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Telnet issues via older clients

 

Hi all,
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If I try to telnet into my node (on my home LAN) from an older telnet client (i.e. MS-DOS or Mac System 7) I get the callsign prompt and after typing 1 or 2 characters several gibberish characters are printed on the screen and I can't type anymore.? If, from one of these older telnet clients, I telnet into a Linux box I have on my LAN and then from there telnet into my node all is fine.
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So there's some compatibility issue between the old and new.? These same older telnet clients can telnet into anything and everything I've thrown at them from Linux boxes to various "modern" bulletin board systems etc.? But just not LinBPQ's telnet server.
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This isn't "mission critical", I just like to mix hobbies.? I've tried all the things you'd expect like vt100 vs ansi etc, to no avail.? Anyone else solve this issue? Or am I the only one even trying to match up such old machines with LinBPQ's telnet lol.
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73,
Doug
 

On 4/7/25 11:07, Doug VE1LG via groups.io wrote:
If I try to telnet into my node (on my home LAN) from an older telnet client (i.e. MS-DOS or Mac System 7) I get the callsign prompt and after typing 1 or 2 characters several gibberish characters are printed on the screen and I can't type anymore. If, from one of these older telnet clients, I telnet into a Linux box I have on my LAN and then from there telnet into my node all is fine.
BPQ sends some telnet IAC (Interpret As Command) characters when you connect via what it thinks is a telnet connection

Last I looked at this at a low level BPQ sends

0xFF 0xFB 0x03 0xFF 0xFB 0x01
0xFF = Telnet IAC ('Interpret as Command')
0xFB = Telnet Sender Will (enable this option)
0x01 = echo (RFC 857)
0x03 = suppress go ahead (RFC 858)

Could this be what you are referring to?? These sequences are as old as the hills, but I wonder if these old clients may perhaps not implement it?

Just a guess, but you could verify the behavior by using something like netcat to send such a sequence to these old clients and see if they choke on that.

73 -Willem

--
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Dr. Willem A. Schreuder, President, Principia Mathematica
Address: 3835 Beaver Brook Canyon Road, Evergreen, CO 80439, USA
Tel: (303) 716-3573 Email: Willem.Schreuder@...
 

Are you setting tcp ip4, netron, x25, ax25, or fx25 protocols over the.links?? ?Should use ax25 or newer fx25 for radio/linbpq packet.
Upper network layers can handle the translations from 7bits back to the smaller 5bits stuff.
Herbert kd5pqj
 

It is TCP over IP Herbert.? Just on my local LAN.
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Willem, those Telnet commands don't seem to be the issue, but it was fun playing with netcat! I haven't done that in a while.? Echoing the full hex string or just the first or second halves to both a 68k Mac running a Telnet client from the 90's and to a Linux box with a recent release distribution gave the same results.
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I'll play around with netcat some more and try with an MS-DOS system and my wifi modem later on. See if the results are the same or not.
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There's got to be a reason for this behaviour in there somewhere.? I use Telnet quite frequently on a variety of systems to a variety of hosts as a BBS enthusiast and this issue only exists with LinBPQ32.
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73,
Doug

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