- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

Wireless RS-232 bridge
by Mike Loewen 09 Sep '19

09 Sep '19

Looking for a wireless RS-232 bridge to connect 2 serial ports over an indoor distance. Recommendations? Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

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OFF TOPIC - Frequency time base
by Sentrytv 09 Sep '19

09 Sep '19

Does anybody know if the museum has a time base generator, somewhere around 5, 10 or 20 MHz? (+-20hz) I need to calibrate a frequency counter. Sent from: My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device.

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ISO: Philips CDI 350/360 power supply
by Dean Notarnicola 08 Sep '19

08 Sep '19

In search of a power supply for a Philips portable CDI 350 or 360. Trying to restore one for my son, sadky it has a proprietary connector. Contact me off list. Thanks in advance! Dean

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Looking for DIP Sockets
by J. Alexander Jacocks 08 Sep '19

08 Sep '19

All, I’ve realized that my stock of IC sockets has become dangerously low. If anyone is looking to part with a significant quantity of varied narrow and wide standard pitch sockets, I’m interested. Of course, I’d prefer machine pin sockets, but beggars can’t be choosers. Thanks! - Alex

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Dec Ka670 bus?
by W2HX 07 Sep '19

07 Sep '19

Hi friends, I have been reading about the evolution of these vax processors starting at the KA630, KA650 etc. I just came across the KA670 which seems to have a new bus connector. Instead of the typical ABCD card edge connectors there is a 270 pin connector like a din or vme looking thing. Reading about it, apparently it still carries the Q22 bus, but also now has a memory bus (pmi? Gbus?) And a dssi bus. Very interesting! Anyone know if this type of backplane using these connectors has a name? Typically a bus is often synonymous with the physical connectors used, but in this case it is not. Not that it had to be but commonly it is. Any info on the bus such as history, evolution from the card edge used since the pdp-8 would be interesting. Thanks 73 Eugene W2HX Sent from Nine<http://www.9folders.com/>

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ESIX System V
by jsalzman＠gmail.com 07 Sep '19

07 Sep '19

Do a stack of ESIX System V disks mean anything to anybody here? My understanding is that it's Unix System V for AT&T. I am unable to read the disk contents outside of a PC disk drive.

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System Source Computer Museum Open House Featuring an Original Apple 1 - 9/18
by Mike Loewen 06 Sep '19

06 Sep '19

From Chris Riley at System Source: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 4 Sep 2019 15:01:54 -0500 From: Chris Riley <criley(a)syssrc.com> Subject: System Source Computer Museum Open House Featuring an Original Apple 1 - 9/18 You are invited to the System Source Computer Museum Open House! An original Apple 1 is our newest acquisition. Only 200 were built by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976-77. Ours is one of 10 on public display! Bring your teenagers! Bob Roswell, Co-Founder of System Source for 37 years and museum curator, will walk you down memory lane selecting from >1000 museum pieces including the: * Univac from early space missions * Original Ron Wayne documents selling his Apple shares back to the Steves * IMSAI from the movie "War Games" * IBM card punch and sorter * 7-foot slide rule * 3500 lb Linotype with single fonts weighing 40 lbs * TV watch from early James Bond movies * Bell Systems Picture Phone from the 1964 World's Fair * Pre-Industrial computing tools * Mechanical computing devices * First generation PCs - Altair and IMSAI * Second generation Apple, IBM and Compaq PCs We likely have the first few systems you worked on! This free and exciting tour with refreshments is Wednesday, September 18th from 3 - 7 pm at System Source in Hunt Valley. Kindly RSVP to attend and tour: 1st Tour 3:15pm to 4:00pm 2nd Tour 4:15pm to 5:00pm 3rd Tour 5:15pm to 6:00pm 4th Tour 6:15pm to 7:00pm Chris Riley Director criley(a)syssrc.com System Source 410.771.5544 x4331 PS - Want a fun, private field trip for your larger IT team? Email Michael Jones or call 410.771.5544 x4355 for arrangements. System Source | 338 Clubhouse Rd Hunt Valley, MD 21031

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Wanted: ATV Research Pixie-Verter
by William Sudbrink 05 Sep '19

05 Sep '19

Hi, For historical reasons (I'm starting to plan my VCF East 2020 exhibit) I'd like to get real ATV Research PXV-2A Pixie-Verter. I know that there were a lot of other RF modulators out there (I have a SUP "R" MOD II (that I might trade)) but I want this one in particular. Various S-100 boards and other vintage computer hardware available for trade or cash if necessary. Thanks, Bill Sudbrink --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Looking for a kid friendly 6502 assembly language book
by gsteemso 05 Sep '19

05 Sep '19

> mwillega said: > > I always recommend the MOS Technology hardware and software manuals as good starting points for understanding the 6502. Never seen anything better, when it comes to describing how the 6502 works and how to program it. Those two books are all I needed back in the 70s to come up to speed on 6502 assembly programming. Your mileage may vary. I confess to limited direct experience -- my only experience with teaching someone assembly language was teaching _myself_ -- but as far as I'm concerned, the late Jim Butterfield's books would be very hard to outdo. They're written on the assumption that the reader is using an 8-bit Commodore, with some insightful leveraging thereof to simplify tutelage, but the explanations of how and why each assembly-language instruction works are superlative. G.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Looking for a kid friendly 6502 assembly language book
by Andy Meyer 04 Sep '19

04 Sep '19

BTW, if you've got xscreensaver, there's a module called m6502 which looks like it might be useful for testing small 6502 programs. https://www.jwz.org/xscreensaver/ Andy

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Re: Looking for a kid friendly 6502 assembly language book
by mwillega 04 Sep '19

04 Sep '19

I always recommend the MOS Technology hardware and software manuals as good starting points for understanding the 6502. Never seen anything better, when it comes to describing how the 6502 works and how to program it. Those two books are all I needed back in the 70s to come up to speed on 6502 assembly programming. Your mileage may vary. Regards, Mike Willegal

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vcfed site intermittant/latency
by Bill Degnan 04 Sep '19

04 Sep '19

Hey all...Bill Degnan here sorry I have been out of pocket lately but I have a good reason. .dramatic pause to install wonder. Anyhoo, noticed the vcfed.org was not doing so well the hosting server is very slow to serve web pages. Bill

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Re: Looking for a kid friendly 6502 assembly language book
by Jeff G 03 Sep '19

03 Sep '19

I'd suggest some of the online emulators, like: https://skilldrick.github.io/easy6502/ or https://www.masswerk.at/6502/assembler.html The difference here is that these are pure 6502 and no hardware, which yeah does limit you but at least gets your feet wet, and more importantly, you see the status of the registers, memory, etc as you work with it, which isn't as easy on real hardware. >From there then you can perhaps choose a platform (Apple, Commodore, trainer, etc). What would be really cool, is to see if maybe that first link works for you..have him write some code, then transfer that to a real platform, perhaps even burn a rom (if you can) and see it in action. I did this to test the ram on the sound board of a pinball machine that was 6502 based - had it turn on an LED if the ram was bad (it was). Jeff (aka Bags)

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Eberhard correction
by Fred Terry 03 Sep '19

03 Sep '19

In an earlier email, I misspelled Martin Eberhard’s name. It should have been Eberhard who is the individual who wrote an excellent manual on the repair of the Persai 277 disc drive. Fred Terry

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Looking for a kid friendly 6502 assembly language book
by corey cohen 03 Sep '19

03 Sep '19

I’m going to try to see if my 12 year old son might want to learn 6502 assembly. He knows some basic but I want him to learn how computers really work which means he should learn assembly. All my assembly books assume a lot and I figure 6502 is basic enough since he won’t have to worry about memory segments and stuff like that. The best guideline I can think of is... if it’s a book Evan can learn to program in assembly on an Apple II, then it would be perfect for Ben to learn. @Evan, I think you’ll agree here. Thanks, Corey corey cohen uǝɥoɔ ʎǝɹoɔ Sent from my iPhone

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Martin Eberhard contact info
by William Sudbrink 03 Sep '19

03 Sep '19

Martin regularly posts to the "altair computer club", Cromemco and S-100 mailing lists. It would probably be polite to approach him through one of those lists. Bill S. --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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Martin Eberhard contact info
by Fred Terry 02 Sep '19

02 Sep '19

Can someone provide me an email address or other method to get in touch with Martin Eberhard? I have some very useful information for him. Thanks, Fred Terry

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Festivus Movies and a reminder (Dec. 7 & 8)
by Evan Koblentz 01 Sep '19

01 Sep '19

>> Do you guys make use of a projector to show on a large screen? Yes. We have an LED projector and a 100-inch portable screen. On Sat, Aug 31, 2019, 10:35 AM Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > Hey > Do you guys make use of a projector to show on a large screen? > > Sent from: > My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > > > On Aug 31, 2019, at 9:24 AM, Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > > As a reminder Festivus is Dec 7 & 8 starting at 10am Dec. 7 and ending > Dec. > > 8 at 5pm. > > Signup here: < > > > https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1x0oSxqZXh8tmqqbUsP3KS3OywiNsEAOOmtq… > >> > > > > So I have tried in the past to show movies in a separate room and found > few > > were interested. So my new thought is to show some TV shows and movies > with > > low volume on the cafeteria TV for anyone to watch and as mostly > background > > noise. Bernie S. gave me this idea. The idea is for casual viewing as > most > > people are interested in casual conversations, eating, drinking and > playing > > video games, but some might stop and look for a few minutes. > > > > The first DVD will be "Whiz Kids". A show in the 80's > > Bring whatever movies or suggestions to Festivus. > > I have the following streaming service accounts: Netflix, Amazon Prime > > Video, YouTube Premium, Disney+ > > -- > > ========================================= > > Jeff Brace > > Vice President > > Vintage Computer Federation > >

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Museum Report 2019-09-01 September 1, 2019
by Jeffrey Brace 01 Sep '19

01 Sep '19

A slow day at the museum with a few moderate interest people getting a half hour tour. And also a dozen light interest people. Bill Intereidden stopped by to size up parts for the rack that holds the TR-20. He is working on getting this machine working as well as improving the display. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Cool yet sad rescue coming up this fall
by Evan Koblentz 31 Aug '19

31 Aug '19

Everyone, Sometime this fall, we're going to rescue a pair of SGI cabinets from the Princeton University data center. SGI customized the cabinets in black and orange ... because Princeton Tigers. Their data center VP said these systems almost certainly can't ever run again. Too much disassembly already happened. So all he's promising us are the actual cabinets, not the remaining innards. However, he asked if we can help disassemble those remaining innards, in order to make the cabinets lighter/safer to move. I said what if we agree, but in exchange our guys get to keep those parts if desired? :) Waiting to hear back. I don't yet know much about the system. VP is asking some of his old-timers to write down its history for us. Here is a picture: https://tinyurl.com/y6ldajlb

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Festivus Movies and a reminder (Dec. 7 & 8)
by Evan Koblentz 31 Aug '19

31 Aug '19

>> Just curious, how many lumens Dunno On Sat, Aug 31, 2019, 12:30 PM Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > Evan > Just curious, how many lumens? > > Sent from: > My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > > On Aug 31, 2019, at 11:05 AM, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > >>> Do you guys make use of a projector to show on a large screen? > > > > Yes. We have an LED projector and a 100-inch portable screen. > > > > On Sat, Aug 31, 2019, 10:35 AM Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic < > > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > >> Hey > >> Do you guys make use of a projector to show on a large screen? > >> > >> Sent from: > >> My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > >> > >>> On Aug 31, 2019, at 9:24 AM, Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < > >> vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > >>> > >>> As a reminder Festivus is Dec 7 & 8 starting at 10am Dec. 7 and ending > >> Dec. > >>> 8 at 5pm. > >>> Signup here: < > >>> > >> > https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1x0oSxqZXh8tmqqbUsP3KS3OywiNsEAOOmtq… > >>>> > >>> > >>> So I have tried in the past to show movies in a separate room and found > >> few > >>> were interested. So my new thought is to show some TV shows and movies > >> with > >>> low volume on the cafeteria TV for anyone to watch and as mostly > >> background > >>> noise. Bernie S. gave me this idea. The idea is for casual viewing as > >> most > >>> people are interested in casual conversations, eating, drinking and > >> playing > >>> video games, but some might stop and look for a few minutes. > >>> > >>> The first DVD will be "Whiz Kids". A show in the 80's > >>> Bring whatever movies or suggestions to Festivus. > >>> I have the following streaming service accounts: Netflix, Amazon Prime > >>> Video, YouTube Premium, Disney+ > >>> -- > >>> ========================================= > >>> Jeff Brace > >>> Vice President > >>> Vintage Computer Federation > >> > >> > >

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OFF TOPIC movie
by Neil Cherry 31 Aug '19

31 Aug '19

On 8/28/19 6:42 PM, Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > the "this" network is a movie called "Runaway" (1984)A Movie about robots being programmed to go berserk. > > Starring Tom Selleck as the good guy and the part of the bad guy being played by, of all people, Gene Simmons of > KISS. > I don't think I ever heard of it back in the 80s. > Just thought somebody might want to watch it. NOoooooooo! That was a terrible movie then and I don't think you can mystery science theater it to improve it. ;-) -- Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry(a)linuxha.com http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies

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Festivus Movies and a reminder (Dec. 7 & 8)
by Jeffrey Brace 31 Aug '19

31 Aug '19

As a reminder Festivus is Dec 7 & 8 starting at 10am Dec. 7 and ending Dec. 8 at 5pm. Signup here: < https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1x0oSxqZXh8tmqqbUsP3KS3OywiNsEAOOmtq… > So I have tried in the past to show movies in a separate room and found few were interested. So my new thought is to show some TV shows and movies with low volume on the cafeteria TV for anyone to watch and as mostly background noise. Bernie S. gave me this idea. The idea is for casual viewing as most people are interested in casual conversations, eating, drinking and playing video games, but some might stop and look for a few minutes. The first DVD will be "Whiz Kids". A show in the 80's Bring whatever movies or suggestions to Festivus. I have the following streaming service accounts: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube Premium, Disney+ -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OFF TOPIC movie
by Randy M 31 Aug '19

31 Aug '19

My wife liked Tom Selleck so it was required watching. Not on the level of, say, 2001 A Space Odyssey, but pretty neat little gadgets. Most of the movies panned by the critics were mostly pretty good, IMHO. On Fri, Aug 30, 2019, 9:50 PM Sentry TV via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > The point was that some time ago there was conversation about "computer" > movies and I don't think we mentioned "Runaway", not that it was a bad > movie!.Most of the movies at the time that had some sort of "futuristic > tech" in it, really were not very good!Except for War Games.My 2 cents > On Friday, August 30, 2019, 08:14:31 PM EDT, Jeffrey Brace via > vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > Is it better or worse than "The Terror of Tiny Town"? > > On Fri, Aug 30, 2019 at 8:49 AM Neil Cherry via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > On 8/28/19 6:42 PM, Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > > > the "this" network is a movie called "Runaway" (1984)A Movie about > > robots being programmed to go berserk. > > > > > > Starring Tom Selleck as the good guy and the part of the bad guy being > > played by, of all people, Gene Simmons of > > > KISS. > > > I don't think I ever heard of it back in the 80s. > > > Just thought somebody might want to watch it. > > > > > > NOoooooooo! That was a terrible movie then and I don't think you can > > mystery science theater it to improve it. ;-) > > > > -- > > Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry(a)linuxha.com > > http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site > > http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog > > Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies > > > > > -- > ========================================= > Jeff Brace > Vice President > Vintage Computer Federation > >

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Workshop Straight 8 status
by David Gesswein 30 Aug '19

30 Aug '19

When I left after the last workshop a bit would be dropped when shifting the accumulator in the moving lights demo. I was able to move failure to a different AC bit by swapping AC cards. When I got to Infoage for this workshop Evan said that he had successfully ran the moving lights program for a demo sometime previously. I spend some time trying to get the problem to reproduce unsuccessfully. I tried wiggling the cards and using the margin check voltages without causing the failure. Moving the cards enough that they move in the backplane connector would cause faults but motion less than that didn't. I suspect it will be back sometime. At a previous workshop I replaced a number of diodes in the memory cards but didn't' have time to do the memory margin check procedure. This time the sense amp margin voltages that caused failure were 4.9V and 17.3V. The manual says the difference should be > 12V which it is. The slice failure voltages are 7.04 and 8.1V. No minimum range was specified in the maintenance procedures. I left the slice voltage set to the middle of the range at 7.6V. Power supply voltages were 10.7 and -14.6. I did notice that I was still getting double increments on front panel load/store operations occasionally. The machine has a debounce circuit that did not debounce sufficiently. I assume the switches are noisier than when new. I previously put a 47uf capacitor on it to increase the debounce time. I increased that to 100uf. That may be getting a little too large since it seemed to ignore really quick switch presses. People using the machine should let me know if you see the double increment or other funny behavior still and if you find it ignores switch actions for you. Good check is after or occasionally during check the address matches the expected address for next location you are loading. When I tried to local Focal programs last time I got ?11.35 error which is input buffer overflow. Focal has a design issue. When loading from ASR33 paper tape it prints what it reads in without any flow control so if printing is slower than reading it will overrun when the small buffer is filled. I compared the RX bit timing from the teletype to the TX clock and the TX clock was slower. I adjusted the R450 clock to prevent the overrun. Teletype seemed to be happy with the faster clock. I was able to load lunar lander without errors. My attempt to land ended with a crater. Known issues are 1) The machine will start running sometimes at power on when the auto restart switch is off. It seems to start running before the voltages are stable so it corrupts memory when it runs. Didn't look at this. Easy workaround is to leave the single step switch on at power on. 3) The W300 delay line cards still need to be fixed. I think the machine is usable for demos. I suspect sometimes the demos won't work but will next time. We need to keep track of what issues we see and is anything correlated with when it acts up such as temperature to help in further fixing. I left it with the moving AC light demo, the punch block letter text on paper tape demo, and FOCAL lunar lander demo. I'll look for what else might be of interest. Getting the plotter working and making an interface on it will hopefully be a winter task for me. Having the plotter making some interesting plots should be a good background demo.

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OFF TOPIC movie
by Sentrytv 28 Aug '19

28 Aug '19

I was just flipping through channels on TV and found that on the "this" network is a movie called "Runaway" (1984)A Movie about robots being programmed to go berserk. Starring Tom Selleck as the good guy and the part of the bad guy being played by, of all people, Gene Simmons of KISS. I don't think I ever heard of it back in the 80s. Just thought somebody might want to watch it. Mike R. Sent from: My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device.

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August Repair Day - Sat Report from Member
by dillera＠gmail.com 28 Aug '19

28 Aug '19

Ok, the Saturday Repair Day was a blast. Here are some photos and notes from the show. A lot of people showed up, a lot of projects got done and we had a wonderful evening barbecue outside as well. If anyone took a photo of that, please pass it along, I was too busy eating and drinking to take any photos. We had a couple of new members show up and it was a nice time getting to know them during the day as well as over food. Some equipment was given away and some new donations to the Museum also. Photos I took are here: https://imgur.com/gallery/X2o83iM <https://imgur.com/gallery/X2o83iM> Items to consider- 1. Serial box. JasonP's amazing serial box (Smart Cable SC821 Plus) let me connect the MicroVax to a VT term- without it i wouldn't have had the proper cabling to do it. This is a buy from me. https://www.smart-cable.com/catalog?action=display&key=102 <https://www.smart-cable.com/catalog?action=display&key=102> I've found it on ebay for $10-50 (just got one on ebay w/ cables for $40). 2. Pencil Soldering iron - this looked amazing and i didn't take a photo so if AlexJ can comment on what that model was I want to get one. It looked very handy for some jobs. 3. MFM Emulater - DaveG was kind enough to help me image a drive and showed me his amazing MFM drive emulator. I now have one in my Vax... Please reply back if you are interested in an October and November Repair day so we can ensure we have one! -andy

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Emailing issues
by Dean Notarnicola 27 Aug '19

27 Aug '19

"Standards? We ain't got no standards. We don't need no standards. I don't have to show you any stinking standards!" On Tue, Aug 27, 2019 at 3:38 PM Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > Well put! > > Sent from: > My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > > > On Aug 27, 2019, at 2:27 PM, Tony Bogan <thebogans(a)mac.com> wrote: > > > > > >> I have noticed that some emails on my iPhone Gmail app will appear as > >> “blank”, but I see the ... and click and there is the email. It seems > that > >> Gmail parses for certain text to make it part of previous replies. Some > >> replies get mixed in. Definitely different behavior than the website > which > >> I use on the desktop. > > > > If only standards were standard and everyone implemented those standards > in the standard way!! > > > > Tony > >

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Emailing issues
by Sentrytv 27 Aug '19

27 Aug '19

Well put! Sent from: My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > On Aug 27, 2019, at 2:27 PM, Tony Bogan <thebogans(a)mac.com> wrote: > > >> I have noticed that some emails on my iPhone Gmail app will appear as >> “blank”, but I see the ... and click and there is the email. It seems that >> Gmail parses for certain text to make it part of previous replies. Some >> replies get mixed in. Definitely different behavior than the website which >> I use on the desktop. > > If only standards were standard and everyone implemented those standards in the standard way!! > > Tony

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Emailing issues
by Jeffrey Brace 27 Aug '19

27 Aug '19

On Tue, Aug 27, 2019 at 12:56 PM Alexander Pierson via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > I've noticed that too on certain emails. For some reason, they're > unreadable to my mobile email client. I don't know what that's all about... I have noticed that some emails on my iPhone Gmail app will appear as “blank”, but I see the ... and click and there is the email. It seems that Gmail parses for certain text to make it part of previous replies. Some replies get mixed in. Definitely different behavior than the website which I use on the desktop. > > But I do know that even yahoo's garbage fire of an interface can handle > threads of emails without issue normally. On Tuesday, August 27, 2019, > 12:32:11 PM EDT, Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > > On Aug 27, 2019, at 11:02 AM, Drew Notarnicola via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > > Maybe you guys need a better client. In Gmail, every email shows up as > part > > of a thread, and mine are included and visible. > > I don’t have any trouble seeing all the emails, including my own, but for > some reason when the list was moved/updated last year suddenly my emails > come through as a mime attachment. Doesn’t happen on a couple other lists > I’m on but it does with this one. > Tony > > -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Emailing issues
by Alexander Pierson 27 Aug '19

27 Aug '19

I've noticed that too on certain emails. For some reason, they're unreadable to my mobile email client. I don't know what that's all about... But I do know that even yahoo's garbage fire of an interface can handle threads of emails without issue normally. On Tuesday, August 27, 2019, 12:32:11 PM EDT, Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > On Aug 27, 2019, at 11:02 AM, Drew Notarnicola via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > Maybe you guys need a better client. In Gmail, every email shows up as part > of a thread, and mine are included and visible. I don’t have any trouble seeing all the emails, including my own, but for some reason when the list was moved/updated last year suddenly my emails come through as a mime attachment. Doesn’t happen on a couple other lists I’m on but it does with this one. Tony

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Emailing issues
by Drew Notarnicola 27 Aug '19

27 Aug '19

Maybe you guys need a better client. In Gmail, every email shows up as part of a thread, and mine are included and visible. On Mon, Aug 26, 2019 at 7:54 PM Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > I haven't tried to find out it kind of just live with it > > Sent from: > My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > > > On Aug 26, 2019, at 6:32 PM, Mike Loewen via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > >> On Mon, 26 Aug 2019, Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > >> > >> I think what bugs me more is the fact that it sends my email as an > attachment instead of a response in the body of the email. Maybe this can > be set up differently via Yahoo. I know, we went through this before, just > saying. This also happens with others. > > > > This bothers me, as well. Tony Bogan's messages also show up as > attachments. In order to reply to one of these in context, I have to copy > and paste from the original message. Is there a setting on your email > clients which can fix this? > > > > > > Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us > > Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/ > >

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what's that alluring device at the workshop?
by Jeffrey Jonas 27 Aug '19

27 Aug '19

https://i.imgur.com/q4eVBxG.png What is that wonderful thing? Looks like a paper tape drive in the background and some CPU front panel in the foreground but retrofitted with the LCD. Whose? What izzit? -- jeff jonas

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workshop sign up?
by W2HX 27 Aug '19

27 Aug '19

Can someone point me to the sign up sheet to attend sunday's repair workshop? I don't need a table, I just want to attend and observe. I looked on the VCF website for the VFC east but didn't see the event listed. thanks Eugene W2HX

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Problems we face as collectors/curators: The last lesson of Bob Pease
by Herb Johnson 27 Aug '19

27 Aug '19

Yes, this post is too long. Read it when you have time, if you have interest in analog electronics. Or, if you think about problems in collecting vintage technology from others' "archives" (spelled "hoardings"). https://www.electronicdesign.com/analog/what-s-all-pease-prototype-stuff-an… (link to previous article below) https://www.electronicdesign.com/analog/what-s-all-stuff-stuff-anyhow One of the electronic trade-magazines (papery bloggy things in postal mail to oldies) occasionally sends me email-links to articles on their Web sites. This article caught my attention, as it represents the problems we have today as collectors of vintage computing (or electronic, or semiconductor) items. It's the perception that this stuff is junk and has no value except as curiosities accumulated by "hoarders". But I'll explain why this stuff has value. If you read the article, it's about a collection of accumulated artifacts of work done by Bob Pease, an analog design engineer at Philbrick National Semiconductor in the 1960's and decades following. Since he worked before digital simulation - and because simulation isn't good enough - he accumulated many prototype circuits for things he designed. a reminder: prototypes prove the result. So they were necessary at design-verification time, and later to deal with problems in production. He also found them useful to demonstrate to others, and to show when National was exhibiting. Bob's contributions were not only in design and development, but in education and in publication. His columns (and books from them) on analog design were amusing, informative and are read to this day. He personally mentored a generation of analog electronic designers. Bob Pease died several years ago. However: the article is informative about attitudes about previous design and prototype practices; or simply about the technical past. The article essentially suggests: "This stuff is a mess of junk. We don't do things this way now, we know better now. There's no value to this stuff, because we don't know how to make sense of it. Since some parts are before production, they can't be of any interest to anyone except as scrap. A few things, remind some of us about the-old-days. But this guy was a hoarder." There's a link to a previous article of a few months prior (link above). The "Pease collection" was obtained from Pease's estate, I think in 2017. The task of organizing it was "resigned" to a "media relations manager" - very likely a person who was unfamiliar with its technical content. As with the current article, other engineer's comments and photos give some meaning to the items photographed. Nobody seems to know exactly what to do with this stuff, other than to give it away to their older buddies at social events. Of course, any collector of vintage semiconductors will wince when reading this article: they love pre-production parts. And many "senior" analog engineers, like the ones quoted in the articles, have some experience with the chips and circuits shown, and the methods Bob used in design and construction. Again: they are still informed by his work and methods. Some number of engineers or collectors, would likely be pleased to have some example from their mentor or simply from the period. I won't give a lecture on "curation", the art of displaying and describing artifacts to glean information and context and to preserve intellectual and/or physical content. That describes a process that has yet to be performed (may never happen) for this rescued but endangered collection. It's already picked over a few times. For those who are simply vintage-computing collectors or users, you'll likely be saddened by association about this article and situation. It could well be a bunch of vintage computers and accessories. Note the author confuses a 5.25-inch floppy drive with "a CD player". If that kind of iconic artifact is unrecognizable in 2019, imagine what will be overlooked going forward. The last lesson of Bob Pease, may well be as suggested in the title of the article: "What is this stuff, anyhow?". What's to be done - if anything - with artifacts of technical work and products? Do they have value? What do they mean? Can they inform us, or simply amuse us, or do they just get in the way? 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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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] August Repair Day - Sat Report from Member
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 27 Aug '19

27 Aug '19

andy diller via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> writes: > >Ok, the Saturday Repair Day was a blast. Here are some photos and notes >= from the show. > >A lot of people showed up, a lot of projects got done and we had a = >wonderful evening barbecue outside as well. If anyone took a photo of = >that, please pass it along, I was too busy eating and drinking to take = >any photos. We had a couple of new members show up and it was a nice = >time getting to know them during the day as well as over food. Some = >equipment was given away and some new donations to the Museum also. =20 > >Photos I took are here: > >https://imgur.com/gallery/X2o83iM <https://imgur.com/gallery/X2o83iM> > > >Items to consider- > >1. Serial box. JasonP's amazing serial box (Smart Cable SC821 Plus) let >= me connect the MicroVax to a VT term- without it i wouldn't have had >the = proper cabling to do it. This is a buy from me. = >https://www.smart-cable.com/catalog?action=3Ddisplay&key=3D102 = ><https://www.smart-cable.com/catalog?action=3Ddisplay&key=3D102> I've >found it on ebay for $10-50 (just got one on ebay w/ cables for = $40). DEC BCC08 There should be a cache of these in the warehouse. Andy Goldstein donated his MicroVAX-II from the DEC museum to MARCH/VCF. I picked it up at MRO and delivered it to Infoage. There was a cable on its console port. The MicroVAX-II had been on display at one time but I believe that it too has been relocated/retired to the warehouse. It had DEC property tags as well as other identifying marks that it belonged to Andy. If you don't know who Andy Goldstein is/was, too bad for you.

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Magnusson Method
by Glenn Holmer 27 Aug '19

27 Aug '19

https://twitter.com/lizhenry/status/1165760903809130496 Anybody know where to find the original Datamation article? -- Glenn Holmer (Linux registered user #16682) "After the vintage season came the aftermath -- and Cenbe."

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Emailing issues
by Mike Loewen 26 Aug '19

26 Aug '19

On Mon, 26 Aug 2019, Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > I think what bugs me more is the fact that it sends my email as an > attachment instead of a response in the body of the email. Maybe this can be > set up differently via Yahoo. I know, we went through this before, just > saying. This also happens with others. This bothers me, as well. Tony Bogan's messages also show up as attachments. In order to reply to one of these in context, I have to copy and paste from the original message. Is there a setting on your email clients which can fix this? Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

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Emailing issues
by Sentrytv 26 Aug '19

26 Aug '19

I think what bugs me more is the fact that it sends my email as an attachment instead of a response in the body of the email. Maybe this can be set up differently via Yahoo. I know, we went through this before, just saying. This also happens with others. Mike R. Sent from: My extremely complicated,hand held electronic device. > On Aug 26, 2019, at 3:28 PM, Dean Notarnicola via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > Me too, using GMail > > On Mon, Aug 26, 2019 at 3:12 PM Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > >> >>> Yeah- that bugs me also. >>> >>> Petition to ask to change the mailing list options - to send the message >> to the original sender also. >>> >>> It’s always not felt right to me that you don’t see your own postings to >> the list… but that is just me. >>> >>> >>> Anyone else feel like they’d like to see their own posts in the mailing >> list? >>> >>> -andy >> >> When I reply it shows in my in box. If I reply all it CCs the sender in >> addition to the list. >> >> Tony >> >>

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] August Repair Day - Sat Report from Member
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 26 Aug '19

26 Aug '19

Andrew Diller via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> writes: > >Yes, there are a few AG out there. > >OK, AG apparently was on the design team for VMS. I guess he's >Cutlers right-hand-man for VMS? > >https://www.slideshare.net/stanquayle/andy-goldstein-vx2001 = ><https://www.slideshare.net/stanquayle/andy-goldstein-vx2001> Don't go making DC out to be god. Dick Hustvedt and Peter Lipman were quite influential in the VMS design. Thanks for that link, however. I didn't know Stan had a copy of that presentation.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] workshop sign up?
by Andrew Diller 26 Aug '19

26 Aug '19

> > I’m using Apple Mail, from both mobile and desktop, (currently from my phone) I see my replies as another email in the given conversation like any other replies. Must be a setting you have turned on or off in your mail preferences. > > Tony OK, you all convinced me. I’m not sure what is going on then. To be clear, Apple Mail (in OS X and iOS) WILL pull your original sent message from the Sent folder and put it in the thread for you- so you have to be careful… -andy

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] workshop sign up?
by Dean Notarnicola 26 Aug '19

26 Aug '19

Me too, using GMail On Mon, Aug 26, 2019 at 3:12 PM Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > Yeah- that bugs me also. > > > > Petition to ask to change the mailing list options - to send the message > to the original sender also. > > > > It’s always not felt right to me that you don’t see your own postings to > the list… but that is just me. > > > > > > Anyone else feel like they’d like to see their own posts in the mailing > list? > > > > -andy > > When I reply it shows in my in box. If I reply all it CCs the sender in > addition to the list. > > Tony > >

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OT: Anyone in Canada?
by Tony Bogan 26 Aug '19

26 Aug '19

Is there anyone on the list in Canada that could accept a package and then ship it to the States? I have a machine that would come from Hong Kong but due to size Hong Kong Post won’t ship it and SF Express won’t ship used computers to the US. Obviously shipping from Canada to me (New Jersey) would be paid to you in advance. Contact me off list eh? ;-) Tony Sent from my iPhone

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TexElec pads
by David Gesswein 26 Aug '19

26 Aug '19

I didn't get back to the main room at the right time. How did the texElec pads work in the Compaq?

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] BeBox for the Museum
by Michael Kato 26 Aug '19

26 Aug '19

> > > Message: 7 > Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2019 22:09:22 -0500 > From: Evan Koblentz <evan(a)vcfed.org> > To: Christian Liendo <cliendo(a)gmail.com> > Cc: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> > Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] NeXT(s) f/s in Maryland > Message-ID: > < > CADAdoY7HSnf9efqXOmPrpf7K6OQVafFPer0ytzg+adA8c3hCyw(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" > > Someone please get it for us!! We don't have one. :( > Evan, Let's talk. I have one in working order, and I might be ready to donate. ....maki....

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Breakfast tomorrow for repair workshop people
by Jeffrey Brace 25 Aug '19

25 Aug '19

Tomorrow we will go to Blue Swan diner in Ocean Township at 9am. Let me know if you are joining us. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Museum AT&T Unix machine
by Jeffrey Brace 25 Aug '19

25 Aug '19

If anyone has the expertise to look at and repair the museum AT&T unix machine, it would be much appreciated. The symptoms seem to be that it is endlessly looking for a boot sector and not finding it (based on the symptoms and looking it up on a website). There is a green screen with characters slowly going across endlessly. Please contact Evan or myself if you have the ability and time. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Commodore 64 diagnostics help / August Workshop
by Michael Pohl 25 Aug '19

25 Aug '19

Gents- My son is working on a garage sale Commodore 64 that starts up and produces the standard blue C-64 background screen, but shows a bunch of random characters instead of the normal boot up. We're told that this might indicate a bad RAM chip and that a diagnostic test cartridge might reveals which chip is bad. Would anyone good with Commodore and attending on Saturday (24 AUG) be willing to bring along one of that and help us run a test? Thx! Mike Pohl

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Compaq Portable 1
by Douglas Perry 23 Aug '19

23 Aug '19

Thanks Even, Getting it up and running again/being able to show my son the machine that got me interested in coding would be amazing. Even if I can't get it working I'm just as excited to meet up with some people who share my interest and get to see some computers I've never had the pleasure to see before. Doug P *Evan Koblentz* evan at vcfed.org <vcf-midatlantic%40lists.vcfed.org?Subject=Re%3A%20%5Bvcf-midatlantic%5D%20Compaq%20Portable%201%20%28response%29&In-Reply-To=%3CCADAdoY4nCtQCjTU-gNxTX5Vp5pxc7gKBDbjCWeQ-7h8oK8uubw%40mail.gmail.com%3E> *Fri Aug 23 13:21:22 EDT 2019* >>* I don't think I'm capable of tracing it down via comparison. * Yes but helping/teaching each other is what our workshops are all about. You might still go home with a working computer. On Fri, Aug 23, 2019, 12:57 PM Douglas Perry via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic at lists.vcfed.org <https://lists.vcfed.org/mailman/listinfo/vcf-midatlantic>> wrote: >* David G thank you for your offer. *>>* I don't think it will be necessary for you to bring the your Compaq. *>* Considering my current level I if the issue doesn't jump out as obvious *>* (exploded cap) I don't think I'm capable of tracing it down via comparison. *>>* I do look forward to meeting you though and maybe bending your ear for *>* ideas depending on what happens when I get it opened up. *>>* Thanks again, *>* Doug P. *>>>* Date: Fri, 23 Aug 2019 11:56:53 -0400 *>* From: David Gesswein <djg at pdp8online.com <https://lists.vcfed.org/mailman/listinfo/vcf-midatlantic>> *>* To: vcf-midatlantic at lists.vcfed.org <https://lists.vcfed.org/mailman/listinfo/vcf-midatlantic> *>* Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] Compaq portable 1 *>* Message-ID: <20190823155653.GA6583 at hugin2.pdp8online.com <https://lists.vcfed.org/mailman/listinfo/vcf-midatlantic>> *>* Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii *>>* It was discussed on the list earlier that Doug P was bringing a Compaq *>* portable 1 to work on and I and someone else had offered to bring a working *>* machine for comparison. (Mine is a plus). Probable don't need two so *>* checking if that was still desired and if I should bring mine or someone *>* else *>* was bringing a working one. Mine still has covers off. *>>>>* End of vcf-midatlantic Digest, Vol 15, Issue 23 *>* *********************************************** *>

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Reminder Xerox 16/8
by Sentry TV 23 Aug '19

23 Aug '19

Just a reminder I'll be at the workshop this weekend Saturday at about 10 AM till about 4PM In case anyone has discs I can use to boot this machine. It would certainly be appreciated. I will be bringing the Xerox machine, Monitor, Printer to the next Saturday workshop. Anyone who has 5.25 boot disk(s) DOS or CP/M that will be going to the workshop Saturday, could you bring a couple to test, please? Right now I do not have any boot disks for this. I had MS-DOS disks at one time but cant find them, yet. Thank you Mike R.

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