- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

Altair cant jump
by Herb Johnson 22 Jun '20

22 Jun '20

NOtes to Jeff G: 0) add "[vcf-midatlantic]" to your subject line. It's email list etiquette. 1) > Thanks Herb, its actually my intention that since I have the real deal, to > get the experience of messing with it as someone may have back in the day. > For the most part, I haven't used almost any test equipment other than a > logic probe and multimeter so far. If someone told me in 1978 they were using a meter and an LED to debug their Altair, I'd tell them what I'm telling you now. Time to break out the oscilloscope. How can you monitor real-time execution of instructions and operation of digital logic *without an oscilloscope*? You said you have a logic analyzer but "it's too heavy". OK by me. Use an oscilloscope, to monitor IC chip enables (so you know the chip is being addressed) logic states of lines and IC pins general operation of address and data lines. In the course of doing so, you'll find all kinds of faults; as witness your later reportage. 2) "if you want to look at the code, it's here..." Use a cross assembler! Spare yourself some pain. http://www.retrotechnology.com/restore/a85.html http://www.retrotechnology.com/restore/uart_dump.txt I disassembled your code so I could read it comfortably. The code looks plausible. As you have said, you can read the UART data sheets and other coding sources. I don't guarantee your code. 3) > This thing has certainly given me an honorary > computer science degree, as every little error and attempt to cut a corner > was thrown back at me. This is, simply, how front panel binary programming and IC logic debugging was done in the 1970's. It's not "computer science". You are making a point this is tough mental work. Yeah. Go figure, when you have to toggle in every byte of code and follow how it works. If this were a C or BASIC program, you'd have to type every line and know how each line works. Except you don't have to know ASCII codes when you type. 4) > Hardware wise, on the serial board... ... you found many fatal problems, which you fixed. Right. This is not a computer from Sears. Anything could have been done to it, in four decades. So one has to inspect and test and repair to the COMPONENT level. As for "jumpers and mods". The UART may or may not have logic-inputs that need to be high or low, so see if those pins have plausible logic levels or states. At this point for you, the UART is king. Do everything you can, to be assured the UART gets what it needs and can produce what it has to. 5) > As of today, I eliminated the ram board being culprit with an DeRamp FDC+ > board doing ram duties. Right. Swap boards and see if the problem follows the board or not. Swap chips to see what that does - but beware that just messing with chips and sockets finds and creates problems. And beware: some memory boards are more tolerant than others of bus issues, or just speed of access. YOu may need to test memory at some point. It's annoying when memory is a problem. 6) Interrupts. Disable them. Keep them disabled. 7) coding errors. Glad you've caught them. 8) > NOW, what did change, is that I've sat here and single stepped the entire > thing, and found it works perfectly in doing so. A character I enter is > being replied back no problem, which tells me serially everything's fine > Yet if I run it, I'm just getting a solid stream of garbage, although > interestingly, repetitive garbage. Good! Good. you are narrowing down the conditions of failure and what causes those conditions to change. Not "computer science", just practical science. Hypothesis, test, review results, evaluate. Repeat tests to verify conditions under test. An oscilloscope, by the way, may tell you what your UART is producing. Sweep slow enough to see a whole character on the sweep. Maybe that will be informative. Vary your programs. That may be informative. init loop check status of write load A with "A" or "Z" or whatever write that char jump loop init loop check status of read read a char display on front panel (know how?) loop *Maybe*, you need to add delays in accessing your UART? Or wait states? Hard to believe an 8080 may be too fast. But this is 1970's logic and chips. 9) > So my next thoughts are that the bus is ringing/noisy, or perhaps there's > bad buffers on either the serial board or the CPU board, as it seems that > reading ports 0/1 is flaky or having a timing issue, or the serial board > itself has other issues. 9a) Good guess. Could be a bus termination problem. Might not. http://www.retrotechnology.com/herbs_stuff/s_term.html Oh - and use that oscilloscope? to look at your bus lines. see if they *are* ringing or look funny. Suggestion. Put a board at the FAR END of whatever backplane you have. Memory or UART, may not be important. But put something there to keep the backplane from acting like a ringing bell. There are of course, S-100 terminator boards. But don't go nuts on that, yet. By the way: bus lines WILL look odd, because sometimes they aren't being "driven" and they may just look like TTL inputs and float around some value between very low and very high (fractions of a volt and four volts or so). You'll learn a lot about tristate logic and TTL voltage levels in and out, when you are done. That's not "computer science" but it is "electrical engineering", 1970's style. It's a 1970's computer, whatdda expect? also: the MITS Altair design is less than bullet-proof. A 1970's company that sold audio-oscillator kits, built their first computer, with microprocessors only a few years old. 9b) Or... could be some "bad buffers" as you say. Chips go bad, sockets go bad, pins get rusty. Did you look hard at the chips on the board? http://www.retrotechnology.com/restore/ith_feb16_repairs.html#rust Texas Instrument (TI) chips of the 70's and 80's, have a terrible problem with "black rust". It would appear to be a TARNISH problem, the pins turn black, sometimes brittle. This is not likely your problem, but it might BECOME your problem later. ---------------------------- Seems to me, you are learning how to repair and diagnose and USE your Altair. Taking notes, considering conditions, checking out problems. Good work, good descriptions. And to anyone else reading this: if you find this tedious, boring, or just too OCD for you. Sorry, enjoy playing with your Raspberry Pi's. regards, Herb Johnson -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net preserve, recover, restore 1970's computing email: hjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT com or try later herbjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT info

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Ebay Auction large Apple collection
by Bill Degnan 22 Jun '20

22 Jun '20

Curious if anyone has more info on this Ebay auction: https://www.ebay.com/itm/AMAZING-Vintage-Apple-Computer-Museum-lot-Mac-Appl… The lot appeared to have been sold already before but I guess the deal fell through and it's up again. Whenever these large collections go up for sale it's always a crap shoot as you get a lot of stuff you don't want for the few things you do. The value of these kinds of collections is based on the four or five good items, the rest is a wash against the extra trouble to cart such a large collection away and store it. I am not personally interested, but I am curious if anyone in this group would pay the current price. Bill

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Free to good home: Compaq 486 laptop
by Sentrytv 22 Jun '20

22 Jun '20

Evan If it has a serial port, I could use it! Sent from: My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > On Jun 21, 2020, at 10:28 PM, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > >

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Free to good home: Compaq 486 laptop
by Evan Koblentz 22 Jun '20

22 Jun '20

I needed a 486 laptop and wound up with two of them. Keeping one (an AT&T), so the other is free to a good home. It's a Compaq LTE Elite 4/50CX. Works fine, probably could use a new CMOS battery. It has Windows 95. It came to me free from another veteran member of this list. My usual disclaimer: please only claim it if you truly want/need it, NOT if you're a hoarder. Yours for the cost of packing/shipping, or (strongly preferred) meet me someplace here in central NJ. Off-list replies only. I no longer read this list very often.

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External 8" harddisks
by John Heritage 21 Jun '20

21 Jun '20

Did any of the early micros ever get external 8" harddrives as an upgrade option? I vaguely remember receiving a large 8" external SCSI drive in the early 1990s for my BBS that was already very old. I don't remember hearing though of any 8" harddisks being sold in magazines or advertised for atari 8bit, c64, apple // back in the day.. Any idea when the last 8" harddisks were manufactured? (Wikipedia lists 1998 for 5.25" drives, but nothing for the 8" form factor). Thanks :) John

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Good {IMSAI} news
by Richard Cini 21 Jun '20

21 Jun '20

First, happy Father’s Day to all the dads on the list. Great day expected here on Long Island so doing a lot in the yard. Years ago when I got my IMSAI it didn’t have drives, so many may remember my implementation using 5.25” HD drives (and the subject of two VCF presentations). I have an 8” drive system that I use on my Gazelle (dual Shugart 850’s) so I thought I’d see if connecting them would work. Indeed it does! I only had to modify the step rate parameter for the drives (4ms) in the monitor ROM and off it went. Today I’ll finish creating a “base” CP/M system disk — all it has is the system tracks. Then I need a good XMODEM program for CP/M so I can transfer files easier. Enjoy all. Rich Get Outlook for iOS<https://aka.ms/o0ukef>

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Belcore binders
by Sentrytv 19 Jun '20

19 Jun '20

I have a few Belcore binders that I picked up a while back that are free if somebody wants them, pick up only. Mike R. Sent from: My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device.

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Re: Altair can't Jump
by Jeff G 18 Jun '20

18 Jun '20

Thanks Herb, its actually my intention that since I have the real deal, to get the experience of messing with it as someone may have back in the day. For the most part, I haven't used almost any test equipment other than a logic probe and multimeter so far. I'm no stranger to test gear though, I cut my teeth learning digital electronics on a Space Invaders arcade board, which happened to be powered by an 8080. I've fixed a bunch of other boards and have some decent test gear, like a Fluke 9010A with 8080 pod, O-scopes and an HP 16500C logic analyzer. That said, I'm working on this in the house, away from the bench, under a desk lamp, and so far, no cheater toys yet. YET. (evil grin) I'm at my wits end with it though, the total echo program which is about as simple as it gets really, runs about 60 bytes that I'm entering at the front panel every time. This thing has certainly given me an honorary computer science degree, as every little error and attempt to cut a corner was thrown back at me. I can speak binary and octal fluently even in my sleep, and I've also gone over this program enough times against an opcode list to make my head hurt, and all while knowing that I'm not 100% sure that either the serial board OR the CPU is 100% operational, although I'm leaning towards the CPU being good enough as it did run the kill-the-bit game and played music through an AM radio, with no problems with ram. Even if this was on the bench, I guess I'd have to run NOPs or Port IOs and look at the bus with the LA or o-scope. If the LA didn't weight more than my car I'd have lugged it into the house by now. Hardware wise, on the serial board, I found a bad voltage regulator, replaced the 1488 and 1489 ics that were missing, and even found the -16v was even missing on the motherboard (cold solder point) . I inspected it for jumpers/mods and while it does have one, it doesn't seem to be part of the serial ports nor hurting anything. As of today, I eliminated the ram board being culprit with an DeRamp FDC+ board doing ram duties. I also learned about interrupts and initially thought that perhaps they were somehow getting enabled and processed, as my code was starting at 0 and interrupt vectors are at very low addresses, like 0008h. I messed with the EI/DI opcodes to make sure the INTE light works. I've now bumped the code up to 1000h, and added a DI opcode to it, but nothing changed. I also found one final error that was likely causing a stack issue (jumping to a push instead of the following opcode), and fixed that. NOW, what did change, is that I've sat here and single stepped the entire thing, and found it works perfectly in doing so. A character I enter is being replied back no problem, which tells me serially everything's fine Yet if I run it, I'm just getting a solid stream of garbage, although interestingly, repetitive garbage. So my next thoughts are that the bus is ringing/noisy, or perhaps there's bad buffers on either the serial board or the CPU board, as it seems that reading ports 0/1 is flaky or having a timing issue, or the serial board itself has other issues. Again, works absolutely great if I single step it all the way through. If anyone wants to look at the code, you can find it here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vTsNFtuSOJeGfHeCDvdB7ClGbME… It was mostly taken straight from the TU-ART manual, except I changed JR's to Jump if Zeros since JR was a Z80 opcode and not supported by 8080. Jeff

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OT: Windows 10 troubleshooting
by Jeffrey Brace 17 Jun '20

17 Jun '20

Is there a Windows 10 expert here? I'm having some issues that I have not been able to resolve with various troubleshooting methods. I have searched websites and YouTube video to no avail. Please reply off the list so that I can pick your brain for ideas. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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Altair cant jump
by Herb Johnson 16 Jun '20

16 Jun '20

Jeffrey Golas says, he's having problems running a UART echo program on his MITS Altair. He says he's doing this and that, entering this program and code and that, and getting results or not which he doesn't understand. Well, Jeffrey Golas: you are doing the right sort of things! You are trying to understand the codes, and understand the hardware you have. You are testing one thing or another thing, and looking at results, and trying to decide "what's next? what works? what doesn't work?" That is correct. This is what one did with MITS Altairs in the era. They learned how to use them, at the binary level - like you are. They learned how the hardware worked, chip by chip, signal by signal. Why would that change NOW - if the hardware is the same, the software and front panel are the same? So: now that you have some experience and are at the limits of what you know: it's time to do some homework, to stretch your limits. Sorry, but this is actually the fun part. Re-read those MITS manuals now, and the Intel 8080 manual, and the UART manual. Learn more about how the front-panel works, and how the 8080 and the UART (whatever board it is) works. Try other UART programs, simpler ones. Use some test equipment, to see the signals on the boards! Then, toggle in more code. Check the wiring and settings on that UART board. Go where the symptoms lead you. This is the fun part! And if this isn't fun, why the hell have an Altair around? That's your call of course, but you have my opinion on the matter. I think you are doing fine. Just keep doing it. Regards, Herb Johnson -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net preserve, recover, restore 1970's computing email: hjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT com or try later herbjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT info

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Looking for 10MB SyQuest Cartridges
by Alexander Jacocks 16 Jun '20

16 Jun '20

All, Does anyone have any SyQuest SQ200 cartridges that they're like to part with? I have an SQ312RD 10MB drive that I'd like to use. I'm somewhat interested in other SyQuest cartridges, as well, particularly the 44/88/200 and 135/230 cartridges, as I have one of those drives, as well. Thanks! - Alex

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Apple 1 computer - original? On Ebay
by Sentry TV 15 Jun '20

15 Jun '20

Does anybody actually believe this is 100% original and authentic? APPLE 1 Original 1976 Computer System 1st Steve Wozniak designed computer and | eBay | | | | $1500000.00 | | | | | | | APPLE 1 Original 1976 Computer System 1st Steve Wozniak designed compute... This Apple-1 is an unmodified NTI board in almost perfect condition on both front and back of the main board whe... | | |

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Apple 1 computer - original? On Ebay
by Sentrytv 15 Jun '20

15 Jun '20

Of course, it’s like that with cars also But the prestige is, having the original. Sent from: My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > On Jun 15, 2020, at 2:27 PM, Ethan O'Toole <telmnstr(a)757.org> wrote: > > >> >> It’s funny >> I do realize that Cory did verify this, >> but on eBay, really! >> it seems like somebody wants to make a ton of money and not even try to donate this to a good cause or even to the museum >> if it is real. >> My 2 cents > > Yea.... but if I had one I'd do the same thing. Would finally be able to overpay for a house using money that someone overpaid for on a computer :-) > > Just build a replica to replace it. > > Ya know? > > - Ethan

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Apple 1 computer - original? On Ebay
by Ethan O'Toole 15 Jun '20

15 Jun '20

[NON-Text Body part not included] "You'll earn $100.00 in eBay Bucks." WHOOT! - Ethan

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Kennett Classic Open
by Bill Degnan 15 Jun '20

15 Jun '20

Kennett Classic is now open within what appears to be the COVID-19 cautionary guidelines established by Chester County, and the state of PA. Please call ahead/make an appointment. We will honor limits to the number of visitors at any given time, require masks, and everything will be sanitized after use. Bill Degnan kennettclassic.com 126 S. Union St. Kennett Square, PA 19348 484 732 7041

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Kickstarters that I am backing
by Jeffrey Brace 15 Jun '20

15 Jun '20

16 days left: Supercade: A Visual History of the Videogame Age 1985-2001: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vanburnham/supercade-a-visual-history-… 23 days left: The 8-bit Wars: http://kck.st/3dgsJuW -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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3M DC 600a Data Cartridge backup
by Sentrytv 14 Jun '20

14 Jun '20

Is there anybody local to me in Edison New Jersey, that may have a way of reading a 3M DC 600a data cartridge, from a back up in 12/1991 ? It is a back up of a Maxum 286 computer I believe it was running DOS and Windows. I don’t know what program was used to back it up. I believe it an external drive was used to back it up. Unfortunately the 286 motherboard is completely corroded and I do not have the original tape drive. If anybody can help out, I’m just curious to know what’s on the tape and maybe we can put the contents onto a USB drive. I’d be willing to do this at some point when we have a workshop here in New Jersey. Mike R. Sent from: My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device.

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Books for free
by Jeffrey Brace 13 Jun '20

13 Jun '20

Someone is giving away these books: PDP11 Processor Handbook (1981) HP 2000C: A Guide To Time-Shared Basic (1972) A set of BSD 4.4 manuals. VCF already has them, so if anyone wants them, then send me a private message and I will send you his e-mail address. He is in Bergen County, NJ. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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Integrated circuit needed for Amstrad
by Sentrytv 13 Jun '20

13 Jun '20

I’m trying to find out if anybody near me, here in Edison New Jersey, would have an IC. Sanyo part number LM33464G - 12 I only need one and if somebody does have one and I can pick it up great. contact me off list please. Mike R. Sent from: My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Altair cant jump
by David Gesswein 13 Jun '20

13 Jun '20

Not an 8080 guy so somewhat generic suggestions. > Ive done the kill-the-bit game and played music to an AM radio. > I assume these jump. Can you tell any difference in what jump used or where your running from in memory? I assume 8080 restarts with interrupts disabled so the serial port can't be triggering an unhandled interrupt.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Altair cant jump
by William Dudley 13 Jun '20

13 Jun '20

Either a bad CPU or bad memory (more likely). If you (or the cpu) can read memory reliably single stepping, but not at speed, that suggests memory accesses at speed are flakey. If there's a way to cut the clock speed down, I'd try that. If it runs reliably at lower clock speed, then memory access is your problem. I can't explain failing to jump when single stepping. Bill Dudley retired EE This email is free of malware because I run Linux. On Fri, Jun 12, 2020 at 11:54 PM Jeffrey Golas via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > So I’ve been battling my (new to me) Altair for some time trying to get a simple serial echo program to work. Im entering all code via the front panel. Im not 100% this thing is working though it mostly seems to be. Ive done the kill-the-bit game and played music to an AM radio. > > Current config is Altair with rev0 main board, aftermarket (beefy) power supply, a CCS 16k ram board, and a Cromemco TU-ART serial board. Nothing else. > > The problem Im having is the echo program which Im mainly transcribing from the TU-ART manual goes off the rails. It runs differently every time Ive run it, and usually starts spitting out junk data after press one key (its supposed to read one char and send it back). It makes no sense to me. Stack is set right, and one change I made was changing from a JR to JMP as the 8080 doesnt do relative addressing. Ive verified numerous times its all correct. > > Single stepping it for the most part seems to work, and today I manually single stepped through the entire process only to have the single character come through properly. If I run it, it goes nuts and dumps data. Ive confirmed the status byte its reading from the board is correct and changes as it should. > > I may have discovered the issue though: it wont jump. I even tried a simple few bytes to have it store FF and 00 to memory to verify its working(it does), but doing a C3 00 00 to jump back to zero, it single steps right past that. I think this may be my problem, but how do I fix that? Bad cpu? > > TIA! > > Jeff G aka Bags

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Altair cant jump
by Jeffrey Golas 13 Jun '20

13 Jun '20

So I’ve been battling my (new to me) Altair for some time trying to get a simple serial echo program to work. Im entering all code via the front panel. Im not 100% this thing is working though it mostly seems to be. Ive done the kill-the-bit game and played music to an AM radio. Current config is Altair with rev0 main board, aftermarket (beefy) power supply, a CCS 16k ram board, and a Cromemco TU-ART serial board. Nothing else. The problem Im having is the echo program which Im mainly transcribing from the TU-ART manual goes off the rails. It runs differently every time Ive run it, and usually starts spitting out junk data after press one key (its supposed to read one char and send it back). It makes no sense to me. Stack is set right, and one change I made was changing from a JR to JMP as the 8080 doesnt do relative addressing. Ive verified numerous times its all correct. Single stepping it for the most part seems to work, and today I manually single stepped through the entire process only to have the single character come through properly. If I run it, it goes nuts and dumps data. Ive confirmed the status byte its reading from the board is correct and changes as it should. I may have discovered the issue though: it wont jump. I even tried a simple few bytes to have it store FF and 00 to memory to verify its working(it does), but doing a C3 00 00 to jump back to zero, it single steps right past that. I think this may be my problem, but how do I fix that? Bad cpu? TIA! Jeff G aka Bags

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MS DOS/Win 95/IDE Help
by W2HX 13 Jun '20

13 Jun '20

Hi friends, Sorry for the long email that follows: I am working with an old military PC model SAIC V2LC. The PC is a 486 and is from around 1992 give or take a couple of years. Probably 1995 latest. The computer has one 3.5" floppy and a removable IDE hard drive in a removable carrier. It also seems to have a SCSI controller, but I would have to see what that is all about as the BIOS does not show anything about that so it may require a driver that I may be unlikely to find. I am interested in getting this operational again, and I want to use it for RTTY (radio teletype) and will therefore need an audio card for it. But not much else. A few simple programs and that is all I need. I would love to get windows 95 running on this if possible. My understanding is they ran windows 95 originally. Some picture: https://w2hx.com/x/SAIC%20V2LC/1.JPG https://w2hx.com/x/SAIC%20V2LC/7.JPG https://w2hx.com/x/SAIC%20V2LC/9.JPG https://w2hx.com/x/SAIC%20V2LC/10.JPG IDE HD and carrier, the hard drive in the carrier is a Conner CFS540A: https://w2hx.com/x/SAIC%20V2LC/20200124_094111.jpg https://w2hx.com/x/SAIC%20V2LC/20200124_094131.jpg https://w2hx.com/x/SAIC%20V2LC/20200124_094115.jpg https://w2hx.com/x/SAIC%20V2LC/20200124_094118.jpg https://w2hx.com/x/SAIC%20V2LC/20200124_094105.jpg The carrier and hard drive were NOT original to this PC. They were obtained a few years after I bought this PC but it is for this style computer and fits fine. This computer has a nicad battery pack and it can also run on a crap-load of alkaline C-cells. I was able to figure out how to get power to it (28V military standard) and I was able to power it up and got some information from the bios. https://w2hx.com/x/SAIC%20V2LC/0606201450.jpg https://w2hx.com/x/SAIC%20V2LC/0606201449b.jpg First attempt to boot in with the replacement HD installed I got the following: https://w2hx.com/x/SAIC%20V2LC/0606201449.jpg I then went into the BIOS and realized that the number of cylinders in BIOS would not allow the 1050 that is called for on the Conner drive itself so I figured I would not be able to boot from this drive. I went on ebay and found someone selling "bootable" 3.5 inch drives and they arrived today. The computer does boot on the floppy (whoo hoo!) and it boots says "Windows 95" but a dos prompt appears. https://w2hx.com/x/SAIC%20V2LC/0612201957.jpg The only file on this floppy is command.com nothing else. However, after booting on this floppy, I attempted a DIR C:\ and received this: https://w2hx.com/x/SAIC%20V2LC/c-drive1.jpeg However, attempts to do much else on the C: drive met with Abort, Retry, Fail. After about 10 minutes, I could no longer do a directory on the drive either and is now pretty dead. This is ok, I don't think there was anything of value on it. So why the email? I am looking for help. First of all, I am thinking I should replace the HD with one of those SD to IDE converters. Does anyone have experience with a particular model that has a decent chance of working with an old 486? I don't need a lot of space, and I realize I am probably limited to this 504 MB maximum partition size. Again, that is likely plenty for me so at first, I wouldn't worry about trying to bust through that with resident programs etc. at this time (maybe later). With an SD card, I will be able to better transfer programs and files from my other windows machines (win 10) to this one. However, I don't have any way to sysgen (or whatever it was called back then) to create a bootable system. Second question: Is anyone out there willing to create for me an SD card (maybe two, one as a backup?) that will boot DOS and has windows 95 on it? I am happy to pay for licenses, hardware, SD card and effort involved to get this going. In the most ideal world, maybe someone with this kind of experience could acquire the SD-IDE adapter, connect to their own 486/win95 and then generate the SD card? Ship the whole mess to me for installation on my end? If not, just a bootable, configured SD card would be hugely helpful. I just figured that I should use the same SD-IDE device as the person who created the SD card to maximize my chances of success. I haven't played with a 1995 computer since, well, 1995. But my DOS skills (if you can call it that) are sure to come back to me. I will also mention that some other people have suggested I put a simple linux on it. And I think that will be a phase 2 of this project once I can get win95 working. I haven't done much with unix or derivatives since probably 1993-1994 (SCO iirc) and before that early 1980s. Last question. I will need an audio card. I believe back then the "sound blaster" was sort of the industry standard. Does anyone know have a known working condition they would like to sell? If not, here is one that would probably work, but would prefer to support the delinquencies of list members: https://www.ebay.com/itm/382732938335 Any and all help deeply appreciated. Thank you! 73 Eugene W2HX

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Adata PC100 256MB memory and more
by Bob Flanders 13 Jun '20

13 Jun '20

Hi, I recently found some old pc100 and ddr2 memory. I could chuck it, but I thought that it might be something that might interest someone. Does anyone want it? Let me know and I can send it to you. Regards, Bob Flanders [image: Photo on 6-8-20 at 3.03 PM.jpg] [image: Photo on 6-8-20 at 3.02 PM.jpg] [image: Photo on 6-8-20 at 3.01 PM #2.jpg] [image: adata1.jpg]

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OT: All-In-One Color Laser Printer
by Herb Johnson 12 Jun '20

12 Jun '20

about OT: Color Laser Printer Recommendation Dave McGuire posts: > Very nearly universally, ink jet printers are garbage. I concur, conditionally. I'd call them disposable. I buy one every few years, half price when that model is superceeded. I use them to scan 11 X 17 documents. Not for printing, the heads clog up! They die, plastic parts break. I replace it, long after it stops printing. I haven't replaced ANY inkcarts, which cost HALF the sale price of the printer. And the new printer has more features than the old. Thus: disposable printers. I have an Epson WF-7520 to dispose of now; it's busted and clogged of course but still scans. My average inkjet-printer+ink costs as a result: about $50/year. New strategy: print once/twice a week, see if I can stretch out the printing. This will cost me a set of $70 inkcarts to continue; I'm several months in. > my main color printer is an HP Color Laserjet 5550DTN, > Either way, I would not recommend buying one new. I concur, on practice and brand. Thrift stores or surplus sales or maybe recyclers provide laser printers cheaply, tens of dollars. Maybe Craigslist? Freecycle? HP supplies abound on eBay. HP printers work for DECADES. I've used HP Laserjet II's and III's until the scanner motors die; that's 1990's tech, last used in *2018*. Those, I can fix. Hey: vintage tech! We are back on topic! ;) My daily B&W laser printer (and my wife's) are both HP LJ 4300's. I bought a new old stock toner cart on ebay for $18 *delivered*. My funny story: my winning bid on a cheaper toner-cart was canceled, when the seller realized their shipping cost was more than their selling price. > [story of outrage about high costs of toner carts] The inkjet-producer strategy used to be referred to as "give away the razor, sell the blades". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Razor_and_blades_model includes a reference to "printers". Re: Advice on All-in-One color Laser Printer I have two color laser AIO's which I never use. Paid several tens of dollars, used, years ago. HP CM2320blahblah, HP CM1312blahblah. Only 8 X 11 flatbed scanner. But nice color. Used color carts abound on eBay. I print in color when needed, not often in 2020. Caution: there's a hundred slightly different brands of HP color laser printers, with dozens of different toner carts. Some carts are quite small, you need four of them for color. And the carts (like the inkjet ink tubs) have smart-chips in them which tell the printer "throw this cartridge out when it's half empty". Solution: buy copied chips that say "I'm full, use me up!". Change the chips, not the toner cart. And I have some refilling supplies too. This is what it takes these days, to keep from throwing money at computer-printer companies. Inkjet ink, they say, is the most expensive liquid in the world. I have to jam microcontrollers *into toner carts* to get full use of them. And use decades-old tech, to save money and get reliability and repairability. Surprisingly, this doesn't bother me much. again: we are back on topic. Regards, Herb Johnson -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net preserve, recover, restore 1970's computing email: hjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT com or try later herbjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT info

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looking for the user manual for the Compulogic Tutor 1970
by Bill Degnan 12 Jun '20

12 Jun '20

looking for the user manual for the Compulogic Tutor 1970 http://vintagecomputer.net/compusad/Complogical-tutor-guide_800pxW.jpg I know the Simsonian has one, but they're not taking my calls :-) Thanks Bill Degnan

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT: All-In-One Color Laser Printer
by Jeffrey Brace 12 Jun '20

12 Jun '20

On Thu, Jun 11, 2020 at 5:56 PM Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > I have had very good luck with my HP 950c printer (could be used with > parallel or USB) > I find ink cartridges at yard & estate sales for a few dollars each. > Yes I know taking a chance on a “new” cartridge that may be 10 or more > years old is a “gamble” but usually works out for the best. > I do very little printing and always in black-and-white (greyscale) So if > the cartridges don’t dry up first they last me for years. > I was advised against using old ink cartridges, especially ones that are opened. They tend to dry up and clog up the printer heads I'm told. I had success with ink jet printers for years, but the current one that I have went kaput. Like many things, the quality has gone down and there is no support after the warranty is done. And it was two of the same identical model (HP PhotoSmart 6520). So it's clogged and I couldn't unclog using a particular method. So I asked someone who repairs printers and they recommended laser printers. They said that inkjet have the problem with clogged printer heads. So I'm not really looking for inkjet anymore as I can see that the printer head gets clogged and repairing isn't worth it. I'm not going to buy inkjet anymore as repairing isn't worth it and it seems weird to keep buying new ones when the ink runs out. Gonna try laser printers now. > The only problem I ever had was with my G45 all in one printer from HP. > > It worked well for quite a while several years use the same cartridges as > my 950c. > But recently died was making a hell of a racket. > One thing I liked about those old HP is they worked with the current > operating system. > Of course I installed a brand new Brother all in one that I had new in box > for years, > “OH BROTHER” what a pain in the .... > > Mike R. > > Sent from: > My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > > > On Jun 11, 2020, at 5:31 PM, Herb Johnson via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > > about OT: Color Laser Printer Recommendation > > > > Dave McGuire posts: > > > >> Very nearly universally, ink jet printers are garbage. > > > > I concur, conditionally. I'd call them disposable. I buy one every few > years, half price when that model is superceeded. I use them to scan 11 X > 17 documents. Not for printing, the heads clog up! > > > > They die, plastic parts break. I replace it, long after it stops > printing. I haven't replaced ANY inkcarts, which cost HALF the sale price > of the printer. And the new printer has more features than the old. Thus: > disposable printers. I have an Epson WF-7520 to dispose of now; it's busted > and clogged of course but still scans. > > > > My average inkjet-printer+ink costs as a result: about $50/year. New > strategy: print once/twice a week, see if I can stretch out the printing. > This will cost me a set of $70 inkcarts to continue; I'm several months in. > > > >> my main color printer is an HP Color Laserjet 5550DTN, > Either way, > I would not recommend buying one new. > > > > I concur, on practice and brand. Thrift stores or surplus sales or maybe > recyclers provide laser printers cheaply, tens of dollars. Maybe > Craigslist? Freecycle? > > > > HP supplies abound on eBay. HP printers work for DECADES. I've used HP > Laserjet II's and III's until the scanner motors die; that's 1990's tech, > last used in *2018*. Those, I can fix. Hey: vintage tech! We are back on > topic! ;) > > > > My daily B&W laser printer (and my wife's) are both HP LJ 4300's. I > bought a new old stock toner cart on ebay for $18 *delivered*. My funny > story: my winning bid on a cheaper toner-cart was canceled, when the seller > realized their shipping cost was more than their selling price. > > > > > [story of outrage about high costs of toner carts] > > > > The inkjet-producer strategy used to be referred to as "give away the > razor, sell the blades". > > > > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Razor_and_blades_model > > > > includes a reference to "printers". > > > > Re: Advice on All-in-One color Laser Printer > > > > I have two color laser AIO's which I never use. Paid several tens of > dollars, used, years ago. HP CM2320blahblah, HP CM1312blahblah. Only 8 X 11 > flatbed scanner. But nice color. Used color carts abound on eBay. I print > in color when needed, not often in 2020. > > > > Caution: there's a hundred slightly different brands of HP color laser > printers, with dozens of different toner carts. Some carts are quite small, > you need four of them for color. And the carts (like the inkjet ink tubs) > have smart-chips in them which tell the printer "throw this cartridge out > when it's half empty". Solution: buy copied chips that say "I'm full, use > me up!". Change the chips, not the toner cart. And I have some refilling > supplies too. > > > > This is what it takes these days, to keep from throwing money at > computer-printer companies. Inkjet ink, they say, is the most expensive > liquid in the world. I have to jam microcontrollers *into toner carts* to > get full use of them. And use decades-old tech, to save money and get > reliability and repairability. > > > > Surprisingly, this doesn't bother me much. again: we are back on topic. > > > > Regards, Herb Johnson > > > > -- > > Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA > > http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net > > preserve, recover, restore 1970's computing > > email: hjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT com > > or try later herbjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT info > > -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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Debugging with NMI on the PC
by Richard Cini 11 Jun '20

11 Jun '20

All – I’m working on an S100 project with my Gazelle (a VGA board) which is based on a standard Trident VGA chip. The BIOS on the video board relies on a PC BIOS (which doesn’t exist for the Gazelle) so I’ve had to hack something together for it to make it work. The BIOS is barfing somewhere in the initialization, but it’s a hard crash so resetting it to regain control destroys the context. I’m running under MSDOS 2.01. I remember that there were debuggers like Periscope or SoftICE that could trap NMI, but I need it to be pure character-based like MS-DOS debug. Does anyone know of any debuggers like this? There was one by Paul Vojta, which I have the code for, but that doesn’t trap NMI. I wonder if I could just have the NMI call INT 03H (debug break) since they all trap that. Any thoughts or help appreciated. Thanks! Rich -- Rich Cini http://www.classiccmp.org/cini http://www.classiccmp.org/altair32

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OT: Video cards for small form factor PCS
by Jeffrey Brace 10 Jun '20

10 Jun '20

I have 3 or 4 PCs that I bought used for $20 each that have no GPU (video card). They are small form factor so the video cards from my old desktops don't work (too big). So I'm looking for used GPUs that I can put in them. The main use is for number crunching for Folding At Home & Covid-19 research. If anyone has some that will work with Windows 10 and HP Elite 8300 i5 machines, please let me know. I prefer free, but would pay like $20 each for them as long as they are known working. Or if you know of a reputable source for them. Let me know as well. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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Virutual VCF West 2020 - call for exhibitors, instructor, speakers
by Jeffrey Brace 10 Jun '20

10 Jun '20

Anyone interested in exhibiting, being a class instructor or being a speaker can send a message to erik(a)vcfed.org. This is open to anyone in the world. If you have any suggestions for speakers, etc. please let Erik or myself know. Feel free to ask me any questions, make comments or give me suggestions: jeffrey(a)vcfed.org. Here is Erik Klein's blurb about the show: Since it appears that we won’t be allowed to host “large gatherings” in the state of California for the foreseeable future, it is time to plan for keeping the spirit of VCF West alive without the physical gathering. To do that we want to host the same basic format. Exhibits, speakers and classes along with the “social” aspects of getting hobbyists together. The only way to effectively do that is to put as much of the effort in advance as possible. That means that contributors are being asked to “virtualize” their contributions with shareable videos, slide shows, etc. Speakers and class trainers as well as any exhibitors willing will be asked to allow for an online Q&A session after the video is aired. We will also host virtual meetups throughout the day, hopefully with special guests encouraged to visit at predetermined times. The entire event will be scheduled for 6-8 hours on Saturday August 1st with all of the videos due by July 1. What we will need: Committed exhibitors to produce 5 minute (+/-) videos of the systems(s) they would have liked to exhibit. These should be submitted to the VCF West team by early July, at the latest. Sooner is always better! At least a couple of keynote speakers willing to do 30 minute recorded talks and willing to host a Q&A Hangouts/Meetings call. Hopefully a classroom teacher or two to do a training video of 15-30 minutes and willing to host a Q&A Hangouts/Meetings call. Again if you would like to participate in one of the above categories (exhibitor, presenter, educator) please let me (erik(a)vcfed.org) know as early as possible and please get your video done as quickly as possible. Some video suggestions: Please have your recording device in Landscape mode. Introduce yourself and your exhibit to start. Please ensure that you have appropriate lighting for your video. Remember that different parts of the video may need different lighting. Filming screens is usually done in a darker environment while speakers should find as much light as possible. Audio is just as important as video. Consider an external microphone, if possible. Find a suitable space to do the recording with a minimum of ambient noise, echo, etc. If you are speaking while in the video please speak into the camera rather than while looking away, if at all possible. Play back your work and make sure you like it before submitting it! Our editors will clean up some stuff, but we can’t add things that aren’t there, etc. I created a sample video. My raw one is here: https://youtu.be/amSyI3t6JWk The cleaned up version is here: https://youtu.be/_1GKSVyuLRk -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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HP 85 on eBay
by Chris Fala 09 Jun '20

09 Jun '20

In case someone is interested. Looks potentially nice. No personal connection, just random find. https://www.ebay.com/itm/333594125770

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Upcoming workshops
by Jeffrey Brace 08 Jun '20

08 Jun '20

On Mon, Jun 8, 2020 at 2:01 PM Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > Jeff > > Just checking if workshops may possibly starting up again next month? > This is something I'm considering. The current restriction (as far as I can tell) is about 10 people indoors, but that may change soon with stage 2 as well as InfoAge reopening at the end of June. > > The Antique radio club @ InfoAge is having a hamfest / tailgating sale on > July 25th > Is was told by el Presidente Rich. > Seems things may start getting back to “normal” soon. > > Mike R. > > > On Jun 7, 2020, at 3:05 PM, RICHARD LEE <radiorich(a)prodigy.net> wrote: > > > > Hi Mike...we are going to have our annual Hamfest/tailgate swap meet on > July 25thon the grounds of InFo Age..I think you attended > once?..anyway..join us reserve a space and sell that radio along with your > other stuff...regards..Rich > -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Upcoming workshops
by Chris Fala 08 Jun '20

08 Jun '20

Only with a doctor's note. ;-) On Mon, Jun 8, 2020 at 2:01 PM Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > Jeff > > Just checking if workshops may possibly starting up again next month? > > The Antique radio club @ InfoAge is having a hamfest / tailgating sale on > July 25th > Is was told by el Presidente Rich. > Seems things may start getting back to “normal” soon. > > Mike R. > > > On Jun 7, 2020, at 3:05 PM, RICHARD LEE <radiorich(a)prodigy.net> wrote: > > > > Hi Mike...we are going to have our annual Hamfest/tailgate swap meet on > July 25thon the grounds of InFo Age..I think you attended > once?..anyway..join us reserve a space and sell that radio along with your > other stuff...regards..Rich >

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Upcoming workshops
by Sentrytv 08 Jun '20

08 Jun '20

Jeff Just checking if workshops may possibly starting up again next month? The Antique radio club @ InfoAge is having a hamfest / tailgating sale on July 25th Is was told by el Presidente Rich. Seems things may start getting back to “normal” soon. Mike R. > On Jun 7, 2020, at 3:05 PM, RICHARD LEE <radiorich(a)prodigy.net> wrote: > > Hi Mike...we are going to have our annual Hamfest/tailgate swap meet on July 25thon the grounds of InFo Age..I think you attended once?..anyway..join us reserve a space and sell that radio along with your other stuff...regards..Rich

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] vcf-midatlantic Digest, Vol 25, Issue 7
by Bill Degnan 08 Jun '20

08 Jun '20

I have had one of these (slightly older model) for 15 years. It does not work as well as it once did, but for home use it's good enough. I had to replace the developer a few years ago, but it was never quite the same since. BIll On Sun, Jun 7, 2020 at 10:51 PM Jeffrey Golas via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > I literally Just got the Brother MFC-3770cdw. Prints fine so far, and > scanner works fairly fast. Also have it hooked up scanning to a nas. It did > seem to take a while printing via airprint, but I had a power outage that I > think goofed up something on my wifi, so not sure if it was the printer or > my wifi. > > Downside is the firmware looks like it was written by a first year comp > sci student, very crude compared to an HP, but it works. > > Jeff > > > > On Jun 7, 2020, at 12:09 PM, vcf-midatlantic-request(a)lists.vcfed.org > wrote: > > > > Send vcf-midatlantic mailing list submissions to > > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org > > > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > https://lists.vcfed.org/mailman/listinfo/vcf-midatlantic > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > > vcf-midatlantic-request(a)lists.vcfed.org > > > > You can reach the person managing the list at > > vcf-midatlantic-owner(a)lists.vcfed.org > > > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > > than "Re: Contents of vcf-midatlantic digest..." > > > > > > Today's Topics: > > > > 1. OT: All-In-One Color Laser Printer (Jeffrey Brace) > > 2. Re: OT: Color Laser Printer Recommendation (Dave McGuire) > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > Message: 1 > > Date: Sat, 6 Jun 2020 12:19:13 -0400 > > From: Jeffrey Brace <jeffrey(a)vcfed.org> > > To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> > > Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] OT: All-In-One Color Laser Printer > > Message-ID: > > <CALWfZAK38QTuwM6KbCPt=+om3tFNR5YnHKEabRyA9bB92p5DyA(a)mail.gmail.com> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" > > > > I appreciate everyone's advice, experience and suggestions on a color > laser > > printer. Because of the higher cost I decided to split the cost with my > > brother and sister. So now we all want an all-in-one printer, scanner, > > copier and not just a printer-only. So I need suggestions on a color > laser > > all-in-one. It seems those who responded to my last e-mail recommended > HP, > > Brother, or Samsung. I didn't hear an opinion about Canon. > > > > Consumer reports recommend HP, Brother and Canon. > > Here is the list that Consumer Reports rates highly: > > Brother MFC-L8900CDW > > Canon Color imageCLASS MF644Cdw > > Canon imageCLASS MF642Cdw > > Brother MFC-L3750CDW > > HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M281fdw > > Brother MFC-L3710CW > > HP Color Laser MFP 178nw > > Canon Color imageCLASS MF743Cdw > > Canon imageCLASS MF733Cdw > > HP Color LaserJet Pro M283fdw > > HP Color laserJet Pro MFP M180nw > > > > Any recommendations on any of these? > > > > -- > > ========================================= > > Jeff Brace > > Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner > > Vintage Computer Federation > > http://www.vcfed.org/ > > jeffrey(a)vcfed.org > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > > > Message: 2 > > Date: Sat, 6 Jun 2020 12:24:59 -0400 > > From: Dave McGuire <mcguire(a)neurotica.com> > > To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> > > Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT: Color Laser Printer Recommendation > > Message-ID: <4d40eef7-8a4d-08b0-1f53-54001e53eb53(a)neurotica.com> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 > > > >> On 6/6/20 1:09 AM, Matt Patoray via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > >> I will throw in a recommendation for Samsung printers. I bought a small > cheap B&W laser in 2010, still going strong and consumables are cheap if > you go for the non Samsung replacements. > >> My test for the printer when I first got it was to print the manuals > for a Tektronix 7854. > >> The only gripe I have is the paper tray is smaller then I would like > but for less then $70 new, can?t complain. > > > > Wow, can't complain about that at all! I've always been impressed by > > most of Samsung's products. There are exceptions, but they generally > > make good stuff. > > > >> But you can?t go wrong with a big HP either, especially one with 11x17 > capability, great for printing out schematics. > > > > That's very handy indeed. :) > > > > -Dave > > > > -- > > Dave McGuire, AK4HZ > > New Kensington, PA > > > > > > End of vcf-midatlantic Digest, Vol 25, Issue 7 > > ********************************************** >

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Re: vcf-midatlantic Digest, Vol 25, Issue 7
by Jeffrey Golas 08 Jun '20

08 Jun '20

I literally Just got the Brother MFC-3770cdw. Prints fine so far, and scanner works fairly fast. Also have it hooked up scanning to a nas. It did seem to take a while printing via airprint, but I had a power outage that I think goofed up something on my wifi, so not sure if it was the printer or my wifi. Downside is the firmware looks like it was written by a first year comp sci student, very crude compared to an HP, but it works. Jeff > On Jun 7, 2020, at 12:09 PM, vcf-midatlantic-request(a)lists.vcfed.org wrote: > > Send vcf-midatlantic mailing list submissions to > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://lists.vcfed.org/mailman/listinfo/vcf-midatlantic > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > vcf-midatlantic-request(a)lists.vcfed.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > vcf-midatlantic-owner(a)lists.vcfed.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of vcf-midatlantic digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. OT: All-In-One Color Laser Printer (Jeffrey Brace) > 2. Re: OT: Color Laser Printer Recommendation (Dave McGuire) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Sat, 6 Jun 2020 12:19:13 -0400 > From: Jeffrey Brace <jeffrey(a)vcfed.org> > To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> > Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] OT: All-In-One Color Laser Printer > Message-ID: > <CALWfZAK38QTuwM6KbCPt=+om3tFNR5YnHKEabRyA9bB92p5DyA(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" > > I appreciate everyone's advice, experience and suggestions on a color laser > printer. Because of the higher cost I decided to split the cost with my > brother and sister. So now we all want an all-in-one printer, scanner, > copier and not just a printer-only. So I need suggestions on a color laser > all-in-one. It seems those who responded to my last e-mail recommended HP, > Brother, or Samsung. I didn't hear an opinion about Canon. > > Consumer reports recommend HP, Brother and Canon. > Here is the list that Consumer Reports rates highly: > Brother MFC-L8900CDW > Canon Color imageCLASS MF644Cdw > Canon imageCLASS MF642Cdw > Brother MFC-L3750CDW > HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M281fdw > Brother MFC-L3710CW > HP Color Laser MFP 178nw > Canon Color imageCLASS MF743Cdw > Canon imageCLASS MF733Cdw > HP Color LaserJet Pro M283fdw > HP Color laserJet Pro MFP M180nw > > Any recommendations on any of these? > > -- > ========================================= > Jeff Brace > Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner > Vintage Computer Federation > http://www.vcfed.org/ > jeffrey(a)vcfed.org > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Sat, 6 Jun 2020 12:24:59 -0400 > From: Dave McGuire <mcguire(a)neurotica.com> > To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> > Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT: Color Laser Printer Recommendation > Message-ID: <4d40eef7-8a4d-08b0-1f53-54001e53eb53(a)neurotica.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 > >> On 6/6/20 1:09 AM, Matt Patoray via vcf-midatlantic wrote: >> I will throw in a recommendation for Samsung printers. I bought a small cheap B&W laser in 2010, still going strong and consumables are cheap if you go for the non Samsung replacements. >> My test for the printer when I first got it was to print the manuals for a Tektronix 7854. >> The only gripe I have is the paper tray is smaller then I would like but for less then $70 new, can?t complain. > > Wow, can't complain about that at all! I've always been impressed by > most of Samsung's products. There are exceptions, but they generally > make good stuff. > >> But you can?t go wrong with a big HP either, especially one with 11x17 capability, great for printing out schematics. > > That's very handy indeed. :) > > -Dave > > -- > Dave McGuire, AK4HZ > New Kensington, PA > > > End of vcf-midatlantic Digest, Vol 25, Issue 7 > **********************************************

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT: Color Laser Printer Recommendation
by Matt Patoray 06 Jun '20

06 Jun '20

I will throw in a recommendation for Samsung printers. I bought a small cheap B&W laser in 2010, still going strong and consumables are cheap if you go for the non Samsung replacements. My test for the printer when I first got it was to print the manuals for a Tektronix 7854. The only gripe I have is the paper tray is smaller then I would like but for less then $70 new, can’t complain. But you can’t go wrong with a big HP either, especially one with 11x17 capability, great for printing out schematics. Matt Sent from my iPhone > On Jun 5, 2020, at 3:52 PM, Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > <mime-attachment>

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OT: All-In-One Color Laser Printer
by Jeffrey Brace 06 Jun '20

06 Jun '20

I appreciate everyone's advice, experience and suggestions on a color laser printer. Because of the higher cost I decided to split the cost with my brother and sister. So now we all want an all-in-one printer, scanner, copier and not just a printer-only. So I need suggestions on a color laser all-in-one. It seems those who responded to my last e-mail recommended HP, Brother, or Samsung. I didn't hear an opinion about Canon. Consumer reports recommend HP, Brother and Canon. Here is the list that Consumer Reports rates highly: Brother MFC-L8900CDW Canon Color imageCLASS MF644Cdw Canon imageCLASS MF642Cdw Brother MFC-L3750CDW HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M281fdw Brother MFC-L3710CW HP Color Laser MFP 178nw Canon Color imageCLASS MF743Cdw Canon imageCLASS MF733Cdw HP Color LaserJet Pro M283fdw HP Color laserJet Pro MFP M180nw Any recommendations on any of these? -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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OT: Color Laser Printer Recommendation
by Jeffrey Brace 05 Jun '20

05 Jun '20

So I've been using HP inkjet printers for years. I haven't had any big problems with these until recently, but it seems the quality of inkjets has steadily declined over the years. I haven't had problems like I have now. I have two HP Photosmart 6520s and now the black ink is clogged. I followed some procedures to unclog it with no success. I will continue working on it. It is likely I will keep these printers for the document scanning feature, but it is likely that I will go get a color laser printer. Ian Primus who fixes printers for a living recommended laser printers over inkjet even though they tend to be more expensive. Inkjets tend to get clogged and have issues. Here are a few that Consumer Reports rates highly: HP Color LaserJet Pro M452nw printer Brother HL-L3230CDW printer Canon Color imageCLASS LBP622Cdw printer Does anyone recommend any particular models or brands? -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Live Video Tour of VCF museum via Facebook Live for New Jersey School Board Association
by Jeffrey Brace 05 Jun '20

05 Jun '20

My contact at NJSBA is looking into posting it onto YouTube. On Thu, Jun 4, 2020 at 2:34 PM Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > Oh you are correct > I was viewing it, that’s why I said it was a good video, > and I was going to try and save it. > but I asked my daughter who has Facebook to save it . > > > Sent from: > My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > > > On Jun 4, 2020, at 10:30 AM, Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > > On Thu, Jun 4, 2020 at 9:57 AM Andy Meyer <ysgdhio(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > > >> +1 YouTube please > >> > > > > I asked them and await a reply, but someone else pointed out that you > don’t > > need a Facebook account to view it. > > > > > >> > >>> On Thu, Jun 4, 2020 at 12:24 AM Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < > >>> vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > >>> > >>> On Wed, Jun 3, 2020 at 7:29 PM Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic < > >>> vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > >>> > >>>> Jeff are you going to post this on YouTube and allow YouTube visitors > to > >>>> possibly download it? > >>>> I think it’s a very nice video > >>>> > >>> > >>> I hadn't thought about it. It was recorded on the NJSBA Facebook page. > >>> They > >>> do have a YouTube page. Let me ask them if they will post it there too. > >>> > >>> > >>>> Sent from: > >>>> My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > >>>> > >>>>> On Jun 3, 2020, at 12:07 PM, Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < > >>>> vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > >>>>> > >>>>> Here is the link to the video: > >>>>> https://www.facebook.com/njsba/videos/180980823302843/ > >>>>> > >>>>>> On Tue, Jun 2, 2020 at 1:05 PM Alexander Jacocks < > jjacocks(a)gmail.com > >>>> > >>>> wrote: > >>>>>> > >>>>>> That's really cool! It'll be great marketing for the museum, to > boot. > >>>>>> > >>>>>> - Alex > >>>>>> > >>>>>> On Tue, Jun 2, 2020 at 1:11 AM Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < > >>>>>> vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > >>>>>> > >>>>>>> I will be giving a live virtual tour of our Vintage Computer > >>> Federation > >>>>>>> Museum. Someone from the New Jersey School Board Association > >>> contacted > >>>> me > >>>>>>> to do a virtual tour as students can’t do field trips due to > >>> Covid-19 > >>>> and > >>>>>>> schools subsequently being shutdown. > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>> The link should be posted here soon: > http://wwww.facebook.com/njsba > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>> I will be doing the tour on Wednesday, June 3 at 10AM, but they > will > >>>> post > >>>>>>> the video when they are finished. > >>>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> -- > >>>>> ========================================= > >>>>> Jeff Brace > >>>>> Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner > >>>>> Vintage Computer Federation > >>>>> http://www.vcfed.org/ > >>>>> jeffrey(a)vcfed.org > >>>> > >>>> > >>> > >>> -- > >>> ========================================= > >>> Jeff Brace > >>> Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner > >>> Vintage Computer Federation > >>> http://www.vcfed.org/ > >>> jeffrey(a)vcfed.org > >>> > >> -- > > ========================================= > > Jeff Brace > > Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner > > Vintage Computer Federation > > http://www.vcfed.org/ > > jeffrey(a)vcfed.org > > -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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THANKS - Trip to Brooklyn to the Gowanus eReycling warehouse + questions
by David K 05 Jun '20

05 Jun '20

Thanks to the many who responded to my initial email. I initially tried a phone cord to connect the keyboard and computer on the KayPro and it did not work but I noticed it only had 2 wires. I found one with 4 wires and WOW - it works. So thank you for the advice! The only issue is the screen jumps a bit and after playing with a program for a bit the screen went to static. I have turned it off to let it "cool" but will have to see if there is some sort of fix for that. Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks for the info about the C64 Petspeed Dongle. I will most likely not need this so if someone is interested in it let me know. Thanks for the comments about the video of our trip to Brooklyn. It was a fantastic time for sure and I was very happy with our finds. David K.

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are these the vintage card guides?
by mike＠willegal.net 05 Jun '20

05 Jun '20

Not exactly - the originals were extruded and then bent to shape. Sometime in the last 40 or 50 years Vector changed this particular mode overl to a casting process. I’ve heard from one source that they have had issues with the castings breaking, but I haven’t had that issue. That said, the price is good. -Mike Willegal > Are these the card guides used on some homebrews? > The price looks good (unless you have better deals?) > > Vector Electronics BR27D Connector Mounted Card Guides > https://skycraftsurplus.com/connector-mounted-card-guides-sk3683.html > $4.25 > (Mouser price: $14.20) > (Digikey price $15.38) > 4.5" Wide Plugbords with Centered Contacts > Vector Plugbord Series 3677, 3682 and 3662 > Rugged support of 0.062" thick > Free standing circuit boards > For application in which space is premium > Aluminium alloy construction > Mounting hardware included { HD55 Hardware Kit } > > > Happy hunting! > Jeff Jonas > > > End of vcf-midatlantic Digest, Vol 25, Issue 5 > **********************************************

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are these the vintage card guides?
by Jeffrey Jonas 05 Jun '20

05 Jun '20

Are these the card guides used on some homebrews? The price looks good (unless you have better deals?) Vector Electronics BR27D Connector Mounted Card Guides https://skycraftsurplus.com/connector-mounted-card-guides-sk3683.html $4.25 (Mouser price: $14.20) (Digikey price $15.38) 4.5" Wide Plugbords with Centered Contacts Vector Plugbord Series 3677, 3682 and 3662 Rugged support of 0.062" thick Free standing circuit boards For application in which space is premium Aluminium alloy construction Mounting hardware included { HD55 Hardware Kit } Happy hunting! Jeff Jonas

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Trip to Brooklyn to the Gowanus eReycling warehouse + questions
by David K 04 Jun '20

04 Jun '20

I watch the list with little to contribute because unfortunately my background is not in IT or similar. I'm really just a fan a of vintage computers and learn a good amount from this listserve. I recently traveled to Brooklyn to the Gowanus eReycling center that is closing. This was the place mentioned in previous posts. It was an excellent experience for my son and I. I have a few question I hope someone might be able to help with. 1. I got a working KayPro 2x but I did not get the phone-like cable that connects the keyboard to the main unit. I see I can buy one on eBay for $15 but wanted to know if there were any other work arounds or if someone is selling one. 2. I got a small piece (picture attached) that apparently plugs into the C64 port 2. It is labeled "Petspeed" which is apparently some sort of BASIC assembler. I am hesitant to plug it in without knowing more. Any help with understanding what this is and how it works? 3. If you want to check out the video of our trip to Brooklyn and see what we found go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogZhSaOk-Cs&t=1s David K.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Live Video Tour of VCF museum via Facebook Live for New Jersey School Board Association
by Jeffrey Brace 04 Jun '20

04 Jun '20

On Thu, Jun 4, 2020 at 9:57 AM Andy Meyer <ysgdhio(a)gmail.com> wrote: > +1 YouTube please > I asked them and await a reply, but someone else pointed out that you don’t need a Facebook account to view it. > > On Thu, Jun 4, 2020 at 12:24 AM Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > >> On Wed, Jun 3, 2020 at 7:29 PM Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic < >> vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: >> >> > Jeff are you going to post this on YouTube and allow YouTube visitors to >> > possibly download it? >> > I think it’s a very nice video >> > >> >> I hadn't thought about it. It was recorded on the NJSBA Facebook page. >> They >> do have a YouTube page. Let me ask them if they will post it there too. >> >> >> > Sent from: >> > My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. >> > >> > > On Jun 3, 2020, at 12:07 PM, Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < >> > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: >> > > >> > > Here is the link to the video: >> > > https://www.facebook.com/njsba/videos/180980823302843/ >> > > >> > >> On Tue, Jun 2, 2020 at 1:05 PM Alexander Jacocks <jjacocks(a)gmail.com >> > >> > wrote: >> > >> >> > >> That's really cool! It'll be great marketing for the museum, to boot. >> > >> >> > >> - Alex >> > >> >> > >> On Tue, Jun 2, 2020 at 1:11 AM Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < >> > >> vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: >> > >> >> > >>> I will be giving a live virtual tour of our Vintage Computer >> Federation >> > >>> Museum. Someone from the New Jersey School Board Association >> contacted >> > me >> > >>> to do a virtual tour as students can’t do field trips due to >> Covid-19 >> > and >> > >>> schools subsequently being shutdown. >> > >>> >> > >>> The link should be posted here soon: http://wwww.facebook.com/njsba >> > >>> >> > >>> I will be doing the tour on Wednesday, June 3 at 10AM, but they will >> > post >> > >>> the video when they are finished. >> > >>> >> > >> >> > > >> > > -- >> > > ========================================= >> > > Jeff Brace >> > > Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner >> > > Vintage Computer Federation >> > > http://www.vcfed.org/ >> > > jeffrey(a)vcfed.org >> > >> > >> >> -- >> ========================================= >> Jeff Brace >> Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner >> Vintage Computer Federation >> http://www.vcfed.org/ >> jeffrey(a)vcfed.org >> > -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Live Video Tour of VCF museum via Facebook Live for New Jersey School Board Association
by Jeffrey Brace 04 Jun '20

04 Jun '20

On Wed, Jun 3, 2020 at 7:29 PM Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > Jeff are you going to post this on YouTube and allow YouTube visitors to > possibly download it? > I think it’s a very nice video > I hadn't thought about it. It was recorded on the NJSBA Facebook page. They do have a YouTube page. Let me ask them if they will post it there too. > Sent from: > My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > > > On Jun 3, 2020, at 12:07 PM, Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > > Here is the link to the video: > > https://www.facebook.com/njsba/videos/180980823302843/ > > > >> On Tue, Jun 2, 2020 at 1:05 PM Alexander Jacocks <jjacocks(a)gmail.com> > wrote: > >> > >> That's really cool! It'll be great marketing for the museum, to boot. > >> > >> - Alex > >> > >> On Tue, Jun 2, 2020 at 1:11 AM Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < > >> vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > >> > >>> I will be giving a live virtual tour of our Vintage Computer Federation > >>> Museum. Someone from the New Jersey School Board Association contacted > me > >>> to do a virtual tour as students can’t do field trips due to Covid-19 > and > >>> schools subsequently being shutdown. > >>> > >>> The link should be posted here soon: http://wwww.facebook.com/njsba > >>> > >>> I will be doing the tour on Wednesday, June 3 at 10AM, but they will > post > >>> the video when they are finished. > >>> > >> > > > > -- > > ========================================= > > Jeff Brace > > Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner > > Vintage Computer Federation > > http://www.vcfed.org/ > > jeffrey(a)vcfed.org > > -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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Live Video Tour of VCF museum via Facebook Live for New Jersey School Board Association
by Jeffrey Brace 03 Jun '20

03 Jun '20

I will be giving a live virtual tour of our Vintage Computer Federation Museum. Someone from the New Jersey School Board Association contacted me to do a virtual tour as students can’t do field trips due to Covid-19 and schools subsequently being shutdown. The link should be posted here soon: http://wwww.facebook.com/njsba I will be doing the tour on Wednesday, June 3 at 10AM, but they will post the video when they are finished.

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OT: Space Exploration Camp at InfoAge: Ages 11-14, Aug. 17-21
by Jeffrey Brace 02 Jun '20

02 Jun '20

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic signups have slowed down for ISEC (Infoage Space Exploration Center). *Website *is: isec.space *INFO:* *Space Exploration Week is a five day space science program for children ages 11- 14 about The Earth, The Solar System, The Galaxy, The Universe, Rocketry, and Outer Space Observation and Exploration. Each day is divided into two 3 hour sessions of fun filled model making, rocket launching, demonstrations and games. On the final day of Space Exploration Week everyone will learn how to move the TLM18 Space Sentry Radio Dish Antenna and use it to explore the Milky Way Galaxy. Parents can take a video of their child at the controls! We expect to have speakers from NASA and Princeton University.* *Activities are indoor and outdoor and include a visit to the InfoAge Radio Museum, The Original Marconi Tower and a trip to **Mobile Radar Units.* *Learn about the history of NASA’s Space Programs and the exciting events that took place right here at the Diana Site in Wall Township that launched Space Exploration.* *Travel through Space using the TLM18 Radio Dish Antenna to send your voice to the moon and hear it bounce back in 2.5 seconds!* *Registration is limited, Register Now for Summer 2020!* Learn about: The Earth and its Atmosphere Make a model of the Earth’s Atmosphere The Solar System Make a model of the Solar System Rocketry Make and Launch Rock Vanguard and Tiros satellites Build your own Satellite The Radio Telescope Dish Make a model of a Radio Dish Antenna The Moon and other Earth Satellites Add these to our Earth Model The Milky Way Galaxy Make a Star Finder Comets and Asteroids Make your own Comet or Asteroid Outer Space Observation: Telescopes Make your own Telescope See through Alien Eyes Using radio waves to study planets Bounce your voice off the Moon using a radio telescope ___ Space Exploration Week Camp is a 5 day, 7 hour program from 8:30-3:30 Program Costs: $199. per child. $175 for additional Children in the same household. Participants receive a packet to keep all of their materials as well as a keepsake box for all their models and a Certificate of Completion. A Deposit of $50 per child is required at time of registration. Full payment is required on the first day of Space Exploration Week. Dates TBA for Space Exploration Week 2020 Please return this form by mail or in person with a $50. deposit to register for Summer 2020 InfoAge 2201 Marconi Rd. Wall, NJ 07719 c/o Lori Lauber Walk in hours are 1-5 on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday For more information call: 732-322-4823 / 732-280-3000 or email: lorilauber(a)gmail.com -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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Wed the 3rd: final auction of Mendelsons :-(
by Jeffrey Jonas 01 Jun '20

01 Jun '20

Mendelsons surplus of Dayton, OH is no more :-( https://www.cia-auction.com/home/upcoming_auctions/mendelsons-liquidation-o… Webcast Only Auction 6/3/2020 - 10:00 AM Location: 340 E. First St Dayton, OH 45402 Inspection: June 1st and 2nd From 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM or by Appointment Summary: Webcast Only Auction of One of the Nation's Largest Outlets for Used Electrical Components, Approx. 100,000 Sq. Ft. of Rack and Shelving Loaded on 3rd Floor of Mendelsons Outlet Store, Motors, Wire, Transformers, Disconnect Switches, Breakers, Panels, Semi-Conductors and Related

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OT: Folding at Home for Covid-19 research and team JMP$FCE2
by Jeffrey Brace 01 Jun '20

01 Jun '20

I have been using Folding at Home for years to support research for treatments for various diseases. They have just added Covid-19 research and I have three computers crunching numbers to help find a treatment. This client works on Windows, MacOS, Linux. Here is the info: https://foldingathome.org/covid19/ Here is where you can download: https://foldingathome.org/alternative-downloads/ If you want to join my team, the number is: 145304 My team name is JMP$FCE2. If you are a Commodore 64 fan, then you know that is the assembly instruction to perform a warm reboot of the computer. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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