April 2026 - vcf-midatlantic

Slightly OT
by Martin A. Flynn 06 Apr '26

06 Apr '26

Anyone know what size the mounting holes are in the UNIVAC bottom frame and how holes are there? Martin Flynn

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Tracy Kidder, author of "The Soul of a New Machine", dead at 80
by bernieS 05 Apr '26

05 Apr '26

Some list members surely remember--and may have been profoundly influenced by--reading "The Soul of a New Machine" (1981) by Tracy Kidder. It influenced me. Tracy died this past week at 80. His book won the 1982 National Book Award for Nonfiction and a Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction, and was about two competing Data General 32-bit minicomputer design groups in the 1970's developing machines to challenge DEC's VAX minicomputers. It's an enthralling read. If you're not going to read the book, at least read the Wikipedia entry for it (below.) https://apnews.com/article/tracy-kidder-death-writer-soul-new-machine-fc0f1… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Soul_of_a_New_Machine -bernieS

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PhoneCon 2026 - save the date
by N. Albert 04 Apr '26

04 Apr '26

Wanted to share with everyone a new event that is taking place this year, with a lot of crossover to various vintage technologies and held at none other than the Computer Museum in Hunt Valley: PhoneCon 2026, the Mid-Atlantic Historical Telephony Conference & Expo When: Sat/Sun July 25-26, 2026 Where: The Computer Museum in Baltimore (Hunt Valley) MD Who: Anyone interested in the history and progression of telephony What: Presentations and talks on telephone history, collecting, and phreaking; displays and exhibits; telephones for sale; tours of the Computer Museum; opportunities to socialize. With something for everyone, it is should appeal to a wide range of age groups and interests. Why: To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the telephone and telephone technologies up to the present day How: Come either Saturday, Sunday, or both; those within 3-4 hours of Baltimore will only need to stay one night in a hotel for traveling convenience. PhoneCon is right off I-83 and fully transit accessible via light rail from Baltimore Penn Station and BWI Airport. Schedules and other event information is available at https://phonecon.org Registration is not open just yet but planned to be opened later in April, along with discounted hotel blocks; we'll share an update then. Call for Speakers We are currently looking for speakers to propose presentation topics. If you think you have something interesting to share with an audience, please consider submitting your talk ideas at https://phonecon.org/cfp - we can help you flesh out your ideas as well, so don't worry if it's not perfect just yet! Additionally, we are looking for volunteers to help with every aspect of the event, including publicity. Please email the organizing team at contact(a)phonecon.org if you would like to help, and feel free to forward/redistribute to other groups of interest as you see fit. Thank you!

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UNIVAC card ID
by Bill Degnan 03 Apr '26

03 Apr '26

I am curious what early 1970's system or peripheral this controller card came from. Because it came from a collection of UNIVAC items, I assume but cannot confirm it's a UNIVAC controller. The chip dates are circa 1971, I think. https://www.vintagecomputer.net/UNIVAC/UNIVAC-controller_front.png https://www.vintagecomputer.net/UNIVAC/UNIVAC-controller_rear.png I could not find the part number. In 1971 UNIVAC was still selling things from the 9000 and 1100 series, and probably some later 418/419's 36 pins on the backside of the card THanks in advance Stumped Bill

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Doom on the Univac 1219B!
by Jeffrey Brace 02 Apr '26

02 Apr '26

Yes! Can you believe it? Years ago Bill Dromgoole diagnosed, troubleshooted and repaired the Univac 1219B that sits in the VCF museum. As far as we know the only one of its kind still in operation. At every VCF East for years he has demonstrated this machine to visitors and lamented "I don't know what to demo". Everyone was happy just to see it working, the blinking lights, the loud noise, the tapping of the teletype and Bill's explanation of how it worked. About 4 years ago a young whippersnapper Steve Schivone came along and was fascinated by this machine and wanted to learn all about it. I mean, can you blame him? Learning to use a working mainframe computer? Bill Dromgoole took him in as an apprentice and he learned this system in and out. A few months ago Steven met some other "young" guys who thought using and learning about this system would be cool! So they got to thinking. "What can we do with this system?". So they made a C compiler. Not satisfied, they created a BASIC interpreter. Then they loaded the Oregon Trail. Imagine playing that on a teletype machine on a machine used for ballistics control on a naval ship! Next up was a series of common BASIC programs and games like Zork. And "modern" games like Wordle. All very cool. then they were like Light Speed is too slow, let's go to Ridiculous Speed. So they created a Minecraft server on the machine! What an incredible and fun feat! Who would have ever thought of such a thing! But ... they were not satisfied. They needed to go to Ludicrous Speed! So they made Doom on this machine. Yes. Doom! The thing that everyone making a new innovative system uses as a test "Does it play Doom?". I couldn't believe it was possible, but I saw it with my own eyes! So when you are at VCF East, stop by the Univac found in the Vintage Computer Museum and play all these fun games! VCF East runs April 17-19. The demo will run Saturday and Sunday 1PM to 3PM April 18 & 19. Take care! Jeff Brace VCF East Showrunner

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Re: OT: Casino Night at InfoAge 4/11/26
by Sentrytv 02 Apr '26

02 Apr '26

Actually, I retract my statement Easter is this coming weekend not the following weekend My apologies Sent from: My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > On Apr 2, 2026, at 4:02 PM, Herb Johnson via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > Umm, that Casino Night event is April 11th - the next-coming Saturday night, April 11th. Confirmed on the InfoAge event calendar. Seemed odd to me to have such an event during the Easter/Passover weekend ... - regards Herb

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Re: OT: Casino Night at InfoAge 4/11/26
by Sentrytv 02 Apr '26

02 Apr '26

Herb You know you are absolutely correct I think somebody kind of goofed there Mike Rosen Sent from: My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > On Apr 2, 2026, at 4:02 PM, Herb Johnson via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > Umm, that Casino Night event is April 11th - the next-coming Saturday night, April 11th. Confirmed on the InfoAge event calendar. Seemed odd to me to have such an event during the Easter/Passover weekend ... - regards Herb

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OT: Casino Night at InfoAge 4/11/26
by Jeffrey Brace 02 Apr '26

02 Apr '26

InfoAge is having its annual Casino Night this coming Saturday night. Think of it as a Speakeasy style casino night that helps raise money for InfoAge. https://www.infoage.org/casino-night/ Jeff Brace VCF National Board Member Chairman & Vice President

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Re: vcf-midatlantic Digest, Vol 95, Issue 1
by Jeffrey Golas 01 Apr '26

01 Apr '26

There is a smaller version on Battleship NJ, Id love to see Bill and Duane get that going! I have to see if its gutted or not. There is a Teletype with it that I believe looked complete (but it could be trashed inside). Next time Im there Ill try to look at it better. Jeff > On Apr 1, 2026, at 3:56 PM, vcf-midatlantic-request(a)lists.vcfed.org wrote: > > Send vcf-midatlantic mailing list submissions to > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via email, send a message with subject or > body 'help' to > vcf-midatlantic-request(a)lists.vcfed.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > vcf-midatlantic-owner(a)lists.vcfed.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of vcf-midatlantic digest..." > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Replica Burroughs B205 console for sale (Mike Loewen) > 2. Doom on the Univac 1219B! (Jeffrey Brace) > 3. Re: Doom on the Univac 1219B! (Jeffrey Brace) > 4. Re: Doom on the Univac 1219B! (drummy) > 5. Re: Doom on the Univac 1219B! (Bill Degnan) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Wed, 1 Apr 2026 01:40:55 -0400 (EDT) > From: Mike Loewen <mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us> > Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] Replica Burroughs B205 console for sale > To: vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org > Message-ID: > <alpine.LFD.2.21.2604010130330.16812(a)cpumagic.137clearview.org> > Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=US-ASCII > > > I recently acquired an identical pair of replica B205 control consoles, and > I wish to sell one. Pictures of the unit and a description are at: > > https://q7.neurotica.com/Prop_Console/ > > I can bring the unit to VCF East. Asking price is $700. > > > Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us > Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/ > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Wed, 1 Apr 2026 07:21:09 -0400 > From: Jeffrey Brace <jeffrey(a)vcfed.org> > Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] Doom on the Univac 1219B! > To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> > Message-ID: > <CALWfZAJPmGEJAY+4HCeVe2SLAV0_GU1Lo9P+oSG0UUQwG6sTag(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" > > Yes! Can you believe it? > Years ago Bill Dromgoole diagnosed, troubleshooted and repaired the Univac > 1219B that sits in the VCF museum. As far as we know the only one of its > kind still in operation. > > At every VCF East for years he has demonstrated this machine to visitors > and lamented "I don't know what to demo". Everyone was happy just to see it > working, the blinking lights, the loud noise, the tapping of the teletype > and Bill's explanation of how it worked. > > About 4 years ago a young whippersnapper Steve Schivone came along and was > fascinated by this machine and wanted to learn all about it. I mean, can > you blame him? Learning to use a working mainframe computer? Bill Dromgoole > took him in as an apprentice and he learned this system in and out. > A few months ago Steven met some other "young" guys who thought using and > learning about this system would be cool! > > So they got to thinking. "What can we do with this system?". So they made a > C compiler. Not satisfied, they created a BASIC interpreter. Then they > loaded the Oregon Trail. Imagine playing that on a teletype machine on a > machine used for ballistics control on a naval ship! Next up was a series > of common BASIC programs and games like Zork. And "modern" games like > Wordle. All very cool. then they were like Light Speed is too slow, let's > go to Ridiculous Speed. So they created a Minecraft server on the machine! > What an incredible and fun feat! Who would have ever thought of such a > thing! > > But ... they were not satisfied. They needed to go to Ludicrous Speed! So > they made Doom on this machine. Yes. Doom! The thing that everyone making a > new innovative system uses as a test "Does it play Doom?". I couldn't > believe it was possible, but I saw it with my own eyes! > > So when you are at VCF East, stop by the Univac found in the Vintage > Computer Museum and play all these fun games! VCF East runs April 17-19. > > The demo will run Saturday and Sunday 1PM to 3PM April 18 & 19. > > Take care! > > Jeff Brace > VCF East Showrunner > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Wed, 1 Apr 2026 13:47:53 -0400 > From: Jeffrey Brace <jeffrey(a)vcfed.org> > Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] Re: Doom on the Univac 1219B! > To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> > Message-ID: > <CALWfZAL=gFxz=UicfU722fA4AZiADG8kWDxGYEbfe9LDSiPz6w(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" > > Bill Dromgoole corrected me in that Duan Craps was a major contributor to > the understanding, repair and diagnosis of this machine. I didn't mean to > overlook his contributions. I was just focused on the new programming and > not the original repairs and diagnosis, etc. > >> On Wed, Apr 1, 2026 at 7:21 AM Jeffrey Brace <jeffrey(a)vcfed.org> wrote: >> >> Yes! Can you believe it? >> Years ago Bill Dromgoole diagnosed, troubleshooted and repaired the Univac >> 1219B that sits in the VCF museum. As far as we know the only one of its >> kind still in operation. >> >> At every VCF East for years he has demonstrated this machine to visitors >> and lamented "I don't know what to demo". Everyone was happy just to see it >> working, the blinking lights, the loud noise, the tapping of the teletype >> and Bill's explanation of how it worked. >> >> About 4 years ago a young whippersnapper Steve Schivone came along and was >> fascinated by this machine and wanted to learn all about it. I mean, can >> you blame him? Learning to use a working mainframe computer? Bill Dromgoole >> took him in as an apprentice and he learned this system in and out. >> A few months ago Steven met some other "young" guys who thought using and >> learning about this system would be cool! >> >> So they got to thinking. "What can we do with this system?". So they made >> a C compiler. Not satisfied, they created a BASIC interpreter. Then they >> loaded the Oregon Trail. Imagine playing that on a teletype machine on a >> machine used for ballistics control on a naval ship! Next up was a series >> of common BASIC programs and games like Zork. And "modern" games like >> Wordle. All very cool. then they were like Light Speed is too slow, let's >> go to Ridiculous Speed. So they created a Minecraft server on the machine! >> What an incredible and fun feat! Who would have ever thought of such a >> thing! >> >> But ... they were not satisfied. They needed to go to Ludicrous Speed! So >> they made Doom on this machine. Yes. Doom! The thing that everyone making a >> new innovative system uses as a test "Does it play Doom?". I couldn't >> believe it was possible, but I saw it with my own eyes! >> >> So when you are at VCF East, stop by the Univac found in the Vintage >> Computer Museum and play all these fun games! VCF East runs April 17-19. >> >> The demo will run Saturday and Sunday 1PM to 3PM April 18 & 19. >> >> Take care! >> >> Jeff Brace >> VCF East Showrunner >> >> >> >> >> > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 4 > Date: Wed, 01 Apr 2026 13:52:15 -0400 > From: drummy <drummy(a)comcast.net> > Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] Re: Doom on the Univac 1219B! > To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> > Message-ID: <7zjkwlMwa5h2h7zjkw2RgR.1775065946.a6d7e2cb8d43e03b3b0b8d6 > e56809fd6.MISSINGID(a)comcast.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 > > Jeff gives me way too much credit for getting the Univac up and running. It could not have been done without Duane Craps.He is the most knowledgeable person on the computer and did most of the troubleshooting on it. We constantly consult with him on issues that we have difficulty with fixing.Bill DromgooleSent from my Galaxy > -------- Original message --------From: Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> Date: 4/1/26 7:21 AM (GMT-05:00) To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> Cc: Jeffrey Brace <jeffrey(a)vcfed.org> Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] Doom on the Univac 1219B! Yes! Can you believe it?Years ago Bill Dromgoole diagnosed, troubleshooted and repaired the Univac1219B that sits in the VCF museum. As far as we know the only one of itskind still in operation.At every VCF East for years he has demonstrated this machine to visitorsand lamented "I don't know what to demo". Everyone was happy just to see itworking, the blinking lights, the loud noise, the tapping of the teletypeand Bill's explanation of how it worked.About 4 years ago a young whippersnapper Steve Schivone came along and wasfascinated by this machine and wanted to learn all about it. I mean, canyou blame him? Learning to use a working mainframe computer? Bill Dromgooletook him in as an apprentice and he learned this system in and out.A few months ago Steven met some other "young" guys who thought using andlearning about this system would be cool!So they got to thinking. "What can we do with this system?". So they made aC compiler. Not satisfied, they created a BASIC interpreter. Then theyloaded the Oregon Trail. Imagine playing that on a teletype machine on amachine used for ballistics control on a naval ship! Next up was a seriesof common BASIC programs and games like Zork. And "modern" games likeWordle. All very cool. then they were like Light Speed is too slow, let'sgo to Ridiculous Speed. So they created a Minecraft server on the machine!What an incredible and fun feat! Who would have ever thought of such athing!But ... they were not satisfied. They needed to go to Ludicrous Speed! Sothey made Doom on this machine. Yes. Doom! The thing that everyone making anew innovative system uses as a test "Does it play Doom?". I couldn'tbelieve it was possible, but I saw it with my own eyes!So when you are at VCF East, stop by the Univac found in the VintageComputer Museum and play all these fun games! VCF East runs April 17-19.The demo will run Saturday and Sunday 1PM to 3PM April 18 & 19.Take care!Jeff BraceVCF East Showrunner > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 5 > Date: Wed, 1 Apr 2026 15:55:23 -0400 > From: Bill Degnan <billdegnan(a)gmail.com> > Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] Re: Doom on the Univac 1219B! > To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> > Message-ID: > <CABGJBueHs=8tOqpD3L0qmUo1xnnuSj+4av9RXFEZPEVjLJaN-A(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" > > I for one am quite proud of everyone there. You must really have that > Teletype buzzing drawing those rooms while playing Doom. > b > > On Wed, Apr 1, 2026 at 1:53 PM drummy via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > >> Jeff gives me way too much credit for getting the Univac up and running. >> It could not have been done without Duane Craps.He is the most >> knowledgeable person on the computer and did most of the troubleshooting on >> it. We constantly consult with him on issues that we have difficulty with >> fixing.Bill DromgooleSent from my Galaxy >> -------- Original message --------From: Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < >> vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> Date: 4/1/26 7:21 AM (GMT-05:00) To: >> vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> Cc: Jeffrey Brace < >> jeffrey(a)vcfed.org> Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] Doom on the Univac 1219B! >> Yes! Can you believe it?Years ago Bill Dromgoole diagnosed, troubleshooted >> and repaired the Univac1219B that sits in the VCF museum. As far as we know >> the only one of itskind still in operation.At every VCF East for years he >> has demonstrated this machine to visitorsand lamented "I don't know what to >> demo". Everyone was happy just to see itworking, the blinking lights, the >> loud noise, the tapping of the teletypeand Bill's explanation of how it >> worked.About 4 years ago a young whippersnapper Steve Schivone came along >> and wasfascinated by this machine and wanted to learn all about it. I mean, >> canyou blame him? Learning to use a working mainframe computer? Bill >> Dromgooletook him in as an apprentice and he learned this system in and >> out.A few months ago Steven met some other "young" guys who thought using >> andlearning about this system would be cool!So they got to thinking. "What >> can we do with this system?". So they made aC compiler. Not satisfied, they >> created a BASIC interpreter. Then theyloaded the Oregon Trail. Imagine >> playing that on a teletype machine on amachine used for ballistics control >> on a naval ship! Next up was a seriesof common BASIC programs and games >> like Zork. And "modern" games likeWordle. All very cool. then they were >> like Light Speed is too slow, let'sgo to Ridiculous Speed. So they created >> a Minecraft server on the machine!What an incredible and fun feat! Who >> would have ever thought of such athing!But ... they were not satisfied. >> They needed to go to Ludicrous Speed! Sothey made Doom on this machine. >> Yes. Doom! The thing that everyone making anew innovative system uses as a >> test "Does it play Doom?". I couldn'tbelieve it was possible, but I saw it >> with my own eyes!So when you are at VCF East, stop by the Univac found in >> the VintageComputer Museum and play all these fun games! VCF East runs >> April 17-19.The demo will run Saturday and Sunday 1PM to 3PM April 18 & >> 19.Take care!Jeff BraceVCF East Showrunner > > End of vcf-midatlantic Digest, Vol 95, Issue 1 > **********************************************

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Re: vcf-midatlantic Digest, Vol 95, Issue 1
by Marcus Mera 01 Apr '26

01 Apr '26

Any one know where i can get a copy of Versawriter Software for IBM PC i found Apple2 software but the version i got is IBM PC images attached for ref Sent from my iPhone > On Apr 1, 2026, at 3:56 PM, vcf-midatlantic-request(a)lists.vcfed.org wrote: > > Send vcf-midatlantic mailing list submissions to > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via email, send a message with subject or > body 'help' to > vcf-midatlantic-request(a)lists.vcfed.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > vcf-midatlantic-owner(a)lists.vcfed.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of vcf-midatlantic digest..." > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Replica Burroughs B205 console for sale (Mike Loewen) > 2. Doom on the Univac 1219B! (Jeffrey Brace) > 3. Re: Doom on the Univac 1219B! (Jeffrey Brace) > 4. Re: Doom on the Univac 1219B! (drummy) > 5. Re: Doom on the Univac 1219B! (Bill Degnan) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Wed, 1 Apr 2026 01:40:55 -0400 (EDT) > From: Mike Loewen <mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us> > Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] Replica Burroughs B205 console for sale > To: vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org > Message-ID: > <alpine.LFD.2.21.2604010130330.16812(a)cpumagic.137clearview.org> > Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=US-ASCII > > > I recently acquired an identical pair of replica B205 control consoles, and > I wish to sell one. Pictures of the unit and a description are at: > > https://q7.neurotica.com/Prop_Console/ > > I can bring the unit to VCF East. Asking price is $700. > > > Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us > Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/ > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Wed, 1 Apr 2026 07:21:09 -0400 > From: Jeffrey Brace <jeffrey(a)vcfed.org> > Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] Doom on the Univac 1219B! > To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> > Message-ID: > <CALWfZAJPmGEJAY+4HCeVe2SLAV0_GU1Lo9P+oSG0UUQwG6sTag(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" > > Yes! Can you believe it? > Years ago Bill Dromgoole diagnosed, troubleshooted and repaired the Univac > 1219B that sits in the VCF museum. As far as we know the only one of its > kind still in operation. > > At every VCF East for years he has demonstrated this machine to visitors > and lamented "I don't know what to demo". Everyone was happy just to see it > working, the blinking lights, the loud noise, the tapping of the teletype > and Bill's explanation of how it worked. > > About 4 years ago a young whippersnapper Steve Schivone came along and was > fascinated by this machine and wanted to learn all about it. I mean, can > you blame him? Learning to use a working mainframe computer? Bill Dromgoole > took him in as an apprentice and he learned this system in and out. > A few months ago Steven met some other "young" guys who thought using and > learning about this system would be cool! > > So they got to thinking. "What can we do with this system?". So they made a > C compiler. Not satisfied, they created a BASIC interpreter. Then they > loaded the Oregon Trail. Imagine playing that on a teletype machine on a > machine used for ballistics control on a naval ship! Next up was a series > of common BASIC programs and games like Zork. And "modern" games like > Wordle. All very cool. then they were like Light Speed is too slow, let's > go to Ridiculous Speed. So they created a Minecraft server on the machine! > What an incredible and fun feat! Who would have ever thought of such a > thing! > > But ... they were not satisfied. They needed to go to Ludicrous Speed! So > they made Doom on this machine. Yes. Doom! The thing that everyone making a > new innovative system uses as a test "Does it play Doom?". I couldn't > believe it was possible, but I saw it with my own eyes! > > So when you are at VCF East, stop by the Univac found in the Vintage > Computer Museum and play all these fun games! VCF East runs April 17-19. > > The demo will run Saturday and Sunday 1PM to 3PM April 18 & 19. > > Take care! > > Jeff Brace > VCF East Showrunner > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Wed, 1 Apr 2026 13:47:53 -0400 > From: Jeffrey Brace <jeffrey(a)vcfed.org> > Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] Re: Doom on the Univac 1219B! > To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> > Message-ID: > <CALWfZAL=gFxz=UicfU722fA4AZiADG8kWDxGYEbfe9LDSiPz6w(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" > > Bill Dromgoole corrected me in that Duan Craps was a major contributor to > the understanding, repair and diagnosis of this machine. I didn't mean to > overlook his contributions. I was just focused on the new programming and > not the original repairs and diagnosis, etc. > >> On Wed, Apr 1, 2026 at 7:21 AM Jeffrey Brace <jeffrey(a)vcfed.org> wrote: >> >> Yes! Can you believe it? >> Years ago Bill Dromgoole diagnosed, troubleshooted and repaired the Univac >> 1219B that sits in the VCF museum. As far as we know the only one of its >> kind still in operation. >> >> At every VCF East for years he has demonstrated this machine to visitors >> and lamented "I don't know what to demo". Everyone was happy just to see it >> working, the blinking lights, the loud noise, the tapping of the teletype >> and Bill's explanation of how it worked. >> >> About 4 years ago a young whippersnapper Steve Schivone came along and was >> fascinated by this machine and wanted to learn all about it. I mean, can >> you blame him? Learning to use a working mainframe computer? Bill Dromgoole >> took him in as an apprentice and he learned this system in and out. >> A few months ago Steven met some other "young" guys who thought using and >> learning about this system would be cool! >> >> So they got to thinking. "What can we do with this system?". So they made >> a C compiler. Not satisfied, they created a BASIC interpreter. Then they >> loaded the Oregon Trail. Imagine playing that on a teletype machine on a >> machine used for ballistics control on a naval ship! Next up was a series >> of common BASIC programs and games like Zork. And "modern" games like >> Wordle. All very cool. then they were like Light Speed is too slow, let's >> go to Ridiculous Speed. So they created a Minecraft server on the machine! >> What an incredible and fun feat! Who would have ever thought of such a >> thing! >> >> But ... they were not satisfied. They needed to go to Ludicrous Speed! So >> they made Doom on this machine. Yes. Doom! The thing that everyone making a >> new innovative system uses as a test "Does it play Doom?". I couldn't >> believe it was possible, but I saw it with my own eyes! >> >> So when you are at VCF East, stop by the Univac found in the Vintage >> Computer Museum and play all these fun games! VCF East runs April 17-19. >> >> The demo will run Saturday and Sunday 1PM to 3PM April 18 & 19. >> >> Take care! >> >> Jeff Brace >> VCF East Showrunner >> >> >> >> >> > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 4 > Date: Wed, 01 Apr 2026 13:52:15 -0400 > From: drummy <drummy(a)comcast.net> > Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] Re: Doom on the Univac 1219B! > To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> > Message-ID: <7zjkwlMwa5h2h7zjkw2RgR.1775065946.a6d7e2cb8d43e03b3b0b8d6 > e56809fd6.MISSINGID(a)comcast.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 > > Jeff gives me way too much credit for getting the Univac up and running. It could not have been done without Duane Craps.He is the most knowledgeable person on the computer and did most of the troubleshooting on it. We constantly consult with him on issues that we have difficulty with fixing.Bill DromgooleSent from my Galaxy > -------- Original message --------From: Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> Date: 4/1/26 7:21 AM (GMT-05:00) To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> Cc: Jeffrey Brace <jeffrey(a)vcfed.org> Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] Doom on the Univac 1219B! Yes! Can you believe it?Years ago Bill Dromgoole diagnosed, troubleshooted and repaired the Univac1219B that sits in the VCF museum. As far as we know the only one of itskind still in operation.At every VCF East for years he has demonstrated this machine to visitorsand lamented "I don't know what to demo". Everyone was happy just to see itworking, the blinking lights, the loud noise, the tapping of the teletypeand Bill's explanation of how it worked.About 4 years ago a young whippersnapper Steve Schivone came along and wasfascinated by this machine and wanted to learn all about it. I mean, canyou blame him? Learning to use a working mainframe computer? Bill Dromgooletook him in as an apprentice and he learned this system in and out.A few months ago Steven met some other "young" guys who thought using andlearning about this system would be cool!So they got to thinking. "What can we do with this system?". So they made aC compiler. Not satisfied, they created a BASIC interpreter. Then theyloaded the Oregon Trail. Imagine playing that on a teletype machine on amachine used for ballistics control on a naval ship! Next up was a seriesof common BASIC programs and games like Zork. And "modern" games likeWordle. All very cool. then they were like Light Speed is too slow, let'sgo to Ridiculous Speed. So they created a Minecraft server on the machine!What an incredible and fun feat! Who would have ever thought of such athing!But ... they were not satisfied. They needed to go to Ludicrous Speed! Sothey made Doom on this machine. Yes. Doom! The thing that everyone making anew innovative system uses as a test "Does it play Doom?". I couldn'tbelieve it was possible, but I saw it with my own eyes!So when you are at VCF East, stop by the Univac found in the VintageComputer Museum and play all these fun games! VCF East runs April 17-19.The demo will run Saturday and Sunday 1PM to 3PM April 18 & 19.Take care!Jeff BraceVCF East Showrunner > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 5 > Date: Wed, 1 Apr 2026 15:55:23 -0400 > From: Bill Degnan <billdegnan(a)gmail.com> > Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] Re: Doom on the Univac 1219B! > To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> > Message-ID: > <CABGJBueHs=8tOqpD3L0qmUo1xnnuSj+4av9RXFEZPEVjLJaN-A(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" > > I for one am quite proud of everyone there. You must really have that > Teletype buzzing drawing those rooms while playing Doom. > b > > On Wed, Apr 1, 2026 at 1:53 PM drummy via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > >> Jeff gives me way too much credit for getting the Univac up and running. >> It could not have been done without Duane Craps.He is the most >> knowledgeable person on the computer and did most of the troubleshooting on >> it. We constantly consult with him on issues that we have difficulty with >> fixing.Bill DromgooleSent from my Galaxy >> -------- Original message --------From: Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < >> vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> Date: 4/1/26 7:21 AM (GMT-05:00) To: >> vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> Cc: Jeffrey Brace < >> jeffrey(a)vcfed.org> Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] Doom on the Univac 1219B! >> Yes! Can you believe it?Years ago Bill Dromgoole diagnosed, troubleshooted >> and repaired the Univac1219B that sits in the VCF museum. As far as we know >> the only one of itskind still in operation.At every VCF East for years he >> has demonstrated this machine to visitorsand lamented "I don't know what to >> demo". Everyone was happy just to see itworking, the blinking lights, the >> loud noise, the tapping of the teletypeand Bill's explanation of how it >> worked.About 4 years ago a young whippersnapper Steve Schivone came along >> and wasfascinated by this machine and wanted to learn all about it. I mean, >> canyou blame him? Learning to use a working mainframe computer? Bill >> Dromgooletook him in as an apprentice and he learned this system in and >> out.A few months ago Steven met some other "young" guys who thought using >> andlearning about this system would be cool!So they got to thinking. "What >> can we do with this system?". So they made aC compiler. Not satisfied, they >> created a BASIC interpreter. Then theyloaded the Oregon Trail. Imagine >> playing that on a teletype machine on amachine used for ballistics control >> on a naval ship! Next up was a seriesof common BASIC programs and games >> like Zork. And "modern" games likeWordle. All very cool. then they were >> like Light Speed is too slow, let'sgo to Ridiculous Speed. So they created >> a Minecraft server on the machine!What an incredible and fun feat! Who >> would have ever thought of such athing!But ... they were not satisfied. >> They needed to go to Ludicrous Speed! Sothey made Doom on this machine. >> Yes. Doom! The thing that everyone making anew innovative system uses as a >> test "Does it play Doom?". I couldn'tbelieve it was possible, but I saw it >> with my own eyes!So when you are at VCF East, stop by the Univac found in >> the VintageComputer Museum and play all these fun games! VCF East runs >> April 17-19.The demo will run Saturday and Sunday 1PM to 3PM April 18 & >> 19.Take care!Jeff BraceVCF East Showrunner > > End of vcf-midatlantic Digest, Vol 95, Issue 1 > **********************************************

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