The Lost Chord BBS

05/31/2025

So the Searchlight incarnation of TLCBBS has been through quite a bit. Several VMs have been used, some of which worked better than others, but the current solution now is the BBS, running five nodes, on its own machine using NetFOSS and Net2BBS to support the 16-bit (DOS) version of the BBS.

For some reason, while the 32-bit version seemed to work, it just would not run any external (door) programs. In order to do this, I needed to run 16-bit code with a telnet server, hence the current setup.

The board seems to be running well and I've been adding doors to it at about a 2 per day pace. To check it out, just direct a telnet server to tlcbbs.synchro.net, port 6023.

telnet://tlcbbs.synchro.net:6023

Looking forward to seeing you visit!

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05/12/2024

So a few things going on with The Lost Chord. The system has recently been moved to a(NOTHER) computer due to a hardware failure. While I was moving to different hardware, upgraded the BBS code to Synchronet 3.20a. This Synchronet code really rocks.

HOWEVER... as I've been feeling somewhat nostalgic of late I've added two NEW instances of The Lost Chord to what has now become The Lost Chord Family of BBSes.

We have, at telnet://tlcbbs.synchro.net:6400 a BBS running on a VICE instance with C-Net 2.6 code. This is a Commodore 64 emulated BBS running Commodore code. This is NOT a stable system, I am experiencing SIGNIFICANT issues in keeping it running but it WILL give a glimpse into what BBSing was like in the mid to late 80s and into the early 90s.

I have also added a Searchlight BBS experience at telnet://tlcbbs.synchro.net:6023. This is running Searchlight BBS version 5.2a. This thing is JUST being put together and is running off a virtual Windows 98 machine under VirtualBox. This is somewhat more stable than the Commodore version and (eventually) will support RIP graphics as well.

Each of these are open to callers from the general public. I forewarn you, they are NOT considered to be stable systems, so while you could very well experience issues using them, please do not get irritate about it, but please drop a POLITE note either via feedback on those boards or here in Facebook lettting me know what the nature of the issue is.

Well.. that's about it. Happy BBSing!

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01/14/2024

If you know, you know.

I still do this to this very day.

12/22/2023

Christmas time for Trekkers!

08/22/2023

The Lost Chord BBS welcomes callers of all kinds. Check out the board at http://tlcbbs.synchro.net for a web-based experience. For a taste of how BBS-ing was "back in the day" fire up a telnet terminal and check out telnet://tlcbbs.synchro.net.

Recommended software for accessing The Lost Chord are SyncTerm and CGTerm.

SyncTerm can be found at https://syncterm.bbsdev.net/ and it supports multiple connection protocols and configurations.

CGTerm is as close to a Commodore 64/128 experience as you can get on a PC. Check it out at https://paradroid.automac.se/cgterm/

And if you're REALLY interested in a retro experience, The Lost Chord Commodore BBS is at telnet://tlcbbs.synchro.net:6800. This is Commodore 64 software being run in an emulated environment and is truly a look into what the BBS experience was back in the late 80s and early to mid 90s.

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

07/02/2023

So The Lost Chord BBS is now going retro. Well, sort of. TLCBBS has added a companion board running C-Net DS2 V2.6d software on an emulator (VICE) hosted by a Win 8.1 machine. Hey, I had to find SOME use for the thing, it won't run Windows 10!

The Lost Chord Commodore BBS is running four virtual hard drives. The BBS is not FULLY functional (uploads seem only to work when using SyncTerm and XModem protocol) but it is online for folks to use and check out.

If you want to see what the world of Commodore BBS was all about, it's a good place to see. The board emulates 300/1200/2400 baud connections, hopefully I'll see to enabling faster baud rates. My primary goal right now is to get uploads working (Downloads seems to be okay).

Check the board out, fire up a PETSCII capable terminal like SyncTerm and direct it to the address below:

tlcbbs.synchro.net port 6400

05/22/2023

Hi all. Progress on The Lost Chord rebuild was good. New hardware, fresh install, things are looking good. Have more door programs for everyone.

I'm also working on bringing an actual Commodore BBS program online. C-Net BBS is a program I used for several years on actual Commodore hardware. I've recently grabbed a new, updated version that is running well on VICE, a Commodore emulator, under Windows. I'll be posting the address here once I've added some personal touches.

In the meantime, The Lost Chord is up and running at the following:

http://tlcbbs.synchro.net
tlcbbs.synchro.net:22 (ASCII/ANSI)
tlcbbs.synchro.net:64 (40 column PETSCII)
tlcbbs.synchro.net:128 (80 column PETSCII)

01/19/2022

Well folks, it was down for quite some time, but it appears that The Lost Chord BBS is back online, running on a new machine.

http://tlcbbs.synchro.net
telnet://tlcbbs.synchro.net
telnet://tlcbbs.synchro.net:64 (40 column PETSCII)
telnet://tlcbbs.synchro.net:128 (80 column PETSCII)

01/13/2022

Hello all. Late notification, but I'm sure some of you have noticed that The Lost Chord has been offline for quite some time.

Well the computer that the BBS was running on died in August. I obtained a replacement, but had some problems with that. Now I have ANOTHER replacement for the BBS, but need to do a full OS install, BBS rebuild and then transfer the data files over to the new system.

Cross your fingers. Hopefully it'll back online soon!

10/13/2021

Hi folks. Due to hardware failure, The Lost Chord BBS is offline. This will be the case until I am able to locate a replacement for the computer.

08/23/2021

File transfers at The Lost Chord.

Sure, you can use ftp. It works great.

HOWEVER, if you'd like to experience old school file transfers, i highly recommend logging in with a user account and doing it the old fashioned way. Protocols supported are xmodem, ymodem and zmodem. Variants of those are supported as well. I have verified also that Commodore transfers are supported by both hardware and emulator connections.