Civilian Owned Data Networks - Why a BBS in 2024?

[@markt.3454]

I like packet and BBS systems for the same reasons and am working on increasing the existing network in our area.

[@TheTechPrepper]

Keep up the good work. What is old, is new again. What's your BBS alias and/or call?

[@BryanWicks]

OMG... a BBS that is accessed over the air via ham radio. That's absolutely brilliant!! This needs to be duplicated in every state and province ASAP. Thanks so much for being such a positive influence in the community! Happy Thanksgiving and 73 from Southwest Oklahoma!

[@NinjaInTheFirstDegree]

I'd be down to build one near KCMO

[@TheTechPrepper]

It's not anything new. This entire country was linked 30 years using packet radio, but it decayed after the dialup Internet revolution in the mode to late 90s. There's a lot of value in this older tech

[@BryanWicks]

@ You’re not wrong. During the mid 1990s, I ran a couple of BBSes while stationed in Georgia. Back in those days we had dual modems and multiple phone lines. It was fun to be a sysop and interact with the users, and the message boards were the original social media outlets within the community. AOL changed everything, along with direct messaging services, making BBS outlets quaint, and ultimately obsolete. It never dawned on me to utilize radios as modern modems (and I consider myself to be an “IT specialist” by day) and bypass the internet all together. Thanks again for all that you do, Gaston. 73, Bryan (K5WIX)

[@TheTechPrepper]

@@BryanWicks Thanks for sharing your background, Bryan. The BBS scene was a bit before my time, but I love hearing about the early pre-Internet days of AOL and related service providers.

[@douglasvamateurradioandmore]

@@BryanWicks one of my Elmer’s had a bbs while stationed in Colorado. He may have had one at ft hood as well.

[@AricWilisch]

It shows my age that I'm excited to see bbs's come back in some form.

[@TheTechPrepper]

You're in luck. More coming. There's nothing wrong with the good old days.

[@BenJohnson2016]

Same here! I paid for a second landline for dail-up and set up a FidoNet BBS on my PC in 1985. I will be watching this space for more information about this software and methods.

[@blue_gunfox]

I'm 21 and Its cool to me. I love vintage tech tho so lol!

[@AricWilisch]

@@blue_gunfox I need to start using that. I'm not old, I'm 'vintage'

[@m.p.6330]

I like the direction the channel is going, keep up the great work!

[@TheTechPrepper]

Excellent more coming next month.

[@KN4OKadventures]

I loved the 80's BBS days

[@richardkennedy815]

As usual very interesting. Speaking as one of those retired folks on very limited fixed income, I can only hope you keep your programming project affordable. As previous, I continue to use the Mesh for data to a android, and hope to be able to connect my HT's and shack radio's [just acquired the APRS-K1 cables] in a similar fashion with Digilite.

[@TheTechPrepper]

EmComm Tools Community is free. The only catch is that you need to build the image yourself. The details are on community.emcommtools.com. Limited radios are supported. The APRS-K1 cable is not supported for many reasons. If you can swing the finances, I recommend the Digirig Lite for use with an HT and EmComm Tools.

[@SamuelBradstreet]

Happy Thanksgiving! This is giving me the urge to start working on a BBS here in Michigan.

[@TheTechPrepper]

Please do it. This country used to be connected via radio networks before the dial-up Internet days. I'm doing the same with a group out here in Arizona. Good luck and keep us posted. The next build of EmComm Tools Community R4 will have turnkey, zero-configuration support for running both a BBS client and server.

[@henryslab]

This was just a bit before my time as well but am reallly excited. I think getting things back to pre internet is great! Looking forward to learning how to build one out as well.

[@norcalstimpy]

Thanks for all you do, Gaston. Love your content. Happy Thanksgiving!

[@TheTechPrepper]

My pleasure. Happy Thanksgiving. Be safe.

[@Robbbbooo]

Your video inspired me to get my windows machine setup and connect to my local node. It's pretty awesome. Few things come to mind: Password protected areas of the node? Simultaneous users for chat nets. Ability to automatically bring in daily intel briefs from folks like s2underground. Ability to support bulk text (books, repeater lists/frequencies etc).

[@TheTechPrepper]

Thanks for the brain dump. We're thinking along the same lines. It's great to see the interest in packet.

[@devinhedge]

I wish there was a Ham version of FIDOnet. We are getting close with all of the Meshtastic networks, packet networks, and things like what you talked about in Arizona. What is missing is a coordinated map of relays, similar to Winlink. The ability to route traffic via different networks based on some form of optimization algorithm seems like it will be the key missing link technology.

[@Swamp-Fox]

Nice to see packet making a comeback! Happy Thanksgiving!

[@TheTechPrepper]

That's the plan. Two operators in the area just contacted me and are setting up stations, too. It should be good. Happy Thanksgiving.

[@MikaelLindberg]

Hopefully this can be like the old Fido Net.

[@toddpiechowski]

cool stuff well done

[@cesarguevara5144]

More of this please!

[@TheTechPrepper]

Roger. More on tne way.

[@cmscoby]

Excellent work!!

[@TheTechPrepper]

Keep your eyes peeled for more.

[@howichangeyoutubehandle]

painfully rad, we're bringing back textfiles with this one

[@TheTechPrepper]

You know it. It's coming.

[@paulweekley6876]

I am looking into this myself. It will be great to see and learn from your progress. :)

[@TheTechPrepper]

Thanks for watching. It's all about sharing the experience.

[@SteelWolf13]

I still have my Search Light BBS software from 1995. V4.5 Now I think you can get V5 for free. Still have the games.

[@TheTechPrepper]

Wow. Impressive. Have you considered spinning your station back up?

[@SteelWolf13]

@@TheTechPrepper I turn on the old PC now and then every 4-6 years just for nostalgia's sake. Play a little L.O.R.D. or Usurper.

[@KC3WHJ]

Gaston it's Thanksgiving not CHRISTMAS!!! Geez! The new Release works well (hour from nothing to installed and running). Love this BBS idea - though your making me feel old hahaha! Thanks so much!!!

[@TheTechPrepper]

I hope it's as turnkey for you as it is for me. Enjoy.

[@KC3WHJ]

Just gotta figure out why ARDOP connects but won't stay connected long enough to grab a Pat Winlink msg though same machine in Windows using ARDOP for Winlink works fine. Frustrating but could be my Surface Go 3 or RF messing with me with the 705.

[@TheTechPrepper]

@@KC3WHJ That's how digital goes. Try adjusting the audio settings with alsamixer. Note: They reset back to the defaults every time et-mode is run. Hopefully, the platform takes out most of the configuration and guess work.

[@TruthVSLies]

Awesome idea!

[@TheTechPrepper]

It's not anything new, but there's nothing like old tech to solve modern problems. Let's own our communications infrastructure again.

[@geckogirl_1173]

Happy Thanksgiving!

[@TheTechPrepper]

Back at ya!

[@Mike_M_KI4MRC]

Brilliant!

[@TheTechPrepper]

Cheers Mike!

[@RolsRoyce3]

You rock brother!!!

[@TheTechPrepper]

It's not me. This stuff is fun and practical. Just sharing the experience one poor production-quality at a time.

[@RolsRoyce3]

@ you don’t know how few of us their are I guess. I appreciate your info ❤️

[@turdferguson2863]

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

[@TheTechPrepper]

Yes, happy Thanksgiving!

[@paulweekley6876]

and Happy Thanksgiving!

[@devinhedge]

I wish there was a Ham version of FIDOnet. We are getting close with all of the Meshtastic networks, packet networks, and things like what you talked about in Arizona. What is missing is a coordinated map of relays, similar to Winlink.

[@devinhedge]

Maybe having downloadable or sharable mesh network node maps with GPS coordinates and vector calculations might help an algorithm that can calculate the most efficient mode of traffic relay?

[@theamericansilverback]

Still following on the regular with a notepad in hand 😎👍

[@TheTechPrepper]

Keep taking notes! It's always good to have information written down. All my notes are hand written, too. I don't trust computers. Keep up the good work.

[@notshared2543]

Would be very interested to hear some philosophy of use off BBS and/vs winlink, other digital

[@wheeler7973]

Happy Thanksgiving Gaston

[@TheTechPrepper]

Happy Thanksgiving.

[@DrewBarkerOk]

A radio based BBS? oh.. oh my.. the possibilities of this are near endless...

[@TheTechPrepper]

Yes, it's 100% radio based. However, this was all done using amateur radio. Here in the US, only the entry level Technician license is required.

[@JohnTarbox]

When you discuss connecting to the BBS in Panel County (timestamp 2:55) you mention APRS. To clarify, do you mean packet rather than APRS? Thanks, DE WA1KLI

[@TheTechPrepper]

Yes, I made a mistake while speaking. I meant packet. This was done in a single take due to time constraints. Videos posted as "Raw" are not edited.

[@JohnTarbox]

@@TheTechPrepper, please understand that this comment was not meant to be pedantic or critical. I loved the video 🙂I simply want to help future watchers who might be confused.

[@stevesummersell_K4WXX]

Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃

[@TheTechPrepper]

Same to you!

[@k5wxp22]

But can you play Leisure Suit Larry on this thing? 😂 Good stuff, Gaston! I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! 73 from Brett K5WXP

[@TheTechPrepper]

No, but you can play Zork. 73

[@ghostmandka5498]

Happy thanksgiving y’all

[@TheTechPrepper]

Same to you!

[@mlipscomb3232]

what is the software stack needed to run the BBS over VHF? So many questions. I must do this in my area...

[@TheTechPrepper]

I'm using my EmComm Tools Community project as all the software that is needed is already installed and preconfigured. I'll do a video to explain all the basics and how to get started. This was just a quick teaser of what's possible.

[@ke8mattj]

It seems like it has a lot of use cases. I see it as a good way to coordinate comm windows, maybe even to share files.

[@TheTechPrepper]

Absolutely. Imagine file sharing without the cloud.

[@terrycheek4097]

Do more like this

[@TheTechPrepper]

Roger. It will not be a poorly lit quick camera drop next time. I should have something in December.

[@justin6125]

I've been looking at the dell latitude 7212 tablets. I'm going to purchase one with a few extra batteries with my Christmas money's should be a nice upgrade from my panasonic fz-g1.

[@TheTechPrepper]

I have the 7220. It's a much better experience than the FZ-G1. I am not sure about the 7212, but the 7220 has an incredibly bright screen coming in at 1000 nit. Enjoy!

[@justin6125]

@TheTechPrepper the thing that really has me looking at the 7212 is the dual battery bay And they are hot swappable so you never have to shut down the pc to change out the batteries and you can buy extra batteries for $20 bucks a piece. Throw a few in your kit and your good to go for a wile.

[@bteague2]

For packet to make a comeback, we need a BBS phone app to utilize mobilink, digirigs, and some of the HTs that use bluetooth. I bet a bunch of TNCs/BBSs would get dusted off from sitting on the shelf if a new generation started using packet.

[@TheTechPrepper]

That's a good point. I'll have to see if there's an audio based TNC app on Android or iPhone. The DigiRig Lite would be perfect here.

[@bteague2]

@TheTechPrepper I haven't found one. I've been trying to find someone willing to fork aprsdroid to a text based bbsdroid

[@ttabbal]

I've got an old TNC in a box from the 90s. Might have to dig it out and try it. I used to really enjoy 2M packet.

[@bteague2]

@TheTechPrepper I haven't found one, and I've been looking. Someone needs to fork APRSdroid to BBSdroid

[@knightshousegames]

You mentioned Meshtastic, I saw a project called Reticulum doing something like this, where it can apparently use LoRa Radios or HF radios to connect nodes within a network to pages like this, is this tech related to that or is this the predecessor to that?

[@TheTechPrepper]

This predates Meshtastic by about 40 years.

[@knightshousegames]

@@TheTechPrepper I mean, I know BBS way predates Meshtastic, I'm just wondering how you are connecting to it with modern technology If I understand it right, Reticulum is a different network from Meshtastic, but uses the same style of LoRa radios, but can also use wifi, the internet, or HF radios to connect nodes, I just wasn't sure if this was how you were doing that connection

[@haxwithaxe]

Have you looked at doing syncing over HF?

[@TheTechPrepper]

Not yet.

[@blue_gunfox]

Great video! I got everything set up, and just got my tech license. I am using direwolf and a digirig mobile (transciever is a baofeng ar5rm ) on Arch Linux. I'm over here in Gilbert (downtown area) and was wondering if this is still on 145.710? and is there a node that is closer to gilbert to use to jump to PNLBBS then yours, because I cannot seem to reach it, even with my rooftop antenna.

[@blue_gunfox]

(can't reach TPPBBS) but oddly I hear packets faintly every so often on 145.710

[@TheTechPrepper]

Go through PNLBBS,W7MOT-6

[@blue_gunfox]

@@TheTechPrepper Hey I made it on to your BBS via W7MOT-6. KK7WXH 73!

[@blue_gunfox]

@@TheTechPrepper Thanks for the idea!

[@blue_gunfox]

@@TheTechPrepper yay! it worked!

[@Encolas]

Checked out the website and really hope everything comes to fruition. Could you put a BTC address on your website for those who want to donate that way?

[@TheTechPrepper]

Thanks for a taking a look. There's a "Support" link in the upper right-hand corner of the site. One-time support and memberships are available. Thanks.

[@bandwidthpiggy9378]

I apologize for the noob question. Does this system have to be line of sight? Id love to do this at my land over a mountain.

[@Trent28888]

For the audio interface can ya just use a USB SC on a baofeng?

[@TheTechPrepper]

Not with my software, unless you add a DigiRig Lite and the corresponding Baofeng DigiRig cable. For the SC cable you'll have to configure the software TNC (direwolf) and then install the terminal application (paracon).

[@pastork1963]

Have you ever looked into TARPN?

[@TheTechPrepper]

Yes, a few years back. I need to see if the group is still active.

[@pastork1963]

@ we have a pretty active TARPN group in the Raleigh/Durham area of NC (NCTARPN) that I have talked to once. It seems to be an interesting technology, but not so portable. It’s seems like a great setup for a MAG/Community off grid local comms option.

[@ContactTheMothership-KQ4CIN]

Keep the packets flying

[@TheTechPrepper]

Packet storm coming in a new video with better production quality next month.

[@douglasvamateurradioandmore]

Are you running any equipment aside from the computers and radio?

[@TheTechPrepper]

Just the DigiRig Mobile and appropriate cable for the radio.

[@douglasvamateurradioandmore]

@@TheTechPrepper is the bbs in with emcomm tools?

[@TheTechPrepper]

@@douglasvamateurradioandmore It will be in the next release--R4.

[@douglasvamateurradioandmore]

@ thank you.

[@Oberkaptain]

Can this work with HF as well?

[@TheTechPrepper]

Yes, but the baud rate is slower. I believe it's 300 baud, but don't quote me.

[@thuff3207]

Happy Thanksgiving, I am interested a similar system in the Deep South. We have different issues to keep things up and running. I would like ours to work on higher order modulation in the 9600baud rate. I found the TARPN NanoTnc that looks to beat Direwolf for packet and error correction. I also run APRS and build digipeaters. But BBS are not as easy and your tools may help.

[@TheTechPrepper]

Happy Thanksgiving! It's always good to hear from fellow tinkerers. Good luck with your system.

[@NihilisticHatred]

BBS didnt make it far into the 90s for a variety of reasons and was basically dead years before that.