My final question before I can do this! Or not, I have everything ready I just dont have a number to dial, if I try to dial 6400 that is the port of the bbs my phone just said "extension not recognized" or somthing like that. Is there a special number I need? reddit / bbs ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dcpanthersfan · 2019-06-08 17:46 Huh? You need to "dial" the address and port such as tfcbbs.com 6464 (or tfcbbs.com 6400 which is Commodore only). Check http://cbbsoutpost.servebbs.com for BBSes. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Meeshkin · 2019-06-08 17:48 Well I am using a vicmodem and my phone is the one that uses the ethernet cord so that may be one thing ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ThisIsALousyUsername · 2019-06-09 17:19 First off, let's clear up a few things... Ethernet cord is _not_ the same as telephone cord: **Plain old telephone systems** use 6P6C (also known as RJ11) cables that have _six conductive wires inside_. _Handsets_ that connect to the base of a telephone may use 4P4C (aka RJ9) cables with _only four conductors_ (two for mic, two for speaker). _NOTE_ that plain old telephones can usually connect to the phone service using just two of the six conductors. Don't go by the number of pins on the connector, go by the width of the connector. _**Ethernet**_ connections use an 8P8C (aka "RJ45" aka TIA/EIA-568-B) cable, which is wider than either of the telephone cables & _uses a totally different pin layout & connection protocol._ 10Mbps ("10 base-T"), 100Mbps, & 1000Mbps Ethernet cables all use the same connector, but the actual connection itself is completely different from telephone cables. The narrower cables may look _similar_ but they are _not_ the same. Also, there seems to be some confusion around what BBS you're trying to connect to & how: **Most BBSs don't use dialup modems anymore**, & instead connect over the internet using Telnet or SSH connections. A TCP\IP connection is made to a specific IP address & port (such as 104.138.240.169 : 6464 ). (If the IP is variable, a URL such as "tfcbbs.com" is used to request the current IP from the user's DNS provider.) Connecting by SSH instead of Telnet is strongly preferred for security reasons (although in my opinion most modern use cases lack significant incentive or sensitivity for attack; that's my opinion, & even I would agree SSH is preferable). Most listings you'll find for contemporary BBSs _only_ support Telnet or SSH connections via TCP\IP, _not dialup!_ **If you want to connect by dialing a phone number** & using a modem via the plain old telephone system, you'll need to find one of the comparatively few Bulletin Board Systems that still list a phone number for dialup connections. A pretty high ratio of Commodore user boards should have dialup connections still available. In my experience some HAm radio oriented BBSs also tend to have dialup as an option. Besides a few BBSs listing telephone numbers on the page u/dcpanthersfan cited, there is also a list of BBSs with dialup available, at https://www.telnetbbsguide.com/connection/dial-up/ Hopefully, you've figured all this out already, but either way I wish you good luck, & **please do respond here if you have any more questions!** ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Meeshkin · 2019-06-09 17:28 Ok thanks a lot! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dcpanthersfan · 2019-06-10 02:12 Excellent summary. I have tried running my systems from a VoIP phone line but it is too unstable. On a copper line it's fine but costs too much to justify it. Telnet works best for me plus all of the Commodore terminal programs all support Telnet.