Howdy:

  I've been running BB version 2.1r for years and I don't remember which version
I
ran before this.
I see mention of version 2.12 & 2.13 in the DOCs, but I have never 'seen' these
versions.  Where
does version 2.1r fit  into the timeline and where in the
changes/convert/install/upgrade should I
consider myself to be ?

Regards, Chuck
nc8q

Those of you who are upgrading from versions prior to V2.13J will have
problems when forwarding to "RLI" bbs's. Roy made a major change in the
way the bbs handles the forwarding cycle. A proposal for the next message
to be forwarded is now appended to the last packet of the current message.
This results in a major speedup but it confused RLI systems. Roy added a
new PATH statement called RLISLOWDOWN to be used in the PATH statement for
the affected RLI forwarding partner. See PATH.DOC for details.

If you forward to another AA4RE bbs, up to four proposals are sent in advance
so that you never have to wait for a YES/NO when the current message has
completed. Some of us have to forward through a string of 4 or 5 nodes and
this feature is the next best thing to compression.

-Mike-

At 10:42 PM 12/11/99 -0800, you wrote:
>From: "George  Burton" <k7wwa@...>
>
>I will start my Christmas vacation on the 18th. Soon after that I will kill
>the FBB BBS program, clean up my hard drive and start over using 4RE.
>
>If I remember correctly I need to install the newest version of BPQ (I think
>I am one version back). Where can I get the latest version?
>Once I do that I guess I need to get the latest version of 4RE from your ftp
>site, correct?
>I also need the latest version of the docs.

>I have been reading the docs that I do have and I see some very interesting
>and I think useful feature of 4RE. I am looking forward to getting it
>running. Will you be available for phone calls in the evening during the
>last week or two of December?

Hi George,

I received your note via the 4RE mailing list (which means you shared it
with all 35,244 AA4RE sysops, well actually only about 25 of us are
subscribed).

If you log into the website at www.onelist.com/community/4re, you can
access the FILES area. There you will find BB21T.ZIP which contains
everything including docfiles. You will also find BPQ in the OTHERSTUFF
directory. Remember to log in with your email address and password, else it
won't let you download.

I don't know my exact plans over the holiday, hope to get a ski trip
shoehorned into the sked. Go ahead and phone when you are ready, the worst
that can happen is that you'll end up talking to my answering machine!

-Mike-


Mike Fahmie  -  WA6ZTY @ N6EEG  -  MPFahmie@...
Advanced Light Source - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
===============================================
"Alas, a Balrog, and I am already weary."
Gandalf the Wizard - Lord of the Rings
===============================================

Hi Mike

No, I have not dropped of the face of the earth. I have been involved with
my daughters wedding. We had two receptions, one here in Willits where she
has lived for 15 years and one in the Boston area where she and he husband
are living. Shifting gears for a minute, have you been following the story
about the death of the 6 firemen? I drove by the fire just before they
closed the freeway due to heat. We saw and felt the heat from the fire as my
daughter lives just a couple of miles from the fire.

I will start my Christmas vacation on the 18th. Soon after that I will kill
the FBB BBS program, clean up my hard drive and start over using 4RE.

If I remember correctly I need to install the newest version of BPQ (I think
I am one version back). Where can I get the latest version?

Once I do that I guess I need to get the latest version of 4RE from your ftp
site, correct?

I also need the latest version of the docs. The one that I have is the one
that was written for MARS and it does have some "funny" references. Where
can I get the proper copy of the docs?

I have been reading the docs that I do have and I see some very interesting
and I think useful feature of 4RE. I am looking forward to getting it
running. Will you be available for phone calls in the evening during the
last week or two of December?

George

Depending on how you subscribed to the 4RE list, you may have been assigned
an 8 character "cypher group" for a password. If you would prefer something
a bit more manageable, you can replace it with a password of your choice,
here's how.


1. Connect to the ONElist Web site, and click My ONElist.
    Sign in with your current password and click the link for MEMBER PROFILE.

2. To change your password, click "change my password."
    Enter your old password and then the new password.
    To verify your new password, you will be asked to enter it twice.

3. Take a moment to add some information to your profile while you are there.

-Mike-
WA6ZTY

Community email addresses:
   Post message: 4RE@onelist.com
   Subscribe:    4RE-subscribe@onelist.com
   Unsubscribe:  4RE-unsubscribe@onelist.com
   List owner:   4RE-owner@onelist.com

Shortcut URL to this page:
   http://www.onelist.com/community/4RE

Hi, Mike et Allia:

  My BB2.1r runs in a DOS batch loop.  When BBDPMI exits it runs a
housekeeping batch file.
The last line of the housekeeping batch file runs BBDPMI again.  I have
a SHUTDOWN command
in WAKEUP.BB every early morning (~0200 am) and as soon as there are no
connects and no
forwarding attempts, BB exits, the house gets kept, then BB restarts.
This practice is a
carryover from when I ran BB in a (turbo(har har)) 8088 with 640k RAM
and needed to run
DEFRAG and archive *.KIL files daily.  I'm now using a 80486DX66 with 32
Megabytes of RAM
so available memory is no longer a worry.

Regards,
Chuck
nc8q


  The only time I usually 'touch' the computer is the monthly tape
backup.
>    Date: Wed, 01 Dec 1999 09:42:08 -0800
>    From: Mike Fahmie <MPFahmie@...>
> Subject: Memory Leak
>
> John, NU9N, told me about a problem he has noticed that exists in both
> BB.EXE and BBDPMI.EXE involving gradual loss of available memory. Whenever
> you use the A, AF, or AL commands, the program losses the use of a small
> increment of RAM memory, each time one of these commands is issued,
> available memory shrinks just a bit more.
>
> I set up a test and programmed the WAKEUP file to issue one of these
> commands every couple of minutes. Interspersed with them, I included other
> common WAKEUP commands including forward cycles and reorg commands. I was
> able to watch the memory heap size (displayed at the left side of the
> center bar) shrink before my eyes. I allowed the program to continue
> overnight and found that it eventually crashed with RUNTIME ERROR 203. This
> translates to a heap overflow and means that the memory manager ran out of
> memory. I then removed the A commands and restarted the test. It ran
> overnight with no loss of memory size.
>
> As time permits, I will begin examining the ACTION file routines to see if
> I can find the problem. Most likely, it is caused by one of the routines
> asking the memory manager for some memory and forgetting to free it when
> the routine has completed its work. Sometimes a routine has several exit
> points and the instruction to free memory may not be in all of them.
>
> This is not a new problem, it exists in the several last versions that Roy
> produced, and I suspect that it dates back to version 2.12. In those days,
> I ran the REAL mode program and noted that it would crash frequently when
> my message count grew much above 250 or so. I now suspect that this memory
> leak may have been the real problem.
>
> Those of us running the PROTECTED mode program are not likely to be
> bothered by the leak since we have so much available memory to begin with,
> but it will eventually crash the system given enough time. Several quick
> fixes come to mind;
>
> 1.) Don't use the A commands in WAKEUP (or restrict them to executing
> once/week)
> 2.) Force the system to reload every few days (manually or using WAKEUP), a
> DOS batch file can automatically reload the bbs whenever it terminates.
>
> -Mike-
>
> Mike Fahmie  -  WA6ZTY @ N6EEG  -  MPFahmie@...
> Advanced Light Source - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
> ===============================================
> "Alas, a Balrog, and I am already weary."
> Gandalf the Wizard - Lord of the Rings
> ===============================================
>
>
_______________________________________________________________________________
>
_______________________________________________________________________________

>I am in a trouble to unzip file bb21t.zip, which I have downloaded
>from the site. Winzip says that the file is lacking 13 bytes and can
>not be unzipped. I have tried twice to download the file, but all
>failed. Would appreciate if someone can help this problem.
>
>Aki (JK3IYB)
>

Aki was trying to download the copy I placed on TAPR's FTP server. It
appears that their copy got corrupted, I have informed TAPR and we
should have a fresh copy posted there soon. The BB21T.ZIP that is
posted in the FILES area here on onelist is not damaged.

-Mike-
WA6ZTY

Hi to all on the list,

The Wpage programs needed for normal operation with the 4RE BBS have been
updated for y2k compatibility and are ready for download at:

http://fcrosby.com/w1npr/servers

All programs will run with your existing Wpage data. They are updates of
the latest Wpage versions and if you are still running very early versions
you may have to set up the new configuration files which are included.

New y2k updates are in three parts:

1. Setup and maintenance programs and docs are in wpy2k_ut.zip
2. Database update programs and docs are in wpy2k_ud.zip
3. Wpage server programs and docs are in wpy2k_sv.zip

A database seed of over 51,000 users is in wp_seed1.zip to get new sysops
started.

All the programs and documentation needed for startup and normal operation
of the Wpage system are included in the wpy2k_??.zip programs.

Please note, only the files included in the wpy2k_??.zip update files have
been tested.
Many other auxiliary programs have been produced in the past for specific
operations, I don't THINK any are date sensitive but please let me know if
you are using any of these and wish to have them updated.

NO Civil Air Patrol or Navy/Marine Corps Mars servers or utility programs
have been updated.
Let me know on an individual basis if you are using any of these.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
For those not familiar with the Wpage system, it keeps a record of all
known Packet users in a resident database.
Known users are those who have used your system, sent messages which passed
through your system or other systems that have provided WP update messages
which have passed through your BBS.
It will serve up this information both Real Time and Remotely, address any
Message which is sent from your BBS to a User who is in the database and
provide added information in Callsign server requests.
If used with the SAM callsign database and other BBseries programs they
will be interactive and use data as needed from each other.

I have included all you will need to install a new Wpage system in the y2k
update zip files listed above.
-----------------------------------------------------
73/Free
W1NPR
mail@...

Hello,
I am not sure if this address is appropriate to inquire my question.

I am in a trouble to unzip file bb21t.zip, which I have downloaded
>from the site.

Winzip says that the file is lacking 13 bytes and can not be unzipped.
I have tried twice to download the file, but all failed.

Would appreciate if someone can help this problem.

Aki (JK3IYB)

**********

jk3iyb@...

John, NU9N, told me about a problem he has noticed that exists in both
BB.EXE and BBDPMI.EXE involving gradual loss of available memory. Whenever
you use the A, AF, or AL commands, the program losses the use of a small
increment of RAM memory, each time one of these commands is issued,
available memory shrinks just a bit more.

I set up a test and programmed the WAKEUP file to issue one of these
commands every couple of minutes. Interspersed with them, I included other
common WAKEUP commands including forward cycles and reorg commands. I was
able to watch the memory heap size (displayed at the left side of the
center bar) shrink before my eyes. I allowed the program to continue
overnight and found that it eventually crashed with RUNTIME ERROR 203. This
translates to a heap overflow and means that the memory manager ran out of
memory. I then removed the A commands and restarted the test. It ran
overnight with no loss of memory size.

As time permits, I will begin examining the ACTION file routines to see if
I can find the problem. Most likely, it is caused by one of the routines
asking the memory manager for some memory and forgetting to free it when
the routine has completed its work. Sometimes a routine has several exit
points and the instruction to free memory may not be in all of them.

This is not a new problem, it exists in the several last versions that Roy
produced, and I suspect that it dates back to version 2.12. In those days,
I ran the REAL mode program and noted that it would crash frequently when
my message count grew much above 250 or so. I now suspect that this memory
leak may have been the real problem.

Those of us running the PROTECTED mode program are not likely to be
bothered by the leak since we have so much available memory to begin with,
but it will eventually crash the system given enough time. Several quick
fixes come to mind;

1.) Don't use the A commands in WAKEUP (or restrict them to executing
once/week)
2.) Force the system to reload every few days (manually or using WAKEUP), a
DOS batch file can automatically reload the bbs whenever it terminates.

-Mike-



Mike Fahmie  -  WA6ZTY @ N6EEG  -  MPFahmie@...
Advanced Light Source - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
===============================================
"Alas, a Balrog, and I am already weary."
Gandalf the Wizard - Lord of the Rings
===============================================

Hi to all on the list,

I know BBrt97 will work OK, have not made any changes in it but wonder if
anyone has created an up to date Part97.txt file ?

Mine is dated March 24, 1995 and I'd like a newer one to distribute with
the program, no sense in my editing it if someone has already done it.

For those interested, BBrt97.exe is a Real Time server which serves up any
part of the FCC Part 97 rules and regulations or it's appendixes from user
input.
-----------------------------------
Also searching for a more up to date set of Monthly files ( Today.??? ) for
the "Today.exe" program.
This is not a BBseries program but makes a great Real Time server which
runs from a single line in Action.bb and gives the user a list of events
which happened on this day in history.
------------------------------------


Thanks

73/Free
W1NPR
mail@...

Hi to all on the list,

I have already made another update to the BBlook utility and Version 2 is
available at:
http://www.fcrosby.com/w1npr/servers

Complete doc files are available to read on the web site:
http://www.fcrosby.com/w1npr/servers/bblook_doc.html

For those who do not know, BBlook  automatically updates and builds your
Hlookup.bb file
from message headers. It works fast and silently from either Wakeup.bb or
in a separate window
in windows or Desqview.

No setup is required, just one line in Wakeup.bb after installing
BBlook.exe in your BBS default
directory.

This update includes a new program, BBhlypfx that replaces both BBhlfix.exe
and BBmakeyp.exe to clean up, sort, check dupes and generate the optional
Yellow page database from Hlookup.bb.

---------------------------------------------------------------

I have also tested and updated all the Yellow page programs which are
available from:
http://www.fcrosby.com/w1npr/servers

For those who do not know, the Yellow Pages provide a similar function to
the White Pages but contain BBS stations, not Users and it uses Hlookup.bb
with added fields as a database.
In addition to the automatic use of 4RE in determining hierarchical
addresses it also  provides both users and sysops a database  with the
ability to search through thousands of worldwide BBS stations by any
portion of their Hierarchical address.

If the SAM callsign database is resident US, VE & VK etc. stations may be
searched by city, state, county or zipcode.

Both Real-Time and remote servers are included with the BBypage_1.zip file
and it includes a program to create a Yellow page database from your
present Hlookup.bb. It also will merge, sort and check it for dupes.

Documentation for both servers is available to be read from the web site:
http://www.fcrosby.com/w1npr/servers/bbrtyp_doc.html
http://www.fcrosby.com/w1npr/servers/bbreqyp_doc.html

My Hlookup.bb presently has well over 9000 BBS listings collected over
several years. This is available at:
http://www.fcrosby.com/w1npr/servers/hlookup.zip

---------------------------------------------------------------

BBfkill.exe has been made Y2K ready and is available for download from my
server site at:
http://www.fcrosby.com/w1npr/servers

BBfkill.exe is an automated file cleanup utility, files are killed based on
age ( In days ) back
to Jan. 1, 1980   Runs from Wakeup.bb or in a separate window.

You may run it using as many separate configurations as you wish. Files are
specified using regular MS-dos wildcard format in a suffix when calling it up.
It will kill individual or multiple files in any directory/path on your system.

Docs are at:
http://www.fcrosby.com/w1npr/servers/bbfkill_doc.html

--------------------------------------------
FYI:

"Real Time" servers are those which produce an output directly to the user
when he enters a command.

"Remote" servers require the user to send a message to the server (
server@... ) and  a reply message is generated back to the user
which contains the information requested.
   --------------------------------------------

I've looked the WPage programs a bit and it looks like there may be a lot
of work there as I followed the same date structure yymmdd we all used in
those days and these programs are quite complex.

73/Free
W1NPR
mail@...

OK, I think all the bugs have been exterminated. The new code is now
available in the FILES section of the 4RE page;

  www.onelist.com/community/4RE

Click on the FILES button in the menu on the left side of the screen.

The new code should now run in the faster machines, where the earlier
versions did not. There cure to that bug was not perfect, I am looking
into better ways to do it. There may be some problems with the fastest
machines, especially if you are using PK-232/PK-88 TNC's. Let me know
if you run into any problems.

New updates will come out as required, please let me know if you run
into any problems with this code so I can rectify them before the next
release. Post the reports here on the list so others can share your info.

Have fun and let me know how it is going.

73,
Mike/WA6ZTY

Well, if you want to find a problem in software, don't count on betas! As I
described in my posting earlier today, I fixed a compiler problem that prevented
the bbs code from running on fast machines. Well, I just received a note from
NU9N that the setup programs such as BBSETTNC and BBSETUP do not run on fast
machines. Perfectly logical! I simply did not think of recompiling those files
since I made no changes to them. They still contain the old code with the old
problems.

I have removed the release from the FILES area and will repost it tomorrow
after I have recompiled all of the utility programs. If you have already
downloaded BB21T, please do not distribute it further.

Sorry,
Mike

Some of you may have encountered a problem running previous code on fast
machines in the 200+ MHz range. The system would crash on "divide by
zero" errors. This was (reportedly) due to code generated by the Pascal
compliler to normalize its timedelay routine to the clock speed of the
machine its code was running in.

Clock speeds have increased dramatically since 1992 (compilers birthday)
and I guess they never dreamed things would ever get so fast. It turns
out that the fast CPU's overflow a register and cause the error. I was
able to modify the run time library to preclude that problem. Please let
me know if you notice this change (does it work now where it didn;t
before).

Tnx,
Mike
WA6ZTY

Hi Gary,

Sorry to hear that, don't give up now. When I went from the old 386 to the
Pentium I just put the old hard drive in a "bare bones" 133 mhz  machine
and booted up and it really flew.
I see them pretty cheap at computer shows now. Don't forget the old 386
would probably have not done well after y2k anyway.

After running my system in DOS /BPQ & Desqview for all these years I
finally got it running last week in Windows 98 with a bit of help from John
Anning who called me from California and walked me through it.

Now I have the BBS in one window, all the servers going in another and can
even use it for surfing the net or other chores all at the same time.

In addition we need your support for 4RE in this part of Florida and if you
quit who am I writing all these updates for ?

73/Free
W1NPR

At 04:07 PM 11/23/1999 -0500, you wrote:
>From: Gary Arnold <garnold@...>
>
>It finally happened.  The old venerable 386 that's been chugging along
>since 1991 took a giant dump this afternoon, while I was trying to install
>Mike's upgrade.  We've used RE and only RE for our EOC BBS since it went on
>the air.  The floppies were giving me trouble with the upgrade, so I
>reloaded the previous version and it came back up...but then the power
>supply apparently fubar'ed, and it's decision time:  do we try to
>     - revive the current system with a few transplants,
>     - use it as a donor (move the HD to a new system, can't bear to think
>of reloading and configuring all of Free's servers, etc.)
>     - or weigh the work of restoring the system against the occaisional use
>of three users and just sound taps?
>
>     It's done yeoman service, that ol' 386/33 turbo, with it's 'huge' 120
>MB hard drive and (wow!) 4 MB of RAM.  But the old geezer may have breathed
>it's last.
>
>     Anyone with any suggestions on upgrading the hardware?  The software?
>Eulogies?  :-{
>
>Gary WB2WPA@wb2wpa

It finally happened.  The old venerable 386 that's been chugging along
since 1991 took a giant dump this afternoon, while I was trying to install
Mike's upgrade.  We've used RE and only RE for our EOC BBS since it went on
the air.  The floppies were giving me trouble with the upgrade, so I
reloaded the previous version and it came back up...but then the power
supply apparently fubar'ed, and it's decision time:  do we try to
     - revive the current system with a few transplants,
     - use it as a donor (move the HD to a new system, can't bear to think
of reloading and configuring all of Free's servers, etc.)
     - or weigh the work of restoring the system against the occaisional use
of three users and just sound taps?

     It's done yeoman service, that ol' 386/33 turbo, with it's 'huge' 120
MB hard drive and (wow!) 4 MB of RAM.  But the old geezer may have breathed
it's last.

     Anyone with any suggestions on upgrading the hardware?  The software?
Eulogies?  :-{

Gary WB2WPA@wb2wpa
   ________

Gary Arnold, CEM/FPEM, Collier County Emergency Management
E-mail: garnold@... (Alt: gary.arnold@...)
EM page: "http://www.collierem.org/"

Hi to all,

I have started updating the BBseries server/utility programs for Y2K
compliance.

BBlook is ready and may be downloaded with your browser from this page:
http://www.fcrosby.com/w1npr/servers/index.html

While working on this update I fixed the problems in BBhfix.exe and created
a new program
to replace BBmakeyp.exe which is more flexible when used with the new
BBhfix version.

Although most of the programs will run as is they will be checked as time
permits for y2k compliance and get updated version numbers and documentation.

My Y2K update pages will have the LATEST programs for download as they
become available along with a description of the functions each program
performs.

Also a running commentary on progress at:
http://www.fcrosby.com/w1npr/servers/my_y2k.html

Most important to me would be your letting me know which programs you use
so I may do these first.

73/Free
W1NPR

I have just uploaded BB21T.ZIP to the FILES area. This should run until 2047.

I know that some of you have not updated since 2.12 (one of you is still running
V2.09), you will have to make several changes before the system will run.

If you use BPQ, you will have to upgrade to V4.08A and change PARMS.BB and
BPQCFG.TXT to use BPQ HOST MODE, see Roys G8BPQ.DOC, the AA4RE.DOC in BPQ is
out of date so trust Roys docfile when they are in conflict.

If you use MBBIOS, you must update it to Ver 3.8 (included).

Some of the older BB file formats are not compatible with those in V2.13,
consult CONVERT.DOC for details. You will probably have to erase your MON.BB
and add some stuff to MESSAGE.BB.

If you were running 2.13E or earlier, check BETA.DOC and CONVERT.DOC.
BBDPMI now requires FILES=60 in CONFIG.SYS.

Make sure you replace the old Docfiles with the new ones and note the updated
HLOOKUP.BB.

Good Luck,
Mike/WA6ZTY

>Hi, Mike:
>
> will BBDPMIB4.EXE alter my system so that I cannot seamlessly
>return to v2.1r ?
>

>>BBDPMIBn.EXE is the current test version of the Y2K compliant AA4RE
>>bbs system. Load it in place of BBDPMI.EXE, no other changes are
>>necessary. The test version will run only in November through February
>>of any year from 1990 to 2047. It was crippled thusly to insure that
>>it is replaced by the final release.

No, it will not alter your system. Roys original timekeeping system is
based on Jan 1,1980, and he counts seconds (actually the ticks are 2
>seconds)since then. That system does not overflow until 2048 so I did
>not change it. The changes I made were applied to the various routines
>that convert the internal timer back into other time formats (yymmdd
for instance) so that they would accept and properly handle 20yy dates.

The new software does not make any conversions to your existing files
because none were necessary. You can move back and forth between it
and 2.13R simply by reloading the software. Remember though, if you
change the system date in order to evaluate for Y2K, you will have to
edit WAKEUP.BB and restore current dates to any WAKEUP functions that
executed during the test.

73,
Mike/WA6ZTY

Howdy, Y'all:

  I bought my first packet TNC on 31 December 1987.  My first 24/7 activity was
NET.EXE (~v871204?)
on 145.07 & 222.11 MHz, which I ran from April 1988 until April 1989.  I then
switched to WA7MBL
BBS code until December 1989.  I then was offered the sysop position of W8BI 'to
be
born' packet bbs.
I said: "It has got to be able to be remotely sysop'ed, or I ain't gonna do it!"
Well, Ross Brown WA8DQH
had found AA4RE BBS code and bought PC-Anywhere and that was the end of that
discussion.  AA4RE-BBS
is the remote sysop's dream come true.  The monthly user list was around 250
through at least December 1992.
I resigned the sysop's position in December 1992 and later ran BB v2.1r & BPQ
v4.08a at home with 5 radio ports
and one telephone port as a forwarding only server.  User/node/bbs activity has
dwindled and today there are 6 pBBSs
and no stand alone nodes (that forward pBBS messages)  in greater Dayton.  I am
now
using two radio ports
441.025 and (ahem) 145.01 MHz.  I have three radio ports available (a 44x.xxx
and
two 22x.xx) waiting for some
neighbor nodes or pBBSs to go mutiport again.  Sigh.  One of the things I miss
(I'm
now running FBBDOS v7)
is the ability to see what is happening, with whom, on what port.  It is much
easier to tell with BPQ/4RE what
is going on. :-|

Regards, Chuck

The CLEAN_MSGS command resides in the action file and performs automatic
housecleaning of old bulletin series (such as DXNEWS, RACES, KEPS, etc). It
determines which bulletin to keep and which to kill by evaluating the BID.
These BIDS are usually composed of a letter code followed by a number.
Frequently (but not always), that number represents a date.

There is a Y2K problem here. If the number has 2 digit year information in it,
then it will think that 99 is newer than 00. This will cause the new message to
be deleted instead of the older one. Since the formats found vary in their
construction, it presents a software nightmare and I have chosen not to deal
with it.

The forgoing is of no concern to you if you are not using this command, but if
you are using it then you will want to temporarilly remove it until the 99 and
earlier bulletins have been deleted, then the command can be reinstalled and it
will work fine.

-Mike-
WA6ZTY

>Thanks for the invitation to join the 4RE list.  As you requested,
>here's a little background on the N5AUX Packet Radio BBS:

Might be a nice idea for each of us to post something about ours systems.

I run the N6EEG bbs in Berkeley, it has been around for quite awhile too.
It once had an HF port on 30 meters, but a burgular made off with it about
6 years ago. N6EEG was on the receiving end of the very first NTS message
sent over packet. Users connect on 2 meters and forwarding is on 223 MHz.
We are located on a hillside overlooking the SF Bay Area from about 600'
elevation. We have been running 2.13R Protected mode on a 486-50 CPU with
PCPA TNC's running under BPQ. The 2.13T beta has been running there for
the last 3 weeks or so without difficulty.

There are still quite a few bbs's around Northern California, N6EEG is the
hub bbs for the north bay area and uses a 9600 baud UHF backbone to forward
to the other parts of N Calif. I guess I talk to about 10 or 12 systems on
a given day. NCA has about 3 HF gateways and 3 internet links as well as
the western states SatGate W9HGI about 70 miles north of here.

>My reason for sticking with 4RE after most of my neighboring
>BBSs "went French" (i.e., F6FBB BBS s/w) was simple; the AA4RE s/w was
>designed with remote access and hands-off operation in mind and it has
>performed flawlessly for years with the only downtime being due to major
>(longer than 2 hours) power failures.  (My UPS batteries only last 2
>hours.)

Though I've never run FBB, quite a few of my forwarding pardners have. Few
of them have been able to master it, and don't seem to be able to match the
flexibility of 4RE code.

>Every function that a sysop needs to perform can be done by remote control..

I once logged on to my bbs from a Field Day site 100 miles away (via node)
and did some sysop work on it, copied some files, did a screen capture, and
made a minor change to ROUTE.BB. The author of an unnamed bbs program was
looking over my shoulder and could not believe that these tasks could be
done remotely!

All for now, my daughter is tapping her foot on the ground waiting for me to
give up the computer.

73,
Mike/WA6ZTY

MS Word 97 Version:

PLAIN TEXT VERION:

Thanks for the invitation to join the 4RE list.  As you requested, here's a
little background on the N5AUX Packet Radio BBS:

I just joined this list but I've been running an AA4RE PBBS since 1984 and
I'm glad to see there are still a few "die-hards" interested in this
excellent program.  (It's a shame Roy's interest in this software waned.)

N5AUX BBS has been running 24 hrs/day, continuously, unattended,
remote-sited atop a downtown Fort Worth (Texas) office building for over
ten  years.  It was the 2nd Packet BBS in North Texas and currently it's
the oldest "full-service" PBBS sill operating in the Fort Worth-Dallas
area.  It is co-located with the N5AUX TEXNET NODE (FTWORTH), plus one VHF
(224.44 MHz) repeater, one UHF (442.375 MHz) repeater and an Amateur
Television Repeater (ATV).

The range of these machines extends from 30 to 300 miles, depending upon
the radio equipment of the user.  Handi-talkies can hit the repeaters from
  30 miles, mobiles from 60 and some base stations over 300 miles away
have connected  from time to time.   At the peak of packet activity ( 1995
) we had over 300 active packet users.  According to last count it is now
down to less than 100 ( 1999 ).  (Internet attrition.)

About 5 years ago the one millionth packet message was logged by the N5AUX
BBS? a milestone and a tribute to the reliability of the AA4RE Packet BBS
software.  My reason for sticking with 4RE after most of my neighboring
BBSs "went French" (i.e., F6FBB BBS s/w) was simple; the AA4RE s/w was
designed with remote access and hands-off operation in mind and it has
performed flawlessly for years with the only downtime being due to major
(longer than 2 hours) power failures.  (My UPS batteries only last 2
hours.)

Every function that a sysop needs to perform can be done by remote control
and I've let the system run for over 18 months at a stretch without even
connecting to it in Remote Sysop Mode.  I run a mini-gateway at my home in
Arlington, 20 miles from the BBS, and since I get automatic copies of
everything the BBS gets I never actually have any reason to connect to it
or visit the site.  In fact, the only reason I've connected "manually" to
the BBS in the past several years has been to download the current user
file and log file.  Otherwise, the system runs completely automatic in
every respect.

I have considered shutting it down a few times but just can't bring myself
to do it.  Instead, I'm now considering direct Internet links with other
packet BBSs to bolster the old war horse.  There is only one packet gateway
BBS left in North Texas (N5VGC) and an alternate gateway or two seems a
good idea.

Anyone interested in more information on this system should browse the
following web page:  http://www.basicomputer.com/n5aux.htm.  If you run a
PBBS and wish to establish gateway service between your BBS and the
"Cowtown" BBS, contact me by Email: ken@....

Best Regards,
Ken, N5AUX
Primary Email: ken@...

Depending on how you subscribed to the 4RE list, you may have been assigned
an 8 character "cypher group" for a password. If you would prefer something
a bit more manageable, you can replace it with a password of your choice,
here's how.


1.Sign in at the ONElist Web site, and click My ONElist.
   Click the link for Member Profile.

2.To change your password, click "change my password."
   Enter your old password and then the new password.
   To verify your new password, you will be asked to enter it twice.

-Mike-
WA6ZTY

Hi Mike,

Yes I thought there should have been more details after sending out the
message but what I really want is to update the ones that are in use. I
have already had response from one sysop who uses several.

BBlook is the most used and that definitely needs updating as it is date
specific. I plan to start with that to get familiar with the compiler again.

The Wpage system will probably need a review since I imagine there have
been changes in the way they are done in the last few years. I based mine
on the one W0RLI started and had three routines ( RLI, FBB and 4RE ) to
parse with as they were all different styles. Of course I remember W0RLI
changed his format at one time also.

It will take some time for me to get up to speed again and I just do not
remember what they did.

I know we had a resident Wpage database  that was updated by both Headers
and WP update messages passing through. I think that "BB" was able to use
this data but not sure, boy it's been a long time.

Maybe someone who is using the Wpages could comment on them.

We will have to work through the ones that are in use one at a time, will
make it eventually ii not by the first of the year, soon after.

73/Free

At 07:56 PM 11/18/99 -0500, Freeman Crosby wrote:

>I was asked to provide a list of my servers currently available for the
system.
>
<snip>

>If anyone is using a specific program and would like it updated please let
>me know. Many of these programs  were written for sysops by request and may
>no longer be in use.
>

Freeman, while you've been so prolific in writing servers, the uninitiated
cannot tell what they do from the name. I see them fancy new bbs's that
have WP built in so's when a user sends a P message the bbs knows the @bbs
and H_addr without the user telling him. I'd like to have that capability
here at N6EEG.

Most of the problems with WP are caused by the /G updates, I'd like a
program that discarded those unless no recent /U entry was on file. This
would eliminate the problems caused when a user occasionally originates a
message from a bbs that is not his home bbs.

(/G updates are harvested from message headers, /U updates come from info
provided by user at registration time.)

Do have programs that can do this for me?

-Mike-
WA6ZTY

Hi to all on the list,

First off I'd like to thank Mike for his efforts in making the 4RE BBS y2k
compatible.

I was asked to provide a list of my servers currently available for the system.

Although I have not looked at these in years I see no reason the "Real
Time" servers would be affected by y2k, others I'm not sure of.

I am presently setting up a test system using Mike's Beta4 and will check
as many as possible before Jan 1st.

If anyone is using a specific program and would like it updated please let
me know. Many of these programs  were written for sysops by request and may
no longer be in use.

Most of the programs listed below are at the JPL NASA ftp site:

   ftp://kilroy.jpl.nasa.gov/pub/hamradio/AA4RE/W1NPR

I can supply any of the others as attachments or place them on my web site.

ALLDOCS  ZIP    229633 11-17-95   1:20p Most of the BBseries doc files, zipped
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------
BAFED3A ZIP     40662 07-19-94   8:41p BBafed, Auto-editing of formatted files
BBBRRG3A ZIP     52383 08-07-94   7:34p BBbrrg, Bearing/Range/Grid real-time
BBCAL3A ZIP     26406 08-24-93  10:16p BBcal, Real-time calender any month/yr
BBCOPY3F ZIP     57609 03-03-95   9:47a BBcopy, Updated to clone REDIST servers
BBDUPE3C ZIP     42759 11-30-93   1:59p BBdupe, Check dupes from
address/subject
BBDUPE3D ZIP     43006 04-05-94  10:28p BBdupe, You may specify message types
BBECHO3A ZIP     46676 03-04-95  10:29p BBecho, Show return path like Ping
BBFILE2A ZIP     46389 07-22-91  10:07p BBfile, File msgs. into AA4RE database
BBFKIL3D ZIP     44157 11-17-95  12:52p BBfkill, Auto kill files by age.(
This may need work )
BBFREE2A ZIP     35438 09-20-91  10:20p BBfree, Releases held msgs. for 1 user
BBGONE3B ZIP     42226 05-01-95   9:12a BBgone, Fwd.Msgs.to users who have
gone/moved
BBHLF3A  ZIP    147255 02-16-95  11:11p BBhlfind, Utility for Hlookup.bb data
BBHOLD2B ZIP     41902 08-31-91  11:00p BBhold, Reads & holds msg. by text/subj
BBIDX62  ZIP     61603 09-02-94   9:55a BBindex, Updated for DOS 6.2 & Previous
BBIDX70  ZIP     61599 11-17-95   9:40a BBindex, updated for Dos 7.0 and Win 95
BBLIST3A ZIP     49729 06-23-93   8:27p BBlist, Creates LTO command, real-time
BBLOOK3F ZIP     94391 11-02-94   8:14p BBlook, Update/Maintain Hlookup.bb file
BBMKMG3G ZIP     41517 02-18-94  10:52a BBmsgdb, Makes BBdoor databases
BBMKHT3A ZIP     37400 05-01-97   7:29p BBmsghtm, Makes HTML BBdoor databases
BBPASS2B ZIP     35067 08-31-91  10:57p BBpass, Releases msgs. you hold
BBQTHCDA ZIP    124742 11-26-94  10:40a BBrtqcd/BBreqqcd exe files, SAM CD-ROM
BBREQD2E ZIP     55564 05-04-92   8:53a BBreqdir, Generic REQDIR server
BBREQF3A ZIP     70361 01-18-94   3:18p BBreqfil, Remote REQFIL server updated
BBREQM3A ZIP     61524 11-10-93   9:12p BBreqmod, dedicated MODS remote server
BBREQQ3B ZIP     87824 11-20-94  10:24p BBreqqth, SAM Database server
BBREQS2E ZIP     59875 04-10-92  11:29a BBreqset, REQ/DIR setup program
BBREQU2A ZIP     77757 05-31-92  12:32p BBreqdat, Universal text/tip server
BBREQW3A ZIP     68194 01-09-94  10:44p BBreqwp, Remote Wpage server updated
BBREQY3B ZIP    104743 06-03-94   9:47a BBreqyp, Remote Yellow page server
BBRFRQ3D ZIP    231482 12-28-94   7:57p BBrtfrq, Remote Scanner Master server
BBRPLY2B ZIP     43165 01-05-92  10:46a BBreply, Universal reply server
BBRQHC3B ZIP     54525 01-01-97   8:58a BBreqhc, Remote Buckmaster CD-rom
server
BBRQTH3C ZIP     64898 11-20-94  10:20p BBrtqth, Real time SAM database server
BBRT973A ZIP     81530 03-22-95   5:03p BBrt97, Server for FCC part 97 W/data
BBRTCC3B ZIP     52550 04-27-95   8:08a BBrtcc, Real-time Country/Prefix server
BBRTHC3A ZIP     51073 11-27-95  11:41a BBrthc, Realtime Buckmaster CD-rom svr.
BBRTMD3E ZIP     55620 08-21-94   9:09p BBrtmod, Real-time MODS database server
BBRTMG3G ZIP     98982 02-17-94  10:44p BBrtmsg, BBdoor server programs updated
BBRTSAYA ZIP     40853 05-18-93   1:37p BBrtsay, Novelty server, command line
BBRTWP3B ZIP     60276 01-09-94   7:20p BBrtwp, Real-time Wpage server updated
BBRTYP3E ZIP     92128 09-16-94   2:34p BBrtyp, Real-time Yellow Page server
BBSAMZ2A ZIP     44635 09-04-92  11:18a BBsamidx, Makes BBreqqth Zipcode index
BBSCAN3C ZIP    207620 05-20-95   6:49p BBscan, Scanner Master Data server R/T
BBSEND3A ZIP     49235 10-13-93  11:22p BBsend, BETA version works in DV as
well
BBSERV2H ZIP    116242 03-13-92   4:25p BBserv, File and Data Server
BBSTOP3C ZIP     43107 11-06-93   1:46p BBstop, Updated to work with BBdupe
BBSTRP2D ZIP     41307 02-28-93   9:14p BBstrp, Updated Header stripper
BBTAG2B  ZIP     37974 10-11-92  10:34p BBtag,  Adds tagline to msgs.
BBTRAILB ZIP     45689 06-12-94   8:04a BBtrail, Sign-off message for user
BBUSER3A ZIP     58079 05-14-95   9:10p BBuser, Search, Edit BBuser file
BBVIFY3A ZIP     44990 10-02-93  10:12p BBverify, Msg. verification utility
BBWAIT3C ZIP     60204 02-05-95   9:36a BBwait, BBdaily, Run servers in DV/Win
BBWX3A   ZIP     36475 07-07-94   8:50p BBwx, Auto-edit DUART weather data.
STRIPHTM ZIP     32649 05-01-97   5:38p Strips HTML code from text message
files
TODAY    ZIP     86249 10-19-92   4:27a Today program for current days data

Civil Defense

BBTRAC3B ZIP    233760 05-31-93  10:27p BBtrac, Emergency operations center
beta
BBTRAC3C ZIP    312464 03-20-95  10:39p BBtrac, EOC shelter management programs
SMALLDAT ZIP     62477 05-15-93   9:10p Startup database for old BBtrac series

White Pages

BBWPED3A ZIP     99173 02-12-95   8:31p BBwpage, Editor maintainence program
BBWPGU2B ZIP     49308 03-31-92  11:16p BBwpage, Generic update via msgs.
BBWPLU3A ZIP     44784 02-16-94  12:01p BBwpage, address messages from Wpages
BBWPMK3A ZIP     62047 12-16-93  10:25p BBwpage, Create, Service Wpage database
BBWPSV2H ZIP     50679 03-15-92   9:13a BBwpage, Standalone Wpage server
BBWPUD3K ZIP    104128 01-06-95  10:06a BBwpage, Update programs BBwpum/BBwpuh
WPREAD3A ZIP  1112108  3-25-95   11:48a  Generic Wpage reader



Civil Air Patrol specific: I do not plan any updates to these at present.

CAPLOOKA ZIP     54034 05-15-94   4:19p BBlook modified for Civil Air Patrol
CAPREQWA ZIP     67900 05-15-94   4:26p BBreqwp modified for Civil Air Patrol
CAPRTWPA ZIP     61539 05-15-94   4:25p BBrtwp modified for Civil Air Patrol
CAPWPEDA ZIP     62593 05-15-94   4:18p BBwped modified for Civil Air Patrol
CAPWPLUA ZIP     47124 05-17-94  10:32p CAPwplu, Address messages from CAPwpage
CAPWPLUB EXE     64370 04-04-96  10:52p Special version of CAPwplu
CAPWPUDC ZIP    147230 12-22-94   2:49p CAPwpage update programs CAPwpum
CAPwpuh
CAPWPUDD ZIP    159109 05-06-95   9:16p CAPwpage update programs new versions

Thankyou to Mike for his work on updating AA4RE BBS software so that it will
work past Dec 31, 1999.

Has anyone had problems with YMODEM file transfers via a modem port?  Ever since
putting on the modem port a number of years ago XMODEM works fine but YMODEM
will not close out properly after the file transfers.  I am using Procomm for
Windows to call the BBS.

73,
Ron K0QVF SYSOP @ W0CXX.#EIA.IA.USA.NA

Message: 1
    Date: 18 Nov 1999 02:33:40 -0000
    From: mpfahmie@xxx.xxx
Subject: First Message ?

Well, there's 3 of us so far. I received 7 emails supporting the idea
of a list, add my name and critical mass has been achieved! I sent out
about 25 invitations to known 4RE sysops, so I guess we all sit back for
awhile and see who comes along.

Note that this list has a FILES area, I have, and will be posting the
latest versions of the bbs there. So far beta 4 is the most current. I
haven't bothered posting the Doc Files or .BB stuff since the beta
testers should already have that stuff.

If I don't get any bug reports, I will be posting the whole package in
about a week.

73, Mike/WA6ZTY