Date   : Mon, 20 Mar 2006 15:41:52 +0000
From   : Jules Richardson <julesrichardsonuk@...>
Subject: Re: 6502s and SASI/SCSI.

gARetH baBB wrote:
> On Thu, 16 Mar 2006, Jules Richardson wrote:
> 
>> I'm almost sure you'll need something to simulate a PSTN inbetween those 
>> modems, unless they're clever enough to just 'know' they're connected 
>> back to back...
> 
> No, but they're probably stupid enough ...
> 
> It may take a bit of addtional electronics, but only minor. I've seen 
> similar things done before.

Yep, I'm sure it's not complicated at all (after all, look inside an old 
pulse-dial phone; there's hardly anything to them). Just not quite as easy as 
connecting them back-to-back.

(Incidentally, anyone have a brown handset cord for a pre-1950's phone? :-)

>> Plus of course getting some sort of entire viewdata system 'online' using
>> vintage hardware would be rather cool... (I'm not sure if any server-side
>> software still exists, though)
> 
> Depends what particular "server-side software" you were thinking of.

Well, I'm not particularly picky about the particular system - but I'm on the 
look-out for a data snapshot of some old dial-up service. Finding the hardware 
is reasonably easy in comparison - I expect most systems would have been DEC 
or PR1ME based and on a stock OS, and it's not like we'd need to find a full 
modem bank. Data backup would likely be on 9 track though, and it's the sort 
of thing that's probably long since been destroyed...

cheers

Jules