HIGHLAND BBS, Main Area
www.bagpipes.net

The THIN RED LINE - And a Link to the Sites I Maintain

A History of Highland BBS Highland BBS started out many years ago as a IBM Computer BBS on a Tandy 1000 Computer. It was running a 2 line version of the Major BBS for a while. Then I switched to another software package for about a year before switching to PC-Board. All the software used was DOS not Windows. I ran Highland BBS for a number of years adding upgrades in computers modem speed, and a Satellite link as a free service till Epix came into Chautauqua County and the Internet was finally in rural America. I kept the BBS up for several months then because of the Internet I took it down. After I experenced the internet, and when Epix pulled out and the new ISP, CE Comet, did not offer a telnet account, so I was draged kicking and screaming into the Windows age with a PPP account. I never used Windows until Windows 95a came out, and I finally gave up Desqview as a multi-tasker program, and Telix as my communications program. After a while, I started to teach myself HTML and started to set up Websites. At first I used just my Web Area supplied by Comet. After several months, I saw an add for Domain Names and a cheap way to set up a Domain using URL forewarding from register.com. I also saw a cheap way to get a neat e-mail address from the same source so www.bagpipes.net and fswerren@bagpipes.net was born. Because I play the Bagpipes, Why Not! As time went on the Web Site has become more extensive, and after my sister and her family and I were kicked off of CE Comet's Service, after I was falsely accused of hacking their system. See the STORY HERE! on CE Comet's Actions. My sister and her family were kick off because I paid for the Account as a Christmas Present! I moved my 2 accounts to Modem Madness on September 18th of 1998. Modem Madness just set up a local Mayville NY Dial-Up a few weeks before, which was the best thing I could have done, considering the Actions of CE Comet!. The site has grown with many resources for the average user. Then on the last week of April of 1999, I finally set up a full Domain site at Modem Madness Internet Service, In Fall of 2000, ADSL was made available via Modem Madness and I was first in line to get it! I installed a loaned webserver and got my local domain up at www.franksradio.net. Since then I upgrade it to a Cobalt Qube 2 web, mail and DNS server for the shop. I also have upgraded my ADSL circuit to a Tier 3 via Modem Madness. I also have an older computer I use as an FTP and a Peer to Peer Server server here at the shop. All my servers and ADSL equipment here at the shop have UPS's installed on them. On May 3, 2001 www.bagpipes.net moved to it's own server, a Cobalt Qube 3I with dual 20 gig mirrored hard drives located at Modem Madness. I also have installed 3 other servers at MM as well, a RAQ 4 web server used for hosting domains and 2 Windows 2000 Game/DNS servers. The 2 game servers are Star Trek Voyager Elite Force I am working on another Game Called Return to Castle Wolfenstein and this is up now and it is under Test MANY Thank's go to Jeff and Sandy Paden for their help. In 1/5/04 Modem Madness was sold to Ron Miller and in order to maintain a positive cash flow needed to run a business and the uncompetive actions of C&E Telephone, Modem Madness dropped ADSL service in the C&E Area in the first quarter of 2004. So I went back to MM dial up and installed a cable modem from Adelphia at my sisters house. Since I was outside the cable area I had to figure out how to get Hi-Speed without the use of CE Comet Internet Service. I tried to get a dry pair between my sisters house and my house/shop but that did not happen because C&E puts coils on the line and blocks the ability to use some lan extenders I had. A T1 from C&E was not an option...for 6600 ft, price was unreal ! So I built a wireless link using stock consumer grade equipment and by December 5 of 2004 I got it up and working. I had a tripod I purchased, fail the week before but was repaired with no problems. The wireless equipment uses the un-licensed band in the 2.5 gig range and I get as much bandwith on my end of the double hop as my ADSL did when I had it. I am paying for a Commercial Feed with a static IP so I hope I can set up my local server that I used for testing software and websites. I also want the ability to have other low bandwith uses that only a static IP can give. Installing a working wireless backbone has given me lots of experience setting up this type of low power and 83 milliwatts is LOW power. No transmitter goes over the FCC requirements of low power Wi-Fi now being used across the country. The only other major fit in the Wi-Fi backbone was the hi wind on Tuesday Dec 7th 2004, the antenna at my sisters house moved 30 degrees off line, but it still works... even when 50 mph gust whipped through. Link is bouncing a little but will be fixed on 12/11/04 The overall plan is to still promote Modem Madness as a Dialup in the C&E area and to use a cable modem from Adelphia or Time Warner for others. If the customer is in the Alltel Area, Modem Madness will still be my choice of ISP's for Hi-Speed ADSL. My servers that I use for Hosting sites will still be housed at Modem Madness and I do not see any change in that part of my business. Several servers have been changed around. More on that later This site will not stop growing, the only restrictions is that the content of the site be viewable by little kids. Now because of the Internet and the Web, I have been getting work both in my trade , and as a piper. As a piper when I do a personal gig, all monies except for some gas money goes to charity, like the Westfield Community Kitchen, my pipe band and my church. I may be contacted for private gigs at webmaster@bagpipes.net Please Stay Tuned for more on this site!