Keeping in Touch
December 1992
SPITFIRE Monthly Support Newsletter for registered SPITFIRE Sysops
Compliments of Buffalo Creek Software
In this issue
- JNET SPITFIRE QWK MAIL PROGRAM RELEASED
- HS-LINK AS AN EXTERNAL PROTOCOL FOR SPITFIRE V3.2
- SPITFIRE BOARD-OF-THE-MONTH
- SYSOP-OF-THE-MONTH
- NEWLY REGISTERED SPITFIRE SYSTEMS
Archival transcript
The text below is a faithful Unicode rendering of the original SF12-92.TXT. Its DOS line wrapping, spacing, capitalization, spelling and CP437 box art have been retained.
╔════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ ╟─┐
║ K E E P I N G I N T O U C H ║ │
║ ═══════════════════════════════ ║ │
║ SPITFIRE Monthly Support Newsletter ║ │
║ for registered SPITFIRE Sysops! ║ │
║ December 1992 ║ │
║ Compliments of BUFFALO CREEK SOFTWARE ║ │
║ Buffalo Creek's BBS * 515-225-8496 ║ │
║ 38400/19200/9600/2400/1200 Baud ║ │
║ 2 Nodes ║ │
║ ║ │
╚═╤══════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
└────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Edited by Jacque Shipley
The Mother Board BBS - (515) 986-3464 - 19200 Baud
Sysop Of The Month by Walt Crede
Roam This Fertile Land - (515) 288-8755 - 2400 Baud
Newly Registered SPITFIRE BBS List by Ann Woltz
Other Contributions As Noted
╔═════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Notes from the author of SPITFIRE! ╟─┐
╚═╤═══════════════════════════════════════╝ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
+++ MERRY CHRISTMAS +++
-----------------------
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the
field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And, lo, an angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory
of the Lord shone round about them; and they were very much
afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for, behold, I bring
you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,
who is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe
wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manager.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the
heavenly host, praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will
toward men.
Luke 2:8-14
God gave each of us the most wonderful gift possible, a
Saviour named Jesus Christ. This CHRISTmas, let's take the time
to thank God for our Saviour. Without Him, there would be no
hope. Let's put Christ back into CHRISTmas. Merry CHRISTmas
to each of you from the Woltz family.
Until next time, may God bless you...
Mike, Ann & family
╒═════════════════════════════════════════╕
│ JNET SPITFIRE QWK MAIL PROGRAM RELEASED │
╘═════════════════════════════════════════╛
Announcing the long-awaited release of JNet 1.00!
JNet is a QWK-style network software for SPITFIRE 3.2. JNet allows the
SPITFIRE BBS to share messages with other BBSes using the QWK format.
JNet will import messages to your SPITFIRE message areas from a QWK
packet downloaded from a host (or hub) system, and JNet will export
messages from your SPITFIRE message areas and build a REP packet to be
uploaded to the host system. The host system may be any BBS running a
QWK mail door which supports NetSysop QWK packets. To share messages
between SPITFIRE BBSes, JNet works very well with JetMail, the QWK
mail door for SPITFIRE.
Sharing messages is usually done by a system event late at night,
during which you will exchange messages with your hub. The complete
mail cycle begins with your BBS exporting any new messages from your
networked message areas, using JNet. JNet builds an .REP packet
containing your outgoing messages. Next, login to your hub BBS, enter
the QWK mail door, and upload the .REP packet. Then, download any new
mail (in a QWK packet). Then logoff, and run JNet to import the new
messages into your SPITFIRE message areas. The cycle then repeats the
next day (or you may exchange mail twice a day, or every two days,
depending on your network's regulations and amount of traffic).
Some features of JNet:
- Supports up to 10 echo networks from one hub.
- Supports multiple hubs with different .CNF configuration files.
- Echo up to to 255 conferences on your SPITFIRE BBS; conference
mapping allows the hub to have conference numbers up to 65535.
- Option filter translates ANSI escape code (ascii 27) into ascii 250
- Option to ignore SPITFIRE's Net-Mail flag
- Option to translate incoming messages addressed to Sysop User Name
into "Sysop", or leave it as Sysop's User Name
- Fully functional even in the unregistered version. No features
removed nor crippled.
Registration is $20.00 for SPITFIRE Sysops who have not registered
JetMail (the QWK mail door for SPITFIRE). For registered JetMail
Sysops, JNet registration is $10.00. Registration key files must be
downloaded from the JNet support BBS, Solid Rock, (714)785-9176
HST/DS.
JNet (filename JNET100.ZIP dated 11/17/92) may be downloaded from:
* The Solid Rock (Sysop Ron Hossack)
(714)785-9176 HST/DS
* Sing Sing Sing Studios BBS (Sysop Ira Lichtenstein)
(914)941-2246 (2400bps), or FREQ magic name JNET from 1:272/43 HST/DS
* The Paradigm (Sysop Tom Kellen)
(404)671-1581 HST/DS
* Bread Board (Sysop Paul Staton)
(214)617-8259 USR V.32bis
Article Contributed by DJ Chuang,
Author of JNet and JetMail
**Editor's Note**
Current version of JNet is 1.01 which fixes a minor bug which was
truncating origin taglines.
The documentation and sample configurations for JNet are very explicit
and easy to follow. If you take the time to read through the docs and
use the sample configuration as a model, JNet can be up and running
within a matter of minutes.
╒═══════════════════════════════════════════════════╕
│ HS-LINK AS AN EXTERNAL PROTOCOL FOR SPITFIRE V3.2 │
╘═══════════════════════════════════════════════════╛
Bidirectional transfers--the ability to upload and download files
simultaneously, is one of the more eagerly awaited features of Mike's
version 3.3 of SPITFIRE. However, there is a patch available that
permits a functioning version of this to operate with SPITFIRE 3.2.
First you will need to acquire a copy of Chris Dingwall's HSLKCHK
program. This is available as HSLKCHK.ZIP on Buffalo Creek BBS, and as
HSLKCHK.LZH on Renaissance and Nailgun BBSes in Northern California,
and probably on Visions II as well. The primary intent of this program
is to assure that SFFILES.BBS descriptions accompany uploaded files that
come through HS-Link. Of course, you will also need a copy of HS-Link,
as well. It, too, is available on the boards mentioned.
If you don't already have HS-Link installed, unpack it into your
external protocols subdirectory (usually "C:\SF\EXTNOD1"), and run the
Hslink config program. This has several screens, and allows HSlink to
know which com port you are using, how big a block size you want,
whether your baud rate is locked (recommended for modems with NMP
and Vis.42), what your upload directory is, and so on.
Unpack the HSLKCHK program directly into the external protocol
sub-directory. Then, at the C:\SF\EXTNOD1> prompt, type
"Hslkchk config". Chris's program will ask you several simple and
straightforward questions about the location of some of your files
and protocols, and toughies like "what is your board's name?".
Once that is done, you are ready to roll.
The next step is to set up your SFEXTDN(X).BAT file. Since on
my system, it's option "F" in the download queue, it's named
SFEXTDNF.BAT. I have mine set up this way:
@ECHO OFF
CD\SF\EXTNOD1
hslkchk START
HSLINK -P%2 @C:\SF\EXTNOD1\SFEXTRAN.LST
hslkchk OUT 38400
CD\SF
The 38400 in line 5 reflects the rate that I've locked my baud
rates at. If you aren't using locked baud rates, the number is
unnecessary.
Next, you'll have to put the following line in your
SFEXTDN.BBS file in your display subdirectory:
<F> HS-Link, Batch,Bi-directional, Usefile
Note that there is NOT a space between the comma and
"Bi-directional". The use of commas and spacing is essential to this
configuration, and we've discovered that it works a bit better without
the space. The dash in "Bi-directional" is essential. (Note: we've
also achieved positive results without the "bi-directional" in there
at all!)
Now, you'll have to let your users know what to do. They mark
files for download, and run through the "Download this file?" until
they reach the blank. Another return gives them the "Begin download
now?". At that point, the user will need to hit PageUp or Alt-S or
whatever command is used for upload and put the name of the file to be
uploaded. (Unfortunately, we haven't figured out How to BATCH in both
directions--users are for now limited to single uploads). User
enters the name (including address if applicable) of the file to be
uploaded and hits return.
This is a bit rough. Both ends can expect 10 or 15 seconds of
grumbling from SPITFIRE and HS-Link before the transfers actually begin.
After the error coding is done, users can expect to find that files are
travelling in each direction at about 80% of normal CPS but that the
combined total will be around 160% of unidirectional transfers.
Tuna and I, using Practical Peripheral's 9600SA with baud rates locked
at 38400, are getting 1850 cps on zipped files and over 2500 cps on
uncompressed files.
We have old phone lines, and were connected over 12 miles of
volcano in the middle of sleet and rain storms, so under better
circumstances, we might expect numbers about 25% higher. If we ever get
some of that weather that the rest of California is known for, we hope to
find out! (grin).
One final creveat: HSLKCHK, reliable when used in its normal
manner, will sometimes not ask for a file description on the uploaded
file. However, uploads and downloads will arrive intact, and in their
proper directories.
It ain't pretty, but it works. Until SPITFIRE v3.3 is released,
this is an effective stop-gap for 3.2 Sysops who want to have
bi-directional available on their systems.
Article contributed by Zepp Jamieson,
Sysop of Renaissance BBS (916) 964-2639
With assistance from Tuna (Micheal Hopkins), Nailgun BBS (916) 926-5054.
╒═════════════════════════════╕
│ SPITFIRE BOARD-OF-THE-MONTH │
╘═════════════════════════════╛
Welcome to:
▀▀█▀▀ █ █ █▀▀ █▀▀▀ █▀▀█ █▀▀▀ ▀▀█▀▀ █▀▀█ ▄▀▀▄ █▀▀█ ▄▀▀▄ █▀▀▄ █▀▀
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█ █▀▀█ █▀▀ ▀▀▀█ █ █ █▀▀▀ █ █▀▀▀ █▀▀█ █▀▀▄ █▀▀█ █ █ █▀▀
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╔═══════════════════╗ ╔══════════════════════╗ ╔═══════════════════╗
══║ The Soft Parade ║═══║ Sysop: Mike Robinson ║═══║ 1200 to 16800 bps ║═══
═══║ Shelton, CT. USA ║═══║ Spitfire version 3.2 ║═══║ HST V.32bis ║════
═══║ 203-924-5603 ║═══║ Open 24 hours 7 days ║═══║ MNP 5 V.42bis ║════
══║ FidoNet 1:141/485 ║═══║ CircuitNet 203004 ║═══║ USR Dual Standard ║═══
╚═══════════════════╝ ╚══════════════════════╝ ╚═══════════════════╝
Real Names Only Please.
This is my actual logon screen. Comes in ANSI flavor too. The board name is
based on a 1969 song and album of the same name by The Doors. Some of the
lyrics:
Successful hills are here to stay.
Everything must be this way.
Gentle street where people play,
welcome to the soft parade.
Someday I am going to reproduce a few bars of the tune in an ANSI screen.
What does this have to do with my BBS? Well, not much actually. It's kind
of a word play where my board is a kind of "software parade". I also hope
it is a place where people can come to play and maybe get away from it all.
It's not the sixties anymore, but maybe we can still have some fun. The BBS
is 100% free and I maintain a light touch on the reins and try not to
intrude too much on peoples "trip" here. Not many rules.
The BBS began in September 1990 with SPITFIRE 3.0, my first and only BBS
software. I had been calling Carol Rex's Airshow BBS and mentioned I was
thinking of starting my own. She let me download a copy of SPITFIRE and
life has not been the same since. I got the BBS bug.
There have been about 26,000 calls by 1000 different people since then. I
now run SPITFIRE 3.2, single node, on the same Gateway 2000 386-33. Except
now the BBS is linked, via a Lantastic network, to my personal 486-33.
Started with a 2400 bps modem and soon got a 14,400 bps USR Dual Standard.
My original 150 meg drive "grew" to 1.3 gigabyte hard drive and a Pioneer
DRM-600 six disk CD-ROM changer. The parade of software now marches on with
over 4 gigabytes in 45,000 files. Lots of shareware and I try to keep a
large collection of all the latest SPITFIRE utilities.
After about 6 months online, Bill Arlofski lured me into CircuitNet. I
suddenly found myself virtually involved with dozens of people all over the
globe. Never a morning person, my favorite part of the day became that
first hour where I read and tried to answer all my mail. I became a relay
point for several other CircuitNet nodes and I recently joined the
CircuitNet Operating Committee.
Having acquired a taste for networking, I went on to join the world's first
and largest amateur BBS network, FidoNet. I now carry about 80 different
message conferences on a wide variety of topics. On a typical day I receive
about a megabyte of new mail. There are usually about 10,000 messages here
on the BBS. One of the best things about FidoNet is the file networks. I
belong to quite a few of these and dozens of new shareware files and
programs arrive here, automatically, every day.
About a year ago I picked up a copy of Turbo Pascal 6.0 and began working
on a few SPITFIRE utilities. My first was Catchem which sorts SPITFIRE user
lists in various ways. Then there was SF-Rom, a door which allows callers
to download files from a CD-ROM drive. And most recently, The PortMeister,
a high speed com port locker/unlocker. Writing shareware has been fun and
educational in a number of ways, some unexpected. One guy even sent his
registration fee in cash so his wife would not find out that he was
spending even MORE money on the BBS! <smile>
What's next? Who knows. Faster modems, cheaper computers, new operating
environments, new programming languages, multimedia, digital phone networks
like ISDN? Maybe even Al Gore's vision of some sort of national data
highway. The journey of discovery continues.
The personal stuff. I am a single 36 year old Mechanical Engineer
presently employed by a large corporation as a jet engine designer. I spend
the day working with the latest high powered computer workstations. Nights
and weekends I can be found here right next to my BBS, relaxing, and
pounding out a message or a program. Drop by, virtually, anytime.
Article contributed by Mike Robinson
Sysop of Soft Parade
╒════════════════════╕
│ SYSOP-OF-THE-MONTH │
╘════════════════════╛
Don McWhirter
Twenty-One Club
Jacksonville, Florida
Don's first exposure to computers was in 1981 when he was when he was
interviewed for a job with a major computer company. He was asked, "What
kind of job do you think would be the most exciting?"
Being no fool and needing a job, without hesitation he replied, "Computer
sales!" He had no idea what a computer was, but it helped get him the
job. It seemed to have been a good decision because he made more money
than he'd ever made and he learned a great deal about computers during
those five years.
"Looking for greener pastures," Don explained, "I accepted a position
as the general operations manager for a service company. What an eye
opener! This company produced a payroll of $1,200 per week and knew
absolutely nothing about computers.
"In an effort to increase our efficiency," he continued, "I began
looking at BBS software so our seven different operations could communicate
with me and with each other. I tried several different ones and was not
satisfied with what they would do. I finally came across SPITFIRE...actually
I was introduced to it by Rick Dearbeck, a fellow SPITFIRE Sysop from
Jacksonville. I fell in love with it. It was the only one I looked at
my novice employees could use. I was also impressed with Mike Woltz. When
you ask him a question you get an answer.
"To give you some idea of how green my workers were--I was training
one of my managers to use SPITFIRE and was explaining you take the disk
out of the sleeve and insert it into the machine. She tried to remove
the inside media from the outer plastic disk cover. I thought to myself,
'Don't jump on her. She's really following her understanding of my
instructions!'"
To make the project more interesting, Don opened the board to the public.
He began with a 20 meg Compaq 286. Since that time, the board has grown
into a two-line system with 6 LAN nodes and 3.3 Gigs of storage.
In April, he had a heart attack. As a result, he decided it was time to
retire. He loves it -- can't understand why he didn't do it sooner. After
retirement, he decided he should change the name of the board since it was
no longer affiliated with the company.
"I wanted to name the board something unique. Because I'm a "SPITFIRE
Pioneer" and proud of it, I decided to call it the TWENTY-ONE CLUB. That's
my SPITFIRE serial number.
"Since my wife, Barbara, became a computer widow, I decided the easiest
way to overcome the problem was to get her involved. She's my co-Sysop
in life and has been for 27 years. My son, Shawn, is a little involved
in computers, but with Apple.
"Running a board is a challenge I enjoy. It's sometimes like a big puzzle,
with new ideas, fascinating things to try."
╒════════════════════════════════════╕
│ NEWLY REGISTERED SPITFIRE SYSTEMS │
╘════════════════════════════════════╛
A hearty welcome is extended to the following, who have
recently become public registered SPITFIRE Bulletin Board Systems:
Ship's.......................................218-626-3269....2400 Baud
Kenneth Janiszewski, Sysop...........................Duluth, Minnesota
The Magic Box................................302-684-8407....9600 Baud
Travis Land, Sysop....................................Milton, Delaware
Murduke Rising...............................513-671-3703...19200 Baud
Howie Eldridge, Sysop.................................Cincinnati, Ohio
Doxa BBS.....................................612-474-1262....2400 Baud
Scott Brown, Sysop................................Excelsior, Minnesota
The Writer's Den.............................817-297-9967...19200 Baud
Frank James, Sysop......................................Crowley, Texas
The Grotto BBS...............................804-792-2128....2400 Baud
David Johnson, Sysop................................Danville, Virginia
Islam On Line................................912-929-2044...38400 Baud
Eugene W. F. Hazer, Sysop.......................Warner Robins, Georgia
Jake's Place.................................203-393-1680....2400 Baud
William Jacques, Sysop............................Bethany, Connecticut
HoneyRun Valley..............................216-674-7809....2400 Baud
Alan Bigler, Sysop...................................Millersburg, Ohio
The Devil's Advocate.........................519-756-7988....2400 Baud
Ronald Vass, Sysop..........................Brantford, Ontario, Canada
INTERACT BBS.................................813-746-5344...14400 Baud
Jeff Walters, Sysop.................................Bradenton, Florida
INTERCONTINENTAL AIRWAYS BBS.................713-661-7360....2400 Baud
Glenn Gibbs, Sysop......................................Houston, Texas
T.V. Implosion...............................207-677-3471....2400 Baud
John Fisher, Sysop.....................................Pemaguid, Maine
The Mail House............................351-01-988-1183...14400 Baud
Carlos Santos, Sysop......................S.A.C. 2670 Loures, Portugal
Land of Imagination..........................504-279-5791...14400 Baud
Brian Middleton, Sysop............................Chalmette, Louisiana
Buzzard's Nest...............................671-564-2318....2400 Baud
Andy Montgomery, Sysop.....................................FPO Address
Star Gazer's..................................405-920-1514...2400 Baud
Southeastern Electric Cooperative, Inc., Sysop........Durant, Oklahoma
The Cajun BBS................................504-764-7470....2400 Baud
Faron Lemaire, Sysop..............................Destrahan, Louisiana
MEAT HEAD....................................602-491-5236....2400 Baud
Jerry White, Sysop.......................................Mesa, Arizona
PaPa Willy's Work Shop.......................207-445-4588....2400 Baud
Will Bastille, Sysop....................................Augusta, Maine
Bird House BBS...............................502-942-1497...14400 Baud
Bruce Vogel, Sysop.................................Fort Knox, Kentucky
In addition, there were 6 new private SPITFIRE BBS Systems
registered. These private SPITFIRE BBS's included registrations
from: Highland Heights, Kentucky; Loring Air Force Base, Maine;
Murdock, Florida; Oldsmar, Florida; Houston, Texas; and Baton
Rouge, Louisiana.
There were 17 registrations for whom registration information was
incomplete. These included BBS's in: Lebanon, Ohio; Killeen, Texas;
Kitchener, Ontario, Canada; Alamogordo, New Mexico; Voorhees, New
Jersey; Schaumburg, Illinois; Lisboa, Portugal; Arundel, Maine;
Richmond, Virginia; Copperas Cove, Texas; Hesperia, California;
Phoenix, Arizona; Shreveport, Louisiana; Greenfield, Indiana; an
APO address; and Rustburg, Virginia.
The increase in registrations where information is incomplete is
largely due to Buffalo Creek's Software's new policy of accepting
on-line Mastercard and Visa credit card registrations.
JUST A REMINDER...the newsletter is always looking for contributions!
Please forward any articles in ASCII text to either Buffalo Creek's BBS
or The Mother Board BBS.Source note
This reading edition was decoded from SF12-92.TXT in the original SF12-92.ZIP package. The page date records the preserved archive timestamp; it is not a newly inferred publication date.