- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

Opinions needed...
by Bill Sudbrink 12 Mar '16

12 Mar '16

I've never sold anything on ebay in my life. I'd rather not start now but my little "I'M RICH" comment was not a joke. I have the same AdLib Gold 1000 card in the original packaging just like the ebay auction. Actually, not "just like". Mine is the pre-Windows packaging, only differing by the absence of the "Microsoft Windows" square in the corner of the package and fewer diskettes in the box. I've got the user's guide, warrantee registration card, everything. So, what to do? Should I put mine up on ebay now and hope to get some benefit from the attention on the current auction? Should I wait for this one to end and hope that the "runner up bidders" will still be interested? Is my example, not being "Microsoft Windowed", worth more or less than the one on ebay? Thanks, Bill S.

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what no minis this year?
by Herb Johnson 11 Mar '16

11 Mar '16

> Noticed there were no mini computers listed in the vcf Exhibits this year? Last year there were many minicomputers, mostly DEC; previous years had various brands of minis. It would be disappointing to me if no working minicomputers were represented this April. If their owners expected other owners to step up, it apparently hasn't happened yet. For related reasons, I deliberately chose to bring S-100 computers, because apparently they weren't represented LAST year. And for my own interests. So far the other S-100 exhibit is early Cromenco products. I'm working hard to have a Ithaca DPS-1 running; hopefully I'll have two. Running nothing fancy, I'm exhibiting the technology (8" floppy + S-100 + CP/M) and not specific applications or eye/ear attractive products (except I hope a front panel). What do I mean? What does this have to do with minicomputers? S-100 development somewhat parallels minicomputer development; and is similar to a longer period of mainframe development. There were of course dominant brands (IBM and DEC, earlier companies) but other brands had good market share and introduced innovations. Ithaca was a significant S-100 brand, the company contributed to the IEEE-696 standard. There were well over 100 S-100 brands of products, I'll call that out. The sheer size of those minicomputer systems was mentioned. Yes, it's amazing how SMALL minicomputers were, to support computing power comparable to desk and room-sized computers of years and decades prior. Replacing old slow human and mechanical calculators and accounting systems, relay-racks of mechanical control systems in factories, and other applications in business, science and industry. They provided "computing to the people" with wired or dial-up terminals and BASIC; the beginnings of the "personal" computing revolution. And in time, minicomputers and later microcomputers overwhelmed much of the "mainframe" market of use, some becoming like mainframe systems (higher-end DEC product line). And yet, even in 2015, much computing use (beyond networking, no small thing) is about one operating system running one (sometimes a few) processors, with auxiliary processors operating specific devices. Not much change from S-100 and microcomputers, or minicomputers, or mainframes with printer and drive and I/O controllers decades ago. And now? This is largely forgotten history today, in part because computing is like water to fish now, it pervades modern culture and business and science. Few examine critically the history of, say, fresh water - until they lose access to it. Then history matters, or catches up to you. Smart phones have been fee-based and service based - like minicomputer service contracts were. Bill Degnan pointed out, mobile-supporting services are as human-factors limited, as Windows 3.11/WFW was limited by display, bandwidth and processor. Looking backwards can sometimes inform you. Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] ISA Sound Card is going for $1500
by Michael Lee 11 Mar '16

11 Mar '16

On 3/11/2016 12:33 PM, Alexander via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > It starts with Windows 3.1, then they're using DOS 5, and the next thing you know, they're figuring out MFM drives on an IBM PC XT. Who knew a Gateway PC can be a gateway drug down a path of 8-bit, until next thing you know, you're looking at flipping switches on a PDP and referring to everything in octal. Yup, I've noticed this too, and honestly to keep the hobby around and maintain interest in it, there needs to be new blood and the helpful community assisting the n00bs with their MFM drives and sharing the years of experience and knowledge the elders of the hobby know. As much as you can read books on this stuff, some of it just comes down to experience. Sidenote: I still think MFM drives can be like voodoo magic. The perfect balance of the right controller, sector/cylinder/head, bad block table, formatting and sometimes a mallet to get them to behave.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] ISA Sound Card is going for $1500
by Alexander 11 Mar '16

11 Mar '16

One thing I have noticed within the younger vintage computer enthusiast crowd is that 486s and Pentium 1s are the entry level machines that capture folks' attention. Sure, some stop there and find that to be vintage enough for them, but still others delve deeper. It starts with Windows 3.1, then they're using DOS 5, and the next thing you know, they're figuring out MFM drives on an IBM PC XT. However, the early beige box is more than just a gateway (no pun intended) to the larger world of old computers that we discuss on a daily basis. It is a stepping stone that is interesting historically. But it's also highly practical in the sense that many machines of that era are repurposed as tweener machines, bridging the gap to still older machines. I'm too young to remember Commodore existing as more than just a brand name to be exchanged by other companies -- and yet my fascination with them came from somewhere. I could go on about all the subtle influences that brought me to the VCF (it's a very long story, I'll tell it to you some time) but what's important is that I got there by way of systems commonly dismissed within our circle for being too new. And I know I'm not the only one. I think it's an untapped vector (again, no pun intended) for us to help a new crowd to discover the larger body of history. -Alexander 'Z' Pierson Sent from my pocket telephone.

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ISA Sound Card is going for $1500
by Herb Johnson 11 Mar '16

11 Mar '16

> The ones who grew up on PCs and not Ataris, Commodores and Early Apples. > They are here now. They are going to want to be represented.... For those who read-by-thread, I have comments in the thread "what no minis this year?" - Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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ISA Sound Card is going for $1500
by Jeff 11 Mar '16

11 Mar '16

When I first joined into the "MARCH" group...I brought up the topic of the "vintage" term being a moving target as you know...time marches on ;-) A year or two ago when I brought it up it was not embraced well that beige boxen and 286s/386s would ever be considered "retro" to the group, but I'm part of that generation as many others my age are. Nostalgia for me is the little LED readout and the "Turbo" button on your beige box, or the demo scene that was carried forward from the Amiga days. To be honest, that era is just as important to computing history as any other, since it was the decade where an amazing amount of technology got developed VERY quickly - things like computer graphics and audio (demo scene, Creative Labs), video games (Doom, Wolfenstein, Quake and many others), Virtual Reality, CDROMs, BBSes (died off), AOL, Prodigy, Compuserve, and lastly the Internet all either came and went or came and stayed. Using software like Trumpet Winsock to dial your Win 3.1/95 computer into the internet was a thing! Trying to learn to network Doom ended up launching my IT career LOL. I just hope this group does embrace and move forward with the times, because the demographic is there and suddenly realizing the 90s were 20 years ago. I threw a lot of my crap away 10 years ago and kicking myself now. Jeff (aka Bags)

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT: LED lights
by Dan Roganti 11 Mar '16

11 Mar '16

From what I've seen only the 'dimmable' LED bulbs have RF pollution, not plain LED bulbs Dimmers in general create this problem too, even with incandescents. So even if you buy plain LED bulbs and your room is wired with a dimmer, You still have a problem - even thought the LED bulbs will not dim. Dan

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Hey look!
by Evan Koblentz 11 Mar '16

11 Mar '16

Oracle public relations came through. http://vcfed.org/evan/9710key.jpg I'll put this on my key ring so we can open the library Saturday.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT: LED lights
by tom.hornberger＠verizon.net 11 Mar '16

11 Mar '16

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT: LED lights
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 10 Mar '16

10 Mar '16

William Dudley via vcf-midatlantic writes: >My experience with LED lamps for motorcycle use is that the driver >generates RF interference that wipes out fringe FM reception on the >motorcycle. Down here in Ocean County, pretty much everything but WOBM >is fringe :-( There's nothing worthwhile on FM anymore. Go Satellite or Internet Radio!!!

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT: LED lights
by Dave McGuire 10 Mar '16

10 Mar '16

On 03/10/2016 01:09 PM, Bill Sudbrink via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > Dave McGuire wrote: >> No, not at all. Weak signals from other continents are often >> completely obliterated by interference from LED, CFL, and standard >> fluorescent lighting. The inverse squares law applies to the desired >> transmissions too, and they're coming from a lot farther away that >> across the street. > > Two words: > > Faraday cage > > Then we could get Tempest certified too ;-) YES!! -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT: LED lights
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 10 Mar '16

10 Mar '16

Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic writes: >>>>>> You want the ceiling lights to accentuate the features >>> >>> >Speaking of which: InfoAge took the cheapest/fastest route to getting a >>>> C= ertificate of Occupancy for the building, which meant ugly >>> >fluorescent li= ghts on the ceiling. :( Post-VCF season, when we >>> >(hopefully) will have m= ore money and (definitely) will have time to >>>> spend, we can look into prop= er lighting. >> >> I recently replaced >my garage/workshop fluorescent lights with LED lighting. >> They have a >similar form -- long tubes -- but they give off a much brighter >> and >whiter light. Food for thought. > > I replaced my workshop lights this >past weekend with the LED bulbs also. They weren't cheap and for the >price I don't think it was worth it. They weren't that much brighter or >whiter compared to a good bulb after a few minutes of warmup. They were >In stant on though. > > Which brand lights did you use? I know you get >what you pay for. > > I paid about $25 a bulb with tax at Home Depot. >So 50 bucks a fixture isn't cheap just for bulbs. > > Cheers, > Corey Are you guys living on EBT? $50 isn't bad and they'll last longer than the fluorescents they replace. Besides, if this is for VCFed, wouldn't they be tax deductions for operating expenses?

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] what no minis this year?
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 10 Mar '16

10 Mar '16

Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic writes: >>> I might have signed up but I can only do one day of the weekend. > >Is it Saturday? One person asked for a Sunday exhibit. I told him that's >= possible if someone else requests a Saturday exhibit. I would not lug my kit about for a single day display.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] The traces
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 10 Mar '16

10 Mar '16

Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic writes: >>> You want the ceiling lights to accentuate the features > >Speaking of which: InfoAge took the cheapest/fastest route to getting a >C= ertificate of Occupancy for the building, which meant ugly >fluorescent li= ghts on the ceiling. :( Post-VCF season, when we >(hopefully) will have m= ore money and (definitely) will have time to >spend, we can look into prop= er lighting. I recently replaced my garage/workshop fluorescent lights with LED lighting. They have a similar form -- long tubes -- but they give off a much brighter and whiter light. Food for thought.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] what no minis this year?
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 10 Mar '16

10 Mar '16

Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic writes: >>> Noticed there were no mini computers listed in the vcf Exhibits this >>> year? >> Ian, Dave? Anyone? > > I think we all got tired of >schlepping them around. :-) > >I noticed that too. > >Would be sad indeed if the show is entirely microcomputers. :( > >Ian/Dave, please come through!!!! I might have signed up but I can only do one day of the weekend.

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what no minis this year?
by william degnan 10 Mar '16

10 Mar '16

Noticed there were no mini computers listed in the vcf Exhibits this year? Ian, Dave? Anyone? -- @ BillDeg: Web: vintagecomputer.net Twitter: @billdeg <https://twitter.com/billdeg> Youtube: @billdeg <https://www.youtube.com/user/billdeg> Unauthorized Bio <http://www.vintagecomputer.net/readme.cfm>

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] The traces
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 10 Mar '16

10 Mar '16

william degnan via vcf-midatlantic writes: >On Wed, Mar 9, 2016 at 3:08 PM, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic < >vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: > >> Vaxman -- thank you for the idea; we might revisit it when there's >more > time post-VCF. > > For now I've gone to A.C. Moore and purchased >gold tape. It's actually a > pretty good watch for bare wire color and >has shiny (ooooh shiny) lines > down the middle. > > >I actually once painted an entire room gold, and then covered with blue >painters tape to make traces. I painted over the traces with green. >When the whole thing dried, I pulled off the tape voila a giant >room-sized circuit board. > >I ended painting over it though, long story. I don't know if I have any >photos. Fun project. > >The trick is to be sure the painter's tape is highest quality and stuck >so the paint does not bleed over the edges. That's why I mentioned 3M #2080 (blue tabe with orange labeled core). It's also got an adhesive that won't mar the paint it covers nor does it leave a residue that must be removed. *IF* a paint has excessive solvent nature, I go with automotive masking tapes but interior latex wall paint is not that type of paint.

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More Heath manuals
by Richard Cini 10 Mar '16

10 Mar '16

All — I was able to obtain a Heathkit H11-2 parallel module and manual, and the H11 system manual. Each contains the diagram booklets, which is pretty key. Both are pretty rare from what I can tell. I’ll start scanning them and will post them to my site this weekend. Rich -- Rich Cini Collector of Classic Computers Build Master and lead engineer, Altair32 Emulator http://www.classiccmp.org/cini http://www.classiccmp.org/altair32

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Modern history exhibit
by Evan Koblentz 09 Mar '16

09 Mar '16

Here's my list of everyday products that are now in your smartphone. Is the list missing anything significant? ------------------------ Camera Calendar Alarm clock Calculator Address book Dictionary Compass Notepad Radio Ipod Maps/gps Newspapers Magazines Books Flashlight Pedometer Gameboy Credit cards Photo album Telephone TV remote control Clock Stopwatch/timer TV listings TV itself Voice recorder

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The traces
by Evan Koblentz 09 Mar '16

09 Mar '16

Vaxman -- thank you for the idea; we might revisit it when there's more time post-VCF. For now I've gone to A.C. Moore and purchased gold tape. It's actually a pretty good watch for bare wire color and has shiny (ooooh shiny) lines down the middle.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Saturday
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 09 Mar '16

09 Mar '16

Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic writes: >>>>>>> Get more creative and paint copper circuit board traces too! >> >>> >> Already planning something like that. >> >> I bought a roll of >white >> duct tape. We could just put painters tape over >> = where the >traces >> should be and then remove the tape to expose the >> white w= >all >> underneath, but we don't yet know where the traces need to >> >be... >> I'll= see about figuring that our during the week. >> >> Just >like the >> terminal in our logo, the wall colors will be meant to * >> >ev= oke * a >> PCB, not be an exact image of one. > > Figure out where >the traces need >> to be, then spray a copper paint in on > the wall in >the approximate >> location (no sense wasting paint... I would > suggest >Krylon metallic >> copper) and then, using *good* painter tape -- > 3M >Painter tape for >> delicate surfaces #2080 -- lay out traces over the > >copper. Press down >> well for good adhesion. Paint over the tape with >> the green paint. >> Pull the tape BEFORE the green is completely dry >to > avoid egde >> chipping. > > #2080 is what I use on all of my rocket >paint jobs. It's >> never failed > me. Do some test runs before you >tackle the big job. ;) >> Corner round > cutter and a hole punch can >make nice and even solder >> pads too. ;) The > 3M tape comes in >various widths too. >> >> Problem is, we won't have time for all that >work. >> >> To keep it simple and still evoke the PCB feeling, maybe I >should return >> the lighter/brighter green tape and get a gold color. > >> Haste makes waste. We've a nice, new, beautiful display area. It'd >be a > shame to half-ass it with quick-n-dirty paint job. What does it >matter if > it takes 2 hours or two months to complete. > >There are only five weeks until VCF East. Realistically, we can only be >there one day per week to work on this stuff. > > >> In the long run, a well done "mural" will add to the whole display's >appeal > >I agree. How much time do you have to help us? How large an area do you wish to cover???

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NSFW
by Evan Koblentz 09 Mar '16

09 Mar '16

Adult Oregon Trail https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtmwI5K2i3E&feature=youtu.be

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Saturday
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 09 Mar '16

09 Mar '16

Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic writes: >>>> In the long run, a well done "mural" will add to the whole display's >>> appeal >> >> I agree. How much time do you have to help us? > > How >large an area do you wish to cover??? > >The wall is approx. 15 ft. wide x 10 ft. tall. I was looking up "circuit board" murals but one that size would cost about $400. >If the specific color you use is too much $$ then I suppose any generic >"gold" would do the trick. Again, the point is to evoke, not necessary >to exactly replicate. Copper would CERTAINLY look better than gold, IMO. >I have a list of about 30 items that are all now in your phone. So >that's how many traces we would need to make from the edges toward the >center. In my phone?

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Saturday
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 09 Mar '16

09 Mar '16

Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic writes: >>>>> Get more creative and paint copper circuit board traces too! >> >> >Already planning something like that. >> >> I bought a roll of white >duct tape. We could just put painters tape over >> = where the traces >should be and then remove the tape to expose the >> white w= all >underneath, but we don't yet know where the traces need to >> be... >I'll= see about figuring that our during the week. >> >> Just like the >terminal in our logo, the wall colors will be meant to * >> ev= oke * a >PCB, not be an exact image of one. > > Figure out where the traces need >to be, then spray a copper paint in on > the wall in the approximate >location (no sense wasting paint... I would > suggest Krylon metallic >copper) and then, using *good* painter tape -- > 3M Painter tape for >delicate surfaces #2080 -- lay out traces over the > copper. Press down >well for good adhesion. Paint over the tape with > the green paint. >Pull the tape BEFORE the green is completely dry to > avoid egde >chipping. > > #2080 is what I use on all of my rocket paint jobs. It's >never failed > me. Do some test runs before you tackle the big job. ;) >Corner round > cutter and a hole punch can make nice and even solder >pads too. ;) The > 3M tape comes in various widths too. > >Problem is, we won't have time for all that work. > >To keep it simple and still evoke the PCB feeling, maybe I should return >the lighter/brighter green tape and get a gold color. Haste makes waste. We've a nice, new, beautiful display area. It'd be a shame to half-ass it with quick-n-dirty paint job. What does it matter if it takes 2 hours or two months to complete. In the long run, a well done "mural" will add to the whole display's appeal, IMNSHO that is.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Saturday
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 09 Mar '16

09 Mar '16

Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic writes: >>> Get more creative and paint copper circuit board traces too! > >Already planning something like that. > >I bought a roll of white duct tape. We could just put painters tape over >= where the traces should be and then remove the tape to expose the >white w= all underneath, but we don't yet know where the traces need to >be... I'll= see about figuring that our during the week. > >Just like the terminal in our logo, the wall colors will be meant to * >ev= oke * a PCB, not be an exact image of one. Figure out where the traces need to be, then spray a copper paint in on the wall in the approximate location (no sense wasting paint... I would suggest Krylon metallic copper) and then, using *good* painter tape -- 3M Painter tape for delicate surfaces #2080 -- lay out traces over the copper. Press down well for good adhesion. Paint over the tape with the green paint. Pull the tape BEFORE the green is completely dry to avoid egde chipping. #2080 is what I use on all of my rocket paint jobs. It's never failed me. Do some test runs before you tackle the big job. ;) Corner round cutter and a hole punch can make nice and even solder pads too. ;) The 3M tape comes in various widths too.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Saturday
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 09 Mar '16

09 Mar '16

Brian Schenkenberger via vcf-midatlantic writes: >Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic writes: > >>>> Get more creative and paint copper circuit board traces too! > >>Already planning something like that. > >I bought a roll of white duct >tape. We could just put painters tape over >= where the traces should be >and then remove the tape to expose the >white w= all underneath, but we >don't yet know where the traces need to >be... I'll= see about figuring >that our during the week. > >Just like the terminal in our logo, the >wall colors will be meant to * >ev= oke * a PCB, not be an exact image >of one. > >Figure out where the traces need to be, then spray a copper paint in on >the wall in the approximate location (no sense wasting paint... I would >suggest Krylon metallic copper) and then, using *good* painter tape -- >3M Painter tape for delicate surfaces #2080 -- lay out traces over the >copper. Press down well for good adhesion. Paint over the tape with >the green paint. Pull the tape BEFORE the green is completely dry to >avoid egde chipping. > >#2080 is what I use on all of my rocket paint jobs. It's never failed >me. Do some test runs before you tackle the big job. ;) Corner round >cutter and a hole punch can make nice and even solder pads too. ;) The >3M tape comes in various widths too. I forgot to mention/suggest that the Krylon metallic that's exposed be lightly sanded to allow the green paint to better adhere.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Saturday
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 09 Mar '16

09 Mar '16

Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic writes: >Tony, Chris F., and I will be working at the new museum Saturday from >about 10am until whenever. We're going to paint one of the short walls >"circuit board green" for the modern history exhibit, set up more >microcomputers, and get going on a few other projects. > >I wish we could do this tomorrow! I'm having tremendous fun watching the >new space come alive. Alas, three more days of boring real work until >the weekend. :( Get more creative and paint copper circuit board traces too!

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Saturday
by Evan Koblentz 09 Mar '16

09 Mar '16

Tony, Chris F., and I will be working at the new museum Saturday from about 10am until whenever. We're going to paint one of the short walls "circuit board green" for the modern history exhibit, set up more microcomputers, and get going on a few other projects. I wish we could do this tomorrow! I'm having tremendous fun watching the new space come alive. Alas, three more days of boring real work until the weekend. :(

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Should the new museum have a name?
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 08 Mar '16

08 Mar '16

Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic writes: >> Bill... >> Mid-Atlantic Center of Computing History >>=20 >=20 > I >like the brevity of Bill's entry compared to mine. > It seems "Center" >works better for us than "Museum". > >I agree. MACCH - Mid-Atlantic Center of Computing History - is the one I >lik= e the best so far. (Next to F.A.R.T of course ;-) Tony= Change Center to Repository and you'll have a familiar acronym. ;)

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Should the new museum have a name?
by Jeff 08 Mar '16

08 Mar '16

My idea...keep the name simple, and use a hexidecimal-themed logo for it that you can use as a theme all sorts of different ways. Put the letters into various prompts for older systems, or photoshop them into old graphics, etc. Name: Museum of Computing History, or M0Ch (and you can likely get that as a domain too) Examples of logos, ideas, etc: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/b3nazipvw926dba/AADP1SRhomhvg7azTANER66Ja?dl=0 Jeff

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a good summary article about early computer memory
by William Dudley 08 Mar '16

08 Mar '16

http://hackaday.com/2016/03/08/thanks-for-the-memories-touring-the-awesome-… Bill Dudley This email is free of malware because I run Linux.

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More about the STK library
by Evan Koblentz 08 Mar '16

08 Mar '16

Last night I posted about how the STK 9710 has max capacity of more than 40TB compressed, and I lamented that it may not be right for our "history of the present" exhibit after all because nobody has 40TB in their pocket. Corey pointed out that cloud storage should count in the equation. Google Drive accounts give you up to 10TB for $99. Dropbox will sell you an "unlimited" account for $15/month. So technically, yes, you can access 40TB in your pocket-sized device... or at least * from * your pocket-sized device.

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Short file cabinet needed
by Evan Koblentz 07 Mar '16

07 Mar '16

Everyone, We need a file cabinet for the new computer museum. There are some requirements: - Not taller than 24" - Must be gray color - Awesome if it has working lock/key - We need it in the next couple of weeks, can't wait until VCF East Does anybody have one to donate?

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] UNIX PC Ebay
by Brian L. Stuart 07 Mar '16

07 Mar '16

On Mon, 3/7/16, william degnan via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: > I think it's time, if you're a collector of such things to grab up a UNIX > PC before the clean working and complete units fetch prices routinely above > $750, (but not yet). They're still "new vintage" but I predict these are > going to become highly sought-after "tweener" type machines. This is the > PC a lot of the famous hackers used in the late 80s Those are great little machines. Back in the '90s, I used to host a collection of the old archives and related material for these machines. Peter da Silva now maintains that archive: http://unixpc.taronga.com/ One challenge in keeping those machines running are the disk drives. For a machine like the one on eBay now, you need a HH ST-506/412 interface drive. Working ones are starting to get pretty thin. My 7300/3b1s are the biggest reason I'm interested in the recent MFM drive emulators. BLS

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OT: good domain for sale
by Evan Koblentz 07 Mar '16

07 Mar '16

I own technologyrewind.com which is nearing expiration. Anyone interested in buying it? Would make a good name for someone's collection site.

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museum move report
by Evan Koblentz 07 Mar '16

07 Mar '16

Today I worked with Tony from about 10:45am to 3:30, and then with Steve A. from 4:00 to 8:30. We three got a lot of difficult and satisfying work done: - Moved four pallets of Univac gear into the museum (one CPU, one tape rack, one I/O console (paper tape + Model 25 TTY), and two peripheral racks. (Duane C. and Bill Drom. know the model numbers better than I do.) We put all this where it'll go long-term in the center aisle. Photo (with apologies for the strange camera angle: http://vcfed.org/evan/univac.jpg) We're going to cover the exposed parts of the pallets with black fabric. - Moved the Cray YMP-EK and StorageTek 9710 tape library into the museum. We put them in the middle of the "history of the present" wall. (That's where we will show dozens of pictures of recently obsoleted household products, along with the Cray and the tape library, all under a big sign: "Everything on this wall now fits in your pocket." It is a bit of an exaggeration for the 9710. Says at http://www.iscgroupllc.com/supported-equipment/tape-libraries/stk-sun-oracl… that the library holds up to 1.4TB, and I don't know of any smartphone with such storage capacity. Anyway, nobody (LOL, other than us) will be looking up the library maximum theoretical specifications. It makes the point very nicely that 1990s supercomputing performance and storage capacity now are (more or less) in an iPhone. A nice touch: the library plugs into an ordinary 110V outlet and fires up just fine. I'm hoping we could run some demos and let people see the robot moving around. Photo: http://vcfed.org/evan/cray_storagetek.jpg. Special thanks to Dan Jacob's son DJ for helping move the Cray (turns out the best way is to remove the front cover and then you can slide a pallet jack under it.) - We began putting microcomputers on shelving units. Got through about a quarter of them. Some of them didn't fit quite the way we hoped and so we had to make some tough decisions. For example, the Epson QX-10 isn't good atop the Lisa cart, because it's just a flat beige box and mostly disappears behind the upper slanted shelf's front lip. Another example is the TDL Xitan which did not fit where intended. Some of these systems will go into the Computer of the Month queue... there is no shortage! We also realized that even some videogame consoles can go in that queue, such as Intellivision and others which have computer-like aspects. - We took in some donations. Don brought over some IBM gear including an AS/400 and a desk-side System/36. An outside person brought us a pair of Xerox 820s, a Cosmac, and a motherlode of Xerox 1800 gear. The 1800 is uber-rare -- it was an early laptop made by Sunrise Systems, canceled before it ever went on sale to the public, and (I think) the never-sold stock was acquired by some middle company. That company released some into the wild. - Related news: More work has been done on the double door. All of the holes in the wall/ceiling, on the hallway side and inside the room, have been patched. The trim pieces were all re-installed.

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UNIX PC Ebay
by william degnan 07 Mar '16

07 Mar '16

I think it's time, if you're a collector of such things to grab up a UNIX PC before the clean working and complete units fetch prices routinely above $750, (but not yet). They're still "new vintage" but I predict these are going to become highly sought-after "tweener" type machines. This is the PC a lot of the famous hackers used in the late 80s Watching what this one does: http://www.ebay.com/itm/AT-T-Unix-PC-Model-7300-/131741621748 -- @ BillDeg: Web: vintagecomputer.net Twitter: @billdeg <https://twitter.com/billdeg> Youtube: @billdeg <https://www.youtube.com/user/billdeg> Unauthorized Bio <http://www.vintagecomputer.net/readme.cfm>

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iUEC Drive on a B128!
by william degnan 06 Mar '16

06 Mar '16

Just got my my iUEC Drive working on my B128! Makes life a heck of a lot easier than using the D9090. b -- @ BillDeg: Web: vintagecomputer.net Twitter: @billdeg <https://twitter.com/billdeg> Youtube: @billdeg <https://www.youtube.com/user/billdeg> Unauthorized Bio <http://www.vintagecomputer.net/readme.cfm>

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Pick 34)-ish
by Herb Johnson 05 Mar '16

05 Mar '16

whitneys posted..... > My two cents' worth. Flying Eagle cents, mind you. > > The History > Micro-Computer Predecessors: The Terminal & The Calculator > Datapoint 2200 aut al. HP-85 eg. > The Kit Scelbi-8H Mark-8 > The Altair/The S-100 aka Attack of the Clones MITS Altair 8800 > IMSAI 8080 What I like about whitneys' list, is that it has themes, a process, and a progression; from which examples are suggested. It's a little whimsical, which is fine. There's too many movie references as suggested. And it allows for some alternative exhibits of computing such as non-USA computers. (I'm not saying other lists did not have these qualities.) I don't agree with some of the history as presented, because to my 60-year-old eye it focuses on post-1980 consumer personal computing and so judges prior history from that view. To me that's a common 21st century problem. For instance, the emphasis on brand dominance as winners (IBM, Apple, ohyeahCompaq). Treating all S-100 as "clones" and only covering the very oldest (MITS, IMSAI, SOL), ignores history. The idea that an Apple I (copy) represents single-board computers is absurd. My point is not to argue; I said "to my old eye...". My point is that the list is coherent and themed, and I commend that. Any exhibit can be revised, other themes presented, on another day. There's no shortage of themes, trends, examples. In due course, each could get their turn. Herb Johnson -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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TI Silent 700
by Dean Notarnicola 05 Mar '16

05 Mar '16

Might as well join in: anyone have a working Silent 700 for sale?

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VCF East / ENIAC
by Evan Koblentz 05 Mar '16

05 Mar '16

During the Friday sessions, Brian Stuart and I are planning a joint talk on ENIAC. Brian will focus on how the computer worked and I'll talk about myths vs. reality of its history. We may also show the same abridged version of Mauchly's 1977 Trenton keynote that I showed at Trenton last year.

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Anyone have a working and cosmetically good condition NeXT station for sale
by Corey Cohen 05 Mar '16

05 Mar '16

Thanks, Corey corey cohen uǝɥoɔ ʎǝɹoɔ

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Diablo 630 tractor
by Mike Loewen 05 Mar '16

05 Mar '16

Does anyone have a spare tractor feed mechanism for a Diablo 630? Even if it's only a loaner; I could use one for my VCF exhibit. Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

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VCF East exhibits update -- more than halfway full
by Evan Koblentz 04 Mar '16

04 Mar '16

Everyone, There are 23 exhibits so far, plus a club chapter table. We have space for 40-ish exhibits. Register soon! Don't get shut out.

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Windows 3.11 Networking
by Herb Johnson 04 Mar '16

04 Mar '16

Bill Degnan, you've done a great job on of presenting your installs of Win 3.11 aka Windows for Workgroups and video drivers on your 486 system, and providing access to your resources. I'm no Microsoft fan, but the history of public Internet access is worth preserving, and is reasonably "vintage" by year 2015-16. One resource your site links to, is a site at Yale University, with (what I presume is a forgotten) set of year 1995 instructions for establishing Internet access. They suggest several possible means including "old" Win 3.1 and WFW, but also "Winsock". I recall using a Winsock product as they describe, in the era probably under Win 85/98, to make a SLIP (serial TCP/IP) connection via dial-up modem, to a Linux commercial system which had Internet access. My first Web site was on that system, probably over my client side was a 16-bit Win98 set of installs. I don't recall the freeware product name, something-slip, seaslip, ??? Bill, Winsock was supported in various ways, by either shareware/freeware products, or commercial products. Do you have any interests in checking out Winsock type networking? Digging up some still-available product? As I've described it, it would be period-appropriate for PC's with no hard-network support but certainly serial line support. At the time of course that would be dial-up; but a direct serial connection to a local hosting system would be (incrementally) faster. I have a 486/Win 3.1 system I use to operate old-school hardware. I don't think I'd install Ethernet cards and WFW on it - it might break it. But installing a Winsock and some serial stuff is no risk. I'll add, you discussed some kind of networking of vintage systems as your VCF-East exhibit, as I recall. Related: five years ago, I worked the issue of TCP/IP support on 8-bit CP/M class systems. The radio amateurs (hams) developed packet radio in the 1980's which used X.25 protocols,and hardware "TNCs" (terminal network controllers) to do most of the networking, and software like KA9Q and KC85. But interest in reviving old 8-bit networking died out, once you could buy "TCP/IP on a chip" products for under $50. And now those products are under $10! But my notes include some SLIP discussion and cover some path to 8-bit computers "on the Internet". Herb Johnson -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net preservation of 1970's computing email: hjohnson AAT retrotechnology DOTT com alternate: herbjohnson ATT retrotechnology DOTT info

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Heathkit paint
by Richard Cini 04 Mar '16

04 Mar '16

All — I’m in the process of restoring a Heathkit H-11 and I think I found a suitable paint match. Available at Home Depot, there is a Rust-Oleum spray paint/primer combo called “Matte Ice Gray” which is a nearly perfect match. I need to give it a quick sanding tomorrow and another coat of paint and then a clear coat and I think I’ll be in good shape. Rich -- Rich Cini Collector of Classic Computers Build Master and lead engineer, Altair32 Emulator http://www.classiccmp.org/cini http://www.classiccmp.org/altair32

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Should the new museum have a name?
by Jeffrey Jonas 04 Mar '16

04 Mar '16

The ferret side of me adores SHINY: Storage, Help, insight (in to history) Near You MODEM (Museum Of Digital Electronic Machines) excludes the analog computers. Don't hurt George's feelings! For parity with the AOC (Association of Old Crows) I'm trying for OLD FART. All I've gotten so far is Fraternal Association for Retro Technology (or technologists) Until then, there's the old IBM manual standard TPILB: "this page intentionally left blank" -- jeffj

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Should the new museum have a name?
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 04 Mar '16

04 Mar '16

Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic writes: > >> On Mar 1, 2016, at 5:42 AM, Tom H via vcf-midatlantic ><vcf-midatlantic@lis= ts.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: >=20 > >Museum of Awesome Really Cool History ;)=20 > >Fancily Arranged Retro Technology= That stinks!

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Should the new museum have a name?
by Evan Koblentz 03 Mar '16

03 Mar '16

I was thinking... should our new museum have a formal name, as in, "The XYZ Place, sponsored by the Vintage Computer Federation"...? Or if anyone asks, do we just call it VCF Headquarters? If we do think it should have some name, then what should that name be? I like how Paul Allen's group calls their place a "living" museum. Of course, that word is taken, so we'd need some other word. Maybe "museum" also isn't the right word. Our home at InfoAge is more of a hub and community center for vintage computing in the region. Perhaps, if we give it a name, we should think of a word that reflects this. It would be awesome if the perfect word also started with F to continue our theme of the Vintage Computer Federation owning the Vintage Computer Festival (East/West), Vintage Computer Forum, and Vintage Computer... Funhouse? Fraternity? No, those don't work. Let's hear some suggestions (real ones please; let's not clog the thread with the smart-assery.) I'm thinking that unless we come up with something GREAT, then we should just stick with Vintage Computer Federation as the name for the physical space.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Should the new museum have a name?
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 03 Mar '16

03 Mar '16

Chris via vcf-midatlantic writes: >On Mar 3, 2016, at 6:48 AM, Dan Roganti via >vcf-midatlantic<vcf-midatlantic@= lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> >wrote: > >=E2=80=8BVCFS Vintage Computer Fortress of Solitude=E2=80=8B > > > >What, so only one person is allowed in at a time? Keeps them out of the moat -- Museum Of Antiquated Technology.

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