Demo of the IRCjr IRC client running on an IBM PCjr

This demonstration shows an IBM PCjr from 1983 running the IRCjr IRC client. After booting to PC DOS 5.0 and loading the packet driver for the Ethernet adapter I use DHCP to get an IP address from my router and then use IRCjr to connect to irc.freenode.net. All of this including the underlying TCP/IP code is running directly on the PCjr with no help from any other machine.

Note the wonderful sounds of the 5.25" diskette drive seeking during the boot process. The keyboard is not an authentic PCjr keyboard - it is a keyboard from an IBM PC being used with an adapter. (A PCjr keyboard would never have that kind of clickety-clack action going on.)

More information about the PCjr can be found at http://www.brutman.com/PCjr/, and more information about IRCjr can be found at http://www.brutman.com/mTCP/IRCjr.html .

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• PCjr
• PC jr
• DOS
• IRC
• IRCjr
• mTCP

[joman66]

This is slightly off topic to the video but I love the keyboard sound. Brings back memories..

[mbbrutman]

@joman66 @joman66 That is the beautiful sound of an original IBM PC keyboard, known to keyboard geeks as a 'Model F'. Those preceded the very popular Model Ms that people still swear by and use today. Search for Model M keyboard and you'll see what I mean. However, it is not an a PCjr keyboard - the PCjr keyboard used rubber dome technology and should be silent. I'm cheating by using a different keyboard on the system - the layout is better for switching back and forth.

[cr1901]

You have created a wonderful set of tools for giving old computers a new calling in life... very respectable.

[mbbrutman]

@cr1901 Thanks - it's been a long, but fun project so far.

[cr1901]

@mbbrutman I appreciate you releasing your code as open source so that I may study it a bit (this is the guy who emailed you back in January about the PC-AT, if you don't remember... it still works just fine.).

[mbbrutman]

@ZnaxQue DNS resolving should work fine - check to make sure your name server is correct. Also, email would be a better way to get help .. (I don't check the comments here as often.)

[mbbrutman]

@ZnaxQue The one featured in the video, IRCjr will work fine on your machine.

[mbbrutman]

@jasonheob Thanks! But I'd like to know why DHCP didn't work for you - can you set the environment variables in debug.txt and email me the trace? (It works everywhere, so I'd like to see what is different about your DHCP server.)

[jasonheob]

thanks, i missed that part.

setting up using the DHCP method didnt work, but i set it up

manually and it works. thanks for the help! it's a pretty nice client

[mbbrutman]

@jasonheob There is a file called "setup.txt" in the zip file that you downloaded that describes how to use DHCP. You can also use static IP addressing too.