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Re:Digest, Vol 26, Issue 15 Message 2 "Adjunct to Bitsavers"
by svcatitc＠aol.com 20 Dec '17

20 Dec '17

This cannot be stressed enough to make today's data available, (AND READABLE) for the coming generations. This is continuing NEW news! PBS once had a (Frontline I think) piece on "Our Fading Past" in which the cameo presentation was on NOAA's 7 track tape data debacle. Nobody makes 7 track drives anymore and NOAA has had to resort to dredging (like we do) junkers from the boneyards, restoring them and getting them to read the old stored data. NOAA engineers devised a program to rewind the tape and reread the data if it found dropouts (of which there were many). The presentation showed rows of drives backing up and moving forward in the attempt at rescuing the "fading past". The back and forth movement of the drives trying to reread data was nicknamed "Maytagging" by NOAA engineers. THANK YOU Mr Jonas for reminding us of the importance. Bill Inderrieden Message: 2 Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2017 22:11:28 -0500 From: Jeffrey Jonas <jeffrey.scott.jonas(a)gmail.com> To: vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] adjunct to bitsavers and Library of Congress? Message-ID: <CAOCNM4TAcwrYWO+ADceF6wt6w7yuFuOUZGT_QxNz9146ctOpzQ(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" old news to us but good to see it in the spotlight: https://boingboing.net/2017/12/15/back-up-back-up-back-up.html A deep dive into the race to preserve our digital heritage [copying up data from old media, using virtual machines to emulate the required legacy operating system, applications and such to access the data formats]

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Apple IIGS for sale
by Joseph Oprysko 19 Dec '17

19 Dec '17

I am posting this for another person, it is not my machine, but I did check it out. Comes with: Apple IIGS ROM 1 Rev. with 1.25 MB RAM 4MB Memory Expansion card w/1mb SIMM Apple IIGS Memory Expansion Cards Apple Image Writer 2 Apple 3.5" Drive Apple Color RGB Monitor Apple Keyboard 658-4081 AppleDesign Keyboard M2980 All Manuals and Papers All cables & cords Includes boot disks and other software Extra sealed ribbons and pin-fed paper for printer If you’re interested, please email George at gemwmp(a)msn.com I believe he is asking $250 for the complete system, but I’m sure it would be negotiable. Joe O. -- Normal Person: Hey, it seems that you know a lot. Geek: To be honest, it's due to all the surfing I do. Normal Person: So you go surfing? Normal Person: But I don't think that has anything to do with knowing a lot... Geek: I think that's wrong on a fundamental level. Normal Person: Huh? Huh? What?

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“Dial-Up” Lynx?
by Joseph Oprysko 19 Dec '17

19 Dec '17

I’m looking to setup a machine to use in conjunction with the WiFi232 modem, what I would like to be able to do is to dial/telnet into a local machine that will allow me to use a text web browser so I can browse websites from my vintage machines. I guess the other thing the machine I would dial into would need to do is to be able to cache on that machine then allow me to use xmodem/ymodem so I can download binary files. Anyone know what I would be able to use to do that? I know I could setup the telnetd on a Linux Box, but I don’t know how to transfer from a Linux box with modem protocols. Thanks, Joe O. (Never had to use my initials previously) -- Normal Person: Hey, it seems that you know a lot. Geek: To be honest, it's due to all the surfing I do. Normal Person: So you go surfing? Normal Person: But I don't think that has anything to do with knowing a lot... Geek: I think that's wrong on a fundamental level. Normal Person: Huh? Huh? What?

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Qualstar 3412S on Ebay
by Mike Loewen 19 Dec '17

19 Dec '17

There's a Qualstar 3412S 9-track tape drive on Ebay, in Rochester: 13243878889 The nice thing about this model is that it handles: 800bpi NRZI R/O 1600bpi PE 3200bpi DPE 6250bpi GCR However, 800bpi NRI is read-only. The seller indicates that the unit is untested, but maybe someone could convince them to at least power it on to see if it passes the self-test. Assuming it works, this would be a good unit for someone looking for a versatile 9-track drive. Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

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1 Adam 12, meet the man at IBM
by Jeffrey Jonas 19 Dec '17

19 Dec '17

Who is this mysterious "Adam" who helps in the warehouse? An item needs to be located. Please respond directly to me.

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Jason Scott talks about the recent Commodore discoveries
by Mark Whittington 18 Dec '17

18 Dec '17

For those that don't know, Jason Scott has recently started a Patreon funded weekly podcast project. I recommend checking it out and sponsoring it if you find it interesting and have the means. https://www.patreon.com/textfiles The Dec. 8 podcast talks about the recent discovery of the collection of Commodore stuff in PA. I've linked to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLKd3B7TJE8

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FS: Early Processor Tech S-100 Extender
by systems_glitch 18 Dec '17

18 Dec '17

link: https://www.ebay.com/itm/272987996882 This one looks to be quite early, it carries a 1975 copyright and uses the older military style S-100 socket. The socket is VERY tight, like new Sullins connectors. If you have loose connectors in your motherboard, you'll likely have to remove the extender and separate the board and extender outside of the card cage. There's a small chip in the S-100 socket, as shown in the pictures. I've used this extender in my IMSAI and tested it at full speed with a RAM board, on a terminated backplane. Thanks, Jonathan

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FS: Newtech Computer Systems Model 6 rev B Music Board for S-100
by systems_glitch 18 Dec '17

18 Dec '17

link: https://www.ebay.com/itm/272987932493 Just finished checking it out by the manual, works fine! This little board is a 6-bit DAC, amplifier, and speaker on a little S-100 board, and allows your S-100 machine to make sounds. It's apparently pretty good for a 6-bit DAC, there are videos on YouTube of other hobbyists playing samples taken from various audio sources using the Model 6 -- at least, I was surprised that it sounded as good as it did. Set up for the default port of 0x24 and using the internal speaker. Don't really know what they're worth, so feel free to submit an offer! Thanks, Jonathan

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Festivus Pics
by Christian Liendo 18 Dec '17

18 Dec '17

Anyone have Festivus pics? I was not able to attend

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paging Joe Herdler
by Dave McGuire 17 Dec '17

17 Dec '17

Hey Joe, did you see my private email from several days ago? Everyone else...sorry for the noise. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA

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