I purchased a Packard Bell 286 in 1989. It had a 2400 baud modem which I gladly used
to connect to a local ISP for internet access. It came with a years subscription to
Prodigy, but after the year was up, I decided that I could run my own BBS for less
money than they wanted to renew it.

I purchased the DOS version of Wildcat, ran a program that allowed me to maximize the
memory. I had 4 phone lines coming into the house (3 for incoming calls and 1 as a
dedicated line to my ISP to provide internet access for me and my local users).

I lived in the Fort Lauderdale area and started a network of messages that I called
HobbyNet which I networked via phone line as far north as Palm Beach and south to
Miami. It involved QWK transfers.

Users enjoyed playing the games, posting and reading messages and downloading files.
I just enjoyed the fact that the locals chose me as their ISP.

Now I run 2 systems. I still run Winserver (hobbylinebbs.com) and recently started a
Synchronet system as well (hobby-bbs.com). It's amazing to me how much I can enjoy
something as much as I do that doesn't produce any income. But it keeps me busy and
happy.

Mike Dippel

--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v7.0
* Origin: The Hobby Line! BBS - hobbylinebbs.com (316:36/57)

On 17 Dec 2021, Mike Dippel said the following...

40
I purchased a Packard Bell 286 in 1989. It had a 2400 baud modem which

Nice. I remember those machines. I think Sears was selling them. I started off myself with a Commodore 64 back in 1982 but I didn't get a 1200bps modem until about 1987.

I gladly used
to connect to a local ISP for internet access. It came with a years subscription to
Prodigy, but after the year was up, I decided that I could run my own

Oh yeah. We started off with AOL.. I would say much later 1993-94 as I'm sure thats when the boom was for internet. I was basically BBSing since 1987 up to about 1993 and the dropped off as the internet took hold.

I purchased the DOS version of Wildcat, ran a program that allowed me to maximize the
memory. I had 4 phone lines coming into the house (3 for incoming calls and 1 as a

Wicked. Yep, a few boards ran Wildcat. Of course having more than one line was really rare too. Ha, had to set the terminal on auto redial and keep trying.. or rushing home after school to get on to play our rounds of BRE..

I lived in the Fort Lauderdale area and started a network of messages
that I called
HobbyNet which I networked via phone line as far north as Palm Beach and south to

Awesome. I can't remember if I called any boards that had networked message bases tbh. I know Fido existed back then. There were a few boards that gave more access if you purchased a membership. Obviously with being a kid, I did not do that.

It's great we have telnet to keep things going but something needs to be said about how magical a community was that is regional. I mean, I knew users from school, and users in the next city over (as LD lines permitted)

Now I run 2 systems. I still run Winserver (hobbylinebbs.com) and recently started a
Synchronet system as well (hobby-bbs.com). It's amazing to me how much
I can enjoy
something as much as I do that doesn't produce any income. But it keeps me busy and
happy.

While its not what it used to be sure. Sometimes it just comes down to what makes you happy and what expands your knowledge with challenges...learning new systems, drawing ANSI.. etc. BBSing, was the happiest of times as a kid, and it feels good to continue doing so and making friendships where I can.

Cheers,

|15/)|07arkman|15 /\|07lmighty|15
|11"No matter where you go, there you are..."

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/08/19 (Windows/32)
* Origin: USS Excelsior BBS * excelsiorbbs.ddns.net:2000 (316:36/53)

On 1/1/2022 7:31 AM, Darkmanalmighty wrote to Mike Dippel:

I purchased a Packard Bell 286 in 1989. It had a 2400 baud modem which

Nice. I remember those machines. I think Sears was selling them. I started off

myself with a Commodore 64 back in 1982 but I didn't get a 1200bps modem until
about 1987.

I gladly used
to connect to a local ISP for internet access. It came with a years subscription to
Prodigy, but after the year was up, I decided that I could run my own

Oh yeah. We started off with AOL.. I would say much later 1993-94 as I'm sure

thats when the boom was for internet. I was basically BBSing since 1987 up to
about 1993 and the dropped off as the internet took hold.

I purchased the DOS version of Wildcat, ran a program that allowed me to
maximize the
memory. I had 4 phone lines coming into the house (3 for incoming calls
and 1 as a

Wicked. Yep, a few boards ran Wildcat. Of course having more than one line was

really rare too. Ha, had to set the terminal on auto redial and keep trying..
or rushing home after school to get on to play our rounds of BRE..

I lived in the Fort Lauderdale area and started a network of messages that I called
HobbyNet which I networked via phone line as far north as Palm Beach and
south to

Awesome. I can't remember if I called any boards that had networked message

bases tbh. I know Fido existed back then. There were a few boards that gave more access if you purchased a membership. Obviously with being a kid, I did not do that.

My BBS was basically free to the locals, but I charged $25 per year if they wanted
discounts from a list of local Business advertisers that also paid me $25 per year. I was
probably the only system owner that charged any money.

It's great we have telnet to keep things going but something needs to be said

about how magical a community was that is regional. I mean, I knew users from
school, and users in the next city over (as LD lines permitted)

I had a lot of traffic from users who wanted to play the games. I would see them log in
before I went to work and again when they got home. It was very popular back then.

Now I run 2 systems. I still run Winserver (hobbylinebbs.com) and recently started a
Synchronet system as well (hobby-bbs.com). It's amazing to me how much I can enjoy
something as much as I do that doesn't produce any income. But it keeps
me busy and
happy.

While its not what it used to be sure. Sometimes it just comes down to what

makes you happy and what expands your knowledge with challenges...learning new
systems, drawing ANSI.. etc. BBSing, was the happiest of times as a kid, and it
feels good to continue doing so and making friendships where I can.

Well said! Happy New Year.

Mike Dippel


--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v7.0
* Origin: The Hobby Line! BBS - hobbylinebbs.com (316:36/57)