Re: MRC / Vintage Computing
By: Retrojimmyx to Keyop on Sun Aug 30 2026 13:21:17
Hi Keyop,
Thought I'd try messaging here instead of mail so this is my first ever bulletin board message.
Hi!
No connectivity issues in MRC last night so if that was down to changes you made, thank you. It meant I was able to stay connected long enough to hear Bob's story of the guy on the signpost on the M4. Not
sure
if there is a fix for being able to 'unhear' something though.
Ah - glad the inactivity timeout change worked for you :)
Re Bob, there isnt a setting to undo his references to genitalia unfortunately!
I don't actually own any vintage computers. I appreciate them but for me, without the necessity of owning them. That being said, if I see a real bargain somewhere, I wouldn't dismiss it. I only have eyes for
an
Amiga 500 at this stage - maybe a BBC Micro. But sadly, they're appreciating now. I'm quite happy with emulators though and in many ways that convenience works well for me - I appreciate the architecture and
OS
and software but don't have to endure that 'labour of love' when it comes to hardware (and re-capping).
I used WinUAE for ages before getting my first "recent" Amiga related purchase, so that I could play Menace - I even ended up getting hold of an XBOX controller for the PC so that I could play it properly :)
If you're just after the OS / app experience, then emulators should be just fine. You only need the original hardware if you want to re-live the whole experience of floppy drives, CRT monitors and hardware failures! Im absolutely useless at hardware repairs, unless they're really the basic ones, so alot of my retro tech ends up at the repair place.
If I had a vintage computer, I'd probably still use an emulator because I would be too concerned about wear on the physical device. I think in fairness though; I actually appreciate the look of vintage
hardware
- the shape of a rounded CRT, the warmth of valves, the honesty of manufacture (flat head screws). Perhaps I'd like a vintage computer but more to say "Look, this 30 year old device is still capable."
The BBC micro with the original Microvitec CUB monitor and disk drives are a good example of that real retro feel, but they really heat up the room in summer. A few setups like that and it has to be an aircon job.
I like the amalgamation of the old and new. My rotary dial GPO telephone has a raspberry Pi inside. My home server will be receiving a commodore datasette (via Arduino) for a LUKS2 key backup. I still have a
floppy drive on my Intel 14th Gen desktop. I think my angle, again not 'purist', is that I will adopt vintage tech because it is a homage to the pioneering days of engineering and computing but if I want to
genuinely claim it is relevant, I use it, with little to no compromise. My vintage tech interest also extends to cameras, which is why I sometimes wander up your way to visit the museum.
What are you looking to build with the phone, dataset & LUKs2? Re museum, which one do you go to? I'm really basic when it comes to photography, basically I'm a point and click sort of person. I bought a Canon M50 years ago in the black fridays sales, and I still only use it in automatic mode, I've no idea what all of the other settings do.
For the VoIP line, I was going to go with zadarma.com and use FreePBX. I don't genuinely need a voice line into the house but I wanted a line that I could dial, have a menu system that could enable me to
spin
up containers, retrieve messages (text to speech), or get a speaking clock - all DTMF and some reudimentary authentication. Then I got a 1/month Sky SIM with unlimited texts/calls so just exploring if I can
get a low cost device to support VoLTE (voice over LTE). If the latter doesn't work, then I'll broaden my VoIP provider search to include reasonable handling for modems and look at Vonage.
Ah FreeBPX is a good choice, I use that. Zadarma, if you're looking to get a UK line with them - I wouldn't! I moved my old land line to them and it was really poor and they wouldn't initially let me move away. I forced the issue and now they've blocked my account for ordering any new services. I would give localphone a try, the quality is really good and the price comparable.
Wow, a lot there - sorry. I really appreciate your help and welcoming me into the BBS community. How about yourself KeyOp? Where do your interests lie? Why do you run a BBS?
You're welcome!
re the BBS, I originally set up Magnum BBS on a sinclair ZX spectrum running over a CB radio with a few friends, before migrating to an Atari ST with a modem. I still have that old set up somewhere and I'm planning on bringing it back to life - probably adding it as an e[X]ternal program from this BBS (as a door).
Chat soon,
K