The Silcon Realms BBS, a good BBS, a
Commodore BBS.
It was
1985 when I bought my first modem, it was a "Total Telecommunications"
64 Modem for the unbelievable low price of $20, back then 300
baud was still used by many. I remember calling long-distance
numbers in the nearby cities and thoroughly enjoying the experience,
Apple, Atari, TRS-80 and Commdore 64 BBSs all were out there.
Of course these cities were long-distance calls to me, and there
were no local BBSs. So I took the plunge and the 'MotherLode 64
BBS went on line in March of 1987. At that time it was running
on 'All American BBS' with that 300 baud modem, it used two 1541s
and an MSD dual Drive, and was on-line only during the evenings
(since we only had a voice line at the time.) But even with those
limitations it soon became a popular BBS, partially for being
one of the first BBSs in the area, and I would hope, because it
was one of the better boards in the area.
As the years progressed the BBS has had drive upgrades to 1571
and then 1581 drives, the computer switched between a 64 and 128
a few times but has stayed with the 64 most for its life. The
software went from All American to C-Net 10 then 12 and then Finally
Image 1.2 BBS.
About the Silicon Realms Today
The Silicon Realms
In
the 13 years the 'Realms has been on-line much and little has
changed. The 'little change' part is it is still running on a
Commodore 64 (or 128 in 64 mode), and being a small BBS it still
caters to those who have no need for fancy terminals, or 80 column
screen displays. We are more than happy to see and help the beginning
modem user to get their feet wet. And of course Commodore 8-bit
users are especially welcome!
The 'Realms now runs Image BBS (v1.2a) which is a truly wonderful
modular BBS package, it has not only allowed me to add features
but also can translate Commodore graphics characters & color
(which is standard for Commodore BBSs) to IBM PC graphics &
ANSI color, so everyone will get a good picture! Also the 'Realms
is now networked (see below), has a hard drive for much improved
capacity and access time, runs at a maximum of 14,400 baud (with
the recent addition of CMDs Turbo 232 interface and software patches),
and has a dedicated BBS line for 24 hour service.
Users come and users go; almost all of the original callers
to the board have either moved on or moved away. For the callers
we still have, the BBS still gets a wide diversity of callers;
male and female from 9 years to in their 80s, from local calls
to as far away as Europe, using Plus/4s to those with State-of-the-Art
(snicker) IBM compatibles. Though nowadays callership is way down,
not only to the Silicon Realms, but to all BBSs, as other diversions
(mainly the Internet) lure away the users with promises of 'greener
phosphers'.
**Remember; when you are looking for something
to do on a quiet day - call your local BBS, besides your sysop
being glad to see your handle on the caller log, you can connect
with your fellow local users and maybe find out what's going on
recently.**
The Silicon Realms is part of many networks of Commodore BBSs.
A 'BBS Network' allows BBSs to transfer E-mail and mesage-base
topics between other boards; each board (called a node) automatically
calls one or two other boards down the line during low-cost night
hours a few times a week to share data, it may not be fast, but
it is pretty effiecent. Recent deveopments in the Commodore BBS
communities have made it now possible to tie together many different
Commodore BBS networks (of systems that are not just Image BBS!)
into a meta-network which we call CommNet (sort for Commodore
Network). More then 60 Commodore BBSs in the U.S. (including a
few in Canada) are now linked together to share information and
provide entertainment and support for each other and our callership.
Current Hardware/Software that makes the Silicon Realms
what it is:
Image BBS, originally
published by New Image Software is a modular BBS environment written
for the Commodore 64 or 128 in 64 mode. Image BBS is written in
both Machine Language and BASIC, with the core functions (such
as error handling, modem connection, text handling, file transfer
protocols, and C/G/ASCII/ANSI translation) written in Machine
Language, the Magagement/Support system (command structure, prompts,
disk handling, etc.) written in a BASIC, and the the individual
modules (message bases section, E-Mail, U/D directory handler,
on-line games, etc) also as BASIC sub-modules. The ML gives Image
the speed necessary and the BASIC gives the sysops ultimate control
on the 'look and feel' of their BBSs without having to pay exorbitant
licensing fees. Image BBS is closely related to C-Net DS-2 and
C-NET 128 BBS as these were all based on the C-Net 12.0 BBS and
earlier. The standard Image BBS Software Package handles modem
speeds up to 2400 baud (faster with a free update from New Image
and use of CMD's Swiftlink/Turbo RS-232 interface.) and is written
to support the popular line of Commodore Disk Drives, RAM Expansions,
CMD hard drives and Xetec hard drives. Though not written for
the new CMD SuperCPU Accelerator, it does function reliably under
it and with the proper placement of speed control POKES will perform
perfectly when accelerated.
BBS status windows/menu bar allow you to view/adjust many
features and user statistics without having to lock-out the user,
most sysop features can be administered remotely as well.
Log-in user One-Liner meggase, Grafitti Wall, Random Saying,
and BBS News
E-Mail also includes sysop forced E-Mail option
OTHER OPTIONS:
Networking Option Available
High Speed Modem Interface modifications available.
Does not crash using CMD SCPU accelerator (modifications
to BASIC modules will be necessary for optimum performance)
Many Sysop made modifications which refine and enhance the
usage of the BBS individually or via a BBS network.
It was
1985 when I bought my first modem, it was a "Total Telecommunications"
64 Modem for the unbelievable low price of $20, back then 300
baud was still used by many. I remember calling long-distance
numbers in the nearby cities and thoroughly enjoying the experience,
Apple, Atari, TRS-80 and Commdore 64 BBSs all were out there.
Of course these cities were long-distance calls to me, and there
were no local BBSs. So I took the plunge and the 'MotherLode 64
BBS went on line in March of 1987. At that time it was running
on 'All American BBS' with that 300 baud modem, it used two 1541s
and an MSD dual Drive, and was on-line only during the evenings
(since we only had a voice line at the time.) But even with those
limitations it soon became a popular BBS, partially for being
one of the first BBSs in the area, and I would hope, because it
was one of the better boards in the area.
The Silicon Realms 
Image BBS, originally
published by New Image Software is a modular BBS environment written
for the Commodore 64 or 128 in 64 mode. Image BBS is written in
both Machine Language and BASIC, with the core functions (such
as error handling, modem connection, text handling, file transfer
protocols, and C/G/ASCII/ANSI translation) written in Machine
Language, the Magagement/Support system (command structure, prompts,
disk handling, etc.) written in a BASIC, and the the individual
modules (message bases section, E-Mail, U/D directory handler,
on-line games, etc) also as BASIC sub-modules. The ML gives Image
the speed necessary and the BASIC gives the sysops ultimate control
on the 'look and feel' of their BBSs without having to pay exorbitant
licensing fees. Image BBS is closely related to C-Net DS-2 and
C-NET 128 BBS as these were all based on the C-Net 12.0 BBS and
earlier. The standard Image BBS Software Package handles modem
speeds up to 2400 baud (faster with a free update from New Image
and use of CMD's Swiftlink/Turbo RS-232 interface.) and is written
to support the popular line of Commodore Disk Drives, RAM Expansions,
CMD hard drives and Xetec hard drives. Though not written for
the new CMD SuperCPU Accelerator, it does function reliably under
it and with the proper placement of speed control POKES will perform
perfectly when accelerated.
Image
BBS features