IRC room created...

[JJTX]

In the event there are any OLD SCHOOL computer geeks like me in air forums, I created ##airstream on irc.freenode.net. And no my primary computer OS is NOT windows or IOS. =)

I've never seen anyone in the chat room on this forum, but maybe there are some folks that know what IRC is, and use MIRC or XCHAT.

[Philip Jones]

Wow, Internet Relay Chat really brings back a lot of memories from the late 90s. I had no idea people still used it!

[JJTX]

Originally Posted by Philip Jones

Wow, Internet Relay Chat really brings back a lot of memories from the late 90s. I had no idea people still used it!

Oh definitely. I never left. Though things have changed a bit !

[WalterKovacs]

Come on in, the water's nice.

[JJTX]

Originally Posted by WalterKovacs

Come on in, the water's nice.

Now thats a GREAT first post ! !!

[JJTX]

As a follow up to this, a US based IRC network has been created. The address is irc.usairc.org and the standard ports. #airstream is there

( cmon get off facebook, at least we dont track you and sell your data to china )

[rmkrum]

You want old school?

How about a 300 baud acoustic-coupled modem hand built from surplus parts and an S-100 computer system with a Z-80 processor and two 8" floppy drives. The printer was a 20-miliamp current loop driving a totally mechanical Teletype Machine that I refurbished. (talk about useless skills nowadays, hm!)

The whole thing was built by hand out of piece parts and soldered by me...

Soroc IQ-120 glass teletype terminal was the console.

Yeah, antique technology, but, Hey!, it worked until it was retired and given away...

And yes, it was a factor in online bulletin board usage! All Dial-up and slow as could be. Pre-internet, BTW...

[SteveSueMac]

I remember 300 baud acoustic couplers - and working from home watching letters pop up on the screen of my Digital VT-52 slower than I could type them.....

What memories!

[rmkrum]

This one was built from nothing but a bunch of cheap IC op-amps, discreet parts, and a couple 3" speakers. I eventually found a case that had rubber cups and holes for the speakers that I could shoehorn the circuit board into.

The circuit board was double-sided, had drilled holes, but the group I went with in to get the board bade could not afford to plate through the holes. So every part had to be soldered on BOTH sides of the board.

Surprisingly, it worked quite well, although my eldest son's high-pitched shrieks of delight when he saw letters moving across the Soroc's screen usually killed the connection...

I'm reminded that the "good old days", compared to nowadays, were not all that good. Thanks to real progress, we have much better communications.

[JJTX]

My first computer was an 8088 with 5.25 floppies

[rmkrum]

Most of my S-100 boards were prototypes from the "Solid State Music" company...

[JJTX]

..........sad I guess I'm a dying breed that leaves a computer on 24hrs a day.


The IRC room will always be there on our private US based server.

[JJTX]

There have been some updates to the website and its easier to navigate for those that might be new to it.

A web based browser option is working pretty well now after some moving around of resources and updating the site.

www.usairc.org

Click the green chat KIWI.

Pick your nickname. Its up to you.

Then put #AIRSTREAM in the channel field.

START

[Wabbiteer]

We'll autoconnect there for awhile now, just keeping the coffee hot

[JJTX]

Originally Posted by Wabbiteer

We'll autoconnect there for awhile now, just keeping the coffee hot

Nevermind. I answered my own Q ,

[JJTX]

Good to see a few connections. Ya'll need to stick around now is all !