We attend the Vintage Computer Festival (VCF East 2024)

We had a great time at VCF East, the annual vintage computer exhibit in Wall, New Jersey. Carl was showing off an IBM 1130 he just restored, and we had a round table about the Apollo Guidance Computer restoration. But there is more: the Vintage Computer Federation museum with its working UNIVAC, a military technology museum, and even a prototype AGC!
Maybe our AGC round table talk will appear here sometime in the future: / @vcfederation
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[@vcv6560]

As a 40 year EE I really enjoyed the tour of Bell Labs, I'd no idea it was such an impressive building. Thanks for adding the side trip.

[@SubTroppo]

13:05 Who wouldn't want a "Cowculator"? All those knobs to twiddle and in a very smart brief case.

[@CuriousMarc]

Just imagine, being able to dial in the exact amount of cow poo. That must have been very satisfying…

[@SubTroppo]

@@CuriousMarc C'est vachement utile.

[@CuriousMarc]

@@SubTroppo haha

[@tomslaight451]

Wow. I'd have loved to have been there to see VCF. Very impressive displays and restorations, with even more impressive efforts behind them. Great to see the Holmdel building again, too. It looks like Bell Works has been doing a terrific job with their stewardship. I left there in '91. Yeah, it's huge. It used to take me 20 minutes to walk to the cafeteria from my office. I imagine they probably gutted all the desks and furniture out of the offices, but it would be something to see if any of the offices were preserved. I recall someone telling me that the office furniture was all special-built by Steelcase to AT&T/Saarinen specification. The office furnishings were all very egalitarian - except for the furnishings in the executive office suites tucked into the top floor of the northwest corner that were filled with exotic hardwood paneling and 3/4 inch deep cut-pile carpeting.

[@juanmacias5922]

Wait...! Did Apple's TV show "Severance" use Bell Labs as a backdrop!? The inside of the building, and the water tower look remarkably similar! Just googled it, apparently so! Great show, if anyone hasn't checked it out lol

[@fl0wfr]

That's right :)

[@world_production]

That’s also what I noticed 👍

[@PeterHagelund]

Yep! Seen them film there many times. By the way, the snow in the show is all fake. 😂

[@matthewrichardson2467]

Carl! He is looking good, Florida obviously agrees with him! Good to see the gang back together

[@chutipascal]

The 1130 is gorgeous, congratulations to Carl!

[@BarryRowlingsonBaz]

And a brief appearance of Usagi Electric!

[@anthonyshiels9273]

Mr. David Lovett gets around. He was interviewed by Dr. Derek Muller from Veritasium.

[@VarionJimmy]

Just noticed him at 5:27. Was that..? I had to pause and check the comments. 😁

[@peteroneill404]

Congrats to Carl for keeping an 1130 alive. Part of the second year of my Physics degree (1976!) was learning APL on an 1130.

[@vincei4252]

Very nice walk down memory lane, especially the visit to your office! My former boss who is in his late 80's now pinged me and asked to come to an old timers get together in New York. As I hadn't seen him in quite a few years I jumped at the chance. It was great to catch up with all the old faces and reminisce. The highlight of the day was being taken around the gigantic site that we occupied in Tarrytown, New York, now owned by Siemens. Walking all the labs and the show rooms was quite nostalgic even though the name of the company changed 20 years ago when I left to other things. The biggest shock for me was being taken to the lab where I worked to find that 20 years later and through the acquisition of the firm by Siemens AND so many new faces, that my name was still on my office door. All of us were shocked by that including my boss. I don't know how that happened but I just had to take a picture of it an share it with my friends who thought it was hilarious. All the people that have had that office just never bothered even though all the old names on other offices were gone. Thanks for the tour!

[@TheGrimStoic]

That's a different level of coincidental - makes you wonder if there really is something to that alternative timelines nonsense, after all...

[@bradnelson3595]

Thanks for taking us along on your tour, Marc.

[@warup89]

I need to go to that museum, it has vintage electronics, vintage military, and model trains..Just wow!

[@darrenerickson1288]

One of the (even) more impressive videos you’ve shared. I so have to go to VCF Midwest. 😅

[@TheFleetz]

Love when Marc says “I have one that needs repair” yet move videos to come complete with elevator music!👍👍👍

[@cabbelos]

Did you try to take the elevator to see your old office? I used to work in a 1960's innovative office complex with very interesting quirks, like its own line of furniture, a 10 story atrium, big sports hall, indoor shooting range, a large 'launch control' style room that controls all the building's automation, and all sorts of other nifty stuff. It has been empty for almost ten years and part of the lower buildings are already demolished for new cookie cutter apartment buildings. The main tower was supposed to be redeveloped into something, but it is built so solidly they decided it is not worth it. So now it is just a shell. I find it amazing that I never took any pictures of the offices while working there. Back then it felt just like another workplace, nothing that I would want to think back in the future.

[@CuriousMarc]

Yep I tried to take the elevator to get to my office but the elevators are now blocked with automatic gates that read badges :-( .

[@TheGrimStoic]

@@CuriousMarc I'd have gone even if it meant trespass - its Bell Labs you worked at, for pete's sake. (I'm told I have a slight jail wish so don't let that bug you)

[@inothome]

That's great you got to go in to the Cape Canaveral Space Force museum. So much awesome stuff there and lots of history with the three pads there. My last time there, about a year ago, they still were not letting in the general public, I was there since I was working at KSC.

[@aWildLupi]

it's been a whole awful thing yeah, the visitors complex decided to stop running the tours right after the cape museum had spent so much on converting hangar c to a museum facility, so the only way you can get there as gen pop is via the lighthouse tours company. they'd put all that money into hangar c with the expectation that KSCVC would continue to honor their operating agreement but they withdrew the tour for the pandemic, made a frail gesture at bringing it back, and then killed it outright

[@inothome]

@@aWildLupi I didn't realize is was the Visitors Center that decided to not resume the tours. I assumed it was the Space Force. Hanger C is set up nice too, lots to see there as well. I stopped by there a few times.

[@riverchampeimont]

This seems amazing! Thank you for showing us this amazing exhibition.

[@ForgottenMachines]

6:39 "Are those LEDs"? "No, No...I went back to incandescent because I couldn't get LEDs to look right". Yea, Carl! We feel the same way in all of our blinkenlight machine restorations, in particular, the Data General Nova 1200 & 800 machines!

[@y2kkmac]

I want to visit the Holmdel horn in celebration of the town saving it, looks like there's plenty of other interesting things in town to check out too!

[@CuriousMarc]

We tried to go visit the horn antenna (the one that discovered the big bang) at Crawford Hill, but the entry road was blocked by a locked gate :-(

[@pianoman4Jesus]

haha!!! @10:35 Give it up for S Gauge model trains! Perfect combination... old computers + best gauge of model train! 🚂🖥

[@lucianchauvin8587]

Just realised this is the office that represents Lumon in severance! So cool.

[@ksbs2036]

Wow, fantastic. That's the first time a museum tour has given me goosebumps! Thanks Marc and Crew. Your antics are pure pleasure for this old tech guy :-)

[@Derpy1969]

Those computers are WHISPER QUIET!!!

[@KeritechElectronics]

5:26 UsagiElectric on the left! Say "Hellorld"... 7:28 I'll be getting into that newfangled witchcraft. Given enough time, I'll become the 8-bit witch, on top of being the vacuum tube witch. 11:15 it's pretty much the equivalent of the core rope memory, right? 13:00 holy cow! An interesting and lovely machine. 13:25 I was wondering about your thoughts on this air data computer. Definitely not as complicated as the mechanical one, still beautiful and quite interesting. Waiting for that AGC talk!

[@Digital-Dan]

Interviewed at Holmdel in 1966. Wasn't willing to commit to work for them in order to get a college education, but impressive place.

[@sa8die]

nice ,. i saw USAGI Electrics one,. really interesting,. glad they have these and u guys let us all see

[@KeritechElectronics]

Check out the Fran-tastic Three as well! :)

[@compu85]

Glad you guys had a good time at VCF East! I couldn't make it this year - but I'll hope to bump into you at VCF West this year! :) BTW - David, who had the PDP and Plotter demo, is also the designer of the MFM Emulator!

[@rjones8508]

Can't believe I missed this show (and your visit there)! I too worked at the Holmdel building in the late 90's, 'k' isle (on one end of the building). Super cold in the winter. In the early 90's Bell labs was all over the place - I was in the nearby Middletown building, now part of AT&T labs I think - itself a spin off of Bell Labs after the Lucent split.

[@vinylcabasse]

bell holmdel was designed by THE eero saarinen. i can't believe anyone would want to tear that masterpiece down!

[@ForgottenMachines]

11:38 UNICAC? Is that a variant of the UNIVAC, or is that just a typo? Fascinating!

[@douro20]

The wide-format version of the Calcomp 565 which was the first commercially available pen plotter. I don't know if this one does but the 565 when it was first made had tube based stepper drivers!

[@lelabodemichel5162]

I love the electro-mechanical computer at 13:25. Bonne visite Marc!

[@tbp-channel8870]

Very impressive! You got nice museums there. I am looking forward to the ksc-video. Have been there in 2000, maybe see some changes.

[@wacholder5690]

15:25 "Space Cowboys - Minus One" or what ? Thanks for sharing !

[@catsupchutney]

I always learn about these great events after the fact!

[@joegee2815]

I was hired by Bellcore in 1984 and had an office in the Holmdel building. I still live nearby. Apparently they almost tore that building down. I'm glad they didn't.

[@AllenKll]

Bell labs was an impressive place to visit. I can't believed they turned it into a mall!

[@kevincozens6837]

Having seen the AGC prototype I wonder if Marc is going to arrange to get its memory modules read and archived.

[@CuriousMarc]

This one is missing its memory tray, so nothing to read. Mike tells us it's a Block I of the second series, which is why it looks so unusual.

[@ReinaldoRauch]

Yay, traveling Marc is a good one too

[@Petertronic]

Wow, amazing to see these machines kept operational. Loved the video.

[@PeterHagelund]

@CuriousMarc: too bad I didn't know you'd be in town. I work in the Bell Works building and could have shown you around. As far as I can tell from the video, your office was more or less right across the atrium from mine.

[@DaCoder]

Can't wait for the next tours 🙌🙏 Thank you very much for bringing us along!

[@georgestephens2593]

My son and I met you and Ken at VCF East. It was a real treat to see you there! Keep up the great videos! You may remember my son as he had you and Ken autograph a punch card.

[@videojones59]

I loved the time I spent as a summer student at Bell Labs in Murray Hill in 1976 and 1977. I visited the Holmdel building once during the summer of 1976. It was and is indeed impressive!

[@markgreco1962]

Thank you

[@talesmaschio]

About the IBM 1130: it’s the first time I see a computer with a big red emergency stop button. Very cool!

[@MrPeabodyPA2]

Love, love, love that IBM 1130! I almost fell out of my chair when I saw it in the background and I was hoping you'd stop for visit. I spent over a decade programming one of those for my company and it's still my absolute favorite computer. I added 8" floppy disk and digital tape to ours and made many modifications to the disk monitor system during that time, making it do things it wasn't supposed to be able to do. I still have bit and pieces of it, including all of the ALDs, a complete load source deck, and several 2315 disks. Is that 1130 on permanent display somewhere? I'd love to attempt to convert my disks to images that I can use with the 1130 simulator. I recognize those Heathkit terminals, too; I built several of them.

[@CuriousMarc]

This IBM 1130 is now at the System Source Museum (next episode!)

[@nakfan]

Fascinating to have look inside the Bell Labs premises...Thanks for this part and the rest of the video too, of course 😊

[@DownToNerd]

always a delight to see one of your videos

[@richardhoff5255]

I used to attend vcf east every year before I moved to Florida last year. Had I known you and ken were attending I would have flown up to meet you guys and listened to your lecture. Hope you enjoyed the site, that univac was once on a battle ship and was used for targeting systems if my memory serves correctly. One of the inputs was a pair of binoculars which could be used as some sort of targeting scope... So many fond memories at vcf including meeting ken Thompson and every year I always got a great Irish breakfast at the bar down the road.

[@minty_Joe]

I think I spotted Sean of Action Retro in the video. Obviously doing moar seananigans!

[@orionfl79]

Fascinating! Growing up, my neighbor worked at Bell Labs in Holmdel maybe circa 1989? At one point they were having some sort of a Christmas event and she brought us along and gave us a tour of her work space (something to do with large printers and maybe phone books I think). I seem to remember the atrium almost resembling a jungle with all of the plants and I think it also doubled as an aviary where they had live birds living in there.

[@anthonyshiels9273]

The nearest to a Nobel Peace Prize Winner that I got was the fact that Mr. John Hume is an alumnus of Maynooth University. B. A. (Hons) in French and History 1958 M. A. 1964.

[@SiggyPony]

That Bell labs looks like such a cool place :) I've never worked somewhere as big but I did work briefly somewhere where you could walk basically the length of a city block all in the same building just to get to the cafeteria hahaha. I miss the building but not the job :)

[@DavePKW]

I look forward to the future videos of your road trip. I really enjoy them. Thank you so much.

[@ReneKnuvers74rk]

13:17 cowculator, from the hay days of computing

[@CuriousMarc]

lol

[@johanlaurasia]

I heard you were at VCF Midwest a few years back... hope you find your way out that way this September !!

[@emptyjay488]

I'll second that! I went a couple of years ago and loved just wandering around. I'm likely going to make it again this year in the new location.

[@roscozone8092]

Anyone else hear Fran around 12:10?

[@ntsecrets]

Saw her for a second too in front of the univac, she has a great video on it.

[@scose]

Wow great building, timeless architecture!

[@50shadesofbeige88]

Sorry I missed you. Glad you had fun.

[@rsmrsm2000]

By looking at the past we can understand today's technologies. Thanks.

[@jamesdecross1035]

Yes please… more, more!

[@pfaelzerbiker]

Awesome tour! Thanks for sharing! 🎉

[@Tesserae]

240V twist-lock power plugs.

[@RetroJack]

Excellent - can't wait to see more!

[@steubens7]

ken's cowculator post when???

[@hellocollegejason198]

Absolutely amazing to see people keeping these alive

[@s90210h]

11:23 BANG FACE HARD CREW !!!

[@wizzo183]

So this is where severance was filmed, i thoight I reconized it but became confodent after I saw the transistor

[@MeppyMan]

Wow, so cool! Thanks for sharing this! One small thing, you might want to look at how you are encoding the video, as the motion jitter was hard to watch when you moved the camera. But that's a small thing, the content was awesome.

[@marcusdamberger]

That's because it was shot at 24fps. 30 or 60fps would mostly solve the judder from the camera panning.

[@MeppyMan]

@@marcusdamberger doesn’t escape me that I’m looking at some incredible tech from the early day of computing. On my handheld computer. And worried about frame rates. 🤣

[@rsmrsm2000]

Amazing !

[@jimbronie]

I was there Sunday and I saw you walking around 2 times. Both times I was on my way to check something out. Told myself I was going to go up to you when I saw you again but never saw you again. Grrrr. Maybe next time. 😊

[@TheDeadStyx]

6:55. *takes a deep satisfactory breath* That cablemanagement

[@Captain_Char]

the IBM 1130 reminds me of a computer interface on the original series Enterprise, bunch of switches and bank lights

[@Rob2]

Says that using electronics in the Air Data Computer is "cheating", then buys a "Chip Tester Pro" not as a kit but "assembled". Now, that is "cheating" 🙂

[@ptonpc]

That would be an amazing visit. I wonder sometimes if, in the future, people will be looking at our modern kit with the same fascination and joy as we look at these devices.

[@v12alpine]

Doubtful... modern day stuff is bleh compared to those behemoths.

[@ruawhitepaw]

At 4:05 I spot a glimpse of the HomeComputerMuseum all the way from the Netherlands!

[@PaulLoveless-Cincinnati]

Both the museum and the festival proper were very cool!

[@rasitsimsek9400]

The building looks like an airport terminal

[@MrHellfinger]

5:27 Usagi Electric makes a cameo appearance

[@bigsarge2085]

So cool!

[@Dlehnerswe]

Very interesting to see the Bell building. I have one, maybe odd question. I don't know if you worked there at the same time. But, you didn't happen to work with Lanny Smoot by any chance? I know he worked on fibre optic stuff aswell. He is one astonishing human beeing to say the least. As I said, odd question. But I'm curious ^^

[@johncloar1692]

Good to see Carl it like seeing a long lost friend.

[@supercompooper]

I had an office there in the early 2000's too!

[@gmespia]

Nice tour, and another addition to my bucket list. I have a quest for you sage people. Jason showed an unknown Collins circuit in his channel 'STS Telecom' five days ago. Does anyone know what it is? I'm really curious about it, thanks. PS The video is called ' Viewer Mail - Is this a 4-bit Processor?! '

[@Gkuljian]

My dad's first job was at Bell labs. Then North American. Then Beckman. Then Ampex. Then Applied Materials. Quite a life.

[@thedoc4758]

what a Geek Fest! Awesome 😎😎😎

[@dhardingham]

Wow!

[@justinove7521]

I wonder if you could data dump those prototype AGC modules?

[@astratheus]

Very cool!

[@adrianobueno6984]

Maybe you could show and tell more about Bell Labs in the future!

[@flippert0]

The IBM 1130 (lowest-prized IBM offering in the mid 60s) was for many the first encounter with a computer at all at that time.

[@ForgottenMachines]

4:53 what is the "oddball" Heatkit terminal in this scene?

[@paladinstar]

Hype!

[@yce1234]

Damn! I missed it-- I'm not too far away and I wanted to go, but I didn't put it on my calendar. And I missed my opportunity to meet the Famous CuriousMarc (did you wear your fancy pants?). Well- maybe next time!

[@xaxfixho]

New data center with ancient H100s😂

[@TheGrimStoic]

Wow - it hits you

[@ForgottenMachines]

7:50 is this David Gesswein???

[@ricksampson6780]

I have heard many conflicting stories regarding the transistor inception and subsequent IC development. Is there any truth to the rumor that recovered extraterrestrial material seeded the semiconductor industry?

[@inothome]

Yes, it's true. They found the materials while exploring the edge of the Earth and going through the tunnels in the ice wall that they call Antarctica. lol (sarcasm, for those who fall for dumb crap like that)

[@TheGrimStoic]

Well - you're technically right - all elements used in the development are recovered extraterrestrial material, strictly speaking

[@codecaine]

👏👏👏

[@douro20]

A company close to where I live still rents out those old Sperry carbon-arc searchlights, with the original GE genset.

[@marcusdamberger]

Is the generator run by a Jeep motor? Our local amateur radio club affiliated with the local university would pull out once a year a WWII generator to power all the stations for field day to get extra contact points because they were on generator power. The generator had a Jeep motor running it. It basically used an entire 55gal drum of gas for that field day weekend. It just hummed away all weekend. It included a power distribution fuse panel with thick cables distributing power to the various stations operating on different frequencies and modes, i.e. voice, or CW or digital. The CW guys were furthest away from the generator to cut down on noise.

[@douro20]

@@marcusdamberger Don't know, unfortunately.