May 2022 - vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] A lot of old computers in Stranger things
by Michael Thompson 29 May '22

29 May '22

> > From: Dave Shevett <shevett(a)pobox.com> > > I've always wanted to be in the business of providing these old machines to > movies and tv shows. I've sort of half-started putting something together > for this, but I have NO CLUE how to get onto the 'i can get this stuff for > you and make it work' radar of studios. > > -- > Dave Shevett > shevett(a)pobox.com > Getting known to movie and video people is a challenge. A lot of the set designers keep their equipment sources secret so competitive movie companies are at a disadvantage. They are also very reluctant to put "Thanks to" in the credits for the same reason. Getting your name spread in the industry is difficult. Many of the set designers just use search engines to find the equipment that they need. Some just buy what they want and sell or dispose of it when they are finished. You could create a Movie Props WWW page with pictures and descriptions of what you have. The listings need to include the year they were manufactured, the years that they were in use, and where they were used. Very little of the equipment used in movies/videos actually works. If you video a CRT you will see black bars on the screen because of the difference in the scan rate of the camera and the CRT. Usually the movie prop people disconnect the electronics in the CRT and replace the power supply and electronics with parts designed for the movie industry. The replacement electronics can synchronize the CRT scan rate to the same external source used for the cameras, so no black bars. That also lets them use modern electronics to make the images they need on the CRT. I have also seen them paste chromakey green film over the CRT, and just overlay the desired image during editing. One of my SparcStation 10 systems was used in Halt And Catch Fire. They needed a Sun workstation, and someone told them that I had a bunch of them. -- Michael Thompson

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A lot of old computers in Stranger things
by Christian Liendo 29 May '22

29 May '22

I'm enjoying all the old computers in Stranger things. So far I saw a Kaypro, an Amiga 1000 and. Tandy

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REMINDER System Source Swap Meet and Repair Workshop in 3 weeks!
by Jeffrey Brace 27 May '22

27 May '22

Don't forget to sign up for the swap meet which is in 3 weeks! Here is all the info again in case you missed it: *SWAP MEET* The *Swap Meet* runs from 8AM to 2PM on Saturday. Info on Swap Meet: https://vcfed.org/system-source-swap-meet/ Sign up for *Swap Meet* here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfLzjqF3IYIanjZx7objKJl9NxX38p6yVt… *REPAIR WORKSHOP* starts at 2PM until 7:30PM on Saturday. On Sunday the repair workshop is from 9AM to 5PM. Signup for Repair Workshop here : https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZyvIhDx5QJNdgBx8XWxQTJIuxHzh6rJiHQM… <https://www.google.com/maps/search/338%0D%0A+Clubhouse+Road,+%0D%0A+Hunt%0D…> The System Source Computer Museum is hosting a vintage computer workshop on Saturday June 18th and Sunday June 19th 2022 at: System Source Computer Museum 338 Clubhouse Road, <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.google.com_maps_se…> Hunt Valley, MD <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.google.com_maps_se…> 21031 <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.google.com_maps_se…> Plenty of free parking, short walk from Baltimore’s light rail (Gilroy Road Stop) ON SATURDAY we will open at 9:00 AM and will lock up by 7:30 PM. ON SUNDAY: We will open at 9:00 AM and lock up at 5:00 PM *Accommodations:* Try https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g41196-Hunt_Valley_Maryland-Hotels.html <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.tripadvisor.com_Ho…> Feel free to talk with others about sharing a room. Food: There are plenty of restaurants within a short drive. We will have a catered Indian buffet on Saturday at cost ($12.00?) and catered Barbecue ($12.00?) on Sunday for those who are interested. We will feature tours of the museum throughout both days and several mini-workshops: · Retrobright workshop (bring your yellowed plastics) · Lots of New vintage computers from the DigiBarn Collection · Hot Metal Typesetting (3500 lb word processor) ========================================= Jeff Brace VCF National Board Member Chairman & Vice President Vintage Computer Festival East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity https://vcfed.org/ <http://www.vcfed.org/> jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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Anyone near Landenberg PA
by Jason Perkins 26 May '22

26 May '22

Is anyone on the list near Landenberg PA? I bought a small NEC monitor from someone on eBay, and the person who was going to pick it up for me flaked. It would be extra cool if you’re coming to the System Source event and could hand it off! Thanks, -Jason -- Jason Perkins 313 355 0085 Sent from my iPhone

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IBM EGA needed
by Dave McGuire 26 May '22

26 May '22

Hey folks, does anyone have an IBM EGA card that they'd be willing to send over to us at LSSM? We have a need for a "real IBM" EGA card for a specific piece of software that makes use of EGA features that most clones apparently didn't implement. Alternatively, if anyone has a spare clone EGA card that they believe to be more compatible than most, we'd be willing to give it a shot. Thanks, -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA

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ATTENTION - VCF Mid-Atlantic Steering Committee News - ATTENTION
by Chris Fala 25 May '22

25 May '22

Dear VCF Members, I would like to take this opportunity to let everyone know about recent changes within the Steering Committee membership. First, the sad news. Due to family commitments, Tony Bogan has stepped down. Anyone who knows Tony will understand just how much impact this will have on our team. Tony has provided immeasurable help to all aspects of VCF, as a Docent, helping organize the warehouse, with artifact rescues, setting up for festivals, workshops, swap-meets, etc., coordinating with InfoAge, other museums, and Wall Township, and in too many other ways to mention. He has been a force of nature for VCF, and on a personal note has become a valued friend to me. He has let us know that he will still be around to help with various projects as his time permits, but his duties as a voting member of the Steering Committee have ended (at least for now). The good news is that we have identified someone to fill Tony’s position (not replace him, no one could do that!). Per the Bylaws of the Committee, when a seat has been vacated in the middle of a term, the voting members of the Steering Committee will conduct a simple majority vote to select a replacement. Since I take the duties of the Steering Committee, and our commitment to the membership, very seriously, I wanted to ensure that all five members had an opportunity to contribute to the conversation, not just a simple (3-of-5) majority. After a very productive discussion and vote, Doug Crawford has been chosen to fill the vacant seat. Doug has been a member of VCF for at least 8 years. He has been a Docent at the museum, has exhibited at Festivals and other events, and has contributed in many other ways for the good of the organization. We all agree that he will be a valued member of the team. After speaking with Doug, he is very excited for the opportunity to serve. I welcome Doug and look forward to working with him! Also pursuant to the Bylaws, since this is an “emergency” replacement, Doug’s seat on the Steering Committee will be up for a vote by the general membership this November-December. All seats on the Steering Committee periodically come up for a vote based on the established cycle. Please consider this and be prepared to vote when the time comes. Eligibility to vote is determined by membership on this mailing list. New list members eligible to vote will be accepted up to a predetermined deadline (date to be announced) before the election. If you know someone who might want to participate, let them know not to wait until the last minute to join the list! Thank you for your kind attention to this matter. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to any member of the Steering Committee with any relevant questions or concerns. Thanks, Chris Fala Chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Steering Committee of the Vintage Computer Federation

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] ZX81/TS1000 with a modern TV
by Bob Shuster 25 May '22

25 May '22

Thanks for all the input! I should note that I have no issues with any of my other TV tuner based systems, including many older than the Timex/Sinclair systems! There’s definitely something different about these. I do get the K cursor, but the audio is all noise and I get no feedback that I can see from the keyboards. They can’t all be bad, and they are in virtually unused condition. I’m not going to purchase an old CRT TV just to resell it (maybe I’ll try a local request for a free one), but I’ll try running them through a VCR or old camcorder and see where that gets me. I also have a bunch of inline coax filters that I can try (not really expecting different results.). I don’t want to spend too much time on these as everyone seems to want me to get to the TRS-80 systems! Bob Shuster

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Test
by Chris Fala 24 May '22

24 May '22

New subscription test.

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ZX81/TS1000 with a modern TV
by Bob Shuster 24 May '22

24 May '22

So I have two (2) Sinclair ZX81s (US version - one is still an unbuilt kit), and three (3) Timex-Sinclair 1000s. I’ve connected them to a TV using an RCA-coax adapter and tuned to the correct channel, but I get a grey screen with the “K” cursor visible. I’m unable to get past this. This is for all four units. They seem to tune in white momentarily then switch to fuzzy grey - with the “K” still visible. This was both on a large 4K OLED set and a small HD LED TV, and I suspect they are just too new to deal with the monochrome signal. I don’t have a CRT TV to test with, just old monitors (which of course don’t have antenna connections.) Any advice? I’m selling these, so I’m not getting into modding them, just want to confirm they’re working properly. Bob Shuster

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] ZX81/TS1000 with a modern TV
by Dave McGuire 23 May '22

23 May '22

On 5/23/22 21:34, Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > I am 99% sure that the ZX 81 or the TS 1000 has a standard > RF modulator. It does; one of the little Astec canned modulators. At issue here, though, presumably, is the NTSC-format baseband video being fed into that modulator. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA

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