Volume 3 Number 12
ADDRESS
2
3
7
8
10
11
12
13
14
19
19
20
22
24
25
25
26
30
31
32
34
MEMORY MAP
ROUTINES
Information and Chairmen — TreaSury Note$ ^
Welcome to — New Members
Input/Output — byAbedKahale
From The Chairman's Disk — by Donald Lambert
FILES
CAJ/ESF Stringy Floppy — by Donald Lambert
A Word to the Wise — by Tim Swenson
Memories Mean a Lot — by Abed Kahale
I Can't Believe What I Saw — by Donald Lambert
QXL Notes - Sequel — by Al Feng
MDIR BAS v 1.05 — by Al Feng MDIR_c
LiF Amp Rides Again — by Les Cottrell
QL Corner - QL SIlOW — by Bob Gilder
The Musical PC8300 — by Gil Parrish
QLuMSi - Recent Changes — by Al Feng
Daisy Be Good m — by David Lassov
Waging in the TSRoom — by Donald Lambert
Graphics — by Robert Shade
QL Hacker's Journal — by Tim Swenson
ZQA! Mailing List
SUBROUTINES
For Sale - Books
RMG Updates
Unclassified Ads
Timex DATA LINK Wrist Watch
Download info from your computer to the watch;
appointments, phone list, to-do list, etc. Hold the watch in
front of your blinking monitor while running the Windows software,
Jhe screen flashes transmit the data to the watch — TS-1000/2068 tape LOAD?
ZXir QLive AUve! ©
Established 1 99 1 The Timex/Sinclair NorthAmerican User Groups Newsletter
T/SNUG Information
T/SNUG
Here is the list of T/5NUG Chairmen
and how to contact them. We wish to
support the following SIGs:- ZX-80/8 1 ,
TS-1000, SPECTRUM, TS-2068, TC-
2068, Z88 and QL. If you have any
questions about any of these fine
machines, contact the:
Chairman
Chief Motivator
Donald S. Lambert (ISTUG)
Vice-Chairmen
Tape & JLO PD Library
D. G. Smith
R 415 Stone St.
Johnstown, PA 15906
814 535-6998
Z88 Library
Dave Bennett (HATSUG)
329 Walton St. Rear
Lemoyne, PA 17045
717 774-7531
ZX-81 PD Tape Library
Ed Snow
2136 Churchill Downs Cir.
Orlando, FL 32825
407380-5124
RMG Enterprises
RodGowen(CCATS)
14784 S. Quail Grove Cir.
Oregon City, OR 97045
503 655-7484 FAX 503 655-4116
TS-2068
Rod Humphreys (VSUG)
10984 Collins PL
Delta, BC V4C 7E6 Canada
604 583-2819
QL PD Library
John Donaldson (CATUG)
835 Foxwood Cir.
Geneva, IL 60134-1631
708 232-6147
BBS — GATOR
Bob Swoger (CATUG)
613 Parkside Cir.
Streawood, IL 60107-1647
708 837-7957 Work 708 576-8068
Editor/Treasurer
LarKen PD Library
Abed Kahale (CATUG)
335 W. Newport Rd.
Hoffman Estates, IL 60195-3106
ZXir QLive Alive!
Is the newsletter of
T/SNUG, the Tirnex/Sinclair
North American User Groups,
providing news and software
support to the T/S community
in a Volume of four newslet-
ters per year; begirvning with the
Spring (March) issue.
T/SNUG's main goal is
to keep our Magazine,
our vendors and our
repair service alive for
the benefit of T/S users.
These valuable services shall
have free advertising space in this
user supported Newsletter so that
they can see that we are still active
out here. We must support their
services whenever possible.
Another T/SNUG goal is to
unearth titles of all known Public
Domain and commercial software
available for all TimetfSinclair
machines, building a library and
providing lists of that software
showing both the source and the
availability.
If you have solved a
problem or you have a prob-
lem in one of your software or
hardware, please share it with
the rest of us.
<As of May 26, 1995, we have
a balance of $1182.82
ou can keep T/SNUG
1h alive by an annual con-
2*5 tnbution of $12 for one
volume made payable to Abed
Kahale. Send check to: -
ABED KAHALE
335 W NEWPORT RD
HOFFMAN ESTATES IL 60195-3106
Phone:- 708 885-4337
Back Newsletter copies are
available for $0.50 each
postpaid.
Article
s
jj^fributioip|;:
end in your articles by tape or
disk and your inputs to:-
DON LAMBERT
ZXir QLive Alive! Newsletter
1301 KIBLINGER PI-
AUBURN IN 46706-3010
Phone 219 925-1372
Or by hardcopy to:— Abed Kahale.
TWISTED PAIR
We have a 24 hour BBS and encourage
you to exchange mail and contribute to the
Upload Section. Use it and have fun!! (8N1
300-2400 BAUD)
Call 708 632-5558
and Register using your first name, last name
and phone number along with a password you
wont forget, and Write. It Downl Do not try to
do anything else this first time because all the
board options will be locked-out.
When you call-in the next time, you will
have Level 5 security and be able to enjoy full
user privileges. The BBS has smaller sections
called conferences. Select "J" for "Join a
Conference" to see the different user groups.
Select "TIMEX" to get into the Sinclair Section.
The mail you then read will only be from other
TIMEX Sinclair users but all SIGs share the
same bulletins. Use extension .ART for articles,
.ADS for ads and .NWS for news when
uploading.
For help, contact the SYSOP by leaving a
message, mail, e-mail or phone. Bob Swoger
SYSOP — ==GAT0R==—
Gertie Anderson
James Curry
Ed DeBoer
Ted Heckman
G. Daviti Joknson
J. O'Donnel
Paul Rokineon
Larry Soutk
Jose Vasquez
Basil Wentwortk
ZXir QLive Alive!
2
Summer 1995
Input/Output ^
I think it was a good decision to move your
publication date forward so that ZXir QLive Alive!
and UPDATE! aren't published in the same month.
Since our publications are dwindling it is nice to
have them coming spaced out. You might consider
trying to mail halfway in between UPDATEI's.
Les Cottrell
Cocoa, FL
Thank you for letting us know that we
made the right decision. We will consider mov-
ing it forward again but, it ail depends on how
much material we have on hand at the time as
you can appreciate.
Enclosed is a disk a sort-of-reply article to Bill
Harmer's TS Bulletin. I don't think it will start too
many sparks.
I have enclosed a copy of DME the Atari ST
editor that was ported to QL too.
Hope to see you in Oak
Ridge for the QL show. I know
I will see you here in Dayton for the ComputerFest
(and the free burgers :-))
Happy hacking,
Tim Swenson
Heuber Heights, OH
/ am sure Bill Harmer will appreciate your
views on the subject; and thank you for the
invite.
Thank you for such a great source of informa-
tion on the Timex machines; especially the TS-2068,
for which I own and use weekly. Thank you and keep
up the good work!
Robert Gilbert
Waltham, MA
Words like yours keep us going.
I really appreciate your hanging in with the Sin-
clair computers. Although I use IBM compatibles at
work, the Z88 is still my favorite workhorse!
I've held onto my TS-2068's but have been too
busy to work with them; as soon as I find some free
time, I plan to return to the fold.
I apologize for the delay in paying for the sub-
scription. Is it possible for you to modify your labels
to include the expiration date? (for those of us whose
to-do list would require a 36 hour day)
Francine Sklar
Loch Sheldrake, NY
No need for apologies, you really were on
time - February. You're doing just fine with the
24 hours day young lady I use to have the
expiration date on the labels but we decided,
(as you might have read in the Summer '94 is-
sue, page 4, Policy Declaration) to go to mem-
bership by volume of four issues beginning with
March (Spring) of every year as was originally
intended. Appreciate your concern and thanks
for the good word.
Here is my annual contribution to T/SNUG,
keep up the good work. I always look forward to
reading ZXir QLive Alive! newsletter. 73es
Harry Miller W1DRD
Berlin, MA
We'll do our best, and keep on DXing.
Thank you, for supporting the continued usage
of the delightful little Timex-Sinclair 2068. Espe-
cially, we appreciate the advance warning of the
Newsletter's change in schedule. Keep on HMEX'h.
David Lassov
Tucson, AZ
And thank you for your contributions.
Enclosed my check for '95 T/SNUG member-
ship. Fortunately I am combining some spring clean-
ing while I pack for Spain I came across a reminder -
Spain only for 2 whs.
I am like a newborn - new Z88 arrived 1/4/95; I
crashed it 2/13/95 and now longing for a Z88-style
BBC BASIC manual. Sshh - doing what seems right,
so, I am sort of teaching myself BBC BASIC. There
seems to be bug in my screen editor program - CLI
(Command Line Interpreter); trying to execute that
program in the Z88 manual may be what crashed my
Z88. 1 did not know who I'd been or who I'd planned
to be for 3 days afterwards, till I got my diary
plumped out again with warning of impending debts,
etc. May be crash was a blessing. I also lost lots of
chores I'd planned for my self, I rescheduled and re-
scheduled. I thought I had learned my lesson with
"The Worxi ". Ain't technology great? I used to keep
ZXir QLive Alive!
3
Summer 1995
my plan for the day on a scrap of paper and just wad
it up when I got hopelessly behind
I am also fretting a way to transfer material from
Z88 to 2068. 1 guess I have to jure up modem or 2, (if
I had a serial connector with 9-pin plug on each end)
but clang, that seems cumbersome. Seems like I could
pipe it thru 9-pin on LarKen, or serial port on Zebra
controller, or may be joystick 9-pin gidget on left
side. Androids prog, for 2068 accepted noise com-
mands, I thought (back 1 0 years since I played with
that) - Anyhow I thought left joystick port input dif-
ferent in some way to right. Regards,
Joan Kealy
Brackettville, TX
John J. Shepard, is one that I know oft
that has the experience in transferring files
between the Z88 and the 2068 — by modem.
Not having a Z88, / would venture to say that if
both computers have serial ports, then all you
need is a cable with one end having the con-
nector pins in reverse order from the other
connector. The joystick port wont do. You can
only transfer text - ASCII files. Bon voyage.
A member writes;
I know very little about electricity and I need to
know what gauge wire I should use to carry up to 4
amperes (amps.) at 5 and 12 volts for a distance of
4.5 feet? It will be much easier to run a flat cable
than four separate wires to power my disk drives.
You can use the cable with no problems
carrying 4 amps, maximum. The drives are only
'on' intermittently. For signal wires, such as to
your printer you can use up 6 feet of cable.
The best way to find out whether you have
the right wire size for any electrical use is:- If
the wire or cable gets warm to your touch while
you have the maximum load or current through
it, then the wire gauge is too small and you
should go to a larger size.
To give you a guide: Hold on to the rubber
cord of your toaster while you are making toast,
this is the maximum safe wire temperature al-
lowed by Underwriters Laboratory Inc. You
should not exceed this cord temperature.
UL Inc. is an organization created by manufac-
turers for the safety of the consuming public. It is
NOT the wolf minding the sheep. Manufacturers
through out the industry (foreign or domestic) pay UL
to test their electrical/electronic products, intended
for home use, for compliance with the safety stan-
dards created over the years by UL to protect the
consumer, the public, against all kinds of hazards.
While it is not a government agency, foreign
goods have to comply with these safety standards or
else their products may not be imported by a US
firrrjL
If you look at an appliance, monitor, audio
equipment, washer, dryer, computer, toaster, refrig-
erator, shaver, light fixture, etc. you will
normally find an identification label carry- /j
ing either the UL insignia or something tof \Jl \
the effect of Listed, Recognized or Ap-V®IW
proved by Underwriter Laboratories Inc. x »»— /
Unfortunately, the auto manufacturers never
joined in with the rest of the industry.
I don't want to bore you with details, but if there
is interest, let me know. I am familiar with most of
UL standards.
You only need to learn one formula very
well to become proficient in electricity; Ohm's
Law formula. E = I R
E (volts) = I (amps.) X R (ohms)
of course I = E/R and R = E/I
Also W(watts) = E X I or W = FXR
My toaster is labeled 900 watts 120 volts. So
I = W/E, 900 divided by 120 = 7.5 amps, is the cur*
rent ( I ) going through the cord at 1 20 volts. To save
money, manufacturers keep the cord length to less
than 6 feet so that they don't have to use a heavier
gauge cable.
Your 4.5 feet cable has a resistance of 0.29
ohms carrying 4 amps, which is W=PR or 4 2 X 0.29
= 4.6 watts of heat generated in the cable. Since both
drives will not be running at the same time, you ,
won't feel-the-heat so-to-speak from the cable wires;
As you can see volts are not part of the formula. So
voltage is immaterial when figuring wire gauges.
The member response;
UL is strictly for safety not for workability for
close tolerance applications. Safety takes the first
and most important factor. Maybe my question was
not very well thought out. What I am interested in is
more like a chart that will list the amps that various
gauges of wire will carry without going out of operat-
ing voltages under loads. It isn't a question of the
wire getting warm, it is a question of whether the
wire will deliver the voltage within IC tolerances.
Of course maybe what I am worrying about is
immaterial but when you pick up a 100 ft. extension
cord and they say that you can run up so many amps
if the cord is 50 feet it is much higher current. But
again I think it is a case of UL and the heating of the
cords. According to the formula E=I X R and 1 = 4
and R = (4.5 X 0.29); 4 X (4.5 X 0.29) = 5.22 volts.
Of course my electronics is very rusty but I under-
ZXir QLive Alive!
4
Summer 1995
stand that to be the voltage drop in the wire. So what
does actually get to the end of the win;?
You have 4 wires having a resistance of .29
Q that is to carry a maximum 4 amps. Since
only 2 wires will carry 4 amps, for one drive at a
time, the resistance of the wire is 4.5 X .0.026 =
0.117. The voltage drop is I X R = E which is
4 X 0.117 = 0.468 volts (in round numbers). 5 -
0.468 = 4.53 volts (the voltage mhould not go
below 4.3 volts) and 1 2 - 0.468 = 1 1 .53 volts Is
the voltage delivered to your drr*e at maximum
current, (if you measure the cuifent, it will be
less than 4 amps). UL Inc. standards are
based on just these calculations and from them
they derive a 'temperature risd* above room
ambient temperature of 68°F (2D°C). It is not
safety hogwash.
/ never worked for UL by the way, I did
have to meet their standards though. To meet
them, I had to learn all about them.
Since I originally didn't want to go deep into
the subject, I did present you with an alternative
- the toaster cord. Extension cords current car-
rying capacities are also based : on the wire
gauge and length too. If a 25ft cord can carry
16 amps., a 50ft cord of the same wire gauge
can only carry half as much; 8 amps, Wires
gauges are specified in ohms per foot among
other specs. There is no wire gauge table
for current (amps.). There is a -guide for elec-
tricians on house wiring in the National Electri-
cal Code that cover gauges from #16 to #0000
for 8 to 225 amps. This is of no help to your
electronic question and will only serve to con-
fuse the issue. Here is a list of resistance per
foot from the American Wire Gauge (Brown &
Sharp) for Standard Annealed Copper Wire:-
Gauqe
Ohms/ft.
#18
0.006
#20
0.01
#22
0.016
#24
0.026
#26
0.041
#28
0.065
#30
0.103
#32
0.164
By the way, there is no such thing as pre-
cise as in mechanical precision tolerances in
electronics, nothing like ±0.00001 5v ±V mi-
crons nor microinch. Electronic components
have tolerances in percentage. Generally, re-
sistors have 1%to 10%, capacitors 5% to 20%
etc. for instance.
""Thanks for putting information about my busi-
ness in the last newsletter. Keep up the good work. If
possible please include the following Ad on a con-
tinued basis. You can photocopy or redo it.
Whatever is easier for you.
Bill Cable
Cornish, NH
/ decided to redo it just for the fun of it.
Welcome aboard Bill.
I got the Spring '95 issue of ZQAI a little while
back, and noticed your regular request for article
submissions. At about the same time, I was experi-
menting with my new PC8300 pertaining to pro-
gramming some music, and I wanted to write myself a
"note to file" as a reminder of what I learned. I de-
cided to put the two together, and the result is at-
tached. Rather than sending a manuscript and requir-
ing you to type it in, I thought I could make-things
easier if I put the text in final form. So, I tried to
match your page layout, typeface, etc., as much as
possible, and (if you want to use the article) about all
you really need to do is put the page numbers at the
bottom, I realize the PC8300 is a pretty obscure
topic in the ZX/TS world, and that programming
music on the PC8300 is more obscure still. But at
least, it's original!
Gilliam Parrish
Beggs, OK
Original, it is. We appreciate your contribu-
tion especially in a final form. You really didnt
have to bother with the formating. Thank you.
Would like you to send me a complete set
of information for the LarKen Disk Interface by Les
Cottrell in the Summer 94 issue.
I just purchased Don Lambert's TS-1000
LarKen and all is operating well . . .
Naturally I would also like a LarKen for my TS-
2068. I would appreciate any additional helpful in-
formation. Presently I don't understand the need for
both the IF and the dock boards . . .
Ferdinand Gunther
The LarKen System is made of a Disk
Drive Interface board that fits on the back and
a Disk Operating System (DOS) board that fits
in the dock (cartridge slot), it is an excellent
ZXir QLive Alive!
5
Summer 1995
system. I wouldn't be using my TS-2068 with-
out it. See Larry Kenny's description, enclosed.
Now for the bad news; Les Cottreii made
the DOS board and got it to work, but to my
knowledge, he has not made the Disk Drive
interface as yet, nor anyone else as far as i
know, it is a larger board and is more complex
with feed-thru connectors which are hard to
come by. Of course you will need both boards
for the system to operate ... By the way, The
dock board will work with the OHger system.
My advice would be for you to buy a sys-
tem while they are stilt available. See RMG
and Mechanical Affinity ads.
Thank you very much for sending the informa-
tion you have on the LarKen Disk Interface. I now
understand that the DOS plugs into the cartridge slot
and that the interface board fits on the back of the
computer ...
Under the circumstances I decided to purchase a
used AERCO disk drive system from Mechanical
Affinity ...
I needed your help to come to this conclusion . . .
I am very grateful for this important information.
Timex/Sinclair Alive and Well.
Ferdinand Gunther
Moses Lake, WA
I am totally unfamiliar with you. I heard that
you distribute a publication about TS-1000 PC. I
would like to see this item.
Send me as many back issues of your Mag, as $5
can buy and information about subscriptions.
Thanks, hope to hear from you soon.
GRAB THE
iREETIUQS PEL LOU ZX TRfiU£L£R
CARL. OQNE3
1S1S4- [4. COURSE DR,
T5MPC . PL * 3-3524-
Let's fill in some of the blanks, left in the Appendices
of the USER MANUAL for the TS-2068 Personal Color
Computer.
In Appendix A (Review of TS-2000 BASIC,) there is
no mention of the SCROLL function (or operation or
whatever.) Just do a RAND USR 2361 . What happened ??
As for Appendix B — The Character Set, we have
Character "INV.* VIDEO" for code 5, Character "CAPS-
SHIFT/SYMBL-SHIFT' for Code 14, and Character
"GRAPHICS" for Code 15. Lastly, we use Character " "
(null) for Code 0. This is very handy for checking a string
X$, to see if it's empty (CODE X$=0)
Consider Appendix D — The System Variables. One
way of exploiting the built-in routine for scanning the key-
board is, by reading the ASCII CODE of the last pressed
key (LASTK at 23560) after the value of FLAGS at 2361 1
goes from 220, to some number greater than 220. Another
way to scan the keyboard uses INKEYS, right after PAUSE
0 — for example, PAUSE 0: LET C$=INKEY$. Also, the
cursor letter goes from C for CAPITALIZED input to K for
lower-cased input, as bit 3 of FLAGS2 at 23658 goes from
1 to 0. Finally for Appendix D, the value of PEEK 23688
can be negated with impunity, still giving the 3 3 -column
number for PRINT position. Same goes for the value of
PEEK 23689 (either PLUS or MINUS).
Before leaving Appendix D, we have to admit to
passing on some erroneous material. POKEing 23692
(SCR_CT) with 0 does not disable the SCROLL operation
(which would probably be impossible to disable, anyway)
but rather sets the SCRoll Count to 256.
Please, see Page 29 of CCATS' "the best of THE
PLOTTER", There is found Jack Armstrong's article "Tips.
On Use Of Color Commands In Extended Mode". He
shows how to imbed all the colors in the line itself but
never got around to the FLASH command. However, see
page A3 of Bill Pedersen's disassembly of 2068 ROM for
that and more !!
Here is some interesting CODE for reading the cur-
rent disc drive number from LKDOS. Big deal ?? It is,
should you choose to switch disk drives, but need to re-
member the original disk drive (automatically, of course.)
We will go through the code, which is designed for
LarKen DOS. Line 10 prepares location 8200 in LKDOS
to receive the address of DvseL kind of the current drive
selected. Line 20 reads this as Z=USR 110. But, we only
have Zr=2 for drive 0, Z=4 for drive 1 , Zf=8 for drive 2, Z=l 6
for drive 3. and Z=128 for drive 4 (RAMDISK) . Thus, we
need line 30, which transforms Z and allows for numerical
rounded off enors. Line 40 then conects for the non-
linearity in the equation for drive 4, finally yielding PD as
the "Program Disk".
10 RANDOMIZE USR 100: POKE 820 0, 8195
20LETZ=USR110
30 LET Z=INT (0.5 + LN Z / LN 2) - 1
40 LET PD= (Z AND Z < PI) +(4 AND Pl< Z)
David Lassov
Tucson, AZ
ZXir QLive Alive!
Summer 1995
FROM THE CHAIRMAN'S DISK B
Donald Lambert
It took time, a lot of time, but finally SNUG has
been put to bed with the money distributed. I know
how much there was but I don't know how much
went where and I will let those that handled the
money state that part. We cajoled, begged and
pleaded and finally the money moved from Florida
and again we worked to get the distribution finished.
How much of my own effort contributed to the
distribution, I do not know and I won't even guess at.
But it got done regardless of who did what! I do
thank everyone that had a hand in the process.
There is action in the T/S community.
Sometimes the action becomes known to me. There
are still those out there that are wanting more T/S
equipment software and documentation. I write
letters to try to point them in the right direction.
Occasionally, I do help
someone; that is I hear
from someone that tells me
I helped them. That makes
me feel that I am not
working alone or writing
to a black hole.
One person asked
about the A & J stringy
floppy for the ZX^81. I
had no knowledge of
anyone with one, let alone
someone that wanted to
sell the system. But I did
have a CAE (Computer
Assisted Instruction)
stringy floppy so I got it C-flEL JONES
out to test to see if it still IglgJ UE5T COURSE
i a ia u v a. *t TAMPS, FL . 33624.
worked. I do believe that I g « 3 -353-2574.
spent more time with it
than when I first got it. It works, it is faster than
cassette but not anything like a disk system.
I also had a request for some software for the
ZX-81, so I checked that out to be sure it would
LOAD and it did. But I had to get into my Load Aid
and the Transformer Load Aid to do the LOADing
successfully.
Another person bought some books and asked
about the Load Aid that I had made. I wanted to send
him copies but the originals were run by a printer that
did not have anything but draft quality and that
would not reproduce. Besides, I had to rewrite and
re-edit the material to reduce the wordiness and got it
correct (I think), sent-him copies of that with the
book. Incidentally, postage is getting more expensive
for packages.
I also ran into an article that I wrote back in
1989 as I worked on a battery backup for the~ZX-81.
A 12v 2.5 AH gel-cell powered a ZX-81 for over
three hours. The battery just powered the ZX-8 1 not
anything else. I am working to get that article
retyped for later use if it is deemed worth
publication.
I have found that projects are sort of like
opening Pandora's box. You never know what
problems you face till you start. Sometimes the
problem is not really a problem - that is - it is a
matter of not understanding how to do something and
you thought it should have been done a different way.
Some problems are not
solvable so you have to
know when to quit Or to
give it to someone else to
solve.
On the Timex Operating
System "Zebra/Portuguese
floppy disk system" the,
drives are FORMATted as
40-track single sided only
or~8G-track double sided
only, I had mentioned to
Jack Dohany that I thought
I would use a 5.25" 40-
BEHH track single sided drive to
be able to use the cheaper
disks and a paper punch to
DRIVE make flippies out of the
5.25" disks. Also an 80-
track double sided drive to
have that capabilities on 5.25" disks. When Jack sent
me a 64K controller for the TOS he included a pair of
half height 5.25" drives, one was single sided 40-
track and the other was a double sided 80-track drive.
I always test newly acquired drives with the Oliger
disk system since I can use the disk drive test
program to check spindle rpm. The drives LOADed
with a little difficulty. They FORMATed and
SAVEd and could read their own disks. But the 40-
track drive had a spindle speed of about 286 or 287
and the 80-track had a speed of about 290. When I
checked the disks on drives with the correct spindle
speed the LOADs were not accepted.
ZXir Qlive Alive!
7
Summer 1995
At the time I was only interested in the 40-track
drive, so I looked it over and there was no pot that
would adjust the rpm, I called a disk drive repair
service in Texas (800 # of course) and learned that
1 ) If there was no speed adjust pot that the drive
could not be adjusted. 2.) Atari was noted for using
drives with an rpm of 288. I junked the drive. There
is a pot, but it is located where a major disassembly
of the drive is required before you can get at it. If I
had not destroyed part of the drive before I
discovered that, I might have tried to adjust the rpm.
I have, however, a double sided drive to use there.
The 80-track drive had a pot and adjustment was a
breeze.
I had sent Joan Kealy a package of 3" disks
(some with programs that she might not have and the
rest FORMATted) so that she could send me some of
her programs. The disks came back, I did try one and
the programs LOADed fine. When this newsletter is
put to bed, the part I am working on that is, I will get
back to it. One of the things that I need to do is
ma£e a case for the disk drives that I plan to use in it.
I have plans to have one 3", one 3.5", one 5.25" 40-
track and one 5.25" 80-track drive in the case. That
means that I will have to figure out the locations of
the mounting holes of the drives and the actual drive
sizes so that I can mount the drives neatly. There is
literature that has that all listed, so when I get that all
found I will supply the dimensions for anyone else
who wants to make a drive case. In my plans, the
drive case is just that, the power supply will be
located elsewhere. That is a to-do project when the
weather stabilizes so that I can work in the garage.
Today is a little on the cool side and is raining. Not
a day to cut the case to size outside or to cut the
grass.
cm/esp swmy floppy
by Donald Lambert
It comes with 1 or 2 drives an is menu driven with
easy keyboard commands. You can SAVE and
LOAD programs at 1100 BAUD on microcassettes.
The CAI/ESF is used with the CAI/O board.
The predecessor to MDV.
From "The Timex/Sinclair Directory" by E.
Arthur Brown Company, 1983.
The "Stringy-Floppy" mass storage device is
probably the only system available in the US that
allows true disk-like capabilities. The CAI/ESF
allows you to access specific data without LOADing
everything into RAM. It operates on a continuous
loop of magnetic tape at very high speed so that
information retrieval is not only possible, but fast.
In order to access specific data files without
LOADing everything into RAM. a computer must
have the capability to selectively read outside data.
The TIMEX-Sinclair doesn't come equipped to do
this. However, it can do it through the proper
interfaces. And that is what CAI has done with their
'Stringy-Floppy 1 system. The interface is called the
CAI/O board. Since you'd have to have some sort of
disk interface to connect up to a disk drive anyway,
the CAI/O board in no way diminishes the value of
the stringy floppy. At this writing, there are no disk
drives that I know of that come near its price of only
$119.95. The CAI/O board sells for $79.95.
(Incidentally, the CAI/O board connects up to a lot of
other things as well, like printers and modems.)
The Stringy Floppy is part of a new generation
of mass storage devices manufactured specifically
for the T/S computer. It lets you access your
programs and data at near the speed of a floppy
disk. For example, a 10ft. tape cartridge holds 15K
of data and can be LOADed in 10-15 seconds. For
comparison, a standard cassette player operates at
about 250 baud (bits/second) while the Stringy
Floppy operates at 1 1 ,000 baud. Unlike the sensitive
volume and tone controls of a cassette, the CAI/ESF
is preset to communicate only with the, T/S
computer... it LOADs perfectly every time.
Since the Stringy Floppy connects to the CAI/O
board on the back of the computer, it leaves the
cassette player parts available for ease of program
transferring from cassette to Stringy Floppy. You
won't have to worry about incompatibility with all of
the software currently available on cassette tapes.
I mentioned before that it has the ability to
selectively search and retrieve data, It can do this
while a program is running as well. This gives the
T/S the capability of computerized letter generation.
More specifically it can run a word processing
program for a form letter, access names, addresses
and other information from a mailing list, and fill in
the blank, to produce a personalized looking letter.
Of course all of this depends on the availability of
compatible software.
The Stringy Floppy is menu driven. A menu is
displayed on the TV screen giving you LOAD, SAVE
and FORMAT options. Its all operated directly
through the computer keyboard. You can set up the
CAI/ESF to bring programs into the computer while
RUNning - no need to enter 'RUN'. Tape loop
cassettes are available in 5. 10, 20, 25, 35 and 50
foot length taking approximately 1 minute to cycle
completely. The system is also capable of handling
two drives increasing memory and speed of data
access. The CAI/ESF comes with 2 tutorial programs
and a manual.
ZXir Qlive Alive!
8
Summer 1995
fhat was in 1983 when disk drive pnces were
V^very high. Even the disks themselves were on
the order of up to $2.00 each for 5.25" disks while
the drives were close to $200 each plus the disk
interface. That was one reason that the T/S computers
were so slow to have disk drive interfaces available,
those that went to disk drives had money to spend.
The CAI/ESF uses a special tape cartridge called
a wafer. The wafer is 2 21/32" long by 1 9/16"
by 7/32" thick. The tape itself is 1/16" wide and like
the tape in an 8-track audio cassette is endless.
"f^o call the CAI/ESF into use you key in the
VToIlowing:
PRINT USR 1 0246 (ENTER)
And you get the menu:
ZX-81 ESF MENU
1. LOAD
2. SAVE
3. CERTIFY
4. BASIC
5. SELECT DRIVE
J" he ESF SAVEs to a file number. It does not use
V^file names so you have to keep a list to be able
to know what is on a wafer. It does not assign file
numbers as you SAVE but you supply the number
and if you reuse a number it will overwrite the
previous data under that file number. If you had five
files on a wafer and reSAVEd the 2nd file (#2), I
don't know exactly what would happen if the
reSAVEd file was longer than the first but I suspect
that part or all of the third file would be overwritten.
There is no wafer directory nor minimum file size on
the wafer,
"^"he operation is rather simple and surprisingly
V^reliable. I will take you through the steps to
start out with a brand new wafer. Like a disk for a
floppy drive the wafer has to be certified
(FORMATted). From the CAI/ESF menu you select
3, the computer will ask for a file number, just press
ENTER. The screen will go blank and the motor
light will come on. Then when the tape reaches the
foil joint the other light will come on. The
FORMATting is verified and the total byte count is
displayed on the screen above the menu. If a specific
file number is given, the FORMAT (certify) will start
at that file number and certify to the end of the tape.
The only problem was that I found two wafers
that self destructed, that is the tape parted at the
splice/foil and tangled up inside the CAI/ESF
mechanism. I had to disassemble the unit on one
tape to get the tape out. In the other the tape did not
get tangled-up inside the mechanism. In both cases
the wafers were no longer usable. The wafers that
self destructed were solid black and had labels from
A & J. Since I have tested all the wafers (except for
some new ones still sealed in plastic bags) there
should be no more problems. It was amazing how
few moving parts were inside the CAI/ESF.
When any other wafer option is selected the
computer will ask for file number. And when
ENTER is pressed the CAI/ESF goes into action.
While I did not test it, I believe that the CAI/ESF
does not really know what order the files are in. I
think that at the end-of-file (EOF) marker there is a
way for the CAI/ESF to determine that here is a
certified space to put a file. If the SAVE is too long,
it tries to SAVE on the foil splice, there will be an
error message to that effect In the SAVEing process,
it seems to go through the tape to get the foil marker.
When you LOAD a file number and that number
does not exist on the wafer; the CAI/ESF goes
through the tape from foil to foil before reporting that
the file can't be found. However if you have
LOADed a file and then LOAD the next file there is
almost no elapsed time between the pressing of
ENTER and the appearance on the screen of a
successful LOAD.
-"^"he wafers can be write protected by removing a
Wwhite dot. Somewhat like the 3.5" disks, to
uncover an opening that write protects the recording
medium. Just the reverse of the 5.25" disks.
The CAI/O is powered from the computer but the
ESF is powered by a 12 VAC .93 amp. transformer.
It has the ESF plugged into the rear of it while the
right side of the CAI/O has the standard Timex port
connector.
There are instructions for program chaining and a
chapter in the 16 page manual for machine code
buffs. For instance "WEOF 280F ENTRY: A=File
number. Used to write the EOF marker."
^f^hQ only real advantage over cassette is that it is
V'so much faster. With the available LOAD AIDS
the dependability of a person's own system is great
The undependblility appears only when you try to
LOAD cassettes from a different machine.
f 1 here are programs to accelerate the baud rate of
V^the SAVEing and LOADing routines. The
CAI/ESF is an interesting concept that just didn't
make it like 8-track cassette systems.
ZXir QLive Alive!
9
Summer 1995
A Word to the Wise
by Tim Swenson
Bill Harmer's article in the Spring '95 issue of
ZQA causes some old thoughts to resurface on
the future of Sinclair computing, the demise of vari-
ous User Groups, Newsletters and the move by Sin-
clair users to other platforms.
The moaning over the demise of Sinclair com-
puting has been droning on for a few years. This is
especially apparent in the realm of the TS-2068 and
ZX-81, since the amount of new software and hard-
ware is almost nil.
I have come up with a couple of 'rules' on the
subject.
1 . All computing platforms are essentially
the same.
Give me any computer, be it MS-DOS, QDOS,
UNIX, etc., and I will be able to do the basics of
Word Processing, Spreadsheets, Data Base pro-
gramming, etc. Granted each platform has some dif-
ferences over the others, but the basics of being a
computer is always there. As the owner of 53 com-
puters, I should know this. I have a QL, an MS-DOS
PC, an Atari ST, and a Z88 all set up for use. I have
an Epson Geneva that I would like to use more. I have
a CP/M machine that my wife used when I took the
QL out of town.
2. Your computing platform only needs to
change when your requirement changes.
If a CP/M (or 2068) machine met your require-
ments in 1984, why does it not meet them now? Have
your requirements really changed? Barring hardware
failures, I can take a CP/M machine and do all of the
computing I need to do (mostly word processing and
programming).
If you only need your computer to do a few
simple tasks, why upgrade to a full-blown Pentium?
Look at what your true requirements are.
Plus, output really depends only on the printer
and not the platform. If you hooked up a ZX-81 to a
laser printer, no one would be able to know that that
printout came from a ZX-8 1 .
3. Don't get involved in computer/OS bash-
ing.
We each have our preferences for computers,
just as we each have preferences in music, food, and
cars. There is no need to justify your computing plat-
form by denigrating another computer platform.
I personally love the QL. I use MS-DOS Win-
dows at work. I have spent a couple of years delving
into the depths of UNIX. I have used a variety of op-
erating systems and personal computers. I chose the
one I liked best for the price I was willing to pay. I do
not need to justify this choice to anyone.
4. Don't alienate those that are leaving Sin-
clair Computers and moving on to other
platforms.
Staying with an orphaned computer has its
costs. The hardware will fail (esp. with parts getting
harder to find). Getting any new software is getting
harder. Support is almost non-existent. It's limited
to getting help from other users. The lure of the new
platforms with all that new software and support is
quite enticing. I mean support in that you can walk
into any computer store and buy MS-DOS/Windows
programs. It's been 10 years since you could do that
for a Sinclair computer.
As people leave the hobby, let them know about
the emulators for MS-DOS, Amiga, Atari, and
Mac. Let them know about the QXL card. Let them
know that they can still have all that new stuff, plus
keep some of the old stuff too.
I would like to stay with the QL for many years to
■ come (10-30?). Eventually my hardware will fail.
Using new hardware (like the QXL) will allow me to
continue using my QL/QDOS. The ZX-81 and Spec-
trum emulators allow you to continue using what you
like without having to worry about your hardware
dying. Plus, with the speed of the new PC's, you can
have a really souped-up up ZX-81. I would love to
see someone buy a 486 PC just to use it as a ZX-81
clone. No Windows at all. Just have the
AUTOEXEC.BAT file boot up directly into the ZX-
81 emulator.
What it all boils down to is this: Some ZX-
81 /206 8 users have done all that they can on
these computers and want to move on. Some still feel
that the ZX-8 1/2068 still suits their needs and want
to keep it. The number of new innovations for each
computer is fast approaching zero. If you love either
computer, stay with it and be happy. Let's hope that
the people that have just discovered either computer
will breathe new life into the Sinclair community.
ZXir QLive Alive!
10
Summer 1995
Memories Mean A Lot
if the, o&rfm
As we grow older, memories of our first
computer or our first experience with computers
is one thing we won't forget. "Son, when I was
your age, we didn't even have an abacus and
y introduction to computers came some 26 years
ago. IBM TimeShare terminal. BASICAitwas,
one cryptic manual written by nerds for nerds was all
you got after a two-hour informative guided tour of
the IBM building in downtown Chicago. What I still
vividly remember to this day is that five-foot wide by
five-foot tall printing machine printer that rolled out
yards and yards of four-foot wide paper of nothing
but 10010101001100101001 ... that I still wonder
how it was deciphered by the attending wizards. I
believe it was a 4-bit system and they counted from
the left by fours — 4 digits. We, about 20 strong,
were not escorted ^in^o the computer hall, as our
bodies might have A upset the temperature and the
humidity balance of the clean room environment. But
we peeked through the large glass windows at those
Big Blue steel cabinets.
"You guys should be able to figure it out for
yourselves. You can call us if you need help"; We
were told And calls we did at first. Most of us never
had a course in "Binary Logic" at school, most
colleges and U's did not offer such a course in those
days.
We, engineers, used to huddle around the termi-
nal during lunch hour and sometimes after hours to
try and understand the LOGIC of it all, after we dili-
gently made confetti out of the manuals.
A for-instance. It took an engineer about three
hours to design a calibration spring for a control us-
ing a Friden desk calculator.
After a few months of wrestling with BASICA
Syntax Errors — demonstrating our ignorance —
another engineer and myself came up with a program,
our first attempt at BASIC, that did the design work
in about three minutes, provided that the terminal
was not being shared at the time of course. There
were only four arithmetic functions +-x * , no square
root, exponents only to the 3 rd power (see line 620)
and no n — it had to be defined along with any other
constant you had to use, no sine, cosine etc.. I com-
pletely forgot how one engineer was able to do
square roots /. I should know how, I had it in gram-
mar school.
We discovered that a computer was a marvelous
tool for iteration - repeating tasks.
The program was entered on a TTY (teletype)
and the output was received on a TTY — monitors
were unheard off. But we did see one engineer ex-
perimenting with a television set wifh 0s and Is on
the screen at IBM. You dialed-in using an acoustic
modem (27 or was it 30 BAUD) and hoped that the
downtown computer - the only one in Chicago - was
not tied up and that you didn't have, you guessed it,
SYNTAX ERRORS. Our company was charged for
-*90 INPUT "F 5 D
500 PRINT "TORSIONAL MODULUS CASSU
510 INPUT P6 =T )hSXt<>£*>
520 PRINT "WIRE or*. RANGE M IN. TO
530 INPUT A,B,C
535 PRINT
540 PRINT "WIRE ACTIVE MAX, * SO
550 PRINT "DI A COILS CORR HE
560 PRINT " STR, CL
570 PRINT " ""*" /SQ
585 E=F5"4
590 FOR F7=A TO B STEP C
S0Q REM CALCULATIONS /, / ~/V V
610 Xl=CP2-Fl)/CP3-P l ») tt/ ** A '
620 X2=F6"F7' l F7*F7*F7/C8*F5 a, F5*F5*
630 X3*F57T7 "
640 x4=CC4»X3-!>/C4*X3- i O:>+.6l5/X3
650 y=8«Fl«F5«X4/CfiPl !t F7t3>
660 PR TNT "
670 x5=8»P2*F5«xi|/UPl*P7*F7*F7:)
675 ri=x5-Y
"680 7T6SFT/X1+F3 — "
690 X7=CX2+3)*F7
700 X8=CX2+2)»F7
710 P=TX6-X1D»XT
715 X9=8«P«F5 K x4/C6PI ,t F7»F7"F7)
720 PRINT USING730,F7,X2,X5,X7 # X8,
730! .in ft :n»— T9 1 f f f T.-f ¥ . • # f
735 G2=X7~F4
740 IF Fi|sx7 60 TO 820 —
760 NEXT F7
770 PRINT
790 IF E>X6 GO TO 825
our access and computing time which was enormous
at the beginning. In fact the bean counters threat-
ened to cut-us off. But Hey! Ma — 3 minutes in-
stead of three hours!
Apple/Orange n
Have you seen a Jt key on a keyboard lately? In
fact all mathematical functions are in the software
and not in the operating system. So what differ-
ence does it make? It makes life much easier to
turn on the computer and start punching away instead
ZXir QLive Alive!
11
Summer 1995
of waiting to load a spreadsheet or an AutoCad that
takes a long time to learn. After you just begin to
learn how to use it you start discovering its quirks
and then you have to learn how to go around them
and all you want to do is balance your check book.
Being an amateur programmer who likes to keep
up with the state-of-the-art when I can afford it, I
found out that every system had its idiosyncrasies
that you had to learn how to live-with in the platform
of your choice. There is absolutely no excuse for
operating systems maligning the user just for the sake
of being different from other operating systems.
Those that did are gone and forgotten. Then there
were those that did an excellent job but couldn't
hack the business end of it, such as Commodore who
went bankrupt.
May 14, 1995
Escom AG, who operates 1500 computer stores
in Europe, paid $10 million for the rights to the
Commodore name, its patents and intellectual prop-
erty in bankruptcy-court action. It plans to resume
production of Amiga model in China. It says it will
integrate Amiga technology into MSDOS software
format used on 80% of the world PCs. Escom has no
plans to use any of the former production facilities.
C:V>a: / really meant ftp b:
Abort? Retry? Fail? Abort
Abort? Retry? Fail? Fail
Current drive is no longer valid> %
Abort? Retry? Fail? 3T Qg>4>ti why not
take me back to where I started from? £Etax<pT.
Bill Gates; this is 1995.
In the Logical world of computers, oh! why-oh-
why do programmers drive users bananas with their
illogical quirks. To be cute? or to punish you for the
mistake you made? You keep going round-and-
round and you get those cryptic sarcastic error re-
ports; they just didn't do their homework well
But things have changed a bit to the better and the
error codes are more polite? and mostly informative.
Nonsense in BASIC
The Timex/ Sinclair 2068 reported for VAL error, but
it took the licking and kept on ticking
i CAN'T Beueve what \ sum
I was trying out some of the software on the
ZEBRA Portuguese disk interface and this happened
I LOADed manager, the menu looked quite interest-
ing. However, no matter what key I pressed it was
froze in the menu mode. So I pressed break and
LISTed the program. Now wait a minute that is not a
program - not even a line number. To document it, I
LISTed it and to my amazement I got a different out-
put
I hadn't been drinking although I was tempted to
go see if the two bottles of beer were still in the re-
frigerator, from when the oldest daughter and family
were here last summer, but I just sat and finally
looked the printout over. Well, this is a Portuguese
interface so maybe this is... Ah, but they use letters
like we do and this was more like what you'd see in
an old Egyptian tomb.
Anybody out there know what went on. I don't
even know what the first lines of the program are and
have wrote to find out But still, I wonder if this is
an unsolved mystery.
Donald Lambert
Auburn, IN
:z-4 Dfv Era wrmt not : t . ?
LIST
c!?i£ : EOffiaGBKM GO SUB 1?*^ .
C!»»£G-ElBft'«ei ; LET R» STICK ii,2?
CRHWTW tBHRTfcStSfWK) TO 125
Etf& : EI3iatL"nOR"sr2,2} *0 THEN GO
M'iW>? INTO DIRECTORY
H"15M „fcR03: Dtfrffc^SRY ta
fftf*HsiftW»«E7RDH»33i „ ^ 4
5^~iMCS:EW02J»=:rtJJ:slIES:&IU).-i-a : ,S) k :
*£&"PRO- fl2$="-" THEN GO TO 1
135 LET Js-l: GO TO 155
1*0 IF SCREEN* IC + 1,0)*" "
=2?
IF
10
HEN
3. >
SO TO 1O00
5o PEM ^SELECTOR*
IIS OyfiR 1: GO SUB *H r ~Y
..'IF rTU THEN GO TO 125
115 IF STICK 12,5)=® THEN i*vJ U
* 10
12© OUCfi 0 : RETURN _ _ .. . _
125 SO TO 110+S0* >R-1> + 30*
■1-4.0* ' ^ =4- OR R =&" ) , „ ,
*so Let onscreen* <Czi*2i : „?5
Q$i* " OR a**''-;: THEN SO TO X±&
135 LET J«~l: OO TO 155 >f
iXe IF SCREEN* <C+l,0i= THEN
SO TO 110
14-S LET J*l: SO TO 15S
150 LET K.ȣ: SO TO 120 _ , _
155 GO SUB IS©: LET C«C+U: GO S
L'S 150: GO TO 110 _ _ _ _..
16© PAUSE ? PRINT «T g** : . * H ^ ff
x '* : RETURN
"£00 REM irNftME IN CATALOG*
205 LET FOR 1 = 0 TU 11. -
ST Pt*fl$+SCftEEN» tC.I) : NEXT I
iiS rr flicio* <>- " then let ««•■
* k 15 * RETURN
Trie Mystery r/as been reported to Robert Stack
of Unsolved Mysteries. But honesty, it happened to
me about 4 years ago when I was fooling around
with the Display Modes 'dual screen modes" (OUT
255, 62 - OUT 255, 2 or something like that). See
pages 247/248 of the manual. Anyone out there who
can shed some light on what's happening? Cditon,
What is in LINE 1000?
ZXir QLive Alive!
12
Summer 1995
©"XL 'Notes J> J5
elL I finally got my working copy of SMSQ 2.47
[the QXL's operating system (OS) which mimics
the QL's QDOS] — very satisfactory, but not perfect.
First, the excessive keyboard rollover which really
made the QXL difficult to use has been corrected. The
NUMLOCK can be left 'on' (good news if you prefer us-
ing the keypad for numeric input).
A spurious character generation still occurs when
TaskMAX (DRDOS) is used to TASK SWITCH between
DOS and SMSQ. Again, this is corrected by pressing the
ESCape_KEY and/or ESCape + ConTRoL_E key combi-
nation. Since I know how to correct the problem on-the-
fly, I can live with it. When it becomes too much of a nui-
sance, I may opt to upgrade to OS/2 WARP.
A minor disappointment is the fact that SBASIC
barely accommodates the TURBO compiler. Relatively
short and simple programs can be compiled (V3.24); but,
long and complex programs return ERRORs which do not
occur when compiled on a "regular" QL. I suspect that the
LIBERATOR may also have a problem mnning under
SBASIC.
Needless to say, IH probably be using a 'regular' QL
in tandem with the QXL for some time to come until all
the irregularities are resolved (if ever).
CW keep hoping that another version of the SMSQ OS will
Abe released which better fills a VGA screen rather than
what I am getting. Now, this may simply be a matter of my
not knowing how to configure the single SMSQ module
for different video displays. I don't recall seeing any
documentation on this (i.e., how to use the 'coring' pro-
gram which is now included); but, that does not mean that
it isn't there ... somewhere.
Since my VGA card seems to be able to interpret
CGA programs so that they fill the screen as if using a
high-res CGA monitor, I naively presume that it would be
possible to re-write the SMSQ video so that the QL's stan-
dard display will also fill a standard VGA monitor.
Now, hoping for Christmas-in-July, I would like to
think that the firmware development that has gone into the
soon-to-be-released (probably released by the time this
gets into print) MIRACLE MASTERPIECE ENHANCED
GRAPHICS CARD will be used on the next SMSQ re-
lease. After alL if the MASTERPIECE CARD generates a
similarly scaled display on a VGA monitor as the current
SMSQ video driver manages, then that would surely be a
major disappointment. Having more colors in MODE 4
(80-column) is really a trivial enhancement if the display
size remains diminutive.
NETworking the QXL
Since my preferred version of TURBO is 2.00, I was
originally perplexed when I could not get the NETwork
PORTs to function.
It turns out that there is some incompatibility between
the SMSQ code and older versions of the TURBO
TOOLKIT. I have found that older TURBO TOOLKITS
also cause some problems with the MAKE_DIR com-
mand; but, MAKEDIR can be made viable by re-invoking
TK2EXT.
efore the (SUPER)GOLD CARD and the QXL, the
only type of NETworking that could be realistically
considered was SERVER-CLIENT. This is because a QL
is really crippled when FSERVE is invoked to make that
particular QL a FILESERVER.
I have found that the QXL and (SUPER)GOLD
CARD have sufficient clock speeds that each can be de-
clared as FILESERVERs for the other, thus making a
PEER-TO-PEER NETwork a viable reality
Consequently, my QXL's BOOT program includes
the following statements:
NET 1
FSERVE
NFSJJSE, NDK, N2_flp1, N2_flp2_, N2_ram1_,
N2_ram2_, N2_ram3_, N2_ram4_, N3_ram1_,
N3jndv1_
And, the BOOT for my GOLD CARDed QL includes
the following statements:
NET 2
FSERVE
NFSJJSE WIN, N1_win1, N1_win2_,
N1_win3_, N1_win4_, N1_win5_, N1_ram1_,
N1_ram2_ ! N3_ram1_
You should note two things:
^li^irst, if you do not have a hard disk (interface), you
can declare up to eight "win()_" devices for the
client. The fact that you can have up to eight devices might
not be obvious, but it was there in the original, minuscule
TOOLKIT2 manual.
econd, if "win0_" is already a device (as on the QXL),
then you cannot declare "NFSJJSE WIN" since this
would conflict with an existing system device name or
QDOS keyword.
Since the QXL uses "winCL" devices, my preferred
choice is to use "ndkO J' for my NETworked devices {after
fdk/hdk). "NDK" is an abbreviation for N(etwork)D(is)K
£TX7Me you can use any device JabeL I quickly found
V V that it is best to use a three-letter abbreviation. If
you use a three-letter designation, you can
LOAD/SAVE/etc. from within PSION programs (and,
most others) along the NETwork. If you choose a non-
three-letter designation, the program will probably not rec-
ognize it.
ZXir QLrve Alive!
13
Summer 1995
DEVJJSE has been found to be limited in function.
Using DEV_USE to re-iabel your non-three-letter designa-
tion would cripple the NETwork, in part, because functions
such as WCOPY will currently return an 4 in use' error
message. While DEVJJSE does allow for LOAD/SAVE,
using it to re-label decreases the overall number of devices
you can use.
DEVJJSE
You may have read elsewhere that DEV USE is a
kluge for older programs that cannot directly access
sub_DIRectories. Inevitably, you will want to reconfigure
your programs to access a "dev()_" instead of "flp2_" for
data files.
My QXL's boot includes these lines:
30 DEVJJSE 1,WIN2_doc_
31 DEV_USE 2,WIN2_dbf_
32 DEVJJSE 3, WiN2_aba_
Prosaic
very unoriginal
As you can see, I have duplicated the suffix as the
sub_DIRectory prefix.
Once you reconfigure your programs, you don't have
to remember these DEVJJSE calls unless you want to
access them from the command line prompt.
You can cascade DEV USE designations; but, I cur-
rently don't see the point of it since I have specific
sub_DIRectories for specific programs.
"FINALLY
Because I often make "Jis" files, I have found it
more convenient to have my copy of Quill configured so
that it still looks to "flpl _" for the printer_dat file. Of
course, this demands that I remember (!?) to have an old
start up disk in the drive (I have forgotten on a couple of
occasions, already!).
IfATT'Y
JWD e©1M*FUTTN(j, T<9 TO^U ...
MDIR BAS vi.os
4 y fit 3enf
MDIR BAS (vl.05) is a SuperBASIC program
designed to facilitate using the MAKE_DIR keyword
(FLP/RAM, [SUPER] GOLD CARD, QXL].
The MAKE_DIR keyword is used for creating
sub_DIRectories — that is, subordinate DIRectories to the
main directory. On the QL, these appear as names ap-
pended an arrow-type symbol ' ->'.
I have found that on some occasions (I think this is
caused by using an older TURBO TOOLKIT), the
MAKEDIR command is ignored by my QL. This is
corrected by re-invoking the TK2 JEXTensions command.
If you do not yet have the MAKE DIR keyword on
your system, then you can modify the program for other
purposes by having the appropriate DEFined PROCedures
perform the tasks you want.
The SuperBASIC LISTing is not optimized; but,
compiles easily.
A CPORTed {ANSI} version is also included for
comparison for those interested in seeing how a functional
'C program looks. I have not tried compiling the MDIR_c
code, yet.
Using MDIR.BAS
MDIR BAS uses the five functionkeys and the
Escape_key (to quit).
Simply press the appropriate function_key for the QDOS
device on which you wish to
M AKE Ja_sub JDIR(ectory) . The options are:
flp1_
<=>
[F1]
fip2_
<S>
[F2]
win1_
<S>
[F3]
win2
O
[F4j
other <£> [F5]
Thus, if you want to make a subDIRectory on
'flpl J you would press 'Fl\ You should see a flash-
ing_cursor within a highlighted (green) strip which should
correspond with the function_key that you pressed. INPUT
the sub_DIRectory name.
If you INPUT "test" (for example), when you exit the
program you should see the name "test ->" in the appro-
priate DIRectory.
If you INPUT a name longer than 10 characters, the
menu window will reset. Use this feature to your advan-
tage if you decide that you have selected the wrong storage
device.
If you select 'F5' for 'other', you must input the
DEVice name, including the underscore '_' .
Of course, press the ESCape_key if you want to exit
the program.
There is no error Jrapping in version l.xx of the pro-
gram. If you duplicate an existing filename, the program
will halt
(NOTE: MDIR exe 2.xx has a duplicate name trap
and accompanies all PLATYPUS Software programs).
Some thoughts about CPORT & MD!R_c
The *C* programming language is very much bally-
hooed as being the ideal vehicle for writing transportable
source code that can then be compiled for different com-
puter operating systems. I don't know if this is true or not
I have heard that 'C is apparently a preferred pro-
gramming language because most "computer science" stu-
dents have to learn it, and that having gone to the effort,
they are reluctant to abandon it. I don't know if this is true
or not either.
ZXir QLive Alive!
14
Summer 1995
I do know that because it is a mid-level language it
does not have many of the amenities (i.e., keywords^ found
in BASIC.
I know that there had been many rudimentary con-
cepts about the 'C language that I did not grasp because I
had relied quite heavily on various books which obviously
presumed you knew things that I obviously did not!
The first was the 'mainO' designation. Stating what
is now the obvious, it is that portion of a SuperBASIC pro-
gram that is not contained as PROCedures (presuming you
are using PROCedures).
The next thing that is worth mentioning which
seemed 'strange' was the structure and notation. Some
time ago I ascertained that the 'strange' notation/structure
is a byproduct of the language having been designed to be
hand written, first rather than on a tenriinal. Thus, RE-
Marks are framed by "/* */"; each statement is written on
a separate line; and, so on. When scribbled on a legal pad,
the notation seems quite appropriate; and, almost logical.
So, I bought my copy of CPORT (Digital Precision)
from Mechanical Affinity last Fall. It was expensive, but
it was certainly no more expensive than a course on 'C
would have been; and in the end, there is nothing quite like
having the benefit of a rosette stone to see how
PROCedures and their statements translate directly to the
'C language from SuperBASIC.
Now, my first attempts at using CPORT resulted in
more ERRORS and WARNINGS than I would have
thought.
Initially I was disappointed and frustrated by my first
attempts because I use the TURBO compiler which is ap-
MDIRJbas
100 DIM BLANK$(24), Knot$(24), thi$(20), thi2$(15),
F$(15), t$(3), dev$(24)
1 10 BLANKS - " ": REMark 21 SPACES
120 Knot$ = "invalid QDOS device!"
130 F$ = "_FLISTJmp": t$ = "tip"
140 a = 1: POKE 163890, 0: MODE 0
150Wt:Wz:Wo
160 FILE
170 DEFine PROCedure Wt: WINDOW#2, 512, 256, 0, 0:
PAPER#2, 7: END DEFine 180 DEFine PROCedure
Wz: WINDOW#0, 413, 10, 50, 241: PAPER#0, 7:
INK#0, 2:
END DEFine
190 DEFine PROCedure Wo: WINDOW 462, 250, 25, 3:
PAPER 7: BORDER 1, 7: END DEFine
200 DEFine PROCedure Sound: BEEP 900, 20: PAUSE 5:
BEEP 900, 40: END DEFine
210 DEFine PROCedure Noise: BEEP 2000, 20: END
DEFine
220 DEFine PROCedure CheckKey
230 REPeatkey
240 ke = CODE(INKEY$)
parently more demanding than the LIBERATOR; and,
certainly more demanding than interpreted SuperBASIC. I
put the program away for several months since I had other
things to do.
Well, I come from a long line of read-the-instructions-
last users. This is not to say that I don't read the instruc-
tions, but since I think the computer is supposed to make
things easier, I especially think that most modern software
should be relatively easy to use. Really good design,
regardless of mode of expression, usually has a simple
elegance underlying it.
One problem I encountered on my initial attempts to
CPORT a program was using the INKEYS keyword. For-
tunately there are two, short, sample programs included
with CPORT, one of which employs INKEYS!
My other problem involved slicing an array. This
took more effort, and periodic thought over a six month
period.
CPORT's limitations are the SuperBASIC code that
you give it to translate. GIGO, indeed!
The limitations of the 'C language's transportability
should be obvious when you look at the number of state-
ments which begin 'SB_' (SuperBASIC) suggesting that
some massaging fas Bob Swoger likes to say] certainly
needs to be done to the code if it is to be used on another
computer platform.
Nonetheless, I hope the inclusion of the CPORTed
code makes some aspects of the 'C language less cryptic.
HAPPY TRAILS,
AND COMPUTING, TO YOU ...
250IFke = 232 0Rke = 236 0Rke = 240ORke -
244 OR ke = 248 THEN EXIT key 260 IF ke<236 AND
ke>27 THEN BEEP 900, 40: CheckKey
270 IF ke = 27 THEN Noise: PAUSE 10: Sound: Bye:
EXIT key
280 END REPeat key
290 END DEFine
300 DEFine PROCedure FILE
310d = 0:CSIZE0,0
320 WINDOW#l, 512, 256, 0, 0: PAPER#2, 7: INK#2, 0:
CLS#2:INK0
330 LINE 0, 96.5 TO 512, 96.5: LINE 0, 92 TO 512, 92:
Noise 340 STRIP 7: INK 2: AT i, 55: PRINT' @
PLATYPUS Software' 350 AT 1, 7: STRIP 0: INK 7:
PRINT" DEVICE "
360 MAKER
370 END DEFine
380 DEFine PROCedure MAKER: d = 0
390 WINDOW#0, 124, 132, 42, 20
400 PAPER#0, 7: BORDER#0, 1, 0: CLS#0
410AT#0, 0, 0: INK#0, 0
420PRINT#0,\" flpl_ == [Fl]"
430PRTNT#0,\" flp2_ == [F2] "
440PRINT#0, V winl_ = = [F3] "
450PRINT#0,\" win2_ = = [F4] "
460 PRINT#0. V other = = [F5] "
ZXir QLfve Alive!
15
Summer 1995
470 STRIP#0, 2: INK#0, 7: PRINT#0. \" MDIR 1 .05z
480 STRIP#0. 0: INK#0. 7: PRINT#0, BLANKS:
INK#0, 0: STRIP#0, 7 490 CheckKey
500 YourChoice = ke
510 SELect ON YourChoice
520 = 232: AT#0, I, 0: highlight: t$ = "flp": a = 1: dev$ =
"flpl_": AT#0, 1, 0: INK#0, 0: PRINT#0, " ";dev$:
AT#0, 1, 7: INPUT#0, thi$: MakeOne
530 = 236: AT#0, 3, 0: highlight: t$ = "flp": a = 2: dev$ =
"flp2_": AT#0, 3, 0: INK#0, 0: PRINT#0, " ";dev$:
AT#0, 3, 7: INPUT#0, thi$: MakeOne
540 = 240: AT#0, 5, 0: highlight: t$ = "win": a = 1: dev$ =
"winl_": AT#0, 5, 0: INK#0, 0: PRINT#0, " ";dev$:
AT#0, 5, 7: INPUT#0, thi$: MakeOne
550 = 244: AT#0, 7, 0: highlight: t$ = "win": a = 2: dev$ =
"win2_": AT#0, 7, 0: INK#0, 0: PRINT#0, " ";dev$:
AT#0, 7, 7: INPUT#0, thi$: MakeOne
560 = 248: AT#0, 9, 0: highlight: AT#0, 9, 0: INK#0, 7:
PRINT#0, " >": INK#0, 0: AT#0, 9, 2: INPUT#0, thi$:
MakeOTHER : REMark use CTRL ]
570 MAKER
580 END SELect
590 END DEFine FILE
600 DEFine PROCedure highlight: STRIP#0, 5: INK#0, 7:
PRINT#0, BLANKS: END DEFine
610 DEFine PROCedure TooLong
MDIR c
/*
*
*
*
*/
Program : MDIR_c
Author :AlFeng
Purpose : implement MAKE_DIR keyword
CfiXed by CfiX "V4.03" 1995 Apr. 26 18:54:49
#define
progversion " 1 . 05z"
#include
"Test_h
#include <cport.h>
#define
•i
BLANK
ii
#define
Knot
"ii
QDOS device!"
#define
F
H
FLIST_
imp"
#define
'rn
ii H
#define
d
0
#define
BLANK_abl
1
#define
dev abl
1
#define
F_abl
1
#define
Knot abl
1
#define
RN_abl
1
#define
t_abl
1
#define
thi_abl
1
#define
thi2_abl
1
#define
u_abl
1
float a;
float ke;
float YourChoice;
CP_FILE sb_channo[16];
"invalid
620 IF LEN(thi$)>10 THEN Noise: MAKER: END IF
630 END DEFine
640 DEFine PROCedure MakeOne
65CLTooLong
660 IF d = 1 THEN MAKER
670 IF LEN(thi$)< = 10 THEN MAKE_DIR devS&thiS
680 Sound
690 MAKER
700 END DEFine
710 DEFine PROCedure MakeOTHER
720 IF thi$(5)<>"_" THEN Noise: AT#0, 9, 0: PRINT#0,
KnotS: PAUSE 30: STRIP#0, 0: INK#0, 7: AT#0, 12, 0:
PRINT#0, KnotS: INK#0, 0: Noise: PAUSE 30:
MAKER
730 IF LEN(thi$)>15 THEN Noise: MAKER
740 IF thi$(5) = "_" THEN t$ = thi$(l TO 3): a = thi$(4):
thi2$ = thi$(6 TO LEN(thi$»
750 IF thi$(5) = "_" THEN MAKE_DIR t$&a&"_"&thi2$
760 Sound
770 MAKER
780 END DEFine
790 DEFine PROCedure Bye: CLS#2: INK#2, 2: AT#2, 17,
28: PRINT#2,
DEFine
" @ PLATYPUS Software ": END
char thi[20+l-thi_abl+l];
char mi2[15+l-thi2_abl+l];
char t[3+l-t_abl+l];
char u[16+l-u_abl+l];
char dev[24+l-dev_abl+l];
void PROCedure mainO { CPJnitialiseO;
/* * A * DIM stmt deleted - may need to reinitialise
array(s) *//* DIM BLANK$(24), Knot$(24),
thi$(20), thi2$(15), F$(15), t$(3), dev$(24) */
/* 21 SPACES */
strcpy(t, "flp");
a = 1;
SB_Poke(l 63890, 0);
SB_Mode(0);
wtO;
WzO;
Wo0;
FILE0;
exit(0);
enddef
void PROCedure WtQ /*> 170<*/
{
SB_Window(FNO(2), 512, 256, 0, 0);
SB_Paper(FNO(2), 7);
enddef
void PROCedure WzO /*> 180 <*/
{
SB_Window(FNO(0), 413, 10, 50, 241);
SB_Paper(FNO(0), 7);
SB_Ink(FNO(0), 2);
enddef
ZXir QLive Alive!
16
Summer 1995
void PROCedure WoO /*>190<*/
/
SB_Window(FNO(l), 462, 250, 25, 3);
SB_PapenFN0a),7);
SB_Bordeifl, 7);
enddef
void PROCedure SoundO /*>200<*/{
SB_Beep(900, 20, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0);
SBJnkey(FNO(0), 5);
SB_Beep(900, 40, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0);
enddef
void PROCedure Noise() /*>210<*/{
SB_Beep(2000, 20, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0);
enddef
void PROCedure CheckKeyO /*>220<*/{
while (1) {
/*> key <*/
ke - (float) (SB_Inkey(FNO(0), 1));
if(ke = = 232 ||ke = = 236 ||ke = = 240 ||ke = =
244| |ke = =
248) {
break;
/*>key<*/
endif
if(ke<236&&ke>27) {
SB_Beep(900, 40, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0);
CheckKeyO;
endif
if (ke = = 27) {
NoiseO;
SB_Inkey(FNO(0), 10); SoundO;
ByeO;
break;
/*>key<*/
endif
endwhile
enddef
void PROCedure FILE0 /*>300<*/
{
SB_Csize(FNO(l), 0, 0);
SB_Window(FNO(l), 512, 256, 0, 0);
SB_Paper(FNO(2), 7);
SB_Ink(FNO(2), 0);
SB_Cls(FNO(2), 0);
SB_Ink(FNO(l),0);
SB_Line(FNO(l), 0, 96.5, 512, 96.5);
SB_Line(FNO(l), 0, 92, 512, 92);
NoiseO;
SB_Strip(FNO(l), 7);
SB_Ink(FNO(l),2);
SB_At(FNO(l), 1,55);
fprintf(FNO(l), " @ PLATYPUS Software\n");
SB_At(FNO(l),l,7);
SB_Suip(FNO(l), 0);
SB_Ink(FNO(l), 7);
rprintf(FNO(l), " DEVICE \n");
MAKER0;
enddef
void PROCedure MAKER0 /*>380<*/
{
*" SB_Window(FNO(0), 124, 132, 42, 20),
SB_Paper(FNO(0), 7);
SB_Border(FNO(0), 1, 0);
SB_Cls(FNO(0), 0);
SB_At(FNO(0), 0, 0);
SB_Ink(FNO(0),0);
rprintf(FNO(0), "\n flpl_ = [Fl]\n");
fprintf(FNO(0), "\n flp2_ = [F2]W);
fprintf(FNO(0), "\n winl_ = [F3] \n");
rprintf(FNO(0), "\n win2_ = [F4] \n");
rprintf(FNO(0), "\n other = fF5]\n");
SB_Strip(FNO(0), 2);
SB_Ink(FNO(0) 5 7);
fprintf(FNO(0), "\n MDIR 1 .05z \n");
SB_Strip(FNO(0), 0);
SB_Ink(FNO(0), 7);
fprintf(FNO(0), "%s\n", BLANK);
SB_Ink(FNO(0),0);
SB_Strip(FNO(0), 7);
CheckKeyO;
YourChoice = ke;
switch ( YourChoice ) {
case 232 : SB_At(FNO(0), 1, 0);
highlightO;
strcpy(t, "flp");
a= 1;
strcpy(dev, "flpl_");
SB_At(FNO(0), 1, 0);
SB_Ink(FNO(0), 0);
rprintf(FNO(0), " %s\n" , dev);
SB_At(FNO(0), 1, 7);
SB_Input(FNO(0), "%s\n", thi);
MakeOneO;
break;
case 236 : SB_At(FNO(0), 3, 0);
highlightO;
strcpy(t, "flp");
a = 2;
strcpy(dev, *'flp2_");
SB_At(FNO(0), 3, 0);
SB_Ink(FNO(0), 0);
fprintfl:FNO(0), " %s\n" , dev);
SB_At(FNO(0), 3, 7);
SB_Input(FNO(0), "%s\n", thi);
MakeOneO;
break;
case 240 : SB_At(FNO(0), 5, 0);
highlightO;
strcpy(t, "win");
a= 1;
strcpy(dev, "winl_");
SB_At(FNO(0), 5, 0);
SB_Ink(FNO(0), 0);
fprintf(FNO(0), " %s\n" , dev);
SB_At(FNO(0), 5, 7);
ZXir QLive Alive!
17
Summer 1995
SB_Input(FNO(0), "%s\n", thi);
MakeOneO;
break;
case 244 : SB_At(FNO(0), 7, 0);
highlightO;
strcpy(t, "win");
a- 2;
strcpy(dev, "win2_");
SB_At(FNO(0),7,0);
SB Jnk(FNOrO), 0);
fprrntf(FNO(0), " %s\n" , dev);
SB_At(FNO(0), 7, 7);
SB_Input(FNO(0), "%s\n", thi);
MakeOneO;
break;
case 248 : SB_At(FNO(0), 9, 0);
highlightO;
SB_At(FNO(0), 9, 0);
SB_Ink(FNO(0), 7);
fprintf(FNO(0), " V4V);
SB_Ink(FNO(0), 0);
SB_At(FNO(0), 9, 2);
SB_Input(FNO(0), "%s\n",thi);
MakeOTHERO;
MAKERO;
break;
endswitch
enddef
void PROCedure highlightQ /*>600<*/{
SB_Strip(FNO(0), 5);
SB_Ink(FNO(0), 7);
rprintfiTNO(0), "%s\n", BLANK);
enddef
void PROCedure TooLongO /*> 610 <*/ {
if (strienfthi) > 10) {
NoiseO;
MAKERO;
endif
enddef
void PROCedure MakeOneO /*>640<*/{
char cp_strwkl[dflt_str_size]; TooLongO;
if (d = = 1) {
MAKERO;
endif
if (strlen(thi) < = 10) {
SB_Make_E%(CP_Concat(cp_strwkl, dev,
thi));
endif
SoundO;
MAKERO;
enddef
void PROCedure MakeOTHERO /*>710<*/
{
char cp_strwkl[dflt_str_size];
char cp_strwk2[dflt_str_size];
char cp_strwk3[dflt_str_size];
char cp_strwk4{dflt_str_size];
if(thi[5-thi_abl] != '_') {
NoiseO;
. SB_At(FNO(0), 9, 0);
rprintf(FNO(0), "%s\n !l . Knot);
SB_Inkey(FNO(0), 30);
SB_Strip(FNO(0), 0);
SB_Ink(FNO(0), 7);
SB_At(FNO(0), 12,0);
rprint^FNOCO), "%s\n", Knot);
SB_Ink(FNO(0), 0);
NoiseO;
SB_Inkey(FNO(0),30);
MAKERO;
endif
if (strlen(thi) > 15) {
NoiseO;
MAKERO;
endif
if (thi[5-thi_abl] = = '_') {
CP_SHce(t, thi, l-thi_abl, 3-thi_abl); a =
(float) (thi[4-thi_abl]);
CP_Slice(thi2, thi, 6-thi_abl, strlen(thi)-thi_abl);
endif
if (thi[5-thi_abl] = = '_') {
SB_Make_Dir(CP_Concat(cp_strwk4,
CP_Concat(cp_strwk3,
CP_Concat(cp_strwk2, t ftoa(cp_strwkl, a)), "_"),
thi2)); endif
SoundO;
MAKERO;
enddef
void PROCedure ByeO /*>790<*/
{
SB_Cls(FNO(2),0);
SB_Ink(FNO(2), 2);
SB_At(FNO(2), 17,28);
fprintf(FNO(2), " @ PLATYPUS Software \n");
enddef
/* Cport: Translation done, at 2840 statements per
minute. 0 errors and 0 warnings. */
MDIRJi
void
Wt0;
void
WzO;
void
Wo0;
void
SoundO;
void
NoiseO;
void
CheckKevO;
void
FILE0;
void
MAKERO;
void
highlightO;
void
TooLongO;
void
MakeOneO;
void
MakeOTHERO;
void
ByeO;
ZXir QLive Alive!
18
Summer 1995
It AMP PIPES A<5A!N/
bv Les Cottrell
Dear Bob,
Here is an article for Nite Times News to thank
your group for the newsletters and the keyboard arti-
cle reprints. I am enjoying the big keyboard on my
2068. 1 have used my son's color ink jet to make key
iegends, but I haven't finished the mask yet Function
first, then pretty!
After it is published in Nite Times I will probably
send it on to Update also. As I said before,you are
welcome to publish anything I did for Sine-Link.
Joan Kealy said you were interested in this write
up, so here it is.
If you would rather have inputs on disk rather
than hard copy just let me know.
Sinclairly Yours,
Les Cottrell January 23, 1995
Many of you started with the ZX-80,ZX-81 or
TS1000, TS1500 like I did. (Actually I started with a ZX-80
clone called the MicroAce.) Anyway the point is that we all
(SAVE)
source
coinpute r
ear
amplifier
input
output
experienced LOADing difficulties from time to time. One
of the cures was to use a little battery powered amplifier
from Radio Shack to boost and clean up the signal. I ex-
pect many of you have one.
.J have recently added a Zebra Timex disk drive to my
collection. 1 needed to transfer some files from the LarKen
system to the Zebra and a 3" disk is hardly compatible with
a 3 1/2" drive!
I had already learned to move a program from my
LarKen computer to a second computer using the LIU
amp. First connect up the source computer ear output to
the amplifier input. Then connect the amplifier output to
the mic. input of the second computer. I have found that
about 3/4 volume setting on the amplifier works well, but
that may vary for your application. The receiving computer
is set up to receive a tape LOAD while the source com-
puter is set up to do a tape SAVE. Start the LOADing se-
quence on the receiving computer before you start the
source computer saving.
If you are moving to a different disk system dont do
a SAVE LINE xxx or it will AUTOSTART before you can
change the disk commands. Modify any different disk
commands prior to doing a disk save of course.
If you are moving a program that has a companion
machine code program, check carefully to see which pro-
gram should be moved first. If you are feeling clever you
can set up the command line
to do several operations in
sequence. I discovered I
needed to brush up on the
tape LOAD and SAVE syn-
tax.
. I have found this to be a reli-
able way to move from
LarKen to Zebra or vice versa. It is better than going from
LarKen to tape and then tape to Zebra. It also is a good
reminder as to why I went to disk in the first place!
mic,
(LOAD)
receiving
computer
o Flier
ft*#MwL.I.S.T.
The 3 annual North American show
will be held on Saturday, June 10th,
1995 in the city of Oak Ridge, TN. ql
traders attending the show are Stuart Honeyball of rniracle
Systems, Tony Frishman of TF Services, Bill Richardson
of WN Richardson and Co., Jochen Merz Software, Frank
and Carol Davis of Mechanical Affinity and Update maga-
zine, Bill Cable of Wood and Wind Computing plus John
ImpellizzBri and Don Walterman of QBox-USA demon-
strating their QL Bulletin board.
It is my understanding that Stuart Honeyball will have
the Enhanced Graphics card, the Super Gold Card and
QXLs. Tony Frishman will have the Super Hermies,
Minerva ROMs and I2C interfaces and Mechanical Affinity
will have the QUBIDE Hard Disk Interface plus most of the
QL software and hardware from abroad.
Advance registration will be $3.00 or $5.00 at the
door. And as usual, a Dutch Treat dinner after the show.
Contact IQLR at their North American Office P. 0. Box
3991, Newport RI 02840-0987 or telephone Bob Dyl at
401-849-3805. For additional Information call or write to
Mel La Verne, 103 Endicott Lane, Oak Ridge, TN 37830-
41 17; telephone 615-483-4153
The show will be held at the Faith
Luthern Church, 1300 Oak Ridge
Turnpike, Oak Ridge, TN. ifyou plan to stay
overnight either before or after the show, the Super 8
MoteL 1590 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge, TN. Reser-
vations by telephone: 6 1 5-483- 1 200. Single room rates are
$37.00 and double rates are $41.00 and this includes a free
Continental breakfast.
I am sorry to say that I will not be able to attend this year's
show due to personal circumstances. For all of you in QL
land attending this year's show, have a GREAT Time.
ZXir QLive Alive!
19
Summer 1995
The Musical PC8300 by Gil Parrish
The PC8300 is a Hong Kong "clone" of the TS-1000, also
known as the "IQ8300" or as "Your Computer". This article
is about making music on one, but the info may also be
halpful with "your own computer" (no capitals) if your unit
is capable of music and you have never tried programming
any.
Toward this goal, I do not intend to do a full-blown "review"
of the PC8300; extensive articles on it were done years ago,
including by our own Don Lambert. But if you are not
familiar with it, a basic understanding of this interesting
computer may helpful. The PC8300 can use the same
peripherals (e.g. RAM expander, printer, and tape drive) as
the ZX/TS systems, is able to read ZX/TS tapes, and (having
a BASIC which is essentially a superset of ZX/TS BASIC)
can run SOME of the same programs. However, the design
has a number of changes, some of which seem to have been
implimented only for the purpose of avoiding copyright
infringment charges, such as differences in memory
management (which rule out sharing either machine
language programs or BASIC programs which rely on saved
variables), a different tape save structure (it can read ZX/TS
tapes, but a ZX/TS cannot read its tapes), and perhaps most
irritating of all, loss of certain keyboard characters like the
question mark and the colon key. The keys are not replaced
by anything useful (like the apostrophe the ZX/TS lacks),
but instead by fanciful graphic characters like a PAC-MAN
ghost, a space invader, and a racing car. For this reason,
running a program that asks a question ends up printing a
sentence with a ghost at the end, which can be
disconcerting.
Still, certain changes appear to be genuine improvements.
The ivory and green case has a keyboard that is bigger, with
soft-rubber "chicklet" keys not unlike the later TS-1500.
The unit has an extra port for a composite video monitor
(and produces a rock-steady light-on-dark picture when used
with one), as well as a port for connecting a joystick. The
system handles BASIC keywords typed in letter-by-letter, in
addition to having a few functions (like PRINT) which can
still be punched in with the "one-touch" keyword method if
preferred. (I find letter-by-letter a LOT easier.) Finally
(and most relevant here), the unit has a built-in speaker with
sound capabilities ranging from a "random tone with every
keypress" (more than a little distracting at first, but at least
you know your keypress was good) through some touted
music capabilities supported directly by BASIC.
When I recently acquired one of the units, I started scouting
around for programs which would support the unique
capabilities of the machine. In this, I hit a brick wall. The
early attention to the PC8300 seems to have focused on
making it more TS-1000 compatible; and indeed, a
replacement ROM was even developed for this purpose.
Little effort seems to have been put into designing software
specifically for the PC8300, although users may have
modified a few ZX/TS progr ams to run on it. So I decided
to give custom programming a shot; and, out of the many
possibilities (a joystick-controlled program, perhaps? Or a
game using those funny graphic characters?), I decided on
typing in some music.
I wondered at first if the sound capabilities of the PC8300
might be similar to the later TS-2068; but, a glance at the
manuals dispelled that notion. The 2068 supports eight-
octave three-voice music, with control over the waveform
envelope, volume and other factors. The PC8300 supports
three octave, one voice music, period. So symphonies were
out! An additional quirk: the PC8300 manual, like that of
the 2068, shows support of "sharps" as well as "natural"
notes, but not "flats". This seems to be a factor of having a
programmer and not a musician write the manual, since "A
sharp" appears to be what most of us know as "B flat". In
any event, The 2068, like a regular piano keyboard, has no
E#/Ft>, or B#/Cb. The PC8300 does show these keys (E #
and B#); whether they could be useful for anything other
than irritation of more sensitive ears, I have no idea.
The only advantage of a much less powerful music system
is that the commands to run it may be easier too. A
command to play an A note on a 2068 might look like—
1 0 SOUND 0, 1 24; 1 ,0,8, 1 3;7,62 -followed by yet another
command to determine the note duration (like- 20 PAUSE
ZXir QLive Alive!
20
Summer 1995
60). The command to play an A note in the middle octave
of a PC8300 might look like-- 1 0 MUSIC "A 1 6" -with the
"16" representing the duration of the note. MUCH easier!
For the high octave, a ">" follows the note (e.g., "E>16"),
and for the low octave, a "<" preceeds the note ("<E16").
Sharps are represented by the same note in reverse video
Not being a heavy-duty music person, I started my project
by heading to the library and getting a book or two of music,
mostly simple old tunes and Christmas carols. I chose to
start with "Blow the Man Down", that old sea chantey that
Hollywood long associated (along with "16 Men on a Dead
Man's Chest") with sea pirates. This turned out to be a fairly
good choice: not complicated, very repetitive (with seven
identical verses and refrains, meaning less programming),
and only a few "sharps".
"You'll need to remem-
ber: 'Every Good Boy
Does Fine'. "
If you have no extensive musical knowledge (and I certainly
do not), there's a phrase you'll need to remember: "Every
Good Boy Does Fine". You see, the musical scale runs
from A through G and then back to A; on the treble clef on
the top staff (the only ones you will be utilizing for a simple
tune, not the chords on the bass clef below), the bottom-
most line is E, with the next line G, then B, then D, and at
the very top, F. Hence, "Every Good Boy Does Fine" (E-G-
B-D-F) helps you identify the notes intersected by the lines.
Obviously, a note nestled between the E line and the G line
is F; the note nestled below the E line is D; a note just below
that- depicted with a line through it— is C; and so forth.
But aside from the notes (and the words, since many older,
simpler songs may have lots of verses you may never have
heard), the important thing the sheet music tells you is the
DURATION of the notes. The musical notation runs like:
• = Whole note
J = Half note
J — Quarter note
• s = Eighth note
> = Sixteenth note
= Thirty-second note
If a dot follows the note, the note duration is increased by
50%. So for instance a dotted half-note would actually be
a three-quarter note, if there were such a thing).
To account for the differing note lengths, I assigned a whole
note the value of "64", and adjusted all other note values
accordingly. Thus a dotted whole note was a "96"; a half-
note "32"; a quarter note "16"; and so forth down to a thirty-
second note, "2" I could as easily have assigned the whole
..note "32" and adjusted all the other values accordingly; that
would have worked just as well, unless I happened to run
into a dotted thirty-second note (which would have made it
" 1 .5"; I have no idea if decimal fractions work or not). But
the "64" scale served my needs. Once the notes are
programmed, you can insert a "TEMPO" command to pick
up the pace; I ended up using TEMPO 5.
Before leaving the sheet music, note that the easiest songs
to translate are those that contain no sharp symbols (which
looks like " # ") or flat symbols (which look like " b ") to the
right of the "$" sign. I will not get into "key signatures", so
suffice it to say that a song without such symbols (i.e., in the
key of C Major) has no sharps or flats to make things
difficult in translation. Music done in different keys will
work (and my "Blow the Man Down" falls in that category),
but you may not be given clear notice in the sheet music that
a particular note is supposed to be a "sharp" or a "flat". My
only advice here is that, if a note sounds a bit off, try the
"sharp" keys immediately above it and below it. The same
note would then be consistently sharp through the rest of the
song.
Originally, I intended to have the words displayed on the
screen while the tune was running. Unfortunately, I found
the screen blanks while playing! Worse, the screen would
try to flash back on between lines- not long enough to be
readable, but long enough for the flash to be annoying. I
solved this by putting the words on screen for a while before
each verse started, and then putting the unit in FAST mode
during the song (which seemed to have no effect on the
speed of the tune) to prevent the screen flashing back on in
the middle. In programming the brief wait between the end
of the verse and the beginning of the chorus, I found that I
could have the words ("Hey, ho, blow the man down")
flashed on the screen by using a PAUSE command, or not
displayed using a delay loop, my option.
"Unfortunately, I found
the screen blanks while
playing!"
I fitted all the music and 2 verses of words into the on-board
2K memory; I probably could have fitted in at least one
more verse with tighter programming. I saved that program,
then produced an expanded version using a 1 6K RAMpack,
which had plenty of room for all seven verses!
If anyone with some PC8300-specific programs would like
to swap for a copy of my little offering, I can be reached at
Route 1 , Box 705, Beggs, OK. 74421 .
ZXir QLive Alive!
21
Summer 1995
QLuMS I — Recent Chances
6y fit 3tnq
QLuMSi/QL Using M'cr—S—ft. interlace (yes,
it's pronounced clumsy) is a front-end program, an MS-
DOS simulation, and a learning tool. QLuMSi is a TURBO-
compiled program that can be EXEC(_W)'d on any QL
which has TK2_EXTensions.
For individuals who move between QDOS and DOS,
QLuMSi allows for a smoother transition when in-
voking command line input — QLuMSi will convert
the delimiter for you. Either an underscore 'J (the
QDOS's standard delimiter) or a period V (the standard
DOS delimiter) may be used within filenames.
For individuals whose spouse may not want to use
their QL because they use a DOS system at work, this al-
lows them the comfort of the 'standard' prompts and
commands. For example, typing quill at an 'A:\>' prompt
will instruct your QL to 'EXEC_W flpl_quill' and load the
Quill program if it is present on the disk in flpl _.
For individuals who are not familiar with 'standard'
DOS commands, it gives them an opportunity to easily
familiarize themselves while allowing them to continue to
use the QL programs with which they are already familiar.
Where possible, QLuMSi input mimics the MS-DOS
command line syntax. Because QLuMSi should also be
thought of as a front-end program, some of its functions
exceed what can be done from the DOS command line.
Every attempt has been made to ensure QLuMSi
compatibility with the demands of the MINERVA ROM
code as well as the variations found in the SMSQ's SBasic
code.
FLIST_imp <==> F(ile)LIST_imp(ort)
QLUSTer and QLAMBer users will recognize the
FLISTJmp as the dynamic file which contains the names
of the sub_DIRectories and files on the medium. The me-
dium must not be write-protected.
The FLISTJmp file can be imported into Quill or
any other word processor or text editor.
Although QLuMSi 'hides' the FLISTJmp file (on
prior versions, the file was named ' '), it is present
on the medium.
An ancillary program (deFILE_exe) is included to
facilitate removal of the ' ' file by people who are
upgrading from earlier versions of the program.
deFILE exe
The deFILE exe utility is a truncated version of the
QLAMBer front end & utility program. It can be run as a
stand-alone program.
SELECTJDEVICE: Use the up/down arrow keys to
move the shaded, green bar up-or-down and the lefiVright
arrow keys to change the drive number (1-4). Press
ENTER to indicate your choice.
The program will then go directly to the deFILE
"page."
Again, use the arrow (cursor) keys to move the high-
lighting box over the appropriate filename; and then, press
the ENTER key.
You will be given an opportunity to abort the process.
Press the '(esc)ape' key to exit the program.
COMMANDS
The following COMMANDS are supported (Typing
HELP will display this list):
CD\
DEL
MEM
TIME
CLS
DIR
PRINT
TYPE
COPY
FORMAT
RENAME
VER
DATE
FREE
STAT
VIEW
'RD V & 'MD V are also supported.
Since 'MD V accesses the MAKEJDIR keyword
{QXL, (Super)GOLD CARD, and FLP/RAM},
QLuMSiCOMn (i.e., COMn = common) is amongst me
variations provided for systems lacking the MAKEJDIR
keyword. The "_COMn" type is the only variation which
supports mdvO_:
M: = mdvl
N:=mdv2
Typing "HELP ..." (where '...' is the name of a supported
command) will reveal more detailed information.
The COMMAND_COM program is the same as the
'full' QLuMSi COM program except that it lacks the ad-
ditional HELP beyond the HELP screen which shows the
COMMANDS and PATHs which are supported.
COMMAND_COM has the advantage of being 'smaller'
than the 'full' program.
QLuMSi EXE is the QLuMSi_.COM program which
begins with a 'C:\>' prompt (i.e., 'winl_').
Similarly, COMMAND_EXE is the COMMAND_
COM program which begins with a 'C:\>' prompt.
VIEW [filename]
COPY [filename] LPT1.
Both of these functions now recognize Quill files ap-
pended with a " doc" suffix and generate a roughly for-
matted screen-or-paper output.
If you VIEW [filename] or COPY [filename] LPT1.
the 'UPDATESdoc' you would see something lie this:
ZXir QJJve Alive!
22
Summer 1995
! vrmlqdfO
!&
| H
page nnn
QLuMSi 4.80 Updates
and, so on....
Shortly after the end of the document is located, the
VIEWing will halt, or a FORM FEED will be sent to the
printer.
Although the output is not what you would get using
Quill and a printer dat, it will allow you to look at a screen
or paper copy of a document within the QLuMSi program.
Of course, this might seem to be a bit of a kluge for
salvaging a corrupted " doc" file; but, you should be able
to salvage all/part of the text of a 'corruptdoc' file(s)
whose formatting data has been corrupted:
COPY [corrupt_doc] lptl .
As before, the non-ASCII characters are 'red' when
VIEWed and empty spaces when a COPY is sent to the
printer.
If the "_doc" suffix is not present, the program will
display the file without the rough formatting.
DIR.
DIR/W
An implicit 7p' (for pause) is now presumed. In ad-
dition, the standard DIR display now more closely mimics
The number of files that are displayed on the screen is
dependent on whether the 'banner' is displayed ('CLS' vs.
'SHOW').
If you want the DIRectory of another PATH, then
type:
DIR [pamjetter]:
To see a DIRectory data displayed in four columns, type:
DIR/W
or, DIR [path_letter]:/W
Extra spaces may return a 'Bad command or file
name' message.
Some NET work comments, etc.
First if your system does not have a hard disk
(interlace), you may use the eight winQ_ devices for
NETworking.
Some of you may wonder what and why there are
provisions for up to eight (8) ndk0_ devices [six with
QLuMSiCOMn]
While ndkQ_ may seem to be an arbitrary NFSJJSE
designation, it is an abbreviation which stands for
n(etwork)d(is)k [after fdk/hdk].
The reason that there are eight ndk(L allowances is
because you can, in tact, assign that many designations.
This is in keeping with what is apparently the standard
QDOS device limit of eight.
This quantity may not have been obvious because the
original TK2 manual was so tiny that it was difficult to read
(of course, that was not the only reason that it was difficult
to read!).
In fact, I ascertained the eight device NETwork ca-
pability as a what-if supposition, and then went back and
re-read the manual to determine whether this had been
documented. Of course, it was.
Peer-to-peer NETwork commuication, where the
QDOS devices have equal access to one another, becomes
viable when faster QDOS devices are attached to one an-
other. I currently have a GOLDCARDed QL set up as a
'peer' with a QXL by implementing the following com-
mands in the respective boot programs:
QXL: NET 1
FSERVE
NFSJJSE NDK, N2_fl.pl, N2_flp2_,
N2_raml_, N2_ram2_, N2_ram3_, N2_ram4_,
N3_raml_, N3_mdvl_
GOLD CARD: NET 2
FSERVE
NFSJJSE WIN, Nl_winl, Nl_win2_,
Nl_win3_,Nl_win4_, Nl_win5_,Nl_raml_,Nl_ram2_,
N3_raml_
The Bottom Line
QLuMSi is available either directly ($15), or as an
UPDATE! issue disk ($20; PO BOX 17, MEXICO, IN
46958)
Previous users [direct(CATUG/ZQA!)/EMSofiV
UPDATE!] may acquire an upgrade from me ($5/specify
disk size).
AlFeng
914 Rio Vista Circle SW
Albuquerque, NM 87105-3324
HAPPV TRAILS,
AND COMPUTWG, TO VOU ...
Where possible, QLuMSi input mimics the MS-DOS
command line syntax. Because QLuMSi should also be
thought of as a front-end program, some of its functions
exceed what can be done from the DOS command line. To
this end, VIEW and COPY now recognize Quill generated
"_doc" files and generate more usable output.
VIEW [filename] & COPY [filename] LPTL
Both of these functions now recognize QuiH files appended
with a "_doc" suffix and generate a roughly formatted
screen-or-paper output.
If you VIEW [filename] or COPY [filename] LPTL this
Updates_doc you would see something like this:
the DOS display:
A:\> dir
Volume in drive A is @ PLATYPUS
Directory of A:\
Quill
60614 04-02-9519:33
Archive
52814 04-02-9519:33
misc ->
turbo ->
printer dat
85 04-02-9519:37
GPRINT PRT
510 04-02-9519:37
QLAMBer
32330 04-02-95 19:37
QLUSTer
32470 04-02-9519:37
Press any key when ready ...
ZXir QLive Alive!
23
Summer 1995
Daisy Be Good - HI
bv David Lassov
Let's keep looking at Bill Jones' Daisy Disk, Disk No. 1.
Autoload brings up the version, which is used for input and
edit of documents. It is the version, at which we spend most of
our time, working at the keyboard. For this, the value of
'TURBO' is 2.
Two issues ago, we discussed initialization procedures, for
putting the 'function' menu on the screen. For those few
readers, who missed that, our inputs are 3 2 1 y y y.
Last issue discussed item #1 of the 'function' menu, all the
way through the 'quickie' menu. This time, we continue
with item #2 of the 'function' menu, 'Print Header.'
This is a short topic, so we will finish the article, by talking
about what happens when our telephone company changes the
area code, and what this means to our Daisy software. First,
Print Header.
With Function Menu on the screen, punch the character 2 on
the keyboard. Up comes a request, that you Type the
CAP / Ln lgth limit is: 80. So, we INPUT a caption, whose
length is 80 characters, at most. And, the on-line printer puts
out a centered header in pica type, before returning to the func-
tion menu.
That's all there is to that one, so what does our area code
have to do with our Daisy software? (I'm glad you asked! !! !)
Well, all the letterheads have to bei — —
appropriate changes to n$(9) and n$(12).
Oh, dear, what about the opening banner? In order to
change the telephone numbers there, as -well as apply color
to the screen string, we make use of item #8, Office Tools, of
the function menu. We will discuss the office tools menu
sometime in the near future.
Well, that's that, but, believe you me, it is easier said than
done, due to the special use of the way the 2068 handles
its variables and the special advantage we take of that
Remember how memory-bound the 2068 is as a word proc-
essor, only 38k of RAM. Well, Daisy allocates this pre-
cious storage to text strings, as much as possible, and sets the
rest of its variables, which we're not going to change anyway,
into memory starting at Vars. as contained in 23627. The alter-
native is to set all variables dynamically, which takes up a lot of
additional memory in the program file, beginning at location
PROG, as contained in 23635.
The Oliger disk operating system has a push-button facility
for storing just the variable file, and, when Bill went over to
LarKen DOS, he reproduced this facility by clever program-
ming.
Next issue, we will consider item #3 of the function
menu, which brings up t he Format Menu.
i
changed, along with the relevant van- j \
ables, and do you know how Daisy stores i
variables? j
The letterheads are all derived by Daisy j
from array n$. n$ is 13 bytes long with
n$(9) = 520 884 7667(voice) and n$(12) j
= 520 882 0388 (data). j
Thus, we load Daisy, perform a jab j
BREAK, and ENTER the above val- j
ues for n$(9) and n$(12). We store this j
updated version of Daisy, by going to the
function menu (GOTO fm); selecting
item #5, Data Mgt. Menu (Data Manage-
ment Menu); going to the save menu, by !
selecting item #1, SAVE Menu, of the so-called Utility Menu;
and, saving Daisy, variables and all by selecting item #1, Save
Daisy Pgm + Data, of the SAVE DATA Menu.
That's kinda hard to follow, especially since the system of
names, while complete, is not entirely consistent. Well,
anyone, who has ever heard of Kurt GoedeL can forgive Bill
his inconsistencies! But, our job has not been completed either,
since we have to change the variable file data base too. A
catalog of our disk reveals the vars file, as 01831.C2. 01831
signifies a variable file of length 1831 bytes, and ,C2 stands for
the extension on all variable files, stored by Daisy. You see, in
order to see all the different setups for printer runs, simply
execute a CAT with a search string of T.C2. LOADing
01831.C2 into Daisy has the effect of reinitializing Daisy, in-
cluding all its variables, like n$(9) and n$(12). Now, let's up-
date 01831.C2 itself, in order to reflect the new values of n$(9)
andn$(12).
irst we LOAD and execute file varset.B6. which sets all
variables for Daisy. Next, delete the BASIC file with
DELETE, and merge Daisy with RAND USR 100: MERGE
Daisy .B6. Last go to the SAVE DATA Menu, as above and
save the newly updated variable file, by selecting option #E,
Save Vars. File Dbase.
Oh yes, don't forget to first update file varset.B6 with
i;i]OEHDnni
rai Print Header
ha i iflH
183 Office Tools
iqi Letter
TUfbOgg
... lx4h|
U.4B
Pa5e^8 Lin*««
fm
F
Please consider our new and
improved versions, ManlAd, PO+MM,
IN+ED, and dbms, of Bill Jones'
Daisy suite of programs. We LOAD
IN+ED, which has 1 for the value of
TURBO.
The function menu comes up, directly,
as there are no print options and hence
no printer initialization.
We choose item #2, Print Header, by
punching 2 on the keyboard, and, ...
nothing happens I Instead, we LOAD
dbms, which has 0 for the value of
TURBO.
The function menu comes right
up with no print options or printer initialization. No reaction
either to punching 2 on the keyboard.
Ah!, yes, this is a print option, and we need either PO+MM
(turbo=2) or ManlAd (turbo=3) .
So, we LOAD PO+MM or ManlAd and get to the function
menu, by quickly pressing 3, 2, 1, y, y, and y, in order to
initialize our printer. Punching 2 selects item #2 on the func-
tion menu, in order to Print Header. Immediately, we are asked
to Type the Caption ":/" LINE length limit is: 40. Upon INPUT
of a header, no more than 40 characters in length, the on-line
printer puts out the caption, centered and in enlarged Empha-
sized Pica % 40 characters per line.
So much for item #2 on the function menu, in order to
Print Header.
Please refer to the other article, in order to see how the
change in area code was effected.
We shall end, by mentioning how delay is avoided, every
time Daisy uses LKDOS in its typically a disk-intensive fashion.
Daisy spends a lot of its time LOADing those marvelous menus
of Bill Jones from disk, and while all menus and supporting
software can go onto one floppy disk of 160 tracks, LOADing
times are annoyingly slow. But LOADing all menus from
RAMDISK is exciting in its rapidity with a loss of negligible
FREE memory. Only 7 blocks of RAMDISK are required.
ZXir QUve Alive!
2?
Summer 1995
WA<5IN<3 IN THE TSROOM
bv Donald Lambert
— — — — I . ■ i — - -
April 8 th , 1995. WAG is Wild A__ Guess. TSRoom is
the room in which I have all my computer equipment
setup. With the definitions out of the way here we go.
When I received the SPRING issue of ZXir QLive
Alive! Great except that it always leaves me somewhat
depressed since it is an effort by me and there is so little
new to me (information that is). Already I am working on
the next issue (this material) and Abed has informed me
that there is material left over for the next issue.
D. G. Smith has a problem with his LarKen/Oliger
disk drive interface. He thought that it might be the fact
that he had SAFE v 2.55 but I had used that for a while
with both interfaces up and running. With Smitty, his
problem is that the Oliger will not work if the LarKen is
working. So I was testing that out when my computer quit.
Well not exactly quit but if either interface was activated at
the time the computer was powered up I got ringing bells.
But if they were both turned off then I could get both to
operate. I thought that I would swap computers with the
one on the AERCO setup but then when I moved it over
there the computer would not initialize. But the computer
that was on the AERCO would work on the LarKen/Oliger
setup. A third computer that was my original computer
would work on the AERCO but not if the LarKen board
was in the dock port. I was quite puzzled. Then once in a
while the computer that I put on the LarKen/Oliger system
would give me the bells. I would power down and wait
and power up and it would work all right So I just started
to leave the LarKen board switched off just in case.
If I tried to use the LarKen board with the Spectrum
EPROM on it on the LarKen/Oliger system the computer
would not come up with the initialization. I had known
about that for quite a while. Making WAGs I tried to think
it through. If it was the computer having been zapped then
it would not work part of the time but would fail every
time. So I wondered if it could be related to the power
supply and/or the power circuitry inside the computer.
RMG has in the resale items a COLECO power supply that
is listed as being needed by the AERCO system. Is that a
hint that the power supply is inadequate? I will have to
document my problems and write to Dan Elliott and see if
he knows and has a solution for the problems. Seems that
there is a 5 volt regulator on the computer board that is
marginal. If so maybe it needs to be replaced. A belated
thought that inforce my thoughts of the power supply
during the summer I could not get the computer that failed
(the one with the Spectrum EPROM) to initialize. Heat? //
sounds like it Don, there was an article in LIST about
replacing the little regulator by a larger one.
Then there is my learning more about progranumhg. I
know so little and so I have been typing in the programs
from the books that I have (T/S books of course). But
nothing is so frustrating than to have a program fail and
give some cryptic reason for failure. Such as:
2 Variable not found, 1510;1
And line 1510 is:
1510 PRINT "FILE SIZE:"; P-1; T ; LEN B$
Either V or 'B$' values were not found. You
have to give them a value. Just for a try, in the
immediate mode, ENTER, PRINT P and then PRINT
B$. One of these will tell you ' Variable not found
Once you know which is the culprit, ENTER, LET P=
a number or LET B$= a number, to define the
variable^;. Run the program or GO TO LINE XXX
whatever is the right way. Find out in what line the
missing variable is and what is supposed to be. I
don't have enough info to go on, but I assume that
this program is something like a word processor. "P"
might define a PAGE(s) and 'LEN B$" might define
the length of a line (characters per line) or number of
fines per page. <£&fo
SIMPLE EHAMPLES OF BORDERS A FRAMES
■>'■ ■>■»
in in
mmm m'mm
XIX]
MXIX
o □
SIMPLE EXAMPLES OF BORDERS ft FRAMES
□
ii
mm.m
i.v
mum
i
J-
□
'I
k
a
mmm
m
ii'i
hi
«.»:»
lr;E3E3rtl
E3EE3E3
>:
V
*■*
x|x
V
mm
m
••>
in
mmm
4.1
Uobort SShudv
ZXir QLive Alive!
25
Summer 1995
QL Hacker's Journal
by Tim Swenson
Past issues are available on disk, via e-mail, or via the
Anon-FTP server, garbo.uwasa.fi. The QHJ is always on the
look out for.
Editor's Forumn
Another few months, another issue. I don't know if
there is any special significance to putting out issue #20, but
it looks nice to have a zero in the 1 ' s place.
One thing nice to report is that the number of QHJ
readers is increasing (at least direct readers). I keep running
into more QLers on the Internet I find some and some find
me. The e-mail list is now over 120 (mostly outside the
US). The hard copy mailing list is in the mid-30*s (mostly
in the US). I have no idea how many people read the QHJ
through friends, BBS's, and archives on the Internet.
One bit of news; there will be a QL show in Oak
Ridge, Tennessee, USA, on 10 June. The show has moved
from Newport, Rhode Island, where it has been held two
times in the past. I plan to attend (it's only about a 5 hour
drive for me). I'll bring some QHJ issues, ail past issues on
disk, my Sinclair Internet Resouce list, and disks with Free-
ware programming languages and tools. Hope to see you
there.
I've noticed two things in the latest issue of the Inter-
national QL Report Pedro Reina talks about QLIMPO, a C
tool that helps write code for different platforms ( currently
QDOS and MS-DOS, but with an eye out for UNIX).
QLIMPO is comprised of 17 objects with 156 functions.
Pedro has tried to use an Object-Oriented approach to writ-
ing this package. QLIMPO is placed in the public domain
and all documentation is in Spanish. More details can be
found in the March/April 1995 issue of IQLR.
The other is an article by Norman Dunbar entitled
"The PE - an idiot's guide!" This is a simple article on the
Pointer Environment what it does, how it works, etc. In-
stead of getting into the PE manual, as a beginner this article
is a must This is the best, most detailed, article I have seen
on the PE. I hope Norman (or someone) would consider
putting this article out as a little pamphlet or booklet It's
too good to remain just as an article in a newslet-
ter/magazine. Needless to say, I really liked the article.
Program Proposal - Descriptor
In looking through fistings of new uploads to the MS-
DOS/Windows site OCA, I came up with an idea for a pro-
gram for the QL. Not having the full expertise or time to
work on it, I thought I would present the idea here. Hope-
fully someone will run with it
Descriptor is a program that allows for each QDOS file
to have a "long file name" or description. The best way to
describe this program is to show how it will work.
When a user is ready to enter a file name into a pro-
gram (such as Quill), he hits ALT-Q (Query). The Descrip-
tor window pops up. The user enters a description of the
file (something like a long file name). Examples would be:
MFR: Memo to my Boss (MFR stands for Memo For
Record) Letter to Mom dated 11/28/94 Article for QHJ on
programming
Descriptor would then look up all of the file descrip-
tors that have the string in them. If more than one is found,
the user is allowed to choose. The real filename (ie.
flpl_text_txt) is then entered into the program (via the key-
board buffer).
The program allows you to almost ignore the real file
name for a file and use the long descriptor. How it all
should work:
Each disk will have a database file (text file) mat links
file names to descriptors. The file will be called descrip-
tor_db. The format will be:
filenameextdescriptor
Descriptor only deems the first : in the file as impor-
tant This means that colons are allowed in the decriptor.
Descriptor will have three functions: Query, Add file,
Delete file.
ALT - Q is the hotkey for the Query function.
ALT - A is the hotkey for the Add File function.
Right before saving a file, hit ALT-A, enter me file
name and then the descriptor. The file name will be entered
into the program for you,
_J4*T- D is the hotkey foxtheDelete File function,
The user will query for a file (via descriptor). Select
the proper file and it will be deleted (out of the database and
offthe disk). It may be usefull to delete out of the database
but not offthe disk.
In theory this should work fairly well. In practise, I
don't know how well it would do. It would help in keeping
track of a bunch of text files or Quill files. I've used mis
type of file riaming in a Unix office automation package
called Alis (by Apphx). It really is much easier to keep track
of documents, esp. with lots of memo's and such.
Reverse String
In one of the rffogamrmng newsgroups I read, I saw a
couple of postings dealing with how to reverse a string or a
list A short example would be to take the string "abode"
and make it "edcba".This little puzzle seemed interesting, so
I thought I would give it a shot myself
My first approach is purely interative. Find the
length of the string and then do a FOR loop backwards
through the string, adding each character to another string.
DEFine FuNction reverse$ (in$)
LOCal rev$, length
rev$=""
length = LEN(in$)
FOR x = length TO 1 STEP -1
rev$ = in$ (x)
NEXt x
RETURN rev$
END DEFine
The examples I saw were recursive based, so I thought I
would try that approach.
DEFine FuNction reverse$ (in$)
ZXir QLrve Alive!
26
Summer 1995
LOCal temp$
if LEN(in$)=l THEN RETURN in$
tempS = reverses ( in$ ( 2 TO )
RETURN temp$ 5 in$ (1)
END DEFine
How I wrote this remided me of how I used to do a
few Lisp programs. You have to start the procedure with
the end condition first. You have to think about how you
want the recursion to stop and check for this condition at
the start. I then decided to try this program in Lisp using the
WS-Lisp interpreter. My first attempt was very similar to
the example below. When I was looking at the example
code that came with WS-Lisp, I found that it had a reverse
function in that example code. I saw that my code was go-
ing in the same direction as the example code, but my syn-
tax was lacking. Below is the example code,
(de reverse (rev_list)
(cond
( (isatom rev_list) rev_list)
( t (append (reverse (cdr rev_list) )
(list (car rev_list) ) ) ) ) ; end of cond
) ; end of de rewerse
Then upon further looking, there was another version
of a reverse program that also came with WS-Lisp. It's a bit
longer than the first version and not quite as easy to read (at
least for me). It seems to rely on the simplest Lisp words. I
don't know if it was written to use the lowest level Lisp
words or not. Anyway, it's another example to ponder,
(de rev (liste)
(cond
( (isnull liste) liste )
( (isnull (cdr liste)) liste )
( t
(cons
(car (rev (cdr liste)))
(rev
(cons
(car liste)
(rev (cdr (rev (cdr liste))))
)
)
)
) ; end of t
) ; end of cond
) ; end of de
I'm sure my SuperBasic programs are not the most
elegant and can be improved upon. As they said in college,
"I leave it as an excerise to the reader."
Gst Qc C Compiler - A Review
I recently found out about another C compiler. Peter
TiBier send me a copy (legal, of course) of a C compiler by
GST. Peter says that the compiler is now available from
Quanta for about 15 pounds.
The compiler seems to be a cross between Small-C
and Metacomco QL C. Like Small-C, it supports a subset
of the C language, but it supports more than Small-C. Like
QL C, it has a compiler, a assembler, and linker. It even
uses a link setup file like QL C. And, like C68, even though
it has a number of programs to do a full compile, it has a
front end to drive the whole process.
In short, QC is based on K&R C and supports: switch,
for, do, goto statements, logical operators && j|, unary op-
erators ! ~ comma expressions, assignment operators long
/ short integers, unsigned values, initialised local variables,
static and extern single dimension arrays pointers. The pre-
processor supports the standard commands, but also sup-
ports the inclusion of assembly code. There is a section in
the manual that describes how the compiler uses the various
68000 registers.
The standard C function library is supported with
more functions that Small-C. QDOS support is complete,
although different than some of the other compilers. It does
support trapl, trap2 and trap3 (usefull for doing your own
tinkering with QDOS).
The manual is fairly complete. It does not give much
example code, but it documents the compiler fairly welL
The error messages are fully listed and there is even an
index.
The compiler fits in between Small-C and QL C (wife
C68 being far above all C compilers). If you are used to
working with Small-C, then QC is a step up in what parts of
C are supported. QC provides a greater ability to help in
porting than Small-C. QC is not as complicated to use as
C68 can be. Sometimes I find the full capability of C68
kind of daunting.
I have not had to really use QC, but from what I can
see, I kind of like it I'm sure I'll always like Small-C, but in
those areas that Small-C does not cut it, QC would be a
good compiler to use.
Recent Freeware - Apl
Richard Zidlicky has ported a version of APL to the
QL. APL stands for A Programming Language. APL is
known for being about the worst write-only language. APH
uses special symbols as it's operators. This means that it
usually requires a special keyboard, thereby making it a
language not easy to port APL is also an interpreted
language.
This particular version of APL is based on a freeware
Unix version that does not use any special symbols, only
the symbols in ASCII. This means that you can not type
standard written APL code directly in to this APL. You:
have to do some converting first
Since I have only used APL once in College, I really
can't say much about this port. It does seem to run with the
example code provided with it I tried to port over
some APL code, but I did not know how to translate
the funny symbols into the ASCII symbols. As I said, APL
is not an easy language to deal with.
Below are a few examples of APL code that came with
the interpreter.
a{l 2 3C assign a vector to a
b{3 4 5C b
a+b C skalar addition
aXb C mult
a%b C division
aJ. + b C inner produkt
now for a few matrix operations
a{4 4R16?17 C random matrix
L<bs>% C invert it
b{14
ZXir QLive Alive!
27
Summer 1995
x{bL<bs>%a C solve ax=b
(a+.Xx)-bC .. is that true?
a{5 4R20?21
Ra C now we have 5x4
b{15
APL is designed for matrix operations and is great if
you are doing some fairly complex math operations. I have
a book on computer generated music which is based on
APL. I'm sure the use of APL is limited in the QL com-
munity, but it is always nice to have another language for
theQL.
This port of APL also comes with some Signal uulites
written by Richard. Signals allow communications between
processes. If this is something you are looking for, then
pick up a copy of APL and get the utilities thrown in.
Word Wrap
Now that I have an HP Deskjet 520 inkjet printer, I'm
starting to mink about what type of output I could do on ij.
I've found the price of any word processors that support it
to be a bit too steep. I have rigged up Quill to support one
of the fonts built into the DJ520. I would like to use one off
the proportional fonts, but Quill (and all text editors) are all
monospace based.
I have written a short print filter that supports the
DJ520. It supports dot commands (like ROFF or old
WordStar) that do things like Bold, Italics, new page, etc.
The next step is to add some word wrap facility. Be-
low is the source code for a program that does just word
wrapping.
It takes in a file, wraps all the words based on the page
width (in characters) and outputs the results to another file.
This program is really just a sort test program to focus
on how to do word wrapping. By itself it would be rather
limited (unless used in a piping environment like Unix). The
page width should not be hard coded into the program, but
loaded at runtime (either typed in or as a command line
arguement).
The program expects a few things about the input file.
It expects a blank line between paragraphs. It expects the
space, tab, or newline characters to divide words. Non-
ASCII characters are not handled.
Hie next step in this program is to add the support of
proportional fonts. As is the program treats every character
as the same width. With proportional fonts,
characters differ in width (an i is smaller than a w).
Once adding proportional fonts is added, then different
sized fonts can be added (12 point, 20 point, etc). Output
needs to be based on the size of the output (in inches) and
not based on the number of characters.
/* wrap__c
This program takes a file as input and reads in each
word and reformats the paragraphs based on WIDTH to
the ouput file.
This program expects a blank line between paragraphs,
*/
tinclude <stdio_h>
#define WIDTH 4 0
raainO {
char filel[30], file2[30], str[30];
int fdl, fd2, temp, length, cur len;
printf ("Enter Input File Nam & ;
crets (filel) ;
fdl = fopen(filel,"r") ;
if-(fdl = NULL) {
printf ("Did not open file: %s", filel);
abort ( 1 ) ;
}
printf ("Enter Output File Name: \n");
gets (file2) ;
fd2 = fopen(file2,"w") ;
if (fd2 == NULL) {
printf ("Did not open file: Ss",file2);
abort ( 1 ) ;
}
cur_len = 0;
while (1=1) {
temp = get_word(str, fdl) ;
if ( temp == -1)
fputc('\n',fd2) ; f close (fdl) ;
fclose(fd2) ;
abort (0); }
( temp == -2) { fputc( »\n\fd2) ;
fputc('\n\fd2) ;
cur_len = 0;
}
else {
length = strlen(str);
if ( (cur__len + length) > WIDTH) {
fputc( f \n\fd2);
fputs (str,fd2) ;
cur__len = length;
}
else {
cur_len = cur_len + length +1;
fputcC \fd2);
fputs (str, fd2) ;
}
}
} /* end while */
}
/* get_word ( string, file pointer )
gets the next word in the file. End of a word is space,
tab, or LF. A LF with no word means the end of a
paragraph.
Return values are:
0 - no error
-1 - End of File (EOF)
-2 - End of Line (EOL)
(meaning end of paragraph)
V
get_word( str, fd)
char str [30] ; int fd;
{
int count, c, If;
str[0] = T \0';
If = NO;
count =0;
while ( 1 == 1) {
if ( ( c = getc(fd) ) == EOF ) return (-
1); if ( ( c > 32 ) && ( c < 127 ) ) {
str [count] = c;
ZXir Qlive Alive
28
Summer 1995
counitT;
if '. : : = 32) ! ! (c == 9) I ! (c == 10))
t
if ( c == 10 ) If = YES;
if ((count == 0) 55 (If == YES) )
return (-2); if ( count > 0 ) {
str [count] = '\0';
return (0) ;
Recent Freeware - Inform
INFORM is a language used to create text adventure
games. It is based on the text adventures that the company
INFOCOM used to produce. The adventures were
composed of two data files and two programs. The adven-
ture is first written in the INFORM language and compiled
with INFORM. This creates a datafile that is then read by
ZIP (the adventure interpreter) with runs the adventure. ZIP
is available for the QL ported by Luke Roberts. So now
with INFORM, the full process can be done on the QL.
The INFORM language resembles C in some respects,
but the more purely adventure related words look more like
a database programming language (ie. fairly verbose). To
give you an idea of what the language covers, here are a few
chapter titles from the INFORM Language Manual: Objects,
Properties and Attributes; Places, Scenery, and the Map;
Causing Actions and Making New Ones; Containers, Sup-
porters, and Sub-objects; Doors; Things to Enter, Travel In
and Push Around; Living Creatures and Conversation;
Starting, Moving, Changing and Killing the Player; Classes
of Objects; Adding Verbs and Grammer to the Parser; etc.
The INFORM Language Manual is fairly thick and
seems to cover the language fairly welL It's about 100
pages and semi-tutoriaL and not just a reference guide. The
compiler comes with a number of different sample adven-
tures to learn from and compile.
I have not had a change to give the compiler a spin. I
don't know what the demand for text adventures is, but for
those interested, it's always handy to have the capability to
do what you want. The combination of INFORM and ZIP
totally opens up the door to text adventures for the QL.
INFORM allows you to compile your own adventures. ZIP
allows you to run your adventures or run other adventures
from other platforms.
If you are interested in text adventures based on the
INFORM language there is a main archive site for such in-
formation. It's ftp.gmd.de in the directory:
if-arcMve/mfocom/compiiers/inform
Object Oriented Programming On The QL
I've been watching the current trend in programming
move toward the Object Oriented paradigm for some time
now and I stdl have no idea of what the real differences be-
tween Object Oriented Progarnming (OOP) and procedural
program -ming. I have yet to see an article that compares
the differences using an example program. To give an ex-
ample, here is some text describing OOP:
ZXir QLive Alive! 29
"An object is essentially a black box that contains in-
ternal state information. You send an object a message
which causes the object to perform some operation. ... One
aspect of an object is that you do not have to know what is
inside - or how it works - to be able to use it. From a pro-
gramming point of view this is very handy. You can de-
velop a series of objects for someone to use. If you need to
change what goes on inside, the users of the objects should
be unaware."
To me this sounds like someone describing a proce-
dure and not an object. Who really knows the internals of
such procedures or ructions like fopen or getc. You can
take out the word object and replace it with procedure and it
would still be make sense.
Wanting to try to give OOP a try, I have been looking
for a language for the QL that will do some OOP. I found
XLISP for the QL. This version of XLISP is XLISP Plus,
which has some object oriented features built in.
One of the documents that comes with XLISP Plus is
"XLisp 2.0 Object Primer" by Tim Mikkelsen. This docu-
ment give an introduction into the object oriented features
of XLISP. How Classes, Objects, Messages, and such work.
There are a few examples to learn by.
When I first saw this document, I though "Ah, Here is
my chance to learn and try out OOP on the QL." Then the
reality of learn Lisp hit me. I have been tinkering with Lisp
(along with other non-procedural languages like FORTH)
for a few years. I must admit that I really can't get the hang
of the language. I'm too stuck in my iterative thinking and
find it a real bear to read Lisp code. So there goes my grand
idea of learning OOP. Besides from what I can gather from
the examples, I don't see the advantages it has over proce-
dural progiarnmmg.
But, for those willing to give it a try the capability is
there. If anyone does figure XLisp and OOP out, I hope
they will try their best to fill in the rest of us.
While on the subject of Lisp, Scheme (a dialect of
Lisp) is also available for the QL. Scheme is an ofishoot
from Common Lisp (which is what XLisp Plus is based on).
Qhj Freeware Awards
Over the last couple of weeks I have seen a number of
award shows, like the Screen Actors Guild Awards,
Grammy Awards, Peoples Choice Awards and the Comedy
Awards. This started me thinking about awards and lack of
them in the QL community. Now magazines, newspapers,
and other print media have thier own version of awards.
Computer Language magazine has it's Jolt award (named
for the soda Jolt - with twice the caffine as Coke). So I
think it's time for the QHJ Freeware Awards.
Programmers are an unrewarded lot, especially so for
Freeware programmers. Commercial programmers will get
momtary compensation. The same goes for Shareware pro-
grammers (but even less money and hoping that all users
will register the software). But for Freeware programmers,
title main emphasis is on free. They do it for the fun on it.
Some will write software for themselves and distribute it to
others. Some will write software for the challenge of the
task. Either way, it's a lot of effort for very little payback.
Summer 1995
The QHJ Freeware Awards is designed to recognize
the best Freeware programs and programmers over the last
year. I've created five different categories:
Best Pointer Environment Freeware Program
Best Non-PE Freeware Program
Best Freeware Port to the QL
Best Freeware Language or Language Utility
Freeware Programmer of the Year
The time for the awards are for 1994. If a program was
ported before 1994, but did not make a big impact until
1994, then it can be considered.
I had originally thought about just deciding the win-
ners myself, as some magazines will do. But, I really
thought it would be better to get some input from the QL
community. My exposure to all the Freeware out there is
limited. I could only judge on those that I have tried. Get-
ting input from readers would make the awards truely repre-
sentative of the QL community.
So, please look over the categories listed above, review
whajLFreeware software you know, and send me your vote
for each award. You can send them by mail, e-mail, phone,
carrier pigeon, what ever, I will tally the results and report
the results in the next issue. Deadline for the votes is 1 May
1995. I hope to have the next issue ready by then. Issue or
not, I will make some sort of announcement of some sort at
the US QL show on 10 June in Oak Ridge, Tennesse.
I plan to whip up some sort of paper award using Page
Designer 3 and my DJ 520 (which means I have to actually
learn PD3). I hope to be able to mail the award to each
individual programmer that wins.
swensotc@ss2.sews.wpafb.af.mil
tswenson@dgis.dtic.dla.mil
ZQA! M ailing List
Alvin
Alberecht
Paul
Anderson
Gertie
Anderson
Robert
Bamett
Ronald
Baty
Dave
Bennett
Don
Berry
MH
Binstock
Alvin
Blum an
JA
Bowers
Wes
Brzozowski
Alex
Burr
Bill
Cable
Members of CATUG
George
Chambers
Daniel
Chattin
Howard
Chegwidden
Les
Cottrell
Larry
Crawford
Jaime
Cruz-Figueroa
Robert
Curnutt
James
Curry
Frank
Davis
Ed
De Boer
Byron
Defries
William
Des Lauriers
Jack
Dohany
Dan
Elliott
Ruth
Fegley
Mike
Felerski
Al
Feng
Mike
Fink
Charlie
Fox
Kenton
Garrett
Robert
Gilbert
R Arthur
Gindin
Rod
Gowen
Ferdinand
Gunther
William
Harmer
Robert
Hartung
Ted
Heckman
Fred
Henn
Frederick
Hill
Paul
Holmgren
William
Horner
Leon
Howell
Hugh
Howie
Glenn
Hufstedler
Rod
Humphreys
John
Impellizzeri
Warren
Jackson
Richard
Jelen
Phillip
Joe
G David
Johnson
Carl
Jones
Jon
Kaczor
Joan
Kealy
Quentin
Kent
Tezan
Kereluck
Wavne
Knaust
William
Krossner
Jeffrev
Kuhlmarm
Donald
Lambert
David
Lassov
Mel
Laveme
David
Leech
Lafe
McCorkle
John
McMichael
Harry
Miller
Gregory
Newkirk
Richard
Norek
T
J
0 donnell
John
Ohger
Gilliam
Pamsh
John
Pegram
Edwin
Phillips
TT, _
Hugh
"n^.ii
Polley
T 1
John
Porterfield
Harvey
Rait
Gene
Kay
-n_,,i
Paul
Robinson
A 11.,.-*
Albert
Rodriguez
Bill
Russell
XT 1
Neal
Schultz
Hugh
Scnven
TPS 1 ,
Robert
Shade
T 1_
John
Shepard
Gregory
Simmons
Louis
Simon
Francine
Sklar
DG
Smith
Edward
Snow
Dane
Stegman
Mike
Stephens
Larry
South
Alexander
Sweitzer
Tim
Swenson
Jeff
Taylor
Jose
Vasquez
Doug
Wagoner
Stuart
Walton
Barry
Washington
Basil
Wentworth
Ivan
Zachev
Wesley
Zapotochna
ZXir QLive Alive!
30
Summer 1995
FOR S A JLa J3
To make room, I am offering these books to anyone who
wants them: make an offer including shipping costs.
When an offer is accepted I will package the books and
wait for the payment. So the books or anything else I have for
sale is strictly by first come basis. Even if a better offer arrives
latter, the first offer stands.
Books on ZX80, ZX81 , T/S 1000 & T/S 1500
1) ZX80 Operating Manual by Hugo Davenport. Manual for ZX80.
2) ZX81 basic Programming by Steven Vickers. Manual for ZX81.
3) Timex User Manual by Steven Vickers. Manual for T/S 1000.
4) Reference Card For The ZX80, ZX81 & T/S 1000.
5) T/S 1000/1500 BASIC Quick Reference Guide 10 pages.
6) T/S 1000 Dictionary & Reference Guide by Jo Giarratano. 127p.
7) The Timex Personal Computer Made Simple by Joe Campbell
Jonathan Siminoff, & Jean Yates. 152 pages.
8) 51 Game Programs For The T/S 1000 & 1500 by T. Hartnell.
205 pages.
9) The Complete Sinclair ZX81 & Timex T/S 1000 Basic Course by
Alfred Milgrom. 255 pages. Lose leaf in notebook.
10) 30 Programs for the Sinclair
ZX80. IK. by Alfred Milgrom. Ill
pages.
11) Beepers: 21 Electronic Projects
For The T/S 1000 & 1500 by
Gordon Rockmaker & Stephen
Adams. 95 pages.
12) Making The Most Of Your
ZX81 by Tim Hartnell. 102 p.
13) Not Only 30 Programs For The
Sinclair ZX81, IK by Alfred
Milgorm. 120 pages.
14) 49 Explosive Games For The ZX81 by Tim Hartnell. 139 p.
15) The ZX81 Pocket Book by Trevor Toms. 128 pages.
16) Fifty IK/2K Games For The ZX81 & T/S 1000 by Alastair
Gourlay, James Walsh, Paul Holmes. 93 pages,
17) Your T/S 1000 & ZX81 by Douglas Hergart. 109 pages.
18) Two Book Set: T/S User's Guide Volume I & Volume 2 by
Joseph Giarratano. 225 & 250 pages.
19) Getting Acquainted With Your ZX81 by Tim Hartnell 120
pages.
20) Programming Your T/S 1000 in BASIC by Mario Eisenbacher.
188 pages.
21) 30 Games For The T/S Computer, by Bill Behrendt. 84 p.
22) Not Only 30 Programs For The Sinclair ZX81. IK, by Alfred
Milgrom. 120 pages.
23) The Complete Timex TSlOOO/Sinclair ZX81 ROM Disassembly
Includes Part A 0000H-0F54H & Part B: 0F555H-1DFFH by Dr.
Ian Logan & Dr. Frank O'Hara. 82 pages.
24) The Gateway Guide To The ZX81 & ZX80 by Mark Charlton.
154 pages.
25) How To Use The Timex- Sinclair Computer by Jerry &
Deborrah Willis. 124 pages.
26) ZX81 BASIC Book by Robin Norman. 190 pages.
27) Bogglers 22 Smart Games Programs (2K to 16K In T/S BASIC
by Graham Charlton, Dilwyn Jones. 162 pages.
28) Understanding Your ZX81 ROM by Dr. Ian Logan. 162 p.
29) Computer Companion For The Sinclair/Timex Computers by
Robert Haviland. 115 pages.
30) Using & Prograrnming The ZX81/TS1000 Including Ready To
Run Programs by Albert Sickler. 159 pages.
31) the ZX81 Companion Real-time Graphics, Information
Processing, Educational Applications, Monitor Listing by Robert
Maunder. 131 pages.
32) Crunchers 21 Simple Games For The T/S 1000 2K by Yin
Chiu/Henry Mullish. 137 pages.
33) T/S 1000 BASIC Programs In Minutes by Stanley Trost. 145 p.
34) T/S Interfacing. Tested Projects For The ZX80 ZX81 & T/S
1000 by James Downey & Don Rindsberg. 146 pages.
35) T/S 1000/ZX81 User's Handbook by Trevor Terrell & Robert
Simpson. 160 pages.
36) The Timex-Sinclair 1000 Idea Book Includes 50 Ready To Run
Educational Programs by David AM. 139 pages.
37) Making The Most Of The Your ZX81 by Tim Hartnell. 102
38) The Elementary T/S by William Sanders. 192 pages.
39) The Sinclair ZX81 Programming for Real Applications by
Randle Hurley. 164 pages.
40) Using The T/S 1000 & 1500 by Ralph Coletti. 83 pages.
41) What Can I Do With My T/S 1000? Lots! 56 Programs For The
T/S 1000 & ZX81. by Roger Valentine. 163 pages
42) Animation, Games & Graphics For The Timex 1000 by Tony
Fabbri. 174 pages.
43) Byteing Deeper Into Your T/S 1000 by Mark Harrison. 168 p.
44) BASIC Basics For The T/S
1500/1000 by Michael Barnett
Simon Barnett. 294 pages.
45) Mastering Machine Code On
Your T/S 1500/1000 by Toni
Baker. 194 pages.
46) Exploring T/S 1500/1000
Graphics by Julius Guest. 198 p.
47) Exploring Guide To The T/S
1500/1000 by Mike lord. 155 p.
48) Basics of T/S 1500/1000
BASIC by Allen Wolach. 170 p.
49) Learning T/S BASIC For The T/S 1000 & ZX81 by David
Lien. 331 pages.
50) T/S BASIC by Joseph Charles.
51) SAMS ComputerFacts Computer: ZX-81/TS-1000 13 pages.
General Computer Books
100) Learning With Your Home Computer by Susan Curran, Ray
Curnow. 144 pages.
101) Coping Survival in a Computerized Society by Robert, Jean
Cheney, 215 pages.
102) What If ..? A Guide To Computer Modeling by Tom
Simondi. 250 pages.
103) A Practical Guide To Small Computers For Business &
Professional Use by Robert Rinder. 285 pages.
104) They all Laughed When I Sat Down at The Computer &
Other True Tales of One Man's Struggle With Personal Computing
by Eric Sandberg-DimenL 224 pages.
105) Your First Computer A Guide To Business & Personal
Computing by Radnay Zaks. 257 pages.
1 06) Artificial Intelligence, How Machines Think by F. David Peat
370 pages.
Stringy Floppy for the ZX-81. Package
consists of manuals; CAI interface. One
working and one not; STRINGY
FLOPPY drive with power supply; drive ribbon cable; caddy
to hold 12 wafers; 22 wafers - some have programs. Estimated
shipping close to $6.5. Make offer including shipping.
Offered by :
DONALD S. LAMBERT
1301 KIBLINGER PL
AUBURN IN 46706-3010
CAI
ZXir QLive Alive!
31
Summer 1995
RMG Enterprises
14784 S QUAIL GROVE CIR
OREGON CITY OR 97045
503 655-7484 10AM - 7PM (Pacific) Tues. - Sat.
Yearly Subscription
Now is the time! Send us 12 #9 or #10 (legal size)
scjui-duurcsscu-scii"SuJinpcu ciivciupco aim wc win
send you a pack of information and list of items for
sale once a month — for one yea.r.
1 BSR 1200 BAUD External Modem Like New! $25
1 TANDY CoCo Package $35
1 Composite Monochrome 12" Monitor $40
1 TS-2068 w/monitor cable for RGB $65 pp.
1 LarKen DOS disk package: 2 FH drives in case w/PS, LarKen
controller and cart, cables $ 195 pp.
1 T apITan T> A TV /TMCV ry^ZV tilt -rvn
1 LiOTlVen KAMDIdK. ZOoJs. MZO pp.
For Above Items Plea.se Use Reference # REGU0591
This List is from some folks who do not need the
items] Now it could be yours i
1> TS-2068 Power Supply $20
1> Book-Sams Beginner/Intermediate Manual $5
1> Book-Brain Games $5
Super Special:-- All Of The Above For Only $40 pp.
For Above Item(S) Plea.se Use Reference # BWU1291
1 TS- 1000 In KRADLE Keyboard w/added RAM $90
A real Collector's Item!
1 Melbourne House Software Pack 8 Pieces $25
1 SOFTSYNC Software Pack, 9 Pieces $25
1 Software Farms HI REZ Software Pack, 3 Pieces $20
A 11 np'*1 _ _ T7 rrrv i AAA
All 3 Titles For The 1000
1 TIMEX Software Pack, 3 Pieces $10
1 Magazine/Book Pack 3 Books/21 Mags $25
For Above Items Plea.se Use Reference # FRSU0792
1> QL Computer w/Psion s/w Coleco p/s,
Needs Membrane $55
1> Set Phillips 5.25" 1/2 HT 720K Drives In Case With Power
Supply And Cables $ 125
1> I.C.E. EPROM Cartridge $15
1> Transform Keyboard Cover $5
1> Microbridge s/w -(QL)-FLP $20
1> DBEA. SY on FLP $ 10
1> Cable C Disk: FLP Filer $ 10
1> Paste Art VI :FLP $5
1> Qliberator MDV w/Manual $20
20> Update Magazines $25
16> IQLR Magazines $25
18> TIME DESIGNS Magazines $20
1> Taking The Quantum Leap book $20
1> Sinclair QL Computing Book $5
1> QL Survivors Source Book $5
1> QL Icontroller Cursor Controller $25
1>ZX81 16K RAMPAK $5
1> TS Telecommunications Manual 2068 $6
10> Ouantum Levels Magazines ( OL^ $12 50
For Above Items Please Use Reference # CLU1293
1 MIRACLE QL Printer Interface $35
1 QL Technical Guide $10
2 AERCO FD 68 Disk Interface w/256K RAM $100 ea
1 COLECO Power Supply For Use With FD 68 $5
1 RITEMAN 9 Pin Dot Matrix Printer $115
Includes: Tractor/Roll Feed w/8 Ribbons Grapnics Compauole.
For Above Items Plea.se Use Reference # RDSU0393
1 Timex Sinclair 1000/ZX81 Users Manual $2.50
1 The Timex Personal Computer Made Simple $2.50
1 Mastering Your TS 1000 Personal Computer $2.50
Collector's Items
LIPIinoiKI S oottware Buyers Lruiae lo l b Jrroaucis ana services
In Loose Leaf Binder $10+3 SH
For Above Items Use Reference # HCU0793
CNSN 3 Last Updated: April 6, 1995
We Sure Are Getting A Lot Of These Fine
Used Items!
1 PSION Suite S/W Package $ 17.50
1 AMBER Composite Monitor 12" $45
1 CUMANA QL DISK I/F w/Manual $95
For The Above Items Use Reference # RZU0692
1> 6 Pack TS 1000 s/w w/Docs - Includes Shipping! $5
1> Sharp 4602 Laptop, 2 720K Floppy Drives, 640K RAM 10MHZ, 2
Serial/1 Par Ports - RGB/CGA Port - 5.25" Floppy Port - 2
Battery Packs - DOS 3.30 Backlit LCD Screen - Case With
Many Pockets Also Included - All In Like-New Condition.
Includes AC Adapter.
Make Us An Offer! (Reasonable !) $ 475 pp.
For Above Items PIea.se Use Reference w JCUU989
3 TS-1000 8K ROM Chips $3 ea.
3 TS- 1000 2K static RAM Chips $3 ea.
For Above Item(S) Plea.se Use Reference # JHU0692
CNSN 1 All Prices Include Shipping! April 15, 1995.
1 TS-2068 Computer w/PS & manual $60
1 TS-2068 Power Supply Only $15
1 ZEBRA OS-64 Cartridge $30
1 OLIGER Serial I/F w/Tape Software $35
2 TS- 1000 Computers w/Ps & Cables (Both) $30
7 TS 2968 Cassette Programs (All) $ 10
20 TS-1000 Cassette Programs (All) $15
For Above Item(S) Plea.se Use Reference # JCU1291
More Items That Would Like To Find A New
Home! Rea.d This!
1 QL to PC Monitor adapter (use QL monitor on PC) Like your QL
Vision monitor? Want to use it on your PC? This adapter w/ps will
allow you to do that with any CGA output. $45.
1 TS-2068 In Wooden Case w/Large KB/Reset/More $65 pp.
1 DMP 430 15" Dot Matrix printer (Good Shape) $1 10 pp.
For Above Items Plea.se Use Reference # DSU1190
1 OLIVETTI Ink Jet printer PR2300 with 5 cartridges, great little
printer. Ink. carts, are still available from the manufacturer $1 15
ZXir QLive Alive!
32
Summer 1995
For Above Items Use Reference # JRU0393
For The Above Items Use Reference # RGU0494
2 New! Headstart Buss Type 3 Button Mouse S35 ea.
1 New! In Original Carton $45 pp.
Suckerboard 1200b External Modem
b or Above items Piea.se Use Reference # CCU1192
Price Reduction!
Effective April 15, 1994, all new TIMEX 2068 S/W on cassette will
sell for $1.50 each plus shipping with a minimum order of 5 pieces.
All new TIMEX 1000 S/W on cassette will sell for $0.50 plus
sxiippxng wixii a. iiiiiujtiujti ui d picucs.
CNSN 6 Last Updated: March 1 1, 1995
Here Is A Rea 1 Bonanza Of TS and Spectrum
Used Items!
1 TS- 1000 In Original Box $ 12
1 TS- 1000 No Ps/Cables/Manual As Is $4
3 TS 1016 16K RAM Packs For TS-1000 $2.50 ea..
1 TS 2040 Printer In Original Box $20
1 QL Computers w/Power Supply (Not Working) $35
1 QL Owners Manual Original 4 Ring Binder $ 10.50
1 Full Height 5.25" SSDD TANDON drive w/cable for QL $15
1 Interface 1 and MICRODRIVE for SPECTRUM as is $30
In Original Box Last Time Out Was Not Working OK
1 TS-2068 Power Supply Only $ 15
1 TS-2068 KEMPSTON Joystick Interface $ 15
30 Used QL MICRODRIVE Cartridges $1 .50 ea..
2068 S/W: Timegate/Horace Spiders/Penetrator/Fl. Sim. AHJ-3D ZIP
Compiler/The Tracer/ZPRINT 80/BASIC2TEXT $4ea
All For Only $25 Post Paid!
SPECTRUM S/W: American Football/Chess /Olympics/ Horace
Skiing/Rocky Horror Show $5 ea.
All Spectrum Titles For Only $30 Postpaid!
1000 S/W: M Coder/Grimm's Fairy Trails/Vu-Calc/Fl. Sim/Black
Star/ZX LR8/Encounter/3D Orbiter/Mazogs/Quest/Funware $4ea
All 1000 Titles For Only $15 Postpaid
For Above Items PIea.se Use Reference # MCU0892
CNSN 8 Last Updated: March 11, 1995
Here Are A Few Grea.t Items For You Collectors!
1 TS1000 16K RAM Manual p/s, MINOT adaptor installed $30
1 Memopak 64K $30
1 Digital dual disk drive w p/s/fan/case/2 drives 40 tr. SS/DD
5.25"(Aerco FD/ZX) w/Aerco Centronics interface w/docs. Bill Boss
DOS on disk for the TS1000. This requires the MINOT adaptor.
PRO/File on disk.6 Disks with many programs. $235
1 TS2040 Printer in original box $20
1 Memotext Module $20
1 Memotext on disk by F, Nachbauer $20
1 Memocalc Module $20
1 Memotech HRG Module Never used w/book below Graphics A to
Z Bingham explains HRG $35
1 Memotech Plug In Keyboard $35
CASSETTES
2 ea.. Prog. Tool Kit/Graphics Softsync $4 ea
1 Krakit/ 2 Frogger $4
2 ea.. Budgeter/States & Caps $1 ea
1 Algebra 1 $3
1 Carpooler $1
1 ea. Strategy Football/Piizzler/Graphic Golf Crosswd $2
1 ea. Organizer/Home Asset mgr $2
AH Of The Above For Only $4.50 (Includes Shipping)
1 Memotech Centronics interface $30
1 Cable for above $7.50
1 Advanced budget mgr. Softsync $4
1 Execu Soft 7 software prgms for the small business:
1 Customer Credit
1 General Ledger
1 Execu Diary
1 Address and Phone File
1 Accounts Payable
1 Accounts Receivable
1 Inventory
3 Blank Cassettes/data
All in plastic binder $30
For abnvp unit n«f> reference HUCI 10703
Turn That Old XT Into An Inexpensive Fax Machine! Add One
Of These Cards At About 1/4 Of Their Original Cost!
1 JTFAX 4800 BAUD Internal Fax Card (Like New) $35
1 Complete FAX 4800 BAUD internal rax card (like new) $50
For Fax Cards Use Reference # IFCU0992
How About This For A Package !?!
1 QL Computer with P/S, PSION S/W, 4 Backup MDV Carts &
Manual
1 TURBO QUILL
1 SPELLBOUND Spell Checker For QUILL
1 Q LINK TELECOM Software
1 QL World Magazines
AD Of Above For Only $100 Postpaid!!
Fat Thfc Package Reference U TPTT1 191
CNSN 7 Last Updated March 1 1, 1995
CNSN 11 Last updated March 11, 1995
Here is a rea.1 bonanza of TS and Spectrum
used items!
BOOKS:
QL Service Manual $10
ZX81 BASIC FTOgranuning $5
Mastering Your TS1000/ZX81 Computer $3
MC68000 Programming Pocket Guide $5
TS2068 Int/Adv. Guide $3
MC68008 Microprocessor Manual $5
2 M68000 Programmer's Manual $5 ea. .
MTERM Telecomm Book $5
QL Tech Manual $15
Sinclair Survivalist's Handbook $10
For Above Items Plea.se Use Reference # MCU0892
And Here Are More Collectables
1 TS1000 P/S, 16K RAM 2040 printer File Sixty Keyboard $50
The following are $1 Each
1 Home Asset Manager 1 Home Improvement Planner
1 IRA Analyzer 1 Nowotick Puzzler 1 The Gambler
1 Stock Market Tech Analysis I 1 Stamp Collector
1 Computer Coach 1 Grimms Fairy Trails
1 The Cube Game 1 Chess 1 Stock Market Game
1 VU-Calc 1 Coupon Manager 1 Conversational Spanish
1 Checkbook Manager 1 The Gambler
1 The Starter 1 Money Analyzer I 1 Money Analyzer II
1 Extended Basic Tom Woods NEW $15
1ZX PRO/File $10
1 PRO/File 1000 $9
1 Monopoly (Savage Software) $9
i ivjxuviw l xi^xl opico-UaJicci ivioumc W/LsULS llj
1 MEMOTECH 32K w/Docs $ 15
ZXir QLive Alive! 33 Summer 1995
1 Ten Good Games (Savage Software) $9
1 Trader Jack (Savage Software) $9
1 Delphic Toot Kit.w/16 Page docs $15
All Of The Above Items Can Be Yours For Only $95.
For Above Unit Plea.se Use Reference # HCU0793
CNSN 12 Last Updated: March 1 1, 1995
Here Are Some Items Just In!
TS-1000 Hardware:
1 TS-1000 Complete In Original Box $20
1 TS-1000 In Suntronics KD 81 Keyboard Direct Video Output
Cables and Manual $50
1 PC8300 (TS-1000 Clone) Not Working, No P/S $10
6 TS 1016 16K RAM Packs ALL FOR $12 Or ea.cn $4.50
1 TS-1000 ROM Demo PC Board $15
1 ZDubber Tape Filter/Copier For TS 1000 $10
1 MEMOTECH HRG (High Res. Graphics) Pac $25
1 William Stuart Systems Speech Recognition/Sound Board
Interface (Not Working) $15
1 ZEBRA Light Pen With Software For TS1000 $10
2 TS-1000 Power Supplies Both For $ 10 Ea.ch $5.50
1 Molded Plastic Briefcase For TS-1000 Package Holds
TSlOOO/Power Supply/Cables/TV Switch/RAM Pack/Manual and
Cassette Tapes $20
TS-2068 Hardware
1 TS-2068 Complete In Original Box Includes: Crazybugs
Cartridge/States & Capt. Cart $60
1 TS2068 with manual/TV switch/cables/software includes: Crazy
Bugs cart/States & Caps cart. No P/S $40
1 LarKen 2068 Disk Drive Interface Ver L3 ROM & Spectrum
Spec 2 ROM $115
1 ZEBRA Graphics Tablet With Interface and Software Painter 1.4
Techdraw 2. 1 and Radio Shack analog Joystick $50
General TS Hardware:
2 TS 2040 Printers with power supplies $40 both or $25 ea,.
1 TS 2040 Printer With No Power Supply $10
8 Rolls Radio Shack thermal paper w/2040 adapters $10
1 AERCO Centronics printer interface w/software $45
1 Supra MiCTOstuffer Parallel 64K Print Buffer $20
1 WINKY Board II Tape Filter $8
1 Dual 5.25" Disk Drive Package w/Case and Power Works With
Both LarKen 1000 and 2068 l/Fs $95
1 TANDON TM 100 4 5.25" Full HT 720K Drive $20
For Above Items Plea.se Use Reference # TWUII94
CNSN 13 Last Updated: March 3 1 , 1 995
Postpaid items apply to the continental USA. Otherwise, contact
us for exact shipping charges to avoid delays in shipping your order.
Package B
Hardware All OF THIS for S100 pp.
1 TS-2068 Computer w/power supply & cables, 1 TS 2040 Printer
w/power supply, 11 Rolls 2040 printer paper, 1 GECompu-
Mate recorder w/power supply, 1 Suncom TAC-2 Joystick, 1
32K Non- Volatile RAM Cartridge (T. Woods), 1 ProFile
Cartridge (T. Woods), 15 Blank cassette tapes
Software Cartridges:
Flight Simulator (Timex), Casino I (Timex)
Software Tapes:
Pix-FX V 1.1 (M. Di Rienzo), Font Library I (Mountaineer),
TechDraw Jr. v 1.3 (Zebra), Personal Home Finance (Timex),
States & Capitals (Timex), ProFile 2068 (T. Woods), Vu-File
(Timex), Vu-Calc (Timex), Vu-3D (Timex), ProFile +5 (R.
Fischer), Timex Software Tape, Pixel Sketch (S. Lemke),
Quadra Chart (Timex), Icon Library/Icon Utility (S. Lemke),
Icon Manager/Designer (S. Lemke), Mega Fonts/16 Point Font
Designer (S. Lemke), Basic Toolkit (J. Kilday), The Tracer
(S&Ks/w), Kruncher 2068 (S&K s/w), Cassette Header
Rea.der (G. Russell), Tasword II (Tasman)
Books:
The Timex Sinclair 2068 (R. Valentine), Inside the Timex
Sinclair 2000 Computer (J. Naylor/D. Rogers), TS-2068
Reference Guide (G. Held), , Timex Sinclair
Beginner/Intermediate Guide (P. Blechman), , Creative Games
for the TS-2068 (R. Maunder), The Best Of The Plotter
(CCATS)
Note: Documentation is included for all items except the 2068.
Plea.se use reference JSU0395
CNSN-16 Last Updated: March 15, 1995
Place your ads here, it is free!
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
PHI Chips
Programmable Array Logic chips are available for
some Timex and QL's from:-
NAZIR PASHTOON
NAP Ware
940 BEAU DR APT 204
DES PLAINES IL 60016-5876
Phone(eve.) 708 439-1679
747 ^flight Simulator
So you like to fly, the 747 Flight Simulator for SPECTRUM by
Derek Ashton of DACC. Requires a SPECTRUM equipped 2068.
Supplied on LarKen SSDD or DSDD LarKen disk for $10 which
goes to Derek now working at Motorola with Bob.
Bob Swoger Address on page 2
A Strategic generic War game for the TS-206S
COIttVBff
r Completely in fast machine code. Games can be SAVEd
and CONTTNUEd.
ZXir QLive Alive!
34
Summer 1995
r Available on tape, or disk, AERCO, Oliger. Game and map
SAVEs in BASIC allows conversion to your system.
Price $19.95 + $2.50 S&H.
Order from:- or:-
LLOYD DREGER SMUG
2461 S. 79TH ST BOX 101
WEST ALLIS Wl 5321 9 BUTLER Wl 53007
Make David an Offer
ZX-81/TS-1000 TS-2068
Hardware Kits
Real Time Clock I/O Controller RS-232
Centronics l/F 1 6K & 64K RAM 300 BAUD
Modem A-D Converter(assembied)
BYTE-BACK INC
536 LONG TER
LEESVILLE SC 29070
The John Oliger Co.
11601 Widbey Dr.
Cumberland IN 46229
The John Oliger Floppy Disk System
FOR THE TS-2068
DkkWorks
Expansion Board
2068 User Cartridge
Disk Boards "A" & "B"
2068 Parallel Printer Port
2068 EPROM Programmer
2068/SPECTRUM Joystick Port
DFh Mapped Universal I/O Port hoard
Vpp Power Supply
User Manual only : $5 . 00 (Read before you buy)
Service For America's
Favorite Home Computers
And Their Accessories
SINCLAIR
TIMEX ADAM ATARI
IBM OSBORNE TI COMMODORE
BUY SELL TRADE UPGRADE
Reasonable flat rate plus parts and shipping.
Write for prices S ASE appreciated
WANTED
Dead or Alive?
PC color monitors, keyboards, printers, circuit
boards, etc.
COMPUTER CLASSICS
RR1 BOX 117
CABOOL MO 65689
Phone 417 469-4571
PROFILE -ZX-81 (tic-tac-toe)
ZX-TEXT - Word Processor
ZX-CALC - Spreadsheet
Business Software
Cycle Accounting Financial Report Generator
ZX-CALENDAR - Time Management
ZX-81 TS-1000 TS-1500
TS-2068
Albert F. Rodriguez
A . F. R . Software®
1605 PENNSYLVANIA AVE 204
MIAMI BEACH FL 33139
305 531-6464
QLAMBer new users, QXL/Minerva/QDOS
compatible $15
QLAMBer + QLuMSi both QXL/Minerva/QDOS
compatible $25
QLAMBer + QLuMSi upgrade $20
QLAMBer + QLuMSi upgrades $10
QLUSTer to QLAMBer upgrade only $5
QLuMSi upgrade $5
fit leng
91 4 RIO VISTA CIR SW
ALBUQUERQUE NM 87105
(505)843-8414
£3:
HjHilili
<5ET IN TOUCH
QBox~USA
810 254-9878
24 hours a day
300-2400 to 14400 bps
Now running with a QUBIDE interface & HD
Lots of new files for you to download such as TS-
2068 emulator for those who use a PC.
Gives a call and let us know what you want to see
Message Area & File Area
QL International, Minerva, Quanta, Spectrum/2068,
NetMail, Emulators, Pointer etc.
SYSOP John J. Impellizzeri
4 How-To' is in the April, 94 UPDATE! Magazine
ZXir QLive Alive!
35
Summer 1995
Memory, Printers, Disk Drives, Software,
EPROMs, Modems, Mobile Phones
Mike Fink
Domino Cubes
1 30 W 42 nd ST 28 th FLR
NEW YORK NY 10036-6329
800 800-0718 27762
FAX 21 2 869-1526
w &
Bill Cable
ARCHIVE Based QL Software
QLerk - A complete financial program for the QL
QLerk software (v3.21) with tutorial $29
QLerk manual $29
QLerk software & manual $50
DBEasy - A menu based database system
DBEasy software (v1 .6) $24
DBEasy upgrade from V1 .5 $7
DBProgs - A toolkit of ARCHIVE procedures
DBProgs software (v1 .8) $ 1 8
DBProgs upgrade from V1 .7 $7
DBTutor - A general purpose learning program
DBTutor software(v1 .5) $ 1 2
PC DBEasy - Just like QL DBEasy but, you
must have PC ARCHIVE to use It.
PC DBEasy software (v1 .3) $ 1 2
WOOD & WIND COMPUTING
RR3 BOX 92
CORNISH NH 03745 USA
Phone (603)675-2218
FOR SALE: Complete TS-1000, TS-2040 printer in their
original boxes and three rolls of thermal paper. Mint condition.
For $35 P/shipping.
Complete Atari system, 800XL computer, printer, modem,
software and books. Mint condition. $95 P/shipping
ROBERT CURNUTT
10400 TRUXTONRD
ADELPHI MD 20783
FOR SALE: Radio Shack CGP-115 Color Printer
/Plotter, $75.00. T/S 2050 Modem complete, in original
box, $35.00.
D G SMITH
R 415 STONE ST.
JOHNSTOWN PA 15906
(814) 535-6998
FOR SALE :QZX Index. 59 pages. $10 Postpaid. & PC-
DRAW a printed circuit designer for the TS-2068 $9.00 pp.
A F BURR
2025 O'DONNELL DR
LAS CRUCES NM 88001
LIST
1M Newfilett
er
Tkc Long Island SinolAii/Timex Users Group
L. I. S. T.
HARVEY RAIT
5 PERI LN
VALLEY STREAM NY 1 1581
a< Ihere has to be someone out there
that needs help or information on
their system . So get in touch with
us and let our experts help you"
Harvey Rait
QL
Hacker's Journal
Supporting All QL Programmers
Timothy Swenson, Editor
5615BOTKINS RD
HEUBER HEIGHTS OH 45424
613 233-2178
New England Sinclair QL Users Group
16 HIGHLAND AVE
SAUGUS MA 01906
61 7 233-3671
CATS Newsletter
The Capital Area T/S Users Group
BARRY WASHINGTON
7044 CINDY LN
ANNANDALE VA 22003
301 589-7407
BBS 301 588-0579
ZXir QLive Alive!
36
Summer 1995
FOR THE TS-1000
FOR SALE: Computer Continuum expansion board that
includes the option of having the 5 volt regulator (more than 1
amp.) on the expansion board. KIT and all parts seem to be
there. The expansion parts are two 46 by .1 (standed edge
connnector) and four 44 by .156 (Tike those at Radio Shack).
The expansion connectors are all female. There is one standard
male board edge connector.
FOR SALE: Oliger Expansion Board KIT (mother board)
with four standard female expansion ports. Should go as a
companion unit with the Oliger 64K memory board.
FOR SALE: Oliger 64K Memory Board KIT (RAM chips
4164) using the 8K to 64K area of memory. I believe all parts
there except possibly the memory chips
FOR SALE: MRP Technology Memory Board set Bare
boards and docs. Uses 4164 RAM chips. Edge female
connector with pass-through.
FOR SALE: Fred Nachbaur's SRAM board. Bare board
and docs plus edge connector and female pass through. Uses
static RAM and has provision for lithium battery for memory.
FOR SALE: HUNTER Board and docs with 1 static RAM
chip, can hold three more. Works, just needs new battery.
Write and make offer including postage.
DONALD S. LAMBERT
1301 KIBLINGER PL
AUBURN IN 46706-3010.
SINCLAIR Resources
Jack Dohany (Developer - 2068)
627 VERA AVE
REDWOOD CITY CA 94061
John McMicael (Developer - Graphics)
1710 PALMER DR
LARAMIE WY 82070
ED GREY ENTERPRISES
PO BOX 2186
INGLEWOOD CA 90305
MOUNTAINEER SOFTWARE
749 HILL ST 9
PARKERSBURG WV 26104
304 424-7272
IQLR (QL)
PO BOX 3991
NEWPORT Rl 02840-0987
401 849-3805
Bill Russell (QL)
RUSSEL ELECTRONICS
RR1 BOX 539
CENTER HALL PA 16828
TEJ Computer Products
2405 GLENDALE BLVD STE208
LOS ANGLES CA 90039
24 Hr. Order line: 213 669-1418
MarkStueber (QL)
SHARP'S COMPUTER CENTER
7244 MECHANICSVILLE TPKE
MECHANICSVILLE VA 23111
804 730-9697 FAX 804 746-1 978
SUNSET ELECTRONICS (TS-1 000/2068)
2254 TARAVAL ST
SAN FRANCISCO CA 94116
Send them a LS ASE and ask for information about
their current products and/or services.
MECHANICAL
AFFINITY
Frank Davis Paul Holmgren
513 E Main St 5231 Wilton Wood a
Peru IN 46970 Inianapolis IN 46254
31 7-473-8031 31 7-291 -6002
Tues - Sat. 5 - 9 PM Please
FAX: 317-472-0783 11 PM - 7 AM
UPDATE ! Magazine
The only known, privately produced Sinclair computer magazine that covers ALL of
the Sinclair computers. We are now starting our 8 th year of publication ! ! !
We are a large quarterly magazine that is produced on Sinclair computers. We cover
the QL, Z88, TS-2068, Spectrum and the ZX-81 . Minimum issue size is 50 pages, and does
include ads from Sinclair dealers. The subscription is $20 in US$ in North America; £18
or the DM equivalent elsewhere. Send all funds and requests for a new subscription to*
UPDATE! MAGAZINE
PO BOX 17
MEXICO IN 46958 USA
' Checks, travelers checks, cash are all acceptable
ZXir QUve Alive! ~ 3 7 ~ Summer 1995
SNUG
ren on
Lis j-ine
(Congratulation due f^au l^Jdo Imc^
display integrity and responsibility. ^Jde kaS
put this chapter to its j^inal rest and did well L
everyone iv
i, o was a S WU G member.
###•:
A check$ provides for new membership in Volume S and extends
membership of the present T/SNUG members by an additional volume,
Vol. 5 Gertie Anderson
Vol. 6 Robert Barnett
Vol.5 HATSUG
Vol. 6 Mike Bowers
Vol. 6 Larry Crawford
Vol. 5 James Curry-
Vol. 6 CRAGIST
Vol. 5 Ed De Boer
Vol. 6 Rutk Fegley
Vol. 6 R. Artkur Gindin
Vol. 6 Fred Henn
Packeco. CA
Fort Meyers, FL
Lemoyne, PA
Pittskurgk, PA
London, ON
Rockester, NY
Aukurn, IN
Sauk Village, IL
Baltimore, MA
Princeton, WV
Amkerst, NY
Vol.5
Vol.5
Vol.7
Vol.5
Vol.5
Vol.5
Vol.5
Vol.6
Vol.5
Vol.5
Vol. 5
:•##•«
Ted Heckman
G. David Joknson
Donald S. Lamkert
Gary Lessenkerry
J. O'Donnel
Paul D. Rokinson
Jokn J. Skepard
rrancine Sklar
Larry W. Soutk
Jose Vasquez
Basil Wentwortk
Marion, IN
Edison, OH
Aukurn, IN
Waukegan, IL
N Amkerst, MA
Fairfield, PA
Ogden, LA
Lock Skeldrake, NY
Kansas City, MO
Cayey, PR
Bloomington, IN
Our thanks to those
who donated their share to T/SNUG
Dave Bennett
Bill Harmer
Erich Best
Bill Heberlein
Jon Carlton
Walter Horais
George Chambers
Roger Phelps
Frank Davis
Mattews Singer
Pete Fischer
Derryck Turner
Kenton Garrett
Nathan Willis
They will receive this issue.
ZXir QLive Alive!
38
Summer 1995
