March 2022 - vcf-midatlantic

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Swap Meet feedback: vendor early access
by W2HX 02 Mar '22

02 Mar '22

My 2c... I was not at the swap meet, but I can give some insight into the hundreds of hamfests I've been to (take it or leave it as to the applicability of these experiences). First, they all charge entrance fees even for buyers. It can be modest, but they all do it. This is, after all, a swap meet. If it was just an educational exhibit and you want to encourage attendance from non-vintage computing visitors, then I can see the value in free attendance. But this is for like-minded people to buy and sell stuff, so I would consider a nominal entrance fee for buyers as well. Second, in the world of hamfests, the people who buy tables (sellers) get first crack at the booty. Period. Some hamfests "discourage" trading before the gates open, but it always happens. There was a period in my life when I was a net buyer of stuff and I wanted the choicest items. For myself and my friends, if we wanted access to the good stuff, we bought our own vendor pass and entered early with the other vendors, even when we weren't selling anything. Others at these hamfests are not in a rush to buy the choicest items (the current period of my life) and so we're happy to come in with all the other buyers. Bottom line: Want access to the best stuff? Pony up the extra dough for a vendor ticket and join the party. Don't care about the best stuff and are happy with whatever stuff is still available? Come in with all the buyers. Either way, it will help raise additional money for the club when most clubs can definitely use the extra money. 2c (now worth 1c for inflation) 73 Eugene W2HX Subscribe to my Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/w2hx-channel/videos

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Swap Meet feedback: vendor early access
by Dean Notarnicola 02 Mar '22

02 Mar '22

“One person’s trash is another’s treasure” holds true here. What one may consider a golden discovery may have been overlooked by many others. I was finding things I wanted well into the swap meet. Speaking strictly for myself, my three tables were not nearly enough space to display all I had for sale, so it came out in batches over the course of the morning. Persistence was rewarded for those who came back for second or third looks. On Wed, Mar 2, 2022 at 2:25 PM skogkatt007--- via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > I was not exhibiting anger, but a measure of frustration at continually > hearing how vendors are the whole show. I had a reasonably good time at > this show, more so the last albeit. > > There's nothing wrong with suggesting the rules be made more fair. > Feedback was requested and provided. If ⁴4people want to pretend that > something less then a gushing review constitutes anger, that's their > business. > On Wednesday, March 2, 2022, 02:09:17 PM EST, Herb Johnson via > vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > skogkatt007 at yahoo.com skogkatt007 at yahoo.com > > Wed Mar 2 11:19:11 UTC 2022 > > A lot of anger in that response. It's fact of experience, that some > people will be angry about money; theirs or someone else's. > > This poster, myself, and others, have suggested a number of rules > followed by various organizations at various times. To me that makes a > point, that there's not a single classic solution to these matters of > what is sold when to whom, or who is charged for access to these events. > > Resolutions and rules won't please everyone; and as pointed out, rules > can be circumvented. Practices and rules state an intention, and > intentions are half the battle. The rest is up to individuals, as they > act or not. > > That's what I draw from the discussion. > > Regards, Herb Johnson > > > -- > 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 comcast DOT net > >

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Swap Meet feedback: vendor early access
by Herb Johnson 02 Mar '22

02 Mar '22

> skogkatt007 at yahoo.com skogkatt007 at yahoo.com > Wed Mar 2 11:19:11 UTC 2022 A lot of anger in that response. It's fact of experience, that some people will be angry about money; theirs or someone else's. This poster, myself, and others, have suggested a number of rules followed by various organizations at various times. To me that makes a point, that there's not a single classic solution to these matters of what is sold when to whom, or who is charged for access to these events. Resolutions and rules won't please everyone; and as pointed out, rules can be circumvented. Practices and rules state an intention, and intentions are half the battle. The rest is up to individuals, as they act or not. That's what I draw from the discussion. Regards, Herb Johnson -- 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 comcast DOT net

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Is Anyone in Need of an Emulex UC-07 qbus SCSI Controller?
by Alexander Jacocks 02 Mar '22

02 Mar '22

I'm thinking of buying an Emulex UC-07 for my PDP-11, and would like to try to make a volume deal. Does anyone else want one? - Alex

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Swap Meet feedback: entrance/admission fee
by Jeffrey Jonas 02 Mar '22

02 Mar '22

Replying to Sentrytv: > One of the best ideas that you guys had > was not requiring an entrance fee for the buyers. Once upon a time, there were computer shows run by promoters such as Ken Gordon, Tri-State and Peter Trapp. Everyone paid: vendors and attendees, although discount cards were available. Infoage has been very benevolent with low fees (so far) so like those TV commercials "we pass the savings ONTO YOU!" -- jeffj

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Swap Meet feedback: vendor early access
by Jeffrey Jonas 02 Mar '22

02 Mar '22

Replying to Adam Michlin: > To my mind, the event is nothing without the vendors > and a perk of being a vendor should be > having early access to other vendors Thank you for stating that so eloquently. At other events, I volunteered to staff a maker space's table, load and unload, etc. Early access was the perk that made it all worthwhile, thus freeing me to focus on supporting the event during "open hours". > especially since we want vendors manning their table > during open to public hours. Agreed. > Whatever "official" hours we post, > there will always be "unofficial" hours ... > So early vendor to vendor access at 7am > and general public access at 8am > seems to be the worst option > except for all those other options > that have been tried from time to time > (with apologies to Churchill). There's the letter of the law and then there's the intention of the law. There are always ways to circumvent any attempt of "fair access". One place had the rule "no SALES until opening time", so everyone quietly and politely set things aside, reserving items for other vendors until the opening bell. -- jeffj

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Swap Meet feedback: hams vs vintage computer
by Jeffrey Jonas 02 Mar '22

02 Mar '22

Replying to Sentrytv: > ... I was selling some radio equipment ... > Many of the people that I know, who are hams, > asked me if this was going to be a hamfest and I said: not exactly ... It goes both ways: hams were early adopters of home computers starting with the Altair and Imasi. Some pioneered packeteering and slow-scan TV that way. Radio Electronics magazine showcased early D-I-Y computers, competing with Popular Electronics, Nuts And Volts, and Byte. I've attended hamfests and found about 1/4 computer stuff -- jeffj

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Antique radio club presentation in Edison
by Sentrytv 01 Mar '22

01 Mar '22

I thought maybe some people may be interested in this. I looked on the antique radio clubs site and didn’t even see any mention of this. Mike >> From: Metuchen-Edison Historical Society <metuchenedisonhistory(a)gmail.com> >> Date: March 1, 2022 at 15:12:35 GMT >> To: undisclosed-recipients:; >> Subject: Metuchen-Edison Historical Society Annual Meeting on Saturday, March 12, 2022 at 1pm >> >> >> All Society members and their guests are invited to our Annual Meeting and Program on Saturday March 12, 2022 at 1:00pm. The event will take place at the Edison First Aid Squad (RVREMS) at 828 New Dover Road in Edison (see photo and map below). >> Following a brief business meeting, we will enjoy an extremely interesting program about radio history in our area. The New Jersey Antique Radio Club and the Radio Technology Museum at the InfoAge Campus will present a program titled "100 Years of Radio Broadcasting; The New York and New Jersey Influence." This multi-media presentation tracing the birth of radio by Marconi and follows its progression to public broadcasting in the 1920s the 1930s and then becomes a major factor during WWII. In the 1940s and 50s, our primary home entertainment media moved from radio to television, but radio today still encompasses nearly all aspects of our life. Much of this progress occurred in New Jersey and the New York metropolitan area. This aspect will be highlighted in our presentation. >> This program is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be available after the program, and the first 20 members to arrive at the Annual Meeting will receive a free goody bag bursting with local history fun, AND there will be a special free door prize awarded to one lucky attendee. >> >> >> >> >> Sent from: My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device.

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Swap Meet feedback: How did it go?
by Herb Johnson 01 Mar '22

01 Mar '22

I attended the swap meet, arriving "late" to avoid the presumed early crowd and rush (Covid) and because my needs are modest. I was happy to get a variety of vintage Mac items as parts and for repair. I saw some oldest-vintage items, which is good, but I did not need them. And I bought some 20th century PC stuff to build some for-application systems, so that was good. Other than missing what apparently was a massive for-free pile, I was satisfied. People were glad to see me, and I them. So the base question on the event, is answered that it went well. Where's one room or another, where's the free stuff - I looked around and asked and found things. I'm glad things were not crowded; Covid. There was more variety than I expected; not enough really old computing but there was some. Radio? enh, there will be hamfests, but hamfests accommodate computing; computing should accommodate hams. When to close? It's already said: a significant part of sales is at the "don't want to take this home" end of the day. Four hours for the event is reasonable; set a soft close so people can hunt a little harder for a little longer. I'm glad the event didn't start at 6AM. A few people urged for free admissions for buyers. I'll be blunt - that's entirely expected and expresses self-interest. If buyers want fleamarkets to attend, it's in their interest to pay a few dollars to support the people who run them. Their payback is fun, community, and savings on purchased items. If you have questions, ask hams who run hamfests; ask people who ran events (or not) during the worst of Covid. When I saw there was no admission fee for buyers (me), I bought a couple of $2 stickers from Jeff - just to support the event. Too much money? What? I spent more on gas, I spent more on food. Regards Herb Johnson -- 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 comcast DOT net

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Need for Temporary wall (Pipe and Drape) for VCF East 2022
by Jeffrey Brace 01 Mar '22

01 Mar '22

Anyone know where we can borrow or rent in our area something like this: https://www.georgiaexpo.com/product/pipe-drape-room-divider-kit-temporary-w… We want to use for the backdrop of the VCF East main stage. ========================================= Jeff Brace VCF National Board Member Chairman & Vice President Vintage Computer Festival East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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