Closet Computers

Got an old computer stashed away somewhere? It may not be as fast or as powerful as your new machine, but there’s still plenty you can do with the machine that gave you the best eight bits of its life.

Another type of digital communication involves connecting computers via telephone lines. Thousands of people enjoy using their computers to run electronic bulletin board systems (BBSs). There are a variety of BBS programs that let other computer owners read and post messages, upload and download software, buy and sell items, and participate in dozens of other activities. To set up a BBS. all you need is a computer, an autoanswering modem, the appropriate software, and a telephone. You can run a BBS on any brand of computer, even an old model dragged out of the closet.

Bob Cutter uses a Timex 2068 (a long-discontinued computer) and a tape drive with a 2050 modem to run the Flexi-Board BBS in Arlington, Massachusetts, Cutter says his board is “dedicated to all Timex/Sinclair users in America!” If you’d like to get in touch with other Timex users, give the Flexi-Board a call. It operates 24 hours per day at 300 baud. Cutter has about 28K of memory available for messages, so he doesn’t have room for software for uploading or downloading.

If you’d like to exchange public domain Timex programs, try calling the Time Warp in Des Moines, Iowa. It’s a larger Timex BBS, run by David Youngquist. Youngquist, who works with emotionally disturbed children in a Des Moines hospital, started his BBS on a Timex 2068 about 18 months ago. Time Warp runs at 300 baud on a 2050 modem, but Youngquist is working toward boosting its rate to 1200 baud. “There’s a lot of real inexpensive hardware kits to build additions for it,” he said. “One of those is a high-speed RS-232, which you can hook up to any standard Hayes-compatible modem to go as fast as you like.” Youngquist is building one for his BBS. Other equipment includes a disk interface for two 5 1/4-inch Mitsubishi disk drives and an EPROM programmer.

Timex owners who would like to learn more about operating their own BBS, those who’d like to download and upload public domain programs, and those who’d just like to exchange messages with other Timex/Sinclair fans are invited to call Time Warp and log on with the password GORT.

Since the Timex 2068 is a redesign of the British-made Sinclair Spectrum, it accepts plug-in firmware, and Spectrum’s ROM is easy to install. With the new ROM, it’s possible to run all the European software that’s still being produced for the British machine. Youngquist deals directly with several European dealers, but he also recommends that Timex owners check with Curry Computers, P.O. Box 5607, Glendale, Arizona 85312-5607, for Timex/Spectrum titles, or Sunset Electronics, 2254 Taraval Street, San Francisco. California 94116. A file on the Time Warp board called “Sample of North Shore BBS” contains a listing of Timex dealers, repair facilities, addresses, and telephone numbers.