Attempting to setup an Apple II BBS

[Dr. Felch]

Okay so here's what's up: i'm trying to get a bbs running using the latest version of GBBS Pro (v2.3) at 2400 baud on my IIe with my WiModem232 Pro, and after some messing with the init string I was able to get it going using the string ATS0=1X1&C0&S0. I attempted to get it working with 9600 baud but was unable to and left the system alone for a few days, and when I came back to it I found i'm unable to get it working on 2400 baud at all. i'm able to connect to the wimodem, the screen on the wimodem itself shows it's connected, but the IIe freezes and when I close the connection the system remains frozen until I restart it. I've tried changing different settings on the wimodem, different init strings, doing a factory reset, reinstalling GBBS Pro from scratch but i'm still unable to get it going again and am at a bit of a loss of what to do next. Not sure if it will help but here are my wimodem settings:

B0 C0 E1 L0 M0 N0 Q0 V1 X1
S0:1 S1:0 S2:43 S3:13 S4:10 S5:8 S6:2 S7:99 S8:2 S9:6 S10:15 S11:90 S12:50 S25:0 S30:0 S37:6 S73:0
*B2400 *BL1024 *BT5 *C0 *CT1 *D1 *HO25 *L6969 *LED4 *P23 *R0 *T0
&C0 &D0 &G0 &K1 &Q0 &S1

[admin]

What interface card are you using with the Apple II?

Are you sure that the interface card is working and the DIP switches are correct?

Have you tried to verify the interface card is working by using a terminal program to connect to another BBS?

How are you testing the connection to the BBS?

The WiModem232 Pro itself can't cause the Apple II to freeze, so this would have to be a hardware/setup issue with the interface card or computer itself.

[Dr. Felch]

I am using a Super Serial Card. yes the DIP switches are correct, I also tried using the DIP switch settings suggested in the GBBS Pro manual. I use ProTerm 3.1 to connect to BBS's reguilarly so I know the card works, plus I was able to get my bbs working for a very brief moment so I know it's possible for it to work. i'm testing the connection to the bbs by using Syncterm on my laptop and termux on my tablet. I also had a buddy attempt to connect and he had the same thing happen where he made a connection to the WiModem itself but not to the bbs. it's just so weird, nothing changed except for me attempting to get it working with 9600 baud, no settings were messed with besides &K.

[admin]

Remove the AT&K1 setting in case the BBS has the polarity backwards. This is the only thing that can actually stall any terminal program.

The settings you show (via AT&V) are not the default settings, so you might try using AT&F (via ProTerm) and then trying the BBS again.

[Dr. Felch]

Ok so after resetting the wimodem to factory settings I find i'm still having the same problem where at 2400 baud i'm able to connect to the wimodem itself but the apple II freezes. I also find that at 300 and 9600 baud I can connect to the wimodem but the apple ii doesn't even aknowledge the connection and continues waiting for a call. here's my settings in proterm (after setting the init string to ATX1&C0&S1):

B0 C0 E1 L0 M0 N0 Q0 V1 X1
S0:1 S1:0 S2:43 S3:13 S4:10 S5:8 S6:2 S7:99 S8:2 S9:6 S10:15 S11:90 S12:50 S25:0 S30:0 S37:6 S73:0
*B2400 *BL4096 *BT5 *C0 *CT1 *D1 *HO25 *L6400 *LED4 *P1541 *R0 *T0
&C0 &D0 &G0 &K0 &Q0 &S1

on gbbs i'm using the init string ATS0=1X1&C0&S0 except for 9600 baud in which I used ATSO=1X1&C0&K0&S0

[Dr. Felch]

I should also note I tried gbbs with *D0 as well as &C1 and it didn't work. I also removed my clock card, Uthernet II card and Mockingboard in case that was interfering with it but no dice. It just makes no sense to me that it would work for a very short period and then stop for no real reason.

[admin]

It makes no sense why ProTerm works for calling other BBS's but this BBS software hangs. Is there a manual for this BBS program that might help determine what setting is causing this? Is there SSC setup info for the BBS?

[admin]

The only things you care about in that init string is S0=1 (which turns on the auto-answer) and X1, which adds the connection speed to the 'CONNECT' message. Is this the recommended setup for the BBS? I would try it with the init string of just ATS0=1 and that's it.

[Dr. Felch]

Sorry for the late reply, when using the init string ATS0=1 the system doesn't load. i'm honestly not sure what's recommended, I got it to work (albeit very very briefly) with ATS0=1X1&C0&S0 at 2400 baud by doing trial and error from what was recommended by you for Proterm. Yes I have the manual but the only thing really recommended was different DIP switch settings on the Super Serial Card and that didn't fix the problem either. Also I noticed when using Proterm at 2400 baud the first command doesn't go through, there's a square character in front of the command on the OLED screen, maybe that has something to do with it? I took a pic, let me try and upload it.

EDIT: https://ibb.co/K9RQFvZ apologies for the low quality

EDIT2: with ATS0=1&C0 and ATS0=1&S0 gbbs loads and waits for a call, but when the call is made the system freezes.

EDIT3: I should also mention that before I got it working the first time, even when the init string wasn't right the system wouldn't freeze, there just wouldn't be a connection to the apple II, and when I closed the connection from the client side the apple II would make a noise indicating a disconnection and then would wait for the next call.

[admin]

That picture shows some random character being sent as part of the command string.

&S0 does nothing at all Using it is allowed, but it doesn't actually do anything so you can leave that out.

Setting AT&C0 forces the DCD to show as always connected (call present). This is wrong for how a BBS should operate. Typically, a BBS will wait on DCD to go low to know that a connection is made. The only way around that is by actually looking for "RING" to appear and then the "CONNECT" message. Speaking of connect message, the X1 command turns on extended messages. So, on a connection the BBS would see CONNECT followed by the baud rate. For a 2400 baud connection it would get CONNECT 2400 when a connection occurs.

It would be helpful if there was some description of how the BBS operates. Have you verified that the SSC is 100% working? I had a similar situation a few years ago where the SSC was swapped and the problem went away.