October 2016 - vcf-midatlantic

Shirts are here
by Evan Koblentz 19 Oct '16

19 Oct '16

The new polo shirts arrived. Dean picked them up today. He's bringing them to the museum Oct. 29. Best time for most folks to get them will be during Festivus.

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That UNIVAC part from Grabbe -- update!
by Herb Johnson 19 Oct '16

19 Oct '16

This discussion caught my eye and I did some quick Web searching. PX23_1103A_sysMaint_Feb57.pdf at bitsavers.org under "pdf" and "univac" and "1103", has general descriptions of Univac 1103 modules, or in their terminology "unit chassis". There's a single photo of a chassis, which clearly is of the same kind as the module in discussion. I believe it states there are 86 kinds of unit chassis. This manual is dated Feb 1957 from "Remington Rand Univac". The manual PX71871_ERA103vol2sec4.pdf has on page 1 and many other pages, "Remington Rand / Engineering Research Associates Division" Page one adds "(street) St. Paul Minnesota". That confirms the "ERA" identification of the VCFed's module. This manual has text descriptions of various (vacuum tube) circuits, I/O and memory elements. Seems to be a kind of primer on computing and logical elements, and on the 1103's programming and I/O facilities. It's pretty informative as an introduction to 1103 "technology". Other bitsavers 1103 documents from 1953 forward identify "ERA 1103" versus the "Univac Scientific Model 1103A". But - no schematics, no list of unit chassis numbers were immediately evident in my quick look. It may be difficult to find a manual for the specific module held by VCFed. The image in the PDF from Evan is blurry. A better image may show a "unit chassis" part number that can be Google searched to find a document with specific information. This is a hint. Why will a unit-chassis manual be difficult to find? I'm "guessing" that most of the Univac manuals were for use on-site to operate the Univac, or off-site to learn how to program it. The point of modular construction, was to allow on-site persons to run test operations on the computer, to identify down to the "unit chassis" any problems. Then the unit chassis could be pulled, repaired off-site, and/or replaced on site. Military procedures for system repairs may have been different. lose reading of the "sysMaint" manuals may reference that process and would be informative. Herb Johnson -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Re: Baynesville Electronics
by SVCatITC＠aol.com 19 Oct '16

19 Oct '16

Hi All, & specifically: Mike Loewen, Dan Roganti, Chris Gioconda, Rich Cini and Jonathan; I am the newbe in the group and will add my 2 cents concerning "Old Electro Shops". If you get up to Needham MA: You-do-it Electronics Center Exit 19A off Route 128 in Needham, MA They seem to be doing well. Been there, nice place. http://www.youdoitelectronics.com Leeds Radio in NY has moved Leeds Radio 175 Walnut Avenue Bronx NY 10454 718 963-1764 _sales(a)leedsradio.com_ (mailto:sales@leedsradio.com) LeedsRadio.com You can also find Leeds on Etsy.com And reminiscing...... Atkinson & Smith in Eatontown, NJ Went there with my dad when they were right on Rt 35. Behind front counter was covered in d'Arsonval panel instruments. They moved off to a side street and then went out of business in the 90's. Some of the civil workers at Ft. Monmouth were hams so they all congregated there after work. You would find me upstairs (all surplus) in the new location every Saturday scrounging through the junky gold! Good Times Bill Inderrieden > Mike Loewen <_mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us_ (mailto:mloewen@cpumagic.scol.pa.us) > You folks in the MD area will be disappointed to hear the Baynesville > Electronics is closing its doors: > Dan Roganti <_ragooman(a)gmail.com_ (mailto:ragooman@gmail.com) > > I heard about this too, but I haven't seen this interview. I never got a > chance to visit there, sad it see it go. But it reminds me of several ones > from back home on Long Island. They were also mom 'n pop stores, been > around for decades but they also closed many years ago. One of them was > Edlie's Electronics in Levittown if anyone here recalls the 70s and 80s on > Long Island. But some of them mysteriously survived there such as Leeds > Radio in Brooklyn, since 1923. > But I don't think the DIY'er is fading, maybe new TV repairs have. There > used to be a TV shop in almost every town. The past 10+yrs, basically > since 2000, the makerspace movement has rejuvenated this DIY'er interest. > But just as with Radio Shack not changing/morphing with the times and > crippling their store chains, mostly due to corporate blindness, and > they're only clinging on to their past still. The mom 'n pop stores felt > the biggest brunt if they didn't change as well. > I'm not saying it's easy for the mom 'n pop stores to change with the > times, it's usually their inherent nature to resist change, it creates a > comfort zone. You notice some of them try to split their sales by selling > online. Maybe change their inventory to match the trends, as with > makerspace. And a common task of advertising can become a burden, where to > place Ads has become a circus with this web 2.0+ world. But the "TV repair" > and "NTE parts" might be a diehard practice but it's only a small share of > the market. [the quotes are only to show typical examples] > Changing into a Mail order supplier takes a big change too that demands > effort too. Not a small task for a mom 'n pop store, when trying to > compete[$$] with a decades long market. New places prop up online all the > time and only some survive. I've seen the same issues with the ones back > home and here in Pittsburgh. > Dan > Richard Cini <_rich.cini(a)verizon.net_ (mailto:rich.cini@verizon.net) > > There was a place in New Hyde Park or Lake Success - Electronic City. I remember going there with my > father for tubes and parts that Radio Shack or Lafayette didn't have. > From Eugene > I remember Edlie's very well. I think it was on old country road or Hempstead turnpike > (I was just a kid at the time). And KRP electronics in Freeport which was a great place too. > I think they still exist but have moved. Aah the good old days. Eugene W2HX > From Jonathan > Heard about this from a customer in Cockeysville. My dad's family is from White Marsh, I used to go to > Baynesville Electronics with my grandparents as a treat -- they often had to pick up supplies for the > Kingsville and Baltimore fire departments. Pretty much like a kid in a candy store! > I may stop in on my way back from upstate NY tomorrow. Quite a bit out of the way, but who knows how > long it will take them to get to the point of having enough inventory sold that they close. > For those in upstate NY, I got warning last time I was at Trojan Electronics that it was starting to cost > money to keep the lights on, and the end was probably near. > Thanks, > Jonathan

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT: free Cisco managed router/switches
by Kenneth Seefried 19 Oct '16

19 Oct '16

From: Joseph Oprysko <joprysko1(a)gmail.com> > I have a Cisco Meraki MX64, AP18, and MS220-8P for my > home network. The Meraki product line is all cloud based > (which means once the license expires, they become doorstops). Not entirely. The AP18 can be flashed with OpenWRT (https://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/meraki/mr18) at least. I've done similar with my MR12 and it runs fine. The license extension from Meraki is pretty cheap as well. KJ

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That UNIVAC part from Grabbe -- update!
by Evan Koblentz 19 Oct '16

19 Oct '16

Way back when the old MARCH opened its first exhibit at InfoAge (2005), the InfoAge powers that be lent us a collection to curate from an IEEE life fellow named Dimitry Grabbe. Among the collection was a board of tubes which Mr. Grabbe said was a half-adder module from the ENIAC. We soon figured out that Grabbe was wrong. The board says Engineering Research Associates. ERA had no part in ENIAC. Remington Rand bought ERA around the same time as RR also bought Eckert-Mauchly Computer Company. ERA + EMCC jointly became the UNIVAC division of Remington Rand. Thus my working theory has been that the part is from an early-model UNIVAC, although there was a slight chance it was an ENIAC replacement part. ERA was in Minnesota. Their alumni group has been nice to us. Two of their members spoke at VCF East 7.0, they gave us some artifacts (most notably a UNIVAC 1 technical manual), and there are links to us at http://vipclubmn.org/Exhibits.html#Others. Tonight I stumbled onto this link: http://vipclubmn.org/Articles/ERA2unisysWeb.pdf Go to page 4 of the PDF (page 2 of the document) -- look at the picture on the shelves on the right -- it's a plugboard of tubes from a UNIVAC 1103, circa 1955. That is EXACTLY the part we have from Grabbe! They describe it as the "basic logic element". I don't know where Grabbe got "half adder" but, as experienced/smart as he was, I trust the guys who built the computer. It's already in our new display case and soon there will be an accurate sign with it. :) Here's a picture of an 1103 in full glory: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/UNIVAC-1103-BRL61-0905.…

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OT: free Cisco managed router/switches
by Jeffrey Jonas 18 Oct '16

18 Oct '16

FREE TO A GOOD HOME! Must pick up ASAP: from Elizabeth NJ or at Infoage. A friend gave me his Cisco routers for a Cisco Certification lab he made for himself. They are ALL "managed switches" with the serial console port. 8: Cisco 831 (4: 10/100 LAN, 1: 10-base-t LAN, serial console) 2: Cisco 1721 3: Cisco 1750 3: Cisco 1751 with assorted interface cards -- jeff jonas

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FESTIVUS Sleeping arrangements Let me know
by Jeffrey Brace 18 Oct '16

18 Oct '16

InfoAge's Sandy recovery dorm is available to us during Festivus. It is the space on the other side of the building where Festivus is held. It is $25 per night. If you need to stay there overnight, then please *let me know *or signup here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1flOzpjh4Wdd3Gn6B3DqWHpQmxYSQGrtFo20… We need an accurate headcount so that we can tell the management how many are staying. Only bed frame and mattresses are provided. YOU provide mattress cover, blankets, pillows. There is a great shower/bathroom area for your use. -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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Calendar
by Evan Koblentz 18 Oct '16

18 Oct '16

Jeff B. convinced me to post a chapter event calendar. :) It's at http://vcfed.org/wp/groups/vcf-mid-atlantic/vcf-mid-atlantic-calendar/ ... or just go to vcfed.org, mouse over "Groups", mouse over our chapter, and click the calendar link.

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Looking for a TI Silent 707 1200baud for the VCF Museum
by Herb Johnson 18 Oct '16

18 Oct '16

> I'm donating a spare PiDP-8 to the museum which has a serial interface > that can't go below 1200baud. If we can find one of the smaller TI >Silent terminals that goes that fast, we can hook it up to the PiDP so > that we can have it run hands on demos and visitors can take the result > with them. It would be really cool for people to have a takeaway > from the museum when they visit. Here's my view. What you are asking for, is a small terminal and a small accompanying printer, which can operate at serial 1200 baud. the problem in my view with a TI *thermal* printing terminal, is that thermal paper will fade over time; and it gets used up fairly quickly. Rolls cost a few dollars each, although I see unused rolls at thrift stores. How about, an old serial CRT terminal, connected to a serial printer? Any of the old dot-matrix printers with serial interface would likely work. Some of the CRT terminals are not large. Some of them have an auxiliary serial interface for a printer, for the now-obvious reasons. Often there's a control code to enable or disable the printer port. If there's no printer port on the terminal, doesn't matter. The Rasp Pi - I mean the emulated PDP-8 - will be echoing input and output. Just route the serial out from the "eight" to both the printer and the terminal. Many dot-matrix printers, were of small footprint. They used 9.5 X 11 perforated paper (still available I believe) or friction-feed. And they used inked ribbons - still available and not expensive at all. I'm thinking about some of the Okidata brand printers. the Epsons are a little wider. There's the old Apple Imagewriters. For that matter, there's other printing terminals. Teletype model 43 for instance, very elegant. But if the printer jams or runs out of paper - well, a seperate terminal lets the exhibit continue. "Oh, impact printers are too noisy..." Oh, is the Museum in a hospital zone? Side issues may be, if the "eight" sends more characters that the printer can both buffer and print. For the most part, that won't happen, if so some serial handshaking may be needed, if the Pi supplies it. One virtue of a lower baud rate, is that printers can keep up. Herb Johnson retrotechnology.com -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Calendar
by william degnan 18 Oct '16

18 Oct '16

Hidden calendar is less usefull Bill Degnan twitter: billdeg vintagecomputer.net On Oct 17, 2016 11:37 PM, "Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic" < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: Jeff B. convinced me to post a chapter event calendar. :) It's at http://vcfed.org/wp/groups/vcf-mid-atlantic/vcf-mid-atlantic-calendar/ ... or just go to vcfed.org, mouse over "Groups", mouse over our chapter, and click the calendar link.

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