Attn: TV people

[Eric H]

I also have a few flybacks and yokes and stuff i could add to the parts database.
I think most of them are for oddball mid-late 50's stuff so I don't know how useful it would be.

[bgadow]

Elsewhere there has been a discussion of copyright issues and Sams. Would be worth checking in to before going too deep.

[Kamakiri]

Those things can be sorted out for sure.....and whoever wants to take a crack at that is more than welcome to, just let me know how AK can help make that happen.

The co-op, if anyone's interested, is something we can do right away. I may even be able to swing a top-notch tester to the person willing to give it a run. As well, sure would be nice to have some sweep and signal generators, and associated test gear to make the rounds amongst our TV kin. Again, AK can help.

While we're not loaded here, I would like to be able to make some of our funds available to dedicate to this project. I'd even be willing to get a nice set for a raffle if someone would be willing to donate the repair services.

[asynchronousman]

Originally Posted by RetroHacker

Stick with PDF. Lizardtech's Djvu is a total waste of time. It's a proprietary format, and not very flexible. Sure, it's a little smaller, but it's not worth the trouble. Also, it means that people like me that use only Linux are screwed. I've got a Djvu file here that I still can't print or view properly. I even tried bringing it over to someones computer that was running windows, and with the proper client, I was able to open it. It refused to print properly, however, generating lines in the printout.

Stick with PDF. The files aren't that big.

-Ian

There's a standalone browser if the plug in doesn't work, vice versa, by the way. Just FYI. What version of Linux are you using? You obviously don't recall having to reverse engineer CP/M to get it to run on this brand or that, and sometimes models within a brand before Win 1 came out and MS demanded the end to hacking your own software copies. If you don't see the good of Windows, it did bring a common functionality and less confusion to an early PC world, and it introduced the EULA as we now know it, whereas before software was thought to be owned but now it's LICENSED and REVOCABLE. Big change.

Before you get up in arms about all that, I prefered my time at an HP 3000 compiler to DOS and almost thought to learn Cobol or Fortran. Almost.

I did not touch a PC until after 1985, but started in 1979 or 80 on TRS-80 model 1 4k no DOS (cassette) and terrible keyboard that always stuck, then a day with a Commodore then Apple II family then HP 3000 in college..

[RetroHacker]

I wasn't aware of a Linux version of the client. I know that the Mac version didn't work worth a darn over here. Also, chances are, if there is a Linux client, it isn't distributed as source, which means that I'm not going to be able to run it on some of the boxen here (PPC, Alpha, etc). I actually use several variations of UNIX - MacOS X, Linux, IRIX and Solaris. (not to mention all the other weird OS's on the really old machines I have...) For Linux, I typically use a hacked up version of Debian, where most stuff is installed from source, some is installed through apt, kernel compiled by hand with no unnecessary components, and a handfull of homegrown stuff.

The point I was trying to make was that it's a pain to deal with weird, proprietary formats. Some might argue that PDF isn't open enough, but it's definitely the best tool for the task at hand. PDF readers are easily available for all platforms, as are tools to create PDF. PDF rendering is pretty fast, and the cross compatibilty is excellent. Also, they print without too much fuss with resizing. Now, I don't know how that's going to work with 11x17 paper though. I have an HP Laserjet 5siMX, and it'll print on 11x17 paper, but most printers won't. I don't remember offhand how well things will come out if the source PDF has an 11x17 schematic, and it's printed onto 8 1/2x11. Resizing it to fit on the smaller paper would make it illegible, and splitting it in half makes it a pain to patch together where the printer seperated it.

Point being, PDF is nice and established and it works. Djvu, while I'm sure I could make it work, I don't think jumping through hoops is the way to go.

-Ian