TID: Mystic BBS 1.12 A46   
   MSGID: 1:387/26 b0453721   
   REPLY: 1207.clascomp@1:2320/105 275ce5bb   
   TZUTC: -0500   
   On 13 Aug 2022, Mike Powell said the following...   
    MP> > ESP-12 modules can be programmed to all sorts of things, but almost all    
    MP> > them come from the factory programmed to be a WiFi modem. They behave pr   
    MP> > much just like a Hayes-compatible modem, but instead of dialing phone   
    MP> > numbers, one dials internet addresses. They accept AT commands and gener   
    MP> > the usual "CONNECT" and "RING" messages, although there are some additio   
    MP> > AT commands available to facilitate things like searching for and connec   
    MP> > to a WiFi network.   
    MP> I have seen those.  Some folks have used them to get some pretty old   
    MP> machines (old in comparison to the public internet age) connected to the   
    MP> internet.   
      
   The ESP-12 modules are based on the ESP-8266 microcontroller, but the   
   ESP-8266 has a big brother that itself is not that expensive at all: the   
   ESP32.   
      
   My favorite peripheral for getting an old machine online is the FujiNet,   
   which is made for the Atari 8-bit family. A couple of things to know about   
   the Atari 8-bits are that their primary peripheral interface is an SIO port,   
   and that they do not have a built-in RS-232 interface. Peripherals such as   
   disk drives, cassette drives, printers, and the Atari 850 RS-232 interface   
   are all daisy-chained off of this one SIO port, which is a serial port and   
   (arguably) a distant ancestor of the modern USB port.   
      
   The FujiNet device connects to this SIO port and emulates a number of   
   peripherals, most but not all with some vintage counterpart. It emulates disk   
   drives and cassette drives, sure, but its internet capabilities can be used   
   to mount a disk image from a server halfway around the world.    
      
   It emulates printers in a very fun way, too. In addition to being configurable   
   from the Atari 8-bit to which it's connected, the FujiNet also has a small web   
   server built in which allows for deeper configuration, such as which printer   
   type to emulate. Options include raw Ascii as well as a number of vintage   
   printers  If one of the latter is chosen, anything printed from the Atari is   
   converted to a PDF, using a font very reminiscent of the specific printer   
   being emulated, and then the "printout" PDF can be downloaded from the   
   FujiNet's web server. Additionally, printer #4 can be configured to be a   
   primitive voice synthesizer reminiscent of the era.   
      
   A Hayes-compatible modem connected to an Atari 850 RS-232 interface is also   
   emulated, so that older software expecting such a configuration (such as BBS   
   software!) can run unmodified. However, for modern Atari 8-bit software,   
   that's an unnecessary complication of things, since one shortcoming of the   
   850 was that it took over the SIO bus when it was in use, which meant that no   
   other peripherals could be used at the same time (yep, downloading files   
   larger than the available memory was impossible).   
      
   To address this, the FujiNet also has a peripheral that never existed before:   
   the N: device. This cuts out the 850 and modem entirely and allows an Atari to   
   open internet connections as easily as opening a file or a printer. Most   
   importantly, perhaps, it does not suffer from the aforementioned shortcoming   
   of the 850.   
      
   As if all of that wasn't enough, the FujiNet also has running on that same   
   microcontroller an emulated Z80 CPU running CP/M, which can be accessed from   
   the Atari.   
      
   Jeff.   
      
   --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Raspberry Pi/32)   
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