- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

Gary Starkweather - Inventor of the Laser Printer - has died
by Adam Michlin 09 Jan '20

09 Jan '20

Thus making three. So it goes... https://www.invent.org/inductees/gary-k-starkweather

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Looking for a VIC-20
by Jeffrey Brace 08 Jan '20

08 Jan '20

On Wed, Jan 8, 2020 at 6:23 PM Jonathan Sturges via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > Hi everyone,I'm looking for a VIC-20 for a project. Does anyone have one > they would be willing to sell to me?(Tony/Adam/Dean: are there spares in > the warehouse that are sellable?) > Oh yes, there are spares in the warehouse that are available for purchase. Are you coming to the next repair workshop no Jan. 25/26? I will defer to Adam and Tony to arrange getting one from the warehouse. Let me know if you find one sooner or closer. > I'm in the D.C. area, if it matters. > Thanks!Jonathan > -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation

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Looking for a VIC-20
by Jonathan Sturges 08 Jan '20

08 Jan '20

Hi everyone,I'm looking for a VIC-20 for a project. Does anyone have one they would be willing to sell to me?(Tony/Adam/Dean: are there spares in the warehouse that are sellable?) I'm in the D.C. area, if it matters. Thanks!Jonathan

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Randy Suess has died
by Andy Meyer 08 Jan '20

08 Jan '20

Sorry if you've seen this already. I'm still catching up after the holidays. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/20/technology/randy-suess-dead.html

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] January workshop call to arms
by Adam Michlin 07 Jan '20

07 Jan '20

I've been doing more research and we may or may not have one monitor, mouse, and keyboard for the 8010 (Star) In addition to the two 8010s, we also now have a Xerox Daybreak: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox_Daybreak We may have mixed parts for the Stars and the Daybreak. Perhaps they use the same keyboard, mouse, and monitor, but I don't know (anyone?). Either way, the rest of the parts should be coming real soon. We'll keep everyone updated. On 1/7/2020 8:26 AM, Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > > Re: [vcf-midatlantic] January workshop call to arms.eml > > Subject: > Re: [vcf-midatlantic] January workshop call to arms > From: > Tony Bogan <thebogans(a)mac.com> > Date: > 1/7/2020, 8:26 AM > > To: > vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> > > > David, thank you for that info! > We do have one monitor, mouse and keyboard, and Andy is heading down to DE this week to further assess the remainder of the rescue the Xerox machines were a part of, and potentially pick up the other peripherals for these machines in advance of completing the overall rescue. > > Tony > > Sent from my iPhone > >> On Jan 7, 2020, at 7:43 AM, Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic<vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: >> >> On Tue, Jan 7, 2020 at 7:32 AM David Gesswein via vcf-midatlantic < >> vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: >> >>> I have been in contact with Josh Dersch through my emulator project who >>> has working 8010's. Evan had expressed interest in getting one working so >>> I >>> had checked and he said: >>> >> I trust Josh Dersch from The Living Computer Museum & Labs because I have >> met him at VCF PNW and VCF West where he showed off his*working* Xerox >> 8010 Information System (better known as the “Star” workstation) alongside >> a microcode-level Star emulator developed at LCM+L named Darkstar. Come >> experience GUI history and early desktop metaphors with Viewpoint and Star >> OS, do some hacking in Mesa on XDE, or delve into AI on Interlisp-D! >> >> >>> I have finish the 3b1 which shouldn't take too long, possible Straight 8 >>> work, haven't heard if paper tape could be loaded. Assuming spare time >>> I can assist on this. >>> >> I'm sorry, I didn't have time to finish checking the PDP 8 paper tape >> loading last time I was docent. And now the museum is being renovated so I >> won't be able to get to it until the epoxy flooring part is finished within >> the next two weeks. I will update you, but if you need to prioritize, then >> please work on the Xerox machine before the PDP 8. >> >> >>> On Mon, Jan 06, 2020 at 10:37:30PM -0500, Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic >>> wrote: >>>> Date: Mon, 6 Jan 2020 22:37:30 -0500 >>>> From: Tony Bogan<thebogans(a)mac.com> >>>> To:vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org >>>> Subject: January workshop call to arms >>>> X-Mailer: iPhone Mail (16F203) >>>> >>>> All, VCF recently acquired two Xerox 8010 computers. We would like to >>> assess and repair (if needed) these machines, and are hoping to have one on >>> display in the very near future. >>>> We are looking for anyone with the expertise and experience needed to >>> assess these machines. We are hoping to begin the process of restoring >>> these machines at the upcoming January workshop on the 25th and 26th of >>> this month. >>>> So if you???re out there (and I???m sure you are!) and you can attend >>> the workshop, please let us know! While there will be lots going on at the >>> workshop, this is something we are hoping to be able to work on in >>> preparation for the museum remodeling (or as soon as is practical) >>>> Thanks, >>>> Tony Bogan >>>> >>>> Sent from my iPhone >> -- >> ========================================= >> Jeff Brace >> Vice President, VCF East Showrunner >> Vintage Computer Federation

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East Exhibitor Registration Open
by Jeffrey Brace 07 Jan '20

07 Jan '20

VCF EAST 2020 Exhibitor Registration is open, so submit your exhibits now! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScbf-yC0U4Vu0zhf_1sXCKEaU1bF7PVV3u… -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation

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East Sunday Keynote - Michael Tomczyk
by Jeffrey Brace 07 Jan '20

07 Jan '20

I have confirmation of Michael Tomczyk doing the Sunday keynote at 9:30AM. About Michael Tomczyk: "Michael S. Tomczyk was responsible for guiding the development and launch of the Commodore VIC-20, the first microcomputer to sell one million units; and for his early role as a pioneer in telecomputing." -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] January workshop call to arms
by Bill Degnan 07 Jan '20

07 Jan '20

Given it's close to my house, let me know when you're going. I used to have a 8010, sold it to Vulcan Electronics some years ago. I also used to work on other Xerox workstations in various places. Bill On Tue, Jan 7, 2020 at 8:26 AM Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > David, thank you for that info! > We do have one monitor, mouse and keyboard, and Andy is heading down to DE > this week to further assess the remainder of the rescue the Xerox machines > were a part of, and potentially pick up the other peripherals for these > machines in advance of completing the overall rescue. > > Tony > > Sent from my iPhone > > > On Jan 7, 2020, at 7:43 AM, Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > > On Tue, Jan 7, 2020 at 7:32 AM David Gesswein via vcf-midatlantic < > > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > >> I have been in contact with Josh Dersch through my emulator project who > >> has working 8010's. Evan had expressed interest in getting one working > so > >> I > >> had checked and he said: > >> > > > > I trust Josh Dersch from The Living Computer Museum & Labs because I have > > met him at VCF PNW and VCF West where he showed off his *working* Xerox > > 8010 Information System (better known as the “Star” workstation) > alongside > > a microcode-level Star emulator developed at LCM+L named Darkstar. Come > > experience GUI history and early desktop metaphors with Viewpoint and > Star > > OS, do some hacking in Mesa on XDE, or delve into AI on Interlisp-D! > > > > > >> I have finish the 3b1 which shouldn't take too long, possible Straight 8 > >> work, haven't heard if paper tape could be loaded. Assuming spare time > >> I can assist on this. > >> > > > > I'm sorry, I didn't have time to finish checking the PDP 8 paper tape > > loading last time I was docent. And now the museum is being renovated so > I > > won't be able to get to it until the epoxy flooring part is finished > within > > the next two weeks. I will update you, but if you need to prioritize, > then > > please work on the Xerox machine before the PDP 8. > > > > > >> On Mon, Jan 06, 2020 at 10:37:30PM -0500, Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic > >> wrote: > >>> Date: Mon, 6 Jan 2020 22:37:30 -0500 > >>> From: Tony Bogan <thebogans(a)mac.com> > >>> To: vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org > >>> Subject: January workshop call to arms > >>> X-Mailer: iPhone Mail (16F203) > >>> > >>> All, VCF recently acquired two Xerox 8010 computers. We would like to > >> assess and repair (if needed) these machines, and are hoping to have > one on > >> display in the very near future. > >>> > >>> We are looking for anyone with the expertise and experience needed to > >> assess these machines. We are hoping to begin the process of restoring > >> these machines at the upcoming January workshop on the 25th and 26th of > >> this month. > >>> > >>> So if you???re out there (and I???m sure you are!) and you can attend > >> the workshop, please let us know! While there will be lots going on at > the > >> workshop, this is something we are hoping to be able to work on in > >> preparation for the museum remodeling (or as soon as is practical) > >>> > >>> Thanks, > >>> Tony Bogan > >>> > >>> Sent from my iPhone > >> > > > > > > -- > > ========================================= > > Jeff Brace > > Vice President, VCF East Showrunner > > Vintage Computer Federation > >

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] January workshop call to arms
by David Gesswein 07 Jan '20

07 Jan '20

I have been in contact with Josh Dersch through my emulator project who has working 8010's. Evan had expressed interest in getting one working so I had checked and he said: Honestly, they are pretty well-built machines with decent switching power supplies in them. The service manual on Bitsavers covers test points for the power supplies. Pull the boards out, clean the edge connectors, test the voltages under load. The monitors may be the weak point (apart from the stuck-heads problem on the Quantum drives) but we've had pretty good luck with them. The Quantum drive issue is here http://www.pdp8online.com/q2040/q2040.shtml I went to the warehouse with Evan at a previous workshop and we took a quick peek but didn't have time to start anything. At the time I think he said the monitor/keyboard wasn't their yet but was supposed to show up later. Do we have parts for a complete system now? I can bring my emulator so the disks can be backed up before we start working on the machine. I can also check if I can get a good image from the person in case the drives are dead. I have finish the 3b1 which shouldn't take too long, possible Straight 8 work, haven't heard if paper tape could be loaded. Assuming spare time I can assist on this. On Mon, Jan 06, 2020 at 10:37:30PM -0500, Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > Date: Mon, 6 Jan 2020 22:37:30 -0500 > From: Tony Bogan <thebogans(a)mac.com> > To: vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org > Subject: January workshop call to arms > X-Mailer: iPhone Mail (16F203) > > All, VCF recently acquired two Xerox 8010 computers. We would like to assess and repair (if needed) these machines, and are hoping to have one on display in the very near future. > > We are looking for anyone with the expertise and experience needed to assess these machines. We are hoping to begin the process of restoring these machines at the upcoming January workshop on the 25th and 26th of this month. > > So if you???re out there (and I???m sure you are!) and you can attend the workshop, please let us know! While there will be lots going on at the workshop, this is something we are hoping to be able to work on in preparation for the museum remodeling (or as soon as is practical) > > Thanks, > Tony Bogan > > Sent from my iPhone

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January workshop call to arms
by Tony Bogan 07 Jan '20

07 Jan '20

All, VCF recently acquired two Xerox 8010 computers. We would like to assess and repair (if needed) these machines, and are hoping to have one on display in the very near future. We are looking for anyone with the expertise and experience needed to assess these machines. We are hoping to begin the process of restoring these machines at the upcoming January workshop on the 25th and 26th of this month. So if you’re out there (and I’m sure you are!) and you can attend the workshop, please let us know! While there will be lots going on at the workshop, this is something we are hoping to be able to work on in preparation for the museum remodeling (or as soon as is practical) Thanks, Tony Bogan Sent from my iPhone

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Whiz Kids Computer Props
by Jeffrey Brace 06 Jan '20

06 Jan '20

Someone who is a documentary producer researching 1983 TV series Whiz Kids is asking us to identify the props used in the show. Can any of you identify them? Here are the four pictures: < https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1MdZWxwpVlBdIJq3QwiYbgNb799eCA7jS?us… > Also if you cannot identify them, then can you direct me someone to someone who can? -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Chuck Peddle
by Glenn Roberts 05 Jan '20

05 Jan '20

Chuck Peddle obit is in the weekend Wall Street Journal. Unfortunately I can't share as their content requires subscription (which I don't have). Glenn

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VCF East 7 - Corvus Exhibit
by Andrew Diller 05 Jan '20

05 Jan '20

Mike Loewen --- You have a very nice collection of old VCF photos: thanks for taking and displaying them for us to enjoy. I have a question about: http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/VCF-East2011/VCF7L-IMG_2181.jpg <http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/VCF-East2011/VCF7L-IMG_2181.jpg> Do you (or any other list member) have any idea who presented the Corvus systems back in VCF 7 2011? I'm interested in tracking down info about these systems and would like to talk to that exhibitor. thanks, -andy

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VCF East 2020 Keynote speaker for Saturday 04/25/2020
by Jeffrey Brace 05 Jan '20

05 Jan '20

Announcing the first keynote speaker committed to VCF East 2020: Bill Mensch!!! -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] several things
by Kenneth Seefried 03 Jan '20

03 Jan '20

- Do some research on bit-error rate on those large drives before you commit your data to one of them. Not pretty. - I have a stack of USB "backup drives" in the 500GB-10TB ranges that in relatively short periods of storage (2-3 years) cased to function. The Western Digital units seem to be particularly bad, but that's subjective. Redundancy, storage diversity and data integrity seems to be a big part being successful here.

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VCF EAST 2020 Classes
by Jeffrey Brace 03 Jan '20

03 Jan '20

It’s that time again ... Looking for people to teach classes on Friday, April 24. Please email me jeffrey(a)vcfed.org with your name, proposed topic and any A/V (or otherwise) requirements. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Repair Workshops January 2020
by Jeffrey Brace 02 Jan '20

02 Jan '20

Two repair workshops in January: One is at Bill Degan's site in Kennett Square, PA on January 4 The other is at InfoAge on January 25 & 26 in the CDL Hackerspace. There is a limit of 20 tables at one time, so be sure to sign up to guarantee a table. Signup Sheets: January 4, 2020 : Kennett Square, PA. at Bill Degnan's Kennett Classic Let him know that you are coming: Website: <https://www.kennettclassic.com/> January 25 & 26, 2020: InfoAge CDL Hackerspace building 9059 < https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LmYNLLK6CEOLCeOQCClhe1J20gpmVlyzmSs… > -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] several things
by Dave McGuire 02 Jan '20

02 Jan '20

On 1/1/20 3:23 PM, Jonathan Sturges via vcf-midatlantic wrote: >> I would augment that by making it a *set* of drives, stored in a >> block-checksumming filesystem like ZFS, and treat the set of drives as a >> unit. ZFS filesystems in particular can be "imported" and "exported" >> to/from a system as a unit, making this convenient. > > Dave, totally agree with you on both the bit error rate issue as well as this recommendation. ZFS' importing/exporting capability has always been a favorite of mine. Question, which ZFS implementations do you use and trust these days? I value the import/export functionality too. I think that's one of ZFS' greatest features. I'm currently using "zfsonlinux" distribution on my main desktop system, and the Solaris 10 implementation (patched to current) for "big storage" pools. >> I've noticed a decrease in M-DISC availability lately. Do you have >> any idea of what's going on with that? > > Thanks for the heads-up about M-Discs, I wasn't aware of their status. I too have an LG drive that supports them but have never really used them. Microcenter has always sold them, though not in great quantity or anything, but at least it's a bricks-and-mortar option: > https://www.microcenter.com/product/452157/verbatim-m-disc-dvdr-4x-47-gb-12… Cool. Everyone who has used them or evaluated them has been impressed by them, so I sure hope they remain available. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Happy New Year
by Jeffrey Brace 02 Jan '20

02 Jan '20

On Tue, Dec 31, 2019 at 10:21 PM Bob Aviles via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > Hi All, > I just want to say Happy New Year!!!!! > Happy New Year to you as well Bobby! I wish you a healthy, prosperous and happy New Year! > Bobby > -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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M-Disc (was: several things)
by Herb Johnson 01 Jan '20

01 Jan '20

While DVD's and Blu-Rays are not on topic, archiving files for the long term seems plausible to discuss. Here's what I found from Web search today. Wikipedia on M-Disc is not current. It appears from Web search, that yours.co (the Web site for the alleged owners of Millenniata intellectual property) is not accessible at least today. Neither is mdisc.com. Domain registration for yours.co was renewed Aug 2019 so it ought to be. There's some kind of kickstarter for yours.co about "transforming videos into a magical experience" for delivery Oct 2018. I conclude yours.co is dead; of course millenniata was already dead. But they sold licenses to produce and label M-DISC to several brands of drives and media. Those resources seem to be active and available. Web search seems to show that Verbatum currently offers M-DISC media in blueray and DVD. The Verbatum page notes that to write to M-DISC requires special drives; Wikipedia was not specific on brands and models but has a similar note. Verbatum says the DVD or BR drive may have a "M-DISC" brand or label. Playback should not be a problem on ordinary DVD or BR drives, both sites say. Verbatum wants about $2 per 4X DVDR M-DISC in 25 packs. I didn't price Blue-Ray media. Other sites have similar prices. Given the application I would not buy non-branded media. Sites selling DVD or BR drives may specify M-DISC models; but check the manufacturer's docs to confirm. newegg shows an LG Blue-ray M-disc drive for $60 or $100. Amazon of course shows several models but some may be "all hat and no cattle" (liars). Dig deep to confirm specific support. But apparent LG external DVD slim drives seem to be cheap ($30). Given the range of prices, it may make sense to get a Blue-Ray compatible drive even if one only writes DVD's. I searched for plausible technical or review articles on M-DISC. What I found was semi-tech blogger who talked but didn't have serious data or experience to provide. Some were incoherent, maybe they were machine-translated English. But the physical technology of M-DISC seems like sound physics; and one needs M-DISC compatible drives for their higher power during write to physically punch through the "stone" coatings. Dave McGuire's post in this thread, seems to offer similar considerations to mine and a similar experience of looking at DVD and drive technology; his views are a little sharper. He makes a fair call for saving to smaller few-TB drives and archiving physical drives, on cost and performance and reliability; and makes other considerations which one should read. This discussion suggests to me, I should look at my stored DVD's and see if they have degraded by year. I have some redundancy and hopefully a run of DVD's might provide a complete set of desired archived files. I continue to recover files from diskettes four DECADES old, with drives of similar (sometimes newer) vintage; and occasionally from ZIP disks and drives maybe two decades old. So I'm optimistic. Regards for another decade, 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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Re: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] several things
by Jonathan Sturges 01 Jan '20

01 Jan '20

> I would augment that by making it a *set* of drives, stored in a > block-checksumming filesystem like ZFS, and treat the set of drives as a > unit. ZFS filesystems in particular can be "imported" and "exported" > to/from a system as a unit, making this convenient. Dave, totally agree with you on both the bit error rate issue as well as this recommendation. ZFS' importing/exporting capability has always been a favorite of mine. Question, which ZFS implementations do you use and trust these days? > I've noticed a decrease in M-DISC availability lately. Do you have > any idea of what's going on with that? Thanks for the heads-up about M-Discs, I wasn't aware of their status. I too have an LG drive that supports them but have never really used them. Microcenter has always sold them, though not in great quantity or anything, but at least it's a bricks-and-mortar option: https://www.microcenter.com/product/452157/verbatim-m-disc-dvdr-4x-47-gb-12… Happy New Year! -Jonathan

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Happy New Year!
by Jeffrey Brace 01 Jan '20

01 Jan '20

On behalf of the VCF board and steering committee, we wish all our members a very happy and prosperous new year! We appreciate all of our members, their contributions and camaraderie. Our members are what make us a great organization! We look forward to another fun, exciting and vintage year ahead of us as VCF goes into a new and improved, yet still vintage direction! :-D -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Happy New Year
by Bob Aviles 01 Jan '20

01 Jan '20

Hi All, I just want to say Happy New Year!!!!! Bobby

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several things
by Jeffrey Jonas 31 Dec '19

31 Dec '19

Happy New Year to all 1) My Microsoft Trackball Explorer Mouse 1.0 just shattered. Does anyone have a spare? 2) an interesting looking gadget: I don't want to sound like an advertisement but we all love gadgets and tools. At $16.90, this watchband-o-many-tools looks interesting but I'm unsure how practical it is vs.a multitool or Swiss Army knife: https://nanroucy.com/products/29-in-1-multi-tool-wearable-titanium-steel-br… 3) DVD-R are NOT archival. My spindle of "Playo" DVD-R fail verification immediately after burning. Others have bit-rot. I vaguely recall a file system format with error checking and redundancy to compensate for that, if one had the foresight to record in that format. What are the "best practices" other than making 2-3 copies on different brands? -- Jeff Jonas

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Museum Report 2019-12-29
by Jeffrey Brace 29 Dec '19

29 Dec '19

A few moderate interest people on a cloudy/rainy day. I took the chance to start VCF East planning. John Cervini of the InfoAge electronic warfare museum dropped off a copy of the NY Times article on Chuck Peddle and we will display the article in the VCF Museum. Tony Bogan worked in the warehouse for a few hours and cleared some space. The warehouse is an area of constant work needed and VCF appreciates the work that Tony, Adam, Andy, and others have done in the warehouse to keep things organized. It's a lot of work, and greatly appreciated! -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Museum Report 2019-12-28 December 28, 2019
by Jeffrey Brace 28 Dec '19

28 Dec '19

About a dozen or two visitors mostly casual interest with some medium and some high interest visitors. Adam, Tony and Andy were working on warehouse and other VCF activities. They can fill you on that part. I got a chance to work on the chasing lights program on the straight 8 and got it working again. Next I will get the Teletype Paper Punch program to work again (with David Gesswein's help). -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Old AT power supplies - how to test?
by John Heritage 28 Dec '19

28 Dec '19

Hey folks, I have a couple of old DOS/Win98 (OS/2) era systems that I came across, and they both have AT PSUs I want to check out before powering on for the first time. I was thinking before powering on: - Open the PSU - Air spray the PSU - Look for obvious signs of failure - capacitor leakage, burnt PCB, burnt components If all looks OK - do these require a load, or can I at least test basic voltage with no load? I do have heat resistors (used to balance out ATX PSUs for a 3D Printer) that I believe I can plug in on the 5V or 12V rails and test voltage there.. How much testing should I do / what do you recommend? Thanks! John

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TRS-80 Trash Talk - Live Tonight!
by Peter Cetinski 28 Dec '19

28 Dec '19

Hi vintage computer afficianados, Join us tonight on YouTube and Zoom for TRS-80 Trash Talk - Live! We’re all about TRS-80s but Commodore, Apple, TI and Atari enthusiasts are welcome too. Find out the state of the TRS-80 community. Test our Tandy Radio Shack knowledge and try stumping the Trash Talkers! See a preview of a new TRS-80 game being developed by @pski <https://twitter.com/pski> called "RoundUp!” Join on Zoom and show us your TRS-80 collection! Let's make it an interactive fun time talking about TRS-80s! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXk...kpkMDylVQb9gfg <https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXkGugvdCkpkMDylVQb9gfg> https://zoom.us/j/600248788 <https://zoom.us/j/600248788>

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School Preparation for Visiting a Computer Museum
by Herb Johnson 27 Dec '19

27 Dec '19

> Movies/YouTubes/Articles/Books to prepare high school students for a visit to our computer museum(s) "Our" being the System Source Computer Museum https://museum.syssrc.com I'm playing this straight, it's a real question. If I were making choices, I'd look at that museum's collection, decide what themes are present in the collection, and then look for materials that represent them 1) in a reasonably accurate way 2) present any considerations about how to "represent" them 3) are not overly long in time or overly technically challenging and 4) are geared for a pre-adult audience. Teachers have other criteria but I'll leave those to them. The collection in question, is of course about vintage computing - pre 2000 era - and seems to include printing and mobile devices and toy/instructional computers. One kind of choice might be, presentations about each or some of those subjects. A Web search of "documentaries about computers" finds all kinds of lists of *documentaries* about computers and computing. Why those and not "movies"? Documentaries are typically one or a series which often last about an hour (each), a convenient time interval. Movies are driven to be dramatic, entertaining, and sometimes non-factual; of course they last well over an hour. Some documentaries may have related course materials. Movies have been covered. I'm surprised documentaries haven't. Maybe someone has suggestions? There's plenty of them, and they are of course described on their own Web pages. One other thing. There's many ways to present vintage computing. My experience as a technical person FROM the 1970's era (and so an old person now), is that younger people today have a different view of "vintage" computing. One divide is an emphasis (or not) on video-game-enabled computing. Another divide, is between persons or objects "in the computing profession" and those not. There's others. So, a collection presents things and information, which supports one or more of these and other views. (shrug) Whoever runs a museum, makes some choices along these lines, deliberately or not. Of course instructors have their own views, as do producers of documentaries and movies. So do discerning viewers, if they are able and willing. "Does this present a point of view that serves my purposes? or doesn't? or someone else's?". It's a larger consideration in modern life. It's worth a thought for this particular matter and this particular museum. Regards, Herb Johnson old techie by profession -- 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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Museum closing during the month of January
by Dean Notarnicola 27 Dec '19

27 Dec '19

FYI: The VCF museum will be closed for floor renovations during the month of January, starting Monday, December 30th and re-opening Saturday,February 1st. The January 25tth and 26th workshop will still take place.

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Interesting article about Silas Warner
by Andrew Diller 26 Dec '19

26 Dec '19

https://www.polygon.com/features/2019/12/24/21029936/castle-wolfenstein-sil… <https://www.polygon.com/features/2019/12/24/21029936/castle-wolfenstein-sil…> I always loved (and was horrible at) Castle Wolfenstein on the Atari. A very nice article just released about him (he died back in 2004) on Polygon. Seems like he was involved with the PLATO system as well as making the games. I was also always intrigued why Id's Wolfenstein 3D had the same name as that 8bit title. Now I know they just bought it from what remained of MUSE. -andy

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Need help in the museum doing prep work for the new floor
by corey cohen 26 Dec '19

26 Dec '19

Hi Everyone, I’m looking for a volunteer to help out on Thursday Dec 26th in the morning (around 10:00am) till the late afternoon preparing the museum for our new epoxy floor. While my son and I grind and clean up the flaking paint on the floor. I need someone to help clear out the workshop area floor and move items to the warehouse staging area. There may also be some light vacuuming and cleaning as we make sure the museum can still be open on this coming weekend. This is dirty work “shlepping” stuff back and forth to the warehouse so if you can come, please dress appropriately. Lunch will be provided for volunteers. If you can help with this project, please email me at corey(a)vcfed.org Thank you in advance for your help, Cheers, Corey corey cohen uǝɥoɔ ʎǝɹoɔ Vintage Computer Federation, a federal 501c3 designated charity 917-747-1408 mobile corey(a)vcfed.org www.vcfed.org

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Chuck Peddle has Passed Away
by Todd George 26 Dec '19

26 Dec '19

Saw some really sad news today, Chuck Peddle (inventor of the 6502) passed away on December 15th. https://www.team6502.org/ -Todd

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OT - Retro data transmission AX25 / X.25 protocol suite
by Martin Flynn 25 Dec '19

25 Dec '19

Back in the dawn of the Internet, the AX25 protocol was created for data transmission over amateur radio. AX25 is related to layer 2 of the X.25 protocol suite. One of the CDL Makerspace* projects under consideration for 2020 is building an X.25 / AX25 gateway, and integrating it's 802.11 related cousin, AREDN on 2.4 and 5.0 GHz If you are interested in participating, please reply off list to keep the list clutter down. Martin *the CDL Makerspace is adjacent to the the VCF Museum operated by the /VCF/ Mid-Atlantic chapter on the Camp Evans campus in Wall New Jersey.

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Merry Christmas!
by Jeffrey Brace 25 Dec '19

25 Dec '19

To all my VCF friends who celebrate Christmas. I hope that you all have a wonderful and blessed day with family and friends. Stay safe and enjoy the day! -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Chris Fala joins VCF East committee
by Dean Notarnicola 24 Dec '19

24 Dec '19

I’m very pleased to announce that Chris Fala is joining the VCF East steering committee, bringing us to a full complement of five members. For those who don't know Chris, here is some background: Chris Fala (chris.fala(a)vcfed.org) is an Information Technology Support Consultant living in Lansdale, PA. His first exposure to computers was as a young teenager when his school received a TRS-80 (Model I) on which he taught himself BASIC. Later, his sister, who worked at Commodore at the time, gave him a VIC-20. In high school, he used a TRS-80 Model III, and in college he learned Pascal and FORTRAN on an Apple IIe, and C on a VAX system. His love of vintage computers and desire to preserve history and hardware was kindled years later when he saw an Altair computer "in person" at a Maker Faire. He loves to teach BASIC to kids (and adults), and strives to foster an appreciation of the technology and history that are often taken for granted today. (He hopes that Adam will teach him 6502 assembly.) We look forward to working with Chris to help bring more improvements to everything we do. Please join us in welcoming him to the committee.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] School Preparation for Visiting a Computer Museum
by Bob Aviles 24 Dec '19

24 Dec '19

I remember the demo, a great choice! Bobby On Tuesday, December 24, 2019, 11:08:12 AM EST, Ben Greenfield via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: I would definately show the The mother of all demos. It really puts everything in perspective for me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJDv-zdhzMY > On Dec 23, 2019, at 3:24 PM, rar via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > Looking for suggestions of Movies/YouTubes/Articles/Books to prepare high school students for a visit to our computer museum(s) > > I'll start with a few of my favorites, and looking for more suggestions > 1) Hidden Figures (book and movie) > 2) Steve Jobs (book and movie) > 3) Triumph of the Nerds > ... > N) War Games > > > Bob Roswell > broswell(a)syssrc.com > 410-771-5544 ext 4336 > > https://museum.syssrc.com > >

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Do we know anyone in Kansas?
by Christian Liendo 24 Dec '19

24 Dec '19

https://www.reddit.com/r/historyofcomputers/comments/eenj1v/help_preserve_t… My parents are moving and my dad is pretty overwhelmed with cleaning out the house. He's ready to toss these in the garbage but I convinced him to let me try to find someone on Reddit to take them. It seems like a real shame to send these to the landfill. If someone is willing to come to Kansas to pick them up, he'll give them away. What is pictured: -2 Compaq 1s luggables, one with a 10 MB hard drive -1 DEC RLO2 drive -1 pdp 11 rack for the drives -Numerous assorted 5 and 10 MB RLO disk packs Not pictured: -1 DEC RLO1 drive -2 DEC Rainbow 100s, working. 1 with a monitor and 10 MB hard drive -1 LA100 printer with pin feed tractors RLO1 and LA100 not pictured because they are currently in the dumpster. They should have had a pretty soft landing but be warned. DEC rainbows should be in perfect working order. Also 3 of the RLO disk packs fell during moving after the photo was taken. My dad insists they are useless after the slightest drop so they are also in the dumpster. Message me if you're interested or at least upvote for visibility. IDGAF about the fake internet points. I just want to preserve history if possible.

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School Preparation for Visiting a Computer Museum
by rar 23 Dec '19

23 Dec '19

Looking for suggestions of Movies/YouTubes/Articles/Books to prepare high school students for a visit to our computer museum(s) I'll start with a few of my favorites, and looking for more suggestions 1) Hidden Figures (book and movie) 2) Steve Jobs (book and movie) 3) Triumph of the Nerds ... N) War Games Bob Roswell broswell(a)syssrc.com 410-771-5544 ext 4336 https://museum.syssrc.com

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I got problems with you people...
by Bill Degnan 23 Dec '19

23 Dec '19

Happy Festivus. (I assume you get the joke and based on the past few days the irony that you all did not wait until today to have a flame war, eh?) Bill Degnan Co-founder of MARCH, Friend of Dan Roganti, Former V.P. of VCFed, and Presently proprietor of Kennett Classic. "don't complain if you're not willing to do something about it" vintagecomputer.net kennettclassic.com P.S. Karen and I are looking forward to our workshop January 4th. The response has been tremendous we're going to have to use the *entire bottom floor* ! There are a lot of new hobbyists from the area who have signed up and I am glad a lot of you all are coming to support this new project too..Stand by for more info. I am probably going to extend the hours.

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Slightly OT: Intel Chart on 80s PCs/90s Data Centers
by John Heritage 23 Dec '19

23 Dec '19

Found this interesting chart from Intel showing market share in the 80s for PCs, 90s for Data Centers: https://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Intel-Business.jpg Definitely shows Atari, Inc. blew their early lead with the 400/800 by not opening the hardware for developers, or investing in getting the hardware costs down earlier. (Also no thanks to FCC noise requirements that made for a costly computer). There's enough in the 80s section for other conclusions on Apple, Commodore, etc too! The 90s are interesting for a variety of reasons, especially seeing separate graphs for IBM RISC and CISC based server products..

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Warehouse Process
by Adam Michlin 23 Dec '19

23 Dec '19

Hi Everyone, As many of you know, I do a lot of work in maintaining the VCF Warehouse at InfoAge in Wall, NJ. I want to address some changes in process in the Warehouse. 1. As you know, we are more frequently varying the "Featured Artifact" in the museum. These changes are by Steering Committee decision (and you, please make suggestions!), not just me, but I store the unused featured artifacts in the Warehouse. We had a Canon Cat on display, we now have a BeBox on display and I am pleased to share that the Canon Cat is now safely stored in a double sealed plastic container in the Warehouse and the BeBox also has an equivalent plastic container. All featured artifacts will be stored in this manner for safety, cleanliness, and ease of more frequent rotation. 2. Going forward, if you donate an item that can fit in a reasonably sized plastic container, we will provide one. If you donate an IBM/360 (please!), we make no promises about plastic containers but are looking at other solutions. 3. There will be a new policy for checking out items from the Warehouse to work on them. Please understand, we are not able to just hand out anything to anyone, but there will be a process in place to request items and the decision will be made by the Steering Committee (again, not just me). Related to point 2, if you clean one of VCF's computers, it will be put back in the warehouse in a *sealed* container (big iron not necessarily included). The inaugural item for this new policy is our Atari MEGA STe which has been checked out for repair by member Bill Lange. Speaking of which, does anyone have a keyboard for said Atari they want to donate to us? We hope it will be a very near future Featured Artifact when we get it working! 4. Remember that Canon Cat? It will shortly be going on loan for display by mutual agreement at Bill Degnan’s Kennett Classic Vintage Computer Gallery <https://www.kennettclassic.com/> in Kennett Square, PA. Any organization will now be able to request a loan of an artifact for display and all loans will be assessed and approved by Steering Committee vote. It is our goal to get the amazing artifacts in the Warehouse out for public viewing in both our museum and other locations. 5. We are working on plastic bins in the Warehouse to both organize and protect artifacts and will be shortly asking for assistance in various sections to make this a reality. The Apple section is almost complete thanks in large part to the assistance of Tony Bogan. We will also be assessing all artifacts including removing any previously missed dreaded batteries as necessary as part of this process. Any and all suggestions about the Warehouse can be sent to me and/or the entire Steering Committee. Best wishes, -Adam adam.michlin(a)vcfed.org amichlin(a)swerlin.com amichlin(a)gmail.com

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Dessicant (was Warehouse Process)
by William Dudley 23 Dec '19

23 Dec '19

Dollar Tree sells small tubs of desiccant. They are approximately 3.5 x 3.5 x 6 inches. $1 each, obviously. Bill Dudley This email is free of malware because I run Linux. On Sun, Dec 22, 2019 at 7:12 PM Adam Michlin via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > Hi Gordon, > > We are experimenting with two different types of containers. . . . We also place a desiccant in each container for moisture and expect to replace these on a regular basis. > > > >

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Warehouse Process
by gsteemso 23 Dec '19

23 Dec '19

Hi all, Although I'm not expecting to be able to visit in person any time soon, I've been avidly following the evolution of your bricks-&-mortar museum. (There are always things only learnable by someone actually doing them, and in that respect your collective efforts may be even more important to our field than any of you expected.) Achieving closed storage for every individual system (artefact?) is a great objective for all of us, museum curators or otherwise. (Besides the usual tendency many of us share to acquire long-neglected, dusty and/or wildlife-befouled hardware, I work in fire & flood restoration. I can say with 100% certainty that if anything gets _on_ an object, particularly an older one, it's normally a serious challenge to get that thing entirely _off_ again in a fully non-destructive manner.) With that in mind, I'm very interested in the details of your planned program of storage in plastic cases. Identifying and sourcing appropriate containers is in no way a trivial project! Making plastic involves chemical softening agents called plasticizers. As some of us have learned the hard way, in the long term plasticizers will migrate out of the finished material -- escaping as gasses or, in especially problematic cases, forming greasy beads on the surface. The most well-known and graphic example of the havoc which can be wrought upon historical artefacts by decomposed plastic was discovered by antique-doll collectors, when very old self-blinking specimens appeared to gradually start crying blood. It was eventually found to be a reaction of the escaping plasticizers with the metal pivots in the eyes, which invariably terminates with the horrifying spectacle of the doll's head rotting in on itself entirely. I personally have found that well-sealed containers of computer stuff -- such as, most memorably, a big jar of surplus ADB Macintosh mice and random smaller items that I'd stashed away -- tend to develop a distinctive plasticky odour after only a few years. In the case of that jar of mice, the stored items had also undergone a slight but noticeable change of _texture_. It was difficult to characterize, but all of the synthetic materials felt less smooth-surfaced -- less "finished," somehow -- and the flexible parts such as cables seemed a bit stiffer, and made extremely faint crunchy noises when manipulated. Because of how problematically plastics can behave over the longer term, I'm very interested in what specific material(s) you plan to use. It's a complex balance between the cost of a given variety of plastic, its long-term stability in general, and the probability that any outgassed plasticizers will react chemically with whatever items are actually stored in the container. I am also curious as to whether and how the artefacts will be padded within the containers. Under normal circumstances, a storage box remains motionless until accessed -- but over a span measured in years, some sort of disruption is more likely than not. Anything from a minor rearrangement of furniture, to relocating the entire storage area, to an actual landslide can cause the box to be dropped, and finding out after the fact that the contents had merely been _placed_ within rather than securely _packed_ is not a pleasant experience. Sincerely, Gordon S.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Warehouse Process
by W2HX 23 Dec '19

23 Dec '19

Let me also suggest that for big items (or even huge ones) to go out and buy a crap-load of large, dirt cheap bedsheets (not fitted). Throw them over the equipment. Much of the dirt/grime/dust that gathers on this stuff settles from out of the air onto the top of the equipment. A simple gesture of covering with a bedsheet will keep them much cleaner. And you can always run a wash at the local laundromat when the sheets get too filthy. But I suggest this gets done otherwise the big stuff will need to be cleaned more frequently (and the cleaning has some risk too). Just a suggestion 73 Eugene W2HX From: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic-bounces(a)lists.vcfed.org> On Behalf Of Adam Michlin via vcf-midatlantic Sent: Sunday, December 22, 2019 7:12 PM To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> Cc: Adam Michlin <amichlin(a)swerlin.com>; gsteemso <48bitsorbust(a)gmail.com> Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Warehouse Process

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Museum Report 2019-12-22 December 22, 2019
by Jeffrey Brace 22 Dec '19

22 Dec '19

A steady stream of visitors due to the last day of the Holiday Model Train show. Some high interested visitors mixed in with the many casual visitors. A good day overall. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Regarding Evan Koblentz and VCFed
by John Heritage 22 Dec '19

22 Dec '19

I would donate for an in-museum plaque or something acknowledging the founder of VCF.. I also like the idea Ben has below. On Sun, Dec 22, 2019 at 7:12 AM Ben Greenfield via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > I would like to see the Board acknowledge Evans foundational work by some > sort of substantial naming, such as naming the archive to this date after > him. > > > Ben > >

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Hanukkah Sameach!
by Jeffrey Brace 22 Dec '19

22 Dec '19

To all my vintage computer friends who are Jewish: Happy Hanukkah! *Chag Urim Sameach!* I wish you all a happy time with family and friends. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Museum Report 2019-12-21 December 21, 2019
by Jeffrey Brace 22 Dec '19

22 Dec '19

Got to the museum at 12:30pm. I was a little late because I had to teach Taekwondo today and there were no other docents available. A visitor came about a minute later with high interest, so I gave him an extended tour. The day was filled with a steady stream of visitors due to the Model Train Holiday show at InfoAge. Most were casual visitors with children who were mostly interested in games, etc. Mouse came to help Martin to string network wire in the 9010-A section (where the museum is). They worked for about 5 hours to wire the 9010-B and 9010-A sections. Thanks Mouse and Martin! The physical wiring is done with some networking hardware and software configuration needing to be done next. VCF will soon have hard wire access to the internet and not have to rely on Mobile Citizen for internet access. I also tried out new bottoms for the stools in the museum. We have caster wheels which we felt were dangerous to child visitors because they could easily fall when the stools moved suddenly. The new casters are flat instead of wheels. We are trying it with one stool to see how it goes. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Dialup, was Museum Report
by David Gesswein 22 Dec '19

22 Dec '19

On Sun, Dec 22, 2019 at 08:08:23AM -0500, Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > > As to other work, Evan and others have been planning a dialup bbs setup in the museum with multiple machines able to ???dial in??? to it, but it never seemed to get beyond the planning stages for a variety of reasons. We plan to build from that foundation and get those system up in the near future as well. > As to networking other machines, as Martin pointed out there is some capability already in place with one of the routers but Andy and others have already talked about other networking possibilities. > I was going to ask about what the plans for dialup were. For the museum 3b1 I was going to bring the "final" disk image to the next workshop. One of its somewhat unusual features was a built in modem. May have had something do do with AT&T selling it. Dialup was common for early unix networking. The 3b1 could demonstrate some of that. Could show uucp file transfer, its The Store! where you could download and install software, email, Usenet etc. It can also call into BBS or into other computers. I assumed dialup won't be done in a short time frame so wasn't planning to configure this now. I can update the image when dialup is supported and its capabilites are known or if planning gets far enough add support to the image I'm setting up.

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