
      _________________________________________________________________________

            HOWTO setup the DOS based SPITFIRE BBS to be telnet accessable
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            ________________       S P I T F I R E       ________________
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                  __________    Bulletin Board System    __________
                     _______     for MS/PC WIN 32bit     _______

                         ____    Personal Computers      ____
                           _______________________________
                             ____                    ____
                               _____ Version 1.2  ____
                                 ___________________



                                   created by xbit:
                                ----------------------
                                                              

                    The X-Bit BBS > telnet://x-bit.org   <- synchronet
                    32-Bit BBS > telnet://x-bit.org:23230 <- spitfire!
                    Twitter > https://twitter.com/xbitbbs               
                    Email > xbit.bbs@protonmail.com


                   ---------------------------------------------------
                   >>>>>>   HOWTO Release Date: April 2, 2021   <<<<<<
                   ---------------------------------------------------



-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
READ ME UPDATE 4-29-25!
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

As of 1-1-2025 Spitfire suffered another Y2K type bug on 1-1-25. It no longer runs. That said
you can work around this :) Nutshell, never say die!

If you still want to setup a Spitfire BBS you'll need the following:

1) Install a 32bit windows VM. You have options here but it must be a 32bit OS. Here are some
   options and my thoughts on them.

   a) win9x: Will work great but the win9x does not very stable and VM guest tools will make the
             video look bad. I would hard pass on win9x
   
   b) winXP: Much more stable but winXP 32bit is not good with dos apps spike the CPU. Pass.
   
   c) win7 : Perfered OS. Go w/ win7 sp2 32bit as it does great with dos apps and is stable.

   d) win10: I was running my SF bbs on win10 32bit before 1-1-25 and it works very well. 
             Might have issues doing the date trick that we'll talk about next.

2) Once you have your VM installed you need to set the date back to pre 2025. I picked 2014 as
   the day and month match up wiht 2025. Once you do the above SF will run just as it did.

3) My setup: linux host > win7 guest > date set on win7 to 2014 > winning :)  



-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Introduction
-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Like many sysops I ran a BBS back it's early 90s and Spitfire BBS software was what i used
for a number of years. I missed the old days and the SF software that started it all for 
me so I got it going again via telnet :)


-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Prerequisites
-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1.0 Spitfire BBS installed and running
1.1 Download SF37-1.ZIP and SF37-2.ZIP here: https://x-bit.org/spitfire/
1.2 Lost your Spitfire reg code? I'm not sure what to do as Mike has sadly passed. RIP sir.
1.3 You might want to also download the following SF tools from the Spitfire BBS website: 
    SFUSERS, SFSYSTEM, SFNODE, SFPCKUSR, SFFILESA, SFPCKMSG and SFGUESS (door testing).
    

1.4 SPITFIRE Menu Extension 2.0 downloaded. Required for door games.
1.5 You can download SFMNUEXT.ZIP here: https://x-bit.org/spitfire/

1.6 BNU 1.7 fossil driver (i'm sure others will work fine) downloaded and placed in your OS's 
    path. This is needed for many door games. This is not needed for SF ad SF is not fossil
    aware. You can download BNU here: https://www.pcmicro.com/bnu/

1.7 NetSerial installed. This will be the Virtual Modem that allows telnet access
1.8 You can download NetSerial here: https://pcmicro.com/NetSerial/
1.9 NetSerial will run in demo mode for 30 days. If you plan on registering the software be
    sure to tell them that you're a Sysop for a price discount. Thanks for thinking of us NS! 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
NetSerial Config
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

2.0 In NetSerial Monitor goto Configure
    Click "Select Ports on the bottom right
    Select the first avalable comport (1-4) and click OK
2.1 Port Mode: Virtual Modem
2.2 Inbound Connections: Check Accept Inbound Connections and enter a telnet port. The default 
    telnet port is tcp/23. Tip, may internet sniffers look for TCP Port 23 so you may want to
    pick another like 2323, 10023 or whatever you want. 
2.3 Encryption:
    [ ] Enable Encryption Using:  
    Once you have connections to SF and its doors working you can test this option this option.
2.4 Connection Type: Telnet
    [ ] Request Remote Telnet Echo
    [X] Accept Local Telnet Echo
    [X] Request Binary Connection
2.5 COM Port Options:
    [ ] Use Virtual Phone Book 
2.6 Click Advanced
    [X] Delay Closing COM port for 9000ms
    [X] Show message if port not available 
    [ ] Update routing table if needed
    [X] Maximum time to wait for Failover Server 3000ms
    [X] Synchronize with server during COM port open
    [ ] Enable Nagle Algorithm


-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Spitfire BBS Config
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

3.0 Modem Config: ALT-M from the SF BBS menu

<I> Initialization String
    AT&C1&D2S95=129^M
<A> Answer String.................. : ATA
<F> FAX Connection Result Msg...... : +FCO
<P> Pre-Initialization String...... : ATZ^M
<O> Off Hook String................ : ATM0H1
<S> Serial Port No................. : 1       <-- enter the port you set in NetSerial 5.0 above
<B> System Baud Rate............... : 9600
<E> Error Correction Message....... : ARQ
<H> DTE Locked..................... : Yes
<N> Number Of Rings................ : 1
<D> Display Result Messages........ : On
<C> Disconnect Delay............... : 28
<U> Use High Speed Async Routines.. : No
<R> Baud Rate Requirement.......... : 0
<L> Break Length..(1000=1 Second).. : 0
<M> DTR Hangup..................... : No

3.1 Save your settings and restart SF by hitting F-10. When SF restarts it should init its new 
    modem and you should see something like this: 

    * Initializing system at 9600 bps.
    * OK
    * SPITFIRE ready for use at 12:03 a.m. on Wed., Jun. 09, 2021

3.2 Test logging into SF via telnet


-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Spitfire DOOR Config
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Getting SF working via telnet is one thing but having doors work is another. For whatever reason
you can NOT use SF.BAT for external doors. This is where SPITFIRE Menu Extension 2.0 comes into
play. See section 2.0 and 2.1 above for a recap.

4.0 Install/Config SPITFIRE Menu Extension 2.0
    
Download SFEXTEND. See 1.5 above for more info. 
Make a new dir C:\SF\SFEXTEND
Copy SFMESS.BAT, SFFILE.BAT, SFMAIN.BAT from SFEXTEND zip file to your main C:\SF dir
Copy SFMNUEXT.EXE, SFMNEXT.MNU, SFILEEXT.MNU, SFMESEXT.MNU to C:\SF\SFEXTEND


4.1 Edit SFMAIN.MNU file so when a user types <D> SF will take them to the SF Menu Extension
    program rather than the normal door menu. 

Change the following two lines:
D,<D>............. Door Section,,5,D     (the last letter on this line is D, the normal Door menu)
K,<K>...... Main Menu Extension,,999,@

To this:

K,<K>............. Door Section,,1000,D  (normal door menu now disabled)
D,<D>............... Door Games,,10,@    (this is the Extension program that works)

With the SFMAIN.MNU change above the normal door menu is closed but when a user clicks D they will
access the SF menu exstention section.

4.2 You can now edit c:\sf\SFMAIN.BAT and c:\sf\sfextend\SFMNEXT.MNU to install some doors.

4.3 Log in local via telnet and test!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
FAQ
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Q: NetSerial cost $$$, any other options? 
A: Perhaps! Rob Swindell (digital man) created a program called Virtual Dos Modem for Windows. I've
   yet to test this but it may very well work. More info on this option can be found here:
   https://web.synchro.net/?page=001-forum.ssjs&sub=syncanno&thread=144

Q: Where are the drop files created?
A: door.sys and sfdoors.dat will be created in C:\SF\SFEXTEND when a caller enters the area

Q: Can you call more sfextend programs/menus from another sfextend program?
A: Yup. in fact if you plan on having a lot of doors you may want to use the first SFEXTEND as a 
   landing pad for other SFEXTEND programs. Example:

   :EXTEND_A
      c:
      cd \sf
      call SFDORXT2.BAT
      GOTO LOOP
   :EXTEND_B
      c:
      cd \sf
      call SFDORXT3.BAT
      GOTO LOOP
   
Q: Can you create ansi menus for SFEXTEND?
A: Yup! read the SFEXTEND doc for more info but in short, file names MNEXT##.CLR and MNEXT##.BBS in
   the SFEXTEND dir will be displayed to the user

Q: Is SF still supported?
A: Yes. Mike Woltz is still supporting it in 2021 :)

Q: I have more questions, can you help?
A: Sure.. contact info at the start of the doc

Q: Where can i see SF BBS in action:
A: Only 1 left that i know of
   
   telnet://x-bit.org:23230          <-mine :)

Q: Can Spitfire be configured for QWK or FTN networks? 
A: Sadly, no. As a SF is lacking a Y2K compatible mail tosser :(

Q: Why did you get SF going again?
A: Retro rocks and 2020/21 was a PITA :)


-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Thanks!
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Thanks to the following for helping me get my 1990s bbs rolling again:

1) NetSerial and NetSerial support
2) Leisure Time BBS sysop @ telnet://bbs.riddells.net:10024  
3) And Mike Woltz!! Thank you Mike for creating SF and
