Computing, Hobbyist, Computers, Microcomputers, News current and Historical

Names are not in any order or ranking -this is short list - More then 1000 pioneers are featured in Bob Denton's book "The PC Pioneers".- Learn about each one - CLICK 'NAME'

Sol Libes
John Titus
Steve Wozniak
Steve Jobs
Nat Wadsworth      More info
Wayne Green
Ed Roberts
Adam Osborne   More &more
Lee Felsenstein
Gary Kindall More info
Chuck Peddle
Alan Kay Inteview
Bill Moggridge More Bill designed the Grid Compass
Bill Gates more info
Paul Allen more info
Ted Hoff
Gordon Moore
Andrew Grove
Bob Denton more

This list is always available to readers of this blog on the 'Drop down menu' "Pioneers - Microcomputer Revolution".

The microcomputer revolution is only 45 years old and yet it has changed the way we live in so many ways. Has the computer revolution made our lives better ? It depends on your point of view and what each individual would consider "Better". Medical diagnostic devices, personal computers , digital cameras, portable Internet devices, Ipads , Ipods, smart phones are some of the most common products that depend on a microprocessor to function. Microprocessors are embedded - in products (TVs, Microwave's, GPS, personal security systems & 1000's more) that surround us in everyday life and have become normal - we take them for granted. The things we see and use personally are considered better by most users. We lived thousands of years without these clever products and some folks would be happy without them today.

This list of computer pioneers is only a tiny number of the folks that pioneered the early microcomputer revolution. Each one has dozens or even hundreds of fascinating stories associated with them. You will find stories about each one and 1000,s more in Bob Denton's Book "P C pioneers" These folks are a few of the ones I feel are near the top of the list. I know that everyone will want to add or change this list and that is just fine.

Moore's law lets us know that our dependence on microcomputers will always be at an increasing rate so don't be surprised at what is available in the next 2,5,10 years or more -- we can't imagine. Just brace yourself and be ready for change.

This list of pioneers is being added to everyday by folks creating new and very clever devices & systems that will be "OUT OF THE BLUE" - The list of microcomputer pioneers will always be expanding and growing.

What would happen if all or most of these microcomputer devices stopped working ? That could happen and is a whole new topic not considered in this short blog entry.

News: Foundation for Amateur International Radio Service (FAIRS) is hosting Ukrainian visitor to the USA.
We are very pleased to be hosting our Ukrainian friend Helen Goncharsky UR5WA for her visit to the USA. Helen visit will last for about one month and will include many activities. This week my wife Gaynell KK4WWW and Helen will be heading out to the largest amateur radio show in the world ( Dayton Hamvention) to represent our foundation FAIRS and meet many of our supporters. See FAIRs at BOOTH 412. For a really great professional video of one of our early visits to the Soviet Countries take a look at this 'FAIRS in the Former Soviet Union'- you will like it.
Dayton - Follow up: FAIRS folks had a great time at the Dayton Hamvention. About 25,000 amateur radio operators from around the world attend this event. Alex VE3VDX also helped out at our booth. Helen from Ukraine brought a lot hand made crafts to sell at the Hamvention and everything was sold - generating several thousand $ for FAIRS. Also for the 5th year the Hamvention - (Dayton Amateur Radio Club) gave a nice cash grant to FAIRS. Hope to see some of our ham radio friends at the show next year. Dave KK4WW

I am looking forward to the summer and more progress being made on our Historical Microcomputer collection. We have 3 paid student Interns or office assistants that will be working full time while out of school. Amber Ingram set up our little computer display in the Village Green. This summer she will expand it to have more computer memorabilia on display using the adjoining room where our amateur radio station N4USA is located. I am looking forward to the day when we can display most of our collection in an appealing display. I don't know just how this will be done however I am sure we can make it happen over the next few years. Floyd Virginia is where we would like the display/museum however it could be at most any location. I you have any ideas or could help please let us know - you may have a great idea.

I am looking for folks who can help with our collection. Their are many ways to help now or in the future. I do need to be making arrangements for all the memorabilia - I will be 75 this year and only have at most 25 years to make my computer project complete.

David Larsen , KK4WW Computer Collector/Historian and FAIRS Director.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

S100 Computers - Great web site for S100 and other Vintage Microcomputers

John Monahan is the host of a web site that is full of information for S100 computer enthusiast . John's site is loaded with very useful and interesting information. I have always been interested in the history of microcomputers and microprocessors and John has a really nice "Short History of Microprocessors".

John Monahan

You can learn about historical microcomputers by viewing this site - Some of the things included are; Other web sites for computer collectors, Forum where you could ask your own questions, Many software programs for S100 systems, S100 Boards for sale - you can sell your own as well and much more.

Here is example of information from the web site about S100 history.
S-100 Bus Components:-The Bus & Motherboards ( This is direct from John's web site )

The reason the S-100 bus became the de facto standard for early computer hobbyists back in the 1970's and early 80's was that one was not aligned to any one manufacturer. During that time there was an explosion of information and interest in home computers. Early companies were very creative in designing boards with unique features. They all could function together if they were plugged into a S-100 motherboard. The IMSAI computer probably being the best known example of this. Early motherboards were nothing more than 100 pin connectors wired in parallel. The first home computer the Altair, had a bus structure like this. A small motherboard of 4 board slots could be joined to multiples of these boards to make a bus of up to about 16 board slots. This arrangement worked fine for a low clock speed 8080 CPU running at 2 MHz. Soon afterwards another company IMSAI came out with a more noise resistant data bus with all connectors on one board. This quickly became the de-facto "S-100 bus computer". While it is easy to look back now at the early Altair S-100 computer and see how it could have been improved, we should remember however, that when Ed Roberts started there was severe price constraints of what the system could cost. It was this low cost that got the home computer concept going amongst hobbyists and launched the industry.

However soon people wanted to increase the speed of the bus. Longer multiple board slots soon appeared. It was not long until other electronic engineers got involved and started producing "active terminated" signal lines. The Godbout 19 slot S-100 bus board was one of the most popular. This motherboard had pull up and down resistors on each of the data, address and control lines to reduce signal noise. A schematic of this arrangement is illustrated here. Later many commercial and homebrew S-100 systems had at least 16-18 slots in a board cage to which multiple boards from multiple manufactures were added. This became the standard home computer setup of the late 1970's.

Take the time to look at the S100Computers web site for interesting and useful information about S100 bus and other vintage computers. Thank you John for listing a link to this blog on your site. I have a link to S100computers on the tab "Web sites and Blogs" so users will always easily find John's web site from this blog.

I just got started on my "Basic Electronics" video course - here is beginning "Electricity - What is it?"

Please go to my microcomputer museum Facebook page and help me by doing a "Like" - Thank you - Dave

I am really enjoying writing this computer informational blog. I have met many vintage computer hobbyists and learned more about historical microcomputers. One is never too old to learn - I have been a involved with computers for more than 55 years and am always excited to find new information. I am looking for good weather now as the "Floyd Auto Fair" is at our Chantilly Farm this weekend. It is a busy month for me as we also have our 3rd annual "Bluegrass and BBQ" Festival at the farm on the 25th. Gosh I guess I am still going strong at 74 but having the time of my life.

David Larsen, KK4WW Computer Collector/Historian in Floyd County Virginia.

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Books for Computer and Calculator Collectors Historians

This is just a short list of books I think are very useful for computer collectors and historians. You can find all these on Amazon.com as used books. You will always have this list available as a drop down tab at the top my blog. I put it here as a post because some folks do not look at the tab. Their are many other useful books for computer collectors and if you have a favorite let me know and I will add it to the TAB 'Books for Collectors'.

The PC Pioneers by Bob Denton -ISBN 978-0-9569643-2-8 (2011) 550 pages
Massive amount of information and data - how Bob was able to do this is truly amazing to me. Great read.

"Dealers of Lighting - Xerox Parc and the Dawn of the Computer age"

by Michael A. Hiltzik , published by Harper Business

This is a must read for history buffs -all about the activities of The Palo Alto Research Center - Steve Jobs and Bill Gates got many of their ideas from this group.

"History of the Personal Computer"By Stan Veit - Editor - in - Chief Emeritus 'Computer Shopper'

This is a fun read and more about Stan's experiences

with microcomputers and the folks making history during his time. I advertised in the Computer Shopper for many years for historical microcomputers and it was very effective.

"A Collector's Guide to Personal Computers and Pocket Calculators"
by Dr. Thomas F. Haddock published by Books Americana
ISBN 0-89689-098-8 Copyright 1993 365 pages
Very good reference for the early microcomputers and calculators with cross references that are useful to help identify historical microcomputers. This book is rare and is expensive to purchase on the used market. Dr. Haddock donated his personal computer collection to our "Bugbook Historical Microcomputer Museum in July 2003. We are very pleased to have Dr. Haddock's collection.

"Collectible Microcomputers"
by Michael Nadeau - Published by Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
ISBN 0-7643-1600-1 Copyright 2003 160 pages
This is a nice and useful book for computer collectors - the photos are of good quality and good description of each computer is very helpful. Currently on Amazon for about $12 used .

"The Complete Collectors Guide to Pocket Calculators"
by Guy Ball and Bruce Flamm Published by Wilson/Branett Publishing
ISBN 1-888840-14-5 Copyright 1997 204 pages
I have more then 1000 calculators in the Bugbook Historical Microcomputer Museum and have found this book very helpful

"The Complete Historically Brewed"
By David Greelish , Published by Classic Computing Press
ISBN 13 978-0-615-53812-9 Copyright 2011 198 pages
The book contains all the original 9 issues of groundbreaking computer history published in his 'Historically Brewed' from (1993 to 1997) plus a lot more. David writes about his early interest and how he got his start in collecting and writing about microcomputers.

I am happy that we are having much warmer weather now it is possible to work out at our Chantilly Farm. We had amateur radio exam's today at our High School Radio Club 'N4FCH' and one person passed his exam for Technician license. Our ham radio population here in Floyd County, Virginia continues to increase. Hope you enjoy the Computer Blogs -- I am having fun writing them.
David Larsen KK4WW Computer Collector/Historian

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Vintage EPROM Memory 1702A -Made microcomputers, robotics and microcontrollers pratical 1971

News item about SCELBI microcomputer at VCFSE 4-21-13 'CLICK'

1971
The first EPROM ( Electrically Programmable Read Only Memory ) 1702A changed computing forever. The 1702A is Nonvolatile memory chip and does not lose its contents (program) when power is turned off. RAM (Random Access Memory) used at the time was volatile - the contents was lost every time power was turned off. Being able to program the microcomputer and have the program or data stay resident when power is turned off and on was essential.
The nonvolatile EPROM's made the microcomputer a practical computing machine.

1702A EPROM Integrated Circuit

EPROM's did have limitations and were somewhat complex to use - yes it was nonvolatile and could be reprogrammed however;

1. To program the EPROM you had to remove it from the circuit and use a special programming circuit to enter the program.

2. To erase the program or data in the 1702A you had to shine UV light thought the little clear quartz window on the integrated circuit (chip). Looking though the quartz window in the photo of the 1702A you can see the integrated circuit ( the actual silicon chip is called a die ) inside and the little gold wires the take the electrical signals in and out of the die.

These two requirements were somewhat complex however once you had the program finalized and working correctly you could make as many copies of the EPROM as needed, place the chips in the microcomputer and the program would reside for 20 or more years. The EPROM contents did eventually become corrupt as it is not a perfect device however most devices do not need to work more then 20 years unless you are sending them to the moon or outer space. EPROM's were not sent out on space missions - other forms of long term nonvolatile memory were used.

Here is a video I made several years ago about the 1702A EPROM - a nice way to take a look at the Chip.

We are talking about the programs that need to be operational every time the computer is turned on. In the early days that perhaps would be the monitor program that allows the computer to operate -take in information from the keyboard and some kind of display - video monitor or LED lights. If the computer was dedicated to being a controller the program needs to be available and running every time the computer is turned on.

The EPROM made the development of control programs possible because the program could be modified until it was operating as the developer wanted - then it could be duplicated by programming more EPROMS for addtional computers to sell.

The alternative was to load the program each time the computer was powered up or use PROM's. The first microcomputers did not have any fast or easy way to enter programs like floppy disk drives or hard drives. One of the first automated method of entering programs or data was to use a modified audio cassette tape player. This method of data entry was slow and often did not load correctly the first time. The PROM chip is manufactured with the program or data in the chip and it could not be modified by the user. PROM's were expensive to manufacture in small quantities . The PROM was used for producing computers in large quantities and the program or data in the EPROM needed no additional upgrades.

EPROM's were used for only a few years as much better technology soon became available. The EPROM did progress to be much larger then the 250 bytes in the 1702A - I think they made it to megabyte or more in a single EPROM memory chip before the technology became obsolete.

Minicomputers of the 60's and early 70's used ferrite core memory - a nonvolatile memory and is 1000's of times physically larger then EPROM's and was never really considered for microcomputers because of the cost, size and complex circuitry to make it function. The microcomputer needed to use all solid state integrated circuit technology to be miniature and practical and the EPROM was answer at that time. Now we have much more effective memory and don't need the EPROM technology - this was the start of practical microcomputers in 1971.

This ferrite core memory module is about 3 inches square and
contains 1024 bits of information - that is 128 bytes. The electronic circuitry to program and read these ferrite core's is not shown and is very complex. The 1702A EPROM contains 256 bytes of information.

S100 bus card with EPROM Chips 1978.

EPROM memory cards were normal in the first generation of microcomputers - like the Altair 8800 microcomputer and most S100 bus computers.

Now - Forty two years after the 1702A EPROM's computer memory technology is very good and we have RAM memory that is nonvolatile and we can be assured the program we entered is ready for us when the computer is turned on. A special use of nonvolitale RAM is the USB memory stick or jump drive - it is programmable - nonvolatile and currently available up to 256k Bytes.

Today the 1702A EPROM is a collectable item and the white ceramic chips with gold pins are selling for $25 to $50 on Ebay.

Spring seems to have arrived and it is warming up however I had a thick frost on the car window this morning. In addition to working with my computer collection we are busy installing more street lights and water distribution at our Chantilly Festival Farm here in Floyd Virginia. Two big events at Chantilly next month - Floyd Auto Fair and 3rd Annual Bluegrass & BBQ festival.
Thank you for reading my computer blog - Dave Larsen KK4WW Computer Collector/Historian

Please sign up as a follower - Thank you.

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Microcomputer Collector "Win Heagy' Visits 'Bugbook Historical Microcomputer Museum' 4-19-13

We were pleased to have Win Heagy a serious historical microcomputer collector visit our "Bugbook Historical Microcomputer Museum". Win was on his way to the first Vintage Computer Festival Southeast (VCFSE) in Roswell, GA.

Here is what David Greelish founder of VCFSE tells us about the festival :

Year after year, the various VCFs have presented an amazing line-up of speakers and workshops for the computer history and classic computing enthusiast. We are proud to keep that tradition with the VCFSE.
Workshops are scheduled for each morning of the show, and speakers during the afternoon. There will also be some fun bonus sessions scheduled throughout each show day.

Win Heagy and David Larsen ( Museum Director) in museum , Floyd Virginia. We have about 100 computers and 100 calculators on display at our small museum display. The main part of our collection has been inventoried and is stored in our climate controlled warehouse. It is our desire over the next few years to have most of our historical computers and memorabilia on display in our museum or loaned out to others.


Ticket to festival

The festival is this weekend April 20 & 21,2013 and I sure wish I would be there - it would be great to see all the displays and visit with other collectors and historians.

Win and David with Apple 1 microcomputer from the museum display. This is special viewing for Win as the Apple 1 microcomputers are stored in the local bank vault and brought out for special occasions.

Link to my Apple 1 video's 'CLICK'

Link to Apple 1 Blog posting 'CLICK'

We have many visitors to our museum display however not many really serious collectors of historical microcomputers. Win and I were able to have some great discussions about old computers and share stories about how we were able to locate our special finds. It is a beautiful weekend and I know Win and all the others at the VCFSE will have a great time in Roswell, GA. I sure hope to make it to the next computer festival and meet other collectors. I have been a collector of Historical Microcomputer Memorabilia for over 40 years & have many stories to share. David Larsen KK4WW Historical Microcomputer Collector/Historian.

Sunday, April 14, 2013

History of Microcomputers - David's Lecture at New River Community College

Dr. David Filer visits our museum

I am delighted to be giving a lecture about the history of microcomputers this week at New River Community College (NRCC) at the Chistiansburg , Virginia campus. Dr. David Filer IT professor at NRCC visited our Bugbook Historical Microcomputer Museum display in Floyd , Virginia several months ago and thought some of the students would like to know more about the history of microcomputers. He invited me to tell some of the history story.

I have been a supporter of the classes at NRCC college for at least 30 years. About 1970 Melvin Mabry started using our Bugbooks in his digital electronics classes at NRCC. He continued to use the books and our training aids for many years. Then in about 1986 I became a Board Member at NRCC and served for 8 years. I guess overall I have had an association with NRCC 20 years.

It is hard to give much information in 35 or 40 minutes however it has been fun developing my material and making a Power Point presentation. I will only be able to give the most important high lights and a few fun stories about some of the pioneers.


Intel MCS8-10 & Apple1

Two computers that will be part of our lecture will be the 2 shown in the photograph. - The Intel MCB 8-10 and the Apple 1 microcomputer .
I will be there at 9 AM Wednesday the 17th - If you are interested maybe you can show up. I will give a report on my experience in the next blog. I know I will be having a good time and hope those present enjoy the chat.

David Larsen

I has been a beautiful weekend and my wife and I spent a lot of time working at our Chantilly Farm. We had some great help so it was a nice work day with good fellowship. David Larsen Computer Collector/Historian

Pages

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Stories and Historical information from my Microcomputer Museum "blog" - David Larsen

Please sign up on the email list and I will keep you posted on new articles - better yet go to the bottom of the blog and become a follower.

You can also get notices from my 'Microcomputer Museum' Facebook page by doing a "like"

The 'Floyd Auto Fair' at our Chantilly Farm went well last weekend. We are now getting ready for our 3rd Annual Bluegrass & BBQ Festival on the 25th of this month. Next Saturday. See Chantilly Farm for more information.

David Larsen KK4WW Computer Collector/Historican

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Sunday, April 14, 2013