April 2016 - vcf-midatlantic

Running Windows 1.04 in emulation
by Richard Cini 28 Apr '16

28 Apr '16

All — I’m progressing well with the Windows 1.04 SDK -- I’ve gotten all of the binders and books scanned. The software is fully captured and I’m trying to create a “build environment” for this as a demo. I’ve tried to get Windows to work properly in various combinations of virtual environments with limited success. I’ve used Parallels on the Mac, VirtualBox on the Mac and PC, Bochs on the PC and Microsoft Virtual PC on the PC. I have a complete log of my findings if anyone’s interested. Only Parallels on the Mac worked completely. On Microsoft VirtualPC under Windows 7, it almost worked, but button clicks didn’t register. Bochs was the worst performer. Most of the issues have to do with capturing the mouse — Windows 1 predated PS/2 mice so a mouse has to be mapped to the virtual COM port or the InPort bus interface, which the virtualizations seemingly do with limited success and not at all, respectively. Some had problems with MSDOS 3.31 diskette images or 32MB virtual hard drives (the limit for DOS 3.31). Others had issues booting Windows under DOS 5. Has anyone successfully gotten Windows 1 to work within any virtual environment with working mouse support? If so, what was the exact software configuration so that I can replicate it here? Thanks! Rich -- Rich Cini http://www.classiccmp.org/cini http://www.classiccmp.org/altair32

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Big rescue!
by Evan Koblentz 28 Apr '16

28 Apr '16

We haven't had any huge awesome big-iron rescues for the museum lately. There's nothing in the hopper, honest! Just that whenever I say it out loud, something tends to come up. :) So here's hoping...

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Decserver 300 PSU schematic?
by David Hoelzer 28 Apr '16

28 Apr '16

Does anyone have any thoughts on where I could find a schematic for a Decserver 300 power supply? I just picked up a 300 but there’s something wrong in the PSU. The capacitors look ok, though they are quite old. Normally I’d just replace them, but there’s pretty much zero output even though I see no fried components anywhere and there are 120 volts coming in. Thanks!

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MAC with squashed screen
by william degnan 28 Apr '16

28 Apr '16

I am thinking about working to repair the display on my '84 MAC, occasionally the horizontal is "squashed" although for now it recovers. Was this covered in any VCF E classes this or last year? http://vintagecomputer.net/browse_thread.cfm?id=95 I assume there are a few places on the web that describe MAC repairs like these, but any comments as to what to target are welcome and will save me some time. b -- @ BillDeg: Web: vintagecomputer.net Twitter: @billdeg <https://twitter.com/billdeg> Youtube: @billdeg <https://www.youtube.com/user/billdeg> Unauthorized Bio <http://www.vintagecomputer.net/readme.cfm>

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updated teletype slideshow pdf format
by william degnan 28 Apr '16

28 Apr '16

For those of you who did not notice in the link to event pictures, also uploaded was the slideshow from Friday's VCF East Teletype class. This is an updated version to last year's class, edited and with more slides. 2Mb PDF http://vintagecomputer.net/vcf11/teletype/ Bill -- @ BillDeg: Web: vintagecomputer.net Twitter: @billdeg <https://twitter.com/billdeg> Youtube: @billdeg <https://www.youtube.com/user/billdeg> Unauthorized Bio <http://www.vintagecomputer.net/readme.cfm>

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FYI, update website - getting old
by Dan Roganti 27 Apr '16

27 Apr '16

FYI, its a few weeks behind already :) http://vcfed.org

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VCF's HOPE exhibit
by Herb Johnson 27 Apr '16

27 Apr '16

> Evan wrote: > > For the [HOPE] exhibit, I would like to show vintage computer robotics.... > fix up our HERO....a Minimover arm can beg/borrow/steal ...We > also have a robot kit for the Commodore 64.. Are > there any other products we should consider for this exhibit? It should > be limited to 70s/80s (assuming there's nothing for the PDP-8!) > > PS - I found a lot of * computerized * robots -- those with CPUs inside > -- but for this exhibit I'd like to focus on robots * connected * to > computers, so we can show the computation side of things. > > end quote. Well, a quick comment is: show a PDP-8 with a Calcomp plotter. It's robotic, and computational, and "has the additional advantage of being true". Minicomputers ran robots in the 70's - that's all they had! for some time at least. But you're not gonna haul a minicomputer to HOPE. And certainly the HERO and Minimover and items are fine. But I object to your notion linking 1970's micros & "robots connected to computers.. for computation". I'm lecturing deliberately, so you have something to say to Hope attendees who would mock what seems like an Arduino on wheels. I'll remind you - I mean them - there were many more computers in private and small-company hands in the 80's than in the 70's - in the 70's there wasn't so much to connect a robot TO. And a micro board kit that ran motors STILL cost a few hundred dollars in the 1970's (when that would buy a decent used car). But buying a micro board that actually DID something physical, not just "blink lights", was a good excuse (to your boss, your spouse) to buy a microcomputer board, to learn the technology. Also, people in the 70's used such micros to run stuff - I don't know if you'd call a sprinkler system a "robot", but it's the same sort of "computations" and hardware as to move an arm or drive a motor. And many small manufacturers (most WERE small, then) bought single-board microcomputers, to run production equipment - a KIM could run a printing press for instance. here's such a card, from the late 1970's, a small-company product by Lee Hart. http://www.retrotechnology.com/memship/mem_basys.html this could run on solar power! Lee Hart attached motors and switches to it, put it in a box, and called it "ITSABOT". I don't have a photo of that product. Lee sells the 21st century equivalent board today, as a $89 kit. In other words: the 70's was a different world of microprocessors, as the 1980's would be a world where microcomputers became accepted. If someone at Hope is disappointed that a cigar-box robot on wheels "just" follows a white line and can avoid obstacles; explain that microprocessors were new technology, not cheap, and these devices taught the people who made the smarter/cheaper/faster stuff a decade or two later. "People don't mock babies for being toddlers", if you want a quicker reply. But if Hope is not a venue for such things and such lectures, that's your decision, show the Hero, it's pretty impressive for the era. Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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More VCF East 2016 photos
by Jameel Akari 26 Apr '16

26 Apr '16

Quick and dirty, haven't sorted them all yet, and they're not all winners: http://www.bithose.com/VCF_E_2016/ This will get updated, hopefully showing descriptions & tags. I decided now was a good time to switch to Adobe Lightroom, and, uh, it takes a while to really grok. ;) -- Jameel Akari

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Floppy Days Podcast #58 - Ralph Rees, Editor, VAST TI-99 Newsletter Interview
by Randall Kindig 26 Apr '16

26 Apr '16

http://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-58-ralph-rees-editor-vast-ti-99-ne… <http://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-58-ralph-rees-editor-vast-ti-99-ne…> Ralph Rees, Editor, VAST TI-99 Newsletter Hi, everyone and welcome to episode 58 of the Floppy Days Podcast. I’m Randy Kindig. To sort of finish off the TI-99 series of episodes I’ve been running, I have an interview-only show for you this month. This interview is with Ralph Rees, president and newsletter editor of the VAlley of the Sun TI-99ers (VAST) back in the 1990’s. He produced his high quality newsletter directly on a TI-99 system and received quite a few compliments about it while it was still being published. Ralph still has an extensive TI-99 collection today. This interview was conducted on June 7, 2015. Randall Kindig host Floppy Days Podcast floppydays.com

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] HERO batteries
by Corey Little 26 Apr '16

26 Apr '16

>Those 6V 5Ah sealed lead-acid cells look like the correct size. Two in the head on either side of the sonar system, two between the wheels? And what kind of operation time have you been able to get from your Hero 1 as a result? I think we might have a winner. Actually 3 down low between the wheels, for center of gravity, and one up higher to counterbalance the weight of the arm. The original batteries were about 6v lantern size, 2.5"x2.5"x4", 4Ah. The batteries I have are that size but 5Ah. The ones I referenced earlier on Amazon are rectangular, very slightly wider at 2.8"x1.9"x4". I'm not in front of the Hero now, but if recollection serves that should be well within the available space in all locations. As far as performance, we haven't gotten far enough with our restorations yet to push the battery capacity. Coming soon... ;-) -Corey L. Curator, cpmuseum

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