[typing] [jazz piano music]
Today, I'd like to share with you
one of my favorite devices as of late.
The WiFi232,
a wireless internet modem allowing dozens of classic computers
to connect to a modern wifi network.
In effect, it's a peripheral that plugs into a serial port on an old computer
and that computer will see it as a serial dial-up modem.
allowing you to connect to different networks online
and all sorts of cool stuff.
I've been messing around with this thing for days now,
not because it's hard to use,
but the exact opposite.
It's so easy to use
across such a wide variety of machines
that I'm kind of addicted.
Because, man, as fun as old computers are to use offline,
a big part of the computing experience
for many users back in the day
was getting online.
And for a long time, that did not involve the web or ISPs.
It was all about bulletin board systems, or BBSes.
I know that personally.
My first online experience
was ogling a BBS at a friend's house,
sitting in awe at all the games you could download
and the colorful, blocky artwork that streamed in line-by-line.
The overall BBS experience
will have its own dedicated LGR episode in the future,
but, to put it briefly,
bulletin boards very much set the stage
for the websites and online services we know today.
And using them on a machine from the time period
offers a truly captivating experience.
Of course, in their prime, you dialed into them
using a modem and a telephone line,
similar to how you'd connect to the Internet using dial-up.
But nowadays, the most popular method
of connecting to a BBS is via telnet,
a network protocol that's even older
but is still easily connected to through the modern Internet.
While you can connect a vintage computer
to a telnet BBS using Ethernet,
null modem and even Raspberry Pi solutions.
This often requires separate hardware
and setup processes for each machine.
Enter the WiFi232!
A handy little device that plugs into an RS-232 serial port
and acts as a Hayes- compatible modem wirelessly.
This was put together by Mr. Paul Rickards,
a tech geek of the highest caliber,
if his punchcard business card is anything to go by.
This is awesome, look at this thing.
He initially made the WiFi232
to act as a wireless server
for serial printers and plotters,
but it soon turned into a more broad wifi serial solution.
While I don't have a serial printer to test out,
I do have plenty of computers with RS-232 ports
to dial into a BBS.
And I say "dial into" even though
the WiFi232 isn't exactly dialing any phone numbers
and simply uses Hayes-compatible AT commands to communicate.
The Hayes command set was the de facto standard
in modem control for years and
as a result, it's supported by an absolute crap ton of vintage computers.
Which means this works with IBM PC compatibles,
classic Macs,
TRS-80s,
Apple IIs,
Commodore PETs, 64s and Amigas,
Atari STs,
various workstations and terminals.
Pretty much, if it has an RS-232 serial port,
it's gonna work fine with the WiFi232.
It does this by using the ESP8266 microcontroller.
to hop onto wifi networks and send out Hayes commands.
And combined with the other features Paul added,
it becomes one of the easiest and most compact
serial wifi modems around.
Setting it up is simple,
with the steps being laid out quite nicely
in this 13-page PDF manual you can print out.
Just plug the board into a free serial port
and then power it on with a mini-USB cable and charger.
Once it glows blue, you can then turn on your computer,
then start up your terminal emulator of choice.
I'm using good old Kermit for MS-DOS
in this selection of footage captured from the LGR Woodgrain 486.
Although, I'm also fond of BananaCom and others.
Regardless of what you use,
you first select the COM port it's plugged into
and the modem speed,
which right now is Port 2 and 1200 baud.
After this, you'll open the terminal itself
and do the rest using the AT commands from the manual.
And what's great is the process is the same
regardless of the computer you're using,
since you configure it using the WiFi232's
built-in web server.
There's an SSID command
to enter your wifi network's name
and a PASS command to enter the network password.
Typing ATC1 will then connect to wifi at this point,
It'll remember the network either until the device is powered off
or you save the credentials to the device's onboard memory.
You can also change the speed of the modem,
which ranges anywhere from 300 to 115,200 baud,
and check for firmware updates,
which it does on its own
through wifi to minimize hassle.
And now you're free to choose a BBS
and type in the ATDT command to connect.
There are still hundreds of active boards
to log into over telnet,
and the Telnet BBS Guide website
is a great place to start your ANSI-flavored journey.
Augh, I love this stuff!
And I love the fact that this feels so authentic.
Sure, you don't have the screechy modem noises
since it's using telnet,
but the experience otherwise is pretty much just how I remember it,
down to the speed, or lack thereof.
My first computer had a 2400 baud modem
which is what the Black Flag BBS is running with right here.
This slowness leads to an exciting feeling of anticipation,
seeing what the next screen would hold,
watching it draw characters out line-by-line
and wondering what treasures were inside each coming room.
Posting on message boards, checking email,
downloading games, playing multi-user dungeons,
it's all here and it is legit.
Again, I know it's really easy to connect to these boards
on a modern computer through a telnet program,
but there's something undeniably more enjoyable
about doing this on an original IBM AT,
or Apple II, or Commodore 64 or whatever.
Not only that, but having any classic computer connected wirelessly
just amuses me to no end!
It somehow reintroduces that feeling of
me being a kid filled with wonder
at everything about computers,
where it all seems like magic.
And the WiFi232 is one of the most approachable,
versatile, and affordable solutions
to make this magical feeling happen,
costing just $30 for a kit
and $45 for one pre-assembled.
Or at least it was.
And... they're sold out at the time of this video going live,
so... sorry about that.
They weren't sold out when I started writing this episode,
so that's my excuse.
But, hey, it looks like if there's enough demand
using the form on his website,
he might make some more of them in the future.
And I really hope he does, too,
because the WiFi232
is easily one of my favorite things to screw with right now,
and I'm having a blast trying it on every computer I can.
So, if you'll excuse me, I have to go chat
to the sysop about playing a game of LORD.
(synthesized music)
And if you enjoyed this look at a thing,
then you might enjoy some other looks at things
here on LGR.
There's new episodes every Monday and Friday.
And as always, thank you very much for watching.