December 2016 - vcf-midatlantic

Museum report
by Evan Koblentz 11 Dec '16

11 Dec '16

Good day at the museum. This morning we took in a donation of various DEC, Tandy, and UNIVAC bits. Highlights are a very nice Tandy Model 12 with no yellowing, a UNIVAC book all about their product line (not a catalog; it's more like an encyclopedia) from 1970; punch cards, various manuals, etc. Then we had a bunch of visitors due to the train show. Mostly families, and also one guy who last saw us a few years ago in the old museum. Steady stream all day. I also cleaned the workbench area. Came home and there was a package waiting -- 100 banana plugs (20 each of 5 colors) that we'll wire up for the analog computers.

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Anyone have any 10Base5 cable?
by Martin A Flynn 09 Dec '16

09 Dec '16

Working on a building a 10Base5 LAN segment with vampire taps and Cabletron ST-500 transceivers. Before I spring for new 10Base5 cable, anyone have decent lengths (50-75 feet) of 10Base5 cable they are willing to part with? Martin

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FS: Data Technology Corporation DTC-10-1 S-100 SASI Interface
by Systems Glitch 09 Dec '16

09 Dec '16

link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/272480493687 Going through more duplicate/unused S-100 cards! This one is a SASI disk interface, and Bitsavers has a manual for it, linked in the auction listing. Electrical tested only, it won't blow up your S-100 box :) Thanks, Jonathan

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FS: MITS Altair 88-C700 Centronics Parallel Printer Interface
by Systems Glitch 09 Dec '16

09 Dec '16

link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/272480403564 Board is very clean, apparently this was intended to interface a MITS-branded Centronics C700 printer to the S-100 bus. I can't find much documentation for it, and I don't have any software that would use it, so it's only electrically tested: it has been plugged in to my IMSAI, it doesn't overcurrent, cause bus conflicts, et c., but HAS NOT BEEN TESTED FURTHER due to a lack of equipment, documentation and software! The ribbon cable that came with it is included. Definitely used, it has embedded dust/dirt, a few splits in the ribbon (but no worn insulation). There's some sort of panel transition fitting in the middle, it's not apparent whether this is permanent or can be separated. It didn't come apart easily, and I didn't pry. Thanks, Jonathan

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FS: Ithaca Audio IA-1010 Z80 CPU for S-100 Bus Tested/Working
by Systems Glitch 09 Dec '16

09 Dec '16

link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/272480218774 Fully tested/working. This board is unusual in that it's a Z80 board that uses an Intel 8224 clock generator IC -- intended for the 8080. Not necessary to the Z80, but apparently Ithaca was trying to maximize compatibility with old S-100 boards that were expecting an 8080. As with all Z80 boards, it's not 100% compatible with every old S-100 card out there: it would not work with my DaJen SCI due to issues with how the SCI generates the "E" signal for the 6850 ACIA. Tested with an IMSAI front panel, 32K static RAM, and a Cromemco 4FDC floppy controller/console board. Onboard EPROM and power-on-jump functionality tested. Original ceramic Z80 had some broken pins that were intermittent, it will be included in the sale *if* you request it. Thanks, Jonathan

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Funny Woot.com Shirt
by Chris Fala 09 Dec '16

09 Dec '16

http://shirt.woot.com/offers/the-modems

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Remington rand
by Duane 09 Dec '16

09 Dec '16

Bill, Sounds neat. Fast fwd. to the commercials rather than through them. Duane -----Original Message----- From: william degnan via vcf-midatlantic Sent: Thursday, December 08, 2016 8:27 PM To: vcf-midatlantic Cc: william degnan Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] Remington rand Anyone watch on buzzr, the game show channel, a game show sponsored by Remington Rand called What's My Line? It features UNIVAC machines from the 1950s. They demo use cases in place of commercials, and they leave the commecials in. Bill Bill Degnan twitter: billdeg vintagecomputer.net

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Remington rand
by william degnan 09 Dec '16

09 Dec '16

Anyone watch on buzzr, the game show channel, a game show sponsored by Remington Rand called What's My Line? It features UNIVAC machines from the 1950s. They demo use cases in place of commercials, and they leave the commecials in. Bill Bill Degnan twitter: billdeg vintagecomputer.net

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Team 1 -- Commodore
by Evan Koblentz 08 Dec '16

08 Dec '16

Todd leaked it so here goes -- the first team is Commodore with Anthony B., Bill W., Todd, Doug, and Chris F. -- but they haven't yet told me their captain or team name. Waiting.... hey guys how about "Commodorks"? :)

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Keyboard keyswitches wanted
by Herb Johnson 08 Dec '16

08 Dec '16

A colleague of mine, is trying to repair his mid-1970's keyboard. He may well find old-stock unused keyswitches, but I'm betting not. They were likely made by MicroSwitch, owned at some point by Honeywell. They are Hall-effect. They have four pins, they need 5V power. This is not a common microcomputer. Here's a link to deskthority.net, of what the keyswitches look like. https://deskthority.net/wiki/Micro_Switch_SD_Series specifically: https://deskthority.net/wiki/File:2011-11-07_16.15.40.jpg But there's lots of variations. No point in describing them further, most won't have these keyswitches. If you have something like this, and can unsolder several (and one for inspection), contact me directly and we'll go from there. Herb Johnson -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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