Floppy Days Vintage Computing Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Floppy Days 62 - The HP85B Computer, with Everett Kaser and Vassilis Prevelakis Jul 27, 2016

Show notes

Welcome to episode 62 of the Floppy Days Podcast, where a little smoke once in a while is a hazard of the hobby. In the vintage computer timeline, we are still in the 1979 to 1980 timeframe. This month we are covering the HP-85 desktop computer, or actually the entire series of which the HP-85 was a part known as the HP Series 80.

I struck gold when I found the two gentlemen who are co-hosting this episode with me. First is Everett Kaser, who worked for HP for 20 years and was intimately involved in the development and support of the HP-85. Secondly, we have Vassilis Prevelakis, who runs one of the best resources about the HP Series 80 in existence today, hpseries80.org. Once we started talking, and I interviewed the two gentlemen, I realized we were going to need a multi-part show to cover the large amount of information and history around this significant platform. So, the first show will be the interview with Everett and Vassilis and next month we will get into history, tech specs, emulation, Web sites, and all of the other information I like to cover.

Before we get into that, however, I will cover new acquistions, a little news, and some feedback I've received.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

New Acquisitions/What I've Been Up To

American Computer Museum, Bozeman, MT - http://www.compustory.com/
Micropendium (TI99 Magazine) Site - http://www.99er.net/micropendium.html
HP41 PPC ROM - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-3SI5jRHv8
HP Calculator Poster at VCALC.NET - http://vcalc.net/#posters
Museum of HP Calculators - Museum Document Sets on Flash Drive - http://www.hpmuseum.org/cd/cddesc.htm

News

VCF West - August 6-7, 2016, Computer History Museum, Mountain View, CA - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-west-xi/
VCFMW - September 10-11, 2016, Holiday Inn Elk Grove Village, Elk Grove Village, IL - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/independent-festivals/vintage-computer-festival-midwest/
Chicago International Faire - Saturday, October 15th, Evanston Public Library - Contact Faire Chairman Hal Shanafield for more info.
VCFe-CH - Vintage Computer Festival Europe, Zurich, Switzerland, November 19-20, 2016 - http://vcfe.ch

Feedback

List of modules for the HP-41 - http://www.hp41.org/LibView.cfm?Command=View&ItemID=1232

Interview

Everett Kaser Website - http://www.kaser.com/hp85.html
Vassilis Prevelakis Website - http://series80.org

Floppy Days 61 - VCF West with Earl Evans and Evan Koblentz Jul 26, 2016

Show notes

VCF West Official Site - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-west-xi/

Floppy Days 60 - The HP41C Calculator, Part II, with Richard Nelson and Gene Wright Jun 11, 2016

Show notes

Welcome to episode 60 of the Floppy Days Podcast, where vintage in the term vintage computers simply means "cool". My name is Randy Kindig. I am happy to bring you this month the follow-up or second of two episodes on the HP41C programmable calculator. Once again, I have two stellar members of the HP41 community, Richard J. Nelson and Gene Wright, with me to bring you all the information you care to know about the HP41. That includes a wrap-up to the history of the machine, tech specs, books, software, newsletters, modern upgrades, emulation, current Web sites, and so much more. Before that, I do want to discuss a few new acquisitions that have come my way, as well as some feedback I've received from listeners.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

Books

"Easy Course in Programming The HP-4"1 by Ted Wadman and Chris Coffin, illustrated by Robert Bloch - http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Course-Programming-HP-41/dp/0931011094
"Programming the TI-59 and HP-41 Calculators" by Paul Garrison - http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Ti-59-Hp-41-Calculators-Garrison/dp/0830624422
"Extend Your HP-41" by W.A.C. Mier-Jedrzejowicz - http://www.amazon.com/Extend-Your-Hp-41-W-Mier-Jedrejowicz/dp/0951073303
A Guide to HP Handheld Calculators and Computers by W.A.C. Mier-Jedrzejowicz

Modern Upgrades

The new HP 41CL webpage: http://www.systemyde.com/hp41/
Clone Calculators - http://www.swissmicros.com/
HHP-16K EPROM Emulator - http://www.embeddedcomponents.com/blogs/category/component-projects/hp-41-ppc/

Emulation

emulation site - http://www.hp41.org/Emulation.cfm
V41 (Windows) by Warren Furlow - https://www.educalc.net/326089.page
SIM41W (Windows) by Alvaro Gerardo Suárez
VB41CX .NET (Windows) by Ron van Tilburg
i41CX and i41CX+ (iOS) by Antonio Lagana on Apple App Store
Calc41C (iOS) by Jonathan Watmough on Apple App Store
X-41 (Mac OS X) by Frederic Bronner - https://sourceforge.net/projects/x-41/
GENESIS-41 (Mac OS X) by Laurent Spohr - http://www.laurent-spohr.com/Main/HP-41CX_Emulator.html
my41cx (Mac OS X) by Miroslav Perovic - http://www.my41cx.com/index.php/2-uncategorised/1-my41cx-microcode-emulator
Android 41CV by Martin Hansen
go41c (Android) by Olivier De Smet

Web Sites

HHC (HP Handheld Computer) Conference - http://hhuc.us/
TI-58/59 Failures and Maintenance Tips Web site (Gene Wright) - http://www.rskey.org/gene/calcgene/59diag.htm
"The HP-41 System – 30 Years Old" by Richard J Nelson - http://h71028.www7.hp.com/enterprise/downloads/The%20HP-41%20System%20V3.pdf
Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP-41C
HP41.org - http://www.hp41.org/Intro.cfm by Warren Furlow
HP site by Matthias Wehrli - http://www.hp-collection.org/ a lot of information about accessories for the HP-41
HP-41 Scientific Calculator Fan Club on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/hp41fanclub/
HPCC.org - http://www.hpcc.org/calculators/hp41.html
HP Calculator Repairs - http://www.fixthatcalc.com/index1.php
Rick Furr's vcalc.net Calculator Reference - http://www.vcalc.net - has purchaseable "Calculators of HP" poster for $25 with shipping in the U.S.
Retrobits Podcast on the HP-41C by Earl Evans - http://retrobits.libsyn.com/show-070-the-hp-41c-programmable-calculator
Jake Schwartz' PAHHC Handheld Electronics - http://www.pahhc.org/ - has HP calculator calendars for sale, PPC DVD
Jean-Marc Baillard's HP-41C programs - http://hp41programs.yolasite.com
Programmable calculators (Victor Toth) - http://www.rskey.org/CMS/
The Museum of HP Calculators (Dave Hicks) - http://www.hpmuseum.org/hp41.htm

Museum Document Sets - http://www.hpmuseum.org/cd/cddesc.htm

Floppy Days 59 - The HP41C Calculator, Part I, History with Richard Nelson and Gene Wright May 14, 2016

Show notes

Hello, all, and welcome to the next installment of the podcast that says "vintage electronics: I WANT IT". I'm Randy Kindig and I'm your host. This episode is the first of a 2-parter on the Hewlett Packard HP-41 line of programmable calculators. The HP-41 is a seminal example of programmable calculators from the late 70's and into the 80's and is still very desirable and sought after today. I was lucky enough to find 2 gentlemen to co-host who are well-known among the active HP calculator community that exists today: Richard J. Nelson, who has written, edited, and published as much HP-41 material as anyone ever. And Gene Wright who is on the HP Handheld Conference Committee and he was a TI fan before becoming "hooked" on the HP-41. In this first part on the HP-41, I interview the co-hosts and then we cover the history of the calculator line in detail. Next month, with the same co-hosts, we will cover Web sites, emulation, software, and much more.

To start out, as usual, I will cover my new vintage computer acquisitions, a little news, and some feedback.

I hope you enjoy this and please let me know what you think.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

New Acquisitions

Kim UNO - http://obsolescence.wix.com/obsolescence
SpartaDOS X Supercart - https://www.bitsofthepast.com/?product=super-spartados-cartridge

News

New TI Newsletter - Yesterdays News by Ralph Rees - http://atariage.com/forums/topic/251850-yesterdays-news/?hl=%2Byesterdays+%2Bnews#entry3507067
https://storybundle.com/tech - "Nerd History Bundle"
A Microsoft Life by Stephen Toulouse - http://www.amazon.com/dp/0557735297/?tag=flodaypod-20
Gates by Stephen Manes and Paul Andrews - http://www.amazon.com/dp/0671880748/?tag=flodaypod-20
Fire in the Valley by Michael Swaine and Paul Freiberger - http://www.amazon.com/dp/0071358927/?tag=flodaypod-20
Terrible Nerd by Kevin Savetz - http://www.amazon.com/dp/1939169003/?tag=flodaypod-20
Irregularity by Jared Shurin - http://www.amazon.com/dp/0992817218/?tag=flodaypod-20
The Google Way by Bernard Girard - http://www.amazon.com/dp/1593271840/?tag=flodaypod-20
Priming the Pump by David Welsh and Theresa Welsh - http://www.amazon.com/dp/0979346800/?tag=flodaypod-20
Book site for Priming the Pump - http://www.microcomputerpioneers.com/

Upcoming Shows

Last Chicago CocoFest - http://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/ April 23 & 24, 2016, Heron Point Convention Center, Lombard, IL
KansasFest - July 19-24, 2016 - https://www.kansasfest.org
Atari Party - Saturday, July 30, at 12 PM - 5 PM in PDT, Mary L. Stephens Davis Branch Library, 315 E 14th St, Davis, California 95616 - https://www.facebook.com/events/1069851796370777/
VCF west - Aug 6-7 - http://www.vintagecomputerfederation.org/uncategorized/vcf-west-is-back/
VCF midwest — Sep 10-11, Elk Grove Village, IL - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-midwest/
PRGE Oct 21-23 http://www.retrogamingexpo.com
TI International World's Faire - Sat. Oct. 15 at Evanston Public Library

Feedback

a two-minute pitch video for The Secret History of Gaming on the Mac being written by Richard Moss - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tL2kC3QqeU
The Secret History of Gaming on the Mac Web site - https://unbound.co.uk/books/macgaming

Interview and History

Gene's TI-58/59 Failures and Maintenance Tips Web site - http://www.rskey.org/gene/calcgene/59diag.htm
Contains probably the most information about the HP 41 series out there: http://hp41.org/
The HP 41CL replacement CPU board web page: http://www.systemyde.com/hp41/
Keith Jarett, "HP 41 in Orbit," Personal Computing (October/November 1984), pp. 50-54. - http://web.archive.org/web/20000621003759/http://www.nasm.si.edu/nasm/dsh/artifacts/GC-hewlett-.htm
HHC (HP Handheld Computer) Conference - http://hhuc.us/

References

"The HP-41 System – 30 Years Old" by Richard J Nelson - http://h71028.www7.hp.com/enterprise/downloads/The%20HP-41%20System%20V3.pdf
Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP-41C

Floppy Days 58 - Ralph Rees, Editor, VAST TI-99 Newsletter Interview Apr 24, 2016

Show notes

Ralph Rees, Editor, VAST TI-99 Newsletter

Hi, everyone and welcome to episode 58 of the Floppy Days Podcast. I’m Randy Kindig. To sort of finish off the TI-99 series of episodes I’ve been running, I have an interview-only show for you this month. This interview is with Ralph Rees, president and newsletter editor of the VAlley of the Sun TI-99ers (VAST) back in the 1990’s. He produced his high quality newsletter directly on a TI-99 system and received quite a few compliments about it while it was still being published. Ralph still has an extensive TI-99 collection today.

This interview was conducted on June 7, 2015.

Links:

The Western Horizon Technologies FTP server - ftp://ftp.whtech.com

Floppy Days 57 - VCFSE4 Podcasters Roundtable Apr 12, 2016

Show notes

Welcome to this special episode of Floppy Days, live from Vintage Computer Festival Southeast 4.0! A group of podcasters at the show got together and did this fun little podcast. Learn more about the show and about your favorite podcasters.

Floppy Days 56 - TI99 Emulation, Web Sites with Chris Schneider and Rich Polivka Mar 29, 2016

Show notes

Welcome to episode 56 of the Floppy Days Podcast where old computers come to life again. I’m Randy Kindig. I want to thank Ian Baronofsky and Rick Reynolds for providing their thoughts and memories of the TI-99 computer. This is the fifth and final installment in a series of episodes on the TI-99/4A home computer. This episode will cover TI-99 ads, user groups and shows, emulation, buying one today, community, and Web sites. My very special co-hosts for this episode are again two well-known figures in the TI-99 community: Chris Schneider, who produces the SHIFT838 newsletter and Rich Polivka, who manages the popular 99er.net Web site. They provide a ton of information about the amazing TI-994/A home computer. I hope you enjoy this.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

New Acquisitions

Juiced.GS Apple II Newsletter - https://juiced.gs/
Commodore 64 Machine Language for the Absolute Beginner by Danny Davis - http://www.amazon.com/dp/0861611454/?tag=flodaypod-20
The ZX81 Pocket Book by Trevor Toms - http://www.amazon.com/dp/095073022X/?tag=flodaypod-20
Introduction to Machine Code for Beginners (Usborne Computers & Electronics) - Lisa Watts, Mike Wharton - http://www.amazon.com/dp/0860207358/?tag=flodaypod-20

News

Bill Degnan’s “History of Commodore Computers” Poster - http://www.vintagecomputer.net/poster_detail.cfm
Floppy Days Logo Contest Poll - https://www.facebook.com/groups/floppydays/permalink/1699121653679601/?qa_ref=qd
TRS-80 Trash Talk Podcast with Peter Cetinski - http://www.trs80trashtalk.com
Stan Veit’s History of the Personal Computer Podcast with David Greelish - http://www.classiccomputing.com/CCPodcasts/Stan_Veit/Stan_Veit.html
VCF Southeast 4.0 - April 2 & 3 2016, Roswell, GA - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-southeast-4-0/
VCF East - April 15-17, 2016 - InfoAge Science Center, 2201 Marconi Rd., Wall, NJ, 07719 - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-southeast-4-0/
25th Annual Last Chicago CoCoFest - http://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/ - April 23 & 24, 2016, Heron Point Convention Center, Lombard, IL, Sat. 9-5, Sun. 9-3
TI Fest West 2016 - http://atariage.com/forums/topic/248617-pnw-ti-994a-fest-west-2016-april-30th/ - April 30, Centralia WA
KansasFest, 28th edition - https://www.kansasfest.org/ - Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri, from Tuesday, July 19, through Sunday, July 24
Atari Party = http://www.newbreedsoftware.com/atariparty/ - Saturday, July 30th, 2016, 12 p.m -5 p.m., Yolo County Public Library, Davis, CA
Vintage Computer Festival West - August 6-7 at the Computer History Museum, in Mountain View, California. - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-west-xi/
VCF MIDWEST 11 September 10-11, 2016, Elk Grove Village, IL - http://www.vcfmw.org/
Portland Retro Gaming Expo - 11th annual Expo at the Oregon Convention Center on October 21-23, 2016 - http://www.retrogamingexpo.com/

Feedback

Retrocomputer Museum - http://retrocomputermuseum.co.uk/
Web browser project on the TI written by Stuart Conner - http://www.avjd51.dsl.pipex.com/ti/ti.htm#internet_web_browser
TI game that allows people to play chess against each other on the web by Corey Anderson - http://myti99.com

Ads

“TI’s Home Computer. This is the one!” Ad - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlU4HTefxmc
Another Bill Cosby video ad - $100 rebate (1983) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1nB71Ndmvs
Another video ad - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trNcXw6nRU0

User Groups and Shows

Chicago TI-99/4A Users Group - http://www.chicagotiug.com/tiki-index.php
Chicago TI International World Faire - http://www.chicagotiug.com/tiki-index.php?page=Faire
Rich attended the 18th faire in 2000 - http://www.99er.net/chicago/chicago.html
TI99ers On-Line User Group - http://www.ti99ers.org/news.php
TI-99 Club in Vienna, Austria still has regular meetings - http://ti99blog.webs.com/
TI User Group (UK) - In operation for 27 years - http://www.ti99ug.co.uk/index.php
TI-99 Italian User Club - http://www.ti99iuc.it/

Emulation

Classic99 by Harmless Lion - www.harmlesslion.com/software/classic99
MESS (Multiple Emulator Super System) - http://www.ninerpedia.org/index.php/MESS
Using MESS along with TIIMAGETOOL - http://www.ninerpedia.org/index.php/TIImageTool
Win994a - TI99/4A Simulator for Windows by Cory Burr - http://www.99er.net/win994a.shtml
‘ASM994A’ program - http://atariage.com/forums/topic/229206-using-asm994a/
TI-99 For Windows (TI99W) by Fred Kaal - http://www.ti99-geek.nl/
JS99er - http://www.js99er.net
V9T9 Emulator - http://eswartz.github.io/emul/
TIGAMEROOM - http://www.ti99iuc.it/web/go?94RUNC
PC99 from CaDD electronics - http://www.cadd99.com

Community

TI 99er’s Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/2209774843/
99er.net Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/The-Ti-994a-Home-Computer-Page-196432643721232/timeline/
Yahoo Online Groups - https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/ti99-4a/info , https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/TI994A/info
AtariAge - http://ti99.atariage.com/
Google+ - TI99 Videos (YouTube) - https://plus.google.com/+Globeron-TI99VIDEOS/videos

Web Sites

TI Magazines - http://www.mainbyte.com/ti99/micro/micro.html
TI-99/4A Home Computer Page (Rich Polivka) - http://www.99er.net/ (or .org, but not .com)
Bill Gaskill’s TI Timeline - http://www.ti99ers.org/timeline/ , http://www.99er.net/hist1.html
TI-99/4A Home Computer Book Archive - http://www.hexbus.com/tibooks/
Archive.org - http://archive.org
Mainbyte - http://mainbyte.com - great reference site for TI-99/4A material hardware and command references as well as hardware projects for building and upgrades
Video Game House - http://www.videogamehouse.net/ - Covers game carts for the TI; Manuals, boxes, screenshots, trivia
TI Tech Pages - http://www.nouspikel.com/ti99/titechpages.htm - Architecture, processor, memory, peripherals, upgrades, programming.
TI-99/4A Game Shelf - http://tigameshelf.net/ - Collection of disk/cassette images for use with emulators. Frequently updated, good instructions.
WikiPedia for the TI-99 - http://Ninerpedia.org
Hexbus - http://www.hexbus.com/TI-99_4A_Home_Computer_Page/The_TI-99_4A_Home_Computer_Page.html - John Guidry’s site for hardware and software for the TI-99/4a
TI99 Geek - http://www.ti99-geek.nl/ - Fred Kaals site. Designer of the HDX upgrade (store files on a PC via serial connection); many good projects and programs.
Arcade Shopper - http://www.arcadeshopper.com Original carts (Rasmus), cartridge boards, eproms
Tex*In Treasures - http://www.texintreasures.com/ - Used to have NOS & used TI and CC40 items. Site still available, but has been showing maintenance message for months.
Rabbit Engineering - http://www.rabbitengineering.com/ has mini TI99 ‘models’
Zazzle - http://www.zazzle.com/jchildre has Alpiner and Wumpus shirts/hats; Cafe press stores (search TI-99)
Terry Stewart (Tezza) video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6VjsVwRXYk
The TI99ers Online User Group - http://www.ti99ers.org. It is intended to be a "clearinghouse" for TI-99/4A and compatibles information.
TI99ers Hall of Fame - http://www.ti99hof.org/
The Western Horizon Technologies FTP server - ftp://ftp.whtech.com - maintained by Don O'Neil and, through the efforts of many but most notably Charles Good, has become the premiere archive of TI-99 and related material
TOSEC collection at archive.org - https://archive.org/details/Texas_Instruments_TI-99_4a_TOSEC_2012_04_23

Floppy Days 55 - VCFSE 4 Preview with Earl Baugh Mar 14, 2016

Show notes

Hello, welcome to Floppy Days Podcast #55. This a special interview show to help get the word out about an upcoming event: Vintage Computer Festival Southeast version 4. My special guest is Earl Baugh of the Atlanta Historical Computing Society. He tells us all about the event, including special guest speakers that will be there, exhibits, gaming areas, a workshop where you can learn to solder and much more. If you can make it to Roswell, Georgia, the weekend of April 2 & 3, 2016, I highly recommend that you drop in and enjoy the show.

Links

VCF East 4.0 - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-southeast-4-0/

Kickstarter - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/302393381/help-fund-the-vintage-computer-festival-southeast-1

Floppy Days 54 - TRS-80 Trash Talk Podcast Promo Mar 03, 2016

Show notes

Hello and welcome to a special episode (#54) of the Floppy Days Podcast. For this episode, I am announcing involvement in a new podcast that I’m very excited about. Peter Cetinski, a well-known figure in the TRS-80 community as a result of some great software that he’s written for the platform, contacted me and others about doing a podcast about the TRS-80 line. This is a major line of historically significant computers and has sorely needed its own podcast. I wanted to help kick off the new podcast and promote it, so I invited all the members of the podcast to come onto Floppy Days and talk about it. Please enjoy.

Links

Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/trs80trashtalk/
Web Site - http://www.trs80trashtalk.com/
Pete Cetinski’s TRS-80 Software Page - http://pski.net/category/retro/
Peter Bartlett’s Web Site - http://bartlettlabs.com/
Ian Mavric’s Web Site - http://ianmav.customer.netspace.net.au/trs80/

Floppy Days 53 - Interview with Don French, Co-designer of the TRS-80 Model I Feb 21, 2016

Show notes

This is a special interview-only episode. I’m very happy to announce that my special guest for this show is Don French, co-designer of the TRS-80 Model I computer and long-time Tandy employee. Don has a long and storied history with Tandy. The TRS-80 Model I, the machine that saved Tandy and spawned a long line of historically significant computers, was his brainchild. He worked closely with Steve Leininger to develop the Model I. In addition, you’ll hear that he worked with Bill Gates, Paul Allen and many other giants of the microcomputer industry. I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I enjoyed talking with Don.

Links

“Priming the Pump: How TRS-80 Enthusiasts Helped Spark the PC Revolution” by Welsh, Theresa; Welsh, David (2011-02-23). The Seeker Books. - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004P8JNIS/?tag=flodaypod-20
Q&A With Don French at Ira Goldklang's TRS-80 Revived Site - http://www.trs-80.com/wordpress/interviews/

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Floppy Days Vintage Computing Podcast

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected