January 2016 - vcf-midatlantic

New January Workshop Date Jan 30/31
by Jeffrey Brace 22 Jan '16

22 Jan '16

The January workshop has been rescheduled to Jan 30 & 31. Let's hope for good weather! Who's coming? 1) Jeff Brace 2) Evan K. 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8)

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OT: Soldering Station, Your Opinion Please
by Chris Fala 22 Jan '16

22 Jan '16

Has anyone seen this model before? http://www.ebay.com/itm/371505966012 Is it worth the price for a cheap spare or for soldering classes, or is it junk and not worth the trouble? (I already have a good Weller and Hakko, so this would just be a backup.) Thanks, Chris

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IBM FSU Static RAM Board...for S-100?!
by Systems Glitch 22 Jan '16

22 Jan '16

This has to be one of the most unexpected S-100 boards I've acquired. The seller says this was created due to the need for denser RAM boards for IMSAI 8080's at IBM's Advanced Systems Development Lab in Los Gatos, California. Apparently FSU RAM was the densest static RAM available at the time, and of course they had access to it, being IBMers. Extra boards were produced for engineers with S-100 machines at home. I wrote up what I know about the boards here: http://www.glitchwrks.com/2016/01/20/fsu-ram Fortunately they came with a copy of the 3-page manual and a (very faded) blueprint copy of the schematic. I've digitized both and made them available. I've tested one of the boards so far, which works fine with my IMSAI 8080 and a 2 MHz 8080 CPU board. I'd be interested to hear if anyone else knows anything about these, or has one, or has spare FSU RAM modules they'd be interested in parting with. Thanks, Jonathan

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JAN 23/24 WORKSHOP CANCELLED!
by Jeffrey Brace 21 Jan '16

21 Jan '16

Due to the coming snowstorm we are cancelling the workshop scheduled for Jan. 23/24 is cancelled!!!! We are waiting to see if Jan 30/31 is available. We will let you know. Also Feb. 27/28 and Mar. 12/13 are the next confirmed workshops. Stay safe everyone!

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OT: Dell Dimension XPS 466V
by Herb Johnson 20 Jan '16

20 Jan '16

> Working on a Dell 486 computer. I need a RTClock battery, but otherwise > it's running quite nicely Windows for Workgroups 3.11 The question of batteries is on-topic IMHO. Batteries in the long term, cause corrosion of parts that have constant current on them. This is true all the way back to 128K Macs. also, many batteries leak (not coin cells), that's not good either. If you add a battery pack, make sure you can readily pull it out when the computer is in long-term storage. Windows for Workgroups (Win 3.1 + networking) is worth preserving. It's a legacy OS now. It ran for many years in embedded applications (back ATMs) and Microsoft support only ended several years ago. Many consider Win 3.1 the first really "successful" M/S Windows OS product. If I had time and interest, I'd see about migrating Win 3.1 to the Heath-Zenith Z-100. That's a S-100 system that is somewhat IBM PC compatible. I don't recall if Windows was offered for that platform, later Zenith PC's ran even earlier Windows (I have those distributions). Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT: Dell Dimension XPS 466V
by tom.hornberger＠verizon.net 20 Jan '16

20 Jan '16

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Vintage Computing Items For Sale or Trade - can bring to workshop
by Jeff Galinat 20 Jan '16

20 Jan '16

On 1/20/2016 10:12 AM, Bob Aviles via vcf-midatlantic wrote:

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Important January Workshop Info
by Jeffrey Brace 20 Jan '16

20 Jan '16

LOCATION: InfoAge Building 9032A - (2201 Marconi Road, Wall Township, NJ) TIME: Start about 10 A.M. on Saturday end whenever. End about 5 P.M. on Sunday. (Starts around 10 A.M. Sunday morning) COST: $10 for all members attending the workshop, which VCF donates to InfoAge as thanks for providing the space for us. EQUIPMENT: VCF will provide a table and you can use any available electrical outlet. Bring your own tools, power strips, power cords and supplies etc. DRINKS: You should bring your own. If anyone has a need to refrigerate their own drinks let me know and we can store it for the weekend in the InfoAge fridge. FOOD: You provide your own. We may order pizza or something where everyone chips in. Usually there is no exact time. We make a decision when everyone gets hungry. PARKING: Park behind the back ramp of 9032A (which is around the building), or in the main parking lot, NOT in the courtyard. Hope to see lots of you there! :-D Jeff Brace

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Vintage Computing Items For Sale or Trade - can bring to workshop
by Jeff Galinat 19 Jan '16

19 Jan '16

Hi, I have the following vintage computing items, test equipment and tools available for sale or trade which I can bring to the workshop over the weekend. I have listed my asking prices which I feel are pretty reasonable but you can be the judge. I would also entertain trades for S-100 boards and 8" DS floppy drives. Please contact me if you would like additional info or to make an offer on any item. I wont bring this stuff unless someone wants it. I would prefer not to ship these items if I can avoid it so the workshop attendees are going to get the 1st shot. Anyhow, here is the list: Vector S-100 Protoboards w tinned edge connector $12 S-100 Cromemco ZPU Z-80 CPU - tested with my IMSAI - $90 S-100 Cromemco TU-ART 2 port serial TMS 5501 based -$60 KSR33 Teletype (complete, case has cracks) $200 ASR33 Print Mechanism with paper tape punch $100 $250 for the above pair Franklin ACE 1000 (needs KB rebuild) $50 Franklin ACE 1200 (needs KB rebuild) with ACE-80 Z-80 card & 1 operational drive $80 Atari 400 with 15 cartridges, power supply & joystick tested working $50 Atari 1050 Floppy Disk Drive w/power supply tested - working $30 $70 for the above pair Okidata 120 Printer for Commodore systems (VIC-20,C-64,etc) with power cord, manual & interface cable $5 Apple Color StyleWriter Printer with power supply $5 Apple CD300 external SCSI CD-ROM Drive with 25 to 50 pin cable, terminator & 3 caddies $ 30 CD-Rom caddies 3 for $5 HP ScanJet 6100Cse 8.5 x 14 flatbed SCSI Scanner - New in box $50 HP LaserJet 4Plus tested working $30 HP 54201D 300mhz Digitizing Oscilloscope w/ manual on CD & 3 10271A state probes/triggering pods $100 Tenma Model 21-7935 Temp. Controlled Solder Station - New in Box! $40 Regards, Jeff Galinat

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FS: Cromemco PRI S100 Printer Interface NIB + Manual
by Systems Glitch 19 Jan '16

19 Jan '16

Link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/272110179325 Untested as I didn't want to unwrap it. This looks like it has never been used at all, still in its styrofoam sheet with plastic overwrap. The original manual and a 25-pin breakout cable were in the box with it, so I suspect it's the original box. Thanks, Jonathan

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