June 2017 - vcf-midatlantic

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] WTB: DECbrouter
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 25 Jun '17

25 Jun '17

systems_glitch via vcf-midatlantic writes: >Anyone have a DECbrouter they want to sell? This is a DEChub 90 module. >Also looking for a v.35 and/or RS-232 cable for it. I have one but I'm not really looking to part with it unless you want to give me ridiculus money for it.

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Museum Report 2017-06-25 June 25, 2017
by Jeffrey Brace 25 Jun '17

25 Jun '17

A good day at the museum. About two dozen visitors. They ranged from the "lets zip on through" to the "let's ask lots of questions and be really interested". One guy was here yesterday and was so impressed that he brought his whole family today! I was also able to have a 7 year old boy type in a 5 line BASIC program into the Commodore 64 and help him figure out how it worked. That's always fun to teach kids simple programming. I love teaching hands-on stuff. I was also able to complete the window tint, so the areas that have no blinds are tinted now. It is much better now with sunlight, but not blasting sunlight. Next time I will work on getting newer SIDs for the Commodore 64 demo. -- ======================================================== Jeff Brace ======================================================== <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campai…> Virus-free. www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campai…> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>

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Intel dropping their IoT platforms (was re: CHIP, WiFi RS-232)
by Jeffrey Jonas 24 Jun '17

24 Jun '17

[this is 'on topic' because these systems are used to retrofit vintage/legacy systems, as well as for emulators such as the PiDP-8] The Raspberry Pi and CHIP seem to be the clear "winners" despite supply/supplier problems. I am disappointed that the BBC MicroBit is not on the top-ten list despite their dedication to education and STEM/STEAM. They're kinda available in the USA. Circuit Cellar has always been full of SBC (single board computers), now SoC (Sytem on Chip) and such. Others mentioned the Omega 2 https://onion.io/omega2/ and VoCore http://vocore.io/#store They're cheap, but how about FREE? Just re-purpose your old routers with dd-wrt, open-wrt and such. A friend and I tried one of the Orange Pi variations and were disappointed. Very little community support, few distros work at all. I'm extremely disappointed with Intel totally dropping their Edison and Joule development systems, particularly with all the nationwide Hack-A-Thons using the Edison hardware. It wasn't just the hardware, but all the "technology evangelists" and support engineers to indoctrinate folks to the Intel/Linux way. I'm concerned about the future of Hack-a-Thons with the loss of Intel as a major underwriter, hardware supplier & technology support. Despite seeing them on the shelf at MicroCenter, I never felt that the Intel Galileo gained enough traction. I spent a week just trying to get a LCD shield running and gave up because the libraries were all AVR-centric, and the Arduino development environment has no concept of using different platforms at the same time (Intel Galileo, Arduino Explora, Arduino nano). Intel first lost the embedded market when they gave up on their X-scale ARM chips, and now they're giving up again? the news from slashdot: Intel Quietly Discontinues Galileo, Joule, and Edison Development Boards https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/17/06/19/1720201/intel-quietly-disconti… Intel is discontinuing its Galileo, Joule, and Edison lineups of development boards. The chip-maker quietly made the announcement last week. >From company's announcement:/Intel Corporation will discontinue manufacturing and selling all skus of the Intel Galileo development board. Shipment of all Intel Galileo product skus ordered before the last order date will continue to be available from Intel until December 16, 2017. [...] Intel will discontinue manufacturing and selling all skus of the Intel Joule Compute Modules and Developer Kits (known as Intel 500 Series compute modules in People's Republic of China). Shipment of all Intel Joule products skus ordered before the last order date will continue to be available from Intel until December 16, 2017. Last time orders (LTO) for any Intel Joule products must be placed with Intel by September 16, 2017. [...] Intel will discontinue manufacturing and selling all skus of the Intel Edison compute modules and developer kits. Shipment of all Intel Edison product skus ordered before the last order date will continue to be available from Intel until December 16, 2017. Last time orders (LTO) for any Intel Edison products must be placed with Intel by September 16, 2017. All orders placed with Intel for Intel Edison products are non-cancelable and non-returnable after September 16, 2017. The company hasn't shared any explanation for why it is discontinuing the aforementioned development boards. -- Jeff Jonas

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Museum Report 2017-06-24 June 24, 2017
by Jeffrey Brace 24 Jun '17

24 Jun '17

About a dozen visitors came today with medium to high interest. One lady was from Maine was in the area visiting her husbands relatives in New Jersey. She had read about our group recently and made a point to visit us today. She wasn't sure exactly where she had read about us. So I guess our media presence is working! She loved our museum! I also started work on putting tint on the museum windows by the workshop PC. The sun gets quite strong and it gets hard to work on the computer in the afternoon with the sunlight blasting down. I should be able to finish tomorrow. -- ======================================================== Jeff Brace ======================================================== <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campai…> Virus-free. www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campai…> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>

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RX01 drives for pickup/super cheap/ trade
by william degnan 24 Jun '17

24 Jun '17

All, Please contact me via vintagecomputer.net/contact.cfm Times Up! If you want an RX01 drive and live near Landenberg, PA I am liquidating 4 of them (maybe 5). Although I personally don't own controllers for these, the drives work on UNIBUS, OMNIBUS, and QUADBUS DEC machines. *Name your price. $150 for one $200 for two $250 for three $300 for all four. First come first served. (something to reimburse my expenses/storage)* If you want to trade for one *or more*, I will trade for a RX01 disk controller OMNIBUS or UNBUS. "Working" or something I can fix. I will also trade for a RK05 UNIBUS backplane/controller complete or incomplete If you need to have them shipped I have an ebay auction here, normal price: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-DEC-RX01-Dual-8-In-77-Track-PDP-8-PDP-11-Fl… So as you can see, you save a huge discount if you come get them. I have already sold two. First come first served. No I am not lugging them to a workshop unless you're willing to pay closer to "retail" price. These are stored in my house, climate controlled. They have been, to my knowledge, in climate controlled storage since taking off line. Bill

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WiFi RS-232 Internet Modem
by Paul Rickards 23 Jun '17

23 Jun '17

I've created a WiFi RS-232 Internet modem that plugs into a 25 pin RS-232 port and emulates the Hayes AT command set. It allows you to use your retro computer or terminal to dial "dial" BBSs online. More info here: http://biosrhythm.com/?page_id=1453 Contact me privately if you have questions. Cheers, Paul twitter: @paulrickards

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Where's Evan?
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 23 Jun '17

23 Jun '17

http://tmesis.net/Where's%20Evan/Where's%20Evan.jpg

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Where's Evan?
by Evan Koblentz 23 Jun '17

23 Jun '17

This is not an official VCFed thing, but, this weekend I'll be demoing the Apple // + Lego robot setup with GardenSLUG -- that's Garden State Lego User Group (an "Adult Fan of Lego" aka "AFOL" group, so they tell me) at the NJToyCon in Parsippany. https://www.toyconnj.com/ This will be my first time meeting the adult Lego group people. I mean, what a bunch of wackos, grown men spending their time and money on their hobby from the 1970s and 1980s .... oh, crap. ;) Anyway I have no idea if my demo will fit in, but they seem welcoming so I'll go and have fun. It is only 30 minutes from home. ________________________________ 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 instagram.com/vcfederation

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PC/AT replacement lock
by Richard Cini 22 Jun '17

22 Jun '17

All – In case anyone is looking to replace the barrel cam lock on their 5170 PC/AT, it’s fairly easy. Look on eBay (picture attached, hopefully) or elsewhere for a 3/8” depth, 90-degree cam lock with the key removable in both positions. You will need to recycle the locking bar from the old lock and may need to bend it slightly to clear the internal metal part of the enclosure top. Works like a charm. Rich -- Rich Cini http://www.classiccmp.org/cini http://www.classiccmp.org/altair32

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PDP-8E rails?
by W2HX 22 Jun '17

22 Jun '17

Hi friends. I have a PDP-8/e and I would like to mount it in a rack as a sliding unit. Here is a photo of what I have mounted on the side of the PDP-8E to help figure out what I need. Does anyone have what I would need to mount this in a rack? For sale? http://w2hx.com/x/PDP/PDP-8E/2.jpg Thanks Eugene

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