Subj : Re: recent projects
To   : Mike Powell
From : Jeff Thiele
Date : Fri Aug 12 2022 06:40 pm

On 12 Aug 2022, Mike Powell said the following...
 MP> > To top it all off, some Chinese FPGA development boards complete with ca
 MP> > input, display output (including HDMI), a respectable amount of RAM, and
 MP> > SD slot have become available for around $20 pre-shipping. These are per
 MP> > for implementing small CPU designs as found in older processors.
 MP> I occassionally will find a video where someone is using a GPU board to
 MP> "simulate" (is that the right word?) a DOS machine.  They are usually
 MP> doing it for gaming.  I sometimes wonder if there are any with an actual
 MP> RS232 serial port that could be used for some BBSing purpose.

I'm not sure what they're doing with GPU boards; I think they're mostly used
for crypto-mining and the like.

FPGA dev boards typically have lots of I/O pins for connecting with the
outside world. The FPGA design software also usually includes pre-built
modules from the vendor that one can use in one's designs, and most of them
have a UART as a pre-built module. With a soft UART at one's disposal there
are a couple of options:  MAX232 module ($2 on Amazon) or an ESP-12 module
($15,29 for five on Amazon).

A MAX232 module connects to a UART on one side and  DB-9 RS232 port on the
other, and handles the voltage differences as well.

ESP-12 modules can be programmed to all sorts of things, but almost all of
them come from the factory programmed to be a WiFi modem. They behave pretty
much just like a Hayes-compatible modem, but instead of dialing phone
numbers, one dials internet addresses. They accept AT commands and generate
the usual "CONNECT" and "RING" messages, although there are some additional
AT commands available to facilitate things like searching for and connecting
to a WiFi network.

Either of those would facilitate making an older machine (or a facsimile of
one) into a BBS.

Jeff.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Raspberry Pi/32)
 * Origin: Cold War Computing BBS (1:387/26)

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