August 2019 - vcf-midatlantic

Seen on Craigslist (NeXT Cube in DC)
by Evan Koblentz 05 Aug '19

05 Aug '19

I don't normally post CL ads, but this should appeal to some of you. https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/sys/d/washington-vintage-nextcube-c…

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Museum report
by Evan Koblentz 04 Aug '19

04 Aug '19

I was at the museum again today because I have no life :), Jeff B. is out at West, and our other docents were all unavailable (we need more!)... Couple of dozen visitors today, all families, lots of good demos provided and questions answered.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Xerox 16/8 M92 computer
by Mike Loewen 04 Aug '19

04 Aug '19

On Sat, 3 Aug 2019, Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > I recently acquired one of these in very good shape including: > > Display > CPU (main unit dual floppy) > Printer > Keyboard > > Display and main unit power up, floppy tries to load program. > I haven't hooked up printer yet. > Currently I have no software to test but I may have IBM DOS somewhere. > >Questions are: > >Does the museum have or need this ? > >I may need software to test in the near future, any ideas? Is this the 820-II with the 8086 coprocessor board option? Does it look like this? http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/Xerox/820_System2.jpg I have a couple of MSDOS diskette images (I believe they're 5-1/4") and a pile of CP/M images in IMD format. Let me know if you want them. Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

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Xerox 16/8 M92 computer
by Sentrytv 04 Aug '19

04 Aug '19

I recently acquired one of these in very good shape including: Display CPU (main unit dual floppy) Printer Keyboard Display and main unit power up, floppy tries to load program. I haven't hooked up printer yet. Currently I have no software to test but I may have IBM DOS somewhere. Questions are: Does the museum have or need this ? I may need software to test in the near future, any ideas? Mike R. Sent from: My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device.

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Semi-OT: Tonight
by Evan Koblentz 04 Aug '19

04 Aug '19

I'm staying over at the museum tonight, but I don't have much to do. Not really interested in solo warehouse work. :) Anybody want to come over later and work with me, or do something social?

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Museum report
by Evan Koblentz 03 Aug '19

03 Aug '19

About 20 people visited today, mostly families. One person came by who we last heard from a decade ago -- the guy who donated his late father's PDP-11/20. He wants to join the group.

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Repair Workshop
by Douglas Perry 03 Aug '19

03 Aug '19

Excuse me if I'm coming off a bit over eager. Now that I'm signed up for this months workshop I was hoping to get some tips on how to properly prepare (supplies needed, ect..) I'm bringing a Compaq Portable which has only been owned by my family. It was stored in a guest room of a finished basement since 1993. Not sure where they kept it before that. I testing I've done so far is to simply plug it in and turn it on (after giving it a week in a temp/humidity controlled room). The PSU and fan came to life nicely, the CRT is making a familiar hum but I get nothing on the screen not even a blinking cursor. I'm not sure if I should expect an error with no disk? I also don't hear any drive noise.(I have no disks) I have a fairly decent toolkit for repairing current machines, as well as a soldering iron, and multimeter. >From my research I'm going to go ahead and assume the capacative pads for for the keyboard are bad and just order a new set. I've searched fairly well and have not found a reputable place to buy a 5.25 floppy pre-loaded with MS-DOS 3.3 (which sounds like the best option). So after that ramble here are my questions. Is there anything else you all would recommend me bringing? When is the best time show up? Is there anything else I should know or be doing to get ready? Thanks, Doug P.

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Elderly engineer?
by Jack Rubin 02 Aug '19

02 Aug '19

Mid-70’s is the new mid-50’s! Dang ankle- biters. # Sent from my mobile phone #

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Z180 questions
by Neil Cherry 01 Aug '19

01 Aug '19

Yes this is vintage. I have a large number of Z180 (HCS II boards) from Steve Ciarcia they were designed to be used for the HCS II home automation system. I think they might make decent CP/M boards (up to 33MHz perhaps) with a little hackery. Heck I might even figure out how to use the full 1M of memory space. But I'm not sure how to interface slower components (like a PIO) to the faster processor. Any pointers? BTW, I have the source to the HCS II asm so I will be looking there and I do have the z180 sheets. -- 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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Anyone Near Vernon, NY Interested in an Apple IIe and Monitor?
by J. Alexander Jacocks 01 Aug '19

01 Aug '19

All, I received this, from a fellow KansasFest attendee: I just got a call from a friend who has extended family (son’s in-laws) > who live in Mount Vernon NY- (close to New York City). Sounds like they > are cleaning up accumulated stuff due to a death in the family. They have > come across an Apple IIe and monitor that they would like to get rid of. I > was asked for suggestions on what to do with it. > > I don’t think that they are willing to ship, and don’t know if they want > to sell it or just find it a good home and keep it away from the > electronics recycler. I doubt they are interested in eBay. Possibly Craig's > List or maybe donation to Goodwill or other charity. > > Is there anyone in the group that would be interested in this item? I > doubt that it has any special cards, but I assume it also has 5.25 inch > disk drives and maybe software and printer. If you are interested, provide > me with your contact information. Let me know if you are interested in > buying (at what price), or only acquiring for free. > > I get the impression that an effort free transaction is what is desired. > No interest in packing and shipping for a few dollars. I may be able to get > more specific information about what is being offered if there is an > interest. > > I will not be involved as I live on the west coast (Santa Clara CA). > If anyone is interested, please let me know, and I'll put you in contact. Thanks! - Alex

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