- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

Mac SE PRAM battery - replace with a holder
by Richard Cini 14 Sep '20

14 Sep '20

I just dug out my old Mac SE to check the battery and it needs replacing. In the SE, it’s soldered to the motherboard. I have replacements, both with leads (the original) and without (to be used with a holder). Other than not being original, any concerns or pitfalls with this approach? I couldn’t think of any but I thought I’d throw it to the group. I still need to check the clearance on the cage, though. Rich http://www.classiccmp.org/cini Long Island S100 User’s Group Get Outlook<https://aka.ms/qtex0l> for iOS

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Not quite so linked lists (of books)
by Adam Michlin 13 Sep '20

13 Sep '20

Hi Everyone, I'm embarking on a, hopefully fun, project to create lists of books for various vintage computer related projects. The first one is as broad as them come: What five books would you recommend to someone completely new to the hobby? Parameters: Let us assume the people are adults (children's books will be a separate discussion). Books can be currently published or vintage.. physical or digital... Let us also assume the readers have a basic understanding of how to use a standard (say Windows 10 or macOS) computer. If possible, please include why you think the book should be on the list. I'll be buying (the ones I do not own) the most (quantity and quality) recommended books, reading them, compiling my recommendation for the final list, posting it here for people to tear apart, and then ultimately posting it publicly in an appropriate space. Please post to the list so that other people can see your recommendations (and maybe even find a book they want to buy!). Oh, and feel free to recommend even just one book. The more information the merrier! Thanks! -Adam

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Not quite so linked lists (of books)
by Ken 13 Sep '20

13 Sep '20

At 9/13/2020 06:44 PM, Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic wrote: >Racing the Beam by Ian Bogost and Nick Montfort: About Atari a great game >making company. Also shows how hard it was to program games back then. Racing the Beam was a fantastic book. It wasn't about Atari the company. It was about the Atari 2600/VCS as a technical platform, and was a really compelling technical study about the interplay between a platform and what's created for it. It focused on the machine's architecture, and then on a few titles written for it, each highlighting something fascinating about platforms. While technical, it was also accessible. It's one of my top-favorite technical studies of all time. And, if you're not already familiar with the 2600's design, it does really heighten one's appreciation for how intensely challenging programming for it was, and how impressive those developers were. It looks like this is my second-ever message to this listserv responding to Jeffrey on the subject of this book. Five years ago, I wrote this: Jeffrey, I strongly second Adam's recommendation of "Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System," written in 2009 by Nick Montfort and Ian Bogost. https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/racing-beam I found it well written and well researched. It gets technical enough to be interesting, without getting too technical to scare anyone off. I would love to read another book as similarly compelling. (It didn't read like a dissertation to me!) There have been many books like "The Soul of a New Machine" ("Dreaming in Code," etc.) which are all about the people and politics behind the development of a system. But "Racing the Beam" was primarily about the system itself, and it focused brilliantly on the most compelling and instructive moments in the evolution of 1977's Atari 2600 platform. You will learn just how stupendously hard it was to program for that platform. And, to the authors' goal, you will learn how significant a platform itself is, and what kind of heroics it takes to move beyond the constraints and intended capabilities of a platform. Here are a couple of excerpts, which illustrate what it was like to work on a system that had no operating system, nor even a concept of a 2-dimensional screen grid to write to: ...the VCS programmer must draw each frame of a programs display manually to the screen, synchronizing the 6507 processor instruc- tions to the televisions electron gun via the TIA. The program has a small amount of time to change the TIA settings via its numerous addressable registers. This can happen when the electron beam resets to draw a new line (this period is called horizontal blank), or when it moves back up to the top to draw a new screen (a period called vertical blank). The program must also explicitly instruct the TIA to wait for the horizontal blank or to initiate the vertical blank, which involves keeping track of how much time the instructions take to execute on a single line, between lines, and between frames. Programming the Atari VCS means drawing every line of the television display individually, making decisions about how to change the display on a line-by-line basis rather than setting up a screen- ful of pixels all at once. This task requires that the programmer write carefully timed code that fits the motion of the televisions electron beam. Some graphical effects demand changes to the TIAs registers in the middle of a single scan line. In these cases, the programmer must care- fully cycle count processor instructions so they execute at the right time. While racing the beam is a catchier name, pacing the beam is more apt, since the program might have to be sped up or slowed down. [...] The basic flow of Combat follows the progress of the TVs electron beam, busily preparing each line that is to be drawn while the current one is appearing on the screen. During the vertical blanking interval, as the beam moves from the bottom of the screen to the top, the VCS running Combat does the computation necessary to process input, deal with game logic, and update the score if necessary. The first routine in Combats main loop checks the position of the VCS console switches. A game can be reset at any time, so it is necessary to check these controls each frame. This routine allows different game variations to be selectedif a game is not already in progressand, if a game is in progress, it also checks to see whether time is almost up and the score should be blinking. This routine also underscores the fact that the programmer is responsible for handling every interaction on the machine. The Atari VCS has no operating system to intercept inputs and respond to common ones. Thus, even though the reset switch is clearly labeled reset on the console cabinet, it is up to each cartridge programmer to write a program that responds to the switch being pressed. The programmer can choose to have a cartridge do something other than reset the game when the reset switch is closed, just as different games might use the joystick button for different actions. Although this was rare, there are examples of games that override the function of the console switches as printed on the console. - Ken

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] VCF East Swap Meet - Save the Date - Saturday November 7 (Rain: Sunday November 8)
by Evan Koblentz 13 Sep '20

13 Sep '20

>> you can’t Poopoo the idea, since this is the first time we actually are going to have it. I didn't poopoo the concept, I replied to the comment that accused me of being against all swap meets, because that was out of context. I was against a swap meet * during VCF East * because it would have hurt the main attraction of the show.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] VCF East Swap Meet - Save the Date - Saturday November 7 (Rain: Sunday November 8)
by Andrew Diller 13 Sep '20

13 Sep '20

I thought the swap meet in the big room was an awesome addition to Festivus. It was very popular as a lot of things moved and the light show was really cool. There is room for a triad of yearly 'big' events at InfoAge for VCF: 1. Festival 2. Festivus 3. Swapmeet -andy > On Sep 13, 2020, at 3:48 PM, Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > I would like people who participated in that event to weigh in and voice their opinion, > if that mini-swap meet was good or not? >

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] VCF East Swap Meet - Save the Date - Saturday November 7 (Rain: Sunday November 8)
by Alexander Pierson 13 Sep '20

13 Sep '20

I'm going to have to concur with Evan's concern of swapmeets taking precedence over established VCF activities should they coincide with one another, in that I would not like to see that element overshadow the show aspect. I would be most disappointed to see the event's focus shift to sales of items. However, for quite a few years now, I've seen many exchanges of equipment already happen at a VCF outside of the scope of the consignment room. Pre-arranged private exchanges are commonplace at our events, and they're an inescapable element of what we do as a hobby. Heck, an open swap meet was even sanctioned at Festivus, but that's not in the middle of a Festival. Seeing as we are in the middle of a pandemic, I don't imagine the turnout for such a swapmeet is going to be all that much different from a workshop. You'll have your few dedicated folks who can take the time to haul some stuff over, but that's about it. The draw of a large yearly event (Festival or Festivus) brings people from far and wide to visit with their fellow hobbyists, so people feel if they're making the trip for that, might as well load up the car with spare goodies and find a better home for some of it. Don't treat the turnout for such an event as a litmus test of a normal year. Cautious folks such as myself will simply wait it out for fairer health climates (you're welcome to call me overly cautious, I don't care). tl;dr: bigger events are great, but not if they're changing why we meet in the first place. -Alexander 'Z' Pierson On Sunday, September 13, 2020, 03:30:50 PM EDT, Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: Evan There is no doubt that everybody has a right to their opinion. You and I had this conversation as well. I believe that a swap meet is a good thing and besides you can’t Poopoo the idea, since this is the first time we actually are going to have it. We’ll give it a try and if it doesn’t work out we don’t have it again. Certainly can’t hurt to try. Besides because everybody’s been locked up inside, no Hamfest, no swapmeets, people are Jonesin’ for a swap meet! Mike Rosen Sent from: My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > On Sep 13, 2020, at 2:28 PM, Evan Koblentz <evan(a)snarc.net> wrote: > > >>> In years past, I pushed for a swap meet with previous management but the response was "It would be too much like a hamfest and hamfests are dying". > > That's out of context. > > Several people in the group asked for a swap meet * during * VCF East. I declined, because many of these people wanted to have a swap meet table instead of exhibiting. That would have damaged the exhibit hall and replaced much of it with something attractive only to people who are already in the hobby. > > It would have contributed to shrinking the hobby. My goal was to grow the hobby by introducing it to the public. > > Consignment was a (very successful) compromise. It let everyone sell stuff without taking away from the exhibit hall and also making some extra money for the group. > > I was right about that, and I was right about hamfests. How many families and kids excitedly go to a hamfest? Swapmeets are incestuous, and that makes communities wither and go extinct. > > You're able to have a swapmeet this year only because management is not bogged down running the real show. > > VCF's success is because of my earlier decisions, not in spite of them. > > > > > > >>> On Sep 13, 2020, Jeff Galinat via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: >> Hi Adam, >> Excellent! Even though I am a little bummed as I live in AZ now instead >> of NJ, this is great news! Swap meets have been a large part of the >> vintage >> computer and ham radio communities for years. I still find occasional >> vintage computer items at hamfests but a vintage computer swap meet >> would >> be great for the hobby. In years past, I pushed for a swap meet with >> previous management but the response was "It would be too much like a >> hamfest and hamfests are dying". >> One of the largest draws for TCF was the flea market and I had many >> great >> finds over the years but they effectively killed the flea market by >> moving >> it in to a small room. >> I still have a good amount of vintage equipment in NJ so maybe I can >> participate in a future event if it happens next year. >> Best of luck with the event, >> Jeff >> On Sun, Sep 13, 2020, 9:32 AM Adam Michlin via vcf-midatlantic < >> vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: >>> Hi Everyone, >>> Alas, there will be no consignment at our hybrid VCF East coming up, >> but >>> we have decided to try something new and have an *outdoor* Swap Meet. >>> Vendors (which can be individuals) will be able to rent space and >> people >>> will be able to attend the event for the very modest fee of $5. All >> VCF >>> surplus will also be on sale at this event. >>> DATE: Saturday, November 7, with Rain Date Sunday, November 8 >>> TIME: 9AM TO 6PM >>> Location: InfoAge, 2201 Marconi Road Wall, NJ 07719 >>> $20 for vendors for first space, $10 for each additional space. 4 >> spaces >>> max - BRING YOUR OWN TABLES/BLANKETS/WHATEVER >>> $5 for admissions for general public >>> We want to emphasize this will be an *outdoor* event >> I'm particulary excited about this because, back in the 1990s, my first >>> stint (habit, if you prefer) of vintage computer collecting was >>> supported by attending regular computer swap meets in Silicon Valley >> at >>> De Anza College and Lawrence Livermore Labs. The enthusiam at >>> consignment each year tells me we are ripe to bring something like >> this >>> back on a regular basis, but, of course, COVID make things trickier >> than >>> usual. >>> Best wishes, >>> -Adam

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] VCF East Swap Meet - Save the Date - Saturday November 7 (Rain: Sunday November 8)
by Sentrytv 13 Sep '20

13 Sep '20

Evan There is no doubt that everybody has a right to their opinion. You and I had this conversation as well. I believe that a swap meet is a good thing and besides you can’t Poopoo the idea, since this is the first time we actually are going to have it. We’ll give it a try and if it doesn’t work out we don’t have it again. Certainly can’t hurt to try. Besides because everybody’s been locked up inside, no Hamfest, no swapmeets, people are Jonesin’ for a swap meet! Mike Rosen Sent from: My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > On Sep 13, 2020, at 2:28 PM, Evan Koblentz <evan(a)snarc.net> wrote: > > >>> In years past, I pushed for a swap meet with previous management but the response was "It would be too much like a hamfest and hamfests are dying". > > That's out of context. > > Several people in the group asked for a swap meet * during * VCF East. I declined, because many of these people wanted to have a swap meet table instead of exhibiting. That would have damaged the exhibit hall and replaced much of it with something attractive only to people who are already in the hobby. > > It would have contributed to shrinking the hobby. My goal was to grow the hobby by introducing it to the public. > > Consignment was a (very successful) compromise. It let everyone sell stuff without taking away from the exhibit hall and also making some extra money for the group. > > I was right about that, and I was right about hamfests. How many families and kids excitedly go to a hamfest? Swapmeets are incestuous, and that makes communities wither and go extinct. > > You're able to have a swapmeet this year only because management is not bogged down running the real show. > > VCF's success is because of my earlier decisions, not in spite of them. > > > > > > >>> On Sep 13, 2020, Jeff Galinat via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: >> Hi Adam, >> Excellent! Even though I am a little bummed as I live in AZ now instead >> of NJ, this is great news! Swap meets have been a large part of the >> vintage >> computer and ham radio communities for years. I still find occasional >> vintage computer items at hamfests but a vintage computer swap meet >> would >> be great for the hobby. In years past, I pushed for a swap meet with >> previous management but the response was "It would be too much like a >> hamfest and hamfests are dying". >> One of the largest draws for TCF was the flea market and I had many >> great >> finds over the years but they effectively killed the flea market by >> moving >> it in to a small room. >> I still have a good amount of vintage equipment in NJ so maybe I can >> participate in a future event if it happens next year. >> Best of luck with the event, >> Jeff >> On Sun, Sep 13, 2020, 9:32 AM Adam Michlin via vcf-midatlantic < >> vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: >>> Hi Everyone, >>> Alas, there will be no consignment at our hybrid VCF East coming up, >> but >>> we have decided to try something new and have an *outdoor* Swap Meet. >>> Vendors (which can be individuals) will be able to rent space and >> people >>> will be able to attend the event for the very modest fee of $5. All >> VCF >>> surplus will also be on sale at this event. >>> DATE: Saturday, November 7, with Rain Date Sunday, November 8 >>> TIME: 9AM TO 6PM >>> Location: InfoAge, 2201 Marconi Road Wall, NJ 07719 >>> $20 for vendors for first space, $10 for each additional space. 4 >> spaces >>> max - BRING YOUR OWN TABLES/BLANKETS/WHATEVER >>> $5 for admissions for general public >>> We want to emphasize this will be an *outdoor* event >> I'm particulary excited about this because, back in the 1990s, my first >>> stint (habit, if you prefer) of vintage computer collecting was >>> supported by attending regular computer swap meets in Silicon Valley >> at >>> De Anza College and Lawrence Livermore Labs. The enthusiam at >>> consignment each year tells me we are ripe to bring something like >> this >>> back on a regular basis, but, of course, COVID make things trickier >> than >>> usual. >>> Best wishes, >>> -Adam

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] VCF East Swap Meet - Save the Date - Saturday November 7 (Rain: Sunday November 8)
by Adam Michlin 13 Sep '20

13 Sep '20

Rather that directly respond to the thread, I want to take this opportunity to remind everyone that if you feel the Steering Committee is going in a good direction, or a bad direction, now is the time to think about running for the two open Steering Committee positions that will very soon be up for election (Tony Bogan's and mine. I'm not running because I now live in South Carolina. If Tony doesn't run, I'm going to fly up and dump all his Apple IIs off his boat - don't think I'm joking and, yes, I know I'll be forcibly joining them in the ocean!). Details of the Steering Committee By Laws and election logistics are literally being worked on right now and will be posted as soon as possible. Please consider being a candidate if you think Swap Meets are a good idea! Please consider being a candidate if you think Swap Meets are a bad idea! Heck, consider being a candidate if you don't care one bit either way about Swap Meets! -Adam On 9/13/2020 3:30 PM, Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > Evan > There is no doubt that everybody has a right to their opinion. > > You and I had this conversation as well. > > I believe that a swap meet is a good thing and besides you can’t Poopoo the idea, > since this is the first time we actually are going to have it. > We’ll give it a try and if it doesn’t work out we don’t have it again. > Certainly can’t hurt to try. > > Besides because everybody’s been locked up inside, no Hamfest, no swapmeets, people are Jonesin’ for a swap meet! > > Mike Rosen

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Even our Xerox Star hates 2020
by Adam Michlin 13 Sep '20

13 Sep '20

https://www.instagram.com/p/CFE2PegnExs/ And, BTW, it lives! Thanks to David Gesswein, Ian Primus, an anonymous mouse donor found with the help of CHM, DigiBarn's scanned pdfs of the required *custom mouse pad* (which you can print... *phew*), and a whole bunch of other people. Federation! Lots more content on the way.

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VCF MidWest Watch Party Tomorrow @ CDL (InfoAge)
by Jeffrey Brace 11 Sep '20

11 Sep '20

I will setup the projector, screen and my laptop for a watch party during our workshop tomorrow. Looks like MidWest starts at 10:45AM Eastern Time. Any objections? -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member Vintage Computer Festival East Show-runner Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org cell: 732-759-1783

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Breakfast Order for Repair Workshop 9/13 Sunday morning
by svcatitc＠aol.com 11 Sep '20

11 Sep '20

I did a review of what happened concerning last workshop's Sunday breakfast. I got the revised order from Jeff, however someone signed up last minute on the Google list, leaving one breakfast sandwich short with the order on Sunday morn. This is no one's fault, and my apologies to Alex J. for going hungry and signals crossed.. To alleviate this problem this weekend, I will only use the Google list and will view it finally by 11pm on Saturday night. Insure that your B'fast orders are in by then, After 11pm, I will not look back. Bill Inderrieden

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Need monitor for workshop
by Jeffrey Brace 11 Sep '20

11 Sep '20

Someone new (Doug Megill) to the workshop would like to know if anyone coming to the workshop has a monitor that works with a SGI Octane2 and a Sun Ultra 60 that both need help. We might have this in the VCF warehouse, but I would need to know model to see if we have one. Can anyone tell me?-- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member Vintage Computer Festival East Show-runner Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org cell: 732-759-1783

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Breakfast Order for Repair Workshop 9/13 Sunday morning
by Jeffrey Brace 11 Sep '20

11 Sep '20

*Sunday Morning 9/13 at 10AM*: Bagel order from Delicious Bagels ( https://www.deliciousbagelspointpleasant.com/) If you are interested then fill out order here: < https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MR8t6lHGraOwd5NiQA0oGzm-GauVQA5j6-a… > Breakfast isn't free, you *must* pay Bill Inderrieden on Sunday. Last time someone took Alex order and didn't pay. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member Vintage Computer Festival East Show-runner Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org cell: 732-759-1783 -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member Vintage Computer Festival East Show-runner Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org cell: 732-759-1783

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Dinner Signup for Repair Workshop 9/12
by Jeffrey Brace 11 Sep '20

11 Sep '20

*Saturday Night 9/12*: Applebees (Tinton Falls) Signup here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BO_JyNgDfebd1hgsKEQTcZUXdexQrCwSEUP… Usually we will meet there by 7:30PM -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member Vintage Computer Festival East Show-runner Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org cell: 732-759-1783

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B205 tape drive (reduced)
by Herb Johnson 11 Sep '20

11 Sep '20

> The Burroughs B205 tape drive in South Carolina ... > This was originally part of Claude Kagan's B205 system. I contacted Mike Loewen because of my continuing interest in Claude Kagan's legacy: https://www.retrotechnology.com/restore/kagan.html Mike filled me in with the details of the tape drive's history, and I have my own knowledge of Claude's legacy. I produced the following Web page accordingly, and linked to it from my memorial Web page. https://www.retrotechnology.com/restore/kagan/b205_tape.html Currently it tracks those tape drives and other things Claude dispersed from the Burroughs B-205 systems he obtained. I'll add later, photos and notes about the B-205 and its loss in the barn fire several years ago. There's some interest in ancient mainframes, and few of the vaccum-tube era digital systems still exist. So materials on the B-205 are worth preserving. Regards, Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net preserve, recover, restore 1970's computing email: hjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT com or try later herbjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT info

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LSI-11 simulator (looking for the author)
by Richard Cini 11 Sep '20

11 Sep '20

All – I’m cleaning out my shop (I will have a “to go” list at some point) and going through magazine articles I saved. One peaked my interest, from Circuit Cellar (7/1996) by Robert W. Meister, was an LSI-11 simulator. I liked working on my Altair32 project, so I thought this would be good to play with. I was able to find the original simulator code from the article and it compiles under MS-DOS with only minor changes, but it has certain compromises regarding the hardware memory addresses and return codes that require it to use a custom RT-11 boot diskette (it has a custom DX.SYS, I’m guessing). I’ve done quite a bit of Googling about the simulator and the author (who worked for the NASD at the time he wrote the article), but haven’t come up with much additional information. Yes, I could easily use SIMH instead, but this is a fun project to work on to keep the mind busy. I guess I have four options: move memory around and see if the default DX.SYS will work; write a custom DX.SYS and make a new image using SIMH (way beyond me); continue to hunt down the author and see if he has any of the original files; give up and just use SIMH. If anyone is interested, I can send a PDF of the article. It’s actually a neatly-written program, and the ODT works fine. Rich -- Rich Cini http://www.classiccmp.org/cini http://www.classiccmp.org/altair32

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article on TRS-80 in Nuts and Volts
by W2HX 11 Sep '20

11 Sep '20

Don't know if anyone gets/reads this old rag but I thought I'd share an article I came across: https://www.nutsvolts.com/magazine/article/the-trs-80-model-1 73 Eugene W2HX

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vVCF Midwest Schdule
by Jason T 10 Sep '20

10 Sep '20

Hello to our east-coast friends! Many of you have probably heard about our attempt to virtualize our show via other channels, but I figured I would drop a note here as well that our schedule has been posted: http://vcfmw.org/virtual.html We'll be presenting videos from community members sequentially throughout the day Saturday, using YouTube's "Premiere" feature, as well as keeping an open chat going on a bridged IRC/Discord channel. A low-key affair for a likely rainy Saturday in the Midwest. We'd love to have you join us, but the videos will of course remain posted on our YouTube channel for those who would like to check them out later (or again!) -jt -- vcfmw.org / chiclassiccomp.org / nocarrier.net

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Rescue in Delran, NJ
by Jeffrey Brace 10 Sep '20

10 Sep '20

Anyone coming to the workshop this weekend interested in helping pickup some items from Delran, NJ? I have two people helping to pickup, but I might need more depending on the space in their vehicles. Send me a message privately. Thanks! -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member Vintage Computer Festival East Show-runner Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org cell: 732-759-1783

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] LSI-11 simulator
by Herb Johnson 10 Sep '20

10 Sep '20

> No RT-11 disk image I’ve used will boot, > I was hoping someone could point me to a listing of what the on-disk boot block code on an RT-11 floppy might look like. Rich, I don't understand your problem. If you have access to RT-11 disk images on the Web, my guess is some of them are "bootable". By "bootable" that means by your account, they have PDP11 boot code on their first sector. If they have boot code on their first sector - then extract the first sector and *hand disassemble the binary*. Then you know what that code quote "looks like". 256 words (512 bytes) is just a handful of disassembly work - hardly worth bothering to run an emulator to run some debugger to produce some PDP-11 code. and you seem so deep into this custom emulator and the LSI-11 architecture, that you seem to know what you'd need to make sense of the boot code. I'm familiar with PDP-11's a little, it's not horrendous binary code. YOu also say, this emulator apparently needs a custom RT-11, presumably with custom boot code. But the creator doesn't recall the details. Well, 24 years is a long time to remember such things. That being the case, you will have to figure out the boot process anyway. You already have to dig into the emulator. And you seem to know the hardware. Thus doing the hand disassembly will be, er, "informative". What am I missing here? Do you need some known bootable RT-11 diskettes, so you can put one in some drive and read off the boot sector? Or someone to send you that binary or disk image? Likewise: > It’s like looking for a disassembly of the MS-DOS boot sector. (snort) MS-DOS DEBUG will do that, with a IBM PC tech manual in hand. I don't mean to belabor the point, but maybe this is as I suspect: a desire to avoid hand-disassembly. If that's a personal issue, my apologies, but I think it's a very useful skill. And if it's not a desirable task, well, there's usually debuggers which do that, or one can cobble up a disassembler in one's favorite language (or borrow one and rework it). I've done all those things, and still do, but that's just me. Puzzled, Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net preserve, recover, restore 1970's computing email: hjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT com or try later herbjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT info

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Soda and Water for repair workshop
by Jeffrey Brace 09 Sep '20

09 Sep '20

I got the soda and water for the repair workshop. If anyone has any preferences for next time, then let me know. This time there was a sale on both Coke and Pepsi. I know that people really like Mountain Dew so I got that again. This is what I got for this time: Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Pepsi Max. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member Vintage Computer Festival East Show-runner Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org cell: 732-759-1783

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September 11th exhibit @ InfoAge
by Jeffrey Brace 09 Sep '20

09 Sep '20

Volunteers at InfoAge are doing their grand opening of their September 11th memorial exhibit this weekend on September 12th. I got a sneak peek at it and it's really a great tribute and memorial. I encourage everyone to stop by and see the exhibit. I helped them with technical assistance in getting a digital playback machine to play a slideshow automatically. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member Vintage Computer Festival East Show-runner Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org cell: 732-759-1783

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Info for Repair Workshop 9/12 & 9/13
by Jeffrey Brace 09 Sep '20

09 Sep '20

Remember the spaces are first come first serve to the CDL space. We have a limit of how many we can fit in there. Otherwise members will have to go to the 9032-A where we used to have our workshops. The workshop is $10 *per* person, *per* day. This is InfoAge's rule and not our decision. So that means for two days it is $20. Sign up to guarantee a table. DATE: September 12 & 13, 2020 LOCATION (two locations): InfoAge: 2201 Marconi Road, Wall Township, NJ 1) Building 9059 (CDL Hackerspace - Formerly IXR) AND 2) Building 9032-A (Old workshop area in main building) TIME: Saturday START time == 10 A.M. END time == 11PM. Sunday START time == 10 A.M. and END == 5 P.M. SIGNUP: < https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1QPWVJSRL94SdHKtmkUmH6WESwckeXbn8PgV… > Workshop area is limited to 10 people per building and facemasks are required. Hand sanitizer is available. COST: - $10 per person, PER day. This is required by InfoAge for us to pay for renting the space. - $25 for those wanting to stay overnight (Money goes to InfoAge). Please pay ME (Jeff Brace) upon arrival. Cash or PayPal is acceptable as payment. Ask ahead of time if you need to use a credit card. OVERNIGHT: Bring your own pillow, blankets, soap etc. We provide a bed frame and an uncovered mattress. There are showers and a kitchen for your use. - You can pay via PayPal to paypal(a)vcfed.org. or to me via cash or credit card in person. EQUIPMENT: - VCF will provide a table and you can use any available electrical outlet. - Bring your own tools, power strips, power cords, and supplies etc. - If you need particular tools that you don't know or particular parts, please post to the list for those going. They may have what you need. Let them know ahead of time. - Please bring an extra power strip to lend to someone that forgot. DRINKS: You should bring your own. We have a refrigerator in CDL to keep them cold. VCF will buy some water and soft drinks for member use. FOOD: *Saturday afternoon*: Pizza from Attilios (Tinton Falls) *Saturday Night*: Applebees (Tinton Falls) signup here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BO_JyNgDfebd1hgsKEQTcZUXdexQrCwSEUP… *Sunday Morning*: Bagel order from Delicious Bagels ( https://www.deliciousbagelspointpleasant.com/) Fill out Order here: < https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MR8t6lHGraOwd5NiQA0oGzm-GauVQA5j6-a… > *Sunday Afternoon*: Wawa order GATE: Please close the gate behind you at all times. We want to discourage random strangers from wandering the campus. We have had this happen numerous times. PARKING: Park in the main parking lot, unless you are unloading. Don't park on the lawn. QUESTIONS? Contact Jeff: 732-759-1783 jeffrey(a)vcfed.org Have fun everyone! -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member Vintage Computer Festival East Show-runner Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org cell: 732-759-1783

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Searchlight BBS questions
by Richard Cini 08 Sep '20

08 Sep '20

Is there anyone on-list with experience setting-up a Searchlight BBS? I have mine up and running with multiple dial-up nodes (for a hopeful future demonstration) but I’m having problems with setting up the file areas. If someone could drop me a note off-list, I’d appreciate it. Thanks. Rich -- Rich Cini http://www.classiccmp.org/cini http://www.classiccmp.org/altair32

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Vulcan Database manual
by Jack Rubin 08 Sep '20

08 Sep '20

I have a copy of the Vulcan Database manual (no software). Vulcan was the database Wayne Ratliff created and then licensed to Ashton-Tate where it was sold as dBase II. I don't have the software. Happy to donate it to the Museum if there is interest. Jack

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] SOT: Any dBase fans here?
by Michael Thompson 08 Sep '20

08 Sep '20

> > > From: Dave McGuire <mcguire(a)neurotica.com> > Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] SOT: Any dBase fans here? > > Neat! I did a lot with Clipper too, at one of my first industry jobs > many years ago, in Lawrenceville NJ. We were a small (<5 people) > company writing custom software that joined databases with desktop > publishing, for the creation of large directories, like phone books. > The software was all written in Clipper, and output to files ingested by > Ventura, and produced camera-ready output usually on a Varityper VT-600. > Those were great times, and I learned a LOT. > > Clipper is a great compiler! > > -Dave > > -- > Dave McGuire, AK4HZ > New Kensington, PA > I maintained a Used Car Dealership management package that was written in dBase. I converted it to Clipper, dramatically enhanced the financial management capability, and made it multi-user through a network. The performance and capability that you could get from PC-XT and PC-AT systems was really impressive. -- Michael Thompson

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VAX 11-780 Rack Available
by W2HX 07 Sep '20

07 Sep '20

Hi friends. This rack is available for free. I am located in 10510 happy to drive, up to say 1.5 hours to meet up to transfer vehicles? https://w2hx.com/ForSale/DEC%20Rack/20200719_114742.jpg https://w2hx.com/ForSale/DEC%20Rack/20200719_114751.jpg it is in very nice condition. Comes with wheels/casters, no panels. It is, I believe 24" wide, but it has a set of vertical rails at 19" in addition to 24" I think the space on the right would carry cables etc? Regardless, it will work fine with 19" equipment. Just the perfect think you need to complete your DEC VAX or other DEC set up! Contact me directly. 73 Eugene W2HX PS Please pass onto any other list you may belong to that might have an interest in this rack. Thank you

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VCF East 2020 Exhibitor Deadline September 13, 2020
by Jeffrey Brace 07 Sep '20

07 Sep '20

If you want to do a virtual exhibit (or in-person) for VCF East 2020's Virtual Show, then you need to let me know by September 13, 2020. At this point there are very few slots available because the schedule has filled up. So there is no guarantee that there is a spot left. So act quickly. If you already confirmed with me, then your video is due by September 23 to allow proper time to process. Sign up here: https://forms.gle/DHF7FqezwVSNe3nZA Any questions? Send me an e-mail. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member Vintage Computer Festival East Show-runner Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org cell: 732-759-1783

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] SOT: Any dBase fans here?
by David Gesswein 07 Sep '20

07 Sep '20

I don't need the dBASE III stuff though thought I would reminisce some. I did work in dbase II with Clipper compiler starting on our TI PC. The family raised show rabbits and I wrote programs in it for keeping track of rabbits and printing pedigrees and running shows. We sold the programs to other rabbit people. Used dBASE III a little at work. Purchasing was oriented to production so engineering orders weren't tracked well. I used terminal emulator on a PC to screen scrape the MIS system running on the VAX, KEDIT (IBM XEDIT like editor) with REXX scripting language to reformat into files that could be read in by dBASE and merge the information from the files to print a report with status of parts to go bug purchasing/receiving. Did get KEDIT to run on the TIPC by editing the binary to adapt to the slightly different video hardware on the TIPC. I had the TIPC running this software at VCF 2016. On Sun, Sep 06, 2020 at 06:21:30PM -0400, Jim Scheef via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > Date: Sun, 6 Sep 2020 18:21:30 -0400 > From: Jim Scheef <js(a)sdf.org> > To: 'vcf-midatlantic' <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> > Subject: SOT: Any dBase fans here? > X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook 16.0 > > As I clean out my basement, I'm getting rid of some cool stuff. Before I try to give it away on eBay, I want to offer it here. > Once upon a time (mid-80's), I developed a few applications in dBase III. For our own productivity we used a dBase clone called dbXL for coding and QuickSilver, a compiler, to make the resulting code run faster and easier to distribute. Conveniently, both products, produced by Wordtech Systems, use the same dBIII-compatible index files. QuickSilver produces an object file which requires a linker. So, I'm including my copy of P-Link86. So far this is the manual only; still looking for the media. > Both of these products are free (f.o.b. my driveway*) to a good home. Included are the manuals and several versions of media floppies for both products. > As a bonus, this deal includes another dBase compiler called FORCE. I don't recall anything about it, but I do have both the manuals and media. > The manuals are typical of the era, loose-leaf and weigh several pounds so shipping would cost some actual money. Normally I would sell or give these away at VCF East. > At this point, you know what to do if you are interested. > Jim > * my driveway is located in western CT north of Danbury.

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SOT: Any dBase fans here?
by Jim Scheef 06 Sep '20

06 Sep '20

As I clean out my basement, I'm getting rid of some cool stuff. Before I try to give it away on eBay, I want to offer it here. Once upon a time (mid-80's), I developed a few applications in dBase III. For our own productivity we used a dBase clone called dbXL for coding and QuickSilver, a compiler, to make the resulting code run faster and easier to distribute. Conveniently, both products, produced by Wordtech Systems, use the same dBIII-compatible index files. QuickSilver produces an object file which requires a linker. So, I'm including my copy of P-Link86. So far this is the manual only; still looking for the media. Both of these products are free (f.o.b. my driveway*) to a good home. Included are the manuals and several versions of media floppies for both products. As a bonus, this deal includes another dBase compiler called FORCE. I don't recall anything about it, but I do have both the manuals and media. The manuals are typical of the era, loose-leaf and weigh several pounds so shipping would cost some actual money. Normally I would sell or give these away at VCF East. At this point, you know what to do if you are interested. Jim * my driveway is located in western CT north of Danbury.

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Nice Coco 3 in PA on Craigslist
by Alexander Jacocks 06 Sep '20

06 Sep '20

I don’t have any knowledge of the listing, but I just saw this: https://lancaster.craigslist.org/sys/d/new-holland-tandy-128/7190677582.html - Alex

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Project of the day - Windows 3.11 386Enh on a floppy
by Richard Cini 06 Sep '20

06 Sep '20

Not really sure what applicability this really has, but today’s challenge was to get Windows 3.11 Enhanced Mode running from a single 1.44MB floppy disk. There are easy ways to get Standard mode running, including using files from “precopy.cab” on Windows 95 or 98, but this was way more challenging. I started from a full install and pared it down using a guide I found (which was a two-disk solution). The boot files and required extras (HIMEM, PKUNZIP and a very small ramdrive driver) took about 300K, leaving only about 1.2MB (1.156MB to be exact) for a complete install. A normal no-frills install is about 3-ish megabytes. There are significant compromises – no virtual memory, no networking, no multimedia, only system fonts, and only a few apps, but once running you could run them from another floppy. I discovered that 386Enh won’t put a temporary swapfile on a RAM drive, so it runs without it. I guess you could call this the 1992 version of PortableApps :-) Rich -- Rich Cini http://www.classiccmp.org/cini http://www.classiccmp.org/altair32

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B205 tape drive (reduced)
by Mike Loewen 05 Sep '20

05 Sep '20

The Burroughs B205 tape drive in South Carolina has been reduced to $500: https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-BURROUGHS-B205-CORPORATION-ELECTRODATA-COM… This was originally part of Claude Kagan's B205 system. Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

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Make You Outdoor Swap Space Reservations Now for Kennett Classic 9/26/20
by Bill Degnan 05 Sep '20

05 Sep '20

Kennett Classic 9/26/20 - Make Your Outdoor Swap Space Reservation Now Anyone interested in reserving a space for the outdoor swap, please contact me directly here: https://www.vintagecomputer.net/contact.cfm Cost per space $15 6 ft x 6 ft per space. Load In Before 9AM 9/26. Thanks Bill Degnan

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1st Annual Kennett Classic September 26th 2020 9a-5p+
by Bill Degnan 05 Sep '20

05 Sep '20

*1st Annual Kennett Classic is still a GO…* RSVP HERE: https://www.meetup.com/Kennett-Classic/events/268442992/ The weather couldn't be better in late September in Kennett Square, so we have decided to move our one year anniversary event outside to avoid the issues associated with COVID-19. We have a private parking lot behind our building that we will use to set up a smaller outdoor party for gathering while we host small group tours of the museum gallery. We look forward to expanding the event in a post-covid time but hope to provide a safe exhibition for all who join us. You can count on: - New exhibits, *including a new room*, will be open to guests (metered for social distance capacity). We have almost doubled in size since we opened a year ago. - *Outdoor swap meet/vendor spaces* (please contact Bill to reserve a space) - Refreshments - Individually packaged snacks, soda and spirits... - After hours dinner event (please RSVP so we can best plan) - Kennett Square closes State street each day so that outdoor seating and dining for our group is feasible. - Make a day of it here in Kennett Square! We are within walking distance to the shops, bars, restaurants and galleries. All are open with special outdoor dining and actively adhere to covid-19 capacities. There are several other local attractions nearby as well. Longwood Gardens, Winterthur and the Brandywine River Art Museum all offer timed admission tickets, so you can plan your day. If you’re interested in helping, please contact Karen or me, asap. Parking is available all along the square block that surrounds the building, at the nearby parking garage, and across the street. We hope to see you! RSVP HERE: https://www.meetup.com/Kennett-Classic/events/268442992/ Watch our facebook page for regular updates: https://www.facebook.com/kennettclassiccomp Best, Bill CONTACT: https://www.kennettclassic.com

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Monitor doors
by Martin Flynn 04 Sep '20

04 Sep '20

Ran off one of them - will put in CDL in the top of the tool box.

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Putting the Federation in Vintage Computer Federation
by svcatitc＠aol.com 04 Sep '20

04 Sep '20

Putting the Federation in Vintage Computer Federation Adam Michlin: amichlin at swerlin.com wrote: Sun Aug 30 18:03:18 EDT 2020 "And if you want to come to a workshop and work on something bigger, make a proposal. Bill Inderrieden, for example, has been doing meticulous and awe inspiring work in documenting the Wang Minicomputer in the museum and hopefully getting it up and running." Thank you Adam for the "shout out". As long as we have now highlighted that subject, some updates are in order. All the circuit cards have been sequentially pulled out of the respective card files and photographed. The pictorial documentation is now complete. Because there is no schematic documentation currently available, I now have to make an assembly drawing of the card file chassis for each drawer in the rack. I am taking a break from this project because it is "brain intensive" on organizing the documentation. Once the initial doc's are done, I plan on reaching out to our contact on the West Coast who is familiar with Wang calculator equipment to get his overall view of things. One diversion from this is getting back on the restoration of the EAI TR20, and it's peripherals. But that is a whole 'nother story. Thanks again Adam; Bill Inderrieden

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Museum Report: 2 September 2020
by Neil Cherry 03 Sep '20

03 Sep '20

On 9/3/20 12:08 PM, Bill Inderrieden via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > All visitor traffic was dead by 3pm. > Added, from my collection, a Rockwell 6809 uP to the processor display as requested by Dean N. Rockwell 6809 uP? I didn't know Rockwell made a 6809. Found this on Wiki: Second sources A common requirement for manufacturing companies was to require two or more sources for every part in the products they made. This ensured they could get parts if a supplier had financial problems or a disaster. Initially Motorola selected American Microsystems Inc (AMI) as a second source for the M6800 family. Hitachi, Fujitsu, Fairchild, Rockwell and Thomson Semiconductors were added later. Rochester Electronics was Authorized by Freescale/Motorola in 2014 to continue manufacturing any of the 8-bit peripherals and 8-bit processors of this era. Rochester specializes in fully authorized device duplication. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_6800 I've seen Hitachi and Thomson, Knew about Rochester (might have purchased a few) but I didn't know about the rest -- Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry(a)linuxha.com http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies

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Museum Report: 2 September 2020
by svcatitc＠aol.com 03 Sep '20

03 Sep '20

Opened up around 1p. Fairly busy day. Had a Mom and her 2 sons come in with one of the InfoAge B of D's as an escort. (Don't know his name and whether it was a relative.) Older son was very much interested in the micro section. Mom took an interest as well. InfoAge escort (Drexel grad) helped with the explanation of keypunch cards on the IBM 1130. He explained how "spaces" in your program can screw everything up for the Program Admin. Second Mom and her daughter came in with a nice interest in the tail end of the miro (8 bit) aisle. All visitor traffic was dead by 3pm. Added, from my collection, a Rockwell 6809 uP to the processor display as requested by Dean N. Bill Inderrieden

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Commodore 1702 door
by RETRO Innovations 02 Sep '20

02 Sep '20

And, given the ubiquity of the lack of door on the 1702 in today's collections, I've even considered selling the doors off some of the units I have since I always leave the door open on units in use anyway :-) Jim -- RETRO Innovations, Contemporary Gear for Classic Systems www.go4retro.com store.go4retro.com

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Commodore 1702 door
by Jeffrey Brace 02 Sep '20

02 Sep '20

Sounds like an Outer Limits episode where the world was taken apart and remade every moment and sometimes they made mistakes which is why when you lose your keys you find time in a place that you already searched. <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campai…> Virus-free. www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campai…> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2> On Wed, Sep 2, 2020 at 1:28 PM Jeff G via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > Funny story about the 1702 and door. I have a 1702, that at some point gave > away to a buddy of mine. When I gave it to him, the door was missing. Also > to note, I had a box truck I was using for storage at the time, and its > likely the monitor did time in the truck. > > Years later, he eventually decided he didn't want it anymore and asked if I > wanted it back, with "h-- yeah" as the answer. > > Not too long after that, I cleaned out the box truck to get rid of it, and > lo and behold, I'm not sure where it came from, but I found the missing > door from that monitor. > > So YEARS and even owners apart, yet somehow managed to reunite monitor and > door! The door has the typical broken hinge but I used masking tape to keep > it on for now. > > The end! > > -- JeffG (aka Bags) > -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member Vintage Computer Festival East Show-runner Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org cell: 732-759-1783

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Re: Commodore 1702 door
by Jeff G 02 Sep '20

02 Sep '20

Funny story about the 1702 and door. I have a 1702, that at some point gave away to a buddy of mine. When I gave it to him, the door was missing. Also to note, I had a box truck I was using for storage at the time, and its likely the monitor did time in the truck. Years later, he eventually decided he didn't want it anymore and asked if I wanted it back, with "h-- yeah" as the answer. Not too long after that, I cleaned out the box truck to get rid of it, and lo and behold, I'm not sure where it came from, but I found the missing door from that monitor. So YEARS and even owners apart, yet somehow managed to reunite monitor and door! The door has the typical broken hinge but I used masking tape to keep it on for now. The end! -- JeffG (aka Bags)

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RIP Jack Richard
by John Heritage 02 Sep '20

02 Sep '20

Founder of Boardwatch magazine among many other things.. https://www.semissourian.com/story/2831878.html

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Modem banks
by Richard Cini 01 Sep '20

01 Sep '20

All — Long ago I had a MultiTech POTS rack modem bank that I got when I cleaned out part of Temple University’s “elephant graveyard”. Of course, I don’t have it any longer, but I have a project I’m working on that could use one. If anyone has one of these, or the Hayes equivalent, and wants to get rid of it, keep me in mind. It would just have to have at least 8 modem cards. Thanks! Rich http://www.classiccmp.org/cini Long Island S100 User’s Group Get Outlook<https://aka.ms/qtex0l> for iOS

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RIP Curt Vendel
by Jonathan Gevaryahu 01 Sep '20

01 Sep '20

Curt Vendel passed away unexpectedly yesterday, according to Marty Goldberg: https://www.facebook.com/groups/105586892805903/permalink/3497579150273310/ Also see Jason Scott's twitter thread at https://twitter.com/textfiles/status/1300515595788713989 I know many people from VCF East have seen him at prior events or were in communication with him. -- Jonathan Gevaryahu jgevaryahu(a)gmail.com jgevaryahu(a)hotmail.com

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CRX Commodore Expo - This Weekend
by Alexander Jacocks 01 Sep '20

01 Sep '20

All, There’s a virtual Commdore expo going on, this weekend, and it’s free: https://crxevent.com Come join me! - Alex

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Dysan PAT-2+ floppy disk tester/exerciser schematic needed
by Jeff Galinat 01 Sep '20

01 Sep '20

Hi all, I am trying to repair a non-functional Dysan PAT-2+ tester/exerciser thay I got off off eBay and a schematic would go a long way in helping me repair the device. The user manual is online on bitsavers but I have been unable to find a schematic yet. Can anyone help?? Please contact me if you have a lead on the schematic for the PAT-2+.. The schematic for the PAT 1 units are online but the units are very different. Thanks! Jeff Galinat

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Putting the Federation in Vintage Computer Federation
by Adam Michlin 31 Aug '20

31 Aug '20

Hi Everyone, So much has happened in the last 6+ months, all of which has been eclipsed by the pandemic. To start, you can email all of the Steering Committee (SC) Members at: <steering_vcfma(a)vcfed.org> A while I spoke about what a Federation does and I wanted to share with everyone what has been going to make the Federation even more of a Federation. Some of this will be formally documented in the upcoming by-laws and some is just cool news of all the collaborations going on between various vintage computer groups and our progress towards opening up VCF resources to the membership at large. Artifact Sale and Checkout: We are very aware that much of the equipment in the warehouse needs a significant amount of TLC. To that end, we have set up a system where anyone can request an artifact for checkout. Checkout can be for repair, restoration, or just because you need to borrow it for some reason. In all cases, checking out an artifact will require a reasoning, approval of a majority of the 5 member SC and you will have to sign something. The SC will consider the nature of the request, the purpose of the request, and the person requesting. For obvious reasons, we cannot guarantee a yes to every request. We are also doing everything in our power to protect any repaired/restored artifacts from the elements in the warehouse when they are returned as the most commonly asked question we get is "why clean it if it is just going back to the dirty warehouse?". This makes official an unofficial policy we've been experimenting with over the last few months. Ian Primus and Bill Lange, in particular, are doing some great work restoring terminals (ADM-2 and Teletype (CRT) Model 40) and Atari equipment (most notably Atari Mega STe now on display in the museum with keyboard provided by Dean Notarnicola) respectively. And if you want to come to a workshop and work on something bigger, make a proposal. Bill Inderrieden, for example, has been doing meticulous and awe inspiring work in documenting the Wang Minicomputer in the museum and hopefully getting it up and running. A whole host of people who will be named later in this post have been getting one of our Xerox Stars working. Feel free to think big! We felt sale of artifacts deserves a higher burden, so sale of artifacts requires a SC supermajority vote (4/5). Note, this is to purchase something that has not already been designated as surplus since surplus is already approved for sale. It will be a lot... and we mean a lot... more difficult to get non-surplus items to purchase from the warehouse since we are working very hard to proactively identify surplus equipment for sale. For obvious reasons, it should be expected the answer will most commonly be no for these requests, but everyone is allowed to make a request. You'll also see a lot more stuff naturally coming up for sale as surplus, though. If you are interested in buying, repairing, restoring , or just borrowing something, email one or all of the Steering Committee members and we will take it from there. The Warehouse: As some people have heard, we are directing all funds generated by surplus sale to an account dedicated to climate controlling and otherwise updating the warehouse. This project has been a dream for so many of us for years and it is starting to become a reality. Donations to this end are most graciously appreciated, too. Other Groups: So many great things. I stopped by System Source in Maryland (you must go!) on the way down to South Carolina and we now have someone (Ryan Schiff) who is interested in restoring the Cray in the museum (owned by LSSM and Dave McGuire - on loan to us - he has approved the initial investigation). How cool will it be to even possibly have a working Cray in the museum? Power, you say? First world problems we will deal with! And to have people from three museums involved!? We're working on a deal to swap an extra Apple II+ and Mac 512K with the Homecomputermusuem in the Netherlands for an Exidy Sorcerer and a ZX Spectrum. Two machines common in the US that we are swapping for two machines common in the UK that we don't have. Hopefully the first of many trades as one of the things we lack are non US computers (most of the international machines in the museum are on loan from members). A Xerox Star mouse has been found through a private party connected to us via the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. The person donating wishes to remain anonymous. I personally am most excited by this (and the work done by David Gesswein, Ian Primus and countless others to get the thing to work in the first place!). A working Xerox Star in a museum where museum goers can put hands on. Mind blowing. And, finally, which I think I've posted on already, this all started with the loan of working Canon Cat (sitting in a plastic bin in the warehouse - boo!) to Kennett Classic (on display for people to use - yay!). Our general philosophy going forward is that we can't display everything, so it makes much more sense to loan out artifacts for the world to see (and repair!) than to have artifacts sit in the warehouse (climate controlled or not). Everything is now backed by a formal process, though, so we have checks and balances and really want to encourage people and organizations who have never asked before to consider asking. Is there something we haven't thought of? Let us know! Best wishes, -Adam

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VCF East 2020 Classroom Instructors Needed
by Jeffrey Brace 31 Aug '20

31 Aug '20

We still have room for classroom instructors. Signup now to reserve your spot. They are filling up fast: < https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfaLdF8TOlIicNw9Qwi7Bkfz8OjCZm4YWl… > The class will be a maximum of 30 minutes. We are going to be doing a virtual hybrid show on October 10 & 11. *CLASSES* Classroom instructors will teach something like "How to repair a CRT", or "Commodore 64 assembly programming". Here is an example class for "Advanced 6502 Assembly Programming for the Apple II" by Stephen Edwards: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXElw_3t-rM&t=21s If you are interested in being a classroom instructor, then please fill out this form: Availability is limited. You have the choice of: 1) A prerecorded video with a maximum 30 minutes. Submitted video of your class by September 21. This will be shown via YouTube live and then there will be live Q & A for 10 minutes. 2) An in-person presentation of 30 minutes on site at InfoAge with 10 minutes live Q & A. I will send more details if you are interested. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member Vintage Computer Festival East Show-runner Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org cell: 732-759-1783

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Museum Report 2020-08-30
by Jeffrey Brace 30 Aug '20

30 Aug '20

A handful of people came today, but there was a highly interested family. The father really liked and remembered a lot of the machines that were there. The children enjoyed many of the micros. I let one boy make a greeting card for his mom on The Printshop on the C64 and print out on the dot matrix printer. Kids love to be able to print and take this home. Take home things like this are a hit. I also turned on the screen blanker on the 3B1. It's a very useful function. Besides that I worked on VCF East 2020 organizing for the virtual show, connecting prospective exhibitors, instructors, etc. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member Vintage Computer Festival East Show-runner Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org cell: 732-759-1783 <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campai…> Virus-free. www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campai…> <#m_7257872769276981605_DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>

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