- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Speaking of BBSes...
by Chris Fala 15 Mar '19

15 Mar '19

When I read on the web interface (Gmail) it is fine, but when I view on my iPhone, I get them as attachments. For a few other users as well. On Fri, Mar 15, 2019 at 2:29 PM Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > Eugene, sometime a few months back (perhaps it was late last year) > something changed with the list and even my own emails come back to be as a > .mime attachment. It did not used to be that way, and I did not change > anything on my end. Perhaps my .mac/iCloud service changed something, I do > not know. > > There are a handful of people on the list whose emails come through as you > describe. > > Tony > > Sent from my iPhone > > > On Mar 15, 2019, at 2:23 PM, Blake Patterson via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > > Hah, this is great. I hope it does bring the spotlight on BBS of past > (and > > present!). I am active on several boards daily, right now. The one I hit > > the most frequently is The Level 29 BBS ( bbs.foxxtexx.com ) which is > the > > official BBS of the r/Retrobattlestations subreddit. Stop in (telnet or > > dial-up)! > > > > On Fri, Mar 15, 2019 at 1:21 PM Ethan O'Toole via vcf-midatlantic < > > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > >> > >> Not trying to get into politics but from the histoical "okay that is > >> crazy..." > >> > >> It just hit the naws that one of the guys running for president who has > >> been a politician for a while (Beto O'Rourke) was actually a member of > >> cDc, Cult of the Dead Cow. This was a legendary "hacking" group that > used > >> to release a lot of t-files. He ran a BBS apparently. cDc held back this > >> knowledge for a while so as to not interfere with his career but he went > >> public with it. A book about cDc is supposed to come out. > >> > >> A whole lot of people that are not familiar with the old school hacking > >> social groups and BBSes and all of that could potentially start to hear > >> about it depending on how far the guy gets in politics. Could bring a > lot > >> of attention to 80s/90s computing and the community around it all. > >> > >> - Ethan > >> > >> > >> > >> > > > > -- > > Heisenberg may have slept here. > >

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Speaking of BBSes...
by Peter Cetinski 15 Mar '19

15 Mar '19

Might be a Mac/iOS issue as my messages seem to have the same behavior. > On Mar 15, 2019, at 2:28 PM, Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > From: Tony Bogan <thebogans(a)mac.com> > Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Speaking of BBSes... > Date: March 15, 2019 at 2:28:39 PM EDT > To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> > > > Eugene, sometime a few months back (perhaps it was late last year) something changed with the list and even my own emails come back to be as a .mime attachment. It did not used to be that way, and I did not change anything on my end. Perhaps my .mac/iCloud service changed something, I do not know. > > There are a handful of people on the list whose emails come through as you describe. > > Tony > > Sent from my iPhone > >> On Mar 15, 2019, at 2:23 PM, Blake Patterson via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: >> >> Hah, this is great. I hope it does bring the spotlight on BBS of past (and >> present!). I am active on several boards daily, right now. The one I hit >> the most frequently is The Level 29 BBS ( bbs.foxxtexx.com ) which is the >> official BBS of the r/Retrobattlestations subreddit. Stop in (telnet or >> dial-up)! >> >> On Fri, Mar 15, 2019 at 1:21 PM Ethan O'Toole via vcf-midatlantic < >> vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: >> >>> >>> Not trying to get into politics but from the histoical "okay that is >>> crazy..." >>> >>> It just hit the naws that one of the guys running for president who has >>> been a politician for a while (Beto O'Rourke) was actually a member of >>> cDc, Cult of the Dead Cow. This was a legendary "hacking" group that used >>> to release a lot of t-files. He ran a BBS apparently. cDc held back this >>> knowledge for a while so as to not interfere with his career but he went >>> public with it. A book about cDc is supposed to come out. >>> >>> A whole lot of people that are not familiar with the old school hacking >>> social groups and BBSes and all of that could potentially start to hear >>> about it depending on how far the guy gets in politics. Could bring a lot >>> of attention to 80s/90s computing and the community around it all. >>> >>> - Ethan >>> >>> >>> >>> >> >> -- >> Heisenberg may have slept here. > > >

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Speaking of BBSes...
by Ethan O'Toole 15 Mar '19

15 Mar '19

Not trying to get into politics but from the histoical "okay that is crazy..." It just hit the naws that one of the guys running for president who has been a politician for a while (Beto O'Rourke) was actually a member of cDc, Cult of the Dead Cow. This was a legendary "hacking" group that used to release a lot of t-files. He ran a BBS apparently. cDc held back this knowledge for a while so as to not interfere with his career but he went public with it. A book about cDc is supposed to come out. A whole lot of people that are not familiar with the old school hacking social groups and BBSes and all of that could potentially start to hear about it depending on how far the guy gets in politics. Could bring a lot of attention to 80s/90s computing and the community around it all. - Ethan

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Urgent! Lots more instructors needed for VCF East
by evan 15 Mar '19

15 Mar '19

>> Thought I was doing an early Mac basic cleaning and restoration class in addition to an Apple II basic cleaning and restoration.Did that change?No change. I neglected to mention that one. Will update the thread.Sent from my Sprint Samsung Galaxy S10. null

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Museum report
by Evan Koblentz 14 Mar '19

14 Mar '19

Good day! There were two groups of 15-20 middle/high school students about an hour apart. They all got full tours, were polite/well-behaved, and asked smart questions. Also a third group of three older men. I used the in-between time to install a wall-mounted arm with a 27" touchscreen monitor. It's in the 1950s/1960s aisle. Installing the arm was very easy and only took about 15 minutes. -- Evan Koblentz, executive director Vintage Computer Federation www.vcfed.org evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 VCF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] New Bare-Metal VICE for the RPi2+
by Blatboy 13 Mar '19

13 Mar '19

Oooooh. This is cool. I may have to give it a try. Thanks for the hot tip Alex! ++++++++++++++++++++++ https://jwalterhawkes.com like to know where/when I'm playing? Click here <https://jwalterhawkes.com/contact> to sign up for my list, and let the babble begin. All, > For any Commodore enthusiasts not following the discussion on Lemon64 ( > https://www.lemon64.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=70498&start=0) there is a > new bare-metal implementation of VICE for the Raspberry Pi 2+, This > project is called BMC 64 (http://accentual.com/bmc64/) and is hosted on > GitHub (https://github.com/randyrossi/bmc64) > Even though the project is only a month or so old, it is already quite > usable. I haven't had a chance to play with it, myself, but the > development of bare-metal emulation is pretty exciting, to me, as it means > that a lot of cycle-exact timing that was quite challenging, under > Raspbian/Linux can be implemented. > Has anyone else tired BMC64? > - Alex

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] VCF East flyer
by Chris Fala 12 Mar '19

12 Mar '19

Did you say "competition"? ;-) On Tue, Mar 12, 2019 at 7:30 AM Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > It looks great Andy! As Evan mentioned much of our media has been designed > by Drew, who has done great work for us. Nice someone else has stepped up > to give Drew a break!! Evan works that poor kid to the bone! ;-) > > Tony > > Sent from my iPhone > > > On Mar 11, 2019, at 10:36 PM, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > > Hmmm ... Drew is our "GOTO" designer. > > > > @Drew what do you think of Andy's creation? > > > > > >> On 3/11/19 9:12 PM, dillera(a)gmail.com wrote: > >> Hey - I love doing this stuff - so here is my re-imaginging of the > flyer: > >> > >> https://imgur.com/8ljAYnS > >> > >> -andy > >> > >> > >>> On Mar 11, 2019, at 1:26 PM, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org <mailto:vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org>> > wrote: > >>> > >>> Someone asked for an event flyer, so I made a simple one and posted it > as a PDF link via the event page at vcfed.org/vcfeast < > http://vcfed.org/vcfeast>. > >>> > >>> @Drew N. -- Feel free to make us something nice and I'll replace mine > with yours. > >>> > >>> -- > >>> Evan Koblentz, executive director > >>> Vintage Computer Federation > >>> > >>> www.vcfed.org <http://www.vcfed.org> > >>> evan(a)vcfed.org > >>> (646) 546-9999 > >>> > >>> VCF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. > > > >

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VCF East flyer
by Evan Koblentz 12 Mar '19

12 Mar '19

Someone asked for an event flyer, so I made a simple one and posted it as a PDF link via the event page at vcfed.org/vcfeast. @Drew N. -- Feel free to make us something nice and I'll replace mine with yours. -- Evan Koblentz, executive director Vintage Computer Federation www.vcfed.org evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 VCF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

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New Bare-Metal VICE for the RPi2+
by J. Alexander Jacocks 12 Mar '19

12 Mar '19

All, For any Commodore enthusiasts not following the discussion on Lemon64 ( https://www.lemon64.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=70498&start=0) there is a new bare-metal implementation of VICE for the Raspberry Pi 2+, This project is called BMC 64 (http://accentual.com/bmc64/) and is hosted on GitHub (https://github.com/randyrossi/bmc64) Even though the project is only a month or so old, it is already quite usable. I haven't had a chance to play with it, myself, but the development of bare-metal emulation is pretty exciting, to me, as it means that a lot of cycle-exact timing that was quite challenging, under Raspbian/Linux can be implemented. Has anyone else tired BMC64? - Alex

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Important, please read: Unix classes @ VCF East
by Evan Koblentz 12 Mar '19

12 Mar '19

Here is an important update about the VCF East classes for Friday, May 3. Unix track: - Unusual Unix versions: Alex Jacocks - Unix networking: Andy Diller - Unix headless booting: Stephen Edwards - SimH: David Gesswein We need one more Unix tech talk with a vintage slant. Anyone have an idea???

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Museum report
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 11 Mar '19

11 Mar '19

Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> writes: > >Interesting day! I was supposed to be at the InfoAge front desk (it was >VCF's turn), and Jeff B./Tony were supposed to co-docent in the museum, >but when I arrived there was already a radio club person at the front >desk. Some kind of scheduling mix-up, so I was off the hook. :) Jeff >went to the NASA lecture, Tony did some Apple II tech repair, and I >greeted visitors. We had a few families visit today and also some local >school administrators. What NASA lecture???

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C64 Component Video FPGA article on Hackaday
by Jeffrey Brace 10 Mar '19

10 Mar '19

https://hackaday.com/2019/03/10/component-video-for-the-commodore-64/ Also on github: https://github.com/c0pperdragon/C64-Video-Enhancement -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] HP-85 ad
by Randall Kindig 10 Mar '19

10 Mar '19

I’m going to put this out here again, since the item is still available. Is anyone headed to both VCF East and VCF Southeast that would be able to swing by and pick up the following?: https://www.ebay.com/itm/372622105057?ul_noapp=true <https://www.ebay.com/itm/372622105057?ul_noapp=true> It’s listed as pickup only. If I were going to VCF East I could probably get it, but alas I cannot. I WILL be at VCF Southeast. thanks Randy Kindig > On Mar 5, 2019, at 6:53 AM, Mike Willegal via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > From: Mike Willegal <mike(a)willegal.net> > Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] HP-85 ad > Date: March 5, 2019 at 6:53:30 AM EST > To: vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org > > > Hi Randy, > > I’m close to Burlington MA, but am not headed to VCF SE, this year. I could ship it or perhaps you find someone that is headed to both VCF east and southeast. > > Regards, > Mike Willegal > > Sent from my iPad > >> On Mar 4, 2019, at 12:00 PM, vcf-midatlantic-request(a)lists.vcfed.org wrote: >> >> [vcf-midatlantic] HP-85 ad > > >

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Museum report
by Evan Koblentz 09 Mar '19

09 Mar '19

Interesting day! I was supposed to be at the InfoAge front desk (it was VCF's turn), and Jeff B./Tony were supposed to co-docent in the museum, but when I arrived there was already a radio club person at the front desk. Some kind of scheduling mix-up, so I was off the hook. :) Jeff went to the NASA lecture, Tony did some Apple II tech repair, and I greeted visitors. We had a few families visit today and also some local school administrators. Jeff B. will be there tomorrow.

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Big Estate Sale Tomorrow in Ct
by Christian Liendo 08 Mar '19

08 Mar '19

Someone sent me this. This person had some nice stuff https://estatesales.org/estate-sales/ct/seymour/06483/vintage-computer-gami…

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WTD: PDP-11 tape drive?
by W2HX 07 Mar '19

07 Mar '19

Hi friends, I am building my first PDP-11. It is a 11/23+ It is a nice set up with 4 RL02's lots of boards, two half-height racks, spares, you name it. I would really like to get a real-to-real 9-track tape drive, the manual loading kind. I see many autoloading types but they just don't have the panache of what I used to use in the 80's and 90's at my places of work. I have been watching on ebay for a while and those few that come up seem expensive. I did locate these (not cheap but cheaper than others). https://www.ebay.com/itm/192745726868 and https://www.ebay.com/itm/264099860161 The first one says "wiltec" but I am guessing that wiltec was just the reseller. It looks very similar (if not identical) to the second one which is listed as a fujitsu M2444AC. For some reason the "wiltec" one is cheaper. It seems to have some nice connectors on the back. The fujitsu is more expensive, has rack mounting hardware (a plus) but no back connectors. It isn't obvious how to connect this to something. Also shipping for some reason, is $100 more. I found a manual to this on bitsavers (thank you to whomever did this). It says it the fujitsu has 3 modes of operation. MODE A: CDC 9218S COMPATIBLE MODE MODE B: CIPHER F880 COMPATIBLE MODE MODE C: PERTEC FSlOOO SERIES COMPATIBLE Can they be made to interface with a PDP-11 Qbus system? Anyone have any opinions on these? I should also ask if anyone has an open-real tape drive they would like to part with (preferably known working) let me know. I am in NY, willing to drive a few hours or pay for shipping. Your thoughts are appreciated. 73 Eugene W2HX

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Museum report
by Evan Koblentz 06 Mar '19

06 Mar '19

Sporadic visitors today. Best group was 10 female college students, several studying CS. I spent some time planning for new museum signs and working on VCF East stuff.

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Looking for Lomas Color Magic board
by Richard Cini 06 Mar '19

06 Mar '19

All — I’m looking for a Lomas ColorMagic S100 video board for a project related to my Gazelle. The CompuPro PC-Video might work as well. If anyone has one that they would be willing to part with, please let me know. Thanks! Rich Get Outlook for iOS<https://aka.ms/o0ukef>

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Yay for book sorting!
by Evan Koblentz 05 Mar '19

05 Mar '19

It was a trick subject line. :) Is anyone available to spend tomorrow sorting books with me in the cold warehouse?

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] HP-85 ad
by Randall Kindig 05 Mar '19

05 Mar '19

Thanks, Mike. Randy > On Mar 5, 2019, at 6:53 AM, Mike Willegal via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > From: Mike Willegal <mike(a)willegal.net> > Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] HP-85 ad > Date: March 5, 2019 at 6:53:30 AM EST > To: vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org > > > Hi Randy, > > I’m close to Burlington MA, but am not headed to VCF SE, this year. I could ship it or perhaps you find someone that is headed to both VCF east and southeast. > > Regards, > Mike Willegal > > Sent from my iPad > >> On Mar 4, 2019, at 12:00 PM, vcf-midatlantic-request(a)lists.vcfed.org wrote: >> >> [vcf-midatlantic] HP-85 ad > > >

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HP-85 ad
by Mike Willegal 05 Mar '19

05 Mar '19

Hi Randy, I’m close to Burlington MA, but am not headed to VCF SE, this year. I could ship it or perhaps you find someone that is headed to both VCF east and southeast. Regards, Mike Willegal Sent from my iPad > On Mar 4, 2019, at 12:00 PM, vcf-midatlantic-request(a)lists.vcfed.org wrote: > > [vcf-midatlantic] HP-85 ad

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VCF East - important exhibits update
by Evan Koblentz 04 Mar '19

04 Mar '19

Presently there are 9 regular exhibits and the two massive Atari/Unix exhibits. So far that's 21 exhibitors total! You procrastinators need to register soon, or risk not having a space... http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-east/vcf-east-exhib…

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Do milestones mean less as you have more of them?
by Evan Koblentz 04 Mar '19

04 Mar '19

Today I did PDP-8 chase-the-lights from the front panel "all by myself" ... last time Jeff B. and I helped each other. Feels good to use that intimidating front panel and have it work the first time without anyone watching over my shoulder for mistakes. Next time (Wednesday): paper tape! Going to try to load some programs by following DG's instructions. -- Evan Koblentz, executive director Vintage Computer Federation www.vcfed.org evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 VCF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

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C64 Thermal paste & heat sinks
by Jeffrey Brace 04 Mar '19

04 Mar '19

Many have recommended that I get thermal paste or heat sinks for my C64 chips. I'm thinking about getting some heat sink as long as I can label what the chip is. Because when I put paste or a heat sink on it, then I don't know what kind of chip is underneath. And as many of you know, there are so many board variations of the C64 motherboard. The chips are put in different places. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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HP-85 ad
by Randall Kindig 03 Mar '19

03 Mar '19

Hey, is anyone near Burlington, MA and is coming to VCFSE? This guy has some HP-85 stuff I’d really like to have but he has local pickup only and Indiana is a long way from there. https://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-85-computer-accessories-ie-shoulde-bag-manuals-… <https://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-85-computer-accessories-ie-shoulde-bag-manuals-…> Randy

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Is there a RTC for a PDP-11?
by Richard Cini 03 Mar '19

03 Mar '19

Ok, this might be a stupid question, but is there an eqivalent of a battery-backed time-of-day clock on the PDP-11? I know that it has a LTC signal on the bus which gives basic timing, and RT-11 has both date and time commands which aren’t retained through power cycles. It reminds me of the early PCs when there was no real TOD clock board. I found an M7952 real time clock board, but that looks more like an interval timer board. I also found the M4002 board but that seems like the same thing. Thanks! Get Outlook for iOS<https://aka.ms/o0ukef>

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Museum report
by Evan Koblentz 02 Mar '19

02 Mar '19

Busy day! Lots of visitors, including two boys around 9 years old who were both smart and inquisitive. One of them knew a lot about computer history and bought a C-64 after attending VCF East last year. Martin and Neil reconfigured our server. Before, it was standard Ubuntu and gave static IPs. Now, it boots to a PFsense firewall and gives dynamic IPs. The next time Martin is free (probably a couple of weeks from now), he's going to replace our access point with a newer model. I thought ours was new but he said nope, it was only new to us -- turns out it's a 12-year-old unit. Also next time, we'll start cabling the security cameras which were installed on the ceiling last time.

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Looking to borrow a miniscribe
by Jason Perkins 02 Mar '19

02 Mar '19

Hello, Does anyone haved a ~40 mb miniscribe hard drive, with the stepper on the side, that isn’t working that well? I’m looking for one with gummy bearings in the stepper for a demonstration. But I’ve fixed all of mine... Thanks! -J -- Jason Perkins 313 355 0085 Sent from my iPhone

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OT: Free Soldering Iron, with a catch
by Chris Fala 28 Feb '19

28 Feb '19

Due to an error by the supplier, I received the wrong item when placing an online order and ended up with two soldering irons that I can't use. I can't use them because they are 220V and have a European plug. https://www.banggood.com/Mustool-MT223-60W-Adjustable-Temperature-Electric-… Is anyone interested in taking them off my hands? If so, I can bring them to VCF East or one of the workshops at InfoAge. I just figured that I would ask before I threw them in the trash (which I hate). Chris

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Saw this on ebay
by Sentry TV 27 Feb '19

27 Feb '19

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Museum report
by Evan Koblentz 27 Feb '19

27 Feb '19

Only three groups of visitors today, but they were all very interested and stayed for full-ish tours. That's a pleasant surprise for a Wednesday during the school year.

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Anyone in/near Boston coming to the next workshop?
by Ian Primus 27 Feb '19

27 Feb '19

Trying to find an effective way to get something from the Boston area (not a huge thing) - anyone coming from that direction to a future workshop? -Ian

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Need Camera operators for VCF East 2019
by Jeffrey Brace 26 Feb '19

26 Feb '19

I am looking for volunteers to operate the cameras at the Friday classes. Please e-mail me privately if you are interested. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] C64 Replacement chips
by Blatboy 26 Feb '19

26 Feb '19

I have one of those. You can get them on Ebay here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Commodore-64-C64-SX64-U17-PLA-Replacement-906114-0… I still haven't installed it. It's in my studio here...somewhere. Ahem. ++++++++++++++++++++++ https://jwalterhawkes.com like to know where/when I'm playing? Click here <https://jwalterhawkes.com/contact> to sign up for my list, and let the babble begin. > > Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2019 14:55:02 -0500 > From: Bill Dromgoole <drummy(a)comcast.net> > To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> > Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] C64 Replacement chips > Message-ID: > <mailman.42.1551114003.26275.vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > Haven?t tried this but it looks interesting. > http://www.melon64.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2370 >

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Cool -- Bill Gates...
by Evan Koblentz 26 Feb '19

26 Feb '19

Bill Gates did a Reddit AMA and was asked what TV shows he likes to watch. He said he liked The Americans. Most of the vintage computers on that show came from us. :) https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/aunv58/im_bill_gates_cochair_of_the_… -- Evan Koblentz, executive director Vintage Computer Federation www.vcfed.org evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 VCF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

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MOS LSI chips time frame
by Ben Greenfield 26 Feb '19

26 Feb '19

Hey All, I’m doing some research on North American Aviation/Autonetics artifacts and while researching simply Metal Oxide Semiconductor or MOS. Here are some image artifacts https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0YG4TcsmGWIVSf <https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0YG4TcsmGWIVSf> So the text on the back of the sales package clearly references anticipating the possibilities 1968 will bring. I was searching MOS LSI and of course I find exhibit “A” for the problems of claiming first in technology development. http://firstmicroprocessor.com I was hoping some one could comment on the development of MOS processeses in general to give me context. I also wanted to share what I think are some pretty cool artifacts. Thanks, Ben

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Warehouse fun
by Stephen A Edwards 25 Feb '19

25 Feb '19

Thanks, again, Evan, for the fun at the warehouse last Thursday. As a neat freak with a love of vintage computer stuff, it was nearly perfect for me. There is a *lot* of stuff in the warehouse, but lots of it isn't museum quality and really shouldn't be there (how many broken TI-99/4a's does anybody really need?). It was extremely satisfying sorting out the wheat from the chaff and organizing things into standard boxes on standard shelves and away from the random, waterlogged boxes people donated things in. All in all, this was a great experience. I highly recommend it if you can make the time (I happened to be in the neighborhood, which almost never happens) and enjoy reducing entropy while getting a history lesson. The OCD part of me loved starting with a bunch of teetering piles of mismatched boxes on the floor and ending with all the boxes gone and replaced with newly assembled rolling shelving units. Speaking of which, I just bought a couple for myself. Also: consider what needs to happen when you donate something. Someone needs to sort through it, decide what, if anything, is worth keeping, and then figure out where to file it. If you really want to be generous, do some of that sorting yourself before you donate it. For example, floppies with personal data (e.g., pirated software) on them really aren't something anybody's interested in.

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OT: Still available: Chromebook free to good home
by Evan Koblentz 25 Feb '19

25 Feb '19

Nobody claimed this, so I'm posting on Facebook too. Still available until stated otherwise. On Sat, Feb 23, 2019, 7:13 PM Evan Koblentz <evan(a)vcfed.org> wrote: > Two people here in the group chipped in and gifted me a new Chromebook > that can run Linux and Android apps (nifty!), so I'm paying it forward: my > old (2014) Chromebook should go to a good home. It works perfectly; it's > just slightly less capable. Lightweight, awesome battery life, closest > thing that exists today to a Tandy Model 100. One request: I want it to go > to someone who needs it, not just someone who is curious about them but has > plenty of resources. > > Email me off-list. > >

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free: "vintage" Sony Vaio laptop
by William Dudley 24 Feb '19

24 Feb '19

I have a Sony Vaio PCG-818. It's from about 1998, and has the following spec: Pentium II 300MHz 13.3" 1024x768 LCD 192MB RAM (the maximum that it will take) 500MB hard disk (a replacement for the original 6GB drive). 2 PCMCIA slots, one USB port, and modem but no other networking. serial, parallel, and VGA ports DVD-ROM drive. This isn't the original drive; I may have the original drive in my stash. comes with (dead) battery, 19V brick power supply. If you want/need, I can throw in a PCMCIA Ethernet interface. The computer currently boots into a version of "DSL", Damn Small Linux. Unfortunately, it's such old software that the web browser can't view most web sites, as it doesn't support https. I'm offering this as-is in case anyone collects old x86 machines or old laptops. The computer is in Jackson, NJ. I can ship or I can bring it to VCF East. Bill Dudley This email is free of malware because I run Linux.

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C64 Replacement chips
by Jeffrey Brace 24 Feb '19

24 Feb '19

There was some discussion at the last workshop about places to find replacement chips for C64, but no one posted any of them to the workshop wrap-up report thread. So where can I get replacement PLAs? Someone mentioned that there are new ones being made. Also RAM chips for C64. Any other generic chips that can be purchase inexpensively? I already know where to find VIC and SID, which I believe you can only replace with originals. I have gotten some from eBay. Of course I can do my own search through eBay etc., so I'm looking for recommendations for good places and warnings against ordering from bad places. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Looking for “modem lights” program
by Richard Cini 24 Feb '19

24 Feb '19

Guys — I have my 11/23 working with an emulated TU58 connected to a serial port. Does any one know of a port activity indicator program for the Windows system tray? Long ago, you remember, when using a modem there was the little modem icon with red/green LEDs. I’m looking for that to monitor the serial port. I found one shareware program but it only shows the status of the handshaking signals and not RX/TX. Thanks! Rich Get Outlook for iOS<https://aka.ms/o0ukef>

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VCF East -- Sunday keynote speaker :)
by Evan Koblentz 23 Feb '19

23 Feb '19

VCF East keynote lineup is all set: - Friday, May 3: Steve Bellovin, whose work led to USENET - Saturday, May 4: Ken Thompson, co-inventor of Unix - Sunday, May 5: Joe Decuir, co-inventor the Atari VCS, Atari 800, and Commodore Amiga <grunt>Evan do good?</grunt? -- Evan Koblentz, executive director Vintage Computer Federation www.vcfed.org evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 VCF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

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Security camera installation underway / Museum report (Saturday)
by Evan Koblentz 23 Feb '19

23 Feb '19

Yesterday was a good one for us. Martin and Neil installed four dome-style security cameras on our museum ceiling. We may install two more to get clearer images of the long aisles. They worked a full day from about 9AM through 5PM. Martin tested the cameras on a bench before installing them. Neil and I put an observation monitor on the side of the network rack facing the docent's desk. Dan J. also helped with the monitor by using CDL's drill press to create some cable management in one of the rack side panels. :) That monitor will display live video from each camera in a separate window. This was part 1 of the camera installation. Part 2 will happen on Saturday, March 2, when we run all the cabling (it's PoE) through the attic. Martin will also revamp our main Cisco switch configuration. (There is a temporary switch sitting on top of the rack. We used it for testing. That's going away.) Part 3, schedule TBD, will be installation of a network video recorder. Our goal is to record whenever we're open to the public and also whenever it senses motion during non-open hours. We also had about 15 visitors in several groups yesterday. They all seemed to be very interested. Jeff B. pointed out today that I didn't sweep up the sawdust from when we drilled holes for the camera mounts ... sorry man. My mistake.

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Museum report
by Evan Koblentz 23 Feb '19

23 Feb '19

Quiet-ish day at the museum. We had four groups of visitors, all families with moderate interest. I cleaned the workbench and moved some miscellaneous things to the warehouse. -- Evan Koblentz, executive director Vintage Computer Federation www.vcfed.org evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 VCF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Last call for Group Unix Exhibit
by Kenneth Seefried 23 Feb '19

23 Feb '19

From: Andrew Diller <dillera(a)gmail.com> > I recall reading that the Atari SVR5 required a special monitor - or am I > mixing that up with the Amiga SVR5 UNIX? There was no Atari or Amiga SVR5. SVR5 was an SCO thing on x86. You're thinking of SVR4. KJ

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OT: Chromebook free to good home
by Evan Koblentz 23 Feb '19

23 Feb '19

Two people here in the group chipped in and gifted me a new Chromebook that can run Linux and Android apps (nifty!), so I'm paying it forward: my old (2014) Chromebook should go to a good home. It works perfectly; it's just slightly less capable. Lightweight, awesome battery life, closest thing that exists today to a Tandy Model 100. One request: I want it to go to someone who needs it, not just someone who is curious about them but has plenty of resources. Email me off-list.

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Silverball Arcade - VCF East 2019 after Saturday dinner
by Jeffrey Brace 22 Feb '19

22 Feb '19

I'm organizing a group that want to go to the silverball arcade for an hour after the Saturday dinner. I've arranged for a 20% discount if we get a group of 10 or more people. We will meet at around 9:15pm on 5/4 after the Saturday dinner. If you are interested, then send me a private email. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Last call for Group Unix Exhibit
by dillera＠gmail.com 22 Feb '19

22 Feb '19

Hello - if you are interested in being part of a group Unix Exhibit with linked tables please put some info in this sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1A1z62SaxF6IrwkiFUVIxcjxWOmWrcvLxDJK… <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1A1z62SaxF6IrwkiFUVIxcjxWOmWrcvLxDJK…> I'll be getting tables at the end of this week and we'll need your info if you want to be involved in this group. thanks, -andy diller

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Warehouse report
by Evan Koblentz 22 Feb '19

22 Feb '19

Steve Edwards and I did warehouse work for about 4 solid hours this afternoon/evening. We continued the book-paring project. We cleared off two or three full pallets of book boxes, divided the contents into keep vs. sell piles, and tossed a few that were in poor condition. The sell pile is for VCF East, but workshop attendees are welcome to first dibs. (These are different than the books that remained after Festivus: we recently sold those in bulk to a single party.) We consolidated the 'keep' books into standard-size boxes and put them all onto the usual warehouse shelving. Results: lots of newly cleared floor space!!! For the next book-sorting session, it will be much easier to work without a bunch of stuff in the way. All told, I estimate that we pared the book collection by about 30-40 boxes since we started this project a while ago, and there's still a lot more to go. -- Evan Koblentz, executive director Vintage Computer Federation www.vcfed.org evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 VCF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Last call for Group Unix Exhibit
by Ethan Dicks 21 Feb '19

21 Feb '19

On Thu, Feb 21, 2019 at 12:29 PM Brian L. Stuart via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > I haven't really decided for sure about what I want to > exhibit this year. One option I've been considering is > to set up one of Oscar's PiDP-11 model PDP-11/70s > running 6ed UNIX to show some about early UNIX. > Would there be interest in such an exhibit and would > it be welcome in the group UNIX Exhibi Let me preface my answer by saying that I've been Oscar's neighbor at VCF East and VCF Midwest, I built a PiDP-8, I helped with refining the toggle switch design on the PiDP-11, and I have a PiDP-11 enroute right now. That said, I think an early UNIX is a good idea but I'm less sold on doing it by means of simulation. Here's a list of supported hardware for 5th ed forward https://minnie.tuhs.org/PUPS/pupsfaq.html#pdp_versions If I had a known-good Unibus PDP-11, I'd seriously consider putting together my own 1970s UNIX box, but I'm still in the middle of going through a pile of PDP-11/04 and PDP-11/34 hardware and haven't yet gotten past what seems to be a slightly-broken BA-11L/front panel situation. I don't happen to have an 11/40 or 11/45 and an 11/70 won't fit in my Saturn wagon (newer stuff like an 11/23 is much easier to put together) My own goal has been for a while to show PDP-11 UNIX on early hardware for the 50th anniversary of UNIX on the PDP-11 (this year is the anniversary on the PDP-7). My target is 1st ed/2nd ed UNIX (as preserved by Warren Toomey) on an 11/20, which will take some additional time to restore and is out of scope for this year. The biggest hurdle for anything pre-7th ed is disk. Later UNIX editions (v7, 2.9BSD, 2.11BSD...) support 1980s disks like the RL02 or MSCP which are far, far easier to keep running. If someone wanted to put together an 11/34 w/128Kw (preferably with FP11-A floating point) and an RK11/RK05, that might make a viable v6 platform. I have all that gear but am hesitant to promise I can ensure it's all 100% functional by May. I can do it down the road but the time is tight right now. Keeping desktop-sized stuff running is a lot easier than big boxes. The time required does not scale linearly. So, yes, I think it would be great to have early UNIX but I'm in it for the hardware. -ethan

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