Sinc Link

ZX587ZX81
TS1888/1588
PC8388
152868
SPECTEUR

SINC-LINK IS A PUBLICATION OF
THE TORONTO TIMEX-SINCLAIR USERS A

CLUB AND IS ISSUED 6 TIMES À TORONTO TINKX-SINCLAIRE
YEAR. COPIES OF THE NEWSLETTER USERS CLUB
ARE $1.50 EACH FOR NON-MEMBERS.

CLUB MEMBERS RECEIVE FREE COPIES NEM LOOK ISSUE

AS PART OF THE $20.00 ANNUAL
MEMDEDOUTD PEE. contents

page 2 Editorial
NEWSLETTERS ARE EXCHANGED, FREE
OF CHARGE, WITH OTHER page 3,4 TTSUC History

TIMEX-SINCLAIR USERS GROUPS.

page 5,6 Bob's Notebook
ALL MATERIAL IS IN THE PUBLIC
DOMAIN AND CAN BE REPRINTED. page 7,8 QL Info
PLEASE CREDIT THIS PUBLICATION
AND THE AUTHOR IF YOU COPY page 9,10 2068 Power Supply
MATERIAL.
page 11 Modemming
SEND CORRESFONDANCE TO:
page 12 Larken & Large Printer

Attention: SINC-LINK EDITOR
TORONTO TIMEX-SINCLAIR USERS page 13 Larken Disk Library
CLUB, 14 RICHOME COURT.
SCARBOROUGH. ONTARIO, page 14 The Last Page
CANADA МІК 2Y1

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS:

PRESIDENT: JEFF TAYLOR ( 244-8583 )

TREASURER: BILL LAWSON ( 444-8772 )

SECRETARY: GEORGE CHAMBERS ( 751-7559 )

ACTIVITIES: RENE BRUNEAU ( 531-9749 )

TAPE LIBRARIAN ZXB1: H s b

TAPE LIBRARIAN 2068: RENATO ZANNESE ( 635-6536 )

PAPER LIBRARIAN: GREG ROBINS ( 920-7747 )

NEWSLETTER: JEFF TAYLOR ( 244-8583 )

LIAISON OFFICER: GEORGE CHAMBERS, i4 RICHOME COURT,

( Qut-of-town members ) SCARBOROUGH, ONTARIO, МІК 2Y1

( 416-751-7559 )

TORONTO TIMEX=SINCLAIR USERS CLUB

14 RICHOME COURT, SCARBOROUGH, ONTARIO. CANADA М1К 2Y1

Editorial

Welcome to 1989! We're still here after all these vears (6+).
Not bad for a bunch of computer enthusiasts whose machines have
net been supported by the manufacturer for about 5 of those
years. In fact. the club is experiencing a modest resurgence.
With new ZX81 members, new out-of-town members, QL members doing
club demos, new hardware projects. growing tape and disc
libraries and a healthy bank balance, I'd say we're doing pretty
good. We'll certainly be around for a while.

in the spirit of the New Year. i'm presenting an updated
newsletter cover. I'm entirely to blame for this. Last issue I
promised a cover with artwork and asked for submissions or at
least suggestions... well there were so many (none!) that in
order to keep my promise I decided to pick what I thought was
the best offering - mine. If you don't like it write and tell me
why or send me an alternative. I knocked the Toronto skyline
together in about half an hour using Art Studio. Can you do
better? C'mon, I know you closet artists are out there. I can
hear the brush strokes. By the way, yes I am aware that I missed
à line in the Sinc-Link blurb on the cover of the last issue.
Did anyone else notice?

Jn to business: à club executive meeting was held in the
middle of December. À question was raised on whether we are
serving the members as well as we might, our feelings were that
we were doing at least an adequate job. Since we may have a
Slightly biased view of ourselves. what is your opinion? We
would like to know if we can serve you better. (Really).

Remember your modem? That little pc board (cased or not) with
the red L.E.D. and the phone jack? A number of users in town
have discovered (or rediscovered) that their modems are great
tools for conversing with each other, up and downloading text
and RLE files and for use as printer interfaces. We'll be
covering their uses in the next few issues.

News tidbit: For those of you who subscribe to Syncware News
and are wondering if that publication has died, the answer is
no! Just prior to the December club meeting, I phoned S.N.'s
publisher, Mr. Jeff Moore, and he assured me that S.N. vol.5
no.6 would be in the mail to all subscribers before Dec. 25/88.
Citing a number of problems for the delays, Mr. Moore also
explained that after the December issue, Syncware News will be
merged with his other publication, Quantum Levels. Current
subscribers will get this new hybrid magazine until their
subscriptions expire or are renewed. Let's hope he can maintain
the high quality we've grown accustomed to in Syncware News and
wish him luck.

I'm always on the lookout for new material for the newsletter
and I'm happy to report that we are getting some articles from
people other than mainstays George, Bob, Rene and Renato. These
new writers help relieve some of the strain I put on these four
to produce new work all the time. I hate being a pain but if
these guys slow down or you readers don't send in more articles
the consequence will be that you'll have to read more of my
brilliant prose! You'd better get writing. Anything TS-computer
related will get published.

Remember, send all correspondence to the address on the cover.
Do not use the old Post Office box number. 'Nuff said.

“ат

SINC-LINK

TORONTO TIMEX SINCLAIR USERS GROUP
A history by G. Chambers

їп October 1982 а short advert appeared in

the classified section of the Toronto Star,
asking persons who might be interested in
forming an interest group for a computer
called the 2Х81 to contact Pete. It gave š
phone number.

The advertisement was placed by Pete Harvey.
About a dozen persons responded, and this was
the genesis of what was shortly to be called
the Toronto Timex Sinclair Users Club.

I was one of those responding to the
advert. The very first meeting was held in a
Sar, and for some reason I was unable to
attend. At this meeting it was agreed that
there was sufficient interest to warrant
further meetings. The next meeting was held at
Pete Harvey's place. Initially we may have met
every week, though it may have been once every
two weeks. Once or twice the meetings were at
my place.

however the group was growing to such an
extent that a new location was urgently
needed. It devolved on Pete to make new
arrangements, In tne oeginning tnese Locations
were varied. I recall that we met on š couple
oi occasions in а sideroom off a bar at
zglinton and Yonge streets (Pete thought this
was ideal!); once in a spare room in an
apartment basement; ina small room іп а
rublic library; іп a large hall in the same
library.

The group continued to grow, to such an
extent that a more permanent location was
felt necessary. Pete arranged for a meeting
place in the North York Community Hall.
vieetings were scheduled on а regular basis on
the first and 3rd Wednesday of each month.
Rent was $15 a meeting, if my memory serves me
correct.

At one of the earlier meetings it was
agreed that the annual membership dues should
be $20. Pete Harvey became the first president
and treasurer, while I offered to be club
Secretary. The club name was agreed on.

At about the same time there was a
concensus that the club should publish a
newsletter, and that it should be a bi-monthly
issue. This was dore, witn Stan Piotrowski
5ecoming the first editor. There were tnree
issues the first year. Members would pick
tneircopy up &t tne meeting.

We decided to place a further three-day
advert in the Toronto Star newspaper. This
brought out more persons interested in the
computer. The local Timex dealer, Gladstone
Electronics, was given information about our
club, to hand out to customers. Small slips of
paper containing information about our club
were put into Timex books on néwsstands and
libraries. These produced additional members.

A ‘letter to the editor’ telling of the
club brought further responses, including a
number of out of town inquiries,

Those were heady days. The club had grown
to about 80 members оу the end of the first
year, and our meeting place was becoming
crowded. Attendance was about 45, and the room
had seating for only about 40. Latecomers had
to stand. Many members brought their ZX8i's
and ather equipment to show off and talk
about. The early ones found a table to put

their equipment on; latecomers had to make do
as best they could.

One member, ian Singer, had а sort of
dealersnip of Timex equipment, and used to
2111 orders for software and hardware.

in the beginning there was no structure to
the meetings. iembeərs brougnt tneir 2Х81 |
equipment, and showed it off and discussed it.
There would be a general discussion, moderated

Harvey.
us iy аталады recall one member, Jonn
Castillos. John was quite a character. He had
& heavy Spanish accent, and was by nature an
excitable person. When he got onto a topic he
would get so carried away that it was almost
impossible to make out his conversation! John
was our tape librarian. He operated the :
library on the basis that you would give him a
blank tape with a request for & program, and
ne would bring a copy to the next meeting. If
you contributed a program, then you could get
a second program from the library.

Then suddenly John was gone, much to our
consternation. One of our members got a letter
from him some time later, saying that he had
had to leave rather suddenly. Still later, a
friend of his wrote from South America, asking
that we forward any of John's mail to the
friend. . : |

There was not much mail to forward. Bills
from department stores, and from banks!! And
catalogues from antique ооок dealers, mostly
on Egyptology. John was an avid Egyptologist,
and one of his original programs which is to
be found in the club 2X81 library is an `
elaborate filing system relating to Egyptian
mummies! | | _

I forgot to mention something. John had a
Р.О. Box, and he had offered it as a club
address. After he left, we simply continued
using this P.O. box, paying the annual dues on
it as they came due.

Meetings continued to be held twice 4 month
through 1983. However, probably due to Pete
Harvey's easygoing nature, the meetings had
not progressed much beyond being "а bunch of
guys chewing the fat about computers". I used
tnis phrase іп an open letter to the club
membersnip in October '83. In tnis letter I
suggested the club could and should be
offering the membership much more, and
requested anyone who shared these sentiments
and was willing to serve in ап active capacity
to contact me.

The upsnot was that an interim executive was
elected, with a six month mandate to get the
club operation onto a sound footing.

Greg Lloyd became president; John Roach,
Treasurer; Martin Mauk, librarian; Ian
Robertson and Brian Hammond, Activity
Directors; Harold Goodwin, meeting chairman;
Chris Hart, Out-of-town members; myself as
Secretary. Stan Piotrowski continued as
newsletter editor. | |

Pete Harvey's interest had drifted towards
the Commodore, and he dropped out of the club.

The new executive put new life into the
club, Demonstrations were arranged for each
meeting, the club finances were re-ordered, а
set of club bylaws were drawn up and accepted
by the membership. Application forms and
membersnip cards were prepared. The tape
library was reorganised and a paper library
was created. We started a newsletter exchange
with ether Timex clubs. in June OI 708 the
interim executive was confirmed for a further
year.

SINC-L INK

we had been meeting in the Community hall
for about 18 months wnen we had to move into
new premises. It was a cause for macabre
nilarity that our new premises were a former
funeral nome!! It was a distinct improvement
over our previous location, what with deep
carpetted floors, and a tasteful decor. Never
mind that our storage cupboard was in the
embalming room, or that the elevator we used
to bring our club equipment from the basement
up to the second floor, was designed to move
coffins. We felt comfortably at home!!

Many members had converted to the TS2068
computer by then, and our meetings used to
alternate between 2X81 and 2068 demonstrations
А 752068 library was established.

Meetings continued to be twice a month, with
attendance probably about 25 per meeting. But
problems were brewing. The sole Toronto dealer
was closing up shop. No one seemed to be
selling Timex computers any more, and member-
ship started to decline. Where the club had
reached a high of 130 members, it was now
falling off rapidly as existing members either
looked to other computers, or simply lest
interest. Curiously enough, while the local
membership was declining quite rapidly, the
number of members from out of town was
actually increasing.

This was cause for concern, since servicing
these members took considerable time and
effort. in addition to mailing the newsletter,
it involved sending programs tapes from our
library, and supporting them in other ways.
Nevertheless, we nave continued to do this,
expanding recently to support for Larken
owners. OOT members now outnumber the in-town
members by about 2 to 1.

In 1987 we had to vacate our premises once
more. The funeral home was actually a
temporary location of the Community Centre,

til their new building was built. The move
to the new Community Centre building involved
a hefty rent increase; one that we felt unable
to afford. A search for a new meeting place
was urgent. Our president found a suitable
meeting place in a high scnool classroom, This
was the Forest Hill C.I., where we continue to
meet.

A number of members were into QL computers,
апа some GL demonstrations were held. However
the QL section has never been a very active
group. A far more vigorous section has been
the Larken owners. More precisely, the TS2068
Larken version.

For some reason our club has always had a
very enthusiastic Larken following. Probably a
dozen members started with the first vintage
Larken system. Since then they have upgraded
to the current version, and numbers have grown
to where there are more Larken systems in the
ciub than all other disk systems combined, At
the risk of bragging, l would say that we are
tne premier Larken club in Nortn America.

In October 1987, wnen nominations for &
new executive were due, tnere was a familiar
ring. No one could be found who was willing to
Stand for office. It was proposed that in
light of this, further meetings be suspended,
commencing in January. A letter outlining this
proposal was sent out to all local members,

AL the following meeting sufficient members
came forward to serve as club officers that
meetings were able to continue.

This brings us up to the present, at the

start of 1989. Club membership stands at about
66 members. Our meeting attendance averages
about 15. We have purchased a Larken system
for the club and this has stimulated
considerable interest at meetings. Our 2X81
section is showing signs of increased
activity. Only the QL section seems moribund.

жж dE RH EEE

(let's see an

improvement QLers!

Magazine Clippings

by G. Chambers
Being a long time Timex computer enthusiast
and natural packsrat, I have collected а great
many magazine clippings on the Spectrum and 15

computers. These cover the hardware and
software aspects of both the 2X81, Spectrum,
and TS2068 computers. Below is a partial

listing of Spectrum programming articles. Most
of them are applicable to the 752068, If any
of the articles look interesting, club members
may request copies for the cost of copying (6
cents/page) plus postage. Or drop a line for
further information on them.

1. Can you Prevent the Program Being Listed
2. Screen Displays can be Moving Experience
5. Journey to tne Centre of the ROM.
ü, Ghosts in Machine Interrupt Routine
5, Headers Examined И
5, Please Explain Arrays to us wWwoodenheads
7, Adding Commands to Spectrum BASIC.
8. At Your Command...Adds 14 BASIC commands
9, GO-FASTER ВА5ІС...А M/C Utility.
10. DATA Statement Builder.
11. Compactor
12. Infinite Scroll Р
13. Speakeasy..a М/С synthesizer
ій, Speech Synthesis
15. Oscilloscope ss
16. Teiephone...British phone
17. 3-D Letters...and also Mirror characters
18, Contour
19. Picture Slide
20. Nignt Moves
21, Searching at Routine Speed.
22. Curve Fit .
23. Machine Code Colour Graphics
. trum Trace.
2 11. 280 and 6502 Vectors..2 parts
26. Secrets of Spectrum Streams & Channels
27. Spectrum Streams
28. Toolkit .
29. Multi-programming
20: Light Sereen Designer...Parts 1 & 2
31. Mastering m/c on your Spectrum (6 Parts).
32, PIKCHACHANJA for your Spectrum.
33. Spectrum ROM Routines |
34. In Different Directions...m/c scrolling
35. Gamesmanship...Games programming tips
36. Waves..a program to make you seasick
37. RENUMBER...An article and M/C listing.
38, Function Line Displayed in 3-D Graphics.
39. Thin Characters.. M/C routine
о. Spectrum BEEP Command
41. Tape Copiers
ug, M/C Indexing
43, ROM Routines .
ці, Wise Moves...Moving around on the screen
45, What Goes on Behind the SCREENS
46, DATA Handling |
47. Searching Techniques
48, Elementary Graphics

SINC-LINK

ED)

BOB'S NOTEBOOK

Let's get back to some programming for a
change. I have two interesting utilities from
my notebook.

When you are faced with using the MERGE
command to join one of your utilities with
another program, the first problem is whether
there will be a clash of line numbers. Keeping
your utilities (the ones written in BASIC)
above line 9000 or so is helpful but there is
no guarantee that some programs have not cone
into this area, What to do? First, if the
utility can be written in machine code or
compiled via Timachine, that is an obvious way
out. But if BASIC is the only way, then here
is the solution.

Renumber the utility starting at line
10000, Right, that's what I said: ten
thousand! Then there will be no danger of a
line number conflict of interest. Type in the
program below and SAVE it,

1000 REM Renumber to 10000 plus

1005 REM Bob Mitchell 1988

1010 REM Do not leave out lines 1000 and

1005. Change them is OK

1015 CLS : PRINT "This utility allows

renumbering to lines higher than the usual
9569,"''"The current start line is set
at 10000. Line numbers increment by five."

1020 PRINT '"To set a different start line
use «GO TO 10040» now. Now, MERGE the program
to be renumbered."

1025 PRINT '"DELETE the lines of this utility
by using «DELETE 10000,10095>."

1030 PRINT '"Change all GO TOs etc manually
calculating them carefully in respect to the
new start line."''"When ready, use « RANDOMIZE
USR 32000» to renumber,"

1035 STOP

1040 INPUT "Start line # ? ",line

1045 LET line-line-5

1050 RANDOMIZE line

1055 LET hi=PEEK 23671: LET lo=PEEK 23670:
POKE 32004,lo1 POKE 3 2005,hi

1060 STOP

1065 RESTORE 1070: FOR i=32000 TO 32030: READ
а: POKE i,a: NEXT i: GO TO 1015

1070 DATA 42,83,92,17,11,29,237,75

1075 DATA 75,92,167,237,66,200,9,6

1080 DATA 5,19,16,252,115,35,115,35

1085 DATA 78,35,70,9,35,24,231,0
; RANDOMIZE USR 100: SAVE "re#10+.B2" LINE

1095 STOP

“-1---1------“-------------------------.

Try this program оп itself. GO TO 1065
then RANDOMIZE USR 32000 and LIST, All the
line numbers now start with a colon «:» which
is tne next character after «9» in the TS2068
character set. Thus it represents «10», If you
choose 11000 as the start line, the first
"digit" in the line numbers would be a
semicolon (;) and so on,

Now MERGE this program with your favourite
short utility. Change all your GO TO and GO
SUB numbers to the line numbers they will
represent after the renumbering is done,
noting that the line numbers increment by five
(5) only. I have deliberately cnosen a
renumber routine that does NOT renumber GO TOs
and GO SUBs because those that do will not
handle line numbers over 9999.

Once the renumbering is done, it is
impossible to edit the lines, hence the need

to change these GO TOs ete manually.

DELETE my utility as indicated in line
1025 above. Then, use «RANDOMIZE USR 32000»
now to renumber your utility and SAVE it.

As the title infers, this utility will
sort Tasword lists of up to 240 lines or 15360
bytes. Each record in the list must be only
one line long, but with 64 characters per line
there is room for a lot of material in any
list (eg, birthdays and anniversaries, long
play records, telephone numbers, things to do,
diaries, program descriptions on disk or
tape).

You may sort all or part of a list, or
just the list in a longer Tasword file. When
your list is saved in the usual Tasword
manner, ensure you have noted the file text
length (variable «a» gives this), list's start
and end line numbers and the column number to
sort on. The program prompts will walk you
through the operation and when finished, the
program along with its newly sorted list will
have been saved ready for loading into
Tasword. Respond to all «scroll ?> prompts
with a «y^.

The program is set up for compiling via
Timachine and there is a short loader/manager
program to go with it. Type in the two
listings, compile the main program and save it
in the usual way and save the loader. The
utility is then ready for use.

Try it on your favourite Tasword list,
bearing in mind the limitations explained
above. It should only take a few short minutes
to get the job done.

One thing more: the display of the lines
in the list uses Tasword's companion piece,
Taswide, to present it in a 64 cpl format. If
you do not have Taswide, change line 230 to
read:

CLS: FOR i=n ТО e: PRINT d$(i)a NEXT i
and remove «RANDOMIZE USR 100: LOAD
"taswi.Cx"CODE» from line 8 of listing 2.

Listing 1. Tasort

40 REM !USR 28000

50 REM ! LPRINT

60 REM ! LIST

70 REM !LEN h$«-64

80 REM !INT *oa,o0b,s5f,a,b,0,0,8,Dn,1,j,t

90 REM ! OPEN #

100 CLS

110 LET oa=SGN PI: LET ob=2: LET візбін LET
а=47615: DIM d$(240 ,64)

120 INPUT “length of text? «-15360"'bi IF
b>15360 THEN GO TO 120
130 LET с=ІМТ (b/sf)
150 INPUT "start line? "5
152 INPUT "end line? (0-1ast)";e
153 IF e=NOT PI THEN LET e=c
154 LET el-a*((e-1)*sf)
157 CLS : PRINT "loading text from"'"line
ізі" to line "je"... +"
160 LET n=s
170 FOR i-a*((s-1)*sf) TO е1 STEP sf
180 FOR j=NOT PI TO 63
190 LET d$(s,j*oa)-CHR$ PEEK (i+ j)
200 NEXT j
210 LET s=st+oa: IF s»e THEN GO TO 230
220 NEXT is STOP
230 CLS 1 RANDOMIZE USR 64300:FOR ізп TO ei
PRINT CHR$3;d$(i): NEXT i

240 BEEP oa,10: INPUT "l=sort O=save? "iss!
IF NOT sa THEN GO TO 440

SINC-LIRK

сл

; On The Fastrack
255 INPUT "sort on which col.? (1-63) ";t

260 CLS а PRINT "sorting on col. ";t: GO SUB Veen TOUGH IVE Been PROMSTED. Td Dos THAT
300: GO TO 230 IT'S STILL TROUBLING To FIND OUT EVER BOTHER,
290 REM shell-faulk sort AY PID do RENG DONE GH YOU AND ART

300 LET sn=e

310 LET sn=IN? (sn/ob)

320 IF sn«oa THEN CLS í RETURN

330 IF sn/ob-INT (sn/ob) THEN LET sn-sn*oa
340 FOR i=n TO e-sn

350 LET mm=i

360 IP dg(mm,t TO )«-d$à(mm*tsn,t TO ) THEN GO

370 LET h$=d$(mm)

380 LET do(mm)=d$(mmt+sn)

390 LET d$(mm*sn)-h$

400 LET mm=mm-sn

410 IF mm>0 THEN GO TO 360

420 NEXT i

430 GO TO 310 |

440 CLS í PRINT "storing sorted file for
SAVE,.."1: LET sen: FOR isa*((s-oa)*sr) TO el
STEF sf

450 FOR j=NOT PI TO 63

460 POKE (i*j),CODE d$(s,j*oa)

470 NEXT j

480 LET s=stoa: IF s>e THEN GO TO 492

490 NEXT 1

492 STOP

495 KEM ! CLOSE #

550 CLEAR : RANDOMIZE USR 100: SAVE
"tasort.Bp" LINE 100

Listing 2. The loader

5 CLS í PRINT INVERSE 1;"TASWORD SORT";
INVERSE 0;" by Bob Mitchell."''"This utility
will sort Tasword lists of up to 240 lines
(15360 bytes)."

6 PRINT '"Have the following parameters
ready from SAVED listi"''"1, text length"'"2.
start line number"'"3, end line number if not
last"'"lh. column # to sort on (1-63)."

2 PRINT '"Install disk containing list to
be sorted; then, press a key.": PAUSE O

8 RANDOMIZE USR 100: LOAD "taswi.Cx"CODE i
RANDOMIZE USR 100:

LOAD "tasort.Cc"CODE 28000

10 INPUT " TASWORD SORT "'"list name? max 6
"; LINE n$: RAND OMIZE USR 100: LOAD n$j*".CT"
CODE 47615

20 ON ERR GO TO 25: RANDOMIZE USR 28000: CO
TO 30

25 ON ERR RESET: POKE 23607,60: GO TO 55

30 LET b-PEEK 30078+256*PEEK 30079: REM see
note 1.

40 INPUT "list name? max 6 "; LINE n$:
RANDOMIZE USR 100: SAVE n$*".CT"CODE 47615,b

50 CLS і PRINT "Sorted file has been saved
and is ready for loading into Tasword"

55 INPUT "1emore O=quit ";m

56 IF m THEN GO TO 5

57 IF NOT m THEN STOP
60 CLEAR : RANDOMIZE USR 100: SAVE
"tasort.Bb" LINE 5

š
š

NOTE 1, Line 30, This gets the value of <b> in
the compiled program, The PEEK addresses may
change depending on your compilation list of
variables. NOTE 2. The listings above have
been entered into Tasword using the Sequential
File routine in the Larken Version 3 LKDOS

EPROM. This was covered in my article in the
Sep-Oet issue of Sinc-Link page 10,

Bob Mitchell Willowdale Ont 881115

SINC-LINK

SL SL GL GL GL INFO GL е AL GL GL
by Bill Lawson

SUR EDITORIAL STAFF HAVE BEEGQN ASKING FOR PARTICIPATION FROM THE &Lers IN THE
CLUB. ANY SUBMISSIONS I HAVE MADE ARE FROM MATERIAL FOUND WHILE REVIEWING NEWS
LETTERS OF OTHER CLUBS. FOUND THIS ITEM WRITTEN BY JOHN TANNER. I HOPE YOU
WILL FIND IT INTERESTING AND THAT IT WILL ENCOURAGE YOU 70 SEND IN YOUR

QUESTIONS AND TIPS SO THAT WE САМ LEARN WHO OUT THERE CAN HELP THE REST OF US
BACK HERE.

FROM EXCHANGES WITH VARIOUS CORRESPONENTS AND OUR OWN LIBRARY PROGRAMS I
SEE QUITE A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE’S CODE AND ALTHIUGH IT IS EARLY IN THE LEARNING
PROCESS FOR superBASIC, ON WHICH AT BEST WE HAVE HAD ONLY A LITTLE MORE THAN A
YEARS PRACTICE, I THINK IT MAY BE INSTRUCTIVE TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE
MISCONCEPTIONS EVIDENCED IN THE CODE I HAVE SEEN.

IN MOST INSTANCES IT IS NOT THAT THE CODE WILL NOT FUNCTION BUT THAT IT FAILS TO
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE STRUCTURE OF superBASIC. THE OTHER FACTOR WHICH NEVER
FAILS TO SURPRISE ME IS THAT NO MATTER HOW POORLY WRITTEN A PROGRAM MAY BE THERE
IS QUITE LIKELY TO BE A USEFUL FEATURE OR TECHNIQUE THAT I WAS NOT AWARE. SO 1
AM SURE THAT WE ALL HAVE A LOT TO LEARN.

MOST OF THE MISCONCEPTIONS COME FROM COPYING LESS FRIENDLY 'BASICS' e.g.

a) 100 AS-INKEYS:IF АФ-"" THEN GO TO 100
В) 200 IF A$-'Y" GR AS="Y" THEN ....
C) 300 FOR Іс! TO А: МАМЕ І) =ТЕМРЄ (1): МЕХТ I
D) 400 FOR Ісі TO A: IF I=B THEN ....
410 NEXT I
Е) 500 PRINT " TITLE OF PAGE "
F) 600 PRINT "ANY KEY TO CONTINUE": DUMMYS=INKEYS(-1)
5) 700 INPUT "A FOR ANOTHER Ө TO QUIT *;ANS
710 IF АМФ-"А" OR ANS="A" THEN RUN
720 IF ANS="@" OR ANS="@" THEN STOP
730 GO TO 700
H) 800 NUMBER-LIN COST:NUMFORM NUMBER: PRINT NUMS

THE OPTIMUM superBASIC VERSIONS, МОТ ALWAYS ADEGUATELTDOCUMENTED IN THE MANUAL,
ARE, I SUGGEST:-

A) 100 AS=INKEYS(-1)

B) 200 IF A$-'Y': ....

C) 300 FOR I=1TO A: NAMES(1T)=TEMPS(T)

D) 400 FOR I=iTO A:IF I=B: ....

E) 500 PRINT TO 25;'TITLE OF PAGE.’

F) 600 PRINT 'ANY KEY TO CONTINUE':PAUSE

G) 700 PRINT "А FOR ANOTHER Ө TO QUIT’ : ACCS=* AQ’
710 REPEAT KEY: ANS-INKEYS$(-120:A-ANS INSTR ACCS:IF A:EXIT KEY
720 IF A=1:RUN:ELSE :LRUN DEVS&’ BOOT’

Н) 800 NUMFORM(LIN_COST): PRINT NUM®

SINC-LINK 7

“HE BENEFIT OF THE superBASIC VERSION IS, I THINK, SELF EVIDENT.

ITEM C) AND D) SHOW A MISUNDERSTANDING OF THE SHORT FORM OF THE 'FOR' LOOP. WHEN
ANY STATEMENT FOLLOWS ON THE SAME LINE AS THE 'FOR' STATEMENT THE LINE WILL BE
OPERATED UNTIL THE LOOP COUNTER HAS REACHED ITS LIMIT BEFORE OPERATING ANY CODE
CN A FOLLOWING LINE. THE 'NEXT' STATEMENT IS THEREFORE REDUNDANT. IT APPEARS
THAT HAVING INITIATED A LOOP USING PARTICULAR VARIABLE COUNTER IT IS POSSOBLE TO
INSERT ANY NUMBER OF ‘NEXT’ i°S OR 'END FOR’ i’S WITHOUT GENERATING AN ERROR BUT
THEY SERVE NO PURPOSE WHEN THE LOOP HAS BEEN COMPLETED. WHEN USING THE LONG FORM
OF THE ‘FOR’ LOOP THE "ЕМІ FOR’ FORMS SHOULD ALWAYS BE USED TO DENOTE THE END OF
A LOOP. ’NEST’ SHOULD ONLY BBE USED IF THE COUNTER IS CONDITIONALLY INCREMENTED
IN THE LOOP. THE USE OF 'THEN: iS ALWAYS UNNECESSARY BUT WITH SOME ІТ IS A CASE
OF “Пір HABITS DIE HARD? SND SOME CHOOSE TO KEEP IT FOR ASTHETIC REASONS.
PERSONALLY, FAVORING ‘COMPACT ODE’, I OMIT EVERY REDUNDANT FEATURE INCLUDING
SPACES FREQUENTLY. I ALSO USE SINGLE QUOTES AS THEY ARE INTERCHANGEABLE WITH
DOUBLE ‘EXCEPT WHEN YOU WISH TO USE SINGLE SUOTES IN A STRING) AND IT IS QUICKER
72 TYPE, NEEDING NO SHIFT.

ITEM 3) I HAVE USED TO REINFORCE MY RECOMMENDATION THAT IT IS BAD PRACTICE IN
VIRTUALLY ALL CASES TO THROW THE USER BACK INTO THE SYSTEM. EVERY АТТЕММРТ
SHOULD BE MADE TO STAY IN PROGRAM MODE SO THAT THE UNINITIATED ARE NEVER LEFT TO
HIS/HER OWN DEULICES. IT ALSO SHOWS A VALUABLE SHORT FORM OF THE ‘REPEAT’
STRUCTURE. REMEMBER THAT ANY CODE FOLLOWING A 'REPEAT' STATEMENT ON THE SAME
LINE WILL CAUSE IT TO BE TREATED AS A SHORT FORM, EVEN À 'REMark', AND THERE
MUST THEREFORE БЕ A 'FUNCTIONAL EXIT ' STATEMENT IF THE PROGRAM IS TO PROGRESS
FURTHER. NOTE ALSO THAT THE 'INSTR' COMPARISON TRAPS UPPER AND LOWER CASE FOR A
GIVEN CHARCTER DUE TO THE TYPE OF COMPARISON IT USES (MANUAL 12/84 CONCEPTS
n52). THIS CAN BE A DISADVANTAGE AT TIMES SO IT IS SOMETIMES NECESSARY ТӨ CHOOSE
VALID KEYS CAREFULLY OR MAKE A 'CODE' CHECK INSTEAD.

ITEM h) DEMONSTRATES THAT А PARAMETER TO ВЕ PASSED TO A 'PROCEDURE', IN THIS
CASE NUMBER FORMATTING SAY, CAN BE EXPRESSED AS THE ACTUAL CURRENT VARIABLE
VALUE, THERE IS NO BENIFIT IN ASSIGNING IT TO THE NAME USED IN THE 'PROCEDURE'
DEFINITION, AND PROVIDED IT IS EXPRESSED IN BRACKETS iN THE CALL STATEMENT ITS
VALUE WILL NOT CHANGE DUE TO ANY OPERATION IN THE PROCEDURE.

THERE SEEMS TO BE A SHORT FORM OF THE DEFine FUNCtion.

IF THE 'CODE' FOLLOWS ON THE SAME LINE IT DOES NOT REQUIRE AN "END DEFine THUS: -

1000 DEFine FUNCtion SGN(a):IF a O:RETurn -1:ELSE :RETurn a g

I HOPE THE ABOVE ON A DIFFERENT TOPIC; I NOTICE A NUMBER OF ITEMS IN -RUANTA
SUGGESTING UNDOCUMENTED METHODS OF CAUSING SUILL TO SEND CODES TO THE PRINTER BY
USING А 'TRANSLATE' TO PRODUCE THE ‘ESC’ CODE OR USING CHARACTERS WITH A CODE
HIGHER THAN 127. THESE METHODS HAVE THEIIR MERITS AND ACHIEVE WHAT THE WRITERS
WISH, BUT IT SHOULD NOT BE OVERLOOKED THAT THEY ARE CONTRARY TD THE PHILOSOPHY
ON WHICH QUILL IS BASED. THE PENALTY IS THAT TEXT PREPARED IN THIS MANNER IS МО
LONGER ‘PORTABLE’, i.e. IT CANNOT BE PASSED ON CARTRIDGE OR DISK TO OTHER QUILL
USERS WITHOUT THE RISK OF GETTING A GARBLED PRINTOUT DUE TO THE RECIPIENT USING
A DIFFERENT PRINTER AND/OR HAVING HIS INSTALL FILE DIFERENTLY CONFIGURED. SO
DONT GET CARRIED AWAY WIITH YOUR ENTHUSIASM FOR MAKING YOUR PRINTER DOING A JIG.

SINC-LINK

who nave not *Qraduated*® то a more up-to-date
probably have a tangle of peripherais hanging out the
back of the 2068. Each of these add-ons draws power from the
Internal power suppiu. There is а real danger af overloading it
with rather nasty results. Bill Jones of UPDATE magazine tells
me that his voltage regulator had failed a couple of times,
taking some RAM chips with it each time. An obvious and easy
solution to this problem is to power the expansion board
Separately, leaving the 2868’s supply to look after it’s oun
innards exclusively.

computer n:

If none of your peripherals needs 12 volts, a ZX-H1 power pack
will serve very nicely as а source to feed а 7805 regulator
mounted on the expansion board. Cut the +5v supply trace on the
board ciose to the ессе connector at the computer end and mount
a 7805 іп a convenient iocation along with a jack for the power
pack to niug into. Wire it up according to Fig і and your'e іп
business. When using this arrangement, it's convenient to plug
the computer and power pack into the same switched power bar so
that they are both switched on and off together. It’s very easy
to forget one or the other when you are messing around.

if your expansion equipment needs +1Zv and -ісу for OP-amps, or
whatever, you will have to use a 12v ac or higher transformer to
feed 7812 and 7912 regulators as well as the 7805. See Fig 2. In
that case, uou may as well mount the new power supply on a
separate board with the requlatars on heat sinks and run a cable
to connectors on the expansion board.

I mounted а 7805 with 80.1 uF bypass capacitors on my EPROM
Burner board so that it is completely seif-pouered and have had
а much larger percentage of successful burns since.

About a year ago, I received from George Chambers a reprint from
an American newsletter describing the shortcomings of the
switching power supply in the 2068. Apparentiy it generates a
lot of noise which interferes with tape saving and loading. The
author’s solution was to switch in some Zener diodes to decrease
the voltage entering the computer to less than 9 or so volts.
This lower voltage removed the noise problem but also the colour
and sound outputs. I was willing to try it, but had па Zeners
lying around so I decided to go whole hog and eliminate the
internal supply completely. It takes a lot of guts, but it does
improve tape operations considerabiy and retains the colour and
sound functions at the same time. It also has enough power to
supply ali the peripherals without another separate supply.

SINC-LINK

10

st, you need an iBv ac or higher Z ampere t
ck 2735-1915 is suitable), 7815, 7812, and 7

mp rectifier bridge, and some capacitors. See Fig 3.

the regulators on a hefty heat sink and run a 4-conductor

to the modified computer board. To defeat the switching

supply, remove Qi, the large transistor on the left hand

Ri, the large resistor near it, and Ug the 1Zv regulator
looks like a transistor at the left end of £40. Sut the

trace from the power switch and the board is ready for th
power Source.

ranstormer,

Solder the +i5v wire to the positive end of C24, the +12у

to the positive end of C41, and the +5v and ground wir
their respective ands of C40. I brought these uires in thr
hole drilled in the bottom half of the computer case right
to the RF modulator can. I housed the power supply itseif

(Radio

S05 regulators. а

Mount
cable
pouer
edge,
that
louer
e neu

wire
es to
ough a
next
in a

ventilated case with a small muffin fan running at iou speed so

that it is silent. (put a iZüv Christmas tree light bu
series with the fan to slow it down). i've been using the
supplu now for about a year and it nas given no trouble

this point.

ib in
power
up to

1f the major surgery approach seems a bit drastic, do consider
nne of the less radical options to take some of the strain off

the internal power suppiu.

68 POWER SUPPUES

Eigi: To power -+5 v periphersis on expansion beara

Гы] Г
ке m
„100. ait

+9 v from
рага Te 5 trace
tL 44 On 2x pansion 4м
1000 board Regulator Pinovis
T Te anp
Gud From pack:
Біз2: Te power And * 1257 peripherals on expansion boaii

БА

Note: Use separate small heat sink for 7912

Біз 5, То replace switching power зерну 11 2068
жазу

Note: mount all requiaturs on Same large heat sink

SINC-LI

Modemming `
зу: G Nelson Robins

Recently I purchased a 2050 modem . After
casing it I then tried my first log-on. I
wasn't sure I was ready to log оп to a 322 so
i decided to start with logging onto another
modem. Calling up & friend (voice only, always
do this first).

I found out the hard way what it is like
to answer the phone only to hear a high pitch
whine on the other end. Not very easy on the
ears or the nerves. We discussed settings that
we could both agree on to use.

We decided to use the following. Duplex:
Half, ConsHex, Word:8, Prty: Even. Once this
was set up I then called via the modem using
Mterm software. Now our modems were connected
and we could communicate using the keyboard.
We did this for awhile then he said “Now
you're ready for your first log on to a BBS."
I was unsure on this for two reasons. Firstly,
my computer was not a IBM , Mac, Atari or
Commodore. Would I be able to upload or
download text files? Secondly there aren't
many BBS in Toronto that have sections
supporting the Sinclair computers.

Upon logging on with my first board
(PHOENIX) all my doubts were proved false. Any
problems I had were ironed out with the help
of the BBS's sysop who on PHOENIX is Kevin
5anks. I found his board easy to use as well,
as the board's menu's straight forward. So a
novice like myself could become a expert in a
very short time. Next was the big problem
downloading, following some articles written
on the subject in different newsletiers.

I found sending a BASIC program using Hex
works the best . And to send, say, a file
using Tasword or MSCRIPT. Using a short
program entitled LOADER IV by Kurt Casby. This
allows you to load in any text file straight
in to buffer ready for transmitting. Note: I
found best results when both computers' CON is
set for NONE. I was able to experiment a bit.
Sucessfully uploading a Tasword as well as a
MSCRIPT file to а another computer (my
friend's Coco) as well as to another 2066.
George Chambers as well as Renato Zannese let
me use their computers to upload on. Thanks, I
appreciate the help.

I also managed to capture a BBS Listing
from The Grand Hotel II BBS to my buffer.
Using this same method. Also I learned that it
is easy to open the the reciever's buffer
simply by pressing Cap Shift 7 then А.

Note: This snould be done at the same time.

That about does my experience in
Telecommuncations for this month. As new .
things methods or boards are discovered I will
be letting you know. I should mention that the
PHOENIX board has a section especially for
Timex users. There are no files to download at
the moment. But I hope to change this in the
near future. Give tne BBS a call. The number
is 458-5850 and runs 24hrs. (modem only)

ххх 3C 3€ ЗЬ 3€ 3€ ++

This is a RLE ( Bun Length
Encoded ) picture which was
downioaded from an IBM bulletin
board into a TS2068 and dumped
onto a TS2040 printer. This
little feat of magic is done
entirely with public domain
software. The only hardware
requirements are: i. A TS2050
modem with terminal software. 2.
А TS2068. 3. A 752040 printer.
4. À telephone line.

Next issue we'll show how easy
it is to get hign-resolution
pictures from BBS's.

SINC-LINK

LARKEN AND THE LARGE PRINTER
by George Chambers

Although the title mentions large printer,
this article deals with control of printing to
the screen, the TS2040 printer, and to large
printers.

To start with basics, we know that if you
write a command 'PRINT "Larken"', the output
will appear on tne screen. And that if one
enters the conmand 'LPRINT "Larken"' the
output will be directed to the TS2040 printer.

Some of you may be unaware that you can get
the same onscreen output with the instruction
PRINT #2;"Larken", and an output to the 2040
with the instruction PRINT #3;"LARKEN". By
using the command 'PRINT #2', and 'PRINT #3',
we have instructed the computer to output to
channel #2 or #3, as the case may be.

Lets explore this a little further. When we
used the conventional printer driver software
Such as Aerco, Hacksel, or Oliger, to operate
the large printer, we pointed the computer to
the driver software but continued to use the
channel #3. In doing this we became accustomed
to the use of the commands LPRINT and LLIST to
operate the large printer. But be aware that
these two commands are unique to the channel
#3, and are not availabe to the channel #5
tnat we propose to use.

what we are going to introduce here is a new
flexibility to the use of the printers, using
the Larken printer driver. Now, it's not that
the Larken printer driver made this possible;
it's just that it makes things easier. No
driver code to load, and no need to change the
driver software pointer at addresses 26703/04,
Though, I hasten to caution you, you must
open a channel between the printer and the
Larken driver. I will enlarge on that briefly,
at the end of the article.

The first thing is to open a channel for the
large printer. Lets make it channel #5. Why
#5? Well, channel #5 is the first available
(unassigned) channel. That is to say, #2 is
reserved for the screen, #3 is assigned to the
2040 printer, and #4 is used by the Larken
system (channels #0 and #1 are used by the
keyboard).

Now, if we make it #5 for the large printer,
and already have #2 for the screen, and #3 for
the 2040 printer, you can see the principle of
the following listing.

Depending on whether we say PRINT #2; PRINT
#3; or PRINT #5, we can direct the computer
output to any one of the three outputs,

We could simply use the commands PRINT 72,
PRINT #3, and PRINT #5 in a program listing,
and be done with it. However, if it is desired
to offer, within the program, the option of
cheosing whether to output to the screen, to
the small printer, or the large printer,
something more is required. We need to create
a variable to use with the print option. You
will notice that we have created a variable
"ch" to handle this print function. Sort of
makes sense; 'ch' for channel.

With this modification, all that is required
is to assign a value to the variable 'ch' in
order to select the output desired; i.e. LET
ch=2, LET ch=3, let ch=5. Further, the
variable can be changed at any point in the
program whenever a different Output is
desired.

I mentioned earlier in the article the need
to open a channel between the Larken and the
and the printer. This is done w with the
command PRINT USR 100: OPEN #5,"1р".

Note that in the listing the channel #5 is
opened only when it was clear that the large
printer output was selected. However, it could
have been opened at any time in the program
prior to making use of the printer.

1000 LET ch-2: INPUT "printout? y/n "; LINE y$
1020 IF уз="у" OR у$="Ү" THEN INPUT “t=TS2040
O-WIDE ";pp: LET eh-(3 AND pp)+(5 AND NOT pp)

1030 IF ch=5 THEN PRINT USR 100: OPEN #5,"1р"
1040 PRINT fch;"Your message"

Casing For tne 2050 Modem
By `G. Nelson Robins

When I first received my modem a couple
weeks back it was uncased. I was faced with

the problem of finding a way to encase it. (I

have a terrible habit of spilling coffee on
things.) One way was simply to go over to
Active Surplus on Queen St. And purchase a
project case to the measurements of the 2050
board. But if you're like me and are on a
tight budget (Who isn't these days!) I knew I
had to think of something else. Possibly
around the apartment.

Searching around, I found an old 8-track
player gatherine dust on the shelf. I took it
down and removed the screws from the bottom.
Then I also removed everything from inside it.
Until I was left with only a empty shell. I
was worried that when I put the 2050 inside,
it would be too close to the metal bottom thus
possibly causing damage to the board. I solved
this protlem by taking an old joystick and
removing the suction cups from the joystick
and fastening the 2050 board to the suction
cups with screws,

All that was left to do was to place the
board in the 8-%гаск case. Press lightly and
the sunction cups held it firmly in place.
Also the board now had sufficient clearance
from the metal bottom . I no longer needed to
worry about damaging the 2050 board, I plan on
keeping it encased in this manner. I was
really glad I decided to keep that 8-track
player. Though it is no longer used for music
it still has a useful purpose..

TS USERS
Got anything for sale?
Looking for something to buy?

Advertise free in Sinc-Link

SINC-LINK

LARKEN DISK LIBRARY

In the last issue of the newsletter I asked
for suggestions re the creation of a Larken
disk library, and mentioned several thoughts
that I had on the subject. I have received a
comment from one member to date. Though this
seems to indicate an absence of interest in
such a project, I have started by establishing

a library with an initial complement of three
disks.

Disk #1...Larken Utilities Geo, Chambers

Disk #2...Larken Omnibus Bob Mitchell
Disk £3...Larken ODDBALL Richard Hurd

These programs have been placed on single-
sided 42-track disks to provide a medium that
can be used by all Larken owners, Disks
contain public domain material.

Where we mail program tapes to out-of-town
members on a return basis with the member
reimbursing us the postage costs, it seems
more practical to provide disks on a non=
return basis at a cost of $2 per disk to

members, postage paid. For non-members the
charge would be $5.

Following is a description of Disk #1:

LARKEN UTILITIES
The programs on this disk represent a suite
of utilities which will prove useful in the
management and repair of disks used in the
Larken LKDOS Disk Drive System.

Some of the programs make use of the latest
(version 3) LKDOS. In particular the label
programs may not work correctly. It is
recommended that this v3 LKDOS be installed.
It has many improvements and new features.

DOCTOR
This program is the centrepiece of this suite
of programs, Suffice to say that with
"doctor.B1" it is possible to load, inspect,
modify and re-save any track on a disk. The
utility also allows for a number of other disk
management functions to be carried out. DOCTOR
has been modified for RAMdisk use.

FORMAT

The format function in the Larken system is
disk-based. This program is used to format
disks. It has the capability of formatting
single-sided & double-sided disks in single-,
double- or quad-density formats. It also
provides for head speeds of 6, 20, and 35 ms.
Insertion of a disk name is possible.

LABELS
A BASIC program which is based on the use of
the Larken CAT command. Prints out to the
TS2040 printer, or optionally, to a large
printer.
LABEL2
A disk label program with a greater
flexibility. Will print out to а 152040 printer
or to a large printer. Scans the Directory for
file names, and prints out in single, double,
or triple columns. Also optional SORT
capability.
RENAME
Provides a means of renaming a program.
Useful when saving NMI-type programs to disk,
where a more identifiable name is desirable.
This program changes the name not only on the
directory track, but also on each track the
program appears:

SINC-LINK

REPAIR
On occasion a directory will become
corrupted, making the recovery of programs
impossible. This utility reads each track on a
disk, and from the information gleaned,
reconstructs a new directory, which is then
saved onto the defective directory track.

RECOVER
There are times when retrieval of a
deliberately erased file is subsequently

necessary, This program scans the tracks of a
disk, searching for indications of the erased
file. It removes the 'erased' marker on the
name cell, searches the tracks for the program
location, and restores this information to the
directory track.
ERASE

Provides a convenient method of selective

erasing when many files require erasure.

READER

READER provides & complete record of the
program fíles' on a disk. It provides this as а
screen display, and an optional TS2040 hard
copy. The program scans the directory track for
file names, then scans the initial track of
acn file to determine it's starting address,
program/file length, initial track location,
and starting LINE (if any).

LOADER

This program provides a convenient way of
inspecting multiple programs on a disk. It
scans the directory track of the selected disk,
storing all the program names in an array. The
program will then present each filename in
succession, asking if you wish it to be loaded.

The interesting feature about this program is
that before loading a requested file, it SAVEs
itself in the running mode. I arrange my copy
to SAVE itself to RAMdisk, where it is readily
called up. Then when the LOADER.B1 program із
reloaded, it commences at the point where it
saved itself, asking if you wish the next
program to be loaded.

TAPE SAYE :
This program will save the contents of a disk
to tape. It can also do the reverse action,
load the "saved" tape back onto a disk.
This utility will be found useful for
archival purposes, also in a situation where a
drive of one system cannot load the disks of a

second system.

UPCOMING DEMOS
ZX81 Hi-Res Paint Program
2068 RLE Graphics Program
7Х81 Sound Generator

13

THE LAST PAGE

Mini- More. BOARD continued from last issue

by Rene Bruneau

a)0L1 ios d — сү

Stor — s

MP

| «5 om |

~ 7X81 Sound Generator

Ии Ра BeARD EDGE CoUNecrorm_

PC Боакъ o£ Wik LJQA O PREFERRED

Postmaster, ІҒ Undelivered Return To:

Toronto Timex-Sinclair Users Club
14 Richome Court, Scarborough,
Ontario, M1K 2Y1, CANADA

14

EDGE CONNECTS Q

SINC—LINK

UPCOMING HARDWARE PROJECTS

- RS232 Serial Interface using 2050 Modem

JAN/FEB 1989
Jan 8, 1989

Dear Out-of-Town Members,

I can't believe it's that time
again. So soon!! I seem to have just got the
last letter off.

Well first off all, I shall go through some
old newsletters that we have received from
other clubs. They have a number of tidbits in
them which will be of interest. We don't seem
to get much gossip about Timex doings, into
our letter, for some reason,

Bill Heberlein, writing in the Sinclair |
Milwaukee newsletter, reports that a Mr Tomei
Jr. has applied for bankruptcy and will be
free of debts after Feb 6th, 1989. His assets
are listed as .01 cent and debts as some $61
thousand. That will not mean much to most of
you. However for anyone who is waiting for an
order to be filled from Quantum Computing it
means bad news. That's really Quantum
Computing, a Timex dealer. Quantum Computing
were selling QL computers, among other things,
and if you have not received yours, you are
not likely to.

Anyway, if you have claim you can file it
with Jonathan Kohn, 1180 Raymond Blvd.,
Newark, NJ 07102-4107. Well, best forget it,
I'd say.

The Capitol Area Timex Sinclair club are
Sponsoring a ComputerFest to be held on May
6th and 7th. Thats a Saturday and Sunday.
Actually it starts going with a Friday evening
benauet, I think. The Fest is being held іп
Carrolton, Maryland. Admission is $5/one day;
$7 for the two days. Accomodations are
possible at the Howard Johnson's at $62/day.

Some of you may remember the two dealers,
EZ KEY and FOOTE SOFTWARE. They were strong
advertisers in the old SYNC magazine. I have
not heard much about them lately. However, RMG
ENTERPRISES have obtained the stock of these
two companies and will have the stuff ready
for sale as soon as they have inventoried it.
Anyone interesed might drop them a line, When
I look at oid SYNC magazines I see that EZ KEY
specialized in keyheards for the TS1000, so
that might interest some of you. In looking at
some old TIME DESIGN magazines I see that
ЕООТЕ were offering printer interfaces, some
printers, «тте software, and copies of "The
Beet of SUM" magazine compilation.

Another Timex dealer seems to have closed
shop. The Clackamas County newsletter, the
PLOTTER, reports that Knighted Computers was
sold to WMJ SYSTEMS, who will now have their
inventory. Knighted Computers offered quite a
large range of software and hardware, so there
may be things of interest at WMJ Systems, too.

WMJ DATA SYSTEMS
4 Butterfly Drive,
Hauppauge, N.Y. 11788 USA

RMG ENTERPRISES

1419 1/2 7th Str.,

Oregon City, Oregon 97045
phone (503) 655 7484

The same newsletter mentions that the
SINCWARE and QUANTUM LEVELS magazines have
combined and that a new issue is possibly in
the works.

Come to think about it, I have not seen a
TIME DESIGN magazine for months and months.
Does that mean that it is foundering also?

Tim Wood of the Vachon Island S/T club
reports that he has been appointed as the SNUG
LARKEN Disk PD librarian. Just recently we
received a request to exchange newsletters
with this group, so I shall inquire just what
this Larken library is about (I thought we had
the only Larken library!!)

I seem to have mentioned it once before
however I shall say it again. There is a BBS
in Toronto that has a Timex section on it. At
our last meeting One of our members mentioned
that he had uploaded some programs onto it. I
will have him upload some of the Larken
utilities that I have written. Any of you
modem enthusiasts might try it some time. It
is the PHOENIX. The phone number for this BBS
is (416) 458 5850. I must confess that I don't
have the information on how to access the
Timex section, but I suppose you old hands
will have no difficulty with that. You can ask
me for more information, I should have more
details later.

. Т ordered and have received some extra SRAM
chips for my RAMdisk. Say, the price on them
has shot up. Where a few months ago Bob
Mitchell bought some for his system for $13 US
and we thought the price was exorbitant the
priee now is $18 US. Each, that is!!

To add to the aggravation I am going to have
to return them because they are not doing the
job. What I find is that they will not
reliably retain the programs when I shut off
the computer. I added a third AAA battery to
raise the voltage to 4 1/5 volts. This helped,
but I still get CRC errors after a day or во
when I do a Verify routine. Did I mention this
VERIFY routine before. It is an undocumented
routine in the Larken system. Enter the
command PRINT USR 100: VERIFY "" and the LKDOS
will work it's way through the drive you
happen to be pointing to, checking each track.
Any CRC errers it encounters will appear on
the screen.

I have started pondering how to remote my
keyboard from my computer. I think I would
like to get the computer proper and all it's
paraphernalia down under the desk, and have
just the keyboard on the top, along with the
monitor. Remoting the keyboard, I find is a
bit tricky. There does not seem to be much
written about this. I wonder why, is it not
practical. Should be though, I thought with
all this modern chip technology, anything was
possible. I mean easy!!

A local surplus store has been selling RGB
monitors off for $145. They are uricased, 14
inch size distributed in USA by Mitsubishi,
One of our members has bought one for use with
his QL. I have been helping him to get it
going. We have to make up an interconnect
cable. If we get it going, I must confess that

I am tempted to buy one for myself. Though why
I need a second one is beyond me. It's just
that I paid close to $600 in total for my
Sears RGB monitor several years ago, and I
cannot resist the bargain!! Does that make
sense?

Had а bit of excitement around here a day
ago. A neighbour had a handbag stolen from he
car parked in the driveway. I ama
neighbourhood Watch block captian, so I
scouted around the area, talking to the
residents, and was able to recover most of the
money and some credit cards. The story of
course is much more involved than that, but
the culprit has been charged with the theft,
It was pleasing to have a satisfactory
outcome, I must say.

Now it's back to mundane matters like
newsletters!!

I bought an interesting item to hold my
Larken disks. It looks very much like an
oversized letter rack. About 5 1/2 by 4 1/2 by
8 1/2, I have placed it on top of my drive and
the disks rest vertically in the ‘letter’
slots. It has 7 slots, each of them can hold
about 5 disks, It cost $6.75 at an office
stationary store. We know them in Toronto as
Grand & Toy. The disks are exposed to dust
etc., but I use the disks so much that it has
no real significance. Much handier than the
normal disk holders,

SAM's PhotoFacts has put out a set of
sheets on servicing the TS2068 computer. It is
identified as CC19 COMPUTERFACTS. I imagine
that the larger publie libraries carry SAM's
material and you can see it there. However, if
&ny of you are interested I can send it to
you. There are 17 large sheets to it. Some of
the more technically minded may be interested.

Am I up to date with my membership mailings.
I think I am. If you don't agree, drop a line
and let me know. I know I am benind in some of
my correspondance, but maybe I can get onto it
by the time I send out this newsletter.

I mentioned in the last letter that we
were discontinuing the club Box Number. Just a
reminder, it runs out sometime in March or
April. We are going to use my home address. It
got to be too much of a hassle going to pick
up the mail at a downtown Post Office.

bill Harmer, a ZX81 enthusiast in Ottawa,
has sent me a preliminary draft of a document
he has been working on. It's subject is the
ZX81 and LARKEN. I deals with the ZX81 version
of the Larken disk system, and how to make
best use of it. I gave the copy to one of our
out of town members, Lou Champagne, to
critique. We shall return it to Bill Harmer
with our comments, I think it will be a
worthwhile manual for Larken enthusiasts of
the ZX81/TS100 stripe.

I received a postcard from a TOM PHILLIPS
2942 Christopher Road, Jacksonville, Florida
32217. He is offering a number of items for
sale on a first come, first serve basis. He
offers a QL, looks brand new, for $125,
plus 35. А 152050 modem w/case, docs and
software, for $35, plus $3. А Mathewson
keyboard interface, and a 66-key Keytronics
keyboard. А TS2040 printer, 2 Tandon disk
drives, an 8K Hunter NVM board, a nine inch
monitor. And some other stuff. Drop hima
line, or you can call (904) 739 2580 after 6pm

I have inherited a copy of a portion of the
Spectrum manual. The part that I have seems to
cover a lot of the more advanced programming
possibilities of the Spectrum. More than was
covered in the TS2068 manual. There are 28
sheets, and I can get a copy for you if you
are interested in paying the postage, and the
copying cost of about 6 or 7 cents а page.

Also I have the same sort of a thing from
what is called the HACKER's MANUAL. Full of
interesing but mostly useless tidbits of
information on hacking!!! Ask me if you are
interested.

Several clubs report that they have members
who have bought the 288 computer, and there
have been how-to articles written in several
newsletters on it. If anyone is interested I
can make copies of these articles for you.

One of the items available commercially is
called а 288 MacPack. It consists of а 788
computer and a 288 MacLink. It is said to be
an affordable way for Mackintosh owners to
transfer files from a Mackintosh so they can
be worked on in tne 208, then transferred back
to the Mac.

For you QL owners, one of our members is
prepared to repair the QL computer. Well, I
may a bit premature about this, but if you
have a problem why not drop him a line.

Schennelly Stoughton,
191 William St., N.
Lindsay, Ont K9V 4B8,

This would be of particular interest to QL
owners living in Canada. Schennelly is
involved,workwise, in the installation &
servicing of satellite TV, and therefore seems
likely to be competent for this sort of work.

Members in the USA would probably prefer to
send defective units tot:

Dan Elliott

Rt. #1 Box 117

Cabool, MO 65689

Dan has been repairing all Timex units for
some time now, und I've heard no complaints,
and he seems reasonable.

I'll have to close off now. I've simply run
out of anything to say!! Don't say itt!

Sincerely,

George Chambers

TORONTO TIMEX SINCLAIR USERS CLUB
14 Richome Court, Scarborough, Ont. МІК 2Ү1
INFORMATION SHEET

Many people inquire about the club, and these notes have been put together to
provide, in a convenient form, a little background information about ourselves.

Our club had it's start when, a new ZX81 owner, Pete Harvey, placed an advert
in the Toronto Star. He asked if there were any persons interested in getting
together to talk about their computer. About 12 persons responded. I was one of
them. We met in our homes every week, for a month or so, then started meeting
in a spare room in a bar, then ina public library. A second advert in the
Star produced another 20 or so new members,and it was decided to form a club,

get out a newsletter, and institute a $20 annual membership fee.

From these beginnings the club grew to where, in it's heyday it had about 120
members, and meeting attendance of between 35-40 members. Since then, with the
disappearance of the Timex computer from the marketplace, membership has
declined to about 65, and meeting attendance to between i0 and 15.

Members range in age from 16 to 65 and older, and represent all walks of life.
Most members use the 752068, the rest the ZX81/TS1000, with a few members having
the QL. Of our total membership, about 40 members live out of town, from Halifax
to Vancouver, and with several from the USA.

Our club publishes a 12 page (6 sheets) newsletter 6 times a year. We have а
sizeable program library on cassette tapes, for both the ZX81 апа TS2068. We
also have a paper library, consisting of, among other items, some ЗО books on
the ZX81, 20 -odd books on computing in general, and several books on tne
TS2068. Both the tapes and the books can be borrowed for a nominal 2-week
period. There is no charge to this.

Our clu» maintains a newsletter exchange with other Timex computer clubs in
Canada and the USA. Currently we exchange with 15 other clubs. The newsletters
are in the club library, and can be borrowed on the same basis as other books.

Out of town members are served by mailing out the newsletter (in-town members
must pick their newsletter up at a club meeting). Out of town members are also
served by providing them with a catalogue of library program tapes, and mailing
out to them, their choices of program tapes. There is no charge for this
service, however the members is expected to pay for our postage cost of mailing.
Other library items are available on the same basis. We also try to give advice
on problems, and to supply information on request.

Meetings are held in Toronto а" Forest Hill Collegiate Institute, 730
Eglinton Ave. West (On the north side between Spadina and Bathurst). Meetings
are held on the 15% Wednesday of each month. Members start to arrive at the
meetingplace soon after 7.00pm, to have conversations with other members, and tc
return borrowed tapes, papers, etc. The more formal part of the meeting starts
at 7.30. Following disposition of the club business, a presentation by one of
our members is in order. It may be a demonstration of hardware, or of software
that the member has written or is familiar with. Meetings have no formal
closing; most members will have departed by 9.20 pmi the diehards remaining till
9.30 and later.

Membership dues remain at their original level of $20, applicable to all
members. There is also a newsletter subscription available, without club

membership, for 912.

Information prepared by G.F. Chambers (Secretary TTSUC) (416) 751-7559.