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UKBBTELB.FON
~~~~~~~~~~~~
TELIX-format Directory of nearly 700 UK BBs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What is it?
~~~~~~~~~~~
My intention was to produce a list of telephone numbers and
other details which is usable DIRECTLY by TELIX, the excellent
shareware communications program for IBM compatible computers.
This particular version will work with release 3.## of TELIX.
The current version of TELIX is 3.12a.
If you are new to comms and want to find bulletin boards to try
or if you are an experienced user who enjoys calling new boards
but don't want to wade through lists and then dial them
'manually', this directory will make your life easier.
Also available from the source at the end of this file are:
UKBBPRNB.ZIP - a full printable version of the Golly! bulletin
board database.
UKBBREGB.ZIP - the full list broken into regional segments
UKBBGT_B.ZIP - dialling directory for GT-Power v15.5x
UKBBCOMB.ZIP - dialling directory for {Commo} v4.0
OK, so what do I do with UKBBTELB.FON?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I must assume throughout this document that you already have a
copy of TELIX 3.## and that you have configured it to work on
your system.
There are two ways of using the TELIX Directory of UK BBs (the
file called UKBBTELB.FON -
If you are a NEW user of TELIX you may wish to use it as your
main dialling directory. In this case, copy the file
UKBBTELB.FON to the disk directory in which you keep TELIX.EXE.
Change to that directory and delete TELIX.FON (TELIX's default
directory). Then rename UKBBTELB.FON as TELIX.FON. When you load
TELIX it will now use the new file as its default. If you use
the ALT-D command within TELIX, you will be presented with the
full listing of nearly 700 UK Bulletin Boards which are currently
available to the general public (excluding Viewdata-only boards).
If you are an experienced user and already have a number of
entries in your default directory TELIX.FON, you may use
UKBBTELB.FON as a secondary dialling directory. Again the first
move is to copy UKBBTELB.FON to the disk directory which holds
TELIX.EXE. You may load and use the UKBBTELB.FON directory by
the following sequence of commands in TELIX 3.##. First use
ALT-D to bring up the default dialling directory. Then enter "O"
(for "Other") followed by "L" (for "Load"). You will then be
presented with a request for a filename. You should enter
"UKBBTELB.FON" followed by [Return].
What exactly does UKBBTELB.FON contain?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have included all the information that I can find on nearly
700 current UK bulletin boards commensurate with the formatting
requirements and limitations of TELIX 3.##. In more detail the
contents of UKBBTELB.FON are:
1. NAME The name of the BB and its location
2. NUMBER The BB's telephone number including STD
code
3. LINE FORMAT - a> The fastest speed supported by the host
system.
b> Parity bit. Generally set to "None" for BB
systems.
c> Data bits. Usually set to "8" for BB
systems.
d> Stop bits. Usually set to "1" for BB
systems.
4. SCRIPT The particular flavour of BB software used
by the host. It is assumed that you have
compiled scripts for the various board
types - eg Opus, Wildcat!, etc. See below.
5. LAST CALL As this is a parameter which is kept up to
date by TELIX and reflects the date of your
last call to a board its original state is
blank.
6. TOTAL This field contains the total number of
calls you've made to a BB. Again it is set
to zero until TELIX updates it when you
log on.
7. TERMINAL The emulation required for compatability
with a BB. This is generally set to ANSI-
BBS which will enable colour menus and
other such features.
8. PROTOCOL The default protocol set for the current
entry. This has been set according to the
BB software in use. It assumes that a board
will have Xmodem-CRC available as a minimum.
Where it is known that the board supports
more powerful protocols than Xmodem, Ymodem
or Zmodem are selected. In my opinion Zmodem
is the best all round modern protocol and
should always be used if supported by the
host.
9. ECHO Sets full- or half-duplex mode. Generally
full-duplex is required.
10. LINE FEED If set "on" this adds linefeeds to received
carriage returns.
11. HI-BIT STRIP If set "on" this blocks ASCII characters
above 127 decimal.
12. BD Allows selection of deleting/non-deleting
received back-space.
13. BK Similar to BD but for sent characters.
14. DIALLING PREFIX This sets the dialling prefix to be used
before the phone number. I have set this to
number 1 (the default setting) and you
should ensure that this item is properly
set in the configuration menu. To do so,
carry out the following from within TELIX.
Use ALT-O to open the configuration menu.
Enter "M" for modem configuration, then "B"
to set Dial Prefix 1. For a Hayes compatible
modem the setting will be "ATDP" (or "ATDT" if
you have a digital telephone line which will
support "TouchTone dialling"). For non-Hayes
units you should refer to your modem manual.
15. PASSWORD At this stage you (probably) have no pass-
words registered with the boards in the
Directory. I have set the password for all
of the entries as "Password". I could have
left the field blank but that would have
caused TELIX's supplied log-on scripts to
abort. You should, of course, after calling
a BB, reset the password for that board to
the entry you register with that system.
Do I have to modify anything before using UKBBTELB.FON?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The short answer is - "not a lot".
You should check those telephone numbers which are for your
local exchange and Edit the entries to remove the STD code.
If you have particular Passwords set for any of the boards,
you should amend those entries as appropriate.
If your modem does not support faster speeds (particularly
applies to boards shown as supporting 9600bps) you should Edit
those entries to reflect the fastest speed that your modem can
achieve.
What other problems can I anticipate?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, there are two sorts of problems that you face - one to do
with the whole subject of logging on to bulletin boards; the
other hingeing around Scripts:
I cannot guarantee that all the BBs included in the directory
are still in operation or are necessarily running the software
stated in the Script field. From my experience System Operators
(SysOps) can be a fickle bunch - although the best (and probably
the majority) treat their hobby very seriously and
professionally. Boards do close down quite regularly (only to be
replaced by new ones!) and SysOps are well known for changing
software as better systems are developed. As these systems are
very often run from home it is also not uncommon for BBs to
disappear for a while and then re-emerge with a different
telephone number in another part of the country - the SysOp
having simply moved house!
As, in most instances, there is an entry in the Script field,
TELIX will attempt to run the appropriate SALT script file when
it connects with the host. Errors can occur in running the
scripts if they are not found, or if they have not been modified
to be used by YOU. Such errors will not stop you logging on to
the BB but you may have to press [Escape] to abort a failed
script and, almost certainly, enter your log-on details
manually.
TELIX scripts written in its own SALT language are very powerful
and some examples are included with the TELIX archive files. You
should make sure that these scripts have been modified to
include your name (and Town in the case of TBBS) and have been
compiled (using CS.EXE). I have written additional scripts for
TELIX 3.## as well as modifying those supplied with the program.
These new scripts work well with UKBBTELB.FON and should be
available (as T3SCRIPT2.ZIP) on the board where you found this
file. If not, you can certainly get it from GOLLY! (see below).
Great now I'm ready to go ... anything else I should know?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You may have noticed that I have ignored all BBs which do not
support at least one of the following speeds:
300/300 1200/1200 2400/2400 9600HST 9600V32
Whilst TELIX will support faster speeds than 9600, their use is
very rare. More importantly, TELIX does not support 1200/75
mixed-speed operations (but see below). Boards which offer ONLY
1200/75 are excluded from the directory for this reason. This
also applies to Viewdata BBs - TELIX does not do Viewdata
emulation.
Speed Buffering Modems:
If you are lucky enough to own a modem which can buffer the
75cps output in v23 (1200 receive, 75 send) mode AND which is
configurable to 'lie' to Telix about the connect speed - i.e.
will, if desired, send 'CONNECT 1200' instead of the default
'CONNECT 1275' upon making a v23 connection - you WILL be able
to call boards which support V23 by making changes to your
Telix configuration settings. For example, if you have the
Miracom WS3000 modem, the following will do the trick -
1. Set up Dialling Prefix 3 for buffered 1275 operation by
hitting "Alt-O" (from inside Telix), followed by "M",
followed by "D". Now enter this string (no quotes) -
"ATS23=1S26=10 DP". Hit [Return] and remember to write the
change to disk.
2. Change the Dialling Directory entries of any boards you
want to access at 1275 so that the Dialling Prefix is "3"
and the speed is "1200".
Simon Gamble (SysOp of FRIX, Reading) has produced an excellent
little utility for modifying UKBBTELB.FON easily and quickly to
suit the requirements of YOUR system. Look out for ZAPFON - it
could save you a great deal of time! Alternatively grab yourself
a copy of TFE_220.ZIP, Paul Roub's Telix Full-screen Editor, and
make your changes from within a Telix-like environment.
A request ...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No, I don't want your money! The UKBBxxxx Directories need to
be kept up to date. Unfortunately, I don't have the time nor
the financial resources to call all of the bulletin boards
listed on a regular basis. I, therefore, rely on people like
you to inform me of any changes which you come across.
If you find any information which will help me to keep the list
up to date, please let me know.
And finally ...?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh yes, any comments on UKBBxxxx or update information should be
addressed to me:
Terry Robertson
at GOLLY! ... Twyford Berks.
0734-320812
(Netmail 2:252/21)
This board is, of course, included in UKBBTELB.FON.
Alternatively, leave me a message in the FidoNet BBS-NEWS
Echomail conference on any board which carries that area.
****************************
The UKBB Lists are Copyright
(C) Terry Robertson
11:00 Mon 31-Dec-1990
****************************