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  • Rebooting The BBS

    From Daryl Stout@1:103/705 to KK4QBN on Wed Dec 6 18:19:00 2017
    Tim,

    I'd love to actually know what a vacation feels like.. If I went on vacation, K>I'm sorry.. the BBS would be on its own.. I would'nt even give it a second K>thought. Although I would be sure to straightwire the computer switch and mac K>sure I create a watchdog to keep the BBS up.

    When I ran GT Power under Dial-up, a former Sysop and a former Ham
    Radio Operator (it's a long story on both), wired up a special switch to
    an answering machine I had, and the cable was connected to the computer.
    If the BBS did lock up, when the answering machine picked up, it'd send
    a signal to the tower, and it'd reboot the BBS!!

    Daryl

    ---
    * OLX 1.53 * Why do we send cargo by ship, but shipments by car??
    * Synchronet * The Thunderbolt BBS - wx1der.dyndns.org
    * Origin: Vertrauen - [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.net (1:103/705)
  • From echicken@1:103/705 to Daryl Stout on Thu Dec 7 00:48:24 2017
    Re: Rebooting The BBS
    By: Daryl Stout to KK4QBN on Wed Dec 06 2017 18:19:00

    Radio Operator (it's a long story on both), wired up a special switch to an answering machine I had, and the cable was connected to the computer. If the BBS did lock up, when the answering machine picked up, it'd send
    a signal to the tower, and it'd reboot the BBS!!

    Pretty clever. The answering machine would have a relay in it to start rolling the tape when recording a message; you tap into that to trigger whatever else you wanted, really.

    ---
    echicken
    electronic chicken bbs - bbs.electronicchicken.com - 416-273-7230
    * Synchronet * electronic chicken bbs - bbs.electronicchicken.com
    * Origin: Vertrauen - [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.net (1:103/705)
  • From Daryl Stout@1:103/705 to ECHICKEN on Thu Dec 7 07:55:00 2017
    Radio Operator (it's a long story on both), wired up a special switch to an answering machine I had, and the cable was connected to the computer. If the BBS did lock up, when the answering machine picked up, it'd send a signal to the tower, and it'd reboot the BBS!!

    Pretty clever. The answering machine would have a relay in it to start rolli E>the tape when recording a message; you tap into that to trigger whatever else E>you wanted, really.

    That's exactly what it was...a relay. Although this answering machine
    was "electronic", in that no tape was needed. Once the modem picked up,
    it sent a signal to the relay in the answering machine, and it rebooted
    the computer.

    Daryl

    ---
    * OLX 1.53 * Why don't potholes knock your tires back into alignment??
    * Synchronet * The Thunderbolt BBS - wx1der.dyndns.org
    * Origin: Vertrauen - [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.net (1:103/705)
  • From echicken@1:103/705 to Daryl Stout on Thu Dec 7 23:33:58 2017
    Re: Rebooting The BBS
    By: Daryl Stout to ECHICKEN on Thu Dec 07 2017 07:55:00

    That's exactly what it was...a relay. Although this answering machine
    was "electronic", in that no tape was needed. Once the modem picked up,
    it sent a signal to the relay in the answering machine, and it rebooted the computer.

    I guess I can imagine a few ways to do such a thing, starting with using the power to a 'recording' LED to trigger something else (relay, transistor switch). Or monitoring the phone line itself. However it really worked, it sounds like it was inventive and useful.

    ---
    echicken
    electronic chicken bbs - bbs.electronicchicken.com - 416-273-7230
    * Synchronet * electronic chicken bbs - bbs.electronicchicken.com
    * Origin: Vertrauen - [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.net (1:103/705)