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Cyber Monday
by Evan Koblentz 27 Nov '17

27 Nov '17

Support VCF! Use our Amazon Smile link today: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/f.html?C=20MHUMX22T2S1&K=ONBFISUFZZPK&M=urn:rtn…

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Small rescue needed in Cherry Hill, NJ
by Evan Koblentz 27 Nov '17

27 Nov '17

Can someone pick up a vintage laptop for us in Cherry Hill? ________________________________ Evan Koblentz, 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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Raymond Scott and Jim Henson made an IBM commercial!
by Jeffrey Jonas 26 Nov '17

26 Nov '17

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IZw2CoYztk "Paperwork Explosion" The Jim Henson Company In 1967, Henson was contracted by IBM to make a film extolling the virtues of their new technology, the MT/ST, a primitive word processor. The film would explore how the MT/ST would help control the massive amount of documents generated by a typical business office. Paperwork Explosion, produced in October 1967, is a quick-cut montage of images and words illustrating the intensity and pace of modern business. Henson collaborated with Raymond Scott on the electronic sound track. manditory viewing: the Muppets Analytical Computer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IgF6_jVaj8 Cookie Monster for IBM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RowwNXKEt4k AT&T Archives: Charlie Magnetico, by Jim Henson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuLUWQRh-po AT&T Archives: Robot, by Jim Henson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivJNNwTGDcw Jim Henson made this film in 1963 for The Bell System. Specifically, it was made for an elite seminar given for business owners, on the then-brand-new topic — Data Communications.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Bicycle pump for VCF handcart
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 26 Nov '17

26 Nov '17

Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic writes: >Vaxman, > >I don't know if you received my message. I got a rather harsh reply from >your system claiming that I was spam. It said "SPAM BREATH". How rude! >;) It also said, "550 I Spotted you in an RBL. SPAMBREATH!" What does >that mean? RBL -- Realtime Blackhole List Whatever you're using for your email has been listed as a SPAM source. It could be the IP of one or more of the servers, or could be the DNS listing that has been flagged. Check with MxToolbox.com

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Bicycle pump for VCF handcart
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 25 Nov '17

25 Nov '17

Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic writes: >Can anyone bring a bicycle pump for the tires in the VCF handcart? The >tires are getting flat. When do you need it?

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Wanted: PC with Double Density floppy support
by Jim Hart 25 Nov '17

25 Nov '17

Please ignore if this is inappropriate for this list. I am in need of a PC that supports 360k floppy disk drives. I have the drive so I just need a machine that supports them in the BIOS. I am trying to use Image Disk and Teledisk to create actual floppies. If anyone has one for sale or knows of one please contact me off list at jim(a)jimhart.org. Thank you, -Jim Hart Sent from my iPhone

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January and February workshop dates, any conflicts?
by Jeffrey Brace 25 Nov '17

25 Nov '17

Are there any other events in January or February that I should avoid for planning a workshop? I want to book some dates soon.

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Museum Report 2017-11-25 November 25, 2017
by Jeffrey Brace 25 Nov '17

25 Nov '17

Lots of visitors today, maybe 2 to 3 dozen. Seems to be a busy time of the year with people doing indoor activities. Various ages and levels of interest. One girl even took 30 minutes to do a really cool dragon drawing using Paint on the Windows 3.1 machine. While the "boring" adults talked about cool stuff on the Commodore 64, she was doing a really nice drawing. Dean stopped by to drop something off. I tried the SuperCPU with an Atari joystick, but it doesn't work well enough for Metal Dust. I need to find a power supply for the PSX-64 to try a Playstation controller. Or try another Atari joystick or another manufacturer of the joystick. I would love to get my Playstation Joystick controller. It is a laptop version that really works well to mash the fire button.

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Galaga Challenge at Festivus
by Jeffrey Brace 25 Nov '17

25 Nov '17

I challenge anyone to a three game battle on Galaga. We each play three games and add up the scores. Highest score wins. I'm awesome at this game. I can beat anyone! Who accepts?

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micros in business (was early recollections, apple /// cobol)
by Jeffrey Jonas 24 Nov '17

24 Nov '17

A friend who is a CPA bought an Apple ][+ to run his business from home. He used VisiCalc (the first "killer app"). It was a lot more versatile than the huge Burroughs that was on display for a long time. In 1982, I worked for a small company that specialized in dental office automation using a TRS80 model 2 with extension floppy drives and daisy wheel printer to print insurance forms. It also handled appointments, reminder cards, etc. Around 1984, I noticed an unused Apple Lisa 1 (with Twiggy drive!) at a client. That was my first word processor! I used it for my documentation. No manual or training needed! Just poke around and things were quite natural! Dow Jones Telerate explored using single board computers and touch-screen terminals for their newswire service. Newswire services were not afraid to make custom hardware such as ISA interface cards. This was before ALL hardware became "just a commodity". Not just COTS but downright disposible :-( A friend who worked at a large scale printer remembers Syquest drives using Apple/iMac formats were the primary media/format for submission. The artistic community still favors Apple platforms. I attended a trade show for broadcasters. Apple notebooks/tablets are now used in lieu of cameras and for video editing in the field. -- jeff jonas

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Bicycle pump for VCF handcart
by Jeffrey Brace 24 Nov '17

24 Nov '17

Can anyone bring a bicycle pump for the tires in the VCF handcart? The tires are getting flat.

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festivus
by william degnan 24 Nov '17

24 Nov '17

Ian, I have picked up from Fran in Balitmore a vax station 3100 that uses one of those VR 260 displays I gave you, with the special video connector. http://vintagecomputer.net/digital/VR-260/ I no longer have the display so the VaxStation is of no use to me, interested in it? If so I will bring to Festivus. Or, if you don't really care about the display bring it so I can use it here, I can give you a trade for the display, I am sure I have something we can trade. vintagecomputers are basebal cards. Bill

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apple /// cobol
by Herb Johnson 23 Nov '17

23 Nov '17

> anyone use apple /// cobol, used it back when . ... Waterloo Cobol for the SuperPET There were a number of 8-bit COBOLs. CP/M versions in particular. I only used it on mainframes, and not much at that. I glanced at SuperPET stuff recently. Didn't a lot of SuperPET stuff require the 6809 card? So it "ran" as 6809 code. Pure 6809 systems (SS-50 based) were semi-popular in the era. - Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Cards Against Humanity, Ideas for blank cards for, at Festivus, I ask you
by Jeffrey Brace 23 Nov '17

23 Nov '17

I'm soliciting ideas for what to print on all them blank cards that Cards Against Humanity provides. Any suggestions? E-mail them to me privately as this game is in the South Park realm of humor ;) Remember there are black cards (question) and white cards (answers).

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Update your Festivus information
by Jeffrey Brace 23 Nov '17

23 Nov '17

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I am thankful for having all my vintage computer enthusiasts in my life! Looking forward to enjoying myself at Festivus. Please look over the signup list to make sure everything is good for your entry. I will be assessing what's what next weekend: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1odmPxfBK9BrR-NDZIx4_c-V2lZpt_-vU-3f… Thanks! Jeff Brace

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Off Topic: Did someone try to text message me?
by Ian Primus 23 Nov '17

23 Nov '17

I got a text message recently, mentioning old printers. Problem is, I have no way of knowing who it's from, and no way of replying. Was it someone on this list? -Ian

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apple /// cobol
by Herb Johnson 23 Nov '17

23 Nov '17

> I recently got my Uncle to write up his PDP-8 usage... > Trying to collect more first hand stories. Got one more so far. > David Gesswein Good work. This preserves the context of use for our minicomputers and microcomputers of the era. That understanding WILL be lost, is already opaque to those in the 21st century, if it's not captured and made available to read today and in the future. Herb Johnson -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Happy Thanksgiving
by Evan Koblentz 23 Nov '17

23 Nov '17

Gobble, gobble everyone! Hope you all have a nice holiday. Looking forward to seeing many of you at Festivus in a couple of weeks. Evan Koblentz Director, Vintage Computer Federation evan(a)vcfed.org / (646) 546-9999 www.vcfed.org @vcfederation

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] apple /// cobol
by william degnan 22 Nov '17

22 Nov '17

On Wed, Nov 22, 2017 at 12:40 PM, Glenn Holmer via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Glenn Holmer <cenbe(a)kolabnow.com> > To: vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org > Cc: > Bcc: > Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2017 11:40:31 -0600 > Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] apple /// cobol > On 11/19/2017 12:28 PM, Herb Johnson via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > >> anyone use apple /// cobol, used it back when > > . ... Waterloo Cobol for the SuperPET > > > > There were a number of 8-bit COBOLs. CP/M versions in particular. I only > > used it on mainframes, and not much at that. > > There were at least two COBOLs for the Commodore 64: Abacus COBOL and > Nevada COBOL for '64 with the CP/M cartridge. > > -- > Glenn Holmer (Linux registered user #16682) > "After the vintage season came the aftermath -- and Cenbe." > > OK, if there are no people who used Apple /// Cobol, who here even used an Apple /// at all *back then (1980-1985) as their main PC. I am not expecting many. I could see being a student and using it to test code before uploading to the production environment, or in some cases for small business or consultants using a micro for Cobol. There were a number of Cobol applications for micros, I just never heard of anyone using the Apple /// version. Seems like it would have been nice, but I think I would have used an IBM PC version or a Tandy CP/M version, personally. Or, if possible access my production environment using a terminal. It was very popular for people at DuPont when I worked there to take home VT 220 terminals to access the servers from home. Mostly IBM stuff where I was. Bill

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Museum report. / slide rules
by Evan Koblentz 21 Nov '17

21 Nov '17

>> Hows about sell a couple at festivus? Definitely! On Nov 21, 2017 10:53 PM, "Douglas Crawford via vcf-midatlantic" < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: Hows about sell a couple at festivus? On 11/20/2017 1:16 PM, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > Will items from this new acquisition, or other slide-rule items already >>> >> acquired, be part of upcoming exhibits? > > Some are rare/proprietary (for calculating strange things or branded > company swag) and some are very common Pickett / K&E. General plan is to > keep most of the weird ones and a few of the common ones. Maybe we can > display them on a wall. We'll sell the rest of the common ones at VCF East. > > On Nov 20, 2017 12:57 PM, "Herb Johnson via vcf-midatlantic" < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: > > John H. and his g/f Jen came for a tour along with Stefan who donated slide >> >>> rules. (He estimates there are 1,000 in the collection!) >>> >>> Also did a good amount of >> >>> cleaning and planning for some modest exhibit changes this winter/spring. >>> >>> Will items from this new acquisition, or other slide-rule items already >> acquired, be part of upcoming exhibits? - Herb >> >> -- >> Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA >> http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net >> >>

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Museum report. / slide rules
by Herb Johnson 21 Nov '17

21 Nov '17

> John H. and his g/f Jen came for a tour along with Stefan who donated slide > rules. (He estimates there are 1,000 in the collection!) > Also did a good amount of > cleaning and planning for some modest exhibit changes this winter/spring. Will items from this new acquisition, or other slide-rule items already acquired, be part of upcoming exhibits? - Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Re: Digest, Vol 25, Issue 21, Message 4 "HAASOScope"
by SVCatITC＠aol.com 21 Nov '17

21 Nov '17

Thanks Very Much Herb for the technical lecture. Us old farts will agree with you on the analog scope versatility, and I also agree with the functionality of the new "finagled" stuff out there now. The latter makes capturing and documenting the triggered event (for later analysis) easy, rather than the Polaroid coupled cameras to the old Tektronix 548 fire breathing monsters' screen of the day. This feature is great for documenting screen shots in reports to customers. I find though that you have to sometimes "help" the new technology by "presetting" the "window" where you might want to look, otherwise trigger thresholds might lose the event. You may not know exactly where to find the "glitch" in the "haystack". >From my experience, analog gives you the "widescreen view" of the disturbance and you can then "zoom" in on the area of interest. The 20 MHz luggable that I bring into the museum does not have the bandwidth to check at what frequency the TR20 power supplies are oscillating at (as an example), however as you well noted, you do not necessarily care about the exact quantity to know you have to kill the "screaming" and make a quiet supply for analog work. The analog scope sets up easy for a quick GO/NOGO check. As always, many thanks for the thought provoking insight. Bill Inderrieden In a message dated 11/21/2017 12:04:17 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, Herb Johnson writes: Date: Mon, 20 Nov 2017 13:45:42 -0500 From: Herb Johnson <hjohnson(a)retrotechnology.info> To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] Open Hardware DSO - 100 MHz/250 Msa/sec - haasoscope Message-ID: <2320de34-08fc-86ff-33dd-8635edf667cd(a)retrotechnology.info> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed I agree with my old friend and colleague, mostly. But I'd put stronger emphasis on detecting "glitches". I prefer analog scopes, because they can show in some fashion glitches even above their bandwidth. The following lecture will be technical. This matters to me, as this is work I've done for decades. "Bandwidth as twice sampling rate" is fine for detection of repeated events. It's not fine for reconstructing the signal, or finding one-off events. Digital sampling limits aren't the same as the bandwidth rolloff of an analog oscilloscope amplifier (or probe). Many 20th C. brand-name analog oscilloscopes gave (still give!) good performance well past their nameplate bandwidth. also: scope trigger circuits have to respond to events far above bandwidth! Triggering is very important. A "glitch" is a signal where a logic state changes, not because of a change in logic condition, but because of a timing event such as "propagation" or a "triggering delay". These are very short pulses, on the order of several nanoseconds in TTL circuits. Or, they may manifest as nanosecond delays in signals. Power supply lines carry glitches, caused by literal "spikes" in DC power to logic-switching circuits; large currents plus fast changes produce L di/dt or C dv/dt signals. These matter, because they can trigger logic events. If you can't see the trigger, you don't know "why" you have such events. Old TTL designs, sometimes generated glitches due to poor design. Aging components may cause glitches, by increasing capacitance, or sagging DC voltages. Dead or absent bypass caps, fail to filter out power-supply-line glitches. Look at schematics of the IMSAI front-panel. They actually CREATE "glitches" with a series capacitor to turn a logic-level change into a triggering pulse! Ugly ugly ugly design. All that said, any scope beats none. Looking at logic-level signal activity (any activity) is a go / no-go test for logic chips. Many faults can be diagnosed with a 20Mhz analog oscilloscope and probe. (Probe bandwidth matters. Not today's lecture.) But some faults are design problems that finally came due, or non-logic component failures, or "tired" chips. TTL logic responds to signals and events of several nanosecond duration - that's hundreds of megahertz "bandwidth" technically. and even a 20Mhz scope, will trigger on much faster events - that at least "detects" them. and you can guess if an analog "bump" is actually a pulse above your bandwidth. End of technical lecture. In my 20th century view, a $100ish old toolbox-sized HP or Tek 100Mhz analog oscilloscope, will show more information about pre 1990's computer chips, than most users can appreciate. But a $300 "100Mhz sampling" digital oscilloscope you can carry in your pocket, likely performs little better than a 30-40Mhz no-brand-I-remember analog oscilloscope that you leave behind at a hamfest. Will a 1Ghz modern DSO do much better? (shrug) I lack that experience, ask an owner, faster is better but.... And a DSO is conveniently tablet-sized, and likely does other things too. So the answer for you is: what's in your wallet? Buy BOTH if you can afford it, choose otherwise. Herb "race condition" Johnson retrotechnology.com

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Cobol on micro
by Jeffrey Jonas 21 Nov '17

21 Nov '17

> anyone use apple /// cobol, used it back when it was current? I did not but I think my experience with CP/M C and PL/1 are relevant. 1) I used Whitesmith's "C" compiler on CP/M in 1982. It was very slow and almost painful to use - so many phases with constant floppy disk access. And it was not quite the full language or environment. A friend gave me a substitute printf() with more options than the standard library. 2) I used PL/I "F" on IBM mainframes in high school (early 80s). The PL/I subset for CP/M was just too weak to use for much. And like the "C" compiler, was horribly s l o w to compile and link. -- jeff jonas

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Open Hardware DSO - 100 MHz/250 Msa/sec - haasoscope
by Herb Johnson 20 Nov '17

20 Nov '17

David Gesswein: > It all depends on that you want to do with it. This is written assuming you > are troubleshooting old computers. > > You need sufficient bandwidth > to view your signal of interest and sufficient sample rate to make it look > reasonable. Sampling twice the frequency of a sine wave captures the > information but it doesn't look like [the original signal]. > > I think the sample rate will be the biggest limitation. You will need to > see the character of signals you will want to look at. > > For troubleshooting old equipment the degradation of the signal edges > is normally not as big an issue. The faults are normally not that subtle > but I have run across glitches on signals causing trouble that the low sample > rate can hide. I agree with my old friend and colleague, mostly. But I'd put stronger emphasis on detecting "glitches". I prefer analog scopes, because they can show in some fashion glitches even above their bandwidth. The following lecture will be technical. This matters to me, as this is work I've done for decades. "Bandwidth as twice sampling rate" is fine for detection of repeated events. It's not fine for reconstructing the signal, or finding one-off events. Digital sampling limits aren't the same as the bandwidth rolloff of an analog oscilloscope amplifier (or probe). Many 20th C. brand-name analog oscilloscopes gave (still give!) good performance well past their nameplate bandwidth. also: scope trigger circuits have to respond to events far above bandwidth! Triggering is very important. A "glitch" is a signal where a logic state changes, not because of a change in logic condition, but because of a timing event such as "propagation" or a "triggering delay". These are very short pulses, on the order of several nanoseconds in TTL circuits. Or, they may manifest as nanosecond delays in signals. Power supply lines carry glitches, caused by literal "spikes" in DC power to logic-switching circuits; large currents plus fast changes produce L di/dt or C dv/dt signals. These matter, because they can trigger logic events. If you can't see the trigger, you don't know "why" you have such events. Old TTL designs, sometimes generated glitches due to poor design. Aging components may cause glitches, by increasing capacitance, or sagging DC voltages. Dead or absent bypass caps, fail to filter out power-supply-line glitches. Look at schematics of the IMSAI front-panel. They actually CREATE "glitches" with a series capacitor to turn a logic-level change into a triggering pulse! Ugly ugly ugly design. All that said, any scope beats none. Looking at logic-level signal activity (any activity) is a go / no-go test for logic chips. Many faults can be diagnosed with a 20Mhz analog oscilloscope and probe. (Probe bandwidth matters. Not today's lecture.) But some faults are design problems that finally came due, or non-logic component failures, or "tired" chips. TTL logic responds to signals and events of several nanosecond duration - that's hundreds of megahertz "bandwidth" technically. and even a 20Mhz scope, will trigger on much faster events - that at least "detects" them. and you can guess if an analog "bump" is actually a pulse above your bandwidth. End of technical lecture. In my 20th century view, a $100ish old toolbox-sized HP or Tek 100Mhz analog oscilloscope, will show more information about pre 1990's computer chips, than most users can appreciate. But a $300 "100Mhz sampling" digital oscilloscope you can carry in your pocket, likely performs little better than a 30-40Mhz no-brand-I-remember analog oscilloscope that you leave behind at a hamfest. Will a 1Ghz modern DSO do much better? (shrug) I lack that experience, ask an owner, faster is better but.... And a DSO is conveniently tablet-sized, and likely does other things too. So the answer for you is: what's in your wallet? Buy BOTH if you can afford it, choose otherwise. Herb "race condition" Johnson retrotechnology.com -- 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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Museum report.
by Evan Koblentz 19 Nov '17

19 Nov '17

Adam and I were at the museum from 10:30 this morning to 6ish tonight. John H. and his g/f Jen came for a tour along with Stefan who donated slide rules. (He estimates there are 1,000 in the collection!) We gave them the full tour until lunchtime. In the afternoon, Adam did warehouse work and I greeted museum visitors. After closing, we replaced many of the books in the museum workshop with different ones that are more interesting. Also did a good amount of cleaning and planning for some modest exhibit changes this winter/spring. Evan Koblentz Director, Vintage Computer Federation evan(a)vcfed.org / (646) 546-9999 www.vcfed.org @vcfederation

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Open Hardware DSO - 100 MHz/250 Msa/sec - haasoscope
by J. Alexander Jacocks 19 Nov '17

19 Nov '17

There's a newish project on Crowdsuppy that I thought the group might find interesting: https://www.crowdsupply.com/andy-haas/haasoscope It's an open hardware/open source DSO, based on an Altera MAX10 FPGA. It seems to be much more capable than the DSO Nano, and the other mini scopes that I have seen. What does anyone think? - Alex

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Multibus
by Mike Loewen 19 Nov '17

19 Nov '17

Is anyone here into Multibus systems? I have two Zendex ZX-905 prototyping cards, and an Electronic Solutions 8000D158AW extender card, free for the cost of shipping. Contact me off-list. Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

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apple /// cobol
by william degnan 18 Nov '17

18 Nov '17

anyone use apple /// cobol, used it back when it was current? I have seen this and the Commodore Waterloo Cobol for the SuperPet. Never met anyone who actually used it. I used to use Cobol from a terminal connected to who knows what on the other end, or when I worked at IBM I ran Cobol jobs from JCL/TSO. But Apple /// ? Bill

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Degnan Festivus Trade/for sale/wanted thread (festivus or otherwise)
by william degnan 17 Nov '17

17 Nov '17

---Available (sale / trade) --- I have a lot of extra Digital / DEC stuff available at the moment. VAX 4000-60 VAXStation 3100 RK06 Alignment Cartridge RK06 cartridges RL01 Cartridges DEC Rainbow parts UNIBUS Regulators (need minor repairs) XT era Keyboards (not IBM) IBM Terminal keyboards (with a RJ11 type jack) VT 100 with a bad flyback(?) (no keyboard) VT 220 with a logic issue (no keyboard) Non DEC-branded 11/44-era A/D type cards http://vintagecomputer.net/browse_thread.cfm?id=554 --- Wanted --- - DecMate I 8" OS/8 disk(s), and if anyone has a spare 37-25 pin RX02 cable. If you make me a disk copy I can return an RX01 or RX02 diskettes. - UNIBUS RK05 controller backplane cards (to acquire or borrow). I have a complete backplane and cards but I'd like some known-working cards to compare and contrast with, or maybe someone with these would like to pop over to help me out some time. - Bootable RL02 stand-alone RSX-11M compatible with an 11/40 that has no EIS card. It needs to be an older version. I need to keep trying but so far my attempts boot and then crash, I must be missing a step. I can trade for an RL02 disk or two for your trouble More items wanted (holy grails and others): http://vintagecomputer.net/browse_thread.cfm?id=3 Contact me privately if it's a business question/offer. I will bring items to festivus if there is interest. Not looking to make full ebay retail prices, only looking to get back what I put into them. Bill

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Possible FS: Anyone Interested in GRiD PalmPad 2360s?
by systems_glitch 17 Nov '17

17 Nov '17

I've got: * Three handheld units, one with battery damage * Two chargers * One case I don't know too much about these, other than they're 286s and run off of a PCMCIA disk. I don't think I have the proper charging cables, it looks like the power supply uses a much different output than the PalmPad takes. If someone is super interested in these (I know GRiD stuff is often sought after) I'll bring them to Festivus and you can take a look. I could be easily persuaded to sell or trade one or all of these -- they seem like *very* cool little devices, but I've got enough other projects going on at the moment. Thanks, Jonathan

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Festivus Shopping List
by Jeffrey Brace 16 Nov '17

16 Nov '17

Some have asked what they can bring. I've made a Festivus shopping list. Sign up of you want to bring something from the list: Go to the shopping list tab: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1odmPxfBK9BrR-NDZIx4_c-V2lZpt_-vU-3f…

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FS: Panasonic Business Partner XT Clone
by systems_glitch 16 Nov '17

16 Nov '17

All, I've got a Panasonic Business Partner I'd like to...part with :) Seems to work, I haven't played with it much. Comes with the correct keyboard, which is actually very nice to type on. It reminds me of my Leading Edge Model D keyboard. The machine appears to be mostly just an XT clone, it has ISA slots and whatnot. Dual 5.25" double density floppies. The video card is CGA/MDA switchable, I've tested it with a MDA monitor. I haven't been able to find much documentation on it, just mentions in magazines of the era, but I also haven't looked too hard. Asking $75 or best offer. Thanks, Jonathan

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for sale: IBM 5155 luggable, amber screen
by Jeffrey Jonas 16 Nov '17

16 Nov '17

For sale, asking $80 because the case is crackling and the keyboard tabs are broken. Pick it up at Festivus, please. IBM 5155 luggable. boots to DOS ROM. amber monitor 1: 5.25" floppy drive 1: 3.5" floppy drive 5 interface cards: IBM 256k RAM for a total of 512k floppy controller monochrome video Hayes modem serial port Inside it's in near mint condition. One grounding wire needs to be reconnected near the CRT. -- Jeff Jonas

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We got a lot come to Festivus 2017, signup, don't be a slacker!
by Jeffrey Brace 16 Nov '17

16 Nov '17

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1odmPxfBK9BrR-NDZIx4_c-V2lZpt_-vU-3f…

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Norm Snead & Lou Kohn - please contact me
by Jeffrey Brace 16 Nov '17

16 Nov '17

Regarding your Festivus signup.

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FS: Cut Down 11-Slot S-100 Backplane
by systems_glitch 15 Nov '17

15 Nov '17

link: https://www.ebay.com/itm/272935251503 This appears to be a Quick and Timely "Silence Plus" 22-slot backplane that has been cut down for use as a small test rig. Whoever cut it did a decent job, the edge is dressed with gaffer's tape, and the ground traces (which provide coax-like shielding) have been jumpered across at the cut edge. One slot has two bent pins. I can desolder and/or replace the socket if desired. The backplane is mounted on plastic runners, presumably to allow it to be laid on a tabletop or metallic surface without shorting anything out. Thanks, Jonathan

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IBM Series/1
by william degnan 14 Nov '17

14 Nov '17

Check out the price of this little bitty IBM Series/1 on Ebay https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-IBM-Series-1-4952-4962-4978-with-monitor-r… Makes you think maybe the much beefier two full rack system I donated to MARCH now VCFed should be put on display someday, it IPLed when I donated it, should not be too hard to get running if someone knows how to boot a Series/1 (which is not easy) and has an IBM terminal...I followed the manuals to the best I could but I am no expert. I documented where I left off before I gave it up someone might want to take this on. Bill

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Semi-OT: Free at Festivus: Not Quite Vintage Mac Stuff
by systems_glitch 14 Nov '17

14 Nov '17

All, I've got some older Macs to get rid of: * 2x iMac G3, both working last time they were powered up (within the last year) * 1x Intel iMac, white plastic case, typical screen issues but functional * 1x PowerMac G3 in the blue side-folds-down case I have some keyboards and mice that go with them, which I'll bring. I don't think there's enough for each machine, so first come, first serve. 100% free. Do not want to bring them home! Additionally, I have a pair of older Intel Mac Minis if anyone is interested. I believe I've only got one power adapter between the two. Asking $150 OBO for the pair. Won't run the newest OS X (I forget where they stop). I won't bring them unless someone expresses interest. Thanks, Jonathan

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FS: Unassembled Processor Tech VDM-1 Kit
by systems_glitch 13 Nov '17

13 Nov '17

link: https://www.ebay.com/itm/272930805335 This kit looks complete, though I haven't gone through the individual parts packs. The hard bit to find -- the character generator -- is present. Starting the listing at $1. Unfortunately the kit was not in its original box, and the box it was in was pretty mangled. Includes video driver on paper tape for BASIC! If you're going to Festivus, I'm happy to drop it off in person. Thanks, Jonathan

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Old Remington Typewriter
by Kelly Leavitt 13 Nov '17

13 Nov '17

Friend's father's from college. 60+ years old. That's all I know right now. If any interest, contact me off list. Kelly

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HOPE 12
by william degnan 12 Nov '17

12 Nov '17

Got my ticket for HOPE 12.....see you there. B

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Cyclon RX Playstation controller for C64
by Jeffrey Brace 12 Nov '17

12 Nov '17

Has anyone bought and used this? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Cyclone-RX-Playstation-Joystick-Gamepad-Adap…

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Museum Report 2017-11-12 November 12, 2017
by Jeffrey Brace 12 Nov '17

12 Nov '17

I started the day by preparing my C64 for running Metal Dust. It is a game that requires the SuperCPU. I got it to run from uIEC SD card. I need to find my power supply for the PSX controller, so that I can use a Playstation controller instead of the Epyx XJ 500. I get some bad pain in my index finger from hitting the fire button constantly (must be repetitive stress injury). Maybe I will try an Atari Joystick instead, since my thumb is fine. If there are some C64 games that you want for Festivus, then feel free to bring then on floppy or SD card. I will have 3 C64s setup with 1541 drives and uIEC. Also connected with all-in-one joystick games in the front end of the Commodore 1702. I have the Mamouth Games C64 game joystick working, I also noticed that a number of museum machines are not working properly. Maybe during the next workshop we can have some members look at them. Alex Bodnar dropped of a Micro Professor for the museum. I move it as well as the Vax fan that he donated to the warehouse. Anyway, had about 1 dozen visitors today with moderate interest.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Museum Report 2017-11-11 November 11, 2017
by Eric Rangell 12 Nov '17

12 Nov '17

Hello all, I made my first trip to the InfoAge Science Center and VCF museum in Wall, NJ on Saturday Nov. 11, 2017. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience, mainly because I saw artifacts that I had only seen in magazines and never in real life. Before going into the VCF building I was drawn to the radio exhibits and appreciated the quality and dedication that went into producing electronics of the early 20th century. These objects and the people who built them were talking to me. I like the way highly technical content is just displayed along with the artifacts to remind us of the deep knowledge base we inherited. I then met Jeff and slowly walked through every machine on display. I can imagine the people working with them when they were state of the art. They had the time to learn, dream, think, and carefully operate the switches and controls, acting as scientists using the scientific method to observe, hypothesize, log, diagnose, and catch bugs flying inside the equipment. It will be amazing to see some of the old machines restored and running in the future. Then the computers of the 70s and 80s brought me back to childhood and helped me understand the wonder that kids today need to feel and appreciate as they stand on our shoulders. I mostly appreciated the machines of the 60s-70s like the PDP11, IMSAI, Altair, PET, Apple 1,2,3,Lisa and the luggables. The tiny but sharp green screen display on one of the luggables was impressive, along with the help file describing the capabilities of the machine. It sparked an interest in learning about a few of them and their capabilities. It was great to see Ted Nelson’s book “Computer Lib” on display, and the lego interface for the Apple 2. I’d love to spend time looking at the old manuals and learning from people who worked with the machines at future VCF events. Afterwards I visited the other exhibits in the building - I spent a lot of time in the Veteran Wireless Operators exhibit appreciating the communication challenges of early radio and telegraphy. I then saw the fascinating exhibit of military vehicles and equipment and was humbled by the sacrifices people made to preserve freedom. It put everything in perspective and was a very meaningful Veterans day for me. Thank you, Eric Rangell

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TRS 80 Model II with printer and drive bay - Luray, VA
by william degnan 11 Nov '17

11 Nov '17

Anyone in the area of Luray, VA want a TRS 80 Model II with printer and drive bay, but no keyboard, may be incomplete? let me know privately and I can set you up with the guy Bill

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MS-DOS 1.25 software/Gazelle
by Richard Cini 11 Nov '17

11 Nov '17

All – One of my recent projects was to build a Seattle Gazelle replica based on the unit in the VFC collection. While doing this, I got to wondering about software for it. On Bitsavers, there is a program disk called “Perfect Writer”, a word processing program. Video is character-based, and the system doesn’t have a PC-compatible BIOS, so even though it runs MS-DOS, it can’t be that compatible. I have not seen the mention of a video board for the Gazelle, but I found the CompuPro PC-Video (a PC-compatible MC6845-based video board for the S100). If anyone has any info on this aspect of the history of the Gazelle, I’d appreciate it. Thanks! Rich -- Rich Cini http://www.classiccmp.org/cini http://www.classiccmp.org/altair32

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Museum Report 2017-11-11 November 11, 2017
by Jeffrey Brace 11 Nov '17

11 Nov '17

A busier than normal Saturday. About two dozen visitors. Some were very interested and got the extended tour, some with moderate interest and some with light interest. I guess this time of the year is cold and dark and people want to do indoor activities. It's nice to be busy! Jeff Brace

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Festivus 2017 Parking Question
by Jeffrey Brace 10 Nov '17

10 Nov '17

There was a question about confusion on where to park for Festivus. I modified the VCF East map (crudely) to make it more clear: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ThrnNAnAWsCz30Am7IvG8GS50YFOziHK This is InfoAge's Map: http://infoage.org/visiting/ You would park behind Q/R/S. If the ground is wet, then make sure to park on the blacktop and not the grass. Any questions, then let me know.

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Docents needed to signup for - Festivus 2017 - Saturday/Sunday Dec 9/10
by Jeffrey Brace 09 Nov '17

09 Nov '17

Even though we are celebrating Festivus, we still have to attend to our museum Saturday/Sunday Dec 9/10. We need individuals to take one hour to be docent during the Festivus weekend. The hours are 12-5pm both days. It will be super busy because of the holiday train show. Here is the sign up list: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_Wrz46b7EJ1Rs-iZkRjcgocNqCRNECL9k1b… E-mail me privately with any questions.

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FESTIVUS 2017 - IMPORTANT INFO
by Jeffrey Brace 09 Nov '17

09 Nov '17

Here is the detailed Festivus information. I will send it out again the week of the event. *DATE:* December 9 & 10. *TIME:* START - 10 A.M. on Saturday and goes late into the night until everyone sleeps. END - 5 P.M. on Sunday. (Re-starts around 10 A.M. Sunday morning) *LOCATION:* InfoAge Building 9010-D - (2201 Marconi Road, Wall Township, NJ) - It will be straight ahead once you enter through the gate. The door is marked Sandy Recovery and is up the steps. *PARKING:* InfoAge management wants us to park inside the campus, in a neat orderly row, between the Festivus building and the hackerspace building. The holiday train show is going on, so we are discouraged from parking in the main parking lot, since they will be reserved for guests of the model train show. Do not cost IA money by leaving it open to confuse paying guests. Always close it behind you when you enter/exit, EVEN IF IT WAS ALREADY OPEN! *COST:* $10 for all members attending Festivus, which VCF pays to InfoAge to renting the space and buy food and supplies. $25 if you are staying overnight. See below for details. *EQUIPMENT:* VCF will have tables setup for food and games. We will have three full sized refrigerator to temporarily store food and drinks. We will be borrowing *my* propane grill to cook hamburgers and hot dogs outside. *DRINKS:* Everyone is encouraged to bring their own drinks and enough to share with others. Bring your favorite and put what you are bringing on the list: *FOOD:* VCF will be supplying hamburgers, hot dogs, condiments, plates, forks, napkins, cups. I will be posting a list of recommended items soon. You are encouraged to bring your own favorite good and put what you are bringing on the list: *IMPORTANT TO KEEP FOOD AND DRINKS IN THE CAFETERIA! THIS IS THE RULE OF THE FACILITY OWNERS.* *ENTERTAINMENT?* Ian: Vintage video games and boob tubes. Jeff Brace: Namco Joystick games, C64 Jostick Games, Intellivision Joystick Games, C64 with Super CPU and Metal Dust with optional PS2 controller, Cards Against Humanity!, Vectrex Evan: Will be entertaining us with his consternation. Nameless individuals: Burping, farting and snoring throughout the night. *STAYING OVERNIGHT?* Let me know if you want to stay overnight. The cost is $25. You provide your own mattress cover, blankets, pillows. There is a shower area, lounge, bunk beds, hot water for tea, microwave oven, toaster oven, keurig, coffee pot, ice machine, sink, cable TV, wi-fi. To get an accurate headcount, let me know as soon as possible that you are staying overnight and how many nights. There will be coffee, milk, cream, sugar and tea bags available as well. * BUYING, SELLING, FREEBIES :* You are allowed to bring items to sell and trade with specific individuals, but this isn't a hamfest where you get a table to sell your stuff. If you want to bring your stuff, you are encourage to post to the list what you want to sell/trade and set it up ahead of time with individuals. Anything you bring in and don't sell/trade, you bring home. We can set aside a freebie table as per traditional, but you *must* take your stuff home before leaving if no one takes it. *SIGN-UP LINK:* https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1odmPxfBK9BrR-NDZIx4_ c-V2lZpt_-vU-3fIBGiyrM4/edit?usp=sharing

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