Vol. 1, #5, July 5, 1975

What would you like to see the Club do?

Here is your list of recent suggestions and topics:

Work out a way thru the gain of a lot of people in the club to reduce the price of components and of micro¬computers. … continue technical interchange. … become a real exchange forum for hardware that really can be built as homebrew equipment, and not the blue skies dreaming of what we could do if we only had a 370/148 monster in our garage as it seems that some of the group have in mind. … any comments? … programming techniques and hard¬ware design with detailed explanation (seminar format?). … serve as a pool for programs, a place to get advice, new ideas, sources of hardware and software. … how to get your Altair up and running. How much memory to do you what. … TTY interfacing. … more of just what it’s doing. … help people interested in this field focus an ‘who’, ‘where’, ‘how’, ‘when’. … help in developing low-cost I/O gear & equipment and IC sources. … new equipment, programs, end uses. … discussions on hardware & software problems of "Hobby" type equipment. … packet switched radio repeater network (see Univ. of Hawaii). … provide a forum for ideas. … to fit our needs, the club should help those in need find others in need (or others to help). All past member profiles should be published periodically to help this out. … mostly what it appears to be doing already. However, we could engage in a development project to design & build our own system that would be faster than microprocessor designs. … open exchange of ideas, information, resources, and abilities. … teach me how to build a microprocessor/CRT/floppy disc/print, etc., and fill it/them with keen software. … supply other¬wise unattainable seminars. … one member can talk on his experiences to others. … places to call for help. … for me basics of what's going on, very basic. … would like the use of a Fortran program which will give a machine language in which can be used on a small system. … continue to exchange knowledge about software and hard¬ware experience and valuable techniques. … what members have done recently with micro-computers and peripherals. … same as now … hardware … I/O gear and interfacing problems. … share programs, library of circuits. … separate business meetings from technical sessions. Plan technical sessions on a subject with demonstrations, for example, CRT terminals. … provide means of exchanging soft/hardware ideas. Provide members with low cost hard¬ware sources. … techniques of hardware design (e.g. inter¬faces). Software methods (serial to parallel conversion for example). … keep up with new hardware/software products. … provide means for exchange of “want ads” type information. … get software and distribute, mass discount buying, hold meetings. … everything. … how about some sort of introduction to the club? … get more people interested in their own computers. … interchange of experience in using available products. … hardware and software applications in the home. …make micro¬computers easy to understand. … provide ways of get¬ting cheap parts. Provide easy communication among members. … say specifically what each part of a CPU does; and what about memory components? How do the ls and Os (bits) go thru the different parts, what happens? what comes out? … trade skills, programs, define I/O standards. … question: what’s IBM doing about development of home computers? … help me build the Altair. … where to get parts, boards, etc. … stop talking to everyone like they’ve been at all the meetings!!! Have more rap sessions!!! … just be a meeting of people with like interests that can help each other with problems and sources of parts. … interested in everything. … have a show and tell when a person gets something going.

There it is in your own words. In typing this a sort poem popped out:
Don’t complain or fuss.
It us up to each of us
To make the Club do
What we want it to.
By taking the initiative you will encourage others in the Club to become more active.

Thanks to Lee, our “song and dance man,” for keep¬ing us from all from talking at once, until he declares a random access period. Thanks to Robert for making negatives and positives of the MITS boards, TVT boards, and the memory boards. Thanks to Frank and John for holding off from populating their boards long enough for him to do this. Who knows a source for printed circuits? Thanks to Bob for the Intel Text Editor (runs on an 8080 as is). Thanks to Alex for signing “paid” on the Club’s K-200 account at Call Computer. Thanks to Jim for demonstrating his Altair with RGS memory boards. He’ll supply a schematic to members interested: 247-0312. Thanks to John for presenting his Suding TV display and fielding questions. Thanks to Alex and his team for giving us a good demo of his TVT. (Will you supply parts or kits?) Thanks to Gerald for donating parts and gear for the digital class. Good luck on your trip. Thanks to Steve for developing an Intel cross assembler (for both the 8008 and 8080) for Lawrence Hall of Science Decision BASIC and giving explanation at the SF/Berkeley HCC meeting last Wednesday. Contact Pete Rowe for use of the system. Thanks to Tom for making up address labels for the newsletter.

New clubs are forming across the country. I’ve heard of beginnings in Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, New Jersey, Wash., D.C., and Boston. I think this is great. We need more decentralized clubs to help the little guy.