- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

Lee Felsenstein at VCF West
by Christian Liendo 02 Aug '22

02 Aug '22

Wow, that is going to be a good talk. He came to NJ once and it was a great experience.

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Workshop report
by Mike Loewen 02 Aug '22

02 Aug '22

Summary: the museum's HP 2117F now runs RTE-6/VM from the hard disc, and the 7970B tape drive is working. At this weekend's VCF workshop at Infoage, I worked on the museum's HP 2117F minicomputer. The last time I was there, I had copied an OS image to the 7912 hard drive, but it wouldn't boot. After consulting with my HP guru, we decided that the problem was likely the Time Base Generator Board (TBG). I pulled a TBG from one of the warehouse hangar queens, and ran diagnostics on it. Everything passed, and the machine booted RTE-6/VM from the hard disc. The 7970B 9-track tape drive had been untested, because the 2117F lacked the two-board interface for the drive. A gentleman from Sweden donated the boards, for the cost of shipping. I installed the boards, cleaned the tape head, path, and the capstan. Bill Dromgoole provided a scratch tape to use, and the drive loaded tape without a problem. I copied over an OS image with the tape drive configured, and was able to backup and restore files to the tape drive. The 7970B is an 800bpi drive, running at 45ips. I procured a cable to connect the 2621P terminal to the 2117F. The battery which maintains the terminal configuration has turned to powder, and it should be removed and the contacts cleaned. The battery is a Mallory TR133 (4.5V, 600mah, alkaline), or equivalent. It can be purchased from several online battery outlets. Because the terminal configuration is lost at power-off, the configuration screen appears at each power-on. The only two things that need to be changed are the baud (9600) and REMOTE mode enabled. The terminal's printer works. Rick brought in an HP 2622A terminal, which he was donating to the museum. He dusted it off and I swapped it in for the console terminal. It works! There's a fair amount of screen burn, but it's perfectly useable. It needs a good cleaning, and I'll have to make another cable adapter to connect to the 2117F. It also needs a battery. In future, we'll be able to have both terminals online for demos. Currently, power to the 2117F is being fed by power strips. It needs to be split across two power strips, as the current draw will trip the breaker on a single strip. Power to the individual units is all 110V. Ideally, the original 208V 3-phase power distribution scheme should be restored. The unit splits two phases out to two internal power strips, one to each cabinet. The individual units would then be plugged into those internal power strips and their power switches left on. A single button on the front of the CPU cabinet would then power on/off all connected equipment. Bill Dromgoole said he could check the wiring on the plug and figure out the best way to wire it into the breaker panel. I will be writing up detailed instructions for the docents to demo the system. Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] RR's Apple1 Prototype for Auction
by Ethan O'Toole 01 Aug '22

01 Aug '22

[NON-Text Body part not included] > Wozniak was the man and always will be!!!! > Bobby Truth. - E

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RR's Apple1 Prototype for Auction
by Andrew Diller 01 Aug '22

01 Aug '22

If you have some extra cash and are into these things: https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot-detail/345735106445006-steve-jobs-39… <https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot-detail/345735106445006-steve-jobs-39…> Of interest: "This Apple-1 prototype, listed as #2 on the Apple-1 Registry and considered 'lost' until recently, was examined and authenticated in 2022 by Apple-1 expert Corey Cohen. It is accompanied by Cohen's notarized thirteen-page report." Corey keeping busy! Does this boot to anything? -andy

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Breakfast Tomorrow
by Jeffrey Brace 30 Jul '22

30 Jul '22

We are meeting at 9AM at Blue Swan Diner-- ========================================= Jeff Brace VCF National Board Member Chairman & Vice President Vintage Computer Festival East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity https://vcfed.org/ <http://www.vcfed.org/> jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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HOPE 2022
by Christian Liendo 30 Jul '22

30 Jul '22

Who attended HOPE 2022? I didn't go but I'm looking for opinions on it

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT: time to downsize
by Bob Shuster 30 Jul '22

30 Jul '22

Just added: TRS-80 Model 1 systems, Model 4, two Color Computer 2 systems, plus related software and documentation. Please take a look again and see if there’s anything you’d be interested in - I know several people have asked about the Model 4! I’ll go through the TRS-80 related books next - there are a lot. The Model 4 set me back a while as I needed to repair the floppy power supply (thanks to some help here) and I’ve been playing with it since! I've been regularly marking the sold and sale pending items, thank you guys so much! And once again - many thanks to those who have adopted some of my babies so far. The link: http://www.theshusters.com/bobvintage.html <http://www.theshusters.com/bobvintage.html> Please don't share without asking me. Currently just open to this group - my contact info is intentionally missing from the webpages. If you can read this, you have my email. Email me with questions or offers! Please don't make offers on the list, but if you want to discuss my process and feel the group would benefit, then by all means knock yourself out! :) Bob Shuster (Original message below) ---- Well, folks, I've gotten to the age where I need to seriously downsize my hobbies and collections, not wanting to leave it to my children to have to deal with in later years. (I had to do that recently for a relative.) On the electronics side, I've decided to concentrate on my vintage video game systems - and therefore sell off most of my vintage computer stuff. My collection includes mostly 8-bit stuff: TRS-80 Models I, IV, M100, etc. - Atari 400, 800, Portfolio, ST, etc. - C64/VIC20 - T/S1000 (including an unbuilt kit), Apple II, II+, IIe, IIe Platinum, IIgs - Wang WLTC - Mattel Aquarius - TI-99/4A - many others that I still have to dig out - plus lots of peripherals, disks, manuals, etc. Also have some newer Macs starting with a Mac Plus in an Apple carrying bag. I'm starting with you guys before trying to list elsewhere, although I may hit some of the dedicated FaceBorg pages (such as for Aquarius and Apple II.) I'm willing to ship some of the smaller items, but in general systems or monitors will need to be picked up here (near the Fort Washington exit of the PA Turnpike) or nearby, and cash or PayPal for payment. I may also consider trades for some of the video game stuff I'm looking for. It pains me to do this, but the clutter is getting out of hand, and I haven't touched most of these in years. It's time for someone else to enjoy. Bob Shuster

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OT - Need help at Camp Evans
by Martin Flynn 30 Jul '22

30 Jul '22

CDL is deploying fiber to replace the problematic Ethernet over Coax (MOCA) feeds to the Hotel and the "H" buildings We will be on site next Saturday (08/06/2022) installing the fiber on the 9059 end of the run to the hotel. Work will involve adding the fiber to the existing bundle (to Building 9032), and cutting out the old ty-wraps. Plenty of trips up and down the stepladders. If you in a position to assist, please email me directly to keep the noise down on the list! Martin Flynn

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would you like to learn more?
by Jeffrey Jonas 30 Jul '22

30 Jul '22

There's a new book about women in computing history: https://www.amazon.com/Proving-Ground-Untold-Programmed-Computer/dp/1538718… Proving Ground: The Untold Story of the Six Women Who Programmed the World's First Modern Computer by Kathy Kleiman that belongs on the shelf aside the chronicles of Grace Hopper, the Secret Rosies, etc. Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars by Nathalia Holt

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Old office equipment up for grabs
by Jeffrey Brace 29 Jul '22

29 Jul '22

The Neptune Library had some very old office equipment and projectors that they need to dispose of. Here is a link to pictures in case anyone else has an interest: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1k6V1UCm5JSDciK_iKsMADV3MpS2EWqGN?us… If you are interested, then let me know and I will put you in contact with the proper person.

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