September 2016 - vcf-midatlantic

Can Anyone Take IC Die Micrographs?
by Systems Glitch 14 Oct '16

14 Oct '16

I've decapped a house-numbered IC and taken a look with my 40x loupe, it appears to be some sort of memory device, but I don't have enough magnification to see any die text or anything. Can anyone on this list take a micrograph at > 40x for me? I won't need the IC back unless it's convenient to get it to me at the next get-together I'm able to attend or something. Figured I've got a tube of them and it might be nice to know what they are :) They're in side-brazed ceramic carriers, so it was easy to decap with a bastard file. Thanks, Jonathan

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C64 workhorse survivor
by Douglas Crawford 06 Oct '16

06 Oct '16

http://hothardware.com/news/battered-but-not-beaten-commodore-c64-survives-…

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Museum Closed this weekend
by Jeffrey Brace 30 Sep '16

30 Sep '16

We will all be at Maker Faire 10/1 and 10/2. -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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Help! LOGO programming
by Evan Koblentz 30 Sep '16

30 Sep '16

I'm stumped on a few things in LOGO for the Apple II. Can anyone help me by phone now?

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Looking for Bruce from Future Dimensions, Compuware
by Microtech Dart 29 Sep '16

29 Sep '16

Interesting story (well maybe for some). For any of you who have followed my projects, here is some context: It is one and the same company who used both the Point 4 IRIS systems and the Convergent Technologies MightyFrame systems that I have spent the last 3 years reconstructing and restoring. Some of the guys from that company distinctly remember one single programmer, who was responsible for programming (and possibly sourcing the hardware) for both of these systems for them. The programmer's name was Bruce, who's initials were BAM, and who worked for a company in the Los Angeles California area called Future Dimensions, back in the 1982-1985 area. It is also possible that he later had some connection with Compuware around the same timeframe.. Anyway, I thought I would just put this "out there", to see if anyone reading this might be this very Bruce, or someone who might know who he is. He once wrote this program to run on login of their Point 4 IRIS system. He also often commented his programs as the author as BAM. #BASIC 2/CALLME LIST 10 DIM A$[10],B$[50] 20 IF ERR 0 GOTO 40 30 INPUT ""A$ 40 PRINT "\207\\233\*\215\\215\\215\\215\\215\\215\\215\\21 5\\215"; 41 PRINT "CHUCK, THE LOCATION REPORT IS READY." 42 PRINT "ALSO, THE MODEL REPORT IS READY" 50 PRINT "\215\PLEASE CALL ME. BRUCE. TYPE '0' TO GET OUT OF THIS "; 60 INPUT A$ 70 IF A$="0" CHAIN "VM." 80 GOTO 40 RUN \←* It's my hope that someone finds this at least humorous, maybe even silly, if nothing else. Thanks always, -AJ http://point4iris.com http://MightyFrame.com http://QICreader.com

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VCFed @ World Maker Faire this weekend
by Evan Koblentz 29 Sep '16

29 Sep '16

Jeff B., Corey, Mouse, and yours truly are staffing the VCFed booth at World Maker Faire this weekend. They said we're in a tent this year. That is all I know for now, location-wise. Our theme is the same as at HOPE -- vintage computer robots. Jeff is showing an improved version of his Capsella robot controlled by a BASIC program on a Commodore 64. He has many more parts available now than he did for HOPE. I'm showing a Lego robot powered by a LOGO program on an Apple //e, vs. at HOPE my Lego demonstration used BASIC on a Compaq 386 luggable (in the form of a Network General Sniffer). By coincidence, Jeff's robot and mine are both car-like and they're both around the same size. So let me just say: MY LEGOBOT CAN KICK BRACE'S CAPSELLABOT'S BUTT. :) Here's mine: http://vcfed.org/evan/legobot.jpg I figured a black frame, red racing stripe, and huge rear spoiler all give it maker-cred. One motor controls forward/backward, another motor (via the exposed chain drive up front on the left side of your screen) controls steering, there is a touch/bump sensor on front, a light sensor in back, and working head/tail lights. I need to put a little Lego dude and steering wheel in the cockpit! Of course, the point of this is to show people (mostly children) that Lego computerized robotics are not a modern invention, but in fact existed 30 years ago. LOGO works like BASIC -- you can type a program and run it instantly (no compiling) or type commands directly. But in most ways it's even more basic than BASIC. Instead of FOR-NEXT loops you have REPEAT; instead of GOSUB you have LIST-TO-RUN; there aren't line numbers; and I'm trying to understand their oddly formatted IF-THEN method (which is also called something else; I forget what right now). Maybe I'll disable the front bump sensor and program the 'bot to go full speed into BraceBot. :) All in good fun, of course. Hope to see many of you this weekend.

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Polo shirt ordering info
by Evan Koblentz 29 Sep '16

29 Sep '16

The new shirts will be black polos with our logo on the left breast pocket. All sizes S-3XL will be $15. To order, send PayPal to polos(a)vcfed.org. **** BE SURE TO INCLUDE A NOTE WITH YOUR SIZE, QUANTITIES, ETC!!!!! **** You can also send a check to Vintage Computer Federation, PO Box 417, Eatontown, NJ, 07724, but in that case send a follow-up email to polos(a)vcfed.org so we know about it immediately vs. having to wait for your check. I'll place the order next Friday night.

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Museum Report
by Jeffrey Brace 28 Sep '16

28 Sep '16

We had a visit from about 15 children from Veteran's Middle School in Brick. They enjoyed it, but as always there wasn't enough time to show them all of the museum. It's always interesting to see what "kids" know or don't know about the history of computers. -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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Mad science experiment
by Evan Koblentz 27 Sep '16

27 Sep '16

Tonight's insanity: Lego drone programmed in Logo. Someone (presently) sell an expensive Lego drone kit, controlled by a phone app, using a mixture of Legos and custom parts. Why not do the same on an Apple //e using only 1980s Lego parts and Logo? This will be incredible if I can get it working for World Maker Faire next weekend. I am focusing hard on a lightweight and efficient design.

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Museum Report
by Jeffrey Brace 25 Sep '16

25 Sep '16

Slow day the museum. Only 1 regular visitor. But I got two VCFins visit who had been to InfoAge's OMARC Hamfest, Jeff Galinet and Herb Johnson. The got to see the updates to the new museum and catch up on things. It was nice to have them visit. -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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Atari & ATR8000
by Neil Cherry 25 Sep '16

25 Sep '16

I have an unusual bit of kit. I have an ATR8000 which is a device that was attached to the SIO port of an Atari 8 bit computer and gave it access to CP/M. I'd like to resurrect this setup (working on the Atari 800XL now) but I may need some help. What I appear to have is the ATR8000, CP/M floppy diskettes (5 1/4) and a manual. I haven't found my Atari Drives but I hope to have my Raspberry Pi (SIO2PC) working soon. I may need to beg, borrow or steal an Atari drive and a normal 5 1/4" drive tha can handle 1024 sector CP/M disks. -- 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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Museum report
by Evan Koblentz 24 Sep '16

24 Sep '16

Jeff B. and I spent several hours at the museum today. Had a few visitors and acquired a nice-looking Mac Classic. Mostly we cleaned the workshop, reorganized a few things, fixed some exhibit displays, and did some prep for Maker Faire next weekend. Jeff will be there again to give tours tomorrow.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Funny little story
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 23 Sep '16

23 Sep '16

Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic writes: >Got a phone call tonight from a 90-year-old who said (with full >sincerity), "I started on a computer called the Apple II. You probably >never heard of it." At that age, I would have expected to hear the Babbage Engine II. :)

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Funny little story
by Evan Koblentz 22 Sep '16

22 Sep '16

Got a phone call tonight from a 90-year-old who said (with full sincerity), "I started on a computer called the Apple II. You probably never heard of it."

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my VCF midwest wrapup
by Jeffrey Jonas 22 Sep '16

22 Sep '16

"There are no strangers, only friends you have not met yet" --- W.B. Yeats "A stranger is just a friend I haven't met yet." -- Will Rogers I just returned from my first VCF Midwest. It was totally awesome. A most glorious, drama-free weekend of vintage computers, reproductions, simulators and emulators but mostly all the great folks who create and appreciate them. I owe a zillion thanks to Connor for making it possible for me to attend. I was surprised at how many folks I already knew (either from VCF east, or online) and all the new friends I made so easily and comfortably. The dinners were great for schmoozing - the pizza place with the amazing pizza sliced into small squares, perfect for sharing. - the salad bar, with discount coupons thanks to Eric - the "dead dog party" afterwards The "free table" was like the dumpster diving after TCF (Trenton Computer Fest) but it was all weekend. I am enjoying items such as - empty chip rails - 5V and 12V power cubes - more home router/switches I had to pay for some items (GASP!) - a pretty silver Kensington trackball (dealer's den) - laser barcode scanner and more Palm PDAs from the auction The most bizarre item I got: a large heavy single axis gyro at the auction. My only laments are - missing the free rail of MAX232 chips - not attending sooner! -- jeff jonas

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OT: Modern-ish laptop F/S
by Evan Koblentz 20 Sep '16

20 Sep '16

Looking to turn my old Dell Latitude E6510 into cash. It's a Dell Latitude e6510, Intel Core i5, 2.67GHz, 4GB RAM (upgradeable to 8), 500GB HDD (not SSD). I installed Mint 18. Any reasonable offer accepted. Can ship or meet up in person.

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8-bit ISA slot Single Board Computer
by Herb Johnson 20 Sep '16

20 Sep '16

Joseph Oprysko posted: > Is anyone here aware of such a beast? I have a Heathkit/Zenith Z-150 > system. It's motherboard is literally just an 8-Bit ISA backplane, the > computer occupies 4 of the ISA slots. I have Z-150 and related documentation. Zenith/Heath produced a number of models of ISA computers which used passive backplanes and several ISA boards to complete the PC-nearly-compatible computer. Other Zenith products used IBM-type motherboards with most of the PC functions on that board. http://www.retrotechnology.com/herbs_stuff/zenith_mans.html#z148 > I'm curious if there exists a Single Board Computer that would work in the > 8-bit slots. > > What I would actually like to try is to have multiple SBC's on the ISA bus, > and have them communicate with each other. There may be single-board PC's which fit a single 8-bit ISA slot. But many were 16-bit ISA, the longer slot. And the PC-104 stackable bus standard, is essentially the ISA bus on a different connector. YOu can look up PC-104 if that's not familiar. Running multiple ISA-bus "masters" on one ISA bus, may be a problem. Briefly: they each expect to drive the bus as a single master. There may be products that can share the bus with each other. (shrug) you'll have to do some homework to become familiar with such things; and then of course find now-vintage products which will share the bus; and of course determine how to set them up, boot up sequences, who is in charge when, and so on. Likely more common, are slave CPU boards, where a task or a user gets a CPU on a board with memory and I/O; but uses the bus to share resources like hard drives. this was common in S-100 TurboDOS systems. Some of the S-100 "IEEE-696" CPU boards, can release the bus to another CPU or DMA bus-master; some of those boards are fairly functional "computers". Multibus did this too. But I'm guessing the idea, is to use IBM-PC ISA-class products, to check out multiple bus-masters and multiple CPU's, in a vintage way. a modified ISA backplane, may be such a way. A custom backplane may be able to adapt ISA "no share" bus masters to access common ISA bus devices. But you might look at PC-104; they are smaller cards, more integrated and so with more features; and they may have a multi-master standard as part of PC-104. And of course, they are vintage now. ;) Herb JOhnson -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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8-bit ISA slot Single Board Computer
by Joseph Oprysko 20 Sep '16

20 Sep '16

Is anyone here aware of such a beast? I have a Heathkit/Zenith Z-150 system. It's motherboard is literally just an 8-Bit ISA backplane, the computer occupies 4 of the ISA slots. I'm curious if there exists a Single Board Computer that would work in the 8-bit slots. What I would actually like to try is to have multiple SBC's on the ISA bus, and have them communicate with each other. If anyone knows if such a board exists, I'd appreciate the help. Joe -- Normal Person: Hey, it seems that you know a lot. Geek: To be honest, it's due to all the surfing I do. Normal Person: So you go surfing? Normal Person: But I don't think that has anything to do with knowing a lot... Geek: I think that's wrong on a fundamental level. Normal Person: Huh? Huh? What?

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Looking for a dead Vectrex, the deader the better
by Corey Cohen 20 Sep '16

20 Sep '16

I have a Vectrex with a case cracked bad enough that it's not fixable. The unit works great. I have two options. One convert to a desktop arcade it using a custom wood case or find a cheap dead Vectrex. I prefer the second option. Anyone have a dead Vectrex they'd be willing to sell at a reasonable price? Don't need controllers. Thanks, Corey corey cohen uǝɥoɔ ʎǝɹoɔ

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Workshop -- Univac Status / Progress
by Bill Dromgoole 20 Sep '16

20 Sep '16

The 1532 is well on its way to being an I/O console again. Installed new capstan for the reader and have the paper tape punch almost fully working. The main problem is the punched index holes have hanging chads. I changed the paper tape roll between tests because the tape kept breaking between the reel and the first roller. I change the half twist in the tape to the other direction and think that is what actually stopped the tape from breaking. Not 100% sure. https://goo.gl/photos/ng88qoiRgDuPoaXEA https://goo.gl/photos/NWNZb65ZQub9rXv49 The tape being used in the video was punched by copying another piece of tape we had at the museum. The text printed on the teletype looks like Z80 assembly code. In this video the Univac 1532 input / output console is reading a paper tape while simultaneously copying the contents to the teletype and punching another paper tape. https://goo.gl/photos/AH5sZcEkqMUzWAWFA . Tried to open 1219 power supply drawer for inspection but could not. Look like the bottom of drawer is being squeezed by the pallet. I think I convinced Evan we need to make a custom pallet that extends two feet or so in front of computer using 3/4" plywood and 4"x 4" rails. He seemed excited about the possibility to move the Univac items closer together with custom pallets. We will also bolt the computer to the pallet to prevent tipping over when opening the upper drawers. Also installed new 1219 nameplate grill and air filter. Still needs small grill but the computer in the warehouse has one. Looked for desk for teletype mounting but the one we need is smaller than normal and only has drawers on the left side. Keeping an eye out for one. We are currently working on building an RS-232 interface to the NTDS slow interface (Mil-Std 1397) so we can fully test the 1532 console from its I/O connectors. We could possibly use it for some testing with the Univac 1219 also after it is powered up. We spoke to the electrician and made plans for a 220 volt power jack near the 1219 and 1532 . There is room there also for our three phase 400 Hz motor/generator set. We completed all the cable assemblies needed to power the 1219 computer including a local on/off switch and current monitoring capabilities. The 400 Hz generator was load tested at one of our previous workshops and seems to be fully operational. Hopefully we will apply power to the computer at one of the workshops this winter. Bill Dromgoole

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Museum updates
by Evan Koblentz 20 Sep '16

20 Sep '16

Some neat things happened in the museum during this past weekend's workshop. The sign from Tekserve arrived: http://vcfed.org/evan/teksign.jpg. New-ish member Bill I. brought in a vintage rack-mounted plotter to use with our EAI TR-20 analog computer. We hunted around InfoAge's storage buildings and found the PERFECT rack to use for this: it's got a blue chassis frame and shelves (same shade as the TR-20 itself) and a silver door frame (same as the plotter). It was already pretty clean; a simple wipe-down with Windex and paper towels removed the rest. And it's got a magnetic door latch with a standard locking mechanism. Other than lacking caster wheels, which we can add later, there couldn't be a better choice. Pure luck that IA happened to have this rack in a readily available spot and nobody else needed it. Here's a picture: http://vcfed.org/evan/tr20rack.jpg. We positioned it in the museum between George (the 1958 Philbrick computer) and the IBM 1130. Ignore the wire shelving rack to the left of it; that was temporary. Bottom of the rack will be used to store TR-20 documents and accessories. We also put some cinder blocks on the bottom of the rack for safety. We acquired the 2.4 cubic ft. mini-fridge funded by a club member who requested anonymity. We also bought two 32" LED TVs. One will go on our hallway wall and the other will hang from our ceiling to greet visitors. We adopted a second rack, this time a modern one with a Compaq logo on front, which will go into the museum workshop area -- mini fridge on bottom :) and storage or servers on top! But we're going to change it out for a different one that has side panels (this one didn't). Martin from OMARC is providing the replacement which is an HP rack with a nice-looking mesh door. Corey brought in plexi and the special drill bit. We installed this in front of the shelves for the modern history exhibit using temporary screws because the right ones we're handy. Jeff J. brought us the right screws. We'll swap them soon. The electrician stopped by again to take another look at our circuit and lighting needs.

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Festivus reminder
by Jeffrey Brace 19 Sep '16

19 Sep '16

Festivus will be Dec. 3 & 4. Starting at 10 on 12/3 and ending about 5pm on Dec. 4. I will be organizing this in the coming months. -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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Starting workshop day 2 @ 9am Sunday
by Evan Koblentz 18 Sep '16

18 Sep '16

End of message.

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Workshop 9/17 & 9/18 important info
by Jeffrey Brace 16 Sep '16

16 Sep '16

Everyone who has already told me that they are coming will have a table. If you haven't told me, then there is no guarantee and you will have to carry one over from the hotel building or 9032-A. Temperature is great in that room and HVAC is new so we can stay comfortable in there. LOCATION: InfoAge Building 9010A - (2201 Marconi Road, Wall Township, NJ) TIME: Start about 10 A.M. on Saturday and ends whenever we go to sleep. 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. $25 for those wanting to stay overnight. Please pay me when you get there so that I don't forget. 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. I would recommend bringing a cooler of some type. FOOD: You provide your own. We may order pizza or go out to a dinner. Usually we make a decision when everyone gets hungry. GATE: During the hours from 1pm to 5pm close the front gate behind you. We want museum visitors to go to the front lobby and not wander through the middle of the campus. Outside of those times you can feel free to leave the gate open. PARKING: Park across from 9010A on the grass area. QUESTIONS? Please ask me (Jeff Brace) or Evan. My cell is 732-759-1783 and Evan’s is 646-546-9999 in case you need to contact us. See everyone there! And have fun! -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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C64 CRT monitors vs LCD (was: PC speakers needed)
by Herb Johnson 16 Sep '16

16 Sep '16

Responding to posted comments and responses. First, thanks for considering my propositions. Here's my responses, and that concludes my posting on the subject. 1) CRT monitors by exhibitors are up to them, not VCF Inc. Roganti/Brace exhibit is their's, not VCF Inc's. Anyway, the museum has these CRT monitors, they are not hard to move around the Infoage site. I suggest that VCF Inc amounts to a sponsor of Roganti/Brace's vintage-computing development, by the museum's extraordinary efforts to provide a large exhibit space, and big tables with big monitors from the museum - which consume space and electric power and of course use of VCF Inc equipment. Jeff says CRT monitors aren't so easily set up; I'm responding to that. Specifically, for that exhibit, I suggest using LCD monitors would allow use of LESS space, putting the SMALLER monitors, right in front of the users. Old people with normal vision issues will find them easier to see, than big monitors many feet away and elevated. Issues of space, electric power, and user access are reasonable for VCF Inc to consider. Museums often sponsor exhibition projects, even development, with funds, exhibit apparatus, etc. This is entirely between VCF Inc and the Roganti/Brace project of course. I'm responding to issues raised, here. 2) exhibitors should use period monitors with period vintage computers. Exhibitors often exhibit many, large, items.... Mostly reasonable - except, well, I'll cut to the chase here. I am old, Evan, and getting older. I'm driving a compact car, not a van or station wagon. Soon, I won't be able to LIFT heavy monitors. And big square monitors - or CRT terminals - take up table space too, which I need for other purposes. I'm already choosing LCD's over CRT terminals; if I need video I'll use an LCD. For many vintage computers - and this is true - video was not part of their product line. So how and what displays video (or just text), is secondary. 3) LCD TV's can still be found at thrift stores.... Correct - today. Not tomorrow, which was my point. And it depends on where you shop; many thrift stores just avoid any electronics. And so on. Also: thrift store customers want BIGGER TV's, not smaller ones - for our vintage computing, smaller is fine for close-up vintage experience. Today at a flea market of tools, I bought a 14" LCD analog TV. He wanted $10, I paid $5. I guarantee, that guy won't bother to offer another LCD TV in the future. I repeat - eventually the well will run dry. 4) LCD (VGA's) seem like more work and expense, wiring up converters, devices.... Excuse me - I said "LCD analog TV's". They accept NTSC video, many accept analog RGB video too. Most just need an AC cord and an RCA-connector video cable. Most have their own speakers (two more RCA cables). They are MORE convenient than CRT monitors, that's my point! ------------ Of course, for those for whom the brand and model of video monitor is part of the presentation or experience - or the core of their presentation - the correct monitor (or terminal) matters - no argument from me. But there's other considerations, which I've described; and I've responded to counter-claims; and I'm done. Also, I gave supportive suggestions to the Roganti/Brace C64 multiplayer project. I hope I've made useful suggestions and observations. Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Stuff to sell at workshop
by Evan Koblentz 16 Sep '16

16 Sep '16

I have a Dell laptop running Mint 18 and an old Simpson meter to sell at the workshop this weekend. Any reasonable offer accepted.

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Last call for those coming to workshop 9/17 & 9/18
by Herb Johnson 16 Sep '16

16 Sep '16

Some participants have mentioned they will repair Apple Macs (68K's). Contact me or post a list of Macs and parts needed, maybe I can bring some of those on Saturday. No freebies but I'll be generous. ;) -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Vintage Computer Federation at Lehigh Valley FAST 2016
by Herb Johnson 16 Sep '16

16 Sep '16

Thanks from me for your excellent report on your own activities and exhibit. Your exhibit is good vintage-computing outreach. Can you also report on the other exhibits there? I am (and others I correspond with are) interested in how children today are presented with STEM technology, by the various groups that support (and sell) STEM; and how the kids themselves present their own efforts and school-sponsored projects. We compare that, with how we old-people learned about computing and electronics, in our youth. The vintage-computing connection to STEM in my opinion is this. In the vintage era of the 1960's and 70's, "STEM" was represented as "the space race", and it was mostly a federal/schools program on education fundamentals. There were few products to offer, not many computers. Apple and the Apple II were the educational "push", but that came later. And the "personal computer revolution" as group events, was mostly a product of adults in locally-formed clubs, that met in homes or in public spaces (libraries, museums, etc.). Kids were not a big part of either of these, until the video gaming rise (and fall) in the later 1980's. NONE of this was particularly "competitive" as in contests between groups to perform any kind of tasks or games, with scoring and regional/national contests. Efforts to nationalize computer clubs, didn't pan out. Later there were top-down organizations, around Apple or IBM or other specific product lines; and most supporting magazines or publications or conventions, or BBS's or email lists. STEM of course, in the schools and as supported by national groups and international corporations, is quite a contrast. The common point is that these circumstances - STEM in schools, what became vintage personal computing groups - is how these introduced "computing" technology to youngsters. We vintage-computing owners look back at vintage computers and remember our involvement, and our machines. I have no doubt that some STEM participants, will look back at their experiences and products used, with the same sort of "vintage" interests. But more relevant today to us, is when STEM participants - still kids - come to vintage computing events and exhibits, and evaluate "our" technology based on their STEM competitions and events. They will expect the kinds of "computing" they have experienced; and will have no experience with some of our earliest vintage computers which we display and describe. Todd's report, in my opinion, gives us a glimpse into the present (and the future) of vintage computing. The kid's attraction to printers, for instance, is that they are loud, use paper, and move paper around - not that they would actually READ any papery-bloggy-texty things not on a screen! And of course, the parents have their own expectations and histories, directly related to vintage computing, but likely influenced by their kid's participation in STEM. Todd and his colleagues, reported on both, thanks! (Sorry if that appears long-winded. But these are not simple concepts or even widely-held point of view. It takes time to explain such things. And frankly, it's a little frustrating to me, when I post such remarks. Why? Because I get little response. If there's no reaction, I assume I'm either off-base, boring, overwhelming, or irrelevant to those reading this list. So let me know if what I say, means anything to those reading it. Thank you.) Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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C64 CRT monitors vs LCD (was: PC speakers needed)
by Herb Johnson 16 Sep '16

16 Sep '16

1) I changed the subject line to match the discussion. I think that's a good policy to follow. 2) It's reasonable to use LCD's over CRT monitors for many reasons; of course it's good to show original equipment as well. But eight CRT's are a tough exhibition to "mount", physically and because of failures. Eight LCD's makes more sense - I can make that case if necessary, essentially CRT's are a pain in the a**. This has been discussed, and I agree with the considerations noted. 3) Dan Roganti and colleague's work on multiplayer C64 development is of value, and is exhibited annually now at VCF-East. Thus local warehousing of several LCD displays at once for that event, is a good thing. One can argue for additional LCD's for other exhibitors, that's a policy issue. But stock of them for museum use is reasonable and of course a stock exists. 3) There are still old, small, analog TV LCD monitors available in thrift stores and garage sales. I don't think they will be available much longer - they don't sell, they sell cheap, there's no more analog broadcasts TV to receive, small is out of vogue - and so on. My point - soon these old LCD TV's won't be available as used/donated. The well will run dry. Therefore: If VCF Inc is going to gather these monitors cheaply, now is the time to do that. To do that in a consistent way, means determining some criteria - size of screen is first, perhaps other features are important, maybe even brands/models desired or to be avoided. And: if exhibitors are to be supported, others (those exhibitors in particular) may wish to make contributions of LCD monitors or $$$ accordingly. Bottom line: there's no point in moving and operating dozens of large, heavy CRT monitors at exhibits and events, when a stock of small LCD TV's can be acquired now - used, cheap - and put to use locally. They won't be available used for much longer, a selection can still be made not but not later - if so desired. Support can be asked, of those who benefit - exhibitors and their audience. That's my point. Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Last call for those coming to workshop 9/17 & 9/18
by Todd George 16 Sep '16

16 Sep '16

> XX) Lost count. I'm 90% sure I'm coming at least saturday. May bring > TRS-80 M3 or 4 and H-500 with broken clock generator - Need 5000uf 10v-ish > caps, axial I suspect. ESR meter is on the way, but probably won't make it > to the show. > So some junk drawer caps and and ESR would be helpful. I'll definitely have my ESR meter. I'm low on ~5000uf caps, I need a few for my one Macintosh. Will be ordering them, but won't have them in time for the workshop due to lack of planning. See ya! -Todd

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Last call for those coming to workshop 9/17 & 9/18
by Herb Johnson 16 Sep '16

16 Sep '16

I can't provide an SE/30 case or working motherboard, sorry. I contacted you privately but I'm posting this in case that email fails. Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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PC speakers needed
by Jeffrey Brace 16 Sep '16

16 Sep '16

So Dan R. and I are planning on eventually converting from Commodore 1702 monitors to LCD monitors to connect to our Commodore 64s. We have a special adapter that we bought that connects them. But we apparently need PC speakers to produce sound from the monitors. If anyone has any extras that they want to give us or know of a place where we can get them inexpensively, then please let us know! We just need tiny ones, nothing too big by the way. -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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Interesting local artifact
by Evan Koblentz 16 Sep '16

16 Sep '16

There was a quasi-famous computer store in Manhattan called Tekserve. They specialized in Apple and closed recently. The owner auctioned a lot of the assets and collectibles. Someone in California bid on their outdoor neon sign as a joke. He never expected in a million years to win, but that's what happened. Then he realized it's 13 feet long, two feet high, weighs 80 pounds, and isn't easy to ship to the west coast! He contacted several museums in NYC and they all ignored him or declined to take it. Then he contacted me. I told him to try to NY Hall of Science or NYC Resistor, and if they decline then we'll take it. Maybe it can hang in our museum during the next big move in another few years. Meanwhile, it was costing him a fortune to store in NY, so he's having it UPS'd to us. I told him we can store it for a few weeks until he finds a home for it or donates it to us. It's being delivered Saturday. We will keep it safe in the warehouse.

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Lego + Logo
by Evan Koblentz 16 Sep '16

16 Sep '16

Ben G. loaned us his Lego kit for the Apple II and IBM PC. We used the IBM PC part for HOPE and we're using the Apple II part for World Maker Faire next month. The IBM version had some issues. Its initialization program was buggy, which Jon C. fixed. One of the commands to turn off a port still didn't work. Jon thinks it is because (at least in part) that the Compaq 386 we used is too fast; the kit is made for an IBM PC. Anyway, the kit lacked the Apple II card, but we had the schematics so Jon built one (see his email thread from Tuesday). He mailed it to me and it arrived today. I've only tried some minimal commands but it works great so far. One thing I love about it is the speed control command -- "setpower (1-7)". The BASIC version doesn't do that so I had to build a Lego gear reduction which was fun but shouldn't be necessary. What should I build? There are two motors, four lights, one optical sensor, and one touch sensor. Lego documentation lists many examples such as the classic Turtle (follow the line, draw, etc.) but I'd like to do something different. Ideas so far: - Robot arm. Programmatically move it around, grab stuff, release. Not unlike the Radio Shack "Armitron" but programmed instead of just moving levers. - "Ping-Pong Ball Enlarging Machine". Use simple robot arm to put a ping-pong ball into a hole in a box, then watch kids get surprised when a trap door opens and a Wiffleball pops out. Convince them it's the same ball, just enlarged. :) - A car game that involves programming it to accomplish tasks. Certain direction to hit a sensor, certain speed to jump a gulf, etc. Any other ideas? It's VITAL to remember that the families/children at Maker Faire have short attention spans. We cannot take time to give every visitor a programming lesson. The past couple of years our booths were in loud locations and we regularly had 10-20 people waiting their turn to see us at any time.

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Thank you -- mini fridge benefactor
by Evan Koblentz 15 Sep '16

15 Sep '16

Thank you to the person donating funds for a mini-fridge to go in our museum workshop. He asked to remain anonymous.

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Last call for those coming to workshop 9/17 & 9/18
by Herb Johnson 15 Sep '16

15 Sep '16

I will likely come sometime Saturday, to visit with a few of the participants. I will not need a table. I have competing events to attend thru the weekend. Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Here's the new display case
by Evan Koblentz 15 Sep '16

15 Sep '16

Our new display case for Univac artifacts is set up: http://vcfed.org/evan/univac_case.jpg The top item is a Univac 1 manual. We will put it upright on a stand. Soon we're getting an electric desk fan that John Mauchly brought home from work for his daughter. That will also go in the case. We will put in signs for each item/shelf. Another artifact goes on the left side, so all those wires etc. are hidden. The case has a glass rear panel. We installed a piece of lauan wood with black felt on the front. It looks great in person and creates a semi-mirror effect.

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Last call for those coming to workshop 9/17 & 9/18
by Jeffrey Brace 15 Sep '16

15 Sep '16

1) Jeff Brace - Capsela and C64? 2) Evan Koblentz - Lego BASIC/LOGO stuff for Maker Faire 3) Ian Primus - Fix everything 4) Dean, Drew - TBD 5) Dromgoole, Bill - Univac 6) Jeff Jonas - Ferreting around 7) Bill Deg - SGI and other stuff 8) Steven Toth - Amiga stuff 9) ? 10) ? Last call. Those that don't let me know by tomorrow are not guaranteed a table. Don't complain if you don't have one. Last month was packed and I had to be creative for those who didn't let me know that they were coming. -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Last call for those coming to workshop 9/17 & 9/18
by Todd George 15 Sep '16

15 Sep '16

12) Todd George - Saturday Only I'll be there, Saturday only. Not sure what I'll be working on. I'll likely drag some Amiga stuff because of Stephen, maybe a Macintosh or two just because that's what I'm currently interested in. I think there was some discussion from Jeff about testing a card on my AT&T PC 6300. I'll likely be travelling light, might skip bringing my EEPROM burner and disk imaging workstation, they don't seem to get much use anyway. Of course the one time I don't bring them is when people will need stuff. :-/ See you there!! -Todd

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OT (mostly) - World Maker Faire in NY
by chrisjpf33＠gmail.com 15 Sep '16

15 Sep '16

If you aren't exhibiting and just want to go to Maker Faire for a day, and you don't want to drive into the city, and you can get to Allentown, PA, then consider signing up for a bus trip organized by my Maker Space. We did this last year and it was great. We will have a chartered bus with A/C and a restroom, so it is very comfortable. Share with anyone who you think might be interested. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/world-maker-faire-2016-with-make-lehigh-valley…

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SGI's available
by william degnan 14 Sep '16

14 Sep '16

I have four SGI Indy's, one SGI O2, and one Indigo2 parts units available for free. The museum gets first dibs. None are fully functional. They're missing hard drives, display cards, or both. It's easy to find compatible SCSI drives of this class. I have only one display so I can't give you a display. I have no keyboards or mice either but SGI uses PS/2 nothing fancy. No rodent damage, always stored inside. If you have spare parts you can get at least one of these back into action or these can be used for parts to complete what you already have. I can deliver to the workshop this weekend or you can come here to Landenberg, to claim one/all. contact me privately if interested, but please don't ask me to ship and I don't plan to hold them long, they gotta go! Bill

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things for saturday afternoon I could bring
by william degnan 14 Sep '16

14 Sep '16

I will be at the workshop saturday from about 11-6. I could bring a lot of stuff, but I have time only for one or two projects. I have been working on SGI lately, anyone interested in Workstations who might like to collaborate on something like that? If so advise. Does anyone have an SGI Octane hard drive sled? I plan to bring a free DEC printer to whomever wants it, from early 80's. I might instead bring a Sun or DEC 5000. Bill

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Vintage Computer Federation at Lehigh Valley FAST 2016
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 14 Sep '16

14 Sep '16

Todd George via vcf-midatlantic writes: >(Full disclosure, some of the following is plagiarized and/or >paraphrased from e-mails that Chris and Doug sent to me. Figured I'd >throw it all together and touch it up a bit for the list's enjoyment.) > >As previously mentioned on the list, Doug Crawford, Chris Fala and I set >up a booth/exhibit on Sunday, September 11 (last weekend) at the Lehigh >Valley Festival of Art, Science and Technology at PPL Center in >Allentown, PA. The event was presented by the Da Vinci Science Center >and Make Lehigh Valley. > >The facility is awesome, it's a hockey arena that is normally the home >of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. They had a ton of space for everyone to >get their science, art and technology on! The event was very high >quality, well organized and really cool, lots of freebies/handouts, kids >were painting things, dying coffee filters, launching bottle rockets, ---------------------------------------------^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Indoors?

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Vintage Computer Federation at Lehigh Valley FAST 2016
by Todd George 14 Sep '16

14 Sep '16

(Full disclosure, some of the following is plagiarized and/or paraphrased from e-mails that Chris and Doug sent to me. Figured I'd throw it all together and touch it up a bit for the list's enjoyment.) As previously mentioned on the list, Doug Crawford, Chris Fala and I set up a booth/exhibit on Sunday, September 11 (last weekend) at the Lehigh Valley Festival of Art, Science and Technology at PPL Center in Allentown, PA. The event was presented by the Da Vinci Science Center and Make Lehigh Valley. The facility is awesome, it's a hockey arena that is normally the home of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. They had a ton of space for everyone to get their science, art and technology on! The event was very high quality, well organized and really cool, lots of freebies/handouts, kids were painting things, dying coffee filters, launching bottle rockets, flying drones, etc. I actually didn't get as much of a chance to walk around and take it all in as I had wanted. Our booth was too busy! The vendors and exhibits were very well designed and gave the kids a lot of attention, a good experience and taught them something. The were not just pushing merchandise like seems to be a trend at some of the science events. Very refreshing. Make Lehigh Valley had tremendous participation in their solder classes. The event appeared to be a smashing success. It was free for attendees, and the final count was 4,236 visitors. There were over 50 exhibition booths staffed by over 100 people and there were an additional 100+ volunteers mostly from local high schools helping with the event. They also had roving Storm Troopers and other Star Wars characters, the Penn State Nittany Lion was there, and apparently there were a number of other mascots wandering around throughout the day. We set up our booth with a similar approach to what we used for our Commodore exhibit at last year's VCF. For those of you not familiar, we used metal shelving to convert our table tops into three-tiers where we could present retro computers. We had two 8-foot tables available for use at this FAST event. Our booth was busy from start to stop. Kudos to the team! We only had one stoppage when we blew a breaker. Too much retro fun condensed into a small area. Apparently our 30+ year old computers aren't power efficient enough. :-/ Hahah. We had two processor trainers/SBC's set up (An HP 5036A and a Lawrence Livermore Labs MST-80B), a Commodore VIC20 (running Space Invaders), SX64 (Running Chris' very cool power control program/hardware that switches AC outlets on and off via Joystick control), a Commodore 64 (Running Ms. Pac Man), a TRS-80 Model III (?) running Galaxy Invasion, a Commodore PET running an awesome Space Invaders clone and an Atari 800XL running Ms. Pac Man or Donkey Kong (depending on the time of day and what I booted on it). We also had a few things I threw together to let kids print out a souvenir on vintage dot matrix equipment. First was a Commodore 64 running a new program I wrote that prints banners on an old Epson dot matrix receipt printer (kids were writing messages, etc. and printing them out, letters print about 1" or slightly wider, about 2.5" tall, effectively unlimited message length (well, 255 bytes in a string), and it tagged each banner with "Vintage Computer Federation" and the web address. Fun, cheap and really fast. I had also configured The Print Shop on a Macintosh Classic and plugged it into an ImageWriter II. I also converted the VCFed logo to MacPaint format and The Print Shop format so we could have some fun printing the VCFed logo on a dot matrix printer in crazy low resolution. We printed quite a few signs as souvenirs as well. It takes time to create and print a sign with The Print Shop, if I were to do this type of presentation at another event, I'd definitely bring two (or more?) complete setups to decrease the wait time. Maybe run it on other vintage gear aside from a Macintosh? I think the biggest challenge here is ribbon availability, as some of the dot matrix printers are much easier to find ribbons for than others. The Epson receipt and ImageWriter printers that I had for this event are easy and cheap to find fresh ribbons for. I also had another Epson receipt printer set up with an Arduino and a big red button that printed a VCF "business card" when you hit the button. Had our group name, web address, Twitter and Facebook links. I gave these out when people asked for a way to contact us, or how to participate with the group. Virtually unlimited almost-free business cards. :-D In a future version of this Arduino program I want to have it print our logo and a QR code, but I ran out of time for this event. I already have a working QR code print routine (it doesn't calculate the QR code, just prints it from previously calculated hard-coded data). Sadly, the ImageWriter was a bit too quiet to hear over the noise in the facility, but the Epson printers were doing a good job of being absurdly loud and attracting people to our booth. :-D The printers got a lot of action. It might have been the noise and the uniqueness of dot matrix printing, but one adult observer theorized that kids simply really don't get to produce printouts at home. We definitely considered this a crowd pleaser. We had the trainer computers there to show people what prototyping and electronics/code experimentation was like 30 years ago, we compared and contrasted it with Arduino/Raspberry Pi for anyone who was interested. The kids at the event were probably largely in the 1st and 2nd grades, definitely elementary school ages. Some may have been a bit too young to grasp exactly what we were tyring to show off with certain portions of our booth, but they definitely had fun with the games. It was mentioned that this event attracted a lot of low income families and was an attempt to generate an interest in the sciences giving these kids access to people and things they might not normally have in their daily lives. Next time, we'll lower the shelf the monitors were on during setup and maybe get some step stools to have at the booth to assist with the shorties. A few of them couldn't properly see the keyboards the way we had things set up due to being vertically challenged. We heard a few things loud and clear, we need to bring an Apple II (tons of requests for this), Timex Sinclair (no lie, at least 3 people asked me alone), had two requests for a Commodore 128 and a few people even wanted Pong! One of our goals at these events is not so much to convey the computer history as it is to give a bit of fun mental break from the serious learning experiences, show off some technical curiosities, and to some extent walk down memory lane for the parents. Additionally, we hope to get the kids interested in programming and technology, and show off how far technology has come. The hope is that something they see will spark an interest in Code, Technology, Math, Science, etc. We also met quite a few adults who had interest in the "hobby". They took pics of our signage, grabbed a "business card" or chatted with us about how to find out more about the group. This is a tertiary reason we attend these events, but definitely one that is not to be ignored. Doug heard a story from a lady there who's husbands grandfather worked for the army and had commissioned decommissioned an ENIAC, apparently she has the Remington Rand Eniac name plate and a family member has some portion of the control panel. We made sure she has VCF's contact info. We invited them to get involved and perhaps exhibit the pieces and the grandfather's story. All-in-all it was a fun day! I had talked with one of the Da Vinci Science Center folks (I didn't catch her name/title) who was very impressed with what we had put together for the event. Unfortunately, we neglected to get a good picture of the table once it was all set up (and before we broke it all down at the end of the day), but I did throw some pictures we did take into an Imgur album for your enjoyment. http://imgur.com/a/MM46y Also, the event website has a video... http://www.davincisciencecenter.org/public-service/festival/ . There was another gentleman filming at the event, but I don't see his video online yet. Thanks! -Todd

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New member, Intro
by W2HX 14 Sep '16

14 Sep '16

Hi folks, new to the list here. Evan suggested I send an intro email so here it is. Got involved with computing around 1979, 1980 at about 12 or 13 years old. I had access to a TRS-80 Model I (level 2) through a friend of my fathers. I read every issue of byte and popular electronics that I could get my hands on those days. I never could afford an S100 machine. Eventually I bought a TRS-80 Model III (or IV I can't remember) with some money I had saved. That was the machine I learned on for several years. I am just starting to get back into this stuff and wanting to get the machines I could never afford as a kid, I have acquired an IMSAI 8080 and a PDP-8e. One of these days I hope to find some time to get them running. Here are some pix. http://w2hx.com/x/VintageComp/IMSAI-8080/ http://w2hx.com/x/VintageComp/PDP-8e/ You might be able to tell by my domain name, my main hobby is amateur radio. Specifically, I enjoy collecting, repairing and operating older (tube) ham and military (army and navy) radios. I also have a "thing" for test equipment and precision frequency stuff. In addition to some GPSDO's I have a working cesium beam atomic clock. Just neat to tell people. I had been interested in getting some 8" drives to pair with my IMSAI just for the nostalgia of it all. While at the Dayton Hamvention this past year I saw a big blue enclosure containing three 8" disk drives and I had to go look. The guy said I could have them for $50 as long as I also took this other matching blue box. Well it ends up this was a Vector Graphics enclosure/backplane with the matching triple 8" drives. I really didn't want the backplane/enclosure since there were no boards and I really didn't have the room for all of this. But the price was right so I grabbed it all. Card cage looks unused. Here are some (poor) pictures. http://w2hx.com/x/VintageComp/Vector/ I am not really sure what to do with this stuff. I really don't want the card cage/enclosure. I would hate to separate them, but I might be convinced. I like the blue color that kinda matches my IMSAI. But I don't even know if my IMSAI could be made to work with the triple 8" drives. And quite frankly, the triple drives are very large because they are oriented vertically instead of what is often seen, two horizontally. Anyway, I was really hoping I could come down to InfoAge this weekend and seek out some help with my projects, but there is a military vehicle/radio show that happens every year at the fairgrounds in Gilbert, PA so I won't be able to meet and greet quite yet. In all, I have absolutely everything to learn about these machines to try to get them running. Electrically I am pretty handy. But when it comes to roms, bios's and getting things to boot and configured will be a challenge. I even have an 8 bit tape punch/reader from a CNC machine that I would love to use to bootstrap these machines. Well that about wraps it up. Glad to join the group. Now if I could only find some time to enjoy this hobby! Eugene PS. In case the radio stuff interests you, some photos of the shack and lab. http://w2hx.com/x/New%20Shack/

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New member, Intro
by Herb Johnson 14 Sep '16

14 Sep '16

Thanks for your intro, and links to your Web site and vintage computers. I'll briefly make some comments (in my opinion) about the computers you have. But in general, if you do homework and identify the various cards and items in your computers, that info will tell you a lot about what you have and what you might do with it. "Homework" is my preference to "chat", speaking for myself. The IMSAI is filled with Cromemco cards, so essentially you have a Cromemco Z-80 S-100 system, with a 4FDC floppy controller. that 4FDC determines what you can do with that particular set of cards, and what you'll need to find to create a CP/M system around it. The PDP-8/e looks nice, and apparently you've powered it. Very old power supplies ought to have their caps "reconditioned", and you might check the DC ripple on both the 8 and the IMSAI to make sure the big caps are doing their job. http://www.retrotechnology.com/restore/8f_fixitmay13.html http://www.retrotechnology.com/restore/prob_solv.html A Web search will find more pages on my site, on S-100 or PDP-8s. There's lots of non-DEC cards in your 8; you might try to identify them by brand and model (ECRM?). You'll need (to identify) some kind of serial card, to talk to your 8. It would be convenient, to have an HTML document on your Web page which contains that information, linking to your photos. With that info on your Web page, others may find your 8 and cards, and contact you to your benefit. It would appear your 8 was an industrial controller, so those non-DEC cards ran something. The fun of 70's vintage computing, is to reverse-engineer items you don't have docs for - in my opinion. Chips and connectors, special function devices, connections back to the bus - those are clues as to function and operation. These days, the Web is informative. You'll find the PDP-8 world is very different from the S-100 world, a generational difference. Your post said you were not so interested in the industrial cabinets. The Vector Graphics motherboard, is in a commercial cabinet and is mounted in a commercial card cage; just as the 8-inch drives are mounted in a commercial cabinet. Neither cabinet was a product of Vector Graphics Inc; so the principle of vintage preservation would not be violated if you removed the drives or the chassis from those cabinets. But there is a decent card cage and it would be a challenge to replace that; maybe you'll find a smaller cabinet for it. Again, you have nice industrial cabinets; but such things are out of vogue these day - maybe some ham will need them for a base station or repeater. Modern folks are not fond of the old open-frame "brute force" S-100 power supplies, they use switchers, but my preference is to use traditional power supplies in S-100 systems. Beware that unregulated supplies like that 1) will run at higher-than-standard S-100 DC voltage if lightly loaded and 2) will retain most of their voltage for some time after power-down (I see bleeder resistors on your big caps). There's ways to deal with those issues, my S-100 Web pages talk about such things. All those statements are, of course, my opinions and views; you and others may think otherwise, or have other priorities, as can you. But the parts, caps and chips and such, function as designed and don't care about "opinions and priorities"; I hope my Web site represents the technology correctly. Good luck with the IMSAI/Cromemco and PDP-8/e. There's no shortage of Web pages where these are discussed and documented. And many people own either and will chat about them. What you do and how, is a matter of your time and interests and skills; you can learn a lot about the technology behind these systems, and/or meet others who have similar stuff. Herb Johnson retrotechnology.com -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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VCFMW
by Mike Loewen 13 Sep '16

13 Sep '16

This was my first time attending VCF Midwest, and I had a very enjoyable time. I exhibited a Tandy 6000HD running my Micro Magic BBS from 1986, with VT320 and H19 terminals for login, along with an Osborne Vixen running IMP. Lots of familiar faces in attendance, including Jeff Jonas, Ian Primus, Will Donzelli, Kyle Owen, Ethan Dicks, Jack Rubin, Connor Krukosky, Mike Lee and Josh Bensadon. I finally met Jason Timmons, Jay West, Paul Anderson, Earl Baugh and Lee Hart, along with several other exhibitors. I'll be back. Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

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OT: tech support please
by Evan Koblentz 13 Sep '16

13 Sep '16

Girlfriend's computer is 15 years old, so I installed a brand new mobo, processor, RAM, and SSD. Only old parts are the case, power supply, and DVD. I triple-checked that all the mobo connectors are in the right places and enabled all SATA ports in the BIOS. First I tried booting with a live DVD to install Mint on her new SSD. I used a cheap IDE-SATA adapter to connect the DVD to her mobo -- the same adapter works fine on my computer. Doesn't work on hers. I get a message saying to insert boot media, the drive seeks, but it keeps returning to that message. I know the DVD that I burned is a good one. Checked the BIOS: it doesn't see the DVD at all. Then I tried it with a bootable USB stick. Nothing happens. Here's the really weird part. I disconnected the new SSD and put in her old HDD, which is also SATA, and I hear it spin up like it's booting normally (has Mint 18 on it), but I get nothing but a blank screen after the boot options menu. It * should * start right up like before. I'm stumped.

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Workshop -- sleeping change
by Evan Koblentz 13 Sep '16

13 Sep '16

Per infoage management: the town has started to notice people sleeping over (not just us) and is clamping down on it since these buildings aren't zoned that way. We can no longer sleep in the museum. However, also starting now, we can stay in the part of the H-building that was professionally restored and re-zoned by the Hurricane Sandy relief teams. There are showers, a kitchen, bunk beds, and everything else -- much nicer than our concrete floor! Fred said IA decided to charge $25/person/night for this privilege. IA would also like a week or so of notice and an estimate on how many people will accept the offer each time we have overnight events. To cover ourselves, I told him it'll be about 10 people for next weekend. That is all the information I have now.

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Workshop next weekend
by william degnan 13 Sep '16

13 Sep '16

I plan to come up to the workshop Sat 11-6. Remind me to bring an ascii char test papertape for the UNIVAC 1532 Bill

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Upcoming workshops
by Jeffrey Brace 13 Sep '16

13 Sep '16

September will be the last workshop for the year. InfoAge has a lot of big events going so it would be hard to have workshops in October, November and December. Also on a personal note I need a break from all the work I have done during the year for VCF and other personal obligations, plus continuing docent duties. We will start up workshops again in January and February. Anyone else is free to have their own workshop in their homes. I know others have done this in the past. Don't forget we have Festivus on Dec 3/4 weekend! -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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Connor made Adafruit Blog and Fast Company
by Neil Cherry 13 Sep '16

13 Sep '16

I don't like the title as it makes Connor sound like he bought his way into the job (we know better) : This Teenage IBM Employee Got His Job By Buying An Old Mainframe Computer https://www.fastcompany.com/3063265/how-to-be-a-success-at-everything/this-… https://blog.adafruit.com/2016/09/13/this-teenage-ibm-employee-got-his-job-… -- 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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Lego Logo 9767 Apple II Interface Build
by Systems Glitch 13 Sep '16

13 Sep '16

Full Writeup: http://www.glitchwrks.com/2016/09/12/lego-logo-interface Ian was going to build the interface, but since I ended up having to troubleshoot the suspected flakey hardware after The Eleventh HOPE, I went ahead and built one to have a known-good board to test with. This uses one of the new Apple II protoboards I laid out a few months ago. I may either reduce the hole size or increase the annular ring on the pads. Right now you can stuff two 24 AWG solid wires plus a socket pin in the holes, which is great for point-to-point prototyping. It'll also take a through-hole switch or 2 Watt resistor without drilling out. About to run out to the post office and send it on its way to Evan! Thanks, Jonathan

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Free CRT
by Steven Toth 12 Sep '16

12 Sep '16

[Edited] Message to Ian Primus.... I have a widescreen Philips (?) CRT, maybe 28", that I bought in 2004. I used it until 2009 when I replaced it. I haven't powered it up for years, but it was working perfectly fine.... its been sitting in the garage (dry / clean), waiting for me to do something with it. ..... I'm never going to do anything with it. If you want it then let me know, I'll bring it to the next workshop. If not, no worries. - Steve

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Museum report -- different than usual
by Evan Koblentz 11 Sep '16

11 Sep '16

I was at the museum Friday, Saturday, and today. Dean helped on Friday and Jeff B. helped yesterday/today. Dean picked up our new Univac display case and delivered it to the museum. It's the first truly * new * display case we ever bought. We always got used cases. The new one is 6 feet tall and has glass sides, glass front, adjustable glass shelves, halogen lights for each shelf, botton locking storage, and locking doors. It's one of the first things you see upon entering the museum. Dean and I also painted shelves for the modern history exhibit. Corey visited to measure for a clear plastic cover to put in front of the shelves. Jeff and I painted the 5-ft.-wide aisle around the exhibits. We used a different shade of gray than the rest of the floor. We did NO prep work :) because it only needs to last a few months until we can acquire something better. Regardless, its a big improvement vs. the old paint which was full of scuffs and spots that didn't come out by any cleaning methods. We are considering rubber garage-style flooring for the future. This is only for the aisles, not the whole room. We also touched up the shelves from Friday, installed an outdoor lockbox in a discrete location for museum docents, and showed our exhibits to visitors. InfoAge hosted a Fort Monmouth reunion so there were many people around. Meanwhile, some of InfoAge's Halloween volunteers helped me build a black backdrop for the display case, because the rear is also glass and we don't want visitors to see what is behind it. That needs some refinement which I'll do Saturday at the workshop. Jeff and I also did a bunch of other general clean-up tasks and discussed other museum improvements, such as where to put TVs on the walls, how to decorate various empty walls, and what content to put in slides / videos for the TVs / Android kiosks. We did not get to any warehouse work, but it was miserable weather for that anyhow.

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Museum needs: chair, mini fridge
by Evan Koblentz 11 Sep '16

11 Sep '16

Everyone, We need two things for the museum. 1. An office chair, but not just any office chair. It should be black and/or silver, have wheels, and have adjustable height. 2. A mini fridge of 2-3 square feet. Prefer one with Energy Star certification and, of course, clean + in good working condition. :) Ps., the oscilloscope arrived today and now happily resides on our workbench.

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3 dec rainbows central NJ avail
by william degnan 10 Sep '16

10 Sep '16

First come first served to express interest privately off list via: Http://Vintagecomputer.net/contact.cfm 3 dec rainbows ...unsure of details... avail for pickup only central NJ...I am waiting for more info. Don't know the guy. Just passing along a post that came through my website. Bill Degnan twitter: billdeg vintagecomputer.net

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Working teletypes
by william degnan 10 Sep '16

10 Sep '16

Anyone have a working teletype in nyc area willing to rent? Bill Degnan twitter: billdeg vintagecomputer.net

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Shirt color - early results!!
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 09 Sep '16

09 Sep '16

Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic writes: >I erred with the survery closing time: it closed sometime between 2am >and 7am today. Sorry about that. SurveyMonkey doesn't let me re-open >it, but= ...... > >....Black wins in a landslide! > >Black - 29 votes Ectoplasm - 17 votes White - 7 votes (including mine) WTF is Ectoplasm?

7 8

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Shirt color - early results!!
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 09 Sep '16

09 Sep '16

Dan Roganti via vcf-midatlantic writes: >{...snip...> >you mean, not even a Green Lantern t-shirt ?? ;) ESPECIALLY never something as ridiculous as a superhero shirt!

1 0

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Shirt color - early results!!
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 09 Sep '16

09 Sep '16

Tom Hornberger via vcf-midatlantic writes: >From: Dan Roganti via vcf-midatlantic ><vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecompute= rfederation.org> To: >vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> >Cc: Dan Roganti <ragooman(a)gmail.com> Sent: Fri, Sep 9, 2016 8:49 am >Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Shirt color - early results!! > >On Fri, Sep 9, 2016 at 8:46 AM, Brian Schenkenberger via vcf-midatlantic >< vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: > >> Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic writes: > > >I erred with the >survery closing time: it closed sometime between 2am > >and 7am today. >Sorry about that. SurveyMonkey doesn't let me re-open > >it, but=3D >...... > > > >....Black wins in a landslide! > > > >Black - 29 votes >Ectoplasm - 17 votes White - 7 votes (including mine) > > WTF is >Ectoplasm? > > > >=E2=80=8BEctoplasm =3D [Battery] Acid Damage=E2=80=8B > >----------------------------------------------------------------- > >It's properly called "Puke Green", it's ghastly! I have one Polo from a >fo= rmer employer in that color. It's going into the clothing donation >box. :) OK. I refuse wear any collared shirts and, ex post Department of Defense, I refuse to cover any part of my body in green of any ANY shade save, perhaps, on St. Patrick's day; albeit, I'd probably wear my black Guinness shirt that day.

2 1

FS: Complete Unbuilt SDK-85 Kit
by Systems Glitch 09 Sep '16

09 Sep '16

All, I had someone contact me through my site with a complete, unbuilt, Intel SDK-85 kit still shrinkwrapped. I've got three at the moment, two of which are intended for when people email me asking if I've got one to sell, so I don't want to acquire yet another when I know people are looking for them. The owner is looking to sell it to someone who will *use* it, not just keep it around as an unopened kit to sit on a shelf. It looks like it's from a late 80's/early 90's run -- computer printed board and EPROM labels, and it uses a 8755 instead of a mask-programmed 8355 for the monitor ROM. I've advised him that $200 is probably a fair price. He says he's flexible on the price as long as the board goes to a good home. If you're interested, contact me off-list and I'll put you in contact with the owner. Thanks, Jonathan

1 0

Shirt color - early results!!
by Evan Koblentz 09 Sep '16

09 Sep '16

I erred with the survery closing time: it closed sometime between 2am and 7am today. Sorry about that. SurveyMonkey doesn't let me re-open it, but...... ....Black wins in a landslide! Black - 29 votes Ectoplasm - 17 votes White - 7 votes (including mine) Black had almost 55 percent of the 53 votes, so a few more hours today would not have mattered. Voting rate was slowing as week progressed anyhow. Sometime in the next few days I will get info about prices and will post ordering instructions.

2 4

oldest email address in the club
by william degnan 08 Sep '16

08 Sep '16

Hey, Anyone still operating actively an email address from before 1995 that one can send a message and receive a reply without turning on an old server, etc. In short, something more or less continuously in production daily with the same FQDN, etc? b

19 45

22 hours left to vote!
by Evan Koblentz 08 Sep '16

08 Sep '16

There are 52 responses for choosing the new polos shirt color. Voting closes at 8pm ET tomorrow. Vote now or don't complain about the color later. :) https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2G5Q7XY

1 0

WTD: cable Digital VR 260 Terminal
by william degnan 08 Sep '16

08 Sep '16

WTD: cable Digital VR 260 Terminal If you have one for sale contact me off list vintagecomputer.net/contact.cfm

2 8

The Workshop of 9/17 & 9/18 - who will come? what will you do?
by Jeffrey Brace 08 Sep '16

08 Sep '16

1) Jeff Brace - Capsela and C64? 2) Evan Koblentz - Try to fix a computer, complain, give up and reorganize the warehouse. 3) Ian Primus - Fix everything 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

4 4

domain-template.txt
by Dave McGuire 08 Sep '16

08 Sep '16

Here's a copy of domain-template.txt, for any interested parties: -------------------------------- [ URL ftp://rs.internic.net/templates/domain-template.txt ] [ 07/95 ] ******************* Please DO NOT REMOVE Version Number ******************** Domain Version Number: 1.0 **************** Please see attached detailed instructions ***************** ******** Only for registrations under ROOT, EDU, GOV, COM, NET, ORG ******** 0. (N)ew (M)odify (D)elete.: 1. Purpose/Description.....: 2. Complete Domain Name....: 3a. Organization name.......: 3b. Organization address....: 4. Operational Date........: Administrative Contact 5a. NIC Handle (if known)...: 5b. Name (Last, First)......: 5c. Organization............: 5d. Postal Address..........: 5e. Phone Number............: 5f. E-Mailbox...............: Technical/Zone Contact 6a. NIC Handle (if known)...: 6b. Name (Last, First)......: 6c. Organization............: 6d. Postal Address..........: 6e. Phone Number............: 6f. E-Mailbox...............: Primary Name Server 7a. Prime Server Hostname...: 7b. Prime Server Netaddress.: 7c. Prime Server Hardware...: 7d. Prime Server Software...: Secondary Name Server(s) 8a. Second Server Hostname..: 8b. Second Server Netaddress: 8c. Second Server Hardware..: 8d. Second Server Software..: The party requesting registration of this name certifies that, to her/his knowledge, the use of this name does not violate trademark or other statutes. Registering a domain name does not confer any legal rights to that name and any disputes between parties over the rights to use a particular name are to be settled between the contending parties using normal legal methods. (See RFC 1591) By applying for the Domain Name and through the use or continued use of the Domain Name, the applicant agrees to be bound by the terms of NSI's then current domain name policy (the '"Policy Statement') which is available at ftp://rs.internic.net/policy/internic.domain.policy.txt. (If this application is made through an agent, such as an Internet service provider, that agent accepts the responsibility to notify the Applicant of the conditions on the registration of the Domain Name and to provide the Applicant a copy of the current version of the Policy Statement, if so requested by the Applicant.) The applicant acknowledge and agree that NSI may change the terms and conditions of the Policy Statement from time to time as provided in the Policy Statement. The applicant agrees that if the use of the Domain Name is challenged by any third party, or if any dispute arises under this Registration Agreement, as amended, the applicant will abide by the procedures specified in the Policy Statement. This Registration Agreement shall be governed in all respects by and construed in accordance with the laws of the United States of America and of the State of California, without respect to its conflict of law rules. This Registration Agreement is the complete and exclusive agreement of the the applicant and NSI ("parties") regarding domain names. It supersedes, and its terms govern, all prior proposals, agreements, or other communications between the parties. This Registration Agreement may only be amended as provided in the Policy Statement. --------------------------------- cut here --------------------------------- GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS Use the form above for registering new domain names, for making changes to existing domain name records and for removing a domain name from the InterNIC database and root servers. The form, and only the form, should be sent via e-mail to HOSTMASTER(a)INTERNIC.NET Please do not send hardcopy registrations to the InterNIC. Your provider will be able to send e-mail applications if you are not connected. In the Subject of the message, use the words, "NEW DOMAIN", "MODIFY DOMAIN", or "REMOVE DOMAIN" as appropriate, followed by the name of the domain to assist in sorting and locating incoming registration requests. In response to the submission of a form, you should receive an auto-reply with a ticket number. Use the ticket number in the Subject of any messages you send regarding that registration action. When the registration is completed you will receive a notification via e-mail. If you regularly submit domain applications, you will note two changes in the registration form. Section 0 has been added to indicate the nature of the registration action, and the Purpose section of the registration has been moved from the end of the form to Section 1. These changes were made to further automate the registration process and to allow the person reviewing the registration to more easily see the Purpose section. The goal of these changes is to improve the quality and responsiveness of service to you. Please do not modify the form nor remove the version number. The computer program that scans and parses the form is looking for section numbers, followed by a period, followed by a colon. Information following the colon is compared with and inserted into the database as appropriate. Please send only one form per message. When completing the form, make use of "whois" at rs.internic.net to check to see if domain names, organization names, people, and name servers have been registered. Use the information in the database where appropriate. This will minimize the number of registrations that are returned for incomplete or inaccurate information. The instructions for completing each field are in the following three sections - one each for NEW, MODIFY and DELETE. The interpretation of missing or blank fields can vary between the New and Modify registration actions. Please read the instructions carefully and make sure the form is properly completed to accomplish the action you desire. REGISTERING A NEW DOMAIN NAME Section 0 - Registration Action Type Following the colon, place the character "N" or the word "New" to indicate this is a NEW registration. The transfer of a name from one organization to another is considered a new registration. If the intent is to effect a transfer, clearly indicate this in Section 1 and include a statement from the current holder of the name that it is being transferred. Section 1 - Purpose of Registration Briefly describe the organization and/or the purpose for which this domain name is being registered. The description should support the choice of top-level domain in Section 2. If the domain name is for an organization that already has a domain name registered, describe the purpose of this domain and why the additional name is needed. Indicate why existing names cannot be used or why the proposed second- level name cannot be used as a third-level name under a domain name that is already registered. Section 2 - Complete Domain Name Top-level country domains may be registered by inserting the two-letter country code in this section. See RFC1591 for the duties and responsibilities of top-level domain administrators. For second-level domain names under EDU, GOV, COM, NET, or ORG, insert the two-part name of the domain you wish to register, for example, ABC.COM. The total length of the two-part name may be up to 24 characters. The only characters allowed in a domain name are letters, digits and the dash (-), (see RFC952.) Consult RFC1591 to determine the most appropriate top-level domain to join. Briefly: EDU is for 4-year, degree granting institutions. GOV is for United States federal government agencies. COM is for commercial, for-profit organizations. NET is for network infrastructure machines and organizations. ORG is for not-for-profit and non-profit organizations. US state and local government agencies, schools, libraries, museums, and individuals should register under the US domain. See RFC1480 for a complete description of the US domain and registration procedures. Section 3 - Organization Using the Domain Name The domain name is considered to be registered to an organization, even if the "organization" is an individual. It is important in this section to list the name and address of the end-user organization, not the provider organization. If the organization has the same name as one that is already registered, explain this in Section 1 above. When completing item 3b, place the city, state, and zip code on a separate line. Use a comma to separate the city and state. For example: Organization address.: Street or PO Box Herndon, VA 22070 If the organization is in a country other than the United States, please include the name of the country on the last line by itself. For example: Organization address.: Street or PO Box Montreal, QC H2S 2C8 Canada Section 4 - Operational Date Insert the date in YY/MM/DD format when you expect the domain name servers will be connected and responding to domain name system (DNS) queries for the requested domain name. The name servers should be operational at the time of registration and we may reject the registration if is not answering authoritatively for the domain submitted. Section 5 - Administrative Contact The administrative contact is the person who can speak on behalf of the organization listed in Section 3. This person should be able to answer non-technical questions about the organization's plans for the name, and procedures for establishing sub-domains, and should be able to represent the organization regarding use of the name. See RFC1032 for more detail on administrative contacts. Each person in the InterNIC database is assigned a "handle" - a unique tag consisting of the person's initials and a serial number. This tag is used on records in the database to indicate a point of contact for a domain name, network, name server or other entity. Each person should have only one handle. If the person's handle is known, insert just the handle in item 5a and leave the rest of Section 5 blank. If a person's handle is unknown or the person has never been registered, leave item 5a blank. The registration software will check for an existing user record. If a matching user record is found, the handle will be put into field 5a. The user's database record will be updated with any new information on the template. Use the same format for specifying the postal address as described in Section 3 above; placing city, state zip code or country name on the last line of the multi-line address. The two-letter country code may be used in lieu of the country name. Contacts must list phone numbers and have e-mail addresses. If an e-mail address is not given, Postmaster(a)domain.name (the domain name being registered) will be assigned. Please make an effort to determine what the person's e-mail address will be so that updates are not required shortly after registration. Section 6 - Technical and Zone Contact The domain technical/zone contact is the person who tends to the technical aspects of maintaining the domain's name server, resolver software, and database files. S/He keeps the name server running, and interacts with technical people in other domains to solve problems that affect the domain. The Internet Service Provider often performs this role. The procedures for completing Section 6 are the same as for Section 5. If Section 6 is left blank, the information from Section 5 will be assumed and vice-versa. Section 7 - Primary Name Server Domains must provide at least two independent servers for translating names to addresses for hosts in the domain. The servers should be in physically separate locations and on different networks if possible. The servers should be active and responsive to DNS queries BEFORE this application is submitted. Incomplete information in sections 7 and 8 or inactive servers will result in delay of the registration. As a minimum, complete 7a and 7b. The registration software makes a cross check between the host name given and the IP addresses given to see if there are matches with either in the database. If a match with an IP number in the database is found, the name in the database will be assumed. Neither the name nor number of a registered name server will be changed as a result of a new domain registration. A Modify registration request must be sent to change either of these values. Please provide the fully-qualified name of the machine that is to be the name server; for example: "machine.domainame.com" not just "machine" Section 8 - Secondary Name Server(s) The same procedures for specifying primary servers apply to secondary servers. If several secondary servers are required, copy Section 8 as many times as needed. Do not renumber or change the copied section. MODIFYING A DOMAIN NAME RECORD Changing an existing record is done by replacement. That is, the contents of various fields in the database are replaced with new information from the form. If the modification involves first registering a person or name server that is not in the database, the instructions for completing Sections 5-8 "REGISTERING A NEW DOMAIN NAME" apply. Use "whois" if you are unsure about the current information for a domain, name server, or individual. Changes will be made if it appears to the operator that the modification request has come from a "reasonable" source. This source could be from a listed contact for the domain, from others in the same organization, from the current provider, or from a new provider that is about to provide support for the domain. Notification of the change and the approximate time it will take effect will be sent to: the requester and, if contacts are changing, to both old and new contacts and, if name servers are changing, to both technical contacts for the domains in which the old and new primary name servers reside. This dissemination of change information is to assure that all parties involved are aware and concur with the change. Transfer of a name from one organization to another is considered a new registration. See, "REGISTERING A NEW DOMAIN NAME." Section 0 - Registration Action Type Following the colon, place the character "M" or the word "Modify" to indicate this is a change to an existing registration. Transfer of a name from one organization to another is considered a new registration. See, "REGISTERING A NEW DOMAIN NAME." Section 1 - Purpose of Registration Briefly describe the purpose of the modification. If the intent is to change either the name or the IP address of name servers, make this very clear, otherwise changes to name servers will not be made. If you wish to change the name of the domain itself, file a separate NEW registration and a DELETE registration when you are ready to have the old name removed. Make it clear in this section that you are changing from one domain name to another and estimate how long you will need the old domain name. Section 2 - Complete Domain Name Insert the two-part name of the domain name you wish to modify, for example, ABC.COM. This section must be completed, even if you are making minor changes, like the phone number of a point of contact, for example. Section 3 - Organization Using the Domain Name The domain name is considered to be registered to an organization, even if the "organization" is an individual. Therefore, a change in the organization name should be explained in Section 1. Transfer of a name from one organization to another is considered a new registration. See, "REGISTERING A NEW DOMAIN NAME." Section 4 - Operational Date This section may be left blank. Section 5 - Administrative Contact If a handle is given in item 5a, the database will be updated with any information on the form in items 5b through 5e. If any item is missing or blank, the corresponding information in the database will not be altered. If no handle is given, the database will be searched to see if the person is already registered. If so, the person's record will be updated with any new information on the form. If not registered, the person will be entered into the database and assigned a handle. The handle will be attached to the domain name record, thus replacing the old individual with the new. Section 6 - Technical and Zone Contact If it is desired to replace the technical/zone contact with another individual, both Sections 5 and 6 must be completed even if they are the same person. Section 7 - Primary Name Server If any changes in name servers are being made, provide a complete list of name servers (both primary and secondary). The list in the application will replace the list in the database. If the intention is to change the name or IP address of a name server, clearly state that in Section 1 above. The default is to NOT change either of these values unless so instructed in Section 1. Section 8 - Secondary Name Server(s) If any changes in name servers are being made, provide a complete list of name servers (both primary and secondary). The list in the application will replace the list in the database. DELETING A DOMAIN NAME RECORD A request to remove a registered domain name from the database may come from the administrative or technical contact for the domain, from a provider who is no longer supporting the name, or from an interested third party who has detected that the name is not active. In the latter case, the InterNIC will make further inquires before removing the name. When the name is removed, it will no longer be visible via whois, wais, gopher, or Web browsers that query the InterNIC database. It will also be removed from the root name servers on the subsequent update. Notification of the deletion and the approximate time it will take effect will be sent to the requestor, the contacts currently listed, and to the technical contact for the domain in which the primary name server resides, if different from the domain being deleted. When a name is transferred from one organization to another, the InterNIC will first delete the existing record and then process a new registration. Section 0 - Registration Action Type Following the colon, place the character "D" or the word "Delete" to indicate this is a deletion of an existing registration. Section 1 - Purpose of Registration Briefly state the reason for removing the name. If you are an interested third party, describe your attempts to reach the people in the domain and their response, or lack thereof. If you feel additional records, such as point(s) of contact or name servers should also be deleted, state that in this section. These will not be automatically removed. The InterNIC will check further to see if they are used on other domain, network, or autonomous system number records before removing them. Section 2 - Complete Domain Name Insert the two-part name of the domain name you wish to have removed. Section 3 - Section 8 These sections should be left blank or removed. RECOMMENDED READING Albitz, P., C. Liu, "DNS and Bind" Help for UNIX System Administrators, O'Reilly and Associates, Inc., October 1992. Postel, J., "Domain Name System Structure and Delegation". Marina del Rey, CA: University of Southern California, Information Sciences Inst.; 1994 March; RFC 1591. 7 p. <URL: ftp://rs.internic.net/policy/rfc1591.txt> Cooper, Postel, "The US Domain". Marina del Rey, CA: University of Southern California, Information Sciences Inst.; 1992 December; RFC 1480. 31 p. <URL: ftp://rs.internic.net/policy/rfc1480.txt> Stahl, M.K. Domain Administrators Guide. Menlo Park, CA: SRI International, DDN Network Information Center; 1987 November; RFC 1032. 14 p. <URL: ftp://rs.internic.net/policy/rfc1032.txt> Lottor, M. Domain Administrators Operations Guide. Menlo Park, CA: SRI International, DDN Network Information Center; 1987 November; RFC 1033. 22 p. <URL: ftp://rs.internic.net/policy/rfc1033.txt> Mockapetris, P. Domain Names - Concepts and Facilities. Marina del Rey, CA: University of Southern California, Information Sciences Inst.; 1987 November; RFC 1034. 55 p. <URL: ftp://rs.internic.net/policy/rfc1034.txt> Mockapetris, P. Domain names - Implementation and Specification. Marina del Rey, CA: University of Southern California, Information Sciences Inst.; 1987 November; RFC 1035. 55 p. <URL: ftp://rs.internic.net/policy/rfc1035.txt> Mockapetris, P. DNS Encoding of Network Names and Other Types. Marina del Rey, CA: University of Southern California, Information Sciences Inst.; 1989 April; RFC 1101. 14 p. <URL: ftp://rs.internic.net/policy/rfc1101.txt> -------------------------------- -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA

1 0

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] oldest email address in the club
by Brian L. Stuart 08 Sep '16

08 Sep '16

On Thu, 9/8/16, David Riley via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: > b) What he DID claim, which was totally correct, was that he was responsible in large part for the > funding that brought the Internet to the public So he didn't create the Internet; he created Eternal September. If karmic reincarnation is real, he'll be reborn as a can of SPAM. BLS

1 0

Museum improvements
by Evan Koblentz 08 Sep '16

08 Sep '16

As mentioned, in part, a week or two ago: we're embarking on a museum improvement binge! Some improvements will be aesthetic (lighting, decorations), some will be interpretive (kiosks, circuit wall), and others will be infrastructure (electrical, safety). The improvements are underway and will happen a little at a time. For example, last weekend we resumed work on the modern history exhibit, and we had the electrician visit to prepare a quote for more power (minicomputers, start your engines!) and better lights. This weekend we're swapping out the Univac display case for a brand new one. We only ever bought or scrounged used display cases, so it's a pleasure to get something new and shiny. The new one is six feet tall, locks, and has lights for each shelf. It also has a smaller footprint than the old case (40" vs. 60") so we can display more Univac artifacts in a smaller space. In addition to our currently displayed Univac artifacts (half-adder, flip-flop, coincidence detector), we will add to the display a manual from a Univac 1 and a desk fan John Mauchly brought home from his office. Special thanks to the four VCFed members who jointly funded the new display case.

2 2

VCFed polo shirts -- choose the color
by Evan Koblentz 08 Sep '16

08 Sep '16

It's time to order VCFed polo shirts. They could be black, "ectoplasm" (greenish-blueish to match our logo), or white. Our logo will be on the breast pocket. We'll have sizes from S-3XL. Price TBD but it will be cheap/reasonable. Vote here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2G5Q7XY. DO NOT VOTE THROUGH THIS EMAIL THREAD: IT WON'T COUNT. Voting ends Friday, Sept. 9 at 8pm ET.

8 19

ENIAC Simulator
by Brian L. Stuart 07 Sep '16

07 Sep '16

Unfortunately, I won't be able to make it to VCFMW this year. (Those of you who don't know me are probably thinking "So what?" Those who do are probably split between "Aww, that's too bad" and "Good; he's a pain in the...") In lieu of my "sparkling personality" I'm making available the ENIAC simulator I would have exhibited had I committed to coming early enough to reserve a table. If you attended VCFSE or VCFE this year, you may have seen an early version of the simulator. It's now at a beta testable level of operation. The files you'll want to download and some minimal instructions for use are at: http://cs.drexel.edu/~bls96/eniac/eniac.html It's written in Go, so you should be able to compile it on a variety of platforms. For those not wanting to compile it themselves, I've included binaries for several options including Linux/amd64, Linux/arm, FreeBSD/amd64, FreeBSD/i386, MacOS/amd64, and Win/amd64. The Windows version has not been tested at all, and only minimal testing has been done on the Mac version. You'll also need TCL/Tk installed to get the wish program available as used by the GUI. Suggestions, comments, criticisms, and questions are welcome, but it will probably be a few weeks before I'll be able to make time to do anything about them. Enjoy. BLS

1 0

Museum report + new shelves installed
by Evan Koblentz 07 Sep '16

07 Sep '16

I went to the museum today. Only a few visitors, but they were very interested in our displays so it was good. One person who's in NJARC said he worked for DEC. The other group was a family; the father was 49 and seemed ecstatic showing his teenage daughter the computer culture of his own childhood. Steve A. came by at 5pm. We made a plan to install wooden shelves in the modern history exhibit, which was left unfinished when we all ran out of time before VCF East XI followed by my leg surgery, etc. We went to Home Depot. They cut the wood to our specs -- 48x16 for the bottom shelf, then 48x14, 48x12, and 48x10 going up the wall. We also reduced the height between shelves -- 15 inches above the lowest shelf, then 13, then 11. The staggered depths/heights create a nice effect for the display overall. I'll be back at the museum on Friday. Dean and I are going to continue working on the exhibit. We paint the sides and bottoms of the shelves (and the brackets) green, same as the wall. We will paint the shelf tops white to highlight the artifacts. Many of the artifacts are small. When the shelves are complete, we will install plexi in front of the display so visitors cannot touch it.

2 1

Remember to vote! Re: shirt color
by Evan Koblentz 07 Sep '16

07 Sep '16

Voting is going well for the color of our new polo shirts: white, ectoplasm (greenish-blueish), or black. There are 32 votes and so far there is a clear first - second - third. I am not revealing further details so as not to influence anyone. Voting closes Friday at 8pm ET.

3 3

FS: Central Data Corp 64K Dynamic RAM S-100 Board TESTED/WORKING
by Systems Glitch 06 Sep '16

06 Sep '16

link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/272366924496 Just finished repairing and testing this one. There was a bad 74LS156 in the address decode section, which was replaced with a ceramic mil-spec device. The board is fully populated with nice gold capped purple ceramic 4116 DRAMs. The board provides for disabling 16K segments or 2K blocks within a segment to fit around ROM monitors and such -- it's currently set to leave a 4K hole from 0xD000 - 0xDFFF for my Dajen SCI's monitor. It'll work with a front panel, but I don't recommend it for front panel operation. Like many DRAM boards, you can deposit data just fine, but the data lights will show incorrect information until you EXAMINE the location again. It's frustrating to work with. Probably fine if you just use the front panel for debugging or to start the machine. Thanks, Jonathan

1 0

RCA HC/HCT Logic Cross Reference Project
by Systems Glitch 05 Sep '16

05 Sep '16

Many years ago, I bought a lot of miscellaneous logic ICs at a flea market or hamfest. These ICs were RCA HC/HCT devices, many marked as engineering samples, and some marked with either an RCA internal number or a house number. Some of them had little sticky labels on top. I've never been able to find a cross-reference for them, so today I typed up the numbers I've got: https://github.com/chapmajs/rca_cross_reference This is a typical sheet of the ICs: http://i.imgur.com/Fk59VNL.jpg Funny to see regular 74HC/HCT series logic in white ceramic packages! If anyone has more information, or a full cross-reference, please let me know. You can send a pull request on GitHub, or just email me off-list and I'll add them if you're not a GitHub user. There is probably some pattern to the numbering system. In typing this up, I noticed that the starting prefix (TA or P) doesn't seem to have any meaning w.r.t. the device function. The first two numbers of the code are 11 for HC or 13 for HCT. Thanks, Jonathan

1 0

Pinging Jeff Jonas
by Jack Rubin 04 Sep '16

04 Sep '16

Hi Jeff - I'm interested in some Calcomp plotter paper if you still have any left. Please reply off-list. Thanks, Jack j(a)ckrubin.us

1 0

Big eBay lot
by Evan Koblentz 04 Sep '16

04 Sep '16

http://m.ebay.com/itm/191960867958 The seller contacted me several months ago and wanted to work through us. We declined.

7 9

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] vintage email: the "at hack"
by Jeffrey Jonas 04 Sep '16

04 Sep '16

While looking up a chip, I found a USENET posting with a typical .signature UUCP bang path from "well known backbone site" ARPA has "at-hack" to forward to CSNET via the relay/gateway UUCP: ...!cbosgd!osu-cis!bgsuvax!kemp CSNET: kemp(a)andy.bgsu.edu ARPA : kemp%andy.bgsu.edu(a)relay.cs.net

2 1

FS: MITS 88-2 SIO Tested/Working
by Systems Glitch 03 Sep '16

03 Sep '16

link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/272363812201 Here's the MITS serial interface everyone wants, and this one is fully tested and working! I had to replace a 1488 and 1489. I installed wire wrap pins in the baud rate selection area so that a) pads won't get lifted when you need to change baud rates and b) you can jumper both ports to the same baud rate. Includes two nice ceramic Motorola 6850 ACIAs, original to the board. Currently jumpered for standard MITS port addressing (0x10 or 020 octal), RS-232 serial, and 9600 bps on both ports. Includes the original cable for Port 0. I've got the cable that came with it for Port 1, but it's in poor condition and not currently working. I can include it for free, if you want it. Thanks, Jonathan

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InfoAge closed tomorrow
by Evan Koblentz 03 Sep '16

03 Sep '16

InfoAge is closed tomorrow due to the storm. But I am here today!

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] VCFed @ Lehigh Valley "FAST" event
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 03 Sep '16

03 Sep '16

Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic writes: >Chris F., Doug, and Todd will represent VCFed at next Sunday's (9/11) >Festival of Art, Science, and Technology in Allentown PA. Details are >here: www.lehighvalleyfast.org :) A-town! That's home for me!

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VCFed @ Lehigh Valley "FAST" event
by Evan Koblentz 02 Sep '16

02 Sep '16

Chris F., Doug, and Todd will represent VCFed at next Sunday's (9/11) Festival of Art, Science, and Technology in Allentown PA. Details are here: www.lehighvalleyfast.org

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pickup and hold some NEXT/SGI monitors in SilverSpring off rte 97
by william degnan 02 Sep '16

02 Sep '16

Anyone able to hold a few Next and SGI monitors for the club temporarily? i have someone who has them, could probably deliver to you if you're nearby. Sorry to impose, hate to lose the opportunity for someone who might want these. if you're available *this weekend* especially...the guy has them loaded in his car already. Contact me off list. Thanks Bill

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Volunteers needed for Infoage Base Of Terror
by Jeffrey Brace 02 Sep '16

02 Sep '16

Volunteers are need for InfoAge's Base of Terror Friday and Saturday nights in October from 7pm to 11pm. It goes a long way to show that VCF members are volunteering for InfoAge wide events. The more we volunteer, the more cooperative InfoAge is with us when we want or needs something. The jobs needed: Crowd control: letting 10 people go at a time. Front End: Parking lot, booth, tickets, etc. e-mail Gloria if interested: admsupport(a)infoage.org ============================ Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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Dave... What are you doing Dave...
by Joseph Oprysko 02 Sep '16

02 Sep '16

Well, I was cleaning out my email, going through some of my auto-sort's etc, and in May and June of this year I got 2 "Digest" emails from the phantom MARCH group. Those MARCHer's are trying to come back I think..;) -- Normal Person: Hey, it seems that you know a lot. Geek: To be honest, it's due to all the surfing I do. Normal Person: So you go surfing? Normal Person: But I don't think that has anything to do with knowing a lot... Geek: I think that's wrong on a fundamental level. Normal Person: Huh? Huh? What?

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] oldest email address in the club
by Jeffrey Jonas 02 Sep '16

02 Sep '16

Loewen: > Here's my entry from the NIXPUB list in 1992: > 04/92 814-353-0566 cpumagic Bellefonte PA 12/24/96/14 24 What a small world: friends still live in Bellefonte. The closest I have to that was my photo & entry in "Face Saver" at the 1989 Usenix conference. http://www.metron.com/FaceSaver/ From: Neil Cherry > If you were on bitnet you were probably using all sorts of symbols. > I recall mixing !, %, @, {}. Lots of fun with routing email. I donated my O'Reilly Nutshell book of manual e-mail routing to the VCF library. It documented all known email gateways and things like the "at-hack". The title looked like a cartoon character cursing: @!#%*-something.

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Next /sgi displays
by william degnan 01 Sep '16

01 Sep '16

Avail in silver spring, md Bill Degnan twitter: billdeg vintagecomputer.net

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Painting
by Evan Koblentz 01 Sep '16

01 Sep '16

Painting the top few feet of our walls (top of the door frame to the ceiling) would be easy, but painting the ceiling itself would be difficult detail-wise. Rollers on sticks wouldn't get the all the edges. There are many edges because the ceiling is WW2 style. I asked Tony for his opinion because he seems to know a lot about painting. He recommended getting professional estimates. He said if the cost is exorbitant then he can probably get some of his worker to come help, but he emphasized that the tall, large ceiling really should he done by pros to look halfway decent. I will get a few estimates.

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Painting
by Herb Johnson 01 Sep '16

01 Sep '16

I also think Dan has been informative, about focusing on the content of the museum, rather than the walls and ceiling. I think it's a reasonable point, that the many computers and other objects in the museum space, provide plenty for the eye to examine and for the mind to consider. And of course, for the docents to explain. My impression of the space, is that it's full of equipment and shiny shelves, and is well-lit. My old-man eyes are very busy already, thank you. I'll let youngsters give their own impressions. As for the blandness of the ceiling and walls, Evan; You can't say they are bland AND that you need to keep people's eyes off of them AND you need to put objects up there (like LCD screens) to give them something to see. This is - no offense - contradictory. you might consider that the white paint covers all the various textures and structures on the ceiling; they reduce the contrast. also the white, well-reflects light around the room and reduces shadows. Dark paint would increase contrast, not reflect light. The point of the room is not the walls and ceiling, it's the content - I think Dan was working hard to make that point. These things said, it may be of some advantage to change the lighting - that is, use other color temperatures of fluorescent tubes or LED substitutes, as changing the fixtures is far too expensive for too little benefit. It's a subtle consideration, once made only requiring dollars and some simple labor. And it's reversible. It's far simpler to add some posters or other hanging items, than to paint. Items hung one day, can be removed and replaced another day. If one thing doesn't work, remove it and provide another thing. Items well above eye-level will not be examined in detail, that's human-factors. Again - the room is full already, with much to see and describe. Finally: The space is new and simple. It's just been established. the contents have just been established. Why not let them run their course, gather reactions from the visitors, and from the volunteers who respond to the visitors? Then in a few years, revise the space. They may be other exhibits to add at that point, other renovations. That seems prudent and considered. That's my response, to a public discussion, about changes to the museum exhibit space. What Evan and VCF Inc. do is their choice, and so I would not comment in this way except others have done so, presented their points. These are mine. Herb Johnson -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Vintage computing art project
by Evan Koblentz 01 Sep '16

01 Sep '16

I'd like to try an experiment with painting an on-topic design onto a sheet of clear plexi and having light shine through it. Anyone done something like this? What kind of paint should we use?

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disk duplicating machines
by william degnan 01 Sep '16

01 Sep '16

Anyone into vintage disk duplicating machines? Me? I have two; one for 5 1/4 and one for 3.5 disks but I don't use them. Have not powered them on or tested in 10 years. I have never seen anyone demo these at a VCF or elsewhere, but I bet there was a time when these were in use in many businesses before easy software download. A lost piece of tech. Bill

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