- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

WIn 3.1 gaming - source for gamepad drivers
by william degnan 12 Feb '16

12 Feb '16

[repost from vintage-computer.com] Does anyone have a win 3.1 driver for any of the following game pads? I searched the web, found nothing matching yet. 1. microsoft sidewinder game pad 2. radioshack gamepad 3. Interact pc propad 4 I tried here: http://www.vogonsdrivers.com/index.php?catid=29 ...but there were no matches for Win 3.1, DOS 1.44 drive. -- @ 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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Received H11-a shipping mess!
by Richard Cini 12 Feb '16

12 Feb '16

All — I got a hold of a Heathkit H11, which arrived today and the person I got it from did everything wrong when shipping it. First, the good…it actually has more boards than I thought it did. It has the M7270 CPU, an H11-5 serial board, and two WHA-11-16 16kw x 16bit memory boards. Now, the bad…there was inadequate packaging so it got bounced around by UPS. The CPU board was dislodged and the other three were shoved down one notch in the cage so that a board was plugged into row 1 but it sat in row 2’s card edge guide. It must have been dropped or thrown because the side panel threaded inserts cracked the case. Looks like I need some epoxy to as to re-anchor the threaded screw inserts. The chassis has serial #00744 but no other serial number stickers. No console cable was provided but I have the manual for the serial board, so I’ll make one up (looks like 3-wire plus two for a paper tape). There is a massive Sprague capacitor on the PS, so I removed all boards and disconnected the PS from the backplane. I’m going to put it on a variac with lightbulb current limiter and bring it up over a few hours — maybe 15v/hour or something like that. It’s a two-switch front panel with a 3rd toggle switch connected to two posts on the power supply board — function unknown since I don’t have the manual. The front panel was painted with flat black paint, but it’s chipping in spots so I might be able to get it off (would need recommendations for non-damaging paint remover). The CPU has 5 40-pin chips (two purple ceramic and three PDIP). Supposedly the H11 has a monitor PROM or something like it, but I don’t see anything like a PROM on the board. Guess I have to wait until I get it running! Is there anything else I should know about the H11 while bringing it up? Thanks! 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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Interest in Lawrence Livermore Labs MST-80 Intel 8080 Trainers?
by Systems Glitch 12 Feb '16

12 Feb '16

All, One of my parts/test equipment suppliers has contacted me with an offer on 6 or 7 Lawrence Livermore Labs MST-80(B?) trainers. These are 8080 trainers in a briefcase -- I brought mine to VCF East a few years ago. They have a keypad and three hex displays and can be controlled via a ROM monitor. Expansion is really simple, and the MST-80 provides DIP headers for address/data/control signals, as well as onboard I/O ports and 10 LEDs. The manuals are available online (IIRC Doug Crawford scanned his manual and that's the copy most people have), I don't yet know if any of these come with a hardcopy of it. What I'd like to know from list members is: - What would you pay for a repaired/tested/working unit? - What would you pay for an "as is" but not trashed unit? (cosmetically OK, all bits present, just untested) - What would you pay for just the board, in the event the briefcases are torn up? (haven't seen them yet) I'm trying to figure out what a fair offer is. They will of course be made available to VCFers if I purchase them! Thanks, Jonathan

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Help needed this Saturday
by Evan Koblentz 11 Feb '16

11 Feb '16

We need one or two hard-working helpers at the museum this Saturday, starting around 9-10am and ending by the early evening. Lunch is on us. Goal is to move everything out of the homebrew-era room and move everything except computers out of the minis/mainframe room. Tony will be there with his empty cargo van from about noon-4pm but we definitely need another reliable helper or two. Lots of things to pack up and schlep.

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Computer training on 3/4" tape
by Kelly Leavitt 11 Feb '16

11 Feb '16

I have 3 training tapes on ¾" uMatic tape. Anyone want these? Two are about Symphony, one is about the PC. Come get them or cover postage. Kelly

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Ohio Scientific 495 Prototype Boards
by Systems Glitch 11 Feb '16

11 Feb '16

I finally found an Ohio Scientific 495 prototype board recently, on eBay! I've been searching for one for years -- I only know for sure of one other 495 board in existence. Apparently they're desirable, as I had to pay > $100 for it. Here's what I got: http://imgur.com/43MjWTd The previous owner didn't get much done with it -- looks like they had laid out some buffering and that was about it. I stripped it off, which was super simple as the board is single-sided with no plated-through holes. I was going to start using it when I thought, wouldn't it be cool to reproduce the boards so other people could get them? I removed the Molex KK-156 connectors in preparation for scanning the board and making UV photoresist negatives. Instead of making a photocopy board, though, I sent it off for a high-resolution scan and conversion to DXF/Gerber+Excellon Drill files. I got the results back yesterday: http://imgur.com/in0xfbX It's a 1:1 scan with no clean-up, so the scan definitely reflects the "tape and film" original. Not all of the pads are perfectly lined up and the drills aren't always on center. I decided to leave it like that as it doesn't really harm such a simple board. I did add a bit of text at the bottom left corner, so that the reproduction boards don't end up misrepresented as brand-new originals or something. I sent the Gerbers off to get a small test run done, but I'll probably do a much larger run (25 or more) once they're proved out. If anyone wants one, let me know. I'm going to put together some tutorials/plans on how to use them to build useful OSI-compatible boards -- like a RAM board that uses 32K x 8 "modern" 28-pin static RAM! Thanks, Jonathan

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Stools
by Evan Koblentz 11 Feb '16

11 Feb '16

I'm sure everyone remembers the discussion about stools. It was... non-crappy. Corey/Jeff B./and I decided it's better to get nice stools which cost more than cheaper ones which won't make us happy. We ordered five stools with pneumatic adjustment, wheels, and padded seats. They're about $40 each. The $20 ones aren't adjustable, don't have wheels, and you sit on hard particle board. As with the warehouse shelving, we will order more stools as budget allows. Goal is to get 20 of them. (In other news, we now have an Amazon Business account. Better than using our personal accounts and it applies our sales tax exemption.)

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Measuring wheel
by Jeffrey Brace 10 Feb '16

10 Feb '16

Does anyone have a measuring wheel that I could borrow? I'm trying to get an accurate measure of distances in and around InfoAge campus buildings.

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FS: S-100 System Services (Altair, IMSAI, SOL-20, Cromemco, et c.)
by Systems Glitch 09 Feb '16

09 Feb '16

Full writeup and contact information: http://www.glitchwrks.com/2016/02/09/s100-repair I've been doing S-100 board and system level repair for several years now, and decided to actually put out a public offering of services. I can handle board repair/rework, full system refurbishing, board exchange, custom board/system buildout and design, et c. Past work includes S-100 repair done for the Vintage Computer Museum east coast museum and many private customers. If you'd like a custom one-off interface for another piece of equipment you have, I'm happy to design and assemble a S-100 board for it. For example, I've interfaced several different paper tape readers to the S-100 bus for people, including a high-speed HP minicomputer reader. Several users here have either bought S-100 boards from me, or had me repair boards for them in the past. Thanks, Jonathan

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Micro exhibit: What goes where?
by Evan Koblentz 08 Feb '16

08 Feb '16

Over at http://www.vcf.org/evan/whatgoeswhere.jpg you'll find my latest list of which microcomputers should be displayed in our new space. Left column is the bottom (primary) shelf, which is where we'll have systems that are operable (not all of them, but many). Right column is the top shelf, where most systems will lack screens and stuff. Blank spots are where I could use suggestions about what to put (and why). Chart is sorted by year of the left column item. Some of the top-shelf items are obvious, for example other Apples above the Apple II, other Commodores above the 64, etc. Others are, shall we say, "creative", for Horizon about the Xitan (because they're both Z-80 but the Xitan is an NJ product), Z-100 above the H-89 (to show that electronics kit maker Heathkit was involved in the computer field too; Z-100 was an H-100 inside), Epson QX-10 above the Lisa (office suite apps), and so on ..... one or two items are a little more random because they didn't fit anywhere else, such as the OSI above the 99/4A. Constructive criticism is welcome and especially good suggestions for what to put in the four blank boxes.

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Next workshop - Feb. 27-28
by Evan Koblentz 08 Feb '16

08 Feb '16

Fix things and be merry.

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What's on the S-100 museum shelving unit?
by Evan Koblentz 08 Feb '16

08 Feb '16

Dumb question -- I'm trying to remember which systems are on the shelving unit left of the Apple 1 in our (now closed) museum. I know we have the SWTPc 6800, SOL-20, and Cromemco 2-ZH there. Anybody remember what else is on those shelves? Anyone have a recent picture of that room?

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Double door progess
by Evan Koblentz 08 Feb '16

08 Feb '16

I checked with Fred about the exit signs. He said our room has a maximum capacity of 50 people, and exit signs are only required above that amount.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Double door progess
by Evan Koblentz 08 Feb '16

08 Feb '16

> There will have to be a lighted exit sign in that general area, right? All I know is the town inspector gave a thumbs-up to the building/room in its current state.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Double door progess
by Tony Bogan 08 Feb '16

08 Feb '16

Sent from my iPhone > On Feb 8, 2016, at 12:11 PM, Bill Sudbrink via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: > > I assume that the outlet above the door is for the > "EXIT" sign? > > Bill S. Funny you should say that, I told Evan when we were moving all the computers we should get a vintage computer sign of come kind (old computer fest/data center sign from 70s/80s) and put it

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Double door progess
by Martin Flynn 08 Feb '16

08 Feb '16

Clock > On Feb 8, 2016, at 12:11 PM, Bill Sudbrink via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: > > I assume that the outlet above the door is for the > "EXIT" sign? > > Bill S. > >

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Double door progess
by Evan Koblentz 08 Feb '16

08 Feb '16

There are three doors into our new museum space. One of them is being converted into a double door, so that we can display big stuff like our UNIVAC. Check out the attached photo to see the progress!

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Printer update
by Evan Koblentz 07 Feb '16

07 Feb '16

Unfortunately the printer offered to us at the recent workshop didn't work. Its insides rattled around and made a grinding noise. But, the story has a happy ending! Corey C. is donating a brand new one to us. The new one does wide format (up to 19" wide, same as most other entry-level units), is also a copier/scanner, and has wireless printing from Android/iOS devices.

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What should be on our (tiny) workbench?
by Evan Koblentz 07 Feb '16

07 Feb '16

As previously mentioned, our new museum space will have a small bench area. This won't be a fully equipped workshop, due to space (and also because we can use the IXR hackerspace's workshop whenever needed), but it will be good for quick/simple projects. What equipment should be put in there? So far: - Martin's getting us a nice SFF computer - We will get a budget wide-format (13x19) printer - Corey donated a desoldering station - I still need to check if we already have a scope - Alex J. donated a variac We'll need a decent soldering station and a set of tools. As you would all guess, my strong preference is to have one nice matching set of tools, not a hundred mismatched parts. What else should be seek, especially re: anything of significant cost? Of course, our * other * strong preference is to have everything donated. :)

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Casters!
by Evan Koblentz 06 Feb '16

06 Feb '16

Good news about our shelving. Funding presented itself today for us to put all the new shelving units on caster wheels (as in the warehouse). That will make it waaaaaaaaay easier to move stuff around for maintenance, cabling, reorganization, etc. -- thank you to the donor!

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Moving report
by Evan Koblentz 06 Feb '16

06 Feb '16

Steve A., Tony, and I had a very productive day moving stuff from the old museum to the new one. In the first two rooms (consumer + business microcomputers), we moved ALL of our artifacts -- systems, books, peripherals, etc. -- into one corner of the new space. Steve has a station wagon and Tony has a cargo van. Both arrived with their vehicles empty, and we made several trips with each car pretty well loaded. All that's left of ours in those two rooms are the white wire shelving attached to the walls. That will be very easy to take down; we'll do it next time. We left behind the ugly metal desks and the carpet. InfoAge plans to dispose of the desks in their own way, which is fine with me! Moving those by ourselves would be very difficult and time-consuming. Next weekend (not yet sure which day), we'll tackle the homebrew-era room. That will be slightly more challenging than today's effort, because the systems are heavier. The only really heavy thing we had to move today was the IBM 5100 dual 8" floppy cabinet. You all know what's looming -- the big stuff. These include two heavy-ass display cases, Bendix G-15 and its desk, George (four full racks), IBM 1130 (computer, printer, card reader, 029 keypunch), PDP-8 + teletype, and I forget the model number of the other double-wide DEC mini -- 785? We need to plan that move carefully and have the right volunteers in place. Basically, we just have to get across the sidewalk, concrete ramp, and gravel-covered blacktop -- a distance of about 25 feet. Then we'll be indoors on perfectly flat concrete. Probably the most important thing we'll need for that move is a couple of people who are very experienced with moving the large stuff.

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Museum move
by Evan Koblentz 06 Feb '16

06 Feb '16

We closed our museum (for the next couple of months) and began moving during the workshop this weekend. So far, we moved 26 boxes of books, with several more to go. We also bought our own trash can so we don't have to keep borrowing an InfoAge one, and we bought a box of contractor-grade trash bags. Jeff J. brought in the wide printer, which printer guru Ian thinks will work. We will get new cartridges to test it. Corey C. brought in a desoldering station. We'll need to get a regular soldering station, tools, etc. (we probably already have a decent scope: I don't know much about those, but I do know IA has a few and we might too; I'm honestly not sure if there if there is one in our warehouse.) This week I'll order the shelving. Fred and the InfoAge board chairmam both asked us to show our layout plan to InfoAge's design consultant (he's a volunteer). We did that, and he gave it the okay. Several of our own members saw the design during the workshop and everyone seems to like it. A few people made very helpful suggestions that we will use. There will be several "please help us move" emails from me during the next few weeks/months.

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So, we're going to need an office computer.
by Evan Koblentz 06 Feb '16

06 Feb '16

We're going to need a computer for the new museum's office/workbench area. Requirements: 1. It must have a very small footprint. A full tower, anything rack-mounted, servers, etc. are not suitable for our current situation. Ideally a "mini" case (ha! a minicomputer...) would serve us well. 2. We don't need a laptop and would rather have a desktop anyhow, so we can more easily upgrade it and avoid proprietary stuff. 3. Its motherboard should have a sufficient CPU and enough RAM capacity to run a modern operating system. 4. Serial port. :) 5. We'll need this in the next few weeks. That's about it. I figure we can buy a cheap SSD, install Windows 7 SP1 -- which is the least-worst version of Windows -- and make it dual-boot into Linux. I can do all of that myself, but it would certainly save time if the system gets to us already configured this way. I have a spare USB keyboard/mouse to donate. VCF owns a few small-ish square LCDs, but we could definitely use a donation of a modern wide-screen LCD -- perhaps a 22-inch or around that size.

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1992
by william degnan 06 Feb '16

06 Feb '16

Marketshare of US Micros, 1991 to 1992 (during period when Win 3.1 was launched) The two charts are slanted because one is US and one is "the world" but the impact of clones is still obvious. *TABLE 1. 1991 U.S. market share (source: Fortune Sept. 21, 1992)* Company Market share (%) ------- ---------------- IBM 18.6 Apple 14.0 Packard Bell 5.7 Tandy/Grid 4.1 Gateway 2000 3.6 Compaq 3.5 Everex 3.0 AST 2.5 Epson 2.2 Dell 2.1 NEC 2.1 *TABLE 2. Worldwide PC-market share, 1992.(source: The Economist, January 30, 1993)* Company Market share (%) ------- ---------------- IBM 12.4 Apple 11.9 Compaq 6.6 NEC 5.1 Dell 3.5 Others 60.5 <---- Clone makers

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Pick some minicomputers
by Evan Koblentz 06 Feb '16

06 Feb '16

We don't yet know how many minicomputers will fit in the new museum space. Here are some candidates, based entirely on what we own: - PDP-8 w/ teletype (and sign about RESISTORS) - VAXen (many from which to choose) - IBM System/3 - IBM System/38 - Burroughs B-80 - Prime 6550 - TI 8(00?) - DG Eclipse - Perkin-Elmer 3210 + other models - AT&T 3B2 (because we previously debated it here and agreed most of the multi-user machines should be considered with the minis, not with the micros) Am I forgetting anything in our collection? (IBM 1130 will go with the mainframes.)

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] anti-static carpet (Joseph Oprysko
by Mike Willegal 06 Feb '16

06 Feb '16

It greatly reduces sound levels, but it will also require more upkeep. I loved it when I worked in a lab that had it, and lot of minis, but I didn't have to maintain it. Regards, Mike Willegal

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VCF West: Aug. 6-7 @ CHM - it's official!
by Evan Koblentz 05 Feb '16

05 Feb '16

VCF West is baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack. Thanks to the Vintage Computer Federation :) and to Sellam for giving us the right and to Erik Klein for doing the legwork. Details will be posted at http://www.vcfed.org/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-west-xi/ as they're determined.

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OT: Disable Windows 10 "upgrade"....
by Evan Koblentz 05 Feb '16

05 Feb '16

From what I can tell, just turn off automatic updates, then Windows 7/8.x won't call home for Windows 10. Currently we don't have Internet access in the new museum space anyhow (InfoAge's wifi does not reach.) We will look into getting some kind of bridge. Even without the Microsoft patches, running a decent free A/V program (Avast, AVG) and Spybot once a month keeps just about everything safe. We should be fine for as little as we're going to actually use this computer. Also pretty safe to say that anyone in this group knows what not to click when online.

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Heath H11 manuals?
by Richard Cini 05 Feb '16

05 Feb '16

All — Does anyone know of an archive of Heath H11 (PDP-11) assembly manuals? I need to check out something about the included boards/configuration. Thanks. 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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A Living Museum?
by Glenn Roberts 05 Feb '16

05 Feb '16

I love what the Living Computer Museum has done: "...we believe that the best way for people to fully understand computing systems is by experiencing them. Hardware alone cannot illustrate what it was like to use these machines. Software, information, and human interaction complete the experience... Our goal is to breathe life back into our machines so the public can experience what it was like to see them, hear them, and interact with them. We make our systems accessible by allowing people to come and interact with them, and by making them available over the Internet." I realize the tremendous challenge of demonstrating and maintaining old computer hardware (and vintage computer federation doesn't have Paul Allen's deep pockets), but has there been any discussion of possibly including at least some operational displays in the museum? Perhaps on a rotating basis?

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Mystery system
by Mike Loewen 04 Feb '16

04 Feb '16

I'm trying to identify a system which appeared in "The Killer Elite" (1975), with a room full of tape drives and a couple of terminals: http://q7.neurotica.com/killer-1.png http://q7.neurotica.com/killer-2.png http://q7.neurotica.com/killer-6.png http://q7.neurotica.com/killer-9.png The drives appear to be IBM 3420s, but with an additional box on top, labeled "SMS". The system itself doesn't appear in any of the shots. Some sort of IBM 370, perhaps? Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

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Front desk...
by Evan Koblentz 04 Feb '16

04 Feb '16

Ideally, our front desk area will have room for some of the very nice-looking Amdahl cabinets and/or the Cray YMP-EL. The various Amdahl cabinets are awesome because they're empty inside, so they'd be an ideal place to keep shirts, fliers, supplies, maybe a modern server, etc. ..... the Cray is just plain old awesome .... a front desk powered by a supercomputer? Very fun for all involved. This idea may have to wait until the * next * museum stage, which probably won't happen for several years. But I'm holding out hope that we can find a way to squeeze it in now.

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minis planned for opening of museum
by william degnan 04 Feb '16

04 Feb '16

What are the non micros that will be in initial launch of the new museum space.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] More moving this Saturday
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 04 Feb '16

04 Feb '16

frida fried <frd_fried(a)yahoo.com> writes: >Well spoken, Brian. Carl That's a verse from Robert Burns' poem: To a Mouse. It is also the source of the title of John Steinbeck's novel's title: Of Mice and Men. There's a bit more to my life than just binary silicon-based logic. There's beer, rocketry and music too! ;)

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] More moving this Saturday
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 04 Feb '16

04 Feb '16

Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic writes: > >> On Feb 3, 2016, at 11:45 PM, Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic ><vcf-midatl= antic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: >=20 > >Plans are wonderful! They prevent moving heavy items back and forth, and >> back and forth. ;) > >You know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men....... the best-laid schemes of Mice and Men go oft awry, and leave us only grief and pain, for promised joy!

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More moving this Saturday
by Evan Koblentz 04 Feb '16

04 Feb '16

I need one or two hard-working helpers for this Saturday. Tony will be there in the afternoon to help us transport stuff from the old museum to the new one using his cargo van. Jeff B. will be very glad and amazed to know that I have a real plan for how to move stuff. :)

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FS: Tanner/Digital Research 64K Static RAM for S-100 Bus Tested/Working
by Herb Johnson 03 Feb '16

03 Feb '16

[previously posted with a broken subject line; posted again to keep in the "thread". - Herb] Your eBay description and discussion here, refer to the S-100 card as "a Digital Research product". Digital Research Computers/Corporation or DRC of Texas was a small manufacturer of S-100 cards and systems. They are NOT associated with Digital Research Inc or DRI of California, founded by Dr. Gary Kildall, creator of CP/M. I recall "DRC of Texas" ads in a number of period magazines. I don't know about the Tanner/DRC association. My recollection is that the cards are at the least similar. Jonathan, are they identical? If so, it may simply be a copy. Such things happened in the era without a business sale/purchase, but let me know of any further info, if you please. http://www.retrotechnology.com/herbs_stuff/d_drc.html That's a new Web page as of today; previously I listed my DRC manuals elsewhere. The new page lists the DRC products I have manuals for; and has the statement above. > The manual states the board is IEEE-696 compatible; however, > that just means it follows IEEE-696 signal designations -- > it is not 16-bit compatible. IEEE-696 allowed for 8-bit data operations and 16-bit addressing, it's also part of the standard, cards are designated accordingly by their data and address "paths". I don't discuss details on my Web site, but the IEEE 696 standard document can be found on some parts of the Web; and as part of various Compupro documents, published articles, etc. I discuss the S-100 / IEEE-696 bus signals at: http://www.retrotechnology.com/herbs_stuff/s100bus.html However, the IEEE has enforced their copyright and asked Web sites to remove copies of their IEEE-696 documents. They sell copies of their standards (not cheap) on their Web site. Herb Johnson former "Dr. S-100" -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Neat donation from Martin F.
by Evan Koblentz 03 Feb '16

03 Feb '16

Everyone, Here's a nice donation from Martin (of our neighbor organization OMARC): "I have a dozen Western Electric and ITT 1A2 model 2565 (1972 vintage) phones. The batch I have came out of the IBM Corporate Campus on Castle Drive in Armonk, NY. Many still have dial cards depicting (914) 765-xxxx numbers." These will pair nicely with many of the exhibits in our new museum space.

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FS: Tanner/Digital Research 64K Static RAM for S-100 Bus Tested/Workin
by Herb Johnson 03 Feb '16

03 Feb '16

Your eBay description and discussion here, refer to the S-100 card as "a Digital Research product". Digital Research Computers/Corporation or DRC of Texas was a small manufacturer of S-100 cards and systems. They are NOT associated with Digital Research Inc or DRI of California, founded by Dr. Gary Kildall, creator of CP/M. I recall "DRC of Texas" ads in a number of period magazines. I don't know about the Tanner/DRC association. My recollection is that the cards are at the least similar. Jonathan, are they identical? If so, it may simply be a copy. Such things happened in the era without a business sale/purchase, but let me know of any further info, if you please. http://www.retrotechnology.com/herbs_stuff/d_drc.html That's a new Web page as of today; previously I listed my DRC manuals elsewhere. The new page lists the DRC products I have manuals for; and has the statement above. > The manual states the board is IEEE-696 compatible; however, > that just means it follows IEEE-696 signal designations -- > it is not 16-bit compatible. IEEE-696 allowed for 8-bit data operations and 16-bit addressing, it's also part of the standard, cards are designated accordingly by their data and address "paths". I don't discuss details on my Web site, but the IEEE 696 standard document can be found on some parts of the Web; and as part of various Compupro documents, published articles, etc. I discuss the S-100 / IEEE-696 bus signals at: http://www.retrotechnology.com/herbs_stuff/s100bus.html However, the IEEE has enforced their copyright and asked Web sites to remove copies of their IEEE-696 documents. They sell copies of their standards (not cheap) on their Web site. Herb Johnson former "Dr. S-100" -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Craig Solomon is selling off some items.
by Christian Liendo 03 Feb '16

03 Feb '16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyB2d8m_MeY&feature=em-subs_digest

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KansasFest registration opens (Apple II convention)
by Andrew Molloy 03 Feb '16

03 Feb '16

We just opened KansasFest registration (featuring a keynote this year by Nibble magazine editor Mike Harvey). Here's a link to the release: https://www.kansasfest.org/2016/02/registration-2016-open/ It's a fun week of hanging out with other Apple II aficionados. Kind of like a longer version of VCF East. , Andy ================================ KansasFest 2016 opens for registration KansasFest 2016, the 28th annual Apple II convention, is now open for registration. Users, programmers, hobbyists, and retrocomputing enthusiasts are invited to Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri, from Tuesday, July 19, through Sunday, July 24, for six days and five nights of sessions, demos, announcements, contests, and camaraderie. Mike Harvey, a business executive, salesperson, technologist, project manager, entrepreneur, programmer, and best known in the Apple community as the founder and publisher of Nibble magazine, will join us with a keynote presentation. Harvey will be available immediately afterward for a Q&A and autograph session. Attendees are encouraged to share their knowledge by presenting their own hardware and software sessions related to the Apple II. All KansasFest sessions are presented by the attendees, who are known for unscheduled events and debuts, too. Whether it's a behind-the-scenes look at new software, preorder opportunities for new hardware, a hands-on workshop, a podcast recording session, Structris tournaments, or an athletic round of Bite the Bag, there are experiences to be had and memories to be made at KansasFest that aren't possible except in the company of surprising, brilliant, diehard Apple II fans. Register by May 31 to guarantee a price of $385 for a double room or $455 for a single, which includes admission to all sessions as well as most meals. After that, prices rise $55. Official KansasFest shirts are extra and optional and must be ordered by June 22; registration for staying on-site closes July 1. To register, please visit the official registration form. KansasFest invites any and all Apple II users, fans, and friends to attend the longest running annual Apple II conference. KansasFest is working towards non-profit status, which will help keep the conference alive for many more years. For photos, videos, schedules, and presentations from past year's events or to sign up for the email list and for inquiries, please browse our website at http://www.kansasfest.org.

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Workshop Jan. 30/31 Report
by Herb Johnson 02 Feb '16

02 Feb '16

I assembled a PDP 8/A from boards and chassis, and except for my core memory boards it operated successfully. I tested on David Gesswein's working 8/A the following: my 8/A board set, my core memory boards, and my programmer's panel. Then I assembled the best of these on my 8/A chassis, and ran tests with some success. However I had to use David's 8K core and not mine. My thanks and great appreciation to David Gesswein, who provided total use of his 8/A, and patiently gave me instruction and answered questions, as he worked on another slightly more challenging PDP-8. I'm working up my notes onto my Web site. Here's the Web pages in progress. http://www.retrotechnology.com/restore/8a_fix_jan16.html is my work on my 8/A and brief notes and photos of David's straight-8 work. There's links on that page, to previous work I did on various parts of the 8/A which I assembled last weekend. http://www.retrotechnology.com/restore/vcf_fixit_jan16.html is a very rough Web page on the VCFed repair event itself. No photos up yet, I'll work on it. Photos are available from me for use, for any of the attendees. I enjoyed the weekend. It was good to see my VC friends again, and see some of their work. It was interesting to see all the Commodore 64 attention, and the Pumapunku pile of 1641 drives in various states of repair during the course of the weekend. Bill Degnan had some interesting discussion at Saturday dinner. Thanks to Jeff Galinat for use of his soldering iron, and I admired his S-100 setup. Thanks to Jeff Brace for his management of the event, Evan for various food runs and for accommodations. And my regards to all my colleagues who attended. Herb Johnson, retrotechnology.com https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumapunku -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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FS: Tanner/Digital Research 64K Static RAM for S-100 Bus Tested/Working
by Systems Glitch 02 Feb '16

02 Feb '16

link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/272123001750 These are, in my opinion, exactly the kind of boards you want for old 8-bit S-100 boxes. Fully static, you can swap 2716 EPROMs in if you need to, and very low power draw. Pretty much the only kind of RAM board you can use if you want a full 64K (or close to it) in an original Altair with the original low-wattage power supply. This one has sockets for the last four RAM chips. The last two are not populated, as it came from a heavily modified Altair 8800 with a Turnkey card -- RAM from 0xF000 - 0xFFFF was disabled to allow the Turnkey card to co-exist. I can provide two 6116 static RAMs if desired. One tantalum capacitor was shorted, so I went ahead and replaced all four. I also populated the board activity LED. Fully tested on my IMSAI 8080, including phantom. You'll find the manual listed under Digital Research (not sure if they bought Tanner, or what). The manual states the board is IEEE-696 compatible; however, that just means it follows IEEE-696 signal designations -- it is not 16-bit compatible. Thanks, Jonathan

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Seven exhibits already for VCF East XI
by Evan Koblentz 02 Feb '16

02 Feb '16

Here are the registered exhibits so far: http://www.vintagecomputerfederation.org/festivals/vintage-computer-festiva… .... as I said last year, register early or risk not getting space....

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FS: MITS 88-2 SIO Tested/Working
by Systems Glitch 02 Feb '16

02 Feb '16

link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/272122857393 Here's the MITS serial interface everyone wants, and this one is fully tested and working! I had to replace the baud rate generator (DOA, replaced with a milspec Harris DI-4702-9) and a 1488. Previous owner had lifted two pads in the baud rate jumper area. I installed wire wrap pins so that a) pads won't get lifted when you need to change baud rates and b) you can jumper both ports to the same baud rate. Includes two nice ceramic Motorola 6850 ACIAs, original to the board. Currently jumpered for standard MITS port addressing (0x10 or 020 octal), RS-232 serial, and 9600/2400 bps. Thanks, Jonathan

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OT: Free Sun Workstations available at JHU in Baltimore
by Connor Krukosky 02 Feb '16

02 Feb '16

Have someone who has some Sun workstations available at John Hopkins University in Baltimore. I am too busy to get it myself so I figured someone in MARCH would want them. Free for pickup. The guy's name is Mike and you can email him at: mbrotzman.jhu(a)gmail.com "Have some sun equipment in Bal at JHU. Know anyone who might want it? Pickup required. I think an ultra 10 and a newer purple box." -Connor K

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OT: Come watch me install Linux on the IBM z890 Mainframe!
by Connor Krukosky 02 Feb '16

02 Feb '16

Come one come all! Its the day of reckoning. I finally have some storage on loan from a company called Funsoft! Hopefully by the end of the night I will have Linux installed and a portal to the internet to which people can connect and play on it! http://www.twitch.tv/conmega -Connor Krukosky

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Diagnostics Cartridge for Commodore 1541 Used at the Workshop
by Chris Fala 02 Feb '16

02 Feb '16

This cartridge proved to be very handy. If anyone is interested, I purchased it here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/321971488537

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OT: RE: Wives and retro-computers ( was Re: DC Area Head Count )
by Michael Thompson 01 Feb '16

01 Feb '16

> > Date: Sun, 31 Jan 2016 11:03:31 -0500 > From: Dave McGuire <mcguire(a)neurotica.com> > Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Wives and retro-computers ( was Re: DC > Area Head Count ) > > On 01/31/2016 09:28 AM, Derrik Walker v2.0 via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > > Mine has her limits too, but they're HER limits, not mine. Likewise, > mine are not hers. Thus, I offer these additional cases in addition to > your list above: > > 5) A compatible spouse > 6) A spouse who doesn't seek to control her spouse's activities > > -Dave > > -- > Dave McGuire, AK4HZ > New Kensington, PA > I propose a slight modification... 7) A spouse who seeks to keep my activities within reasonable limits I can collect any computer I want as long as it fits in my side of the garage or the cellar. I need preapproval for spending anything over $250. If I sell computer things those funds do not need preapproval to be spent. -- Michael Thompson

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Poster printing for VCF
by Mike Loewen 01 Feb '16

01 Feb '16

In light of the recent thread about large scale printers, is there anyone here able and willing to print 24"x36" full-color posters? Our campus engineering copy center will print on 35# coated paper stock for $3.50/square foot, but I'm open to a better deal. Anyone? Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

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