MARCH/APRIL ’88 Vol.4 No. 3 $3.00 U.S. Funds

The SINCLAIR Computer Technology Maga:

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The SINCLAIR Computer Technology Magazine

MARCH/APRIL ’88

Time Designs Magazine Company 29722 Hult Road Colton, Oregon 97017 USA (603) 824-2658 CompuServe ID# 71350,3230

TIME DESIGNS MAGAZINE is published bi-monthly and is Copyright 1987 by the Time Designs Magazine Com- pany, Colton, Oregon 97017. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this magazine in whole or in part by any means without written permission is prohibited by law.

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RENEWAL TIME? To determine your expiration date, simply read the date posted In the upper-right corner of your mailing label (magazine cover). For an example, “Novi89” would indicate that the November/December 1989 issue would be the last issue received. A form is provided elsewhere to renew your subscription. We also send one notice in case you forget. An early renewal is very much appreciated, and let us know we are doing an adequate job.

DEALERS, HARDWARE/SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS: Write for our display ad rate card, and find out how you can reach the largest number of Timex Sinclair users in North America.

FROM THE EDITOR’S CLUTTERED DESK Tim Woods

Just as I had predicted in our last issue, my editorial entitled “SEND IN THE CLONES" opened a can of worms, but in a much more favorable light than I had icipated. And, along with our on-going R

Surve the

th

TDM Mail Box wa

literally bursting at (Only one person, however, wrote to tell they had caught on to the, what I thought an appropriate title. It's from a Judy Collins that was made popular in the 70's--*Send In The

That one person, was my good friend, the

seal me that was, song Clown: ever-talented Paul Bingham, who thought I should have

inclu

musical notes along with the title!)

As it turns out, I now know (thank goodness) that I probably won't be the last Sinclair user around. There are many, many of you who still feel that there is quite a bit of life left in these Silver and black boxes. Others of you, it seems, due to professional commitments (or whatever) dabble with the more expensive machin but still are very interested in what is going on here in TDM and the Sinclair community.

NOTICE: Contributors to TIME DESIGNS are independent of the TIME DESIGNS MAGAZINE CO., and opinions expressed In the contents of this ‘publication are not necessarily those of the management staff or its adver. tisers. Time Designs Magazine Co. will not be held liable for any damage or consequences resulting from instructions, assertions of fact, review of pro- {ucts or companies provided in the magazine's content. It recommended that anyone attempting to modity their computer or constructing trical project should soek help trom more knowledgeable Individuals.

finally, there are those of you who never to stay with us ry long anyway. Th “bell just too much of a do us all a favor, and sell (or

flashier temptation. Pie. give) your Sinclair computer to someone who would use

it...and also give them your back 1 of TIME DESIGNS (i# you no longer want to read them). Overall. 1 feel that “IBM PC and Clone bashing" would be an unproductive activity for us to follow. (But lord knows how many times we've heard our favorite chines bashed to death!) There

is probably a great deal of info we could gain our PC, Atari, Apple, and Commodore friends,

I'closed’ the "Send In The Clones* editorial on a positive note...which I would like to expand on a bit. There are those of you who have accused me of being too positive (or “sugar-coated"). Of cour! am aware of folks who have left our midst, and some of the user groups have died on the vine. But am equally aware of groups that are still ‘on fir and can pack in 50 to 60 users at meetings, and also some fascinating research and development that is being conducted right now with our computers.

from

Why concentrate on “belly aching" and “crying* about how bad things are? Why not instead work to- gether on some neat hardware and software projects. Let's recruit new members (and try to find those that have “hand-me-down* computers). Let's also try to turn around such negative bad mouthing we receive, by showing others what we can do...and start by

having a positive attitude ourselve: I don’t mean to get up on a high and mighty soap box, but Iam tired of hearing negative comments

Continued On Page

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(even from our own users). Often I have found that the root problem is frustration. There is so much that could be done by others in this area. If someone is frustrated, a simple question (or q answered goes a long way. More than often, i Showing a user how to install a printer ‘co program to get their full size printer going, or e: plaining how a disk drive is hooked uj you who are “more knowlegeable*...we help, if you are willing to take the t something in layman's terms, or solve a problem. Enough said for the time being on the subject. Before we run out of spi I did want to share you on what's coming Our next insu GROUPS. We'll try to provid: Of groups in the U.S. and C: also some international group! Select the top ten newsle groups (to give all thor and a pat on the back). Along with the user group information, we will also list any dealer or company that s¢11) supports the Timex Sinclair comunity. And if that wasn't all, the complete TDM publication (this @ll of our regular progras Don't miss out (surprises a: Then for the summer -July/August... that will be our issue devoted to STORAGE MEDIUMS. All about disk drives, program conversions, utilitie: Some of those ‘rare* Timex and Sinclair tape drive: nd an excellent program by Floyd Chrysler u)

it from a published Spectrum program (with fon from the author) for the TS2068. It real up things for those folks that still use

Moving on to the next want introduce you to Ralph Hamme: who contributed a program

March/April "87 ‘issue of TDM. Ralph is t. many areas including the graphic arts. The

section, 1 of Las Vegi called “CUBE-I7"

upcoming

Complete TS1000/1500/ ZX81 Library for just $10 Exploring TS1500/1000 Graphics The Elementary Timex/Sinclair Fifty 1K/2K Games for the ZX81 and TS1000 49 Explosive games for the ZX81 Ins & Outs of the TS1000 Making the Most of Your ZX81 The ZX81 Pocket Book Explorer's Guide to the TS1500/1000 Basics of Timex Sinclair 1500/1000 BASIC BASIC Basics for the TS1500/1000 The book distributor didn't know where to sell Timex books anymore, so we were able to buy up a quantity of them for a great price, Now, while they last, you can get this complete collection of ten different titles for an incredible $10, just $1 per book. They contain lots of wonderful program examples with explanations, programming tips, and more, Act immed- iatly..,just 100 sets are available! Order item #10BK. In-

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USER GROUP issue is his "brain child", and he has de- Signed a great looking cover for that issue. In additon to that, he will also be doing other art assignments from time to time. After twenty years in the Air Force, Ralph is ¢acing retirement and a Change of pace...we wish him the best of luck!

IN THE

An Open Letter To The R

ers

Every once in a while, Tim Woods (our Editor and Friend) will stand on a soap box, and declare his loyalty to the Timex-Sinclain community of computers And tor the larger percent. we are right behind him. These 1ittle Z80-based computers are great to work with, and to have fun with.

A good number of people, be they common users, on up to the Dealers and the ones who keep ui healthy, have stood the ground for our orphan. We putter and tinker around with these black and silver machines, making it work a little harder and a little better.

We have even banded together in small group: meeting month after month, year after year, just for the simple pleasure of talking to someone who has a common interest--the Sinclair computer.

But I have started to notice a trend. There is a departing mode going on. People are leaving our midst, to ‘upgrade* to the Big Blue Compatible, and with them goes the little tidbits of invaluable in- formation, and experience. I wish them good fortune, for they have polished their computing "baby-teeth* on our beloved brand. But let's hang onto their phone number or addr:

For the negative trend is also appearing, there are groups out there that are struggling, suffering from low membership and purpose. Some of us are tucking in our tails, hiding our pride.

Let's dust off that old 2x81, loan it to someone who doesn’t compute. If it's been awhile since you ordered that one little piece of software, or bought @ new Disk Drive, or a full size printer or monitor, Scrape your pennies together and assault your di (they'll love ya for it!). Bring a non-TS-u: your next group meet.

The time has come to start up a ‘National TSUG Organization". To think of its potential is mind- boggling. A whole continent of ide help, and servic Working together for standardization, software and hardware implementation, and even a logo to show our unity.

Think about it, and then take action.

Ralph Hammer Sec/Tr Timex-Sinclair Users Group of Las Vegas, Nevada

Guest Editorial ‘The "Sleeper Has Anaken*

1¥ you are a “DUNE* fan (as I am), you may have recognized that the title for this editorial was taken from that book (and movie)! But, that is exactly how I feel...now that I finally broke down and bought a Disk Drive System for my TS2048. That's right, ail the program development that I have been doing...Desktop Publisher and all, was 100% TAPE based! Thinking back, I thought of all the wasted hours doing tape loads/saves and verifies. How did I even stand it?

Oh, I know you've heard all this before...I know, I was skeptical too! Why would anyone want to spend so much money on a “dead* computer...how much longer is that little grey box going to work anyway...why not spend the money and get a real computer...all very good questions!! All th

MAILBAG

Now to kick things off for this issue, we have a number of guest editorials, le tips, and general mail...s0 we have elected to let Ralph Hammer go first. As always, we appreciate your comments and any correspondence is welcome. If you haven't #illed out your READER SURVEY yet, there is still plenty of time (WHY HAVEN'T YOU!?!). Another copy of the survey is provided elsewhere in this issue. We will report on the survey findings next time, See you then!

more) I asked myself for the better part of 4 years now. I guess it took me that long to find the answer: BECAUSE I WANT TOO! That is what it all boiled down to. This little grey box is a REAL computer, not a toy! The simply fantastic programs available on it is proof enough for that. My little grey box has been going 20 to 30 hours per week, week after week, for 4 years...and when this one dies, I'll dig out my Spare, and when that one goes, I'll have had time to get a second spare...all for a lot less money than one of their "real computers*. And how reliable is Big Blue (or a Clone) anyway?

But what really sold me was the new possibilities available with the disk Aerco Disk Drive System has 64K of extra into the interface, that is expandable

The Larken RAMdisk provides a second form of added capabilities, and can use the Aerco 64K as a RAMdisk without adding

anything to the system. In each case, the MEMORY

BARRIER is broken! My new desktop program (Pixel Print Pro- fessional) uses the Aerco RAM to BANK-SWITCH a second

Pixel Print column, allowing the user to load and Switch between left and right columns in the Desktop Program. The "Print-a-Document* program (part of the

Package) uses BANK-SWITCHING to hold and print both left and right columns simultaneously! This Provides perfect column alignment in the twin (32 character) columns, and allows real 64 column Desktop Publishing when importing files ¢rom TASWORD or other word processors that create ASCII text files, in the Single 64 column format. The LARKEN version will use the RAMdisk to hold file data and provide fast data transfer similar to the Aerco Bank-Switching. Volatile or non-volatile RAM cartridges can provi quick and easy add-on memory for tape and microdrive users too!

As the add-on memory systems popular, watch for more and mor written to use these capabilities! Certainly the desktop programs are only one of many new applications that will take advantage of this new break-throus)

So, wake up your computer and do what your inner

elf has been wanting to do for a long time

nd in that disk drive order, you won't regret it!! (For your information, I have compiled a short list of for a variety of programs I u regularly. are for comparison purposes oniy...like government MPG figures...but sommhat more accurate

become more programs to

S. D. Lemke Lemke Software Development Kansas

Program “SERCO

Pixel Print va-@

TASWORD IT

Uu-Fite (rien printer driver aha‘typical data File)

Pixel Print Daca

Newer Sinclair User

I was very pleased to recieve the JAN/FEB of TDM magazine and se track you should be taking. For myself, I am in- terested only in articles concerning 1/S equipment from TDM} that is, i¢ I wanted articles about IBM, 1 Would seek out national publications or their user groups which are quite strong as we all know. As to why I am interes in 1/8, I suckered in on the PC@300 (a TSi000 clone), and’ through the Dallas Timex Us Group, changed very quickly to a model 152068. I am a working engineer (1950 vintagi Where in my job I have access to and use daily, a nation wide IBM network system operating five 3090 machines with operating systems of M204, UNCMS, and TSO} these are networked via a high capacity data transfer system to our scientific computer center where we use VAX, CDC, and CRAY mainframes. The present CRAY XMP14 is being replaced in March with an XMP28. These machines will compile @ 10,000 line Fortran program in about 1 second. My department Software is being moved to the CRAY, and we will u @ VAX 8800 as the front end of this system. So for many years I did not want any kind of PC in my hom but after buying a Radio Shack TRS-80 Pocket Computer at acamera fair, and being expo to it...then along came the PC8300. The T/S Us recommended the TS2048, and when a T/S user Atari, I wound up with a TS2068, 182040 print. bit of softwares and since then I have added disk drives with the LARKEN operating system, McMichael's Commodore plotter, and lots of software from the SINCUS News Exchange Progr: Tim, we all wish you well in the and the orphan will never be a roaring the only reason I subscribe to TDM is the fact that it is a good source of T/S information and I do not have to sift through many unrelated articles. I actually would preter a magazine devoted to only the 152068, but know this is not practical (and many of the earlier programs for the 781000/TS1500/Zx81 can be utilized fairly readily i¢ you have an interest.

issue your questionaire on what

John D. Austin McKinney, Tex

Puzzle Of The Month Fan

Tf King Xerxes of the JAN/FEB Month* could afford to have over 40 wivei obviously could afford a computer. (Probably a Zorba.) We have to ask why he needed the last hint to determine the number of animals brought to him.

From Cedric Bastiaans’ program, we know the: are tno possible solutions, one with 46 wives and one with 52 wives. Let's assume the king had 46 wives I'm gure an old hacker like Xerxes wrote a program Similar to Cedric’s. There would be one differenc

jefore he receiv 1 he wouldn't yet

know the number of oxen was than half the total (this was the final hint), but he would know that the total of all the animals was equal to 46. To

what the king’s earl must have looked like, change one line in Cedric’s program. Instead of the AND 0 <W/2) in line 65, use AND W=46. The rest of the program can stay unchanged. Run the program. You'll get exactly one answer. If Xerxes had 46 wives, he would have had the answer without asking for the final clue. So we can he didn’t have 46 wives, and the solution totalling up to 52 is the only correct one. I hope that Xerxes wasn't a

‘complete computer nerd who spent all his time on his

achine. Can you imagine 52 computer widows?

This is a great puzzle because it requires both computer and human analys T came across this puzzle at the perfect time...reading TDM on the way to work! That day, my boss didn't come in, so I had all day to work on it. Since I'm not sure if my boss or anyone in his family reads this magazine, I 'd better sign off as...

“Puzzle of the

Name Withheld Upon Request

Last Of The Simple Computer?

I have to believe that I am

resistance to upgrading to a new computer every two

years. It is not the cost--I have plenty invested in

my ZX@1 systems, I just feel that I could spend the

next decade or so exploring all the possibiliti

the ZX@i with various hardware and software improv nts available.

The 2x81 is, I feel, the perfect ‘base* from which to explore the world of the computer and the Z@0 microprocessor. In a recent letter ¢rom Frei Nachbaur (Silicon Mountain Computers), Fred sums it up much better than I ever could. Allow me to quote:

*I can't help but wonder, though, 1# one day the simple computer won't reappear. It seems that the whole computer industry 1s shooting itself in the foot by coming out with fancier computers at lower and lower prices. Already it's at a point where the best you can hope for with some of the new machin: is to become a capable user. Forget about trying to understand it, At least with the 2X81 one stands a chance of learning what makes it go.

not alone in ny

of

Van 8. Vangor thlehem Tool Island Falls, Maine

Timex/Sinclair--*The Real Thing*

I called a

n up just the other day, ‘d like a power supply," I had to s “For a disk drive on my 2048. He replied, *forty dollars.* Isaid, “Hey, that’s GREAT!*

But then he went on to ask, "What could it do?*

I sat back and smiled and said, ‘How about you?" “oh, I started with others,”

He said with dismay,

“But look around nom, where are they today?*

Too small and too slow and not much real use there. So they sit in my closet, under the stair.*

“For just a few bucks you clone an xT!"

(Having used them before) I stated, "Oh, gee. “Move up to a machine you can DO SOMETHING with, And you can SAVE all kinds of bucks: IF

You build it yourself, it'll be QUITE a machine. With CP/M and MS-DOS, you can have a custom dream!*

“hy thank you," I said, *I*11 keep it in mind,

And give ya’ a call if I can find the time.*

But Laughing quite loudly as I hung up the phon I thought, "I've got the REAL THING, who NEEDS a CLONE! *

Clint Cook Santee, California

ZEUS UTILITY Revisited

In the MAY/JUNE "67 issue of TDM, we published = Short 1S2068 utility by Richard Hurd, that converts ZEUS source code files into an ASCII #ile for either MSCRIPT and TASWORD Two. Evidently, there were some problems with the original listing. Here is the Corrected version, including step-by-step in- structions.

1) LOAD ZEUS (asseabler) CODE 2) Enter this Little BASIC lleting

5 REM HERE TO ENTER CODES

10 LET T=0 2 FOR F=61431 TO 61624 30 IF T=@ THEN PRINT 49 INPUT N

SO POKE F,N:PRINT TAB 7; 60 LET T=T+4:1F T)=29 THEN PRINT: LET 70 NEXT F

8@ STOP

tLeT

3333333333333333333333333333333333333

100 REM HERE TO READ CODES

110 LET Tso 120 FOR F=61431 TO 61624

130 IF T=0 THEN PRINT F;:LET T=T+6

14@ PRINT TAB T; PEEK F;

15Q LET T=1+4:1F T2=29 THEN PRINT:LET 7 16@ NEXT F

61491 16 252 24 199 203 191 61497 14 @ 22933 67 238 61503 185 40 18 24535 126 61509 2546 40 6 25410 61515 40 2 24 244 241 12 61521 35 24 235 126 18 35 61527 12619 2548 40 6 61533 25410 40 2 24 241 61839 225 24 152 235 17 79 61545 163 167 237 62 229 193 61861 201 176 185 112 126 42 61857 114 2406 64 62 32 61663 119 35 16 252 42 112 61569 2401 @ @ 126 254 61575 13 40 8 254 255 40 61581 31 12 35 24 243 35 61587 229 237 91 114 240 42 61593 112 248 237 176 42 114 61599 2401 64 8 9 34 61605 114 248 225 34 112 240 61611 24 199 42 114 2401 61617 48 117 183 237 66 229 61623 193 201

3) Nom ent SAVE th bytes)

the llet of 194 of code I've Included.

4

Just add this code te the BASIC listing from the TOM article and you have it.

z2w/T

61431 33 @ 12817 79 183 61437 35 35 126 254 18 40 61443 41 254 120 48 47 254 61449 8 40 4 18 19 24 61455 23962 13 18 35 19 61461 126 254 255 32 7 35 61467 126 254 255 40 70 43 61473 62 237 186 32 215 62 61479 255 167 48 59 24 208 61485 35 70 62 32 16 19

COCOOOCOOSOHOOO OOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCO OOOOOeOH

NEWS

SUNSTATE TIMEX SINCLAIR WINTERFEST *88

A lighter attendance than expected and heavy rain didn’t dampen the spirits of those T/S users who gathered in Orlando, Florida on March 5 and 6 for the Sunstate T/S Winterfest. A good time was enjoyed by all those who could make it. The area is one of the nation’s most popular tourist spots, with EPCOT and Walt Disney World just a short drive away.

The dealer tables drew the most interest, with companies such as Zebra Systems, Sharp's, A+ Computer Response, Foote Software, Syncware News, WDJUP Co., and Time Designs; displayed their merchandis

There were also some interesting Sinclair “one-of-kind" bargains to be found. For instance, A+ had boxes of items that were retrieved from the old Sinclair warehouse in Boston, when it shut down operations a few years ago. They offered packs of ZX81 ROMs, 2K RAMs, ZX80 kits which were in the original packaging, and the unique Sinclair FM Radio Watches...which were quickly snatched up.

Another interesting display was put on by Mr. Eric Johnson, of Orange City, Florida, who obtained a large stock of surplus Timex Sinclair items from a relative who works for Timex in Connecticut. Among the most notable were a series of TSi500 circuit boards that had been issued by Timex, from an early prototype board, to a later compact design from Portugal. There was also a good quantity of TS2068’s for sale.

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‘#x#8x ALMOST 3 MEGABYTES OF STORAGE FOR LESS THAN $5!!!

That's right. of 2068 program storage. Not seconds or blems, these are brand-new TDK D60 cassettes. In all my years of using them I’ve never had one sent back because it was faulty. TDK CASSETTE 5-PAK.............4.99 each (If ordering with other software these will be shipped otherwise please ad $2 per pak postage and handling)

Five Top-quality TDK cassette tapes allow almost 3000K

free,

And I’m selling them at less than $1 each!

(continued from page 7)

The Larken 256K RAMdisk for the TS2068 w unveiled for the first time in public. The small compact board features one-quarter Meg of non-volatile RAM, and when used with the Larken LKDOS cartridge, it Operates with standard cassette-type LOAD and SAVE commands.

Along with the dealer tabi with catalogs and brochures from soi absent vendors, and a ¢ew user groups, including the Northeast Florida T/S Users Group (Jacksonville), the TASBAM group (St Petersburg and Tampa), the CATS group (from Washington, DC), and the SMUG group (from Wisconsin, had tables as well.

On Saturday evening, a meeting was held to discuss the idea of a National Timex Sinclair user Group. Some proposals were presented and comments ner icited from the audience. Overall, it was the consensus that such an organization would help unify and strengthen our TS community, and benefits such as @ central Public Domain software library would be offered. (Note: read the accompanying article on the national group for further details).

there were tabi

A National Sinclair Organization

S.N.U.G. (Sinclair Northamerica Users Group) is an idea spawned by the organizers of the Sunstate T/S Winterfest, and has evolved comments from other Timex/Sinclair w

The intent of SNUG 1s to provide a forum for exchange of ideas, It would be a source of infor- mation, such as a listing of active members, active user groups, Sinclair-specific BBS an’ active library of Public Domain software, and a listing of available shareware and freeware. Later on, proposed industry standards for hardware and software would be adopted. So as to not have to "re-invent the wheels, an already established national group would be used asa model to base the group on (such as CORSA--the Corvair Owners Assn.). SNUG would act as an umbrella organization, with regions being di d to tie in with established user groups in those a

PROMISE LAND ELECTRONICS Dan Elliott, Owner

Servicing comPuTERIZED electronic equipment

COMPUTERS / MODULES / PRINTERS / MONITORS

Sinclair QL Ts-2068 TS-1500 TS-1000 16K Ram Pack 2X-81 Memotech Modules Commodore 64 VIC-20 PLUS-4 c-16 Coleco ADAM © TI-99/4A Commodore 128

REPAIRS / UPGRADES / ASSEMBLING / TESTING

Write for prices:

Dan Elliott Route 1, Box 117 Cabool, MO 65689

Ph. (314) 739-1712 evenings, Sunday - Thursday. Ph. (417) 469-4571 weekends.

It is not the intent of the SNUG organizers to infringe on, or supercede any already established group or company. It is only intended to show Strength to the industry that Sinclair is not dead, and the mere fact that an organization can be formed, Will show unity and interest in Sinclair computer: Even a North American "Calendar of Events" could be established to help co-ordinate future plans and event

SNUG needs the support of every single Sinclair user in the U.S., Canada, Mexico (or for that matter--anyuhere). If you have any comments, questions, ideas, etc...contact either Mel Nathanson, 7515 Arbordale Drive, Port Richey, FL 34468, (@13) 863-5552} or Mary-Lynn| Johnson, 190 Hickory’ Woods Ct., Unit 3-C, Deltona, FL 32725, (305) 840-2465. T: organizers of SNUG are putting a time limit of June 30, 1988 on their idea. If there is no response or support of the idea, then they will not proceed further. If there is input, an update will appear here in TDM,

SUMMER WESTCOAST TS FAIR FEATURES AN “ALL-STAR™ CAST

The "perfect" summer vacation destination for any Sinclair #an is the emphasis for the Third Annual International Great Northwest TS Mini-Fair. What was once a regional atfair (held last year in Seattle), has expanded into a two-day event.

The show will be held on Saturday and Sunday, August 6 and 7, at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Portland, Oregon. It is hosted by the CCAT/S User Group of Oregon, along with three other northwest Timex Sinclair groups, and is co-sponsored by RMG Enterprises and Time Designs Magazine.

Many of the exhibitor's and guest speakers are already committed. To date, Zebra Systems (from New

Sharp's Inc. (from Virginia), Ed Grey Enter- (from California), American Micro Connection (from California), Jack Dohany (from California), RMG Enterprises (from Oregon) and Time Designs (from Oregon), are signed up to participate dealers. Confirmed guest speakers include Jack Dohany (author of many software enhancements for the TS2068), Mike de Sosa (author of ‘Taking The Quantum Leap"), Ed Grey (telecommunications expert), Syd Wyncoop (TS2048 software developer and TDM columnist on 280 Machine Code), Michael Carver (programmer and TDM columnist), Vince Lyon (author of “Archive Master"), and Norm Lehfeldt (GL programmer). Tentative at press tim Fred Nachbaur (Silicon Mountain Computers), Stan Lemke (Pixel Print), Bob Orrfelt (EPROM enhancements for the 182068), Wilf Rigter (Zx81 expert), and representatives ¢rom Cambridge Computer (Z@8).

User groups from California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, British Columbia (Canada), and Wisconsin, are Scheduled to participate.

On Saturday night (August 6) at 9:00pm, a Round Table Sinclair Forum will be held. This informa get-together will include a panel of noted Sinclair experts", which will field questions from the audience. This will likely be the high point of the weekend.

One feature of the show will cater to the non-computer spou and family members. For the kids, a professional clown will entertain, and for older folks (and the kids)...inexpensive guided bus tours will depart daily to explore attractions of the northwest (which include the Columbia River Gorge, Portland Zoo, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, and views of Mount St Helens).

Another feature of the show, will be to invite the general public to come experience ‘hands on* demonstrations of Sinclair computers. This is to combat the ‘fear* that some people still harbor towards personal computers.

Quality accomodations at the on-site hotel are very reasonably priced. Double occupancy for only $38 (plus tax), The hotel has a coffee shop on the ground floor, and a restaurant/lounge on the top ¢loor=-with veiws of the city lights at night and entertainment. The Cosmopolitan Hotel (1030 N.E. Union) is locat just off of Interstate 5, and is close to bus lines, City transportation, and just a short trip from the airport. Hotel phone number is (503) 235-8433, and mention the "Timex Sinclair Mini-Fair® to the reser~ vationist.

Start_ making your vacation plans to participate in this Timex Sinclair happening. For further information, contact the show producer, Rod Gowen, by writing to- 1419 1/2 7th Street, Oregon City, Oregon 97045} or call- (503) 655-7484. If you send a large self-addressed envelope with two 25 cent (first class) stamps, Rod will send you a complete packet of information including registrations forms, and brochures of area tourist attractions. A BBS is also online in the evening and morning hours (PST) for information. Phone number: (503) 636-8072. Modem setting: 8/1/Non

MIDWEST REGIONAL TS CONFERENCE

Another Sinclair gathering 1s planned for August 26 and 27, in Cleveland, Ohio, at the Beck Center for the Arts. The Greater Cleveland Sinclair Users Group is the host, and they are looking for ot! groups, guest speakers and vendors to participa’ The theme of the event will be ‘users - learning from other users.

Inquiries about the regional conference can be directed to: Andy Kosiorek, 2192 Glenbury Ave., Lal wood, Ohio 44107, CompuServe IDH 75046,3420. Or try the ‘Timelines BBS: phone (216) 671-6922, setting- 8/1 /None.

EVER HEAR OF THE T/S 30687 (AND OTHER MATTERS)

At a recent meeting of the LIST (Long Isiand Sinclair Timex) users group, the former head of the

Research and Development department of the Timex Computer Corporation, Billy Skyrme, attended and gave a talk, Mr. Skyrme is currently t! ident of

Pp PSION, Inc., the manufacturer of the Organizer pocket computer.

While, Mr. Skyrme admitted that he still w under contractural agreement with Timex, and that certain information couldn't be discussed, he did mention some items that turned many members of LIST

related Skyrt

8K Sper ngineered design. While a submitted for FCC approval, the selected for manufacture.

Another computer was in the work T/S 3068, Tt would have featured 1 byte RAM, Virtual Memory, 256 colors and high-res graphics. "The only machine.-.that would be in its cl today is the Amiga", stated Skyrme. The T/S 3068 would have retailed for only $199.95.

Another interesting fact, was that the "BEU" (Bus Expansion Unit) for the TS2068, as seen in the photo published by TIME DESIGNS (see July/August ‘66, page 23) was, according to Skyrme, completely ngineered and ready for to be production. With an internal floppy disk interface built in, Timex would have sold external 3.5" drives (in little silver boxes) for as little as $49.95. This plan was far enough along that Timex had a supplier lined out for the drives.

Most of the information on proposed products for the 152068 (and the TS3068) will never be made public due to a myriad of legal reasons, and the engineers. involved in the project have all gone their separate

was to have been

or a totally in Spectrum was later model was

called the

Mr. Skyrme also demonstrated the Organizer and jories to the LIST group. This hand held computer (upgradeable to 256K RAM), has sold well in markets where recording and calculation of numbers in the field, and other simple “type-in* answers are required

The LIST group Harvey Rait, 5 Peri Lani The above Newman.

n be contacted by writing c/o Valley Stream, NY 11581 information ‘was supplied by member, Joe

‘TDM COLUMNIST MAKES *BIG TIME*

Duncan Teague, a regular contributor to TIME DESIGNS and other Sinclair publications, is now a regular contributor to COMPUTE! Magazine.

10*

Duncan's connection to COMPUTE! began when a whole chapter on a book called “USING NEWSROOM by Gregg Keizer (and published by the COMPUTE! Library Selection division of the magazine) wa: devoted to how a newsletter was published by Duncan and some students, Mr. Teague is the current director of the Craigmont Planetarium in Memphis, Tennei which im financed and operated by the Memphis City School Districts and is also a professional tronomer. The *in-hou publication is called "SKYLIGHTS", and is produced with NEWSROOM, a MacIntosh computer, and a laser printer. NEWSROOM is a desktop publishing program which {a available — for ny different types of PC computers (except the Sinclair...but then we have PIXEL PRINT). It was one of the early entrys into this growing market, which has bred even more powerful program: Through the book, Duncan met the editor of COMPUTE!, and was asked to do software reviews of commercial Apple and MacIntosh programs. His writings appear in the most current issue: Rest ured, Duncan has not forsaken his Sinclair equipment, which he still uses at home (a TS2068 and Aerco disk drive system, and other equip- nt). In fact, most recently, he has taken over the publishing and editing of his church’s newsletter, and uses Lemke’s PIXEL PRINT ktop publisher for the task. (For an article on 152068 Desktop Pub- lishing by Duncan Teague see the Sept/Oct ‘87 issue of TDM). Watch for further information and tips from our resident desktop expert.

SOME OF THE BEST PROGRAMMING AROUND

If you really want your Timex Sinclair 2068 to work for you like it was originally intended to do, then you need to take a look at some of the very excellent programs written by Eric and Kris Boisvert of BYTE POWER.

To date, they have put together ten "issues" of their electronic magazine on cassette, which adds up to over 100 programs for the 2048! (Byte Power Magazine is also Spectrum compatible)

In the most current issue, the cassette contains nine programs, plus documentation in» text file. "CONFLICT* has’ some of the best screens we've Dy perhaps only rivaled by a few commercial Spectrum progr: There are four other games, plus lotto number selection program, a music utility, and a boot utility for the Larken LKDOS cartridge.

Tf you have never meen what this brilliant soft- ware team has cooked up for the TS2068, then you need to send for a sample issue of Byte Power for only $5.50. Write to: 1748 Meadowview Ave., Pickering, Ontario, Canada LiV-3G8. Now there {s no reason for anyone ‘to complain about the lack of good T/S software...there's plenty of it available from Byte Power

TWO NAMES CHANGE - SERVICE REMAINS THE SAME

ED GREY ENTERPRISES (formally Grey & Clifford Computer Products) continues to support the Timex Sinclair market. A new BBS called the "Grey Matter BBS" is now online (213-971-6260, settings: @/1/None, supports 300/1200 baud). A FREE catalog of Timex specific products and non-speci#ic computer items available by writing to: PO Box 2186, Inglewood, CA 90305, or calling (213) 759-7406, and also requests can be accomodated on the BBS. embled and tested versions of the popular Z-SI/O RS232 Serial Card, are no longer available. However, a new BARE BOARD PACKAGE {s now available for the TS2068 computer with complete documentation, for only $24,50 ¢ $2.50 SUH. rite to Ed Grey for detail

Another TS dealer, Variety Sales, has changed their name to VARIETY COMPUTERS & ELECTRONICS. You can write for their free catalog at: 325 W. Jersey St., Suite 2-D, Elizabeth, NJ 07202.

FROM THE RUMOR MILL

Fred Nachbaur, of Silicon Mountain Computers, is reportedly developing a Timex Sinclair clone of ‘his own, which will incorporate many improvements and en- hancements. No further details are available at this

FOOTE SOFTWARE

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The FOOTE PRINT PRINTER INTERFACE

© for Centronics parallel printers

© works in both 2068 and Spectrum mode

* compatible with OS-64 & Spectrum emulators

© EPROM socket and on/off switch on board

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© plugs into cartridge dock—door completely

closes with cable running back under computer

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© print driver software for LPRINT, LLIST, and COPY included for 2068 and Spectrum modes

FootePrint Interface w/software & cable $39.95 SOkRW ARE T2068 TS1000 FootePrint with OS-64 option included $60.00

Bare board & instructions only . - $2000 eee ye onl Risetisros Gablucule (ocuse with bare bosrdic <<. S152 Calorie Counter... $9.95 $5.95 Zero Insertion Force Socket option add $10 U.S.A, (Pres. & States & Caps.)....$9.95 $5.95 Gambler (poker)... THE BEST OF

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Brother M1109 Dot Matrix Printer, compact, low noise, 100 CPS, both Parallel and Serial inter- faces, multiple typestyles with near letter quality print mode and 4k memory buffer. comes with tractor feed unit......... $249.95

QL or Zebra FDD cable for above: $17.00

«he SINCLAIR/TIMEX USERS MAGAZINE

A compilation of the best articles, reviews, programs,

The Best of SUM and hardware projects Some sample articles include: Building Your Own Spectrum Emulator, Repairing Your TS-1000, Word The Best of SUM, Part II

Processing Reviews for the 2068, UDGs on the TS- 1000, Extensive Review of the Zebra Disk System,

Adding a Keyboard to the 2068, and Enhancing the A & J Microdrive. 112 pages

Articles include Building an EPROM Program- mer, Sprites on the 2068, Adding RGB to 2068, QL Word Processing, What's Available for TS-1000. and much more. 60 pages

Price: $11.95 Price: $7.95

FOOTE X*, SOFTWARE P.O. Box 14655 — Gainesville, FL 32604 904/462-1086 (6 pm - 9 pm EDT)

All prices are pre-paid and include shipping charges. Florida residents must add 5% state sales tax.

Artwork by William McBrine, of Salisbury, North 2 Teddy Bear* by Carl Green, East Liverpool, ina, Using his own art program called DRAW 512. ~~ hia, using ARTWORK (Novelsoft).

House and Car* artwork by Arthur B. Marzano, hiladelphia, PA, using TECH DRAW JR (Zebra).

*Roses* by Dennis Zacharias, of Yukon, Oklahoma, using ARTWORX (Novelsoft) and TECHDRAW (Zebra).

i2

WEUER-EUER, Law

PNP NPIS

PNAAK:

"On The Bus* (C) Copyright 1987 by Michael E. Carver, of Portland, Gregon, using THE ARTIST (SofTechnics--for the Spectrum).

‘Needlecraft Pattern" by Dennis Clinton of Sunland, California, using PABLO PIXEL-O (by Michael Carver— published in The Best Of TDM Vol.1).

Timex 2068" by William McBrine, of Salisbury, North jartield= by Dennis Zacharias, of Yukon, Carolina, using his own art program called DRAW 512. r 0:

Oklahoma, (Zebra).

U1 © 1984

ALSO AVAILABLE FOR THE T/S2068

POWERFUL AND INEXPENSIVE BUSINESS SOFTWARE FOR ZX81, T/S1000 and T/S1500 COMPUTERS

A word processor is to a computer user what a typewriter is to a typist, except that the former nas more advantages than the latter £2X-Text can operate in 18-64K RAM providing from 1300 to 8500 words per document. it features 6 ditterent options: write, read, edt, print, save and clear text Text is written on Per-ine basis wit quick speed and with horizontal back-space and delete capabilities, being available. You can also access the itor directly trom write mode and vice-versa. Text can be proof-read on @ per-iine basis ‘Allowing for enough time to determine it any ‘editing is needed. The text editor allows a line of text to be deleted, inserted, replaced and listed for editing, You may also change a word (oF expression within a line, stop or start text while i is. scrolling up the screen, begin Teading text from the first line of the fle, re- enter write mode from the editor. return to the main-menu or create a window so that you

it two files simultaneously, The ‘print option takes text displayed in 30-column format on the screen and outputs to either the ZX/TS printer. (With Memotech’s Centronics Parallel Interface 80-column and lower/ higher - case output is possible) Files may be saved on tape cassette with the use of ‘one single command, or by he same token they Can be erased trom memory / storage so that the full capacity of the program can be used {or other purposes such as composing letters, reports, articles, memos, standard. forms, instructions, ads, graphs, telephone directory, ists of customers, members, ftiends..etc. Also copies of files are always (ess expensive and easier to run than using a ‘photocopier. Other advantages are savings in time, paper, ink, correcting mistakes and adding afterthoughts more efficiently than doing them through either handwriting or sing @ typewriter,

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‘An electronic spreadsheet calculator is the ‘fundamental basictoolfor summarising, reporting nalyzing in matrix form any accounting, matical or Scientific manipulation of num: ‘ers. 2X-Calc operates in 32-64K RAM and affords ‘a maximum of 3360characters /spreadsheet. The entire matrixconsistsof 15 columns(letters A-O) ‘and 30 rows (numbers 1-30) with 8 characters/ Cell Unlike other popular ESCs, 2X-Calc uses in Calculations andwanincells al 14 mathfunctions (on the 2X-81 /TS1000. It offers @ unique “SUM function that totals one or more rows /columns. simultaneously. Parenthesis can be used within, ‘equations. There is no fixed limit on how many equations may be entered. Formulas may be stored in all 420 cells of the spreadsheet. The display attords 15 rows /colums. Loadingof data, ican occur across/down

‘one or more row/column simultaneously. With ‘vertical windowing you can arrangea set of col- mas in any order, or practice using fxed-varabie- ‘alignment display formats. The menu offers 6

the entering, deletion or data alignment within a Cell through the use of a mobile cursor. With the. move option you may move around the entice steadshee! to access any row, column or cel, The calculate option allows you to enter labels, values o formulas into a cell or write and enter ‘equations that wil act upon the data already within the spreadsneet. You can also enter bar graphs into.acelin thi option Absolute /relativereplic tion, down/acrossacolumn /row, isalsoaliowed ‘by this option. Also this option allows the auto- ‘matic calculation of the entire spreadsheet with ‘one single command Printallowsyoutooutputto ‘ther the ZX/TS printer the entire spreadsheet by ‘column-sets and row-pages through use of the COPY command. Theentire spreadshoetmay be Saved on cassette tape or you may clear all data {rom itor erase the program trom RAM entirely. The most salient advantage provided by an ESC over specifically vertical applications softwares that an ESC provides a reusable framework with which you can compose any specific financial mode! rather than just belimitedtooniy one sta

‘cally fixed format for storing. displaying and manipulating numerical data

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a.

ausacum +72 noun saan. e302 saczete.eT-- - AIM LURES,

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Planning how to spend our time leaves us better prepared before and while we are spending it {and we remain better organized ater we finish spending it. ZX-Calendar operates in 16-64K IAM affording 25 appointments in 16K. 100 in 32K or 180 in 48K and 64K. Each ‘appointment record holds a maximum of 220, characters, The main menu includes enter Ssearch/check/son, change, save, clear and print any and all appointments made on a ‘specific date or with any party. Output to either the ZX/TS printer is permissible, This program will permit you to remember to do something or to be somewhere important by cataloging your ‘answers to six questions that you must account {or in order not to waste time when itis scarce: when, with whom, at what time, for how long. where and what are you going to discuss and ‘conclude when you get together with someone else? The program lets you permanently originate, record, classify, search, sort, Calculate, modity, summarize, obtain a writen report and store your answers to the preceding Questions so that you will not forget what you decide to do with your time, This program identities your time according to when you are {Q0ing to spend it and with whom you are going to share it. Through these forms of labeling ‘appointments you are able to verity or modity how your time is budgeted without wasting ink, Paper or more time trying toremember what you Said to yourself or what someone else said to you or where you placed certain writen messages that you now can’ find, With this Program you will know where you can find ‘exactly whal youneedto know about where you ‘want to and have tobe, or where youhave been, betore you get and ater you got there, Thus, 2X- ‘Calendar wil let you plan your ime 60 that you wil ‘never have to worry about what is ahead or what ‘came before, for you wil always know, by using i tonever be caught astray by any time-frame.

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14

FLORIDIANS ADD SALES TAX

to begin the next phase of CLAssY Windoning. Now I have cooked up two kinds fo windows for CLASSY. One is the rectangular kind with shadows down two sides, and the other is a small Set of round windows for ‘quick footnot. status reports, and the like. These round versions of post~it-notes I call PORTHOLES.

Now as usual the total program is much too to finish up in one issue of TDM, real lucky to finish it all next tim leave readers with something they can run and uss each issue. So CLASSY windows has been divided up into some useful, stand-alone routines, some of which we will explore this time, I¢ you’ type in. the listings, try to follow the line numbering as they appear. Later, when we “put it all together" merging these smaller programs to form a big one will be a breeze. The "Windows & Portholes* program we will end up with, will be a complete machine code windowing Prosram which can work by itself or with the CLASSY

FRONT END fonts (parts 2 thru 5) we finished up last time.

long in fact we'll be T also like to

15

by Paul Bingham

Lets start our ing windows already! What? That's little wonder addre: display tile as three separate these in Figure 1 as A,B,C (the last two lines of C being the edit lines). Now if your having trouble visualizing this, let’s experiment for a moment. Type in a line like: 10 FOR t = 16384 To 22527: POKE 255 NEXT t. Now RUN it and watch the display carefully. The program is directly pokeing the code for eight black pixels (255) inte each consecutive address of the display #ile, Notice that it fills al of window & before starting window B and so on. much simpler.

With the 2068 we will have to work around these w Windows to produce our own custom sizes. Fortunately the 2068 display file system which a little code can whatever we might want. Each byte holds the infor- mation of eight bits, each of which produces a pixel. Tf all of the bits are sent (i.e., equal 1), like our code 255, then all the pixels are blackened in. Each of the screen bytes along one row are. also Consecutive in memory. Notice on our map that the first byte is address 16384 and as we progress along the 32 COLUMNS across the last in the row is 16415 (or 16384 plus 32). At the beginning af the next ROW fat address 16416) the next byte appears eight pixe: elements below the previous row, This is because each Screen character is eight pixels high as well a eight pixels wide. Looking at the exploded view of a screen character with our map you will see this. Each row of pixels in a character is stored at an. address

256 bytes greater than the last.

Now to make sense of all of this type in Listing 4 entitled ‘screen address finders. The code in DATA lines 1600 tO 1630 and disassembled in Figure A takes

discussion on 2068 windows by

that the 2068 treats the standard screen right,

Uncle in the mapped

the In the old Zx8i, the display file was

does have a work with to produce

the two coordinates of a character location like we use in a PRINT AT statement and figures out ti address of the top byte of that position in the

displa, mill ni

file, This is very important to us because we d Such information if we want to draw windows

and also hope to restore any original stuff to the Screen when we erase the window. Listing 1 randomly chooses some PRINT coordinates in the BASIC found in

2 REM screen address finder

§ CLEAR Sso0S

10 FOR t=Ss000 To

iO READ oO: POKE t 7,8,0,33,18 23

Dmwownos Bennme

DATA 237,83,176,

NEXT t LET x=ANDsoa POKE S5003,x: FOKE SS004,y

LET ksUSR Sso00 SSOSS4FEEK 23729+PEEK 2

ROKE a,255: POKE a+74256,25 FOR t=1 TO 6: POKE a+tsase,42 8: NEXT t 1760 PRINT OVER 2;AT ¥,x;CHRS (x 39333)

4770 G0 To 1710

LET yeRNDs22

SINE. = OI

39 Fy

chy 10 20 30 20 28 SO

OME EE MmEm HE. ciormE

Listing 1

screen agar CK TYPE report

LowpnvmumauionHe Hekeaeesaamune

isting 1: Display

lines 1710 through 1770 and then calls the code to get an address. Line 1740 pulls this info out of a little spare RAM address the code uses as a sate place to tuck such things. Line 1750 then “drans' box around the periphery of this character square. By rewriting lines 1710 through 1770, one could exploit this facility in many ways,

Listing 2 is the real performer this time. It will use the code of DATA lines 1400 through 1450 to raw four portholes as shown. Again the BASIC line: 1510 through 1560 could be written to draw the porthole(s) anywhere on the screen. If you study this code's disassembly in Figure B, you will find it the ROM’s CIRCLE and DRAW routines found at (2686 h) and 9965 (26ED h). By setting register A equal to the parameters we want and calling the integer stacking routine at 12518 (306E6 H) we circumvent the hassels of floating point,

BUSH DE

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COMME DOMNORMOWM POEL SREMNGNOOTIOMMAAS

Figure A Figure

Listing 2: Display

a REM porthole demo

5 CLEAR $5008: PRINT AT 9,9, poking coge Bog’ tessga0 ro ssiss

ses208/540 143,63, 8,62,2,205, 230,63 ,20

PORE S8QO1, 324809 (x-1) ReNDOMIZe Usk SSo08 PRINT AT 20,347.54 (x-2) 5

NEXT x

porthole demo CK TYPE report a az 3528

Listing 2

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Next time we will examine rectangular windows and restoring things back to ¢ In the mean time, if you feel like getting a head start on code entry, type in listing 3. We'll be adding to it next time, so you'll need it eventually. If typing is too big a chore, I will send you a complete version of Windows & Portholes as advertised elsewhere in this

gazine. (Windows & Portholes comes with BINGHAM's BEST for $12.95, or in a collection I call JAZZOFIRE (thats "jazzifier* in a drawl) for $9.95. For BINGHAM’s Best owners I will send you Windows & Portholes on cassette for $3. Please write if you have any questions or comments to: Paul Bingham, PO Box 2034, M AZ 85214.

COMMENTS ON CK TYPE by Paul Bingham

Stan Lemke wrote a great little 2069 program which appeared in the May/June ‘87 issue of TDM called CK TYPE. CK TYPE gives you a quick check of

the listings you have typed in have made any error:

using it! Well, slothfulness

rom TDM to 5 But so far, I've only intend to’ repent

if you n Stan this

of on my part by including Ck TYPE reports. with each listing. This will help all the readers who

type

my programs nip their entry problems in the bud.

I've also taken the liberty to condense Stan’s BASIC version into a ‘one-liner*. With a few tricks his whole program #it into one line (9999) and this can be easily MERGEd to a listing and RUN to give an evaluation. This ‘one line" version appears in Listing 1.1, and a report on itself is found in Figure 1.1. To do this self check, you will have to enter and run it as line 999 not 9999. It has an added facility to kip its own line 9999 in its evaluation. It also starts wanting you to enter the name of the program you are analyzing so it can Properly title the output. I hope Stan won't mind me Fetining his little gem! And come on programmers Jet's start using it

Short version CK 319

TYPE report 2s430

e239 Figure 1.1

17

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Gain wore subscribers?

Bo e88" Ler pagsseeK gsPEEK

FOR h=1 70 942: LET e=0: LET fF Sd4PEEK b+PEEK (bei): IF ficosass THEN LET #PEEK (b+3)+PEEK (b sa): LET 44: LET jet: FOR isd FO a: LET e=e+(j+1) $PEEK b: LET j=NOT Jj; LET b=b+i: NEXT i: FOR =e TO'3: PRINT Wcit; TAB 8)

;ajTAB 16 je: NEXT ¢: NEXT bh

Listing 1.1

TScU68 DROP DOWN MENUS

Stan Lemke

One of the advantages the newer, bigger computers like the ATARI ST and AMIGA have over the

$2068 class of computers is the ‘User Interface that their bigger memory and high

them...specifically, such things as a moui P @ cursor around the screen, and a really nice menu

structure that "drops down* onto the screen when your cursor touches the menu line, and then magically disappears when you make your selection. This allows your screen to be free of most of the menu until you need it. Even then, by planning your menu layout correctly, you can show just the items the user wants

ific operation and be able to describe the ections more fully than with the usual short word (at most), or a single letter as is more often the

with all these advantages to “drop-down decided to what I could do as far al creating a TS2068 drop-down menu utility. The following program is just that, a general drop-down enu utility that will allow others to create (very

ily) the type of menus found on the more ex; computers. It is also a neat little demo progr: allows those who have not seen these menus in oper- ation to get a feel of what they are like.

The Utility displays 2 lines at the top of the screen, the first has a list of menu (header) topics, the second displays the program title/nane. Using the LEFT joystick, the user moves a 11 arrow UDG Sprite around on the screen. When the arrow cursor is placed on any of the menu h a set of menu options drops down onto the screen below that menu header. As the cursor is moved over the options, each turns INVERSE VIDEO...and then TRUE VIDEO when the cursor moves off that option. Pressing the fire button activates the selection. Moving the cursor off of the menu options (and pressing FIRE) removes the menu list, and replaces the original screen.

The menu headers and options are defined in DATA statements, in lines 9005 thru 9025. In the deno, when the DESK option lected, a Copyright messa about the program is displayed (see line 9440). This Copyright message can be user-defined.-.up to 3 lini and 23 characters per line. 3 more menu headers can

be placed on the top line. Note: You must be careful designing these headers, aa) the progres places two spaces between the header strings, One Of these. may bea, ‘null string" (empty, two apastrophies placed Side-by-side, indicating no more headers).

Listing A

8000 REM teeressseees

steeaees

$: If LEN AS THEN LET c(i LET Hesns+

errrrrrtrrr reertr error erieg TaLEN geez

LIST A LIST 2

List dee, cnputvou tribe

Brogran ane

Ts fe

ews” eet teeruse? (omte Softuare Uevelapment

{ I Time Design Magazine | Time Design Magazine | see AND | ne AND | TS-e@bB USERS/LOVERS | TS-20b8 USERS/LOVERS | Pixel Brink’ besktop Subl tsher | eee PEE at

Menu selection are defined using DATA stat In lines 9015, 9020, available for each h null (empty) selections.

Let's take a look at the program listing. The program is set up ready to be compiled with TIMACHINE (From Novelsoft). The program will work just as it is in BASIC too. Program execution begins at line 9000. Lines 9000 to 9090 are program initialization.

Listing A is a copy of the BASIC program in demo form. The TIMACHINE compiler directives are alre: set up so you can compile the demo. Although the program will work in BASIC, it is S-L-O-W!

Following the program listing is the CK-TYPE output for debugging the program (Listing B. the May/June '87 issue of TDM). Listing C is the TIMACHINE output. Listing D is an excerpt from « sample menu that shows how to set up a 2 header menu.

Other Program Notes: Line 9066 contains the bytes for the arrow cursor UDG. Lines 9290 to 93: perform the cursor movement. Line 9355 contains a PAUSE 4 to control cursor speed.

T hope you enjoy playing with this demo, and maybe someday we'll some 1S2068 programs using real drop down menus

nts and 9025. Six selections are ry with the option of using strings as above, to indicate no more

$036" OR 45@ 107: READ J: POKE GSR wae n ds NEX $80 Let’ adua¥' Let cov=i6. Ler RENU=O: LET bé:

Go To e180 9095 REM s2sesessssasssesassees

MENU PRINT /ORAU SUBROUTINES

geso REN aaa ar Side PRInT ar o-O,Ms. SLOT o, 168

2832 2F C11) 591 THEN LET ott Rad’ a55/0" eRiNt AT 9090 REM HTT AL) {BC C1 D1) 2 $909, F LEN Hep THEN LET fi RETURN

eEeuG SET ABNU, ITER (AGU COL /LAG : ats 4 utobygor Ler eit s/8uT ADD 9895 NEXT I: READ Ts RINT NT 270) JOUER a, INVER $0i0'Ren’) List, S0e8 LET p(i=0° LET Oss" FoR 3 ut this program: 8820 REN | LERINT feiro is: READ as. LET (i) =LEN 2 8900 REN | OPENS 3s. LET Biiea)=bti4etir: LET O oY a S505 REM sesnesesesasseseatanees S20seas: NEXT i OR tan TO.8; Tree it) THEN

S028 FoR i=1 TO 5 THEN LET a (1) 2303) 9050 TF a lise) 932)

LINES 9000 - 9090 INITIALIZATION seeeeesceresasenssessatssaeseess >

9990 OTM a(48): DIM Bi1e) ta): DIM gt). Dine cs!

(435)

9085 TF a (i422) 9413)

eT e(a)= LET ea) ac (2) 4d (2)

is

ory c In Sei

PAPER 7: INK'O: BOROER i

area (3)

IF ai}od ca THEN LET 412

141, ct) )08(b(i} 44 TO b PLOT asc (1) ~1, 46 DRAUd (1) 38,0

DRAG -a tin 3800; NEXT

THEN LET ¢¢

C12) 4g) Carve (8) sci

MAIN CONTROL LOOP ss420+ ENTER MESE TO SELECT aN ITEM

SELECTION RETURNED IN “(xTEH 0. = NO SELECTION (CANCEL) 2 2°48 2 3FENsMENG SELECTED

2169 REM) OPEN = 2258 S0_sue 3180. Lor gas. pg /SsB) DRAW 2s8,8: Daa 0,15

$182 G9 sup 9100- Foe ia0 To 7 Boke (Use "c'si) PEER tagdss 4256 eda)

Sige eRrir ey Rou,coL; $180 Goto S200

$70 een

Siso ter eo Zaieags iRodsestNT (ROG73)) $COL arden

S23 fe) oA

Se00 Ler Se aes oH Edees? 7° REN

N GO TO 9400

mt agp PEEK Gisdsoees > NEKT a) RET

Sats cen $250 FoR TO 2079: PORE (i +16 386) PEEK (GoOsa9z)) NEXT a) RET

$290 REN 3908,00 SUB B25 Hr AT ROW,C Ssieurr S558 (=a THEN LET BoeScdL4icab <=3e) 5339. iF*sSe4 ‘AND s OL=coL- (COL) =i) 9925 IF $21 OR s=S OR s=9 THEN L ET ROU=ROU- (ROU =2)

9390 IF $= OR s=8 OR s=10 THEN LET ROU=Rou+ (Rou c=5)

$540 GO_SuB 9180: FoR ine To 7. POKE (USR "CO" 4i) PEEK (adgsi 4256

do ONEXT - REM 9950 PRINT AT ROu,coL; @ IF RO

THEN LET c

Use THEN Let MENUS: 4: REM

LT rTEM=1; G0 ‘To

3500 SEA9 IPCOL> a6 (2) AND, COL <C(3) 2 THEN PRINT AT FOU ,COL. yb S840" PRINT AT Ose (2) INUERS Ea; QVER d:bs(i TO'£(3) “cta) a) GO SUB 958° LeT Top=2. LET 80 Tai: ter crtecisy: Ler eiTse Ag AbeT SeT=Oo “LET rene?! Go Fo

8288 rr conysc(a) ano conic ta) -2 TREN PRINT AT ROU,COLS 6a°5 WB S240. PRINT ATO, C13), INUERS Ea, QUER dibsia TO cla) “cigi <a)

Go SUB ata! tet rosters fore BER PASE (GFT TRPTBL LET Pe Tee ber eo ler sents) S2°r5 9888° rr coL+9 THEN LET HENUsE: G 85 Foes)

9438 PRINT AT Rou, COL; “a

Beseeb" pear, Arvgcgs | MuesSe $e

Wasi8S29° ORAL 0,25

o eRENE ATs. 5: “Q Lem Be, Software (4987) " PRINT ye

9450 6EE} PRUSE @- GO SU B 9250 Let nENUsO. LeT ROUSiO

Ler cousis T0015)

5430 REN

9500 Cer NUERSI so sus 1B: INVERSE @

Seer Ler Se Stick (2,3). Ler sur sogRgen (2ea): IF BUT THEN Go TO

882 TE NOT s THEN co To 950

Fe-pRoguRbu THEN govro sor

g5070gr Ser THEN BamNT AT CROU,L FY; ,QUER'S, INVERSE 4) pei2 10 AE

S3t0'LEr sereo, re (nou stop ano ROUCZBOT) “AND (COL >=LFT AND COL gsRIT) THEN LeT SET =

9815 IF NOT SET THEN'GO To 9s01

9520 PRINT AT ROU.LeT, OVER 1; T

NUERSE 22 68(1 TO AIT-LeT+i)

9530 Go TO-ss00

960 Ler Ser=e° IF (row s=Toe aNc

ROWCsBOT) AND (GOL aLFT AND COL

goRIV) THEN Ler Set =i

9605 Let Tren=(ITENsROu-TOP) 35eT LET HENUsO: LET 2eT<0) GO SUB

aoke! Cet asueS ZF SSL 28

9549 PRINT 28) AT 9,0, "ITEM seLec

TOR G0 TO Gis

138 STOP $993 SAVE “pROP HENU”. SAVE “DRO PenEND"CoDe 57336, 4557

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ow THE TS2068 AND THE COMMODORE 1520 PLOTTER ae reviewed by Frank Davis

Something I have really missed, not being able Programs of which all but two of them contained to do with my TS2068 is using it with a plotter. This errors in the programs.

was most unfortunate as I had used one on an earlier Other software available for this interface system I owned...a VIC20 (by Commodore). I had used a include the Following: A) SCREEN-TO-PLOTTER, which 4520 Color Plotter Printer, I was at the point of Allows you to use the plotter like a connect the working out the problem of interfacing the rather dots, by use of the cursor or a joystick, use text, unusual serial port on the Commadore 1520, when I Save screens or load in previously saved screens and picked up a magazine and found an ad for ‘an in- edit them, all in four colors. When using text you terface and software to run the plotter on the Timex have many choic! such Solid lines or dashed Sinclair TS2068. I sent for some information and very lines, size of print, character rotation, centering.

shortly had the kit in my hands to begin the task. To NOTE: Get the Kit if you know what you are doing and hitting the letter *c* or changing pages by use of are not rusty at the soldering iron...otherwise order the letter "P*. This is a user friendly program.

the completed interface, B. CMS 1520, is a program which allows you to

change colors in pictures or text is as simple as

The Commodore 1520 uses paper slightly wider combine Customized MSCRIPT VS or V5.2 and the 1520. than that used by the 152040 printer, but not the This allows the use of the 1520 as an 60 column Standard 8* (it is under 5"). However, it is regular Printer in color and the use of all of the 1520 Paper and is available from Commodore, Radio Shack functions in a text file.

and many Atari dealers. They also carry the four C. PIC-PLOT which allows you to do a dump of a colored pens used in the plotter. All of these brands Screen to the 1520 in two sizes. You can select one made a similar plotter, and each set up to. interface color for the small pilot and two colors for the with their particular computer. The colors are black, larger plot. It also allows you to put colored blue, red and green. In all the years I have had this captions or sub-titles below the pictur

Plotter, I have had but one problem with it.-.a small D. BANHERIFIC, a program that allows you to use Plastic gear coming loose and not being able to turn the 1520 to make colored banners. You may plot up to the other gears to move the paper back and forth. A two hundred characters using the special UDGs that small amount of super glue gels to have cured come with the program, or use those of the ROM set. this. If you ever have to do this be careful nat to It has 58 selectable character sizes and each

get any in the grooves of the gear itself. character can be whatever color you assign it. The

The graphics you can do with this interface and banner may have the characters designed either a the available software for it is by no means limited. vertical or horizontal, and the characters may be John McMichael, the designer of the interface and the inversed or done as an'over character. You can select Programmer does not skimp on features. Driver Proportional spacing or not. The only thing missing Program that comes with the interface contains a very here was the option to fill in the character or not

extensive demo of just what can be expected of this to #111. Tt should be easy to use your own UDG's with combo. You can also examine the demo program, but not this program. copy it to the 2040 printer or LLIST it. You can also The 1520 is an ORPHAN in its own right. It is no

clear out the BASIC ‘except Line 10 which you. will longer available from Commodore in the U.S. I have need to load the machine code) and use this driver Seen some ads for it in some British Nags...along for your own programs. This is a better deal than with the VIC20, still being offered for sale. This got from Commodore when I purchased the plotter means that you first need to get one before you

originally, it had no ready to run program with it invest in this nifty interface and software. They no driver...only a manual with a few short sample available at many TOY-R-US stores across the nation

for $30 to #40 (not bad whin I think of the $199 many People paid). You might just check a local Commodore Users group to see if someone wants to let go of one. Also check your local Commodore Dealer to see if he Ever lose a still can get you one. I saw used ones for sale at

Progran because each of the computer and ham shows I went to this of a bad disk?

last year. They were also being offered for $49.95 + Simply erased | s3 st by ALL ELECTRONICS CORP., PO Box 20408, Los The wrong file Angeles, CA 90006, 1-800-026-5432.

and could not To get more information about this interface and

OW retrieve it? ° ware, wr 2: John Me 1, 1710 Pi Version. 2.0 par ryder Peat oh ae pian a

Yes? Well this software nay be of interest to you then...

This package contains 2@ utilities such as

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POWER PRINT = The ultisate in support for your Epson compatible printer with Aerco, Tasaan, or Abd parallel interface. Features: 100% correct ULISTings t Accurate aspect-ratio b/w screen duaps in 2 sizes and two resolu- tions (192 x 256 and 64-col., or 192 x 512) $ Text-only screen duaps (both resolutions) for speed # Print to aeaory 8 Interrupt-driven print spooler t TOTALLY RELOC- ATABLE: 4 Specity interface and printer. (Kill custosise for your printers send print cade data,

DROW $12 ~ Works in both 192 x 256 and 192 x $12, b/w only, Draw (w/ OVER or INVERSE) ¥ Line $ Box $ Square Circie § Invert & Block invert $ Block erase $ Nerge screens 3 ways t Rotate (scroll) screen in 8 directions q pixel at a tiae # Flip left/right of up/down $ Rirrot 4 ways t Convert back and forth Between S2-col. and 64- gol. andes in several ways t Use joystick or Keyboard 4 Screen duaps fron POWER PRINT, $9.95

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The *Z-COLUNN" is a new and regular (hopefully? feature of TIME DESIGNS. We will cover news and helpful tidbits of information for the Z89 Laptop

west addition to the Sinclair family On occaison, We may alma accompany this column with an article or product review.

What better way to kick off a new column than to make a major announcement! Yes, that's right as Cambridge Computer (Sir ‘Clive's new c promised...the Z88 has passed the FCC test, now available here in the U.S.!

While some details were sketchy at press time, we do know that Cambridge Computer hai with a U.S. distributor, and that the new computers are being assembled by SCI in Huntsville, Alabama, with foreign parts. SCI is a U.S. based Corporation that has worldwide concerns, and is in fact manu- facturing the European Z88 for Cambridge, in a Scotland factory.

The U.S. Z@8 is reported to have an updated ROM. Tt also has a steeper retail price than what most of us anticipated...8549.90. No getting around this, the weak dollar has driven prices up. (In fact all personal computers are going up in price for the first time in years. And Japanese RAM chips are once again expensive.) Some folks will certainly shy anay from the price, but this is the most powerful (for its size and weight) laptop computer currently on the market.

1/2 Meg RAM cartridges are now available for right around 400. With three of them install it gives the user 1 1/2 Meg to play The 1 Meg. cartridge are still released in a couple of months.

Lots of third-party support taking off now in Europe. Here are a fen of the most recent develop- ments

TERN is a telecommunications package (a U.S. Version is available) that supports XMODEM, it autodials, and can drive virtually any modem, in- cluding the new miniature 268 modem from Miracle Systems.

Cunmanah will have their disk drive interface (with RGB monitor output) available soon for $199. It works similar to the Radio Shack floppy drive system for the Model 100.

focus Magazines (the publishers of @i WORLD Magazine, will launch their new Z68-speci#ic magazine this month.

The 288 Users’ Club of Great Britain has formed, and already has four club newsletters published, called the 288 £PROM. For turther information, writ. to: Roy Woodwared, 68 Wellington Street, Long Eaton, Nottingham, England NG10-4NG. (Thanks to Larry Chavarie of Canada for supplying this information.)

While I attended the SUSTATE 75 WINTERFEST in Orlando, Florida, I had the privilege of meeting Stan Veit, who is the Publisher/Owner/Editor-in-Chief of COMPUTER SHOPPER. While Mr. Veit had attended the fall Comdex in Las Vegas, a representative fron Cambridge gave him a 2@8 for review ( the March "88 imsue of Computer Shopper). Stan uses the Zee his ‘electronic notebook” wherever he goes. Now here {8 someone who has access to virtually any PC or

and actually prefers the 268 for some

ons over the others. He mentioned that the {lent keyboard* is a big plus in conferenc Well, no doubt, many of you are skeptical about this new computer, and the price alone will drive a big share of the “hardcore Sinclair types away. But neverthelei this 4s an excellent laptop computer,

and the finest computer for Sir Clive to date. It’ not another Sinclair "Boondoggle" (as one newsletter editor called it...yet admitted he had never used one before). While at the Florida Winterfest, the sane comment was heard time, and time again at the SHARP'S booth! ‘This is what the GL should have been!" (I'm not knocking the GL though, as it does have merits of its own.)

Sir Clive himself is very serious about this computer, and wants to insure its success. Bryan Davies, a columnist for @L WORLD, recently told me on the phone, that the last MICROFAIR (a trade show open to the public) he attended, found Sir Clive up on the Stands demonstrating the little "Z* to attendee:

That's about it for this issue. Hope to be back next issue with more stuff. Until then, you can send @S.A,S.E, to me in care of TIME DESIGNS, and I'11 Send you some info on a user group starting up here in North America. (If you have already your envelope...I will fianlly have responded to your request by the time you rn

THE Z88 UNDER 2 LBS.

A Computer Without Compromise

+ whore aplops compromise on aaplay and RAM capacity 10 achieve porsty, and ‘iaktops seam fo equate price lh power the Z88 ea personal computer which mano no compromises + A CMOS-technology computer withthe power fo aderess 4 Mbytes 0! ‘memory » A compute wine work-tre dipiay of8 lines of 80 characters. an LCD teveen ‘hich outate al others and a unique damic page map onscreen * A cormpute mh ‘Acompute althodvanced word processing, find ingenious tine- and dele-manageren! sofware bullin * A computer whlch Complntely sa contained, which giver you upto 20 hours acbwe computing Wom jal & AA ‘ators yo which ake anditon to your BM = Acomputer wie avaee keyboard mo package iss tan the size ofan Bi, wit toll weight offers han 21be.* The 288 A

288 como 00 SemWAL o PARALLEL UF preter) "55

=}

SHARP'S, INC.

Beginning Z80 Machine Code—

FINAL LESSON by Syd Wyncoop

This is it folks. I leave it to you to progress

from here. There are many other instructions I could

have discussed, such as CP (Confuse Programmer), but

they will be discovered soon enough, without my sistance.

As a Wrap-up to this series, I present a special treat...a full ¢ledged MC program. Additionally, it is written to support the many CP/M systems which are running on our humble ‘*doorstop! Those of you without CP/M will need to replace all the calls to CP/M's BDOS with your own routines. I have provided the necessary PRINTing and INPUTing routines in Previous lessoni

As usual, the program is presented as a source file, to allow for easy modification by you. The "DATA STORAGE" area is where your customization taker plac The menus and messages can be changed to suit your taste but it im generally best to assemble the program prior to making changes.

Next, and most important, are the printer command tables. These must be changed to reflect your printer commands. All entries are four bytes long and the fourth byte must contain OFFh. Your printer manual will provide the necessary entries for thé tables,

As the prograt long, let's get to it!

at

xplanatory and fairly

Printer Set-Uo Prosram

Written for CP/M and the Epson FX-266 by Syd Wyncoop, S kK Enterprises

Operation: The printer is cleared of all prior settings by sending the printer itm start-up in- ittalization code first, followed by your selecte options. A bell will sound to let you know the settings have been properly received by the printer. The printer must be turned on, or your system may hang-up. If it hangs, you’ need only turn on the printer to get things working properly.

In the interest of brevity, there 1s no docu- mentation, save this source. The comments and labels should prove to be self-explanatory. All custo ization is done in the tables and/or program defin prior to assembly.

There is minimum of error checking. If the program will be used by an inexperienced user or

ployee, you Wish to trap a few additional errors to avoid a crash.

Follow the prompts. You may press ENTER at most of them to either accept a default value or skip selection...the choice will be obviou

This program is donated to the CP/M Public Domain. Pll feel free to modify and use it for your own purposes. I hope you find it of ume. In any event, Have Fun!

18h 2005

CP/M functions

equ B200n te CP/M CoP WAT H ore 100) start id hl, indt_tba eall fil_prt_be style call prtastyle tatyle call

Se c,skp_style iif no selection, skip ahe

4 abe skp_style Drt_done? Hing bell Leype Prt_type iprint type selection mena aettype ‘bent. selection Utne selection, skip ahead iShesk {2 offset tn valid range (<=8) aE Be. get_type iG BY fype 081 ada hi, be cali fil-prt_bt jand 20% sko_type call prt Sr 2, ttype. Gall’ prt-done? Stiz.Fingbell land exit 1f requested jeft_margin call prt_heading jclear screen and print heading

jarg_ing {point to left margin prompt jrint strings function

(Sad new value into table entry 1d bl;inarg-tbi jget left margin table entry Gall f1l-pre_bf jand move it to the print buffer

1d deve.

1d a) (lett _are) jminiman is right valu

valid

afit_rmara

rnarg_ok 1d (Ceght_mara).9

1d bly raare tbh

Gell fil-pre-bf jand wove At to the print buffer

Pago_length 1d de,pg_len_ing jpoint to page length prompt 1a of 8! [Brine atelngs function

e011 bios ipEint page length preapt

Sali deo inpt

Sr c,skp_pert

i

1d bis pelen tbl

Gail fil_prt-bf jand move At Anto the print butfor

akppert 1d de,skip_pert? jpoint to skip perforation proapt 1 ed Iprint strings function

call bdos

Gall get_yn

Ge nayring bell

14 de/ekpoatines

18 9:

Gall bdos

Sall dec inet

$2 no,nlines_ok

ia a6

1d (akp_nline

1d hi skip_tbl

oail fil_prt_bf jand move it into the print buffor

um Lines

ring bell 1d bl,bell_tb1 jatore a fow bell ri call f1l_pet_pt jin the print butter (d'(nl),aFFR” lastly, "store © terminating byte Send 2prtr 1d hl.prt_butfer ;get the start of the print buffer send_ip. 1d a (hl) fand check each byte. ep OFM have we found the Ii Se zeend.send —Hif's0, exit loop 1a ei Gay end tt to the printer Ad o.5 List output function push hi ‘uF pointer first Ball bdos e bop hl i jo the print buffer pointer Tne hi nd adjust it for next byte de send_ip stay in loop until done fond_send point to fintsl 1d oy3 print strings cant baos exit Jp wara_boot

Print Menu Heading

Hinputa:none:

JQutputs:CRT is cleared and menu heading printed in preparation for the Fest of the selection panel, prthending 14 do,heading lac, dp bios

Anitialize pointer for CPH print strings function Hao do ie

Print Style Menu

Inpatainone

loutputa:Print style seleccion

prt_style

itmputs:none

joutpute:A = carriage return, or capital ascii key pressed Airect_to 1d ot jconsole input function Gall bon

Dey Jenture de capital w/o destoying CR

ret

jOutputa:Print type selection panel is sent to CRT { hw arte flee sd

Prt_type onl] prt_hending jolt HImputeinone ER koa: : numeric Yeybosrd entey = 1x 4, of # carriage return Jp bios numeric keyboard entry - 1 x 4, if valid entry

net if cares

jo return pressed

1d ot jeonsole input function catl'baos

selection nei

1d de,ancther? ;initialize potnter for CPM iprint strings function

Heo do it

Het response

ireject 0 entry ialtipay by’

tand convert to 16 bits

Print Done Yat?

sback-up the cursor one space Iprint-« character function

iTmputs:none

jOutpats:Print are we done enquiry

Sr det_num go get a good digit, Prtdone? 1d de,done_yet? jinitialize pointer for CPM Les ee orien aman 1d 9,8 iprint strings function aon seg pri a Ho do ie

”

iket response

; Numeric Input?

Fall Print HinputaiA = ascii character code from keyboard input

Hinputasil = add

reset, if is valid numeric input

ntry to be moved to print buffer jOutpate: CARRY A = number

jOstputs:none ; umerie? Heit co? exit 4? 80

foie. 7

jure carry reset

f41_prt_pt

imove pointer to DE 1d hl; (but_ptr) jretrieve print butter pointer #411_100p 1d a. (ae) leet byte to put in print buffer

ep OFFn ind chock for terminating byte Se tend_til) exit loop if found pciseers ise, move it to print buffer ine hi if adjuat pointe ine de 3F tilitoop stay in loop until done 14 (buf_ptr),hi istore print buffer pointer for next move jOutputs:A = numeric number in the range 0-255 (DE mod 256) ret De = numeric number in the renge 6-099 } CARRY = not if Ch 4s used for defaults eo_inpt 1d WL, inpt_bufr jset-up input buffer 1a (hid, Hor "digits saxinun ine ht Hadvance pointer 1d" ),0 fand clear digit counter Af yes oF Af oF

jadvance pointer counter.

ealh, yiirect.. te ele_bt_ip jand prefill buffer with CR’s 3 Fd . = point to buffer, which is now ready for as iread console buffer until CR function Se re spf tie : and o jelear nero flag ro ¢ rant), iss digits hs Se getyn was not valid input Se aseroaly — i4f not, a Serr “eh 2d hi, real_butr j

al 1d de, 000eh

1s face

duct.bin Bek RY fata thay cates

TS:2068 URBDATE |») —2- ==... the _USEE'S NEWS _

Haet old number taaltiply x 2 Hand save it

jmultiply x 4 imultiply x 6 fealtiply x 18

Haddin corrent digit Hpat number back in DE

1d hL,bufr_ont jand adjuat the input buffer counter ec tht)

iretrieve digit pointer Healt tf done

Helse, ‘adjust pointer ts-2000 ue-DaTH Hind convert next atait

‘Renval uve 10"813,00 par

iput number in A as we expect 0-255

errordec error message

Fo get good input

prtermeg

trieve string pointer int. strings function, odo i i DATA STORAGE heading fi. 14 75 cake ‘

"Printer Set-up for Epson FX-2888"

style_nenu or,1f,1¢

errif it

oriienie atts iff; serfsif, ee ersifiit’ erclgiif, if, Lf, "<8> Super-script* ed ye tolect desired print style:s! bye men orsifat SErLf,1f,"ci> Baphastzed’ or if, 1f,"<2> Double-stril Ors 1f/18,"<3> Under Lined’ or, 1f,1f,12 *Pleate select desired print type: Lmarging def or.1f,1f,1f,'Press ENTER for defaults, in ()"

Serlfsif)1f;'Belect Left aargia (0) sein (00):8° or, 1f,1f, "Select # of Lines/page (86

or, 1f,1f, "Select right

crite

"Do you wish to skip-over-perforations? (¥):8" skp_niines or lft

PENN flow many Lines are to be skipped? (8): another? cr. 1f,1f, "Make another selection? <¥/i>s! done_yet? cr, 1f,1f, "Is Set-up complete yet? <¥/W>s' a1done f£,1f,18,28,18,18,1)1f,18,1f

di ‘411 Done!

Lf,1f,1f,1f,1f,18,28,28,12,2f bell, ‘9? orror_nsd defb cr,1f,1f, "Invalid input, please try again: 9

Antor command tables, all Hintes bytes long, ith « terminating byte, OFFb

styletb iype_so1 +8! OFM, OFM : : SE erre rre 2 eR orm inara_toi S “Lett marcia ietSiare Socom cht marsin Sinlorm dete enc, "c* eaeth S88 Geir doth ano, 'n* ‘Sksp-over-pertoration $285 Séniorm berate defp boil, belt iSound the alara! dete belljeren inst _eo sOlear Printer Inttialiestion

few extra's for your use

dete crvor.cr,cr,or,er im fow extra for safety

eved aren for the output buffer

but_pte prt butter

dete Sef deeb Seto, doe aoe done dere Soe ase Sofb,

prt_butfor Grrh,oFFh, oFFh, OFF

metal medal

to tirat byt Duffer contents

T/S 1000/ZX81

eos ()P-AMP DESIGN

Mike McGlinchy

This program is a CAD (Computer-Aided Design)

program to assist the user in designing 741 type in- ternally compensated operational amplifiers. It will run on a 2X81/TS1000 or TSi500.

After keying in and running the program, you must

specify the following six parameters: 1. Type: inverting, non-inverting or differential 2. Frequency 3. Voltage Gain 4. Input Voltage(s) 5. Supply voltages (VCCaVEE) 6. RIsinput resistor

The following: Yout Bandwidth Output Impedance Feedback Resistance RS Phase Angle Input Impedance

computer will then calculate and list the

25

After the listing is complete, you can view the schematic diagram. This program is capable of handling the three basic op-amp configurations (i.e, inverting, non-inverting, and differential mode). Since this program is based on the popular 741 type op-amp, the following nominal values are given?

Gain Bandwidth Product=GBP=i ,000,000

Ri=Input Resistance=1, 000,000.

Ro=Output Resistance=75.0.

Also, the -34B Bandwidth is not really -3dB, but is the ideal OdB. Above the bandwidth the rate of Closure 1s -20dB per decade. If the op-amp's output voltage {is calculated to be greater than the supply voltages, then VOUT will=VCC=VEE and a “clip* will appear on the list.

VING scene Uco=vEE... R

VOUT sake BU (-358) ¢

RF... : pL pnorees PH ANGLES: ZINe nase

ENTER: @ To

IST AGAIN 10000

902 GOLT is)

iheur

Beruan|

rT RO EEE 58> bee ens

INVERTING 189000

=.01

iovde

9900.9991

Theur 7

UT Tae 25) "OHMS"

PRINT BT 12,0; "EH ANGLE: TAB ad)

768,181818 1090000. :9900.9902 23254. 2898: :100985.09

SEE SCHEMATIC ENTER @ IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE L

1000000

5 209 ERIN? ated, 0; “ENTE: Shevr PRee

{Er Gee sigooego

PRINT

INBUT gosua PRINT

If 129 THEN INPUT If T23 THEN GOSUB ip 123 THEN GoTo. RINT “ENTER VIN"

vin

Gosue 2120 PRINT AT 5,0; "ENTER UCC =UFE

d05u8 2f60 SRint at'8,0;

2.93

HERTS:

= i 2 PRINT BT 8,07 = 3

RETURN PRINT AT 2,0: "81

RETURN.

2420 PRINT AT 3,0; "02N ‘GIN; Tae 23) "VOLTS

ENTER Ri"

OHMS: 2 DEGREES OHMS

sR FREO

“ENTER Vi va

2100 TENTED Ve ue

10

130

ANGLE. +6 ‘DEGREES

Bd. Ge

PRINT AT 10.0: "RF ss .00 IF) TAB 23) OHMS"

3020. IF T=3 AND AUDAOL THEN LET

Gouretue-0a) s-aoe

RU<=ROL THEN Le AUDROL THEN Le~ AU<«ROL THEN LET AV>AOL THEN LET 3088 IF Tei OR Taz THEN GoTo ces 3050 IF T=3 AND U20U1 AND ABS UO

Grayee Tuen Cer Ugur ever Sos2

Se65 inct=1 OR Fao THEN LeT Py GLE s*i80-( nTN" (PREQ/ BU) S57. 2078, 20,728, THEN_CET PH ANGLE TN’ (PREO/Bu) 457.2957768

gori IF Tei OR tsa THEN GOTO 207

3072 IF T=9 AND vie THEN LET eX ANGLES-ATN (FREO/BU) #87-255795> 2078 Let B=1/av.

3e00 IF T=2 THEN LeT Are (Ay- oss IF T=1 on THEN LET RF=a 3090 _2F Tai THEN LET ZxN=Ri+ (RE 2085 IF Tx2 THEN LET ZINSRBS (2+ THEN LET ZINe24Ri+ (© THEN GOTO 210

THEN LeT zr

ss

Te T=3 THEN Gosus 3135 IF Tai OR Tae THEN GOSUS 22

3170

Rapnics 1 To 29

23 TO 23 22 TO 20 sTep -2

BLOT Pop s2ii"to 23

PRINT AT 12,20; your.

PRINT AT 12/202 "UOLT (3) raats ee THEN PRINT

To 36 STEP 2

T=2 THEN Goro ss25 723 THEN GOTO 435

a ete

0st 7.05! aso! 16.9

99 STEP 2 3a PRINT AT 33 PRINT AT PRINT AT PRINT ar PRINT AT T=3 THEN PRINT AT BRINT AT 3,12:RF PRINT AT 3:;R3, PRINT AT 12,4785 =a THEN PRINT AT Tei THEN PRINT AT Ts? THEN PRINT AT Ts2 THEN PRINT AT

REM INVERTING GROUND (+Sz01

FOR B=i0 TO de

FoR 826. B23

8 48 4 8 de &

Ren CHEFEReNT AL FOR Bag TO.

Ler Asa GOsuB 9500

GND. (-S2DE ot

FOR Azge To 34 STEP 2

ter GOSUB Sooo

ter GOsUB seo FOR RSs TO 38 Ler Bae

GOSUB S090 BLOT 35,0

gosus ity

BLor 2.8 Next 8 RETURN PLOT 8.8 NEXT 8 RETURN

GoTo 4635

Hatch Your Qum...

MICKET-MOUSE GRAPHICS ———————

by Fred Nachbaur, D..M.W.LT. *

1/11 start this article with a little T/S soap-boxing. Perhaps I should add the disclaimer that these are my views, not necessarily those of this magazine or anyone else, for that matter).

Recent times have seen a lot of attention to video digitizing; converting an image from a video signal or from hardcopy, into an image in computer RAM, which can then be displayed on the CRT screen, This results in realistic images ONLY if you happen to have a color Mac or an Amiga, with their ultra-high resolution, huge color palette, and correspondingly humungous RA.

However, when using the Timexes and Sinclairs (even the 2068 and QL), this has always struck me as a case of the tail wagging the dog. Even the best images that result are grainy, with unrealistic colors. In short, *Mickey-Mouse.*

‘The situation gets even worse when converting such images back to hardcopy. When using a printer, even the finest software gives only rather primitive grey-scales. Color plotters might seem to be an improvement at first glance, but with their palette of typically) four colors, the pictures that result are usually little more than interesting curiosi

ies.

What has always fascinated me about the computer is its capability to GENERATE graphic images. What does a computer do best? Compute! I.e., crunch numbers, slavishly running complex mathematical formulas and displaying the results in graphical form. From this viewpoint, the only difference between the 2X81 and the Cray II is speed of execution. (Well, ok. There may be one or two other, albeit minor, differences.) To paraphrase an ancient philosopher, ‘Give unto VOR’s that which is video, and to computers that which computes,*

It is entirely thanks to the computer that a whole new geometry has emerged; the “fractal* geometry discovered and pioneered by Benoit Mandelbrot and friends, and explored by countless amateur computerists. Fractals are not the only "interface between mathematics and art; the side-panels accompanying this article, showing how a mouse hatches from an egg, was done with Fourier analysis, a mathematical procedure two centuries old. Want more? How about wire-frame graphics of geometric shapes, *wallpaper* algorithms, "Navajo rugs," spirograms, and on and on.

Very well, now that your computer has taken some nifty algorithm and transformed it into a breath-taking display, how do you save it for posterity? Sure, you can save screens and recall them later, but what if you want faithful hardcopy? As mentioned earlier, ordinary printers work fine with monochrome images and line-drawings. Inexpensive color printers or plotters do a little better, since they can print in red, green and blue in addition to black. Such images still fall far short of the color capability of the GL, TS2068, or TS1000 with Oliger TI video. Darn. Guess we’l} just have to go out and buy a $2000 color laser printer. WRONG!!!

Super—CHEAP Super—GRAPHICS

Timexers have become renowned for finding simple solutions to hairy problems. Is there an inexpensive way of getting faithful hardcopy of even the most complex color screens? Going further, is there any way of getting color hardcopy from a completely stock TS1000 with its black-and-white TV? The answer to both questions is YES. Would you believe that the first is possible with hardware you probably already own, no additional software, at a cost for supplies under 50 cents per copy? Or that breath-taking color from a 2X81 takes just a little more software savvy, patience, and experience?

The solution lies in something that might seem pretty *Mickey-Mouse* at first, but is really very elegant and simple. Were going to take a look at an *ancient* technology, going way back to a certain Mssr. Daguerre. That’s right; ordinary, everyday photography. Many people are under the delusion that taking a picture of a CRT screen is impossible, or at best, very difficult. In actual fact, it’s barely more involved than taking a snapshot of your fishing buddy proudly displaying his prize minnow.

* Dabbler In Many Weird, Interesting Technolgies,

22

THE POLAROID APPROACH

1 have cameras

n acceptable snapshots done with some of the newer Polaroid or Kodak ‘instant These have the advantage of providing hardcopy within seconds of taking the snap. However, there are a few problems associated with these that make them less than ideal, assuming that you don’t need the “instant* featur:

One problem has to do with parallax. At the close range that is required, these and other "viewfinder* cameras will displace the image because of the distance between the viewfinder and the ‘taking lens. Another problem is that the user seldom has full control over exposure time and lens aperture, Further insight into this may come when you read the following section. Lastly, your acquired picture is the only one of its Kind. There is no cheap way of making dupes and enlargements, or correcting minor exposure or framing errors.

THE VERSATILE SLR

I’ve found the SLR (single-lens reflex) 35 mm. camera to be the best tool for taking photos of computer-generated images. Even a cheap, used, off-brand model will be fine for the task at hand. Since focusing and framing is done via the same lens as is used for taking the actual picture, there is never a parallax problem. Furthermore, you generally have full contol over exposure time (shutter speed) and aperture, the two main variables determining your final picture.

4 tripod is very helpful, almost essential. You CAN do without it, by bracing your camera atop a stack of books or other props, but a decent tripod makes it SO much easier and less frustrating.

SHUTTER SPEED

The reason that a tripod is needed, is because acceptable pictures are only produced at slow shutter speeds. Consider that 2 TV or monitor screen is basically a serial device, scanning a complete picture in 1/40th of a second. If shutter speed is less than 1/40, then only a portion of the screen will actually expose the film. Also, actual shutter speed at 1/é60th will rarely be EXACTLY the same as the vertical interval of your computer, nor will it be in *sync*. The result can be narrow bands of darkness (not exposed), or brightness (partially double-exposed). Since most SLR’S have a ‘focal-plane* shutter, they will also tend to introduce diagonal bars or *tears* in your picture if the timing isn’t perfect. Shooting at 1/30th reduces both effects, and shooting at 1/15 virtually eliminates them. However, to be completely safe, you might consider shooting at 1/4 sec. This corresponds to an exposure of 15 frames; one partial exposure out of 15 full ones will never be noticed.

APERTURE

The other control that varies the amount of light that reaches the film is the lens aperture setting. There are basically two ways of setting this; by using a light-meter, and by trial and error. If you use a light meter, fill your screen with a representative image, to get a reasonable starting point.

WARNING TO ADVANCED SHUTTER-BUGS: Even though your CRT is actually emitting light, DON’T use an incident light meter. Use your good old reflected light meter. The reason is that the CRT behaves photographically AS THOUGH it were reflecting light from an external source

Tf you use the trial-and-error approach, shoot a test roll at various apertures, at both 1/8 and 1/15 second shutter speeds. Fill the screen with a representative image, containing approximately equal areas of all colors. When the roll comes back, look at the NEGATIVES to find the one(s) that have the best exposure. HINT: use a B&W film of the same speed as your proposed color film, and “develop only* to keep costs down.

Unether you use your light meter, or the trial-and-error approach, don’t go whole-hog on your first session. Have your first run of pictures developed first. You can thereby inspect the negatives to make any necessary corrections. One reason is that some films exhibit ‘reciprocity effect* at long exposure times, making light meter readings less accurate. Another is that the garden-variety “averaging" meter may not give a true reading with the photographically *unusual* subject matter.

28

Adjust your contrast and brightness as well as the color controls to give the clearest picture possible. 4 lower “brightness* than usual will generally give superior photos. At the other end, extremely dim screens will typically have a bright “edge* or ‘flare* at the juncture of different colors, If you have a video peaking control, adjust it to give a sharp image without flares. Mark the optimum settings with a Jiffy-marker, to make your setup easy to duplicate next time, Unless you’re experimenting with special effects (as below), be wary of changing your monitor settings during a photo session.

I found that when using my 13" Sakata color monitor with the OL, and shooting on 200 ASA Fuji film, my optimum setting was #11 at 1/15 sec., and #16 at 178 second. The pictures shot at 1/15 were indistinguishable from 1/8 second, using an older-model Canon SLR.

If you have several monitors, use your best one for your photo sessions. Look at color saturation, sharpness, and geometry (are rectangles truly rectangular? Are circles circular?).

LIGHTS UT! This is important. If you ignore this, you’ll be sorry

when you get your prints back. When taking your picture, the room should be completely darkened. The ONLY light

source should be your monitor. The reason is that any light in the room will cause reflections from the front glass of the monitor. ‘“Anti-reflective* coatings or glass will NOT eliminate this effect! You may not even

notice it while taking the picture; the eye (brain) is remarkably adept at tuning out such “noise.” The camera, however, is adamantly unforgiving.

Other advantages to ‘lights out* are that blacks will truly be black, and that the frame of the monitor will usually not show. If it does, consider painting it black (or covering with black camera tape) before further experiments

This next admonition may sound silly to advanced shutter-bugs, but you'd be surprised at how many people will make this error; using an electronic flash.

Pictures taken with a flash will only be pictures of a blank white screen. Remeber, the video display is a Tight SOURCE. It does NOT operate by reflecting incident light, Using a flash will completely wash it out.

FRAMING

As mentioned earlier, using an SLR will allow you to exactly frame your picture. Take the time to frame your screen properly. Not only should the TV screen be centered in your viewfinder, but it should also be free of distortion because of an improper viewing angle. Pay close attention to the top and bottom; if the top is wider than the bottom you'll have to physically lover the camera, and vice versa. Same goes for left-right alignment.’ Stand back from your setup as another check; the plane of the TV screen should be exactly perpendicular to the camera lens’ line of sight. (Now do you see why I recommend using a tripod?)

Finally, don’t fi11 the entire viewfinder frame. Most cameras (the inexpensive ones, anyway) don’t have an exact correlation between the borders of the viewscreen, and the actual edge of the film image. Furthermore, in process of printing, a little bit of the image is always lost around the edges. Keep the TV screen image in an area about 90% of the full viewscreen, and you should be alright.

29

Advanced Topics

If you’re a more advanced photographic enthusiast (perhaps even a professional), there is really no limit to the magic you can do with your computer and camera. 1/11 touch on some ideas for you to experiment with.

MULTIPLE EXPOSURES

If your camera allows double or multiple exposures, and if you have at least some software expertise, you can have yourself a field day.

How about unlimited colors? One way to do this is by using your TINT contro! to give colors not ‘normal* for your machines e.g. browns, fleshtones, violet, etc. The reason I mention software expertise is that you’ll have to figure out some way of ‘filtering" all but the desired color(s), leaving the rest black. Make an xposure of these, then reprint the screen with your "alternate" colors, adjusting TINT to give the desired effect. Make the second exposure. Continue as far as practical, or you have patience for.

At the beginning of this article I promised a way of displaying full-color images from a stock 2XB1, using an ordinary white-screen TY set. Again, multiple exposures can be used to display as many colors as you like. This time, however, you'll need a set of optical filters of the desired colors, as well as the ability to do “software filters’ to display only the material of each color, for each exposure, Ordinary colored cellophane actually works surprisingly well. If you’re in a larger city that has a motion-picture supply house, try to get a booklet (usually free) of *sample* lighting filters, as supplied by Lee and other companies.

When using optical filters, you'll also have to know the “filter factor* for each color filter used. If not aiven, you can get an approximation by using your light meter} point the camera at a blank white wall, and note the f-stop reading, Put the filter in front of the lens, and determine by how many stops the Tight has been decreased by the filter. This will typically be between 1/2 and 2 f-stops. Use this data to compensate your aperture opening during exposure.

Let’s say you want to do a color picture of a particularly neat fractal. Plot only those points then shoot it with the

corresponding, to each color, appropriate filter. Continue to your heart’s content. In principle, especially if you are doing the picture in WRKI4 hi-res, you can come up with pictures that look as if they were done on a Mac.

When doing multiple exposures, a GOOD tripod is absolutely essential. So is a bulb or cable release. The SLIGHTEST movement will throw your picture out of registration, and thus betray your ‘secret

Another factor that affects registration is electronic in nature, Especially at high brightness, the distribution of light and dark on a CRT can affect the width (and sometimes even the height) of the displayed image» This is called *blooming.* Reduce blocming to a minimum by using the lowest brightness that will give an acceptable pictur

Many cameras, especially the more modern ones, are extensively interlocked against accidental multiple exposures. Fine for the ordinary snap-shooter, but a

real bane for advanced amateurs and beyond. Some cameras can be *tricked" into multiple exposures by holding the rewind release button while advancing the film, I say "some." because while many will allow this, they may not

You’ll have to use judgement, and the wisdan of experience, to determine how much defocusing is ideal.

Keep perfect registration. The only way to 4 your camera holds the film securely enough du

operation, is to experiment. Not enough, and you still have the grain, Tao much, and you lose resolution, making the picture look obviously

This next suggestion might curl the toe-nails of pro’s out of focus. Done right, however, it will be difficult

and semi-pro’s, but don’t write it off as “just one of to tell that the resulting photos were shot from a TY on

ol’ Fred’s ravings." Remember the Argus C-3? These were monitor screen.

made by the millions in the ’S0’s, and are still giving

camera reviewers flashback nightmares. However, it is IDEAL for playing around with computer photography. Why? Let me count the ways. It can be picked up CHEAP at any photographic junk shop. It uses readily available 35mm film, It has a between-the-lens leaf shutter, causing much less trouble with video images than do focal-plane shutters, It are almost too easy to double-expose. Its blocky shape is a boon if you don’t have a tripod, and rely on a stack of bricks to Keep your act together. Focusing is easy with its split-image rangefinder, The

only thing you’ll really have to worry about, is parallax. However, this won’t take you Tong to compensate, with a little experimentation. 1/11 leave you with a Tittle anecdote. Shortly after the 2X81 came out, I worked up my first "big* program. The SELECTIVE DEFOCUSING 782040 was not yet available, and 1 refused to buy that awful "2X" printer. Guess how 1 generated program Getting back to our friend, the SLR, there is another listings, and screen dumps for my documentation? That’s trick you can use to actually IMPROVE the image you see right, I used my trusty rusty SLR to shoot each screen, on the TV, especially with color monitors. Since these then had the film contact-printed. Early purchasers of have discrete dots making up the plane of the display, my original FOURIER package (the predecessor to the the photos that result can have an obviously grainy program that did the side-panels shown here) may still "video" look. be wondering to this day, how I got those clean, sharp ‘mini screen-dumps* back in those bad old days. Well now Most SLR’s automatically open the aperture all the way you know. during set-up and focusing, both to allow for maximum brightness and to narrow the depth-of-field to make The circle is complete. From a stop-gap measure because focusing easier. However, all but the cheapest ones have suitable printers didn’t exist, to high-res color a way to override this, so you can view your scene at fractals, good old conventional photography STILL has the actual aperture selected. You can use this feature Tittle competition if you want striking color hardcopy to slightly de-focus your image, causing the discrete of your graphic computer displays. Especially if you phosphor dots on the CRT to blend together. consider the cost!

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PLAYING WITH ELECTRICITY

Tucked away in a dexeription of the QL hardware in the Technical Guide is mention of the fact that bit 7 of the Displey Control Register "can be used to switch the base of screen memory from 320000 to $2800". Hmmm, interesting I thought and went on to more pressing concerns.

Recently, I went back to investigate the dual screen display. There is a discussion & program dealing with it in Adrian Dickens "QL Advanced User Guide". The nove is it is real; but flawed. First a quick overview of the QL mezory op.

USE

258K — 60840000 ‘of On Board RAM 192k 0830000 of Screen} of Common Heap ‘of Common Heap eon28489 of Sys_Var 160K 00028003 System Variables & Base of Scroent (002 7F FF 128K 0820000

The immediate problem with the second Screen is the fact that the System Variables are locked into $28000 which is the base of Screenl. This means that if you simply flick the bit which controls the base of the display, you vill gat a bunch rage on the top of your screon. The garbage is the representation of the System Variables. You can take a look at this effect with the following short Superbasic Procedure.

100 RRMark switch in Screen 2

110 :

128 DEFine PROCedure SWITCH

138 SV_MCSTA=163092 = REMark $20034

135° DC_REG 98403: REMark $1963

143° DCR_STATUS=PEEK(SV_MCSTA)

158 DCR_STATUS=DCR_STATUS ~~ 126: REMark tosgle bit 7 168 POKE SV_MCSTA,DCR_STATUS —: REMark tell 53 170 POKR DC_REG, DCR_STATOS REMark tell hardware 180 END DEFine SWITCH 198

This is interesting, but useless, To make a useable display, one has to be a little trickier, One of the neat things about the QL is that QDS is extensible. In Particular, one can link in tasks for the Ql. to perform after ch interrupt. There is a Level 2 Interrupt (called s Frame interrupt) on the QL every 1/68 second; which is related to the Vertical Syne signal.

Whnt we neod to do is Link in m short Task which cheoke what screen we are displaying; then if we are displaying Soreen®, do nothing, vhile if wo are displaying Screen, wait until the display has passed the 5K or #o of System Variables then switeh in Screen!

The assembly Innguate code to do this is listed below in the ‘file DualSer_nam. Once you have this code installed, you will run into the next problem. There is no support in Qb0s for writing to Screen! It is evident that in the development of the QL, this was a matter of some debate, because in the SCR/CON Channel Definition Block (CD_Blk), there in an entry (SD_SCKB) Base address of screen. The unfortunate fact: is that the SCR/CON device driver does not use this variable, Instend the base address ($20000) is hardcoded into the driver. This was no doubt done in concert with the decision to tie the System Variables at 328000.

45 the QL is at present, if the driver did use tho (D_Dik variable, clearing the screen vould erase all the Systes_Varinbles; so it i just as well that it is not implemented

What's to do? It seomed to me that the simplest method to use would be to simply copy Screen@ into the useable part of Seroenl. The Suporhasic extension SCOPY performs this task. I wanted a Clear Screen capability as well, so I added the PROCedure SCLR. This procedure expects one parazeter which is used to colour Sereenl. The video ram of the QL display is arranged thus:

31

Harvey Taylor

Mode 4

Even Byte : Odd Byte

76543216 76543210 =~ Bite GGGCGCGG RRRRRRER oe Mode 8 F- Even Byte : Odd Byte Be 76549219 76549210 Bite GFGFGFGF : RURBRIRB

Passing SCLR the parameter @, will paint the screen black. You can play with other paramoters to see the effect of setting various bits. If you use 65208 for Groen, the interpreter returns an overflow error; but -256 works fine. 255 paints the nereon red.

‘The procedure SCO turns off the Auto-Tos@le and gives you the default display. ie. Screen@. The procedure SCRI turns off the Auto-Tost@le and ives you Screenl. The procedure SCRA turns on the Auto-Toaile; io. svitch between the tvo screen using <CTRL><F5>.

The function SCRNUM tells you which screen is currently being displayed, @ or 1. The function SWHERE tell you the base of the Common Heap Memory reserved by tho initiali: code.

ition

There are nose proviso’s with this code. It should be initialized from » boot: in particular before a directory of ‘a second device is done. This is because we want Screenl to

bedin az close to the Base of the Common Heap as possible. If you do a directory of another device before initializing; some common heap as_a Channel Dofinition Block

eal Definition Block. This will show up as a white jar to what SHITCH produces

Rolated to thie situation is the value of the Timeout value used to wait before switching Sereenl on. See the comments in the asm filo.

The other proviso, is that the dividing line where Soreenl switoher in is not stable. The easiest way to handle this problem, is to put a black border over the region similar to the PROCedure SDEMO below.

‘The first SBaxic program below creates a file DSCR_ext wbich is used by the second the SBasic prodr

109 ReMark PLAY WITH SCREEN UTIL 128 LaYouT

138 INIT

148 DEMO

158 STOP

168 :

17@ DEFine PROCedure DEMO

188 PAPER @: CLS

199 PICTURE

208° PAPER 4

216 AT @,@: PRINT ’SCRKEN 1° 228 SCOPY

238° SCRL

246° CLS.

256 SCRB

260 SCRA

278 LIST TO 260

200 AT 0.9: PRINT *SCREIN 0

PRINT#O, USE <CTRL><F5> TO TOGGLE SCREENS’ 300 END DEFine DEMO

318 :

320 DEFine PROCedure PICTURE

336 FOR M=@ TO PI STEP .25: FOR N=O TO 105 STEP 15 : INK (RND(2,6)): CIRCLE 20 @,128,N,.5,M: END FOR N : END FOR M 340 INK 7

386 END DEFine PICTURE

368 =

378

388

398

400 LBYTES dev$ & nam$, RESPR(512) 419 PRINT’ Loaded’

420 CALL RESPR()

430 PRINT’ Initialised’

440 END DEFine INIT

450:

469 DEFine PROCedure LAYOUT

478 WINDOH#8,512,64,0,0 : BORDER #0, 10,0 480 WINDOW#1, 512, 192,0,64 : BORDER #1, 10,0 498 WINDOW#2, 512, 192,0,64 : BORDER #2, 10,6 503 PAPERW2,4: INK#2,@

510 PAPER#1,4: INK#1,7

528 PAPER#@,2: INK#@, 7

530 SCALE 256,0,0: MODE 4

540 END DEFine LAYOUT

558 =

10@ REMark Create SCR2_EXT file

110 =

120 DLOAD

130 DSAVE

149 STOP

158 +

16 DEFine PROCedure DSAVE

178 REMark Save memory to file

180 ‘SCR2_oxt”

199 fip1

200 SBYTES dev$ & nam$,RESPR(@), 408

210 END DEFine DSAVE 228 :

230 DEFine PROCedure DLOAD

240 © -REMark writes DATA to memory & inits PROC & FUNC 258 addr=RESPR(512)

268 RESTORE 400

278 REPeat loop

280 READ x: IF x=-1: EXIT loop 290 POKE addr, x

300 addr=nddr+1

310 END RkPeat loop

320 PRINT#0, ‘Loaded *

330 CALL RESPR(@)

340 PRINT#O, 'Initialized’

350 END DEFine DLOAD

360 :

370 REMark SCR2_ext code for 2 screens utility

380 REMark SCLR, SCOPY, SCR@,SCR1,SCRA; SCRNUM, SHHERE 390 REMark

40 DATA 67,250, 0, 70,52, 120, 1,16

410 DATA 78, 146, 16,0, 34, 60, 420 DATA 6,0, 65, 249, 0,2, 128,0 438 DATA 32, 49,0, 8,65, 240, 8,

440 DATA 458 DATA 46 DATA 1, 16, 34, 136,67, 250, 1,24 47@ DATA 65,259, 1, 12,112, 28,33, 73 488 DATA 9, 4, 78,65, 112,0, 78,117 498 DATA @,5,@, 144, 4, 83, 67,62

508 DATA 65, 0,0, 144, 4,83, 67, 82 510 DATA 48, 0,0, 144, 4,83, 67, 82

520 DATA 49,0,8, 88,5, 83, 67,79 538 DATA 80, 89,0, 34, 4,83, 67,76 548 DATA 82,0,0,0,0, 2,0, 174

550 DATA 6,83, 67, 62, 78,85,77,0

568 DATA @, 116, 6,83, 87,72, 69, 02

578 DATA 69,,0,0, 52,120, 1,18

586 DATA 78, 146,74, 128, 102, 8, 12,67

590 DATA O, 1, 103, 4,112, 241,78, 117

66 DATA 48,54, 152, 0, 65, 250,0, 154

618 DATA 32,80, 67, 249,0,3,0,0

628 DATA 48,192,177, 201, 101, 250, 96,0 630 DATA @, 132, 67, 249,0,3,0,0

646 DATA 32,9, 65, 250, 0,124, 32,80

656 DATA 144, 136, 83, 64, 69, 249, 0, 2

668 DATA 128,, 19, 34,81, 200, 255, 252 678 DATA 96, 98,67, 250, 8, 104, 88, 209

688 DATA 96,90, 67,250, 6, 96, 66,61

698 DATA 96,82, 67, 250, 0, 68, 50, 188

108 DATA G, 255, 96,72, 67, 250,0,74

71@ DATA 34, 17,34, 116, 0, 88,93, 73

728 DATA 45, 73,0, 88, 66,118, 152,0

738 DATA 74,129, 103, 16, 52, 68, 8, 32

740 DATA 83, 66, 227, 129, 104, 250, 226, 145 758 DATA 61, 13, 152, 0, 45, 129, 152, 2

760 DATA 120, 2, 96,24, 114, 1,194, 58

778 DATA G, 29, 34, 110, @, 88, 85, 7: 780 DATA 45, 73,0, 68, 61,129, 152,0 798 DATA 56, 68,0, 3,112, 0,78, 117 800 DATA 0,0,,0,0,0,0.0

818 DATA 8,0,0,0,0,0, 18, 46

828 DATA @, 52, 19, 193,0, 1, 128,99 830 DATA 74, 43,0, 7,103, 36,74, 174 840 DATA @, 152, 102, 50,74, 174,0, 156 850 DATA 102, 44,74, 46,0, 238, 102, 38 B60 DATA 48, 66,6, 44,61, 200, 255, 254 870 DATA 8, 193,@,7, 19, 193,0,1

888 DATA 128,99, 74, 43,0, 6,103, 14 898 DATA 74, 46,0, 51, 103, 8,61, 238 998 DATA @,51, 78, 43,0,7,78,117,—-1 910 :

ooooooooDoooooooo0o0o0o0o0g0000000000000000u0u0000

MANDELBROT -- A Fractal World

Part Three

Michael E.

The Machine Code

Now that we have the BASICs out of the way, we can get down to the microcode or the machine code portion of our program. It not my intention to provide an introductory lesson in 68000 assembly language programming with this article. However, I do intend to cover GL specific instructions (i.e., Traps and Vectors). There are a number of books available

to teach the basic instruction set of the 68000 family of chips. One ser of books is available from Motorola for a very reasonable chi

Before I get started with our discussion of the various supporting machine code programs, a short disclaimer. This program was my first attempt at

coding in 68k code. Experienced programmers will find some awkward and roundabout approaches in the code.

MANDELBROT SOURCE CODE start One of the important things to remember, wi writing machine code for the GL, is that the Register DO must contain the value of 0 for a successful return to BASIC. The QL uses this register to provide

Carver

for error traps and reports when returning from Trap or Vector calls. Any value, other than 0 in DO, is

n by the ROM as an error when returning to BASIC, or concluding a Trap/Vector call. See 19-20 of the Concepts section of the GL User's Guide for

breakdown of the Error Report Codes. DO will contain a negative value for an official error (i.e., -1 = not completes -2 = invalid job,} etc.). The first

routine in our source code, start, simply locates and stores the location of the array data area to be used by the machine code progr:

calc

Our next section is one of the round-about methods I warned you about. Its role is to retrieve, from BASIC, certain floating point values needed for the reiterative calculations. The straight-forward approach would be to obtain ther from within the machine code progr: using input from keyboard routine. Even so, some valuable lessons can

32

be learned from this section of code. In the @L, the SuperBASIC memory area is dynamic. It can grow or shrink and move about within memory. For this reason, the Aé register is used to point to the base address of this area. Any particular location in this are: including SuperBASIC system variables or the BASIC Program, is referenced relative to AG. Each area of this memory is indexed by two pointers, for the start

and the end. The: stacks" are upside down. The SIC system variables start at offset #00. Twill be using "S* to indicate numbers in

Each procedure, function, and variable cr from within SuperBASIC is indexed via a name table and a name list. Their starting addres are found in the SuperBASIC system variables area. Their offsets are $i8 (BV.NTBAS) and $20 (BV.NLBAS) respectively--both long words. Their ending addres are found at offsets $1C (BV.NTP) and $24 (BV.NLP).

The Name Table {is composed of blocks of eight bytes. This block contains information on the type, a pointer to the location in Name List, and a pointer

to the value. See Table 1 for a complete breakdown of this information.

Let's now look at the calc routine of the cod

The comments accompanying the first few lines of this

The move.t

» only

the actual

from Aé. By adding Aé to Al,

ending address of the table is found. Since the SuperBASIC fables we wish to pass to the machine code program are floating point, we are looking in the Name Table for the occurence of "$0202" (see Table 1). The actual names are stored in the Name List with one byte for the length of the nai

followed by the ASCII of the nat Checks are made

through the Name Table for floating point variables. If one is found, its entry in the Name List is calculated and a check for either c/ or cz is carried out. By declaring the machine code variable space as

@ long word of 0 and by transferring the data from the Name List into the first 3 bytes of space, we can ake a long Word check against Di and D2 (see section

labeled Yipoint). The Name List is not arranged in al 68000 manner. It is customary, mbly language, to insure that all addresse: boundaries (i.e., even addresses). When found, the addresses of the actual floating point values ai stored in their appropriate

word

Floating point variables are stored in the QL with six bytes (a 16-bit exponent with a 32-bit mantissa). Integers are stored as two's-complemented words. The GL stores strings with the first word defining the length of the string, followed by the actual string itself. If the string is an odd number of bytes long, it will be stored with a spare byte to

adhere to the normal 48K convention of word boundary addr + Array storage is rather complex. There is one long word as a relative pointer to the actual

start of data. This is followed by a word for the number of dimensions. For each dimension, a pair of words is used which define the dimension along with

an index multiplier for it, This preamble is followed by the actual array, using the format as stated

above for integer, floating point, or string. set_up The first portion of this section moves the actual floating point data from the SuperBASIC

variable area into our machine code variable area. We are now ready for our first voyage into the GL ROM via Vector utilities--floating point math.

fore any calculations are carried out, a check for ample space on the maths stack should be performed. This is accomplished by the Vector utility S11A (BV.CHRIX - reserve space on maths stack). Upan

entry, Di should contain the number of bytes needed (as a long word). When exited, the following registers are effecte: Di corrupted AS preserved D2 corrupted AL D3. corrupted az as If there is insufficient space on the stack, this Vector call will expand it. This may entail moving the stack's location. The location of the

stack BY.RIP,

fs found by checking the SuperBASIC variable which has the offset from A6 of #53.

33

bigloop

Floating point routines, within the QL ROM, are accessed by two different Vectors, RI.EXEC - #1iC for one operation and RI.EXECE Si1E for a list of operations. Upon entry, following registers should be set up as follow

the

Do. ration code (RI.EXEC only? D7L to O to insure reliable execution

Al-L pointer to mathe stack (relative to Aé)

AS.L pointer to the list of operations (RI.EXECR only? Aa.L pointer to base of variable area (relative to Aé)

The following registers are affect:

by the call:

as erved at pointer to maths stack az as aa

An error report -18 in De wilt indicate an arithmetic overtiow.

See Table 2 for the various math functions available. All results of the math operations will be found on the top of the stack. RI.DUP (duplicate) is the only exception, in that it will incr the Stack by one item and update the stack pointer leaving two items on the stack. The first four remove

on the stack and replace it with the The next four (along with RI.POWFP) take both items on the stack and replace them with one item and thus decr the size of the stack. The remaining functions will remove the top item on the stack and replace it with the result. To use the RI-EXECB (list Of operations), AS should point to the list of byte: (opcodes). This list must end with #00.

All of the math operations carried out by this portion of the code have only two items on the stack, though room was reserved for 4 floating point numbers. This allows us to leave certain items on the stack and by changing the stack pointer, carry cut another operation. Finally, this new result can be combined with other items left on the stack for further math operations. This saves the need of pulling it off the stack, storing and retrieving them when needed later. Scan the code between digloop and check and see it you can trace this manipulation of the maths stack. (Refer to the first article in this series to see a BASIC version of the calculations being carried out by this portion of the code.)

The remainder of the Madelbrot should be fairly self explanatory.

Source Code

SWAPSHOT SOURCE CODE

IMPORTANT NOTE: There is a major the source code and the BASIC loader Nov/Dec *87) for the Snapshot machine code routine. A "typo" reversed two numbers in the source code. In the source code, lines labeled snapshot and paste Should read 131086 not 131068. In the BASIC Listing (see lines 1000 and 1020) "8828,1,-4,16890" should read @828,2,14,16990. My apologies to all who could not de-bug this careless error.

This is a straight-forward piece of code, reads a group of bytes form a certian section of the Screen’s memory map and stores them in a variable area contained in the machine code program. My approach to accomplish this was rather amateurish, but quick and dirty. To find the actual starting point for the upper left-hand corner of the mini-window area, I POKE'd numbers into the screen’ memory until I found the exact point. the screen’ memory starts at #20000 or 1310724 and is a total of 32K long, The actual screen grid is 128 bytes wi and 258 bytes high. The mini-window is 24 bytes wide and 36 bytes high. The window starts 14 byte: the start of the screen and ts 24 bytes w adding 80 to the last address of the window's

error in (Listing 4,

both ‘TDM

line, we will be exactly 1 line below the start of the previous location (or a total of 128 bytes). The paste routine reverses this process by moving the

copy of the mini-window area back to the screen.

PLOTTER SOURCE CODE

start

This machine code module contains routines. One, start, plots the mandelbrot map ¢rom already compiled data. The other one, plot, draws the map while it is being calculated. The first section of code (start, m_loop and n_loop) run through the already calculated data, setting the proper ink color and plotting each point to the screen. Let's examine the various subroutines used by both routines.

convert This subroutine is a maths operation executed by calling the RI-EXEC Vector previously discussed. Before we can plot a point to the screen, the x and y coordinates must be in floating point forms.

ink

The color attributes for any Window can be set by calling one of three Trap #3 routines. They are:

SD.SETPA 27 --- paper color SD.SETST 28 --- strip color SD.SETIN 29 --- ink color Upon entry, the following registers need to be set according! pa color Ds.u timeout (-1) Ag. channel 1D Upon returning, the following registers are affected: preserved AS preserved Al corrupted

a2 preserved 1 not complete or -6 invalid channel 1D

Channel ID's in machine code are not quite the Channel #'s in SuperBASIC, The Channel Table contains pointers to channel definition blocks within

the common heap (or ®FFOOOOOO if the channel is closed). The channel ID consists of two words. The low word is a reference to its location in the

Channel Table and the high word is the tag number. Every time a channel is opened, its tag number will be one greater than the previously opened channel.

When the GL is fired up, 3 default channels are open.

$00000000 is SuperBASIC channel WO (the lower window), 00010001 is SuperBASIC channel Wi (the print window), $00020002 is SuperBASIC channel #2

(the list window). No matter what the SuperBASIC channel # is for the next channel opened (i.e., #32), it will almost tainly have the channel ID of 00030003. The Mandelbrot program uses the default Window #2 to display the mandelbrot map, making calculations of the channel ID a snap.

This section of code uses the color data POKEd into memory by the SuperBASIC program (lines 2630 and 4250). The distance point from the mandelbrot set (1 to 255) is used as an index pointer to the appropriate color in this table.

Bibl tography:

plot Graphic routines from within machine code are also accessed through Trap #3 functions ‘SD. POINT Dens3o plot a point SD.LINE --~ D6=831 --- draw a line SD.ARC --- D@=S32 --- draw an are SD.ELIPS Do=es3 draw circle or elips SD.SCALE define scale and origin SD.GCUR ---D0=836 --- define text cursor position Upon entry, the following registers must be prepared: D3.W timeout (-1) Ag.L channel ID Al.L maths stack pointer

Upon exit, the following registers are atfected: DI ‘corrupted AB preserved D2 preserved Ai corrupted

Each of the functions require that certain par. meters (floating point form) be placed on a math stack pointed to by Al. This stack is also upside down, To insure successful operations of the functions, there should be 240 bytes free on the stack. See Table 3 for the parameters which must be on the stack (relative to Al) for each of the graphic routines.

start2

Unlike the routine at start, plots one point at a tim variables for the x returning to BASIC. It a! detailed above.

Some of the variabl 4 by this code may have been POKEd into their location from SuperBASIC (array, mpoint, npoint and color). This is another round-about method of passing parameters from Super- BASIC to machine code.

this routine only updating the machine cod: before

I hope this article will aspiring 68000 machine codists. potential lurking in the hi and most of it is easily acc

be a start for the There is a great rt and soul of the QL, ble via machine code

I feel that 68K machine code is much more flexible and dynamic than Z80. (Now, now, if any of you Z@0 fans have gotten this far, don't count me as an e@x-280 buff. One will still find me hacking away at the ole Silver Avenger--TS2068!!) With the availability of a large number of Traps and Vectors, much of the chore of coding in bly language has been removed. Once again, I would like to apologize to any who may have lost a few nights sleep due to

the error in the Snapshot code

Due to the length of the source code listing of

Michael Carver's Mandelbrot machine code subroutine, this listing will be included next issue, when th: series concludes. — editor

Denning, Adam Advanced at machine code. Duckworth, 1985. Gandotf, Martin Machine code programming on the Sinclair at. Hutchinson, 1985.

Ks Gerry 68809 microprocessor handbook. Osborne/McGraw Hill, rt

King, Tim Progamming the 49998. Addison-Wesley, 1985.

Krantz, Donald 4! assembly Languages techniques for building programs. Addison-Wesley, 1986.

msg9e8; 8-/16~/32-b1t microprocessors progranner’s

manus Prentice-Hall your yellow page

1966.

Pennell, Andrew

operating system. Sunshine,

Williams, Steve

The Sinclair @00S companions 19es.

Programming the 6801

(available ¢rom Motorola ~ for a reprenentativ

2 guice to

ives.

Sybex,

34

RI.cos

TABLE 1 -- Variable types RI-SIN

RI TAN word derines the type of the name RI<cOT cotangent $0001 Uindetined string variasie RILASIN arceine

30902 undefined floating point number undefined integer

string expression

floating point expression

RI.ACOS arcosine RILATAN arctangent RI.ACOT arcotangent RI.SGRT square root

RILLN natural loge RI.LOG1G base 16 logs RI.EXP exponential

RI.POWFP take NOS ~ Tos ly only)

TABLE 3 -- Graphic function parameters SuperBASIC string function SuperBASIC floating point function SD-POINT $@91A1) y co-ord SuperBASIC integer function 896(Ai) x co-ord REPeat loop name SD-LINE €99(A1) y co-ord of end of Tine FOR loop counter (floating point) S26(A1) x co-ord oF end of line machine code procedure Sec(Al) —y co-ord of start of line machine code function S12(A1) x co-ord of start of line SD.ARC $B9(A1) angle of the arc word pointer to entry in name list (or -1 4 expression) SO4(A1) —-y co-ord of end of are tong pointer to value (For variables this is an offmet into SOC(AL) x coord of end of arc the variable area, or if undefined, a negative number). S12(A1) sy coord of atart of arc For SuperBASIC procedures and functions, the high word S1B(A1) x covord of start of arc im the line number of the DEF statement. For machine SD-ELIPSE 8@g(A1) angle of rotation code functions and definitions, the long word is the s06(A1) radius absolute address of the routin BOC(AL) eccentricity (1 if a circled S12(Al)—-y co-ord of center s18(aL> SD.SCALE (AL) x pomition of graphice origin TABLE 2 -- Floating Point functions S26(A1) —y poistion of graphics origin SOC(A1) scale factor orcope WANE runerrow SD.GCUR S@(Al) graphica x co-ord $820 RI.NINT INT floating point into word integer graphics y co-ord $04 SO RI.INT truncate floating point into word integer horiz. pi $06 © RI-NLINT INT floating point form into long integer S12(A1) vert. pixel offset of cursor 80 = RI-LINT convert integer into floating point RI-ADD add TOS to NOS RI.SUB_ subract TOS from NOS RILMULT multiply Tos by NOs RI.DIV divide TOS into Nos RI-ABS take absolute value

RILNEG RI.DUP duplicate

$129.95 Speed Screen $35.95 M6 Rom-newest ver. $41.95 QL Technical Guide $14.95 Archive Runtime V2.38 $35.95 Task Master $39.95 Spellbound $49.95

We carry ALL hardware and software lines for the Sinclair QL.

Sharp’s, Inc. Rt. 10, Box 459 é 5s "

Mechanicsville, VA 23111 (804) 746-1664 or 730-9697 VISA & MASTER CARD accepted with 3% surcharge.

ARCHIVE MASTER

ARCHIVE Database is a powerful, flexible and unique program that was supplied as a "bonus" with most new QL computer syst However, due to it’s complexitity and lack of complete documentation, it 1s perhaps the most misunderstood QL program...that is, up until now. Enter the new book, ARCHIVE MASTER, +rom Executive Workshop. ARCHIVE MASTER explores all of the inner workings of ARCHIVE, and contains tips & tricks to help you make ARCHIVE an even more powerful tool for personal use and business. Complete procedures are included to set up an Inventory program, a Customer/Supplier file, an Accounts Receivable/Invoicing Program, a Mail List Manager, and much more ARCHIVE MASTER is supplied with a durable three ring binder, and is priced at $44.95 (plus $3 S&H). Order your copy from: RMG ENTERPRISES 1419 1/2 7th Street Oregon City, OR 97045 (503) 655-7484

Sounds like a spy thriller, but the title really refers to an income tax prepa- ration program (in the nick of time), a personal or small-business double-entry accounting system, and a revolutionary multi-taskable, multi-file, universal full-screen editor--all for the Sinclair QL.

EMSOFT'S TAX-I-QL/87 * * ¥ ¥ 172

TAX-I-QL/87 is a rather complex IRS Form 1040 template designed to simplify tax Preparation by individuals or tax-form preparers. It replaces TAX-I-QL which had to be rewritten from scratch. It is used with either QLSS version 2.1 or ABACUS version 2.3 and a QL with at least 256K RAM. Few instructions are on the template, and most instructions must be read from IRS forms, but this should remove a little drudgery from the process, satisfy your soul, and leave you a good record with which to impress your IRS tax auditor.

The disk version can print to IRS forms but the Microdrive version will not.

Since you probably won't read this before 30 March, I have tried to arrange an expeditious way to order the software. TAX-1-QL/87 is deductible at $24.95. Send your check to ENSOFT, P.O. Box 8763, Boston, MA 02114-6763. Specify the Microdrive or 5 1/4" disk version, and, if the latter, whether double- or quad-density, EMSOFT will expedite shipment. No telehone orders.

A.R.K, Distributions THE SPY x * * * * ARK. Ss and those ARCHIVIST. THE SPY is file, multitaskable, universal full-screen editor, Not a word processor, the program “is designed primarily for programmers who want an editor which EXECs quickly, multi-— tasks, and takes as little space as possible Cin RAM) while providing all the fundamental editimg facilities at the highest speed.” THE SPY lives up to this billing and

THE SPY is wonderful

from Richard Howe folks who gave us billed as a multi

more. A.R.K., for Applied Research Kernel, Distribution is in the business of designing and retailing business software, and their latest product is another good piece of work. 500K of assembler source language

have been compiled onto about 200 Microdrive sectors. The people at A.R.K. believe that in the future most small computer sustems will be emulated faster on Transputerx based home micros, and, if so, computer owners may be freed from the whims and follies of com- puter companies.

DESEBEDEDESESEDEBESEUDESUDUDEDEUEDIDUDEDEDUDEDEDEEEES 3G

Time Designs Tesis

TAX-I-QL/87, PACIOLI and THE SPY by Mike de Sosa

What can THE SPY do? It can load and stack as many files (programs) as your QL RAM permits, allocate working space to each, and tansfer blocks of code (from assembler language to SuperBASIC) locally within files or globally between files. Files can be of

any type from binary to text. It commands functions using a single keypress or combination keypress, that is, CTRL B to drop the BLOCK menu or CTRL Z to zap the current file from the stack. Other commands are

via the function keys.

Extremely rapid operation is

possible, shifting between

screens of code and moving or correcting blocks of code semi-automatically. THE SPY can, for example, load itself, customize itself, and then replace itself--something

like a Phoenix.

THE SPY is said to be compatible with QRAM, KEYDEFINE, and probably with other master multitasking programs. (The software arrived too late to test its operation with other such programs and its price was not mentioned, but Mark at SHARP’s should have the "straight skinny” on price and compati- bility by the time you read this.)

x Transputer, A firmware/hardware addition for microcomputers that will vastly increase their speed of operation and versatility so that computers like the Ql might become vir- tually obsolescence proof. Leon Heller, editor of QUANTA, has been working on this revolutionary development for come time.

ZEATALINE'’s PACIOLI * * * ¥ 1/2

PACIOLI is a double-entry book-keeping system designed to enable the individual or

small-business man to manage his own finances in a comprehensive way with a minimum of effort. PACIOLI is menu-driven

and straightforward to use, use PACIOLI is a liberal double-entry accounts-keeping.

and learning to education in The program

also computes several financial ratios such as net profit percentage, capital circula- tion, and annual growth rate.

Screen and bar- and pi significance of

printout representations of graphs are available. The the name PACIOLI escapes me. Distributors should check with me for U.S.A. wholesale prices. Individuals should check with their distributor or write to Zeataline Projects Ltd., 3 York Close, Washingborough, LINCOLN, LN4, 1SQ, Looks like a winner! About $30.

NEXT TIME: exotic new on the way,

‘DBDHDSSHDHDHLHHDHHDHDHDHDDHDDHDDHHDHDDDDDDDDHHDDDD!

Full information on software that is

lots of supposed to be

qadadcaaaqaaaqaacaaeaagaa

qacaaqcaacanqacaceaadeaacacacaaaacacaaaaeeaaaaaaadeacaaaaaaaaaaaaaacacaaaaa

RECEREREATARA RAAT ERED ER ERURBRERRRURER ER EME ER ERE DEREME RB EDE REE MR EMER mRMRR DRADER

Now is not the time to give up on the Sinclair QL! by Mike de Sosa

Araaber of people have said that the Sinclair QL is dexdthat there is no point in upgrading to the GL or in sticking vith it any lange! These naysayers cont be wore wrong, Folloving are just sove of the reasons uhy you should upgrade to the OL or stick vith its

1, The Sinclair OL pockoge is, quite Literally, the best value for aoney of cry professional computer,

1, Other Sinclain conputers “vould not die," ond the OL is no exception~it is still "state of the art.”

4, Second> ond third-generation OL softuare~fur sore offordkble ond in eony cases better thon wost big nose bronds-is nou available,

4, Hy QL users vho use bigrnase brand winicouputers and personal computers at work such prefer the QL for aony reasons, g 5, Locust ond imvotive OL firmare ond borcareahich fully utilizes the L's qrnt per is oly just nov oproching fully dela statis, : 6, The GL Users ond Tirkerers Pssociation (QTE) Library nv provides 28 qua-density lappy disks containing 1 softuore ond dacusentation of

All types and descriptions at very lov cost to weabers=-contoct Tos Bent betveen Zp and 18 pa EST at (941) 730-7187 for further information on GAT, its excellent sonthly newsletter, its massive washers’ softuwe library,

7, The 1/5 288 is on excellent coaputervhich has given us great service but it locks the necessary capacity to run cuprebensive datibase, spreadsheet, desklop-publiching, and integrated (aultitasked) programs, The GL vith TANP CARD uses 63K of Rt!

8, Mast users ore unre of or do nat wale full use of the latest GL products dich can transform operation of the to such an extent that it should be the commuter of choice for way ot saall fraction of the cost of sary Less copble systeas!

To take fullen advantage of your OL, subscribe to TINE DESIGNS Magazine ($16.95 0 year for six big issues) ond

purchase Or, Hike de Sosa's excellent book, TAKING THE QUAKTUK LEAP, the nost up-to-date book on QL, uritten g (n language anyone con understand, uhich explains wany useful things about the OL just not found in its user guide, 2 @ Goth ore available frow TIME DESIGHS, 29722 Hult Rd., Colton, Gregan; tel, (503) 924-2658; CompuServe ID q & 713503238, Order both Hou!

Buy a QL or two or three of them from your favorite QL dealer while they last! Prepared using PAGE DESIGNER 2--Looks Like the Macintosh! as

LALA LAG RA AR ELIG GG ED IGGL UTI DRAGER DORR ERES Sy Mie

Why the QL?

Now is not the time to give up on the Sinclair QL!

by Mike de Sosa

About four years ago I wrote an article for Reader's Digest (never published) about the new Sinclair QL microcomputer. I entitled the article "The First Lightweight, Low-cost Supermicrocomputer," and promised

that the QL would soon revolutionize the computer world, including the training of computer users, financing, and logistics.

And the QL promised to do just that, but a few things went wrong: early models of the QL and early versions of its bundled software were just not ready for release, resulting in some bad reviews; Sir Clive’s marketing strategy left many things to be desired; the U.S. distributor, though personally helpful to me, was poorly organized and refused to advertise--the statement was made, "We don't need the U.S.

market"; the

Reagan administration held up FCC clearance

for seven months--crucial at

the time; computer sales went flat; Sir Clive almost went broke because of his electric tricycle and had to liquidate his QL brainchild; etc.

The Sinclair QL and its bundled software, is now "fully developed” through the efforts of Psion Ltd. and third-party firmware designers, notably Tony Tebby, and its price has dropped from $500 to under $100.

The QL remains the first lightweight, low-cost, supermicrocomputer. Many computer

experts--regular users of Apple, IBM, Texas Instrument, and other PCs--have visited me and marvelled at what an intelligently aug- mented QL can do. (They even like the key- board and Microdrives--unique to Sinclair—— which many have previously knocked.) When I tell them what the computer and its allied software, firmware, and hardware cost, their jaws really drop! For many of the same reasons that the QL was to have revolutionized the computer world in 1984, it remains an extremely versatile, almost ebsolescence-proof computer (remember the term transputer—-a new device which will, among many other things, permit the emulation (and input/output to) any type of computer, permitting the true universal- ization of computers--it's coming soon for the QL.)

Vhat I'm trying to say is an excellent machine that, when properly upgraded, will allow you to join the co r revolution and remain "state of the

is that the QL

art" for the foreseeable future--and this at the very lowest cost!

Many other reasons for sticking with or upgrading to the QL are listed on the facing page, and I could go on listing them all day, mainly in connection with the many out- standing classic and new software programs now available. Did you hear that Psion Ltd's QL CHESS, running on the QL, won the World Microcomputer Chess Championship for the third time?

LOW-COST JS ROM NOW AVAILABLE

One problem with U.S. QL's is that they are furnished with JSU ROM chips rather than

JS ROM chips. The former cause certain graphic distortions/relocations with some Software, for example GRAPHIQL+, VROOM!, PROJECT PLANNER, DECISION MAKER, etc., thus limiting their use. Replacement JS ROM chips are now available for about $25, and for about $35 you can have the JS ROM plus built-in TOOLKIT II, or ICE, or QfLash RAMDISK & TOOLKIT (no, you must furnish

these chips) on EPROM. For another $10, RMG

Enterprises, tel. (503) 765-2455, will even install it in your QL or a new QL, but I understand that this isa snap, requiring

less than ten minutes work and no soldering. Have it put in a new QL, and buy yourself a spare QL--with JS ROM--today, the price may never be lower. Check with your favorite QL distributor for exact prices, etc.

KEEP IN TOUCH

The Ultimate QL Terminal

US$19.95 + 3.00 shipping {specify wedium]

Meta Media Productions 726-West 17th Vancouver BC

Canada VSZ 1T9

PAGE DESIGNER 2

PAGE DESIGNER 2 is a radically changed and greatly enhanced commercial version of the QUANTA library's original PAGE DESIGNER (see Time Designs, Jan/Feb 1988, p. 38). PD2 requires at least 256K of additional RAM ‘and more is better), and its products are not compatible with the original program.

Like its predecessor, PD2 is simple to understand and easy to use. New features include the ability to store more fonts in memory, to store as many as nine (small) pages, to import QUILL _doc files into multiple automatic or manually defined columns, new column justification options, word or character microspacing by pixel, new text and hires fonts, multi-pass printing and multiple copy options, improved text typing, and many others. CUT & PASTE operations are very fast and versatile. PD2 is available from SHARP's for under $60.

Sonus a0 Sree tes

ri Serinaet ta <{Seamint St

Sh rmuc STAGARD font

SEmtteteet ire tnt

1 Face let Snot C3HORR wearisome ret tect FUROR fot FATALE Pot

Spare Sunny

3s ari mactiicat aaa

STANDARD (8840 OUTLINE BROADWAY_ENGR DATA G

BOLDSTANDARD COLNTOOIN SERIFA FUTURAUSPLAY TIMES

Tee tart and hires fonte ane all sppliad o¢ standin vith Pape Designee 2, The hires fons uere printed in vidth tnd height fy vith proportional spacing, 2 plxet horizontal spacing and B pixel verttcat spacing.

NEXT TINE: "Upgrading Your QL," more

TIPS, and more exotic wares for your QL.

HOT

DESIGNING WINDOWS a QL program by P. Bingham

No @L graphics discussion without mention of the GL's marvelous abilities. With the power allowed by virtus BASIC, the @L can handle many windows, treating each almost arate screens. With all the window specific commands available to the programmer, he (or she) can have control only dreamed of in other Sinclair machines.

But during programming, a window usually goes something like thi WINDOW command with the four parame realize it isn’t long enough on the scre another WINDOW commands 4) now it is way too long} 5) type in another WINDOW command with an in-between Parameter...now what was the original value? 6) start throwing things.

A couple of years ago, program written by James Lucy in the Britis! publication, @L WORLD. GL WORLD is great for aL lovers and is still worth the rather steep “poor-ex- Change-rate-induced" price of four bucks an issue from the few U.S. dealers who stock it. James Lucy*

would be complete windowing

of Super—

the actual

DESIGNING

of in 2 in

Iran across a little

program was a quick little window editor for monitor onners. I have modified it quite a bit from the original (Listing 1

The program is simple. Just type it in run it. It will draw the outlines of a

, this window frame can be ; Uf you bump into the screen ge it won't go any further.) By holding the CONTROL

key down, the arrow keys will cause the box to shrink or swell to the desired size. The prog moves the frame in steps of seven, but for fine tuning, just

hit F1 and you may proceed

pixel at a time. To set

it back to seven just hit F3. When you have what you want, hit the TABULATE key and the exact WINDOW Parameters will be printed for you in the center of

t

screen. You may keep drawing various sized window

frames over each other, or just hit ESC and the Screen will clear ready to go again. The program aiters each subsequent frame color so you can di:

tinguish each more easily. Once in a while, two over~ lapping lines cancel each other. Not to worry, just hit an arrow key or TABULATE Well, fire up those Gls and Programming again now

This program will help

and thin shadow line parameters as well, so go do something to make that black and white MACINTOSH Screen next door turn green with envy and your

cousin's BIG BLUE turn even bluer.

10 20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 200 210 220 230 240 250 260 270 280 290 300 310

39

Sinclar

LISTING 1 REMark DESIGNING WINDOWS

MODE 512:WINDOW 512,256, 0,0:PAPER 4:0VER-1:CLS: REPeat new_window

%=440:y=210: p=30: REPeat outline 2=CODE( INKEYS(-1)) windows

:windows

windows

WINDOW 95, 10,200, 125: INK 7 WINDOW 512,256, 0, 0:0=7:i: NEXT new_window

END SELect

windows

END REPeat outline DEFine PROCedure windows BLOCK x,1,p,q, i:BLOCK x, 1,p,aty-1,i

BLOCK 1,y~2,p,q+1, i:BLOCK’ 1, y-2, ptx-1,a¢1,4 END DEFine windows

CLS:PRINT x!y!p!a! 4+2:1F i=0:

(716) 834-1716

the

Ll

hates

CLASSIFIED

FREE ADS FOR SUBSCRIBERS

WW TEE SHIRTS-STILL AVAILABLE #W SUNSTATE T/S WINTERFEST ‘88. Collectables, Official T-shirt, $8 sizes Sm, Med, Lg., call after Spm EDT. for info? (305) 660-2465.

WANTED: MIDI SOFTWARE for composing, editing, playing and printing on the Sinclair aL. Reginald Cottle, 840 Eglintan Ave. West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, MSN-1G1. (416) 785-3987.

FOR SALE: PORTUGESE TIMEX 2068 computer, very rare U.S. Model, 2040 printer, 2020 recorder, 2x81, programs, more. Send for list. Dave Maccarone, 67 Bradley Ct., Fall River, MA’02720, (617) 678-2110.

FOR SALE: BYTE BACK PARALLEL I/F for the TS2068. $40 ppd. Ted Dupar, 21696 Cabrosa, Mission Viejo, CA 92691, (714) 583-9763.

FOR SALE: BYTE BACK RS-232 with documentation. New, never used just sat in drawer. New wa: Yours for just $35. David Hartman, 2 Gillis Road, Portsmouth, VA 23702.

FOR SALE: TS2048 w/modified keybd, including monitor, 2 print I/F’s k& Disk I/F. Lots of books & software. $150. Loren Latker, 10634 Valparaiso #32, Los Angeles, CA 90034, (213) 558-1127,

SERVICES — BERTY TERRACE “ALO, N.Y, 14215

Call or write for a free catalog of products for the Timex Computer

(716) 834-1716

WANTED: BACK ISSUES OF T/S MAGS (QZx, SYNTAX, TDM, SUM, SINCUS, 1/5 USER, etc.) Also: schematic, Owner Manual for TS1500. Send list/prices to: D. Smith, R.415 Stone St., Johnstown, PA 15906.

WANTED: 1$2068 EXTENSION CABLE ¢or peripherals (rear dock connection) or information as to where the parts for same can be obtained. John Deering, 136 Neverbreak Dr., Hendersonville, TN 37075.

WANTED: A ROMPACK EPROM with both 2X Pro/File and Guickload on the Same cart. Warren Jackson, 11141 Edgemere Terrace, Roscoe, IL 61073. Atter 5 CST, (815) 623-6937.

FOR SALE: 3 WESTRIDGE MODEM BOARDS, untested, with schematics. ..830. Can be used for RS-232 Interface project in Vol.2 No.3 of TDM. Bill Ferrebee, 749 Hill St. #6, Parkersburg, WV 26104.

WANTED: QUADRA CHART and PC-DRAW software for TS2068. FOR SALE: 1/F hardware/software for 2068 4-color plotting w/Commodore 1520. John McMichael, 1710 Palmer Dr Laramie, WY 82070.

SINCUS NEWS-88/6 issues a year, 2068 oriented, subscriber active

news, tipi how to check to WS, 1229 Rhodes Rd, Johnson City, NY 13790. A non

profit hobby group since 1982.

FOR SALE: 1 TS1000 w/16K & SU, wimonitor kit, 1 TS2068 used, & 1 182068 new, 1 TS2040 and also 1 TS2050 modem. Also have new SW in box’s, will sell on trade (for list, send S.A-S.E.) R Burt, PO Box 157, Belleville, Ontario, Canada keNn-425.

Do you have some equipment or a program that you would like to sell? Looking for something hard to find? Place an ad in THE CLASSIFIEDS! Subscribers can place one free personal ad in each issue. Ad size is 32 Col. wide (like 2040 paper) and maximum of six lines. For additional line DEADLINE FOR ALL CLASSIFIED ADS: Two weeks before publication date. Mail your ad to: TIME DESIGNS MAGAZINE, The Classifieds Dept., 29722 Hult Rd., Colton, Oregon 97017.

40

$3 each. NON-SUBSCRIBERS

WANTED: COPIES OF THE FOLLOWING articles from SINCUS on “Comput Interruptui -Part 1 to 5 (May> to Feb 86). Renato Zannese, 6 Roding Street, Downsview, Ont Canada, M3M-2A6.

WANTED: INTERFACE ONE with mand For ZX SPECTRUM 46K. Call or wre! John A. Byrne, Rt.3 box 342, CK@ ville, TN 38501, (615) 526-791+

WANTED: HOT-Z II with docs! original TSiS00 Owner Manuals @¢ 2068 with docs (good condition used Byte Back MD2 modem (Zx). G. Tripptree, 180 Summit Circl: Little Ferry, NJ 07643.

FOR SALE: TAX-I-@L/87 templated? 1987 taxes on a 256K GL. Info SE or $24.95 from EMSOFT, Box 876: Boston, MA 02114.

NEED HELP: Converting the grap section of the TSi000 program "Stock Market Tech Analysis I* (Timex), over to the Ts2068. pal¢ Weiler, 4641 Kawanee Ave, Meta LA 70006.

FOR SALE: ZEBRA 3-PIECE FDD DI! DRIVE SYSTEM for the TS2068. si. Larry Kenny, RRW2 Navan, Ontar’y Canada K4B-iH9, (613) 835-2680

HOME COMPUTER REPAIRS Write For Prices Dan Elliott Rt £ Box 117