- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

possibly useful for bbs-simulator
by Jeffrey Jonas 30 Oct '19

30 Oct '19

I have a Castelle FaxPress model 2000 4 phone lines to ethernet (thin-net or AUI, no RJ45). It is intended to be a fax server but I wonder if it could be used as a modem server to ethernet. If anyone knows if that's possible, please speak up. I'll gladly donate it for the project.

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Exposed pins on vintage computers in storage
by Ethan O'Toole 29 Oct '19

29 Oct '19

I have a system in climate controlled storage. I currently leave all the CPU and memory boards installed. It has large connectors that are male pins on side of computer and female on side of the CPU and memory boards. Would it be a big deal to leave the boards removed from the system? The boards weigh a lot and I plan to move it upstairs in the storage unit -- reset the rent counter and lower the size of the unit. I could potentially get some desicant and wrap up the boards if needed but the cabinet not so much (it's a Cray.) Any thoughts? - Ethan

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Good news -- archiving the old Yahoo group
by Evan Koblentz 28 Oct '19

28 Oct '19

Many of you probably heard the recent news that Yahoo is about to delete all their old groups. Many of you also know that from 2004-2015, this very group operated on Yahoo. I filled out Archive Team's request to have our old group preserved and they accepted it. Apparently our activity was deemed historically important. :) I'll post a link to the archive location when they provide it. -- Evan Koblentz, executive director Vintage Computer Federation www.vcfed.org evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 VCF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization

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Museum Report
by Chris Fala 28 Oct '19

28 Oct '19

I was docent yesterday. I have been "assistant" docent or "co-docent" before, but this was my first time completely solo. It is always fun spending time at the museum, I highly recommend it! Fairly slow day, likely due to the intense rain we had for most of the morning and early afternoon. There were two groups. Early in the afternoon, a large group of Boy Scouts came through. They seemed fairly interested, and a few of them asked some questions. One boy took pictures of pretty much everything. Later in the afternoon a young family with five small children came through. The oldest daughter seemed very interested and, like the boy scout from earlier, took pictures of everything. Chris

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someone once wanted PC-AT case, VESA/VLB bus motherboard
by Jeffrey Jonas 27 Oct '19

27 Oct '19

I remember someone once asking for a PC-AT case, and someone else asking for a VESA/VLB motherboard. I just happen to have a PC-AT tower case with a socket-3 ISA/VLB motherboard. Speak up if you still need it! -- jeff jonas

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Looking for an Apple //c Plus
by Jason Perkins 26 Oct '19

26 Oct '19

A friend is looking to buy a //c Plus. Does anyone have one they're looking to sell? Thanks! -- Jason Perkins 313 355 0085

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OT: 3D print design for ESP32 VGA dongle
by Bill Degnan 25 Oct '19

25 Oct '19

Hi - Any one have a 3d printer file URL or if it does not exibt be interested in a little ($paid) project to make an enclosure for this device: *https://tinyurl.com/yy8uhffv <https://tinyurl.com/yy8uhffv>* "LILYGO® TTGO VGA32 V1.2 Controller PS/2 Mouse And Keyboard Graphics Library Game Engine And ANSI/VT Terminal For The ESP32" I have the printer but I don't have a scanner.. This is for a product to be sold at the Kennett Classic shop. Contact me privately through vintagecomputer.net/contact.cfm Thanks Bill

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Big Beautiful Vintage Computers, and Where To Find Them
by Paul Birkel 25 Oct '19

25 Oct '19

Congratulations Dave. Hittin' the "Big Time" :->. https://hackaday.com/2019/10/23/big-beautiful-vintage-computers-and-where-to -find-them/ -----

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] computer superstitions
by Jeffrey Jonas 25 Oct '19

25 Oct '19

> You need three sync's for it to work... > sync > sync > sync > halt I'm unsure there was a halt or shutdown for Unix v6. I think one just halted the CPU. There's a good reason for three syncs. The "sync" command only schedules/initiates the buffer/cache flush. The disk writes took time, so typing it 3x on a teletype was a simple way to delay the operator enough for the writes to complete before halting the system.

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computer superstitions
by Jeffrey Jonas 23 Oct '19

23 Oct '19

"Scandinavia and the World" is an online comic with an International flavor. This time literally: https://satwcomic.com/hangry-computer looking that up leads to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kuai_Kuai_culture Kuai Kuai culture is a phenomenon in Taiwan wherein workers put snacks of the "Kuai Kuai" brand next to or on top of machines. Workers who do this believe that, because the name of the snack - "Kuai Kuai" - stands for "obedient" or "well-behaved," it will make a device so adorned function without errors. As such, it can be commonly found in myriad places of work in Taiwanese society. A rigid set of best practices has arisen surrounding the proper use of Kuai Kuai snacks, such as using green bags only, and ensuring the snacks are not expired. other programming/computer superstitions: https://www.red-gate.com/simple-talk/opinion/opinion-pieces/programmer-supe… and kinda related to that: http://catb.org/jargon/html/magic-story.html -- jeff jonas

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MORE ado about chording keyboards
by Jeffrey Jonas 21 Oct '19

21 Oct '19

William Arthur Stewart Buxton ... is known for being one of the pioneers in the human–computer interaction field. https://www.microsoft.com/buxtoncollection/type.aspx?t=Chord%20Keyboard chording keyboards from Bill Buxton's collection of unusual computer interface devices https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Buxton the photo shows Bill Buxton with a Microwriter chord input device his own web site: https://www.billbuxton.com/

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Museum Report 2019-10-19
by Jeffrey Brace 20 Oct '19

20 Oct '19

Good day at the museum. Maybe 20 people stopped by. About 1/4 of them were high interest, 1/2 medium interest and 1/4 low interest. It's always fun to see visitors who see things differently or ask questions that you have never gotten before. I love the new LED screens on the "top shelf" machines. I look forward to seeing demos for them soon. :) Steve Anderson stopped by and dropped off his Dig-Comp 1. We chatted for a while about what's new with VCF and he had some personal perspective on many of the artifacts and explained to me how some of them were used and operated. I appreciate that since I'm weaker on my knowledge of 50's and 60's machines. I also worked on my demo of Geck OS, which is Unix for the C64. Interesting piece of software. Quite impressive that it works on a C64. Mouse will be docent tomorrow. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Sep 28 2019 workshop followup
by Jeffrey Jonas 19 Oct '19

19 Oct '19

I had a wonderful time at the Sep 28 2019 workshop. I could not attend Sunday in order to start the Jewish New Year properly with family and friends. I already followed up Eric Rangell's chording keyboard prototype with "much ado about chording keyboards". I was beyond impressed with Nevell Greenough's LPG-30 emulator. The front panel looks absolutely authentic, albeit with an LCD instead of the 3-trace oscilloscope. I frobbed an LGP-21 back in high school and I remember a lot about it. We geeked out about the strange opcodes that ENCOURAGED self modifying code, mostly out of necessity due to the lack of registers or stack. For example, there are 2 instructions for modifying the address field on an instuction. One saved the program counter plus 1 in the address field of an instruction. That's how it did subroutines: store the return address in the jump/branch instruction at the END of the subroutine, then jump to the subroutine start. Another saved the accumulator to the address field of an instruction. That was probably for address calculations in lieu of index registers. It's essentially a "move under mask" since the address field was NOT the entire word. http://ed-thelen.org/comp-hist/lgp-30.html <<< main page http://ed-thelen.org/comp-hist/lgp-30-man.html <<< programming manual But those intentionally PREVENTED any address overflow into the opcode. So how did Mel use an overflow to cause a branch? We think it's possible he incremented the address of a branch instruction by loading the entire instruction into the accumulator, adding to that and storing the accumulator back into (drum) storage. That's the only way to overflow the address over the 2 unused bits between the opcode and address to increment the jump into the instruction, which is a different jump/branch. And that's why Mel is *still* a "real programmer" :-) -- jeff jonas

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Museum closing for renovations
by Evan Koblentz 18 Oct '19

18 Oct '19

We're closing the VCF museum during January 2020 to make renovations. This is only our part; InfoAge stays open and they gave us the all-clear tonight. We are discussing various renovation ideas including a new floor (epoxy), better lighting, more signs, exhibit improvements, etc. ... basically all the things I've been talking about but haven't done for the past few years!

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Kennett Classic Opens Today
by Bill Degnan 18 Oct '19

18 Oct '19

Hey all....Karen and I opened a vintage computing exhibit gallery and hobbyist shop which is located in Kennett Square, PA which is more or less between Baltimore and Philadelphia just off Rt 1. We're about 15 miles from I-95 where Delaware meets Maryland. https://www.kennettclassic.com/launch/ It's a big effort, there is still a lot of on-going set up, but starting today at 3PM the doors open and we'd love to see you. We're open 6 days a week, closed Monday. Check out the new exhibits including the Commodore Feature Wall we'll be running through Christmas. We have new vintage computing add-on hardware like Wifi modems and sd storage, plus actual vintage hardware. After this weekend we'll launch our social media (because we'll have pictures). We'll be updating the inventory of what we have for sale on our web site as it comes in, we have a 50 items to add today. We'll also start posting our weekly videocast on the subject of the computer history and vintage computing. busy busy busy! Got to go! Bill Degnan and Karen Doneker kennettclassic.com vintagecomputer.net

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Festivus Tickets
by Jeffrey Brace 17 Oct '19

17 Oct '19

This year I will be selling tickets online through Eventbrite. I am doing this because it makes it far easier for me to manage collection of money for the event. This leaves me more time to enjoy the event and less time tracking down people for money for the event. So I am much happier because I get to enjoy the event more. Tickets for the event are $10 through Eventbrite and $15 at the door. Overnight stay in the Sandy recovery area $25 through Eventbrite and $30 at the door. Click here to buy tickets: < https://www.eventbrite.com/e/festivus-2019-tickets-77436696243?aff=VCFMaili… > Thank you for your cooperation! -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Introduction
by Kenneth Gober 17 Oct '19

17 Oct '19

Hi, I'm Ken (kgober on the VCF forum). A few months back, when it became increasingly clear that I was missing important local news by not subscribing to this mailing list, I signed up, but I've just been lurking until now. I live in central NJ, and work in IT (Information Security actually) for a large pharmaceutical firm. My interests far exceed the amount of time I have available for them. A big part of my interest in vintage computing is really just an extension of my interest in retro computer gaming, because of course the best platform to run old software on is the hardware it was intended for. I do resort to emulators when I have to; some hardware is just not practical for me to acquire or operate at home (the larger DEC systems, for example). I have a fairly large collection of 8-bit systems that I haven't had time to power on in years, but am unwilling to get rid of. And another fairly large collection of Macs ranging from Mac Plus through G3 that I will someday do something with. Plus of course the PC collection which is mostly Compaq and IBM models (including a bunch of PS/2 systems). Also a few Unix systems (mostly Sun, but a couple IBM RS/6000s too), oldest being a SPARCstation SLC and the newest a SPARC Enterprise T5140. I also have some interest in PDP-11s; I have an 11/23 Micro that I'm trying to get running again (power supply issues) and eventually upgraded to something that will run BSD Unix, and some day I need to get my father's H-11 running again (it's been in storage for decades). I've written some software which I've previously posted about on the VCF forum, notably VT05 and VT52 terminal emulators for Windows, and also "FSX", a command-line utility to browse and read files from old disk images (RT-11, RSX-11, Unix v5, and Commodore for now, with more to be added as time permits). Those can all be found at https://github.com/kgober I've considered attending one of the repair weekends but I can't decide what to actually work on next that's not too much trouble to unearth. The PDP-11 is probably easiest (being on top of the pile) but I do have a TRS-80 Model 4P that needs a new line filter capacitor (at least I think that's what blew up, but I still need to open it up to verify). I have a bunch of Commodore floppy drives that I acquired in 'as-is' condition that need to be checked, but checking a 4040 or 8050 would also require me to dig one of my PETs out of the pile, and I'm not even sure which of them is still working... And so on, and so on. It's kind of a disaster actually. I will certainly have no shortage or projects to work on when I retire, so I've got that going for me. -ken

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A "100%" Efficient BBS Transfer Protocol
by John Heritage 16 Oct '19

16 Oct '19

Hey folks, It always bugged me back in the day that ZModem (and even Ymodem-G) left some performance on the table. For a 14.4 kbps modem with a theoretical perfect transfer rate of 1800 characters per second (assume no data compression, flawless connection, etc) -- ZModem would give you something like 1650-1660 cps and Ymodem-G would give you up to 1730 cps under ideal conditions. Ymodem-G of course had no error recovery (though it did send CRCs to help indicate whether or not there was a problem). In the interest of trying to use 100% of "upload" bandwidth, I always wanted to write a protocol that used the back channel to send CRCs from the 'download' computer to the upload source computer. (Even on asymmetrical protocols like USRobotics standards, 450 bps 'back channel' should be enough for this..) This protocol would operate like ZModem or YModem-G where the uploader just keeps streaming, but no CRCs would be sent with the transfer. Instead, the 'sender' computer would simply pre-calculate CRCs for every 1K or so; the receiver computer would calculate after receiving that 1K, and send back to the uploader. The uploader would go back and verify that it was getting the right CRCs in the right order (you could pre-calculate these and store in RAM before the transfer starts to reduce CPU load during transfer). If no problems were encountered - you might hit that theoretical 1800 cps. If problems were encountered - you'd either pause for some period of time and then re-send the last 3-4 good sets of CRCs to alert the 'receiver' computer that the transfer had to resume from an earlier state and would start after those 3-4 CRC sets were sent. Anyway just some thoughts. Something I might try in C sometime with a couple of modems... John

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Amazing LEGO datacenter model
by Jameel Akari 16 Oct '19

16 Oct '19

I can't stop looking at this amazing thing. https://www.flickr.com/photos/78666052@N05/48569034132/in/dateposted/ "Johan Alexanderson (Jalex) Vintage Computer Room Inspired by computer rooms from the 60s and 70s." The details are just great. -- Jameel Akari

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Museum report (Saturday)
by Evan Koblentz 13 Oct '19

13 Oct '19

I went to the museum yesterday despite taking a break for a while. I needed to pick up the Lego robot stuff for my upcoming Brickfair NJ demo, and also there was an NJIT alumni tour so I figured it's good politics since I work there now. Lots of visitors from the NJIT your and then a few families throughout the rest of the day.

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Museum Report 2019-10-13
by Jeffrey Brace 13 Oct '19

13 Oct '19

A good day at the museum. It started out well with a phone call from the InfoAge front desk to make sure that someone was at VCF because there was a visitor extremely interested in visiting us. It was a 9 year old boy and his family (brother, mother, grandmother) and he wanted to see the original Mac. He had watched YouTube videos, but had never used or touched one. So I let him use MacWrite and MacPaint and Microsoft BASIC. He was high interested and had questions and stayed about an hour looking at other machines. He came from Cape May and I let his mother know about VCF East. There were about half a dozen medium interest people and another half dozen low interest visitors. So overall a good day. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Help! Stuck bit
by Dean Notarnicola 10 Oct '19

10 Oct '19

Hey VCF peeps! I’ve got a Briel Altair replica that has a stuck bit on the front panel. I’ve verified that switch (bit) 5 lets me deposit a zero or one into any given memory address. But when I go back to examine it, it always show one regardless of the actual state of the bit. I verified that the switch is good, the led is good, and I replaced all the 74 series latches without effect. There is a 220 ohm resistor in line with it that reads 216 ohm but that should be well within spec for a 5% resistor. I could replace it with a new 2%, but I’m not sure that would fix anything. Anyone have any ideas why this bit always lights when I examine it? Thanks. Dean

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Museum Update
by corey cohen 09 Oct '19

09 Oct '19

We received a lovely donation from Nokia for some improvements in our museum to do more live demos. So Jeff and I figured we can share some of the progress. First, we bought 10 LCD televisions to hook up to the top row of displays where it's impractical to have a vintage monitor. This will allow us to have demos running on machines like our Sol-20, Vic-20, Atari 800 and Tandy CoCo. We also put up an announcement sign in the hallway outside our door. The current video display system (TV) hanging from the ceiling is really missed by many people and until we move it to a better place this will have to do. I also put my youngest son to work scraping our "sign" at the entrance to Infoage because it was peeling very badly. We painted it white with correct outdoor latex paint (I think it was spray painted before with white automobile primer or something). Later in the week we will add reflective lettering that says "Computer Museum". A bit captain obvious, but we are dealing with the public, LOL... We hope to finish this and a few other projects in the next two weeks as we have some parts on order. Here are some pics in a thread I created on our forum. http://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?71900-Updates-in-progress-at-the-… Cheers, Corey corey cohen uǝɥoɔ ʎǝɹoɔ Vintage Computer Federation, a federal 501c3 designated charity 917-747-1408 mobile corey(a)vcfed.org www.vcfed.org corey cohen uǝɥoɔ ʎǝɹoɔ Sent from my iPhone

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Sperry/Univac Uniscope 100 Service Manual?
by Bill Degnan 08 Oct '19

08 Oct '19

Jeff - could this be a OEM Hazeltine? Bill On Tue, Oct 1, 2019 at 12:43 PM Jeff G via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > Would anyone happen to have a service manual, schematic, or ANY technical > info on a Univac Uniscope 100 terminal? I acquired one a few days ago and > its dead. I did find that the Computer History Museum has the manual and > they are seeing if they can dig it up, but if I can get a full copy or if > someone has one locally that would be better. > > If someone did have one I'd be glad to scan it if possible and make it > available. I also found some online posts where the original designer of > this posted up original drawings and talked about the thoughts behind the > design of it. > > Some pics of it on my web site as I cleaned it up here: > https://www.junknet.net/2019/09/30/sperry-uniscope-100-terminal-acquired/ > > I also acquired some Sperry/Univac "Mapper" memorabilia at the same time, > that I'll be posting up on my web site too. (Known today as BIS from > Unisys) > > Thanks, > > Bags (aka Jeff G) >

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] VCF East 2020 -- April 24-25-26
by Bill Degnan 07 Oct '19

07 Oct '19

It should be a beautiful weekend, less likely to be rainy. Earth day weekend I think. I think I am going to do a Pentium III exhibit, if that's not too old. If you're really way back no one can identify with it. Bill On Mon, Oct 7, 2019 at 7:41 PM Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > Sorry that the rates are high. We do our best to pick a date that works > for > > most people. It's a difficult and busy time of year. Pushing it earlier > in > > April conflicts with Easter/Passover and late March is VCF PNW. Maybe > next > > year we can also take into account the marathon. > > No apologies needed jeff, there’s never going to be a good time, there’s > only the best time we could arrange given the circumstances. > Go too early and bad weather really becomes a factor, as we already know > all too well. Go too late and it’s summertime and all the problems that go > with that. > > We make the best of what we have to work with. Thank you for getting the > dates set and announced in a timely fashion, it’s a big first step towards > making this event realize it’s full potential!! > > Tony >

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VCF East 2020 -- April 24-25-26
by Evan Koblentz 07 Oct '19

07 Oct '19

Subject line says it all. Mark your calendars...

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Two months left until Festivus
by Jeffrey Brace 07 Oct '19

07 Oct '19

Sign up here: < https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1x0oSxqZXh8tmqqbUsP3KS3OywiNsEAOOmtq… > -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Another great repair workshop
by dillera＠gmail.com 06 Oct '19

06 Oct '19

Here are my photos from Sat: https://imgur.com/gallery/T4UfR5j <https://imgur.com/gallery/T4UfR5j> It was a beautiful day to wander around InfoAge and very full repair day. See you in November. -andy

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OT: converting audio tapes to computer files
by Evan Koblentz 06 Oct '19

06 Oct '19

My girlfriend has a couple of dozen audio tapes that she wants converted to sound files. She's willing to pay someone to do it. No editing or optimization needed, only bare files. She nor I are interested in DIY advice. Just looking for someone to do it for her. Not urgent, but it can't take six months either. Reply to me off-list at evan(a)snarc.net.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] much ado about chording keyboards
by Eric Rangell 04 Oct '19

04 Oct '19

Hi Jonathan, Let me know if this diagram has what you are looking for: https://github.com/erangell/VCFEast2019/blob/master/KeyboardDecoder.png When a key is pressed, it will connect a Pad to a Rail, so the Q key connects pin 12 to pin 21. The decoder can then send current through each pin and see if any of the other pins are receiving the voltage. Control and Shift can be read independently of other keys using pins 2, 3, and 23. My encoder board is from The Keyboard Company, model # KB20-0016-00. The encoder chip is labelled: 331-0931-B KR3600-070 SMC 8151 with another marking of 8-82. Eric

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] *OT*, but I don't know how else to contact Ian
by Lou 02 Oct '19

02 Oct '19

Something that I should mention to the community and on here is that I actually live right next to Sewell (Pretty much all of Gloucester is in my reach if it's reasonable, some of Camden/Burlington as well). I can attempt to aquire this TV if need be for Ian, funny thing is he was at my work just this past Monday. The hard part is finding a place to keep it at since I'm pretty sure the fiancee won't be happy about me bringing it home! -Lou

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*OT*, but I don't know how else to contact Ian
by jsalzman＠gmail.com 02 Oct '19

02 Oct '19

Ian Primus... I don't know if you're interested in this, but it seems to be right up your alley, and you're the first person I thought of when I saw this item. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Heathkit-Television-with-Manual-Remote-Vintage-fro… I'd hate to see this get trashed, but I'm not in a position to acquire it myself... even for the $1 asking price. Thanks, Jeff Salzman

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Re: *OT*, but I don't know how else to contact Ian
by Jeffrey Golas 02 Oct '19

02 Oct '19

My uncle had that EXACT TV. Needed constant repair and constantly losing its programmed channels. Cool to see but meh, there are better things to save. Bags

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Sperry/Univac Uniscope 100 Service Manual?
by Jeff G 01 Oct '19

01 Oct '19

Would anyone happen to have a service manual, schematic, or ANY technical info on a Univac Uniscope 100 terminal? I acquired one a few days ago and its dead. I did find that the Computer History Museum has the manual and they are seeing if they can dig it up, but if I can get a full copy or if someone has one locally that would be better. If someone did have one I'd be glad to scan it if possible and make it available. I also found some online posts where the original designer of this posted up original drawings and talked about the thoughts behind the design of it. Some pics of it on my web site as I cleaned it up here: https://www.junknet.net/2019/09/30/sperry-uniscope-100-terminal-acquired/ I also acquired some Sperry/Univac "Mapper" memorabilia at the same time, that I'll be posting up on my web site too. (Known today as BIS from Unisys) Thanks, Bags (aka Jeff G)

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Another great repair workshop
by Herb Johnson 30 Sep '19

30 Sep '19

http://www.retrotechnology.com/restore/vcfrepair_sep19.html I was going to post about my PDP-8/A repairs at the recent workshop; the linked WEb page has details. When I read Evan's post about his LEGO Logo Robo go-go work, I added some photos and links about that, to my Web page. I looked with effort on the Web for "da schematic" for the motor controller, the thing that was "jumpered" in posted discussion. I was surprised to NOT find it. There's info on the Apple II interface card already, as discussed. Odd someone with skills, hasn't drawn this already. There's the usual reasons, mostly like these things are already available for tens of dollars used. Ah - this Web page is informative: http://lukazi.blogspot.com/2014/07/lego-legos-first-programmable-product.ht… Regards, Herb "copper trace" Johnson -- 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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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] A little electronics hack
by Evan Koblentz 30 Sep '19

30 Sep '19

Big squiggly area in the center of the second (bottom) image. On Mon, Sep 30, 2019, 1:48 PM Mark Whittington <markwhi(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DGOlTkGXj_Q/U8-T2uBG5iI/AAAAAAAAATY/7ra6gVkSKg8/… > > > https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6RLSsFHgMgY/U8-TzfBRxOI/AAAAAAAAATQ/NeiKlqHPevs/… > > Out of curiosity (and assuming I've found the right board images), do you > happen to know where the circuit that Neville identified as faulty is on > these images? Also, I've found a couple of these units for sale in the US > for ~$85 and in the UK for ~$50 that might be useful for backup or reverse > engineering purposes. > > Cheers, > > -Mark > > On Mon, Sep 30, 2019 at 12:57 PM Evan Koblentz <evan(a)vcfed.org> wrote: > >> >> Looks like someone on this list has already done the legwork on this >> as of 2016... https://www.glitchwrks.com/2016/09/12/lego-logo-interface >> <https://www.glitchwrks.com/2016/09/12/lego-logo-interface> >> >> No - that's the card for connecting the computer to the interface box. >> That schematic already existed and we didn't have the card, so Jonathan >> (Glitch) built one for us. That is what you see documented. In the current >> thread I am referring to the interface box itself. There is more info on my >> personal website at http://www.mindsbeforethestorm.com/8bit_hardware.php. >> >> >> >> On Mon, Sep 30, 2019, 11:16 AM Mark Whittington <markwhi(a)gmail.com> >> wrote: >> >>> Looks like someone on this list has already done the legwork on this as >>> of 2016... >>> >>> https://www.glitchwrks.com/2016/09/12/lego-logo-interface >>> >>> On Mon, Sep 30, 2019 at 9:13 AM Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic < >>> vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: >>> >>>> >> If you're interested in investigating further if you point us to >>>> schematics we can give suggestions. >>>> >>>> I am giving the box to Neville in early November (don't want to risk it >>>> not >>>> working before the Brickfair NJ event the first weekend of that month). >>>> He >>>> agreed to my request to make a schematic of it. >>>> >>>> The next step will be to have someone else take his schematic, build >>>> one, >>>> and send it back to me for testing. That'll prove that the box can in >>>> fact >>>> be built from just the plans. After that I'll post it on my website. >>>> >>>> A possible third stage would be to make modern improvements, if any >>>> ideas >>>> stand out. >>>> >>>> I'm only interested in the function, not in replicating the physical >>>> case. >>>> But what I would avoid is replacing the vintage computer with a >>>> microcontroller. I'm all for a better interface but strictly against >>>> some >>>> non-vintage computer experience. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On Mon, Sep 30, 2019, 8:43 AM David Gesswein via vcf-midatlantic < >>>> vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: >>>> >>>> > > >> It's called a 'crowbar' circuit. Prevents things from burning >>>> up. >>>> > > >>>> > >>>> > What I normally called a crowbar circuit is the overvoltage protection >>>> > where it intentionally shorts the output of the power supply. This >>>> sounds >>>> > more like over current protection. >>>> > >>>> > > What are common reasons why those stop working? Neville and I >>>> didn't see >>>> > > any obvious signs of damage to it. >>>> > > >>>> > Either component value shift or failed component. You indicated that >>>> it is >>>> > driving the motors better than it ever has. It may also be your motors >>>> > are a heavier load than it was intended to drive. >>>> > >>>> > If you're interested in investigating further if you point us to >>>> schematics >>>> > we can give suggestions. >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > > On Sun, Sep 29, 2019, 1:56 PM Mike Loewen < >>>> mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us> >>>> > > wrote: >>>> > > >>>> > > > On Sun, 29 Sep 2019, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic wrote: >>>> > > > >>>> > > > > Neville noticed something that I wouldn't have. The circuitry >>>> > contains a >>>> > > > > safety mechanism to shut off all power if the current jumps too >>>> high, >>>> > > > such >>>> > > > > as a kid inserting a paper clip. There's probably a technical >>>> name >>>> > for >>>> > > > that >>>> > > > > but I do not know it. Anyway, for unknown reasons this circuit >>>> was >>>> > > > kicking >>>> > > > > in! He jumped it with an equal-length wire. :) >>>> > > > >>>> > > > It's called a 'crowbar' circuit. Prevents things from >>>> burning up. >>>> > > > >>>> > > > >>>> > > > Mike Loewen >>>> mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us >>>> > > > Old Technology >>>> > http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/ >>>> > > > >>>> > >>>> >>>

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A little electronics hack
by Evan Koblentz 30 Sep '19

30 Sep '19

Yesterday at the workshop I took out the Laser 128 and circa-1987 Lego electronic parts. They'd been packed away since Maker Faire last year. My new robot barely worked, despite being almost identical to the old robot and running the same software. I found a loose wire connector which Ian fixed. Still had a lot of problems. Neville (a retired EE who first joined the old MARCH group in the mid-2000s and recently came back) started testing things with a meter and scope. He figured out that some of the interface box outputs were only producing half their usual power. We opened the box (a couple of years ago I swapped its plastic rivets for screws). Nothing seemed wrong. It was clean and all of the capacitors looked good for 30+ years old. Neville noticed something that I wouldn't have. The circuitry contains a safety mechanism to shut off all power if the current jumps too high, such as a kid inserting a paper clip. There's probably a technical name for that but I do not know it. Anyway, for unknown reasons this circuit was kicking in! He jumped it with an equal-length wire. :) We tried the robot again. What a difference! Even before it stopped working last year, the motors always seemed kind of weak. I just assumed that was normal because I never knew it any other way. Now I see what normal is supposed to be. The motors run MUCH stronger! It's an amazing improvement. Neville also resoldered a loose LED connector and one suspect cold joint. So I'm a happy camper. The electronics for this set are running better than ever, which means I can focus on the Lego side and the software. I'm giving a big presentation about all of this Lego stuff on Friday, Nov. 1 at Brickfair NJ and then exhibiting it there Saturday and Sunday. Now I do not have to worry so much about the demo aspect failing.

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much ado about chording keyboards
by Jeffrey Jonas 30 Sep '19

30 Sep '19

Here are my chording keyboard references: Start with Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chorded_keyboard Douglas Engelbart's chording keyboard looked like piano keys: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mother_of_All_Demos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJDv-zdhzMY "The Mother of All Demos is a name given retrospectively to Douglas Engelbart's December 9, 1968, demonstration of experimental computer technologies that are now commonplace. The live demonstration featured the introduction of the computer mouse, video conferencing, teleconferencing, hypertext, word processing, hypermedia, object addressing and dynamic file linking, bootstrapping, and a collaborative real-time editor." Here's a product with a chording keyboard: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwriter The Microwriter is a hand-held portable word-processor with a chording keyboard. First demonstrated in 1978, it was invented by UK-based, US-born film director Cy Endfield ... Take a chording keyboard and wrap it around a stick or put it on a small hand-held remote and you have a keyer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyer or a "Twiddler", intended for wearable computers: https://twiddler.tekgear.com/ The Twiddler has been "reinvented" as a cordless motion sensor wearable https://www.tapwithus.com/ as discussed here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17557593 Everything old is new again! -- jeff jonas

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Another great repair workshop
by Matt Patoray 30 Sep '19

30 Sep '19

Nice work Tony, Sadly the issue with so many of the Next mono megapixel displays is that the tubes are just low emissions. Since the monitors were powered on and running as long as the machines were powered on. This was not as much of an issue with the Philips and Hitachi color monitors as they were not powered form the CPU and had a power switch and could be turned off. You can boost the screen voltage to try and compensate for that, but it is just a temporary fix. Once tubes get to a point of real low emissions even the screen voltage boost will not help, and then you just end up with a cloudy out of focus mess. Sometimes you can try a rejuvenation of the tube with a CRT tester like the Sencore CR-70 or the Sencore CR-7000 (if you have deep pockets). it is not recommended to use B&K CRT testers for their restore function as it is rather harsh and sometimes can blow the cathode apart rendering the tube useless. As of right now, there is no company that is rebuilding CRT's (but the effort to start rebuilding down in Columbus Ohio at the Early Television Museum is moving forward). So that may be an option in the next few years. On Mon, Sep 30, 2019 at 8:05 AM Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > The two museum NeXT printers and two Megapixel displays are now tagged > with their working state. One monitor just required a little manual > adjustment and focus and is now a viable replacement for the one on display > if it’s ever needed or can be used for one of the three NeXTstations VCF > has if we ever display them. Both printers need work, but replacement toner > cartridges are available (They use HP laserjet II or equivalent cartridges) > and intake rollers can be had as well. I’ve never done it but know it’s > been done before. > > One monitor is working but needs some attention from the Monitor Whisperer > (hi Ian!) to get the image bright enough again to be useable. I spoke with > Ian and Connor at the workshop and we talked about maybe doing a NeXTfest > at a future workshop to get everything working (or at least starting the > process) plus bringing any of our own NeXT machines to work on as well. > > > Tony > -- Matt Patoray Owner, MSP Productions KD8AMG

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Another great repair workshop
by Jeffrey Brace 30 Sep '19

30 Sep '19

Many got things fixed, a few are still working on some. Bill and Duane did some more work on the Univac. They will report on this in a few days as they are extending their repairs another two days. Ian fixed the museum's Amiga monitor and Apple 2 monitor. We had a nice BBQ Saturday night. How about others share what they worked on? The next repair workshop is November 9 & 10 and it will be in the CDL (formerly IXR) building. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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RIP Adam Rosen
by Evan Koblentz 29 Sep '19

29 Sep '19

Adam Rosen, known for his Vintage Mac Museum website, died at just 53. He exhibited at VCF East a couple of times. Really nice guy. I was sad to read this article today. https://www.cultofmac.com/655174/adam-rosen-vintage-mac-museum

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Next Repair Workshop 11/9 & 11/10
by Jeffrey Brace 29 Sep '19

29 Sep '19

By popular demand the next VCF repair workshop will be ... Nov 9 & 10 This time it will not be in the usual spot: 9032A (not available due to holiday model train show setup. It will be in 9059 which is CDL (Computer Deconstruction Lab: The hackerspace by the entrance). Here is the signup sheet: < https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Le5_EtutRBgnOc9_4gLxJb7CGGEpIuTQWjZ… > -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Breakfast tomorrow
by Jeffrey Brace 28 Sep '19

28 Sep '19

OB diner at 9AM -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Vote Nov Repair Workshop preference
by Jeffrey Brace 27 Sep '19

27 Sep '19

5 votes for Nov 9/10 0 votes for Nov 2/3 Anyone for Nov 16/17? Last call -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Q-Bus data acquisition boards?
by Neil Cherry 27 Sep '19

27 Sep '19

I donate a Vax ee00 or 3400 to the VCF Museum and that had a DAC or ADC board in it. It was a hlf height board. Not sure what the Museum did with it, or the Vax. I never could identify the board. It had a huge 64 pin chip on it and I think a BNC connector. I didn't respond directly to the thread as I don't know how it can be transfered from the Museum to anything else. The laws are pretty strict on that kind of stuff. -- 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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Q-Bus data acquisition boards?
by Richard Cini 27 Sep '19

27 Sep '19

I’m getting back to playing with my 11/23 and I was wondering is anyone could recommend a good board or boards for simple AD and straight digital data acquisition? Maybe even a combo board? The backplane is a Q18/CD (too chicken to convert it to Q22). Thanks! Rich Get Outlook for iOS<https://aka.ms/o0ukef>

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InFo RePaIr WoRkShOp Sep 2019 - 9/28 & 9/29
by Jeffrey Brace 26 Sep '19

26 Sep '19

As a reminder the workshop is $10 *per* person, *per* day. Sorry this is InfoAge's rule and not our decision. So that means for two days it is $20. Sign up quickly to guarantee a table. DATE: September 28 & 29 LOCATION: InfoAge Building 9032A (usual workshop room) - (2201 Marconi Road, Wall Township, NJ) TIME: Start about 10 A.M. on Saturday and ends whenever we go to sleep. End about 5 P.M. on Sunday. (Starts around 10 A.M. Sunday morning) SIGNUP: < https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pLLZqlotJBRhPYNQtIMZ70FoW6Yw2ycCj5I… > 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) when you get there so that I don't forget. Credit cards accepted. I will be using VCF's PayPal Here tablet with bluetooth credit card machine. 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 one or two power cords as these are often forgotten by people. DRINKS: You should bring your own. I would recommend bringing a cooler of some type. FOOD: Bring your own, but we will usually order pizza or go out to eat for dinner. If the weather is nice, then we might cook burgers out back. GATE: During the hours from 1 pm to 5 pm close the front gate behind you. We want museum visitors to go to the front lobby and not wander through the middle of the campus. Outside of those times, you can feel free to leave the gate open. PARKING: Park in the main parking lot, unless you are unloading in front of 9059. InfoAge doesn't like us parking on the lawn anymore. QUESTIONS? Contact Jeff: 732-759-1783 jeffrey(a)vcfed.org Have fun everyone! -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Old Original Mac Computers, keyboards in Labertsville NJ
by Christian Liendo 26 Sep '19

26 Sep '19

https://cnj.craigslist.org/sys/d/lambertville-old-original-mac-computers/69… This is not mine, but I figured someone is interested

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This is the coolest thing. Fixing broken/missing plastic with baking soda and super glue.
by corey cohen 25 Sep '19

25 Sep '19

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1meoZaHYZo

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Repair workshop 9/28 & 9/29
by Jeffrey Brace 24 Sep '19

24 Sep '19

We have twelve signed up so far. We have room for more. Here is the link: < https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pLLZqlotJBRhPYNQtIMZ70FoW6Yw2ycCj5I… > Evan won't be there Sunday because he is doing a family thing, but I will. For Saturday lunch we will get pizza from a different place, my local favorite: Attilio's of Tinton Falls. I don't know why we didn't get pizza from here before. It is only 7 minutes away. For Saturday dinner, we will cook burgers again. For Sunday breakfast, we will be going to the OB diner and meeting at 9AM. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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