What about a VVCF = Virtual Vintage Computer Festival?
Via a Website to webcams at list members locations.
If around they can show off their collection to one or more visitors.
Lectures no problem.
Demo's Yup.
No need to drag equipment around the country.
Precious/heavy kit does not get damaged.
Fully International
Zero cost.
The only downside is the loss of the social aspect.
Rod Smallwood (The DecCollector)
-----Original Message-----
From: cctech-bounces at
classiccmp.org
[mailto:cctech-bounces at
classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Tim Walls
Sent: 06 August 2007 15:04
To: cctalk at
classiccmp.org
Subject: Re: UK VCF?
Pete Turnbull said:
On 05/08/2007 21:10, Tony Duell wrote:
>> Hire a genny.
>
> How stable is the frequency of such a unit? Remember many larger disk
drives have
their spindle speed set by mains freqeucy.
To say nothing of the fact that the output is often nothing like a
sine wave, and many devices don't take kindly to that.
Thanks to Yorkshire Electricity Distribution Ltd. being bloody useless,
I am considerably more intimate with my building's generator than I was
a few short weeks ago, so this is a subject close to my heart!
Anyway, the long and the short is that gennys certainly can produce
reliable power - more reliable than YEDL, anyway. Our unit is an Iveco
6l 4-stroke diseasel driving a MarelliMotori genset, generating 150Kva
of 440v 3phase. Output voltage and frequency are programmable, and
frequency stability calibration is documented in the manual.
Modern gennies would be more than capable of doing the job, and should
be readily available for short-term lease. You'd be surprised how quiet
and clean-running they are as well.
Fuel isn't cheap though; IIRC running it at ~75% load it uses something
in the order of 200 litres/day of diesel; it should be OK to use red
diesel in a genny I think (for non-UKers - red diesel is diesel on which
fuel tax hasn't been paid,) but you're still looking at a fair old cost.
Oh, and to answer the original question - I'm up noorf in Yorkshire,
although I'd actually prefer such an event to be in London. I'd be
interested in going if it does happen, anyway.
Cheers,
Tim.
PS. Word of advice - check the fuel controller pump relay. Nothing more
annoying than being woken up at 3am because a poxy 5 quid relay has
stuck and caused the header tank to run dry. Voice of bitter experience
there ;-). (On the bright side, if that does happen I can now show you
how to hand-prime a dry diesel engine :^).)
--
Tim Walls at home in Leeds
EMail & MSN: tim.walls at
snowgoons.com