Netstalgia: the dial-up network

Remember the dial tone, the beeps, the screech of the handshake, and then the moment you were online? Netstalgia brings it back, on the old PC you kept.

Netstalgia is two things that work together:

• The Netstalgia box, a small modem for your old PC. Your computer dials it like any 56K modem. The box plays the whole call through its speaker, shows it on its screen and lamps, and takes you online over your home Wi-Fi. No phone line needed.
• Netstalgia Online, an online service the way you remember signing on: mail, instant messages and your Pals List, chat rooms, radio, a Welcome page with the day's news and weather, and its own web browser. It runs on Windows 98, Me and XP.

Get online in four steps

1. Get a box. Build your own from a Raspberry Pi Zero W and a few parts, with our step-by-step guide.
2. Plug it in. Connect the box to your PC's USB port, then pick your home Wi-Fi from your phone or laptop on the box's setup page.
3. Install the program. Run Netstalgia Online's Setup on the old PC. It brings its own web browser and sounds. See Downloads.
4. Sign on. Get your screen name, click Sign On and listen to the call. You're online!

Already a member? Log in to manage your screen name. Stuck? Support has answers.