SYNTAX
Serving Timex-Sinclair
Personal Computers
A PUBLICATION OF THE HARVARD GROUP
VOL.4 NO.11
ISSN 0273-2696
NOV., 1983
IN THIS ISSUE
8K Programs
Accounts.15
Add STORE & RECALL
to BASIC.4
Memory Tester.5
Pie Chart—Refinement.22
Syncwars-16.8
2068 Programs
Future History.8
Book Review
The Ins and Outs of the
Timex TS/1000 & ZX81 ..6
Classified Ads.22
Compatibility
of Machines.14
Dear Editor.12
Machine Code
Store & Recall.4
Screen Reverse.8
Screen Fill.8
Character Table Start..8
New Keyboards.14
New Products & Services.3
News.1
Rubbing It In.18
Software Review
Analogies, Logical
Reasoning.19
Mazogs.21
Multiple Regression
Analysis.20
SQ-UP. 2
Users' Groups.2
Vendor Report.2
ZX/TS Looks for
Trapped Minds.18
Index of Advertisers
Byte-Back .21
E-Z Key .19
Gladstone .11
Memotech .7
QUOTE WITHOUT COMMENT
To purchase the Timex Sinclair 2068 Computer see your local dealer
Or mail this coupon to: Timex Computer Corporation, RO. Box 3138,
Item
Price Qty. Total
Timex Sinclair 2068 Computer
$199.95
Timex Sinclair 2040 Printer
99.95
Timex Sinclair 2050 Modem
119.95
Timex Sinclair 2020 Program Recorder
49.95
Timex Sinclair 2090 Command Sticks
14.95 ea
Please add $5 handling charge
$5.00
I enclose a check/money order for $_
Please charge my VISA® /MasterCard rM
account no.
ALPHACOM TO SELL ZX/TS PRINTERS DIRECT
Alphacom sells VP-42 plug-compatible, thermal
printers. Beige. Call 800/227-6703 (800/632-
7979 in CA). MC/VISA/AMEX or check or MO to
ALPHACOM, POB 306, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019.
PRODUCTION 1500s AND 2068s SOLD IN US
Early shipments of TS2068s are selling well—
Sears reordered 4000 units according to Dan
Ross, Timex VP. A few units available at the
Boston Computer Society TS Celebration disap¬
peared quickly. Buyers snapped up 1500's as
well. Early tests suggest 1500 compatibility
with most peripherals. Those confused by 16-
32K internal memory will need some adaptor.
TIMEX SHOWS T-DOCK AND CARTRIDGE ADAPTOR
Cartridge software for TS1000/1500 owners
will be available by using a $19.95 T-Dock to
feed buss signals through and connect the ROM
plug-in—which uses chip-on-board technology.
THIRD ANNIVERSARY ISSUE
SQ-UP: In David Ornstein's premier
issue article (SQ Winter 82 p. 29)
Using Extra Keys on Big Keyboard,
add a symbol A atop the D1 lead
toward the right-hand edge of the
page. The list of connections
refers to this symbol. Also, the
D3 (ANODE) legend applies to ZX80S,
use D6 (ANODE) for ZX81s & TS1000S.
Finally, change Jun.81 to Mar.81.
Charles H. Bouley
VENDOR REPORT
SQ closeout premium processing
will continue to be slow. The book
arrived in Harvard just before the
BCS celebration & SYNTAX will pack
and ship them early in Nov. Tapes
will be ordered during that time
and shipped after the books. Staff
in circulation are changing subsc¬
riber records now. Labels will re¬
flect the change within two months.
You will not miss any issues, but
please renew when you receive your
notice; cross-checking the records
takes a long time. You will see
the changed expiration date on your
label when we alter the record.
Memotech reports that only the
RAM packs seem incompatible with
the TS1500. No other problems
reported so far. All plugins need
extension cables to clear computer
cables emerging from the back. Use
your TS2040 printer, buy a flexible
cable, or make an extender.
TRS Color printers work badly
with Memotech's RS232 interface.
Said Fateh says Memotech will make
refunds if the interface is not
damaged. Memotech uses standard
25-pin RS232 connectors; Radio
Shack uses 4-pin DIN connectors and
does not support the full standard.
Memotech apparently will not
introduce further new products for
ZX/TS machines. As you know, they
have designed their own computer,
which will be introduced in the US.
EZ-Loader contains a bug, says
Ed Gidley. Kopak's Bob Schiller
promises to provide the fix to all
buyers of that package, as well as
the printed manual to replace the
computer-generated one supplied. By
shifting manufacture in-house,
Kopak hopes to improve quality
control. Ed Gidley is sending the
fix to SYNTAX—we'll pass it on.
Timex 2040 printers have disc
ceramic capacitors on the data
lines. These cut noise, but slow
buss timing. Cut one lead on these
caps (usually 82p) to restore
timing—and void your warranty.
Early models use caps tack-soldered
on the circuit side of the board;
later ones are marked C4, C5 & C6.
InfoWorld (V.5 N. 43 pp 57-58)
says Budget Master 1000 contains no
SAVE option—it's omitted from the
program. SYNTAX called vendor HES
(415/468-4111) who no longer offer
the program in their catalog, but
sell it on request. The reviewer
feels it's a good program, you can
repair the BASIC. HES software's
Technical Support Coordinator says
they quit supporting ZX/TS.
ZX/TS USERS 1 GROUPS
Bladensburg, MD: Capitol Area
Timex/Sinclair User's Group, P.0.
Box 725, Bladensburg, MD 20710.
(Jim Wallace: 301/699-8712)
Bowie, MD: The Bowie Timex
Computer Club, Lowell Demming,
12611 Beechfern Lane,
Bowie, MD 20715.
Gainesville, FL: Timex-Sinclair
User's Group, 3708 Newberry Road,
Gainesville, FL 32607.
Iowa City, IA: James Carroll, 1001
Oakcrest #14, Iowa City, IA 52240
Newport, RI: Ocean State T/S User
Group, c/o Bob Dyl, 15 Kilburn CT.,
Newport, RI 02840, 401/849-3805.
2
NEW PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
"HAM-HACKER"(TM) software includes:
Morse Code 16K/2K practice w/ audio
tone ($14.95), MINIMUF propagation
($17.95), CE AMP for common emitter
circuit design and test ($19.95).
All 10% off till 15 Dec.83. Hawg
Wild Software, POB 7668, Little
Rock AR 72217.
Four Hewson Consultants programs, 3
for Spectrum, and ZX/TS PUCKMAN 16K
will be available from Hawg Wild
for $15.95+$2 P&H ea. Backgammon,
Countries of the World, and Night-
flite are offered as compatible
with your TS2068, but the Hawg is
hedging—delivery may be delayed.
"POSTMASTER" in MC accepts address
files & 2 user-defined codes, up to
75 records/tape. Quick search for
fast retrieval. Review on screen
or print to TS2040—$9.95 + $1 P&H
TOOLKIT moves RAMTOP, prints bytes
free, renumbers BASIC, or assembles
MC using ZX/TS dec codes—$7.95 PPD
GENEALOGY stores a four-generation
family tree on one side of tape and
prints to TS2040—$6.95 PPD. Z-
WEST, POB 2411, Vista, CA 92083.
Computer literacy programs to teach
programming concepts through games.
Gridlock uses graphs, cooordinates,
plots, and screen display. Turning
the Truth Tables exercises logical
thought via AND/OR, greater, equal,
lesser, 0/1, and IF. Snake Eyes
demonstrates random numbers and
chance with histograms and classic
casino games. All use graphic or
text game format—$14.95 ea. Basic
BASIC covers display, input, loops,
moving graphics, and subroutines.
User then builds upon the skeleton
program to create an action game—
$17.95. 2-BIT SOFTWARE, POB 2036,
Del Mar, CA 92014. 619/481-3629.
Software in package deals qualifies
for Timex's buy 2, get 2 free deal.
Phoenix Enterprises, 1780 N. DuPont
Hwy., No. 17, Dover, DE 19901.
UK acoustic modem connects to MIC &
EAR jacks for simplex transmission
of programs, blocks of memory, or
screen contents between ZX/TS and
Spectrum. Uses 5mA from computer
power and UK modem frequencies—2
cycles of 1650Hz for mark and 2 of
2475Hz for space. No start or stop
bits; byte only. Max. message is
15 Kbytes. Menu-driven software.
£48 Micro-Myte Communications Ltd.,
Polo House, 27 Prince St., Bristol
1, UK. Tel. (0272)299373.
Contact Lens overlay for your ZX/TS
membrane keyboards, rectangular,
bevel-edge holes to guide fingers
to keys. Adhesive backing. $7.95
PPD 30-day refund. Warren Imports
Group, 81 Brookmill Blvd., Unit 80,
Agincourt, ON Canada MlW 2L5.
Programmer's Market organizes 500
software publishers and marketers
for your original programs. Lists
contacts, requirements, payment
terms, and contract work available.
Organized by type of computer (31
Timex entries), type of software, &
alphabetically. Writer's Digest
Books, 9933 Alliance Rd. Cincinnati
OH 45242. $16.95+$1.50 P&H. Visa
or MC call 800/543-4644.
Two 16K, printer-compatible, filing
packages by Russell Brewer. Rapid
File—menu-driven edit, search, in¬
sert, & delete—machine code file
handling and packed files. Rapid
Finance lets user set up 19 accts,
enter by date, account, amount, &
optional comments for up to 500 en¬
tries. $10.95 ea, PPD in US. 26630
Mill Rd., Frazeysburg, OH 43822.
Power Squeezer drives up to 256 BSR
controllers from your ZX/TS (1500's
included) or allows 20 devices with
software clock-calendar and 7-day
program. Updates every minute.
Cassette, transmitter & manual for
$79.95 PPD (UPS Blue or Priority
Mail). Avail. Dec.83, Advance
orders to Goldwater Mfg. Co., POB
1715, Sandy, UT 84091.
3
IRA Organizer to record retirement
fund transactions. Store date, de¬
posits, withdrawals and interest.
Seven-option menu: enter, correct,
save, print, or display all, one or
summary. On tape for 8K R0M/16K.
$16.50 from John B. Carson, Jr.,
11200 Lockwood Drive, Number 307,
Silver Spring, MD 20901.
LAB PROGRAM I & II (BOD, COD, MLSS,
MLVSS, SVI, TSS, Total Solids) menu
driven, printer compatible. $24.95
each. Labsoft, 1707 King St.,
Jacksonville, FL 32204.
Data acquisition module multiplexes
14-channels via an integrating A/D
to ZX/TS (incl. 1500) to measure V
ac/dc, dc I, temp., or frequency.
Reasonable ranges, but not industr¬
ial standard values. Allows random
scan under program control. ROM
software at addresses 15360-16383
called by USR. Results converted
to quantity measured & returned in
floating point for computation.
User sets conversion time/channel
to trade time (1-5 sec), error &
noise rejection. No calibration
needed. Works in IK RAM, plugs on
edge connector and extends buss.
Model 2900-Z, $89 PPD. MC/VISA
Occam Research, Inc., POB 1055,
Trumansburg, NY 14866.
RPNZL programming system uses full¬
screen text editor for FORTH-like,
stack-oriented syntax. Load/ save
12 times faster than ZX/TS BASIC &
verify. Integer only, full string
handling, resident monitor, plus
TS2040 support. Language tape,
editor/compiler, linker, & manual.
Requires 16K RAM. $29.95+1.50 P&H.
The Golden Stair, 141A Dore Street,
San Francisco, CA 94103.
Peel & stick keys of resilient foam
with characters & graphics in black
and shifted characters in red. For
ZX/TS keyboards to give soft feel.
No keywords or functions on these.
$5.95 PPD. E. H. Enterprises,
POB 4068, Little Rock, AR 72214.
Add STORE & RECALL to BASIC—8K/16K
Adding BASIC commands can be
accomplished by locating machine
language subroutines in RAM that is
safe from NEW and LOAD. Two ideal
places are above RAMTOP or below
address 16384, such as in Hunter's
NVM. You call the commands with
USR; either in immediate mode or
from within a program. This example
gives details for placing routines
above RAMTOP or in the Hunter NVM.
STORE transfers a screen image
(display file) above RAMTOP to be
re-displayed by the RECALL command.
Enter listing one exactly as
shown. Notice that you enter hex
codes directly into the REM at line
one. Line 6 translates these to
decimal codes as it POKES your
program to the chosen RAM area.
LISTING ONE
SAVE the program by entering
RUN. Now when you LOAD the tape,
the program RUNS and transfers the
routines to memory automatically.
STORE by using RAND USR 30000,
RECALL by RAND USR 30012. STORE
won't work in immediate mode since
CLS always follows immediate entry.
After loading the routines in
upper memory, RAMTOP is lowered to
30000, thereby protecting them from
NEW and LOAD. To shield the STOREd
screen from NEW and LOAD, relocate
RAMTOP to 29000: POKE 16388,72;
POKE 16389,113.
To change listing one for use
with the Hunter NVM located at 8K,
delete lines 9 and 10 and change
4
line 4 to LET L=8192. New calls
are STORE, RAND USR 8192, and
RECALL, RAND USR 8204.
Len Harmon, Metairie, LA
ASSEMBLY LISTING
7530
2A0C40 STOR
LD HL,(DFILE)
7533
114871
LD DE,7148
7536
011803
LD BC,0318
7539
EDBO
LDIR
753B
C9
RET
753C
214871 RACL
LD HL,7148
753F
ED5B0C4 0
LD DE,(DFILE)
7543
011803
LD BC,0318
7546
EDB0
LDIR
7548
C9
RET
MEMORY TESTER—8K/16K
My ZX/TS's erratic behavior
when it ran big programs made me
suspect memory problems. I wrote a
BASIC program to perform a simple
check of memory above the first IK
of RAM. It found two bytes where a
bit was dropped; I fixed the 16K
RAM by replacing one chip. This
program can help if you suspect a
memory problem.
MEMTST writes all zeroes into a
byte, confirms that all bits equal
zero by reading the byte, writes
all ones in the byte, confirms that
bits are all ones by re-reading the
byte, then moves to the next byte.
Lines 70 & 90 record errors.
To use MEMTST, first do the
following without line numbers:
POKE 16388,0
POKE 16389,68
NEW
FAST
These POKES set RAMTOP so the stack
resides in the first K of RAM. (So
MEMTST will not destroy the machine
stack.) Type in MEMTST exactly as
shown. In line 20, spell out words
except REM. If you SAVE MEMTST,
set RAMTOP before you LOAD it.
Run MEMTST. If all goes well,
about 4.5 minutes later "END" will
appear on the screen. If numbers
show up, you have a memory problem.
Each line represents one bad
memory location. On each line the
first number shows the address of
the erring location. The second
number contains the code read from
the location. The third number is
the code written to the location.
To find which bits are bad in
a location, convert codes first to
hex and then to binary. Read the
second number from a line on the
screen and find it under the code
column in appendix A of the BASIC
manual supplied with your computer.
Beside the code you will find a
two-digit number in the hex column.
Interpret each digit according to
the following
table:
HEX
BITS
HEX
BITS
0
0000
8
1000
1
0001
9
1001
2
0010
A
1010
3
0011
B
1011
4
0100
C
1100
5
0101
D
1101
6
0110
E
1110
7
0111
F
1111
For the two hex digits you'll have
8 bits. Thus, code 127 means hex
digits 7F and binary, 01111111. In
this example, if the 3rd number was
255, the leftmost bit is in error.
(Zero gives all 0's; 255, all l's.)
If the screen fills with errors
when you RUN the program, push CONT
to see more errors. Repeat until
you see "END" displayed. RUN the
program several times; some errors
show up only on repeated /trials.
Ron Charlton, Paducah, KY
5
BOOK REVIEW
Title:
The Ins & Outs of the
Timex TS/1000 & ZX81
By:
Don Thomasson
From:
Melbourne House, Dept.
347 Reedwood Drive
Nashville, TN 37217
CS
Price:
$12.95 (Softcover, 101
PP.)
"At last a hardware reference
manual which covers all aspects of
the TS 1000!", reads the Melbourne
House ad for "Ins and Outs ".
While the book provides a number of
interesting tips and schematics, it
falls far short of comprehensive
coverage. Thomasson's book offers
clearly printed pages and contains
15 circuit diagrams and 9 other
illustrations. Three sections
organize the book: Internals, the
External Interface, and Externals.
In addition, two very short
appendices present some simple
BASIC and MC driver programs.
Internals supposedly tells us
all about the ULA (uncommitted
logic array) or "workhorse chip."
However, only 2 pages describe the
general function of the chip before
Thomasson (figuratively) throws up
his hands over the "Machiavellian"
complexities of the ZX's innards.
Here he warns us again (the first
several warnings come in the third
paragraph of the introduction):
"very little change is permissible"
in the insides of our computers.
This theme appears throughout the
book: he tells us more about what
we can't do than what we can do.
After a disappointing look at
the ULA, Thomasson delves into the
TS's use of IN and OUT ports (FB,
FD, FE and FF) for tape loading and
keyboard, and briefly describes the
video display. He gives simple
memory expansion schemes, as well
as a basic big keyboard layout.
"The External Interface" pages
describe the ZX/TS busses (internal
and external) and investigate what
those edge connector pins really
do. Again we get a very brief view
of the various functions available
and Thomasson dismisses some out of
hand as unusable. For example, for
Ml (machine cycle one) he says "no
external use can be envisaged". In
fact, many add-on memories need Ml
to decode addresses above 32K.
In the last section Thomasson
addresses external add-ons: The
chapter starts with a basic power
supply and then moves to a simple,
but somewhat expensive, 16K RAM.
But, it appears that some control
lines may be missing in the plans.
(For instance, one 16K RAM plan
shows a WR line, but no RD or
MREQ—this memory probably works
by itself, but could cause problems
when used with other peripherals.)
Thomasson discusses basic I/O ports
using Z80 PIO and 8255 PPI chips,
though again, very briefly.
Next, Thomasson introduces a
Centronics style printer interface,
potentially the most valuable part
of the book. His design (software
and hardware) should provide you a
solid interface which even supports
LLIST, LPRINT and COPY. Like Ener-
Z's Report Generator board, Thomas¬
son overlays ROM print routines at
0851H with his code. The chapter
ends with examples of basic A/D and
D/A converters, a sound generator,
and 13 pages of BASIC program and
explanation of a simulation of a
model railroad system, not the real
world control system advertised.
This book contains useful tips
& hints, and the printer interface
concept seems sound. I give this
book 6 out of 10, as it doesn't
live up to its claims.
Paul J. Donnelly, Centerport, NY
Manual references mean the Sinclair
UK manual—with its differences.
Display timing (p.13) applies to
50Hz systems. In the British way,
you'll find some obtuse comments,
but display and keyboard operations
are clear, if brief. Five lines of
text hint at how the simulator gets
replaced in a control loop—KO.
6
The Complete Range
Fiiteen months ago Memotech developed the first 64K Memopak, designed to maximise the capabilities of the Sinclair
ZX81. Since then, using the ZX81 as a starting point, we've gone on to produce a comprehensive range of Memopaks.
adding 16K and 32K memory expansions, utilities packages comprising a Word Processor, Z80 Assembler and
Spreadsheet Analysis, plus Communication Interfaces, High Resolution Graphics and a professional quality Keyboard.
To complete our range of Timex add-ons, we are now introducing the MEMOPAK RS232 Serial Interface.
RS232 Interface
The RS232 is an all-purpose interface
which allows the Timex not only to
output to suitable serial printers, but
can link up with numerous types of
peripheral or even other processors.
The Interface has two main modes of
operation: BASIC mode allows you to
use the range of functions supplied in
the RS232 EPROM within an ordinary
BASIC program, and TERMINAL mode
allows you to use your Timex as a
terminal to another processor.
The EPROM functions offered permit
the user to send, receive and convert
bytes between Z80 code and ASCII, as
well as check the status of numerous
control flags. Received or transmitted
data can appear simultaneously on the
screen, and received data may be
printed simultaneously.
$79.95 cable $19.95
Memopak Centronics
I/F
The BASIC commands LPRINT,
LLIST and COPY are used to print on
any CENTRONICS type printer. All
ASCII characters are generated and
translation takes place automatically
within the pack. Reverse capitals give
lower case. Additional facilities allow
Memotext
Text is first arranged in 32 character
lines for the screen with comprehensive
editing facilities. On output the user
simply chooses the line length required
for printing and the system does the
rest. Used with the Memopak
Centronics Interface, the Word
Processor makes available printout with
80 character lines, upper and lower
case and single and double size
characters. i
Memopak
Memory
Extensions
For those setting
out on the road to real
computing, these packs
transform the Timex from
a toy to a powerful computer.
Data storage, extended program¬
ming and complex displays all become
feasible. Further details available on request.
16K Memopak $39.95
32K Memopak $79.95
64K Memopak $119.95
high resolution printing.
$59.95 cable $19.95
Memopak HRG
This pack breaks down the constraints
imposed by operating at the Z80
character level and allows high
definition displays to be generated. All
248 x 192 individual pixels can be
controlled using simple commands, and
the built in software enables the user to
work interactively at the dot, line,
character, block and page levels.
$79.95
Memocalc
The screen display behaves as a
'window' on a large sheet of paper on
which a table of numbers is laid out.
The maximum size of the table is
determined by the memory capacity,
and with a Memopak 64K a table of up
to 7000 numbers with up to 250 rows or
99 columns can be specified.
$39.95
Z80 Assembler
The Assembler allows
you first to code and
edit a source program in
the Z80 language, and
then assemble it into
machine code. You can
now write flexible and
economic programs.
The Editor mode
allows you to code
directly in the right
format, manipulate
inidividual lines and
control the exact placing
of source and machine
code. Routines may be
merged or listed (even
to a commercial printer
using our Centronics
Interface). The
assembler mode handles
all standard Z80
mnemonics, numbers in
hex or decimal,
comments and user-
selected tables.
$39.95
Memotech Keyboard
The Memotech plug-in Keyboard plus buffer pack takes
the effort out of data entry for Timex users. The Keyboard
has a light professional touch and is housed in an elegant
aluminum case. The simple plug-in system means that you
are not obliged to open up your Timex, use a soldering
iron or invalidate your Timex warranty.
Keyboard Buffer Pak ,
The Buffer Pak performs a "housekeeping" function for the
Keyboard, interfacing directly with the port of your Timex.
$79.95 — (keyboard & buffer included )
Note ! All Memotech products carry a 6 mo. warranty.
80 column dot matrix printer packages available at a
substantial savings from Memotech.
Order at no risk (10 day money-back guarantee ) : Call 1-617-449-6614. Or send your
name, address, phone number and a check/money order/Visa or MasterCard number with expiration
date to: Memotech Direct Sales Division, 99 Cabot Street, Needham, MA 02194.
Shipping/Handling $4.95
FUTURE HISTORY—2068
In Jan. 1981, SYNTAX published
LIGHTS OF THE CITY for the recently
announced (and long-awaited) 8K ROM
for the ZX80—it would be 10 months
before ZX81's were announced in the
US. For kicks, we updated CITY for
the TS2068—just as it was updated
from a 1978 version for the PET.
Using simple graphics, this
program generates an ever-changing
video pattern like a growing city.
To use, type RUN, then enter a
PAUSE time (number of TV frames to
display between moves). Depress P
to run at top speed.
Variables x & y define line &
column of the PRINT position. The
program selects a random direction
(up, down, right, or left), changes
the current position accordingly, &
prints a character there. Display
freezes for z frames, then changes.
All the original program lines
remain exactly, but we modified the
program to add color. Lines 17 and
107 are totally new; line 5 shows a
new INPUT prompt; line 100 includes
an INK command inserted before c$.
You can run the old program on
any ZX/TS with 8K of ROM: to see
the original effect put your ZX/TS
in FAST. Run this on your TS2068.
SYNCWARS-16—8K/16K
This "souped-up" version of my
SYNCWARS game runs in SLOW mode (no
screen flashes or jitter) and shows
more spectacular displays. Other¬
wise, the program plays just as the
2K version, published in SQ Vol. 2
No. 1. This version uses about 6K
of memory, so you need a RAM pack.
First, enter the loader program of
Listing 1. Check to see that it is
exactly as listed, RUN the loader
and input the decimal listing shown
after listing 1. Syntactic Sum now
gives 18889, and the top 5 program
lines should look just like lines
1-5 of listing 2, the game program.
Next enter lines 10-1590 of listing
2, replacing the MC loader.
To SAVE the program to tape,
enter RUN 180. Line 180 shortens
SAVE/LOAD time by compressing the
display file. To play after you
SAVE—BREAK, POKE 16389,128 and
RUN. When LOADing, this byte will
already be set correctly.
Do not make any changes in
lines 1-5, doing so will result in
a crash. You can employ this trick
to discourage people from removing
your byline from programs; sandwich
title and byline REMs between MC
routines (1, 3, & 5). Pulling line
2 or 4 will mess up the program.
Line 1 (16514) contains a MC
screen reverse routine; POKEing the
5th byte (16518) with N+l reverses
the first N lines.
Line 3 (16556) fills the ZX/TS
screen fast; the fifth byte (16560)
again equals one plus the number of
lines to fill; byte 12 (16571) sets
the fill character. POKE 16571,0
(space) to create a "clear screen"
faster than CLS, and use byte five
to control how many lines of the
screen you clear. I'm sure you can
think of other uses.
Line 5 (16597) directs the
computer to a wrong character-table
start address; if byte 2 isn't 30,
the screen turns to garbage. This
creates the spectacular flash when
you hit a zapper (key).
8
All 3 machine code routines
are fully relocatable.
Line 210 graphics arerinv sp,
inv inv ,, ." f inv "*", gr "A",
"*" f . The remaining graphics
should be quite apparent.
Lines 650 and 750 set how much
time you have to zap each invader;
it gets shorter as you go along.
You try to destroy 10 invader
pairs as they appear on screen. To
shoot, you must depress the key
corresponding to invader position.
For example, press "1" if the inva¬
der is in the upper left corner,
"enter" if it's all the way to the
right a little below center, and so
on. SHIFT and BREAK are unused.
You score when you hit the
second of each pair of invaders;
the first ("Syncloid robot")
generates an "invisibility field"
that hides the actual invader
("Synclon", the one you get points
for.) If you miss the robot, the
field disturbance is enough to
tingle the Synclon's antennae,
giving away his position; so if
you're fast you can nail him even
with the field still in place.
Perfect score merits a special (and
rather patriotic) display.
Have fun!!
FRED NACHBAUR, EL MONTE, CA
LISTING 1 (LOADER)
DECIMAL LISTING—READ LEFT TO RIGHT
42 12 64 6
4 5 200 24
24 241 42 12
6 25 126 254 118 32
4 3 198 128 119 35
2 64 6 24 126 254
5 200 24 2 54 27
35 24 242 62 30 237 71 201
BEYOND 64K...
Would you believe up to ONE MEGABYTE?
Memory expansion is only the BEGINNING of the possibilities available through BASICare ... the ONLY expandable-
expansion system for Timex-Sinclair computers.
This is a unique flexible ‘Building Block’ expansion system that enables you to expand your system in any configuration you
choose.
ASICare Modular Expansion Systems can ‘grow’ on Timex Sinclair
TS1000 microcomputers ZX81
To order call toll-free 800 - 833-8400 In New York call (716) 874-5510.
|l| The phones are open 9AM - 10PM (E.S.T.) Monday to Friday. Call or write for further information.
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BASICare modules are what is required to turn any Timex
Sinclair into a serious computer for business, education,
industrial, and hobby applications. Your system can grow
gradually as you can add new functions when and as required.
In order to open the door to this exciting new world of
expansions you require a Persona module. It simply (and
firmly) plugs into your computer. No soldering. No
modifications of any sort!
BASICare uses a unique 64 way Organic Bus. This bus is the
pathway to all modules. You have INSTANT access to all
modules simply and easily through the PEEK and POKE
commands.
Memory can be added AS REQUIRED in blocks of 16K or 64K
up to one MEGABYTE. This is memory that is INSTANTLY
AVAILABLE. This is unlike any other system available for a
home computer and compares in capability to multi-tasking
systems costing thousands of dollars!
You can grow gradually, adding memory or other functions as
you need them. Just think of the added power expandable
memory will provide!
The PERICON modules add Input/Output functions like driving
relays, LED’s or a Centronics type printer.
The DROM offers a PERFECT alternative to tedious cassette
saving and loading by holding your programs and data in non¬
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These, combined with the other BASICare modules, put YOU
in complete control.
GROW UP TO REAL COMPUTING. With BASICares Modular
Expansion System the modules will never become redundant. If you
eventually change to a bigger, more powerful computer, the chances
are that we will have a Persona interface to allow you to use your
modules on the new equipment.
PERSONA: —Interface
module to enable BASICare to
grow on your computer $ 59.95
MINIMAP: —Memory mapping
to extend the address space
beyond 64K to 1 Megabyte.
$ 59.95
RAM 16: —16K add-on
memory. $54.95
RAM 64: —a TRUE 64K add¬
on memory. $ 149.95
DROM (2K): —Ultra low power
memory backed by a
rechargeable battery for non¬
volatile storage of programs
and data $ 74.95
USERFONT : —Provides user
definable characters for DROM
and TOOLKIT. $17.95
PERICON a: —A general-
purpose, user programmable
device providing 24 lines of,
input output. $ 54.95
PERICON b: —24 lines ot
heavy duty output to access
and control the outside world.
$ 59.95
PERICON c: —To drive an 80
column printer with Centronics
type parallel interface $ 74.95
SONUS: —Three voice music-
sound synthesizer with
independent envelope control
under BASIC commands.
$ 59.95
TOOLKIT: —An 8K module of
utilities in EPROM ROM
DEAR EDITOR:
While I'm eagerly awaiting the
TS2068 I'm concerned that I cannot
load my ZX/TS programs from tape.
Will a program to allow this be
available soon?
Sigmund T. Mentzel, Crown Point, IN
Probably. UK customers can now buy
a program, ZX SLOWLOADER, to read
ZX81 tapes into SPECTRUM, let you
modify them, then save in SPECTRUM
format. It may not work directly,
but I expect equivalent products
for the 2068—KO.
(-10 East London Robotics, Gate 11,
Royal Albert Dock, London E16, UK
Tel. 01 474 4430, VISA, 24-hours)
When I attach a 64K memory to
my ZX/TS, I can't use more than 16K
of its capacity. Should I modify
my ZX-81 as John Oliger recommended
in SQ Summer 83 p.47?
John K. Mitchell, Westwood, MA
ZX/TS machines will not set RAMTOP
above 16K by themselves; you must
POKE locations 16388 & 16389 to set
it higher. John's computer change
allows you to run machine code in
the 16-32K block of RAM. If you do
make the change, tie pins 1 & 13 of
the 74LS10 to Vcc (Jul.83 p.2)—KO
_ I suggest two improvements in
publishing machine code listings.
Please state when the routines can
be relocated. In those cases where
the code is not relocatable, please
point out or mark absolute codes
and addresses to recalculate for
use in other memory locations.
This would save time for those
of us who try to relocate code and
then find that it won't run without
some alteration.
R. Harder, N. Vancouver, BC, Canada
MC authors, please tell SYNTAX what
to point out and we'll comply—KO.
I found your information on
modifying "VU-FILE" very useful
(Sep.83 p.13). Converting Sinclair
programs to QSAVE has stopped me
cold with my limited knowledge of
programming. Please publish more
in-depth solutions to convert
such programs as "Checkbook
Manager" and "VU-CALC" to QSAVE.
A. Sloan, Green Bay, WI
I subscribe to your magazine
and find it most informative; maybe
someone can help me. The Psion
Flight Simulator is entertaining;
adding a joy stick could make it
better. Recently I bought Zebra's
adaptor which accepts an Atari joy
stick. Sadly, the program is not
designed for a joy stick and the
instructions with the adapter for
adjusting the Program did not help
me. I am not an experienced
programmer.
I hope you can help, I know of
at least 4 other persons who have
the same problem.
Bob Eikhof, Warwick, NY
We've also had a request to modify
The Fast One to 64K. SYNTAX needs
help from readers to do these—KO.
Occasionally the H,J,K,L half¬
row of my ZX/TS keyboard locks or
else prints blank spaces. Thinking
it was a heat problem, I drilled
holes in the case. At the same
time, I cleaned the contacts of the
keyboard plugs. After about a week
it began locking-up again. Any
suggestions?
Don W. Downs, Bourbonnais, IL
Check the schematic (SQ Winter 82),
that half-row goes to A14 through a
diode. How does ENTER behave? Any
open (solder joint, diode, cable)
locks a half-row. Is the logic 1
of A14 marginal? The Z80 could be
becoming heat sensitive. Printing
spaces instead baffles me—KO.
12
I had a problem with a TS1000
which, with a 64K RAM, developed
temperatures of 95-100F measured on
the keyboard face just over the
heat sink using a thermometer
covered with aluminum foil. After
a crash, applying ice restored the
machine immediately, verifying the
heat problem.
I reduced the supply voltage
by inserting a series resistor in
the plus power lead. Since my unit
with 64K RAM attached draws 0.6A, I
used 2 Ohms. This cuts the applied
voltage by 1.2V. When connected,
the voltage at the ZX/TS power inlet
measures 8.1V.
Now, temperature at the face of
the keyboard does not exceed 85F at
74F room temperature and I can keep
the computer on for many hours with
no heat problem.
Use more resistance for lower
current drawn by attachments. You
must calculate resistor values so
that the voltage doesn't fall below
7V even with power fluctuations.
About 8V seems a good compromise.
Frederick M. Lewis, Burnt Hills, NY
All the power supply tips and
fixes I see replace or improve the
9V input to the computer.
I use a 5V-6A, regulated,
adjustable, regulated power supply
with OVP directly to the board,
bypassing the ZX/TS regulator.
Is this dangerous?
Mike Thornton, Borrego Springs, CA
Fred's problem points to 7805 ther¬
mal shutdown, 5V goes away and 9V
goes up. Mike's solution presents
no danger, but accessories that use
9V from pin 2B of the edge connec¬
tor do not work—KO.
You can defeat the "Program
Access Security System:" use good
ole...SAVE CHR$ USR 832"name". As
the program SAVES, hit BREAK.
Michael Bowman, Arab, AL
On p.13 Jun.83, you inform Mr.
Brandao about the "input" level for
MIC plugs being 5 mV peak to peak.
I don't understand; do you mean the
ZX/TS MIC jack OUTput? While we're
at it, what INput level does the
EAR-jack need for proper loading?
Cedric Bastiaans, Los Angeles, CA
OK, one man's Mede is another man's
Persian, and computer output equals
recorder input. In any case: at
MIC jacks, signals equal 5 mVpp; at
the EAR jack, about 4.5 Vpp. TTL
levels also work as EAR jack inputs
SYNTAX Jun.83 p.20—KO
Timex left out 2 key commands
from their VU-CALC documentation.
"p" copies the screen to the prin¬
ter, and "D" deletes a formula at
the cursor position. (Sinclair and
Psion included these instructions—
KO.) VU-CALC is NOT compatible
with Memotech interfaces.
Sometimes my Gemini 10 printer
omits characters or prints in the
wrong place. Memotech checked out
my interface, and my printer checks
out. Could this be an incompatibi¬
lity between the interface and the
printer? Memotech is by far the
nicest company I've dealt with and
their helpfulness is to be praised.
Jim Payne, Dover, DE
Yes, but if you can determine the
pattern of behavior, you can prob¬
ably overcome it. Test for code
or character sequences that cause
this problem. Let us know what you
find—maybe we can cure it—KO.
$49.99 SPECIALS IN NEW YORK CITY
Paul Donnely reports you can buy:
TS1000+16K RAM+3 Software Packages
from Yair Imports, E. 45th St. or
47th St. Photo, 67 W. 47th St. all
for $49.99 total. You can call
47th St Photo at 800/221-7774 or
800/221-5858 or 212/260-4410. He
says Frogger is available.
13
COMPATIBILITY OF MACHINES
Many of us are trying to find
out which peripherals work with
what machines. Information is very
sketchy, but here's what SYNTAX has
learned so far.
Software
So far, we know of no ROM
changes in the 1500. The keypress
channel changing (see p.8, TS1500
manual) uses hardware; Timex says
no ROM entry point changes.
SYNTAX loaded a ZX SPECTRUM
starter tape into the 2068. BASIC
programs LOADed and ran. MC gave
out of memory reports and would not
run, but the loading patterns look
correct in the border.
ZX/TS software, including MC,
runs on the 1500. All programs in
this issue were tested on both.
Third-Party Hardware
All ZX/TS peripherals that
extend more than 1 3/8 inches to
the left (viewed from the keyboard
side of the computer) of the edge
connector or more than 3/8 inch to
the right, need an extender about 1
1/2 inches long to clear the power
and video cables. The printer plug
of your TS2040 will do.
Jerry Minchey of Byte-Back
reports that they tested all their
modules and all Byte Back modules
function with TS1500S. But new,
wide modules need a 1 1/2-inch
extender plug ($6.95+$3 S&H) so you
can connect the cables to the rear.
Old, narrow module designs plug on
directly. Or, use Computer Conti¬
nuum's flexible cable.
Jerry also informs us that BB
64K memories work with the TS1500
because they don't disable internal
RAM—rather, it runs in parallel.
Memotech says their RAM packs
don't work with the 1500, but they
received no other problem reports.
When SYNTAX checked, Memotech had
not tested for problems.
Timex Hardware
Timex changed RAM CS on the
edge connector to RAM RM. Edge-
connector pin assignments are on
p.150 of the TS1500 manual. When
you attach an external 16K & pull
RAM RM high, the internal memory
goes to 16-32K. (This puts system
variables in the external RAM—KO)
In their OCT.83 newsletter,
the Boston Computer Society says
that TS1500's use an octal bus
transceiver (74LS245) to partition
the data bus. BCS had suggested
this technique to modify your ZX/TS
in the SEP.83 Sinclair-Timex User
Group Newsletter.
TS2040 printers work with all
the machines, but we hear that 12-
15% of early 1500s might not drive
the printer properly.
TS2068 edge connectors differ
from both 1000s & ZX SPECTRUM—and
the manual does not contain the pin
assignments. Differences include
both the number of pins and the
function performed by a given pin.
(Sinclair similarly altered the
locations of some functions between
the ZX81 and the ZX SPECTRUM.
NEW KEYBOARDS
Keys of 1500s move, are soft
gray rubber, use white characters
and graphic symbols and black shift
functions. Three 1500 keys occupy
the same space as four ZX/TS keys.
Markings are rearranged—primary
character at top center, shifted
character at bottom left, graphic
at bottom right.
TS2068 keys move, are hard
white plastic with comfortable
left-right dished tops, use black
characters & graphics and show the
symbol shift characters in white on
black bands across the key bottoms.
Key spacing is also 4/3 bigger than
ZX/TS spacing. The 2068 offers two
caps shift keys, a separate symbol
shift key, a BREAK key (physically
separate, but electrically another
space key) and a long space bar.
14
ACCOUNTS—8K/16K
ACCOUNTS, an accounting pro¬
gram for small businesses, compu¬
terizes your DOME monthly account¬
ing book. It allows up to 240
accounting records, either debit or
credit, in 40 different categories.
You choose each code definition.
Menus and prompts guide you.
Usually ENTER moves you along to
the next phase, but if all else
fails, simply GOTO 10 to return to
the menu. DO NOT RUN!
After loading ACCOUNTS, you
see its menu and control portion
(lines 10-170). Just touch the key
for the first letter of each option
to invoke it. Each option returns
to the menu upon completion.
If you choose BEGIN (lxxx),
the program clears all data and
variables and asks for data input.
Respond to DATE with six charac¬
ters, year first; TO/FROM with up
to 15 characters; REASON up to 10
characters; CODE with two-character
account code; and AMOUNT with dol¬
lar value. As written, the first
32 codes automatically debit (no
minus sign required, but the pro¬
gram stores the value as negative).
Correct any item during entry using
the DELETE key. You get a chance
to check your entries before choos¬
ing YES or NO. After your last
entry, use QUIT instead of YES to
return to the menu. A flashing
message tells when you can enter
only five more records.
CONTINUE (2xxx) works like
BEGIN, except it does not clear
previous data. Instead, it appends
new data to the previous records.
VIEW (3xxx) lets you scan
entries by year or month. As the
screen fills, ENTER makes room for
more. Finally you see a summary.
This takes the longest due to the
ROM's floating point calculator.
PRINT (4xxx) sends selected
records and summations to an 80-
column printer. Change the for¬
matting here for a 32-column print¬
er. CHR$ 155;"A" gives carriage
return/line feed via Memotech's
I/F, for which I wrote this pro¬
gram. The 80-column printer gives
neat, formal accounting reports.
FILE (5xxx) presents facts
about file and space usage, includ¬
ing records used, contents of last
record and total program and vari¬
ables size.
EDIT (6xxx) allows selected
altering or deleting of records.
DELETE merely nulls a record and
does not physically remove it. If
space gets tight, you may ALTER new
data into a deleted record. Unlike
BEGIN, when editing you must put a
negative sign in the AMOUNT field.
SAVE (9xxx) sets up cassette
save of program and data. Just
ready the cassette in record mode
and enter the name under which you
want to save the program.
Subroutine at lines 7xxx gives
start and stop parameters for VIEW
and PRINT options. 8xxx adds en¬
tries within each account code.
You can get a tape of this
program for $3 from me.
James R. Shoaf III, POB 2147,
Santa Clara, CA 95055-2147
Variables:
D(240) stores DATE (numeric)
A(240) stores AMOUNT
T(40) stores each acct subtotal
Q(3) stores credit, debit and net
totals
C$(240,2) stores acct CODE (string)
Y$(240,10) stores REASON
W$(240,15) stores TO/FROM
Z$(15) stores SAVE name, misc.
inputs
X contains number of records used
I loop counter during data input
M loop counter during VIEW and
PRINT
F loop counter for flashing message
K loop counter during summation
N indicates current record
L indicates month
Z indicates year
G indicates start time
S indicates stop time
R indicates items per display
15
16
17
O Q
ZX/TS LOOKS FOR TRAPPED MINDS
One of our research programs at
Clover Bottom Developmental Center,
a state facility for the mentally
retarded, seeks ways to measure
intellect in quadraplegic, non¬
verbal children. Their severe
motor impairments prevent valid
estimates of intellect—they can't
reliably make gross motor or verbal
responses. Children so afflicted
might be thought mentally retarded
because we cannot measure the
childs potential.
We are evaluating a procedure
to find a reliable motor function
that such a child can control; re¬
inforce the exercise of that func¬
tion, and teach the child to use
that motor function to communicate.
Briefly the research program
sequence seeks to:
o Identify possible voluntary
motor functions that could be
used to operate a switch.
o Design and construct a suitable
switch and appliances matched to
the child's existing voluntary
motor functions.
o Establish an operant-conditioned
response using selected stimuli to
reinforce switch activation.
o Test conditioned responses with
various discriminative stimuli.
o Use a demonstrated, reliable
response in a program combining an
inexpensive microcomputer and human
interaction to train the child in
language expression.
Steps 3 and 4 employ the ZX/TS
to collect real-time data and, at
the end of each session, to analyze
the data. Step 5 uses the computer
for computer-assisted instruction
in communication skills.
Information collected and
stored by the ZX/TS includes:
child's name, date, time of day.
session length, number of switch
operations, duration of each
closure and percent of time the
switch was activated.
We selected the ZX/TS because
it's low-cost, easy to alter, low-
powered (permitting economical and
portable battery operation), expan-
dible, furnished with a complete
BASIC, & uses a membrane keyboard.
Responses by the child simu¬
late key presses. We simply wired
a jack to the keyboard circuit to
connect the external switch.
William F. Tracy, Nashville, TN
ROBBING IT IN
Owners of ZX/TS and Atari 400
computers probably find membrane
keys the weak point. Non-respon-
sive keys, from misplaced or weak
finger pressure, sneak errors into
programs. To avoid dropped charac¬
ters, one must watch the screen
while entering. This slows keying.
Several vendors offer add-on,
full-movement keyboards or overlays
to position the fingers correctly.
But the problem really comes
from treating membrane keyboards as
typewriters. Typing skills, even
ideas of how typing movements look,
mislead us. Tapping membrane keys
often produces errors. Never mind
the similarities, a membrane isn't
a typing keyboard.
Upset at this shortcoming, I
experimented. I now cut errors and
speed programming by pressing a key
near its upper edge, and rubbing my
finger over the key with enough
force to make a slight "pop."
I can now type in—or should I
say rub in—several lines with no
need to check my screen for errors.
With practice, this method proves
fast and not especially awkward.
So, before you invest in an
add on keyboard, try this method.
You may save yourself the price of
that peripheral you're saving for.
Michael R. Watson, Sonoma, CA
18
SOFTWARE REVIEW
Name: Analogies, Logical Reasoning
Type: Educational
ROM/RAM reqd: 8K/16K
Listable? Yes
Printed listing? No
Written in: BASIC and MC
Easy to load? Yes
Display: Good
Price: $14.95 each
From: Windcrest Software Inc.
POB 423, Waynesboro, PA
17268
Analogies and Logical Reason¬
ing, two separate programs, pleas¬
antly teach important concepts in
logical thought. I found each
suitable for junior high and up.
Analogies comes with two pro¬
grams, one a demo containing 25
analogies and explanations of how
analogies work. The computer gives
the first three words; you supply
the last. For example, pride:
lions::gaggle: You answer geese,
because a pride is a group of lions
and a gaggle is a group of geese.
The computer scores your analogy¬
perceiving ability. The analogies
range from simple to clever.
On the other side you find an
analogy utility that lets you easi¬
ly create your own analogies. You
enter all four words plus an ex¬
planation for users who do not
guess correctly after two tries.
Logical Reasoning introduces
conditional statements, contraposi-
tives, converse and inverse state¬
ments, direct and indirect proofs
and the invalid logic of analogies,
circular arguments and generaliza¬
tion clearly and simply. It uses
tests, drawings and puzzles to
cleverly demonstrate logic. Learn¬
ing how Sherlock Holmes knew which
of the three men lied and exactly
how many coins they found in the
treasure through indirect proof
held my attention for an hour.
On tape you get 12 programs to
load one at a time, including a
pre- and post-test. The computer
E-Z HEV
Suite 75 STX
J 711 Southern Artery
I Quincy, Massachusetts 02169
V (617)773-1187
asks your name and manages to re¬
member it through all 12 even
though you load new programs. It
also assures that you don't skip
lessons by requiring an entry code
if you don't go straight through.
Problems: Both programs con¬
tain annoying misspellings. This
proved crucial only in Analogies,
where the computer rejected my
(correct) spelling of venison. Al¬
so, inquiring minds may find the
programs run slowly. Windcrest
should make Analogies self-running,
since mistakenly starting with RUN
destroys the analogy sets.
Each program comes attractive¬
ly packaged like a book and in¬
cludes a short instruction manual.
Windcrest makes game and edu¬
cational software for several dif¬
ferent home computers on both tape
and disk. I'm glad to see them
offering such high-quality educa¬
tional software for ZX/TS users.
Ann L. Zevnik, Boston, MA
19
SOFTWARE REVIEW
Name: Multiple Regression Analysis
Type: Statistical Analysis
Price: $15.95
ROM/RAM required:
Printed Listings?
Program Listable?
Easy to load? Yes
No
BASIC
Functional
Programmers at Large
8K/16K min.
No
Yes
Easy to use?
Written in:
Display:
From:
POB 24362
Fort Worth,
TX 76112-9362
This program does a very good
job number crunching. To test it,
I used data involving 95 observa¬
tions on 8 variables. An IBM-360
mainframe gave me these results:
Y=2.9+.12X(1)+.96X(2)-1.91X(3)+
In using multiple regression,
you must know whether the data has
multicoilinearity. (Multicolline-
arity results when two or more
independent variables are correl¬
ated. For example, if you want to
develop an equation to predict the
density of water using observations
on the height from sea level, tem¬
perature in degrees C and degrees
K, you would find perfect correla¬
tion, and thus perfect multicol-
linearity, between the two tempera¬
tures. This renders the resulting
equation invalid.) In research
using regression, we commonly with¬
hold some data when developing the
equation. Then we apply this data
to the resulting equation to see
how well it predicts. MRA does not
let you use the equation at all.
You need not redimension five
arrays. Delete lines 3, 4, 10, 15
and 20 and add:
1.82X(4)+2.36X(5)+32.37X(6)+
3.67X(7) with r 2 =.95 and F=237.8
My ZX81 and this program gave:
Y=3.06+.114X(1)+.959X(2)-1.91X(3)+
1.829X(4)+2.36X(5)+32.33X(6)+
3.673X(7) with r 2 =.95 and F=237.15
While MRA crunches numbers
well, it displays three major cate¬
gories of flaws. One, it is not
user-friendly. Two, it leaves out
important results. And three, it
shows evidence of poor programming.
According to the instructions,
you should redimension five arrays
based on the number of variables
and observations, but the instruc¬
tions don't tell you how and the
program self-starts. They indicate
that with 20 variables and 200
observations you would DIM T(4000),
but 16K will not allow this. The
program does not let you review
data entered to check for errors
nor correct data.
101 DIM T(N*M)
102 DIM M(N)
103 DIM Y(N)
104 DIM X (N)
105 DIM R(N* (N+l))
At a cost of seven bytes, the pro¬
gram now self-dimensions.
MRA wastes about 130 bytes on
REM statements and 20 bytes by us¬
ing E-N-T-E-R instead of ENTER in
PRINT statements. It uses no
string variables although this
would also save memory.
As MRA now stands, I cannot
recommend it. I had to spend sev¬
eral hours cleaning up major flaws
before I could test it. Developing
a multicollinearity matrix may ex¬
ceed the limits of a 16K machine,
but all,my other corrections result
in a net memory savings. If the
authors correct these flaws, I
would rate MRA as excellent.
20
Ronny Richardson, Chamblee, GA
SOFTWARE REVIEW
Program: Mazogs
Type: Maze game
ROM/RAM reqd: 8K/16K
Printed listings? No
Listable? Yes
Easy to Load: Yes
Written in: BASIC and MC
Display: Superb
From: Softsync Inc., 14 E. 34th
St., New York, NY 10016
212/685-2080
Price: $19.95
Few ZX/TS programs can claim
Mazog's excellent union of strate¬
gy, display and sophistication.
In this high-speed game you
navigate an intricate maze in a set
number of moves to find a treasure
and bring it home. Ugly Mazogs
along the route try to kill you.
You can only win more moves by
killing Mazogs; if you run out of
moves you die. To kill the vile
Mazogs, you find swords, but each
sword serves only one use. The
program carefully balances the num¬
ber of swords and Mazogs en route
to the treasure, and the ratio
becomes more adverse as you rise to
higher difficulty levels.
Besides swords and your wits,
you use prisoners trapped in the
walls who tell the way. The route
appears for about 10 seconds, then
vanishes, leaving you on your own
again. In the advanced level,
prisoners die after pointing the
way, making it near impossible to
find your way back home if you use
them all to find the treasure.
Any time you may view a larger
section of the maze, at a small
cost in moves; you can also learn
your distance from the treasure or
your base, again, at a cost. You
can even buy a sword for the not-
so-small cost of half your remain¬
ing moves.
Mazogs includes professional
and effective touches that make it
worth its $20 price tag. These in¬
clude a running title screen (you
mstock! ALL NEW MD-2
SMART MODEM §119.
ASSEMBLED & TESTED $149.95
• Send Text from Memory
• Send and receive Programs by Ph|
• Copy Information into memory i
Print it Review it. Save it on Tapel
• Use Timex 2040 Printer or RS-232
• RS-232 Printer Port provided
• No extra memory Required.
COMPUSERVE PACKAGE WITH 5 FREE HOURS ONLY $39.95
64-K MEMORY $109? 5 k.t
the “ULTIMATE MEMORY” $119. 95 ASSEMBLED
FEATURES:
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WHY PAY MORE FOR LESS FEATURES?
GET THE “ULTIMATE MEMORY” BYTE^BACK^S UM-64
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Clearly the Best File Management Program Available.
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©
see all the objects before play¬
ing) , the effective key layout (ac¬
tually giving a choice of control
keys—I found both sets easy to
handle) and an involving display.
Machine code provides visually
effective and speedy animation for
on-screen figures and your man's
combat contortions. The MC also
quickly solves the maze when you
ask a prisoner and the full-maze
scrolling and solution at the end.
Mazog's complexity lies in the
challenging difficulty of the maze
and escaping with the treasure, not
in mastering odd keyboard layouts
or confusing screen displays. A
game not easily mastered, it won't
sit dusty in your collection. And
make a backup —I wore my original
out after two weeks of continuous
use. This is the finest game of
its type I've seen for ZX/TS's.
Even a friend who owns an Apple
said "Wow" when he saw Mazogs.
William Marriott, Canton, MI
21
PIE CHART—A REFINEMENT—8K/16K
Refining Ron Oblander's chart
(Nov.82) makes it run faster and
puts table and chart on 1 display.
But, it omits the segment titles.
After entering PC, SAVE using
GOTO 970. It comes up running and
stops with a 9 report. For another
chart, RUN again.
After a title screen, PC asks
the number of segments. You enter
up to 18, the most the table holds
on one screen. Then enter segment
values one by one. After the last
value, the computer shifts to FAST
for about 6 seconds to produce the
pie outline and table heading. Now
in SLOW, the computer lays in the
segments and table. At the end you
can COPY the screen to a printer.
On the chart, segment 1 starts
at the 12 o'clock position; others
follow serially clockwise. The
table gives segment number, value,
percent of pie, & total of values.
Variables Q and R control pie
position and radius. PC puts the
pie in the lower right corner with
an 18-pixel radius. The trig work
exploits ZX/TS's internal MOD
feature. One array, E(C), holds
each segment value. I serves as
index variable in two loops. You
can use tokens in the print state¬
ments (Syntactic Sum here is for
words spelled out.—AZ). Variable
N0 carries the number 0.
John Pazmino, Brooklyn, NY
CLASS IFIED ADS; Reach thousands of
ZX/TS users—just $9/line! We must
receive your typed copy (35 charac¬
ters per line) with check or money
order by the 15th for publication
in the next issue. We print ad ex¬
actly as you type it. No fractions
or cent symbols. Include your
phone number, SYNTAX, Classified,
RD 2, Box 457, Harvard, MA 01451.
INTRO. TO COMPUTER PROGRAMMING FOR
INFO. SERVICES (TS1000/1500). $20.
UCLA Course Notes. MC/VISA (213)
760-8110. Cibbarelli, 11684 Ventura
#295, Studio City, CA 91604
•
SERVICE from SYNTAX:
$ US
o
Zilog Z80-Z80A Tech. Man
7.88
0
Zilog Assy Lang Prog Man
15.75
o
Crash Course in Micros
Hardware and Mach Lang
19.95
o
Exper. in Artfcl Intell
AI Programs for Micros
9.95
0
Plastic Micro Charts
Z80 CPU
5.95
8080A & 8085A
5.95
8048 & RELATIVES
5.95
6502 (65XX)
5.95
BASIC ALGORITHMS
5.95
Any 5 charts for
24.95
Shipping & handling charges:
Micro Charts $l/order
Books (except Zilog) $1.50/book
ORDER by telephone: 617/456-3661
PAY by MC/VISA/AMEX/DINERS
22
SYNTAX is published monthly by a wholly-
owned subsidiary of The Harvard Group.
Syntax ZX80, Inc.
RD 2, Box 457, Harvard, MA 01451. Telephone
617/456-3661.
12 issues, $29. Single issue, $4.
Publisher: Kirtland H. Olson
Consulting Editor: Ann L. Zevnik
Technical Consultant: Kirtland H. Olson
© Syntax ZX80, Inc., 1983. All rights reserved.
Photocopying prohibited. ISSN 0273-2696
OUR POLICY ON CONTRIBUTED MATERIAL
SYNTAX invites you to express opinions related to any Sinclair computer or
peripheral, or the newsletter. We will print, as space allows, letters discussing items
of general interest. Of course, we reserve the right to edit letters to a suitable length
and to refuse publication of any material.
We welcome program listings for all levels of expertise and written in either
Sinclair BASIC or Z80 machine code. Programs can be for any fun or useful
purpose. We will test run each one before publishing it, but we will not debug
programs; please send only workable listings. Programs submitted on cassette can be
tested more quickly and with less chance of error.
In return for your listing, we will pay you a token fee of $2.00 per program we
use. This payment gives us the nonexclusive right to use that program in any form,
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When you send in programs for possible publication in SYNTAX, please
include the following information:
• How to operate the program, including what to input if it does not contain
prompts.
• Whether you can run the program over again and how.
• How to exit the program.
• The Syntactic Sum (program published in Feb. 81 and Jun. 81; send SASE
for a free copy).
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We pay for this explanatory text at the same rate as for articles in addition to
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4 Go Forth-GO TREEFORTH 4
4 Get Out of The Basic ZX-TS Rut 4
4 Program Ten Simultaneous Tasks 4
4 Environmental Control Tasks 4
4 Robotic Control Tasks 4
4 On 64K EPROM Just Plug It In 4
4 Power/Speed and Time Control 4
4 Intro. Price $49.95 + $2.00 P&H 4
4 Soft Magic Corp. 1210 W High St 4
4 Bryan OH 43506 419-636-4531 4
WHO CAN SELL YOUR ZX/TS SOFTWARE?
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LANDLORDS - 16 K RENTAL MANAGEMENT
Cassette for 165 Detailed Rcpt/Exp
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23
SYNTAX
BRAINWAVES CONTROL GAMES,SPCH.
CHEAP W/ TS1000.PLANS$5.ROSE
21551 BROOKHURST 205 H.B.CA92646
IN-LINE LOAD MONITOR : Load
software tapes like a pro!-12.95
(C) LOST IN SPACE -11.95
(C)UNIVERSAL INVENTORY FILE -16.95
UNIVERSAL MAILING LIST -10.95
UNIVERSAL COIN COLLECTION -10.95
UNIVERSAL STAMP COLLECTION -10.95
UNIVERSAL RECORD ALBUM COLL -10.95
*NEW* VIDEO BLACKJACK -10.95
(Requires 16K RAM) GUARANTEED!!!!!!
Add $1.50 S&H per order. NJ 6% tax.
M.C.HOFFMAN, DEPT. SX 11, P.O.
BOX 117, OAKLAND, N.J. 07436
XFORTH, FORTH-79 FOR 16K ZX/TS WITH
ONE PASS LOAD,FULL THREADED CODE,ZX
CODE TABLES. SUPPORT VIA USER NEWS¬
LETTER. XFORTH $25.00. W/ F. P. EXT
ADD $15.00. ADD $1.00 EACH P. & H.
***NEW***HAWG WILD "HAM HACKER"(TM)
SERIES FOR ZX/TS RADIO AMATEURS****
MORSE CODE (16K)/TWO K CODE-BOTH ON
ONE TAPE.$14.95 + $1.00 P&H
MINIMUF 3.5 - 16K RADIO PROPAGATION
(DXERS MUST!).. &17.95 + $1.00 P&H
CE AMP(FROM SYNCWARE) 16K CIRCUIT
DESIGN/TEST_$19.95 + $1.00 P&H
ALL "HAM-HACKER" 10% OFF TILL DEC.
15,1983 ARK RES ADD 4% TAX. **HAWG
WILD SOFTWARE,BOX 7668, LITTLE ROCK
AR 72217**WE HAVE THE JUPITER ACE**
** ADD MEMORY THAT WON'T FORGET! **
* Complete 2K kit. $34 :00 *
* Three more HM6116LP-3... $18:00 *
* Bare board with manual.. $15.00 *
* Prices include s&h -from HUNTER *
*1630 Forest Hills Okemos MI 48864*
* See RADIO-ELECTRONICS (Jul/Aug) *
LEDGER-List 300 entries across 20
columns, review, total and graph.
FILE:Multiple program with indepen¬
dent field lengths and eight fields
max. Features are ADD, EDIT, SORT,
DELETE, SEARCH, TOTAL and LIST.
Send $11.95 ea. to M*Z SOFTWARE,
1003 S.CLIFF, PORTLAND, TX 78374
************************************
HOW TO MARKET YOUR T/S SOFTWARE
Turn your program into profits with
this comprehensive guide. Learn the
techniques of the pros -pricing,
packaging, advertising, publishing,
T/S market trends, program ideas,
royalties, plus many references.
$14.95 money order, VISA, M.C.
SOFTMARK ASSOCIATES, DEPT SX1
210 Fifth Ave, New York, NY 10010
************************************
LOAN AMORTIZATION. Provide any 3 of
4 factors will calc unknown. Any
type of payment plan. ZX81-16K cass
$10. WMJ Data Systems,4 Butterfly,
Hauppauge, NY 11788
H\R\ARD
GROLP
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