- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] ISO: IBM PCjr and accessories
by Bob Aviles 23 Feb '17

23 Feb '17

Hi, I have a pair with ps, disk, book, sidecar, and manual. Bobby -------------------------------------------- On Wed, 2/22/17, Joseph Oprysko via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] ISO: IBM PCjr and accessories To: "vcf-midatlantic" <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> Cc: "Joseph Oprysko" <joprysko1(a)gmail.com> Date: Wednesday, February 22, 2017, 11:54 AM The IBM PCjr was my first "real" computer (following the Timex Sinclair 1000). While I know I doubt I'll be able to track one down with the 3rd party second-story 2nd Floppy drive and memory expansion. I would like to have one in my collection for nostalgia's sake. I'm looking to do this as a trade, as my financial situation, has severely numbered my days as a "vintage PC hobbyist". Likely, once I'm done the purge, I'll have maybe 2-3 vintage PC's left, as opposed to the rather broad collection I have now. I'd like one of them to be a well outfitted PCjr. The others to stay, remains to be seen, but likely my Apple IIe, and my Mac SE/30. Things have been EXTREMELY difficult for me these past few years. In my neck, EVERY disc or vertebrae is herniated. In my lower back I have two herniated discs, and moderate narrowing of the spinal column. Meaning in the next few years I could lose the ability to walk/drive. Even with Medicare, the 20% in co-payments needed for me to get surgery is more than I get in disability in a full year. I LOVE MY COMPUTERS AND WANT THEM TO HAVE A GOOD HOME. -- Normal Person: Hey, it seems that you know a lot. Geek: To be honest, it's due to all the surfing I do. Normal Person: So you go surfing? Normal Person: But I don't think that has anything to do with knowing a lot... Geek: I think that's wrong on a fundamental level. Normal Person: Huh? Huh? What?

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Laser card enclosure ... homemade :)
by Evan Koblentz 22 Feb '17

22 Feb '17

I needed a way to protect the Lego card from curious fingers. We don't own the Laser enclosure device, so the card just hangs off the side of the computer. No good. Michael Mulhern (via Facebook) humorously suggested I could make the enclosure out of Lego. I thought that was a fine idea. So here's what I did today: http://vcfed.org/evan/laser/enclosure/1.jpg http://vcfed.org/evan/laser/enclosure/2.jpg http://vcfed.org/evan/laser/enclosure/3.jpg http://vcfed.org/evan/laser/enclosure/4.jpg http://vcfed.org/evan/laser/enclosure/5.jpg Satellite dish is, of course, non-functional... The whole top comes off for card/cable access. I might hinge it. The enclosure is highly functional and good for a laugh. About the self-adhesive velcro attaching it to the computer: I felt bad doing it, because I spent so much time cleaning the case, but I needed a quick/easy way to attach the enclosure and also remove it. I know that GooGone will come to the rescue when I someday need to remove the adhesive. ________________________________ Evan Koblentz, director Vintage Computer Federation a 501(c)3 educational non-profit evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 www.vcfed.org facebook.com/vcfederation twitter.com/vcfederation

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ISO: IBM PCjr and accessories
by Joseph Oprysko 22 Feb '17

22 Feb '17

The IBM PCjr was my first "real" computer (following the Timex Sinclair 1000). While I know I doubt I'll be able to track one down with the 3rd party second-story 2nd Floppy drive and memory expansion. I would like to have one in my collection for nostalgia's sake. I'm looking to do this as a trade, as my financial situation, has severely numbered my days as a "vintage PC hobbyist". Likely, once I'm done the purge, I'll have maybe 2-3 vintage PC's left, as opposed to the rather broad collection I have now. I'd like one of them to be a well outfitted PCjr. The others to stay, remains to be seen, but likely my Apple IIe, and my Mac SE/30. Things have been EXTREMELY difficult for me these past few years. In my neck, EVERY disc or vertebrae is herniated. In my lower back I have two herniated discs, and moderate narrowing of the spinal column. Meaning in the next few years I could lose the ability to walk/drive. Even with Medicare, the 20% in co-payments needed for me to get surgery is more than I get in disability in a full year. I LOVE MY COMPUTERS AND WANT THEM TO HAVE A GOOD HOME. -- Normal Person: Hey, it seems that you know a lot. Geek: To be honest, it's due to all the surfing I do. Normal Person: So you go surfing? Normal Person: But I don't think that has anything to do with knowing a lot... Geek: I think that's wrong on a fundamental level. Normal Person: Huh? Huh? What?

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VCF Southeast -- who's going?
by Evan Koblentz 22 Feb '17

22 Feb '17

I've been given the opportunity to attend VCF Southeast (April 29-30) thanks to one person's generosity. Going to bring the Lego - Apple (Laser) exhibit. Who is else from our group is attending? I would guess Brian Stuart, some of the VA/NC people, etc. (Of course, several of the SE people are on this list too: Alan, Kyle, David Greelish, and so on; several of them are making their caravan trip to East too!) ________________________________ Evan Koblentz, director Vintage Computer Federation a 501(c)3 educational non-profit evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 www.vcfed.org facebook.com/vcfederation twitter.com/vcfederation

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Laser 128/EX manual?
by Evan Koblentz 22 Feb '17

22 Feb '17

Does anyone have a decent-condition Laser 128/EX manual to donate or loan to the museum? (There's a PDF of the manual on Archive.org, Asimov, and several private sites, but it is the same scan in all of them -- badly yellowed. A * good * scan would suffice, but we'd much rather have the original book for demo purposes.) ________________________________ Evan Koblentz, director Vintage Computer Federation a 501(c)3 educational non-profit evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 www.vcfed.org facebook.com/vcfederation twitter.com/vcfederation

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If anyone's interested: latest robot program
by Evan Koblentz 21 Feb '17

21 Feb '17

Here is my new-and-improved Lego robotic forklift program. Special thanks this time to Paul Hagstrom for his helpful suggestion that I detect all the joystick direction options, save the active one to a variable, and then POKE once as needed vs. trying to detect/POKE after each possible case. ---------- 10 GOSUB 1000: REM INIT LEGO 20 POKE L,0: REM ALL OFF 30 GOSUB 2000: REM NAVIGATION 40 GOSUB 3000: REM BUTTONS 50 GOTO 30 60 END 1000 S = 7:L = 49280 + S * 16 1010 POKE L + 3,1 1020 POKE L + 2,63 1030 POKE L + 1,0 1040 POKE L,0 1050 RETURN 2000 REM NAVIGATION 2010 FB = PDL (1):LR = PDL (0) 2020 M = 0 2030 IF FB < 75 THEN M = 5 2040 IF FB > 180 THEN M = 10 2050 IF LR < 75 THEN M = 9 2060 IF LR > 180 THEN M = 6 2070 POKE L,M 2080 IF M = 10 THEN CALL - 198: FOR W = 1 TO 500: NEXT W 2090 RETURN 3000 REM FORLIFT 3010 IF PEEK (49249) > 127 THEN POKE L,16: GOTO 3010 3020 IF PEEK (49250) > 127 THEN POKE L,32: GOTO 3020 3030 RETURN Real simple: Lines 10-60 are the main program, 1000-1050 are the required Lego initialization, 2000-2090 are the robot control (front - back - left - right), and 3000-3030 make the forklift go up/down. Hey Jeff and Dan, I think I've graduated from spaghetti code. :) As I told Dan already, the next thing I'll add is a Lego sensor to prevent the forklift from trying to continue going up/down when it reaches its mechanical limit. This did not work on my previous robot (to detect the limits of rack-and-pinion steering and disable the relevant motor) because the motor moved too fast. Not a problem with the forklift: it intentionally moves veeeeeeeeeery slow. I also ordered mini banana plugs so I can make new connecting wires between the Lego interface box and the motors, lights, and sensors. The 30-year-old wires from Lego are badly worn out. The difference when I connected a motor using these old wires vs. using modern alligator clips was palpable. Jeff B., all I have to do to dominate your Capsella robot is corner it, get the forklift under its drive wheels, and press the up button before you escape. :) Then your robot will be (ahem) forked. ________________________________ Evan Koblentz, director Vintage Computer Federation a 501(c)3 educational non-profit evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 www.vcfed.org facebook.com/vcfederation twitter.com/vcfederation

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more retro-computing goodness on hackaday.com
by William Dudley 21 Feb '17

21 Feb '17

http://hackaday.com/2017/02/21/a-full-speed-portable-apple-e/ http://hackaday.com/2017/02/20/a-6502-retrocomputer-in-a-very-tidy-package/ Bill Dudley This email is free of malware because I run Linux.

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Apple Newton MessagePad books free
by Michael Kato 21 Feb '17

21 Feb '17

I have the following for local pickup in Alexandria/Crystal City VA. I will also ship if you pay for shipping(qualifies for media mail) https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1gmOrHMzhgkS3A2eG5XbVR2d3c Defying Gravity: The making of Newton - Menuez https://www.amazon.com/Defying-Gravity-Making-Markos-Kounalakis/dp/09418319… Apple MessagePad Handbook Newton Programmer's Guide for Newton 2.0 1996 ISBN 0-201-47947-8 Newton Toolkit User's Guide The NewtonScript Programming Language Newton Press User's Guide for Windows Programming for the Newton: Software development with NewtonScript McKeehan/Rhodes ISBN 0-12-484800-1 Programming for the Newton using Windows: Software development with NewtonScript McKeehan/Rhodes ISBN 0-12-484840-3 Newton UserInterface Guidelines ISBN 0-201-28838-8 The Newton PDA Platform: A technology and feature analysys (booklet) PDA Developers - Volume 3.1 - Jan/Feb 1995 Newton Technology Journal - Volume 11, Number 3 - June 1996 ....maki....

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Spring clean purge free items
by Jason Perkins 21 Feb '17

21 Feb '17

I'm beyond capacity on stuff. Items below are feee! 7x Avaya 5410 digital phones. With handsets. AT keyboard extension cables. 90s and late 80s mac manuals and software. Some in box. 2 moving boxes worth. Items below are as-asked. I'm open to offers. Sinclair zx81, with 16k ram module. Worked when I tried it last year. $20. SGI indego workstation. Has new clock battery. Front plastic has a few cracks. $40 IBM model M keyboard cables. Ps2 ends. $6 Phone Net mac networking adapters. $1 AppleBus cable tester. $5 I can bring items to vcf east! Thanks, Jason -- Jason Perkins 313 355 0085 Sent from my iPhone

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How many c64s?
by william degnan 20 Feb '17

20 Feb '17

How many commodore 64's do you own working or no? I have a lot, not sure how many. I live near the old Commodore factory, they still pop up out of the ground when it rains Bill Degnan twitter: billdeg vintagecomputer.net

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15 videos: Xerox Alto Restoration
by Jeffrey Jonas 20 Feb '17

20 Feb '17

of possible interest: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-_93BVApb58I3ZV67LW3S_JEMFnDrQDj&sp… Xerox Alto Restoration CuriousMarc This video series chronicles the restoration of a seminal Xerox Alto computer. This is the machine that Steve Jobs saw during a visit at the famed Xerox PARC, and would inspire the Macintosh. Although never commercialized, this 1974 design, built entirely out of simple TTL logic before a powerful enough microprocessor even existed, was so far ahead of its time that it is hard to comprehend. It demonstrated many then unheard-of firsts, and astonishingly, they all made it to the present day computer, barely modified: a personal computer booting from a hard disk, with a graphical screen, proportional fonts, a mouse driven GUI, a WYSIWYG text editor, a drawing program, IDE with overlapping windows, Ethernet, Net booting, laser printing, the first optical mouse - and even network games. Follow along as we delve into the depth of this machine while bringing it back to life step by step, while being constantly amazed at its never ending cleverness. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhIohWr10kU&list=PL-_93BVApb58I3ZV67LW3S_JE… Xerox Alto Restoration Part 12 - Ethernet pioneers We bring up the Ethernet card and optical mouse, and are visited by Xerox Ethernet inventors and pioneer designers Dave Boggs and Ron Crane.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Museum report
by Michael Thompson 20 Feb '17

20 Feb '17

> > Date: Mon, 20 Feb 2017 00:01:32 -0500 > From: Evan Koblentz <evan(a)vcfed.org> > Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] Museum report > > I bought two rolls of black stick-on window tint because Jeff B. noticed > that our workbench area gets very warm and sunlight shines directly where > we installed the bookshelves. Going to need some kind of squeegee thing and > some sort of spray to install the tint. Googling that for advice... > Home Depot sells an installation kit with soapy spray, squeegees, and a special cutter for trimming the film at the edges of the windows. The processes is not difficult, just use plenty of the spray on teh windows and film. Be very careful to get the bubbles out from under the film. If takes a lot of time with the squeegee working from the center to chase the bubbles to the edge of the film. -- Michael Thompson

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Another retro computer simulated with modern hardware
by William Dudley 20 Feb '17

20 Feb '17

http://hackaday.com/2017/02/18/arduino-altair-8800-simulator/ Bill Dudley This email is free of malware because I run Linux.

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Museum report
by Evan Koblentz 20 Feb '17

20 Feb '17

We had about 15 visitors today. Mixture of families and adult couples. One group was a grandmother, adult daughter, and 10-year-old boy. The boy was precocious and somehow knew about MS-DOS and binary math. Another visitor was a guy in his mid-20s who said he came to our old museum four years ago. He stayed here today for a couple of hours to hang out and ask tons of questions. Our own Steve A. also visited with a friend of his. I bought two rolls of black stick-on window tint because Jeff B. noticed that our workbench area gets very warm and sunlight shines directly where we installed the bookshelves. Going to need some kind of squeegee thing and some sort of spray to install the tint. Googling that for advice...

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Why {vintage} Basic beats Python
by Douglas Crawford 20 Feb '17

20 Feb '17

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incompatible plastics :-(
by Jeffrey Jonas 19 Feb '17

19 Feb '17

I just had to clean plastic printer covers with GooGone because the bubble wrapped slimed it. I've had wires melt into the plastic storage box (polystyrene?). Programming templates crumbled to dust due to the outgassing of other plastic drafting templates. Is anyone aware of the chemistry involved?

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Museum Report 2017-02-18 February 18, 2017
by Jeffrey Brace 18 Feb '17

18 Feb '17

So I volunteered to be docent at the museum despite being up until 5am and this will be the fourth weekend in a row that I have been here. I suppose I should expect to be here every weekend as VCF draws near. There were few visitors to InfoAge, and a few of them made their way to our museum. The Model Train guys were working on their stuff down the hall. The Antique Radio guys had their repair workshop today in 9032-A. I worked on VCF East planning, volunteer coordination, e-mails etc. Don Caselli stopped by to say hello. He has been busy taken care of his wife who broke her shoulder recently. Bill Inderiden stopped by to say hello. He was at the Radio repair workshop and updating me on the TR-20 repair status.His test machine broke and told me the long term plans of putting castors on the bottom of the rack where the TR-20 now resides. -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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Osborne 1 Spotted on CL
by Jason Perkins 18 Feb '17

18 Feb '17

This is actually just down the street. No affiliation: https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/sys/6007642031.html -- Jason Perkins 313 355 0085

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Off-topic my company just bought a large German CNC
by Ben Greenfield 18 Feb '17

18 Feb '17

Hey All, I don’t want to sound too spammy but my company just purchased a 2000mm by 30000mm CNC with all sorts of great features that includes an Optical AI system to recognize patterns on materials and machine appropriately based on those markings. It also has a lathe. I bring this up because I thought people on this list might need simple access to a machine like this and I expect it too be under utilized for the first year. During this time if a Federation member wanted to try something, create vacuum form molds, PCB production, faceplate machining, …. I’m willing to do it for the sake of learning if you supply the material. The machine will be delivered in juneish and I will go through training on the machine at that time. To prepare for the training I’m gathering materials to experiment on and I’m shopping for milling tools. If anybody thinks they are interested contact me off-list and let me know your interest. I will be ordering the milling tools mid-aprilish. I hope someone takes me up on this, Ben

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FS: MITS Altair 8800B Turnkey Tested/Working, All MITS Boards
by Systems Glitch 18 Feb '17

18 Feb '17

link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/272560398074 Board Set as follows: * MITS 8080 CPU board * MITS 16K Static RAM board * MITS Turnkey board with TURMON ROM monitor Fully tested, it loads MITS Extended BASIC and runs. See the listing for repair details. This machine came to me as a parts bucket. Happy to deliver it in person to VCF East for no shipping cost -- payment will be required at the close of the listing, though. Thanks, Jonathan

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Three history talks at Trenton
by Herb Johnson 18 Feb '17

18 Feb '17

Evan announced these events at the Trenton Computer Festival: > 12:25-1:20 - Brian Stuart, "ENIAC Then and Now" > > 1:30-2:25 - Frank O'Brien, "Flying to the Moon / The Apollo Guidance > Computer" > > 2:35-3:30 - Jeff B. & [Evan Koblentz], 8-Bit 'Bots (Capsella, Lego) ..and Neil Cherry posted in reference to his talk: "Do It Yourself: Home Automation & More"; also scheduled at 12:25-1:20 Last night, I had the pleasure of seeing Brian's talk on the ENIAC, on the Princeton University campus. His talk was sponsored by the IEEE Computer Society chapter, and the ACM chapter, hosted at Princeton. They meet together each month for public presentations like Brian's. Brian gave a fine presentation, about the construction of the ENIAC and about its general operation. He demonstrated a visual and operational model of the ENIAC, which runs on modern computers. He described both its physical architecture, and its computing methods. ENIAC design and operation were a key part of computing development in the 1940's and 50's. I believe a video of this talk, may be on YouTube in due course. In attendance was my good friend and colleague, Frank O'Brien - an active member of the sponsoring organizations, and of course he's part of InfoAge. We took time to chat and I caught up with his recent activities. He's given his AGC talk a number of times recently. He tells me he's added some props to give descriptions about the fundamental issues of spaceflight guidance: "where you are, where you are going, which way is up?". So I look forward to seeing his presentation again. I've heard Neil's talks on Home Automation at TCF; they are informative and not "too technical for mere mortals". He's published, and well-versed, on the software and hardware of commercial products; and has championed open-source approaches. The subject is of interest to the vintage computing community, for those who develop or use access from their computers to modern devices and the Web. Another friend of mine, but one not active in VCF discussions, is Jonathan Allen. "Practical Electronics Tricks of the Trade" will be presented by him at 1:30-2:25. Jonathan has repaired and restored TV's and radios for decades. He's very familiar with 20th century test equipment and tools. His talk's content may be of interest to those beginning to restore their vintage computers. There are many other talks at the Trenton Computer Festival. There will be exhibits by computer clubs, including VCF Inc.; and by The Sarnoff Collection which is on the TCNJ campus, and which has vintage computers from RCA. Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Available in NJ: Tandy 1000 RL
by Andy Meyer 17 Feb '17

17 Feb '17

Tandy 1000 RL Worked when put in storage Available in Summit, NJ This is my friend's machine Email me directly for his contact info. Andy

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Person in Queens needs ride to VCF East
by Evan Koblentz 17 Feb '17

17 Feb '17

See the thread here: http://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?56291-Looking-for-VCF-East-ride-s…

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Left your flashlight at the workshop?
by Evan Koblentz 17 Feb '17

17 Feb '17

Someone left a good-quality flashlight at the workshop. If it's yours then email me off-list, describe the flashlight, and I'll get it back to you.

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VCF West is August 5-6
by Evan Koblentz 17 Feb '17

17 Feb '17

Go make your travel plans. :) http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-west-xi/ ________________________________ Evan Koblentz, director Vintage Computer Federation a 501(c)3 educational non-profit evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 www.vcfed.org facebook.com/vcfederation twitter.com/vcfederation

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Late-night BASIC support
by Evan Koblentz 17 Feb '17

17 Feb '17

Anyone up? I am fighting with Applesoft BASIC (and losing). Looking for late-night phone support... ________________________________ Evan Koblentz, director Vintage Computer Federation a 501(c)3 educational non-profit evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 www.vcfed.org facebook.com/vcfederation twitter.com/vcfederation

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Web site maintenance
by Evan Koblentz 16 Feb '17

16 Feb '17

Don't panic! Our web site is down (and may be up-and-down again) for maintenance this afternoon. Someone on Facebook asked if we're replacing the vacuum tubes. :) ________________________________ Evan Koblentz, director Vintage Computer Federation a 501(c)3 educational non-profit evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 www.vcfed.org facebook.com/vcfederation twitter.com/vcfederation

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Three history talks at Trenton
by Evan Koblentz 16 Feb '17

16 Feb '17

This year's Trenton show is Saturday, March 18, as Jeff B. already posted. Our little group here is giving back-to-back-to-back history talks in room ED-207. 12:25-1:20 - Brian Stuart, "ENIAC Then and Now" 1:30-2:25 - Frank O'Brien, "Flying to the Moon / The Apollo Guidance Computer" 2:35-3:30 - Jeff B. & me, 8-Bit 'Bots (Capsella, Lego) ________________________________ Evan Koblentz, director Vintage Computer Federation a 501(c)3 educational non-profit evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 www.vcfed.org facebook.com/vcfederation twitter.com/vcfederation

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SPITBOL Manual Scan
by william degnan 16 Feb '17

16 Feb '17

For those of you who wanted a copy of Bill Dudley's SPITBOL 2.0 manual that he gave me at the workshop this past weekend, I found a copy here. His copy starts at page 7 of the document: http://www.snobol4.com/spitbol360/spitbol_360_manual.pdf Note this is an IBM OS/360 implementation of SNOBOL-4 computer language for IBM 360 and 370's. SPITBOL is smaller. I posted a few photos from the workshop on my site, nothing exciting. Bill

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Late-night BASIC support
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 16 Feb '17

16 Feb '17

Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic writes: >There's no ELSE in Applesoft. In that case, you need to use the COMEFROM. :P

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Dallas TOD replacement (was: Feb 2017 workshop)
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 16 Feb '17

16 Feb '17

Herb Johnson via vcf-midatlantic writes: >There is a literal "mod" of Dallas chips: > >http://www.retrotechnology.com/herbs_stuff/sgi_battery.html > >wherein you slice into the epoxy package and splice in a watch battery. >if this is the mod you are doing, I'd be glad to reference any Web page >you have about doing it. > >There are likely some old versions of the Dallas time-of-day chip and >RAM which have no modern version. That said: > >VAXman posted: > >> The DS1287A was fairly common TOY clock back then. You can replace it >with > the newer DS12887A. Goggle it, there are ample sources. > >...one has to replace it with a compatible device, and it's a bit of >work and luck to determine if any replacement is likely to work. >Whereas, you have the chip-in-hand, that only has a dead battery. Well, the DS12887A has worked well for *all* of my VAX and or Alpha systems that were equipped with the DS1287A. That "slicing into the chip" hack to add a battery has seen serveral re-incarnations over the years whenever the topic of replacement arises.

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Dallas TOD replacement (was: Feb 2017 workshop)
by Herb Johnson 16 Feb '17

16 Feb '17

>> "J. Alexander Jacocks writes: >> >>> Alex J. worked on the Commodore PC-III, and the Emerson 286, from >>> the storage area. Both need batteries, and I took the Emerson >>> with me, for modding of the Dallas chip. There is a literal "mod" of Dallas chips: http://www.retrotechnology.com/herbs_stuff/sgi_battery.html wherein you slice into the epoxy package and splice in a watch battery. if this is the mod you are doing, I'd be glad to reference any Web page you have about doing it. There are likely some old versions of the Dallas time-of-day chip and RAM which have no modern version. That said: VAXman posted: > The DS1287A was fairly common TOY clock back then. You can replace it with > the newer DS12887A. Goggle it, there are ample sources. ...one has to replace it with a compatible device, and it's a bit of work and luck to determine if any replacement is likely to work. Whereas, you have the chip-in-hand, that only has a dead battery. Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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OT: Windows Resource Kits available
by Kelly Leavitt 16 Feb '17

16 Feb '17

At least the manuals. One Windows NT, one Windows 2000 server. I believe the CD is there for the 2000 server. Anyone want them? Can bring to VCF or you come get them. Will not ship because I'm lazy and they are heavy/bulky. Thanks, Kelly

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EEWeb did something nice for us
by Evan Koblentz 16 Feb '17

16 Feb '17

EEWeb selected us as their "Engineering Site of the Day". It's midway down their homepage in the center, you'll see the VCF logo, which links to https://www.eeweb.com/websites/vintage-computer-federation. ________________________________ Evan Koblentz, director Vintage Computer Federation a 501(c)3 educational non-profit evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 www.vcfed.org facebook.com/vcfederation twitter.com/vcfederation

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] 6300 stuff to donate
by William Dudley 15 Feb '17

15 Feb '17

I need ONE of the persons interested in the 6300 stuff to step up and say that they will handle the duplicating/scanning, etc of the materials, and also the disbursal of the copies to the others. I do not need another project, and this is turning into one. I just want to get rid of this stuff and have it not go into a landfill. Once one of you has volunteered, we can arrange your getting the material from me, and I'll be on to the next thing. Thanks, Bill Dudley This email is free of malware because I run Linux. On Tue, Feb 14, 2017 at 1:05 PM, Jonathan Gevaryahu via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: > I can handle floppies here. > > > On 2/14/2017 10:42 AM, William Dudley via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > >> Jason, thanks for the offer. >> >> Let us try to arrange the scanning at the next workshop, or at VCF East. >> >> Then, Douglas Crawford, Jonathan Gevaryahu, and Kyle Owen can all get >> copies of the 6300 stuff. >> >> Who can image the floppies to digital files? >> >> Bill Dudley >> >> >> This email is free of malware because I run Linux. >> >> On Mon, Feb 13, 2017 at 10:21 AM, Jason Perkins via vcf-midatlantic < >> vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: >> >> I have a nice Fujitsu sheet fed scanner I'd be happy to bring with me >>> to VCF, or if I can make it out to a workshop. It can do color, duplex >>> scanning. >>> >>> -J >>> >>> On Mon, Feb 13, 2017 at 8:45 AM, William Dudley via vcf-midatlantic >>> <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: >>> >>>> Jonathan, >>>> >>>> I have no means to do the copying but am open to the idea. >>>> >>>> Does anyone have the means to copy those annoying little >>>> 5" x 8" loose leaf pages, and to copy 5" diskettes? >>>> >>>> Bill Dudley >>>> >>>> This email is free of malware because I run Linux. >>>> >>>> On Mon, Feb 13, 2017 at 12:45 AM, Jonathan Gevaryahu via vcf-midatlantic >>>> >>> < >>> >>>> vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: >>>> >>>> On 2/12/2017 8:24 PM, Douglas Crawford via vcf-midatlantic wrote: >>>>> >>>>> 8. AT&T 6300 Plus Service Manual and Hardware Reference Manual. >>>>>> Two hard cover binders in slip cases, including several different >>>>>> diagnostic >>>>>> diskettes (5 1/4"). >>>>>> >>>>>> Any chances of getting scans of that manual and dumps of the >>>>> diskettes? >>>>> The existing olivetti M24 (the machine the 6300 is a rebadge of) >>>>> documentation is incomplete, particularly for the z8000 (olivetti m20 >>>>> backwards compatibility related stuff, which also handles the hi res >>>>> >>>> video >>> >>>> mode in m24/6300 mode) which is entirely missing from existing >>>>> >>>> schematics >>> >>>> online! >>>>> The diskettes could be very useful for testing machines as well. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> Jonathan Gevaryahu >>>>> jgevaryahu(a)gmail.com >>>>> jgevaryahu(a)hotmail.com >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>> >>> -- >>> Jason Perkins >>> 313 355 0085 >>> >>> > > -- > Jonathan Gevaryahu > jgevaryahu(a)gmail.com > jgevaryahu(a)hotmail.com > >

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Slightly off topic (retro telephony)
by Martin A Flynn 15 Feb '17

15 Feb '17

Anyone have resources to duplicate / copy a 16 MB PCMCIA memory card to fresh media? It's from a vintage AT&T Definity telephone system Underlying operating system is ORYX, applications are written in PECOS.

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Xenix and micnet networking
by Kelly Leavitt 14 Feb '17

14 Feb '17

There were some questions about Xenix and Micnet. I've found some online documentation from the Intel Xenix 286 Communication manual that duplicates the Tandy Xenix functionality. See chapter 3 (PDF Page 45) of http://tenox.net/docs/xenix/Intel_XENIX_286_Communications_Guide.pdf In general, there's a lot of Xenix stuff on Tenox's site. Kelly

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Trenton Computer Festival 2017
by Jeffrey Brace 14 Feb '17

14 Feb '17

The annual Trenton Computer Festival will be March 18 from 9AM to 5PM. Evan and myself will be there to demonstrate our vintage computer robotics as well as give a lecture explaining them. Who else plans on being there this year? This is the website with more information: http://tcf.pages.tcnj.edu/ -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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stuff to donate
by William Dudley 14 Feb '17

14 Feb '17

I found some more stuff that may be of interest to the museum or to the members of this list. I would like Evan to weigh in on the museum's interest. Should Evan pass on something, the rest of you can figure out who ends up with an item. 1. US Robotics USR330 modem. This is a very early 300 baud consumer/hobbyist modem. It's in a vacuum-formed case, along with a comically large "data access arrangement" (DAA) as required by telecom rules back in the day. 2. An AT&T Dataphone II 2224B modem, with power supply. This was hot-shit in it's day. It would do 2400 bits/second. 3. A Digital Equipment Corp h312a null modem. It is also comically large, considering what it is. 4. New, in the shrink-wrap, manuals for AT&T 6386 computer: "Service Manual" and "Hardware Reference Manual" 5. IBM "APL/1130 Primer - Student Text" copyright 1968. This was one of my texts in high school. I have TWO pristine copies of this. 6. SPITBOL Version 2.0 manual, Feb 12 1971. This is stapled together, not a bound book, but is never the less early documentation for the language. 7. A full, four volume set of manuals AND 5 1/4" disks for STSC APL PLUS/PC, copyright 1987. Hardcover binders in slip cases. 8. AT&T 6300 Plus Service Manual and Hardware Reference Manual. Two hard cover binders in slip cases, including several different diagnostic diskettes (5 1/4"). I plan on bringing this stuff to the VCF workshop this weekend, unless we're snowed/cancelled due to weather. Pictures of items 1,2, 3, and 4 are here: http://www.dudley.nu/vcf-donations/ Bill Dudley whose house looks like an episode of "Hoarders". This email is free of malware because I run Linux.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Workshop February 11&12, 2017 Wrap-up
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 14 Feb '17

14 Feb '17

Douglas Crawford via vcf-midatlantic writes: {deleted much HTML shite} >Where do u get them!? The DS1287A was fairly common TOY clock back then. You can replace it with the newer DS12887A. Goggle it, there are ample sources.

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Volunteer hours
by Jeffrey Brace 14 Feb '17

14 Feb '17

For anyone that volunteers hours for VCF or InfoAge or any of its member groups, it would be helpful to track these hours on this website: http://www.trackitforward.com/. Look for InfoAge Learning Center and then from the dropdown choose VCF. This benefits InfoAge to show that they have volunteers doing work there. You can use it for being docent, working in the warehouse, repairing VCF machines etc. It used to be called OurVolts. -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Workshop February 11&12, 2017 Wrap-up
by Evan Koblentz 13 Feb '17

13 Feb '17

>> The other place is a memory address that Dan R. determined and >> explained to me a few weeks ago. There's a very simple equation to >> change it for different slots, which I completely forgot to do until >> another hour went by. It dawned on me while I took a bathroom break. :) > > Is that what's called a "memory dump"? :-) Something like that. :) The equation is reeeeeeeeeal simple: (provided 5-digit number) + S * 16. Dan previously reminded me to do the multiplication first. I ran back from the bathroom to the workshop area CERTAIN that it would work. Made the change and it still didn't work ... then I realized that when I'd stepped away from the table to go pee, I'd accidentally knocked the power cord loose for the Lego interface box. Re-attached that and NOW it worked.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Workshop February 11&12, 2017 Wrap-up
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 13 Feb '17

13 Feb '17

"J. Alexander Jacocks via vcf-midatlantic" writes: >Alex J. worked on the Commodore PC-III, and the Emerson 286, from the >storage area. Both need batteries, and I took the Emerson with me, for >modding of the Dallas chip. Which Dallaas chip? Are you aware that there are new replacements?

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Workshop February 11&12, 2017 Wrap-up
by Jeffrey Brace 13 Feb '17

13 Feb '17

So we had a good turnout for this workshop. Some highlights: Evan worked on his Lego/Apple BASIC robot as he prepares for TCF. I worked on my Capsella C64 robot for TCF as well. Ian helped to repair the original Mac and the Commodore PET that are displayed in the museum. Bill Degnan also spent a great deal of time repairing the Commodore PET that is displayed in the museum. Todd George worked on his Commodore 4032 PET and diagnosed the problem to two ROMS. He used a diagnostic chip to test it. Bill Inderriden worked on getting the TR-20 up and running. I forget what others were working on exactly, so please chime in to explain to others what you were working on. -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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SX64 for sale in New Rochelle
by Blatboy 13 Feb '17

13 Feb '17

Saw this... thought I'd post in case anyone might be interested... in box... looks like decent shape... https://newyork.craigslist.org/wch/sys/5994058569.html http://www.jwalterhawkes.com http://www.blatboy.com like to know where/when I'm playing? Click here <http://www.blatomaster.com/mlist.php> to sign up for my list, and let the babble begin.

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stuff to donate
by Herb Johnson 13 Feb '17

13 Feb '17

4. New, in the shrink-wrap, manuals for AT&T 6386 computer: "Service Manual" and "Hardware Reference Manual" I did not attend the workshop, read the posted list today. If anyone obtains these manuals, and is willing to ship/sell, contact me. Thank you. herb johnson in Ewing NJ Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Ideas needed: attaching our tablets to shelf poles
by Herb Johnson 12 Feb '17

12 Feb '17

I read today this thread, about attaching tablets near the exhibits. My impressions of Evan's requirements are: ASAP, keep tablet secure from theft, "look slick", zero to a few tens of dollars to mount, provide visitor access to screen/touch. I also suggest: tablet access to people of varying height or physical access. Vision limited people may need to hold it close. Youngsters are often short. Persons in wheelchairs. I have a plan B for these. The simplest ASAP means to secure the tablets, is a plastic-covered metal rope, looped or locked at the tablet, bolted at the display shelf. Most tablets have a loop for this purpose, or one could be epoxied on. This is not "slick" but can at least look professional. I own institutional Macs from the 90's which were secured in this way. it's relatively cheap. And, if a better solution is found, these can be removed and discarded. Wire rope is at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. by the foot, in various colors and clear. Plan B for more a accessible solution: a loaner tablet, with all the exhibit apps, and a means of navigating them. Not "secure"? Ask to hold a driver's license, a standard request for loaned items. Need I explain this? Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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FS: RCA DR2010 Numitron NOS in Box
by Systems Glitch 12 Feb '17

12 Feb '17

link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/272553929278 Numitrons are a 7-segment incandescent display technology, from the same era as Nixie tubes. This one is in a box labeled KD2126, which was a RCA kit that included the Numitron and a driver IC. Going through some of my old displays and clearing out stuff I know I won't use! Thanks, Jonathan

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Didn't someone need a computer to show off a terminal at VCF?
by Corey Cohen 12 Feb '17

12 Feb '17

I can't seem to find the thread they asked it on or am I mistaken. If yes, please chime back as I have something. Cheers, Corey corey cohen uǝɥoɔ ʎǝɹoɔ

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Workshop Breakfast tomorrow at diner 2/12 9am
by Jeffrey Brace 12 Feb '17

12 Feb '17

We are meeting at the Princess Maria Diner tomorrow at 9am. Let me know that you are coming, if you haven't told me already. -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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