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

Strange Commodore 1581 floppy drive issue
by Russell LeChard 16 May '22

16 May '22

Good Morning All. I am seeking some help from some Commodore experts with a Commodore 1581 floppy Disk drive. Some background: I've been an IT specialist specializing in IBM and compatible PCs since the early 90's. However, I started my computing journey with the TRS-80 model III and Commodore 64. I fell in love with the C64, and it began my start in a very successful career in IT. (see attach photo of my c64 setup in 1986 LOL) Recently I was lucky enough to find a C64C, a C128, and a 1581 3.5 floppy drive online for a reasonable price. Well, I did pay a premium for the 1581, but I never had one back in the day and well, I treated myself.. This past weekend I tested all 3 items and for the most part all worked OK. I was concerned the most about the 1581 working. After a delay in remembering the correct syntax for the C64 format disk command (open 15,8,15,"N0:testdisk,01": close15) - My memory isn't what it was in my younger days! LOL :-D), I was able to format a disk and then save a simple basic prg to it. However, when I try to load this basic prg (on the C64), it locks up the c64 and there seems to be no activity led lights and the 1581. I need to reboot the C64. Now, I tried the same task using the c128 and the same 1581 and floppy disk, I can now format, save, and load a basic prg without any issues. Everything seemed to work fine. My question is, are there any known compatibility issues between the C64C and the 1581 that the c128 fixed? I always thought the 1581 was compatible with the C64 and c64C? Very Strange. Any thoughts and advice are welcome.Thank you in advance. Take Care, Russell LeChard

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Al Charpentier in Dave’s Garage
by Richard Cini 16 May '22

16 May '22

Not sure if anyone follows Dave’s Garage on YouTube (Dave is an ex-OS engineer from Microsoft) but he interviewed Al Charpentier about Commodore and designing the VIC, and he mentions VCFe. Dave’s a big Commodore fan and kind of grew up like many of us, using the VIC or C64, as our first computers. https://youtu.be/rs6J_PP7O7k Rich http://cini.classiccmp.org/ Long Island S100 User’s Group Get Outlook<https://aka.ms/qtex0l> for iOS

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An idea for preservation and a proposal for the future of the VCF's library of written media.
by Lou 16 May '22

16 May '22

Hello all, I don't speak much on here often enough but I have been on the list and in the community for a little while now. Something came to mind the other night when I was doing research on preservation of physical book printed/written media and came to find not only several different kinds of methods and businesses that can scan these forms of media to a digital form but there are also scanners that exist which can do this job well without it being destructive to the books. The issue of course is that these scanners are by no means cheap for the average small scale user wanting to preserve a few of his books/manuals and some of the services out there that can offer this are either not much cheaper and/or only offer the destructive method of scanning this media (I.E. unbinding books to scan individual pages). After some time thinking about this, hearing some colleges and old libraries/research facilities having these for their own preservation efforts a thought came to mind...Why shouldn't the VCF have one for their own preservation efforts as well? The idea is simple enough, an investment in a non-destructive book scanner for the VCF which can be used to back up the existing library of physical written media, manuals, history, research, and more which can be put into digital form and be accessible to anyone who needs it without difficulty. It can help many countless individuals in the community who would need that information but isn't uploaded or documented anywhere else. A form of digital preservation and online library could be a great benefit to everyone. Finally, a further benefit is those who have their own materials they wish to preserve as well could do so with a suggested donation to the museum as well. It can be a service for other collectors who want to preserve their media as well and could even be added to the main library! Hosting of these materials could also be done and uploaded to archive.org to shoulder off the need of hosting our own site (unless desired of the community). It's a benefit with no real downside to the museum or the community at large. I know there will be some finer details to discuss and some minor issues that might come to light (especially anything involving possible copyright) but aside from this it can be a useful service for everyone. I just wanted to bring this idea forward to see what everyone thinks of it. Thanks for reading this out! -Lou

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VCF East 2022 Post Event Survey Results
by Jeffrey Brace 16 May '22

16 May '22

After a few weeks we have closed the survey and here are the results: https://bit.ly/vcfe2022post_results Overall very positive feedback. It's nice to see what we are doing well and not so well. We will address whatever improvements that we can for next year's show. Thanks everyone for doing the survey! ========================================= 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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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] An idea for preservation and a proposal for the future of the VCF's library of written media.
by Eric Rangell 15 May '22

15 May '22

Hi all, After working with Bill Degnan on his archive of print media we decided to showcase a selection of magazines in the library section of his museum, and keep the rest of the materials in numbered boxes. Photos were taken of the materials in each box which can be used to produce Finders Aids, which list the resources available and where they are located. This model is based on the system used by the Hagley library, for example: https://www.hagley.org/research/programs/sarnoff-library-project/sarnoff-li… <https://www.hagley.org/research/programs/sarnoff-library-project/sarnoff-li…> However, even cataloging the rich collection of materials requires data entry work and selection of the appropriate software for hosting it. The level of granularity for the finders aids is also a consideration. Somebody with experience in library science would be useful for establishing best practices for such a project. Ultimately it comes down to prioritizing the preservation of materials based on factors such as condition. Another example project to look at was the preservation of Ted Nelson’s junk mail collection on the Internet Archive, which was self-funded by donations to paid volunteers who scanned the materials. Eric

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT: time to downsize
by Bob Shuster 13 May '22

13 May '22

Yet another update! I just finished going through and listing the Commodore stuff. New pages posted at: theshusters.com/bobvintage.html - check it out. Please read through the first page and that will answer many questions. If you’re reading this list you have my email - it’s intentionally not listed on the pages. And again, I’m only making this stuff available to those on this listserv for now. Once I finish going through everything (and there’s a lot more) and I’ve given list members time to peruse, I’ll start listing elsewhere, but mainly I’d like to see the stuff go somewhere where it will be appreciated! Thanks for looking! Texas Instrument stuff next. - Bob Shuster

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Please subscribe to VCF YouTube channel
by Jeffrey Brace 13 May '22

13 May '22

Before we can do fundraisers on our YouTube channel, VCF needs 10,000 subscribers. We are currently at 7,800 subscribers. Please subscribe and spread the word. https://www.youtube.com/c/VintageComputerFederation501c3 Thanks! ========================================= 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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almost vintage computer free to "good home"
by William Dudley 12 May '22

12 May '22

I have a Dell Optiplex GX280 that I'd rather not send to the landfill. It's in a large tower case. Dates from 2004-ish Pentium 4 cpu, 3.2GHz, NOT 64 bit capable No hard drive, but includes ATA DVD drive. No RAM (takes up to 4 400 or 533 MHz DDR2) Includes mother board video, also includes some kind of semi-trick video card ("PCI Express x16 DVI video card", according to Dell). Sometimes the computer won't POST. Some forum searching suggested applying pressure to the heat sink, and lo and behold, this "fixed" the problem. >From this I infer that there's a dodgy solder joint under the CPU socket. This can sometimes be fixed by dribbling liquid flux around the edge of the socket (so it runs underneath) and then heating the socket with a heat gun for 30 sec to a minute. I use kitchen aluminum foil to mask off everything but the socket, so the small SMT parts on the motherboard don't start wandering about or "tombstoning". If that's too much like work, you could put a brick on it. Or a piece of foam rubber between the heat sink shroud and the cover. This computer and I are located in Jackson, NJ. I can meet you or deliver to a "reasonable" radius from here, which radius includes the museum in Wall, NJ. It's kinda big to ship, so I'm less interested in shipping, although if you want it bad enough, I could pack it up for shipment. Bill Dudley Jackson, NJ This email is free of malware because I run Linux.

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FREE STUFF
by Bill Degnan 12 May '22

12 May '22

Hopefully you can view this brief 17sec video https://www.facebook.com/billdeg/videos/535587494677969 126 S. Union St Kennett Sq PA (parking lot behind kennettclassic.com) EVERYTHING NOT CLAIMED WILL BE E-CYCLED on FRIDAY thanks BIll

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Help shipping ASR-33 from Allentown
by Dave 12 May '22

12 May '22

Hi all, Back in February, I bought an ASR-33 teletype on Ebay. The seller is stalling on the shipping. Initially, I think there were some family issues, and now I suspect he's just having trouble figuring out how to get the ASR prepared for freight. I contacted him a month a go and he said he was going to see "how I can break it down to make if more flat than tall". I suspect (and hope) that he is an honest (if not super diligent) seller that has no idea how to ship this. Is there anyone on this list who might be able to give me a hand in getting this going? I imagine that some folks here may have been through something like this in the past. I could use any help at all, including guidance on the best way to ship the teletype, any suggestions for (as minimal as possible) disassembly and getting it on a pallet, etc. If there is someone in the Allentown area who might be able to help me get this shipped, I would be most grateful. Thanks in advance, Dave

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