- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

Suggestions? East XII keynoters
by Evan Koblentz 01 Nov '16

01 Nov '16

Please suggest interesting people who could keynote at VCF East XII next spring. Requirements: mainstream appeal, live within a few hundred miles of InfoAge, not redundant to past keynote subjects. DO NOT reach out to anyone on behalf of our organization. Invitations must come from me, Corey, Jeff B., or Erik Klein out west.

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Museum Report
by Dean Notarnicola 01 Nov '16

01 Nov '16

Very quiet day for Drew and I. A middle aged couple came in and literally zipped through in two minutes without asking any questions. Much later, two older gentlemen, who are repeat visitors, came in. They asked some questions about certain pieces, the museum, the membership, and some personal questions about my background. They seemed enthused about the upcoming Vintage Computer Fest. The black polo shirts have been delivered to the warehouse. We neatened the bench area. I connected a USB stick to the hallway TV that is now displaying an five page informational slideshow that Evan created; the next step is a wireless open source digital signage solution using an RPi. Drew recreated the sign at the entrance next to the cash donation box to include the new VCF logo and to catch some more eyes. Looking forward to seeing everyone at Festivus! Dean

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World Maker Faire photos of our exhibit
by Jeffrey Brace 01 Nov '16

01 Nov '16

Does anyone have any photos of our exhibit that we did at World Maker Faire? I'm looking for photos that have close ups of the robots that Evan and I demonstrated. Please contact me privately if you do. Thanks! -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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identify some PC-bus cards?
by Herb Johnson 01 Nov '16

01 Nov '16

http://www.retrotechnology.com/y/zenith_pickup.html Among other items, I picked up some of these PC-bus boards. Some of them are IBM brand, I know there's some PS/2 interests. A passive ISA backplane too. Also HP brand, and some non-PC bus NEC. The Iomega brand boards, are likely interfaces for Iomega old removable drives. Contact me if you know something about these cards, and have an interest. I'll be at the December event. - Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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RIP PC Mag editor Bill Machrone
by Evan Koblentz 31 Oct '16

31 Oct '16

http://www.pcmag.com/article/349186/remembering-pcmags-bill-machrone

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For sale 128K Core RAM Industrial PDP 11/40 System
by william degnan 30 Oct '16

30 Oct '16

*Ebay:* 272432268291 http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/272432268291? Will help ship worldwide. $1. Bill

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Commodore history in my local newspaper
by Duane 30 Oct '16

30 Oct '16

All, http://pilotonline.com/business/turns-out-the-leader-of-the-commodore-engin… Duane

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OT: PC parts for free
by Jeffrey Jonas 29 Oct '16

29 Oct '16

I'm scrapping a bunch of single core PCs. If you wants parts such as power supply, CD/DVD drives, just ask! Few have any ram or ram of interest, mostly 256k PC-133 and "slow" speeds. -- jeff jonas

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Modems...
by Herb Johnson 29 Oct '16

29 Oct '16

Al Hartman posted "Drop me an e-mail off the list if you are interested." I'm interested, and sent a private email. Contact me, use my posted email addr if you don't get my private email. Thank you. - HErb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Possible rescue help needed SATURDAY Kearny NJ
by Kelly Leavitt 29 Oct '16

29 Oct '16

There is about to be a dumping of TRS-80 stuff in Kearny this weekend. I'm trying to coordinate with the current owner, but I'm in Arkansas until Tuesday. Anyone want to help? Send me an offlist email and I'll try to get you in touch with Ward. I'd like some of the manuals and stuff, but obviously I'm out of the loop,. Thanks for any help, Kelly

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Modems...
by Al Hartman 28 Oct '16

28 Oct '16

I have several PCMCIA modems, a Radio Shack Acoustic Coupler (no Power Supply), and a few assorted Modem Cards of various kinds. I'd donate to them to the museum if needed, or would like to sell/trade them off. I have several boxes of assorted cards for PCs of all kinds, some small Apple SCSI drives from 68k machines (not sure how many are still working), and at least one SCSI drive with a non standard interface I could never get to work. I'd like to try to pull some cash out of the PC Cards as I have crushing medical debt, but the hard drives are free to anyone who wants to come get them. Drop me an e-mail off the list if you are interested. -[ Al ]-

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my index card of modem tests
by Jeffrey Jonas 28 Oct '16

28 Oct '16

I keep an index card of "smart modem" commands for checking a modem's mfgr, rev and such. ATI0 ATI3 ATI6 AT+fmfr? AT+fmdl? AT+frev? Just in case anyone's testing unknown modems. -- jeffj

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my index card to test modems
by Jeffrey Jonas 28 Oct '16

28 Oct '16

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OT: gotta-go: home router/switches
by Jeffrey Jonas 27 Oct '16

27 Oct '16

I have a heap of Linksys, D-link and other home routers. The usual: 4 port 10/100 switch, 802.11g wifi and router. But these are too small for Linux: 2 meg flash. If you want any, reply to me ASAP. I need the floor space. Yesterday :-( -- jeff jonas

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Dialup Modems
by Blatboy 27 Oct '16

27 Oct '16

> > From: Christopher Gioconda <cgioconda(a)gmail.com> > To: vcf-midatlantic > <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> > Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Dialup Modems > Message-ID: > <CALfxmS68HL3-Am6hyVuXey6WCef5OFC15S0OoJz1io > x73E_DGA(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 > Hi David, I've been thinking of picking up a 14.4-38.4 kbps external serial > modem off of ebay. If you happen to see one I'd gladly compensate you for > it. > Christopher Gioconda > cgioconda(a)gmail.com I'm pretty sure I have a 14.4 serial modem I'd be happy to give you. Drop me an email if you're interested. I'd love it to go to someone who appreciates it. http://www.jwalterhawkes.com http://www.blatboy.com like to know where/when I'm playing? Click here <http://www.blatomaster.com/mlist.php> to sign up for my list, and let the babble begin.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] TVs installed!
by Todd George 26 Oct '16

26 Oct '16

Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2016 09:24:06 -0400 Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] TVs installed! > You can steal USB power from the USB port :-) Just as an FYI, I'd think most televisions probably supply 500mA or mabye 1 Amp on their USB ports. Westinghouse doesn't seem to publish the power capabilities of their USB ports (at least not at quick glance). It looks like most of the Raspberry Pi devices can probably function on a 1 Amp feed, but that assumes nothing else is connected to the Pi. Most of the USB power supplies marketed toward the Pi that I've seen out there are providing 2.4A or so. Something to keep in mind in case the Pi acts strange when powered from the TV. -Todd

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Semi-OT: history @ work
by Evan Koblentz 26 Oct '16

26 Oct '16

Sometimes being a computer historian helps with my daytime job as a technology journalist, because I have context that other reporters lack. Today I started working on a story about anti-DDOS measures and wound up snagging some predictions from Paul Mockapetris -- the guy who basically invented DNS. Fun times! In another recent story, I tracked down the people who made the product that became Veritas Netbackup. Not sure if I posted that here when it published back in June. Here's the link: http://www.techrepublic.com/article/veritas-netbackups-roots-a-brief-histor…

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Quality laser toner refills? (potentially OT)
by David Riley 26 Oct '16

26 Oct '16

Hi all, This is vintage-ish... a LaserJet 2200 is kinda skirting the definition of "vintage", but the question applies to older laser printers as well. I have an LJ 2200 that still sees frequent use (it's a great printer, especially with a network card in it), but it looks like HP has either discontinued or sharply reduced new production of its cartridge ("96A"). There are other toner cartridges for older laser printers that are entirely discontinued. However, there are a lot of refillers out there who sell refilled cartridges for reasonable prices. I've never had good success with the print quality from those, though. There are also toner refill kits, which seem like a dubious (and messy) proposition. Does anyone have POSITIVE experience with any particular refillers? Whenever I've gotten one from e.g. "Cartridge Depot" or the like, the prints have been either light, uneven, or sticky. I'd like to have something that's roughly comparable to the excellent quality of the original HP toner. I don't mind refilling it myself if there are good results; I wouldn't be surprised if some of the spotty quality issues are due to worn wiper parts, etc. in the older refilled cartridges. If I search on Amazon for HP 96A, I get a lot of results that claim to be "original", but the reviews say they're rebuilt/refilled cartridges, with all the related ill effects. Staples does seem to stock it, but for a bit more than I expected (and if it's discontinued, I don't know for how long). Regardless, it's a question of interest for all older laser printers. - Dave

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Dialup Modems
by Joseph Oprysko 26 Oct '16

26 Oct '16

Does anyone in the Philadelphia area have an external modem or three to lend me for testing? -- 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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Festivus Sign Up Sheet
by Jeffrey Brace 26 Oct '16

26 Oct '16

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1flOzpjh4Wdd3Gn6B3DqWHpQmxYSQGrtFo20… Please sign up if you want to attend! Festivus is Dec. 3 & 4. -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Dialup Modems
by Christopher Gioconda 26 Oct '16

26 Oct '16

Hi David, I've been thinking of picking up a 14.4-38.4 kbps external serial modem off of ebay. If you happen to see one I'd gladly compensate you for it. Christopher Gioconda cgioconda(a)gmail.com On Oct 26, 2016 9:14 AM, "David Hoelzer via vcf-midatlantic" < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: In fact, if there are others in the group interested in older modems, it is not uncommon for me to come across modems ranging from 1200 to 19200 at the local “goody pile” at the dump. If you send me a note I’ll be glad to keep my eye out. > On Oct 26, 2016, at 9:02 AM, David Riley via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: > > On Oct 25, 2016, at 17:24, Joseph Oprysko via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: >> >> Does anyone in the Philadelphia area have an external modem or three to >> lend me for testing? > > I'm in SW center city and have a 28.8 modem you're welcome to keep; I don't have the time I thought I did to do anything with it. > > > - Dave

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Hey, YOU! (re: Festivus)
by Evan Koblentz 26 Oct '16

26 Oct '16

There are a ton of people who we know will attend Festivus, BUT, we need you all to put your info on the list: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1flOzpjh4Wdd3Gn6B3DqWHpQmxYSQGrtFo20… Otherwise we have no idea how many tables to set up, how much food to buy, etc. .... please do not procrastinate. Thank you.

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TVs installed!
by Evan Koblentz 26 Oct '16

26 Oct '16

Anthony B. drove down to the museum from Westchester County NY yesterday. We spent all day installing the TVs and wire conduit to hide the cords because we weren't about to dig into the walls. It turned out great! Anthony had the idea to paint the tops of the mounting hardware white so it blends into the ceiling color. Here are some pictures. The TVs are lightweight so the hardware just screws into studs, no lag bolts needed: www.vcfed.org/evan/before.jpg Before and after painting the posts: www.vcfed.org/evan/after.jpg and www.vcfed.org/evan/drill.jpg Anthony tried escaping into the attic, but I caught him: www.vcfed.org/evan/attic.jpg The results: www.vcfed.org/evan/room.jpg and www.vcfed.org/evan/hall.jpg Next project: content!

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Donations requested
by Herb Johnson 25 Oct '16

25 Oct '16

> A bridge mac system... something running System 7 or 8 with working > superdrive, ethernet and a cdrom. Transferring files to our 800KB floppy > based Mac IIcx, Mac SE, and Apple IIc+ is next to impossible otherwise. I would not call it "next to impossible" to provide these capabilities. I'd simply state that supporting these capabilities on System 7 Macs is limited compared to 21st century computing standards. Why? because in those days, support was very specific to brands and models of devices; and because networking was "siloed" to either Apple/Mac or IBM; and of course pre-Internet. System 8 was "better" but had many of the same problems, and is too big for some of the oldest Macs. and, some of these Macs came out before CD-ROMs, or Ethernet, were in common use. I'll grant, this may be too much work for your school's interest in vintage computers. Copying floppies is the most straightforward way. These constraints have been forgotten in the "plug it in and it works" world of the 21st century. (shrug) there's hobbyist work-arounds and products that provide "Internet connections" to most any vintage computer - I'm not referring to 21st C products in my remarks below. (And please don't pick nits - I'm trying to provide some directions here, answer questions.) In your photo, the Mac between the IIc and the iMac with the Dell-brand LCD, is an old 68K Mac of some sort - I'm guessing that is your IIcx. It should have a 1.4M floppy drive, and should be running System 6 or 7. Later System 7 on that machine can create 1.4M Mac-format disks as well as 800K Mac format disks; it should be able to format "PC" S-DOS 800K and 1.4M too, and transfer files. OS 7.5.3 was released by Apple decades ago as a complete set of installable disk images. a later version of (I think) Disk Copy would be needed to mount disk images. Or they may be as a self-expanding set of files. Ask around for such a set of images or a CD disk. YOu may need Apple CD-ROM extensions too. Earlier Macs which did not have 1.4M drives could not of course read or write 1.4M Mac or PC disks. The SE "superdrive" model had different ROMs and IWM chip from the SE model and 1.4M drives were supported by those chips. There's other compact Macs with 1.4M drives. I think the Apple II 3.5" disks are "ProDOS" format, and of course 800K. Ask someone in the Apple II community about transfers with 68K Macs, and appropriate 800K drives for Apple II models. As for Ethernet: older Macs with NuBus slots can accommodate NuBus Ethernet cards. But "Ethernet" doesn't give you magic "transfer" capabilities, especially between Macs and Windows/MS-DOS systems; or "to the Internet". It's complicated, and beyond me too. CD-ROMs: older SCSI based Macs may be able to accommodate some external SCSI CD-ROM drives. However, System 7 as Apple supplied only supported Apple CD-ROM products with specific brand/model of CD-ROM drives. One needed specific "extensions" to support CD-ROMs at all, and also to support other specific brand/models of CD-ROM drives. And...that's "read only". Writable CD-ROM drives were supported in OS 8, but again specific brand/models only. My suggestion? Use Iomega ZIP-disk technology, in Mac or PC formats. Many Macs can operate external SCSI ZIP 100 drives, from Mac Plus and up. Even more recent Windows systems can use IDE or USB ZIP drives. And older Macs with IDE (PATA) supported ZIP drives. Those provide 100 megabytes of space, plenty for 1980's and 90's computing. I don't know of an Apple II ZIP drive solution with 20th century technology. Serial file transfer is tedious, but it works when nothing else will. But of course, the popular solution for mass-file storage, is modern use of flash-drive technology. Typically SD-card reader/writers made for various vintage systems. Likewise, for "internet access", there are 21st century Ethernet or WiFi adapters that hobbyists offer for specific vintage computers. I do not keep track of these, so that's all I can say about them. I'm busy enough (obviously) with the old stuff. Herb Johnson http://www.retrotechnology.com/herbs_stuff/mac.html -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] TVs installed!
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 24 Oct '16

24 Oct '16

Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic writes: > >On Oct 24, 2016, at 3:37 PM, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic ><vcf-midatlan= tic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: > >>>> Out of curiosity, do the monitors/Tvs hanging have a vga port on >them? >=20 > Yes, but our plan is to use them only for information to >help visitors. > >Understood. Just thought it would be cool to display that info from a >classi= c machine.=20 Thanks, the pictures look good, thanks to you and >Anthony for doing all that= work! Tony= How about displaying some of the binaries from alt.sex.fetish.dec-hardware?

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Ghost in the Machine
by Douglas Crawford 24 Oct '16

24 Oct '16

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Last star fighter graphics production computer picture
by Douglas Crawford 24 Oct '16

24 Oct '16

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Museum report
by Evan Koblentz 23 Oct '16

23 Oct '16

Today's visitors included three that really stood out. A guy my age (40s) with his 10-year-old son; the guy showed his kid who programs in Scratch how we used to do it in BASIC. Next there was a woman who said she's got a pristine //e signed by Woz. Then an older man stopped by who worked as a programmer in the aeospace field and spent an hour asking all about our exhibits.

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Donations requested
by Adam Michlin 22 Oct '16

22 Oct '16

Hi Everyone, As many of you know, I teach Computer Science at Pope John XXII Regional High School in Sparta, NJ. Our program has grown quite a bit in the last few years so we have a new, larger room and, as part of the curriculum, we have a hands on vintage computer exhibit in our classroom (NOT A MUSEUM, Hi Evan!). We have a bit of over balance of Apple products. Part of this is intentional because the students have the option in their third year of taking a Computer Security class where the first quarter is half Apple 6502 Assembly (using Apple IIgs emulators - Merlin 16 - on modern Mac OS X machines - the other half is MIPS assembly). Part of this is due to Apple's historic dominance in schools over the years and schools just about never throwing anything away. Here is a picture of the classroom exhibit: http://ceos.io/retro/lanpanorama.jpg So we're trying to diversify and are hoping people might have equipment they would be interested in donating (tax write off!). Existing computers that need parts: Commodore Amiga 3000 - Needs keyboard, compatible monitor (LCD or CRT... as you can see in the picture we don't worry so much about being authentic) Atari 130XE - Needs an external floppy disk drive (we have the 6502 Assembly cartridge.. but we can't save files without a floppy disk drive) Systems we wish we had: An IBM/clone PC/AT/286.. Essentially something that could run MS-DOS of some sort (3.3 still has a special place in my heart). A 386 capable of running Windows 3.x Just about anything Commodore (we have the Amiga, but would love a 64, for example), or any other 8 bit brands with the exception of Apple (which we wont turn down, but we have a IIe, IIc, IIc+ and IIgs all being actively used - yes, we have a permanent Oregon Trail system (the IIe) and yes the students love it!). A bridge mac system... something running System 7 or 8 with working superdrive, ethernet and a cdrom. Transferring files to our 800KB floppy based Mac IIcx, Mac SE, and Apple IIc+ is next to impossible otherwise. Older UNIX boxes of just about any type (AT&T, Sun, SGI, etc). We also have an optional third year video game programming classes (C#/XNA), so the students have access to a retro video game station for "research": http://ceos.io/retro/lab-vg.jpg I'll list what we have: Nintendo NES (RetroDuo.. the SNES half is useless, though), Sega Genesis (modern throwback), Atari 130XE, Atari 7800 (which covers the 2600), Colecovision (modern throwback). We would certainly love cartridges for any of these system (all but the Colecovision are capable of playing cartridges, throwback or not). We would love a SNES, Gamecube, Nintendo 64, Intellivision, Sega Dreamcast, Sega Master System. If it plays games, we'll take it. :) Oh, and a real old school home pong game would be mind blowing! As we are a non-profit, all donations can be taken as a tax write off, and we try to find a way to have all equipment actively used by students. We can also take a limited amount of equipment needing repair, but do have only limited storage space. Thanks for reading! -Adam

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[OT?] Google Map with Electronic stores
by Dan Roganti 22 Oct '16

22 Oct '16

Don't know if someone had started one already, but I couldn't find one online yet. After reminiscing about electronics stores in the other thread, I collected what was posted on there recently, together with some others that I had already bookmarked, to make a Google Map with Electronic stores in the Mid-Atlantic region from PA to the Mid-Atlantic coast. Had to limit the boundaries, PA is long enough as it is. Any others then it's venturing into the mid-west or southeast. But then New England is represented here since it's local. These are only the retail stores only[eg, walk-in] except for one so far. Because it's a really good supplier of vintage components and that's Unicorn Electronics on my side of PA[online only]. There's probably some online suppliers which have retail storefronts too but I'm not sure. I'm sure there's more out there that we could add to this. If anyone has some more to include, I will gladly add them to the map. This is not a list to judge the quality or extensiveness of their inventory. If they sell parts that's good enough to add to the list. You may notice that I haven't added Radio Shack, even with the dwindling locations and supply, those are pretty obvious to locate. This is setup for public viewing, so more people should be able to find it https://drive.google.com/open?id=1QHBtxc2A8zw9FemLEpYcMIlsvY8&usp=sharing enjoy Dan

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Last star fighter graphics production computer picture
by Ben Greenfield 22 Oct '16

22 Oct '16

Hey All, I stumbled across this image of Shelley Lake using a computer I can’t identify to create the graphics for the movie The Last Star Fighter (1984 all CGI special effects). I thought it was interesting and thought it passed the test for content on this list. Ben About — SHELLEY LAKE <http://shelleylake.com/about/>

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Help @ museum this weekend: TV installation
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 21 Oct '16

21 Oct '16

Brian Schenkenberger via vcf-midatlantic writes: >Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic writes: > >>Can anyone come to the museum this weekend to help me install two TVs? >>Wa= ll installations are cake, but these need to go on the ceiling. We >>have t= he mounting hardware. I need someone who's comfortable climbing >>into the = attic and working up there. Which day this weekend?

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Help @ museum this weekend: TV installation
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 21 Oct '16

21 Oct '16

Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic writes: >>> Why are TVs being mounted on the ceiling??? > >One TV will hang about 10 feet beyond our door, so it can greet visitors >= to the room. Slides, videos, etc. .... the other will hang just past >our = door in the main hallway of the building to tell visitors what's >there in= general. OK. I pictured them being mounted flat against the ceiling from what your message said! :) They'll be mounted handing FROM the ceiling which makes a world of difference for the viewers!

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Help @ museum this weekend: TV installation
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 21 Oct '16

21 Oct '16

Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic writes: >(Make that two volunteers. One to climb in the attic. One to climb the >la= dder to the ceiling beneath. I don't do heights.) Why are TVs being mounted on the ceiling???

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Help @ museum this weekend: TV installation
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 21 Oct '16

21 Oct '16

Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic writes: >Can anyone come to the museum this weekend to help me install two TVs? >Wa= ll installations are cake, but these need to go on the ceiling. We >have t= he mounting hardware. I need someone who's comfortable climbing >into the = attic and working up there. LOL! I did that there in the late '80s! Not installing TVs but ethernet.

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Help @ museum this weekend: TV installation
by Evan Koblentz 21 Oct '16

21 Oct '16

Can anyone come to the museum this weekend to help me install two TVs? Wall installations are cake, but these need to go on the ceiling. We have the mounting hardware. I need someone who's comfortable climbing into the attic and working up there.

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Re: Baynesville Electronics
by SVCatITC＠aol.com 20 Oct '16

20 Oct '16

Hi Mike, Dan, and All Still Reminiscing; Almost forgot about these guys. There right in my virtual back yard and I still order online and wait while still in a pinch for parts, stupid! Not a lot of heavy computer stuff, however, when you troubleshoot to component level on legacy stuff, a resistor is a resistor. Bill Inderrieden http://www.InterstateElectronics.com/product-lines.html Airport Plaza Shopping Center, 1394 State Route 36, Hazlet, NJ 07730, USA Telephone: 732-264-3900 FAX: 732-264-3900 E-mail: _BillIEI(a)comcast.net_ (mailto:BillIEI@comcast.net) Mon., Tues., Thurs. & Friday: 10AM to 9PM Wed. & Sat. : 10:00am - 6:00pm Sunday : CLOSED Original Message Date: Wed, 19 Oct 2016 17:09:19 -0400 (EDT) From: Mike Loewen <mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us> To: Bill Inderrieden via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Baynesville Electronics Message-ID: <alpine.LFD.2.20.1610191701010.58137(a)cpumagic.137clearview.org> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=US-ASCII > Hi All, & specifically: > Mike Loewen, Dan Roganti, Chris Gioconda, Rich Cini and Jonathan; > > I am the newbe in the group and will add my 2 cents concerning > "Old Electro Shops". > >If you get up to Needham MA: > > You-do-it Electronics Center > Exit 19A off Route 128 in Needham, MA > They seem to be doing well. Been there, nice place. > > http://www.youdoitelectronics.com I visited there in 2007 on a trip to Boston. Nice place, and I'm glad to hear it's still there. Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Baynesville Electronics
by Evan Koblentz 19 Oct '16

19 Oct '16

>> You-do-it Electronics Center Exit 19A off Route 128 in Needham, MA They seem to be doing well. Been there, nice place. You-do-it was a favorite of mine when I lived in Boston. Here in NJ my favorite is Green Brook Electronics (269 Rt. 22 East, Green Brook). Been trying to convince the owner to take a trip to IA.

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NOW it's official: VCF East XII, March 31-April 2
by Evan Koblentz 19 Oct '16

19 Oct '16

Mark your calendars! VCF East XII, March 31-April 2, at InfoAge. NO MORE TENT .... we have permission to use one of the big rooms inside the H-building section formerly reserved for Hurricane Sandy relief.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Baynesville Electronics
by Mike Loewen 19 Oct '16

19 Oct '16

> Hi All, & specifically: > Mike Loewen, Dan Roganti, Chris Gioconda, Rich Cini and Jonathan; > > I am the newbe in the group and will add my 2 cents concerning > "Old Electro Shops". > >If you get up to Needham MA: > > You-do-it Electronics Center > Exit 19A off Route 128 in Needham, MA > They seem to be doing well. Been there, nice place. > > http://www.youdoitelectronics.com I visited there in 2007 on a trip to Boston. Nice place, and I'm glad to hear it's still there. Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

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Shirts are here
by Evan Koblentz 19 Oct '16

19 Oct '16

The new polo shirts arrived. Dean picked them up today. He's bringing them to the museum Oct. 29. Best time for most folks to get them will be during Festivus.

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That UNIVAC part from Grabbe -- update!
by Herb Johnson 19 Oct '16

19 Oct '16

This discussion caught my eye and I did some quick Web searching. PX23_1103A_sysMaint_Feb57.pdf at bitsavers.org under "pdf" and "univac" and "1103", has general descriptions of Univac 1103 modules, or in their terminology "unit chassis". There's a single photo of a chassis, which clearly is of the same kind as the module in discussion. I believe it states there are 86 kinds of unit chassis. This manual is dated Feb 1957 from "Remington Rand Univac". The manual PX71871_ERA103vol2sec4.pdf has on page 1 and many other pages, "Remington Rand / Engineering Research Associates Division" Page one adds "(street) St. Paul Minnesota". That confirms the "ERA" identification of the VCFed's module. This manual has text descriptions of various (vacuum tube) circuits, I/O and memory elements. Seems to be a kind of primer on computing and logical elements, and on the 1103's programming and I/O facilities. It's pretty informative as an introduction to 1103 "technology". Other bitsavers 1103 documents from 1953 forward identify "ERA 1103" versus the "Univac Scientific Model 1103A". But - no schematics, no list of unit chassis numbers were immediately evident in my quick look. It may be difficult to find a manual for the specific module held by VCFed. The image in the PDF from Evan is blurry. A better image may show a "unit chassis" part number that can be Google searched to find a document with specific information. This is a hint. Why will a unit-chassis manual be difficult to find? I'm "guessing" that most of the Univac manuals were for use on-site to operate the Univac, or off-site to learn how to program it. The point of modular construction, was to allow on-site persons to run test operations on the computer, to identify down to the "unit chassis" any problems. Then the unit chassis could be pulled, repaired off-site, and/or replaced on site. Military procedures for system repairs may have been different. lose reading of the "sysMaint" manuals may reference that process and would be informative. Herb Johnson -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Re: Baynesville Electronics
by SVCatITC＠aol.com 19 Oct '16

19 Oct '16

Hi All, & specifically: Mike Loewen, Dan Roganti, Chris Gioconda, Rich Cini and Jonathan; I am the newbe in the group and will add my 2 cents concerning "Old Electro Shops". If you get up to Needham MA: You-do-it Electronics Center Exit 19A off Route 128 in Needham, MA They seem to be doing well. Been there, nice place. http://www.youdoitelectronics.com Leeds Radio in NY has moved Leeds Radio 175 Walnut Avenue Bronx NY 10454 718 963-1764 _sales(a)leedsradio.com_ (mailto:sales@leedsradio.com) LeedsRadio.com You can also find Leeds on Etsy.com And reminiscing...... Atkinson & Smith in Eatontown, NJ Went there with my dad when they were right on Rt 35. Behind front counter was covered in d'Arsonval panel instruments. They moved off to a side street and then went out of business in the 90's. Some of the civil workers at Ft. Monmouth were hams so they all congregated there after work. You would find me upstairs (all surplus) in the new location every Saturday scrounging through the junky gold! Good Times Bill Inderrieden > Mike Loewen <_mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us_ (mailto:mloewen@cpumagic.scol.pa.us) > You folks in the MD area will be disappointed to hear the Baynesville > Electronics is closing its doors: > Dan Roganti <_ragooman(a)gmail.com_ (mailto:ragooman@gmail.com) > > I heard about this too, but I haven't seen this interview. I never got a > chance to visit there, sad it see it go. But it reminds me of several ones > from back home on Long Island. They were also mom 'n pop stores, been > around for decades but they also closed many years ago. One of them was > Edlie's Electronics in Levittown if anyone here recalls the 70s and 80s on > Long Island. But some of them mysteriously survived there such as Leeds > Radio in Brooklyn, since 1923. > But I don't think the DIY'er is fading, maybe new TV repairs have. There > used to be a TV shop in almost every town. The past 10+yrs, basically > since 2000, the makerspace movement has rejuvenated this DIY'er interest. > But just as with Radio Shack not changing/morphing with the times and > crippling their store chains, mostly due to corporate blindness, and > they're only clinging on to their past still. The mom 'n pop stores felt > the biggest brunt if they didn't change as well. > I'm not saying it's easy for the mom 'n pop stores to change with the > times, it's usually their inherent nature to resist change, it creates a > comfort zone. You notice some of them try to split their sales by selling > online. Maybe change their inventory to match the trends, as with > makerspace. And a common task of advertising can become a burden, where to > place Ads has become a circus with this web 2.0+ world. But the "TV repair" > and "NTE parts" might be a diehard practice but it's only a small share of > the market. [the quotes are only to show typical examples] > Changing into a Mail order supplier takes a big change too that demands > effort too. Not a small task for a mom 'n pop store, when trying to > compete[$$] with a decades long market. New places prop up online all the > time and only some survive. I've seen the same issues with the ones back > home and here in Pittsburgh. > Dan > Richard Cini <_rich.cini(a)verizon.net_ (mailto:rich.cini@verizon.net) > > There was a place in New Hyde Park or Lake Success - Electronic City. I remember going there with my > father for tubes and parts that Radio Shack or Lafayette didn't have. > From Eugene > I remember Edlie's very well. I think it was on old country road or Hempstead turnpike > (I was just a kid at the time). And KRP electronics in Freeport which was a great place too. > I think they still exist but have moved. Aah the good old days. Eugene W2HX > From Jonathan > Heard about this from a customer in Cockeysville. My dad's family is from White Marsh, I used to go to > Baynesville Electronics with my grandparents as a treat -- they often had to pick up supplies for the > Kingsville and Baltimore fire departments. Pretty much like a kid in a candy store! > I may stop in on my way back from upstate NY tomorrow. Quite a bit out of the way, but who knows how > long it will take them to get to the point of having enough inventory sold that they close. > For those in upstate NY, I got warning last time I was at Trojan Electronics that it was starting to cost > money to keep the lights on, and the end was probably near. > Thanks, > Jonathan

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT: free Cisco managed router/switches
by Kenneth Seefried 19 Oct '16

19 Oct '16

From: Joseph Oprysko <joprysko1(a)gmail.com> > I have a Cisco Meraki MX64, AP18, and MS220-8P for my > home network. The Meraki product line is all cloud based > (which means once the license expires, they become doorstops). Not entirely. The AP18 can be flashed with OpenWRT (https://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/meraki/mr18) at least. I've done similar with my MR12 and it runs fine. The license extension from Meraki is pretty cheap as well. KJ

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That UNIVAC part from Grabbe -- update!
by Evan Koblentz 19 Oct '16

19 Oct '16

Way back when the old MARCH opened its first exhibit at InfoAge (2005), the InfoAge powers that be lent us a collection to curate from an IEEE life fellow named Dimitry Grabbe. Among the collection was a board of tubes which Mr. Grabbe said was a half-adder module from the ENIAC. We soon figured out that Grabbe was wrong. The board says Engineering Research Associates. ERA had no part in ENIAC. Remington Rand bought ERA around the same time as RR also bought Eckert-Mauchly Computer Company. ERA + EMCC jointly became the UNIVAC division of Remington Rand. Thus my working theory has been that the part is from an early-model UNIVAC, although there was a slight chance it was an ENIAC replacement part. ERA was in Minnesota. Their alumni group has been nice to us. Two of their members spoke at VCF East 7.0, they gave us some artifacts (most notably a UNIVAC 1 technical manual), and there are links to us at http://vipclubmn.org/Exhibits.html#Others. Tonight I stumbled onto this link: http://vipclubmn.org/Articles/ERA2unisysWeb.pdf Go to page 4 of the PDF (page 2 of the document) -- look at the picture on the shelves on the right -- it's a plugboard of tubes from a UNIVAC 1103, circa 1955. That is EXACTLY the part we have from Grabbe! They describe it as the "basic logic element". I don't know where Grabbe got "half adder" but, as experienced/smart as he was, I trust the guys who built the computer. It's already in our new display case and soon there will be an accurate sign with it. :) Here's a picture of an 1103 in full glory: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/UNIVAC-1103-BRL61-0905.…

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OT: free Cisco managed router/switches
by Jeffrey Jonas 18 Oct '16

18 Oct '16

FREE TO A GOOD HOME! Must pick up ASAP: from Elizabeth NJ or at Infoage. A friend gave me his Cisco routers for a Cisco Certification lab he made for himself. They are ALL "managed switches" with the serial console port. 8: Cisco 831 (4: 10/100 LAN, 1: 10-base-t LAN, serial console) 2: Cisco 1721 3: Cisco 1750 3: Cisco 1751 with assorted interface cards -- jeff jonas

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FESTIVUS Sleeping arrangements Let me know
by Jeffrey Brace 18 Oct '16

18 Oct '16

InfoAge's Sandy recovery dorm is available to us during Festivus. It is the space on the other side of the building where Festivus is held. It is $25 per night. If you need to stay there overnight, then please *let me know *or signup here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1flOzpjh4Wdd3Gn6B3DqWHpQmxYSQGrtFo20… We need an accurate headcount so that we can tell the management how many are staying. Only bed frame and mattresses are provided. YOU provide mattress cover, blankets, pillows. There is a great shower/bathroom area for your use. -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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Calendar
by Evan Koblentz 18 Oct '16

18 Oct '16

Jeff B. convinced me to post a chapter event calendar. :) It's at http://vcfed.org/wp/groups/vcf-mid-atlantic/vcf-mid-atlantic-calendar/ ... or just go to vcfed.org, mouse over "Groups", mouse over our chapter, and click the calendar link.

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Looking for a TI Silent 707 1200baud for the VCF Museum
by Herb Johnson 18 Oct '16

18 Oct '16

> I'm donating a spare PiDP-8 to the museum which has a serial interface > that can't go below 1200baud. If we can find one of the smaller TI >Silent terminals that goes that fast, we can hook it up to the PiDP so > that we can have it run hands on demos and visitors can take the result > with them. It would be really cool for people to have a takeaway > from the museum when they visit. Here's my view. What you are asking for, is a small terminal and a small accompanying printer, which can operate at serial 1200 baud. the problem in my view with a TI *thermal* printing terminal, is that thermal paper will fade over time; and it gets used up fairly quickly. Rolls cost a few dollars each, although I see unused rolls at thrift stores. How about, an old serial CRT terminal, connected to a serial printer? Any of the old dot-matrix printers with serial interface would likely work. Some of the CRT terminals are not large. Some of them have an auxiliary serial interface for a printer, for the now-obvious reasons. Often there's a control code to enable or disable the printer port. If there's no printer port on the terminal, doesn't matter. The Rasp Pi - I mean the emulated PDP-8 - will be echoing input and output. Just route the serial out from the "eight" to both the printer and the terminal. Many dot-matrix printers, were of small footprint. They used 9.5 X 11 perforated paper (still available I believe) or friction-feed. And they used inked ribbons - still available and not expensive at all. I'm thinking about some of the Okidata brand printers. the Epsons are a little wider. There's the old Apple Imagewriters. For that matter, there's other printing terminals. Teletype model 43 for instance, very elegant. But if the printer jams or runs out of paper - well, a seperate terminal lets the exhibit continue. "Oh, impact printers are too noisy..." Oh, is the Museum in a hospital zone? Side issues may be, if the "eight" sends more characters that the printer can both buffer and print. For the most part, that won't happen, if so some serial handshaking may be needed, if the Pi supplies it. One virtue of a lower baud rate, is that printers can keep up. Herb Johnson retrotechnology.com -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Calendar
by william degnan 18 Oct '16

18 Oct '16

Hidden calendar is less usefull Bill Degnan twitter: billdeg vintagecomputer.net On Oct 17, 2016 11:37 PM, "Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic" < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: Jeff B. convinced me to post a chapter event calendar. :) It's at http://vcfed.org/wp/groups/vcf-mid-atlantic/vcf-mid-atlantic-calendar/ ... or just go to vcfed.org, mouse over "Groups", mouse over our chapter, and click the calendar link.

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