- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] I think that's a little high
by Thomas G 24 Feb '25

24 Feb '25

I just threw a pallet of these into the shredder! On Mon, Feb 24, 2025 at 3:26 PM Mike Rieker via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > hey it does say "or best offer" :) > > > I think the price is just a bit high for this. > > > > https://www.ebay.com/itm/365420431210 > > > > It's interesting that these are now being graded. > > > > >

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I think that's a little high
by Christian Liendo 24 Feb '25

24 Feb '25

I think the price is just a bit high for this. https://www.ebay.com/itm/365420431210 It's interesting that these are now being graded.

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Large collection of Sam's "PhotoFact" service manuals on CL near York, PA
by Rich Kulawiec 24 Feb '25

24 Feb '25

There's a Craigslist ad for them: https://york.craigslist.org/ele/d/york-sams-photofact-service-manuals/78239… After I noticed this ad, I asked the Internet Archive if they wanted them, but apparently they're already set. But it wouldn't be a bad idea for another institution to acquire and keep this collection so that it doesn't just disappear. (I can't, I'm way past merely "out of space".) ---rsk

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VCF Montréal Survey
by Jeffrey Brace 23 Feb '25

23 Feb '25

This survey is in its final days. You are invited to add your anonymous input by clicking here https://bit.ly/vcfm2026pre-en Ce sondage entre dans ses derniers jours. Vous êtes invité à ajouter vos commentaires anonymes en cliquant ici https://bit.ly/vcfm2026pre-fr DATE: January 25 & 26, 2026. LOCATION: Montréal, QC, Canada Jeff Brace VCF National Board Member Chairman & Vice President

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Announcing the new-old-fashioned MARCH website!
by Thomas G 23 Feb '25

23 Feb '25

Hello all, As part of our re-establishment of MARCH, the creation of a new, MARCH-specific website became a priority. In keeping with our shared hobby, I felt the new website needed to be something that even the most paleolithic web browser could reasonably handle - so I used the most paleolithic web authoring suite I could scrounge up - none other than WebMagic from SIliconGraphics (later rebranded as Cosmo Create), which was the first WYSIWYG html editor to be sold, circa January 1995. It's roughly styled after the original MARCH site, though the font and colors are a bit different! I have tested this site to be functional with Lynx, Netscape Navigator, NCSA Mosaic, and even the accursed Internet Explorer. It's currently served over plain http, though https will come along in time to stop modern browsers from whining about security. Without any further ado: http://midatlanticretro.com/ Some of you may notice the different TLD - the original MARCH website was a .org. Unfortunately, that domain is currently registered by someone else - last I checked it was redirecting to some Japanese company. But no matter - the .com TLD granted me the ability to do some very stupid wordplay... Of course, the new website is nowhere near a finished, set-in-stone work. Wording, content, layout, etc. is bound to change in time - this is just what I've thrown together thus far! Let me know if you see anything factually incorrect or confusing so I can correct it! Thanks, -Thomas G. Chairman of the MARCH Committee

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Bill Gates interview Feb. 23, 2025 at 8PM on CNN
by Jeffrey Brace 22 Feb '25

22 Feb '25

Bill Gates talks about his recently released auto-biography: https://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2025/02/18/the-whole-story-with-anderson… Take care! Jeff Brace

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Cromemco STDC
by Mike Loewen 22 Feb '25

22 Feb '25

Does anyone have a Cromemco STDC hard disk controller that I could use for troubleshooting/testing? Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

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MARCH Hack-a-Thon - March 8-9, 2025
by Jeff Salzman 22 Feb '25

22 Feb '25

MARCH Hack-a-Thon Number of event slots: 10 Number of registrants so far: 1 Come on, guys... you don't want that one person to win by default, do you? 😎 We at MARCH didn't know what to expect for turnout, since this is the very first Hack-a-Thon event we ever created. We will have other Hack-a-Thon events in the future, all with different themes and goals. But for now, this event is still on, and we're playing this one by ear, and sticking to this particular theme. We will follow through with our end of the event by hosting it at InfoAge on March 8 and 9. It will be held concurrently with our monthly Repair Workshop on March 8 and 9. The Workshop attendees will be in the same area doing their own thing, so there will still be plenty of social interaction if you need to take a break from your programming efforts and get a chance to see what else we do here at MARCH. So, if you're willing to take a chance at a coding project using vintage computers, and to shoot for one of the free admission prizes for VCF East this year, follow the link below for more information and sign up for the event. We look forward to your presence at the Hack-a-Thon event. Let me know if you have any questions. https://vcfed.org/2025/02/13/march-hack-a-thon/ Thanks, Jeff Salzman M.A.R.C.H. Events Manager

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Reminder: Workshop in Maryland
by Ryan Burke 21 Feb '25

21 Feb '25

System Source is hosting a repair workshop on March 1st and 2nd in Hunt Valley, Maryland. Participants will be able to work on anything they want, and receive help from other members of the community. Please follow the link below to register: https://ca.syssrc.com/wp/?page_id=105&civiwp=CiviCRM&q=civicrm%2Fevent%2Fin… System Source is also hosting a swap meet on April 26th, you can find more information at the link below: https://ca.syssrc.com/wp/?page_id=105&civiwp=CiviCRM&q=civicrm%2Fevent%2Fin…

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Free rk diskpac on FB
by Bill Degnan 21 Feb '25

21 Feb '25

https://www.facebook.com/share/12E2RMQSUeB/?mibextid=wwXIfr It’s not mine I am just passing along the info. Looks like an rk05 but I don’t know Bill

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$20 antique tv switchboard
by Bill Degnan 20 Feb '25

20 Feb '25

If you have a Facebook account and live in PA maybe you can spring for this $20 antique telephone switchboard? https://www.facebook.com/share/1BZQPzwJ9u/?mibextid=wwXIfr I don’t know the seller but I did notice the price has gone down week after week. Bill Degnan

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College Student in NY looking for old terminals for a film.
by Christian Liendo 17 Feb '25

17 Feb '25

A friend of mine's son is looking at renting some older terminals, preferably working for a college video. They are in LI and was hoping if someone around NY would have them. I have personal computers and the one terminal I had I sold to Ian.

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May Repair Workshop @ InfoAge cancelled
by Jeffrey Brace 13 Feb '25

13 Feb '25

We will all need a break between VCF East and the MARCH Swap Meet. Jeff Brace MARCH Fundraising Manager

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MARCH Hack-A-Thon (March 8 & 9, 2025)
by Jeffrey Brace 13 Feb '25

13 Feb '25

MARCH Hack-a-ThonA 2-Day, 8-Bit Computing Challenge *DATE: *March 8 & 9, 2025 *LOCATION*: InfoAge Science and History Museums, Wall, NJ *Fee*: None *Contact Email*: jeff.salzman(a)vcfed.org Calling all retro computing enthusiasts, programmers, and hackers! The Mid-Atlantic Retro Computing Hobbyists (MARCH) is proud to present the first-ever MARCH Hack-a-Thon, a 2-day, 8-bit computing challenge that will put your skills to the test. The Challenge Using a vintage 8-bit computer system, contestants will have two days to design, develop, and deliver a working project that showcases their programming skills, creativity, and problem-solving abilities. The project theme will be announced at the start of the contest, and contestants will have to work efficiently and effectively to complete their project within the allotted time frame. Eligible Systems The contest is open to any vintage 8-bit computer system that meets the following criteria: The system must have been first marketed before January 1, 1990. - The system must have a CPU and memory architecture primarily in the spirit of an "8-bit era" computer system. - Examples of eligible systems include, but are not limited to: - Apple II - Commodore 64 - ZX Spectrum - ZX81 and Timex Sinclair 1000 - Atari 8-bit - Texas Instruments TI-99/4A - TRS-80 - Amstrad CPC - MSX - Coleco Adam - Dragon 32/64 - Acorn Atom - BBC Micro - Electron - Enterprise 128 - Jupiter Ace - Oric-1 - SAM Coupé - Sinclair QL - For any other system that may qualify, please indicate the system you wish to use when registering for the contest. MARCH reserves the right to disqualify any system that does not fit the “spirit” of an 8-bit computing system. Rules and Requirements - A maximum of ten (10) contestants will be accepted. Entries will be prioritized and cut off based on the entry submission date. - Contestants must use a native programming tool(s) available for their chosen system. - All programming must be done on the vintage system itself; no cross-compilation or emulation is allowed. - Contestants may use any period-specific programming language or tool available for their system, including but not limited to BASIC, Assembler, FORTRAN, and FORTH. - The cutoff publishing date for period-specific programming tools is December 31, 1999. - For example, if the Apple II system just happened to be graced with a cool Apple II based set of programming tools in October 1997, then that programming tool would be fair to use for this contest. This applies to all eligible contest systems. - The final contest submission must be a standalone application that runs on the vintage system without the need for specialized external hardware or software. - As part of the judging criteria, contestants must provide a copy of their code and any relevant documentation to the contest organizers at the end of the contest period. - The challenge is to use original hardware, with an allowable exception of floppy or tape storage. We understand that disk or tape media is not as reliable as it used to be. If you wish to use original floppy and tape storage, by all means, do so. Flash-based storage will be allowed in a limited capacity. It must be designed to replace original media storage without significant enhancements. For example, storage devices cannot be capable of being bridged to the Internet, i.e Fujinet, Meatloaf, etc. Other stand-alone SD and CF based flash devices may be fine. - Once the contest starts, you won’t be able to download or add additional software tools to work the contest. Make sure you have all the programming and design tools you think you’ll need already on floppies, or pre-installed on your flash storage device. We reserve the right to inspect the content of your floppies and flash storage before the contest starts. - We understand it may be cumbersome to carry around programming guides, like memory maps and other system architecture resources. You may use Internet resources during the contest strictly for research purposes, not for downloading any additional code, data, or files onto your 8-bit computer. - All programming code should be of your own design. Judging Criteria The submissions will be judged by the MARCH Steering Committee members on the following criteria: - Creativity and originality of the project - Technical skill and proficiency in programming the vintage system - Overall quality and completeness of the project - Adherence to the contest rules and requirements Prizes and Recognition There will be three primary winners, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, chosen for the contest. - The primary winners will receive a prize as indicated below, along with recognition on the MARCH website and social media channels. - 1st Place: Their winning entry will be showcased at VCF-East. They will also receive a free three-day ticket to VCF-East 2025, along with a special “Golden Ticket” pass for exclusive entry to shop at Consignment 30 minutes before Consignment opens to the public, along with the privilege of bypassing any Consignment waiting line during open hours (if a line exists). - 2nd Place: Free three-day ticket to VCF-East 2025 and a “Golden Ticket” to wait at the front of the line when Consignment opens, and to bypass any Consignment waiting line during open hours (if a line exists). - 3rd Place: Free three-day ticket to VCF-East 2025. - All contestants who complete the contest, but are not one of the first three prize winners, will also have recognition on the MARCH website and social media channels. Schedule - Contestants may begin to set up their systems at 10:00 AM EST on Saturday, March 8, 2025. - The contest will start on Saturday, March 8, 2025, at 12:00 PM EST, running until 8PM Saturday evening. The contest will continue from 9AM to 5PM on Sunday, March 9. Registration - Registration for the contest is free and open to anyone who meets the eligibility criteria. - Contestants must register in advance by filling out the online form at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1...c2ojJ1T_aKjCjzLejcRVpG1XA/viewform?us… <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfM4GE40lGEfo2t_6FVLL_xJc2ojJ1T_aK…> <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfM4GE40lGEfo2t_6FVLL_xJc2ojJ1T_aK…> - VCF officers, VCF management, and MARCH Steering Committee members are not eligible to participate in the contest. Venue - The contest will take place at the InfoAge Science Museum in Wall Township, New Jersey. - Contestants are responsible for bringing their own vintage system, power supply, and any necessary cables or peripherals. - Details for contest day activities (entry into the building, etc.) will be provided to the applicants closer to the contest date. We look forward to seeing your creative and innovative programming projects! Register now and get ready to hack your way to victory!

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OT: Workshop free stuff
by David Gesswein 13 Feb '25

13 Feb '25

Have a Laserjet 5p looking for a new home. Verified it did print the test page using printer buttons. Also a Nexus 10 Android 5.1.1 tablet. email me if interested. Can bring to workshop.

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Can someone please bring a 5170 diagnostic disk?
by Joseph Giliberti 13 Feb '25

13 Feb '25

Greetings, I'm planning on bringing an IBM 5170 to recap and restore this weekend. Can anyone who is attending possibly bring a diagnostic disk so I can get past POST after replacing the battery? Thanks in advance! Regards, Joe Giliberti

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February 15-16 Vintage Computer Workshop
by Jeff Salzman 13 Feb '25

13 Feb '25

Last reminder for this weekend. If you're interested in attending this workshop, please add your name to the document linked below. Repair workshops are events which are open to the general public where members of all levels technical abilities and experience get together to help each other repair vintage computer hardware. Repair workshops are a chance to work with other VCF members to help repair your vintage artifact. We are not there to do repairs for you, only to allow you the facilities and partnership to help you figure out how to repair it. Repair workshops are held about 9 times per year at the InfoAge location in Wall, NJ, 2 times per year at the System Source location. Any questions? Feel free to ask. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nHJHC4fgZdZZocCe9gkG-Vek5HlpDfyjCmG… Jeff Salzman Events Manager / Steering Committee Member Mid-Atlantic Retro Computing Hobbyists (MARCH)

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RetroBrite at VCF East
by Jeffrey Brace 13 Feb '25

13 Feb '25

Hey everyone, Javier can't make it to VCF East. Is there anyone else that can teach a RetroBrite class? Thanks! Jeff Brace VCF East Showrunner

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Vintage Computer Festival Montreal Survey
by Jeffrey Brace 12 Feb '25

12 Feb '25

We invite you to take part in a brief, anonymous survey about VCF Montreal. Click here https://bit.ly/vcfm2026pre-en Nous vous invitons à participer à un bref sondage anonyme sur VCF Montréal. Cliquez ici https://bit.ly/vcfm2026pre-fr We are creating a new Vintage Computer Festival franchise. We are in the very early stages. DATE: January 25 & 26, 2026. LOCATION: Montreal, QC, Canada Jeff Brace VCF National Board Member Chairman & Vice President VCF East Showrunner MARCH Fundraising Manager Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity https://vcfed.org/ <http://www.vcfed.org/>

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Warning on a Commodore 64 Silver Label
by Christian Liendo 11 Feb '25

11 Feb '25

So I saw this come up and I thought this was kind of an odd price for this. $200 seemed cheap https://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/vgm/d/brooklyn-commodore-64-silver-label… I thought it might be fake so I wanted to do some research For giggles, I decided to just see what they were going for and found this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/235921534457 Same pictures Same serial number Out of all the things I thought people would scam over, vintage computers was not that one thing

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Atlantic Inn & Suites Hotel Block for VCF East 2025
by Jeffrey Brace 09 Feb '25

09 Feb '25

If you reserved a room at The Atlantic Inn and Suites for VCF East, then you need to do it again. The same discount still applies: $100/night for one bed and $120/night for two beds. You must mention Vintage Computer Festival when you call on the phone: (732) 974-8400. While checking how many rooms were left, I was informed that all the reservations for The Atlantic Inn and Suites were lost due to a terminated employee not recording any of them. Dawn was our contact last year and is no longer with the hotel. Jeff Brace VCF East Showrunner

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Introduction and Reason for Contact
by therenguy 07 Feb '25

07 Feb '25

Hello, My name is Randy Kaplan and I am joining this list to obtain some information and help. I am a long time computing professional (50 years or so), have built my own hardware, and have been a software developer for many years. I also have many years of teaching computer science at the University level - not entirely relevant, just for background. In any event I am the owner of an intact PDP-8/e that was operating once upon a time when I received it. A kind person gave it to me because they had too much hardware and needed a loving home for it. That is how I came to own it. At one point in my career many years ago I was invited to DEC to write code for a similar computer. I am looking for someone to help me restore it to operating condition. It has not been used for many years and has been sitting and moved between many closets. I have its power supply also. Can someone help kick off this adventure with me? I would be very interested in having a conversation with anyone who can make suggestions on how to proceed, who to contact, and if perhaps someone is interested, would like to help with such a project. I understand there are sessions help by VCF in this region, I live in PA, and I would certainly be willing to attend such a session. Please let me know with any information you might think is helpful. Thanks in advance for your assistance. Regards, Randy Kaplan

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Amiga "Chambers of Muon" and Apple "j" RPG
by John Heritage 06 Feb '25

06 Feb '25

Greetings, A long time ago there was an Amiga based multiplayer arcade game at Echelon Mall called "Chambers of Muon". I only vaguely remember playing - it had awesome sound, intereresting graphics, and you could play other players. I also remember my parents saying it was expensive for an arcade :). When I asked to go back and play the game (a month later or so), it was gone. That led me to find a blog of the ( :( ) decreased creator of Chambers of Muon - Michael J. Alan. "499 days" is his blog, warning - it's a bit bleak. Wanting to learn more, I realized his autobiography was on Amazon and I just read through the physical book. It's written in reverse order and definitely feels brtually open about his experiences. Anyway, it had three chapters I think fully relevant to this group. One chapter was on Chambers of Muon -- how it was created, how it worked, etc. It was based on a network of 7 Amiga 1000s (6 players, and 1 'control' unit). It sounds it was built in New York, with the main test in Echelon Mall in NJ. There was apparently another test at a mall in Texas, but Bally decided not to continue because the financial return wasn't as good as games like PacMan. (not unreasonable). Feedback for the game was that people thought the chamber was moving somehow - when it wasn't. It was just the graphics, and the Amiga's sound echoing loudly inside giving the sensation of movement. Another chapter covered a game called "j" (lower case) for the Apple II, an RPG I cannot find anything about. "j" was inspired by Wizardry but took place on a 'donut shaped space station', with pseudo-random generation of hallways, activities, etc. He tried to address the piracy issue by distributing it to pirates, but using a copy protection that required codes to unlock harder/higher levels that he then sold. The third 'vintage' theme chapter is around founding an Apple II related software business in 1980 - (a) financial application(s) that received some seed money from Apple and investments from other partners, and seems to have been published and supported through at least the mid 1980s. There's some intrigue with Visicalc here too whom he also approached, but there's not a lot of text. Anyway, I was curious if anyone ever heard of "j" or was familiar with Muon. I also feel like these two chapters of the book probably deserve to be scanned or archived someplace relevant for Amiga / Apple enthusiasts (copyright correctness withstanding). I'm pretty confident the software for Muon at least is long gone -- in his book, he said "about five years later" (1990?) people went to NY to try to find the Muon prototype and they basically found nothing. John

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Workshop at System Source - March 1st and 2nd
by Ryan Burke 06 Feb '25

06 Feb '25

System Source is hosting another repair workshop in Hunt Valley, Maryland on March 1st and 2nd, please check out the link below for more information and to register. https://ca.syssrc.com/wp/?page_id=105&civiwp=CiviCRM&q=civicrm%2Fevent%2Fin… <https://ca.syssrc.com/wp/?page_id=85&civiwp=CiviCRM&q=civicrm%2Fevent%2Finf…> We are also looking for volunteers! Either for the event, or in general to help out the museum. If you'd like to help out, please send an email to rburke(a)sysssrc.com

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MARCH Newsletter January '25: better late than never!
by Thomas G 05 Feb '25

05 Feb '25

Hello all, Apologies for getting this out so late, but we've been crunching the past few weeks with some pretty intense work at the MARCH museum - read all about it in this (hastily-edited) edition of the MARCH newsletter! https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T5uIs35mlFHqaoAwBlNv5kXXVaop9rXB/view?usp=… -Thomas G.

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Mid-Atlantic Retro Computing Hobbyists (MARCH) February 2025 Vintage Computer Workshop
by Jeff Salzman 05 Feb '25

05 Feb '25

Just a reminder of the next Vintage Computer Workshop on February 15 & 16, 2025. InfoAge Museum and Science Center 2201 Marconi Rd. Wall Township, NJ 07719 Please sign up here so we know how many people to provide tables for. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nHJHC4fgZdZZocCe9gkG-Vek5HlpDfyjCmG…

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OT: Netflix comes to Fort Monmouth
by Jeffrey Brace 03 Feb '25

03 Feb '25

Construction on the first four film studios is expected to start at the end of 2025. Netflix plans to open at Fort Monmouth in 2028. https://patch.com/new-jersey/longbranch/netflix-launches-website-its-fort-m… Jeff Brace

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Jesper Juul on Friday February 7 on Twitch "Too Much Fun: The Five Lives of the Commodore 64"
by Jeffrey Brace 03 Feb '25

03 Feb '25

I thought I would share with everyone this post that I just got. Join us Friday, February 7, as *ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories *hosts scholar Jesper Juul for a talk about his book *Too Much Fun: The Five Lives of the Commodore 64 Computer.* The event will be at 2PM ET on the *ROMchip *Twitch channel, https://www.twitch.tv/romchipjournal <https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.twitc…> . Get tickets HERE <https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ticke…> and sign up for our newsletter <https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fromchip.u…> to never miss an update. **Tickets serve as calendar reminders for the event; they are not required to attend. Head to https://www.twitch.tv/romchipjournal <https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.twitc…> to join the talk on Feb 7** *About the Book* *The surprising history of the Commodore 64, the best-selling home computer of the 1980s—the machine that taught the world that computing should be *fun *.* The Commodore 64 (C64) is officially the best-selling desktop computer model of all time, according to *The Guinness Book of World Records*. It was also, from 1985 to 1993, the platform for which most video games were made. But although it sold at least twice as many units as other home computers of its time, such as the Apple II, ZX Spectrum, or Commodore Amiga, it is strangely forgotten in many computer histories. In *Too Much Fun*, Jesper Juul argues that the C64 was so popular because it was so versatile, a machine developers and users would reinvent again and again over the course of 40 years. First it was a serious computer, next a game computer, then a computer for showcasing technical brilliance (graphical *demos* using the machine in seemingly impossible ways), then a struggling competitor, and finally a retro device whose limitations are now charming. The C64, Juul shows, has been ignored by history because it was too much fun. Richly illustrated in full color, this book is the first in-depth examination of the C64's design and history, and the first to integrate US and European histories. Containing interviews with Commodore engineers as well as an insightful look at C64 games, music, and software*,* *Too Much Fun* will appeal to those who used a Commodore 64, those interested in the history of computing and video games and computational literacy, or just those who wish their technological devices would last longer. *About the Author*Jesper Juul coedits the MIT Press Playful Thinking series. His previous books include *Half-Real*,*The Art of Failure*, and *Handmade Pixels*. He is Associate Professor at the Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen and has taught at MIT and New York University. His first computer was a Commodore 64, on which he wrote games and demos. *Upcoming Events* February 14 @ 2PM: Tom Boellstorff and Braxton Soderman discuss their co-authored book, *Intellivision: How a Videogame System Battled Atari and Almost Bankrupted Barbie *[MORE INFO <https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ticke…> ] February 22 @ 11AM-11PM ET: ROMchip Twitch Fundraiser Stream, ft Phil Salvador, merritt k, qdot, Paolo Pedercini, tinahacks, Jason Scott and more! Come through for 12 hours of games, prizes, and historical hijinks. [MORE INFO <https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdonate.ro…> ]. *About ROMchip**ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories <https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.romch…>* is a free, online scholarly journal for game history. *ROMchip *develops, edits, and publishes ad-free, open access game history research for a range of audiences. It supports any discipline of work enlivening the history of games in local and global contexts, and embraces diversity in how game history is studied, documented, collected, preserved, and practiced. *ROM* *c**hip* is a donation-based organization fiscally sponsored by The Hack Foundation <https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fhackclub.…> (d.b.a. Hack Club), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN: 81-2908499).

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Apple II Lisa video card
by Richard Cini 31 Jan '25

31 Jan '25

All — Today I watched a video interview by the CHM of Bill Atkinson where he talks about how he prototyped the various Lisa screen elements before moving them to the Lisa dev setup. It seems he used an Apple II with a special video card to create these. I’ve done a bit of googling on this but I can’t come up with any good search results. Does anyone know what was involved in that? What was the card like? Rich http://cini.classiccmp.org/ Long Island S100 User’s Group Get Outlook<https://aka.ms/qtex0l> for iOS

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'twas the night before Festivus ...
by Jeffrey Brace 30 Jan '25

30 Jan '25

and all through the place, not a creature was stirring, only just a Brace! Finish the poem!

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Request for help from IEEE Special Projects Direct Stephan Cass
by Douglas Crawford 27 Jan '25

27 Jan '25

See below for details on the request, summarized: 1. C64 Source 2. Someone to make a program selector for three demos 3. Original USB 1.0 artifacts Please offer support, off list, if you can, thanks! Douglas Crawford ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dear VCF members, I am the special projects director of /IEEE Spectrum/—some of you may know me from my previous coverage of VCF East and retrocomputing-related topics in general (some sample links below!). In partnership with the IEEE History Center, we are developing a small travelling museum/conference exhibition based on our Chip Hall of Fame ( https://spectrum.ieee.org/special-reports/chip-hall-of-fame/ ). And we could really do with your help! The exhibition will include some sample chips as well as products based upon them, and we are also hoping to have an interactive Commodore 64 panel with a C64 hooked up to a screen. So here are my first two asks: Can I get recommendations for a seller who can supply 3 working C64s (three because we hope to make more than one copy of the exhibit and also need a spare on-hand in case of problems)? Ideally, these would be classic breadbox models. We will probably look to replace the case with clear acrylic versions. Can I get recommendations for someone who we can commission to put together and deliver 3 sets of a custom cartridge rig? We hope to have three arcade-style buttons on the exhibit that a visitor can press to load different ROM images: I'm imagining this would involve bank-switching and asserting a reset, maybe bundle the whole thing inside a microcontroller's memory, so I can kinda see how to do it, but really this would be best in the hands on someone with some C64 hardware experience, given the requirements for reliability and time to deliver. Incidentally, we are planning that one of the ROM images would show a simple "attract" demo for the exhibit, another one draw some kind of fractal (in homage to all of us who read "Chaos" back in the 1980s and lept to our home computers :) ), and a final one TBD, which we hope to be able to open up to some kind of demo competition!) And one last ask: we are also planning on including some very early USB silicon in the exhibit, from the Triton II Intel PC chipset. Think ye now to your mystery bins :) If you have a peripheral on the size scale of a computer mouse or a little larger that was built to USB 1.1 or, ideally 1.0 (I know how rare the latter is!), we'd like to talk to you about obtaining it! Thank you all for your time and attention. If you've any answers to the above, or questions about any of this, please drop me a line directly at cass.s(a)ieee.org Best, Stephen VCF coverage: https://spectrum.ieee.org/theyre-alive-vintage-computer-fans-keep-the-great… https://spectrum.ieee.org/don-eyles-space-hacker https://www.instagram.com/p/C6ZCubprsSO/ Other retrocomputing Coverage: https://spectrum.ieee.org/yugoslavia-diy-microcomputer https://spectrum.ieee.org/upcycle-a-vintage-lcd *** Stephen Cass Special Projects Director IEEE Spectrum www.spectrum.ieee.org <http://www.spectrum.ieee.org> 347 834 7384 cass.s(a)ieee.org -- Douglas Crawford VCF Mid-Atlantic Museum Mgr InfoAge Science & History Museums 2201 Marconi Road Wall, NJ 07719

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT: Looking for reputable repair place for laser printer
by Sentrytv 25 Jan '25

25 Jan '25

Would it be too much trouble to take this off-line? Sent from: My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > On Jan 25, 2025, at 10:07 AM, Bob Shuster via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > Bernie, thanks for responding! Page count is just under 19,000 pages. Good advice, but do you still service these printers? I did find one repair place in Philadelphia, Printer Repair Service in center city (17th & Market) but I haven’t yet called them to get an estimate or anything. I have a bunch of projects to finish before I can proceed in any case, and getting this very heavy printer down there will not be fun. Still looking… > > - Bob Shuster > >>> Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2025 11:56:34 -0500 >>> From: Bob Shuster <bob(a)theshusters.com> >>> To: vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org >>> Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] OT: Looking for reputable repair place >>> for laser printer >>> I have an HP Laserjet 5200tn (close to 20 years old) that is >>> starting to have issues with paper jams, and it seems it?s a common >>> issue with the buffers on the pickup solenoids. They are however >>> difficult to access so I?m going to turn to a professional if >>> possible, and have a good cleaning done at the same time. I know >>> there are faster, quieter, and more capable laser printers out there >>> now, but this one works perfectly for me, and a new 11x17 printer is >>> expensive in any case. >>> I need a quick turnaround, but I need reliable and reputable >>> service. Any recommendations in the Philadelphia, lower >>> Bucks/Montgomery County areas? >> Bob, having serviced hundreds of HP LaserJet printers (including many >> original LaserJet 500 aka 2686D which came out in 1984) I strongly >> recommend that when you get your LJ5200TN serviced you have *all* the >> rollers (including the fusing assy) and pads replaced, and well as >> *all* the parts recommended in the HP Service Manual for PM >> (preventive maintenance). >> https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6015518 What is the page >> count on your HPLJ 5200? >> This will cost much more than having only the failed parts replaced, >> you'll basically have a new printer and will save money on future >> repairs long-term. The older HP LaserJets with Canon engines are >> reliable workhorses (I worked on some that had a page count of over >> one million pages!) _IF_ you do the HP recommended PM. >> You could save money on the service job if you buy genuine HP/Canon >> replacement parts yourself, IF the servicer is okay with that. Some >> servicers (who would mark up the price of parts) won't allow this >> because they don't want to be on the hook if a customer-supplied parts fails. >> -bernieS

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT: Looking for reputable repair place for laser printer
by Bob Shuster 25 Jan '25

25 Jan '25

Bernie, thanks for responding! Page count is just under 19,000 pages. Good advice, but do you still service these printers? I did find one repair place in Philadelphia, Printer Repair Service in center city (17th & Market) but I haven’t yet called them to get an estimate or anything. I have a bunch of projects to finish before I can proceed in any case, and getting this very heavy printer down there will not be fun. Still looking… - Bob Shuster >> Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2025 11:56:34 -0500 >> From: Bob Shuster <bob(a)theshusters.com> >> To: vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org >> Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] OT: Looking for reputable repair place >> for laser printer >> >> I have an HP Laserjet 5200tn (close to 20 years old) that is >> starting to have issues with paper jams, and it seems it?s a common >> issue with the buffers on the pickup solenoids. They are however >> difficult to access so I?m going to turn to a professional if >> possible, and have a good cleaning done at the same time. I know >> there are faster, quieter, and more capable laser printers out there >> now, but this one works perfectly for me, and a new 11x17 printer is >> expensive in any case. >> >> I need a quick turnaround, but I need reliable and reputable >> service. Any recommendations in the Philadelphia, lower >> Bucks/Montgomery County areas? > > Bob, having serviced hundreds of HP LaserJet printers (including many > original LaserJet 500 aka 2686D which came out in 1984) I strongly > recommend that when you get your LJ5200TN serviced you have *all* the > rollers (including the fusing assy) and pads replaced, and well as > *all* the parts recommended in the HP Service Manual for PM > (preventive maintenance). > https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6015518 What is the page > count on your HPLJ 5200? > > This will cost much more than having only the failed parts replaced, > you'll basically have a new printer and will save money on future > repairs long-term. The older HP LaserJets with Canon engines are > reliable workhorses (I worked on some that had a page count of over > one million pages!) _IF_ you do the HP recommended PM. > > You could save money on the service job if you buy genuine HP/Canon > replacement parts yourself, IF the servicer is okay with that. Some > servicers (who would mark up the price of parts) won't allow this > because they don't want to be on the hook if a customer-supplied parts fails. > > -bernieS

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Subject: OT: Looking for reputable repair place for laser printer
by bernieS 24 Jan '25

24 Jan '25

>Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2025 11:56:34 -0500 >From: Bob Shuster <bob(a)theshusters.com> >To: vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org >Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] OT: Looking for reputable repair place >for laser printer > >I have an HP Laserjet 5200tn (close to 20 years old) that is >starting to have issues with paper jams, and it seems it?s a common >issue with the buffers on the pickup solenoids. They are however >difficult to access so I?m going to turn to a professional if >possible, and have a good cleaning done at the same time. I know >there are faster, quieter, and more capable laser printers out there >now, but this one works perfectly for me, and a new 11x17 printer is >expensive in any case. > >I need a quick turnaround, but I need reliable and reputable >service. Any recommendations in the Philadelphia, lower >Bucks/Montgomery County areas? Bob, having serviced hundreds of HP LaserJet printers (including many original LaserJet 500 aka 2686D which came out in 1984) I strongly recommend that when you get your LJ5200TN serviced you have *all* the rollers (including the fusing assy) and pads replaced, and well as *all* the parts recommended in the HP Service Manual for PM (preventive maintenance). https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6015518 What is the page count on your HPLJ 5200? This will cost much more than having only the failed parts replaced, you'll basically have a new printer and will save money on future repairs long-term. The older HP LaserJets with Canon engines are reliable workhorses (I worked on some that had a page count of over one million pages!) _IF_ you do the HP recommended PM. You could save money on the service job if you buy genuine HP/Canon replacement parts yourself, IF the servicer is okay with that. Some servicers (who would mark up the price of parts) won't allow this because they don't want to be on the hook if a customer-supplied parts fails. -bernieS

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February MARCH Repair Workshop at InfoAge
by Jeff Salzman 22 Jan '25

22 Jan '25

Greetings! The next MARCH Repair Workshop is on February 15-16 at the InfoAge Science & History Museum in Wall Township, NJ. Some changes are being made starting this year as we transition to bigger workshop spaces on campus. Details below: Sign-up sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nHJHC4fgZdZZocCe9gkG-Vek5HlpDfyjCmG… Parking Map: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oE_yMBAnBdqNyLn4PX0iqoJha8uaLPct/view?usp=… The February Repair Workshop will be held across two buildings at InfoAge this month. The first building will be Number 11 on the linked map. This is the CDL building where we have held the Workshops for many years. The other building, officially called 9032A and labeled Number 7 on the linked map, is the new space. We are beginning to implement the use of the latter, which is about twice the size of CDL and can accommodate more people. We are anticipating a larger Workshop turnout and will focus on the use of this larger space in the future. You may choose either location to set up for the February Workshop. The CDL location has high-mounted, 2'x6' workbench tops and stool seating, with room to maneuver between rows of workbenches used by other attendees, but requires ascending several steps to get into the building. This may be an issue when bringing in large containers, boxes, and heavier equipment. The 9032 building is a little less cozy, but has more open space, desk high 2.5'x6' tables that sit lower, along with street-level thresholds into the building. This works well for the use of hand trucks and dollies for bringing in large equipment. Although it is highly suggested that you bring your own tools and equipment to these Repair Workshops if you can, the CDL building has ready access to tools and test equipment that you may use when working on your projects. MARCH is currently assembling a full stock of tools and test equipment for use by Workshop attendees setting up in 9032A. However, it might not be fully stocked for the February Repair Workshop, so choose your preferred location accordingly. Feel free to ask other attendees to borrow tools if needed. You cannot, however, go to CDL to borrow tools and bring them to 9032A. Parking for the Workshop attendees is anywhere along the areas marked by red lines on the linked map. The Workshop buildings are highlighted in orange on the map for reference. The curved red line area near Number 7 (9032A) is a grassy area. You may park in that grass just along the edge of the road surface. Do not park two vehicles deep, or anywhere deeper into the grass in that area. Please don't leave your vehicle partially parked on the road surface as there is only just enough room on the road surface for a vehicle to drive through. DO NOT park in the grass at any of the other designated parking areas. Overflow parking for 9032A is curb parking along the red line along the building where Numbers 3 and 4 are referenced on the map. When you arrive, contact any of the persons named as a "Manager" at the top of the signup sheet to pick up your wristband for the day. The Manager(s) for any given Workshop might change depending on volunteer availability. Thank you, and we look forward to seeing you at the February MARCH Repair Workshop! Jeff Salzman MARCH Events Manager MARCH Steering Committee member

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OT: Looking for reputable repair place for laser printer
by Bob Shuster 22 Jan '25

22 Jan '25

I have an HP Laserjet 5200tn (close to 20 years old) that is starting to have issues with paper jams, and it seems it’s a common issue with the buffers on the pickup solenoids. They are however difficult to access so I’m going to turn to a professional if possible, and have a good cleaning done at the same time. I know there are faster, quieter, and more capable laser printers out there now, but this one works perfectly for me, and a new 11x17 printer is expensive in any case. I need a quick turnaround, but I need reliable and reputable service. Any recommendations in the Philadelphia, lower Bucks/Montgomery County areas? Thanks! - Bob Shuster

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VCF East 2025 Volunteer Registration
by Jeffrey Brace 20 Jan '25

20 Jan '25

Volunteers are the backbone of making VCF East one of the best vintage computer shows. We are in need of volunteers in all areas. Register to become a volunteer today! <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScRIqB1ZuseQ2ANYszT2RTw2_AMnnCv0ZI…> Click here to read Volunteer FAQ <https://vcfed.org/vcf-east-volunteers-faq/>

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OT: iPad 5th gen with unknown password
by William Dudley 18 Jan '25

18 Jan '25

Not vintage computing, iPad from 2017, so apologies. I know some of you deal in used Apple devices, and it is you few people to whom I goask for help. Someone gave my wife an iPad A1822, which is of course, locked. I don't know anything about Apple devices, but some quick Googling suggests that password recovery needs a Windows or Mac computer and an Apple account, not to mention the "device is locked to an Apple account" issue. I don't know the provenance of this tablet. If it's stolen, I'd prefer to give it back to its owner. If not, I'd prefer to make is usable again (i.e. wipe it and set it up for my wife). Please respond off-list with any advice, suggestions, etc. Bill Dudley VCF contributor This email is probably free of malware because I run Linux.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] It's New Years, did you book your room yet?
by Ken 17 Jan '25

17 Jan '25

At 1/6/2025 11:59 AM, Christian Liendo via vcf-midatlantic wrote: >Reminder to book rooms. Here are the hotel blocks >https://vcfed.org/vcf-east-hotel-blocks/ Thanks for the reminder! One note: That page says Holiday Inn Express is $134/night and Atlantic Inn is $100/night (for 1 bed). But Holiday Inn price is before taxes and fees (actual price is $154/night), while Atlantic Inn price already includes them! So, perhaps adjust something here, so it's apples to apples. Thanks for having set up these blocks. Can't wait... - Ken

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Garage load of computers in WV
by Dean Notarnicola 17 Jan '25

17 Jan '25

In case anyone’s interested: https://www.facebook.com/share/1FRY3rSwtW/?mibextid=wwXIfr

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OT (off Topic) Craigslist FREE HEAVY DUTY CRATES in Midtown NYC
by Christian Liendo 17 Jan '25

17 Jan '25

I saw this on craigslist and I cannot take these. Please don't ask me to get these for you because I can't. My apartment is too small. If you have a vehicle that can take these and want them then this is the link. https://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/zip/d/new-york-free-heavy-duty-crates-ma…

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50th annual Trenton Computer Fest - March 29, 2025
by Dean Notarnicola 15 Jan '25

15 Jan '25

VCF will once again be hosting a table at TCF. It’s always nice to see our regulars there and I hope to see all of you again this year. Here are details from the TCF Facebook page, as the website has not yet been updated. Note: Ticket sales are exclusively via Eventbrite. No ticket sales at the door and sales end the day before the event, so plan accordingly. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tcf2025-tickets-1041863209907?utm_experiment=t… “We are excited to announce TCF 2025 – marking the 50th year since the first Trenton Computer Festival. TCF 2025 will be held on Saturday, March 29, 2025, from 9 am to 5:30 pm at The College of New Jersey, in Ewing. This year’s theme will be Fun with Technology, and the event will feature a notable keynote speaker and a special track with featured speakers relating to the theme. This year’s TCF is also significant in that we will have a tribute to our founders, Dr. Allen Katz and Sol Libes, who have both passed on. We hope that their memory continues to inspire new generations of technology enthusiasts to learn, to experience, to advance, and to share. Inquiries regarding presenting at TCF, or any other matters, can be directed to Larry Pearlstein, Event Chair, at pearlstl(a)tcnj.xn--edu-9o0a

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ACGNJ (Amateur Computer Group of New Jersey) - The oldest user group in the world
by Jeffrey Brace 14 Jan '25

14 Jan '25

I was just informed about this site: http://www.acgnj.org/nl Apparently VCF/MARCH has a complete set of all the newsletters from 1975-1983. Who has more information about this group? Thanks! Jeff Brace

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VCF East 2025 Exhibit Registration
by Jeffrey Brace 13 Jan '25

13 Jan '25

We are full on exhibit tables and closed the registration until we layout the exhibits. Afterwards we can see if we can fit any more and/or put people on the waiting list. This is the fastest that we have filled up tables in all our history. Celebrating the twentieth VCF East! Take care! Jeff Brace VCF National Board Member Chairman & Vice President VCF East Showrunner MARCH Fundraising Manager Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity https://vcfed.org/ <http://www.vcfed.org/> jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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OT / Equipment pickup
by Martin A. Flynn 12 Jan '25

12 Jan '25

Anyone in the area of Reisterstown, Maryland (21136) that is willing to pickup a UPS system and transport to VCF East? APC Sine Wave UPS 120V SUA3000RM2U, 2U, weight is 100 pounds. Martin

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Seeking S-100 SCSI stuff
by Richard Cini 12 Jan '25

12 Jan '25

All — Now that I’ve finished recreating two Lomas boards (the Color Magic and the Thunder 186) I’m looking to fill-out a mass-storage option. A 2-board system will run DOS 3.31 with 256k; I added two CompuPro ram boards to get 640k. Lomas had a SCSI board (which added an RTC and 4 serial ports), and there’s a great alternative, the Lifeboat SCSI (for the Z-100 machines). But, there are various challenges that I’d like to ask for help on. On the Lomas side, I have the board and software but not a manual or schematics, and I haven’t found them on-line anywhere. I still need to reverse the PAL which is doable. On the Lifeboat, their manual has the schematics and PAL equations, but no software or ROM firmware. If anyone can help out with either of these, let me know. Thanks! Rich http://cini.classiccmp.org/ Long Island S100 User’s Group Get Outlook<https://aka.ms/qtex0l> for iOS

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OT / Equipment pickup
by Martin Flynn 11 Jan '25

11 Jan '25

Anyone on list in proximity to Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania? There's a Winsted equipment rack that's a cosmetic match for what we have deployed already that I am considering purchase of Before arranging shipping / freight, anyone nearby that might be headed to VCF East or the swap meet? Martin

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Free Cisco Cable
by Martin A. Flynn 11 Jan '25

11 Jan '25

Slightly OT - Leaving an 8 port Cisco async serial cable in the makerspace next Saturday. Will be hanging on the side of the red tool box. Looks like CAB-OCTAL-ASYNC, not 100% sure

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT: FREE stuff! Palm Tungsten T, iPods
by Sentrytv 11 Jan '25

11 Jan '25

Bob, have you considered selling on Facebook? It might make it easier Sent from: My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > On Jan 11, 2025, at 10:31 AM, Bob Shuster via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > These items have been claimed. Apologies to those I disappointed! :-) - Bob > >> On Jan 9, 2025, at 3:19 PM, Bob Shuster <bob(a)theshusters.com> wrote: >> If anyone wants these, I have a Palm Tungsten T PDA in perfect shape - other than the battery - with a stylus, case, chargers, sync base & cables, Audio Translator and 256MB storage card, and even a little Palm cinch bag to store the accessories, all in immaculate condition (mine new from 2002!) I also have two 32GB iPod Touch A1213 (first gen) units that I can’t get past the startup screen - and I suspect the batteries on those are also toast. I have one charging cable for them but a USB-A charging cube is not included. >> The Tungsten T is an interesting little piece of handheld history, designed to compete with Windows mobile and Sony PDAs of the time, and the first of the Tungsten line. Smartphones made them obsolete pretty quickly. >> I’ve never tried to repair an iPod, but batteries are readily available for the Tungsten T and easy to swap out - just not worth my time. If interested, please email me off-list! I will ship if desired, or local pickup just outside of Philadelphia in lower Montgomery County. I’ll wait a week or so then these will be recycled. - Bob Shuster

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OT: FREE stuff! Palm Tungsten T, iPods
by Bob Shuster 11 Jan '25

11 Jan '25

If anyone wants these, I have a Palm Tungsten T PDA in perfect shape - other than the battery - with a stylus, case, chargers, sync base & cables, Audio Translator and 256MB storage card, and even a little Palm cinch bag to store the accessories, all in immaculate condition (mine new from 2002!) I also have two 32GB iPod Touch A1213 (first gen) units that I can’t get past the startup screen - and I suspect the batteries on those are also toast. I have one charging cable for them but a USB-A charging cube is not included. The Tungsten T is an interesting little piece of handheld history, designed to compete with Windows mobile and Sony PDAs of the time, and the first of the Tungsten line. Smartphones made them obsolete pretty quickly. I’ve never tried to repair an iPod, but batteries are readily available for the Tungsten T and easy to swap out - just not worth my time. If interested, please email me off-list! I will ship if desired, or local pickup just outside of Philadelphia in lower Montgomery County. I’ll wait a week or so then these will be recycled. - Bob Shuster

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