- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

Museum report
by Evan Koblentz 01 Sep '18

01 Sep '18

I was docent today. A moderate amount of visitors due to Labor Day weekend. Steve A. is docent tomorrow. It may have been sunny outside, but obviously our day was cloudy because of the news about Dan. A lone bright spot: Anthony S. dropped off those mysterious AT&T "Counterpoint" Unix workstations that I mentioned here a week or two ago. You'll recall that the person who donated them was a Bell Labs engineer. He said AT&T commissioned the design, about 1,000 were made, and most were bulldozed when the project got canceled. As far as he knows, the units donated to VCF today are probably the * last * ones around.

1 0

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Dan Roganti has logged off :(
by systems_glitch 01 Sep '18

01 Sep '18

I never had all that much interaction with Dan; actually I think most of the communications with him was via the Altair Owners' listserv. One of his last conversations with me was regarding a new RAM board that several Altair Owners' members had helped nail down and that I was laying out. Dan pushed for a simpler design, and to ignore some of the features requested as committed to copper in favor of a solid basic RAM board design and lots of prototype area, so that hobbyists could hack together what they wanted! That was ultimately what was decided: fewer base features, more prototype space. I just ran the first PCB prototype about a week and a half ago. It's not 100% ready for prime time yet, but I think Dan would be happy with how it's turned out, and I think the design is *much* better off thanks to his input during the design stage! If you end up with one of these RAM boards for your Altair 680, you have Dan to thank for it not taking *another* year to get wrapped up :) Thanks, Jonathan On Sat, Sep 1, 2018 at 2:10 PM Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > So let's all do something: please reply to this list message and share > your > > favorite Dan story! I can't wait to hear them. > > I only met Dan a handful of times since 2013 when I got involved with the > group. We had some great discussions at VCF East XII, probably the most > time I spent with him spread over a couple of days. > > I have to say as good as it was seeing him then, my favorite Dan story is > when I saw him last month at his Daughters home. I ended up spending about > 4 1/2 hours just shooting the shit with him talking about everything and > anything. His passion for computers in general and VCF and our Museum > specifically were as strong as ever, and much of our time was spent talking > about how things got to where they are today and where he hoped they would > go in the future. > > Probably the best 4+ hour long conversation I've had with anyone in quite > a long time. We laughed, we yelled about things that pissed us off, we > joked about Evan whenever possible ;-) (he really loved cracking jokes, not > just about Evan!) > > I'm also glad that while he didn't get to see them, he got to see pictures > of his apple II+ up and running and got the word I had resurrected his > original Apple II as well. He was very upset he could not get them for me > to bring home and fix when I saw him, but through the efforts of Dave > McGuire and Jeff Brace I was able to get them with enough time to at least > let him know they were breathing again and would be returned to his > daughters in the condition and with the accessories he requested. > > It was so little on my part but was at least something I could do. > > That conversation will remain with me forever as a fond memory of sitting > down hanging out with one of the nicer people I've met in my life. > > A tribute to Dan is how much of an impact he could have on people with the > smallest amount of contact. > > Tony

2 2

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Dan Roganti has logged off :(
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 01 Sep '18

01 Sep '18

Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> writes: > >Hey guys. > >I'm very sorry to announce that my good friend Ragooman took his last >breath this morning. :( EOT Dan. RIP.

1 0

2:00am BASIC epiphany
by Evan Koblentz 31 Aug '18

31 Aug '18

I had a spontaneous idea tonight for removing two lines of my Lego robot code. As usual, this epiphany on my part is probably TOTALLY FRIGGIN' OBVIOUS to most of you, but I'm proud that I figured it out on my own. :) Before, on the forklift robot, this was my code for checking the upper/lower touch sensors (limit switches) and moving the forklift motor appropriately. I had it at 9 lines (not counting REMarks) which was greatly reduced from Dan R.'s original 16 lines. 3010 IF PEEK (49249) > 127 AND PEEK(L) = 64 THEN RETURN 3020 IF PEEK (49249) > 127 THEN POKE L,16 3030 IF PEEK(L) = 80 THEN RETURN 3040 IF PEEK(49249) > 127 THEN GOTO 3020 3050 IF PEEK(49250) > 127 AND PEEK(L) = 128 THEN RETURN 3060 IF PEEK(49250) > 127 THEN POKE L,32 3070 IF PEEK(L) = 160 THEN RETURN 3080 IF PEEK(49250) > 127 THEN GOTO 3060 3090 RETURN Background: In that code, PEEK(49249) in Applesoft checks joystick button 0 and PEEK(49250) checks button 1. If their value is greater than 127 then you know they're currently being pressed. PEEK(L) checks the value at the address of the interface card. 64/128 are the sensors attached to ports (bits) 6 and 7, respectively. POKE L,16/32 turns on the motor (in opposite directions) that's attached via a connector spanned to ports 4/5. Lines 3030 and 3070 stop the motors if the sensors become active ** while ** the motor is moving, because then the total value being read from the interface box is sensor + the motor. The idea that popped into my head tonight: you can combine lines 3010/3020 into one, and also lines 3050/3060 into one, thereby reducing the routine by two lines and having the same effect. 3010 IF PEEK (49249) > 127 AND PEEK(L) <> 64 THEN POKE L,16 3020 IF PEEK(L) = 80 THEN RETURN 3030 IF PEEK(49249) > 127 THEN GOTO 3010 3040 IF PEEK(49250) > 127 AND PEEK(L) <> 128 POKE L,32 3050 IF PEEK(L) = 160 THEN RETURN 3060 IF PEEK(49250) > 127 THEN GOTO 3040 3070 RETURN So instead of saying, "Exit the routine if the lower/upper touch sensors are active, which we know is true if the value at address L is 64 or 128," instead I'm saying, "Turn on the motor ** ONLY IF ** the lower/upper touch sensors aren't active." I can't test it until this weekend at the soonest, but I am ** pretty sure ** it'll work -- or at least I don't see any obvious reason why it would ** not ** work. After all, the forklift motor can't turn on when either sensor is active, because I'm not programmatically allowing it -- right? If it works, then I'll convert it to IBM BASIC too. The button PEEKs become STRIG (stick trigger) values, and the POKEs become OUT. Saving two lines of interpreted / non-compiled BASIC isn't going to have any significant impact on program execution speed or disk space, but it makes the code that much easier for non-programmers to understand, and it gives me that much more confidence of about being than just another English major. :)

2 3

Working Tandy 1000 or 2000
by Jonathan Gevaryahu 30 Aug '18

30 Aug '18

Does VCF have a working Tandy 1000 or 2000 on display or in the warehouse? I need someone with access to a working Tandy 1000/2000 to do some poking from basic of the sound chip, since there's an issue I'm running into with a possible incompatibility of the Tandy 1000/2000 NCR8496 PSG (sound chip) and the more common SN76489/SN76496 PSG which the colecovision etc used. -- Jonathan Gevaryahu jgevaryahu(a)gmail.com jgevaryahu(a)hotmail.com

3 14

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Schematic work needed
by Evan Koblentz 30 Aug '18

30 Aug '18

> There's one for $40/free shipping right now: > > https://www.ebay.com/itm/232755988436 Hmm. That's weird, I knew it as part #9750, so I searched for that term. Did not know to search for #70455, which apparently is the same exact thing: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=70455#T=C&C=11. > The receptacles that the various Lego things plug into, in the control > box? Those are a little formed contact with the housing of the control > box making up the connector shell, from what I remember. You could > probably cob something together that'd work, but you can't just go buy > that connector, as far as I know. Oh, didn't know that. I do know that 3mm mini-banana plugs fit perfectly into those holes. So the matching 3mm receptacles would do fine rather than using the Lego part. Speaking of which: I take back what I said earlier about "100% perfect". I meant 100% functional, not 100% in appearance. It could be powered by a Raspberry Pi for all I care. I just want to give people a way to run the vintage software (Lego Logo; BASIC; etc.) on their Apple II or IBM PC and connect it to the period 1980s Lego motors/sensors. Is there a easier/modern way to create the middleware hardware?

2 2

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Schematic work needed
by Evan Koblentz 30 Aug '18

30 Aug '18

>> this is for a presentation slide, not to build the thing No. This is for anyone to view so they can make the card for their own use. On Wed, Aug 29, 2018, 2:19 PM RETRO Innovations via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > On 8/29/2018 10:07 AM, Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > > this is for a presentation slide, not to build the thing > > And, if that's the goal, then I don't see why 100% perfection is needed, > and thus I agree the effort is much more manageable. However, I will > again note, that's not what the original request stated. > > In fact, I would agree with you that simply a block diagram should > suffice for such a slide. > > Jim > > >

3 4

Configuring the Processor Tech 3P+S as an IMSAI SIO-2
by systems_glitch 30 Aug '18

30 Aug '18

link: http://www.glitchwrks.com/2018/08/30/3ps-imsai-sio I recently repaired a Processor Tech 3P+S I/O board for the VCFed Museum. This 3P+S is going in an IMSAI, so it was to be configured as compatible with the first channel of an IMSAI SIO-2. The 3P+S is a super versatile I/O board, much of the configuration is left to the user to jumper in as they want, but making it look like an IMSAI SIO-2 did require a cut-and-jump. But, after fixing the control/data register ordering and taking the bitrate base clock from the 2 MHz pin (pin 49 on S-100) instead of the system clock, it works! I was able to pull my IMSAI SIO-2, drop in this modified 3P+S, and run the software I'd been running on the SIO-2. The 3P+S is on my short list for "S-100 boards to reproduce." It's a very handy serial interface, being as how it can be made to look like most other manufacturers' boards. Thanks, Jonathan

1 0

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] the first pDa
by William Dudley 29 Aug '18

29 Aug '18

My understanding is that Wikipedia "management/rules" will accept information if backed by citations. This has resulted in the following stupidity: An expert in a field makes an edit to a Wikipedia article. It is rejected for lack of an accompanying citation. The same expert cites an article published in a magazine, that HE WROTE, about the topic. So -- he's citing *himself*. Expert's Wikipedia edit is now accepted because it has an accompanying citation. All of which suggests that if Evan makes an edit, and cites HIS OWN BOOK, the edit will be accepted. Bill Dudley This email is free of malware because I run Linux. On Wed, Aug 29, 2018 at 11:20 AM, Neil Cherry via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Neil Cherry <ncherry(a)linuxha.com> > To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> > Cc: > Bcc: > Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2018 11:20:33 -0400 > Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] the first pDa > On 08/29/2018 12:50 AM, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > >> >> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_digital_assistant >>> >>> who is going to correct this? >>> >> >> Obviously I'm the guy, but I am very un-motivated to argue with Wikipedia >> editors. >> > > Amen to that! > > -- > 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 > >

6 7

the first pDa
by Bill Degnan 29 Aug '18

29 Aug '18

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_digital_assistant who is going to correct this?

4 4