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PC-sized rescue needed in Rockville MD
by Evan Koblentz 20 Apr '17

20 Apr '17

There's a Columbia MPC (http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=633&st=1) being donated to us in Rockville, Maryland. We need someone to pick it up and bring it to the museum. This is an interesting system. It's an IBM 5150 clone before Compaq. ________________________________ Evan Koblentz, director Vintage Computer Federation a 501(c)(3) educational non-profit evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 www.vcfed.org facebook.com/vcfederation twitter.com/vcfederation instagram.com/vcfederation

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Update - DEC and other equipment up for grabs
by David Comley 19 Apr '17

19 Apr '17

Folks, The response to my earlier post has been overwhelming - thanks to everyone who responded. Everything listed has now been provisionally claimed. As I start clearing out other items are bound to surface so stay tuned. Thanks, -Dave

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Bad disks
by Evan Koblentz 19 Apr '17

19 Apr '17

I went to format 5.25 disks from a NOS box still in shrink wrap. There were 11 disks in the box ("pay for 10, get one free"). Every disk resulted in a track error at a different track. If you can't trust never-opened disks to be good, then how do you acquire disks? Is there any good software to repair the errors? ________________________________ Evan Koblentz, director Vintage Computer Federation a 501(c)(3) educational non-profit evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 www.vcfed.org facebook.com/vcfederation twitter.com/vcfederation instagram.com/vcfederation

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DEC and other equipment up for grabs
by David Comley 19 Apr '17

19 Apr '17

We are moving house later this year so I have to downsize and trim down my gear list. The following items are available for weekend pickup. Anyone want to take on my DEC 11/750? It has an intermittent console problem and needs someone smarter than me to spend time on it. Includes a TU80 tape drive, two RL01s and an RL02 drive. I just won’t have room for it in the new place so if someone’s interested it’s yours. Roughly two dozen RL01 packs. I’ll have to count to confirm. Also up for grabs is my VT180. It’s unlikely I will ever use it again. A couple of Vaxstation 3100s and a Microvax 2000. Also still up for grabs from last year: Wang VS45 DEC RK07 drive All my HP64000 kit (5 mainframes; assorted pods and controllers; software and manuals) Two DG Nova chassis - a 4X and a 4C Non-functioning DECwriter III LA120 No doubt other items will emerge as time goes on. Everything’s located at my home in New Hope, PA, roughly 50 miles northeast of Philadelphia. -Dave

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replacing mono display DEC Rainbow
by william degnan 19 Apr '17

19 Apr '17

Anyone replace the mono display of the dec rainbow with a VT220 (or..)? The two VR201s I have screen rot. VR201 is the part number of the display that comes with the Rainbow. I can't be the first person to ask this questionj, most VR201's are pretty screen-rotted now. I am guessing it will take some doing to assuming the cable between the display and the computer is not a straight serial connection. In the meantime I will work on this and let you know what I find. There is a VR201 on Ebay for $100. b

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Rack shelves (two) needed for museum
by Evan Koblentz 19 Apr '17

19 Apr '17

We need two (non-sliding) shelves for our standard 19" rack. Preference to whomever can get them here fastest. :)

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Great vintage computer article.
by Herb Johnson 19 Apr '17

19 Apr '17

The referenced article was fine. It was the author's recollection of an era he/she experienced. It's interesting to me as an American, to see a British representation of 80's gaming-driven personal computing. surprisingly similar experiences. I refuse to be drawn into the argument that "gaming drove computing". It's one of a number of causal agents. I don't care today, to rank those agents, or to arbitrate their merits. Reasons not to, will become apparent in a moment. But what about neglecting pre-1980 or pre-"gaming" vintage computing? Simply put: the author very likely entered personal computing at that point in time with that class of hardware and software. He/she didn't know what happened before that. It's really that simple. We remember fondly our early days of discovery; we each start at some point in time. The article is a personal recollection of a time and place in personal computing. Many others share that set of experiences. The brands of software and hardware establish the bounds of that set. Most with interests in vintage computing, represent their own experiences, of their own era. An additional consideration. Many tens of millions played 1980's video gaming computing, because there were that many systems. The audience for 1970's computing was on the order of a few million; many from business, academic, industrial activity. And of course, some of us aren't around to report about it. Circumstances account for the differences between the decades. And so, any "vote" for "what drove computing" will skew accordingly, by count and by circumstances. I didn't take a vote, for my interests. Another reason I work at preserving MY computing era, is that before long there will be one less vote for it. I'm busy enough with that, not to argue the merits with others. Herb -- 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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Bad disks
by Herb Johnson 19 Apr '17

19 Apr '17

I concur with everything that Jonathan AKA System Glitch states. I have no small experience with floppy drives and diskettes. Keeping floppy drive heads clean is the first priority when disks fail. Trying different drives confirms if it's the disk, or the drive that is failing - but a close visual inspection of the diskette will show most physical damage. A Web search of my domain, will provide more information on this subject, but start with: http://www.retrotechnology.com/herbs_stuff/clean_disks.html http://www.retrotechnology.com/herbs_stuff/drive.html HErb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net preserve, recover, restore 1970's computing

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Paging Tony Bogan
by Kelly Leavitt 19 Apr '17

19 Apr '17

Have you received any of my emails about the network card? I've not heard from you and I know your mail server has a tendency to bit bucket a lot of stuff. May need to white list my email address, or email me your phone number (direct). Thanks, Kelly

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F/S: my Commodore DTV
by Evan Koblentz 19 Apr '17

19 Apr '17

Anyone interested in my first-gen Commodore DTV? Hate to part with it but I need some $$. Works fine. No box. I have the manual around here somewhere; when I find it I'll hold for the buyer. Contact me privately to make an offer. ________________________________ Evan Koblentz, director Vintage Computer Federation a 501(c)(3) educational non-profit evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 www.vcfed.org facebook.com/vcfederation twitter.com/vcfederation instagram.com/vcfederation

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