November 2019 - vcf-midatlantic

Reminder Repair Workshop building 9059 CDL (formerly IXR)
by Jeffrey Brace 08 Nov '19

08 Nov '19

I'm just reminding everyone that the building for the workshop is different than the usual one. It will be here this month: InfoAge Building 9059 (CDL Hackerspace (formerly IXR)- (2201 Marconi Road, Wall Township, NJ) The reason for the change is that the 9032-A is being used by the model train guys to setup for their holiday train show. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

1 0

Ian's coming to workshop this weekend
by Jeffrey Brace 08 Nov '19

08 Nov '19

For those wondering, I just confirmed that Ian will be coming to the workshop this weekend. All rejoice as the MacGyver of vintage computer repair arrives. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

3 2

Repair workshop Nov. 9 & 10
by Jeffrey Brace 08 Nov '19

08 Nov '19

We still have plenty of space available for The next VCF repair workshop is Nov 9 & 10, but space will fill up quickly, so ... Signup here: < https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Le5_EtutRBgnOc9_4gLxJb7CGGEpIuTQWjZ… > This time it will be in CDL (formerly known as IXR), the hackerspace by the front gate entrance. Also known as 9059 or the Telecom Building. I think I will do things differently with the food this time as there were some people who never paid for pizza or dinner and I was short on money last workshop. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

6 8

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT: large # of Vintage items for sale
by Evan Koblentz 07 Nov '19

07 Nov '19

>> That is well beyond what I'd pay. Agreed. That's nuts. On Thu, Nov 7, 2019, 9:39 PM madodel via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > On 11/7/19 21:23, Alexander Pierson via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > > The pricepoint this kid has in mind doesn't seem to be based heavily on > previous transactions. While I currently don't have my ear to the ground > for Hero robot ebay sales, I used to for quite awhile. tl;dr: take my > assessment here with a grain of salt. > > > > Complete Hero-1 robots usually fetch a few hundred bucks, anywhere from > 200 for ones in need of serious repair, all the way up to about 500 for a > complete working unit. Sometimes you see them go higher, especially if > they've got all the bells in whistles, in good shape, complete > documentation with the addendums issued by Heathkit. Those schematics > changed with time, and so they sent you little pieces of paper to cut out > and tape over the old sections of schematics. > > > > I've only ever seen one complete, sealed, mint Hero 2000 for sale > before, and that went for 3 grand. Now, keep in mind that the Hero 2000 is > by far the most elusive model, with the fewest total manufactured units, > but also the most power. A base Hero 2000 has somewhere like 6 > processors/coprocessors on board and can be maxed out at about a dozen, > depending on installed options. I've never seen seen a Hero 2000 in > meatspace before. I know this seller has one for just over 5 grand, but > it's in rough shape from what the pictures show. I spot plenty of rust. > At a tenth of that, it might be worth the gamble, but even that's pushing > it in my book. > > > > Back to the NIB Hero-1. Seeing as it was the popular model used by > schools and hobbyists alike, they're far more common than the 2000 or the > Jr. To put one of those at about 14 grand for a sealed kit? That's quite > absurd. Unbuilt Hero-1's are something I've only ever seen once before, > and it was a long time ago, so whatever it fetched has long since left my > mental cache. Plus, it only looked like one box -- there's no way that > includes a lot of the features that make a Hero-1 desirable. Thus, it's > likely a very barebones unit from what I understand. You would have to > confer with Robert Doerr, who is the defacto expert on all things Heathkit > Hero, in order to reach a better assessment. > > Lastly, that same seller has another Hero-1, with no visible arm, and > not all of the panels visible. I see manuals, but I do not see > schematics. It's also dirty in ways that make me sad. There's also more > circuitry than I've ever seen near the head battery cage, stacked on top of > the sonar receiver. Maybe that's a later revision? Again, Mr. Doerr is > your best resource there. Anyway, you could cut his price in half and I > still wouldn't touch it based on this condition. > > Hopefully my rambling mess is helpful. > > > > -Alexander 'Z' Pierson > > > Thanks. That is helpful. I know nothing about this and the seller told me > to make an offer. I'd be just buying it to donate to the museum. He gave > me no price. So if I offer $2000 would that be fair? I just want a fair > price to him that doesn't Did he ask $14,000 for it? That is well beyond > what I'd pay. > > > Mark > >

2 1

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT: large # of Vintage items for sale
by madodel 07 Nov '19

07 Nov '19

On 11/7/19 21:23, Alexander Pierson via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > The pricepoint this kid has in mind doesn't seem to be based heavily on previous transactions. While I currently don't have my ear to the ground for Hero robot ebay sales, I used to for quite awhile. tl;dr: take my assessment here with a grain of salt. > > Complete Hero-1 robots usually fetch a few hundred bucks, anywhere from 200 for ones in need of serious repair, all the way up to about 500 for a complete working unit. Sometimes you see them go higher, especially if they've got all the bells in whistles, in good shape, complete documentation with the addendums issued by Heathkit. Those schematics changed with time, and so they sent you little pieces of paper to cut out and tape over the old sections of schematics. > > I've only ever seen one complete, sealed, mint Hero 2000 for sale before, and that went for 3 grand. Now, keep in mind that the Hero 2000 is by far the most elusive model, with the fewest total manufactured units, but also the most power. A base Hero 2000 has somewhere like 6 processors/coprocessors on board and can be maxed out at about a dozen, depending on installed options. I've never seen seen a Hero 2000 in meatspace before. I know this seller has one for just over 5 grand, but it's in rough shape from what the pictures show. I spot plenty of rust. At a tenth of that, it might be worth the gamble, but even that's pushing it in my book. > > Back to the NIB Hero-1. Seeing as it was the popular model used by schools and hobbyists alike, they're far more common than the 2000 or the Jr. To put one of those at about 14 grand for a sealed kit? That's quite absurd. Unbuilt Hero-1's are something I've only ever seen once before, and it was a long time ago, so whatever it fetched has long since left my mental cache. Plus, it only looked like one box -- there's no way that includes a lot of the features that make a Hero-1 desirable. Thus, it's likely a very barebones unit from what I understand. You would have to confer with Robert Doerr, who is the defacto expert on all things Heathkit Hero, in order to reach a better assessment. > Lastly, that same seller has another Hero-1, with no visible arm, and not all of the panels visible. I see manuals, but I do not see schematics. It's also dirty in ways that make me sad. There's also more circuitry than I've ever seen near the head battery cage, stacked on top of the sonar receiver. Maybe that's a later revision? Again, Mr. Doerr is your best resource there. Anyway, you could cut his price in half and I still wouldn't touch it based on this condition. > Hopefully my rambling mess is helpful. > > -Alexander 'Z' Pierson Thanks. That is helpful. I know nothing about this and the seller told me to make an offer. I'd be just buying it to donate to the museum. He gave me no price. So if I offer $2000 would that be fair? I just want a fair price to him that doesn't Did he ask $14,000 for it? That is well beyond what I'd pay. Mark

1 0

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT: large # of Vintage items for sale
by Alexander Pierson 07 Nov '19

07 Nov '19

The pricepoint this kid has in mind doesn't seem to be based heavily on previous transactions. While I currently don't have my ear to the ground for Hero robot ebay sales, I used to for quite awhile. tl;dr: take my assessment here with a grain of salt. Complete Hero-1 robots usually fetch a few hundred bucks, anywhere from 200 for ones in need of serious repair, all the way up to about 500 for a complete working unit. Sometimes you see them go higher, especially if they've got all the bells in whistles, in good shape, complete documentation with the addendums issued by Heathkit. Those schematics changed with time, and so they sent you little pieces of paper to cut out and tape over the old sections of schematics. I've only ever seen one complete, sealed, mint Hero 2000 for sale before, and that went for 3 grand. Now, keep in mind that the Hero 2000 is by far the most elusive model, with the fewest total manufactured units, but also the most power. A base Hero 2000 has somewhere like 6 processors/coprocessors on board and can be maxed out at about a dozen, depending on installed options. I've never seen seen a Hero 2000 in meatspace before. I know this seller has one for just over 5 grand, but it's in rough shape from what the pictures show. I spot plenty of rust. At a tenth of that, it might be worth the gamble, but even that's pushing it in my book. Back to the NIB Hero-1. Seeing as it was the popular model used by schools and hobbyists alike, they're far more common than the 2000 or the Jr. To put one of those at about 14 grand for a sealed kit? That's quite absurd. Unbuilt Hero-1's are something I've only ever seen once before, and it was a long time ago, so whatever it fetched has long since left my mental cache. Plus, it only looked like one box -- there's no way that includes a lot of the features that make a Hero-1 desirable. Thus, it's likely a very barebones unit from what I understand. You would have to confer with Robert Doerr, who is the defacto expert on all things Heathkit Hero, in order to reach a better assessment. Lastly, that same seller has another Hero-1, with no visible arm, and not all of the panels visible. I see manuals, but I do not see schematics. It's also dirty in ways that make me sad. There's also more circuitry than I've ever seen near the head battery cage, stacked on top of the sonar receiver. Maybe that's a later revision? Again, Mr. Doerr is your best resource there. Anyway, you could cut his price in half and I still wouldn't touch it based on this condition. Hopefully my rambling mess is helpful. -Alexander 'Z' Pierson On Thursday, November 7, 2019, 07:58:34 PM EST, madodel via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: On 11/5/19 15:47, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > VCF would love to have the Hero 1 in its box. Our policy remains that we > only accept donations, we don't purchase artifacts. Would someone like to > acquire this for us? Anyone have an idea on what a fair price for this is? The seller says it was a sealed box that he opened to check if there was anything in it but it was never assembled. Mark > > On Tue, Nov 5, 2019, 2:49 PM Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > >> All, I’ve been working with a young man from California who inherited a >> large amount of vintage computers and other items. >> He’s reached out to a number of Facebook groups, but I’m trying to help >> him reach interested parties without having to go on a dozen different >> groups back and forth. >> >> Short story, his grandfather passed away and has a storage unit filled >> with items. >> PET 2001, hero robots (one of which is a Hero 1 still new in the box) >> Atari, Tandy portables, Model 1, Compact Mac through Mac II era, Apple II+, >> IIe, the list goes on, with lots of boxes still unopened. He’s trying to >> sell everything, and we are trying to avoid anything being thrown away or >> brought to recycle. >> >> Please contact me off list via email and I will put you in touch with him >> directly. >> >> Tony >> >> Sent from my iPhone >>

1 0

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT: large # of Vintage items for sale
by Evan Koblentz 07 Nov '19

07 Nov '19

VCF would love to have the Hero 1 in its box. Our policy remains that we only accept donations, we don't purchase artifacts. Would someone like to acquire this for us? On Tue, Nov 5, 2019, 2:49 PM Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > All, I’ve been working with a young man from California who inherited a > large amount of vintage computers and other items. > He’s reached out to a number of Facebook groups, but I’m trying to help > him reach interested parties without having to go on a dozen different > groups back and forth. > > Short story, his grandfather passed away and has a storage unit filled > with items. > PET 2001, hero robots (one of which is a Hero 1 still new in the box) > Atari, Tandy portables, Model 1, Compact Mac through Mac II era, Apple II+, > IIe, the list goes on, with lots of boxes still unopened. He’s trying to > sell everything, and we are trying to avoid anything being thrown away or > brought to recycle. > > Please contact me off list via email and I will put you in touch with him > directly. > > Tony > > Sent from my iPhone >

2 1

Gauging Interest: CompuGraphic MCS hardware
by Herb Johnson 07 Nov '19

07 Nov '19

> I'm helping to clear out a storage unit that belonged to a deceased friend, > and I've come across some CompuGraphic MCS hardware: Does anyone have any interest in this? Kenneth, If I recall these are early 1980's or late 1970's technology. While these may not be of interest within "vintage personal computing", they are a part of a segment of microcomputing and computing of typeography and digital publishing. I'm writing the following from memory, so I may have some ideas and references mushed up. But I'm making a point: this CompuGraphic stuff isn't just ugly boxes of boards and clunky mechanical stuff. Details, you can look up. There was a prior revolution in typesetting by use of PHOTOtypesetting instead of physical blocks of type laid out by hand. Wheels of typefonts were projected by character, onto photosensitive paper, to produce text masters. A textbook would be a good application example. You needed a lot of wheels (master fonts) and they were proprietary (hard to replicate) and not cheap. Big business only, and in a world of PAPER information ONLY there were a lot of them. But the next revolution, was to use a CRT instead of optical projection. The CRT was driven digitally; just bits on a screen. Minicomputers (PDP-8s) were the initial digital technology, and later microprocessors made that digital technology cheaper. A company or service could now produce quality text copy, in a unit that took much less space, and which stored fonts on digital media not mechanical font-wheels. Since all the visual stuff was "in the machine", one could drive this technology with a text-based description language, on a computer without all this typeset technology. This is why old schemes like DEC's "runoff" were popular. A lot of these applications, drove mechanical text printers like daisy-wheel, IBM Selectrics, and other such printers. One made do with overprinting on simpler printers. Other steps followed later of course: laser printing for direct production of text; and computers with the power to compose pages visually. Note that TeX was early software means to compose type-set text and arbitrary graphics (math symbols, etc). But once personal laser printers could produce bit images, and microcomputers could run complete page-editing software; and once this stuff became "personally" priced; all these "phototypsetting" services went away except for massive printing services. And all the mechanical and optical printing technologies became "junk". So the CompuGraphic stuff is at the junction of these events. It's small enough to be manageable by a person or small institution. And it has some hope of working. There may be people or groups interested in just this segment - mostly post-60-year-olds from the era, I imagine. That's my "any interest" comments. Regards, Herb Johnson retrotechnology.com -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net preserve, recover, restore 1970's computing email: hjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT com or try later herbjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT info

4 4

Festivus Buy Tickets Now!
by Jeffrey Brace 07 Nov '19

07 Nov '19

Pay for your Festivus tickets online via Eventbrite: <https://www. eventbrite.com/e/festivus-2019-tickets-77436696243?aff=VCFMailingList> Cost is $10 for Festivus, $15 at the door. Overnight stay is $25 via Eventbrite and $30 at the door. Tickets are available until Dec. 6 (day before Festivus). Dec. 7 you have to pay at the door. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

1 0

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Repair Workshop Sat Dinner
by laurakid 07 Nov '19

07 Nov '19

not sure about workshop. been doing craft fairs so busy with glue and paint n stuff. however i live super close to there so maybe I’ll drop by to say hello. No need to save a place for me though. I will probably eat before going Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone On Thursday, November 7, 2019, 8:59 AM, Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: I will not be going to the restaurant. Mike R. Sent from: My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > On Nov 7, 2019, at 12:32 AM, Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > I took the liberty of making reservations at Asbury Festhalle and > Biergarten. I went there Wednesday night for my birthday and it seemed like > a great place that our group would like. Lots of great beer selections. > Good food. > I currently have reservations for 10 people. So if you are > definitely interested, then let me know and if you aren't going, then let > me know as well. > The reservation is for 7:30PM. > Yes, you have to pay for parking, but it is only about $1 per hour and you > can download an app "Asbury Park Parking" to "pay the meter" over your > smartphone. > -- > ========================================= > Jeff Brace > Vice President > Vintage Computer Federation > > > <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>

1 0