Sorry

Just a quick note to apologise for not actually getting to RR and for no BBS. I had some family issues, compounded by my not planning to be away well enough.

I'm absolutely gutted not to have been there, and so sorry to everybody expecting me. It seems that Dave didn't get my message, either, which didn't help. I'll do better next time!!

How to access the BBS

My old Ringworld BBS will be up and running at Acorn World this weekend.

We would love as many people as possible to access it, and leave us a message!

There are two main ways of accessing the BBS.

1. Dial-up, just as you did back in the 1980s!
You will need a viewdata terminal, or a BBC Micro, Modem and communications software such as CommSoft or Commstar, or some sort of viewdata terminal software and modem for your PC.

Once set-up, the magic telephone numbers to access the BBS are 0161 660 8192 or 020 7099 2934 for line 1 and line 2. If one is engaged, try the other. (I know that those are Manchester and London numbers, but they both terminate in a box I can plug-in anywhere I want!)


2. Telnet access. If you already have access to a terminal program that supports viewdata, simply point it at uko.irrelevant.com port 6400.

Alternatively, you can download a pre-configured copy of BeebEm for Windows all set-up to run CommSoft and connect to the BBS here. Simply unzip it to anywhere on your PC (I suggest c:\BeebEmDialer) and run the RUNME.BAT file! This will fire off a couple of windows and finish off by dialing into the BBS! If you are using Vista, you will probably get authorisation messages, just click "Continue". If you need to re-dial, press f3. f0(f11 in BeebEm) brings up the help screen.

I think this BeebEm is configured with beeb-style keys, so * is on shift-@. If you want to use the star on the 8 key, select Options>Logical Keyboard Mapping!

Login with your name, and have a look around. Press numbers to select the options, *aw# to access information about the BBS a the show, and *bye# when you have finished! # is usually available on your return key if using a computer.

We would appreciate if if you could goto *bb.3# and leave a message for all to see!


Both access methods will be kept available as much as possible from now until the end of the show on Sunday 13th September 2009. Watch this space for what happens afterwards. I cannot guarantee 100% uptime; we're running on 25yo hardware here, and the BeebEm implementation isn't perfect yet either, throwing up occasional errors, but please persevere with us! ...

See you online!

The Ringworld BBS

We're getting closer to a fully working system. Well, I've less than a week before Acorn World when it's got to be on show!



Here you see three Beebs all up and running the host. I just need to find another plug for the second modem, but the first is up and running. It's a little untidy, sorry, but I've been busy building master battery packs !!

If anybody wants to try dialing in, the number is 0161 660 8192. 1200/75 V23 and viewdata mode ! I can't promise 24/7 availability, but it'll be up as much as I can until the show, then during it of course.

Telnet access details to follow ..