Schedule November 2009

Wed November 04 - general

• Attendees: Ron Williams, Bob Erickson, Bill Flora, Glenn Lea, Joe Preston, Judith Haemmerle, Don Luke, Stan Paddock, George Ahearn, Bill Newman, Jim Hunt, Chris Reid, Robert Garner, Ed Thelen
  Bill Worthington also pitched in -

• A major goal for the day was Clean Up for the coming VIPs and festivities :-)) :-(( We were so busy with two vacuum cleaners, two buckets and mops, rags with Simple Green and KrapKiller, and changing out bad lamps, that I didn't get many pictures - but who wants to see Glenn Lea doing house work anyway !!

  Stan Paddock getting high -

• Another major goal was to get some newer pictures hung on the entrance ramp wall. Many guys, having domestic experience, didn't want to get involved with the tasteful placement of pictures :-((

  Previous to placing these images, the picture crew measured a space on the hall way floor and made trial layout out there - then moved operations into the 1401 room.

  The items are now all hung - but the floor cleaners didn't have a chance to clean the busy ramp - so - Chris Reid with the foot rag, Robert Garner, Bill Newman getting ready to improving the hanging of the Software Development display, Judith Haemmerle swinging the mop - ain't we got fun ;-|

• But there is also techie work - the CT tape system, all drives, seems to be distorting the B channel - giving weird, but fortunately consistent errors. Here is Frank King analyzing the error print out.

  and Joe Preston

• And Jim Hunt kept right on fixing our back log of bad SMS cards. He made an interesting discovery !! The series of SMS cards in the Tape Adaptor Unit (TAU) has been plagued with the iron leads of the transistors rusting through, and breaking contact, becoming non-functional. He has acquired enough experience/statistics to say that the transistors with fiber spacers rust through a lot, and that the rubberoid spacers do not cause a problem.

• Bob Erickson is no longer so young - rather not get down and scrub the floor, rather not go up on a step ladder to play with fluorescent lights. And there seems to be a sick relay causing reject hopper problems :-((

Thursday November 05 - Tape Team

Sat Nov 7 - extra

• Ron Williams and Robert Garner spent a few hours in the afternoon photographing and checking in preparation for VIP visitors ;-))

• This is Chris Reid's Software Preparation display

• Allen Palmer had prepared displays of vital IBM 729 Magnetic Tape Drive parts

• from Robert Garner

  Allen, Ron and I were in today, making video clips for Tuesday night. The DE tape drives were working when we powered up (ran Stan's tape to tape copy), but later they went out. Writing doesn't seem to workL You can "go" from the TAU panel, but that's about it. Seems like a drive does a single write, then freezes. Unless you can come in Sunday, I wouldn't try to fix it on Monday (until perhaps the afternoon), as in the morning we'll mainly be taking pics, etc.) - Robert

Sun Nov 8 - extra

Wednesday November 11 - General

• Attendees:

Thursday November 12 - Tape Team

Saturday November 14 - 2nd Saturday & Class

from Ron Mak, via Stan Paddock

Hi, Bill [Worthington] and Stan [Paddock]. Thanks for teaching my students about the 1401 and unit record equipment yesterday! It was much appreciated. I overhead one student say that the keypunches reminded him of those "ancient typewriters". I think they'll now appreciate their laptops and iPods more ... -- Prof. Ron Department of Computer Science San Jose State University mak@cs.sjsu.edu http://www.cs.sjsu.edu/~mak

Ron is also: - Our software lead - Author of ROPE, our 1401 editor/assembler/simulator GUI - and author of computer software books #1, #2, #3, #4

Wednesday November 18 - General

• Attendees: Ron Williams, Bob Erickson, Bill Flora, Frank King, Allen Palmer, Bob Feretich, Judith Haemmerle, Don Luke, Stan Paddock, George Ahearn, Bill Newman, Jim Hunt, Sam Sjogren, Ed Thelen - and maybe more - seemed like a happy, busy room ;-))

• Work in progress - I'll be back Nov 30 to finish it

• Dan Keen, an Apple Software Engineer, dkeeen@apple.com , came by with an equivalent to ROPE on an I-Pod !!!

Thursday November 19 - Tape Team

Wednesday November 25 - General

• Attendees: [ list from George Ahearn ] Bill Flora, Frank King, Glenn Lea, Joe Preston, Stan Paddock, George Ahearn, Bill Newman, Robert Garner

Thursday November 26 - Tape Team

Saturday November 28 - 4th Saturday

From Stan Paddock

... PS: The problem with the "Punch Stop" on the CT 1402 was well researched today by yours truly. I would like to say I fixed it but that is not true. In the middle of 1401 demos today, the DE 1401 decided it did not like reading or punching cards. Ron thinks the problem is in the 1401 so Bill is off the hook for that one. It was not working when I left at 3:00PM. PSPS: I did get the scratched pole painted today. Need to feel some accomplishment. PSPSPS: Ron, Bob, Judith and I were in today. Stan