO, thus the name) has a quite versatile lineup for not a lot of money, including various Ethernet, WiFi and Bluetooth options as well as some really tiny ones that can run on bodged-up PoE. Check them out on AliExpress. Software support is kinda crappy compared to CHIP or RPi, but the Armbian distribution is getting pretty good. I'm working on using two Orange Pi Zeros (512 MB) as redundant LDAP/Kerberos/DNS servers to replace my XServe G5, since they take up a tiny fraction of the power. - Dave
Hi Folks, Another batch about to be added for sale (around 8:00pm or so) so I'm letting the list know here first. http://biosrhythm.com/?page_id=1453 Cheers, -p On Mon, Jun 19, 2017 at 4:11 PM, corey cohen via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Crap. I was too slow I wanted a couple.
corey cohen uǝɥoɔ ʎǝɹoɔ
On Jun 19, 2017, at 3:16 PM, Ethan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
As promised, I'm alerting folks on the list that more WiFi232 modems are available (both assembled and kits). http://biosrhythm.com/?page_id=1453 I'll announce it later today on Twitter (it will likely sell out shortly after). Cheers, -p
Annnnd Sold out again!
Going to make an ISA card version in the future?
And apparently SOLD OUT again. LOL On Mon, Jun 19, 2017 at 6:42 PM Paul Rickards via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Hi Folks, Another batch about to be added for sale (around 8:00pm or so) so I'm letting the list know here first.
http://biosrhythm.com/?page_id=1453
Cheers, -p
On Mon, Jun 19, 2017 at 4:11 PM, corey cohen via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Crap. I was too slow I wanted a couple.
corey cohen uǝɥoɔ ʎǝɹoɔ
On Jun 19, 2017, at 3:16 PM, Ethan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
As promised, I'm alerting folks on the list that more WiFi232 modems are available (both assembled and kits). http://biosrhythm.com/?page_id=1453 I'll announce it later today on Twitter (it will likely sell out shortly after). Cheers, -p
Annnnd Sold out again!
Going to make an ISA card version in the future?
-- Normal Person: Hey, it seems that you know a lot. Geek: To be honest, it's due to all the surfing I do. Normal Person: So you go surfing? Normal Person: But I don't think that has anything to do with knowing a lot... Geek: I think that's wrong on a fundamental level. Normal Person: Huh? Huh? What?
Got my kit earlier in the week, just finished soldering it up and it worked first time! Thanks! On Tue, Jun 20, 2017 at 9:29 AM, Joseph Oprysko via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
And apparently SOLD OUT again. LOL
On Mon, Jun 19, 2017 at 6:42 PM Paul Rickards via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Hi Folks, Another batch about to be added for sale (around 8:00pm or so) so I'm letting the list know here first.
http://biosrhythm.com/?page_id=1453
Cheers, -p
On Mon, Jun 19, 2017 at 4:11 PM, corey cohen via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Crap. I was too slow I wanted a couple.
corey cohen uǝɥoɔ ʎǝɹoɔ
On Jun 19, 2017, at 3:16 PM, Ethan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
As promised, I'm alerting folks on the list that more WiFi232 modems are available (both assembled and kits). http://biosrhythm.com/?page_id=1453 I'll announce it later today on Twitter (it will likely sell out shortly after). Cheers, -p
Annnnd Sold out again!
Going to make an ISA card version in the future?
-- Normal Person: Hey, it seems that you know a lot. Geek: To be honest, it's due to all the surfing I do. Normal Person: So you go surfing? Normal Person: But I don't think that has anything to do with knowing a lot... Geek: I think that's wrong on a fundamental level. Normal Person: Huh? Huh? What?
-- Jason Perkins 313 355 0085
Hi Dave, It's true that the microcontroller is a ESP 8266 (ESP-01 module), it's running a custom firmware that I wrote. So, yes, you can simply issue a ATDT bbs.fozztexx.com:23 Many existing terminal apps will work using a built in "phone book" to dial out. If you find one that doesn't, let me know-- I'll add it. Firmware is update-able "over the air." Cheers, -p On Fri, May 12, 2017 at 11:38 AM, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
On 05/12/2017 11:28 AM, Ethan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
I've created a WiFi RS-232 Internet modem that plugs into a 25 pin RS-232
port and emulates the Hayes AT command set. It allows you to use your retro computer or terminal to dial "dial" BBSs online.
Can you just ATDT an IP address and port or something?
Essentially, yes. It's essentially a carrier board with a level converter for an off-the-shelf ESP8266 board. The ESP8266 has a serial command language that's based on the AT protocol. It's not ATDT, but you do essentially "dial" an IP address and a port, like this:
AT+CIPSTART=0,"TCP",10.0.0.1,23
It should be trivial to set up most any comm program to do this. The worst case is that you'd end up typing the AT commands manually, if the software doesn't allow you to set up an arbitrary command string to do the dialing.
Maybe there needs to be a indexing service for internet BBSes... a BBS
list of phone numbers and IP addresses.
That's a great idea!
-Dave
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
Oh! Very, very nice! -Dave On 05/12/2017 02:59 PM, Paul Rickards wrote:
Hi Dave,
It's true that the microcontroller is a ESP 8266 (ESP-01 module), it's running a custom firmware that I wrote. So, yes, you can simply issue a
ATDT bbs.fozztexx.com:23 <http://bbs.fozztexx.com:23>
Many existing terminal apps will work using a built in "phone book" to dial out. If you find one that doesn't, let me know-- I'll add it. Firmware is update-able "over the air."
Cheers, -p
On Fri, May 12, 2017 at 11:38 AM, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org <mailto:vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org>> wrote:
On 05/12/2017 11:28 AM, Ethan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
I've created a WiFi RS-232 Internet modem that plugs into a 25 pin RS-232 port and emulates the Hayes AT command set. It allows you to use your retro computer or terminal to dial "dial" BBSs online.
Can you just ATDT an IP address and port or something?
Essentially, yes. It's essentially a carrier board with a level converter for an off-the-shelf ESP8266 board. The ESP8266 has a serial command language that's based on the AT protocol. It's not ATDT, but you do essentially "dial" an IP address and a port, like this:
AT+CIPSTART=0,"TCP",10.0.0.1,23
It should be trivial to set up most any comm program to do this. The worst case is that you'd end up typing the AT commands manually, if the software doesn't allow you to set up an arbitrary command string to do the dialing.
Maybe there needs to be a indexing service for internet BBSes... a BBS list of phone numbers and IP addresses.
That's a great idea!
-Dave
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
Hi Ethan, Great question. Yes, you can use a lot of the same Hayes AT commands that you used to use with a modem. Ex: ATDT bbs.fozztexx.com:23 Will dial the BBS located at DNS bbs.fozztexx.com on TCP port 23. There's a great list of telnet accessible boards here: http://telnetbbsguide.com/ Cheers, -p On Fri, May 12, 2017 at 11:28 AM Ethan <telmnstr@757.org> wrote:
I've created a WiFi RS-232 Internet modem that plugs into a 25 pin RS-232 port and emulates the Hayes AT command set. It allows you to use your retro computer or terminal to dial "dial" BBSs online.
Can you just ATDT an IP address and port or something?
Maybe there needs to be a indexing service for internet BBSes... a BBS list of phone numbers and IP addresses.
Ur? I don't remember ATDT in the ESP8266 command set; did they add it recently? (if so, that's fantastic!) -Dave On 05/12/2017 02:55 PM, Paul Rickards via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Hi Ethan, Great question.
Yes, you can use a lot of the same Hayes AT commands that you used to use with a modem. Ex:
ATDT bbs.fozztexx.com:23
Will dial the BBS located at DNS bbs.fozztexx.com on TCP port 23.
There's a great list of telnet accessible boards here: http://telnetbbsguide.com/
Cheers, -p
On Fri, May 12, 2017 at 11:28 AM Ethan <telmnstr@757.org> wrote:
I've created a WiFi RS-232 Internet modem that plugs into a 25 pin RS-232 port and emulates the Hayes AT command set. It allows you to use your retro computer or terminal to dial "dial" BBSs online.
Can you just ATDT an IP address and port or something?
Maybe there needs to be a indexing service for internet BBSes... a BBS list of phone numbers and IP addresses.
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
participants (20)
-
Adam Michlin -
Connor Krukosky -
corey cohen -
Cory Smelosky -
Dan Roganti -
Dave McGuire -
David Gesswein -
David Riley -
Dean Notarnicola -
Douglas Crawford -
Ethan -
Evan Koblentz -
Jason Perkins -
John Heritage -
Joseph Oprysko -
Mark Whittington -
Paul Rickards -
RETRO Innovations -
W2HX -
william degnan