Terminal software
What you call a board with. Any telnet client works, but some are built for this and look a great deal better doing it.
Just tell me what to install
SyncTERM, on Windows, macOS or Linux. It is made for calling boards: it speaks ANSI and CP437 properly, handles file transfers, keeps a dialling directory, and understands telnet:// links so clicking an address on this site actually works. If you install one thing, install this.
On a phone, NetRunner on Android and MuffinTerm on iOS and macOS both do the job and render ANSI art correctly.
The rest of the modern options
| Client | Platform | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| SyncTERM | Windows, macOS, Linux | The default recommendation. ANSI, CP437, transfers, dialling directory. |
| NetRunner | Windows, Android | From the Mystic BBS author. Good ANSI. |
| mTelnet | Windows | Small, fast, built for BBSes. |
| MuffinTerm | iOS, macOS | Handles PETSCII as well as ANSI. |
| PuTTY | Windows | Everywhere already, but set the character set to CP437 or the art will be wrong. Not built for this. |
telnet | Linux, macOS, BSD | telnet unleashed.local 6400. Fine and plain. On Debian or Ubuntu: sudo apt -y install inetutils-telnet. |
nc | anywhere | nc host 6400. Works, negotiates nothing, and looks it. |
macOS removed its telnet command in High Sierra. Install SyncTERM or MuffinTerm rather than fighting it.
Windows has a Telnet Client too, but it is an optional feature that is off by default and it renders ANSI poorly. Use something else.
Whatever you use, remember what you are using it for. Telnet carries every
keystroke in the clear, including your password. Never reuse a password on a
telnet board.
Clicking an address instead of typing it
Every board on the list has its address as a link. Whether that link does anything depends on which program your computer has registered for telnet://, and the default is often wrong or missing. How to fix that.
The address is also plain selectable text on every listing, on purpose, so copy and paste always works no matter what your machine does.
Calling from something older
This is the more interesting half. A board answers anything that can open a telnet session, and with a bridge that includes machines built before the protocol was common.
Commodore
| Machine | Software | Onto the wire |
|---|---|---|
| C64, C128 | CCGMS, Novaterm, DesTerm 128 | TeensyROM, WiModem232, Comet64, Zimodem, or an RS-232 cartridge |
| VIC-20, PET, Plus/4 | period terminal software | a user-port RS-232 interface to a bridge |
The board speaks PETSCII natively, at 40 or 80 columns, and works out which on connect. A C64 gets a C64 screen, not an approximation of one.
Atari
| Machine | Software | Onto the wire |
|---|---|---|
| Atari 8-bit | BobTerm, Ice-T | FujiNet, or an 850 interface to a bridge |
| Atari ST, Falcon | UniTerm, CoNnect | the built-in serial port to a bridge |
Apple and Amiga
| Machine | Software | Onto the wire |
|---|---|---|
| Apple II, IIgs | ProTERM, ASCII Express, Spectrum | Uthernet II, or a Super Serial Card to a bridge |
| Classic Mac | ZTerm, White Knight | the modem or printer port to a bridge |
| Amiga | NComm, term, JR-Comm | the serial port to a bridge, or a TCP/IP stack |
Everything else
| Machine | Software | Onto the wire |
|---|---|---|
| TRS-80 Model 100 | the built-in TELCOM | the RS-232 port to a bridge |
| MSX | TELNET for UNAPI | an ethernet or Wi-Fi UNAPI cartridge |
| ZX Spectrum | VTX 5000, Spectranet clients | a Prism VTX 5000 or a Spectranet card |
| Amstrad CPC | EwenTerm | a serial interface to a bridge |
| CP/M, S-100 | Kermit, MEX | the machine's serial port to a bridge |
| DOS | Telix, Procomm Plus, Qmodem, Terminate | a packet driver and a TCP/IP stack, or a serial bridge |
Actual terminals
| Terminal | Onto the wire |
|---|---|
| DEC VT100, VT220, VT320 | a terminal server, a USB serial adapter, or the board's own serial bridge |
| Wyse WY-60, Televideo 925, ADM-3A, Heathkit H19 | the same |
| Teletype Model 33 ASR | a current loop converter, at 110 baud, if that is the sort of thing you enjoy |
What a bridge is
Most of the machines above have a serial port and no idea what TCP is. A bridge sits between the two: it takes the serial line on one side and speaks telnet on the other, so the old machine thinks it is talking to a modem.
Hardware ones for Commodore and Atari are listed above. On anything with a serial port, a Raspberry Pi running tcpser, or an ESP32 running Zimodem, does the same job for a few pounds. A real modem and a real phone line also still work, if you have both.
What the board does with all this
It works out what it is talking to when you connect: ANSI with CP437 or UTF-8, PETSCII at 40 or 80 columns, or plain ASCII, and draws itself accordingly. You do not configure anything. A C64 and a modern laptop can be in the same chat room and both see something that looks right to them.