- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

OT: new product, Kickstarter campaign
by Dave McGuire 12 Jan '17

12 Jan '17

This is very much off-topic. Last year, I was introduced to a friend-of-a-friend who had a lighting control project with...shall we say "engineering problems". I was brought in to finish it up. While it's a simple concept, it also solves a real problem and is rather cool. It was a fun little project. They just fired up a Kickstarter campaign to fund the initial production run. You might see a familiar face in the video. ;) Here it is: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/neilson/switcheroo-lighting-made-easy They're pretty close to their funding goal; it'd be great if you folks could help push him over the edge. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA

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What types of VCF exhibits do you like......Re: Advice on Xenix VCF exhibit
by Dan Roganti 12 Jan '17

12 Jan '17

thought I'd alter the subject just in case the thread police is looking :) As mentioned in the original thread, striking a balance with the types of exhibits is really the best option. I was fortunate to participate here for a decade and noticed at times there can be a shortage in the variety of exhibits. It's just plain logistics, it's very cumbersome to setup minicomputer exhibits. You can't make everyone happy. But you still can appeal to a wider audience, to help sell tickets -- and t-shirts :) In general, I always found it intriguing to make a VCF exhibit with case examples of computer being used in the industry, the real world, where it was put to work. I think that would make an attractive display, and steer away from the gamer. They already have different events around the country specifically for gamers. Versus a static exhibit of a computer, peripherals and software. Personally, I like to collect and record historical info like this about about my first job at SEL. They were around since the early days of the space race and were one of the many "grunts" in the industry. They had to fight for contracts against the big heavyweights such as IBM and the Seven dwarves. I entered their company midstream but I worked with many old timers. And it was very cool to learn of the many contracts they won while being a "grunt" in the market. About the fascinating projects we got to work on. Everything from Nasa, aerospace, military, nuclear, simulators, physics, etc, etc. There were some very exciting projects over there from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Despite the usual business politics from the suits, I was really proud to have a part in those projects. And so one of my pastimes, as best as I can, is collect info like this on my website. Most museums just collect the machine and software but you never hear about those exciting examples on where it was used. But in my case, finding one of those systems to use in an exhibit from my first job is about as rare as hen's teeth. Because the amount of systems produced is a far magnitude less than IBM or DEC. And then removing them from existing installations is highly improbable :) But this idea can still apply to any other systems out there. I never had a chance yet to exhibit an idea like this, but maybe some time in the future I can. And I would encourage others to try this. Because it goes beyond the "who designed" it or "who wired it", and more about the practical use of a computer. How it made a significant impact in the world. Take for example Mike's SAGE exhibit or in recent years the spreadsheet exhibit from Douglas. I know there's other examples of past exhibits like this that I can't recall at the moment. Some examples like this can obviously be difficult to obtain or replicate for those projects to make a live demonstration in a VCF exhibit. Perhaps just a simplified example can be produced, and I think that's still acceptable. It's not very easy bringing a nuclear power plant to VCF :) But it's nothing that some additional pictures, posters, or multimedia presentation which can supplement the exhibit because of space or logistics. So you can highlight the significance of this work in the real world. This idea may be more difficult for microcomputer exhibits. But one simple example I hoped to exhibit sometime in the future was how microcomputers were increasingly used in laboratory research. Mainly because of economics. Let's face it, companies had a strict budget. Some didn't need megabytes of storage or a supercomputer. And then 8bit CP/M computers were being outpaced by 16bit CP/M computers, then you had the IBM PC market and other 16bit desktop computers. Rugged systems is not really needed for this, but they could still calculate and compute large data sets from laboratory experiments. There are books from the 70s and 80s that illustrate how they were integrated with laboratory instruments to perform experiments. This reminds me of a very old article from the early 80s which I have no luck in recovering these days. During the early Apple][ heyday, they were already comparing the horsepower from the Eniac era. Where it was shown this was just as powerful as during the Manhattan project. Being able to simulate [ie. no graphics] the chain reactions by computing the Markov chain using Monte Carlo algorithms for a nuclear explosion. Maybe Homeland Security wouldn't be too keen these days on this kind of exhibit, but who knows !! So I always found it compelling to learn how computers were put to work. Dan

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Advice on Xenix VCF exhibit
by Mike Willegal 11 Jan '17

11 Jan '17

On some of the Apple II lists that I am on, it appears that the majority of the list members are more interested in the software (really games) than anything else. Also, some nearby people I have been acquainted with from that group, have mentioned in the past that they think VCF is for mini-computer people, not Apple Ii/micro computer type people, hence they would rather travel all the way to Kansas City, rather than relatively close by, New Jersey. Just something to think about. This hobby is way too small for us to be filtering out potential participants. We are better off taking advantage of the excitement surrounding vintage games, which is what interests many people, rather than downplaying it. We might think about leveraging that gaming interest so that more casual visitors might become active hobbyists. It shouldn't be considered a competition, there will always be room for people that are more interested in the technology and history side of the hobby. I remember back in the 70's when I was an avid historical wargamer. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson came up with something called Dungeons and Dragons during that period. It brought in a very large new group of people and changed the hobby significantly. Up til then, it was a hobby, run by hobbyists, very few people making a full time living off the hobby. The advent of D&D made it possible for many more clever people to make a good living, which made for a lot more possibilities in the hobby for both business and participants. However, what it did not do, was prevent the old school historical wargamer from enjoying their historical games. I'm not sure exactly what I'm suggesting here, other then don't discourage people by keeping the focus too narrow. I understand that this event isn't and shouldn't become a vintage game convention, but we still need to grow the hobby, and right now we shouldn't discourage anyone from having a little fun with vintage computers, no matter how they find it. Mike Willegal

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Amiga 3000 salvage
by Adam Michlin 11 Jan '17

11 Jan '17

Hi Everyone, I have a donated Amiga 3000 that I'd like to get working for my classroom. Damage is way beyond my own ability to repair or learn to repair and probably more than could be done during a typical workshop. Looks like at least one exploded battery perhaps decades ago and all sorts of other issues, most likely including recapping. I just can't bring myself to recycle it, so I'm hoping to get it professionally restored. Any recommendations for people who might do such a thing in the NJ, NY, CT tri-state area? I wont say money is no object, but I'm happy to pay a reasonable fee. Thanks, -Adam

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Advice on Xenix VCF exhibit
by Duane 11 Jan '17

11 Jan '17

>>- We implant chips in peoples' brains Reminds me of a conversation, on an elevator, with one of our supervisors and an apprentice instructor. I hear something to the effect that you were drilling holes in the students head to pour in the knowledge directly. Oh? Yes, they said you were boring the students. Might have been an old joke Duane -----Original Message----- From: Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2017 3:02 PM To: vcf-midatlantic Cc: Evan Koblentz Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Advice on Xenix VCF exhibit > Very true. I agree that the variety at VCF ensures that we cover a broader > interest. That being said, how do we get people to want to walk in the > door > in the first place? Personally, I don't think that Facebook and blogs are > enough. Can we reach a larger audience? We do a TON of different marketing things (a huge part of my job) and we see which ones stick. Briefly: - We reach out to tech media - We contact local mainstream news - We implant chips in peoples' brains - We reach out to hackerspaces, amateur radio clubs, ACM/IEEE chapters, general computer clubs, other museums, etc. - We use Facebook and Twitter - We use the force - We ask the other InfoAge groups to tell their members - We have an email announcement-only list (http://vcfed.org/wp/newsletter/) - We have candy - We preach VCF in our exhibit at related events

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BSD ports to vintage
by Herb Johnson 11 Jan '17

11 Jan '17

It's hard to follow all the Xenix-related posts. But I have a Multibus system running Xenix, if that's of interest. http://www.retrotechnology.com/herbs_stuff/386intel/i386_multi.html For a time, Microsoft sold Xenix for various systems. My Xenix is of Microsoft origin and clearly they had Intel interest or vice versa. Xenix found its way onto many systems in the early 80's period. Later Microsoft sold their interests back to SCO. From an exhibition point of view, there's any number of Xenix systems which could be exhibited, under some theme by a single exhibitor. I'd consider cooperating with an exhibitor regarding my machine, contact me privately. Herb retrotechnology.com

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OT: Anyone here using Comcast ISP?
by william degnan 11 Jan '17

11 Jan '17

Is it me, or is there a problem reaching https://hostisp-vandal.syssrc.com:2083 I can't get to this server from Comcast only, works from Verizon. Thanks Bill

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] What are you working on for The next great workshop is Jan 14 & 15
by Blatboy 11 Jan '17

11 Jan '17

I know this thread was from last week, but since I now know for sure I'll be making it for the whole weekend, I figured I'd chime in. This will be my first time since the 1980s to take a bunch of computer gear somewhere to set up on a table and mix with other enthusiasts. So, please pardon me if I'm totally green, chomping at the bit, over excited, annoyingly verbose, and to top it all off: under skilled. haha I apologize for the book I'm about to write here. I'm tempted to bring my full collection (I need to organize it anyway) as I'm not 100% sure what my goals are and what I can accomplish with this kind of dedicated time to devote to my habit, er "hobby." Any input from ye more experienced is appreciated. For sure I'm planning to bring: An Amiga 3000 with some interesting expansions and a multitude of kooky outboard SCSI gear. (CD drive... Floptical... Bernoulli...) I'm hoping to replace the spindle HD w/a SCSI2SD setup. I've yet to figure out how to get the computer to mount the outboard SCSI equipment. I'm hoping to get over that hump and be able to determine what hardware actually works and what doesn't. My first computer: A trusty/crusty C64. I need to take apart and clean the keyboard. I'll bring a soldering iron and some other tools. If I get that far, I've got a ZoomFloppy card and a C64 NIC+ card that I'd love to try to mess around with. I'll bring a 1541 or two as well. Note that I'm hoping to be able to archive old floppies of mine for both machines. I've already started the process with the c64 (with the ZoomFloppy) but I've yet to modify one of the 1541 drives with a parallel port. Certain disks (like GEOS) seem only be properly imaged via parallel. Tools...disks.... a Commodore monitor and a modern(ish) flat Dell monitor that works with the 3000 and also has S-video and composite inputs. A modern notebook running Win10 and Linux. A MacBook Pro running OSX. A iPad with all my tech books and docs. I'm considering bringing: Mac Classic II: It works great, but I need to prepare and add a SCSI2SD card for this machine. I have some interesting hardware that may allow for Ethernet connection. That'd be fun to experiment with. Macintosh Powerbook G3 Clam Shell ("Wall Street") running OS9. A great "middle man" machine that can communicate with both classic macs and modern ones. Atari 2600: I added some hardware that was supposed to allow it to work on modern monitors. (I forget now if it added a composite connection or something else...not digital.) It didn't go so well. I'd like to troubleshoot that. An A500: It works well and I've found it to be useful when working with the A3000. An SX64. Because I can. ;) A Vectrex. (see SX64) Again... any thoughts are appreciated. I'm also happy to bring stuff just because someone would like to see it. I have a pretty decent compliment of tools for general electronics. If there is something anyone is needing, please say so. I may be able to help. Thanks for reading my book here. Walter http://www.jwalterhawkes.com http://www.blatboy.com like to know where/when I'm playing? Click here <http://www.blatomaster.com/mlist.php> to sign up for my list, and let the babble begin. Date: Wed, 04 Jan 2017 19:39:12 +0000 > From: Jeffrey Brace <ark72axow(a)gmail.com> > To: vcf-midatlantic > <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> > Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] What are you working on for The next great > workshop is Jan 14 & 15 > Message-ID: > <CAKVfvQwFrTUune3aUXdppfeqOQQat36QeZLLNHLZKmeAi_T7JQ@mail. > gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 > > Workshop attendees watcha workin on? > > Also let me know about overnight dorm stay if needed. >

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Saturday weather
by Evan Koblentz 11 Jan '17

11 Jan '17

Still too early to be certain, but the forecasts are calling for very little snow in the afternoon and evening, so most of us traveling Saturday morning should be fine.

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PiDP8 writeup
by william degnan 11 Jan '17

11 Jan '17

Here is my PiDP8 writeup http://vintagecomputer.net/browse_thread.cfm?id=663 BIll

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