na103
Experienced Member
A Historic Discovery in Retrocomputing: A Videotel BBS Server Resurfaces from a DEC VAXstation II
One Sunday in June, thanks to a tip from my friend and fellow enthusiast Stefano Paganini, I had the opportunity to recover a DEC VAXstation II — a fascinating and rare piece of hardware that had been missing from my retrocomputer collection. At first, my interest was mainly in restoring the hardware itself.
But what I discovered went far beyond my expectations.
Digging into the machine, I uncovered a genuine historical treasure: the VAX had been used in the early 1990s as a server for a well-known Italian Videotel messaging service [ABAA-JOUR]. By carefully recovering the contents of its hard disk, I found myself face to face with a true digital time capsule — messages, announcements, and stories that painted a vivid picture of how Italians in the late '80s and early '90s used these early online services.
This isn't just about vintage hardware — it's a significant find in the history of Italian telecommunications. It's a glimpse into an era when connecting meant dialing in with a modem, typing commands into a terminal, and entering a world of slow but vibrant digital interaction made entirely of text.
After securing the data, I fully virtualized the server, bringing the original VAX/VMS operating system back to life along with the BBS environment it once hosted.
Thanks to the valuable collaboration of Francesco Sblendorio, the messaging service is now back online, fully functional and accessible within the RetroCampus BBS. Anyone can now connect and experience this preserved fragment of our digital heritage.
This discovery is not just a win for retrocomputing enthusiasts — it's an important cultural testimony to how Italy experienced its first steps into the digital age.
you can consult it at this web address:
minitel.retrocampus.com
(F5, F1, a random number, Z)
or with Videotel and wifi modem
bbs.retrocampus.com:6499
(remember to switch the videotel to prestel)
One Sunday in June, thanks to a tip from my friend and fellow enthusiast Stefano Paganini, I had the opportunity to recover a DEC VAXstation II — a fascinating and rare piece of hardware that had been missing from my retrocomputer collection. At first, my interest was mainly in restoring the hardware itself.
But what I discovered went far beyond my expectations.
Digging into the machine, I uncovered a genuine historical treasure: the VAX had been used in the early 1990s as a server for a well-known Italian Videotel messaging service [ABAA-JOUR]. By carefully recovering the contents of its hard disk, I found myself face to face with a true digital time capsule — messages, announcements, and stories that painted a vivid picture of how Italians in the late '80s and early '90s used these early online services.
This isn't just about vintage hardware — it's a significant find in the history of Italian telecommunications. It's a glimpse into an era when connecting meant dialing in with a modem, typing commands into a terminal, and entering a world of slow but vibrant digital interaction made entirely of text.
After securing the data, I fully virtualized the server, bringing the original VAX/VMS operating system back to life along with the BBS environment it once hosted.
Thanks to the valuable collaboration of Francesco Sblendorio, the messaging service is now back online, fully functional and accessible within the RetroCampus BBS. Anyone can now connect and experience this preserved fragment of our digital heritage.
This discovery is not just a win for retrocomputing enthusiasts — it's an important cultural testimony to how Italy experienced its first steps into the digital age.
you can consult it at this web address:
Commodore 6499
minitel.retrocampus.com
or with Videotel and wifi modem
bbs.retrocampus.com:6499
(remember to switch the videotel to prestel)
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