- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

Museum report: terminals
by Herb Johnson 10 Jul '18

10 Jul '18

>Evan said: > Regarding the terminals: now that we pretty know * what * we have, the > next step is to organize it all. Right now it's all in one aisle, but > only a little organized by cart/shelf. There are some obscure terminals > that we probably don't need, and not enough of what we probably do need. > This job will be hard work due to the weight of TTYs and stuff. Well, Evan asked me to come in on Sunday, to review the terminals and inventory them. That's because of my experience in the era of the 1970's and 80's. I was a minicomputer and mainframe site manager, and I was a technical student user at various universities; later I was a digital engineer. I also repair terminals. I'll walk though what I saw, and post a summary here to inform the people Evan is asking for help. I'll send Evan a more detailed report, but he has the list and location-of information I compiled Sunday. I did a quick survey (two hours), focused on CRT-based terminals and gave the list to Evan. Only warehoused terminals, not ones on display. Mostly there's DEC terminals. A dozen VR-201's (most with "moldy" CRTs). VR-201's are CRT "heads" which have a cabled keyboard, and often were used with DEC desktop computers. Also a few DEC VT-100 or VT-180; the 180's may have a microcomputer. A few DEC 200 or 400 series terminals. A few each, of ADM-3A, Heath H19 (Zenith Z19), a Perkin-Elmer model, an IBM model, a few other brand/models. There's a small number of one-each of ASCII based commodity terminals - this is what Evan called "obscure" I think. Hazeltine brand, ADDS, and so on. Evan has the list, he can provide details. Some of these have "moldy CRTs" too. Many terminals used detatched keyboards. There's boxes of keyboards, which I did not survey; so I don't know if there's enough or too many! And there's a few mechanical or printing terminals, which I did not survey but noted. I didn't cover monitors - I'll explain why that matters to terminals. I saw many "moldy" CRT's - that's when the front of the CRT has a transparent cover that's separating from the glass. Repair means replacing the CRT, which can take most of an hour depending. CRT's are available for tens of dollars for common types, some CRTs can be swapped around from microcomputer monitors, even old TV's. A number of tech volunteers are familiar with these repairs. Evan said "There are some obscure terminals that we probably don't need". I disagree, for several reasons. If they work, they are useful; if they don't the CRTs may be useful. It's a matter of history - lots of little companies made terminals, it's not all IBM, DEC, HP. Here's my experience, Evan - computer rooms in the era used lots of kinds of terminals. Also: to provide public visitors with a terminal they can bang on. And, terminals won't be EASIER to get in the future. But, it's ALSO true, there were computer-rooms with one kind of terminal. The HP, Perkin Elmer, IBM, DEC terminals I saw may go with specific minicomputers in the collection. The museum may need more of those. Only DEC VR201's seem to be in any quantity. Evan's focus on Sunday, was to identify and organize. I'm looking a little further ahead, to repair and potential uses. Now, with a list in hand, Evan can ask others to look over specific terminals for repair, to identify monitors as "CRT donors", to solicit CRT's for replacement. And to start looking to match minicomputers with terminals for display and use. And, to allocate terminals for various purposes, and to tell people what terminals we have or don't have. I'm describing my general results here in the list, so people with terminals or monitors, or skills, are better informed and can offer specific help or items. 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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A&E Biography - Steve Wozniak: The Wizard of the Apple
by Herb Johnson 09 Jul '18

09 Jul '18

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0401139/ episode aired 13 December 2000 -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] FS: Hobbyist Etched MITS Altair 8800 CPU Board (systems_glitch)
by systems_glitch 09 Jul '18

09 Jul '18

Not usually, but it's not a particularly difficult process either, especially if you already have the drill template. Some of the other boards acquired with this one show signs of advanced hobbyist experimenting, too, such as gold plating across some of the previous owner's homebrew S-100 protoboards. You can tell it's not professional stuff though, they had to solder a bondwire across the tops of all the traces to the edge connectors, and only plated gold on -- no nickel layer, so the copper has migrated up into the gold. The artwork alignment and registration of the holes show it to definitely not be a professional production. Perhaps someone ran it on equipment at work. Thanks, Jonathan On Mon, Jul 9, 2018 at 12:10 PM, mike willegal via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: mike willegal <mike(a)willegal.net> > To: vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org > Cc: > Bcc: > Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2018 12:10:40 -0400 > Subject: FS: Hobbyist Etched MITS Altair 8800 CPU Board (systems_glitch) > If it has plated through holes, I would skeptical about it being home > etched. Plating holes properly is not normally part of the arsenal of > ordinary hobbyists. > > regards, > Mike Willegal > > > >

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FS: Hobbyist Etched MITS Altair 8800 CPU Board (systems_glitch)
by mike willegal 09 Jul '18

09 Jul '18

If it has plated through holes, I would skeptical about it being home etched. Plating holes properly is not normally part of the arsenal of ordinary hobbyists. regards, Mike Willegal

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Ack! MINUTEMAN, not Cyberpower
by Evan Koblentz 09 Jul '18

09 Jul '18

I blundered. Our new UPS is a gift from Minuteman Power Technologies ( www.minutemanups.com) not Cyberpower Systems. Sorry for the confusion. On Sun, Jul 8, 2018, 3:01 PM Douglas Crawford via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > Well done! > > On 7/8/2018 12:47 AM, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > > > The main thing I did between visitors was install our new Cyberpower 2u > UPS. :) > > > PS. I feel like I should emphasize this! I cold-called the Cyberpower > sales department a while ago, explained what we're about, and simply asked > nicely for a UPS as a donation. I did not have any 'in' with them, but they > listened and came through like a champ. It's a brand-new system, not > pre-owned, a discontinued model, or a return/reject. So: next time your > company needs a UPS, buy from them! The other major UPS companies didn't > even return my messages. > > One thing I didn't do is install the management software. Another day. > I'll probably need help with that. > > >

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A&E Biography - Steve Wozniak: The Wizard of the Apple
by Ethan O'Toole 09 Jul '18

09 Jul '18

Years ago there was an A&E Biography episode called "Steve Wozniak: The Wizard of the Apple." It doesn't seem to be on youtube, and when they sold video tapes of their shows it was never in the catalog. Was it removed from publication for some reason? Anyone know? I did find it in a library, and friends should have access to it. - Ethan

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FS: Hobbyist Etched MITS Altair 8800 CPU Board
by systems_glitch 09 Jul '18

09 Jul '18

link https://www.ebay.com/itm/273346767604 I've talked about this board with a few people, some who have seen it in person. We're pretty sure this is the result of someone who purchased MITS' artwork and drill packet from Popular Electronics when they first announced the Altair. It's pretty good for a home etch, the holes are even plated through, and the surface is finished in tin rather than left bare copper. Looks like someone started building it and gave up. It might be finish-able (it looks identical to my early production-version MITS CPU cards) but I'd suspect the real value here is that it's an early hobbyist etch. Starting at $1, no idea what it's worth! Thanks, Jonathan

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Museum report
by Evan Koblentz 09 Jul '18

09 Jul '18

I was there again today. Not that much to report: a few visitors (LOL the nice weather is killing us!); Herb came over to catalog all of our terminals (Steve A. assisted); and I wrote some more robot code (Doug assisted by phone). Regarding the terminals: now that we pretty know * what * we have, the next step is to organize it all. Right now it's all in one aisle, but only a little organized by cart/shelf. There are some obscure terminals that we probably don't need, and not enough of what we probably do need. This job will be hard work due to the weight of TTYs and stuff. As usual, first dibs at most of the surplus will go to local members who assist with the work. I suppose the work can happen later this summer or fall. Me, Jeff B., etc. are swamped with HOPE, VCF West, and Maker Faire planning until then.

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Museum report
by Evan Koblentz 08 Jul '18

08 Jul '18

Modest amount of visitors today, but mostly good ones -- families with lots of smart questions. The main thing I did between visitors was install our new Cyberpower 2u UPS. :) The rack now has almost all of its components. I just a 2u blanking panel. Oh, and the small matter of cabling ... I have to get/install a bunch of patch cords and wire up the A/V components. But the major stuff is all there now. Have a look: https://tinyurl.com/yacseqyo. Top to bottom: combo DVD/VCR, laserdisc, stereo, BBS server, UPS, console, tablet server, patch panel, Cisco switch #2 (for thicknet-to-ethernet), Cisco switch #1 (for main network + PoE to power our access point and security cameras), microwave, fridge. :) A few people didn't like the idea of a microwave. THIS IS NOT A DATA CENTER ... I just might want popcorn or something now and then. There's also some storage space behind the A/V components. We're using it to hold a couple of containers of rack screws, cage news, various cables, the KVM switch (remote control button is hidden to the left of the BBS server), and miscellaneous small parts. A small PBX and a couple of modems will hide behind the BBS server. There is a good-sized shelf. Both servers have an SSD installed, so they're quiet and fast. The only noise you hear are fans. Overall it is surprisingly quiet. We have space for another 1u server if it's ever needed. Thank you to everyone who contributed parts!!!

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Museum report
by Evan Koblentz 08 Jul '18

08 Jul '18

> The period at the end of the link stops it from working here. Hmm ... I use Thunderbird and it parsed it fine.

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