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Timtxl Sinclair NorthAmerican User Groups Aubmm, Indiana

Volume 2, Number 3 Fall 1992

MEMORY MAP

ROUTINES ADDRESS

T/SNUG Chairmen 1

T/SNUG Information 2

ZXir QLive Alive! Article Contributions 2

Contributors to this Issue 2

From the Chairman's Disk . .. ; 2

TREA$URY NOTE$ 4

From the Editor's Desk 4

INPUT/OUTPUT 5

NEWS ITEMS 10

ITEMS AVAILABLE FROM T/SNUG 13

SPECIAL DEALS AND BUYS 13

LIBRARY 13

Articles:

The BYTE -BACK MD-68 MODEM 13

MINERAL OIL and the PRINTER RIBBON 14

MINERAL OIL and the EDGE CONNECTOR 14

RESETTING TRACK 0 and Other TWEAKING 15

WRITING MORE EFFICIENTLY 18

Ads 19

And now a word from our Venders 21

ZX-91 TEN YEARS LATER #5 23

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/ZX81, Z88,
SPECTRUM/TS2068/TC2068 and QL. If you have questions about any
of these fine machines contact the Chairman.

s

POSITION NAME PHONE PRIMARY FUNCTION

Chairman

Vice-Chairman

Vi ce -Chai rman

Vice-Chairman

Vice-Chairman

Vice-Chairman

Vice-Chairman

Treasurer

Don Lambert
Dave Bennett
D.G. Smith
Ed Snow
Rod Gowen
Rod Humphreys
Bob Swoger
Abed Kahale

219-925-1372 Chief Motivator

717-774-7531 CATS/Z88

814-535-6998 TAPE & 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
Volume 2, Number 3

ZXir QLive Alive!
1

Fall 1992

jtxiv &%m sin*t 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 they may see
we are still out here. If you
feel 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
newsletter and other
correspondence .

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.

You can keep T/SNUG alive for
an annual contribution of
$10.00 made payable to Abed
Kahale. Send check to:

ABED KAHALE
ZXir QLive Alive! Newsletter
335 W NEWPORT RD
HOFFMAN ESTATES IL 60195

Tele: H708-885-4337

ZXk QLive Alive!
Article C©mttolb>Tiatii<G>iEi§

If you would like to contribute
an article to the newsletter,
upload a file to our BBS called

TSNUG . ART . If you have an AD
for the newsletter UPLOAD a
file called TSNUG. ADS. "If you
have NEWS to POST about your
group, UPLOAD a file called
TSNUG . NWS .

If you need help contact the
SYSOP by E-MAIL on the T/SNUG
BBS, mail or by phone:

BOB SWOGER

613 PARKS IDE CIRCLE

STREAMWOOD IL 60107-1647

It is preferred you call:
H708/837-7957 or W708/576-8068

If you can only contribute hard
copy, tape or disk format, send
your inputs to:

DON LAMBERT

ZXir QLive Alive! Newsletter

1301 KIBLINGER PL
AUBURN IN 46706

Please call 219-925-1372 before
sending articles.

CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE

Alvin Ronald Albrecht

Dave Bennett

Mort Binstock

James Caldwell

Bill Harmer

Abed Kahale

Ken Krack

Don Lambert

Bob Madaris

Gill Parrish

Hugh Polley

Joseph Rampolla

Bob Swoger, K9WVY

FROM THE CHAIRMANS DISK

HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, JELLYWARE &
DOCUMENTATION/ INSTRUCTIONS OR
SINK OR SWIM

These thoughts were developed
out of attempts to download
files from Bob Swoger by modem
to me which often resulted in
defaults. I believe that a lot
of the difficulty is that I do
not have the necessary
information to do the task
properly. I also know that in
the past I have had a time or
two during voice communications
that I have had some strange
clicks and noises which could

have resulted in defaults in
downloading by modem.

By information I am referring
to documentation (which could
be in the software in the form
of HELP! files) which usually
gets into the technical aspects
of the hardware /software but
which does not help the first
time user of the particular
hardware/software. Also by
information I am also referring
to the particular key punches
and what results from the key
punches as instructions. Some
documentation does include
instructions but usually in a
very shorthand version. So now
we have two sets of
information, 1. documentation

(which usually gets into the
theory of the hardware/
software) and 2. instructions

(which describes in very
specific terms how to use the
hardware /software) .

I have had problems in the past
that included the screen going
blank and I sit there wondering
if the program had quit or
should I wait or should I
reload the program. It is nice
when the instructions state
"after pressing ENTER the
screen will go blank for about
20 seconds and then the MENU
will appear and then you can
make your choice of — " It is
very helpful if the
instructions do tell you what
the screen shows. If you are
supposed to get a minus sign in
the top left corner of the
screen say so.

Telephone instructions are
helpful but not as good as
something on paper. I have
never conquered the ability of
holding the telephone and
writing and besides what is
said often is misunderstood. On
paper with all key punches and
the results of the key punches
make for very good
instructions .

I can remember my first
attempts to use a word
processor. I had ended up with
copious notes of how to do each
of the many things that one
could do. And I eventually got

to the place where the notes
are no longer needed. The same
applies to any new
hardware / software I get
involved with. I don't know
what others do to get started
with something new but I am
cautious and like to progress
slowly. I have some software
that defaults and I don't know
if it is my fault or the
software .

An example of the differences

hofuoon Hof'Timei"! - !" a - ! - i <~>n anH

instructions is the LarKen Disk
Drive manual. I had a disk that
was AUTOSTART on an 80 track
disk. My 80 track disk was
drive #1. But pressing ENTER
when powering up would only
access drive 0. I batted around
the problem for quite a while
and one night while my wife was
in Japan I woke up in the early
morning hours (3 AM) and I had
the answer in my mind. It
seemed stupid but I put on a
robe and went to the computer
and fired up and entered "RAND
USR 100: GOTO 1" "ENTER" and
then "RAND USR 100: New" and
then "ENTER" and lo and behold
the 80 track drive kicked in
and the disk AUTOSTARTed.
Nowhere in the documentation
does it actually state that is
the way to do it; but it is
buried in the GOTO command
explanation and the NEW command
explanation. I know, I know
that it reads that way but for
someone reading the
documentation looking for it
will find it hard to find the
way it is stated. Just a case
of not understanding what is in
the documentation. And after I
did successfully get the
problem solved it was months
before I finally read the
documentation and understood
what it meant.

Ideally there should be
documentation for those that
want the information and also
specific instructions for those
that do not grasp the full
importance and how to out of
the documentation. And the two
forms of information should be
separate. When I am using the
software I don't care that it
3 is taking the data at address

XXXXXXX and transferring it in
reverse order at address
CCCCCCC and them adding it to
the square of address QQQQQQ.
But I do care that to get the
material to SAVE to disk I need
to press the "Q" key and then
enter the file name not to
exceed three characters and to
expect a 15 second SAVE after I
press "ENTER".

Donald S. Lambert, Chairman
TIMEX/Sinclair NorthAmerican
User Groups

TREASURY NOTl$

As of December 1, 1992, we have
a balance of $607.87 from 7
groups and 36 individuals.

Abed Kahale, Treasurer
TIMEX/Sinclair NorthAmerican
User Groups

FROM THE EDITORS DESK

Though what Chairman Don has to
say in his column about manuals
has a great deal of validity, I
just love it when he gives me a
chance to editorialize and make
us all think a little. So put
on your thick hide, Don,
because here it. comes!

Al Feng says "A manual can't
make you read it". Don seems to
be one of those people who
reads a manual but doesn't
absorb/comprehend it. On page 9
of the LKDOS manual Larry Kenny
states: "If you plan on
distributing some software that
is on LKDOS disks, using disks
formatted as single sided will
be compatible on more systems
than double sided disks. (48
TPI is most common.)" And for
this reason on page 10 of the
same manual Larry states: "All
software on disk from LarKen
Electronics will be supplied on
single sided 40 track disks
unless requested otherwise."

Don KNOWS I use only single
sided double density (SSDD)
disk drives and that to read
any other format I must borrow
a drive from a friend somewhere
and go thru the hassle of

converting the disks to SSDD
format. Anyone with DSDD drives
can easily send out SSDD disks!
Yet Don, a LogiCall owner,
keeps sending me DSDD formatted
disks that DO NOT have LogiCall
on them!

In paragraph 6 of his column he
states a problem he had trying
to BOOT a disk in drive one.
Page 3 of the LogiCall manual
says: "Press ' N' <ENTER> to
activate AUTOSTART ...." Don,
LogiCall on the LarKen system
is not optional! It should be
on all LarKen disks! The
LogiCall way to boot an
AUTOSTART in drive #1 is to
hold the ENTER key down on
system boot -up and then hit '1'
and then 'N' and ENTER. Just
hit ? or H at the "DRIVE? ' or
•Program? 1 prompt to see why!

Don tries to remember what he
hears on the phone instead of
taking notes, we are all guilty
of it from time to time. This
is why I found it impossible to
upload a program to him over
the phone, (Paragraph 1) . He
couldn't handle his side of the
data transfer although there
were just a few instructions I
gave him to follow.

Some manuals are too verbose
and poorly organized, what Don
really needs along with his
manual is a quickie card.

In Don's defense, on the
software side, we programmers
often write programs with no
help files and when the program
leaves a blank screen for a
long period of time, we forget
that maybe putting a flashing
"WORKING" on the screen to give
the user a feeling of security!
Just, because we write programs
doesn't mean we can write
manuals, so thanks for the
input, Don. I will be sending
you a new LogiCall manual to
try.

Now in the last issue of ZXir
QLive Alive!, we started a
MODEM series and I wish to keep
it going. This time I wish to
take the BYTE-BACK modem
because there are still some to
be had for the TS2068. I don't

feel this is the only modem and
software you should have but
you should have one for your
collection. Read the article.

Bob Swoger, Editor
TIMEX/Sinclair NorthAmerican
User Groups

INPUT/OUTPUT

Ken Krack writes: Dear Mr

T^mKarf T Hawo nnc+- coon "t~ Vi C>

UU1L IJw* \^ X. K~ , -L- iiU » ^ J W W 1— I \ — i i *i > —

T/SNUG Newsletter for the first
time ( please see copy of
letter to Abed Kahale) and I
appreciate its broader coverage
than any 1 local ' T/S group . It
should do a good job in
maintaining interest in what I
consider to be these masterly
friendly computers, I even got
the local county college to let
me do the assignment work on a
course in 'BASIC' language on a
TS2040 printer and left
everybody else behind
struggling with C "Syntax
Error". I would like to make a
suggestion for what I find to
be a long felt need and which
can embrace the Whole
membership of all grow s
through the T/SNUG Newsletter,
namely a section in the
Newsletter for "PROJECT
INTERLINK" by which

members/groups interested in
developing a particular project
can liaise together by exchange
particularly of T/S technical
knowledge. Worthwhile projects,
apart from being useful in
themselves, will certainly help
to keep the T/S interest
flowing and growing
particularly if project
progress (and stumbling blocks)
is reported regularly in the
newsletter. We might also be
able to produce a "T/S
Computers Specialists
Directory" of those willing to
help others, for example I
could be entered as
specializing in 'plant data
logging and alarming by TS2068 1
The following could be taken as
example (and on which I am just
on starting) : -

PROJECT INTERLINK

A member of the SW A Sinclair
user group wishes to develop a
FAX interface for the TS2068.
Technical help is particularly
needed in out putting pixels
(i.e. screen dump ) and signal
compression, preferences to
relevant articles/publications
would also be appreciated. The
developed design would be put
into 'public domain' through
the T/SNUG newsletter. Please
contact :

Ken Krack c/o Virginia Pavlik
RD1, Dick Station
Irwin, PA 15642

Tel 412 446-5221
FAX c/o 412 832-9733

Alvin Ronald Albrecht

writes: Dear Don, Has T/SNUG
folded? I'm crossing my fingers
that it hasn't but I haven't
received a newsletter since
Fall 1991. If I owe another
year's dues, please let me
know. If it has folded and if
there is still some interest
I'd be glad to help restart it
with some articles or whatever
is needed. Hoping to hear from
you soon. Alvin

Be assured, Alvin, T/SNUG is
still healthy, perhaps the mail
system got very slow or else
some other event happened but I
am forwarding the letter to
Abed and I have written to you.

Dave Bennett writes: It is
nice to hear from you again. I
didn't really have any Z88
articles for ZXir QLive Alive!
I have been writing about the
Z88 for five years and I am
running out of ideas. However I
did write a short article
describing a method of
transferring files between the
Z88 and the TS2068 without the
use of a Null Modem.

I would bet your inquiry came
from Jay Shepard. He has called
me several times asking
questions including one about
transferring files to the
TS2068. I had advised Jay to
use two modems. Jay did mention
he had to connect to the phone
jack in order to get this to
work with his modems. I did not

have to do this with my two
Hayes modems.

I have a Macintosh Classic as
well as a Z88 and a QL. Bob
Swoger uses Macintosh SE at
work. Even though it would be
easier to send the file
directly to Bob on a Macintosh
disk I decided to send the
article on a PC disk again.
Then you can add your comments
if any. I was not too sure of
the particulars on the TS2068
side in this procedure.

Hugh Polley writes: I would
like to receive your TIMEX
newsletter. Find enclosed a
$12.00 US POSTAL money order,
cashable at any post office.
The extra postage money is to
cover any expense in sending
your newsletter to Canada.

I would like to improve my QL
by adding EPROMs and a disk
drive system and by making it
IBM compatible if possible. Any
information you can send me is
such an effort would be much
appreciated!

Hugh A. Polley
#1-645 Meredith Rd. NE
Calgary, Alta.
CANADA T2E 5A9

Mort Binstock writes: Thanks
for your 3/26 letter concerning
your adventures with the ZX81 &
AERCO Drives. I enjoyed your
letter thoroughly. I have two
ZX81 /AERCO setups, both quite
sophisticated.

One is single sided double
density, 10 pages on one side.
By adding a notch plus punching
two holes in the disk's jacket,
(called FLIPPIES) I can use
both sides of the disk by
manually flipping the disk to
get 20 pages per disk. I have
used this scheme successfully
since the early to mid '80s. At
that time double density was a
big deal, double sided rare and
not affordable.

My second unit is a little
newer & is DSDD. It will read &
write to single sided disks
formatted on my first unit, an
advantage to a page oriented

filing system. Both systems
will SAVE/LOAD BASIC, machine
code and data files. Both are
also equipped with Bill Bell's
BBDOS .

The ZX81s are used primarily to
calculate model rocket
programs/flight profiles,
manage the club's data base,
word processing (I'm on a plane
now, therefore a handwritten
letter), income taxes,
balancing the checkbook etc.

Unit two has a remote keyboard.
The rest of the computer is in
an overhead cabinet. It is
equipped with twin drives, 80
column printer, Hunter board,
64K RAM & CAI 40 column printer
& stringy floppy (predecessor
to disk drives) . It is also
equipped with "remote" switches
for reset, to switch the
stringy floppy/disk drives in
and out, switch printers, etc.
I have also made internal
modifications to accommodate
the remote keyboard, better
machine code handling, improved
power supply etc.

Unit 1 is similar however uses
a home made 8K RAM Board, 40
column TS2040 printer, 80
column thermal printer & Byte
Back modem. The modem used to
access electronic mail with my
work. This unit also has remote
switches & internal
modifications .

I almost purchased a LarKen
board, but didn't. How does it
compare to the AERCO? Are they
still available? Where?

I also use a rather
sophisticated & well equipped
QL, another story in itself.

I recently purchased for $5 an
as is ZX81 that works. I plan
to build 8K battery backed RAM
& Input/Output "relays". I plan
to use it to control & monitor
lighting in my house, using
Radio Shack 'wireless' light
switches etc. The light
switches send "tones" through
the power lines .

As you can see, my ZX's are
6 both well equipped & well used.

Its advantages over the QL are
its simplicity. I can repair or
modify it plus it's easy to
program .

The QL on the other hand is
much faster (very noticeable
with complex number crunching) ,
superb graphics. A more
sophisticated word processor
plus the ability to run IBM
programs .

My mainstay & favorite is still
the ZX81.

I have written to a man in
Holland who has a program that
will allow the QL or IBM to run
ZX81 programs. I am exploring
this as it is a way to keep the
ZX81 alive, i. e. transfer its
"soul" to newer hardware. It
will also allow me to "use" my
ZX at work, on the P. C. I have
successfully transferred ZX
files -> QL -> IBM. I look
forward to doing the same w/
programs .

Thanks for all your news.

Mort Binstock writes again: I
finally have some time to
myself, unfortunately another
Plane trip. Everythings OK,
I've also formatted the wrong
disk myself. Memorial day I
make you another copy, (defers
to a disk he sent me and I
wiped out when I FORMATted it
by mistake for the ZX81 and
lost the AERCO ZX81 single
sided 40 track BOOT program-
Don) .

I primarily use Memotext on
BBDOS. I like it as it is fast
& has word wrap. My second is
(or was) WORD SYNC. Its more
powerful plus can do many
FONTS. Now a days, when I need
more horsepower, I use the QL.

Don't worry about sending
money, I'm OK & prefer to keep
our new relationship informal .
I suspect trades etc. will
eventually even out in the wash
& if not, that's OK too.

I'm an engineer currently doing
marketing. The product is a
real high tech computer,
reminiscent of the CRT controls

used in the bridges of StarTrek
& StarWar movies. Work,
unfortunately, is a sweat shop,
one deadline after another. I
am reaching the age, with luck,
that I could retire in a few
years. I'll cross that bridge
when it comes.

How do you like retirement?
Your work at Collins sounds
interesting. I enjoyed your
tales of inspecting parts now
in orbit. Also, meeting
astronauts must have been
exciting.

Original 5 1/4 disk drives were
single density, i.e., only 90K
on one side, 180K if it was
double sided. Later, and at
premium prices, they upgraded
to Double Density, 180K on one
side, 360K on two. I don't have
any single density. Formatting
an AERCO single density will
result in 1/2 the disk memory
and, I suspect, 1/2 the number
of AERCO "PAGES" per disk.

I appreciate your typing up my
4/22 letter and look forward to
seeing it in print. The only
update, which I did write you
about, is I now have the ZX81
EMULATOR. It's awesome to see
the ZX81 & some of its programs
on my QL or my work IBM. I plan
to transfer some of my ZX over
to allow more flexibility,
i.e., using my ZX at work.

Don, the AERCO can add a new
dimension to the ZX81. The ZX81
normally saves to tape both the
program and its data. The AERCO
Disk will also do so, However
you can also, like a more
sophisticated computer, save
just the data. The information
& printouts I sent with my
first disk transmittal provides
that information.

If you have patience & send me
MasterScribe, I may be able to
get it to work for you from the
AERCO, provided its load and
save commands (for the
cassette) are in BASIC. I may
also get it to save data
separately.

I do not plan to upgrade the
single sided system to double

sided as the drives work well &
by flipping the disks, I still
get double sided.

The AERCO & CAI stringy floppy
coexist via a manual switch in
& out. Crude, but quite
effective. The CAI stringy is
better than the cassette,
however, the floppy is much
better (faster & reliable) than
either.

The CAI stringy saves programs

ol Ctcltcl SGp3.3T3.tOly ONLY. It 3.1 S O

files in serial "pages" 1, 2, &
3 etc. You can add one like 4,
but not reuse an earlier one
without messing it up. Sort of
like saving multiply files on a
cassette .

I have not terminated my ZX81
bus, but am aware of it. I did
"terminate" my keyboard bus to
allow for reliable operation of
the remote keyboard.

I appreciate all of your
information, LOOK FORWARD to
further correspondence and to
reading your articles.
Hopefully, my personal time
will increase & I'll get more
time soon to use my computers,
pursue my writings, & to just
enjoy life.

Mort Binstock

1150 Windermere DR

PGH PA 15218-1144

James H. Caldwell writes: I
had been given your address
from a friend who had sold me
one of his TIMEX 1000 computers
and he told me you have a
Newsletter for the TIMEX as
well as a possible source of
software and other materials
for the Timex COMPUTERS. If you
could get back to me with some
information about your
newsletter as soon as possible
I would be grateful, I am very
anxious to get any information
about my new addition to my
computer collection.

JAMES H. CALDWELL JR.
125 BARR STREET
APARTMENT # 3-B-l 3
HILLSDALE, MI 49242-1138

BOB MADARIS writes: In the
last newsletter (Vol 1 No. 4)
INPUT/OUTPUT had an article
about User Groups inviting
people in their area to join.
Prior to this, while discussing
a software purchase with Mr.
Peter Hale, he mentioned that I
should find a local users group
to join. When I told him I had
not found one in the
southeastern area with a
newsletter, he invited me to
join the NEW ENGLAND SINCLAIR
QL USERS GROUP (NESQLUG) .

I joined the group and received
some back issues of the
newsletter and the groups 2
disks library. Having just
joined, I am already very
pleased with what is on the
disks. One of them is full
(1440 sectors) .

The point I am trying to convey
is: If you are out there alone,
as I was, find a user group.
You don't need to wait until
they find you. Pick out one you
see mentioned in T/SNUG or
UPDATE and join. It really will
not matter how far they are.
The newsletter and their
libraries are enough. As the
saying goes "USE IT OR LOSE
IT ! "

The Directory to Printer
program for the QL in that
issue is a good one. An
alternative for those with TK2
is to use DIR/PRT. This will
send the directory of the
default device to serl. Note
the back slash character (\) is
used. For several TK2 commands,
it will open and close channels
or files. WDIR, WSTAT, and STAT
work in the same manner. Set
the default device with
DATA_USE Flp2_, and set the
printer buffer up with PRT_USE.
These should be included in
your boot up Boot. If you wish
to send the device directory to
a file, you only have to use
DIR\devicename_f ilename (ex.
DIR\RAMl_Myf ile) . No opening or
closing to do. It will print
the directory to a file in the
same way as to the printer (or
imported into Quill) . This is a
good way to get hard copies of
8 your directories (Disk or Mdv) .

You guys keep up the good work.

BOB MADARIS
RT. 1 BOX 1497
TRAFFORD, AL 35172-9628
Tele: (205) 681-5751

Gill Parrish writes: Dear
Don, I don't think I've written
since March (but then again you
haven't written since
February!), so this is just an
"I'm still alive and living in
Tulsa" letter.

I told you last time that Bob
Swoger had contacted me, and
told me he had located a
"Zebra" board and equipped it
with a Spectrum ROM to work on
my TS2068 cassette system. It
did not strike me until later
how perfect his timing turned
out to be. My wife, son and I
happened to have a trip
scheduled to Scotland within a
week or two. Obviously, the
United Kingdom is the Spectrum
capitol of the world, but I
never thought about looking for
Spectrum items until I was told
my TS2068 was about to become a
"Spectrum compatible".

So, I had the opportunity to
buy a couple of Spectrum
packages; one was a collection
of four games which had
recently been marketed
separately, and the other was a
mega - collection of thirty
such games including Hacker,
Ghostbuster s , EnduroRacer,
Rampage, etc. (I saw no non-
game software for the Spectrum
in any shops, except for one
vendor having a single copy of
Tasword Two.) I also picked up
the April copy of Your Sinclair
("YS), which I gather is the
leading Spectrum magazine. It
comes with a tape of programs
glued right on the front cover,
and that collection also seems
to include some good stuff. YS
contains the ads of several
vendors from which Spectrum
software can be mail - ordered,
if one is willing to incur the
extra postage and handling
charges (in some cases an
additional 2.50 British Pound -
- about $4.40 — per tape to
get the stuff to the U. S. ! A

subscription to YS is also
available but is similarly
expensive for the U. S. folks:
the normal 26.40 Pound
subscription price (which does
at least include the monthly
tapes) jumps to 40.80 Pounds
for citizens of other ECC
countries, and then to 53.05
Pounds (almost $93.00) for U.
S. readers! That's a tad more
than I want to incur,
especially for a British
magazine I frankly find hard to
decipher at times (to many "in"
jokes and other cultural
oddities) .

If you might be interested in
ordering something from YS and
need a copy of the ads, let me
know. And are you interested in
any of this tape - based
Spectrum software? [YES! Ed.)

I picked up a Kempston
compatible joystick interface
too, fortunately. I think you
had warned me previously about
needing such an adapter to work
with Spectrum stuff (without a
disk interface); Bob's package
contained a similar warning,
but it didn't arrive until
after I left. Anyway, I passed
up a Kempston adapter in one
store, but something in my
memory kept nagging at me, and
I later picked up one in
another town.

For what it was worth, I ended
up writing an article for the
Toronto group ' s newsletter
about the Spectrum scene in
Great Britain. I had never
written one for Toronto (while
I had already written one for
your newsletter) , so I thought
I needed to provide one as a
good Club Member.

I thought originally when I got
home and opened Bob's package
that I had a problem. I very
much liked the design of the
Zebra board, since it
disappeared into my unused game
port and did not detract from
the looks of the unit. However,
Bob had indicated the command
to go into Spectrum mode was
"OUT 244 , 2" but all that
yielded was an "Integer out of
range" error. I tried removing

and re-inserting the board,
cleaning the contacts, etc. but
the error message remained
constant. I wondered if my unit
had a defective game port; I've
never used that port for
anything (only recently did I
see a Timex Command Cartridge,
which was the first proof I had
Timex really made any) , and I
had no way of testing it. Then
I wondered if Bob transposed a
digit in the command or
something. Playing with the
"24 4" number produced no
meaningful result, so I tried
changing the ",2" to a ",1".
That also produced nothing
usable so on a whim I tried
",3" — and that did the trick.
The command "OUT 244,3" put the
computer into Spectrum mode
(complete with Spectrum
copyright screen) . I was then
able to try some Spectrum
software and the board seemed
to work fine. [I can't believe
I did that! Sorry! Ed.]

Separately, I bought a printer
interface cable from Byte -
Back; I gather that company is
liquidating remaining
inventory, so I only paid half
price for it. They sent the
software to get the cable to
work with my TS2068 (and it
does indeed work fine) . But I
wonder if there is separate
software that would get it to
work with my TSlOOOs?

I'm glad the organization is
doing so well. T/S users are
going to need a strong central
organization in the next few
years, so I'm glad the
foundation is being built now!

Gilliam Y. Parrish
Route 1, Box 705
Beggs, OK 74421

Joseph Rampolla writes: Many
thanks for sending the copies
of the newsletter with my
article on the BYTE-BACK modem.
It is great to see that you and
others involved in the group
are still serving the needs of
us TIMEX/Sinclair diehards!
Keep up the good work! I wish
you and all our T/S friends a
Happy Thanksgiving and a Merry
Christmas! ! !

Joseph Rampolla

2 638 E MONUMENT ST

BALTIMORE MD 21205

NEWS ITEMS

Dayton ComputerFest 1992

by Donald S. Lambert

Friday 08 28 1992 at 11:27 AM
(Indiana time) I backed out of
the driveway and left for the
Dayton ComputerFest. There is a
different route I could have
taken and missed all traffic in
Ft. Wayne but with my tendency
to get lost I did not take it
so at the end of the first hour
I had traveled only 40 miles.
The route I took was to go
south on 1-69 to Highway 30
East and to take that to 1-75
south. After entering 1-75 I
found a posted 12 mile stretch
of the interstate that had one
lane of traffic but what
traffic there was traveled
fairly briskly until there were
two cars ahead of me that kept
varying from 45 to 60 miles an
hour. But luckily they exited
before the end of the
construction and then traffic
was moving along briskly. It
was 169 miles to the Red Roof
from my house.

Finding the Red Roof Inn was
very easy since it is the first
exit south of 1-70 or exit 60.
Besides you can see the motel.
I arrived at 2:50 PM Indiana
time or 3:50 Dayton time and
checked in and returned to the
office to find out if any
others had arrived but no luck.
I walked around a little and
returned past the motel office
and there was rapping on the
glass and there was Paul
Holmgren. From that moment on I
was T/Sing until I left the
Hara Arena on Sunday.

Frank Davis had not arrived so
Paul and I visited and Bill
Angel had came following Paul
in his pickup. When Frank and
Carol Davis arrived they
discussed going over and
setting up and we went out to
dinner. We went to Bob Evan's
and those that ate in our group

were Paul Holmgren, Carol and
Frank Davis, Bill Angel, and
myself. Of course there was a
lot of talk and it was decided
to get together for breakfast
and meet at Frank and Carol's
room at 7:30 Dayton time. (I
did not change my watch from
Indiana time) .

After they went to Hara Arena I
went back to the office and the
clerk did read off all the
names of those that had
reservations but had not
arrived.

But that information was after
the desk girl took care of a
college age girl that came in
looking for a wedding party
that she was trying to find so
she could go to the rehearsal
supper. She was starting to get
suspicious and said "if it
isn't this weekend I will shoot
myself. I drove for 4 hours
from West Virginia!" The desk
clerk helped find the right
date, yes two weeks later, and
the girl left. I asked her if
she was going to keep it a
secret. "No way am I going to
tell anyone!" she said.

Later I recognized the van that
John Pederson used to drive his
brother, Bill, around. I
visited with them until Frank,
Carol, Paul and Bill returned
from setting up. Then we all
visited.

At breakfast Saturday morning,
we had quite a gang at Bob
Evans and those that I got
names of were: Paul Holmgren,
Carol and Frank Davis, Bill
Angel, John and Bill Pederson,
Neil Schultes, Bill Heberlein,
and myself. Much talk and lots
of eating.

We made up a convoy going to
the fest and Paul Holmgren led
the way followed by Bill Angel,
then the Pedersons, then
myself and then Frank and Carol
Davis. I was almost bared from
entering early to set up the
CATUG and T/SNUG table since my
ticket was the wrong color but
fast talk and confusion got me
in.

The table line up in the T/S
area was from left to right:
the CATUG and T/SNUG table
which I presided over then a
narrow passage way to use to
get behind the tables and then
Frank and Carol. Then it was
Paul Holmgren and then Bill
Angel and then the last table
which was the SMUG table manned
by Bill Heberlein and Neil
Schultes. The passage way made
a good spot for Bill Pederson
to sit.

I got set up and after I got
the DLAN greeting bulletin
Steve Cooper and Bob Swoger
made up going on my monitor
Paul brought over his color
monitor, mine was a green
screen, and the DLAN program
ran in colour with a nice
repeating display. One IBM type
wanted a copy of the program
until he found out it was for
the TS2068. We had a few new
comers to the T/S computers and
a few that were possibly
interested in getting back into
it again.

When things got slow I flea
marketed. First the T/S tables
and then the regular flea
market. I found a few bargains,
I bought a Laser PC3, which is
a dictionary with memory and a
total of ten features from the
main menu. There is 32K of
memory available for all the
features. It has a serial port
for uploading and the software
for an IBM to capture the
files. Frank Davis has a
Compumate which is the same
machine but under a different
name and he has used it to
upload to a TS2068. Also the
PC3 has a cassette port but it
will only work if you use a
stereo plug with a mono jack to
plug in the mono cable to the
tape recorder. Currently it is
powered by four AA batteries
but plan to go to a 110 volt
adapter. I also bought a 3.5
drive and got the two
connectors to enable me to use
5.25 power supply and ribbon
cable. I tested it and it seems
to work, at least it will
FORMAT 80 tracks and the total
cost was $13.00 including the
adapter connectors.

Since Paul lead us by a
different route and I did not
have a map with me we again
convoyed back to the motel .
Distance is around six miles.
Frank had made prior
arrangements for all T/Sers to
meet for dinner.

Bill Pederson showed off his
first step to get his TS2068
system going and that is using
an IBM case to house the disk
drives and power supply and
mother board. Frank Davis is
working on a board for the
interface .

We met and this time we went to
Ponderosa for dinner. The gang
that went Saturday evening was
Gene Wilson, Dave Bennett,
Keith Watson, Mark Steuber,
Steve Spaulding, John
Impellizzar, Dennis Donahue,
Don Walterman, John Kaczor,
Carol and Frank Davis, Bill
Angel, Paul Holmgren, Bill and
John Pederson, Mel LaVerne, Tim
Swenson, Manny Quentarro, Gary
Ganger and wife, Paul Schwab,
Ted Knyszek and myself. Much
talk and confusion, the
waitresses got lost on who got
what but we all ate.

We moved here and there after
supper in our discussions,
Carol tracked me down to tell
me I had a phone call. It was
Jay Shepard in Iowa wanting to
know how the fest was and
asking about a piece of
hardware (b & w video camera) I
hadn't seen. Sunday we went to
breakfast at the Cracker Barrel
and in attendance was Ted
Knyszek, Gene Wilson, Toby
Radcliff (he was in a movie) ,
Bill Engel, Neil Elans, Jon
Kazora, Carol and Frank Davis
and myself.

The following signed the
register at the CATUG and
T/SNUG table: Carl Molle, Mel
LaVerne, Jon Kaczor, Tim
Swenson, M. A. Quintero, Doug
Gillespie, Rene Bruneau, Harold
S. Crum, Kipo Reynolds, Jeff
Taylor & son Alex Taylor, Randy
E. Randall, Toby Radloff, Jack
Fetter, Buford Schaber, Conard,
Miller, Dave Bennett, Les
Brown, Don Walterman, John J.

Impellizzeri, Dennis Donahue,
Edward Gase, Dean King, Frank
and Carol Davis, Keith Watson.

On the T/SNUG side, I got two
T/SNUG members and their
address changes and will supply
the names to those that are
working on the membership list.

While the quantity of members
coming through was less than
last year they seemed to be
more dedicated. Several

r*v * -»^- y-v fi p /-^ A 4- a -v q +- t r"i f* np

SPECTRUM and ZX81 capabilities
for the QL and IBM computers.
Many said that the best feature
of the T/S computers was the
user friendly programming
abilities .

There was not the hardware and
software or even the hard copy
that was available at prior
fests. But there is still all
of that available but not in
the quantity of the earlier
years, nor has all new stuff
dried up. There are a few hardy
souls still programming new
stuff and improving the earlier
stuff. And there are a few of
us that will hang onto our
Classic T/S computers until the
last moment. A lot of hard copy
is available from the various
users groups.

Was the trip worth it? A
definite yes! I learned more,
made some new contacts and
renewed old ones. If there is a
T/S computerfest next year I
plan to attend. I will start to
lay back some money for
expenses. Let's face it, the
T/Sers are fewer but they are
more dedicated than the other
users groups. And most
important to me, they seem to
be far more friendly and
helpful than the other computer
type users groups .

In closing - I may have missed

a name and even as bad if not

worse misspelled a name. And

more happened that I was not

involved in; I did try to

recount the high spots of what
happened. 0/0

12

ITEMS AVAILABLE FROM T/SNUG

It has come to our attention
that some LarKen Users are
using something less than
Version 3 firmware. T/SNUG will
supply updated EPROMs, SYSTEM
DISKS, and MANUALS.

If you have a mismatch between
you LarKen DOS EPROM and your
Western Digital Controller
chip, we will send you the
correct one for free on behalf
of our friends Rod Gowen of RMG
and Larry Kenny of LarKen. You
should be using L3 EPROMs with
WD1770 controller chips or L3F
EPROMs with WD1772 controller
chips. Check it out! Call in
requests to Bob Swoger at
W708-576-8068 H708-837-7957

SPECIAL DEALS AND BUYS

NAP_Ware (Nazir A. Pashtoon's
new endeavor) announces the
availability of all Timex or QL
PAL (Programmable Array Logic)
chips. If interested, call him
evenings at 708-439-1679.

LogiCall Integrated Software
Ensemble easy operating system
for LKDOS in both TS2068 and
Spectrum modes includes
LogiCall 5.0 TASWORD TWO V2.7,
VU-CALC VI. 3, VU-FILE VI . 2 and
MTERM2 Drivers modified for
LogiCall, DISKS. Bl TAPES. Bl
Steprt.Bl HEADER. BT (tape
header reader by Nazir
Pashtoon) FORMAT. B_ MOVE . BL and
more all on 2 SSDD disks for
$5. You must specify your LK-
DOS EPROM version. If you
already have a copy you are
encouraged to distribute copies
to other LarKen LK-DOS users
for as you see by the price we
are not in the business of
making money on it, just making
LarKen 's LK-DOS even better!

If you are a LarKen LK-DOS
owner and would like a SPECTRUM
V2 kit for your system, we will
supply an EPROM, socket and
74HCT32 for $12 which includes
shipping and handling. The
install instructions are in
your LarKen manual . We shall
not be responsible for your
install job. AERCO owners need 13

only the SPECTRUM EPROM for $10
$10 is forwarded to LarKen.

So you like to fly? The 747
Flight Simulator for Spectrum
by Derek Ashton of DACC sold
over 40K copies in EUROPE.
Requires Spectrum Emulator. At
this time supplied on LarKen
SSDD disk only for $10 which
goes to Derek Ashton, now
working at MOTOROLA with Bob
Swoger. Call in requests to Bob
at W708-576-8068 H708-837-7957

LIBRARY

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
TIMEX/SINCLAIR
PUBLIC DOMAIN LIBRARY
AVAILABLE AS OF 01 JUNE 1991
Contact Bob Swoger
708-837-7957
for details.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

ARTICL

The BYTE -BACK MD-68 MODEM

by Bob Swoger

The BYTE -BACK MD-68 Modem beat
Anchor's WESTRIDGE 2050 to the
market place and therefore was
the first modem used on my
TS2068. It has some interesting
features not found on the
TS2050. The ability to receive
BASIC programs from non-TS2068
computers in such a way as to
allow the editing of these
programs into working TS2068
tokenized programs is the most
outstanding feature of this
modem package.

This unique ability is provided
by Spectrasoft ' s SpectraTERM
VI. 3 software. When the receive
buffer is open, the REM
transfer mode is in effect, and
a line number between 1 and 255
along with a REM token is
placed in front of each
downloaded line. One need only
edit each line starting at the
bottom and the program can be
turned into TS2068 BASIC. This
one feature alone made it an
important device to have on
hand in my computer room.

A built-in RS232 port for the
printer or even another (read
faster) modem, is another
feature of the BYTE -BACK modem.
One day in the future I might
try to use the serial port to
run a Terminal Node Controller
for Amateur Radio Packet
communications. The software
for printer operation from that
port is not provided.

The ad for this modem can be
found elsewhere in this
newsletter. Make Dave an offer
if you don't have one of these
fine modem packages.

Below is a LarKen driver for
SpectraTERM.

SPCTRA. Bl

10 CLEAR VAL "61183": LET h=C
ODE "d" : PRINT "SpectraTERM 1.3
0"

20 PRINT "© 1984, Spectrasoft
Inc. "

40 PRINT "Licensed to Byte-Ba
ck Co."

60 PRINT ,, "Program loading.

it

80 RANDOMIZE USR h: LOAD "spc
tra.Cl"CODE
110 CLS : PRINT "%%%%%%%%%%%%%

9-9- 9- 9- 9- 2- 2- 2- 2- 9- 5- 2- 2- 2- 9- 2- 2- 2- 2- " I I "H\ DYTT"
'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'oo'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o \J ) LAI 1

" "1) ENTER SpectraTERM" ' 1 "2) R
ETURN TO SpectraTERM"' 1 "3) CLEA
R BUFFER & RETURN '"'"4) SAVE S
pectraTERM" ' ' "5) STOP AND ENTER
BASIC" ' ' "%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%%%%%%%%%%"'■" RANDOMIZE USR 61
184";TAB 43;" CLEAR BUFFER & RE
TURN "'"' RANDOMIZE USR 61187";
TAB 43; "RETURN TO SpectraTERM"
120 INPUT "Enter selection >";

A

130 IF A>5 THEN GO TO VAL"110"
140 GO TO VAL "200+ (10*A) "
200 GO TO 9998

220 RANDOMIZE USR VAL "61187"
222 GO TO 110

230 RANDOMIZE USR VAL "61184"

232 GO TO 110

240 GO TO 9990

250 STOP : GO TO 110

9992 RANDOMIZE USR h: SAVE "SPC
TRA.B1" LINE PI

9993 RANDOMIZE USR h: SAVE
"spctra.Cl"CODE VAL "61184", VAL
"3241"

9994 GO TO 110

9998 RANDOMIZE USR h: LOAD "L.B
1"

MINERAL OIL
and the
PRINTER RIBBON

by Abed Kahale

It seems that every time I am
ready to use my printer, the
printing looks faded; time for
new ribbon; NOT SO. The printer
is sitting idle and the ink is
drying out especially in the
winter months.

A few years ago George Chambers

in f ho Qi nlr-T.i nlr N/T, wrnfp a

note on inking the ribbon; a
couple of drops of printer
ribbon ink on the ribbon and
re-wind the ribbon manually
or

by moving the print head from
one end to the other while the
printer is OFF. (I got my ink
from RMG Enterprises but it is
also available from office
supply houses) . That worked
fine and the printing was
darker than a "new" ribbon.

But that also dries out in a
while; the next step was to go
to the Encyclopaedia Britannica
and find out what printing
houses use for an ink recipe:
for quality printing such as
magazines with photos they add
either mineral oil or
glycerine. My medicine cabinet
included both. I used a couple
of drops of mineral oil because
it is a more stable chemical
and also is a lubricant for the
print head pins for longevity.

If you are a tinkerer like me,
pop the ribbon cartridge open
and put the oil and/or ink on
the foam rubber wheel inside.
Now I can print all day and
once a month and I get the
darkest printing I ever had.

MINERAL OIL
and the
EDGE CONNECTOR

by Bob Swoger

Before Abed joined the CATUG,
we ran an article on how the
Motorola Sinclair Users group
kept their ZX80 and ZX81
machines going with no crashes
while others in the U.S. were
experiencing crashes. We tried

to tell the others through
newsletters but couldn't get
into print. We took advantage
of the situation by buying up
the machines of disgruntled
owners and applied high
viscosity mineral oil to the
connectors between the ZX
machine and its RAM pack, the
very same thing we at Motorola
used on the connectors of our
television and communication
equipment. The result was no
more crashes!

When using high viscosity
mineral oil on your equipment,
make sure you get it only on
the P.C. board and connector,
not anywhere near the rubber
bubble pad of your keyboard as
it will ruin it, causing any
rubber to swell and become
distorted!

Where do you obtain high
viscosity mineral oil? From
your Drug store, it can be
found with the other laxatives!

RESETTING TRACK 0
AND OTHER TWEAKING.

by Don Lambert

I wrote this originally a
couple years ago and a recent
conversation with Bob Swoger
discussing resetting track 0 on
a drive brought this to mind.
While we both have successfully
reset a Tandon TM 100-2A drive
to track 0 again we both used
different methods. While I
haven't tried Bob's method I
have heard/read of the set
screw that locks the head
assembly to the track stepping
mechanism loosening which leads
me to believe that his method
might be best to use since you
are moving the head back where
it had been originally.

If a drive will FORMAT a disk
and SAVE a file to it and can
LOAD the files but no other
drive will LOAD the files and
this drive cannot load other
drives' files than either track
0 is off or else speed is off.
(In early days of computing
some computer manufacturers
deliberately set either track 0
or speed off so that you had to 15

use their repair services and
had to buy disk drives from
them.) All drive resetting
methods require the disk drive
power supply, a few tools and a
working computer and disk drive
interface .

*** One word of CAUTION ***

IF THERE IS NO TERMINATOR
RESISTOR IN THE SOCKET LOCATED
BETWEEN THE TWO I.C.S IN LINE
LEFT TO RIGHT WITH TP13 NOT
ONLY WILL IT BE IMPOSSIBLE TO
SET SPEED BUT ALSO IMPOSSIBLE
TO SET THE TRACKING.

I had a drive that just seemed
to want to vary the speed and
also would not take a track
adjustment until I realized
that the resistor was missing.

* Another word of CAUTION *

It. might be safer to wrap
masking tape on the screw
driver shaft to insulate it.
Also it is best to have a disk
in the drive all the time that
the spindle motor is running to
put a load on it like when it
is in use.

The first thing I did was check
and reset the speed of the
drive motor. For that you will
need a fluorescent light and a
small blade screwdriver to turn
the adjustment screw in the
potentiometer on the board on
the end of the drive and you
will need a jumper, a piece of
insulated wire with a flea clip
on each end to go between the
square pins on the top board.
With the disk drive on the
table top side up and the drive
door facing you, you will find
a square pin located just to
the right of the left hand
board mounting screw by 5/16 of
an inch and about a 1/16 of an
inch closer to you than the
screw and labeled TP10 (TP =
test point) with the letters
upside down. Fasten one end of
the flea wire with the flea
clip to the square pin. Up at
the other end of the board is a
row of connectors and the one
labeled 11 will be directly in
line with the square pin TP13
which is 5/8 inch this side of
the connector. Fasten the other
end of the wire using the flea

clip to TP13 square pin. The
purpose of the wire is to cause
the disk drive motor to turn on
when you turn on the power.

Speed is best set with a disk
in the drive. I set the speed
before I connected the
interface cable to the drive.
Now with the drive power cord
plugged into the disk drive
turn the disk drive on its side
to expose the flywheel of the
disk spindle with the paper and

4- "K /~v "Ko-k-o nri nfaH r\r\ *i +• DynACoH

to the fluorescent light and
watch the outer ring (60 cycle)
and if the bars are seen to go
either clockwise or

counterclockwise then turn the
screw in the end of the
potentiometer on the back board
(the motor drive board) . The
bars may waver but unless there
is a definite movement in
either direction the drive
speed is correct, any movement
should be seen in fifteen or
twenty seconds. When the speed
checks right remove the jumper
between TP10 and TP13.

To reset the track stepping
mechanism if the drive will not
read track 0 (the directory of
files) you will need a larger
screw driver (insulate the
shaft of the screw driver with
tape) and an alien wrench size
.109 or 7/64 of an inch. Turn
the drive over and you will see
down near the disk flywheel a
pair of alien screws which are
sealed on the side with green
sealing material. Loosen the
two screws and turn the drive
back right side up and on the
back of the drive above the
disk motor board is a metal
projection that has a slotted
screw head in an oblong opening
and with the drive door facing
you the slotted screw will be
on the right side of the metal
projection. To the left and
slightly towards you is another
alien headed screw also with
the green goop on the side of
the head. You might make a mark
on the plate next to the screw
the location of the screwdriver
slot for reference. Loosen that
alien screw and test with the
screw driver to see if the
turning the screw moves the !6

metal a trifle. The screw only
has about a 180 degree
adjustment (some drives will
have 360 degree adjustment) . I
had the best luck adjusting by
turning the screw to the most
counterclockwise position.

The reason to insulate the
screwdriver is to prevent
touching the bare pins that
stick out above the adjusting
screw.

Now with the interface cable
plugged in and the drive power
supply plugged in select a disk
SAVEd on a good drive (be sure
to use a copy in case something
happens to the disk) and first
try to CAT the disk (I was
using a TS2068 and a LarKen
interface) when you get an
error watch the metal slide and
just turn the screw enough
clockwise so that you see it
barely more . Then once more re-
try the CAT and repeat until
suddenly the entire directory
is listed as it should. I
usually made one or two very
slight more adjustments and
then tried to LOAD a file on
the first of the directory and
then one on the last of the
directory. If both had LOADed
on a good drive and they LOAD
on this one then power down and
tighten the three alien screws
and then re-try the CAT and the
first program and the last
program. If they LOAD you have
it reset. With the LarKen and
the TS2068 on failure to CAT
you will get a CRC error and
then garbage for the directory.
Then as you get close to the
track with the adjustments you
might see one or two of the
first files named then garbage,
then suddenly all files appear.
While the drives are rather
mysterious (to me) in how they
work it was rather more
mechanical to make the
adjustments. Of course other
defects are handled
differently.

I had one drive in which the
track 0 switch was off. What it
did was give a series of
thunking sounds as it tried to
read track 0. With the back of
the drive facing you is the

projection that holds the track

0 adjusting mechanism and to
the right of that and slightly
above it is a slotted screw
with green goop on it. I
adjusted that and the drive
stopped clunking and loaded the
directory. However, on another
drive that did not help. I
removed the spindle motor and
then I could adjust the micro
switch located where the track
st epp i ng me chani sm coul d
actuate it. Whether that
adjustment, was a fluke or not
the drive could be reset on
track 0 and it worked. While
all the Tandon TM 100-2A drives
look alike at a distance, close
examination does reveal
differences. I have one Tandon
with a soldered in gang DIP
switch in place of the DIP
socket normally used for the
jumpers for drive selection.
Also, I have a drive labeled as
a Texas Peripheral Co. but they
used a Tandon frame including
the TANDON name in the casting.
But the other parts are not
similar to the Tandon.

1 now turn you over to Bob:
*******************************

Don mentioned that I fixed a
drive with the stepping motor
set screw only but I wish to
tell you that it took hours to
accomplish. These drives
probably fail in the first
place because the screw that
holds the stepping mechanism to
the shaft of the stepping motor
was too loose. It should be
tightened first.

Don mentioned in his last
paragraph that he heard the
drive make a 'series of
thunking sounds'. This sound
can be heard if the head tries
to advance past track 83 or if
it fails to activate the end of
travel microswitch while
seeking track 0. There are
programs written with a bug
that tries to send the heads to
track 249. Since the drive can
only travel to track 83, the
head mechanism bangs until you
turn off the system. If the
head carriage, trying to travel
past track 0, doesn't activate
the end of travel microswitch
to let the system know that it 17

has arrived, the head carriage
will bang until you turn off
the system. These two
circumstances will cause the
stepping motor shaft to slip
inside the band spool if the
set screw is the least bit
loose.

The purpose of the screw Don
mentions in his last paragraph
is to push the head off the
microswitch and back unto track
0. This screw is set to be just
short of resting against the
head carriage when it is over
track 0.

Before loosening the three
screws that hold the stepping
mechanism in place, remove the
top PC board and tighten the
set screw on the stepping motor
shaft. Then proceed as Don
describes .

If you have a oscilloscope or
capacit ively coupled AC
voltmeter handy, you may wish
to make a final adjustment of
the track setting screw in the
following manner. Prepare a
disk using George Chambers '
utilities that has been
formatted and saved on a known
good drive. Save a program on
track 20 (middle track of a 40
track drive) that is about 5000
bytes long and LOADs itself
continuously.

Place either a capacitively
coupled AC voltmeter or
oscilloscope between TP 3 and
ground. Load in the program and
turn the track setting screw
for maximum output on the AC
voltmeter or both maximum
amplitude and best symmetry on
the oscilloscope. You will note
that the signal level goes up
and down, Use the lower level
signal to set the screw for
maximum as it is the signal
from track 20. Tighten the
three set screw down and check
that the setting didn't move.

If you do a VERIFY while
watching the AC voltmeter or
the oscilloscope you will
notice that the- output level
goes down considerably as the
heads travel to track 83, this
is normal. It has to do with

the fact that the data passing
the head at track 83 is
traveling so much slower than
the data passing the head at
track 0. An AGC circuit levels
the output signal before it
leaves the drive.

Thanks to Mark Farrell of the
Glen side Color Computer Club of
Illinois for the above
education. — ==Bob Swoger== —

WRITING MORE EFFICIENTLY

BY BILL HARMER

I confess, I am a ZX81/TS1000
user still. A real survivor.
Although I have promised myself
to program only (or mainly) on
the ZX81/TS1000 in machine
language, BASIC still is my
main language on this computer.
The amazing thing is that there
are still things to discover in
BASIC programming for the
ZX81/TS1000.

The writing of a sorting
routine for the ZX81 usually
means the bubble sort or at
least the flagged bubble sort
as given in the book by Morse,
et al., "THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO
TIMEX/SINCLAIR HOME COMPUTERS",
a ZX81 and TS2068 BASIC
programmer's touchstone for
comforting solutions. Well,
Byte magazine in their April
1991 issue published an
improved version of the flagged
bubble sort and with a little
adaption (from True BASIC to
ZX81 BASIC) , it was possible to
test it and find that it did
indeed run faster than the
flagged bubble sort. I suspect
it is even faster on much
bigger arrays than I tested its
sorting on.

Another thing that has helped
in the saving of RAM in
ZX81/TS1000 programs is the use
of flags as in the flagged
bubble sort, as either 0 or not
0 (that is 1) as the two
possibilities, like so:

instead of :
100 IF FLG=0 THEN GOTO 1000
110 IF FLG=1 THEN GOTO 2000

use:

100 IF NOT FLG THEN GOTO 1000
110 IF FLG THEN GOTO 2000

These operators can be combined

with others in compound

conditions as in:

120 If PG AND X>10 THEN GOTO

5000.

Speaking of conditions after
IF, another discovery of a year
or so ago was that the
ZX81/TS1000 can take:
200 IF X=5 THEN IF A=2 OR A=4
THEN GOTO 700

This is equivalent to something
that the ZX81 BASIC does not
seem to like to accept:
200 IF X=5 AND (A=2 OR A=4)
THEN GOTO 700,

One of the problems with the
ZX81/TS1000 and most BASIC
interpreter other than that of
the QL, (SuperBASIC) is that if
you put a loop deep in a
program, after a lot of other
statements, then it executes
more slowly. However, a simple
POKE and some fiddling with its
position in the program
listing will allow you to get
a GOTO equivalent that is
almost as fast as a GOTO when
used at the beginning of a
ZX81/TS1000 BASIC program.

There is little more to explain
than that, but the POKE in
effect POKES the 1st byte of
the NEXT-LINE ZX81/TS1000
system variable. It is a local
GOTO, that can go as far away
as about 255 bytes in the
program listing only, but since
all fast loops can't be put at
the start of your BASIC
program, this will help speed
up the ones that can't be given
a high enough priority to be
put there. Maybe a sort of
search routine might fall into
that category, or simply a
variable array initialization
routine. One variable
initialization routine that
saves RAM is:

instead of :

8800 LET B$="

8810 LET X$="XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX "

8820 LET Y$="

use :
8800
8810
8820
8830
8840
8850
8860
8870

LET B$"~"
LET X$="XX"

LET Y$=" "

FOR N=l TO 4
LET B$=B$+B$
LET X$=X$+X$
LET Y$=Y$+Y$
NEXT N

Initializing the graphic
strings is done by starting
them at a value and then
doubling their length. This
runs infinitely quicker than
the following:

8840 LET B$=B$+"-" through a
loop 32 times! 0/0.

AW

To put an AD in the Computer
related section of the BBS, put
a file in your account with the
filename. filetype: COMPUTER. ADS
! ! ! Our ADS are free ! ! ! !
Your ADS appear in FOUR
different newsletters!

WANTED :

ON 921125

%0-9.e.2-e-0-0-2-9-2-S-9-2-2-9-9-S-2-2-9-9-2-0-9-9-9-2-9-9-9-
^^^'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o

Used LarKen Disk Drive
interface for TS2068. Call Bob
during the week at 708-576-8068

WANTED :

ON 921125

O-Q.9-9.9.9.9-9-2-9.0.9-9.0-0.9-2-0.9-0.9-2.2.9-9-9.0.9-9.2-9-

LOOKING FOR RARE SINCLAIR ITEMS
- ZX80 - SINCLAIR WATCH,
TV, JOYSTICK, ORIGINAL BOXES,
WILL BUY ANY ITEMS IF CHEAP,
MAGS, NEWSLETTERS, BOOKS.
USED QL, TS2068, TS1000, TS1500
GILLESPIE, JAMES DOUG
5860 CALAMIE DRIVE
PARMA HIGHTS OHIO 44130

WANTED :

ON 921125

° 2-9-2-9-2-9-9-9-2-9-9-2-9-2-9-2-2-9-2-2-2-2-9-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-
'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'oo'ooo'oooooooooooooooo

- Wafers for A&J Microdrive
TS2068 version

- ARTWORX

- Your list of TS2068 stuff you
want to sell . . .

MIKE STEVENS
312 NEWTON AVE
OAKLAND CA 94606-1320

WANTED: ON 921025

9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-0.0-0-0-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-2-9-

MEMOTECH ASSEMBLER MODULE FOR
THE ZX81.

FERDINAND GUNTHER

1307 SHAW

MOSES LAKE, WA 98837-3133

FOR SALE:

ON 921012

0.0-0-0-0-0-9-9-2-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-0.0.0.0.9-9-2-2-2-9-9.9-

TRS-80 MODEL 16.B W/15 MEG DISK
SYSTEM FOR 8" DISK.

(2) TRS-80 DWP 510 PRINTER

(1) DAISY WHEEL PRINTR MODEL II

(3) TRS-80 8 MEG DSK SYSTEM

(2) TRS-80 12 MEG DISK SYSTEM
(1) TRS-80 15 MEG DISK SYSTEM

(4) DISK SYSTEMS 3 SLOTS, 2 DRV
(4) TRS-80 MDL II MICROCOMPUTRS
EVERYTHING WORKS - PRICE
NEGOTIABLE - CALL PHIL OR JIM
CLARK 8 AM -5 PM WEEK DAYS OR
9 AM TO 12 NOON SATURDAYS
708-366-1913

FOR SALE:

ON 920909

9-9-9-0-0-9-9-9-0.0-9-2-9-2-0.0-0.0-0.0-0.0-2-2-9-9-2-2-2-0-2-

I have acquired more ZX goodies
to pass on to you all since my
last ad:

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

* Timex and Sinclair Hardware *
*******************************

(2
(2

(1
(2

(1
(1
(1
(1
(5

(1
(1
(1

(1
(1

(1
(1
(2
(2
(1
(1
(1
(1
(1
(3
(2
(1

TS2068
Joysticks

Spectrum Joystick Adapter
Comodore 1520 Color Plotter
Color Plotter Repl Pen Set
Wico Trackball
TS-2040 Printer
TS2068/1520 Plotter Intfce
TS-2050 Modems (untested, 3
with cables, all uncased)
OS-64 Cartridge
TS2068 Winky Board
Z-SIO ( TS2068 Serial
Intfc)

JLO TS2068 Expansion Board

Z-Link ( TS2068 to Spectrum

bus converter)

JLO Printer Interface Card

QL

Crazybugs Cartridges

Budgeter Cartridges

States & Capitals Cartridge

Pinball Cartridge

Flight Simulator Cartridge

Androids Cartridge

ZX81

TS-1016 (16K Rampack)
TS1000 Winky Board
Larken NVM for TS1000

19

««< continued next page »»

* ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★•a-***

* TS2068 Software *
*******************************

Fighter Pilot
MScript

Flight Simulator
Casboard TS2068
Ramdizk

Textwriter 2000 Plus
Pro/File TS2068
Hot-Z TS2068
Mterm-T
Loader V

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

* Spectrum Software *
*******************************

Super Bowl
Machine Code Tutor
Higheay Encounter
The Flying Formula
Dlan

Specterm-64
ZXpert
007 Spy

Softaid (10 Programs)

Cassette 50 (50 Programs)
*******************************

* TS-1000/ZX81 Software *
*******************************

Word Sine
ZX-Term*80

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

* QL Software & Manuals *
*******************************

QL Technical Guide
MAC Paint (with files)
CAD

Runtime Editor
Pascal

Psion Package (WP, SS, DB, Graph)

Qcode

QLTerm

QLink

BEST OFFER
Gary Lessenberry
12 Alleghany Road
Havelock, NC 28532
919-444-3895

FOR SALE: ON 920719

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
1770 DISK DRIVE CONTROLLER
I.C.s for $9.00 each postpaid
to U.S. or Canadian addresses.

Paul Holmgren

52310 Wilton Wood Court

Indianapolis IN 46254

317-291-6002

FOR SALE: ON 911015

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

QL Complete System $80

Gold Card for the QL $500

Call Frank Davis H317-473-8031

FOR SALE

ON 920522

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Epson LX-86 needs new head $25
Call Tom Kowalski 708/289-7583

WANTED: ON 920509

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
TRACTOR AND /OR ROLL PAPER
UNIT(S) FOR MANNESMANN 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

H301-254-8258

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 911025

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
I have a Sinclair ZX81 with
64K Memotech RAM, enhanced
keyboard and 300 baud Byte-Back
modem. I also have a TS2068
with modem, printer, and
Spectrum cartridge, along with
a dozen old programs from
Quicksilva and the like, for
both machines. Both are in
working order and excellent
condition. Make an offer on the
whole kit and kaboodle.
Peter Paglia
8802 Partridge Run
Chapel Hill NC 27516

FOR SALE: ON 910426

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
COLOR COMPUTER 3 - DISK DRIVE
CM- 8 COLOR MONITOR W/PLATFORM
SMITH CORONA TP-1 PRINTER
JOYSTICK AND 1 DOZ BLANK DISKS
SOFTWARE INCLUDES DESK MATE
HOME PUBLISHER $400 OR BEST
312-337-3624

20

FOR SALE : 921010
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

ATARI COMPUTER SYSTEM
%%%%%%%%%% HARDWARE %%%%%%%%%%%

ATARI 800XL
ATARI 1050 Floppy disk drive

9 inch HP Monitor
Smith Corona TPII Daisy Wheel
Printer

ICD parallel Printer & serial
interface (2 serial ports)
Serial cable for modem
Joystick
%%%%% CARTRIDGE SOFTWARE %%%%%
AtariWriter word processor

(with manual)
Assembler Editor programming

language (with manual)
Atari Basic programing language

(with manual)
AtariGraphics for use with

light pen
Space Shuttle flight simulator

(with Manual)
Jumbo Jet Pilot Flight Simltr

(without manual)
Missile Command computer game

(with Manual)
Math Mileage BASIC math skills

game with manual
Atari Lab science software
(With manuals)
Basic Module
Temperature & Light Module
%%%%%%%% DISK SOFTWARE %%%%%%%%
The Pond (Thinking skills game)

with manual
221 Baker Street
(Sherlock Holmes mystery game)

with manual
Master Type (Typing tutor game)
with manual

Tycoon

(Commodity market simulation)
with manual

Millionaire

(Stock market simulation)
with manual

Movie Maker

(Animation construction)
Music Construction set
Chessmaster 2000
Paperclip word processor
850 express terminal program
Great Blue-C prgrmming language
%%%%%%%%%%%% BOOKS %%%%%%%%%%%%
Mapping the Atari
Microprocessor Manuals

2- 2- 2- 2- 2- 2- 2- 2- 2- 2- 2- 2- TWITC/~" 2-2-2-2-2-9-9-2-2-2-2-2-
'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o l v ix OL , oooooooooooo

A few discs with a disk case

Q.O 2-2-2.2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-9-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-
'o'o'5'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'oo'o'oooooooooooooooooo

All above $150.00

Call Doug Eaton
H/708-668-2731 W/708-576-2116

21

And now, a word from
our Vendors

Please remember to support our
Vendors. Isn't it time to
acquire a disk drive system for
your TS2068? Cost can't be the
excuse because $125 will get
you LarKen DOS and $50 more
will get you dual drives from
fests! Life just isn't long
enough to wait for tape saves
and loads!

Running your computer without a
modem is like having a sports
car with no tires. You just sit
there with all that horse power
and can't go anywhere! Frank
Davis says he has a lot of
TS2050 modems and if he can't
move them he will donate them
away, what a loss to the T/S
community that would be!
Contact him and order yours at:

MECHANICAL AFFINITY
FRANK DAVIS
513 EAST MAIN
PERU IN 46970
317-473-8031

MECHANICAL AFFINITY

PAUL HOLMGREN
5231 WILTON WOOD CT
INDIANAPOLIS IN 4 6254

Please support our magazine,
it's the only one left and is
really very good.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
OUR ONLY MAGAZINE!
PLEASE SUPPORT IT !

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

UPDATE! COMPUTER SYSTEMS
PO BOX 1095
PERU IN 46970
317-473-8031

AERCO
BOX 18093
AUSTIN TX 78760
512-451-5874
DOS & CPI'S

LARKEN ELECTRONICS

LARRY KENNY
DOS & BBS SOFTWARE

These fine products
sold by both
ED GREY & RMG ENTERPRISES

ED GREY

PO BOX #2186

INGLEWOOD CA 90305

213-759-7406

RMG ENTERPRISES

ROD GOWEN

1419 1/2 7TH ST

OREGON CITY OR 97045

503-655-7484

EMSOFT DIVISION

PETER HALE

PO BOX 8763

BOSTON MA 02114-8763

617-889-0830

BYTE -BACK, INC.
PO BOX 112
LEESVILLE SC 29070

MOUNTAINEER SOFTWARE
BILL FERREBEE
749 HILL ST #9
PARKERSBURG WV 26104
304-424-7272

RUSSELL ELECTRONICS

RD1 BOX 539

CENTER HALL PA 16828

ZUNK CUSTOM ELECTRONICS
1419 FERRIS
WAXAHACHIE TX 75165

1710 PALMER DR
LARAMIE WY 82070

307-742-4530
COLOR PRINTER SOFTWARE
FOR TS2068

SUNSET ELECTRONICS

2254 TARAVAL ST

SAN FRANCISCO CA 94116

AERCO and OLIGER DOS is very
popular also. LarKen DOS can be
added to both for $65 so that
you can enjoy two systems at
once, the JLO/LarKen system is
called super DOS, look for info
in past UPDATE! articles by
Bill Jones.

Be sure to call or write our
Vendors and ask for information
on the x ir current stock of
products .

Vendors, T/SNUG will run your
ads for free, just send us copy
of your ad the way you want to
see it here. Our members are
paying to see what, you have to
offer, we at T/SNUG feel that
this will help you to stay
around longer. Just send your
copy to Don Lambert. We shall
send you this newsletter for
free for as long as you and we
are 'still around'.

ZX REPAIR
DAN ELLIOTT
RT 1 BOX 117'
CABOOL MO 65689

SHARP'S INC.
BOX 326

MECHANICSVILLE VA 23111
804-730-9697 FAX>804-746-1978

John Oliger passed this
information to us about his new
JLO SAFE V2.65 which includes a
few new features . I like the
new CAT /n feature.

Prices :

Source Listing w/comments. $7 . 95

EPROM w/o exchange $15.00

EPROM w/exchange $10.00

JOHN OLIGER CO.
11601 WHIDBEY DR
CUMBERLAND IN 4 6229
Affordable H/W Expansion
DOS & CPI ' S

j !

! ! )
##

## *##*

## #### ! !

## #### ! !

### #### *#*

### #### ###

### #### ###

#### #### *###*

#### ! #### *###*

#### ! #### #####

#### ## #### #####

## #### ### ##### #*#####

## #### ### ###### ########

## #### ### ###### ## ########
####### ### ########## ########
###########*########## ########
###############################

In Memory of
PETER A KWITKOWSKI

22