- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

VCF's HOPE exhibit
by Herb Johnson 27 Apr '16

27 Apr '16

> Evan wrote: > > For the [HOPE] exhibit, I would like to show vintage computer robotics.... > fix up our HERO....a Minimover arm can beg/borrow/steal ...We > also have a robot kit for the Commodore 64.. Are > there any other products we should consider for this exhibit? It should > be limited to 70s/80s (assuming there's nothing for the PDP-8!) > > PS - I found a lot of * computerized * robots -- those with CPUs inside > -- but for this exhibit I'd like to focus on robots * connected * to > computers, so we can show the computation side of things. > > end quote. Well, a quick comment is: show a PDP-8 with a Calcomp plotter. It's robotic, and computational, and "has the additional advantage of being true". Minicomputers ran robots in the 70's - that's all they had! for some time at least. But you're not gonna haul a minicomputer to HOPE. And certainly the HERO and Minimover and items are fine. But I object to your notion linking 1970's micros & "robots connected to computers.. for computation". I'm lecturing deliberately, so you have something to say to Hope attendees who would mock what seems like an Arduino on wheels. I'll remind you - I mean them - there were many more computers in private and small-company hands in the 80's than in the 70's - in the 70's there wasn't so much to connect a robot TO. And a micro board kit that ran motors STILL cost a few hundred dollars in the 1970's (when that would buy a decent used car). But buying a micro board that actually DID something physical, not just "blink lights", was a good excuse (to your boss, your spouse) to buy a microcomputer board, to learn the technology. Also, people in the 70's used such micros to run stuff - I don't know if you'd call a sprinkler system a "robot", but it's the same sort of "computations" and hardware as to move an arm or drive a motor. And many small manufacturers (most WERE small, then) bought single-board microcomputers, to run production equipment - a KIM could run a printing press for instance. here's such a card, from the late 1970's, a small-company product by Lee Hart. http://www.retrotechnology.com/memship/mem_basys.html this could run on solar power! Lee Hart attached motors and switches to it, put it in a box, and called it "ITSABOT". I don't have a photo of that product. Lee sells the 21st century equivalent board today, as a $89 kit. In other words: the 70's was a different world of microprocessors, as the 1980's would be a world where microcomputers became accepted. If someone at Hope is disappointed that a cigar-box robot on wheels "just" follows a white line and can avoid obstacles; explain that microprocessors were new technology, not cheap, and these devices taught the people who made the smarter/cheaper/faster stuff a decade or two later. "People don't mock babies for being toddlers", if you want a quicker reply. But if Hope is not a venue for such things and such lectures, that's your decision, show the Hero, it's pretty impressive for the era. Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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More VCF East 2016 photos
by Jameel Akari 26 Apr '16

26 Apr '16

Quick and dirty, haven't sorted them all yet, and they're not all winners: http://www.bithose.com/VCF_E_2016/ This will get updated, hopefully showing descriptions & tags. I decided now was a good time to switch to Adobe Lightroom, and, uh, it takes a while to really grok. ;) -- Jameel Akari

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Floppy Days Podcast #58 - Ralph Rees, Editor, VAST TI-99 Newsletter Interview
by Randall Kindig 26 Apr '16

26 Apr '16

http://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-58-ralph-rees-editor-vast-ti-99-ne… <http://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-58-ralph-rees-editor-vast-ti-99-ne…> Ralph Rees, Editor, VAST TI-99 Newsletter Hi, everyone and welcome to episode 58 of the Floppy Days Podcast. I’m Randy Kindig. To sort of finish off the TI-99 series of episodes I’ve been running, I have an interview-only show for you this month. This interview is with Ralph Rees, president and newsletter editor of the VAlley of the Sun TI-99ers (VAST) back in the 1990’s. He produced his high quality newsletter directly on a TI-99 system and received quite a few compliments about it while it was still being published. Ralph still has an extensive TI-99 collection today. This interview was conducted on June 7, 2015. Randall Kindig host Floppy Days Podcast floppydays.com

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] HERO batteries
by Corey Little 26 Apr '16

26 Apr '16

>Those 6V 5Ah sealed lead-acid cells look like the correct size. Two in the head on either side of the sonar system, two between the wheels? And what kind of operation time have you been able to get from your Hero 1 as a result? I think we might have a winner. Actually 3 down low between the wheels, for center of gravity, and one up higher to counterbalance the weight of the arm. The original batteries were about 6v lantern size, 2.5"x2.5"x4", 4Ah. The batteries I have are that size but 5Ah. The ones I referenced earlier on Amazon are rectangular, very slightly wider at 2.8"x1.9"x4". I'm not in front of the Hero now, but if recollection serves that should be well within the available space in all locations. As far as performance, we haven't gotten far enough with our restorations yet to push the battery capacity. Coming soon... ;-) -Corey L. Curator, cpmuseum

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] HERO batteries
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 26 Apr '16

26 Apr '16

Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic writes: >> I've already polled the Hero robot owners group about what modern >batteries a Hero 1 can use > >My inclination is to remove the HERO battery, open it up (nearly >Dremeling is necessary), and have it rebuilt by Batteries Plus using >comparable NiCads with modern amperage. That's what I did for an IBM >Simon phone last year and it worked fantastically well. Rebuilt the two >halves of the pack with epoxy and then sanded it flat. > >Alex, let's talk (off-list) about when you can make another trip up >here. http://www.mogixaccessories.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/battery-super-ma…

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HOPE -- who's going?
by Evan Koblentz 26 Apr '16

26 Apr '16

Who already purchased or plans to purchase HOPE tickets? We anticipate being there Saturday/Sunday. It would be helpful if we can make scheduled shifts and actually stick to that plan :) so that we don't have to get expensive hotel rooms or leave our stuff unguarded overnight.

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SpaceCommand test, Multi-Screen, Multi-Player network game[video]
by Dan Roganti 25 Apr '16

25 Apr '16

SpaceCommand test [video] I promised some of you that I would let you know this This is the first test of Multi-Screen feature on this Multi-Player network game After a few months of glitches and brain-farts, this is working This is basically one step above Multi-Player This allows you to interact with any player in this virtual world The virtual world is 8x screen wide on the C64 = 2560 pixels One of the biggest glitches I came across was using Broadcast packets. The problem slowed me down for a couple months. that's why it was only 90% done All of the network communication is done with UDP. I found out eventually, that you can't use a consumer grade network switch Because they don't let you provision the server to prevent loopbacks So the server was getting inundated with it's own broadcast packets. Almost as if there was a DDoS on the server. So much so, the network lag in the game from the Server to the Players, was as long as 2min - we had to time to believe it :) I still have another glitch with Players 6,7,8 The missile can only fly on 5 screens at the moment There's an issue with receiving packets on those players And there's some anomaly on the Y axis when the missile flies in each screen There's some jitter as if it's dropping the LSB bit somewhere. The player screens are small cause the screenshot extend over 2 monitors I'll have to make another video later with my tablet so I can zoom in closer I turned off the soundfx for now https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mr1F8PMQd9I Dan

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VCF's HOPE exhibit
by Evan Koblentz 25 Apr '16

25 Apr '16

HOPE is July 22-24 at its usual spot -- the Hotel Pennsylvania, in New York City. VCF will have an exhibit there. For the exhibit, I would like to show vintage computer robotics. Alex P. pledged to help us fix up our HERO. I remember Bill S. said he's got a Minimover arm, so hopefully we can beg/borrow/steal one of those. :) We also have a robot kit for the Commodore 64. Have to see if it works. Are there any other products we should consider for this exhibit? It should be limited to 70s/80s (assuming there's nothing for the PDP-8!)

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Commodore Pet in pop music video? Or proptronics
by Ethan 25 Apr '16

25 Apr '16

Popular music video has what I think is a Commodore Pet that has been rebadged, or is it one of those plastic proptronics things that the furniture stores used? I see a classic mac in the video as well. Pet Keyboard looks real but I don't think they did ANSI graphics right? Capital Cities / I sold my bed but not my stereo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXqqWbnboJ0

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Kaypro 2X boot disk?
by Steven Michelsen 25 Apr '16

25 Apr '16

I just bought a Kaypro 2X on ebay - of course it comes with NO boot disk! Does anyone have a compatible boot floppy for this machine? I would be more than glad to send blank disks to you and a self addressed stamped envelope! Thanks! Steve

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