Rick...

RM>My "First" BBS system was a 386SX with dos 5 (I think) and
a 30 MB hard
  >drive. I remember upgrading to a 1gb hard drive and thinking "how am I
  >gonna fill this drive up?"

  It sure didn't take long. 

RM>I, too am a ham (N1ZXZ) and am a member of ARES. I am also getting set
  >up with WinLink (I want to use this TNC I have for more than just APRS!)
  >and am able to connect to a WinLink node approximately 20 miles away
  >using a copper cactus j-pole just stuck in the ground.

  Unfortunately, where I am living (H.U.D. subsidized housing for the
disabled), there are antenna prohibitions. I had to donate all my RF
gear to an area ham radio club or to other hams. I did recently acquire
a Baofeng UV-5R handi-talkie, and ordered the programming software and
cable. That'll be used to monitor the local Skywarn Nets, during our
upcoming Tornado Season.

  Otherwise, except for conducting two sets of ham radio license exam
sessions in central Arkansas, all of my ham radio work is OUTSIDE
Arkansas via VoIP modes of Echolink (single user setup), D-Star (DV
Dongle), and Packet Via Telnet. You can email me at wx1der at portcars
dot org for more information on these. It may not be traditional ham
radio, but in the situation I'm in, if I can't be on the air, why should
I remain licensed?? I run, or check into at least one net every night of
the week.

RM>Fortuneately, I can get a "measured service" line for about
$7 per month
  >(before tax) - and since incoming calls don't count, I can cheaply offer
  >dialup service. It should be pointed out that while many people have
  >cable TV phone service and Vonage etc, there are plenty of areas where
  >cell phones just don't work, so I would not be surprised if there are a
  >large number of people with "home" phones still.

  If I could only be as lucky. I have a MagicJack line for voice mail, a
MagicJack Plus line for a fax, and a number with Xfinity (Comcast)...as
well as my PRIVATE cell line. But, I doubt a VoIP line would work with a
US Robotics Fax Modem.

  Add to that, several years ago, construction crews working out at the
apartment complex where I live, sliced the underground cables like a
knife through butter...even though they were clearly marked. They left
the holes open, and it poured rain that night, inundating the cables.
I'll give you 3 guesses what happened to the line quality (noise wise),
and the first two don't count. 

  With that, I can't see paying almost $50 a month for a vanilla phone
line just for dial-up, especially since with both MagicJack lines, it
averages about $10 a month for both lines.

RM>I also volunteer at the local telephone museum, and was thinking about
  >setting up a dialup terminal there to dial into my system using VoIP. I
  >can get 9600 baud pretty reliably. A "real" phone line is
much faster,
  >obviously, and telnet of course is even faster than that.

  If I could do that with the VoIP, I'd go for dial-up. However, I shut
everything down if there's a threat of thunderstorms.

RM>Incidentally, I tried to apply to your BBS, and it would not accept
  >anything I entered for my name. I tried various versions of "Rick
  >Miller", as well as Wembley (my old BBS handle) and my callsign. I sent
  >you a comment from the inital login screen but I'm not sure if it went
  >through. I did log on as a Guest and I have to say, you have a cool
  >system! Can you tell me the secret of how to apply for access?

  Send an email to me at wx1der at portcars dot org with the info you
want to logon with (name, alias, and password). Since you're a ham radio
operator, I can get the rest of the data off of QRZ...and I'll add you
to the Worked All States door I have online. My trashcan file is rather
large, a leftover from the dial-up BBS days, so I need to trim that down
a bit...leaving in the vulgar terms, and people trying to logon as "well
known figures".

  Another ham radio door that I used to have, because of the antenna
prohibitions where I live...and lack of RF gear for it...is the
Amateur Radio Packet Door. Primarily for Technician Class or higher

(Continued to next message)
---
 þ OLX 1.53 þ We should back the Metric System every inch of the way.
                                                                           
                                                            
--- Virtual Advanced Ver 2 for DOS