Seeking Help: Connecting an Old PC with Dial-Up Modem to the Internet Without Dial-Up Service
Posted by janleonarski@reddit | vintagecomputing | View on Reddit | 13 comments
Hi everyone,
I'm working with an old PC that has a dial-up modem, and I want to connect it to the internet. However, I don't have dial-up service available, and I don't want to use an Ethernet connection since my router is quite far away and I don't want a cable running all over the place.
I'm looking for any creative solutions or workarounds that might allow me to get this old PC online without traditional dial-up or a wired connection. If anyone has experience with similar setups or can suggest other methods, I would greatly appreciate your insights!
Thanks in advance!
bitwize@reddit
Does it have a serial port? Use pppd on a Linux machine (a Pi should do) and a USB-to-serial adapter to provide an internet connection to the old PC without a modem. It takes some finessing on the Linux side but it can be done. Here is a wonderfully retro-web guide to doing so: https://stefan-gloor.ch/w95
bubonis@reddit
Connect an Ethernet to WiFi bridge to your pc.
sparrow_42@reddit
I got a cheap powerline network extender from TP-Link. It's not super-fast (I get maybe 30 Mb/s if I'm lucky) in my house, but it does the job!
https://www.tp-link.com/us/home-networking/powerline/
michaelpaoli@reddit
There are ways to wirelessly extend that. May not be the cheapest answer/solution, but will generally get you lots more bandwidth than you could ever get via a modem - and without tying up a phone line (or two).
In fact I even gave away such an extender some years back.
Terrible-Bear3883@reddit
A couple of powerline adapters would link you to the router with no fuss.
veeb0rg@reddit
I setup my own dial in ISP using a older Cisco router and a few expansion cards. Works well. I even have it setup so it has an outside line to dial into.
korn0051@reddit
I have had good luck with PCMCIA Ethernet cards on my old laptops. Had a Win95 online for years, but modern websites just don't care for IE4 and Firefox 1.4
LowExpectations3750@reddit
It's pretty simple to make your own wifi modem. I made one out of just 2 parts - a Wemos D1 mini (ESP8266) and a Schmartboard RS-232 Module (710-0001-01). May also be able to use an Adafruit RS-232 Full Pinout Level-Shifter Breakout (PID: 5988). Use the code from here: https://github.com/dhansel/WifiModem. Then you connect the old PC to the wifi modem with an rs-232 cable and hunt down some old bbs' on the web.
Amazing_Actuary_5241@reddit
The easiest way is to use a wireless range extender and connect it to the PC through an ethernet port.
I use this setup for a couple of my machines. The extender I use is a Netgear EX6120.
Sample_And_Hold@reddit
You can also use an old router flashed with DD-WRT, working in wireless bridge mode.
mariteaux@reddit
If you've got a spare Pi lying around, you can turn it into a dial-up ISP using Virtual Modem. This uses the Pi's Internet connection and converts it to a PPP dial-up connection that the retro PC can handle: https://steptail.com/guides:virtual_modem
RetroTechChris@reddit
Pick up a PicoMEM and throw it in there. That will give you wireless Ethernet! https://x.com/RetroTechChris/status/1743989815924645970
em__jr@reddit
I haven't done this myself, but the WiModem232 Pro (https://www.cbmstuff.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=59_66&product_id=113) seems like it would solve your problem.