JAN -FEB '33 VOL 11-1
ANNlVHRSAiRr ISSUE
TORONTO TIMEX- SINCLAIR USERS CLUB
JAN -FEB '93 VOL 11-1
SINC-LINK IS A PUBLICATION OF
THE TORONTO TIMEX- SINCLAIR USERS
CLUB AND IS ISSUED 6 TIMES A
YEAR. CLUB MEMBERS RECEIVE FREE
COPIES AS PART OF THE $20.00
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP FEE.
NEWSLETTERS ARE EXCHANGED, FREE
OF CHARGE, WITH OTHER
TIMEX -SINCLAIR USER GROUPS.
PLEASE CREDIT THIS PUBLICATION
AND THE AUTHOR IF YOU COPY
MATERIAL.
THE TS2068 & ZX-81 GROUP MEETS
ON THE FIRST WEDNESDAY OF EACH
MONTH AT 14 RICHOME COURT,
SCARBOROUGH, ONT. 7PM START.
THE QL SIG WILL MEET WEDNESDAY,
JANUARY 20TH AT 586 ONEIDA
DRIVE, BURLINGTON, ONT. 7PM
START. FEBRUARY DATE TBA.
SINC-LINK IS
ON SINCLAIR
COMPUTERS.
PROD UCED ENTIRE L Y
AND TIMEX-SINCLAIR
SEND CORRESPONDANCE TO:
Attention: SINC-LINK
TORONTO TIMEX-SINCLAIR
CLUB, 14 RICHOME
SCARBOROUGH, ONTARIO,
CANADA MIK 2Y1.
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS:
PRESIDENT:
TREASURER:
SECRETARY:
ACTIVITIES:
QL CONTACT:
NEWSLETTER:
LIAISON OFFICER:
( Out-of-town members )
EDITOR
USERS
COURT,
TQRQMTu TIHEX-SIHCLfllR
. . .... USERS CLUB
( Area Code 416 )
RENE BRUNEAU { 531-9749 )
BILL LAWSON { 444-8772 )
GEORGE CHAMBERS ( 751-7559 )
LOU LAFERRIERE ( 820-3725 )
HUGH HOWIE ( 634-4929 )
JEFF TAYLOR ( 244-8583 )
GEORGE CHAMBERS, 14 RICHOME COURT,
SCARBOROUGH, ONTARIO MIK 2Y1
{ 416- 751-7559 )
TWO Tim-SINCLAIR USERS CLUB
XISTDEX V^OLUME 3-1 — 1
Page 2 - Club Stuff
Page 3 - This Page
Page 4 - Editorial
Page 5 - TS2068 Programming Tip
Page 6 - Plus 4 version 3 =» OK (QL)
Page 7 - QL SIG Meeting
Page 8 - Some QL Stuff
Page 9 - Masterfile, MF-Print, Etc. (2068)
Page 12 - Did You Know? (2068) p^es^--o
Page 13 - Steven Gunhouse Writes (2068)
Page 14 - Letter to Howard Ciase (QL)
Page 15 - SuperBasic Ramblings (QL)
Page 17 - QL Backups & Copies
Page 18 - ZX81 Resources
Page 19 - What is an Editor?
Page 20 - QLips
Page 21 - John Juergens Writes (QL)
Page 24 - Interbank Database (2068)
Page 26 - The Xchange version of Quill (QL)
Page 28 - Ron Blizzard Writes (QL)
Page 30 - Robert Shade on RAMDISK (2068)
Page 32 - Advertisements
Page 34 - The Last Page
SINC-LINK
Editorial
Welcome to the Uth anniversary issue of Sinc-Link It doesn t
seem so long ago that I was patting everyone in the club on the
bick for making it to ten years! The mam reason we are still
around Ts Sinks to the co^e of local enthusiasts here and our
out-of-town members who continue to supply interesting and
informative articles for our ^^ewslftter We re the biggest
newsletter thanks to you, so keep up the good work.
Membership Drive
Last issue I alluded to a mailing experiment . Hugh Howie. in
an effort to inform people of our existence, undertook to mail
a large number (several hundred copies) of our Sept-Oct ^^sue to
a group of Timex and Sinclair users who have "^yer been members
but that he was aware of. Since he is the ^^.f ^",?n-
natural Iv was trying to target QL users. Along with tne
newsletter was an^nfLmation sheet about the club a membership
application and an invitation to join. Hugh put a lot of effort
into folding, labeling, licking, stamping and mailing those
^^^f result? TO date we have 25 new members "ith applications
still coming in. Most of these new members also use the
TS2068/SpeStrum and/or the ZXB1/TS1000/TS1500 so they can access
the rest of the club libraries as well as the QL library.
Well done. Hugh. Also thanks to Hugh and George for the
follow-uD welcome packages to the new members.
To the new members.. WELCOME. I would like to e>^tend this
invitation to you to write of your experiences or questions and
we^ll be happy to publish them in Sinc-Link. See the comments
from some of our new members in this issue.
riiih Meetings
The TS2068/ZX81 and QL groups are meeting «t George ' s and
Hugh's homes respectively. I can tell you that the new venues
ari considerably more comfortable and easier to get to than the
hiah school room we vacated in November. Systems don't have to
be disassembled and reassembled to provide demonstrations and we
don' t hive to worry about the school voltage gremlins anymore.
Thanks for the hospitality too.
RIP Bil ' Pedersen
I am sorry to have to inform the membership of the Pasfi"? .°f
WilUam J. Pedersen, founder of the WIDJUP Co. and longtime
Timex-Sinclair software wizard and vendor, early m the new
^^fmet Bill last summer at Dayton and was i^P^^ef^ed by his
knowledge and enthusiasm of the workings of his favourite
computer, the TS2068 and of his imaginative software.
I had the unfortunate timing to phone the day funeral.
Prior to his death he was in the process of reworking the ROM to
enable ?he!o68 to reach its full potential. I hope someone
picks up where he left off. See his article on dot-matrix
printers last issue.
That's all for now... J.T.
SINC-LINK
TS 2068 PROGRAMMING TIP
by George Chambers
The system variables storec^ at adciresses ''f/f,
the computer to keep track of it's operation. Look in the TS2068 ^^^er
Manual, "Appendix D, System Variables" for a list and ^^^^^ .^^^^.^'^^ i^'^'
These stored variables offer quite a few programming poss t b i nt les. This
article will describe an application for two of them.
The variables being discussed are labelled ^'"'^^ZlJfZ'^fur'^'lnt
addresses 23688 and 23689. Together these two variables store the current
PRINT position; that is, where the next character on the screen will be
printed. The first address contains the column number, while the second
address contains the line number. Well, not the screen positions as we
understand them. We would get the screen positions by subtracting the
PEEKed value in address 23688 from 2^4- (for column number), and in address
23689 from 32 (for line number).
In my programming I did a Larken CATalogue, followed by a flashing
message 'Press a key for menu'. I wished to remove the message without
clearing the rest of the screen.
I could, of course, have simply had the program 'PRINT AT x,y;" ^
to wipe out the flashing message. But in this appl i cat ion
the message could appear on most any line; depending on the size of the
CATalogue display. I made use of the variables mentioned above.
Figure 1. is a listing of a short program to demonstrate the
poss ib i I it ies. Let's discuss this listing:
LINE 5: We are assigning a random number to each of variables a and b.
The numbers produced by the RND function will be a value always less than
^LINE 10. The variables a and b are being used to print "george" at random
locations on the screen. The 'a*22' selects a random screen line from 0 to
22. The 'b*26' similarly selects a screen column. (We have used 'b*26',^
rather than 'b*32', so that the "george" will be printed on one line, i.e.
it won't be wrapped around onto the second line. If this happened it would
require more complex programming to remove the flashing 'george', and tend
to obscure the model.
Note also the sem i-co Ion at the end of 'george'. Without this
semi-colon the print position stored in the variable would be at the start
of the next line, and the 'covered' would always appear at the beginning
of the next line. Try it and see.
LINE 15 Pauses for a moment so you can see the 'george' is present.
LINE 20 Overlays the flashing 'george' with the 'covered' message.
Because of the way the system stores the infer mat ion we have to subtract
the PEEKed values from the screen size values of 2U- and 32.
Note the '-6' in the line. This is because what we have in the system^
variable is the present PRINT position. But we want to start our overlaid
word 'covered' six pos it ions back, to the start of 'george'.
LINE 30 Self explanatory.
Figure /«
5 LET a=RND: LET b=RND
10 PRINT AT INT (a*22),INT ( b'''26 ); "george" ;
15 PAUSE 30
20 PRINT AT 2i^-(PEEK 23689 ), 32-'( PEEK 23688 )-6 ;" covered "
30 PAUSE 30: CLS : GO TO 1
SINC-LINK
5
Plus4 version 3 - OK
by Bvfh Howie.
I have been using plus4 for some time now
from version 1 through version 2; and
when I was told that there was a version
three available, and on reading the blurb
that came with it, ray first re-action was
"who needs this" .
After a week or so of thought, version 3
was in my mail box I
First thing to note was that there were a
few pages to update the manual, this
included a glossary/index. Very useful.
Many more things to be configured and
saved ready for use the next time the
program is loaded.
Many more functions are streamlined to
two keys, such as the marking of a block
in the text. This used to be done with
moving the cursor to start of text to be
marked, <F3><Block><Enter> scroll to
destination <Enter>. This has now been
changed to placing cursor at one end of
block to be marked, CTRL & B then you can
GOTO either Top, Bottom, Line or Page as
a destination <Enter> and the block is
marked I Fast!
NOTE:- CTRL & B in older versions was
the invisible hyphen, but to acconmodate
the above BLOCK comnand, the invisible
hyphen is now CTRL & N
CTRL k A will change the case of the
character under the cursor. Easy!
Configurable options that can be saved as
defaults now include a document default
typeface, a document default layout, a
document default ruler.
Line numbers may now be shown from the
top of the page or top of the document.
This can be very handy when typing a long
document, to show you exactly where you
might be on any given page.
<F2><0ptions><Nun±>ers> to select.
Toggle the pron?>ts (Menu) from Top, to
Bottom or even OFF. Of course the menu
does show when the program thinks you
might need a prompt. Certainly cleans up
the screen appearance, but I also miss
the prompts. I guess it is very much a
matter of preference.
One time it was that to redraw the window
you had to <F2><Zoom><ESC> , now this has
been changed to SHIFT & F2 making the
operation very much faster.
I have not timed the extra speed with
version 3 but it is purported to be
considerably faster when scrolling or
formatting long texts.
Easier selection of typefaces. Now when
you press <F4><Typef ace> you will be
presented with a list of all the
typefaces in use in the current document,
press<TAB> and you will get a list of all
typefaces available. In both cases move
the square over typeface required and
press <Enter> to activate. How simple!
There are many other iEoprovements to aid
speed of handling.
Is version 3 worth the few $$$ extra?
You bet it is.
TORONTO SINC-LIIIK
by Peter Hale
I recently received a notice from
The Toronto (CANADA) Sinclair proup
with a sample newsletter and an
invitation to jojn for $20.00 a year.
I was impressed enough with the <JL
section to send off my membership
fee.
Very well, you say, good for you.
What has impressed me so far is the
courtesy and flow of correspondence
that has resulted. Hugh Howie, the
QL Librarian, wrote to give a list of
the extensive Public Domain library
- just for the QL, and the I
received a letter of welcome from
George Chambers, the Secretary.
As most members of NESQLUG
received a similar invitation, I won t
go further into the details, but just
remind you that a check for $20.00
to George Chambers, Toronto T/S
Users Club, 14 Richome Crt,
Scarborough, ONT CANADA MIK 2Y1
will get you the same great service.
SINC-LINK
QL SIG HEETING
On November i8th, the QL Special Interest Group met at the home of
Hugh Howie where a number of topics were discussed, the first ot course
being the in-process mailing of a random Newsletter to many who we
believe have been QL users at one time, or still are, and offering our
support in the declining world of QL interest groups.
Being probably the foremost Sinclair Interest group in North America,
with strong QL interest, we felt that we should bring our facilities to
the attention of the many who may not even know that we exist, in
particular that we are a strong and vibrant QL group. Many Sinclair
groups are going to the wall, but we are not - we are going ahead m
all respects - and will continue to do.
There were three QL ' s in use, networked, and although full facilities
of that system were not utilised, that was only because there was no
need for that at this particular time.
There was a short discussion on a couple points of Archive, that
wonderful database program which would appear to be ignored by many ^
QL'ers. This is not a weak or difficult program to understand, it just
requires a little attention to detail, study and trial to see what it
really can do. The main point to bear in mind in the use of Archive,
is that Archive depends on the operation of what are almost stand-alone
procedures to operate. Archive is a collection of procedures.
The main part of the evening was spent in a demonstration of the
resilient and varied features of text87 plus 4. The version under
examination was version 3.1. To most it was an enlightening experience
as that all had heard of plus4 but this was the first time they had
seen a real demonstration, and they were quite impressed.
The demonstration consisted of the slick way in which typefaces could
be changed, and intermingled in the one document. Also the way m
which a document could be typed in, using one typeface to give large
letters on the screen, and how by use of the BLOCK facility, that
document could be produced on paper by a couple simple commands.
Spelling correction was also explained. Rulers and tabs, and their
uses and variety were also displayed, plus the search/replace feature,
and how fast and easy it was in actual use. The search/replace feature
can be of real benefit in the editing of documents and ALSO listings.
Many questions were asked, and the depth of interest was very _
heartening. It is anticipated that other features m the production of
more complex documents will be discussed at a future meeting.
After a considerable time spent on this subject, a message was passed
from #1 to #2 QL that the coffee was now ready, but for some reason a
second message had to be passed to break the interest in plus4!
Occasionally a "movie" style picture would be flashed on screen, and
this was a great way to keep the interest at a peak.
All in all, a very enjoyable evening, and if it had not been that 'to-
morrow" was a work (ugh) day, I am sure the meeting would have lasted
much longer.
119992
'till the next time have patience ^i.^77^
SINC-LINK
SOME QL STUFF
hf Hifh Howie.
text87plus4 as a LISTING EDITOR.
I had a program in which I wished to change a number of strings, many
of them repeated in different parts of the program, such as changing
STATE$ to PROVINCES, and ZIP CODE to POST CODE, etc., and I got tired
of going back and forth through the listing. I decided there just had
to be an easier way to do the job.
I loaded text87plus4 into the black box of tricks known as a QL, I
then IMPORTED the listing as an ASCII file. I was then able to use
the SEARCH/REPLACE function of plus4 to change most of the strings
very quickly.
I then EXPCmTED the listing as an ASCII file, using the original title
if desired. Loaded as normal. And the edited version was good!
An ARCHIVE _prg file can be edited the same way, and save a lot of
time. Instead of going through a file line by line, probably missing
something on the way, you start at the beginning, select the string to
change, and do all occurrences of that string at the same time.
Try it for other items to be edited.
TASKMASTER / ARCHIVE DIRECTORY.
Have you ever got tired of watching the files stream past when you
asked for a DIRECTORY? I have, and I thought I might share this
solution with you.
This is only good if you are in a multitasking environment with
Archive, Quill, etc loaded. You see, the PSION four, when asked for
a directory, will print that directory in THREE or FOUR columns across
the screen, and wait for your command to scroll to the next page of
the directory.
So instead of looking at 20 itens in a column, you can stare at as
many as well over 70 spread out in columns across the screen.
Quite a lot easier than the one column.
text8Tplus4 24 PIN DRAFT DRIVER.
When version 3 of plus4 came out, a new PRINTER DRIVER was also
introduced in the 2488 disk.
This driver can be loaded in as and when required, and with only a
minor adjustment in the text type to suit your document, you can hav.
a really FAST, jyRAFT COPY of the document, without the normal period
of waiting for the NLQ version.
A real time-saver!
=== MORE SCME OfflER TIME ===
C ^ SING-LINK
MASTERFILE. MF-PRINT, GRAPHIC 24 AND LKDOS
What follows is a review of my pirating of several programs
furnished me by heretofore upstanding citizens. I wanted a file
program for my library of "Big Band" music which is on 252 reel-
to-reel tapes. Presently I have 17 boxes of locator cards
arranged in alphabetical order by song title. Each card lists
the title, vocalist (if any), band, date of recording (if
known), tape#- index count-track, and length (if prevously
timed). PRO-FILE did not seem to offer itself to the use I
wanted to make of the file after processing for computer use.
The set-up for screen display was done using MF basic modified
by George Chambers to replace the Microdrive LOAD and SAVE
instructions with LKDOS drives 0-4. The tape saves were left
pretty much intact. The BASIC program interacts with the MC
program using GO TO USR R. (R=59363) Before returning to BASIC
the BC register is loaded with the BASIC line number to which to
go-
After starting to enter the titles into the MASTERFILE program
that I then had, I wanted a means to print them to pages of
loose leaf note book paper. My copy of MASTERFILE lacked the
MF-PRINT programs. (When you pirate, you don't always know what
is available.) What was available was GRAPHIC 24 which at the
time was imbedded within the OMNIBUS program (of which I didn't
know at the time.) George had sent me a disassembly print-out of
the program which was located at 24580 to 24821.
Listing #1 is the AUTOLOAD program, which will boot the screen
copy to large printer program into DOS so that NMI stop and "F"
or PRINT #4: DATA 0 will print to the large printer whatever is
on the screen. "POKE 16152, 5182" makes the printout only 20
lines. "POKE 16152, 5694" will get you 22 lines. Without the
POKE you get all 24 lines. The next four POKEs eliminate the
beginning and end blank line. The CLEAR 57327 is required on my
version of MASTERFILE before loading. If you version calls for a
different location then that is what should go here. I "purged"
the copy I used and called it "EMPTYl.Bl." The rest of the
program is the AUTOLOAD SAVE.
Listing #2 is the modified MASTERFILE BASIC program which I call
"EMPTYl . Bl"
Since the screen print only uses half the page width, I added a
"USER" routine (Lines 4900 - 4990) to set the margin for
printing to left or right side of the page. My records were
displayed with 4 lines and a blank line. This put 4 records and
the first two lines of the fifth on the screen. These extra 2
lines were eliminated from the printing by POKEing the program
in LKDOS RAM at 16153 with 20 instead of 24 for the number of
lines to print. I also POKEd 16106-16108 and 16233-16235 with
zeros to disable the line feeds which were not needed. I re-
placed the "COPY" command in line 4010 with "PRINT #4: DATA 0."
This now allows you to print to the large printer the records
selected while in DISPLAY and pressing "P." One caution about
this: If you ask for All, have sufficient paper to print the
"All" you have selected.
SINC-LINK
All of this was then rendered essentially "^^^ [^^^l^fj^l^^.^^^
"discovering" MFP. Now I use the screen copy to print screens
which I need to remember later, such as the formats and
specifications developed when setting up the display and print
spec ' s .
I have modified the tape or disk drive and catalog calling
routine not to change its use but to prevent its being called on
other occasions when the same routine is used for a keyboard
i nput .
It is possible to use MF-PRINT by following the User Guide,
however you must be able to visualize the end print-out before
tackling the specification set-up. I ended with "Title" and
"Vocal" on the first line in compressed PICA and the rest on the
second line. Getting the first line in compressed PICA was
elusive. Your printer must accept the print codes which you put
in the spec using the MFP utility program. The printer codes are
for the whole line. Since my first line was to be ''Title" and
"Vocal", at first I tried printer codes to make "Title"
compressed and "Vocal" regular. That came out all regular. To
send printer codes LKDOS must be conditioned not to eliminate
character codes. This is done in LINE 4211 by POKE 16093, 32.
However this now messed up the Newline intruction. POKE 60630, 0
fixed this by NQPing a RET at 60630 in the overlay program which
then let the carriage return routine go to the line feed routine
before RETing.
The "file" saving (F$) is so set up that by answering the
request for name with "ENTER" you will get the name that is held
in C$ and shown on the Main Menu, if that is not what you want,
then type in the name (up to 6 char) that you do want.
I have modified the program saving routine by making the
"mfcGde" have "C2" as a suffix. I have the "mfpovl" program m
and this is saved with the program save.
I don't remember reading anywhere "How and What" to print, but
it is the "Selected" group of records in the order set up by
your display format. The Master File program is a dream
(nightmare?) to select records to display/print. Although it
will only show 22 lines on the screen, with enough paper you can
print the whole file in one swoop. I wanted to print front and
back on the paper so I used the "paper out" stop on the printer
by feeding only one sheet at a time and then printing the
reverse side with the next group.
I hope this stirs some interest in using MASTERFILE. I think it
is a very good program for most file uses.
Ken Shoenberger, 3503 Royal Oak Drive, Titusville, FL 32780
SINC-LINK
Listing #2
1 LET od=VAL "4": IF dt=od THEN
PRINT #od: OPEN #VAL "3","lp"
2 PRINT ; : PAPER VAL "7": GO TO
USR VAL "58285"
3 PRINT #od: LOAD "mfputi.Bl"
4: PRINT tod: LOAD "mf pov I . CI "C
ODE : GO TO R/R
5 PRINT #dt: LOAD "mf code . C 1 "CO
DE : GO TO R/R
6 PRINT #dt: SAVE "mf code . CI "CO
DE VAL "57328", VAL "8208": GO TO R
/R
50 PRINT AT VAL "15", VAL "1";"
Larken Dr. (0-4) or CassetteCS)"
60 LET d=CODE INKEY$-VAL "48": I
F d<R-R OR d>VAL "5" THEN GO TO V
AL "60"
63 IF dOVAL "5" THEN PRINT #od
: GO TO d
65 LET dt = VAL "2": IF dOVAL "5"
THEN LET dt=od: BEEP VAL ".1",R-
R
67 RETURN
70 IF dt=VAL "4" THEN RETURN
72 PRINT AT VAL "17", VAL "2";"
Verify ? Y/N"
75 IF INKEY$="Y" OR INKEY$="y" T
HEN BEEP VAL ".1",R-R: PRINT AT V
AL "17", VAL "8"; PAPER VAL "8"; BR
IGHT R/R;"ing. . . ": GO TO VAL "90"
80 IF INKEY$="N" OR INKEY$="n" T
HEN RETURN
85 GO TO VAL "75"
90 IF P THEN VERIFY N$: VERIFY
""CODE : RETURN
95 VERIFY n$ DATA f$(): RETURN
96 IF dt=VAL "2" THEN LET n$=c$
( TO 10): RETURN
97 LET n$=c$( TO 6): LET n$=n$+"
.A$": RETURN
98 IF dt=VAL "2" THEN LET n$=c$
( TO 10): RETURN
99 LET n$=c$( TO 6): LET n$=n$+"
.Bl": RETURN
100 RETURN
4000 IF c$(l)="G" THEN GO SUB 50:
IF dOVAL "5" THEN CLS : PRINT »
4 : CAT
4005 INPUT PAPER VAL "7";(c$( TO
VAL "32")); LINE c$ : GO TO USR R
4010 PRINT #4: DATA 0: GO TO USR R
4020 LET P=R-R: GO SUB VAL "96": P
RINT #dt: SAVE N$ DATA f$(): GO SU
B VAL "70": GO TO USR R
4025 STOP
4030 LET P=R/R: GO SUB VAL "98": P
RINT #dt: SAVE N$ LINE VAL "4037":
PRINT #dt: SAVE "mf code" + ( " . C2" A
ND dt=od)CODE VAL "57328", VAL "820
8": GO SUB VAL "70": GO TO USR R
4031 GO TO USR R
4037 PRINT #dt: LOAD "mf code" + ( " . C
2" AND dt=od)CODE : GO TO R/R
4040 LET c$=STR$ (VAL c$i TO VAL "
14")/VAL c$(VAL "15" TO VAL "19"))
: GO TO USR R
4050 GO SUB VAL "96": CLS : PRINT
'("Play the tape..." AND dt=VAL "2
" ) + ( "Load ing . . . " AND dt=od);n$ AN
D dt=od: PRINT #dt: LOAD N$ DATA f
$ ( ) : GO TO USR R
4200 GO SUB 50: CLS : PRINT #od: C
AT : PRINT AT VAL "2",r-r; BRIGHT
r/r; PAPER VAL "6"; "Give name of p
Pint spec to load": INPUT N$: IF N
$="" THEN GO TO R/R
4201 LET n$ = n$ + ".A$": PRINT M"Pla
y the tape..." AND dt=VAL "2"): PR
INT #dt: LOAD N$ DATA P$(): GO TO
USR R
4210 REM See MFP User Guide
4211 PRINT #od: POKE 16090,150: PR
INT #4: POKE 16092,8202: POKE 6063
0,0: GO TO USR r
4290 CLOSE #VAL "2": GO TO USR R
4900 INPUT "Set Column? Y/N " ; a$ :
IF a$="N" OR a$="n" THEN GO TO VA
L "9000"
4970 INPUT "Left or Right? ";a$
4980 PRINT #od: POKE VAL "16094", o
d: IF a$="R" OR a$="r" THEN PRINT
#od: POKE VAL "16094", VAL "40"
4990 LPRINT : GO TO 1
7000 LET c$="": GO TO USR R
9000 BEEP R/R,R-R: PAUSE 0: GO TO
USR R
9900 PRINT #4: SAVE "EMPTYl.Bl" LI
NE VAL "4037"
Listing #1
10 RANDOMIZE USR 100: OPEN #4,
"dd": RANDOMIZE USR 24580: PRINT
#4: POKE 16152,5182: PRINT #4:
POKE 16106,0: PRINT #4: POKE 161
07,0: PRINT #4: POKE 16233,0: PR
INT #4: POKE 16234,0: CLEAR 5732
7- PRINT »4: LOAD "Finall.Bl"
9000 CLEAR 27000: RESTORE 9030:
FOR n=23300 TO 23309
9010 READ a: POKE n,a
9020 NEXT n
9030 DATA 205,102,0,62,3,211,244
,201,0,0
9040 RANDOMIZE USR 23300
9050 RUN
SINC-LINK
DID
YOU
KNOW
Yesterday the Hovemtaer '92
Sine-Link came along with
the Out-of-town newsletter.
George mentioned that a
couple of members are
f looking for AERCO type
printer interfaces.
Some time ago I realized that a
feed-thru connector would
improve the I/Fs usefulness. I
had also wished for a longer cable
than the one supplied with mine.
Since we have several IBMs in
the house I decided that an IBM
style connector would be more
convenient. Then I could use a
cable I already had. So I made a
duplicate using solder type
sockets connected with wire wrap
wire as the hook-up wire. I had
a 90 degree connector and all the
chips from previous projects,
except for one-the 74LS273. I
had a 74S273 that I thought I
would use temporarily until I
could get the correct chip. <It
has been close to two years now
but I still Plan to replace it -
someday. )
Below is the circuit diagram:
P2D0
P3DI
P>*02
f5D3
P7 05
PS 06
07
RESET P3I
GND/^PI9
^ P20
P2I
P22
P23
P2'»
P25
P2e
P27
P28
PI
STROBE
PAPER P 12
SELECT P 13
<3ND P30
BUSY PI I
As you can see I am still trying
to use Pixel Print for my
articles and to try to draw a
schematic with ArtStudio is
pressing the issue a little bit.
In case it . isn't clear I was
trying to indicate that LS02
pin 1 connects to pin 12 of LS30
I built the unit on a piece of
perf board with holes on . i in.
centers. I used sockets because
I don't like to solder to ICs,
but sockets aren't necessary.
There are two isolation
capacitors that go across the
ground and the +5 busses. Of ,
course the highest numbered pin
is the +5 volt connection and
the diagonally opposite is the
ground connection and is not
nly
ch
4r\
ic.
used
shown on the schematic. The
other parts reciuired are a
type edge connector(s) to m
the right hand connections
are made. The printer cabl
numbers are the P numbers
the left side of the schem.
The component layout that I
is shown in the sketch shown
below. I don't think any of this
is critical and it could be made
smaller if you did not choose to
use an IBM style <25-position
D-subminature) connector.
10 IS 20 25 30 . . 35
I + I
J
^LS02
■■■■■a*
.LS30
10
15 20 25 30 35
SINC-LINK
The view is what you see looking
over the keyboard at the female
edge connector. The isolation
capacitors are . lUF discs.
The schematic shows the final
printer parallel connector pin
numbers. If an IBM style B-mini
is used the following chart will
decode them:
paral lei ^ ^ ^ ^
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
IBM
parallel
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
IBM
para 1 1 e 1
26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
25 16 15 17
IBM
Les Cottrell 108 River Hts. Dr.
Cocoa. PL USA 32922
323% N. Church Street
Bowling Green, OH 43402-2307
October 13, 1992
Dear George,
Sotiy I haven t gotten back to you earlier. I decided I should wait until I got paid, and
could send you my dues.
I am -lad to see I was correct about address 0004 in the LKDOS cartridge. Speakmg
of which, it might be nice to make a simple change to the FORMAT program to check that
It is the right version. When I got the earlier Omnibus disk, one of the first thmgs I had to
do was replace the LKDOS Larken FOR]\IAT program widi the LKDOS Aerco FOm^T.
Actually, it would be trivial to write the BASIC to LOAD the correct CODE, provided the
appropriate CODE was available on tiie disk.
On &e version of FORJMAT I have, the LKDOS Aerco version of Hcode
("Hcode.Ca") is loaded m Ime 1020. All that would be necessary is to add a Ime 1015 to
do the LKDOS PEEK to see ^vhich ROM they have, and then use IF statements to LOAD
the appropriate code. As far as I can tell, there is only one other change that would have to
be made, and tfiat is to the BASIC which determines which mimber to POKE for the correct
drive (the Larken POKEs are two times the Aerco POKEs, last I checked).
Naturally, these remarks apply equally to any other program tiiat accesses Ae i/t
directly instead of using the cartridge (for instance, a program to read DD disks m an ffi)
drive) Since all of the OUT commands to access the i/Tare different on Aerco, as are the
values ^witten to tiie command register or the select register, any library program or CODE
which does this should make sure the i/f is there first That is just common sense, since not
all people who use LKDOS have tfie same i/'f
I also just recently came into some information which may make it easy to \wite a
routine to read IKDOS disks on a PC. Unfortunately, PC-DOS (or MS-DOS) does not
seem to be able to understand about disks with 10 sectors per track (usually). I have just
found an old book on ml for the PC that h^ens to mention ^^at looks like a way around
this direct access to the drive by track and sector mstead of "logical sector". IMs requires
use of one of the BIOS mtenupts (INT 13, if I recall) mstead of the usual DOS commands.
If you don^t know what that means, don't worry about it I will have to work on this a bit
and let you know if it worte out Theoretically at least it mi^ be easier than the reverse
routine I've been tr.^mg for reading PC disks on a TS 2068. Since the structure of I^OS
directories and files is comparatively simple, writing a PC program to interpret LKDOS
disks is much easier than a program to read PC-DOS disks.
Take care of yourself I'll send you the Unerase article and my results with the PC m
a few weeks.
Sincerely,
SINC-LINK
TORONTO TIMEX-SINCLAIR USERS CLUB
Gen. Sec, George Chambers, 14 Richome Crt. Scarborough, Ont. Canada, MIK 2Y1
1993 Jan 2
Mr Howard J. Clase
Box 9947. Station B,
St John's
Newfoundland ,
AlA 4L4
Dear Mr Clase,
You will probably not realise it, but you have just taken part in a
club membership drive which we are in the process of completing.
We realised there were a lot of people out there who were looking for
somewhere to go - to belong to. So we sent out a sample Newsletter
with a letter and an application form, inviting QL users to become
members of one of the most progressive and illustrious QL Clubs m
North America, and one which is also recognised overseas.
We have had numerous replies and new members enrolled, and in many
instances the excellence of our newsletter was acknowledged. We knew
all along that it was excellent and should be in all QL'ers mailboxes,
and it was this excellence that triggered many to join our gathering
of ardent QL'ers.
Now you, Mr Clase, already being a member, were not included in this
mailout, so you probably were not aware of what was going on.
Therefore this letter may come as a surprise to you, and I hope it
does. Pleasant that is.
What may be more of a surprise to you is that the newsletter sent out
was the one with your ALTKEY macros in Quill article, and this article
was lauded in more than one of the notes and phone calls accompanying
the applications for membership, as being one of many things to make a
favourable impression. Many learned from that superb article.
Oh Yes, Mr Clase, I know that you are already aware of the excellence
of your writings, so perhaps this is not such a surprise to you after
all. But I bet you never thought to see this letter of appreciation
in that prestigious publication - Sine-Link!
Thank you Howard.
Yours sincerely.
Hugh H. Howie,
QL Contact,
586 Oneida Dr.
Burlington, Ont.
Canada, L7T 3V3
(416) 634 - 4929
14
SINC-LINK
S U PKRBASIC RAMBLINGS
PART POUR.
Another Last Word On INSTR:
Wg should by now be able to write some code to find a string within a string, (the
experts call the little string a 'substring'). But , having found the substring,
what if we want to find out if the substring occurs again?. Easy-peasy! . Our
friendly neighbourhood QL allows you to search just part of a string and you can
specify which part.
Remember POSITION = "PYW" INSTR "ALAN PYWELL"?. POSITION takes a value of 6. To
save my typing fingers (one on each hand) let's assume that we have previously said
A$ = "ALAN PYWELL". So POSITION = "PYW" INSTR A$ also returns 6 . Note that the
keyword LET is optional, so I save my fingers again. Incidentally, I suppose that
you , like me, read "Position equals 'PYW' Instring etc.. NAUGHTY!. You (and I)
should read '(Let) Position take the value of. I wonder if anyone other than
authors reads it correctly?.
But suppose for some reason our prog says POSITION = INSTR A$ (6 TO LEN (A$)) ?•
This is quite legitimate. What, do you suppose, is the value of POSITION now?. Well,
the string (substring!) we were searching is "PYWELL" so INSTR found a match on the
first letter. POSITION therefore takes the value 1. To put it another way, if you
specify where the search is to begin then POSITION will start counting from that
position and the count begins at 1 - the earlier part of the string to be searched
is ignored. I've rambled on about this because if you want to carry on a searcn
after finding one match you need to be aware of all that's just been said.
Let us suppose that A$ = • i i • "
"Alan Pywell is a towering genius and modest with it. Alan Pywell is also a liar .
POSITION = "PYW" INSTR A$ will again return a value of 6 in POSITION. But we want
to continue the search but we do not want to perform the pointless exercise of
searching from the start of the string, so this is where the facility to specify
which part of a string we want to search. Neither can we resume the search from
POSITION because the first occurrence of "PYW" would be found immediately. We must
resume the search from at least one character further on i.e. from POSITION + 1.
Let's try POSITION = "PYW" INSTR A$ (POSITION + 1 TO LEN (A$)). Counting starts from
the "e" in the first Pywell - when it finds the next occurrence of Pywell it will
have counted to 51. But this tells us only that the second Pyw is 51 characters
beyond the "e" in the first Pywell - not a lot of use. What we must do is tell QL to
add the count of the first search to the count of the second but Oh, dear, silly old
QL has forgotten the first count!.
So let's tell QL to remember the first count!.
POSITION = "Pyw" INSTR A$
OLD_POSITION = POSITION: REMark QL 'remembers' the first count
POSITION = "Pyw" INSTR A$(OLD_POSITION + 1 TO LEN (A$))
POSITION_OF_SECOND_OCCURRENCE = POSITION + OLD_POSITION
Now OLD_POSITION + POSITION (6 + 51) = 57. I'm a great believer in making people
think so I have to tell you that the second occurrence of "Pyw" is the fiftyeigth
character. So the last line of the prog above should read:
POSITION_OF_SECOND_OCCURRENCE = OLD_POSITION + POSITION + what?
Oh, alright, here's a clue. Add one. Experiment a bit with your own string and
substring - you'll soon get it sorted out in your mind.
SINC-LINK Vi
(Thinks 'Oh dear, here comes the dreaded GOTO again ^^rr-iaUc letters from
After my remark about fools and GOTO I received a couple of /.^p
^^^LJ-^OTO brieade. One writer claimed that his intelligence puts him m the top
1% of LTopuUtf^n^^ If I had dignified his tirade with a reply I -^^f^f^
that so doL'mine and greater intelligence ^'^^^f^^^'^^^^^^^^^^
I don't advocate the liberal sprinkling of progs with GOTO but I do Relieve e
occassional use of this extremely useful keyword helps the learner no end. Look at
this:
1000 PRINT "PRESS SPACE TO CONTINUE"
1020 IF raYS^O " " THEN GOTO lOlOlREMark Loops back until space is pressed.
Nothing wrong with that I say - it works ! .
The above writer went on to say that if one's car has an ashtray then one should
take up smoking, 'because it's there', according to my argument- ^
llZ.. from one so blinkered. GOTO is there, but I never argued that one must use it
s!mp!y that one can use xt if one wishes. I frequently use a GOTO when P-gramming
to simpUfy my thought processes. At some stage I make the programme more elegant
by replacing many, but not necessarily all, GOTOs .
I would welcome suggestions for Part Five, I love receiving letters
AlaD P7«ll 13 SaDdyfields Close Sea lane Saltfleet Lincolnshire ISll 7RP
Th-e. afioue. a^cJLe. u>cu> ^e.c<U.ucc£ too io go -ut*o ou^ Nouejn6e^J-A.4u.(2.
^ tot b^9 cbi^ *o 9^ ^ '^'^ i^th^m,^^ UM^-
you. wxXe not^ thai. Alcun. -U o^feXn-g io^ wfuut YOU u;ouXd IVz-z. hMn to w^e-
t fj.t - -git /ooa", I tKlnK tM^ «,o^d b. rUc.^^ ^ZlV
SINC-LINK
BACKUPS QL COPIES
by Bngli Howie.
How often have I wished that my BACKUP disk was EXACTLY the same as
the ORIGINAL disk! And would perform in EXACTLY the same way!
Well now I have that, the backup is EXACTLY the same as the original,
even down to the date and everything else. \Vhen I take a WSTAT of my
backup disk, I see that it bears the same date as the original.
This program which I have just acquired is really a very useful tool
to have in your library. It will operate in a multi-disk setup, such
as on a four disk stack! Between disks of the same type. 40 to 40 or
80 to 80 track. Only those configurations are permitted.
You can pop out and into the program by CTRL + C, so it is always
available when required. When it first starts up, you are asked which
is to be the Disk of ORIGIN, and also the TARGET (DESTINATION) disk.
Toggle your selections with the first letter of option selected.
You are asked if you wish to FCMIAT the Target disk. And if you wish
to see what track the copier is copying. It even asks if you wish to
make another copy.
It is a very FAST copier. I only use it on my Trump Card unit, and
instead of switching disks as it copies, DISCOPY loads the complete
disk into memory, and then transfers the memory to the TARGET disk in
one fluid motion.
The only discordant factor I can find is that it requires both the
original disk and target disk to be of the same type. This program
will NOT copy from a 40 track to an 80 track. It will NOT copy from
re to HD to W, Nor so far as I know, will it copy ED disks. But it
WILL copy from 5 1/4 to 3 1/2 to 5 1/4, if both disks are of the same
track and capacity.
Those discords are not too important as most folks who have two disk
drives, usually have them of the same type. It's only idiots like me
that has DD and HD and 40 and 80 and 5 1/4 and 3 1/2 all mixed up in
various configurations.
It is peculiar to see a disk with a date in 1961 being copied over and
the copy still bears the 1961 date.
You can learn to use this program in five minutes! It will even copy
ATARI TOS and MS-DOS disks! Exactly! 720 K or 360 K, single or
double sided.
As I said, DISCOPY will copy your disk over, EXACTLY the same as the
original disk. .4nd I mean that, EXACTLY.
Read your own interpretation into that last remark. Then write to
EMSOFT, P.O. Box 8763. Boston. MA. 02114-0037. Don't forget to send
some cash. Like $14.95 US funds. That's all it costs.
101592
SINC-LINK
ZXS 1 RESOURCES
BUFFER witti KEY — REREAT
Rene Bruneau January 1993
Soie tirae ago, I caie across an article in SYNC that
provided the Za81 with a hardware key-repeat feature. Under
norial conditions, the ZX81 operating systea requires you to
press and release each key before it will process the next
key pressed. This is done' in the key scan routine where the
code checks to see if the key pressed is the saae as before
or if it is different. If there is a change, the new key
value is accepted and processed. The repeat-key circuit uses
a tiller chip to toggle a buffer on and off at a slower rate
than the key scan. Each tiae the buffer is off. the key scan
detects a 'no key pressed' condition and accepts the pressed
key value each time the buffer is on. The function can be
disabled with a switch.
The keyboard buffer circuit is based on an article in a back
issue of 'YOUR SINCLAIR'. With the oaission of the timer
chip and associated coaponents (fiiarked with an asterix in
the coisponent list and boxed on the circuit diagraa) the
buffer will work on a 2068. The cable between the keyboard
and the coaputer can be several feet long.
THE HARDWARE
A PCB siask has been provided for photocopying onto TEC ^00
fiiylar fila to de transferred to a blank circuit board. Load
the coraponents as shown on the overlay, being careful to
install the sockets and capacitors correctly. The edge
connector is located on the coaponent side of the board,
with the extender on the side facing away froi the computer.
Quit the marked coinponents if the buffer is intended for a
2068 and solder a juaper across the switch pads as noted.
Check for poor solder joints and juaps between traces and
clean any that are suspect. Before you install the ICs on
the board, plug the asseably onto the rear edge connector of
your coaputer, ^urn it on, and confirm that the coaputer
initializes properly. If it doesn't, quickly shut off the
aachine and check your work again.
L *
808BSBS8B8B
BBBBBBBBBBBJ^
r
o-o-p n o\
C2. CI
\ U2.
I VmrrrrrT
9^. 88188 88BBB6888B88B8B8BB88888t88B
88188 BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB^BBBBBB^
L
Set the tria pot to the centre of its adjustaent. Use a bare
wire to short one of the A8 - A15 lines to one of the KBD
lines. A chvacter rtould appear on the screen and repeat
until you reaove the wire. Adjust the tria pot to achieve
the desired repeat rate. If the rate is too high, no
characters will print. To fully test the board, you have to
construct or adapt a keyboard to connect to the buffer
board. A suggested layout is shown, copied froa Mike Lord's
"THE EXPLORER'S GUILD TO THE ZXBl AND TIMEX SINCLAIR 1000".
CQHPONENT LIST
Ul 74LS32
U2 74LS245
U3 74LS245
U4 tLM555 tiser
CI lOOnF polyester
C2 lOOnF polyester
C3 lOOnF polyester
C4 4.7uF - lOv tantalua
C5 tlOOuF - lOv electolytic
Rl IK - 1/4 watt resister
R2 IK - 1/4 watt resister
R3 IK - 1/4 watt resister
R4 IK - 1/4 watt resister
R5 IK - 1/4 watt resister
R5 IlK - 1/4 watt resister
RVi IIOK vertical triapot
SI tSPOT toggle or slide switch
Ji SUBD15 feaale connector
J2 SUBD15 aale connector
J3 2X81 or 2058 Edge connector
% Used for ZX31 Key Repeat
A ul
7 V V V V
X4> 01 PI t>3 t>^
SINC-LINK
What is an Editor?
Reading many magazines and papers I often wonder what is expected of an
Editor.
An Editor Gets blamed if the publication is not out on time.
An Editor Gets blamed if he chops and changes the material he is presented
with.
An Editor Has to know what the reader wants, and also to give it to the
reader.
(I ain't goin' to change that line!)
An Editor Is supposed to correct the writers errors which the writer
should have done for himself.
If the Editor Should make a change in the wording of a text he is accused of
altering the tone and intent of the author, and of spoiling the
character the author was trying to portray.
An Editor Is not allowed to state his views too strongly except when the
reader agrees with those views and then the Editor can ramble on
as long as he/she/ it wants.
An Editor Is supposed to keep the quality of content and amount of content
up to a certain standard, often with little to work with.
I have one suggestion if you do not like what the Editor is
publishing, and that is to write and tell the Editor.
Oh! I almost forgot, the Editor can only publish that which is ^^^t in to the
Editor, and if nothing is sent in then someone has to fill up a lot of empty
^aces. that's another of the Editors jobs. . .filling in the spaces no one
else has sent in anything to fill the spaces with
Please Mr Editor, this is my little contribution for this month!
Hugh Howie.
Farcus
by David Waisglass
QonJon Coulthait
'Whatever you do, don't ask him
to boot the computer."
SINC-LINK
Q L I
b7 Hugh
I had a letter recently in which the
writer was discussing TorQLiB, our QL
Library. One thing he was asking was if
it was necessary to have "C"ontinue and
also "N"ext in the catalogue MENU
presentation, and this gave me the
thought it might be worth mentioning in
this column.
MEXT is an Archive command, where typing
this in will take you to the next record
of the current file.
CONTINUE will continue previous SEARCH
or FIND from the record following the
displayed record in the current file.
For example
Say you have records A, B, C, D, E, F.
And records A, D, F, have the word CLOCK
in them.
Say you are at record "A" on the screen,
if you now type NEXT you will go to
record "B", and so on through the file
displaying each record in rotation.
If you use the FIND "CLOCK" command, you
will see record "A" on screen. Now if
you type CONTINUE, you will be taken to
record D, CONTINUE once again and you
will see record F displayed. Thus placing
on display only the records containing
CLOCK.
Now can you see the difference?
NEXT goes to the next record on file.
C0NT11411E goes to the next record of the
string selection made by FIND or SEARCH.
In the TorQLib Catalogue, it is not
necessary to type next or continue - only
the initial letter of the word (c or n)
and [ENTER] is necessary.
Please note:- "find" is case independant.
"search" is case dependant .
CLOSE - NEW - QUIT
Now to the difference in the above
Archive commands .
CLOSE will close the file in use, making
P S
Howie
the file safe, and saving any changes you
may have made to the file.
NEW will close the file AND the program
in use, but leaving you in Archive ready
for another program to be run.
QUIT closes the file in use, the program
in use, and returns you from Archive back
into SuperBasic.
In all the above cases, the file is saved
back to the device in use. That is why it
is important to ALWAYS close an Archive
file properly.
Now, should you just happen to try
loading a file and get the message that
the file is "not known" or "duplicate
name" it is possible you have a file
which is already open or has not been
closed properly. In the latter case,
there is a neat little program in the
library called DBF__CLOSE_BAS written by
Howard Clase. This program will close
those files you failed to close yourself.
At this point I should mention that there
is a difference between a file which has
been left OPEN from the OPEN command, and
one which has been left OPEN from the
LOOK command.
When you are referring to a file it is
usually in the LOOK state, in which there
is not much damage done to a file left
open that cannot be repaired by
DBF_CLOSE_BAS . You have just been
LOOKING at the file.
If you have been adding to, or making
changes to a file such as editing
records, or inserting new records, then
you will have been in the OPEN state. In
which case if you remove the disk, or
leave the program without using the
proper CLOSE or QUIT, then you are in all
probability going to lose a whole stack
of stuff, which can't always be recovered
without a lot of work.
The moral of the story is :
KEEP A CURRENT BACK-UP
and
CLOSE THAT FILE - PROPERLY -
930103
SINC-LIKK
January 9, 1993
John E. Juergens
18 Bryce Canyon Way
Pacifica CA 94044-3723
Hugh H. Howie
QL Contact
586 Oneida Drive
BURLINGTON ONT.
CANADA L7T 3V3
Dear Mr. Howie,
Have just about recovered from system(s) and outlook changes occasioned by our
purchase of a Gold Card, a 3.2M drive used as FLP3 and PC Conqueror Gold SE
(sometimes Digital lays it on their names a bit thickly.) I really don't care
to repeat that process of rearranging so many things.
However, do have some comments for any of your colleagues contemplating
similar purchase(s):
1. Gold Card: The publicized 4 times speed-up is accurate for most of the
work you wish speeded-up. For example, in running our Archive-based checking
and tax program, the object _pro file took 76 seconds before start-ing;
with the Gold Card it takes 19.
Searching through a 650 record, 8 fields/record file for tax information, via
FIRST, NEXT, etc., used to take up to 16 minutes; now, 3+ minutes.
Of the 2M of memory, actually available to me is about 3553 sectors.
The battery backed clock works, in contrast to another I had.
We still use QfLash in eprom and TQ+ with Quill and find no problem.
However, there is a bug: It takes the form of screen-display corruption. The
best description I can give is that it looks as if the lighted pixels are
being swallowed one by one by silicon bacteria.
Miracle was informed and they quickly responded with a newer ROM chip (free of
charge) which was supposed to clear-up the corruption should it start. It did
just that. If the corruption starts what one sees is a growing patch of black
through the Fl, F2 part (lower) of the start-up screen, followed by a turning
back on of the turned-off pixels BUT, in turn, followed by the identical
corruption. The bottom line is the fix did not fix it but does make for an
interesting display if one is into that sort of thing.
The good news is that over 90% of turn-ons do NOT result in corruption and, of
those that do, turning off the QL, waiting from 3 to 5 seconds, no more, and
then turning it back on, results in a 99% success rate for me.
If the corruption is noticed at the Fl - F2 display there is no sense in
proceeding; the corruption continues and ruins, at least. Quill and Abacus.
SINC-LINK
The problem is somewhat more than trivial but I can live with it for the speed
and memory (about 1.7+M net) trade-offs.
2 The ED drive: If you read IQLR you will have noticed two recent articles
on the Teac ED drive, the problems encountered and solutions found in getting
it to work with the Gold Card.
On the basis of the IQLR, Nov/Dec 92. p. 137, article, I sent away to Midwest
Micro for one. I can say that the settings recommended, p. 140, as well as
the drive both work well.
However, I had another problem: I wished to use the drive as a semi-hard disk
for both QL and PC-C files on FLP 3 or C: (the Gold Card supports 3 drives)
and the Teac ED drive-select options are only DSO or DSl, le. FLPl or YLVd..
The solution turned out to be something rather old and simple. An adaptation
of IBM's cobble to make it easy for a user to add a second drive to their
single drive machines.
IBM apparently shipped their add-on 2nd drives set to DSO - Drive Select Zero
- (the QL equivalent of FLPl) and they sold or furnished a replacement nbbon
cable with two edge-card drive connectors. If examined, the cable just before
the connector to the 2nd drive was different. One would see that just before
the edge-card connector for the 2nd drive, the 34 conductor nbbon cable was
split into 3 parts.
The middle part, consisting of lines 10 through 16, maintained as a
contiguous unit after being separated from the main cable about a" was
given an 180 degree twist and then re-placed into the main cable, held there
by the 2nd drive connector.
Effectively, this put the MOTOR ON line, #15, in the place of Drive Select
zero line, #10, for the 2nd drive thus allowing somehow a 1 drive system to
use a second drive.
I did approximately the same thing with our ED drive, separating lines 12 thru
14 consisting of DSl, a Ground line and DS2, reversing and replacing them.
The important last step was making certain that the ED drive itself was set to
operate as DSl (FLP2).
Now, when FLP3 is called for, the signal goes out on DS2 but, because of the
180 degree twist, it enters the drive on DSl causing it to respond as FLFJ_.
Those clever IBM engineers! Line #1 of the ribbon cable line is the line
closest to you as you sit in front of the QL; alternatively, line 34 is the
line closest to the protruding Gold Card heat sink.
3 PC Conqueror Gold SE: Firstly, it should only be acquired about the time
Lent starts as it has a distinctly penitential quality about it. Let me
hasten to add that it is a tinkerer's delight. By locking the user into
nothing, one is free to make almost infinite choices about how to operate DOS
on the QL. One has many more choices than a DOS machine user does about how
what gets done when including multi-tasking a QL program along with a PL
program should that prospect ever appear gratifying!
At its fastest it runs DOS applications at about the speed I remember our
un-expanded QL ran Quill or Abacus. At its slowest, such as running our
checking and tax program in Psions's PC-4 Archive, it's intolerable. Running
Quill or Abacus from the PC-4 group is quite acceptable.
SINC-LINK
Some time ago, we had purchased two inexpensive word processors of the PC
persuasion. One runs quite acceptably but the other would be much too slow
for practical use. The worst of it is that I haven't a clue as to why the
large difference in speed exists. I do appreciate that Archive must needs run
through several layers of programming before it gets to the emulator level.
And, once there, it's not home yet.
So much, it seems, depends upon the programmer and things you and I could not
be expected to know or publishers to list. So, few if any rules can be made
to guide a purchase. Shareware with its "test before you buy" feature should
provide a partial solution.
On the positive side, purchasing PC-C beats having a number of large pieces of
additional hardware cluttering up an already over-crowded computing and at 110
BPS, it's cheaper than an actual PC even at today's cut-throat prices.
Under PC-C, DOS is free to use about 700K for programs leaving about 800K free
as LIM equivalent Expanded Memory, RAMDRIVE (VDISK), or whatever.
Although PC-C does support two DD and/or HD drives, it does NOT support ED
drives as such. However, a user having an ED drive may use it as a
psuedo-hard disk, ie. as drive C:, with up to 3.128M of space available and in
conjunction with the other two drives, A: and B:.
The interesting thing about PC-C's hard disk handling (real or pseudo) is that
it convinces DOS that a file on a QL formatted disk is a DOS hard disk; enough
so that a user must FDISK and FORMAT the disk (file) to use drive C:
Once through the convolutions of producing a DOS-useable hard disk, one may
copy it, empty or full of DOS files, to another QL-formatted disk by the
SuperBasic COPY command. Of course, WHERE one copies 3.128M TO is another
problem for another day - sort of like the nuclear waste problem!
All in all, I'm extrememly doubtful that IBM or the clone makers are dreading
the PC-C onslaught to their market share. But, exploring the great amount of
PC shareware out there without an inordinate investment and on a machine with
which one is familiar may seem worthwhile to some. Perhaps one may find a
good program in PC land that has escaped the eye of a QL programer.
I seem to have rambled. Thanks again.
SINC-LINK
INTERBANK DATABASE
TS-2068 and the Larken RAMdisk
George Chambers
This is the first of two articles which will describe the insertion of
blocks of prepared data into an interbank database.
one of the disks in our Larken disk library (^30) ^^^P'^^^^^^Vh^ r"^^^^^^^
makes use of the Larken RAMdisk. It manages the ^^'^''y ' ^^^^ ^
in such a way as to create an immense database. Where the ^"^J^-Z^lff^
of free memory, this program makes it possible to create a database uf up to
28 2K.
The programming to make this possible was written by one of our members,
Larry Crawford, and examples of it's use are on the disk ^30. It ha:,
languished in the library without much attention being paid to it. -nt i i
recently, that is. A few months ago I took another look at it, and^ became
enchanted with it's possibilities. When Bob Mitchell created^ the "'d/x.fJ^JJ'.^
Sine-Link newsletter contents (published in the newsletter in z;^.^^^* 'J'^^f,'^;'
/ found it rather frustrating to search out articles; it was still dtfficuir
to locate a specific article. Then an idea came to me. Why not make use of
this interbank database program to hold the Sine-Link index. This is an
article about my exper ience.
The first thing to be decided was how large each record in the fije should
be. The database is designed to handle any size record, up to a maximum
record size of 127 characters .
Many of the entries in Bob's Sine-Link index exceed 64 characters, some
even larger than the 127 character limit. It seemd most exped it ious to make
the record size coincide with a Tasword file, that is, make each record
equivalent to two lines of Tasword, 128 characters.
Larry's program is based on the premise that the entries will be entereo
manually. This was not my intent ion. My plan was to massage the n/ 1 index
data (which is on library disk (#52) so that it would conform to the
1 27-character size I set for my database.
The 'index' data on disk #52 was in the form of Mscript files. Since it
appeared easier to massage the data if it was in the form of Tasword files,
I used another program in our library (on #55-Stephen Gunhouse Collection)
called ' WP Conversion'. This utility can convert an Mscript file to a Tasword
file, and vice versa.
Incidentally the nil index files were originally on an MSDOS disk, and
were converted to Mscript files by using the conversion program on library
disk #27 MSDOS/ LARKEN.
Once the Mscript 'index' files were converted to Tasword, I edited them.
That is to say, where an entry was longer than the 127 characters allowed, I
split it into smaller records. With Tasword this was an easy matter; Each
record had to use no more than 2 I ines of Tasword . That is to say, every
second I ine of Tasword was the start of a new record. I started each record
with the newsletter ID, e.g. 9101 9/1 p.OU-. If an entry had to be split, each
new entry had to be given this ID. This was the most tedious part of the
Job.
I needed a marker at the end of the actual data in each record (something
like a period at the end of a sentence). But in this case I wanted the
keyword ENTER (code 13). What I did was place an asterisk at the end of ea
entry in the Tasword file. I then broke out of Tasword Basic and did a
SINC-LINK
FOR/NEXT loop which searched through the text, replacing every appearance of
the asterisk 'code ^2' with the value 13.
Enter this in the front of your Tasword program:
7 GOTO 10
2 FOR N = 33280 TO ( length of tasword file)
3 IF PEEK N = Q-2 THEN POKE N, 13
4 NEXT N: STOP
To use, enter GOTO 2. It will take a minute or so to complete. Don't forget
to delete this once you gave finished with it.
This marker '13' prevents the "empty" part of any record from showing on
the screen. If there were no marker '13' there would be blank lines in the
screen display of the record. In effect the marker tightens up the screen
d i splay.
Having saved the prepared Tasword files, now comes the touchy part;
insert ing it into the database.
We know the database starts at address 32768, How do we know that? Well,
because that is where the bank-switching takes place; in the upper half of
the computer memory, which starts at address 32768. We can verify that. Let's
try.
First load the i nterbank database SHELL. The disk has an AUTOSTART menu.
Select option B. You will be presented with a CAT, showing one or more ".CO"
files. Enter "SHELL".
When it has loaded you will see a menu. Select option 'N. New Database' .
You will be asked for a name, then for the record length for this database.
In our case we shall select the maximum. Enter 127. You will now return to
the menu.
We shall enter our first record. Select Option A, then type in say, your
name. Just a short name will do. With the name still on the screen, press the
ENTER key. The next record entry will appear. This time we shall terminate
the record entry by entering a STOP, i.e. the 'shifted A' key. This should
bring you back to the menu. We now have our first entry in the database.
Let's look at it. Select Option ' L' , and when asked, ask to start at record
1. The screen will show your name as record 1, The screen will ask you to
"PRESS ANY KEY". We want to break out into the Basic, so 'break' into the
program with the usual way with the Break key and space bar.
This is about the only place in the program operation that you can break
out into Basic, The other situation is where you have a screen display of
records and the 'scroll?' indicator showing. Here, if you want to break out
of the program, enter "N". A "PRESS ANY KEY" will appear. Break out of the
program with Break key and space bar.
We are now out of the program. Enter a LINE in the program:
1 FOR N = 32768 TO 65500: PRINT N, CHR$ PEEK N: NEXT N : STOP
Use GOTO 1. Never use RUN, or you will lose program var iables. You will
get a display on the left side of your screen showing a series of addresses,
with the letters of your name opposite them. This is the start of the record
area. Continue with scrolling. The screen will show emptiness, except for the
addresses. Except that, depend ing on the record size you se lected, you will
present 1 y come across a "STOP" entry.
Note this address; it is where the next entry will start. In our case, since
you entered 127 as the record length, you will come across this 'STOP' at
address 32896.
This will be significant when we come to loading in our 'prepared' Tasword
files, which we will cover in our next article.
SINC-LINK
25
THE XCHANGE VERSION OF QUEL
Although Quill is old, most QL owners
still use it, at least part of the time.
It is a very good general purpose word
processor. The enhancements in version
2.35, especially when running with
Athene's Turbo Quill+, has made the
program a lot less buggy and much more
responsive. With the Gold Card, I am
told, the speed is greatly increased.
But there are still shortcomings.
Quill has no Block Copy and Save feature
or Global replace conmand. Nor does it
have a mail merge feature. But Quill's
biggest omission, in my opinion, is its
inability to import most ASCII files.
(Yes there are ways to get around this,
but they are cumbersome.)
Texts? and Perfection can overcome these
problems, but they are fairly expensive
and there is a learning curve
solution is XCHANGE.
Another
XCHANGE is a disk version of the set of
four PSION programs that came with the
QL. It allows all four programs to be
loaded simultaneously. Using the F6 key
(shift Fl with the QL) the user can
switch from one application to the next.
Several documents can be loaded at once.
The amount of memory is the only limit
to the number of PSION applications
available .
I'll concentrate on the changes in
Quill, but XCHANGE includes a Task
Sequence Language (TSL) that allows a
programmer to control interplay between
the various applications. It also has
3D charts in Easel and a one-step
command to export Easel, Abacus or
Archive files and import them into
Quill.
The version of XCHANGE I use is 3.87
(copyrighted in 1987). I am told that
it was hacked over from the THOR. The
only documentation I received was some
pages from the reference manual dealing
with the MAIL subcommand and the
GLOSSARY feature. Also, on the disk,
was a short Quill_DOC explaining how to
use the Task Sequencing Language. Five
sample _TSL programs, which appear to
have been part of a longer tutorial.
where also included on the disk. With
the PSION Fl help feature, the above
documents are enough to figure out most
features .
XCHANGE requires the Toolkit II
extensions. Once loaded you are
presented with the taskswtiching screen.
There are several commands available
using F3. You are also allowed to
scroll to one of the four PSION programs
and enter it. If you push the ENTER key
with the Quill label highlighted (for
example) you are prompted for a TASK
name. Type a name, press the enter key
and you are in Quill. To open more
Quill applications, press F6 (shift Fl),
scroll down to the Quill label, enter
and use a different task name. Press F6
to switch between applications at any
time.
Once in Quill you will be in familiar
territory. There are a few apparent
minor differences. For example, to
change from Insert to Overwrite it will
say press F9 (which is shift F4). There
is a block for F6 (XCHANGE) and there is
a task name at the bottom. Help is
still available at all times by pushing
Fl. F3 gives you the coimnands, and
prompts are turned off and on with the
F2 key. The only added command is
EXTRACT, but there are several
additional subcommands and we'll get to
those in a minute.
EXTRACT allows a block of text to be
highlighted, then saved to be merged
with other documents at a later time.
SEARCH and REPLACE have the following
enhancements. They both now give the
option of beginning at the TOP or
defaulting from where the cursor is.
REPLACE also prompts with "Yes, No or
All?"-- which allows global replacements.
SAVE now asks to overwrite with an
"OVERWRITE, YES?" prompt instead of
requiring the user to push "Y." There
are several other enhancements of this
kind.
There is also a GLOSSARY feature that
allows the user to predefine a set of
conmonly used keystrokes. This is
similar to the one used in Turbo Quill+,
SINC-LINK
THE XCHMGE VERSION OF QUILL
even making use of the F5 key. Any
letter or number can be defined and up
to 250 keystrokes can be entered for
each definition or "glossary.'
The most important changes are in the
FILE command. No longer will you find
FORMAT, BACKUP or COPY. (BACKUP and
COPY are two of the commands in the
XCHANGE front end— FORMAT is no longer
available from within XCHANGE.) These
commands are replaced by the following:
IMPORT (enhanced), EXPORT, MAIL and
TRANSFER. These changes are, to me, the
key advantage of using Quill under
XCHANGE .
IMPORT now imports any ASCII text file,
allowing many more extensions than _LIS.
This saves the hassle of having to
change the file name's extension.
Import can be used to view TSL programs,
SuperBASIC programs, Glossary
definitions, etc. It also can be used
to import text from other computers that
has been brought over through the serial
port, with Discover, or by using some
other transfer program.
EXPORT makes an ASCII file with only
carriage returns and line feeds at the
end of each line. This is very nice for
uploading files to Bulletin Boards. One
disadvantage of EXPORT, since it puts
line feeds and carriage returns at the
end of each line, is that it can't be
directly used for editing SuperBASIC
programs. Either a filter program could
be used to overcome this problem, or the
old solution of making a special
printer_DAT and saving to a _LIS file.
The default extension with EXPORT is
EXP. If you use _TSL instead, the file
Is treated as a TSL program. This means
you can write a TSL program, XCHANGE
tasks, try it out, then return with the
XCHANGE command and continue writing the
program.
TRANSFER also makes ASCII text files.
Its purpose is to allow Quill documents
to be transferred to another type of
computer using Quill (an IBM PC, for
example) without losing the formatting
and typestyle commands. It does this by
using ASCII characters to define the
control codes. Once the document is
transferred it can be saved in the
regular way and nothing is lost.
TRANSFER prompts the user either to Save
or Load when the subcommand is chosen.
MAIL is the most complicated of the FILE
subcommands. It allows personalized
form letters to be printed. It does
this in one of three ways. Codes can be
inserted into the standard document that
promt the user to type information from
the keyboard when each letter is
printed. Or codes can be embedded in
the standard document allowing the
information to be supplied by either a
specially prepared Quill document or an
Archive _EXP file. The ARCHIVE _EXP
extension is the default.
I'm very impressed with Quill in the
XCHANGE program. The ability to open
two or more documents, extract what you
want from one and load it into the other
document is nice. There is multitasking
software that allows task switching, but
none that uses the enhanced version of
Quill. I've used Turbo Quill+ by Athene
for several years and am very happy with
its increased speed and smoother "feel.
The XCHANGE version of Quill seems about
as fast and smooth as Turbo Quill+. In
addition, it has the added FILE
subcommand features.
If anyone would like more information
about XCHANGE, please write. I'm told
that Sharps still has a couple copies
available for $60, but I'm disappointed
that a complete manual is not provided.
Ron Blizzard
1248 S. Vineyard #42
Mesa, AZ 85210
SINC-LINK
This is an extract of a letter recently received, and is used here with the
permission of the author. I found it interesting. I think you will also. HHH
Toronto Timex- Sinclair Users Club.
I was very pleased to receive your invitation to join the Toronto Timex-Sinclair
Users Club and am glad to accept it. My brother, Dale, tells me that he has
already paid my dues (a Christmas present) and that I am to give you more
information. (All this before I really even had a chance to read my first issue
of Sine-Link.) (I'm not complaining.)
I've owned a QL since late 1986. I bought it and an amber monochrome ,
composite monitor for $250 from A+. A few months later I added a Seikosha 1200
AS (serial, 9-pin) printer. Then, probably a year later, came a QfLash RAM
drive cartridge and a 512K Expanderam. Perhaps a year later, I added an
external modem and QLINK software. Microdrives became expensive and scarce so I
finally decided to go to a disk drive system. RMG (in Oregon) had a couple used
disk interfaces, a Cumuna and a Delta. I chose the Delta because it included a
parallel port for the same price. RMG also had some uncased power supplies and
I picked up a couple cheap (at the time) 5 1/4", Quad-density, Tandon disk
drives from Ed Grey Enterprises (in Los Angeles). After several weeks of ^
procrastinating, I finally put all the pieces together and for a time couldn t
access the Expanderam' s memory when the Delta was connected. I finally found
the right trace to cut (thanks to Vernon Smith at CATS in Washington, DC) and
was very happy to have 640K and disk drives. I managed to blow out the
Centronics port, but my brother figured it out and we replaced the right chip
(iust a couple dollars). That's about it, except I purchased a microdrive
version of Toolkit II (from Curry's in Glendale, AZ) and have been very happy
about that decision ever since. (My brother and father both have Trump Cards
but I can do just about anything they can with my system, plus use the superior
QfLash RAM disk system.)
Though my wife thinks the QL is ugly (a lot of it is exposed and there are wires
running all around the place), I'm very fond of the system. ^'^^^ that I ve
always been true to the QL. Before I bought it I considered a 2068 (I had been
given a Timex-Sinclair 1000, but I wanted a word processor - and the 2068 seemed
like the next logical step. The QL came first— no regrets~but when I got a
chance to pick up a used 2068 with Spectrum ROM, I bought it. I really don t
know why. Then we decided we wanted to try to scan our stones m for the
Blizzard Rambler (our small-press magazine) and we (Dale and I) got involved in
the IBM world. (I.e., ahem, I ah... own an XT...) Actually I got involved with
IBMs long before this. All my friends at work knew I had a computer so they
kept asking me questions. I was forced to learn MS-DOS before I ever owned an
IBM I've learned quite a bit about compatibles by working on mine (I ve
replaced the Motherboard and many cards ~ added memory, etc.) and I m not that
impressed (though DR-DOS is a large step above MS-DOS).
So where am I now? (I ask this question a lot in my letters.) T use both the
QL and the XT. WordStar 5.5 on the XT had a definite edge over Quill (not m
ease of use but because of its formatting ability) but now text87 plus4 may tilt
things back into the QL's favour. In case I haven't mentioned it, my mam
interest in computing is in word processing, but I enjoy trying to program,
playing games, and just generally reading about computers.
Your offer and Sine-Link came at the right time. I had basically given up
reading computer magazines because they cater to those who want the newest and
SINC-LINK
fastest and... who knows why? I'm quite happy slogging along with my XT and QL.
... But do I really need a Gold Card? About as much as I need a 386 or
in 'the IBM world. In other words, not at all. I'm not complaining, it s^^just
that I sometimes wonder how much computing actually gets done with these power
user computers. (I'm talking more of the IBM world here, it takes a 486 to run
at an XT's speed when burdened with Windows. Seems pointless, but I probably
speak more from ignorance than anything else.)
All the above was said, basically, to let you know that I'm happy with my QL
system as is, except I may want to find a 3 1/2 disk drive. It seems most QL
users have these and it would make it easier to share information if I did too.
I plan to compare textS? plus4 to WordStar 5.5 and WordPerfect 5.1. This will
be easy because, with text87 plus4 I can import long Quill documents then export
them as "normal" ASCII (which means, in plus4 lingo, with Line Feeds only at the
end of each paragraph) then, using QLINK's Filter program, change those LF s _
into Line Feeds with Carriage Returns. Then transfer this file to the XT, using
QLINK and Procomm with a cable I made connecting the serial ports. The tile is
then opened as a WordStar document and can be formatted in any way. I can then
convert the document over to WordPerfect format, load it into WordPerfect and
have the exact document in all three word processors. Then we can start
reformatting it in many different ways, do searches, etc., and we 11 find out
how much faster text87 plus4 is on an 8 Mhz machine as compared to WordStar and
WordPerfect on a 12 Mhz XT. I'm guessing that plus4 will be as much as six
times faster than WordStar and at least three times faster than WordPerfect.
I'd better go. Thanks again. I'll be proud to be a member of the Toronto
Timex-Sinclair Users Club and I hope that I can contribute m some way.
Sincerely,
Ron Blizzard
1248 S. Vineyard /r%2
Mesa, AZ 85210 U.S.A.
Dear tieorge:
The primary subject of this letter is the LARKEN RAMDISK.
The LARKEN RAMDISK which has so many possiblities is; i. seems
to me; one of the least documented, least understood by its
ouiners/users; muself included; and most underutilized plug m
peripheral produced for use uiith the TS-2068 computer by any
manufacturer .
What I would like this letter to do is ^"^^"^.^^^ ^
the other members of the TORONTO TIMEX-SINCLAIR USERS CLUE to
set about the task of fully testing the ^-^R^^f^ RAMDISK and
generating & providing to the owners/users of the LARKEN RAMDISK
boards the much overdue and needed specif i cations/ data
documentation and software/firmware to P[°^,i
ouiners/users the best possible uses of the LARKEN RAMDISK.
Let me explain what I mean by "the best possible uses of the
LARKEN RAMDISK".
The first thina to be done is ascertain if any or ^11 of the
following LARKEN RAMDISK possibilities can be made realities.
<1> - Find the best methodologies possible for using the
LARKEN RAMDISK as expanded bank switched RAM? What
software/firmware is needed? Where can the
software/firmware best be located within the TS-2ia68
computer system? Would the software/ firmware best be
located within the TS-2068 computer in HI-RAM or in the
LARKEN DISK CONTROLLER I/O cartridge? Provide several
software/ firmware working location variations so users
with differing system setups would all get the best
results from their system setup whether they have only
the LARKEN RAMDISK or have both the LARKEN RAMDISK and
LARKEN DISK CONTROLLER I/O with its cartridge. All users
would be able to get the absolute best possible working
location and results from their systems.
<2> - Find a way to load and run 128 K SPECTRUM programs using
the LARKEN RAMDISK as bank switched RAM.
<3> - Find a way to add/combine two or more LARKEN RAMDISK
boards bu plugging one behind the other to provide 512
K, 768 Kor 1024 K etc- of usable bank switched RAM.
Produce proper documentation for any rewiring that must
done to add/combine two or more LARKEN RAMDISK boards
together.
<4> - Find a way to add one LARKEN RAMDISK board to be used as
a RAMDISK and one or more additional LARKEN RAMDISK
boards to be used as banked switched RAM.
SING-LINK
Please put these propositions before the TTSUC membership
for me- Perhaps you could place an article in the SINC-LINK
newsletter so that out of town members as well as members of
other users qroups, mould be encouraqed, to pursue alone or in
concert with the TTSUC members solutions for turning the LARKEN
RAMDISK's possibilities into realities-
Please keep me informed as to what if any progress is being
made in pursuit of the above noted goals by you or other TTSUC
members as well as anyone you may be in touch with from other
users groups.
Lastly a SPECTRUM computer question- Is it possible to to
write a program to convert 128 K SPECTRUM sound chip programming
to use the TS-2068 sound chip's output instead? Is there any
data available in the TTSUC s library that describes the 123 K
SPECTRUM sound chip and programming for it you can send me?
Thank you in advance for your help in the above matters.
Sincerely
Robert Shade
SINC-LINK
COMPUTER CLASSICS
RT 1, BOX 117
CABOOL, liO 65689
Repair Charges for SINCLAIR/TIMEX Computers Revised Jan. 1, 1993
Prices do not include shipping and handling charges. ^
Shipping Charges .ill vary depending upon -i^^^'^^^^-^^^.^^t"
I will ship via the cheapest method unless you specify otherwise.
The minimum handling charge for shipping is $2.00. ^rn*:.nt
There may also be an extra charge for repairing modified equipment.
The minimum extra charge for modified equipment repair i^ ^5^.
Definition of modified equipment: Any circuitry changes on the inside of
^^L\nyn nm^nt -ase that involved the addition of components, wires,
nte^ratrd'circufts^'fr hardware. Customers .ho send in ^-P^^^^^-^ J^^^^f
that 'has had modifications done to it, which change the manufacturer .
original design are subject to paying extra.
Th.. follo>.jno .•t.ms will h.. repaired for 00 each ^ r>arts^ shipping:.
TS-IQOO F^^^il 1016 Ram Pack Any MEMOTECH Module ZEBRA TALKER
MIRACLE Centronics
RAM Centronics
Th. following ^^^m<. Will be repaired for $10 00 each ^ P^^^'-^J^ m^jC^c"'''
TS-15Q0 TS-2020 TS-2050 PC-8300 ZX-&0 Any bYTE-BACK Module
TS 1500 ZX-99 Any BASICARE Module
LARKEN RAMDISK Z-SIQ AERCO 2068 Centronics
The fol 1 o wlncL^terns_jii 11 be_xepaired for ^'kemPSTOn' fCI"'''
Tq_906i SPECTRUM A&J MICRODRIVE LARKEN 2068 FDI KEMPSTGN FDi
TS 2068 oPECIRUM ^^^^^^^ ^^^K LARKEN 1000 FDI CUMANA FDI
CST FDI
Th. fnllow^'nn tP^ms win b. repaired for $70.00 earh ^ parts ^ shipping:
ROTRONICS WAFADRIVE Z-88
.^in.u..-no .t.ms will be repaired for $75.00 each 4- parts ^ shipping:
SINCLAIR QL AERCO iOOO Centronics AERCO 2068 FDI
TRUMP CARD ZEBRA 2068 FDD System AERCO IOOO FDI
For repairing modules, printers, monitors, - "^^'J'- -^^^^^C'^l^t'^pafred
iT^i-*=H above - write for a price quote for the items you want ( ch«
Per modifying or upgrading any computer or module - write for a quote.
J ^i<.^ <.^rv-?ne ATART- COLECO . COMMODORE. IRM, OSBORNE TT . and TRS-80.
In house turn around is usually 2 to 4 weeks.
upgrades and problem cases may take longer. r^nair costs
You will be notified of any unusual delays or excessive repair cost^.
(over )
32
SINC-LINK
Instructions for sending in computer equipment:
1. For repairs, please use a separate sheet of
the problem you are encountering, and whether o
intermittent. List any software or hardware tha
problem. Also list any modifications that have
2. For upgrades, please enclose or specify the
source of information for doing each upgrade.
3., You may include a check or money order as a
You will be notified if a balance is due. Over
4. Carefully pack and ship your equipment to t
or parcel post. UPS is usually faster and safer
paper to describe in detail
r not the problem is
t are associated with the
been done to your equipment.
magazine article or other
deposit for repair costs,
amounts will be refunded,
he address below via UPS
with delicate items.
COMPUTER CLASSICS
RT 1, BOX 117
CABOOL, MO 65689
Phone (417) 469-4571 anytime. Leave a message.
VISA / MASTERCARD accepted with 4% surcharge.
(Charge customers must provide Acct. tt , expiration date
and name on card.)
To all it may concern;
ETfcclive close ot business Murcii 2, 1003, EMSofl will cuasc operations.
rt beg'an in 1987 as a service to promote North American software for the
Sinclair QL; it was not to compete with existing suppliers. It was not intended
ta bo a profil-makins enterprise. Nor was it to lose money.
To the extent that software was written for the QL, it did its job.
The decision to terminate operations was not arrived at impulsively but was
hastened by mean and petty rumor mongreringr without basis in fact.
Ueehanical Affinity is a reliable and domestic source of considerable hardware
and software. We recommend them. Further* mosi European vendors now
accept Visa/Mastercard thus avoiding currency exchanges.
Ontil March 2, any item of QL software still carried by EMSoft sells at a 50%
reduction from normal. Prices below reflect all discounts and are limited to
these items while in stock. The ^asterisk indicates exceptions. All prices are
postpaid in NjU Choio of disk size/format: specify number of sectors. Add *$4.00 per adv.
Peter R. Hale
Softvtra*'
text»'plus4 v3.1 (3 QO disks) $S3.98
nSIKYG wordprocessor h Qtyp spell checker
fountext**: graphic driver 24.98
VYSIVYQ output to 9 or 24 pin with 32 fonts
fauatad**: screen font editor 14.98
Rake texts? custom fonts
24 pin drivers (for text»» only) 14.38
Boutal, Chris
gB.J3EMEiU.0SI ST (2nd EO) 27.48
Family history with UK royal family demo
CAPE Software
BECIPE ver 2.0 19. 9S
aecipe card file _dbf and demo
EllSoft
lUILBAQ ver 3.1 12.48
Hailing list _dbf with demo
QLAXDJLORO ver 3.1 12.48
Real Estate management _dbf with demo
TBUSTJUKD ver 3.1 12.48
Stock, Bonds, etc _dbf with demo
IMVEHTORY ver 1.3 7.48
Personal property record keeping _dbf
Qfilc
RS-a.l)lK 12.48
H*ad/wr ite/ format QL/MS-OOS/Atar i-TOS
BISOOPy Byte for byte QL disk copier 7.48
Also HS-OOS/Atari-TOS disks
OILWYl/ JONES COUPUTING
sunroou) 2 *7.48
slows down any QL or any program in a
aailti-tasking environment.
Sector Software
F I LESZ: Taskmaster Files upgrade 12.48
A tested file-handling utility that multi-
tasks in AKY environment with or without
Taskmaster. Many useful automatic fea-
tures; hard disk support.
Softshoe Software
saiTAlRE - the card game MS. 95
QZ« computer, 8 microcarts. Power Supply,
upgrade membrane; shrink-wrapped original
manual; technical manual; 48 hour burn-in.
30 day, money-back guarantee $95.00
OTHER HARDWARJE,
T/S BUS Connector/Extender (3 pack) * 13.95
T/S BUS Connector/Extender 3*(3 pack) «2?.95
BOOKIS Sc MA.GJVZXXTES
Syntax magatine set & Foyt book *29.95
All 48 monthlies, 3 quarterlies & book
Synofu-e News 9.98
All 33 issues (5 vols - 6/val)
The Secret Guide to Cooputers T.SO
Delightful, entertaining and informative
P.O. Box 8763
BOSTON MA 02114-0037
(617) 889-0830
SINC-LINK
JLLve^, and wftc/t I come, olo^o^^ thJ^ I thoiLgtit It iM^ght bo.
tho, thlnh,{g) ion. tho. ^Jjutt a
Neu; youa/L
to n,ejntnd uuh tioia monJuxJi tac aJit oa^.
*%*
I don.* t knota wftc^Le, thi^ cjuno. ^^m,
buLt fia^ It t^ ion. tKo^Q. viho aun/L * gtttlrL' thJUUL,
[1 hoLVfL aJUuijaudy ' gottfLiv' th&n,(L)
Hagft Hoiato,
MY GET UP MIB GO HAS GOT UP AND WENT
How do I know my youth is aU spent ?
Well, my get up and go has got up and went.
But in spite of it all I'm able to grin
When I think of where my get up has been.
Old age is golden so I've heard said.
But sometimes I wonder vihen I crawl into bed.
With my ear in a drawer, and my teeth in a cup.
My eyes on the table until I wake up.
As sleep dims my eyes I say to myself
Is there anything else I should lay on the shelf?
But I'm happy to say as I close the door.
My friends are the same, perhaps even more.
When I was young my slippers were red,
I coiiLd kick up my heels, 'way over my head.
When I grew older my slippers were blue.
But I could still dance the whole night through.
Now I sun old, my sUppers are black,
I walk to the store and puff my way back.
The reason I know my youth is aU spent.
Is my get up and go has got up and went.
But I don't mind, when I think with a grin
Of all the grand places my get up has been.
And since I've retired from life's competitiDn,
My schedules aU scheduled (with complete repetitiDn)
I get up each morning and dust off my wits.
Pick up the paper and read the 'obits'.
If I see my name missing, I know I'm not dead.
So I eat a good breakfast and go back to bed.
34
SINC-LINK
Dear Out of Town members: / < i > j
As I write this I have not seen this issue of the newsletter yet,
Jeff is busy assembl ing it. He is having a bit of difficulty getting
material together. Well, the Xmas season and all that. But I would like
to make a reminder. Our newsletter is one of the best (I think it is THE
best Timex newsletter, but then, I'm rather biased. Does that excuse
me?)
What I really want to say is that it is good because we have enough
members who are willing to put pen to paper. Would that more of you
would. Let's not lose the best news editor we ever had.
^ I picked up some Timex stuff a few months ago, and have been getting
rid of It slowly. A club member from California, Mike Stephens, got a
Larken I zed Ramex system; another member, Mac Pace, got an A <Sc J
Microdrive system. And Ken Gamey got an Aerco printer interface. I have
managed to recover the cost of the items, and I managed to get a good
collection of "Your Spectrum" magazines. That's what I really wanted. It
seemed too bad not to get all the rest of the stuff for members who
could make use of it.
In the last OOT letter I asked whether anyone knew whether a Tasman
printer interface type B could be modified for the Larken system. Seems
\ J^f ^^Sl '^^o^Pa^'^'^'^y ^ould lock up the Larken system. In response
/ had a letter from Bob Swoger, a head man in the Chicago TS group. He
IS a Larken enthusiast, and he sent me a schematic that was put out by
Larry Kenny, on how to do that very modification. And a few days later
v.ri .unt /'^ ^^''^l".^^^' •^^^^^ ^'^^ ^cime information. Thank you
-vsry much. A demonstrat i on of club usefulness!
I did try the Tasman mod out, but I must have made a mistake
somewhere. At first I thought I had it. I put "george" into MSCRIPT, and
It printed out perfectly. I t bought ," I ' ve done it! I". I then oromotlv
Tetllr'' WlYd lot%''T' 'f- ^^^^ ' cameto'plTnt ZtVhl'
i Un/^n 1' . function properly. I would get the first line, then
J ! . ''f^ /^art/^er on in the letter. Seems like the printer is not
able to tell the computer to stop sending the material. I haven't
figured that out yet; I shall have to ask Jeff to look at it. I'm not up
to that trouble-shoot ing.
Bob Swoger also sent an updated version of LOGICALL, a disk
management system developed by him. It is in our library on Disk mi.
All you Larken owners, do ask for it.
There is an article in the newsletter re Interbank Database. It is
about my experiences in installing the SINC-LINK index into this
program. It ,s on a disk, and I can send it to you. There is only one
problem; the SORT routine has a bug in it. With every SORT a number of
no pli7t%77olfin ^^I too critical in this application. There is
no point to sorting, since there is only one order that counts. That is
the chronological order. When the SORT problem is remedied I shall give'
finH tZi^" ^'^'^'"'^y number. It is very useful. I found that I could not
find things very easily with the paper index; it was too hard searching
through page after page of detail. ^^i^nmy
\nil ^Vi^ Club member asking whether there are any Larken systems for
sale. I'm sure there must be, members seem to fade out of the picture
and we never seem to hear of their equipment becoming available. Why 'not
put some adverts in the newsletter. They are free; a service to both
buyers and sellers. Why not adverts asking for items, not Just offering
them for sale.
One of our members has Just received a QL that was sent to Dan
Elliott for service. Again, we had very super service from COMPUTER
CLASS ICS, Dan's corporate name. Seems this is his new name; it used to
be Promiseland Electronics, Dan has put out a price list for servicing
different Timex items, and I shall ask Jeff to include it in the
newsletter. Incidentally, Dan Elliott has recently Joined our club.
Welcome to our group.
In looking through the piles of stuff in my computer room, I see where
I have another complete set of SYNC magaz ines, plus about 8 assorted
spare issues, SYNC was strong on TS1000, and faded out of the picture
Just about the time the 2068 came on the scene. You can have them, or
part of them, as you wish, for the postage, and maybe a dollar or so for
the packing materials,
I also have a few mixed issues of ZX COMPUT ING, Same deal, I simply
hate to throw them out, although it would be a lot simpler to do,
A number of members have the Spectrum ROM in their 2068 machine, I
wonder if you are interested in Spectrum games to try out on your
mach ines. Some of you are, I know, for I have been in correspondence
with you. But there may be some newer members who have not realized
this. Do drop me a line, and say you are interested. Whether you have a
tape system or a Larken system is immater ial , I have loads of Spectrum
games.
In a last letter I mentioned that I have copied a great number of
pages of tips from some Spectrum magaz ines and offered them to members
if they were interested , Some of you were. But it occurred to me that,
if I didn't mention it last time, you should ask me for an index of the
games these tips apply to. So you can see whether they are pertinant to
what games you have. If you are interested, ask for the "index of games
t ips/ pokes" ,
Game pokes to give infinite lives, etc, are hard to put into a tape
based game, but are very easy to put into a game stored on a Larken
disk. We have a program in the Larken disk library which will poke
d i fferent numbers into a program with the greatest of ease. It is called
"bopeep.BI " and is on disk #21,
I have put a new disk into the library. Well, really it is a disk I
have had for quite a while. It is a collect ion of programs written
and /or assembled by Stephen Gunhouse, one of our members. It has a
number of very interest ing programs on it. Recently I used one of them,
a program which will convert an Mscript file into a Tasword file. And
vice versa. ^ I used it for the first time when I was working on the
S INC-LINK index. It is a comb inat ion of Basic and M/C, and does it ever
do a marvel lous Job, You should borrow the disk simply for this program
alone. It is on disk it 55,
This letter has been a bit of a m ish-mash. Sorry about that. But I am
working under a bit of pressure, getting a Ne ighbourhood Watch
news letter out as well as another one to my N,W, Block Captains, I had
more I could talk about, but thankfully I have run out of space!!
S i ncerely, George Chambers
TOF^ONTO TIHEX-SINCLAIR USERS CLUE
January 22 v 1992
14 Richome Courts
Scarborough, Ont„ MIK 2Y1
Les Cot t re 11
108 River Heights Drive
Cocoa, Fl 32922
Dear Les?
Thank you very much for the article on Aerco printer inter faces «
•Terf ujas pleased to get it^ since the neuis letter ixias a bit thiru I
underBtnd that material has been dribbling in, so that it is a decent
size„ I have not seen it yet, since Jeff, the Editor, had been unusually
busy at ujork.: He hates missing his neujsletter deadlines, but this time
I think he is resigned to it„ I expect that I u^ill get the copies this
u.! e e k a n d m a i 1 t h e rn ou t «
I am enclosing a copy of the Hscript utilities disk, you asked for„
It id one preapred mostly by Stephen Gunhouse. The Taswor d,>Hscr i pt and
vice versa conversion programs are most interesting-
Thank you also for the ^ for postage and copying expenses re the
Spectrum sheets„ But i t a moment. I am enclosing a couple of sheets
which index the contents of the Pokes, hints and tips frrom the Spectrum
magazines^ I thought I would do this first, so you could see ujhether it
really u^as of interest to you. Do you have Hiany Spectrum games? All the
items are related to Spectrum games « They are not really tips for the
Spectrum computer? rather, they are Spectrum games tips« The enclosed
index will give you an idea whether they are really of interest- I have
a tremendous number of Spectrum games on disk that you can borrow if you
u.i an t ,
I don't mind in the least sending you the materials don't get me
wrong «
I have never encountered a schematic for the Larken system. Whether
Larry ever put one out 1 do not know« We also do not have anytthing on
the LKDOS coding « Some people would like to take a look at it, but they
are out of luck so far.
Shall close this off now, and get it into the mail»
Si ncerely ,
G e o r g e C h a m b e r s
