Connect Commodore Online????

[mjj4363]

Hi everyone,
I wanted to know how to connect my Commodore 64 online to access BBS. I have a 1200 modem for it. Do I need to sign up for any service and if so what service?

 

[wiskow]

Hi everyone,
I wanted to know how to connect my Commodore 64 online to access BBS. I have a 1200 modem for it. Do I need to sign up for any service and if so what service?

I assume you're talking about accessing Telnet BBS's... In that case, you can't do it with a modem. You'll need an RS-232 interface (either a standard user port type, or a SwiftLink/Turbo232 cartridge port type), a null modem cable, and a PC running either TCPSer4J or BBS Server. The following Adobe Acrobat document explains in detail how to do this:
http://www.petscii.com/telbbs/c64online.pdf

I've done this with a couple different Commodore/PC setups (one for my BBS, and one for calling out to other BBS's), so if you still need help after reading this document, I'd be happy to help...

If you're talking about accessing a dial-up BBS... Well, then a modem is ALL you need.

-Andrew
__________________________________
Cottonwood BBS
cottonwood.servebbs.com (port 23)
Now on Telnet! Open 24/7!
http://hometown.aol.com/cottonwoodbbs

 

[nige the hippy]

I think what wiskow is trying to say is that...

"if you're after connecting up to a dial up BBS then you're a few years too late!"

They do pop up for a while now and then, but they are a bit infrequent nowadays!

 

[wiskow]

I recently took over the task of maintining the Commodore 64/128 BBS List. There are a couple dial-up BBS's left. One only runs nights, and the other is temporarily down until some hardware issues can be sorted out. The rest are all Telnet-accessable.

You can find a copy of the most current list here:
http://hometown.aol.com/cottonwoodbbs/cbm-bbs-list.txt

-Andrew
__________________________________
Cottonwood BBS
cottonwood.servebbs.com (port 23)
Now on Telnet! Open 24/7!
http://hometown.aol.com/cottonwoodbbs

 

[mjj4363]

I recently took over the task of maintining the Commodore 64/128 BBS List. There are a couple dial-up BBS's left. One only runs nights, and the other is temporarily down until some hardware issues can be sorted out. The rest are all Telnet-accessable.

You can find a copy of the most current list here:
http://hometown.aol.com/cottonwoodbbs/cbm-bbs-list.txt

-Andrew
__________________________________
Cottonwood BBS
cottonwood.servebbs.com (port 23)
Now on Telnet! Open 24/7!
http://hometown.aol.com/cottonwoodbbs

Thank you, Also when I get the modem installed and get ready to connect to a BBS do I need a shell account? several people told me that a shell account is required?

 

[Terry Yager]

Sometimes you can use a shell account to access internet features such as telnet, but I'm still not clear if this is what you're trying to do. If you're able to post here, then you apparently already have access to the net, so you prob'ly won't need an additional (shell) account.

If, OTOH, you want to access some of the few actual dial-up bbs still in existance, you only need your modem and a communications program (good luck with your long-distance bills).

--T

 

[schotty]

Isnt there a 10B/T RJ45 card that can be attached to the C64/C128's?

http://www.dunkels.com/adam/tfe/

I found the above link quickly in google. Is this what you need? There were a few commercial entities that were selling doodads like this. I had a friend try to get Time Warner to install the cable internet on his C64c with a ethernet card and a floppy with Linux. It was an ugly way to get online, but he couldnt wait to call me to rant about the look on the tech's face. And I thought getting them to do an install of RR on an x86 Linux was bad ...

 

[wop]

Hey Wiskow thanks for the info....


I'm new to the telnet thing and although my 64 and pocketmodem are working fine, I'd rather connect using telnet and perhaps something like cgterm.

I've fiddled with cgterm which is pretty cool, although I've had little luck getting the display to 80 columns. It seems to get it's config info from a config file but changing and saving the config file doesn't seem to work.

Anyway, my question is... is there an alternative to cg term that might be a little more robust when using telnet to connect to online boards?

 

[wiskow]

Anyway, my question is... is there an alternative to cg term that might be a little more robust when using telnet to connect to online boards?

There is no alternative that I'm aware of for connecting to Commodore-run BBS's in color/graphics mode from a Windows computer. To get CGTERM to run in 80-column mode, just click Start, then Run, type in the file location, and add "-8" to the end of the command line. For example:
C:/cgterm/cgterm.exe -8

Likewise, to have CGTERM start up in fullscreen mode, use "-f". You can use both by adding "-8 -f". You'll find that some BBS's are better viewed in 80-column mode, and others are better viewed in 40-column mode.

Of course, the best alternative, and most authentic experience, is connecting to Telnet-accessable BBS's from a real Commodore 64 or 128 computer. For info on how to do this, as I said in a previous post, check out the following PDF document:
http://www.petscii.com/telbbs/c64online.pdf

Hope this helps!

-Andrew
__________________________________
Cottonwood BBS
cottonwood.servebbs.com (port 23)
Now on Telnet! Open 24/7!
http://hometown.aol.com/cottonwoodbbs

 

[mjj4363]

Sometimes you can use a shell account to access internet features such as telnet, but I'm still not clear if this is what you're trying to do. If you're able to post here, then you apparently already have access to the net, so you prob'ly won't need an additional (shell) account.

If, OTOH, you want to access some of the few actual dial-up bbs still in existance, you only need your modem and a communications program (good luck with your long-distance bills).

--T

Long distance would be a lot. When I get back to the US I am going to try connecting to a dial up BBS.