September 2024 - vcf-midatlantic

IBM and 8-inch (was: Next Repair Workshop Oct. 4 & 5)
by Herbert Johnson 17 Sep '24

17 Sep '24

> There is someone looking to make 8" disks from images that he has. He > recently acquired a fully functional IBM 5110-3 (or 5120) with dual 8-inch > disk drives. He found the image files to make 6 disks with various > applications for this computer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_5110 I had to look up "5510 model 3". It predates MS-DOS and ISA-class PC's. I had forgotten that one such model had 8-inch floppy drives. There's a good chance, that what-became-ordinary floppy disk controllers on IBM (ISA) MS-DOS PC's and CP/M-80 class computers, will not be able to process such 5110/5120 disks or their images. (I don't know for sure.) I'm saying, Jeff, that most old computers won't likely be able to work with these *even older IBM* disks. There's a modern class of bit-sampling floppy disk emulators and reader/writers, usually operated as USB devices. (I don't pretend to know them well.) Because they operate at the "bit" (flux change) level, in principle they can handle almost anything a floppy controller every written - IF, if, someone trained up on that particular format to decode the floppy bits. Problem is, the owners and developers of those USB devices, probably never had their hands on an IBM 5510/5520! So, if I read 40 words of description correctly (unlikely), I suggest this person outta get on the Web NOW, and contact these developers of these USB floppy reader/writers NOW, to identify if their models can handle disks from their particular IBM model. They might also contact whomever created those image-files. See how they created those images. It may be, there's a "downloader and format" 5110 program as well. The owner should also clarify/confirm exactly what hardware they have, where these image files came from, and so on. . Oh - and if the computer works *to their knowledge*. I get requests from people all the time, for stuff for their computers, before their seller delivers it to them. If the owners already did this work, they should make that info readily available as they ask for help. The zeroth help I can give someone, is to noodge them to identify their problems. Problems solve themselves faster, if details are resolved first. Details identify the tools and knowledge needed, weed out those who don't have either. Regards Herb Johnson -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA https://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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Truckload in Cape Cod
by Bart Hirst 17 Sep '24

17 Sep '24

https://forum.vcfed.org/index.php?threads/truckload-of-computers-and-parts-… -- Bart Hirst "This signature will now be eaten up and spit out by Velociraptors."

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Friden Flexowriter in Trenton
by Joseph Giliberti 13 Sep '24

13 Sep '24

At $700 the price is a bit steep, but they aren't exactly common https://www.facebook.com/share/riPGR4N2g2EbnRcM/?mibextid=kL3p88

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT- NTE ELECTRONICS IS NO MORE
by Dave McGuire 11 Sep '24

11 Sep '24

Well they certainly didn't pull any punches about their suit problem. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA

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Part #1 of the Paul Allen Collection
by Christian Liendo 11 Sep '24

11 Sep '24

https://www.christies.com/en/auction/pushing-boundaries-ingenuity-from-the-… $945k for the Apple I

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT- NTE ELECTRONICS IS NO MORE
by Neil Cherry 11 Sep '24

11 Sep '24

On 9/11/24 14:37, Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic wrote: Wow, one of the last. :( -- Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry kd2zrq(a)linuxha.com http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies KD2ZRQ

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OT- NTE ELECTRONICS IS NO MORE
by Sentrytv 11 Sep '24

11 Sep '24

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HomeBrew computer club reunion part 1
by Christian Liendo 11 Sep '24

11 Sep '24

>From the description: Welcome to the first part of a three-part series, telling the story of the early days of personal computing. Before the era of personal computers, a club was formed by engineers, hobbyists, students, and anyone interested in computers. This was a time when computers were only available at colleges, universities, or large companies. The club all got started from an ad-hoc gathering of people meeting at a pot luck dinner in the Palo Alto area. It was at these meetings where the idea of starting a club was born. This video, and the following two, highlights reminiscing from the original people involved, including Steve Wozniak, Lee Felsenstein, Dan Soquel, and a host of others who are still alive to tell their story. So sit back, relax and enjoy this unique journey through the history of personal computing. https://youtu.be/j1roYUAQdnQ?si=V3mYt43EMBE_3v8P

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Does anyone want to fly to Texas?
by Christian Liendo 06 Sep '24

06 Sep '24

https://www.margiebeeglesales.com/Sales/2024-08-22%203%20Generations%20Anti…

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TRS-80 Model III for sale in Northern VA
by Dean Notarnicola 06 Sep '24

06 Sep '24

In case anyone is interested, Eric Shor contacted us about the availability of a 48K TRS-80 Model III.. His description: *"It's the original (as purchased, no modifications) Model III, 48K memory.* *I was able to boot it enough to get to BASIC w/ the ESC key depressed.* *The contrast knobs are stuck but you can see the screen enough.* *The boot disk drive lights up and moves but I believe it needs some love on the mechanical side and possibly head cleaning.* *I have 100s of floppy discs. Both TRS-DOS and L-DOS"* Pics here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/sBEA4s6KANSWyYQa6 Please contact him off-list if you are interested: erishor(a)msn.com Regards, Dean

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