 
 
 
 
 


 
&Using the SLC ADAM-LINK BBS 

      (Part 1)
  By Alan Neeley& 
@& 
I have had several requests by those 
members who have modems to go through 
and discuss the options available 
through the BBS that I operate. This BBS 
system has so many options available 
through it that most new users often 
become confused (especially if they've 
never used their modem before).  Another 
thing is that those users who call long 
distance would like to have a better 
idea of how the system runs before they 
call and use it so that they won't be 
wasting money trying to figure out how 
to use the BBS.  Well I have decided to 
write a series of workshops designed to 
do just that! I will start at the begin 
ning by telling you how to call the BBS 
and get logged-on as a new user. Then in 
later Telecommunication Workshops, I'll 
progress into other areas of the BBS 
such as how to use the Mail system, the 
Public message system, how to Upload and 
Download, and a lot of other things...
 
During the series of articles I will be 
writing, I will be referring to the 
ADAMLink II software that was designed 
for the original ADAM modem.  This is an 
updated version of the ADAMLink software 
that came with your modem and the only 
real difference between the two is that 
ADAMLink II provides for Uploading and 
Downloading.  The Reason why I will be 
referring to this software is because it 
is the simplest to use for an ADAM owner 
who has never used a modem before. There 
are many different telecommunications 
programs currently available for the 
ADAM.  If you are using one of these, I 
suggest that you become familiar with 
the general workings of the software you 
will be using to call the BBS (READ THE 
MANUAL!) before attempting to use your 
modem for the first time.  If you are 
using a telecommunication program other 
than ADAMLink, most of the information 
in these articles will still be helpful 
to you.
 
So, you've finally got your modem 
plugged in (correctly), you've loaded 
your ADAMLink software and your thinking 
"I should call the SLC ADAM-LINK BBS and 
see if this thing works!" What's next? 
 
Well if you're really ready, you will 
want to tell your modem to call the BBS. 
This is done by pressing SmartKEY I 
(DIAL NUMBER) and then entering the 
number (801)484-5114. If you are calling 
within the Salt Lake City local area, 
leave out the 801 part...  Now press 
SmartKEY VI (DONE) to actually start 
dialing the number you have just 
entered.  You will see the number dialed 
and in a moment you will see a greeting 
welcoming you to the BBS (provided you 
have called the BBS during hours and no 
one else is using it at the time you 
call).  If you do not connect the first 
time, try calling a few more times 
before you give up.
 
Upon successfully connecting to the BBS, 
the first thing you are asked to do 
after the greeting has been displayed is 
press RETURN (which you should do to 
continue on). After pressing RETURN, you 
will be given another welcome message 
and then you will be asked:
 
ENTER HANDLE or LOGIN ID#:
 
The first time you call the BBS, you 
will need to open a new account so here 
you should type in NEW and press RETURN. 
You will then be taken through the 
Newuser log-in process which MUST be 
completed before you can continue on.  I 
should stress the fact that you need to 
complete this process as quickly as 
possible because there is a time limit 
that you are given to get logged-on.  If 
you exceed this time, you will be dis 
connected and you'll have to try again. 
 
The new user process involves you going 
through and answering a few questions. 
There are certain requirements that your 
answers must meet before you will be 
allowed to continue on to the next ques 
tion.  Make sure that you carefully read 
each question so that you will fully 
understand what is being asked of you.
 
The first question you are asked is:
 
ENTER A HANDLE YOU WISH TO USE ON 
THIS SYSTEM:
 
A handle is like a nickname that you 
wish to be known by on the BBS.  It can 
also be used to log back on the BBS 
again after the new user log-in process 
has been completed. If you don't wish to 
 
use a handle, you can use your first 
name or just enter NONE and press 
RETURN. 
 
The second question you are asked is:
 
ENTER THE NAME YOU USE IN REAL LIFE:
 
Here you should enter your first and 
last name and press RETURN.
 
The third thing you are asked to do is:
 
ENTER A PASSWORD THAT YOU WISH TO USE ON 
THIS SYSTEM.  YOU WILL NEED THIS TO GET 
ON THE SYSTEM THE NEXT TIME YOU CALL:
 
A password is a word that you choose 
that will be easily remembered by you. 
It should be at least 4 characters long 
and the more characters you use, the 
better security you have against someone 
guessing it.  You shouldn't let anyone 
else know what your secret password is 
and if someone does find it out, it 
should be changed.  ENTER your Password 
and press RETURN.
 
Next you will be asked to enter the 
password again to verify correctness. 
You should type in the password and 
press return again. If you haven't typed 
it in exactly as you did the first time, 
you will be taken back to the start 
again.  Notice when your typing in your 
password the second time, your password 
isn't displayed but X's are instead. 
This is the way it will be when you 
enter your password from then on when 
logging-on to the BBS.  This is just an 
added security measure for your behalf.
 
After you have gone through the password 
procedure you will be asked:
 
ENTER YOUR PHONE NUMBER IN THIS FORM 
(XXX)/XXX-XXXX:
 
Enter your phone number paying special 
attention that you include the special 
characters "(/-" shown in the example. 
If you leave them out or fail to enter 
the number correctly, you will not be 
allowed to continue on.
 
The next question you are asked is:
 
PLEASE ENTER YOUR TERMINAL TYPE:

 
 
This question is asking for what type 
of computer you are using.  It is most 
likely that you are using an ADAM so 
enter 1 and press RETURN.
 
The sixth question you are asked is:
 
PLEASE ENTER THE CITY YOU ARE CALLING 
FROM. JUST THE CITY:
 
This part is pretty straight forward. 
Just enter your city and press RETURN. 
Make sure that if you have to 
abbreviate, that other people will still 
be able to understand what city it is!
 
Next you are asked to enter the 
abbreviation of the state you are 
calling from.  Here you should use 2 
characters only like:  UT, FL, MA, etc. 
Press RETURN to continue on.
 
Now you are given a chance to look at 
all the answers you have just given to 
make sure that you have entered then the 
way that you wanted. If you see one that 
is incorrect or decide you want to 
change one, enter the number next to the 
question and you will be allowed to do 
so.  If everything looks correct than 
just press RETURN to continue on.
 
The next thing that you are asked to do 
is enter a little information about 
yourself such as your hobbies, 
interests, and so forth.  The area that 
you enter this information in is called 
the TEXT EDITOR. The Text Editor is used 
a lot through out the BBS and it is 
kinda like a mini-word processor that 
allows you to TYPE in your message, EDIT 
mistakes you have made, and so forth. 
Within time you will become more 
familiar with this Text Editor as you 
use it more and more through out the BBS 
system.
 
For now I will just discuss the basics 
you will need to know to continue on 
with the newuser log-in process.  Once 
you have entered the Text Editor, type 
in a little information about yourself. 
No need to go into great detail (unless 
you want to).  Once you are finished 
entering the information about yourself, 
you will need to tell the BBS computer 
that you are ready to SAVE your newuser 
information. Some people have difficulty 
with this part so make sure that you 
read it carefully. To SAVE your message, 
 
you must put the cursor on a line all by 
itself by pressing RETURN. Next you type 
in a period (.) followed by an S.  You 
will notice when you enter the '.' 
character that you will see '>>' on the 
screen.  Then when you enter the 'S' 
character, the word 'Save' will be typed 
on the screen.  If you have done every 
thing right, you can then press RETURN 
and your message will be saved.  Here is 
an example of how to save your message:
 
You type this in from your keyboard 
after FIRST pressing RETURN:

 
 
You will see this on your SCREEN:
 
>>Save
 
Now you can press RETURN to continue on 
with the new user log-in process (you 
will notice that the BBS will display a 
message telling you the message is being 
saved).
 
If you have a problem saving your 
message, It's probably because you have 
your UPPER CASE LETTERS locked on. 
Simply press the LOCK key on your key 
board, Press RETURN, and try to enter .S 
again. If you would like a list of other 
commands that are available to you while 
in the Text Editor, enter .H (you will 
see >>Help) and press RETURN.  But for 
now I suggest that you get on with the 
rest of the newuser log-in process (your 
almost through)!
 
After the BBS has saved the information 
you entered in the Text Editor to the 
FEEDBACK file for the SYSOP to read, the 
BBS will search for an account number 
that you will be given.  When it has 
found the next available account, Your 
PASSWORD and the account # will be dis 
played on the screen.  You will then be 
asked to write this information down 
(which I suggest you do and put in a 
safe place where you will remember so 
you can get back on to the BBS the next 
time you call).  After you press RETURN, 
all the information you have entered 
about yourself like your password and 
name, will be saved into the Password 
file for future reference. This may take 
a couple of minutes so be patient.

 
 
Once all this information has been 
filed, you will be allowed to practice 
the log-on routine.  First you will be 
asked to enter your account #. Enter the 
number you have been given (include the 
two characters you were given too) and 
then press RETURN.  Next you will be 
asked for your PASSWORD.  Enter the 
PASSWORD and press RETURN.
 
Congratulations!  You've completed the 
newuser log-in procedure!  There will be 
another small delay until the computer 
gets the main part of the BBS loaded 
into memory again.  After the delay, you 
will be allowed to check the BBS out for 
a limited time (until I or one of the 
other SYSOP's get a chance to upgrade 
your access level).  The first thing you 
will be shown is a series of news 
bulletin files that will inform you what 
has been going on through out the BBS. 
Once these files have been displayed to 
you, you will be given a prompt like 
this:

 TC/MAIN:
 
A prompt is a series of characters that 
the BBS displays to you that helps re 
mind you where you are in the BBS 
system.  When you see the TC/MAIN: 
prompt, you will know that you are in 
the 'center' of the BBS system.  From 
literally any prompt through out the BBS 
system, you can call up a menu of op 
tions available to you by entering a ? 
followed by RETURN (new users are dis 
played a message reminding them of this 
at first -- but later on this message 
will no longer be displayed).
 
Go ahead and experiment with the various 
options (or commands) available to you 
and see what you can discover! In future 
Telecommunications workshops, we will 
discuss the many other features and 
options that are available through the 
SLC ADAM-LINK BBS... 

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