Subj : FidoNet Active
To   : Bo Holt
From : August Abolins
Date : Sun Dec 03 2023 18:54:00

Hello Bo Holt!

 BH> ..I have a pretty decent retro collection and could kick
 BH> myself at the stuff I threw away over the years that we
 BH> considered "junk" back then.  My first PC (after the CoCo
 BH> 2) was an Amstrad PC1512 (8086), and I went straight from
 BH> there to an 80486, the first computer I learned how to
 BH> build.

I still have bits and pieces of various ancient boxes, all  
partially dismantled for one reason or another.  Cords,  
connectors, hdds, ram modules, and keyboards.  I don't recall  
the exact progression of pc models that I went through.


 BH> I need to look into the FidoNet business.  It would be
 BH> cool to see if I could reclaim my old node and setup a
 BH> mailer.

I believe the reclaim is doable. It has been maintained that  
nodenumbers nolonger in existence would not be relaimed by  
other than the original sysop.


 BH> I still have a landline, and even though it's
 BH> VoIP, I can sustain connections at 9600 reliably. I'd love
 BH> to hear the computers calling each other again and
 BH> exchanging mail once a day or so.

Yeah.. but the results would be s-l-o-w.  It might get old  
fast!  <g>

Also, I heard that analog over VoIP can be finicky wrt to some  
other characteristic, not just the bps rate. I tried utilizing  
a Netgear (with a SIM to connect cellular, and supports  
physical phones to its RJ11 conectors) but my POS (point of  
sale) device did not cooperate as a backup connection over  
dialup.


 BH> I wish I still had all my old BBS backups, but I probably
 BH> through them all out when I turned 16 :(

That's pretty young to already have started throwing stuff out.  
I was probably 15 yrs into my pc/parts accumulation before I  
started tossing anything out. The first things I tossed out  
were the CRT monitors since they seemed to occupy the most  
space.

I handed off several routers and over 8 different modems to a  
friend who said that they are too good to just throw away. I'm  
convinced he's just a hoarder, but at least they have another  
"good" home to sit in and the possibility to be utilized - or  
not - but at least they are out of my space because I know  
absolutely sure that I would never revisit them.

-- 
  ../|ug

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