March 2020 - vcf-midatlantic

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] VCF East 2020 Update
by Kyle Owen 12 Mar '20

12 Mar '20

Since the WHO has upgraded this to a pandemic, I am very surprised to see VCF E as a possibility for late April. Current trends show that we may have close to 1 million cases in the US by then. By continuing planning VCF E for April, I believe the steering committee is doing a disservice to the community, both among vintage computer enthusiasts and members of Wall Township and surrounding areas. Why not postpone for a future date? I'd be very curious to see a show of hands who would currently plan to be in attendance in April. Kyle

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Burroughs B205 tape drive on Ebay
by Mike Loewen 12 Mar '20

12 Mar '20

Stan Brewer's B205 tape drive is up for auction (again) on Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-BURROUGHS-B205-CORPORATION-ELECTRODATA-COM… Stan (RIP) told me that this was originally one of the drives from Claude Kagan's B205 system. It's in rough shape, and may not be complete. Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] VCF East 2020 Update
by David Riley 11 Mar '20

11 Mar '20

On Mar 11, 2020, at 10:48 PM, Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > From: Tony Bogan <thebogans(a)mac.com> > Subject: VCF East 2020 Update > Date: March 11, 2020 at 10:48:02 PM EDT > To: vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org > > > VCF East 2020 Update > > In light of everything that is happening in the US and elsewhere with the current Flu season and Coronavirus, the VCF Mid-Atlantic Steering Committee wanted to update everyone on the current status of VCF East 2020. > > As it stands, VCF East 2020 is still scheduled to take place as planned on April 24th, 25th and 26th. As things stand currently, I don't plan on traveling for any cons until at least June. Most epidemiological models have cases peaking around early May, give or take a few weeks, which means late April is likely to be pretty bad in terms of the effect on our national health system and follow-on effects in everyday life, not to mention the risk of infection if you're not already sick. This is not me trying to lecture y'all, because you can do what you want. But I would definitely suggest carefully considering the additional financial and logistical burden each additional week adds if you cancel later, because people make commitments, lock down schedules, and pay for travel arrangements as things get closer. In the infosec world, a LOT of conferences are getting canceled and moved right now, and people are feeling the pain (both people who had already committed to presenting and arranged time off work, gotten visas, booked non-refundable tickets, etc). It sucks. But most conferences have made that decision last week and this week. If the show does go on, I wish everyone the best of luck and I'll look forward to the videos. But I'll still be hoping for a raincheck. - Dave

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] VCF East 2020 Update
by jaj＠totallyamused.com 11 Mar '20

11 Mar '20

>From: Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic ><vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> > >You guys are making a huge mistake by not canceling East now. > >Gov. Murphy declared a state of emergency. Smart museum leaders -- like those at LCM, obviously not those at IA -- are closing before people get sick or worse. > >All those people in such a cramped venue, all touching the same doors and joysticks, is just begging for trouble. Absolutely, events of ~100 (and less) are cancelling. TCF has cancelled, it’s not worth it. Make a shift now to the Fall, get it on the calendar to secure attendance for 2020.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] VCF East 2020 Update
by Evan Koblentz 11 Mar '20

11 Mar '20

You guys are making a huge mistake by not canceling East now. Gov. Murphy declared a state of emergency. Smart museum leaders -- like those at LCM, obviously not those at IA -- are closing before people get sick or worse. All those people in such a cramped venue, all touching the same doors and joysticks, is just begging for trouble.

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VCF East 2020 Update
by Tony Bogan 11 Mar '20

11 Mar '20

VCF East 2020 Update In light of everything that is happening in the US and elsewhere with the current Flu season and Coronavirus, the VCF Mid-Atlantic Steering Committee wanted to update everyone on the current status of VCF East 2020. As it stands, VCF East 2020 is still scheduled to take place as planned on April 24th, 25th and 26th. The Steering Committee is monitoring the situation daily and meets every week for VCF East prep, which includes reassessing our situation for the event as a whole on a weekly basis at minimum, more frequently if needed. At the Infoage Operations meeting on Wednesday, March 11th, Infoage informed us that they have no plans to close or alter their operating schedule at this time. Like us, they plan on watching the situation closely and will update their plans if and when it is called for. Meanwhile, they look forward to hosting VCF East once again. We understand that attendance will suffer as a result of the current health situation as some people will choose not to travel or attend a public event at this point in time. Prudence dictates that everyone, especially people in the higher risk groups and those with certain health issues, must do what's best for themselves, and we encourage people to do just that! Meanwhile, we continue to plan on the event taking place on schedule. In the event circumstances require us to reschedule the event, we will notify all exhibitors, vendors, class proctors and advance ticket holders directly, as well as announcing on our website and all social media. The VCF Steering Committee plans on hosting a fantastic show in April, but plans sometimes change, and we will change ours if circumstances dictate a change is needed, and make sure you are the first to know. VCF Steering Committee

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Soldering Temp and Gauge Wire?
by mark＠markesystems.com 11 Mar '20

11 Mar '20

> From: Chris Fala <chrisjpf33(a)gmail.com> <...> > This excellent video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpkkfK937mU is one of > the best explanations of the proper way to solder that I have found. That was a good video. I've been soldering, both professionally and for hobby reasons, since I was 7 (53 years, but who's counting), and this is the first video I've seen that that stresses the importance of a wetting of solder between the iron and the joint be soldered; it doesn't just blindly state to "apply the solder to the joint, not the iron". This allows the joint to be soldered quickly, which is good not only because it's fast, but because it doesn't heat-stress the component or board as much. ~~ Mark Moulding

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Soldering Temp and Gauge Wire?
by John Heritage 11 Mar '20

11 Mar '20

Hey folks, Just looking for a few recommendations - I've finally picked up a proper soldering station where I can set the temperature.. For working on vintage hardware like Atari 8bits and installing mods (ram upgrades or video upgrades that require wires to be run) -- what kind of temps should I be running a flat-tipped soldering iron at, and what gauge wire should I generally use on the older computers? Thanks :) John

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1st Annual Kennett Classic October 16-18 2020 - Mark your Calendars
by Bill Degnan 10 Mar '20

10 Mar '20

Hey all - We have had soft-launched it on our website calendar a few months ago but I wanted to confirm that yes on October 16 - 18 2020 the first annual "Kennett Classic" weekend is scheduled and a GO; venue booked and implementation is under way. The centerpiece of the weekend will be a contest between teams of vintage computer hobbyists competing for the Kennett Classic Cup, an award to the team with the best network of vintage hardware based on up-time and connectivity. There will be a substantial prize awarded to the winning team. We're really excited to share the details of this event, but stand by for now. In addition to the on-site teams, we will open the contest to any qualifying team worldwide. This is a first-of-its-kind world-wide vintage computing networking event! We're working on the registration pages now, and once they're live we'll share all of the details. Think of the Kennett Classic Cup as a car rally for vintage computers. We have many other activities planned, stay tuned. Interested? We look forward to making this a huge success. Bill Degnan Kennett Classic Kennett Square, PA https://www.kennettclassic.com

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Two monitors needed
by Evan Koblentz 10 Mar '20

10 Mar '20

I'm on the lookout for two monitors: 1. Early/mid-1990s beige VGA CRT, preferably NOT with a PC brand name/logo on the front, tilt stand, and the smaller the better. Maybe 13" or something. 2. Small LCD with composite input. Maybe something like 9-10" so I can toss it in a small suitcase when traveling. Year doesn't matter. Stand preferred. Email me off-list: evan(a)snarc.net

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