- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Saturday
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 09 Mar '16

09 Mar '16

Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic writes: >Tony, Chris F., and I will be working at the new museum Saturday from >about 10am until whenever. We're going to paint one of the short walls >"circuit board green" for the modern history exhibit, set up more >microcomputers, and get going on a few other projects. > >I wish we could do this tomorrow! I'm having tremendous fun watching the >new space come alive. Alas, three more days of boring real work until >the weekend. :( Get more creative and paint copper circuit board traces too!

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Saturday
by Evan Koblentz 08 Mar '16

08 Mar '16

Tony, Chris F., and I will be working at the new museum Saturday from about 10am until whenever. We're going to paint one of the short walls "circuit board green" for the modern history exhibit, set up more microcomputers, and get going on a few other projects. I wish we could do this tomorrow! I'm having tremendous fun watching the new space come alive. Alas, three more days of boring real work until the weekend. :(

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Should the new museum have a name?
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 08 Mar '16

08 Mar '16

Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic writes: >> Bill... >> Mid-Atlantic Center of Computing History >>=20 >=20 > I >like the brevity of Bill's entry compared to mine. > It seems "Center" >works better for us than "Museum". > >I agree. MACCH - Mid-Atlantic Center of Computing History - is the one I >lik= e the best so far. (Next to F.A.R.T of course ;-) Tony= Change Center to Repository and you'll have a familiar acronym. ;)

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Should the new museum have a name?
by Jeff 08 Mar '16

08 Mar '16

My idea...keep the name simple, and use a hexidecimal-themed logo for it that you can use as a theme all sorts of different ways. Put the letters into various prompts for older systems, or photoshop them into old graphics, etc. Name: Museum of Computing History, or M0Ch (and you can likely get that as a domain too) Examples of logos, ideas, etc: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/b3nazipvw926dba/AADP1SRhomhvg7azTANER66Ja?dl=0 Jeff

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a good summary article about early computer memory
by William Dudley 08 Mar '16

08 Mar '16

http://hackaday.com/2016/03/08/thanks-for-the-memories-touring-the-awesome-… Bill Dudley This email is free of malware because I run Linux.

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More about the STK library
by Evan Koblentz 08 Mar '16

08 Mar '16

Last night I posted about how the STK 9710 has max capacity of more than 40TB compressed, and I lamented that it may not be right for our "history of the present" exhibit after all because nobody has 40TB in their pocket. Corey pointed out that cloud storage should count in the equation. Google Drive accounts give you up to 10TB for $99. Dropbox will sell you an "unlimited" account for $15/month. So technically, yes, you can access 40TB in your pocket-sized device... or at least * from * your pocket-sized device.

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Short file cabinet needed
by Evan Koblentz 07 Mar '16

07 Mar '16

Everyone, We need a file cabinet for the new computer museum. There are some requirements: - Not taller than 24" - Must be gray color - Awesome if it has working lock/key - We need it in the next couple of weeks, can't wait until VCF East Does anybody have one to donate?

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] UNIX PC Ebay
by Brian L. Stuart 07 Mar '16

07 Mar '16

On Mon, 3/7/16, william degnan via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: > I think it's time, if you're a collector of such things to grab up a UNIX > PC before the clean working and complete units fetch prices routinely above > $750, (but not yet). They're still "new vintage" but I predict these are > going to become highly sought-after "tweener" type machines. This is the > PC a lot of the famous hackers used in the late 80s Those are great little machines. Back in the '90s, I used to host a collection of the old archives and related material for these machines. Peter da Silva now maintains that archive: http://unixpc.taronga.com/ One challenge in keeping those machines running are the disk drives. For a machine like the one on eBay now, you need a HH ST-506/412 interface drive. Working ones are starting to get pretty thin. My 7300/3b1s are the biggest reason I'm interested in the recent MFM drive emulators. BLS

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OT: good domain for sale
by Evan Koblentz 07 Mar '16

07 Mar '16

I own technologyrewind.com which is nearing expiration. Anyone interested in buying it? Would make a good name for someone's collection site.

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museum move report
by Evan Koblentz 07 Mar '16

07 Mar '16

Today I worked with Tony from about 10:45am to 3:30, and then with Steve A. from 4:00 to 8:30. We three got a lot of difficult and satisfying work done: - Moved four pallets of Univac gear into the museum (one CPU, one tape rack, one I/O console (paper tape + Model 25 TTY), and two peripheral racks. (Duane C. and Bill Drom. know the model numbers better than I do.) We put all this where it'll go long-term in the center aisle. Photo (with apologies for the strange camera angle: http://vcfed.org/evan/univac.jpg) We're going to cover the exposed parts of the pallets with black fabric. - Moved the Cray YMP-EK and StorageTek 9710 tape library into the museum. We put them in the middle of the "history of the present" wall. (That's where we will show dozens of pictures of recently obsoleted household products, along with the Cray and the tape library, all under a big sign: "Everything on this wall now fits in your pocket." It is a bit of an exaggeration for the 9710. Says at http://www.iscgroupllc.com/supported-equipment/tape-libraries/stk-sun-oracl… that the library holds up to 1.4TB, and I don't know of any smartphone with such storage capacity. Anyway, nobody (LOL, other than us) will be looking up the library maximum theoretical specifications. It makes the point very nicely that 1990s supercomputing performance and storage capacity now are (more or less) in an iPhone. A nice touch: the library plugs into an ordinary 110V outlet and fires up just fine. I'm hoping we could run some demos and let people see the robot moving around. Photo: http://vcfed.org/evan/cray_storagetek.jpg. Special thanks to Dan Jacob's son DJ for helping move the Cray (turns out the best way is to remove the front cover and then you can slide a pallet jack under it.) - We began putting microcomputers on shelving units. Got through about a quarter of them. Some of them didn't fit quite the way we hoped and so we had to make some tough decisions. For example, the Epson QX-10 isn't good atop the Lisa cart, because it's just a flat beige box and mostly disappears behind the upper slanted shelf's front lip. Another example is the TDL Xitan which did not fit where intended. Some of these systems will go into the Computer of the Month queue... there is no shortage! We also realized that even some videogame consoles can go in that queue, such as Intellivision and others which have computer-like aspects. - We took in some donations. Don brought over some IBM gear including an AS/400 and a desk-side System/36. An outside person brought us a pair of Xerox 820s, a Cosmac, and a motherlode of Xerox 1800 gear. The 1800 is uber-rare -- it was an early laptop made by Sunrise Systems, canceled before it ever went on sale to the public, and (I think) the never-sold stock was acquired by some middle company. That company released some into the wild. - Related news: More work has been done on the double door. All of the holes in the wall/ceiling, on the hallway side and inside the room, have been patched. The trim pieces were all re-installed.

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UNIX PC Ebay
by william degnan 07 Mar '16

07 Mar '16

I think it's time, if you're a collector of such things to grab up a UNIX PC before the clean working and complete units fetch prices routinely above $750, (but not yet). They're still "new vintage" but I predict these are going to become highly sought-after "tweener" type machines. This is the PC a lot of the famous hackers used in the late 80s Watching what this one does: http://www.ebay.com/itm/AT-T-Unix-PC-Model-7300-/131741621748 -- @ BillDeg: Web: vintagecomputer.net Twitter: @billdeg <https://twitter.com/billdeg> Youtube: @billdeg <https://www.youtube.com/user/billdeg> Unauthorized Bio <http://www.vintagecomputer.net/readme.cfm>

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iUEC Drive on a B128!
by william degnan 06 Mar '16

06 Mar '16

Just got my my iUEC Drive working on my B128! Makes life a heck of a lot easier than using the D9090. b -- @ BillDeg: Web: vintagecomputer.net Twitter: @billdeg <https://twitter.com/billdeg> Youtube: @billdeg <https://www.youtube.com/user/billdeg> Unauthorized Bio <http://www.vintagecomputer.net/readme.cfm>

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Pick 34)-ish
by Herb Johnson 05 Mar '16

05 Mar '16

whitneys posted..... > My two cents' worth. Flying Eagle cents, mind you. > > The History > Micro-Computer Predecessors: The Terminal & The Calculator > Datapoint 2200 aut al. HP-85 eg. > The Kit Scelbi-8H Mark-8 > The Altair/The S-100 aka Attack of the Clones MITS Altair 8800 > IMSAI 8080 What I like about whitneys' list, is that it has themes, a process, and a progression; from which examples are suggested. It's a little whimsical, which is fine. There's too many movie references as suggested. And it allows for some alternative exhibits of computing such as non-USA computers. (I'm not saying other lists did not have these qualities.) I don't agree with some of the history as presented, because to my 60-year-old eye it focuses on post-1980 consumer personal computing and so judges prior history from that view. To me that's a common 21st century problem. For instance, the emphasis on brand dominance as winners (IBM, Apple, ohyeahCompaq). Treating all S-100 as "clones" and only covering the very oldest (MITS, IMSAI, SOL), ignores history. The idea that an Apple I (copy) represents single-board computers is absurd. My point is not to argue; I said "to my old eye...". My point is that the list is coherent and themed, and I commend that. Any exhibit can be revised, other themes presented, on another day. There's no shortage of themes, trends, examples. In due course, each could get their turn. Herb Johnson -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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TI Silent 700
by Dean Notarnicola 05 Mar '16

05 Mar '16

Might as well join in: anyone have a working Silent 700 for sale?

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VCF East / ENIAC
by Evan Koblentz 05 Mar '16

05 Mar '16

During the Friday sessions, Brian Stuart and I are planning a joint talk on ENIAC. Brian will focus on how the computer worked and I'll talk about myths vs. reality of its history. We may also show the same abridged version of Mauchly's 1977 Trenton keynote that I showed at Trenton last year.

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Anyone have a working and cosmetically good condition NeXT station for sale
by Corey Cohen 04 Mar '16

04 Mar '16

Thanks, Corey corey cohen uǝɥoɔ ʎǝɹoɔ

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Diablo 630 tractor
by Mike Loewen 04 Mar '16

04 Mar '16

Does anyone have a spare tractor feed mechanism for a Diablo 630? Even if it's only a loaner; I could use one for my VCF exhibit. Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

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VCF East exhibits update -- more than halfway full
by Evan Koblentz 04 Mar '16

04 Mar '16

Everyone, There are 23 exhibits so far, plus a club chapter table. We have space for 40-ish exhibits. Register soon! Don't get shut out.

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Windows 3.11 Networking
by Herb Johnson 04 Mar '16

04 Mar '16

Bill Degnan, you've done a great job on of presenting your installs of Win 3.11 aka Windows for Workgroups and video drivers on your 486 system, and providing access to your resources. I'm no Microsoft fan, but the history of public Internet access is worth preserving, and is reasonably "vintage" by year 2015-16. One resource your site links to, is a site at Yale University, with (what I presume is a forgotten) set of year 1995 instructions for establishing Internet access. They suggest several possible means including "old" Win 3.1 and WFW, but also "Winsock". I recall using a Winsock product as they describe, in the era probably under Win 85/98, to make a SLIP (serial TCP/IP) connection via dial-up modem, to a Linux commercial system which had Internet access. My first Web site was on that system, probably over my client side was a 16-bit Win98 set of installs. I don't recall the freeware product name, something-slip, seaslip, ??? Bill, Winsock was supported in various ways, by either shareware/freeware products, or commercial products. Do you have any interests in checking out Winsock type networking? Digging up some still-available product? As I've described it, it would be period-appropriate for PC's with no hard-network support but certainly serial line support. At the time of course that would be dial-up; but a direct serial connection to a local hosting system would be (incrementally) faster. I have a 486/Win 3.1 system I use to operate old-school hardware. I don't think I'd install Ethernet cards and WFW on it - it might break it. But installing a Winsock and some serial stuff is no risk. I'll add, you discussed some kind of networking of vintage systems as your VCF-East exhibit, as I recall. Related: five years ago, I worked the issue of TCP/IP support on 8-bit CP/M class systems. The radio amateurs (hams) developed packet radio in the 1980's which used X.25 protocols,and hardware "TNCs" (terminal network controllers) to do most of the networking, and software like KA9Q and KC85. But interest in reviving old 8-bit networking died out, once you could buy "TCP/IP on a chip" products for under $50. And now those products are under $10! But my notes include some SLIP discussion and cover some path to 8-bit computers "on the Internet". Herb Johnson -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net preservation of 1970's computing email: hjohnson AAT retrotechnology DOTT com alternate: herbjohnson ATT retrotechnology DOTT info

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Heathkit paint
by Richard Cini 04 Mar '16

04 Mar '16

All — I’m in the process of restoring a Heathkit H-11 and I think I found a suitable paint match. Available at Home Depot, there is a Rust-Oleum spray paint/primer combo called “Matte Ice Gray” which is a nearly perfect match. I need to give it a quick sanding tomorrow and another coat of paint and then a clear coat and I think I’ll be in good shape. Rich -- Rich Cini Collector of Classic Computers Build Master and lead engineer, Altair32 Emulator http://www.classiccmp.org/cini http://www.classiccmp.org/altair32

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Should the new museum have a name?
by Jeffrey Jonas 04 Mar '16

04 Mar '16

The ferret side of me adores SHINY: Storage, Help, insight (in to history) Near You MODEM (Museum Of Digital Electronic Machines) excludes the analog computers. Don't hurt George's feelings! For parity with the AOC (Association of Old Crows) I'm trying for OLD FART. All I've gotten so far is Fraternal Association for Retro Technology (or technologists) Until then, there's the old IBM manual standard TPILB: "this page intentionally left blank" -- jeffj

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Should the new museum have a name?
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 03 Mar '16

03 Mar '16

Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic writes: > >> On Mar 1, 2016, at 5:42 AM, Tom H via vcf-midatlantic ><vcf-midatlantic@lis= ts.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: >=20 > >Museum of Awesome Really Cool History ;)=20 > >Fancily Arranged Retro Technology= That stinks!

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Should the new museum have a name?
by Evan Koblentz 03 Mar '16

03 Mar '16

I was thinking... should our new museum have a formal name, as in, "The XYZ Place, sponsored by the Vintage Computer Federation"...? Or if anyone asks, do we just call it VCF Headquarters? If we do think it should have some name, then what should that name be? I like how Paul Allen's group calls their place a "living" museum. Of course, that word is taken, so we'd need some other word. Maybe "museum" also isn't the right word. Our home at InfoAge is more of a hub and community center for vintage computing in the region. Perhaps, if we give it a name, we should think of a word that reflects this. It would be awesome if the perfect word also started with F to continue our theme of the Vintage Computer Federation owning the Vintage Computer Festival (East/West), Vintage Computer Forum, and Vintage Computer... Funhouse? Fraternity? No, those don't work. Let's hear some suggestions (real ones please; let's not clog the thread with the smart-assery.) I'm thinking that unless we come up with something GREAT, then we should just stick with Vintage Computer Federation as the name for the physical space.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Should the new museum have a name?
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 03 Mar '16

03 Mar '16

Chris via vcf-midatlantic writes: >On Mar 3, 2016, at 6:48 AM, Dan Roganti via >vcf-midatlantic<vcf-midatlantic@= lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> >wrote: > >=E2=80=8BVCFS Vintage Computer Fortress of Solitude=E2=80=8B > > > >What, so only one person is allowed in at a time? Keeps them out of the moat -- Museum Of Antiquated Technology.

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FS: Ohio Scientific 495 Prototype Board
by Systems Glitch 03 Mar '16

03 Mar '16

link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/272155352950 I've listed one of the reproduction OSI 495 boards on eBay, starting bid of $0.99. I want to see what kind of interest is out there before I commit to a bigger run of these, since I already have a fair bit of cash tied up in them. If there's interest, I'll do a bigger run and figure out a fixed price on them. Thanks, Jonathan

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Our new museum neighbors
by Evan Koblentz 03 Mar '16

03 Mar '16

Our main neighbors in the new museum will be the Garden State Central Model Railroad Club. They are posting a build diary of their layout at http://gardenstatecentral.com. They're very friendly people and they understand what VCF is all about. They personally did a large amount of work on the space we're occupying along with the classroom area down the hall. (They have permission from InfoAge to put mobile exhibits in that room, and they'll move the exhibits out when we or any other group needs the room for events.) There are two other organizations in the building. NJARC has a storage room there (I've never seen inside, so I don't know how big/small it is), and (it appears) there is some kind of surfing exhibit being built. I don't personally know what surfing has to do with historic electronic technology, nor do I know the status of that group's exhibit -- they moved some things into their room a few years ago and it seems unchanged since then. Anyway, InfoAge has them as a member organization, so we wish them well.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Pick 34)-ish
by whitneys 02 Mar '16

02 Mar '16

My two cents' worth. Flying Eagle cents, mind you. The History Micro-Computer Predecessors: The Terminal & The Calculator Datapoint 2200 aut al. HP-85 eg. The Kit Scelbi-8H Mark-8 The Altair/The S-100 aka Attack of the Clones MITS Altair 8800 IMSAI 8080 The Single Board Computer Apple 1 Other SBC/Trainer Heathkit Heathkit H-8 H89/Z-100 You Oughtta be in Cases/The '77 Trinity Processor Tech SOL-20 Apple II The '77 Trinity/Follow-On TRS-80 Model 1 CoCo or other TRS The '77 Trinity/Follow-On Commodore PET VIC-20/C64/C128 (space avail.) The '77 Trinity/Return of the Clones Apple II (see above) Franklin Clone Atari! aka Is My Game Console a Computer? Atari 800 ? The PC/Revenge of the Clones IBM 5150 PC Compaq Portable The PCjr/Son of the Clones PC Jr. Tandy 1000 Now GUIer than ever Apple Lisa Apple Mac 128K/GEOS/GEM/HP NewWave/Windows 1-3 etc. The Shape of Things to Come (see also You Oughtta be in Cases) The Suitcase Portable IBM 5100 Osborne The Pocket/Handheld Computers Tandy Model 100 eg. Epson HX-20 eg. Lap-Top Computers Grid Compass Data General One eg. Somehow address foreign developments, which ran in parallel, but dominated in Europe & Japan respectively International MSX BLs BBC Master/Sinclair ZX/Amstrad/non-BBC Acorn Toyotas Hitachi MB/Fujitsu FM/NEC PC-88/NEC PC-98(APC III) also Sony, Sharp systems Citroens Thomson/Oric The Finale The Last Gasp of the Independents Commodore Amiga/Atari ST/Acorn Archimedes/Sharp X68000/Fujitsu FM Towns/NeXT/Sinclair QL Day of the Clones aka Clone World /The Survivor aka Once and Future King The Compaq '386 Late model Mac Some Notes: This list is not intended to strictly reflect VCFed possession (I'm not sure what's in there), but also my estimation of significance to the story of Microcomputer history. I probably missed some things too. Especially kits, foreign systems, and foreign kit systems. I identified some themes, already implied by Evans' and others' choices. Mabye they'd make OK info card headings. Word processor unit removed, as addressing that market should reflect some diversity of the systems (Wang, Vydec, Sony etc). Also needs more space. Have to trim anything that was merely sentimental, popular, or cool, or just available in collection for: Technical Innovation, Market Significance, and Historical Narrative. For instance the Franklin has to go in-- it made ROM copyrightable, if not on purpose. Compaq's 386, beating IBM to the punch, signified more than any other system that the Clones had bested IBM, and would come to dominate. I think the PCjr line can go, but I wanted to make another silly sequel reference. I believe first Fujitsu then the PC-88 were the real dominant market players in Japan; BBC Master was the Apple II of England (fondly remembered school computer), ZX and MSX the real international players, France's never went EU wide. That's five international picks of what I feel should be six or eight. Six would add up to 40 systems total picked above, which it seems is the 20-rack goal, including both shelf levels. This eludes the history of the midrange/workstation, which gets micro-ed on the inside and out beginning around 1981. I left two gaps, in as much as I used the Apple II twice and used one Atari only. Systems separated by slashes meant to indicate either/or, as space dictates. I tried to be as ruthless as possible-- I think no platform got more than 2 machines. Despite my predilection for macs, I think you can tell the story with just one (and the LISA) and not even a significant one (the 128k). The early interface is too alike the LISA's to demonstrate/differentiate well to the layman. I confess a soft spot for the Archimedes as we're all running way more ARMs than any other processor these days. Kudos to anyone who appreciates my stupid Movie/Car refs/Old-Fashioned Hyphen-ization. I hope I didn't do anything improper with the line breaks. --

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Pick 34)-ish
by Evan Koblentz 02 Mar '16

02 Mar '16

Everyone, Good news / bad news about our new museum space. The good news is, as indicated earlier tonight, we found creative ways to make more space for mainframes and minicomputers. :) We also found a way to ** probably ** include the Cray and StorageTek tape robot in the "modern history" exhibit (after all, the computing power and mass storage in your smartphones is rather mind-boggling!) The bad news is, all of the good news means somewhat less space for microcomputers. Here is the 24/48 list from a couple of weeks ago: 1. Scelbi-8H ... Above it: Mark-8 2. IBM 5100 ... Above it: HP-85B 3. MITS Altair 8800 ... Above it: IMSAI 8080 4. SWTPc 6800 ... Above it: ??? 5. Processor Tech SOL-20 ... Above it: 6. TDL Xitan ... Above it: 7. Apple 1 ... Above it: Other SBC 8. Apple 2 ... Above it: //e 9. Commodore PET 2001 ... Above it: ??? 10. TRS-80 Model 1 ... Above it: CoCo 11. Atari 800 ... Above it: 400, ST 12. Heathkit H-89 ... Above it: Zenith Z-100 13. Xerox 860 ... Above it: ??? 14. Sinclair ZX-80, ZX-81, Timex 1000 ... Above it: Amstrad 15. TI-99/4A ... Above it: OSI Challenger 4P 16. IBM 5150 PC ... Above it: PC Jr. 17. Osborne ... Above it: Compaq Portable 18. Commodore 64 ... Above it: VIC-20, 128 19. Apple Lisa ... Above it: Epson QX-10 20. Tandy Model 100, DG One ... Above it: Epson HX-20 (etc.) 21. NEC APC ... Above it: Tandy Model 4 22. Apple Mac 128K ... Above it: Mac Portable 23. Commodore Amiga ... Above it: Sony SMC-70 24. PC clone ... Above it: ??? This does NOT count the pre-kit systems (Dudley PDP-8, etc.) nor the teletype/terminals. It also doesn't count the Computer-of-the-Month exhibit. All of those are already placed in the layout. Here is my shot at reducing it to 17/34. There were some difficult decisions to make! 1. Scelbi-8H ... Above it: Mark-8 2. IBM 5100 ... Above it: HP-85B 3. MITS Altair 8800 ... Above it: IMSAI 8080 4. Processor Tech SOL-20 ... Above it: TDL Xitan 5. Apple 1 ... Above it: KIM-1 6. Apple 2 ... Above it: Apple /// and/or GS 7. Commodore PET 2001 / Atari 800 8. TRS-80 Model 1 ... Above it: Heathkit H-89 9. Xerox 860 ... Above it: NEC APC 10. Sinclair ZX-80 ... Above it: TI-99/4A 11. IBM 5150 PC ... Above it: PC Jr. 12. Osborne ... Above it: Tandy Model 100, DG One 13. Commodore 64 ... Above it: VIC-20 and/or, 128 14. Apple Lisa ... Above it: Epson QX-10 15. Apple Mac 128K ... Above it: Mac Portable 16. Commodore Amiga ... Above it: Sony SMC-70 17. PC clone ... Above it: (Sun 1? Not sure if we have one...) Remember, everything that doesn't make the cut will automatically go into the Computer-of-the-Month rotation. That list (far from comprehensive) includes: NeXT Station Apple //c, ///, IIgs Pockets/Handhelds Franklin/Laser Cromemco Z2H Cromemco System Three Northstar Horizon SWTPc 6800 Tandy CoCo TRS-80 (later models) Atari 400, ST, etc. Sinclair ZX-81, Timex Sinclair 1000, Amstrad PPC 640 OSI Challenger 4P Compaq Portable Epson QX-10 NEC APC Various other laptops/portables "And many more....."

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] SIX WEEKS to VCF East exhibit DEADLINE - April 1st
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 02 Mar '16

02 Mar '16

Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic writes: >There are only SIX weeks until the VCF East exhibit registration >deadline. > >They're going to go very fast. > >Register your exhibits now. > >Not doing so makes life extremely difficult for us. We waste a lot of >time chasing down people who we know usually exhibit, and we delay >ordering the table rental, arranging the layout, and other things. > >Reg link: > >http://www.vcfed.org/registration/east_exhibitor_register-online.php FYI, I think you should configure the server to NOT display directory content unless it's really necessary. See: http://www.vcfed.org/registration/ if you don't understand what I'm referring to.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT: Possible Items for IXR
by tom.hornberger＠verizon.net 02 Mar '16

02 Mar '16

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Windows 3.11 Networking
by william degnan 02 Mar '16

02 Mar '16

> > Anyway, back to your work Bill, how long did it take you to set up TCP/IP within 3.11, and how hard was it locating suitable drivers .. Not hard to find drivers. I had to re-learn some Windows 3.11 networking as it had been a long time since I last did anything with it, but you can read my post on vcfed.org forum and/or my website that I started and was done in 24 hours w/ in spare moments. I uploaded all the drivers and software associated with the Dell 486 system used... video, audio, network, joystick, MOBO bios to my website should anyone read my post, have same hardware, and want the drivers. http://vintagecomputer.net/browse_thread.cfm?id=626 Bill

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Windows 3.11 Networking
by william degnan 01 Mar '16

01 Mar '16

Anyone using Windows 3.11 to browse the Internet or do mail? Today I visited vcfed.org. It's close to usable believe it or not using Netscape 2.0 via Win 3.11, if you turn off javascript. Now you know. FYI - My site, vintagecomputer.net is compatible with Netscape 2.0 and early Mosaic versions if you're looking for another site to search. It looks just like 1994 there. Bill -- @ BillDeg: Web: vintagecomputer.net Twitter: @billdeg <https://twitter.com/billdeg> Youtube: @billdeg <https://www.youtube.com/user/billdeg> Unauthorized Bio <http://www.vintagecomputer.net/readme.cfm>

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OT: Possible Items for IXR
by tom.hornberger＠verizon.net 01 Mar '16

01 Mar '16

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Workshop after-action report (IBM 029)
by whitneys 01 Mar '16

01 Mar '16

On a side note I'd like to thank everyone who welcomed me, and helped at my first workshop. Special thanks to Ian. To everyone else on the list, Hi! I'm new here. Whitney -- For external use only. If taken internally, consult a technician.

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Workshop after-action report (IBM 029)
by Mike Loewen 01 Mar '16

01 Mar '16

For the 2/27 - 2/28 workshop, I did some more work on the museum's IBM model 29 keypunch. When I first powered it up, it didn't do much of anything except run the motor. It gradually "warmed up" and started punching, but was obviously in need of lubrication. I cleaned and lubricated many maintenance points, which quieted down the machine and made its operation much smoother. I used Tech Rubber Roller Restorer to clean up the rubber feed rollers. I replaced my home-made arc suppression board with a spare from the warehouse. I also replaced the punch clutch pulley belt, which was ready to fall apart, and substituted a much better looking program drum. I adjusted the two pressure rail microswitches in the card bed, and cleaned and lubed the keyboard to fix some sticking keys. During the process, the machine developed another fault: each time a card would "register" at the punch station, it would automatically be "released" and sent to the read station. After several hours of troubleshooting, I discovered a broken wire leading to the escapement magnet assembly. It had been hanging on by a thread, causing erratic operation, and eventually completely broke away from the spade lug. I soldered it back on, and the machine was again punching. The very last thing I checked was the function of the sensing pins in the read station, by trying to duplicate a card. Not all card rows were consistently read, but improved with repetition. Unfortunately, I ran out of time at that point. I had lubed the sensing pins, but they need another round of cleaning/lubrication. At this point, the keypunch is useable for demonstrations in the museum room. The print mechanism still needs work, and doesn't print all of the characters correctly. Cleaning and aligning the print unit will be a major project. I multi-punched a VCF EAST 2016 card and left it on the punch. Oh yeah: I also pushed an IBM printer for a 1/4 mile. :-) Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Should the new museum have a name?
by tom.hornberger＠verizon.net 01 Mar '16

01 Mar '16

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OT: dual booting W7/Linux
by Evan Koblentz 29 Feb '16

29 Feb '16

I'm trying to shrink the Windows 7 partition on our new office computer in order to make a second partition for Linux. Windows' disk management partitioning tool is not working. It only let me shrink the partition by 8GB. Google indicates the reason is because of some un-movable files near the end of the partition. Defragging didn't help. I tried a few third-party partitioning tools. They didn't work either. How do I proceed?

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Gift letters for the Museum furniture donations
by Corey Cohen 29 Feb '16

29 Feb '16

To everyone who donated to the museum for our new furniture this year. I was having some email problems with all the domain DNS changes and didn't hit send on the gift letters for 2016. I have not forgotten you and also expect that starting January 2017 I will be generating a donation summary for each benefactor anyway and sending it out annually. I know that makes life easier since you will have all your donations in one place in one PDF. As far as I am aware I did get all the gift letters out for 2015. If I missed one, please contact me off list at corey(a)vcfed.org Keep an eye in your emails later this week for a PDF of the donation letters since January 1st 2016. Sorry for any delays or confusion, Thanks, Corey corey cohen uǝɥoɔ ʎǝɹoɔ

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LINC pioneer Wesley Clark passes
by Herb Johnson 29 Feb '16

29 Feb '16

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/business/wesley-a-clark-made-computing-pe… As an owner of a piece of a LINC, I've corresponded with the LINC engineers, who to this day work on or support the remaining LINCs in various collections. It's sad to hear that Wesley Clark passed away recently at 88. The NYT article notes his involvement with Whirlwind and SAGE and other notable computers of the 1950's. He will be missed. Herb Johnson retrotechnology.com -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net preservation of 1970's computing email: hjohnson AAT retrotechnology DOTT com alternate: herbjohnson ATT retrotechnology DOTT info

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Should the new museum have a name?
by Bob Aviles 29 Feb '16

29 Feb '16

Hi, I was thinking the same thing, people will think it just American systems. Bobby On Sunday, February 28, 2016 6:46 AM, Ben Greenfield via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: With America in the name would we reject foreign computers? Could we exhibit Nixdorf's? On Feb 27, 2016, at 10:37 PM, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: >>> Museum of American Computer Heritage > > Museum or American Retro Computer Heritage.... we could call it MARCH. > > Oh, wait....

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Next workshop... or not?
by Evan Koblentz 28 Feb '16

28 Feb '16

Guys, the next workshop is supposed to be two weeks from now. Other weekends in March are unavailable or too close to VCF East. Would anybody attend in two weeks from now or should we cancel it?

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New museum setup report
by Evan Koblentz 28 Feb '16

28 Feb '16

Changed the subject line because the old museum move report is complete. :) - Remember when we discussed "pick 25" for the microcomputer exhibit? Turns out only 20(ish) will fit. It was too cramped with 25 shelving units. I will start a separate thread (later tonight) about which systems to not (initially) display. - The five units that won't fit in the micro exhibit will not go to waste. We discovered the many of the parts can be reconfigured for a perfect fit in the workshop/classroom corner. Score! - Jeff J. and I finished assembing all but one shelving unit (for which we need a part that's arriving this week.) - Jeff J. and I also found a great way to fit the Univac exhibit without making the aisles too claustrophobic. We might even be able to fit more of the Univac than planned! We also transferred one of the Univac i/o consoles (the only remotely "small" component) onto a stronger and better-sized pallet to make it uniform with the other components. Another thing we got done is we found a good way to cover the front of the pallets that will be easy, basically free, and look good. - Next museum build day is probably next Sunday. We'll finalize it during the week.

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Museum move is DONE!
by Evan Koblentz 27 Feb '16

27 Feb '16

We devoted 10am-5pm today to finishing the move out of our old museum space. InfoAge's forklift, Jon C.'s operater+safety skills, and a whole team of VCF nerds-turned-schleppers made the job easy. Now we're back in conventional workshop mode. :)

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Museum move is DONE!
by Evan Koblentz 27 Feb '16

27 Feb '16

We devoted 10am-5pm today to finishing the move out of our old museum space. InfoAge's forklift, Jon C.'s operater+safety skills, and a whole team of VCF nerds-turned-schleppers made the job easy. Now we're back in conventional workshop mode. :)

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Innovation Nation with Mo Rocca - Simon Computer at end
by william degnan 27 Feb '16

27 Feb '16

Hey all...my photo of the Simon analog computer (1950) is used on the television show Innovation Nation with Mo Rocca if you're up for a trivia question about computer history. The first air date is today (it's on now) Feb 27th. -- @ BillDeg: Web: vintagecomputer.net Twitter: @billdeg <https://twitter.com/billdeg> Youtube: @billdeg <https://www.youtube.com/user/billdeg> Unauthorized Bio <http://www.vintagecomputer.net/readme.cfm>

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Workshop Feb. 27-28: Who's going?
by Evan Koblentz 26 Feb '16

26 Feb '16

Jeff B. is busy with some stuff, so I'm arranging the next workshop (Feb. 27-28). As already stated, the first half of Saturday will be devoted to moving the big stuff out of our largest old museum room. The sooner we finish, the sooner the workshop can happen as normal. :) Who's going? 1. Evan 2. (Glitch aka forklift operator)

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Stats from the old list
by Evan Koblentz 26 Feb '16

26 Feb '16

Pre-Federation, the old group's Yahoo discussion list operated from January 2005 to December 2015. The project I mentioned last night (technically early this morning) was to analyze the statistical post trends, just for fun. :) Jonathan G. was the first to raise his hand. He replied with two things: 1. The data at http://www.vcfed.org/evan/legacy_list_stats.xlsx 2. A comment that, "You can clearly see the burst in mails around VCF East each year in the graphs." Jonathan, I'm not sure if you knew this, but the VCF East wasn't always in springtime like it is now. We started with VCF East 3 (2006) and skipped 2010/2013. The schedule was as follows: 2006 - East 3.0 - May 2007 - East 4.0 - June 2008 - East 5.0 - September 2009 - East 6.0 - September 2011 - East 7.0 - May 2012 - East 8.0 - May 2014 - East 9.1 - April 2015 - East "X" - April

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The Hunt for the Government's oldest computer
by Christian Liendo 26 Feb '16

26 Feb '16

I thought this was kind of cool. https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2016/feb/24/hunt-governments-oldest-…

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InfoAge needs a long-ish VGA cable
by Evan Koblentz 26 Feb '16

26 Feb '16

Anyone who's attending the workshop this weekend: InfoAge needs a long-ish VGA cable. No specific length, just maybe something longer than the usual few feet. Can somebody please bring one?

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More surplus stuff from my stockpile
by William Dudley 26 Feb '16

26 Feb '16

All integrated circuits this time. All DIP: 1 AMI S6551 P, plastic, date 8133 4 Intel 8274, ceramic 3 Intel 8255, plastic, date '81 1 Intel 8251, ceramic 1 Intel P8251A, plastic 1 Intersil ICL7109CPL, plastic, date 7907 2 Intersil ICL7218AIJI, ceramic, date 7919 3 MOS Technology MPS6502, plastic, various dates '79 and '80 1 MOS Technology MPS6522, plastic, date 3879 1 Mostek MK3880N-4 (Z80-CPU), plastic, date 8220 1 Motorola MC6847P, plastic, date 7830 2 Motorola MC6860P, plastic, date 7829 and 8149 1 RCA COP 1801 CUD, ceramic, date 7546 this and next are a pair 1 RCA COP 1801 CRD, ceramic, date 7546 both in (partial) original packaging 1 Rockwell R6522-33, plastic, date 8209 2 S? 2513N (character gen?), plastic 2 SMC FDC1797, plastic 1 SMC COM8017, plastic, date 7921 1 SMC KR2376-ST, plastic, date 8001 1 Synertec SY6502, plastic, date 8301 4 Zilog Z80-PIO, ceramic, date 7714 1 Zilog Z80A PIO, plastic, date 8229 1 Zilog Z80B CPU, plastic, date 8121 1 Zilog Z80A DMA, plastic, date either 8410 or 8001 4 Zilog Z80A DART, plastic, date 8408 3 Zilog Z80A CTC, plastic, date 8404 I'm perfectly fine with doling these out as onsies and twosies, so that the largest number of you can complete projects or repairs. Please reply to the list so you can discuss who gets what in public. I hate having to be the arbitrator, and it's too much like work to put this up on Ebay. Bill Dudley

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