Museum Report 2018-03-31 March 31, 2018
I was at the museum today giving tours while Evan and Adam worked in the warehouse and in the museum to rearrange an exhibit and to work on the server etc. for the tablets. He can give you details later on what he and Adam worked on. A steady stream of visitors today. They came in two by two. Lots of highly interested people with lots of questions. A funny story with the first pair, a father and son. They son who was about 16 years old seemed to have some knowledge of vintage computers by reputation, but not personal experience. They needed to rush out and the boy was sad that he didn't have time to try some BASIC programming. I told him that the Commodore 64 was my favorite and that he could always buy one at a reasonable price nowadays. Then Evan and Adam came in the door carrying a C64. I told them of his interest and they gave him the C64. This C64 was found in the Camp Evans Base Of Terror area, so it was exposed to the elements and probably not in working condition, but the kid loved it. We told him that he could come to our workshop and get assistance repairing it. I also told him about our VCF East in May. One guy used to work at Fort Monmouth and Camp Evans and loved our new MOBIDIC display. So lots of fun being docent today with visitors excited and interested. I switched out the Star Gemini-10X printer above the C64 with a Commodore 1526 printer, which was common in that time period and matches the color well. I plan on borrowing the Star Gemini 10X for my exhibit at VCF East with Computer which will use Computer Eyes to capture a still image from a video camera and then print it out on the printer for attendees to take home.
A funny story with the first pair, a father and son. They son who was about 16 years old seemed to have some knowledge of vintage computers by reputation, but not personal experience. They needed to rush out and the boy was sad that he didn't have time to try some BASIC programming. I told him that the Commodore 64 was my favorite and that he could always buy one at a reasonable price nowadays. Then Evan and Adam came in the door carrying a C64. I told them of his interest and they gave him the C64. This C64 was found in the Camp Evans Base Of Terror area, so it was exposed to the elements and probably not in working condition, but the kid loved it.
Just to build on the story: as Jeff said, this was a junk system that we were going to put in the "free" or $10 pile at VCF East anyhow. We don't ordinarily go around giving away computers. :) The value of the kid getting excited, attending our next repair workshop, and maybe becoming a member far exceeds the few bucks we might've gotten for it.
I was at the museum today giving tours while Evan and Adam worked in the warehouse and in the museum to rearrange an exhibit and to work on the server etc. for the tablets. He can give you details later on what he and Adam worked on.
The network changes aren't finished but we made a lot of progress today and we know how to proceed next time. We also spent several hours doing warehouse work. We put aside a whole pallet or two of surplus Commodore items to sell at VCF East -- mostly 1541/1571 drives and C-64s, along with assorted other items. Equally important, we cleared tons of space to breathe in the Commodore aisle, so that we can better organize the rest of it rather than trying to find room for everything. It's a pleasure to see shelves neatly arranged by item type, everything facing the same direction, etc. vs. wherever it fits. Chances are good that we'll be back at it one day this week (because Adam is off work) and then again next Sunday. The closer to VCF East, the more we'll be working down there.
participants (2)
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Evan Koblentz -
Jeffrey Brace