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Need a BBS-friendly (ANSI) telnet client for OSX

T

teitoku

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 28, 2006
31
0
I'm trying to play some old BBS door games and I can NOT find a telnet client that shows the ANSI characters correctly and not as euro symbols.
 
It's not documented because it's standard ANSI, which OS X can't handle by default, which is why I'm here asking for a client that'll remedy that problem.
 
teitoku said:
It's not documented because it's standard ANSI, which OS X can't handle by default, which is why I'm here asking for a client that'll remedy that problem.
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I believe that each of the terminals emulated by MacWise is considered standard ANSI, but they don't share the same control codes. If you can't get MacWise to work, you might try opensource iTerm.
 
iTerm is the exact same deal; ANSI colors but no ANSI character set. Seems to be a font issue?
 
Okay, so it's looking to me like it's just plain impossible without paying a hundred bucks for some professional corporate terminal emulator.

Guess I'll be installing virtualpc and windows 95.
 
teitoku said:
It's not documented because it's standard ANSI, which OS X can't handle by default, which is why I'm here asking for a client that'll remedy that problem.
Click to expand...

You need a DEC VT100 terminal emulator, which became the basis for the standard known as ANSI X.364, whereas most telnet clients support VT52 emulation, right?
 
I think the problem is that they all CLAIM VT-100 but it just doesn't work without the fonts, which are only included with the expensive commercial apps. Correct me if I'm wrong, of course....but nothing works.
 
teitoku said:
I think the problem is that they all CLAIM VT-100 but it just doesn't work without the fonts, which are only included with the expensive commercial apps. Correct me if I'm wrong, of course....but nothing works.
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In my first post in this thread, I said "All ASCII terminals are not created equal." From where I sit, what you are going through now is what we all went through back in the day when ASCII terminal access to mainframes was the order of the day. The tools installed on your computer now give you much more flexibility than we had then. The Terminal emulates any of several standard ANSI terminals including the Wyse 50, VT101, and VT102. iTerm emulates a similar set of terminals. MacWise is the standard by which other terminal emulators are judged.

Have you installed the MacWise fonts? Do you have Apple's VT100 font installed? In addition to installing the correct fonts, there are other issues that terminal emulation users have to consider. You need to know how your BBS server uses each bit in the serial stream. Some use all eight bits in each byte. Others strip the 8th bit. You also need to know how many characters constitute a line. Some systems use 80-character lines. Others use 132-character lines. Many systems give the user the option to choose between the two, but it is an issue that must be addressed.

If this situation continues to confound you, post the URL of your bulletin board. I don't need your account information. However, I should be able to discover your BBS's terminal settings and give them back to you.
 
MisterMe said:
In my first post in this thread, I said "All ASCII terminals are not created equal." From where I sit, what you are going through now is what we all went through back in the day when ASCII terminal access to mainframes was the order of the day. The tools installed on your computer now give you much more flexibility than we had then. The Terminal emulates any of several standard ANSI terminals including the Wyse 50, VT101, and VT102. iTerm emulates a similar set of terminals. MacWise is the standard by which other terminal emulators are judged.
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Right, macwise, zterm, iterm, balognaterm, whatever, I've had all the names thrown at me and I've never gotten one to work correctly. Could somebody maybe try one out, and instruct me as to what needs to be done to solve the problem I've been posting on every mac board I can find?

Have you installed the MacWise fonts? Do you have Apple's VT100 font installed? In addition to installing the correct fonts, there are other issues that terminal emulation users have to consider. You need to know how your BBS server uses each bit in the serial stream. Some use all eight bits in each byte. Others strip the 8th bit. You also need to know how many characters constitute a line. Some systems use 80-character lines. Others use 132-character lines. Many systems give the user the option to choose between the two, but it is an issue that must be addressed.

If this situation continues to confound you, post the URL of your bulletin board. I don't need your account information. However, I should be able to discover your BBS's terminal settings and give them back to you.
Click to expand...

MacWise fonts? Who knows. I'd assume they come with macwise. Do they not?
I have apple's vt100. It's the same old accented latin characters as every other font I've tried. I assume this bbs, like most every other, is 8 bit, no parity, 1 stop bit. This is an 80 character-per-line bbs like almost every other.


PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE somebody try. sunrisebbs.darktech.org, port 23.
 
teitoku said:
....

MacWise fonts? Who knows. I'd assume they come with macwise. Do they not?
I have apple's vt100. It's the same old accented latin characters as every other font I've tried. I assume this bbs, like most every other, is 8 bit, no parity, 1 stop bit. This is an 80 character-per-line bbs like almost every other.


PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE somebody try. sunrisebbs.darktech.org, port 23.
Click to expand...
The installer for your MacWise fonts is a part of the MacWise download. It is an app named MacWiseFont Installer and resides in the same folder as MacWise. To the point, I logged onto the bulletinboard and established an account there for myself. So far, Terminal and iTerm seem to perform equally well. The site prefers a terminal emulator which is compatible with the IBM ASCII Extended character set. I observe that the site is quite slow and requires a degree of patience. I am somewhat productive on the site, but have not yet figured-out all of it.
 
I appreciate the effort very much. Maybe you could try at bbs.safenight.com:23 as it's not having the problems with slow connections as sunrisebbs is right now.

Yes, I suppose I do have the macwise fonts because they're installed automatically along with macwise itself. I don't see any option to select any particular font from within macwise, though, and these don't seem to work either.
 
teitoku said:
I appreciate the effort very much. Maybe you could try at bbs.safenight.com:23 as it's not having the problems with slow connections as sunrisebbs is right now.

Yes, I suppose I do have the macwise fonts because they're installed automatically along with macwise itself. I don't see any option to select any particular font from within macwise, though, and these don't seem to work either.
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I have your site displaying perfectly in MacWise. Select Emulate > International Characters.... In the resulting dialog box, click US ASCII and IBM Set 2.

The Terminal works fine if you choose a terminal which does not recognize the IBM Extended character set while you are starting up your session.
 
I'd recommend heading over to ye old Versiontracker and downloading either Atlantis and/or Savitar. Atlantis is freeware, Savitar is shareware. I recommend Atlantis personally, it's a little more user-friendly, although it has the tendency to slow down a tiny bit if it's been open and used for a long(er) time.
 
CorvusCamenarum said:
I'd recommend heading over to ye old Versiontracker and downloading either Atlantis and/or Savitar. Atlantis is freeware, Savitar is shareware. I recommend Atlantis personally, it's a little more user-friendly, although it has the tendency to slow down a tiny bit if it's been open and used for a long(er) time.
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The OP needs terminal access to a bulletinboard. For this task, Savitar is not as good as the Terminal. Savitar cannot approach MacWise, severely blunting its price advantage over the terminal emulator app. As for Atlantis, it simply does not meet the OP's needs.
 
MisterMe said:
The OP needs terminal access to a bulletinboard. For this task, Savitar is not as good as the Terminal. Savitar cannot approach MacWise, severely blunting its price advantage over the terminal emulator app. As for Atlantis, it simply does not meet the OP's needs.
Click to expand...

Yeah, judging from the screenshots....they're worthless. I'm not looking for a simple telnet app; I want full ANSI art.
 
So does anybody know of an OS X that'll work FOR CERTAIN? And maybe a tip or two on how to set it up?

Here's a huge list of BBSes that should be useful for anybody who wants to help: http://www.dmine.com/telnet/
 
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