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TIMEXISinclair NortkAmtricin User Groups Auburn. Indiana
Volume 2, Number 1 Spring 1992
ADDRESS
T/SNUG Chairmen 1
T/SNIJG Information 2
ZXir QLive Alive! Article Contributions 2
Contributors to this Issue 2
From the Chairmans Disk 2
TREASURY NOTES 3
INPUT/OUTPUT 4
NEWS ITEMS 5
LIBRARY 6
Articles:
CASSETTE LOAD /SAVE Problems Solved - PART 4 G
AN UPDATED ZX81 9
BENCHMARKING THE 2X81 10
DERIVING YOUR TAX THRESHOLD ON TS2068 12
TAX-I-QL TIP 13
Ada U
And now a word from our Vendors 15
2X-91 TEN YEARS LATER 13 27
T/SNUG CHAIRMEN
Here is the list of 1992 T/SNUG Chairmen and how to contact
them. We wish to support the following SIGS: ZX80/ZXB1, Z88,
SPECTRUM/ TS2068/TC20 68 and QL. If you have questions about any
of these fine machines contact the Chairman.
POSITION NAME PHONE PRIMARY FUNCTION
Chairman I
Vice-chairman Dave Bennett
Vice-chairman Al Feng
Vice-Chairman D.G. Smith
Vice-Chairman Ed Snow
Vice-Chairman Rod Gowen
Vice-Chairman Rod Humphreys
Vice-Chairman Bob Swoger
Treasurer Abed Kahale
219-925-1372 Chief Motivator
717-774-7531 CATS/Z88
708-971-0495 CATUG/QL Library
814-535-6998 Tape s JLO Library
407-380-5124 ZX81 Tape Library
503-655-7484 CCATS
604-931-5509 VSUG/TS2068
708-837-7957 Newsletter/BBS SysOp
708-885-4337 CATUG/Cash Tracker
Copyright (C) 1991 TIMEX/ Sinclair NorthAmerican Users Groups
ZXir QLive Alive!
Volume 2, Number 1 1 Sprinc
m\v mm mm\ is the
newsletter of T/SNUG, the
TIMEX/Sinclair NorthAmerican
User Groups, providing news and
software support to the T/S
community in at least four
newsletters per year.
It is our goal to build a
Public Domain software library
and develop a list of available
software for all T/S machines
showing the source.
Vendors have free space in this
newsletter which they receive
free of charge so that they may
see we are still out here. It
you feel that T/SNUG should
perform other tasks, let us
know your feelings.
T/SNUG wishes to have one
chairman from every T/S user
group who will take charge of
sending us their groups
We encourage your group to copy
this newsletter and distribute
it at regular meetings to all
of your members. If you can't
copy this newsletter, perhaps
we can provide a disk with the
articles on it for use in your
newsletter.
Articles appearing in this
newsletter can be obtained by
downloading this newsletter
from our BBS.
For an annual contribution of
S10 . 00 you can keep T/SNUG
alive! Send your contribution
payable to A. Kahale at:
ABED KAHALE
ZXIr GLlve Alive! Newslaller
335 W NEWPORT RD
HOFFMAN ESTATES IL 60195-3106
Tele: H708-885-4337
ZXir QLivfl Alive!
Anicie CoatribMtou
If you would like to contribute
an article to the newsletter,
upload a file to oir BBS called 2
TSNUG.ART . If you have an AD
for the newsletter UPLOAD a
file called TSNUG.ADS. If you
have NEWS to POST about your
UPLOAD a file called
NWS .
If you need help contact the
SVSOP by E-MAIL on the T/SNUG
BBS, mail or by phone:
BOB SWOGER
S13 PARKSIDE CIRCLE
STREAMWOOD IL 60107-1647
It is preferred that you call:
H708/837-7957 or W708/576-8068
If you can only contribute hard
copy, tape or disk format, send
your inputs to:
OON LAMBERT
ZXIr QLIvs Alive! Newsletter
1301 KIBLINGER PL
AUBURN IN 46706
Tele: H219-925-1372
Please call before sending
articles.
CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE
Al Feng
Gary Ganger
Warren Jackson
Joan Kealy
Marie Kendoll
Don Lambert
Robert Shade
John Shepard
END OF A YEAR
AND
LOOKING BACK.
The Chairman reminiscences!
I look at the world of ZX
computers as a training
field/hobby. Some use it to
begin to learn acout computers
and get thrilled by more bells
and whistles and faster speed
makes /mode Is; others look
around and either because they
don't want to spend (or can't)
large bucks up front to get
into heavily advertised
computers they go into being
T/Sers with the idea of
learning about computers to
satisfy an urge - or a need to
have computing power and get
hooked on the T/S machines or
else learn enough to but don't
want to go into the necessity
of another learning curve to
learn a new system. For some
the T/S computers do as much or
mote than they need and feel no
desire to check out other
computers . Some are like a
young kid with his first jalopy
- getting it only to 'learn to
drive' and abandoning it when
he can afford a more expensive
model.
So there Is a need for a
National Organization to help
tie all the T/Sers together and
be a central clearing house for
Information and support. That
need was recognized in the past
and is still true, with the
demise of the leading magazines
and those not so well known,
there is no other source of
information in North America
except the user groups and
UPDATE MAGAZINE. The groups are
more concerned with their local
members than the needs of non-
locals. Corresponding with Out-
Of-Town members is very time
consuming. Only an organization
dedicated to that concept can
serve folks with no local user
group.
SNUG began in Florida during
1988 and in concept was a good
idea - what happened next, I do
not know. Maybe all energy was
expended in the process of
getting a state charter and all
Of that.
The SNUG Organization has
withered away except for the
start of the software libraries
- that is one good thing that
has come out of SNUG. As far as
promised newsletters go, the
few issues Paul Holmgren did in
1990 were paid for out of his
own pocket. I was asked to be
SNUG newsletter editor in
November of 1990 and in the
spring of 1991 there was an
issue ready to mail but without
finances there was no mailing.
It was hard to face that fact.
When Bob Swoger called me in
April 1991 and suggested we
issue T/SNUG's ZXir QLive
Alive! on the back of CATUG's
KH«-CIJH«S neuift - I was
thrilled and yet - reluctant
thinking about whether the
T/Sers would be willing to take
a chance on not being "burned"
again and also knowing that, if
I turned down the Chairmanship,
there might not be a national
newsletter.
But checks kept coming in, not
fast, but enough to get us
going and of course the S150
contribution from VSUG of
Vancouver was a turning point
in our finances. We hope to be
able to provide a means to
enable T/Sers to survive longer
with support provided by
T/SNUG.
In hindsight, some of my fears
never materialized, the proof
of this is that there are some
out there still working with
the ZX computers and, more
importantly, some are still
developing new software and
hardware. Our numbers have
dwindled but we still exist. I
look forward to another year of
ZXir QLive Alive! 0/0
Chairman Don
TIMEX/Sinclair NorthAmerican
User Groups
TREASURY NOTES
As of March 1, 1992 with S762
from 6 groups and 44
individuals, with expenses of
S357.29, we have a balance of
$404.71
%%%%%%%%%*%%%%%%%%%%%%*%%%
zxiv mm aitDe!
Renewal Time
$10.00 Tor ALL!
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Please include your ZIP+4 code
and your phone number when you
renew your membership. It will
speed up the mailing.
Abed Kahale, Treasurer
TIMEX/Sinclair NorthAmerican
User Groups
INPUT/OUTPUT
Warren Jackson writes :
Thanks for sending those two
issues. [?????] Impressed by
the pro look a la UPDATE .
Surprised -to see so many ads
which is a big plus. On page 1
of the Fall 91 LarKen 256K
RAMDISK kit for $20, is that a
misprint? If it isn't, where
can I get one? [That was the
price from Larry Kenny himself,
but a recent request by John
Shepard told us that they are
now ALL GONE! Call RMG to see
If he has any left.]
Also, on page 5, Bill Angle was
selling QLs for $55. I have one
QL and would like to have
another if he still has one
left. [Bill is part of the
Indiana group. Contact Frank
Davis for Bill's address and
phone number. ]
May I have Vol 1, No.l and, of
course, the winter 91 issue, my
set would then be complete.
[You should have them by now.)
Warren Jackson
1141 Edgemere Ter.
Roscoe IL 61073
Marie Kendoll writes:
The copy of VU-CALC modified
for Logical 1 you sent me
crashes whenever I try to make
calculations using IC. Can you
check this out? [you're right.'
I wonder how many copies went
out with that bug? I will sent
Also, does your version print
to a large printer? [As a
result of your request, I have
generated two utilities for the
Sinclair community and two
articles for our nevsletters. I
will send them along. ]
Robert Shade writes:
Enclosed $12 to start
subscription with Vol 1, No. 1
Interested in buying LarKen
Library disks for 1000 £ 2068.
Please send a list with
synopsis of what's on each disk
so I can make a reasoned
selection. [Watch for up-coming
It is my hope this TIMEX Group
grows 6 grows to become a help
6 comfort to all T/S users
everywhere. [So do we all!]
Robert Shade
3210 K. Broad Street
Philadelphia PA 13140
Ivan Zachev writes:
... I have a problem with
LogiCall in regards to the
standard LKDOS catalog. I use
DSQD disk drives with my
JLO/LarKen system. I wish to
use the arrow keys feature of
program LOADing but the
programs I wish to LOAD scroll
off the screen so that the
HIGH-LIGHT LOAD routine is
useless. HELP! [If you are
using LogiCall V4.fi, update It
to V4.9 by adding line 3 IF Z
THEN ON ERR RESET. Modify line
10 to become line 15. Add line
10 IF Z THEN ON ERR GOTO H. Add
LET Z=PEEK (PI*PI) = CODE "1":
to line 49. Next change the VAL
in line 110 to "460-l30*Z}"
Finally, in line 20, change the
-IS" to "21" . Now when the
'scroll?' prompt appears after
the program you wish to load
shows up on your screen, press
'N' and ENTER, you will then
get the 'Program?' prompt and
the arrow keys LOAD feature
will work.]
Jay Shepard writes (on BBS) :
L.B1 - Is V4.6L3 a test version
of LogiCall? How does it differ
from V4.4A3? The copy I got of
V4 . 6L3 from Don Lambert was
marked that version on the disc
but had V4.4L3 in your opening
statement of the LISTing. What
gives? [The latest version is
V4.9_3 This means that the
version is 4.9, the _ is for
the base disk operating system
type, L is for LarKen, F is for
Fast LarKen, O is for Oliger, A
is for AERCO and R is for
RAMEX. Each type has to call in
a different FORMAT. B_ program.
Finally the LarKen DOS EPROM
version number is given, 3 is
the latest. ]
AUTOSTART installation does not
perform as described in your
instructions - it's probably
this dam AERCO style LKDOS
abortion - when I key A at the
program prompt to start the
RAND 102 NMI save of L.Bl for
AUTOSTART, I get 'error 430.1',
but If I do a RAND 102:RUN from
BASIC I get the AUTOSTART like
it's supposed to perform but
without the ease you had
Intended with your L.Bl line
460. [Please note that you will
use 2 tracks Instead of one
using that method. The problem
is not AERCO/LarKen but rather
the Jack Dohany EPROM Switch.
It is slightly incompatible
with LoglCall and other
programs that use the DELETE
keyword. Edit LoglCall lines
430 thru 450 changing the '?'s
to DELETE in the TS206B mode
per Jack's instructions and the
program will do what it
intended to do using only
track for AUTOSTART . Do not
this in the Spectrum mode.
Don't forget to re-save L.Bl to
all your disks overwriting the
old L.Bl programs. I can never
seem to get Chairman Don to do
that.]
Z-88 - I know your ads work
because I got three leads from
the Z-88 ad. [and let me take
this opportunity to add that
when something has been
transacted, let me know to
remove it from the board. Ed ]
The last was a Nigel with an
800 number who use to be a
dealer and is out of the
business but has stock left and
is sending a list with reduced
prices. In looking for help and
aids in running this jewel of a
laptop I started with Mike Fink
of Domino Cubes who had more
trade paper ads than anyone
including Sharps.
Unfortunately, I had ordered a
manual he had written on the
promise of the glowing review
that E . P . wannum (of John
Last -Name -Unknown fame) had
written. Well, E. P. not only
doesn't know my name, he
doesn't know a decent manual .
Fink gets S30 for it but it's
no where near the quality of
Barry Carter's SMART modem SW
manual that he only got S12.50
for in it's hey day. [Ouch'
There ought to be a way to see
it first, humm. . . Ed. ]
■ thought I'd try
to read the PC discs Dave sent
with this. HA! AERCO/LarKen
bites me again. I can't read
the HELP file because selection
of that brings up a white no
raster screen with the disc
rolling, can't BREAK it so no
way to modify it to show
through INK s PAPER if that's
the solution. I can read a
track with option 2 on the menu
but have no idea how to use it
without a manual or HELP page
and I have know idea what
QUICKSCAN the files does
because the cursor movement "A
S, i X" makes no sense. I just
want to cuss. [I don't know
what QUICKSCAN is but I will
"as upioad a working copy of
MS DOS. Bx to fix your problem.]
I have been pleased to watch my
high school junior daughter
type term papers using the
three different wps - TASWORD2,
MSCRIPT and wordmaster
switching between them easily.
If an air-headed female
teenager can use these machines
then they must be worth the
trouble .
Thanks so much. Bob, for taking
time to read and try to resolve
my problems and by the way,
what 's the toughest question
you've ever had to answer?
TIMEXON, Jay [Weli, Jay, by a
wide margin, the toughest
question I've ever been
confronted with began, "Do you
take this woman. . . ?"]
NEWS ITEMS
Mel Nathenson has forwarded the
SNUG Treasury to Paul Holmgren.
Paul incurred expenses for
which he was never reimbursed.
It is Pauls intention that the
remainder of these funds be
forwarded to T/SNUG along with
the names of the contributors
so that these past members of
SNUG can be brought into the
T/SNUG fold. Many still do not
know of T/SNUGs existence. It
is not known if the list of
names includes who contributed
what or even how many names are
on that list which is thought
by Paul to be over 130. That
Thanks to the efforts of Dave
Bennett, SLIX now receives the
newsletters of both T/SNUG and
CATUG on disk. It still is not
known why Bill Miller of SLIX
would not download these
newsletters from their
prospective BBSs, unless it is
( 20 cents per
of the newsletters to you?
SMUG, the Sinclair Milwaukee
Users Group, has stated that
they will cease publishing
their newsletter soon. They
also state that the club is not
folding, so we hope to carry
the minutes of their meetings
in our pages soon.
The DMA ComputerFest in Dayton
is scheduled for August 29 and
30 with a cut-off date for flee
market tables of June 30. To
date we have heard of no takers
from the Sinclair community,
perhaps because of low sales
last year. Please let us at
T/SNUG know if your group will
be there so that we may try to
spark some interest. See UPDATE
magazine for details.
UNVERIFIED BITES
I have heard that someone in
the Dubuque, Iowa area had made
some hard drive interfaces for
the ZX81/TS1000 computers and
sold at least two. if anyone
has any further details about
this I would like to get that
information. The information
hopefully will be about who
made the units, when and who
bought the units. The units
■ reported to have been sold
ZX81 are single sided single
density which would make a hard
drive equivalent to 50 single
density disks. Either way it
would really be a lot of
computer power for the zx81.
One of the mass storage items
missing from the TS2068 is a
hard drive. I have heard that
there might be a possibility of
one. If so a 40 meg hard drive
(if it is developed for that
size) would be the equivalent
of about 100 DSDD disks. Mind
boggling. Perhaps if it were
known that there is a market
for a hard drive interface that
would speed up development. The
interface is the easy part, so
I have heard, but the software
would be a bearcat to write.
Currently, someone is working
on this and is trying to obtain
the specs on the hard drives to
help in writing the software.
Someone also suggested that
CP/M might be an answer for
finding the software codes
since CP/M is Z80 based. If
anyone is interested let me
know and if enough are
interested perhaps one will
appear. Wouldn't it be nice to
have several hundred programs
available without having to
first find the disk they are on
i to be able to load them by
in their file name
of first searching
through the disk boxes for the
proper disk. IG?t organized,
Don, and use DISKS. Bl! ]
If you have any other bits and
bytes of unverified material on
the T/S computers please send
them to the me. O/O.
in 191
10
drives. And that would be
equivalent to 25 double density
disks. Normal lj all the disk
3 that I know of for the
%%*%*%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
TIMEX/SINCLAIR
PUBLIC DOMAIN LIBRARY
AVAILABLE SOON!
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
We have found quality problems
as we prepare the material to
travel around the continent.
Hum on the tapes makes some
programs un-readable. Smitty,
the LarKen disks are in better
shape, we might use them to fix
the tapes.
ARTICLES
LOAD/ SAVE ROUTINE
AND PROBLEMS FOR THE ZX81
PART 4
Compiled by Donald S. Lambert.
S YNC HRO-SETTE VOL . 2 15/6
JUNE/ JULY 19B3
HINKY BOARD 2
For those of you who are not
familiar with what the WINKY
can do, you can make duplicates
of a cassette tape from one
recorder to another with this
device in between the two
recorders, no matter how many
programs are on the tape.
There is another important use.
Do you have a noisy RAMpak that
introduces noise onto a tape
when you are trying to save a
program? When you don't use the
RAMpak, the noise disappears,
so you know It is the RAMpak.
We have one such RAMpak that
is so bad, saved programs
cannot be reloaded no matter
what the volume adjustment is
at. When listening to the tape
with the cords disconnected
from the recorder, it sounds
like the sound a train makes at
a high speed when played back
with program pulses being all
but drowned out.
When the WINKY 2 board was
installed (just plugs in
between the computer and the
recorder) the program loaded
with no problem. Listening to
the tape through
showed all the noise to
disappeared.
LOADING /f
1CRAMS BK BOM
SAN DIEGO, CA 92105
SAVING
Keep the tape computer
connector always plugged into
the EAR and MIC receptacles of
the computer, however at the
tape recorder end only keep the
one connected which you are
using. Let us say the last line
of your program is 1000 SAVE
"SHOOTIST". Then press LIST
1000 and ENTER. When the line
1000 appears at the bottom
screen DELETE (SHIFT 0) the
1000. Move the tape to the
position you want it . Then
voice record SHOOTIST three
times and immediately stop the
tape. Set the tape volume to
level which saves the best.
Start recording and immediately
press enter. The computer can
be close to the TV but the tape
recorder must be maximally
full stretch)
from the TV and
. Only the MIC side of
the connector is plugged into
the tape recorder. You can have
TV sound up a bit as you
record. If you have a long 16K
program SAVEing you can do
other things and when the
buzzing sound stops and there
is a 0/0 report bottom screen
stop the tape and you have
SAVEd a program. Note the start
and stop tape position and mark
them in a catalog together with
the SAVE title. Replay some of
the tape to make sure you hear
the shrill buzz of program (MIC
plug pulled out) .
LOADING
LOAD in FAST mode. Type in the
command LOAD "SHOOTIST". Locate
your program on the tape from
your catalog. After you hear
the title (it should be three
times) there is a faint buzz.
In a few seconds there is total
silence. Stop the tape at the
beginning of th silence. Plug
into the tape EAR side of the
connector. Leave the MIC plug
not connected to the tape.
Adjust tape volume to the known
proper level. Push the tape
PLAY switch and immediately
press ENTER on the ZX. Have the
TV sound up a bit and when the
buzz stops and there is the 0/0
report bottom screen stop the
tape and you have loaded the
computer .
SAVING FAILS
Check to see the tape volume is
high enough. Check to see that
you are using the MIC
connector. Is the MIC plug in
the right receptacle? Is the
tape remote from the TV and ZX?
Reset the voice title and SAVE
again... it should work after
all these checks.
LOADING FAILS
Do the above checks and also
put the computer end of the
connectors in and out a couple
of times to shine the contacts,
if you have a 16k ram pack put
it on and off twice to shine
contacts. Sometimes the tape is
stretched or glitched in other
ways. Programs should always be
saved twice. Do not load or
save on metal tables.
CONNECTORS
The zx comes with an 18 Inch
tape-ZX connector . The older
ones had screw in tips which
break after much use. The later
deliveries are with unitary
plastic tips and are more
durable. In persistent failures
check connector for breaks
(this happened to one of our
older models) .
SAVING SCREEN DISPLAYS
10 PRINT "THIS DISPLAY WILL
ERASE WHEN YOU HIT SAVE
""TEST"""
20 SAVE "TEST"
10 INPUT AS
20 PRINT "THIS DISPLAY WILL
NOT ERASE WHEN YOU HIT SAVE"
30 IF INKEYS="S" THEN SAVE AS
40 GOTO 30
The first program i3 the
regular way of saving. Try it
and see that the screen display
is lost when saving is
finished. RUN the second
program. Input any string (any
set of one or more characters!
and hit ENTER. Press SAVE and
notice after saving the display
remains on screen. IT will be
saved. Remember you need the
30-40 continuing loop to make
line 30 work from the keyboard.
The double quotation marks are
SHIFT Q.
FREQUENT SAVES
When composing or entering a
long program SAVE after every
50 or 60 lines to avoid
unfortunate losses from
wipe-outs (crashesl .
PAUSE CAVEAT
With ZX80/8K ROM or ZX81 FAST
mode right after a PAUSE line
you need a POKE 16437,255 line
or crash happens in a few
minutes .
VARIABLES AND ARRAYS
In a long program with large 8
arrays and many variables (all
these arise from LET
statements) saving is prolonged
because these items too are
saved. Press CLEAR and ENTER
before you save and all these
will be cleared away shortening
saving time. A shorter program
has less chance to be glitched.
If you want to save these items
because they would be hard to
regain or type in then do this:
For the second last line of the
program insert a REM statement
(the last line is the SAVE
line) . Before you save hit LIST
(REM line number) and ENTER.
Then SAVE the program. Later
when loading this program hit
ENTER and the last two lines
will appear on the screen. The
REM line should be something
like 990 GOTO 100 to PRSRV
VARBLS. RUNning a program wipes
out all variables. You use a
GOTO statement to preserve them
and the GOTO number must be
past all the DIM and LET X=0
type statements or there will
be clearances. The REM line
reminds you not to RUN when you
first load the program.
LARGE TO SMALL
You cannot LOAD a small program
SAVEd from a 16K ZX into a IK
ZX. You can from IK to 16K.
Large to small no, small to
large yes.
COMMOtJ-EST CRASHES
Jiggling transformer Jack or
RAM pack. SOURCE NOT KNOWN
SUSPECT SYNC MAGAZINE .
SAVING UNSAVEABLE PROGRAMS
How do you back up programs you
can't break into, like machine
code (MC) or self running
programs? You know the
importance of backups if you or
your tapes ever malfunction.
This trick LOADs any program
and then returns to BASIC,
without activating the error
detector .
Hook up both EAR and MIC plugs
SO you can LOAD then SAVE. Put
the tape in the tape deck
without turning it on.
SAVE CHRS USR 832 "PROGRAM
NAME"
You must change tapes quickly
in the five - second silence
between LOAD and SAVE, and
press RECORD/ P LAV . (It helps to
keep your cassette deck's hood
opened.) If the program self -
finishing the SAVE. [This is
when two recorders would work
fine and use the PAUSE control
on the recorder. Don.]
How does it work? USR 832 calls
the ROM LOAD subroutine, and
the two quotes hold the program
name. (You can also type
with no program name . The
computer reads this as LOAD "".
After LOADing, the USR call
RETurns to BASIC to finish the
line, evaluating to zero. CHRS
changes the zero into a string.
The line reads SAVE ■ " (CHRS
of 0 is the space character)
and the computer SAVES the
program. For SAVE and LOAD, the
syntax checker looks only for
quotes and any string, so the
computer accepts the line and
Save a self - running program
(with or without MC) by
pressing BREAK after the
program LOADS and starts to
RUN. (If you can't BREAK in
here, try CHRS XX in response
to an input prompt to get an
error report. — LFV) This
returns you to BASIC and a K
cursor . LIST the program to
find the line SAVE "program
name". GOTO this line to SAVE
the program under its name.
These methods worked on all my
unSAVEable programs.
Gary Preston, Glade Hill. VA.
5th) as I was backing out of my
garage a UPS truck began
beeping the horn and the driver
pulled up with a next day
priority package for me. I was
headed for Ft. Wayne (some
twenty miles away) to do my
twice a month [more or less)
shopping so I set the package
in the house and left. Upon
returning, I opened the box to
find a TS1000, the likes of
which I'd never seen before.
The computer was sent to me by
Terry Graham who told me about
one he had modified that way. I
had asked him if he would do
one for me if I sent the parts.
He sent it to me and asked for
some copies of manuals that he
didn't have. A fair exchange, I
think.
On the left side Just ahead of
the power jack is a tiny toggle
switch. Sticking out of the
case below the keyboard is a
ribbon cable for an external
keyboard. On the upper right
corner is a row of switches,
the left is a red push button
switch labeled '•reset"; to the
right of that is a tiny toggle
switch labeled "enable disable
(8-16K) "; and still another
labeled "64K and 16K".
On the right edge is a row of
three jacks labeled "Serial
DATA PORT" . The first is
labeled "ear TAPE/TS206B", the
second "MIC TAPE" and the last
"MIC TS2068". The three jacks
were installed by instructions
from the article "2K-SDP: A
Serial Data Port" But Terry was
not able to get it to work. I
contacted the author of the
article and he helped me get it
working.
But I had one difficulty: I do
not have a TV in the computer
room so I had to move a 19" TV
in to test the computer. I got
a blank nothing. I flipped the
switch on the left side - still
nothing. I tried my ZX81 in the
Suntronics key board case that
has been monitorized but still
had the TV capability. That too
had nothing. I eyed the TV, it
had a game box attached.
Touching the terminals with a
screwdriver did not cause the
screen to flicker at all.
Luckily I had a game switch on
another TV, I swapped it, the
ZX81 in the Suntronics keyboard
case worked, the new computer
didn't.
So I took the back off to
visually confirmed that the
left switch was a power switch,
however I noticed a loose wire
going to the switch's center
terminal. Looking elsewhere I
noted that a wire wrap wire
going to a resistor on the
reset switch was also loose and
the resistor was loose. I
re-soldered all three places,
replaced the case bottom and
tested it.
I did the POKE 16389,255, POKE
16389, 255 and NEW and then
PRINT PEEK 16389 and got a
report of 255. So the 64K in
internal memory works. Without
a monitor circuit I really
couldn't test the computer
further. There is a circuit to
be installed to address
individual blocks of 2K of
memory in the 8K to 16K area
(or I could use a SCRAM board)
so that the 2K area that both
the LarKen and the AERCO disk
interfaces use can be switched
off. I do need some of the 8K
to 16K area if I want to use
BBDOS for the aerco system
since it LOADS the BOOT disk
Into that area. The standard
DOS for the AERCO does not need
that area. But BBDOS makes a
real disk system out of the
AERCO so I want to use it that
way.
I will consider what to do with
the computer after I make the
monthly trip to the ISTUG
meeting in Indianapolis on
February 29th. There is one
person that works only with the
TS1000 and I would like to
show the computer to him.
Now I can move the computer
board to the Suntronics
keyboard case and add the
switches to the case or I can
wire a board like that. The way
I look at it, with the RAM
on-board the computer, there
will be one less connector
problem to worry about .
Presently, the 8K to 16K is
addressed as one 8K block but
it is possible to address it in
2K blocks. I could try a SCRAM
back the connector problem
again, maybe. Only by trying it
will I find out.
References: * INTERNAL 64K RAM
FOR THE TS/ZX" by Tim Stoddard,
TIME DESIGNS May/June '87 Vol 3
No 4. "MAX 1000 MAKE THE MOST
POPULAR "MODS " COMPATIBLE ON
YOUR TS1000" by Tim Stoddard,
TIME DESIGNS Sept/Oct '87 Vol 3
No 6. "2K - SDP: A SERIAL DATA
PORT" by Kent E . Cook,
SYNCWARE NEWS Sept - Oct Vol 5
No 1. 0/0
by Edward Snow
The term "benchmarking" refers
to the process of running a
computer program on a computer
and comparing the time needed
to complete the program against
other machines. Compilers and
interpreters are also
benchmarked against others in
order to develop the fastest
applications.
One program I often use as a
benchmark is the "Magic
Numbers" program. The term
"magic numbers" refers to those
four digit numbers that fit the
following algorithm:
Take the first two digits as
number 1, the second two digits
Add numberl to number2 giving
Square numbers.
if numbers is equal to the
original number then the number
is "magic."
Take the number 2025 as an
example. Numberl would be 20,
and number2 would be 25.
Number3 would be 20 + 25 or 45.
Multiplying 45 by 45 gives
202S, so the number is "magic."
Since the range of four digit
numbers extends from 1000 to
9999 inclusive, there are 9000
different numbers to check. If
a person could check four
numbers a mir.ute on a
calculator, the job would take
2251 minutes or about 37 1/2
hours to complete ! Obviously
this is a good job for a
computer. By using a purely
mathematical algorithm, the
program lends itself to any
computer language . A
mathematical approach also
gives the solution the
qualities of a good benchmark
The solution steps used,
expressed in ZX81 Sinclair
BASIC are as follows:
10 FOR X = 1000 TO 9999
20 LET A - INT(X/100)
30 LET B = X - (A-100)
40 LET C = B + A
50 IF (C*C) = X THEN PRINT X
60 NEXT X
70 STOP
In the above program line 20
gives the first two digit
number, line 30 gives the
second two digit number, line
40 combines them into a single
number, line 50 squares the
number and checks to see if it
is "magic."
when this program runs in slow
mode on the ZX81 the computer
takes 23 minutes 26 seconds to
find the series of "magic
numbers . " In fast mode the
computer takes 3 minutes 44
j find the series.
Luckily BASIC is not the only
language available for the
ZXB1. Some alternative
programming languages that I
own are Artie's ZX-FORTH,
Semper Software's Partial
Pascal, and Intercomputer "s
MCODER.
Since FORTH is one of my
favorite programming languages
languages, and one I find to be
well suited for 8 -bit micro
processors, I tested it first.
In the past I have found FORTH
to be extremely fast in
execution. Because FORTH is a
unique language FORTH programs
are often unreadable by anyone
who is not familiar with the
language. For those of you who
are familiar with FORTH, or for
those who are simply curious, I
include the FORTH code:
: MAGICNO 10000 1000 DO
I DOT 100 /HDD ♦ DOP *
= IF I . THEN LOOP .-
As I expected, FORTH showed a
substantial speed increase over
BASIC. In slow mode FORTH took
1 minute 17 seconds (22 minutes
and 9 seconds faster than
BASIC) . In fast mode FORTH
completed the problem in just
over 12 seconds; in both cases
FORTH was about 19 times faster
than BASIC!
Next I tested a PASCAL
compiler /editor that Semper
Software developed for the ZX81
in 1983. Although not a full
OCSD PASCAL, Semper did an
excellent job of putting a
useful Pascal in a 16K
environment . Partial Pascal
makes excellent use of the ZX81
system and performed the "magic
numbers" program very well,
code used was: Program
(input, output) ;
Var origno:integer;
stepl : integer;
step2 : integer;
step3 : integer;
step4 : integer;
stepl:=origno
dlv 100;
step2:-origno
mod 100;
step3:=
stepl+step2;
step3*step3;
if step4 ■
origno then
write(origno);
Partial Pascal completed the
program in 2 minuses 40 seconds
in slow mode and 25 seconds in
fast mode. In both cases
Partial Pascal was about 9
times faster than BASIC.
The final benchmark was done
using Intercomputer' s MCODER
program to convert the Sinclair
BASIC program into machine
language. I would have expected
a machine language program to
execute the algorithm faster
than any of the other languages
and I was not disappointed. The
MCODER version of the program
ran in 1 minute 13 seconds in
slow mode, and 12
fast mode.
This represents a speed
increase of about 20 times over
BASIC.
After completing
tests, I decided
the ZX81 itself
machines: I chose
known 8-bit machi
IH )
16-bil
language
benchmark
well
: (the
IBM PS/2 running at 12
hertz). The following table
shows the results of these
(ZX81 times
>u can see the ZX81
compared very favorably to the
Apple 11+ system which sold in
1982 for over 20 times what the
ZX81 cost. Although I am very
fond of my Apple, if I want
speed It appears my ZX81 is the
best choice ! The IBM was about
12 timea faster than the ZX81,
but considering that the system
Is 16 bit and costs about S3600
the ZX81 still comes out
looking pretty good.
TSers, let 'em eat our dust!
DERIVING YOUR TAX THRESHOLD
FROM
YOUR VOTING STATUS:
IV
Joan Kealy
(2 ) MARRIED BUT LIVING APART
FROM SPOUSE FOR ENTIRE YEAR &
FILING SEPARATELY?
FILING
LIVING
ANY PART OF THE YEAR?
SINGLE PERSON
TAXABLE INCOME 25600
-ADJUSTMENTS 0
RESULT IS1-K2) 25600
+ EXEMPT INCOME BOO
+ FOREIGN INCOME 0
' {(3+4+5+6) 27240
8. -THRESHOLD 25000
9. AMOUNT OVER THRESHOLD 2240
10. MULTIPLY BY .5 1120
THE TAXABLE AMOUNT TO BE ADDED
TO YOUR OTHER TAXABLE INCOME ON
THE IRS 1040 IS THE SMALLER OF
LINE 6 OR 10.
MARRIED COUPLE FILING
JOINTLY
. TAXABLE INCOME 2861
' (#l-#2)
4. + EXEMPT INCOME
5. + FOREIGN INCOME
6. +HALF SS HUSBAND
7. +HALF SS WIFE
7a. TOTAL SS
8. RESULT (#3+4+5+6+7)
9. -THRESHOLD
10. AMOUNT OVER THRESHOLD
11. MULTIPLY BY. 5
2184
6552
35152
32000
3152
1576
THE TAXABLE AMOUNT TO BE ADDED
TO YOUR OTHER TAXABLE INCOME ON
THE IRS 1040 IS THE SMALLER OF
LINE 6 OR LINE 11. (DSL).
51576 TAXABLE AMOUNT.
P. S. I HAVE NOT RESEARCHED THE
FACT THAT A WIFE'S SS WILL BE
ADDED TO THE HUSBAND'S BUT I'M
LEAD TO BELIEVE THAT THE IRS
WOULD NOT LET THAT ESCAPE THEM.
SOCTAX.B1
1 CLS : LET A=0: REM BASED ON
8/91 "FINANCIAL /OCUS" FROM SCO
ODER
10 PRINT AT 10,0;" DETERMINING
THE TAXABLE AMOUNT OF YOUR SOCI
AL SECURITY BENEFITS" : PRINT AT
15,0;"ENTER NO SSS SIGNS WITH FI
GURES; "
11 PRINT "■ ROUND TO THE NEAR
EST DOLLAR. "
12 PAUSE 380: CLS : PRINT "DER
IVING YOUR THRESHOLD FROM YOU
R VOTING STATUS : "
14 PRINT ' "ARE YOU"; ' ' " (1) SING
LE TAXPAYER FILING AS AN INDIVID
UAL?" ; 1 1 ■ (2 ) MARRIED BUT LIVING A
PART FROMSPOUSE FOR ENTIRE YEAR
S FILING SEPARATELY?"; •"" (3)A MA
RRIED COUPLE FILING JOINT-LY?";'
'"{4)A MARRIED COUPLE FILING SEP
- ARATELY AFTER LIVING TOGETHER
ANY PART OF THE YEAR? "
16 INPUT "NUMBER OF CORRECT ST
ATUS?",A: IF A>4 OR A<1 THEN GO
to ie
IB IF A=l OR A=2 THEN LET TH-2
5000
20 IF A=3 THEN LET TH=3200Q
22 IF A=4 THEN LET TH=0
24 CLS : INPUT "TOTAL OF TAXAB
LE INCOME", 1$: PRINT AT 1,0;"1.
TAXABLE INCOME";AT 1, 31-LEN I£;I
26 INPUT "FROM IRS 1040-ADJUST
MENTS TO INCOME?", A$: PRINT A
T 2,0;"2. -ADJUSTMENTS" ," AT 2,31-
LEN AS; AS
28 LET Rl-VAL IS-VAL AS: PRINT
AT 3,0;"3. RESULT (f l-<2) ";AT 3
, 31-LEN STRS R1;R1
30 INPUT "TAX-EXEMPT INCOME?",
XS: PRINT AT 4,0; "4. + EXEMPT INC
OME";AT 4,31-LEN XS;XS
32 INPUT " FOREIGN INCOME NOT S
HOWN IN #1",FS: PRINT AT 5,0;"5.
+ FOREIGN INCOME";AT 5, 31-LEN FS
;FS
34 INPUT "1/2 OF SOCIAL SECURI
TY BENEFITS?", BS: PRINT AT 6,0,-"'
6. +HALF SS";AT 6, 31-LEN BS;B$
36 LET R2=R1+VAL XS+VAL FS+VAL
RESULT i
BS: PRINT AT 7,0;"
+4 + 5+6) ";AT 7, 31-LEN STRS R2.-R2
38 PRINT AT 8,0;*'8. -THRESHOLD
"; AT 6, 31-LEN STRS TH;TH
40 LET AM=R2~TH: PRINT AT 9,0;
"9. AMOUNT OVER THRESHOLD"; AT 9,
31-LEN STRS AM; AM
42 IF AM<=0 THEN PRINT "NO TAX
ON YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFI
TS!": STOP
44 LET R3=AM'.5: PRINT AT 10,0
;"10. MULTIPLY BY .5";AT 10,31-L
EN STRS R3.-R3
46 PRINT AT 14,0;"THE TAXABLE
AMOUNT TO BE ADDED TO YOUR OTHE
H TAXABLE INCOME ON THE IRS 1040
IS THE SMALLER OF LINE 6 OR 10
50 IF R3<VAL BS THEN PRINT AT
21, 4; "S";R3; " TAXABLE AMOUNT"
9989 STOP
9992 CLEAR : RANDOMIZE USR 100:
SAVE "SOCTAX.B1" LINE 1
9998 RANDOMIZE USR 100: LOAD "L.
The matter of Uncle Sam's hand
in your pocket should never be
too far from your thoughts.
TAX-I-QL is h-u-a-e spreadsheet
template which requires a 256K
(minimum) memory expansion.
From what I can tell, TAX-I-QL
is designed/ suitable for the
CPA who need to "link"
(virtually) ALL of the IRS
Because "individuals" certainly
comprise the majority of the
users, the extent of the tem-
plate will appear to be over-
kill; with, the result being a
minor penalty of a seemingly
long calculation time. Time is
very subjective, and you will
find that it Is still faster
than doing calculations on the
forms in tandem with an adding
machine or calculator.
Unfortunately, nothing on/for
the QL appears to be perfect;
and, TAX-I-QL is no exception.
But, TAX-I-QL is accessible for
modification (but, use caution;
and, always double check your
calculations regardless of the
spreadsheet and/or template
your are using) .
Any "adjustments" to schedules
are limited only to your abili-
ty to write/modify an Abacus
A minor TAX-I-QL "flaw" is that
the template presumes that the
data taken from your W-2 forms
for "state tax" is an absolute
[i.e., that you will NOT deduct
more-or-less than the amount (s)
withheld]; and, this is reflec-
ted in the value transferred to
" A.
For example, Illinois residents
pay a percentage of the ADJUS-
TED GROSS INCOME, less
two-times (2x) the local real
estate tax paid and a
"standard" deduction similar to
the Federal deduction. As I am
only dealing with one state, I
can input a simple, linked
formula in the appropriate cell
A:
(G100 - (2*N13) - 2000) • 0.03
■G100' is the cell containing
the "adjusted gross income" (on
the template I have!; 'N13' is
the cell containing the "real
estate tax" paid; '2000' is the
"deduction" for myself and my
wife [this could have been in-
put as "Gli * 1000" (exemptions
x deduction}) ; and "0.03 1 is
the current "tax rate" in
Illinois.
Obviously (?!), the state in-
come tax rate varies from state
to state; and/but, an ASKN/ASKT
macro might be incorporated to
better quantify the state tax
value on SCHEDULE A if you are
Because TAX-I-PC is accessible,
its one other "flaw" is that
you may eventually decide that
you only have to buy a copy for
one year; and then, modify it
for subsequent years .
HHMmm. Definitely worth buying
at least one time. TAX-I-QL
($24.95) is available from:
EMS OFT
P.O. Box 3763
Boston, MR 02114-8763
EMSOFT accepts VISA and Master-
Card (w/ surcharge) .
HAPPY TRAILS, AND COMPUTING,
TO YOU ...
To put an AD In the BBS and
newsletter, upload a file with
the filename. filetype:
TSNUGxxx.ADS
where xxx is your initials.
! ! ! Our ADS are free ! ! !
Your ADS appear in FOUR
different newsletters !
WANTED: 920303
%%*%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%<*,%%%%
% WANTED %
% USED *
% SERIAL TO PARALLEL PRINTER *
* CABLE (QL?) %
% JOHN J. SHEPARD, III %
1 281 - 130th ST. i
% OGDEN, IA 50212 I
% (515) 846-6378 %
* HAVE ANS. MACHINE %
WANTED: ON 920509
TRACTOR AND/OR ROLL PAPER
UNIT(S) FOR MANN ES MANN TALLY
MT160 PRINTER. ALSO, ANY
INFORMATION ON THE RC ALLEN (BY
LITTON WESTREX) PRINTER MODEL
NO. 88802-112
D. G. Smith, R.415 Stone St.,
Johnstown, PA 15906
FOR SALE: ON 920309
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
GETTING RID OF EXCESS
EQUIPMENT, HARDWARE, SOFTWARE,
BOOKS, ETC. FOR BOTH TS1000 AND
TS2068. SEND FOR LIST.
WILLIAM VOLK, 6015 CARTER AVE,
BALTIMORE, MD 21214
H301-254-6258
FOR SALE: ON 920509
LOCAL COMPUTER GROUP GETTING
RID OF EXCESS EQUIPMENT,
HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, BOOKS, ETC .
T/S USER'S GROUP, P.O.BOX 614,
Johnstown, PA 15907
FOR SALE: ON 920102
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%*%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
TS2068 WITH:
SPECTRUM BOM SWITCH
MECHANICAL KEYBOARD
RESET SWITCH
SPEAKER ON /OFF SWITCH
AMPEX COMPOSITE COLOR Monitor
JLO FDD System with:
780K Disk Drive cased with:
power supply
Centronic Printer Interface
TS2040 Printer
wico Trackball
TS2050 modems (4)
EPROM cards one with Mterm II
Joysticks (2)
Timex and Spectrum commercial
programs 300+
Disk Drive DSDD 5.25 flaky
Disk Drive DSQD 3.5 flaky
Gary Lessenberry
12 Alleghany Road
Havelock, NC 28532
919-444-3895
FOR SALE: ON 911010
%%%%%*%*%%%%%%
CoCo 1 W/64K AND PRO KYBRD .520
JSM Controller S65
Dual TEAC Disk Drives $80
Joysticks $10
The whole package with software
and manuals: $125
CALL TONY SOKOL H708-4 28-4058
IV»S j EL |! hi*l » Jl :«"« !«=! » Eki
"A 1 & Mmm
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