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Vintage Computer Repair Workshop with Special Guest: Lee Felsenstein - 11/23 and 11/24 (System Source)
by Bob Roswell 12 Nov '24

12 Nov '24

Our Special Guest on Saturday is Lee Felsenstein [cid:image001.jpg@01DB3511.88B9DD80] Lee is a pioneer of personal computing. He was the force behind the original Homebrew Computing Club. Lee designed one of the earliest personal computers (the Sol) and earliest portable computer (the Osborne). He also founded the Community Memory Project. His work has been making personal computers into populist tools for over 50 years. As a designer, he made them affordable and easy to use. As a high-profile personal computing pioneer, he advocates computer use for the good of society, rather than for personal profit. As an activist, he promotes projects employing computers to encourage community-building. Lee will speak on Saturday at 10AM about his new book "Me and My Big Ideas - Counterculture, Social Media and the Future". Workshop Hours: Saturday, 11/23 from 9 - 9 and Sunday, 11/24 from 9 - 5 Lee Felsenstein Talk: Saturday, 11/23, 10AM Location: 338 Clubhouse Road, Hunt Valley MD Registration: Vintage Computer Repair Workshop<https://ca.syssrc.com/wp/?page_id=85&civiwp=CiviCRM&q=civicrm%2Fevent%2Finf…> Repair workshops are free events for hobbyists of all technical abilities. You can work on your old electronics including computers, ham radios, vintage radios/TVs and receive help from or assist other enthusiasts. Tables and power are provided. Please bring tools and supplies. Registration is limited to 100 people. Bob Roswell Curator Computer Museum @ System Source

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Additional VCF-MA Steering Committee Election Information
by Jeff Salzman 12 Nov '24

12 Nov '24

If you don't have your real name associated with this mailing list, any vote you cast for a Steering Committee nominee may not be counted. Please verify that you have your name associated with your account. *To check and/or add your name to your e-mail address:* Go to: https://lists.vcfed.org/mailman/listinfo/vcf-midatlantic *Scroll to the bottom of the page where you see the "Unsubscribe or Edit Options" button.* *Enter your email address and click "Unsubscribe or Edit Options".* *You will now be asked for your password. If you don't remember your password, click the "Remind" button at the bottom of the page to have your password sent to you via email.* *Enter your password.* *On the next screen, you will see a "Your Name" field. Enter your real name here and click the "Change My Address and Name" button to save the changes.* The Name field is optional, but only for the purposes of receiving email from the message list. Not having a name associated with your account may disqualify you from voting for the VCF-MA Steering Committee. Thank you, Jeff Salzman Chairman VCF Mid-Atlantic Steering Committee

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6264 ram tester?
by Ethan O'Toole 12 Nov '24

12 Nov '24

Anyone have one of the simple 6264 ram checkers they would be willing to sell? I know there is a fancier one that is modular but don't care about all that. The one I am looking for was a $40 kit, or something like it. Ethan

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VCF Mid-Atlantic Steering Committee Nominations
by Jeff Salzman 11 Nov '24

11 Nov '24

Members of the VCF MidAtlantic Mailing List, Another year has passed by, and it's time for the VCF-MA annual Steering Committee elections There are currently four seats becoming vacant. Jeff Salzman, Dave McGuire, Doug Crawford, and Ian Litchfield have either reached the end of their appointed terms or have resigned. Nominations to fill those positions are now open. The election will be held according to sections 4 and 5 of our published by-laws, listed at the end of this email and linked below. https://vcfed.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/VCFMA-Charter-Jul2022.pdf) Anyone who directly receives this message and has been a member of the VCF Mailing List for at least 30 days is eligible to vote. There is no 30-day restriction to mailing list membership to be nominated as a candidate. Current members of the mailing list in good standing are eligible to submit nominations for Committee member candidates. Nominations can be made by simply communicating the nomination via e-mail to a current Committee member: Thomas Gilinsky - thomas.gilinsky(a)vcfed.org, Dave McGuire - dave.mcguire(a)vcfed.org, Douglas Crawford - douglas.crawford(a)vcfed.org, Ian Litchfield - ian.litchfield(a)vcfed.org, or Jeff Salzman - jeff.salzman(a)vcf.org) Members of the mailing list may also self-nominate. To be eligible for the election, the prospective nominee must then accept the nomination by replying in the affirmative to the nomination email. One nomination per member can be made. Nominations will close on November 23nd at 11:59PM. An updated list of eligible nominees will be published regularly. Nominees are also encouraged to provide a position statement, which will be posted to the VCF-MA website for prospective voters to read. Voting will commence on November 30th, and will close at 11:59pm on December 13. Winners will be announced on December 14 during the Town hall event at our annual VCF Holiday celebration. Thank you, Jeff Salzman Chairman - VCF-MA Steering Committee ---------------------------------------- 4. COMMITTEE ELECTIONS Steering committee membership includes representation of VCF membership, as determined by the VCF governing board and VCF-MA sponsored elections. - The committee membership will be determined by elections to be held on a yearly basis (currently November). - Committee membership is ideally comprised of five people but may vary due to changing circumstances. Any committee vote to determine an increase in committee members shall be held within six months after a new election cycle. - A minimum of one seat will be up for election in every cycle, unless additional vacancies create the need for additional seats to be filled, in which case all vacant seats will be up for election in that cycle. - In the event of a tie, a two-week runoff election will be held. - If a tie still exists after the runoff, the non-running committee members will determine a winner. - In the event of a committee tie, the current chairperson or chair delegate will determine the winner. - Nominations for committee members can be made by current members in good standing simply by communicating the nomination to a committee member. One nomination per member can be made. Said members may also self-nominate. - In the case of off-cycle vacancies, the committee may move, without a public election, to appoint by simple majority vote new committee members to fill the seats until the next scheduled election. - A committee chairperson will be appointed by the committee members within 30 days of each completed election cycle. At that time a recording secretary will be selected. - Prospective committee members should be knowledgeable in some aspect of computing, preferably vintage computers, and show a demonstrated interest in vintage computing, computing history, and museum management and governance. - In order to be sufficiently aware and have proper perspective of museum and warehouse issues, prospective committee members should be able to physically attend VCF events at least quarterly and attend meetings regularly. 5. VCF MEMBERSHIP VCF general membership is open and granted to anyone who joins the mailing list. Voting rights will be granted to active list members who join no less than 30 days before an election.

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recent obits and amusement
by Jeffrey Jonas 09 Nov '24

09 Nov '24

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_E._Sporck Charles E. Sporck (November 15, 1927 - October 16, 2024) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duMUvoKP-pk Oral History of Charlie Sporck Computer History Museum https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/news/remembering-charles-sporck-the-johnny… Remembering Charles Sporck, the Johnny Appleseed of Fabs It takes more than physicists and electrical engineers to advance the semiconductor industry. Charles Sporck, ME, helped drive the early days of the tech industry with production, operations, and management expertise. Charles Edward Sporck, former CEO of National Semiconductor and key founding father of Silicon Valley, passed away at 96 on October 12. Sporck was at the helm of National Semiconductor as president and CEO from 1967 to 1991, but his journey to the heart of the tech industry started long before that. ____________________________________________________________________________________ The voice of Jane Barbe lives on as voice mail & automated telephone recordings: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Barbe Jane Barbe (July 29, 1928 - July 18, 2003) was an American voice actress and singer. She was known as the "Time Lady" for the recordings she made for the Bell System and other phone companies. She's joined by Elwood Hughes Edwards Jr. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elwood_Edwards Elwood Hughes Edwards Jr. (November 6, 1949 - November 5, 2024) was an American voice actor. His greetings include "Welcome", "You've got mail", "You've got pictures", "You've got voicemail", "File's done", and "Goodbye" https://youtu.be/JQ7EkDFl_3s 'You've Got Mail' Voice Elwood Edwards Dies at 74 ____________________________________________________________________________________ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcGREw84lu4 The Windows XP shutdown music played on different instruments.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Verizon contacts, Lucent 5ESS-2000 VCDX?
by Neil Cherry 08 Nov '24

08 Nov '24

On 11/4/24 17:37, N. Albert via vcf-midatlantic wrote: Nice pictures. I'm guessing that our lab had older batteries. They were huge beasts, one 2v per cell and fit the 4x4 description. I think the bottle of acid was in the case. Oh and for whomever is looking to get this thing. Don't go leaving it in the CDL for someone to pick up! ;-) Yike that's a huge beast. -- 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

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SAVE THE DATE FOR FESTIVUS! Saturday, December 14, from 10AM to 1AM
by Jeffrey Brace 08 Nov '24

08 Nov '24

*DATE AND TIME: * Saturday, December 14 from 10AM until 1AM. *LOCATION:* At InfoAge: 2201 Marconi Rd, Wall Township, NJ 07719 *BUILDING:* *9010-D*, A.K.A. *The Visitors Center*, A.K.A. *The Sandy Dorms*, A.K.A. *The bunkrooms* *THERE IS NO OVERNIGHT STAY AVAILABLE! * Sorry, Wall Township no longer allows anyone to stay overnight in The Visitor's Center please use our discount hotel option or any other hotels in the area. *Atlantic Inn & Suites:* $80 per night and you must call the number directly: (732) 974-8400 AND mention Vintage Computer Federation More info to follow shortly! I'm finalizing all the other information and setup Google Sheets.

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Festivus, Saturday Dec. 14 @InfoAge
by Jeffrey Brace 06 Nov '24

06 Nov '24

I have successfully reserved Festivus on Saturday, Dec. 14 at InfoAge in the Sandy area (9010-D). There are no overnight stays available. So I would expect that we have to be out of there by a certain time. We can still resume in the morning. I was able to get a special rate at Atlantic Inn & Suites for Festivus for $80 per night. You have to mention Vintage Computer Federation and call directly to get the discount. We will have a mini-swap meet, food like last year, a game room. I will be sending out more information about tickets and signups for Festivus soon! For those of you new to our group read on: WHAT IS FESTIVUS? Festivus started out as a party years ago and took place 6 months after VCF East. At some point, it was officially called "Festivus" as recommended by Bernie S. It refers to the Seinfeld episode https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX55AzGku5Y. It is a make believe holiday around the same time as many other December holidays, but for us it is not religious, but simply Pure Vintage Computer Fun. WHAT DO YOU DO AT FESTIVUS? We barbecue hamburgers, hot dogs, perogies, etc. It is a Potluck, everyone brings a food and/or beverage item. It is vintage video game fun. We have a game room setup for Ian and others to set up their video games for everyone to play. It is a fellowship to catch up with members that we haven't seen for a while. Take care! Jeff Brace VCF National Board Member Chairman & Vice President Vintage Computer Festival East Showrunner VCF Mid-Atlantic Event Manager Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity https://vcfed.org/ <http://www.vcfed.org/> jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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Next Repair Workshop(s)
by Jeffrey Brace 06 Nov '24

06 Nov '24

*@InfoAge* Nov. 16-17: https://vcfed.org/repair-workshops-at-infoage/ If you are looking for an inexpensive place to stay overnight, then try The Atlantic Inn & Suites: https://maps.app.goo.gl/YK1N6WorCYnZUZ7F9 *@System Source* Nov. 23-23: https://ca.syssrc.com/wp/?page_id=85&civiwp=CiviCRM&q=civicrm%2Fevent%2Finf… Take care! Jeff Brace VCF National Board Member Chairman & Vice President Vintage Computer Festival East Showrunner VCF Mid-Atlantic Event Manager Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity https://vcfed.org/ <http://www.vcfed.org/> jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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Verizon contacts, Lucent 5ESS-2000 VCDX?
by Ethan O'Toole 04 Nov '24

04 Nov '24

Not to change the subject, but I've heard that Verizon is retiring all of their 5ESS hardware. Anyone have any contacts at Verizon regarding surplus equipment / scrap? I think it would be cool to try to build a running 5ESS VCDX system with a minimum amount of POTS circuits (64?) and trunks and all that. Compact -48v DC power supplies, Sun 1u for the emulator thing... A home sized build that can be connected to shadytel or one of the online hobbyist phone networks. Also, I don't really know that much about them. I've been reading some of the manuals that Nokia (who bought Alcatel who bought Lucent who was AT&T or whatever) has online. The facebook Class 5 group -- someone said the switch mdoule itself will take nearly a full rack, so that is interesting. Wikipedia said 3 racks. The place I worked that I think had one, it was 11 or 12racks but I never saw inside them -- no one seemed to know anything about it. Any leads appreciated. - Ethan

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