Fletch Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 (edited) I attended VCF East 2014 this year and enjoyed it quite a bit. What I did not enjoy was near complete absence of anything Atari other than a non working display in the museum area. So, I am thinking of having an exhibit table to expose the visitors to our platform of choice. If I do this, I'd like some input as to what hardware and software you think would be popular with attendees. I have the following Atari items that I can bring along: Atari VCS, 2600 Darth Vader, 2600 Jr. 50 or so carts Harmony Cart Atari 400, 800, 600XL, 800XL, 1200XL, 130XE, XEGM 410 Cassette 1010 Cassette 810 Disk Drive 1050 Disk Drive 850 1030 Modem SIDE Cart Lots of disk and Carts Light Pen AtariLab LYNX 1 and 2 40 or so carts Atari 1040STf SC1224 Monitor SM124 Monitor SF354 Disk Drive SF314 Disk Drive Lots of 3.5" DIsks Atari Falcon030 14mb Built in hard drive Many 3.5" Disks Basically do you think this would be of interest to attendees? Which machines do you think I should exhibit? What software do you think guests would enjoy seeing? Etc? Any input is very welcome. Thanks! -Pete Edited October 23, 2014 by Fletch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacobus Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 In a situation like a trade show, I'd be very careful to balance what will attract attention and what I can keep an eye on. The more individual bits you bring the more likely something will disappear. That being said, I would bring a 2600 with the harmony cart, a 400 or 800, and either an XL or XE (total two), SIDE, one disk drive and lots of disks (no originals). Maybe a modem - but only one. ST with colour monitor and I'd definitely leave the Falcon behind. I'll only comment on 8 bit software - Last Word, FJC's Graphic OS, some of the classic games, and some of the more eye catching demos. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Lange Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Pete, I also attended VCF East in 2014 and was underwhelmed by the Atari showing. I was also thinking of attending and exhibiting in 2015. I was thinking about showing: - an 8-bit hooked up to a PC with SIO2PC - a PC running an 8-bit emulator - an 8-bit doing something with an Arduino/Raspberry Pi Kind of a mix between old and new ways of doing things. Maybe also create some handouts with Atari resources: websites, podcasts, dealers, etc. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacobus Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 P.S. Do you have a link to the show's website? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Lange Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 http://www.vintage.org/2015/east/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subby Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Yea, some Atari presence! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted October 23, 2014 Author Share Posted October 23, 2014 Jacobus, I hadn't really considered that theft could be an issue. I'll be sure to never leave the table unmanned. My wife and son seem open to going with me so hopefully I'll have enough eyes to keep watch. Bill, Awesome! Glad someone else had the same thought. Keep in touch with your plans as I do not want to have too much overlap. I was thinking it might be fun to set up an AtariLab experiment and maybe a game contest on the 8-bit. The ST will be game focused for sure. If I decide to bring the Falcon I'll probably run demos on it. I'm a bit confused on the dates though. Last year it was a three day event. The way it is worded on the website says Friday and Sunday, not Friday through Sunday so I'm not sure if Saturday is included. I guess I should contact to clarify. -Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Lange Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 I asked about the dates and got the following response: Thanks for catching that mistake. It is fixed now: the event is definitely Friday * through * Sunday, not "and".We're just beginning to organize the details for this event, so please stay tuned...- Evan KoblentzVCF East Producer So it is Friday through Sunday just like last year. I thought displaying an SIO2PC setup would be a good idea since you would not have to bring any diskettes or cartridges to keep an eye on. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg2600 Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Wow, had never heard of this show before. I have some friends who are diehards with old computers, I'll let them know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted October 23, 2014 Author Share Posted October 23, 2014 I asked about the dates and got the following response: Thanks for catching that mistake. It is fixed now: the event is definitely Friday * through * Sunday, not "and". We're just beginning to organize the details for this event, so please stay tuned... - Evan Koblentz VCF East Producer So it is Friday through Sunday just like last year. I thought displaying an SIO2PC setup would be a good idea since you would not have to bring any diskettes or cartridges to keep an eye on. Bill I got the same information from Evan. I don't think I'd attend on Friday, but would be there for Saturday and Sunday. -Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Lange Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 I took a PTO day on the Friday this year to attend a couple of the talks/presentations. I think there were two tracks. I went to talks on monitor repair, oscilloscope usage and something else that I can't quite remember right now. Two of the talks were outside in a tent and it was a cold, drizzly day. The sound sound system could have been ALOT better. I don't think that the demonstration rooms were open on Fri, just on Sat and Sun. Fri was reserved for the talks. -BL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kogden Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 I wouldn't mind doing VCF SouthEast if they are planning on hosting another one. VCF East is too far out. I don't live that far North anymore unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Lange Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Hey Pete, I see you signed up for exhibiting at VCF East 10! Nice. What was the cost to exhibit? How big of a space did you get? Regards, Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted October 30, 2014 Author Share Posted October 30, 2014 Bill, Yep. 1st person to do so apparently. You get one 6 ft x 2.5 ft table for free when you sign up as a first timer. I got a second table, which I believe cost $25 if I recall correctly. I didn't think I would be able to show as much as I'd like on one table. I think 12 ft of space should be sufficient. At this point my plan is to exhibit a machine from each of the Atari computing eras. So essentially I'll exhibit a 400 or 800, a 1200XL or 600XL or 800XL, the XE Game Machine or 130XE on one table. On the other table, I think I'm putting two ST's and the Falcon. I was not sure about bringing the Falcon, but Evan told me the unusual machines tend to be the biggest draw, so I'm hoping for the best. Obviously very early, so I have a ton of planning. -Pete Hey Pete, I see you signed up for exhibiting at VCF East 10! Nice. What was the cost to exhibit? How big of a space did you get? Regards, Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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