Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Museum Report 2017-11-11 November 11, 2017
Hello all, I made my first trip to the InfoAge Science Center and VCF museum in Wall, NJ on Saturday Nov. 11, 2017. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience, mainly because I saw artifacts that I had only seen in magazines and never in real life. Before going into the VCF building I was drawn to the radio exhibits and appreciated the quality and dedication that went into producing electronics of the early 20th century. These objects and the people who built them were talking to me. I like the way highly technical content is just displayed along with the artifacts to remind us of the deep knowledge base we inherited. I then met Jeff and slowly walked through every machine on display. I can imagine the people working with them when they were state of the art. They had the time to learn, dream, think, and carefully operate the switches and controls, acting as scientists using the scientific method to observe, hypothesize, log, diagnose, and catch bugs flying inside the equipment. It will be amazing to see some of the old machines restored and running in the future. Then the computers of the 70s and 80s brought me back to childhood and helped me understand the wonder that kids today need to feel and appreciate as they stand on our shoulders. I mostly appreciated the machines of the 60s-70s like the PDP11, IMSAI, Altair, PET, Apple 1,2,3,Lisa and the luggables. The tiny but sharp green screen display on one of the luggables was impressive, along with the help file describing the capabilities of the machine. It sparked an interest in learning about a few of them and their capabilities. It was great to see Ted Nelson’s book “Computer Lib” on display, and the lego interface for the Apple 2. I’d love to spend time looking at the old manuals and learning from people who worked with the machines at future VCF events. Afterwards I visited the other exhibits in the building - I spent a lot of time in the Veteran Wireless Operators exhibit appreciating the communication challenges of early radio and telegraphy. I then saw the fascinating exhibit of military vehicles and equipment and was humbled by the sacrifices people made to preserve freedom. It put everything in perspective and was a very meaningful Veterans day for me. Thank you, Eric Rangell
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Eric Rangell