Trs-80 CoCo BBS reddit / bbs ---------------------------------------------------------------------- IcyWillow1193 · 2021-02-27 13:37 I saw an archived post in here mentioning the TRS-80 CoCo, which inspired me to share this origin story. The first BBS I ever ran was on a TRS-80 Color Computer, beginning circa 1987. I had no idea of what I was doing, and very little experience actually calling BBSes, but the idea captivated me. I used a free software called CoBBS, which was in "beta" (I also didn't know what that meant.) The software, written in BASIC, was riddled with bugs, probably moreso because I downloaded it from CompuServe with a modem without error detection/correction, another concept I didn't understand. I taught myself programming by painstakingly debugging it until it was reliable enough to run (although it never stopped crashing). Because I was a newbie I also didn't understand how limited my platform was. The CoCo had no lowercase letters and instead displayed them as inverted colors; it had only 64k; and I ran it off a single 5.25" floppy drive. All of which made it painfully slow, even notwithstanding the 2400 baud modem. I advertised it in a few places, and got excited the first times the modem lit up and I'd see a caller going through the menus. But at first, people would look around and then leave. Eventually I created a few fake users and fake posts, and finally a few people started sticking around. The board remained frustratingly slow and quirky, but a cool little community and some great friendships developed in spite of that. I eventually bought a PC and transitioned to Searchlight, and in that form kept it going through the 1990s. I'm curious if anyone else ever ran or came across another CoBBS. Mine was the only one I knew of. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- luctmelod · 2021-02-27 14:20 This is such a delightful reminiscence! My brother and I launched our small BBS just a bit later than you, in the early 90s. By that time, we probably had more options for less buggy software, so it was pretty easy for us. No programming required! We launched it because there weren't a lot of local options in central Illinois for BBSes, so I guess we thought we'd try contributing to that small pool. It didn't really take off, but it was fun nonetheless. I don't remember having any experience with CoBBS, which is what you really asked about. Thanks for the story, though! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- angry-software-dev · 2021-02-27 15:25 I used to call BBS' with my CoCo3 and the 300 baud modem cartridge, you'd dial the one by hand and when the training noise started you'd push a button on the cart that would engage the modem with the line. At the time I think I had one of the first Zoom 28.8 modems attached to my PC, this was just for fun sort of thing. One my biggest regrets is dumping the CoCo and all the parts I had for it -- that and my vintage (then just "obsolete") Mac II collection. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- IcyWillow1193 · 2021-02-27 16:03 I started out in high school with a TRS-80 300 baud modem and CompuServe (which my family got because it was billed as "educational.") The $6/hour rate ran up the bill terrifyingly fast and was one of the things that pushed me towards BBSing. I regret dumping that CoCo (and assorted floppy disks) too... among other things that early BBS would now be a fascinating archive of my lost youth. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- gstandard00 · 2021-02-28 02:56 I had a system 80 (trs 80 clone) didnt know they came with modems. I got into the modem game in the 90s on a 14k4 on my Commodore Amiga 500 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- IcyWillow1193 · 2021-02-28 17:40 it didn't come with one, Radio Shack sold them separately. The first one I got was a 300 baud modem for which you had to manually dial the phone and then flip a switch. To start the BBS I had to upgrade, to a Hayes 1200 baud modem with auto-answer.