- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

Museum Report 2018-10-07
by Jeffrey Brace 07 Oct '18

07 Oct '18

A light number of moderate level visitors due to the nice weather today. Worked on some warehouse organization, testing out some C64 networking game and preparing the C64 game: "The Bear Essentials" for Festivus. Also filled up the tires on The Radio Flyer, there was very little tire pressure. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT - Whiz Kids
by Ken 07 Oct '18

07 Oct '18

I watched them when they appeared on youtube a couple of years ago. I'm bewildered I'd never even heard of it before then. A sometimes tediously acted show, but all the vintage tech is great! Like: https://youtu.be/gz2DVPxEIS4?t=1m59s - Ken At 10/7/2018 03:42 PM, Christian Liendo via vcf-midatlantic wrote: >That one is probably better than mine. My version is terrible, I got it at >comic con > >On Sun, Oct 7, 2018 at 12:24 PM Martin Flynn via vcf-midatlantic < >vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > >> This the item in question? I was considering buying a copy: >> >> https://www.retrotvmemories.com/products/kids-whiz-kids-dvd-series-complete… >> >> >> On 10/7/2018 12:06 PM, Ethan O'Toole via vcf-midatlantic wrote: >> >> So I picked up a DVD collection of the TV show Whiz Kids. It's not a >> >> good >> >> copy. Actually it's a terrible copy. but if you guys want me to bring >> >> it to >> >> festivus let me know

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Rusty/weathered Commodore 64C restoration video
by Neil Cherry 05 Oct '18

05 Oct '18

On 10/05/2018 09:57 AM, Ken via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > The thing looks in awful shape, full of ants, corroded, and somehow it still works (plays a demo at the end) after minor cleaning: > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVphFkaX1gg And he used 1500 grit sand paper to clean the chip pins (cringe). Otherwise not bas. -- Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry(a)linuxha.com http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies

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Rusty/weathered Commodore 64C restoration video
by Ken 05 Oct '18

05 Oct '18

The thing looks in awful shape, full of ants, corroded, and somehow it still works (plays a demo at the end) after minor cleaning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVphFkaX1gg - Ken

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Festivus 2018 - Dec. 1 & 2 - Signup
by Jeffrey Brace 04 Oct '18

04 Oct '18

Festivus is less than two months away. It's the most joyest time of the year when all the vintage computers nerds gather to eat, drink, play video games and be merry! Festivus will be in the same place as last year 9010-D (Sandy recovery area). Start time will be around 10am Sat. Dec.1 and end around 5pm Sun. Dec. 2. But as always Saturday night is the busiest time. Here is the signup list: < https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CYLtFeyBlKwX7h2ohfXz421hFQjZTPPAkdV… > Here is a map of where to park: <https://drive.google.com/open?id=1i_2cgAqnjub4rYE922Cwki38Nsdt8cp_> I will be looking for docents to cover the hours of 12 to 5pm Saturday and Sunday because the holiday train show brings in lots of people: < https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1yyENBp9Oi2Cudkns4X9ssZc2usaGRYHQmbv… > -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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"falter's" OSI C1P...
by William Sudbrink 04 Oct '18

04 Oct '18

In case someone knows him or posts on the VCFED forums (I hate web interface stuff, but that's another topic). Anyway, he almost certainly has a duff 2114 causing the load error. The chip itself may be bad or it may be a socket issue. Bill S. --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OFF TOPIC: cheap HP Chromebooks available
by Jason Perkins 04 Oct '18

04 Oct '18

I've used these machines, they are quite nice. The screen doesn't have the best viewing angle, but the keyboard is OK and it has a Synaptics touchpad that works great. They're also light, and fanless. The amazing thing is they were around $200 new! I'm actually using the PC version of this, loaded with CloudReady to get ChromeOS. For light browsing / email, etc, they work great. -J On Wed, Oct 3, 2018 at 5:44 PM Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > Mike R > Just say where to pick up > Weekend would be good > > Sent from: > My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > > > On Oct 3, 2018, at 5:29 PM, William Dudley via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > > I'm hooked up with a private school that is "getting rid" of > approximately > > 100 > > HP Chromebooks. Model is 11-p010nr so you can google the specs, but > > the short version is: Intel CPU, 32G solid state drive, I assume > ChromeOS. > > > > We've offered the school $10 each for these. > > > > I just want to save them from the landfill. This summer the same school > put > > a bunch of recent laptops in a dumpster, which I didn't find out about > until > > later. I have gotten laptops from them before at similar prices, but > never > > in > > enough quantity that it was challenging to get rid of them. > > > > I will sell them at cost, plus shipping if you're not local to I-195 > > corridor in NJ. > > > > Email me off list if interested. > > > > wfdudley(a)gmail.com > > > > Bill Dudley > > (who has donated a few things to the museum over the years) > > -- Jason Perkins 313 355 0085

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Help me evaluate the Epson and Tandy computers
by Evan Koblentz 03 Oct '18

03 Oct '18

VCF has too many Epson microcomputers and possibly too much Tandy hardware also. We need someone to spend a day here (in the next few weeks, but sooner is better) and show me what we should keep vs. what should go out. Volunteers?

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OFF TOPIC: cheap HP Chromebooks available
by William Dudley 03 Oct '18

03 Oct '18

I'm hooked up with a private school that is "getting rid" of approximately 100 HP Chromebooks. Model is 11-p010nr so you can google the specs, but the short version is: Intel CPU, 32G solid state drive, I assume ChromeOS. We've offered the school $10 each for these. I just want to save them from the landfill. This summer the same school put a bunch of recent laptops in a dumpster, which I didn't find out about until later. I have gotten laptops from them before at similar prices, but never in enough quantity that it was challenging to get rid of them. I will sell them at cost, plus shipping if you're not local to I-195 corridor in NJ. Email me off list if interested. wfdudley(a)gmail.com Bill Dudley (who has donated a few things to the museum over the years)

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Small rescue needed in southern New Hampshire
by Evan Koblentz 02 Oct '18

02 Oct '18

There's an original Compaq Deskpro 8086 for us in Peterborough, New Hampshire. The owner does not have the experience to pack it (especially the CRT) and I've heard a lot of horror stories about broken monitors in shipping lately. Can anyone pick up the system?

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Someone buy this for us...
by Evan Koblentz 02 Oct '18

02 Oct '18

There is a nice set of 1968 Army data processing books on eBay, item #302856293921. Can someone buy these for the museum?

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Slightly OT: Eudora 7.1 source code was released!
by Bill Degnan 02 Oct '18

02 Oct '18

> > At 10/2/2018 01:50 PM, Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > > I use Eudora 7.1 now on my work PC. I would love to participate in any > beta testing. > > > Alas, there's nothing to test. Someone has to figure out how to restore > the missing pieces and get the build environment working again. > > - Ken > > > With my working version it may help someone, if anyone wants a copy and it's not already available. I have the sentence case, toggle case, upper/lower case toggle, etc. installed. I only use it for work, not things like this mailing list. Bill

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Slightly OT: Eudora 7.1 source code was released!
by Drew Notarnicola 02 Oct '18

02 Oct '18

On Tue, Oct 2, 2018 at 4:00 PM Ken via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > if a judgment is made by the developer when implementing a particular > feature within the program, and there exists a reasonable expectation that > a user may differ in that decision, then there should be a setting that > allows the user to change that behavior. > Wow! What a concept! Seriously, why can't all software do this? (Looking at you, Apple.)

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Slightly OT: Eudora 7.1 source code was released!
by Ken 02 Oct '18

02 Oct '18

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Slightly OT: Eudora 7.1 source code was released!
by David Riley 02 Oct '18

02 Oct '18

> On Oct 2, 2018, at 1:41 PM, Ken via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > I suspect I'm not the only person in the group who has big Eudora love. (Am I the only person in the group who still uses it?) Ha! I still actually run Eudora Internet Mail Server on a Mac LC III (there's actually a good reason for that). > Anyway, it's been a great fantasy among us masses of Eudora hold-outs that the source would finally be released and then that somebody would manage to update this never-yet-surpassed email tool that was abandoned 12 years ago. We've seen many replacement projects begun and failed, including one by the original Eudora authors. > > I somehow missed the May 2018 announcement that the Computer History Museum acquired the source code and full rights to the final version of Eudora. The catch is that many of the third-party libraries are excluded, so they'd need to be reimplemented. And another catch is that it used custom-modified MFC extensions, but they did get the source code for that. > > Anyway, here's the announcement (and link to the 458mb of source code), for you to drool over: > http://www.computerhistory.org/atchm/the-eudora-email-client-source-code/ Glad they released the Mac version too, it was such a wonderful, efficient mail client. Nice also to see Grady Booch and Steve Jasik mentioned in the "thanks" section! - Dave

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Slightly OT: Eudora 7.1 source code was released!
by Jeffrey Brace 02 Oct '18

02 Oct '18

I loved it in college 91-96 and afterwards for a few years. Easy to use. Efficient. Easy to organize emails etc. On Tue, Oct 2, 2018 at 1:42 PM Ken via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > I suspect I'm not the only person in the group who has big Eudora love. > (Am I the only person in the group who still uses it?) > > Anyway, it's been a great fantasy among us masses of Eudora hold-outs that > the source would finally be released and then that somebody would manage to > update this never-yet-surpassed email tool that was abandoned 12 years > ago. We've seen many replacement projects begun and failed, including one > by the original Eudora authors. > > I somehow missed the May 2018 announcement that the Computer History > Museum acquired the source code and full rights to the final version of > Eudora. The catch is that many of the third-party libraries are excluded, > so they'd need to be reimplemented. And another catch is that it used > custom-modified MFC extensions, but they did get the source code for that. > > Anyway, here's the announcement (and link to the 458mb of source code), > for you to drool over: > http://www.computerhistory.org/atchm/the-eudora-email-client-source-code/ > > Truly one of the greatest pieces of software ever written. > > - Ken > (written on a patched copy of Eudora) > > -- ======================================================= Jeff Brace =======================================================

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Slightly OT: Eudora 7.1 source code was released!
by Evan Koblentz 02 Oct '18

02 Oct '18

> Truly one of the greatest pieces of software ever written. What's great about it? I used (unknown version) in college but I don't remember much about it.

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Slightly OT: Eudora 7.1 source code was released!
by Ken 02 Oct '18

02 Oct '18

I suspect I'm not the only person in the group who has big Eudora love. (Am I the only person in the group who still uses it?) Anyway, it's been a great fantasy among us masses of Eudora hold-outs that the source would finally be released and then that somebody would manage to update this never-yet-surpassed email tool that was abandoned 12 years ago. We've seen many replacement projects begun and failed, including one by the original Eudora authors. I somehow missed the May 2018 announcement that the Computer History Museum acquired the source code and full rights to the final version of Eudora. The catch is that many of the third-party libraries are excluded, so they'd need to be reimplemented. And another catch is that it used custom-modified MFC extensions, but they did get the source code for that. Anyway, here's the announcement (and link to the 458mb of source code), for you to drool over: http://www.computerhistory.org/atchm/the-eudora-email-client-source-code/ Truly one of the greatest pieces of software ever written. - Ken (written on a patched copy of Eudora)

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6502 bench
by Bill Degnan 01 Oct '18

01 Oct '18

For you 6502 heads out there 6502bench.com <https://t.co/1vgKDtWSDL>

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Vote! Re: Gathering for Dan
by Evan Koblentz 30 Sep '18

30 Sep '18

We haven't done anything because not enough people replied. There are two full months between now and Festivus. I see two realistic possibilities: we could meet at a restaurant someplace central-ish (mid/late October), or simply honor him as part of Festivus (early December) -- he was sad that he couldn't go last year.) https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/XW53NHS Voting will be open until early next week.

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OT: Looking for a Software Developer position in the Monmouth County, NJ area
by Bryan Pope 29 Sep '18

29 Sep '18

Good afternoon all, I have been a member of the VCF since before it was MARCH and lived in the New Jersey area from 2002 - 2012. After attending this past VCF East, it reminded me how much I missed InfoAge, the computer museum and especially all of the people I knew and how much it was all a part of me. Now I would like to move back to the Monmouth County area to be with my friends, make new ones and do what I can at InfoAge and the computer museum. So would anyone know of companies in the area that are looking for Software Developers? Here are the basics of my recent experience/education: - 2.5 years using C#/Javascript/PHP/MySQL, used Kanban/Agile methodology - 2015 received Honors Diploma for a Video Game Design & Development course with a 4.0 GPA (also received the Excellence Award) - This included Unity/C#, Javascript, DirectX, C++, Java, Math and Physics - 8 years C programming under QNX Thank-you all in advance for anything you can do to help me make this a reality! Bryan Pope

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Looking to borrow two DEC boards for troubleshooting
by Richard Cini 29 Sep '18

29 Sep '18

Does anyone have an M7270 (LSI-11) and/or an M8043 (DLV11-J) that I can borrow for troubleshooting my Heath H-11 machine? If so, please let me know off list. Thanks! Get Outlook for iOS<https://aka.ms/o0ukef>

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Museum report
by Evan Koblentz 27 Sep '18

27 Sep '18

I was at the museum yesterday and today. IA was open special today because the tradition in the local Hasidic community (Lakewood, NJ, which is close to InfoAge) seems to be that they all bring their families to visit. It happened last year and this year too. We had about 100 people combined yesterday and today, all families.

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ReActiveMicro - Project: HDMI Adapter
by Henry S. Courbis 27 Sep '18

27 Sep '18

Hello everyone! If you follow the ReActiveMicro facebook page or site blog you may be aware of our Retro HDMI Adapter project. The concept has grown from the need of a total HDMI solution for the Apple II, however we plan to cover the rest of the retro systems out there in one well designed external adapter. The Adapter is planned to be SBC linux based and open source. Currently on the linux side of things I could use some help and I would like to try and keep things within the Retro Community. Yes, this is a paying gig if that helps motivate someone to help. We currently have a display program which runs on the SBC side and handels the incoming data stream from a custom video input adapter board. However it's slow and needs a rewrite by someone who has some time and experience so I can continue with proof of concept testing. The idea with using a SBC is we can tap in to the GPU and OpenCL. So experience with linux, video, and OpenCL is probably a good idea. However I don't mind working with intermediate users looking to hone their skills. Anyone willing to help can contact me off thread to discuss details. I will send our current sample program for code review, and a data stream capture to help base the new program on. Don't need anything fancy. Just a simple but efficient and fast program we can edit when needed as the data stream changes. Thanks! Henry S. Courbis Office Toll Free: (800) REACTIVE (732-2848) Office/Mobile Direct: (856) 779-1900 www.ReActiveMicro.com <http://www.ReactiveMicro.com> - Sales, Support, and News, Our Headquarters on the Internet ReActiveMicro.com/wiki - Support, Software, Manuals, and History. Create your own page today! Facebook.com/reactivemicrousa - Our Social Media Outlet and Support

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Fwd: Floating point math in FORTRAN IV on PDP-8
by Kyle Owen 27 Sep '18

27 Sep '18

On Sat, Sep 22, 2018 at 11:38 AM David Gesswein via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > On Sat, Sep 22, 2018 at 10:40:34AM -0500, Kyle Owen via vcf-midatlantic > wrote: > > I sent this over to cctalk and haven't found a taker to try out my > FORTRAN > > code on another PDP-8 yet. Might any of you be able to try this out? > > > Should be able to next week if nobody else does first. > Thank you! > > > I tried running a simple program to print some natural logs and square > > roots, which ran quite well with the FPP8/A in place. > > > > Without the FPP8/A...all of the results were wrong. Significantly. > Negative > > numbers in many cases. No clear pattern as to what it's doing. > > > Are you are recompiling each time and not using a save file? The save file > is only valid for the configuration it was built on. > Yes, recompiling each time. > > > Would anyone be able to try my program on some other real hardware (or > > another emulator) to verify? With and without EAE would also be > desirable. > > I'm not sure how to disable the EAE in SIMH, else I'd try that too. > > > set cpu noeae > Ahh...excellent. Thanks! Kyle

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Vice News September 25th 2018
by alan＠alanlee.org 27 Sep '18

27 Sep '18

(cross-posed to cctalk, vcf-midatlantic, and AHCS lists) Imagine my surprise when I was catching up on my daily Vice News diet today - watching today's and yesterday's episodes - when VCF Mid-Atlantics's own Corey Cohen, InfoAge, and a VCFed banner popped up! They did a story on an auction house and verification of an original Apple 1 board up for sale. They called on Corey and his expertise to verify the condition of the board! Way to go Corey! If you want to check out the segment, I've hosted it here: https://www.atlhcs.org/links/Vice_Apple_Auction.ts Enjoy! -Alan H.

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Commodore Monitor needed to borrow Oct. 6 in San Francisco Area
by Jeffrey Brace 25 Sep '18

25 Sep '18

Friend of VCF Leif Bloomquist needs to borrow a monitor to show off his 6502 assembly Networking code. He has been invited to give a talk at GitHub HQ in San Francisco about coding network games for the Commodore 64! If you have a Commodore 1702 monitor that would be great, but any model would do. Send me a private message if you or someone you know can accommodate him. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Small rescue needed in DC area (Fairfax / Tysons Corner)
by Evan Koblentz 25 Sep '18

25 Sep '18

Need someone to do a microcomputer-sized rescue for the museum in the next week or two. Contact me off-list.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Anyone have a spare PCjr TV adapter?
by corey cohen 25 Sep '18

25 Sep '18

> On Sep 25, 2018, at 12:38 PM, Jeffrey Golas <jeffg(a)junknet.net> wrote: > > I had a new in box one somewhere. > > Jeff Awesome if you can find it. corey cohen uǝɥoɔ ʎǝɹoɔ Mobile: +1 917 747 1408 Sent from my iPhone

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Anyone have a spare PCjr TV adapter?
by corey cohen 25 Sep '18

25 Sep '18

And no chuckles keyboard jokes please.... Thanks, Corey corey cohen uǝɥoɔ ʎǝɹoɔ Mobile: +1 917 747 1408 Sent from my iPhone

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Anyone have a spare PCjr TV adapter?
by Jeffrey Golas 25 Sep '18

25 Sep '18

I had a new in box one somewhere. Jeff

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Maker Faire
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 25 Sep '18

25 Sep '18

Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> writes: > >>> What was the dry ice for? > >It goes in the cooler under regular ice. We brought a case of water and >some soda. OK. I usually get dry ice when I transport homemade ice cream to events. I can uaually get away with simple ice for keeping drinks cold.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Maker Faire
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 25 Sep '18

25 Sep '18

Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> writes: > >World Maker Faire was as awesome as it is every year. > >Corey, Jeff B., me, and Corey's son/sister all helped at the VCF booth. > >Here's a video and some pictures taken by Jeff: > >https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K6YqRYdXWyYUCetOZNhtzAJwoy0BtLmv/view?usp=… > >As always, we saw other members of this group; many friends-of-VCF; >Brian from Hackaday; people who remembered us from other events; tons of >people who were astonished to see the machines of their childhood >up-and-running; and a few offers of potentially interesting donations. > >Our booth was filled with visitors almost the entire time. I really wanted to get there again this year. I wanted to see the VCF display and to speak with the guys at Magnitude.IO too, but I couldn't due to a family gathering. >Everything was great until 10 minutes before closing time Sunday night, >when I DROPPED MY LEGO ROBOT ON THE PAVEMENT .... "disassemble". Good >thing it happened at the end of day two, not the start of day one! Now I >get to make a new one. > >Special thanks to Jeff for driving and Dean for providing a cooler + dry >ice. What was the dry ice for?

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Maker Faire
by Evan Koblentz 24 Sep '18

24 Sep '18

World Maker Faire was as awesome as it is every year. Corey, Jeff B., me, and Corey's son/sister all helped at the VCF booth. Here's a video and some pictures taken by Jeff: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K6YqRYdXWyYUCetOZNhtzAJwoy0BtLmv/view?usp=… As always, we saw other members of this group; many friends-of-VCF; Brian from Hackaday; people who remembered us from other events; tons of people who were astonished to see the machines of their childhood up-and-running; and a few offers of potentially interesting donations. Our booth was filled with visitors almost the entire time. Everything was great until 10 minutes before closing time Sunday night, when I DROPPED MY LEGO ROBOT ON THE PAVEMENT .... "disassemble". Good thing it happened at the end of day two, not the start of day one! Now I get to make a new one. Special thanks to Jeff for driving and Dean for providing a cooler + dry ice. ________________________________ Evan Koblentz, executive director Vintage Computer Federation a 501(c)(3) educational non-profit evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 www.vcfed.org facebook.com/vcfederation twitter.com/vcfederation instagram.com/vcfederation

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VCF Repair Workshops 2019
by Jeffrey Brace 24 Sep '18

24 Sep '18

Going to start reserving dates for the repair workshops. Anyonw know od any conflicts with these dates? January 5 February 2 March 2 April 6 -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Hello! and a Commodore 64 Question
by Michael Pohl 24 Sep '18

24 Sep '18

Hi- I'm new to the group after meeting Evan at Infoage recently. My 12 year old son is a vintage computer/vintage video game fan. We picked up a non-working Commodore 64 as our first project. We watched a few YouTube videos and ran the suggested basic diagnostics and found that the power supply produces the correct voltages, the fuse is good, and there is the correct voltage at several key locations on the board. Connecting the RF modulator to a TV doesn't change the picture (still only snow) and connecting via the 8 pin jack to a Commodore monitor produces nothing. The computer is an cosmetically good shape and does not appear to have ever been opened up as the RF shield was intact. I note that only three of the large chips are on sockets. Any suggestions for next steps? Thx, Mike

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Oh boy (Maker Faire)
by Evan Koblentz 22 Sep '18

22 Sep '18

3:15am: Finished robot, finished code, finished packing for Maker Faire. 4:15am: Wake up to go to Queens. Yay, I get to sleep for a whole hour! Looking forward to seeing many of you this weekend.

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Fwd: Floating point math in FORTRAN IV on PDP-8
by Kyle Owen 22 Sep '18

22 Sep '18

I sent this over to cctalk and haven't found a taker to try out my FORTRAN code on another PDP-8 yet. Might any of you be able to try this out? At VCF MW this past weekend, I was playing around with an FPP8/A stuffed into a PDP-8/M with a fan removed. This hex-wide two-board set will happily work in a quad-wide backplane, as it needs no signals that an 8/A would otherwise provide. I wanted to benchmark the FPP8/A with the software emulation that FORTRAN IV supposedly does. Mind you, I also don't have an EAE in mine, so software emulation for integer multiplication/division would also be used. I tried running a simple program to print some natural logs and square roots, which ran quite well with the FPP8/A in place. Without the FPP8/A...all of the results were wrong. Significantly. Negative numbers in many cases. No clear pattern as to what it's doing. Would anyone be able to try my program on some other real hardware (or another emulator) to verify? With and without EAE would also be desirable. I'm not sure how to disable the EAE in SIMH, else I'd try that too. Here's what SIMH looks like with my program: PDP-8 simulator V4.0-0 Current git commit id: d35b8725 sim> at rk0 disk2.fortran.rk05 sim> b rk .TYPE FLOAT.FT DO 50 I=1,100 F = FLOAT(I) G = SQRT(F) H = ALOG(F) WRITE(4,100) F,G,H 50 CONTINUE 100 FORMAT(' ',F12.6,F12.6,F12.6) END .R F4 *FLOAT/G$ 1.000002 1.000002 0.000000 2.000002 1.414215 0.693147 3.000002 1.732053 1.098614 4.000002 2.000002 1.386296 5.000002 2.236070 1.609439 [snip] 98.000001 9.899495 4.584968 99.000000 9.949874 4.595121 100.000023 10.000008 4.605171 . Much appreciated, Kyle

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Reminder - Museum closed this weekend
by Jeffrey Brace 21 Sep '18

21 Sep '18

Yeah, I noticed the dead moths in there ;) On Fri, Sep 21, 2018 at 6:14 PM Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > > On Sep 21, 2018, at 6:12 PM, Evan Koblentz <evan(a)vcfed.org> wrote: > > > > > >>> VCF museum is closed this weekend so me, Jeff B., Corey, etc. can go > to Maker Faire. > >> I might be able to be docent Sunday afternoon. If I can I will go from > around 2 till 5 so we have a presence there. > >> > >> Tony > > > > Cool. If you go, then be sure to tell whomever's at the front desk. > > Roger that. I still need to close the door on the MOBIDIC so those > freeloaders stop coming in and dying in the case!! > Tony -- ======================================================= Jeff Brace =======================================================

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Reminder - Museum closed this weekend
by Evan Koblentz 21 Sep '18

21 Sep '18

VCF museum is closed this weekend so me, Jeff B., Corey, etc. can go to Maker Faire.

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Converting C64 from NTSC to PAL was: PAL C-64 on 1084-S?
by Herb Johnson 20 Sep '18

20 Sep '18

> I had asked many times how to convert a NSTC C64 to PAL and got many > different answers. I feel like I was sent down the wrong path. Jeff, I'm not continuing this discussion to annoy you, but to make a more general point in public. Also, maybe you'll be less frustrated if you see larger purpose in your process of resolving this conversion - you suggested one yourself, you learned the details of NTSC vs PAL and analog video. As I posted previously, solving problems isn't always about "a path" to a single solution. Not all problems are solved by doing one thing, but by doing many things. It's part of problem-solving to attempt many things. Each thing, either solves part of the problem, or aids your understanding toward a solution. And in the end, you don't just solve "a problem", you expand your knowledge and experiences. So Jeff, I think the path you followed, was mostly normal, not an effort to mislead you. In the larger discussion: some people work with vintage computers, because they enjoy "fixing things" or "getting things back into use". Sometimes repairs are a matter of necessity. And repair can be a learning opportunity. And it's fun to share repair experiences, which is what happened in this email discussion. When I start talking about "building character", that's when I've said too much. ;) Jeff, glad you've got PAL operation of your C64. Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Wanted: Mac IIci, IIcx
by Herb Johnson 20 Sep '18

20 Sep '18

I got an offer after my request for a IIci. Thanks. - Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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PAL C-64 on 1084-S?
by Herb Johnson 19 Sep '18

19 Sep '18

Some of the discussion on this topic, suggests a lack of understanding of the differences between PAL and NTSC. A fundamental difference is: PAL uses 50Hz frame rates (vertical) and NTSC uses 60Hz. Why? It's AC power line frequency: the US uses 60Hz and the UK uses 50Hz. That has consequences. "Old" TV's in each country have analog circuits which produce vertical scan rates based on AC line frequency. The CRT video display, may see crawling horizontal "hum bars" from magnetically picking up AC line signals at one frequency while displaying another frequency. VCR's run motors and pull tapes, assuming one vertical frequency and not another. And some devices which claim PAL/NTSC compatibility, may more simply run PAL on 50Hz power and NTSC on 60Hz power. A video device that actually turns PAL signals and PAL frequencies, into NTSC signals and frequencies, would be a somewhat busy design. On the other hand, an LCD TV or monitor - which has no "hum bars" as it doesn't "scan" with a yoke coil, has little analog circuity, doesn't need to depend on the AC line for a frequency reference - can be set for PAL or NTSC and it's done. Also: if an old PAL computer is run from 60Hz AC power, it may use the AC line as a frequency source (to avoid those hum bars). It's then possible the "PAL" computer will try to produce 60Hz vertical video; but not necessarily PAL horizontal rates - depends on the design. I don't track these PAL/NTSC issues, or C-64's, but I'm aware of these consequences. That sets my expectations about fixing the problem - I don't expect "a cable" (wires only, not a dongle with a buried processor in it) to solve it. It will be interesting to read about the results on specific equipment. - Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Converting C64 from NTSC to PAL was: PAL C-64 on 1084-S?
by Herb Johnson 19 Sep '18

19 Sep '18

Jeffrey Brace wrote: >>From looking at the discussion it was apparent that it follows the old > story of the 6 blind men and the elephant. I was going to argue about this conclusion, but Bill Degnan posted first, and it's enough that he made the point. Jeff, if you had stated the problem clearly - and stated the work you did - someone might have suggested you recheck your work. Eventually that occurred to you, and you resolved the C-64 side of your problem. And, now that you identified your "monitor" - the Googles tells me it's a modern LED monitor, and therefore digital, and (as discussed) will likely display PAL or NTSC. So it wasn't the problem. Sometimes, Jeff, in solving a problem, one has to wander around it. Solutions don't always fall out from the obvious. And don't grouse if your friends can't read your mind or see what's on your workbench - by email. Meanwhile - today I was chatting "here" about AC power and frequency. Oddly enough, at the same time, I fried a couple of SCSI hard drives in testing and copying. Oddly relevant, because the apparent problem was **an intermittent connection on my AC power cord's neutral!!!** I don't know that - yet - but replacing the AC power cord will hopefully end these woes. I may have to replace my Mac computer, I'm not sure, I have to verify it wasn't the problem. And even more strange: while repairing a Mac Plus, the AC safety capacitor (that paper thingy) started to smoke! That's normal failure for them. Same thing happens in Apple II power supplies. Replaced it, and the supply is good again. Now I'm gonna kiss my AC power meter and apologize for talking behind its back. Herb "sparks" Johnson -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Converting C64 from NTSC to PAL was: PAL C-64 on 1084-S?
by Jeffrey Brace 19 Sep '18

19 Sep '18

Changing the subject line to more accurately reflect the discussion. I solved my problem. It was a lot simpler than what the discussion indicated. I reason my C64 didn't work after my changes was that I had put the VIC-II chip in wrong. Two pins were sticking out. >From looking at the discussion it was apparent that it follows the old story of the 6 blind men and the elephant. Every was looking at a different part and was right, but didn't see the big picture and never really had any specific experience doing what I wanted to do (i.e. no one had actually done it!). For the last few years I asked different people questions, and didn't get anywhere. I realized that none of them had actually converted a C64 and were guessing. So I decided to look up the information myself and just do it. I thought that the simplest way was to just buy a PAL C64 and ship it here, but I ended up getting NTSC C64 because the guy had no idea what he was selling. I shipped it back and found an easier way by ordering the parts. I knew that there was an article from years ago that described what to do, but I had lost it. So I looked up a YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq2tlEr6_Ns&t=609s And looked at this article: http://biosrhythm.com/?p=1420 So I bought the proper PAL VIC-II chip, the proper crystal, and a piece of wire. I replaced the VIC-II chip: 6567 (NTSC) with 6569 (PAL), then the crystal 14 Mhz Crystal (NTSC) with the 17 Mhz (PAL), then found the part on the motherboard where I put a piece of wire to create a short. DONE! There was no need for step down converters, different power supplies or special monitors. The Samsung SyncMaster XL2370HD worked fine. I just had made a mistake when I inserted the VIC-II chip. Noticed it today, fixed it, and ran the demo. Now it seems that the demos want to run from a 1541 and not a 1571 or uIEC SD card unfortunately, so I have to go vintage. Also I used this video to VGA converter to send the signal from the C64 to the monitor: https://www.real.de/product/314543066/ If anyone wants help to convert it, I can help you. You need to match the proper VIC-II equivalent, there are three major versions of VIC-II chips, so that has to match because of the motherboard configuration. Now I have to find a particular type of audio cable RCA to headphone jack to get the audio working. Still have some other stuff to get ready for Maker Faire. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Wanted: Mac IIci, IIcx
by Herb Johnson 19 Sep '18

19 Sep '18

Need immediately, Apple Macintosh IIci motherboard. Must be known working solid, well-tested. Available right now, to be shipped to me now in New Jersey. I'll consider a IIcx. Don't care or need other IIci/cx stuff like case RAM drives, might consider buying a system but why not just ship the mobo? Contact me directly if you have a IIci or IIcx. Thank you. hjohnson(a)retrotechnology.com Herb Johnson -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net preserve, recover, restore 1970's computing email: hjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT com or try later herbjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT info

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] PAL C-64 on 1084-S?
by Neil Cherry 19 Sep '18

19 Sep '18

On 09/19/2018 03:30 PM, Bill Dromgoole via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > A step down transformer only changes the voltage. > It does not affect the frequency. > You are still running at 60 Hz. To add to this, the computer hardware expects the TV to match the standard it's outputting. PAL - 625 scan lines, 25 Frames/s (50Hz) NTSC - 525 scan lines, 30 Frames/s (60Hz) Many computers send data to the TV while the scan line it written, while it goes to the next line, it's doing something else. The custom video chips are hard coded to these setings. While modern TVs may be able to handle this (some flatscreen TVs can handle PAL or NTSC) as it's just software. Older TVs were tuned for for the spec. If the PAL TV/Monitor were to get 60Hz it's 25 frames would be out of spec with the 60Hz. Grr, I'm afraid my explanation is a bit weak. But the 25 Frames/s and the 30 Frames/s rate would be out of sync with the change in frequency. The complexity of this has to do with the genius of goning from Black and White and handling color, in addition to the 50 and 60 Hz differences. A trip to the Sarnoff museum might be in order. At the moment I can't recall where I learned this but I'm pretty sure was related to my Atari 8 bit and Don Lancaster and his books. -- Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry(a)linuxha.com http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies

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Commodore 802 printer
by Herb Johnson 19 Sep '18

19 Sep '18

Someone contacted me with the following Commodore problem: > I have a 802 printer that stopped working. I use my C64 system a lot and wondered if you repair these, sell printers for the C64 or know of someone who repairs printers. The printer just stopped working ( the print head doesn’t move when you turn it on and the paper feed button is lit but does not advance the paper) I hope you can help. [I'm in] Pensacola, Fl. If someone wants to tackle this, I'll refer this person to you. I could suggest he join the VCFed-Mid list, but Florida is another physical locality, a local connection may be more practical if someone can suggest a Florida venue. Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net preserve, recover, restore 1970's computing email: hjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT com or try later herbjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT info

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] VCFMW
by Bill Degnan 19 Sep '18

19 Sep '18

https://www.vintagecomputer.net/browse_thread.cfm?id=729 (video at the end) On Wed, Sep 19, 2018 at 10:50 AM Alexander Pierson via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > It was an enjoyable weekend to say the least. Glad I got a chance to make > the trip again this year. > > -Alexander 'Z' Pierson > > > On Wednesday, September 19, 2018, 10:21:00 AM EDT, systems_glitch via > vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > My first visit to Midwest, it was a great time! > > Thanks, > Jonathan > > On Wed, Sep 19, 2018 at 10:18 AM Mike Loewen via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > > > VCF Midwest was the biggest so far, both in exhibits and attendees. > > If you > > haven't been to this show, you should plan on it for next year. Many > > familiar > > faces, including Bill Degnan, Alexander Pierson, Alex Bodnar, Ian Primus, > > Connor Krukosky, Mouse, Kyle Owen, Josh Bensadon, Mike Willegal, Jay > West, > > Mike Lee, Jason Timmons, Will Donzelli, Jim Brain, Lee Hart. Mostly > > micros, > > but also some phone equipment, PDP-8, VAX 11/780, and my HP 3000 Series > 37 > > running MPE-V. > > > > > > Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us > > Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/ > > > >

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CBM 2001-32B (Hey Z)
by Bill Degnan 19 Sep '18

19 Sep '18

Did you see this? https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Commodore-CBM-model-8032-32B-Personal-Comp… I don't know the seller but remembering we talked about this model on the bus to the airport. Bill

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