Date   : Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:59:52 +0100
From   : michael.firth@... (michael.firth@...)
Subject: Retro Reunited: Econet Cabling, Demos, etc.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: 
> bbc-micro-bounces+michael.firth=bt.com@... 
> [mailto:bbc-micro-bounces+michael.firth=bt.com@...
> .uk] On Behalf Of Joel Rowbottom
> Sent: 19 August 2009 12:15
> To: bbc-micro@...
> Subject: [BBC-Micro] Retro Reunited: Econet Cabling, Demos, etc.
> 
> Hi all --
> 
> IF YOU ARE 'DOING' RETRO REUNITED, PLEASE READ THIS.
> 
> In the midst of all this address-allocation and 
> table-worrying, has anyone
> spared any thought for who's going to cable this up?
> 
> Once we start hitting something large it's not going to be a simple
> string-it-and-wing-it job using bits and bobs of DIN splitters. We saw
> weirdness at the Stoke show, and with quite a few stations 
> it's probable
> that *something* is going to start acting 'oddly'.
> 
I agree it would be good if possible, but is anyone coming who has a major
'official' and reliable setup?

> Now, past experience of exhibiting Beeb setups at shows is that the
> equipment is provided but the devil is in the actual details of who is
> wiring it up and who's doing a demo. It's easy for us all to 
> stand around
> and get cliquey with this but ultimately there's a pile of 
> people coming to
> see what's going on, so we need to be in a position to 
> impress them without
> faults and without thinking 'oh arse, we should have packed X 
> Y and Z'.
> 
> For a starter, decisions need to be made on the following 
> Econet subjects
> (I am not the best person to make these decisions):
> 
> - Terminators and clock box need to be volunteered along with spares.
> 
> - Socket boxes need to be wired in.
> 
> - Someone is going to have to provide cables.

As I've said before, I'm happy to bring my cabling, clock and terminators,
if no one is bringing an "official" set. It seems to work reliably for
me over a network with 6 stations on with an approx 40m extension over CAT5
in the middle.

My two 'bus cables' have connection points for a total of around 8 machines.

I also have two of the new Phil B PCBs, that can add an extra 4 stations, if
I find a few minutes to solder up an 'in' lead for connecting to the rest of 
my stuff.

> 
> - Cabling needs routing properly, strand from ceiling or 
> gaffer tape. Cedar
> Court frown on unsorted cabling, and we don't want anyone 
> pulling stuff off
> tables or worse still injuring themselves.

I'd hope that if most of the Econet stuff is in an 'island', the cabling can
be under the tables. I guess the main question is how the previously mentioned
cable to the Retroclinic, Sprow and Rob's 'outside' area is routed.
Again, once we've got to this area, the three people are together, so routing
Cables under their tables shouldn't be too bad.

> 
> - It needs testing.
> 
> - I understand we might be able to get in on Friday to wire 
> up and test,
> but we should assume at least 3 people need to be there at 
> 8am on Saturday
> to get wiring, test, and run.
> 
I'm booked to stay Friday night, but due to distance and other
issues, I'm not going to be there early enough to do anything
on the Friday.

I will be there Saturday AM until the show closes on Sunday, and
am happy to help with setup / testing on Saturday morning.

> Showing up with a tangled mess of pre-wired stuff probably 
> isn't the best
> of ideas if we want this to look good and attract enthusiasts.
> 
> REMEMBER IF YOU ARE VOLUNTEERING NETWORK STUFF, IT NEEDS TO 
> BE THERE AT
> START OF SATURDAY AT THE LATEST, AND WILL BE IN SITU UNTIL 
> TEARDOWN AT THE
> END OF THE SHOW. This includes the fileserver the demos are 
> running off! It
> would make sense for this to be someone local, or folks who 
> are stopping at
> the hotel (or next door at the Premier Inn).
> 
> On top of this, we need stuff to demonstrate: at the very least CAVER
> hasn't got a volunteer yet. Ideally we would have a "*I AM 
> GAMES" set up so
> that we can run those on the Beebs because after all it's a gamer
> convention. Can I also suggest we settle on a game or two 
> with a whiteboard
> of "show high scores" - suggest Monsters, Chuckie Egg, and 
> something else.
> Granny's Garden also on the Econet please.
> 
I have Monsters, Hopper, Snapper and Chuckie Egg running off my A3020
already. Chuckie Egg seems to lock up when it gets to the 'enter high
score' stage though.
I also have a few other games installed, but they have seem to mostly
get unhappy when any Econet access happens when they're running.
I suspect that with a bit of expertise to disable the Econet hardware
enough after loading, but before running, they could be got running.
I can download Granny's Garden from STH and add it to the list, but
I can't guarantee it will work.

> I have a distinct lack of tuits (round or otherwise) until 
> the beginning of
> September. I may get a day or so to set up the MDFS but as I stated in
> another mail the Saturday is a bit mental for me so it may be 
> a matter of
> showing up, setting up, driving back to Wakefield. I'm at the 
> event all day
> Sunday from opening to teardown.
> 
> Comments appreciated.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> 
> j
> 
Regards

Michael