- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

VCF East Clinic kudos (soldering iron cleaning brass)
by Herb Johnson 10 May '22

10 May '22

[Regarding brass for soldering iron tip-cleaning.] https://www.testequity.com/category/Electronic-Production-Supplies/Solder-A… This is not "brass wool" which would be an abrasive mesh of dry, sharp fine brass wire. The Hakko product is apparently brass coiled ribbon (my words for it) that is *rosin coated* (fatty acid compound). Other products may have other coatings, or none. A stated virtue of brass over wet sponge is "the tip temperature is not reduced". The virtue of brass is that it's softer than most metals. Of course, melted solder is softer still so it removes excess solder from tips. Since it removes solder, it's likely it will accumulate loose solder splatter. That's likely why it's contained in a bowl or holder, to capture the material. This is all Web homework I did, not stuff I knew previously. Someone with industrial training in soldering, or some reference for that training, may be informative. 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 comcast DOT net

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OT: looking for Ryan’s (with the IMSAI at the workshop) email
by Crawford Griffith 10 May '22

10 May '22

Folks, I wanted to follow up with Ryan who had an IMSAI at the S-100 workshop at VCFE. Of course, In addition to not getting his last name, I didn’t get his email address before he left. If Ryan is on this list, please contact me via email, or if anyone else has his info, please send it to me. Thanks, Crawford

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] FS: Non-Linear Systems X-2 Nixie Meter
by Dave McGuire 09 May '22

09 May '22

On 5/9/22 19:22, Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > I have one of their multimeters! I have the model with the edge-lit displays. Gorgeous. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA

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FS: Non-Linear Systems X-2 Nixie Meter
by Jonathan Chapman 09 May '22

09 May '22

All, I don't usually post about test equipment here, but this one is made by Non-Linear Systems, so I figured there's enough overlap that folks might be interested: https://www.ebay.com/itm/275305278929 NLS is probably better known for the Kaypro series of computers, but they invented the digital multimeter back in the 1950s! Their first unit was an electromechanical beast, using stepping relays and edge-lit numerical displays. This is of course a later model, and is fully solid state, with Nixie tube displays. I went through the meter around three years ago, replaced a cap in the HV supply for the Nixie anode voltage, reformed the logic and analog supply caps, and cleaned up a previous repair that was causing excessive leakage on the 1000V range. A basic calibration was done following the manual, using a Fluke 343A DC Calibrator and a calibrated Fluke 8842A. Three years later, it's still holding calibration! Anyhow, I'm letting it go as I don't use it much, I have a number of Nixie meters, and though this one is both very nice and historically significant, it's DC-only. The option boards for AC and ohms conversion are not present. The schematics are available, and it'd be possible to recreate them on protoboard with the appropriate Elco connectors. Thanks, Jonathan

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Free stuff Weds Night (semi OT)
by Bill Degnan 09 May '22

09 May '22

This is s a follow up to my earlier email about the large lot of computer and some electronics/consumer items I am trying to offload here, the entire lot for $100: https://philadelphia.craigslist.org/sys/d/kennett-square-vintage-computers/… I have received some interest in some items, all offers considered. Some of the items are from the 80's, most are from the 90's and a few things are from the earlier 2000's. I get it that many consider a lot of this post-vintage. For those who are interested anyway - whatever does not sell it will be unceremoniously moved into the parking lot. At that point it will be free to a good home. What remains after that will be recycled. We're filming the museum on Thursday so it needs to be gone by then. Bill P.S. From a bargain collectors' standpoint - the strategy of picking up the nice things before everyone else considers them "vintage" has it's merits. That's what I do. Some of these CRTs will be hard to come by eventually. People are practially giving away late 486/early Pentium stuff now, but not forever.

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Looking for 16-bit ISA memory board
by Joseph Giliberti 09 May '22

09 May '22

Greetings all! I'm looking to expand the RAM in my IBM PC/AT and I'm having a hell of a time finding an expansion board. It has one megabyte onboard, but I'd like to get it to eight. It seems that everyone hung on to their 8-bit boards but nobody has 16-bit ones and the few that I found are barely populated. Does anyone here have such a board that they'd be willing to part with? Thanks in advance! Joe Giliberti

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OT - Anyone Want to Meet up in Nashville, This Week?
by Alexander Jacocks 08 May '22

08 May '22

I’m going to be at a conference this week, so if anyone wants to meet up, let me know. - Alex

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today's shelfware
by Jeffrey Jonas 08 May '22

08 May '22

Is anyone still using the Intel Edison or Galileo modules? I have spares to trade/swap. -- jeff jonas

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on topic and in tune but out of time :-)
by Jeffrey Jonas 07 May '22

07 May '22

I just stumbled upon the BBC archives https://www.youtube.com/c/BBCArchive/videos The first part is the radiophonic studio but then there's a delightful 80s computer with a light pen! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZuf0LIU-2A Peter Howell gives the DOCTOR WHO THEME an 80s REMIX | The Music Arcade | Making of | BBC Archive Peter Howell of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop demonstrates how he reimagined Ron Grainer's classic Doctor Who theme - which was first realised so startlingly by Delia Derbyshire and Dick Mills in the 1960s - to make it 'brighter and more modern sounding' for the 1980s. He uses modern polyphonic analogue synthesisers like the Yamaha CS-80, an ARP Odyssey Mk3 and a Roland Jupiter-4, a vocoder and an old, malfunctioning phase shifter unit he found in the back of the Workshop. Gent that he is, he then pops over to the Music Arcade studio to demonstrate the extraordinary new Fairlight CMI Series II synthesiser to the some kids from St Mary's Balham Primary School and hosts Tim Whitnall and Lucie Skeaping. This clip is from The Music Arcade: Electricity in Music. Originally broadcast 2 February, 1982.

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OT: Cool Ham Radio History
by Chris Fala 07 May '22

07 May '22

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

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