Only 3 More Days to VCFSE 3.0!

Published on Wednesday, 29 April 2015 07:08
Written by Alan Hightower
vcfse3_logoThe 3rd annual Vintage Computer Festival Southeast is this Saturday and Sunday. This is shaping-up to be a truly fantastic show! We have a great line-up of exhibits and speakers to make this a show to remember. http://www.vintage.org/2015/southeast/

April AHCS Meeting Information

Published on Wednesday, 01 April 2015 08:12
Written by Alan Hightower
The April AHCS meeting will not be at the usual date and location. It will be held on April 11 (one week earlier than usual) at the Vintage Computer Festival Southeast venue in Roswell (the old CompUSA building). The meeting hours are still 12pm – 4pm. The address is: Kings Market Shopping Center 1425 Market Blvd. #200 Roswell, Georgia If you are planning on bringing any systems for the meeting please be sure to bring a card table and a chair.  

Next AHCS Meeting on March 21

Published on Thursday, 19 March 2015 06:34
Written by Alan Hightower
Atlanta Historical Computing Society will be holding our next monthly meeting on March 21 from noon-5PM. Come when you can and stay as long as you can. We are a very inclusive group, we like all kinds of computers, no matter who made them or when. So come and join us tomorrow and have some geeky fun! Christ the Lord Lutheran Church 1001 Duluth Highway (State Route 120) Lawrenceville GA 30043 We hope to see you there!

Announcing Vintage Computer Festival Southeast 3.0!

Published on Wednesday, 04 February 2015 21:17
Written by Alan Hightower
The Third Annual Vintage Computer Festival Southeast (VCFSE) Will Feature Rare Computers and Interactive Activities ROSWELL, Georgia – February 5, 2015 – The 2015 Vintage Computer Festival Southeast (VCFSE) will take place Saturday & Sunday May 2 & 3 at the Kings Market Shopping Center, 1425 Market Blvd, Suite 200, Roswell, GA 30076. The festival will have over 35,000 sq. ft. of displays, exhibits and interactive entertainment hosted in what was previously a Comp-USA Super Store. Exhibitors will be attending from all over the region and country. Attendees can operate many of the computers and devices on display, but a few rare computer exhibits will not be accessible for public interactivity. However, exhibitors are often available for live demonstrations of all working devices. At this year’s exhibit, historical milestones will be celebrated including those for the PDP-8 which turns 50 years old this year, the Altair 8800 which turns 40 this year and the Amiga 1000 which turns 30. Some examples of these machines will be on display. While at the VCFSE, introduce family and friends to electronics with fun and games, some that you can assemble. Try a VCFSE do-it-yourself kit, the perfect introduction to electronics. Assistance in assembling is supplied onsite (as needed), and the activity is always popular with kids of all ages! A vintage game station will be available for children and adults to play classic games on classic computer and game console systems. And, there’s more. Even a classic video game wall! In addition to the VCFSE, explore the concurrent Computer Museum of America (CMOA) Apple Pop-Up exhibit, a large, one-of-a-kind display of extremely rare Apple computers amid a dynamic presentation of how a small start-up company, founded in a garage by two young friends, became the leading consumer electronics and personal computer company in the world. See a rare and exclusive collection of Apple personal computers and consumer electronic products, from the original Apple 1 era to the present. Also see the CMOA companion exhibit, ”LINK: Personal Computing from Switches to Pockets,” which shows you the “links” from the past to the present via displays of iconic computer brands including original computers like the IBM PC, as well as some very rare and unique machines like the KenBak-1. “Link” is a diverse, fun and inspiring exhibit that allows visitors to explore and dive deeper into the art and technology of personal computing. The VCFSE is hosted and produced by the Atlanta Historical Computing Society (AHCS) and the Computer Museum of America. VCFSE is the premier vintage computer festival in the southeast and part of the VCF family of vintage computer festivals, which include VCF East in New Jersey, VCF Midwest in Chicago and VCF UK in England. The VCF mission is to educate, promote and demonstrate the evolutionary significance of vintage computers, software and gaming to today’s new generation of innovators by offering attendees a chance to experience the technologies, people and remarkable stories that embody the history of the computer revolution. One-day adult tickets to the VCFSE are $10, with a two-day pass costing only $15. Children ages 17 and younger are admitted free when accompanied by a parent or guardian. For hours, and other details, please visit http://vcfse.org or http://vintage.org/2015/southeast. Contact: Earl Baugh, Secretary AHCS: earl.baugh@gmail.com

Next AHCS meeting on January 17

Published on Friday, 16 January 2015 16:06
Written by Alan Hightower
Atlanta Historical Computing Society will be holding our monthly meeting tomorrow January 17th, from noon-5PM. Come when you can and stay as long as you can. We are a very inclusive group, we like all kinds of computers, no matter who made them or when. So come and join us tomorrow and have some geeky fun! Christ the Lord Lutheran Church 1001 Duluth Highway (State Route 120) Lawrenceville GA 30043 We hope to see you there!

Photos from the 2014 Holiday Party

Published on Thursday, 01 January 2015 20:39
Written by Alan Hightower

The Atlanta Historical Computing Society held its annual holiday party on Saturday Dec 20, 2014. If you weren’t there you missed out. Really. It was a blast.

Ataris, Commodores, Mattel Odyssey 2, MSXs, Amiga 600, “Pongs”, Apple II, PC, Coleco, Vectrex, Mattel Handheld Football, Nintendo Entertainment System, PDP-8, and I’m sure I’m missing a couple!
We had a good cross section of game machines and computers playing games. Many of us hadn’t much time with the MSXs before this, so that was quite fun. And a Mattel Odyssey 2, you don’t see many of those anymore.
I think next time I’ll try to get everyone to load up Pacman or something so we can have all the machines running the same game at the same time. Just have to make sure to have an Atari 2600 so all the other machines can feel good about themselves. 🙂

Barbecue, pizza, subs, cake (see the accompanying photo) cookies and snacks galore!
Five hours was over just as we were getting rolling, and I think the kids could have gone on for five more hours.

Thanks to everyone who came and had some fun!
(If you have photos, please send them to Kevin or me so we can get them posted.)

Next meeting 12PM Saturday January 17th 2015.

Brad Arnold

Annual Holiday Party on Dec. 20

Published on Saturday, 06 December 2014 23:02
Written by Alan Hightower



It’s that time of year again! Time for the annual AHCS holiday party!

This is one of the most anticipated meetings of the year. The focus is on fun, so feel free to bring any retro games or holiday-related programs to share from yesteryears. There are usually several classic video games available to play and kids always have a great time. Families are always welcome!

The meeting will be on December 20 from 12-5 PM. We generally do a potluck luncheon, so please bring a dish or snack to share if you can.

Christ the Lord Lutheran Church
1001 Duluth Highway (State Route 120)
Lawrenceville GA 30043

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Next meeting is November 15

Published on Thursday, 13 November 2014 20:26
Written by Alan Hightower
The next regular meeting of the AHCS will be on November 15, 2014 from 12-5 PM. Please note that the meeting this month will be in a different room than usual, so watch for signs directing the way. Christ the Lord Lutheran Church 1001 Duluth Highway (State Route 120) Lawrenceville GA 30043 We hope to see you there!

Stone Mountain Hamfest

Published on Tuesday, 28 October 2014 22:01
Written by Alan Hightower

November 1st and 2nd, the AHCS will be at the Stone Mountain Hamfest at the Gwinnett fair grounds.

Admission is $8
Sat 8am to 4pm
Sun 8am to 2pm

For more information, check out their site www.stonemountainhamfest.com

Sam and Kyle will be selling vacuum tubes and old electronic equipment (again) and have donated half a table for the AHCS to display its QR code and some cool retro computers (someone may bring the club stickers and t-shirts to sell). We do this to hear stories from folks about their old equipment they used to have and delight them that someone is crazy enough to fix, maintain and use this stuff. Last year, we were well received. Flash bought an HP Apollo when he wasn’t slinging Tandy portable computers, to help prepare folks for the zombie apocalypse (That Flash, always thinking of others). Kyle spent Sam’s money on a plastic teak wood stain bucket that had a variac in it (he said it was a good deal, it’s getting an ammeter and volt meter installed in it at Acorn Amps as we speak). Brad looked at all of us like we were crazy with that classic old school angst ridden IT tech look and all the visitors at our tables nodded knowingly. We were not what the flea market or the crowd was expecting and they welcomed us back with an invoice and an address to mail the check.

This year will be no different, other than Sam knowing a little more about vacuum tubes and Kyle being over 21 (he really surprised the crowd with his radio knowledge).

So come one, come all! To the finest collection of weird junk that Stone Mountain has to offer.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Next AHCS meeting is October 18

Published on Friday, 17 October 2014 13:54
Written by Alan Hightower
The next regular meeting of the AHCS will be on October 18, 2014 from 12-5 PM at: Christ the Lord Lutheran Church 1001 Duluth Highway (State Route 120) Lawrenceville GA 30043 We hope to see you there!

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AHCS can use your support. Contributions allow us to continue bringing you exciting events and give you the opportunity to meet like minded people who share an interest in Vintage Computing. We would greatly appreciate any contributions.