- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

Museum Report 2017-02-05 February 5, 2017
by Jeffrey Brace 05 Feb '17

05 Feb '17

An untold number of visitors came today with interest that I am unable to describe. It is fun to explain to kids about pre-internet computer communication as well as what a cassette tape player is etc. Dropped into the warehouse the latest donation. A few of the museum machines need repair. I am assigning certain members to repair them during the coming workshop. -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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Donation of the day: 9508S Microsystem Emulator
by Jeffrey Brace 05 Feb '17

05 Feb '17

After a few attempts at picking up, I finally was able to pick up this machine from Cliffside Park. It is the 9508S Microsystem Emulator. What is it? How does it work? Come to the workshop Feb 11 & 12 to let us know. :) https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B9SJLfGXYiG5R1FMUlo0NC1NekE?usp=sha… -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] vintage comms days
by Ken 05 Feb '17

05 Feb '17

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Babylon 5 and the Amiga
by Jeffrey Brace 05 Feb '17

05 Feb '17

I decided to create a separate thread from the one about the workshop. Babylon 5 is off topic, but the Amiga is on topic. I wanted to explore how the Amiga was used to create the computer generated graphics on Babylon 5. The creator of Babylon 5 called it CGI (Computer Generated Imagery). The show used Amigas because it was really advanced graphics at a much lower price than a Silicon Graphics workstation or whatever was available at the time. Deep Space Nine was also on the air at the same time, but they must have used something much more expensive. Does anyone know which software was used? Do the computer models used still exist from the TV show or were they lost? -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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great day at the museum
by Evan Koblentz 05 Feb '17

05 Feb '17

Adam and I were at the museum today. Lots of awesome things happened. - VCFed owns two Laser 128 computers. Both fire up and both have working drives. One computer works completely, the other has a bum keyboard. The good one is missing the drive door handle. We had to turn the pin sticking out with pliers. We took both computers apart and tried swapping the drives, but they are different model drives and don't fit quite the same. Both computers said "128" but with different logos. I didn't get pictures. Neither said "EX" so I am unclear about which version(s) we have. Tony stopped by and said he may have a Laser or two available to us for parts, so we'll investigate that next weekend at the workshop. - We don't have any Laser power supplies, but we tried two //c supplies and they both worked fine with these computers. - Using the working computer and pliers to turn the drive door handle, I was able to successfully test the Lego software with our replica Apple Lego card (from Jon C.) in the Laser's expansion slot. The slot is made for a two-slot expansion box, but we don't have that and it works fine when you plug in a card directly. - The bad-keyboard Laser has a switch on bottom for configuring the expansion as slot 7 or slot 5. The working unit didn't have any switch. I tried the Lego software configured for slot 7 and it worked the first time. - This is good news (once we get the drive door handle settled). Laser 128 and a //c monitor use much less space than a //e and traditional monitor for the Lego programming demo station, and it's also much easier for me to bring on traveling demos. Less space, no separate drive needed, etc. - The reason Tony came over was to bring part 2 of a NeXT donation that he began bringing on Wednesday. This is a complete system from a woman in the DC area. It includes all hardware and a large assortment of original software/manuals. Very nice!!! - Roddy (the art guy across the hallway from our museum) finished putting our VCFed banner outside the building doorway. It's attached to a thick piece of white plexiglass which is held up by garden stakes. It looks very good. I'm going to get some white paint and go over the bolt heads. - There were several families who visited today. They all stayed for full tours. - Adam spent a couple of hours organizing part of our videogame console collection. He focused on systems and Atari VCF/2600 cartridges. - Some pictures: http://www.vcfed.org/evan/nextlogo.jpg http://www.vcfed.org/evan/next1.jpg http://www.vcfed.org/evan/next2.jpg http://www.vcfed.org/evan/sign.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

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Last call for February Workshop
by Jeffrey Brace 05 Feb '17

05 Feb '17

If you don't sign up by Wednesday midnight, then you are not guaranteed a table and you will be locked up in a room with Evan after he ate a lot of beans. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13GnWX3AajJRMede2N7BrVht2j26hyt4lQoO… -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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In Philadelphia free to non profit museum
by Christian Liendo 04 Feb '17

04 Feb '17

https://philadelphia.craigslist.org/clt/5967904410.html Vintage computers, free to not-for-profit computer museum(Lansdale) hide this posting Sharp "lunchbox" style portable computer, model: 7221. Complete with all original manuals and software. It was purchased May, 1989.This portable was unique for its day. One PC card could be installed in it. There is a external video card currently installed. When put away, it was in working condition. Macintosh SE desktop. This system is also complete with software and cables. It includes a carrying case. When put away, it was in working order. I will sell them to individuals or to for-profit museums. Please make an offer to be considered

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OT: entry-level tech support job available in Peapack NJ
by Evan Koblentz 04 Feb '17

04 Feb '17

I doubt many (any?) here would be interested, but this position is available if anyone wants it. -------- Forwarded Message -------- Subject: Needed: Tech Support in Peapack NJ Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2017 15:34:24 +0000 From: Conner, Alora (04860) <alora.conner(a)rht.com> To: evan(a)snarc.net <evan(a)snarc.net> *RH_Header*** 3 February 2017 10:31 AM Dear Evan Koblentz Thank you for taking the time to review this email. Please reply to this email if you are interested in working this position. If not, I would appreciate your help in identifying a consultant for a job opportunity that is coming up in your area. The Client would like to identify resources as soon as possible. If you are interested please reply to this email with the best time to call you and verify the *phone number that my database has on file. P 1-(646) 5469999, or forward this to anyone that might be available. *My apologies if the below project does not meet your current skillset, I have included you on this email to help me find the best resource. Email is the best way to contact me. Alora.Conner(a)rht.com, If you email me I will call you back as soon as possible. You can also reach me by phone at 877.838.6924 EXT 54114 For this or other job search needs, please email me your resume. Again, Evan Koblentz, I thank you for helping me locate the right person to do this job. Additional details are listed below: *Job Title* Tech Support *Locations* Peapack, NJ *Start Date* ASAP *Pay Rate* $15.00/hour *Duration* 12+ months *Hours*** Normal Business Hours ** *Job Description* *All Info below is provided by the client*** * Responsible for supervising the manufacturing and installation of computer or computer-related equipment and components. Major Job Duties: Test and image desktops and laptops. Maintain, analyze, and troubleshoot, software and computer peripherals. Ability to setup, configure and add all hardware. Assist Corporate Desk Side Support technicians with large IMAC’s. Assure that all tickets requiring follow up work and/or calls receive appropriate attention. Provide technical support to end users via telephone. Back up and burn end user data. Assist in developing and documenting improvements to current processes. Assist coworkers in resolution of end users’ technical issues. Assist coworkers in the execution of established processes and escalations. Test, image and clean PC’s, laptop, monitors, printers, and other related hardware. Education/Experience: High School Diploma or GED required. Entry level -2 years of hands on technical knowledge of laptop and desktop design and software installation required. Skills and Competencies: Familiar with standard concepts, practices, and procedures within a particular field. Relies on limited experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals. Possess 1 to 2 years experience in a break/fix environment. Able to lift and palletize heavy equipment. (PC’s, monitors, printers.) Strong verbal and written communication skills. A certain degree of creativity and latitude is required.* Email is the best way to contact me. Alora.Conner(a)rht.com, If you email me I will call you back as soon as possible. You can also reach me by phone at 877.838.6924 EXT 54114 *Thank you for your time. * Alora Conner TSS & RHL Recruiting Center <http://www.rht.com/> Phone: 877-838-6924 ext. 54114 Robert Half again was named to FORTUNE^® magazine's "World's Most Admired Companies" list, ranking #1 in our industry. (March 1, 2016) Robert Half is an Equal Opportunity Employer G5202trans

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Re: Joe O's X-Y Display Problem
by SVCatITC＠aol.com 04 Feb '17

04 Feb '17

Hi Joe; I will be at the workshop next weekend. Is the Vectrex something that can be transported, and can you come to the workshop in order to explore your problem? Being a hardware guy and interfacing a lot of exotic stuff in my main job, I could have a go at your problem. I'll need to know the SCELBI output signal configuration and wether we can generate up a synched time base for the X axis. We can discuss offline if you like. (I'm the Newbe working on the EAI TR20) Bill Inderrieden In a message dated 2/4/2017 12:00:39 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, vcf-midatlantic-request(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org writes: Message: 1 Date: Fri, 03 Feb 2017 17:26:45 +0000 From: Joseph Oprysko <joprysko1(a)gmail.com> To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] SCELBI Oscilloscope/Keyboard Interface Updates Message-ID: <CAPXecpCwDnu2ASSE73QfJmO_6q8WzE5RKD9Cd0ddLnkU=wDv5A(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Question, while I know the original display was an Oscillscope, would other X-Y displays work do you think? I'm asking as most scopes have relatively small screens. But the Vectrex game console has a 9" X-Y display. While I know modifications would be needed to accept the input, if it's something you may be interested in trying, I have 2 Vectrex systems, and would be willing to use one for that if you think we could make it work. Joseph Oprysko.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] SCELBI Oscilloscope/Keyboard Interface Updates
by Mike Willegal 04 Feb '17

04 Feb '17

Hi Joseph, I don’t know much, if anything about "X-Y” displays and how they may differ from a typical scopes. Because I’m only going to 20x5, the scope screen is actually plenty big enough. Here are a few details on the issues I hope to improve upon over the next couple of months. The scope interface has three outputs. Two are the X-Y vectors each of which is a voltage value offset. The third is a blanking signal. First problem is that my Tektronics 465 isn’t responding fast enough to the blanking signal. There are some limitations in the 465 blanking input, in that it’s capacitor coupled, and along a with resistor in the scope interface blanking circuit it is creating your classic RC time constant delay. I’m going to see if I can reduce a key resistor value a bit in order to reduce this effect or find another way to drive the input a bit harder. The second issue is that the analog board op amp circuit isn’t really calibrated correctly. The design uses an op-amp integrator scheme to “paint” the vectors on the screen. When the circuit is reset to top left, in order to repaint the page, the op-amp outputs drift a bit after that before they “settle down”. I haven’t looked into this in detail, but I’m pretty sure that I can fix this with some resistor value tweaks to the op-amp integrator circuits. regards, Mike Willegal

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Full VCF East schedule
by Evan Koblentz 04 Feb '17

04 Feb '17

Subject to change. :) http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-east/vcf-east-sched… ________________________________ 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

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ONE MORE class needed for Friday 3/31
by Evan Koblentz 04 Feb '17

04 Feb '17

We have one last 60-minute spot to fill for the Friday classes at VCF East. Any topic is fair game if it has wide appeal and makes people into better vintage computing hobbyists.

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Well this is awesome
by Evan Koblentz 03 Feb '17

03 Feb '17

Ethan Dicks is going to give a VCF East Friday class about 3-D printing controlled by 8-bit computers. ________________________________ 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

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vintage comms days
by william degnan 03 Feb '17

03 Feb '17

I propose that we pick a day and time each week were persons turn on their vintage computing systems that can receive outside communications via dial up, telnet or, other networking. I think keeping a BBS or VAX machine up and running all of the time is tough, but if there is a window where you know that's when people kind of expect it, it'll be more managable...Do I hear a second? We can use the vcforum to post that week's list of who is online and when. Basically a sticky thread where people post the URL or IP address, phone number, etc and technical details to help others make the connection, hours of operation. I can help assign subdomains, etc if anyone needs networking assistance. For example I have alpha2100.vintagecomputer.net assigned to my Alpha here in my basement, but I don't run it 24/7, but I would be willing to schedule to turn it on on a known schedule to make it worth doing. This way I can be there to supervise / troubleshoot. This Friday night (tomorrow)I have to watch the kids, so once they're in bed, say 9PM, I could run a few systems until about midnight to help kick things off. It might be fun to see how many systems a person can hit, catch the flag style. Maybe we could make some sort of challenge of it. Send an email from one or download a file. Just for fun. Bill

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VCF East lodging @ InfoAge
by Evan Koblentz 03 Feb '17

03 Feb '17

Everyone, As most of you know, InfoAge now has a dorm facility. A few people asked Jeff B. and I about the process for reserving spaces there during VCF East. We are developing that process now, and we'll send details to the relevant people (exhibitors, Friday teachers, volunteers) after the March 1st exhibit registration deadline. ________________________________ 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

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SCELBI Oscilloscope/Keyboard Interface Updates
by Mike Willegal 03 Feb '17

03 Feb '17

I've been busy getting ready for the upcoming VCF east event and I'm really excited about what I'll be able to show this year. I'll show a working SCELBI 8B connected to a oscilloscope and keyboard which are used as a terminal. A cassette tape interface is used as mass storage. It will be running the vintage game, Star Shooter and SCELBI's original integrated development environment (MEA), which dates back to 1975. The SCELBI can natively assemble and run Star Shooter from source code and I'll be able to demonstrate that, as well. The hardware is all reproduction stuff, as fully functional, original SCELBI 8Bs don't exist. The oscilloscope interface has been a particularly challenging project. There is only one known set of original SCELBI oscilloscope and keyboard interfaces. These are in storage at the CHM in California. I only had partial schematics, some excellent photos that Jack Rubin took of the original interfaces during a visit to the CHM, and a few notes in some documentation of related hardware and software. As far as we know, the original oscilloscope driver software and documentation has been lost. I've had to reconstruct the software by reverse engineering MEA's interface to it, along with gleaning a few hints in some surviving documentation that refers to the oscilloscope interface. I now have the hardware and software working. Before VCF, I'm looking to tweak the oscilloscope analog interface board to see if I can improve the quality 0f the oscilloscope display output, as, at the moment, though it's usable, it is quite bad when connected to my Tektronix 465. In order to more easily reproduce the Oscilloscope/Keyboard interface software, I updated my Macintosh OS/X SCELBI application to support those interfaces. The revised application is now available on Apple's app store for $5. I still have version 2.7 (without oscilloscope/keyboard support) available for free download from my website:http://www.willegal.net/scelbi/scelbiapp.html <http://www.willegal.net/scelbi/scelbiapp.html>. I'm asking a little money for the latest version of the app, in order to help cover the cost of Apple Developer Membership, which is necessary in order to complete development of an IOS version, which I would like to do when I find time. enjoy, Mike Willegal

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1980's Sony console TV on CL in MD
by Matt Patoray 03 Feb '17

03 Feb '17

I know a lot of you are looking for older televisions for your vintage computer systems and game consoles. This appears to be a nice condition26" Trinitron from the 1980's. http://baltimore.craigslist.org/ele/5949413880.html Sent from my iPhone

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Urgent update -- exhibit registration
by Evan Koblentz 03 Feb '17

03 Feb '17

VCF East exhibit registration is 2/3rds full. Please register your exhibits soon. Don't worry if all the details are not settled; you can always change them later. We absolutely do not want to turn away anyone, whether you're a VCF East veteran or a newcomer. But when it's full, it's full.

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Semi-OT: skype help for museum tablet
by Evan Koblentz 02 Feb '17

02 Feb '17

As we discussed here a few weeks ago: I'm trying to put a Skype "call us" button on a web page, so that our museum docents can be elsewhere on the Infoage campus and have visitors easily reach them (all docents have to do is log into the Skype app on their phones using the museum account). It would be slick if it worked: visitors walk up to our wall-mounted tablet, touch one icon, and get put into a live conversation. I found two ways to create Skype call-me buttons. One way is documented on their site using a script, like this: <script type="text/javascript" src="https://secure.skypeassets.com/i/scom/js/skype-uri.js"></script> <div id="SkypeButton_Call_username"> <script type="text/javascript"> Skype.ui({ "name": "call", "element": "SkypeButton_Call_username", "participants": ["username"] }); </script> </div> The other way, according to various web sites, is to just do this: <a href="skype:username?call">Call us</a> I tried both ways. It always rings three times and then says "call failed". Then I tried it with my personal Skype account and it worked fine. I tried with another Skype account and it also worked fine. The difference: my account and the other one I tried are both standard Skype usernames, whereas the museum account is an @vcfed.org email address associated with a Microsoft account. If you're a new user, then Skype.com forces you to do it that way. I don't see any way on Skype.com to make a new account using the traditional method (just a username). So: how do I make this work? Do I need to change anything in the markup? ________________________________ 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

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Brian Stuart's latest ENIAC talk
by Brian L. Stuart 02 Feb '17

02 Feb '17

> Brian can chime in, but I assume this is basically a repeat of his VCF > East XI talk from last spring, with updates about his emulator project. Mostly, yes. What I've got planned right now will dig a little deeper into some of the inner workings of the machine. For example, at last year's VCF, I hadn't implemented the muliplier yet and didn't have much to say about it. For this talk, I expect to spend several minutes talking about how the multiplier worked and demonstrating the details on the simulator. So if you had a chance to catch last year's talk, some of it will be familiar and some will be new. I look forward to seeing anyone who can make it. BLS

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VCF East online ticketing is open
by Evan Koblentz 02 Feb '17

02 Feb '17

Get your tickets now. Save time at the show. http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-east/tickets/ Remember: You get in free on the days you're participating. Thus tech speakers get in free Friday, exhibitors get in free Saturday/Sunday.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Eniac in the "news"
by Brian L. Stuart 02 Feb '17

02 Feb '17

On Thu, 2/2/17, Dan Roganti <ragooman(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Brian,I didn't know I missed any announcement about your > simulator since your VCF exhibit last year. I'm looking froward > in trying yours too. Rather use yours running natively than a java > applet. I'm using linux mint with the amd64, I see the executible > for this, it shouldn't matter then which distro right ?Dan Dan, It turns out I didn't make any announcements before now. I had hoped to get more documentation done before calling much attention to it. On the other hand, I do have to be realistic about the pace at which I'm getting there. :) But between the timing with the hackaday article and the finalizing of the configuration commands/files, it seemed a good time to mention it. The Linux distro shouldn't affect things to any significant extent. The binary is statically linked so it doesn't make any assumptions about library versions. You will need TCL/Tk installed, but there's a high probability it's already there. One thing I have noticed is that some installations create the wish executable with version number appended and not have one just called wish. If that's the case, you'll want to either create a wrapper script or a symbolic link so that you can run wish without specifying a version number. Have fun, and I'll be glad to try to answer any questions that come up. BLS

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Why isn't my program working?
by Evan Koblentz 02 Feb '17

02 Feb '17

Dan R. and I were up late, via phone + Facebook, trying to solve the latest bug in the quest to make cool Lego computer-controlled robots. A few days ago I gave up on the last version of the robot and make a new one. The previous version had a steering issue: it was rack-and-pinion style, like a car, but the Lego sensors (opto and touch) couldn't react fast enough to switch off the pinion motor. Thus the rack would keep moving after hitting its mechanical limit, breaking the Legos (or I'd strengthen the Lego construction and then risk burning out the motor). So I took it apart and made an all-new robot. This one has tank treads controlled by individual motors on each side. In the software, my first choice was to control it via keyboard: I'd pick four keys in the corners of a square pattern to represent the treads moving left/forward, left/reverse, right/forward, right/reverse. I wanted the user to have to hold the buttons down, like a gas pedal, for the motors to keep going. Applesoft expects the opposite -- press-and-release to do anything. We tried various tricks but at best the relevant bits would stutter on-off-on-off, not stay on as needed. Thinking it might be a keyboard issue, I switched to joystick button control. Button 0 for left tread, button 1 for right tread. When that works, then I'll made the joystick movement act as a shifter for forward/reverse on each tread. Same problem! With the latest test code I've got one motor stuttering and the other working smoothly (again this is in gas pedal style -- press and hold to keep the motor going). Here's where it gets really weird. Dan and I weren't sure where the problem resides, so I tried it in Logo. Works perfectly! That proved the problem isn't the joystick nor the Lego hardware interface. (I also tried swapping my well-used Lego hardware interface for the new-in-box one that Ben G. loaned us; same problem.) Back to BASIC. Swapped the button 0 and button 1 code positions in my test program. It still has the problem with the button 0 bit stuttering, even though it executes button 1 first! What the.... I'm stumped. Here is the test code (Lego subroutines excluded; they work fine): 10 REM INITIALIZE LEGO INTERFACE 20 GOSUB 1000 30 REM CLEAR THE MOTOR BITS 40 T(0)=0:T(1)=0:GOSUB 1215: (refers to ports 0-1 on the 7-port interface box; routine 1215 turns bits off) 50 REM CHECK JOYSTICK BUTTONS 60 B0=PEEK(49249) 70 IF B0>127 THEN T(0)=1:GOSUB 1115: REM TURNS ON BIT 0 80 IF B0<127 THEN T(0)=0:GOSUB 1215: REM TURNS OFF BIT 0 90 B1=PEEK(49250) 100 IF B1>127 THEN T(1)=1:GOSUB 1115: REM TURNS ON BIT 1 110 IF B1<127 THEN T(1)=0:GOSUB 1215: REM TURNS OFF BIT 2 120 GOTO 50 Other things we tried: swapping motors, swapping wires, different ports on the interface box, non-consecutive ports, rearranging the code lines to alternate (such as PEEK for B0/B1, enable one motor, enable the other, disable one, disable the other, loop). Also tried using the keyboard equivalents to joystick buttons 0/1 which on my computer (//e Platinum) are open-Apple and Option (Option = closed Apple from the earlier //e). I lost track of the results from each individual experiment (and I'm not going to do them all again), but they were all either the same or worse. Again, right now with the above code, the motor attached to button 0 stutters (you can even see port 0's LED flashing every couple of seconds) while the motor attached to port 1 goes on, stays on smoothly while you hold button 1, and turns off when you let go. Sooooo.... the problem isn't the joystick, the hardware, the Legos, or the computer. And it works fine in Logo. That leaves one thing: BASIC. How do I fix this? ________________________________ 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

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UPDATE! Re: Successful workshop January 14&15, 2017
by Herb Johnson 02 Feb '17

02 Feb '17

http://www.retrotechnology.com/restore/vcf_jan17_rep.html Photos and brief notes on the Jan VCFed Repair Workshop. I'd appreciate any corrections or additions. Thanks to Jeff Brace for some photos and ID's. Evan posted: > Img_5055 -- everyone at the restaurant was fascinated by your meal. The hamburgers and other dishes served at the Main Street Grill, were pretty impressively large and well prepared. there was two days of food on those plates. Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Care and feeding of my desoldering station?
by Neil Cherry 02 Feb '17

02 Feb '17

Okay, I want to back up my brag that I kept my soldering station working (actually the tip, this station was beat up 30 years ago but it's gotten worse). SO I have this cheap Aoyue desoldering station. I've been keeping the spring and the nozzle clean but I'm puzzled as the why the large tube of silicone? It doesn't really explain in the manual how to maintain the station and the large tube seems a bit much for the vacuum attachment at the based. Any hints tips, or clues? -- 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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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Eniac in the "news"
by Brian L. Stuart 02 Feb '17

02 Feb '17

On Tue, 1/31/17, William Dudley via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: > http://hackaday.com/2017/01/31/eniac-the-way-we-were If anyone is interested in an alternative simulator, the one I've been developing is available: http://cs.drexel.edu/~bls96/eniac/eniac.html BLS

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] <---is this necessary?
by william degnan 01 Feb '17

01 Feb '17

On Feb 1, 2017 7:59 PM, "Bob Flanders via vcf-midatlantic" < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: > > I vote keep it as it is. > > Or change at random

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<---is this necessary?
by Herb Johnson 01 Feb '17

01 Feb '17

Question to the list moderator. We've posted in the "subject" line, the phrase "[vcf-midatlantic]" for some time now. But a recent post did not have that phrase, and apparently it at least made the Web archive for the list. Evan - it's your call. Is this phrase really necessary, or desirable? Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Two more teachers needed for Friday @ VCF East
by Evan Koblentz 01 Feb '17

01 Feb '17

Everyone, The speakers (but not yet the times etc.) for Friday @ VCF East are posted here: http://vcfed.org/wp/classes/. We need two things: 1. An instructor for the power supply topic 2. One more topic/instructor Given all the knowledge in this group, someone must be interested... ________________________________ 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

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The next workshop sign up sheet (Feb 11 & 12, 2017)
by Jeffrey Brace 01 Feb '17

01 Feb '17

For those of you that missed it in my last e-mail with all the important info. Here is the signup sheet again: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13GnWX3AajJRMede2N7BrVht2j26hyt4lQoO… -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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Brian Stuart's latest ENIAC talk
by Evan Koblentz 01 Feb '17

01 Feb '17

Our own BLS is giving another ENIAC talk on Thursday, February 16, at 8pm for the Princeton ACM/IEEE meeting. Details: - Refreshments and networking at 7:30 pm - Small Auditorium, Room CS 105, Computer Science Building, Princeton University - Information: Dennis Mancl (908) 285-1066 - http://PrincetonACM.acm.org - A pre-meeting dinner is held at 6:00 p.m. at Ruby Tuesday’s Restaurant on Route 1. Please send email to princetonacm(a)gmail.com in advance if you plan to attend the dinner Brian can chime in, but I assume this is basically a repeat of his VCF East XI talk from last spring, with updates about his emulator project. ________________________________ 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

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UPDATE! Re: Successful workshop January 14&15, 2017
by SVCatITC＠aol.com 01 Feb '17

01 Feb '17

Hello All; Newbe here. I will take Jeff Brace's advice and detail what I worked on that was pix'ed. (See Jeff's link to the Google drive where the pix are located) I have been working on the museum presentation of the EAI TR20. So far, the restoration has been behind the scenes. Visitors will see the computer in a blue rack, sleeping. We pulled all the amplifier trays from the computer and then put the patch panel back, thereby allowing us to work on the defective components without disturbing the display and not making it any uglier than it already is. The large spaces between the computer are destined for a flatbed plotter (above) and a storage scope (below). With the new fabricated test bed (pix), we now can test and repair the amplifier trays at our convenience (workshop days). The pix that Jeff took of my stuff are as follows: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B9SJLfGXYiG5LS1hMU8yX19fQWM?usp=shar ing IMG_5061.jpg: Could keep the bench a little cleaner. I tend to spread out. IMG_5065 to IMG_5066.jpg: Test Bed finished and fired up. YEAH it's ALIVE! IMG_5067.jpg: Test extender cable is firing up an EAI TR10/20 amplifier tray. Farm fresh picked from the boneyard storage at my warehouse, and it WORKED FIRST SHOT! (Parts and tray components are from my collection.) IMG_5068.jpg: EAI PC-12 Industrial Systems test setup box (glorified DC multimeter) I've jazzed this up with an internal +/- 10v reference supply. This is nice eye candy while doing repairs, and it has the same look and feel of the TR20 front panel. 50 year old technology diagnosing 50 year old technology. Just thought others might want to share in the progress and joy! I will continue diagnosing museum components at next workshop (Feb 11-12) Bill Inderrieden In a message dated 1/16/2017 12:05:17 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, vcf-midatlantic-request(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org writes: Message: 7 Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2017 01:25:23 -0500 From: Jeffrey Brace <ark72axow(a)gmail.com> To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] Successful workshop January 14&15, 2017 Message-ID: <CAKVfvQxiQA-Z_nzbSnMc-P=TnZJaLWtY84C+HccSzw=OrbgLgQ(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Just wanted to write a quick e-mail to thank all those who attended the workshop. It was another successful workshop. It was a good idea to have the workshop in the bigger space. It accommodates more people. A lot of things got fixed and there was a lot of sharing of knowledge and expertise. Here are some phones from my iPhone which are raw, unedited and not the best quality (sorry I forgot to bring my Nikon): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B9SJLfGXYiG5LS1hMU8yX19fQWM?usp=shar ing If anyone wants to chime in on what the worked on, their progress and what they need to work on next. -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com End of vcf-midatlantic Digest, Vol 15, Issue 16

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Eniac in the "news"
by William Dudley 31 Jan '17

31 Jan '17

http://hackaday.com/2017/01/31/eniac-the-way-we-were Bill Dudley This email is free of malware because I run Linux.

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sort of OT: "vintage" Oscilloscope for sale
by William Dudley 31 Jan '17

31 Jan '17

I have a pristine but untested RCA/Heath oscilloscope, looks to be from the 80's. Debug your Apple ][ with period appropriate hardware? Looking for $25 but make an offer if you think that's too salty. (The money is for the owner; I'm just the middleman.) picture here: http://www.dudley.nu/oscope_825.jpg I've also located and downloaded the Heath manual for it, and will make that available to the buyer. Bill Dudley This email is free of malware because I run Linux.

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PDP industrial/11 Progress
by william degnan 30 Jan '17

30 Jan '17

Hey all ... very happy to report I finally got my PDP 11/40 "industrial/11" to boot using RL11 controller to RL02 drive, running RT-11 at the moment. Long story short, the CPU and power seemed OK but I could not get the @#$! thing to boot RT-11 using an RL11 controller. I have been combing through the system for the better part of a year I guess to try to figure out why. I'll write up what I finally did to get it to work when I get the chance, but in short the DD11-CF backplane I was using had issues and was the cause of my problems. The industrial/11 is a PDP 11/40 with a red white and blue front panel, and most of the hardware is 1974. I need to add more RAM as I am only using 16K core at the moment but it's enough to boot the RT11 disk Ray Fantini so kindly made for me. Whew. Bill

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OT: SD card reader (USB) needed
by Andy Meyer 30 Jan '17

30 Jan '17

Does anyone have an SD card reader to USB that I can buy/borrow? I seem to have misplaced mine. Reply direct to me. Thanks Andy

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All robots need arms
by Evan Koblentz 30 Jan '17

30 Jan '17

This is entirely Dan's fault. :) He joked about an arm for Leinard Legobot, I said it's too difficult, and then of course I was up all night and all morning building it! Right now I have an arm that extends out of Leinad like an extension ladder. It works pretty well but its only capability is to emerge and retract. Not very exciting. Oh... and I used Lego hydraulics to make it tilt up and down. :) You have to pump it manually. I could automate the pumping with another motor, but all of the interface box ports are full. ________________________________ 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

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Signup for repair workshop! (Feb 11 & 12, 2017). Be there or be cubed.
by Jeffrey Brace 30 Jan '17

30 Jan '17

DATE: February 11 & 12, 2017 LOCATION: InfoAge Building 9032A - (2201 Marconi Road, Wall Township, NJ) TIME: Start about 10 A.M. on Saturday and ends whenever we go to sleep. End about 5 P.M. on Sunday. (Starts around 10 A.M. Sunday morning) SIGNUP: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13GnWX3AajJRMede2N7BrVht2j26hyt4lQoO… COST: - $10 for all members attending the workshop, which VCF donates to InfoAge as thanks for providing the space for us. - $25 for those wanting to stay overnight. Please pay me when you get there so that I don't forget. OVERNIGHT: Bring your own pillow, blankets, soap etc. We provide a bed frame and an uncovered mattress. There are showers and a kitchen for your use. - We will have PayPal credit card swipes available. EQUIPMENT: - VCF will provide a table and you can use any available electrical outlet. - Bring your own tools, power strips, power cords, and supplies etc. DRINKS: You should bring your own. I would recommend bringing a cooler of some type. FOOD: You provide your own. We may order pizza or go out to a dinner. Usually, we make a decision when everyone gets hungry. GATE: During the hours from 1 pm to 5 pm close the front gate behind you. We want museum visitors to go to the front lobby and not wander through the middle of the campus. Outside of those times, you can feel free to leave the gate open. PARKING: Park across from 9032A on the grass area. WEATHER: We will watch the weather very carefully. Snow is a predicted Saturday. We will make a judgment Friday night weather we will cancel due to snow. QUESTIONS? Please ask me (Jeff Brace) or Evan. My cell is 732-759-1783 and Evan’s is 646-546-9999 in case you need to contact us. See everyone there! And have fun! -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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CompuPro question/help
by Richard A Cini 29 Jan '17

29 Jan '17

All – I’ve been struggling recently getting any kind of x86-type system running on the S100. I have a mix of boards, but couldn’t get any to get me to a “boot”. Rich Camarda has a bunch of boards on eBay, so I emailed him to get confirmed jumper settings. To start, this is what I had in my system: CompuPro 86/87, RAM22, Disk 1, and the System Support board. While I don’t have a CompuPro diskette, I at least wanted to get the boot sequence to work. Nothing would work, even pared down to the troubleshooting-minimum from the manual (the CPU and Disk 1). For the drives, I’m using modified YD-380 PC/AT drives to replace 8” as I do on my IMSAI. I have an SCP 8086 board so I swapped it for the 86/87 board and now I get the boot activity (drive access, pause, drive access, etc.) per the description in the manual. Not sure what’s wrong with the 86/87 board I have (was bought “working” but who knows), so if there’s an expert out there, please contact me off-list. I also have a few Z80 processor boards I wouldn’t mind trading for the CompuPro Z80 CPU card. Also contact me off-list for that. Next up is getting something bootable going. Thanks! Rich -- Rich Cini http://www.classiccmp.org/cini http://www.classiccmp.org/altair32

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New Floppy Days Podcast #69 - The Commodore Vic-20 History, with Brian Bagnall, Michael Tomczyk, Neil Harris
by Randall Kindig 29 Jan '17

29 Jan '17

http://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-69-the-commodore-vic-20-history-wi… <http://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-69-the-commodore-vic-20-history-wi…> A new episode of Floppy Days about the Commodore Vic-20!! I was able to get a few notables from the Commodore & Vic-20 community to help me do this documentary-style retrospect on the history of this important machine. Some of the people you may have heard of Including: Michael Tomczyk - Advisor to Jack Tramiel and leader of the Vic Commando Team Neil Harris - Commodore employee and key member of the Vic Commando Team, before he went to Atari with the Tramiels Brian Bagnall - author of "Commodore: A Company on the Edge" I hope you enjoy this!! Randy Kindig, host Floppy Days Podcast floppydays.com

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Some interesting testimonies on BASIC
by Douglas Crawford 29 Jan '17

29 Jan '17

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Museum Report 2017-01-29 January 29, 2017
by Jeffrey Brace 29 Jan '17

29 Jan '17

It was a slow day today probably because the Apollo Guidance Lecture by O'Brien down the road at the TIROS site. Steve Anderson stopped by and donated a Variac: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9SJLfGXYiG5SDh2ZFlpa1dZWkE/view?usp=shari… A mother and son stopped by and had medium interest, who paid attention the whole way around the tour. Nick Lordi stopped by to see what's new. He was at the lecture. I told him about Brian Stuarts VCF East exhibit since he is very interested in FORTH. I worked on documenting which computers in the exhibits need repair and which ones need demos. I also tested out some donated C64 equipment. Another group of 2 with high interest another group of 4 came with moderate interest. The 2 really like the IBM 1130 and were visiting from Florida. One of them had worked on it before. There were here at VCF East and will return again. -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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Poly 88
by Evan Koblentz 29 Jan '17

29 Jan '17

Everyone, Several years ago, one of the legacy MARCH members told me he owns a Poly 88 and would consider donating it to us after finishing a project to get some data off 8" disks. I thought it was Nick L., but I emailed him and he said nope, wasn't me. Anybody know who I mean? If so -- or if it was you -- then please email me off-list. ________________________________ 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

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FYI, email header from the strange problem with the List Server
by Dan Roganti 29 Jan '17

29 Jan '17

On Sun, Jan 29, 2017 at 7:50 AM, Evan Koblentz <evan(a)vcfed.org> wrote: > Ps. Once again my reply went to you instead of to the list. I don't know > why. It is frustrating. Going to re-send it to the list which was my > intention. > > FYI, that List Server glitch that I mentioned the other day, I think it may confuse some of our Email Clients supposed to be only one recipient sent by the List Server so then no CC or BCC should be added by the List Server The "REPLY-TO" field is always correct other List Servers I'm on never seem to do this not sure what others see in their Email Client, but this one, sometimes I get this in my email header with 2 recipients from: Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> reply-to:vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> to: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> cc: Evan Koblentz <evan(a)vcfed.org> or this, with 2 recipients, -and- 2 instances of an email address in the "REPLY-TO" field and 2 copies of the List address, one in the :REPLY-TO" field and another one in the "TO:" field from: Brian L. Stuart via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> reply-to:"Brian L. Stuart" <blstuart(a)bellsouth.net>,vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> to: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> cc: "Brian L. Stuart" <blstuart(a)bellsouth.net> date: Sat, Jan 21, 2017 at 4:32 PM subject:Re: [vcf-midatlantic] C Compilers (was Re: Perhaps I asked the wrong question...) a normal example from CCTALK from: Rik Bos <hp-fix(a)xs4all.nl> reply-to:"General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" < cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> to: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" < cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> date: Thu, Oct 16, 2014 at 4:53 AM subject:RE: HP 2100A vs. 2100S resolved?

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Why my program IS working
by Dan Roganti 29 Jan '17

29 Jan '17

ugh mine did too, it only went directly to your email I'm telling ya, it's that List Server glitch that I mentioned On Sun, Jan 29, 2017 at 7:38 AM, Evan Koblentz <evan(a)vcfed.org> wrote: > >> so you might be wondering, why should I add that > > Not wondering at all. :) Already used that idea in previous versions and > it's a common example in many of the Lego programming manuals. > ok cool Now, get the Board to buy or ask for more donations of Legos and make a ~bigger~ one next time don't fall victim that many of us failed sometimes, by using the old project for spare parts in the new project I saw you did that once already Save the old one too

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curious but too little about vintage machines
by Jeffrey Jonas 28 Jan '17

28 Jan '17

A quick history of copy protection, but does not mention Apple ][ half-track formats or the laser-burned floppy disks. http://boingboing.net/2017/01/28/a-lively-history-of-drm-and-ga.html https://youtu.be/HjEbpMgiL7U a 17 min video about vintage copy protection methods

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Museum Report - 22-Jan-2017
by Todd George 28 Jan '17

28 Jan '17

Quick museum report for today. It was a bit of a slow day, but we did have one really interested visitor. Her name is Lynn, she has a long history with computers and said the museum looked a lot like her basement. She mentioned quite a few items she had in her collection, including a wall-mounted Apple //e that boots to Frogger, and TI-99/4A among a lot of other items. She spent a lot of time in the museum. I described our group and invited her to VCF East. She indicated having some prior interaction with Bil Herd during her employment (but not with Commodore). I mentioned that he has a habit of showing up at VCF East, she expressed interest in saying Hi to him. She also indicated that she had never owned a Commodore machine. Was very nice talking with her. We also had a family stop by, they were mostly looking for the Model Train guys but spent a few minutes talking with me. They asked if we had any Burroughs equipment. I mentioned that there was nothing on exhibit, but that doesn't mean we won't have some on display one day. I spent my free time working on the Apple ][ disk drive. It squeaked loudly and sounded altogether terrible, I also witnessed the demo program the Apple was running lock up on disk access a few times. I cleaned and lubed it. It no longer squeaks and in testing the graphic demo seemed much more stable. I also noticed that the Macintosh seems to have an issue with the floppy, but I did not have the proper equipment with me to image another disk for it. I think I remember it being mentioned previously, but we need an RGB cable for the Amiga 500 that's on display. I spent a little time playing around with imaging some additional Commodore music disks (as I did bring equipment for that with me) but didn't have much success prior to running out of time. See ya! -Todd

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Why isn't my program working?
by Dan Roganti 28 Jan '17

28 Jan '17

On Sat, Jan 28, 2017 at 6:11 PM, Evan Koblentz <evan(a)vcfed.org> wrote: > You read that way out of context. The "2" was a typo in my REMark in the > code. I meant "1" there which we both know is the second bit. > > > ok just trying to keep the info organized

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Why isn't my program working?
by Dan Roganti 28 Jan '17

28 Jan '17

On Sat, Jan 28, 2017 at 5:56 PM, Evan Koblentz <evan(a)vcfed.org> wrote: > >> Yes, typo in the remark. > > No that's the digit value if binary bit# 1 which equals 2 > > What? No, you're wrong. That is from a comment I put in today. > please read my explanation from my last reply about Binary numbers Bit# 0 -- Digit Value = 1 Bit# 1 -- Digit Value = 2 <------------this is the one we were using in the 1stcode, Bit# 2 -- Digit Value = 4 in the 2nd version of the code we tried almost every bit here Bit# 3 -- Digit Value = 8 Bit# 4 -- Digit Value = 16 Bit# 5 -- Digit Value = 32 Bit# 6 -- Digit Value = 64 Bit# 7 -- Digit Value = 128

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semt-ot: embedded Linux roundup
by Jeffrey Jonas 28 Jan '17

28 Jan '17

I did a quickie presentation for Unigroup: NYC's Unix/Linux/BSD/... user group http://unigroup.org/ It was essentially a roundup of what's on my workbench (and some stuff I wish I had) http://ferretronix.com/unigroup/2016/ 2016: the year of the cheap embedded Linux system and IoT -- jeff jonas

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