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JUL Y- AUG '93 VOL 1 1 #4

TORONTO TIMEX-SINCLAIR USERS CLUB

JULY-AUG '93 VOL 11 #4

SINC-LINK IS A PUBLICATION OF
THE TORONTO T I ME X -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 MILL MEET THURSDAY,
JULY 15TH AT 586 ONEIDA DRIVE,
BURLINGTON, ONT. 7PM START.
AUGUST DATE TBA.

SINC-LINK IS PRODUCED ENTIRELY
ON SINCLAIR AND TIMEX-SINCLAIR
COMPUTERS.

SEND CORRESPONDANCE TO:

SINC-LINK EDITOR, TORONTO
TIMEX-SINCLAIR USERS CLUB, 14
RICHOME COURT, SCARBOROUGH,
ONTARIO, CANADA M1K 2Y1.

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

PRESIDENT;
TREASURER;
SECRETARY ;
ACTIVITIES
QL CONTACT;
NEWSLETTER:
LIAISON OFFICER:
{ Out-of-town members )

nmnm

mm 3L

TS2866

3
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rtttftttf •

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TORONTO TIHEX-SINCLfllR

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 M1K 2Y1
( 416-751-7559 )

TORONTO TIMEX-SINCLAIR USERS CLUB

SINC-LINK

HOT SUMMER 1993
INDEX VOLUME 11-4

page 2 - Club Stuff
page 3 - Index & Editorial
page 4 - Interbank Database
page 5 - Newport Report
page 8 - QLips
page 9 - Tank Volume
page 10 - Spectrum Restart
page 13 - Mechanical Affinity Ad
page 15 - Visionmixer-1
page 16 - QLips
page 17 - Al Green Writes
page 18 - Stepper Motor Driver
page 19 - Lastest Index of QL Articles
page 20 - More on "SLOWGOLD"
page 21 - Auto Fade
page 23 - Read 2068 JLO Disks With QL
page 25 - PD Newsletter
page 27 - PRISM PD Ad
page 29 - Z-88 Parallel/Series Converter
page 30 - Dayton Computerfest Info

EDITORIAL

Well, we got an interesting
package in the mail this week. A
U.K. public domain software company
dedicated to the Spectrum has sent
me a sampling of their utility
programs on both tape and a +D
format 3.5" disk.

You may recall that I ran a copy
of PRISM PD's advertisement a
couple of issues ago and after a
long delay on my part, I decided to
try them out. I was particularly
interested to see if the Larken
system would be able to read the +D
disk. More on that next issue.

Also included in the package was
another ad, this time aimed at
North American users, and a well-
assembled newsletter. If this
newsletter is any indication of
their commitment then it looks like
PRISM PD will be around for a
whi le .

See their new ad and the first
couple of pages of the newsletter
near the back of this issue. They
certainly offer a lot of selection.

NEWS ON NEWPORT

In early June, Hugh Howie
attended the QL Fest in Newport,
Rhode Island. Hugh manned a table,
handed out info on our club and met
lots of fellow QLers. See his
report this issue and pay
particular attention to his request
for comments. Who knows?

BYE BYE, YOUR SINCLAIR

Also included in the above-
mentioned package from the U.K. is
the sad news that YOUR SINCLAIR is
preparing to fold. With it goes the
last commercial publication in the
U.K., so if you want to continue
seeing products for your Timex and
Sinclair computers you're going to
have support the few remaining
dealers, clubs and magazines still
around on either side of the
Atlantic .

That's all for now...

J.T

SINC-LINK

AN INTERBANK DATABASE FOR THE TS2068
Larken Library Disk #30
by G, Chambers

The Larken 2068 library has a disk #30 , called INTERBANK
DATABASE. This disk has a suite of programs that make use of the
bank-switching capability of the TS2068, when used in conjunction with
the Larken RAMDISK, These programs were deve I oped by Larry Crawford , a
longtime club member from London, Ont .

We think of the Larken RAMdisk as a sol id-state disk drive which has
as 48 "tracks" on it, when eight 32K memory chips are instal I ed .

However, through a little-used capability of the TS2068, each of
these memory chips can be sel ect ivel y interchanged with the upper 32K of
computer memory, using OUT commands. Larry Crawford has written a
program which makes use of this feature to provide us with a very useful
database program. The most s ignif icant feature of this database is it's
size. It's bank-sw itch ing capability means that a single database can
expand to eight times the usual computer memory. Our disk #30 has an
example of a database using 3 banks of RAMdisk, plus the computer
memory.

Not too much use has been made of the suite of programs on this
disk. When I look through the material in our news I etter I see very
little written up about it. I must take some responsibility for this.

I always had some difficulty in comprehend i ng the make-up of Larry's
disk. About a year ago I decided to rework it to make it more
understandabl e. In the process I encountered problems (of my own making,
I have to admit), and I had to ask Larry Crawford to help me out of
them. He has done so recently and this article is to invite Larken
RAMdisk owners to sample this disk.

Actually #30 consists of several disks, each with a different database
application. The idea being to give you some idea of how you could make
use of this program. One disk contains a database of the titles of 2200
movie films. Another has a music col I ect ion database. There's one that
holds a database of the complete SINC-LINK index of articles. And still
another that contains a record of a co 1 1 ect i on of Spectrum games
programs, and an index of games tips from Spectrum magaz ines.

You may wonder how this program can make use of the RAMdisk, when
your RAMdisk is already full of your programs. The answer is really
quite simple. During the process of loading the database the program
places a copy of the original RAMdisk contents onto the database disk.
Then when you are finished it re-saves the database from the RAMdisk,
and restores the original RAMdisk contents .

Now, it is not sufficient that a database program be able to store
large amounts of data. It must have other capabilities as well. The IBDB
program can SEARCH, SORT, ADD, EDIT, DELETE, LIST, and PRINT out to a
2040 or large printer. You can set up the database so that it stores
files of up to a maximum 1 27-character length. It will SORT on any
selected column, and can SEARCH for any desired character string.

Do give this very interesting library aisk a try I

SINC-LINK

NEWPORT

by Hugh

The Newport Miracle which was sponsored
by IQLR is now part of QL history.

On Friday June 4th, at the Carlton Motel
in Newport, we had a busy time meeting
and getting to know each other and
general gabbing. Many visitors from all
over the country were staying there, with
some at other motels nearby. Central
point being the Carlton.

The UK contingent consisting of Stuart
Honeyball, Tony Firshman, and Bill
Richardson were all busy on this day just
talking about things in general, and
there was a fair amount of swapping of
wares and information.

I was able to meet many members of our
club, and to discuss our club with them.
I was also able at this time to show them
a program I have just completed called
QUANDEX, which is an index/cross
reference type of thing for the QUANTA
Magazine from the time it first started.
This program is being sent to QUANTA for
inclusion in their library. (I hope) It
already is in our own QL Library.

On Saturday, I had a table on behalf of
our club at the Salvation Army Building
where the convention was held, and again
meeting many of our members, and also
many who were not members . I met many
who had heard of us, and many who had not
heard of us . Now I can say that many
more know who we are, where we are, and
what we are at.

I had my trusty QL with me, and all the
stuff that goes with it, and also a few
demo programs to keep interest alive in
my little corner of the area. But
shortly into the demo my trusty QL
decided it was a bit shy and embarrassed
in that hoard of milling bodies, and
decided that it did not like the "1" key.
So I replaced the membrane hoping that my
troubles were solved, but my trusty QL
was still not up to appearing in the
public eye, and decided the only way to
get seclusion was to stop accepting power
at the power input socket. Woe is me, a
lot of demo stuff to run, and a table
loaded with literature, and my trusty QL
goes all bashful on me.

REPORT Page 1

Bowie

However all was not lost. I was able to
borrow from Bill Cable a spare unit to
help me out, but I was not out of the
woods yet!

When I started to install my Gold Card in
Bill's machine I bent the pins in the
port. But I was fortunate that I had a
pair of long nosed do-dads and was able
to get deep into the port and straighten
out the pins.

I was back in business, many thanks to
Bill Cable, and the demos were running
again.

Those demos were mainly run using a
program called Vision Mixer, utilising
many of my EYE-Q pictures, plus some I
had made with PictureMaster . I tried to
make the demos interesting as well as
amusing.

Vision Mixer is a program that allows you
to change screens in a nice easy
automatic manner, and the screens are
changed in many different ways, just like
on the TV for example .

While I was getting all this sorted out
other parties were going full steam ahead
with their own interests giving demos and
selling stuff. There did not appear to
be a great lack of the green stuff as
many were in a buying mood.

Stuart Honeyball from Miracle Systems was
there pushing his latest addition to the
QL world, the QXL card, and doing good
business which was evidenced by the
number of bodies gathered around his
table. The QXL card is a card that turns
the PC into a QL compatible. I don't have
a PC and don't imagine I will be getting
one, so I was not too involved with being
one of the many gawkers at his stand.
And don't ask me how much as I can t
remember the price.

Bill Richardson representing his own
company, W.N.Richardson, was having no
problems with empty space around his
table. Plenty* of goodies for all to buy.
Bill was also selling subscriptions to
QUANTA and seemed to be doing good
business all around.

SINC-LINK

NEWPORT

bj Hugh

Tony Firshman of TF Services was there
giving demos and passing stuff around.
He was at the next table to our own, but
I did not get much time to see what he
was up to. All I knew was that when I
wanted to leave my table to get a breath
of air, I had to push my way past his
adoring mob. He is very strong on
HERMES which is the new processor to
replace the 8049. HERMES is reputed to
get rid of that key bounce, and also to
operate at higher baud rates which is
what is required for the modem
operations, plus a whole lot of other
improvements. I think I will get one
myself. I believe Mechanical Affinity
also have them.

Tim Swenson was in attendance with his QL
Hackers Journal. (QHJ) . For those who
don't know what this is, it is a journal
put out by Tim for the advanced
programmer, and it deals with many
languages in depth. It is available in
booklet form, and also on disk. He puts
out a new issue about every couple of
months. If you are interested I can let
you have his address. I also have most
of QHJ on disk in our library.

To my right was Mechanical Affinity with
Paul Holmgren and Frank Davis in
attendance, and every time I looked at
Paul I got the impression of a bundle of
$$$ in his fist. More like a bookie than
a trader. Lucky Paul!

John Impellizzeri and his partner were
there showing off their tower assembly
where the QL and all its whatevers are
enclosed in one neat little stack. Looks
mighty impressive to me. I could not get
a price out of him for the conversion
etc., but it would appear to be quite a
bit less than what I had heard rumour say
initially. We will have to wait and see
what the future produces, and just keep
your fingers crossed - a one unit affair
for the QL may not be too far away!

Then of course we had Bill Cable of Wood
and Wind Computing, he it was who loaned
me his spare QL. He was demonstrating his
new program called QLerk, which he has
been working on for a couple years or so
- a program which is suitable to run a

REPORT Page 2

Bowie

small business, or even your household
finances. I have been privileged in
having the opportunity to have a ver
close look at this program, and while
admitting there is going to be a period
of getting to know QLerk, it is also a
very comprehensive book-keeping system.

QLerk will write your cheques for you and
keep the bank account in balance, (have
you managed to do that yourself yet?)
Looks after deductions, wages, accounts
payable and receivable, prints purchase
orders, balances up to five bank
accounts, your wifes (wives?) petty(?)
cash outputs, and also to the main thing,
which is what is left for yourself at the
end of the day. Not much these days I
have to admit. Just be thankful for
small mercies, egad - how small!

Bob Dyl was pushing IQLR which was the
sponsor of the whole show. Thanks Bob.

NESQLUG utilised the serving hatch to the
kitchen and provided us with donuts and
soft drinks, just help yourself, and it
was all for FREE. A very grateful thank
to NESQLUG, and thank you for a wonderfu
idea. That was also a very popular
section of the show.

Who else was there? A whole bunch of
dedicated QL users from a young man not
yet in his teens, to old fogies like
myself .

I have probably missed someone out, and
if so, please accept my apologies, and
the wet noodle treatment would be
appropriate !

After the show closed many of us attended
a dinner at the Newport Beach Hotel,
where we enjoyed an excellent meal, and
many the tale was told at the many
tables .

On Sunday, there were little meetings
going on the rooms of the Carlton Motel.
Lots of coming and going and interesting
chatter about programs and what was in
the future and all that jazz.

Tony Firshman was running a BBS on two
QL's connected by the serial ports, I

SINC-LINK

NEWPORT REPORT

Page 3

by Hugh Bowie

could not get near it as there were so
many crowded into a small bedroom, but
from what I did see it was a most
interesting couple of hours.

Miracle are still working on their
graphics card which should be coming
out fairly soon. Not too much was said
about it or its price, but it is going give
a very high resolution to the QL. A
great deal of interest was evidenced by
the questions being asked.

I came home on the Monday, but many
stayed on to have a look around at Cape
Cod and the surrounding country in
general .

From what I gather the UK people are
willing and keen to come back again next
year, and since I have arrived home, I
have been told that the German and some
other continental suppliers of QL ware
are interested in coming if there should
be another convention over here, but I
have heard that they would like to see it
further inland the next time.

I have also heard the comment that there
should have been more lead time to
enable a more comprehensive advertising
campaign, to generate a greater interest.

In discussion with an interested party,
(trader) I asked what they thought of
Toronto and was told that would be an
ideal place for a convention. I said
that I would like to see a Sinclair
convention covering ALL the Sinclair
computers, and this was thought to be
possible .

My thinking, and let me say this right
here and now, my thinking is not that of
the other club officers, it is just my
own solitary single idea off the top of
my head. I am tossing this out for
comment, and I hope to get plenty of
comment .

Owing to the cost of accommodation and
meeting places in Toronto, I feel that an
ideal area would be in the Hamilton -
Toronto corridor. In this area it is
easier to move around than in Toronto
itself. Accommodation is cheaper. And

for anyone wishing to visit Toronto,
there is the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW)
for fast commuting right into the heart
of the downtown entertainment and
shopping of centres of Toronto. There is
also a bus service and a train service.
The distance by QEW from Burlington to
Toronto downtown is 32 miles.

This Hamilton-Toronto corridor is of easy
access to travellers from all over.
Those from the Eastern States would
travel on the QEW, and for those from the
South, it is only a few miles from the
401 on easy access highways.

As I have said earlier, lots of lead time
is required for organisation and advert-
ising. So if you would like to see this
thing, I would like to know by reply
exactly what your thoughts are.

Only if a certain level of support was
indicated, would it be possible to start
the ball rolling. So if you want to see
this come off, write to me today and give
me your views and comments. I am adding
my address at the end of this so that you
may write right away.

Remember if you want to see a Sinclair
convention in the Toronto area, please
write .

And when you write, please let us know
what traders you would like to see there.
Not all asked would come or be able to
come, but at least we could ask them.

Was the Newport Miracle a success? I
would say so, and so also would many
others. Apart from the traders who
appeared to be happy, the general
consensus would be that everyone was
happy to have attended and to have met so
many old friends, and made so many new
ones. Is that not what a convention is
all about?

Hugh H. Howie,
QL Contact,
586 Oneida Dr.
Burlington, Ont.
Canada, L7T 3V3
(416) 634 - 4929

SINC-LINK

Q L I P S

by Hugh Bowie

Sometimes I sit down and have no idea in
the world just exactly what I am going to
see on the paper as it comes out of the
printer. Today, you fortunate folks out
there are going to get a sample of what
comes out at one end after I have put
nothing in at the other. So just sit
back and relax, this is going to be one
of those days you don't need, but that
still seem to pop up at odd times, only
too frequently.

Tother day I was trying to copy a
Cartridge to Disk and that darn thing
just would not go over - kept getting
that old QL story "Bad or Changed Medium"
which we have all had with various
degress of teadiom (I told you it was
going to be one of those days)

Anyway I got that message and do what I
might I could not get that copied over,
and I badly wanted the transfer made.

A thought came to my mind, at least what
is left of it, mind that is, and I copied
from Cart to RAM just to see if I could
operate from RAM. After doing so for a
while I decided to copy RAM to Disk just
for kicks and to see what happened. An'
by golly that stuff went from ram to disk
just like that, (snap-o-da-thum)

So I again tried to get a copy from
Cartridge to Disk - No Go. I then tried
Cartridge to RAM and RAM to Disk and
again by golly you should have seen that
thing go over just like that. (Snap-o-da-
thum)

Now why will it go from Cart to Ram to
Disk, and yet will not go from Cart to
Disk direct?

Network Prover.

Every time I say this is it - no more
money to be spent on this QL, I see
something that tickles my fancy, and
recently I saw that there was a Network
Prover. A gadget to indicate that the
Network system was aworkin . So I spent a
few bucks and got this thing from Dilwyn
Jones, and by golly that thing really
does work!

Often I have wondered if the Net was

working or just making look like, but
this Network Prover really does send out
a flashing light to show that data is
being transferred. Cost? £3.50.

Now I can sit and watch the light flash
as I wait for the transfer to be made.
I never stop being amazed at the wonders
of science!

I just looked at my little list of things
to write about, and I see the word CARDS,
now what the heck is that? It should
remind me of something, but what? I just
don't have a QLue.

Oh Yes! now I remember. In the past I
have made up some "business" cards for
members going to a convention or show or
whatever. The cards could also be pinned
to the lapel for identification purposes.
If the owner got lost you always knew
where to send him/her.

Anyway, to make those cards was not that
easy, as the paper I used was a little
bit glossy, the friction feed had no
friction, and it did not have those
little holes in the side of the paper t
help it to run properly through th
printer. But I got an idea * FLASH *
and my problem was pretty well solved.

I use those 3 1/2 inch address labels in
sheets with holes at the edges, (gee
thanks - I know they are called
perforations) so I saved the strip after
the labels had been removed, and taped a
piece of cardboard, cut to the required
width, to the strip, fed it through the
printer from the front, and I have no
more of this slipping and sliding and and
funny type as the paper goes through the
printer.

This works fine with my Panasonic 1124 as
it has front loading, but is no good with
my Seikosha 1600 as the rollers make the
cardboard bend too much.

Well that is how I did it, you do it your
own way.

I started with nothing to write abou*-
and I have ended up the same way. And
have filled a page with nothing.
So There! (Tip of tongue is shown)

SINC-LINK

TANK VOLUME

Bob Nil son

Here is a TS1000 program listing written by
the depth of fluid in the tank. It is a good
user.

llREM ** TANK UOLUME **
** BOB UILSON **
10 PRINT TRE li; "TANK UOLUME::
15 PRINT
20 PRINT

30 PRINT ;

40 PRINT ;

50 PRINT .;
6S PRINT ;

70 PRINT

90 PRINT
100 PRINT " >B <> L

< >B < 11
110 PRINT

115 REM ** INPUT **
120 PRINT " INPUT DIMENSIONS IN
INCHES"
130 PRINT

14-0 PRINT "TANK DIAMETER " "D
150 INPUT D

150 PRINT AT 14- ,27 ;"=■*; D
170 PRINT "CYLINDRICAL PPRT LEN
6TH " "L
180 INPUT L

190 PRINT AT 15.27; "=";L

200 PRINT "BULBOUS PPRT ■•»B""!!

210 INPUT B

220 PRINT AT 15 .27 ; " =" ; B
230 PRINT HEIGHT OF LIQUID

one of our club leibers to calculate tne volute of a tank based on
exaiple of the kind of programs that can simplify the vork of the

R. Bruneau

390 REM ** UOLUME CALCULATION *

4-00 LET X=PCS Cl-t2*H/D))

4-10 LET A5=D**2*X/4

4-20 LET AT=D/2*A55 (D/2-M;*SIN

"' 430 IF H<=D/2 THEN LET U=CAS-RT
) *L

^40 IF H>D/2 THEN LET U= £flS+flT3
±L

450 LET U=P5N t CH-D/2J / (D/2'H
450 LET U=D**2*B/24* >4*C05 U*CO

S U*COS U*SIN Li + 6*(U*5IN (2*U) /2

) -!-3*PI)

470 LET UI=INT t (U+U) /£77*100+ .
5 3 /I 00

430 LET UU=INT [ CU+UJ /230 . 64959
*100* . 5) /130

490 LET UL=INT ( (V+U) /6 1.03*100
4.53 .-100

500 RETURN

240 INPUT H

250 PRINT PT 17.27: "=".H
25© GOSUE 400.
270 PRINT

280 PRINT "TANK UGL . IN IMP
L . =" ; ui

290 PRINT U.S
L. =".; vU

300 PRINT -
ES=" ; UL

310 STOP

. GP,
. GP
LITP

TANK UOLUME

: B . > L

INPUT DIMENSIONS IN INCHES

B <

TANK D IP METER "D" =£4

CYLINDRICAL PART LENGTH "L!I=48

BULBOUS PART "B" =b

HEIGHT OF LIQUID "H" =12

TANK UGL. IN IMP. GAL . =44 . 1
U.S. GAL. =52.95
LITRES =200 . 14

SINC-LINK ADVERTISES FDR FREE
PLACE YOUR AD HERE
AND GET RESULTS!

SINC-LINK

Photocopied fro. tkt Harch 1986 issue of Practical Electronics, an english P""""*
1932. Thoujh the article taroets the Spectrui, it should uork on the 2068 and the ZX81/TS 1000.

Spectrum _

Hardware

RESTART

R.Macfarlane

THIS board is designed to plug into the Spectrum edge
connector and will allow the user to escape from any running
program without losing the memory contents. The action is
similar to the BREAK key on the keyboard which jumps to a
routine within the Spectrum ROM, prints BREAK and eventually
returns to the <K) cursor. However, if the BREAK key has been
disabled then the only recourse is to remove the bower plug and
reset the system which, of course, clears the memory contents. It
can also be extremely annoying if during the development of a
machine code program the computer enters a loop from which
there is no escape. With this circuit the Z80 processor can be
forced to jump to any address within the Spectrum ROM or RAM.

When running BASIC programs the address of the Auto List
routine in ROM was chosen as the restart address. Executing a
hardware restart therefore produces an automatic listing of the
first few lines of the program and then returns to the (K) cursor.
Further Basic commands can now be entered and run, eg. Lib.. ,
SAVE, PRINT, etc.

When running machine code the address EOOOH was chosen.
This is the start address of the ZEUS Assembler program wh.ch is
used to develop machine code programs. Again, executing a
hardware restart produces the ZEUS copyright symbol and by
using 0 for OLD, the original source file can be recovered intact.

However, any restart address may be chosen to meet the needs
of the individual user.

SYSTEM OUTLINE

When the Spectrum is first switched on the reset line to the £bu
processor chip is held low for a few milliseconds by the action of
Ra and Ca (Fig. 1). This ensures that the supply rails are given time
to reach their operating voltage and that the CPU is properly
initialized.

The initialisation includes:

1) Forcing the program counter to zero.

2) Disabling the interrupts.

3) Setting the interrupt register to OOH.

4) Setting the refresh register to OOH.

5) Setting interrupt MODE 0.

During reset time the address bus and the data bus go to a high
impedance state and all control output signals go to the inactive
state. No refresh of the dynamic memory occurs so that all
memory contents are lost.

When the reset line eventually goes high the CPU executes the
instruction found at address OOOOH which is the start of the
initialisation procedure for the Sinclair Basic in ROM.

In order to restart the system at a different address two
conditions must be met. The reset line must be held low for as
short a period as possible so that the memory refresh cycles ; are
maintained and memory contents are not lost. When the CPU
addresses location OOOOH it must find a different set of instruc-
tions to the ones held in the Sinclair BASIC ROM. To achieve these
conditions, therefore, the external circuit operates in the following

™ A short 50uS pulse is applied to the reset line of the Z80 CPU.
This is of sufficient duration to properly initialize the CPU but have
no effect on the memory contents. Coincident mththis pulse he
Spectrum BASIC ROM is deselected using the ROMCS line on the
edge connector and an external ROM selected in its place

The CPU will then run the program within this new ROM which in
fact holds a jump instruction to another address. When the jump
is completed the external ROM must be deselected and replaced
by the Spectrum BASIC ROM.

To understand how the ROMs are selected and deselected an
explanation of the Z80 Ml output is required.

The Ml (Machine Cycle One) is an active low output which
indicates that the CPU is currently executing an operating code
fetch cycle. The OP Codes can be any one of the 1 58 different in-
structions that the Z80 can execute, eg. LOAD. ROTATE. CALL.
JUMP, HALT, etc.

Examination of the Jump instruction is shown in Table 1 .

This is a three byte instruction, the first byte containing the OP
Code for JUMP, the following two bytes holding the address to be
jumped to. However, only when fetching the OP Code from
memory will the CPU issue an Ml cycle output signal. The CPU
knows that the following two bytes must form an address and tne
Ml output stays high.

OP CODE

Low Order Address

High Order Address

Table 1.

JUMP Instruction

Aner a reset puis>e un> ^< <-> — "... , , .

zero. The address bus is, therefore, OOOOH and the CPU is looking
for its first instruction. The Ml output goes low as the CPU
executes an OP Code fetch cycle. The falling edge of the Ml output
is used to switch from internal to external ROM and control can be
handed back to the internal ROM at the next occurrence of an Ml
cycle.

SPECTRUM KEYBOARD

As stated earlier, when the CPU is reset the interrupts are
disabled end the MODE is set to 0. Without wishing to delve
deeply into the interrupt structure of the Z80 CPU it is sufficient to
say that the Spectrum Keyboard operating system requires the
CPU to be in MODE I and that the interrupts are enabled. Before
jumping to the new address, therefore, two extra commands
must be executed. These are IM I and El.

RESTART
PULSE

ICSb
PIN S, 0

ICSo_
PIN 6, Q

lC6b
PIN I. Q

ICSb
PIN 9,0

PROMCS

gnus* i

Fig. 1. Timing diagram showing the Ml cyclas

SINC-LINK

COMPUTING

IO-ICS PI N 7 * ov

PINUx+SV

IC1o

7tlSU

mTo— ^^o-

IN4HI

— w—

-OR0MCS

330 r
■ 9 r i i-1— i

M *l >

o»

»*

01
0|

»t

IC7

N« IS 123

»0

741SU

ice

7«05

Fig. 2. Complete circuit diagram of the Hardware Restart

IM I is a two byte OP Code and El a single byte OP Code. This
brings the required number of OP Code fetch cycles to be
executed in external ROM to four, ie, IM I, El. JP.

Four Ml cycles must, therefore, be counted before returning
control to the Sinclair BASIC ROM. The timing diagram of Fig. 1
shows the relevant switching points.

CIRCUIT DESCRIPTION

IC1a buffers and inverts the Ml signal from the edge connector
and the output is fed to the clock inputs of IC2a and IC5a. The re-
set input to IC2a is held low by the output of IC1b the input of
which is held high by R1, R2, CI. C1 serves to debounce the
restart switch and R2 limits the discharge current of CI.

When the restart switch is pressed the reset on Pin 1 of IC2a is
removed and the next negative going edge on an Ml cycle will
clock IC2a causing the Q output to go high. Further incoming
edges will cause no change since the D input is tied to the 5V rail
and only when the restart switch is released will the Q output fall
to zero.

The positive going edge at the Q output of IC2a triggers the one
shot IC3 to produce a 50uS positive going pulse at the Q output
Pin 6, which is in turn inverted by the parallel connected NOR
gates of IC4. This parallel connection is required due to the
internal combination of Ra and Ca enabling the power up reset for
the Spectrum. Using IC4a, b, c, d in this way increases the
sourcing and sinking currents and the above timing requirements
can be met.

The second NOR input to IC4 is taken from the output of IC1c
whose input is identical to IC1b. This provides a means of
resetting the Spectrum without removing the power plug and also
provides, due to the action of R5, C3, an external power up reset.

The output of IC 1 a is also fed to the input of IC5a Pin 3. which is
connected as a divide by 4 counter The Q output of IC5b Pin 9 is
connected to the clock input of a further divide by 2 stage IC6a.
The reset inputs to the three stage counter are taken low during
the 50uS Restart pulse by Q on IC3 pin 1 and the first negative go-
ing edge of Ml to appear after the restart pulse will cause the Q
output of IC6a Pin 6 to go low.

After four Ml cycles this Q output will go high again and is used
as a clock input to IC6b.

During the 50uS restart pulse the set input of IC6b Pin 10 goes
low causing the Q output at Pin 9 to go high. This deselects the

Spectrum ROM and simultaneously the 0 output at Pin 8 selects
the external ROM. When the clock input of IC6b Pin 1 1 goes high
this state is reversed. Further clock inputs to lC6b are ignored due
to the D input being tied to the 0V rail and can only change state
after the set input is once again taken low by another restart
pulse.

IC6b, therefore, selects the external ROM on the negative edge
of the restart pulse and selects the internal ROM four Ml cycles
later. Diode, D 1 is included in the ROMCS line and this input is con-
nected in a wired OR configuration within the Spectrum.

IC7 is a 32*8 tri-state fusible PROM. When the CS Pin 1 5 is high
the data outputs are in a high impedance state and do not affect
the operation of the internal data bus on the Spectrum.

Switch SW3 selects one of four 8-byte blocks giving a possible
four selectable restart addresses. AO, A1, A2 are connected to
the Spectrum address bus and select the program data held in one
of these four blocks.

The contents of the PROM are shown in Table 2.

Addr

BLOCK

SW3

00H

08H

10H

•

18H

•

Table 2. Contents of the 32*8 ♦ri-state fusible PROM

POWER SUPPLY

The internal 5V supply from the Spectrum cannot supply the
necessary current so an onboard 5V regulator is used. An
unregulated 9V from the Spectrum power pack is available on the
edge connector and this is used to drive the external restart
circuit.

CONSTRUCTION

The printed circuit board is double sided and requires a number
of through hole connections to be made using linking pins (Fig. 3).

The resistors and capacitors should be soldered in place first,
remembering to solder on both sides of the board where required
as some leads form necessary through connections.

The i.e. sockets, regulator and switches can then be added
along with the edge connector, being careful to mount this on the

SINC-LINK

correct side of the board. The i.c.s can now be inserted and with
switch SW3 in position 2, the board can be connected to the rear
eage connector on the Spectrum.

TEST PROGRAMS

Test Program 1

40 PRINT "RESTART";
50 GOTO 40

Test Program 2

10 POKE 23296.243: REM Disable
Interrupts

20 POKE 23297,201: REM Return
' 30 RANDOMIZE USR 23296: REM Run
m/c and return to Basic
40 PRINT "RESTART";
50 GOTO 40

easily have been stopped using the break
key itself.

Running the Test Program 2 will disable
the keyboard interrupt and then print a
continuous stream of RESTARTS. There
will be no response to the break key and
eniv by use of the RESTART button can
the listing be retrievea.

It should be noted that breaking into
commercial software is now quite possible
but that the board should not be used for
the purpose of copying tapes as this is
forbidden by copyright.

If running the ZEUS assembler program,
then pressing the RESTART button, with
SW3 in position 3, will immediately return
the user to this program start either from
BASIC, without requiring the usual PRINT
USR 57344 start up command, or from the
currently executing machine code
program.

rig. 3. The p.c.b. design and component layout

COMPONENTS

Resistors

R1.R4

R2, R5
R3

R6, R7

330 (2 off)
10K (2 off)
68K

47K (2 off)

All resistors 5% 0*25 W carbon

Capacitors

C2.

C3 . '
C4, C5 . •
C6-C12 . ,

10u16VTant
,1n Ceramic
68m 6-3V Tant
680n Polyester (2 off)
. 100n Ceramic (7 off)

Semiconductors

ICl"

IC2, IC5, IC6

IC3

IC4

IC7

IC8 . .

IN4148
•74LS14

74LS74 (3 off)
^ 74121

74128

N82S123 PROM
7805

TESTING

Vith the unit connected, power can now be arjoiied. The
Soectrum should come up with the familiar white screen and
3ASIC ROM message. Pressing the RESET button snould bring
;oout a similar result.

;f the small BASIC program (Test Program 1 ) is entered and run,
rxecution can be immediately stopped by pressing tne RESTART
mutton and an automatic listing of the program will aooear. The
:rogram can at this point be re-run, listed or savea as oesired.

The significance of the restart will become apparent only when
-ne break key is disabled, as the above program could just as

Miscellaneous

SW1,.SW2 v: Min. p.c.b. keyboard (R.S. 334-892)
SW3 •*■ Horiz. decimal switch (R.S. 334-965)

14-pin d.i.l.skt (6 off) , , £f

' :1 6-pin d.i.l.sktjl off) ' ' ' ; ' . :7$&

28-way Double sided edge connector (Wire wrap tags) I
P.c.b. Double sided (PE p.c.b. 508-02)
Unking Pins ^f^tf-v' ■■ .^ri,.-. ■ /^'v^^^

The PROM will normally be supplied with the address of the
Auto List routine in SW3 position 2, and the start address of
ZEUS in SW3 position 3. The two remaining blocks can be
programmed to any user's requirements. "X

SINC-LINK

MECHANICAL AFFINITY SUMMER SALE

This is our Golden Opportunity
Sale! For a limited Time only, as
tue made a great deal at
the recent Miracle in Newport
Show and are passing on the
savings to upu. When this
special purchase sells out me
will go back to our regular
prices for these items. This
offer expires August 15. 1*1*13
or when supples run out. at
which time prices will revert
to normal Cthouqh we always
try to have some great prices}.

MINERVR MK1 the ultimate ROM
upgrade for the QL plus the
HERMES 884*1 co-processor
replacement chip Cnormally ^185)
now only ^75!

MINERVR MK2 the same ROM chip
and board as above, but with a
battery backed clock and RRM
plus the HERMES 884*1
replacement chip Cnormally *M43>
now only ^188!

GOLD CRRD running at 16 mgh
and with 2 meg of memory plus
Slowgold Software to control
the speed of programs that run
too fast, for only *368»

GOLD CARD plus both the
MINERVR MK1 and the HERMES for
only 53%!

GOLD CRRD and the HERMES for
only S375!

GOLD CARD with the MINERVR
MK2 and the HEAMES for only
*428!

UJe have also added many new

Products to our range of QL
ardware and software. At this
point in time we at Mechanical

Affinity feel we have the
largest range of both hardware
and software of any dealer.
Please request a copy of our
newest catalog.
To show you some of the new
products we are now carrying in
our stock, please see below.

QL CENTRONICS INTERFACE for
both SEAI or SER2 to parallel
printer. Newly redesigned to
take up less room. It defaults
to *1688 baud, but is able to
switch baudrate and comes with
a 3 meter long cable. It is
available for ^44.

FALKENBEAG HAAD DISK DAIVE
CAAD for the QL. This will allow
you to use a MFM or FHJ_ hard
drive, upto 416 meg with your
QL. For the hHDD interface with
either an MFM or RLL controller
the price is ^318. UJe also have
available the HDD card,
controller, case with power
supply and 48 meg hard drive
for ^475. This inTerface
requires that you have a
separate BUS EXTENDER CARD to
allow you to have more than one
peripheral out the expansion
slot.

QL-BUS-Driver for the Trump
Card based QL. gives you a 5
slot expansion board that
follows the QL standards for
expansion. This is available for
$7b. The 2 slot version for the
Gold Card is ^45.

Also new to our stock are the
following items. The longer we
do this the better we seem to
get. UJith the support of our
customers this is a true
statement.

QL KEVBOARD-^S INTEAFACE now

SINC-LINK

MECHANICAL AFFINITY SUMMER SALE

QL KEVBOflRD-^Q INTERFACE now
on sale at ^8. This al lotus you
to replace the keyboard thai
came with your QL by using an
IBM XT/RT keyboard externally.
This is great for those uiho
want to place their QL in a
tower or desktop case, or tor
those who have just gotten
tired of replacing membranes
every few years.

QURLSOFT TERMINRL SOFTWARE is
the best commercially available
terminal program for the QL. It
comes on disk or MDV. It can
multi-task with all popular QL
front end programs, it has a
simple text editor to help with
uploads/downloads and with your
E-mail. It allows you to do
screen dumps while online, and
if you combine it with a HERMES
then you can reliably use it
with all known high speed Hays
compatible modems as well as
Tandata, etc. UJe have it for
only *45.

QKL CRRD for the IBM. This
simple plug in card for the IBM
and compatibles allows you to
turn a mundane IBM into a full
blown super QL. This can give
you from I to 8 megs of
rr*er?»*?r * « , • mor o ved rsr anh i cs
capability, and more speed than
the Gold Card. Call us to
discuss your needs on this and
let us work out a deal you can
be pleased with. This allows you
to run the QL card as a simple
application program on the IBM,
giving you "The oest of two
worlds. UJe have them in stock
as of now.

Other new items we have added
to our inventory include the
following:
TEXT87 PLUS4, QL word

processor; 2488 DRIVERS for
the 24 pin printers and
bubblejefs; TYPESET^G-OESKJET
drivers for all HP deskjets;
TVPESETTQ—EPSON drivers for
Epson lasers; F0UNTEXT88 +
FDUNTED8^ optional dot-matrix
drivers; PLUS4 PUBLISHER Cthe
publisher pack} to allow you to
combine PLUS4 and LINEdesign to
make the best use of texx and
graphics; LINEdesign and
□ATRdesiqn from PROGS are the
new top of the line vector
drawing package for the QL Ca
massive new product that
enables you to draw, print,
scale, rotate any picture or
text, and will look crisp and
sharp}, and the newest version
of DHTRdesign Cwhich has been
completely rewritten so that
files can be disk based and
larger than available memory,
with the bonus that all files
are now multi-user}.

UJe also now have available for
sale the latest version of
QTOP, the program that many
call the definitive front ena
for all QDOS compatible
machines. It now offers an icon
based FILE-MRNRGER such as is
found in Windows. UJe have it
for only ^52.

TO ORDER FROM US SEND CHECKS ,
MONEY ORDERS, CASK (foreign add
$3), or C. O. D. , PAYABLE to
Frank Davis or Paul Holmgren to

MECHANICAL AFFINITY
513 EAST MAIN ST.
PERU, IN 46970
OR

MECHANICAL AFFINITY

52 31 WILTON WOOD COURT

INDIANAPOLIS, IN 46254
317-291-6602 PAULS PHONE
317-47 3-80 31 FRANKS PHONE

SINC-LINK

VISIONMIXER-1

Review by Hugh Howie .

This little gem is from Dilwyn Jones
Computing in Gwynedd, which is the
Celtic name for Wales, the land of great
Male Voice Choirs, King Arthur fable, and
Rugby fame. It costs a mere £10.00, and
is worth every penny.

I used it the other evening at the QL
Sector Meeting to give a "Slide Show"
style demonstration of many of the little
pictures I have drawn with EYE-Q, and I
find that VISIONMIXER 1 is a wonderful
program for this purpose.

It could also be used to run a shop
window advertising display, or a running
display of product and prices, or mixing
prices and pictures to attract the eye of
the passer-by. There are probably no
limitations in the manner this program
can be used other than the minds' ability
to devise a reason for using it.

The program is easy to learn and to use.
The manual helps you along stage by
stage. There is also a demo sequence
supplied to let you see what the program
can do.

After that, it is a matter of having a
number of pictures (screens) of your own
to load into the program when told to do
so. Pictures can be made with almost
any graphics program available, EYE-Q,
(the one I used), The PAINTER, Picture
Master (a sister program I will get into
another day), Page Designer, almost any
program capable of creating pictures or
screens. With very little trouble you can
have a demo sequence up and running.
Up to 25 pictures can be used in a
sequence .

The running speed of the display, can be
set at the time of entering the sequence.
Then again, the sequence can be run
with random timing, The pictures can be
displayed in a pre-set sequence, or left
to run with a random selection. Same
thing applies to the effects, (the way the
pictures are changed on the screen)

If you are not happy with the display as
set, it is easy to edit the picture
sequence and/or effects if you don't like
what you have.

Remember those wonderful things you see
on TV where one picture is merged with
another? Where the merging is done in
101 different ways? Well that is what
this program does, only instead of there
being 101 ways to wipe a picture onto
the screen, there are 111 ways to do it.
Wipe in from side, top, bottom, in bits
and pieces, zigzag, circles, squares, on
and on and on. Just think of an effect
you would like and this program can
come close to producing it. Place the
"box" over the effect and press ENTER.
When selecting the "effect", it is possible
to have a preview of the effect before
entering it into the sequence.

The display can be set as continuous
running, or, if you wish to conduct a
lecture, the pictures can be displayed
and changed at the touch of a key.

Would you like to make a scrolling title
for those video movies of the kids? Just
type a few words into your favorite
graphics program, save it, and it can be
used in VisionMixer 1. Do it with the
"slide up" effect, start the camera, and
you will now have a scrolling effect to
title the credits on your video.

VISIONMIXER 1 does require a fair amount
of memory, at least 512k. It will run
from microdrive, but it should be stated
that this is not the best way to use this
program. As each _scr picture uses
32768 bytes, (32K) you can only get three
pictures on each cartridge, so you are
limited there. But in most cases I find
that those who have extra memory added to
their QL, have also added a disk system
at the same time.

If you work in graphics, and like slide
shows, or have a use for this type of
display, then VisionMixer 1 is an excellent
program for you to have.

Darn it! I got so busy telling you what
the program can do I forgot to tell you
how to do it. But then that is what the
excellent manual does, it tells you how
to use the program - so why should I re-
invent the wheel?

A GREAT PROGRAM FOR DEMOS AND DISPLAYS.

93032 1

-LINK 15

Q L I

by Hugh

XCHANGE GOES PD

It has recently been announced that Psion
have released the QL version of
XCHANGE to the public domain.

It has also been announced that the
TSL (Task Sequencing Language) files have
also been released to the public domain.

Now I can place XCHANGE in our own
library. I have had more than one
version sent to me in the past but have
been unable to place it in the library as
I try not to use anything which is
restricted in any way.

For those who do not know what
XCHANGE is, it is a multitasking program
similar to Taskmaster. I have never
tried too hard with XCHANGE as I have
always been happy with Taskmaster. By
the same token there are many who swear
by Xchange. Those who do use Xchange say
that it is more comprehensive and more
versatile than Taskmaster. I guess it is
all amatter of what one gets used to.

Some of the copies I have are a bit older
so if anyone has the later version with
updates, I would be only too glad to use
that .

NETWORKING
DELETING OF FILES
FORMATTING

Recently I came across something in the
Network that I had not realised
previously.

I had always known that it was not
possible to format a disk in NET 2 from
Net 1. This is a built-in safety feature
to ensure that a disk can not be erased
inadvertantly from the remote station,
but as I was working I found that I had
saved an item to the remote station in
error. It would have been easy enough
for me to go to the remote and delete the
item from there, but I though I would try
to erase it from the master station
(Net 1) and it worked!

P S

Howie

I can save to the remote, I can delete in
the remote, but I cannot format in the
remote from the master. This does not
appear to be logical.

To protect a disk, it is not possible to
format the remote, but it IS possible to
delete the remote from the master....

Does anyone have an explanation? Please
drop a line telling me more.

WHAT USE IS DATAJJSE ?

At the same time as I was finding out the
above delete procedure, I wanted to
transfer files around in different ways,
and also to get print-outs of certain
things, without a lot of trouble, and I
reminded myself of this DATA_USE thing.

I have mentioned before about the TK2
command "DIR \SER" which will send to the
printer a directory of the disk in flpl_.
It will also send the wstat the same way.
But ONLY from flpl_. Yes? NO and a most
emphatic NO.

If you use another TK2 command such as —
"DATA_USE RAM3_" then use "DIR \SER"
the printer will give you a copy of the
directory in RAM3_!

Don't forget to go back to the default of
flpl_ by using "DATAJJSE FLP1_" . Of
course if you reset without saving the
defaults then the next time you load up
you will get your original defaults.

And to remind you of what your defaults
are just type "DLIST"

You can do the same with PROG_USE, and
DATAJJSE, and DESTJJSE, and SPL_USE.

Now I know I have mentioned this before,
but it does no harm to remind you, and
sometimes to remind myself, that those
things are possible. And it sure can
save an awful lot of heads-cratching and
frustration on occasion.

Anyway the practice is good for me!

930620

SINC-LINK

7/1/93
Tampa, Fl.
U. S. A.

A. E. Green

4600 E. Hillsborough Ave.
Tampa, Fl. 33610

QL Contact:
Hugh H. Howie

Hi Hugh;

Well this is the first letter for this month. I have been bending
George's ear for sometime now and though I would give you a shot.

Not to much for the QL for the last few months been working on the
2068 and doing things that I did not think that I could ever do
with it. Getting the EPSON T-1000 printer made everything fall
into place. I even got a copy of PRINT FACTORY, this is a great
program. I wish that all programs were this good! Also a MIRACLE
interface for the QL now I can run and print out QL-Peintre and
FRONT PAGE, is's about time because I got this program for about 3
years ago and just now been able to use it.

I just pick up a new PSION ORGANISER II model CM with the RS 232
interface and the Finance Pack & Oxford Spelling Checker
cartridges .

I just found out that this thing can't spell "cartridge" I I I i

The disk that came with the PO II is for the IBM, for uploads and
downloads. What about the QL? Can I use this with my machine and
the T/S 2068? (The 2068 has 2 serial ports on the Timex disk
controller.) I also found out that the Radio Shack Portable Disk
Drive 2 will plug into the PO II serial cable without any
adaptors .

I would like to find out if I can use this drive like the Z88 can.
If you know of anyone that has one and understands the OPL
language please let me know. I will need a boot program to access
the drive. (Format, Load, Save, etc.) If it can be done.

I like this machine BUT if push becomes shove I am considering
trading it of for a Gold Card. When one has 11 2068's one QL, 3
1500, 1 COCO, 2 Amstrads, 2 Atari's (8 bit) and 1 Atari ST they DO
NOT need another computer.

All that I use on the QL is QUILL because I can't aford to lose
any more programs because of the microdrives. I just purchased
Cartridge Doctor and QL-Cavern and lost them at the same time.
Rod Gowen sent QSPELL but pages 4 and 5 were missing from the
owners manual.

SINCLAIRLY Yours,

SINC-LINK

Photocopied froa the April 1986 issue of Everyday Electronics, published in
irticle on this one Uter rnis fall.

England. Watch for a construction
R, Bruneau

STEPPER MOTOR DRIVER

This month's constructional project fea-
tures a Stepper Motor Driver for use with
the Programmable I/O Interface described
in the February 1986 issue. The interface
can also be used with the simple Four-
Channel Output Interface described in June
1985.

The complete circuit of the Stepper
Motor Driver is shown in Fig. 1 . The circuit
is based on a purpose designed driver i.e.
(SAA1027) and uses only a handful of other
components.

The stepper motor should be a 12V 4-
phase (47ohm/400mH per phase) two stator
type providing 7*5 degrees rotation per step.
Such motors are readily available at reason-
able cost from a number of suppliers and
are capable of producing a maximum work-
ing torque in excess of 50mNm<

Due to the relatively large power con-
sumption of the stepper motor, a separate
power supply of 1 2 V, ± 5% at 500mA (max)
will be required. Under no circumstances
should the stepper motor power be derived
from the Spectrum's own power unit!

Construction

The stepper motor driver mav be assem-
:.sd on a piece ot Veroboard measuring
approximately lOOmm x 80mm. The pre-
cise dimensions of the board are uncritical
and those quoted leave plenty of room for
the necessary input, output, and power
connectors. The use of a low-profile 16-way
d l.l. socket is recommended.

Component layout is uncritical though
care should be taken to ensure that the
decoupling capacitors. CI to C3, are distri-
buted around the p.c.b. Links can be made,
as necessary, between the components using
short lengths of tinned copper wire on the
upper surface of the matrix board.

Readers should give some careful consi-
deration to the choice of connectors used.
The input connector should be a four-way
type whilst the output should have at least
five, and preferably six, ways. This latter
connector should be rated at currents of at
ieast 1A.

Connections to the stepper motor are
depicted in Fig. 3. The power connector
should be a polarised two-way type and this
again should be rated for currents of up to
1 A. If desired, this latter connection can be
replaced with suitably coloured flying leads.

NEXT MONTH: Some routines for driving
the Stepper Motor Interface will be des-
cribed and we shall be taking a further look
at FORTH.

~ET csPUTIBll >

OE INKUTIMIlT

: DERMAL I

£1 5tcr (skill
-:ondivcc,1|T

. •=•.•! 1 iOlijT

.ciT

» i '.3

—IX! COUNT

T];"il CUTPUT .

Fig. 1. Complete circuit diagram for the
Stepper Motor Driver.

COMPONENTS

Fig. 2. Pinning details for the BC108 and
SAA1027.

=1]

1
i i

'If

Resistors

R1 to R3
R4 to R6
R7
R8

4k7 (3 off)
2k7 (3 off)
100

180 1 W

Unless otherwise SM
stated all resistors
are 0-25 W 5% carbon

paga 208

Capacitors

C1 and C2 100n polyester
C3 10p elec. 16V p.c.

Semiconductors

D1 to 03 1N4148 (3 off)
TR1 to TR3 BC108(3off)
IC1 SAA1027

Miscellaneous

Stepper motor SM1 (see text),
16-pin d.i.l. socxet, connectors
(see text). 0-1 in. matrix Vero-
board (or similar) measuring
approximately 100mm x 80mm.

Fig. 3. Stepper motor connection details.
SINC-LINK

Approx. cost
Guidance only

£16

Index of Articles in Sine-Link

Quite some time ago, one of our original members Bob Mitchell realized
that ?he 11st of articles and other items in our newsletter was getting
too complicated for our limited human memory, so he Put together a
database with at that time a complete listing of the information in the
Sine-Link .

At that time he sent me, over my 300 Baud modem, that information and he
has kept it up till last year. When he graduated to a CLONE I took
advantage of his offer and obtained a copy of his database. Since then
I have been updating the file with the end result that it is quite
large now. The edi tor-i n-charge is now publishing an index of the
articles in each issue of the Sine-Link, so there is no further need
for me to keep it up . .
This will be my last revision and an example of the usefulness of this
file is shown in the next attachment which consists of a selection of
items pertaining to the QL.

Good luck Louis Laferriere

1993

9301

11/1

p. 6

Text 87 plus 4 Version 3 H.Howie

9301

11/1

p. 6

Message from P.Hale

9301

11/1

p. 7

QL SiQ meeting H.Howie

9301

11/1

p. 8

Some QL stuff H.Howie

9301

11/1

p. 15

Superbasic Ramblings A.Pywell

9301

11/1

p. 17

QL Backups H.Howie

9301

11/1

p. 19 "

Editor ????? H.Howie

9301

11/1

p. 20

QLips H.Howie

9301

11/1

p. 21

Gold Card J.Juergens

9301

11/1

p. 26
p. 27

QL Xchange version of Quill R. Blizzard

QL vs XT Wordstar WordPerfect R. Blizzard

9301

11/1

p. 33

The passing of EMSOFT P.Hale

9301

11/1

p. 34

Get up and Go H.Howie

9302

11/2

p. 3

Spring Ahead 1993 Index

9302

11/2

p. 9

Slow Gold H.Howie

9302

11/2

p. 10

Notes on QL Lock-ups H.Howie

9302

11/2

p. 17

QL Printing Databases P.Hale

9302

11/2

p. 18

QL History H.Howie

9302

11/2

p. 24

Text 87 +4 vs Wordstar R. Blizzard

9302

11/2

p. 27

QL Quanta Index H.Howie

9302

11/2

p. 29

QL Sig Meeting March 17 I.Robertson

9302

11/2

p - 30

QL Membership Drive H.Howie

9302

p. 31

Sinclair Prism PD

SINC-LINK

MORE ON "SLOWGOLD"

by Hugh Howie

In the last issue I had some comments to make about SLOWGOLD, a program available
from Dilwyn Jones Computing. This program is intended to slow the Gold Card down
to enable some of the earlier QL programs to run on the now speeded up QL.

At that time, I mentioned that I had found a couple of "peaks" in the operation of
SLOWGOLD, and although they were there, they did not in any way detract from the
value of SLOWGOLD as a valuable asset to anyones library, as the amount of slow-
down is adequate for most applications.

I have received further information from Dilwyn Jones as to his research of the
problem, and his comments are so interesting, that I have decided to reproduce
them here, in the hope they make more sense to you than they do to me. I just
aint no technical man! If you want to completely understand what goes on, buy the
program and try it out for your own self. You will NOT be disappointed.

quote:-

We reckon by now that we know
what causes the odd occurrences with some values for slowgold and it is
very difficult to explain. It arises due to interactions between the
length of the interrupt loop set up by Slowgold, the scheduler and
other 'regular' items or interrupts in the QL. The values at which the
effects occur varies depending what is happening 50 or 60 times a
second. A small diagram may help to show what I mean, the - shows an
interrupt or regular timed occurrence, where there is overlap there may
be a clash or something is missed or gueued, causing unpredictable
effects to cycle round every now and then

Scheduler

time slices 11112231111223111122311112231111223111122311112231111223

You can therefore, I hope, see that while Slowgold is in its own

interrupt shown by the above (the on time and off times are not in

ratio, they will not be 50:50 as shown above) the normal actions of the
QL do not occur and the time slices of the jobs currently active don't
occur as expected. Generally speaking, the bits chopped out of the time
slices occur regularly and you get the same slowdown on a regular
basis. But with some values the length of the interrupt will just
happen to make things occur such that, for example, if job 1 is active,
the interrupts could always occur when the scheduler is mostly
attending to task 2 or 3 (even if they are suspended) . I hope this is
the real explanation for what is happening, we have suspected it for a
while but never been able to conclusively prove it. Also, depending on
the speed at which the machine is running, what else there is to
consume time and so on, the slowgold interrupts may actually overrun
their alloted time slots and strange effects such as apparently missed
interrupts (leading to loss of slowdown) might theoretically occur,
though we haven't been able to prove this.

SINC-LINK

AUTO FADE FOR THE TS-2068
by George Chambers
credits and copyright A, Pennell 1985

The April 1986 issue of YOUR SINCLAIR had an article and a program
listing for a feature which provides for a screen black-out if you don't
do anything for a while. It has an adjustable time-out interval of up to
20 minutes. .
/ found that the program works equally well on the TS2068 and with the

Spectrum ROM.

The program works as follows. After a timed interval in which no ^
computer keys are pressed the screen attributes are moved and stored in
upper memory, and the attributes area of memory is filled with zeros,
giving a black screen. The border is also blacked out. At the same time
a flashing white square located in the lower right-hand corner of the
screen is d ispl ayed as a reminder .

Whenever a key is touched the screen attributes are restored and
presto, the screen reappears.

The code occupies a space of about 1200 bytes of upper RAM. The code
itself is only about 120 bytes, however space is required to store the
768 bytes of the screen attr ibutes.

This location has been carefully chosen so that the interrupt mode
( IM2) which it uses will not be disturbed by computer per i pheral s. I
checked, and it's operation is not affected by the Larken disk system.
Also, the code does not affect the user-def ined graphics area of memory.

The article mentions that because of the peculiarity of the IM2
interrupt mode only the brave, or maybe the foo I hardy, would attempt to
relocate it.

The easiest way to use this utility would be to load the Basic each
time, and have it POKE the code into place. This allows you to select
the time delay interval desired.

If you can settle for a standard time interval then saving the code
and reloading it for each use is entirely practical. In this case you
would in it ial ize the feature with a RAND USR 6*967.

To turn off the feature use RAND USR 6*99*.

************************

7 REM Auto Screen Fade
5 RESTORE
10 CLEAR 64 7 98
1000 FOR i =6*967 TO 65023
1010 READ a: POKE i,a
1020 NEXT i

1030 FOR i =65281 TO 65365
10*0 READ a: POKE i,a
1050 NEXT i

1060 INPUT "Delay in sees ";S

1070 LET s=s*50: LET t= INT (s/256)

1080 POKE 65287, t: POKE 65286 , s-256*t

1090 RANDOMIZE USR 6*967

1100 PRINT "USR 6*99* to switch off"

110 STOP
2000 DATA 33,0,254,6,0,2*3
2010 DATA 5*, 253, 35, 16,251 ,5*
2020 DATA 253 , 62 , 25*, 237 ,7 1 , 237
2030 DATA 9*, 251 , 33, 1 , 0 , 3*
20*0 DATA 251 ,253,201 ,237 ,86,201

SINC-

2050 DATA 255 , 2*3 , 2*5 , 229 , 1 97 ,21 3

2060 DATA 237 ,91 , 251 , 253 , 205 , 1

2070 DATA 255 , 3*, 251 , 253 , 209 t 193

2080 DATA 225 , 2*1 , 251 , 201 , 2 , 0

2090 DATA 195,229,253

2100 DATA 122, 179, *0, 50,33,232

2110 DATA 3,167 ,237 ,82, *0 , 11

2120 DATA 235,35,253,203, 1 , 1 10

2130 DATA 200, 33,1 ,0,201 ,33

21*0 DATA 0,88,17 ,199,250,1

2150 DATA 0,3, 126, 18,5*, 0

2160 DATA 35, 19, 11 ,120, 177 ,32

2170 DATA 2*5, 21-1-, 25*, 62,18*, 50

2180 DATA 255,90,33,0,0,201

2190 DATA 235,253,203, 1 , 1 10,200

2200 DATA 33 , 199 , 250 , 17 ,0 ,88

2210 DATA 1 ,0,3,237, 176,58

2220 DATA 72,92,230,56,15,15 /vf

2230 DATA 1 5,21 1 ,25*, 33, 1 ,0,201 ,0,0

9000 RANDOMIZE USR 100: SAVE "autofd.

LINK

DISASSEMBLY OF
AUTO FADE CODE

o 1 nnrr

i n

HI 65024

uouu

i n

L.U

R 0

LJ f w

n Q 7 O

r -3

n i

JOr L/

i n

( HI ) 253

0*f 77 ( D

I NC

f^U.97

1 OFR

DJNZ

LJ w * »

B, 64973

64978

3&FD

( HL) .253

64980

3EFE

>4, 254

64982

ED47

Lm LS

64984

ED5E

64956

64967

210100

HL, 1

64990

22FBFD

( 6501 9 ) , HL

. -64993

RET

4X3 64994

ED56

=^64996

RET

64997

RST

38H

64998

64999

PUSH

65000

PUSH

5500/

PUSH

65002

PUSH

65003

ED5BFBFD

DE ,(65019)

65007

CD01FF

CALL

65281

650 7 0

22FBFD

( 65019), HL

65013

POP

6501 4

POP

650 7 5

POP

650 7 6

POP

650 7 7

65018

RET

65019

(BC),A

65020

NOP

65021

C3E5FD

64997

65281

7 A

A, D

65282

65283

2832

Z, 65335

65285

21FA00

HL,250

65288

AND

65289

ED52

SBC

HL, DE

65291

280B

Z, 65304

65293

DE, HL

65294

INC

65295

FDCB016E

BIT

5,( IY+1 )

65299

RET

65300

210100

HL, 1

65303

RET

653014-

210058

HL, 22528

65307

1 1 C7FA

DE, 64 7 99

65310

010003

BC, 768
A, (HL)

65313

6531 4

( DE ), A

65315

3600

(HL),0

65317

INC

65318

INC

65319

DEC

65320

A, B

65321

65322

20F5

NZ, 65313

65324

D3FE

OUT

(2514), A

65326

3EB8

A, 7 84

65328

32FF5A

(23295), A

65331

210000

HL,0

653314-

RET

65335

DE , HL
5,( IY+1 )

65336

FDCB016E

BIT

65314-0

RET

6534 7

21C7FA

HL, 64199

65344

1 1 0058

DE, 22528

65347

010003

BC, 768

65350

EDBO

LDIR

65352

3A485C

A, (23624)

65355

E638

AND

65357

RRCA

65358

RRCA

65359

RRCA

65360

D3FE

OUT

(254), A

65362

210100

HL, 1

65365

RET

65366

NOP

65367

NOP

SINC-LINK

from the I.S.T.U.G. newsletter
LETS READ T/S 2068 JLO DISKS WITH YOUR QL

Well, here it is. You can read Timex 2068 Oliger disks with a QL with
nothing more then a disk interface and ToolKit II. This is made easy
due to the simplicity of the methods used to store information on the
2068 JLO system. At this time and present configuration a "basic" read
is all this set of procedures does. Working out a set of "conversions
for the way Sinclair Basic is stored becomes fairly easy once you can get
a file into the QL.

Now for the PROCedure explanations.

DEF PROC QL, this let me "see" the structure of a QL disk. Working with
ASCII (text) files made it somewhat easy to study the methods used to
store files and how they are distributed on the side, track, and sectors
of a QL disk. I was able to develop a "memory map" of a QL disk this way.

DEF PROC INN, this was used in part with the PROC QL to help control
my peeking about the QL disks. I typed INN, answered the prompts, then
typed in QL.

DEF PROC OPN, this asks you which drive to look at. Opens a RAM disk
file, and "OPENs" the target disk. So far, in all the experimentation
with this utility I have NOT harmed a 2068 disk at all. But it is best
to work on a copy of your disk.

DEF PROC TIM, this is meaty. It will read a sector of the 2068 disk
and print it to the screen. It then asks if you want to transfer the
material to the ram disk file, if so, then COPY the 10 sector block of
"data" to the ram disk.

DEF PROC DISK_IT, does the actual copying of the track. Since I use the
program "EDITOR SE" I use line 520 to print to the ram file the source
track, side, and sector I was currently reading. It may be deleted if you
wish.

DEF PROC AA & PDET, these just print information to the QL screen.

DEF PROC CLO, as far as the QL and my TRUMP card are concerned, this
PROC was necessary. When you are done copying a file to the ram disk, it
needs to be closed. The TRUMP card needs to see that the disk is "closed"
the 2068 does not care.

DEF PROC REST, sets the drive heads to track, side, and sector 0, or
"Parks" the drive heads if you need it.

These are the steps I use. So far, I am toying around with text files from
MSCRIPT and TASWORD, and data files from PRO-FILE. For 2068 disks I type
OPN (enter), then type TIM (enter), get the file(s) I am interested in,
then CLO (enter).

Copy the ram file to a QL disk. Then load QUILL of EDITOR to work on the
file to clean up and stray unwanted contents. This method "gets" all of a
track (5120 bytes). So the file will have some "garbage" following any
useable data to the end of the file. Usually just spaces or some such.

Experiment, use, enjoy, or just fool around with this. I believe that this
can work on AERCO and LARKIN disks once you understand how they write to
the disks. If you try this, you need to experiment with the FOR/NEXT loops
in the PROC TIM.

SINC-LINK

100 DEFine PROCedure rest : GET #4\257,a$ : a$=" : END DEFine
110 :

120 DEFine PROCedure opn

130 CLS : INPUT \\V Which drive ? ( 1/2 ) ';dr

140 OPEN_NEW #3,raml_2068_fi1es : OPEN #4, 'f lp'&dr&'_*d2d'

150 END DEFine

160 :

170 DEFine PROCedure do : CLOSE #3 : CLOSE #4 : END DEFine
180 :

190 DEFine PROCedure aa : PRINT a$ : END DEFine
200 :

210 DEFine PROCedure ql

220 LOCal track , side , sector

230 inn

240 FOR track = 0 to trk-1
250 FOR side = 0 to 1
260 FOR sector = 1 to 9
270 REMark rest
280 pdet

290 GET #4\sector+side+256+track*65536,a$ : aa

300 IF pause$=="y" THEN : PAUSE(-l)

310 END FOR sector : END FOR side : END FOR track

320 END DEFine

330 :

340 DEFine PROCedure tim

350 REMark JLO DOS uses track 0, sectors 1-10 for CAT and LOADER software
360 inn

370 FOR track = 0 TO trk-1
380 FOR side - 0 TO 1
390 FOR sector = 1 TO 2
400 REM rest
410 pdet

420 GET #4\sector+side+256+track*65536,a$ : aa
430 END FOR sector

440 CLS #0 : PRINT #0 : INPUT #0, "Relocate this side and track ? ";ans$

450 IF ans$=='y' THEN : disk.it

460 END IF : CLS #0

470 CLS : END FOR side : END FOR track

480 END DEFine

490 :

500 DEFine PROCedure disk_it

510 FOR sector = 1 TO 10

520 GET #4\sector+side+256+track*65536,a$

530 PRINT #3, 'sector '; sector, 'track ' ;track, ; 'side ';side\a$

540 END FOR sector

550 END DEFine

560 :

570 DEFine PROCedure pdet : PRINT 'sector '; sector, 'track ' ;track, ; ' side
';side : END DEFine

5S0 :

590 DEFine PROCedure inn

600 CLS : CSIZE 1,1 DIM(pause$( 1 ) : INPUT Y'PAUSE ? ";pause$

610 INPUT \ '40 or 80 Tracks? ';trk

520 IF trk <> 40 AND trk <> 80 THEN : GO TO 610

630 END IF

640 CLS : CSIZE 0,0

650 END DEFine

SINC-LINK

puelis

domain

Gamer Designs: a
report on a dodgy

outfit io Dunstable! /

Sinclair 123K ZXSc-ctonW

■□□DDDDDDnaaaa
B aBanananiaatsaii
B criHianacianaaatil
■ msEjaaaaanTTi

■ BBBBBHHBiaDaB

IS|S-t< i i-IBIIII

zx spectrum *2

sincrlsir- 12SK

ZXSi.*rtiVTH3

m BE3iiaaaaDDaaaa

■ anntnacancjaniniaii

■ rne»raocicanianotar"l

■ criBE3Qaaaaaiicia

H HBiMBM—MiBiHIfci

128K

ZX spectrum *3

ISS 1
VOL 1

SPDCI CJQRST liSMG ED

i — ii '--'iu— *i l — ii — hi'—~v u !L5u~TJu--^ ULLii — SLiiiirv ir^UQilji 5

rjEE EHQJH fflCJBUDOT^

E1.5D
[R.R.P.3
UK ED'

SINC-LINK

PAGE 3. NEWS

PAGE 4: MORE NEWS!

PAGE 5: SPECTRUM TECHE PAGE

PAGE 6: OUR. GUIDE TO USING BASIC

PAGE 7: LIST OF UThJTIES & ART PACKS

PAGE 8: LIST Or GAMES, CLiPART, DEMOS

PAGE 9: ORDER FORM

PAGE 10: UPDATE ON NEW TITLES

PD Power was originally ?ctn* to be a magazine, but due to
problems in finding regular contributors, it was decided that a
newszine was a better option for now. As time progresses,
hopefully this publication wiH expand to the originaHy intended
format.

NEWSFLASH Prism PD has now made contact with a Canadian
User Group catted SINC-LINK. Hopefully more contacts wiB be made,
and we are currently trying to produce a TSVCX-SINCLAff*.
emulator to run American software. More on this next issue.

Editor: Martyn Sherwood
Design; Martyn Sherwood, Abigail
Smith

Technical Contributer: MMor

BRSIC Contributor: Graeme McCai

+3 Column: Craw Elder

+3 Technical help: Craig Elder

Publishing Director: Martyn

Sherwood

Typing Contributor: Rajesh Mbtry
EDITORIRL, RDVERTISIHG fit
FIRRHETING OFFICES: Prism PD, 13
Rodney Close, Bfton, Rugby CV22
7HJ.

BUBSCRIPTIDHS: Martyn Sherwood,
Prism PD, 13 Rodney dose, Gttcn,
Rugby CV22 7HJ (enquiries).
SUBSCRIPTION RATES £9 per year.
BRCh ISSUES: PRISM PD. {£230
including P&PL
HDND DRIGINRTIDH: Biton
Pubfishmg

PRINTING: Rugby Community
Printworks, 92 Lower Kflmorton Rd,
Rugby CV21 3TE

v^rXELCLii lua.1

Here it is, the first issue of PD Power, bringing you the best in news
from the world of Public Domain and Spectrum Computing. My name is
Martyn Sherwood, and I am the 'culprit' responsible for setting up Prism
PD & PD Power.

1 think for this first Editorial Bit, it will be a good idea to give you a
run-down on the history of Prism PD to date. It was while working at
Rugby Community Printworks (a local charity) in 1992, as a graphic
designer using Apple Macs, that I thought it would be nice to set up a
service of charitable status for the Spectrum. The idea of public domain
appealed to me, and in any case, this was becoming weH established on the
CPC, so why not the Spectrum?!?

Prism PD kicked off in February 1992. Although the number of titles was not substantial, we never the less had a

2 cod response from Specchtims and over the following 7 months steadily grew from strength to strength. September
earmarked a new stage in the development. We were offered the chance to take over Total PD, and despite hitches,
this was completed by Christmas. This means that we have now got every type of software on offer. We also have
commercial titles available. We have established contact in the U.S.A. & Canada with Timex users. I'm sure things can
only get better, and with your support the Spectrum wiH survive.

Happy Computing,

SINC-LINK

PLEASE READ ME

Instructions for US Be
CANADIAN Timex-Sinclair
osers. Payment is by postal money order or send
English coinage. £2 per set of any 18 titles. Send a
C90 tape (not the case I with your name on,
inside a jiffy bag for protection Be re-use or Prism
PD will not be responsible for damaged goods.
Orders sent in 6-7 days. Orders weighing over 60g
then add £121 / each additional 20g add 32 pence
to avoid surcharge. Payable to MARTIN
SHERWOOD ONLY. All titles transfer to disk.

fliostrad AS4/S64./6128

Sinclair Spectru

Prism PD, 13 Rodney close,
Bi Lton. Rugby CUSS 7HJ

UTILITIES BUSINESS Be EDUCATION: Ul Print daisywheel pics, U2 User definable grids, U3 Print a LARGE poster, U4
Define a key routine, US Weekdays in 3 languages, US PD database - lacks SAVE/LOAD routine - (please help!), U7 Line
renumber routine, U8 Border colours, U9 Paper/Ink/Graphics demo, U10 ATTR.No. Ull Invert text effect, U12 Use your own
art loading screens, U13 Fun security system, U14 Scroller text effect, U15 Vary your INPUT position, U16 Hex ist U17
Data Move (Microdrive), U18 Posh CLS, U19 Screen flash, U20 Peek, U21 Dec-hex, U22 Large text, U23 Menu U24 Drop
shadow text effect, U25 Poke, U26 High score table, U27 Phone book, U28 Character set designer, U29 m/c Break, U30
Printer toolkit, U31 Cashflow accounts prog\ U32 (withdrawn, will replace with a WP soon), U33 Recover erased +D files
U34 8yr Cal, U35 Perspective text effects, U36 Reflect text effects, U37 multiple system save routine, U38 Font 1, U39
Font 2, U40 to U43 = Scroll up, Scroll down, Scroll left, Scroll right, U44 CAT tape files, U45 Disable the break key -
46K only, U46 64 printer aide, U47 Hide the screen display, U48 See hidden messages in games, U49 Zoom the screen
for editing, U50 Check free memory, U51 48K keyboard buffer, U52 Read kempston joystick ports - 48K only, U53 128K
screen animation - needs U54, U54 Demo, U55 Downtown, U56 ASCII edit, U57 Day convert, U58 Union Jack demo, Ub'4
Automatic hex saver, U65 Musical input display, U66 Soundz, U67 Minstrel music maker, U68 Minstrel 1, U69 Minstrel
demo - needs minstrel 1, U71 Sound sampler, U72 Vat prog", U73 Accounts prog', U74 46K Toolkit, U75 Disassembler,
U76 Hexloader, U77 Icons patterns 6c fonts, U76 Metric conversion, U80 Word spin, U81 Pattern show, U82 Fake NEW,
U63 Unusual CLS, U64 Change the editor colours, U65 Print inlay cards, U86 Use pokes on the +D, U67 48K Data typer -
48K only, U88 +D Gauntlet 2 utility, U89 Maths equation solver, U90 Screen* manipulator, U91 +D clock, U92 Spelling aid,
U93 Test your morse code, U94 48K Soundsytem, U95 Morse code teacher. U96 Screen magnifyer, U97 Find any day in
the 20thC, U98 Notebook, U99 2A +3 printer utility, U100 48 8c +2 printer utility, U101 Comms prog' 1 for VTX5000,
U102 Comms 2, U103 +D snap menu screen, U104 +D adult jokes, U105 File copu/rename , U106 Turbo tools for
programmers. U107 The Soroo - Various commands (extensive), U106 ASCII viewer. U109 Extensive font editor, U110 Normal
or headertess file viewer. Ulll 128 DTP fixer for the grey +2 - abort printing without losing text files, U112 Multidump
1 U113 Multidump 3, U114 Mousedraw routine, U115 Onerror - trap errors, U116 Catram 128, U117 ATTR 128, U118 PFN
print system, U119 Screen clearer, U120 Rem-maker, U121 Dubtex, U122 Typeliner double fonts, U123 Typeliner graphic
~~ — — — — — - alphabets> U124 Headliner bug fix, U125 Deco fonts pack 1 - for

typeliner, U126 Deco fonts 2, U127 Gamesaid - grid to design icons
etc, U128 Continue routine, U129 Centre text routine, U130 Mouse
routine, U131 BASIC scroller, U132 Custom 48K NEW, U133 Tasword
file previewer, U134 Graphic window inputs, U135 File Organiser,
U136 Renumber PPD, U137 Alpha data sort, U138 Inlay card design
3.7, U139 GEstats - history of elections 1950-92, U140 DEVAL -
remove hindering VAL statements, U141 Make REMS of any size,
U142 MENU 2 - new menus ROM style, U143 Streams - streams
menu style, U144 DUBTEX - mix double height 8c normal text in a
print statement, U145 BAscan - search basic listings for keywords
8c variable names etc 8c print them, U146 Clear-all! - remove files
in Wordmaster in one go - brill!, U147 "CP/M3" SPECIAL +3
COMPILATION PACK - includes drive ai formatter to 203K - 32
progs + CP/M utils as well! Send £2 + disk, U148 HEADREAD -
header reader, U149 FILECOMPRESSOR (NOT +3), U150 48K Copier
(NOT +3), U151 Screen compressor, U152 128K file copier, U153
MAD 2 MONITOR (NOT +3), U154 Edit Sampler + demo file (NOT +3),
U155 Genious Mouse Tester (+3 only), U156 Histogram charts (+3
only), U157 Line Graph charts (+3 only), U158 +3 disk editor,
formatter, etc. U159 Comms pack of 11 progs £2 + extra disk, U160
Video Titling pack £5, U181 Colour Animator, U162 Euro font
designer, U163 Hex loader II, U164 +D to tape copier, U165 +D file
tester/cat, U166 +D filer, U167 Memory resident coders aid, U168
Border scroll, U169 Horizontal attr' scroller, U170 UDG Designer

SPECIAL ART PACKSi NOT 3"dlsk £2 each
1 Dear John, 2. Star Trek, 3. Cheers, 4. Cagney
8c Lacey, 5. Shakespears Sister, 6. Bananarama,
7. Duran Duran, 8 Ultravox, 9. Neighbours, 10.
Eastenders, 11. Pet Shop Boys
SPECTRUM LICENSEWAREi £5 each
LW1 - MULTISTORE - store 7K in your multiface
LW2 PAGE SYSTEM WORD PROCESSOR - also acts
as a database.

PRISM PD! - INCORPORATING TOTAL PD!

SINC-LINK

ART PACKS; NOT +3 DISK £2 each

1 Spectrums / Hardware, 2 Office Be Business, 3 Sports,

, , o , . , « C1 k , « 4 People, 5 Frames & Borders, 6 TV Celebrities, 7 Pa

Gl - Nellu 128 - Catch the falhno Elephants- / 62 ^ ' . . n _ , . , ~

_ t u ,1 — , -— : — — . r~ nr. Time, 8 Music, 9 Transport, 10 Announcements, Cada*.

Batnball - An addictive 1 or 2 pIaMer flame / G3 - DT s - i 2. 3. f3 titles of ported IBM graphics.

L8tR - Try and get the highest score! / 64 - Alienatta 1 *> * ^ "tleS 01 P0™*3 mM 8 P

- Defend your ship against the aliens / G5 - Cacapture

- Excellent 2 player stratergy game / G6 - Brickbat -
Colourfull - test your reflexes! / G7 Magicfore - A game that uses logic - are you up to it? / G8 MartianKO - Left, right
aim - and blast away! / G9 SincCS - Run over the pedestrians in your C5! / G10 - Skittles - How many can you knocl
down? / Gil - Cypher - Great PD version of the Mastermind game / G12 - Vouerger - A blast of a PD game / G13 - Nelli

- 48K version of the classic arcade game / G14 - Manblitz - Bomb the Manhatten skyline! / G15 - Frogger - Vert
colourfull and quick version of a classic! / G16 - Gaiaxydef - PD Space Invaders on your Spectrum / G17 - Basicbing - Plat

Bingo to win! / G18 - Invaders - A great game in true Invaders style / G19 - Fishing - It was this long !!! / G20 ■

Minefield - Rescue the soldiers - watch out for the mines! / G21 - Spotlight - Avoid being seen at all costs / G22
German - A German spelling game - good fun! / G23 - French - Another spelling game / 624 - Rider - Jump the buses likt

Evil Kenieval! / 625 - Magic Square - A sliding puzzle game a delight / 626 - Solitair - Computer version of the boan

game / 627 - House - Dare you enter?!! / 628 61obular Troubles - our best game - commercial standard! / 629 Maze - cai
you escape? / 630 Mission Collision - great space blaster / G31 - Xuoor 5 - space romp! / G32 - Draughts - boardgamt
classic / 633 Annagrams - puzzle mania!! / 634 - Wordsearch - another classic / 635 DartsLord - Can you better Johi
Lowe? / 636 Treasure Trail - get searching / 637 "THRASH" a commercial space game - brilliant £6.99

Digitize your loved ones!! Send a colour
photograph (landscape format). Alternatively,
using a video digitizer, we can save pictures
directly from a video cassette (VHS). Indicate
if you want the pictures saved on tape or
disk or printed out. £5

We can digitize famous British
TWSPORTS/entertainers or even the Royal
Family. Just let us know who you want
digitized. £3 per pack.

GAME POSTERS

We can supply
posters depicting

your favourite
game, £2.99 each.
SAE for our list.
There are 40 to
choose from, on
glossy A4 paper.

Price includes
P&P1 New

posters can be
arranged

TERMINATOR 2

Posters exclusive to club member?

GRAPHIC AND MUSIC DEMOS (*] = +3 users load via tape/+D

Dl Madonna, D2 Adamski, D3 Technotronic, D4 Turkey, D5 Weird, D6 Grand
Prix, D7 Pepperami (»), D8 Axel F (»), D9 MQM, D10 Shock-Megademo (•),
Dll Grafix 1 (»), D12 Spectec 3 (•), D13 Court 2, D14 PetShop Boys, D15
Bart Simpson 1 (•), D16 3D Show, D17 Nightfire (*), DIB Vectors, D19 Lyra I!
(#), D20 Vidi ZX Party (*), D21 Song In Lines 5 (*), D22 Quinquagesima, D23
128K Only Screen (*), D24 Scrolly Star (»), D25 Demos, D26 Scanner, D27
wicked, D28 Megaderno (*), D29 Red Sector (»), D30 Nanodemo, D31 Signal 3
(»), D32 Hypersonic 2 Preview (»), D33 EEL, D34 Ghaza 1, D35 Slideshow
(NOT +3), D36 Overscan (NOT +3), D37 Hypersonic 48K (•), D38 Prisoner,
D39 Zaphod 2 (NOT +3), D40 NMt 1 (•), D41 NMI 2, D42 CIR demo, D43 NMI 3
(»), D44 NMI 3 NOTE (»), D45 Madhouse (NOT+3), D46 U.Spirits, D47 LSD
(NOT+3), D48 Hypersonic 2 (*), D49 MQM 2, D50 Madness Remix, D51
TerniMADor (over 18's only), D52 CD Demo, D53 Interlace, D54 Crazy Demo,
D55 Voyerger Demo, D56 Music Bank 5 (NOT +3), D57 Explosion (•), D58
Spirit, D59 Sound Tracker, D60 Compiler, D61 Virus II (•), D62 Beruska, D63
Windows (*), D64 Music, D65 Train Spottin (•)

EXAMPLE OF OUR CUP ART!

Me,

we though it best to allow you to have more titles. UK 8c European custome
hfij-ja Ajjr rjprj^lon fh? hi ipfjpn of charges f>n rh^noino

NOTES: As you will only be able to pay by
postal money order or send us englist w

i i are only allowed packs of 12 titles for £2. \

*ar\r\\ rir hum rut rriAnaii nrtf-fal ftrfiarr

SINC-LINK

INEXPENSIVE Z-88
PARALLEL TO SERIAL
CONVERTER

j . shepard

I HAVE MENTIONED BEFORE OF MY
RESISTANCE TO PAYING MORE FOR AN
ITEM THAN I THINK IT'S WORTH.

I FEEL THIS WAY ABOUT THE PRICE OF
CURRENTLY OFFERED PARALLEL TO
SERIAL CONVERTORS

ESPECIALLY, THOSE OFFERED FOR THE
Z-88. SO, I WAS DOING WITHOUT

UNTIL MY FRIEND, BOB SWOGER, WHO
FORTUNATELY DABBLES IN OTHER
COMPUTERS, LIKE COCOS, TOLD ME OF A
CONVERTOR FOR A COCO THAT COULD BE
HAD FOR $4-0. I ASKED THE NAME OF
THE FIRM HANDLING THIS JEWEL.
DAYTON ASSOC . , 964-4 QUAILWOOD TR . ,
SPRING VALLEY, OHIO 45370, PH.
C513D 885- 5999. THEY CALL IT THE
BLUE STREAK ULTIMA. THE COST IS
$29.95 IF YOUR PRINTER PROVIDES +5
VOLTS DC ON PIN 18 OF THE PRINTER
CONNECTOR, IF NOT THEN FOR $6.00
MORE, THEY'LL INCLUDE A WALL PLUG
POWER SUPPLY. IT HAS A BAUD RATE
RANGE FROM 300 TO 19200, SELECTABLE
BY A SWITCH ! ! ! IT COMES WITH A DIN
PLUG, WHICH WILL HAVE TO BE
CONVERTED TO A DB-9 TO BE ABLE TO
HOOK UP TO THE Z-88'S SERIAL PORT,
BUT IT'S ONLY THREE WIRES, SO EVEN
IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE EXPERTISE TO
HANDLE A SOLDERING IRON, YOU CAN
FIND SOMEONE TO DO IT USING THE
FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS FOR WIRE
PLACEMENT.

SEPERATE THE PLASTIC CASE BY
CAREFULLY PRYING IT APART AT THE
SEAM WITH SOMETHING LIKE A SMALL
SCREWDRIVER. YOU'LL HAVE TO DO

THIS BECAUSE THE PEOPLE WHO PUT
THESE TOGETHER DON'T OBSERVE A
COLOR CODE AND YOU'LL HAVE TO
DETERMINE WIRE LOCATION VISIBLY.
ONCE YOU'RE INSIDE, HOLDING THE
CASE WITH THE PRINTER CONNECTOR END
AWAY FROM YOU, WHICH IS THE SERIAL
PORT WIRE ENTRANCE END TOWARDS YOU,
YOU'LL SEE THE THREE WIRES OF THIS
SERIAL CABLE SOLDERED TO THE PCB IN
A ROW.

SINC-LINK

IF YOU'LL NUMBER THEM FROM LEFT TO

RIGHT AWAY FROM THE SCR, THEN THEY

CONNECT TO THE DB-9 CONNECTOR AS
FOLLOWS:

WIRE #1 - DB-9 PIN^-2

2 — " " 5

3 — " " 7

WHEN THIS IS DONE AND YOU PUT THE
PLASTIC CASE BACK TOGETHER WITHOUT
CATCHING THE WIRES ON TOP OF THE
BAUD RATE SELECTOR, YOU'RE IN
BUSINESS.

THE DB-9 CONNECTORS SOLD BY RADIO
SHACK C276-1403D HAVE GOOD HARDWARE
FOR CAPTURING THE WIRE. YOU WILL
HAVE TO GET THE PIN CRIMPING TOOL.

BEFORE YOU TRY TO PRINT OUT WITH <>
PO, YOU SHOULD FIRST MAKE SURE YOU
SELECTED THE 9600 BAUD RATE ON THE
PANEL. YOU GET THERE BY KEYING
CDS. THEN, OF COURSE, YOU SELECT
THAT ON YOUR BLUE STREAK, ALSO.

I FOUND THE WAY THIS UNIT IS SHAPED
GETS IN THE WAY OF MY PAPER PATH SO
I GOT A CABLE EXTENSION TO GET IT
OUT OF THE WAY. DO NOT USE AN
EXTENSION LONGER THAN 24 INCHES, IT
WILL DELAY THE BYTES AND MANY DROP
OUT. I USE A RADIO SHACK CAT. NO.
26-2867. ITS $10.95 IN THE STATES.

OTHER THEN THAT IT WORKS AS IT
SHOULD,
SO ENJOY

TIMEXERS C AN

SURVIVE WITH HELP!

DAYTON mCIlCK:OMPUTER ASSOCIATION INC

/^OMFUTERFESrTY

1993

SATURDAY

AUGUST 28 m W AUGUST 29

io am -6pm m m m m mm W ioam-4pm

THE HARA COMPLEX 1001 SHILOH SPRINGS RD DAYTON OH

LARGEST COMPUTER SHOW IN THE MIDWEST

TICKET INFORMATION

Purchase your tickets now for the 1 8th annual Computerfest®, August 28 and 29, at The Hara Complex,
Dayton Ohio. Computerfest® is the largest and longest running computer show of it's kind in the midwest.
The past few years have seen tremendous growth in both vendors and attendees. Last year, Computerfest® 92
drew over 27,500 people, nearly double that of 1991 . This year's crowd is expected to be even larger. Early
ticket purchase will help you avoid long lines at the ticket window the day of show. NEW this year will be a
special SHOWCASE area where manufacturers will display and present their latest products This will be a
non-sales area, for display and presentation only. On hand to show their wares will be represenatives of
Microsoft, IBM, Wordperfect, Symantec, Central Point, MediaVision, and Clear Star International, along with
many others. And as usual the best prices of the year will be found at Computerfest® 93 .

EVENT PASS - GOOD FOR BOTH DAYS
$5.00 IN ADVANCE $6.00 AT DOOR

Or send check for correct amount

and SASE to :

COMPUTERFEST TICKETS
PO BOX 4005
DAYTON, OH 45401-4005

(513) 223 - FEST

SINC-LINK

JULY/ AUGUST 1993
July 28, 1993

Dear Out-of-Town members,

Let's mention the news I etter first. Jeff gave me the PRISM +D format disk
that he mentions in his editorial. And he also loaned me a 3 1/2 inch drive to
try it out and see what I could make of it. I used the "doctor.BI" program
(on our Larken library disk #7 ) to take a look at it. I found that I was able
to load the tracks into "doctor" without a CRC error appear i ng . I saved
segments of the track as code files, and loaded them back into an empty 2068.
But I had difficulty in getting them properly i ntegrated in the 2068. I gave
up, because I had seen the files earlier on tape, and they were not worth
spending a lot of time with. I'll maybe work on it a bit more and write an
article about it for next issue of the n/ 1 .

But I have been doing other interesting things. Don Lambert, in the current
issue of ZXIR Clive Alive, asks whether there is a way to load a test file
into REM statements in a Basic program. That's a chal I enge I could not resist!
So I did work up a program and procedure to do just that. I'll make an article
about it for the next issue of S INC-LINK .

Another project has interested me. Some time ago I wrote a program which
would load MSDOS text files on disk into Mscript files on a Larken disk. Look
at our Larken library disk #27. Well, I thought, if I can load a track of an
MSDOS disk into the 2068, I should be able to save that track onto an empty
disk. If I did that track by track then I would have copied an MSDOS disk to
a blank disk. I reworked the trusty "doctor . B1 " program a bit, and what do you
know, I seem to have succeeded . The problem is, however, that so far I have
not been able to change drives during the process, so I have to switch disks
back and forth in one drive, for every track that is copied. I only did one
_d isk, and that meant two switches for each of 80 tracks! Wow, I'm not doing
that again until I solve how to change drives.

Hugh Howie has several good, lengthy articles in the current issue of
S INC-LINK, about his experiences at the QL Fest at Newport, R.I. Very
interest ing reading. In fact, if it wasn't for Hugh's efforts in the
newsletter, it would be a pretty thin issue. Come on, out there; we'll fold
the news I etter if no one writes material for it. And I'm not kidding, either;
not the slightest bit!

The Scarborough Neighbourhood Watch managed to finagle a computer from Bell
Canada. A real oldie, as computers go. It has 680K RAM, a 360K Disk drive, _ a
20M hard drive, a printer, and colour monitor. I've been playing around with
it, since by default, I'm the "computer expert"; Ho Ho!.

I've managed to install a front-end menu system, an early-vintage Word
Perfect, and a shareware database. Installed programs have to be really
simple; no room for Windows appl icat ions with 680K RAM, 20M drive, etc. But
hey, that's enough for our purposes. It's an interest i ng challenge though. I'm
busy reading books called "Using MSDOS", and "DOS for DUMMIES"; and learning
about things like AUTOEXEC.BAT", CONFIG.SYS, and EDLIN (I told you it was
old!, it uses a 8088 chip, not even a 80286!). Sometimes it's nice to come
back to the 2068, where I know where everything is!

Tim Swenson has sent me several Timex simulators. One makes an MSDOS think
it's a ZX81 , another makes it behave like a Spectrum. These seem to be
different than others I have. Anyone for copies? They don't really belong in
the Larken library. I'm at a slight loss how to catalogue them!

S i ncere I y,

George Chambers