EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
PRESIDENT:
TREASURER:
TAPE LIBRARIAN:
PAPER LIBRARTAN:
ACTIVITY DIRECTOR:
LIAISON OFFICER:
NEWS EDITOR:
SINC - LINK
Vol.4 No.2 MAR-APR 1986
TORONTO T!MEX - SINCLAIR USERS CLUB
NEWSLETTER INDEX
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.......... PG 2
STAR PERFORMER.......... sess PG 2
SYNCBITS. La cedo qd d pepe PG 3
ZX81 NEWS... lees eee PG 4,5
BOB'S NOTEBOOK....... esses. PG 6,7
ZEBRA D.D. REVIEW............ PG 7
ZX LOAD PILTÉR...2:.2 2 83 PG 8,9
LARKIN D.D. HOOKUP....... PG 10,11
"eur. PITE PN PG 11
PRODUCT REVIEWS............. PG 12
DSAVE TIPS... s cevx YS ER PG 13
PROGRAM HINTS.........-0000- PG 14
George Chambers (416) 751-7559
14 Richholme Court, Scarborough, Ontario
Charles Urban
Bob Rosenzweig, Brian Milne
John Burns
Help Wanted! !
(Out-of-Town Members) George Chambers
John Roach,
P. O. Box 7274 Stn. A Toronto, Ont., MSW IX9
Canada
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
I tallied up the number of LARKEN Disk Drives in
our club and found that seven persons have purchased
this system, In addition I know of two more 2068
owners who are actively comtemplating purchase. This
is noteworthy, since it would appear there are more
Larken systems in the club than all other systems
combined,
I view the proliferation of Disk Systems in the
2068 world with considerable dismay. Just how many
systems can an orphan computer really support. This
makes it somewhat gratifying to see that the LARKEN
system has gained such a substantial following in our
club.
Aside from problems of ongoing maintenance of the
hardware, there should he concerns about the software
support that will be available for it, A Disk System
that has a substantial user base is bound to be
beneficial to each owner, since more ideas and
software will be developed, modified and shared by
the users.
I propose to establish a Special Interest Group
within the club to coordinate the activities of the
users of this System. The scope of this group would
have to be established by the SIG members themselves.
Peter Hacksel and myself have discussed several
possibilities in this area, and Peter has proposed to
assume the primary role in this SIG. Current or
potential new owners are invited to contact me to
determine the leve] of interest in such an activity.
(P.S. After four months of use I think that "my
review of the system in the Vol. 4, Iss. 1 issue of
our newsletter is stil! valid; if you are
comtemplating purchase of a Disk system, read it (or
consult with an owner) see if this is the system for
you.)
Yours in computing, George Chambers
TS 2068 NOTICE
One of our out-of-town members has designed and
built an 1/0 board for the 2068. It has 8 TTL
inputs and 8 TTL outputs; plugs into the cartridge
slot, and has a 12 inch cable with a DIP Socket.
He wonders if there is sufficient member
interest to warrant producing them for sale at
$35/$40 each. If you are interested, would yOu
write to: Eric Michaud, 1269 Andrew Court, Sarnia,
Ont., NZV 4H4,
George Chambers,
ET AF Per Fore Pik Pe
be Mel Richardson
David Wood of SiriusWare has
written a word processor capable
of truly sericus writing on the
/S 1000 or ZX81 with a full-
size keyboard. WORDX easily
formats page size, length, tabs,
paragraphs and text width. All
print control codes are imbedded
in the text, transparent to the
printino function. And what
functions! Insert, Delete,
Find. Replace, Copy, Move and
others all executed with simple
and logical kevnunches. Text is
saved ss data blocks and can be
concatenated with other data
blocka from tape.
In it’s latest version. the
program operates in slow ar fast
mode and in fast is impossible
to overtype, even at page flips,
which are blindingly» fast.
WORD* is configured to the
2040 printer and generates a
beautifully clear and talanced
t.pe face for this small unit.
For another $15 David will
provide a "Personality Module"
“that customizes the processor to
your full-size printer.
l WORD* and the Personality
Module for m» systemic
alil the functions of a
Mannesmann MTSO printe
including it's many type stvles
and also incorporate SZAVE,
Mothing is perfect. The
proaram can lock up with some
mistakes, but the versatility of
WORPX makes this problem have
small sigqnifigance that grows
less with experience.
With a 12 page manual and
David Wood’s outstanding after
Sale support, this is a quality
product,
an #8C cess
r
WORD* for T/S 1000 and Exel
Persbnality Module $15 U.S. ea.
SiriusWare
ó Turning Mili Road
Lexington, MA DeLies
ian Soberisun
Costuaetue 72157,3401
PIS Wet !387Ósde 508
PATES, STOP THE TOESSES!!! Sir Clive has just perfected the
85. Thats right folks, the 3D, which stands for the Suantum Dusp
which is exactly what he igst did with Sinclair Research. It has
sold ip ^wsirad for a saltry $7,309,000.00 (US), This is
igure qucted is the "dall Street Journal’, One of ay large
Toce ts sow is "ion’t tall ze that I have ANOTHER orphan
aith the Zoecteue st! We will have to wait and see if
instead of just
not 3e using LENSLOK
ter the poor reception it received when used with their
TEL ine Il tave seen several coapiainis in UK sagazines
ty to use LENSLCK at all. Some users had
tzid 2 dozen tines or more to load the program, but to no
avail, The latest sad-news-ites concerss the Spectrum 128, It
eens the 173 will aot Isad quite a few of the latest "top 10”
games, feses Sinclair sade a few changes to the operating system
aithout rotitying the saftware houses. Not very professional Sir
af Azstrad anuli not have done that). The
software ceogle are in the process af revising the programs to
mun oa both the 48% and the 128k Spectruns, f
ma:
be US "Sinclair/Awstrad’
that FIREBIRD will
prozna
corcerring the inabili
7, (Alan Sugar
THE MAGEZINES: Ii is about lise someone commented on the present
etat 0* "cur coaputer literatura. First, let's look at ‘the
UY, arket - (i) YOUR COMPUTER has alsast dropped Sinclair
elated taterial and at the sawe tine each issue gets thinner
and thinner (as a gatter of interest 1 stepped sabscriging), (2)
T? COMPUTING has gone monthly with the March 26th issue (which I
yat teaceived) zii is still ay personal favourite due to
S ORIMCLAIS USER still has articles at
B ze. tut is Ws '3 zore games oriented with each issue,
SU YOUR SINCLAIR !formerly YOUR SPECTRUM) is nom almost totally
zatez Qrietied, including the most juvenile letters to the
editors ever published except for CRASH), they have to be read
it Ee calieved - and that includes the answers ton, (5) CRASH is
3 100 {sages xagazine ard is not worth aentioning. Now lets
take a isok at cur oma shores! The commercial magazines are: (1)
TUNCWAPE NEWS, (2) SUM, (J) TIME DESIGNS and i4) TS-HORIZDNS,
Thatas Y, Woods also publishes a couple of other specialized
ien to SYNCWARE NEWS. Anything Tom publishes is
zb dependable and can be recommended. I personally
think that ALL TUS publications have gerit and should be given
attention by the T/S community, 34 the many nensletters,
shed by local T/S groups I think that LIST (Long Island
ar Titer bud has io be singled out for the consistancy
zose of the issues are aizost
ities, " dodo is always First rate and there is
Ta cap il ali off, they usually cubiish on
are gary other excellent newsletters (including
rel fai are to be congratulated for their ongoing
thution to the growth and interest in ‘ous cnsputers', but
ove ^as to oe used as an example, then LIST has to be ay
There are tao areas that seem to cause aost of
: fa) Seriousness and onigisality
ct cantant, and (b) publishing within a “reasonable” tire trane,
hess, in
first sate,
sts
or
SINC-LINK Mer/’Anr 1985
TS20E8; Lots of SOUD "ews this tise around. Zebra Systems, 78-06
Jamaica Ava., Weodhaven, NY 11421, (718) 294-2385, have the
following itezs of interest: (1) 05-44, a 64 column operating
system cartridge, (2) Z-Toera-àd 44 column Terainal Program, aust
have the OS-44 in the cartridce dock, to be used with the 2050
*2dea and 90 coluan printer, {5} 2080 modems (untested) for $10.
O0 sach or J for $25.00 {requires software, power supply and
zase), While discussing the 2050 sodes - telecommunication is
not complete without LOADER V from Kurt A. Tasby, 25 Battie
Creak Court, St. Paul, NN 55119, This program sells for 89.98
and allows the user to up/downioad Tasword files, auto-repeat
dialing and access an additional 20 BES telephone
Version V also allows MSCRIPT files and has good documentation.
1! you are a previous registered LOADER [IV owner, you can
upgrade for 93,009, A revised 2063 TECHNICAL MANUAL is available
from Tise Designs Magazine, 29722 Hult Rd., Colton, OR 37017,
tos $25.90, TD is reported to have fixed ali the "known? bugs
Stat existed in the previous Tisex version of this manual,
nusbers,
SPECTRUM: The Sig Spectrum itea this time is the arrival af
TASWORD 3. it, prasentiy, is on sicrodrive cartridge only aM
therefore can only be used with sirradrives, It tas ‘up to] 123
t2lumns, tabs, footers, headers and alloms printing from drive
itaiimerging, etc.]. I have been using it for about three weeks
now ind can honestly sav - ‘CAST, FAST, FAST and GREAT, GREAT,
GREAT", There are two other contenders for the "New and
leproved' word precessor title, Gne is the WORD MANAGER, fros
IP. Considering the (unusual) screen character set and the
cryptic jocagentation, it is not a serious cantender, The other
one ig THE WRITER frea Soflek, but they have not released it to
date. It is apparently, an update of ‘Spectral Weiter", which
comes bundisd with the Ratronics Wafadrive, The Watadrive
versinn aas, inr sage nesnie, a serinus rival far Tasmard 2.
Another serious piece of new software is SUPADRIVE, It is only
cf uselinterest to a Microdrive user. It allows a cartridge ta
be formatted to {00-i05k instead of the usual 88-92k, Now while
this yay not seem like a big difference, it allows two complete
48k progrags to be put on one catridge, and still have roca for
a data tile ar two, Tasword 3 and Supadrive are both available
trom TRANSFORM LTD., 24, WEST CAK, BECKENHAM, KENT BRI ZEZ,
U.X,, I have, over the past two years, read wany kind words
about thea which ware written by customers, I have to agree with
this opinion, They sent we TW3 right away with a note enclosed
stating that Supadrive was not vet available, but would be sent
upon receipt. It was in vy sail approx. 5 days later. Hats off
ta another good supplier! They also take plastic.
791000721500; Integrated Data Systeas, 30 Brookmpunt — 8d.,
Toronto MSL SNL, telephone 414-699-6390 *as 751500's tor sale at
$50,00 (Cdn) plus $ 3.50 postage. This includes one free piece
at software and is tes a limited time oniy. This price is cheque
cr poney order only, no plastic, and does not include PST, MULE
FLECTRONICS, 444 Lincoln Blvd., Dept, 210, Venice, CA 70271,
ztil! has the 781080 keyboard svabols for sale at $7.95 {basic
SEi' and 35,00 for the shifted-funttiun set, They also sell a
kit, con
proper ke es
sisting of the basic set, instructions on hooking ap a
ard and instructions On how to add single-stroxe
Reys and TS1C00 schematic for $11.95. They are adhesive backed.
Page 3
“MB NEWS oe
BY PETER M*MULLIN
for the [Bl
| aentioned the
hobbyist this
LARKEN Disk
i/TS1000 DISK SYSTEM
this is rather interesting, since I’ve had
iii d reviewed it (the AERCO) last
hone call rrom Larry Kenny
announcing that his
Although 1 haven't
ugh description of the
relate the pertinent
E
ECTRONICS, R.R.$2, NAVAN,
shipping for Canadian
$6.00 shipping.
ündred af Uncle Sam's
or virtually HALF the
ystems! This may fit the
been put off by the
r COMPUSA systeas.
f
5
g
ce au
10577 Well, you day have been wondering
the LARKEN when I already have an
iX-LPUS aakes the AERCO 005 seem
d primitive. It is, indeed somewhat
e TON PESA DOS,
i ee ua DD io has
È bow. P»
p tor
almost universally
per dollar (same
commands identica
cm ok
i
TIED
14-1008
braids
I
Eu +
En rea ct du
> om
E3 p
oy 8s
~4
2 in
jgc rived verihles e or arrays),
anal sid laaded.
y be stored on one disk. The dis
2048 version, so CODE files saved
| a 2481, or vice versal!
autasatic, and disk space 1s allocated
jELETE a short prnagras or file, a longer
ill in the shart empty space, then
nazi — available space. Programs are
ae à checksua. If a loaded file
will try reloading the file 10
Cr gu
Zk onboard buffer RAM
BOS in a 2k EFRON at
ses don't conflict with
has
ay "second" gale ttes le
to LDUO, since it is compatible with the
supplies I already have ror the AE
RESOURCES
SINC-LINK VOL-4 NO.Z MAR APR Bó
XMODEM UPDATES
Since receiving ay 2030 modeals; from Dave Clifford
Associates, I have had some fun accessing bulletin boards, and
swapping text files with friends who use IBMs (there's no
accounting for taste!) among other things, and have made some
nas vations Pd like to share.
First, the acden seems to be prone to bus loading
problems on certain machines. I tried using the aodea on ay
agin 7Y8l-based computer with JLO motherboard & tullsize
I couldn't get the aodem to
acknowledge any incoming signal.
The same modem, connected to a 51200
It also worked fine on another
worked fine
unmodified 2X8
Th
immediately.
with a Hunter Board and Measotech G4K ram attached. i fave
heard other reports of the 2050 not working with 2X15 with
fullsize keyboard wiring added. Comments, anyone??
That shielded ribbon cable and the ferrite beads all look
suspicinus to se. [ have had previous "bad experiences" with
ribbon cable hookups. My olan is to mount a small male edge
connector right on the 2030 board at its’ connector area,
connected with short wirewrap jumpers. Then the sodes card can
{vertically} plug right into ay is aotherboard, eliginating
the whole ribbon cable ordeal. PI) keep vou posted an how
this works,
& further noteworthy point is that although the 2050
d the JLO Video Upgrade don't directly conflict over
adire ses, the JLO Video Board "A" seems to need
nal decoding! running Mini XACBEM put sprites up on ay
Speaking ot port conflicts, the other big "no-no
Nba" is the JLO ¥ideo Upgrade and the AERCU CPI. The SERCO
| and JLO fight directly over use of port 7F, so cannot be
ed together.
E
de
ro x
"ij xx
Qn the software side, Dve made a few observations on
Mini ZMÜDEM 1.7. The manual I received claims to apply te
bath the 1.5 and 1.7 versions af (modem, however aabiquities
sepa to abound. First of all, the addresses given far changing
word parameters are wrong. I found that the correct data
addresses are 14790 in the "23K" version, and 21174 in the {èk
version (Westridge), for setting data bits, stop & parity.
On esperisenting with some MODEM up/downloading, I
discovered some interesting things. First, even if you have
64k RAM attached (thus theoretically about 37K available far
downlcading), the program will only downiaad a 15K file. I
plan to take a peek around with HOT Z to try and patch in a
fis for this.
After dowiicading 2 3.5K iong ASCII T file from a
friend's PC clone, I sent it back ta him to verify our setup.
The Mini XMODEM program didn't stop Pan at the
end-of-file asríeri it sent the sentire fila buffer ithe
desired 3.58 of text pius D1.2K of ASCII Back Spaces (11),
Further testing revealed that Mini fsodem seeas to send "all
it's got", every time. This is wasteful sf phone tiae.
inued
that no choice i
when uplaoadin
files is no problem. Bu
a in terminal ande (with SAY
it back tn the sender, he
ME file. Rather unreadable on an IWM
aside, Mini ÍMUDEM still impresses ag
ton&unirations software. I hope to
emary version to run at $2080-52E00 instead
canfiicts with AERCO, COMPUSA, and
| evan write in a BOS access which
a full buffer to disk without going
a
t
Iri
=
. m
|n
a
=I
rt
ol . suggestions,
he stridge pies Mink
BUBETIONS, etc, relating the Inodem
1.7 aspects related above, please get in contact with ae in
care of the club. Id really like to hear from you.
SILICON MOUNTAIN COMPUTERS
Fred Machbaur has been hard at work writing soae fancy
software tor the ZX8!/TSi00D with the JLO VIDEO UPGRADE, Now
ivailaàie is JOBASIC: a relocatable 4K extended BASIC
eter for use with the Video Upgrade. JOBASIC provides
an screens, 2554192 plot, draw, and circle commands, up
à UDSs plus 128 printable characters plus their inverses,
tas, 15 colours, 12:192 colour resolution, full 2040
Mx Fred is providing a service called JOBASIC
applic Md & prograas forua for JOBASIC users.
fanciers: JOÜ-MANDELBROT, a version af the
atting Man ie lirat Sets# so popular cn the Amiga,
ule. (#3¢@ A.K, DEWDREY, in SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN,
14 les ntation has alse been written for
en
these programs provide hi res graphics with 8
vertical colour resolution that ran be attained en
FOF more information about these progress, as well as
tape/disk versions of Memotezt, including a 64 column
version for the — Video Upgrade, Video EPROM
varal unique products for the 2X81, write
o SILICON MOUNTAIN COMPUTERS, MTN, STN.
a aore pi description ef JOBASIC’s
e 2040 screenduaps from the DEMO
. Although they show the pixel
you can't see the
hu.
Sama] HE
bf
i UT
am
y)
wp c
-FABE 5-
Tho Q m " " : mM
c5 od d fu hd 1 dope 1 A
oo a ` ui m o. "^ Uc
: DE ui bie} ki fod » wd ox
at y mop we k STEE)
eyen ti be ; k Bod ou Qo H IR E
Dg x M " E a FU eem
r mh m Mors EMI (rm c m i — QUII. OH
i: fo vi e ou w mf CO I PE
ul Q mnm . Y. t
pt m vd ocv ui tn ey Wd pas easter
wee dtr o c po T e : UTE PORUM
jw ud vb bh MN n it Ds fos eh fon ng EO a
Me MERE (M h M n s ù In vip S D ada CIL on
NEM DAHA
n
be CL te uv " m uM n ER Oe ah md
Semone uro ARD uS IO we "n mn fe oor Qj HA C HA on e
$0 Poet 9 mS pow T on ^ Me i p
Perum umm cit dre Perm [puru rra! LN" Ad, pe Mrnueixt Ul
D^ EM TE en fo Lf vd ond pon be es ka e} me X pe f l "ET
REG H vut Ki wu n m a rn Cit Cà pa Ul þe pe
PIE ew emunu (aon pjnemume ^ da wl oU. Ha Chant TE ea Gl ca RD
fo domine gu. fuc [ejus Ham uou nr [C9 La m9 iu t nuu mo x It "n
ES utm utu QM Go mum. a a Jm A 8 E D ee pad palpa [E Y
uz eur "T" SERF ku M be ui "EEUU JO ds wel lit
w ks ate bsc xr thuis nm x a Re Ca ME IM LE y [s
ELE UJEA Du ur £3 ri d d UU o ba uu AU C9 Vc, ez a ud d 3 d me Ca d cnp TE bes LL ROL Ca CERE 4 UI Jd
oo, NE: oct E "mi ft [QC CERE ull. ud d Ul FA Pe mad wed ata C x OE E Mn MO EST S mus fh m EK :
D] Lud Re "a oon
Qut et IA pee LA omes m tB LA c Uf a i o fa fa ra "b fa fo fa SUID P ut MUTET E Ii E
modu Ton: T4 £^ wh P« t ECI E OT a ace f PL LOL IDE Ta RD eed C Poe Pac odium m Rd CY
rer.m! "E CP PPP Pa Pe P P> EA 00 (0 Q0 (a (O0 10 3) OL (OLG jo m ai ty 09 o» rtd CH n n xt LOL o fm u.
ka ~ ki) vd sorted ad donde EE. wed (Lp vd cd a
M "n moe "NEM ko Wo ber Mh a t
"us m ^ Qu M uu fim cg We we at I
ann nme i vd Mom mot mou £A ras A
-— fh ` Eo i n m JA dm M od r3 I, = M)
uw A Rod mox i] ul 1 - al u s) In te
Bere T ri bow Jo nd Lo od it m gd "Uus
Wo ouv m "I È ya Lio þe fw P i c E VICEM
pen "m 0 * Ub o ut mm t s 1400] 4
CX tí) t ion à o. 7 Poo: 00^ 99 ond EmA
Um "ug ay v mod d$. v mom Wy o UD
LN | van ü od o To 5 Doro amm no d
qi nd iam p ^ FETTE 1 i] u mu Ai ts ess
MM f m. [hs Ei i uuo 4th aah ff nv 1
M T 4 i. ‘nt nt "npo 4 A uU To aa viis
ou oe pum b om foc no av NETTE M m
Ir fm Mo Dl E “4 ` wth Jn n z CU e nt Pac vM d
fal ED a ^ M e oUm P uw b m o ^ inde Fr
ve. TEE 1 xam b pen ul WA Ps ed be aoe n
ve ee LLP RED LEY B Ma KA pb CPD foe LL Poe M a C us i 1 Ms HH s fr Ma ha "t m
vir eaga ke Ud e Hour de mo fW 801 01 wj) ut aem mes mile ge^
ub bed nea £9 ik DU = Nat ua wb LIP Ma ER unt $00 D "LH B s urn en i m TT, m
e VE XL LO FG m] etra e oup vi mu. AN dl ùl |j 0 fl vel t a e ms
^vi 8 hs p bd) enm Qu v Een Va per a C DES b bob Lt ee ae et eo Ws fois uy
-— UTI he DA ke kir, zr þe $ mr. mun SE. Mammam o an no bl). cb 4 2 MM gne zi
a awhi wu of M CE CGA e per e rae en i p: "tt "i Fin Um 2 EX
- be na uo a ud. dE " f AA A RA a id AARE Wd cat turae c no hdd um De a s Mas T EL pe Ue. m" Re EAL! e] Wits ci
b Wha, les RL SR PALE dul ERU ek E P Cz Ca Eb Pet M. a te Wc. n odd. C. n. LO C e ed e S P AA Pel LD eA LLI em at ts CL tie
te In rm d v) -(
uu why ea Gy ra Sa taa eh P3 Sy 3 Ha t i LO a C0 9 ID Pe 82 8 a P Ma da mu oum "mit fw ID tg dw og rr mara
^ v CM IA e LEO Pe E nd EU ERE e eR DE a a a DM EI Bi "OO uid me we LEE C vt EU SE CI Cd I) a b s LEE as MOL e es ARSA a
i Cu C CU eu CU C Cu (63 (9 (02 P2 ee DPI COL CP) b tonno veh mab od LCT ACS s UP d a o t e o de 1 M e UU. LU ats Au 7 irs Pe P
im i BoMoM€M A8 X
wd i M
pipe pel
RA OPS Re anh
LaS
TE You
Biter sets
- z merse o: X
Bra HU it.
Sars.
33 mS Sree
J vir ib
mm Tz
v WI
z IG
i ln
i t the
the Crareacter
nni nnt te shir
Er h E
: s
Ea
t
m
J
M.
m
m
Bree x
iac h
reo. &
ange =
e iz 2 i
= AM a E
ae eS
in iis
EM fos ; z
Bu main 1 [a
s a
af Bet a i
uE n C, uou
£o a =
: & i ORES at
Gel ue E
vidit
na rFonit if
A oo ow
Gand I.
o2
FEE:
E i
a :
f 03
Loi
Pur =
azz Í i
AIV i
= 72 part
c 1b cii
p: T
z inert
Li Li giil
me "n
1 iR
cn Link
2 Z= = eae
Be col Pvi
iÉa
aria mA
Fe i =
TO MAKE A PROGRAM LISTING "DISAPPEAR" (ZX81)
Programs can be made to "disappear" if the
following POKE is put into the program,
POKE 16509,64
such "invisible" programs can be SAVE'ed and
LOaD'ed as usual, and will RUN if address 16509 is
reset to it's original value,
tape recorder. Àl
i
e"tasward2" L
| az 5l i thase command for
at, CAT. MOVE. a are
S, Fut a dish dn ve burn Pb oun sud
Bssagges which reaiiiy make it
Ts2068 TAPE BUG
By Eric Michaud
6hile recently trying to figure out how to save some
variables in a program I was working on, I came across
an interesting bug in the 2068 ROM.
Try typing SAVE, and then pressing ENTER 9 times.
After you press ENTER the ninth time some colourful
blocks will appear on the screen, followed by some
random dots, and finally the system will reset,
This crash also occurs with LOAD, MERGE, and VERIFY.
Can anyone explain why this happens? This "bug" poses
a potential danger if you are working on program that
uses a lot of tape commands, so beware!!
2X81 LOADING FILTER/INTERFACE
by Steven Pocock
This article describes how to construct a
loading filter which will improve the signal
characteristics of your tape recorder, permitting
the use of fast loading programs such as ZXLR-8,
FASTLOAD, and QSAVE, as well as regular loading.
All of the parts needed to make a this interface
can be purchased at a good electronics parts
distributor. When purchasing tne parts do not
deviate from the values listed, as tolerances and
values are critical,
Place all components on the non-foil side of
the board (component side) using diagram 2 as a
guide. In order to reduce the amount of wiring
that must be undertaken, insert the components so
that the leads are adjacent to each other,
therefore when they have to be connected, a solder
bridge between the leads will suffice:
Example: Insert R6, R3, and C5 in consecutive
holes, count off the number of spaces down and
over and insert the other leads, Solder the leads
to the copper eyelets (on tne foil side) then put
a solder bridge between the leads to connect the
three components at the top. The other leads of R3
and CS are connected with a solder bridge to Cl,
1 found assembly easier if all of the
components were first placed and positioned (on
the component side), then flip the board over
(diagram 1, foil side) and solder the leads to the
copper eyelets ensuring leads are adjacent to one
another where necessary, Then make the necessary
solder bridge connections. These connections are
depicted as the thin lines joining the large dots
in diagram 1. Then solder the solid wire
connections onto the board, These are depicted as
heavy black lines, Then use cutters to trim the
excess component leads.
When installing components use as little heat
as possible. Ensure correct polarity on Cl, C2,
C3, and C6. Solder in the IC socket but do not
install the IC until everything else has been
completed. Check all connections i.e. leads to
eyelets, leads to leads and solder bridge
connections.
Now the board is complete. Because of its
small size it can be easily mounted inside most
cabinets, If the computer is in its original case
then the filter should be attached externally,
using jacks. Shielded audio cable is recommended
for hookup, but [ have used 27-gauge strand wire
and have no interference problems,
Cut two 4" lengths of shielded cable, attach a
female plug to one length, and a male plug to the
other, Attach the female plug and wire to the "ear
to tape" location on the foil side of the filter;
i.e. positive to C3, negative to ground,
Next connect the male plug and wíre to the
"ear to computer” location on the foil side of the
board i.e, positive lead to the positive side of
81, negative lead to ground,
The 9V DC power line is connected in a similar
fashion. Cut four pieces of 4" 27-quage wire 2
black, Z white. Attach a black (=) and a wnite (+)
to wire to both the male and the female jacks.
Attach both negative leads to the negative side of
C2, and attach the positive leads to the positive
side of C2, Your power adapter from the wall plugs
into the female lead to provide power for the
filter and the male plug plugs into the power port
on the computer to provide it with power.
Now again check all solder points, plug the
IC in, noting the correct orientation, The dot in
the top indicates pin 1. Hook up the unit to your
tape player and computer. The filter can also be
hard-wired to your computer, first place it in
your cabinet and make the connections described
above, without wiring in plugs or jacks.
FAR TO
ComeuTER M
WYV ISIN RS BAR Am |. Fel. SIDE .
ZAR TO
Tae
aH
L—
ae be
PARTS LIST
ITEM CODE QUANTITY DESCRIPTION/TYPE
RESISTORS ^ Rl,R2 2 10K
R3 1 100K All resistors
R4 l 4.7K 1/4 watt,
R5 l 39K 5 percent
RGR? 2 33K tolerance
D1, D2 2 1N914
IC 1 1 741N or 741CN
C1,C4 2 Note 1
C5 2 Note 2
C2,C6 1 Note 3
C3 1 Note 4
MISC, l Hote 5
1 Note 6
2 feet Note 7
OPTIONAL 2 Note 8
2 Note 9
1 Case
OUTINE TO ALIGN DECIMAL POINTS (7XB1)
" (1 to H-(V 21) *IHT(LMH
Demonstration program:
19
20
20
49
50
60
LET H2 7
IHPUT V
PRINT TAB 19
GOSUB 3000
LET Y = ¥*10 * RND
S0TO 39
where:
y = Hu
v
Mo
The n
se suffi
the left
mber to be printed
sets field width i.e. No of printing
positions before the decimal point
= “umber of digits before the decimal point
umber of spaces put into line 3900 needs to
cient to handle the longest number; 4.6. on
side of the decimal point.
Q "P Ris
COMPUTER,
pi r
E v) om
Ra.
DA
C3 A,
Omama Cmm CET Sigs
NOTES:
l. 6.8uf electrolytic or tantulum- any voltage
(20v)
2. 120 pf non electrolytic 10 percent tol, 120v
3. 47uf electrolytic (16-25V)
4 , 0.01uf (10 mf) polystyrene or equivalent,
2 percent tolerance
5$, 8-pin D, I,P, socket
6. P.C. board 4.5cm x 4.5cm Radio Shack
#276-148 $1.50
7. 27 guage solid wire, black, white
8. male jacks------ Radio Shack 4274-283 12.49
9, female jacks " i
SUBROUTINE TO LIMIT THE NUMBER OF DIGITS PRINTED
AFTER THE DECIMAL POINT (2X81)
The subroutine:
1000 LET DIG = 10**N
1010 PRINT IHT(V*DIG)/UDIG;
1020 RETURN
A demonstration program:
10 FOR N = 1 TO 10
20 LET V = RND
30 PRINT "DIGITS z":N;TA3 15;
40 GOSUB 1000
50 PRINT
60 NEXT N
70 STOP
- number to be printed
max. no. of digits to follow decimal point
az <
ae
Wood
The demo program simply generates a series of
random numbers by the subroutine
This subroutine truncates the number. If you are
happier with "rounding" tne number then convert
LINE 1010 to read:
1010 PRINT TET
Fags 9
(V* DIG*,5)/DIG
LARKEN DISK DRIVES
by Peter Hacksel
This is not another review of the Larken Drive but
rather the start of a new column especially designed
for users of the Larken Drive System. More and more
people have been purchasing a drive controller card
from Larry Kenney. (The "Uncle Clive" of the disk
drive world) It seems that the most common question
that I get about the system is "If I buy the board
what will I need and how can I set it up." So I
thought it fitting to start my series of articles
with a detailed explanation of how exactly to set up
the Larken Disk Drive.
The system comes with only a controller card. The
actual disk drive is not supplied, The controller
card is what allows an [BM type disk drive to be used
with the TS2068. So this means that you will have to
buy a disk drive for yourself. The specific drive
that the Larken board is designed to use is called a
Shugart SA455, There are many different brands that
may be used as long as they are compatible to the
Shugart SA455, Ask the dealer to help you in this
matter.
The second problem you will encounter is that most
disk drives are sold uncased and have no power
supply. Getting the case is simple enough. Most
places that carry disk drives will also carry disk
drive cases and they are all a standard size. However
the power supply is a little more complex. A disk
drive requires a fair bit of current to operate and
the voltage must be very accurate to ensure that the
drive will be reliable. For that reason a simple
power suppy such as the one that comes with the 2068
will definitely not be sufficient, What is needed is
a Regulated power supply with both +5V and +12V
supplied, "Regulated" simply means that the voltage
is held at a particular very accurate voltage, Larry
has included a schematic that allows you to make your
own regulated power supply however I dont really see
the point in doing this as they are rather cheap to
buy. If you enjoy building though, then you are all
set.
If on the other hand you are like myself and just
want to get the thing working then there are several
places thet you may get a power supply. The best deal
I have seen is at PARTS GALORE on Queen St. (About 2
blocks west of University Ave on the south side.)
They have a mountainous stack of disk drive power
supplies there and they cost a reasonable $21.50 CDN
They also have a Shugart SA455 compatible drive for
$165.00 CDN and may have disk drive cases. Another
advantage of buying this power supply is that it is
the one that I am now going to show in detail, how to
set up,
The board comes with a power cord and a white
plastic connector that plugs into the disk drive.
There are a few things that must first be done before
you may plug it in. Firstly, The connector was not
designed for this drive and will need to be filed to
fit (See fig 1). Larry supplied me with a connector
"n :
£89e fo
that already fit but I don't know if he still does
that anymore. In any case It is not only the disk
drive that you will need to power but also the
controller card, That is the purpose of the 2 wires
sticking out of the controller card, These wires will
have to be joined to the wires giving power to the
drive (see fig 2). The connections may be done using
crimp connectors, You will notice that the power
supply has four and not three wires, as shown in the
diagram. The yellow one supplies -12V and as that is
not necessary for the drive it should be removed,
Also make sure that the wires that I have shown
coming from the board are actually in the places I
have shown. If not make sure to change them. It is
also important that the green and red wires are on
their respective sides of the connector going into
the disk drive. The connector is beveled so that it
will only go in one way. (The results would be
disastrous if they are wrong.) Once this is done
simply connect the ribbon cables as is shown in the
instructions that are supplied with the interface,
Then DON'T Power up yet. Check your wiring
thoroughly. And again. You probably will be impatient
to see it running but if you do something wrong then
you may just blow up $500.00 worth of computer
equipment at a flick of a switch. So be patient
check it properly before turning your power on,
thats it. You are ready to go!
‘and
And
MELLE XC
a rd cx Dive
OSIA Ee O N 3 Rigs
es ? | z e Y PS
Ve peeling NE SR D
O^ voor | i i | Ic
e oe 45V Gud Ge nv dox
LOOK pG FATO Cond ESTE
turres Sta Fawgrgt "l4 E.
CO O O OV T
File nasi
FG :
A
15
JAITOM nos
= D
SWEA ;
LARIN
INTERFACE a
^
T
ey
HEWS AND NOTES
Larry has announced a few additions that should come
out in the near future. First is the addition of a
facility for using two drives with his system. The
second thing which he has had successfully running,
is a cartridge that will do the same thing as
George C.'s endless loop tape. For those who aren't
familiar with this cartridge idea; when the machine
is turned on, if you have the cartridge in the
cartridge port then the computer will automatically
load a special program called “AUTO.B1" and this can
contain a program that has a menu that will allow you
to load a program from a single keypress! Also in the
works, perhaps the most exciting thing is an auto
save board, This board will fit on the rear edge
connector and will have a button on it. At any time
this button is pressed, the entire contents of Ram
Will be saved to disk, This will allow any program to
be saved, even the tricky programs with anti-piracy
techniques being used. Simply load your program from
tape, press a button and presto! Your program is
saved, It can also be used for games that can't be
saved half way through. For example you could be
Flying your plane at 1200 knots in a Kamakazi dive,
push the button and the program will save to disk.
The next day when you load the program it will reload
with you in the same predicament! Unfortunately Larry
does not seem to think that this is such à high
priority and if you feel as excited about this as I
am then let him know. If enogh people mention it
maybe he will put it higher on his list of
priorities. Last but not least I have come up with an
easier way to save machine code. Rather then enter
the program to poke the numbers for the starting
address and length, Try this:
1 LET START=xxxxx
2 LET LENGTH2xxxxx
3 RANDOMIZE START: POKE 23540,PEEK 23670:
POKE 23541, PEEK 23671
4 RANDOMIZE LENGTH: POKE 23542,PEEK 23670:
POKE 23543, PEEK 23671
5 OUT 84,64:PRINT USR 63488;REM SAVE
"hnnnnn.Cl1"
QL TIPS
ALL CAPITALS
To force the OL to accent all input in CAPITAL
LETTERS (AND DO ALL SUCCESSIVE PRINTING IN capitals
as well) include the following POKE as part of
your Drcuram:
POKE 163976,255
POREIno the same address with zero resets the
nacnins to lower case mode.
TIPS IN USE OF IN CATSNPED NOCE
S
anq
»^en you want to nut 4 calor cemmand into a line
so that it will de printed on screen in a colar,
you do not have ta use the INK commana.
Instead, you can imbed the color commana in tae
line itself by usinc the "CAPS/SHIFT" and the
“SYMEOL/SHIFT™ together to enter the extended mode.
Then hold down the "CAPS/SHIFT" and press the key
representing the color of your choice,
This will imbed the color command just in front
of the character that is to print in color, Then
continue typing the characters until vou are ready
to change pack to black, Then ga into the extended
mode again and, wnile holding sown the “CAPS/SHIFT"
key again, oress the black key (9). This returns
you to the ordinary way of plack letters again.
Be sure ta turn off the command at the end of
the section you want to have in color. If vou
don't, tne command will affect all characters
following, [t must be turned off,
You can change the "PAPER" colors in a similar
way by entering extended mode and not holding down
tne shift kay when selecting your color from tne
top row of the keyboard. Again, you must return to
your normal color (usually WHITE '7'), or the rest
of your program will be affected.
This is an interesting way to set off your RE?
statements so that they are cyteqraboers cn your
screen,
Ho space will be taken for tno commana in the
line, but you will see the cursor change color and
everything tnat you type will ve affected.
Tnis article was reprinted from th TAS BAN Users
Group newsletter KEYBOARDS Vol.4 No.l Jan/Feb 1956
PROCEDURE CRASH
Do not use the names of previously cefinec
procedures and functions that have been deleted
since power on, in programs and direct commands,
before the machine has been RESET. A bug in the
QL's ROM will cause the machine to crash, should
you attempt to do so.
A program containing such keywords can be Saved
and the machine RESET, whereupcn everything will
work as expected again.
ds ds Pf
: 1 ii
Gos linüharc
Sus cindaorst
Timex Command Cartridge
€ computer. The big suprise
run program
the Ümni-EMU because you
it through the
244,0 :
every ay
^
2 ct
3
PEEKS AND POKES
for the SPECTRUM
by Jim Dodril]
(Some will work on the TS2068)
POKE 23736,181
4nen SAVEINg a multie«part program insert POKE
23736,181 between SAVE statements, and the computer
will then save all parts of the program without the
"START TAPE" prompt.
axample: 9999 SAVE "prog" LINE 10: POKE 23736,181:
SAVE "byte" CODE 64599,760
If burrer
an repi
ac Gif
ve Cameron
Hau Tonying
rou Qiiger’s
NT rium
RENU cer Feader
at Tapa at
i558z to the
appropriate address activates
the routine resident th T
Spectrum ROM has cver i
r1
"ni
74LS32
veru Simp
Spectrum
routine:
i For I=
2 PORE
3 PAUSE 1
4 NEXT
Replacing th
emulatar ona
redguinres a zm i
the board. Th i
Switches pin
pin Z of the
this ea tha
switched inst
tracks and sa
the switch to
POKE 23756,0
Witl change the first line of a program to LINE 0.
POKE 23692,255
This POKE will
programs,
give auto SCROLL on long
text
QSAVE TECHNIQUES
by Steven Pocock
This article offers some suggestions on the use
of fast loading/saving 2X81 programs using Q~SAYVE
software, based on my experience with it.
Power up and load the QSAVE software using
the normal LOAD "". The 16K version sets itself
above RAHTOP while the 64K version will reside in
the 8-16K area, safe from NEW and RESET, LOAD or
type in a test program. To QSAYE the program ,
start the recorder on RECORD and enter RAND USR
32383 for the 16K or RAND USR 8683 for the 64K,
The screen SAVE pattern will be very different
and the program should SAYE and LOAD 16 times
faster, Once SAVEd, rewind the tape, Secause the
filter is also an amplifier you'll probably have to
turn down the volume on your tape deck. I used to
load at 3/4 full volume (43); now I load at 1/5
volume (#2). The volume setting is sensitive so
you way have to attempt to verify the program a few
times before the ideal volume setting is found. The
VERIFY option will determine if your SAVE was good,
To verify à program, enter PRINT USR 32377 for LOK,
or PRINT USR 8677 for 64K, then start the tape.
If the program has been properly SAVEd a V = 0
will appear in the top left hand side of the
screen. If some other number appears, rewind the
tape and try a different volume, Verify agata,
When V = 0 shows up, mark the volume position on
the recorder for future reference,
COMMANDS 16K BAK
SAVE RAND USR 32383 RAND USR 8683
LOAD RAND USR 32371 RAND USR 8671
VERIFY PRINT USR 223/77 PRINT USR 8677
Te make an Auto-run tape change your normal SAVE
line to:
9000 RAND USR 32383 (or RAND USR 8683)
9010 SLOW
9020 GOTO START,
Certian programs are not this easy to convert to
Autoerun with QSAVE,
If there is any machine code after the SAVE
Statement the new QSAYE statement must be modified
so that the memory iccations of the machine code
are not changed, otherwise the program will crash.
In order to do this the new SAVE statement must
contain the same number of bytes as the old SAVE
statement, The new statements will be 9 bytes long
for 64K or 10 bytes lomg for 16K. Use RAND USR
VAL "32383" (or RAND USR VAL "8683"). If the
current SAVE statement has fewer than 9 or 10 bytes
then some bytes will have to be removed in a Jing
earlier in the program. Use the VAL function as
described in the next paragraph to free up some
bytes, and add spacer to 'pad' the program out.
page /3
If it has more than 9 or 10 bytes , then
substitute RAND USR VAL "32383" (or RAND USR VAL
"B683"), for the current SAVE line and add spaces
so that the number of bytes in the old and new line
are the same, Hidden spaces may have been put in
the original SAVE statement, To check for hidden
spaces press EDIT to put the line in EDIT mode,
then use the cursor to step to the end of the line.
If you can step past the last quote, then hidden
spaces have been put into the line and they must be
counted, and be included in the new QSAVE line,
A QSAVEd program should always return in the
SLOW mode. If it returns in the FAST mode you
won't get a screen display and you will not be able
to break out of the program,
In order to break an Auto-run program, hold down
the BREAK key once the program has started to load,
and the program will not Auto-run when loaded.
If you've entered RAND USR 32371 (or RAND USR
8671) te load a progmam and then ehanged your mind,
pressing the BREAK key wil] not get you out of the
LOAD moda, In order to get out, press the play key
on your tapé recorder to provide a signal, then
press the BREAK key. This should get you out of the
LOAD mode.
POKE 23617,14
When inserted before an INPUT statement this POKE
will change the curser to "= " and INPUT will be in —
CAPS,
|
POKE 23613, PEEK (23730)-5
When this POKE is used the BREAK key will be
disabled, and the program will crash,
POKE 23755,100
When used at the beginning of a program, the
program will not LIST.
POKE 23658,8
4111 turn on CAPS LOCK
POKE 23658,0
Will turn off CAPS LOCK,
POKE 23561.20
Address 23561 stores the length of time a key is
held down before it repeats (35 is the default value)
Set at a lower value for fast typists,
LET t = USR 3582
Scrolls screen one line
LET t = USR 3583
Serolis bottom half of screen one line.
LET t a USR 3330
Scrolls whole screen to top line. Must be followed
by CLS,
From the Sinclair Louisville Users Group newsletter
PROGRAMMING TIPS = PART 3
Some beginning programmers tend to make an easy
mistake with the T51000: using SLOW when FAST is
vetter. When is it better to use SLOW?
l. When moving graphics are used,
with machine code.
2. For short interactive
necessarily using graphics.
3. When the screen blank-out and
the FAST mode are undesirable,
especially
programs not
flickering of
When is FAST better?
1. When any major arithmetical computations are
involved, particularly of the trigonometric,
logarithmic, SQR, ABS, and other functions; anywhere
that long equations are involved (which tends to
exclude most games programs anyway!).
2. When editing = long programs in particular.
3. Most programs where appearance is unimportant:
for example, most scientific and technical programs.
Let me give you some hard numbers.. Take this
simple loop:
5 FOR F=1 TO 1000
10 NEXT F
In SLOW, execution time is 27.0 seconds. In FAST,
it takes only 4.45 seconds, SLOW took over 6 times
as long to do the same task. More timed examples are
given in the September issue in “Programming Tips
Part 1.". One involving a trigonometrie function
given there took 39,5 seconds to finish in SLOW, but
oniy 6 seconds in FAST. SLOW took, once again, over
6 times as long.
Postmaster, if Undelivered Return to :
Toronto Timex - Sinclair Users Club
P. O. Box 7274 Stn. A
Toronte, Ont., M5W IX9
Canada
SLOW can cause frustrations when editing. When~
moving the line cursor down to a given lire down ta
edit it, the listing is reprinted from the top of
the screen each time. In FAST, you don't have to
watch it each time - and also while editing the
line itself, since the line is reprinted on the
bottom of the screen each time the K or L cursor is
moved, there is a similar advantage to using FAST.
So what if the screen flickers? Do your editting at
nome!
Something else that beginning
confused about, is the use of PLOT
PRINT coordinates.
PRINT AT 0,0;"X" will put the X in the upper
left-hand corner of the screen. The PRINT positions
are numbered from 0 to 23 down, and from 0 to 31
across. Ina PRINT at A,B statement, A is the line
number going down, and B is the print position going
across,
programmers get
coordinates vs
PLOT 0,0 will blacken the pixel in the lower
left-hand corner of the screen. The numbers here in
PLOT and UNPLOT A,B run from 0 to 43 going up for A,
and 0 to 63 going across for 8. PLOT 43,63 will
blacken the extreme upper right-hand pixel.
Ordinarily, you can't print on lines 23 and 24,
the bottom two lines, Within a program, however, you
can, by using the line POKE 16418,0, one of the
first programming tricks ever discovered for the
T$1000. You must POKE 16418 back to 2, it's original
setting, before INPUTting anything, or the whole
system will crash.
"XN Taken from the Nov.1985 issue of the
|* -Hatbton Roads T/S
T
RÜser Group newsTetter.
E 1
P
*
4
