+Allan Posted June 4, 2023 Share Posted June 4, 2023 I recently got some issues of the Allentown Bethlehem Easton Atari Computer Enthusiasts newsletter and will be posting them soon. Here is their member's handbook. https://archive.org/details/allentown-bethlehem-eastons-atari-computer-enthusiasts-member-handbook And here is the first issue I have scanned. https://archive.org/details/allentown-bethlehem-eastons-atari-computer-enthusiasts-april-1986/page/n7/mode/2up The newsletter eventual changed it's name to Hardcopy. You can find some issues scanned by others on Archive.org. 7 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonlight_mile Posted June 4, 2023 Share Posted June 4, 2023 I was a member. Probably during the 84/85 time frame. One of my Hardcopy’s (the only one I ever found) is up on archive.org. Around this time of the newsletter you posted is pretty close to the time the 8-bit people broke off and started LVAUG (Lehigh Valley Atari User Group). So many names from the past on that newsletter. Great memories. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Allan Posted June 4, 2023 Author Share Posted June 4, 2023 I have a list of all the members. I don't want to post it but if any ex members want to see it I can send it to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonlight_mile Posted June 4, 2023 Share Posted June 4, 2023 I’d love to see it. My name would be Craig Abruzzese. But if you want to pm me the list I’d love to see some of my old friends name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geister Posted June 4, 2023 Share Posted June 4, 2023 I was a member of that club but I left before the LVAUG was formed. My job at the time was sucking up my life so I lost track of a great many people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted June 4, 2023 Share Posted June 4, 2023 (edited) I was a member of ABE's ACES, LVAUG, and a friend of LVCUG as well as a volunteer for CFK. Some where are two vans worth of Disks, tapes, papers, and one of the members (of whom was a member of both as well) also collected almost any system that was no longer wanted by owners of such items. Would be good to see all of that stuff return to the light of day. Edited June 4, 2023 by _The Doctor__ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbotkinneydude Posted June 4, 2023 Share Posted June 4, 2023 @Allan - Thank you so much for posting and for your extended archival output which is nothing short of tremendous. We had the same type of user group / newsletter in France at the time (Club Cénacle) and we're still short of some of the related back issues (AtariMania has a few and in a very scattered fashion). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Allan Posted June 5, 2023 Author Share Posted June 5, 2023 7 hours ago, moonlight_mile said: I’d love to see it. My name would be Craig Abruzzese. But if you want to pm me the list I’d love to see some of my old friends name. Your on the 1985 list I have. I will scan in tomorrow and PM it to you. I have one from '85 and one from '87. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonlight_mile Posted June 5, 2023 Share Posted June 5, 2023 12 hours ago, Allan said: Your on the 1985 list I have. I will scan in tomorrow and PM it to you. I have one from '85 and one from '87. Yeah I know by 87 lvaug was formed due to Abe’s going almost exclusively 16 bit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzip Posted June 5, 2023 Share Posted June 5, 2023 On 6/4/2023 at 9:09 AM, moonlight_mile said: I was a member. Probably during the 84/85 time frame. One of my Hardcopy’s (the only one I ever found) is up on archive.org. Around this time of the newsletter you posted is pretty close to the time the 8-bit people broke off and started LVAUG (Lehigh Valley Atari User Group). I was a member for a short time. I can remember when they had the Atari Fair at the Hilton with a bunch of Atari execs and other industry people. Around the time I joined was when all the drama that lead to the formation of LVAUG, can't remember what it was about. I eventually attended at least one LVAUG meeting, but don't think I ever joined. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Allan Posted June 5, 2023 Author Share Posted June 5, 2023 I just posted four more issues. I have one more to scan and upload. https://archive.org/details/@allan52 It might take a bit for Archive.org to process them to view in their viewer but you should be able to download them now. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMaddog Posted June 5, 2023 Share Posted June 5, 2023 (edited) 3 hours ago, moonlight_mile said: Yeah I know by 87 lvaug was formed due to Abe’s going almost exclusively 16 bit. I've heard about Atari user groups splitting up over the 8/16-bit issue, it's a shame there was no way to get the two platforms to co-exist like file exchanging that didn't require modems. I had to get an STe for college because there was a local dealer who supported them (for about a year) but I still kept my XE out for games and used ST Xformer to create graphic screens using Atari BASIC and saving them as DEGAS pics. Edited June 5, 2023 by MrMaddog PS: Anyone here remeber the Scranton Area Atari Users Group (SAAUG)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonlight_mile Posted June 5, 2023 Share Posted June 5, 2023 I left the scene in 1990 and was shocked when I found out recently that lvaug and Abe’s combined together in the later years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonlight_mile Posted June 5, 2023 Share Posted June 5, 2023 Thanks so much. I’m downloading them for my collection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzip Posted June 5, 2023 Share Posted June 5, 2023 11 minutes ago, MrMaddog said: I've heard about Atari user groups splitting up over the 8/16-bit issue, it's a shame there was no way to get the two platforms to co-exist like file exchanging that didn't require modems. You would think it would be doable. Maybe have breakout sessions at meetings for topics/demos of interest to one group or the other. As I recall, there was a certain person in the group's leadership who was a big ST snob who looked down on the 8-bit as old-hat and set much of the meeting agendas. Sometimes personalities get in the way of finding a reasonable middle-ground I guess 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylev Posted June 5, 2023 Share Posted June 5, 2023 The California based ABACUS group did happily coexist with both 8-bit and 16-bit folks. I was a member for a few years. The meetings were set up so that the 8-bit stuff came first and then the 16-bit stuff would follow. Both sections had the same President and vice-president, for awhile, and then the group elected separate folks for the two areas. The 16-bit part of the club still meets regularly at the last President's home, though the discussions tend to include more modern hardware for the most part. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geister Posted June 6, 2023 Share Posted June 6, 2023 On 6/5/2023 at 1:11 PM, zzip said: As I recall, there was a certain person in the group's leadership who was a big ST snob who looked down on the 8-bit as old-hat and set much of the meeting agendas. Sometimes personalities get in the way of finding a reasonable middle-ground I guess Can't imagine who that might been. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted June 6, 2023 Share Posted June 6, 2023 (edited) The amphitheater at NCCC could have very easily handled not only vendors and libraries for both 8 and 16 bit but was large enough you could have run both 8 bit and 16 bit demos concurrently or simultaneously. Plenty of large rooms. They could have done 8 and 16 separately, simultaneously for the first half or three quarters of the meeting and the during the second half or quarter, did the high-lights of both and took care of the other stuff. If you were afraid folks would leave during the summation and other Business, Do it the other way around, starting with that and then breaking off to the other groups. Showing how the two systems could work together and develop for each other, sharing some of the hacks bridging the gaps between the two etc. Heck they could have had two complete meetings one for 8 bit one for 16 bit. But that's what happens when people push for a thing. Doesn't matter though as all arguments seemingly ended with ST is Atari now, Hey lets watch the Atari emulate a MAC, wow midi music, Lets put a jukebox on the screen and let it play some tunes, while check out what so and so of Double Click Computers is up to (or some variation on those themes.) Edited June 6, 2023 by _The Doctor__ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzip Posted June 6, 2023 Share Posted June 6, 2023 10 minutes ago, _The Doctor__ said: The amphitheater at NCCC could have very easily handled not only vendors and libraries for both 8 and 16 bit but was large enough you could have run both 8 bit and 16 bit demos concurrently or simultaneously. They could have done 8 and 16 separately, simultaneously for the first half or three quarters of the meeting and the during the second half or quarter, did the high-lights of both and took care of the other stuff. Showing how the two systems could work together and develop for each other, sharing some of the hacks bridging the gaps between the two etc. I could see the amphitheater being a problem for simultaneous sessions, but many times they held meetings in a large room in an adjacent building, and that space could easily handle multiple sessions. I can remember somebody showing off SpartaDos in a side room there, for instance. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted June 6, 2023 Share Posted June 6, 2023 Yup, plenty of room/rooms. It wasn't like there should have or would have been an issue. Of course there had to be one though, because we should all get ST's. LVAUG lasted for many years, and ABE's ACES went bye bye. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMaddog Posted June 6, 2023 Share Posted June 6, 2023 2 hours ago, _The Doctor__ said: LVAUG lasted for many years, and ABE's ACES went bye bye. I've read the newsletters online and it's plain to see why ABE's ACES died, too much in-fighting & people leaving. And it had to be more than just the 8-bit vs. ST issue... BTW, how long did LVAUG last? In the last Hardcopy issue I found a number for The Keep BBS, in the Wilkes-Barre area, which was a board I used to called back in the 90's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted June 6, 2023 Share Posted June 6, 2023 LVAUG lasted well past 1995 I was tending to kids and such so Lincoln Technical Institute was a bridge to far for me to travel by 96 or so Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonlight_mile Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 I remember an early issue was (I think) the president used club funds to purchase a desktop publishing set up. (Laser printer I think was the big expense) and he was keeping it at his house and/or using it for his business or something like that. But I do remember that was a big to do at one of the last meetings I was at. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonlight_mile Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 (edited) Also, I was skimming through the newsletters. I really remember the one with the Xmas tree on it. Anyway, there was an article in one of the issues about how someone put Atari Dos 2.5 on cart. I doubt this would have interested me back then, but did this ever. One to fruition? It isn’t very usable today but would be best to fool with. Just wondering. Edited June 7, 2023 by moonlight_mile 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Allan Posted June 7, 2023 Author Share Posted June 7, 2023 Here is the December, 1986 issue. https://archive.org/details/allentown-bethlehem-easton-atari-computer-enthusiasts-december-1986 It might take a bit to Archive.org to make it viewable online but you can download the PDF of it now. ****** If anybody has any more of these please scan them or let me borrow them so I can scan them and get them back to you quickly. ***** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.