- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

OT: Nasa runs competition to help make old Fortran code faster
by Tony Bogan 04 May '17

04 May '17

FYI. http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-39803425 Tony Sent from my iPhone

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LSSM press coverage
by Dave McGuire 04 May '17

04 May '17

Nice article about LSSM earlier this week: http://triblive.com/local/valleynewsdispatch/12104848-74/new-kensington-mus… There are a few errors in it (the PDP-11/70 most certainly did NOT sell for $10,000..) but overall it's a nice article. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] pillow talk
by Jeffrey Jonas 04 May '17

04 May '17

replying to Joseph Oprysko > I'm guessing no blinkenlights on the pillow. Wearables are getting better and better. Some are machine washable. I have a music CD with a LED lightshow in the cover, and a flag with fiber optic lights so a pillow ought to be easier!

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Ohio Scientific Universal RAM Board GW-OSI-RAM1
by Systems Glitch 03 May '17

03 May '17

Finished building a prototype mezzanine board and testing with the IM6100 (PDP-8 on a chip) in the 560Z board today. Full writeup: http://www.glitchwrks.com/2017/05/03/gw-osi-ram1-universal-ram There are a couple of tweaks required, but I should be doing a first production run of boards before long. This board is: * 128 KW, 12-bits * Optional memory management/bank switching * No hard-to-find/expensive ICs (8T26, et c.) * All through hole * Includes lamp register mezzanine header * Largeish prototype area The lamp register is on a mezzanine for a few reasons. First off, octal vs. hex grouping! It really throws me off to try and interpret one on the other. Second, it allows remote mounting on a ribbon cable, i.e. board can be mounted to a front panel. Third, I'll likely design a 7-segment version. Thanks, Jonathan

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photos VCF SE Apr 30, May 1 2017
by william degnan 03 May '17

03 May '17

http://vintagecomputer.net/browse_thread.cfm?id=677 Photos of the event and Photos of the Computer HIstory Museum of America, both located in a former CompUSA owned by Lonnie Mims. I was quite impressed with both the exhibits and the museum. Will post video asap. Bill

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VCF-SE
by Evan Koblentz 02 May '17

02 May '17

I'm finally rested up from VCF Southeast. Had a great time! Arrived on Friday morning, immediately found Bill Degnan and tons of other friends -- all the SE crew who attend VCF East; along with Mike Lee, Jack Rubin, David Larsen, Jim Brain, Malcolm M., and lots of others who've been to East and/or are friends from other parts of the hobby (online, West, etc.) Sat next to Tandy's Don French at dinner Friday night. That was a special treat. Bill and I had our tables next to each other as the combined VCFed booth. We hung the Fed banner behind us in the center. Bill showed a DEC Rainbow alternately playing chess and connected to the VCForum IRC. I showed the Lego robot. It behaved pretty well all weekend. The Laser 128 worked flawlessly. Chris Eckert, son of ENIAC co-creator J. Presper Eckert, joined some of us for dinner Saturday night. Turns out he lives four miles from the venue. Didn't know that until I arrived. His wife read about the event in some local paper and he told her, "That sounds familiar, let me check with Evan" ... small world. As always, these weekends are over too fast. I was glad to be at a VCF and not have all the responsibility of being in charge. :) David Greelish donated an IMSAI pillow for our museum. It's a blue rectangular pillow with one long end that looks like a front panel. Pretty cool. I'm grateful for the person who gave me the opportunity to attend and for all of the SE crew's hospitality the whole weekend long. ________________________________ 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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What's this about a workshop?
by Jeffrey Brace 02 May '17

02 May '17

I recall someone posting about some workshop coming up. That sounds like a great idea. I have a bunch of Commodore 64 that I need to fix. I sure hope that there are people can help me fix them. Does anyone have the details about it? -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com Sent from my Commodore 64 ========================================================

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Museum Report - Sunday 30Apr2017
by Todd George 01 May '17

01 May '17

A day late... Anyway, I was docent yesterday. Chris Fala was there with me as we wanted to pick up the shelving that we used for the Commodore exhibit at VCF East. Glad Chris was with me, it was quite a busy day. We had two older couples that came through together, the one husband was extremely knowledgeable and very interested, said they had visited us before but not in the new museum space. We had a mother and son touring the InfoAge facility, and I gave her directions a few times to other exhibits around InfoAge, eventually they walked through our exhibit. The mom had more interest in computers than she had initially let on. A gentleman named Nick stopped in to test out a handful of 3.5" disks he had on our IBM PS/2. He hung out for a few hours. Bill Dudley stopped by to drop off a PC. We had a scout troop of probably 6 along with 3 or 4 leaders, very little attention span left as it was late in the day. I want to say I'm missing a few parties as well. The groups were nicely spread out throughout the day, kept it moving. I think that's it for the report. I hope I didn't miss too much. :) See ya! -Todd

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Hellooooo
by Evan Koblentz 01 May '17

01 May '17

Hey everyone. I'm back from Atlanta. Will answer emails later tonight and send a show report.

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Hellooooo
by Evan Koblentz 01 May '17

01 May '17

Hey everyone. I'm back from Atlanta. Will answer emails later tonight and send a show report.

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PC needed for VCFed BBS
by Evan Koblentz 01 May '17

01 May '17

Hey everyone, As announced a couple of weeks ago: we need a PC for the VCFed BBS. Some requirements: - It should be a PC that's already fully working, we don't want to get some junk and have to fix it up. - It should NOT be a tower: we prefer a mini- or micro-ATX - All it will ever run is one or two DOS programs. In fact, you'll save us time/effort if you pre-install MS-DOS 6.22 on it. - Mobo should be maxed-out with the most memory that 6.22 can handle. - The more quiet and energy-efficient, the better. - SSD > HDD - We'll attach a traditional dial-up modem or two, so it should have (serial?) ports for this. (Big ol' telephony card not wanted.) Who can donate something to meet these requirements?

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88-DSK RAM?
by David Hoelzer 01 May '17

01 May '17

Does anyone happen to have a Briel 88-DSK RAM kit that they aren’t using? I finally got around to repairing my 8800 clone and realized that I never bought the DSK, and I think Vince is out of business.

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Festivus 2017
by Jeffrey Brace 01 May '17

01 May '17

I know that this is really early, but I like to reserve the space and then forget about it until later. Since World of Commodore is December 2/3, I was thinking that either December 9/10 or 16/17 weekend would be best. What say youze? -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com Sent from my Commodore 64 ========================================================

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OT: Why do so many people buy game systems to re-sell over-valued?
by Joseph Oprysko 01 May '17

01 May '17

Just looking for peoples opinions. I was looking for a Nintendo Switch for my daughter's birthday last week, couldn't find it in ANY stores, and Craigslist/Flea-Bay are all at least $100 more, some $200 more. -- Normal Person: Hey, it seems that you know a lot. Geek: To be honest, it's due to all the surfing I do. Normal Person: So you go surfing? Normal Person: But I don't think that has anything to do with knowing a lot... Geek: I think that's wrong on a fundamental level. Normal Person: Huh? Huh? What?

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SIGNUP! 4 VCF Workshop and VCF Volunteer Day!
by Jeffrey Brace 30 Apr '17

30 Apr '17

If you intend to go to the workshop and volunteer day, then please signup! I know that there are more people than signed up going. The number signed up right now is lower than usual. I know there are procrastinators out there not signing up. It is better if I can estimate how many are going. Workshop: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1waEqeNHZeYM9t7OprYWHbwBrIVS9EzGNGl7… Volunteer Day: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10H4aFaxjt6l2EQO9tjmlY-d3az0UZLGFEjU… Thanks! -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com Sent from my Commodore 64 ========================================================

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Two full-length ISA CGA cards available
by William Dudley 29 Apr '17

29 Apr '17

More stuff dredged up from my "collection". Two CGA full-length ISA cards as used in original 4.77Mhz PC's. One says "Made in Taiwan" on it. The other has no country of origin markings. Both have a DB-9 female AND an RCA jack output. I doubt Evan wants either of these for the museum, but one never knows, so Evan is invited to pipe up. I can bring these to the VCF workshop if that's useful to avoid shipping them. Bill Dudley This email is free of malware because I run Linux.

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Free IBM Display Writer
by Adam Michlin 29 Apr '17

29 Apr '17

Hi Everyone, I have someone that is looking for a good home (i.e. free) for an IBM DisplayWriter. Pictures here: http://ceos.io/ibm/ I don't currently have room for long term shortage, but can temporarily store it until it can be picked up in North Jersey. I visit the museum often enough that I could also arrange to meet up there in the near future. Whether it works or not, I have no idea. It is dumpster bound in the next few days if I don't find a home for it. Best wishes, -Adam

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Too good not to share! Commodore Video:
by Chris Fala 27 Apr '17

27 Apr '17

Our friend Amiga Bill shot and edited this. I nominate it for the VCF Emmy award. https://youtu.be/5AVPCEx6SRo

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PC needed for VCFed BBS
by Herb Johnson 27 Apr '17

27 Apr '17

There was a request for MS-DOS install disks for the BBS. I sent a private email to Evan, offering an unused IBM brand MS-DOS 6.2 upgrade, disks and manual, in box. I created a DOS 5.0 disk as the IBM disks are for upgrade and the install runs under MS-DOS. No response from Evan. Evan et al, if you need this for the BBS, privately send me a mailing address and I'll postal mail it to you. Of course this is for the BBS, not a giveaway otherwise. The museum might consider displaying the box and manual with a display of the BBS. After all, this is about the era, and in the era one obtained DISKETTES (not "CD's") and got manuals with their MS-DOS. This is up to the museum of course. Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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VCF SE hotel share
by william degnan 27 Apr '17

27 Apr '17

I have a room with a pull out bed if anyone is looking to share a room this weekend. Cost $40 / night next to the event. Contact me via vintagecomputer.net/contact.cfm

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OT: Laptop f/s
by Evan Koblentz 26 Apr '17

26 Apr '17

I've got an HP Pavilion DV7T for sale: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2347354,00.asp Win 7, all bloatware removed, LibreOffice installed, screen is fine, case has scratches, battery is DOA but I * may * have a replacement around here; if not they're $25 online. Computer typically sells for $200-$400 on eBay. Will take what I can get for it: need $$$ right away. ________________________________ 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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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] does anyone have the schematics for the Simon 1 relay computer
by Evan Koblentz 26 Apr '17

26 Apr '17

>> does anyone have the schematics for the Simon 1 relay computer No, but you could figure it out by reading the Simon chapter of "Giant brains or machines that think." Lots of tech info there. Got it on my bookshelf.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] PC needed for VCFed BBS
by William Dudley 26 Apr '17

26 Apr '17

Machine is Compaq DeskPro. Can't as yet find model name/number. Pentium 3. On mono NIC is Intel 82557/8/9/0/1 Ethernet Pro 100 Rev 8, according to lspci. If there's a DOS driver for that, then great, that frees up a slot. There's also on board audio, (Intel 82801), but you probably don't need audio on this box. Bill On Apr 26, 2017 9:35 PM, "Joseph Oprysko via vcf-midatlantic" < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: It's just that there likely IS a packet driver for that machine, as Netware required packet drivers. And Compaq *IS* was business class machine back in those days. On Wed, Apr 26, 2017 at 9:33 PM, Joseph Oprysko <joprysko1(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Bill, what is the make/model of the machine? I'll look around for a DOS > packet driver just incase something like that beast exists. Using less > IRQ's is better.. :) > > On Wed, Apr 26, 2017 at 9:02 PM, William Dudley via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: > >> No, the built in NIC is unlikely to be have a DOS driver, so you need >> the NE2000 NIC, which takes a slot. If you need another slot, you'll >> have to sacrifice the sound card. >> >> Bill >> >> >> This email is free of malware because I run Linux. >> >> On Wed, Apr 26, 2017 at 8:57 PM, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic < >> vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: >> >> > >> If the NE2000 clone is sufficient, then we don't have to ask anyone >> else >> > for a NIC. >> > >> > ...And it would save a slot for another modem later. >> > >> > > > > -- > Normal Person: Hey, it seems that you know a lot. > Geek: To be honest, it's due to all the surfing I do. > Normal Person: So you go surfing? > Normal Person: But I don't think that has anything to do with knowing a > lot... > Geek: I think that's wrong on a fundamental level. > Normal Person: Huh? Huh? What? > -- Normal Person: Hey, it seems that you know a lot. Geek: To be honest, it's due to all the surfing I do. Normal Person: So you go surfing? Normal Person: But I don't think that has anything to do with knowing a lot... Geek: I think that's wrong on a fundamental level. Normal Person: Huh? Huh? What?

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All set re: PC for VCFed BBS
by Evan Koblentz 26 Apr '17

26 Apr '17

Bill Dudley has the Compaq computer running 6.22 so we're all set. A fanless mini-ATX would have been nifty but two real serial ports can't be beat.

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does anyone have the schematics for the Simon 1 relay computer
by David Keith 26 Apr '17

26 Apr '17

http://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/1950/#169ebbe2ad45559efbc6eb35720b3…

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Attaching DEC Handles, the Right Way
by Systems Glitch 25 Apr '17

25 Apr '17

I'm sure most of you DEC hackers have replaced a broken DEC handle or put handles on a protoboard, and did what I've done in the past: use 4-40 screws and nuts, or pop rivets. Well, I finally came across the right tool for the job, an Indestro tubular rivet set! I cut the head off of a rivet on an old Sundstrand CNC control board that was getting scrapped anyway and discovered they're 1/8" hollow brass rivets, but that a M3 x 5mm is close enough. You can buy the M3 rivets online for cheap, I paid $6 USD for 200 rivets, shipped. Here's the writeup: http://www.glitchwrks.com/2017/04/25/installing-dec-handles Thanks, Jonathan

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Inventor of the first personal computer dies - and it's not who you think
by Herb Johnson 25 Apr '17

25 Apr '17

I'm gonna change this thread to "homebrew computing?" if no one objects. Or suggest another title. Then I'll reply to Christian and Bill Degnan. Also: I appreciate the apologies, and Evan's comments. Thank you. - Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Inventor of the first personal computer dies - and it's not who you think
by Herb Johnson 25 Apr '17

25 Apr '17

On the question of "first personal computers", I think Evan's response of Apr 22 11:16:22 was very even-handed and well-considered. Evan, like many of us, has the experience of describing and responding to A RANGE of questions, on the history of various forms of personal computing devices. He also has the experience, of seeing how current definitions of personal computing change - "what is" and "first" questions are retrospective. Of course, computing devices have "evolved" over time as well. "It's all relative" is a reasonable stance. As for "firsts". Since the definition varies, and since details vary, any claim to "first" must be qualified by function and time. Claims of firsts are more like conversation starters - or to pick a fight. As for "worshiping Wes Clark", he and his colleagues did an amazing thing with the LINC, at that point in time. And those of them still alive today, are STILL working on restoring LINC computers. Evan confuses admiration about results and persistence, for worship of a person at a point in time. --------- All that aside, I personally cringe whenever Evan refers to "the homebrew era". My interests are in S-100 systems; calling them "homebrew" suggests they were some person's one-off contraption from their basement. And retrospectively, casts them as second-class products, "homebrew" vs say "appliance". The generation of basement and garage craftspersons who made what they needed, seems to be lost history to the generation who buys everything they want. I don't have a better term today, but "craft computing" sounds better to me than "homebrew computing". I spent some time, developing an argument (formal history) for what I'm talking about. But it's too long for a reasonable reply to another subject. I'll make the argument another day for why "homebrew" computing sounds to people of my age, like Jed Clampett of the "Beverly Hillbillies" TV show. As in, stills of alcohol in rural middle America. Evan is talking about MY era, and me and my technical and business colleagues of the era aren't "hillbillies"! Herb Johnson Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Anyone a TI-99/4A tech expert?
by Evan Koblentz 24 Apr '17

24 Apr '17

If so, then contact me privately. ________________________________ 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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Who's going to SE?
by Evan Koblentz 24 Apr '17

24 Apr '17

Let's make a list. Who from our group is going? ... Not counting you Atlanta guys, since that's obvious. :) 1. Evan 2. Bill Degnan 3. Brian Stuart ________________________________ 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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Possible future workshop dates
by Jeffrey Brace 24 Apr '17

24 Apr '17

Please vote on dates: June 3/4 or 17/18 July 8/9 or 15/16 August 5/6 or 12/13 September 9/10 or 16/17 November 4/5 or 11/12 -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com Sent from my Commodore 64 ========================================================

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Museum update
by Evan Koblentz 23 Apr '17

23 Apr '17

We had a good mix of visitors today. A pair of Infoage volunteers who hadn't seen our new space, three or four guys who drove down from Long Island and worked in IT, a family, and an older man who stopped by to donate some old DEC/IBM manuals + punch cards. I stopped at Home Depot and got one more package of window tint to further protect the books/magazine on our workshop shelves from harmful sunlight.

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Maybe OT: Intel AboveBoard AT info needed
by Richard Cini 23 Apr '17

23 Apr '17

All -- I'm working on getting my old AT running and I'm installing an Above Board AT memory expansion card I found in a box. I have the drivers downloaded, but when setting it up it says the switch settings don't match the memory configuration on the board. Googling doesn't produce a copy of the manual anywhere, so I wanted to ping the group to see if anyone had info on the DIP switch settings. Thanks a lot! Rich Get Outlook for iOS<https://aka.ms/o0ukef>

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FS: New Apple II Protoboards with Hard Gold Edge Connectors
by Systems Glitch 23 Apr '17

23 Apr '17

The boards from this thread: http://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?53008 Are now available as finished boards with HASL finish in the proto area and hard gold plated edge connectors! Pictures: http://i.imgur.com/QMb1X7v.jpg http://i.imgur.com/qq7w3pr.jpg $10 each plus $5 shipping in the US. International shipping is fine, but I need an address to calculate an actual price. I've got 98 in hand at the moment. Send me a message off-list or (preferably) a message via my contact form: https://services.theglitchworks.net/ng/messages/new Thanks, Jonathan

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Omnimon rises (Atari)
by Neil Cherry 22 Apr '17

22 Apr '17

I'm in a good mood despite the rain (couldn't finish painting for my bicycle club's Farmland tour). Last night my parts arrived to connect my computers to my TV (Antenna in - 300 Ohm). I plugged in my first computer, the Atari 800XL with Omnimon and up popped the familiar BASIC Ready prompt. The reversal of the control and shift keys is biting me from time to time (grr) but I was able to pop into Omnimon (a resident machine language monitor). Next step will be to check out the condition of a few other computers and then start working on building the Raspberry Pi interface (to replace the disk drive and other common peripherals). -- Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry(a)linuxha.com http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies

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Inventor of the first personal computer dies - and it's not who you think
by Jim Scheef 22 Apr '17

22 Apr '17

Noticed this in the NYT and thought that I've never heard of this guy, but he is mentioned in "Eniac: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the World's First Computer" by Scott McCartney. The NYT article is "Harry Huskey, Pioneering Computer Scientist, Is Dead at 101" https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/20/us/harry-huskey-dead-computer-pioneer.ht… His G-15 computer was 'personal' because it could be operated by one person. Jim

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Traveling south for VCF East from Landenberg PA by car
by william degnan 22 Apr '17

22 Apr '17

Hi, I am traveling by car with my video camera to the VCF SEast. leaving early this week (Tues or early Weds). No fixed schedule. Should anyone who is in the process of finalizing/packing their exhibit for the event and would be interested in being videoed briefly doing so let me know. It's for an informal documentary about the hobby that I have been working to complete for a few years now. I am just about done with phase 1 of the project. I need a little more about what a person does to get ready to exhibit, the work involved and then pair it up with the exhibit at the show. Looking for someone who is roughly between Roswell GA and Landenberg, PA (@ ~DE/MD/PA border) Even if you are not interested maybe you know someone who might be ... please pass this message along. I will not be in the way but I would need to plan my travels to time my arrival(s) to get useful footage. I'd also be interested if you have a big collection of vintage computers that you'd like to capture on video for the documentary. Contact me privately if interested: http://vintagecomputer.net/contact.cfm Bill

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Museum report 2017-04-22 April 22, 2017
by Jeffrey Brace 22 Apr '17

22 Apr '17

It's been weeks since I was docent because of VCF and taking care of persona matters. Getting used to the new tablet kiosks. Wrestling wi-fi problems. Talking to various InfoAge volunteers about different things. There were about a dozen visitors with medium to high interest. It's nice to have visitors on a rainy day. That's why I'm here after all to give tours! Gonna try to continue getting different demos running on the various machines. Some work, some don't. I will be training three more docents in the next month. We have a shortage of docents, so Evan and I often have to be at the museum. It gets hard be here every weekend when we have personal and work things to take care. -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com Sent from my Commodore 64 ========================================================

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Who's volunteering - Volunteer Day May 6 & 7, 2017
by Jeffrey Brace 22 Apr '17

22 Apr '17

Who's volunteering? Let me know. Send me an e-mail or Signup here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10H4aFaxjt6l2EQO9tjmlY-d3az0UZLGFEjU… -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com Sent from my Commodore 64 ========================================================

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What's this connector?
by Evan Koblentz 22 Apr '17

22 Apr '17

Guys, I have a old handheld gadget (circa 1993) with this weird DC charging port: http://www.snarc.net/port.jpg ... can't find the adapter for it. Anyone know what this is called so I can buy a plug? It's about the same diameter as a PS/2 plug. ________________________________ 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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Large Scale Systems Museum announcement
by Dave McGuire 21 Apr '17

21 Apr '17

Most of you have heard of the Large Scale Systems Museum, a public museum in the Pittsburgh area that is focused on minicomputers, mainframes, and supercomputers. LSSM has been closed for renovations and expansion for the past several months; we've added nearly a thousand square feet of new exhibit space and many new exhibits. On May 6th, there will be a large block party (actually, several blocks) here in town, called "New Kensington Better Block", with street vendors and other standard block party fare. LSSM will be participating in that event with our post-renovation reopening; we will be open to the public all day with docents on duty. Many of our systems will be running and demonstrated throughout the day. In even bigger news, LSSM is pleased to announce the opening of a brand new wing, the Large Scale Integration Museum, or LSIM. As the name suggests, the LSIM wing is dedicated to computer systems based on Large Scale Integration CPUs, from the earliest four-bit 4004 processors through the desktop computer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s. Thanks to a partnership with Pennsylvania-based nonprofit organization Tristate Technology Museum Consortium, and a generous donation from the private collection of Corey Little and C/PMuseum, LSIM will add more than one hundred new exhibits in four thousand square feet of newly-renovated space located in the same building as the recently-expanded Large Scale Systems Museum. Everyone is welcome. LSSM is located at 924 4th Avenue, New Kensington, PA 15068. For more information, directions, or hotel recommendations, contact the LSSM via email at info(a)lssmuseum.org or on Facebook (search for "Large Scale Systems Museum"). You can also see some photos of our facilities on the Facebook page. Please feel free to forward this message to anyone whom you think might be interested. Thanks, -Dave McGuire President/Curator, LSSM -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] NYC tonight: Peter Samson speaks on 1967 subway race (MIT/PDP-6)
by Dan Roganti 21 Apr '17

21 Apr '17

On Fri, Apr 21, 2017 at 2:05 PM, Ken via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: > [Peter Samson to be interviewed by Manhattan borough historian Michael > Miscione, NYC Fri. 4/21 7pm. Details below. -Ken] > > -------- > > > > *THE GREAT SUBWAY RACE OF 1967 *Fifty years ago an M.I.T. computer whiz > kid named *Peter Samson* and a group of his schoolmates attempted one of > the most audacious stunts in the history of the New York City subway > system. Samson programmed M.I.T.'s PDP-6 mainframe computer -- about the > size of a passenger elevator -- to calculate the most efficient route to > ride the entire subway system in the least amount of time. In their > outrageous attempt to break the existing riding record the team employed > payphones, runners, and a teletype hook-up between a makeshift "data > center" in midtown Manhattan and the mainframe in Cambridge, Mass. *Michael > Miscione,* the Manhattan Borough Historian, will interview Samson and one > of his schoolmates, *George Mitchell,* as they recount the *Great Subway > Race of 1967.* Come and find out how it all played out. > > Watch a 5-minute video preview: https://vimeo.com/212423979 > > > Read an article about it in the New York Times: https://nyti.ms/2pDoukH > > > > WOOHOO !! -- _ ____ / \__/ Scotty, We Need More Power !! \_/ _\__ Aye, Cap'n, but we've only got 80 col's !!

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] NYC tonight: Peter Samson speaks on 1967 subway race (MIT/PDP-6)
by william degnan 21 Apr '17

21 Apr '17

hopefully someone will film this. The story is in the Hackers by Steven Levy in one of the first 5 chapters IIRC b On Fri, Apr 21, 2017 at 2:05 PM, Ken via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: > [Peter Samson to be interviewed by Manhattan borough historian Michael > Miscione, NYC Fri. 4/21 7pm. Details below. -Ken] > > -------- > > > > *THE GREAT SUBWAY RACE OF 1967 *Fifty years ago an M.I.T. computer whiz > kid named *Peter Samson* and a group of his schoolmates attempted one of > the most audacious stunts in the history of the New York City subway > system. Samson programmed M.I.T.'s PDP-6 mainframe computer -- about the > size of a passenger elevator -- to calculate the most efficient route to > ride the entire subway system in the least amount of time. In their > outrageous attempt to break the existing riding record the team employed > payphones, runners, and a teletype hook-up between a makeshift "data > center" in midtown Manhattan and the mainframe in Cambridge, Mass. *Michael > Miscione,* the Manhattan Borough Historian, will interview Samson and one > of his schoolmates, *George Mitchell,* as they recount the *Great Subway > Race of 1967.* Come and find out how it all played out. > > Watch a 5-minute video preview: https://vimeo.com/212423979 > > > Read an article about it in the New York Times: https://nyti.ms/2pDoukH > > > Samson’s subway racing experience, by the way, was a mere colorful blip in > a much more substantive career. At M.I.T. he and his friends were the high > priests of the school’s still-new computer lab – the original “hackers,” a > term that originated in the lab. Their vision of computers as more than > just business calculators laid the foundation for today's personal computer > and video game era. They were the pioneers who would later move out west to > inspire and teach the Bill Gateses, Steve Wozniaks, and Steve Jobses! > > Do people today still try to break the subway riding record? Sure -- it > makes the news every year or two. But now they carry their route-planning > computers in their pocket. > > THE GREAT SUBWAY RACE OF 1967 > Friday, April 21 at 7:00p > > Hunter College West Building > Lecture Hall HW615 (6th floor) > SW corner of 68 St. & Lexington Ave., Manhattan > > Advance registration required > Free (or suggested donation: $15 + small fee) > RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-great-subway-race-of-1967- > tickets-33530635032 > > > Questions? Email mmiscione(a)manhattanbp.nyc.gov > > > Thanks to the following institutions for their generous support: > > CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities (CISC) at Hunter College > Hunter College Computer Science Department > Sam Schwartz Engineering > The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York > The New York Transit Museum > Freedean Tech > The Bowery Boys > Nerd Nite > Society for the Advancement of Social Studies (S.A.S.S.!) > ATX Nation > >

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Little adventure today
by Evan Koblentz 21 Apr '17

21 Apr '17

Ted Nelson is sorting through a lot boxes in multiple buildings on his farm here in central NJ. Yesterday he had Jason Scott visit to take some brochures and things for Archive.org scanning. Today he had me over to put aside interesting periodicals for our museum. Quote of the day #1: "Here. These issues were Calvin's." (aka Calvin Moeers, the inventor of TRAC) Quote of the day #2: "A jacket is a system of pockets connected by decorative cloth." http://vcfed.org/evan/evan_ted.jpg ________________________________ 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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AS/400 stuff in Ohio, Dialogic AMX
by Ethan 21 Apr '17

21 Apr '17

A friend of mine from the laser community has AS/400 systems in his basement that he is looking to clear out. He was talking about scrapping the boards, but I said I'd ping some people. "No this not a red stripe.. They are 36" tall units.. the iframe models 1995-1997. I emailed two of the companies they resell them, they said too heavy to ship. So going to pull the boards, and sell for scrap gold unless you have a idea. Going to look at the boards as I pull to sell I have fiber boards for these old things and ram I have a few hundred pounds of fiber trancievers for 10-base-t to 10-base-f that I am going to scrap and 50-60lbs of Dialogic AMX boards. Anyone into this stuff?

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OT: Looking for a new job
by Jason Perkins 21 Apr '17

21 Apr '17

VCFers, I'm looking for a new job at the moment. If anyone knows of a systems / network admin position in the DC area could you drop me a line? I've mainly worked with Microsoft stuff (ADDS, Exchange, Powershell...) but have done some Linux stuff as well. On the networking side Sonicwall is what I'm most familiar with, followed by Cisco. Thanks! -- Jason Perkins 313 355 0085

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tablets -- good news
by Evan Koblentz 21 Apr '17

21 Apr '17

All of the museum info kiosks (tablets) are now driven by a single Raspberry Pi. Special thanks to Jeff Galinat for donating the microcontroller. Special thanks to Bill Dudley for configuring it, creating a web admin/content interface, and building a remote access system. ________________________________ 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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So who's going to the Workshop May 5 & 6, 2017?
by Jeffrey Brace 20 Apr '17

20 Apr '17

So who's going? It looks like things will be tight as we have 100,000 people signed up already. Signup here to reserve your space: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1waEqeNHZeYM9t7OprYWHbwBrIVS9EzGNGl7… -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com Sent from my Commodore 64 ========================================================

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Little adventure today
by Evan Koblentz 20 Apr '17

20 Apr '17

Ted Nelson is sorting through a lot boxes in multiple buildings on his farm here in central NJ. Yesterday he had Jason Scott visit to take some brochures and things for Archive.org scanning. Today he had me over to put aside interesting periodicals for our museum. Quote of the day #1: "Here. These issues were Calvin's." (aka Calvin Moeers, the inventor of TRAC) Quote of the day #2: "A jacket is a system of pockets connected by decorative cloth." http://vcfed.org/evan/evan_ted.jpg

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Success in restoring old mechanical keyboards
by John Heritage 20 Apr '17

20 Apr '17

Hey folks, You probably all know this but I wanted to report success in restoring some old Focus 2001 mechanical keyboards... I've had these around since the BBS era, and they were quite yellowed (and pretty disgusting otherwise too.. :( ).. Anyway, after doing some research -- Salon Care 40 Volume Creme is basically "retrobright" in a bottle. $5 for 32 oz, and I still have a lot left over (next case to restore = Amiga 1200). Attached pic shows basically a before and after (two different keyboards, but both were equally as bad). A few things I learned: - 4 hours of sunlight (UV) is enough, 6 hours with clouds is just enough with the solution - Use cling wrap over top of any plastic you've applied the solution to to keep it wet -Soaking the keycaps in dish soap and hot water for a few hours does wonders, then: - You can be a little lazy with keys by putting them in a glass bowl, pouring 3% hydrogen peroxide over everything, and putting aluminum foil underneath to make sure UV bounces everywhere. With this method you'll probably need a second bath or manual application of the creme to restore all keys properly. - I used a lot of q-tips and 90% rubbing alcohol to clean the keyboard and electronics internals - Of course wear gloves with this stuff - Using a keyboard with an XT/AT switch on a modern PC is fun :)

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