- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] This is the coolest thing. Fixing broken/missing plastic with baking soda and super glue.
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 24 Sep '19

24 Sep '19

Chris Fala via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> writes: >I have used this professionally. Very durable. > >https://www.bonanza.com/listings/Rawn-35105-Plas-T-Pair-Plastic-Repair-Kit-… Is this brittle when cured? That's the problem the the CA/NaHCO3. Typically, I mold parts from epoxy and microballoons. This is, however, not flexible either but extremely strong.

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OT: I need a (modern) Mac keyboard
by Evan Koblentz 23 Sep '19

23 Sep '19

As the subject line says ... anybody have a spare they can bring to the workshop on Saturday?

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Tandy Assembly
by Mike Loewen 23 Sep '19

23 Sep '19

http://www.tandyassembly.com/ Who else is going to TA2019 in Springfield, OH next weekend? I'll be there with my 6000HD, running my original BBS code from 1986, plus a greatly improved back-ported version from Linux in 1996. Ian Mavric from Australia is bringing lots of goodies for vintage TRS-80s. Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] A November repair workshop?
by Jeffrey Brace 23 Sep '19

23 Sep '19

OK. How many vote for Nov 2 & 3? Nov 9 & 10? On Sun, Sep 22, 2019 at 4:39 PM Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > >> I'm looking to schedule one more workshop for the calendar year 2019. > >> I was thinking November 2 & 3. > >> What do you guys think? > >> Is there any conflict with any other events? > > Duh, November 3rd is my birthday. That’ll be a huge conflict for thousands > of people...... or one...... actually I’d rather be at the workshop on my > birthday!! Been at drydock with one of the boats every year on my birthday > for the last 25+ years!! > > The 9th and 10th would work better for me. Better chance of me not still > being in drydock through that weekend. > > Tony > -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Still need more museum docents
by Evan Koblentz 23 Sep '19

23 Sep '19

It's quantum: we are desperate for more museum docents (because Jeff B. and company deserve breaks too), however we're simultaneously selective about who we'll let be a docent (because it's largely a public relations job). The last time we asked, there were mixed results: - A bunch of people said, "I'd love to, but..." - One person sincerely volunteered, but we said "No, thank you" because we couldn't in good conscience let him travel that far (a couple of states away) just for four hours of volunteering. - One or two others also volunteered, but didn't keep their commitment. So if you're interested in being a tour guide and are smart, outgoing, reliable, professional, and know a lot about computer history, then email Jeff B. (jeffrey(a)vcfed.org) to explain your interest. He will talk about it with me, Corey, and Dean for approval.

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Important: I'm taking a break
by Evan Koblentz 22 Sep '19

22 Sep '19

Everyone, I decided to take a break from most VCF stuff, starting now and lasting until Festivus. I am very busy with my new job and way behind on commitments to myself and others in non-VCF aspects of life. I haven't really had a break from MARCH-turned-VCFed since it all began in 2004, not counting a couple of weeks in 2010 for a family emergency. So here's what will happen during the next couple of months: - I will still lead our Bells Labs demo next month and will give my lecture + demo at Brickfair NJ in November. I've been looking forward to both of these events! - Dean will lead the VCF table at Jersey Shore Makerfest next month. - Jeff B. will continue his museum docenting and will arrange to fill the gaps. Corey will take most of the Wednesdays. - I'll be at the workshop this Saturday to finish my rebuilt Lego robot (the old one broke at the end of Maker Faire last fall). - I'm not going dark. I will chime in here sometime, may even stop by the museum once or twice, and will be available to whomever needs my help. But our board of directors will continue their work in my absence, still consulting with me on any major decisions. - I told Jeff B. and Corey and Dean not to let me find the museum/warehouse in shambles when I get back in December. :) Their job is to keep it humming, not to change anything big. - For non-major questions / problems / comments / event planning / etc., contact any of them (Corey / Jeff B. / Dean) ... but as I said, anyone can reach me if needed, I'm sure you will all agree that this is a much-deserved break after 15 years of leading the group. My passion and ambition for what we do remains high, but my availability is much lower and my energy has ups/downs. Right now the latter is kind of in down cycle. Looking forward to seeing some of you next Saturday, and at the Bell Labs event, and then of course at Festivus. I'll answer any questions here or in private, but please don't press me for any specific details about what prompted this, etc. ... I just need some time away from it. Thanks, -Evan K.

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A November repair workshop?
by Jeffrey Brace 22 Sep '19

22 Sep '19

I'm looking to schedule one more workshop for the calendar year 2019. I was thinking November 2 & 3. What do you guys think? Is there any conflict with any other events? -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Repair workshop 9/28 & 9/29
by Jeffrey Brace 22 Sep '19

22 Sep '19

On Sun, Sep 22, 2019 at 3:22 PM Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > Trying to get there on Sunday. No way I can go Saturday but ill know in a > day or two if I can be there Sunday. > No problem. I will save a spot for you. > Tony > > Sent from my iPhone > > > On Sep 22, 2019, at 3:00 PM, Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > > 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 > > -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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new acquisition: Intel SBC 80/10+SBC-108
by Herb Johnson 21 Sep '19

21 Sep '19

> It seems to be "industrial strength" - I'm sure these were priced above the affordability threshold for most hobbyists... Glenn, suffice it for me to say, as a digital engineer from the 1970's, that while Multibus systems when new, were not cheap; in the era, early digital computing technology (microprocessor or minicomputer), wasn't cheap either. And in due course, Multibus and other industrial-bus microcomputers, became "hobbyist"; and are hobbyist today, notwithstanding some legacy industrial uses still going on. But just because some 1970's computers were industrial, doesn't mean they didn't have a "hobby" impact or had early hobby activity. Just as college students "hacked" on expensive computers at their colleges, so did engineers and techs do the same at the time - either at work or when these systems became surplus. And today, there's a number of people "hobbying" on Multibus computers; and other such systems too. Certainly so, on the minicomputers preceding the microprocessor-based "boxes". I think to someone born after say 1995, all these "rows of boards in ugly boxes" look the same - S-100, Multibus, VMEbus, STDbus, SS-50, OSI, DEC, etc. So it disappoints me, when I see any of them referenced as "non-hobby" for one reason or another, past or present. It's my era to defend. Regards, Herb 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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Slightly off topic - USAF to retire LCC systems using 8" floppy drives.
by Martin Flynn 20 Sep '19

20 Sep '19

https://www.nonproliferation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/180409-nc3-is-t… "The LCC Block Upgrade is an overall modification effort that replaces multiple LCC components to include a modern data storage replacement for floppy disks. We expect a contract to be awarded this year with production in 2018 and deployment in 2019"

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] new acquisition: Intel SBC 80/10+SBC-108
by Michael Thompson 20 Sep '19

20 Sep '19

> > Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2019 18:45:16 -0400 > From: "Glenn Roberts" <glenn.f.roberts(a)gmail.com> > Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] new acquisition: Intel SBC 80/10+SBC-108 > > I've acquired an Intel SBC 80/10 and the associated SBC-108 I/O RAM > expansion board plus a card cage. These appear to date to '76 and, as I > understand it, were the beginning of what eventually became branded as the > Intel Multibus (later an IEEE standard). These have ceramic Intel chips. > Look to be in pretty clean shape. I've found manuals/docs on the internet > for the SBC 80/10 but not the expansion board. > * Glenn > The manual for the SBC-108 is here: http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/intel/iSBC/980277B_SBC_104_Memory_IO… Decades ago I ported CP/M 3.0 to that processor board. I had a framebuffer for the console and 128k of RAM. I used the parallel port to control the upper memory address lines for the memory paging. -- Michael Thompson

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Sep Repair Workshop 2019 - 9/28 & 9/29
by Jeffrey Brace 20 Sep '19

20 Sep '19

Signup here for the September 28 & 29 VCF Repair workshop: < https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pLLZqlotJBRhPYNQtIMZ70FoW6Yw2ycCj5I… > -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] ESIX System V
by Kenneth Seefried 19 Sep '19

19 Sep '19

TL;DR: Definitely worth preserving. If no one else, the guy at https://virtuallyfun.com/ is into various versions of i386 Unix. Long Version: I worked for a hardware OEM and some related firms in the golden days of SVR4 on i386. I ran daily pretty much all of them, installed them daily/weekly, beat my head on the desk frequently. We had source trees for virtually all of these which we spent a *lot* of time pouring through. Code was written and debugged. My $DAYJOB was driver/integration/testing/admin work on this stuff. > "*ESIX* - Esix System V Release 4.0 unifies all major versions and > derivatives of UNIX such as AT&T System V Release 3.2, Berkeley Software > Distribution (BSD) 4.2 and 4.3, SCO UNIX 3.2, and Microsoft XENIX. In > addition, key features of Sun Microsystems SunOS? have been incorporated. " > > That's pretty much a generic description of System V release 4 for i386. It was obviously replacing SVR3, Xenix & SCO. Hard to not pull in 4BSD. The reference platforms for SVR4 were i386 and SPARC, so yeah, key features of SunOS were in there. > Everex did more than distribute it; they started with AT&T SysV, wrote > most of the drivers, and integrated the BSD extensions. > > They might have written the the drivers for some Everex specific hardware, but unless you have some evidence, the Everex source code I saw was pretty much stock SVR4/i386. Certainly nothing I'd call "most" of the drivers. Or even "a few". I think there was was some Everex motherboard specific tweaks (didn't they have their own spin on a memory or cache controller? Something like that...I forget.) and a disk controller or two. But it's been nearly 30 years, so I could be wrong. And exactly what BSD extensions did they integrate that weren't part of stock SVR4? I don't recall that "#ifdef ESIX" was a thing. Wow. If all of that is true, then this would seem to be a very desirable > unix system. Maybe even the holy grail of unixes. However the devil is in > the details. Maybe it had some flaws? I hadn't heard of it, but with those > collection of features, you would think it would be extremely well known > (maybe it is, maybe I'm cloistered) > > Historical Context: Given a couple of competent Unix savvy hackers, it was pretty easy to bring up the reference SVR4 on any random, suitably generic i386 (486, 586) motherboard and common I/O boards; there were drivers already for the common chipsets and a lot of (E)ISA devices. And there were a number of consultancies who would do the port for you for a modest fee. So lots of vendors paid a few bucks so they could say "see....we got Unix too!". Good times. ESIX was an "you-get-an-A-for-effort" SVR4/i386. They had some really good, dedicated folks who worked very hard. They tried to take it up a notch above a generic SVR4 distro. Everex wanted to be considered more "workstation" than "bog standard generic PC box". But they never had very many folks working on Unix, and never with many resources. There were a tiny handful of technical support people (like, 3-4 maybe), which was rough (even for Unix savvy customers). For me, it wasn't the holy grail. YHGMV. Compare it to Dell SVR4, which clearly had much more investment and actually had things they did that no one else did: a reasonably well resourced support organization (mostly of the time), tuned drivers, a nifty and actually useful auto-configuration system, an X11 "office suite" of apps (admittedly, not that great), a curated selection of Open Source tools (like gcc, perl, emacs, tex) on the distro tape at a time when downloading and compiling such things wasn't always trivial (and, like Solaris 2, you otherwise had to pay for a C compiler). That was my daily driver for years...really nice for the time. Still turned out to not be a viable product in the long run, but that's a different story. KJ

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new acquisition: Intel SBC 80/10+SBC-108
by Glenn Roberts 19 Sep '19

19 Sep '19

I've acquired an Intel SBC 80/10 and the associated SBC-108 I/O RAM expansion board plus a card cage. These appear to date to '76 and, as I understand it, were the beginning of what eventually became branded as the Intel Multibus (later an IEEE standard). These have ceramic Intel chips. Look to be in pretty clean shape. I've found manuals/docs on the internet for the SBC 80/10 but not the expansion board. Intel marketing Brochure: http://www.dvq.com/docs/brochures/intel_sbc_80_10.pdf Pictures: SBC: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Wce5PACtp6JkkP5BA SBC-108: https://photos.app.goo.gl/UeRDbjihvvZnm7ZH7 cage: https://photos.app.goo.gl/o5rBtYn7kSxmuCjS8 Wondering if anyone has any particular insight, memories, experience, advice to share. Is this a particularly rare find? I'd like to power it up - I believe it has a simple monitor in ROM. Tx. * Glenn

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I'm New
by Ryan Burke 18 Sep '19

18 Sep '19

Hello all, My name is Ryan and I am glad to be a part of VCF. I've been collecting for over a year now and it quickly became my favorite hobby. I was turned onto this by some people I know in a discord server, and I'm glad to find some hands on help to some of my problems I've been having. I am looking forward to attending this workshop because there is nothing interesting going on in Maryland related to vintage computing. I've collected some interesting stuff over the past year including some IBM 5150s, an Xt and an AT, multiple C64s, and an Apple II. My interests are pretty much anything earlier than 1990 but I can't pass up a good deal. As I said earlier I'm pretty new to all this, but I'm getting the hand of soldering and I've fixed some small stuff and replaced chips in a C64. I'm quite eager to learn! Thanks for reading Ryan

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] I'm New
by Ryan Burke 17 Sep '19

17 Sep '19

Matt, This Apple ][+ functions great actually, I just needed to clean it. The monitor works perfectly as well.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] I'm New
by Ryan Burke 17 Sep '19

17 Sep '19

Thanks Matt I have an Apple ][+, in great shape. I've got all the paperwork and original sales reciepts for it, and some software. It has the Apple /// Monitor and stand. I've fixed 2 C64 so far, almost done with another 2. The IBMs I have take up a lot of space, I need to find more room

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Craigslist Commodore Monitor Box.. No Monitor
by Christian Liendo 16 Sep '19

16 Sep '19

For someone looking for an original box This is not mine, contact the person directly https://cnj.craigslist.org/sop/d/piscataway-commodore-cm-141-monitor-box/69…

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SGI Challenge
by Stephen A Edwards 14 Sep '19

14 Sep '19

Just found an SGI Challenge in the garbage. It's a deskside monster, too big for my collection, but it's a shame to let it just disappear. Let me know if you're interested in picking it up. FOB New York, Manhattan, Columbia University

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Welcome!
by Dean Notarnicola 14 Sep '19

14 Sep '19

Thank you, Steven! Hope to see you at a workshop soon! On Sat, Sep 14, 2019 at 2:15 PM Steven Mac84 <mac84tv(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Hello Dean and everyone on the VCF list! > > Please allow me introduce myself, my name is Steve. I reconnected with > Dean and the lovely folks running the VCF east booth at the New Jersey > Trenton Computer Festival back in March of this year. I'm sorry it took me > so terribly long to send this email. I'm also sad I missed the past VCF > event this summer, but I hope to make it to the next VCF east! > > As I mentioned to Dean I'm mostly into older Apple machines, along with > some 8-bit Atari and Commodore stuff mixed in. I have a collection of over > 100 vintage Apple machines, ranging from the Apple II series, the infamous > Apple III, and various 6800-powered Macintoshes all the way up to the > PowerPC line, including G3s, G4s, G5s, and even some early Intel models. > Although I specialize in Apple stuff, I'm not a "fan boy" and enjoy many > other systems. > > I have a small YouTube channel where my focus is on the restoration, > history, and exploration of Apple Computer, Inc. - along with other > technological fun that interests me (which is pretty much anything!) You > can check out my channel here if you are interested: > http://youtube.com/Mac84 > > I've been going to TCF since the early 2000s and enjoy attending when I > can. I'm currently working with the TCF board to catalog, organize and > archive photos from past events, as there deserves to be a cool archive of > events past. Hopefully we'll have a collection of old photos to share soon. > But feel free to contact me if you have any pictures or videos you'd like > to contribute to the archive. > > Happy computing! :-) > -Steve (of Mac84) > > On Sat, Mar 23, 2019 at 3:11 PM Dean Notarnicola <dnotarnicola(a)gmail.com> > wrote: > >> Please introduce yourself to the list >> >> vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org >> >> >>

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[OT] Anyone From the DC Area Want a Ride to VCF MW?
by J. Alexander Jacocks 12 Sep '19

12 Sep '19

All, My daughter and wife are sick, and so are not going with me to VCF MW, this weekend. Does anyone from the DC area need a ride? I’m also up for picking someone up along the way from Maryland to Chicago. - Alex

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Sat. 14
by Dean Notarnicola 09 Sep '19

09 Sep '19

I will be there as Docent on the 14th, however I'm not sure how much help I can be, as I'm not intimately familiar with either system and I'm not extremely skilled in component level repair. Your best bet will most likely be to come to the next workshop on September 28 & 29. Regards, Dean On Mon, Sep 9, 2019 at 3:07 PM Fred Terry via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > I hope someone will be at the Museum Sat. 14 I could speak with > about help getting my Imsai 80/30 and Persci running again. I guess > I’ll be there after 11:00. > Fred Terry

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Sat. 14
by Fred Terry 09 Sep '19

09 Sep '19

I hope someone will be at the Museum Sat. 14 I could speak with about help getting my Imsai 80/30 and Persci running again. I guess I’ll be there after 11:00. Fred Terry

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OFF TOPIC - Frequency time base
by Evan Koblentz 09 Sep '19

09 Sep '19

>> Does anybody know if the museum has a time base generator, somewhere around 5, 10 or 20 MHz? (+-20hz) I need to calibrate a frequency counter We don't own anything like that. It is possible that NJARC (antique radio/TV group) or CDL (makerspace) has it. On Mon, Sep 9, 2019, 2:32 PM Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > >> On 9/8/19 8:55 PM, Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > >> Does anybody know if the museum has a time base generator, somewhere > >> around 5, 10 or 20 MHz? (+-20hz) > >> I need to calibrate a frequency counter. > > > > On Sep 8, 2019, at 11:06 PM, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > > > > If you make it to the Pittsburgh area, I can do NIST-traceable > > frequency calibration in my lab, to a whole lot tighter than 20Hz. (move > > that decimal point about six digits to the right, man!) > > > > Gratis for all of my friends here, of course. > > > > -Dave > > > > -- > > Dave McGuire, AK4HZ > > New Kensington, PA > > > > Thank you for the offer, > But I doubt I will be in that area anytime. > > I was hoping that somebody had a portable unit and might bring it to the > workshop. > and or maybe the museum had one somewhere, possibly in storage, I would > not be able to tell how accurate it is, but I'd give it a shot. > > Mike R. > > Sent from: > My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > > > >

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OFF TOPIC - Frequency time base
by Dave McGuire 09 Sep '19

09 Sep '19

On 9/8/19 8:55 PM, Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > Does anybody know if the museum has a time base generator, somewhere > around 5, 10 or 20 MHz? (+-20hz) > I need to calibrate a frequency counter. If you make it to the Pittsburgh area, I can do NIST-traceable frequency calibration in my lab, to a whole lot tighter than 20Hz. (move that decimal point about six digits to the right, man!) Gratis for all of my friends here, of course. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA

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ISO: Philips CDI 350/360 power supply
by Herb Johnson 09 Sep '19

09 Sep '19

> In search of a power supply for a Philips portable CDI 350 or 360. Look on eBay today. There's an auction for a complete unit. (A CD-ROM based gaming? device.) It has photos of the power supply. It's not cheap but it will inform you about the power supply. It appears there's voltage/current information on the bottom of the player/controller. It appears the power connector is uncommon. If so and you have to build a power supply, that's a challenge. Regards, Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Looking for drive bezels for Power mac 8100/8500/9500
by Matt Patoray 09 Sep '19

09 Sep '19

Hi all, I have started a restoration project to get my Power Mac 8500/180 DP up and running again. Part of that process will be a physical restoration which is already underway. To finish it out I need two drive bezels that never had for the machine. I am needing th CD-ROM and DAT drive bezels, does anyone have either that they are willing to sell me, all plastic tabs and nubs intact a plus but not 100% necessary (we all know how fragile early to mid 90's Apple plastic is). Thanks -- Matt Patoray Owner, MSP Productions KD8AMG

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Wireless RS-232 bridge
by Mike Loewen 08 Sep '19

08 Sep '19

Looking for a wireless RS-232 bridge to connect 2 serial ports over an indoor distance. Recommendations? Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

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OFF TOPIC - Frequency time base
by Sentrytv 08 Sep '19

08 Sep '19

Does anybody know if the museum has a time base generator, somewhere around 5, 10 or 20 MHz? (+-20hz) I need to calibrate a frequency counter. Sent from: My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device.

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ISO: Philips CDI 350/360 power supply
by Dean Notarnicola 08 Sep '19

08 Sep '19

In search of a power supply for a Philips portable CDI 350 or 360. Trying to restore one for my son, sadky it has a proprietary connector. Contact me off list. Thanks in advance! Dean

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Looking for DIP Sockets
by J. Alexander Jacocks 07 Sep '19

07 Sep '19

All, I’ve realized that my stock of IC sockets has become dangerously low. If anyone is looking to part with a significant quantity of varied narrow and wide standard pitch sockets, I’m interested. Of course, I’d prefer machine pin sockets, but beggars can’t be choosers. Thanks! - Alex

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Dec Ka670 bus?
by W2HX 07 Sep '19

07 Sep '19

Hi friends, I have been reading about the evolution of these vax processors starting at the KA630, KA650 etc. I just came across the KA670 which seems to have a new bus connector. Instead of the typical ABCD card edge connectors there is a 270 pin connector like a din or vme looking thing. Reading about it, apparently it still carries the Q22 bus, but also now has a memory bus (pmi? Gbus?) And a dssi bus. Very interesting! Anyone know if this type of backplane using these connectors has a name? Typically a bus is often synonymous with the physical connectors used, but in this case it is not. Not that it had to be but commonly it is. Any info on the bus such as history, evolution from the card edge used since the pdp-8 would be interesting. Thanks 73 Eugene W2HX Sent from Nine<http://www.9folders.com/>

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ESIX System V
by jsalzman＠gmail.com 07 Sep '19

07 Sep '19

Do a stack of ESIX System V disks mean anything to anybody here? My understanding is that it's Unix System V for AT&T. I am unable to read the disk contents outside of a PC disk drive.

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System Source Computer Museum Open House Featuring an Original Apple 1 - 9/18
by Mike Loewen 06 Sep '19

06 Sep '19

From Chris Riley at System Source: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 4 Sep 2019 15:01:54 -0500 From: Chris Riley <criley(a)syssrc.com> Subject: System Source Computer Museum Open House Featuring an Original Apple 1 - 9/18 You are invited to the System Source Computer Museum Open House! An original Apple 1 is our newest acquisition. Only 200 were built by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976-77. Ours is one of 10 on public display! Bring your teenagers! Bob Roswell, Co-Founder of System Source for 37 years and museum curator, will walk you down memory lane selecting from >1000 museum pieces including the: * Univac from early space missions * Original Ron Wayne documents selling his Apple shares back to the Steves * IMSAI from the movie "War Games" * IBM card punch and sorter * 7-foot slide rule * 3500 lb Linotype with single fonts weighing 40 lbs * TV watch from early James Bond movies * Bell Systems Picture Phone from the 1964 World's Fair * Pre-Industrial computing tools * Mechanical computing devices * First generation PCs - Altair and IMSAI * Second generation Apple, IBM and Compaq PCs We likely have the first few systems you worked on! This free and exciting tour with refreshments is Wednesday, September 18th from 3 - 7 pm at System Source in Hunt Valley. Kindly RSVP to attend and tour: 1st Tour 3:15pm to 4:00pm 2nd Tour 4:15pm to 5:00pm 3rd Tour 5:15pm to 6:00pm 4th Tour 6:15pm to 7:00pm Chris Riley Director criley(a)syssrc.com System Source 410.771.5544 x4331 PS - Want a fun, private field trip for your larger IT team? Email Michael Jones or call 410.771.5544 x4355 for arrangements. System Source | 338 Clubhouse Rd Hunt Valley, MD 21031

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Wanted: ATV Research Pixie-Verter
by William Sudbrink 05 Sep '19

05 Sep '19

Hi, For historical reasons (I'm starting to plan my VCF East 2020 exhibit) I'd like to get real ATV Research PXV-2A Pixie-Verter. I know that there were a lot of other RF modulators out there (I have a SUP "R" MOD II (that I might trade)) but I want this one in particular. Various S-100 boards and other vintage computer hardware available for trade or cash if necessary. Thanks, Bill Sudbrink --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Looking for a kid friendly 6502 assembly language book
by gsteemso 05 Sep '19

05 Sep '19

> mwillega said: > > I always recommend the MOS Technology hardware and software manuals as good starting points for understanding the 6502. Never seen anything better, when it comes to describing how the 6502 works and how to program it. Those two books are all I needed back in the 70s to come up to speed on 6502 assembly programming. Your mileage may vary. I confess to limited direct experience -- my only experience with teaching someone assembly language was teaching _myself_ -- but as far as I'm concerned, the late Jim Butterfield's books would be very hard to outdo. They're written on the assumption that the reader is using an 8-bit Commodore, with some insightful leveraging thereof to simplify tutelage, but the explanations of how and why each assembly-language instruction works are superlative. G.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Looking for a kid friendly 6502 assembly language book
by Andy Meyer 04 Sep '19

04 Sep '19

BTW, if you've got xscreensaver, there's a module called m6502 which looks like it might be useful for testing small 6502 programs. https://www.jwz.org/xscreensaver/ Andy

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Re: Looking for a kid friendly 6502 assembly language book
by mwillega 04 Sep '19

04 Sep '19

I always recommend the MOS Technology hardware and software manuals as good starting points for understanding the 6502. Never seen anything better, when it comes to describing how the 6502 works and how to program it. Those two books are all I needed back in the 70s to come up to speed on 6502 assembly programming. Your mileage may vary. Regards, Mike Willegal

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vcfed site intermittant/latency
by Bill Degnan 04 Sep '19

04 Sep '19

Hey all...Bill Degnan here sorry I have been out of pocket lately but I have a good reason. .dramatic pause to install wonder. Anyhoo, noticed the vcfed.org was not doing so well the hosting server is very slow to serve web pages. Bill

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Re: Looking for a kid friendly 6502 assembly language book
by Jeff G 03 Sep '19

03 Sep '19

I'd suggest some of the online emulators, like: https://skilldrick.github.io/easy6502/ or https://www.masswerk.at/6502/assembler.html The difference here is that these are pure 6502 and no hardware, which yeah does limit you but at least gets your feet wet, and more importantly, you see the status of the registers, memory, etc as you work with it, which isn't as easy on real hardware. >From there then you can perhaps choose a platform (Apple, Commodore, trainer, etc). What would be really cool, is to see if maybe that first link works for you..have him write some code, then transfer that to a real platform, perhaps even burn a rom (if you can) and see it in action. I did this to test the ram on the sound board of a pinball machine that was 6502 based - had it turn on an LED if the ram was bad (it was). Jeff (aka Bags)

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Eberhard correction
by Fred Terry 03 Sep '19

03 Sep '19

In an earlier email, I misspelled Martin Eberhard’s name. It should have been Eberhard who is the individual who wrote an excellent manual on the repair of the Persai 277 disc drive. Fred Terry

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Looking for a kid friendly 6502 assembly language book
by corey cohen 02 Sep '19

02 Sep '19

I’m going to try to see if my 12 year old son might want to learn 6502 assembly. He knows some basic but I want him to learn how computers really work which means he should learn assembly. All my assembly books assume a lot and I figure 6502 is basic enough since he won’t have to worry about memory segments and stuff like that. The best guideline I can think of is... if it’s a book Evan can learn to program in assembly on an Apple II, then it would be perfect for Ben to learn. @Evan, I think you’ll agree here. Thanks, Corey corey cohen uǝɥoɔ ʎǝɹoɔ Sent from my iPhone

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Martin Eberhard contact info
by William Sudbrink 02 Sep '19

02 Sep '19

Martin regularly posts to the "altair computer club", Cromemco and S-100 mailing lists. It would probably be polite to approach him through one of those lists. Bill S. --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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Martin Eberhard contact info
by Fred Terry 02 Sep '19

02 Sep '19

Can someone provide me an email address or other method to get in touch with Martin Eberhard? I have some very useful information for him. Thanks, Fred Terry

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Festivus Movies and a reminder (Dec. 7 & 8)
by Evan Koblentz 01 Sep '19

01 Sep '19

>> Do you guys make use of a projector to show on a large screen? Yes. We have an LED projector and a 100-inch portable screen. On Sat, Aug 31, 2019, 10:35 AM Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > Hey > Do you guys make use of a projector to show on a large screen? > > Sent from: > My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > > > On Aug 31, 2019, at 9:24 AM, Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > > As a reminder Festivus is Dec 7 & 8 starting at 10am Dec. 7 and ending > Dec. > > 8 at 5pm. > > Signup here: < > > > https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1x0oSxqZXh8tmqqbUsP3KS3OywiNsEAOOmtq… > >> > > > > So I have tried in the past to show movies in a separate room and found > few > > were interested. So my new thought is to show some TV shows and movies > with > > low volume on the cafeteria TV for anyone to watch and as mostly > background > > noise. Bernie S. gave me this idea. The idea is for casual viewing as > most > > people are interested in casual conversations, eating, drinking and > playing > > video games, but some might stop and look for a few minutes. > > > > The first DVD will be "Whiz Kids". A show in the 80's > > Bring whatever movies or suggestions to Festivus. > > I have the following streaming service accounts: Netflix, Amazon Prime > > Video, YouTube Premium, Disney+ > > -- > > ========================================= > > Jeff Brace > > Vice President > > Vintage Computer Federation > >

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Museum Report 2019-09-01 September 1, 2019
by Jeffrey Brace 01 Sep '19

01 Sep '19

A slow day at the museum with a few moderate interest people getting a half hour tour. And also a dozen light interest people. Bill Intereidden stopped by to size up parts for the rack that holds the TR-20. He is working on getting this machine working as well as improving the display. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Cool yet sad rescue coming up this fall
by Evan Koblentz 31 Aug '19

31 Aug '19

Everyone, Sometime this fall, we're going to rescue a pair of SGI cabinets from the Princeton University data center. SGI customized the cabinets in black and orange ... because Princeton Tigers. Their data center VP said these systems almost certainly can't ever run again. Too much disassembly already happened. So all he's promising us are the actual cabinets, not the remaining innards. However, he asked if we can help disassemble those remaining innards, in order to make the cabinets lighter/safer to move. I said what if we agree, but in exchange our guys get to keep those parts if desired? :) Waiting to hear back. I don't yet know much about the system. VP is asking some of his old-timers to write down its history for us. Here is a picture: https://tinyurl.com/y6ldajlb

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Festivus Movies and a reminder (Dec. 7 & 8)
by Evan Koblentz 31 Aug '19

31 Aug '19

>> Just curious, how many lumens Dunno On Sat, Aug 31, 2019, 12:30 PM Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > Evan > Just curious, how many lumens? > > Sent from: > My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > > On Aug 31, 2019, at 11:05 AM, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > >>> Do you guys make use of a projector to show on a large screen? > > > > Yes. We have an LED projector and a 100-inch portable screen. > > > > On Sat, Aug 31, 2019, 10:35 AM Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic < > > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > >> Hey > >> Do you guys make use of a projector to show on a large screen? > >> > >> Sent from: > >> My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > >> > >>> On Aug 31, 2019, at 9:24 AM, Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < > >> vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > >>> > >>> As a reminder Festivus is Dec 7 & 8 starting at 10am Dec. 7 and ending > >> Dec. > >>> 8 at 5pm. > >>> Signup here: < > >>> > >> > https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1x0oSxqZXh8tmqqbUsP3KS3OywiNsEAOOmtq… > >>>> > >>> > >>> So I have tried in the past to show movies in a separate room and found > >> few > >>> were interested. So my new thought is to show some TV shows and movies > >> with > >>> low volume on the cafeteria TV for anyone to watch and as mostly > >> background > >>> noise. Bernie S. gave me this idea. The idea is for casual viewing as > >> most > >>> people are interested in casual conversations, eating, drinking and > >> playing > >>> video games, but some might stop and look for a few minutes. > >>> > >>> The first DVD will be "Whiz Kids". A show in the 80's > >>> Bring whatever movies or suggestions to Festivus. > >>> I have the following streaming service accounts: Netflix, Amazon Prime > >>> Video, YouTube Premium, Disney+ > >>> -- > >>> ========================================= > >>> Jeff Brace > >>> Vice President > >>> Vintage Computer Federation > >> > >> > >

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OFF TOPIC movie
by Neil Cherry 31 Aug '19

31 Aug '19

On 8/28/19 6:42 PM, Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > the "this" network is a movie called "Runaway" (1984)A Movie about robots being programmed to go berserk. > > Starring Tom Selleck as the good guy and the part of the bad guy being played by, of all people, Gene Simmons of > KISS. > I don't think I ever heard of it back in the 80s. > Just thought somebody might want to watch it. NOoooooooo! That was a terrible movie then and I don't think you can mystery science theater it to improve it. ;-) -- 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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Festivus Movies and a reminder (Dec. 7 & 8)
by Jeffrey Brace 31 Aug '19

31 Aug '19

As a reminder Festivus is Dec 7 & 8 starting at 10am Dec. 7 and ending Dec. 8 at 5pm. Signup here: < https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1x0oSxqZXh8tmqqbUsP3KS3OywiNsEAOOmtq… > So I have tried in the past to show movies in a separate room and found few were interested. So my new thought is to show some TV shows and movies with low volume on the cafeteria TV for anyone to watch and as mostly background noise. Bernie S. gave me this idea. The idea is for casual viewing as most people are interested in casual conversations, eating, drinking and playing video games, but some might stop and look for a few minutes. The first DVD will be "Whiz Kids". A show in the 80's Bring whatever movies or suggestions to Festivus. I have the following streaming service accounts: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube Premium, Disney+ -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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