In the service of totally overdoing some #Dreamcast #RetroGaming, I've successfully patched the #DreamPi gateway to be less useful. Buckle up, because this is a kinda long post with little in the way of delivery.  

Normally the DreamPi throws its modem into voice mode, plays a dial tone to fake out the dreamcast, listens to the digits dialed, and then switches to data mode and kicks off a handshake. Stays off-hook the entire time.

This makes sense if you're using an electrically-simple Line Voltage Inducer and a straight connection between the Dreamcast and the modem for minimum part count get-up-and-go. It's actually a really clever workaround.

My tweak adjusts the modem behavior such that it stays on-hook until it detects an incoming ring, then answers and jumps straight into data mode.

This change was made because presently we're using a Valcom DLE-200B phone line simulator which does provide 'local' tone, ringing voltage, and ringdown.

This necessarily means that we lose out on capturing the dialed digits, but it turns out we don't need those at all for pretty much any of the PPP-based games with central servers, and I'm not interested in playing anything outside of that scope.

So now we have a dreampi that can only work in PPP mode and it requires a line simulator to work correctly. Why?

All, ultimately, so that we can hook the DreamPi and two dreamcasts up to a TDM-based #PBX instead of the line simulator, wherein either of the latter can dial the former, thinking they're dialing Dreamcast Online Services. It goes through the whole ring-in process, which terminates at DreamPi, handshakes, and tunnels to Dreamcast Live -- getting us the goods.

And there's lots of Friday left to go :3

#RetroGaming #OtherNetworks #PhoneLab #RetroLab #POTS #Modem

Move over, lights on a modem.

now THOSE are linkin blinkin lights.
#Relays #ElectroMechanical #TelephoneExchange #PhoneLab
https://mastodon.online/@mwichary/115215354898988828

Laying this -48VDC distribution panel out. AHhhhhhhhh red ground feels wrong, and it feels *even more wrong* to bond it.

#PhoneLab #RetroLab #RetroNetworking #HomeLab

The last piece (an edge connector) needed to bootstrap the HDSL4 T1 handoff on bench is coming in sometime later today.

So now we're designing the -48V distribution plant and I kinda want to go all-DIN on that. I wonder how sketchy terminal blocks and the like are from ebay.

#PhoneLab #RetroNetworking #HomeLab

How extra does it have to be before we're officially Extra with the CO TDM project?

The H4TU-C cards are due to be delivered today (theoretically)...

...but now I'm noodling on picking up a building entrance terminal and set up a 110 block handoff.

...... reaaaally this is an excuse to add those pluggable surge suppressors to the mix. I saw them in an RT cabinet "tour" years ago and really want to add them here. For completeness. Yeah.

#PhoneLab #RetroNetworking #OtherNetworks #HomeLab

Good news! My H4TU-C card has been delivered!

... bad news: it was delivered to the wrong address, about 5 states away.

Making up for it short term with updating the firmware on our TA908, which is only about 6 major versions out of date, and then we're gonna see about linking it somewhere.

Then, maybe, set up the 908 to be a SIP-TDM gateway and tie the IP Office to it? Egress through @eventphone 's EPVPN until I get my act together?

#PhoneLab #RetroNetworking #OtherNetworks