Retrocampus BBS
reddit / bbs

----------------------------------------------------------------------
F_Sblendorio · 2023-04-23 08:45

I have been maintaining and updating my BBS "**Retrocampus**" for
retrocomputing enthusiasts since 2018. This effort includes developing
its functionalities and identifying and publishing interesting
content.

The service opens up numerous vintage platforms to the internet, such
as Commodore 64, VIC-20, Olivetti M20, Apple-1 and Apple \]\[ - and
many others.

[Main menu](https://preview.redd.it/jk5c10o6ilva1.png?width=384&format
=png&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=c9ec3ec1977c5e7c471e7d3b751134968a00bc1c)

Connect to the following coordinates:

* Server: [**bbs.retrocampus.com**](https://bbs.retrocampus.com)
* Port: **23** (generic, with system choice)
* Port: **6510** (specific PETSCII variant)

Most functionalities require **no registration.**

PETSCII variant is also accessible **via web** at
[http://bbs.retrocampus.com](http://bbs.retrocampus.com)

This BBS was born mainly for being a use case for my developer-
oriented framework for building BBses, called "PETSCII BBS Builder":

[https://github.com/sblendorio/petscii-
bbs](https://github.com/sblendorio/petscii-bbs)

So it was born as a demo, but the feature number increased with the
time. Initially it supported just PETSCII encoding for **8-bit
Commodore computers**, but later I added support for **generic ASCII
clients**, and today I tailored the screen size and content for the
following platforms:

* Commodore PETSCII 40 columns (C64, C128, plus/4)
* Apple-1 & Apple \]\[
* Pure ASCII 40 cols
* Pure ASCII 80 cols
* DOS CP 437
* Telnet - UTF8
* VIC-20 pure ASCII (22 cols)
* Olivetti M10 / Kyocera KC-85 (40 cols, 15 rows)
* Minitel (Teletel protocol)

**Old machines** like VIC-20, Kyocera, Minitel will just need a common
and cheap "**WiFi modem**", and the BBS will be immediatly accessible
(with a terminal emulation program) with commands like

`ATDT` [`bbs.retrocampus.com`](https://bbs.retrocampus.com)

TELNET/ASCI access is quite simple:

`telnet bbs.retrocampus.com` (or use programs like PuTTY)

To receive support from the community, I have decided to open a
Patreon account:

[https://www.patreon.com/FrancescoSblendorio](https://www.patreon.com/
FrancescoSblendorio)

I did it mainly for two reasons:

* funding the ongoing hosting costs, and
* support the development of new features
* offering ***exclusive contents*** to patrons

In the past few days I've released a Patreon-only feature (due to
OpenAI API usage costs): “**ChatGPT**” integrated into the BBS. You
can use the most advanced AI chatbot from your loved vintage devices.
How cool is that?

[ChatGPT functionality](https://preview.redd.it/queb5x79ilva1.png?widt
h=384&format=png&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=616e885f74e6cdcd03075eeacb2ff65
c80054a46)

Currently, I’m working on support for Minitel/Videotel terminals with
the goal of having graphics similar to those of Videotex systems.

​

[Using BBS through Minitel terminal](https://preview.redd.it/bxfmuc5zi
lva1.png?width=1153&format=png&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=c446e6a78c233da02
b7d9e72b4f9eaaad76f98c0)

----------------------------------------------------------------------
theoneural · 2023-10-14 08:20

a blast from the past. I watched a friend with his modem dial into a
bbs on an amstrad in 1989. It was amazing to me a child of pocket
calculators. At university I had watched friends carry cards with
holes in them for talking to computers and as a theology student I
thought that was quite miraculous. I personally didn''t get started
until the 8088 processor. I did see a friends bbcmicro and i saw some
sinclarql doing multiprocsessing and someone showed me zx80 a pocket
type thing like a calculator.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
ThunderTech101 · 2023-11-08 23:03

I successfully connected with my Amiga a500+

[https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ATbiSJQ87FM](https://www.youtube.com/s
horts/ATbiSJQ87FM)

----------------------------------------------------------------------
CompressedSenses · 2023-11-11 13:27

This is awesome! Jill join Patreon.

Request: Can you connect it to the Wikipedia API?