- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

disk duplicating machines
by william degnan 01 Sep '16

01 Sep '16

Anyone into vintage disk duplicating machines? Me? I have two; one for 5 1/4 and one for 3.5 disks but I don't use them. Have not powered them on or tested in 10 years. I have never seen anyone demo these at a VCF or elsewhere, but I bet there was a time when these were in use in many businesses before easy software download. A lost piece of tech. Bill

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Fwd: Daily Tech News Show: DTNS 2846 – Vintage Computing Never Gets Old
by murphnj 31 Aug '16

31 Aug '16

The podcast that Evan was on has been posted. I have not yet had a chance to listen. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Blogtrottr <busybee(a)blogtrottr.com> Date: Wed, Aug 31, 2016 at 5:35 PM Subject: Daily Tech News Show: DTNS 2846 – Vintage Computing Never Gets Old Daily Tech News Show Keep up to date with independent, authoritative and trustworthy discussion of the tech news of the day. Tom Merritt and co-host's home for daily tech news. [image: thumbnail] DTNS 2846 – Vintage Computing Never Gets Old <http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DailyTechNewsShow/~3/pPcs0vpMRJA/> Aug 31st 2016, 17:25, by tommerritt(a)tommerritt.com (Tom Merritt), Tom Merritt [image: Logo by Mustafa Anabtawi thepolarcat.com] <http://www.dailytechnewsshow.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/DTNS_CoverArt14…> Evan Koblentz from the Vintage Computer Federation joins Scott Johnson to discuss the allure of vintage computer technology and its role in shaping modern trends. MP3 <http://feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/280806555-dtns-dtns-vintage-computing.mp3> Using a Screen Reader? Click here <https://youtu.be/jmAB85gRU5Y> Please SUBSCRIBE HERE <http://feeds.feedburner.com/DailyTechNewsShow>. Follow us on Soundcloud <https://soundcloud.com/dtns>. A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible. If you are willing to support the show <http://dailytechnewsshow.com/support/> or give as little as 5 cents a day on Patreon <http://www.patreon.com/dtns>. Thank you! Big thanks to Dan Lueders <http://danlueders.com/> for the headlines music and Martin Bell <http://twitter.com/martinbellmusic> for the opening theme! Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo! Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke, sebgonz and scottierowland on the subreddit <http://dailytechnewsshow.reddit.com/> *Show Notes* To read the show notes in a separate page click here <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oY2XMRtMlaBEujRfmD2cy7x1F-amg-OXQSq…> ! Media files: 280806555-dtns-dtns-vintage-computing.mp3 <http://feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/280806555-dtns-dtns-vintage-computing.mp3> (audio/mpeg)

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vintage computer streaming video
by Jeffrey Jonas 31 Aug '16

31 Aug '16

I finally repaired the power supply to my Roku box (Internet television). My guilty pleasure is over - the StarLost channel is gone! It was all StarLost all the time. I liked the urban exploring feel of the show as the clueless-3 wandered the Space Ship Arc's corridors of abandoned consoles, kinda like NASA mission control of the 60s, or an old military base. Gee, just like Camp Evans :-) Anyway, I found something wonderful: Joe Screwdriver's Retro Tech https://www.rokuchannels.tv/retrotechtimemachine/ https://channelstore.roku.com/details/39210/retro-tech-time-machine Joe Screwdriver presents the Retro Tech Time Machine curated collection of retroactive technology. Old-style motion pictures of high tech gizmos from the previous century are transmitted directly from Joe's collection to your Roku player. Plenty of old-time knobs, switches, rollers, gears, computers, telephones, tubes, spacecraft, blinky lights, and machines of all sizes to satisfy your retro tech urges. I wish I had YouTube links for all the wonderful videos showing - an analog computer with plugboard-o-wires running an early Apollo simulator - early computers, including a quick tutorial of the 026 and 029 keypunch - all sorts of pre-computer office machines such as Addressograph's variety of machines for printing labels and form letters. An early form of word processing: the typewriter punched holes in a wide paper tape similar to a piano roll, which was played back on "player piano" like typewriters so everyone could get an original document. Before the IBM Selectric was Varityper's typewriter with an interchangeable DRUM of various fonts and type sizes! - publicity films from IBM and Western Union, showing how early systems used MILES of paper tape every day! - lotsa NASA films from Gemini, Apollo, letting me relive the space race days. -- jeffj

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Live interview @ 4:30 ET today
by Evan Koblentz 31 Aug '16

31 Aug '16

I'm being interviewed by someone at the Daily Tech News Show this afternoon. http://www.dailytechnewsshow.com/about/

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Live interview @ 4:30 ET today
by Evan Koblentz 31 Aug '16

31 Aug '16

>> Cool! Any specific topic >From their email: "the lifespan and obsolesce of computers and computer related technology including smartphones and tablets".

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] oldest email address in the club
by Jeffrey Jonas 29 Aug '16

29 Aug '16

replying to william degnan > Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] oldest email address in the club > Anyone still operating actively an email address from before 1995 I have been jeffj/at/panix/dot/com since 1991. I know the fellow with a slightly lower UID but he's not a VCF member. Before that, my emails were via my employer, but as a consultant I quickly realized the merit of an email that I could keep independent of my employer or client. I had email via Genie, Delphi, Prodigy but never Compuserve or AOL. Before it was PANIX, there was Big Electric Cat. A friend used that to access USENET before the Internet, back when most systems were "walled gardens". -- jeffj

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] oldest email address in the club
by Bill Sudbrink 29 Aug '16

29 Aug '16

A quick "Google Groups Advanced Search" (God! I miss DejaNews) confirms the below address goes back at least to Nov. 1993. I think it actually goes back to Jan. 1992. Bill S. > -----Original Message----- > From: vcf-midatlantic [mailto:vcf-midatlantic- > bounces(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org] On Behalf Of Bill Sudbrink > via vcf-midatlantic > Sent: Monday, August 29, 2016 11:10 AM > To: 'vcf-midatlantic' > Cc: Bill Sudbrink > Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] oldest email address in the club > > bill(a)umsa7.umd.edu > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: vcf-midatlantic [mailto:vcf-midatlantic- > > bounces(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org] On Behalf Of william > > degnan via vcf-midatlantic > > Sent: Monday, August 29, 2016 11:02 AM > > To: vcf-midatlantic > > Cc: william degnan > > Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] oldest email address in the club > > > > Hey, > > Anyone still operating actively an email address from before 1995 > that > > one > > can send a message and receive a reply without turning on an old > > server, > > etc. > > > > In short, something more or less continuously in production daily > with > > the > > same FQDN, etc? > > > > b > > ----- > > No virus found in this message. > > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > > Version: 2016.0.7752 / Virus Database: 4633/12791 - Release Date: > > 08/11/16 > > Internal Virus Database is out of date. > > ----- > No virus found in this message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 2016.0.7752 / Virus Database: 4633/12791 - Release Date: > 08/11/16 > Internal Virus Database is out of date.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Museum Report
by Christopher Gioconda 29 Aug '16

29 Aug '16

Hi Jeff, I had to chuckle when I saw your Mind Mirror comment. My older brother had given me his C64 floppy disk collection about 20 years ago, and I remembered playing with that software title when he got it about 30 years ago. At that time I had no idea who Timothy Leary was, nor the purpose of the game. Sure enough, I went on a search and found the original diskettes, but no packaging nor original instructions. Luckily they still work! Christopher Gioconda cgioconda(a)gmail.com

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Small fridge?
by Evan Koblentz 29 Aug '16

29 Aug '16

We're looking for a small bar-sized refrigerator for the workshop area of our museum. Strong preference for one that uses as little energy as possible and is quiet-ish. There are a couple sitting around the InfoAge catacombs but I they're old and/or have ecosystems of their own. :) I feel the one-cubic-ft. fridge in the classroom down the hallway is too small; something a bit larger would be nice.

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Floppy Days VCF Midwest
by Mike Loewen 28 Aug '16

28 Aug '16

http://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-63-vcf-midwest-11-preview-with-jas… My exhibit gets a nice promo about 25 minutes in. Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

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Floppy Days 63 - VCF Midwest 11 Preview with Jason Timmons
by Randall Kindig 28 Aug '16

28 Aug '16

http://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-63-vcf-midwest-11-preview-with-jas… <http://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-63-vcf-midwest-11-preview-with-jas…> Randy Kindig host Floppy Days Podcast floppydays.com

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40 years ago today
by Evan Koblentz 28 Aug '16

28 Aug '16

Aug. 28-29, 1976 - Personal Computing Conference in Atlantic City. Read all about it on pages 6-7 of the October 1976 DDJ. Trenton show came before this, and there was a midwest event in between Trenton and AC, but AC was more of a national conference vs. hobby event. This was a lecture topic at VCF East 7.0. Here's the video: https://youtu.be/8P_I5H_9uvU.

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Museum Report
by Jeffrey Brace 28 Aug '16

28 Aug '16

I arrived before 1pm today and stayed until 7pm. There was a special Veteran's appreciation event at InfoAge. Dozens and dozens of visitors stopped by. Interest varied wildly between casual to very. At about 3pm a student from Rutgers stopped by to run a Commodore 64 floppy disk on real (not emulated) hardware. I spent hours with him going back and forth with visitors as it slowed down after 3:30pm or so. The software was Tim Leary's Mind Mirror. Also Don Caselli donated two copies of IBM Macro Assembler 2.0. -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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Corey made the Beeb ...
by Neil Cherry 27 Aug '16

27 Aug '16

Internationally renowned http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-37199000 -- Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry(a)linuxha.com http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies

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Kaypro 10 ROM question
by Mike Loewen 27 Aug '16

27 Aug '16

Any Kaypro experts here? I'm in the process of installing a KayPLUS ROM in a Kaypro 10, in preparation for installing a new (larger) hard drive. My K10 has a 81-180 series mainboard, but the sticker is missing from the factory ROM and I can't tell which one it is. It powers on to display version 1.9e. Assuming that this is an '83 version mainboard, the ROM should be 81-302. Can someone confirm which ROM version displays 1.9e? I've successfully burned a 2764 with the kplus83.rom image and made the hardware modifications described in the KayPLUS manual. However, absolutely nothing happens when I power up. Everything works fine when I replace the original ROM. I want to make sure I'm following the right instructions for my combination of mainboard and ROM. Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

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Our new scope
by Evan Koblentz 26 Aug '16

26 Aug '16

Martin F. got a 'scope donated for our museum workbench. It was professionally recalibrated and it's being delivered this Saturday. http://vcfed.org/evan/scope.jpg

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Lancaster PA Cosmac Development System 1800 Ebay
by william degnan 26 Aug '16

26 Aug '16

What's nice for me personally is that this manual probably will help me with the earlier Microkit I have, from 1975. At least I hope the backplane configuration is more or less the same. I have been held up because I am unsure which slots in the backplane, assuming it's possible that there are assigned slots, to put each card. I can see from the MPM-216 page 30-31 (I had earlier found the manual too) that my hunch was correct about specific card slot assignments. You never know for sure if you have no docs. Here is my COSMAC Microkit thread if anyone is interested in comparing and contrasting my system with what's for sale now on Ebay http://www.vintagecomputer.net/browse_thread.cfm?id=511 BIll On Fri, Aug 26, 2016 at 9:46 AM, Ben Greenfield via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Ben Greenfield <ben(a)cogs.com> > To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> > Cc: > Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2016 09:46:47 -0400 > Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Lancaster PA Cosmac Development System 1800 > Ebay > I was curious so I dug up a manual for the box. > > > http://www.cosmacelf.com/publications/books/mpm-216-dev-sys-op-man.pdf > > > > On Aug 26, 2016, at 9:32 AM, william degnan via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: > > > > of interest to people who are into MidAtlantic computing history. there > is > > a Cosmac Development System 1800 on Ebay, looks to be from 1977, This > unit > > has the same chassis as the 1975 RCA Microkit, and same general layout of > > boards. > > > > Bill > > >

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Lancaster PA Cosmac Development System 1800 Ebay
by william degnan 26 Aug '16

26 Aug '16

of interest to people who are into MidAtlantic computing history. there is a Cosmac Development System 1800 on Ebay, looks to be from 1977, This unit has the same chassis as the 1975 RCA Microkit, and same general layout of boards. Bill

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Who's going to VCF Midwest?
by Jack Rubin 25 Aug '16

25 Aug '16

I am! Jack

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VCF Midwest
by Mike Loewen 25 Aug '16

25 Aug '16

So, who's going to VCF Midwest? Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

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Museum Report
by Jeffrey Brace 25 Aug '16

25 Aug '16

About a dozen visitors total today with moderate interest. -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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IA needs clean-up help Saturday
by Evan Koblentz 24 Aug '16

24 Aug '16

InfoAge needs people this Saturday (9am until whenever) to help clean debris from the courtyard behind our museum building. If anyone can help, then email Gloria (admsupport(a)infoage.org) as soon as possible and let her know you're with VCF.

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Celebration Apple 1 update
by Evan Koblentz 23 Aug '16

23 Aug '16

Bidding ends August 25. Jumped from 270K to 510K in the past day or two. Http://apple1.charitybuzz.com

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Aug 2016 Workshop
by Herb Johnson 23 Aug '16

23 Aug '16

http://www.retrotechnology.com/restore/vcf_aug16.html Still catching up after my Workshop appearance and work Sunday. Good to see my friends again and all-that-hardware. A mountain of 1960's transistor modules! Macs of various flavors. An early early Lear-Siegler terminal. Car repairs or avoidance thereof. And of course the VCF Museum. I've not captioned the photos much on my Web page - send me ID's and details so I can update the Web page. My fun was to take a S-100 system obtained Saturday, and getting it to power on Sunday. That is, after cleaning out the dust and subjecting to the Mach 1 power-vacuum at Infoage. Very careful powering process - Variac to bring up the S-100 power caps, keep the voltage down when running the box. Ohmic checks on the S-100 cards to look for shorted caps. Then adding cards to the chassis to check the regulators at work. No problems, no explosions. I'll have a Web page on restoring that Problem Solver System box and cards, soon. Had some interesting ownership. Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Next Workshop: September
by Jeffrey Brace 22 Aug '16

22 Aug '16

For those interested then next workshop will be Sept. 17 & 10. -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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Festivus! Make sure to mark you calendars!
by Jeffrey Brace 22 Aug '16

22 Aug '16

Just a friendly reminder about Festivus on December 3 & 4. It will be the best Festivus ever! -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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Workshop
by Evan Koblentz 22 Aug '16

22 Aug '16

Thanks everyone for another great workshop + Jeff B. for organizing it. I missed the last one so it was good to get back there. Special thanks to all who helped with museum projects (actually I think * everyone * did) and who bought leftover VCF East/West shirts... we'll keep hawking those until they are gone. :) Pleasant surprise -- the unanticipated appearances of Connor and Herb.

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Diner - 9am tomorrow
by Evan Koblentz 22 Aug '16

22 Aug '16

For anyone attending the workshop tomorrow, we'll be at the Princess Maria diner at 9am and probably back at the museum around 10:30ish.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Wall exhibit for our hallway
by Brian L. Stuart 21 Aug '16

21 Aug '16

On Thu, 8/18/16, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: > I'd like to put some kind of large, nice-looking, interactive exhibit on > the wall in the hallway by our museum. Perhaps something that shows how > data is created, processed, and outputted in an electronic digital > computer, regardless of whether it's a modern system or an old one. > Something where kids can press a button, watch the circuit make a > decision, and follow along as the lights change leading to some result. > > Looking for serious/constructive feedback from people who are willing to > actually do work. That should narrow the replies. :) Looks like you narrowed the replies beyond your wildest expectations, Evan. :) Although it's a little different than what you described, I've been thinking about something along these lines for the hallway at the university based on the ENIAC simulator. I'm still contemplating the details, but the hardware would amount to a big screen TV, a Raspberry Pi, and some buttons. It may not be visually stimulating enough, but maybe it'll solicit some other ideas. BLS

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Conductive Liquid Silver for workshop tomorrow
by Jeffrey Brace 20 Aug '16

20 Aug '16

Does anyone have any conductive liquid silver that they can bring to the workshop? Evan wants to repair the Commodore PET Chiclet keyboard and the aluminum on contacts that I put there stopped working. -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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Workshop tomorrow
by Jeffrey Brace 20 Aug '16

20 Aug '16

I bought soap dispensers for the bathroom in 9010. There are paper towels in the bathroom. I also bought some plates and cups. We should have paper towels in the warehouse. I will clean the bathroom Wednesday. I will be there at 10 AM and start setting up tables. What is everyone's E.T.A.? -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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Calcomp 565 plotter - works, but looking for pen mechanism (or any parts)
by Jack Rubin 19 Aug '16

19 Aug '16

I returned from the recent (fantastic - thank you Erik, Evan and team!) VCF-West with one more item off my ever-shorter "must have" list - I am the new owner of a very nice Calcomp 565 drum plotter. Photos are here: http://tinyurl.com/calcomp565 The only problem, unfortunately a major one, is that it is completely lacking the pen mechanism. This is actually a multi-part assembly that threads into the carriage on the front rails of the plotter and lifts the pen up and down in response to z-axis commands from the controller. It is a solenoid that uses the pen as the core and was thus supplied in many configurations depending on the kind of pen used. The first couple photos show what I'm looking for but I'd be happy with any bits of any configuration if you might have an idea where to find such items. Any help will be greatly appreciated! BTW, I'm well aware of the work that David Gesswein, Herb Johnson, Jeff Jonas and Tom Mikulic have done. I'm just hoping that there are some bits and pieces still out in the wild. Jeff, if you have any rolls of chart paper, I'm interested. Thanks, Jack

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Wall exhibit for our hallway
by Evan Koblentz 19 Aug '16

19 Aug '16

I'd like to put some kind of large, nice-looking, interactive exhibit on the wall in the hallway by our museum. Perhaps something that shows how data is created, processed, and outputted in an electronic digital computer, regardless of whether it's a modern system or an old one. Something where kids can press a button, watch the circuit make a decision, and follow along as the lights change leading to some result. Looking for serious/constructive feedback from people who are willing to actually do work. That should narrow the replies. :)

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New Kildall memoirs released
by Douglas Crawford 18 Aug '16

18 Aug '16

http://www.computerhistory.org/atchm/in-his-own-words-gary-kildall/

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Rare, one of a kind Apple history up for auction!
by Ian Primus 18 Aug '16

18 Aug '16

OK guys - better hurry for this one. Only five days left to bid on a completely unique Apple computer. We should see if we can raise the money - this is something that the museum really ought to have. Someone in NYC could pick it up so it wouldn't be damaged in shipping. https://new.liveauctioneers.com/item/47131179 -Ian

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OT: Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard .iso needed
by Evan Koblentz 17 Aug '16

17 Aug '16

Off-topic -- I acquired an iMac G5 (PowerPC) today. The previous owner put Linux on it. I want to go back to OS X 10.5 Leopard (it won't run anything newer). Unable to find any working online links to download the .iso file. Can anyone help?

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OT: CTC 3D Printer for sale
by Bill Loguidice 17 Aug '16

17 Aug '16

Sorry for the off-topic, but considering who's in this group I thought it would be appropriate to offer it for sale here first as a courtesy before going elsewhere. I very recently got a CTC 3D Printer, which is essentially a Chinese Makerbot Replicator Dual knock-off. I'm actually going to end up with another printer very shortly and don't have a need for two. It's only received a few hours of use and is essentially new. I haven't even opened the silver ABS filament that it came with yet (I've only printed my own PLA filament to date). If anyone is interested, please contact direct to my email with an offer. Thank you. (it's this one if you're not familiar with it: http://ctcprinter.com/product_detail.php?ProId=32 ) -Bill (I live in Burlington, NJ and work in West Berlin, NJ, and would be happy to meet someone somewhere as well) ======================================================== Bill Loguidice, Managing Director; Armchair Arcade, Inc. <http://www.armchairarcade.com> ======================================================== Authored Books <http://www.amazon.com/Bill-Loguidice/e/B001U7W3YS/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_1> and Film <http://www.armchairarcade.com/film>; About me and other ways to get in touch <http://about.me/billloguidice> ========================================================

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Info for Workshop Aug 20 & 21
by Jeffrey Brace 16 Aug '16

16 Aug '16

Everyone who has already told me that they are coming will have a table. If you haven't told me, then there is no guarantee and you will have to carry one over from the hotel building or 9032-A. Temperature is great in that room and HVAC is new so we can stay comfortable in there. LOCATION: InfoAge Building 9010A - (2201 Marconi Road, Wall Township, NJ) TIME: Start about 10 A.M. on Saturday and ends whenever we go to sleep. End about 5 P.M. on Sunday. (Starts around 10 A.M. Sunday morning) COST: $10 for all members attending the workshop, which VCF donates to InfoAge as thanks for providing the space for us. EQUIPMENT: VCF will provide a table and you can use any available electrical outlet. Bring your own tools, power strips, power cords and supplies etc. DRINKS: You should bring your own. I would recommend bringing a cooler of some type. FOOD: You provide your own. We may order pizza or go out to a dinner. Usually we make a decision when everyone gets hungry. GATE: Please close the front gate behind you. We want museum visitors to go to the front lobby and not wander through the middle of the campus. PARKING: Park across from 9010A on the grass area. QUESTIONS? Please ask me (Jeff Brace) or Evan. My cell is 732-759-1783 and Evan’s is 646-546-9999 in case you need to contact us. See everyone there! And have fun! -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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TI-99/4a to good home in Red Bank NJ
by Evan Koblentz 16 Aug '16

16 Aug '16

TI-99/4a needs a good home. That's all I know. Reply to the owner (Benedict) at benforest(a)me.com. Says his wife wants him to recycle it.

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Workshop 8/20 & 8/21 location change
by Jeffrey Brace 16 Aug '16

16 Aug '16

So it looks like about 10 or so will be coming to the workshop on Aug. 20 & 21. So I'm moving the location to the classroom again in 9010-A. -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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Museum Report - 14-Aug-2016
by Todd George 16 Aug '16

16 Aug '16

Pretty decent traffic at the museum today, we had about 16 visitors. Surprising for a 95+ degree day. I started off the afternoon by noticing that the Macintosh was still down. I cracked it open and fixed what ailed it (these have a common issue with yoke connector solder failure, that's exactly what it was). I also ran thorough all the caps with an ESR meter just to be sure. Up and running, and just in time... Keep reading. :-D Three of the groups of visitors had high interest. One was a couple that were probably 18 or 20 years old. We also had a group that was two older couples, the gentlemen both had mainframe experience, one of them showed a lot of interest in the StorageTek as he had experience implementing them. The last group of-note was a family with two younger children, one boy and one girl. The boy ran into the space so excited yelling "here it is, here it is"... He walked straight toward the Macintosh and yelled back to his father "The Macintosh M0001, here it is!!!". Yes, this 8 year old (?) kid knew EVERYTHING about this Macintosh. Glad I had fixed it! I had just finished buttoning it up about 10 minutes prior to this. His father mentioned that he's obsessed with YouTube videos of vintage computers and has been begging them for a while to either buy him an old Macintosh or find one he could try. His mother said she "was sure there had to be a computer museum of some sort", and found us. Collectively (they stopped by a few times), they must have spent about 2 1/2 or 3 hours in our space. The father was very knowledgeable about computers, and was being very supportive of his budding vintage computer aficionado. The boy's sister was less supportive, rolling her eyes about the whole situation and explaining to me how "he won't stop talking about this thing". The rest of the visitors were of low to moderate interest and I think were just wandering the facility to check out the other groups and just happened to stop by our space. Also, Valente's makes a great Pork BBQ sandwich for those who haven't tried it!! Thanks! -Todd

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] TI-99/4a to good home in Red Bank NJ
by Dave McGuire 15 Aug '16

15 Aug '16

C'mon man, it hurts to type. I said "aren't rare". -Dave On 08/15/2016 07:43 PM, Christopher Blackmon via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > 4a rare? I thought those were pretty common... it's the 4's that > were kinda rare (I thought). > Christopher. > >On 08/15/2016 05:04 PM, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic wrote: >> TI-99/4a needs a good home. That's all I know. Reply to the owner >> (Benedict) at benforest(a)me.com. Says his wife wants him to recycle >> it. >> >> Recycle the wife! >> >> Someone please grab that machine...TI-99/4a machines aren't rare, >> but recycling them is how they get that way. >> >> -Dave >> >> -- >> Dave McGuire, AK4HZ >> New Kensington, PA -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] TI-99/4a to good home in Red Bank NJ
by Evan Koblentz 15 Aug '16

15 Aug '16

>> 4a rare? I thought those were pretty common... it's the 4's that were kinda rare (I thought). Christopher. Correct, which is why I declined it for the museum. We have plenty of /4a systems and it is easy to get more. But I told the owner NOT to recycle it so someone here could adopt it... which happened 10 minutes after I posted the message. :) On Aug 15, 2016, Christopher Blackmon via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: >From: Christopher Blackmon <ckblackm(a)yahoo.com> >To: vcf-midatlantic ><vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> >Sent: Mon Aug 15 19:43:28 EDT 2016 >Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] TI-99/4a to good home in Red Bank NJ > >4a rare? I thought those were pretty common... it's the 4's that were >kinda rare (I thought). >Christopher. > >From: Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic ><vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> >To: vcf-midatlantic ><vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> >Cc: Dave McGuire <mcguire(a)neurotica.com> > Sent: Monday, August 15, 2016 7:36 PM > Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] TI-99/4a to good home in Red Bank NJ > >On 08/15/2016 05:04 PM, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic wrote: >> TI-99/4a needs a good home. That's all I know. Reply to the owner >> (Benedict) at benforest(a)me.com. Says his wife wants him to recycle >it. > > Recycle the wife! > > Someone please grab that machine...TI-99/4a machines aren't rare, but >recycling them is how they get that way. > > -Dave

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Museum report
by Evan Koblentz 15 Aug '16

15 Aug '16

Good day. There were a bunch of visitors. Many families and a guy who worked for DEC in the 1970s. Also our old friend Jeff Frady visited from Texas. Who brought in the picture of a terminal-using monkey covered in paper tape? I like it! :) Someone put the framed ENIAC poster on top of the Cray: don't do that. It was in the workshop for a reason (frame is too ugly to be on display). Jeff B. brought over the leftover shirts that we shipped in from VCF West. They'll be available next weekend.

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IBM 3174 (older version)
by william degnan 15 Aug '16

15 Aug '16

For $88, it's prob close to a handful of people here who could pick up, someone I am sure could make use of this for their IBM 80's 90's mainframe stuff...I know Dave McGuire has an IBM S/370 system that use two of these as part of it at the museum in Pittsb. The're used to connect printers and terminals. http://www.ebay.com/itm/IBM-3174-11R-CONTROLLER-DATA-PROCESSOR-/14207313401… -- Bill Degnan

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Real time video software for SGI computers
by Matt Patoray 15 Aug '16

15 Aug '16

Hello all, I know that SGI machines are well know for high end 3D graphics that are not real time (Jurassic Park, Forrest Gump and the like. But was there ever any real time 2D/3D graphics programs for title generation to replace a stand alone Chyron unit for making opening/closing titles and lower 1/3 graphics? If so what system would be the best to use, I was thinking an O2 since it is small and has a low power consumption along with standard composite video output. Thanks, -- Matt Patoray Owner, MSP Productions KD8AMG

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VCF West (if anyone was wondering)
by Evan Koblentz 14 Aug '16

14 Aug '16

More than 1,000 people attended VCF West and that's NOT including all the exhibitors, staff, etc.

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OT: In need of "retired" Sprint cellphones
by Joseph Oprysko 14 Aug '16

14 Aug '16

I'm doing some work with a not for profit organization that is providing some local low income families with free cellphones and free service. Unlike the federal "lifeline" service which does not provide a smartphone option, without charging that is. The organization has an agreement with a Sprint MVNO which provides 100 Minutes/100 SMS/100 MMS/100 MB of data at absolutely no cost to the consumer. Also, lifeline limits the service to one phone per household. We're trying to provide a way to keep families with kids connected. Right now we've had to limit the number of phones per family to 2, mainly because of a lack of phones. I believe they need to be Sprint branded phones. I do not know if the other Sprint MVNO's like Boost or Virgin Mobile will be able to port correctly, as I believe the settings that need to be changed are locked out. The one Virgin Mobile phone I did try to activate, the MSID activated, but I was unable to complete the configuration, even manually. But it could just have been that it was a very old version of Android on it. 2.4 If I recall correctly, so some slightly newer ones *may* work and allow for the OTA provisioning. While retired smartphones are preferred, I've also configured several flip phones. Better for use with older people who are confused by the idea of smartphones. If you have anything lying around that you'd like to donate to the cause, email me off the list. I'm looking for functional devices, not the phone you left on top of the car and took the asphalt dive, or the ones dropped into the tub/pool. If you can include the IMEI/MEID/ESN numbers, I can verify that they can be activated. Also if you could let me know the make and model of them. If they are the older flip phones that need non-standard chargers, those accessories would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone! Joseph Oprysko. -- 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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Tomorrow @ museum
by Evan Koblentz 13 Aug '16

13 Aug '16

Everyone -- I'll be at the museum tomorrow (Saturday... technically later today) for the first time since my surgery in mid-June. Visitors welcome! Todd will be there Sunday.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Workshop Aug 20/21 who's going?
by Todd George 12 Aug '16

12 Aug '16

Date: Thu, 11 Aug 2016 01:06:09 -0400 From: Jeffrey Brace <ark72axow(a)gmail.com> Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Workshop Aug 20/21 who's going? 1) Jeff Brace - Capsela Robot for World Maker Faire 2) Evan Koblentz - ? 3) Bill Dromgoole--Inventory Univac spare parts. 4) Ian Primus - Helping everyone 5) Todd George - Who knows, I'll bring stuff and help others (Likely Sunday Only :sad panda: ) Updated the Google Doc thing as well. You know, because reasons.

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