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OT: Free Sun Workstations available at JHU in Baltimore
by Connor Krukosky 02 Feb '16

02 Feb '16

Have someone who has some Sun workstations available at John Hopkins University in Baltimore. I am too busy to get it myself so I figured someone in MARCH would want them. Free for pickup. The guy's name is Mike and you can email him at: mbrotzman.jhu(a)gmail.com "Have some sun equipment in Bal at JHU. Know anyone who might want it? Pickup required. I think an ultra 10 and a newer purple box." -Connor K

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OT: Come watch me install Linux on the IBM z890 Mainframe!
by Connor Krukosky 01 Feb '16

01 Feb '16

Come one come all! Its the day of reckoning. I finally have some storage on loan from a company called Funsoft! Hopefully by the end of the night I will have Linux installed and a portal to the internet to which people can connect and play on it! http://www.twitch.tv/conmega -Connor Krukosky

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Diagnostics Cartridge for Commodore 1541 Used at the Workshop
by Chris Fala 01 Feb '16

01 Feb '16

This cartridge proved to be very handy. If anyone is interested, I purchased it here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/321971488537

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OT: RE: Wives and retro-computers ( was Re: DC Area Head Count )
by Michael Thompson 01 Feb '16

01 Feb '16

> > Date: Sun, 31 Jan 2016 11:03:31 -0500 > From: Dave McGuire <mcguire(a)neurotica.com> > Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Wives and retro-computers ( was Re: DC > Area Head Count ) > > On 01/31/2016 09:28 AM, Derrik Walker v2.0 via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > > Mine has her limits too, but they're HER limits, not mine. Likewise, > mine are not hers. Thus, I offer these additional cases in addition to > your list above: > > 5) A compatible spouse > 6) A spouse who doesn't seek to control her spouse's activities > > -Dave > > -- > Dave McGuire, AK4HZ > New Kensington, PA > I propose a slight modification... 7) A spouse who seeks to keep my activities within reasonable limits I can collect any computer I want as long as it fits in my side of the garage or the cellar. I need preapproval for spending anything over $250. If I sell computer things those funds do not need preapproval to be spent. -- Michael Thompson

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Poster printing for VCF
by Mike Loewen 01 Feb '16

01 Feb '16

In light of the recent thread about large scale printers, is there anyone here able and willing to print 24"x36" full-color posters? Our campus engineering copy center will print on 35# coated paper stock for $3.50/square foot, but I'm open to a better deal. Anyone? Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

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Workshop Jan. 30/31 Report
by Jeffrey Brace 01 Feb '16

01 Feb '16

So the workshop was great for all of us! Lots done, lots of fun! :) 16 showed up Saturday, 8 Sunday. 5 of us worked on Commodore 1541 drives Saturday. Others worked on S100, PDP-8, Terminals, etc. The five working on the 1541s mostly sorted through The Federation's 1541 drives and tested which were good, medium or bad. Some were fixable with just using a q-tip and alcohol to the drive head. Some attempts at re-seating chips and voltage testing was done, but only for a small percentage of the drives. Further repair and diagnostic wasn't possible due to running out of time. I worked on my own personal 1541 drives myself was only able to tell which were working or not without opening up, repairing or running diagnostics. I spent a lot of time helping with The Federation drives and other Federation business (running the workshop etc.) and had little time for my own stuff. I did learn from Bill Degnan basic troubleshooting for 1541 drives. I hope to work on them and apply what I learned next month and be able to actually guarantee most of them 100% working. We had a special visit on Sunday from Rob Clarke. He is a Commodore guru who lives in Switzerland. He was in the Philadelphia area for some other event and hung out with us on Sunday. Since I lost all my Commodore help with the 1541 drives (they went home Saturday night), I decided to get Computer Eyes up and running. After about 3 hours I was able to get it to work! I captured a black and white image of myself and later a group photo. I even printed them out. Can others tell what they worked on and their progress? Our next Workshop is Feb. 27/28. I hope to see many of you there!

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$1.00 check :)
by Evan Koblentz 01 Feb '16

01 Feb '16

Here's a picture of Jeff B., me, and Corey C. with the $1.00 check for our next 12 months of rent at InfoAge.

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Thank you for your interest in Digital ...
by william degnan 01 Feb '16

01 Feb '16

http://www.vintagecomputer.net/browse_thread.cfm?id=627 --

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Workshop this weekend - Thoughts?
by Chris Fala 31 Jan '16

31 Jan '16

I have been really looking forward to an opportunity to get some experienced assistance repairing 1541 drives. I acquired several on eBay and other sources over the last couple years. Some were functional, some worked after the heads were cleaned, and some are still malfunctioning for unknown reasons. I haven't had the time to dig deeper and diagnose the problems on these. I hope that I can learn more about these this weekend and get at least some of this last category working. Practically speaking, how many drives should I bring this weekend? Is 20 too many or is it possible to actually work on that many in a day? Are there common problems that can be addressed quickly, or is it more likely that each drive will require unique troubleshooting?

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Tomorrow's Workshop
by Jeffrey Brace 31 Jan '16

31 Jan '16

I checked out the site, we have enough tables for the16 people who confirmed plus a few extra. The back door area has a 1/2 inch of snow, which won't be problem. Everyone, just be careful at night as it might get slippery as it melts and refreezes. Evan and I will be on site around 9am and in the workshop area by 10am. I dropped off my 1541, books etc. Call me if you have any problems: 732-759-1783. See youze guys tomorrow! :-D Jeff Brace

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