August 2020 - vcf-midatlantic

UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supplies) was: How's Everyone Doing
by Jeffrey Brace 29 Nov '20

29 Nov '20

I decided to make a new thread since there is a lot of interest in this topic, etc. @Dave Mcguire. Thanks for the tip on where to buy replacement batteries. As far as I know APC is the most recommended brand. I see others are using Panasonic. I'm curious to know which brands everyone recommends or discourages? On Fri, Apr 24, 2020 at 1:02 PM Mike Loewen via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > On Fri, 24 Apr 2020, Ethan O'Toole via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > > > I used to work for a large music streaming provider and we had thousands > and > > thousand of servers. The data center would put out a notice that they're > > going to do UPS maintenance or Switchgear maintenance... and usually > that > > night we would have maybe up to 20 servers have issues. Hard hang or > maybe a > > reboot. Meanwhile everything looked okay. > > At one point, I had a production server in the data center, an IBM > RS6000 > with redundant power supplies (2). The techs were moving systems to a > different power bus and unplugged one of the supplies: my system promptly > shut > down. It turned out that my system required THREE power supplies before > redundancy was in effect. Oops. > > > Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us > Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/ > -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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LSI-11 simulator (looking for the author)
by Richard Cini 11 Sep '20

11 Sep '20

All – I’m cleaning out my shop (I will have a “to go” list at some point) and going through magazine articles I saved. One peaked my interest, from Circuit Cellar (7/1996) by Robert W. Meister, was an LSI-11 simulator. I liked working on my Altair32 project, so I thought this would be good to play with. I was able to find the original simulator code from the article and it compiles under MS-DOS with only minor changes, but it has certain compromises regarding the hardware memory addresses and return codes that require it to use a custom RT-11 boot diskette (it has a custom DX.SYS, I’m guessing). I’ve done quite a bit of Googling about the simulator and the author (who worked for the NASD at the time he wrote the article), but haven’t come up with much additional information. Yes, I could easily use SIMH instead, but this is a fun project to work on to keep the mind busy. I guess I have four options: move memory around and see if the default DX.SYS will work; write a custom DX.SYS and make a new image using SIMH (way beyond me); continue to hunt down the author and see if he has any of the original files; give up and just use SIMH. If anyone is interested, I can send a PDF of the article. It’s actually a neatly-written program, and the ODT works fine. Rich -- Rich Cini http://www.classiccmp.org/cini http://www.classiccmp.org/altair32

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RIP Curt Vendel
by Jonathan Gevaryahu 01 Sep '20

01 Sep '20

Curt Vendel passed away unexpectedly yesterday, according to Marty Goldberg: https://www.facebook.com/groups/105586892805903/permalink/3497579150273310/ Also see Jason Scott's twitter thread at https://twitter.com/textfiles/status/1300515595788713989 I know many people from VCF East have seen him at prior events or were in communication with him. -- Jonathan Gevaryahu jgevaryahu(a)gmail.com jgevaryahu(a)hotmail.com

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CRX Commodore Expo - This Weekend
by Alexander Jacocks 01 Sep '20

01 Sep '20

All, There’s a virtual Commdore expo going on, this weekend, and it’s free: https://crxevent.com Come join me! - Alex

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Putting the Federation in Vintage Computer Federation
by Adam Michlin 31 Aug '20

31 Aug '20

Hi Everyone, So much has happened in the last 6+ months, all of which has been eclipsed by the pandemic. To start, you can email all of the Steering Committee (SC) Members at: <steering_vcfma(a)vcfed.org> A while I spoke about what a Federation does and I wanted to share with everyone what has been going to make the Federation even more of a Federation. Some of this will be formally documented in the upcoming by-laws and some is just cool news of all the collaborations going on between various vintage computer groups and our progress towards opening up VCF resources to the membership at large. Artifact Sale and Checkout: We are very aware that much of the equipment in the warehouse needs a significant amount of TLC. To that end, we have set up a system where anyone can request an artifact for checkout. Checkout can be for repair, restoration, or just because you need to borrow it for some reason. In all cases, checking out an artifact will require a reasoning, approval of a majority of the 5 member SC and you will have to sign something. The SC will consider the nature of the request, the purpose of the request, and the person requesting. For obvious reasons, we cannot guarantee a yes to every request. We are also doing everything in our power to protect any repaired/restored artifacts from the elements in the warehouse when they are returned as the most commonly asked question we get is "why clean it if it is just going back to the dirty warehouse?". This makes official an unofficial policy we've been experimenting with over the last few months. Ian Primus and Bill Lange, in particular, are doing some great work restoring terminals (ADM-2 and Teletype (CRT) Model 40) and Atari equipment (most notably Atari Mega STe now on display in the museum with keyboard provided by Dean Notarnicola) respectively. And if you want to come to a workshop and work on something bigger, make a proposal. Bill Inderrieden, for example, has been doing meticulous and awe inspiring work in documenting the Wang Minicomputer in the museum and hopefully getting it up and running. A whole host of people who will be named later in this post have been getting one of our Xerox Stars working. Feel free to think big! We felt sale of artifacts deserves a higher burden, so sale of artifacts requires a SC supermajority vote (4/5). Note, this is to purchase something that has not already been designated as surplus since surplus is already approved for sale. It will be a lot... and we mean a lot... more difficult to get non-surplus items to purchase from the warehouse since we are working very hard to proactively identify surplus equipment for sale. For obvious reasons, it should be expected the answer will most commonly be no for these requests, but everyone is allowed to make a request. You'll also see a lot more stuff naturally coming up for sale as surplus, though. If you are interested in buying, repairing, restoring , or just borrowing something, email one or all of the Steering Committee members and we will take it from there. The Warehouse: As some people have heard, we are directing all funds generated by surplus sale to an account dedicated to climate controlling and otherwise updating the warehouse. This project has been a dream for so many of us for years and it is starting to become a reality. Donations to this end are most graciously appreciated, too. Other Groups: So many great things. I stopped by System Source in Maryland (you must go!) on the way down to South Carolina and we now have someone (Ryan Schiff) who is interested in restoring the Cray in the museum (owned by LSSM and Dave McGuire - on loan to us - he has approved the initial investigation). How cool will it be to even possibly have a working Cray in the museum? Power, you say? First world problems we will deal with! And to have people from three museums involved!? We're working on a deal to swap an extra Apple II+ and Mac 512K with the Homecomputermusuem in the Netherlands for an Exidy Sorcerer and a ZX Spectrum. Two machines common in the US that we are swapping for two machines common in the UK that we don't have. Hopefully the first of many trades as one of the things we lack are non US computers (most of the international machines in the museum are on loan from members). A Xerox Star mouse has been found through a private party connected to us via the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. The person donating wishes to remain anonymous. I personally am most excited by this (and the work done by David Gesswein, Ian Primus and countless others to get the thing to work in the first place!). A working Xerox Star in a museum where museum goers can put hands on. Mind blowing. And, finally, which I think I've posted on already, this all started with the loan of working Canon Cat (sitting in a plastic bin in the warehouse - boo!) to Kennett Classic (on display for people to use - yay!). Our general philosophy going forward is that we can't display everything, so it makes much more sense to loan out artifacts for the world to see (and repair!) than to have artifacts sit in the warehouse (climate controlled or not). Everything is now backed by a formal process, though, so we have checks and balances and really want to encourage people and organizations who have never asked before to consider asking. Is there something we haven't thought of? Let us know! Best wishes, -Adam

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VCF East 2020 Classroom Instructors Needed
by Jeffrey Brace 31 Aug '20

31 Aug '20

We still have room for classroom instructors. Signup now to reserve your spot. They are filling up fast: < https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfaLdF8TOlIicNw9Qwi7Bkfz8OjCZm4YWl… > The class will be a maximum of 30 minutes. We are going to be doing a virtual hybrid show on October 10 & 11. *CLASSES* Classroom instructors will teach something like "How to repair a CRT", or "Commodore 64 assembly programming". Here is an example class for "Advanced 6502 Assembly Programming for the Apple II" by Stephen Edwards: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXElw_3t-rM&t=21s If you are interested in being a classroom instructor, then please fill out this form: Availability is limited. You have the choice of: 1) A prerecorded video with a maximum 30 minutes. Submitted video of your class by September 21. This will be shown via YouTube live and then there will be live Q & A for 10 minutes. 2) An in-person presentation of 30 minutes on site at InfoAge with 10 minutes live Q & A. I will send more details if you are interested. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member Vintage Computer Festival East Show-runner Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org cell: 732-759-1783

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Museum Report 2020-08-30
by Jeffrey Brace 30 Aug '20

30 Aug '20

A handful of people came today, but there was a highly interested family. The father really liked and remembered a lot of the machines that were there. The children enjoyed many of the micros. I let one boy make a greeting card for his mom on The Printshop on the C64 and print out on the dot matrix printer. Kids love to be able to print and take this home. Take home things like this are a hit. I also turned on the screen blanker on the 3B1. It's a very useful function. Besides that I worked on VCF East 2020 organizing for the virtual show, connecting prospective exhibitors, instructors, etc. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member Vintage Computer Festival East Show-runner Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org cell: 732-759-1783 <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…> <#m_7257872769276981605_DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>

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Museum Report 2020-08-29
by Jeffrey Brace 30 Aug '20

30 Aug '20

3 VCF volunteers (Dylan Servilla, Kenneth Gober and myself) met up with Martin early Saturday morning to help him with ethernet wiring up the Model Train museum and the Women's bunkroom. We started at 9AM and went to 3PM. We got most of the job done, but ran out of time, so we will be finishing up the job next Saturday. The wiring in the women's bunkroom will provide wired, stable internet when we do VCF East or any other event in that room. This will be very important for VCF East 2020's virtual show. Dennis was docent at the museum and we had about 10 visitors with moderate interest. A good turn out for a day that started out with downpouring rain. I showed Dennis and Dylan the windowed type environment on the 3B1 which they didn't know about. At the same time I setup the screen saver for the 3B1. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member Vintage Computer Festival East Show-runner Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org cell: 732-759-1783 <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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Update on Me
by Adam Michlin 28 Aug '20

28 Aug '20

Hi Everyone, As I previously, rather obliquely, mentioned, I have relocated to Charleston, SC for job reasons. The super short version is I am now at a school where I can teach *a lot* more students 6502 Assembly. When I was first approached to be a member of the Mid Atlantic Steering Committee, my immediate response was that I wanted to run in an election. Circumstances dictated that such an election was not possible at the time and I agreed to serve with the agreement that my position would be put up for election in December 2020. At the time, I fully intended to run for re-election (well, election), however, in light of my relocation, I have made the decision that I cannot fully function as a Steering Committee member from South Carolina and, as such, will not be seeking (re-)election. My regular work in the warehouse will also have to stop, for obvious reasons, although I'm planning to visit a few times each year to do what I can do to help. I will, however, continue to work as the national (paid an insanely modest sum which I will not disclose) Social Media Specialist and will continue working with both the National Board and the MA Steering Committee in a non-voting capacity. Dean Notarnicola and I are working on the MA Steering Committee bylaws (at little late.. but, well, pandemic), so at this point, please hold any questions about how the election will actually happen. What I'm hoping to do with this email is to get people thinking about running for the Steering Committee for an election in December. If you think the Steering Committee is doing things well and want them to continue in that direction, consider running. If you think the Steering Committee is running things into the ground, you definitely need to run. My dream has always been an organization by the people for the people. Elections are the only way to make this truly happen. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to email me at this email or my VCF email (which reaches me quicker) <adam.michlin(a)vcfed.org> if you have any ideas, questions, complaints about either social media or the goings on of the MA Steering Committee and *especially* if you are thinking about running for the Steering Committee and want to know more. I and the other Steering Committee members are also more than happy to answer questions about the position here publicly. And, of course, be sure to follow VCF at: https://www.facebook.com/vcfederation/ https://twitter.com/vcfederation https://www.instagram.com/vcfederation/ Yeah, I know, new fangled crazy social media.... But you're missing a lot of cool content! -Adam

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Museum Report: 26 August 2020
by svcatitc＠aol.com 28 Aug '20

28 Aug '20

Opened up around 12:45p after checking in at "Hotel". Only one young couple visited with only mild interest. In talking privately with Tony Bogan, it was pointed out that "auto-loading" Windows 3.1 on the IBM PS2 defeats the purpose of illustrating that Windows of that era was not a stand-a-lone application and must be loaded over top of DOS. With that in mind, I reversed my "DOH" boo boo by editing of the AUTOEXEC.BAT, but with a twist. I used the CHOICE.COM command and added a "choice" of whether you want to load Windows right away, or not [Y,N], or allow the option to time out in to a DOS prompt. Once that happens, CLS or the clear screen command clears the screen and echos: "Load Windows at any Time by typing WIN". This gives more options. Bill Inderrieden

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