[TUHS] Floppy to modern files for Usenet maps

[ckeck at texoma.net]

Kermit used to exist for a great many systems, including DOS. A Pi might get that installed via apt-get, or compiled from scratch (might have to do that soon for some other project). As far as connectivity goes, places like Frys sell USB-RS232 Adapters and null-modem cables, means one can avoid messing with the Pi’s IO bits.

Alternatively you could try uucp, but that requires more configuration.

Von meinem iPhone gesendet

> Am 24.06.2019 um 22:54 schrieb Jonathan Gevaryahu <jgevaryahu at hotmail.com>:
> 
> I'd use something like imagedisk or teledisk or anadisk for reading the 
> diskette; this will also preserve the deleted/unused sectors, the boot 
> sector and the disk filesystem/metadata, while just copying the files 
> off will lose most of this data.
> 
>> On 6/23/2019 7:10 PM, Mary Ann Horton Gmail wrote:
>> Hunting around through my ancient stuff today, I ran across a 5.25" 
>> floppy drive labeled as having old Usenet maps. These may have 
>> historical interest.
>> 
>> First off, I don't recognize the handwriting on the disk. It's not 
>> mine. Does anyone recognize it? (pic attached)
>> 
>> I dug out my AT&T 6300 (XT clone) from the garage and booted it up. 
>> The floppy reads just fine. It has files with .MAP extension, which 
>> are ASCII Usenet maps from 1980 to 1984, and some .BBM files which are 
>> ASCII Usenet backbone maps up to 1987.
>> 
>> There is also a file whose extension is .GRF from 1983 which claims to 
>> be a graphical Usenet map.  Does anyone have any idea what GRF is or 
>> what this map might be? I recall Brian Reid having a plotter-based 
>> Usenet geographic map in 84 or 85.
>> 
>> I'd like to copy these files off for posterity. They read on DOS just 
>> fine. Is there a current best practice for copying off files? I would 
>> have guessed I'd need a to use the serial port, but my old PC has DOS 
>> 2.11 (not much serial copying software on it) and I don't have 
>> anything live with a serial port anymore. And it might not help with 
>> the GRF file.
>> 
>> I took some photos of the screen with the earliest maps (the ones that 
>> fit on one screen.) So it's an option to type things in, at least for 
>> the early ASCII ones.
>> 
>> Thanks,
>> 
>>     Mary Ann
>> 
>> 
> 
> -- 
> Jonathan Gevaryahu AKA Lord Nightmare
> jgevaryahu at gmail.com
> jgevaryahu at hotmail.com
>