Vintage Computer Festival West

VCF West is for everyone! Computer geeks, families/children, students, collectors, IT professionals, curious onlookers…

When: August 3-4, 2019

With support from:

Where: Computer History Museum, 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View, California (Google map, directions, lodging)

Hours:

Special attractions:

  • Ten or more Apple 1 computers, including several up-and-running, will be displayed at VCF West. Original and current owners will join early Apple employees in a panel to discuss the computers, why they were purchased, how they were used, and what the owners plan to do in the future. The panel is led by our expert Corey Cohen.
  • We’re celebrating the 50th anniversary of the moon landing! Volunteers from the museum restored an original Apollo Guidance Computer and they’ll show us all how it works. If you can’t wait, then check out their project blog. Apollo expert Frank O’Brien, who’s based at our home museum in New Jersey, will also be there.
  • Our favorite tech expert — Commodore 128 chief designer Bil Herd — will lecture about how to understand and fix the effects of aging and heat on electronic components. He’ll also discuss how components are selected in the first place. 

Tickets — Online ticketing is open! Tickets will also be available at the door. Admission is $20 for one day, $30 for both days, half-price for Computer History Museum members (or with your CHM admission), and free for anyone 14 or younger.

Exhibits (and exhibit registration) — Hands-on exhibits are presented Saturday and Sunday. You’ll find demos of 1960s minicomputers, 1970s homebrew systems, 1980s eight-bitters, and a few oddities. Some exhibits contain pristine original machines, while others focus on unique modern hacks, and everything in between.

Speakers — Come see our impressive keynote speakers! Read about the speakers and their topics on this page.

Consignment — Vintage Computer Festivals are not flea/swap events, however we do offer a consignment room. Click through to read the rules and to download the consigner form.

Food — Where they are computer nerds, there must be food! Items such as bagels, muffins, coffee, snacks, hot dogs, soft drinks, etc. will be available.

Don’t forget — CHM is the world’s best computer museum, and it will be fully open during VCF West. Do not miss your chance to see their incredible exhibits including the newly constructed software pavilion.

Contacts: Erik Klein (erik@vcfed.org), producer, VCF West; or Evan Koblentz (evan@vcfed.org), executive director, Vintage Computer Federation