VCF East 2021 – Rescheduled!

Hello everyone,

I hope that everyone is safe, healthy and still able to enjoy our vintage computer hobby these days.
As you can see Covid-19 persists across the country and vaccines are not yet at the levels that we want them to be. Large crowds will not be possible in April and likely not be for at least a few months.
So I am rescheduling VCF East to October 8, 9, 10, 2021. I’m hoping that 8 months from now we will be in a place where we can have an in-person event. I will make a final decision by August 1 whether we will stay in-person or go virtual.
I will be starting to make plans for this event with the hope that we will have an in-person event. There will be some exciting and welcome changes to the event that will make it epitomize the fun nature of it’s namesake “festival”, which I see as a once a year coming together and celebration of vintage computers where everyone will share their enjoyment of this hobby.
Take care everyone, be safe, and be well!
Jeff Brace

Giving Day and Donating to VCF

Today is Giving Day, so I’d like to remind everyone that VCF is a 501c3 non-profit. We are always open to donations of money. We always need funding especially in a year where the largest sources of our funding, our Vintage Computer Festivals, were cancelled due to Covid-19.

Here are the ways that you can send us cash donations:

  1. Check by Mail:  P.O. Box 417, Eatontown, NJ, 07724
  2. PayPay: paypal@vcfed.org
  3. Amazon Smile: smile.amazon.com/gp/ch/list/47-4133714

An unrestricted donation is best for us to fund the most needed project.

Here are current projects that we are working on:

  1. Warehouse organizing materials
  2. Warehouse climate control materials
  3. Warehouse climate control equipment
  4. Museum artifact display improvements
  5. Museum office supplies

VCF Swap Meet

The Vintage Computer Federation is having its first Swap Meet event. This swap meet is for vintage computers, radios, TVs, ham radios and related items.

FREE FOR BUYERS!

Vendors: $20 for 1st space, $10 for each additional space.

DATE: November 7, 2020 (RAIN DATE: November 8, 2020)
TIME: 9AM to 6PM
LOCATION: Huge Parking lot on Monmouth Boulevard between Watson Road and Taft Street in Wall, NJ

Across from InfoAge Museum and Brookdale College
GPS location: 40.1848793,-74.0630848
Google Maps: Click Here
Satellite Map Click Here
Flyer – PNG
Flyer – PDF

WEBSITE: https://vcfed.org/vcf-swap-meet
EMAIL: swapmeet@vcfed.org
PHONE: 732-722-5015

If you are interested in renting a space, please fill out this Reservation Form

VCFed 2020 T-shirts – Last Call!

VCF events are done for the year, the world is still a mess, and our supply of t-shirts is dwindling! If you were thinking about getting one of these beautiful shirts, now is the time!

Two great colors to chose from, and the back sums up 2020 perfectly! (Green is shown; amber shirts have an amber back as well. Bonus points if you know where the caterpillar comes from.  Hint: it is not from Centipede!)

Your cost for this masterpiece? Just $20 + shipping, and all profits go to support VCFed. The shirts are made for us by A Nova Print in Portland, OR.  Men’s and Women’s sizes are available, but some sizes have already sold out.

More information can be found at https://vcfed.org/t-shirts/

November Repair Workshop at System Source

The Vintage Computer Federation and the System Source Computer Museum are hosting a vintage computer workshop on Saturday November 14th and Sunday November 15th 2020 at:

System Source Computer Museum

338 Clubhouse Road,

Hunt Valley, MD  21031

Plenty of free parking, short walk from Baltimore’s light rail (Gilroy Road Stop)

Saturday November 14th, 2020 we will open at 9:00 AM on and will lock up by 7:30 PM.

We will go to dinner afterwards. Details to follow soon.

Sunday November 15th we will open at 9:00 AM and lock up at 5:00 PM

All social distancing restrictions must be followed such as wearing a mask and staying 6 feet apart. There is plenty of space in the workshop areas.

Accommodations:  Try https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g41196-Hunt_Valley_Maryland-Hotels.html

Feel free to talk with others about sharing a room.

Food:   There are plenty of restaurants within a short drive.   We will have a catered Indian buffet on Saturday at cost ($12.00?) and catered Barbecue ($12.00?) on Sunday for those who sign up.

We will feature tours of the museum throughout both days and several mini-workshops:

  • Retrobright workshop (bring your yellowed plastics)
  • Pre-industrial computing class –  Learn to use a slide rule, and various types of Abaci
  • Hot Metal Typesetting (3500 lb word processor)

If you need a machine to work on, please let me know.  We have lots of computers awaiting restoration!

If you have unusual needs, (220 Volts, fork lift, etc please email Bob Roswell at museum@syssrc.com

Bob Roswell

broswell@syssrc.com

https://museum.syssrc.com

410-771-5544 x 4336

Sign up for the repair workshop is here: <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Z72yC72x5PmN4jb0Aw8uK3x0sQwMAk-0Opuee_zYu5Y/edit?usp=sharing>

Curt Vendel, 1966 – 2020

Anthropologist Margaret Mead famously noted that,“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Curt Vendel, Atari collector and historian passed away unexpectedly on August 30, at age 53, was one of these ‘committed citizens,’ a walking one man archive of Atari history. Vendel was the guiding light behind the Atari History Museum, an online and physical archive of over 15,000 documents from Atari, which he in many cases rescued from oblivion as part of a lifetime of intense collecting efforts. The collection also includes “information, images and personal stories on all items produced by Atari as well as news and links to further assist any and all individuals interested in learning more about the company that helped to pioneer and shape many areas of Video Arcade Entertainment, Home Consumer Electronics, Personal Computer Systems and much, much more.” The Museum is celebrating its 40th year. Vendel was known to be kind, outgoing, and generous with his time. His loss will be keenly felt by the retrogaming and history of computing community. He leaves behind his wife Michelle and daughter Madison, a college freshman.

VCF PNW 2020: Exhibitors needed

What: Vintage Computer Festival Pacific Northwest 2020
When: Saturday March 21st and Sunday March 22nd
Where: Living Computers:Museum+Labs in Seattle, Washington.
Web site: https://vcfed.org/vcf-pnw

Why … So you can share your favorite old computers and projects in person with like-minded others for two full days at a great venue. This is one of the many ways we celebrate computing history while reaching out to a larger audience, and hopefully inspiring others.

As of this writing we have seven exhibitors, three speakers, and a handful of volunteers signed up. We are looking for 20 to 25 exhibitors in total, another speaker or two, and a few more volunteers. While returning exhibits are welcome, we want to encourage first-timers to step up and try it out. (It is fun and rewarding!)

If you know that you can bring an exhibit please look at https://vcfed.org/vcf-pnw/exhibitor-registration and then fill in the registration form. (Potential volunteers and speakers – send me an email instead, as there is no form.) If you are “on the fence” or just have questions please send me an email and I will get things sorted out for you. The registration deadline is January 31st but if you know you can commit now it will make project planning easier.

A description of the event can be found at https://vcfed.org/vcf-pnw. General information for exhibitors including links to pictures from last year, a link to the registration form, and a FAQ can be found at https://vcfed.org/vcf-pnw/exhibitor-registration. Feel free to email me with questions.

Thanks,
Mike
michael@vcfed.org

Remembering Chuck Peddle

Chuck Peddle, a pioneer in the personal computing industry passed away on December 15th.

Chuck was on the team at Motorola who worked on the 6800 microprocessor. Based on his experience and belief that a lower cost alternative was needed, Chuck and several engineers left Motorola to create the 6502 microprocessor at MOS technology. When released in 1975 the 6502 was far less expensive than competing processors; the low price point enabled products such as the Atari 2600, the Apple ][, the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Commodore 64, the BBC Micro, and many others. It was an important part of the home computer revolution.

Chuck gave the keynote speech (via Skype) at VCF East 4.0 (in 2007) for Commodore’s 30th Anniversary. Dave Haynie, Bil Herd, Jeri Ellsworth and other Commodore fans were in attendance. Here is the YouTube video of his keynote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBnmJhEOdC8&t=854s

Chuck will be missed and remembered for his immense contributions to the early home computer revolution.

Chuck, thanks for all of the opcodes!

The MOS MCS6501 chip which was pin compatible to the Motorola 6800. Chuck Peddle created it to irk Motorola his former employer. An “in your face to Motorola.” Motorola sued and MOS stopped making it, but this forced Motorola to reduce the price of the 6800 because of competition with the 6502.