- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

OT: Science Fiction: Science Advising on Star Trek
by Jeffrey Brace 01 Apr '20

01 Apr '20

Science History Institute is doing an online event on April 8: https://www.sciencehistory.org/event/scientific-fiction-science-advising-on… -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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OT: a SETI@home system now searching for a cure
by Jeffrey Jonas 31 Mar '20

31 Mar '20

from the NJ Linux list: 1) folding@home has been updated for the corona virus. maybe some of you can contribute some CPU / GPU resources. 2) I've been running Rosetta@home, which also is working on Covid-19 problem solving. I've found that the BOINC client behaves better under Linux. I got the client from the repos under both Fedora and Ubuntu. Sorry, even a Beowulf cluster of 6502 or Z80s won't help much :-/

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OT: HP 660LX Color Palmtop PC available
by Bob Shuster 31 Mar '20

31 Mar '20

I was going to toss this, but thought someone in the group might be interested in this Windows CE device from 1998. In the box with manuals, two battery packs, stylus, power supply, modem card, a docking station, and an additional circuit board which I did not try to ID (perhaps leftover from a RAM upgrade?) This does power up, but I’m sure the batteries need to be replaced. Any interest? Contact-free front porch pickup in Wyndmoor, PA (near the Fort Washington exit of the PA Turnpike.) Contact me off-list if interested. Btw, I finally powered up the 2006 Dell XPS 700 Jet Black which I had offered before (nobody wanted it.) It had apparently never been powered up as the power cord is proprietary and was never out of the package. Motherboard is bad. :( I pulled the three 500GB HDs and the rest is going to electronics recycling. If anyone wants any bits of this, let me know too! Dual video cards, RAM, dual optical drives, etc., all stuff easily pulled. Look up the specs. - Bob

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OK seriously, how rare is the real 1541-II drive?
by jaj＠totallyamused.com 31 Mar '20

31 Mar '20

>From: Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> >Date: Mon, March 30, 2020 10:40 pm >To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> >Cc: Bill Degnan <billdegnan(a)gmail.com> > >Now I wonder, compared with other CBM drives, is there a rarity ranking? > >I am thinking some of the rarest 8-bit CBM drives manufactured by CBM are >(in no particular order and without looking on the internet for the answer) > >8080 (dual 8" IEEE drive) >1540 >1551 >9060 >9090 >1570 (where these actually sold) >The drive that came with the C-65 > >am I missing anything rarer than these? > >Next would be >2040 (IEEE) >4040 (IEEE) >8250 (IEEE) >SFD-1001 I would add 8050 after SFD-1001 You said 8080 -- is that part of the 8060 series? 8060, 8061, 8062, 8280 (I've only seen pictures) Any third party drives make your list? MSD MSD-2 Indus GT

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Rare Variant CBM 1541 II on Ebay
by Bill Degnan 31 Mar '20

31 Mar '20

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Commodore-1541-II-Floppy-Disk-Drive/143557971394 Even I don't have this one! As some of you may know the Khizzopistni variant of the CBM-II was packaged in a Polaroid case briefly, before reverting back to the more familiar drive profile. I'd totally get this one, but it will probably shoot up to $4000 or more. Bill

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OK seriously, how rare is the real 1541-II drive?
by Bill Degnan 30 Mar '20

30 Mar '20

Now I wonder, compared with other CBM drives, is there a rarity ranking? I am thinking some of the rarest 8-bit CBM drives manufactured by CBM are (in no particular order and without looking on the internet for the answer) 8080 (dual 8" IEEE drive) 1540 1551 9060 9090 1570 (where these actually sold) The drive that came with the C-65 am I missing anything rarer than these? Next would be 2040 (IEEE) 4040 (IEEE) 8250 (IEEE) SFD-1001 Bill

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] How's everyone doing?
by Michael Thompson 30 Mar '20

30 Mar '20

> > Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2020 23:42:21 -0400 > Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] How's everyone doing? > > Things are rough these days. How's everyone handling it? > > -- > ========================================= > Jeff Brace > I work from home periodically and used to travel more than 50% of the time. With the VPN I can connect to anything that I need on the company network, so it really doesn't matter if I am in the office or not. I spend about 40% of my time on conference calls, and they work fine from home. So for me work is normal. Home life is a little different. We just went shopping during elder hours. There were very few people in the supermarket, so social distancing was easy. The shelves were about 80% full and were being restocked. There were no wipes or hand sanitizer. Canned vegetables were a little thin on the shelves. They did have TP today so maybe people who are hoarding it already have all they can store. Last week there were no Cheerios. This week it was buy two get one free. I think that it will be hit or miss for a while until shoppers get used to this new normal and the demand settles out. We haven't tried one of the delivery grocery services yet, and are using shopping as an excuse to get out of the house. I see lots more delivery trucks in the neighborhood, so others are ordering everything they need online. We walk in our neighborhood during the day. There are probably a lot more walkers than normal, which is a good thing. I connected a battery maintainer to my car because I haven't driven it in two weeks. I can't take advantage of lower fuel prices because the tank is still full. My trip to Germany and Sweden is probably going to get canceled. I was really looking forward to visiting another PDP-9. Maybe we can reschedule for late in the summer or next year. -- Michael Thompson

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OT: Theranos Blood Analyzer
by Dag Spicer 29 Mar '20

29 Mar '20

Hey everyone, The Computer History Museum is always looking for unique computer technology for its permanent collection, as well collecting “the classics!” Right now we’re seeking a Theranos Blood Analyzer. If you have any information, would you mind reaching out to me? dspicer(a)computerhistory.org <mailto:dspicer@computerhistory.org> Thanks everyone! Dag

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How's everyone doing? Correction
by svcatitc＠aol.com 29 Mar '20

29 Mar '20

In checking my own submission, it seems my paste of the link: https://museum.syssrc.com/artifact/251/ does not work right form the Email list, however if you manually copy and paste the link to your crawler, it gets to Roswell's page just fine. Freaky! Bill

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How's everyone doing?
by svcatitc＠aol.com 29 Mar '20

29 Mar '20

Bill I. here; This sounds like a group therapy session in a psych ward! (LOL) But as the comedian Steve Allen said "all seriousness aside folks". . . I'll chime in. We're doing OK here in Brick, NJ. Wifey and I are doing well health wise. (other than my wife's prolonged physical handicaps) The north end of town just got our 1'st Covid-19 test site at the Rent-a-Docs walk in clinic, in the parking lot. Being part care giver to my wife makes it hard to have time to work on fun stuff, however, this down time will give me the much needed time to clear out my warehouses of projects that are just not viable anymore. Before you guys start drooling, I do not havea lot of surplus CPU stuff. Most if it is industrial and lab stuff I was going to overhaul and resell. The stuff is longpast its prime and is ready to be scrapped. I spent way too much money on rent housing this stuff for the opportune time to work on it, which has come and gone. Its time to shed the overhead. Field service work has been put on hold for right now by my clients (I'm in the same boat as Dave McGuire), and my consulting contract with my affiliate in St. Louis will be terminated as of June 1. So the shedding aforementioned warehouse overhead is a must. I still have past invoices to submit, so that will also take up my time. (and get some much needed cabbage in the till) Enough of my tales of woe, (giggling). When I do have the spare time, I am working on the EAI TR 20 ground buss system for the display rack here at home. With all the peripheral displays planned (plotter, scope, etc.), a good quality analog ground summing point is required. I plan on incorporating the Comdyna GP-6 analog mini-computer into the TR-20 display as signal processing. Our unit in the warehouse is in need of some TLC (busted jacks etc.) If you want to see what a GP-6 looks like, see Bob Roswell's website,and look at the glamour shot pictured. https://museum.syssrc.com/artifact/251/ F.Y.I. Ray Spiess, founder of Comdyna, is an ex-EAI alum, so the artifact fits in the story line in our analog display. The other VCF project I got "volunteered" into (smiling) is the Wang 4000 restoration. I got two of the rack drawers,photographed, documenting each card in the file. I am working with Rick Bensene of the Old Calculator Museum, who has an immense knowledge of the Wang Calculators and informs me that some of the calculator components are incorporated in the ' 4000. That project, obviously, has been put on hold until crisis conditions improve. Best get back to the insanity! Stay Well Folks; Bill

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] How's everyone doing?
by Jeffrey Brace 28 Mar '20

28 Mar '20

On Fri, Mar 27, 2020 at 5:58 AM ajpierson1 via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > Been working from home to keep us on the air. Fortunately, it's > much easier to keep a TV station operational when you don't have to keep > the studio spaces running, and more than half of the employees aren't > generating new trouble tickets. In the mean time, I've played through Doom > Eternal which was amazing. I've also repaired my Heathkit H89's power > problems which knocked it out of commission on Friday night of Oh, you know how to fix them? VCF has one in the museum that you could look at. I'm not sure of its condition as I haven't powered on, but I assume that it needs some repair or at least TLC. > VCF East last year. A TO-3 socket for one of the 5V regulators was > damaged, and while I was making the repairs the other day, I swapped the > old linear regulator for a drop-in switch mode supply (also in a TO-3 > package). So far, I've had good luck with those in a VIC-20 and a 1541 > drive, thus it seemed like a natural choice to reduce heat output in my > H89. I've also had way more group voice chats with friends around the > world these past few weeks, mostly talking about vintage computer topics. > In this way, a few of us helped one friend through some H89 diagnostics and > repair which has brought the machine back to life (mostly). I believe he > will be using it for his VCF exhibit soon enough. Last week, I was also > taking a crack at implementing Glitchbus on the Cactus, but that's been > sidelined for the moment. I also took a brief (and isolated) drive out to > my storage unit last week to drop off projects I don't have space for at > the moment. If any of you are familiar with the Votrax SC-01-A speech > synthesizer chip, I scored a Type'N Talk on ebay recently, and spent some > time figuring out how to interface with it properly. It sounds great, and > I was not expecting to find an entire 6802 based machine inside the tiny > chassis.I've always got a stack of projects to tackle, so this really isn't > all that different for me. We'll get thru this with a little vigilance, > patience, and isolation. -Alexander 'Z' Pierson It's nice to hear that you have time to work on projects and to keep in touch with other vintage computer friends. I plan on getting back on IRC now that I have more free time than I used to! -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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How's everyone doing?
by Jeffrey Brace 28 Mar '20

28 Mar '20

Things are rough these days. How's everyone handling it? -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] How's everyone doing?
by Jameel Akari 27 Mar '20

27 Mar '20

Howdy everyone. Glad to see things are generally ok. Work has been busy - more or less the same, just WFH instead. A lot of time hand-wringing over VPN issues of course, but we’re handling them. At least for us, business has been good. I am planning to go by myself to the datacenter next week to work on some deferred maintenance; chances are I won’t even see another person the whole day. I do not mind that. I’ve been in several videoconference meetings per day - this has finally made me clean up my office / lab, which is still cluttered with VCF East 2019 / UNIX50 parts. My coworkers are alternately confused and amazed. ;) So I put away some things that were just collecting dust, promoted the VAXstation I got from Bill D. all that while ago to somewhere I can use it, and decided my Mac Plus deserved a space on my office shelf. I am concerned about what its insides might look like after years in storage. Maybe I’ll crack it open tomorrow. I’ve continued to work on, albeit more slowly now, my SYM-1 6502 project that was slated for VCF East. I might consider doing some videos and/or blog posts about it… that’d be a new thing for me. A new EPROM programmer and UV eraser came in the mail, woohoo! While cleaning out the shed I re-discovered boxes of electronic components that will finally be of use. I was really hoping for VCF-East consignment to be an outlet for some of my surplus. I’m debating whether eBay is worth trying. Are people buying used stuff from randos on eBay now? No idea. So… pretty ok. Until today. My wife found out she is being furloughed for an indeterminate time, as are most of her coworkers. Healthcare paid through May at least. The reality has set in. We’ll be fine, and we’ll figure it out, but I worry about people who may not. — Jameel Akari > On Mar 27, 2020, at 2:08 PM, Peter Cetinski via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > From: Peter Cetinski <pete(a)pski.net> > Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] How's everyone doing? > Date: March 27, 2020 at 2:08:38 PM EDT > To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> > > > I’m in the same boat as many here. Working from home full-time on a new gig I just started this week. Of course, many TRS-80 projects continue to be on the queue. > > If anyone here is interested we’re having another live TRS-80 Trash Talk on Zoom tomorrow at 4pm EDT. > > I know you’re all on Zoom now so there’s no execuse! :) Everyone is welcome even if you don’t own a TRS-80. Maybe you’ll learn something you didn’t know about one of the original trinity microcomputers. > > https://zoom.us/j/567066261 <https://zoom.us/j/567066261> > > Take care, > Pete > > >

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TO-3 Regulator Replacements
by Alexander Pierson 27 Mar '20

27 Mar '20

Ethan, Thus far, I've been using a few different regulator types from https://www.ezsbc.com/ in various amperage and voltage combinations. A few people have warned about needing additional capacitors to mitigate jitter, but I haven't seen all that much during tests. When I did the first one, I added an extra tantalum per recommendations, however it actually added more ripple to have the extra caps so I removed them. Your mileage may vary. Here's the VIC-20 I installed one in: https://commodorez.com/img/silvervicguts.jpgAnd a photo of the outside, if you're curious: https://commodorez.com/img/silvervic1.jpg That VIC-20 is assembled from the discarded parts of at least 5 machines, including most of a C16 keyboard, and 6502 + 6522's from a dead 1541 drive. The case was pretty scuffed up, so I figured there was no harm in giving it a paint job while I was at it. It runs super cool now, even after a few hours of operation. I've contemplated adding heat sinks for some of the IC's but haven't crossed that bridge yet. This VIC came with me to VCFMW last fall, flown in as my carry-on item, where I used it to wardial the show's PABX with a modem 300. Here's the 1541 that received the same treatment: https://commodorez.com/img/1541regs.jpg The downside is that you can no longer us it to keep your coffee/tea warm. Let's see if the list serve processing will preserve my line spacing this time.-Alexander 'Z' Pierson

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Making lite of our situation
by Neil Cherry 27 Mar '20

27 Mar '20

On 3/27/20 12:48 PM, Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic wrote: I have no problem with it. I'm asthmatic but I also ride my bicycle in traffic so I laugh at stuff like this (while I still can). Once crashed, cracked several ribs, rode home 15 miles, my friend was torturing me with bad jokes (it was justified). We laugh, I cried, life goes on. ;-) -- Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry(a)linuxha.com http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] How's everyone doing?
by Ethan Dicks 27 Mar '20

27 Mar '20

On Fri, Mar 27, 2020 at 5:58 AM ajpierson1 via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > In the mean time, I've played through Doom Eternal which was amazing. I see my friends playing that but I'm pretty sure it will crush my gaming box. > I've also repaired my Heathkit H89's power problems which knocked it out of commission on Friday night of VCF East last year. I recently acquired an H89. I haven't even powered it on yet and it's in the basement of our makerspace so I won't be getting to it anytime soon. > ...while I was making the repairs the other day, I swapped the old linear regulator for a drop-in switch mode supply (also in a TO-3 package). So far, I've had good luck with those in a VIC-20 and a 1541 drive, thus it seemed like a natural choice to reduce heat output in my H89. Which one of these are you using? I have a similar assortment of machines (and there are some of these in PETs as well) so it's a part I could use in multiple locations. > If any of you are familiar with the Votrax SC-01-A speech synthesizer chip, I scored a Type'N Talk on ebay recently, and spent some time figuring out how to interface with it properly. I saw your posts. The arcade-sized Gorf and the RB5X robot have either an SC-01 or SC-02 (I'd have to check). Nice chip. Sounds like you have plenty of fun projects going. Cheers, -ethan

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Making lite of our situation
by Sentrytv 27 Mar '20

27 Mar '20

Is it too early to make light of the situation? Sent from: My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > On Mar 26, 2020, at 11:42 PM, Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > Things are rough these days. How's everyone handling it? > > -- > ========================================= > Jeff Brace > Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner > Vintage Computer Federation > http://www.vcfed.org/ > jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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InfoAge in The Star Ledger donates N-95 masks
by Jeffrey Brace 27 Mar '20

27 Mar '20

*1,400 old face masks were sitting in a basement. They’re now fighting coronavirus.* Photo Caption: The masks were stored for several years at the InfoAge Science and History Center in Wall Township, Monmouth County.InfoAge Science and History Center *By Anthony G. Attrino | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com <http://connect.nj.com/staff/AAttrino/posts.html>* Volunteers at one of New Jersey’s most historic museums on Thursday donated more than 1,400 N-95 face masks to a local hospital and other emergency workers to help them fight the spread of coronavirus <https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/>. “They were in the back of one of our warehouses, literally gathering dust,” said Mike Ruane, chief executive officer of InfoAge Science and History Center in Monmouth County. <https://infoage.org/> The masks, which had originally been ordered eight years ago for people responding to Hurricane Sandy, were uncovered days ago inside at the museum on Marconi Road in Wall Township. The museum is the site of the former U.S. Army base Camp Evans and the Evans Signal Laboratory, where scientists in 1946 bounced the first radio signals off the moon. When Hurricane Sandy swept across the state in 2012, devastating Monmouth County, a slew of volunteer recovery workers built a headquarters for themselves on InfoAge’s sprawling grounds, which contains 11 museums and five exhibits spread out across 34 acres. The masks were ordered for volunteers, who spent months knocking down damaged homes and repairing what they could. “The masks were needed for the workers, who went all over Monmouth County, tearing down sheetrock and helping to rebuild,” Ruane said. When the coronavirus pandemic hit, a museum worker remembered the masks were stored in a warehouse on the property. “Some of the boxes were banged up and some had mildew,” Ruane said. “But on the inside, the masks were wrapped up and not compromised at all.” The museum donated 1,000 masks to Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank and another 400 to Wall Township, which was planning to distribute them to emergency workers and senior citizens. “We think it’s great that we were able to help,” Ruane said. “We are members of the Wall Township community. We enjoy being here and this is our way of giving back.” As of Thursday, at least 742 people in New Jersey had tested positive for coronavirus. Nine people have died, including members of a family from Monmouth County. <https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/03/nj-family-ravaged-by-coronavirus-los…> -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] How's everyone doing?
by ajpierson1 27 Mar '20

27 Mar '20

Been working from home to keep us on the air. Fortunately, it's much easier to keep a TV station operational when you don't have to keep the studio spaces running, and more than half of the employees aren't generating new trouble tickets. In the mean time, I've played through Doom Eternal which was amazing. I've also repaired my Heathkit H89's power problems which knocked it out of commission on Friday night of VCF East last year. A TO-3 socket for one of the 5V regulators was damaged, and while I was making the repairs the other day, I swapped the old linear regulator for a drop-in switch mode supply (also in a TO-3 package). So far, I've had good luck with those in a VIC-20 and a 1541 drive, thus it seemed like a natural choice to reduce heat output in my H89. I've also had way more group voice chats with friends around the world these past few weeks, mostly talking about vintage computer topics. In this way, a few of us helped one friend through some H89 diagnostics and repair which has brought the machine back to life (mostly). I believe he will be using it for his VCF exhibit soon enough. Last week, I was also taking a crack at implementing Glitchbus on the Cactus, but that's been sidelined for the moment. I also took a brief (and isolated) drive out to my storage unit last week to drop off projects I don't have space for at the moment. If any of you are familiar with the Votrax SC-01-A speech synthesizer chip, I scored a Type'N Talk on ebay recently, and spent some time figuring out how to interface with it properly. It sounds great, and I was not expecting to find an entire 6802 based machine inside the tiny chassis.I've always got a stack of projects to tackle, so this really isn't all that different for me. We'll get thru this with a little vigilance, patience, and isolation. -Alexander 'Z' Pierson

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Looking for a Handle for the Kraft Premium II Joystick
by Alexander Jacocks 26 Mar '20

26 Mar '20

All, I got a pair of Coco joysticks, and they're the deluxe version, in really great shape. However, both are missing the tip of the handle. Does anyone have a set of spares? Or a drawing, so that I can design a replacement? Thanks! - Alex

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OT: Webcams for remote students
by Evan Koblentz 26 Mar '20

26 Mar '20

Everyone, My employer (New Jersey Institute of Technoloy), like most other schools/universities, is teaching all courses virtually for at least the rest of this semester. Employees were informed that there are not enough webcams to go around for students. NJIT now is turning over every stone to make sure its students are equipped to participate in a productive and collaborative learning environment. There are outstanding orders with different vendors, but stock is low and deliveries are slow. If you have an unused webcam that you would like to donate to NJIT, it would go a long way in benefiting a student in need. The specifics about brands, models, and specs aren't important. It just has to work and be modern, not vintage. :) Of course, please hold back anything broken, obsolete, missing key parts, dirty, etc. The address to send them is: Dean of Students Office, Campus Center 255 323 Martin Luther King Blvd Newark, NJ 07102

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] vcf-midatlantic Digest, Vol 22, Issue 21
by Dag Spicer 23 Mar '20

23 Mar '20

Wow — GREAT going guys!! Dag > On Mar 23, 2020, at 9:00 AM, vcf-midatlantic-request(a)lists.vcfed.org wrote: > > Send vcf-midatlantic mailing list submissions to > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://lists.vcfed.org/mailman/listinfo/vcf-midatlantic > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > vcf-midatlantic-request(a)lists.vcfed.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > vcf-midatlantic-owner(a)lists.vcfed.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of vcf-midatlantic digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. InfoAge in The Star Ledger donates N-95 masks (Jeffrey Brace) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Sun, 22 Mar 2020 12:12:04 -0400 > From: Jeffrey Brace <jeffrey(a)vcfed.org> > To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> > Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] InfoAge in The Star Ledger donates N-95 > masks > Message-ID: > <CALWfZA+Yw_0N3VW=AQnFqQn1XMtZLKWW_3_fenrAkPEatJxAMw(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" > > *1,400 old face masks were sitting in a basement. They?re now fighting > coronavirus.* > > Photo Caption: > > The masks were stored for several years at the InfoAge Science and History > Center in Wall Township, Monmouth County.InfoAge Science and History Center > > > > *By Anthony G. Attrino | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com > <http://connect.nj.com/staff/AAttrino/posts.html>* > > Volunteers at one of New Jersey?s most historic museums on Thursday donated > more than 1,400 N-95 face masks to a local hospital and other emergency > workers to help them fight the spread of coronavirus > <https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/>. > > ?They were in the back of one of our warehouses, literally gathering dust,? > said Mike Ruane, chief executive officer of InfoAge Science and History > Center in Monmouth County. <https://infoage.org/> > > > > The masks, which had originally been ordered eight years ago for people > responding to Hurricane Sandy, were uncovered days ago inside at the museum > on Marconi Road in Wall Township. > > The museum is the site of the former U.S. Army base Camp Evans and the > Evans Signal Laboratory, where scientists in 1946 bounced the first radio > signals off the moon. > > When Hurricane Sandy swept across the state in 2012, devastating Monmouth > County, a slew of volunteer recovery workers built a headquarters for > themselves on InfoAge?s sprawling grounds, which contains 11 museums and > five exhibits spread out across 34 acres. > > The masks were ordered for volunteers, who spent months knocking down > damaged homes and repairing what they could. > > ?The masks were needed for the workers, who went all over Monmouth County, > tearing down sheetrock and helping to rebuild,? Ruane said. > > When the coronavirus pandemic hit, a museum worker remembered the masks > were stored in a warehouse on the property. > > ?Some of the boxes were banged up and some had mildew,? Ruane said. ?But on > the inside, the masks were wrapped up and not compromised at all.? > > The museum donated 1,000 masks to Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank and > another 400 to Wall Township, which was planning to distribute them to > emergency workers and senior citizens. > > ?We think it?s great that we were able to help,? Ruane said. ?We are > members of the Wall Township community. We enjoy being here and this is our > way of giving back.? > > As of Thursday, at least 742 people in New Jersey had tested positive for > coronavirus. Nine people have died, including members of a family from > Monmouth County. > <https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/03/nj-family-ravaged-by-coronavirus-los…> > > > -- > ========================================= > Jeff Brace > Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner > Vintage Computer Federation > http://www.vcfed.org/ > jeffrey(a)vcfed.org > > > End of vcf-midatlantic Digest, Vol 22, Issue 21 > ***********************************************

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Sol 20 update
by Mike Loewen 19 Mar '20

19 Mar '20

My Sol 20 is up and running: http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/S100/Sol20/ As expected, I had to replace all of the foam pads in the keyboard. For some reason, the TexElec pads hardly worked at all so I sacrificed a Sun Type 4 keyboard for its pads. Other than that, a couple of RAM problems (dirty DIP switch and a defective 74LS157 multiplexer) were all that I had to fix. As time permits, I'll investigate getting a couple of 8" drives working with a Micromation Doubler board. For now, I'm loading programs through the serial port at 1200 baud. Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Semi-OT: Win 95 kernel file needed
by Dean Notarnicola 18 Mar '20

18 Mar '20

http://www.ecsis.net/pub/netuser/updates.html On Wed, Mar 18, 2020 at 10:39 PM Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > Long story, but I need the kernel32.dll file from a later version of > Windows 95. > > Two requirements: > > - It must be from 95, not 98 or newer > > - I have version 4.00.950, so I'm looking for a more recent version > > - You can send it to me by email or a download link (original Microsoft > links found by Google no longer work) > > - I need it ASAP. Tonight would be awesome > > Reach me off-list: evan(a)snarc.net > >

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Semi-OT: Win 95 kernel file needed
by Evan Koblentz 18 Mar '20

18 Mar '20

Got it from someone. Thanks for playing, everyone... On 3/18/20 10:38 PM, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic wrote:

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LSSM COVID-19 shutdown, and a plea for help
by Dave McGuire 18 Mar '20

18 Mar '20

Hello VCFers. I am posting this with the permission of the VCF Steering Committee. Dear friends of LSSM/MACT, Due to the ongoing COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we are suspending in-person visits to the museum, effective immediately, until May 31st. While our museum is free for visitors, much of our operating funds come from donations from in-person visitors, and the loss of that revenue stream puts us at significant risk. Even while shut down, we must pay our normal monthly expenses, such as utility bills, to maintain our security systems and minimal climate control, for the safety of our exhibits. In the past, our donors have helped us drive to far-flung places to pick up vintage hardware, restore systems, and keep things going here. Now, we must ask for your help to cover these expenses. Up until now, I (Dave McGuire, founder) have personally absorbed any financial shortfall, but my work as a consulting engineer in embedded systems (under McGuire Scientific Services, LLC, http://www.mcguirescientificservices.com) has come to a sudden halt as my clients scale back operations. Honestly I don't know how I'm going to keep the power on at home, much less at the museum. Some of you may be in a better situation than me, and I'm asking you personally to help LSSM/MACT survive. The COVID-19 pandemic will deeply affect our society, but it is my hope that we can come out of it in one piece. Building and running our museum has taken years of hard work by our team, and we're looking forward to reopening to the public once this pandemic has run its course. We plan to do our part to help society return to some semblance of normalcy after this crisis has passed, but we can't do it without your help. You may donate via PayPal or check. Our PayPal address is donations(a)mact.io. Checks may be made out to Museum of Applied Computer Technology, and mailed to 924 4th Avenue, New Kensington, PA 15068. Thank you for your support, and for being a friend of LSSM/MACT. Thank you, Dave McGuire President/Curator, LSSM/MACT

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Semi-OT: Win 95 kernel file needed
by Evan Koblentz 18 Mar '20

18 Mar '20

Long story, but I need the kernel32.dll file from a later version of Windows 95. Two requirements: - It must be from 95, not 98 or newer - I have version 4.00.950, so I'm looking for a more recent version - You can send it to me by email or a download link (original Microsoft links found by Google no longer work) - I need it ASAP. Tonight would be awesome Reach me off-list: evan(a)snarc.net

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April 4 & 5 Repair workshop cancelled
by Jeffrey Brace 17 Mar '20

17 Mar '20

Due to an abundance of caution. The April 4 & 5 repair workshop is cancelled. The Covid-19 virus is spreading rapidly and even small groups can be at risk. I will schedule a new repair workshop when things look safe to meet. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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InfoAge Closed until April 24
by Jeffrey Brace 16 Mar '20

16 Mar '20

>From the CEO of Infoage (Mike Ruane): *"To All –Due to the impact of the corona virus on our community, InfoAge will be closed to all visitors and all tours and public meetings will be suspended effective immediately until Friday, April 24. On April 15, we will review whether we will open on the 25th or continue to be closed. Please pass this information on to your org members and volunteers.However, organizations can use their own discretion as to whether or not they wish to work on their sites or various projects. Many of our volunteers are in the “at-risk” category and should stay at home if at all possible.I adapted the following from the CDL email on the virus: Be aware that the COVID virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person, and especially between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet). COVID is transmitted through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes and these droplets land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs. Therefore: if you have any common flu symptoms — coughing, sneezing — please refrain from visiting the InfoAge. It is an unnecessary risk, even if you are not presenting the additional COVID symptoms of fever, cough and shortness of breath.To learn more about the virus and what you can do to protect yourself and your family and friends, please visit the Centers for Disease Control website https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/index.html. <https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/index.html.>”Please take care of yourselves. "* -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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Wang 2200 at Unique thrift store in Fairfax VA
by Clint 16 Mar '20

16 Mar '20

If anyone on the list is interested in this sort of thing, there is a dirty, but apparently complete Wang 2200 at the Unique thrift shop in Merrifield/Fairfax VA. They're asking $499. They are fine with plugging stuff in and poking around with it. Not my thing, but these seem to be quite rare.

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Lemonade RE: Blantant Attack on Kennett Classic!
by Jim Scheef 14 Mar '20

14 Mar '20

Bill and all, Jeff has verbalized what I was thinking. To help people make a vacation of the two events, we need a list of fun places to visit - places geeks like us would find interesting - to fill the intervening week. The first thing I found is the Marshall Steam Museum (10 minutes from Kennett Square). Altoona and Gallitzin may be too far. Jim -----Original Message----- From: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic-bounces(a)lists.vcfed.org> On Behalf Of Jeff Salzman via vcf-midatlantic Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2020 8:12 PM To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> Cc: jsalzman(a)gmail.com Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Blantant Attack on Kennett Classic! Making lemonade out of lemons... wouldn't it be an incentive for those regular visitors who travel long ways to to attend VCF East to also hang around the area for less than an additional week to attend Kennett Classic? Especially those who would would be flying in and might justify staying a few extra days to do so. Why pay for two sets of round trip flights if they wanted to go to Kennett Classic, too? Not trying to incite violence here. It's just a thought. On Thu, Mar 12, 2020 at 7:02 PM Dean Notarnicola via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > We had no choice. September and November were out. Considering the only > two weekends at our disposal were the one we chose or the same one as your > event, we jumped through hoops to avoid rescheduling on the same dates as > your event. and considering the circumstances under which we had to do so > we would hope you would understand. > > > On Thu, Mar 12, 2020 at 6:49 PM Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > To schedule vcf east less than a week before our event is a blantant and > > ignorant obnoxious affront to us! We consulted with vcfed so as not to > > infringe with the events and plans of the federation and this is what we > > get in return. How unprofessional. I ask everyone to stand behind us to > > protest this decision. Please be human and decent, we did everything to > > space our event. We offered to volunteer at vcfed! If you continue to > > pursue this, the working relationship between our two groups will be > > permanently damaged. > > > > Bill and Karen. > > >

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On our hobby
by Adam Michlin 14 Mar '20

14 Mar '20

Definition Federation: the formation of a political unity, with a central government, by a number of separate states, each of which retains control of its own internal affairs. Thinking back, I started my involvement in this hobby around 1993. My computers weren't so vintage then, I had no idea what CP/M was or any awareness of machines prior to the Apple II. I had to give up that collection in 2004 to move to NJ. What I remember most of all was that it was a lonely hobby. My interest was rekindled when I started teaching Computer Science in FL around about 2008. I'm a huge believer in teaching history in any subject I teach and it seemed obvious to not only teach the history but to show the history. I had kept a Mac SE from my first collection that had traveled from CA to NJ to FL and used that as my first prop in teaching Computer Science and, by extension, Computer History. I was lucky that we had a district warehouse (that makes the VCF warehouse look small) where all the old tech went to rest (we couldn't recycle for complicated financial reasons). And thus began my second collection. Primarily Apple II.. because, well, schools and Apple II. I then left my job as a CS teacher and moved into the music retail industry. As such, I again had to give up my collection. Still the hobby was lonely. I moved to NJ to again teach CS in 2014. Kept only my one Apple IIc. But something different happened. I found you people. My classroom became stocked with machines donated by people like Tony Bogan, Dean Notaricola, Alex Jacocks (and I'm forgetting so many, sorry!).It would take me pages to list just the knowledge I've gained from everyone reading this very email. Thank you to each and everyone of you. The hobby wasn't lonely anymore. We are the Vintage Computer Federation. We are not just a museum and warehouse in Wall, NJ. We are not just an online forum or mailing list. We are people. We are people throughout the world. We are events throughout the world. We are growing and the nature of growing is that there will be conflicts. I, however, look at the conflicts as a good thing rather than a bad thing. It is easy to avoid conflicts... don't grow. I dream of a world where we have so many workshops that people have to choose. That people in Maryland have a Maryland workshop, NJ in NJ, NY in NY, and PA in PA all on the same day because there are too many events to avoid date conflicts. Heck, I'd love to see an Idaho workshop! And, of course, someone really needs to get going on that North NJ workshop less than 10 minutes from where I live. ;) As one the primary people responsible for the VCF Social Media, I have done my best to promote *every* organization that does anything at all to push our hobby in a positive direction. LCM, CHM, museums and other organizations in Holland, Finland, Russia, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Maryland.. on and on and on. As a Steering Committee member, I have pushed very hard to increase access to our collection to members and create a formal way for organizations to borrow our artifacts for display in their own museums. I do all this because I have a vision that VCF exists to promote the hobby. The entire hobby. This is what a Federation does. Yet the nature of a Federation is that independent entities (officially or unofficially) within it will sometimes have conflicts. But I don't see conflicts as a bad thing. I see conflicts as an amazing problem created by a growing hobby. No one is trying to create conflicts, but they will arise. We will, however, overcome them together to take this hobby to the next level (or four). I just can't imagine going back to that lonely hobby. -Adam

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Gosh, forgot about Pi Day!
by Jim Scheef 14 Mar '20

14 Mar '20

Sorry, I really am a geek.

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Was Lemondae, bicycling NJ
by Neil Cherry 14 Mar '20

14 Mar '20

If you get to central Jersey again and don't mind riding the roads I know a lot of good areas to ride. What speed do you avg and how far do you like to ride? I usually do centuries during the summer and for some reason our speeds have dropped to just 15 - 16 mph avg over the entire ride. We ride the flat lands of NJ and I know a lot of Pine Barrens rides. Even if you can't ride with us I can toss together a route or two for the area of Spotswood/Monroe Twp to the shore, south or out to the Sourlands (almost the Delaware). -- 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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Blantant Attack on Kennett Classic!
by Bill Degnan 13 Mar '20

13 Mar '20

To schedule vcf east less than a week before our event is a blantant and ignorant obnoxious affront to us! We consulted with vcfed so as not to infringe with the events and plans of the federation and this is what we get in return. How unprofessional. I ask everyone to stand behind us to protest this decision. Please be human and decent, we did everything to space our event. We offered to volunteer at vcfed! If you continue to pursue this, the working relationship between our two groups will be permanently damaged. Bill and Karen.

4 3

VCF East - New Dates Announced!
by Tony Bogan 12 Mar '20

12 Mar '20

VCF East 2020 Update What a difference 24 hours makes! Since last night's announcement, we have now seen various state governments recommend cancelling all large gatherings in light of the "continued outbreak and to aggressively mitigate the spread of the virus." in the words of the Governor of NJ. As such, VCF East 2020 will be POSTPONED (not cancelled) until October 10th through 12th, 2020. This is Saturday through Monday, Columbus Day. Over the past week we have been actively working on backup plans for VCF East in the event it had to be postponed, with several different contingencies planned based on different circumstances that might arise. While it is unfortunate that such a circumstance has occurred, the VCF Steering Committee is pleased to inform everyone that we have secured the dates mentioned above, along with the needed space at the Infoage Science and History Museums. Additionally, we have been reaching out to our Keynote Speakers and class proctors to lock in their availability. We have confirmed that Bill Mensch, Michael Tomczyk, Bil Herd and David Murray have all confirmed their availability as of today. We will update the website, class schedules, etc. over the coming week to reflect the changes in date as well as filling in who can and cannot attend based on the new days of the event. While prep for VCF East has continued in earnest over the past few weeks, a potential change of dates has always been on the list of items to deal with. It is unfortunate that the event needed to be rescheduled, but with the cooperation of our members, keynote speakers, exhibitors and attendees, along with the great coordination we've had with Infoage, we are confident we can help keep people safe and healthy and have a fantastic event, just a few months later than originally anticipated. Please stay tuned for more updates as the days and weeks go by, and please, stay safe and healthy! VCF Steering Committee

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] VCF East 2020 Update
by Bob Flanders 12 Mar '20

12 Mar '20

https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act-today-or-people-will-die-f4d… On Wed, Mar 11, 2020 at 10:48 PM Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > VCF East 2020 Update > > In light of everything that is happening in the US and elsewhere with the > current Flu season and Coronavirus, the VCF Mid-Atlantic Steering Committee > wanted to update everyone on the current status of VCF East 2020. > > As it stands, VCF East 2020 is still scheduled to take place as planned on > April 24th, 25th and 26th. > > The Steering Committee is monitoring the situation daily and meets every > week for VCF East prep, which includes reassessing our situation for the > event as a whole on a weekly basis at minimum, more frequently if needed. > > At the Infoage Operations meeting on Wednesday, March 11th, Infoage > informed us that they have no plans to close or alter their operating > schedule at this time. Like us, they plan on watching the situation closely > and will update their plans if and when it is called for. Meanwhile, they > look forward to hosting VCF East once again. > > We understand that attendance will suffer as a result of the current > health situation as some people will choose not to travel or attend a > public event at this point in time. Prudence dictates that everyone, > especially people in the higher risk groups and those with certain health > issues, must do what's best for themselves, and we encourage people to do > just that! Meanwhile, we continue to plan on the event taking place on > schedule. > > In the event circumstances require us to reschedule the event, we will > notify all exhibitors, vendors, class proctors and advance ticket holders > directly, as well as announcing on our website and all social media. > > The VCF Steering Committee plans on hosting a fantastic show in April, but > plans sometimes change, and we will change ours if circumstances dictate a > change is needed, and make sure you are the first to know. > > VCF Steering Committee

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] VCF East 2020 Update
by Neil Cherry 12 Mar '20

12 Mar '20

On 3/12/20 1:31 PM, Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > Has anyone seen the movie "Contagion" ? > > May seem a little far-fetched but not too far from the truth. ... so they're gonna drop a bomb on us? Great, now we're moving into (out?) to a Billy Joel song ... never could understand why they blew the Bronx away ... ;-) -- Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry(a)linuxha.com http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] VCF East 2020 Update
by Alexander Pierson 12 Mar '20

12 Mar '20

I'm going to have to concur. My love for this event is on record, and I've joked with some of you that it would take something significant to stop me from attending VCF East. With that in mind, I think it is wise to cancel and avoid undue risk to people's health. I don't see much of a point for an event that champions hands-on exhibits in the middle of a pandemic. There is always next year. -Alexander 'Z' Pierson On Thursday, March 12, 2020, 03:54:36 PM EDT, Peter Fletcher via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: I’d say that is it then for me. If the State of NJ doesn’t want events of size being held we ought listen to that. I know this is going to be inconvenient, and frankly I have no idea if I’ll get the money I’ve paid for my hotel stay refunded or not, but I really don’t want to feel responsible for spreading a disease because people are touching my old keyboards and joysticks. The VCF demographic is solidly middle age and older, exactly the people this is affecting most. Not that I get a vote, but if I do have one, I vote to cancel and find a date later in the year. -Pete > On Mar 12, 2020, at 3:40 PM, Jason Perkins via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > Looks like NJ is recommending all gatherings of >250 be cancelled. > > https://nj.gov/governor/news/news/562020/approved/20200312a.shtml > > > > On Thu, Mar 12, 2020 at 3:12 PM Martin Flynn via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > >> Google “project cautery” >> >>> On Mar 12, 2020, at 2:36 PM, Neil Cherry via vcf-midatlantic < >> vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: >>> >>>> On 3/12/20 1:31 PM, Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic wrote: >>>> Has anyone seen the movie "Contagion" ? >>>> >>>> May seem a little far-fetched but not too far from the truth. >>> >>> ... so they're gonna drop a bomb on us? >>> >>> Great, now we're moving into (out?) to a Billy Joel song ... never could >> understand >>> why they blew the Bronx away ... ;-) >>> >>> -- >>> 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 >>> >> >> > > -- > Jason Perkins > 313 355 0085

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] VCF East 2020 Update
by Jonathan Gevaryahu 12 Mar '20

12 Mar '20

I'm in complete agreement. What I'm hearing in the news by epidemiologists implies this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. Based on some estimates I've seen *I think* it may peak sometime in May, June or even later. I'm personally fine having VCFE in the fall sometime, or even possibly deferring it to next year (not the first time this has happened). On 3/12/2020 3:54 PM, Peter Fletcher via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > > I’d say that is it then for me. If the State of NJ doesn’t want events of size being held we ought listen to that. > > I know this is going to be inconvenient, and frankly I have no idea if I’ll get the money I’ve paid for my hotel stay refunded or not, but I really don’t want to feel responsible for spreading a disease because people are touching my old keyboards and joysticks. > > The VCF demographic is solidly middle age and older, exactly the people this is affecting most. > > Not that I get a vote, but if I do have one, I vote to cancel and find a date later in the year. > > -Pete > > > >> On Mar 12, 2020, at 3:40 PM, Jason Perkins via vcf-midatlantic<vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: >> >> Looks like NJ is recommending all gatherings of >250 be cancelled. >> >> https://nj.gov/governor/news/news/562020/approved/20200312a.shtml >> >> >> >> On Thu, Mar 12, 2020 at 3:12 PM Martin Flynn via vcf-midatlantic < >> vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: >> >>> Google “project cautery” >>> >>>> On Mar 12, 2020, at 2:36 PM, Neil Cherry via vcf-midatlantic < >>> vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: >>>>> On 3/12/20 1:31 PM, Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic wrote: >>>>> Has anyone seen the movie "Contagion" ? >>>>> >>>>> May seem a little far-fetched but not too far from the truth. >>>> ... so they're gonna drop a bomb on us? >>>> >>>> Great, now we're moving into (out?) to a Billy Joel song ... never could >>> understand >>>> why they blew the Bronx away ...;-) >>>> >>>> -- >>>> Linux Home Automation Neil Cherryncherry(a)linuxha.com >>>> http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site >>>> http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog >>>> Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies >>>> >> -- >> Jason Perkins >> 313 355 0085 -- Jonathan Gevaryahu jgevaryahu(a)gmail.com jgevaryahu(a)hotmail.com

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] VCF East 2020 Update
by Mike Loewen 12 Mar '20

12 Mar '20

On Thu Mar 12 00:22:27 EDT 2020, Kyle Own wrote: > Since the WHO has upgraded this to a pandemic, I am very surprised to see > VCF E as a possibility for late April. Current trends show that we may have > close to 1 million cases in the US by then. By continuing planning VCF E for > April, I believe the steering committee is doing a disservice to the > community, both among vintage computer enthusiasts and members of Wall > Township and surrounding areas. Why not postpone for a future date? > > I'd be very curious to see a show of hands who would currently plan to be in > attendance in April. > > Kyle I'm not one to panic, but given the current state of affairs I am considering withdrawing my exhibit from VCF East this. I realize that scheduling is tight for Infoage, but if at all possible I would also urge that the SC consider reschduling the event. Remember some years back when one member infected several of the exhibitors? Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] VCF East 2020 Update
by Kyle Owen 12 Mar '20

12 Mar '20

Since the WHO has upgraded this to a pandemic, I am very surprised to see VCF E as a possibility for late April. Current trends show that we may have close to 1 million cases in the US by then. By continuing planning VCF E for April, I believe the steering committee is doing a disservice to the community, both among vintage computer enthusiasts and members of Wall Township and surrounding areas. Why not postpone for a future date? I'd be very curious to see a show of hands who would currently plan to be in attendance in April. Kyle

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Burroughs B205 tape drive on Ebay
by Mike Loewen 12 Mar '20

12 Mar '20

Stan Brewer's B205 tape drive is up for auction (again) on Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-BURROUGHS-B205-CORPORATION-ELECTRODATA-COM… Stan (RIP) told me that this was originally one of the drives from Claude Kagan's B205 system. It's in rough shape, and may not be complete. Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] VCF East 2020 Update
by David Riley 12 Mar '20

12 Mar '20

On Mar 11, 2020, at 10:48 PM, Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > From: Tony Bogan <thebogans(a)mac.com> > Subject: VCF East 2020 Update > Date: March 11, 2020 at 10:48:02 PM EDT > To: vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org > > > VCF East 2020 Update > > In light of everything that is happening in the US and elsewhere with the current Flu season and Coronavirus, the VCF Mid-Atlantic Steering Committee wanted to update everyone on the current status of VCF East 2020. > > As it stands, VCF East 2020 is still scheduled to take place as planned on April 24th, 25th and 26th. As things stand currently, I don't plan on traveling for any cons until at least June. Most epidemiological models have cases peaking around early May, give or take a few weeks, which means late April is likely to be pretty bad in terms of the effect on our national health system and follow-on effects in everyday life, not to mention the risk of infection if you're not already sick. This is not me trying to lecture y'all, because you can do what you want. But I would definitely suggest carefully considering the additional financial and logistical burden each additional week adds if you cancel later, because people make commitments, lock down schedules, and pay for travel arrangements as things get closer. In the infosec world, a LOT of conferences are getting canceled and moved right now, and people are feeling the pain (both people who had already committed to presenting and arranged time off work, gotten visas, booked non-refundable tickets, etc). It sucks. But most conferences have made that decision last week and this week. If the show does go on, I wish everyone the best of luck and I'll look forward to the videos. But I'll still be hoping for a raincheck. - Dave

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] VCF East 2020 Update
by jaj＠totallyamused.com 11 Mar '20

11 Mar '20

>From: Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic ><vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> > >You guys are making a huge mistake by not canceling East now. > >Gov. Murphy declared a state of emergency. Smart museum leaders -- like those at LCM, obviously not those at IA -- are closing before people get sick or worse. > >All those people in such a cramped venue, all touching the same doors and joysticks, is just begging for trouble. Absolutely, events of ~100 (and less) are cancelling. TCF has cancelled, it’s not worth it. Make a shift now to the Fall, get it on the calendar to secure attendance for 2020.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] VCF East 2020 Update
by Evan Koblentz 11 Mar '20

11 Mar '20

You guys are making a huge mistake by not canceling East now. Gov. Murphy declared a state of emergency. Smart museum leaders -- like those at LCM, obviously not those at IA -- are closing before people get sick or worse. All those people in such a cramped venue, all touching the same doors and joysticks, is just begging for trouble.

1 0

VCF East 2020 Update
by Tony Bogan 11 Mar '20

11 Mar '20

VCF East 2020 Update In light of everything that is happening in the US and elsewhere with the current Flu season and Coronavirus, the VCF Mid-Atlantic Steering Committee wanted to update everyone on the current status of VCF East 2020. As it stands, VCF East 2020 is still scheduled to take place as planned on April 24th, 25th and 26th. The Steering Committee is monitoring the situation daily and meets every week for VCF East prep, which includes reassessing our situation for the event as a whole on a weekly basis at minimum, more frequently if needed. At the Infoage Operations meeting on Wednesday, March 11th, Infoage informed us that they have no plans to close or alter their operating schedule at this time. Like us, they plan on watching the situation closely and will update their plans if and when it is called for. Meanwhile, they look forward to hosting VCF East once again. We understand that attendance will suffer as a result of the current health situation as some people will choose not to travel or attend a public event at this point in time. Prudence dictates that everyone, especially people in the higher risk groups and those with certain health issues, must do what's best for themselves, and we encourage people to do just that! Meanwhile, we continue to plan on the event taking place on schedule. In the event circumstances require us to reschedule the event, we will notify all exhibitors, vendors, class proctors and advance ticket holders directly, as well as announcing on our website and all social media. The VCF Steering Committee plans on hosting a fantastic show in April, but plans sometimes change, and we will change ours if circumstances dictate a change is needed, and make sure you are the first to know. VCF Steering Committee

1 0

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Soldering Temp and Gauge Wire?
by mark＠markesystems.com 11 Mar '20

11 Mar '20

> From: Chris Fala <chrisjpf33(a)gmail.com> <...> > This excellent video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpkkfK937mU is one of > the best explanations of the proper way to solder that I have found. That was a good video. I've been soldering, both professionally and for hobby reasons, since I was 7 (53 years, but who's counting), and this is the first video I've seen that that stresses the importance of a wetting of solder between the iron and the joint be soldered; it doesn't just blindly state to "apply the solder to the joint, not the iron". This allows the joint to be soldered quickly, which is good not only because it's fast, but because it doesn't heat-stress the component or board as much. ~~ Mark Moulding

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Soldering Temp and Gauge Wire?
by John Heritage 11 Mar '20

11 Mar '20

Hey folks, Just looking for a few recommendations - I've finally picked up a proper soldering station where I can set the temperature.. For working on vintage hardware like Atari 8bits and installing mods (ram upgrades or video upgrades that require wires to be run) -- what kind of temps should I be running a flat-tipped soldering iron at, and what gauge wire should I generally use on the older computers? Thanks :) John

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1st Annual Kennett Classic October 16-18 2020 - Mark your Calendars
by Bill Degnan 10 Mar '20

10 Mar '20

Hey all - We have had soft-launched it on our website calendar a few months ago but I wanted to confirm that yes on October 16 - 18 2020 the first annual "Kennett Classic" weekend is scheduled and a GO; venue booked and implementation is under way. The centerpiece of the weekend will be a contest between teams of vintage computer hobbyists competing for the Kennett Classic Cup, an award to the team with the best network of vintage hardware based on up-time and connectivity. There will be a substantial prize awarded to the winning team. We're really excited to share the details of this event, but stand by for now. In addition to the on-site teams, we will open the contest to any qualifying team worldwide. This is a first-of-its-kind world-wide vintage computing networking event! We're working on the registration pages now, and once they're live we'll share all of the details. Think of the Kennett Classic Cup as a car rally for vintage computers. We have many other activities planned, stay tuned. Interested? We look forward to making this a huge success. Bill Degnan Kennett Classic Kennett Square, PA https://www.kennettclassic.com

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