August 2017 - vcf-midatlantic

Head align Tape
by Duane Craps 16 Jul '18

16 Jul '18

>>> 7 track or 9 track? The Univacs are pretty old even for "vintage". Head alignment tapes are not track specific. They have one track the width of the tape and are used to adjust time delays to time align the bits coming off the read head when reading the alignment tape. Then a "scratch tape" is used while writing all ones to adjust the write delays while looking at the read amps. We used the same alignment tape for 7 and 9 track units. Duane On 6/17/2017 11:40 AM, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > 7 track or 9 track? The Univacs are pretty old even for "vintage". On 6/17/2017 11:40 AM, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > On 06/17/2017 11:37 AM, Herb Johnson via vcf-midatlantic wrote: >>> UNIVAC 1540 Magnetic Tape Unit...I wonder if anyone has a 800 BPI, >>> NRZ Master Head Alignment Tape (skew tape) to donate to VCF. >> 7 track or 9 track? The Univacs are pretty old even for "vintage". >> >> Also, as Dave McGuire noted, a lightly-used tape from a known-good drive >> will be useful. In the floppy-disk world, I use several diskettes each >> from a known good drive to validate "alignment". > That wasn't me. But yes, that can be useful for rough validation. > >> Seems to me, there's likely several boxes of mag-tapes in the inventory. > Yes, I brought a few boxes several years ago. > > -Dave > v

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Tandy Assembly
by Peter Cetinski 21 Sep '17

21 Sep '17

Does everyone here know about Tandy Assembly in October? http://www.tandyassembly.com/ It's going to be the largest gathering of Tandy Radio Shack enthusiasts since the 1980s! Disclaimer: This is not a VCF event so apologies if I'm being improper with the list. Pete

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semi OT: BBC micro:bit on sale at Microcenter
by Jeffrey Jonas 20 Sep '17

20 Sep '17

I know it's a hard sell compared to the $5 Raspberry Pi zero, but http://microbit.org/ The BBC micro:bit is a pocket-sized codeable computer with motion detection, a built-in compass and Bluetooth technology, which was given free to every child in year 7 or equivalent across the UK in 2016. A collaboration between 29 partners, the BBC micro:bit is the BBC's most ambitious education initiative in 30 years, with an ambition to inspire digital creativity and develop a new generation of tech pioneers. They are on sale at Microcenter. $10 is the bare board. The kit includes battery holder, USB cable. The edge connector seems to be hard to get :-( http://www.microcenter.com/product/480031/MicroBit Element 14 Micro:Bit now $9.99 (was $12.99 SAVE $3.00) 10+ in stock at North Jersey / Paterson Store http://www.microcenter.com/product/480034/MicroBit_Go_Kit Element 14 Micro:Bit Go Kit 10+ in stock at North Jersey / Paterson Store now $11.99 (was $16.49 SAVE $4.50)

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] COBOL: vintage vs. legacy code
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 16 Sep '17

16 Sep '17

"Joseph S. Barrera III via vcf-midatlantic" writes: >On Mon, May 22, 2017 at 7:53 PM, Jeffrey Jonas via vcf-midatlantic < >vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: > >> Java and all its variants and environments, > > >I've been writing Java for almost 20 years and fully expect to be >writing in it for another 10. I've been writing assembly for 40+ years and fully expect to be writing it for another 10+. ;)

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[OT] DC-Area Workshop - September 16th and 17th - Middletown, MD
by J. Alexander Jacocks 15 Sep '17

15 Sep '17

All, Since VCF can't do a workshop, due to facilities usage conflicts, this fall, I'd like to offer to host a smaller workshop, at my house, in Middletown, MD. I have a 3-car detached garage of about 960ft^2 that we can use for the purpose. There is air conditioning, and a refrigerator, for drinks. I have plenty of power, and some table space. Please bring yourselves, your projects, folding chairs, folding tables (if you have them), and anything else that you might want. We will provide some drinks (but feel free to bring your favorite), and are willing to order lunch, based on the requests of the attendees. We have very limited space in the house, but talk to me, if you want to stay the night. There are hotels not so very far away. Date: September 16th and 17th, 2017 Time: Starting 10:00am Saturday, ending Sunday around 5:00pm Place: Alex's house, Middletown, MD Please RSVP, so that I know who is coming, and when. I'll provide directions directly to the attendees. I asked Evan, before posting this, to make sure that this wasn't going to conflict with VCF needs, as this is definitely NOT an official VCF event. Hope to see you here! - Alex

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Anyone want to bid on J.P Eckert's letters
by Christian Liendo 01 Sep '17

01 Sep '17

They talk about the ENIAC Patent, starting bid $750 https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/55302575_jp-eckert-receives-patent-on-…

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Apple //c equipment in Erie PA
by Eric Rangell 31 Aug '17

31 Aug '17

Hello all, My name is Eric Rangell and I live in Downingtown, PA. My parents live in Lakewood NJ so I am looking forward to visiting the museum in Wall in November. My first computer was an Apple //e when I was 13 years old in 1983. I learned programming in Basic, Pascal, and assembly language in my teens, which led to a degree in Information Systems and a job on Wall St, where I worked with COBOL, helped get the company through Y2K, then branched into Client/Server: Powerbuilder/Sybase, Java, C, C# .NET/SQL Server, HTML/JS. After that job I did consulting for a university where I built a class for remedial music theory in Java, Php, Mysql, and Unix. My current position is a solution architect in the pharma industry where I try to keep up with Azure and VSTS while coordinating testing and FDA validation of systems. So retrocomputing is a hobby that helps ground me in something familiar. I am revisiting a MIDI system I developed for myself on the Apple //e and learning about efforts by archive.org to preserve floppy disk images. I have recently become interested in the ideas of Ted Nelson - Xanadu and Zigzag. When I was recently forced to dive into Javascript it was Doug Crockford's video series that helped me explore it. I am impressed with how people got things done under the constraints of old hardware, and can appreciate the unique talents that this community has. Thanks, Eric

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Very much OT: Bitcoin?
by Joseph Oprysko 31 Aug '17

31 Aug '17

Does anyone have any experience with Bitcoin? I setup a bitcoin wallet, but I don't have any bitcoin to deposit in it. I've tried using some of those "Satoshi Faucets" but they give SO little, I haven't "earned" enough to even put a fraction of a bitcoin in my account. If someone wouldn't mind sending me a little bit of bitcoin so I can see what the big deal is. My wallet ID is: 1NtEGyywbKdYmsb1rAafrUs32nGkCm8vyh Thanks in advance for anyone who can send me a little bit. 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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Anyone Looking for a Ferret?
by william degnan 31 Aug '17

31 Aug '17

Jeff J or someone may be interested in this testing system. Not sure it's a good value, no idea, but the name is Ferret. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-FERRET-FERRET-A-Multi-Function-Computer-Tes… Bil

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Apple //c equipment in Erie PA
by Eric Rangell 30 Aug '17

30 Aug '17

Hello all, I'm forwarding this info about a system in Erie PA that is on Craigslist for anyone interested who can get there: https://www.reddit.com/r/VintageApple/comments/6wfuw4/guy_says_hes_going_to… https://t.co/stTtT9ewmS I live in Downingtown, so it is an 8 hour drive for me. I don't need the equipment, but hope the software and floppies can be saved and imaged for archive.org. Eric

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