vintage modem and VOIP reddit / bbs ---------------------------------------------------------------------- jimh12345 · 2022-06-15 16:56 I worked for a modem maker (CTS Datacomm) in the 80s. Recently, for some reason, I decided I wanted to find one of their products from that time, and use it access a BBS. I found one on Ebay and it works - I think. Now I need to figure out VOIP adapters and services. 2400 BPS isn't nearly as demanding as the higher speeds, so I think VOIP has a good shot. But there's a lot of old out-of-date information on the web. What devices and VOIP providers are BBS people using today? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PhotoJim99 · 2022-06-15 17:46 VoIP can work great with modems - and it can also really suck. It all depends on how good a VoIP provider you have, how well your network functions, and how good the transport is between you and the remote site you're dialing into. Good old landlines still work best, even VoIP-like ones (where I live, I can get POTS from my cable TV company or via fibre from my telephone company - both are VoIP but have dedicated bandwidth that's not in competition with Internet traffic from my house.) If you use Internet-transported VoIP, there are a few things to watch out for: - jitter is your enemy. If you can configure your VoIP ATA (analog telephone adapter), increasing buffer space can help (though it adds latency). - some codecs work better than others. G.711 seems best. It comes in two different flavours, a-law and mu-law (the "mu" is usually written as the Greek letter). Both work well. - If you can, use a smart Ethernet switch for your home network traffic - one that lets you prioritize traffic from certain ports. Then, use prioritized ports for your VoIP traffic and deprioritize all other traffic to them. - Use wire whenever possible. Avoid WiFi connections for VoIP. - Wired Internet providers (cable, DSL, fibre) are always going to work better for VoIP than wireless providers (including mobile/cellular networks), though wireless systems that aren't oversubscribed can work well for VoIP; quality, however, is more likely to be variable. 2,400 bps is a cinch on VoIP. With good VoIP, you should be able to get into the 30kbps range, and with excellent VoIP, you should be able to max out v.34 (33.6kbps) and even get well into the 40kbps range if you use a v.90 or v.92 modem connected to a digital modem on the other end. (v.90 and v.92 require a digital modem at the remote site, otherwise connections are limited to v.34 speeds.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SqualorTrawler · 2022-06-15 20:59 Have a USR Sportster here and I can push as high as 14400, but the connection has a way of shitting the bed at that rate (the connection just...stops; no data received or sent, though carrier remains). 9600 is doable; 2400 is better, and file transfers flat-out don't work for me. The USR is hooked into an OBitalk Obi202 VoIP box, which is in the middle of its EOL phase although that appears mainly to affect Google Voice, which I don't use with it. I use **voip.ms** for the service, which has been good, and which I like because it's pay-as-you-go with no monthly charge unless you use up your allotment. For me this is a "stupid BBS trick" kind of thing rather than something I use with any regularity. However, it has given me an excuse to buy an old 1970-era touch tone phone to have on my desk, which works fully, so there's that difficult-to-describe-to-normal- people pleasure. I have also sent exactly one fax using this method, but further attempts to do so failed. As per the comments by /u/PhotoJim99 I have not yet tried tweaking any settings to improve this. This is kinda out-of-the-box. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SqualorTrawler · 2022-06-15 21:31 Note that, in my case, my cell phone provider refused a test call when I tried to limit it to just G.711a. G.711u seems to work fine. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PhotoJim99 · 2022-06-15 21:39 That's strange. I've not run into that. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- jimh12345 · 2022-06-15 22:31 2400 is all I need. And all I want is a cheap thrill - to connect to some BBSs once in a while. I have fiber internet to the house. My ISP (U S Internet) does offer VOIP but I just spent several minutes clicking on "Learn More" links on their web site without seeing the price. My guess is it's a "business plan" that I'm not going to want. Doesn't Google have some sort of VOIP service? Do those cheap "Magic Jack" things still work? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- GrimpenMar · 2022-06-15 23:05 I have Magic Jack for my home line. In these days of the cell phone, the home line seems nearly redundant. I was considering the same scenario as you are dealing with, and my concern would be that MagicJack is low-cost *and* low-quality. For a backup voice line, it's fine. My cell phone has better call quality though. For an old analog modem? I don't know. Technically, it carries audio, so it should work, but I suspect high speeds would be unattainable. 2400 bps might be okay though. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- wndrbr3d · 2022-06-15 23:53 up doots for [voip.ms](https://voip.ms) \-- been using them for years as well. really fantastic service. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- auric0m · 2022-06-16 00:06 https://2600.network pay me a visit at holdfast/holdfast :) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dmine45 · 2022-06-16 00:31 I have my BBS on VOIP and it works very well. The trick is trying to configure your ATA to work correctly. The Diamond Mine Online is available at (540) 369-2900. It uses VOIP using [voip.ms](https://voip.ms) with a Cisco ATA and a USR Sportster modem. I can get speeds up to 33,600. If anyone wants my configs, let me know. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dmine45 · 2022-06-16 00:33 And that's why you need to configure it to work with an ATA. I've gotten Cisco to work well. Grandstream is still a work in progress. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- jwse30 · 2022-06-16 00:35 I used Magic Jack with my TRS-80 Model 100 for a while (I let it lapse a month or do ago) and it worked fine. The internal modem in that machine is only 300 baud though. The problem I had with it is that it only uses touch tone dialing, and that modem did pulse dialing. I had to dual the bbs number on a phone, wait for the beep, and then hit connect on the telecom program. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dmine45 · 2022-06-16 00:35 I also use [voip.ms](https://voip.ms), but with a Cisco ATA. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- jimh12345 · 2022-06-16 00:37 Magic Jack claims better performance with their latest model. Do I understand this correctly: you buy the device for $50 and get a year of VOIP service through them at no extra cost? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- YserviusPalacost · 2022-06-16 01:06 Correct; $50 for the year. I have a free copper POTS line that my telco have me for local-only dialing, but I switched to a magic jack so that the kids could actually call my cell phone AND (primarily) so I could use the POTS line for a BBS! The magic jack seems fine, no complaints about the call quality. My only issue was that they didn't offer a number in my area code, so that is less than ideal. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- jimh12345 · 2022-06-16 14:20 The model 100! I never had one but I remember it well. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- jimh12345 · 2022-06-16 14:22 Does a Magic Jack generate dial tone and let a modem dial out with DTMF? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thenumber6six · 2022-06-16 22:19 I have done it before. Just takes A LOT of tweeking ti get it to work. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [deleted] · 2023-11-25 03:31 [removed] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PhilipFromRadioShack · 2023-11-28 01:53 I have the same setup, curious what your config looks like. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dmine45 · 2023-11-29 10:34 PM me your email address and I'll send screen shots of my ATA configs. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dmine45 · 2023-11-29 10:34 PM me your email address and I'll end you screen shots of my ATA configs