by Gaelyne R. Gasson

Reprinted from Commodore World Issue #4

Web published with permission of Go64!/Commodore World.

Some of my dearest friends are those I've never met, but have shared conversations with via my Commodore and modem. It's always interesting to load up my term program and find out what others have had to say, read about new happenings in the Commodore world, and in the remainder of the world at large. If I've been away from it for awhile, I tend to find myself humming the Cheers theme song as I prepare to call a favorite bulletin board to pick up my mail; it's nice to be able to "go" someplace where everyone there knows me and we each share common interests. That I can do this without leaving the comfort of my computer room is nicer still.

So how does one go about getting started with telecommunicating? Entire books have been written on the subject; but within the confines of this article, I'll do my best to help you get started. I'll discuss some of the things you can enjoy via your modem, and then I'll talk about the basics of setting up a modem and term program.

What is Telecommunications?
It's a long word, but essentially it means using your phone lines to communicate, usually via modem and computer. I personally prefer the term "BBS'ing", not only because it's shorter and closer to what I actually do when I use my modem, but it also seems more personal. The term BBS'ing fits, as I call Bulletin Board Systems (BBS for short), and on-line services to read messages, catch up on the national news, and keep in touch with others who enjoy the same interests I do. Telecommunications is too long and technical of a word for an activity that has far more "people" interaction involved in it than the computer equipment interaction used to accomplish it.

Staying in touch...
I have a sister who lives in another state whom I rarely talk to these days; yet, we're probably more aware of what each has going on now than we ever have been in the past. We communicate very often with each other by sending short messages via modem. We each call the same on-line service, and by sending each other messages we stay in touch with each other; we've also reduced our previous phone bills by more than half. I also stay in touch with friends and relatives in other countries using a variety of different mail
services.

On-line services and Bulletin Boards have message systems that allow users to leave private messages or post public messages in a variety of different ways. There are many different names for doing these same things, depending on the system you happen to call. Some Bulletin Boards are "networked", so that when you leave a message in a specific area, your message will appear on all the other bulletin boards which are connected to the same network. This allows people from all over the country, and indeed the world, to share ideas and enjoy a common bond. BBS's that are networked carry individual areas, also called conferences or echoes, covering various topics. This helps to avoid clutter, and allows you to participate in only those message conversations that interest you. For instance, if you enjoy gardening, you can find a conference (or two or three) devoted to just this topic.

Using on-line services and bulletin boards, you can find support for nearly any hobby (such as gardening, car racing, music, art, computers, astronomy, needle point, etc.), for most professions (medical, computer, technical, restaurants, etc.), and for just about any kind of self help group (alcoholism, diabetes, alzheimers, carpal tunnel syndrome, to name just a few). There's even support for those addicted to their computers. [Perhaps we need this? -Ed]

Access to Software
There's more to the world of telecommunication than messages. There's also a wealth of public domain and shareware programs to be had. If you've ever wanted a program to do something specific for you, but didn't know where to find it, chances are you can locate it on-line. And if you still can't find it, you can ask about it in one of the many Commodore support message areas. It's illegal for any BBS or on-line service to carry commercial software; so you won't find, for instance, Superbase... but you will be able to find a variety of public domain databases, one of which just might be exactly what you're looking for. Shareware is a try before you buy kind of software, in which if you use the program on a regular basis, you are expected to send the author payment for the program. You name the kind of software you're looking for, and you can likely find it on-line somewhere. Just a small list of the kind of things you can find for your computer on-line include graphic files such as geoPaint files, Doodle! graphics, Print Shop graphics and fonts; text files about just about any topic you can think of, including some very informative Commodore specific files; disk related programs such as copiers, formatters, and directory editors; text and sequential file editors, database programs, business programs, and of course, telecommunications type files such as term programs and off-line mail readers. Oh, and games! There are probably thousands of Commodore games available for the download.

On-Line Games
Did I mention games? Both on-line services and Bulletin Boards offer games for their users that you play on-line, and depending on the game, you either compete with another user who is on-line at that same time you are, or the system saves your score along with the scores of other players and keeps track of your winnings. I know of one BBS that offers a computerized race track derby, gives you "BBS" money to gamble, and then lets you spend your winnings on other things the board offers for auction. I recently "purchased" a box of real fudge this way--and it was delivered to me personally by the people who run the bulletin board. Other BBS's and services usually offer free time on-line or other prizes for games. There are numerous solitaire type card games which can be played, dozens of poker style games, and heaps of role-playing games ranging from space adventures to dungeon type adventures. There are both bulletin boards and on-line services which specialize in on-line games.

Research
Getting serious, there's also a great deal of research that can be done via modem with your Commodore. Some of the terms in the telecommunications glossary accompanying this article are from research I did in the process of preparing to write this article. I know, the word, "research" can be a four letter word spelled "work"; but seriously, it's much easier to use the modem to call an on-line service or BBS to find information than it is to get in the car, drive to the library and search for what you're looking for, copy it down, return home, and then punch it into the computer. Generally any kind of information you find via modem has the major advantage of already being a computer file. The last time I went to the library, most of my research was accomplished by using their computer system; I discovered, after the fact, it was connected to the rest of the world's libraries (or so it seemed) through the Internet. I could have accomplished the same thing without ever leaving home. Researching from home with a modem has the advantage of timeliness, too. I've found reference material that was made available just the day before I went looking for the information! Almost all of the major on-line services have encyclopedias on-line, and now many of the larger bulletin boards also have this facility available. The encyclopedias are especially useful if you happen to have a child at home working on school reports. The services also have databases, which usually cost more to use, but also offer "search" abilities so that you can search for whatever topic you're looking for and generally find it.

Classified Ads... Electronic Style

I've found some real bargains in used Commodore equipment and software via modem. Many of the Commodore support areas offer either separate message areas with "For Sale/Wanted" type messages, or allow such messages in with the regular flow of Commodore support conversations. Naturally, once an item has been purchased, it must be paid for and sent usually by postal mail, unless the other person happens to live nearby. Some of us live in places where we'd never be able to find that special computer device we've been looking for, but because the messages in the support areas are either national or international, it can make finding anything quite a bit easier. The same holds true for selling equipment, too. This isn't limited to just Commodore equipment, either. Take a look at the types of things normally sold in your local newspaper's classified ads, and you will have a good idea of the variety of miscellaneous stuff you can either buy or sell via modem.

What You'll Need
Now that you have an idea of the kind of things you can do with a modem, it's time to take a look at what it takes to connect to the rest of the world out there in cyberspace. Although it may seem like a lot, and it may seem a little complicated, it really is just a matter of mind-set. If you can remember when you learned to ride a bike or drive a car, you'll know that you didn't learn everything you needed to know all at once. But after a time, these things became much easier, and now they're probably things you don't even think about at all. Modeming is much the same way. Don't expect to learn everything all it once. It really is a learning process and you can take pride in each step along the way. I remember feeling quite proud of myself when I first downloaded a file without a hitch--after many unsuccessful tries--because I hadn't quite grasped the concept of how to go about it. Now I do this on a daily basis, and it really is something like putting the car into gear--I really don't give it much thought any more. In other words, the first thing you need is patience with yourself, your equipment, and your software.

I'll assume you already have a Commodore 64 or 128 and jump to other equipment you'll need. Naturally, you'll need a modem. Physically, there are two different types of modems that we Commodore users can use. The first is one which will connect directly into the user port the C-64 or 128. These are Commodore specific modems, such as Commodore's 1670 modem, or an Aprotek MinimodemC or C-24. The other kind of modem we can use are generally any external modems designed and sold for other platform computers. "Internal" modems for other computer platforms will not work for us, but the externals work just fine, and offer the convenience of being able to use it with any other computers we happen to own.

If you're going to hook up an external modem designed for other computer platforms to your Commodore, you'll need something to go between the modem and the computer to translate the signals for you. This is called an "RS-232 interface". There are two different types of interfaces; one which plugs into your User port, and another which plugs into the cartridge port. Which kind you need really depends on what kind of external modem you are going to use. If you have a 1200 or 2400 baud modem (9600 for C-128 owners), you can get away with the User port style. Some of these are still commercially available, but are becoming more rare with time. Some of the names you can look for on the used market and in catalogs for companies which carry Commodore equipment include Aprotek, Omnitronix and Peak Peripherals. The names will usually be followed by "RS-232 Interface". Faster modems, such as 9600 baud (C-64 owners) and beyond require the use of a Cartridge port interface. These can handle the faster speeds because they contain a hardware UART chip. There are three of these available, two of which are available in the commercial market: CMD's SwiftLink, and the HART Cart; the third interface is one you can make yourself or have someone make for you, called Data Pump. For just about any of the Interfaces mentioned, you will also need a cable, generally called a DB-25 cable (although the SwiftLink requires a DB-25 to DB-9 cable). These, luckily, are very easy to find--just about any store which carries computer equipment has them available.

I know that I just tossed a lot of unfamiliar terms at you, but you can look most of these up in the glossary provided in this issue to find out their meanings and uses.

Slowing the pace a bit, now that I've described the equipment, lets cover some other information regarding the modems and interfaces that you will need to know before deciding which will work best for you.

Some term programs (which I will discuss shortly) work better with some modems and/or interfaces than others. Most of the Commodore 1200 baud and Aprotek Commodore-ready modems will work with just about any term program available, but have the disadvantage of being slow. The modems which require an interface will also generally work with almost any term program currently available, but not with some of the older programs such as CCGMS or Q-Link's terminal software. SwiftLink has the advantage of being readily available commercially, and both SwiftLink and the Hart Cart offer vast improvements in speed over other interfaces. But because these are relatively newer devices, there are fewer term programs which support them. On the flip side, the software that supports the SwiftLink and Hart Cart are also fairly current. The final choice in which modem and interface (if required) to purchase depends on what your own needs are, and what you want to spend on equipment.

As I've mentioned, you'll also need software called a term program, terminal program, or sometimes called communications program. I'll stick with term or term program to make it easier. This is a program which "talks" to your modem, and allows you to do many different things once you are on-line. It tells your modem how to send information, and it interprets how the information received through the modem looks on your screen. Because many of the best term programs offer a variety of choices on many different things, they can be very confusing at first. This is another area where patience really comes into play, and reading (rereading if necessary) the documentation that comes with it is very important. Some of the term programs which are readily available commercially, through user groups, or via BBS's and other on-line services include Novaterm and Fritzterm for the 64, and Desterm and Dialogue 128 for the 128.

Terminal emulation is something that the term program handles for you, and it's well worth mentioning, as many Bulletin Board systems which are run using MS-DOS style computers use what is called ANSI graphics. In fact, several Commodore BBS's also offer ANSI graphics now, too. My very first modem call was to one of these boards, and my screen looked very odd indeed, as I didn't know anything about ANSI at the time. If you call a bulletin board, and see number codes inside brackets alongside the words, you can be fairly sure that you need to set your term program for ANSI emulation. Once you've done this, things should look far more "normal". When calling an on-line service, however, you should probably set the emulation for "ASCII", "Standard" or VT-100. If you know that you're calling a BBS run on a Commodore 64 or 128, you can try C/G or Color Graphics emulation. At this point I wouldn't worry much about what each of these mean, but by experimentation, you'll find which terminal emulation works for each system you call. Luckily, you can save your configurations within the term program, so these are not things you have to remember each time you use your modem. Usually this information is saved along with the (electronic) phone book the term program stores for you.

Places to Go!
I've mentioned the words Bulletin Board, BBS and on-line service several times, and now it's time to talk about exactly what these are, their similarities and differences, and what each has to offer. The terms Bulletin Board and BBS are interchangeable and mean the same thing. Bulletin Boards are generally smaller systems which are run on home computers and have a little less to offer than the major on-line services which cater to a larger "audience". I say generally, because there are some very major BBS's that carry almost as much or more in the way of services than the on-line services do. Most BBS's are free, in the sense that if you dial a local phone number to reach it, there are no charges to use it. The exception of course, are the larger ones which offer more services. These BBS's usually are "subscription" boards, which give users who subscribe for a period of time (usually six months to a year) extra services or time on-line. The costs can range from as little as $10 to $100 or more. It depends entirely on what the SysOp (the person who runs the BBS) decides to charge.

On-line Services
The larger services which offer everything from Internet services to Databases and encyclopedias. GEnie, Delphi, CompuServe, and even the soon-to-be shut down Q-Link are examples of on-line services. Usually the services charge a monthly fee which is charged to your credit card account whether or not you use the service for that month, and allow a specific amount of time on-line before adding more charges to your credit card. Some of the features of an on-line service may cost extra regardless of when you use the feature. Most of the services also charge a lot extra when you call during the daytime rather than during the hours between 6 PM and 6 AM.

Sometimes the distinction between BBS's and on-line services get blurred. For example, services that run using BBS software, but which use extra equipment to allow access to a larger number of users than a standard BBS could normally allow, and/or offer far more in the way of features than a standard Bulletin Board. CRS falls into this category.

There ARE on-line services which are not accessible to Commodore 64 and 128 users because they require the use of specially designed MS-DOS or Macintosh software which functions only for their services; these include Prodigy, AOL (America On-Line), and Imagine!

The Big "I"
The Internet is neither here nor there. It belongs, seemingly, to no-one, and is run, seemingly, by no-one and everyone at the same time. It is the largest "network" of computer systems in the world, and is becoming larger every minute (literally). It's available in one form or another to almost any on-line service member, and increasingly to those who subscribe to BBS's which offer some of the Internet's features as part of their services. Not all on-line services provide full access to the Internet, although most offer at the very least "E-Mail" service. Internet E-Mail allows you to send messages anywhere in the world, and have it usually arrive at its intended location within just a couple of minutes, or at most a few hours. Entire "conversations" of several messages can be had with people in distant countries in less than 24 hours. It really is quite amazing. There are also many services which can be received through just Internet E-Mail alone, but most of these services are also available in other formats too. Newsgroups are the Internet equivalent to topic specific message bases such as I've mentioned above. One such group is the COMP.SYS.CBM Usenet newsgroup which carries international conversations about Commodore computers.

Wrap Up
A modem and term program allow you to reach out and be a part of global community, whether you're communicating with a friend down the street, or with friends halfway around the world. Hopefully this article has helped you to learn what telecommunicating has to offer you, what you need in the way of both hardware and software, and about some of the places you can "visit" while in the comfort of your home with your Commodore. I hope to see you "on-line" soon!

Sidebars

Glossary of Telecommunications Terms