- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

HOPE 12
by william degnan 12 Nov '17

12 Nov '17

Got my ticket for HOPE 12.....see you there. B

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Cyclon RX Playstation controller for C64
by Jeffrey Brace 12 Nov '17

12 Nov '17

Has anyone bought and used this? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Cyclone-RX-Playstation-Joystick-Gamepad-Adap…

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Museum Report 2017-11-12 November 12, 2017
by Jeffrey Brace 12 Nov '17

12 Nov '17

I started the day by preparing my C64 for running Metal Dust. It is a game that requires the SuperCPU. I got it to run from uIEC SD card. I need to find my power supply for the PSX controller, so that I can use a Playstation controller instead of the Epyx XJ 500. I get some bad pain in my index finger from hitting the fire button constantly (must be repetitive stress injury). Maybe I will try an Atari Joystick instead, since my thumb is fine. If there are some C64 games that you want for Festivus, then feel free to bring then on floppy or SD card. I will have 3 C64s setup with 1541 drives and uIEC. Also connected with all-in-one joystick games in the front end of the Commodore 1702. I have the Mamouth Games C64 game joystick working, I also noticed that a number of museum machines are not working properly. Maybe during the next workshop we can have some members look at them. Alex Bodnar dropped of a Micro Professor for the museum. I move it as well as the Vax fan that he donated to the warehouse. Anyway, had about 1 dozen visitors today with moderate interest.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Museum Report 2017-11-11 November 11, 2017
by Eric Rangell 12 Nov '17

12 Nov '17

Hello all, I made my first trip to the InfoAge Science Center and VCF museum in Wall, NJ on Saturday Nov. 11, 2017. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience, mainly because I saw artifacts that I had only seen in magazines and never in real life. Before going into the VCF building I was drawn to the radio exhibits and appreciated the quality and dedication that went into producing electronics of the early 20th century. These objects and the people who built them were talking to me. I like the way highly technical content is just displayed along with the artifacts to remind us of the deep knowledge base we inherited. I then met Jeff and slowly walked through every machine on display. I can imagine the people working with them when they were state of the art. They had the time to learn, dream, think, and carefully operate the switches and controls, acting as scientists using the scientific method to observe, hypothesize, log, diagnose, and catch bugs flying inside the equipment. It will be amazing to see some of the old machines restored and running in the future. Then the computers of the 70s and 80s brought me back to childhood and helped me understand the wonder that kids today need to feel and appreciate as they stand on our shoulders. I mostly appreciated the machines of the 60s-70s like the PDP11, IMSAI, Altair, PET, Apple 1,2,3,Lisa and the luggables. The tiny but sharp green screen display on one of the luggables was impressive, along with the help file describing the capabilities of the machine. It sparked an interest in learning about a few of them and their capabilities. It was great to see Ted Nelson’s book “Computer Lib” on display, and the lego interface for the Apple 2. I’d love to spend time looking at the old manuals and learning from people who worked with the machines at future VCF events. Afterwards I visited the other exhibits in the building - I spent a lot of time in the Veteran Wireless Operators exhibit appreciating the communication challenges of early radio and telegraphy. I then saw the fascinating exhibit of military vehicles and equipment and was humbled by the sacrifices people made to preserve freedom. It put everything in perspective and was a very meaningful Veterans day for me. Thank you, Eric Rangell

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TRS 80 Model II with printer and drive bay - Luray, VA
by william degnan 11 Nov '17

11 Nov '17

Anyone in the area of Luray, VA want a TRS 80 Model II with printer and drive bay, but no keyboard, may be incomplete? let me know privately and I can set you up with the guy Bill

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MS-DOS 1.25 software/Gazelle
by Richard Cini 11 Nov '17

11 Nov '17

All – One of my recent projects was to build a Seattle Gazelle replica based on the unit in the VFC collection. While doing this, I got to wondering about software for it. On Bitsavers, there is a program disk called “Perfect Writer”, a word processing program. Video is character-based, and the system doesn’t have a PC-compatible BIOS, so even though it runs MS-DOS, it can’t be that compatible. I have not seen the mention of a video board for the Gazelle, but I found the CompuPro PC-Video (a PC-compatible MC6845-based video board for the S100). If anyone has any info on this aspect of the history of the Gazelle, I’d appreciate it. Thanks! Rich -- Rich Cini http://www.classiccmp.org/cini http://www.classiccmp.org/altair32

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Museum Report 2017-11-11 November 11, 2017
by Jeffrey Brace 11 Nov '17

11 Nov '17

A busier than normal Saturday. About two dozen visitors. Some were very interested and got the extended tour, some with moderate interest and some with light interest. I guess this time of the year is cold and dark and people want to do indoor activities. It's nice to be busy! Jeff Brace

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Festivus 2017 Parking Question
by Jeffrey Brace 10 Nov '17

10 Nov '17

There was a question about confusion on where to park for Festivus. I modified the VCF East map (crudely) to make it more clear: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ThrnNAnAWsCz30Am7IvG8GS50YFOziHK This is InfoAge's Map: http://infoage.org/visiting/ You would park behind Q/R/S. If the ground is wet, then make sure to park on the blacktop and not the grass. Any questions, then let me know.

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Docents needed to signup for - Festivus 2017 - Saturday/Sunday Dec 9/10
by Jeffrey Brace 09 Nov '17

09 Nov '17

Even though we are celebrating Festivus, we still have to attend to our museum Saturday/Sunday Dec 9/10. We need individuals to take one hour to be docent during the Festivus weekend. The hours are 12-5pm both days. It will be super busy because of the holiday train show. Here is the sign up list: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_Wrz46b7EJ1Rs-iZkRjcgocNqCRNECL9k1b… E-mail me privately with any questions.

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FESTIVUS 2017 - IMPORTANT INFO
by Jeffrey Brace 09 Nov '17

09 Nov '17

Here is the detailed Festivus information. I will send it out again the week of the event. *DATE:* December 9 & 10. *TIME:* START - 10 A.M. on Saturday and goes late into the night until everyone sleeps. END - 5 P.M. on Sunday. (Re-starts around 10 A.M. Sunday morning) *LOCATION:* InfoAge Building 9010-D - (2201 Marconi Road, Wall Township, NJ) - It will be straight ahead once you enter through the gate. The door is marked Sandy Recovery and is up the steps. *PARKING:* InfoAge management wants us to park inside the campus, in a neat orderly row, between the Festivus building and the hackerspace building. The holiday train show is going on, so we are discouraged from parking in the main parking lot, since they will be reserved for guests of the model train show. Do not cost IA money by leaving it open to confuse paying guests. Always close it behind you when you enter/exit, EVEN IF IT WAS ALREADY OPEN! *COST:* $10 for all members attending Festivus, which VCF pays to InfoAge to renting the space and buy food and supplies. $25 if you are staying overnight. See below for details. *EQUIPMENT:* VCF will have tables setup for food and games. We will have three full sized refrigerator to temporarily store food and drinks. We will be borrowing *my* propane grill to cook hamburgers and hot dogs outside. *DRINKS:* Everyone is encouraged to bring their own drinks and enough to share with others. Bring your favorite and put what you are bringing on the list: *FOOD:* VCF will be supplying hamburgers, hot dogs, condiments, plates, forks, napkins, cups. I will be posting a list of recommended items soon. You are encouraged to bring your own favorite good and put what you are bringing on the list: *IMPORTANT TO KEEP FOOD AND DRINKS IN THE CAFETERIA! THIS IS THE RULE OF THE FACILITY OWNERS.* *ENTERTAINMENT?* Ian: Vintage video games and boob tubes. Jeff Brace: Namco Joystick games, C64 Jostick Games, Intellivision Joystick Games, C64 with Super CPU and Metal Dust with optional PS2 controller, Cards Against Humanity!, Vectrex Evan: Will be entertaining us with his consternation. Nameless individuals: Burping, farting and snoring throughout the night. *STAYING OVERNIGHT?* Let me know if you want to stay overnight. The cost is $25. You provide your own mattress cover, blankets, pillows. There is a shower area, lounge, bunk beds, hot water for tea, microwave oven, toaster oven, keurig, coffee pot, ice machine, sink, cable TV, wi-fi. To get an accurate headcount, let me know as soon as possible that you are staying overnight and how many nights. There will be coffee, milk, cream, sugar and tea bags available as well. * BUYING, SELLING, FREEBIES :* You are allowed to bring items to sell and trade with specific individuals, but this isn't a hamfest where you get a table to sell your stuff. If you want to bring your stuff, you are encourage to post to the list what you want to sell/trade and set it up ahead of time with individuals. Anything you bring in and don't sell/trade, you bring home. We can set aside a freebie table as per traditional, but you *must* take your stuff home before leaving if no one takes it. *SIGN-UP LINK:* https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1odmPxfBK9BrR-NDZIx4_ c-V2lZpt_-vU-3fIBGiyrM4/edit?usp=sharing

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