Virtual modem that works with syncTERM
reddit / bbs

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_kilby_ · 2021-02-05 05:54

I recently started using syncTERM and I am wondering if anyone knows
of a virtual modem that will work with it?(mac)

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dmine45 · 2021-02-05 10:12

Not quite understanding your question. Do you wish to telnet to other
BBSes? Or run your own Telnet BBS? SyncTerm is all you need to telnet
to other BBSes. There are other clients for the Mac, but I know
SyncTerm is pretty universal and works well with most every BBS I've
encountered.

Running a BBS on a Mac is a different story, however. I know it's BSD
Unix based but not sure how most Unix/Linux BBS software would run on
it.

Hope this answers your question?

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andreMKE · 2021-02-05 10:40

I don’t think anyone will be able to answer your question because I
doubt you’ll find anyone doing that. The BBS community pretty much
falls into two camps. There are people that use it to access BBS using
internet protocols, and there are a tiny handful of people on borrowed
time trying to run POTS lines.

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codefenix · 2021-02-05 15:23

What makes this question confusing is, when people talk about "virtual
modems", what they're *usually* referring to is something like the
WiFi-232, WiModem-232, or a PC running a  utility like TCPSER
connected to some retro computer's RS-232 port, so that said retro
computer can establish a telnet connection to a BBS.

It's unclear how this relates to SyncTerm.

Would be helpful if you explained more about what you were trying to
accomplish, and how SyncTerm is involved.

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istarian · 2021-02-05 16:04

To be fair bridging an old computer to the interneg doesn't give you
much of an original experience regarding modems and the telephone line
and VOIP has typically has serious limitations...

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andreMKE · 2021-02-05 16:24

I agree , it doesn’t give the same experience. But nor does having a
large HD and a lot of RAM and a version of Windows that isn’t just a
horrible shell over DOS.

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istarian · 2021-02-05 16:26

That's certainly true, but an old PII 233 Mhz w/128 MB of ram and a 20
GB hard drive running Windows 95/98 (not just a "horrible shell over
DOS") could have been used with a dial-up modem for internet + BBSing.

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Key_Date_7414 · 2021-02-05 17:24

Hmm interesting. I use syncterm a lot with Linux. Are you trying to my
mimic old Sokol modem hardware? Back in the day, with Linux you would
use something like ming + ppp / slip / chap protocal. That would be
for direct dial to the bbs or internet service provider. I noticed
that US robotics still sells external USB modems. Back in the day,
they were a coveted item in the Linux community as most modems
required windows drivers that virtualized the hardware (soft-modem),
compared to external modems that was full hardware. They were WAY more
reliable.

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Key_Date_7414 · 2021-02-05 17:37

There is actually hardware cards that you can buy for your computer/
server that creates a phone line. It’s what telcom services use to
create dial tone and phone lines.

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analog_potatoes · 2021-02-06 01:04

Typically virtual modems mimic real hardware modems for software that
requires a carrier and modulates that over tcp/ip. Syncterm has
everything you need to run legacy doors that need a carrier.

Now if you want to run something else, please tell us what you exactly
want to do. I’m sure one of use has done it.