Trenton Computer Festival 2013 - MARCH exhibit

Saturday March 16th ws the Trenton Computer Festival for 2013. MARCH the Infoage vintage computer club, filled a classroom at the show with member's exhibits of vintage computers from pre-1980. A related exhibit from the TCNJ Sarnoff Museum was nearby. This page highlights some exhibits with photos, and references related events. I was one of the exhibitors. This is one of many vintage computing activities. I support vintage computing restoration and history on my Web site.

Corrections, identification, comments welcome. Send me Web links to your TCF and MARCH photos of the event. I'd particularly like photos of the Sarnoff/RCA display. Thanks to all I worked with that day, special thanks to David Comley who provided transport and moral assistance. - Herb Johnson

Last updated Dec 10 2013. Edited by Herb Johnson, (c) Herb Johnson, except for content from others.

Photos

Jon Chapman Intel SBC-85 educational computer. to the right is a closeup of the 8080 board

David Comley KIM-1 with cassette tape and TI Silent 700 terminal.

Bill Degnan MITS 680 (6800 computer) with Hazeltine terminal. Also IMSAI 8080 with Processor Tech boards, running video display.

Bill Dromgoole RCA Cosmac VIP system, Ohio Scientific 300.

MARCH Left: sales table of C-64's $100 w/mon w/drive, Apple II's $100 w/mon w/drive, TI-99/4A $50 no mon. Right: An IMSAI 8080 system (Degnan) near the MARCH on-loan Mark-8; attended by charming ladies accompanying the MARCH exhibitors.

David Gesswein DEC PDP 8/M?, DECtapes, RX02, Calcomp 563 plotter. Man in background is David Comley; forground is David Gesswein and wife

Corey Cohen - MITS Altair 8800 with MARCH ADM-3A terminal. Radio music program demonstrated.
Corey Cohen - MIMEO Apple 1 replica built by Corey, later donated to MARCH.
photos courtesy of Corey Cohen - thanks!

Corey says: "[For info on display], I had a listing of the 4k boot program with switch by switch toggling instructions. I use it [with] school kids and let them toggle it in. I also had two listing of 8080 instructions, on with details and one from Processor Tech with the hex code for hand assembly. I also had a copy of my manual set as well. I also had a copy of Martin Eberhard's how to load 8k basic from a paper tape, but he had an error in the switches for the 2SIO card...I've been using my SIO-A usually but [for other reasons] I used a 3P+S emulating the 2SIO port 0."

Herb Johnson: To the left, a photo of Heath H19 terminal, H8 8080 running HDOS and BASIC, and H17 floppy drives. Also an ADM-3A shown alternately with ADM-3A+ by David Comley. On right, photo of Degan's son's program written on-site. Here's a photo of me (left) and Jeff Galinat near my exhibit courtesy of ACGNJ and John Raff. More about my H8 is on this linked Web page.
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TCNJ's Sarnoff Collection had a table at entrance to MARCH room. TCNJ acquired some of the Sarnoff (RCA) Archive collection which was disbursed by Sarnoff Labs (formerly RCA Labs) a few years ago. They showed artifacts from RCA's computer history, including COSMAC items. Laptop showing Web site, digitized artifacts. TCNJ Sarnoff Collection's museum director Emily Croll (photo right) and Dr. Ben Gross (left) were on site. I discuss the Sarnoff Collection and it's relation to the RCA COSMAC 1802 microprocessor on my Web pages about that processor. Photo is courtesy of ACGNJ and John Raff.

Dinner afterwards at Ewing Diner.

Herb's rejected exhibit items

After some initial interest (by MARCH or myself), some suggested items were not shown. There was limited space, and these items were not working - two good reasons (grumble). One of them, a Motorola 6800 D2 Evaluation Kit I got running a week later! [And sold months later.] Another month later, I got the ADM-3A with "bad characters" working, just needed some better RAM chips. More about such terminals is on another Web page.

Ironically, a Phily news Web site has a video slide show of the first TCF. Several of the computers shown there, were shown by MARCH at the TCF in 2013. The two I also wanted to bring - Trenton Computer Labs TDL "Xitan", "the digital group" - were on exhibit then. I could not bring them "now" because of a MARCH "no work - no show" policy. ...and because space was limited. - Herb

Wadda think?

I asked the MARCH exhibitors to respond to these two questions: "What were the five most common questions or comments of those who looked at your exhibit?" and "What was the most UNEXPECTED comment or question?" I edited the responses and they are in this text file as linked.

Those interested in discussions before and after TCF'13 among MARCH participants, can see our email list discussions at the Yahoo! MARCH mail list Web site.

Related

Vendors: Hamfest-type vendors with new/used computer stuff, some industrial stuff, parts and assemblies. guy with several Tek, HP oscilloscopes. a few pure-parts dealers. guy who sells Arduino, BASIC stamp kits and etc. Mac vendor someone with a stack of boxed Mac IIsi system - IIsi, RGB 12" monitor, CD600, harddrive. It did not sell at the event, and I saw the same "stack" at a hamfest some time later.

Web links to more TCF'13-MARCH

Bill Degnan's photos.
pdp8.net, David Gesswein's PDP-8 site

A photo of me and of the Sarnoff Collection exhibit are courtesy of and permission from photographer John Raff, and made available via the ACGNJ Web site's photos of TCF 2013. Amateur Computer Group of New Jersey is a computer user group (club) based in Scotch Plains, NJ. They are "the oldest continuously running computer club in the USA" started in 1975, and a long partner in operating TCF.

This page and edited content is copyright Herb Johnson (c) 2013. Contact Herb at www.retrotechnology.com, an email address is available on that page..