ZXir QLive Alive

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Volume 3 Number 4 Winter 1 993

T/SUNG
Chairmen

Here is the list of 1993
T/SNUG Chairmen and how to
contact them. We wish to support
the following SIGs:- ZX-80/81/
TS-1000, Z88, SPECTRUM/TS-
2068/TC-2068 and QL. If you
have any questions about any of
these fine machines, contact the
Chairman.

Chairman

Don Lambert (ISTUG)
Chief Motivator
219 925-1372

Vice-Chainnen

D. G. Smith
Tape & JLO Library
814 535-6998

Dave Bennett (CATS)
Z-88
717 774-7531

Ed Snow
QL&ZX-81Tape
407 380-5124

Rod Gowen (CCATS)
RMG Enterprises
503 655-7484

Rod Humphreys (VSUG)
TS-2068
604 583-2819

BobSwoger(CATUG)
BBS/LarKen
708 837-7957

Treasurer

Abed Kahale (CATUG)
Cash Tracker/Newsletter
708 885-4337

ADDRESS
1

2
3
5
13

6
8
9

11a

12

14

15

17

19

20
22
27
28
31
32
43

MEMORY MAP

ROUTINES

T/SNUG Chairmen
T/SNUG Information

Input/Output - Help - Monitors (Lace!) - Keep'em Coming
TreaSury Note$ - Membership List
From The Chairman's Disk

ARTICLES

Memotech - Memopak Manual

TS-2068 Talks to a PC by Abed Kahale

QL Hardware Project - Monitors by Bob Gilder

Cassette Tape LOAD/SAVE by the late William Pederson

Tandy CM- 11 Monitor

MSDOS to LKDOS and MSCRTPT by Les Cottrell
Disk Utility Software (D.U.S.) Review by Don Lambert
TURBO Switch for the ZX-81/TS-1000 by Tony Willing
16K MEMOPAK by Don Lambert

SUBROUTINES

Unclassified Ads

Public Domain Library List Update
Toronto's TTSUC QLPD Library
ZQA! 1991-1993 Index
Our Dealers
Dealers' Ads
Complementary Copies

Established 1991

The Timex/Sinclair NorthAmerican User Groups Newsletter

ZXir QLive Alive! © phtkr 03

T/SNUG Information

ZXir QLive Alive! * n»

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; mailed
on January, April, August, and October.

It is our goal to build and maintain a Public Domain
software library and develop a list of available software for
all T/S computers showing the source.

T/SNUG wishes to have one chairman from
every T/S user group who will take charge of sending us
their group's newsletter contents and other correspondence
for inclusion in the ZQA! Newsletter.

We encourage your group to copy this newsletter
and distribute it at regular meetings to all your members. If
you cannot copy this newsletter, perhaps we can provide a
disk with the articles on it.

You can keep T/SNUG alive for an annual
contribution of $10 made payable to Abed Kahale. Send
check to:-

ABED KAHALE (LarKen Library)

335 W NEWPORT RD
HOFFMAN ESTATES IL 60195-3106
Phone:- 708 885-4337

Back copies arc available for 500 each postpaid.

This Newsletter is mailed free to all vendors listed

in the " (8hzr jBexUre^ page.

And to the following Users Groups/Newsletters :-

CAPITAL DISTRICT
CATS
CCATS
DTP
FDD
GCSUG
ISTUG
LIST
NESQLUG

QZX
SEATUG
SMUG

TSB
TTSUC
VISTA
VSUG
ZX-91

ZXir QLive Alive!

Articles Contributions

By BBS :- We now have a 24 hour 300-2400
BAUD RBBS. We encourage you to exchange mail
and contribute to the download section.

Use extension .ART for articles, .ADS for
ads and .NWS for news. Have fun.

Call the BBS at 708 632-5558 and register.
On your next call your security level will be
increased to 5 for most of the privileges.

For help, contact the SYSOP by leaving a
message, mail or phone:-

BOB SWOGER (Chicago Area Timex Users Group)
613 PARKSIDE CIR
STREAMWOOD IL 60107-1647
H 708 837-7957 W 708 576-8068

By tape or disk send your inputs to:-

DONALD LAMBERT
ZXir QLive Alive! Newsletter
1301 KIBLINGER PL
AUBURN IN 46706-3010
Phone 219 925-1372

Or by hardcopy mail to:- Abed Kahale (address above)

For software libraries, write or call the
following Vice-Chairmen.When writing,
please enclose a LSASE .

DAVE BENNETT

329 WALTON ST REAR

LEMOYNE PA 17045

ROD GO WEN

14784 QUAIL GROVE CIR

OREGON CITY OR 97045

(Z88)

(CCATS/RMG)

(VSUG/2068)

ROD HUMPHREYS
10984 COLLINS PL
DELTA B C V4C 7E6 CANADA

D G SMITH (2068 TAPE Library & JLO)
R 415 STONE ST
JOHNSTOWN PA 15906

ED SNOW (ZX-81 TAPE & QL)

2136 CHURCHILL DOWNS CIR
ORLANDO FL 32825

2

Input/Output

"I am a retired TS2068
user who continues to
use the 2068 computer.
About 10 years ago I put together a program
that produces fishing and hunting times as a
hobby. I had a 2068 user out east (Imre
Augsberger) write the technical code to calculate
the various times, i.e., sunrise, sunset, etc. Imre,
who is an astronomer, can't be located. Unfor-
tunately, he made use of Function Calls in his
calculations." .. "My problem is that the 2068
takes about 4 hours to perform the calculations
necessary for me to produce one set of 52
weeks of tables for one customer. Now this is
O.K. when I go fishing ... I just load it up and
start it running." .. "Is there anyone who could
help? I would be willing to pay, of course."
Jack H. Payne
Solunar Services, Inc.
1107N. Morgan St.
Rushville IN 46173

^DlCk Wagner, CCATS and Secre-
tary of the PLOTTER came to the rescue.

William B. Horner III called (Don
Lambert) with a question about how to connect
up a Radio Shack High Resolution Color
Monitor (CM-11) to his Sinclair QL with TK2,
Ciimana and dual disk drives. He sent me a
spec, sheet on the CM-11 and it is elsewhere in
this newsletter. Can anybody out there help him
out? He has connected it up one way (not de-
tailed) and the screen rolls, another way and the
screen leans drastically to the left. Don. 0/0
WIT J JAM B. HORNER m
4311 BUCKINGHAM
DETROIT MI 48224

/ hate to be the one to bring you bad
tf dings. A non-interlaced monitor is not com-
patible with Sinclair Computers. However, all
is not lost; see the HARDWARE PROJECT by
Bob Gilder of LIST elsewhere in this issue.

LACL I

Televisions (NTSC) and interlaced
monitors sequentially scan 262.5 odd then even
lines per each frame (frame = 1/30 of a second)
while non-interlaced monitors scan the whole
512 lines per frame to deliver flicker free
picture. The fairly new "high resolution non-
interlaced monitors" deliver state-of-the-art pic-
ture quality, unfortunately we can not benefit
from them.

The 2068 can deliver a composite
color picture to the VIDEO input on a
TV or through the VCR video input to a
TV. The QL (perNazir Pashtoon) is capable
of delivering excellent black and white
picture to the same. Of course RGB
monitors are best suited to our comput-
ers if they can be found.

David E. Lassov System Oriented Lan-
guages Corp. of Tucson AZ> "Thank you for
continuing your fine support of Timex/Sinclair
products. While my first such machine was a
TS1000, the extra color, memory, and expand-
ability of the 2068 have dominated my interests
in personal computing to such an extent that the
(open) 2068 system is my main, and the (closed)
Apple II C+ is relegated to support duties." ..
"We need more interesting articles; and I for
one, intend to submit more such material. It has
been a long time coming for me, but we now
have a handle on Bill Jones' fine word processor
and disk data base manager and we mean to use
it." .. "Wow !!!!!!! Where did you get all those
disks? I want them all, and now, not later."

We thank you for your support. The
Public Domain Library disks wens received by
him.

Francine Sklar of Loch Sh rake NY:- "I
let my membership lapse, could get the back
issues of 1993?" .. " I have changed my ad-
dress." "Although I still use the TS2068, the
Z88 is the machine I use most frequently. I
would be most interested to read

articles on ZBASE.

How about it Z88 users?

Greg Simmons of Peoria IL.> I would like
to join the T/SNUG. I an interested in the
TS2068 computer." " I have always beer an
of the Sinclair line of computers." .. " lost
track of the Sinclair users for a while. I lound
them again when I saw an ad in the Computer
Shopper for UPDATE! Magazine. I found a
wealth of information on the Sinclair computers
and people that still sell and support the com-
puters." " I hope to restock on the Sinclair line
of computers soon. I have read a little of a disk
drive for the 2068 called LarKen Disk Interface.
Can you help and explain about the Disk Inter-
face and

where can I obtain a LarKen?

A response was mailed including
suggestion to check with RMG, Ed Grey and
John Oliger.

Quentin Kent of Allentown PA:- Called to
find out whether Timex/Sinclair is still alive! He
requested information about upgrading his 2068
to disk drive and all of the ZQA! available
issues.

Where can I obtain a disk
interface?

A response was mailed: The LarKen
Disk Operating System is the most popular
that provides interface to 4 disk drives, SS-
DD(200K}, DSDD[400K), and QUADfSOOK],
a RAMDISK too [256K). Larry Kenny is no
longer supplying the boards but there maybe

some around like at RMG Enterprises, Me-
chanical Affinity and Ed Grey. The John Oliger
Co. interface is still available (see ad in this
issue, retyped from the Toronto Sine-Link).
The two interfaces are not compatible. Also
check AERCO.

"Dealers - Do you have Larken?

Please drop me a line and let
us all know. Ads are for free."

tKosJLgas u

five pytu^idln^ CjAtit as pz+&

Gilliam Parrish of Beggs OK:- "Dear
Don," "Got the last issue of ZQA!— still
doing a great job. And I again got the guilty
feeling I wasn't doing anything to help the
cause." "A while back, I got directly from Byte-
Back a 300 BAUD modem/serial interface. The
device comes with terminal software and RS-
232 printer driver software. The modem cer-
tainly works; I used it to contact a local BBS
which allow users to set the number of columns
they wish to receive (quit a benefit when you
have only a 32-columns screen!). First (and to
be fair, this is clearly stated in the ad), the device
does not support x-modem or similar program
transfers, although it will support limited trans-
fers between two ZX/TS machines. I am not
clear if this is a limitation of the modem, the
supplied terminal software, and/or a relatively
easy hardware hack, that would allow x-modern
transfers on these modems? Secondly, although
some sources indicate the serial interface on the
device can be used to connect to a faster mo-
dem, nothing in the supplied RS-232 software
appears to be relevant to anything but a serial
printer. Does anyone have other terminal soft-
ware designed for such an RS-232 interface and
a faster (say 2400 BAUD) modem?

Another question, you mentioned in the
Newsletter getting a 16K Memopak expander

4

with DIP switches. Can you tell me the DIP
switch settings, to use it with another 16K ex-
pander for 32K total?".. "A few weeks ago in a
thrift store, I ran into a fully functional 2068 and
2040 going for about $8 total. I'd like to stum-
ble onto a few more of those deals!"
"Do you know of any source for those 4" wide
aluminum coated rolls of electrostatic paper,
used by the ZX Printer?"

See the MEMOTECH instructions next page.
Bob Swoger, who owns a MEMOTECH mo-
dem, is trying to find answers to your ques-
tions.

The oniy software avaiiable for the 2068 that
provides more than the 300 BAUD is LarKen
MaxCom that requires a serial port to go on-
line at 1200.

For the ZX-Pr inter, try the thermal paper
which is still available from our dealers, I be-
lieve. Otherwise, Radio Shack carries slightly
narrower paper rolls.

Err a ta

Page 17 of the Fall 93 issue, Line 7 of
the program should read:-

7 RANDOMIZE USR 100: POKE
8214, 16100

Supporting T/SNUG

Date

Paul

Anderson

5/93

Ronald

Baty

6/93

Dave

Bennett

8/93

Don

Berry

11/92

Alvin

Bluman

6/93

Daniel

Chattin

7/93

Les

Cottrell

6/93

Jamie

Cruz-Figueroa

11/93

Robert ©

Curnutt

8/93

Frank

Davis ISTUG

9/92

Daniel

Elliott Computer Classics

5/93

Ruth

Fegley

5/93

Ferdinand

Gunlher

5/93

Robert

Fred

Fredrick

William ©

Glenn

Rod

Warren

Edward

Jon

Joan

Quentin ©

Wayne

Jeffrey

Donald

David

David

Robert

Lt. Col. Walter

Lafe ©

Harry

Frank

Gregory

Gilliam

Jack ©

Hugh

Hugh

Greg ©

Louis

Francine

Edward

Dane

Mike

Alexander

Ivan

Wesley

Hartung

Henn

Hill

Horner

Hufstedler

Humphreys VSUG

Jackson

Jordan

Kaczor GCTSUG

Kealy

Kent

Knaust

Kuhlmann

Lambert t/snugzqai

Lassov

Leech Byte-Back

Madaris

Malin

McCorkle

Miller Jr

Mills CATUG

Newkirk

Parrish

Payne

Polley

Scriven

Simmons

Simon

Sklar

Snow

Stegman

Stephens

Sweitzer

Zachev

Zapotochna

4/93

7/93

4/93

12/93

7/93
Charter

4/93

6/93

8/93

4/93

12/93

2/93

7/93

4/93
12/93

9/92

5/93

3/93

9/93

5/93

5/93

5/93
12/93
10/93

5/93

11/92

11/93

6/93

12/93

5/93 FLA

8/93

7/93

7/93

12/93

6/93

etcome,

As of December 31, 1993
we have a balance of $388.56
Jklreit ^txfyxlje fEzeztsurer

5

MEMOTECH MEMOPAK 64K

A few of our readers requested this information.

There are two memory locations which you change

in order to tell the computer the upper limit of your memory

(or RAMTOP). These are 16389 and 16388.

To set top of RAM at 64K, type the following:
POKE 16388,255 (this is not usually needed)
POKE 16389,255 (this is usually set at 128 for a 32K limit)
NEW (the memory is now cleared to start afresh; and will

now be organized to the new limit).

To check the current top of RAM, type PRINT PEEK 16389
and the value 255 should appear in the top left-hand corner of
the screen.For a quick check that the memory is now atyour
finger-tips you can now try the following little programs:

10DIMA$(90,500)
or

10D1MA(9000)
or

10 POKE 65000,128
20 PRINT PEEK 65000

These programs reach the top end of memory Re-
member numeric fields take up five bytes. (Tip_if you want to
store more numbers and they are integers which don't exceed
255, then why not use the CODE and CHR$ functions to
store values as single byte characters?).

How can I test that all my variable locations are good?

First, set the top of RAM back to 32K (either POKE 16389,
128 or just power up again).

Type in this program which will test every bit in the 32-64K
area, in FAST mode.

10 FAST

20 FOR I = 32768 TO 65535

30 POKE 1,255

40 LET A = PEEK I

50 POKE 1,0

60 LET B = PEEK I

70 IF A0255 OR B<>0 THEN

GOSUB 130
100 NEXT I

110 PRINT "END OF RAM TEST"
120 STOP
130 SLOW

140 PRINT "ERROR AT:";I
150 STOP
160 FAST
170 RETURN

You can find how far your program has got by doing
a BREAK. Resume by using CONT. The program will print
an error message if a bad location is found, and halt. By
keying CONT, the program will continue its testing.
If it reaches "END OF RAM TEST" without having shown an
error, you' re now ready to start that BIG program.

6

What is where?

First of alL our pack does contain a full 64K RAM (and this
can be used by other Z80 processors, in principle). But the
ZX81 can only address 64K locations altogether, and the first
8K are obviously dedicated to its own ROM. So although
we've got 64K RAM, and the ZX81 can address 64K loca-
tions, this MEMOPAK cannot add on more than 56K to the
ZX81 ROM. This brings the ZX81 - MEMO-PAK configura-
tion to 64K total. The original 1 K of RAM of the ZX81
(located at 16K + ) is disabled and its functions will take place
in the MEMOPAK 64K RAM. Confused? There is a diagram
on the inside cover to sort it out. The main thing
to remember is that the top 48K is automatically used by the
ZX81 BASIC.

As programs are entered into the system the ele-
ments are sifted into the instruction file and the array file. The
instruction file, the display file (holding screen data) and the
array file lie next to each other in that order at the bottom
end of memory. Gradually, as the instruction file increases,
the other files are pushed up through memory.
Remember, the original 1 K of RAM in the ZX81 (located at
16K+) has been disabled and all its functions take place in the
MEMOPAK.

This pushing goes on until either the array file
reaches the top of the memory or until the display file begins
to straddle the 32K mark (by going above 32767).

Does this mean if I've got 32K or more of RAM, I still
can't have more than 15K or so of instructions?

No. Many people think you are restricted but there is a neat
trick where you can force your display file to leap the 32K
mark in one bound by putting in a large, dummy instruction.
The important thing is to make sure that the display file never
straddles the 32K mark. Here is how:

a) On input, check from time to time the value in the VARS
system variable, as this lies just above the

end of the display file:

PRINT PEEK 16401 * 256 + PEEK 16400

b) When the values of VARS approaches 32767, enter a huge
line into the program, like: LET ZERO = O + O + O + O etc.
with about 100 repetitions of [+0]. This will push the display
file entirely above 32768.

c) Check the system variable D-FILE to make sure the display
file now begins above 32768:

PRINT PEEK 16397 * 256 + PEEK16396
If it is, then you can carry on programming.

What about the mysterious 8-16K area?

On the ZX81 this area does not exist. We have supplied it,
and you can now reach it directly in your BASIC program,
using PEEK and POKE, or with machine code. The sort of

thing you can use it for will depend on how expert you are,
but we can suggest:

a) Storing data and machine code sub- routines

b) Passing them from one program to another

c) Memory-mapping buffer areas for add-ons.

For Sinclair ZX80/81 users, the simplest thing is to
set switches 2 and 3 ON and 1 and 4 OFF (MODE E). This
gives the biggest possible area. This is how the pack leaves us,
and normally there will be no need to change the settings. The
other settings are intended to accommodate the needs of
special add-ons being developed.

MODE SWITCH

- 12 3 4

A ON OFF OFF OFF

This mode is not compatible with the ZX80/81 but offers a

M 64K RAM to a Z80 that is designed to address it.

B* OFF ON OFF OFF
Memory is available in the 12-1 6K area.

C* OFF OFF ON OFF
Memory is available in the 8-1 2K area.

D* OFF OFF OFF ON

No memory is available in the 8-1 6K area.

E* OFF ON ON OFF
Memory is available in the 8-1 6K area.

* In these cases, 48K for normal BASIC work is still available
Memory made available in the 8-16K area can be used with
PEEK and POKE, or for machine code. For ZX81 users,
switching between modes B, C, D and E is possible, as long
as at least one and no more than two switches are ON at the
same time. Never have more than two switches ON at a time,
as this can lead to overloading. Remember ON is UP!

Have you any tips for running a ful ZX81 system?

Yes. These may or may not help in your situation. When
connected to MEMOPAK 64K and printer, make sure that
LOADing takes place with cassette recorder volume set at
maxi- mum. If possible, make sure that your cassette recorder
and ZX81 are plugged into different main sockets. With some
cassette recorders, you shouldn't have the LOAD (EAR) and
SAVE (MIKE) connectors plugged in at the same time.
LOADing is more likely to be successful If you quote the file
name, rather than null (" "). Clean your connectors regularly.
Don't use the first twenty seconds of a cassette tape, as that is
where a lot of LOAD bugs live.

Can I run programs written for a 16K pack on the
Memopak64K?

Yes, they should run straight away, but things are a little
tricky if you want to en-large your arrays to use the larger
memory and you have been SAVEing your data. Basically,

you have to re-enter all data after you have re-dimensioned, to
be sure that the right data is going to be accessed. What we
suggest is:

a) LOAD the original program.

b) Edit in a special routine which will list and label the con-
tents of all variables on the printer.

c) Run this routine. You now have a hard copy of you r date.

d) Re-set your dimensions. Also enter a routine to allow you
to re-input all your old values plus any new ones.

e) Run your program and enter the values.

One more thing, to use the memory fully it is much better to
use a multi-dimensional string array rather than a simple
string, since the ZX81 limits single string sizes to a maximum
length of 1 6K, and also duplicates it unnecessarily.

A couple of program examples

BASIC strings are stored in the instruction area of RAM (1 6-
32K). This means that when you set a literal, say, LET A$ =
"CAT" the word CAT is actually duplicated, once as a literal
as part of the instruction, and once in the variable area A$. It
would be more economical if we could set up an initialization
routine which would store all literals once only in the
variables area. This simple loop would let you input up to 10
strings of 20 characters each:
10DIMA$(10,20)
20 INPUT I

30 IF 1 = 0 THEN GOTO 70

40 INPUT B$

50 LETA$(1) = B$

60 GO TO 20

70 INPUT I

80 IFI = OTHEN GOTO 110
90 PRINT A$(l)
100 GOTO 70

1 10 REM AUTOMATIC SELF SAVE
120 SAVE "SELF"
130 GOTO 20
140 STOP

Breakdown:

Lines 20-60 Store strings

Lines 70-100 Display strings

Lines 1 10-140 Save program with string arrays

Now look carefully at the instructions from line 110.
With increased array capacity in the memory you will prob-
ably want to store your data more permanently. The ZX81
system does not (at least as yet) support free-standing files
but it is possible to save your arrays (and their contents) along
with your program. However, it is important that when you
next load the program, it does not carry out a RUN but a
GOTO instead; otherwise RUN will automatically clear the
arrays. This program will SAVE itself automatically (Tine 120).
When you next LOAD it will pick up straight away at line 130
the line after the SA VE and branch back to the line quoted
there (in this case 20). In this way, the RUN instruction is
avoided and the variables are not cleared. But make sure you
don't branch back to a point where you re-dimension the
array you' re trying to save !
Good luck from all at MEMOTECH!

TS-2068 Talks to a PC by Modem

by <^fecf ^(a£a(e

T

I t has been a challenge to have a 2068
communicate directly via modem with
a PC modem to transfer text files. The pro-
cedure was to upload files to a BBS by one
computer and then download with the other,
until Bob Swoger spent an evening with me
to tackle this problem.

To communicate, modems have to
have a line that has a tone "carrier" and
provides a ring "signal". Connecting two
modems together from two computers elimi-
nates the carrier and the signal and the mo-
dems will not turn on. It has been done with
the two modems connected to the same
phone line that held up calling or receiving
phone calls for the duration, at 18 text char-
acters per second
which is what I got
with the 2050
modem.

With a Hayes
compatible PC mo-
dem, here is how:-

1. Connect
the two modem lines
that normally go to
the telephone line together using a two-line
plug without any connections to the
telephone line.

2. Turn on both modems and load
the modems software. MTERM n (Loader
V) or MaxCom Xmodem for the 2068. Load
buffer etc. I used MaxCom.

3 . Set both computers to terminal
mode and the TS-2068 to ASCII (toggle
con: none). All other parameters have to
match the PC modem's of course or vice
versa.

The following has to be done rapidly
before the PC abandons the connections.

4. On the PC modem, ENTER ATA
(which is Hayes command that forces the PC
modem to answer the phone without the

benefit of a ring or a tone). The PC modem
emanates a long squeal and recognizes the
signal from the other modem and connects.

5 . Set the PC in RECEIVE mode,
Xmodem 300 BAUD and enter the file
name.

6. From the TS-2068 select SEND
(transmit) file "name. Cm" and ENTER.

7. The PC acknowledges and re-
ceives the file.

8. Exit SEND to TERMINAL mode
and ENTER Ctl Z (SKFT-7 Z) to tell the
PC "end-of-file".

I asked Don to send his input in MS CREPT

on disk, it worked as
you can see the results
in the "From the
Chairman's DISK".
Don, please! No
" (%%%%) line, the PC
goes crazy with these
-n placeholders.

version of the above to
Electronics Now
Magazine after reading K. G. Pratt letter.

Electronics NOW January 1994
LETTERS Page 17

" I wanted to transfer several megabytes from the

files of my 1983 model Timex/Sinclair TS2068 com-
puter to an IBM-compatible 286 PC with modem.

The TS2068 has 64K of memory, etc The TS2068

uses a non-ASCII code and cannot be directly con-
nected to a PC.

However, the hardware and software associ-
ated with the modem allow the transmission of ASCII
files. Therefore, the two computers can be connected
by phone line. It ties up the person's phone line .. I
had transferred some sensitive material by printing
them out from the 2068 and later reading them by an
optical character reader (OCR scanner) into the PC.

K. G. Pratt
Newport News, VA

8

QL

ARE

CT

QL To IBM RGB Monitor Connections

In the past few weeks I have had three reqt: is for information on how t "hook-up an
lln CGA or RGB Monitor to a QL. The following information mil aUcw anyone with
soldering experience to make an appropriate cable between the QL and an RGB monitor.

The only problem you may encounter is with the horizontal sync i nv ^^°"^°" *
negative going sync signal from the QL to a positive going horizontal signal required
for most, if not all, American CGA/RGB monitors.

In the following diagrams, I use a 74LS00 TTL IC (Quad 2-input posit ive-nand gate), of
which we will use pins 1 and 2, tied together to form an- inverter input The signal
from the QL, which is negative, enters the input of the inverter, pins 1 & 2. The sync
signal is now inverted within the IC and a positive horizontal sync signal is
available at pin 3 which is connected to the horizontal pin on the monitor connector.

If you happen to have a 74LS04 Hex inverter IC, it also can be used - just use pin 1
as the horizontal input from the QL and pin 2 will be the inverted sync signal output
connected to the monitor connector.

All parts for this project can be purchased at any Radio Shack store. In addition to
purchasing the two connectors and IC, you will need a 9 pin »D' connector hood, which
if you are careful, can house the IC - just carafully clip all unused pins on the IC
and bend pins 1, 2, 3. 7,& 14 in towards the center of the IC. Solder he wires with
minimum solder and install the IC upside down (pins facing up) and the two piece
connector hood will louse it, allowing a clean appearing installation. You win also
need a length of cjole determined by your requirement. The cable need only □« /
conductors, or if you wish, use 7 - single lengths of multi-stranded wire to form your
cable.

Male 9 Pin *D' plug (solder pin side)

5

\ o

4
o

3
o

O"

-o< Jumper pins L & 2

\

/

8

Connections to the male 9 pin 'D ' connector

Pin it's

1 Ground ( common )

2 Ground (common)

3 Red ( RGB signal )

4 Green (RGB signal)

5 Blue (RGB signal)

6 N/C (no connection)

7 N/C ( no connection )

8 Horizontal Sync (negative signal - must be inverted)

9 Vertical Sync (Most monitors do not require Neg . sync)

9

ZOIJU Putter 93

ground ->7
Use pin #7, IC-1 as common
Ground points for both 6
cable connectors -
( 9 pin 'D' pin # 1 & 2 ) 5
( 8 pin 'Din pin 2 ) .

4

Horiz Sync out to 9 pin<-3
'D* connector, pin #8.
Horiz Sync input from ->2
QL connector (pin 84 )
(Pins 1 & 2 are jumped 1
together to form an
inverted signal input).

o
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8
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10
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14<-

IC-1 will only have
5 pins used, #'s 1, 2,
3, 7, and 14.

+5 volts from QL connector
(Pin #1 ).

74LS00 TTL IC wired as an inverter - IC-1
Bottom side up (pins up)

LIST

2

8 Pin DIN connector( solder pin side)

Connections to the male Din 8 pin connector

Pin *'s

1 +5 volts DC

2 Ground (common)

3 Composite Signal ( not used for RGB )

4 Horizontal Sync (negative sync - must be inverted)

5 Vertical Sync (Most monitors do not require Neg . sync)

6 Green (RGB signal)

7 Red (RGB signal )

8 Blue (RGB signal)

Cable Connector hookup

Pin *1, 8 pin Din connector to pin #14, IC-1 ( + 5 Volts DC)

Pin #2, 8 pin 'Din connector to pin #7, IC-1 (Common Ground)

Pin #3, 0 pin Din connector NOT USED!

Pin #4, 0 pin Din connector to pin #'s 1 & 2, IC-1 (Horizontal sync input)

10

Pin #5, 8 pin Din connector to pin #9, 9 pin '0' connector (Vertical Sync)

Pin #6, 8 pin Din connector to pin #4, 9 pin *D* connector (Green RGB signal)

Pin #7, 8 pin Oin connector to pin #3, 9 pin '0* connector (Red RGB signal)

Pin *8, 8 pin Din connector to pin #5, 9 pin 'D* connector (Blue RGB signal)

Pin #1 and #2, 9 pin 'D' connector to pin #7, IC-1 (Common Ground)
Pin #3, 9 pin '0' connector to pin #7, 8 pin Din connector (Red RGB signal)
Pin #4, 9 pin *D" connector to pin #6, 8 pin Din connector (Green RGB signal)
Pin #5, 9 pin »D' connector to pin #8, 8 pin Oin connector (Blue RGB signal)
Pin #6 & #7, 9 pin 'D* connector NO CONNECTION

Pin #8, 9 pin '0* connector to pin #3, IC-1 (Positive Horizontal sync output)

Pin #9, 9 pin 'D* connector to pin *5, 8 pin Din connector if required (Vertical sync)

Pin it's 1 & 2, IC-i to pin #4, 9 pin »0 f connector (Negative Horizontal sync)

Pin #3, IC-i, to pin #8, pin 'D* connector (Positive Horizontal sync out)

Pin #7, IC-i (two wires), to pin #'s 1 & 2, 9 pin '0' connector and to pin *2, 8 pin Din
connector

Pin #14, IC-1, to pin #1, 8 pin Din connector (Pin #1 is labeled PAL in the OL manual,

however, the US QL's have a 5 volt OC connection at this pin).

List of parts: Radio Shack part numbers indicated

274-026 8 pin male OIN plug $1.79

276-1537 9 pin male 'D' plug $0.99

276-1539 9 pos '0* Hood $0.79

276-1801 7400 Quad 2-input NAND gate $0.89

276-1802 7404 Hex inverter $0.99 *

270-775 9 conductor, double shielded cable $0.59 per foot

x Use the 7404 Hex inverter as an alternate IC.

Additional Information:

An RGB monitor will display 8 primary colors; black, red, yellow, cyan, green, blue,
magenta and white. If you purchase a CGA monitor, yellow will appear brown and white
will be tinted blue or dirty looking. This is set-up in the G2*s (grids of the
picture tube) to produce these differences in color because; CGA monitors have one
additional line called Intensity. CGA will provide 16 colors if the intensity line
is used - IBM only! Yellow will be yellow when intensified and white will be white.
You may also find that when you power-up the QL, the tweed memory check display and
the Fl - F2 display will roll until you press either function key; then it will
stabilize. Try not using the vertical sync line, it may eliminate this problem.

NOTE : If you require any assistance, contact me through LIST.

Bob Gilder

LISTimgs
NEWSLETTER
11 March 1991

« {f e t

CASSETTE TAPE LOAD / SAVE MON I TOR

Figure 1: LOAD/SAVE Monitor

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HEADJU UGNMENT

side 1

side 2

by William Pederson

Oiie problem is the feedback generated by

most cassettes recorders. So you have to pull

one of the EAR plugs when SAVEing.

A second is feeding the cassette recorder
too strong a signal. For the ZX81/TS1000 this
is seldom a problem, its signal is weak, The
TS2068 puts out a relatively ear-splitting
signal.

A third is getting the right amount of
signal to the computer for successful LOAD.
The ZX81/TS1000 is very finicky. It is so
obstinate that a commercial tape will seldom
LOAD with setting the user found to be
optimum.

A TS2068 needs about 6 V. P-P for best
results, though this range is quite wide. The
level for the ZX81/TS1000 is near 1 V. P-P.

The first problem is solved by using a
switch instead of pulling an EAR connection.
Other things can be done, like grounding out
stray signals.

11

The second problem is solved by
potentiometer R2 which allows you to control
the signal strength heard by the recorder.

The third problem is solved by a Peak-to-
Peak voltmeter for the EAR signal so you can
see what you are getting before attempting to
LOAD. Sometime you can even adjust the
level on the fly to salvage a cassette that fades
out.

Unless you really have horrible tapes, this
will solve your problem. Of course you might
have an equally horrible recorder. In that case,
this monitor comes in handy for finding out
what hind of output you are getting.

There has been a lot said about head
alignment being the major cause. Oscilloscope
picture Fig. 2 shows this unlikely. The effect
of head misalignment is not severe it rounds
off the corners and reduces signal strength. In
severe cases like (C, D, E) more than one
magnetized strip is seen by the head. Luckily,
this is almost never the case.

Signal conditioners like WINKY Board
are best used to salvage tapes made on bad
recorders.

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3

FROM THE CHAIRMAN'S DISK S

Sometimes I am like a computer - 1 sit
here with a blank mind and I have a
column to write. But sitting at the left
upper corner of my T/S 2068 is a
joystick that I bought for $2.00 at the Ft.
Wayne HamFest and ComputerFest on
November 13th. The joystick is a WICO
COMMAND CONTROL which was offered
by a table with a lot of Commodore stuff. It
works very well and the stick looks like it saw
little wear.

They were dealing very well, in fact if
you weren't really wanting to buy you should
not make an offer when asked to since they
just might accept a ridiculous offer. For in-
stance I say two quite dirty full
height 5.25 disk drives with a tag
that read $5.00 each. Out of
curiosity I lifted them up to see
what make and model and they
were Tandon TM 100-2 A and
the seller said they were a bar-
gain. "Very dirty and
overpriced," I said. "Make an
offer" and I offered $1.00 for
both of them. So my "loot bag"
got heavier. Not a total loss since
they both worked as is but not
without some bell ringing on my
Oliger disk system. I wrapped
them in newspapers and stored
them with other disk drives I
have. I wanted to keep the other
disk drives clean. One other
good buy and at my price was a
book. "The Brady Guide To
Microcomputer Troubleshooting
& Maintenance" by Henry F. Beechhold for
$2.00. It gave me lots of clues on how to
clean a dirty drive.

My very first buy was a full height single
drive case with a Radio Shack disk drive in it.
Very compact case and very clean. The case
even had an extender for the ribbon cable
which meant that I did not have to open the

case to plug in the ribbon cable to test the
drive. And as I knew it would be, it was a
single sided 40 track drive, a TEXAS Periph-
erals drive. Worked very nicely with no
changes to the drive select socket. But it is
single sided. I bought the case with the idea
of having a pair of half height 40 track drives
put in it. A school was selling all their Radio
Shack equipment since they have upgraded
to a MSDOS clone.

I did buy what was supposed to be 40
track 360K half height drives but turned out
to be 720K 80 track drives when I tested
them at home. They were marked 360K
drives and in another stack was a sign 720K
and I wonder if the signs got
mixed. He wanted three
times as much for the 720K
drives. I will have to watch
for another chance to buy a
360K drive or two that is half
height. What I got is a pair of
TEAC 55GFR-553-U drives.
I am after a set of drives that
is easier to transport to
meetings.

The computer column in
Popular Electronics (January
1994 issue) was moaning
about the fact that the com-
puter industry does not have
a full complement of engi-
neers. What they need is a
DOCUMENT ENGINEER
to write the manuals so that
they make sense and are well
written. He suggested that a DOCUMENT
ENGINEER should have a Masters in Eng-
lish and at least a Masters in computer pro-
gramming. So that would require a DOCU-
MENT ENGINEER to have at least a Doc-
tor's degree. And here I am trying to write a
document to explain how to use a rather
simple program and I am not a programmer!

13

Here I am trying to swim and I can not even
float yet!

If anyone is using SPDOS (RAMEX
Millenia K) there is one oddity that will make
you think that the computer and SPDOS has
locked up. In both the Larken and the Oliger
disk systems the interfaces try to LOAD or
SAVE 5 or 6 times before reporting an error.
But SPDOS makes 50 tries. So if it goes off
with a blank screen and the disk drive is run-
ning that is what is happening. Amazing what
one can learn if you read and reread the
manual.

Yesterday, November 24th, I took an-
other look at the full height drive and case I
bought at the HamFest and saw that since the
cable connector was extended to outside the
case that I could easily use the case without
the process of making slots in it for the rib-
bon cable to add a third drive to the 3.5 and
5.25 720K drives in another case. I remem-
bered my prior try with a 3.5 drive and that
nothing worked when it was on line so I
thought that it was worth a try since this was
a different type of 3. 5 drive. I had to swap
the SSDD drive with a DSDD drive and then
add a connector to the ribbon cable on the
720K case. I made the DSDD drive (a
TANDON TM 100-2 A drive) drive #2 al-
though it is the first on the line of the ones on
the cable. Also since the other drives had no
place for a terminator resistor I tried it with
out one. I had success with the setup. So now
I have three drives in two cases to represent a
3.5 720K and 5.25 both 360K and 720K
drives. I was even dreaming of a 3 inch drive
but I did not see any place to get disks so that
is out. But does anvone even use the 3 inch
drives?

I have used the Oliger disk interface so
much and even when using the Larken inter-
face it does the same disk drive light on the
selected drive that it does on the Oliger inter-
face alone. Now what I am writing about is
the LED on the front of every drive. On the
Larken interface it only comes on when the
drive is in use but on the Oliger it is on all the
time on whatever drive is the selected drive.
Why the comment? Well, I was recently set-

14

ting up a set of three drives for my traveling
computer and it has a pure Larken interface.
I was testing them and panicked until I real-
ized that on the Larken the selected drive's
light does not light up till it is in use. I
thought that the system was down. I had
gotten so used to looking at the drives to see
which was selected that I forgot about the
way that the Larken handles the drive light.
On the Oliger even in the Larken mode the
drive light is on all the time.

This week (today is 12 03 1993) I re-
ceived more information on how Richard
Jelen is converting his T/S 2068 into a port-
able using nicad batteries to power it and a
12 volt TV. I will include the material in the
next issue of ZXir QLive Alive! since I will
have to type in the hand written material and
get the sketches and drawings included. He
did cut the current draw using some CMOS
chips. One other project Mr. Jelen is in-
volved in is building up a disk interface from
bare boards he ordered from John Oliger.
See the cassette LOAD AID circuit sche-
matic that is in this issue for some of his ear-
lier work.

MSDOS to LarKea
and MSCRIPT.

Letter from Les Cottrell, Cocoa, FL.

I have done this several times using two
different schemes. The last time I took
a file done on a MAC in MSWord,
moved it across a network SAVEd as an
A SCII file to an IBM and then to Larken. To
make it easy to find I use a disk with only the
files I want to convert.

1 . Using the Larken Disk Editor I
searched using the "Edit a block" function
until I find the beginning of the text I want. I
write down the address and look for the end
of the text on that block and write that down.
Also look for any ASCII codes that won't be
in MSCRIPT such as 9 for tab. (MSCRIPT
tab stops are "padded" with spaces - 32's.)
Then I break out of the Editor and do a code

save such as "textl.CT" CODE (start),
(length). You may find more than one place
with MSDOS text on a Larken block so I
save the next as "text2.CT CODE (start),
(length). This process is repeated until all the
text is located and SAVEd over to Larken
files.

2. Then I load MSCRIPT and load
"textl.CT". If you then look at a file with
tabs in it will have short lines where tabs
were. I then break out of MSCRIPT and add
a few lines of basic to correct this such as:

1000 FOR 1=46927 to
(46927+length of file):IF PEEK 1=9 THEN
POKE 1,32

1010 NEXT 1

Then GOTO 1000 will find the tab nd
replace them with a single space. MSCRIPT
doesn't have much room left for added basic
so keep it short. The last line of basic in my
version of MSCRIPT is 950 so 1 000 was a
safe starting point. 46927 is where the CT
files start and of course 32 is a space. You
could also delete the unknown codes using
"delete left" or "delete" keys if you only had
a few problems. After I finish this I always
delete lines 1000 and 1010 just in case.

3. Next I run MSCRIPT and add spaces
where needed to get the tabs lined up. Some
other cleanup such as added carriage returns
might also be required. File is SAVEd with a
new name from MSCRIPT.

4. Steps 2 and 3 are repeated until all the
files are cleaned up.

5. Now I would load "name ! " and as-
suming that it was only part of what I had iv
MSDOS I would merge "name2" and so or
until I had the file recreated in MSCRIPT.
The is SAVEd again as "finall".

The last file that I converted was the
Larken DOS cartridge disasse bly that was
done in 2 columns as I had q e a bit of
cleanup, but I ended up with the same thing
in MSCRIPT that I had started out with in
MSWord on the MAC.

15

The other method is to use a utility
called MSDOS. Bx written by George
Chambers of the Toronto Users Club and
published on page 8 of May '90 Sine-Link.
(George Chambers; 14 Richome Court;
Scarborough, Ontario; Canada M1K 2Y1)
He has built the "unknown" code remover
into his program. I used this program to con-
vert the index of all Sine-Link articles from
MSDOS disk to MSCRIPT and it worked
quite well.

Editor's comments: I have used George
Chambers' MSDOSOS.Bx several times but
I thought that Les's information would be
helpful to someone with other than a Larken
interface. If someone gets this running on
other than a Larken disk interface please let
me know or let Frank Davis of UPDATE
MAGAZINE know because it might be
handy for someone else to use. (UPDATE
MAGAZINE; P. O. BOX 1095; Peru IN
46970). Further information is available in
the form of documents for MSDOS. Bx
which I can supply. 0/0

D.U.S.

DISK UTILITY SOFTWARE

By Donald S. Lambert

Comments about one of the programs
that I have used.

you have a virgin copy of D.U. S. do
not ever remove the write protect
sticker. Any dedicating to the programs
should be done on a copy disk. Get the copy
done first, copy by any means the program
COPYH. Bl and then dedicate that copy.
When the program COPYH.B1 is LOADed it
will halt with a line or two of programming
and a warning of some kind. EDIT the line
and between the quotes of the A$ enter the
letter given that applies to your disk interface.
Run the cursor over to get in between the
quotes in LET A$="". Use only capitals and
if you have a pure Larken interface use an
"L", if a Larken on an AERCO interface use
an "A", if a Larken on a RAMEX interface
use an "R" and if a Larken on an Oliger
interface use an "O". It must be an upper

case letter. And then RUN 9999 and that will
automatically (you must mot write protect the
disk till this is done) SAVE that to disk. This
is what the program will display on the screen
till it is dedicated:

9910>LET a$="": IF a$="" THEN
PRINT AT VAL "5", NOT PI; "THIS PRO-
GRAM MUST BE CUSTOMIZED! :
BEEP VAL ".25",NOT PI BEEP VAL
".25",NOT PI: LIST VAL "9910": STOP

9920 PRINT #VAL "4": LOAD
"COPYILC"+A$CODE : RUN VAL "5"

9999 RANDOMIZE USR VAL "100":
SAVE "COPYILBr LINE VAL "9990"

Now run the program and it will ask you
for the original drive number, then the num-
ber of copies to be made and finally the drive
the copy will be made in. The drives must be
the same number of tracks both 40 track or
both 80 track (size of the disk is immaterial)
and both have the same number of sides or at
least the target disk needs to have the same or
more sides than the original. Now with a
working COPYH.B1 program you are ready
to copy the master disk. COPYH.B1 will
copy the original disk exactly as it is on the
disk, same number of sides, same disk title
and same number of tracks plus the same
head step rate. And it does it at the rate of 5
tracks at a time and then as it SAVEs to the
target disk it FORMATS the disk. And it will
report if the disk has something wrong with
it. If the copy work ends with a notice BAD
DISK it is bad and try again. In either case
(good disk - it doesn't say good but if a bad
disk it does say BAD) you will be asked
ANOTHER? if so press " Y" and it will have
you set up for the next copying routine. As it
copies it will tell you how many tracks and
sides the disk has plus head speed.

When I send a disk to Bob Swoger I use
COPYRBl to make up the disk for me from
a master disk I made back when. The reason
for this is that Bob uses a single sided drive
and only 40 tracks but he requires a head
step rate of 30. COPYH.B1 does all that so
that I don't have to worry about getting all the
current information on the disk and since

LogiCalll is on the disk that also is there
readv to use.

When you use the full disk you will find
that it will load by pressing ENTER and
powering up the computer. The screen will
clear and then the first display will be on the
screen. If you wait a while then it will pro-
gress to the menu display, but if you hit enter
when the first display is shown it will imme-
diately go to the menu. The menu will not
display all the programs, use the up and
down arrow keys to get the other titles. Then
enter the letter for the one that you want and
that program will be LOADed into the com-
puter. The letters that you ENTER will not
change as the titles scroll up or down but the
computer knows what you want.

I had a disk that the Oliger disk interface
quit at about the tenth or twelfth track. Now I
could FORMAT that with FORMAT.B1
(Has to be customized) on the Larken disk
interface and that will report how many bad
bytes. But still it can end up with a problem.
So after Formatting with FORMAT.B 1 1
used MAPOUT.B1. MAPOUT.B1 will go
through a disk and map out the bad blocks so
that you never need worry about a failed
program from a block with a bad byte. I have
added the screen displays for the various
above programs:

This shows the result of Formatting with
bad bytes.

FORMAT DISK
WRITTEN BY KRIS BOISVERT
1989 BYTE POWER

FORMATTING DISK IN DRIVE 0
2 SIDES, 43 TRACKS, 6 ms

FORMATING COMPLETED...
256000 BYTES IN BAD BLOCKS
409600 BYTES AVAILABLE ON DISK

And this is the result of using
MAPOUT.B1 with LogiCall installed on the
above disk:

Disk Name : Lambert 11 27 1993

L.B1 001 AUTOSTART 001

16

LarKen LKDOS ©1986
Track/Side 043/002
Total Files 002
Free Blocks 076

And since the drive call-out on
MAPOUT.B1 lists the drives as 0-4 then
apparently it will work with RAMDISK.

Conclusion: If you have the Larken disk
interface then this is a must have disk. The
other must have is George Chambers' utility
disk of TTSUC Library Disk #1. (also ZQA!
PD Lib. Disk #9) What one disk won't do the
other will very likely do. In addition there is
provision on the D.U. S. disk to convert the
menu load program to your own use. And an
important factor is that the D.U. S. disk is
almost so user friendly so that the manual is
not required for every program. 0/0

Note: D.U.S. is a Public Domain disk.
Page 2, § 4 of the manual reads:-
D.U.S. is Public Domain, this means you
may freely distribute it to any LarKen LK-
DOS user so long as no charge is made
for the package other than the cost of the
media and/ or time. Also, you must
distribute exact copies of the disk(s), no
program should be altered in anyway
without first consulting me. etc.

Kiristian Boisvert
How about it Don, can we add it to
our P D Library? Abed

TURBO SWITCH For The
ZX-81

by Tony Willing,. Vashon, WA

I np whole idea of experimenting
with a "TURBO Switch"
came from reading the book "EXPLORER'S
GUIDE TO THE T/S 1000" bv Mike Lord.
On page 58(1) of this book under the
heading "Keyboard Scanning" he tells how
the system variable MARGIN may be
changed from 55 to 31 by taking pin 22 of
the ULA chip HIGH or LOW. This is
supposed to be of use to the computer
manufacturer to enable the T/S 1000 to be
used in either the USA which uses 31 blank
lines at the top and bottom of the screen, or
in the UK which uses 55 blank line. The -J "J

book also states on page 52(2) under the
heading "NMI Handler" that "When in the
SLOW mode the ZX81 uses the time
occupied by these blank lines to carry on with
your program".

So I thought if I increased the number of
lines on my T/S 1000. 1 might increase the
speed of program execution. And it works
well. I use direct video and have not tried it
using the RF modulator, but if you use direct
video I think you will have success from the
modification.

To test the speed of program execution I
use the following BASIC program:

10 FOR N = 1 TO 500

20 NEXT N

30 PRINT "FINISHED"

With pin 22 HIGH the computer takes
20 seconds. With the pin low, the program
takes 28 seconds. (About a 28% increase in
speed. Don). This is a considerable increase
in speed. One might ask "Why have a
TURBO Switch?" Well, when I use my
WORD* program (word processor) at the
"TURBO" speed the cursor blinks at about
twice the normal rate and does not seem to
miss keys as it did in the past, and when
playing games I use the slower speed so that I
can get a higher score!

When using the higher speed I find the
monitor screen is filled with lines from top to
bottom, when using the slow speed I find a
blank screen at the top and bottom 1/2 inch
of the screen. I can switch from "TURBO"
to normal at any time without any crashes.

Lastly, how is the modification carried
out? You have to take the T/S 1000 circuit
board out of it's case and locate resistor R30
which is located between the ULA chip and
the regulator heat sink. It should have the
colors Brown Black Brown.

Using a soldering iron, lift the left hand
end of the resistor clear from the circuit
board hole. Also locate resistor R38 which is
four resistors down from R30, and solder
one end of some two core cable to the left
hand end of R38, which should be a 5V rail.
To the raised left hand end of R30, solder

one end of a IK 1/4W resistor. Bend the re-
sistor upwards and solder the other end to the
right hand end of R34, which is a OV rail. To
the junction of R30 and the added IK resis-
tor solder the other core of the two core ca-
ble. To the other end of the cable solder a
switch of the single throw single pole type.

change the voltage from nearly OVolts to
nearly 5 Volts, and if you have your monitor
connected you should see the screen flicker.

The switch should be mounted some-
where convenient, accessible from outside
the T/S 1000. 1 have my T/S 1000 mounted
inside a steel chassis and so I mounted the

■RESIST*

I x ST/sr swtch

I x IK "RES'SToR

-Tun^BO / A/OKM/li. SWITCH tfObirtCAT/otf r/siOOG.

id

W22

That completes the circuit board modifi-
cation. Try connecting a multimeter at the
solder connection between R30 and the IK
resistor, and ground. When the T/S 1000 is
powered up, the "TURBO" switch should

18

>0V

1

"TURBO" switch on the front panel with the
words "TURBO" and "NORMAL" along
side the switch. Try ENTERing and running
the program that I LIS Ted earlier and see the
difference the switch makes. ENJOY!

(1) (Page 58) KEYBOARD SCAN-
NING

This is a fairly straightforward subrou-
tine which is normally called from the Main
Display routine, but which can equally well
be used by your machine language programs.

It returns a code in the EL register pair
corresponding to the key pressed, or FFFF if
no key was pressed. It also loads the System
Variable Margin (4028) with the correct
number of blank lines needed at the top and
bottom of the picture; 55 for U. K. ma-
chines, 31 for the U. S. A. models, by detect-
ing whether pin 22 of IC1 is strapped to 0V
or not.

(2) (Page 52) NMT HANDLER

As each horizontal TV scan line is com-
pleted in 64 micro-seconds, it takes 24 X 8 X
64 micro-seconds - which is just over 12
milli-seconds - to output the complete 24
rows of characters displayed in each TV
frame. But, to synchronize the TV set prop-
erly, each frame must last for 20 milli-sec-
onds (16.7 milli-seconds for the U. S. A.
model), so additional - blank lines are needed
to fill in the top and bottom margins of the
picture, before during and after the frame
synchronization pulse.

When in the SLOW mode, the ZX81
uses the time occupied by these blank lines to
carry on with your program. But, to keep
track of the time, it is interrupted by the SCL
chip every 64 micro-seconds. The non-
Maskable Interrupt is used for this function,
and calls the routine starting at 0066 hex. 0/0.

USING A 16K MEMOTECH
MEMOPAK THAT HAS SWITCHES

by Donald S. Lambert

This was in a letter that I wrote to
Gilliam Parrish in regards to using a 16K
MEMOTECH MEMOPAK.

AX the Dayton ComputerFest I did find

a 16K Memotech ram module of
the latter manufacture with the DIP switches
which are located where the oval opening in
the back is. I really did not know that they
made two versions but am not surprised. And

19

I would expect that it could be possible to
upgrade a switchless version to one with
switches. How much circuitry would have to
be changed is not known. But the switchless
version will not work with more than 16K of
memory.

But this is what the manual stated:

HOW DO I SET UP THE MEMOTECH 16K?

Make sure your power supply is not
connected to the ZX81 when you attach the
pack. We recommend that the ZX81 + (this
was wrote in the U. K. where they never had
the T/S 1000) MEMOPAK configuration
should go in this order, according to what
add-ons you have:

ZX81 + (Commercial Printer I/F) +
(HRG) + Master Memopak 16K or 32K +
(Sinclair Printer - Silver paper one) + (Slave
Memopak or Sinclair 16K). (You will have
to experiment to find out where to connect
the T/S 2040 printer.)

WHAT ABOUT THE SWITCH SETTINGS?

There are two possible modes for using
the Memopak 16K: MASTER and SLAVE.
The mode you require depends on which of
the possible memory configurations you are
using. The configurations and modes are as
follows:

a) MEMOPAK 16K alone (MASTER).

b) MEMOPAK 16K (MASTER) +
MEMOPAK 16K (SLAVE).

c) MEMOPAK 16K (MASTER) +
SINCLAIR 16K (SLAVE).

d) MEMOPAK 32K (MASTER) +
MEMOPAK 16K (SLAVE).

Now, if your MEMOPAK 16K is being
used as a MASTER (alone or with a SLAVE
pack attached somewhere behind) then
switches 2 and 3 should be ON and switches
1 and 4 should be OFF. On the other hand ,
if your MEMOPAK is sitting behind a
MEMOPAK 32K or another 16K then it
should be switched into SLAVE mode (1 and
4 ON and 2 and 3 OFF).

REMEMBER "ON" IS UP.

WHAT SHOULD I DO TO USE THE NEW,
LARGER MEMORY?

If you have a total of 32K RAM then to
make the most of it youll need to kev in:
POKE 16389,192
NEW

To raise the RAMTOP. For the 48K
RAM, you should key in:
POKE 16388,255
POKE 16389,255
NEW

To check RAMTOP, type in:
PRINT PEEK 16389 *
NEW

and you will get back the current RAM-
TOP. This should be 192 for 32K of mem-
ory. If I remember right 2K should get 72,

16K should get 128, 32K should get 192.
Remember that the default is to 16K (128).

With 32K of memory you will have to
watch that the display rile does not straddle
the 32K mark (ROM is 8K, 8K is set aside
for use of some accessories) which is where
the RAM starts at 16384 (16K times 1024).
And that means that 16K of RAM has a
RAM top of 32768. So you need to fool the
computer and jump the program above the
32768 mark and later that can be edited out
of the program.

If you wanted to convert your old style
16K MEMOPAK to the new style Dan
Elliott probably could do it. But on the other
hand it might be cheaper to go to a new
MEMOPAK or a static RAM memory. 0/0

111

ll

§§

I

SPECTRUM for your 2068

If you are a LarKen LK-DOS owner and would
like to run SPECTRUM programs on your system,
we will supply a V2 EPROM, socket and
74HCT32 for $12 which includes shipping and
handling. The installation instructions are in your
LarKen manual. We shall not be responsible for
your install job. AERCO owners need only the
EPROM for $10 forwarded to LarKen.
Bob Swoger Address on page 2

747 Jifitgtfi gmmlatat

So you like to fly, the 747 Flight Simulator for
SPECTRUM by Derek Ashton of DACC sold
over 40K copies in Europe. Requires a SPEC-
TRUM equipped 2068. At this time supplied on
LarKen SSDD disk only for $10 which goes to
Derek now working at Motorola with Bob.
Bob Swoger Address on page 2

PAL Chips

Programmable Array Logic chips are available for

some Timex or QL's from NAP Ware.

Nazir Pashtoon

940 Beau Dr. Apt. 204

Des Plaines IL 60016-5876

Phone(eve.) 708 439-1679 20

Update!
Magazine

Our Only Magazine
513 E MAIN ST
PERU IN 46970
317 473-8031

CONQUEST

A Strategic generic War Qamejor the 2068
TIME: A few centuries from now.
PLACE: An unknown inhabited planet.
YOU: Commander of Expeditionary Force.
MISSION: Capture said planet.
INTELLIGENCE: Enemy seen scouting same planet.
STRATEGY: Find and capture Planet's cities.
Direct production to aid your war effort.
Defeat enemy when found.
SITUATION: You have just captured your first city.
S Can generate new random map every time or
play map of your choice.

S For 2 or 3 combatants. Play against the com-
puter or your friends.

S Production times and fighting ability adjustable
for each player - keeps game a challenge at all
times.

S Completely in fast machine code. Games can
be SAVEd and CONTINUEd.
Available on tape, or disk, AERCO, Oliger. Game
and map SAVEs in BASIC to allow adaptation to
your system. Price $19.95 + $2.50 S&H.

Order from:- or
Llovd Dreser SMUG
2461 S. 79th St. BOX 101
West Allis WI 53219 Butler WI 53007

WANTED: MINI-MOD AND Z-COM docu-
ments. They are modem programs for the T/S
1000.

FREDERIC STERN
P O BOX 264
HOLBROOK NY 11741
Tele: (516) 737-0963

WANTED: Articles or material for the QL and
the Z88 for publication in ZXir QLive Alive!. Also
articles on any other T/S computer. Can't publish
what we do not have. Will accept even hand-
written notes.
DONALD S LAMBERT
1301 KIBIJNGER PLACE
AUBURN IN 46706-3010

The John Oliger Co.

11601 WidbeyDr.
Cumberland IN 46229
The John Oliger Floppy Disk System :-
DISK BOARD "A"

Bare PC Board only : $17.95 pp.

Kit of PC Board & parts : $55.95 pp.

Assembled and tested : $66.95 pp.

Two drive cable for above, 3 foot long: $16.95 pp.

Four drive cable for above, 4 foot long : $26.95 pp.

DISK BOARD "B"

Bare Board with JLO Safe Disk EPROM : $26.95 pp.
Kit of PC Board with parts : $45.85 pp.
Assembled and tested : $63.95 pp.
PACKAGE OF BOTH DISK BOARDS M A" & W B W
Bare PC Board with JLO Safe EPROM : $43.95 pp.
Kit of both Boards with parts : $99.95 pp.
Both Boards assembled and tested : $127.95 pp.
Both Boards assembled and tested w/2-drive data
cable: $139.95 pp.

THE DISKWORKS: Both Boards assembled and

tested w/2-drive data cable and assembled 2068

EXPANSION Board : $189.95 pp.

2068 EXPANSION BOARD : plugs in the expansion port

on back of 2068. Pass-thru for other peripherals, giving you

4 expansion slots. All devices use this Board, except for the

2068 dock cartridge Board,.

Bare PC Board: $14.95

-Doara wiin pans .

Assembled & tested : $54.95

Indiana residents, please add 5% sales tax

FREEBIE! Take a look where your disk drive
interface cable comes out of the disk case. If you
have a sharp piece of metal (all my metal cases
had) and want to protect your interface cable from
wear here is a deal. I have some plastic protectors
that are 3.5 inches long (49 of them) and some
that are 2.75 inches long. They are easy to cut to
length if necessary (mine all were) and the protec-
tor are such that they will slide onto a piece of
metal or plastic that is up to about .050 inches
thick. To get one or so send a stamped self ad-
dressed letter and I will send you up to 3 per re-
quest. These were given to me by Paul Holgren to
be passed on. DONALD S. LAMBERT: 1301
KIBLINGER PLACE; AUBURN IN 46706.

FRANK DAVIS

MECHANICAL AFFINITY

513 E MAIN ST
PERU IN 46970
317 473-8031

Z88 QL GOLD CARDS QXL Card
Falkenberg Hard Drive Interface
TEXT78PLUS4
Software Hardware and Disks
For T/S Computers

PAUL HOLMGREN

MECHANICAL AFFINITY

5231 WILTON WOOD CT
INDIANAPOLIS IN 46254
317 291-6002

LIS Ting Newslei-fer,

Annual dues to receive LISTing is $16.00. Fred

Stern is the editor and is doing great in keeping it

going.

LIST

5 PERI LANE

VALLEY STREAM NY 11581

21