- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

Miniterm 1205 terminal. love it or list it?
by glenn.f.roberts＠gmail.com 18 Sep '24

18 Sep '24

A while back I picked up a Miniterm 1205 but it needs some help. Category:Computer Devices - Terminals (terminals-wiki.org) <https://terminals-wiki.org/wiki/index.php/Category:Computer_Devices> Computer Devices Miniterm 1205 - Terminals (terminals-wiki.org) <https://terminals-wiki.org/wiki/index.php/Computer_Devices_Miniterm_1205> After removing the cover, I see evidence of a pretty massive tantalum failure (and these tants are huge!) and perhaps other concomitant damage to the power supply. Also the rubber tractor band that moves the head back and forth appears to have dry rot on it - not sure that can be cleaned up. And the label on the unit says it's for 230V/50Hz (not sure if there's an option on the power supply board to reconfigure that (?). (hmm. Wondering if someone attempted to power with 120V?) This is an impressively built machine with a beautiful keyboard. It has a NASA property sticker on it. I am nostalgic for the old era of these terminals (I used a TI silent 700 back then) and when I picked it up was hoping to get it in working order some day. So I'm trying to decide what to do with this unit. Are schematics or service manuals likely to be available? If not, how best to repair the power supply? (find someone else who has one?) Am I likely to be able to find a workable replacement for the belt? Or fix it? I guess I'd have to get a power converter to run this. Feels like a lot to take on. Interested in any advice or pointers. If someone in the group would be interested in tackling this project I'd be happy to have a discussion (off list) on that. Thanks * Glenn

4 6

VCF 2022
by Christian Liendo 18 Sep '24

18 Sep '24

I know I shared some photos of VCF 2022 and now my folder is gone. If anyone has any of the ones I shared, if they can please share them back with me it would be appreciated.

1 0

IBM and 8-inch (was: Next Repair Workshop Oct. 4 & 5)
by Herbert Johnson 17 Sep '24

17 Sep '24

> There is someone looking to make 8" disks from images that he has. He > recently acquired a fully functional IBM 5110-3 (or 5120) with dual 8-inch > disk drives. He found the image files to make 6 disks with various > applications for this computer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_5110 I had to look up "5510 model 3". It predates MS-DOS and ISA-class PC's. I had forgotten that one such model had 8-inch floppy drives. There's a good chance, that what-became-ordinary floppy disk controllers on IBM (ISA) MS-DOS PC's and CP/M-80 class computers, will not be able to process such 5110/5120 disks or their images. (I don't know for sure.) I'm saying, Jeff, that most old computers won't likely be able to work with these *even older IBM* disks. There's a modern class of bit-sampling floppy disk emulators and reader/writers, usually operated as USB devices. (I don't pretend to know them well.) Because they operate at the "bit" (flux change) level, in principle they can handle almost anything a floppy controller every written - IF, if, someone trained up on that particular format to decode the floppy bits. Problem is, the owners and developers of those USB devices, probably never had their hands on an IBM 5510/5520! So, if I read 40 words of description correctly (unlikely), I suggest this person outta get on the Web NOW, and contact these developers of these USB floppy reader/writers NOW, to identify if their models can handle disks from their particular IBM model. They might also contact whomever created those image-files. See how they created those images. It may be, there's a "downloader and format" 5110 program as well. The owner should also clarify/confirm exactly what hardware they have, where these image files came from, and so on. . Oh - and if the computer works *to their knowledge*. I get requests from people all the time, for stuff for their computers, before their seller delivers it to them. If the owners already did this work, they should make that info readily available as they ask for help. The zeroth help I can give someone, is to noodge them to identify their problems. Problems solve themselves faster, if details are resolved first. Details identify the tools and knowledge needed, weed out those who don't have either. Regards Herb Johnson -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA https://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net preserve, recover, restore 1970's computing email: hjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT com or try later herbjohnson AT comcast DOT net

1 1

Truckload in Cape Cod
by Bart Hirst 17 Sep '24

17 Sep '24

https://forum.vcfed.org/index.php?threads/truckload-of-computers-and-parts-… -- Bart Hirst "This signature will now be eaten up and spit out by Velociraptors."

1 0

Friden Flexowriter in Trenton
by Joseph Giliberti 13 Sep '24

13 Sep '24

At $700 the price is a bit steep, but they aren't exactly common https://www.facebook.com/share/riPGR4N2g2EbnRcM/?mibextid=kL3p88

1 0

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT- NTE ELECTRONICS IS NO MORE
by Dave McGuire 11 Sep '24

11 Sep '24

Well they certainly didn't pull any punches about their suit problem. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA

2 1

Part #1 of the Paul Allen Collection
by Christian Liendo 11 Sep '24

11 Sep '24

https://www.christies.com/en/auction/pushing-boundaries-ingenuity-from-the-… $945k for the Apple I

4 3

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT- NTE ELECTRONICS IS NO MORE
by Neil Cherry 11 Sep '24

11 Sep '24

On 9/11/24 14:37, Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic wrote: Wow, one of the last. :( -- Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry kd2zrq(a)linuxha.com http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies KD2ZRQ

1 0

OT- NTE ELECTRONICS IS NO MORE
by Sentrytv 11 Sep '24

11 Sep '24

1 0

HomeBrew computer club reunion part 1
by Christian Liendo 11 Sep '24

11 Sep '24

>From the description: Welcome to the first part of a three-part series, telling the story of the early days of personal computing. Before the era of personal computers, a club was formed by engineers, hobbyists, students, and anyone interested in computers. This was a time when computers were only available at colleges, universities, or large companies. The club all got started from an ad-hoc gathering of people meeting at a pot luck dinner in the Palo Alto area. It was at these meetings where the idea of starting a club was born. This video, and the following two, highlights reminiscing from the original people involved, including Steve Wozniak, Lee Felsenstein, Dan Soquel, and a host of others who are still alive to tell their story. So sit back, relax and enjoy this unique journey through the history of personal computing. https://youtu.be/j1roYUAQdnQ?si=V3mYt43EMBE_3v8P

1 0