- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

40th's
by william degnan 17 Dec '16

17 Dec '16

There are a lot of other computers that have a 40th this year. Northstar Horizon comes to mind, but many others. Plus PDP 11/04 /34 /45 /55. Atari 2600....

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SASI Hard Drive Controllers
by william degnan 17 Dec '16

17 Dec '16

Related to my post yesterday, I have a SASI XEBEC 104526 rev 4 that works ok when there is a fan blowing on it but overheats after a while. It controls a SASI external hard drive used by a Visual 1050 computer. OK, I will look through the electronics and replace failing components and sure it up. Seems like the typical course of action for an XEBEC and other (SASI) external controllers. I am also thinking about the CBM 9090 and related 5-10Mb drives. 35 years in, they all seem to be failed or failing. Similar XEBEC controllers for things like IBM PC's seem to have fared better. Why? Or just a coincidence? Is there a common component that fails more often in SASI controllers but not IDE and others of the era? I know the history of SASI/SCSI and I have some XEBEC docs. I can research further on my own, but maybe someone who actually supported these back when they were new has some casual knowledge to pass along. How reliable were these when they were new/current? Bill

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Anyone have a hardcopy of "More Basic Computer Games"
by Corey Cohen 17 Dec '16

17 Dec '16

I’m trying to run “TICKERTAPE” on my Altair so I can punch out some holiday paper tape. Problem… I don’t have a copy, I’ve been trying to decipher the image on the atari archives site, but I can’t seem to get it to work. The image is really bad and I’ve had to guess on a few things. If you have a hardcopy, can you please take a high resolution photograph with a camera or your phone and email it to me. I want to send the paper tape in with my kids to school on Monday morning. Thanks, Cheers, Corey

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Anyone have a hardcopy of "More Basic Computer Games"
by Duane 17 Dec '16

17 Dec '16

Corey, I can't help on the BASIC program, but you might be able to help me. The attached file is the output of a program I wrote last year to run on a 1219B computer and punch text into paper tape. I hand encoded the data from a character generator data sheet (TB62713). I don’t have a punch so I have not been able to check / debug the program. It runs on my emulator. If you have a way to send it to the punch, let me know of any problems. Duane -----Original Message----- From: Corey Cohen via vcf-midatlantic Sent: Friday, December 16, 2016 3:35 PM To: vcf-midatlantic Cc: Corey Cohen Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] Anyone have a hardcopy of "More Basic Computer Games" I’m trying to run “TICKERTAPE” on my Altair so I can punch out some holiday paper tape. Problem… I don’t have a copy, I’ve been trying to decipher the image on the atari archives site, but I can’t seem to get it to work. The image is really bad and I’ve had to guess on a few things. If you have a hardcopy, can you please take a high resolution photograph with a camera or your phone and email it to me. I want to send the paper tape in with my kids to school on Monday morning. Thanks, Cheers, Corey

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SASI Hard Drive Controllers
by Herb Johnson 17 Dec '16

17 Dec '16

> I have a SASI XEBEC 104526 rev 4 that works > ok when there is a fan blowing on it but overheats after a while. > Is there a common component that > fails more often in SASI controllers but not IDE and others of the era? Short answer: I don't know, but here's how to diagnose heat-failing components: controlled heat and freeze. The trick is in finding the physical location. I simply don't know if there's a common component on XEBEC products which fails. I do know there are heat-related failures on decades-old computers; so I look for such things when I repair them. Obviously one can just replace "hot" components, but they may not be the source of the problem. Long-term, excessive heat is an enemy. Small hand-held IR thermometers are your friend. I bought one at Radio Shack decades ago for $50. Now they are $15; I'm still using my first one. If you freeze-spray a hot component and the board operates again, you've established cause-and-effect. A temperature-related failure mode can be a solder joint. Or a printed-circuit board through-hole which does not contain (enough) solder: the copper plating of the hole cracks over time and separates when hot or flexed. Components can crack too. I isolate heat-failing components, by putting the board in a freezer, then I install the board back in the device, after heating a SELECTED portion of the board with a hair dryer. Heating different parts of the board, and smaller sections, in succession, should isolate the failing location. "Teach a person to fish...." Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Apple III
by william degnan 17 Dec '16

17 Dec '16

You all in the Apple team might need one of these there Apple III's I rec'con http://delaware.craigslist.org/sys/5887919925.html b

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Computer Music Exhibit for 2017?
by Ethan 17 Dec '16

17 Dec '16

I thought about doing a computer music exhibit for 2017. I have Sound Blaster 1.0, 1.1, Gravis Ultrasound, MT-32. What would be good? What would make it good? I do have a Mega ST 2 as well, Atari ST was known for MIDI sequencing. Thoughts? - Ethan

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Fw: Anyone have a hardcopy of "More Basic Computer Games"
by Duane 16 Dec '16

16 Dec '16

-----Original Message----- From: Duane Craps Sent: Friday, December 16, 2016 7:47 PM To: vcf-midatlantic Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Anyone have a hardcopy of "More Basic Computer Games" Corey, Uploaded basic program to an online OCR service. File looks fixable. Made Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays tapes with the 1219 emulator. Try to read each line into a variable and output it with a CHR$() function. I tried to send this before but I never saw it go through. Duane -----Original Message----- From: Corey Cohen via vcf-midatlantic Sent: Friday, December 16, 2016 5:54 PM To: vcf-midatlantic Cc: Corey Cohen Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Anyone have a hardcopy of "More Basic Computer Games" I was able to bring the pic into photoshop and clean it up so it’s perfectly readable!!!! I’ll type this in tomorrow… Cheers, Corey > On Dec 16, 2016, at 4:59 PM, Corey Cohen via vcf-midatlantic > <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: > > Can you take a closer up pic of the code. Your pic looks like it has the > same problem, just not as bad. > > I really appreciate it. > > Thanks > Cheers, > Corey > > corey cohen > uǝɥoɔ ʎǝɹoɔ > >> On Dec 16, 2016, at 4:21 PM, Jonathan Gevaryahu via vcf-midatlantic >> <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: >> >>> On 12/16/2016 3:37 PM, william degnan via vcf-midatlantic wrote: >>> On Fri, Dec 16, 2016 at 3:35 PM, Corey Cohen via vcf-midatlantic < >>> vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: >>> >>>> I’m trying to run “TICKERTAPE” on my Altair so I can punch out some >>>> holiday paper tape. >>>> >>>> Problem… I don’t have a copy, I’ve been trying to decipher the image >>>> on >>>> the atari archives site, but I can’t seem to get it to work. The image >>>> is >>>> really bad and I’ve had to guess on a few things. >>>> >>>> If you have a hardcopy, can you please take a high resolution >>>> photograph >>>> with a camera or your phone and email it to me. I want to send the >>>> paper >>>> tape in with my kids to school on Monday morning. >>>> >>>> Thanks, >>>> Cheers, >>>> Corey >>>> >>>> >>>> >>> checked, don't have it. >>> >> >> I have it, here's the page: >> >> https://www.dropbox.com/s/cifwy6u3w56pao8/2016-12-16%2016.19.44.jpg?dl=0 >> >> -- >> Jonathan Gevaryahu >> jgevaryahu(a)gmail.com >> jgevaryahu(a)hotmail.com >>

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Teams?
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 16 Dec '16

16 Dec '16

Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic writes: >> I'm a bit confused, and likely missed something. What are these >"teams" I'm > hearing about for VCF? > >Trying something different this year. The show will still have regular >exhibits -- lots of 'em! -- but we arranged three "mega exhibits" to >honor the 40th anniversary of the Apple II, Commodore PET 2001, and >TRS-80 Model 1. These exhibits will be full-ish timelines of ALL vintage >computers from those brands, with each team having 4-6 members, several >tables, a captain, team name, and a prize for the best team. As >discussed by members on the list, the teams are: Commodorians, >TRanSistors, and AppleDappleDude. Is there a VAX/VMS team? It too will be 40 years old as of Oct. 25, 2017.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Anyone have a hardcopy of "More Basic Computer Games"
by Duane 16 Dec '16

16 Dec '16

Corey, Link to TRS-80 version online: https://archive.org/details/More_BASIC_Computer_Games_1980_Creative_Computi… Duane -----Original Message----- From: Corey Cohen via vcf-midatlantic Sent: Friday, December 16, 2016 3:35 PM To: vcf-midatlantic Cc: Corey Cohen Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] Anyone have a hardcopy of "More Basic Computer Games" I’m trying to run “TICKERTAPE” on my Altair so I can punch out some holiday paper tape. Problem… I don’t have a copy, I’ve been trying to decipher the image on the atari archives site, but I can’t seem to get it to work. The image is really bad and I’ve had to guess on a few things. If you have a hardcopy, can you please take a high resolution photograph with a camera or your phone and email it to me. I want to send the paper tape in with my kids to school on Monday morning. Thanks, Cheers, Corey

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Anyone have a hardcopy of "More Basic Computer Games"
by W2HX 16 Dec '16

16 Dec '16

Please share once you've keyed it in! Looks like a fun program! Eugene ________________________________ From: Corey Cohen via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> Sent: Dec 16, 2016 5:54 PM To: vcf-midatlantic Cc: Corey Cohen Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Anyone have a hardcopy of "More Basic Computer Games" I was able to bring the pic into photoshop and clean it up so it’s perfectly readable!!!! I’ll type this in tomorrow… Cheers, Corey > On Dec 16, 2016, at 4:59 PM, Corey Cohen via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: > > Can you take a closer up pic of the code. Your pic looks like it has the same problem, just not as bad. > > I really appreciate it. > > Thanks > Cheers, > Corey > > corey cohen > uǝɥoɔ ʎǝɹoɔ > >> On Dec 16, 2016, at 4:21 PM, Jonathan Gevaryahu via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: >> >>> On 12/16/2016 3:37 PM, william degnan via vcf-midatlantic wrote: >>> On Fri, Dec 16, 2016 at 3:35 PM, Corey Cohen via vcf-midatlantic < >>> vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: >>> >>>> I’m trying to run “TICKERTAPE” on my Altair so I can punch out some >>>> holiday paper tape. >>>> >>>> Problem… I don’t have a copy, I’ve been trying to decipher the image on >>>> the atari archives site, but I can’t seem to get it to work. The image is >>>> really bad and I’ve had to guess on a few things. >>>> >>>> If you have a hardcopy, can you please take a high resolution photograph >>>> with a camera or your phone and email it to me. I want to send the paper >>>> tape in with my kids to school on Monday morning. >>>> >>>> Thanks, >>>> Cheers, >>>> Corey >>>> >>>> >>>> >>> checked, don't have it. >>> >> >> I have it, here's the page: >> >> https://www.dropbox.com/s/cifwy6u3w56pao8/2016-12-16%2016.19.44.jpg?dl=0 >> >> -- >> Jonathan Gevaryahu >> jgevaryahu(a)gmail.com >> jgevaryahu(a)hotmail.com >>

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PDP 8i computers
by william degnan 16 Dec '16

16 Dec '16

Guys, Just a follow up, spoke with the owner of the 10 pdp 8i's today. No decision yet what he is going to do. Bill

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track 787 of 1223 and counting...
by william degnan 16 Dec '16

16 Dec '16

Having repaired my keyboard (better this time) I am in the process of formatting the external hard drive. Takes a few hours I am on track 787 or 1223 so far, looking for positive vibes...think good thoughts until it completes the format. Then I don't care what you people think. ha ha. The XEBEC controllers are a bear. Bill

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Teams?
by Joseph Oprysko 16 Dec '16

16 Dec '16

I'm a bit confused, and likely missed something. What are these "teams" I'm hearing about for VCF? Are we doing both individual exhibits as well as group/team exhibits? One of the things I know I'd like to see are "Awards" for various exhibits. While most if not all of us are exhibiting for fun/historical/educational reasons. It would kind of be nice to be recognized and acknowledged by the organization for the work we all put into our exhibits. I also believe that it could increase the quality of some of the exhibits, as well allowing for more focused exhibits. Also I feel that it could attract both more exhibitors, as well as more visitors to the festival, as competition is human nature. Joe -- 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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Anyone want a SunFire V880
by Christian Liendo 14 Dec '16

14 Dec '16

Someone I know is getting rid of a SunFire V880. It's a big computer. According to the owner " Its fully loaded. All power supplies. All CPU's and all memory slots filled. Its maxed out." If you are interested, let me know and I will send you the guys email address I think he gives in queens or westchester -Chris

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Order a PiDP-8/I
by Neil Cherry 14 Dec '16

14 Dec '16

My chief financier (Wifely) may let me get a PiDP-8/I. Where can I find out if I can order one ? Thanks -- 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] Anyone want a SunFire V880
by Brian L. Stuart 14 Dec '16

14 Dec '16

On Wed, 12/14/16, Christian Liendo via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: > If no one wants it I will post to ClassicCMP. I wanted to offer it to > the group first Where is it located again? It would be the biggest Sun I have, and might be kind of fun. I could probably get away with taking it in, though getting it down into my basement might be interesting. BLS

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Semi-OT: Cheap tablets for museum
by Jeffrey Jonas 14 Dec '16

14 Dec '16

Be sure the batteries can be replaced without destroying the case. A friend cracked the screen of his generic Android tablet while trying to replace the bad battery :-( Or always run them from USB power.

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January 2017 and February 2017 Workshops
by Jeffrey Brace 13 Dec '16

13 Dec '16

I set the date for January 14 & 15 for the January workshop. For the February workshop it will be February 11 & 12. This time we will have it in 9032-A where we had it originally. The 9010-A common room that we used the last few workshops is too small. The workshops that we have had in there were cramped. We have so many people working on stuff, that we just don't have enough room in there. -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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Update, museum tablets
by Evan Koblentz 12 Dec '16

12 Dec '16

Here's an update on the tablet project that I mentioned a while ago. We made simple card-stock signs for all of the microcomputer shortly before VCF East last spring. The signs looked decent and served their purpose. However, after a few months, the signs began to show their age and we realized it's a hassle to make changes. We also started to realize they looked sort of amateur-ish. So we decided to experiment with tablets. Simple tablets cost as little as $50-$60 and have tolerable specs for Android and our low requirements (run a browser, maybe play an A/V file here and there). I bought an Amazon Kindle Fire 7. It's a decent little tablet, but Amazon customizes it too much. You can't run Google Play apps without all kinds of complicated changes. I'm returning it tomorrow. In its place, I bought an Insignia (BestBuy house brand) 8" tablet. $60 and pure Android. I examined 20-something apps that do kiosk mode and/or parental control. Settled on an app called Fully Web Browser. It's inexpensive, easy to configure, and locks down everything except whatever domains/features that we white-list. Home button, hidden address bar, password-protected settings, even the power/volume buttons are locked down. It would be impossible for a museum visitor to do ANYTHING except what we specifically allow. The idea (as most of you know by now) is to install one tablet for every two display carts in our microcomputer exhibit. Each cart has upper/lower artifacts. The tablet screens will be divided into four quadrants. Visitors touch the quadrant corresponding with the artifact. I'm writing the web page so they can touch anywhere in the quadrant; it doesn't have to be on the actual contents (thanks to a trick in the <td> tag: <td onclick="location.href='yourpage.html'"> which supercedes using standard hyperlinks for the cell contents.) Up top there's a headline: "Press a box to learn more about the artifacts." On bottom are our Twitter/Facebook handles. Pressing a box makes that box go full-screen with info about the artifact. The top headline changes to, "Press here to return to the menu" and the bottom social media info stays the same. I ordered a case for the tablet. If it works well, then we'll determine a system for mounting them to the carts. And if THAT works well, then we'll bulk-purchase the rest of the tablets/cases. We already have funds budgeted for this. The simplicity of paper signs has some merits, but let's face it, this is 2016 and we need to have modern artifact presentation and interpretation. Using a slick kiosk app on tablets will be welcoming to our visitors, will make young people feel more comfortable in our learning environment, will impress InfoAge management, and (along with the two TVs we installed) will raise the bar for InfoAge museums in general. I am very excited about this project! We'll post some video when the first beta is installed.

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update re: bouncing messages and also Verizon accounts on our list
by Evan Koblentz 12 Dec '16

12 Dec '16

Everyone, Got this email from our list provider just now. -------- Forwarded Message -------- Dear List Owners, Some of you will be aware that for the last week Verizon has been blocking email coming from our server in New York. As a result, customers of Verizon in the US who are subscribed to lists hosted on that server are not receiving list-emails. We are still working on getting this block lifted. As part of our routine maintenance updates on the weekend, stricter bounce rules were applied to all our servers around the world. Many lists have old and outdated email addresses that no longer work, or that mail cannot be delivered to. Any subscriber address on a list that now bounces more that twice in a month is automatically removed.

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Museum Report 20161211 - Dec. 11, 2016
by Jeffrey Brace 11 Dec '16

11 Dec '16

Lots and lots of visitors today from the run by type to the know more than me type. The Holiday train show is going on and we get lots of visitors thanks to the show and the volunteers directing them to us. Next weekend will be very busy as it is the last weekend of the Holiday Train show. -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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The eye
by william degnan 11 Dec '16

11 Dec '16

https://www.degnanco.com/eye.cfm

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FS: Unknown S100 Host Interface Board
by Systems Glitch 11 Dec '16

11 Dec '16

link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/272480498465 Don't know what it does, it's only labeled as "S100 Host Interface," it *is* made in the USA though! There's a 50-pin dual row connector on top, but the board is all TTL logic. Electrical tested only -- it won't blow up your S-100 box, but it's not guaranteed to do anything else! Figured perhaps someone can find a use for it, or might even know what it's for! Thanks, Jonathan

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Museum report
by Evan Koblentz 10 Dec '16

10 Dec '16

Good day at the museum. This morning we took in a donation of various DEC, Tandy, and UNIVAC bits. Highlights are a very nice Tandy Model 12 with no yellowing, a UNIVAC book all about their product line (not a catalog; it's more like an encyclopedia) from 1970; punch cards, various manuals, etc. Then we had a bunch of visitors due to the train show. Mostly families, and also one guy who last saw us a few years ago in the old museum. Steady stream all day. I also cleaned the workbench area. Came home and there was a package waiting -- 100 banana plugs (20 each of 5 colors) that we'll wire up for the analog computers.

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Anyone have any 10Base5 cable?
by Martin A Flynn 09 Dec '16

09 Dec '16

Working on a building a 10Base5 LAN segment with vampire taps and Cabletron ST-500 transceivers. Before I spring for new 10Base5 cable, anyone have decent lengths (50-75 feet) of 10Base5 cable they are willing to part with? Martin

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FS: Data Technology Corporation DTC-10-1 S-100 SASI Interface
by Systems Glitch 09 Dec '16

09 Dec '16

link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/272480493687 Going through more duplicate/unused S-100 cards! This one is a SASI disk interface, and Bitsavers has a manual for it, linked in the auction listing. Electrical tested only, it won't blow up your S-100 box :) Thanks, Jonathan

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FS: MITS Altair 88-C700 Centronics Parallel Printer Interface
by Systems Glitch 09 Dec '16

09 Dec '16

link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/272480403564 Board is very clean, apparently this was intended to interface a MITS-branded Centronics C700 printer to the S-100 bus. I can't find much documentation for it, and I don't have any software that would use it, so it's only electrically tested: it has been plugged in to my IMSAI, it doesn't overcurrent, cause bus conflicts, et c., but HAS NOT BEEN TESTED FURTHER due to a lack of equipment, documentation and software! The ribbon cable that came with it is included. Definitely used, it has embedded dust/dirt, a few splits in the ribbon (but no worn insulation). There's some sort of panel transition fitting in the middle, it's not apparent whether this is permanent or can be separated. It didn't come apart easily, and I didn't pry. Thanks, Jonathan

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FS: Ithaca Audio IA-1010 Z80 CPU for S-100 Bus Tested/Working
by Systems Glitch 09 Dec '16

09 Dec '16

link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/272480218774 Fully tested/working. This board is unusual in that it's a Z80 board that uses an Intel 8224 clock generator IC -- intended for the 8080. Not necessary to the Z80, but apparently Ithaca was trying to maximize compatibility with old S-100 boards that were expecting an 8080. As with all Z80 boards, it's not 100% compatible with every old S-100 card out there: it would not work with my DaJen SCI due to issues with how the SCI generates the "E" signal for the 6850 ACIA. Tested with an IMSAI front panel, 32K static RAM, and a Cromemco 4FDC floppy controller/console board. Onboard EPROM and power-on-jump functionality tested. Original ceramic Z80 had some broken pins that were intermittent, it will be included in the sale *if* you request it. Thanks, Jonathan

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Funny Woot.com Shirt
by Chris Fala 09 Dec '16

09 Dec '16

http://shirt.woot.com/offers/the-modems

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Remington rand
by Duane 08 Dec '16

08 Dec '16

Bill, Sounds neat. Fast fwd. to the commercials rather than through them. Duane -----Original Message----- From: william degnan via vcf-midatlantic Sent: Thursday, December 08, 2016 8:27 PM To: vcf-midatlantic Cc: william degnan Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] Remington rand Anyone watch on buzzr, the game show channel, a game show sponsored by Remington Rand called What's My Line? It features UNIVAC machines from the 1950s. They demo use cases in place of commercials, and they leave the commecials in. Bill Bill Degnan twitter: billdeg vintagecomputer.net

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Remington rand
by william degnan 08 Dec '16

08 Dec '16

Anyone watch on buzzr, the game show channel, a game show sponsored by Remington Rand called What's My Line? It features UNIVAC machines from the 1950s. They demo use cases in place of commercials, and they leave the commecials in. Bill Bill Degnan twitter: billdeg vintagecomputer.net

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Team 1 -- Commodore
by Evan Koblentz 08 Dec '16

08 Dec '16

Todd leaked it so here goes -- the first team is Commodore with Anthony B., Bill W., Todd, Doug, and Chris F. -- but they haven't yet told me their captain or team name. Waiting.... hey guys how about "Commodorks"? :)

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Keyboard keyswitches wanted
by Herb Johnson 08 Dec '16

08 Dec '16

A colleague of mine, is trying to repair his mid-1970's keyboard. He may well find old-stock unused keyswitches, but I'm betting not. They were likely made by MicroSwitch, owned at some point by Honeywell. They are Hall-effect. They have four pins, they need 5V power. This is not a common microcomputer. Here's a link to deskthority.net, of what the keyswitches look like. https://deskthority.net/wiki/Micro_Switch_SD_Series specifically: https://deskthority.net/wiki/File:2011-11-07_16.15.40.jpg But there's lots of variations. No point in describing them further, most won't have these keyswitches. If you have something like this, and can unsolder several (and one for inspection), contact me directly and we'll go from there. Herb Johnson -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Hoodies again!
by Evan Koblentz 07 Dec '16

07 Dec '16

>> I'm down for a quantity of 4 Okay. That is eight so far. We need two more to place an order.

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The trinity @ VCF East
by Evan Koblentz 07 Dec '16

07 Dec '16

As we discussed here several months ago, I'd like to see three "1977 trinity" exhibits at VCF East XII: one each for Apple, Commodore, and Tandy. Each of these mega-exhibits can have up to five people and will be given several tables. The goal is to see which team can best honor one of these three companies. By having multiple people on each team, you can pool resources to have every possible accessory and model. The main focus should be the '77 models -- Commodore PET 2001, straight Apple II, and TRS-80 Model 1 -- but we expect to see other models (older/newer) too. There will be a prize and bragging rights for the winning exhibit in this special event. Of course, there will be plenty of standard VCF exhibits too. Believe it or not :) our world does not revolve around these three companies. Form teams (max five people each) via private communication among yourselves. Each team should pick a captain. That's who will be the main contact for show logistics. Each team should also come up with a creative name! :) Captains: email me your team name and roster by this Friday night (December 9). If there is enough interest, then I will consider allowing competitive teams, such as Commodore A v. Commodore B -- who can interpret an exhibit best? But such teams should NOT work together. It wouldn't be fair to the other teams. GO!

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] [board-vcf-ma] Space for storing Commodore VCF East XII
by Evan Koblentz 07 Dec '16

07 Dec '16

In the interests of good sportsmanship, let's have the team names being pro-your own team, not anti-the other teams. :) But if there were homebrewed programs such as TRaSh Compactors (just an example, not my opinion of Tandy!), that would be funny. Got to draw a line somewhere!

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Keyboard keyswitches wanted
by Herb Johnson 07 Dec '16

07 Dec '16

A colleague of mine, is trying to repair his mid-1970's keyboard. He may well find old-stock unused keyswitches, but I'm betting not. They were likely made by MicroSwitch, owned at some point by Honeywell. They are Hall-effect. They have four pins, they need 5V power. This is not a common microcomputer. Here's a link to deskthority.net, of what the keyswitches look like. https://deskthority.net/wiki/Micro_Switch_SD_Series But there's lots of variations. No point in describing them further, most won't have these keyswitches. If you have something like this, and can unsolder several (and one for inspection), contact me directly and we'll go from there. Herb Johnson -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] The trinity @ VCF East
by Todd George 07 Dec '16

07 Dec '16

Hey everyone! I have a shared web server with a fully configured and "ready to go" installation of the Mailman mailing list management software. It's the same software VCFed uses for this list as a matter of fact. I think I can carve out administrative roles for other folk and would be fully willing to do so if any other groups think it would be helpful. Hit me up off-list if you are interested. Full disclosure, I am one of the Commodore Exhibition team members. So potentially I'm the competition. I'm absolutely willing to help the other teams in any way I can. I am conscious of the potential conflict of interests here but want the overall Trinity exhibit to be the best it absolutely can be. I want VCF XII to be the "one everyone talks about". My intentions are honorable and can assure you that us Commodore guys are already well on our way and won't change our path now based on what other groups may talk about on any lists I host. Anyway, this is all in fun. Maybe you get bragging rights or something. :-D That said, we've been using it to keep the Commodore exhibition train on the tracks and organize ourselves. We also make a lot of use of Google Docs. I'd highly recommend similar solutions to the other Trinity teams. Also, for those that (for whatever reason) may not want my help from the mailing list perspective, the default cPanel installation that a lot of web hosts use will usually come with a pre-configured/pre-installed version of Mailman. Check with your hosting company if you would rather administer it yourself. :-) -Todd > ------------------------------ > Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2016 16:45:33 -0500 > From: Evan Koblentz <evan(a)snarc.net> > Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] The trinity @ VCF East > > As we discussed here several months ago, I'd like to see three "1977 > trinity" exhibits at VCF East XII: one each for Apple, Commodore, and > Tandy. > > <snip lots of egregious and extraneous Evan babble>

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] The trinity @ VCF East
by Mike Willegal 07 Dec '16

07 Dec '16

To do it right, replacing the missing keycap on Apple II #25 is going to be a little bit more trouble than you might think. Apple changed the font on the keycaps fairly early on. regards, Mike Willegal

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Google Ads on VC Forum
by Evan Koblentz 07 Dec '16

07 Dec '16

A suggestion was made (I think by Bill Drom. or Todd?) at Festivus that we eliminate Google Ads over on VC Forum. The cabal huddled :) and we agreed that the ads aren't necessary. A magic button was clicked in the forum administrative panel, and POOF! No more Google Ads. (Ads served a purpose when it was Erik's personal site. Any funds they brought the Federation were too modest to be worth their annoyance.)

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VCF East XII exhibit registration
by Evan Koblentz 06 Dec '16

06 Dec '16

VCF East XII exhibit registration is open! The deadline is Friday, March 10, at midnight. Early sign-ups will be rewarded. Procrastinators will be punished. :) http://www.vcfed.org/registration/exhibitor_register-online.php?event_id=2

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Hoodies again!
by Evan Koblentz 06 Dec '16

06 Dec '16

A few people told me they'd like to get the black VCFed hoodies. We need at least 10 orders to get another batch. Email me if you're interested...

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] 2900
by Jeffrey Jonas 06 Dec '16

06 Dec '16

I was talking to someone about the 2901 chip. Please contact me off-list.

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Festivus Success!
by Jeffrey Brace 06 Dec '16

06 Dec '16

I just wanted to send this out before I forgot and life gets busy again. I wanted to thank everyone who came to Festivus! It was a great success and we got about double the amount of people that we had last year. I was very grateful that we got the 9010-D space to use. A special thanks to those who helped me setup: Dan R., John and Amy C. And to those that helped with the cleanup: Jeff J., Mouse, Ian, Ryan, Connor. Thanks to Ian for bringing the games! They are always a hit. I was thinking about doing a survey to see what people liked or didn't like. I know that there were issues with running out of hamburgers and hot dogs. This was unprecedented how many we ate. Three times the usual amount. Well I wish everyone a Happy Festivus and hope the rest of your December is festive. Look forward to seeing everyone at the next workshop! -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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Great Party
by Neil Cherry 04 Dec '16

04 Dec '16

I really enjoyed meeting everyone, it was good to see old faces and nice to meet new people. Jeff B, when I got home there were 2 video cables waiting for me. When I plugged it into the 1802 the video worked. I'll need to add the sound part of the cable but I can proceed as I know the Atari 800XL is working (and I can also test out the Atari 800's). My DHCP setup wasn't as good, I'm still working on why it starts up with no errors but won't server any requests. I'll need to break out Wireshark. -- 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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Diner tomorrow AM @ Festivus
by Evan Koblentz 03 Dec '16

03 Dec '16

We're meeting at 9am tomorrow morning at the Princess Maria Diner here in Wall NJ. Should be back at the museum campus by 11ish.

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Let Festivus begin!
by Jeffrey Brace 03 Dec '16

03 Dec '16

People are arriving. Setting up. Unloading. Eating. Drinking. Happy Festivus!

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Stuff for Festivus
by Todd George 03 Dec '16

03 Dec '16

Date: Fri, 2 Dec 2016 09:38:33 -0500 From: David Riley <fraveydank(a)gmail.com> To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Stuff for Festivus On Dec 1, 2016, at 6:44 PM, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: >> >>>>> We don't need stereo and speakers this year. Just games, eating, >>>> drinking > and talking. >>>> >>>> Music would be nice. Maybe someone can bring a decent radio rather than >>>> Ian schlepping his receiver and speakers. >>> >>> There's nothing decent on any radio anyway. >> >> < Evan rolls eyes > >> >> Most people will be content with the mainstream hits/rock station in the background. > >Not to be *that* guy, but while I'm generally fine with most musical content (I draw the line at >hard country and most hip-hop after about 1995), I find commercials maddening and disruptive >to a party atmosphere. If anyone has a Spotify subscription, though... >- Dave I will gladly pay the $.99 for a Pandora One-Day Subscription. :-D Additionally, I'll bring a nice Bluetooth Speaker. -Todd

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OT - WTB Cables or connectors
by Martin A Flynn 03 Dec '16

03 Dec '16

I'm making up AUI cables to test a bucket full of Cabletron Amp ST-500-2 thicknet taps. Before I re-invent the wheel, anyone have 25 foot AIU cables they are willing to part with? If I strike out, this is what I am ordering from Anixter or Mouser: * TE Connectivity 5745583-5 / slide latch kit * TE Connectivity 749805-8 / plug * TE Connectivity 749806-8 / socket Martin

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