VCF East 2023: Alan Wolke On His Passion For Tech

May 8, 2023 by Tom Nardi 3 Comments

If you’re one of the more than 180,000 subscribers to [Alan Wolke]’s YouTube channel W2AEW, you’ll know he’s a lover of old test gear and ham radio hardware. You may have followed one of his tutorials, or referenced his work while repairing or upgrading your own equipment. But when we got a chance to talk to him one-on-one during Vintage Computer Festival East 2023, we were treated to a more personal look at the man himself.

Like many of us, [Alan] says he got his start with electronics at a young age simply by taking things apart and trying to put them back together again. From there he got a job in a TV repair shop during high school, where he was able to hone his natural curiosity into a marketable skill. His career took him through several of tech companies, but he ultimately ended up in an engineering role at Tektronix, a position he’s held for nearly 20 years.

Despite continuing to stay on the cutting edge, it’s no surprise that he still has a certain attraction to the technology from his youth. But it’s more than simple nostalgia — he points out that vintage hardware is generally easier to service than modern gear. As many of his own videos show, there was something of a technological “sweet spot” around the mid-20th century to the 1980s or so; where you could expect to not only have schematics available, but the design and construction of hardware was such that you could still reason your way through it using basic troubleshooting principles.

As for being a ham, [Alan] thinks it’s a great way for get an even deeper understanding of technology. He says that if you’re interested in learning how electronics work, repairing and upgrading old radio hardware is a great way to flex your mental muscles. But at the same time, being a ham isn’t limited to dusting off war-surplus radios that were built before you were born. There’s plenty of ways to mix in modern technology, from digital modes to receiving signals from satellites using a software-defined radio.

[Alan] was just one of the fascinating people we got a chance to speak with during our visit to the 2023 Vintage Computer Festival East. We’ve still got more interviews to come, but in the meantime, you can check out our previous coverage of this incredible retrocomputing event.

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VCF East 2023: Adrian Black On Keeping Retro Alive

April 26, 2023 by Tom Nardi 3 Comments

While roaming the halls of Vintage Computer Festival East 2023, we ran into [Adrian Black], who was eager to talk about the importance of classic computing in his own life and how his experience hosting the YouTube channel Adrian’s Digital Basement has impacted him these last few years.

On his channel, [Adrian] spends most of his time repairing vintage systems or exploring little-known aspects of hardware from the early days of desktop computing. His exploits have brought him to the pages of Hackaday in the past, most recently just last month, when we covered his work to add an RGB interface to a mid-1990s Sony Trinitron CRT display. But in talking to him, you quickly realize he’d be working on the very same projects whether the camera was rolling or not. He’s not out to game the YouTube algorithm; he’s just having a good time in the basement poking around with the sort of old gear that at one time would have been completely out of reach.

In fact, it’s this sense of nostalgia that [Adrian] believes is responsible not just for the growing popularity of his channel but for the retrocomputing community as a whole. For many who grew up with these machines, they were far too expensive or complex to ever crack open (literally and figuratively) when they were new. Now, decades later, people like himself finally find themselves able to buy and enjoy these once-coveted objects.

Critically, they now also have the skills to do them justice, not to mention access to a worldwide community of like-minded folks who are still producing hardware and software that can be used with these classic machines. For those of a certain age, it’s literally a dream come true.

[Adrian] was just one of the retro aficionados we got a chance to talk to during VCF East 2023. We already brought you the chat we had with [Andy Geppert] about magnetic core memory and his Core64 device, but there’s plenty more to come. Stay tuned.

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Vintage Computer Festival East Was A Retro Madhouse

April 19, 2023 by Tom Nardi 36 Comments

The Vintage Computer Festival East took place last weekend at the InfoAge Science and History Museum in New Jersey, and by any metric you care to use, it was a phenomenal success. Everyone you spoke with, from the the exhibitors and attendees, to the veteran volunteers who put this incredible show together, all said the same thing: they’d never seen a turnout like this before.

Of course, such success is not without cost. The exhibit rooms were so packed that moving through them was a challenge, the line to get food or browse the consignment area occasionally stretched outside the building, and at one point the event’s electronic payment system buckled under the pressure.

Yet even the folks who waited the better part of an hour to rummage through boxes of dusty treasures, only to find themselves left standing with armfuls of heavy gear they couldn’t pay for until the technical issues were resolved couldn’t really complain. I should know, I was one of them. It would be like going to a concert and getting upset that the music was too loud — the event was advertised as a festival, and that’s exactly what it was.

No matter where you went, you’d find throngs of excited people who were eager to chat about the golden age of computing. So even if you were stuck in a long line, or had to step outside of the exhibit area to get some fresh air, you were always in excellent company. Seeing such a large and diverse number of people come out for what’s ultimately a niche event was exceptionally gratifying. At the end of the day, if the price we have to pay for this kind of community response is a few long lines and tight squeezes, it’s well worth it.

Each time I cover an event like this for Hackaday, I do so with the caveat that there’s really no substitute for being there in person. No matter how many articles you read and YouTube recaps you watch, you’ll never be able to see all the things you would have had you been able to walk the show floor yourself. It’s a bit like exploring the Moon or Mars: remotely controlled robots are capable of capturing terabytes of data and beaming it back to Earth, but even still, there’s the potential to learn so much more by putting boots on the ground.

The same is true of VCF East 2023 — what I bring you here is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what was on display at this year’s event. On the other hand, you have the advantage of being able to peruse these images without having to stand in line. Is it worth the trade? Only you can be the judge of that. But for my money, I’ll gladly get back in line when VCF East 2024 rolls around.

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Vintage Computer Festival East Returns This Weekend

April 13, 2023 by Tom Nardi 11 Comments

Spring has sprung at the Jersey Shore, and for retrocomputer aficionados that can only mean one thing — the Vintage Computer Festival East is imminent. The East Coast’s premier event for classic computers and associated electronics kicks off tomorrow at the InfoAge Science and History Museum in Wall, NJ, and continues until Sunday. If you’re in the Northeast United States, and frankly, even if you aren’t, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better opportunity to experience the unique charms of early computer technology.

VCF East is three days of talks, workshops, and exhibits focusing on computers of a bygone area. For the uninitiated, that might seem like an odd thing to fixate on. But those who’ve visited a VCF event in the past know just how fascinating the technology of this era can be. You’ll see first-hand not only the unique machines that never quite caught on with the mainstream but the pioneering software and hardware engineering that laid the groundwork for our modern way of life. Plus, a little bit of everything in between. Just take a look at this year’s schedule; even the most experienced of graybeards would have a hard time walking away from VCF East without knowing a bit more than when they came in.

Part of what makes the Vintage Computer Festival so great is right in the name — it’s very literally a festival. This isn’t some sterile museum environment where you’re forced to look at a dusty piece of hardware through a half-inch of bulletproof glass. It’s a celebration, and everyone’s invited. Many of the exhibits will give you an opportunity to go hands-on with rare pieces of original hardware, and every presenter you talk to will be more than happy to explain what they’ve come to show off and answer any questions you might have.

In addition to the more educational aspects of VCF, there are also the vendor and consignment areas, which offer a myriad of opportunities to convert your money into devices that whir and blink. From classic gaming systems to unusual components that perhaps only a handful of people in the world could still identify at a glance, the only things you won’t find are the jacked-up prices and shipping costs you’d get from eBay.

Of course, the organizers realize that not everyone can get to the tropical paradise that is New Jersey in April. As such, VCF East will offer an online component that includes an official Discord server and three different live streams for the talks held on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. That said, there won’t be any streaming video from the show floor itself, so unfortunately, you won’t be able to see any of the exhibits or workshops. That said, you can always count on there being several VCF wrap-up videos posted to YouTube by the usual retrocomputing suspects, to say nothing of the coverage you’ll be seeing on these pages.

Whether you’re there in person or experiencing it vicariously through the videos and articles posted by others, the Vintage Computer Festival East is a can’t-miss event for anyone who has a passion for computers and would like to learn more about how they became what they are today. Hackaday will be there — join us, won’t you?

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Vintage Computer Festival East Raises The Bar Again

May 2, 2022 by Tom Nardi 34 Comments

When I arrived at the InfoAge Science and History Museum for this year’s Vintage Computer Festival East, I fully expected it to be a reduced event compared to last year. After all, how could it not? Due to the schedule getting shifted around by COVID, show runner Jeffrey Brace and his team had just six months to put together an event that usually gets planned over the course of an entire year. With such a truncated preparation time, they more than deserved a little slack.

But as anyone who attended VCF East 2022 can attest, they didn’t need it. Not only did the event meet the high expectations set by last year’s Festival, it managed to exceed them. There were more workshops, more talks, more vendors, more consignment rooms, more live streams, more…well, everything. This year’s program even got a splash of glossy color compared to the grayscale handout attendees received in October. It was, by any metric you care to use, better than ever.

It does however leave me in somewhat on an unenviable position. As we’ve learned during the pandemic, a virtual representation of an event as extensive as VCF can give you a taste of what’s offered, but all the nuance is lost. Looking at pictures of somebody’s passion project can’t compare to actually meeting the person and seeing that glint of pride in their eye as they walk you through all the details.

So bear that in mind through this rundown of some of the projects that caught my eye. This isn’t a “best of” list, and the Festival is certainly not a competition. But each attendee will invariably come away with their own handful of favorite memories, so I’ll document mine here. If you’d like to make your own memories, I’d strongly suggest making the trek out to the Jersey Shore come April 2023 for the next Vintage Computer Festival East.

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VCF East Roars Back To Life

October 19, 2021 by Tom Nardi 15 Comments

It didn’t take long to realize that the 2021 Vintage Computer Festival East — returning to the InfoAge Science and History Museum in Wall, New Jersey after being held virtually last year — was a massive success. In fact, the first clue came before I even got out of my car. When a volunteer came up to my window to apologetically explain that the primary parking lot was already full and I’d have to drive down the road to an overflow lot, there was no question about it; a whole lot of folks were more than ready to shake off those pandemic blues and get back to business.

They certainly picked a great event for it. While VCF East has always been a highlight of the East Coast hacker’s year, it was obvious things were really turned up to the max for this much-anticipated return to an in-person festival. With respect to all those involved in previous events, things just felt more cohesive and better organized this time around.

Veteran attendees I spoke to all felt like they were witnessing the event going through an evolutionary change into something bigger and better, while first time fliers were impressed with the buzz of activity and breadth of what was on display. In short, admiration for the event and the people working behind the scenes to make it possible was unanimous.

It’s simply not possible to adequately summarize a multi-day event like VCF East in a single post, so I won’t try to. This article, and the ones to follow it, serve only to document some of the highlights from my own personal time wandering through the sprawling InfoAge campus. Ultimately, there’s no real substitute for making the trip to Wall, NJ and experiencing this incredible event for yourself. But if that’s not an option for you, hopefully the following will give you a little taste of what the Vintage Computer Federation labors so hard over every year.

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VCF Swap Meet Takes Step Back To Move Forward

April 28, 2021 by Tom Nardi 44 Comments

When computers were the sort of thing you ordered from a catalog and soldered together in your garage, swap meets were an invaluable way of exchanging not just hardware and software, but information. As computers became more mainstream and readily available, the social aspect of these events started to take center stage. Once online retail started really picking up steam, it was clear the age of the so-called “computer show” was coming to a close. Why wait months to sell your old hardware at the next swap when you could put it on eBay from the comfort of your own home?

Of course, like-minded computer users never stopped getting together to exchange ideas. They just called these meets something different. By the 2000s, the vestigial remnants of old school computer swap meets could be found in the vendor rooms of hacker cons. The Vintage Computer Festival (VCF) maintained a small consignment area where attendees could unload their surplus gear, but it wasn’t the real draw of the event. Attendees came for the workshops, the talks, and the chance to hang out with people who were passionate about the same things they were.

Consignment goods at VCF East XIII in 2018.

Then came COVID-19. For more than a year we’ve been forced to cancel major events, suspend local meetups, and in general, avoid one another. Some of the conventions were revamped and presented virtually, and a few of them actually ended up providing a unique and enjoyable experience, but it still wasn’t the same. If you could really capture the heart and soul of these events with a video stream and a chat room, we would’ve done it already.

But this past weekend, the folks behind VCF East tried something a little different. As indoor gatherings are still strongly discouraged by New Jersey’s stringent COVID restrictions, they decided to hold a computer swap meet in the large parking lot adjacent to the InfoAge Science and History Museum. There were no formal talks or presentations, but you could at least get within speaking distance of like-minded folks again in an environment were everyone felt comfortable.

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