February 2017 - vcf-midatlantic

List check. Please disregard.
by MailmanLists Support 25 Feb '17

25 Feb '17

15.16 AEDT List check.

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SWORDFISH!
by Jeffrey Jonas 24 Feb '17

24 Feb '17

Apropos of Enigmas: https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2017/02/alan-turing-code-breaking-cocktai… A pop-up cocktail bar inspired by the life of WW2 code breaker Alan Turing is set to open in London, and the waiting list is already 7,428 people long. the subject refers to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swordfish_(password)

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next Wednesday - VCF East exhibit deadline (almost full)
by Evan Koblentz 23 Feb '17

23 Feb '17

VCF East exhibit registration deadline is March 1, however, now I must add: "Or if it fills up, whichever comes first." There are only three or four spots left, and five or six people expressed interest. ________________________________ Evan Koblentz, director Vintage Computer Federation a 501(c)3 educational non-profit evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 www.vcfed.org facebook.com/vcfederation twitter.com/vcfederation

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I thought this Dilbert Cartoon was appropriate
by Christian Liendo 23 Feb '17

23 Feb '17

I figured a few people here would get a chuckle. http://dilbert.com/strip/2017-02-23?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=socialmarketin…

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] ISO: IBM PCjr and accessories
by Bob Aviles 22 Feb '17

22 Feb '17

Hi, I have a pair with ps, disk, book, sidecar, and manual. Bobby -------------------------------------------- On Wed, 2/22/17, Joseph Oprysko via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] ISO: IBM PCjr and accessories To: "vcf-midatlantic" <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> Cc: "Joseph Oprysko" <joprysko1(a)gmail.com> Date: Wednesday, February 22, 2017, 11:54 AM The IBM PCjr was my first "real" computer (following the Timex Sinclair 1000). While I know I doubt I'll be able to track one down with the 3rd party second-story 2nd Floppy drive and memory expansion. I would like to have one in my collection for nostalgia's sake. I'm looking to do this as a trade, as my financial situation, has severely numbered my days as a "vintage PC hobbyist". Likely, once I'm done the purge, I'll have maybe 2-3 vintage PC's left, as opposed to the rather broad collection I have now. I'd like one of them to be a well outfitted PCjr. The others to stay, remains to be seen, but likely my Apple IIe, and my Mac SE/30. Things have been EXTREMELY difficult for me these past few years. In my neck, EVERY disc or vertebrae is herniated. In my lower back I have two herniated discs, and moderate narrowing of the spinal column. Meaning in the next few years I could lose the ability to walk/drive. Even with Medicare, the 20% in co-payments needed for me to get surgery is more than I get in disability in a full year. I LOVE MY COMPUTERS AND WANT THEM TO HAVE A GOOD HOME. -- 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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Laser card enclosure ... homemade :)
by Evan Koblentz 22 Feb '17

22 Feb '17

I needed a way to protect the Lego card from curious fingers. We don't own the Laser enclosure device, so the card just hangs off the side of the computer. No good. Michael Mulhern (via Facebook) humorously suggested I could make the enclosure out of Lego. I thought that was a fine idea. So here's what I did today: http://vcfed.org/evan/laser/enclosure/1.jpg http://vcfed.org/evan/laser/enclosure/2.jpg http://vcfed.org/evan/laser/enclosure/3.jpg http://vcfed.org/evan/laser/enclosure/4.jpg http://vcfed.org/evan/laser/enclosure/5.jpg Satellite dish is, of course, non-functional... The whole top comes off for card/cable access. I might hinge it. The enclosure is highly functional and good for a laugh. About the self-adhesive velcro attaching it to the computer: I felt bad doing it, because I spent so much time cleaning the case, but I needed a quick/easy way to attach the enclosure and also remove it. I know that GooGone will come to the rescue when I someday need to remove the adhesive. ________________________________ Evan Koblentz, director Vintage Computer Federation a 501(c)3 educational non-profit evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 www.vcfed.org facebook.com/vcfederation twitter.com/vcfederation

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ISO: IBM PCjr and accessories
by Joseph Oprysko 22 Feb '17

22 Feb '17

The IBM PCjr was my first "real" computer (following the Timex Sinclair 1000). While I know I doubt I'll be able to track one down with the 3rd party second-story 2nd Floppy drive and memory expansion. I would like to have one in my collection for nostalgia's sake. I'm looking to do this as a trade, as my financial situation, has severely numbered my days as a "vintage PC hobbyist". Likely, once I'm done the purge, I'll have maybe 2-3 vintage PC's left, as opposed to the rather broad collection I have now. I'd like one of them to be a well outfitted PCjr. The others to stay, remains to be seen, but likely my Apple IIe, and my Mac SE/30. Things have been EXTREMELY difficult for me these past few years. In my neck, EVERY disc or vertebrae is herniated. In my lower back I have two herniated discs, and moderate narrowing of the spinal column. Meaning in the next few years I could lose the ability to walk/drive. Even with Medicare, the 20% in co-payments needed for me to get surgery is more than I get in disability in a full year. I LOVE MY COMPUTERS AND WANT THEM TO HAVE A GOOD HOME. -- 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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VCF Southeast -- who's going?
by Evan Koblentz 22 Feb '17

22 Feb '17

I've been given the opportunity to attend VCF Southeast (April 29-30) thanks to one person's generosity. Going to bring the Lego - Apple (Laser) exhibit. Who is else from our group is attending? I would guess Brian Stuart, some of the VA/NC people, etc. (Of course, several of the SE people are on this list too: Alan, Kyle, David Greelish, and so on; several of them are making their caravan trip to East too!) ________________________________ Evan Koblentz, director Vintage Computer Federation a 501(c)3 educational non-profit evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 www.vcfed.org facebook.com/vcfederation twitter.com/vcfederation

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Laser 128/EX manual?
by Evan Koblentz 22 Feb '17

22 Feb '17

Does anyone have a decent-condition Laser 128/EX manual to donate or loan to the museum? (There's a PDF of the manual on Archive.org, Asimov, and several private sites, but it is the same scan in all of them -- badly yellowed. A * good * scan would suffice, but we'd much rather have the original book for demo purposes.) ________________________________ Evan Koblentz, director Vintage Computer Federation a 501(c)3 educational non-profit evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 www.vcfed.org facebook.com/vcfederation twitter.com/vcfederation

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If anyone's interested: latest robot program
by Evan Koblentz 21 Feb '17

21 Feb '17

Here is my new-and-improved Lego robotic forklift program. Special thanks this time to Paul Hagstrom for his helpful suggestion that I detect all the joystick direction options, save the active one to a variable, and then POKE once as needed vs. trying to detect/POKE after each possible case. ---------- 10 GOSUB 1000: REM INIT LEGO 20 POKE L,0: REM ALL OFF 30 GOSUB 2000: REM NAVIGATION 40 GOSUB 3000: REM BUTTONS 50 GOTO 30 60 END 1000 S = 7:L = 49280 + S * 16 1010 POKE L + 3,1 1020 POKE L + 2,63 1030 POKE L + 1,0 1040 POKE L,0 1050 RETURN 2000 REM NAVIGATION 2010 FB = PDL (1):LR = PDL (0) 2020 M = 0 2030 IF FB < 75 THEN M = 5 2040 IF FB > 180 THEN M = 10 2050 IF LR < 75 THEN M = 9 2060 IF LR > 180 THEN M = 6 2070 POKE L,M 2080 IF M = 10 THEN CALL - 198: FOR W = 1 TO 500: NEXT W 2090 RETURN 3000 REM FORLIFT 3010 IF PEEK (49249) > 127 THEN POKE L,16: GOTO 3010 3020 IF PEEK (49250) > 127 THEN POKE L,32: GOTO 3020 3030 RETURN Real simple: Lines 10-60 are the main program, 1000-1050 are the required Lego initialization, 2000-2090 are the robot control (front - back - left - right), and 3000-3030 make the forklift go up/down. Hey Jeff and Dan, I think I've graduated from spaghetti code. :) As I told Dan already, the next thing I'll add is a Lego sensor to prevent the forklift from trying to continue going up/down when it reaches its mechanical limit. This did not work on my previous robot (to detect the limits of rack-and-pinion steering and disable the relevant motor) because the motor moved too fast. Not a problem with the forklift: it intentionally moves veeeeeeeeeery slow. I also ordered mini banana plugs so I can make new connecting wires between the Lego interface box and the motors, lights, and sensors. The 30-year-old wires from Lego are badly worn out. The difference when I connected a motor using these old wires vs. using modern alligator clips was palpable. Jeff B., all I have to do to dominate your Capsella robot is corner it, get the forklift under its drive wheels, and press the up button before you escape. :) Then your robot will be (ahem) forked. ________________________________ Evan Koblentz, director Vintage Computer Federation a 501(c)3 educational non-profit evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 www.vcfed.org facebook.com/vcfederation twitter.com/vcfederation

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