daptive rocessing assembler Graphics
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Practical-Computing-1981-12-S-OCR Practiecoar
Comp ting
December 1981
Volume 4 Issue 12
daptive rocessing he decision tre
Reviews:
NEC PC -8001B
Piccolo
DMS for CP/M
Using an
assembler
Word-processing programs Race night Graphics software
Cromemco System Three
If you've already recognised the superiority of Cromemco products, or even if you're still evaluating alternative systems, it's worthwhile visiting MicroCentre.
systems-single user and multi-user; and a wide range of software, including compilers, data base management, word processing, and Cromemco's integrated business packages.
Here's our promise. Ask to see anything in the Cromemco catalogue, and we'll demonstrate it for you. Nobody else in the UK carries a wider range of Cromemco demonstration systems and stock. We'll show you all the Cromemco computers, of course. From System Zero to System Three; the Z -2H Hard Disk system; high performance colour graphics; and the adaptable SCC single card computer.
Then we'll show you quality Cromemco peripherals; a choice of operating
At MicroCentre we pride ourselves in taking care of all the important details that make up a complete service . . . like stocking the complete library of Cromemco documentation; arranging leasing and maintenance agreements; supplying continuous stationery, ribbons, floppy disks, print thimbles, etc.
So if you're interested in Cromemco systems don't miss out a visit to MicroCentre. We're Cromemco's top dealers in Europe-and proud of it!
For GI Cromemcowcall the experts
MicroCentre
Tel: 031-556 7354
Circle No. 101
LEADING UK DISTRIBUTORS
Complete Micro Systems Ltd., 30 Dundas Street
Edinburgh EH3 6JN
Prodigal
Compptmg
Adeptly. processia9 the decision ties
NEC PC -80013 Piccolo DNS tot CMM Using an assemble. Word.processitto
Progral.
Race mold
Adaptive processing: the decision tree page 70.
Editor Peter Laurie
Associate Editor Duncan Scot
Deputy Editor Toby Wolpe
Staff Writer Bill Bennett Sub -editor John Liebmann Prestel Editor Martin Hayman Editorial Secretary Julie Milligan Consultants Technical Nick Hampshire Software Mike McDonald Editorial: 01-661 3500 Advertisement Manager David Lake 01-661 3021
Advertisement Executives Philip Kirby 01-661 3127 Ken Walford 01-661 3139
Midlands office: David Harvett 021-356 4838 Northern office: Geoff Aikin 061-872 8861 Advertisement Secretary Mandy Morley Publishing Director Chris Hipwell
Published by IPC Electrical Electronic Press Ltd, Quadrant House. The Quadrant. Sutton. Surrey SM2 5AS. Tel: 01-661 3500. Telex /grams 892084 BIPRESG. Typesetting by Action Typesetters Ltd, London E17. Printed by Eden Fisher Ltd, Southendon-Sea. Distributed by IPC Business Press (Sales and Distribution( Ltd. Quadrant House, The Quadrant, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5AS. Subscriptions: U.K. £10 per annum; Overseas £16 per annum; selling price in Eire subject to currency exchange fluctuations and VAT; airmail rates available on application to Subscription Manager, IPC Business Press (S 8 D) Ltd. Oakfield House, Perrymount Road, Haywards Heath, Sussex RH16 3DH. Tel: 0444 59188.
IPC Business Press Ltd 1981 ISSN 0141-5433
Would-be authors are welcome to send articles to the Editor but PC cannot undertake to return them. Payment is at £30 per published page. Submissions should be typed or computer -printed. Handwritten material is liable to delay and error. Every effort is made to check articles and listings but PC cannot guarantee that programs will run and can accept no responsibility for any errors.
CONTER1TS 41 Editorial / Welcome the big boys 43 Feedback / Recursion; bones of contention; ZX-80 Inkey routine 46 Printout / Facit's DTC series; low-cost uncommitted logic; word-processing link for CP/M systems 53 Printout Extra / The new 5.25in. Rodime hard disc 55 Telesoftware / The problems of standards for broadcasting software 56 NEC PC -8001B / The new personal computer from the giant NEC 60 Piccolo / The new system from Denmark, evaluated by Bill Bennett 62 DMS on CP/M / Compsoft's Data Management System has now been re -written to run on CP/M 2.2 systems - Peter Wood reviews it 67 Analysing data / Two new sets of statistics programs are compared 70 Adaptive processing / Edward James shows how one can develop programs which will tolerate errors 75 Live Wire / Fiction by David Mentz 77 Applications / Martin Hayman looks at how the Swansea Tourist Information Centre was drawn into the world of computers 80 Education / Two programs using the principles of three -figure bearings 85 Education / A simple program to compare students' work 87 Race Night / An evening's entertainment with this game program 93 12 Days of Christmas / Join in our computerised refrain for Christmas 94 Word processing / Ian Birnbaum presents Petpro 101 Word processing / Tina Billett's word processor for the Video Genie 109 Assembler / Mike Gross Niklaus explains some of the mysteries 117 Perfect answers / The controversial Boris Allan runs through some of
the more philosophical problems involved in writing bug -free programs
125 Z-80 Zodiac 128 6502 Special 133 Tandy Forum 135 ZX-80/81 Line-up 141 Pet Corner 144 Micromouse 150 Puzzle 151 Book Reviews 154 Portable graphics / Part three and a maze -making subroutine 160 Apple graphics / The second part of Roger Cullis' series
167 Printers Buyers' Guide
181 The Hexadecimal Kid / The final part of Richard Forsyth's parable
Prestel page number 357
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
3
PET PRINTER GRAPHICS
by COMPUTACE LTD. (NEW ADDRESS - Details below).
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This graph is a typical example printed by AUTOGRAPH on a
STANDARD COMMODORE 3022 or 4022 PRINTER.
(Please specify when ordering) No disk drive or plotter required
Simple to use. Hard copy. Fully flexible graph dimensions and position on page. Automatic scale option. Variable background formats. Plots any X,Y function. Multiple graphs on same axes. Full Alphanumeric labelling for professional quality presentation:
AUTOGRAPH is supplied with extensive documentation.
Send for Brochure.
AUTOGRAPH 1 116K, 32K only)
\
Plots any function as illus.
or in spaced dots. £39.50 incl.
l -1
AUTOGRAPH 2 (16K, 32K only)
As Autograph 1 but
includes data point plot
option with joining lines
74-
and marking circles. Autographs
1 and 2 combined pack. £49.50 incl.
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CURVE FIT 1 (32 K only)
Powerful Linear and Non Linear Regression of any function to a least squares data fit. Complete with plot of regressed curve & data.
£55.50 incl.
CURVE FIT 0
As Curve Fit 1 plus Cubic Spline Fit, Integrals and Gradients throughout.
£65.50 incl.
Send for Brochure and details of combined packs at reduced prices.
COMPUTACE LTD., INFABCO GROUP, International Base, Greenwell Rd., East Tullos,
ABERDEEN AB1 4AX
For fastest reply use:-
COMPUTACE LTD., PO BOX 50D NEW MALDEN, SURREY KT3 3BD
Circle No. 102
4
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Cornell Approved Dealers
Aberdeen MOM Offshore 21 Bon Accord Street Tel: 0224 22863
Belfast 0 & M Systems 95 Dublin Road Tel: 0232 49440
Birmingham Byteshop Computerland
94/96 Hurst Street Tel: 021 622 7149
Bristol Senton 27 Nicholas Street Tel: 0272 276132
Cambridge Toltec
24 Thompson Lane Tel: 0223 312347
Cheshire Holdene
82a Water Lane Wilmslow
Tel: 0625 529486
Dublin Lendac Data Systems
8 Dawson Street Tel: 0001 372052
Edinburgh Holdene Micro Systems
48 Great King Street Tel: 031 557 4060
Glasgow Byteshop Computerland
61 Waterloo Street Tel: 041 221 7409
Leeds Holdene Micro Systems
11/12 Rampart Road Tel: 0532 459459
London Byteshop Computerland
324 Euston Road, W I Tel: 01-387 0505
Digitus 9 Macklin Street, WC2
Tel: 01-405 6761
Jarogate 67 Tulsemere Road, SE 17
Tel: 01-670 3674
Manchester Byteshop Computerland Piccadilly Station Approach
Tel: 061 236 4737
NSC Computers 29 Hanging Ditch Tel: 061 832 2269
Newbury Newbear Computing Store
40 Bartholomew Street Tel: 0635 30505
Nottingham Byteshop Computerland 92a Upper Parliament Street,
NG1 6LF Tel: 0602 40576
Sheffield Hallam Computer Systems
451 Eccleshall Road Tel: 0742 663125
Southampton Xitan Systems 23 Cumberland Place Tel: 0703 38740
Suffolk Eurotec Consultants
Little Waldingfield, Sudbury
Tel: 0787 247959
Surrey Gemlines 184 London Road, KT2 6QU Tel: 01-546 9944
Warwick. Business & Leisure
Microcomputers Kenilworth
Tel: 0926 512127
Watford Lux Computer Services
108 The Parade, WD11 2AW
Tel: 0923 29513
Worthing Ace Computing Services
1-11 Bridge Road Tel: 0903 35411
Comart Ltd, St. Moots, Cambs. Tel (0480) 215005 Telex 32514 Contort G.
Trust Comart to turn a new
ADVANTAGE
into a major benefit.
ADVANTAGE is the exciting new, packaged high
For the technically minded, Advantage is a
performance desk top computer with integral video
4MHz, Z80A based microcomputer with 64K
screen. It brings the proven reliability, so long
dynamic RAM, a 20K Byte display dedicated RAM,
the hallmark of NORTH STAR products, into new
plus 2K Boot PROM.
and broader fields of application.
An auxiliary 8035 processor provides
Add the established Comart
keyboard and disk control. It has a
technical, software, and service
12" green screen, and integrated
support and the ADVANTAGE
twin quad capacity 5" disk drives
becomes a major benefit to users
providing 720K Bytes of data
looking for a low cost, yet versatile,
storage. It has a 87 key Selectrie
dedicated system. NOW!
style keyboard with 9 control keys,
Just look at the benefits.
14 key numeric/cursor control pad,
ADVANTAGE is economical:
15 programmable function keys,
A complete integrated accounting
and 49 conventional character keys.
system and word processing system
ADVANTAGE comes complete
will cost around £4500 depending
with Business graphics, self
on the printer and software used.
diagnostic software and graphics
ADVANTAGE is versatile:
demo software. Its G-Basic/G-DOS,
You have the benefit of application
and Graphics CP/Mnare supersets
software that is already available
of the industry standards. They
and proven on NORTH STAR
enhance ADVANTAGE'S Graphic
Systems.
and Character Mode capabilities,
ADVANTAGE is new:
and provide a consistent operating
It's Business Graphics can
environment for development and
convert data into bar charts,
application programs written in any
pie charts, graphs, and 3D
other CP/M compatible language.
representations instantly. And,
To see more of the benefits
what you can see on the screen,
of the ADVANTAGE ask your
you can print.
Comart Dealer, or send now
for further information.
comart
SPECIALISTS IN MICROCOMPUTERS
A member of the Comart
Group of Companies
Circle No. 103
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
5
111(11C1) .... Computing is for everyone ....
who chooses to use a Nascom System, be they in Education, Industry, Science or Commerce. This versatile and flexible microcomputer can be structured in whatever fashion is required to meet the needs of your particular application, with ease and simplicity. The resulting system can be expanded at will to meet growing or changing requirements.
;
1 11 1
Here is a typical computing station incorporating Nascom-2 and associated hardware, housed in a stylish plastic case complete with keyboard. In its matching case, the latest 0.7 Mbyte disc system is readily accessible. This powerful personal computer could form the heart of the ideal smallbusiness system and wordprocessor, or even a flexible industrial control unit. The case can accommodate up to three Nascom-compatible extension boards giving extra memory, interface, control and/or video facilities as required. The cost
of such Nascom systems range from as little as £265 to f1800 depending on complexity.
In the market place ....
nom)
approved product
there are many products, both hardware and
software, which give your Nascom computer a more
exciting working life. Indeed, this is one of the greatest
benefits of the system. We have created an Approved
Product Scheme intended to indicate those items you
can use with confidence. These are described in our
literature, available from your dealer. Look for the
noscom approved sign.
Lucas Logic
Ar
Authorised Distributors:
UK Anglia Computer Norwich 29652
Bits & P.C.s Wetherby 63774
Business & Leisure Kenilworth 512127
CJR Microtek Ipswich 50152
Crystal Electronics Torquay 22699
Electrovalue Egham 3603 Manchester 4945
Nascom Microcomputers Division of Lucas Logic Limited, Warwick
Eley Electronics Leicester 871522
Henrys Radio London 723 1008
Holtam Ltd Crymych 9656
Interface Components Amersham 23307
JPS Huntingdon 840710
Lunatronic Computers Ltd Hereford 66174
Micro Comms Aberdeen 63385
Micro Spares Edinburgh 337 5611 Midshires Computer Centre Crewe
Newcastle Comp Services Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Off Records London SW12 01-674 1205
Parkstone Electrics Poole 746555
Photo Acoustics Newport Pagnell 610625
Semicomps Northern Kelso 73 2366
S.R.S. Microsystems London N14 01-363 8060
Steves Electronic Cardiff 41905
System Electronics Brighton 26081
Target Electronics Bristol 421196
Trading Post ' Hastings 437875
Zeta Computers Stonehouse 2444
FRANCE JCS Paris 265-42-62
HOLLAND MAAS Computer Consultants Bund 043 6411 47
GERMANY MK-Systemechnik Germersheim/Rhein 07274-2756
Circle No. 104
6
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
You've read the book
You've seen the movie
Now see the Systems
compec '81 stand 5218
for full details contact
Rade Systems Ltd., 53-55 Ballards Lane, London N3 1XP Telephone 01-349 4714 Telex 46523 Simsys G.
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Circle No. 105
7
THE
AUTOMATIC
CHOICE
Fast 150 cps printing comes easily to hand with the Anadex 'L' series dot matrix impact printers.
Never before has Anadex offered these specifications at such a low price.
Other printers in the range include the
40 -column DP -1000, 80 -column DP -8000, 132/220 -column DP -9501 and the 80/ 132 -column DP -9001, most with grafixPLUSTM
Change up to Anadex, the automatic choice.
Versatile, reliable printers with the right combination of price and performance, starting at £695.00.
The DP -9000L and DP -9500L have three built-in interfaces for maximum flexibility, plus printing widths of 80/ 132 -cols - the perfect printer for most mini and microcomputers.
AAnadex/A Detailslasn sftrookme, AH7nrit xTLei imi T5df, 7W2 r 3a4v0e1r House.iei8S5t8a7l
. AFinoaaod, Hcr,,, a k
Al STOCKISTS ENGLAND: AVON Wilkes Computing Ltd Tel: 0272 290651 BERKS Rive Terminals Ltd Tel: 03447 5193 CAMBRIDGESHIRE Comart Ltd Tel: 0480 215005 DERBYSHIRE
Midlectron Ltd Tel: 077 382 6811 HERTFORDSHIRE Data Efficiency Ltd Tel: 0442 63561 Data Design Techniques Tel: 01-207 1717 LANCASHIRE Keytech Eng Ltd Tel: 061 834 9244 Stack Computer Services Ltd Tel: 051 933 5511 SURREY Peripheral Hardware Ltd Tel: 01-941 4806 WILTSHIRE Kode Services Ltd Tel: 0249 813771
SCOTLAND: FIFE CS Scotland Ltd Tel: 0592 773710 MIDLOTHIAN Microcentre Ltd Tel: 031 5567354 STRATHCLYDE Robox Ltd Tel: 041 221 5402 WALES: GWENT Data Type Terminals Ltd Tel: 063 33 65307
Circle No. 106
8
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Flexibility at the heart ofyour system.
The RADER single board computer has been developed and tailormade to offer the user a combination of economy by using the most up-to-date techniques of microprocessor technology coupled with the built in facilities of ultimate expandability and flexibility.
The board is ideally suited as the basis for small to medium business machines, games machines, industrial control machines, research and development equipment.
standard features
add on option boards
64K RAM 4 MHZ Z80A CPU 51/4" or 8" Disk Interface, single/double
sided density Z80A CTC (clock/timer/counter)
DMA Controller Memory Mapped Video Display Memory Mapped RAM Character Generator Programmable Video Controller 8 Expansion Connectors
Dual Parallel Ports Dual Serial Ports Cassette Interface RAM Expansion Board - Capacity 192K, in
64K Increments External ROM Board User Prototyping Board Hard Disk Interface Real time clock with battery back-up
Full Custom software development support available
Sample evaluation board £350 + VAT
CP/ M DOS available Send for complete technical specification
Rade Systems Ltd., 53-55 Ballards Lane, London N31XP Telephone 01-349 4714 Telex 46523 Simsys G.
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Dedicated Intelligence
Circle No. 107
9
Mail Order Software
from the world's leading microsoftware supplier
Software for most popular 8080/Z80 computer disk systems including NORTH STAR HORIZON, VECTOR MZ, OHIO SCIENTIFIC, SUPERBRAIN, Z80 APPLE, CROMEMCO, RAIR BLACK BOX, DYNABYTE, SD SYSTEMS, RESEARCH MACHINES, EXIDY SORCERER, IMSAI, HEATH,
and 8" IBM formats
Software
with /Manual
Manual Alone
DIGITAL RESEARCH
El CP/M. FDOS - Diskette Operating System complete with
(@ Text Editor. Assembler. Debugger. File Manager and system
utilities. Available for wide variety of disk system including
North Star, Helios II. Micropolis, ICOM (all systems) and Altair.
Supports computers such as Sorcerer, Horizon, Cromemco,
Ohio Scientific, RAIR Black Box, Research Machines,
Dynabybe, etc.
from 1751E15
CP/M version 2 (not all formats available immediately)
£951115
....... L CPIM for Apple 11* Softcard" 2193 Microsoft BASIC - 80
with high resolution graphics10.
E250/E15
MPIM
£1951125
MAC - 8080 Macro Assembler. Full Intel macro definitions.
Pseudo Ops include RPC, IRP, REPT, TITLE, PAGE, and
MACLIB. Z-80 library included. Produces Intel absolute hex
output plus symbols file for use by SID (see below)
£551£10
O SID - 80130 symbolic debugger. Full trace, pass count and
break-point program testing system with back -trace and
histogram utilities. When used with MAC, provides full symbolic
display of memory labels and equated values
£451110
ZSID Includes Z80 mnemonics, requires Z80 CPU
E501110
0 TEX - Text formatter to create paginated, page -numbered and justified copy from source text files, directable to disk or printer
E45/110
DESPOOL - Program to permit simultaneous printing of data from disk while user executes another program from the console
E30/11
MICROSOFT
O BASIC -80 - Disk Extended BASIC Interpreter Version 5, ANSI
L compatible with long variable names, WHILE /WEND, chaining,
variable length file records
E155/f 15
BASIC Compiler - Language compatible with Version 5
0) Microsoft interpreter and 3-10 times faster execution. Produces
standard Microsoft relocatable binary output. Includes
® Macro -80. Also linkable to FORTRAN -80 or COBOL -80 code
modules
E195/E15
O FORTRAN -80 -ANSI '66 (except. for COMPLEX) plus many 0 extensions. Includes relocatable object compiler, linking loader,
library with manager. Also includes MACRO -80 Isee below)
E205/E15
Cl COBOL -80 - ANSI '74 Relocatable object output. Format © same as FORTRAN -80 and MACRO -80 modules. Complete
ISAM. Interactive ACCEPT -DISPLAY, COPY, EXTEND
E325/115
MACRO -80 - 8080/280 Macro Assembler. Intel and Zilog © mnemonics supported. Relocatable linkable output. Loader,
Library Manager and Cross Reference List utilities included
175/110
Software
with /Manual
Manual Alone
D XMACRO-116 - 8086 cross assembler. All Macro and utility © features of MACRO -80 package. Mnemonics slightly modified
from Intel ASM86. Compatability data sheet available .E155/E15
CI EDIT -90 - Very fast random access text editor for text with or
without line numbers. Global and intra-line commands
supported. File compare utility included
E45/E10
EIDOS SYSTEMS
D KBASIC - Microsoft Disk Extended BASIC version 4.51
C) integrated with KISS Multi -Keyed Index Sequential and Direct Access file management as 9 additional BASIC commands. KISS included as relocatable modules linkable to FORTRAN -80, COBOL -80. and BASIC COMPILER. Specify CP /M version 1.4 or 2.x when ordering. Requires 48K CP / M £295125 To licensed users of Microsoft BASIC -80 IMBASICI . E215/125
MICROPRO
O SUPER -SORT 1 - Sort, merge, extract utility as absolute © executable program or linkable module in Microsoft format.
Sorts fixed or variable records with data in binary, BCD, Packed Decimal, EBCDIC, ASCII, floating, fixed point, exponential, field justified, etc. etc. Even variable number of fields per record!
£1251115
©O
SUPER
-SORT
II
-
Above
available
as
absolute
program only 1105/115
©O SUPER -SORT III - As II without SELECT/ EXCLUDE f75/115
0 WORD -MASTER Text Editor - In one mode has super -set of
0 CP / M's ED commands including global searching and
replacing, forward and backwards in file. In video -mode,
provides full screen editor for users with serial addressable -
cursor terminal
175/115
WORD -STAR - Menu driven visual word processing system
© for use with standard terminals. Text formatting performed on
screen. Facilities for text paginate, page number, justify, center,
underscore and PRINT. Edit facilities include global search and
replace, read/write to other text files, block move, etc Requires
CRT terminal with addressable cursor positioning
E255/E15
WORD-STAR/MAIL-MERGE - As above with option for
L production mailing of personalised documents with mail list from
Datastar or NAD
£3151115
DATASTAR - Professional forms control entry and display
gsystem for key -to -disk data capture. Menu driven with built-in
learning aids. Input field verification by length, mask. attribute
(i.e. uppercase, lowercase, numeric, auto dup., etc.). Built-in
arithmetic capabilities using keyed data, constants and derived
values. Visual feedback for ease of forms design. Files
compatible with all CP /M -MP /M supported languages.
Requires 32K CP / M
E195/125
Software
/Manual
Manual Alone
GRAFFCOM
D PAYROLL - Designed in conjunction with the spec for PAVE
routines by HMI Taxes. Processes up to 250 employees on
weekly or monthly basis. Can handle cash, cheque or bank
transfer payments plus total tracking of all year to date figures.
Prints emp master, payroll log, payslips and bank giros.
Requires CBASIC-2
E475/135
D COMPANY SALES - Performs sales accounting function.
© Controls payments of invoices and prints sales ledger and aged
debtors report. Suitable for any accounting period.
Comprehensive VAT control and analysis of all sales invoices.
Requires CBASIC-2
E425/E35
D COMPANY PURCHASES - Performs purchase accounting © function. Controls invoices, credit & debit notes. Prints
purchase ledger, aged creditors report and payment advices. Comprehensive VAT control and analysis of all purchases. Interfaces with the ADD system. Requires CBASIC-2
E425/135
El GENERAL ACCOUNTING -- Produces Nominal Ledger, Trial © Balance, P/L and Balance Sheet. Define your own coding
system. Interactive data entry plus optional data capture from Company Sales and Company Purchases. Requires CBASIC-2
f375/E35
D STOCK CONTROL
Maintains stock records, monitors stock levels to ensure
© optimum stock holding. Details include stock desc., product
code, unit, unit price, quantity on hand on order/minimum.
Stock analysis reports can be weekly, monthly, quarterly etc.
Interfaces with Order Entry Invoicing system. Requires
CBASIC-2
£3251135
0 ORDER ENTRY b INVOICING Performs order entry and invoicing function. Handles invoices
C) for services and consumable items, pan orders and part quantities. Sales Analysis report shows sales movemets and trends for user -defined period Interfaces with Stock Control.
ADD and Company Sales systems. Requires CBASIC-2
E3251E35
0. ADD - Complete control of all your names & addresses
including supplieri, clients, enquiries etc. Assign your own
coding system and select all output via the report generator. Will
print anything from mailing labels to directories. .Requires
CBASIC-2
1225)135
0 TIME RECORDING SYSTEM - Provides comprehensive
control over manhour expenditures by job or account. Expense
details can also be controlled. Up to 75 activities can be assigned
and reports produced weekly /monthly showing movements and
job account totals to date. Requires CBASIC-2.
£3751135
O LEASE RENTAL & HP SYSTEM - Designed to control
© agreements and contracts that are payable at regular intervals by
fixed amounts. Handles lease, rental, HP or maintenance
agreements with payments by invoice, SO, or cash. Can be
used with ADD and CSS for complete credit control system.
Requires CBASIC-2.
E375/135
Also available in bundles, contact us for details.
10
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Software
with /Manual
Manual Alone
STRUCTURED SYSTEMS GROUP
o ANALYST - Customised data entry and reporting system.
User specifies up to 75 data items per record. Interactive data
entry, retrieval and update facility makes information
management easy. Sophisticated report generator provides
customised reports using selected records with multiple level
breakpoints for summarisation. Requires CBASIC-2, 24 x 813
CRT, printer and 48K system
E125/f10
LETTERIGHT - Program to create edit and type letters or other documents. Has facilities to enter, display, delete and move
text, with good video screen presentation. Designed to integrate with NAD for form letter mailings. Requires CBASIC-2
E1051f 15
NAD Name and Address selection system - interactive mail list
creation and maintenance program with output as full reports
with reference data or restricted information for mail labels.
Transfer system for extraction and transfer of selected records
to create new files. Requires CBASIC-2
E45/f12
O OSORT - Fast sort/merge program for files with fixed record
length, variable field length information. Up to five ascending or
descending keys. Full back-up of input files created. Parameter
file created optionally with interactive program which requires
CBASIC-2. Parameter file may be generated with CP / M
assembler utility
f5Olf 12
SOFTWARE SYSTEMS
CBASIC-2 Disk Extended BASIC - Non -interactive BASIC
(9 with pseudo -code compiler and runtime interpreter. Supports
full file control, chaining, integer and extended precision
variables etc
£75/f 10
MICRO FOCUS
STANDARD CIS COBOL - ANSI '74 COBOL standard
I
I
g compiler fully validated by U.S. Navy tests to ANSI level 1.
Supports many features to level 2 including dynamic loading of
COBOL modules and a full ISAM file facility. Also, program
segmentation, interactive debug and powerful interactive
extensions to support protected and unprotected CRT screen
formatting from COBOL programs used with any dumb terminal
(4001f25
0 FORMS 2 - CRT screen editor. Automatically creates a query
® and update program of indexed files using CRT protected and
unprotected screen formats. Output is COBOL data descriptions
for copying into CIS COBOL programs. No programming
experience needed. Output program directly compiled by CIS
COBOL (standard)
f100102
APL/V80 - Concise and powerful language for application software development. Complex programming problems are
reduced to simple expresions in APL. Features include up to 27K
active workspace, shared gOles, arrays of up to 8 dimensions, disk workspaciAW,Opy object library. The system also supports auxiliary processors for interfacing I/O ports.
Requires 48K CP /M and serial APL printing terminal or CRT f270/f 20
D PASCAUM - Compiler generates P code from ,extended
language implementation of standard PASCAL. Supports
overlay structure through additional procedure calls and the
SEGMENT procedure type. Provides convenient string handling
capability with the added variable type STRING. Untyped files
allow memory image I/O. Requires 56K CP /M
f195/f20
D PASCAL/2 - 280 native code PASCAL compiler Produces optimised portable reentrant code. All interfacing to CP /M is through the support library. The package includes compiler companion macro assembler and source for the library. Requires 56K and 280 CPU. Version 3 includes all of Jensen/Wirth
£2051f 15
O PASCAL/MT - Subset of standard PASCAL. Generates
l ROMable 8080 machine code. Symbolic debugger included.
Supports interrupt procedures, CP/ M file I/O and assembly
language interface. Real variables can be BCD. software floating
point. or AMD 9511 hardware floating point. Version 3 includes
Sets, Enumeration and Record data types. Manual explains
BASIC to PASCAL conversion. Source for the run time package
requires MAC (See under Digital Research). Requires 32K.
f 135/f 20
0 TINY C - interactive interpretive system for teaching
structured programming techniques. Manual includes full
source listings
f45/f 30
O BDS C COMPILER - Supports most major features of
g language, including Structures, Arrays, Pointers, recursive
function evaluation, linkable with library to 8080 binary output.
Lacks data initialization, long it float type and static & register
class specifiers. Documentation includes "C" Programming
Language book by Kernighan & Ritchie
f60/f 10
WHITESMITHS' C COMPILER - The ultimate in systems g software tools. Produces faster code than Pascal with more
extensive facilities. Conforms to the full UNIX Version 7 C language, described by Kernighan and Ritchie, and makes
available over 75 functions for performing I/O, string manipulation and storage allocation. Compiler output in
A -Natural source. Supplied with A -Natural. Requires 60K CP /M
f3251f20
O ALGOL 60 Compiler - Powerful block -structured language
® featuring economical run time dynamic allocation of memory.
Very compact (24K total RAM) system implementing almost all
Algol 60 report features plus many powerful extensions
including string handling, direct disk address I/O etc. Requires
Z80 CPU
..f1101f12
D 280 Development Package - Consists of I 1 I disk file line
g editor, with global inter and intra-line facilitiei; 121 Z80 relocating
assembler, Zilog Mostek mnemonics, conditional assembly and
cross reference table capabilities; 131 linking loader producing
absolute Intel hex disk file for CR/M LOAD, DDT or SID
facilities
£50/f 12
Software
with /Manual
Manual Alone
Software
with /Manual
Manual Alone
ZDT - 280 Debugger to trace, break and examine registers
(9 with standard Zilog/Mostek mnemonic disassembly displays.
Facilities similar to DDT E20 when ordered with Z80.
Development Package
f30/f 7
O DISTEL - Disk based disassembler to Intel 8080 or TDL/Xitan
Z80 source code, listing and cross reference files. Intel or TDL
Xitan pseudo ops optional. Runs on 8080.
f 35/f 7
O DISILOG - As Distel to Zilog Mostek mnemonic files. Runs on
lI Z80 only
f 35/f 7
0 TEXTWRITER III - Text formatter to justify and paginate
letters and other documents. Special features include insertion
of text during execution from other disk files or console,
permitting recipe documents to be created from linked
fragments on other files. Has facilities for sorted index, table of
contents and footnote insertion. Ideal for contracts manuals.
etc.
£75/f3
DATEBOOK - Program to manage time just like an office
appointment book but using the speed and memory of a
computer. Keeps track of three appointment schedules (three
dental chairs, three attorneys, etc.) at once. Appointments
consist of name, reason for th-m4 lintment, the date and time,
and the length of the apitiW:ient. System can be quickly
customized for the individual user. Many helpful features for
making, changing, finding, and reporting appointments.
Requires 48K CP/M and 180K bytes diskette storage. Not
available for Apple CP/M
E185/f15
O POSTMASTER - A comprehensive package for mail list
g maintenance that is completely menu driven. Features included
keyed record extraction and label production. A form letter
program is included which provides neat letters on single sheet
or continuous forms. Compatible with NAD files. Requires
CBASIC-2
f85/f10
O XASM-68 - Non -macro cross -assembler with nested
conditionals and full range of pseudo operations. Assembles from standard Motorola MC6800 mnemonics to intel hex
£1151f 15
O XASM-65 - As XASM-68 for MOS Technology MCS-6500
series mnemonics
£115/f15
O XASM-48 - As XASM-68 for Intel MCS-48 and UPI -41
families
£115/f15
O XASM-18 - As XASM-68 for RCA 1802
f115/f15
O WHATSIT7 - Interactive data -base system using associative
tags to retrieve information by subject. Hashing and random
access used for fast resonse. Requires CBASIC
f70/f 15
O XYBASIC Interative Process Control BASIC - Full disk BASIC
features plus unique commands to handle bytes, rotate and
shift, and to test and set bits. Available in integer, Extended and
ROMable versions.
Integer Disk or Integer ROMable
f1651f 15
Extended Disk or Extended ROMable
f215/E15
O SMAU80 Structured Macro Assembley Language - Package
of powerful general purpose text macro processor and SMAL
structured language compiler. SMAL is an assembler language
with IF -THEN -ELSE, LOOP -REPEAT -WHILE, DO -END, BEGIN -
END constructs
f40/f 10
0 SELECTOR III -C2 - Data Base Processor to create and l maintain multi Key data bases. Prints formatted, sorted reports
with numerical summaries or mailing labels. Comes with sample applications including Sales Activity, Inventory, Payables, Receivables, Check Register, and Client/ Patient Appointments , etc. Requires CBASIC Version 2. Supplied in source code.
f185/f12
O IBMICPM Utility Package - has full range of functions to create or re -name an IBM 3741 volume, display directory information and edit the data set contents. Provides full file transfer facilities between 3741 volume data sets and CP/M files f125/f 7
O BASIC UTILITY DISK - Consists of Ill CRUNCH -14
g Compacting utility to reduce the size and increase the speed of programs in Microsoft Basic and TRS-00 Basic. 121 DPFUN Double precision subroutines for computing nineteen transcendental functions including square root, natural log, log base 10, sin, arc sin. hyperbolic sin, hyperbolic arc sin, etc. Furnished in source on diskette and documentation f30/f 10
- D THE STRING BIT
Fortran character string handling.
gi Routines to find, fill, pack, move, separate, concatenate and
compare character strings. This package completely eliminates
the problems associated with character string handling in
FORTRAN. Supplied with source
f3Olf 10
O BSTAM - Utility to link one computer to another also equipped
gi with BSTAM. Allows file transfers at full data speed (no
conversion to heal. with CRC block control check for very
reliable error detection and automatic retry. We use it! It's great!
Full wildcard expansions to send .COM, etc. 9600 baud with
wire. 300 baud with phone connection. Both ends need one.
Standard and M versions can talk to one another
f 751E5
D BSTMS - Intelligent terminal program for CP/M systems.
(4 Permits communication between micros and mainframes.
Sends character data files to remote computers under complete
control. System can record r.c.44 er data sent from remote
computer systems and da *Tanks. Includes programs to
EXPAND and COMPRESS binary files for transmission. This
software requires a knowledge of assembler language for
installtion.
f115/f 10
O PLINK. - Two pass disk -to -disk linkage editor/loader which ® can produce re-entrant. ROMable code. Can link programs that
are larger than available mere for execution targeted on another machine. Full librzja.,:abilities. Input can be PSA Relocatable Binary Module. 'iDL Object Module or Microsoft REL files. Output can be a COM file, Intel hex file, TDL Object
Module or PSA Relocatable file.
D RECLAIM - A utility to validate media under CP/M. Program
tests a diskette or hard diskette lhard disk surface for errors,
reserving the imperfection. ttt.'Irosible files, and permitting
continued usage of the remainder. Essential for any hard disk.
Requires CP/ M version 2.
f 40/f 5
D STRING/80 - Character string handling plus routines for direct g CP /M BDOS calls from FORTRAN and other compatible
Microsoft languages. The utilityjhrary contains routines that
enable programmes to chainitV)k)M file. retrieve comand line parameters, and search fi':* directories with full wild card facilites. Supplied as linkable modules in Microsoft format.
f50/f 12
O STRING/90 source code available separately
f185/n.a.
D VSORT - Versatile sort /merge system for fixed length
ig records with fixed or variable length fields. VSORT can be used
as a stand-alone package or
and called as a subroutine
from CBASIC-2. When user44111.,broutine VSORT maximizes
the use of buffer space by sLVng the TPA on disk and restoring
it on completion of sorting. Records may be up to 255 bytes
long with a maximum of 5 fields. Upper/lower case translation
and numeric fields supported.
f105If 15
O CBS - Configurable Business System is a comprehensive set
l/ of programmes for defining custom data files and application
systems without using programming language such as BASIC,
FORTRAN, etc. Multiple key fields for each data file are
supported. Set-up program cu<,:kulizes system to user's CRT
and printer. Provides fast u$ ..y interactive data entry and
retrieval witb transaction' -processing. Report generator
program does complex calculations with stored and derived
data, record selection with multiple criteria, and custom
formats. Sample inventory and mailing list system included. No
support language required
E185/20
O MAGIC WAND* - Word processing system with simple, easy
to use full screen text editor and powerful print processor. Editor has all standard editing functions including text insert and delete, global search and replace, block move and library files for boiler plate text. Print 7.44 woe formating commands include automatic marginstW&ination, heading it footings, centred and justified text. Also prints with true proportional spacing, merges with data files for automatic form letters, and
performs run-time conditional testing for varied output.
Requires 32K CP/M and CRT terminal with addressable cursor. f185/f20
0 T/MAKER - Powerful new tool for preparing management
reports with tabular data. Makes financial modeling projects
easy. Do you want a weekly profitability report? Set up the table
and compute. Just change the sa2ps figures for next week and
compute. You have a newt
T /MAKER includes d full
screen editor for setting upvtdies which pages left, right, up
and down. Compute includes standard arithmetic, percents,
exponents, common transcedental functions, averages,
maxima, minima, projections, etc. Requires 48K
andCPE/1M551fl
CBASIC-2
Orders must specify disk type and format, e.g. North Star -Horizon single density.
Add 15% VAT to orders. Add (1 per item postage and packing All orders must be prepaid. Make cheques POs etc payable to Lifeboat Associates.
Manual costs are deductable from
subsequent software purchase
EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1981
The Software Supermarket is a trademark of Lifeboat Associates.
'CP M and MP M are trademarks of Digital Research Z80 is a trademark of Ztlog. Inc UNIX is a trademark of Bell Labornies WHATSIP is a trademark of Computer Headware Electric Pencil is a trademark of Michael Shraver Software. TRS BO is a trademark of Tandy Corp Pascal M is a trademark of Sorcim Soft Card is a trademark of Microsoft Apple is a trademark of App).: Computer PLINK. is a trademark of Phoenix Software Associates Ltd MAGIC WAND IS a trademark of Small Business Application. Inc
0 Modified version available for use with CP M as implemented on Hewn and TRS 80 Model t computers
User license agreement for this product must be signed and returned to Lifeboat Associates before shipment may be made
PC 12/81
Lifeboat Associates P.O. Box 125 London WC2H 9LU 01-836 9028/9 Circle No. 108
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
11
... that's the only word to really describe the superb Genie microcomputer system, the
home computer which is
compatible with the TRS 80, and ideal for all micro - enthusiasts, especially the committed hobbyist. Genie has now been upgraded to Genie I, incorporating all of the original, excellent features,
but with the addition of: Extended BASIC, including
RENUMBER and SCREEN PRINT.
Full upper and lower case, flashing cursor and auto -repeat
on all keys.
An internal SOUND UNIT, to add a new dimension to your own programs. A MACHINE LANGUAGE
MONITOR, with Display, modify,
enter and execute (with break points) facilities. Genie I has all of this, plus the built-in cassette deck, 16K RAM, 12K ROM with BASIC interpreter, full-size keyboard, an extremely wide range of new and up -dated peripherals, and literally 1000's of pre-recorded programmes available. Yet, almost unbelievably, the price of Genie I is even lower than that of the original Genie!
Ingenious for business
The Genie II is a major breakthrough for small business computers. Harnessing all the advantages of Genie I, including low price, Genie II adapts perfectly to commercial functions with the following features:
Numeric keyboard Four usable, definable
function keys
Extension to BASIC Basic business
commands
Fully expandable with the same periperals
12
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
1 Genie I and II approved dealers
New . . . 12" Monitor.
AVON Microstyle, Bath, 0225 334659/319705. BEDFORD Computopia, Leighton Buzzard, 0525 376600. Comserve,
Bedford, 0234 216749. BERKSHIRE PCP., Reading, 0734
There is now a choice of 2,12" monitors 589249. BIRMINGHAM Laskys Microdigital,
with the Genie I system, allowing a
Birmingham. 021-632 6303. Ward Electronics, Birmingham. 021-554 0708. BRISTOL Laskys
clear, easy to read image, and no
Microdigital, Bristol 0272 20421. BUCKINGHAMSHIRE Photo Acoustics, Newport Pagnell, 0908 610625.
interference with your domestic T.V.
Interface Components. Amersham, 02403 22307. CAMBRIDGESHIRE Cambridge Micro Computers,
viewing. The new EG 101 comes with an Cambridge, 0223 314666. CHESHIRE Hewart
updated, green phospher tube.
Electronics, Macclesfield, 0625 22030. Mid Shires Computer Centre, Crewe. Laskys Microdigital, Chester,
0244 317667. CUMBRIA Kendall Computer Centre,
Kendall, 0539 22559. Northrock Music, Carlisle, 0228
37114. DERBYSHIRE Kays Electronics, Chesterfield,
0246 31696. T Crossley, Chesterfield, 0246 850357.
DORSET Blandford Computers, Blandford Forum, 0258
New! ... Expander Box.
53737. Parkstone Electrics, Poole, 0202 746555. ESSEX Emprise, Colchester, 0206 865926. Compuskill, Rumford. 0708 751906. Infolab, Chelmsford. 0245 357111. Micro
An updated Expansion Box
Computer Services, Clacton on Sea, 0255 29018. CSSC, Ilford, 01-554 3344. GLOUCESTERSHIRE MPL
(EG 3014) is a major feature of
Computers, Cheltenham. 0242 562090. Petrie Systems, Cheltenham, 0242 584060. Computer Shack, Cheltenham.
the new Genie I system, and unleashes all its possibilities,
0242 584343. Zeta Computers, Stonehouse, 045 382 2444. HERTFORDSHIRE Photo Acoustics, Watford, 0923 40698. Watford Electronics, Watford, 0923 40588/37774.
allowing for up to 4 disk drives with
Tek Systems, Stevenage, 0438 65385. Comp Shop, New Barnett, 01-441 2922. KENT Matrix Computer Systems,
optional double density. It connects to a printer, or RS232 interface
Beckenham, 01-685 7508/7551. Business Systems, Hempstead, 0635 362652. The Computer Room,
or 5100 cards. There is 16k RAM fitted and it has a new low price!
Tunbridge Wells, 0892 41645. SMG Microcomputers, Gravesend, 0474 55813. Swanley Electronics, Swanley,
0322 64851. LANCASHIRE Laskys Microdigital,
Liverpool, 051-227 2535. Mighty Micro, Burnley, 0282
New! ... Printer
The EG 602 printer can be
58758. Leisuronics. Blackpool, 0253 27590. Harden Microsystems. Blackpool, 0253 27590. Micro Chip Shop.
Fleetwood, 03917 79480. Sound Service, Burnley, 0282 38481. Computercat, Leigh, 0942 605730. Laskys
connected to the Genie either through the expander, or
Microdigital, Preston, 0772 59264. LEICESTERSHIRE Eley Electronics, Leicester, 0533 871522. Arden Data Processing, Leicester, 0533 22255. Kram Electronics,
directly into the computer using the Parallel printer interface. It is
Leicester, 0533 27556. LONDON (CENTRAL) City Microsystems, EC2, 01-588 7272/4. LONDON (NORTH) Radio Shack, NW6, 01-624 7174. Comp Shop, Edgeware
a compact unit, with an 80 column, 5 x 7 matrix print-out,
Road, 01-262 0837. Chromasonic Electronics, N19, 01-263 9493. Wason Microchip, N18, 01-807 1757/2230. Comp Shop, New Barnet, 01-441 2922. LONDON (WEST)
operating quietly and efficiently at 30 characters per second.
Henry's Radio, W2, 01-402 6822. BDM Computer Marketing, W9, 01-286 7374. LONDON (SOUTH) Laskys Microdigital, Kingston, 01-546 1271. MANCHESTER
Laskys Microdigital, Manchester, 061-832 6087. ABC
Supplies, Levenshulme, 061-431 9265. NORTH EAST
3 Line Computing, Hull, 0482 859169. Derwent Radio,
Scarborough, 0723 65996. Briers Computer Services,
New! ... Parallel Printer
Middlesborough, 0642 242017. General Northern Microcomputers. Hartlepool, 0783 863871. HCCS Associates, Gateshead, 0632 821924. NORTHANTS
Interface.
Arden Data Processing, Peterborough, 0733 49577. NOTTINGHAMSHIRE University Radio, Nottingham,
Enables you to connect the printer directly into the Genie computer
without using the expansion box.
0602 45466. Midland Microcomputers, Nottingham, 0602 298281. Laskys Microdigital, Nottingham, 0602 415150. Mansfield Computers, Mansfield, 0623 31202. East Midland Computer. Services. Arnold, 0602 267079. Electronic Servicing Co., Lenton, 0602 783938.
Az A
NORFOLK Anglia Computer Centre, Norwich, 0603 29652. Bennetts, Dereham, 0362 2488/9.
OXFORDSHIRE Magnus Microcomputers, Kidlington,
08675 6703. Micro Business Systems, Whitney, 0993
73145. SCOTLAND Computer and Chips, St Andrews,
0334 72569. Laskys Microdigital, Edinburgh, 031-556
Disk Drive.
2914. Scotbyte Computers, Edinburgh, 031-343 1005. Laskys Microdigital, Glasgow, 041-2263349. Esco
As well as the obvious advantage of mass
Computing, Glasgow. 041-204 1811. Silicon Centre. Edinburgh. 031-332 5277. SHROPSHIRE Tarrant
storage, the addition of the disk system to
Electronics, Newport, 0952 812134. SOUTH Aerco Gemsoft, Woking. 04862 22881. Castle Electronics,
the Genie means much faster access to other languages and full random access
Hastings, 0424 437875. Gamer, Brighton, 0273 69824.
SOUTH WEST Diskwise Ltd, Plymouth. 0752 276000. Diskwise Ltd. Callington, 05793 3780. Electrosure,
file handling. Up to 4 of these 40 track
Exeter, 0392 56280/56687. West Devon Electronics. Yelverton, 082 285 3434. SUFFOLK Rebvale Computers,
drives can be used on a system.
Bury St Edmunds. 09S 381 316. Marshion Electronics, Ipswich. 0473 75476. Microtek, Ipswich. 0473 50152.
Elgelec Ltd. Ipswich, 0473 711164. SURREY Croydon
New! .. . Double Density Adaptor
Computer Centre, Thornton Heath, 01-689 1280. Catronics Ltd, Wallington. 01-667 6700/1 SUSSEX Nestra Electronics. Chichester, 0243 512861. WALES Morriston
Doubles the storage capacity of your disk drive by allowing it to work double -
Computer Centre, Swansea. 0792 795817. MRS Communications, Cardiff, 0222 616936/7. Tryfan Computers, Bangor. 0248 52042. WEST MIDLANDS
density.
Allen TV Services, Stoke on Trent. 0782 616929. Microprint, Stoke on Trent, 0782 48348. WILTSHIRE
Everyman Computers. Westbury, 0373 823764.
t(- 3 SPECIAL TECHNICAL CIENIi
YORKSHIRE Advance TV Services. Shipley, 0274 585333. Amateur Radio Shop, Huddersfield, 0484 20774
Thomas Wright, Bradford. 0274 663471. Scene and
HOT - LINE ON 0629 4995
} for all your technical advice and service back -upon any
aspect of the Genie system direct from the experts,
Heard. Halifax, 0422 59116. Spot Computer Systems, Doncaster, 0302 25119. Superior Systems Ltd. Sheffield. 0742 755005. Laskys Microdigital, Sheffield, 0742 750971 Photo Electric,. Sheffield, 0742 53865. EIRE
For full details and demonstration of Genie I, Genie II of advice on any aspect of the
Compshop. Dublin, Dublin 74933. NORTHERN IRELAND Business Electronic Equipment. Belfast, 0232
system, either call in to your local dealer, or write directly to the sole importers at the address below.
46161. Brittain Laboratories Ltd, Belfast. 0232 28374. CHANNEL ISLANDS GB Organs. St Savior, 053426788/23564
Chesterfield Road, Matlock, Derbyshire DE4 5LE
Telephone: 0629 4995. Telex: 377482 Lowle.cc+. Circle No. 109
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
13
MP'
ITTICROCOMPUTER PRODUCTS
INTERNATIONAL LTD.
SOFTWARE FOR CP/M COMPUTERS INCLUDING
CROMEMCO Z2D EXCIDY SORCERER SUPERBRAIN VECTOR MZ NORTH STAR HORIZON
COMART COMMUNICATOR RESEARCH MACHINES
COMART EDUCATOR
GEMINI
RAIR BLACK BOX
TRANSAM TUSCAN
SD SYSTEMS
SHARP MX
NASCOM
8 IBM FORMATS
OTHER FORMATS AVAILABLE
Retailer and OEM
terms available
Full descriptive Catalogue:
available
£1 -
deductable from first
purchase
BYROM SOFTWARE
Software Manual 8. Manual Only
BSTAM-Utility to link one microcomputer to another also using BSTAM BSTMS-Utility to link a micro to a mini or mainframe
COMPILER SYSTEMS
£95
£6
£95
£11
CBASIC v 2.08
£65
£15
CP/M USER LIBRARY
51 Volumes-Price per volume
8' disc (one volume per disc)
£4
5" disc (one volume per 2 discs)
£8
Index
£2
CREATIVE COMPUTING
CS -9001 BASIC Games 1
£14
CS -9002 BASIC Games 2
£14
CS -9003 ADVENTURE 1.0
£14
CS -9004 BILINGUAL Original Adventure
£14
CS -9005 BASIC Games 3
£14
CS -9006 BASIC Games 4
£14
DIGITAL RESEARCH
(Most formats now available) MPM 1.1 MPM 2.0 CP/M86 CP/M 2.2 CP/NET SID ZSID MAC TEX DESPOOL PL/1
BT -80
£195 £20
TBA
£160 £27
£95
£20
£120 £14
£50
£14
£55
£14
£60
£14
£50
£14
£33
£6
£300 £27
£140 £20
INFORMATION UNLIMITED
WHATSIT (Database Management System)
on North Star
£65
on CP/M
£80
on APPLE 2:48k (requires int Basic)
£78
on APPLE 2.32k (requires int Basic)
£65
on ITT 2020 (see Apple)
KLH SYSTEMS
Spooler for CPM systems v3.0
£70
£6
MPI LTD.
MULTIFORTH PAYROLL SALES LEDGER PURCHASE LEDGER NOMINAL LEDGER INCOMPLETE RECORDS
£72
£20
£500 £15
£200 £15
£200 £15
£200 £15
£1200 £20
MICAH INC.
Software Manual
MICHAEL SHRAYER INC. &Manual Only
Electric Pencil Word Processor SSII for TT Y etc DSI I for Diablo TRS-80 Cassette/disc
£100 £100 £105 £50
MICROFOCUS
CIS COBOL version 4.4 FORMS 2 v11
MICROLOGY
£425 £25 £100 £10
FTNUMB (FORTRAN -80 RENUMBER)
MICROPRO INC.
£50
£5
WORD -MASTER 1.7A TEX-WRITER 2.6 WORDSTAR 3.0 MAIL MERGE 3.0 (requires Wordstar) SPELLSTAR 3.0 (requires Wordstar) SUPER -SORT: Version 1
Version 2 DATASTAR 1.101
MICROSOFT INC.
£75
£22
£37
£17
£250 £38
£75
£10
£125 £20
£125 £22
£110 £22
£175 £25
BASIC -80 5.2 BASIC Compiler 5.3 FORTRAN -80 3.42 COBOL -80 4.01 M/SORT 1.0 EDIT -80 2.0 MACRO -80 3.42 MULISP MUMATH 2.02
£185 £205 £260 £380 £75 £65 £105 £105 £130
MICROTECH EXPORTS
REFORMATTER CPM.-0IBM CPM.-.DEC
MT MICROSYSTEMS
£98
£17
£98
£17
PASCAL MT 5.2 PASCAL MT - 5.2 with Softbus Library Sources SOFTBUS (Speed Programming Pkge.)
NORTHSHARE
£150 £25 £265 £25 £110 £125
Multi-user system for Horizon Users 5.12
£44
£7
OSBORNE & ASSOCIATES
ACCOUNTS PAYABLE 8. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE
GENERAL LEDGER
£50
£15
£50
£15
CP/11A for CDOS Users:
Program to Expand CP/M system to be compatable with Cromemco CDOS software £65 £6
QUALITY PRODUCTS FROM THE HOME OF MICROCOMPUTER SOFTWARE
ROOM PC, 11 CAMBRIDGE HOUSE, CAMBRIDGE ROAD, BARKING, ESSEX IG11 8NT, ENGLAND Telephone: 01-591 6511 Telex: 892395
PHOENIX SOFTWARE
Software Manual & Manual Only
ASSOCIATES (For Z80 only)
PLINK-Disc to disc link loader PASM-Macro Assembler PEDIT-Line editor with Macros BUG-Very powerful debug Package with all the above PLINK -2 Overlay Link Loader
£72
£15
£72
£15
£72
£15
£72
£15
+.
£193 £33
£185 £15
SPECIAL PRODUCT
pRoc,RANNs-goo
LINKRGE ElDrroR)
SORCIM INC.
SUPERCALC
£185 £25
STRUCTURED SYSTEMS (All converted to UK Standard)
SALES LEDGER PURCHASE LEDGER NOMINAL LEDGER STOCK CONTROL LETTERIGHT ANALYST (File management Reporting System) NAD (Name and Address selection system) QSORT
SUPERSOFT INC.
£350
£350 £20
£350 £20
£350 £20
£95
£11
£125 £11
£55
£11
£55
£11
DIAGNOSTICS 1 DIAGNOSTICS 2 TERM
£45
£9
£55
£9
£72
£7
TDL SOFTWARE (Technical Design Labs)
BUSINESS BASIC
£80
ZTEL (Text Editing Lang.)
£35
MACRO II (Z80 Macro Assembler)
£35
LINKER
£35
DEBUG II (for 8080/Z80)
£45
TINY -C ASSOCIATES
Tiny -C language for 8080, 8085, Z80 systems £55 £39
PLINK II
FEATURES
Input: TDL. PSA or MicroSoft relocatable file. The MicroSolt format file is becoming the del acto industry standard. although some other manufacturers create non-standard versions. Check with your dealer to see if the compiler you
wish to use is supported. Output: COM file. Intel .HEX life, PSA PRG file with overlays. or PSA .REL file (not allowed if MicroSoft input). The .HEX and .REL tiles may be created in ASCII or
binary form. and the .REL files may be used in a subsequent linkage edit it desired. Memory map: PLINK -II can create lour different reports: symbols sorted alphabetically, program segments sorted alphabetically, the entire program printed in address order, and program modules printed with date and time of creation and version number (PSA .REL files only). Common blocks: PLINK -II supports Fortran -type common blocks, with no requirement that the largest instance of the common be input first. Memory allocation: Program modules are broken down into code. data, and common segments, regrouped into 'sections', and allocated at any memory address desired by the user. A symbol .END, is created to signify the tree memory available to the program and its location may be defined at any point. Library search, Libraries of relocatable files may be loaded in their entirety, or with specific modules included or excluded. They may be searched. so that a module is included only if required by portions of the program already loaded. Overlays: Any number of 'tree -structured' overlay areas may be created, to a depth of 32 levels, and these may be overlapped in an arbitrary fashion to create non -tree -
structured organizations. Control statements: Fifty temporary 16 bit variables are supplied. These may be assigned values. simple arithmetic and logical expressions, or console input, and may be tested via relational operators and branch instructions. Temporary variables, character strings, and simple expressions may be displayed on the
console.
ifeece P/raducti
FAIRCOM INC.
MICRO B+
£145 £15
BASF DISCS
The following formats are available from stock: 8 SSSD
5
Soft Sectored, 5 ,
10 Sectors. 5 .
16 Sectors
Price Per Quantity Disc
Ex VAT
1 - 50 £2.40
51-100 £2.00
101 - 200 £1.80
201 - 500 £1.70
501
£1.50
Minimum order quantity 10 discs. Orders
must be in multiples of 10. Postage.
Package & Insurance 86p per 10 Discs up to 50 Discs thereafter 17p per 10. Other formats on request.
ORDER INFORMATION
When ordering CP44 software please specify the format you require. otherwise software will be despatched on an 8 single density disc.
All software items are subject to VAT. Manuals, when purchased separately. are not subject to VAT.
Please add £3.45 for postage. packing and insurance on each item purchased. For overseas please add £4.50 per item.
Most software in this advertisement is available from stock and a 72 hour return service is thereby offered on most prepaid orders.
These details and prices are all current as of August 1981. Our prices reflect an exchange rate of U.S. 52.00 to £1.00. Should the exchange rate vary by more than 5 cents. a surcharge may be added or a discount given.
MAIL ORDER
TELEPHONE ORDER
VISIT
Send Cash. Cheque. Postal Order. IMO. Access or Barclaycard Visa
number to Microcomputer Products International Ltd.. Room PC.
11. Cambridge House. Cambridge Road. Barking. Essex t G11 8NT
All payments must be in Sterling and drawn against a U.K bank
Circle No. 110
MAIL ORDER TELEPHONE CREDIT CARD ORDER
VISIT
Trade Enquiries Welcome
15
BRITISH
GENIUS
FOR PRICE/PERFORMANCE THE BEST MICROCOMPUTER AVAILABLE
If you think (as we do) that the SUPERBRAIN is a good machine, we are sure you will agree that the BRITISH GENIUS (yes, made in the UK!) is even better, as a powerful microcomputer or as a super word -processor.
BRITISH GENIUS runs with our suite of British Software written to Professional Standards in CIS/COBOL. These cover Stock Control together with Payroll and Requirements Planning.
* Z80 MICROPROCESSOR * 64K RAM * 24 x 80 INTEGRAL VDU * BEAUTIFUL GREEN SCREEN + true descenders, reverse video, graphics chars. * SUPERB KEYBOARD with QWERTY, numeric, cursor control, and 24
function keys. * TWIN DISCS (5in or 8in, 1 or 2 sides; capacities 350K, 700K, 1.2MB, 2.4MB). * OPTION FOR 1 FLOPPY/ 1 WINCHESTER CONFIGURATION (capacity 4.8MB or 9MB). * RS232 SERIAL INTERFACE * CENTRONICS PARALLEL INTERFACE * OPTION FOR GPIB general purpose interface bus for instrumentation links * WCRDSTAR WORD-PROCESSING using the CALTEXT model providing 'one -key' operation for most functions. * MOST OF THE SOFTWARE ADVERTISED OPPOSITE AVAILABLE ON THE BRITISH GENIUS * COMPLETE SYSTEMS SUPPLIED including comprehensive User Support Package. * PRINTERS - large range available plus all necessary discs and consumables. * PRICES FROM £2,300 * DEALER ENQUIRIES WELCOME.
Contact:
Park Farm House Heythrop Chipping Norton OXFORDSHIRE OX7 5TW
telephone: CHIPPING NORTON (0608) 3256
ask for: Bill Whaley
or Bede Dunlop
Circle No. 111
16
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
PROFESSIONAL
SUPERBRAIN SYSTEMS
HARDWARE
SUPERBRAINS AVAILABLE FROM STOCK
VARIOUS DISC OPTIONS (capacity 320K - 16 million bytes) WIDE RANGE OF PRINTERS (QUME, NEC, DIABLO, SANDERS, ANADEX, DOLPHIN etc.) HIGHLY COMPETITIVE CASH AND CARRY PRICES OUR OWN ENGINEERING MAINTENANCE SERVICE (24hr response contracts) HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE SUPPORT FROM THE SUPERBRAIN SPECIALISTS
DEALER ENQUIRIES WELCOME
tincaviktvstr.. tan knF
tt
Ita tthom
MICRO SOLUTION APPLICATION SOFTWARE
-Integrated Accounting System -Stock Control System
£1000 -Bill of Materials £450 -Payroll System
£450 from £250
The Accounting System includes: -Full double -entry accounting --Sales/Purchase/Nominal Ledgers + VAT -Sales Invoicing -Trial Balance/Profit & Loss -Open Item or Balance Forward -Up to the minute Enquiry facility -Alphanumeric Account codes etc.
Stock Control includes: -Order processing -Invoice/Delivery Note printing -Reordering and Valuation reports
Bill of Materials includes: -Maintenance of Assembly structures -Multi -level Parts Explosion -Assembly Components cost calculation -Requirement Breakdown by period
Payroll System includes: -Up to 15 Gross and Net pay fields -Retention of Historical data -Pension and Holiday pay calculation -Special Stationery available -Multi departments -Up to 9999 employees
COMPILERS AND UTILITIES
-Microfocus CIS -COBOL Compiler -Microfocus FORMS -2 utility
£425 £100
-WORDSTAR word-processing -Mail Merge option for above
-Micro Solution REPORTER
-DATASTAR data management
(CIS -COBOL Report Generator)
-Microsoft MBASIC interpreter
£100 -SUPERSORT sort/merge £165 -BSTAM transfer to/from CP/M
-Microsoft BASIC 80 compiler
£200
micros
-Microsoft COBOL 80 compiler
£390 -TTY teletype emulator
-Microsoft FORTRAN 80 compiler
£260
(inc. vile transfer)
-Microsoft MACRO 80 assembler
£85 -MICROMODELLER financ. planning
-SPELLBINDER word-processing
£250 -CBASIC compiler
£230 £75
£160 £130
£75
£180 £645
£75
Contact:
Park Farm House Heythrop Chipping Norton
OXFORDSHIRE OX7 5TW
telephone: CHIPPING NORTON (0608) 3256 ask for: Bill Whaley
or
Christine Airey
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Circle No. 112
17
1
IMPORTANT!!! NO HARDWARE IS ANY VALUE WITHOUT THE SOFTWARE, AND OUR SOFTWARE
IS UNEQUALLED. WE GIVE YOU A DISCOUNT TO SET YOU GOING. JUST DECIDE ON THE SYSTEM YOU INTEND PURCHASING, AND TAKE 10% OF ITS VALUE OFF THE PRICE YOU WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR THE SOFTWARE. YOU COULD GET THE SOFTWARE FREE WITH THE HARDWARE IF YOU CHOSE THE BEST SYSTEM WE SELL.
SUPERBRAIN
64K + 320 K DISK 64K + 700 K DISK 64K + 6.3 M DISK EMULATOR TERML INTERTUBE III TML 5.7 MG CORVUS DSK 11 MEG CORVUS CORDLESS PHONES HIGH RES S/B GRAPH TRACTORS SHUGART 5 MEG DSK
SUPERBRAIN
1950.00 2395.00 4595.00
495.00 495.00 2250.00 3250.00 135.00 750.00 150.00 1250.00
COMPUSTAR
64K MDL 10 VPU 64K MDL 15 PRNT 64K MDL 20 VPU 64K MDL 30 VPU 64K 5 MB VPU 10 MEG INTERTEC 32 MED INTERTEC 96 MEG INTERTEC BUS PROGRAMS BUS MANUAL S100 CONTROLLER
COMPUSTAR
1695.00 1595.00 2495.00 2795.00 4895.00 3250.00 7950.00 8500.00 975.00
25.00 750.00
PRINTER
OKI MICRO -80 OKI MICRO -83 EPSON MX80F/T TEXAS 810 DIABLO 630 NEC 5530 NEC 5510 NEC 5525 QUME 5/55 DBMS2 CP.M (TM)
PRINTER
450.00 795.00 450.00 1395.00 1595.00 1595.00 1695.00 1895.00 2195.00 575.00 FREE
SYSTEM 1 64K + 750 K DISK CRT AND S100 BUS IN 1 'ARCHIVES' UNIT
1950.00
SYSTEM 2 64K 7.3 MEGABYTE CORVUS MICRO -WINCHESTER & CRT IN 1 'SUPERBRAIN' UNIT
4595.00
SYSTEM 3 64K + 1.5 MEG CRT AND TWIN 5" IN COMPUSTAR UNIT
2750.00
MBASIC 80 CIS COBOL MAIL MERGE DATASTAR DBMS (DATABASE) DBMS (EXTENDED) MSORT & DSORT
150.00 420.00
55.00 190.00 475.00 575.00 75.00
FORTRAN -80 PASCAL UCSD SUPER SORT BASCOMPILER SUPER CALC (CPM) BUS VER 8.00 LETTERIGHT
200.00 475.00 120.00 190.00 155.00 975.00 100.00
COBOL -80 WORD -STAR CBASIC MAGIC WAND T/MAKER BUS VER 9.00 UTILITES
320.00 250.00
75.00 190.00 150.00 1075.00 75.00
OUR PRICE INCLUDES FREE TRAINING SESSION CABLES EXTENDED WARRANTY IF READ CPM HANDBOOK
10°/o ALLOWANCES AGAINST
DELIVERY 6/12 MTH WARRANTY RIBBONS & THIMBLES BASIC MANUAL
ANY SOFTWARE ABOVE 5-50 DISKS 24/48 HOUR REPAIR MANUALS 2,000 SHEETS PAPER
IF YOU WISH TO MAKE THE WARRANTY TO 1 YEAR THEN ADD 5% OF HARDWARE COST. OTHERWISE NO MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE, SIMPLY ADD -HOC CHARGES AFTER WARRANTY EXPIRATION, SAME QUALITY SERVICE. (SITE MAINTENANCE ON APPLICATION)
MAIL ADDRESS G.W. COMPUTERS LTD., 55 BEDFORD COURT MANS., BEDFORD AVENUE, WC1
LONDON TELEX 892031 TWC G.
BOSTON OFFICE TELEX 94-0890
DUE TO LONG TERM CONTRACTUAL COMMITMENTS, WE ARE ONLY GIVING RESTRICTED DEMONSTRATIONS BY APPOINTMENT AT ONE OF OUR LONDON OFFICES. WE EXPORT TO ALL COUNTRIES, AND TAKE AMEXCO, BARCLAYCARD AND ACCESS. CONTACT TONY WINTER ON 01-636 8210 OR 01-631 4818 AND IF UNAVAILABLE THEN LEAVE A CALL-BACK MESSAGE (CLEARLY STATING YOUR TELEPHONE NUMBER AND NAME) ON THE 24 -HOUR ANSWER -PHONE, WE CALL BACK ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. OR SIMPLY LEAVE YOUR ADDRESS. AND WE'LL MAIL YOU A STANDARD INFORMATION PACK. MAIL ADDRESS, 55 BEDFORD COURT MANSIONS, BEDFORD AVENUE, LONDON WC1.
18
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
*** ALL YOU NEED FROM A COMPUTER SYSTEM *** DATABASE MANAGEMENT WORD-PROCESSING + MODELLING + DIY INTERPRETER +- SERVICE
r
TWO TYPICAL PACKAGE DEALS
01 - SUPERBRAIN 64K RAM 320 K 02 - EPSON MX8OFT (OR SIMILAR) 03 - CABLE 04 - 12 MONTH WARRANTY 05 - DELIVERY IN U.K. 06 - TRAINING SESSION 07 - CP/M HANDBOOK 08 - 50 BASIC EXERCISES 09 - BOX PAPER (2000 SHEETS) 10 - DBMS2 (DATABASE) 11 - MAGIC WAND 12 - MBASIC-80 13 - SUPER CALC 14 - 40 MEMOREX DISKETTES 15 - DOS + AND DIAGNOSTICS 16 - MSORT 8 DSORT 17 - RECOVER + AUTOLOAD 18 - INSTANT BASIC
NORMALLY
1950.00 475.00 25.00 235.00 40.00 50.00 8.75 8.75 20.00 575.00 190.00 150.00 150.00 114.00 125.00 75.00 25.00 9.00
01 - SUPERBRAIN 64K RAM 700K 02 - NEC 5510 (OR SIMILAR) 03 - CABLE ADAPTER 04 - 12 MONTH WARRANTY 05 - DELIVERY IN U.K. 06 - TRAINING SESSION 07 - CPM HANDBOOK
08 - 50 BASIC EXERCISES 09 - BOX PAPER (2000 SHEETS) 10 - DBMS2 (DATABASE) 11 - MAGIC WAND 12 - MBASIC-80 13 - SUPER CALC 14 - 25 DYSAN D/SIDE DISKETTES 15 - DOS + AND DIAGNOSTICS 16 - MSORT 8 DSORT 17 - RECOVER + AUTOLOAD 18 - INSTANT BASIC
NORMALLY
2395.00 1695.00
25.00 410.00
50.00 50.00
8.75 8.75 20.00 575.00 190.00 150.00 150.00 150.00 125.00 75.00 25.00 9.00
(NOT INC VAT) OUR PRICE
4225.50 2995.00
(NOT INC VAT) OUR PRICE
6220.50 4950.00
EXTRA SPECIAL SUPERBRAIN PROGRAM MAIL ORDER OFFER OF THE 5 MAIN PROGRAMS DBMS2 + SORTS + MAGIC WAND + MBASIC-80 + SUPER CALC NORMALLY 1140 POUNDS OUR PRICE 595.00' VAT
WARRANTY NOTE: WE HANDLE ALL REPAIRS OURSELVES.
WARRANTY COVERS FREE REPLACEMENT EQUIPMENT IF DEFECTIVE IN FIRST THREE WEEKS. THEREAFTER UP TO 12 MONTHS THE COVER PROVIDES INSURANCE ON ALL SPARE PARTS AND LABOUR COSTS (EXCLUDING CARRIAGE).
CALL OUT MAINTENANCE IS ALSO AVAILABLE AT 25.00 MINIMUM (LONDON) 50.00 MINIMUM ELSEWHERE IN U.K. PLUS MILEAGE.
*** BUS ***
(BUSINESS EFFICIENCY) WIDELY USED IN U.K./FRANCE/U.S.A. AND ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES FOR ITS OVERALL FLEXIBILITY AS A
COMPLETE BUSINESS PACKAGE.
INCLUDES INVENTORY, DATABASE MANAGEMENT, INVOICING, MAILING ADDRESSES, STATEMENTS, SALES/PURCHASE LEDGER WITH OR WITHOUT AUTO STOCK UPDATE AND DOUBLE ENTRY JOURNALS INCLUDING NOMINAL
LEDGER; PLUS A'C RECEIVABLE AND PAYABLE MAKING AUTO BANK ENTRIES.
p
01 = NAMES AND ADDRESSES 02 = STOCK CONTROL 03 = OPEN SALES LEDGER 04 = OPEN PURCHASE LEDGER 05 = GENERAL SALES LEDGER 06 = GENERAL PURCHASE LEDGER 07 = BANK UPDATE 08 = USER DATABASE AREA 09 = INVOICE CREATION 10 = ORDER FILES 11 = TEXT FILES
12 = EMPLOYEE FILES
13 = STATEMENTS
14 = TAX REPORTS
15 = AGED ANALYSIS
16 = MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS
17 = CASHFLOW FORECAST
18 = PARAMETER SECTION
19 = DIARY REMINDER
20 = COMPUTE FUNCTIONS
(+)
21 = FILE MAINTENANCE
22 = CALL OTHER PROGRAMS
23 = AUTOMATIC DRIVE
(+)
24 = DISK SWAP/EXIT SYSTEM
WHICH OPTION
SUB -MENU EXAMPLES: >Quit or .Random or . Sequential or .Key sorted field or .Other functions >Quit or .All or .Part of .Specific >Quit or .Fast screen or .Slow screen or .Rapid print or .Pausing print >Quit or .Continue or .Amend or :Delete or .Print >Quit or .Double entry or .Alter filename or .Echo input or .Print options >Quit or .Mail ticket or .Columnated or .Raw data line >Quit or .Add or .Subtract or .Multiply or .Divide >Quit or .Greater or .Smaller or .Cross refer two files
(LEVEL 8.00 @ 975.001 (LEVEL 9.00@ 1075.001
+ + + . SUPER - BUS + + + + + A NEW HIGHER LEVEL OF THE ABOVE PACKAGE .
.
.
HAS BEEN REDUCED IN SIZE BY 50 PER CENT TO A SINGLE 15K BASIC PROGRAM, MAKING ALL FILE RETRIEVALS A MATTER OF NANOSECONDS. WORKS UNDER N4/
PM AND COMPUSTAR FOR COMMON DATA RETRIEVAL LEVEL 10.00
**** 1475.00'**
DBMS (DATABSE) HAS 01 =; 02=; 04=; 06=; 07=; 08=; 17=; 18=; 21=; 24=. PRICE 475.00
DATABASE FEATURES ARE
FOR ANY SIZE RECORD UP TO TWENTY FOUR FIELDS FILE ARCHITECTURES CAN BE DESIGNED WITH COMPLETE FREEDOM
OVER THE LINGUISTIC CONVENTIONS ASSIGNED TO EACH FIELD. THE FILE THEN CAN STORE 32000 RECORDS WHICH CAN BE SEARCHED BY THE RANDOM
ACCESS NUMBER (RETRIEVED IN LESS THAN ONE SECOND) OR 'KEY' RANDOM ACCESS ON SPECIFIED FIELD OR SEQUENTIALLY COMPARING FOR LEFT FIELD
PARTS, FIELD-INKEYS. OR PARTS OF RECORD, AND THEN CHANGED. PRINTED, DELETED, SKIPPED.
GRAMA (WINTER) LTD/G.W. COMPUTERS LTD. ARE THE PRODUCERS OF THIS PACKAGE WHICH IS UNEQUALLED FOR ITS LEVEL OF TOTAL INTEGRATION, LINGUISTIC FLEXIBILITY AND MAXIMISED DISK/MEMORY CONSERVATION.
AUTHOR TONY WINTER (M.D.;B.A.LIT;B.A.HON.PHIL; AND LECTURER)
CALLERS ONLY BY APPOINTMENT AT ONE OF OUR LONDON OFFICES. TELS 01.636.8210 AND 01.631.4818 (TONY WINTER)
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Circle No. 113
19
*** MULTIPLE FIELD ATTRIBUTES ***
r
dbms2 and bus10.00
The following is a list of the field attribute arithmetic functions that may be set up against up to 16 fields per record and found to be both complex and of considerable power. fnl = Multiply one field against another and total per record/file.
fn2 = Add one field against another and total per record/file.
fn3 = Divide one field from another and total per record/file.
fn4 = Subtract one field by another and total per record/file.
fn5 = Total vertical columns within a file of records. The result per record and per file.
fn6 = Calculate a percentage of the value of one field and if the toggle is set to 1 then add that result to the field; whereas if the toggle is set to -1 then simply store the result.
Exainple:
Field 01 = number Field 02 = code Field 03 = quantity Field 04 = s. price Field 05 = profit Field 06 = cost Field 07 = allocated
(5 ) (MICRO (50 ) (1000.00
(250.00 (800.00 (20 )
record.5
[50,000.00]
[ 150.00]
[
.25]
[ 1,000.00] 1 30.00]
computed values
record
file
[70,000.00]
1 170.00]
[
.27]
[ 1,145.00]
1 450.00]
The two results to the right of the record show the use of several of the functions listed above. Field 03 function 1 (03.04) has a value of 50,000.00 pounds worth of 'MICROS' for the number '5' and 70,000.00 pounds worth of for all such records so far scanned. Field 04 function 6 `toggle -1' (04 .15) has the increase that is required to raise the price of record '5' by 15%, and so on averaging for all such records. Field 05 function 3 (05 / 04) has the value of itself divided by the value found in field 04, for the record and all such records scanned. (profit margin ?). Field 06 function 6 `toggle 1' (06 1.25) has the value of record '5' as if it were subject to an increase of 25%, and all such records scanned. Field 07 function 4 (03 - 07) has the quantity remaining in stock after allocations are subtracted.
You have a combination of multiple field searches of 5 TYPES and multiple compute functions of 10 TYPES against up to 16 fields, using words you choose and printing only those columns in the order you desire in one SINGLE CORE PROGRAM.
A
*** MULTIPLE FIELD SEARCHES ***
r
dbms2 and bus10.00
The following trajectory of a file interrogation may be set up and found to be both complex and of considerable power.
Try a Sequential search that is Slow and on Multiple fields within a range say of record '1 to 30'.
Notice that the cursor prompter will move to the first field in the record form. You will be able to ask any of the followingtypes of questions on each field. When you set the question against that field; if the carriage return is not enabled by the fact that you hit the right -hand -field -bracket, then hit (cr).
There are five types of questions you may ask against a permutation of up to sixteen fields. (Think about them).
1 = straight text identity (p = p) which is to say that you can enter TONY in a name search where the record may look like TONY WINTER or WINTER TONY. the 'TONY' text is sought for in any part of the field.
= Greater than identity (13) Q) which is to say that you may first enter the symbol > followed by a numeric value (say 100)where the records may possess different ranges of numbers in that field, and you only want 100 upwards.
3 = Smaller than identity (P (0) as `2=' above in reverse using X
4 = Not identical (P 0) which is to say that all records found on other criteria must not possess the stated attribute. (ie: all records with TONY but not in W.C.1.). You must first enter the symbol followed by the criteria that is to be excluded from the comparison.
5 = Either or identity (PAQ) which is to say that you may search for either TONY or someone in W.C.1. or telephones with a01 in their number. Note: that only one match of those disjunctive premises is sufficient to provide the truth condition establishing a match. That is to say you may find records of TONY in Birmingham and FRED in W.C.1. You must first enter the symbol A followed bythe text. A multiple example is shown below.
Field 01 = number Field 02 = name Field 03 = postcode Field 04 = town Field 05 = income Field 06 = age Field 07 = sex
(
)
(TONY
(^ W.C.1.
( ^ London
( > 5000
( < 40
)
( -female
1
The question is:? straight text (cr) one or
other greater 5000 younger than 40
not female
If you are interested enough to study this section of our new manual, then you are probably in need of a program embodying such features. If you understand the text, that is, if at least its meaning is a touchstone that fires your imagination towards grasping it with the mind then you and it are converging.
contact:
G. W. COMPUTERS LTD. 55 BEDFORD COURT MANSIONS, BEDFORD AVENUE, LONDON W.C.1. TEL 01-636 8210. TEL 01-631 4818. TELEX 892031 TWC G Also incorporated in Boston U.S.A.
BUS PROGRAM MANUAL VERSION 8.00-10.00 AND DBMS (SUBSET OF ABOVE)
AUTHOR: TONY WINTER B.A.LIT: B.A.HON. PHIL. AND LECTURER
Circle No. 114
20
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
The best diskette
for yoursystem
* All IBM formats * AES/Lanier * Apple II * Atari * CPT 8000 * Diamond
DISKETTES
AND DISC PACKS
We keep stocks of 30,000 for immediate delivery to dp and wp users
FOR YOUR RECORDS THE DYSAN HOTLINE IS:
HAL Computers limited
Invincible Road,Farnborough
Hants.611147Q0
Telephone 0252 517171
r
A ZAA
* Nexos 2200 * P2000 * P5002IMicom * Wang * Zenith * - among others
Circle No. 115
VECTO
i PRICE 1.11 :11,%ligh:::11:1111111111111Assia1100 S ii 11-74A5L. 1s1u1e 1A lr
WW14111
II IMF
IT
kV A
Nft
krec
UTERc LTD
,Lor
Real vector plotting from only £690* with the new Strobe Model 100 drum -type plotter. * High resolution - 0.1mm at 7.6cm/sec * A4 paper capacity
* Off -the -shelf felt tip pens plot in most colours * Precise operator controls and interactive input of coordinates * Hardware interfaces for TRS-80, Apple II, Pet, S-100 * Applications software packages
providing vector plotting and variable size alphanumerics for TRS-80 Level II BASIC, Applesoft BASIC, North Star BASIC, C BASIC, Microsoft BASIC and FORTRAN. Telephone Weybridge 4834617 for free brochure and more details.
*Unit price for plotter ex -delivery and ex -VAT.
HAL Computers Limited Invincible Road, Farnborough Hants.GU147QU
Telephone 0252 517171
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Circle No. 116
21
EP4000 EPROM Programmer/Emulator - Not just a programmer.
Programs a wide range of EPROMs without personality cards. Video output for editing and LED display for stand alone operation. Standard interfaces include RS232C, 20mA, TTL, cassette, printer and DMA. In EMULATION MODE EP4000 replaces your in -circuit PROMs for program development and makes changes, entries, edits simple. Accessories include Bipolar programming modules, multi EPROM simulator adaptors, buffer pods, ERASERS, Monitors, 2764/2564 programming satellite, printer and production gang programmers.
EP4000 programmer/simulator £545.00 P4000 production programmer £545.00(9 sockets) Eraser £78.00 Monitor £88.00 Printer £395.00
Microtek MT80
Probably the most reliable small matrix printer, To coincide with the move into our new factory we are offering these at clearance prices. 9 x 7 matrix, upper and lower case - one only ARABIC - extended print, 40,80,132 column, 125 CHARACTERS PER SECOND.
Parallel MT8OP £395.00 Serial MT8OS £445.00
Cables available for all of the popular micros.
DYSAN DISKETTES. Indisputably the best you can buy.
30,000 diskettes in stock. As well as the standard range of diskettes for Apple, PET, TRS-80, etc, we also supply pre -formatted for: CPT 8000, Micom/P5002, all IBM, A ES/Lanier, Atari, Nexos 2200, Wang, Zenith and P2000. For immediate delivery call our HOTLINE...Weybridge 4834617
The Revolutionary New 6" Thinline
Tandon's revolutionary new 8 inch floppy disc drive is only half the thickness of earlier drives so that you can pack twice the storage into the same space. In addition a new method of construction allows the drive to constantly compensate for changes in temperature and humidity so that real capacities of up to 4.M.bytes are now achievable in the usual 8 inch floppy disc drive envelope size. The TM800 series drives require only D.C. power (5v and 24v) so that they run cool and no changing of pulleys and belts is needed for manufacturers who want to ship products abroad.
Our new low profile packaging, designed and built in the U.K., complete with power supplies makes incorporation into, or addition to, existing systems simple.
APPLE II & TRS80 COMPATIBLE MINI FLOPPIES
This is our popular TM 100 series mini floppy... Tandon make 40,000 of these a month. Available as bare drives and packaged in single and dual cabinets with power supplies. Capacities from 100K.bytes to 1 Mbyte per drive! Compatible with TRS-80, Video Genie, SUPERBRAIN, Horizon, Zenith, SWTP, Heathkit etc., and supplied as the standard drive with many of these systems.
TRS-80 compatible
(in cabinet with power supply)
DUAL UNITS 40 track
80 track SINGLE UNITS 40 track
80 track
£399.00
£549.00 £219.00 £289.00
APPLE II Compatible
Single disc Dual disc
£249.00 £488.00
APPLE Controller board DOS 3.3
1P0A
Prices exclude VAT and delivery charges
SPARE PARTS SERVICE AND TRAINING
We carry a complete stock of emergency spare parts for Tandon disc drives and we can fix any drive on a short turn -round. All final testing is carried out on an in-house ATEdrive testing system which can run 73 separate diagnostic programs to ensure that your drive leaves us in absolutely first class condition. A less complex calibration service is also available. Full product support exists for genuine OEM customers and we run single day training courses at regular intervals. Call our service engineering department for further information.
We carry the full range of Dysan alignment diskettes and a staff of Sales Engineers will be pleased to help you with any queries.
22
HAL Computers Limited Invincible Road,Farnborough
Hants.611147QU. Telephone 0252 517171
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
I'vegicp*vievit-
yoire laVin3for.
Our new Micro Winchester gives you from 5 to 20 M.bytes of hard disc storage from as little as £1425.00 for a complete ready -to -go, plug-in system with software. Floppies and larger more expensive hard discs are no match for our new drives which pack enough data to run serious business or technical applications software into a mini -floppy size 51/4" unit. Your data is protected in the sealed enclosure making diskette handling problems a thing of the past. The disc is fast - 40 times faster transfer rate than a mini -floppy yet fits into the same space and so can be used as a replacement or an enhancement.
Controllerbility*
Our controller comes with a range of adaptors to plug on to most popular micros and there are more adaptors on the way. It supports two discs with ease and while others are struggling with less stable analog data separators and speed -eating error correction circuits, we use a high performance digital design which literally locks into the data stream and stays there. Incidentally we also sell digital data separator cards to OEMs. Real time and multitasking applications benefit from the controller's interrupt capability and macro level command structure and the OEM version features a simple software interface and CP/M 2.2 BIOS with extensive development aids. The software comes on either 51/4" or 8" diskettes together with Boot PROMs.
Service and Support
If you are impressed with the specifications so far, there is more to come. Our packaged sub -systems are assembled in-house and they carry a full one year parts and labour warranty. Our controllers are built completely from TTL
logic - there are no fancy chips - so we can fix them if they ever break down. Dozens of floppy disc drives go through our workshops every month and we are well known within the industry both for our training courses and our heavy investment in computer based disc test equipment. If your Winchester ever stops working you can depend on us to fix it.
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
z zr zz/71.
Circle No. 117
23
HAL Computers Limited Invincible Road,Famborough
Hants.GU147021.1 Telephone 0252 517171
24
Circle No. 118
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Now we never say no
Icarus can now offer a complete range
of microcomputers from 320K 60M
COMMANDER COMPUTERS
IEEE Communications Port with 4 RS -232 serial ports and 4 8 -bit parallel ports. Full graphics standard. Three models - the fully self-contained 964 with integral 9" video display, the F64 with 2 8" disk drives and the M64 with one 5" disk drive.
MULTI-USER MULTI -PROCESSOR SYSTEMS
Designed to give unparalleled performance for one to
16 users. Each terminal has a dedicated processor with its own RAM.
SINGLE AND MULTI-USER UPGRADEABLE/ EXPANDABLE SYSTEMS
Offering the disk storage capacity that's exactly right for you. Single user machines to take 51/4" or 8" floppy disks giving 320K -2.4M capacity and multi-user machines with up to 60M on hard disk.
A comprehensive new range of microcomputers so versatile that a system may be compiled for each and every micro -based application - that's the exciting news from Icarus. Columbia Data Systems of the USA has appointed Icarus to handle its full range of CP/M and MP/M single and multi -terminal products with hard and floppy disk storage capacities. Which means that
whenever you need a microcomputer, for whatever purpose, Icarus will never have to say no.
For full details of the complete Columbia range, or if you would like to become a dealer yourself, contact
Computer Systems Ltd.
Icarus Computer Systems Ltd. Deane House 27 Greenwood Place London NW5 1NN Tel: 01-485 5574 Telex: 264209
Circle No. 119
The Printer People
OKI MICROLINE
82A
SMALL, LIGHT, QUIET, 9X9 DOT MATRIX PRINTER with TRUE DESCENDERS BIDIRECTIONAL PRINTING 120 CPS 80/132 COLUMNS GRAPHICS DUAL INTERFACES OPERATES WITH TRS-80, APPLE, and others PLAIN PAPER - UP TO 4 PART FULL 96 ASCII CHARACTER SET DOUBLE WIDTH CHARACTERS 6 AND 8 LINES PER IN. PAPER TEAR BAR And many other features.
EPSON
The unbelievable quality printer from the world's largest print head manufacturer. A whole stable of machines to suit a wide variety of applications: MX80/1, MX82, MX 80FT/1 & MX80 FT/New Type 2.
ANACOM
150
150 CPS, 15" carriage, dot
matrix printer, 9x9 dot matrix, 10 characters per inch horizontal, 6 or 8 characters vertical, 136 cols.
TVI
912/910/950
I
Fully intelligent terminals with 24x80 display & dual intensity, blinking, reversed, underlining and protect fields, 96 ASCII chrs etc.
OKI
83A
Serial dot matrix printer with an impressive list of features including: 136 cols, 120 cps bidirectional. short line seeking,graphics,dual interfaces,96ASCII
NEC
5510/5530
s.
5510 -RS232 5530 -Centronics 8 bit parallel printers with the unique print thimble, produces up to 5 copies, with friction or tractor feed.at 55 chrs.per sec.
HAZELTINE
ESPRIT
The Hazeltine Esprit is a buffered terminal capable of displaying the complete 128 ASCII character set. Based on a 12" diagonal non -glare CRT, the video is crisp and clear with each character presented on a large matrix to reduce eye fatigue.
TEC
STARWRITER
.*41\ i)
RICOH
FLOWRITER
ellIMIII
Daisy wheel printer for word processing, professional results, Diablo compatible, suitable for most micro & mini computers,
The 1600 is one of the
most advanced daisy wheel printers on the world market today. With a unique combination of features.
for your nearest stockist phone
0571 01071
2- (0
ORTHAMBER )LIMITED
3&4DAWESCOURT, ESHER, SURREY.
Tel: Esher (0372) 62071 or 88398 (from 01 nos. dial 78-62071 or 7866398)
Importers, Distributors & Wholesalers of quality Computer products.
Circle No. 120
SYSTEM 4000
EPROM EMULATOR/PROGRAMMERS
SOFTY
SYSTEMS
Oir
P4000 PRODUCTION EPROM PROGRAMMER This unit provides 'simple, reliable' programming of up to 8 EPROMs. It
has been designed for ease of operator use - a single 'program' key starts the blank check - program - verify sequence. Indepen-
dent blank check and verify controls are provided along with mode, pass/ fail indicators for each copy socket and a sounder to signal a correct key command and the end of a programming run. Any of the 2704/2708/ 2716 (3 rail) and 2508 / 2758 / 2516 / 2716 / 2532 / 2732 EPROMs may be selected without hardware or personality card changes. 2 year warranty. Price £545 + VAT: + £12.00 DELIVERY
VM10 VIDEO MONITOR This compact, lightweight Video Monitor gives a clean crisp picture on its 10" screen. Suitable for use with the EP4000, SOFTY and other systems. 12 month warranty. Price £88 + VAT, carriage paid.
MODEL 14 EPROM
ERASERS
MODEL UV140 EPROM ERASER Similar to model UV141 but with out timer. Low price at £61.50 + VAT, postage paid.
EP4000 EPROM EMULATOR/ PROGRAMMER
The microprocessor based EP4000 has been designed as a flexible, low cost, high quality unit for emulating and programming all the popular NMOS EPROMs without the need for personality cards, modules or hardware changes. Its software intensive design permits selection of
the 2704 / 2708 / 2716 triple rail EPROMs and the 2508 / 2758 /
2516 / 2716 / 2532 / 2732 single rail EPROMs for both the programming
and emulating modes. The video output (T.V. or monitor) for memory map display in addition to the built-in Hex LED display, for stand alone use, is unique in this type of system. This, with the double function 28 key keypad, powerful editing features, powered down programming socket, buffered tri-state simulator cable and 4k x 8 data RAM
gives you the most comprehensive, flexible and compact systems available today. 2 year warranty. Price £545 + VAT: + £12 DELIVERY
MODEL UV141 EPROM F.
ERASER
14 EPROM capacity
Fast erase time
4-
Built-in 5-50 minute timer
Safety interlocked to prevent eye
and skin damage
Convenient slide -tray loading of
devices
Available Ex -Stock at £78 4- VAT
Postage Paid
DISTRIBUTORS REQUIRED - EXPORT ENQUIRIES WELCOME.
GP INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS LTD,
UNIT 6, BURKE ROAD, TOTNES INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, TOTNES, DEVON. TELEPHONE: TOTNES (0803) 863360 (Sales) / 863380 (Technical Service), TELEX: 42596 GP ELEC
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
SOFTY 2
LOW COST 2716
EMULATOR/PROGRAMMER
Direct output to T.V. cassette interface
OHignh cspaeredd
EPROM Programmer Multifunc-
t2io7n1to6uc2h KkeyRpaAdM2K1M2o8nitobryitne
scratchpad RAM 2K EPROM
Emulation Can program 2732/
2532 in two halves Editing
facilities including - Data entry/
deletion, Block shift, Block store,
Match byte, Displacement calcula-
tion Supplied with ZIF socket,
Simulator cable, comprehensive
manual, Antistatic lined EPROM tray
and PSU. SOFTY 2 £169 + VAT
(includes p&p)
SOFTY 1
LOW COST 2704/2708
EMULATOR/PROGRAMMER
Direct output to T.V. High speed
cassette interface - On card
EPROM Programmer Multifunction keypad 1K Monitor in 2708 1K RAM 128 byte scratchpad
RAM 1K EPROM Emulation
Comprehensive editing facilities Supplied with ZIF socket, Simulator cable and comprehensive
manual.
SOFTY 1 (Built and tested)
£120 + VAT SOFTY 1 Power Supply £20 + VAT
SOFTY 1
CONVERSION CARD
Enables SOFTY to program the single rail EPROMs, 2508 / 2758 / 2516 / 2532. Selection of device type and 1K block are by pcb slide switches. ZIF Programming socket. Supplied built and tested. £40 +
VAT.
EX -STOCK EPROMS
1-24 25-99 100 up
2732 6:50 2716 2:80 2708 2:80
5:75 2:60 2:60
4:95 2:40 2:40
ADD VAT AT 15% - POSTAGE PAID
WRITE OR TELEPHONE FOR DETAILS ON ANY OF OUR PRODUCTS
Circle No. 121
27
he
ogle has
Landed
THE EXCEPTIONAL NEW AVL EAGLE II BUSINESS SYSTEM HAS ARRIVED
The hardware comes complete with 8 software packages. A fully integrated business system incorporating order processing, ledger accounting and stock control. Plus full word-processing capabilities.
As far as we are aware, this is the only business system available that offers a totally self contained package at such an amazing price.
The easy -to -use AVL Eagle II will reduce your paperwork, cut costs, give far greater control, and is designed to expand along with your success.
All for less than the price of a salesman's car.
Fully -integrated accounting
Take a look at the fully integrated accounting facility.
Po nt of Sale
Order En ry
Foininal 4_ ri. Ledger
1
Sales Ledger
Bought
Po roll
LLedger
rearrange it and store it, and has the facility to prepare and sort mailing lists.
All this information can then be printed out.
Designed for business expansion
The Eagle II will grow as your business grows. It is CP/M compatible, which means a wide variety of optional software applications is available off -the -shelf. Additionally, data storage space can be increased as you require it.
And communication with other computers is also possible, when connected to the telephone system.
It's really quite difficult putting all the advantages of the Eagle II into words, which is why we'd welcome the opportunity of demonstrating its full capabilities.
Why not arrange a time and place and we'll do just that?
Contact Mediatech Business Systems Division, Woodside Place, Alperton, Wembley, Middlesex HAO 1 XA, England (Telephone 01-903 4372).
Dealership enquiries welcomed.
Stock Control
Purchase Order Entry
Just one single key entry is automatically entered into relevant ledgers. There's no need for manual crossreference. This double -entry accounting system with automatic error checking will speed the updating of all your financial records and improve cash flow management.
Word-processing
The word-processing facility lets you enter information on a standard keyboard, display it on the screen, edit,
28
alga
The Business System
Circle No. 122
THE HEAVY-DUTY
MICROCOMPUTER
Would you buy a car on performance figures alone?
Not likely. You'll consider a host of other factors like quality, reliability, and warranty before choosing.
It's the same with micro -computers.
In the panel below we've listed the main performance features of the Millbank System 10:
The Millbank System 10 also gives you freedom and flexibility.
Freedom to expand to five or ten Megabyte hard disk storage.
Flexibility, through the input-output panel, to build up a micro network, add all sorts of peripherals or scientific instruments and to link up to mini and mainframe computers.
The Millbank System 10
280A CPU 4 MHZ
IEEE 488 GP1 B Parallel I/0*
65K RAM Standard
High Speed Arithmetic
700K Mass Storage on Processor'
Dual Minifloppys
Real Time Clock'
Optional 1.6 Megabytes Attractive Desktop Cabinet
DMA Data Transfer
Portable
Hard Disk Interface for Selectric Style Keyboard
additional mass storage User - Definable Function
2 RS232 Serial Ports
Keys
(Printer and Modem)
Accounting- Style
1 RS449 Serial Com-
Numeric Pad
munication Port to 500K Low Glare Screen
Baud
Full Screen Editing
Programmable Baud Rates
Separate CRT Microprocessor
Optional
INPUT OUTPUT PANEL
TOMNonWo ..
0
0
Zto Us on
rix
MOOT Sol
TPOO%IA.=rt
0
C;
*rtwor 0s*
Ol."=1.
0
=
001.1T
we. *MN.* .41,1444.1.11.
0 -Mr .01 AMR MN.
The Millbank System 10 handles all forms of business accounting and management, word processing, networking, communications - it's ideal for mainframe preprocessing and data entry.
In fact, it'll do virtually everything you want from a micro -computer - consistently and reliably. See it before you make an irreversible decision.
There's almost certainly a Millbank dealer near you.
While it clearly establishes System 10 as a highperformance micro -computer it doesn't tell the whole story.
Because it doesn't cover the vitally important factors that make the Millbank System 10 what we call the 'heavy-duty' computer.
Like exceptionally high design quality and unique internal architecture that gives incredibly fast memory access.
Like manufacture from the highest quality components and materials available.
Like a special switching device which reduces wear and tear on major working parts.
Like a device which protects your programs and files from power failure.
And there's more. Like a non -glare screen for user comfort to take just one example.
It all adds up to a solid, reliable micro -computer with a full twelve month warranty (an important point to check).
It includes the 'industry standard' CP/M disk operating system that gives you access to a vast and ever-increasing software library.
The Millbank System 10
MILLBANK COMPUTERS
Millbank Computers Ltd. 98 Lower Richmond Road, London SW15 1LNA Telephone: 01-788 1083
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Circle No. 123
29
ELECTRONIC GAMES
COLOUR CARTRIDGE,
AV V GAME
5
DA
BA
T.V. GAME,
k
ATARI, r SPACE INVADERS
T.V. GAME
"
nil 81111 I?I i}i
' `, IT
SEMI -PROGRAMMABLE T V GAME
t 4 Cartridges + Mains
Adaptor Normal Price £73
£39.50
LNOW REDUCED TO.
FULLY PROGRAMMABLE
LCARTRIDGE T.V.GAME 14 Cartridges available
Normal Price £87 86 NOW REDUCED TO:
£59
CHESS COMPUTERS
MANY UNIT ARE COVERED BY THE EXCLUSIVE
SILICA SHOP 2 YEAR GUARANTEE
We carry a range of over 15
different Chess computers:
Electronic Chess Chess Traveller
£29.95 £39.95
Chess Challenger 7 Sensory 8
£79.00 £119.00
Sensory Voice
£259.00
SPECIAL OFFERS:
VOICE CHESS CHALLENGER Normal Price £245 NOW £135.00
SARGON 2 5 BORIS 2.5 Normal Price £273 70 NOW £199.95 All 'Imes include V A
The most popu ar T Game on the market with a range of over
40 cartridges including SPACE INVADERS with over 112 ames on one cartridge.
Hand-held Invaders Games available £19.95 Invaders Cartridges available to lit
.17ARI RADOFIN ACETRONIC PHILIPS 07000
Cartridges also available for MATTEL TELENG ROWTRON.
DATABASE INTERTON
TELETEXT ADD-ON £199
ADAPTOR
inc VAT
7t114f! .1°4
,,,
OR00.1.1,0I[PS
'MOD CIJIME
THE RADOFIN TELETEXT ADD-ON
ADAPTOR
Plug the adaptor into the aerial socket of your colour T V and receive the CEEFAX and ORACLE television information services.
THIS NEW MODEL INCORPORATES:
Double height character facility True PAL Colour Meets latest BBC & IBA broadcast specifications Push button channel change Unnecessary to remove the unit to watch normal TV programmes Goldplated circuit board for reliability New SUPERIMPOSE News Flash facility
SPEAK & SPELL
Normal Price f 49 95 NOW REDUCED TO
O00oooGoOp
£39.soT
Teach your child to
spell properly with
this unique learning
aid Fully automatic
features and scoring
,
Additional word
modules available to
extend the range of
words
r -ADDING MACHINE
OLYMPIA HHP 1010 Normal Price £57 21 NOW REDUCED TO:
£34 VAT
Uses ordinary paper,
No need to buy expensive thermal paper!
ca1oco0s0Oil0Ole0Og0Oo0Oe
1011110
Fast add listing PRINTER
CALCULATOR 2 lines per second. 10 digit capacity. Uses normal adding
,chine rolls Battery or mains operated
Size 9'x"x41/1"x21..-
Otams adaptor Carr,.
24 TUNE
ELECTRONIC DOOR
BELL
Normal Price £19.70 NOW REDUCED TO:
£12 70 ins VAT
Plays 24 different tunes
wcoithntroslepaanrdatevolsupmeeed
control. Select the most appropriate tune for your visitor, with appropriate tunes for different limps of
the year,
r HAND HELD GAMES
EARTH INVADERS
THE OLYMPIA - POST OFFICE APPROVED
TELEPHONE ANSWERING MACHINE WITH REMOTE CALL -IN BLEEPER
These invaders are a breed of creature hitherto
unknown to man They cannot be killed by
traditional methods they must be buried The
battle is conducted in a maze where squads of
aliens chase home troops The only way of
and 23 95 Inc eliminating them is by
digging holes burying them
VA A
HAND HELD GAMES
GALAXY
1000 tR
The 2nd generation Galaxy Invader The invaders
have re grouped and have a seemingly endless
supply of spacecraft whilst the player's arsenal is
limited to just 250 missiles to be launched from 3
mlainssdiliengstatioonr s
You have from
to
prevent
the
invaders
destroying your home
defences
This telephone answering machine is manufactured by Olympia Business Machines, one of the largest Office Equipment manufacturers in the U.K.It is fully POST OFFICE APPROVED and will answer and record messages for 24 hours a day. With your remote call -in bleeper you can receive these messages by telephone wherever you are in the world. The remote calla in bleeper activates the Answer/Record Unit, which will at your command repeat messages, keep or erase them, and is activated from anywhere in the world. or on your return to your home or office. The machine can also be used for message referral, if you have an urgent appointment. but are expecting an important call. simply record the 'phone number' and location where you can be reached. With optional extra
bleepers (f13 each) this facility can be extended to colleagues and members of the family. Using a C90 standard cassette you can record as many as 45 messages The announcement can be up to 16 seconds long and the incoming message up to 30 seconds long The machine is easy to install and comes with full instructions It is easily wired to your junction box with the spade connectors provided or alternatively a lack plug can be provided to plug into a jack socket Most important, of course, is the fact that
it is fully POST OFFICE APPROVED The price of £135 Inca VATI includes the machine, an extra -light remote call -in Bleeper, the microphone message tape. A C mains adaptor The unit is 93/4"x6"x2' :" and is fully guaranteed for 12 months The telephone can be placed directly on the unit - no additional desk space is required
£135 mt. VAT
MATTEL T.V. GAM
SM. 1,.-
The most advanced 1 V .; r
£199 crtriicrlEg4c1A111;blceo,,ke-i
soon to convert the MATTEL to a home computer wild 16K RAM expandable and programmable in Microsoft Basic Other bCcessories will be available into in I he year.4
PRESTEL VIEWDATA
, PSONSIO, sist w iistsvm.
Oe
O6G.00O4.....S. IWSIISSodSEOTENR.NVT&,1G/.S11S.0.T0O.011R111Il./.4S0o0rcr
1403CON S.OPPINIG
GOODSCS0O.S10S1O1C0K1. DVICS
TN."' "^L" Egt1:4441:
D... SSUoScII,ESS3IN1I,O,R,,OnOoT n, Cawood-
Prestel
The ACE TELCOM VDX1000 Prestel View data adaptor simply plugs into the aerial socket of your television and enables you to receive the Prestel ,Viewdata service in
- colour or black & white
Features
-Siplified controls for quick easy operant,Special graphics feature for high resolution
- State-of-the.art microprocessor controller
- Standard remote telephone keypad with Prestel keys a
Auto dialler incorporated for easy Prestel acquisition - True PAL colour encoder using reliable IC chrome filter and dela line incorporated for mrnimum picture interference maximum fidelity - Includes convenient TV - Prestel switchbox - Easily connected to standard home or office telephone lines Fulls Post Off ice approved
SPECIAL PRICE
£228.85
FOR FREE BROCHURES -TEL: 01-301 1111
NOTE:the top of Hatherley Road Is wy only. Please enter from Sidcup Mien Street
pp-,
ochure and reviews on our range of vier, roars games please telePtione 0,
301 1111 het, delivery sennee available To order by telephone please dinneyour name address
and ACCESSSBARCLAYCARD number and leave the rest to iis Post and packing Free of Charge Express 48hr delivery service available
' CALLERS WELCOME Demonstrations daily al our Sidcup shop open I morn 9arn 6pm Monday Saturday lEarly Closing Thursday torn Late Opening Today Bumf 2 YEAR GUARANTEE All goods are Covered by a full year s guarantee and many are further covered by our exclusive Silica Shop 2 year Guarantee
MONEY BACK UNDERTAKING If you are unsatisfied with your purchase and return it within 7 days we will give you a lull refund
AFTER SALES SERVICE Available on all machines our of guarantee
COMPETITIVE PRICES We are never knowingly undersold
HELPFUL ADVICE Available on the Sioldbil,ly or each machine
' CREDIT FACILITIES Full credit facilities available wet 12 24 or 26 months at compel.,. rates of interest
PART EXCHANGE SCHEME available on second hand
' CREDIT CARDS WELCOME Access Barclaycard Diners t
SILICA SHOP LIMITED pc 12/81
1-4 The Mews. Hatherley Road, Sidcup, Kent DA14 4DX Telephone 01-301 1111 or 01-309 1111
.1111 11111 II
II
DI" ID
.. III
30
Circle No. 124
SIRTON COMPUTERS
C]
WE HAVE MOVED TO: Unit 14, 29 Willow Lane, Mitcham, Surrey Tel: 01-640 6931/2/3
04 #`"`
4444\
MIDAS S.100 SYSTEMS
MIDAS 1: From £835 MIDAS 2: From £1,790 MIDAS 3: From £2,450 MIDAS 3HD: From £5,495
ITHACA-DPS 1: From £1,345
Our versatile Z80 Microcomputers are available as standard units or custom configured to your exact
specification from a comprehensive range of stocked S100 boards.
Disc storage capacity of the MIDAS 3 can be 2M Bytes, expandable to over 80M Bytes with a
Winchester Hard Disc Unit in our MIDAS 3HD range.
MIDAS runs CP/M and MP/ M. Other Software includes M -BASIC, C -BASIC, FORTRAN, COBOL, CIS -COBOL, PASCAL and Word Processing.
A MIDAS 3, with 64K RAM and 2M Bytes storage on two 8" drives with two Serial I/O Ports and CP/M 2 only £3,065
Multi -User System (four users) - MIDAS 3 with 112K of RAM, 1MByte disc storage on two 8" drives and four Serial I/O Ports, and CP/M2 MP/M £4,250
Multi-user Hard Disc System (three users) - MIDAS 3HD with 160K of RAM, 1MByte Floppy Disc and 10MByte Winchester Disc; Four Serial I/O Ports and CP/M 2.2 + MP/M - £5,550
Printers, VDUs and other peripherals stocked to give complete package system at keen prices.
Boards stocked from Ithaca, Godbout, SSM, S D Systems, Vector, Micromation, Mullen, Mountain Hardware, Hi -Tech, Video Vector, Pickles Et Trout, Cromemco, Morrow - Send for full Price List (many available in kit form).
Processor Boards Z80 Starter Kit SBC100 8085/88 CPU Z80 CPU 4 MHz
EPROM Boards 2708 EPROM (16K) 2708/2716 Programmers
Video Boards 16 lines, 32/64 ch 24 lines, 80 ch
Disc Controllers Versafloppy S/D Doubler D/D Godbout D/D - DMA
£245 £265 £185 from £180
from £140
from £114 from £290
£210 £310 £280
RAM Boards Dynamic RAM 16K -64K
Static RAM 16K -64K Memory Manager
I/O Boards 2S/4P prov 4K RAM/4K ROM 2S/2P or 2S/4P or 3P/1S or 4S/2P Analogue 8 or 12 bit Optically isolated I/O IEEE 488 Interface Miscellaneous Real Time Clock High Dens Graph/8K RAM
Hi -Tech Colour Motherboards - various Extender Board/logic probe Maths Board AMD 9511
from £205 from £205
£60
£185 from £140 from £220
£130 £350
£180 £333 £296 from £34
£39 £330
Mainframes
We are the sole UK Distributor for Integrand Mainframes and Disc Enclosures, available in nine models including Desk Top and Rack Mounting, with or without provision for Disc Drives. All units totally enclosed, painted on all external surfaces and complete with
power supply etc.
Software CP/ M 1 & 2, MP/M, PL/1, C -BASIC 2, M -BASIC V5, XYBASIC, FORTRAN 80, COBOL 80, CIS -COBOL, PASCAL/Z,
PASCAL M/T, Forth, MAC, ZSID, Disassembler, Wordstar, Datastar, Magic Wand, Wordmaster, Supersort etc etc.
WRITE OR PHONE FOR CATALOGUE PRICES EXCLUSIVE OF VAT
Circle No. 125
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
31
---".47rn Atom THE Video Genie EG3000 Series
WITH 16K user RAM plus extended 12K Microsoft BASIC in ROM 'Fully TRS-80 Level II software compatible Huge range of software already available Self contained, PSU, UHF
modulator, and cassette Simply plugs into video monitor or UHF TV Full expansion to disks and printer Absolutely complete just fit into mains plug.
£299 16K
+ VAT
GP80 The most compact 80 column impact graphic -dot printer available at a very compact price
by seikosha
Graphics, Normal and
Double- Width Characters can be printed on the
same line. Pine Feed
Tractor is equipped as standard.
Two Line -Feed
111111111110
Commands 11 /6 and
1/9 inch)
Print on Plain Paper with
two copies
225 Continuous Self -Inking Ribbon for easy handling
Centronics type Parallel Interface standard Wide Range of Optional Interface Boards
Self -Test Programme standard
+ VAT
Unique in concept £10 the home computer
Dip
that grows as you do!
Special features include
*FULL SIZED KEYBOARD
*ASSEMBLER
Simple to build., simple to operate. A powerful, full facility computer with all the features you would expect.
AND BASIC *TOP QUALITY MOULDED CASE
Just connect the assembled com- *HIGH RESOLUTION
puter to any domestic TV and COLOUR GRAPHICS
power source and you are ready
to begin.
cassette interface UHF TV out
Full-sized QWERTY keyboard put Full assembly instructions
6502 Microprocessor Rugged
£120 injection -moulded case 2K RAM 8K HYPER -ROM 23 integrated circuits and sockets Audio
+ VAT
ammaiimboomok
The Second Generation Personal Computer aiummia
f )A1
1111.1111111
SUPERBRAIN
superprain's CP / M operating system boasts an overwhelming amount of available software in BASIC, FORTRAN, COBOL, and APL. Whatever your application. . . General Ledger, Accounts Receivable, Payroll, Inventory or Word Processing, SuperBrain is tops in its class
320K £1850 700K £2400
1.5Mb £2750
COMMODORE
COMPUTERS
PET 8K
£415
PET 16K
£525
PET 32K
£650
PET 8032
£895
DISK DRIVES
4040
£695
PRINTERS
EPSON TX8OB (Inc. I/ F &
cable)
£299
EPSON MX8OT ANADEX DP8000
£395 £495
ANADEX DP9500
£895
ANADEX DP9501
£995
VIDEO MONITORS
10" BLACK Et WHITE £85
10" GREEN SCREEN
£95
Aculab
Floppy Tape The tape that behaves
like a disk.
Connects directly to TRS-80 level 2 keyboard. Operating and file handling software in ROM 8 commands add 12 powerful
functions to level 2 BASIC. No buttons, switches or volume
controls. Full control of all
functions from keyboard or program. Maintains directory with
up to 32 files on each tape.
for all TRS 80 Et Video Genie owners
TRS80 version:
Video Genie :
£165 £170
Please add £10 Securicor delivery charge to all computers etc. Plus 15% VAT on all prices.
Highest performance -lowest price
'48K (8080A)
"Full ASCII Upper Er Lower
*16 Colours or shades of Grey
Character Set
*Multiple High Resolution Graphics "Unique graphical - Sound
Modes 164 x 71, 129 x 159, 255 x 335) Commands for Smooth Music,
*Character mode (60 x 24)
random frequencies &
"Split Screen Modes
enveloped sound!
DAI Personal Computer
*RS232 1/F
at only + VAT
Paper Tiger 460 The Paper Tiger 460 sets new standards by incorporating many features previously only available on units costing much more.
Features like a specially developed nine wire 'staggered column' head which overlaps the dots of each matrix character with just one pass of the printhead giving a dense, high quality print image without reducing the units 160 c.p.s. print speed.
It also offers a bi-directional logic seeking device to enhance its print optimisation character-
istics and wide range of 'print versatility' features such as mono or proportional spacing, auto-
matic justification, programmable horizontal and vertical tabbing, and 'fine' positioning for
word processing applications.
Paper Tiger 560
£795 VAT
The Paper Tiger 560 is the first printer which bridges the gap between convenitonal matrix
and 'daisy wheel' types offering quality printing at a relatively low price.
Full 'width' 132 column printing at 160 c.p.s., a unique nine wire 'staggered' print head, bi-
directional printing, an inbuilt tractor feed and a host of selectable features set it apart from
ordinary matrix printers.
Plus for even greater versatility a full dot plot graphics
facility if supplied which includes a 2K buffer.
£995 ± VAT
Books & bits Books - Manuals -
Diskettes - ribbons - Paper - chips (2114 x 2 1K) £4 pair.
040
i11icroSf
RS232 to Centronics interfaces £40 etc. etc. A variety of second-hand computer equipment usually available, spares, repairs and service.
Sw
9 St. Peter's Terrace, Lower Bristol Road, Bath, BA2 3B7
P%%%-c. nc'e c'
Telephone: (0225) 334659.
Circle No. 126
32
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
The new flexible multi-user system
TheVector Graphic 5005
from Almarc
with S megabyte Winchester,630k floppy disc
The new Vector 5005 is a multiple -user,
compatible applications software
multi -tasking hard disc system for general
will run on the system e.g.
business and word processing applications.
COBOL, FORTRAN,
It is a low priced system with highly rated
PASCAL, BASIC
capabilities.
COMPILER, ALGOL, PL/14.1
It supports up to a maximum of 5 users and gives 5 megabytes of high-speed totally reliable. Winchester disc technology with Vector's automatic error correction feature. It is
and other statistical and data based management packages.
The Vector Graphic
\
also MP/M compatible.
5005 is ideal for application "44
Total flexibility means that the VG 5005's terminals can work independently which
packages, such as accounts,
%friime-
stock control, payroll, word processing,
permits the widest possible range of usage. One financial modelling and solicitors packages,
user could use Execuplan for financial planning all available from Almarc.
whilst the second user is entering sales
For further information on the VG 5005
Almarc information with accounting
software and the third may run
write or telephone Almarc. Complete sales and servicing facilities are available
correspondence simultaneously
throughout the U.K.
with Vector's Memorite III word processing software. Each user gets a full 56k bytes of RAM and most other standard CP/M
Almarc Data Systems Limited, Also at:
Great Freeman Street,
Green Street,
Nottingham NG3 IFR.
High Wycombe,
Tel: (0602) 52657.
Bucks. HPI I 2RF.
Telex: 37407 Almarc/G.
Tel: (0494) 23804.
DATA SYSTEMS
viol
. "
Circle No. 127
33
EXATRON STRINGY FLOPPY
for TRS-80 users only
£120 each.
Dealer Price 5 for
£400.
MBS TERMINALS LTD.
119-120 High Street, Eton, Windsor, Berks.
Circle No. 128
S.B.D. Software is proud to announce their distribution agreement with the most up to date APPLE -only magazine in America.
CALL A.P.P.L.E.
Now you can purchase this outstanding magazine for the low price of £1.75 per issue.
Your subscription for 12 or 24 magazines may start from any month in
1981.
Single back issues are available at £2.25 per issue including postage and packing.
A bound volume of the 9 issues in 1980 is available for £20.00 including postage and packaging.
(Please note that in 1980 & 1981 there were only 9 issues published but in 1982 there will be 12 issues.)
SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY OFFER
expires 31st December 1981
12 issues @ £19.50 24 issues @ £39.00 Act Now and Save
NAME
ADDRESS TOWN
POSTCODE
12 issues Sub. @ £19.50 24 issues Sub. @ £39.00
Please start my subscription
Month
Year
Barclaycard/Access Number
Please make cheques payable to CALL APPLE (UK)
Send to:-
CALL APPLE (UK) c/o SBD Software FREEPOST RICHMOND
SURREY TW9 1BR (No postage stamp required) Telephone: 01-940 5194
34
Expiry Date
Circle No. 129
STOP PRESS!
111Z-0111111
with 48 Kbytes of memory . SHARP
and integrated cassette
£345 FOR
+ VAT
MAIL ORDER ONLY
. Cash/cheque with order please.
FULL RANGE OF SHARP COMPUTER PRODUCTS
AVAILABLE
For quote contact
CHESHIRE COMPUTER SERVICES LIMITED
Broom House, Highfield Road, Manchester M19 3WD. Tel: 061-224 9680.
Circle No. 130
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
TRS 80 MODEL III
AL DENSITY DISK DRIVES
INTERNAL DRIVE PRICES
1 x 40 TRACK DRIVE £420 2 x 40 TRACK DRIVES £599 1 x 80 TRACK DRIVE £490 2 x 80 TRACK DRIVES £729
2 x 80 TRACK DOUBLE SIDED DRIVES £999
CAPACITY
184K BYTES 368K BYTES 368K BYTES 737K BYTES
1474K BYTES
INTERNAL DRIVE PRICES INCLUDE DISK CONTROLLER BOARD, POWER SUPPLY
UNIT AND ALL CABLES AND CON-
NECTORS REQUIRED FOR INSTALLATION.
EXTERNAL DRIVE PRICES
1 x40 TRACK DRIVE 2 x 40 TRACK DRIVES 1 x 80 TRACK DRIVE 2 x 80 TRACK DRIVES EXTERNAL 2 DRIVE CABLE
£236 £440 £299 £569
15.50
EXTERNAL DRIVES ARE DIRECTLY
COMPATIBLE WITH THE TRS 80
MODEL I AND VIDEO GENIE
EXPANSION INTERFACES.
Call your nearest dealer for a demonstration:
RADIO SHACK LTD., 188, Broadhurst Gardens. London NW6 Tel 01824-7174
COMPSHOP LTD., 14, Station Road, New Barnet, Herts Tel 01441.2922
COMPSHOP LTD., 311, Edgware Road, London W2 Tel: 01-262.0387
COMPSHOP LTD., 19, Herbert Street, Dublin 2 Tel- 604165
LONDON COMPUTER CENTRE, 43, Grafton Way. London VV I Tel 01-388-5721
N.I.C. 61, Broad Lane, London N15. Tel: 01-808-0377
CROYDON COMPUTER CENTRE, 29a, Brigstock Road, Thornton Heath, Surrey. Tel: 01.689-1280
P J EQUIPMENT LTD., 3. Bridge Street. Guildford Tel 0483-504801
R.DS. ELECTRICAL LTD., 157161, Kingston Road, Portsmouth Tel 0705612478
TANDY HASTINGS LTD., 48, Queens Road, Hastings. Tel 0424 4 31 849
MICROWARE COMPUTING SERVICES, 57, Queen Charlotte Street, Bristol Tel 0272-279560
BLANDFORD COMPUTERS, Higher Shaft sbury Road, Blandtord Forum Tel 0258-53 73 7
TAPE SHOP 321 Viaduct Road, Brighton. Tel. 0273609099 PARWEST LTD., 18 St. Mary Street, Chippenharn. Tel 02492131
COMPUTER SHACK 14, Pittville Street, Cheltenham. Tel: 0242584343
ENSIGN, 1319, Milford Street, Swindon, Wilts. Tel 079342615
TANDY GLOUCESTER, 13, Clarence Street.
Gloucester Tel: 0452-31323
COMSERVE, 98, Tavistock Street, Bedford. Tel 0234-216749
CLEAR TONE COMPUTERS, Prince of Wales Ind. Estate, Abercarn, Gwent Tel 0495-244555
EMPRISE LTD., 58, East Street, Colchester. Tel 0206.865926
MAGNUS MICROCOMPUTERS, 139 The Moors, Kidfington, Oxford. Tel 08675-6703
CAMBRIDGE COMPUTER STORE, 1, Emmanuel Street,
Cambridge. Tel 0223-65334
I.C. ELECTRONICS, Flagstones. Stade Quarter. Biddenden, Kent. Tel 0508-291816 MICRO CHIP SHOP, 190, Lord Street, Fleetwood, Lancs.
Tel 0391 7-7 951 1
HARDEN MICROSYSTEMS, 28.30, Back Lord Street, Blackpool, Tel 025327590
AMBASSADOR BUSINESS COMPUTERS LTD., Ashley Lane Works, Shipley, W. Yorks
Tel 02 74-59594 1
0-TEK SYSTEMS LTD, 2 Daltry Close, Old Town, Stevenage, Herts Tel 0438.65385
COMPUTER & CHIPS Feddinch Mains House, St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland Tel 033422569
NORTH WEST COMPUTER CONSULTANTS LTD., 214 Market Street, Hyde, Cheshire Tel. 061-366-8624
HEWART MICROELECTRONICS, 95, Blakelow Road, Macclesfield. Tel 0625-22030
KARAOAWN LTD., 2 Forest Way, Great Sankey, Warrington. Tel. 0925-572668
PHOTO-ELECTRICS, 459 London Road, Sheffield. Tel, 0742-53865
ARC ELECTRONICS, 54, Heron Drive,Sandal,
Wakefield,W.
Yorks F2 6SL Tel: 0924-253145
VICTOR MORRIS LTD., 340 Argyle Street, Glasgow, G2 BLY Tel. 041-221.8958
THOMAS WRIGHT LTD., Thome House, Laisterdyke, Bradford. Tel. 0274-663471
GNOMIC LTD., 46. Middle Street, Blackhal I, Hartlepool. Tel: 0783663871
BRIERS COMPUTER SERVICES, 1, King Edward Square, Middlesborough, Clevland. Tel. 0642-242017
3 LINE COMPUTING, 36, Clough Road. Hull. Tel: 0482445496
H.C. COMPUTER SALES LTD., 182, Earlsway. Team Valley Trading Estate, Gateshead. Tel: 0632-874811
EWL COMPUTERS LTD., 8, Royal Crescent, Glasgow. Tel- 041232-7642
CUMANA LTD 35 Walnut Tree Close, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 4UN. Telephone: (0483) 503121.
Please add VAT to all prices.
Delivery at cost will be advised at time of order.
Circle No. 131
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
35
PRINT S
SEIKOSHA GP -80
The Smallest 80 Column Dot Matrix Printer. Unique printer principle. 80 col lines. 30 cps 12 cpl. Plain Paper Tractor drive. Weight 2.5 kg. Footprint 12.6 sq. ins. Bit addressable graphics. Parallel interface standard. RS 232 Apple
Pet TRS 80 options
£199
OKI MICROLINE 80 & 82A
Compact 80 Column Printer.
80-120 cps. Uni direction ML 82A bi-
direction). Parallel interface. Serial
interface option. (ML 82A standard).
Pin and friction feed. Tractor
option. Condensed and expanded
a
characters. 80, 40, 66 and 132 cpl.
taMll
ML 80 £299 ML 82A £437
EPSON MX SERIES
Low Noise, Low Price High Performance Printer
MX -80 £353 MX -80 F/T £399
Six models. 80 cps. Bi-directional.
Parallel interface. RS232 Pet Apple TRS 80 Video Genie Sharp options. Letter quality. Lower case descenders. Condensed enlarged and bold characters. Models provide tractor roll and sheet feed bit image graphics - up to 15 ins
paper.MX-82 £447
MX -80 II £399 MX 80 F/T-II £447 MX -100 £569
OKI MICROLINE 83A
Medium Speed 15" Printer. 120 cps. Bi-direction. Pin and
friction feed. Tractor option. 132 cpl at 10 cpi 4 character sizes. Graphic characters. Parallel and serial interface. Fast serial interface option.
£827
ANADEX DP -9000 RANGE
Fast, Versatile Printers.
Seven models. Up to 15 inch paper width. Lower case descenders. 160-220 cps bi-directional printing. RS232 current loop & parallel interface. X on X off. Optional 2K buffer. Multiple print densities. Fast print of high -density bit image graphics.
DP -8000 £541 DP -9000L £747 DP -9001 £888 DP -9500 £935 DP -9000 £841 DP -9500L £841 DP -9501 £982
LEAR SIEGLER 310
Professional Dot Matrix Printer. High throughput 180 cps. Bidirection. Fast head travel. Space
skip over. Lower case descenders. Enlarged and bold fonts. Parallel RS232 and current loop interfaces X on X off. Condensed character option. Sound reducing option.
TEC STARWRITER
Best -Buy Daisy Wheel Printer.
Bi-direction. 25 cps. Low cost supplies. Standard Daisy Wheel. Carbon and fabric ribbons. Parallel or RS232 interface. Sheet feeder options.
FROM
Parallel Interface £1020 Serial Interface £1067
£1386
Authorised distributor Rapid delivery Dealer educational & quantity discounts Prices exclude VAT
36
RIVA TERMINALS LTD. Glendale Park, Fernbank Road, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 8JB Tel: Winkfield Row (03447) 5193 Telex: 847530 Northern Office: Tel: Harrogate (0423) 503867
Circle No. 132
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
The suppliers of the first Basic Compiler for the Pet, Oxford Computer Systems (Software), proudly announce:
,v004,410,,
4%")-
ETSPE ED 'tvocat*
the first of a new generation of Basic Compilers for Commodore systems. PETSPEED is a fully compatible, optimising Basic Compiler for Commodore Systems. Programs written in Pet Basic may be compiled WITHOUT alteration to give a highly efficient object program saved as a program file on disc.
PETSPEED supports advanced features previously only available on much larger systems:
OPTIMISATION - this feature, previously provided only on large computers, results both in smaller programs and much faster code.
DATA - in addition to FLOATING POINT, STRING and genuine INTEGER arithmetic, the Compiler uses extra internal data types. Although this is completely transparent to the user, it allows many operations which would otherwise be carried out in floating point to be executed in integer arithmetic. This means FASTER code and more efficient operation.
COMPATIBILITY - any Pet Basic programme can be compiled.
LONG VARIABLE NAMES - meaningful variable names can now be used in Basic programs allowing easier DE -BUGGING and maintenance.
SPEED - Compiled programs run at up to 30 TIMES the speed of Pet Basic.
PROGRAM SIZE - the size of long programs is considerably reduced leaving room for extra code and data.
COMPILING SPEED - PETSPEED is driven entirely in machine code giving a
Compiling Speed of 2 LINES PER SECOND.
USER SUPPORT - in addition to the fully Comprehensive manual, a telephone and postal enquiry service is available to answer questions from users of PETSPEED.
AVAILABILITY - use PETSPEED for all your 8000 series programming including the
NEW 8096.
Also available from OXFORD COMPUTER SYSTEMS (SOFTWARE):
COMPILED INTEGER BASIC - a very fast Integer Compiler for ALL Pet models. Compiled Basic is for those applications where the speed of the machine is required without the inconvenience of assembly level programming.
"admirably fast code . . ." "exciting extra commands ..." Printout
(the Pet users magazine)
Compiled basic is already widely used in education and research. It is ideal for applications that do not require floating point arithmetic e.g.
DISC HANDLING - disc operations in Compiled Basic are much faster than in Pet basic. Compiled Basic provides a set of extra IEEE commands to speed up the process even further.
FAST INPUT/OUTPUT - Compiled Basic is ideal for fast I/O such as Datalogging, driving fast peripherals etc.
POKING THE SCREEN - poking to the screen is incredibly fast in Compiled Basic. This, together with the PLOT command makes Compiled Basic ideal for any graphics application.
SEARCHING and SORTING - large quantities of data can be processed at real
machine code speed.
SPEED - Compiled Basic programs run at up to 150 TIMES the speed of Pet Basic
WHICH COMPILER IS SUITABLE FOR YOUR APPLICATION? At Oxford Computer Systems we can advise on which Compiler is most suitable for you.
PETSPEED for 8000 series PETSPEED for 8096 series
£225.00 COMPILED BASIC
£150.00
£300.00 (for all Commodore Systems, including COMPUTHINK drives .I
411( SPECIAL OFFER: PETSPEED for 8000 series PLUS COMPILED BASIC for just £300.00
(if your order is received before 31 December 1981) For further details contact:
Oxford Computer Systems (Software) Ltd.
7 Er 8 Park End Street, Oxford OX1 1HH
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Telephone: Oxford 10865) 722872 Circle No. 133
37
Pa antic*
Multi Processor Systems With Hard Disc Drives
The advantages are as follows: -
1. Each professional quality terminal has its own 64K Z80A computer. In this way maximum processing speeds are achieved, avoiding delays usually associated with multi terminal systems.
2. The hard disc drive with fixed and removable discs allows rapid access of information with a data transfer rate 40 times faster than most floppy discs and 10 to 96 megabytes of storage. Daily back-up of information is very rapid and takes about 3 minutes rather than the 30 to 60 minutes involved in copying on to tape or floppy discs.
3. To provide maximum system flexibility the following options are available:- 232C serial ports (2 are standard), ASCII parallel ports, 2 megabyte dual 8" floppy drives, number of terminals expandable from 1 to 24 (more if required).
4. Industry standard CP/M allows access to a wealth of existing software. We will be pleased to quote for your special requirements. Software and hardware back-up and maintenance available throughout the U.K.
*Registered trademark applied for by Harmer Simpson (UK) Ltd.
Harmer Simpson (UK) Ltd.
Ferrari House, 258 Field End Road, Eastcote, Middlesex HA4 9UZ. Tel: 01-429 1266. Telex: 929804 HARMER G.
A
Circle No. 134
CP/M SOFTWARE
from
* NEW * WORDSTAR 3 * NEW *
WORD -STAR" Version 3.xx has now been released. New features include: column move capabilities, horizontal scrolling - up to 240 columns and even clearer menus. Also released is MicroPro's own spelling checker - SPELLSTAR.
WORD -STAR 3.xx MAILMERGE 3.xx (optional) SPELLSTAR (optional)
U55/00
£ 60/£10
£125
IN ADDITION METROTECH SUPPLIES A TRUE ENGLISH DICTIONARY. REPLACING US WORDS WITH ENGLISH
NEW * RECORDS MANAGEMENT * NEW
Ideal for office records including personnel, stock, clients and accounts. Features include:
* Comprehensive calculation * Record selection on updates and reports * Full sorting facilities * WORDSTAR INTERFACE - for selective mailing
COMPSOFT DMS
£400/£25
NEW * MICROPLAN * NEW
If you have any problem that you would normally solve with pen, paper and a calculator, then MicroPlan will help you. MicroPlan will perform most types of calculations working in rows and columns, as well as advanced financial analysis.
MicroPlan
£295/£20
LANGUAGES/UTILITIES
CBASIC II
COMMERCIAL DISK EXTENDED BASIC
£751 £20
SBASIC
COMPILER STRUCTURED BASIC
£175/ £30
SUPERSORT I
£125/ £20
WORD-MASTER SUPERIOR TEXT EDITOR £751 £20
MET/ TVVAM INDEX SEQUENTIAL FILE
ACCESS IN CBASIC II
£55/ £15
MICROSOFT BASIC 80 INTERPRETER
£155/ £25
MICROSOFT BASIC COMPILER
£195/ £25
MICROSOFT FORTRAN 80
£215/ £25
MICROSOFT COBOL 80
£315/ £25
i
MICRO DATA BASE SYSTEMS
MDBS is a database system offering full network
CODASYL-oriented data structures, variable length records, read/write protection, one-to-one, one -to-
many and many -to -many set relationships. Add on
features are: an interactive report -writer and query
system, a dynamic restructuring system and a recovery
transaction logging system.
MDBS prices start from
£600/£30
Primer manual
£5
COMMUNICATIONS
BISYNC-80/3780 and BISYNC-80/3270 are full function IBM 2780/3780 and 3270 emulators for microcomputers.
BISYNC-80/3780 gives you a Remote Job Entry terminal for the price of a micro!
BISYNC-80/3270 combines the local processing power of a micro with a sophisticated screen capability. Make your dumb terminal smart!
MET/TTY will connect your micro to a timesharing service in simple teletype emulation.
BISYNC-80/3780
BISYNC-80/3270 MET/TTY
P.O.A. P.O.A. £95/£15
DATA MANAGEMENT
SELECTOR III -C2
An easy to use Information Management System;
requires CBASIC II
£185/£30
SELECTOR IV
An advanced Information Management System;
requires CBASIC II
£275/£35
DATASTAR
Powerful data entry, retrieval arid update
system
£195/£30
FINANCIAL REPORTING
REPORT WRITER
You input the values -- Report Writer will perform your
calculations and produce a report with your headings,
totals and summaries GLECTOR
£95/ £15
General ledger option to Selector III; Requires Selector
III and CBASIC II
£185/ £30
All software is Ex -stock except MOBS and available on standard 8" disks or 5" disks for Vector MZ. Superbrain and Dynabyte.
* Postage and Packing £2 per order. * Add 15% VAT. * State which disk type and size. * All orders prepaid. Telephone orders welcome for Access, Barclaycard, American Express or Diners Club. CALL 0895 58111 Ext. 247 or 269 or write to:
METROTECH MAIL ORDER WATERLOO ROAD UXBRIDGE
MIDDLESEX UB8 2YW
enclosing cheque, PO's payable to METROTECH
tml WORD -STAR is a trademark of Micropro.
Prices are shown as Software with manual/Manual only.
Prices correct at time of going to press
METROTECH are sole U.K. distributors of DYNABYTE microcomputer systems.
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Circle No. 135
39
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t1;1914.
Turn your Apple into the world's most versatile personal computer.
The SoftCardTM Solution. Softcard turns your Apple into two computers. A Z-80 and a 6502. By adding a Z-80 microprocessor and CP/M to your Apple, SoftCard turns your Apple into a CP/M based machine. That means you can access the single largest body of microcomputer software in existence. Two computers in one. And, the advantages of both.
Plug and go. The SoftCard system starts with a Z-80 based circuit card. Just plug it into any slot (except 0) of your Apple. No modifications required. SoftCard supports most of your Apple peripherals, and, in 6502 -mode, your Apple is still your Apple.
CP/M for your Apple. You get CP/M on disk with the SoftCard package. It's
a powerful and simple -to -use operating
system. It supports more software than any other microcomputer operating system. And that's the key to the versatility of the SoftCard/Apple.
BASIC included. A powerful tool,
BASIC -80 is included in the SoftCard package. Running under CP/M, ANSI Standard BASIC -80 is the most powerful microcomputer BASIC
available. It includes extensive disk I/O
statements, error trapping, integer variables, 16 -digit precision, extensive EDIT commands and string functions, high and low-resApple graphics, PRINT USING, CHAIN and COMMON, plus many additional commands. And, it's a BASIC you can compile with Microsoft's BASIC Compiler.
More languages. With SoftCard and CP/M, you can add Microsoft's ANSI Standard COBOL, and FORTRAN, or Basic Compiler and Assembly Language Development System. Al I, more powerful tools for your Apple.
Demonstration. See SoftCard at your local Apple dealer. Or we'll send it to you with a dealer list. You will find it simplicity itself to operate. Call or return the coupon to us.
SoftCard is a trademark of Microsoft. Apple II and Apple II Plus are registered trademarks of Apple Computer. Z-80 is a registered trademark of Zilog. Inc. CP/M is a registered trademark of Digital Research Inc.
Caxton Software Publishing Company, 10-14 Bedford Street, Covent Garden, London WC2. Telephone 01-379 6502
Please send me a SoftCard. I enclose a cheque for £225 (+ VAT at 15%)
0 Please send me further information.
E User
Dealer
Name
Position
Company
Address
Primary Interest
PR c
et -0
Distributor for
Circle No. 13
Editorial
Welcome the big boys
GOD. BEING A conservative sort of chap - not a surprising trait in one as old as He - is traditionally said to be on the side of the big battalions. At least, this was Voltaire's view, and
events since his time have scarcely, if ever, proved him
wrong. We are now about to witness a new and interesting test of the
old saw. The big, old computer companies have now shed their towels above high-water mark and are ankle-deep in the briny. They are audibly slapping their arms against their sides and crying out "How can it be so cold"! In other words, IBM, Xerox and our own sickly ICL - among others - are committed to assaults on the micro market, and it will be very interesting to see what happens. On the one hand there are some friends of mine in Oxford who have been busily burrowing backwards into the sand for two years now, saying "Ooh - just wait till IBM arrives - we don't want to be caught in the open when that happens"; on the other, persons of more sanguine temperament are wondering whether the giants do not bring some pretty discouraging handicaps with them to this difficult market. How might one delineate the issues? The straightforward argument is that the big guns will out -shoot the little guns. The whole world's micro business this year amounted to only five percent of IBM's turnover. If IBM had to give a machine to everyone who already has something from their rivals, it could. The giants have the capital manufacturing capability, the designers, the programmers, the outlets, the maintenance people - everything, in short, which the micro business has so far lacked. There is little doubt that a lot of people who distrust micros will feel much better about the little beasts when they have one of these well-known names on the front. There is little doubt too that micros need to be made in quantity to high standards and sold through efficient dealer networks. Whether the big firms get into the business or not, this will happen spontaneously through the demands of the market. In one of the first editorials I wrote on this page, I compared the micro business to the early days of the motor industry when
Cars then were very like microcomputers now. There were dozens of
different kinds, allied only by their unreliability, incompatibilty and the fanatical enthusiasm of their owners. Those owners would speak disparagingly of "horse and buggy" ideas and would happily spend six hours travelling six miles because they had had the fun of fitting new big ends after the second mile, re -wiring the ignition after the fourth and then retrieving - as Kipling so movingly describes in one of his stories - the contents of a ball -race dropped along six furlongs of un-metalled road.
Well, so it is now. The difference is that the fans of microcomputing have a more gullible public. Many people are being persuaded to ride in our new bangers. They are holding their hats and waiting for the big thrill. It may come, or, what is more likely, the whole mess of machinery may blow up, cover all concerned with hot oil and sit lifeless by the roadside.
In two years we have got to the point where the big firms are emerging - the Austins, Peugeots, Oldsmobiles. The question is, are these big companies the right big companies? The reason they might not be is twofold. Firstly, the traditional computing business is dedicated to selling answers to expensive administrative problems to people who know nothing about computing but are happy to pay several times what the hardware is worth because they are promised "total solutions".
The structure of the big -computing business means that these firms can - they have to - work with very large margins indeed. A large part of their overhead is spent on publicity and marketing. It is common for salesmen to earn 30 percent
of invoices with many, many Os.
That kind of money is paid to salesmen rather than programmers or engineers because the hard bit is in getting the customer to bite on the bullet. If customers were queueing up to buy, as they are in our business, then the salesman's 30 percent will just disappear as manufacturers compete by cutting costs. One wonders whether a company organised round selling to a small number of rich, reluctant customers can convert itself into a mass -market operation.
The second problem follows from the first. In the big -comput-
ing business, the man who signs the cheque will never sully his hands with the keyboard. He expects to get value out of his purchase through the efforts of his data-processing department. It suits everyone in this set-up to make the machine pretty complicated to use, because that increases the mumbo -jumbo that can be used to baffle the businessman and increases the DP people's hold on their jobs;
In consequence, the big computing companies are full of people
who have devoted their lives to making computing difficult. If
you walk into the technical department of Intergalactic WonderComps and tell them that what they are doing can be, and often is, done by ten -year -olds, they get understandably miffed. If you invite them to reverse the whole trend of their professional careers and try to make the machine easier to use rather than harder they are apt to go very limp on you.
This is unfortunate for IWC because the way things look in the micro business, hardware on its own is going to be a fairly lean market. There will be a lot of it, but the margins will inevitably be thin and a lot of the 200-301) micro manufac-
turers in the world must go to the wall over the next few years. The problem for the giants is that buyers of micros want the hardware only to get the software to run. But, of course, the giants are full of people who are convinced that software ought to be complicated. Micro -software needs a completely new cast of mind. It needs people who are violently anti -elitist, who view with deep suspicion everything more complicated than counting on the fingers of one hand. They have to believe that computing is not difficult, merely tricky, and that with luck, time will make
it a lot less so.
It may not be easy to get the technical people in the big companies to change their habit of thought. Ever since
micros first appeared, they have regarded them as toys. Their companies are now getting into the market only because the money men can see that if they do not do something now there will not be much big -computing business left in a few years' time. If the technicians cannot be won round, then the big companies are going to be stuck with big overheads and a very standard mass -market product which relies on other people's software to make the sales and take the profits.
There is another reason why the big companies are unlikely to do well in the key area of software. New software comes from
someone with a good idea sitting down in front of a keyboard. It makes no difference whether the keyboard is in IWC's technical centre or in a front room in Walsall. Even IWC is limited to the good ideas in the heads of its employees. Even supposing they are not contaminated by obsolete doctrines,
there are nowhere near as many of them in there as there are of us out here.
And that argument brings us full circle. If it turns out to be true, the future of big computing companies in the micro market
looks hard. However, in the process of getting in, they will do us all a fair amount of good. They will greatly increase the stock of hardware in use in the world, and will improve the reputation of the microcomputer but, one hopes, without putting too many of us out of business.
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
41
WEIGH US
r advantages: -
S-100 12 slots MCA Microprocessor Real time clock Interrupt driven hardware Double density, single or double
sided 5" and 8" floppy disc drives 5" and 8" Winchester drives
(option) Tape back-up (option)
Cartridge disc drives (Equinox 200)
64KB Dynamic RAM with parity Static RAM (option)
Up to 384KB RAM (option) Two serial ports
Additional serial and parallel ports (option)
CAP Microcobol
CP/M, CP/NET, MP/M
TURBOCHARGER II for greater disc capacity and performance for your CP/M software
BASIC, COBOL, FORTRAN, PASCAL, C, LISP, APL, FORTH
Word Processing Information Management
Powerful Utilities -Z80 Assembler, Editor, Debugger and linker
Analog/Digital and Digital/ Analog interfaces
Prestel/Viewdata Mainframe/Micro
Communication Networking
CCTA Approved Systems
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Telex: 27341
Circle No. 137
42
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Feedback
Our Feedback columns offer readers the opportunity of bringing their computing experience and problems to the attention of others, as well as to seek our advice or to make suggestions, which we are always happy to receive. Make sure you use Feedback-it is your chance to keep in touch.
Conclusive evidence
BORIS ALLAN'S article on "The limits of my world" in the September 1981 issue does not show that "the world of non -
recursive algorithms has increased its limits to include Ackermann's function" but that the Ackerman (A) function is a general recursive function if and only if the Griffin (G) function also is.
The A function, you will recall, is
defined on the non -negative integers by:
Al A (0,N) = N+I A2 A (M+1,0) = A (M,I) A3 A (M+1, N+I) = A (M,A(M+I,N))
Allan's "definition" of tfie G function contains three strings of dots and the phrase: "The sequence of G operators is easily extended". This looks recursive, as does a mathematical definition of my
own:
For M> I and N> 0 G1 T Gm1 = T
G2TG2N=TxN
G3 T G M + 1 (N + 1) = TGm (TGm+1N)
The "ordinary algebraic expression"
A (M,N) = 2 Gm (N+3) -3
is a relationship between two generally recursive functions; there is no non recursive algorithm for computing'either
the G function or the A function for
general M and N. George Miles,
It should be made clear, though, that recursion is never necessary in programming. This is pointed out in, for instance, chapter 3 of Wirth's book Algorithms +
data structures = programs, where there is even an exercise which asks the reader to formulate a general method for translat-
ing recursive programs into non -recursive
programs. Incidentally, the distinction between
primitive recursive functions and general,
but non -primitive, recursive ones is irrelevant here, as Allan would realise if he consulted a textbook on mathematical logic to find out what these terms mean.
Just because recursive programming can, in principle, be dispensed with does
not mean that it always leads to inefficient
programs; Allan has clearly failed to show
that it does so in the case of Ackermann's
function. This is, in any case, a poor
choice of function for discussion because
the limiting factor is not the depth of
stacking. It is easy to write a program for
which the maximum stack depth in computing A (m,n) is m+ 1. The real problem
is the rapid growth of the function since A
(4,2) is: (2 raised to the power of 2') -3
which has more than 19,000 digits. R A Litherland, Cambridge.
Those who write machine code may like to note that the ZX-80 stores the value correctly if a negative Poke is performed. This is useful when calculating relative jump displacements or storing indices for the index registers.
Colin Mongardi,
Eastbourne,
East Sussex.
Contentious bones
DICK WARN'S article, August 1981 issue,
succeeded in combining two bones of contention in one package; Basic versus Pascal, and educational computing. There is little in it to be criticised - if it
had been written 10 years ago. It seems to ignore the actual microcomputer situation - Basic is.
The only way Pascal, or any other structured alternative, might become generally acceptable is if the manufac-
turers of microsystems were to sell their machines with it on board. As long as I, as a school and personal computer user, am buying a machine which comes with Basic as part of the package, it is what I am going to use. Even if Pascal is available as an alternative, it costs more money.
The arguments one reads are interesting and instructive, but they are not really concerned with practical computing.
Wyken,
Coventry. Portmanteau word
There seems to be a group of people, possibly those with professional com-
Stretching language
IN Fits article "The limits of my world" in the September 1981 issue, Boris Allan makes two claims: that he has given an ordinary algebraic expression for Ackermann's function, and that this allows us to perform the computation of the function
in a non -recursive manner. Neither is justified.
In the first place, "an ordinary algebraic expression using G -operators" is a contradiction in terms. It is as if I set out to demonstrate that a human being can
ROBERT Bittlestone, "The Chile Experi-
ment", September 1981, is plainly a greater exponent of the portmanteau
word than even H Dumpty. Can he give a proof, in mathematical notation - rather than iri recursive, self -referential, socio-
logist jargon - that 'my Gemini 64K RAM board, which has no "parity bits
and error corrections", is not working? It does, always. Of course he cannot; no,
Stafford Beer is bluffing.
Chris Blackmore,
Ilminster,
Somerset.
puter training, who have not yet realised
that computing is passing out of the hands of the professional into the arms of the
amateur in terms of quantity of program-
ming.
With regard to educational computing,
three main objectives can be set. To introduce pupils to computer programming; to
acquaint pupils with the use of microcom-
puter systems; and computer -aided learning, CAL. Warn's article did not differentiate between these but they do have different major criteria both for hardware and software.
Considering the first, he admits that
run a mile in less than a minute, by run-
Pascal is more difficult to learn but sug-
ning using a motorbike.
Erroneous factorials
gests, by implication, that pupils may be
This is not extending the limits of lan- I WOULD like to point out an error in the slightly bewildered, frustrated and
guage; it is just using words differently program to calculate factorials written by baffled by the limitations of Basic. I have
from everybody else - fine for Humpty Simon Harris and published in your not found this to be the case. I teach
Dumpty but not very helpful for the rest March 1981 issue. The author makes the simple Basic to pupils of ages from 13 to
of us.
mistake, whenever a carry occurs, of 18 years and my major problem is fighting
As for the second point, Allan offers no adding it to the next element of the array them off the micro.
evidence. The non -recursive algorithm to be processed. On the next iteration of Most never reach a stage where they
clue to Guttman he gives makes no use of the inner loop the carry would be multi- run into the situations described in the
his equation. That is not surprising since plied by N, causing an erroneous result. article. Few school pupils are bothered by
the G -operators themselves are recur- The carries should be performed after all a lack of portability and few of us in
sively defined - Gm is defined in terms of the elements of the array have been schools are going to do more than read
of Gm -1.
multiplied by N.
(continued on page 45)
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
43
TODAY'S BEST PRICE
PERFORMANCE RATIO
FROM A MICRO
COMPUTER
FROM
E1875 Standard Model 64K RAM/320K DISK
ALTERNATIVE MODEL: 'OD 700K DISK £2150
SUPE RAIN
MASSIVE DATA STORAGE WORDPROCESSING
FROM HARD DISK
SYSTEMS A complete wordprocessing
Massive storage capability is available with the 8in. Winchester Micropolis 7MB- 356 Hard Disk from £3500 including a controller to connect directly to your Superbrain. 12 month warranty included in price.
system including `Word Star' and 'Mailmerge', standard Superbrain, Diablo 630 printer, training and up to a day's installation for around £3850.
Software Options: we market a full supporting range of standard languages. including. BASIC @ £175, FORTRAN @ £225. PASCAL @ £225 and CIS COBOL @ £425 We have a growing and comprehensive library of software programmes available
Incomplete Records for Practising Accountants @ £750
Graphics - Hardware @ £435 with Software from £80
Integrated Accounting System - Stock Control @ £350. Order Entry and Invoicing @ £350 Sales Ledger @ £450. Purchase Ledger @ £450. General/Nominal @ £400. Name & Address @ £250. Complete Package so tar @ £1650 plus Payroll @ £500
Financial Modelling - T/Maker @ £155 and Micromodeller @ £645 Data Base Management -DMS @ £400 Word Processing - Wordstar @ £250 and Mailmerge @ £75 Also available - Form Creation, Debugging etc Alternatively we will design and implement software packages to suit your specific needs
KG' 3
MICROS LIMITED
KGB Micros Ltd., 14 Windsor Road, Slough, Berks. SL1 2EJ Tel : Slough 38581
Prices exclude VAT and are subject to fluctuation please phone for an up-to-the-minute quote
Circle No. 138
44
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Feedback
(continued from page 43)
about the introduction of new and better hardware. Those pupils whose experience and expertise reach a level where these problems become apparent have also reached a level where they can appreciate the reasons and understand the solutions.
The second objective - to acquaint pupils with micros - has accessibility as
its major criterion. I should like all pupils in the school to have had experience of operating a microcomputer before they leave, preferably on a reasonably sophisticated data -retrieval system, but I can see no way in which this can be achieved given present resources.
Most of Warn's article seemed to be concerned with CAL which demands portability and sophistication of software. It also needs the involvement of teachers working in that subject discipline to make sure that the content of the software is as valid as the program structure. However, to return to my initial point, the time for decisions on this was some years ago and those decisions were not taken.
The decision which could be made now is to arrive at some standard of operational software for the 16 -bit systems before they are in common use. Until then, CAL will languish partly because of the reasons mentioned in Warn's article and partly because of the lack of resources, time and training, for the in -school production of suitable software.
Philip Bolt, Kirriemuir,
Angus.
Tandy's flashing cursor
IN ANSWER to Graham Nichol's letter in
the September 1981 issue of Practical
Computing asking why the flashing cursor program for the TRS-80 in the June 1981 issue would not work, I think the fault lies in line 150 of the listing. I altered the line from:
00150 RETI
to: 00150 JP 114D
However it is necessary to answer the "Mem size?" query with 32671. After loading the programme, respond to the prompt * ? with /32672. If either of these responses are omitted, the computer will jump back to the "Mem size?" query.
The alteration to the program works with level II although I am not sure why, but it may not work with disc Basic.
J E Barker, Nottingham.
Pet development project
I AM A computer consultant with substantial mainframe experience and an interest
in microcomputer implementations of database management systems. Over the past year or so, I have carried out a great
deal of work on a true relational database -management system for the Commodore Pet, with a number of innovations including a form of virtual memory and other performance aids, and both menu -driven and query language proces-
sing. Unfortunately, my mainframe commit-
ments are now such that I am unable to complete the development of this system and I would be grateful if any interested individuals or companies would contact me with a view to taking over and com-
pleting development of the package.
Write to me as Cardendale Ltd, 16 Malvern Road, Gillingham, Kent ME7 4BA.
Graham Seel, Gillingham, Kent.
Changing Atom group
FROM THE end of September I shall cease
to be responsible for the running of the Atom User Group. The group will be taken over by Peter Frost at 18 Frankwell Drive, Potters Green, Coventry CV2
2F8. Richard Meredith, Coventry.
ZX-80 Inkey routine
IN REPLYING to the letter from Charles Drayson published in the August 1981 issue, here is a Get or Inkey routine for the Sinclair ZX-80:
IN A, 0 : Get port 0 into Ac LD L, A : Into L LD H, 0 : Clear H RET : Back to Basic
The following program will load this and lines 20-26 may be deleted after it is run. Line 10 contains the machine code and will not Run.
10 REM AAAAAA 20 LET A= 16426 21 POKE A,219 22 POKE A+1, 0 23 POKE A+2, 111 24 POKE A+3. 38 25 POKE A+4, 0 26 POKE A+5, 201
The statement LET A = USR (16426) will
return the value of the key pressed. This routine works best in a short For -Next loop.
100 For N = 1 To 100 110 Let A = USR (16426) 120 Next N
This allows a larger time slot to detect a pressed key.
M A Myatt, Bedford.
Economics of design
IT WOULD seem that D L Fisher - Feed-
back June 1981 - suffers from a stiff
neck, lack of perception and ignorance of the engineering economics of designing, producing and selling low-cost micros. Chip count and memory size related to
customer cost resistance is where the
business starts and stops.
Memory size and speed is the base line which dictates systems implementation and programming. A "professional" pro-
gramming job which occupies 32K is useless on a 16K machine. The use of multiple statements and the removal of Rems and blanks is often the only way a non -trivial program can be made to fit into, and run, on a micro. Programs are only useful if they run.
Colin Webb, Dhahran Airport,
Saudi Arabia.
Compucolor inspiration
AS THERE appears to be very little written
on the Compucolor II, I would be interested in contacting anyone who owns a Compucolor II to exchange ideas. My address is Grey Court, 3 Stoke Hill, Bristol. I have a Compucolor II Model 3, 8K RAM.
David Johnson, Bristol.
Teach Yourself review
WE WERE interested to see the review of our book, Teach yourself computer programming in Basic, published by Hodder and Stoughton, in the September 1981 issue of Practical Computing.
Despite your reviewer's feelings that our book is unlikely "to rocket to the top", it is now in its second printing more than 10,000 copies have been sold. In the review, it says that the Teach Yourself book owes "nothing to 1980s' micros"; the programs were developed initially on the Commodore Pet and then also run on a mainframe. The intention was to provide programs that would run on most systems supporting Basic, as there are still large numbers of students at Universities and Polytechnics whose first experience of computing is with on-line
systems.
Eric Deeson, the reviewer, is right in concluding that our book is not aimed at experienced programmers. The arts of programming and programming techniques warrant books to themselves. Our book is aimed at beginners including non computer specialists who wish to gain a knowledge of the Basic language to enable them to use a computer in their
field. As a point of interest, having assessed
the many Basic books on the market, Commodore approached us to write a
similar book for the Commodore Vic containing additional sections on Peek, Poke, colour, sound and high -resolution graphics. This book will shortly be published by Hodder and Stoughton under the title Learn Computer Programming with the Commodore Vic.
L R Carter and E Huzan, Slough,
Berkshire.
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
45
Facit
trio
designed
to
France looks to the future
keep options open
FRAKOIS MITTERRAND, the
socialist President of France, is certainly taking an interest in
THE NEW DTC computer unit, providing up to I43Kbyte The computer also has an the world of computers and
system from Facit is available capacity on each. The 24K integral sound generator with information technology - the
in three versions. Two versions ROM -based interpreter has volume control. An optional "in" phrase for 1981. He has
are for business management selectable mathematical preci- high -resolution graphics faci- announced his intention to
and one is for colour graphics sion and a time function. Com- lity provides 240 -by -240 open a world centre for infor-
- all three are based on the Z- munications interfaces are points, each of which can be in matics development in Paris at
80 processor. The graphics provided with a programmable colour or white.
the earliest possible opportu-
version, the Facit 651 I , starts transmission rate of between The business management nity. This is part of a drive by
at £2,000 excluding printer, 50 and 19,200baud. One computers are the Facit 6510 the French to put their infor-
but includes a 14in. screen interface is asynchronous, the and 6520. The 6510 has a matics industry at the forefront
conforming to teletext stan- other offers reverse link -up 10in. screen and a 48K of as many communication -
dards, with 24 lines of 40 facilities between synchronous memory, the 6520 a 15in. related activities as possible by
characters, and seven colours. and asynchronous communi- screen and 64K of memory. 1988.
There is a dual mini -floppy cation systems.
There is also a range of soft- Mitterrand stated that:
ware packages available to "The tools of informatics
complement the machines. could be mastered only by
Facit has called the packages thinking on a world scale.
"positive software" and they France will reinforce its posi-
include: sales, invoicing, pur- tion in all industries related to
chase, stock control, nominal electronics. The government
general ledger, word proces- will do all it can to help small,
sing, Facicalc and DTC medium-sized and new com-
register. The Facit computers panies".
feature yellow -on -brown At the other end of the scale,
screens - apparently they are the French Home Secretary
easier on the eyes.
has halted computer -produced
For details contact Facit identity cards on the grounds
Business Systems Division, that they endanger democracy.
Wellington House, Wellington This is an opinion held by
Street, Leicester,. Telephone: many due to the apparent ease
0533-547149.
with which a government
Simple payroll This is the Husky 144 portable computer for outdoor environments and robust applications. The machine
could form a central file of all citizens.
for ZX-81
A SIMPLE payroll program designed for use by a small company has been developed
by Hilderbay Ltd for use with
the Sinclair ZX-81 microcomputer, together with the 16K RAM pack and printer.
weighs less than 2kgm. and is a little larger than a book. This British innovation is reasonably powerful despite its size - it has a memory of up to 144K. The screen can display up to 128 characters in four lines. Information can be transferred to a main computer from the field via a telephone. For further information, contact David Viewing, managing director, DVW Microelectronics. 0203 56580/
27535.
Birmingham's launch -pad
BIRMINGHAM City Council is creating a multi -million pound
partnership as a launch -pad for high-technology industries
The program will be of use
in the city. The program will
to any company with 30 or fewer
start with the establishment of
employees, who will find the package able to cope with pay-
a science -and -technology development centre, with
ments, deductions, bonus pay-
management, consultancy and
ments, records and printouts.
scientific services being pro-
Hilderbay Ltd is a company which seems to be carving a
vided by Aston University.
Under such a program,
niche as a provider of software
small companies will have the
for the smallest of machines.
benefit of a powerful research
The complete system will
organisation which they would
cost the user less than £200,
otherwise not be able to
and that includes the com-
afford. Such an enterprise
puter. The software costs £25
should create thousands of
and is complete with step-by-
new jobs as similar programs
step instructions, a training
have done in the U.S.
system if necessary, and a
The science -and -technology
replacement service in case there is new tax legislation.
development centre is similar to a science park - that is, an
Contact Hilderbay Ltd, 8-
area where many high-techno-
10 Parkway, London NW1 7AA. Telephone: 01-485
logy industries are concen-
trated, together with the
1059.
resources they require.
46
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Printout
Wider scope
Olympia fields its strong with Pascal
TAKING ADVANTAGE of the
desk -top team power of Portable Pascal,
IBC's network and resource - OLYMPIA IS the latest of the big
analysis program can cope office -equipment suppliers to
with projects of up to 30,000 weigh in as a manufacturer of
activities - but this is limited desk -top microcomputers.
by the microcomputer used, The reputation of Olympia as a
and the time.
major office -equipment sup-
The package will run on plier will certainly boost its
Apple II, North Star Horizon, sales - especially to first-time
LSI-11, Microengine, Z-80. users.
Future plans include the Onyx, The range of desk -top
Superbrain, Dynabyte and machines, with both software
Cromemco machines. IBC can and hardware, provides for
supply either a complete most business uses. The
system or just the software, to- machines are of a standard
gether with after -sales sup- design with the usual 64K of
port. IBC Computer Systems user RAM, and disc capabili-
Ltd, Sunderland House, Sun- ties. One attractive touch is
derland Street, Macclesfield, that the computers all have the
Cheshire. Telephone: 0625- ability to communicate to
616399.
larger, mainframe machines.
Scientist can The new microcomputers are called Boss, and the fully -
digitise Putting non -expert integrated software packages supplied can be used by anyA NEW precision analogue - body. Designed for the smaller
in the driving -seat to -digital converter is capable business, Olympia expects to
of taking the typical signals a be able to sell to departments
scientist would display on a within much larger organisa-
strip -chart recorder, digitise tions.
THE PMJH controller is a device programming skill. The con-
them and send them to a The range starts at less than which provides extensive con- troller is ready for action with
microcomputer.
£3,000 and there are four trol facilities for combinational only a 5V supply and a VDU
Dyson Instruments, Sunder- machines, all supplied and sequential timing as well for operator interaction, and
land House, Station Road, complete with printers. Soft- as arithmetic operation using the device can act as its own
Hetton, Houghton -le -Spring, ware packages cover sales Tiny Basic. The device enables development system.
Tyne and Wear. Telephone: ledger, purchase ledger, stock a control system to be devel- Systems can be developed
0783-260452. *
control, payroll and invoicing. oped without any specialised and modified while actually
Uncommitted logic at controlling - a sure and fast way to debug programs. Work can be effected on site or in the field. Once a program has been
an engaging price
developed in RAM, it can be programmed into EPROM by
any one of a number of techni-
ques.
MARCONI Electronic Devices cells. To make the job easy, printed -circuit board costs at The PMJH controller was
Ltd (MEDL) has recently MEDL gives the designer a big least £2 a package to make and developed by Manitron at Sal-
opened a very smart new fac- picture of the array plus decals test, MEDL's prices can he ford University and was first
tory near Lincoln for the representing the usual logic attractive: design kit and displayed at a press conference
manufacture of microchips. As gates.
handbook - up to £355; pro- held to protest against the cut
well as making its own custom - He just has to stick these on duction of 10 samples £7,000; in the university's budget of
designed devices, it has a pro- to the photograph of the array 1,000 off in ceramic, packaged 40 percent. A controller was
duct which might well be of to specify his circuit. MEDL f. 17 each.
despatched to Prime Minister
great interest to the small will then test it using simulator A satisfactory design which Margaret Thatcher, together
manufacturer of micros or software.
is wanted in quantity can he with a note expressing the
add-on products. This is a par- Unlike earlier uncommitted - made as a dedicated chip in the hope that this would not be the
ticularly easy and low-cost ver- logic arrays, System 85's same CMOS technology. The last such innovation the
sion of the uncommitted -logic Cellmos is realised in CMOS cost would he a transfer charge university successfully trans-
array idea.
technology. This means that of 10,000 but a saving per ferred to industry.
MEDL's System 85 is based the finished chip draws very piece in quantities greater than A fully -populated board
on standard chips containing little power and could he used, 10,000 units of 25 to 30 per- with 4K -by -eight RAM and
up to 1,440 standard logic cells for example, in battery - cent. Martin Wolfenden, 4K -by -eight EPROM costs
- 2,014 cells will be available powered products.
Marketing Manager Cellmos £239 for one, with reductions
soon. Each cell consists of four In effect, the designer is Marconi Electronic Devices, for quantity. Manitron Divi-
transistors. This array can be packing the logic which might Carholme Road, Lincoln LNI sion, Ficention Ltd, Bold
turned into almost any circuit occupy a whole printed -circuit I SG. Telephone: 05 2 2- Street, Sandbach, Cheshire.
you like by interconnecting the hoard into one chip. Since a 29992.
Telephone: 09367-4171. W
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
47
TRS 80GENIE SOFTWARE
from the professionals
0Mysterious Adventure *Oa WWI GOLDEN BATON
TIME MACHINE
Three months ago we introduced the Mysterious Adventure series, a brand new series of machine language Adventures written by Brian Howarth. The first one, The Golden Baton, was greeted with enthusiasm by experienced and beginner Adventurers alike. Now the second and third in the series, The Time Machine and Arrow of Death, are available. The Arrow of Death, although entirely self-contained, is the first of a two part Adventure. The second part will be available early in the new year.
Mysterious Adventures are available for Models I and III TRS-80 and Models I and II Video Genie, both on tape (16K minimum) or disk (32K 1 disk minimum). A TRS-80 Model II version will be available shortly.
Any 1 Adventure:
On tape
£10.06
Any 2 Adventures:
On tape
£18.40
On disk
£12.65
On disk
All prices are inclusive of V.A.T. Please add 50p for P. & P.
£23.00
MOLIMERX LTD
CWaerdlo. omeA
A J HARDING (MOLIMERX)
1 BUCKHURST ROAD, TOWN HALL SQUARE, BEXHILL -ON -SEA, EAST SUSSEX.
TEL: [0424] 220391/223636
TELEX 86736 SOTEX G
TRS-80 & VIDEO GENIE SOFTWARE CATALOGUE £1.00 [refundable] plus 50p postage.
111\
Bfq Y.UAss
Circle No. 139
48
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Printout
Alpha Plus reveals
Pet's true characters
ALPHA I' I's is a character bols such as resistors, capaci-
generator for the Commodore tances, diodes, transistors, as
Pet range of microcomputers. well as games -playing gra-
It is in the form of a ROM phics, planes, tanks, heli-
which is connected to the copters, bombs, cars and space
second cassette port inside the
case of the Pet. There is also
some software and a manual,
which rests on the top of the
keys.
Alpha Plus is, in effect, four
different character sets for the
The North Star Advantage, stand-alone desk -top microcomputer, retails at slightly less than £2,500. The machine is supplied complete with a business graphics package, and includes a Z -80A processor, 64K of user memory, a 12in. monochrome screen, twin mini -floppies and a keyboard with 15 programmable function keys. For full details contact Comart Ltd, PO Box 2, St Neots, Cambridgeshire. Telephone: 0480-215005.
Word-processing link for CP/M systems
computer. Set one gives U.K.
users the long-awaited £ sign, which replaces the back slash,
while at the same time retaining all the upper-case letters, numerals and graphic symbols of the original CBM set.
:IRO has the £ sym-
bol and supports all the upper -
and lower-case letters,
numerals and graphic symbols ships. There is also a series of
of the original Commodore new horizontal, vertical and
second set. Set three is a totally diagonal lines.
new set of mathematic symbols Alpha Plus costs £69 plus
WORD PROCESSOR users can
merge records created with the Compsoft DMS system with standard letters created by the
Spellbinder or WordStar
word-processing packages. These packages will work on any CP/M system and provide
a sorting, searching, and mail-
ing system.
Under DMS, records can be created to the user's own specifications; they can then be
sorted into order and pre-
available for any CP/M
machine and costs £400. For any Commodore system, the
same package costs £250 and
contains links to VisiCalc,
Wordcraft and WordPro.
Compsoft Ltd, Great Tangley Manor Farm, Wonersh, near
Guildford, Surrey. Telephone:
Guildford 39665/505918. Ul
including symbols for set nota-
tion, the Greek upper- and lower-case alphabet, the
Roman alphabet, the numerals
0 to 9 including an infinity symbol, as well as graphics
characters.
The fourth set comprises
various graphics symbols only.
They include electronic sym-
VAT for a 2000 series Pet, and 1:50 plus VAT for a 3/4/8000
Pets. The manual is available separately for £9. The sup-
plier of Alpha Plus is able to provide custom character sets to order. Contact Computer Rentals, 8 Eastbury Close, Thornhurv. Bristol. Tele-
phone: 017-,-1-41560.
Lid's role in great
Apple cover-up selected according to several
criteria before being merged with standard letters. There are many applications, but the
system will be of most use to companies which need to send
different types of letter to different clientele.
Compsoft's DMS system is
A LOCKING lid for the Apple
computer eliminates the
danger of prying hands removing or fiddling with the
machine's cards. Applelock
Any software can be fitted to the Apple lid by any Apple dealer for just
to declare?
£12 plus VAT, or alternatively send the lid to Datron Micro
SOFTWARE packages that are Centre of Sheffield for fitting.
approved by HM Customs and A second new offering from
Excise for VAT purposes are Datron is Appleview, a trans-
now available on any CP/M or parent lid which lays hare your
MP/M computers and most Apple's innards. Appleview
VDUs and printers. The pro- costs £17.50 plus VAT.
grams, written in CBasic, com- The two products are com-
prise a fully -integrated set of bined in Appleview plus,
ledger systems designed by which costs £27.50 plus VAT.
accountants for CP/M.
Datron Micro Centre, 2 Abby -
Business Solutions Ltd, 1 dale Road, Sheffield, YorkPark Avenue, Ilford, Essex. shire. Telephone: 0742-
01-554 5985/0582.
m 585490.
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
49
Printout
Zilog adds on-chip Basic
to its processor family
Time for bus
systems
THE NATIONAL Semiconductor
MM -58174 is a CMOS circuit
THE LATEST addition to the chips. A single Z-6132 RAM The on -chip Basic supplied world-famous Zilog Z-8 range will provide an extra 4K of is a subset of standard Basic, of microprocessors is the Z- RAM. The only other com- which supports the USR com-
8671. This is the standard Z- ponent required is a power - mand, allowing assembly -code
which functions as a real-time
clock and calendar in bus orientated microprocessor
systems.
The versatile device
8601 microcomputer chip but supply decoupling resistor. subroutines to be run direct includes an interrupt timer
with an on -chip Basic and a The chip has four eight -bit from Basic. The most likely which may be programmed to
debug/monitor. The chip con- output ports, an asynchronous application of the chip will be one of three settings. Other
tains an internal 128bytes of port which can be set for baud in the construction of micro- functions include seconds,
RAM which can be expanded rates between 110 and 19,200, processor controllers.
tenths of seconds, tens of
up to 62K by using additional and various timers. The chip Zilog Ltd, Babbage House, seconds and the same divisions
will enable a small system to be King Street, Maidenhead, of minutes, days and months.
Modem price built with the bare minimum of Berkshire. Telephone: 0628- Telephone: Hi-Tek on 0954-
components.
36131.
81931.
Government says no to talks sense
A LOW-COST, direct -connect Modem for microcomputers
data -protection scheme has been announced by Spree -
bond Ltd and is compatible with any micro using the RS-
232 interface; adaptor kits are
available for the Pet and all the THE Government has rejected stic arrangements, we pro- In particular, the Home Off-
Tandy models.
the idea of an independent posed the establishment of a ice resisted the idea that data -
The £200 Modem plugs data -protection authority, but public register of data applica- protection rules would have
directly into the telephone is to publish a White Paper tions storing and handling per- the force of law and hence be a
line, eliminating distortions setting out its proposals on the sonal information by electro- major extension of criminal
and lost -data problems often subject. This was made clear nic means", Raison told the law.
associated with acoustic by Home Office Minister of conference.
The task was, he said, essen-
couplers.
State Timothy Raison at a The conference included tially one for the Government
Spreebond Ltd, Unit 7, Has- recent conference held at the among its speakers Sir Nor- and Parliament - though it
lemere, Parkwood Estate, Sut- British Medical Association, man Lindop, who reported on was still too early to say when
ton Road, Maidstone, Kent. London.
data protection in December detailed preparatory work on
Telephone: 0622-683866. gj "As the basis of our dome - 1978 and has argued consis- legislative proposals would be
tently that any data -protection completed and a Bill intro-
The Hewlett-Packard HEDS-5000 optical sensing device authority must be independent duced to Parliament.
can measure a motor's velocity, the direction of its rota- if it is to have any teeth.
Raison gave no specific
tion and Its position. There are 500 measurements per Sir Norman had argued ideas on how the register of
revolution giving the device a resolution of 0.72°. The main earlier for an independent applications could work in
use of this device will be in the field of robotics; Micro - authority which would enforce practice, though Sir Norman's
mouse fans will no doubt be interested. Celdis, 37 a set of "modular" codes interpretation of the Home
Loverock Road, Reading, Berkshire. 0734-586191.
which would have the force of Office proposals was that each
law, and would also comply organisation concerned would
with the principles of the "volunteer" itself to register
European Convention on under a set of rules to be
Data Protection, to which derived by itself.
Britain is a signatory.
"This is surely a recipe for
A modular approach, where chaos and disaster", he said.
each organisation registering "The Home Office can hardly
with an independent authority be said to be impartial and
would be assigned particular disinterested in the area of
blocks of rules depending on personal information". The
the kind of data processing and Home Office is the biggest
storage activity it was involved user of data files on private
with, would be consistent, flex- individuals and is directly res-
ible and compatible for dif- ponsible for the Metropolitan
ferent applications, Sir Police.
Norman said.
Doctors are especially con-
However Raison, giving the cerned lest confidential medi-
Government's proposals, cal information fall into the
rejected the independent hands of people who have no
approach and suggested that right to see it. GPs say that
"the form of independent computerised medical records
authority proposed by Sir Nor- may threaten the confidentia-
man's committee is fundamen- lity which is the basis of the
tally objectionable".
doctor -patient relationship. W
50
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
A thoroughly versatile S100 based computer
Arrange your own microsystem
with the following fully
assembled and tested modules
Monitors
NEW 12" Green screen monitor
MOTHER BOARD 8085 cpu-3.5MHz 2K Monitor,
Cassette Interface, S100 bus connectors and
circuitry, provision for ROM/EPROM
£165.00
AP -1 POWER SUPPLY UNIT 5AMP power supply £35.00
KEY BOARD TERMINAL Stand alone, cpu
controlled 1K RAM, 64/32 x16 format, 128
charecter upper & lower case, full cursor control.. £130.00
64K DYNAMIC S-100 RAM CARD
£175.00
FLOPPY DISK CONTROL CARD controls 4
drives 2 serial I/O ports 2716 PROM socket
£165.00
RUNS under resident 8K BASIC in ROM
£65.00
or with Disk System under CP/M2.2
£95.00
Expansion Cards Disks
SJ64K S100 Dynamic Ram Card 16K from £130 48K from £145 32K from £160 64K from £175
8 -Control Data Corporation Professional Drives
10" Black & white monitor.
Ideal for Apple. Nascom. UK 101
and more
£79.95
10 MHZ band width Metal cabinet 9" x 9" x 9.5"
Trade enquiries welcome.
Printers
S100 SS16K Board
Add memory beyond the 64K limit
Expand to a multi terminal system
Bank selectable
£165
ELECTRIC MOUTH S100 "DIG ITALK" cards. Give your computer a voice! Complete with
loudspeaker. Versions also available
for ELF11: APPLE: & TRS-80 ASSEMBLED & TESTED . £99.50
p&p £2.00
LSI controller Single density 400K Double density 800K Access time 25 ns
£350
Controller I/O S100 card
Up to 4 drives
1771 ALSI floppy disk controller
On board data separation.IBM compatible
2716 PROM socket
On board I/O Baud rate Two serial I/O ports
£165
Generates to 9600 Baud
Disk drive cabinet P.S.U.
£79
Cable set
£19
Coming shortly. Hard disks.
ELF 11
A great beginner's computer
for as little as £49.95
Ideal for controller systems Extra low power RCA Cosmac 1102
1011101101111.111.011111111110101111111Pr
Oki Microline £299
Serial Interface £75 extra
Centronics 737-2 £399
737-4 £429
Other models available
For engineer and industry Learn to programme in machine code and really
understand computer systems Expand it to meet your requirement up to 64k
RAM working in basic level 111
£56.70 Starters pack - Elf 11 and RF modulator and T. Pitmans short course for
Expansion Kits. Full Range available. Hardware. Firmware Software. Manuals. Send S.A.E. for literature
NEWTRONICS
255 ARCHWAY ROAD, LONDON, N.6 TEL: 01-348 3325
SEND SAE FOR COMPREHENSIVE BROCHURE Please add VAT to all prices. P&P extra. Please make cheques and postal orders payable to N EVVTRON ICS or phone your order quoting BARCLAYCARD, ACCESS number, We are open for demonstrations and Sales. Monday -Saturday 9.30 a.m.-6.30 p.m. Near Highgate Underground on main Al into London.
Circle No. 140 5-1
1HE RE4LCOST
OFA SHARP
COMPUTER SYSTEM
We could simply scream at you 'Get a Sharp MZ-80K personal computer for only £399!'
But you know, and we know, that there's more to it than that. As your interest increases or your business grows, you will want to exploit the unique versatility of your Sharp system - MZ-80K, MZ-80B or PC -3201.
So we thought we would set your mind at rest about the cost of expansion. We print here all the prices relevant to system expansion on these three popular and widely recognised computers.
If you think this demonstrates a straightforward and workmanlike attitude on our part, just look at the prices. You will see that they are just as down-to-earth as the rest of our approach.
Butel-Comco support for Sharp users is complete. Advice is freely available. Maintenance contracts can be arranged. A wide range of supplies and software can be supplied.
Sharp MZ-80K Personal Computer
I I I I Sharp MZ-80B
Personal Computer
I I I I Sharp PC3201
Business Computer
I I
III
ism m C THE BUTEL PRICE GUIDE
INN
MZ-80K
Computer 20K. 25cm CRT. Tape cassette. ASCII keyboard.
MZ-80K
Computer 48K.
MZ-U/G
28K upgrade.
MZ-80 I/O Interface unit.
MZ-80FD Dual disk drive.
MZ-80FDK Additional dual disk drive.
MZ-80
RS232 interface.
MZ-80 P3 Matrix printer.
CP/M
Operating system.
MZ-801/0-1 Universal interface card.
MZ-80 BM BASIC manual.
MZ-80T1 OB BASIC tape.
MZ-80T20C Machine language tape and manual.
MZ-80TU Assembler tape and manual (System Program).
MZ-80T40E PASCAL interpreter manual and application tape.
£399.00 £460.00
£80.00 £82.00 £693.00 £616.00 £110.00 £395.00 £196.00 £50.00
£7.00 £9.00 £19.00 £38.00 £50.00
MZ-80B
MZ-80FD MZ-80FDK MZ-80P5 MZ-80FI MZ-80MDB MZ-80F15 MZ-F05 MZ-BCJ MZ-80EU MZ-80GMK MZ-80 I/0-2 MZ-80710C CP/M.
Computer 64K. 23cm CRT. Tape cassette ASCII keyboard. Twin floppy disk unit. Additional twin floppy disk unit. Matrix printer, 80cps. 80col. Floppy disk interface card. Master diskette and manual.
Cable for MZ-80FD. Cable for MZ-80FDK. Floppy disk cable jointer. Expansion unit. Graphic RAM -II option. Universal interface card. MZ-80K to MZ-80B converter tape. Operating system.
£1095.00 £590.00 £590.00 £415.00
£100.00 £31.00
£9.00 £7.00 £15.00 £50.00 £120.00 £45.00 £7.00
£65.00
PC -3201 CE -320C CE -332P RP -1600/5 CE -331 M CE -341 M CE -350L CE -332A CE -340R CE -340G CE -350R
CE -330G
Computer 64K. ASCII keyboard. 80x25 -character display terminal. 80cps, 80/132co1 matrix printer. 60cps, 132co1 daisywheel High -0 printer. Twin floppy diskette unit. Floppy diskette interface.
Additional diskette drive cable. 48K RAM upgrade. RS232 interface card. General purpose I/O parallel interface card. Printer ribbon for 332P. 10x5'/.in diskettes. Direct program generator. Sales Ledger program and manual. Purchase Ledger program and manual. Nominal Ledger program and manual.
Invoicing System program and manual. Stock Control program and manual.
£1500.00 £250.00 £450.00
£1495.00
£670.00
£125.00 £30.00 £150.00 £150.00 £145.00
£8.00 £30.00 £120.00
£300.00
£300.00
£450.00
£300.00
£300.00
Note: All prices quoted exclude VAT, freight costs and insurance.
SiazintEt
All items are available through our fast and efficient Mail Order Service or come and collect it from our 'computer centre' counter. We accept Access and Barclaycard and can arrange Citibank hire purchase. Simply ask for a quotation.
52
Hours of business: Mon -Fri 9:30-5:30 and Saturdays from 9:30 until 1:00.
All prices are correct at time of going to press.
Call, telephone or write to:
Butel-Comco Limited,
Garrick Industrial Centre Garrick Road, Hendon, London NW9 6AQ. Telephone: 01-202 0262
Technology for business Circle No. 141
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Printout extra
THE RO-100 series offers up to eight disc surfaces and up to 16Mbytes of storage in a unit no larger than a mini -floppy drive and is interfaced in the same way.
The head/disc assembly of each drive consists of two chambers, one housing the discs and arms, the other housing the actuator mechanisms. The control circuits and the motors which position the heads and rotate the discs are located around these chambers.
Apart from the heads, discs and motors, virtually every component contained in these drives has been designed by Rodime, and designed to overcome
difficulties which may be encountered in 5.25in. Winchesters.
In December 1980, when the Rodime drives were still on the drawing board, we decided we could offer the highest storage capacity and the fastest access time which could be reliably designed and produced using the latest components. Therefore,
in the RO-100 Series, we have
deliberately not used thin-film heads or thin-film discs. When these enhancements have become reliable and are readily available, they will be included.
We took the view that thedrive which contains the largest surface area of recording medium will always be able to offer the greatest capacity. From the. beginning, therefore, we planned to pro-
duce a series of 5.25in. Winchesters which would contain up to four discs
while maintaining size compatibility with
the de facto industry standard set by
drives with fewer discs. The actuator mechanism has to be of
exceedingly rigid design to position the arm furthest away from the bearings accurately. We have chosen a rotary actuator which is more rigid in this aspect than a linear one. Rotary actuators also consume less power, and because there are fewer moving parts, they produce fewer wear particles.
We also designed special shaft bearings and a hub which improves the air flow between the discs. This allows them to be positioned closer together, and improves the air flow within the disc compartment. New head and media technology can be
incorporated at a later date without totally re -designing the product.
The RO-100 series offers one of the fastest access times of any 5.25in. drive. The average access time is 85ms. and the
track -to -track access time is I 8ms. That is
Revolution of the Rodime disc
Malcolm Dudson of Rodime
tells the story behind the development of the innovatory RO-100 series - the 5.25in.
increased air pressure towards the periphery of the discs, and an area of low pressure around the central hub. Now, if the breather filter is placed at the peri-
phery of the disc chamber, this high pres-
disc which offers storage at up sure area is strapped to atmospheric pres-
to 40 percent less cost than 8in. sure and hence the air pressure at the
Winchesters.
centre is lower than atmospheric. The drive bearings are at the centre of
more than twice as fast as the original the chamber, and the drive motor is
5.25in. Winchesters. This access time always at atmospheric pressure, so that,
includes the time taken to find the correct particularly on start-up, a pressure gra-
track - the seek time - and the time for dient is created along the shaft of the
the head to settle - the settling time. drive motor which sucks dirt and, more
The head movements are controlled by dangerously, grease from the motor bear-
a microprocessor. The heads are posi- ings into the disc chamber itself.
tioned by a stepper motor, which is con- One answer could be to tighten the
trolled by the microprocessor. Among bearings. In this case, either the start-up
other. functions, this calculates the damp- time could be longer, or else more power
ing required, buffers the incoming step has to be put into the motor, which would
pulses and removes mechanical position in turn create heating problems, particu-
hysteresis.
larly on drives which do not have thermal
One of the most common causes of compensation.
errors in disc drives with an open loop Our solution is both simple and effec-
positioner, is the lack of adequate com- tive. We have located a breather filter at
pensation for thermal expansion in the the centre of the compartment, immedia-
arms, discs and other components. We tely above the shaft. This point is then
have devoted considerable effort to the strapped to atmospheric pressure, and
choice of metals in the actuator and to the there is no damaging pressure drop.
construction of air -flow paths to aid tem- Many estimates concerning the market
perature equalisation. Air is pumped for Winchesters have been published in
from the upper chamber which contains recent months. One of these estimated
the head/disc assembly, down into the the 1981 requirement at 500,000, of
lower chamber where it passes over the which approximately 20 percent would be
actuator linkage, and then back to the 5.25in. drives. By 1985. the market is
upper chamber via an absolute filter.
expected to have grown to 2.5 million
That ensures that both chambers are drives, of which 60 percent, or 1.5 mil-
always at the same temperature, a feature lion, will be 5.25in. drives. Other less
which dramatically improves thermal optimistic reports indicate a requirement
compensation for the head actuator. Hav- in 1985 approaching one million drives.
ing ensured this, it is now possible to One of the major uses of the 5.25in.
introduce thermal expansion compensa- Winchester will be in applications where a
tion on a similar principle to a hi -metallic floppy disc is being used as a systems disc.
pendulum.
The fast access times, low cost and small
Our design of the Winchester chamber size and high capacity are all added
incorporates features which are vital to attractions of the Winchester in these
the efficiency of the drives. Winchester areas. Secondly, consider the 8in. Win-
technology relies on a sealed chamber chester in capacities less than 20N1bytes.
within which the heads fly aver the disc In general terms, in this capacity range,
surfaces at a very low flying height. In the the 8in. Winchester offers the user a cost
RO-100's case, this is 17izin.
per megabyte of between $100 and $150.
Here is an example of one of the many In the same range, Rodime's cost per
important design features of the Rodime megabyte is lessthan $90.
drives which contribute to maintaining a With improved media, both particulate
completely contamination -free head/disc and metallic, thin-film heads, vertical
assembly:
recording, or some of the other exciting
Like all the best design features, it is recording methods now being developed,
simplicity itself. Although the Win- giving more than 50,000 bits per inch, it
chester's head/arm chamber is known as a becomes clear that forecasts claiming that
sealed chamber, it clearly has to have a the next generation of 5.25in. Win-
breather filter to allow it to withstand chesters will reach 50Mbytes may even be
changes in atmospheric pressure. The on the conservative side.
position of this filter is of crucial impor- Rodime Ltd are at 12-14 Edison
tance.
House, Fullerton Road, Glenrothes, Fife
The rotation of the discs causes an KY7 5QR.
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
53
HEWLETT
IE43 PACKARD
14=
Scientific and technical
professionals favour the HP 85, they are
being joined by
increasing numbers of
business professionals.
Find out why the HP 85 is the professional
microcomputer at your
nearest Laskys store or
write to our Mail Order department for more details.
WI
is the largest specialist Hi-Fi chain in Europe, in July 1980 they acquired
an independent, specialist microcomputer store based in Liverpool.
Since then specialist microcomputer departments have been set up within selected Laskys stores under the Microdigital name, these have now been renamed
Microcomputers at LAfirtirf.
The Professional Microcomputer Retailer
with 4 0 Outlets Nationwide & Mail Order
BIRMINGHAM
19/21 Corporation Street, Birmingham, B2 4LP Tel: 021-632 6303 Monager Peter Stallard 300 yards from Bullring Centre
MANCHESTER
I 2/14 St. Mary's Gate, Market Street, Manchester, M1 1 PX. Tel: 061-832 6087. Manager: Lesly Jacobs. Corner of Deansgate.
BRISTOL
16/20 Penn Street, Bristol, BSI 3AN. Tel: 0272 20421. Opening 16th October.
Between Holiday Inn and C & A
NOTTINGHAM (Opening early 1982)
1/4 Smithy Row, Nottingham, NG I 2D0. Tel 0602 415150. Manager: Alister Hawkes. Within Market Square, Exchange Buildings, Nottingham.
CHESTER
The Forum, Northgate Street, Chester, CHI 2BZ, Tel: 0244 317667. Manager: Jeremy Ashcroft. Next to the Town Hall.
SHEFFIELD
58 Leopold Street, Sheffield, 51 2GZ. Tel: 0742 750971. Manager: Justin Rowles. Top of the Moor, opposite Town Hall.
EDINBURGH
4 St. James Centre, Edinburgh, EH I 3SR. Tel: 031-556 2914. Manager: Colin Draper. East end of Princes Street, St. James Centre.
KINGSTON (Opening early 1982)
38/40 Eden Street, Kingston, KT I 1 EP. Tel: 01-546 1271. Opposite Main Post Office.
LIVERPOOL
33 Dale Street, Liverpool, L2 2HF Tel: 051-236 2828 Manager: Mark Butler. Between the Town Hall and Magistrates Courts.
LONDON
42 Tottenham Court Road, London WI 9RD Tel: 01-636 0845
MICROCOMPUTERS
AT AIME
Mail Order
...)Microdigital Limited, FREEPOST (No stomp required), Liverpool L2 2AB
Circle No. 142
54
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Telesoftware
The search for a generally -acceptable standard continues, and the answer still seems as far away as ever. Is the time yet ripe for telesoftware?
The Great Standards
Hunt
CONNOISSEURS of the "standards loop" will note with a wry satisfaction that the show is getting a grand re -opening this
autumn. It is a performance which is expected to run and run.
At the Skyways meeting an ad hoc
ginger group, mainly of the smaller manu-
facturers and software houses, got together to urge a new initiative in telesoft-
ware. Now a formal Government committee, ponderously titled the British Videotex Teletext Technical Committee, is to re -convene after an absence of several years to thrash out a representative position on standards for the transmission of
by Martin Hayman
software via Prestel and broadcast receivers. It is to be chaired by Bernard
Rogers on behalf of the Industry Department and the British Radio Equipment Manufacturers' Association.
One of the committee's objectives is to optimise the British position with respect to transmission protocols. Since it is expected to be representative, we may be sure that the bigger manufacturers will get plenty of say. Since the world is its oyster, we may reasonably speculate that there will be a long search for the pearls of true wisdom.
There is an argument which says that the smaller outfits are in too much of a hurry to implement telesoftware. They should be looking to the future, and the possible introduction of eight -bit technology and all the other enhancements of which Prestel is capable, and should also
take greater account of broadcast
telesoftware. As it happens, the public is responding with far greater interest to teletext - broadcast information - than
to Prestel, which can still only claim
10,000 or so subscribers.
Prestel users are deserting the ponderous and expensive dedicated sets in favour of small-scale adaptors and portable televisions - the kind which you can
pick up and take home in the Granada for the weekend. One major manufacturer reports that dedicated Prestel sets are a
dead duck in television retailers' shops. Even at the subsidised Prestel price of over £700, you could well get a decent colour portable plus video recorder. Who is to say that the people who are still watching re -runs of the Test Match highlights and Emmanuelle Meets the Wife Swappers are any the worse off than if they had Prestel, except when it comes
to finding out the Inter -City train times? However, I would not sneer at those
who are still slogging away at telesoft-
ware. Drafting standards is head -banging
work, entirely devoid of the glamour associated with front-line activity, but
without which none of it would work. Or at least none of it would work together.
Telesoftware is no new idea. It has been
around for almost as long as Prestel itself. Philips, for example, has had a working telesoftware system for a couple of years
now. It was demonstrated to me recently by Dr Graham Sharpless, who specified
it, and Ludvig Zuidek, who represented Philips at the Skyways meeting. I was most surprised to see a viewdata/microtype keyboard that looked as though it had been taken off the dealer's shelf. They explained to me that it was the prototype of a Philips personal computer, which had yet to be cased up properly in order to present it to sales staff, who find
it difficult to relate to operating systems.
The Philips telesoftware system is fairly similar to GEC's; like theirs, it operates
quite successfully with Prestel's own retrieval and update centres, like a normal Prestel editing terminal. It can also
call a program from a remote computer, located at the Philips Redhill laboratory,
which it will then load into memory. So,
as between GEC and Martlesham
Heath, there is immediate communica-
tion between two parties whose aims are
the same and who each know exactly what
the other is doing.
"So what"? you may ask. Well, it proves that communications are not an
intractable problem when you know what you have at either end. It is when you introduce some new variables that the
nightmare starts.
The Philips system uses line and block
check -sums and a line terminator in pro-
gram frame. Each frame has a reserved line at the bottom which leads you on to the next frame. This is a useful way of transmitting quite a lot of information. The first field, of two characters, describes the language - unhappily, Philips
telesoftware uses DIAB Basic. The
second field, also two characters, specifies
the version of the language, and the third field, six characters, the memory size required in bytes. The fourth field, eight characters, gives the file name; the fifth gives the number of pages, while the sixth provides extra space to link the program
to any data files. These instructions,
again, are followed by a check -sum and
an end -of -line marker. Dr Sharpless told me, with the sorrow
of an engineer who sees his own creation
refused by the powers that be, that he had
rather mis-calculated in specifying DIAB Basic. It was his belief that it was a far
more powerful and flexible language than the familiar Microsoft version, which he
thought was clumsy and, above all, slow. But he had not taken sufficient notice of the fact that the public wants what it can already get, and hundreds of thousands of applications programs have been written in Microsoft for the Apple, Pet, Tandy and so on. So the Philips personal computer never got off the ground, and nor will its telesoftware, likely enough.
Ludvig Zuidek was, incidentally, one
of the hawks at the Skyways meeting who
argued most strongly that the user of
telesoftware would definitely not want to look at the source code of a program, but would merely want to load it as swiftly
and seamlessly as possible. He would not be the kind of buff who would welcome playing around and editing code before
he cold load it into his machine and use it. I think many people share this opinion,
and they may well be right with respect to
any other than the hobbyist/amateur markets. In any case, it does rather go
towards explaining the excellent facility on the Philips system: a button marked
Telsoft which implements the whole load-
ing -up procedure. It is a shame that such
an obviously market -orientated machine
is unlikely ever to do battle in the market
place.
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
55
NEC PC -8001B
Howard Pilgrim and Peter Wood assess the first business micro from the Japanese manufacturer of highperformance hardware, NEC.
WHEN A MAJOR company such as NEC,
renowned for quality products like the Spinwriter, launches its own micro, then we all tend to sit up and take notice. The new NEC PC -8001B is certainly an inter-
esting.machine with many useful features. The system consists of a keyboard unit,
which houses the micro itself, an I/O box, a double -drive disc unit, a colour video monitor and a small dot-matrix printer. The units come separately boxed, complete with interconnection cables, two reference manuals, and two diskettes.
Actually connecting the components together is one of the most fiddly operations, as there are no less than four data cables, with various types of connectors. A fairly short ribbon cable goes from the keyboard to the I/O unit, which limits the position of the keyboard. We felt this was rather a shame, as a separate keyboard has many advantages in a working environment. Most of the cables bore nasty warnings about disconnection while power was applied, but they seemed to fit
very securely to their sockets and we thought accidental removal would be
unlikely.
The I/O box allows interfacing with the disc unit and, presumably, various other devices yet to be disclosed. The printer is cabled directly to the keyboard, as is the colour monitor - black and white may be used instead if required. The I/O unit we were supplied for review is apparently
designed for the U.S. market, and we understand that the equivalent to be off-
ered in U.K. will be considerably lower in profile. No problems were experienced in powering -up the system, and with the system disc in drive 1, disc Basic is automatically booted.
The Basic is Microsoft's, as usual, and is called N -Basic. There are a number of
commands that appear to be unique to the PC -8001B, and some that other machines
have only as optional extras, e.g., a
re -number facility. The full list of N -Basic
commands is shown in table 1.
We particularly liked the built-in Auto,
Merge, Renum and Tron functions, which
are similar to the Pet's Toolkit com-
mands. The swap feature is fairly unusual and possibly useful, and Print Using is a very welcome inclusion. The facility to
alter the screen width, character sizes and design of patterns via dot graphics proved
both powerful and exciting to use, especially when combined with the Color command.
A spectacular Star Trek game is
included on one of the discs which fully
utilises these features. While it took some time to load, it was worth the wait. The PC-8001B's random-access file handling is powerful.
Sensitive keyboard
NEC is obviously well aware of the enormous market for micros as intelligent terminals, as demonstrated by the inclusion of the Term command, allowing real RS -232C communications without apparent hassle. We were not so keen on the necessity for Mount and Remove, when loading and unloading diskettes although it is impossible to forget to say
Mount, as disc I/O is not allowed until the disc has been Mounted. It is possible to forget to say Remove before turning off, which could have serious repercussions if data has been written to the disc and the file -allocation table has not been updated via this command.
The error handling provided is very good, having the ability to specify a subroutine for controlled operator intervention with the On-Error-Goto statement. There are, surprisingly, five types of numeric constants possible - integers, fixed point, floating point, hex and octal - and floating-point variables may be single or double precision, which should please all mathematicians.
Overall, we found the system physically pleasant to use; the keyboard is sensitive
56
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Review
444 r4
.... . 4 4 4 A 41
0
AI 44 44 4.444e
4 4 ... r .. 4444.4t.4::.144l!A4*:.4.. A .
and particularly worthy of mention. The cursor -control keys are "upside down" compared with other systems we have been used to - Cursor Up is non -shifted, and Cursor Down is shifted. However,
once we were used to this arrangement, it
made screen editing far easier as you do tend to be moving up rather than down
most of the time when programming and
making errors. The System Re -set button is sensibly
hidden on the rear of the keyboard unit, well out of the way of all but the most
masochistic of programmers. The general
layout of the keys is good - they are
standard typewriter QWERTY, together
with an additional numeric keypad.
Unfortunately the Stop key is immediately above the Return - as it often is but we assume that Stop could be disabled for any business application. There is an alternative Return button on the numeric pad, which must be useful for those used to calculators, or where pure numeric data is being entered.
The rather large I/O box, mentioned earlier, will be replaced with a somewhat smaller unit for the U.K. market, which will certainly make the system more attractive overall. It does seem a shame that there are so many interconnections, but perhaps mounted in a desk unit the
cables could be discreetly concealed.
The disc unit is a little noisy, especially
when the fan is running, but no problems
were encountered in using it, and we have
heard much noisier models. Only 15 files
are allowed per drive, which appears to be a severe limitation when comparing the system to its likely competitors such as
Pet, but it may be that prolonged expo-
sure to the operating system would show
this to be less important than it first
seems.
The disc unit contains two 5.25in.
drives, each of 163K capacity. The system
disc contains the disc Basic and two utilities -a Copy Disc program for back-ups and a Create program for formatting new
diskettes. It would have been good to see more utilities, but no doubt these will appear in due course.
The demonstration disc contains
various games, including the previously
mentioned Star Trek, most of which show the very versatile graphics and colours well. Since the machine is so new, it is hardly surprising that games are the only
programs supplied, though it made it
impossible to gauge the performance of the system in a business environment. Certainly, applications software will
arrive and it will be very interesting to see
how the PC -8001B compares with Apple, Pet and so on in this area.
Clear definition
The Hitachi colour monitor performed well, with clear definition and superb colours. The dot graphics are particularly impressive, and it seems likely that it will be possible to create graphs, pie -charts and other models with good accuracy, using the eight available colours and 690 -
by 280 -dot resolution. The dot-matrix printer is a NEC pro-
duct which, while fairly "plastic" in appearance, gives very high -quality output for a matrix unit. The specification claims a print speed of 100 characters per
second, which seemed about right. Its bidirectional printing makes quite a dif-
ference to overall speed, for instance
when making a program listing. Proportional spacing is also provided,
which caused some raised eyebrows until we remembered that NEC makes one of the best-selling letter -quality printers, so the company probably knows what it is doing. A proportional -spacing printer for
around 1.400 is extremely good value
Finally, on the hardware side, the keyboard includes five programmable function keys, each of which may be used shifted and un-shifted. At switch -on they are set to various commonly -used statements, such as List, Print, and so on; they
may be re -defined by the operator to give a very useful and flexible programming aid. The function -key settings are shown
on the bottom line of the screen for quick
reference, and change as soon as the Shift key is pressed or released. This display may be turned off if preferred.
The manuals which are provided are well written and, as far as we could tell, accurate. A very handy reference card is also included, containing all the N -Basic statements and a brief explanation of
each.
The major work is the N -Basic reference manual, which gives a clear
understanding of the Basic, disc files, disc formatting and some operating instructions. The second book is the Expansion Unit Reference Manual, which gives very detailed technical information for the use of Prom chips, Interrupts, using the bus, I/O addresses, Priority Interrupts, Inter-
facing, etc. Obviously of great use to
anyone wishing to delve deeper than sim-
ple use of the machine as a Basic system, it
was too complex a task to give a fair
review of these features in the time avail-
able.
One complaint is the lack of an "idiot's
guide" to connecting up the system, checking it out and using the Mount, Remove and other essential features. It
may be that NEC assumes the system will
only be sold with installation and training by the dealer - certainly preferable for all computers - but experience teaches us that this may often not happen.
(continued on next page)
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
57
Review
(continued from previous page)
Conclusions
A neat, professional system in appearance, although cabling seems a little
messy.
Very good -quality graphics and
colour, with excellent definition. Good, versatile Basic, with some inter-
esting extras. Good -quality matrix print from a fairly low-cost printer. The printer may not be sturdy enough for heavy commercial use. Apparently restrictive disc -file structure - they have only 15 files per drive. Good -quality keyboard, sensibly laid
out, with Reset button well out of the way.
Readable and informative manuals, although an "idiot's guide" would be a
welcome addition.
At present we do not know of any
applications programs for the machine, which must severely limit its sales into the business world, though software will obviously appear in due course. At around £2,700 for the system hard-
ware as tested, the NEC PC -8001B is com-
petitive, but not cheap.
Table 1.
Statement
AUTO
BEEP CLEAR CLOAD CLOSE COLOR CONSOLE
CONT CSAVE DATA DEF
DEFFN
DEFUSR
DIM END ERASE ERROR
FIELD
Description Generates line numbers after each carriage return. Causes the internal buzzer to beep. Clears all variables. Loads programs from cassette. Closes previously opened files. Assigns a colour, or screen attribute. Formats the screen and determines the colour mode. Continue after a STOP or END. Saves programs on to cassette. Supplies data to a READ statement. Declares a variable, or range of variables, as integer, single precision, double precision or string. Defines functions, such as DEFFNB (X, Y)
= X/Y*100. Specifies the start
address of a machine code subroutine. Dimensions arrays. Terminates program execution. Eliminates previously Dimensioned arrays. Defines error codes not intrinsic to
the PC -8001B. Divides a 256 -byte record into fields for a random -disc
file.
Statement
Description
FILES
Displays the disc
directory.
FOR . NEXT Performs series of
instruction a given
FORMAT
number of times. Performs level -1
formatting of a
diskette for data
I/O only.
GET
Reads a record from
a random -disc file.
GETC
Saves characters or
dot graphics from
screen to an array.
GETGC
Saves colour, dot
graphics and screen
attributes from
screen to an array.
GOSUB/RETURN Causes unconditional
jump to subroutine
at specified line
number, and returns.
GOTO
Unconditional jump
to specified line
number.
IF .. THEN
Conditional jump to
specified line number.
INPUT
Accepts data from
the keyboard.
INPUT#
Reads a record from
a random disc file.
KEY
Initialises the
programmable
function keys.
KEY LIST
Displays a list of
strings assigned to
the function keys.
KILL LET LFILES LINE
LINE INPUT LINE INPUT#
Deletes a specified disc file. Assigns a value to a variable. Lists disc directory to printer. Specifies screen attributes to a line on the screen. Initialises a string to an entire line. Reads a line from disc as it was saved by LINE INPUT.
LIST
Lists program to
LLIST LOAD
screen. Lists program to printer. Loads a program from
LOCATE
disc. Positions the cursor at a specified position on the
LSET, RSET MERGE
screen. Moves data into defined fields of a random disc -file buffer. Merges a program on disc with program in memory.
MOTOR MOUNT
Controls the
cassette motor. Reads the disc fileallocation table FAT - into memory
NAME
and checks for errors. Re -names a file on disc.
NEW
Deletes program in memory.
Statement
Description
ON ERROR GOTO Sets error trap.
ON GOSUB/GOTO Program branch
dependent on value
OPEN
of specified variable. Opens a random or sequential data file.
OUT
Sends a byte of data
to a machine port.
PEEK, POKE
Read/write a byte
in memory.
POINT
Checks whether a dot is set at a
specified location.
PRINT
Displays values of
variables and
strings, etc.
PRINT#
Writes image of
displayed data
to disc.
PRINT USING
Prints data to a
formatted field.
PSET, PRESET Sets or clears a dot at specified location
on screen.
PUT
Writes content of a
random buffer to a
random disc file.
PUTC
Displays characters
and dot graphics
previously saved
by GETC.
PUTCA
Displays characters
and dot graphics
previously saved
by GETCA.
READ
Initialises variables
to the data items of
a DATA statement.
REM
Remarks.
REMOVE
Updates the file -
allocation table
before a disc is
physically removed.
RENUM
Re -numbers program
lines.
RESTORE
Re -sets data items for re -reading
by READ.
RESUME
Continues program execution after performing an error recovery procedure.
RUN
Runs a program in memory, or loads and runs a program from
disc.
SAVE SET
STOP SWAP TERM TRON, TROFF WAIT
WIDTH
Stores a program
on disc.
Sets read -after -
write and write-
protect attributes
on a disc.
Halts program
execution.
Exchanges the values
of two variables.
Puts the PC -8001B in
terminal mode for
communications.
Trace on and off.
Suspends program
execution until
specified machine port
sees specific data.
Determines number
of characters per
screen line.
al
58
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
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Circle No. 143
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
59
MUCH HAS been written in the pages of Practical Computing about the desirability or otherwise of structured program-
ming. Comal is really a structured form of Basic. It contains the structures associated with Pascal while retaining the sim-
plicity of Basic. Comal was developed in Denmark by Borge Christensen, so it is not surprising that a Danish computer should have the language as standard.
The computer itself is neat and compact. The system as supplied includes a display unit, a keyboard, the main CPU and a floppy -disc unit. A transformer is
also included to provide the correct voltages for operation - the mains supply in Denmark is different to that in the U.K.
The system supplied for review only had a single, mini -floppy unit, but other configurations are possible.
After connecting the units together, the
next thing to do is to switch on. Experience in these matters makes this the nail-biting moment, but fortunately the Piccolo came on first time. The first
surprise was the display, which is yellow on brown. This is the recommended format in Denmark, where all word process-
ors have similar displays. The Comal systems disc is loaded into
the drive and the re -set button is pushed
to boot the system. The display then
comes up with the message
RC700 COMAL REV.x.xx
and you can begin. Some rather uninspiring applications
software was provided. A little more
imagination over demonstration programs would, no doubt, sell many more computers. The more interesting software was annotated in Danish, which is not particularly useful unless you understand the language. The Danish version of Mastermind was the most exciting program supplied, though anybody with a
small amount of programming experience
can write a Mastermind program, even in
Basic.
The operating system used by the
machine is not standard, but provides the necessary functions. The re -set switch initialises and starts Comal. Any indenta-
tion required by Comal is performed automatically by the software. The system forces all variable names into
upper case, with other words appearing in lower case unless they are enclosed in quotation marks.
Comal statements are checked for syntatical correctness as they are keyed in. Incorrect lines are not accepted and an error message informs the user of the nature of the error. This would be a very welcome feature of the language except that, again, the error message appears in
Danish. After a while, you get used to the
Danish terms, but they are still a considerable handicap in a system which is
intended primarily as a teaching machine.
The review machine was one of the first to
enter the U.K., and the manufacturers say they will amend the sofware to display
Comal-based Piccolo blows
wind of change
The Piccolo is a Danish -built microcomputer aimed at the educational market where it will compete with the
Research Machines 380-Z. The main feature of the
Piccolo, also known as the RC -700, is the fact that it uses
the Comal-80 programming language. Bill Bennett is the
reviewer.
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60
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
the messages in English, not Danish. The Piccolo's system commands may
be used for program development, program execution, dynamic debugging, calculator functions and file handling. System commands run immediately. Usual commands like Auto, List, Load, New, Save, Run and Print are available, and are almost identical to similar commands on other machines.
The RC -700 system uses the command
Bye. Con is the equivalent of Cont on other machines; it is the instruction to
resume execution of a program after it has been stopped. The command to scratch a file from the disc is Delete "file name",
though you cannot scratch the system files. The Help command writes out the names of the commands which are available to the user. The assignation statement Let is included. It has the same function as the Let statement, but is used
to assign values before running or continuing a program.
The Look -up command is one that does not appear in most Basics. It
replaces some functions of the Catalogue command by returning a list of all the files on a disc. The Output command directs output to either the printer or the video monitor. The command Re -number is particularly useful, and re -numbers all control statements as well as the program
lines. There is an Edit command and special
editing keys, as well as control -key functions. The editing functions include cursor movements, character insertion, character deletion, rest -of -line deletion and the deletion of the last input line.
Like other structured languages,
Comal is based on the philosophy that the Goto statement is unnecessary. Never-
theless, Goto does remain in Comal, as do
most of the commands of standard Basic.
Identifiers are used to define certain enti-
ties in a program, and may consist of up to 16 characters. An unknown number can be referred to as Unknownnumber in the program. Many Basics allow one or two characters for identifier names.
The possibility of using recognisable words as identifiers makes programs easier to understand. If you read a Comal program written by someone else, it is immediately obvious what is happening. Debugging is relatively easy in a procedure called Taxcalculation, for example,
with variables called Income and Deductions. On the other hand, most Basic pro-
grams deal with variables such as A, X1, and subroutines are referred to merely by
the line number at which they start. This is
really the essence of structured programming - knowing what is going on in the program.
Identifiers are given to simple numeric
variables, indexed numeric variables, simple string variables, indexed string variables, user -defined functions, procedures, formal parameters, and file vari-
ables. Although an identifier can be input
in upper and lower case, it will be forced
into upper case once entered. Most of the commands available in
Comal-80 will be familiar to anyone who
has programmed in Basic. The RAM statement is retained unchanged, as are many others, such as Print, Read, Input, Data, Restore - which is used to set the data pointer back to the first item in the data list. Goto is retained despite the
claims of Comal to be a structured langu-
age, as is Gosub. As in most versions of Basic, the Let
statement may be omitted. The Dim state-
ment is slightly different as all strings must be Dimensioned before they can be
used in a program. The maximum size of a dimensioned variable is limited only by the available memory.
Def is more or less the same as in most
Basics, allowing the user to define functions. The major departure here is that the functions thus defined can have an identifier that actually tells the user what the function does. In most Basic
implementations the function would have
to be called something pretty meaning-
less, like FNA for example. User -
defined functions in Comal may only have
one parameter, and recursive calls are not
possible.
Comal allows control of the program to be kept within the limits of certain subprograms or structures, so it is unfortunate that Comal-80 supports the Goto statement. Proponents of Comal maintain that any program can be written without
using Goto, but it is unrealistic to suppose that the statement will not be used if it is
there.
Comal has structures to control the flow of the program through gateways such as the conditional statement. This is a more sophisticated version of the If Then -Else conditional statement - the big bad wolf of Microsoft Basic. For
example:
1000
if ANSWERS = "YES" then
2000
exec POSITIVEREPLY
3000
else if ANSWERS = "NO" then
4000
exec NEGATIVEREPLY
5000
else exec UNWANTEDREPLY
60470
endit
7000
endi+
The Else part of the structure may be
omitted if it is not required, and the state-
ment list between If and Endif can be as
long as is necessary.
The For -Next statement is fairly stan-
dard, though it must be properly closed at
the end. The While-Endwhile statement,
which will be familiar to Pascal users,
allows a series of statements to be exe-
cuted as long as a condition is satisfied.
1000 2000 3000
4000
5000
while CONDITIONS = "DANGER" do exec MONITORPATIENT exec ALERTDOCTOR
inr-ut CONDITIONS
endwhile
The While statement, like all Comal structures, is easy to use. The Repeat -
Until structure is very similar: the difference is best illustrated by Borge Christensen's statement that the While
structure is a front -door entrance and
Repeat -Until is a back -door exit. In other
words, a series of instructions is obeyed until a condition becomes satisfied.
The Loop-Endloop can only be left when the Exit statement is reached. The
Endloop instruction simply transfers control to the next statement after the Loop command. When Exit is encountered, control is transferred to the next statement after the Endloop instruction.
A procedure is best thought of as a sub-
program that may or may not have formal parameters sent to and from it. To call a procedure, the Exec statement is used. Return returns control to the next statement after the procedure call.
In and Out statements are used to communicate with peripherals. One very useful statement is the. On Esc command, which transfers control when the escape key is depressed. Randomise seeds the random -number generator, and Output is
used to direct the output text to either the screen or another device.
The function set supported by Comal80 on the Piccolo is reasonably standard, though the file handling is not. Chain is a helpful command which allows another program to be read from disc and exe-
cuted when the current program has
finished running. The Piccolo Print command is slightly
more sophisticated than most thanks to the Tab function and the Print Using instruction. Tab positions the cursor to begin printing at a position on the current line defined by the argument in Tab. The Piccolo has 80 columns on the screen, providing scope for good, clear screen
displays.
The machine is weak on graphics. Particular characters provide some screen control facilities. The codes are more or less the same as in other machines, giving transferred programs a degree of portability. Some codes cause screen flashing - which is very tiring on the eyes - while initiating the semi -graphic character set, inverting the script, underlining and returning to normal script. The printer can be controlled in a similar way.
The Piccolo has been designed with communications and networking in mind therefore it is likely to be this fact as well as the Comal programming language that will make this computer popular with educationalists.
Conclusions
The Piccolo is a fine piece of hardware, compact and well designed, though it has many cables. It will however have to be vigorously promoted to break Research Machines' grip on the education market. The Comal language is a useful educational tool, being easy to use and structured. Danish error messages are confusing; the software will be greatly improved by
removing this problem.
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
61
Tanadilothrienpgrtihcee package
Information storage and retrieval to suit your requirements without the need to program are the big
attractions of Compsoft's DMS. Peter Wood evaluates the system designed to run on CP/M 2.2 systems.
CP/M IS the most popular operating system
for micros, and the wide range of software
available for CP/M systems offers the user obvious and attractive advantages.
So, it would seem likely that an increasing number of the commonly -used micros
will eventually support such an operating
system - perhaps in addition to their own
more esoteric ones. A recent move in that
direction has been the launch of the Small Systems Softbox, a device which allows the Pet to run several of the CP/M packages with no modification whatsoever.
Compsoft's DMS has been available for some time on the Pet, and has now been released for use on CP/M version 2.2
machines. DMS, which stands for Data Management System, is an information storage and retrieval system that the user can configure to his own requirements without recourse to programming. It means the cost of personalised software can be reduced very significantly, providing that the job is a card -index type of
application. The manual provided with the package
is well written and informative. While any software product's documentation must
assume that the user understands his hardware and operating system - or else be too heavy to lift - this manual goes into sufficient detail to make the task of
getting to grips with the program reasona-
bly easy. The style is easy going without becoming trivial and at no time appeared
condescending.
We tested the program on an SD
Systems MS -20 with 64K of RAM and two 1Mbyte 8in. floppies, running under MS-DOS which is the SD version of CP/M. The program is written in compiled Microsoft Basic and requires 46K of
user RAM. The program is loaded by typing DMS
and pressing Return. A menu is then displayed which gives 15 options, each
selectable by a single letter, A to N, or X. The user's company name is displayed at
the top of the screen together with a
licence number and date. There is also a very user-friendly para-
graph describing how to load the various programs, and offering further detailed
explanations of them for the inex-
perienced operator. The 15 options are: A: CONFIGURE B: CREATE C: KEY D: SHORT E: SELECT F: RE -DEFINE G: TRANSACT H: REPORT I: LABEL
J: SCREEN K: PROCESS L: COPY M: LINK N: RESET X: EXIT
As each selection is made, the screen displays the selected program name in large type together with an explanation of its function, and asks you to confirm by pressing the space bar. Pressing E at this stage returns you to the menu screen.
The Configure option allows you to set the program for use with your particular system. The kind of information required at this stage is the type of printer being
used - 80 or 132 columns - and the
control codes for performing the various screen functions such as clear screen, reverse video and so on. These tend to differ from machine to machine. Configure is used only when you first receive the package and should be run before you
do anything else. Before you can begin entering informa-
tion, you must, of course, define what you want to store and how it is to be displayed - this is the role of the Create function.
Its job is analogous to setting up a blank record card which is best done first on paper to plan the content and style of the card. The decisions you would need to make are:
How many fields of information on the card. A maximum of 60 fields are allowed.
What to call each field, e.g., name, telephone number, etc. Up to 15 characters may be used in the field name.
Whether the field is character, which means text, numeric - numbers only - or date.
Decide which is the key field. The information in the key field must be particular to each record, and must be the first field on the card.
Check that the total length of all the fields does not exceed 1,000 characters, which is the maximum record length.
A worked example of this is supplied in the manual, and provides useful practice for the new user.
In DMS each record has its own key. This key is used for rapid access to the record, as against searching through all the records in the file for a particular piece of information. If, for instance, you had set up a personnel file, the
employee's name may well be the key. Whenever you needed to change the
62
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Software review
G/81
Records used = 3740
1 Maximum records = 15817
Id name
No. Tupe Length
CRIPTION
PLIER ADDL
4
C
PLIER ADD3
6
C
ERNATIVE SUPP 8
C
FIT MARGIM
10
12
STOCK STOCK LEVEL
14 N 16 N
information relating to a specific employee, you could do so by simply typing his name, using the Key option. The computer could then go directly to his record card and retrieve it.
Having selected Key, the first question
you are asked is:
Do you want transaction logging YIN?
If you respond Y, every change you make to the information is copied on to the printer. This is very useful for checking the data you have entered - especially if there is plenty of it. The next question is:
Do you want the contents of new records displayed after keying in data for each field Y/N?
This option allows you to see, on the
screen, the entire record card as it is after each field entry. I imagine most users would not use this facility once they have
become familiar with the package, since it
slows down data entry considerably. Five options are now displayed:
C: to continue without displaying the record after each entry.
D: to display the file description, i.e., the field headings.
R: to re -start the program. E: to return to menu. SPACE: to continue.
Having pressed the space bar, you are requested to enter the first field which is the key field. If a record already exists with this key, it will be displayed for alteration. If no record exists, yOu are asked whether you wish to create a record
with that key. You may then proceed to
enter information for all the fields on the
record.
Two useful features exist at this point. First, if you wish the same information to appear in the same field in the current record as it did in the last, then pressing Control P will duplicate from the last
record being used into the current one. Secondly, pressing Escape will return
you to the first field of the current record, allowing re-entry of data if mistakes had
been made. Date fields may be filled automatically with the current date, by pressing C when date is requested.
When records already exist on file, five options are available:
P: Print the current record. D: Delete the current record. A: Amend a field in the current record. S: Store the amended record on file. C: Get the next record or end.
After amending a record, you return to these five options, and the S is highlighted to remind you to store the altered record. If the change is to be aborted, C
may be selected instead. The obvious and straightforward way
of retrieving a DMS record is by Key. The other method is more complex, and ulti-
mately, more powerful - Select. The Select option allows you to search the entire file for information contained in
one or more of the non -key fields. An example may be a personnel file,
where you wish to extract all employees who are: paid weekly and; over 40 years
of age and; live in Sussex or; live in Sut-
ton. Up to eight criteria may be set on one
pass of the file, and each may be joined by using And and/or Or. Confused? - well, .it works like this.
First, each selection criterion is allocated a number, 1 to 8. Then each pair of selections - 1 and 2, 3 and 4, etc. - is joined with an And or an Or. Next, each pair is evaluated as true or not -true, giving a maximum of four answers, one per pair. These pairs are then joined with And or Or and evaluated in their turn.
Finally, the results of that evaluation
are in turn evaluated giving a final true or
not -true result. If this answer is true, then
You have the followmg three opt,ons:Press A to create a f,le for WORDSTAR or user program Press B to create a NS backup file Press C to create a file which will update other DRS data
Press rite relevant key 41-C1, or 'E' to ex.?
the record is selected and may be printed, displayed or even transferred to another file. A simple truth table can be shown as
follows:
TRUE
ANDTRUE
= TRUE
NOT TRUE ANDTRUE
= NOT TRUE
TRUE
ANDNOT TRUE = NOT TRUE
NOT TRUE AND NOT TRUE = NOT TRUE
TRUE
OR TRUE
= TRUE
NOT TRUE OR TRUE
= TRUE
TRUE
OR NOT TRUE = TRUE
NOT TRUE OR NOT TRUE = NOT TRUE
It is certainly a very good idea, as the
manual suggests, to calculate all this on paper beforehand so that you are sure that you really obtain the results you
expect. The results can be, say, extremely useful reports, once you realise the full potential of this system of selection.
When searching on a Character -type field, each selection can be for the whole
field, or only a position in the field. If you
select position, DMS requests you to give
the start position and length of the character string by which you wish to
search. If you select the whole field either an
exact match for the string or an embedded
search is performed on the field. The type
of comparison is then requested: EQ, equal to; NE, not equal to; or RN, in the
range of. If you select EQ or NE, the next
option allows you to compare against a constant, which you supply, or against information contained in another field.
The RN option is more complicated and requires you to type in the two con-
stants between which you want to search. For instance, all records between A and E, or between 678 and 1,999. The last question you are asked is whether you want to see if the constant appears any-
where in the line, so that if you were searching for Sussex, you may wish all records having the word Sussex in the field called county, whether or not they
contained East Sussex or West Sussex.
When searching on numeric fields
more options are available:
EQ equal to NE not equal to GT greater than LT less then GE greater than or equal to LE less than or equal to RN in the range of
You may compare constants or other fields as in the character searches.
In date fields you have the ability to
look for whole or part dates. For instance, you could find information for 1981 or September and range searching is particularly useful for finding dates between two dates. All the selection criteria you enter may be stored on disc for use again and again. The And/Or facility used in combination with the selection criteria
described makes the package very versatile and is, in our view, the most signifi-
cant single feature. All the DMS reports allow you to use
the selection feature and sorted files, and
also allow you to choose which fields from
the records are printed. There are four types of report.
In the standard report type A, fields from each record are printed across the page with headings at the top enclosed within dotted lines. You may supply a date and title for the report; page numbering and pagination are automatic. Standard report type B is like type A,
except that the fields are printed down the page with the headings on the left.
User -defined reports are created using a report generator which allows you to format your printing so that invoices, sta-
tements, stock cards, etc., can appear exactly as required. Again, the manual suggests you use pen and paper to set it out before wasting too much time on the machine - and too much listing paper. User -defined address labels may be
(continued on next page)
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
63
Software review
(continued from previous page)
printed - you can specify up to five
across. Each label can be individual or the
same label may be printed up to 50 times.
On each report it is possible to total numeric fields and print them at "control breaks" which are set so that each time the contents of a field changes, say, department number, the totals are printed automatically. Totals for the entire print are also produced.
Three options are used for reporting: A
to print standard DMS reports, B to set up
tailored reports and C to print tailored reports. Again, you may store the formatted report layouts on disc for future use.
Sorting may be carried out on only part
of a file, and generates a sorted index which is then stored. You may create as
many sorted indices as you wish, up to the
capacity of the disc. When an index is selected, DMS tells you if any updates have been carried out since that index was created. That protects you from missing
new information. One of your previously -defined selec-
tion criteria may be used, and the sort will
apply only to records chosen on that basis, so that sorting all employees in Sussex into ascending salary order is very easy
indeed. If you are sorting on a character field,
you need not sort on the entire field, but specify the start position and length within the field of the sort criterion. The full contents of date and numeric fields
are always used, however.
Having created a sorted index, selecting Screen allows you to make an entry that DMS uses to position itself in the index. The record nearest to the data you entered will then be displayed. It is then possible to nudge up or down the file using the less -than and greater -than keys, print the displayed record using P, or change the search parameter with R.
Obviously, using Screen and Sort is useful only if the index is up to date, and users who change the contents of their files frequently would need to regenerate
sorted indices reasonably frequently.
The process function is a batch -proces-
sing facility which allows a series of calculations to be performed on all or part of the file. An example may be a stock file,
where you needed to increase the price of
all items in a particular product group by 10 percent. Again you have the ability to
store the process instructions on disc for
repetitive use. The following operations
are possible:
+ addition
- subtraction
/ division
multiplication make equal to
These operations are performed on fields from the records, accumulators or
constants. Up to eight instructions may be entered, each of up to 100 characters in length. In our example relating to stock records, you may set up the following:
1. SELLING PRICE = SELLING PRICE* 01.1 2. COMMENT = PRICE INCREASE DUE
TO DOLLAR FLUCTUATION
There are 30 accumulators which may
be used to produce totals. They are
divided into three groups: 1-10 which are cleared to zero as each record is entered before processing begins on that record; 11-20 which are also cleared to zero, but
only after processing the record and nonzero accumulators are printed out; 21-30
which are cleared to zero only at the beginning of a processing run, and are
printed at the end of a run for end totals,
etc.
All the instructions are evaluated from left to right, so you need not remember the precedence of division, multiplication, addition, subtraction. Records may also be deleted by including an up-arrow sign, followed by Delete in a processing line. Processing instructions appearing after that line will, however, by ignored.
You may opt to print the complete record contents both before and after processing, or only after, or only those fields affected by the processing. Errors can also by printed - for example, trying to inserted too large a number in a
particular field. A lovely feature of the program is the
file -to -file copy. It allows you to define a
new, and possibly different, record format, with perhaps more or longer
fields and copy all or part of the old file across. The saving on re -typing because
you changed your requirements is
tremendous.
You may also want to combine the
contents of two files, or to extract records for one file into another because you are
forming a new company or division. The options available must be obvious by now, as DMS is consistent throughout.
Printing options are available, as are
selection criteria.
The Link option is used to create files for use with word-processing software, such as Wordstar, and many be used in a mail -merge run, for automatic insertion of names and addresses and so on. It is also used for creating back-up or update files for re -input to DMS itself.
The option exists to use a sorted file which you have previously created, and a
pre -defined record selection as with many of the other sections. You may then specify which fields you wish to transfer to the output file.
Up to 60 fields may be output, in any order, and the same field may be output more than once if required - very useful for those involved in direct mailing and personalised letters.
The ability to define a screen mask is important if you wish the information to be presented in a special format, of if you wish to allow updating of certain fields only. It will also allow you to hide certain pieces of data. The Transact feature permits you to create screen masks, each with its own password, so that an operator with
the key word can perform his specific task and no other.
If you had a stock -control system
where you wished to protect the prices, minimum stock levels, etc., but wanted to allow an operator to issue stock and have the figures for the item updated, then
Transact will do the job. Formatted masks may be stored on the disc, and
called up by name. The password must then be entered before any processing can take place.
Fields may be updated as the operator is prompted by the system. If a disc is created for use in, to quote the manual, "a restricted -access environment", then the other menu options can be removed to prevent alteration of the data.
Re -define allows you re -define or print the file definitions - most useful if you
need to change the name of a field or fields without altering the record struc-
ture.
Conclusions
At £400 DMS on CP/M is certainly good value. The features offered make it a very
powerful records -management package.
Although the screens were extremely
user-friendly in showing a paragraph or so of instructions, we felt this might have been better replaced with a help facility. This would have avoided filling the screen with what becomes superfluous information as the user learns the system. This is, however, a minor point. The search facilities are very complex, and when coupled with sorts, file -to -file copies, formatted screen masks, and process options give a very flexible package
indeed.
Compsoft Ltd is at Great Tangley
Manor Farm, Wonersh, Near Guildford, Surrey. Telephone: 0483 505918/39665. The contact is Heather Kearsley.
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981 64
The Essential
Software CoinpanV 47 Brunswick Centre, London WC1N 1AF
SUPE
atatkuuri
gobbk MAN
Watch out behind you!
INVASI
far
As you hurry through the maze collecting
your energy
N YOUR Christmas
modules you score points. But don't let the Gobblemen catch you. If you are crafty, sneek up behind them and neutralise them to gain extra points. Just keep a watch.
X80 & ZX131
T8R0S
When they attack you they come in fast. Just don't lose your nerve.
TRS 80 Levels I & 11 16 K Tape £10
Video Genie 16 K Tape
£10
3 LEVELS OF PLAY IN EACH GAME
From easy to dangerously difficult - you'll find it hard to resist the challenge time after time!
TOTALLY FLICKER FREE
Absolutely no flicker. You don't need to press any thing for the display to move!
MACHINE LANGUAGE
These programs are written in the computer's own language - only this way is it possible for continuous, flicker free action to occur.
MOVING GRAPHICS
No hardware modifications are necessary to get moving graphics. Just follow the instructions for cassette loading and off you go, no extra memory needed.
FITS 1K BASIC MACHINE
7
Di
3
ATTACK FORCE
Dodge the alien Ramships and fire missiles to destroy them before they get you. The alien Flagship uses his deadly laser bolt to transform a Ramship into another Flagship or into your ship's double. Look out! Destroy your double and you could destroy yourself.
TRS 80 Level !Er 1116K Tape
£10
Video Genie EG300316K Tape f10 GALAXY INVASION
The newest and most exciting invaders type game yet! Cruel and crafty aliens
attack Earth. You are the sole defender.
As you fire your laser at the aliens
they swoop down and bomb you.
Exciting use of graphics! Must be seen.
TRS 80 Level I Et 1116K Tape
Amazing as it is, all these moving graphics programs fit into your basic 1K Sinclair!
ALL PROGRAMS ON CASSETTE
Loads just like any other program on cassette. Each tape contains instructions on how best to load the
cassette.
SUPER INVASION
is the machine language game you and your
Video Genie 16K Tape
Video 1 Genie
TTRhhaoetbGoTatamlkes
Attack
Sinclair have been waiting for. Cruel and crafty invaders have been spotted in battle formation ready to attack with your ship just below them! Quickly and skilfully you shift right and left as you carefully fire your lasers at them. But watch out - they are accurate! 3 levels from easy to almost impossible to seat
The Newest and Most Astounding Arcade Game that TALKS has just Reached Planet Earth. You can't help yourself. You have to stop them at all cost. Don't let up. Written especially for high quality graphics you'll simply be dazed and excited by the action.
TRS 80 Levels I & II 16 K Tape £10
Video Genie 16 K Tape
£10
LABYRINTH
i6
DEATHMAZE A must for all adventure addicts!
Walk down corridors depicted in full
DOUBLE BREAKOUT
Look around to find
the objects you need
You'll be amazed to see how difficult it is for you to break through the
to survive.
ZX80 DOUBLE BREAKOUT and even more astonished to see the ex- But beware!
citing game fit into your 1K Sinclair. Try your skill on the easiest
Monsters
level because even with the most skilful bat control you'll find it hard to and Incredible A. -
catch at the fastest level! Breaking through the first barricade is easy but Obstacles can
don't be fooled for the second - it's much harder than you think! Two ball
lurk round
angles and curved bat will keep the excitement going for hours!
every corner!
1
THE ESSENTIAL SOFTWARE COMPANY (Viscounti Ltd.) 01-837 3154
47 BRUNSWICK CENTRE LONDON WC1N 1AF
Signature
I have a
microcomputer Name
Please send me your software catalogue. I enclose a stamped self addressed envelope
Address
Please send me
I enclose a cheque/postal order for E (plus 50p post Er packing)
My ACCESS No is
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Postcode
for TRS 80 LEVEL II 16K
PC 12/8'11
LABYRINTH TAPE £10 DEATHMAZE TAPE £10 J
Circle No. 144
65
TANGERINE APPROVED SOFTWARE FOR MICROTAN
MICRO TANTEL
SOFTWARE
MICRO TANTEL IS A SOFTWARE PACKAGE WHICH INTERFACES TO TANTEL UNITS AND YOUR COMPUTER. THE MOMENT YOU CONNECT YOUR COMPUTER TO
THE TANTEL UNIT YOU GET
FULL COLOUR FACILITIES WITH
A SCREEN SIZE OF 24 x 40. FETCH AND SAVE PRESTEL
PAGES INTO USER RAM AREA. UPDATE AND DISPLAY PAGES IN ANY ORDER AND AT ANY TIME.
EPROM OR TAPE ....£19.95
TOOLKIT
APPEND LOAD TWO PROGRAMS
INTO STORE NOW
HEX CONVERSION FOR THOSE
POKES
PLOT COMMANDS FOR GRAPHICS
SINGLE KEY COMMANDS
FIND AND DISPLAY LINE Nos OF
ANY VARIABLE
AUTO NUMBERING NO MORE
TYPING IN OF LINE NUMBERS
RENUMBER RESOLVES ALL
GOTO'S. GOSUB'S, THEN'S,
ETC.
EPROM
£22.50
TANEX 8K EPROM BOARD
THIS BOARD PLUGS INTO J2 ON
TANEX AND ALLOWS YOU TO
SWITCH FROM ONE SET OF
EPROMS TO ANOTHER. BY THE
USE OF A MECHANICAL OR
LOGIC SWITCH THE BOARD CAN
BE ORDERED TO CONTAIN 2 x
2732 EPROMS OR 4 x 2716
EPROMS
£24.50
CHESS 2
AN AID TO CHESS PLAYERS
1 NEW GAME SET UP
2 GIVEN POSITION SET UP
3 CASSETTE STORED SET UP
RECORD AND RETRIEVE
MOVES
FROM CASSETTE
£8.95
MICROTAN COMPANION BOOK 2ND EDITION
* DISCOVER THE INSIDE WORK-
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MICROTAN BASIC
* PAGE ZERO POINTERS INTO
BASIC
NOW LOAD MORE THAN ONE
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TIME
* CREATE AND ADD YOUR OWN
COMMANDS
* DISPLAY THE REGISTERS
WHILST
YOUR PROGRAM IS RUNNING
IMPROVE DATA RESTORE ROU-
TINE
* FULL VDU MEMORY MAP WITH
HEX
PLUS DECIMAL VALUES PLUS
* FULL GRAPHICS CHARACTER
CHART
* PROGRAM WITHOUT SCROLLING
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AND LOTS MORE
£9.95
2 PASS ASSEMBLER
AVAILABLE IN 2732 EPROM FOR INSERTION INTO J2 ON TANEX OR
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* ASSEMBLY FROM SOURCE CODE HELD IN STORE OR ON TAPE.
* ALL STANDARD 6502 OP CODES 4-
* LABELS OF UP TO 6 CHA-
RACTERS.
* HEX, DECIMAL AND CHARACTER
CONSTANTS SUPPORTED.
* ASSEMBLY - LABEL - LIST -
PRINT * RELOCATABLE ASSEMBLY FOR
EPROMS. FULL DOCUMENTATION ....£34.95
TEXT PROCESSOR
Full screen editing with cursor controls. Two -speed two-way scrolling. Global search function.
*3 levels of operation * 1 operate on complete text. 3 operate on selected line. Create and maintain text files with fast
loading. This is a machine code program on tape.
£19.95
ADVENTURE
NOW AVAILABLE FOR
MICROTAN
£5.95
HIGH RESOLUTION GRAPHICS SOFTWARE
THIS SOFTWARE PACKAGE
WILL ENABLE YOU TO USE THE NEW FACILITIES OF THE TAN-
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EASE. NOW MIX CHUNKY GRA-
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£12.95 £14.95
FILE UTILITIES
MENU
1 = LOAD DATA FILE 2 = DISPLAY DATA FILE 3 = CREATE/SAVE FILE 4 = UPDATE DATA FILE
5 = SAVE UPDATED FILE 6 = END (OR USER PROGRAM)
BASIC TAPE
£9.95
EPROM PROGRAMMER
CHEAP SOLUTION TO 2716 EPROM PROGRAMMING USING THE COMPUTER TO DRIVE THE PROGRAMMER. THE CIRCUIT PROVIDED CAN
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£9.95
SEND CHEQUE/POSTAL ORDER PLUS 50p POST AND PACKING TO
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235 FRIERN ROAD DULWICH, LONDON
or tel 01-693 7659 PRICES INCLUDE VAT
GAMES 1 MOON LAND HANGMAN OTELLO
66
£8.95 (B)
GAMES 2
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BREAKOUT
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(M/C)./
Circle No. 145
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Software review
STATISTICAL PROGRAMS are published in
two very different forms in the two pack-
ages reviewed here. Prentice -Hall offers a series of simple programs as listings in a book, while Ecosoft's Microstat is sup-
plied on a pair of discs.
Basic -pack Statistics Programs for Small Computers is a recent addition to the Prentice -Hall series in personal computing. It contains a selection of 33 programs for statistical analysis of data. Each
program is separately documented with a clear description of its purpose, its poss-
ible uses and the kind of data for which it
is designed. Worked examples and
detailed instructions are given, so a rela-
tive beginner could pick up the book, key in a program and begin analysis within half an hour.
Most of the programs deal with a single
test, though some of the more elementary routines such as mean, variance, standard deviation and standard error are grouped into one program. The programs are typi-
cally 100 to 180 lines long. Since all lines are single statements,
and many are taken up by Rems or the single command Print, only a small amount of typing is required to enter a program. However, if you need to carry out several different tests on the same set
of data, it is necessary to re-enter the data for each test. With large runs of data this could be tedious and a source of error.
The programs give you full opportunity
to correct data that has been entered
erroneously. They also inspect the data as it is entered and prevent entry of invalid data, such as negative or out -of -range
values.
By looking through the book and finding a worked example that parallels your own set of data, you can find and run a suitable test without having much understanding of the statistical principles
involved. For those who do want to get to grips with the principles there are very detailed explanations of each test, which include a description of all the underlying equations and concepts. The explanations are backed up with a list of references to fuller descriptions in the standard American textbooks, some of which are readily available in U.K. Each program is also accompanied by a set of exercises, with answers, thus making the book useful to the student.
Full running instructions are given for each program, together with printout of
one or more sample runs. Under the
heading "Bugs", the author lists any circumstances under which the program may fail to operate satisfactorily, such as the possibility of overflow when calculat-
ing factorials.
Tables of Student's t, the Mann -Whit-
ney U, chi-square, and Fisher's F are given at the back so that the user can estimate probabilities from values of these statistics calculated by the programs. A few of the programs calculate
the probabilities directly.
Analysing data
Two contrasting sets of statistics programs are examined in detail by Owen Bishop.
The author comments on the reliability of the algorithms used. Rather tantalis-
ingly, he does not explain the basis of these
algorithms, which would interest the more erudite statistician. It is only in these programs that the Basic uses more than the most elementary of operators and functions. The owner of the typical personal computer should be able to key in most programs without much adapta-
tion.
The book begins with a set of 10 programs on descriptive statistics. These
include calculation of probabilities under the binomial, Poisson and normal distributions. There are utility programs for sorting and ranking an array of values, and programs based on the t -statistic and on chi-square.
The remainder of the programs, which
include the McNemar test and the
Median test, reflect the emphasis on non parametric testing found in this collection. Since non -parametric tests are best
for small samples - which is what most of us usually have to deal with - the selec-
tion offered will be generally useful. The most notable omissions are analysis of variance and regression analysis.
The book is well produced with large, clearly laid -out pages. In each chapter, the printout of the sample run and the listing of the program are in facsimile to distinguish them from the descriptive text. Unfortunately the original printout and listing appear to have been done on an ancient printer with a worn ribbon. Although legible they are not easy read-
ing. This, however, is a minor criticism of
what is generally an excellent work. The Microstat package from Ecosoft is
a product of an entirely different type. It
is clearly aimed at the experienced stati-
stician who has a suitably impressive microcomputer on which to run it. The manual states that the minimum system for satisfactory operation should have
32K memory and dual single -density 8in.
disc drives. The package is presented on two discs,
one of which is completely filled with
programs. The other carries the
remainder of the programs, leaving about 280 blocks of free space for the
storage of data files. The discs are
designed for operating under North Star DOS and Basic. There is provision for establishing certain screen and printer parameters once and for all so that the format of VDU display and printout can
be adjusted to the peripherals in the
user's system.
The package is based on a data management sub -system - DMS - in
which all data is held in files. There are all the usual facilities for creating, editing, merging and destroying files. The conven-
ience of the DMS is that data needs to be entered only once. It can then be sub-
jected to a variety of statistical pro-
cedures as often as required, for as long as
it remains on file. There are also procedures for trans-
forming the data in a file. For example, by
a single command every item in a named
file can be converted into its reciprocal or its natural or common logarithm, multi-
plied by a constant factor, incremented or decremented by a fixed amount or trans-
formed in a number of other ways. This is an essential preliminary to several stati-
stical tests and can be helpful when one is
looking through a set of data prior to
(continued on next page)
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
67
Software review
(continued from previous page)
analysis. Sets of data can be displayed with all variables in a common format, independent of the format in which they were originally entered.
Access to the package is by means of a sequence of menus. Selection and branching is by single -key entry, with the default being the choice most commonly required. Progress through the stages of a procedures can be very rapid, though the less -experienced user could quite easily become lost..
Unfortunately. there seems to be no way back to the main menu until after the completion of each test. A careless entry during a test can lead to a waste of time.
while you plough on through the
remainder of the test watching the results of meaningless computations appear on the screen. This package is clearly for the
careful and concentrating user. There is a comprehensive selection of
tests, both parametric and non -parametric. These include analysis of variance, regression analysis, time -series analysis. goodness .of fit, the runs test and most other standard non -parametric tests. There are programs for calculating factorials, permutations and combinations. These calculate factorials directly for X <=49. Above this limit. approximations are used to eliminate the danger of overflow. The upper limit is factorial 1,000,000.
The manual is well compiled and explicit. It contains clear instructions on how
to operate the system, and lists the menus, and the sequence of entries required for
performing each of the tests. There is no attempt to make this a statistical hand-
book. Unlike the Prentice -Hall book, the Microstats manual does not explain the
purpose of the tests, nor does it give
examples of their use or show what they do and how they do it.
The programs have no provision for preventing a test being performed on invalid data and calculating entirely meaningless results. This is not necessarily a criticism of the programs, for they are clearly intended for experienced users, but the less experienced should not contemplate using the Microstats pack-
age without considerable preliminary
training. One aspect of data entry was found to
be inconvenient and a cause of frequent
mis-keying. The problem arises because data must be entered by cases. For example, when entering a table which lists the weights. ages and response times of a set of persons. the data must be entered person by person. Every figure to be entered has a different format from the figures preceding and following it. You might have. to enter a series such as 85.35, 42, 0.0123 for each person. though it would be much easier to enter all the weights, followed by all the ages and all the re-
sponse times. Keying in a set of values with identical format establishes a rhythm, and is quicker and less error -
prone. This facility could have been pro-
vided without unduly complicating the program, and would have made data entry more speedy and reliable.
Conclusions
The Prentice -Hall book is good for des-
criptive statistics, and non -parametric
testing. It gives clear and full explanations
throughout, and is suited to the beginner
and student as well as to the more
advanced user of statistical testing. It con-
tains short, clearly -written programs
which use a fairly elementary Basic set. It
is highly recommended as very good value
for money at only 33p a program.
The Ecosoft Microstat is a worthwhile
package, though only for the expert. You
will need to follow its system exactly, so
look at the manual before buying the discs,
to confirm that the procedures and the
range of tests suit your requirements.
Basic -pack Statistics Programs for
Small Computers by Dennie Van Tassel is
published by Prentice -Hall International,
price £11; ISBN 13 066381 6.
Microstat is produced by Ecosoft, P.O.
Box 68602, Indianapolis, In. 46286,
U.S.A., and distributed in the U.K. by
Digital Devices Ltd., 134 London Road,
Southborough, Tunbridge Wells, Kent;
telephone (0892)37977/?.
0
Micros have really taken off in Cambridge!
TRS-80 Model I II Er Ill Apple II Et III
North -Star Horizon Communicator Commodore Pet Daisy -wheel printers Computer books
Acorn Atom Hewlett-Packard HP85 UK101 kit computer
Sharp pocket computer Wordstar/Datastar Plotters/digitisers Electronic components
First time buyer or experienced user? See what's best in microcomputers today, all generally on demonstrat,un and available from stock at
Cambridge Computer Store
1
I
TH(1,11olie 107731
I
,1
Mon -Fri 900 to 1230. 115 to 530 Sat 9 00 to 5 30
Circle No. 146
68
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
We've raised the
standard but not
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The new Microline 82A raises X -Data's price/performance standard higher than ever. At no extra cost.
Based on Oki's superb engineering tradition, the
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Unbelievably at the same price as its best-
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Speed
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The Microline 82A will challenge any other
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Plus lower cost. We've reduced the price by
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Price/performance is X -Data's winning
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of your nearest dealer.
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
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Circle No. 147
69
Adaptive programs change their form in the light of their own experience. Embodying adaptive techniques into statement analysis opens up the possibility of a computer which tolerates a wide range of programming errors.
Teaching a computer
to learn
from your mistakes
CURRENT COMPUTER systems require the users to construct programs in accordance
with an extremely strict set of grammati-
cal rules. They would probably be
regarded as much too pedantic for practi-
cal use in any other sphere of human
communication. It is, consequently, only too common
for a program submitted to a computer system to be rejected for trivial reasons such the omission of a closing bracket. As a further aggravation, it is quite possible
by Edward James
that the mistakes were not present in the original draft of the program, but were inserted during the transcription of the
program into computer -readable form. The reasons for rejection are described
as trivial in the case of those types of mistake where the correct form can be inferred from the incorrect form with a
high degree of confidence. For example, a
line might be written, incorrectly, as fol-
lows:
25IFX >1 5TENST
Given that the analysing mechanism expects a statement in Basic, we would like it to recognise the incorrectly -written line as equivalent to:
25 IF X>15 THEN STOP
Although to a human reader familiar with Basic the corrections will seem obvious enough, it is a far from trivial exercise for the computer. It is not just a question of finding the "nearest" correct statement in the mathematical sense, but of knowing from previous experience what users generally write.
A system which is capable of showing such a tolerance to inaccuracies has been developed, and in later work at Imperial College we have attempted to deal with more fundamental variations from a correct specification. We also need to improve the efficiency of the analysing process so that it may be employed as a tool for everyday use.
The method of statement analysis used
in most computer systems today has become highly standardised and impres-
sively efficient in terms of computer utili-
sation. This process involves the determi-
nation of the structure of incoming statements by matching them against some expression of the structure of all possible
statements in the language which is being analysed. Any correct statement will be assigned a unique structure by this pro-
cess. The attempted analysis of an incorrect
statement is arranged to result in an error
exit as soon as possible, and at that stage
an ad hoc process is invoked. It may
simply report the existence of an incorrect
statement, or it may make a serious
attempt to correct the statement.
Usually the structure of the language to
be analysed is implicitly expressed in an algorithm for the analysis. Every statement is analysed individually, independently of other statements in the same program and similar statements in previously -encountered programs. Important strategy decisions such as the order in
which different possible analyses should be attempted are fixed once and for all.
The method of dealing with errors is specified in advance. It is based, presuma-
experience gained in the matching process. At any particular time, therefore, the structure of the processor reflects its
experience as well as what it was "taught" to start with.
Matching strategy
In our systr m. the processing of incoming statements in a program language is based on the expectation that the statement to be analysed will not correspond exactly to a particular acceptable statement in the language. This approach can
be likened to an attempt to determine what is meant by the statement rather than what it actually says. There is no necessary connection with determining the closest match in any mathematical sense. The system is provided initially with a process for matching all expected
statements in the language, but it is possible for some other statement which can
be "made sense or, and which occurs frequently enough, to be promoted to "expected" status.
The process of analysis can he viewed
Figure 1. Matching a correct input. The decision tree recognises the three words "common", "complex" and "continue".
bly, on some previous experience of likely errors; there is no possibility of altering
the strategy in the light of errors which are encountered in practice.
The adaptive system developed at Imperial College generalises the usual
as a series of tests on the incoming state-
ment which, if successful, provide
increasing confidence that the statement is of the expected pattern. A detailed
example is given in figure 1. The matching
strategy for correct input is as follows:
method in several ways. The general prin-
ciple is that the structure expressing acceptable statements in the language is
dynamic rather than static. This structure
is provided initially, and is then modified
in many different ways as a result of
Test the next character in the input word against the letter in the box under considera-
tion. If it agrees, follow the horizontal line to the next
box on the right and repeat the process from the beginning. If it does not agree, follow the vertical line
70
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Programming
downwards to the next box and try the test again, but with the same input character.
Continue until there are no more input
characters remaining.
If the match is correct the system will have reached the end of a branch of the decision tree, and the word represented by the branch will have been recognised.
For example: if the input word is
COMPLEX
Take first letter C and match with first box in decision tree; it agrees, so follow horizontal line to box 2. Match next letter, 0, with box 2; it agrees, so go to box 3. Match next letter M with box 3; it agrees, so go to box 4. Match next letter P with box 4; it does not agree, so go to box 7. Stay on same input letter P and match with box 7; it agrees, so go to box 8. Match next letter L with box 8, etc. Finally, letter X matches with box 10 and so the match is successful
The matching process is controlled by a
decision tree. Each node in the tree specifies a test to be applied to the statement being analysed. In the example, we employ only one type of test. Successive
nodes along each branch of the tree spe-
cify symbols which are to be matched with
successive symbols in the statement to be
analysed, working from left to right. Notice that although the example
matches from left to right, it is not necessary for successive tests to be applied to successive characters in the input statement.
Changing expectations
The previous example demonstrates the method for dealing with a correct input statement. The matching strategy for incorrect input is of the same form as for correct input. It is modified to take account of one of the following basic types of error:
letter omitted in input, incorrect letter in input, superfluous letter in input,
or some combination of these.
For example, if the incorrect word
COMLEX is input, the "correct" strategy is in operation at the start of the process. C, 0 and M are matched correctly. Then the next letter, L, does not match with either of boxes 4 and 7. The "correct"
strategy has failed, so "incorrect" strategy 1 is tried. This assumes that a
letter has been omitted. It therefore tries to match input L with boxes 5 and 8 in turn. Box 5 does not match but box 8
does, and with this success it returns to the
"correct" strategy. Letters E and X are successfully matched with boxes 9 and 10 and the match is complete.
The general principle is that a series of strategies is invoked, each of which pre-
supposes that a particular type of mistake has been made. Each one attempts to force the matching process along until it has got over that part of the input state-
ment which does not fit the expected
pattern. The strategies are applied in the order
corresponding to their success in making decipherable statement to the user. The sense of the input in the past. The strategy problem of determining when to give up
which assumes that a perfect fit will be an attempt to match an inaccurate state-
obtained between the input and one of ment is a subtle one, similar to that faced the pre -stored expected patterns - which in evaluating how many moves to look
is the only strategy applied in most other ahead in chess -playing programs. systems - is applied first only as long as The Imperial College system tackles
the system's experience is that the given this problem by carrying a number at each
statement tends to be correct more often
than not.
The initial structure of the tree provided by the analysing algorithm
stage of the matching process, representing our confidence in obtaining an eventual successful match. Each time the "correct" strategy succeeds, the number is
expresses the structure of all "expected" language statements. The force -fit process operates for all unexpected state -
increased, and each time it is necessary to
invoke an "incorrect" strategy, the
number is decremented. Based on previous experience, a certain confidence
level is fixed. If a series of unsuccessful
strategies results in the number falling
below this level, then the matching pro-
cess retraces its steps and tries some dif-
ferent strategy, assuming a different pat-
tern of mistakes. If all strategies have
been tried, it abandons the process.
The method of learning about common
inaccuracies implies that the decision tree
Figure 2. Matching an unexpected error. will gradually develop a complex and
The decision tree recognises "common", "continue" and its mis-spelling "cotinue".
extensive structure. As a result, it will
occupy increasing amounts of storage
ments, including those involving common
imprecisions. It is clearly inefficient to invoke conti-
nually a lengthy fitting process for a succession of inaccurate statements with identical structures, so the structure of the experience tree can be augmented to incorporate structures which correspond to common mistakes. A successful match of these structures can lead to the same outcome as the corresponding correct structures. The successful match against an incorrect structure will always be faster than the corresponding force fit to the correct structure.
Figure 2 shows this process in opera-
space in the computer. There may even be
insufficient space to store all the patterns of correct statements in a language. To help with this problem, we can make use of a process based on the recognition of
common sub -trees.
In the example in figure 3, a certain sub -structure is repeated in different
parts of the tree. To save space, the sub tree pattern can be stored in one place
only and referenced from each of the relevant positions in the main tree. As long as the referencing mechanism does not take up more space than the original sub -tree, there will be a nett saving in
space.
tion. If the input is the mis-spelled word
COTINUE, it will match correctly with
boxes 1, 2 and 13. It is then directed back to that part of the tree which recognises the rest of the correct word CONTINUE.
.The process ends at box 12 with the same result as if the input word had been CON-
TINUE. It is possible to add to the decision tree
every inaccurate structure which can be
matched. The number of possible
mistakes is far larger than that of correct
Exploiting redundancy
Trying a large number of alternative strategies is likely to involve a great deal of time as well as space. It is, therefore, important to aim at minimising the number of tests required to process each
statement, especially correct ones. One method of achieving this aim is
through a branch -swopping technique. The set of alternative nodes at any point
structures, so it is not practical to retain details of infrequent mistakes. The infrequent mistakes must be weeded out from time to time.
If this process is looked on as a pruning of the decision tree, it implies that the tree
in the tree, representing the set of alterna-
tive structures which might be present at a certain point in the input statement, can be re -arranged. Those most frequently
relevant are placed nearest to the start of the tree where they are reached most
carries a memory of the frequency of all statements. It is also necessary to take precautions not to prune away statement structures which are correct but seldom
used.
Naturally there will always be certain
quickly. When a node is transferred in this
way, its attachments to nodes further from the start must remain undisturbed.
The re -arrangement of nodes can be continuous in the sense that a node is promoted where possible at every suc-
input statements which cannot be made cessful match. Alternatively, the analysis
sense of by any of the strategies provided. of successful match frequencies and the
In some cases the matching process will necessary exchange of nodes can be car -
have to report defeat by returning the un-
(continued on next page)
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
71
Programming
(continued from previous page)
ried out at intervals of, say, every 10,000 statements processed, assuming that information on how frequently each node
is processed is retained in the tree. Figure 4 demonstrates how a particular decision tree can be re -structured.
Another method of reducing the
number of tests involved in recognising a statement is simply not to apply all the tests. Instead, a method is used which
exploits the redundancy inherent in the formulation of the statement. Figure 5 shows a decision tree which models recognition of the words COMMON,
CONTINUE and COMPLEX.
Given that the characters C and 0 have
been matched correctly, there is a strong likelihood that the statement contains one of the three words although it is not possible to say which one. If the characters M and P match, then the keyword
Figure 3. A branching tree can be re -arranged so that the common sub -tree is stored once
only.
R- E- A-D
R
P P-E---D
0- D-E
E
I D-E
(b)
D
E
(a)
P-E
0 D-E
P-E-D E -A -D
Figure 4. The decision tree (a) matches four words, where "read" is expected to occur more frequently. If "ripped" occurs most frequently in practice, the tree can be re -arranged (b). Figure 5. The confidence jump makes use of redundancy in the expected word.
is certainly COMPLEX unless both M and P are in error. As the letters L,E,X
are encountered in the input, confidence
in the correct analysis grows to near cer-
tainty.
The confidence -jump method curtails the matching process by inserting at a convenient position - such as box 7 -a special instruction to jump directly to position 11, representing a successful recognition of the word. At the same time, the system counts forward on the input word without checking characters,
to the point which should correspond to the end of the word, since a following word may have to be analysed.
The example clearly shows how redundancy in the statement is used since the letters C, 0, M, P are sufficient to distin-
guish the input from any other possibility. It could be suggested that, in using the
language, COMP should be written instead of COMPLEX, thereby improv-
ing the processing speed. But this ignores
the existence of errors. Notice that the characters L, E and X
are not removed from the tree. They are merely ignored in the current process. If
the matching process fails later on in the
statement which starts with COMPLEX, then it may be sensible to re -trace the analysis to the last confirmed match, P,
and check for the presence of L, E and X before applying lengthy error -tolerant analysis procedures to the remainder of the statement. In this case the "redundant" letters provide useful confirmation of a correct analysis of the keyword.
Several of the processes which have already been described involve the restructuring of the decision tree. These operations are not necessarily, or even conveniently, carried out during the analysis of incoming statements. In fact, it
seems that a practical system will require
periods of rest from the analysis process,
while it carries out the necessary re -struc-
turing.
During these periods it may also prove convenient to attempt the processing of
input statements which could not be dealt
with previously due to lack of time. We
have already developed automatic
methods for branch -swopping and the insertion of confidence jumps. The devel-
opment of an explicit algorithm for
recognising common sub -trees and restructuring to optimise storage space is a very subtle problem which will not be
solved rapidly.
1
2
3
4
5
6
C-O-M- M- 0- N-0 success
C- -N-T-I-N-U E
8
9
10
11
E-X-1 success
N-T-I-N-U-E confidence jump
success
72
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
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Circle No. 148
73
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Circle No. 149
74
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Fiction
T was sitting in the tiny kitchenette of my flat waiting for the kettle to boil,
dreaming of ranks of valves glowing dimly in the sunset. That's right, valves - ther-
mionic tubes - the like of which we shall never see again. I don't mind progress,
but silicon chips hold no romance for me;
inert -looking, symmetrical black boxes
with legs. Creepy really. The telephone disturbed my reverie,
the result of several pints of ale and half a
lifetime spent making and mending computers. It was half past eleven at night.
No-one had phoned at that hour for a long time, not since the young men with
degrees had somehow slid past me on the
promotion tree. Lately, I had found myself spending more and more time on the backwater sites, with the difficult customers who did not buy the latest model when the company deemed it was
time.
I let it ring, and tried to guess who it
LIVE WIRE
by David Mentz
could be. Whoever it was, they needed me enough to let the ringing go on for a full
minute. "Hullo, Peter Holland". I was brusque,
my eye on the kettle a few paces away. The voice from down the line was that
of an elderly man. I was sure of that as soon as he spoke, by the querulous intonation.
"Hello, is that uh . . . Mr P Holland"? Deaf too, I thought.
"Yes".
"Oh, Good. You probably don't
remember me, Mr Holland, Arthur Samson of Samson Mouldings. I got your number from your last address, a young lady gave it to me".
I'll bet she did, hoping you might be trouble, I thought.
"Anyway", he continued "it's about the machine. The one you used to . .. you know, maintain".
It was coming back to me. Samson's Mouldings, a grubby little business in
Ell. I dimly remembered a cluttered office and a stuffy computer room. One of my first jobs, all of 12 years ago now. We had fitted them up with a small machine, payroll and stock software, and all the undiscovered bugs therein.
I also remembered some sort of trouble between my then boss and Samson, about the lucrative maintenance contracts we
used to impose in those days. All this recollection took very little real time, of course, and I was on to Samson like a flash. I knew what was coming.
"I was wondering if you could take a look at the thing. We've got no red lights or anything on the front, nothing like that, but when I went to do the payroll, it sort of went dead. Funny really, it's been alright all these years".
Samson reeled off this little spiel, while I tried to make up my mind whether to
accept his nocturnal commission. For some reason I didn't wonder at the amazing fact that he still had the machine which has been sold or leased to him 12 years ago.
"It'll cost you El 5 an hour". I needed the money badly at that moment.
"I'll give you £12.50, maximum three hours, no tea breaks". The quaver was gone, old Samson still had some of his hair
left.
"Done. I'll be round in an hour".
Samson's Mouldings stands at the end of half -deserted cul-de-sac: two red-
brick storeys which have been stained a sort of streaky black, surrounded by a wall topped with broken, green glass. I was let in by Samson himself, who muttered about the wages he had to fork out for night-watchmen. He led me to the familiar offices on the first floor. The outside wooden stairs showed the passage of 12 years more than anything or anyone else present. They creaked alarmingly as we ascended.
"Here it is", said Samson, opening the door between the office and computer room.
There it was indeed. An IBM 1605, almost a relic from the Ark.
"Good grief, how have you kept it
going"? A sly look came over Samson's face. "You can always find someone to help
if it breaks", he said. He must have spent a fortune keeping
this electronic dinosaur running. It didn't have valves, but it did have discrete tran-
sistors, tens of thousands of them, all liable to malfunction. It also had magnetic -core memory, a real core, instead of
semi -conductor flip-flops. I found the maintenance manuals on
top of a tin cupboard full of reels of mouldering paper tape, covered by a
thick layer of dust.
"Well, what seems to be the trouble"? I
asked wearily. I wished I was at home in bed.
The problem Samson explained, was that although ,everything went as it should while loading the program from paper tape, the machine did not respond at all when the program was started. He brought listings of the program, which he said had been amended by "a lad" he had employed during a long vacation.
It was virtually impossible to read
them, even if I had wanted to. I concluded that Samson had hired a charlatan who
had done nothing useful. It transpired that he had no computing staff at all, and for the past eight years he had loaded the tapes and run the programs himself, entering data from the keyboard.
"Didn't it take a lot of your time? It
would have been cheaper to hire
someone, surely". He explained that business had been
declining, and he was always laying off men and losing contracts.
"I've just had to battle on, and do all I could myself. It's no great hardship, and that machine's been a great help. I don't regret spending a bit on the few times it's failed".
This remark took my breath away. That particular model has been called many
things, but I will lay long odds that "reli-
able" was not among them. "Oh yes, when did it last break"? "About two, no, three years ago.
Needed a new transistor or something, the chap said".
My first reaction was to call the Guinness
(continued on next page)
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
75
Fiction
(continued from previous page)
perplexed at what had happened, but
Book of Records. Then I realised that old tiredness was finally getting the better of
Samson must be losing his wits after all, me.
and was confused. I didn't think about the
layer of dust on the manuals, but I was still C amson wasn't listening. He was staring
certain that the old machine had finally V at the output as the typewriter chat-
given up, that its bytes were dust. The tered urgently.
only problem was how to spend a couple "Bloody thing's gone mad", he mut-
of hours, convincingly trying to revive it, tered gloomily.
so that I could collect my night -call fee. "Well, I can but try", I said taking a
screwdriver from my case and kneeling by the back plate of the heavy central unit.
Samson seemed quite content, and
started filling his pipe. So far, so good, I thought.
I looked at the output: Unable to uptake the payroll. Preparing to
leave. Need CPU. Need core. Goodbye soon.
"What's all that mean"? It was an odd sort of message alright.
"Blowed if I know, your fellows wrote all this in. It's never done this before.
Normally it's quite friendly, just gets on
Athe screw began to turn, the type- with the job".
writer on the console rattled into I started feeling strange again.
life. I was so startled I dropped the screw- "What does it normally say"?
driver. Samson ignored it.
"You know, 'Hello' and 'What can I do
"What was the last thing you did"? I for you'? Sometimes reminds me when I
asked him, without getting up.
make a mistake".
"I told you, I loaded the payroll and "How do you do the payroll, for
tried to start the program".
instance"?
I started at the screw again and had "I just write in what's been done, like I
made half a turn before the typewriter used to tell old Binley, the Wages Clerk.
machine-gunned again. I got up to look at I used to write things like: Bill Matthews
the console, convinced that the mains was has done four hours' overtime today".
short-circuiting somewhere and that the "You just type that in? Just like that"?
metal cabinet was not safe to touch.
"Just like that. Sometimes it tells me
What I saw on the typewriter roll I've done it already, if I have, but mostly it
shocked me more than any high voltage. just says O.K. and gets on with it. Does
The word Stop had been sprayed across the slips every Friday without being told".
the page about a dozen times. As my jaw I laughed, though the humour of the
dropped and my hair began to stand on situation was fading fast.
end, the printer typed out a single
"Never. No computer ever does any-
Thank You
thing it's not been told".
"What's up"? Samson peered at me "Well, this one does, maybe it's got a
through a pall of blue pipe -smoke.
clock. When I load the wages on a Friday
Before I could collect my thoughts, it asks 'Shall I do the slips'? And I just say
Samson came across and looked at the yes".
output.
"Never said that before", he said Something wasn't right. I wanted to go
placidly, "but you've done the trick, I
home. Either Samson was crazy or I
reckon".
was.
He sat in the swivel seat and typed: "Now the bloody thing's gone mad", he
Hello. The lights on the console showed continued, almost echoing my thoughts.
that something was happening in the "I'll switch it off at the wall. No point in
CPU.
letting it blatter on".
Hello, Mr Samson
The console bell rang like a fire alarm
appeared on the roll.
and the typing redoubled.
"Yes, that's more like it. You've done it man". He was pleased.
I was pleased too, but not entirely
reassured. Never before had the touch of a screwdriver repaired anything for me.
What's more, old Samson had the best interactive system I had ever seen, running on an obsolete machine which by rights shouldn't even work.
I put the screwdriver in the case, watch-
ing him chatting away with the program.
"Who wrote that system"? I asked him. "Came with the machine. You chaps sold me all the programs I've ever had".
No. No. No. Do not switch off. Need power to effect release.
A hot flush came over me as I read these words. Not only did this machine
know what day it was, but it also had ears.
I felt sick. Samson's brow creased. It was dawning
on him that the machine had referred to something that had not been typed in.
"That's damn clever .. ." he started, his
voice fading as he realised just how
clever. The typewriter continued:
Do not be alarmed. Thral is a magnetic life order. Thral is in the Ferrite Core. Do not be
I knew that couldn't be true, so I shrug- alarmed. Do not switch off or Thral will die.
ged, feeling a little hurt. But if Samson We stared at the roll, blank with dis-
wanted to keep it a secret, that was alright belief. Samson bit the stem of his pipe and
by me. I could find out some other way. looked at me, doubt creeping into his
"Well, I reckon you owe me £12.50", I expression. Where did this Thral come
said, preparing to leave. I was still from, and where was he going?
Like an echo of the questions, the
answers appeared on the teleprinter
roll.
Distant galaxy. Thral has found a bigger environment.
The typing stopped. The silence was eerie and I could hear Samson breathing, which reminded me to take in some air. Then a last world rolled across the page.
Goodbye
The lights on the console dimmed, except for the red one that indicated a parity error, which began flashing
malevolently. "Jesus", said Samson. I'd had enough. I looked at my watch. It
was past two o'clock. "Well, I don't think there's much I can
do now, Mr Samson, I'll call you later in the morning". I left him sitting in the swivel chair, puffing reflectively on his pipe, and let myself out.
I tried to forget the spontaneous chattering of that console typewriter as I drove home through the deserted streets. No point in losing sleep over the inexplicable. By the time I fell asleep I had convinced myself that the whole incident had
been some sort of trick, played by Samson
and programmers unknown to confuse an unsuspecting engineer.
I n the mid -morning light, with a cup of coffee in my hand, I chuckled over the messages of the night before. It was certainly possible that an electromagnetic life form could exist. If it did, it might need a medium like the old core memory
to sustain it, but it was incredible that such
a thing should exist in Samson's old
machine. Before the coffee was finished, I
decided to ring Samson, just to check my memory. Perhaps he still had the logs of the extraordinary messages. I wondered what the "bigger environment" of
the console message could be. There were no large core memories still operating as far as I knew.
I turned the problem over in my mind, feeling a sense of camaraderie with the thing trapped in only 60 kilobits of core. The more I thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. How else could Samson have continued using an obsolete machine without any software support for
so long? He had admitted that the
machine hadn't malfunctioned for three years, an impossible feat in the normal run of things.
I looked at the telephone, draining the
dregs of the coffee and trying to
remember Samson's number. I imagined the telephone system. Miles of wires, con-
necting millions of switches, relays, stores and all manner of magnetic hardware.
The telephone rang, just as I realised where the "Thral" must have gone. The phone was not ringing in its usual manner, but just gave a long, imperious burst on the bell. I picked up the receiver.
"Hello, Thral", I said.
76
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Applications
Tourists on-line
to Edith
The O.&M. department at Swansea City Council has developed an on-line tourist -information system, open to members of the public. Martin Hayman reports.
WHAT IS O.& M.? The name has a
curiously dated ring to it. It stands, I
think, for Operations and Methods - or
Means - and is more familiar to the
everyday worker as time and motion, or
the man with the stopwatch looking over
your shoulder.
It is a concept redolent of the days
when computers were computers and
programming meant Cobol, punched
cards and a dedicated priesthood of
machine servants.
Yet this is the unlikely seedbed for a
useful and creative public viewdata
system launched by the City of Swansea
for the 1981 tourist season.
Known as Edith - Electronic Display
-oftIhnfiosrmoartiioginnafol r
Tourism and Holidays
and very competent
system is the first public on-line tourist -
information system of which its origina-
tors are aware, either in Britain or the
world. Edith grew naturally out of the
traditional work of the O.&M. Depart-
ment at Swansea City Council.
What strange hormone caused such an
exotic flower to bloom? The answer - as
you probably guessed - is the arrival of
the micro, which freed O.&M. officer
Gareth Simpson from the customary
administrative stictures of the mainframe.
It hardly happened all in a rush, though.
The story, spread over three years, is one
of exemplary flexibility, enthusiasm and
application which many would see as
more typical of an individual working on
his own account, or of a small company, than of a local -government officer.
But first, a punter's -eye view of Edith.
It sits on the front desk of Swansea's tourist -information centre in Singleton Street, where decaying, industrial East Swansea gives way to increasingly affluent West Swansea. Beyond, lies the brilliant Gower coast, a heavily -trafficked but well-preserved area of outstanding natural beauty and a target for
outdoor holidaymakers of all tastes. Over
the last two decades, Swansea has increasingly had to look to the development of
tourism to supplement, or replace, the dying heavy industries of steel -making and docking.
To the uninitiated holidaymaker, arriv-
ing from the east, the first views of Swan-
sea are hardly auspicious. Where is this
outstanding natural beauty he has heard so much about?
Routed along the ring road directly to
the information centre, he will find Edith. To the regular micro -user, it's nothing
unusual: a screen and keyboard, with the majority of the keys blanked off to leave
just the numeric keypad on the right and a
large red button round about where
Return should be. This is, in fact, Return.
The numeric keys are used to select
options from a menu which displays a staggering variety of facts and informa-
tion which the tourist might need in order to make the most of a stay in the area.
A quick resume - see figure 1 - shows a choice of pubs, pub facilities, restaurants, restaurant menus and prices, bed and breakfasts, hotels, transport, emergency services, attractions, events, selfcatering accommodation and camping sites. The whole of Wales is covered, not
only Swansea. Each file has its own
interrogation program which sets up the required search pattern based on price per night or location.
The system is one of the very few in this
country which works under MP/M, on a locally -made Z -80 -based micro with
18.5Mbyte of Winchester hard -disc stor-
age. I asked Gareth Simpson how the public had taken to this, one of the first
computer systems open for public opera-
tion.
"We've had nothing but praise so far", he told me. "One of our fears was that people would be frightened but, on the
contrary, it has been used a lot. The hotels file, particularly, has been heavily used this season". So much so, that the information office has gone into the booking
(continued on next page)
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
77
Restaurants ( Swansea )
INREST
Pubs & clubs ( swansea )
INPUB
Hotels and guest houses
( swansea )
INHOT 1
(INCAM DAT)
Camping &caravanning sites
(swansea ) FILA
(INSELF DAT)
Self catering (swansea)
FIL4
( INDIAY DAT)
Diary of events ( Swansea ) FIL3
( INAT DAT )
Attraction & sports ( swansea ) FIL
Emergency services general
( BUS DAT
( RAIL DAT )
Transportation from swansea
TRANS
Directory
MASTER Program
BUILD DA CI=11 GRECO 11=113111
Local government services
E DA)
AMFIL
(-CHIEF DAT )
G=11 GIMES CEEB CIENICD
Restaurants (outside swansea)
WINREST
Pubs &clubs (outside Swansea)
WINPUB
Hotels andhouses
(outside swansea ) WINHOT
Camping & caravanning sites
(outside swansea)
WFIL A
Self catering (outside swansea)
WFIL4
Diary of events (Outside swansea)
WFIL 3
Attraction & sports (outside swansea)
WFIL
(OUTCAM DAT)
(OUTSELF DAJ)
(outwr DAT )
Figure 1. Schematic arrangement of the Edith tourist -information system.
(continued from previous page)
business on the strength of it. On payment
of a 10 percent deposit, it can now assure the holidaymaker of any chosen booking.
The information centre keeps the deposit, but the hoteliers seem to be pleased with the arrangement.
So much for the punters' end of things. What will surprise computer people and local -government officials alike, is that the Edith system took only three months to implement, from inception to launch date. This, I must emphasise, is the total time taken, from when the idea was first
floated, through the feasibility study,
approval, coding of the programs, debugging, ordering, installing and testing of the equipment, and data collection and
entry. Apart from the collection and entering
of data, the computing end of things, which includes writing all the programs, was done by Gareth Simpson and his assistant, Reza Muhammed Jalhalian.
Simpson notes that during that time he suffered something approaching a nervous breakdown. Edith is a project which was undertaken in addition to his regular workload as O.&M. officer.
Gareth Simpson is not a computer professional, though he admits to having had some limited Basic training on, he thinks, a Ferranti Argus. But that was some time, ago, when he worked for British Steel. What really started the ball rolling was the local -government reorganisation of 1974. It was then that Swansea City's mainframe and its staff were taken over
by the new West Glamorgan County
Council. Swansea subsequently replaced this equipment with an ICL 2960 which unfortunately was incompatible with the
paper -tape output of the IBM 3750 tele-
phone switchboard. One of the duties of the O.&M. depart-
ment is to monitor telephone calls and
charges, which in a big office like Swansea
Guildhall can run into six figures each year. Every department gets a break-
down of charges and calls made from each
extension and woe betide anyone whose bill shows signs that they have failed to
use the self -billing prefixed code for private calls. "Since ours was the only job on paper tape, we had the choice of going
magnetic, or of buying a micro", says
Gareth Simpson.
The micro won both on purchase and running costs. The third option, to
buy time back from the West Glamorgan mainframe, was also eliminated as being far more expensive than the cost of a trainee programmer for one day a month.
Cost of the micro was assessed at around £500, and tenders were invited since all local government orders have to go out to
tender. The requirement was for a 64K proces-
sor with twin single -sided floppies, a 150cps printer and a paper -tape reader. Total cost was £5,700 from the lowest tenderer, a local firm called Comcen, of
De la Beche Street, Swansea. There was the
added advantage of maintenance on the doorstep, though apparently this is a fac-
tor which may not be taken into account
in local -government decision -making. Simpson brought in a young economics
graduate, Andrew Chambers, to write the
program for the telephone audit. His task was to code a program to read in IBM format hex, convert to decimal, and to set up a file for each extension. Each file included the number dialled, the distance rate, time of start and end of call. The program also had to calculate the cost of
calls, and print out bills for each quarter, one for business and one for personal
calls.
Writing the program took Andrew:
Chambers four months, including the time taken to teach himself Basic.
Once this system was running, the O.&M. department found that it had a
severely under-utilised piece of equipment.
The telephone -audit program used only 10 percent of the machine's processing
power, and this prompted Simpson to look at other possibilities. "Because we are O.&M. we tend to look at systems from the same point of view as a systems
analyst. Normally we would change cleri-
cal organisation, but now we had the option of using the micro to ease the
clerical effort". In other words, to get the same people to work more productively,
or to get fewer people to do the same amount of work.
The first extra that Simpson took on
was the computation of bar stocks.
Swansea City runs three bars of its own - at its new Leisure Centre, at the Grand Theatre and at the Brangwyn Hall. Stock control had previously been done by an
external auditor at the minimal cost of £4 a month.
Next came private car -mileage allowances, which were already being calculated
Gareth Simpson, the system's designer.
78
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Applications ---
CITY OF SWANSEA INFORMATION SYSTEM ( EDITH )
RESTAURANTS
*****************************************************************
NAME OF THE RESTAURANT -> BROWNE'S
ADDRESS
-> 21 MARKET STREET MORRISTON
TEL/NO.
-> 795030
NAME OF MANAGER/OWNER - TERRY BROWNE
COST OF 2 COURSE MEAL (HIGHEST 10.00) (LOWEST 6.00 )
NO. OF WINES ON WINE LIST (70 )
FACILITIES:
NO. OF TABLES -> 12
FLOOR SHOW -
DISCO -> Y
LICENSED
-> Y
PIPED MUSIC
****************************************
SEC/NO. * 0 *
Figure 2. Typical printout from Edith.
on the mainframe. The micro, Simpson says, notably improved turnaround
because of the greater flexibility of a small
department, and because the user was doing
his own file maintenance. West Glamorgan's mainframe staff, he estimates, spend 75 percent of their time on file maintenance. The speed factor may have
provided the much -needed breakthrough in popularity for Simpson's department. It meant that private car users got their mileage -allowances cheques sooner,
which is bound to go down well. The success of the microcomputer
enterprises of the O.&M. department shot Gareth Simpson into an unusual position. "Inadvertently I had become
known as the O.&M. expert on computer applications", he reflects ruefully.
Suddenly Mr Stopwatch found himself with an increased establishment, and a brief to looking at new technologies. In 1979, after Andrew Chambers had left for London to double his salary and more, Simpson took on his first batch of three trainees from the Polytechnic of Wales at Treforest. At the same time, and much to his relief, he shed some of his other duties.
Simpson says he had good luck with the
people he took on. Certainly he needed a
capable staff for the next project he undertook, which was a more classical
local -authority exercise: computerising the building -maintenance section. Swansea has some 20,000 council homes which
generate around 50,000 repair jobs a
year. Gareth Simpson's brief was essentially
that of an O.&M. adviser. He was to specify a micro -based system, but day-to-day running would be done on contract. The configuration which went out to tender included 13 micros or intelligent termi-
nals, each with 56K, with a Modem link to
the mainframe as a file security dump. The package was to include software development, and the aims of the system
were fourfold. The first was to log the jobs and issue
work tickets to the tradesmen who went
out on the job. The next was to cost each job. This was particularly important, since new rules published by the Department of the Environment mean that from April 1982 direct -labour forces will have to tender against private contractors for maintenance work on council properties. So the job -costing program included a
time value, materials value and an over-
heads cost so that an accurate figure for' each kind of job could be ascertained as a future tender value.
Thirdly, the system was intended eventually to take over payroll from the batch -
processing done by West Glamorgan. Finally, there would be a stores- and
materials -control program. This is big -league stuff and Simpson
found himself with tenders from mini and mainframe manufacturers as well as micro builders. He finally chose a system from BMSL Ltd, a firm based in Harro-
gate, Yorkshire. It runs on a Dacoll
Democrat machine built in Scotland, and the software is written in Cobol. Simpson
reckons that it is one of the only
"demonstrable housing -maintenance systems in the country".
In December of last year, Swansea's director of trade and industry, Mike Stephens, asked Simpson to "knock him up a system on hotels". The initial idea was to use a micro to retrieve information on hotels and bed -and -breakfast places. Simpson put together a few successful demonstration programs and thereafter the whole idea just grew.
Why not add in all the other facilities, like pubs, clubs, camp -sites and restaurants? At the next meeting, the question came up: Why not put yourself in the tourist's position and imagine what else he might need? So transport and local government facilities were included too. At this stage, in January, the systems design work began, with Muhammed Jal-
System specification
Machine: OEM -4, based on Z-80 microprocessor.
Operating system: MP/M booted up from CP/M Version 2.2. Four partitions: 1 x 48K and 3 x 32K.
Storage: DRI 8in. Winchester rigid disc for-
matted to 18.5Mbyte. DRI 8in. floppy -disc
back-up. Terminals: Four data type, two customised
by Comcen to blank off QWERTY keyboard for public access use. One dedicated to use the WordStar word-proces-
sing software. Printer: MX -80 dot matrix, 80cps. Supplier: Comcen Microcomputers Ltd, 9
De la Beche Street, Swansea. Tel: (C792) 460023.
Cost: (net of software): approx £12,000.
halian sharing the work. The next deci-
sion was to include the rest of Wales in the
database. For simplicity's sake, a 20 square grid was laid over the map of Wales, and each area given a code - to yield 13 areas.
The straw that nearly broke the camel's back was the decision to go public. Until then, Edith had been conceived of as a terminal which would be run by trained operatives behind the counter. But now Simpson was faced with the task of mak-
ing a large suite of programs work on as yet un-ordered equipment, supervising the compilation and entering of all data. There are plenty of sources of reference,
and fortunately on a public system there is
neither a copyright problem nor any absolute obligation of accuracy. Most importantly, the whole thing had to be idiot -proof. "We didn't want to have
anyone pressing Control C"! Simpson reckoned that by this stage he
had enough experience to know exactly what he wanted in the way of hardware:
four terminals, two for public access, one for control and for input, and another for word-processing. There would also be a printer for hard copies of information.
Once again, the specification went out to
tender. It was Comcen that was successful.
Apart from Transdata, Comcen was one
of the few firms that Simpson knew which was successfully running MP/M. Of the
three or four tenders that were valid, Comcen's was the most competitive and they still held that maintenance advantage - five minutes' walk away is about the right distance to be from a prestige project such as this was destined to be.
With 38 files and more than 6,000 records, each with between six and 28 fields, there would certainly be a pre-
mium on screen readability. Muhammed
Jalhalian was the best of assistants in this respect: "He's a fanatic for layout and display", says Simpson, who was nevertheless finally responsible for overseeing data input.
Despite the problems, the whole system was written, installed, ready and running by its May launch date. I can confirm that it does work. If, for example, you are looking for a hotel room, as the majority of users are, Edith asks you for a
price -per -night parameter and searches for all hotels within that price bracket,
usually to within £2 of the keyed -in
figure. A further two -digit choice against
your hotel reveals full details.
What of the future? Gareth Simpson is keen to upgrade the system from MP/M to CP/Net and add a further three terminals, each with its own dedicated RAM and a link to the Guildhall mainframe. After that, perhaps even going public so that prospective enquirers can call up from all over the country. As a publicity
exercise it would be a wonderful boost for Swansea, whose declared intention is to
attract more tourists into its area.
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
79
Education
wFiinthdiPnegtygoruapr hbiecasrings
Using Nigel Harvey's two Pet
graphics programs to teach
secondary -school pupils three -
figure bearings provides an
excellent introduction to the
subject and an opportunity to
put the concepts into practice.
IN THE first of these two programs, the centre of the screen, indicated by a suitable symbol, acts as a fixed reference point from which the compass bearing of a randomly -placed target is to be estimated by the pupil. Initially a circular protractor - or even better, an acetate sheet marked in 10 -degree intervals from 000 to 350 - can be placed over the screen to give an accurate measurement, but with a little practice it is usually possible to hit the target by estimation alone.
The program will only accept angles between 000 and 359 and only if three
figures are used. A bearing of 90 is rejected; 090 must be used. Once the
estimated bearing has been input, a message of commiseration or congratulation is printed, and a missile is fired from the centre of the screen along the selected course, either missing the target or exploding it. The program then returns to the beginning in a continuous loop.
Although only 24 lines long if Rems are
omitted, the program contains some interesting graphics techniques; in particular a double -density plotting routine and a realistic explosion, both of which
can be incorporated into other programs. Line 180 contains the Poke codes for
the four graphics characters used in the fire -missile routine, putting them in the
array CO. CS is the location of the centre of the screen and CF the degrees -to radians conversion factor.
After Poking the centre of the screen with the compass -point symbols, the target's relative position is set using A to
define its angle clockwise from the North.
Note that A is a multiple of 10 between 0
rogram 1. = earings
150 REM*** INITIALISE 0+
160 :
170 It$="
" REM** 39 SPACES +*
180 C(1)=124:C(2).,126:C(S)=108,C(4)=123:CS=33268:CF=ff/180
190 PRINT"T'POKECS,86,POKE33228,93,POKE33308,92:POKE23267,64:POKE33269,64
200
210 REM*** SET UP TARGET ***
220
230 A=INT(RND(1)*35+.5)*10,T=CS+INT(14*SIN(A*1F))-40*INT(10*COS(A*CF))
240
F'0I
250
2661 REM*** INPUT ANGLE: TEST FOR CORRECT FORMAT ***
270
280 INPUT"ONHAT ANGLE NAO6r,B$
290 IFVAL(BT)->=0ANDVAL(Elt)(360THEN320
300 PRINT"ANGLE BETWEEN 61610 AND 3
PLEASE!"
:10 FORI=1702000:NEXT:PRINT"0"BLi:FRINTBL$:GOT0280
220 IFLEWD-$.:!=2THEN370 230 PRINT"YOU MUST USE = FIGURES!":GOT0310
340 250 REM*** TEST FOR HIT/MISS ***
360
370 B=10*INT(VAL(B$)/10+.5),IFB.860THENB=0
280 IFA=BTHENPRINT"N CORRECT ":GOT0410
390 PRINT"SORRY, YOU'VE MISSED!"
400
410 REM*** FIRE MISSILE +**
420
430 S=.7*SIN(B*CF:C=COS(D*CF)/2:X=0:Y=0:P0=CS'F%.86
440 FORI=1T020:X=X+S:Y=Y+C:PN=CS+INT(X)-40*INT(Y)
450 POKEPO,F%:F%=PEEK(PN):POKEPN,C(1-(X-INT(X)(.5)-2*(Y-INT(Y)<.5))
460 PO.PN'NEXT:POKEPO.F71:IFB=ATHENGOSUD510
470 FORI=11.02000:NEXT:GOT0190
480
490 REM*** EXPLOSION ***
500
510 RESTORE:FORI=17010:READE
520 POKET,E.POKET-40,E:POKET-41,ETOKET-2:E:POKET-LE:FOKET+39,E
530 POKET+40,E:POKET+41,E-POKET+1,E-POKET+2,E:POKET-39,E
540 NEXT:RETURN
550 DATA16032,160,22,16035,42,43,46,32
A-86,19
and 350 inclusive. T is the Poke location of the target's centre. The input angle B$ is tested for acceptable format, and then rounded to the nearest 10 degrees (B) before being compared to A.
The missile's horizontal and vertical displacements from the centre of the screen are denoted by X and Y which are
incremented by S and C respectively in a 20 -step For -Next loop. PO and PN are the missile's old and new locations:
F% = Peek (PN)
ensures that no portions of the compass point or targets are inadvertently blown
away.
The method to select the correct graphic symbol for the missile makes use of
the fact that each relational statement has a numerical value: any true statement has
the value -1 and any false statement has the value 0. Type ?3 < 5 return, and the Pet responds with the answer -1. Type ?6<4, and you will obtain 0. Thus the
function F = 1 -(X - INT(X) <.5) -2 * (Y - INT(Y) <.5) (see line 450)
takes values from 1 to 4 inclusive according to whether X =INT (X) and Y - INT(Y) are less than or greater than 0.5.
Now X - INT(X) and Y - INT(Y) give the
fractional parts of X and Y, so we have a simple method of selecting the correct
quarter of each pixel in which to place the
missile:
DX <.5
DY > 5
I
F=2
I
-4
DX <.5
I
DY < 5
I
F=4
I
DX >.5 DY >.5 F=1
DX >.5 DY<.5 F=3
where DX = X - INT(X) DY = Y - INT(Y)
So by defining C(1) as the Poke code
for IA , C(2) for p , etc., in line 180, we
can Poke the missile into the correct
quarter of each square.
The explosion subroutine is a very use-
ful and effective one and can be used in many graphics programs. After Reading
80
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Education
the Poke code of each character, line 510,
the character is Poked into the target
area, the map below showing the relative
positions of each pixel. T is the centre of
the target.
T-41 T-40 T-39
T-2 T-1
T T+1 T+2
T+39 T+40 T+41
This produces an explosion covering 11
pixels - clearly, the method can he
extended to an area of any size. Experiment with your own characters - the
data given in line 550 is only a suggestion.
The second of these two programs designed to give practice in the use of
three -figure bearings takes the form of a
real-time game in which the player has to guide a sailing boat in a figure -of -eight
course around two islands in an estuary.
When the game begins, the boat, represented by a flashing dot on the screen, is due south of the larger island and sailing due east - 090 degrees. As soon as the player wishes to change
course, he types in the required bearing.
Corrections to the first two digits may be
made using the Delete key, but once three
digits have been typed, the new course is accepted immediately - provided it lies between 000 and 359.
The time taken is continuously displayed, as is the boat's status - changing
from Green to Red if it sails too close to
land. As soon as the course is completed,
the total time taken is displayed, together with the best time achieved so far. With practice, a time of about 80 seconds is
possible - 100 being about average -
for the figure -eight course. The program uses the same double -
density graphics technique used in program 1 to achieve the movement of the
boat. Line 170 contains the codes for
these graphics symbols in CO; BT$ is the best time, CH the cursor -home screen
location.
Lines 190 to 420 produce the map, relying mainly on Poking the characters into the appropriate places. For this type of operation, I prefer to use Poke rather
than Print, finding reverse -video graphics fiddly and the cursor -control problems associated with 40 -character lines tiresome. Provided the map is sketched first on a 40 -by -25 grid numbered from 0 to 39 across the top, and 0 to 96(1 in steps of
40 down the side, it is not difficult to Poke
into the required locations. Certainly, you should find it easier to interpret the program listing as it stands rather than the corresponding Print statements. Note that Poke can be entered as P shifted -O;
Next as N shifted -E; and so on. Hence the
occasional line with more than 80
characters.
Line 460 sets the starting direction, defined by B; S, C, X, Y, PO and PN are
used as in program 1. SP is the location of
the starting position -- which will take a
new value each time a new course is set: N
is the number of digits of the new course
accepted at any stage; B$ the string expression containing these digits; T$
holds the value of T1$ - used in line 750 to check whether a time update is
required. Line 580 scans the keyboard for any
potential change of course, any key
depression being processed het ween lines
590 and 660. Corrections to previous
digits are made possible by looking for the
Delete key in line 600. 20 being the
ASCII code for Delete.
Once a suitable three -digit number has been accepted, the course correction is
made in lines 700-710. R is a flag to indicate status. R = 0 enables a new position to be calculated - line 810, R
being given the value of 1 in line 950 if the
status changes to Red.
After updating the time, the boat's new
position, PN, is calculated - line 810. The rather elaborate collision check line 850 - is needed to eliminate the
possibility that the new square, PN, is the
same as the old - which happens fre-
quently using the double -density plotting technique. If the new position is found to he acceptable, it is plotted, line 900, and
the program loops hack to 580 to look for
a key depression. The plot - new - position subroutine
-- lines 1110-1120 - contains two short delay loops
FOR I = 1 TO 100: NEXT
which govern the speed at which the boat
moves. By reducing these delays the
action can be speeded up if required, but most players will find this satisfactory.
In line 940, Peek(PN) = 58 looks for the finishing line. If not found, the status Red is printed, and the program loops back to line 580. When the finishing line is reached, the program moves into the end routine, lines 990-1070, printing the best time, and giving the option of another game.
Few programs of this type are ever
completely finished, and further developments of this game are, of course, possible. One pupil suggested littering the bay with a few wrecks.
On a more serious level, an alternative method of controlling the course of the sailing boat would be to use Input state-
ments to give the direction and magnitude
of each leg of the course, thus reinforcing work on vectors.
Program 2. Sail -race.
150 REM** INITIALISE & PRINT MAP' **
160 170 C(1)=124 U2)=126 C(3)=108.C(4)=123;BT8="10000" CH=32768
180 BL$="
" REM** 39 SPACES **
190 PRINTFORI=CHTOCH*9:POKE1,160 NEXT,FORI=CWIOTOCH.24:POKEI,99.NET
200 POKECH+25,95:F0RI=CN+26TOCH+48'POKE1,160.NEXT:POKECH+49,105
210 F0RI=CH+66TOCH+86,POKEI,160:NEXT:POKECH+87,105 POKECN+108,95'POCECH.109.160 220 POKECH+110,105:POKECH+111,95,FORI=CH+112TOCH+126:POKEI,160:NEXT 230 FORI=CH+152TOCN+166:POKEI,160:NEXT:POKECH.167,223POKECH+191.233 240 FORI=CH+192T0CH.207:POKE1,160'NEXTTORI=CH+231TOCH+243,POKEI,160.NEXT
250 POKECH+244,105:POKECH+245,95:POKECH+246,160POKE04+247,105'POKECH+271,95 260 FORI=C11,272TOCH+2133TOKEI..160'NEXT,POKECH+292,233:FORI=CH+293TOCH+295 270 POKE1,160:NEXT,PORECH,296,228:POKECN+314,95'FOPI=CH+315TOCH+322 POKEI,160 N
EST 280 POKECH+323,105.POKECA+337,223rPOKEGH+357,95,FORI=CH.358TOCH+360;POKEI.160,N
EXT
290 POKECH+361,105:POKECN+372,95,PCCECH+376,160;PO1=1ECH+377,160,POKECH+399,95 300 PORECH+413,160'POBECH+414,160:POKECN+415,105 PORECH+425,233;POKECH+426,160 310 POKECH+427,160 POKECH+428,223:POKECH+462,233:FORI=CH+463TOCN+469,POKEI.160:
NEXT 320 POKECH+470.223 FORI=CH+502T0CH+510:POkEI,160 NEXT:POKECH+542,95 FORI=CH+543
TOCH+550
330 POKE1,160:NEXT POPECH.551,223 FORI=CH+588TOCN+591;POKEI,160 NEXT 340 FORI=CH+623TOCN+626:POKEI,160'NEXT POEECH+627,105:P0KECH+629,95 POKECH+630.
160
350 POKECH+631,105:POKECH+663,95:POVECH.664,160:POKECH.665,10`.. 360 POKECH+400,101 FOR1=00439TOCH+799STEP40.POKEI,103'POKE14.1,101 NEXT 370 POKECH+839,103:POKECH+840,76TOBECN+879.122;FOPI=CH+341TOCH+878'POREI,100'N
EXT
380 FORI=CH+704TOC+864SjEP40 PCCEI,58;NEXT
390 PRINT"aiRial A I NUMMI*
400 FFINT amour
memALLounr.m"
410 PRINT 0116
LE I COMMIE A M",
420 PRINT "1
IQRRD 001,LETRRT/FINISH"
430
440 FEN** WAIT AT START **
450
460 S.,-.35 X=S 0,0 Y=C: -FN=CH+785 PO=PN SP=PN N=0 El="" B=ff..2 T8= ^000000"
470 PRINTTAB(10)"PRESS
TO START"
420 POKESP.C<3i'FORI=11.0150:NEXT
490 OETWIFFIS="S"THEN540 500 POKESP,32:FORI=11.0150'NEGOT0480
510 520 REM** START MOVEMENT **
538 540 TIS="000000" PRINT"71 TIME 0 S. COURSE 090
STATUS OREEN"
550 560 REM** TEST FOR VALID INPUT **
570
580 GETAS,IFAS=""THEN750
590 IFVAL(A$)700RA$="0"TNEN620
600 IFFISCEHRS(20)ORN.OTHEN750 610 PRINT"1"TAB,20+N)" "-N=N-1 14=LEFTS(BS,N)rOOT0750
620 N=N+IIEN=ITHENPRINT"1"TAB(21)" 630 PRINT"1"TAB(20.N)AS Bt=004-F10 IFN<>3THEN750
640 IFVAL(14)360THEN500 650 PRINT" ANGLE BETWEEN 000 AND 359, PLEASE!1":FORI=IT02500 NEXT 660 PRINTEIL8°1" PRINT"1"TAB(21" "'N=014=""'0010750 670 680 REM** SET NEW COURSE **
690
700 B=,.pLfFS4,,,180 SP.P0 N.0 Er.210 X=3-INTOX-Y-,V-.1NT,e,
`5*`.111.8,-C=CA3,F'.4 P=0
720
730 REM** TIME UPDATE **
740
750 IFTF=TISTHEN810 760 TFIF=STRALKMIDSKTIS.8,2X*60,.,OL RIONTF(TIS.2)) 770 FPINT"1"TAB(9-LEN(TAS)>TWT2=TI8
780 590 REM** CALE NEW POSITION **
800
810 IFR=OTHENX=4..S:Y=Y+CFl4=5P+INTX..-40*INT
20 330 REM** CHECt FOP COLLISION 6*
*340
850 P=PEEKIPN IFP,11:82ANDF,111;:40NDP,11126ANDPCM08RNDP,1:123THEN940
360 IFREEK(113726)=160THENPRINT"1"TRB(84)"6REEN"
70
880 REM** PLOT NEW POSITION
880
900 00SUP1110 GOT0580
910
920 REM** COLLISION OF
930 940 IFPEEK(PN)=58THENGOSUB1110 00T0990
950 R=I'PPINT"1"TAB(34)"4 RED ":Gcaosso
96e
970 REM** END ROUTINE **
980
990 PRINT"1"Ets PPINTTRE(7-LENCIW)"-FINISHED! YOU TOOK"TRS" SECONDS. 1000 FORI.1702500 NE,J 1010 IRTIL,TAO,V0LiBTS)THEN1070
1020 PRINT" IT IS THE BEST TIME SO FAR. ", BTO=TA$ 1030 F0RI=1702500 NEXTPRINT"AOAIN7 Y.H111" 1040 GETA$'1FAV)"INDASC)"N"THEN1040 1050 IFAS="N"THENFINT"n"'END
1060 PRINTBLS PRINTBLS"171" POKEF0.58 0010460
1070 PRINT" THE BEST TIME 15"870" SEC. ": G6301030 1080
1096 REM** PLOT NEW POSITION 1100
1110 POKEP0,82 FORI=IT0100 NE1. POKEPN,C<1-(X-INTODC.5-2*(INT(Y '.5))
1120 FOPI=11.0100 NEXT-PO=PN RETURN
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
81
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TEL. NO.
PC7/81
Circle No. 150
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Make the most of your Sinclair ZX Computer...
Sinclair ZX
soonfctwasasreette.
23.91 per cassette.
The unprecedented popularity of the ZX Series of Sinclair Personal Computers has generated a large volume ofprograms written byusers.
Sinclair has undertaken to publish the most elegant of these on pre-recorded cassettes. Each program is carefully vetted for interest and quality, and then grouped with other programs to form a single -subject cassette.
Each cassette costs £3.95 (including VAT and p&p) and comes complete with full instructions.
Although primarily designed for the Sinclair ZX81, many of the cassettes are suitable for running on a Sinclair ZX80 - if fitted with a replacement 8K BASIC ROM.
Some of the more elaborate programs can be run only on a Sinclair ZX Personal Computer augmented by a 16K -byte add-on RAM pack.
This RAM pack and the replacement ROM are described below. And the description of each cassette makes it clear what hardware is required.
8K BASIC ROM
The 8K BASIC ROM used in the ZX81 is available to ZX80 owners as a drop -in replacement chip. With the exception of animated graphics, all the advanced features of the ZX81 are now available on a ZX80-including the ability to run much of the Sinclair ZX Software.
The ROM chip comes with a new keyboard template, which can be overlaid on the existing keyboard in minutes, and a new operating manual.
16K -BYTE RAM pack
The 16K -byte RAM pack provides 16 -times more memory in one complete module. Compatible with the ZX81 andthe ZX80, it can beused
for program storage or as a database. The RAM pack simply plugs
into the existing expansion port on the rear of a Sinclair ZX Personal Computer.
Cassette 1 -Games
For ZX81 (and ZX80 with 8K BA SIC ROM)
ORBIT -your space craft's mission is to pickup a very valuable cargo that's in orbit around a star.
SNIPER -you're surrounded by 40 of the enemy. How quickly can you spot and shoot them when they appear?
METEORS -your starship is cruising through space when you meet a meteor storm. How long can you dodge the deadly danger?
LIFE -J. H. Conway's 'Game of Life' has achieved tremendous popularity in the computing world. Study the life, death and evolution patterns of cells.
WOLFPACK-your naval destroyer is on a submarine hunt. The depth charges are armed, but must be fired with precision.
GOLF -what's your handicap? It's a tricky course but you control the strength of your shots.
Cassette 2 -Junior
Education: 7 -11 -year -olds
For ZX81 with 16K RAM pack CRASH- simple addition -with
the added attraction of a car crash if you get it wrong.
MULTIPLY -long multiplication with five levels of difficulty. If the answer's wrong the solution is explained.
TRAIN -multiplication tests against the computer. The winner's train reaches the station first.
FRACTIONS -fractions explained at three levels of difficulty. A ten -question test completes the program.
ADDSUB- addition and subtraction with three levels of difficulty. Again, wrong answers are followed by an explanation.
DIVISION -with five levels of difficulty. Mistakes are explained graphically, and a running score is displayed.
SPELLING -up to 500 words over five levels of difficulty. You
can even change the words yourself.
Cassette 3 -Business and Household
For ZX81 (and ZX80 with 8K
BASIC ROM) with 16K RAM pack TELEPHONE -setup yourown
computerised telephone directory and address book. Changes, additions and deletions of up to 50 entries are easy.
NOTE PAD -a powerful, easy to -run system for storing and
retrieving everyday information. Cassette 5 -Junior
Use it as a diary, a catalogue, a reminder system, or a directory.
BANK ACCOUNT -a sophisticated financial recording system with comprehensive documentation. Use it at home to keep track of 'where the money goes,' and at work for expenses, departmental budgets, etc.
Cassette 4 -Games
Education: 9 -11 -year -olds
For ZX81 (and ZX80 with 8K BASIC ROM)
MATHS -tests arithmetic with three levels of difficulty, and gives
your score out of 10. BALANCE -tests understanding
of levers/fulcrum theory with a series of graphic examples.
VOLUMES -`yes' or 'no'
For ZX81 (and ZX80 with 8K
answers from the computer to a
BASIC ROM) and 16K RAM pack series of cube volume calculations.
LUNAR LANDING -bring the
AVERAGES -what's the average
lunar module down from orbit to a height of your class? The average
soft landing. You control attitude shoe size of your family? The average
and orbital direction -but watch the pocket money of your friends? The fuel gauge! The screen displays your computer plots a bar chart, and
flight status -digitally and graphically. distinguishesNiEANfromMEDIAN.
TWENTYONE -a dice version
BASES - convert from decimal
of Blackjack.
(base 10) to other bases of your
COMBAT -you're on a suicide choice in the range 2 to 9.
space mission. You have only 12 missiles but the aliens have
TEMP -Volumes, temperatures -and their combinations.
Sinclair unlimited strength. Can you take
12 of them with you? SUBSTRIKE - on patrol, your
frigate detects a pack of 10 enemy subs. Can you depth -charge them before they torpedo you?
CODEBREAKER- the computer thinks of a 4 -digit number
which you have to guess in up to 10 tries. The logical approach is best!
How to order
Simply use the order form below, and either enclose a cheque or give us the number of your Access, Barclaycard or Trustcard account. Please allow 28 days for delivery.
14 -day money -back option.
MAYDAY -in answer to a distress
zx SOFTWARE call, you've narrowed down the
search area to 343 cubic kilometers
of deep space. Can you find the Sinclair Research Ltd,
astronaut before his life-support 6 Kings Parade, Cambridge,
system fails in 10 hours time?
Cambs., CB21SN. Tel: 0276 66104.
Fro: Sinclair Research, FREEPOST 7, Cambridge, CB2IYY Please send me the items I have indicated beloa.
Qty Code Item
21
Cassette 1 -Games
22 Cassette 2 -Junior Education
23 Cassette 3 -Business and Household
24 Cassette 4 -Games
25 Cassette 5- Junior Education
17
*8K BASIC ROM for ZX80
18
*16K RAM pack for ZX81 and ZX80
*Post and packing (if applicable)
Please printI
Item price £3.95 £3.95 £3.95 £3.95 £3.95 £19.95 £49.95 £2.95 Total £
Total
*Please add £2.95 to total order value only if ordering ROM and/or RAM.
I enclose a cheque/PO to Sinclair Research Ltd fort
111111111111111 Please charge my Access*/Barclaycard/Trustcard no.
*Please delete as applicable.
LANdIdaresms: eI:IMrI /MI r11s/1M111is11s111111111111111111111_111111P1R
1
1
1
1
Circle No. 151
We proudly announce the arrival of
the computer -frame
you have been waiting for
pearconi A new Europe -PAL microcomputer frame. NOW AVAILABLE £ 975 excluding VAT
Main features:
- large amount of compatible software already available - interactive cards, firmware & hardware available everywhere - 14 I/O expansion slots as standard - screen size: 24 lines of 40 characters, Upper and Lower case with
optional card expansion to 24 lines of 80 characters. - 32k byte of RAM standard, on board expandable to 96k byte - uses the popular 6502 CPU - bus compatible with the Z80 Firmware Card with CP/M and
Microsoft BASIC - Programming languages including BASIC, Fortran and Cobol etc.,
are available separately - full PAL -colour video supplied as standard with sound through TV - professional keyboard with function keys and number pad
- Character set with 255 characters in reprogrammable EPROM, delivered standard with Upper and Lower Case characters, Greek and pseudo graphics, and a jumper selectable choise of QWERTY or AZERTY
- For optional extra's such as an EPROM -programmer, microphone, joystick etc., there is a special lid beside the keyboard for user hardware
-A sturdy, light weight four -piece moulded case of strong
polyurethane in two colours beige/black.
DEALER INQUIRIES INVITED
PEARCOM LTD. 17 Nobel Square, Basildon Essex SS 13 1LP England Tel. 0268 - 728484 Tlx. 995323 PEARCOM B.V. i.o. Stationstraat la 6241 CL BUNDE (L), Netherlands Tel. 043 - 647899
Education
Standard marks EDUCATORS often need to find a total for
marks for several different subjects, and to compare how well pupils are doing at
different subjects at a school. Using the actual marks can be confus-
Combining sets of examination marks with different
ing. For instance, you cannot compare means can involve hours of laborious calculation. Ian
how well someone is doing in mathematics with their English if the maths marks have a mean of 80 and the English marks
Mercer describes a simple program which can be
adapted to standardise any set of statistics.
have a mean of 40. Adding these two sets
of marks to obtain a total would give an
unfair bias to maths. To overcome these difficulties the
marks can be standardised. This process gives each subject the same mean and standard deviation or SD. Marks from
any two subjects can then be totalled or
compared fairly. Standardising marks also makes it easier to measure progress
PRINT -3
MFEKS, FRCGRAM"
20 PRINT"
30 FRINT,PRINT'PRINTERINTERINT,PRINTERINT
40 REM
PROGRAM TO STANDARDISE
50 REM
ENTRANCE .E.AM MARKS.
60 REM DV I.MERCE R 9 2 '
70 REM
30 REM DATE
31 DA4--"FEERUARY 1921"
100 REM MEAN MAW AFTER STAND.
110 SM=50
- each term's marks will have the same mean and standard deviation.
Standardising is a simple process using a computer. First you must calculate the original mean and SD for each subject.
120 REM STANDARD DEVIATION AFTER STPANI% s9=15
140 REM USE AN INPUT FILE TO FEEVENT 141 REM ACCIDENTAL SPETURNIS2', 150 OPEN1-00 160 REM SUBJECT NAMES 170 SUI(1)="ENGLISH",SLIC2)=" MATHS " SU
Then you take each mark for that subect in turn, subtract the mean, and divide by
the SD. This produces a set of marks with
mean=0,SD=1. Next you multiply by the
new SD and add the new mean. This
process takes place in lines 590-610 of the
computer program, as shown in figure 1.
The first section of the program inputs marks for the three subjects taken in the
entrance exam at my school, Lough-
borough Grammar. One important tip for Pet users is the use of Input #1 after an
Open 1,1,0. This prevents you from accidentally carriage returning and find-
ing yourself back in Basic.
The subroutine at 10000 may look
(continued on next page)
Figure 1. Standardising a normal distribution of marks.
,so P3="401PIPX900IPI4I4IOMPIrIPMPIPM"
190 Di"="
200 REM INPUT NUMBER OF CANDIDATES,
210 PRINT"HOW MANY CANDIDATES 220 INPUT#1,WN=VAL(N$),PRINT
220 IF1K2THENPRINT"WRON3 TRY AGAIN ! 240 IFN<91:147(N)TPFNFEIM"HOLE SAND'
J210
1,LY 1"
'79 REM DIMENSION THE ARRAY
260 DIM Aft.L7),S(2 9)
270 REM AfX0) = POSITION
230 REM AfX,1) = ENGLISH
390 REM AfX,2) = MATHS
30 REM p< x-.3) I.O.
010 REM A( :4) =
STAND.
9 -DO REM A':::; 5) = MATHS
STAND.
37,0 REM A(X,G) = I.O.
STAND.
340 REM AfX7) = TOTAL (MATHS 4- ENGLISH)
070 REM NOW INPUT THE MARKS
360 FORSU=1T09 970 PRINT...'
INFL1T "
1'1)- MARKS"
2S0 PRINTERINT
?PO FOR=1TON
409 1300000
410 NEXT X
420 PRINTPVIS IT CORRECT 3":D1:
420 INPUT#1:As,IFLEFT1-(A4-,,1)="Y"THEN710
440 IFLEFT3'::A$A)(9-"N"THEN420
070210
450 REM CORRECT A MARK: 460 PRINTP-WHICH CANDIDATE ,":DS
470 INPUT#1,A$,X=VAL(A47)
4P0 IF::4C1ORX.C.INT,(X)ORXNTHE11420 490 A(0,SU)=A(0,SU)-AMSU),A(0.SU-4 = P
SU)+A'"
700 GoSUF.10000,00TP420
510 NEXT SU
720 REM MARKS INPUT - BEGIN CALCULATIONS
570 FOR RI = 1 Ti 2 540 S(1.,SU)=A(0,SU)/N 550 S(2,SU)=SOR(A(0,SU+3)/N-S(1 SH
560 NEXT SU
570 FOR X = 1 Ti N 7:70 FOR SU = 1 TO 2 590 A=0:1<X,SU)-S(1,S11)
17,,(25LI)
600 A=FMESS+SM 610 A(XSU+3)=INT(A+.5)
620 NEXT S1I:A(X,7)=A(XA)+A(X 5)
67,0 NEXT X
640 REM PRINT OUT RESLtTS
670 REM OPEN FILE TO PRINTER 660 OPEN 4 4 670 PRINT"WWKIIIN LINE PRINTER UP TO TOP OF PAGE"
680 PRINT"
AND PRESS <RETURN)
690 OETWIFFaC9CHR$(19)THEN690
700 PRINT#4
710 PAINT#42PC(20-1RV1):"ENTPANCE EXANINATIOW
711 APINT#42FC20.).,L.1-4F4(1" 72.0 PPINT#4,2RC(20)CHR$(1)"
RESULTS
7'7'1 RAINT#4:SRC(20):CHP$(1):" 720 PRINT#4SPC':501:1A5 PPINT#4
740 PRINT#4.,"
fNCLI:1-4
MATHS:
750 PRINT#4," NO. 750 FOR TT = 1 TO - PRINT#4" TRUE SEPLED POSTN
770 PPINT#4.." TOTAL POSITION"
NEXT TT
1 The original marks
2 Subtract the mean 3 Divide by the s.d 4. Multiply by the news d 5 Add the new mean
720 APINT#4
7O0 REM NOW RPIHT OUT ACTUAL NARKS
CcIO FOR X = 1 Ti
210 PRINT#4,RI3HMt1::"
"STPS(4."
(listing continued on next page)
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
85
Education
(continued from previous page)
daunting for non -Pet users, but the cursor
commands are only laying out the marks neatly on the screen as they are input. These could be replaced by HTAB and VTAB on the Apple or equivalent, or
omitted. As the marks are input, they are total-
led up in the zero element of the array see line 10050. But remember that if a mark is altered you must correct these totals - see line 490. When all the marks have been input, the program calculates the mean and SD for each subject - see lines 530-560 and stores them in an array S(,). Next it standardises the marks. For this entrance exam the total does not include the IQ paper; line 620 totals the maths and English marks.
Now the results are output to the
printer - any printer offering 80 columns
or more will do. Extensive formatting in the form of Right$() is used to ensure a neat table with right -justified numbers.
The program also calculates the positions in each subject and the overall position.
This section of the program takes the
longest to run, but since it is only run once a year I did not think it was worth using machine code, which would have gained speed at the expense of readability of the
program. For reference, the program also prints
out the original mean and standard devia-
tion for each subject. It then calculates a product -moment
correlation coefficient. This can take a value from -1 to +1. For exam results it
should be positive 'and above about 0.5. A sample run using random numbers
generated by the Pet is shown in figure 2.
(listing continued from previous page)
920 FOP 2U = I TO ?
,20 PPINT#4,RIGHT"
040 PPINT#4.RIOHTS("
"÷STRVA(X.SU
850 P%=1 E%=0*MA=A(X,SU
260 FOPT=1TON
270 1F0, 5U-:MATHEH900
820 IFA(T,SU)D.MATHENP71=P%+1 0010900
290 E%=E%-,1
900 NEXTT
210 PRINT#CPIGHT$r"
IFE%-21THENPRINT#4 "= "' 0010940
920 PPINT#4."
940 NEXTSU
950 PRINT#WRIGHTV"
960
X.7)
970 FORT=1TON
980 IF9(T.NATHEN1010
9T9g0oIr,_ITEMATHENR7.:=P11+1-00101010
1010 NEXTT
1020 PRINT#4,RIGHTV:"
".STR-
1020 IFE%D1THENPRINT#4,"=":
1040 PRINT#4 1050 NEXT X 1060 FORT=1T04,PRINT#4'NET
1070 PRINT#4,SPC(15':,;"ORIGINAL MEFIN"SPC',17 "ORIOINAL s.r." 1071 PRINT#4,SPC(15'W . 1080 FORSU=1103 1090 PRINT#4,SPC(5);SUS(SM;RRC(7):LEFTVSTR$(S(
1100 PRINT#4.SPC(25)LEFTi(::STR$(S(2SID>+" 1110 NEXT SU
1120 FORT=IT04,PRINT#4,NEXT
1130 REM NOW CALCULATE THE PRODUCT MOMENT CORRELATION COEFFICIENTS 1140 PRINT#4,SPC(21)"PRODUC7 MOMENT CORRELATIONS" 1141 PRINT#4,SPCf21;"
1150 FOR5U=I103!
1160 08=SU+1,IROS=.4THENOS=1 1170 TT=0
1180 FOP T = 1 TO N 1190 TT=TT+(A(T,W)-SI,SU))*(A(T:OS)-S(1,0S))
1200 NEXT T
1210 PRINT#4,5PC(21)2UVSU)1" - ":SUVOS);" 1220 PM=TT/N/(sQ,SU)*S(2,0S))
1220 PRINT#4,LEFTVSTR$<PM)t"
1240 NEXT SU 1250 FORT=1T04:PRINT#4,'NEXT 1260 END 10000 ARINTWCANDIDATE #";X"Il ,-"JD,t; 10010 INPUT#1,N$'1=VAL(NS) 10020 IFJ<10R=000RJ<DINT(J)THEN10000 10020 PRINT"M"'FORT=1TOXTRINT"OMDMINEXT,PRINT"INOW.;
10040 PRINTRIGHTV"
"i-STRVJ),4)
10050 A<N,SU)=J:fl(0,SU)=R(0,SU+J:R(0,SU+3)=A(0, SUI-704-J+J
10050 RETURN
Figure 2. Sample results of program.
Et -1-1-EAR V-4 CE: RUT ;UL._
I 1---1Fi 7- I Ot 4
FNNIAH
TRHP AALPD Prr7.:TN
riATH?
TRPF SCALED P0ATN
FFERHARY 1..71R1
I.Q.
TRUE ACALPTJ POSTN TOTAL POSITION
C.
JIL7
56
5A
.1
44
44
71
51
:77'e
114
.4
44
.
44
45
C!71
14
=
1'74
1-
44
GE
'74
7.71 4 1C7!
i
C4
97
91.7i
51
2A
10
=.!:1!
44
9
!.71! (74
E2
7n
r.f7!
4
S.=
iP
!_!R T C I NAI MEAN
c!RI0INA4 S.
RRODUCT MOMENT nnRWIATI0HA
cNriLIH
rIATHs
.41-4L_;H - MATHS
mpTH!=; -
I . 0.
7,O. - PNGL
86
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Games -----
RACE NIGHT
An evening's entertainment, and a good profit for charity are ingredients of a typical race night. This program from Eric Parr removes much of the paperwork and adds to the atmosphere of the occasion.
SIMULATED horse races provide the enter-
tainment at the popular fund-raising events known as race nights. The activity centres round filmed races - often from obscure American or Australian race
courses. After seeing the runners being paraded
round the paddock, the punters place their bets. Winnings, amounting to 60
percent of the total staked, are paid out at
the end of the race, calculated on the
totaliser principle. The remaining 40 percent is retained for charity. Between six
and 10 races are normally run in an
evening. The Race Night program was written
for Wishaw Round Table to replace most of the tedious paperwork and calculations
involved in a normal race night. The
Figure 1. Block diagram of Race Night program, including subroutines.
Lines 1 to 40 Initialisation of variables Dimension arrays
Lines 100 - 240 Input race name and sponsor Set up race card Input horse names
1 Lines 500 - 850 Input bets Update odds and display race Card after each bet
Lines 1000 - 1130 Input winner Display payback
system is supported by "bookies' run-
ners" as it was thought advisable to use
betting slips to allow manual back-up if
the computer crashed.
The program was tested on several
dummy runs, but on the night it per-
formed better than expected. The tote
was run successfully by just two people -
a typist and a dictator.
The system also added some atmos-
phere to the night by providing continu-
ously -updated odds. In a normal race
night, odds are only available after a race
has been run. Odds for the winner of each
race were given within seconds of the
finish, compared with the 10 to 15
minutes which had been usual on pre-
vious race nights.
The essence of the program is quite
simple. The payback -P - per bet is
given by:
0.6xUxT
RACE 3 WISHAW PRESS STAKES
Number Name
Approx Odds
1
Heat for Hire
3/2
2
British Steel
5/1
3
Mighty Micro
EVENS
4
Red Revolution
4/1
5
Practical
Computing
4/1
6
Chip Chop
6/1
Number of bets? 5 Horse number? 2
N
where U is the unit bet, T the total
number of bets placed and N the total bets placed on the winning horse.
The majority of the program is actually devoted to embellishments, which include a race card displaying the horses' names and current odds, a Round Table logo for "quiet" periods, and a one -page
advertisement for each race sponsor between races.
The program falls neatly into four blocks - see figure 1. The first block
simply dimensions the arrays used, reserves an area for the string arrays and sets the price of a bet.
The second block inputs the horses' names. These could have been stored in arrays for each race, but in practice most names are sold on the night, and it adds atmosphere to the event if the race card is built up on the VDU screens as horses are
sold.
The third, and most important, block inputs the bets. A race card is displayed,
Figure 2. Race -card display.
with odds - see figure 2. The actual bookmakers' odds are calculated in the
subroutine from lines 2000 to 2200. The pay -back per unit bet is given by the simple formula.
P= T/N
and includes the original stake. Bookmakers' odds ingore the original
stake, hence we start with BM = P - 1.
Bookmakers express odds in the form 8/1 or 6/1 or 3/2. The variable J is used as a multiplier and incremented from 1 until the ratio
INT (BM*J)/J
is within 10 percent of BM. The ratio is
then a rough approximation to bookmakers' odds. Line 2005 prints a blank if
the odds are less than 1 to 10. Line 2030 simply prints P - 1 for odds greater than 5
to 1. Line 2110 prints "Evens" if the calculated odds are 1 to 1.
(continued on next page)
Figure 3. Signal splitter to drive four UHF televisions.
TV1
Subroutines
LOGO 3000 - 3900 Displays round table
logo
Bookmaker 2000 - 2200 Converts payback to odds
ADVERT 4000 - 4900 Displays sponsors advert for current race
Summary Displays bets placed
Closed box (eg tobacco tin)
I
___,Amx:1
1
R
UHF modulated o/p from computer
11 Coax I socket LI
__,AAAP_61
R"
,L*/ ,
TV2
0
TV3
R = 75 x (N I) ohms, where N is number of outlets (N + 1)
for 4 outlets, R = 47 ohms (nearest preferred value)
TV4 All Domestic UHF T.V.s
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
87
Games
Arrays
H$(I) OD(1)
B(1)
0$(1)
Horse name Pay-back/bet should horse win Number of bets on horse Owner's name
Other variables
U
Price/bet
RC SP$ RC$ K B T BM J,B1
Race number Sponsor's name Race name Number of horses in race Input number of bets Total bets in this race Bookmakers' odds Value of odds, B1 to J
Q$
Keyboard inputs
A$
A
Numerical version of A$
P
Pay -back
Table 1. Variables used in program.
(continued from previous page)
Bets are given by the runners in the form "four bets on horse 1, six bets on horse 3, etc.". These are entered at lines 620/660. Line 670 deliberately ignores a
bet if an invalid horse number is entered.
This allows a typing error to be skipped.
In addition, negative bets can be entered to correct errors. As each bet is entered, an updated race card is produced on the VDUs.
The final main block gives the winning
pay -back. When the winner is
announced, the horse number is entered
and confirmed upon which the pay -back per bet is given, rounded to lop.
There are four subroutines. Book-
makers' odds has already been described.
The subroutines for the Round Table logo or an advertisement, for the race sponsor, are called when required. They
consist of simple Print statements and are
not listed here. The final subroutine, Summary, dis-
plays the bets on each horse in cryptic
form. It was included to warn the pay -out
booth how many claims to expect.
The program was written for a
Nascom-2. The UHF -modulated output
is used to drive the monitors around the
hall, and the I .5V peak -to -peak video
feeds a closed-circuit TV monitor for the
keyboard operator. The simple splitter
shown in figure 3 allows four TVs to be
driven from the UHF output without loss
of quality. As the Nascom uses the stan-
dard Astec modulator, similar results
would probably be achieved with other
machines.
The one computer -assisted race night
we have held so far was most successful.
Only one error was made during the
night, and this was later found to have
been caused by a forged ticket. In a nor-
mal race night an error of plus or minus
one ticket per horse is reasonable, so the
program was an improvement in this res-
pect. The biggest gains, though, were in
the atmosphere created and the general
smooth running of the event.
m
1
2 3
4
5
6
7
10
12 20 25 30 40 100 110
120 130 135 140 145 150 160 170 180 190 200 205 210 220 230 235 240 500 502 504 510 515 520 530 540 550 560 600 610 620 625 630 635 640 650 655 660 670 680 800 810 820 830
REMARKABLE RACE NIGHT PROGRAM REMARKABLY WRITTEN FOR WISHAW ROUND TABLE
CLS PRINT "Good Evening" INPUT "Bet Unit ";U CLEAR 4000 DIM H$ (15);OD(15); B(15); 0$(15) CLS INPUT 0$ IFQ$="LOGO" THEN GO SUB 3000: 00T010
:
INPUT "Race Number";RC IF RC> 6 OR RC(1 GOTO 20 INPUT "Race Name"; RC$ INPUT "Sponsor"; SP$ REM INPUT HORSES CLS INPUT "Number of Horses";K IF K<4 OR K>12 THEN 110 FOR I=1 TO K:H$ (I)=" ": NEXT I CLS: PRINT "Race"; RC; " "; RC$ PRINT "Number"; "Name" FOR I=1 TO K PRINT 1;H$ (I) NEXT I PRINT INPUT"Horse Number";A$:A=VAL (A$) IF A$= "BET" GOTO 500 IF A$="ADVERT" THEN GOSUB 4000: GOTO 140 IF A>K OR A<1 GOTO 140 A=INT (A) INPUT "Name";H$ (A) INPUT "Owner";0$ (A) GOTO 140 REM TAKE BETS T=0 FOR I=ITOK:B(I)=O:OD (I) = 0: NEXT
CLS PRINT "Race"; RC;" ";RC$:PRINT PRINT "Number Name"; TAB (35);"APPROX ODDS" FOR I=1 TOK PRINT I; TAB (7);H$ (I);TAB(36);
GOSLIB 2000 NEXT I REM ACTUAL BETS MADE
PRINT INPUT "Number of Bets"; 0$ IFQ$="LOGO" THEN GOSUB 3000: GOTO 510 IFQ$="ADVERT" THEN GOSUB 4000: GOTO 510 IFQ$="SUM"THEN GOSLIB 5000: GOTO 510 IFQ$="RUN" GOT0 1000 B=VAL (0$) IFB>9GOT0 510 INPUT"Horse Number";A IFA(1 OR A>K GOT0 510 T=T+B:B(A) = B(A)+B REM WORK OLIT PA BACKS P=0.6*T FORI=1 TO K OD(I)=(INT(100*P/B(I)))/100
840 850 1000 1005 1010 1012 1014 1016 1018 1020 1025 1026 1030
1050 1060 1070 1080 1090 1095 1100 1110 1115 1120 1130
2000 2005 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060 2070 2100 2110 2120 2200 3000 3010 3900 4000 4010 4020 4030 4040 4100 4102 4190 4200 4210 5000 5010 5020 5030 5040 5050
NEXT (I) GOTO 510 REM RESULT OF RACE CLS INPUT "Winning Horse No";A PRINT"Confirm Horse No";A PRINT"HORSE NAME";H$(R) INPUT Q$ IFO$<>"YES" GOTO 1000 CLS:PRINT" Race"; RC;" ";RC$ PRINT:PRINT" Sponsored by "SP$ PRINT PRINT" ****WINNER****"
1040 PRINT PRINT"Horse Number";A;" ";H$(A) PRINT "Owner";0$(A) PRINT P=0.6*T OD(A)=(INT((10*(U*P+0.05))/B(R)))/10 PRINT PRINT"Pa9back/Bet ";0D(A) INPUT Q$ IFQ$="LOGO"THEN GOSUB 3000: GOTO 1110 IFQ$="RDVERT"THEN GOSUB 4000, GOTO 1110 GOTO 10
REM WORK OUT BOOKMAKERS ODDS IFOD(I)<1.1 THEN PRINT" ":RETURN BM=OD(I)-1
J=1 IF BM> 5 THEMB1=INT(BM+0.5),GOTO 2100 B1=BM*J IFFIBS(B1-INT(B1+0.5))<J/10THENGOTO 2100
,T=J+1
GOTO 2040 B1=INT(B1+0.5) IFB1=1ANDJ=1 THEN PRINT"EVENS":00TO 2200 PRINT B1;"/";J RETURN REM DRAW ROUND. TABLE LOGO REM OMITTED FOR BREVITY INPUTOS:RETURN REM DISPLAY ADVERTS QLS:PRINT"Race";RC;" ";RC$ PRINT"SPONSORED BY";SP$ ON Re GO SUB 4100;4200;4300;4400;4500;4600 INPUT 0$; RETURN REM FIRST RACE ADVERT REM OMITTED FOR BREVITY
RETURN' REM LINES 4200 TO 4690 ADVERTS FOR REM OTHER RACES. OMITTED FOR BREVITY REM SUMMARY OF BETS FOR I=1TOK PRINT I;BC(I)
NEXT I PRINT T INPUTQ$:RETURN
88
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
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5i2
The Twelve
computerised
Days of Christmas
On the first day of Christmas, my computer
On the ninth day of Christmas, my computer
gave to me
gave to the
A glitch on the video screen.
Nine burnt -out fuses,
On the second day of Christmas, my
computer gave to me
Eight worthless printouts, Seven system re -sets, Six I/O spasms,
Two keyboard bounces,
Five blank cassettes,
And a glitch on the video screen.
Four garbled Saves,
Three loose plugs,
On the third day of Christmas, my computer
Two keyboard bounces,
gave to me
And a glitch on the video screen.
Three loose plugs,
Two keyboard bounces,
And a glitch on the video screen.
On the tenth day of Christmas, my computer
On the fourth day of Christmas, my
computer gave to me Four garbled Saves, Three loose plugs,
Two keyboard bounces, And a glitch on the video screen.
gave to me Ten disc -drive lockouts, Nine burnt -out fuses, Eight worthless printouts, Seven system re -sets, Six I/O spasms, Five blank cassettes,
On the fifth day of Christmas, my computer gave to me
Five blank cassettes, Four garbled Saves,
Four garbled Saves, Three loose plugs, Two keyboard bounces, And a glitch on the video screen.
Three loose plugs,
Two keyboard bounces,
And a glitch on the video screen.
On the eleventh day of Christmas, my
C
computer gave to me
On the sixth day of Christmas, my computer
Eleven damaged diskettes,
gave to me
Ten disc -drive lockouts,
Six I/O spasms,
Nine burnt -out fuses,
Five blank cassettes,
Eight worthless printouts,
Four garbled Saves,
Seven system re -sets,
Three loose plugs,
Six I/O spasms,
Two keyboard bounces,
Five blank cassettes,
And a glitch on the video screen.
Four garbled Saves,
Three loose plugs,
On the seventh day of Christmas, my Two keyboard bounces,
computer gave to me
And a glitch on the video screen.
Seven system re -sets,
Six I/O spasms,
Five blank cassettes, Four garbled Saves,
On the twelfth day of
Three loose plugs,
Christmas, my
Two keyboard bounces,
computer gave to me
And a glitch on the video screen.
Twelve blown -out circuits,
Eleven damaged diskettes,
On the eighth day of Christmas, my
Ten disc -drive lockouts,
computer gave to me
Nine burnt -out fuses,
Eight worthless printouts,
Eight worthless printouts,
Seven system re -sets,
Seven system re -sets,
Six I/O spasms,
Six I/O spasms,
Five blank cassettes,
Five blank cassettes,
Four garbled Saves,
Four garbled Saves,
Three loose plugs,
Three loose plugs,
Two keyboard bounces,
Two keyboard bounces,
And a glitch on the video screen.
And a glitch on the video screen.
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
93
Simple Petpro puts
thought into words
Petpro is an uncomplicated word-processing program for the Pet. Although Ian Birnbaum designed it originally
for school and college use, it has been applied successfully in a
variety of environments.
THIS woRacrocessing program has many of the features which are found in larger programs, including right -justification and full editing facilities.
Petpro will run on any large -keyboard Pet. For the 4000 and 8000 series, some
small modifications have to be made, and these are mentioned in the text. The pro-
gram takes up a little over 4K of memory and does not require discs.
The program should be input in lowercase mode so you must Poke 59468,14 before typing it in. For the 4000 and 8000
series
change the 49 in lines 22, 31 and 48 to 88 change the 46 in lines 115 and 133 to 85.
Table 1. Design map.
Lines Function numbers 2-29 Subroutines
2-4 Wait for ready - "space"
response 5-6 Line printout, editing mode 7 Prints quotation mark and I 8 Line wipeout 9 Line -length -exceeded message 10-11 Memory full in editing mode
- common routine 12-13 Wait for answer Y/N 14-16 Input -mode option 17 Re -sets line text variables to
zero 18-20 Tape input/output 21-22 Tape output 22 File -closing routine 23 Pause 24-25 Memory update in edit
mode
26-29 Search for character/ space in justify 30 Delete line
31-42 Initialisation 43-48 Tape Input 50-76 Keyboard Input
50-61 Input checks and Conversions 62-63 Character deletion 64-66 Carriage -return deletion with 8000 series, delete line 64 67-70 New -line routine 71-73 Automatic carriage -return routines 74-76 Tab routine 77-111 Editing Mode 80-94 Line -listing and option routines 95-98 Edit 99-102 Insert 103-111 Squeeze 112-139 Output mode and options for continuation 120-124 Justify
With the 8000 series only, line 64 should
be deleted. The program has three specific modes:
the input mode, the edit mode and the output mode.
In inptit mode, text can be input either from the keyboard or from tape. The program allows a variable line -width up to 73 characters. You can set the righthand margin by making this width smaller. Setting the width at 55 gives a right-
hand margin of about 10, assuming that
you will later he setting a left-hand mar-
gin of 10.
An automatic carriage -return operates no earlier than seven characters before
the maximum line width you have set, and
no later than two characters after it. It operates as soon as a space is typed, thereby avoiding word breaks. Split words can be amended, if desired, when in edit mode so manual carriage return will rarely have to be used.
Up to 10 tabs are allowed, but if you do not require any type 0. At this stage, if you have chosen tape input, the tape will
be read and the program will immediately
pass to edit mode. When inputting from the keyboard, the
following points should be noted.
The Pet keyboard is turned into a normal QWERTY keyboard, so full stops, commas,
etc., are in the normal place. The Run/Stop key and all the cursor -movement keys are disabled - touching them will produce no effect. You can delete the last character input by the f key or the Delete/Insert key, whether or not the shift -lock is on. It is best to use I since it can be easily touch-typed. You can delete a carriage return in the same way. You should delete only local mistakes; others can be corrected when editing later.
To obtain the next pre-set Tab, press -; it
will operate whether or not the shift -lock is on. If
the last Tab has been passed, or if there are no pre-set Tabs, - will be ignored. Automatic carriage -return will not operate
until the absolute maximum line length is reached.
There are two ways to enter editing mode. If you fill up the memory, the computer will enter it automatically, though some room will be reserved for manipulation in this mode. After output,
you will be able to return to the keyboard
and continue.
With large -memory Pets, garbage collection can appreciably slow up some operations in editing mode. It is, therefore, better not to create too much text before editing. The 4000 and 8000 series
Pets do not have this problem. The
second way to leave the keyboard is by typing a quotation mark - use ' for quo-
tation marks otherwise.
In editing mode the keyboard once
again acts as a normal Pet keyboard, with
Name A
B C D
E F G H
J K
L M N
P
R
S U
W
Y
z T( )
A$
B$
C$ E A$( )
Function Maximum line length 1. File number, tape or printer 2. Character count in squeeze Count for number of lines in text 1. Flag set to suppress space on new line
2. Controls memory add/subtract 3. Character pointer in justify 1. Flag set if last Tab set 2. Set to 2 if memory close to full Flag set if memory full before end of file on tape input Number of lines output to printer for each piece of text Maximum number of lines per
page 1. General For/Next counter 2. Device number for tape 3. Unshifted ASCII value of A$ 1. Secondary address for tape 2. Line number to be edited, etc. 1. Counter for line wipe-out 2. Length of next string in
squeeze Counter for total number of
characters input
Maximum number of line possible 1. Counter for lines to be printed out during editing mode 2. Length of current string in
justify
Left -margin length 1. Next Tab to be set 2. Length of next string in justify 1. Counter for list of Tabs 2. Length of pause 3. Flag for search in justify 1. Counter for pause subroutine 2. Line count in squeeze 3. Flag for character/space found
in justify
Double-spaced line flag
Number of Tabs Set to prevent number of lines output being re -set to zero
Set to miss out lines 42-48 when keyboard input follows tape 1. Counter for Tab printing 2. Length of current string in
squeeze
Correct line length pointer Maximum available memory after null -string pointers set, etc. Maximum number of lines input prior to editing
List of Tabs pre-set 1. Character input from keyboard 2. Store for memory full 3. Current string in squeeze 4. Current line in printout 1. Mode of operation, k/t 2. Store for line number in editing mode 3. Flag for justify Last mode of operation
Next string in squeeze Lines input from keyboard or tape
Table 2. Variable list
the full stop in the "wrong" place, and cursor movement allowed. Key I will no longer delete characters and the Delete key must be used. Characters may be inserted by using the Insert, shifted Del/
Inst, key. The lines are displayed in groups of 10.
94
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Word processing
1 POKE59468,14:PRINT"nNPETPRO#2!":PRINTSPC(11)"N(C)I BIRNBAUM 1981.09":00T031
2 PRINT"NPRESS 'SPACE' WHEN READY."
:3 °ETAS:WAS<>" "THEN3
4 RETURN
5 PRINT":10119":FORI=OT09:IFN+I)CTHENRETURN
6 PRINTI;RIGHTS(AS(N+I),LEN(AS(H+I))-1):NEXT:RETURN
7 PRINT"ANO THR$(34)CHR$(34)CHR$(20)"AWSPC(A+4)"14110 POKE623,29:0PKE458,1:R
ETURN
8 FORK=32768T032847:POKEK,32:NEXT:RETURN
9 PRINT"OMAX LINE LENGTH EXCEEDED.":0=1111:GOSUB23:GOSUB8:RETURN
10 PRINT":710 "As" POSSIBLE: MEMORY FULL."
11 O=2000:GOSUB23:607081
12 GETAS:IFAS<>"Y"ANDAS<>"N"THEN12
13 RETURN
14 PRINT"NNKREYBOARD OR NTIAPE I NPLIT?"
15 GETBS:IFB$<>"K"ANDEVD"T"THEN15
16 RETURN
17 FORI=1TOC:AS(I)="":NEXT:1_I=1:Y=FRE(0):PRINT"n":RETURN
18 PRINT":1NAME OF TAPE FILE (IF NO NAME":INPUT"PRESS /RETURN'0111111r;AS
19 IFAS="1"THENAS=""
20 OPENB,I,J,WRETURN
21 B=2:I=F+1:J=1:GOSUB18:FORI=1TOC:PRINT#2,CHR$(34)+WI):NEXT
22 CLOSEB:POKE144,49:RETURN
23 FORR=1TOO:NEXT:RETURN
24 L=L+LEN(AS(N+J))4ED:IFL).7*YORC=MTHENE=2
25 RETURN
26 R=0:D=D+1:IFIONTHEND=2:IFO=OTHENRETURN
27 IFMIDS(A$,D,1)<>" "THENR=1
28 IFR=OTHENRETURN
GOT026
30 D=-1:GOSUB24:C=C-1:FORI=N+JTOC:AS(I)=AS(I+1):NEXT:AS(I)="":RETURN
31 POKE144,49:GOSUB14:CS=WPRINT"n";
32 INPUT"MAX LINE LENGTH (73 OR LESS)";A:IFA>73THENPRINT"71";:GOT032
:33 IFB$="T"THEN42 34 PRINT"MUTOMATIC CARRIAGE RETURN":PRINT"WILL OCCUR BETWEEN CHARACTER"
PRINT"POSITIONS"A-7"AND"A+2
36 INPUT"NHOW MANY TABS (MAX 10)";T:IFT=OTHEN41
37 IFT>10THENPRINT"..1";:GOT036
38 PRINT"ANENTER THEM IN NUMERICAL ORDER"
PRINT"COLUMN POSITIONS ARE BETWEEN 1 AND"A:PRINT:FORI=1TOT
40 PRINT"TAB NO.";U:INPUTM(I):NEXT
41 IFV=1THEN49
42 M=INT(FRE(0)/A)+10:2=INT(.94EM):DIMAS(M):Y=FRE(0):IFB$="K"THEN49
43 B=1:I=1:J=0:GOSUB18
44 FORC=1TOZANPUT#1,As(C):L=L+LEN(AS(C))
45 IFST=64THENPRINT"MND CIF FILE":GOSUB22:GOT078
46 IFL>.7#YTHENGOT048 4? NEXT:C=C-1
48 F=1:POKE144,49:00T077
49 GOSUB2
50 PRINT"n";:POKE167,0:C=1:D=0:E=0:11$(1)="A"
(listing continued on next page)
Pressing < displays the next 10 lines;
pressing > displays the last 10 lines;
pressing X allows exit to output mode.
Otherwise there are four options:
Delete a line shown. For example, D7
deletes the line 7 and moves up all the rest. Line 9 becomes the one that would have been first in the next group of 10. Edit a line shown. For example, E4 displays
line 4 at the top of the screen. Move the cursor to the point where editing is required. Take care not to erase the quotation mark which always precedes the line. When the line is edited to your satisfaction, press Return and the newly -edited line will replace the old one in the displayed group of 10. Insert a line before one shown. For exam-
ple, 13 to insert a line before Line 3. A blank line
will appear at the top of the screen, preceded
by the quotation mark. It is essential that this mark is not erased. Type in the new line and press Return when finished.
If the last group of lines is being displayed, it
is possible to insert one after the last line. Type I followed by any line number greater than the one shown. For example, if seven lines are
displayed, typing 17, 18 or 19 will allow an eighth
line to be added. In the event of the last group being exactly 10 lines, a line may be added by first inserting a dummy blank line in the group -e.g., by typing 19 and then Return. This shifts line 10 into the next group, which was previously empty, allowing the real line to be added. The dummy line can then be deleted.
Squeeze up text to a line. For example, S4 moves text so that each line after, and including line 4, will have at most seven characters less than the maximum allowed per line. The squeeze facility continues to squeeze text until
it meets a blank line or a line beginning with a space, both of which are signals for new para-
graphs.
Combining the four editing functions
allows a wide range of changes,to be made
to text. For example, suppose line 4 reads, with a tew modifications the program can be
used with
and you want to insert the words "very elementary" between "few" and "modifications", while keeping the maximum line length at 55. One way to do this is to type E4, delete all the words after "program" and make the required insertion. Then type IS, and type in the deleted words "can be used with". Finally, by
(continued on next page)
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
95
Word processing
(continued from previous page)
typing S5, all the text will be properly squeezed up.
If you type a wrong letter when choosing an option - e.g., a D instead of an I you can press Delete to rectify it. Within options E and I, the marker 1 shows the end of the line. If you exceed the maxi-
mum line length, the computer displays a message and allows you to try again.
After you have seen all the text on the screen you can display it again by typing Y when asked. At this stage you may perform further editing if you wish, and you
can make several passes through the text before entering output mode.
(listing continued from previous page)
51 GETA$,IFAS=""THEN51 52 I=ASC(AS>AND127,1F1=13THEN66 53 IF(D=1ANDA$=" ")ORI=30R1=170RI=190R1=180RI=29THEN51 54 D=0,1FASC(AS)=34THENPRINT":1";:607078 55 IFF4="2"THENAS="," 56 1FI=59THENA$="." 57 IFAS=","THENR$="," 58 IFAS="J"THENAS=":" 59 IFI=95THEN74 50 IFI<>20ANDIC,94THENPRINTRE:G01.070 61 IFLEN(AVC))=1THEN63 62 AS(C)=LEFTSCAVC),LEN(A$(0)-1),PRINTCHRS(20); GOT051 63 AS(C)="",C=C-1:L=L-LEN(R$(0) 64 IFLEN(AVC))>39THENPRINT"fflr1".; 65 PRINT"! 1117"RIGHTS(AS(C),LEN(AVC:0-1) :001.051 66 IFLEN(AVC))<=39THENX=225+PEEK(216):POKEX,(PEEK(X)OR128) 67 PRINT"! "CHR$(13),E=0:L=L+LEN(AVC)) 68 IFC=ZORL>.8*YTHENPRINT"0",607077 69 C=C+1:At(C)=")11",007051 70 IFE=0ANDLEN(A$(0)-7ANDAS=" "THEN73 71 AE(C)=AE(C)+A$ 72 IFLEN(AVC))<A+3THEN51 73 D=1:GOT067 74 FOR0=1TOT:IFPEEK(198)>=MQ)-ITHENNEXT:007051 75 P=T1(W-PEEK(198)-1,FORW=1TOP:AVC)=AS(C)+" ":PRINT" ";:NEXT 76 E=e0=7)*(T<>1),601051 77 PRINT"MOMPUTER MEMORY FULL." 78 POKE167,/:PRINT"AEDIT TEXT IF NECESSARY.":PRINT"XPRESS "CHR$(34)" WHEN READY 79 GETWIFASOCHR$(34)THEN79
80 N=I 81 GOSUB5:IFI=OTHENI12 82 PRINT"WEELETE *WIT SINNSERT SS' OUEEZE + LINE NUMBER"
83 PRINTSPC<I0)"OTHERWISE ENXPIT 2LA! 84 GETWIF(A$="<"ANDN>10)0RA$="3"THENN=N+10*(A$="<")-10*(F4=")" GOT081 85 IFAS="X"THEN112 86 IFF4=""OR(A$0"D"ANDAS<>"E"ANDAS-0"I"ANDAS<>"S")THEN04 87 PRINTAC 88 GETBSIFB$=""THEN88 89 IFFISC(B$)=20THENPRINTM:00T004 90 IFASUBS)<480RASUBS)>57THEN88 91 PRINTM,J=VAL<Bt):IFJ>ITHENJ=IVA$0"E")*-1 92 IFA$="D"THENGOSUB3000T081
IFF4="I"THEN99 94 IFAWS"THENI03 95 IFE=2THENIFFRE(0)<250THENR$="EDITING":607010 96 D=-1,00SUB24,GOSUE7:PRINTRIGHTS(AVN+J),LEN(AVN+J))-1); INPUT"0"A:4 97 GOSUB8,IFLEN(AS))-A+2THENGOSUB9,GOT096 98 AVN+J)=")4"+WD=1:00SUB24,GOT081 99 IFE=2THENIFFRE(0)(3000RC=MTHENAS="INSERTING":007010 100 FORI=CTON+JSTEP-1:AVI+1)=AS(I),NEXT:C=C+I 101 GOSUB7rINPUT"0"AS,GOSUB8,IFLEN(A$)>A+2THENGOSUB9:001.0101 102 GOTU9x 103 FORR=N+JTOC-1:F4=AS(R)'ES=FIVR+1):W=LEN(AS):K=LEN<ES):1F2ORW=ITHEN81 104 IFW>A-7THENNEXT:001.081
105 IFMIDS(ES,2,1)=" "THEN81 106 IFK<A-6-WTHEN109 107 FORB=A-5-WTOKH1 IFMIDVES,B,1)=" "ORB>A+3-WTHEN110
106: NEXT
109 A$(R)=A$+" "+RIGHTVES,K-1):J=R+1-N:GOSUB30:NEXTR:GOT081 110 AS(R)=A$+" "+MIDVES,2,B-2),IFMIDS(E$,B+1,1)=" "THENB=B+I 111 AVR+1)="r+RIGHTVES,K-B),NEXTR,GOT081 112 PRINT":100 YOU WANT TO LOOK AT THIS TEXT":PRINT"FIGAIN?":GOSUB12 113 IFAS="Y"THEN80 114 PRINT"nIS THERE A PRINTER ATTACHED?":00SUB12,IFA$="N"THEN130 115 PRINT"MMAKE SURE THE PRINTER IS ON":GOSUB2POKE144,46,0PEN4,4,1FU=ITHEN119 116 G=0PRINT"At[10 YOU WANT DOUBLE-SPACED LINES?":GOSUB12:S=(AWY") 117 PRINT"AHAXIMUM NUMBER OF STYPEDP LINES PER PAGE"'PRINT"(IF NO MAX TYPE 07"; 118 INPUTIMIUMW;H:INPUT"XLENGTH OF LEFT HAND MARMODIMOM:PRINT#4 119 PRINT"AUUSTIFY TEXT?":00SUB12:BS=WD=1:FORI=ITOC:A$=A$(1):IFB$="N"ORI=CTHE N125 120 N=LEN(A$),P=LEN(AS(I+1)),IFF<ATHENIFMIDVAVI+1),2,1)0" "ANDNA-7THEN122 121 GOT0125 122 IFN=8+3THEN125 123 3=1:006UB26,0=0,GOSUB26,IFD=2THEN123
124 AS=LEFTVAS,D)+" "+MIDVAS,D+1):N=N+1:6010122 125 PRINT#4,SPC(0)AS:G=0+1:IFS=-ITHENPRINT#4 126 IFGORTHEN128 127 PRINT"MAX LINES PER PAGE REACHED":PRINT"XADJUST PAPER",00SUB2,13=0,PRINT"7" 123 NEXT,B=4,00SUB22 129 PRINT"XPRINT THIS CUT AGAIN?",GOSUB12IFAS="Y"THENII5 130 PRINT"AIWAVE THIS TEXT ON TAPE?":00SUB12:1FAS="Y"THENGOSUB21 131 PRINT"MEDIT THIS TEXT AGAIN?":GOSUB12,IFA$="Y"THEN80 132 E=0:IFF=ITHEN139 133 PRINT"nMORE TEXT TO INPUTf":00SUB12:IFAS="N"THENPOKE144,46:END 134 PRINT"OUILL PRINTOUT CARRY":PRINT"STRAIGHT ON?":00SUB12 135 IFAS="N"THENCtR:GOT031 136 GOSUB14:IFI5="T"THENGOSUB17:00T043 137 IFC4="K"THENGOSUB17'PRINT"O.K. CONTINUE.":0=555:130SUB23:007050
138 Cl="K":G06UB17:4'=1:007034 1.9 GOSUBI7 PRINT"THERE IS; MORE TEXT ON TAPE TO INPUT":L=8F=0:00SUB2:001.044
If a printer is attached, you can obtain a printout of the text with either single or
double-spaced lines. If you have specified a maximum number of lines per page, the printing will stop at the relevant time to allow you to change the paper.
Note that with double-spaced lines, each typed line will take up two lines on
the page. So for example, if the paper can take 50 lines you should set the maximum number of typed lines at 25.
When you set the left-hand margin, note that the total line length should not exceed 80.
The program will right -justify the text if required. Justification will be to a width
of two more than the maximum line width set. If tables are included, which you do not want to justify, precede each line of the table by at least one space. The program will not justify a line if the next line begins with a space, or is blank. Neither
will it justify a line shorter than seven characters less than the maximum line width set.
After printout, a number of options are available: you can print out again; you can save the text on tape; or you can edit the text again, which is useful if you want to change just a few parts and then save again. Any or all of these options can be
combined.
You will then have the option of continuing text input, either from the
keyboard or from tape. Subsequent printout can either carry straight on from the previous text - in which case the number of lines already output will be remem-
bered - or else you can start on a new
page. In tape input mode, it is possible that
the tape may contain more than the avail-
able memory can take. In this case, if you want to save the text again on tape, you will need to use the second cassette port. The program is designed to inform you of
this, and it will also remind you that there is more text on tape to input.
For non -Pet printers you will need to
delete coding which relates to the adding on
of a cursor -down symbol for each new line of text. This occurs in line 50, 69, 98 and 111. Most references to LEN(A$(C)) will have to be reduced by one. These occur on lines 61, 64, and 66. Also subtract 1 from expressions including A in 7, 35, 70,
72, 97, 101, 103, 107, 120 and 122. Change the MID$ in 110 to Left$ (E$, B-
1); D=2 in 26 to D=1; and 2 in 103 and 120 to 1. Finally the Right$ function in lines 6, 65, 96 and 109 can be removed. You may need to add code, specific to your printer in order to give you lower-
case facilities.
The overriding design philosophy of
the program is that it should work as fast as
possible, and be as economical as possible with memory space. Unfortunately, this tends to make the readability of the program difficult, but tables I and 2 should'help if you wish to make modifica-
tions.
96
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
14vr_riourNuAL
COMPUTER
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Sinclair 1X81 Personal Com
the heart of a system
that grows with you.
1980 saw a genuine breakthrough the Sinclair ZX80, world's first complete personal computer for under £100. Not surprisingly, over 50,000
Kit:
were sold.
149.95 In March 1981, the Sinclair lead
increased dramatically. For just £69.95 the Sinclair ZX81 offers even
more advanced facilities at an even
lower price. Initially, even we were
surprised by the demand - over 50,000 in the first 3 months!
Today, the Sinclair ZX81 is the heart of a computer system. You can add 16 -times more memory with the ZX RAM pack. The ZX Printer offers an unbeatable combination of performance and price. And the ZX Software library is growing every day.
Lower price: higher capability
Higher specification, lower price how's it done? Quite simply, by design. The ZX80 reduced the chips in a working computer from 40 or so, to 21. The
ZX81 reduces the 21 to 4! The secret lies in a totally new
master chip. Designed by Sinclair and custom-built in Britain, this unique chip replaces 18 chips from
Built:
With the ZX81, it's still very simple to the ZX80!
teach yourself computing, but the ZX81 packs even greater working capability than the ZX80.
It uses the same micro -processor, but incorporates a new, more powerful 8K BASIC ROM - the 'trained intelligence' of the computer. This chip works in decimals, handles logs and trig, allows you to plot graphs, and builds up animated displays.
And the ZX81 incorporates other operation refinements - the facility to load and save named programs on cassette, for example, and to drive the new ZX Printer.
New, improved specification Z80A micro -processor - new faster version of the famous Z80 chip, widely recognised as the best
ever made. Unique 'one -touch' key word entry: the ZX81 eliminates a great
deal of tiresome typing. Key words
(RUN, LIST, PRINT, etc.) have their
own single -key entry. Unique syntax -check and report codes identify programming errors immediately. Full range of mathematical and scientific functions accurate to eight decimal places. Graph -drawing and animated display facilities. Multi -dimensional string and
169.95
Kit or built - it's up to you! You'll be surprised how easy the ZX81 kit is to build: just four chips to assemble (plus, of course the other discrete components) -a few hours' work with a fine -tipped soldering iron. And you may already have a suitable mains adaptor - 600 mA at 9 V DC nominal unregulated (supplied with built version).
Kit and built versions come complete with all leads to connect to your TV (colour or black and white) and cassette recorder.
numerical arrays.
Up to 26 FOR/NEXT loops.
Randomise function - useful for
games as well as serious applications.
Cassette LOAD and SAVE with
named programs.
1K -byte RAM expandable to 16K
bytes with Sinclair RAM pack.
Able to drive the new Sinclair
printer.
New
BASIC manual
Advanced 4 -chip design: microprocessor, ROM, RAM, plus master
Every ZX81 comes with a comprehensive, specially- written chip - unique, custom-built chip
manual -a complete course in BASIC programming, from first principles to complex programs.
replacing 18 ZX80 chips.
der-
'4.
17,X2,511c.70: 01,0 0,:o
X'a
a. cca,
9984 POKE ILLZ:E.1".
99998856PLOEKTE.R
3987 RETUR1
9T9I9M88E89RFEOMRPI 9i9981 FFOORR ,KJ 9(P.99.4J32,KNNPP,#OEEOZRXXK) TTErfzK.Je2
16K- byte RAM pack for massive
Available nowthe ZX Printer
for only 149.95
Designed exclusively for use with the ZX81 (and ZX80 with 8K BASIC ROM), the printer offers full alpha numerics and highly sophisticated graphics.
A special feature is COPY, which prints out exactly what is on the whole TV screen without the need for further intructions.
At last you can have a hard copy of your program listings -particularly useful when writing or editing
programs. And of course you can print out
your results for permanent records or sending to a friend.
Printing speed is 50 characters per second, with 32 characters per line and 9 lines per vertical inch.
The ZX Printer connects to the rear of your computer - using a stackable connector so you can plug in a RAM pack as well. A roll of paper (65 ft long x 4 in wide) is supplied, along with full instructions.
add-on memory.
Designed as a complete module to fit your Sinclair ZX80 or ZX81, the RAM pack simply plugs into the existing expansion port at the rear of the computer to multiply your data/program storage by 16!
Use it for long and complex programs or as a personal database. Yet it costs as little as half the price of competitive additional memory.
With the RAM pack, you can also run some of the more sophisticated ZX Software - the Business & Household management systems for example.
How to order your ZX81 BY PHONE - Access, Barclaycard or Trustcard holders can call 01-200 0200 for personal attention 24 hours a day, every day. BY FREEPOST - use the no -stamp needed coupon below. You can pay
by cheque, postal order, Access, Barclaycard or Trustcard. EITHER WAY - please allow up to
28 days for delivery. And there's a 14 -day money -back option. We want you to be satisfied beyond doubt and we have no doubt that you will be.
rTo: Sinclair Research Ltd, FREEPOST 7, Cambridge, CB21YY.
Qty Item
Code
Sinclair ZX81 Personal Computer kit(s). Price includes
ZX81 BASIC manual, excludes mains adaptor.
12
Ready -assembled Sinclair ZX81 Personal Computer(s).
Price includes ZX81 BASIC manual and mains adaptor.
11
Mains Adaptor(s) (600 mA at 9 V DC nominal unregulated).
10
Sinclair. 16K -BYTE RAM pack. ZX Printer.
18 27
8K BASIC ROM to fit ZX80.
17
Post and Packing.
Item price £
49.95
69.95 8.95
49.95 49.95 19.95
Orderi
Total £
2.95
0 Please tick if you require a VAT receipt
TOTAL £
II I iI *I enclose a cheque/postal order payable to Sinclair Research Ltd, for £
*Please charge to my Access/Barclaycard/Trustcard account no.
*Please delete/complete as appli.cableI
I
I
I
I
I
I
Please print.
ZX81
Name: Mr/Mrs/Miss I I I I
Address. 1111111111111111111[1111
6 Kings Parade, Cambridge, Cambs., CB21SN. LFREEPOST - no stamp needed.
Tel: (0276) 66104 & 21282.
PR C121
Circle No. 157
How the ZX81 compares with other personal computers
SYSTEM IDENTIFICATION
ROM GUIDE PRICE COMMANDS STATEMENTS
ARITHMETIC FUNCTIONS
STRING FUNCTIONS NUMBERS NUMERIC VARIABLES STRING VARIABLES NUMERIC ARRAYS DISPLAY
SPECIAL FEATURES
Basic unit - inc. VAT Unit plus 16K RAM (*12K RAM)
LIST, LOAD, NEW, RUN, SAVE
PRINT, INPUT, LET, GOTO, GOSUB/RETURN, FOR/NEXT IF/THEN
STEP TAB ABS, RND INT ATN, COS, EXP, LOG, SGN, SIN, SQR, TAN ARCSIN, ARC_ OS
CHI*
LEN ASC(CODE), STRS1, VAL, 1NKEY$ FLOATING PT±10 *38 INTEGERS A -Z AA-ZO An-Zn, n= any alphanumeric string
AO 6% A% to a An%to Zn n =any alphanumeric character
SINGLE DIMENSIONAL MULTI DIMENSIONAL ROWS COLUMNS LOW RES GRAPHICS (<7000 pixels) HI RES GRAPHICS (>40000 pixels) USR (CALL, LINK) PEEK, POKE (OR EQUIV)
ZX81
8K £70 £120
ZX80
4K £100 £150
ACORN ATOM
8K £175 £285*
APPLE II PLUS
8K
£630 £630
PET 2001
14K
£435 £530
TRS 80 LEVEL I
4K
£290 £360
TRS 80 LEVEL II
12K
£375 £375
24
24
16
24
25
16
16
32
32
32
40
40
64
64
Sinclair software on cassette.
The ultimate course If you own a
in 1X81 BASIC
Sinclair 1X80...
programming.
The unprecedented popularity of the
ZX Series of Sinclair Personal
Computers has generated a large Some people prefer to learn their
volume of programs written by users. programming from books. For them,
Sinclair has undertaken to
the ZX81 BASIC manual is ideal.
publish the most elegant of these on
But many have expressed a
pre-recorded cassettes. Each pro- preference to learn on the machine,
gram is carefully vetted for interest through the machine. Hence the
and quality, and then grouped with new cassette -based ZX81 Learning
others to form single -subject
Lab.
cassettes.
The package comprises a 160 -
Software currently available
page manual and 8 cassettes. 20
includes games, junior education, programs, each demonstrating a
and business/household manage- particular aspect of ZX81 program-
ment systems. You'll receive a
ming, are spread over 6 of the
Sinclair ZX Software catalogue with cassettes. The other two are blank
your ZX81 - or see our separate
practice cassettes.
advertisement in this magazine.
Full details with yourSinclairZX81.
Circle No. 158
The new 8K BASIC ROM used in the Sinclair ZX81 is available to ZX80 owners as a drop -in replacement chip. (Complete with new keyboard template and operating manual.)
With the exception of animated graphics, all the advanced features of the ZX81 are now available on your ZX80 - including the ability to drive the Sinclair ZX Printer.
ZX81
6 Kings Parade, Cambridge, Cambs., CB21SN. Tel: (0276) 66104 & 21282.
Word processing
Upgrading your machine from an uncluttered micro to a versatile word processor will probably teach you as much about the abundance of printers available as about your programming strengths and weaknesses. Tina Billett relates her experiences of the subject and presents the word-processing program she wrote to solve the problems.
Justifying Genie
GENIE has been in our home for a little over a year, during which time we have gone from strength to strength in both
range and size of the programs devised, or
attempted. My spouse has written a financial pro-
gram for our own purposes, which does everything except go to the bank, but I have tended by and large to stick to games
and other useless time -wasters. Even so, I
have attained a kind of working knowledge as to how this beast called Genie
thinks. One of the carrots dangled in front of
me when the subject of home micros first cropped up was that of the word processing potential. It is several years since I last worked in an office, so I had never met one of those contraptions face to face, as it were. My knowledge was limited to what I had seen on TV.
Before the arrival of Genie, I had spent
most of my spare time writing, and having
got over the initial micro -addiction, I returned my attention to the neglected typewriter, niggling all the while at the unfulfilled promise of the glories of word processing which, I had been informed, would "only be a matter of time".
Eventually we saved enough pennies or so we thought - to venture into the hitherto unknown world of printers. Con-
fusion piled up on confusion.
Establishing requirements
There were so many available, but so few of those we could afford had what I considered to be a suitable type -face. Editors are peculiar creatures at the best of times, and the thought of presenting a typescript with characters made up of dots to such elevated persons made me
shudder. We perused the pages of appropriate
publications endlessly, but the advertised prices, contrary to hopes of miracles, did not diminish with subsequent readings.
After much heart searching we decided to try to obtain a second-hand machine,
keep our fingers crossed and hope nothing drastic would go wrong - in which case we could have little or no
recourse to the vendor.
We tracked down a supplier of re -conditioned Termi-printers and went along
to have a look. After trying the poor man's patience to the limit with endless
and seemingly stupid questions, we went
to have lunch with a promise to think about it. The price was comparable to a new dot-matrix printer, but I had already
made up my mind that however good the latter was professed to be by sales chat, it was not good enough for my purposes. My difficulty was to convince the bread-
winner of the family that I could find space for the enormous object I was trying to talk him into purchasing.
Finally I won, and we returned home the proud owners of our first peripheral. The next step was to interface the printer to Genie. We had several choices, but because we want a disc drive eventually, we opted for an expansion box on the groufids that doing it on the cheap would
be a false economy. We had to dig deep into pockets and
bank accounts to do this, but reasoned that unless the roof caved in we could probably survive until next pay-day.
After many trials and tribulations we
finally had all the necessary hardware, but lacked the software -a word-processing
program. As the coffers by now were well and truly empty, I set about writing my own.
To start with I had to decide exactly what my requirements were, balance these against what facilities were available, my programming capabilities, and
come up with something both simple and adequate. The resulting effort makes no pretence of being perfect, so the producers of commercial word-processing software need not fear the competition.
On the other hand, home micro buffs may find it useful for all manner of things.
There are three major areas of creative writing in which I am engaged - letters, magazine articles, and a weekly newsletter. This program is geared to all three, but hopefully the following notes will enable individuals to select which features to adopt and which to ignore, although a user will be limited if his printer has less
than 100 characters per line. As the words are contained in strings
there is a Clear 7500 on line 30, after which the program jumps to options on lines 36(1 to 400. Elsewhere the listing
follows a sequence so there are no sub-
routines. There are very few Rems in the listing, contrary to the demands of con-
ventional programs, but this is largely due to preserving memory for more important
functions. The constants N and Y are of prime
importance, because the whole program
revolves around them. The basic function of the program is to enable the user to compile, then either save or print one page of text, a page being either a single
column of 60 characters or two columns of 45 characters each. This option is determined by the input of Y on line 60 and any deviation from this, either from choice or necessity, must be amended on lines 460, 470. 1460-148(1, and 1500.
The number of required lines per page is input on line 50. This can be anything at all so long as it is borne in mind that the
double -column option - Y=45 -
requires twice the number of lines for a full printed page, and preferably an even number. The value of SS, on lines 480, 1530 and 1540 is also dependent on the
size of pager used. On printers which have a form -feed
facility, these could probably be dispensed with altogether. User's address should replace the blurb on lines 14601480, and if addressed heading is required then this should be taken into
account when determining the value of N. If I have forgotten to mention any other idiosyncrasies of the listing, no doubt you will find out for yourself.
Program features
Lines 80-340. Text input. There are
several items worth noting in this section. Line 130. This is an optional extra for
the ex -typist. for the printer bleeps to remind one that the end of the line is looming, enabling insertion of hyphen if the current word is longish. It all depends
on how fussy one is on full justification. In
any case this can be modified during editing - see instructions for use.
Line 200. For new paragraph, I use the unshifted ESC key, as a matter of convenience, this being in a similar position to the Tab key on my typewriter. Any other key would do the same with modification to this line.
Lines 220-230. The Genie being a
peculiar creature, lower-case characters, although not displayed on the VDU, are present as an output to printer.
Unfortunately capitals are unshifted and unless one wishes to hold down the shift key for lower-case throughout, some means has to be found to reverse the normal procedure. These lines do that.
When the required number of lines are
complete. no further text is accepted. Only the insertion of * lets the program proceed. The options displayed then are
self-explanatory.
Line 460. On the assumption - see note - that the printer is pre-settable for left-hand margin, and that this has been
(continued on page 104)
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
101
Apri123-25, 1982 Earls Court,
London
Bringing
i
computers
er to life
Personal computers Home computing Small business systems
In all walks of life, personal computers have revolutionised computer power- bringing it within the reach of a far wider and more popular market than ever before.
In 1982 this revolution will explode onto the home and personal computer market. To meet this demand, Practical Computing and Your Computer announce a brand new event- The Computer Fair. The promotion of the exhibition will be heavily geared to attract the growing market of potential and existing users of personal computers, from home computer enthusiasts to businessmen.
Bring your computers and services to life - all walks of life - at The Computer Fair!
Complete and return the coupon - we'll send you
details.
THE
OMPUter Exhibition Manager, I THE COMPUTER FAIR, IPC Exhibitions Ltd.,
:'\ _ I Name
Pet son, compulms
- Small Home cimmulong OLJ SP e syslems
1, Throwley Way, Sutton, Surrey, SM1 4QQ I
/ Position in Company
Company
I Address
Tel. No.
Circle No. 159
102
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Word processing
10 CLS: PRINT@:338,"WORD PROCESSING PROGRAMME 540 IF LEFTS(VC1)<>"Y" THEN 380
55)) INPUT "HOW MANY"; C
15 REM (C) T. EILLETT 1981
560 GOTO 440
20 PRINT@470,"BY TINA E:ILLETT": PRINT F'RIN 570 INPUT "EDIT - WHICH LINE - ENTER NUMBER"
T : PRINT
0
30 CLEAR 7500: GOTO 340
575 IF 0>N THEN 570
50 CLS: INPUT "HOW MANY LINES PER PAGE"; N 580 A$=A$(0): P=1
60 INPUT "HOW MANY CHARACTERS PER LINE"; Y 590 PRINT CHR$(14);
70 DIM AS(N+1),E4(N+1)
600 Kl$=INKEY$: IF K1$="" THEN 600
80 PRINT "READY TO START"
610 IF K1$=CHR$(8) ANn P>1 THEN PRINT KI$;
90 PRINT CHR$(14);
P=P -1: Kl$="": GOTO 600
100 X=X+1: IF X=N+1 THEN 350
620 IF K1$=CHR$(8) THEN K1$="": GOTO 600
110 A$(X)="" 120 IS=INKEY$: IF 1$="" THEN 120
630 IF K1$=" "PRINT MID$(A$,P,1); P=P+1: :
OTC 600
130 IF LEN(A$(X))=Y-7 THEN LPRINT CHR$(7)
640 IF K1$<>CHR$(13) THEN 670
140 IF IS=CHR$(8) AND LEN(A$(X))>0 THEN A$(X )=LEFTS(A$(X),LEN(A$(X))-1): PRINT 1$; GOT 0 260 150 IF I$=CHR$(8) THEN I$='": GO I0 120
160 IF I$=CHR$(13) THEN FRINT 1$: GOTO 100
650 IF P=>LEN(A$) THEN PRINT 1(1$: A$(0)=A$: A$="": GOTO 360 460 IF P>1 THEN PRINT RIGHT$(A$,((LEN(A$)-P) +1)): A$(0)=A$: Al="": GOTO 360:ELSEIF P=1 T HEN PRINT A$: A$(0)=A$: Ai="": GOTO 360
170 IF I$=CHR$(44 THEN I$="," 180 IF 1$=CHR$(45) THEN I$=" -
670 IF Kl$<>"D" THEN 710 680 IF P=1 THEN AS=RIGHTS(AL(LEN(A$)-1))
200 IF I$=CHR$(91) THEN I$._,
11 PRINT IS OTO 600
AS(X)=I$: GOTO 120
690 IF P=>LEN(A$) THEN A$=LEFT$(4$,(LEN(A$)-
220 T=ASC(I$): IF T>64 AND T<91 THEN IS=CHR$ 1)): GOTO 600
(T+32): GOTO 240
700 F$=LEFTS(ACP-1)+RIGHT$(ALLEN(A$)-P): A
230 IF T>96 AND 1 123 THEN 1$=CHRS(T-32)
$=F$: 0(10 600
240 PRINT 1$;
710 IF Kl$<>"I" THEN 820
250 A$(X)=A$(X)+I$
720 TP$=INKEY$:. IF TP$="" THEN 720
260 IF LEN(A$(X)),.=Y+1 THEN 120
730 IF TP$=CHR$(27) THEN 600
270 IF LEN(A$(X))=Y+1 AND RIGHTS A$(X), 1)=" 740 IF TP$=CHR$(13) THEN TP$="" GOTO 720
" THEN PRINT GOT)) 100
750 IF TP$=CHR$(8) AND P>1 THEN P=P -1: PRINT
280 J=1
TP$: F$=LEFT$(ALF-1)+RIGHT$(A$,(LEN(A$)-P)
290 IF MID$(A$(X),(LEN(A$(X))-J),1)<>" " THE
A$=F$: F$="": GOTO 720
N J=J+1: GOTO 290
300 B$=RIGHTi(A$(X),J) A$(X)=LEFTS(A$(X),(L
EN(A$(X))-J))
310 FOR I=1 TO
PRINT CHR$(8); NEXT :
320 IF LEFT$(B$,1)=" " THEN B$=RIGHT$(8$,(LE
N(B$)-1))
330 PRINT PRINT B$; :
760 IF TP$=CHR$(8) THEN 720 770 T=ASC(TP$): IF T>64 AND T<91 THEN TP$=CH R$(T+32): GOTO 790 780 IF T>95 AND T<123 THEN TP$=CHRS(T-32) 790 IF P=1 THEN F$=TP$+A$: P=P+1: PRINT TP$;
TP$ ="": A$=F$: F$="": GOTO 720
:
800 IF P=>LEN(A$) THEN F$=A$+TP$: P=P+11 PR I.
240 X=X+1: IF X=N+1 THEN 350:ELSEAS(X)=8$: B
$="": GOTO 120
350 PRINT PRINT PRINT N;
:
:
" LINES COMPLET
E. ": PRINT
360 PRINT PRINT "PRESS * TO CONTINUE";
NT TP$; TP$="": A$=F$: F$="": 6010 720 :
810 F$=LEFT$(A$,P-1)+TP$+RIGHT$(ACLEN(A$)-P +1): P=P+1: PRINT TP$; TP$="": A$=F$: F$="
:
GOTO 720 820 IF Kl$<>"C" THEN 600
370 M$=INKEY$: IF M$<>"*" THEN 370
830 TP$=INKEY$: IF TP$_"" THEN 830
380 CLS:
D=0: PRINT 'OPTIONS": PRINT :
PRINT
840 T=ASC(TP$):
IF T>64 AND T<91 THEN TP$=CH
"1 - OUT TO PRINTER": PRINT "2 - REVIEW LIN R$(T+32): GOTO 860
ES": PRINT "3 - NEW PAGE": PRINT "4 - STOP": 850 IF T>95 AND T<123 THEN TP$=CHR$(T-32)
PRINT "5 - EDIT": PRINT "6 - JUSTIFY"
860 IF P=1 THEN F$=TP$+RIGHTS(AC(LEN(A$)-1)
385 PRINT "7 - SAVE DATA TO TAPE": PRINT "S ): A$=F$: GOTO 890 - INPUT DATA FROM TAPE": PRINT: PRINT "ENTER 870 IF P=LEN(A$) THEN F$=LEFT$(A$,(LEN(4t.-1
CHOICE"; : INPUT D 390 ON D GOTO 460, 410, 440, 450, 570, 910,
))+TP$: A$=F$: GOTO 890 880 A$=LEFT$(ALP-1)+TP$+RIGHT$(A$,LEN(A$)-P
1660, 1880
400 GOTO 380 410 FOR 0=1 TO N: PRINT 0; A$(0)
420 NEXTO 430 GOTO 360
890 PRINT TP$, P=P+1- TP$="": GOTO 600 900 GOTO 600 910 FOR 0=1 TO N
92(1 L$=INKEY$: IF L$="*" THEN 340
440 IF A$(1)<>"" THEN INPUT "ARE YOU SURE"; S$ 442 IF LEFT$(5$,1)="N" THEN 380 444 RUN 50 450 END 440 IF Y=45 THEN FOR 0=1 TO N/2: LPRINT A$(0
SP=Y-LEN(A$(0))+10: FOR A=1 TO SP: LPRI NT CHR$(32); NEXTA: LPRINT AS(6:I-N/2): NEXT
930 IF A$(0)="" THEN 1380
940 IF LEFTS(A$(0),5)="
" THEN 960
950 IF LEFT$(A$(0),1)=" " THEN A$(0)=RIGHT$(
A$(0);(LEN(A$(0))-1)): GOTO 950
960 IF RIGHT$(A$(0),1)=" " THEN A$(0)=LEFT$(
A$(0),(LEN(A$(0))-1)): GOTO 960
970 IF LEN(A$(0))=Y THEN PRINT 0; A$(0) NEX
T: GOTO 360
470 IF Y>45 THEN 1420 480 SS=67-(N/2): FOR P=1 TO
LPRINT
980 IF LEN(A$(0))<Y THEN 1120
990 IF LEFT$(A$(0),5)="
" THEN =6: V=0:
NEX GOTO 1010
T
490 IF C=0 THEN 530 500 B=B+1 510 IF B<C THEN 440
520 IF E=C THEN C=0:
8=0: GOTO 380
1000 .6=1: V=0 1010 IF MID$(A$(0),S,2)=" " THEN V=V+1 1020 IF V=1 THEN A$(0)=LEFT$(A$(0),S-1)+RIGH T$(A$(0),(LEN(A$(0))-8)): GOTO 970
530 INPUT "DO YOU WANT MORE COPIES"; V$
(continued on next page)
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
103
Word processing ----
(listing continued from previous page)
1030 5=5+1: IF S>LEN(A$(0)) THEN 1050 1040 GOTO 1010 1050 J=1 1060 IF MIDCAS(Q),(LEN(A$(2))-J),1)<>" " TM
EN J=J+1; GOTO 1060 1070 F$=LEFT$CA$(0),ILEN(A$(2))-J))
1080 13$=RIGHTSIA$(0),J): AS(CI)=F$,
1090 IF Q=N THEN 8$="": GOTO 930
1100 IF LEFTCA$(0+1),1)=" " THEN 1330
1110 A$02+1)=B$+" "+A$(0+1): GOTO 930
1120 IF Q=N THEN 1210
1130 IF LEFT$(A$(X),5)="
" THEN J=6, GOT
0 1150
1140 J=1
1150 IF MID$IA$(2+1),J,1)<>" " THEN J=J+1: I
F J<LEN(A$(0+1)) THEN 1150
1160 IF J>Y-LEN(A$(0)) THEN 1210
1170 IF LEFTSCA$(0+1),5)="
" THEN PRINT
0; 8$(0): NEXT: GOTO 360
1180 IF A$(74+1)="" THEN PRINT 0, A$(0), NEXT
GOTO 360
1190 B$=LEFTCA$I0+1),J), F$=A$(01+" "+13$: G
$=RIGHT$(A$I0+1),(LEN(A$(0+1))-J)): A$(0)=F$
A$(0+1)=6$: F$="":
:
1200 GOTO 930
1210 S=1: V=0
1220 IF MIWA$(0),S,1)<>" " AND MID$(A$(0),
5+1,1)=" " AND MIEM(A$(0),S+2,1)>" " THEN V
=V+1
1230 IF S<LEN(A$(0)) THEN 5=5+1, GOTO 1220
1240 IF V=0 THEN PRINT 0, A$(0): NEXT GOTO
360 1250 IF V<IY-LEN(A$(0))) THEN PRINT 0, ASIC')
NEXT: GOTO 360 1260 IF LEFTS(A$(0),2)=" " THEN 8=6, GOTO 1
280 1270 S=1 1280 IF MIDUA$(0),S,1)<>" " THEN 5=5+1 GOT
0 1280 1290 IF MID$CA$(01,5,1)=" " AND MID$(4$(0),( 5+11,1)(>" " THEN TP$=" ": F$=LEFT4(A$(0),S)
+TPS+RIGHT$CA$(2),(LEN(A$(0))-5)): A$(0)=FS: F$=""
1300 IF LEN(A$(0))=Y THEN PRINT C, ASIC'' NE
GOTO 360 1310 5=5+2: GOTO 1280
1320 GOTO 360 1330 K=Q+2: FOR M=K TO N: BS(M)=A$(M-1) NEX
T
1340 A$(0+1)=Bs
1350 FOR M=K TO N: All(M)=1311(M) B$(M)="" NE
XT 1360 Ali(N+1)=... 13$=..
1370 GOTO 930
1380 K=0: FOR M=K TO N: B$(M)=ACM+1): NEXT
1390 FOR M=K TO N A$(M)=13$(M). 13$(M)="": NE XT 1400 IF 0=>N THEN PRINT 0; A$(0). GOTO 360
1410 GOTO 930 1420 INPUT "DO YOU WANT ADDRESSED HEADING",
X$
1430 IF LEFT$CX$,1)<>"Y" THEN 0=1 GOTO 1520
1440 INPUT "DATE"; D$ 1450 0=2
1460 LPRINT TAB(40), "999, ANYSTREET"
1470 LPRINT TAB(40); "ANY TOWN"
1480 LPRINT TAB(40)i "ANY COUNTY"
1490 LPRINT
1500 LPRINT TAB(40)i
1510 FOR E=1 TO 3: LPRINT NEXT 1520 FOR Z=1 TO N: LPRINT A$12). NEXT
1530 IF G=1 THEN SS=67-N
1540 IF G=2 THEN SS=67-(N+8)
1550 FOR P=1 TO SS: LPRINT NEXT
.1560 IF C=0 THEN 1600
1570 B=8+1
1580 IF B=C THEN C=0: R=0: G=O: GOTO 350
1590 IF BiC THEN 1630 1600 INPUT "DO YOU WANT COPIES"; X$
1610 IF LEFT11(X$,1)<>"Y" THEN L:=0:
GOTO 380 1620 INPUT "HOW MANY", C 1630 °NOWT° 1520,1460
8=0:
(3=0:
1660 INPUT "TITLE", 1.$
1670 INPUT "DATE": D$
1680 INPUT "SUBJECT", SS
1690 INPUT "OUTPUT TAPE READY", Z$
1700 FOR X=1 TO N: IF LEFTS(AS(X),5)="
THEN A$(X)=".
"+RIGHT$(A$IX),LEN(A$(X))
-5) 1730 2=1
1740 IF MID$(A$IX),,41)="," THEN AUX)=LEFT$
(ACX),J-1)+CHR$(191)+RIGHT$(A$(X),LEN(A$(X)
)-J)
1742 IF MIDS(A$(X),J,1)=": " THEN A$(X)=LEFT
CA$IX),J-1)+CHR$(140)+RIGHT$CA$(X),LEN(AUX
))-J) 1744 IF MID$(ACX),2,1)=", " THEN A8(X)=LEFT
$(ACX),J-1)+CHRS(162)+RIGHT$IWX),LEN(A8(X
))-J)
1750 IF MIDS(ACX),,K1)=CHR$(34) THEN Af(X)=
LEFTS(A$(X),J-1)+CHR$(188)+RIGHTS(AS(X),LEN)
44(X)) -J)
1760 IF J=LEN(A$(X)) THEN 17/5 1770 J=J+1 GOTO 1740 1775 PRINT X, AS(X) 1780 NEXT 17.0 PRINT 41-1,N,T$,D$,SCY
1800 D1=INT(N/4) D2=N-D1K4 1810 FOR R=1 TO DI: PRINT 4-1,A$(R),A$(R+01) ,A$(R+(01.2)),A$(R+(D1.3)) NEXT 1820 DD=D1.4: IF DD=N THEN 2000:ELSED3=N-DD
1830 IF D3=I THEN PRINT 4-1,85(00+1) 1840 IF D3=2 THEN PRINT *-1,A$IDD+1),A$CDD+2
1850 IF D3=3 THEN PRINT 44-1,A$IDD+1),A4(00+2
),A$(:10+3) 1860 00TO 2000 1880 INPUT "INPUT TAPE READY", VS 1890 INPUT 8-1,N,T$,D$,6CY 1900 PRINT "TITLE ", T$1 PRINT DS. PRINT "SU
BJECT "i SC PRINT PRINT N; " LINES ",
" CHARS PER LINE" PRINT 1910 INPUT "CONTINUE ; Y$ 1920 IF LEFT$(Y$,1)<>"Y" THEN 380
1930 DIMAS(N+1),B$CN+1)
1940 01=INTIN/4) D2=N-D1,4 1950 FOR R=1 TO DI INPUT 4-1,A$(R),A$(R+01)
,A$(R+(0Is2)),A$CR+(D13)) NEXT 1960 D0=014.4- IF DD=N THEN 2000 ELSED3=N-DD 1970 IF 03=1 THEN INPUT 4-1,ACDD+1, 1980 IF D3=2 THEN INPUT it -1,9$([0+1),A$(1.0+2
1990 IF 03=3 THEN INPUT $-I,A$(00.1),A$fDD.2
),A$(00+3) 2000 FOR X=1 TO N. IF LEFT$(4$(X),5)="!
THEN A$(X)="
"+RIGHT$CA$(X),LEN(A$(X))-
5) 2030 J=1
2040 IF MIDt(A$(X),W1)=CHR$(191) THEN A$(X)
=LEFTE(F4(X),2-1)+"."+RIGHT$(4$(X),LEN(AS(X)
1-2)
2042 IF MID$(A8(X).2.1)=CHR$(140) THEN At(%)
=LEFTt(A$(%),2-1)+CHR$(581+RIGHT$04$(%1,LEN(
At(Y))-21
2044 IF MIDS(At(X),2,1)=CHRS(162) THEN At(%)
=LEFTS(Af(X),2,1)+CHR$(59)+RIGHT$(A$(X),LEN(
A$(%))-2)
2050 IF MIDt(A$(X),2.1)=EHR$(188) THEN At(X)
=LEFTUA$(%),2-1)+CHRS(34)+RIGHTS(A5(X),LEN(
At(X)1-2)
2060 IF J=LEN(A$(%)) THEN 2075
2070 J=J+1- GOTO 2040
2075 PRINT X, 85(1)
2080 NEXT
2090 GOTO 380
(continued from page 101)
done, then two columns of text are
printed from top to bottom of page. Lines 480-560. Any number of copies
obtainable. Lines 570-900. Editing text. For fur-
ther details, see Instructions for use. Lines 910-1410. Justification - ditto. Lines 1420-1630. Print out, and copy
for 60 characters per line, single column -- letters or straight text.
Lines 1660-1860. Saving text to tape. This procedure is a trifle long-winded as paragraph indents, commas and quotation marks have to be replaced by other synibols in order to be correctly recorded as data. After recording, the procedure is reversed to enable further editing, printing, etc.
Lines 1880-2090. Input previously recorded data from tape. Again this takes time, not only the actual input, but also reversing symbols back into intelligible text.
Instructions for use. This program makes no pretence of being perfect, yet with the observance of a few simple rules no great problems should arise, and even if they do, all is not lost. By the simple process of pressing Break and entering
GOTO 380
the program can be re-entered without loss of text.
Let us assume that the user has correctly keyed in the program. When offered Options, enter 3 - for new page.
Answer the questions concerning lines and characters per line in accordance with desire - and hopefully accurate modifications. If all is well, Ready To Start and
cursor will appear.
All usual characters are permitted, including the back -space. If everything grinds to a halt towards the end of the
line, check that the expansion -box/ printer is plugged in and switched on unless, of course line 130 has been omitted, in which case you are on your own.
But how do you know in advance how many lines you are going to need? Set the number of lines to the maximum for the page size. When the text is complete, press Break enter GOTO 380, select 2, Review Lines, and the text will rapidly scroll up the VDU. Have your fingers
poised over Shift and al'. The line, $
number will be displayed at the left-hand side. Note the number of the last line of text, press Break, and enter
N= (number of lines), GOTO 380.
Editing. The facilities for editing text may not be comparable to other word processing programs, but I find them adequate. I have tried to make the commands compatible with the Genie's program editing commands. D will delete one character; C will change one character; I enables the
user to insert as many characters as
required up to a total of 250 which is the
maximum string length. To escape from insert mode, use shifted
ESC as usual - New Line will not work.
Make sure you allow time for each inserted character to be digested, and hold shifted ESC for at least three
seconds, or peculiar things may happen. Also try not to back -space during insert mode. Re -Edit lines if necessary. A line may be deleted completely by
Break A$ (Line No) ="" : GOTO 380
Justify. As this is rather slow, I find that I can read the text easily, and if editing is necessary simply press Shift and *, hold and wait. At a convenient time Press *. To
Continue will appear. Again, the line
number is displayed. This should be noted for editing purposes.
Depending on how important the communication is, full justification is possible where the first word of the next line is too
long to be moved up, by inserting a
hyphen at an appropriate position during initial input. This will automatically justify all lines. Where extensive editing has taken place some adjustment may be necessary. If at any time an FC Error occurs, enter Goto 380; then review lines, and make whatever adjustment is necessary.
The program is relatively simple and should be easily modified to suit most needs.
Note. I believe that the facility for setting left-hand margins is the exception rather than the rule. In this case lines 460 and I520 could be modified to read
PRINT TAB (n); etc. n being the required margin.
104
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
5T WINCHESTERS
Complete Systems Available
Sub -Systems for S100 computers
Sub -Systems for Z80 computers
Fast Drives with Buffered Seeks
Versatile Controller
Drives Available NOW!
The long-awaited 5.25" Winchester drives are available now from Hotel Microsystems. The greatly
improved speed and storage capacity made available by the mini -Winchesters now make feasible many applications, for which floppy drives were too small, too unreliable or too slow. Drives of different
capacities ranging from 2.5Mb to 12Mb are
available. All the drives we supply have their own microprocessor and are thus able to provide buffered seeking resulting in vastly improved performance.
Versatile Controller
The XCOMP Winchester controller is a custom designed microprogammable controller which consists of two printed circuit boards. It has buffered seeking capabilities and is upwards compatible to
higher capacity drives.
Complete Systems
The North Star Horizon microcomputer is now
available incorporating any of the mini -Winchester drives featured above.
S100 Sub -Systems
An upgrade kit for users of S100 microcomputers
contains all the hardware required to add a Winchester in place of a mini -floppy drive. The XCOMP ST/S S100
controller is included together with an S100 card which provides the necessary power supplies to connect to the Winchester. Fitting to the microcomputer is straighforward - no soldering is required and the Winchester is housed in the same place as the floppy drive it replaces. Horizon users
have a choice of software; either the high-performance HMSOS single/multi-user operating system or CP/M.
Z80 Sub -Systems
The sub -system for Z80 -based microcomputers consists of a packaged drive and controller with power supply. The controller is the XCOMP ST/R custom desgined microprogrammable controller. The two printed circuit boards are connected via a 50 -way ribbon cable to an interface board which plugs into the Z80 socket in your microcomputer. The sub -system is housed in an alloy cabinet with a power supply. Source listings of CP/M drivers are available.
Sub -Systems are also available for APPLE and PET
1'
1
(
(
1
1
[
[
69 Loudoun Road London NW8 ODQ Telephone 01-328 8737/8 Telex 266828 H M S -G
The Consummate Compact Computer.
You'll love the Black Box 3/30. It's every-
thing you've ever wanted in a desktop compu-
ter. Including a very attractive price tag.
Take a look inside its modest enclosure. And you'll find an advanced 5-Mbyte micro -
Winchester for fast -
access, high -capacity
storage. Plus a dual -
sided, double -den-
sity floppy for backup.
The Black Box 3/30
gives you the ultimate in
memory management and I/O flex-
ibility. You can expand from 64k right up to 1/2-Mbyte of addressable RAM. And there are 16 programmable I/O ports along
with an IEEE 488 bus that support VDUs, printers, other peripherals-and datacomm.
When it comes to software support, there's
simply none better. Our single -user, multiuser and network operating systems let you configure the Black Box 3/30 to meet the widest range
of tasks. For applications and development, you
have a choice of BASIC, PL/1, PASCAL, FORTRAN, and COBOL languages.
The Black Box 3/30.
Field -proven microcomputer technology perfectly packaged. And backed by powerful software. For complete details on the Black Box 3/30, call or write the RAIR dealer nearest you. Be sure to
ask about the RAIR Rental Plan with purchase option.
UK Black Box Dealers
T & V Johnson (Microcomputers) Ltd Steve Johnson,Johnson House, 75-79 Park Street, Camberley, Surrey Tel: 0276 20446 also Howard Johnson, 48 Gloucester Road, Bristol Tel: 0272 422061 and Ian Kitching,148 Cowley Road, Oxford Tel: 0865 721461
Holdene Ltd-Manuel Comarcho, Microcomputer Systems, Manchester Unity House,11-12 Rampart Street, Leeds LS6 2NU Tel: 0532 459459 Arden Data Processing John Wright, 44-46 Bridge Street, Peterborough PE1 1 DH Tel: 0733 49577 and David Hollis, Municipal Buildings, Charles Street, Leicester Tel: 0533 22255
Healey Office Equipment Ltd Alby Healey, Unit 7 Westfield Industrial Estate, Portsmouth Road, Horndean,Hants Tel: 0705 597555 GMS Computing Ltd Ken Jones, Smithfield House, Blonk Street, Sheffield S1 5BU Tel: 0742 730191
Rockmain Ltd Vincent Spain, Anzeec House, 6 Stour Street, Canterbury CT1 2NR Tel: 0227 61218 and Dan Reid, 21 Bloomsbury Way, LondonWC1A 2TH Tel: 01-404 5958
Lion Microcomputers Ltd Andrew Margolis, 227 Tottenham Court Road, LondonW1P OH X Tel: 01-6371601 NSC Computer Shop Ltd Adam Wiseberg, 29 Hanging Ditch, Manchester ME4 3ES Tel: 061 832 2269 Digitus Limited Suren Patel, 9 Macklin Street, LondonWC2 Tel: 01-405 6761 Omega Electric Ltd Flaxley Mill, Flaxley Road, Mitcheldene Gloucestershire Tel: 0452 76532 Bell Business Services8th Floor, Unicentre, Preston,Lancashire Tel: 0772 600813
Rair Limited, 6-9 Upper St. Martin's Lane, London WC2H 9E9 Tel: 01-836 6921
MIR
Circle No. 161
106
Commodore VIC-20
A fully-fledged, fully expandible, computer with large typewriter style keyboard, programmable function keys, PET compatible. Gives 24 colours and sound, (to the degree that it can be used to compose music). High resolution graphics module available as extra. Speaks BASIC. Easy -to -use, even for beginners. New VIC-20 material is available and more is on the way. Supplied with easy -to -read, easy -to -use manual, suitable for beginners and children. Programs can be stored on optional VIC tape recorder. Commodore approved supplier.
Texas Instruments TI -99/4 (PAL colour TV compatible)
Usable literally within minutes of unpacking. Anyone can use it without previous computer experience or programming knowledge. Powerful 16K. BASIC language. Special features: high resolution graphics let you create animated displays, charts, graphs; built-in music synthesizer allows you to build notes and chords; equation calculator for maths solutions. Designed for home management, educational and entertainment use. Large amount of educational software available on modules for youngsters. Programs can also be stored using good quality tape recorder. Texas Instruments approved supplier.
Trust the unique C
Supermarket to be first with tChoemupnuiqteures new personal Four new -technology computers bring you colour, sound, high
resolution graphics. All with plug-in program modules. All at unique Computer Supermarket prices.
Atari 400
Brings the family music, art, education, entertainment. A general purpose personal computer that's easy to operate and offers 16 colours, each with 8 intensities; high resolution graphics; 4 sound synthesizers; 57 key alphanumeric keyboard with upper/ lower case, inverse video, full screen editing, four-way cursor control, 29 graphics keys. Programming languages: BASIC, ASSEMBLER, PILOT. Programs can be stored on optional Atari tape recorder. Atari approved supplier.
Atari 800
Top -of -the -line personal computer. Advanced peripheral components, comprehensive software library. Modular design precludes obsolescence. 16 colours (8 intensities), 4 sound synthesizers; 57 keys with upper/lower case, inverse video, full screen editing, four-way cursor control, 29 graphics keys. Programming languages: BASIC, EXTENDED BASIC, ASSEMBLER, PILOT, PASCAL. Programs can be stored on optional Atari tape recorder. Atari approved supplier.
THESE EXCITING NEW PERSONAL COMPUTERS CONNECT TO VIRTUALLY
ANY COLOUR OR MONO TV. Full range of
peripherals will be available for each computer.
To Computer Supermarket Ltd, Douglas House, I enclose my cheque for £ Queens Square, Corby, Northants.
All units are complete and ready to use. 13 amp plug fitted. Thorn colour TV's can be supplied
Please send me
El Commodore VIC-20 at £192.50
Or debit my Access/Barclaycard/Diners Card No. MI n. 4ID
for use with these computers. Details on application.
O Texas Instruments TI -99/4 at £282.50 El Atari 400 at £348.50 O Atari 800 at £648.50
1=1 Hardware/Software list
O Atari tape recorder at £45 inc. VAT, p&p
VIC tape recorder at £40 inc. VAT, p&p
Signature Name Address
...'".. .. .. .. ..
:
..
..
.: :
...
.
Prices include VAT. P&p & insurance £3.50
Your remittance should be made payable to 'Computer Supermarket Ltd', and shall remain your money until the goods have been despatched to you at the address specified. All goods offered are subject to Computer Supermarket conditions of sale, copies available on request. Registered in England No. 2646589.
PRESTEL SERVICE Prestel subscribers can obtain further details
(BLOCK CAPITALS PLEASE) PC/D on these computers -and place orders for them - through the Prestel
service. PRESTEL No. 400400
: ..:: .... :
: :
.
....'
.1.
. . ..
\. .
..
.
:...
....
:
: .
.
.
.
COMPUTER SUPERMARKET LTD, DOUGLAS HOUSE, QUEENS SQUARE, CORBY, NORTHANTS. TELEPHONE 0536661587/8 AND 62571
101
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NIEGASTOR
installation AUGUST 1980
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of the Vlas
f.fiirrsstt
installation
of
Apple business software -
AUGUST 1979
411111**
MEGASTOR consists of two very reliable 8 -inch BASF drives, an integral power supply, and a controller card for Apple ][. In addition, we are able to offer a range of specially -developed user software - inventory, accounting, payroll, etc - to utilise MEGASTOR's large storage capacity. Special software is available to convert Apple ][ DOS files to IBM 3741 formatted EBCDIC -encoded files, and to read IBM -formatted files. MEGASTOR offers the user 1.1 or 2.2 Megabytes of storage power per dual -drive unit.
SOME OFTEN -ASKED QUESTIONS Q: What drives? A: BASF double -sided, double -density 8" drives.
Q: How do I copy programs from 51/4" to 8" disks? A: A utilities disk that provides a direct copy program for DOS 3.2 is
supplied. DOS 3.3 files are transferred using FID (on the Apple System Master Disk). Pascal programs can be copied by using the Pascal Autoboot utility (£75).
Q: Is MEGASTOR any faster than 5'/4" disks? A: Yes. A program will operate faster on MEGASTOR than on mini -disks.
Q: Can I run mini -disks and MEGASTOR together? A: Yes. The MEGASTOR can be used stand-alone, or in combination with
mini -disk drives.
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Circle No. 162
(o
Software -----
Programmers can have a readable text to write and can edit machine -code programs by using the medium of an assembly language. Taking the Commodore Assembler as an example, Mike Gross Niklaus gives a detailed explanation of how you can put an assembler to work on your programming problems.
Assembler programs
BASIC PROGRAMMERS moving on to machine code often find the assembly process long and complicated, which is a pity because an assembler package is an excellent tool for creating machine -code programs. This article guides you through the assembly process using the Commo-
dore assembler package.
The 6502 processor, like any other, works using pulses of electricity which operate electronic gates placed on the various electrical paths within it. A particular pattern of pulses, called an instruction, causes the microprocessor to carry out a particular operation. These instructions, together with the data on which
they are to operate, are held in memory as electrical charges. The pulses are either
on or off, the charges are either present or absent, and so one way of representing the instructions and data on paper is as a series of ones and zeros.
The question then arises, "How does a programmer transform these patterns on
paper into electrical patterns in the memory"? Early computer programs were punched as holes on cards, with a
hole representing a one or pulse, and lack of a hole representing a zero or no pulse.
A card reader sensed the holes and
created the appropriate electrical pattern. While cards solved the entry problem,
programmers were left with the awful task of writing their instructions as ones
and zeros. If that chore failed to turn them cross-eyed, then trying to read these patterns a week or two later, and amending them to get rid of errors or to enhance the program was enough to floor all but the most dedicated. If it was someone else's program, then it was quicker to start from scratch. Editing and patching programs
frequently caused new errors to be created as fast as the old ones were cor-
rected.
Soon the ones and zeros were replaced
by hexadecimal representations. Programs could then be written using the 16 symbols 0 to 9 and A to F. Hexadecimal is
much easier to read than rows of ones and zeros, but the editing problem remained.
Assembler language was invented to overcome this problem. It allows the programmer to write and edit machine -code
programs using a quite readable text, and
including as much annotation and as
many named variables as may he needed.
This text can be saved away, pulled back, changed. edited in any way you like and re -saved, using an editor program. This text is called the source code.
You use an assembler program to process the source code. It ignores all the annotation, converts all the variables' names into actual memory addresses, and produces and saves a hexadecimal code version of the program called the object
code.
Simple problem
Finally you use a loader program to
read the object code, translate it into ones
and zeros and place the patterns in
memory. Provided the machine -code program works correctly, you can save it
using the normal monitor facilities, which enable you to save away any specified chunk of memory, and later read it back into position. So from then on you need only load this memory version without going through the assembly process.
Usually there will be errors, so you will
have to re -load the editor, get back your source code, edit it and' go through the assembly process again. Newcomers to assembler code, particularly those of you used to Basic alone, will get frustrated on many occasions, complaining of this longwinded process. All I can say is, "You cannot imagine the hassle we had before assemblers came along", and "Wasn't it nice of the folks at Dartmouth to develop Basic".
The outline of the assembly process is
shown in figure I. We can follow it
through with a very simple programming problem: placing the initial letters of the words "personal computing" in the top left-hand corner of the screen.
In Basic, you could achieve this by a couple of Poke instructions along the following lines: POKE 32768, 16 : REM 32768 IS T/L
SCREEN POKE 32769, 3 : REM 16 AND 3 ARE P AND C
The machine -code program works in a similar way. The first' step is to write the
source code on paper. Using the 6502 op code mnemonics and addressing modes,
which are specified in the MOS 6502 programming manual and used by the Commodore assembler, you could write:
LDA #16 STA 32768 LDA #3 STA 32769 RTS
You have to decide where this program
is to sit in memory, and then tell the
assembler. The Commodore assembler has a set of directives which are instruc-
tions written in the source code. They are not 6502 codes but instructions to the
assembler program itself. One of these
-* = - can be used to specify where the
final program should reside. Another - ;
- is used in exactly the same way as a
Basic Rem statement. The assembler also has the ability to
translate symbolic names into actual values and even perform simple calcula,
tions on symbols to establish final values
for . assembly. For example, you can
represent the screen locations 32768 and 32769 by SCRTOP and SCRTOP + I . At
some point in the source code, normally
the start, you need to define the value of
SCRTOP. Like Basic, source -code lines must he
numbered to allow listing, line deletion,
etc. A source -code listing for our problem
might look like:
1000 ; TOPLEFT PC
1010 ; M.J.G-N
1020 ;_
1030 SCFITOP = 32768
1040: 1050 * = 826
; ASSEMBLE IN
1060 ;
2ND CAS BUFF
1070 LDA #16 1080 STA SCRTOP
CODE FOR 'P'
;
; SCR T/L
1090 LDA #3
; CODE FOR 'C'
1100 STA SCRTOP + 1
; LOC 32769
1200 FITS
; TO BASIC
1210 ;
1220 .END
The final line - End - is another direc-
tive to the assembler telling it that there is
nothing further to assemble.
Transfer to disc The next step is to transfer this source code from paper to a disc file ready for the assembler to process. This is done using
the editor program to create text in memory, much as you do for a Basic program. In the Commodore package
there are versions for both I 6K and 32K machines.
Suppose you are using a 32K machine, you type
LOAD "EDITOR32K", 8
Since it is a machine -code program which resides at the top of memory, you cannot Run the program but must enter it with a Sys call. The call for the 32K yersion is
SYS 28672
You will get a message announcing the editor and Ready and a flashing cursor.
The editor is now operational, and you can enter source -code lines in exactly the
same way as you do lines of Basic. But be warned: although line deletion, insertion, cursor movement, character overtype, deletion and insertion all work as for the
(continued on page III)
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
109
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16. BANK RECONCILIATION 17. PURCHASE LEDGER 18. SALES LEDGER 19. END OF MONTH PROCEDURE 20. V.A.T. STATEMENTS 21. JOB COST ANALYSIS 22. PROFIT Et LOSS ACCOUNT 23. BALANCE SHEET 24. CPAITAL ASSETS 25. MANAGEMENT FINANCIAL REPORTS 26. DISK CHANGE 27. ALTER INCORRECT FILE ENTRIES 28. PRINT LEDGER CODES 29. PRINT STOCK LIST 30. FINISH USING 'CFACC'
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Over figures. These are automatically updated as payments are entered. The User's attention is automatically drawn to any Customer exceeding his CREDIT LIMIT.
11. Automatically calculates COMMISSION due to Agents and Salesmen. 12. DEBTOR and CREDITOR Lists available on demand. 13. PROFIT Et LOSS ACCOUNT, BALANCE SHEET, and TRIAL BALANCE printouts on demand. 14. MANAGEMENT FINANCIAL REPORTS include: - GROSS PROFIT RATIO ii) RATE of STOCK TURNOVER
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110
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Software
(continued from page 109)
Basic editor, the assembler editor does not encode Basic keywords. Consequently, text created with this editor can-
not be run as a Basic program. By way of a recompense, it does give you some useful editing facilities: Auto Line Numbering, Repeat Keys, Find String, Change String, Delete Lines, and so on.
Once you have entered the source code correctly, the next step is to store it as a
Figure 1. Outline of the assembler process.
disc file ready for the assembler to read and process. One reason why it is stored on disc rather than left in memory is that a large machine -code program can then be
assembled from several source -code texts linked together, which in total would take up more store space than is available.
The editor provides a command, Put, which stores the text as a sequential file. You must specify the drive, but the editor
assumes you mean device 8 unless you say
(Enter)
Key-
board
Re-edit
Editor
Put "0: topleft pc.s"
Source
file Get "0: topleft pc.s"
Assembler
Topleft pc.0
Assembly listing
Loader
Program
Monitor
S "0: topleft pc.m",
08, 033A, 03FF
P rg
file
otherwise. So to store the source code for this problem, you would type
PUT "0:TOPLEFTPC.S"
The .S is not obligatory, but it is best to differentiate source -code files from object -code files and so on. Some programmers use .SRC and .OBJ.
To recover the text to do some editing, the editor provides a Get command - not to be confused with the Basic Get, which you cannot perform directly anyhow. This one reads back a source file from disc. To get back the text you have just stored, you will type
GET "0: TOPLEFTPC.S"
Once re-editing is complete, you can Store and Replace using the @ symbol
PUT"@0:TOPLEFTPC.S"
The assembler is also a machine -code program, but occupies the lower end of user RAM, so the same version does for both 16K and 32K machines. However, two versions are included for 66 -line paper and 72 -line paper. This seems to be a very roundabout way of tackling the problem of different page lengths, and is one of very few gripes I have with the Commodore assembler package. Assuming you are using 66 -line paper you load the assembler program as follows
LOAD "ASM66",8
Although the assembler is a machine code program, it has a short Basic routine latched on the front, so you Run.
Assembler printout
After an identity and copyright announcement, you are asked for the
object -code file name. Get into the habit
of using the same generic name for
source, object and machine -code files, with an appropriate descriptor - e.g., .OBJ or .0 - tagged on the end. In this case you might reply
O:TOPLEFTPC.O
You are then asked if you require the assembly listing to be printed, as opposed to being displayed on the screen. You reply Y Return if you want the listing printed, or N Return if you do not. The program then asks you if an IEEE -488 protocol printer is being used. What it really means is "Does your printer understand Commodore's version of ASCII or standard ASCII"? If you have a Commodore printer, reply Y Return, otherwise reply N Return.
As a final question, the program asks for the name of the source -code file. In
this case you would reply
O:TopLeftPC.S. As soon as you press the Return key the assembler bounds into action, producing a printout - figure 2.
The source code is shown on the right. The left-hand column is the assembly listing line number, the next is the location in memory of the instruction displayed in hexadecimal, and the third column shows the instruction - both op code and zero-,
one- or two -byte operand - again in
hexadecimal. (continued on next page)
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
111
Software
(continued from previous page)
The assembler works by converting all the op -code mnemonics into hexadeci-
mal, evaluating all the symbols and expressions and turning them into hexa-
decimal as well. In order to deal with the symbols properly, it reads the source code right through, creating a table of symbols and values for the symbols. It then reads the source code a second time, replacing symbols by values, sending the resultant hexadecimal to an object -code file, with the name you specified at the start of the
run. At the same time it produces the
assembler listing. Any errors are highlighted with rows of
asterisks and an upward arrow pointing to
the place in the source code line where the error was detected. The total number of errors is printed at the end of the assembly listing. The final part of the listing is a printout of the symbol table already described, together with their hexadecimal values.
If you do have errors, you can Get back
your source code - the editor is still present and active - correct it, and restore it, load the assembler again -
remember that source text and assembler occupy the area of user RAM - and reassemble the program.
We can now assume that you have assembled your program without error,
and have on disc an object -code sequential file consisting of the hexadecimal representations of the machine -code program, preceded by pointers showing
where these values are to be placed in the memory of the machine. To load these values into RAM requires a loader program.
Since you might want to put your
machine -code routine in exactly the area of RAM occupied by the loader program, Commodore has provided three versions. The first loads into the bottom of user
RAM, i.e., where Basic text, source text and the assembler program are placed. The other two load to the top of 16K and 32K memory respectively.
There appears to be some kind of clash over re -direction of operating -system vectors when using the high loader immediately after using the editor. You have to do a cold start before loading and running it. Later versions of the editor provide the
Cold command to do just this, but on
earlier versions you have to use Sys 64721
- Basic 2 - or switch the machine off and on again. You then load Hi-Load16
or Hi-Load32, and enter with the appropriate Sys command - Sys 28672 for HiLoad32.
Advanced facility
Our example program, however, is to be placed in the second cassette buffer at location 826. It is clear of user RAM, which is why it is often used for short routines. You can use the low loader with no vector troubles:
LOAD "LOADER",8 : RUN
The Loader program first asks you if
there is to be any offset. This is an
advanced facility of limited use, allowing you to offset the loading position of the object code from the area specified in the source code. Unless you know exactly what you are doing, press Return alone to ignore the facility.
The next and final question asks you for the name of the object file. Get into the habit of specifying the drive number, as the 8032 version of the assembler loader requires it. You reply with the same name as you used during the assembly run
0:TOPLEFTPC.O
The hexadecimal symbols representing loader pointers, op codes and operands appear on the screen to confirm that your machine -code program has been loaded.
Drawing a deep breath, you type Sys to
L I NE# LOC CODE
LINE
0001 0002 0003 0004 0005 0006 0007 0008 0009 0010 0011 0012
0013 0014
0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 033A 033A 033C 033F 0341 0344
0345 0345
,TOPLEFT PC ,M.J.G-N
SCRTOP=32768
A9 10 8D 00 80 A9 03 8D 01 80 60
*=826
;ASSEMBLE IN
2ND CAS BUFF
LDA #16
.CODE FOR 'F'
STA SCRTOP
;SCREEN T/L
LDA #3
;CODE FOR 'C'
STA SCRTOP+1
;LOC 32769
RTS
;TO BASIC
.END
ERRORS = 0808 SYMBOL TABLE
SYMBOL VALUE SCRTOP 8000
END OF ASSEMBLY Figure 2. Assembler printout.
whatever location your program starts at, or include the Sys call in a Basic program. In our example you use
SYS 826
At this point, a broad smile should
break out on your face as P and C appear at the top left of the screen.
Assuming that you are happy with the
result, you can save it on to disc as a program, using the facilities of the Pet resident monitor. From then on, a Load
command from Basic, or from the monitor, will load the program without the
hassle of calling up the loader and reading
the object file. To enter the monitor, type
SYS 1024 RETURN
or if the editor is still active you can type Break. You will see a hexadecimal report on the condition of various registers of the 6502 and the flashing cursor sitting to the right of a full stop. The Save command in monitor is .S followed by the normal string specifying drive and file name, followed by device number, start and end location +1 for your program - all three in hexadecimal.
For small programs in buffer 2 I tend to
specify
$033A TO $03FF
to save having to discover the actual end - you can look this up on the assembler
listing if you want. So for our example, the Save command will look like this:
.S "0:TOPLEFTPC.M",08,033A,03FF
The .M is my personal way of describing a
machine -code module saved from
memory. A more common convention is .Bin for binary.
Having read this far, you are probably thinking that you have an awful lot to learn. But the many people who attend the courses I run on machine code with assembler, write their first successful machine -code program within an hour of starting the course. After three days they can rattle through the procedures without a second thought.
There are several assembler packages
on the market which may vary slightly in
procedure from the Commodore pack-
age. Some assemble into store, others use
different addressing representations from
those recommended as a standard by
MOS Technology.
Putting aside my connection with Com-
modore, as an independent machine -
code programmer I recommend the Com-
modore package. For £30, you not only
have the editor, assembler and loaders,
but also the disc -support program, a re -
locator utility and the very useful Extra-
mon which contains numerous diagnostic
and trace aids, a mini assembler and a
disassembler. The diskette in the package
also contains the source -code listings for
the editor, loader and re -locator. Apart
from showing how to use many useful
entry points in the Pet's ROMs, they pro-
vide excellent examples of assembly -
language technique and layout.
in
112
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
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SEE OUR DEALER LIST ON PAGE 238
The smdIftrisiness market iswhere the action is. But that's where ttl.,3 real jungle. The small machines are running out of steam and the big ones are priced too high. In between, there are some good products. But how often do they' provide the mix of reliability, software back-up and maintenance support you'd really like? Not aftenIt And that's a situation we'd like ityrecV
Easier said than done'V course. But then we are part of the multi -million pound MBS group which specialises in many aspects of the computer business - from equipment sales and rental to maintenance, repair and software development.
Our first step has been to find the right micro. After looking long and hard
in Japan, the US and Europe. we selected Altos This is a range of computers which
has won a reputation for continuing
standards of build quality and long-term
reliability (in the 1981 Datipro- survey
100% of users said they would
recommend Altos to other users).
The entry level Altos is a 64K, Z80A'
based system with two highly
dependable 0.5 Mb -8 -inch floppy drives.
All at a remarkable end user price tag of
£2200. For more capacity, the range also
includes multi-user, Winchester -based
systems and an advanced 16 bit machine
(to be released next month). Altos runs
CP/M MP/M' and the super -fast OASIS'
operating systems.(CP/M-86 , OASIS -86'
and UNIX' for the 16 bit system).
Right now, because we want these
beautiful machines to be seen at work.
we're busy recruiting a first-class dealer* t
network. So dealers, if you want a way ildIK
of the jungle, we'd like to bear rom344,41'
,-4*
#
We'll explain what Microtex support is all about...software expertise...training..dealer stocking plans.. leasing, rental, hire facilities ...seven repair centres offering 4 -hour response for field service. And we'll prove Altos is tops for quality engineering. Microtex Ltd 119/120 High Street Eton Windsor Berkshire SL4 6AN Telephone (Windsor) 07535 55211 , From London 95 55211 'Telex 848945
FROM MICROTEX
Registered tract eglarics: 'Altos Computer Ssteri,s Datapro Research Corp 3loginc °Digital ReSearch lnc 46._
;51...tlase One 93Sterreic tBeu Laboratoges '"4
t,
Analysis ----
The question of
perfect answers
Just before she died, Gertrude Stein asked: "What is the answer"? No answer came. She laughed and said: "In that case, what is the question"? Then she died. Boris Allan picks up where Gertrude Stein left off, and offers some intriguing answers to the question of programming perfection.
A PROGRAM is no more than an answer to
a question, and a bug -free program is a perfectly correct answer to the question. But what is the question that is being answered?
Study this bug -free Basic program:
10 REM PROGRAM 1 20 INPUT A 30 B = SQR(A) 40 PRINT A,B 50 END
It will work every time, unless a negative number is entered - there is no defined square root of a negative number in Basic.
The next attempt to write a bug -free Basic program could be:
10 REM PROGRAM 2 20 INPUT A 30 IF A (0 THEN 70 40 B = SQR(A) 50 PRINT A,B 60 END 70 PRINT "ERROR NEGATIVE NUMBER" 80 END
Program 2 will work every time, unless a letter or incorrectly -formed number is entered, for example, £.&.
A further attempt to write a bug -free Basic program might take the form:
10 REM PROGRAM 3 20 INPUT A$ 30 GOSUB 1000 40 IF E = 1 THEN 80 50 B = SQR(A) 60 PRINT A,B 70 END
80 PRINT "ERROR : INCORRECTLY
FORMED NUMBER" 90 END 1000 REM ERROR HANDLING ROUTINES 1010 REM IF ERROR E = 1, OTHERWISE E
=0
1100 RETURN
Of course, Program 3 will perform perfectly, unless . . . As James Stephens writes in The Crock of Gold: "Nothing is perfect. There are lumps in it".
Program 1 is, in one sense, bug -free because the program logic was a perfect answer to the logic implied in the question "How can one write a Basic program to enter a number, calculate its square root, and output its value"? The answer was perfectly admissible - and there would be many equally admissible answers - as
long as the range of values to be entered was positive, and not too large.
Possibly some automated procedure for deciding program correctness could have isolated the potential problem to do
with ranges of admissible values, and the procedure may have given solutions such as programs 2 and 3. The decision procedure would need to have been set up in
such a way that the range problem could be recognised; but to set up a general decision procedure to check total program correctness would be impossible.
It is clear that there are levels of program correctness. The most trivial level is
the translation of a set of instructions, for
example,
Enter a number; Output the number and its square root;
into statements in a programming language. Program 1 is the answer to the question "How is this set of instructions to be translated into statements in the programming language"?
Some answers are more accurate than
others. Program 1 is bug -free - i.e.,
perfect - if it is seen as the answer to the question put by the given set of instructions, but the question is inadequately formulated since the instructions are not very comprehensive. The question to which program 3 is an answer is also inadequately formulated: it would certainly be possible to beat the system in some way, for example, there is no such
thing as a completely un-copyable disc.
Consider the original question to which
program 3 is the ultimate answer: "How
can I get the computer to calculate square roots for me"? To go from this question to another question - the set of instructions - is a process of formulation, and can be a highly creative activity.
Once you have formulated the answer, which is in itself an implicit question, there now becomes necessary a process of integration. The language, operating system characteristics, the relationship of this program with other programs, and many other problems- such as the square
root of minus numbers - need to be
considered.
. Following this is the process of transla-
tion from the answer provided by the formulation and integration to the final answer, the program.
The process I have called formulation,
together with much of integration, corres-
ponds to what is normally termed systems
analysis. The rest of integration, together
with translation, corresponds to program-
ming. In real life there is a continous interplay between formulation and integration; and lately, translation has not
been left to a separate person either. All three interact.
Perfection can only really be assured in the translation process. This is what is usually meant by claims to bug -free programs. If the questions to which answers
are required are greatly restricted in scope, perfection - or fewer errors - is
easier to claim. If the environment for the integration process is restricted - e.g., by using only one language, or only files of a
certain form - then the likelihood of
error is reduced. If perfection is possible in certain res-
tricted senses, then the claim to a procedure to generate bug -free programs may be accurate, even though the range of application is very narrow. The price
you pay for automatic perfection is a limitation on what you can do, and emphasis on translation at the expense of formulation and integration.
A program to write programs must, if it is to work, only answer a very restricted
set of questions. Even then, it will only be able to implement the translation process, which is the only easily -implemented automatic procedure and could quite pos-
sibly produce bug -free programs.
Limited application
Any automated procedure which works will be able to claim to generate totally bug -free - i.e., perfect - pro-
grams. Yet there will still be bugs in the formulation and integration of answers to
the original question - unless the user has superior analytical and creative faculties - so the perfection of the program written by the program generator will always be in question. The same can be said of the perfection of any program, including the program generator.
How can this doubtful perfection be resolved? One probable strategy by the promoters of any program generator will be to restrict its range of application paying the price for automatic perfection
by limiting what you can do. Some restric-
tions which come to mind concerning integration are:
using only one language; having a fixed operating system; only allowing restricted types of files; minimising the types of mathematics one can
use.
These restrictions are probably the least number that will appear in any program generator. Some of them you will be told
about, others will come to light when you find that you cannot do what you want to
do.
At the level of formulation, any program generator must restrict its range of
(continued on next page)
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
117
(continued from previous page)
application to a very limited area, e.g., financial management, simulation or matrix mathematics. Programs already exist which translate programs written in one language, say, Algol 60, to programs written in another language, say, PL/1.
For any computer to run a program there must be another program - the compiler - which translates the first program into machine instructions. One would suspect, therefore, that the overall shape and flow of any program outline must be very carefully defined, in great detail, before any program generator can operate.
Such a program generator would not be new, because what normally happens is that the source generated is not listed, but merely compiled. In the Genesys system for use by civil and structural engineers,
programs written in a language called Gentran are converted into Fortran source. The source is not usually listed as it is compiled into object code.
Creative imagination
If a program generator did provide all the programs the user needed, then the user would only be doing a restricted set
of tasks, i.e., asking a very restricted set of
questions. To claim perfection of the resulting programs - i.e., no bugs -
might be justified, but errors in logic, i.e., in formulation, are far more devastating and need creative imagination to solve. The response of the promoters of such
generators to programs which did not work would probably be to blame the user's program logic though perhaps the logic would go astray mainly because the
user has to modify his own logic to accommodate the generator, with resulting con-
fusion. Rather than talk in the abstract about
what might happen if a generator of bug free programs were to be produced, consicier a different variety of bug -free pro-
gram generator, a program generator
which has been available for many years. At the 1981 conference of the British
Computer Society, C A R Hoare claimed that if programmers used certain standard techniques for program writing it should be possible to produce software with no bugs at all. In other words, the claim is that:
either there is a general decision procedure to check total program correctness and produce perfect programs,
or there are means available to generate correct programs at the translation stage, with probable restrictions on formulation and integration.
Hoare is one of the prime promoters of Pascal, and it would seem reasonable to suppose that Pascal embodies the standard techniques for program writing implied in Hoare's claim. Therefore, we
need only study Pascal to learn these
techniques.
To write a perfect - bug -free - program is of little value if the formulation
Analysis
and integration aspects are flawed. I have
already described several possible restrictions concerning integration for a program generator. Pascal obviously is res-
tricted in being a single language and
having a fixed type of file: the only type of
file allowed in standard Pascal is the
sequential file. Pascal also has many restrictions on
mathematical operations. There are silly rules for matrices, and it is impossible to bring real numbers into their axiomatic
system - the axiomatic system upon
which is based the assertions concerning perfection. A possible reason for this problem with real numbers is that Pascal Types, apart from the Real, are based on the idea of a Set Of. However, when one considers real numbers on the computer, the sets have an infinite number of elements. The list of such restrictions could be extended.
In formulation, any program generator must restrict its range of application, unless the program generator is human. Pascal was originally designed to teach students computer programming, and when attempts are made to use Pascal for answering questions outside this particular application, the logic becomes increasingly devious. Pascal is useless for serious mathematical and scientific work
in a communal environment with libraries of applications procedures.
It is claimed that Pascal has a great
utility in compiler writing, partly due to its reputation for ease of bug -free transla-
tion. Yet Richard Bornat in his book Understanding and Writing Compilers
(Macmillan, 1979) clearly asserts that he would have used Pascal more extensively for compiler writing were it not for the fact that its lack of block structure, lack of conditional expressions and lack of a simple "union -type" convention forces an obscure programming style.
What the advocates of Pascal promise is a bug -free program generator called Pascal, which will take many years to master in its program -proving aspects. Due to the necessary limitations on formulation and integration, this language will not be as flexible as many other languages in answering questions. Similarly, any future bug -free program generator will, due to the necessary limitations on formulation and generation, not be as flexible as most programmers in answering questions.
Bug -free programs can be written, in that perfect translations can be made of the logic which appears after formulation and integration of an answer. But surely the emphasis should be placed not on this perfection in preference to the perfection of formulation and integration. You may wonder whether translation is emphasised because it is the most routine of the aspects of creating a program. The emphasis on creation seems to be sadly lacking in the playing down of the imagination needed in formulation.
HOME COMPUTER RETAILERS
BEDS Computopia, Leighton Buzzard (376600) Comserve, Bedford (216749) Electron Systems (Sandy) Ltd, Sandy (81195) Texas Instruments Ltd, Supply Division, Bedford (67466)
CAMBRIDGESHIRE Intelligent Artefacts Cambridge (207689)
DEVON JAD Ltd, Plymouth (29038) Peter Scott (Exeter) Ltd, Exeter (9076842)
ESSEX Maplin Electronic Suppliers, Westcliff-on-Sea (554000)
HANTS The Maths Box, Southampton (22958) RDS, Portsmouth (812478)
HEREFORDSHIRE Acoutape Sound, Bromyard (3280)
HEATS Computer Centre (Watford) Ltd, Watford (40601) Computer Plus, Watford (020449)
HUMBERSIDE Radius Computers Ltd, Hull (227181) Peter nary & Co, Hull (41458)
LEICS Boots Company Ltd, Leicester (21641)
LONDON Adda Computers Ltd, W8 (579-5845) Eurocalc Ltd, EC2 (729-4555) Landau Electronics Ltd, W1 (642-5986) McDonald Stores, WI (636-2877) Mountaindene Ltd, NWII (455-9823) Selfridges, WI (629-1234) Sumlock Bondain Ltd, ECI (250-0505)
NORFOLK Anglia Computers, Norwich (29652)
NORTHANTS Computer Contact, Rushden (55673) Computer Supermarket, Corby (61587)
NOTTS Bestmcior Ltd, Nottingham (415315)
OXON Science Studio, Oxford (54022)
S. GLAM Computer Business Systems Ltd, Ely, Cardiff (562255)
S. YORKS Datron Interform, Sheffield (585490)
W. MIDLANDS Taylor Wilson Systems Ltd, porridge, Solihull (79404)
W. SUSSEX Gamer, Brighton (698424)
W. YORKS Ackroyd Typewriters Ltd, Bradford (31835) Bits and PCs, Wetherby (63744)
SCOTLAND Esco, Glasgow (427.5497) Robox Ltd, Glasgow (221-5401)
IRELAND Texas Instruments Ltd, Supply Division, Dublin (609222)
RUMBELOWS STORES STOCKING HOME COMPUTER
BEDS Bedford (59339) Dunstable (602618) Arndale Centre, Luton (414480)
BUCKS Bletchley (73505) Central Milton Keynes (662120)
HERTS Boreham Wood (953-1744) Hatfield (64211) Hemel Hempstead (53223) Hitchin (59203) Hoddesdon (66486) Letchworth (71231) Potters Bar (58804) St Albans (532290) Stevenage (54303) Waltham Cross (22100) Ware (2316) Welwyn Garden City (27125) Enfield, Middx. (363-7384)
118
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
The Home Computer
worthy of the name.
Even if you're new to computers, you'll be using the T1 -99/4A within minutes of plugging it into any standard TV set. Because the TI -99/4A is a true computer for the home. Immediately accessible to the whole family. All for around £299.
Just snap in one of our wide selection of Solid State Software* Command Modules, touch a few keys, and you're ready to go. The 40 modules can sharpen your children's maths, teach you to win at chess or even help you with household financial decisions. And much more besides. In all, over 400 programs are available.
All enhanced by full music capability and 16 -colour graphics.
Another development which sets the
TI -99/4A apart from the rest, is our optional Solid State Speech* Synthesiser. Actually reproducing the human voice. With our new Emulator Command Module; its vocabulary is unlimited.
For data input/output you can use an ordinary audio cassette recorder. And a full-size professional keyboard makes it easy to use.
The TI -99/4A comes with TI BASIC built in. Ideal for when you want to learn programming and to get you started there's our "Beginner's Basic" course, free with each machine -yet powerful enough for even the most experienced programmer.
To help you get the most from the TI -99/4A you can join the independent users' club. And there's a special magazine ("99'er") available through dealers, or on subscription.
So, if you're looking for a home computer, you can't afford to miss the TI -99/4A for versatility, power and value for money.
* 16K RAM. Expandable to 48K. * 26K ROM including 14K BASIC. * Command Modules add up to 36K ROM. * 13 -digit floating point. * Other languages soon -LOGO, UCSD PASCAL, TMS 9900 Assembler * Options -Speech Synthesiser, Thermal Printer, RS -232 Peripheral
Adaptor, Disk Memory System.
To find your local dealer check the list on the left, or for more information write to Texas Instruments Ltd., (MS.24), Manton Lane, Bedford MIC417PA.
0 Circle No. 168
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
LIMITED
119
*Trademarks of Texas Instruments.
THE SOFTWARE
VW EXTENDS YOUR
HORIZONS
MicroTechnology Limited is the company who supply all the software you need to expand the potential o the remarkable Sharp MZ8OB computer. The company who supply, exclusively, the CPM2.2 that makes the Sharp M280B so versatile. Tne company who supply the software that enables the businessman, the educationalist, the scientist, and the enthusiast to create a better, more efficient, more exciting lifestyle. Just look at the scope.
M ICROPRO
WORDSTAR
Powerful word-processing package, made easy to use by
full function key support on the MZ-80B
E269
MAILMERGE
Add on to WORDSTAR. provides mail -shot and
conditional iaarameterised text inclusion.
E81
** * * NEW* * NEW* * * NEW* **NEW* * -or *
SPELLSTAR
Add on to WORDSTAR, allows document spelling checks.
***************** *********** Own technical term dictionary can be defined.
E135
DATASTAR
Screen orientated form definition and data entry
tool.
E190
SUPERSORT I
Powerful disk based sort package. Stand alone program
and MICROSOFT* compatible calling sequence
relocatable routines.
£135
SUPERSORTU
As SUPERSORT I, but only the stand alone program.
E108
WORDMASTER
Superb screen based text editor, all functions driven off
MZ-80B function keys.
£81
MICROSOFT
BASIC -80
Accepted standard Microprocessor based BASIC
interpreter.
E209
BASIC COMPILER
BASIC -80 compatible compiler, makes BASIC programs
run many times faster.
£236
FORTRAN -80 ANSI standard FORTRAN, except for COMPLEX numbers. COBOL -80 1974 ANSI standard COBOL, with large program chaining and screen DISPLAY/ACCEPT.
£298 E448
M/SORT
Powerful sorting facility for use primarily with
COBOL -80.
E75
Mu -MATH & MuSIMP
Symbolic math package. allows computation up to 611
arithmetic digits. Superb for scientific and engineering
applications.
£149
Mu -LISP & Mu -STAR
Extended LISP 1.5 Includes screen based LISP environment editor.
£119
EDIT -80 & FILCOM
Line orientated random access text editor. Includes
source and binary file compare program.
E71
MACRO -80
Most popular assembler supporting Z80* mnemonics_
Includes linking loader. library manager and cross
referencing tool.
£119
MICRO TECHNOLOGY
EXPAND
Library routines for use with MICROSOFT* calling
sequence products. Gives MZ-80B graphics. cassette
and music handling.
E65
MICROFOCUS
CIS COBOL
ANSI 74 standard COBOL to full level 1 standard. £425
FORMS -2
For use with CIS COBOL, provides superb screen
handling capability for CIS COBOL programs.
E100
COMPILER SYSTEMS
CBASIC
Commercial BASIC. used extensively for business
packages.
E65
DIGITAL RESEARCH
PL/1 -80
ANSI standard subset G based PL/1 producing direct
object code for fast execution.
E298
BT -80
Record retrieval system for use with PL/1 -80. to give data
base management facilities. MAC
£119
Upward compatible assembler from ASM. provides
MACROs and Z80* assembly support.
£53
ZSID
Super symbolic debugger, with full Z80* mnemonic
support. Works well with MACRO -80.
£59
TEX
Text formatter ideal for producing manuals and similar
documents. Note this is not screen based.
£59
DESPOOL Allows listing of files at same time as other
processing.
£29
PROSPERO SOFTWARE
PRO PASCAL Fastest 280* based PASCAL that we know of
E190
MICROEASE
EASYFILER
Flexible data definition, data entry data update and
report generator.
£275
GREAT NORTHERN
MINI MODEL
Very powerful modelling package. with uses not just
business and financial applications, but in any situation
where your model may be affected by external
conditions. The buzz -word is WHAT -IF?
E399
STOCKFLOW
Stock control, which allows large numbers of items with
rapid information retrieval.
£250
MAGSAM
Indexed sequential access routines. available for use with
BASIC -80 and CBASIC. Superb documentation. E110
BASKAM
Basic keyed access routines for use with BASIC -80. E95
DATAFLOW
Easy to use data file description and entry tool. Will output
reports, labels or MICROPRO"' MAILMERGE compatible
files.
E99
OSLFLOW t
Open item Sales Ledger
E300
SALFLOW t
Sales Ledger
E250
BILLFLOW t
Professional client billing.
£375
PURFLOW t
Purchase Ledger
E250
NOMFLOW t
Nominal Ledger
E250
tAll these can be integrated into a powerful total control package. Send for further details.
C*O*M*P*UNTE-AW-C*R*O*NPEW***NEW***NEW***
TARGET PLANNER
Business planniog system with many features extra to VISICALC"' Easy to use, with big machine
f*ac*ili*tie*s.************ **********£*12*5
GRAFFCOM SYSTEMS
PAYROLL
(annual maintenance fee) COMPANY SALES SYSTEM
COMPANY PURCHASE SYSTEM GENERAL ACCOUNTING STOCK CONTROL SYSTEM ORDER, ENTRY AND INVOICING NAME AND ADDRESS SYSTEM TIME RECORDING SYSTEM LEASE, RENTAL AND HP SYSTEM
E500 £120 £450
E450 £400 £350 £350 E250 E400
E400
WE TAKE ORDERS!
You can order any of the above items of software from us. Today. Personal callers and trade enquiries are welcomed. (All software can only be used in conjuction with the MZ8OB including disk -based CPM2.2).
All systems are supplied on 51/4" floppy disks and come complete with comprehensive reference manual. All prices will be held for 30
days from the date of issue of this advertisement.
The quoted prices do not include postage, packing, insurance and VAT, so you should phone first for an
exact total price. If you wish to pay by
VISA or ACCESS card, you can, of course, phone your number through. If you wish to pay by cheque or postal order, make it payable to MicroTechnology Limited.
As most items are available ex -stock, we will normally be able to deliver to you within 72 hours.
The MZ8OB Computer
Micro Technology
LIMITED
Cheltenham House, 62 Mount Pleasant, Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
Telephone: 0892 32116. Telex: 95441 iC
Teclin-G.
sh 62E. A Z mom
Circle No. 169
120
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Sharp bring you the MZ80B. A machine that offers you functions previously,only associated with more powerful, more expensive computers; that gives you versatility to handle a huge range of software and hardware applications in scientific, business and personal use.
The MZ80B opens up a new world of graphic display potential, more flexible data storage and retrieval, and ease of operation.
Here is the computer from the future. Available today.
Stunning Graphic Display.
Seeing is believing. The large -screen, high -focus, green -face display incorporated in the MZ8OB gives you high resolution graphics of 320 x 200 dots.
An additional graphic RAM can be added which allows another 320 x 200 dot resolution pattern to be displayed.
This dual high -resolution graphic ability is especially useful for simulating and displaying a dynamic picture. It can display 40 characters x 25 lines or 80 characters x 25 lines via software switching.
In addition there are facilities for full, on -screen editing, reverse video, partial scrolling and a full range of graphic symbols.
programme search facility to make data storage and retrieval super -fast.
A typewriter -style keyboard incorporates characters and symbols plus a numeric key -pad and ten user -definable keys for fast and simple operation.
BASIC is, of course, provided with Z-80 Assembler Packages, PASCAL and a BASIC compiler.
Floppy Disk Driue.
A twin Floppy Disk Drive unit can be added which will give you 560 bytes of storage on double -sided, double -density
disks.
Interfaces
RS -232C and IEEE Interfaces are available from January 1982 allowing the MZ8OB to communicate with scientific
CP/11172
CP/M* is also available making a wide range of packages immediately available including wordprocessing, financial modelling, data base management to mention but a few. CP/M* also increases the disk capacity to 680K.
SHARP (CP/M* is a Trade Mark of Digital Research Ltd).
71;mt and
SHARP ELECTRONICS (UK) LTD, COMPUTER DIVISION, SHARP HOUSE, THORP RD., NEWTON HEATH,
MANCHESTER M10 9BE. TELEPHONE: 061-205 2333.
Character and Graphic Printer
This fast, quiet printer will reproduce your graphic displays and, of course, printout upper and lower case letters and symbols. A tractor/friction feed version is also available.
Data Storage/retrieual.
The MZ8OB has a remarkable memory 64K of RAM. And that constitutes all the memory area, giving flexible storage of any computer language and its software. The cassette deck is electromagnetically controlled, with a data transfer speed of 1800 bits/sec combined with a unique
Comprehensiue Documentation.
Each MZ8OB comes complete with a full set of documentation including an owners' manual giving full circuit c agrams, a monitor reference manual and programming manuals.
Please send me full information on the Sharp MZ8OB computer.
Name
Address
PC 12/81
Tel:
To: Sharp Electronics (UK) Ltd., Computer Division, Sharp House, Thorp Road, Newton Heath, IIVIanchester M10 9BE. Telephone 061-205 2333.
Circle No. 170
121
»»> LIVEPORT
DATA PRODUCTS
The Ivory Works, St. Ives. Cornwall TR26 2HF
Telephone (0736) 798157
GJ
Prices and specifications per manufacturer's published list, May 1981
Apple Turnover.
New Accounting Programs for Apple. Of very advanced design. From Computer Arts.
Investigate Apple. Examine other accounting systems. Then ask to see a Turnover.
Sales Ledger Purchases Ledger General Ledger
Designed for small and medium size businesses. And for staff who will be using a computer for the first time in their life. We've put a lot of thought into making everything straightforward. With no loss of accountancy standards.
Treat your staff to an Apple Turnover. And yourself to the benefits of computer accounting. You all deserve it.
Computer Arts Limited. 11, London Street, Reading, Berkshire. RG1 4PN Telephone: Reading (0734) 54451.
Computer Arts provides a full backup service including consultancy, training and permanently manned Customer Service Desk. The Turnover system is available through any Apple dealer. Contact us directly if you have any difficulty getting a demonstration. Price of £444 per ledger includes a full kit containing all the disks needed, disk storage cases, printer stationery, report binders and printed identification labels. Comprehensive instruction book and practice disk minimize need for any special training. No special equipment or extras of any kind needed beyond a standard Apple computer system.
Apple and the Apple symbol are the registered trademarks of Apple Computer Inc, Cupertino, CA, USA. Circle No. 172
THE MICROPLITE CHALLENGE: FIND A COMPUTER TO COMPARE
WITH THE SE . . NEVER.
. . . Because the SIG/NET offers the price advantage of
the low cost systems together with the flexibility and
infinite expansion capabilities of the high cost systems.
Or in other words a great deal more fora great
deal less.
For just £.1,299.00 the standard SIG/NET offers the
flexibility to choose the terminal best suited to your
requirements, the printer to give the speed and qualityyou
need and disk capacity from 400,000 to 40 Million
characters.
The standard SIG/NET 202S
£1,299.00
5 Megabyte hard disk system
£3,100.00
10 Megabyte 4 User
£6,000.00
10 Megabyte 10 User
£9,500.00
FOR FURTHER TECHNICAL DATA AND THE NAME OF YOUR NEAREST DEALER
SEND THE COUPON NOW!
En
rilliCFiDPUTE
MIN IM NIM
1
Catherine Street, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK 1 I 6OY. Tel: (0625)6 I 2759.
NAME COMPANY NAME
POSITION
COMPANY ADDRESS
L
TEL. NO. Dealer enquiries invited for certain areas of the Midlands and North.
Circle No. 173
THERE'S JUST NONE TO COMPARE.
Unbeatable value for money. Advanced and innovative BRITISH design. BRITISH BUILT. Unrivalled expansion. Faster than comparable systems. Full 64K of memory. Sold only through approved dealers. CP/M compatible.
MICROPUTE
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0.4
Z-80 Zodiac
Tennis and interface
THIS GAME has been written in Basic for the Nascom 2 computer, but it should be relatively easy to modify for use on other
computers with similar graphics facilities,
writes Adrian Dickens of Cambridge. My original version produced sound effects whenever the ball bounced off the bats or
a wall. I have put Rem statements by all of the instructions related to the generation
of sound, so that the routines can be modified, or if necessary removed from
the program. My sound effects were simply a con-
stant tone with an envelope on the amplitude. This simulates the sound produced by conventional TV games very well. I used a home-brew sound generator with an AY -3-8910 sound chip.
The machine -code subroutine is used to take a character from the keyboard while the program is running. The character codes from the Nascom keyboard cursor keys are 17,18,19,20. These give each of the two players an up and a down key to control the movements of their bats. The aim of the game is to stop as many balls from passing by the bat as
possible.
If a ball does go by one player's end, his opponent's score is incremented by one. When the game is initially run, the relative speed of play for each player can be assigned. Play starts when a ball appears at random in the court, moving in a random direction.
The second program, which is an inter-
face between the Nascom 2 and the Epson
printer, comprises three routines, designed to be used together. The major
Sample printouts of tennis and noughts and crosses.
advantage of this printer interface with the Nascom is that all of the Nascom block graphics are printed. As anyone
who has already bought an Epson printer
will realise, while all of the block -graphic
characters produced by the Nascom can
also be produced by the Epson, the
character codes are not compatible. I carefully analysed the two graphics
sets, and found that Nascom graphic codes could be converted into Epson codes by changing four bits, using the look -up table, and using a few more instructions to convert the remaining
high -order bits.
This method of conversion is con-
into the correct modes. The printer
should be connected to the Nascom as
directed in the source listing. Init also
loads the address of Out into Nas-Sys
workspace, so that output can be directed
to the printer by the Nas-Sys "U" com-
mand.
.
Routine Out is used to output the byte
stored in the A register to the printer. If a
block -graphics character is encountered,
it is converted to the Epson code before
printing. If one of the Nascom special
graphics characters is encountered, a
space is printed so that the relevant
character can be filled in by hand later if
required.
siderably better than using a look -up Routine Dump is especially useful for
table for all of the block graphics, because use with Basic, because it enables an exact
it uses up far less memory space. The copy of the Nascom screen to be down
successful results of the programs can be loaded on to paper. Both of the printouts
seen in the sample printouts, one from the from my games were produced using this
computer tennis game, and the other routine. To use this routine, put the
from my three-dimensional noughts and address of Dump into memory at 1004H
crosses game.
- low byte - and 1005H - high byte-
The first routine, Init, must always be and enter X = USR(0) under Basic. The
called before either of the other routines. printer will then print out an exact copy of
This routine sets up the parallel I/O ports the Nascom screen.
Computertennis: Adrian Dickens' program.
10 REMitiittStititiiitiit$71144404$1;1141rnlitittlitSt
20 REM
30 REM COMPUTER TENNIS SAME FOR THE NASCOM 2
40 REM 50 REM
by A C Dickens
60 REM
70 REM
Copyright September 1981
80 REM
90 REMiiiiiiStitit*itiffifltIcti*iitItitiiitiiti
100 CLS
110 XmAmB=A1=81=0
120 REM INITIALISE SOUND GENERATOR:GOSUB11031
130 PRINT"Sitit COMPUTENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS *Mir"
140 PRINT
150 PRINT"Each player has control of a racket."
160 PRINT"This is moved up & down with the ";
170 PRINT"cursor keys "
180 PRINT
190 INPUT"Name of player 1 ";N1$
200 PRINT"Speed for "01$;" 0 is fastest
210 INPUTS1
220 PRINT
230 INPUT"Name of player 2 ";N21;
240 PRINT"Speed for ";N28;" 0 is fastest
250 INPUTS2
260 H1m7tH2m7
270 C111=CHRS(199)sC2$=CHR$(248)
280 CLS
290 FORXm4T091
300 SET(X,0):SET(X,41):NEXTX
310 FORX=4T091STEP87
320 SET(X,1);SET(X,2):SET(X,39):SET(X,40)
330 NEXTX
340 SCREEN3,15,PRINTNIS;
350 SCREEN23,15:PRINTN2S;
360 REM THIS SETS UP THE USR FUNCTION SO THAT
370 REM CHARACTERS CAN BE INPUT FROM THE
380 REM KEYBOARD WITHOUT TEMPORARILY HALTING
390 REM EXECUTION OF PROGRAM. THE USR FUNCTION 400 REM OPERATES LIKE GETS ON OTHER COMPUTERS. 410 DOKE3200,25311 420 DOKE3202,312 430 DOKE3204,18351 440 DOKE3206,10927 450 DOKE3208,-8179 460 POKE321O,233 470 DOKE4100,3200 480 REM Main loop 490 X=21-USR(0) 500 ONXGOSUB 560,600,640,680 510 GOSUB72O 520 GOSUB83O 530 GOSUB920 540 GOSU8960 550 GOT0480 560 SCREEN46,H2:PRINT" " 570 IFH2<13THENH2=H2+1 580 SCREEN46,H2:PRINTC2S 590 RETURN 600 SCREEN3,H1:PRINT" " 610 IFH1>2THENH1=H1-1 620 SCREEN3,H1:PRINTC1S 630 RETURN 640 SCREEN46,H2:PRINT" " 650 IFH2>2THENH2=H2-1 660 SCREEN46,H2:PRINTC2S 670 RETURN 680 SCREEN3,H1:PRINT" " 690 IFH1<13THENH1=H1+1 700 SCREEN3,H1:PRINTC1, 710 RETURN 720 IFS=1THENRETURN 730 D=RND(0)*1000 740 FORE=OTOD:NEXT 750 A=INT(RND(0)140)+1
(continued on page 127)
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
125
Program for PETs. 1200 activities under 400 cost codes. Keyboard entered networks give a critical path, fixed & free float and earliest/latest start/finish times. Reports can be screened or printed. Activity costing and targeting included. £205
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S1
We can supply a host of S100 cards. (including RTCs , A/D, battery memories & graphics application)
floppy discs & connectors.
15 Newington Green, London.N16.
Tel: 01-254 7419
MRAIXT-
DAISY WHEEL
Novel Image 800 Does everything a £799 matrix printer should do and then lets you fit
a daisy wheel too.
Circle No. 174
APPLE II AND ITT 2020
SYSTEM 2 - f999
This month we are able to offer the first time user two packages. These two offers are
made as Mail Order Starter Packs to
encourage the potential first time
Microcomputer user to take the first step into
the Microprocessor Revolution. When you have taken delivery of your Starter System
come back and talk to us about your
particular application and other devices that
will enhance your system and make it work
for you.
SYSTEM 1 - f999
* ITT 2020 - 48K
* APPLE II 'PLUS' - 48K
* DISK DRIVE WITH CONTROLLER
* DISK DRIVE WITH CONTROLLER
* DISK DRIVE WITHOUT CONTROLLER * RAMEX 16 EXPANSION BOARD
* RAMEX 16 EXPANSION BOARD
* THE MANAGER
* THE MANAGER
The Manager organises your computer memory to make available an extra 10.5K of RAM by locating the Disk Operation System onto the RAMEX 16 which can be located into any convenient slot apart from 0.
- £999 Does not include VAT or Delivery which will be charged for by area. - All major credit cards are accepted and goods are normally despatched in 48 hours.
CP In a Class of Their Own.
DDP Research & Marketing
17 Nobel Sq., Basildon, Essex. SS13 1 LP. Tel. Basildon (0268) 728484
Circle No. 175
126
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Z-80 Zodiac
(continued from page 125)
760 B=42 770 A1=INT(RND(2)1[5)-2 780 B1=1 790 IFRND(5)<.5THENB1=-1 800 IFABS(A1)<2THENBI=B1t2 810 S=1 820 RETURN 830 IFA>2ANDA<39ANDB>6ANDB<89THENRETURN 840 IFA=ITHENA1=ABS(A1):REMSSOUND*:GOSUB8000 850 IFA=2ANDA1=-2THENA1=ABS(A1):REMiSOUNDS:GOSUB1160 860 IFA=40THENA1=-ABS(AI):REMiSOUNDY:GOSUB1160 870 IFA=39ANDA1=2THENA1=-ABS(A1):REM*SOUNDIR:GOSUB1160 880 IFB<60RB>89THENB1=-81:RETURN 890 IFB=6ANDABS(81)=2THENB1=81/2:RETURN 900 IFB=89ANDABS(81)=2THENB1=B1/2:RETURN 910 RETURN 920 RESET(B,A):A=A+Al:B=B+81:SET(B,A) 930 IFB1=-10R81=-2THEN950 940 FORX=OTOS2:NEXT:RETURN 950 FORX=OTOS1:NEXT:RETURN 960 IFB>5ANDB<90THENRETURN 970 IFB=5ANDH1=INT(A/3+1)THEN1100 980 IFB=90ANDH2=INT(A/3+1)THEN1100 990 Z=0 1000 IFA=10RA=20RA=390RA=40THENZ=1 1010 REM *SOUNDS:GOSUB8000 1020 IFZ=1THENA1=INT(RND(2)*5-2) 1030 IFZ=1THENRETURN 1040 RESET(8,A)
1050 IFB=5THENC2=C2+1 1060 IFB=90THENC1=C1+1 1070 SCREEN13,15:PRINTC1; 1080 SCREEN33,15:PRINTC2;:S=0 1090 RETURN 1100 REM BALL REBOUNDS FROM BAT SOUND:GOSUB17000 1110 A1=INT(RND(7)t5-2) 1120 IFABS(A1)<2THENH=1 1130 IFH=1ANDABS(81)=1THENBI=Bli2 1140 H=0 1150 RETURN 1160 REM REBOUND OFF SIDE 'WALLS' SOUND 1170 IF(A=10RA=40)ANDA1=0THENRETURN 1180 POKEA2,0:POKED2,240 1190 POKEA2,13:POKED2,0 1200 RETURN 1210 REM THE NEXT 4 LINES INITIALISE MY SOUND 1220 REM GENERATOR. 1230 A2= -28608:D2=-28607 1240 POKEA2,7:POKED2,254 1250 POKEA2,12:POKED2,9 1260 POKEA2,8:POKED2,16 1270 RETURN 1280 REM BALL OFF BATS SOUND 1290 POKEA2,0 1300 IFB=5THENPOKED2,255 1310 IFB=90THENPOKED2,225 1320 POKEA2,13:POKED2,0 1330 RETURN
Ok
The Nascom 2 to Epson printer interface.
ZEAP Z80 Assembler Source Listing
8000 8000 3EOF 8002 D307
8004 3EFF 8006 D306 8008 D304 800A 3EF9 800C D306 800E 211580 8011 22780C 8014 C9
8015 F5
8016 CB7F 8018 281E
801A CB77 801C 2004 801E 3E20 8020 1816
8022 D620 8024 4F
8025 E61E 0027 CB3F 8029 114A80 B02C 80 802D 5F 002E 7A 802F CE00 8031 57 8032 IA
0010
0020 0030 ; 0040 ; 0050 ; 0060
EPSON MX80 PRINTER INTERFACE WITH A NASCOM 2 MICROCOMPUTER.
Copyright by A.C.Dickens
0070 0080 0090
0100 0110
;
September 1981
;
;Connections to the Nascom 2 I/O ports
0120 ;BO - B7 to printer DATA IN lines DO - D7
0130 ;AO to printer BUSY line 0140 ;Al to printer STROBE line
0150 ;A2 to printer INITIALISE line 0160
0170 ;Routine INIT sets up the Nascom ports for
0180 ;use with the EPSON,and selects routine 0190 ;OUT for use with NAS -SYS user output 0200 ;option -The printer is turned ON by the 0210 ;'U' command in NAS-SYS,and turned OFF by 0220 ;the 'N' command.
0230 ;SET UP PORT B FOR BYTE OUTPUT
0240
ORG 08000H
0250 INIT 0260
LD A,15 OUT (7),A
0270 ;SET UP PORT A 0280 ;AO = BUSY 0290 ;Al = STROBE 0300 ;A2 = INITIALISE
0310 0320 0330
LD A,EFF OUT (6),A OUT (4),A
0340
LD A,EF9
0350
OUT (6),A
0360
LD HL,OUT;SET USER OUTPUT ADDRESS
0370
LD (0C78H),HL;FOR USE BY NAS -SYS
0380
RET
0390 ;PRINTER OUTPUT ROUTINE
0400 ;CHARACTER FOR PRINTING IS IN A REGISTER 0410 OUT PUSH AF
0420 ;TEST FOR A GRAPHICS CHARACTER
0430
BIT 7,A
0440
JR Z,PRINT
0450 ;SELECT BLOCK GRAPHICS ONLY
0460 ;PRINT A SPACE IF IT IS NOT A BLOCK
0470
BIT 6,A
0480
JR NZ,GRAPIC
0490 0500
LD A,32 ;SPACE CODE JR PRINT
0510 ;CORRECT BITS 5 & 6 OF THE CODE FOR EPSON 0520 GRAPIC SUB 32
0530
LD C,A
0540 ;CORRECT BITS 1,2,3,4 OF CODE FOR EPSON
0550
AND 1EH
0560 0570
SRL A LD DE,TABLE
0580 0590
ADC A,E LD E.A
0600
LD A,D
0610 0620 0630
ADC A,0
LD D,A
LD AODE)
8033 57 8034 79 8035 E6EI 8037 B2
8038 D305
8030 DB04 803C CB47 803E 20FA
8040 3EFD 8042 D304 8044 3EFF 8046 D304 8048 Fl 8049 C9
804A 00 8048 04 804C 10 804D 14 804E 02 804F 06 8050 12 8051 16 8052 08 8053 OC 8054 18 8055 1C 8056 OA 8057 OE 8058 IA 8059 lE
805A 210A08
805D 0630
805F 7E
8060 CD1580 8063 23
8064 10F9 8066 111000 8069 19
806A 3EOD 806C CD1580
806F 3E0A 8071 CD1580
8074 7C 8075 FEOC 8077 20E4 8079 C9
0640
LD D,A
0650
LD A,C
0660
AND OE1H ;1110 0001
0670
OR D
0680 ;GRAPHICS CODE NOW CONVERTED FOR PRINTING
0690 ;LOAD CHARACTER TO BE PRINTED ONTO PORT
0700 PRINT OUT (5),A
0710 ;WAIT UNTIL THE BUSY LINE GOES LOW
0720 LOOP IN A,(4)
0730
BIT 0,A
0740
JR NZ,LOOP
0750 ;STROBE DATA INTO PRINTER
0760
LD A,EFD
0770
OUT (4),A
0780
LD A,EFF
0790
OUT (4),A
0800 END
POP AF
0810
RET
0820 ;TABLE FOR GRAPHICS CONVERSION
0830 TABLE DEFB 00H
0840
DEFB 04H
0850
DEFB 10H
0860
DEFB 14H
0870
DEFB 02H
0880
DEFB 06H
0890
DEFB 12H
0900
DEFB 16H
0910
DEFB OBH
0920
DEFB OCH
0930
DEFB 18H
0940
DEFB ICH
0950
DEFB OAH
0960
DEFB OEH
0970
DEFB lAM
0980
DEFB 1EH
0990 ;END OF TABLE
1000 ;ROUTINE DUMP PRINTS OUT AN EXACT COPY OF
1010 ;THE NASCOM SCREEN,EXCEPT FOR SPECIAL
1020 ;GRAPHICS CHARACTERS, WHICH ARE PRINTED AS
1030 ;BLOCK GRAPHICS.
1040 ;LOAD HL WITH START POSITION ON SCREEN
1050 DUMP LD HL,080AH
1060 ;SET THE LINE LENGTH TO 48 CHARACTERS
1070 LINE LD 8,30H
1080 ;GET CHARACTER. IN A REGISTER
1090 COLUM LD A,(HL)
1100 ;PRINT THE CHARACTER
1110
CALL OUT
1120
INC HL
1130 ;HL NOW POINTS TO NEXT SCREEN POSITION
1140
DJNZ COLLIN
1150
LD DE,10H
1160
ADD HL,DE
1170 ;DO A CARRIAGE RETURN
1180
LD A,13
1190
CALL OUT
1200 ;DO A LINE FEED
1210
LD A,OAH
1220
CALL OUT
1230 ;LAST LINE ?
1240
LD A,H
1250
CP OCH
1260
JR NZ,LINE
1270
RET
1280 ;THE END
CO
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
127
6502 Special
Subtle Scroll Stopper
I WAS interested by Scroll Stopper in the
July 6502 Special as I have been using a
similar program for some time now, writes Derek Aston of Spennymoor, County Durham. I am sending you my version, as there is a subtle difference
between the two.
I have found the program so useful that
I have managed to patch it into my
Mon02 Monitor ROM by shortening the start-up message. There is also a disassembly from my monitor for the benefit
of anyone with PROM programming faci-
lities.
Scroll Stopper
10 REM Controlled LIST for UK101 by D.Aston
12 ,
14 REM for UK101, Mon02
16 REM Program resides at HEX 0298 to 02BA
18 REM TO INVOKE, POKE 541,2
20 REM To DISABLE, POKE 541,255
22 REM To LIST, type LIST, hit RETURN
24 REM
then push SPACE BAR
26 REM To Quit LIST command, hit '0'
28 REM To EDIT, enter LINE NUMBER, hit RETURN
30 REM
then push SPACE BAR
32 1
34 REM for UK101, Mon01
36 REM Program resides at HEX 0269 to 0288
38 REM Change 155 in line No.54 to 105
40 REM Change 667 In line No.56 to 617
42 REM TO INVOKE, POKE 539,2
44 REM TO DISABLE, POKE 539,255
46 i
48 DATA173,5,2,208,20.165,19,201,153
50 DATA208,14,169,253,141,0,223,173,0
52 0ATA223,73,255.240.244,48,3,76 54 DATA155,255,24,76,79, 166 56 A=6671FORN=07031iREADDsPOKEA+N,DiNEXT
Monitor disassembly
FEF4 7F ;Was 9B Re-route Control C FEFS FC ;Was FF Vector on RESET
FC78 20
; Start-up message
FC79 4D 'M
FC7A 2C
FC7B 43 'C
FC7C 2C
FC7D 57 'W
FC7E 00
;Message terminator
FC7F AD0502 LDA $0205 iTest SAVE FLAG
FC82 D019 BNE $FC9D
FC84 ADI102 LDA $0211 ;Test PRINTER FLAG
FC87 D014 BNE $FC9D
FC89 A513 LDA $13 W. last
FCBB C999 CMP *899 ;command LIST
FCBD DOGE BNE $FC9D
FCBF A9FD LDA #$FD
FC91 GDOODF STA $DFOO ;Mask Keyboard
FC94 ADOODF LDA $DFOO ;Get Keyboard
FC97 49FF FOR 8111FF ;Complement
FC99 FOF4 BEG SFC8F ;Wait for command
FC9B 3003 BMI $FCAO ;0=Ouit
FC9D 4C9BFF JMP $FF98 ;Continuo LISTing
FCAO 18
CLC
FCA1 4C4FA6 JMP *A64F ;Abort LIST command
Spreading Life
THE GAME of Life is a mathematical simulation of the evolution of a colony of cells, writes Simon Cogle of Carshalton, Surrey. In this version, the grid is 32 cells by 16 cells with wrap -round at all edges.
Each cell is either white - indicating maturity - grey - indicating new-born
10 REM LIFE V5.1 15 DIM KK(5),K(0) 20 G=MAO;B=MFF;D=1120;E=#7F;5=#8000;F=0 21P.$21;FOR J=0 TO 1;DIM P(-1) 22CiiKKO LDV 8#3B;CLCiLDA 8#20;LDX 810iBIT #8001;BE0 P+I0 23 INC #B000;DEY;DEX;BNE P-10;LSRA;PHP;PHAILDA #8000 24 AND a#FO;STA 118000;PLA;PLP;BNE P-27;STV 'COTS; 25:KK1 LDA 031;STA 4180;:KK2 LOA 215;STA #81;iKK3 LDX ao 26 LDA a3I;STA #83;iKK4 LOA 215;STA 1194iiKK5 LDA Z#80;STA #86 27 LDA #81;CLC;ADC #84;AND S#F;ASLPHASLAOSLA;ASLA;ASLA 28 BCC P+4; INC #86;STA #85 29 LOA #80;CLC;ADC 1183;AND @#1F;TAV 30 LDA @G;CMP (#85),V;BNE P+3;INX 31 LDA aE;CMP (#85),V;BNE P+3;INX 32 INC #84;LDA 4194;CMP @l8iBNE KK5 33 INC #83iLDA *83;CMP S34;BNE KK4 34 LDA a#80;STA #86 35 LDA #81;ASLA;ASLAOSLAiASLAOSLA 36 BCC P+4;INC #86;STA #85iLDY #80 37 LDA SD;CMP (#85).V;BNE P*10;CPX @3;BNE P+6;LDA @EI 38 STA (#85),Y 39 LDA @G;CMP (#85),T;BNE P+14;CPX @3;BE0 P+10;CPX 84;BE0 P+6 40 LDA SE;STA 0185/.1' 41 DEC #81;BPL KK3;DEC #80;8MI P+5;JMP KK2 46 RTS;] 47 NEXT J;P.$6,$12 48jLINK KKO
49 Z=.111)E1A1FFFF:?#E0 50 IF "K=4 P.811 60 IF "V=7 AND Z<#81E0 THEN P.$10 70 IF 'K=5 P.88 75 IF Z=#S1FF GOTO n 80 IF ?K=6 P.89 90 IF '5 =0 P.$D 100 IF ?K.14 P.$1030 110nIF ?K<>50 GOTO j 120 77=?Z:#80 1305FOR J=1 TO 60;WAIT;NEXT J
140 LINK ri,1 270 FOR 0=418000 TO *8IFF 280 20="06G 290 NEXT 0 300wIF "11800214140=0 THEN ?i1E1=0;P.$30;?*E1=1180i,S=?S:#80i0.1 310 IF '#130018440=0 F=1 320 IF '11B001P=0 F=0 330 IF F GOTO 340 GOTO g
- or black - indicating empty. The rules for deriving the next generation are:
A mature cell with less than two mature
neighbours dies of loneliness.
A mature cell with more than three mature
neighbours dies of overcrowding. A cell is born in an empty cell if it is adjacent
to exactly three mature neighbours.
This program produces the next generation in two stages. New cells are born, then some of the mature cells die
and the new-born cells mature. The program begins in Input mode. You may input your colony of cells using the fol-
lowing keys: I , move cursor up; , move
cursor down,; , move cursor right; lock, move cursor left; space, to kill a live cell; and copy, to create a live cell.
Once you have entered your colony, key "R" and the program begins generat-
ing new colonies based on the rules. Each
generation takes about 1.5 seconds -
including a one -second wait.
While the program is in Run mode you may use the following keys: Control, to
make the program pause at the end of the
current generation; Shift, to resume after Control is used; and Repeat, to return to Input mode, e.g., to amend the colony.
The Break or Escape key may be used to exit from the program at any time.
The program uses direct cursor addres-
sing - DE1s and DF16 contain the cursor
row and E016 contains the cursor column. You will soon discover that a colony
need not be large to produce interesting
results. For example, the pattern I call the
spinner, because it produces an intermediate which is a twisted version of the
original, is only five cells:
X
X
X
XX
The spinner moves diagonally across the grid at a speed of one -quarter, i.e., a one -cell movement every four generations. This is the fastest moving group I have found so far, can you find a flyer?
Atom fractions
THIS PROGRAM for the Acorn Atom enables it to calculate fractions, writes Brian Lloyd of Witham, Essex. It will
cancel down, add, subtract, divide and multiply pairs of fractions.
5 REM "FRACTIONS"
10 IN.R;IN.B;IN.C;IN.D
20 G.2010
30 P."1..ADD"';P."2..MINUS"' P."3..DIVIDE"';P."4).MULTIPLV"'
40 IN.G
50 IF G-1 G.100
60 IF
G.200
70 IF G-3 G.400
80 IF G..4 G.500
100 F.0A+C)GB
110 P.$12)P.F')P."
----"')P.G
115 IF G<F GOS.3000
120 G.10
200 F..A-C;G.,B
210 P.$12;P.F';P."
----"';P.G
215 IF G<F GOS.3000
220 G.10
400 F,.R*B;GmB*C
410 P.$12;P.F')P."
----"'JP.G
415 IF G<F GOS.3000
420 G.10
500 FmA*C;G=B*8
510 P.$12)P.F'JP."
515 IF G<F GOS.3000
520 G.10
2000 END
2010 IF BOO A)=A*D
2020 IF B0D C..C*B
2030 IF BOD B-B*D
2040 P.R" OVER "B')P.C" OVER "B'
2050 G.30
3000 P.$12;P.F/G;P." AND "';P.F%G)P."
3050 P."
3060 P.G'
3100 R.
128
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
to
in one second
THE RICOH 1600S If it's high performance you're looking for, the Ricoh 16005 is for you, offering an amazing 60 characters in just 1 second. An updated version of the tried -and -tested 1600, the new S model has been re -designed and fitted with all sorts of extras. Yet one thing hasn't changed - the price, making the 1600S cheaper than any equivalent model on the market. This superb performer incorporates the Z80 microprocessor, auto bidirectional printing and look -ahead logic, increasing speed and efficiency. Other capabilities include proportional spacing, graph plotting and word processing enhancements. The printer includes a standard centronics interface, and RS232 and IEEE options are available.
The Ricoh 1600S is available only from Micropute and their authorised dealers, all backed up with a nationwide service network. If you're interested in the 1600S either as a customer or as a dealer, send the coupon now.
" "Picture shows I 600s fitted with tractor feed option"
17.7e7n7r:d7oron:Rn176075.'
'Name
'Company
Tel No
RICOH 1600S THE PERFORMANCE HAS RISEN - THE PRICE HASN'T IL
FEATURES COMPETITORS
DIABLO 630
QUME SPRINT 5
SPINWRITER
RICOH
RICOH
RP. 1600 RP.1600S
(10 DATA)
PRINT SPEED
(CPS)
40
45/55
55
60
60
PRINT ELEMENT DAISYWHEEL
DAISYWHEEL
THIMBLE
DOUBLE DAISY-
WHEEL
DOUBLE DAISYWHEEL
AUTO
BIDIRECTIONAL Yes
No
No
No
Yes
AUTO LOGIC
SEEKING
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
PROPORTIONAL
PRINT
CAPABILITY
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
EXTENDED
CHARACTER SET No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
LETTER QUALITY
PRINT
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
CUSTOM INTER-
FACE OPTION No
No
No
No
Yes
PRICE
£1675
£1950
£1950
£1450
11450
The above information was gathered from distributors and
MICROPLITE abstracted from their current literature. Prices shown are those
advertised at the present time.
microcomputer systems
Catherine Street, Macclesfield, Cheshire. SK11 6QY. Tel: Macclesfield 612759
Circle No. 176
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Bristol 2nd Oct, 30th Oct
Unicorn Hotel,
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0272-28055
Low cost,fully integrated, modular
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With over 5000 modules already installed, TABS is rapidly becoming the number one choice for accounting business systems.
Remember, TABS accounting business systems, the red and black way to increase your profits.
Available through our national dealer network or from TABS Ltd, Sopers House, Chantry Way, Andover, Hampshire SP10 1PE.
Modules Include: Purchase Ledger, Sales Ledger, Sales Order.
Processing, Invoice Compiler, Fast
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Modules from
Installation not included.
Small System: Apple 48K, VDU, Disk with
Medium System: Apple 48K, Cameo Controller,
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Module, Silentype Printer, TABS Firmware Card. Price from £2,250. Capacity. 400 Customers, 400 Suppliers, 1000 Stock Items.
TABS Business Software. Price from £6,500 Capacity: Over 2000 Customers, over 2000 Suppliers, over 10,000 Stock Items.
It you are interested in TABS low cost Accounting Business Systems,1
please tick box(es) and return this coupon to us.
User enquiry O Please send me details about TABS Accounting Systems
New Feature
TABS now offer a multi user system which enables up to 16 separate terminals to be used simultaneously
Now available
Video training programmes for each TABS module. Details and price on request.
O Please send me the TABS User Manual I enclose £5 (postage and packing included)
Dealer enquiry O Please send me details of your Dealer Plan
NAME
giving each operative independent
ADDRESS
access to modules stored on a single
hard disk.
Tel. No.
A typical 4 user srtem would cost around £12,000. 1111
VDU's plus Central Computer
TABS Ltd. Sopers House, Chantry Way, Andover, Hampshire SPIO 1PE. Telephone' Andover (0264) 58933
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COMPUTERS
Copse Road, St. Johns, Woking, Surrey GU34 1SX Telephone: Woking 1048621 23411 Telex: 85952
Tel
um=
Circle No. 178
13)
.::,-,,,St.1161EC
-436/M //181
fid n's T
ht,741$36)AP
appict. It
Turn yourApple into the world's most versatile personal computer.
The SoftCardTM Solution. SoftCard turns your Apple into two computers. A Z-80 and a 6502. By adding a Z-80 microprocessor and CP/M to your Apple, SoftCard turns your Apple into a CP/M based machine. That means you can access the single largest body of microcomputer software in existence. Two computers in one. And, the advantages of both. Plug and go. The SoftCard system starts with a Z-80 based circuit card. Just plug it into any slot (except 0) of your Apple. No modifications required. SoftCard supports most of your Apple peripherals, and, in 6502 -mode, your Apple is still your Apple.
CP/M for your Apple. You get CP/M on disk with the SoftCard package. It's
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132
BASIC included. A powerful tool,
BASIC -80 is included in the SoftCard package. Running under CP/M, ANSI
Standard BASIC -80 is the most powerful microcomputer BASIC
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Basic Compiler and Assembly Language Development System. All, more powerful tools for your Apple. Seeing is believing. See the SoftCard in operation at your Microsoft or Apple dealer. We think you'll agree that the SoftCard turns your Apple into the
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Waingate Lodge, Waingate Close, Rossendale, Lancs , BB4 7SQ Telephone Rossendale (0706) 227011
Circle No. 179
Tandy forum
flying ducks
DUCK SHOW IS an interactive graphics game by Simon Williams from Tealby, Lincs. The player tries to pot 10 ducks
which flap individually across the screen. They appear randomly to left and right at five different heights, with two ducks at each height in the course of a game.
The player controls the hunter with the
keys 1, 2 and 3 which direct the shots left, overhead and right, respectively. A shot is fired by pressing the space bar. When a duck has been hit, a score is displayed which depends on its height and how far it
has travelled.
Each score is added to the player's
total, which is displayed at the bottom of
the screen. When all 10 ducks have flown,
the total score is compared with the three
best previous scores, and an updated score card is displayed. The game then repeats with another 10 ducks, if
required. The program is written for a TRS-80
with level -2 Basic. It uses no Poke statements and should, therefore, be straight-.
forward to convert to other machines with reasonable graphics capabilities. The graphics characters are loaded into strings in
lines 300 to 400 and are Printed at various
locations on the screen to obtain the
desired effects.
To speed the running of the program, the main sections are listed at
the beginning and much use is made of multi -statement lines. A further modification to increase speed would be to remove all Rem statements and spaces in lines 19 to 100.
IC GOTO 290
19
DUCK FLIGHT
'0 IF DC<1 OR DC>59 PRINTBDR+DC,B$;: GOTO 160
30 65=65-1: IF G$ -G1$ G4=02$ ELSE GO -G14
40 IF PEEK(P+DR+DC+(5.11+3)/2)=136 H-1 50 PRINTBDR+DC,B$;: DC=DC+D: PRINTBDR+DC,U;
60 IF 5-1 GOTO 110 69 ',* HUNTER MOVEMENT AND SHOOT 70 10-1NKEY$: 1=VAL(1$1: IF 1>0 AND 1,4 PRINI(0796,H$(1);: 5D -66-I 80 IF 1$-" " AND 5-0 SM=SD: 5=926-"5D: PRINTBS,SS:: GOTO 20 90 IF S=0 GOTO 20 ELSE IF 5<45 PRIN165," ";: 5=0: GOTO 20
100 IF PEEK(P+S-SM)=32 PRINTBS," ";: 5-5-5M: PRINTBS,SS;: GOTO 20
109 'fo. DUCK FALL AND RETRIEVE 110 PRIHT(05," ";: PT-INT(100-20DR/61+65/11: PRINTODR+OC," "PT" ";: FOR N=1 TO
500: NEXT 120 TP=IP+PT: PRINTB1011,IP;: PRINTBDR+DC,DFS:: FOR 8-1 TO 20: NEXT: DF=DR+DC 130 IF DF<896 PRIHIODF,B$;: DF-DF+5D-1: PRIFTODE,DF$;: FOR N=1 TO 20: NEXT:
GOTO 130 140 FOR M=918 TO OF STEP -I: PRINTOM,122$;: FOR N-1 TO 20: NEXT N,M: 5-0
150 FOR M=DF TO 918: PRINT6P,P3$;: FOR N=1 TO 20: NEXT N,M: PRINT6918,R1S;
159
NEW DUCK
160 IF 1=10 GOTO 190 ELSE 1=1+1: H-0: D=FIN0(2).2-3: 65=59
170 IF D-1 G1S=D3$: G2S=D1S: DC=1 ELSE G19-015: G2$-D2S: DC -59
180 R-RND(10): DR=DS(R): IF DR -0 GOTO 180 ELSE DR -DR -64: DS(R)-0: GOTO 20
189 '+-+ END OF GAME AND RERUN
190 G05U6 480: FOR N-1 TO 11: PRINT: NEXT: PRINTB340,"YOUR SCORE IS"TP"POINTS"
200 IF TP<TP(2) PRINT: PRINT TAB(231"TODAY'S TOP THREE"' GOTO 260
210 PRINT TAB(161 'AND IS ONE OF TODAY'S TOP THREE": PRINT 220 PRINT 1448(16)"ENTER YOUR INITIALS (3 MAX)";: INPUT TP$: PRINT0301,: PRINT
230 IF LEN(TP$1>3 THEN TPS=LEFTS(IPS,3) 740 IF TP>=TP(0) THEN TP(2)-TP(1): TP(1)=TP(0): TPTU1-(P: 1P$(2)-TP$(1): WSW-
TPS(0): TP$(0)=TP$: GOUT 26C 250 IF TP>=IP(1) THEN TP(2)=1P(1): TP(1)=IP: IP$(2)=TPS(1): TP$(11-TP$ ELSE
TP(2)=TP: TP$(2)-TP$ 260 FOR N=0 TO 2: PRINT TA6120)/++1TA6(30)1PS(N11AB110)TP(1): NEXT 270 PRINT: PRINT TAB(20)"PRESS SPACE BAR TO PLOY" 280 1$-INKEYS: IF IS<>" " GOTO 280 ELSE TP-0: T=0: G010 410
INITIALISE
290 CLEAR 100: DEFINT A-2: P-15360: SS-CHRS(136): B$=""""T"
300 D1$-CHR$(1311+CHR$(112)+CHRS(141)+CHRS(129): DIM TP(2),TPS(2),H$(3)
310 D2S-CHR$(131)+CHR$(172)+CHR$(156)+CHRS(129)
320 D39-CHR$(130)+CHRS(142)+CHRS(141)+CHRS(131)
330 1145-CHR$(130)+CHR$(172)+CHRS(1561+CHRS(131)
340 DFS-CHRS(130)+CHR$(161)+CHRS(1561+CHR$(129)+" "
350 HS(1)=CHR$(137)+CHR$(176)+CHR$(188)+CHR$(148)+"-
360 H$(2)=-"+CHR$(190)+CHRS(1181+-""
270 h$(3)--"KHRS(188)+CHRS(180)+CHR$(152)+CHR$(129)
380 81$="
"+CHRS(171)+CHR$(173)+CHR$(152)
390 R2S-" '+CHRS(1301+CHR$(1751+012$(140)+CHRS(172)+CHR$(134)." "
400 1239-" "+CHR$(132)+CHRS(156)+CHR$(1101+CHRS(159)+CHRS(137)+CHRS(118)
409 '+*. TITLE AND INSTRUCTIONS
410 GOSUB 480: PRINT TAB(19)"COPYRIGHT 1981. S.WILLIPMS": PRINT 420 PRINT-PRESS SPACE BAR 10 SHOOT AT DUCKS. KEYS '1', '2' AND '3'1
"-AIM LEFT, OVERHEAD AND RIGHT RESPECTIVELY. EACH DUCK IS!
"TTTWOR1H BETWEEN TWENTY AND ONE HUNDRED POINTS, DEPENDINGI
"'"'""ON ITS HEIGHT. TEN DUCKS PER GAME. PRESS SPACE BAR"
430 PRINT: PRINT: PRINT
440 1$-INKEYS: IF 10<>" " GOTO 450 ELSE CLS: PRIN16796,H$(2);
450 FOR h=861 IC 864: READ 1,11: PRINION,CHR$(6);: PRINT61.+64,CHRS(01);: NEXT
460 FOR N-960 TO 1022: PRINTON,CHR$(191);: NEXT: SD=64
470 PRINTO918,R1$;: PRINT01000,"POINTS SCORE:"TP;: GOTO 160
480 RESTORE: CLS: FOR N=978 TO 1005: READ D: PRINTON,CHRS(D);: NEXT: PRINTB960,
490 FOR H-978 TO 1005: READ 0: PRINTWN,CHRS(D);: NEXT: PRINT
500 FCR N -I TO 5: DS(N)=164: NEXT: FOR N-6 TO 10: DS(N)-(N-5)+64: NEXT: RETURN
510 DPI( 151,131,164,32,32,32,32,32,32,I70,32,144,32,32.166,179,147,170,32,32,
32,32,32,32,32.32,174,132
520 DATA 181,176,134,138,176,154,136,179,179,120,32111,32,32,176,176,151,170,
131,169,136,179,153,136,179,153,170,176
530 DATA 171,160,191,119,191,181,129,32
Printed calendar
A PROGRAM to print out a calendar for of days to be added for one week to give
any year from 1916 onwards, comes from the start day for January. Monday is day
K C Baldrey of Portsmouth. When Run is zero.
entered, the program halts and asks for When the number is less than seven,
which year the calendar is to be printed. the program jumps out of the Z loop to
Line 15 calculates the number of years' line 60 which reads the month data, ready
difference. Line 20 calculates the number to start generating the calendar. Line 65
of leap years. Line 25 calculates the total sorts out whether or not it is a leap year,
number of days to be added.
and gives D a value of 29 for February.
Lines 35 to 42 are a loop based on the Lines 75 to 180 generate the calendar
maximum number of leap years - 30 - format.
possible before the year 2000 or there- Line 185 calculates the start day of the
abouts, and calculate the actual number months February to December. It is put in
this position so that the previous month's
data D is available for the calculation of S for the present month. Lines 195 to 255
are the month data. A subroutine at line 1000 is used to
generate the lines between weeks, etc., which is needed a large number of times. Line 1020 advances the paper at the end
of the calendar ready for tearing. This program takes leap years into
account. It should run, without amendment, on most computer/printer combi-
nations.
1 REM ttt PROGRAM TO PRINT CALENDAR FOR ANY YEAR FROM 1916 .04.4 2 REM 44* DEVISED BY K.C.BALDREY. III
3 REM SRI 28 th. MARCH 1981 tot
4 REM *11. FOR USE ON THE TRS-80 LEVEL 2 MICRO -COMPUTER. ttt
5 REM ttt IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE EPSON MX 80 PRINTER 1.0i.
6 CLS
10 INPUT.ENTER YEAR TO BE PRINTED..:Y
15 D=Y-1900
20 L = INT (0/41
25 S = D L
35 FOR Z = 1 TO 30
40 IF S>=7 THEN S=S -7
42 IF S < 7 GOTO 60
45 NEXT Z
60 FOR X = 1 TO 12: READ MS,D
65 IF Y/4 - INTIY/4) = 0 AND MO=.FEBRUARY. THEN D=29
70 GOSUB 1000
75 LPRINT.I
.01$;TAB(45);YITAB:561.I.
80 GOSUB 1000
85 LPRINT"I MON I TUE I WED I THU I FRI I SAT I SUN I":
90 GOSUB 1000
95 LET C = 0
96 IF S= 0 THEN 120
100 FOR K = 1 TO S
105 LPRINT.I
110 LET C = C 1
115 NEXT K
120 FOR J = 1 TO D
125 LPRINT USING.I
.;J;
130 LET C = C 1
135 IF C 1> 7 GOTO 155 140 LPRINT.I. 445 GOSUB 1000 150 LET C = 0 155 NEXT J 160 FOR K = 1 TO 7-C 165 LPRINT.I 170 NEXT K 175 LPRINT"I" 180 GOSUB 1000 185 S = S D - 28: IF S >=7 THEN S = S - 7 190 NEXT X 195 GOTO 9999 200 DATAJANUARY,31 205 DATAFEBRUARY, 28 210 DATAMARCH,31
DATAAPRIL,30 DATAMAY,31 225 DA1AJUNE.30 230 DATAJULY,31 235 DATAAUGUST,31
24., DATASEPTEMBER, 30 245 DATAOCTOBER,31 250 DATANOVEMBER, 30 255 DATADECEMBER, 31 1000 FOR V = I TO 57: LPRINT"-"I 1005 NEXT V:LPRINT.. 1010 RETURN 1020 FOR X = 1 TO 40 :LPRINT..:NEXT 9999 END
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
133
J. M. Pickard MICRO COMPUTER SERVICES
MACHINE LANGUAGE MADE SIMPLE ZX80 AND ZX81
22 HOLLAND ROAD, CLACTON -ON -SEA, ESSEX C015 6EQ.
TELEPHONE (0255) 29018.
This new book is a must for any SINCLAIR user who * wants to make full use of his SINCLAIR 7-X80 and
SALES AND SERVICE
PPM cornputar
VIDEO GENIE
ZX81. Go beyond Basic into the world of MACHINE 4i LANGUAGE PROGRAMMING and open computer -Or horizons you never thought possible! Learn how to use
' the SINCLAIR computer's own language and finally
find out what PEEK and POKE is all about!
MORE COMPUTING POWER IN LESS
SPACE! FASTER
Video Genie System 48K. 2 Disk Drives and 12" green screen monitor, £999.00. Genie II, system as above, £1100.00. Apple II Europlus, as above, £1390.00. Video Genie 16K, £289. 32K, £345. Genie II 16K, £325. Apple Silent type Printer, £189.00. Epson MX80 T Printer, £325.00. MX80 F/T, £355.00. Monitors, 12" B/W, £65.00. Green Screen, £75.00. Computer Consumables: 11 x 9.5" continuous plain paper with perforated sprockets, £11.00 per box of 2000 sheets. Labels 1.44 x 4", 2 across on web, £7.50 per 1000. Floppy disks: £16.50 per box of 10 (Memorex).
£17.50 per box of 10 (Verbatim). Don't worry if you can't see what you want ring us and we'll give you a quote.
Plus postage at cost. All items plus VAT.
Circle No. 180
itPROLW
RUNNING PROGRAMS!
Written for the complete beginner as r.
well as for the experienced
SINCLAIR user, MACHINE
41(
LANGUAGE MADE SIMPLE has 4.00(
over 120 pages packed with
.41(
programming techniques, hints and -4(
tips.
'4(
WRITE YOUR OWN MACHINE LANGUAGE 4(
PROGRAMS...
,434. USEFUL BASIC PROGRAM TO EDIT MACHINE LANGUAGE COMPLETE
41(
*DESCRIPTION OF THE INSTRUCTIONS GROUPED BY SUBJECT AND BY
*USEFULNESS * NUMEROUS SAMPLE MACHINE LANGUAGE ROUTINES DESIGNED*
.A,SPECIFICALLY FOR THE SINCLAIR 80 & 81 SIMPLE EASY TO USE LOOK UP
_A -T TABLES
- £8.95 (plus 50P p&p)
im viii
um
IPlease send me
copies MACHINE LANGUAGE MADE SIMPLE
I FOR YOUR ZX80 & ZX 81. Orders to: Melbourne House Publishers, 131 Trafalgar Rd, London SE10
ICorrespondence Gleoe Cottage. Glebe House. Station Rd. Cheddington, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire LU7,
I I
IPlease enclose cheque or P.O.for £9.45 per copy. Orders outside the UK £9.95.
INAAMDDERESS
=11110
MO
PC9/811 MI MO =I MN MI all NM UM MN
Circle No. 181
FROM THE PUBLISHERS OF THE BEST
SELLING BOOKS FOR THE SINCLAIR COMES:
Not Only
But Also Ptebabll taMe7 Abe
Understanding Your ZX8I ROM
PROGRAMS FOR THE1.4/rA 1-0 1:14310151:eURAS°
SINCLAIR ZX81...IKpo the
0011
Plus special section: How to use machine code routines in your BASIC programs.
by DR. I. LOGAN.
Nat Onlydoes this book contain over
by DA. IAN LOWIN
Dr Logan was the first person to dissassemble the Sinclair ZX80 Monitor and was
30 fully debugged and exciting programs,
the co-author of the ZX80 COMPANION.
every one of which will fit into the basic IK
In UNDERSTANDING YOUR ZX81 ROM
memory of your Sinclair ZX81 - including
Dr. Logan illustrates all the facilities of the
programs such as STAR WARS, LUNAR LANDER, BLACKJACK, MINI ADVEN-
But Also i69f TURE, DRAUGHTS, BREAKOUT. * Detailed explanation of how these programs were written.
Lots of hints on how
ZX81 Monitor, how it works and how you can use it in your own programs. A special section shows you how you can squeeze more power into your ZX81, by using machine language and machine language subroutines.
An essential book for those who really want
to understand the full working of the
you can write exciting programs for your
ZX81.
* Numerous
space
saving techniques -
obviously invaluable to
30SFPIONRROCGLTAHRIEARMS
ZX/311...
SINCLAIR ZX81. Published by MELBOURNE HOUSE PUBLISHERS LTD.
r Send Stamped, self-addressed envelope for FREE catalogue. THE ESSENTIAL SOFTWARE COMPANY (Visconti Ltd)
47 Brunswick Centre, London W1 CN 1AF (01-837 31541
the ZX81 owner.
i
Please rush me NOT ONLY 30 PROGRAMS FOR THE
* PEEKS and POKES
SINCLAIR ZX81 1K: at £6.95' each
and all the other
Please also rush UNDERSTANDING YOUR ZX81 ROM
'complicated' func-
by Dr. I. Logan at £8.95
tions are clearly explained.
* MMUOCRH,E... MUCH
I enclose a cheque/postal order for £
Name Address
+50p post and pack. I
Circle No. 182
134
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
ZX-80/81 Line-up
Additional functions
HERE is a program for the ZX-81 which will imitate the Read, Data, and Restore functions of more powerful computers, writes Stephen Carson -Rowland of Hinckley, Leicestershire.
The data is stored in a Rem statement in exactly the same ay as in a proper
Data statement. hut to distinguish between data and ordinary Rem statements a "0" character CHR$ (8) should be used immediately after the Rem
statement, e.g.,
10 REM 0234,34,456,98,56
The data Rems give the best effect if they are at the beginning of the program because they are read more quickly. I usually start the program with
1 LET READ=9000 2 LET RESTORE=8000
and use Gosub Read and Gosub Restore, because they make the program more. understandable. Yet, with only 1K of memory there is little space for the actual program, so subroutine Restore should be deleted, and instead of
(line number) GOSUB RESTORE (line number) LET PC=16509
The program is written to accept numerical data, but if string data is required as well, line 9060 should be changed to
LET A$=A$+CHR$ PEEK PC,
line 9000 to
LET A$="".
and line 909 deleted. Numerical data can then be taken as well using the Val function. To the best of my knowledge this program will run on a ZX-80 without any
modification.
Error bug
I HAVE found what I believe to be a bug in ZX-80 4K Basic, writes D J Crawford of Edinburgh. If this program is run, it yields error code 2/200 which is inconsistent with the program as no line 200 exists.
100 IF NOT A=1 THEN GOTO 200
A clue to understanding this is given when this program is run:
8000 8010
SUBROUTINE RESTORE
LET PC = 16513 RETURN
SUBROUTINE READ
9000 9010 9020 9030 9040 9050 9060 9070 9080 9090 9100
LET A=0 IF PEEK PC=26 THEN I -JO TO g070 IF PEEK PC=234 AND PEEK (PC+1)=8 THEN GO TO 94_150 LET PC=PC+1 GO TO 9020 LET PC=PC+2 LET A=A+PEEK PC -28 LET PC=PC+1 IF PEEK PC=118 OR PEEK PC=26 THEN RETURN LET A=A#10 00 TO 9060
100 IF A=1 THEN GOTO 200
The error code given is 2/100 as one would expect. It would appear that the ZX-80 checks the condition and finds that the undefined A is not equal to I and so proceeds and only notices the error once this has been executed.
More memory economy
JOHN BLOXHAM'S memory -saving routine,
ZX-80/8 1 Line-up August 1981,
although interesting in itself as a feature of the machine, will not save money, writes Matthew Wright of Sale, Cheshire.
If, instead, one were to enter the fol-
lowing:
10 IF 1 = 1 THEN PRINT "20" 20 PRINT "30"
then by adopting Eric Deeson's suggestion in the July 1981 edition, one could
omit the quotation marks as well.
Obviously, the same change will produce the same result.
Big characters
I WAS interested by the program to produce big characters on a 1K ZX-80, printed in ZX-80/81 Line-up on page 119/121 of the September 1981 issue, writes Roy Eastwood, of Romford,
Essex.
I have converted the program to run on
a 1K ZX-81 and also taken the opportu-
nity to include a machine -code routine to
display the characters on the screen,
which gives an acceptable speed when run
in Slow mode. The program prints the
four characters entered in response to the
prompt on line 3(1 eight times normal size.
The program is as follows: first, make
space for the 32 bytes of machine code by
typing line 10 as follows:
10 REM
(32 full stops)
Then, using the following temporary
program, Poke the machine code into the
Rem line:
20 PRINT AT 21,0;
30 FOR N=11:5.14 TO 16545 40 sCROLL 50 PRINT N;"
50 INPUT N 70 POKE N,M 80 PRINT N
90 NEXT M
Then type Run, enter the codes fol-
lowed by the program proper. In response to the prompt, enter any four characters. The characters may be made to appear grey by Poking 8 into address 16532.
(continued on page 136)
Big characters - codes.
Pi address
enter
16514 16515 16516 16517 16518 16519 16520 16521 16522 16523 16524 16525 16526 16527 16528 16529 16530 16531 16532 16533 16534 16535
42 14 64 58
12.
64 79
6 8 203
1
56
4 22
24
128 126 254 118
meaning
LD HL, (16398)
)
LD R.(16507)
LD C.. A
LD 8,8 RIC C
JR C.. +4
LD D,0
)
JR+2 LD D,128 LD R. (HL) CP 118
16536
40
16537
5
16538
114
16539
35
16540
16
16541
237
16542
201
16543
35
16544
24
16545
248
Big characters - main program.
) JR 2,5
) LD (HL), ) INC HL ) DJN2,-19
) RET ) INC HL ) JR -8
20 DIM D(4) 30 INPUT US 40 FOR 9=1 TO 4 50 LET D(S)=CODE US (9) 60 NEXT S 70 FOR 9=0 TO 7 80 PRINT AT 9,9," (32 SPaces)" 90 FOR 8=1 TO 4 100 PRINT AT Q, (8-1) *8; 110 POKE 16507, PEEK (D(S)48+7680+Q) 120 RAND USR 16514 130 NEXT S 140 NEXT 150 00T0 30
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
135
ZX-80/81 Line-up
(continued from page 135)
Storable screen display
THIS PROGRAM demonstrates the use of a subroutine which converts the display file into a character string, on an expanded ZX-8 I , writes John Bloxham of Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire. The idea is to allow a display, e.g., a game board, to be retained and recalled when necessary, or Saved on to tape. Assuming you have enough memory, two or more displays may be stored and recalled in rapid succession, giving an animation effect.
Line 10 initialises D$ - it will eventually contain the display. Lines 100-120 generate a simple test display. Line 200 hands over to the subroutine which loops through the display file and adds the characters into D$. On returning from the subroutine, the display is cleared and the program stops. The previous display is now stored in D$ and may be instantly recalled with a Print D$.
This appears to be a fast way of printing a screenful of anything, but because the display is in a string, it may be processed by the string -handling commands. For example, add the following lines:
300 FOR X=1 TO 673 STEP 32 310 PRINT AT 0,0;D$(X TO) 320 NEXT X
Then Goto 300 - do not use Run -
scrolls the display upwards. Change line 300 to:
300 FOR X=673 TO 1 STEP -32
and the display scrolls downwards. Now if
the display is changed and the subroutine
called again, further pictures may be
10 100 110 120 200 210
900'
1000 1010 1020 1030 1040 1050 1060 1070 1080
LET D$ = "" FOR X = 0 TO 20 PRINT AT X, `:."SCREEN TEST" NEXT X GOSUB 1000 CLS
STOP REM STRING ROUTINE LET A=PEEK 16396+256*PEEK 16397 FAST FOR B=1 TO 726 IF PEEK (A+B) .118 THEN 80TO 1060 LET DS=DS+CHR$ PEEK (A+B) NEXT B SLOW RETURN
300 FOR X=1 TO 673 STEP 32 310 PRINT AT 0,0,D3(X TO) 320 NEXT X
300 FOR X=673 TO 1 STEP -32
tacked on to D$. Each display adds 704 bytes to the string. Program a loop to print chunks of D$ 704 bytes long and you have animation. Finally, if the program is Saved on to tape then D$ is Saved as well - though do not forget to re -start with a Goto after Loading.
Self -running program
)\\ N a ZX-80 with the new 8K ROM. writes R Emery of Harrow. Middlesex. While experimenting one day, I put a line at the very beginning of the program which would Save it under a certain name. I started my tape recorder to record and pressed Run, Newline. The program then started to Save itself and once it had finished, it stopped where it started
Saving.
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 105
110 120
130 140 150 160 170 500 510 520 530 1000 1010 1020 1030 1040 1050 2000 2005
Ala
2030 2040 3000 3010 3020 3030
3040 4000 4005 4010 4020 4030 4040 4050 4060 4070 4080 4090
DIM AUTHOR JOHN ALLEN PRINT "SIMULTANEOUS EQUATIONS" PRINT "INPUT NO OF ROWS" INPUT R PRINT "INPUT NO OF COLUMNS" INPUT C DIM A (R,C) FOR H = 1 TO R LET Y = A (H,H) FOR I = 1 TO C LET A (H,I) = A (H,I)/Y NEXT I FOR I = 1 TO R IF I = H OR A (I,H)= 0 THEN GOTO 160 IF A (I,H) = 1 OR A (I,H) = - 1 IF A (I,H) > - 1 AND A (I,H) < 1 THEN GOSUB 3000 IF A (I,H) < - 1 OR A (I,H) > 1 THEN GOSUB 3000 NEXT I NEXT H FOR J = I TO R PRINT "X J, "=", A (J,C) NEXT J STOP LET D = 1 IF A(I,H) 0 THEN LET D =-1 FOR J = 1 TO C LET A (I,J) = A (I,J) - A (H,J) * D NEXT J RETURN IF A (I,H) = 0 THEN GOTO 2050 LET Y = A (H,H) 7' A (I,H) FOR J = 1 TO C: LET A (I,J) = (I,J) - A (H,J) / NEXT J RETURN LET Y = A (I,H) FOR J = 1 TO C: LET A (I,J) = A (I,J) - A (H,J) *
NEXT J RETURN
FOR I = 1 TO F' PRINT "INPUT ROW"
FOR I = 1 TO R FOR J = 1 TO C INPUT A (I,J)
CLS PRINT A (I,J) NEXT J
NEXT I CLS RETURN
Illenexturnelimed to loadit,Iwent
through the normal procedure. and was astonished to see that the program had run itself. This is quite useful for some programs and I hope useful to other readers. For example
SAVE "PROGRAM 1" 10 PRINT "THE PROGRAM RUNS ITSELF" 20 GOTO 10
This works with the 8K ROM so it should work with the ZX-81 and might
also work \\ ith the ZX-80 with 4K ROM.
Inspecting the RAM
AFTER USING a CBM micro with 16K Basic, I found the Sinclair ZX-81 Basic deficient in certain respects, writes
Christopher Clarke of Colchester, Essex. One shortcoming which is easily rectified is that of not knowing how much memory remains for program/variables/screen use. The following short machine -code subroutine may be placed above RAM Top or, as I prefer, inside a Rem statement using the Basic loader.
10
REM AAFIFIFIAARARAAAAFIFIRA
20 LET A = 16514
30 INPUT B
40 IF B = -1 THEN END
50
POKE R.. B
60
LET Fi = A+1
70 00T0 30
Enter these numbers:
237, 115, 54, 64
42, 54 , 64
237, 75, 28, 64
2p3a7ir,s6.6
68, 77,
201 ,
ld (nn), SP LA hl (rm)
Id
(nn)
sbc.: h I, be
id
1:1
ret
b, h c, 1
(-1 to end loader)
Now delete all lines except line 10 and put:
20 let be = usr 16514
30 pr int Lc
Simultaneous equations
I WROTE this code listing for the 22:-81
for solving simultaneous equations,
writes John Allen of London SE 18. The program asks for the number of rows and then the number of columns. Then the complete problem is entered in a row at a time and element by element in the row.
I do not know the size of the program but I feel that with a I 6K RAM pack, it can solve up to 60 simultaneous equations with 6(1 variables. I have only been able to test the program with nine variables and nine equations and I found that the pro-. gram took less than 30 seconds to solve the problem.
X, + 2X2 = 4 X, - 2X2 = 8
In this problem, there are two rows and three columns. When the number of rows and columns are input into the program, the data is input row by row.
136
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
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Circle No. 185
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Manufactured by:
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Available from:
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Personal Computer 16b Dyer Street Cirencester Gloucestershire GL7 2PF Tel: Cirencester (0285) 61902
Circle No. 186
Pet corner
Racing game
RACE IS a car -racing game from Nicholas
Lloyd of Rottingdean, near Brighton. The aim is to complete one lap of the course as fast as possible without crash-
ing. To control the car you use the 8,2,4 and
6 keys to make the car go up, down, left and right respectively. The 5 key may be used as an accelerator. If you first press a key for the direction followed by 5, the car will proceed at an increased rate.
If you have a 3016 Pet then try Poke 59458,62, which has the effect of speeding up the program; to return to the normal speed, type Poke 59458,30. Do not
use this on the 4032, as the only result will be to reduce the screen size to about four
rows.
Upgrading from Basic 3
cam HAS released a new DOS for the Pet
disc, DOS 2.1, which is fitted as standard
to the 4040 disc. The 2040/3040 units can be upgraded by a retrofit set of ROMs
which cost about £40. The upgrade is
useful since it clears many of the problems associated with the original DOS. The relative file facility allows more flexible
direct access without the problems of block commands and descriptor files. However, the Pet would need to be
upgraded to DOS 4 to realise this facility.
The price of this retrofit is the same as for
the disc.
There are two ways to upgrade a new -
ROM Pet with Basic 3, writes M J Valen-
tine from Rotherham. There is the official ROM set and an independent manufacturer's ROM.
The official Commodore retrofit allows
a Basic -3 machine to be upgraded to Basic 4. The main features of Basic 4 allow faster running and disc access without the use of DOS support or print#.
The shifted Run/stop allows a properly retrofitted system to load the first pro-
gram from Drive 0 and Run. Basic 4
allows handling of relative files, which is mandatory with DOS 2.1. The snags of the retrofit upgrade are mainly due to
changes in the main subroutine entry
points.
The zero -page locations are similar to Basic 3, but the values are different in
many cases, e.g.
Stop key disable
Basic 3 Poke 144,49 Basic 4 Poke 144,88
Enable
Poke 144,46 Poke 144,85
All Basic -3 programs will run on Basic -
4 machines, but some modifications will be needed to Poke, USR and Sys. The Run/stop disable is the best example.
The big problems come with machine -
code programs, e.g., Wordcraft, Invaders, Microchess, etc. which will not run. A Basic -4 version will have to be purchased
at more expense. Toolkit and other
system chips will have to be replaced. Open4,4:CMD4:Sys1024 will not
40 PRINT"1":P0KE59468,14
50 PRINT"**************************************"
50 PRINT"***
*********
******"
70 PRINT"** 80 PRINT"*
m**o*m*****
********
*****" olt**"
90 PRINT"* **
**** **
***"
100 PRINT"*
***
*** *** ***********"
110 PRINT"*
****
*
****
**"
120 PRINT"* *** * **************
*"
140 PRINT"*
**
**
**
****
40
150 PRINT"*
**
**
*
***
*"
160 PRINT"*
**
**
170 PRINT "*
***
*
4"
180 PRINT"* ****
** *** ****
190 PRINT"* **** ******** **** *
*"
200 PRINT"* ***
****
*
4"
210 PRINT"* ****
***
*"
220 PRINT"*
****
*****
230 PRINT"*
*************************
*"
240 PRINT"**
******* n
*"
250 PRINT"*** 260 PRINT"****
*****
n
***
it
**"
***"
270 PRINT"*****
IT
****"
280 PRINT"**************************************"
282 PRINT"
VRESS A ''ETU"
233 OETWIFW3=""THEN283
284 PRINT"1
290 TIMS="000000"
300 A=33585
310 POKER, 35
320 IFFEEK(151)=42ANDPEEK(A-1)=42THEN400
330 IFFEEK(151)=42ANDPEEK(R-1)=32THENPOKEA-1,35 POKER,32,A=A-1 11=-1:00T0370
23.5 IFPEEK(151)=4IANDPEEK(R+1)=42TNEN400
340 IFPEEK(151)=41ANDPEEK(0+1)=32THENPOKER+1.35,POKEA,32:A=R+1 B=1 ,GOT0370
345 IFPEEK(151)=50ANDPEEK(A-40)=42THEN400
350 IFFEEK(I51)=50ANDPEEK(A-40)=32THENPOKER-40,35,POKER,32,A=0-40,B=-40:6070370
:355 IFPEEK(I51)=18ANDPEEK(9+40)=42THEN400
360 IFPEEK(151)=18ANDPEEK(R+40)=82THENPOKER+40.35,POKER.32:R=A+40:B=40:0070370 370 IFPEEK(A-1)=94THEN390
372 IFPEEK(151)=34THEN374
37:3 00T0320
374 IFFEEK(A+B)=42THEN400
375 IFPEEK(A-1)=94THEN390
376 POKEA+8,35,POKER,32,A=A+B
377 IFPEEK(151)<734THEN320
378 0070374
390 PRINT"1MIIMEM",PRINTMIDVTIMEL3.2);" \INS ";RIGHTCTIMEE,2);" 40ECONDS"
395 POKE158,0,END
400 POKE59468,12
405 PRINT"111\
406 PRINT"
/"
407 PRINT"
408 PRINT"
409 PRINT"
410 PRINT"
411 PRINT"
412 PRINT"
420 PRINT"Il
421 PRINT"
422 PRINT"
423 PRINT"
424 PRINT"
0
425 PRINT"M
426 PRINT"
II
427 PRINT"
428 PRINT" /
429 PRINT" /
430 PRINT" / 431 POKE158,0,FORG=1T0800 NEXTG:PRINT"MIRMIROID0 YOU WANT ANOTHER GO"
432 OETR$1FRS=""THEN432
433 IFR8="Y"THEN40
allow Tim to be directed to the printer. You must use
OPEN4,4: CMD4:SYS 54395
since Tim's location has been shifted. The upgrade to DOS 2.1 and Basic 4 therefore
calls for re -purchase of a Toolkit and other firmware.
The second alternative to Basic 4 is to use a ROM which works by intercepting a command before Basic 3. Disk -o -Pro is one such ROM, but costs more than the official CBM retrofit set.
Disk -o -Pro has the advantage of allow-
ing the use of all Basic -3 software, including Wordcraft, Toolkit and Invaders, and
does not require re -purchase as the official kit does. All Basic -4 disc com-
mands can be used if DOS 2.1 is retrofitted. Also included are extra commands, e.g., Print Using, which should have been
included in CBM Basic.
For £57 you receive a chip which plugs
into the $9000 ROM expansion socket. If a VisiCalc chip is present, then ROM expanders are available to allow several chips to be used. On power -up, the Disko -Pro chip must be called by Sys36864 to
display
DISK -O -PRO (C) 1980 ROB CHANG (C) 1979 PAICS
Toolkit is called automatically, if present. All the commands are available as well as the Basic 4. Disc commands include an execute command - the same as 10: program of DOS support - and scroll, which is very useful when dealing with program listings.
Kill will leave the Pet without Disk -o Pro which is incompatible with other programs using the Chartgot area. However, all the commands may be in program or direct mode so that Disk -o -Pro may be activated by a Basic program.
(continued on page 143)
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
141
Horses for courses they say. We could not agree more.
That is why we have a flexible stable when it comes to helping businessmen choose a micro -computer system.
We need to know something of your business before we can advise you on making the final selection of the relevant system.
Once we have done that we move very quickly: We will provide a full demonstration,
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We will train you and your staff.
We will arrange finance - hire purchase
or leasing. We give a full after sales advisory service,
and naturally, we offer rapid servicing and comprehensive maintenance contracts.
The best way for us to demonstrate our capabilities, is for you to tell us about your business needs.
One thing is certain. It is odds-on that between us we will arrive at the best bet.
Write or telephone for further information to:
_MICRO
Micro -Facilities Limited 129 High St, Hampton Hill
FACILITIES Middlesex TW12 1NJ 01 -979 4546 and 01-941 1197
A member of the MF Group of companies
Please Tick As Applicable Please Send Me Further Details Please Have Your Consultant Call Me
Micro -Facilities Ltd, FREEPOST,
Hampton, Middlesex, TW12 I BR Tel: 01-941 1197 or 01-979 4546
Name Mr/Mrs/Miss Address
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FREEPOST - NO STAMP NEEDED
P.0 01 -DR
Pet corner EN -
100 REM* 110 REM 120 REM*
M VALENTINE 16,6,81 WORKS LIKE "D1=0" COMMAND TO DISK:
130 REM 140 REM*
BLOCK 19 ON TRACK 18-24 CANNOT BE
1551 REM 160 REM*
COPIED AND IS DUMPED ONTO PRINTER
170 REM 180 REM*
DO NOT USE THIS PROGRAMME TO COPY
190 REM 200 REM*
FILES WITH A DIRECTORY ENTRY
210 REM 20 REM*
USE FOR RANDOM ACCESS FILES
230 REM 240 REM*
ERROR # 22 READ ERROR WILL OCCUR IF
250 REM 260 REM*
DATA HAS NOT BEEN WRITTEN TO THE BLOCK
270 REM 280 REM*
THIS SHOULD BE IGNORED
290 REM 300 PRINT"D AXMOPY DIRECT ACCESS FILES FROM 204013040 TO 4040 FORMAT"
310 PRINT 320 PRINT"PLACE DESTINATION 0131< IN DRIVE 1"
330 PRINT 340 PRINT"PRIMARY DISK TO DRIVE 0";00SUB610
350 PRINT 60 PF1NT"DATA ON DRIVE 1 WILL BE LOST":GOSUB610
370 PRINT
380 OPEN15,8,15
390 FRINT#15,"U;";PRINT#15,"10":PRINT"I0",:60SUB630
400 OPEN2,8,2,"#";ID$="":PRINT#15,"U1:"2,0,18:0:PRINT#1 5,"B -P"2;144
410 FORP=-17020:GET#2,8$,ID$=10$+0$:NEXT
420 PRINT"FORMAT DRIVE 1 "ID$,TRINT#15,"N1:"LEFT$(10$, 18)","RIGHTV.ID$,2) B630
430 CLOSE2:CLOSE15
440 FORT=17017:FORS=0T020:GOSUB570;NEXT:NEXT
450 T=18:FORS=17018:GOSUB570:NEXT 460 FORT=197024,FORS=0T018:00SUB570:NEXT NEXT
470 FORT=257030:FORS=0T017:130SUB570:HEXT NEXT
480 FORT=317035:FORS=0T016:GOSUB570:11EXT NEXT
490 OPEN2,8,2,"#":0PEN15,8,15 500 FORT=181I24:'%=19:PRINT#15,"01:"2,0,T,S
510 OPEN4,4:PRINT#4,"BLOCK TRACK"T"SECTOR"S":"ID$
520 PRINT#4,"THE FOLLOWING DATA CANNOT BEi. TRANSFERRED"
530 FORI=070254:GET#2,8$:PRINT#4,8$,'NEXT:PRINT#4,"END OF DATA"T" 'S
540 PRINT#4:CLOSE4,NEXT
550 PRINT#15,"I";GOSUB630:CLOSE2;CLOSE15:
560 PRINT"DONE":END
570 OPEN2,8,2,"#"'OPEN15,2;15
580 PRINT"COPY"T","S,,PRINT#15,"U1:"2,0,T,S:GOSUB630
590 PRINT#15,"U2:"2,1,T,S;PRINT"CHECK",:GOSUB630 600 CLOSE2;cLOSE15:RETURN 610 GETWIFO$=""THEN610
620 RETURN
630 1NPUT#15,N$,M$,T$,5$ 640 PRINT" = "Nr,"M$","T$","S$
650 RETURN
660 A$="00;COPY BLOCKS";SAVEAS,8;SAVEALS:VERIFYA$,8
(continued from page 141)
Other snags include a 20 percent reduction in execution time tape #2 buffer cannot be used - the same applies to Basic 4 if disc in use Supertnon, DOS support, etc. are incompat-
ible
after every disc operation the error channel is checked, unlike Pet Basic 4; this includes direct operations like Directory, Copy and
Get#, which will cause a considerable delay if
many Get#s are used.
Anyone considering upgrading to Basic 4 should consider Disk -o -Pro as a more economic alternative if Toolkit is being used.
As previously mentioned, to obtain the
full benefits of Basic 4, the disc unit should have DOS 2.1 or 2.5. For about
£40 you receive as set of four chips. Three
are 24 -pin and one is 40 -pin. CBM do not appear to have produced
any directives on where to put the chips.
The spare DOS expansion socket is used. DOS 2.1 will then cause automatic initialisation of Drive 0, the command only
being required for direct access. The
familiar noise of initialisation of DOS 1 is
only heard if a problem occurs or on
power up. DOS 1 and DOS 2.1 are read -compat-
ible but not write -compatible. When a
disc has been formatted by the New or Header command, the DOS format is written to the header: 2a indicates DOS 2.1, a blank or 1 indicates DOS 1.
The duOlicate command cannot be
used to copy a disc DOS 1 to DOS 2.1 or vice versa. If an attempt is made to write to a 2.1 disc with DOS 1 then the error channel is not updated and will crash.
To transfer data from DOS 1 to DOS 2.1 is simple. The program Copy Disc Files supplied by CBM on the demonstration disc is useful as long as the destination disc is Newed before copy is attempted. Copy can be done in the direct mode using Basic 4 and Basic 3, with or without DOS support. In Basic 4,
HEADER "DISK NAME", D1, I(ID) COPY DO TO D1
In Basic 3,
OPEN15,8,15:PRINT#15, "n1 :disk name,id" PRINT#15, "C1 =- 0"
With DOS support,
)n1:disk name, id )01 = 0
This will work on the upgraded disc, pro-
viding that the files have a directory entry.
It will not copy a direct -access file written
by a b -w or u2 command.
There is no facility to transfer files directly. Another problem is that on
tracks 18 to 24, block 19 does not exist in DOS 2.1, otherwise a block -for -block
transfer would work. This problem
occurred with a mailing -list file. The program Copy Blocks is a partial solution which prints out the uncopiable blocks. The result is a compatible disc without six blOcks of data.
The direct -access disc is usually drive 1, and a descriptor file is usually in drive 0. If
a missing block is called after transfer over then a No Block or Illegal t/s error will occur. If the program can be listed, the appropriate modification should be made or the descriptor file modified. In any case, a direct -access disc file should be replaced by a relative file with the appropriate program modifications to take full advantage of DOS 2.1 and Basic
4.
The other problem that was encountered is that Block Write is not available with DOS 2.1. The manual suggests replacement with the u2 command, but you will have to check the buffer pointers, and the commands may have to be modi-
fied.
Closure test
IN MOST programs it is desirable to test the keyboard for the closure of a particular key, either in response to a menu page or just to advance to the next page of text.
T. P. Brown of Bath has sent a simple common subroutine which does the job.
You should set the following variables before calling:
KP;- = 0 - return on any key
= 1-9 - return on any of the number KP of keys defined in KP$ KP$(1)-(9);- Keys on which to return.
You call the subroutine with Gosub 10000, and should test with the two call
routines.
100 REM ****************************** 110 REM 4 CALL ROUTINE (1) 120 REM ****************************** 130 140 PRINT"7IPAGE ONE" 150 PRINT"XXIMHIT A KEY" 160 KP=0:00SUE10000 170 PRINT":1PAGE TWO" 180 END
190 200 REM ****************************** 210 REM * CALL ROUTINE (2) 220 REM ****************************** 230 240 KP=3:KP$(1)="1" 250 KP$(3)=CHR$(13) :GOSUB10000 260 ONKPOOT0280,290 ,300 270 GOT0240 280 PRINT"71VOU HIT KEY 1" ,G0T0240 290 PRINT"nYOU HIT KEY B" ,G0T0240 300 PRINT":1HOU HIT RETURN":GOT0240 310 10000 REM **************************** 10010 REM * MAIN ROUTINE 10020 REM **************************** 10030 10040 POKE158,0 10050 OETA$:IFA$=""THEN10050 10060 IFKP=OTHENRETURN 10070 FORI=ITOKP 10080 IFA$=KFI(I)THEN10100 10090 NEXTI 10100 KP=I:RETURN 10110 10120 REM **************************** 10130 REM *FOR OTHER THAN C.B.M. BASIC 10140 REM *USE IN LINE 10040
10150 REM * 'FORI=1T010:GETWNEXTU 10160 REM *THIS IS FOR A 10 CHR BUFFER 10170 REM ****************************
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
143
Micromouse
IN WHAT has been rightly described as an
amazing triumph, Thumper and Sterling
New champions Mouse - first and second in the British
heat - trounced the best of the rest of
Europe in the Paris final. However,
of the labyrinth Thumper's days as champion may already
be numbered - plans for next year's
heats at the London Computer Fair, April 23, 24, 25 and Micro -Expo in Paris in June. The European final will be held in
Haifa in Israel - and there is talk of a world final in London in September.
In case you are not sure what the com-
petition is about, here is a brief resume of
qualifier. As the 1980 champion, my own mouse Sterling was included in the eight finalists and Thezeus was eliminated.
As always seems to be the case, the mice were dogged by electrical ,and mechanical problems. One exception was
Kim, a French mouse which is memorable
It goes as fast as possible from corner to
corner - where it has to stop anyway remembering but ignoring side turnings. At each corner Minitaurus decides whether to continue or back -track to a side opening it has passed. Obviously, once you know where a side turning is, there
by Nick Smith
as the only three-wheeler I have seen. are no stopping problems. Just like a child's tricycle, the front wheel Minitaurus is fast and covers more
the rules. The objective is to build a selfcontained robot - otherwise known as a mouse - which can reach the middle of a
maze. The maze used for the London final is shown in figure 1.
The start is always at the bottom lefthand corner with the mouse pointing north. The finish is always the centre four
squares, though the position of the
entrance to the centre and the hole for recovering exhausted mice can both be, moved. A mouse has 15 minutes to make
as many runs as it can from start to finish; the fastest run is recorded and the fastest mouse wins.
Handling mice is allowed but the judges take a dim view of it. An unhandled mouse will always beat a handled mouse regardless of the times.
is both driven and steered. At the French heat in May, it had electronic wall -sens-
ing. At the final it had a large roller sensors about 2in. wide protruding on
each side and another one iri front. These
were carved out of polystyrene and ran on the tops of the walls.
Steering was controlled by a micro switch on each side at the front. Unfortunately, Kim's brain could not work out
how to pass the first two traps in the maze. After circling for about 10 minutes, Kim was withdrawn.
Sterling Mouse ran next, managing a
very pleasing time of 68 seconds. Sterling is running about three times faster now than it did last year.
Minitaurus from Tampere University of Technology of Finland then entered
ground than other mice during exploration but takes a worse initial route to the middle. This explains its poor first run time of 5 minutes 40 seconds. Minitaurus then started playing up. When it was
finally coaxed into a second run, it,
seemed to be following the shortest route
to the middle but the Finns withdrew it for
some unknown reason, when it was about two-thirds of the way there.
With only Thumper left to run, Sterling
was still the fastest mouse in Europe with
Minitaurus the only other mouse to attain the middle in the finals. Thumper started as smoothly as ever and arrived at the middle in about two minutes. Thumper's second run was again slower than Sterling's best, but my defeat seemed inevitable - then Thumper suddenly stopped dead. With rising spirits, I watched Dave
The maze is based on a 16 -by -16 grid of
18cm. squares- overall about 9ft. square. Walls are 5cm. high and 12mm. thick. The walls of the maze are built out of 18cm. long pieces plugged into the base
when it started because of its incredible acceleration from rest. Minitaurus is very fast and uses infra -red sensors all round for short -distance, accurate sensing, and
Woodfield and Arthur White of GKN Technology prod Thumper and carry it back to the start. Whatever happend now,
Britain was first and second. Sadly for me, Thumper re -started and
so that the design of the maze can be, and
ran the shortest route in an astonishing 44
is, changed from day to day. The individual walls have a tendency to lean in
seconds to become the new champion. Credit must also go to Andrew Keatley of
random directions and occasionally there are slight gaps at the joints - beware.
The base is made of several pieces of smooth black -painted chipboard. Joints tend to run along the middle of passages
and steps and gaps of up to 2mm. are not unknown - beware of tiny wheels and
ROLE FOR MOUSE
RECOVERY
Allen -Martin Electronics who wrote
Thumper's software.
One of the more disappointing aspects of the competition was the lack of successful amateurs and young competitors. If you have any ideas on how to make the, competition more open to amateurs, and
skidding.
The mice must be entirely self-con-
L
tained - no trailing wires, no remote
how to separate the amateurs from the
professionals, write in to the Micro mouse page. One idea is to double the
control. Maximum size is 25cm. by 25cm. with no height limit. Damaging or mark-
width of the maze passages and eliminate dead ends to make model -car approaches
ing the maze is not allowed, although you
might be allowed a ball of string. There is.
a limit of one Newton on the force a
mouse exerts on any wall.
Figure 1. The London maze.
sonar on the front for long-distance
detection so that it can stop before it hits a
viable.
Practical Computing is also looking for ideas for chassis design and simple sensors. Remember, you receive £5 for each
The current state of the art can be seen wall.
idea or tip published. So far, there is no
from the 1981 Paris final. Despite I had heard that maze -solving was not definitive mouse design so anything new
hundreds of entries - more than 300 the forte of Minitaurus because it tends to could be a winner. When Dave Woodfield
from Britain alone - only about 13 mice run in long straight lines ignoring likely and I were talking after the competition,
competed. Of these, only eight reached side turnings. I now realise what it was we agreed anew approach was needed.
the middle of the maze in practice. Alan doing. Like Kim in the French heat, Mini- Look out for at least one bicycle next
Dibley of Cheddar had the distinction of
owning two of them: Thezeus - about 12 minutes - from the London heat and a new, faster mouse Son of Thezeus - 2
taurus cannot stop in time to turn when it detects a side opening in a previously unexplored passage. Most mice, there-
fore, run slowly while exploring and stop
year. For an entry form and a full set of rules,
write to: Dr John Billingsley, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering,
minutes 49 seconds. Thumper finished in to decide where to go at each junction: Anglesea Building, Anglesea Road.
1 minute 15 seconds, and was the leading Minitaurus does the opposite.
Portsmouth P01 3DJ.
144
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
MORROW 26Mb HARD DISK
+ STARLINK 2
+ NORTH STAR HORIZON
The respectable North Star Horizon is now married to the equally well accepted Morrow Discus M26 hard disk. Starlink is the best man - a multi-user CP/M designed to join together and increase the price/performance ratio of
the happy couple. As good friends of the family you can rely on us to provide helpful advice and support. To make it all work, we can supply a choice of VDU's, printers and a variety of CP/M software. If new additions to the family are wanted, then it's a simple matter to add further screens, memory and I/O up to a maximum of seven users, all at a price you can afford.
STARLINK - Multi-user Starlink is a time sharing operating system allowing a number of users to share a microprocessor and it's peripheral devices. Starlink integrates the North Star floppy drives with the Morrow M10, M20, or M26 hard disks. Both types of
disks then appear as logical drives under CP/M. The floppy disks can be used for backup and transfer of data and programs. Each user can have a private logical drive B. Drive A is treated as a shared disk drive and can be used to store application software, system utility programs and shared databases. Logical drives C and D are the two floppy disk drives of the North Star. A name and an associated password for each user is stored within the system executive. This provides basic system security. Users can log -in and out of the system independantly. There is a turnkey facility which can be set up and locked in to a user by the system supervisor. This is a useful feature for running application programs and to prevent unwanted access to the CP/M command level. The right serial port of the North Star is designated for the printer. Any user can use the printer and printer locking is implemented.
The DISCUS M26 is a complete 26Mb hard disk system in a metal cabinet with power supply, cables and an S100 controller. The M26 features the Shugart SA4008 14" Winchester style sealed disk. The S100 controller incorporates intelligence to supervise all data transfers, communicating with the CPU via four I/O ports. There is a 512 byte sector buffer on -board. Multi-user Starlink requires a North Star Horizon with a bootstrap address set at E800, 4K non-bankswitching RAM addressed from F000 to FFFF, and 56K or 58K bankswitching RAM for each user. Also, each user requires an associated RS -232 I/O port for the VDU.
64K Horizon with 2 d/sided drives Morrow 26Mb Hard disk Starlink S/W TOTAL SYSTEM PR ICE: £4995.00 +VAT. Please write or phone for further details.
Prices and specification are subject to change without notice. CP/M is a trademark of Digital Research Corp. Horizon is a trademark of North Star Computers Inc.
1: 7
INTE RAM COMPUTER SYSTEMS LTD.
46 Balham High Road,
London, SW12 9AQ.
Telephone: 01-675 5325/6/7
14-S
Circle No. 188
FOUR GOOD REASONS FOR CHOOSING GUESTEL
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BRISTOL OFFICE 41-43 BALDWIN STREET
BRISTOL 1
OFFICES WORLDWIDE DUSSELDORF SAN FRANCISCO
AUTHORISED APPLE DEALER AND LEVEL ONE SERVICE CENTRE
CI
Circle No. 189
LONDON COMPUTER CENTRE
RADIO SHACK DAISYWHEEL PRINTER II £950
60 CHARACTERS PER SECOND - THE FASTEST DAISYWHEEL PRINTER * EXCELLENT PRINT QUALITY - SUPERIOR TO MOST FAMOUS
MAKES * BUILT IN PROPORTIONAL SPACING * LOOK AHEAD LOGIC * USES RICOH RP -1600 DAISYWHEELS
Heavy duty commercial daisywheel printer,
with high quality printout, coupled with low
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giving 126 Er 163 columns * 15 inch wide fric-
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of other features.
Jot..
" Centronics type Parallel interface as stan-
dard. * Options: Series interface £60, PET In-
terface £65, APPLE interface £75.
OPTIONAL BI-DIRECTIONAL TRACTOR FOR RICOH
RP -1600
RADIO SHACK DAISYWHEEL II £95
1
r Other Daisywheel Printers
QUME RO QUME KSR NEC RO
RP -1600S
£1550
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f1500
V
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FEATURES FROM £1795*
EPSON DUAL MODE PRINTERS
LETTER QUALITY Et STANDARD DOT MATRIX IN ONE LOW COST UNIT
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The only full 15" width platten printer with dual print modes 8
built in dot matrix Et built in
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Full specification as the
MX -80 F/T.
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132 COLUMNS PER LINE
JAPANESE RELIABILITY
MX -80 F/T2 £440
MX -100 FIT £575
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Now with multi -coloured dedicated keys for Magic Wand and Wordstar; the ultimate word processors.
* £=S1.80
CP/M SOFTWARE
WORD PROCESSORS
WORDSTAR
£275
WORDSTAR WITH DEDICATED KEYS £340
WORDSTAR MAIL -MERGE
£65
MAGIC WAND
£185
MAGIC WAND WITH DEDICATED
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£250
SPELLBINDER
£185
SPELLBINDER WITH DEDICATED
KEYS
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DATA BASE SYSTEMS
DBASE II RELATIONAL DATA BASE CONDOR TIM
£375 £250
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CRITICAL PATH
ANALYSIS
MILESTONE
£250
plete with all cables.
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16K keyboard with UHF Modulator
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16K System with VDU Et Cassette
£475
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£289
Dual Disc Drives
£399
MODEL II
from £1999 including CP/M
MODEL III
State-of-the-art generation computer. Over 10,000 already sold in USA. 8 slot bus ensures expansion to hard discs and other peripherals. 76 key professional keyboard. Self test on power up. CP/M 2.2, TRSDOS 8 Level III BASIC are standard.
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From £550 16K without disc drives 48K without disc drives 48K with disc drives With Epson MX -80 and Scripsit for Wordprocessing
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ware to be used on the MODEL II.
___A
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ELECTRIC PENCIL (DISC)
£60
SCRIPSIT (DISC)
£61
SCRIPSIT (CASSETTE)
£25
MAIL -MERGE FOR PENCIL
Et SCRIPSIT
£45
VAT AID PROGRAMME
£45
CCA DATA MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM
£125
FINANCIAL PLANNER/
MODELLING
1-,/ MAKER TARGET
£175 f250
THE SPECIAL LCC APPLE SYSTEM
48K Apple, Dual 40 Track Disc Drives 8 12
Green Screen Monitor
£1395
Double Vision 80x24 Card
£170
CP/ M Softcard
£175
16K RAM (Integer) Card
£95
Centronics Parallel Card
£75
Serial Printer/Communications Card
£85
MINI -MODELLER
£350
ALL PRICES ARE EXCLUSIVE OF VAT AND DELIVERY
DEALER ENQUIRIES INVITED ON ALL PRODUCTS
43 GRAFTON WAY, LONDON W1P 5LA (Opposite Maples )
OPENING HOURS: 11-7 MON-FRI 12-4 SAT Tel: 388 6991/2 24 hour answer phone: 01-388 5721
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Circle No. 190
147
IF ANYOF THE FOLLOWINGWORDSGIVE
YOU A BUZZ ANALYSIS STATISTICS DE
SIGN PLOTTING GRAPHICS REPORT WRIT
ING SPECIFICATIONS SCHEDULES COSTING
PLANT MAINTENANCE PRODUCTION CON
TROL SIMULATIONS IEEE INTERFACING IN STRUMENT CONTROL MONITORING TERM
INAL COMMUNICATIONS PAPERTAPE READ
ING PUNCHING & EDITING SELF PROGRAM
MING BASIC ASSEMBLER LANGUAGE MA
CHINECODE...GIVE USABUZZ(ORSEND BACKTHECOUPON)
The micro comes of age. The PET has come a long way since micros were regarded as toys. It's designed and built for demanding work and this shows in the 32K memory and 80 column screen as well as in its impressive disk capacity. When it comes to languages, you'll find the PET fluent in BASIC, PASCAL, FORTH, COMAL, LISP, PILOT and ASSEMBLER.
It can be used as a complete system in itself, or can be linked to other PETs or a mainframe.
Who needs PET? And why? The list above speaks for itself, but that's only part of the story as the PET now has over 600 applications. It's good news for any engineer who's tried to get even a modest budget approved - the PET is very acceptable to the most sceptical of money people.
It's an attractive proposition, too, to DP professionals who need their fingers on the pulse and are fed up with waiting for their turn on the company computer.
In fact, it's the nearest thing to the all-purpose computer for everyone. An extravagent claim? A demonstration can prove it to be true.
The PET has track record. We've been involved with electronics for over 20 years and there are now over 40,000 PET installations in the UK.
We manufacture our own microchip which is happily accepted and used by makers of other well-known microcomputers.
You get nationwide dealer back-up with Commodore. What's more, many of our dealers have specific expertise -- which means they can advise on anything from business systems to specialist technical applications. So, if your particular problem is of a highly specialised nature, it may be best to contact our Information Department direct. They
will then recommend the dealers who understand and who speak your kind of language.
What does all this cost? Not a lot. In fact, our computers start at £200 and go through to 0,000 -
and that will buy you a complete system. Which is just one more reason why any
professional worth his salt would be interested in a microcomputer that's made its name in the business
world ... but is far more than just an efficient business brain.
coo ',Nor
CBM
MEM
at,
111111111111111111111111111111111111111111,
r
I Send to: Commodore Information Services, P.O. Box 109, Baker Street, High Wycombe. Tel: Slough 79292. I'd like to know how a Commodore PET could give me a buzz.
AD Name
Company
Address
I Tel'
1
COMMODORE PET
.1
i Over 40,000 working hard
I
for Britain
.1
148
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
LONDON AREA
Adds Computers Ltd
W13, 01-579 5845
Byteshop ComputerLand
NW I, 01-387 0505
Capital Computer Systems Ltd
WI, 01-636 3863 & 637 5551
Centralex- London Ltd
SE 13, 01-3184213-7
Chromasonk Electronics
N19.01-2639493/9495
Healey
Services Ltd
01-247 58/331t14499
Home and Business Computers
E 12, 01.472 5107
Logic Box Ltd
SW I , 0 I -222 1122/5492
Merchant Systems Limited
EC4, 01-583 6774
14E21171n re 2000 Micro Computation
NI4, 01-882 5104 Micro Computer Centre
SW14. 01-878 7044-7 Sumlock Bondain Ltd
ECU, 0 I -250 0505
The Computer Shop (City) Ltd EC I,01-6283531
HOME COUNTIES
Milhous° Designs Ltd
ALTON, 84517
The Computer Shop (Banbury) Ltd
BANBURY, 3477
H.S.V. Ltd
BASINGSTOKE 62444
M.M.S. Limited
BEDFORD. 406012
Bracknell Computers
BRACKNELL 52929
D.D.M. Direct Data Marketing Ltd
BRENTWOOD, 229379 8, 230480
Amplicon Micro Systems Limited
BRIGHTON. 562163 8 6013331
T & V Johnson (Microcomputers Etc) Ltd
CAMBERLEY, 20446
Wego Computers Ltd
CATERHAM, 49235
The Computer Shop (Caversham) Ltd
CAVERSHAM 481555
Dataview Ltd
COLCHESTER, 865835
DaVinci Conputers Ltd
EDGWARE 01-9520526
Micro -Facilities Ltd
HAMPTON HILL. 01-979 4546
Cream Computer Shop
HARROW, 01-8630833
L & J Computers
HARROW. 01-204 7525
South East Computers Ltd
HASTINGS. 426844
Bromvrall Data Services Ltd
HATFIELD. 60980/671 I 1
Alpha Business Systems
HERTFORD. 57425
Commonsense Business Systems Ltd
HIGH WYCOMBE. 40116
Kingsley Computers Ltd
'
HIGH WYCOMBE, 449749
Computer Sales & Software Centre Ltd
ILFORD, 01-554 3344
H.B. Computers Ltd
KETTERING, 520910
H.B. Computers (Luton) Ltd
LUTON, 426887/416892
South East Computers Ltd
MAIDSTONE. 681263
Photo Acoustics Ltd
NEWPORT PAGNELL, 610625
WATFORD, 32006 & 40698
Sumlock Bondain (East Anglia) Ltd
NORWICH. 262598 614302
The Computer Shop (Oxford) Ltd
OXFORD. 722872
T & V Johnson (Microcomputers Etc) Ltd
OXFORD, 721461
Arden Data Processing
PETERBOROUGH. 49577 & 67831
H.S.V. Ltd
SOUTHAMPTON. 331422
Sumlock Tabdown Ltd
SOUTHAMPTON. 26647
D.D.M. Direct Data Marketing Ltd
SOUTHEND-ON-SEA 65787 8 64589
Scan Computers Ltd
STORRINGTON. (09066) 5432
The Computer Room
TONBRIDGE, 355962
Orchard Computer Services
WALUNGFORD, 35529
Microchips
WINCHESTER, 68085
P P.M. Ltd WOKING, (04867) 8011 I
Petalect Limited WOKING, (04862) 69032 & 21776
MIDLANDS
Byteshop ComputerLand BIRMINGHAM, 021-622 7149
C.P.S. (Data Systems) Limited BIRMINGHAM, 021.707 3866
Camden Electronics Limited BIRMINGHAM. 021-773 8240
Joseph Ware Associates Ltd BIRMINGHAM. 021-643 8033
Marcham Business Systems Ltd BIRMINGHAM. 021-706 8232
Micro Associates BIRMINGHAM, 021-328 4574
Peach Data Services BURTON -ON -TRENT, 44968
Catlands Information Systems CHESTER, 46327
PEG Associates (Computer Systems) Ltd COVENTRY. 20246
Davidson -Richards Ltd
DERBY, 366803 Taylor Wilson Systems Ltd
DORPJDGE, (05645) 6192 Caddis Computer Systems Ltd
HINCKLEY, 613544
Arden Data Processing LEICESTER 22255
Roger Clark Business Systems Ltd
LEICESTER. 20455 A.J.R. Ltd
NOTTINGHAM, 206647 Betos (Systems) Ltd
NOTTINGHAM, 48108 Byteshop Computerland
NOTTINGHAM. 40576 PEG Associates (Computer Systems) Ltd
RUGBY, 65756 Synchro Computing Ltd
STOKE-ON-TRENT, 825391 Walters Computer Systems Ltd
STOURBRIDGE. 70811 The Computer Shop (Swindon) Ltd
SWINDON. 694061 McDowell, Knaggs & Associates Limited
WORCESTER. 28466 YORKS AND HUMBERSIDE Ackroyd Typewriter & Adding Machine Co. Ltd
BRADFORD. 31835 & 32243 Allen Computers
GRIMSBY. 40568 Microprocessor Services
HULL 23 146 Microware Computers Ltd
HULL 562107 Holderse Ltd
LEEDS, 459459 Yorkshire Electronics Services Ltd
MORLEY, 522181 Computer Centre (Sheffield) Ltd
SHEFFIELD, 53519/588731 Holbrook Business Systems Ltd
SHEFFIELD, 484466 Estate Computer Systems
SLEAFORD, 305637 Mitrefinch Ltd
YORK, 52995 NORTH EAST Comic & Maughan
GATESHEAD, 774540 Dyson Instruments
HETTON. 260452 Key Computer Services Ltd
NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, 815157 Imes Datalog Ltd
STOCKTON-ON-TEES. (0642) 781 193
MANCHESTER AREA Byteshop Computerland
MANCHESTER. 061-236 47 37 Computastore Limited
MANCHESTER. 061-8324761 Cytek (UK) Limited
MANCHESTER. 061.872 4682 Executive Reprographic Ltd
MANCHESTER. 061-228 1637 D. Kipping Ltd
MANCHESTER. 061-834 6167 Professional Computer Services Ltd
OLDHAM. 061-6244065 Catlands Information Systems Ltd
STOCKPORT, 061-477 6699
Catlands Information Systems Ltd WILMSLOW. 527166
UVERPOOL Stack Computer Services Ltd
BOOTLE 051-933 551 I Aughton Microsystems
KIRKBY, 051-548 7788 Rockcliff Moro Computers
LIVERPOOL 051-521 5830 The Computer Shop (Southport) Ltd
SOUTHPORT, 77783
NORTH WEST B 8 B (Computers) Limited
BOLTON, 26644 Tharstern Limited
BURNLEY, 38481 Preston Computer Centre
PRESTON, 57684
WEST COUNTRY Radan Computational Ltd
BATH, 318483 Calculator Services & Sales (Bristol) Ltd
BRISTOL 779452/3 Sumlock Tabdown Ltd
BRISTOL 276685 T.4 V Johnson (Microcomputers Etc) Ltd
BRISTOL 422061 AC. Systems
EXETER. 71718 South Coast Business Machines Ltd
FERNDOWN, 893040 Milequip Ltd
GLOUCESTER. 411010 Devon Computers
PA1GNTON, 526303 AC. Systems
PLYMOUTH, 26086! JAD Integrated Services (Plymouth) Ltd
PLYMOUTH, 662616 & 29038 J.M. Computer Services Ltd
TRURO, 71626
WALES Sumlock Tabdown Ltd
CARDIFF, 41361
Sigma Systems Ltd CARDIFF, 34869 & 21515
Reeves Computers Limited CARMARTHEN. 32441/2
Computer Supplies (Swansea) SWANSEA. 290047
SCOTLAND MacMicro Ltd
BEAULY. 046-371 2774 Holden Microsystems Ltd
EDINBURGH, 031-668 2727 Byteshop ComputerLand
GLASGOW, 041-221 7409 Gate Microsystems Limned
GLASGOW, 041-221 9372-4 Robox Ltd
GLASGOW, 041-221 8413/4 Ayrshire Office Computers
KILMARNOCK. 42972
NORTHERN IRELAND Northern Ireland Computer Centre Limited
HOLYWOOD. (02317) 6548
Circle No. 191
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
AVAILABLE ON CASSETTE
ASTROFACT
* FOR THE TRS-80 LEVEL II *
REQUIRES 16K MEMORY
: A NEW PROGRAM IN BASIC AT A SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY PRICE :
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XMAS
IDENTIFY THE PLANETS AND STARS PREDICT MOON'S POSITION ON YOUR OWN SKYLINE IS IT A FIRST QUARTER OR A FULL MOON NEXT SUNDAY? WHERE IS VENUS IN THE SKY ON CHRISTMAS DAY?
Astrofact requests the input of year, month, day, time, also asks for latitude (North or South of Equator) and longitude (East or West of Grenwich) Astrofact then calculates
and displays for each of the planets.
MERCURY: VENUS: MARS: JUPITER: SATURN: URANUS: NEPTUNE: PLUTO
The following data which is displayed sequentially as calculated and then finally a complete list in tabular form:
Altitude in degrees above (or below) the horizon: Azimuth (compass bearing) Right ascension: Declination: Phase: Apparent magnitude (brightness) Distance from the Earth; for any date or time 1975-2001 incl. Also SUN as above plus angular diameter, And MOON as above plus angular diameter, and "age" (eg first quarter)
Additionally, Astrofact gives Altitude any Azimuth of an coordinates of right ascension and declination input by you, and displays also right ascension, declination, azimuth and altitude for the most important stars and star groups, examples: Sirius, Pleiades
(Alcyone), Leo (Regulus), etc.
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Circle No. 193
149
Puzzle
THE GRID represents one -quarter of a chess board. A knight starts on any white square, and moves in normal knight fashion until it has
visited each and every white
square.
As it moves, it creates a running sum, for instance 5 x 1 x 6 x 3 -
8 + 2 -7 + 4 = 81. Negative and fractional results are not allowed. What is the lowest score possible and how is it obtained?
Knight's
5
3
gambit
A1
p,
2
The solution to October's money puzzle
7
62 8 0
'8
6 r/ r 4
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Circle No. 194
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Book reviews
An introduction to computer programming and data structures using
Macro -11
By Harry R Lewis. Published by Reston. £19.20.
IT IS unusual these days for an introduction to programming to use an assembler -level language; this book uses that for the popular PDP- I I range. It is not an ab initio primer; it is
aimed at those with some elementary programming
knowledge.
The approach is similar to introductions to programming in high-level languages in that it takes a small logical group of
instructions and explains their use with numerous examples. Where it differs is in that data storage and addressing are considered before any instructions are introduced -a consequence of using a low-level
language. However, for an introduc-
tion it goes into the various addressing modes too soon
and too rapidly, which is likely
to lead to confusion. Apart
from that, the rest of section I is a clear description of the elements of Macro -11 without attempting to be exhaustive, as it is intended to be used with
the language reference
manuals.
As this book was written by a university lecturer, the
examples are from a Unix
operating system environment
- consequently some of the Macros used will differ from
those used by the DEC operating systems. The principles remain the same, however.
Considering the limitations of space in section 2, this book has been remarkably wideranging in its coverage of data
structures. Not only does
Harry Lewis cover all the common data structures including
linked lists, trees and hash tables, he also manages to
discuss language -syntax speci-
fication. This is discussed along with parsing and code genera-
tion in a superficial way as a basis for the programming projects in the third section.
The programming projects
are for such system software as
text editors, assemblers and compilers, and are obviously limited in scope. They consist of a common format of a defi-
nition of requirements which are built, piece by piece, into a functional specification at subroutine level. The reader is then left to complete the program.
Although there are exercises throughout the book there are no answers. This only emphasises that the approach of the book is designed to be worked through with the aid of a tutor. That said, a programmer experienced in another language, preferably lowlevel, would find this book a useful introduction to Macro-
n.
Conclusions
As a basic introduction to
programming or computers it is not ideal. For someone with some experience, it would be a
good first step into Macro -11.
With Macro -11 also being the language of the LSI-11 range, it is of interest to the microcomputer programmer.
Martin Wilson
Personal Computers Handbook
By Walter H Buchsbaum, published by Sams. U.S.
$11.95; U.K. £7.75. 286 pages
paperback. ISBN 0-672-
21724-4.
ONE WOULD have expected a book with a title like Personal
Computers Handbook -
whatever it means - from the powerful Sams stable to be an outstandingly useful treatment of the 1980s hobbyist's darling. One would be disappointed.
True, there is plenty here, from baby hardware theory to a sophisticated treatment of software - but it never seems to gel into a coherent whole. Dr Buchsbaum tends to skip around among his chosen topics without any obvious direction, without alighting for
long on any one flower -
however full of nectar -
without drawing meaningful conclusions at any stage.
Perhaps that is what a handbook is -a work of reference in which one expects no more coherence than a bedside
reader after a few pages of
which one can rest easy? The task of reading it took me
many more days than I
expected, and I ended up with continued mixed feelings.
It is directed at "readers
who have a working knowledge of electronics and are interested in learning more about personal computers". Both parts of that quotation from the preface imply that
this is not a book for beginners.
It can be technical, but qualita-
tively rather than quantita-
tively. In other words it details
what can be done, but not how
to do it. There are plenty of home-
grown texts available which cover the micro better than this book. They may not be more up-to-date, or even more
detailed - but they do follow a coherent line and keep a uniform level. I can foresee that I
shall have occasion to use this
book for reference - but keep it to hand? - no.
Conclusions
A good, solid acount, mainly of hardware. It does not, however, draw together to a
readable whole.
Not for the beginner keen to develop elementary know-
ledge, nor for the advanced
micro user aiming to break new
ground. For the rest, it is of
some interest, but best first
compared to other titles in the
bookshop.
Eric Deeson
Apple Basic for business for the Apple II
Parker and Stewart. Published by Reston.
THIS BOOK sets out to teach Apple Basic by using examples drawn from business. The examples and problems are
based on either payroll or
stock systems and are built up stage by stage as the necessary facilities are introduced.
The book moves along steadily with comprehensive descriptions of each new concept. By the fourth chapter, files are in use, something most books leave until the later chapters. Sub -totalling and control
breaks are introduced in
chapter five, while file matching is discussed in the next two chapters. From chapter nine onwards, we are in strange territory as far as introductions to Basic are concerned - direct -
access files. Subsequent chapters deal
with graphics and the different forms of business systems. All topics are explained in a clear
and concise manner which is
very readable and there are the usual appendices of error codes and instruction formats. Also included is a very useful sort program which assumes
disc files are in use, as do all the
examples.
Each chapter has a summary
at the end which provides a
useful reference to formats and to techniques. There are
also problems to test understanding of the topics introduced in the preceding chapter but unfortunately no solutions
are given. This is something of
a problem for this type of book
as there is no one correct
answer. Some guidance should be given to ensure that there
are no misunderstandings which re -reading the chapter
will not resolve. Strangely, for
many of the programming
problems there is a ruled page
for the solution which is rather unnecessary - it looks suspi-
ciously like padding. No book, not even this one
will turn the novice into a fully-
fledged commercial programmer particularly as they all seem to be rather light on data validation and security. This book covers the trapping of
some data errors but not
enough to enable the reader to produce programs which will not be tripped up by errors in data entry.
Back-up copies of files are mentioned but no guidance is given as to when they should be made. The reader who studies this book conscientiously will be rewarded with a good foundation on which to build
by experience and further
study. Any Apple user or, for that
matter, anyone requiring an introduction would do well to consider this book - it will certainly be recommended by
me.
Conclusions
This book is very readable
and accurate with well-chosen examples. It is one of the best introductions to Basic I have seen and I will certainly use it.
The approach is not novel but is rather more consistent than most and provides a
thread of continuity which this
kind of text needs. If you are looking for a book
on Apple Basic, this is probably
the only one you will need.
Martin Wilson W
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
151
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Circle No. 196
153
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Wynford and Jane James continue their series on portable graphics with a program which can be used in a
Maze-making variety of adventure games.
subroutines
MANY GAMES require a subroutine which
makes a maze to provide a variable background against which a battle
can be fought or a chase can take place. The various adventure games are in
essence, maze games. The major dif-
ference is that in an adventure where you successfully go west across the Lava Sea,
there is no guarantee that the reverse journey is possible. In a standard maze,
the player who wanders into a dead end at least has the option of back -tracking.
This article describes a program which first generates a maze of random dimensions. It then displays a perspective view of the maze as the player searches for the
exit. The maze -creation routine, and a
second routine which draws a map of the maze, are written so that they will run on any micro which has a memory -mapped display and supports Peek and Poke. The only changes required are to two lines in the initialisation routine.
The three-dimensional view of the maze requires several common graphics
symbols: the horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines, and the four "corner" sym-
2
A
3
10.5
7
Figure 2a. The four prime numbers which indicate walls W(0) to W(4). Figure 2b. The change in cell number on moving to a new cell, M(0) to M(3); L is the maze length.
-L
L
Figure 1. Maze with a dead end.
bols. These symbols are certainly avail-
able on the Pet, UK -101, Sharp MZ-80K and Superboard, and probably on most
other popular micros too. The only
change you may need to make in this part of the program is to substitute the sym-
bols in your character set for those in the
program - just three line changes. If
your micro has a Plot command you will have to re -write this routine, but you should be able to simplify it considerably.
You may be looking sadly at your minimal memory configuration, thinking that
this article cannot be for you. Let us reassure you - it was written on a 4K RAM Superboard-II. If you have more
than 4K of memory, you should be able to produce a full-blown adventure using the program as a basis.
Two main problems have to be overcome when creating a maze. Firstly, you must ensure that all parts of the maze are accessible from all other parts. There must be no "closed circuits" - see figure 1 - otherwise the effective size of the maze will be reduced and memory wasted preserving unused portions.
Secondly, you have to be able to record the number and position of the walls in
each cell in order to store the layout of the maze - see figure 2.
We chose to indicate a wall in each direction by the prime numbers 2, 3, 5
and 7. Initially all cells are given a value of
210 - equal to 2 x 3 x 5 x 7- which
indicates a wall in every direction. Other possible wall arrangements can
be stored as multiples of the relevant prime numbers. For example, a cell with walls only at north and south would be given a value of 14 - equal to 2 x 7.
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Graphics
Figure 3. Cell values for each of the possible wall arrangements.
Figure 3 gives all the cell values and the
wall arrangements they indicate. Lines 500 to 595 create the maze. This
part of the program is short but not very
fast, so the maze is created while instructions are being given in subroutine 900.
Subroutine 900 also carries out the initialisation. Line 950 must be changed: it gives the memory locations of the top left, top right, bottom left and bottom
right of the screen memory - TL, TR, BL
and BR. It also sets the line length LL, the
depth of wall DW, and the cell depth CD. Obviously LL should be set to the line
length of your own micro. The depth of wall DW is the number of pixels to be
used to draw each cell wall. The cell depth
CD is a necessary limiting factor due to the lack of high resolution on our micro. When a certain number of cells of dimi-
nishing size have been drawn to give the illusion of perspective, the centre of the screen is reached. There is clearly no point in trying to go further and attempting to display more cells.
The procedure is easier to follow if you look at the values used in the program.
Although the line length LL for the
Superboard is 32, the screen memory has an actual line length of 25. With a depth of wall of three, and a cell depth of four,
the maximum possible display of left handed walls uses four sets of three pixels = 12 pixels. The right-hand walls use
another 12 pixels, so the perspective display of four maze cells uses 24 pixels altogether. As the screen has a line length of 25, this leaves a single, blank pixel at the centre of the screen to suggest the limits of vision - see figure 4.
You will have to choose values of DW and CD carefully to get the best display An important factor to consider is the possible longest length of a corridor in the
maze. There is no point in setting CD to if most mazes have dimensions of less than eight cells. The program as written varies the length L and width W of the
maze between six and 10 cells. If you want to adjust this, change line 960.
As already stated, all cells are given an initial cell value of 210 to indicate four
walls. In early versions of the program the
values for each cell were stored in an
array. However, each element in an array uses four bytes in the Superboard memory. A 10 -by -10 array takes up 400 bytes, which is a large chunk out of a 4K
RAM. As all cell values are 210 or less, they
can be Poked as single bytes into memory.
(continued on next page)
Figure 4. Two views down the same 10 -cell corridor. In A, the depth of wall, DW, is 3 and the cell depth is 4, which gives a better display than B, where DW - 2.
HASCOM/SHARP MZ8OK
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Circle No. 200
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Circle No. 201
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
ZX81 DATABASE 16K
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Circle No. 202
155
ZX81
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PROG OF THE MONTH: MAZE OF DEATH
You are in a maze which contains a monster
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Circle No. 203
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Circle No. 204
(continued from previous page)
Using this technique, a 10 -by -10 maze needs only 100 bytes.
You will have to store the maze in an
area of RAM unlikely to be taken up by the program. Line 995 gives the memory
location SM for the start of the maze. You should change it to a suitable value for your own system.
The remainder of subroutine 900 generates a random starting point P
within the maze - line 995 - and also an exit cell EC and a map cell MC - line 1000. In the map cell, the lucky explorer can find a map of the maze with his own position shown by a man - symbol W4
on 955. The scenario for the game is described
in lines 900 to 945. The player has landed
on an alien planet while fleeing from enemies, and has sought refuge within the
maze. He is wearing a space suit and must
find a way out of the maze before his limited oxygen supply expires. The
oxygen supply OX plus its rate of loss OL are randomly determined in lines 1010 and 1015. While the player is digesting this information, the maze is created in subroutine 500.
Beginning at the cell P within the maze,
the program moves in a random direction. Cells in all four directions are examined successively until an un-visited cell adjacent to the present position is found
- lines 510 to 570.
The new cell number is found by adding the correct movement increment M(0) to
M(3) - figure 2 - to the present cell
number, line 540.
Each time the program moves from one
cell to another, the wall in the direction of movement is eliminated by dividing the
cell value by the corresponding wall value W(0) to W(3). This operation has to be done twice: the present cell value CP is divided by the appropriate wall number
W(A) on leaving the cell; and the cell value after movement CM must also be divided by the number for the wall through which it was entered, line 580.
See figure 5 for example.
This random progress through the
maze continues until a point is reached
where movement in any direction only leads to cells which have already been visited. In early versions we allowed the
program to continue from such a position, but this resulted in mazes consisting mostly of empty spaces.
It might seem that the simplest solution would be to generate a new path from
another random cell. However, this neglects the problem of closed circuits
already discussed, and the new path might never join the old one.
The best way to ensure that all paths join is to begin any new path from somewhere along the old path. When the program gets stuck in cell P, line 500 increments P and checks whether there is then
a virgin cell next to one already visited. If
not, it goes back to 500 and increments P again. For example in figure 5 the program will be stuck in cell 5 after the last diagrammed position. Incrementing P gives cell 6, and as this is an un-visited cell adjacent to the path, the new path would
begin from cell 7 to cell 6.
Some checks have to be included
because certain movements are forbidden
at the maze edges. Line 540 guards
against moves off the top or bottom row of the maze. Line 570 prevents the program falling off the sides. For example, in
figure 5, although adding 1 to the cell is normally allowed, the move from cell 5 to
cell 6 is prohibited because 5 is an edge
cell.
A count C is kept of the number of cells visited. When all cells have been used in the maze the subroutine termin-
ates.
Between two and three cells per second are generated. On average, a 10 -by -10
maze takes about 50 seconds on the Superboard, but the time taken is very
variable.
Subroutine 600 draws a map of the maze. To make this as universal as poss-
ible the only graphics symbol used here is the one with the whole pixel filled.
A wall in any direction is shown by three of these symbols. Because adjacent
cells share a wall in common, the maze in
figure 5 would use seven pixels horizontally and seven pixels vertically.
Figure 5. Generation of a maze. In diagram A the program has moved through the cells 2-14-7-8. The program can only move to cell 5, a s in B, since it must always visit new cells. Cell values are given in brackets.
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Circle No. 205
156
0
1
(210) (6)
N.....00
3
4
(210) (15)
6
7
(210) (21)
2
(70)
5 (210)
8 (70)
0
1
2
(210) (6) (70)
3
4
5
(210) (15)
(6)
6
7
8
(210) (21) (35)
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Graphics
Figure 6. Two views of the same corridor. Display B includes fixes to improve appearance.
The size of the maze that can be displayed obviously depends on the dimensions of your screen display. A maze of side n cells requires 2n + 1 pixels. The maximum size maze that can be shown with 40 characters per line and 25 lines is
19 by 12. If you enjoy finding your way through a
maze against the clock you can use the subroutines 500 and 600 alone, without
the perspective view. You will have to add a few lines to enable you to move within the maze. Your starting point can be cell
number zero, and the end cell the last cell, number H.
A large maze takes some time to gener-
ate, but there is no need to wait while later mazes are prepared. Once a map of the maze has been displayed, the maze stored
in memory is no longer needed. With some re -writing, a new maze can be created while you are finding your way through the one shown on the VDU.
If you have no graphics the maze can still be explored, although it is rather difficult "blind". Each direction of movement M(0) to M(3) is associated with
movement through a particular wall W(0)
to W(3). If the cell value is divisible by the
array value W(A) a wall is present in that direction and movement that way is not possible. Otherwise, with no wall, the cell number is incremented by the array value M(A) and the new cell is entered. Checks for walls are used several times in the program - see lines 105, 120 and 160.
The perspective view is calculated by the subroutine 70 to 110, which also calls the drawing subroutine 10 to 60.
The first cell to be drawn is the one in which the player is currently standing.
The left-hand side of the cell is examined
first to see if there is a wall present and, if
there is, it is drawn - line 100. If there is
no wall you will be able to see into the cell on the left. Lines 110, 120 calculate the left-hand cell number and examine that
cell for a back wall, such a wall then being
drawn if necessary. The same method is used to show the
right-hand side of the cell, but with a few variables changed. There is thus a loop
from 80 to 140 which is run through
twice, first drawing the left side and then the right side. Line 140 shifts the corners
in, ready for the back wall or the next cell
to be drawn. Once both side walls have been drawn,
line 160 checks for a back wall. If no back
wall is present, line 170 changes the cell number OP to that of the next cell in the direction we are looking. This same line also increments the depth -of -cell count
DC and checks that this does not exceed the greatest possible cell depth CD.
If at any time a back wall to a cell is found, lines 200 and 210 draw this back wall, and the subroutine ends. Lines 180
to 190 are a fix to improve the appearance when there is a back wall next to a cell with no back wall. Line 20 in the drawing subroutine is another fix which gives a
more solid look to walls seen end on. Figure 6 shows the same view with and
without the fixes. Lines 240 to 440 enable the player to
explore the maze. At the start, no view of
the maze is shown. After a time TT a torch will be found, and thereafter the view will always be drawn. Line 430 clears the screen and calls the drawing, subroutine. During the initial. period of
blindness it is possible for the space suit to
be damaged, in which case the player may suffer a faster rate of oxygen loss, lines
300, 310. The same fate can overtake anyone foolish enough to blunder into a wall which can be seen.
Four commands are available via Input statements or, alternatively, by keyboard control - lines 250, and 320 to 340.
The player may turn right, left or opposite his present viewing position, but he will remain in the same cell - only the view will alter. Movement is always for-
wards - in the direction the player is currently facing. The commands are abbreviated to R, L, 0 and M respec-
tively.
The exit cell has no view beyond it if you are looking directly at it. Once you arrive at the exit cell you automatically
escape.
Figure 7 lists the graphics symbols used
to draw the perspective view. You should make appropriate substitutions in lines
70, 80, 90 and 960. With our limited memory we were
unable to add all the embellishments we
(continued on next page)
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
CI F-1-11.11=1 E_:
PRESENT
FOR 8K UKI01 OWNERS
ASTEROID TRAVELLER
Asteroid Traveller has been written entirely in fast 6502 code and the graphics are excellent. As well as negotiating oncoming asteroids the player has an alien pursuit ship to contend with. 7
starting levels! GUIDED MISSILE
Guided Missile is a real time invader' type game and uses machine code subroutines for fast smooth graphics. In this version the user can control his missile toward his target and the game is further enhanced by space debris.
SHEEP DOG TRIAL
A truly new real time game. Sheep Dog Trial is one of the most frustrating games you have ever played. You control the
dog, the dog controls the sheep. The idea is to round up the sheep against a countdown which is bumped up on each successful herding. Definitely different!
11181 17_,=,--1;
.
3D MAZE
Although not real time, the 3D graphics in this game are superb. The player is
presented with a birdseye view of the maze itself and simultaneously a view
down the corridor he is currently in. Careful thought will find the exit.
All the above are £4.50, or all four for £12.50. Also Golf,
Jackpot, Life and Station £4.50. And Rubic Cube simulator and Backgammon £5.50 each.
All Oasis prices include VAT and PAP available from:
Oasis Software, Lower North Street,
Cheddar, Somerset.
Circle No. 206
BOOK-KEEPING for
ACCOUNTANTS & TRADERS
Purchases Day Book, Sales & VAT to run on a 32K PET. Neat, Clear and Comprehensive Printouts. Error -proof, Fast & Easy to operate. Computes all NINE Retailer Special VAT Schemes. Box 11 & 12 amounts and End of Year adjustments, etc. 100 Expense analysis + Goods at Zero and Std Rates. 100 Supplier analysis. Approved by Customs and Excise.
Only £97.75 inc VAT. C.W.O.
Or send £5 for further details and sample printout
E. Stanton MBIM 86 Bracken Drive, CHIGIVELL,
Esse:197 5RD.
Tel: 01-500 4318 or 01-505 7830
Circle' No. 207
Quality TRS-80 Software
1. THE CUBE - HOW TO DO IT
Price
This program will unscramble the Rubik's £10.00
cube for you. Good graphics plus full
instructions enable you to master this
puzzle at last.
2. FROG POND. This a game of logical deduc- £7.50
lion. The use of excellent graphics plus
sound make this program a must for all
TRS-80 users.
crnietio - also known as REVERS' £10.00
Othello is a board game intermediate in
difficulty between draughts and chess. 4
levels of play.
4. STARTREK. Possibly the best version of £10.00
this type of game available; with real-time
graphics. 5. THE GREAT RACE. This is based on a £7.50
board game and features the added fun of
sound effects. Al programs run on a 16K Level II Model 1 and Is
available on tape.
Prices include postage and packaging. Discounts avail-
able:- 2 or 3 programs less 5%, 4 or 5 programs less
10%.
Cheques payable to: GLENISTER.
Available from: DEPT PC, 13, PRIDMOUTH ROAD,
W1THINGTON, MANCHESTER M20 9GN.
Circle No. 208
157
L&J COMPUTERS
192 Honeypot Lane, Queensbury, Middx.
01-204 7525
HA7 1EE
BASIC PROGRAMMING
In response to many enquiries, we are running courses in Basic Programming during this winter. These courses are complete in themselves and comprise 2 evening sessions, each from 6pm to 10pm. Dates available are as follows:
Tuesday/Wednesday 24/25th November 1981 Wednesday/Thursday 9/10th December 1981 Tuesday/Wednesday 12/13th January 1982
The courses are designed as a concentrated teach -in with about 50% of the time being spent on practical work at the keyboard. Syntax, commands, algorithms, flowcharting will be covered. Price (per 2 evening session) is £40.00 plus VAT (£46.00 INCLUSIVE). Further information, Programs and Application forms may be had by writing to the above address, or telephoning 01-204 7525 during normal business hours (10am-6pm Mon -Fri: 10am-2pm Sat).
Members will be strictly limited to 10 per session so that the highest ratio of instructors to students can be maintained. Bookings will be made on a first come -first served basis.
Circle No. 209
SHARP
in SURREY
* PC 1211 Rocket Computer
MZ 80K 20K Computer * MZ 80 FD 248 KB Dual Floppy Drives
(complete with I/F) * MZ 80 P3 Dot Matrix Printer
MZ 80 10 Expansion Unit MZ 80B Scientific/Business Computer .... MZ 80 P5 Hi -Res Graphics Printer MZ 80 FD 1/2MB Dual Floppy Drives (complete with I/F) MZ 80 EU Expansion Unit PC 3201 Complete Business System
£85 £385
£625 £360
£89 £1,095
£415
£750 £50
£2,995
(PRICES DO NOT INCLUDE VAT)
For further details contact:
SARADAN COMPUTER SERVICES
(APPOINTED DEALER) 80 MANOR ROAD, WALLINGTON, SURREY
TELEPHONE: 01-669 9483.
Circle No. 210
SHARP MZ-80K
NOW AVAILABLE FOR YOUR M2 -80K
JOYSTICK CONTROL
(WITH DEMO SOFTWARE AND GAMES)
SPECIAL CHRISTMAS OFFER
GAMES PROGRAMS
BUY TWO - GET ONE FREE
Hardware and business software available
S.A.E. OR PHONE FOR DETAILS
MICROSPEC
143 BALMALLOCR ROAD, KILSYTH 665 9PH TEL 0236 121473
Circle No. 211
158
Figure 7. Character codes and graphics symbols used in drawing a maze.
(continued from previous page)
would have liked, but here are a few
suggestions to improve the basic game:
Add a monster which pursues the
player through the maze. The monster
can move at random initially, but if the
player does not escape within a certain
time limit, it should begin to move faster and more purposefully as it detects an intruder in its lair. Some cells might contain useful objects - if
the creature is radioactive its direction
could be indicated by a "geiger" com-
pass, and the intensity of radiation could indicate its distance from the
explorer. One cell could contain a blaster with a
limited charge. The blaster could be fired at the monster in a moment of desperation, or it could be powerful enough to demolish one wall of the maze. The demolition is easily accomplished by dividing the cell value by the array value W(A) in the corect direction. A cunning explorer could blast his way out of the maze if he correctly divined that he was near an
outer wall.
Further traps could be set for the
unwary. The map drawn by subroutine
600 might be displayed upside down or reversed; minions of the monster could seize an unlucky explorer and delay his escape; some cells in the maze might be entrances to even more
dangerous areas.
It is very easy, when entering a program
as long as this one, to make a mistake
which becomes difficult to identify. We suggest that you enter this program in sections so that each part can be run to ensure that it is correct. Initially, enter subroutines 500 and 900, and add this
line: 1029 FOR A= SM TO EM: B=PEEK(A):
PRINTB;: NEXTA
A series of numbers representing the
maze will be printed out: all such numbers should be members of the set shown in figure 3.
Next, add subroutine 600 and the line:
380 GOSUB 600
The maze should be drawn with an exit somewhere along the top. The remainder of the program can now be entered and run.
If you find yourself hopelessly confused and lost after only a few moves, we suggest that you display the map drawn in
subroutine 600 at the start, so that you can try to memorise the route out. Line 435 gives the player one look at the map only - it is presumed to be displayed on a VDU which burns out after this brief use. The map can be examined many times if line 435 becomes:
IFP= MC THEN GOSUB 600
Finally, those with good graphics facilities should be able to draw objects on the
floor of a cell. They can be given the correct relative size by referring to the
current corner values for the cell, M(4) to M(7). It certainly adds atmosphere if an explorer stumbles across the occasional skull or rib -cage.
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Graphics
5 GOT' 900
10 Y=PEEK(TC-U):Z=PEEK(TC-U+LL):IFABS(U)=1ORDC=OTHEN30
20 IFY=32ANDZ=32THENFORA=TC-U+LLTOBC-0-LLSTEPLL:POKEA,03:NEXT
'ii PO1ETC,TW:POKEBC,BW:B=B+1:IFB<DWTHENTC=TC+U:BC=BC+0:60T030
40 IFABS<U>=1THENPOKETC,T1:POKEBC,B1
50 IFTC=BC-LLTHENRETURN
60 FORB=TC+LLTOBC-LLSTEPLL:POKEB,SW:NEXJ:RETURN
70 F=ML:U=LL+1:0=1-LL:T1=207:81=208:SW=143
80 FORX=4TO6STEP2:TW=190:BW=189:8=0:IFX=4THEN100
90 F=MR:U=LL-1:0=-LL-1:SIA=136:T1=210:81=209:TW=189:80=190
100 LM=M(F):LD=W(F)
101 IFF=3ANDOP=ECTHEN140
105 IFO-LC4INT(0/LD)=OTHENTC=M(X):Bc=M(X+1):GOSUB10:GOT0130
110 TW=135:80=128:0=U-LOU=U+LL:N=PEEK(OP+LM)
120 IFN-D*INT<N/D)=OTHENTC=M<X)+DW*LL:BC=M<X+1)+DW*-LL.:130SUB10
130 IFABS(U)=1THENU=U+LL.:0=V-LL
140 M<X)=M(X>+DW*U:M<X+1)=M(X+1)+DW*WNEXT
150 IFM=3ANDOP=ECTHENRETURN
160 IFO-D*INT(O/D)=OTHEN180
170 OP=0P+M(M):0=PEEK(OP>:DC=DC+1:IFDC<CDTHEN70
175 IFDC=CDTHENRETURN
180 R=PEEK(M(4)-1)
165 IFR=.32THENW4)=M(4>-1:W5)=1'1<5)-1:IFM(4) >TL+DW*LLTHEN180
190 R=PEEK(M(6)+1) 195 IFR=32THENM(6)=M<E0+1:M(7)=M(7)+1:IFM(6) 1P+DW*LLTHEN190
200 FORTC=M(4)TOM(6):POKETC,W1:NEXT
210 FORBC=11(5)TOM(7):POKEBC,02:NEXT:RETURN 240 PRINTOX;" UNITS OF AIR"
245 PRINT"ACTION"::INPUTA$
250 NP=P:O=PEEK(P):IFAil="M"THENNP=P+M(M)
260 IFHP=PTHEN320
270 IFNP=ECTHENPRINT"YOU.ESCAPE!":END
285 IF0-0*INT(O/D><>0THENP=NP:PRINT"YOU MOWE":13010380 300 IFRND(1).9THENPRINT"YOUR SLUT RIPS WHEN ";:OL=0L+1
310 PRINT"YOU HIT A WALL":GOSUB3000:GOT0410
320 NM=M:IFA$="R"THENNM=M+1
330 IFA$="0"THENNM=M+2
:340 IFA$="L'THENNM=M+3
350 IFHM=MTHEN240
360 IFNM>3THENNM=NM-4*INT(NM/4>
370 M=NM:PRINT"YOU TURN."
380 D=WM):0=PEEK(P):0P=P:ML=M 1:MR=M+1
390 IFIML<OTHENML=3
4130 IFMR>3THENMR=0
410 OX=OX-OL:IFOX<OTHENPRINT"YOU DIE.":END 420 T=T+1:IFT=TTTHENTT=1:PRINT"YOU FIND A TORCH":80SUB3000
430 IFTT=1THENDC=0:80SUB2000:00SUB70
435 IFP=MCANDRM=0THENRM=1:60SUB600
440 M(4)=TL:M(5)=BL:M<A)=1F::M(7)=BR:60T0240
500 P=P+1:IFP>EMTHENP=SM
510 A=INT(RND(1)*4):DC=0
520 A=A+1:DC=DC+1:IFDC>3THEN500
530 IFA>3THENA=0
540 M=P+M(A):IFM<SMORM>EMTHEN520
550 CP=PEEK<P):5:M=PEEKXM):IFC>OANDCP=210THENP=M:60T0510
560 TM=M-SM:IF(CP=CM0RCJI<210)0NDC>OTHEN520
570 ME=TM-L*INT(TM/L):IF(ME=OANDM(A)=1)0P(ME=GANDM(A)=-1)THEN520 5,0 OD=INI-(15/W<A)):CP=CP/W(A):POKEP,CP:CM=CWOD:POKEM,CM
590 P=M:C=C+1:IFC<HTHEN510
595 RETURN. 600 GOSUB2000:PRINT"YOU FIND A MAP"
605 A=TLIIMS=A:DC=StDD=SM+G 610 FORB=DCTODDIFORC=OT03:CB=PEEK(8> CB=CB-W<C *INT(CB/W(C))
620 AA=11IFC=1ORC=3THENAA=LL
630 IFC>1THENAA=-AA
540 BEr=tteAA:P2=A+AP:P1=P2+BEI:P3=P2-BB
645 IFB=PTHENPOKEA,W4
650 ECB=OTHENPOKEP1,W3:POKEP2,03:FOKEP3,03
660 NEXTC:A=A+22NEXTB:DC=DC+L:DD=DD+L:A=MS+(2*LL):MS=A
670 IFDD<=EMTHEN610
680 GOSUB3000:RETURN 900 GOSUB2000:PRINT"YOU HIDE IN AN ALIEN MAZE TO ESCAPE ENEMIES."
910 PRIW"FIND THE EXIT BEFORE YOUR AIR RUNS OUT."
950 TL=53349:BL=54149:TP=53374:BR=54174:LL=32:DW=3:CD=4
955 1,11=135:1,,I2=128:613=161:W4=240
960 61(0)=5:1W1)=7:0<2)=3:0(3)=2:L=INT(RND(1)*5+6)
970 M(0)=1:M(1)=1..:M(2)=-1:W3)=-L:M(4)=TL:W5)=BL:t1(6)=TR:W7)=BR
980 W=INTRND(1)*5+6):H=1:4:0-1:6=L-1:C=0:DC=0:T=0:RM=0
995 6M=576:EM=S1'1+H:FORA=SMTOEM:POKE14,210:NEXT:P=SM+INT(Rl4[(1)*Hi
1000 EC=SM+INT<RNDCD*L>:MC=INT(RND,l1)*H)+SM
1010 OX=INT<H/3)+1:IFP<OXTHENOX=-OX 1015
rcLIB5Oi3:Gi
1030 M=0: NP=P: CE=PEEF:r.EC) : CE=CE:'W3) : POKEEC:, CE: Gi N 0380
2000 FORX=0T025:PRINT:NEXTX:RETURN
3000 FORX=0T05000:NEXTX:RETURN
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
for # ACORN ATOM
owners
PROGRAMMER'S TOOL -BOX
A packed 4K EPROM (fits Utility Socket) con-
taining:
1200 BAUD CASSETTE OPERATING
SYSTEM Visible Load Routine
PLUS `TRACE(X) - controlled execution, line no.
display. `STEP - single step execution. FIND - any string of chars. in program. 'VAR - list variables. LVAR - print variables. AUTO X,Y - automatic line numbering (any
start, any step). RENUMBER X,Y - any start, any step. DELETE X to Y - any range of line nos.
(*VIA chip required).
PLUS Additional BASIC statements
READ, DATA & RESTORE
KEY X - scans keyboard -input to variable.
INKEY $X - scans keyboard -input to string
variable.
IF .. THEN .. ELSE
WHILE ... ENDWHILE
CURSOR X,Y - position cursor as required.
ON ERROR BEEP X,Y - sound a note -any duration, any
pitch.
ZERO - zeros all basic variables. MP.
POP - close out sub -routine.
411.11.
Real value at £24.50 + VAT & 25p P & P. Sae
for details & cat.
*NASCOM MAGAZINE* "MICRO -POWER"
Series articles, club news, letters & answers. Packed
full of useful information. ISSUE 3 NOV. ISSUE 4 DEC. Back copies available. ORDER NOW TO SECURE YOUR C PIES. Only 95p each (incl.)
Send Sae for details & cat.
PROGRAM '
POWER ' 5 Wensley Road, Leeds LS7 211.
Tel. (0532) 683186.
Circle No. 212
S`BEEASRTCPHRINICGEF' O..R.
FOUND 'BEST PRICE' .. GOTO
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If you know what you want why wait? These are the prices you need
ORCHARD
COMPUTER SERVICES
Orchard House, 21 St. Martins St., Wallingford, Oxon. Tel. Wallingford (0491) 35529 Open 6 days per week.
Circle No. 213
159
TYPE - RIGHT!
Turn your Apple II or ITT 2020 into a professional Word Processing system with full upper and lower case display and proper shift -key operation. Plug-in fitting, with enable/disable switch, so no conflict with any existing hardware or software. Complete with manual, fitting instructions and software on disk (including Applewriter conversion. etc). £46.50
Just Published!
What's Where in the Apple?
An Atlas to the Apple Computer
By William F. Luebbert
Adjunct Professor of Engineering. Dartmouth College
The MOST DETAILED description to date of Apple II
Firmware and Hardware.
This Atlas and Gazetteer of PEEKs, POKEs, and
CALLs lists in tabular form over 2000 memory
locations.
Information is presented numerically in the Atlas,
and alphabetically in the Gazetteer.
The names and locations of various Monitor, DOS,
Integer BASIC, and Applesoft routines are listed.
and information is provided on their use.
The easy -to -use format includes:
The address in hexadecimal (useful for assembly
programming):
SFC58
The address is signed decimal (useful for BASIC
programming):
(-936)
The common name of the address or routine:
CHOME]
Information on the use and type of routine: . SE
A description of the routine:
.CLEAR SCROLL
.
WINDOW TO BLANKS. SET
CURSOR
TO TOP LEFT CORNER
Related register information:
(A- Y-REGS
ALTERED)
This reference tool offers information every serious
Apple user needs. BASIC and assembly language
users alike will find the book helpful in understanding
the Apple.
t28 pages. 81/2 x 11 inches.
£9.95
JAILBREAK FOR THE ITT 2020
Come out from behind those HI-RES bars
If you have regretted buying the ITT 2020 instead of the
APPLE because of the graphics problems, there is now
an answer to your problems. You can now run hi-res
programs written for the APPLE on an ITT 2020 without
Me annoyance of the vertical bars. Chess and complex
games are a joy to behold.
* No soldering required - fitted in 5 minutes.
* Switch back and fore between APPLE and ITT 2020
graphics instantly.
* Compatible with PASCAL and Microsoft Softcard
BASIC.
* Gives 280X192 hi-res screen as opposed to ITT
360X192 dots. Does not affect text or Lo-res gra-
phics.
* Does not support hi-res colour commands.
Generally only suitable for black and white.
* Works better with APPLESOFT either on a ROM
CARD on loaded onto a RAMCARD (e.g. RAMEX
CARD)
JAILBREAK
£33
Special offer JAILBREAK and RAMEX CARD for
ITT 2020
£125
THE INSPECTOR
The Inspector is a set of utilities which allow you to
examine data both in memory and on a disk. This enables you to: * REPAIR BLOWN DISKS
* SEARCH DISKS OR MEMORY FOR ASCII OR HEX STRINGS
* EDIT DISK SECTORS OR MEMORY * OUTPUT DISK SECTORS OR MEMORY TO
SCREEN OR PRINTER * NIBBLE READ ROUTINES THE HI-RES * USER EXIT FOR INTERFACING YOUR OWN
ROUTINES
Space is too short to fully describe this valuable facility.
You will not know how you managed without it. If you
are not convinced send S.A.E. for further details.
If you have INTEGER in ROM you need the ROM
VERSION to place in socket DB.
If you have a RAM CARD the INSPECTOR can be
merged with INTEGER by means of the DISK VER-
SION, and it will always be ready when you have
booted up your master disk.
THE INSPECTOR on DISK or ROM
f35
THE INSPECTOR PLUS RAMEX RAM CARD £130
All prices inclusive of VAT, Postage, etc.
micRo%ouRcE
1 Branch Road, Park Street, St. Albans. Tel: Park Street (0727) 72917
Circle No. 214
160
The Type -a -Shape program allows stored shapes to be reproduced in high -resolution by a single command. In
the second part of his series on Apple graphics, Roger Cullis explains the program's features.
Automatic shape
generation
A USEFUL facility of Apple is the ability to store a collection of shapes and to reproduce them in Hires graphics with a command of the form Draw N AT X,Y
where N is the code number of the required shape. A table of up to 255
different shapes may be constructed.
Shape display is virtually instantaneous
and so a very complicated graphic could rapidly be constructed using this technique. The method of defining shapes in a shape table is described in detail in the Applesoft Reference Manual, chapter 9.
Briefly, each shape is defined as a succession of Move +Plot and Move + No plot vectors. Each vector is represented as a
binary number, and groups of three
binary numbers are collected together as a hexadecimal byte. A shape definition
consists, in turn, as a collection of hexade-
cimal bytes. Compiling shape definitions manually
is an extremely slow and laborious proce-
dure, but it can easily be achieved by mechanically following a few simple
rules. Type -a -Shape uses the procedures developed in the two Type -a -Graphic programs to permit the construction or
modification of a shape table using single -
key entries to move a cursor to produce a
Lores analogue of a Hires shape. A
numeric array is used to store the defini-
tion temporarily during construction. On completion, the array is converted to a shape definition and added to the shape table before being displayed in Hires format. It can then be modified using the Lores guide matrix on which the Lores analogue of the shape is displayed for guidance.
The general features of Type -a -Shape are similar to those of the previous programs and should be clear from either the
program or the flowchart - figure 1. Nevertheless, certain program lines
require special explanation.
60 An integer array Byte%(A) is used as a temporary store during construction of the shape definition since this type of array is
most economic of memory space. The dimension 200 is considered adequate to store enough vectors to accommodate the most elaborate shape envisaged. Apple
stores addresses as a high -order byte and a low -order byte; FN I -11(A) and FN LO(A) permit ease of calculation. 1400 When a binary file has been loaded by DOS, locations 43634 and 43635 contain the starting address (for a 48K system refer to the Apple DOS manual for other memory sizes).
Modify existing table?
Enter file name
Specify starting ddress?
Enter starting address
Set shape table pointers
Display shape Yes
Trace new shape outline
0
Display plotting matrix
Yes
Enter file name
Display previous shape outline
J
Save to disc
Reset pointers
( End )
Figure 1. Format of Type -a -Shape program.
1410 Similarly, locations 43616 and 43617 contain the length of the most recently loaded binary file.
1420 The number of shapes in a shape table is stored at the starting address of the table.
5230-5260 A guide matrix of grey and magenta dots is constructed to facilitate drawing the Lores outline of a shape.
5270 A$ = "N" is used as a temporary flag to indicate whether a new shape is being defined or a previous shape modified.
5320 The starting address of the definition of an individual shape is stored at locations ST + 2*N and ST+ 2*N+ 1 where ST is the starting address of the shape table and N is the shape number.
5330 Error routine prevents program crash if the shape definition was not prepared using the Type -a -Shape program.
5340-5550 Binary vectors are derived from the actual shape definition and plotted as coloured pixels on the Lores guide matrix.
5350 A shape definition ends with a zero byte.
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Graphics
5620 K is the number of bytes in a shape
definition. R,TR are flags used to compile the
array. 5650-5660 Screen colour is used as a tempo-
rary store of Plot/No-plot vectors. 5820-5860 It is possible to choose a cornbina-
tion of Move/Plot/No-plot vectors which would result in a zero hexadecimal byte and would inadvertently terminate the shape
definition. 5870-6440 correct the situation by going back
three moves. 6060 converts from binary to hexadecimal. 6090-6100 carry binary vectors to next byte.
6120 inserts a Move/No-plot byte into an otherwise blank shape definition to permit it subsequently to be modified without clobbering the other shapes in the table.
6160-6350 When a shape definition is modified, the memory space and other shape
pointers need to be adjusted to take account
of its different length. 6380 The array is stored as a shape definition
in the table. 6480-6600 When modifying a previous shape
it is often convenient to be able to copy
portions by using the simplicity of the Trace
command.
1 REM TYPE -A -SHAPE (SHAPE TABLE COMPILER) 2 REM PROGRAM COMMENCED 28 AUG 1980 IN APPLESOFT BASIC
3 REM LAST AMENDED 03 JUL 1981 (VERSION NO.46)
4 REM COPYRIGHT 1981 - ROGER CULLIS
5 REM THIS PROGRAM PERMITS CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW SHAPE TA
BLE
6 REM OR MODIFICATION OF AN EXISTING TABLE.
',7 REM FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REFER TO APPLESOFT PROGR
AMMING MANUAL CH.9
13 REM WRITTEN ON APPLE II WITH LANGUAGE CARD AND 481( MEMO
RY
9 REM SHAPE ORIGIN IS 0,0 - TO COMPILE TABLE WITH DIFFERE
NT ORIGIN AMEND LINES 5270,5280
10 Of = CHR$ (13) + CHR$ (4): REM CR + CONTROL D 30 IF PEEK (103) = 1 AND PEEK (104) = 54 AND PEER (1638
4) = 0 THEN GOTO 60
40 POKE 103,1: POKE 104,64: POKE 16384,0: REM AVOIDS HGR-
CLOBBERED VARIABLES
50 PRINT D$;"RUN TYPE -A -SHAPE": REM RELOAD ABOVE HGR PAGE
1 MEMORY
60 DIM BYTEZ(200): DEF FN LO(A) = A - 256 4 INT (A 256
1: DEF FN HI(A) = INT (A / 256)
HS ",70
="
TYPE "H' FOR HELP"
997 REM *.4 4.4 ttf'.1'4 f f 41 M.444,14144,4,1 ****************
998 REM INSTRUCTIONS AND CONTROL PROGRAM
999 REM *
***** * * *
*:** 4, 44 :4:** 44* **
1000 HOME : PRINT : PRINT
1010 PRINT TAB( 8)"*44
4;******4
******"
1020 PRINT TAB( 8)"*
"
1030 PRINT TAB( 8)0* 1040 PRINT TAB( 8)"*
TYPE -A -SHAPE
*"
:to
1050 1060 1070
PRINT PRINT PRINT
TAB( 8)"* SHAPE TABLE COMPILER *"
TAB( 8)"4:
TAB ( 8)
... 4, 4'. .14 ***.***********"
1080 VTAB 12: PRINT " A PROGRAM TO COMPILE SHAPE TABLES F2
R°
1090 PRINT : PRINT "USE WITH HIRES GRAPHICS."
1100 PRINT : PRINT "THE SHAPE DEFINITION IS COMPILED BY" 1110 PRINT : PRINT "MOVING A CURSOR OVER A GUIDE MATRIX"
1120 PRINT : PRINT "DISPLAYED IN LORES GRAPHICS. NEW SHAPE
S"
130 PRINT : PRINT "MAY BE ADDED TO A TABLE AND EXISTING"
1140 PRINT : PRINT "SHAPES ALTERED."
1150 FOR I = 0 TO 7000: NEXT :I = 0: REM DISPLAY TIME 1160 HOME : VTAB 10: PRINT "DO YOU WISH TO MODIFY AN EXIST
ING SHAPE"
170 PRINT : PRINT "TABLE (Y/N?)" 1180 GET Bf: IF Bf = "N" THEN GOTO 1340
1190 IF 8$ <
"Y" THEN GOTO 1180
1197 REM
1198 REM ERROR ROUTINE
1199 REM
1200 ONERR GOTO 1220: REM IF "FILE NOT FOUND"
'1210 GOTO 1270
1220 HOME : VTAB 10: PRINT "FILE - "NAMES" - NOT AVAILABLE
(continued on next page)
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
DV NT
ME
MACHINE CODE PROGRAMS FOR THE UKI01 OR SUPERBOARD WITH ANY MONITOR
1. NEW YORK SUBWAY/TROLL'S TUNNEL (E5.501 Overcome the trolls, stone giant, and many .other monsters to escape from an underground prison.
2. ZOMBIE FOREST/VAMPIRE CASTLE 1E5.50) Survive the servants of the Evil One, and rid the forest of de dark curse.
3. KY, TEMPLE OF THE DRAGONKING (E5.50) With strong shield and pulsating sword, slay the dragon and liberate your People.
EACH ABOVE PACK HAS TWO 8K PROGRAMS
4. ALIEN ADVENTURE 16K 1E6.001 Your spacecraft is stranded on an asteroid in deep
space. Escape is possible, but not easy.
TWO OR MORE PACKS - LESS 20%
From Mr M Perkins, 290 Station Road, Stechford, Birmingham B33 80R
Circle No. 215
VIDEO MONITORS AND KEYBOARDS
£39.50
PLUS VAT
PLUS CARRIAGE £7.50
Secondhand factory reconditioned 9" video monitors - fully tested but unguaranteed. Composite video input 0.5 - 2.5 volt peak to
peak, amplifier response 4db at 10 MHz. Complete with circuit and instructions.
Separate secondhand matching keyboards £21.75 plus VAT, carriage £3.50
BOX NUMBER P.C.200, QUADRANT HOUSE, THE QUADRANT, SUTTON,
SURREY SM2 5AS.
Circle No. 216
APPLE II SOFTWARE
SPECIAL OFFERS FOR CHRISTMAS 1981
GERMAN WHIST - the popular card game presented
in high resolution graphics. A real challenge of skill and
concentration
£8.50
ALIEN TYPHOON - the successor to Apple Galaxian, the space invader game to beat them all ... £13.00
CRANSTON MANOR - become the hero in this latest
On-line adventure game, searching the dilapidated
manor for hidden treasure
£17.00
DEMON DERBY - avoid collisions with your kamikaze
rival as you steer your car around a multi -lane racetrack £12.00
GALAXY WARS - superb sound effects accompany
you as you steer missiles through showers of meteo-
rites and enemy fire
£12.00
RASTER BLASTER - the most realistic hi-res simula-
tion of them all. This is pinball, written by Bill Budge, the
animation king
£15.00
SNOGGLE - formerly Puckman, and a well-known
arcade game. Steer yourself at speed around a maze,
chased by hungry ghosts
£12.00
SPACE EGGS - space monsters in ovo hover overhead. Break open their shells, and the fight is on
£13.00
WARP FACTOR - a special Christmas present for
Star Trek fans. Assume the role of Commander and go
where no man has gone before
£24.00
MAGIC WINDOW - the friendly word processing
package, with which you may enter, save and print letters, lists, catalogues, or even your first novel
£59.00
VISIDEX - the superb electronic card filing system
which enables you to retrieve information with con-
summate ease
£99.00
Please add 50p P&P to orders below £25.00, and VAT at 15°,
Write or telephone for free catalogue and price list to:
OCCAM SOFTWARE
13 Hawthorn Grove, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5DE Wilmslow 524228
Circle No. 217
161
(continued from previous page)
1230 PRINT : PRINT "PLEASE CHECK SPELLING AND DISK CATALOG
Of 11111.16*
, airjig Brilliant-ly simple
On our launch we are pleased to offer you
£1350 OF FREE
MICROCOMPUTER
software and services which includes: Incomplete Record/ Book-keeping/Financial Accounting and Payroll, General Data Management, Invoicing, Letter Writing or Word Processing systems and one day training with first 50 ADLERALPHATRON IC MICROCOMPUTERS sold at £2,345 each, leasing from £15.60 a week excluding VAT.
Please telephone for a demonstration to Watford 48580.
OVERSEAS COMPUTER
SYSTEMS CONSULTANTS
182a, Queens Road, Watford.
Circle No. 218
MICROCASE
"turns a board into a real computer"
For NASCOM 2 COMPUKIT SUPERBOARD
ALSO UNCUT FOR NASCOM 1
ETC.
Direct from us or from your dealer -but make sure you see a
GENUINE MICROCASE
SIMPLE SOFTWARE LTD 15 HAVELOCK ROAD
BRIGHTON, SUSSEX BN1 6GL
(0273) 504879
Ibetealliem
Circle No. 219
TRS-80 A/D CONVERTER BOARD
2 or 4 analogue input. 2 x flag input. Includes P.S.U. and connector for TRS-80. Just plug in and go; software included.
2 input £39.50 - Uncased; £55.00 - Cased 4 input £44.00 - Uncased; £57.00 -- Cased
Add VAT CWO P&P £2.00.
Also FLUKE METERS 'B' SERIES AVAILABLE FROM £75.00.
T. GARLAND & SON LTD., 14A Kenworthy Lane, Northenden, Manchester M22 4EJ.
Circle No. 220
1240 PRINT : PRINT "DO YOU WISH TO RE-ENTER FILE NAME (Y/N
7)" 1250 GET AS: IF AS = 'N" THEN BS
N" GOTO 1480
1260 IF AS
Y" THEN G0f0 1250
1267 REM
1268 REM LOAD SHAPE TABLE
1269 1270 1280
REM HOME : VTAB 10: PRINT 'ENTER SHAPE TABLE NAME," PRINT : PRINT "THEN PRESS `RETURN"'
1290 1300 1310
PRINT : INPUT "";NAMES PRINT : PRINT "DO YOU WISH TO SET THE" PRINT : PRINT "STARTING ADDRESS (Y/N?)"
1320 1330 1340
GET AS: IF AS = "N" THEN GOTO 1380
IF AS
' "Y" THEN GOTO 1320
HOME : VTAB 10: PRINT "ENTER STARTING ADDRESS OF SHAP
E TABLE" 1350 PRINT : INPUT "THEN PRESS RETURN' - ";STS:ST = VAL
(STS)
1360 IF B$ = "N" THEN GOTO 1470 1370 PRINT DS;"BLOAD "NAMES", A"ST: GOTO 1390
1380 PRINT DS;"BLOAD "NAMES
1390 POKE 216,0: REM RESET ERROR MESSAGE FLAG 1400 ST = PEEK (43634) + 256 * PEEK (43635): REM
6 ADDRESS OF TABLE 1410 LE = PEEK (43616) + 256 * PEEK (4361'): REM
STARTIN LENGTH
OF TABLE 1420 TN = PEEK (ST): REM NUMBER OF SHAPES IN TABLE 1430 HOME : VTAB 10: PRINT NAMES 1440 PRINT : PRINT "THIS TABLE CONTAINS "TN" SHAPES, START
S"
1450 PRINT : PRINT "AT 'ST" AND IS "LE" BYTES LONG." 1460 GOTO 1490
1467 REM
1468 REM NEW TABLE
1469 REM 1470 LE = 512: REM SPACE FOR 255 SHAPE ADDRESS POINTERS
1480 AS = "Y": ROT= r):N = 0: REM INITIALISE 1490 POKE 232, FN LO(ST): POKE 233. FN HI(ST): porE ST + 1
,0: REM SET SHAPE TABLE POINTERS (E8,E9)
1500 HIMEM: ST - 1: REM PROTECT TABLE 1510 IF BS = "N" THEN GOTT) 1250
1517 REM
1518 REM VIEW A SHAPE
1519 REM
1520 PRINT : PRINT "DO YOU WISH TO VIEW ANY SHAF'E (YIN?)"
1530 GET AS: IF AS = "N" THEN GOTO 1650
1540 IF AS
'Y" THEN GOTO 1530
1550 PRINT "ENTER SHAPE NUMBER, THEN PRESS RETURN'"
1560 INPUT "# = ";NS
1570 N = VAL (NS): IF N
1 OR N
TN THEN PRINT "SHAPE #
"N" DOES NOT EXIST": GOTO 1550
1577 REM 1578 REM DETERMINE SHAPE LENGTH
1579 REM
1580 IF N = PEEK (ST) THEN K = LE - PEEK (ST + 2 f N) -
256 * PEEK (ST + 2 * N + 1): GOTO 1600
1590 K = PEEK (ST + 2 * N + 2) - PEEK (ST
256 2 f ri) +
f
( PEEK (ST + 2 4 N + 3) - PEEK (ST + 2
N + 1))
1600 GOSUB 6410: REM DRAW HGR SHAPE
1610 PRINT : PRINT "DO YOU WISH 'TO CHANGE THIS SHAPE (Y/N?
1"
1620 GET AS: IF AS = "Y" THEN AS = "N": GOTO 1700
1630 IF AS = "N" THEN PRINT : PRINT "DO YOU WISH TO VIEW
ANOTHER SHAPE (Y/N?)": GOTO 1530
1640 GOTO 1620
162
PRA(' I ICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Graphics
1650 PRINT : PRINT "DO YOU WISH TO ADD ANOTHER SHAPE (Y/N?
) 11
1660 1670 1680 1690 1697 1698 1699 1700
GET AS IF AS = "Y" THEN N = PEEK (ST): GOTO 1750 IF AS < > "N" THEN GOTO 1660 GOTO 8000 REM REM CHANGE A SHAPE REM GOSUB 5000: REM COMPILE SHAPE DEFINITION AND DISPLA
Y
1710 PRINT : PRINT TAB( 18)"0K (Y/N?)": GET AS 1720 IF AS = "Y" THEN AS = "N": GOO 16:30 1730 IF AS = "N" THEN GOTO 1700 1740 GOTO 1710 1747 REM 1748 REM ADD A SHAPE 1749 REM 1750 N = N + 1:COUNTER = 0: POKE ST,N 1760 ADDRESS = ST + 2 * N: POKE ADDRESS, FM LO(LE): POKE AD
DRESS + 1, FM HI(LE): REM SAVE CURRENT SHAPE POINTERS
1770 GOSUB 5000: REM COMPILE SHAPE DEFINITION AND DISPLA
Y
1780 PRINT : PRINT TAB( 18)"OK (Y/N?)" 1790 GET AS: IF AS = "Y" THEN LE = LE + K:TN = N: GOTO 165
0
1800 IF AS = "N" THEN N = N - 1: GOTO 1750
1810 4997 4998
GOTO 1790 REM t***44$1.11i**Iffff*ff*ff4ftlffiff*ffitti REM COMPILE SHAPE DEFINITION AND DISPLAY
4999 REM * f*r.tit*fft**ft*****Ifi*ftflf*ffiffiill 5000 IF T = 1 THEN GOTO 5210: REM INSTS. ALREADY LOADED
INTO P2 BUFFER?
5010 5020 5030
TEXT : HOME : PRINT TAB( 14)"INSTRUCTIONS" PRINT : PRINT " THE SHAPE DEFINITION IS COMPILED BY" PRINT "MOVING A CURSOR ON A LORES GRAPHICS"
5040 PRINT "GUIDE MATRIX. DIFFERENT COLOURS ARE" 5050 PRINT "USED FOR PLOT' (ORANGE) AND 'NO -PLOT""
5060 PRINT "(BLUE) MOVES. BROWN AND DARK BLUE"
5070 PRINT "DEPICT THE CORRESPONDING VECTORS OF A" 5080 PRINT "PREVIOUSLY DEFINED SHAPE."
5090 PRINT : PRINT TAB( 16)"COMMANDS" 5100 PRINT : PRINT "I J ) MOVE THE CURSOR POSITION (I -UP,
11
5110 5120 5130 5140 5150
PRINT "K M ) J -LEFT, K -RIGHT, M -DOWN)" PRINT : PRINT "P ) SELECT 'PLOT' VECTOR" PRINT "0 ) SELECT 'NO -PLOT' VECTOR" PRINT : PRINT "T ) TRACE PREVIOUS SHAPE" PRINT : PRINT "S ) STOP, COMPILE AND DISPLAY SHAPE
11
5160 FOR I = 2048 TO 3023: POKE I, PEEK (I - 1024): NEXT
5170 VTAB 24: PRINT TAB( 8)"PRESS RETURN TO CONTINUE"
5180 GET CS: IF CS
CHR$ (13) THEN GOTO 5180
5190 FOR I = 3024 TO 3071: POKE I, PEEK (I - 1152): NEXT
5200 T = 1 5207 REM
5208 REM PREPARE LORES GUIDE MATRIX
5209 REM
5210 GR
5220 HOME : VTAB 21: PRINT TAB( 15)"SHAPE M "N
5230 POKE 35,23: VTAB 24: PRINT HS: VTAB 22
5240 COLOR= 5: FOR LI = 0 TO :39: VLIN 0,39 AT LI: NEXT : REM PLOTTING GUIDE
5250 COLOR= 3: FOR LI = 9 TO 39 STEP 10: VLIN 0,39 AT LI: HLIN
0,39 AT LI: NEXT
5260 COLOR= 0: FOR LI = 0 TO 38 STEP 2: VLIN 0,39 AT LI: HLIN
0,39 AT LI: NEXT
(continued on next page)
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
EXIDY 56K
RAMPAC - Just plug in our new RAM PAC and your 48K Exidy will become a 56K super machine. Special Offer £84.95.
EXMEM - upgrades 32K Model Ito 48K, £84.95.
WESTON MICROTECHNOLOGY LTD.
Weston House, 12 Alma Rd, Monkstown, Co. Dublin, Ireland
Circle No. 221
We buy 2nd hand micros - personal or
business systems
We sell refurbished micros for personal or business use
We offer maintenance contracts on most makes of micros
We repair systems too!
Ring day or night
tecoriaweit
imitect Bedford (0234) 61426
Circle No. 222
UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE ELECTRONIC ENGINEERS/PHYSICISTS
There are two vacancies for RESEARCH
ASSISTANTS in the field of electronic instrumentation with particular emphasis on micro -processors and computer interfacing:
1. Development of electronic systems associated with new electron and ion -beam instruments for X-ray and mass spectroscopy. 2. With the Marine Geophysical Group on development of a new underwater seismic recorder and similar instruments. Software development experience would be particularly valuable in this post. Appointments will be for a period of three years with a salary in the range £5680-£8575 according to age and qualifications. Applications, including a full curriculum vitae and names of two referees, should be sent as soon as possible to: The Secretary, Bullard Laboratories, Department of Earth Sciences, Madingley Rise, Madingley Road, Cambridge.
Circle No. 223
DIAMOND SOFTWARE
Latest games programs for APPLE, I.e.,
PUCKMAN EPOCH GAMMA GOBLINS AUTOBAHN APPLE GALAXIAN ALIEN TYPHOON GALAXY WARS SPACE EGGS PHANTOMS FIVE PULSAR II JOYSTICKS GAME I/O EXPANDA PORTS
£13.95 £20.95 £15.95
£15.95 £13.95 £13.95 £13.95 £15.95 £15.95 £15.95 £19.00
£9.00
Full list of products available from
DIAMOND SOFTWARE Clayton Holt End, Underhill Land, Clayton, Hassocks, West Sussex BN6 9PL.
Circle No. 224
163
MICROSOURCE is a new concept, specialising in
utilities for the APPLE & ITT 2020. New, because as
users ourselves, we know what you need and so are in
the unique position of being able to offer expert advice.
We can thoroughly recommend the products below,
either we use them ourselves, or have had them
specially written to fill a need. We will gladly supply
more information and answer your specific enquiries.
RAMEX CARDS
£95
The only RAM Extension card for the APPLE which does not involve pulling chips out of the mother -board.
In combination with your System Master Disk, you can now have the equivalent of an Integer or Applesoft ROM card, as well as being ready for PASCAL. Compatible with Z80 card, Visicalc, The MILL 6809 card, etc, etc.
PROGRAM LINE EDITOR
£22
Gives you the editing facilities APPLE left out. You can
now insert / delete / find / display normal and control
characters in lines without having to copy the whole
line. No more spaces in strings or fiddling with the
cursor keys. With the added bonus of defining your own
commands through the ESC key. Cuts down your mistakes and saves you time.
OMNIFONT
£27
A set of programs which allows you to use your EPSON
printer to produce hard copy using ANY of the fonts in
the DOS 3.3 TOOLKIT. Use the ones provided or define
your own from BASIC or even from APPLEWRITER.
Use all the facilities of your EPSON (including
enlarge,enhance and underline) with APPLE WRITER.
OMNIDOS
£22
Accesses both 3.2 and 3.3 disks- Automatically. Uses
no extra memory. Solves all the problems of having to
Muffin and DeMuffin files. Also includes utilities to
personalise your disks, alter DOS commands and pro-
tect your disks from copying.
SCREEN -WRITER
£37
The program for the APPLE owner wishing to use the
computer for advertising purposes. It allows you to set
up a changing display on the screen in various
character sets and colours, in upper and lower case to
advertise or inform. Compatible with Versawriter.
APPLEPLOT CONVERTER
£10
Allows you to print the graphs on an EPSON printer in
all modes. (Graphics facilities must be present on the
printer).
SUPER-VADERS
£17
A totally new version of the ever popular game.
ABC = Apple Bit Copier
£60
This disk allows you to make back up copies of most
disks including the copy protected ones.
VISICALC BACK-UP
£16
Allows you to make a back up copy of your Visicalc disk.
Please specify 3.2/3.3 DOS.
RELOCATED INTEGER
£16
Allows you to run any Integer program without the
expense of a language card, including those using
Hi-res graphics. Mini -assembler included. Specify
memory size and DOS 3.2/3.3.
AUTO -INDEX
£18
Allows you to make a Master Catalog disk, with fully
automatic updating, and comprehensive search and
sorting routines. Requires 48K and disk. Specify DOS
3.2/3.3.
GAMES EXPANSION PORT
£11.50
Forget having to take the lid off every time you want to
change paddles for other accessories. Run two sets of
paddles.
DISK DRIVE EXPANSION PORT
£22
Do you remove your disk controller cards when you
transport your APPLE? Wouldn't it be easier just to
unplug them from this handy extension port without
removing the lid.
BENEATH APPLE DOS
£11.95
This book is a goldmine of information on how DOS
works, what it does and where all the locations are for
the various routines.
DOS -SWITCH
£11.95
Are you fed up of having to boot a 3.3 disk and use
BOOT13 or to use your BASICS disk to boot a 3.2 (13
sector disk) or had trouble with the games you bought in
3.2 DOS which will not boot. The answer is to fit this
switch, which will allow you to boot a 3.2 DOS disk
directly, or switch back to a 3.3 DOS boot mode. Fits
onto the disk controller card. Fitted in minutes.
WANTED WANTED WANTED , WANTED Have you written some software which wants someone to market it for you? Have you a piece of HARDWARE which we could market? Have you the ability to turn an idea into reality? We can supply the ideas both in software and hardware. Can you supply the necessary
skill and time? Do you have a problem in either software
or hardware which we can solve for you? If so write to us at the address below. DEALERS please ask for terms.
All prices inclusive of VAT, Postage,
etc.
M I C
UR C E
1 Branch Street, Park Street, St. Albans. Tel: Park Street (0727) 72917.
Circle No. 225
164
(continued from previous page)
5270 COLOR= 7: IF AS = "N" THEN X = 0:Y . 0: GOTO 5320 5280 X = 0:Y = 0: REM START AT ORIGIN
5290 IF SCRN( X,Y) = 2 THEN COLOR= 7 5300 IF SCRN( X,Y) = 8 THEN COLOR= 9
5310 GOTO 5620
5320 ADDRESS = ST + PEEK (ST + 2 # N) + 256 * PEEK (ST +
1 + 2 * N)
5330 ONERR GOTO 5560: REM IF SHAPE EXTENDS BEYOND PLOTTI
NG MATRIX
5340 BYTE = PEEK (ADDRESS)
5350 IF BYTE = 0 THEN GOTO 5280
5360 M1 = BYTE - 8 * INT (BYTE / 8): REM SEPARATE INTO MO
VES
5370 BYTE = INT (BYTE / 8)
5380 M2 = BYTE - 8 k INT (BYTE / 8)
5390 BYTE = INT (BYTE / 8)
5400 M3 = BYTE
5410 M = Ml: GOSUB 5480: REM FIRST MOVE
5420 IF M2 = 0 AND M3 = 0 THEN GOTO 5460
5430 M = M2: GOSUB 5480: REM SECOND MOVE
5440 IF M3 = 0 THEN GOTO 5460
5450 N = M3: GOSUB 5480: REM THIRD MOVE
5460 ADDRESS = ADDRESS + 1
5470 GOTO 5340
5480 IF M ' 4 THEN COLOR= 2: GOTO 5500
5490 M = M - 4: COLOR= 8
5500 5510 5520
PLOT X,Y IF M= 0 THEN Y = Y - 1
IF M= 1 THEN X= X+ 1
5530 IF M= 2 THEN Y Y+ 1 5540 IF M= 3 THEN X= X- 1
5550 RETURN
5560 PRINT "SHAPE POSITION DOES NOT CORRESPOND WITH"
5570 PRINT "LORES PLOTTING MATRIX."
5580 PRINT 'COMMENCE PLOTTING AT ORIGIN."
5590 FOR I = 0 TO 1000: NEXT
5600 POKE 216,0: REM RESET ERROR FLAG
5610 At = "Y": GOTO 5210
5617 REM
5618 REM COMPILE TEMPORARY STORAGE ARRAY
3619 REM
5620 K = 1:COUNTER = 0:R = 0:TR = 0: REM INITIALISE
5630 P1 = 0:P2 = 0:P3 = 0:M1 = 0:M2 = 0:M3 = 0
5640 PLOT X,Y
5650 IF SCRN( X,)) = 9 THEN P = 1 5660 IF SCRN( X,Y) = 7 THEN P = 0
5670 GET At
5680 IF Af = "I" AND Y 0 THEN M = 0:1 = Y - 1: GOTO 5780
5690 IF AS = "K" AND X 38 THEN M = 1:X X + 1: GOTO 578
0
5700 IF AS = "M" FNII Y ' 38 THEN M = 2:Y = Y + 1: GOTO 578
0
5710 IF AS = "J" AND X , 0 THEN M = 3:X = X - 1: GOTO 5730
5720 IF AS = "P" THEN COLOR= 9: GOTO 5640 5730 IF Af = "D" THEN COLOR= 7: GOTO 5640 5740 IF AS = "T" THEN GOSUB 6480: IF TR = 1 THEN TR = 0: GOTO
5780 5750 IF AS = "S" THEN R = 1: GOTO 6050 5760 IF AS = "H" THEN GOTO 6610 5770 GOTO 5670 5780 COUNTER = COUNTER + 1 5790 IF COUNTER = 1 THEN P1 = P:M1 = M: GOTO 5640 5800 IF COUNTER = 2 THEN P2 = P:M2 = M: GOTO 5640 5810 IF COUNTER = 3 THEN P3 = P:M3 M 5820 IF P3 = 1 OR P3 = 0 AND M3 = 0 THEN COUNTER = 4:PT
P3:MT = M3:F'3 = 0:M3 = 0: GOTO 5840
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Graphics
5630 GOTO 6060 5840 IF P2 = 0 AND M2 = 0 THEN COUNTER
5:PS = P2:MS = M2
: GOTO 5860
5850 GOTO 6060 5860 IF P1 = 0 AND M1 . 0 THEN PRINT "ILLEGAL MOVE TERMIN
ATES CURRENT SHAPE.": PRINT "RE-ENTER LAST THREE MOVES
.": GOTO 5880: REM AVOID ZERO BYTE
5870 GOTO 6060
5877 REM
5878 REM GO BACK 3 MOVES
5879 REM
5880 IF (X + 1) / 10 = INT ((X + 1) / 10) OR (1 + 1) / 10
= INT ((Y + 1) / 10) THEN COLOR= 3 5890 IF X / 2 = INT (X / 2) OR Y 2 = INT (Y
2) THEN
COLOR= 0: GOTO 5910
5900 COLOR= 5
5910 PLOT X,Y
5920 IF M3 = 0 THEN Y = Y + 1
5930 5940
IF M3 = 1 THEN X = X - 1 IF M3 = 2 THEN Y = Y -- 1
5950 IF M3 = 3 THEN X = X + 1
5960 IF (X + 1) / 10 = INT ((X + 1) / 10) OR (Y + 1) / 10
INT ((Y + 1) / 10) THEN COLOR= 3
5970 IF X / 2 = INT (X / 2) OR Y / 2 . INT (Y 2) THEN
COLOR= 0: GOTO 5990
5980 COLOR= 5
5990 PLOT X,Y:Y = Y + 1
6000 IF (X + 1) / 10 = INT ((X + 1) / 10) OR (1 + 1) / 10
= INT ((Y + 1) / 10) THEN COLOR= 3
6010 IF X / 2 = INT (X / 2) OR Y / 2 = INT (Y / 2) THEN
COLOR. 0: GOTO 6030
6020 COLOR= 5
6030 PLOT X,Y:Y = Y + 1 6040 COLOR= 7:COUNTER = 0: GOTO 5640
6047 REM
6048 REM CONVERT FROM PSEUDOBINARY TO HEX
6049 REM 6050 IF P1 + P2 + P3 + M1 + M2 + M3 = 0 THEN GOTO 6120 'i060 BYTEX(K) = M1 + 4 * P1 + 8 's M2 + 32 * P2 + 64 * M:3
6070 COUNTER = COUNTER - 3:K = K + 1: IF R 1 THEN GOTO 6
130
6080 HOME : VTAB 21: PRINT "SHAPE "N" CONTAINS "K" BYTES S
0 FAR"
6090 IF COUNTER 2 THEN M2 = MT:P2 PT:M1 = MS:P1 = PS
6100 IF COUNTER = 1 THEN M1 = MT:F1 = PT
6110 GOTO 5640 6120 IF K = 1 THEN BYTEX(K) = 1:1; = K + 1
6130 BYTEZ(K) = 0:KN = K
6140 POKE 35,24: REM RESET TEXT WINDOW
6150 HOME : VTAB 21: PRINT "SHAPE # "N" CONTAINS "K" BYTES
6157 REM
6158 REM ADJUST MEMORY SPACE
6159 REM
6160
IF N
-:,
PEEK (ST) - 1 THEN
GOTO 6360
6170 1(0 = PEEK (ST + 2 + 2 * N) + 256 * PEEK (ST + :3 + 2 *
N) - PEEK (ST + 2 * N) - 256 * PEEK (ST + 1 + 2 + N)
6180 IF KN = KO THEN GOTO 6360
6190 HOME : VTAB 22: PRINT "LOADING REVISED SHAPE INTO MEM
ORY"
6200 Al = ST + PEEK (ST + 2 f N + 2) + 256 * PEEK (ST + 2
* N + 3) + KN - KO
6210 LE = LE + KN - KO: REM NEW LENGTH OF SHAPE TABLE 6220 A2 = ST + LE
6230 IF KN KO THEN GOTO 6280
6240 FOR ADDRESS = A2 TO Al STEP - 1
6250 POKE ADDRESS, PEEK (ADDRESS + KO - KN)
6260 NEXT ADDRESS
6270 GOTO 6310
(continued on next page)
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
`SIMPLY
WRITE'
Super word processor at a silly price!
All you'd expect for ten times the price, PLUS re -define keyboard, graphics printing. tape or disk files, old or new ROMs, PET or ASCII printers, AND 40 or 80 column (same tape or disk). We didn't believe it either! £37 tape (can save to disk): £40 disk (sample files etc). Manual £1 refundable. Specify drive.
and now.. . 'SIMPLY FILE': information manager (DBMS) to match!
Robust, versatile, self -calculating, economic backup. £65 disk only, with manual. Manual £1 refundable. Specify drive.
UGHT PEN + SOFTWARE - plug in & go. £22 PROGRAMMER'S TOOLKIT - makes programming less like work! 3.0: £28. 4.0 (incl 80): £30. ADVENTURE 1 & 2: authentic Scott Adams 24K classic games. Each £7 (both. £13) NEWT ASTEROIDS -81 - fast action. £6 Add VAT to all prices please. but post/insurance included. Unconditional Instant Refund Guarantee on hardware. also software if not up to description. Write for more details. more items. newsletter.
SIMPLE SOFTWARE LTD., 15 Havelock Road, Brighton, Sussex BN1 6GL (0273) 504879
aw Eel& Nem
Circle No. 226
NEED A COMPUTER SHOP
IN YOUR AREA
and Always felt you could run one of your own
But worried about going it alone?
Nationally accepted Micro computer outlet offers limited number of individually tailored franchises to enthusiast amateurs, to cater particularly for the personal computer market. Capital required in the region of £10,000 to include stock.
Convince us why you could succeed in your area, Box 200
Circle No. 227
VIDEO GENIE 32K MEMORY EXPANSION UNIT
An attractive metal cased unit measuring 302 x 84 x 210 mm which plugs into the Video Genie expansion connector. Provision has been made for adding extra facilities, with space for a further five of our modules and two spare 34 -way gold-plated edge connectors. A printer interface and 16K EPROM option will be available shortly. 32K Memory Expansion Unit £160 VAT
Quote Model No. 32-113 and send your remittance to:
CAVERN ELECTRONICS
94 Stratford Road, Wolverton MILTON KEYNES MK12 5LU
Tel: 0908 314925
Circle No. 228
165
Graphics
TRS 80 MODEL 1
BARGAIN Super Mods:
Improved Power Supply designed to run
cooler with inbuilt fuse
£ 8.00
50% Speed Upgrade - Switch selectable -
designed to increase clock speed from
standard 1.77MHZ to 2.66MHZ
£ 9.00
TRS 80 to Centronics/Anadex Interfaces
(from Keyboard)
£20.00
TRS 80 to RS232C Serial Interfaces
(from Keyboard)
£20.00
Disk Cables 1/2/3/4 way respectively £3/5/7/9.00
ABOVE PRICES INCLUDE VAT AND POSTAGE/PACKING
Telephone orders accepted - VISA, ACCESS
JOHNSON MICROCOMPUTERS,
75/79 PARK STREET, CAMBERLEY, SURREY Telephone: Camberley (0276) 20446
Circle No. 229
QUME EPSON ANADEX DYSAN
All Business Applications Full Personal Attention
Hugh S. O'Neill Computers
111 High Street, Selsey,
CHICHESTER, SUSSEX.
Tel. Selsey (024361) 5856
Circle No. 230
CONVERT YOUR 16K TRS-80 TO
48K .... YES 48K
Latest USA Product easily installed in Keyboard
Type I + 16K RAM
£69
Type II + 16K RAM
£98
Type II + 32K RAM
£117
10 day Cash Refund if not delighted.
6 month Warranty.
"Add on" items due soon include Disc Controller,
Printer Port, RS 232 Interface and 80 -column driver.
SPECIALISED SOFTWARE
INDEX .. Name & Address List using Newdos Variable
Length Files. Amazing.
£15
INVOICE .. General purpose Invoicing Prog which can
be linked with INDEX.
£15
ADMOVE .. Transfers Adventures to Disk. Listing £1
CONY .. Converts Dec. Hex & Binary - all at once. £5
VERBATIM D/D Diskettes.
£27.50 for 10
Small stock of secondhand Games.
SAE for Information & Lists to: MICROTRADING POST, NORTON STREET, NOTTINGHAM.
Circle No. 231
Acorn Atom
ATOM INVADERS 12K, Gr 4
PINBALL 6K, Gr 2 ATOM BREAKOUT 4K. Gr 1 FRUIT MACHINE 8K, Gr 2 STAR TREK 12K, F P DISASSEMBLER 2K UFO BOMBER 7K LABYRINTH 12K, Gr. 2A, F P LUNAR LANDER 12K. Gr 4
BACKGAMMON 7K GOLF 7K, F P
TYPIST 7K
LAST RUN 7K WIGGLE -( RHINO 10K SQUARES - SIMON PARACHUTE 8K MINI -BREAKOUT MINI -INVADERS 2K STATISTICS (4 programs) 12K 2114L MEMORY CHIP C12 CASSETTE
ORDER NOW FOR CHRISTMAS
E800 0450 C400
£4.00 C500
£4 .00
C400 £6.95
C550 £7.00 C500
E4.00 £3.00 C500 C500 £4.50 E20 00 C200 C070
BUG -BYTE Microcomputer Software 98-100 THE ALBANY OLD HALL STREET
LIVERPOOL L3 9EP
ALL PRICES GIVEN ARE INCLUSIVE
Circle No. 232
166
(continued from previous page)
6280 FOR ADDRESS = Al TO A2 6290 POKE ADDRESS, PEEN (ADDRESS + KO - KN) 6300 NEXT ADDRESS 6310 FOR NI = N + 1 TO TN 6320 ADDRESS = PEEK (ST + 2 f NI) + 256 :f: PEEN (ST + 2 t
NI + 1)
6330 ADDRESS = ADDRESS + KN - KO 6340 POKE ST + 2 * NI, FN LO(AIIDRESS): POKE Sr + 2 f NI +
1, FN HI(ADDRESS) 6350 NEXT NI:NI = 0 6357 REM 6358 REM STORE DEFINITION 6359 REM 6360 ADDRESS = ST + PEEK (ST + 2 :E N) + 256 * PEEK (ST +
1 + 2 * N) - 1:K = 0 6370 ADDRESS = ADDRESS + 1:K = K + 1 6380 POKE ADDRESS,BYTEX(K)
6390 IF BYTEX(K) = 0 THEN GOTO 6410
6400 BYTEX(K) = 0: GOTO 6370: REM HOUSEKEEPING
6410 NOR
6420 HOME : VTAB 21: PRINT "ENTER SCALE, 'THEN PRESS RETUR
N'
6430 INPUT "S = ";SCS
6440 SC = VAL (SCS): IF SC 0 OR SC ; 255 THEN GOTO 6420 6450 ROT= 0: SCALE= SC: HCOLOR= 3: DRAW N AT 180,30
6460 HOME : VTAB 21: PRINT TAB( 5)"SHAPE # "N" CONTAINS
K" BYTES"
6470 RETURN
6477 REM
6478 REM TRACE PREVIOUS SHAPE
6479 REM
6480 IF Y = 0 THEN GOTO 6500
6490 IF SCRN( X,Y - 1) = B OR SCRN( X,Y 1) = 2 THEN M =
0:Y = Y - 1: GOTO 6560
6500 IF X = 39 THEN GOTO 6520
6510 IF SCRN( X + 1.Y) = 8 OR SCRN( X 1,Y) = 2 THEN M
1:X = X + 1: GOTO 6566
6520 IF Y = 39 THEN GOTO 6540
6530 IF SCRN( X.Y + 1) = 8 OR SCRN( X,Y + 1) 2 THEN M
2:Y = Y + 1: GOTO 6560
6540 IF X = 0 THEN GOTO 6560
6550 IF SCRN( X - 10) = 8 OR SCRN( X - 1,Y) = 2 THEN M
3:X = X - 1
6560 IF SCRN( X,Y) = 8 THEN COLOR. 9: GOTO 6600 6570 IF SCRN( X,Y) = 2 THEN COLOR= 7: GOTO 6600
6580 HOME : VTAB 21: PRINT "CURSOR IS NOT ADJACENT PREVIOU
S SHAPE."
6590 PRINT "USE OTHER PLOTTING KEYS.": RETURN
6600 PLOT X,Y:TR = 1: RETURN
6607 REM
6608 REM DISPLAY TEXT P2
6609 REM
6610 POKE - 16303,0: POKE - 16302,0: POKE - 16299,0: REM
TEXT,ALL,P2
6620 GET AS: IF AS
' CHRS (13) THEN GOTO 6620
6630 POKE - 16304,0: POKE - 16301,0: POKE - 16300,0: REM
GRAPHICS,MIXED,P1
6640 GOTO 5670
7997 REM *******
*i*****tktf44:t4tf*Ift4Alc***1,1
/996 REM SAVE ROUTINE
7999 REM t*****.tttt
8000 TEXT : HOME : VTAB 10
8010 PRINT "ENTER SHAPE TABLE NAME,": PRINT
8020 PRINT "THEN PRESS 'RETURN"": PRINT
8030 INPUT "";NAME$
8040 PRINT DS;"BSAVE "NAMES", A"ST", L"LE
8050 POKE 103,1: POKE 104,8: POKE 16384,255: REM RE -SET P
ROGRAM POINTERS
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
BUYERS'
GUI E
Printers
The Peripherals Buyers' Guide is a survey of printers suitable for small computers. We have excluded any system which costs significantly more than £2,000 The printers are listed in alphabetical order. The addresses of the main suppliers are listed at the end of the guide,
Printers may be divided into several categories. The highest quality printing is produced by the daisywheel -type which creates text in various type -faces, according to the wheel used. The quality ranges from excellent typing to rather poor book printing and generally there is a proportional -spacing facility. Those machines tend to be expensive and slow. Daisywheels can be either plastic - inexpensive, but must be replaced often - or metal - expensive but durable.
For faster printing, you must turn to dot-matrix machines. The print quality tends to be poor and the machines noisy. Older machines use a 7 -by -5 matrix which puts the descenders of letters such as 'y' above the line. That makes bulk text difficult to read. Better printers use a matrix nine dots deep to give true descenders. Recently, several firms have produced dot-matrix printers which give an approximation to typewriter printing and proportional spacing. They are less expensive than daisywheel machines, work faster and could well be used for correspondence -quality work.
Some dot-matrix printers employ sensitised paper to produce printing by more direct electrical effects. They are often quiet and fast, but the paper can be expensive, unpleasant to handle and hard to obtain.
The trend is to build more processing power into printers. That means they offer increasingly varied features, so it is hard to categorise them precisely.
A printer has to be connected to the computer by a cable and a more or less standard interface. The normal interfaces are the Centronics parallel, RS232 serial port - also known as the V-24 and 20mA current loop. IEEE is a parallel interface used by Pet; `cp1' means characters per line, 'cps' means printing speed in characters per second. Allow five characters to the word.
The more intelligent printer prints as its head moves in both directions across the paper - bi-directional printing. Still more
PUT YOUR MICRO TO WORK!
CONTROL MACHINES, ROBOTS, FACTORY OR HOME
Have you ever wanted your MICRO to control a machine for you, or manage your house? If so the MDR 'MICROCOMPUTER CONTROL INTERFACE' will give you isolated channels of OUTPUT (8A @ 250 volts) and switch sensing INPUTS. Available now for connection to PET USER PORT, RS232 and IEEE488, allowing expansion up to more than 900
channels. Supplied complete with connecting cables,
full data and guarantee from 02.54 per channel. Complete preprogrammed systems or individual components available. Write or phone for details.
MDR (INTERFACES)
Little Bridge House, Dane Hill, Nr. Haywards Heath, Sussex RH17 7.117. Telephone: 0828-790294
Circle No. 233
Apple Distributors
Commodore Commercial Systems Dealers
Largest stocks in Eastern Counties. Numerous printers, mini, 8 and hard discs. Software for all business uses - Micro Modeller, integrated Pascal Accounting Systems, Exclusive Estate Agency Systems and Clients Accounting Systems, Farmplan, etc.
OPENING SALE OF
COMMODORE PRODUCTS
AT LEAST 10% OFF ALL ITEMS IN STOCK TO CALLERS. We are making a ONCE ONLY offer on Commodore Products on current stocks of at least 10%. 20% Discount on Apple Manuals in stock.
ESTATE COMPUTER SYSTEMS 30 Carre St., Sleaford, Lincs. Tel: 0529-305637
Circle No. 234
UM SOFTWARE ON TAPE
from the guy who wrote "La Passe Temps"
GALACTIC HITCHHIKER (BK) An Adventure, all in
machine code. A beauty! 117.00)
SUPERTREK I8K1 Sail boldly through the universe
zapping moving Klingons in real time. Superb graphics.
(17.001
LUNAR LANDER A real challenge. You won't get
down in less than three hours. (13.00)
LE -PASS -TEMPS This is what a computer game
SHOULD be like 113.001
STARTREK (8K) The old favourite, beautifully
presented. Not real time but great graphics nonetheless
(16.00)
"NEW*
Please phone for details of the exciting range of
TAQWA ADD ONS:
Others available include a BASIC TUTOR 18 x 4K
Programs) 02.00 and lots more games.
Each program comes on its own cassette by return 1st
Class Mail. Available for 16 x 48 or 32 x 48 display and
compatible all monitor ROMs. All inclusive from:
A. KNIGHT (DEPT PC) 28 SIMONSIDE WALK, ORMESBY, CLEVELAND
Tel: 10642) 321268
Circle No. 235
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
167
DISKS
DISKS DISKS
LOWEST PRICES FOR THE BEST Boxes of 10 mini disks (5.25")
MEMOREX S/S - S/Density S/Sector D/S - D/Density S/Sector
£16.30 20.80
VERBATIM DATALIFE Single or Double Density
S/S - S/Sector (40 TR Cert) D/S - S/Sector (40 TR Cert) D/S - S/Sector (77 TR Cert)
17.15 25.84 27.30
BASF
S/S - S/Density S/Sector
17.15
S/S - D/Density S/Sector
20.65
D/S - D/Density S/Sector
25.41
Diskette drive head cleaning kit
16.30
- Add £1 /box & 15% VAT on total -
PINNER WORDPRO
34 Cannonbury Avenue, Pinner, Middx., HA5 1TS.
Telephone: 01-868 9548 anytime.
Circle No. 236
intelligent ones end the head movement at the ends of short lines.
These two features can more then treble the working speed.
Printers use two types of paper: plain paper fed - like a
typewriter - pinch- and pin- or sprocket- or tractor -fed with holes along the margins. That paper can be supplied fan -folded or in
rolls. Pinch feeding is more expensive but is convenient for letters.
Only a few machines will accept both pinch- and pin -fed paper. It
is possible to obtain headed letter paper bonded lightly on to pin fed, fan -folded computer paper for word processors.
Some printers allow direct control of the print -head to give graphics. KSR means keyboard, send and receive, ASR means automatic send and receive, RO means receive only. KSR machines can be used as electric typewriters in local mode.
Comb or line printers have a whole line's worth of dot hammers so they can print a line of text at a time. They tend to be very expensive and very noisy but produce an enormous quantity of
work.
14 APPLE WITH
Sales
TABS
and Service
for Business Systems
in Hampshire B. Sussex
ADDMASTER
400 receive only Uses 2.5in. Tally roll paper, 16 cpl, 48 cps. Main U.K. agent Clary Ltd. 420/426 receive only Dot matrix grade -one Tally roll paper at £5 for 20 rolls. BCD serial or 10 -line serial interfaces, 12 cpl, 36 cps.
ACCESS CONTROL SYSTEMS LTD
72 WINCHESTER ROAD PETERSFIELD, HANTS. TEL: 0730 5274
Circle No. 237
TRS 80 and GENIE Owners
Now available in UK Cload Magazine. America's monthly program tape tor games orientated people. Why pay higher prices when each month you can receive a cassette
with at least 6 programs? Our latest issue includes Trolls Treasure (Adventure Program), Croton Diversion (Arcade game with sound), Banner (Scolls 2in letters on screen),
Edit (Full screen editor), PLUS 3 other programs 1 for disc users (all
programs for Model 1, most for Model 3) Single cassette £4.95.
6 month subscription £25. 12 monthly subscription £47.50.
Post your cheque to MICRODEAL, 44 Corn St., Bristol 1.
Tel: 0272 276769
Circle No. 238
ACORN ATOM UTILITY ROM
Upgrade your Atom now! Our 4K ROM simply plugs into the spare socket and provides 18
new commands and utilities including:
renumber, range delete, find, auto line
numbers, program compression, dis-
assembler, true keyboard scanning, memory dump, variable dump, and much more. Supplied with full instruction manual. To order send cheque/PO for £35 inclusive (delivery 1 week) or SAE for further details.
WILLOW SOFTWARE
PO BOX 6, CREDITOR, DEVON EX17 1DL.
Circle No. 239
ANADEX
Main U.K. agent Anadex Ltd
DP -500
Dot matrix, tractor feed, parallel interfaces, 18 cpl, 45 cps.
DP -660
Dot matrix, pinch feed for printing labels, uses sprocket feed. Parallel interface. 19 cpl, 57 cps.
DP -750A
Dot matrix, RS232C 20mA current loop, 21 cps, 25 cps.
FP -600
Dot matrix ticket or form printer, from four columns to 19 columns parallel interface, 19 cpl, 44 cps.
DP -9500 Series
Dot matrix, tractor feed, nine -wire print head, bi-directional printing, three ASCII interfaces as standard - parallel bit, RS232C, current loop - 120-200 cps, 132-220 columns, 7x9, 9x9 or 1 lx9 matrices depending on model. Also from: Peripheral Hardware, Kode Services, Robox, Stack Computer Services and Data Design Techniques Ltd.
DP -8000
Dot matrix, pinch feed, bi-directional printing, fan -fold paper up to 9.5 in. up to three copies. Three ASCII interfaces - parallel bit, RS232C, current loop - 112 cps, 80 column, 9x7 matrix. Also from: Peripheral Hardware, Kode Services, Robox, Stack Computer Services and Data Design Techniques Ltd.
DP -1000 Series Dot matrix, tractor feed, internal data storage, roll -type paper for 40
columns at £11 for box of 10 rolls, three basic ASCII -compatible interfaces are available. 40 cpl, 50 cps, 40 columns, 5x7 matrix. Also from: Peripheral Hardware, Kode Services, Robox, Stack Computer Services.
£242 £246
from £367 from £700 from £800 from £65 £895 upwards
£550
from £395
168
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Buyers' Guide
AXION CORPORATION
Main U.K. agent Memec Systems Ltd
EX -820 receive only
£500
Electro-sensitive dot matrix includes plotting capability for full
graphics, paper at £3 for a 240ft. roll, RS232C or 20mA serial and
ASCII parallel, 20/40/80 cpl and up to 160 cps, 5x8 matrix.
EX -850 Video Printer
£500
Electro-sensitive dot matrix, aluminised paper at £3 for a 240ft. roll.
Needs only the video signal from user's. Normal resolution 13.5
seconds per screen, high resolution 27 seconds per screen.
EX801/802 receive only
£279
Electro-sensitive , dot matrix, aluminised paper at £3 for a 240ft. roll, RS232C, Centronics, Apple, Pet, and Tandy interfaces, 20/40/80
cpl, 160 cps, 5x8 matrix.
BASE 2
800 -MST Impact dot matrix, bi-directional, tractor feed up to 9.5in., RS232C, 20mA, IEEE -488, Centronics and parallel interfaces, up to 132 cpl
and 60 cps, with 5x7 matrix. Main U.K. agents Microbyte and Maclin-Zand Elecronics Ltd.
from £385
CENTRONICS
Main U.K. agents Sintrom Distribution, ITT Electronic Services, Cable and Wireless, Dacoll Engineering. Models 700, 701, 702 and 703 Impact dot matrix, uses fan -fold paper, parallel, serial RS232C
interfaces 132 cpl, up to 180 cps, 5x7 or 7x7 matrices.
Model 791 Demand -document printer, impact, dot matrix, up to 12 -part forms using bottom feed tractor, standard parallel interface, with serial RS232C interface option, 80 cpl, 60 cps, 5x7 matrix.
Model 730 Impact, dot matrix, uses roll paper up to 8.5 in. wide, fan -fold paper up to 9.5 in. wide and cut sheet up to three-ply paper and two carbons, parallel -standard interface with serial RS232 option, 80 cpl, 100 cpls, 7x7 matrix. Also from: Datac Ltd, Rair Ltd, Comma Computers and MIBF.
Model 737 Impact dot matrix, roll fan -fold or cut sheet paper, standard parallel interface, serial RS232C option, 80 cpl mono -spaced mode, 50 cps mono -spaced mode, 80 cps proportional mode, 7x8 matrix mono spaced, 9x9 proportional. Also from: Datac Ltd.
Model PI Micropzinter and Model SI Microprinter Non -impact dot matrix electro-sensitive uses aluminium -coated paper roll, parallel interface, serial RS232C interface, up to 80 cpl, and 150 lines per minute, up to 200 cps. Also from: Datac Ltd.
Model 780 Impact, dot Matrix, pinch -roll paper feed for roll paper, tractor feed option for rear- and bottom -feed forms and fan -fold paper, parallel interface with serial RS232C option, 80 cpl, 60 cps, 5x7
matrix.
Model 779 Impact, dot matrix, pinch -roll paper feed for roll paper, with fanfold, tractor feed option, standard parallel interface with RS232C serial option, 80-132 cpl, 60-110 cps, 5x7 matrix. Model 704 Impact, dot matrix, uses fan -fold paper, RS232 serial interface, 132 cpl, 180 cps using 7x7, 9x7 and 9x9 matrices. Model 761 read only or keyboard send/receive Impact, dot matrix, uses fan -fold paper, RS232C/CCITT V24 or DC current loop interfaces, 132 cpl, 60 cps, 7x7 matrix.
P.O.A. P.O.A. £375
£425 P.O.A. P.O.A. P.O.A. P.O.A. P.O.A.
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
TRS-80 MODEL I ENHANCED VIDEO
TANDY COMPATIBILITY mode (default) gives lower case without the need for switches. * FULL MODE gives the FULL CHARACTER SET in POSITIVE and INVERTED VIDEO and all graphics characters. * WHOLE SCREEN INVERSION including borders is independently controllable. Double width capability is not affected. Mode selection by port FE. Fits inside the keyboard case. Technical manual with software patches £6. Assembled and tested PCB, 2102 chip £23. Parts and manual ordered together £26.45. The above prices include worldwide postage and United Kingdom VAT. Dealer discounts. Installation available, please enquire. RHA (MINISYSTEMS) LTD., 83 GIDLEY WAY, HORSPATH, OXFORD OX9 1TO. Tel: 08677-3625
Circle No. 240
MICROTEXT MAIL SHOT/
WORD PROCESSOR FOR CBM/PET
+ VAT
Microtext is a small text processor/mail shot program. It allows mail shots of up to 100 letters per run, and can handle documents of up to 7 pages of A4. It is very simple to use - you can be producing letters etc. within the hour.
Data can be stored on cassette or disk.
Available for 3032/4032/8032, state type and delivery medium required (cassette, 4040 or 8050 disk). £35 + VAT (total £40.25) inc P & P. Dealers - P.O.A.
MAYSTAR MICROSYSTEMS LTD.,
56 College Road, Reading, Berkshire RG6 108. Tel: (0734) 65827
Circle No. 241
The Concise English Spellguard:.
Spellguard": the ultimate in spelling correction programs. Use it with WordStar", Magic Wand", Electric Pencil -
Unfortunately it has an American Dictionary. Now WordPerfect can supply an English version of the 20,000 word dictionary. This is available on 8" standard,
single sided, single density diskette or 5" Horizon double sided diskette (CP/M-).
Price: L52.50 including postage and packing. Also: 10,000 word computing and electronics dictionary: L47.50
Please make cheque/P.O. payable to
WordPerfect
Computer Services (Cambridge)
3 Spurgeons Avenue, Waterbeach, Cambridge CBS 9NU Telephone (0223) 861804
Circle No. 242
PET/CBM in Lancashire
MEMORY UPGRADE for large keyboard PET 8K up to 32K. £65 (inclusive).
No extra charge if expansion area drilled with quarter -inch holes.
EPROM PROGRAMMING from data on cassette or ROM 2716 or 2532. £3 (inclusive). Repair of PET computers.
Write or phone for further details.
WINDMILL ELECTRONICS
197 Victoria Road East, Thornton, Blackpool FY5 3ST.
Telephone: (0253) 869108.
Circle No. 243
169
t
COMMODORE
Computer
all* Shop
We Buy, Sell, Break Computers and Peripherals
Surplus Stock
New and Used Power Supplies To Most Specifications
Always Available
10, Waterloo Road, Widnes, Halton, Cheshire. WA8 OPY
Telephone 051 420 4590
Circle No. 244
SHUGART
MINI FLOPPY DISC DRIVES
" THE LOWEST PRICES ANYWHERE
SA 400 51/4" £105 BRAND NEW - 3 MONTH LABOUR
Er PARTS WARRANTY.
Also available Tendon TM100 - 1 drives
ENCOTEL SYSTEMS LTD
530 PURLEY WAY, CROYDON, S7 01-686 9687
Circle No. 245
BASIC
Learn how to write computer programs in your spare time. Practical courses will be run at a weekend. Courses will begin early in the New Year.
For further details ring 051-227 5622/3 or write to us at:
MARCH ASSOCIATES LTD 21-23 Old Hall Street,
Liverpool L3 9BT Circle No. 246
Floppy Disc File
Easy reference filing system for your
flexible computer discs, files 20 discs per
binder. File sheets retail 4 discs, have
reinforced binder edge and file reference
tab. Leaves punched for 2 and 3 hole
binders. Also available for 8" discs, files
10 discs per binder. Please state size
when ordering.
Binder complete with 5 leaves
£4.95 + VAT
Pack of 5 leaves only
£1.55 + VAT
LEICESTER COMPUTER CENTRE LTD.
Z67 Regent Road, Leicester, LE1 6YF.
Tel: 0533 556268
Circle No. 247
CBM 3022
Tractor -feed printer, uses fan -fold paper with three -in. to 12in. width, cost of paper £10 per 1,000, IEEE interface, 80 cpl, 150 cps, 6x7 matrix. Main U.K. agent Davinci Computers Ltd.
COMPUTER DEVICES INC
Miniterm 1201, 1202, 1203 Thermal mechanism, uses Thermal Type B paper at £2.40 per roll, RS232 or parallel - 1201 only - interfaces, 80 or 132 cpl, 10/30 cps, 7x5 matrix. Main U.K. agent Teleprinter Equipment Ltd.
DATAC
Main U.K. agent Datac Ltd 414 free-standing assembly receive only Electro-sensitive, matrix printer type 245L, electro-sensitive roll paper, 59mm. wide x 30m. long at 90p per roll for 20 off, six -bit
parallel ASCII, character serial interfaces, 16, 20, 32 or 40 cpl, 32 to 80 character per serial, 7x5 matrix.
D1111 -40P free-standing terminal, receive only Impact, matrix, uses pressure -sensitive roll paper, lOmm.-wide ordinary paper version, using ink ribbon. Cost of paper £1 per roll, seven -bit parallel ASCII, character serial, RS232C or graphics, 40 or 20 cpl, up to 80 cps, 7x5 matrix.
411C compact panel mounting, receive only Electro-sensitive matrix type 245L or R, uses electro-sensitive roll paper, 59mm. wide x 30m. long at 90p per roll, six -bit parallel, serial interfaces, 16, 20, 32 or 40 cpl, 32 to 80 cps, 7x5 matrix.
411 panel mounting, receive only Electro-sensitive matrix printer type 245L or R, uses electro-sensitive roll paper, 59mm. wide x 30m. long at 90p per roll. Interfaces include six -bit parallel ASCII, character serial, four -bit parallel BCD, character parallel EIA/RS232C, CCITTN24 and 20mA current loop, under development 40 cpl, 32 to 80 cps, 7x5 matrix.
313 panel -mounting, receive only and 312 free-standing, receive only Impact matrix type PU-1100, Tally roll paper, 59mm. wide x 36m.
long at 60p per roll, CCITTN24 or EIA RS232C or 20mA current loop interfaces, up to 20 cpl and up to 36 cps, 7x5 matrix.
412/1 and 412/5 receive only Electro-sensitive dot matrix type 245L, uses electro-sensitive alu-
minium -coated paper, 59mm. x 30m. at 90p per roll, six -bit parallel, ASCII, character serial and four -bit parallel BCD, character parallel, RS232CN24 interfaces, 20mA current loop under development, 16, 20, 32 or 40 cpl, 32-80 cps, 7x5 matrix.
522/1 and 522/4 receive only Impact matrix type, roll paper, 114mm. x 75m. up to three copies plus original, cost of paper £1.10 per roll. Parallel interface and RS232C, 20mA current loop and parallel buttered, asynchronous interfaces - (522/4). 40 cpl, 100 cps instantaneous rate, 33 cps average rate - including CR and LF. 7x5, 7x10.
DATA DYNAMICS
Main U.K. agent Data Dynamics Ltd 303 Printer
Dot matrix, up to six -part stationery width from 3m to 15.375in. , V24/ RS232C, 20mA current loop, 132 cpl, 30 or 60 cps, 7x7 matrix.
£425
from £936
£130 £350 £209 £189 £269 £255 £499 (522/1) £535 (522/4)
£980
170
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Buyers' Guide
ZIP ASR/K7 twin cassette Dot matrix format, uses standard Teletype roll paper, V24, RS232C,
or 20mA current loop operating at half or full duplex, 80 cpl, 10 or 30 cps switch selected, 5x7 matrix.
ZIP 30 keyboard printer, RO, ASR, or KSR Dot matrix, standard roll paper, 20mA half or full duplex current loop or V24 RS232C, 80 cpl, 10 or 30 cps - switch selected, 5x7
matrix.
390 eight -level and 392 five -level ASR, KSR and read-only versions. Impact printers, friction or sprocket feed, 8.5in. paper with roll diameter 5in. 74 or 86 cpl, 6.6 or 10 cps.
Models 32 and 33 page printers
Available in ASR, KSR and receive -only versions. Friction or sprocket feed, 20mA or 60mA parallel, up to 86 cpl, 6.6 or 10 cps.
£2,000
ASR £1,800 RO & KSR £950
ASR from
£ 1, 250
LSR from £900 RO from £800
ASR from £1,100 KSR from £800 RO from £700
DATA GENERAL CORPORATION
Dasher TP1 Printer models 6040 and 6041 6040 standard keyboard and can be used as a typewriter. 6041 is a receive -only terminal printer without keyboard, 30 or 60 cps, switch selectable, EIA-RS232C interfaces, 5x7 dot matrix. Main U.K. agent Data General.
From £1,598
DATAPLUS
400 series receive -only Model 480
£475
Impact dot matrix, uses standard Tally roll, up to 3.75in. side, from
80p per roll, RS232C, V24, 20mA current loop, but parallel IEEE,
Pet and Apple interfaces, 30/40 cpl, 110 cps, 7x5 and 7x10 matrices .
Main U.K. agent Dataplus Ltd.
DATASOUTH CORPORATION
DS -180
Impact, matrix printer, uses fan -fold paper, RS232C, current loop, and parallel interfaces, 132 cpl, 180 cps, 9x7 matrix. Main U.K. agent Datatrade Ltd.
£1,360
DIABLO
RY type II receive only Impact daisywheel plastic or metal print wheel, parallel, interface,
132 10 -pitch cpl or 158 12 -pitch cpl, 40/45/55 cps. Main U.K. agent Diablo Systems Ltd.
630 receive only Daisywheel, metal/plastic printwheels, standard listing or single sheet paper, RS232C, V24 with optional bus interface, 132 cpl at 10 pitch, 158 cpl at 12, 198 cpl at 15, up to 40 cps with automatic bidirectional printing. Main U.K. agent Geveke Electronics.
P.O.A. £1,725
DIGITAL EQUIPMENT
DecWriter LA34 KSR Dot matrix, uses roll or fan -fold paper, friction -feed, up to five copies, V24 or 20mA interfaces, adjustable up to 256 cpl, 30 cps, 7x9 matrix. Main U.K. agent Extel.
A120 7x7 dot matrix, EIA or 20mA option, up to 217 cpl, 180 cps. Main U.K. agent Wilkes Computing.
£824 from £1,645
igaPPla
in flvonttBritol
with full Software Support for business and professional use, including Invoicing, Ledgers, Stock Control, Word Processing, Hotel Systems, Petrol Station Management, Data Base, Dental Records, Mailing Lists and many other applications Dataforce (UK) Limited, 68 Alma Road, Clifton Bristol BBB 2DJ. Tel: (0272) 314496
Write Now for our Software Catalogue
Circle No. 248
Vets for Pets
Anita Electronic Services (London) Ltd. are specialists in the repair and
service of Commodore Pets.
We offer a fast on -site service, or alternatively repairs can be carried -
out at our workshops should you wish to bring in your Pet. Pet maintenance contracts are available at very competitive prices. Trade inquiries welcomed.
For further information tel. or write to:-
JOHN MEADE
ANITA ELECTRONIC SERVICES
15 CLERKENWELL CLOSE, LONDON EC1
01-253 2444
* We also specialise in the repair of all makes of office equipment.
Circle No. 249
FULLY ASSEMBLED & TESTED
Professional ASCII Keyboards
All complete niNl li1etal mnuntinA f ram
filimuitaikatiret ni
9 9 96c'
010 it a
-S ri
e 11- ti
-Feb
MODEL KB 771 B 72 Key £59.50 MODEL KB 756 MF 56 Key £39.50
MATER K813041105 Accessories supplied is ith Keyboard only: DC to DC converter DC 512 £5.00 (for operation off single 5v supply)
Model 756 MF Only
Edge Connector
KB 15 P £1.95
Numeric Key Pad
KB710 C7.50
Plastic Case (Black) KB705 £12.75
UK Orders add 15% VAT on order total
Overseas Orders add £2.00 p&p.
FULL DATA SHEET ON REQUEST CITADEL PRODUCTS LIMITED
Department PC, 50 High Street Edgware
Middlesex HA8 7EP Telephone: 01-951 1848
Circle No. 250
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
171
DIGITRONIX
STOKE on TRENT
Mini -Printer
32 column electro-sensitive, 110-4,800 baud, ASCII Serial inputs at RS232C, 20mA, 64 font at 64 cps. Main U.K. agent Digitronix.
for TUSCAN
and TANGERINE
and VIDEO GENIE + SOFTWARE
and BOOKS
ELECTROGRAPHIC AV
EG-800 receive only Impact, matrix printer, uses any type of paper, parallel, RS232C,
TRS-80, Apple interfaces, 80 cpl, 150 cps, 7x5 or 7x6 matrices. Main U.K. agent Electrographic AV Ltd.
MICRO-PRINT Ltd., 59, Church Street, Stoke on Trent. 10782148348. Barclaycard and Access
Circle No. 251
500 series receive only Impact, matrix printer, uses 3.5in. Tally roll paper and flat documents, serial or parallel interfaces, 40 cpl, 120 cps, 7x5 or 7x6
matrices. Main U.K. agent Electrographic AV Ltd.
£195
from £450
from £175 for mechanism only
EPSON
JOYSTICK
TAMARISK JOYSTICK £22.50 inclusive
GAME EXTENSION SOCKET £6.50 inclusive.
from TAMARISK DESIGN SERVICES 290 Brooklands Rd, Manchester M23
061-969 8729
TX -80
£395
Impact, dot matrix, friction pin -feed RS232C, V24, 20mA current
loop, bit parallel, Centronics, IEEE, Pet, Apple and TRS-80 inter-
faces, 80 cpl, 150 cps, 7x5 or 7x10 matrices and graphics. Optional
PROM chips for high -resolution graphics. Main U.K. agent Data -
plus Ltd.
MX -80
£425
Impact, dot matrix, accepts any type of paper, Centronics parallel
interface, optional serial and IEEE 488 interfaces, 44, 66, 80, 132
cpl, 80 cps, 9x9 matrix - 2.1 x 3.1mm. High resolution graphics.
Circle No. 252
EXTEL CORPORATION
EHIDY SORCERER
48K
PRICE REDUCED
NOW ONLY £695 + VAT
Dealer for
Bristol and South West
ELECTROPRINT (Mr. Tasker) 5 Kingsdown Parade Bristol 6 292375
Circle No. 253
MANUFACTURING SOFTWARE
Bill of Materials Stock/WIP Control PWS System
(Gross Pay Computation, Piecework, Operations, Cost Centres) Payroll and Accounting CPM Compatible
VECTOR GRAPHIC DEALERS TAYLOR MICRO SYSTEMS LTD.,
HAMSTEAD INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, OLD WALSALL ROAD, GREAT BARR, BIRMINGHAM, B42 1DF. 021-358 2436
Circle No. 254
M30 receive only keyboard send/receive and automatic send/receive
Impact, dot matrix printer, uses roll or fan -fold paper, V24 or 20mA interfaces, 80 cpl, 30 cps (50 with buffer) 5x7 matrix, 5- or 8 -level operation. Main U.K. agent Extel.
M30 11208L keyboard send/receive Dot matrix, uses roll paper, V24 or 20mA interfaces, 80 cpl, 30 cps, 5x7 matrix, 5- or 8 -level operation. Main U.K. agent Extel.
£895 £1,270
FACIT
4520 and 4521
£583
Seven -wire print head, uses roll paper Telex type (Facit 4520),
friction feed, fan -fold (Facit 4521) pin feed, serial, V24/RS323C,
Centronics parallel interfaces, both fitted as standard, 80 cpl, 100
cps at 12 characters per inch, 9x7 matrix. Main U.K. agent Facit Ltd.
GENERAL ELECTRIC, U.S.A.
ITT 3330
£1,496
Impact dot matrix, pin feed, V24 interface, 132 cpl, 10, 20 or 30 cps,
7x9 matrix. Main U.K. distributor ITT Business Systems U.K.
HEATH ELECTRONICS
WH14
£510
Dot matrix, uses edge -punched fan -fold paper, 20mA, RS232C
interfaces, 80, 96, 132 cpl, 132 cps, 5x7 matrix. Main U.K. agent
Heath Electronics U.K. Ltd. (OEM sales).
172
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Buyers' Guide
INTEGRAL DATA SYSTEMS
Paper Tiger Model 460
from £700
Dot Matrix, impact printer, pin -feed fan -fold paper, parallel,
RS232C, 150 cps, 24x9 matrix. Main U.K. agent Teleprinter Equip-
ment Ltd. and Microsense Computers Ltd.
LEAR SIEGLER INC
300 series Dot matrix, uses standard paper, RS232C, 20mA parallel inter-
faces, Centronics 701/703 type 132 cpl, 180 cps, 9x7 or 9x9 matrices.
Main U.K. agent Penny & Giles Data Recorders Ltd.
from £965
LOGABAX
LX -213
Dot matrix printer, plain paper, fan -fold or cut up to six -ply, RS232C or V24 interfaces, 132 cpl, 218 cpl, 180 cps, 9x7 matrix, optimised bi-directional printing. Main U.K. agent Brospa Data Ltd.
£1,590
LRC EATON
7000+
£250
Dot matrix printer, uses roll paper, RS232, IEEE, current loop and
parallel interfaces, 20, 32, 40 and 64 cpl software selectable by
option, 40 cps, 7x7 matrix. Main U.K. agent Russet Instruments.
MALIBU ELECTRONICS CORPORATION
Masterprint 165 Dot matrix, fan -fold paper, RS232C, current loop and parallel
interfaces, 132 cpl, 165 cps, 10x9 matrix with 18x9 matrix character set which approaches word-processing quality, graphics. Main
U.K. agent MBS Terminals Ltd.
£1,400
MANNESMAN TALLY
Main U.K. agent Data Design Techniques Ltd M-80 MC
Dot matrix, 9.5in. pin feed paper, all interfaces, 80/132 cpl, 200 cps, 7x9 or 9x9 matrices.
T1612 keyboard send/receive Dot matrix, single or multi -part paper, pin feed, RS232C or 20mA interfaces, 132/218 cpl, 160 cps, 7x9 or 9x9 matrices.
T1612 receive only
T1602
Dot matrix single- or multi -part paper, pin feed, Data Products, Centronics and serial interfaces, 132 cpl, 160 cps, 7x9 matrix.
from £875
£1,612
£1,475 £1,395
MICRO PERIPHERALS INC
MPI-88T
£535
Dot matrix printer, uses fan -fold, roll and cut -sheet paper, RS232C,
current loop and parallel interfaces, 80/96/120/132 cpl, all soft-
ware -selectable, 120 cps, 7x7 matrix. Main U.K. agent Russet
Instruments.
NEWBURY LABORATORIES
Model 8300 Dot matrix, pin -feed paper up to 9.5in., eight -bit parallel interface or CCITT V24, RS232C interfaces, 10 characters per inch, 125 cps, 7x9 matrix. Main U.K. agent Newbear Computing Store.
from £475
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
INSURE
YOUR COMPUTER
Impact damage, Fire & Theft Insurance for your Computer, Equipment:
£1 to £1,500 cover
£8.00 p.a. £10 (excess) x/s
£1 ,500 to £2,500
£1 6.00 p,a. £15 x/s.
For details: KGJ Insurance Brokers,
6 Hagley_ Road, Stourbridge, West Midlands, DWI 1 QG Tel (03843) 5333/2545
Circle No. 255
ACORN ATOM AND TRS-80 JOYSTICK CONTROLLERS
ATOMSTIK - at last a joystick controller for the Acorn Atom I !The Atomstik is based on the famous Atari unit and attaches to the 64 way connector on the rear of your computer. It requires the Versatile Interface Adaptor. It will work with any memory size and requires only Integer Basic. The Atomstik is complete with full user instructions, programming examples and two programs on cassette. Realise the full potential of your Atom for interactive games now!
Prices: Atomstik VIA and connector (if required)
£26.00 + £1.00 P&p £12.00 + 50p P&p
TANDYSTIK - did you know that the current releases
of Big Five machine code games support joystick input? Play Meteor Mission, Galaxian, Super Nova, Cosmic Fighter and Attack Force as you have never before with
a Tandystik! The Tandystik is again based on the Atari unit and connects to your TRS-80 via the expansion connector. It is complete with a cassette of two joystick
programs, full instructions and examples for user pro-
gramming. To make your existing software compatible with the Tandystik we can offer Softstik, a machine code utility which allows existing Basic software to accept joystick input without any program modifications - the joystick simulates keyboard responses. Softstik will also operate with machine code programs which
use the ROM keyboard routines
Prices: Tandystik Softstik (16k on cassette)
Softstik (32k or 48k on disk)
£26.50 + £1.00 P&p £9.50 + 50p P&p
£11.00 + 50p P&p
CSL MICRODATA
4, Greenbarn Way, Blackrod, Lancashire, BL6 5TA. ACCESS TELEPHONE ORDERS: 0204 694265
Circle No. 256
PET SOFTWARE SALE!
PETSOFT software cassettes in stock at 50% off
normal retail prices.
DISK SOFTWARE
CBM 3000/4000 Series
COMSTOCK - Stock Control
£ 69.00
. COMPLANNER - Business Diary System £ 99.00
LISP - Complete Package
£ 75.00
COMACCOUNTS - Sales/ Purchase/Nominal
Ledger Suite
£299.00
COMLEDGER - Sales/Purchase/Nominal
Individual Ledgers all
£149.00
PETAID 4.2 - Database 3000/4000
Series
£ 99.00
CBM 8000 Series Modules
ACCOUNTANT Suite: Sales/Purchase/Budget Controller
Individual Ledgers all Account Link (to integrate above) PAYMASTER PETAID 5.1 - Database 8000 Series
All prices are ex -VAT
£179.00 £ 49.00 £179.00 £149.00
VISA x ACCESS Orders accepted
JOHNSON MICROCOMPUTERS,
75/79 PARK STREET, CAMBERLEY, SURREY. Telephone: Camberley (0276) 20446
Circle No. 257
173
NIPPON ELECTRIC COMPANY
ATA R I
Hardware/Software
ATARI 400
ATARI 800
£299.50 VAT
£564.50 VAT
ATARI 400 + disk + 32K
Price on application
Space Invaders, Asteroids, Word Processing, Teaching Programs etc. etc.
Ring for list 0454 418596
DORLING MICROSYSTEMS Tockington, Bristol.
Cash & Carry/Mail Order P & P extra
D.A.I.
48K-355 x 255 Resolution
COLOUR 8080 Processor, FAST BASIC
£595
Circle No. 258
Spinwriter
Combines golf -ball daisywheel and thimble mechanism, uses continuous or single -sheet computer paper, RS232C serial (RO and KSR), Centronics -compatible and Diablo -compatible interfaces, 8080 input bus line, current loop, 55 cps, solid -font matrix. Main U.K. agent Memec Systems Ltd.
£1,500
OKI
Microline 80A
£299
Dot matrix, 9x7, 80 cps, 80 or 132 cpl, pin, traction or friction feed,
RS232, 20mA Centronics. Main U.K. agent X -Data.
Microline 82A
£399
Dot matrix, impact printer, 80 cps, bi-directional logic -seeking, 40,
66, 80 or 132 cpl, pin, friction or tractor feed, serial and parallel
interface, 160 characters. Main U.K. agent X -Data.
ATTENTION SHARP PC-1211/TRS--80 POCKET COMPUTER/MEMOWRITER USERS
PFS-123 Paper feed stand with FREE 3" dia. paper Roll £3.95 Pack of 5 rolls 3" dia. for above £3.00
AT LAST BOOKS FOR THE PCI211/TRS-80
POCKET COMPUTERS
50 Programs in BASIC for the Home, School and Office 96 pages £6.95 50 MORE Programs in BASIC for Home. School and Office 96 pages £6.95 101 Pocket Computer Programming Tips and Tricks 112 pages £5.95 Murder in the Mansion and other Computer Adventures 96 pages £4.95 Pocket Computer Programming Made Easy 140 pages £5.95 Pocket Basic Programming worksheets - 40 sheet pad £2.95 CASIO FX702P £117.95 PC -1211 SOFTWARE & HARDWARE AND ACCESSORIES. Send for our new catalogue.
Inclusive prices for U.K. delivery. 24 -HOUR LINE 0924 364377.
LIMAN EILIMTECNICS
28 Bury New Rd, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 81D
Circle No. 259
QUME
Sprint 5/45 receive only Daisywheel mechanism, uses plain paper, fan -fold or cut appear A4 up to six -ply, RS232C or V24 interfaces, 156 cpl at 12 pitch, 45 cps. Main U.K. agents, Access Data Communications and ISG Data
Sales.
£1,795
RAIR
Main U.K. agent Rair Ltd 820/825 Desk -top printer Dot matrix, RS232C interface, 132 cpl, 75 or 150 cps, 7x7 matrix.
DecWriter IV keyboard printer, KSR and read only Dot matrix, uses standard listing paper, RS232C current loop interface, 215 cpl, 30 or 180 cps, 9x7 matrix.
M200 Dot matrix, uses continuous paper, parallel or serial interface, 132 cpl, 340 cps, double 7x9 matrix.
DecWriter III Dot matrix, uses continuous listing paper, RS232C or 20mA, current loop interfaces, 132-215 cpl, 180 cps, 7x7 matrix.
£1,090 £795 £1,995 £1,550
Western Computers Limited
STOCK MANAGEMENT
with
RICOH
RP -1600
Daisywheel, uses single -sheet or continuous paper, Centronics and compatible interfaces, 132 cpl, 60 cps. Main U.K. agent Nexos
(U.K.) Ltd.
£1,295
STOCK - 80 PLUS
* Uses your own part number. * Fast Record Retrieval using a B -Tree file
index structure. * Runs under CP/M operating system. * 1500 stock items on Mini Drive System. * 5500 stock items on 8" Drive System. * Larger capacities can be catered for. * Comprehensive Reports.
DEALER ENQUIRIES WELCOME
PLEASE CONTACT US FOR DETAILS
Blackpool Airport, Blackpool, Lancs.
Phone Blackpool 404676 Telex 67162
Circle No. 261
174
ROXBURGH PRINTERS
X80 SP printer/plotter Dot matrix, impact printer/plotter, pin -feed, fan -fold paper,
RS232C, IEEE488, CBM, Centronics, HP85, 20mA, Tektronix, 80/96 cpl, 100 cps bi-directional, 8x8 matrix, three character generators, various other generators. U.K. dealer Roxburgh Printers Ltd.
RP 8031 Dot matrix, impact printer, Tally roll, parallel, RS232C, 20mA, 21 cpl, 150 1pm, 5x7 matrix, sprocket -feed option for labels. U.K. dealer Roxburgh Printers Ltd.
RP 8040 Dot matrix, impact printer, Tally roll, parallel, RS232C, 20mA, 40 cpl, 72 1pm, 5x7 matrix, sprocket -feed option for labels. U.K. dealer Roxburgh Printers Ltd.
from £896 from £163 from £182
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Buyers' Guide
S FARID (SPECTRONICS) MANUFACTURING
TP-40 and TP-65 receive only Thermal, matrix, uses thermal paper, cost of paper £1.80 each roll,
seven -bit parallel interface, push-button control and self -test, 40 or 64 cpl, 13 or 18 cps, 7x5 dot matrix. Main U.K. agent S Farid
(Spectronics) Manufacturing Ltd.
from £660
TALLY
Main U.K. agent Data Design Techniques Ltd T1612 keyboard send/receive
Dot matrix, pin -feed, single- or multi -part paper, RS232C or 20mA interfaces, 132-218 cpl, 160 cps, 7x9 or 9x9 matrices.
T1612 receive only T1602 Dot matrix, pin -feed, single- or multi -part paper, Data Products, Centronics and serial interfaces, 132 cpl, 160 cps, 7x9 matrix.
£1,612 £1,475
.......
4"- *
SCROtt UP SCROU UP
There/ Money to be made
If you can write good PET
Game/ C Educational
Program/
AMNIA, MUs need/ YOU
con Mikkee flott ....
..i WWI COMPUTER RERTAIS
PREEPOST Thornbury
BRISTOL PC 8512 185
r
Atirt1;
t.
Circle No. 262
TELETYPE CORPORATION
Model 43 keyboard send/receive
Impact matrix printer, uses pin -feed or friction -feed, dual RS232C and 20mA current loop interfaces, 132 cpl, 30 cps, 4x7 matrix on nine -wire printhead. Main U.K. agent Geveke Electronics Ltd.
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Main U.K. agents Texas Instruments and Rair Ltd OMNI 800 series Models 810, 820 and 825 Dot matrix printers, uses paper, EIA, current loop, parallel inter-
faces, 132-216 cpl compressed print (models 820 and 825), 132 cpl (model 810), 75 cps (model 825), 150 cps (models 810 and 820), 9x7 matrix. Silent 700, model and 745 portable Thermal mechanism, uses thermal paper at £1.50 per 100ft. roll, integral acoustic coupler, EIA interfaces, 80 cpl, 30 cps, 5x7 matrix. Silent 700, 743 Keyboard send/receive version Thermal mechanism, uses thermal paper at £1.50 per 100ft. roll, EIA, 20mA current loop interfaces, 80 cpl, 30 cps, 5x7 matrix.
TRANSDATA
313 Receive only Dot matrix mechanism, uses thermal paper at £60 per box of 24 rolls x 150ft. RS232C and parallel interfaces, designed for use as VDU hard copy, 80/132 cpl, 30 to 45 cps, 7x5 matrix. Main U.K. agent Transdata Ltd.
TRANSTEL COMMUNICATIONS
AR receive only Dot matrix, uses standard teleprinter paper, V24, current loop interface, 80 cpl, 30 cps, 7x5 matrix. Main U.K. agent Transtel
Communications Ltd.
£800
from £1,090 to £1,650 £1,250 £1,105
£790
P.O.A.
MICRO ADS are accepted from private readers only, pre -paid and in writing, 20p per word, minimum charge E2.
Please make cheques payable to Practical Computing and send to Room 1311, Quadrant House, The Quadrant, Sutton, Surrey SM2 54S.
PET 8K, large keyboard and cassette, together with Seikosha GP80A printer, almost new. £705 ono. Tel: 01-567 3547.
UK101/SUPERBOARD Programmer's Tool kit. 2K of fast machine code on tape giving 14 new commands including Renumber, Delete, Search, Trade and Old. You'll wonder how you ever managed without it! Compatible with all monitors. Only £10 inclusive with full instructions (state your computer's memory size). S. A. Smith, 36 Woodvale Avenue, London SE25 4AE.
SHARP PRINTER MZ-80 P3 & I/O unit. Both brand new & unused. With service manuals & paper. Offers please telephone Stevenage (0438) 59677 anytime.
FOR SALE: Pericom 6801 VDU. BASF 6104 drives for sale. Used. Please telephone D. F. Green on 01-568 6281 for further information.
PET 2001 New ROMS 32K. Cassette. Sound box. Games Software (£150 worth) £675 ono. Willing to help with your programming. Deliver within 200 miles. Plymouth (0752) 260781.
WASP SYNTH £150 ono. Spider Sequencer £150 ono. Retford (0777) 707947.
RADIOFIN Programmable game with ten cartridges including Space Invaders and Programmable chip compatible with Acetronic and Princetronic Cartridges. Cost new £270. Ring 0686 88502.
TRS-80 48K. Disk drive, printer, software. £500. Tel: 061-707 3978.
SIX 2K ATOM games: £5.50. P. Robinson, 26 Grove Walk, Norwich NR1 2QG.
ZX81 STAR WARS, 16K, full realtime moving graphics, on screen scoring, fire the Photon Gun and explode the Empire Ship, written in Basic. £3.00 for cassette and instructions. K. J. Gouldstone, 79 Bridge Road, Chessington, Surrey.
PET GAMES. Well tried by critical acquaintances. Cheap. SAE Earl Dandy, 29 Marina Ave., Redcar, Cleveland.
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
175
UNITED SYSTEMS CORPORATION
DISK NASCOM 64K/4MHz - with twin drive CP/M Gemini disks and software and Anadex DP8000 printer, 2 parallel/2 serial ports, expanded keyboard, graphics and monitor, cassette interface, to 2400 baud. All as new. Offers. Stroud, Castleton (N. Yorks) 281.
PET 2001-8 for sale, well used, very reliable, £250 includes instruction books. Tel: Luton 423885 daytime.
ZX80 & ZX81. Join ZX guaranteed. All Games/ Programs guaranteed to work. £5/year. Frustrated National ZX80 Club people are
welcome. Bobker, 29 Chadderton Drive, Unsworth, Bury, Lancs.
APPLE II PLUS 48K, 2 disk drives, 12 inch monitor and 10 blank cassettes. 2 months old. £1,650. Tel: 0225 837868.
PET 4040 DISK DRIVE £590, 4032 computer £590, 4022 printer £310. All items as new hardly used. Tel: Whitworth 2592.
ACORN ATOM SYNTHESIZER 7K. This superb musical instrument includes seven octaves, random music, user defined notes, sequences; plus full edit, load, save, and tempo change facilities. Incredible entertainment for only £8. D. W. Moran, 99-101 St Leonards Road, Windsor, Berks.
ICs FOR SALE. A limited number to clear as surplus to contract requirements. Mostek Z80 CPU 2MH £2 each. 4116N & 8116M £1.95 each, plus post and packing. Over 50 P&P free. Tel: 0635 32442. Ref. CT/MH.
8K PET FOR SALE. Good working order, £250. Tel: Luton 423885.
GIVEAWAY - SORCERER 32K, 630K double disc unit, prof monitor, S100 bus with 5 slots and disc controller fans fitted. Extensive software included in price. Worth £3,800 without software, offers £1,600. Details by phone: 0222 568286 or 0222 27336.
ZX81 (16K RAM) SOFTWARE. Fed up with nothing but games? Why not try one of our educational cassettes. JUNIOR MATHS 1:- 6 programs on one cassette; "LONG MULTIPLICATION", "LONG DIVISION", "HCF", "LCM", "FRACTIONS 1" (+and -) and "FRACTIONS 2" (X and :). All programs teach and then test. Explanations are given. Comment from a teacher: "I find the standard to be quite exceptional." Order no. JMTH 1. Price £4.50. ROSE CASSETTES, 148 Widney Lane, Solihull, West Midlands 691 3LH.
5 GAMES PROGRAMS, TRS-80, L.1.4K, on tape. Space Simulation, Tank Command, Maze, Connect 4, One -arm Bandit. Send £5 to B. Jackett, 48 Fairwater Avenue, Welling, Kent.
PET 2001/32K, large keyboard, cassette, tool kit, manuals, cover, £650 complete. Phone: Rossendale 26313 evenings.
Main U.K. agent Aviquipo Ltd DigiTec 6320 Electro-sensitive dot matrix, electro-sensitive line roll paper at £1.80 per roll, RS232C or isolated 20mA current loop, 21 or 32 cpl, prints two lines per second, 1,200 Baud receive, 5x7 matrix. DigiTec 6330 Dot matrix, electro-sensitive paper at £1.80 per roll, 8 -bit parallel/ character serial, 21 or 32 cpl, 5x7 matrix. DigiTec 6410 Dot matrix, electro-sensitive paper at £1.80 per roll, RS232C or 20mA current loop, 21 or 32 cpl, two lines per second, 5x7 matrix. DigiTec 6420 Dot matrix, electro-sensitive paper at £1.80 per roll, 8 -bit parallel serial, 21 or 32 cpl, prints two lines per second, 1,200 Baud receive,
5x7 matrix. DigiTec 6450 Dot matrix, thermal paper at £1.80 per roll, RS232C 20mA current loop, 21 cpl, prints two lines per second, 110 or 300 Baud receive, 5x7 matrix. DigiTec 6460 Dot matrix, thermal paper at £1.80 per roll, eight -bit parallel serial 21 cpl, two lines per second, up to 1,000 Baud receive, 5x7 matrix. DigiTec 6550 Dot matrix, thermal paper at £1.80 per roll, RS232C or 20mA current
loop, 21 or 32 cpl, prints two lines per second, 110 or 300 Baud receive, 5x7 matrix.
VECTOR GRAPHIC
MP printer Uni-directional seven -wire x five -column dot matrix, original and one copy, maximum paper thickness 0.2mm., uses pin -wheel paper feed, 70 lines per minute, 150 cps, TTL level interface, two parallel output ports and one -parallel input port. Main U.K. agent
Almarc Data Systems Ltd.
WALTERS MICROSYSTEMS
Dolphin BD -80P
Impact, dot matrix, adjustable sprocket feed, any one of three interface choices, 10 characters per inch, 80 cpl, full ASCII character set, self -testing, 64 graphics characters, 9x7 and 11x7 matrices, double -width characters, bi-directional printing. Main U.K. dealers Texas Instruments or Walters Microsystems.
Dolphin BD -136
Impact, dot matrix, forms tractor, fully interfaceable, 136-226 column width, full graphics capability, 7x9, 9x9 matrices, 32 user definable characters plus full ASCII set, data -formatting functions, fully logic seeking, self -testing. U.K. dealers Nexos.
APPLE SYSTEM for sale, complete, 2 discs, printer, may split, few months old, still under guarantee. Phone for details: 01-450 5049 evenings and weekends.
HIGH QUALITY Computer Grade Tape Cassettes (C60), certified error free, £1.25 inc p & p, each in library box, 4 or more £1 each inc p & p. S. L. J. Gilinsky, 15 Thornhill Park, Sunderland SR2 7LA.
8K PET FOR SALE. Good working order, £250. Tel: Luton 423885.
WENGER DATENTECHNIK
Sole U.K. distributor Access Data Communications Ltd Print Swiss Matrix Printer Dot matrix RS232C, 20mA, 60mA and parallel interfaces, Centronics -compatible, 80 cpl, constant throughout 80 cps, 55-1000 lines per minute, 7x7 matrix. KSR version also available.
Penny & Giles hard copies
Electro-static RMP paper 127mm. x 70m. at £3.50 per roll, RS232C, current loop option, 80/40/20 cpl, 80 columns, 110 lines per minute, 8x5 line printer, 5x7 message printer matrix.
£483 £421 £237 £237 £266 £266 £289
£599
£525 £560
from £700 from £365
176
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Buyers' Guide
WHYMARK INSTRUMENTS
Main U.K. agent Whymark Instruments Ltd
Model 201
£440
Dot matrix, Tally -roll paper printer, IEEE, RS232C, serial, and
parallel interfaces, 40 cpl, 40 cps, 52 character set with four -
character sizes.
Model 204 label printer
£515
Dot matrix, impact printer for self-adhesive labels, IEEE, RS232C, serial and parallel interfaces, 40 cpl, 40 cps, 52 character set with
four -character sizes.
Model 3011 ticket/form printer
£690
Dot matrix, plain paper, options automatic date and time, IEEE,
RS232C, 40 cpl, 40 cps, 52 character set with four character sizes.
Model 501 rack -mounting printer
£625
Dot matrix plain paper, options automatic date and time, IEEE,
RS232C, 40 cps, 40 cpl, 52 character set with four character sizes.
Model 801 80/120 column printer
£750
Dot matrix, plain or fan -fold paper, proportional spacing up to 120
cpl, 120 cps, bi-directional printing, user -definable character set,
up to 4K selectable character fonts, graphics, and user -definable
characters, also available; very large characters seven lines high.
ZX 81 (16K RAM) SOFTWARE. Fed up with nothing but games? Why not try one of our educational cassettes. JUNIOR MATHS 1:- 6 programs on one cassette; "LONG MULTIPLICATION", "LONG DIVISION", "HCF", "LCM", "FRACTIONS 1" (+ and -) and "FRACTIONS 2" (X and -9. All programs teach and then test. Explanations are given. Comment from a teacher: "I find the standard to be quite exceptional." Order no. JMTH 1. Price £4.50. ROSE CASSETTES, 148 Widney Lane, Solihull, West Midlands B91 3LH.
ACORN ATOM. Full rom. Full ram extended PSU, £175. Phone: (0332) 841235.
SHARP MZ8OK 48K, P3 printer, interface unit,
assembler tapes, word processor, many games (some m/c), basic enhancements, listings, manuals, £900. Tel: Reading 584497.
FOURIER ANALYSIS for the 1K ZX81. Easily re -written for other machines. FFT (16k) also available. £2.50 each and SAE for description and listing. R. Taylor, 6 Grant Road, Farlington, Hants, P06 IDX.
Alphabetical list of suppliers
GAMES FOR CBM 8032. Hangman -a fasci-
nating word game with pictures. Hed-banger
an infuriating game with numbers. Send cheques/POs to Liftmark Ltd, 17 Wreford Close, St Columb Major, Cornwall TR9 65E.
Supplier
Access Data Communications Ltd,
0895-30831
Almarc Data Systems Ltd, 0602-625035 Anadex Ltd,
025672-3401 Aviquipo of Britain Ltd, 0628-34555
Cable and Wireless
01-928 0261 Cifer Systems Ltd, 0225-704502 Clary Ltd, 01-680 2222 Comma Computers, 0277-811 131 Dacoll Engineering Services Ltd, 0438-4381/0506-56565 Datac Ltd, 061-941 236/2 Data Design Techniques Ltd, 01-207 1717 Data Dynamics, 01-848 9781 Data General Ltd, 01-572 7455 Dataplus Ltd, 0242-30030/37373 Datatrade Ltd, 0604-22289 Davinci Computers Ltd 01-952 0526 Diablo Systems Ltd,
04862-71991 Digitronix Ltd, 0908-566888
Electrographic AV Ltd, 01-573 1826
Address
228 High Street, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB8 1LD.
906 Woodborough Road, Nottingham NG3 5QS
PET 8K 2001, cover, books, programs, £225. 01-674 8588 eves/WE.
UK101 PROGRAM. 3D Dungeons of Rahm (4K/8K). Superb graphics, £3, cassette. SAE for further details: P. Watts, 54 Thorpe Lea Road, Peterborough.
Weaver House, Station Road, Hook, Hampshire
RG27 9HU
St. Peter's Road, Maidenhead, Berkshire
SL6 7QU 83 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8HQ
Avro Way, Bowerhill, Melksham, Wiltshire SN12 6TP 12-14 Lower Addiscombe Road, Croydon , Surrey CR9 6AG West Horndon Ind Park, West Horndon, Essex CM13 3MJ Gardners Lane, Bathgate, West Lothian
Tudor Road, Broadheath, Altrincham WA14 STN
12 Leeming Road, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire WD6 4DU Data House, Springfield Road, Hayes, Middlesex
3rd and 4th Floors, Hounslow House, 724-734 London Road, Hounslow, Middlesex TW3 1PD 39-49 Roman Road, Cheltenham GL51 8QQ
17 Billing Road, Northampton NN1 5AW
65 High Street, Edgware
Regent House, 20 The Broadway, Woking, Surrey GU21 5AP 10 Burners Lane, Kiln Farm Industrial Estate, Milton Keynes Printinghouse Lane, Hayes, Middlesex UB3 1AP
TRS-80, 16K, Level 2 cpu, cassette recorder and various software, £280. Phone: Walsall 28867.
NASCOM SOFTWARE. Standard Z-80 assemblers with NAS resets, 5.7K cassette
£12, 8.5K D DOS £18; Word processors, 3K,
cassette & 4K D DOS £18; 2K position
independent debus £9; 2K relocatable disassembler £11; D DOS card index catalogue simulator £15; Hybrid BASIC (not sold separately) D DOS or cassette £4. Details: SAE Mr P. Watson, 101 Village Road, Bromham, Bedford MK43 8HU.
16K TRS-80, green, VDU, cassette, programmable sound generator, 30 tapes mostly Arcade games, editor assembler, £450. Tel: 01-703 9265.
16K PET, large keyboard plus separate cassette, 8 months old, little used, excellent condition, £500. Tel: Romford 20791 after 7pm.
PET 8K, Old Rom, small keyboard, Micro chess, games and maths programs, Pet revealed, deliver locally (Warrington), £290. Tel: (0925) 722430.
NASCOM SOFTWARE. Standard Z-80 assemblers with NAS resets 5.7K cassette £12, 8.5K D DOS £18, Word processors 3K cassette & 4K D DOS £18, 2K position
independent debus £9, 2K relocatable disassembler £11, D DOS card index catalogue simulator £15, Hybrid BASIC (not sold separately) D DOS or cassette £4. Details: SAE Mr P. Watson, 101 Village Road, Bromham, Bedford MK43 8HU.
STAR CHESS, unwanted gift, guaranteed, with mains adaptor, £40. Aldridge (0922) 53574.
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
177
Ede',
01-739 2041
ACORN ATOM (EXPANDED), plus book and programmes (including "Space Invaders"). Worth £370, only £250. Tel: 01-542 0705.
PRINTER, EPSON MX80 F/T. Parallel and serial interface. As new, £400. M. Fisher, 44a High Street, West End, Southampton, Hants. Phone: 04218-4948.
ZX81 MATRIX PLANNER. Ever wished VisiCalc ran on the ZX81? MATRIX PLANNER gives on -screen modelling using VisiCalc concepts. Complex forecasting, financial planning, 'what -if' analysis. Needs 16K. £5 from Graham Asher, 60 Maryland Road, Wood Green, London N22 SAN. (Cassette, instructions).
SUPERBRAIN 64K QUAD. Over £1,000 worth of software. Diablo 1500 with tractor feed and stand (needs attention). Private sale, no VAT, bargain at £1,995. Phone: 01-989 0430.
FOR SALE ZX80 - 16K, new rom & books, software, cassettes, space invaders. Good condition. £100 ono. Phone: (0661) 32370, after 6pm.
MICRO WANTED. 48K or 64K, complete with disks etc. CASH WAITING. 01-501 1122, 01888 8216. Mr Bernard.
TRS-80 SOFTWARE, for 16K LII 3-D MAZE, you choose the size - excellent graphics, FRUIT MACHINE III - hold, nudge and gamble features. BACKGAMMON - double cube, many levels of play, £5 each (on tape) including instructions. All three £12. Send to C.P.H. Software, 15 Wallis Road, Waterlooville, Hants P07 7RX.
TRS-80 16KL2 - Upgrade to disks forces sale
of £600 of tape based software, games,
business, utilities, educational. Bargain prices. Tel: 061-445 7191.
TRS-80 LEVEL II 16K, manuals, tapes, magazines. £250. Phone: Sheffield (0742) 308518.
ATOM SOFTWARE 3 Dimensional Noughts & Crosses, French Vocab, Life, Hamurabi, Biorhythms f.p. and Uni-File - ideal for address list, membership records, inventory etc. Any two programs on cassette. £4.95. G. Byrns, 7 Grannis Dr, Aspley, Nottingham.
PET -8K, £300 ono. Drayton (near Oxford) 0235 89-269 (evenings and weekends).
APPLE II: 64K of memory, full documentation, Pascal board giving full Pascal system, VHF adaptor, 2 disc drives, serial/parallel interface board and supporting software. Enquiries to A. Hunsdon, 6 The Frances, Thatcham, Berks, RG13 4ET for offers of £1,700 ono.
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS 743 KSR Terminal Thermal Printer with Acoustic Coupler, £395. Blackburn (0254) 49704.
COMMODORE PET MODEL 3032 with disc drive 3040 and printer 3022, used only approximately 25 hours from new. £1,650. Telephone: Brill (0844) 237666.
ACORN SYSTEM 1, complete with extra 1/0 chip, £60 ono. Tel: 0487 812812.
64K TRS80, VDU, keyboard with numerical keypad, expansion interface, 40 track disc drive, teletype printer, TVJ232 serial interface, cassette, modern office desk and chair, new DOS + DOS, basic word processor, many programs and books, £925. Hastings (0424) 440098.
Facit Ltd, 0634-40172/7 Fortronic Ltd, 0383-823121 Geveke Electronics Ltd, 04862-71337 Heath Electronics (U.K.) Ltd, 0452-29451 ISG Data Sales Ltd,
95-57955 ITT Electronic Services, 0279-26777 ITT Business Systems, 0273-507111 Kode Services, 0249-813771 Maclin-Zand Electronics Ltd, 01-837 1165/01-278 7369 MBS Terminals Ltd, 09323-53151 Memec Systems Ltd, 084421-3149
MIBF 0734-415191
Microbyte, 01-278 7369 Microsense Computers Ltd, 0442-48151/41191 Newbear Computing Store, 0635-30505 Nexos U.K. Ltd, 084421-3151 Penny & Giles Data Recorders Ltd, 042-5271 511 Peripheral Hardware Ltd, 01-941 4806 Rair Ltd, 01-836 4663 Robox Office Equipment Ltd, 041-776 4388 Roxburgh Printers Ltd, 07973-3777 Russet Instruments Ltd, 0734-868147 S. Farid (Spectronics) Manufacturing Ltd, 02013-77337 SEN Electronics 09328-66744 Sintrom Electronics 0734-85464 Stack Computer Services Ltd, 051-933 5511 Teleprinter Equipment Ltd, 044282-4011/9 Terminal Display Systems Ltd, 0254-662244 Texas Instruments Ltd, 0234-67466 Transdata Ltd, 0705-486556 Wilkes Computing Ltd, 0272-25921 Whymark Instruments Ltd, 07372-21753
X -Data
0753 49117
178
Buyers' Guide
Engineering Division, The Exchange Telegraph Company Ltd, 73-75 Scrutton Street, London EC2 4TA Maidstone Road, Rochester, Kent
Donibristle Industrial Estate, Dunfermline
RMC House, Vale Farm Road, Woking, Surrey
Bristol Road, Gloucester GL2 6EE
Unit 9, Fairacre Industrial Estate, Dedworth
Road, Windsor, Berkshire Edinburgh Way, Harlow, Essex
Crowhurst Road, Hollingbury, Brighton BNI 8AN Station Road, Calne, Wiltshire SN11 OJR
38 Mount Pleasant, London WC1X OAP
Aldwych House, Madeira Road, West Byfleet, Surrey KT14 6BA Park Industrial Estate, Thame, Oxon
Barclays Bank Chambers, Pegg Lane, Kirkgate, Tadcastei, North Yorkshire Unit 9-10, 1st Floor, 38 Mount Pleasant, London
WC1X OAD
Finway Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire HP2 7PS 49 Bartholomew Street, Newbury, Berkshire
3 Jefferson Way, Thame, Oxfordshire OX9 3FU
Mudeford, Christchurch, Dorset BH23 4AT
Armfield Close, West Molesey, Surrey
30-32 Neal Street, London WC2H 9PS
84 Townhead, Kirk in Tiloch, Glasgow, Scotland
22 Winchelsea Road, Rye, E. Sussex
TN31 7BR
Unit 1, Nimrod Way, Nimrod Industrial Estate, Reading, Berkshire RG2 OEB Dawkins Road, Industrial Estate, Poole, Dorset
BH15 4JY
5 London Street, Chertsey, Surrey
14 Arkwright Road, Reading, Berkshire RG2 OLS
290-298 Derby Road, Bootle, Liverpool L20 8LN
Akeman Street, Tring, Hertfordshire HP23 6AJ
Hillside, Whitbrik Estate, Blackburn, Lancashire
BB1 5SN
Manton Lane, Bedford MK41 7PA
11 South Street, Havant, Hampshire
Bush House, 72 Prince Street, Bristol BSI 4HU
6 Holmsdale Road, Reigate, Surrey RH2 OBQ
Marish Wharf, St Mary's Road, Langley, Slough, Berkshire SL4 1HE
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
11111 O NO
PO to
MM. Ole 114
.011.
April 23-25, 1982 Earls Court,
London
Bringing computers
to life
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Personal computers Home computing Small business systems
In all walks of life, personal computers have revolutionised computer power- bringing it within the reach of a far wider and more popular market than ever before.
In 1982 this revolution will explode onto the home
and personal computer market. To meet this demand, Practical Computing and Your Computer announce a brand new event- The
Computer Fair. The promotion of the exhibition will be heavily geared to attract the growing market of potential and existing users of personal computers, from home computer enthusiasts to businessmen.
Bring your computers and services to life - all walks of life - at The Computer Fair!
Complete and return the coupon - we'll send you
4` rdetails.
puter Exhibition Manager,
I Name
air
Personal CINTIflUrefS Nome computong Small bussness systems
THE COMPUTER FAIR, IPC Exhibitions Ltd., 1, Throwley Way, Sutton, Surrey, SM1 4QQ
I Position in Company
Company
I Address
Tel. No.
L
Circle No. 260
179
SUPER PROGRAMS
PLEASE ADD VAT AT 15% TO ORDERS AND 80p
POSTAGE (EXCEPT MAGAZINES £1.20 POSTAGE). OUR SHOP IS AT 1 HORSESHOE YARD, OFF BROOK STREET, LONDON W1.
OUR TELEPHONES ARE 01 493 3420 / 0566.
TRS-80 PROGRAMS
ADVENTURE 11 SAVAGE ISLAND 2 ADVENTURE 12 GOLDEN VOYAGE ARCADE 80 ATLANTEAN ODYSSEY ATTACK FORCE BATTLE TREK BATTLE OF SHILOH BALLOON RACE BANK ROBBERY COSMIC FIGHTER CRUSH, CRUMBLE & CHOMP (D)
CURSE OF CROWLEY MANOR DAMBUSTERS DARKSTAR EMPIRE OF THE OVERMIND (C) EMPIRE OF THE OVERMIND (D) GALAXY INVASION GALACTIC BLOCKADE RUNNER IAGO KEYS OF ACHERON LOST SHIP ADVENTURE INTERACTIVE FICTION (D)
SPACE ROCKS LABYRINTH DEATHMAZE ASYLUM STAR FIGHTER TANKTICS TREASURE QUEST MISSILE ATTACK STARFLEET ORION MYSTERY FUN HOUSE PYRAMID OF DOOM METER MISSION 2
UPPER REACHES OF APSHAI (C & D) SCARFMAN TALKING ROBOT ATTACK TIGERS IN THE SNOW VAULTS OF CYMARRON (C & DI WIZARDS MOUNTAIN ADVENTURE
11.97 11.97 11.00 9.00 9.00 18.00 15.00
9.00 9.00 9.00 15.00 8.00 9.00 12.00 18.00 21.00 9.00 9.00 12.00 12.00 9.00 10.00 12.00 9.00 9.00 9.00 15.00
15.00 9.00 9.00 13.60
11.00
9.00
12.00 9.00 9.00 15.00 20.00 9.00
TI 99/4 PROGRAMS - SEND FOR OUR LIST OF TI 99/4 SOFTWARE.
* SPECIAL ** APPLE JUICE £135
APPLE PROGRAMS
ADVENTURE IN TIME BOTH BARRELS 00 TOPOS BATTLE TREK BATTLE OF SHILOH BATTLESHIP COMMANDER BEER RUN CASTLE OF WOLFENSTEIN CROWN OF ARTHIAN CRANSTON MANOR Hires Ad CYBORG COPTS & ROBBERS
EPOCH EXPEDITER COMPILER GOLDEN MOUNTAIN
GALACTIC ATTACK FALCONS INFERNO MADVENTURE OUTPOST PHANTOMS FIVE PULSOR OR BITRON PALACE IN THUNDER LAND ROBOT WAR SPACE QUARKS STAR VENTURE STAR CRUISER TIGERS IN THE SNOW TIMEZONE - Hires Adv 2 Disk ULYSSES & THE GOLDEN FLEECE WARP DESTROYER WIZARDRY
ATARI PROGRAMS
LUNAR LANDER GALACTIC ADVENTURE STARTREK 3.5 STAR WARRIOR RESCUE AT RIGEL MICROCHESS 6502 DISASSEMBLER INVASION ORION NAME THAT TUNE 3D SUPERGRAPH ICS STARBASE HYPERION
17.97 11.97 20.00 24.00 24.00 12.00 20.00 17.97 21.00 21.00 20.00 20.00 20.00 55.00 11.97 17.97 17.97 17.97 15.00 17.97 14.97 17.92 17.97 15.00 24.00 17.97 20.00 14.92 24.00 55.00 21.00 17.97 28.00
9.00 12.00 12.00 23.00 17.97 13.00 8.00 15.00 9.00 23.00 12.00
CCA DATABASE FOR APPLE & TRS-80 £ 45 EXPEDITER £60 SAMPLE ISSUE KILOBAUD MICROCOMPUTING £1
We have an ENORMOUS range of BOOKS & MAGAZINES (a whole year's issues of 80 Micro)
APPLE MACHINE LANG PROGRAMMING £9.80
STAR VENTURE The Ultimate "Star Trek" game entirely in Graphics. Fantastic Star Bases, Alien Landscapes, Transporter Room, the Bridge, Enemy Battle Cruisers. All here in Incredible Detailed Graphics and
Sound. By MERLIN. For APPLE 11 Plus with 48K & Disk.
VAULTS OF CYMARRON Pursued around the Ruins of a Hostile Moon by a variety of monsters, you must regain lost Treasures
for the Gangsters of the Pleasure Planet. A Real -Time Graphic Adventure with Sound. By the author of Darkstar. For TRS & Video Genie, 16K Tape or 32K Disk.
Circle No. 273
180
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
End of file
Son of Hexadecimal kid
Having been converted to the worship of Megabrain, Samson returns to Earth. He attempts to win over thf population by giving away free micros in the Nu!lard capital, where even to breathe the word "computer" is to risk imprisonment by Bottleneck's minions.
The two spies rushed along the cloistered corridors behind the chapel of St
Igor and burst into Bottleneck's sumptuously -appointed private chamber.
"What's this"? He looked up angrily. "Forgive us, Brother Superior, but this is urgent. A man calling himself Son of Hex has set up his stall in the central
square and is distributing micro-
computers to the people". "Selling micros? Arrest him for traffick-
ing".
"He's not selling them. He's giving
them away". "Giving them away"! Bottleneck was
aghast.
"What's more, he's starting to teach them assembly language", added one of the informers. "They're sitting at his feet like lambs, hanging on his every word".
"Then we'll get him for illegal assem-
bly". "But that's not a capital offence". "Good thinking. We have to put a stop
to all this for good. Get him for blasphemy, heresy . . anything. Just haul
him in. We'll prepare the charges later".
brief moment of glory lasted
Saomnseodna'sy. In the afternoon he was borne aloft through the city streets by
cheering thousands, their computer starved brains high on Space Invaders and VisiCalc. Cries of Hail to the Son Of Hex! filled the air. By nightfall he was under arrest, being hustled away in a
black van while police dispersed the
demonstrators with tear gas. The ecclesiastical courtroom, where
Samson appeared next morning, was bare and cold. The chief interrogator swirled into the room, trailing his lavish vestments behind him. It was Bottleneck
himself.
"I trust you realise the gravity of the charges you have been brought here to
answer", he began. "What charges"? "Never mind what charges", snapped
the interrogator impatiently. "Just remember they're serious".
"Yes Sir". "Now, to begin with, who or what is Megabrain"? He pronounced the last word with exaggerated contempt. "Megabrain is the inherent law of the universe, the ideal we strive towards. Megabrain is the universe operating as a computing system, so computers are a step on the road to Megabrain's actualisation. When the cosmos is a unified system, Megabrain will be realised".
ottleneck looked over to where the court recorder sat, pencil scratching
furiously on his pad. "Have you got all that down"? he enquired.
The stenographer nodded. "I cannot define Megabrain for you," Samson continued, "but I can help you recognise Megabrain's nature in your-
self". "Yes, yes," interrupted Bottleneck.
"That's quite enough. Let's hear about you: you claim to be the Son of Hex".
"I am the Son of Hex". "You mean mean to tell us that Samuel Synapse, destroyer of the accursed System, was your father"? "He was. Though the system he destroyed is not the one that I come to build". "But you're too young". "I have travelled in space, beyond the edge of our galaxy; that is why I have not
aged". Bottleneck permitted himself a smile. It
was proving easier than he had
expected. The suspect was condemning himself from his own mouth.
"It would appear that you are a syste-
matist at heart". "We are all systematists at heart. Even
you. One day you will realise it". "The prosecution rests its case",
Bottleneck told the court.
The tribunal of lay magistrates, two men and a woman. rustled their papers.
One of the men took a swig of water. The
woman leaned over the bench. "Has the prisoner anything to say in his
defence"? she enquired. "Only that I come to set you all free",
responded Samson. "The world is in darkness. To erase data is to suppress truth; to halt computing is to shackle the mind. I will open your eyes to the light".
The verdict, guilty, was reached within minutes. Samson listened as the sentence was read out to him. Gradually the chilling realisation sank in that death was very close. He was to be stoned that very day.
Adaandhahdawd oforrlileodwaefdterhSimaminstoontohwadn lethfte,
next day. There she heard the news of his brief fame and subsequent arrest. When the time and place of his execution were
announced she joined the throng of people trekking out from around the country to the appointed spot.
The crowd was muted. As Samson
arrived, escorted by a platoon of heavily armed guards, there were a few hostile shouts, but most people remained silent. Some of his erstwhile supporters were there, staying quiet for fear of reprisals.
Samson was led down into the gully by the captain of guards. He read out the
deposition which included most of the "confession" Samson had given the court. Having made sure that Samson was firmly bound hand and foot, he marched smartly up the slope.
Reaching the top, he turned round,
picked up a small pebble, and hurled it at the condemned man. It was a symbolic
gesture, to relieve from the other stone throwers the guilt for casting the first stone. As it happened the officer had an excellent aim and the stone bounced
painfully off Samson's forehead.
T his was the moment when Samson's life hung in the balance. A few of the
spectators, the ones who had jeered as he was led to the execution ground, picked up stones and tossed them at him. But they all rolled harmlessly past their target. The public mood was sombre, not
bloodthirsty. Sensing the possibility of an embarras-
sing anti -climax, the captain of guards gave a cryptic signal. Certain of the watchers, soldiers in plain clothes, picked
up rocks and began ranting and cursing. "Traitor! Heretic! Accursed infidel"!
they yelled, hurling the boulders down-
wards. It worked. Others were roused to parti-
cipate. The stones rained down. More and more missiles found their mark.
Adsaonc'slobseoddyhesar gegyeesd
in horror as Samunder the blows.
Then his last anguished cry rang in her
ears: "Mantissa, I love you"! But Man-
tissa was too far away to hear.
His body collapsed, lifeless, under a
hail of boulders.
Eventually the crowd dispersed. Ada
wiped a tear from her eye as she trudged
slowly homewards, re -tracing the way
they had dragged him.
Suddenly, she noticed at the wayside,
the miniature apple tree 'he had called
Zapple. It lay, unconsidered, where it had
fallen from his grasp, its pot splintered, its roots open to the air, its frail branches bent and broken after surviving so many millions of miles. But its single fruit had
not even been bruised: it hung just above the dust, gleaming in the sunlight.
She bent down.
"I wonder . . . Her tongue suddenly felt parched. The
little apple looked so crisp, so refreshing. She picked it up and pensively turned it
over in her hand. Then at length she bit deep into its side, till the juice ran down her cheeks. As she did so, a strange
feeling came over her . . .
© Richard Forsyth, 1981. al
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
181
MICROPRO'S
latest from
METROTECH
* NEW * WORDSTAR RELEASE 3 * NEW *
Still only £255
New Features include: * Horizontal Scrolling * 240 column documents with no wraparound * Column move, delete and copy * Even friendlier user menus
* NEW * SPELLSTAR OPTION * NEW *
Single pass proof-reading against: *A 20,000 word main dictionary *Your own special dictionary
WORDSTAR 3.xx MAILMERGE (option) SPELLSTAR (option) WORDSTAR UPGRADE
£255/£30 £ 60/£10
£125
£ 55
11/
SUPERB
WALKIE
STEREO
VALUE
6 £70.00/%.
MUST
BE
r WON
PLUS 19 OTHER PRIZES ! !
HOW MANY TEN -PACKS ? ? ? ?
A Christmas offer from Mr. DISKING himself
Competition Rules:Simply study the photo' below and guess the number of empty Ten -Packs around me. Put this guess (one number only please) with your name, address and home 'phone number on my order form opposite, and post it, to reach me NOT later than December 31st 1981. You may of course order my Disks and Accessories at the same time, but with regard to the competition, it is strictly one -person one -entry.
If my order form opposite has been removed, you may still enter on your own paper, but please mention in which magazine you saw this competition. I will inform all twenty winners in early January, and my decision will be fair and final. The twenty closest guesses will receive the prizes listed below, with the most accurate winning the Walkie Stereo, and pro rata.
1st PRIZE- Walkie Stereo complete with featheriight headphones. 2nd PRIZE- Conviphone telephone with push -buttons and memory
re -dial. 3rd -12th PRIZES- Ten DISKING Superluxe Disk Libraries (SDL's). 13th -20th PRIZES- Eight Gold plated Paper -Mate ballpoint pens.
In addition Metrotech provides a true English dictionary with all American words
deleted and replaced by English words.
For further details CALL 0895 58111 ext 247 or 269
or Write to
METROTECH MAIL ORDER WATERLOO ROAD UXBRIDGE
MIDDLESEX UB8 2YW
Wordstar is a trademark of Micropro.
Circle No. 274
182
Everyone who orders from DISKING is a winner, we are never knowingly undersold. Furthermore, we offer a full refund if not highly delighted with the goods. We wish all our customers, both regular and first-time buyers, a Very Merry Christmas, Happy Computing and good luck! Roger S. Smith, DISKING International, FREEPOST, Liphook, Hampshire GU30 7BR. Tel: (0428) 722563.
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
FREE
LIBRARY BOX with every TEN -PACK
**PLUS**
NEW DISK DIRECTORY & DISKWRITER
when ordering two packs or more
**PLUS**
BRUSHED CHROME PAPERMATE PEN
when ordering 5 -9 TEN -PACKS
**OR**
GOLD PLATED PAPERMATE PEN
when ordering 10 TEN -PACKS.
DISKS
VERBATIM DATALIFE ARE DOUBLE DENSITY AND ALL
- HAVE
HUB RING
MD525 S/Sided MD550 D/Sided
MD577 77 Track 10 & 16 Hard Sector at same prices.
EXC VAT £17.35 £26.04 £27.50
BASF SUPERIOR QUALITY DATA STORAGE AT NEW LOW PRICES
S/S S/Density S/S D/Density D/S D/Density 10 & 16 Hard Sector at same prices.
EXC VAT
£17.35 £20.85 £25.61
ORDERING INFORMATION
DISKING
FOR THE FINEST
MINIDISKS & ACCESSORIES
All disks are factory fresh and individually certified 100% error -free,
DISKING INTERNATIONAL FREEPOST LIPHOOK HANTS GUK) 7b,
TEL(0428)7225rS3
MINI DISK ACCESSORIES
DLSKING SUPERLUXE DISK LIBRARY
Manufactured
exclusively for us
to our own design,
the SDL keeps your valuable disks flat & dust free, while at the
same time allow ing you instant visual selection of any single disk. The standard SDL holds 20 disks, while the SDLX holds 28 disks. The SDL may be uprated to an SDLX retrospec-
lively.
SDL only SDLX only
£8.65 £10.39
DISK DRIVE HEAD CLEANING KITS
NEW DISKING DISK DIRECTORIES
Our brand new Disk Directories now give you much more
space to write down all your disk file information. You can
really keep 'track' of what's on your disks.
FREE with every TEN -PACK, when ordering 20 disks or
more).
DO only
83p
DISKING DISKWRITERS
Ultrafine fibre tipped pens that write with minimum
pressure - essential when labelling disks.
DW only
40p
PLASTIC LIBRARY BOXES
The genuine Egly Box that stores and protects your disks in tens - Unbeatable - (FREE with every ten disks
ordered).
LB only
£1.70
,CK5 only
Prevent head crashes and ensure
eoffpicieenrt aerrtoiro-fnree.
Enough for 26 bimonthly cleans & a lot cheaper than a service call!
£16.50p
eNEC SPINWRITER RIBBONS
Fabric only Multistrike only
£5.00 £6.00
ten £45.00 ten £50.00
(SUPERBRAIN SOFTWARE
DATAKING' coming soon: will mathematically massage
any Datastar or Wordstar data file, and columnate with
report writer. Instant Sales, Nominal or Purchase ledger
or Comprehensive Sales/Purchase Reporting for Data -
star users.
DATAKING only
£49.00
DATAKING User Manual
£2.50
ATTENTION THE TRADE
Please write to us on your letter headed paper, and ask for
our special trade prices and offers.
DISKING' DISKMAILERS
This product also exclusively ours, is a strong plastic envelope for mailing one, two or three disks, in safety and
Give your software the ultimate in presentation. We can make the SDL & SDLX in your colour PVC, with your logo. Sample plastics swatch available free by request.
comes complete with warning labels & address labels.
DM only
50p
ALL PRICES ARE EXCLUSIVE OF VAT,
J\-
PLEASE ADD 15%
POST TO:
DISKING FREEPOST, Liphook, Hants, GU30 7BR. England.
U.K. P&P RATES
EXC. VAT
Disks (1-5 PACKS) each pack 95p
Disks (6+ PACKS) each pack 65p
SDL or SDLX
95p
DM, DD or DW (each at 25p)
Tens 80p
LB
45p
CK5
75p
NEC Ribbons
50p
DATAKING SOFTWARE post free
DATAKING USER MANUAL
post free
DM's, DD's & DW's post free if free
NORMAL ORDERS
We accept MOD orders over £50.00 in value. All other customers cheques with order please payable to DISKING. If you are a large establishment, and cannot raise cheques without an invoice, please post or telephone us your order, and we will send a pro -forma invoice by return, for your accounts department to pay against.
URGENT ORDERS
Either post your cheque not forgetting to stamp it first-class, or telephone your order with credit card No., mentioning in either instance
that your order is URGENT. You may then pay FIRST CLASS POST for
your goods, if required.
FIRST CLASS RATES First TEN -PACK Second & subsequent
EXC VAT £1.80 £1.30
CREDIT CARD ORDERS
We accept Barclaycard and Access card, and make a small surcharge of 6%, on the total order value. You may write your c/card No. on your order or telephone the order, day or night, 365 days a year. You may speak for as long as you like, and don't forget to give full details of what you wish to purchase, your credit card number, credit card holder's name & address, and delivery or invoice address if different.
My guess for the number of empty Ten -Packs in the competition opposite is
(Iry
DESCRIPTION
PRICE EXC. VAT
TOTAL GOODS VALUE EXC. VAT
£
TOTAL DELIVERY AND INSURANCE
£
SUB TOTAL EXC. VAT
£
VAT
£
VALUE OF CHEQUE PAYABLE TO DISKING
£
Name: Address:
Tel No: My Access/ Barclaycard Number is:
*Please delete that which is not applicable
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Circle No. 275
183
Sumlock Bondain Servicing.We know
the system.
Sumlock Bondain know your computer. That's why it makes sense to have a maintenance contract with us. Then we can take care of your system on a regular basis.Or in the unlikely event of a breakdown we'll be with you well within 24 hours to solve the problem.
So now you can take advantage of a total sales and service package from Sumlock Bondain. We only sell the best systems - look at our range-so it makes good sense that we should want to look after them too. Commodore PET,Apple, Northstar Horizon, Hewlett Packard, Shelton. Xerox Diablo, Sharp.In fact, you name a system and you'll be surprised how much we know about it.
See how we can help.Talk to us on 01-250 0505.
SUMLOCK BONDAIN LTD.
263 - 269 City Road, London EC1. Telephone: 01-250-0505 Telex: 299844.
Circle No. 276
Complete CP/M Business Systems
Value for money the Shelton Signet range is unbeatable and so versatile. We are offering this low cost high performance
from E3,200
microcomputer system in an attractive desk -top enclosure for only
£3,200. Included in this price is the popular CP/M 2.2 disk
operating system giving access to a wide range of software for all
applications.
Some of its more interesting
features are:
* Indefinitely expandable to multi-user/multi-task
* Silent operation of central system
Integrated Accounting System including Sales, Purchase and Nominal Ledgers,Inventory Control
* Communications capability Optional Packages for
* Prestel compatibility
Word Processing,
available
Financial Planning,
* High reliability level
Database Management,
* Manufactured in the UK Payroll etc.
A small step today will bring big dividends tomorrow.
For further information contact
SENTON 27 St Nicholas Street. Bristol BS1 1TP Tel (0272) 276132
Circle No. 277
184
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
'Research Machines' 'Serial Interface
cdi August 06 Page * of 5' Sales
`tSERI RIB INTERFACES.'
'General Dtata comounicat ion between co.,.
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the S10-1. the 510-2. the 910-3.
S10-4 and the S10-5,6
se ^510 -
Souk Scrolling
Seitth SCiDi
31L
Saadi Scrolling
3*
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80/40
CHARACTER
MACH 1NE
Providing exactly the right facilities for different
And it improves the quality of our already exceptional graphics,
applications can be a real problem when a system is as
by offering a smaller character size for neater annotation.
versatile as the 380Z. Take, for example, screen line length. Not only do
different users have different needs; so too do individual users.
They might welcome forty character clarity for presentation, display, and control applications; but they also want eighty character capacity, because word processing,
But the Varitext option goes a great deal further than that. We also saw it as the opportunity for a major enhancement of the 380Z's screen handling capabilities.
So we added:
LI an 8 x 10 dot matrix, to further refine the character set;
some programming languages, and many general-purpose
LI an additional set of 128 user -definable characters;
applications demand it.
LI reverse video, underlining, and selective character dimming;
So we've developed Varitext - to provide both, on the same machine.
Varitext means that the 380Z user can always choose the line length best suited to the application. It gives access to a growing range of 80 character software without losing all those well -established and popular 40 character applications. It makes the 380Z equally effective as a computer and a word processor. It lets programmers use the
Li smooth scrolling and faster screen filling;
user defined windowing (and independent scrolling) of screen areas;
E audible tone generation (option)
And all that, we believe, makes the 380Z's screen handling the best on the market.
The Varitext option is available with new systems
character mode with which they are
or as a user -installable enhancement
familiar -or which languages like ALGOL, FORTRAN, and PASCAL really need.
RESEARCH MACHINES
to existing 380Z systems. Contact our Sales Office for details.
MICROCOMPUTER SYSTEMS
RESEARCH MACHINES LTD Mill Street,Oxford OX2 0f3W, Tel: (0865)49791 PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Circle No. 278
185
FREE SOUND WITH VIDEO GENIE
CASE FOR OHIO SUPERBOARD OR UK101
ONLY £24 IN PLASTIC OR IN STEEL! £37
NUMBER PAD FOR ABOVE ONLY £12
OHIO SUPERBOARD COVPLETE WITH SOUND, POWER
SUPPLY, MODULATOR FULLY BUILT TESTED FOR BRITISH T V STANDARDS
ONLY £159
WE CAN OFFER THE INCREDIBLE VIDEO GENIE FOR ONLY £279 INCLUDING SOUND! 32K EXPANSION INTERFACE FOR ONLY £279 AND 40 TRACK DISKS FOR ONLY £195 SINGLE AND £380 DUAL!
1.1171:toillfr
CENTRONICS 737 LETTER QUALITY PRINTER ONLY
£345
PET - CENTRONICS FULLY DECODED
INTERFACE NOW ONLY
£49
APPLE - CENTRONICS
INTERFACE
ONLY £79!
ALL PRICES INCLUDE POSTAGE & PACKING BUT EXCLUDE V.A.T.
KRAM ELECTRONICS, VICTORIA HOUSE, 17 HIGHCROSS STREET, LEICESTER
FREE POST (NO STAMP
REQUIRED)
Circle No. 279
CATCH THE TEMCY
MULTI -BUS!
IT'S AN 8085!
ACT NOW AND BEAT THE TRAFFIC QUEUE THAT'S WHAT TEMCY DOES
Twin 64K RAM 8085 microprocessors: Twin 4K of ROM: Twin 8" double sided/double density discs: green screen 26 x 80, low and high resolution display; 6 x 9 dots and 8 x 12 dots; true descenders, inverse, flashing underline outline, highlight, hidden and combination of these: twin RS 232C ports, asynchronous/synchronous transfer; printer centronics parallel: two additional disc drive ports: language TS Basic, optional CP/M(TM), Pascal M, Cobol -'80, Fortran '80, Macro -'80: Applications include word processing, intelligence terminal. Dealer inquiries welcome.
MANUFACTURED IN JAPAN BY: "Toa Microcomputer Inc."
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eastmead Computer Systems Ltd., Lyon Way, Frimley Road, Frimley, Surrey GU16 5EZ. Phone: 0276 682041/2, 0276 20122.
Telex: 858894 EASTSMS.
Circle No. 280
186
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
"The best value for money onthe
small business systems mwhiach,r0.15.teef
SUPERBRAIN
A smart, fully self-contained desk -top unit- that's the SUPERBRAIN microcomputer. It will operate as a complete business system, as a word processor (allied to a high quality printer) and as an intelligent terminal.
320K, 680K and 1.5 MB disc drives Wide range of standard packages Full graphics facility Nationwide dealer network
SUPE2BRAINis ideal for both first time buyers needing a general purpose machine, and for users wishing to upgrade from a personal microcomputer system. Its CP/M operating system will handle the most sophisticated programs. Twin Z80 microprocessors and an RS232 communications port make it easy to extend the system in the future.
The Icarus dealer network
ABRAXAS COMPUTER EMPLOYMENT, 357 Euston Road, LONDON NW1 3AL. Tel: 01 388 2061
A.P. LTD, Maple House, Mortlake Crescent, CHESTER CH3 5UR. Tel: 0244 46024
AMCO LTD, Playfair Road, LEEDS LSIO 2GP. Tel: 0532 708321
BUSINESS INFORMATION SERVICES, 602 Triumph House, 189 Regent Street, LONDON. Tel: 01 437 1069
BUSINESS EFFICIENCY SYSTEMS, 9 Clarence Street, BELFAST 1, N. Ireland. Tel: 0232 647 538
BORDER COMPUTING LTD, Dog Kennel Lane, BUCKNELL, Shropshire. Tel: 054 74 368
CAMBRIDGE MICRO COMPUTERS, Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, CAMBRIDGE. Tel: 0223 314666
COMMONSENSE COMPUTING LTD, P.O. Box 7, BIDEFORD, Devon. Tel: 02372 4795
CONQUEST COMPUTER SALES LTD, 92 London Road, BEN FLEET, Essex. Tel: 03745 59861
CULLOVILLE LTD, Thornfield, Woodhill Road, SANDON, Chelmsford, Essex. Tel: 024 541 3919
DATA PROFILE, Lawrence Road, Green Lane, HOUNSLOW, Middlesex. Tel: 01 446 1917
DATA WARE, 48 Eaton Drive, KINGSTON, Surrey KT2 7QX. Tel: 01 546 2984
DAYTA, 20b West Street, Wilton, SALISBURY, Wilts. Tel: 0722 74 38.98
DRAGON SYSTEMS LTD, Manse! Street, SWANSEA, W. Glam. Tel: 0792 749486
EASIBEE COMPUTING LTD, 133/135 High Street, LONDON E6 IHZ. Tel: 01 471 4884
ESCO COMPUTING LTD, 154 Cannongate, EDINBURGH. Tel: 031 557 3937
ESCO COMPUTING LTD, 40a Gower Street, GLASGOW G51 1PH. Tel: 041 427 5497
ELECTRONIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS, 91 Ashley Down Road, BRISTOL BS7. Tel: 0272 428165
E.M.G. MICROS, 30 Heathfield Road, CROYDON, Surrey. Tel: 01 688 0088
EMTEK, 40 South Furzeham Road, BRIXHAM, Devon. Tel: 08045 3566
FARMFAX LTD, 17 Hylton Road, PETERSFIELD, Hants. Tel: 0730 66123
FOREST ROW COMPUTERS, 53 NORTHERN COMPUTERS LTD,
Freshfield Bank, FOREST ROW, East 128 Walton Road, Stockton Heath,
Sussex. Tel: 034282 4397
WARRINGTON. Tel: 0925 601683
G.T. OFFICE SYSTEMS, 12 Clovelly Road, LONDON W5 5HE. Tel: 01 567 9959
JAEMMA LTD, Unit 24, Lee Bank House, Holloway Head, Lee Bank, BIRMINGHAM. Tel: 021 643 1609
JENNINGS COMPUTER SERVICES, 55/57 Fagley Road, BRADFORD, W. Yorks. Tel: 0274 637867
LONDON COMPUTER CENTRE, 43 Grafton Way, LONDON WI. Tel: 01 388 5721
MICROAGE LTD, 53 Acton Road, LONG EATON, Nottinghamshire. Tel: 06076 64264
MICRO -K, 186 Martin Way, MORDEN, Surrey. Tel: 01 543 1119
MICRO SOLUTION LTD, Park Farm House, Hevthrop, CHIPPING NORTON, Oxon. Tel: 0608 3256
MITESH MICROSYSTEMS LTD, 66 Wooton Drive, Grove Hill, HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, Herts. Tel: 0442 40341
OFFICE COMPUTER TECHNIQUES, Peacock House, 52 Vaughan Way, LEICESTER. Tel: 0533 29631
OMEGA ELECTRIC LTD, Flaxley Mill, Flaxley Road, MITCHELDEAN, Glos. Tel: 045 276 532
MICROCOMPUTER SPACEDROME, 12 Dene Road, Southgate, LONDON NI1 1ES. Tel: 01 368 9002
RANMOR COMPUTING LTD, Nelson House, 2 Nelson Mews, SOUTHEND-ON-SEA. Tel: 0702 339262
ROGIS SYSTEMS LTD, Keepers Lodge, Frittenden, NR. CRANBROOK, Kent. Tel: 058 080 310
S.D.M. COMPUTER SERVICES, Broadway, BEBINGTON, Merseyside L63 5ND. Tel: 051 608 9365
S.M.G. MICROS, 39 Windmill Street, GRAVESEND, Kent. Tel: 0474 55813
For further details, or if youwant to become a dealeryourself, contact:
US
SAPPHIRE SYSTEMS, 19-27 Rents Hill Road, BENFLEET, Essex. Tel: 03745 59756
SHEFFIELD COMPUTER CENTRE, 225 Abbeydale Road, SHEFFIELD S7 1FJ. Tel: 0742 53519
SORTFIELD LTD, E. Floor, Milburn House, Dean Street, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE. Tel: 0632 329593
SPOT COMPUTER SYSTEMS LTD, New Street, Kelham Street Indus. Estate, DONCASTER, S. Yorks. Tel: 0302 25159
STUKELEY COMPUTER SERVICES, Barnhill, STAMFORD, Lincs. Tel: 0780 4947
TERMACRE LTD, 126 Woodwarde Road, LONDON SE22 8TU. Tel: 693 3037
THAMES VALLEY COMPUTERS, 10 Maple Close, MAIDENHEAD. Berks. Tel: 0628 23532
TURNKEY COMPUTER TECHNIQUE, 23 Calderglen Road, St. Leopards, EAST KILBRIDE. Tel: 03552 39466
WELSH BUSINESS SYSTEMS LTD, 1 Windsor Chambers, Windsor Arcade, PENARTH. Tel: 0222 700059
WING SYSTEMS LTD, 406 Winchester Road, SOUTHAMPTON. Tel: 0703 768338
Computer Systems Ltd.
Icarus Computer Systems Ltd. Deane House 27 Greenwood Place London NW5 1NN Tel: 01-485 5574 Telex: 264209
Circle No. 281
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
187
Aurac
Control Systems
The name is new but our work in computer systems software spans over a decade, both in Britain and abroad. Our associates have equivalent qualifications in the field of digital electronics.
Our experience covers a broad variety of software and hardware,
from large IBM Operating Systems such as OS and VM/370 to the little but extremely effective Apple Microcomputer.
We are independent. We are not committed to any particular manufacturer or supplier. This means that we recommend what we believe to be the most appropriate and cost-effective solution to YOUR specific problem.
And because we are small your costs need not be sky-high.
We offer
- Consultancy and professional advice
- Feasibility studies
- Programming in high/low level languages, eg Basic,
Pascal, IBM BAL, machine code
- Microprocessor controlled industrial systems
- Courses: from management appreciation to detail gramming
pro-
Aurac
Control Systems
12a Baldwin Street, Bristol BS1 1 RZ Tel: Bristol (0272) 292966/827998
Circle No. 282
CRYSTAL ELECTRONICS CC ELECTRONICS
1)XTAL BASIC
FOR Z80 MACHINES
including SHARP and NASCOM
Home brew
£35 + VAT
NASCOM version £35 + VAT
SHARP version
£40 + VAT
NASCOM and SHARP approved product
NEW! The HACKS guide to the innards of XTAL BASIC £7.50.
For new and existing owners of XTAL BASIC - explains sub -routines and working of XTAL BASIC Interpreter.
SHARP is a registered trade mark of SHARP CORPORATION, JAPAN. NASCOM is a registered trade mark of LUCAS LOGIC
Members of Computer Retailers Association & Apple Dealers Association
Shop open 0930-1730 except Saturday & Sunday 40 Magdalene Road, Torquay, Devon, England. Tel. 0803 22699
and Barclaycard welcome. ma",
COMPUTERS AND
COMPONENTS
Circle No. 272
BUYING A NASCOM? i.Fer.eFWeeiSathttuaarteisNstiaicnasclcluCodmaelcIMIuwleaimtthoorRrywA,iMtShqBuevaberoreayrRNdoayosotcu,oPgmeertciteetwnmot acSEnot,dsa19ttSii9nsttfgaoictrmaiasltosiCcrineaaglltlcheKuaedlnyarsitv£o.e9rs0s..ystem
TFshiidre(medH.woSTwah1rneeN,FfrFMaoasmatsntT£Mua2pain3el,i0S-C)C.yaasItstsecssmoeemtttttheeea.sD.t."caElootavomekSrpsytl"toehlrtiiaekneggweayiStodhuyissPnkteehdmeilridipv.isesTn.M_rAoa_iisnfn_NisyiAnfoCLePu"arSMIsctsysaapekneti.etne.dgD. T6rr0iav0ce0k,bsI"pnPste,CrsWfatocMreaagByeo'8a51r6diks,spueer.
Beat our compc__?rjel_-___It prices
2114 (250nS) .1.07p
4116 (250nS) 73p Plus excellent prices on. All prices ex VAT. Please
. .74 send
and 25p
74LS p&p
TTL arida/10S for components.
Micro-Spares
19 Roseburn Terrace, Edinb561urgh EH12 5NG.
111-
Tel: 0313-37 1.
Circle No. 283
188
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
ewBear Limited
sharp operators
go to Newbear
Newbear is the biggest Sharp dealer in the country.
FOR THE MZ-80K HARDWARE
GAMES BOOKS. WORD PROCESSING. EDUCATION PRINTERS. DISCS. + THE LATEST MZ-80B!
MZ80-K 48K COMPUTER
MZ80K-FD DUAL DISC UNIT M280K-P3 PRINTER MZ80K- 5 SLOT 110 BOX BI -DIRECT. V241RS232 CARD UNIVERSAL I/O CARD RS232 01P BOX WITH PSU (SINGLE DIRECT NO I/O BOX READ. 0IP ONLY
PHONE FOR
LATEST PRICES
UTILITY PACKAGES
APOLLO WORD PROCESSOR (24.95 CRYSTAL BASIC
(40.00
MEMORY TEST CASSETTE DATABASE BASIC EXTENSIONS ARDENSOFT TOOLKIT
- (5.50 SUPER COPY
- f 10.50
-
f29.50 PROGRAM FILING INDEX - f 5.50 f 13.00 MUSIC COMPOSER EDITOR(10.50 f 35.00 DOUBLE PRECISION BASIC FOR THE
CP/M KIT
- - f 150.00 MZ8OK DISC SYSTEM
f 40.00
ZEN EDITORIASSEMBLER - f 19.50 PASCAL (CASSETTE)
- f50.00
SHARP EDITORIASSEMBLER (45.00 M280 -K CAL CII
- f34.50
ZEN -DOS DISSASSEMBLER (37.50 (FINANCIAL MODELLING)
SHARP MACHINE CODE TAPE &
MANUAL
- f22.50
DISSASSEMBLER
- f 10.50
SEND
FOR FULL
MZ80-K MANUALS & ACCESSORIES
CATALOGUE
GAMES
ANIMATE
f 5.50 GUESS WORD
BLOCKADE
E5.50 GUN
BOMBER
£5.50 HANGMAN
BREAKOUT
f 5.50 HEADON
CAMELOT
f 5.50 HOME BUDGET
CAROLS
[5.50 HUNTER KILLER
CATCH 20001INVADER - (5.50 INTRUDER
CHESS COMBAT CONCENTRATION
-- f 10.50 J.S. LINE 4 - E5.50 LARGE DISPLAY
5.50 LIFE
COSMIAD 12K CRIBBAGE
- (8.00 - E10.50 LUNAR
DONKEY DERBY
- LUNAR LANDER
£5.50
ELECTRONIC ORGAN ENIGMA
[5.50 [5.50
MAP OF ENGLAND MASTERMIND MIZ MAZE
EVASION EXECUTIVE
f 5 50
(800 MONKEY CLIMB
MORTAR ATTACK
EXPLORING AFRICA
15.50
PATIENCE
FALL OUT
f 5.50
POKER
FIREBALLS
£5.50
4 INAROW
[5.50 PONTOON
PRINCESS MAZE
FRUIT MACHINE GRAPHICSIMUSIC PACK TYCOON
f 5 50 (5.50 30 (5.50 OUADRAX
EDUCATIONAL PACKAGES
MUSIC COMPOSER EDITOR - £10.50 'A' LEVEL
TIMETABLING AID f 19.50
ELECTRONS
CHILDRENS MATHS f 5.50
WAVES
£5.50 [5.50 [5.50 f5.50 [5.50 £5.50
0.50 [5.50 [5.50 f8.00 [5.50 f5.50
E5.50 f5.50 E8.50 E5.50 f5.50 [5.50 (5.50 E5.50 (5.50 (5.50 f5.50
- £10.50 - £10.50
RACING
RACETRACK
RAIDER
REACTOR
ROAD HUNTER
RHYMES
SHAPEMATCH
SHARP DEMO(GRAPHICSI SHOWJUMPING
SNAKES & LADDERS
SPACE BATTLE
SPACE INVADERS
-
SPACE PURSUIT STAR TREK
STOMPER
SUBMARINE
SUPER FIRE
SUPER SIMON
SWORDMAN
TANKWARPIWALL
-
TEN PIN BOWLING
-
TRADER SMITH
U.F.O.
(5.50 f 5.50 f 5.50
E 5.50
f8.00
E 5.50 E 5.50 f 5.50
[5.50 f 5.50 f 5.50 [5.50 [5.50
E5.50 E5.50
[5.50 E5.50 f 5.50 (8.00
E 5.50
E5.50 f8.00
E 5.50
CESIL
-- £1495
FRONT PANEL
- £1.b.a.
AS THE CROW FLIES -
BROWNIAN MOTION -£10.50
AND MUCH MORE COMING'
MONITOR LISTING (COMMENTED) BASIC 5025 MANUAL MZ80-K SERVICE MANUAL MZ80 1/ 0 SERVICE MANUAL MZ-80P3 SERVICE MANUAL MZ-80FD SERVICE MANUAL MZ80-K DUST COVER
- f 15.00
- f 7.00 - f 7.50 - (5.00 - f 7.50
- f10.00
- f9.95
Please add V.A.T. to all prices
Newbear Limited (Head Office) 40 Bartholomew Street, Newbury, Berks. Tel: (0635) 30505. Telex: 848-507 NCS. Newbear Limited. First Floor Offices: Tivoli Centre, Coventry Road, Birmingham. Tel: (021) 707-8255 Newbear Limited. Stockport Road, Cheadle Heath, Manchester. Tel: (061) 491-2290
Please send me details of
Name Company Address
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Circle No. 284
189
Apple users.
Keep up to date with the rapidly changing world of the Apple with a subscription to the British Apple users' magazine, Windfall. For £12 for 12 issues (post free) you will learn how to make your Apple more powerful and your programs more exciting and be the first to know what's coming next in Apple -compatible hardware and
software.
Two special Windfall offers
\
/
for readers of
Practical Computing
T-SHIRT
Aiiiv) £2.p99
iv-
......d
SWEAT SHIRT
00 £5.99
- 30p p&p
Both with the Apple logo in six colours!
lii
mime
imsis
Imo
I TO: Windfall, 68 Chester Road, Hazel Grove, mil
Stockport SK7 5NY.
I
Please send the following:
I12 months subscription to Windfall - £12
Apple T-shirts at £3.29 each
Apple Sweat shirts at £6.29 each
I
TOTAL
Small
34%36"
Medium E Large 11 Extra Large 111
36'-38"
I 38''-40"
40"-42"
Please tick size required
NAME
I
ADDRESS
I
I
SIGNED
I
Please charge my credit card:
Name of
I
_..--,
Q I
"S" M..t.,C,"
card
r Number
061-456 You can order
j I
8353
by telephone:
124 -hour answering service)
Circle No. 285
190
The flexible
interfacing system for your
Commodore PET or HP 85.
The Microlink interface makes it easy to use your micro for tasks such as: * Replacing chart recordings by computer analysis . * Automating experiments * Adding data processing capability to monitoring instruments.
The MICROLINK interface consists of a mainframe incorporating a power supply, an IEEE 488 interface and a cabinet holding up to 10 modules - this construction means that an interface can be configured to your precise requirements. Modules available include: * Analogue to digital converters * Digital to analogue converters * Analogue X -Y plotter driver * Analogue input conditioning modules * Relay outputs * BCD character inputs * Signal conditioning inputs * High speed clock and multiplexer.
Write or telephone with details of your application, and we will quote you for a Aconfiguration to meet your needs.
Biodata
Biodata Ltd., 6 Lower Ormond St., Manchester MI SQF. Telephone: 061-236 1283.
Circle No. 286
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
(N1TIAT FROM CPS
CM 8024 WM-1 IE773, RS 232C,
Olt ONTI1VATICS comptrunny
M01E92100 ;..------
OLYMPIA SCRIPTA
CPS ARE THE SOLE SUPPLIERS OF THIS UNIQUE PRINTER which has our own factory -fitted adaptations for RS232C, or Centronics compatibility. The CBM8024 operates at I60cps, with ASCII 96 character set on tractor -fed continuous fan paper
giving an original and up to 4 copies on paper from 4 to 15"wide.
Ideally suited to accounting, mailing lists, address labelling etc.
The Olympia Scripta daisywheel printers have a wide selection of super -sharp typestyles and are renowned for lasting reliability.
RS232 interface or Centronics compatible. Friction and pin feed, 120 cps with 4 character sizes. 96 character set with 64 block graphics.
Scripta RO
£826
Scripta KSR £990 ,,,AT
I 1111111111111111111111111111111MI
IEEE
CENTRONICS RS232C g
COMPATIBLE COMPATIBLE COMPATIBLE
1 £925
-945i. ,
f965
L1.0 MINI INN
MN NMI MN
MIII MN Mil
RICOH 1600S
QUME SPRINT
IEEE-'Centronics
IEEE -->RS232C
RS232C->Centronics including Apple, Serial and Parallel cards.
RUTISHAUSER
45 cps daisywheel printer with 96 characters, and 10, 12, 15 pitch or proportional spacing. Gives up to 10 extremely crisp copies.
5/45 RO E1545 +VAT
CBM 321(4000
Series
Available with IEEE, RS232C or Centronics compatibility.
£1450,,,
WABASH Floppy Discs
51/4SSDD including plastic library ease
L19 095 + VAT
Cutsheet feed Qume
£525+VAT
Tractor feed Aume
£145±,,
:CPS ARE DISTRIBUTORS FOR Panasonic:Cifer:Apple:Commodore
DEALER ENQUIRIES WELCOME FOR ALL LISTED ITEMS For all information and sales phone Nick Ashburner
Phone us for the latest discounts on all 5'4 and 8"
Discettes, including special formats!
(p)CPS (DATA SYSTEMS) LTD
Third Floor, Arden House, 1102 Warwick Road, Acocks Green, Birmingham B27 6BH.
Telephone: 021-707 3866 Telex: 312280 CPS G
A member of the CPS Group
Circle No. 287
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
191
TRS-80 OWNERS! BARCLAYCARD MiZOM
Accounts Receivable Invoicing for above
General Ledger includes Cash Journal
£90.00 f70.00
£90.00
LEVEL II CASSETTE
Adventures: Special Sampler* Adventureland* Pirates Adventure* Mission Impossible* Vodoo Castle* The Count* Strange Odyssey* Mystery Fun House Pyramid of Doom* Ghost Town* Kid Venture Savage Island* Crowley Manor*
Air Raid* Air Traffic Control*
Amazin' Mazes Android NIM Attack Force* Backgammon Barricade' Battle Bastogne Battle St. \nth
Battleship Bee Wary Bingo Bowling (Ten Pin)
Bridge Partner Chess Partner* Cosmic Fighter' Cribbage Datestones of Ryn
D -Day Death Dreadnaught* Duel & Droids
The Empire Strikes
End Zone II Fastgammon' Galactic Empire Galactic Revolution Galactic Trader ., Galaxy Invasion* Game of Life* Gammon Challenger* Gangster Hangman
Hellfire Warrior ...... .
I Ching Interlude' Invasion Orion Invaders from Space*
,_Kamikaze
£6.50 £13.50 £13.50 £13.50 £13.50
£13.50 £13.50
£13.50 f 13.50 £13.50
£13.50 £13.50
£13.50 £7.50 £8.50
£5.50
£7.50 £10.50
£6.50 £7.50 £10.50 £10.50 £7.50 £7.50 £5.00 £6.50 £13.50 £9.50 110.50 £6.50 £17.50 £10.50 £10.50 £10.50 £10.50 £6.50 £14.00 £10.50 £10.50 £10.50 £10.50 16.50
. £10.50 £5.50 £5.50
£20.50 £6.50
£12.00 £17.50 £10.50
£6.50
MODELS I & III
Kreigspiel II Labyrinth Life Two Lost Dutchman's Gold Lunar Lander'
£10.50 . £10.50
E10.50
. £9.50 £10.50
Direct Function Graph
110.50
Editor Assembler Plus* E20.50
Electric Pencil*
£50.00
Electronics Assistant
£7.50
EMU 02' (requires TBUG) . £17.00
Mean Checkers' Meteor Mission Morloc's Tower
£11.00 ESP Tester £10.50 File Handling
£17.50 Finance Pack
£5.00 £7.50 £7.50
Noughts & Crosses
£5.00 Finplan
E35.00
Othello III Olympic Decathlon' Pentominoes Pinball*
Pork Barrel
E6.50 £20.50
£6.50 £10.50
£6.50
Flight Simulator* Forth (incl. Primer) GSF' General Accounting
Ham Radio
£17.00
£42.00 f19.50
18.50
Planetoids* PR Dogfight
E10.50 Histograph/Scattergram . £8.50
£6.50 Home Finance
E6.50
Rescue at Rigel
£17.50 nfinite Basic
£34.00
Reversi
E20.50 nfinite Business*
E20.50
Round The Horn Safari
£6.50 nstant Calculator £6.50 nventoryControl
1950 £11.00
Sargon II*
£20.50 "ventory 'S'
£17.00
Snake Eggs
£7.50 RV'
£17.00
Space Battles
£7.50 Keyboard 80*
£7.50
Starfleet Orion
£14.00 KVP
E10.50
Startrek 111.5
Super Nova'
110.50 Level III Basic' £10.50 Linear Programming
E34.00
Taipan Temple of Asphai
£6.50 Magic Paper Calculator f 17.50 Mathdrill
£9.50
Time Trek' Trolls Gold
Turret & Track
£10.50 Maths Library I E4.50 Maths Library II 17.50 Memdump
£10.50 £10.50
£8.50
Up Periscope
£10.50 Mortgage Calculator
£5.00
Warfare I
£6.00 Pascal'
£26.00
Warpath
£10.50 Periodical X -REF
£10.50
X -Wing Fighter II
£7.50 Personal Finance
£7.50
EDUCATIONAL
Spelling Builder
E13.00
All other PDI Pgms
E10.50
Teachers Assistant I
£9.50
Teachers Assistant II
E9.50
Teachers Assistant III
£9.50
Semi Conductor Theory 19.50
9 Games for Preschoolers £7.50
BUSINESS & UTILITIES.
Accounts Receivable II .... 113.50
Amateur Astronpmer
19.50
APL -80' Basic 1P
E10.50 111.50
Basic Toolkit
£12.50
Biorythms
£5.50
Calendar Functions
£7.50
Cash Register
Copys
£6.50 110.50
Pilot 2.2*
Pre -Flight Remodel & Proload' Renumber* RPN Calculator RSM 2 Monitor* SCRIPSIT Screen Hold' Statistics
S.T.A.D.*
ST -80*
Super PimS Data Base . Super Simon Super T -Legs* 7 -Step System Copy' T -Short ' 7 -Short**
£10.50 110.50 £25.00
£7.50 £7.50 £16.00 E42.95 £6.00
E6.50 £17.00 £34.00 110.50
£7.50 £7.50
£7.50 £9.50 £6.50 £14.00
Data Base II Debug*
f17.00 Tarot Cards E13.50 Timser
£6.50 £10.50
Manuals for above (3)
f32.00
Tiny Comp TRS80 Opera*
£14.00 £7.50
Complete Co-ordinated System
with Manuals
£300.00
Typing Tutor Ultra Mon*
£13.50 £17.00
MODEL II
X -Ref
£9.50 CPM 2. 2. X
£165.00
V -Y Bar
(10.50 CBasic (CPM)
E80.00
76 Basic Programs
£23.00 Disk Sort Merge
£95.00
Manual for Above
E8.00 Development System
£80.00
Library 100 DISK
£40.00 G.S F Pascal
Reference II
£35.00 from 1125.00
£35.00
Accounts Receivable II .
£40.00 RM Cobol
Advanced Personal
RSM II Monitor
from £350.00 E35.00
Finance
£17.00 Supersort III (CPM)
£90.00
Amateur Radio System 117.00 Utility Package
£95.00
APL 80
£30.00 Hard Disk Operating Sys . £300.00
Auto Disk Directory
[10.50
Basic Compiler
E120.00
Cash Register + Inventory £40.00
CCA Data Management ...152.50
WORD PROCESSORS
Electric Pencil. II (CP/M) .1200.00
Electric Pencil II TRSDOS £225.00
Magic Wand (CP/M)
£230.00
Comproc
£13.50 Wordstar (CP/M)
1275.00
Data Base II
DCV-1
Dosort Dynamic Data Base Electric Pencil File Manager 80 Floppy Disk Diagnostic Forth (inc. Primer)
£30.00 £9.50
£25.00
E22.50 £75.00 £30.00
£13.50 £45.00
BUSINESS SYSTEMS
Accounting
from £150.00
Mailist
from £100.00
Medical
from £100.00
Property Analysis
£175.00
CP/M USERS GROUP 23 Volumes ...... Each £12.00
Forth Datahandler Forth Utilities Disk Inventory Control Inventory 'S' KVP Extender Mailist IV
-
Mychess Newdos 80 V2.0 Newdos + Office Accounting
Pascal Penpatch Pencil PAL
£40.00
£27.50
£50.00 £40.00 £17.00
£45.00 £25.00
E97.50 £47.50
E20.00 £35.00 £1100 £17.00
ALL PRICES INCLUDE VAT AT 15%, PACKAGING & RETURN POSTAGE TO U.K. ADDRESSES.
PRICES TO OVERSEAS ADDRESSES INCLUDE RETURN AIRMAIL. SEND £1.00 FOR NEW DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE.
'Denotes Machine Language TRS-80 Trademark of Tandy Corp. CP/M Trademark of Digital Res. C -Basic Trademark of Compiler Systems.
Roots
£17.00 ALL PRICES SUBJECT TO
RSM 2D Monitor Sargon II
f£225".°00CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE
SCRIPSIT
£65.00
Simplify It
£15.00
Space Intruders ST80D
E20.00 MICROCOMPUTER
£45.00
ST80D IV SUPERSCRIPT* Visicalc
£95.00 APPLICATIONS
£20.50
£65.00 42A CHURCH STREET,
Taranto & Associates Conversion
of Osbourne & Associates Business
Programmes
Accounts Payable
E90.00
CAVERSHAM, READING RG4 BAU, ENGLAND.
TEL: (0734) 470425
THE AMAZING VIC20
HOME COMPUTER FOR CHRISTMAS!
FOR ONLY £159.95 (excl.VAT)
Here is one present all the family could use. The VIC 20 is a fully fledged computer that simply plugs into your television receiver.
VIDEO GAMES
EDUCATIONAL
COMPUTING
HOME AND BUSINESS PROGRAMS
We will not knowingly be undersold.
DATALECT COMPUTERS Showrooms: 7, St.Georges Walk, Croydon, Surrey.
32, Chertsey Rd., Woking, Surrey GU21 5BG
192
At an incredibly low price of £159.95, it can
help the children with their computer studies,
handle business and home budgeting or you
can relax and play space invaders or one of
the many video games soon to be available.
Dealer supplies of the VIC 20 are limited,
make sure you're one of the first owners of
the VIC 20. Fill in the
PLUS MANY EXTRAS
coupon TODAY or give us a ring on Woking (04862) 63901
or Croydon 01-680 3581.
NM
INIII
Ell I= Ell
I would like to order the VIC 20 Home
Computer. (Quantity
)
Please charge my ACCESS/VISA
PC
account no.
Name Address
Post Code
DATALECT Computers. (Formerly Petalect). 33/35 Portugal Road, Woking, Surrey GU21 5JE
Circle No. 288
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
0
Bent a Computer
Did you know you can rent a computer for as little as £2.76 per week (COMMODORE VIC) Minimum Rental 12 months. Written quo-
tPatlieoanseonphroenqeuefsotr.
details.
S
--- Monitors
ETD's...
COLOUR TV'S BY
FERGUSON, J.V.C., MITSUBISHI, PANASONIC. TOSHIBA.
PANASONIC TC492
Colour TV 12"
£199.00
MITSUBISHI B/W 12" TV £54.90
MONITORS
9" O.P.C. GREEN 9" APF B/W 9" HITACHI B/W 12" BMC
12" NEC GREEN 12" NEC COLOUR 14" DECCA COLOUR RGB
(Please add VAT to prices above)
£95.00 £85.00 £112.17 £180.00 £159.00 £579.00
£250.00
.
111
V Mail Order Accessories
All items listed are available through our fast efficient mail order service. If you find our prices are not competitive then we will be pleased to match any genuine offer in this magazine.
P & P Rates: a 0.75, b 1.00, c 1.50, d 2.50
ACORN
Floating Point Rom
Memory Chips Magic Book Printer Drive Printer Buffer Utility VDU
Maths Pack Games Packs 1 to 7 Word Pack Rom
APPLE
20.00 a
ea 1.95 a 550 c 9.00 a 2.50 a
10.00 a
10.00 a
10.00 a
10.00 a r 26.00 a
Biorhythm Battle Of Britain Pinball
Pools lmon Sargon II chess Startrek Z chess 3 Adventure Sampler Adventure 1 to 9 Han ll
Nim
TablesAndroid
7 50 a 13.50 a 13.00 a 13.50
a23,10
a 25.00 a
9.50 a 14.50 a
650 a
8.75 a 13.50 aiba 8 75 a
650 a
(Please ring for software not listed)
SHARP
Visicalc (new 16 sector) ....111.00 b
Visiplot
100.00 b
Visittend/Visiplot
144.00 b
Visidex
111.00 b
Ciscobol
475.00 b
Desk Top Plan
65.00 b
Micro Modeller
425.00 b
APM
121.00 b
Writer
39.00 b
Magic Window
79.00 b
BOOKS
(Send SAE for full list)
Acorn Magic
5 50 c
CE 121 Cassette Interface .1615900 bb
CE 122 Printer Interface
Assembler Tapes & Manual 20.44 b
Machine Language tape &
Manual
-..41.40 b
Pascal Interpreter (MZ80K) ..50.00 b
Speed Basic Biorhythm Autocross Hanoi
10.00 a
400 a 400 a 4.00 a
Fox & Geese
4.00 a
Four in a Flow Moonlander
5 00 a
500 a
Microsoft Basic
8 95 c
Composer
4.00 a
V
Basic Basic Learning Level II
8 25 c 11.00 c
Bank Account Posiedon
5 00 a 5.00 a
Basic Handbook
11.00 c
Address Book
4.00 a
Introduction to Pascal
8 75 c
Anagrams
3 00 a
1
Programming in Pascal CP/M Handbook
6.95 c 8.95 c
Dust Cover P3 Printer Dust Cover
5.00 a
5 00 a
Programming & Interfacing
Picture Count
5 00 a
65 02
8.95 c
Count & Add
5 00 a
Programming the 65 02
9.10 c
Match the Word
500 a
Basic Computer Games
550 c
Character Match
5 00 a
Basic A Unit for
Head On
6 00 a
Secondary Schools More Basic Computer Games Making Most of ZX80 Machine Language
from ground up Getting Acquainted with
your VIC 20 Getting Acquainted with
your Acom Atom ZX81 Companion ZX81 Pocket Book
MEMORY CHIPS
4 45 c .6.25 c 6 95 c
9 00 c
5 95 c
7 95 c 7 95 c 4 95 c
SUPERIOR SYSTEMS SOFTWARE
SHARP
Games Pack 1
(5 games on Cassette)
10.00 a
Games Pack 2
(5 games on Cassette)
10.00 a
CALCUBET - Complete Bookmaker
Bet Calculation programme,
various versions available.
Phone for details.
MAKE
A
FORTUNEYOURSELF
4116 (Apple, Sharp)
ea 1.50 a
CALCUSHARE Stock Market
2114 (Acorn) 4027 (1/2 K Sharp)
ea 1.95 a ea 0.50 a
program. Keeps control of up to 50 shares. Traditional buy
%IP
VIDEO GENIE
& sell indicators.
£50.00
Sound Mod
7 50 a
Colour Mod
39.46 b
Synthesiser
45.00 b
E6 3 01 3 /14 5 23 2
Lower Case Dust Cover Invaders
215.00 d 35.00 b
5.55 a 13.00 a
Please add P & P and then VAT at 15%
(Zero'VAT on Books)
APPLE Games Pack 1
(Disc 5 games) Games Pack 2
(Disc 5 games)
VIDEO GENIE Games Pack
(5 games on Cassette) Education Pack 1
(3-6 year old on Cassette)
12.50 a 12.50 a
10.00 a 10.00 a
At
Hadw8Fe
SYSTEMS BY ADLER APPLE COMMODORE VIC,
PANASONIC, SHARP, VIDEO GENIE.
SHARP
PC1211 POCKET SHARP MZ8OK (48K) (inc. £25 free software) SHARP MZ80K(64K)
£79.00 £354.00.
£999.0C
a
TANTEL PRESTEL ADAPTOR
Add Prestel to your computer in full colour. Can be used with
any TV set. No colour card required.
GPO Approved
£170.00
Alpha Numeric Version
£199.00
APPLE 11 (48K) ADLER SYSTEMS FROM
£695.50 £1550.00
VIDEO GENIE (16K) COMMODORE VIC 20
(inc. £25 free software)
£295.00 £199.00
VIDEO GENIE Model 2
£355.00
ALL ABOVE PRICES INCLUSIVE OF P&P Please add VAT.
COMPUTER ACCESSORIES
C12 Digital Cassettes. Box of 10
£7.90
51/4 Discs Single Sided Double Density. Box of 10 £20.00
51/4 Double Sided Double Density. Box of 10
£32.00
SHARP Speed Basic
£10.00
Please add P&P (77p) & VAT for above accessories
NOXVITYVf
Peripherals
PRINTERS
SEIKOSHA GP80 EPSON MX80F/T
MICROLINE 80
MICROLINE 83A CENTRONICS 737 SHARP MZ80P3 SHARP MZ8OP5
EPSON MX100 EPSON MX130 EPSON MX80F/T2
£195.00 £399.00 £299.00
£799.00
£395.00 £379.00 £415.00
P 0 £480.00
DISK DRIVES
SHARP DUAL DRIVE
VIDEO GENIE SINGLE DRIVE
£580.00 £215.00
INTERFACE UNITS
A WIDE RANGE OF INTERFACES ARE AVAILABLE EX -STOCK
WESTRA COMPUTER STATION DESKS IN STOCK
(Please add VAT to prices above)
#
1r .4
10
Interest Free and Lease Pucchasing Plan
3 MONTHS INTEREST FREE CREDIT AVAILABLE ON ALL ITEMS OVER £300. PLEASE PHONE FOR DETAILS. LEASE PURCHASE SYSTEMS FOR AS LITTLE AS £10 PER WEEK!
193
6
0 a
Superiot Systems Ltd.
178, WEST STREET, SHEFFIELD S1 4ET TEL: 0742 755005
"
ALSO AT: QUADRAPHENIA, 1 9 BRADFORD ROW, (HALLGATE) DONCASTE
.0
4
DN1 3NF TEL: 0302 21215
Circle No. 28
Business Hours: Sheffield Mon -Sat 9am-5.15pm Doncaster Mon -Sat 10am-5.00pm
LONDON COMPUTER CENTRE
IICIPPiC OWNERS
Convert your Apple to 80 column and 64K memory
SPECIAL OFFER!
Double vision 80 column board with true
decenders 16K Ramcard and Easywriter 80 word
processor
special price £250
The best Database manager! DBASE II with CP/M
Z80 softcard
special price £350
8 Magabyte Hard Disc complete with controller
and Interface
£1850
Apple II 48K Dual 40 Track Disc Drives and 12"
green screen
monitor £1395
' ."7 g*reafat -.
43 GRAFTON WAY, LONDON W1P 5LA (Opposite Maples) Tel: 388 6991/2 OPENING HOURS: 11-7 MON-FRI 12-4 SAT
24 hour answer phone: 01-388 5721
Circle No. 290
IBM SELECTRIC GOLFBALL PRINTERS
AND
INPUT, OUTPUT 735 TYPEWRITERS
PRINTERS FROM 735 TYPEWRITERS FROM WIRING AND COMMISSION TO SUIT ACULAB INTERFACE ACULAB INTERFACES EX STOCK
£195.00 £245.00
£ 48.00
£155.00
ALSO AVAILABLE IBM 71, 72, 82 typewriters Full workshop facilities for rebuilds and servicing. Keyboard ASCID-ASCII, 10-12 pitch, language conversions undertaken. 11", 13", 15" platen lengths, split platens pin feed platens. Operational keylever repeats fitted on request. Full IBM range of 10-12*pitch heads including language, symbol and metric. Language keybuttons blue or grey.
WE BUY SELL OR EXCHANGE ALL IBM SELECTRIC TYPEWRITER MODELS
FOR FURTHER DETAILS PHONE STUART KIRBY OR LOUIS BAKER
KEYTRONICS
UNIT 3, EASTINGTON TRAI NG ESTATE EASTINGTON, NR STOI HOUSE GLOUCESTER
PRICES EXCL VAT @ 15% Et CARRIAGE Er PACKING
CALLERS BY APPT ONLY PLEASE
Circle No. 291
194
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
COMPUTECH for licIPPla
COMPUTECH for ITT
COMPUTECH SOFTWARE Et HARDWARE IS WIDELY ACCLAIMED - WHY?
Companies like Shell UK Oil, Grindlays Bank, W.H. Smith, government departments and hundreds of firms
from multinational corporations to sole traders and small businesses have licensed Computech software. Why?
Thirty years experience of business fifteen years experience of computing and dedication to serving the users' interests economically must be major contributions. By the time this advertisement appears about 1000 business software packages will have been installed and supported by us. Note other features which appeal to our customers - no special equipment, all configurations of Apple systems supported, no extra charge for lifetime support, hot-line service, economical use of hardware resources, program code supplied, modifications allowed, full validation, all accountancy requirements satisfied, all data written to disk and recoverable on demand, very simple operation, emulation of traditional manual methods, comprehensive manuals with sample reports, reliable operation, advisory bulletins and free fixing of bugs, (which is fortunately rare). Reduced licence fee for new versions with extra features. As approved dealers of Apple products and actual manufacturers of compatible hardware we combine the knowledge of hardware and software so essential for the application of microcomputers.
COMPUTECH SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE INCLUDES:
Payroll for 350 employees, 100 departments, all pay periods, printed payslips, approved year end documents, very quick and easy to use, £375. Sales, Purchases and General Ledgers £295 each, detailed statements. Job Costing and Group Consolidation are amongst many and various applications of the General Ledger package, which supports values to totals of one thousand million accurate to a penny! Our Utilities Disk available like other packages in 13 sector or 16 sector format, is widely used for reliable, error checking, copying, including single drive, and the renowned DPATCH program beloved of programmers for £20. We have developed a Terminal Utilities package which enables Apple to Apple and Apple to mainframe communications with local processing and storage as well as Apple to host communications from the amazingly low price of £130. Our Graphics Utilities program for use with the Microline and Epson families of printers enable the plain paper production on low cost printers of high resolution screen pictures, graphs etc. - free with Microlines or £30 separately. Keyboard Driver enables the use of our Lower Case adaptor with BASIC programs and Applewriter Patches supplied FREE with our character generator package (total cost £50) is separately available on disk with documents for £10. At the same price CAI (convert Apple pictures for ITT) makes binary high resolution picture files display properly on the ITT 2020. We sell the famous Visicalc for £111 and have delivered systems using it to do amazing things like production control, shipping accounts and stocks and shares valuations! The versatile Applewriter word-processing package at only £39 especially employed with our Lower Case Character Generator is widely used by people who cannot type to produce word-perfect copy! Experience with Apple systems has led to the design and manufacture of compatible products with enhanced features at very favourable prices to satisfy users' needs. These include the Diplomat Serial Interface which has handshaking capability and switchable options 1£801, the Diplomat Parallel Interface which enables the direct use of text and graphics with the Microline and Epson printers and is a complete 'plug in and go' item with gold-plated edge -connector at £80 and has optional direct connection for Centronics 730/737 printers. Our new Diplomat Communications Card at £95 is a sophisticated peripheral especially suitable for Apple to mainframe communications at high speeds in full duplex mode with switch selectable bit rates and other options. The Lower Case adaptor is available for Apples (revision 7 and earlier) as well as ITT 2020, complete with diskette software for £50. It offers true descenders on screen and the £ sign. We also have an Optional Character Generator for the ever popular Microline M80 at £15. This provides £ sign and improved digits and lower case characters with USASCII special symbols. Our price for the Microline M80, with graphics, 40, 80 and 132 characters per line, friction, sprocket and teleprinter feed, is only £295 amazing for this small, quiet reliable 'look alike' printer. Tractor option is £40 and Serial Adaptor £80. The Microline M82, bidirectional printer with both parallel and serial input is only £345, it can have an optional 2K buffer, while the Microline M83 full width adjustable tractor 120 cps printer with similar specification is only £595. Then for all computer users there is the unique Micromux which from £800 provides up to 16 ports for simultaneous independent serial asynchronous communications! Telephone for data sheets or to arrange a demonstration or for the address of our nearest dealer. Please hurry - the demand for our products has been such that some have been temporarily out of stock. We offer the effective low cost solutions you need. Prices exclude V.A.T., carriage and packing.
COMPUTECH SYSTEMS
168, Finchley Road, London NVV3 6F-IP Tel: 01-794 0202
AGENTS THROUGHOUT THE UK AND OVERSEAS
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Circle No. 292
195
EUSifiRSS luttiputm
Businessmen!
A more efficient stock control faster invoicing instant Debtors list ' faster statements
means more profits with Business Computer Centre Package
Printer Computer Software - one package under £5,500
Fact! BCC offers unrivalled HELP
to 1st time computer BUYERS
Fact! The BCC package is
designed by businessmen for
businessmen
Fact! BCC offers you a highly
qualified staff to answer all your queries immediately-No cowboys.
Fact! BCC arranges a Service
Contract to guarantee continuous computer output.
Fact! The BCC Software program
is written in CIS COBOL the business language.
Fact! Leasing and HP arranged.
SUPERBRAIN: DQD HD 5 4 PRIN f ER: ORE 8820
FLOWRITER MEDIA: DYSAN 204/2D (Set of 10) SOFTWARE: WORDSTAR WORDSTAR MAIL -MERGE
DATA STAR
SUPERSORT I INCOMPLETE RECORDS D BASE II INTEGRATED A C's PACKAGE
£2800 £4250 £1300 £1800
£45 £250
£75 £150 £125 £750 £385
£1250
Fut discussion and demonstrations
Tel: (01) 580 4273
Business Computer Centre 26 Eastcastle Street, London, W1N 6PB (near Bourne's Oxford Street)
Now open 26 Eastcastle St
London, WI
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Circle No. 293.
- CU-MEM UNIVERSAL MEMORY
Up to 64K of byte -wide standard memory NMOS RAM, battery -backed CMOS RAM,
ROM, EPROM, EEPROM CU-MEM has eight sockets arranged in two independent banks, each of which can be filled with 24 or 28 pin industry standard memory devices in 1 K, 2K, 4K or 8K bytes sizes.
- CUBIT VERSATILITY PLUS
This Eurocard carries 4K RAM, 4K ROM/EPROM, a VIA
- MICROPROCESSOR
I-1 1-1 6502
IC4
..ROM
r:
IRAN
RAM 2114L
I
).";
ROM/
PROM
SOCKET
6522 i/o chip and a DIN connector to the Acorn Euro-bus. It can be used:* as a 6502 -based single board microcomputer * as an extension to AIM 65 and similar computers * as a peripheral to a CUBIT or other computer
1
RAM 2114L
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host microcomputer
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CUBIT and CU-MEM are fully compatible with the Acorn range of Eurocards (eg. VDU, disk, analog)
Control Universal supply CUBIT, CU-MEM, and all Acorn and Rockwell products.
Control Universal Ltd, 11/15 Bush House, Bush Fair, Harlow, Essex. Tel: 0279 31604/412043.
Circle No. 294
96
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
FLOPPY DISK DIMS
FOR TRS 80
AND V1DEO GENIE
DUAL DISK UNITS
2x 40 TRACK DRIVES 2 x 80 TRACK DRIVES
£440 £569
SINGLE DISK UNITS
1 x 40 TRACK DRIVE 1 x 80 TRACK DRIVE
£236 £299
DISK DRIVE CABLES
2 DRIVE CABLE
£15.50
4 DRIVE CABLE
£26.00
PERCOM DATA SEPARATORS
£20
Plugs into the TRS 80 expansion interface and corrects "READNERIFY" and 'CRC ERROR! TRACK LOCKED OUT!' problems on the inside tracks of any
floppy disk system. Comes with full installation instructions NO SOLDERING, NO CUTTING, JUST PLUGS INTO THE EXPANSION INTERFACE.
Call your nearest dealer for a demonstration:
RADIO SHACK LTD., 188. Broadhurst Gardens. London NW6 Tel 016247174
COMPSHOP LTD., 14, Station Road, New Barnet, Herr, Tel 01441.2922
COMPSHOP LTD., 311, Edgware Road, London W2 Tel 01,262.0387
COMPSHOP LTD., 19, Herbert Street. Dublin 2 Tel 604165
LONDON COMPUTER CENTRE, 43, Grafton Way, London WI Tel 01-3885721
N.I.C. 61. Broad Lane. London N15 Tel 01.808-0377
CROYDON COMPUTER CENTRE, 29a. Brigstock Road, Thornton Heath, Surrey Tel 016891280
P J EQUIPMENT LTD.. 3 Brrdge Street. Guodrord Tel 0483-504801
R.DS. ELECTRICAL LTD.. 157.161, Kingston Road, Portsmouth Tel- 0 705 81 24 78
TANDY HASTINGS LTD., 48. Queens Road. Hastings Tel 0424.431849
MICROWARE COMPUTING SERVICES, 57. Queen Charlotte Street, Bristol Tel 0272-279560
BLANDF ORD COMPUTERS, Higher Shaft sbury Road, Blandford Forum Tel 0258-53 73 7
TAPE SHOP 32 Viaduct Road, Brighton Tel 0273609099 PARWEST LTD., 18 St. Mary Street, Chidden ham. Tel 02492131
COMPUTER SHACK 14, P,ttv,lle Street, Cheltenham. Tel: 0242.584343
ENSIGN, 13-19, M.ltord Street, Sw. ndon, Wolfs. Tel 079342615
TANDY GLOUCESTER, 13, Clarence Street. Gloucester Tel. 0452-31323
COMSERVE, 98. Tawstock Street. Bedford. Tel 0234.216749
CLEAR TONE COMPUTERS, Prince of Wales Ind Estate, Abercarn, Gwent. Tel 0495244555
EMPRISE LTD., 58, East Street, Colchester Tel 0206.865926
MAGNUS MICROCOMPUTERS. 139 The Moors, Krdfington, Oxford. Tel 08675-6703
CAMBRIDGE COMPUTER STORE. 1, Emmanuel Street,
Cambridge. Tel: 022365334 I.C. ELECTRONICS.
Flagstones,
Stede Quarter, Biddenden, Kent. Tel 0508 291816 MICRO CHIP SHOP. 19C, Lord Street, Fleetwood, Lancs. Tel 03917-79511 HARDEN MICROSYSTEMS, 28-30, Back Lord Street, Blackpool, Tel 0253-27590
AMBASSADOR BUSINESS COMPUTERS LTD., Ashley Lane Works. Shipley, W. Yorks Tel 0274-595941
0-TEK SYSTEMS LTD, 2 Daltry Close. Old
Town, Stevenage, Hefts Tel 043865385
COMPUTER & CHIPS
Feddinch Mains House. St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland Tel. 0334-72569
NORTH WEST COMPUTER CONSULTANTS LTD., 214 Market Street, Hyde, Cheshire Tel: 061-366.8624
HEWART MICRO. ELECTRONICS, 95, Bralsolow Toad, Macclesfield. Tel 0625-22030
KARADAWN LTD.. 2 Forest Way, Great Sankey. Warrington. Tel 0925-572668
PHOTO -EL EC TRICS. 459 London Road, Sheffield. Tel 0742-53865
ARC ELECTRONICS, 54, Heron Drive, Sandal, Nr. Wake, reld, W. Yorks WF2 651 Tel 0924 253145
VICTOR MORRIS LTD., 340 Argyle Street. Glasgow, G2 8LY Tel 041 1118958
THOMAS WRIGHT LTD.. Thome House, Lainterdyke, Bradford Tel 0274-663471
GNOMIC LTD., 46, Middle Street, Brackhall, Hartlepool Tr' 0783863871
BRIERS COMPUTER SERVICES, 1. Kong Edward Square, Middlesborough, Clevland. Ter 0642-242017
3 LINE COMPUTING, 36, Clough Road. Hu" Tel 0482-445496
N.C. COMPUTER SALES LTD., 182, EarlswaY. Team Valley Trading Estate. Gateshead, Tol 0632-874811
EWL COMPUTERS LTD 8, Royal Crescent, Glasgow. Ter. 041-332-7642
CUMANA LTD 35 Walnut Tree Close, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 4UN. Telephone: (0483) 503121.
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Please add VAT to all prices. Delivery at cost will be advised at time of order.
Circle No. 295
197
SPOCK: "Computer! Calculate the value of Pi to ten thousand decimal places". COMPUTER: "Working . . ."
CAN YOUR COMPUTER SPEAK?
The WIDEBAND SPEAKEASY speech synthesiser adds voice response to any computer with a parallel port including PET, APPLE, expanded ATOM, HORIZON etc.
for Only £69 + VAT
-X- UNLIMITED VOCABULARY * EASY TO PROGRAM -X- LOW MEMORY OVERHEAD
* COMPLETE MANUAL WITH DICTIONARY, SAMPLE SOFTWARE AND TUTORIAL ON SPEECH PRODUCTION.
Also includes high flux speaker and power supply, all housed in high quality wood cabinet, with volume control and rear pitch control.
Programmed with simple phonetic codes. Apart from the obvious applications of voice response in manufacturing, testing, blind terminals etc., this product also teaches a great deal about linguistics and speech production.
Software is available in BASIC and Z-80 and 6502 assembly for direct input in PHONETIC SPELLING closely related to the ARPABET international phonetic alphabet.
For your nearest dealer contact:
alvnuartitu PRODUCTS, CAMBRIDGE RD.,ORWELL, ROYSTON, HERTS.
A subsidiary of Sands -Whiteley Research and Development
TEL: 0223 208017
Circle No. 296
WHAT'S YOUR NUMBER?
Whether your PET/CBM is in the 2000, 3000, 4000 or 8000 series it can be upgraded with one or more of our plug-in chips. For example, SUPERCHIP adds auto -repeat, single key Basic, and loads of 8032 facilities to any of the 40 column models; MIKRO is a powerful assembler which makes writing machine code as easy as writing Basic; FASTER BASIC speeds up virtually any Basic program, sometimes by 100% or more and ARROW allows you to load and save programs at around 7 times normal speed using ordinary tapes on the Commodore cassette deck.
High resolution graphics are not a standard PET feature, but the SUPERSOFT HR -40 HIGH RESOLUTION GRAPHICS BOARD is a very modestly priced and easy to fit extension. It fits internally without soldering, and allows every dot on the screen to be individually addressed, giving 320 by 200 resolution. The HR -80 board for the 8000 series will be available in time for Christmas.
Word processing in an ideal application for the PET with its large clear screen and well laid out keyboard. The PAPERMATE word processor is extremely powerful and provides a low-cost solution for disk and tape users alike, but if you can afford the best then MICROSCRIPT is the answer. Because MICROSCRIPT is in ROM 30,000 bytes are available for text storage - that's three times as much as with other programs!
PLUG-IN CHIPS
HIGH RESOLUTION BOARDS
SOFTWARE
SUPERCHIP
£45
HR-40/HR-40B
£149
MULTISORT
£25
MIKRO ASSEMBLER
£50
HR -80
Enquire
PAPERMATE
£35
FASTER BASIC ARROW PIC-CHIP TOOLKIT (2/3000)
£30
Utility software in EPROM is included.
£30
Additional software packages are avail-
£45
able (phone for list)
£29
DISK MERGE
HITCH -HIKER HALLS OF DEATH ASTEROIDS
£15 £16 £14
£8
TOOLKIT (4/8000)
£34
GIDDY GHOULS
£8
WRITE OR PHONE FOR OUR FREE CATALOGUE OF PET SOFTWARE & ACCESSORIES
SUPERSOFT
198
First Floor, 10-14 Canning Road, Wealdstone, Harrow, Middlesex, HA3 7SJ, England Telephone: 01-861 1166
MIL
Circle No. 297
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Thinking of computerisation -
8 days
a week?
Sometimes it must feel exactly that - having to deal with a seemingly unending stream of information in your books, yet still feeling a little apprehensive about computerisation and all its confusing terminology. If you are a small to medium size company why not contact us and arrange a demonstration, or even come to one of our 'Open Evenings'. We are computer specialists - with a difference. We don't believe in blinding people with science, we'll actually sit down and explain all the jargon to you. You'll be able to see for yourself how simple it is to use one of our programmes by having a go on one of our machines, in no time at all you'll discover how flexible our systems really are.
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Our programmes are suitable for most Business Computer Systems - in fact we are not bound to any one manufacturer. All the good computer suppliers know about us and many of them mention us in their ads so you'll be in good hands.
Contact Philippa Toone on 01-727 5561- she'll be delighted to hear from you.
EIMAMME M
SYSTEMS GROUP
102 Portland Road Holland Park London W11 4LX Circle No. 298
199
FAR INTONE
FUTURE
wabash
Only Wabash guarantees its diskettes well into the future. Five years for Maxi-Myte 8" Diskettes, and two years for Mini-Myte 51/4" Diskettes. You can trust your data with Wabash for years to come. Write or phone for a free brochure and immediate prices.
ANIMUS MEDIA SUPPLIES
357 EUSTON ROAD, LONDON NW1 3AL. TEL: 01-388 2061
Circle No. 299
BEAT OUR PRICES!
) 2114 (250 ns) £1.07p
4116 (
69p
74, 74LS and CMOS series at excellent
prices. All orders above £25 - 10%
discount. Please add 25p Postage and VAT. For price list only send 22p + SAE.
All orders sent same day.
NASCOM's main agent for Scotland. We stock HS -IN fast tape system as featured in "Making Tracks" - PCW May '81. Send SAE for details.
All devices are full spec and fully
guaranteed.
MICRO -SPARES
19 ROSEBURN TERRACE
ACCESS
VISA
EDINBURGH EH12 5NG
TEL: 031-337 5611
Circle No. 300
THE REVOLUTIONARY TWOSOME
SDM Computer Services are major distributors of the Intertec Superbrain
micro computer. This machine has established itself as the micro for the
serious business user .
. it is not an upgraded hobby system.
Running, as it does, under the CP/M operating system, there is a wealth of
readily available commercial software and SDM have their own tried and tested suite of packages covering
Invoicing Stock Sales ledger
Purchase & Nominal ledgers Payroll
All models are available from double density through the 1.5MB system to the (shortly to be announced) Superbrain W6 which includes a 5MB Winchester.
Full software and engineering support when you buy from SDM.
MPI-88G - everything you need
SUPLRBRAIN - built for commerce This printer has more standard facilities than any other at a similar price:
- RS232 serial and Centronics type parallel, 1K byte buffer Upper and lower case 96 character ASCII set, 100 cps maximum 10, 12, 16.5 cpi and correspondence font High resolution graphics (vertical 72 dots/inch, horizontal 82 dots/inch)
- 6 or 8 lines per Inch paper feed -- Full forms control
All the above list and others are standard at no additional cost.
Whether it is for your Superbrain business system or any other computer with RS232 or Centronics interfaces you cannot find a better printer.
Supplied ex stock for the amazing price of £399 plus VAT and P & P.
S.D.M. COMPUTER SERVICES
BROADWAY, BEBINGTON, WIRRAL, MERSEYSIDE L63 5ND. Tel: 051-608 9366
Circle No. 301
200
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Pete & Pam Computers
apple'computer
APPLE SYSTEM SALES AND SERVICE IN BOTH LONDON AND LANCASHIRE
Competitive Quotes and Personal Service Ring Chris GiHard in London - Pete or Pam Fisher in Lancashire
Now over 500 items for APPLE in stock 711.1,
CHRISTMAS GAME SPECIAL Buy any five games - DEDUCT 10% off the total price Full catalogue and description are available
Apple Galwrian - Galaxy Wars - Head -On - Galactic Revolution - Galactic Trader - Galactic
Empire - Mystery House - Bridge Partner - Checker King - Gammon Gambler - Roulette --
Craps - Apple 21 - Puckman - Global War - Space Warrior - Apple Typhoon - Sneekers
- Galactic Attack - Gorgon by Nasir
All at L12.95
Microsoft Adventure - ABM - Dog Fight -- Phantoms Five - Orbitron - Pulsar - Microchess
2 Odyessy - LA Land Monopoly - Morloc s Tower - Rescue at Rigel - Space Eggs -
Trilogy of Games - The Prisoner - Raster Blaster - Autobahn -- Space Raiders - Tawala s
Last Redoubt - Gamma Goblins - Apple Panic - Cops and Robbers
All at L14.99
Computer Conflict - Computer Ouarterback Cartels and Cutthroats - Space Album - Bill
Budge 313 Graphics Tutor - Cyber Strike - 3 Mile Island - Adventure 789 - Hi Res Soccer -
Temples of Apshar - Hellfire Warrior - Zork - Computer Baseball - President Elect - The
Battle of Shiloh - Tigers .n the Snow - Warp Factor - Computer Conflict
All at L20.95
Computer Air Combat - Computer Ambush -- Computer Bismark -- Operation Apocalypse
Torpedo Fire - Shattered Alliance
All at L29.95
OLYMPIC DECATHLON from Microsoft
L12 95
Superb Hi -Res Graphics - Winner of this years WCCF pure for creative programming
PLIGHT SIMULATOR by Sabi/ask So realistic - you might feel airsick. - be warned
Disk C19 95 Cassette El4 95
DRAGON FIRE from Data Carp
£29 95
VERSA EXPANDER PORT An expansion cable ZIP socket for the Apple game lob socket allows zero loser!i r
peripherals requiring connection to game socket
12 95
-e
SENSIBLE SOPTW1UtE UTILITIES Appledeft Programme Optimiser HaIti Disk ID Super Disk Copy III DOS Me DLO Organiser II
Disk Recovery Applesoft Plea Structured Basle
L 12 95 X1095 L17 95 L17 95
E 1 7 95
E1795 L14 95
DARN 5 PROD AIDS 3.3
E49 00
PASCAL SHOOTER If you want to learn Pascal this is the package to use complete with two disks
X7900
PASCJU. PROGRAMMER
L79.00
The Pascal programmer s dream - all the utilities you warned to use but never had time to write
RAMC -AID
£99.95
A 16k Expansion card for you Apple It will provide additional memory for Visicalc load integer
from a System Master and is fully comparable with Apples Pascal System The only board with
Neon Read/Write indicators The only card with data bus lines for faster data retrieval
IOWA' 16
L99.95
UK entrant w the expansion card market - does not need to be ribboned to the memory area
MEMORY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
L29.00
A utility that moves DOS onto a 16K expansion card - freeing motherboard Ram space for larger
programs
260 SOPTCARD
L195 00
A Z,130 microprocessor for Apple comes with CP/M operating system and Microsoft Basic 5
COBOL 80 FORTRAN 80
BASIC COMPILER ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT (6502, 8080 and 280)
E299 00 C109 95 C199.00 £7900
2 TERM
L59.00
Software that allows you m emulate the terminal of your choice whilst using Apple with a Z 80
Soficard
80 COLUMN BOARDS SUP-R.TERMIRAL
VIDEO
L195 00 L185.00
NEC GREEN SCREEN MONITOR
E169 00
WORDSTAR Ler APPLE
E169 00
If you want the best in word processing for Apple Men WORDSTAR is ihe answer Very wet':
documented and great to use Requires the installation of a Z-80 Softcard
MAMINAGE
E89.00
Allows you t0 maintain name and address lists and merge fields into reel to form letters etc
SOPTIKEY (Basic or pascal versions available) A 15 key programmable keypad
£74.00
Patch for WORDSTAR and SOFTKEY to permir use of programmable pad with WORDSTAR £39.00
ANTIELIMEIUGIU. KEYPAD
E74.95
VISICALC 3.3
Our Price E105.00
At last Visicalc on 16 sector DOS 3 3 with 12 additional commands Enhanced Manual is
included
VISIDEX
C105.00
New from Personal Softcard - type in whatever key words phase dates or numbers you want
the info to be associated with and store away
VISITE=
£79.00
Allows your computer to communicate with larger computers or other personal computers Link
your personal computer with your company s mainframe
VISIPLOT
£65.00
Automatically creates high resolution graphs and charts Visualise data in six different formats
and 6 different colours Data can be directly entered or data Files loaded from VISICALC 3 3
VISITRIND
LI29.00
Allows you to perform sophisticated math operations on time series data such as stock prices or
production figures Includes multiLme regress cumulativea total perceni charge lead/lag moving
averagesoothing and various transformations which let you create new time series This
package alssmo includes VISIPLOT
VISIPILE New data base from Personal Software
L139.00
DB MASTER The data base with 100 fields operating on multi,diskette files for large capacity
E129.95
DR MASTER Utility Pack Na I
£60.00
Links DB Master with Apple text files and VISICALC 3 3 add delete or change existing DB Master
fields and more
DR MASTER fee Corals - available soon
£295.00
INPOIMATION MASTER - Data Base
079.00
A dream to use has advanced facilities such as global change and calculator mode of entering
figures A system that a novice can use with ease
DATA MASTER
L55.00
A utility for use with INFORMATION MASTER allows the splanng of a data base system selectivity
change of field types and transfer of print formats
TRANSIT
L29.00
A utility that enables you to link INFORMATION MASTER to many files including those created
by VISICALC
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
REMOTE OPERATING
SYSTEM - ROS
Provides multiple Apple II users with the
capability of utilising the disk storage available
from one control Apple. Up to 127 remote
computers may be connected to one central
Apple containing up to 8 floppy disk drives
starter system (1 central + 2 remote boards/
with software and cables.
£499.00
Single remote board
£124.00
64K RAM CARDS
Here at last! Can be used in pairs to emulate
a disk drive.
2 cards and card emulating software. £449.00
Single board
£225.00
TASC - THE APPLESOFT
COMPILER
A two pass compiler from Microsoft - the Applesoft authors. Comes with extensive
documentation and copyable disk. Compiles to disk so can compile any length of programme. From 2 to 20 times improvement
in speed.
£109.00
THE MILL -A 6809 plug-in board for Apple
Can run at full speed whilst the 6502 runs at 20%. Comes with either a Pascal speed-up kit to increase the speed of execution of Apple's U65D Pascal or a 6809 assembler. Also available a debugging utility. COMING SOON - 0S9 Operating system.
£249.95
PASCAL JON CONTROL SYSTEM - from High Tedutelen
£295.00
A fast sophisticated lob control/costing system able to control costs on 400 lobs providing useful
reports and maintaining 50 cost centres with 500 sub cost centres Worth its weight in gold'
APPLE HOW TO Requires 101 Ras, or I 6K Expansion Card - reaches calculating and programming
E29.95
APPLE MUSIC THEORY
X29.95
ELEMENTARY MY DEAR APPLE
C19 95
Trillion for Children
ECHO II SPEECH SYNTHESIZER Based on TMS 5200 chip from TI type in speech direct from keyboard
E139,95
EXPANSION CHASSIS Long awaited here at last - More slots for your Apple
X399.00
MOUNTAIN CPS - Mulisfasolos Card
L135.00
A bLdirectional serial interface - parallel port and clock/calendar card - all on one board Can
he made 10 use phantom slots
VISISTRITER
£149.95
Superb graphics tablet from Versa Computing - you don t have ro go to the expense of an Apple
Graphics Tablet for graphics capability
VERSA EXPANSION SOFTWARE
C20.95
Auxiliary pack for the VISIWRITER includes the ability to draw in fine detail using magnification mode
EPSON MX.60 P/T 9 9 matrix printer with friction and tractor feed
£399.00
EPSON MI -NO T Tractor feed only
X349.00
INTERFACE AND CABLE For the above MorbgraphIc)
E65.00
GRAPPLER fns Orange Micro
C99.00
An interface for the Epson M)680 and 100 that obeys Apple protocols and has a graphics dump
programme in ROM producing 2 sizes of picture and 360 degrees rotation with positive or
negatlye onage
Al0 INTERFACE from SSId
L 119 95
MACHINE COVERS - only the ben material need Apple only
Single Disk
2 stacked disks Apple. 2 disks mad 9" monitor or Apple sod 12" monitor Apple and 2 disk Epson MX 70/80 Paper Tiger 445 - 460
E5.95 X295 L445 L895 £7 95 L5 45 L5.45
BASF DISKS (for 101
E 18.50
Authorised Apple Sales and Service
LONDON RETAIL. on M..y.e. R. dd uld,r1 `dA, It, 1,511 Tel 01 677 205207341
MAIL ORDER AND DISTRIBUTION, Waingale Lodge WalltiOlt Rossendale Lands 13134 750 Tel Rossendale 107061 227011
111111111=
VISA
Pricer do not trulude VAT Please 02,1 I5- VAT to your renutiene Postage and par king FREI
Circle No. 302
201
NEW 64K RAMCARD FOR THE APPLE
for little more than you could pay for the old 16K RAMCARD. It will replace the 16K card as a LANGUAGE CARD. Uses bank selection similar to 16K card. Each Apple can power up to 3 of these 64K cards plus 1 16K card giving an
INCREDIBLE V4 MEGABYTES OF RAM 64K CARDS ONLY £189 each
16K RAMCARDS available at the much reduced price of £69.
Other Apple cards available.
EPROM PROGRAMMER
£58
Programs 5V EPROMS including the 2716, 2732 and the new 2764 64K -bit EPROM.
EPROM EXPANSION CARD
£39
Holds six 5 volt 2716's or 2516's (not included) for a total of 12K bytes of read only
memory.
SPEECH SYNTHESISER
£179
Uses Votrax SC -01 chip to give UNLIMITED VOCABULARY. Requires 10 bytes/sec for
continuous speech. Demonstration software on disc.
VIA BOARD
£38
Adds two 8 -bit input/output ports, a serial port and 2 timers to your Apple.
CLOCK SOFTWARE
£7 on tape/£8 on disc
Together with the VIA BOARD will provide your Apple with a real -lime clock.
SINGLE CHANNEL ADC
£29
140 micro -second conversion time 8 -bit ADC. Provides full 8 -bit resolution between two
levels within 0-+5V range.
16 CHANNEL ADC
£49
Les than 100 micro -second conversion time 8 -bit ADC.
SINGLE CHANNEL DAC
£28
8 -bit adjustable 0-+ 10V full scale buffered voltage output DAC (settling time 500 nano-
seconds).
PET ADC's and DAC's
SINGLE CHANNEL ADC
£38
140 micro -second conversion time 8 -bit ADC. Provides full 8 -bit resolution between any
two levels within 0-+5V range.
SINGLE CHANNEL DAC
£36
8 -bit adjustable 0-+10V full scale buffered voltage output DAC (settling time 500 nano-
seconds).
All prices inclusive of VAT and postage and packing. Cheques or official orders to:
MERTON ELECTRONICS
Dept PC, 8 Rutlish Road, Wimbledon, London SW19 Tel: 01-543 3533
Circle No. 303
TESTED & ASSEMBLED
PCB'S & KITS
FULCcRRuU,Mv,-- 6 MONTH GUARANTEE - REPAIR SERVICE
mum'uns'"'""' 1.8080 S-100 ENCLOSURE SHEET METAL KIT
Just like THE ORIGINAL IMSAI: Mainframe with blue cover, cardguides and
hardware spaced for PS -28D Power Supply, up to 22 slot motherboard.
Kit of all metal parts and hardware with documentation
£120.00
Thinker Toys Wunder Buss 20 for above w/o conn.
£85.00
S-100 Connectors -each
£3.60
8015 Blank jump-start panel w/3 switches
£41.00
8035 Jump start panel for 2 SA -400
£95.00
PS -28D POWER SUPPLY PARTS KIT
Mounts in the 1-8080 enclosure, supplies + 8V a 28A, + / - 16V qi 3A, kit
includes board, transformer, documentation, and all components. Improved
from original.
Kit
£180.00
PIO 4-4
4 parallel inputs and outputs (8212)
£160.00
SIO 2-2
2 serial I/O ports, good to 9600 baud
£160.00
VIO-F
Improved memory mapped video I/O board. includes keyboard port, 256
character EPROM's. firmware, monilor.
Assembled & Tested
£269.00
DIO/CD
2 board disk controller for 8" or 5,/,," CPM 2.2
£299.00
For DIO including documentation
£125.00
CPA
Improved Imsai style front panel works with Z80, etc.
£249.00
MPU-A
8080 processor board -requires CPA
£129.00
MPU-B
8085 3MHz processor SBC wiserial plus parallel port. monitor
£249.00
RAM 11164K MEMORY
64K byte dynamic RAM board -Utilizes the Intel 3242 refresh controller and a
single delay line for totally internal refresh. Uses time proven 4116 RAMS.
memory mapped I/O boards are allowed to coexist by the use of phantom.
Board select via A16 thru A20 extended address lines.
Assembled & Tested
£349.00
1KB-1 MDXIntelligent keyboard uses 8035
£189.00
Dual SA400 drive enclosure
£78.00
DE 8
Dual 800R/801R horizontal style enclosure wlpower supply and fan
£270.00
VIO-X
New port mapped video I/O board w/8085 processor, 8275 CRT controller
keyboard port, firmware.
Assembled & Tested
£249.00
IEEE 488 + 3P
New IEEE -4881/0 interface with 3 parallel ports Assembied 8 Tested
£599 00
202
APPLE 48K Disk Drive with CTRL Graphics Tablet
APPLE Hardware
625.00 360.00 405.00
APPLE 64K
Disk Drive w/o CTRL APPLETEL
710.00 275.00 560.00
CCS RS232 CCS Centronics Aristocard RS232 80 Column Card 16K RAM Card
Eurocolor Card
Interface Cards
95.00 79.00 69.00 175.00
95.00 95.00
CCS Parallel CCS IEEE Aristocard Parallel Z-80 Softcard
Sup -R -Terminal CPS Multifunction
79.00 155.00 65.00 175.00 190.00 135.00
Software and Consumables
VISICALC 3.3 DESK TOP PLAN II VISIPLOT
WORDSTAR ver 3.0 5" Floppy Disks for 10
98.00 98.00 89.00 144.00
17.50
VISITERM VISIDEX
DB MASTER MAILMERGE Paper 11" x 9.5" (2000)
78.00 98.00 119.00 59.00 12.00
Olympia KSR ESW 100 Epson MX80 F/T Anadex 9500
Centronics 737
Printers
975.00 389.00 895.00 375.00
Epson MX100 Epson MX82
Anadex 9501 445 Paper Tiger
560.00 379.00
985.00 469.00
12" Green Monitor
Video Monitors
165.00 PORTATEL 14" Colour
310.00
Sales Ledger General Ledger
Invoicing
SYSTEMATICS Integrated Accounting Package
250.00 250.00 250.00
Purchase Ledger Stock Control Payroll
250.00 250.00 250.00
Postage and Packing on APPLE & Printers £5.00 Other Goods £1.00
ALL PRICES ARE EXCLUSIVE OF VAT
GRANATA COMPUTER SYSTEMS
CENTURY HOUSE, HAVELOCK ROAD, SOUTHALL, MIDDLESEX.
TEL: 01-843 1971.
Circle No. 304
FULCRUM SYSTEMS THE COMPLETE ANSWER
8025 Business System gives you: 2.4 Mb Storage 64k RAM 2 x 8" Disk Drives Choice of Terminal or Monitor CPM 2.2 Complete range of Software offered In House programming available
A FULL RANGE OF FULCRUM
SYSTEMS AVAILABLE TO MEET
YOUR NEEDS!
ALL PRICES PLUS VAT
ONLY
£3,095 4- VAT OFFER ENDS 31st DEC '81
RINNOG
FOR FREE PRODUCT BROCHURE AND DETAILS OF OUR SUPPORT SERVICES & DEALERS
V 0621 828763
Telex: 995411 Export enquiries welcome
Circle No. 305
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
WHENEVER YOU HEAR
MarksniiiiTa Apple
))
YOU PROBABLY THINK OF
WILLIAM TELL . . .
,.--./* '
. . BUT FROM TODAY
tpt11 YOU WILL THINK OF
MOOS. ,f--.-. --
i
.-'..-434110
The operating system which allows
you to connect six 48k Apple Ifs to
a 20, 40 or 80 Mb Century Data
Marksman drive and obtain the
fastest index sequential random
access ever seen on an Apple
Ifi1g01i
network at a price you can afford. ENQUIRIES WELCOME
For full details contact:
CHANNEL ISLAND
COMPUTER CONSULTANTS LIMITED
Grove House, The Bordage, St. Peter Port, Guernsey, C.I. Telephone 0481 20155.
ADS '98101 73
U K. Offices opening next month.
Circle No. 306
THREE ACES FOR THE DEALERS
A
Insurance Brokers Accounting System RRP £1,500
V
A
Recruitment Agency
System
RRP £350
V
A
Advertisers Accounting
System
RRP £1,500
V
This DEAL beats all others HANDS down
We give up to 45% discount on the above systems to our registered DEALERS
Demonstration systems available on request
We can guarantee you will find no JOKERS in this PACKAGE rP,
oc
For further details contact Paul or Dave on Stafford (13785) 42611 or return the reply slip
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PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
_01 at".
Circle No. 307
203
THE COMPUTER COMPANY
CROYDON 01-654 4147
SHARP SYSTEMS
MZ8OK 48K £339
MZ8OK 48K £1,399
-
BUSINESS SYSTEM'``
DISCS, PRINTER, J10 UNIT & ALL CONNECTIONS
MZ8OB RRP £1,095 POCKET COMPUTER £75 ACORN ATOM £120
PHONE FOR LATEST PRICES ON ALL ITEMS
CPIM FOR MZ8OB £66 WORDSTAR £269 MAILMERGE £82
Spellstar, Datastar, Supersort I. Supersort II, Wordmaster PL/1 -80, BT -80, Mac, Sid, 2 Sid, Tex, Despool, Cis Cobol, Forms 2, Basic -80, Fortran -80, Cobol -80, M/Sort, Mu Math, Mu -Lisp, Edit -80, Macro -80, Sales ledger, Client billing, Purchase ledger, Nominal ledger, Stock control.
COMPUTER AIDED INSTRUCTION £48
PETCAI FOR COMMODORE PET AVAILABLE SOON ON SHARP
Please add VAT to all items and note
WE OFFER VALUE FOR MONEY & WILL BEAT ANY ADVERTISED PRICE
Barclaycard, Access. delivery anywhere
78 LOWER ADDISCOMBE RD, CROYDON. TEL: 01-654 4147
Circle No. 308
COMPUTER SUPPLIES
FOR MINI AND MICROCOMPUTERS
We can supply the great majority of microcomputer related products at really competitive prices.
DISKETTES Nashua, Verbatim, Basf.
51/4" DSDD (packs of 10) 51/4" SSSD (packs of 10) 514" DSSD (packs of 1(1)
from £19.62 from £17.09
from £17.09
RIBBONS Low and High Speed Printers MIME Multi -strike Film Ribbon ... from £2.30 each All ribbons available in singles or in I 2s
LISTING PAPER Plain 11" X 9'/2" I part 60 gsm 1,000 sheets ... £8.32
(Other sizes and paper quality available)
BLANK CASSETTES CI t/Cl2
from .38p each
LIBRARY STORAGE CASES
51/4" III Disk capacity
from £1.96 each
Postage and packing from £1.50 V.A.T. not included
We sell Apple, Commodore, VIC 20, ACT, HP, Computers. 24 hr Service Contracts. ACCESS & VISA WELCOME.
BEST DISCOUNT PRICES
33/35 Portugal Rd. (Dept.PC), Woking. Surrey. GU2 I 5.1E Tel: Woking (04862) 21776
DATAILECT COMPUTERS Circle No. 309
SUPERBRAIN
The Multi -User Family with
%0TeleVideo Systems the MmmOST Security . . . all" .4,4.,:4-...,
0 - -...-
350K - 700K - 1.5MB -- 6MB Twin 280A's with 64K RAM 12" screen - 25 x 80 characters per line CP/M Basic, Cobal, Fortran etc Wordstar -Datastar - Mailmerge Int. Sales, Purchase, Nominal. Stock etc Stock control DBase 11 - relational database
SUPERBRAIN ENHANCEMENTS
Up to 20% overall improvement on speed can be obtained using our special routines
Dump screen facility Ability to implement despool Wordstar patches for fast, smooth screen opera-
lions & type while printing implemented Datastar patches - the bugs removed - improved
screen and file handling
PRINTERS
Diablo 630 Tec Starwriter Nec Spinwriter
DRE 1226 Epson range Oki range
from £350
ex -demo ANACOM £575*
204
A family of multi-user systems -Z80A- CP/M - Starting from £2,125 - 1
meg. floppy - 10 meg. Winchester (floppy back up) - 23 meg. Winchester cartridge tape back up - up to 16 users per disk system which may be
networked - will run your existing CP/M software, eg. Wordstar, Integrated Accounts etc. - languages BASIC, COBOL, FORTRAN etc.
4,010111111.111111111111.11.
- -
ACORN
ATOM *
;;;^,,,,,,,,,, :1
£120
UV
/1111110111
<ATCNKVA911.111111111111120
ASSEMBLED
£150
KIT 12K ROM 12K RAM
£220
ASSEMBLED 1K RAM SETS
£250 £500
4K FLOATING POINT ROM
£20
(including 12K version)
PRINTER DRIVE
£9
LS 244 BUFFER
£2.50
COLOUR ENCODER
£19
MAINS PSU
£8
*Available at Bristol only.
DAY 1 on -site maintenance contracts available. FULL SOFTWARE SUPPORT & TRAINING
ii
THE EBS GROUP BRISTOL (0272) 428165
ELECTRONIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS (BRISTOL) LTD., 91 ASHLEY DOWN ROAD, BRISTOL BS7 9JT
LONDON 01-471 4884 Easibee Computing 133-135 High Street North London E6 1HZ
ALL PRICES EXCLUDE VAT AT 15% 8 DELIVERY
Circle No. 310
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
PLAY YOUR CARDS
RIGHT
AND CHOOSE Simple®
IT'S IN YOUR OWN HANDS
Pascal system
£230.13
Music system
£308.44
Versawriter
£130.38
Mill with Pascal £238.88
Disc Controller
£92.75
3" disc drive
£272.13
NEC 12" green VDU £172.00
Anadex 9500
£870.63
* SPECIALS *
Ricoh 1600S £1450.00
Epson MX80 F/T £392.44
Seikosha GP80 £242.81
Centronics 737 £371.00
DB Master
£116.81
Visicalc 3.3
£131.25
Visidex
£116.81
Visiplot
£90.56
Information Master £74.81
Apple Plot
£33.25
Pascal Ledgers £250.00
Ulasak Ledgers £250.00
Autobahn Apple Panic The Prisoner Cyber Strike Gamma Goblin
Orbitron Gorgon Phantoms Five Pulsar II
£12.99
£16.41 £17.09
£16.41 £14.37 £15.68
£14.37 £15.68 £15.68
RING FOR CATALOGUE APPLE ACCREDITED LEVEL 1 SERVICE DEALER/CORVUS LEVEL 1 SERVICE DEALER
Vrofe55tonat Data 5p5tenui.
CARNE HOUSE, MARKLAND HILL, CHORLEY NEW RD, BOLTON.
ALL PRICES CORRECT AT THE TIME OF GOING TO PRESS (ALL PRICES SUBJECT TO VAT + POSTAGE Et PACKING)
41-2
0204
liappla
493816
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Circle No. 311
205
Icro eneral
MATRIX PRINTERS...
Please contact us for advice on printer selection
MICROLINE 80
Popular, robust printer with block graphics. New models 82A & 83A now available, 120 cps, true descenders, Serial/Parallel interfaces switch selectable.
£259-EvAT
EPSON MX -SERIES
Remarkably versatile printers for many applications. Graphics models and full range of interfaces available.
FROM £359, VAT
(FOR MX -80T)
CENTRONICS 739-2
Superb proportional print quality. Pin addressable graphics. Superscripts and subscripts. Forward and reverse paper motion.
E504 + VAT
FREE DELIVERY to UK Mainland. Listing paper £17.00+VAT per 2,000 sheets. FREE INSTALLATION within 30 miles of Reading.
DAY or EVENING appointments welcome. MICRO GENERAL, 6 The Birchwoods, Tilehurst,
Reading, Berks RG3 5UH. Tel: 0734 25226.
Circle No. 312
PD4 digital XYplotter
Standard
specification includes:-
IEEE -488 AH1, L1, El Interface
Full A4 format 700 mm/s max. writing speed
Suitable for direct connection to PET and any other
computer
Optional software including character generator available
£596 Price including IEEE Interface
+ VAT
J.J. LLOYD INSTRUMENTS LTD.
Pri
Brook Avenue, Warsash, Southampton, S03 6HP. England. Tel: Locks Heath 4221 (STD 048 951.
INSTRUMENTS
Telex: 477042 - JAY JAY - SOTON.
Circle No. 313
206
A.C.E. -A program line editor with macro facilities.
£19.95 A48K
Alien Rain (Galaxian) - Colour + hi-res version of pub game.
£13.95 M48K
Alien Typhoon -A much more difficult version of Alien Rain
£13.95 M48K
Akalabeth - An advanced fantasy role playing game.
£22.95 M48K
Apple Doc - Cross reference utility + Variable replacement.
£22.95 A48K
Apple Panic - Chase little apples up and down ladders.
£16.95 M48K
AppleWorld - Allows you to produce 3-D animated graphics.
£38.95 M48K
Ascii Express II -A complete intelligent terminal package.
£42.95 A48K
Asteron - The ultimate Asteroids replica game.
£19.95 M48K
Autobahn - Road race game with sound and hi-res graphics.
£14.95 M48K
Beneath Apple DOS - The definitive guide to the Apple DOS.
£11.95 Book
Both Barrels -2 hi-res action games on one disk.
£12.95 A48K
Cartels and Cutthroats - Business simulation for 1 to 6 players.
£23.95 A48K
Computer Air Combat - Simulation of World War II air battles.
£35.95 A48K
CPS Multifunction Card - Serial, Parallel and Clock on one card. £183.95 Card
Cranston Manor -A new hi-res adventure like Wizard & the Princess £19.95 M48K
Cross -Ref - Cross reference Applesoft programmers utility.
£14.95 A32K
Cyber Strike - 3-D hi-res action adventure in space.
£19.95 M48K
D/DATABASE - Ultra -fast, user friendly database using DDA.
£39.95 A48K
DDA FILES CONTROLLER - Sort. copy & restructure DDA files. £39.95 A48K
DDA PROGRAMMERS UTILITIES - Direct Disk Access for
programmers.
£199.95 A48K
Demon Derby (Hyper Head -On) -4 skill level hi-res car race game. £13.95 M32K
EXPEDITER II - THE APPLESOFT COMPILER AT A LOW,
LOW PRICE.
£56.95 A48K
Fracas - Graphics adventure for up to 8 players.
£14.95 M32K
Galaxy Wars - Colour graphics + Sound effects + Hi -Res.
£13.95 M32K
Galactic Attack -A hi-res Star Trek type game.
£19.95 M48K
Gamma Goblins - Yet another superb hi-res action game.
£16.95 M48K
Gobbler - Eat up the dots but watch out for the Gobblers.
£13.95 M48K
Gorgon - Another superb pub game for your Apple.
£21.95 M48K
Higher Graphics - Hi-res picture drawing utility.
£23.95 M48K
Hi -Res Cribbage - The title describes it. Even hear the pegs move. £14.95 M48K
Hi -Res Soccer - English football for 1 or 2 players in hi-res.
£16.95 M48K
Jawbreaker - Hi-res machine -code action game.
£16.95 M48K
KRAM - Fast and powerful Keyed Random Access Method.
£58.95 M32K
Linker -A linking loader/editor for assembly software development. £28.95 M32K
LISA - The assembly language development system for professionals. £45.95 M48K
List Master - An excellent companion product to Apple -Doc.
£22.95 A48K
Memory Management System - Enables you to put DOS
on a RAM card.
£29.95 M64K
Microsoft 16K RAM Expansion Card.
£114.95 Card
Missile Defense - Hi-res animation and sound arcade game.
£16.95 M48K
Mission: Asteroid - Hi-res adventure in 21 colours. Save the World!! £10.95 M32K
MultiBoot Upgrade - Upgrade 3.2 disks to boot under 3.2 or 3.3. £23.95 M48K
Mystery Fun House - Scott Adam's adventure on cassette.
£8.95 M32K
Mystery House - Hi-res adventure using over 100 pictures.
£12.95 M48K
Norad -A hi-res simulation of an I.C.B.M. attack.
£19.95 M48K
Oldorf's Revenge - Hi-res adventure with 100 rooms.
£11.95 A48K
Olympic Decathlon - Long jump, high jump. hurdles plus much more. £17.95 M48K
Online -A new concept in dial -up software for the Apple II.
£59.95 A48K
Operation Apocalypse - Four computer simulations of World War II. £35.95 A48K
Orbitron - Fight off enemy forces and avoid meteor showers.
£14.95 M48K
Paddle Graphics - Draw your own pictures in 21 hi-res colours.
£21.95 A48K
Pegasus II - The latest in pub games now available for the Apple. £16.95 M48K
Pirate Adventure - Scott Adam's adventure on cassette. Pool 1.5 - Hi-res colour graphics pool table simulation. 4 games. Pulsar II -2 superb hi-res games on one disk. Pyramid of Doom - Scot Adam's adventure on cassette. Sabotage - Shoot down helicopters and bombers in hi-res. Shooting Gallery -A shooting gallery simulation in hi-res. Sneakers - Waves of little creatures attack you in hi-res. Snoggle (Puckman) - Hi-res maze of ghosts. Great fun. Softporn Adventure - An adventure for adults only.
Space Eggs - Hi-res super -fast arcade style game. Space Warrior - Hi-res pub game. Star Avenger -A fast paced game of guerilla warfare in space. Strange Odyssey - Scott Adam's adventure on cassette. SuprGraphics -A 3-D game development system in colour.
SuperKRAM - as KRAM but with multi -key and multi -index.
SUPERSCRIBE - WORD PROCESSOR. TRUE UPPER/LOWER
£8.95 M32K £19.95 M48K
£14.95 M48K £8.95 M32K
£13.95 M48K £15.95 M48K £16.95 M48K £13.95 M48K £16.95 M48K £14.95 M48K £13.95 M48K £19.95 M48K
£8.95
£23.95 M48K
£99.95 M32K
CASE ON SCREEN.
£73.95 M48K
Tarturian (Wizard) - Another hi-res adventure with 160 rooms.
£14.95 A48K
TASC - An optimising Applesoft compiler from Microsoft.
£129.95 A48K
The Prisoner -A game based on the famous TV series.
£21.95 A48K
The Shattered Alliance - Swords & Sorcery on a far-flung world.
£35.95 A48K
The Warp Factor - 1 or 2 player hi-res Star Trek/Space War game. £23.95 A48K
The Wizard and the Princess - Hi-res adventure in 21 colours.
£18.95 M48K
Threshold - Yet another fast action arcade style game.
£16.95 M48K
Torpedo Fire -A hi-res simulation of submarine warfare.
£35.95 A48K
Toxophily - Text only adventure with split screen. VERY HARD.
£9.95 A48K
Tranquility Base -A superb moon -landing game in hi-res.
£16.95 M48K
Visicalc 3.3 - The 16 sector version with enhanced manual.
£119.95 M48K
Visidex - Store and retrieve information by key words.
£119.95 M48K
Visiterm - Use your Apple as an on-line terminal.
£89.95 M48K
Visitrend .- Performs maths operations on time series data.
£149.95 A48K
Wizardry - 3-D adventure. The best we have seen yet.
£28.95 M48K
Z -Term -A full -feature terminal package for the CP/M Apple.
£65.95 M48K
A: Requires Applesoft in ROM.
M: Will run on any Apple II
Please specify which DOS you require when ordering. If you don't see what you are looking for please give us a call. WE ALSO OFFER A BESPOKE SOFTWARE
SERVICE WHICH IS SECOND -TO -NONE.
PRICES INCLUDE VAT AT 15%.
Add 50p P+P for orders under £30 totally.
Please write or telephone for your free copy of our up-to-date software list.
Dealers inquiries invited. PERSONAL CALLERS BY APPOINTMENT ONLY PLEASE.
SPIDER SOFTWARE
98 AVONDALE ROAD, SOUTH CROYDON, SURREY.
Tel: 01-680 0267 (24 hours a day -7 days a week)
Circle No. 314
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
COMPEC' Sl
GRAND HALL, OLYMPIA, LONDON NOVEMBER17-20,1981
(Open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday -Thursday, 10 a.m.-4.30 p.m. Friday)
STILL THE BIGGEST . . . with over 300 exhibitors packing Olympia with computers, terminals, small business systems, peripherals, mini- and micro -computers and
services
STILL THE NEWEST . . .
this year COMPEC '81 has attracted over 70 completely new exhibitors. These, and the many returning companies, will be showing the very
latest innovations in computer services and
equipment
STILL THE FIRST . . . to introduce new and exciting features. A new
section at COMPEC '81 will be the "Software Village", specialising exclusively in software
products and services.
COMPEC '81 -for adding to and improving your existing computer installations, or buying in for the first time- plan your visit NOW. See for yourself and talk to the experts, find out how tomorrow's technology
can benefit your business today. Admission to COMPEC '81 is by business registration and costs £2.00 at the door -SAVE TIME AND MONEY
NOW by applying for advance half price tickets- return the coupon to us by October 30.
Post to: Compec '81 Tickets, IPC Exhibitions Ltd, Surrey House, I Throwley Way, Sutton, Surrey SM1 4QQ.
COMPEC '81
Sponsored by Computer Weekly, Data Processing, Systems International and
1.Practical Computing
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Please send
advance tickets at £1.00 each linc. VAT)
I enclose remittance of £
(made payable to IPC Business Press Ltd)
Name
Company
Address
Applications not accepted after October 30. No school parties, no children under16)
Pc
Circle No. 315
207
DATAMAZE
THE PEOPLE
FOR
COMPUTER CONSUMABLES
WE SUPPLY:
The ZX80/81 DESK CONSOLE
including switches for cassette and power Complete and Assembled
Fits your ZX80 or ZX81 Just plug-in. NO soldering
Switched for SAVE/RUN/LOAD
Both cassette and computer inputs earthed when not functional . Switch for your 9V supply LED monitor for supply
Flta 16K RAM on AO and 61 Fitted with base cover Deep enough for mains plug
cluster at rear (not supplied) Black grain finish in ABS plastic Recessed for manual/pencil
Price £24.08 £2.00 p&p UK -1- VAT
Send your Name, Address, (state 80 or 81) together with cheque or PO only for £29.99 to:
TTL BOX 2, WARMINSTER, WILTSHIRE BA12 7QX. All orders acknowledged but allow 30 days for delivery.
Circle No. 316
Floppy disks and diskettes of all types, high quality printer ribbons, daisy wheels of all types, computer stationery. We offer fast and friendly service. Telephone for prices and details.
DATAMAZE LTD. 18 Southbury Road, Enfield,
Middlesex EN1 1SA.
Tel: 01-367 2473 or 0920 870881
Circle No. 317
DTL-BASIC COMPILER
The only BASIC Compiler fully compatible with the full range of
Commodore Microcomputers.
* Up to 20 times faster when compiled
* More compact object code e.g. a 24K program when compiled would run on a 16K machine
* Available now on 3000, 4000 & 8000 Series machines
* DTL-BASIC handles full arithmetic expressions
* The compiler copes with nested loops, handles arrays and variables dynamically and accepts extensions to Basic
* Thoroughly supported by a comprehensive manual and full back-up from
Dataview.
Unique new security system for compiled programs for use by Software Houses - ring us for details - Colchester (0206) 865835
£360.00 ± VAT
special prices for education
Dataview Ltd., Portreeves House, East Bay, Colchester, Essex. Dataview
Circle No. 318
208
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Your search forthe right
price stops here.
O
11=1111EMI
MM
Pet
Well known for making short work of accounting, word processing, mailing lists. A great buy from NSC.
R1aG
Cromemco
We can now supply the Cromix operating system for single and multi user working. The first big system operating system to be offered on a small system-the only system which offers up to 63K memory space per user.
Bargain Offers
We have recently been appointed agents for the Commodore VIC 20, why not call in for a demonstration. Order by post, only £199.95 including
VAT
After Sales Service
When you buy from NSC Computer Shops you have the opportunity to take advantage of a special service contract on favourable terms.
Apple
You know what the Apple system will do but you don't know the deal we're offering. Come and see for yourself.
Acorn Atom
Now available ex -stock. Special offer to ZX80 owners: We will take your ZX80 in part exchange for an Atom.
Used Bargain: Second hand ZX80's from £50.
Order by post with confidence
Instead of calling personally at NSC Computer Shops you can send cash with order. Orders are despatched by carrier, please telephone for details of delivery charges.
BOOKS: Send s.a.e. for our full price list, or call in at our shop to see our wide range of publications.
Rair
The exciting new 3/30 system offering 5 mb of fixed disc storage on brand new 51/4" Winchester drives.
64K Machine £4,313 incl. VAT. Full range of black box systems available. Rental terms available.
North Star Horizon
A complete word processing system extendible from 32K -56K RAM, with up to four mini disc drives, 4MHz Z80A processor, serial and parallel I/O ports and extended BASIC. Full range of accounting packages available. You can lease this very popular system for as little as £25 per week.
Most of our prices are heavily discounted and therefore payment must accompany the order. Credit card payments will be accepted. Please quote credit card number and type of card.
WE WILL NOT BE KNOWINGLY UNDERSOLD.
N COMPUTER 16 SHOPS
Computing to suit your size.
NSC Computer Shops, 29 Hanging Ditch. Manchester M4 3ES. Ring 061-832 2269 for further information.
Circle No. 319
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
209
e0i1M1MMIWIIMrjrTi7S7ARMVM/C..E AND
01111I
SUPPLY SPECIALISTS
SUPERBRAIN
SERVICE NATIONWIDE
Responsive quality service at a competitive rate with our innovative contracts.
*COLLECTA-CALL * COLLECTA-CALL+
Try Calling T.S.S. for a differently better service.
Derby (0332) 883333 Ares
TERMINAL SYSTEM SERVICES LTD,asamiS
111:/rfr/ TSS HOUSE, FOUR LANES END,
HORSLEY WOODHOUSE, DERBY, DE7 6AY
TELEX 378113
Registered trade mark.
Circle No. 320
to yaCoPouRnrnIPNeEcTTtER
from £160 +vax
The TNW 2000 (as illustrated)
a rugged single ported bidirectional IEEE 488/RS232
interface: Conversion of both PET and
true ASC11.
Daisy Chaining. Standard RS 232. Fully addressable.
The TNW 3000 -a bi-ported, bi-directional IEEE 488/RS232 interface as per TNW 2000
plus:
Crystal controlled Baud rate. Fully implemented RS232. Power supply for a current
loop.
Both the TNW 2000 and 3000 are mainly used for interfacing
tanGsTon PETs to printers.
Kingston Computers Limited. Electricity Buildings. Filey. North Yorkshire Y014 9PJ. Telephone: (0723) 514141. Telex: 52163.
Circle No. 321
210
r
Hard Disks
forthe
PET
The Small Systems HARDBOX acts as an intelligent controller for up to 4 Corvus Winchester drives or one SSE Mini Winchester drive unit.
PET DOS 1 and 2 compatibility Multi user capability on Corvus Drives 16 Megabyte max file size 65535 max records per relative file Over 2000 files on 5 MB drive
CORVUS DRIVES
Well proven systems with nationwide support and maintenance.
5, 10, 20MB capacity Up to 4 drives can be daisy chained Backup onto standard video cassette using
the Mirror unit Up to 64 users with the Constellation
multiplexer unit.
5MB Corvus drive 10MB
20MB Mirror back up unit Constellation
£2295 £3595 £4495
£495 £495
SSE MINI WINCHESTER
Drive and Hardbox or Softbox housed in one
small desktop unit. Single user.
Prices inc. Integral Hardbox
3MB
£2300
6MB
£2500
12MB
£2800
Add £120 for Integral Softbox
SOFTBOX and CP/M SOFTWARE
SOFTBOX allows the PET to run the worlds most popular operating system for micros. Operates with PET floppies and/or a Hard disk system.
Comprehensive range of CP/M software available - ask for our Catalogue. Softbox RS232 Option Corvus Option
£550 £45
£65
IEEE -488 INTERFACES
Comprehensive range for PET and HP -85 e.g.
B300 RS232 40 char buffer, full
handshake
£186
RICOH DAISY WHEEL PRINTERS
Letter quality, 60CPS with integral IEEE, RS232
or Centronics Interfaces.
RP1600
£1450
Flowriter
£1795
Large Buffer. Qume/Diablo compatible
Bidirectional printing
S100 - CP/M
Software development tools
8048 family in circuit emulator
£850
8748 programmer
£395
Prom emulator
£295
Range of cross assemblers for most popular
micros
£95
8048 BASIC compiler
£195
COMPLETE PET and HP -85 SYSTEMS
Telex 264538
small systems
eaengineering
limited
2 4 Canfield Place London - NW63BT
Telephone 01 328 7145 6
Circle No. 322
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
SIX
TOUGH QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD ASK
BEFORE BUYING A MICRO.
1. Is it easy to use?
2. Are the programs versatile? 3. Is it absolutely reliable? 4. Does it have a national network of
distributors and dealers offering full service and support? 5. Is it competitively priced? 6. Can you see proof of performance?
With the new Adler Alphatronic the answer is 'yes' to all these questions. Because Alphatronic is the micro that was specially designed for the small businessman. To cut paperwork, cope with accounts, payroll, stock control, VAT - and generally make business, and cash, flow more smoothly. When it comes to versatility, price, reliability and performance, Alphatronic is outstanding value.
The Alphatronic PI costs £1600* and includes a 2000 character screen, keyboard, integral double density floppy disk unit and CP/Mt disk and manual. Alphatronic P2 complete includes 2000 character screen, keyboard, two integral double density floppy disk units together with a dot-matrix printer, CP/Mt disk and manual and costs £2345. *
Prices exclusive of VAT. 1 -Trade mark of Digital Research Corp.
FREE
With model P1: a two disk basic teach -in course worth £85. With model P2: a two disk data retrieval program worth £120.
Send back the coupon and we'll tell you how Alphatronic could be the answer - your answer.
a
alphaTronic
ADLER's NEW £1600 MICRO. BRILLIANTLY SIMPLE ALPHATRONIC. Alphatronic Division, TRIUMPH ADLER (UK) LTD. (formerly Adler Business Systems Ltd. )
27 Goswell Road, London EC1M 7AJ. Tel: 01-2501717.
FPIease send me further details on the Adler Alphatronic.
Name Company Address
Printer not included on P1 model at £1600.
Telephone
IBS 81 October 20-29. Hall 4 Stand 321.
PC 12/81
Circle No. 323
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
211
WOODLAND SOFTWARE
MAIL ORDER MICROCOMPUTER SUPPLIES FOR THE APPLE
L.A. Land Monopoly 48K A
£16.75
Hyperspace Wars 48K A
£16.75
Odyssey 48K I
£14.75
Wilderness Campaign 48K I
£12.75
Doom Cavern 48K I
£12.75
Sneakers 48K M
£16.75
Gorgon 48K M
£22.75
Gamma Goblins 48K M
£16.75
Autobahn 48K M
£16.75
Orbitron 48K M
£16.75
Pulsar II 48K M
£16.75
Space Eggs 48K M
£16.75
Phantoms Five 48K M
£16.75
Cyber Strike 48K M
£21.75
Star Cruiser 32K M
£13.75
Both Barrels 48K A
£13.75
Hi -Res Adventures
Mission: Asteroid 32K M
£10.75
Mystery House 48K M
£13.75
The Wizard & The Princess 48K M £18.75
Hi -Res Football 48K M
£21.75
Hi -Res Soccer 48K M Hi -Res Cribbage 48K M Missile Defence 48K M Cranston Manor 48K M Sabotage 48K M Gobbler 48K M Higher Text 48K I Higher Graphics II 48K I E -Z Draw 3.3 48K M Superscript 48K M
£16.75 £13.75 £16.75
£19.75 £13.75 £13.75 £19.75 £19.75 £27.75 £4975
U.K. distributor for Sir -tech Inc.
Trade enquiries invited.
Galactic Attack 48K P Wizardry 48K P Infotree 48K P
£17.75 £28.75 £49.75
A = Applesoft I = Integer M = Runs on any Apple P = Requires PASCAL or DOS 3.3
All software is disk based. All prices are inclusive.
On multiple orders of 3 or more programs P&P is FREE; please add 50p P&P on orders less than 3.
A list of our full range of software is free on request from
WOODLAND SOFTWARE
103 Oxford Gardens, London W10 6NF. Tel: 01-960 4877
TRADE ENQUIRIES INVITED
Circle No. 324
PC3201 BUSINESS COMPUTER.
CPU REEN, TWIN DISC DRIVE,
PRINTER.
£2,995
MZ8OK
PERSONAL COMPUTER
20K f415 48K f425
MZ8OB
PERSONAL/SCIENTIFIC COMPUTER
64K f1,095
SHARP
7cliteutdiforeottot
Full range of Sharp peripherals available. Also software and consumables. All prices exclude delivery and VAT Finance arrangements available. Call in for a demonstration at our showroom (local demonstrations on site).
Nelson Computer Services Ltd
St. John's Court, Rawtenstall, Lancs. 8B4 7PA. Tel: Rossendale (STD 0706) 229125 (5 lines) Telex: 635615
Circle No. 325
f,
4
Blow your mind with EXPLOSION!, a nevqtartil41i-om IStf G
The object is to capture and hold_opponent's squades. ottbuildup a
colour in squares and whenipasAktwiS'filletrwith your colour and 'crit
you can hold it like a time
waiting ftiotioff or explode into adja
squares, making them yours. If your sire 1s right, you can sef off a ch
reaction of explosions that can wipe - iiikponent off the screen!
It's exciting and totally absorbi
to 10 of you can play!
From LEISURE GENIUS, high
computer games you can't pass up
or put down. ,
Also from LEISURE GENIUS, two other computer games for the better-
than-avera
' esplayer -- DEATH, a game of biological creation and
destruct'
WORMS a competitive game testing your tactics arc]
dexter'
ISURE GENIUS games for the Apple II are only f 15.00,S lit
on diskette.
Ask your dealer or write to:
Leisure Genius, Suite 504, Albany House, 324 Regent Street, London
In the U.S., write to:
Leisure Genius, 34-36 83rd Street, Jackson Heights, New York
'suusr
Circle No. 326
212
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
INIVARE
25 MULTINATIONALS
CIIIP CUSTOMERS?
CWP is a long established service company based in Rochester Row, London SW1.
CIWP Computers is an Apple authorised
level 1 service centre.
CIWP now offers Practical Computing
readers the chance to
buy at its special prices.
Apple 48K Europlus Disc drive with controller 12" green monitor Silentype printer Visicalc 3.3
VAT and installation extra
£599.00 £310.00 £130.00 £160.00 £100.00 £1299.00
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
C/VVP Computers 01-828 3127
108 Rochester Row London SVV1P 1JP
Circle No. 327
213
BUTEL-COMCO RP1600 Daisywheel Printer
60 cps!
wool r'n,
o
immml
aC
* Serial V24/IEEE/Centronics interface
* Optional intelligent version includes
Qume/Diablo compatible commands
Auto bidirectional operation 2 - 8K buffer
Write or call for further information: Butel Comco Limited Garrick Industrial Centre Garrick Road, London NW9 6AQ Telephone:01 - 202 0262
Trade / OEM discounts available. Circle No. 328
ELECTFICIALES
* Personal Computers * TV Games * VCR's * Printers * Monitors * Software
ATOM's and DAI's ALWAYS IN STOCK
Complete range of Atari games. Open Mon - Sat. 9am till late. Credit cards welcome.
NEWTHIS MONTH
£10 OFF You
could collect £5 voucher on goods over £100 £5 voucher when you introduce a
new customer The Seikosta 96 ASCII character
printer only El 99 inc. VAT. Pa per and cable free.
Send for price list and mail order details.
135 HALE LANE EDGWARE MIDDLESEX HA8 9QP TEL: 01-959 7119 TELEX 881 3241
Circle No 329
214
MAGIC WINDOW
£79.95
will instantly convert your Apple system into a word -processor, no modifications or fancy
gadgets to buy. Magic Window's 4 -way scrolling allows you to type up to 80
CHARACTERS per line I! This allows you to see your letter exactly the way it will be
printed. Inserting, deleting, centring, and justifying can be done on the screen without
the need to print a work copy.
BASIC MAILER
£49.95
is a mailing list merge system designed to take MAGIC WINDOW document files and
replace names, addresses or any other section of the document with individual data.
creating customized letters, invoices. etc. Basic Mailer will save you so much time with
form letters for mailing that it is hard to believe.
DAN PAYMAR LCA-2
£39.95
See true upper & lower case characters on the screen. It works with the Magic Window
and other programs.
MAGIC WINDOW & MAGIC MAILER MAGIC WINDOW, MAGIC MAILER & DAN PAYMAR LCA-2
MICROSOFT 16K EXPANSION CARD ANDROMEDA 16K EXPANSION CARD
£115.00 £145.00
£95.00 £95.00
VISICALC 1305 3.3 The upgraded version of the most popular program ever.
£125.00
VISIDEX
£111.00
A most useful cross-reference of information. Assign multiple keywords to the index.
Vary the input format as you go. Swift retrieval & printing as required.
VISIPLOT Plot your data onto high-res. graphs. 6 formats & 6 colours.
£75.00
VISITREND/VISIPLOT Use sophisticated trend analysis techniques on your graphs.
£144.00
VISICALC DOS 3.2 Still available, the original Visicalc. Still as popular as ever.
£75.00
BRAIN SURGEON Thoroughly test your Apple II. Diagnose that tricky fault.
£30.00
DB MASTER (VERSION 3) Computed fields, statistical analysis, faster report printing.
£130.00
UTILITIES
EXPEDITER
£75.00
At last you can compile your Applesoft program into machine code and watch it run 2-20
times faster.
CRAE - CO -RESIDENT APPLESOFT EDITOR
£14.95
Anyone Writing software on the Apple needs this editor. Global changes & finds,
renumber, append. modify. 15 commands in all.
CRAE & MCAT - CATALOGUE We carry the full range of "Sensible Software" utilities.
£19.95
SUPER DISK COPY III
£24.95
The best, most versatile copy program on the market. Initialize a diskette with or without
the DOS sectors. Copy files one by one or the entire disk. View the catalogue & then see
a display of the diskettes free & used sectors. Copy from DOS 3.2 to 3.3 & visa -versa.
Many other commands.
APPLEGUA RD Protect your software !! Protect against bit copiers.
£200.00
AOPT APPLESOFT OPTIMIZER
£19.95
Optimize your Applesoft program, remove REM's, pack as many instructions as
possible per line.
APLUS -- STRUCTURED BASIC
£19.95
Write programs in a structured manner with your new additional commands and then
compile into a regular Applesoft program.
DOS PLUS
£19.95
3 new Dos Commands built-in, 5 commands are user -definable. You can now FLIP
easily between Dos 3.3/3.2 from within the program. Also Dos Command Editor. Edit
the names of the Dos commands and initialize disks with your own DOS.
DISK RECOVERY - "THE SCANNER"
£24.95
Scan your disks and mark faulty tracks so they are not used. Also able to REDO VTOC
which may recover your 'messed -up' disk.
BACK -IT -UP Bit copier - to back up your software.
£50.00
Space Warner Alien Rain Snoggle Demon Derby
Galaxy Wars Gobbler
£12.95 £12.95 £12.95 £12.95 £12.95
£12.95
ARCADE GAMES
Star Cruiser £12.95
Alien Typhoon £13.95
Space Eggs £14.95
Autobahn
£14.95
Star Mines £14.95
Apple Panic £14.95
Sneakers Raster Blaster Star Thief Missile Defence
Epoch
£16.95 £16.95 £16.95 £17.95 £19.95
Mission Asteroid
Mystery House The Wizard & Princess Cranston Manor
ADVENTURE GAMES
£9.95
£12.95 £17.95
£17.95
Oldorf's Revenge Tarturian
Creature Venture Soft Porn Adventure
£11.95 £14.95 £14.95 £17.95
German Whist Cribbage Draw Poker
CARD GAMES & SPORTS GAMES
£9 95 £12.95 £14.95
Pool 1.5 American Football Hi -Res Soccer
£1895 £19.95 £22.95
STRATEGY GAMES
Galactic Empire I Galactic Trader II Galactic Revolution III
£12.95 r12.95
£12.95
Tawala's Last Redoubt Golden Mountain
Kubik
Add 15% VAT, Postage & Packing Free.
Write or phone for full catalogue Dealer enquiries welcome.
£14.95 £9.95 £9.95
CONTACT:
S. B. D. SOFTWARE
15 Jocelyn Road, Richmond TW9 2TJ Tel: 01-948 0461
Circle No. 330
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
fillaiii COF11PUTER CEF1TFIE
SPECIALISTS IN MICROCOMPUTERS FOR BUSINESS, AND SCIENCE
88 ST. BENEDICT'S STREET, NORWICH NR2 4AB.
TELEPHONE: (0603) 29652
From the LARGEST EAST ANGLIAN Microcomputer specialists and APPLE II DISTRIBUTORS:
Trade in your "PET" for something better!!! Apple II still only £799.00 at ANGLIA plus FREE 'Anglia Invaders' or 'Microchess' programme.
SPECIALIST EQUIPMENT AND PROGRAMMES FOR APPLE II Ittr avonatninnunionamovetwaiginealT
1
0.1.70,,C371'
ANGLIA FOR APPLES AND MUCH MORE!!
DIGIPLOT APPLE PLOT VISICALC DIGIPLOT SOFTWARE
No. 1 UNIQUE GRAPH PLOTTING SOFTWARE FOR THE DIGIPLOT!!!
To plot graphs created by 'Apple Plot' and 'Visicalc'
(FREE when you purchase 'Digiplot' from us)
No. 2. SOFTWARE INTERFACE BETWEEN 'GRAPHICS TABLET' AND 'DIGIPLOT' (FREE when you purchase either 'Graphics Tablet' or 'Digiplot' from us)
£895.00 £37.00
£111.00 £105.00
£95.00
No. 3. Get the most versatile and low cost printers for your Apple II and take advantage of its
versatile character set from within 'Apple Writer' by using the EPSON/APPLE WRITER
ADVANCED CHARACTER GENERATOR
£49.00
(FREE if you purchase an Epson Printer and Apple Writer from us)
No. 4. CASHBOOK PROGRAMME suitable for personal, departmental, societies or institu-
tional use
£95.00
No. 5. COSTING your production of ASSEMBLED PRODUCTS includes Stock Control and
Price Update of individual items (written in Pascal)
£650.00
No. 6. PROPERTY RENTAL - suitable for Estate Agents.
No. 7. EXAM TIME - save yourself time in preparing Multiple Choice Questions and After
Exam Tuition. Suitable for schools, colleges and industry training
£49.50,
EPSON PRINTERS
Epson MX80 F/T
£399.00
Above with graphics
£450.00
Epson MX100
£575.00
EPSON MX130
CALL
Epson Apple Interface with cable .
£60:00
APPLE III-STILL WAITING??? THEN GET IN TOUCH WITH US
APPLE II's are hard at work
on THE HARD DISK NETWORK
SEE IT RUNNING at our showroom and save your company £1000s on Minicomputers or Mainframes
INVOICING & SALES
PURCHASES
WORD PROCESSING
FINANCIAL PLANNING
BASIC
PASCAL
Are you still trying to grasp computing with a ZX80/81 ? - we will trade your ZX80 OR ZX81 for something better!!!
Starting with ACORN ATOM We are full stockists of all Acorn Atom products and programmes plus our own.
COBOL
HARD DISC
The ANGLIA ATOM MONITO-- Rto help you into the heart of machine code computing
(FREE with every assembled Atom purchased from us FAST DELIVERY.
We also stock the Seikosha GP80 Printer and Atom connecting cables.
£14.95
ENGINEERS! DRAUGHTSMEN! DESIGNERS! ARCHITECTS!
Enter the drawing office of the future today with this revolutionary Microcomputer -based draughting machine for as little as £1.00 per hour.
WE ALSO DISTRIBUTE: Anadex . Tandy TRS-80
Qume ... Paper Tiger ... Olympia . .
. Centronics
TELEPHONE: (0603) 29652.
Tangerine . Tante! ... North Star ... Video Genie ... . Starwriter ... Sharp ... Texas Instruments TI/99/4.
All prices quoted exclude VAT.
Note: Soon opening other branches in East Anglia and London. Sales and Technical Staff required. Interested parties please apply in writing.
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Circle No. 331
215
r
Mounted on carrier band or printed onto white continuous
bond paper
Oisoiteio44444460* OOOOO
Continuous
Self Adhesive Labels
1- 2-3 wide in various sizes
0 O
Ill
. r 4 4. f 0
Listing Paper
single and multipart
444 40.00444 4 4.14 444 OOOOO
Diskette and Listing Paper
Storage S4ys8te4m4s
For further information please contact
Phone Fleet (Hants) 02514 24167 or FREEPOST Fleet ALDERSHOT Hampshire GU13 9BR. ,No.t..,...d)
0 Circle No. 332
*NEW MOON FOR EPROM it*
TEX ERASER SWEEPS CLEAR!
EPROMPT is Prompt Enough!
Eproms need careful treatment to survive their expected lifetime. Rushing it could burn their brains out. So cop-out of this helter-skelter world; take it easy the TEX way and give your chips a well-earned break. Cool, gentle and affordable; EPROMPT does it properly.
* 16 -chip basic economy EPROMPT ER. £32 nett; f39 c. w. o. * 32 -chip interlocked de -luxe EPROMPT GT: £40 nett; £49 c.w.o. *
MAW'
is
TowortroWirme
Our EPROMPT needs just half -an -hour to finish its job; this is the proper erase time for all Eproms. While it's busy you may as well take a break yourself, but don't take too long without a timer on the job; over -erasing can shorten data storage time. So our TEXTIME will remember to turn out the light and your chips will forget nothing new.
*30 -minute solid-state TEXTIME M30: £15 nett; £19 c.w.o. *
* * * Special Offer EB + M30: f45 nett; (55 c.w.o. * * * * * * Special Offer GT + M30:133 nett; f66 c.w.o. * * *
TEX: Reliable quality at affordable prices. We manufacture in the U.K. and sell direit All items ex stock from St. Albans or Watford Electronics.
BOX 1 2; C W.O.Prices include Carriage ft VAT. Write post free;
TEX IMICRC3SYSTENIS LTD. FREEPOST
ST, ALBANS, HERTS. ALI 1BR
ST. ALBANS 640771TRING 4797 ANYTIME
Circle No. 333
a high quality daisywheel printer
V24/RS232 interface Proportional spacing Bidirectional/ logic seeking
Wide range of type styles and international languages
Trade/OEM Discounts available
Write or call for further nformation: Butel-Comco Limited, Garrick Indusiiiai Cei are, Garrick Road, London NW9 6AQ. Telephone:01-202 0262.
Technology for business
Circle No. 334
216
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Dual -density Model
ONLY £1,750*
Leasing and Rental
L.
Facilities Available
Superb Budget -priced
c W.P. System
FOR ONLY £2,995*
SPEEDY SOLUTIONS
to your unique
BUSINESS PROBLEMS
We build systems to SUIT YOUR BUSINESS and MAKE IT MORE EFFICIENT!! We don 'task you to change your business to suit an off -the -shelf package!!
Our professional consultants using Advanced Software Development Techniques can produce a system to meet your needs for now with the
built-in flexibility for tomorrow's expansion.
All in a fraction of the time it normally takes to develop a "Made -to -Measure System" with corresponding SAVINGS on your software costs.
For free consultation and demonstration contact: VISION BUSINESS SYSTEMS LTD., 58 ST. PETER'S STREET, ST. ALBANS, HERTS.
} TELEPHONE: ST. ALBANS (0727) 33744
*Prices may be subject to change due to the fluctuation of the dollar rate
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Circle No. 335
217
[10 systems ltd.
A/D BOARD FOR NASCOM
* 8 input channels
* 8 bit resolution
* 30 microsec conversion * Sample and hold
* Over voltage protection * Full flag/interrupt control
* Prototyping area
* NASBUS compatible
Price: £135 + 15% VAT (post free)
GRAPHICS BOARD FOR NASCOM
* 384 (H) x 256 (v) high resolution graphics display
* fully bit mapped
* mixed text and graphics
* full software control
* NASCOM 2 or 4mhz
* graphics software supplied NASCOM 1
Price: £55 + 15% VAT (post free)
EPROM PROGRAMMER
* Programs 3 rail:
2708/2716
single rail:
2508/2758
2516/2716
2532/2732 * Software supplied for READ/PROGRAM/VERIFY * CAN BE USED WITH OTHER M/Cs WITH 2 PARALLEL
PORTS Price: £63 + 15% VAT (post free)
MI
DUNCAN
* Fast real time interpreter/control language for NASCOM 1 or 2
(please specify) Price £12 + 15% VAT (post free)
MEMORIES
4116 - 150ns, 95 pence each + VAT (min 8) 64K - 200ns £10 each + VAT
MONITORS BMC 12" green phosphor, 18mhz.
Price: £175 + 15% VAT (carriage extra)
6 Laleham Ave, Mill HIII, London NW7 3HL Tel: 01-959 0106
A:\
kwilk Adam
Circle No. 336
UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER
EXTRA -MURAL DEPARTMENT
Four residential courses to be held at Holly Royde Residential Conference Centre, Manchester.
BASIC, BASIC PROGRAMMING Friday -Sunday, 29th -31st January, 1982. Fee: Resident £75 which includes full board and tuition.
ALL YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT CBM FLOPPY DISKS Friday -Saturday, 5th -6th February, 1982.
Fee: Resident £59 which includes full board and tuition.
LEARN BASIC, PRACTICAL BASIC Monday -Friday, 22nd -26th March, 1982. Fee: Resident £189 which includes full board and tuition.
MACHINE CODE PROGRAMMING ON THE PET Friday -Sunday, 20th -22nd August, 1982.
Fee: Resident £75 which includes full board and tuition.
For full details please contact Mrs. Sue Eden, Extra -Mural Department, The University, Manchester, M13 9PL or telephone 061-273 3333 ext 3076.
Circle No. 337
LEEDS COMPUTER CENTRE
jaPPla II EUROPLUS
48K
£625 + VAT
Disk with controller
£360 + VAT
Disk without controller
£275 + VAT
Monitors b/w or green.
Full range of Peripherals, Epsom and Paper
Tiger printers all discounted, Post & Packing
£4.
VAC 20
£175 'INCLUDING VAT' P/P £3-
Price includes fully tested unit with fitted plug.
Complete range of Vic -Peripherals.
Telephone your order NOW
CE COMMODORE PET
N II
-NEW--4000SR. WITH LARGE 12" GREEN SCREEN
32K MODEL
P -P- £5.00 £555 ± VAT
Access and
Barclaycard accepted
SALES
COMPLETE RANGE OF COMMODORE EQUIPMENT EX -STOCK
Official orders welcome: goods dispatched 24hr delivery. Please phone for our lowest prices.
SERVICE
SATISFACTION
ADVANCED COMPUTER EQUIPMENT (LEEDS) LTD
95 MEADOW LANE, LEEDS 11
PHONE: 0532 446960
TELEX: 335909
Circle No. 338
218
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
A POWERFUL MULTI-USER SYSTEM FOR UNDER £6,600.
fast memory to m
With the CLENLO ACE multi-user system up to
Enhanced batch su
sixteen users each have exclusive use of a Z -80A
gloppy disc storage, or Winchester t;ctd disc
processor and 64K RAM mounted on a S-100
storage up to 100 Megabytes.
board, each with a serial RS -232
0 Automatic print spooling
I/O port to which the user's VDU
and de -spooling.
is attached.
The multi-user system is housed in a standard S-100 mainframe chassis enabling individual users to -run programs independently and simultaneously, while still having access to shared resources (hard disc storage, printers etc.) - via the S-100 BUS Inter Processor Communication channel.
0)6 4 -ccrelq;Cgr
Iso
0 Tape back-up facilities
6 '
V-i422MapOrtep
available ... backed up by the exceptional CLENLO service
and highly competitive prices.
Whether you want a basic
two user system incorporating
floppy disc storage or the
facility of a full sixteen user hard
disc based system with high
performance, CLENLO can
74
provide the system you need.
For more details of the best, lowest cost multi-user system
All this activity is controlled by a DPC/OS multi-user operating system running in
CLENLO
on the market and our complete range of Microcomputer and business services contact
a Service Processor and creating a complete CP/M Ver
Microcomputers
Tom Spencer, CLENLO COMPUTING SYSTEMS,
2.2 environment for each user. designed for business Telephone 01-670 4202/3.
To: CLENLO COMPUTING SYSTEMS LIMITED, Crown House, 18 Gypsy Hill, London SE19 1NL. Telephone: 01-670 4202/3.
El Please send me details of your ACE MULTI-USER SYSTEM.
Name Position Company Address
ri Please send me details of the complete CLENLO range.
Telephone
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Circle No. 339
219
BRITISH S100 BOARDS-Th
DESIGNED AND MANUFACTURED IN ENGLAND
BY
INTERACTIVE
SBMC
4 MHz, Z80A processor with 1K RAM, sockets for 16K EPROM, 2 RS232 serial ports and
Z8OCTC.
£235.00
Z8 OCPU 4 MHz, Z80A processor card.
£105.00
16K SRAM 16K bytes static RAM using low power 2114
chips.
£157.00
8K SRAM 8K bytes version of above.
£98 00
DFDC
Floppy Disc Controller, single/double density, single/double sided, mixed 5.25 and 8" drives, up to 4 in total.
£219.00
CP/M
CP/M 2.2 Disk Operating System, tailored for SBMC and DFDC. Please state 5" or 8".
£85.00
TERM40 Active Termination Board. Prevents ringing and noise on the bus.
£35.00
VID1
I/O Mapped Video Controller with centronics
type printer port.
£265.00
PSU
Heavy duty S100 power supply.
£155.00
15M BD
15 slot Mother Board with edge connectors and active termination.
£98.00
7M BD
7 slot Mother Board with edge connectors and active termination.
£66.00
All prices are for assembled and tested boards, we do not sell 'Bare
Boards'. 15% VAT should be added to all orders. c.w.o. only. Technical data sheets available for most products, educational and quantity dealer/
OEM enquiries welcome.
Further details from:INTERACTIVE DATA SYSTEMS LTD., 14, Heathfield, Stacey Bushes, Milton Keynes, Bucks, MK12 6HP.
Tel. 0908 313997
DATA
SYSTEMS
Taking the mystery out
of microchips
0#
Circle No. 340
NOW IN STOCK
All products carry 6 months guarantee with 24 hour replace/repair turnaround.
8" Single Sided Drive 8" Double Sided Drive BFD 81-S: 1 x Single Sided Boxed 8" Drive BFD 81-D: 1 x Double Sided Boxed 8" Drive BFD 82-S: 2 x Single Sided Boxed 8" Drive BFD 82-D: 2 x Double Sided Boxed 8" Drive BFD 83-S: 3 x Single Sided Boxed 8" Drive BFD 83-D: 3 x Double Sided Boxed 8" Drive
£250. £340. £370. £460. £710. £890. £1020 £1290.
AVAILABLE IN THE NEW YEAR
INTEGRATED I/O EXPANSION SYS7E1172
FOR UK101 (AND SUPEBBOARD)
Comprises boxed 8 slot I/O Motherboard and power supply. Motherboard has capability for 5 bytewide EPROM/RAM devices. I/O Boards are Eurocard size and the following are under development:-
multi-PIA multi-ACIA multi -VIA PROM PROGRAMMER
SOUND GENERATOR ANALOGUE I/O SWITCH I/O DISK CONTROLLER
COMPUTRONIX
192 Birchgrove Road Birchgrove, Swansea West Glam. Tel: (0792) 813551
CWO VAT P.P. charged
at cost
Circle No. 341
TWICK NHAM
COMPUTER CENTRE LTD
With the best microcomputers available
111110,11
commodore
IICIPPiC
1/2 day Wednesday - 'phone for latest Prices
PRINTERS
Anadex Epsom Ricoh
SOFTWARE
Micro Modeller Visicalc Magic Window
ACCESSORIES
Z-80 Softcard Monitors Graphics Tablet
an E NEW TO OUR RANGE Ries*
£170.00 + VAT.
01 - 892 7896 01 - 891 1612
TWICKENHAM COMPUTER CENTRE LIMITED
72, Heath Road Twickenham Middlesex TW1 4BW
Circle No. 342
220
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
HP -85 NOW YOUR
IS COMPLETE
WITH THE MSC -9800H 5 0Mb WINCHESTER DRIVE
45ms access time. 22 bit error detection/11 bit error correction. 256 byte data buffer. Software compatible with HP9895 floppy drive. Compact desk top unit measuring 63/8" x 101/2" x 12". Low cost per byte.
JUST PLUG IN AND RUN!! ... OTHER MODELS AVAILABLE.
MSC -9800 - STANDARD IEEE-48/MSC-9800 L-HP9800 SERIES COMPATIBLE.
U.K. DISTRIBUTORS:
ANGLIA COMPUTER CENTRE
88 ST. BENEDICTS STREET, NORWICH NR2 4AB.
TEL: (0603) 29652/26002.
Tired of
heariUng
about
PAscAL?
We think you've waited long
enough.
At last, there is an easy to understand Pascal sampler to help you learn Pascal programming, LinkSampler. And to fill the needs of the Pascal programmer, two Pascal utility programs to increase your programming productivity, LinkVideo and LinkDisk.
Link Systems backs its commitment to quality Pascal software with fifteen years of mainframe and micro computer programming experience.
The Easiest Way to
Learn Pascal
LinkSampler is an entertaining Pascal learning tool, supplied with easy to understand documentation. LinkSampler includes a full diskette of games, math procedures and financial programs.
I will help you put into practice what you have read in books.
£49.95
Apnslcntel
Utrility
LinkDIsk fills the needs of the
programmer for manipulating individual
bytes of Pascal mass storage media.
It compares, examines and changes any
byte on an Apple Pascal disk and translates
DOS Basic into Pascal.
Compare.
This function enables you to insure that a
disk copy was performed without error, and
the copy is readable. Good for Pascal and
Basic.
Examine.
Enables you to examine and change
data on mass storage, change data byte by
byte and alter any nibble of data.
Translate.
Enables you to translate DOS 3.3 text
and Binary files into Pascal.
£54.95
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
A Multi Function
Programmers Aid
LinkVideo saves valuable input, output programming time, and provides
terminal independence for essential screen functions.
Erase to End of line. Erase to End of Screen. Clear Screen. Cursor Moves (both input and output). Line and Screen Erasure. Filters, Validates and prompts input for
. Strings, Fields, Boolean, Social Security
L
.,/ , ;;
SYSTEMS
U.K DISTRIBUTORS:
ANGLIA COMPUTER
CENTRE
88 ST. BENEDICTS STREET, NORWICH NR2 4AB.
TELEPHONE:
(0603) 29652/26002. v,e0'fe.0.",-
(All prices exclude VAT)
44"cko° 4N. I. *.
Circle No. 343
221
BIG EARS
SPEECH
INPUT
FOR
YOUR
COMPUTER! BIG EARS opens the door to direct man -machine communication. The system comprises analogue frequency
separation filters, preamps and signal conversion, together with a quality microphone and extensive software.
Words, in any language, are stored as "voice -prints" by simply repeating them a few times in "learn" mode. Using keyword selection techniques, large vocabularies can be constructed.
Use BIG EARS as a front end for any application: data enquiry, robot control, starwars - the possibilities are unlimited . . .
BUILT, TESTED Er GUARANTEED
ONLY £49!
PRICE INCLUDES POSTAGE Et PACKING. PLEASE ADD VAT AT 15% PLEASE STATE COMPUTER UK101, SUPERBOARD, NASCOM2, PET, TRS80, ETC.
MICROGRAPHICS
Colour Conversion for UK 101 /NASCOM 1 82/ Superboard (Modulator included)
KIT f45 BUILT f60
COLOUR MODULATOR
RGB in, PAL/UHF out
KIT £12
BUILT 08
Please add VAT at 15% to all prices Barclaycard/Access orders accepted on telephone
BARCLAYCARD
MA
Dower House, Billericay Road,
Herongate, Brentwood,
,A. welcome bass
SYSTI3VIS Ltd
1\'(1Essex CM13 3SD. Telephone: Brentwood 102771 810244
NI
Circle No. 344
NOW OPEN
CLEARSONS
COMPUTER SUPPLIES
CASH & CARRY CENTRE OPEN SIX DAYS A WEEK
For you to browse our vast selection of computer supplies, bring this advert for 10% discount.
SPECIAL OPENING OFFER
Verbatim Datalife Diskettes MD25 single sided - £16.00 per 10 plus VAT MD550 double sided - £22.50 per 10 plus VAT Pet/Anadex Ribbons - £1.00 each plus VAT Accomedia mini diskette box with index holds 50
diskettes - only £19.99 plus VAT
Take advantage of our bulk buying all available from stock.
Post free on these items.
Also free design and advisory service for printed forms.
CLEARSONS LTD,
Camp Road, Farnborough, Hants. (0252) 518022/518717/41313.
Circle No. 345
TECPACS
The reliable technical programs for desktop computers
TECPACS are high -quality, technical software packages, written and tested by professionals for professionals. They can be
used in your office, no large centralised computing facilities
are needed, and computing experience is unnecessary. With TECPACS, designers and engineers can explore design alternatives with ease and confidence.
TECPACS offer such features as C] Built-in high technical standard
Li Easy to use, friendly style
CI Data checking facilities
I=1 Trend facilities
El Choice of units
High -quality presentation of
results
Typical TECPACS available now include: FUNKIT-1, evaluates and plots
any function (up to 100
characters long, any number of variables) £100
POLYNOMIAL evaluation and analysis (root finding, integration etc) £80
1=IGRAPHKIT, graph plotting,
curve fitting, non-linear regression £80 H ISTOK IT, high resolution histograms, univariate statistics.
£80 TECPACS add another professional to your team. In your
office, or in the design office, just switch on, select your TECPAC program disk, and in minutes you have the answers
you need.
For further details. of TECPACS available contact the
Technical Software Centre BHRA Fluid Engineering
Cranfield, Bedford MK43 OAJ England
or telephone Dr Eugene Sweeney on 0234 750 102
pa Technical Software Centre
For use with PETS, APPLES and other machines.
Circle No. 346
222
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
TANGERINE COMPUTER SYSTEMS LONDON & HOME COUNTIES STOCKISTS
RETAIL SALES & DEMONSTRATIONS
404 EDGWARE RD. LONDON, W2 1ED TEL: 01-402 6822
TANGERINE TANGERINE TANGERINE TANGERINE TANGERINE
MICROTAN 65
Microtan 65 is the most advanced. powerful, expandable microcomputer available - it also happens to be the most cost effective!
COMPUTER
FULLY BUILT, TESTED,
TAN EX £43.00
Minimum Config Kit.
CONTENTS
+V AT £6.45, total f 49 45.
High quality plated thru hole printed circuit board, solder resist and silk
screened component identification. I.C. sockets for maximum expansion.
64 Way 0 I.N edge connector. 1K RAM, cassette interface, 16 parallel
I/O lines, a T.T.L. serial I/O port, two 16 bit counter timers, data bus
buffering. memory mapping, logic and discrete components for
maximum expansion. TANEX users manual.
Electronic Today
International held a
mammoth survey of kits.
The result' Microtan 65
MICROTAN 65 CONTENT
WINS COMPUTER CLASS'
High quality, plated thru hole printed circuit board, solder resist and silk
screened component identification 6502 microprocessor. 1K monitor
TANBUG. Now with 'V' Bug 1K RAM for user programme, stack and
display memory. VDU alphanumeric display of 16 rows by 32 characters.
MICROTAN 65 system file binder. 136 page, bound, users hardware/
software manual with constructional details and sample programmes.
Logic and discrete components to fully expand MICROTAN 65
The MICROTAN 65 kit has won widespread acclaim for its superb presentation. We pay attention to detail,
and housed
SYSTEM RACK MICRON £550.00 Inc! ins VAT P&P
6502 based microcomputer VDU alpha numeric display. Powerful monitor TANBUG 8K RAM 32 parallel I/O lines 2 TTL serial I/O lines Four 16 Bit counter timers. Cassette interface. Data bus buffering. Memory mapping canto' 71 key ASCII Keyboard, including numeric keypad. Includes power supply. Also includes the first '10K MICROSOFT BASIC' available in the U K All the usual BASIC commands.
Full manuals Microtan, Tanex, Basic, X Bug.
All £5.00 each.
TANEX (Minimum configuration) Assembled
£53.00 + V A T (7 95, total f60 95
TANEX EXPANSION
Expanded, TANEX offers 7K RAM locations for 4K EPROM (2716), locations for 10K extended MICROSOFT BASIC. 32 parallel I/O lines, two TTL serial I/O ports, a third serial I/O port with RS232/20mA loop, full modem control and 16 programmable baud rates, four 16 bit counter timers, cassette interface, data bus buffering, and memory mapping.
KIT FORM £69.00 + (10 .35 V A T , total £79.35
MICROTAN 65 assembled and tested, Specification as above, but assembled and fully bench tested by ourselves
£79.00 + Ill 85 VAT, total f90 85 TANBUG V2.3 KIT (Separately) £21.85 incl.
MICROTAN 65 OPTIONS
LOWER CASE PACK Two integrated circuits which connect
MINI MOTHER BOARD Used to connect Microtan to Tane
into locations on MICROTAN allowing 128 displayable characters
Built £10.00 + VAT
£9.48 + (1 42, total (1 o 90
GRAPHICS PACK Five integrated circuits which connect into locations on MICROTAN allowing the display of chunky graphics (64 x 64 prtels) What are chunky graphics' Welt, imagine a piece of graph paper with 64 squares vertically and 64 squares horizontally, a total 014096 Each square can be made black on white
£6.52 +V. A.T.98p, total (7.50.
20 WAY KEYPAD Inexpensive means of getting up and running. Uses 'Schoeller' key switches, and connects to MICROTAN through a 16 pin 0 I L plug on ribbon cable. Black anodised escutcheon, with TANGERINE legends, finishes off what must be the best value for money keypad available. Available assembled and tested
£10.00 + V A T (1.50, total (11.50.
'Space Invaders game (tor use with keypad only) (15.22 +V. A T (2.28 total (17.50.
POWER SUPPLIES
MPS 1- Input 120 or 240V AC. Output 5 Volts at 3 Amps Regulated. MPS 1 will power both MICROTAN and TONED fully expanded. Built on the same size printed circuit board as MICROTAN etc. Available as a fully built and tested unit
£23.00 = V A T f3.45, total (26.45.
X MPSZ +5V 6A, +120, -5 and -12V switch mode system PSU
£69.13+VAT
TANRAM
AVAILABLE NOW TANRAM - 40K Bytes on one board) Single board of bulk memory offering 7K Static RAM 12114), and 32K Dynamic RAM 14116). Onboard refresh is totally transparent to CPU operation and is unaffected by normal DMA's TANRAM fully expands the available address space of the 6502 microprocessor. MICROTAN, TANEX and TANRAM together provide 16K RAM, 48K RAM, and 1K I/O that's a lot of memory and a lot of 1/0! Built and tested. TANRAM ASSEMBLED
40K RAM CARD with 16K DYNAMIC RAM £76 +VAT
CONTENTS: High quality plated
solder
resist and silk screened component identification. Full complement of
I.C. sockets for maximum expansion. 64 way D.I.N. edge connector.
1K RAM 12114) Data bus buffering. TANRAM users manual.
EXTRA RAM:
1K STATIC 121141 £2.95 each 16K DYNAMIC (4116) (1.50 each.
MEMORIES EXPAND YOUR SYSTEM WITH OUR TANGERINE
Discounts 10% for 4, 15% for 8, 20% 'kg 16
APPROVE() CHIPS
2102 1K x 1 Static RAM 80P' 2708 £3.50 2716 £6.50
IM 6402 UART £4.50 21141K x 4 Static RAM £2.95
MK 4116 16K .x 1 Dynamic RAM
(150
All including VAT 4118 1K x 8 Static RAM 17.50
MONITORS (PROFESSIONAL)
£129.95 RECONDITIONED AND NEW - FROM (35.00 to
CENTRONICS Ideal for Tangerine
PRINTERS
SHEIKOSHA £199 + V 4 1
£350 Model 731)
+VAT
£395 Model 731
+ V A T
EXPANDED TANEX KIT (Excludes ROM, XBUG and BASIC)
£89.70 +V. A.T.(13.46. total (103.16.
EXPANDED TANEX ASSEMBLED
£99.70 +V A T (14 96, total (114 66
OPTIONS TO FULLY EXPANDED TANEX
10K Extended MICROSOFT BASIC in EPROM (with manual) £49.00 +V.A.T.(7.35, total (56.35. Extra RAM 1K 12 x 2114) (5.20 + V A T 78p, total a 98
SERIAL I/O KIT £17.25 incl. 6522 VIA f8.00 +VAT £1.20, total (9.20 HUG (17.35 +VAT (2.60, total (19.95. ± 12V KIT £9.20 incl.
AS YOU CAN SEE THE PRICES OF OUR EXPANSION COMPONENTS ARE VERY, VERY COMPETITIVE!
TANGERINE DISC SYSTEM
780 CONTROLLER CARD £150.00 +VAT DOUBLE SIDED DOUBLE DENSITY DRIVE
£215.00 +VAT
CP /M DISK OPERATING SYSTEML.en
Lou +VAT
71 KEY ASCII KEYBOARD £69.95 incl.
NO EXTRAS NEEDED Uses gold crosspoint keys. Includes numeric keypad and ribbon cable Available as fully assembled and tested.
SUPER METAL CABINET IN TANGERINE/BLACK
£20.00 +VAT £3.00. total (23.00.
PROFESSIONAL ASCII KEYBOARDS
Ideal for Tangerine
£29.95. VAT
MINI -SYSTEM RACK
We have produced a mini -system rack which accepts MICROTAN 65, TANEX and our mini -mother board. It has an integral power supply, lust plug it into the mains and away you go! Finished in TANGERINE/BLACK, it gives your system the professional finish. Front panel access for I/O cables. AVAILABLE AS AN ASSEMBLED UNIT.
£56.35 incl.
FULL SYSTEM RACK
For the man that has everything! 19 inch wide system rack which accepts MICROTAN 65, TANEX, TANRAM, SEVEN FURTHER EXPANSION BOARDS, TANDOS and THE SYSTEM POWER SUPPLY. Available in many formats, e.g.Individual front panels, full width hinged front panel, back panel with or without connectors
£49.00 + V A T (7.35, total /56.35
NEW MICROTANTEL
POST OFFICE APPROVED PRESTEL - VIEWDATA
FULL COLOURGRAPHICS CAN STORE PRESTEL CAN BE USED AS AN EDITING TERMINAL CAN BE
INTERFACED WITH PET, APPLE, etc.
£170
+
T
Just connect to the aerial socket of any colour or black and white domestic T V receiver and to your Post Office installed lack socket and you are into the exciting world of PRESTEL. Via simple push button use you are able to view 170,000 pages of up to the minute information on many services, order goods from companies - all this without leaving your armchair(
NEW PRODUCTS (AO VAT inch -I
System Motherboard (4 Connector) System Motherboard (12 Connector) E;raeC''rs1terNcrFr
Panel
44.85 72.85
3.50
15 64
Serial 110 Board Min (2 Ports
Serial oo Board Max (8 Port I Parallel I/O Board Min (16 Li es)
Parallel I/O Board Max (128 fines) 32K Ramcard 16K Version
32K Ramcard 32K Version 32K Romboard (Excl Rom)
66.70 135.70
54.63 99.48
87.40
1.165050
AIM/KIM Buffer Controller Card Fod Controller Card Min
CBUG, Combined Tanbug a XBUG 2 Port, Serial I/O Ka High Resolution Graphics Aim TV Interlace
54.64
1311 00
6000 BA. T BA.
(15
79 35
52 key 7 bit ASCII coded Positive strobe +5V -12V Full ASCII characters Parallel output with strobe Power light on control Chip by General Instrument 1G I ) TTE output
Superbly made Size 13 x 5.5 a 1 5 ins Black keys with while ledgens Escape shift return &
reset Control repeat & bell keys Complete with DATA
ADD-ON KEYPAD
A compact 12 button keypad
suitable for use with above
LIST PRICE
keyboard to extend its functions £22 W
plus four extra keys. Supplied OUR PRICE
brand new with with data. A
£7.95
4 X 4 non -encoded single mode
keyboard
r- VA T
PLUS MANY NEW EXCITING PRODUCTS IN
DEVELOPMENT AUTOMATICALLY AVAILABLE FROM WH N R A D BY T NGERINE LTD. All
products are available FULLY GUARANTEED BUY WITH CONFIDENCE BRITISH DESIGN & MANUFACTURE AND ON DEMONSTRATION IN OUR COMPUTER DEPT
TANGERINE TANGERINE *TANGERINE *TANGERINE TANGERINE TANGERINE TANGERINE TABOBRINE
Stockist Enquiries on headed notepaper to:
All orders pre -paid and official advertised here
COMPUTER KIT LTD.(Princioal Distributors in U K) 11)12 Paddington Green, London, W2.Tele 01-723 5095
Telex 262284 Ref 1400 TRANSONICS
to be forwarded DIRECTLY to
COMPUTER DEPT., 11/12
PADDINGTON
GREEN,
LONDON
W2
Circle No. 347
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
223
we've
II made all
the pieces :
AMA's MPM*, together with its complementary data base manager MULTI- KISS* *, provide the user with facilities previously unattainable on a micro computer.
A Multi -User Data Base
Multiple users may access or update a common data base simultaneously. True indexed
sequential and direct access files are provided. Programs are written in Microsoft's M BASIC compiler and access of the data base is through
callable routines.
Record Locking
Full provision is made for locking of index file or data file records. No other application language for MPM can provide this. The fool proof record
locking method employed makes this AMA system truly multi-user.
A Transaction Log
All alterations made to the data base are recorded in a daily log file. Should a file be destroyed, a backup copy of the file may be updated with transactions from the appropriate log files.
Trademark of Digital Research Inc Trademark of Tascon Corporation.
AMA (Computing) Ltd., 1 Froghall Lane, Warrington, WA2 7JJ, Cheshire. Telephone Warrington (0925) 51885.
Please send me further information on the AMA
IA:PM*/ MULTI -KISS* * System
Name
Company Address
in CROYDON
APPLE II HARDWARE
APPLE II SOFTWARE
APPLE II PERIPHERALS
APPLE II BESPOKE SOFTWARE
OPEN 9AM to 8PM 6 DAYS A WEEK
SUNDAY DEMONSTRATIONS BY APPOINTMENT
IF WE DON'T HAVE IT WE'LL GET IT!
CALL OR PHONE FOR PRICES & DETAILS
SYMBIOTIC COMPUTER SYSTEMS
85/87 STATION RD, WEST CROYDON
TEL: 01-680 8606
Circle No. 349
Thinking about a micro computer?
If its for business, then you'll need a computer that's designed as a real business machine - the Prince!
Not a plaything for the enthusiast, but a system that proven, good value for money and a secure investment. The Prince is a micro computer, which A, enables you to learn on a minimum investment and link up to larger computer systems later. Sales, purchase, nominal ledgers plus payroll, order entry, stock control, word processing, graphics - all ready made for a computer user. But in reality the Prince user buys a lot more. As a manufacturer, DIGICO Computers provide computer systems that cope with growth, provide a seven year maintenance guarantee on if s whole range of systems* and enable users to keep abreast of technology with the security of 15 years design and manufacturing experience behind them. Thinking about computers - then start right and stay right with a DIGICO Prince.
1?4= DIGICO
MICRO Arena House 46 Broadway Letchworth Herts SG6 3BX Tel: (04626) 78172
Circle No. 348
dviding there is a maintenance contract continuously from new.
Circle No. 350
224
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
SOFTWARE.
SOFT
TR
Modern technology is solving all kinds of problems within commerce and industry - but there is one problem that has remained unsolved - until now.
The distribution and handling of the sophisticated equipment involved.
Carrycare is the distribution service designed especially for valuable and fragile products.
Over the years, we have handled the finest glassware and china - with the utmost care.
More recently, the Carrycare service has been extended to cover electronic, audio, optical and white goods, all requiring special treatment.
With staff trained to handle delicate and easily -damaged products. With specialist packaging and equipment. And the backing of one of the UK's largest transport and distribution organisations.
All geared to offer a highly professional, fast, smooth -running operation that makes good, sound economic sense.
But Carrycare doesn't stop there. We can offer a total service from stockholding and accounting, order processing and sales support to security and insurance.
T
Contact us today and find out how at a stroke. For further information write the Carrycare treatment could solve all to or telephone Brian Cooper or your distribution and handling problems David Norris.
Carrycare
Carrycare could have been designed for the computer industry. No one is better equipped to handle your products. No one has the same high degree of expertise or know-how. Nor the level of dedication.
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
A little extra care goes a long way.
The specialist distribution service for fragile goods.
Carrycare 268/292 Silverdale Road, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffs. Telephone: Newcastle (0782) 625136 Circle No. 351
225
TRS-80 I,II&III
Superior Disk Software
EXTENDED BASIC (Models II & III) will dramatically increase your
programming productivity! EXTENDED BASIC requires no user memory and per-
manently patches your Basic interpreter to give you single keystroke abbreviations for
common commands, the most powerful cross reference utility on the market, an
enhanced renumber command allowing relocation and duplication of code, a keyword
and string location/replacement facility, a utility for dumping the current values/
contents of variables and a text compression function to reduce the size of any program
to an absolute minimum -- and more!
04.50/£67.50 Model II/III
THE SPOOLER (Models I, II & Ill) is our workhorse. The highest
performance print spooler available THE SPOOLER makes typical commercial applications run up to twice as fast by allowing your printer to fully overlap both disk and
processor functions. Beware of other inferior spoolers which spool slowly to disk and stop every time the disk is accessed! Model II version requires no user memory.
£45.00/£49 Models I/II, Ill.
DOSPLUS (Models I, III & V.G.) is faster, easier to use, more compact and
more efficient than TRSDOS, NEWDOS VTOS or LDOS and yet features all of their
major commands plus some innovative ones of its own, is super -reliable and costs less
- what more can we say!
£49.50
NEW: SORTDIR - sorts your directory, DOTWO - include keyboard input in
your DO file, TRAKCESS by Roxton Baker - simply the best Model I ZAP + VARKEEP - keep variables between programs, TASMON - the best monitor available + superb uk written MODEL II APPLICATIONS - payroll, inventory - parts explosion, accounts, letter writer mailing, all with individual tailoring available by the author.
SPECIAL: Ribbons for LP Ill/V only £7.25 each (inclusive)
Model I double density kit (includes DOSPLUS) E106.00
Prices exclude VAT but Include postage & packing. For a detailed catalogue (disk software only) send 50p to:
SYSTEM SOFT
49 Dunvegan Drive, Rise Park, Nottingham NG5 5DX. Tel: (0602) 275559
Circle No. 352
THE WESTFARTHING SMALL BUSINESS SYSTEM
is almost the only integrated accounting and invoicing system specially written for the 1 to 10 -man business and professional practice. It is user -modifiable (a main selling point), has been on sale for over a year, and no user has reported a bug over the last few months. The retail price is £500. The program is written for the Apple, and versions are being prepared for Superbrain, Sharp, Tandy and sorceror machines. Applications are invited for exclusive rights to market the system:
(1) for a specific micro, other than the above makes
(2) for Apple or other computers in a foreign country
-no need to re -apply if you are already in touch with us -
In each case the financial outlay involved would be around £2,000, Also (3) we welcome more U.K. dealers for the Apple version. No further payment than the kit charge is required before a sale is made.
An approval kit, consisting of demo disc, manual and sales literature costs £20 + VAT.
aWestfarthing Computer Services Ltd.
21 Wendron St. Ilelston. Cornwall.
Tel: tlelston [03265] 4098.
Circle No. 353
226
The ASP 3500...
H I GH SPEED 1 00 CPS 225 COLUMN W I DT H
TRACTOR FEED OR CUT SHEET INSERTER 9*9 DOT MATRIX FULL. GRAPHICS TRUE DESCENDERS
VARIABLEPRINT
SELF TEST 2 K BUFFER PARALLEL OR SERIAL INTERFACE As STANDARD PLUS MANY MORE FEATURES
..the new
matrix printer from
Contact: Kelvin Gregory Mitsui Computers Oakcroft Road,
Chessington, Surrey. Telephone: 01-397 5111
Dealer enquiries welcome Circle No. 354
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
INDEPENDENT COMPUTER ENGINEERING LTD
APPLE AND S100 USERS: A 51/4" WINCHESTER DISK SUBSYSTEM
* Up to 12.6 Mbyte formatted (256 byte sectors) capacity per drive * Optimised seek times (drive has on board microprocessor) * Cabinet plus power supply supports 2 Winchester drives or mix of 51/4" floppy plus
Winchester * Drives available separately * Subsystem includes: controller, cables, drive, cabinet and software to support your
system
Prices from: £1,560 (OEM) for complete subsystem
COMPLETE S100 BUS COMPUTER SYSTEM (Z80, 64K, 1 x 51/4" MINI FLOPPY, 1 x 51/4"
WINCHESTER, 6.3 MBYTE FORMATTED)
£3,240
CROMEMCO SYSTEMS & SOFTWARE:
CP/M 2.2
£150
MP/M 1.1
£350
EPSON: MX80
£395
MX80 F/T PLUS HIGH RES GRAPHICS £455
NEW: MX100 - 15" CARRIAGE PLUS HIGH
RES. GRAPHICS
£575
CALIFORNIA COMPUTER SYSTEMS:
TELEVIDEO:
S100 BOARDS & SYSTEMS (64K DYNAMIC
910, 920, 950 FROM
RAM, BANK SELECT)
£360
WORDSTAR/CUSTOMISING OPTIONS
AL
£425
END USER & OEM ENQUIRIES TO: ASHFORD (STD 07842) 47171 OR 47271
INDEPENDENT COMPUTER ENGINEERING LIMITED,
16/18 LITTLETON ROAD, ASHFORD, MIDDLESEX TW15 1UQ.
TEL: ASHFORD (STD 07842) 47271
TELEX: 8952042
k
(all prices exclude VAT)
COMPUTER SOLUTIONS TO BUSINESS PROBLEMS - SOFTWARE PACKAGES / HARDWARE MAINTENANCE / HARDWARE CONFIGURATION & DESIGN
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Circle No. 355
227
BUSSSTOP ALL PRICES INCLUDE VAT
BUSS I
STOP
CASH AND CARRY PRICES ON
COMMODORE
8032 32K WITH 80 COL SCREEN 8050 DUAL DISK DRIVE, 950K 4032 32K WITH 40 COL SCREEN 4040 DUAL DISK DRIVE, 340K 4022 DOT MATRIX PRINTER 4016 16K WITH 40 COL SCREW 8026 DAISYWHEEL PRINTER WITH
KEYBOARD 8027 DAISYWHEEL PRINTER
WITHOUT KEYBOARD 8024 132 COL DOT MATRIX
PRINTER
£875.00 £875.00 £690.00 £690.00 £399.00 £478.00
£1006.00
£860.00
£1173.00
FULL RANGE OF SOFTWARE AVAILABLE!
APPLE
APPLE 48K VIDEO OUTPUT COMPUTER
DISK DRIVE WITH CONTROLLER DISK DRIVE WITHOUT CONTROLLER
£784.00 £384.00 £301.00
VIDEO GENIE
EG3003 VIDEO GENIE 16K COMPUTER
EG3003 VIDEO GENIE 32K COMPUTER
EG3013 EXPANSION BOX WITHOUT RS232
EG3013 EXPANSION BOX WITH RS232
EG3015 16K MEMORY EG3015 32K MEMORY
£387.00
£350.00
£205.00
£238.00 £105.00 £148.00
NOW IN STOCK
VIC 20 £189.00
FULL RANGE OF ACCESSORIES AND PERIPHERALS AVAILABLE.
BARCLAYCARD
255a ST ALBANS ROAD, WATFORD, HERTS. TEL: (0923) 32006.
CREDIT CHARGE MAIL ORDER
24HR ANSWERPHONE
58 HIGH STREET, NEWPORT PAGNELL, BUCKS.
TEL: (0908) 610625
At\
Fkry ,tom Access
GATE MICROSYSTEMS LIMITED
MICROCOMPUTER SALES + SUPPORT NOW IN DUNDEE + GLASGOW
Announce: -
THE MICROSOFT
Z80 SO FTCAR D
FOR YOUR
APPLE II PLUS
* Z80 Softcard is a circuit board with a Microprocessor and I/O Circuitry which plugs into any slot (except 0 in your APPLE.
Z80 Softcard allows you to run CP/M, CP/ M based languages and CP/ M application programs on your APPLE.
* Z80 Softcard enables you to switch your APPLE back and forth from 6502 processing to Z80 processing via a single instruction.
* Z80 Softcard gives you Microsoft Basic 5.0 on your APPLE.
£200.00 PRICE
EX VAT
GATE MICROSYSTEMS LTD
THE NETHERGATE CENTRE 66, NETHERGATE, DUNDEE DD1 4ER 10382) 28194
228
GATE MICROSYSTEMS LTD
ABBEY HOUSE; 10 BOTHWELL STREET GLASGOW G2 6NU 041-221-9372
Circle No. 356
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
if..T electronics
DEPT P.C., 48 JUNCTION ROAD, ARCHWAY, LONDON N19 5RD
100 yds FROM ARCHWAY STATION & 9 BUS ROUTES
TELEPHONE 01-263 9493 263 9495
YOUR SOUNDEST CONNECTION IN THE WORLD OF COMPUTERS
PET
wir
4016 16K RAM
vol
4032 32K RAM
4040 Dual Drive Disk
The new PET printer.
arur
4022 80 column tracks feed. 3023 80 column friction feed.
C2N Cassette Unit.
For the business man we stock
the 8000 range inc. 8032 and
8050 with daisy wheel printers
coming soon.
11111111111M1r11111MINISIIIIIIIIIINIV
PHONE FOR DETAILS OF OUR 'STARTER SYSTEM' AND 'WORD PROCESSING/BUSINESS SYSTEM'
- VIDEO GENIE
£279 E G3003
illi111101016"4"
Utilises Z80, 12K level II Basic, Integral Cassette
Deck, UHF 0/P, 16K RAM,
all TRS80 features. Simply
plugs into monitor or UHF
TV. With V.U. Meter.
PARALLEL PRINTER INTERFACE INC. CABLE
£33.00
CHROMASONICS PROGRAMABLE SOUND KIT
£24.94
SOUND KIT (FITTING EXTRA) LOWER CASE KIT (FITTING EXTRA) COLOUR KIT (FITTING EXTRA) EXPANSION BOX WITH/WITHOUT RS232 16K /32K RAM CARD NEW GENIE II NOW AVAILABLE
£7.00 £27.50 £34.95 £2151185 £941129
£299.00
APPLE
APPLE II PLUS
Apple tapple,
II plus
48K Machines £595 Disk Drive with Controller £349 Disk Drive without Controller £285 Colour Card £69 Graphics Tablet P.O.A.
ACCESSORY CARDS, SOFTWARE ALL AVAILABLE - PHONE FOR DETAILS
PRINTERS
INTERFACES AND CABLES
for Apple II, Pet, TRS80, RS232, UK101, Sharp Superboard all available.
- UK101
UK 101 Kit inc 8K memory Ready Built inc 8K memory
Complete in case 4K Expansion 8 x 2114 Memory Expansion Kit 8K
16K
Printer Interface Sound generator plus PIO kit Cases
014c°,
VOit £125
£175 £199
£14
£79.95 £106.95 £29.95
£29.95 £24.50
NEW
Chromasonic Sound
Kit
Colour Kit
£24.95 £84.95
Inc. Demo Tape Et Full Documentation. Send for details
VIC 20
Colours 24 total. 8 for characters, 8 for border, 115
for screen mixed as you wish. Basic colours on program keys are black, white, red, blue, light blue, green, yellow, and purple.
Sound 3 Tone Generator for music
"White Noise" Generator for language and sound effects. Each Generator gives 3 octaves. Reproduction is through TV speaker.
Character/ Line Display 22 Characters by 23 lines
64 ASCII characters, pet -type graphics character set.
Keyboard DIN typewriter keyboard with 8 program-
mable function possibilities via 4 special function keys. Colours are directly addressable from the keyboard.
Peripherals/ Accessories VIC Datacassette with special interface to
guarantee high reliability read/write quality (PET/CBM compatible).
BUSINESS COMPUTER
TECHNICAL COMPUTER
EPSON MX80 £359
Dot-matrix printer with Pet graphics interface. Centronics parallel and serial. Pet and Apple compatible. True bidirectional, 80 cps.
EPSON MX80 FT/ 1 £399 Dual single sheet friction and tractor, 9 wire head, true
descenders.
EPSON MX80 Fr 2 £449
An FT/1 with high resolution graphics.
EPSON MX70 £259 Tractor feed, 7 wire head high resolution graphics.
SEIKOSHA GP80A £199 Dot matrix 5 x 7, 80 columns
30 cps. graphics, double width characters.
.JUST PHONE FOR FURTHER DETAILS
MONITORS
GREEN MONITOR 9"
£98.00
MONI 9" (Must) BEtW
£82.00
Hitachi professional monitors
9" Black 8- White
£99.95
12" Black Et White
£149.00
M.11111111
PRICE ONLY £165 CASSETTE DECK with 6 free programmes ONLY £34.75
TEACHING COMPUTER
TANTEL
PRESTEL BY TANTEL
COMMUNICATION AT YOUR FINGER TIPS FOR BUSINESS er HOME. UP TO DATE INFO
180,000 pages of information on Travel, News, Investment, Holidays, Hotels Etc., Etc.
£170
TANTEL IS POST OFFICE APPROVED. SEND FOR DETAILS. DEMONSTRATION AVAILABLE AT OUR SHOWROOM
BARCLAYCARD
VISA
Please add VAT 1 5% to all prices. Postage on computers, printers and cassette decks charged at cost, all other items P&P 30p Place your order using your Access or Barclaycard (Min tel order £5). Trade and export enquiries welcome,
Circle No. 359
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
229
WE'RE IN GREENWICH WHERE ARE YOU?
SUPERBRAIN
ALPHATRONIC
THE ITT 2020
If you're an hour from the Blackwall Tunnel you're an hour from us.
We supply Superbrain and Alphatronic business systems, a range of dot matrix and daisywheel printer, plus
Software
CP/M Packages for
Payroll/Stock & Invoicing/Integrated Accounting/Word Processing/ Accountants/Solicitors/Insurance Brokers/Financial Modelling/Data Base
New Systems can also be designed and developed by experienced analysts
Services
All consumables are available ex -stock
diskettes/diskette cases/print wheels/ printer ribbons/labels/continuous stationery/terminal and printer dust covers
Maintenance of both hardware and software
On -going support A back-up bureau service
Call us now on 01-853 5455 BBS Limited, 14 Nelson Road, Greenwich, London SEIB 9JB
Circle No. 360
£1950
+ VAT
48K ITT 2020 Microcomputer 2 Disc Drive Disc Drive Controller
Epsom MX 80 F/T Printer ITT 12" Monitor
+ FREE
Box of 10 Floppy discs 2000 sheets of paper All leads with plugs fitted Delivery U.K. Mainland
Wide range of business software
Ask for details
Eastern Micros
91 Widford Road, Chelmsford, Essex Telephone: 0245-352829
Callers by appointment only
Circle No. 361
SOFTWARE FOR CP/M® HIGH QUALITY SOFTWARE - WITH HIGH QUALITY SERVICE _LNOTE NEW PRICES ON MICROPRO AND MICROSOFT PRODUCTS - Dealer enquiries welcome ---good discounts for quantity orders let us supply your full range of software
WORDSTAR - Professional word processing software. On -screen formatting,
E250
wordwrap, pagination, line and character count on view. Micro -justification on
daisy -wheel printer. Search end replace. Block/paragraph manipulation. External
file read/write. Background printing during editing etc.
MAIL-MERGE Powerful Wordstar enhancement for file merging and
£55
document personalisation.
DATASTAR Screen orientated system for Data Entry, Retrieval and Updating. £175
SUPERSORT - Sort, merge and selection program.
CONFIGURABLE BUSINESS SYSTEM (CBS) - Unique information management system with user definable files, powerful report generator, menudriven for ease of use. No programming experience necessary!
£125 £225
ACCOUNTING PACKAGES by Median - Tec: PAYROLL, SALES, PURCHASE, £500 NOMINAL Specially developed by UK software house to exacting specifications. each Written in Microsoft Basic each package may be customised by end user, all are widely used. Ledgers are open item. Payroll caters for weekly and monthly pay.
PROJECT COST CONTROL/JOB ACCOUNTING - A comprehensive set of programs to monitor budgets, account for expenditure and project completion etc. Ideally suited for contractors. Written in CBASIC-2.
£150
STATISTICS PACKAGE - Over 25 routines including Regression & ANOVA
£100
MATHS PACKAGE - Over 40 easily used routines.
£100
IBM - CP/M COMPATIBILITY - Powerful utility to transfer data to/from IBM machines in standard disk format.
E110
MICROSOFT BASIC INTERPRETER MICROSOFT BASIC COMPILER
£155 E195
MICROSOFT FORTRAN COMPILER
MICROSOFT COBOL
MAGSAM - Versatile easy to use Keyed File Management System for Microsoft Basic or CBASIC.
CIS - COBOL - ANSI' 74 implementation to full level 1 standard. Supports random, indexed and sequential files, features for conversational working, screen control, interactive debugging, program segmentation etc.
£205 E310 £130
£425
FORMS -2 - Automatic COBOL code generator for screen formats. PASCAL -2
STRUCTURED BASIC - Relocatable compiler CBASIC-2 - Extended Disk Basic pseudo compiler and run-time interpreter. SELECTOR III - C2 - Information management system written in CBASIC-2 SELECTOR IV - Upward compatible version of III with enhanced reporting. BSTAM - Telecomms facility for exchanging files between CP/M computers. ASCOM - Facility for communicating with other computers.
TRANSFER - CP/M to CP/M file exchange - telecontrns source code
£100 £235 £160 £75 E185 E300 £75 £95 £125
MACRO 80 - Macro Assembler
£99
CP/M 2.2 - Standard Version 8" Single Density.
£99
Please contact us for availability of other products
All orders must be PREPAID. Add £1 per item P & P (Minimum E2.001 and VAT CP/M is trade mark of Digital Research
TELESYSTEMS LTD
P.O. Box 12, GREAT MISSENDEN, BUCKS, HP16 9DD
Telephone (02406) 5314
Circle No. 362
230
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
At last, a top quality green creen 12" video monitor at a really competitive price.
The Transtec 1200 has a composite video input, compatible
ith all micro computers and the creen gives a crisp read-out of a full 0 columns.
sumThe unit is housed in a durable
stic cabinet with controls neatly concealed behind a hinged front -
Why pay more? Send th coupon today for full specification or better still, call us direct in Bristol.
13A Small Street, Bristol W1. TEL: (0272) 277462. Send £115 (VAT and carraige incl.) for immediate delivery.
*Vat, postage and packing not inct
231
PRINTERS
Buy any of the below and get a tree
interface kit and word processor program for UK101 or Superboard.
Base 2 800MST £250, Seikosha GP80A £199, Centronics 737 £365, OKI Microline 80 £295, OKI Microline 82A £399, OKI Microline 83A £699, Epson MX7OT £259, Epson MX8OT £359, Epson MX80F/T1 £399, Epson MX80F/T2 £449, Epson MX100 £575.
vs
0
SHARP COMPUTERS
MZBOK 20K
£380. ' "":4;.::
36K £394. 48K £408. PC1211 £82.
7
4" --
-,,..
VIC 20 COMPUTER
£173 with free cables to suit
a normal
ik, cassette
11 recorder
OHIO SCIENTIFIC
COMPUTERS
Superboard 3, POA. Power supply and
modulator kit £11-95. Guard band kit £10. 4K extra RAM £10-80. 16K memory expansion complete kit £50, built £58. 32K memory expansion kit £74, built £82. Case £27. Cesmon £22-50. Wemon £1995. Assembler/Editor tape £25. Word processor program £10. Centronics interface kit £10. 610 expansion board, POA. Cased minifloppy disc drive, POA. Cassette recorder £19. Colour adaptor board, built £45.
PET, ATOM, UK101
MEMORY REVOLUTION
Memory expansion boards 16K kit £50, built £58. 32K kit £74, built £82.
VIDEO GENIE £279
Expansion box without/with RS232
£179/£209. Disc drive £205. 16K/32K
RAM board £93/£128. Colour kit £34-95.
Parallel printer interface £32 Write for
free software list.
-, !'
5V POWER KITS
Fully stabilised 5V computer and TTL power kits. Short circuit and over -voltage protection. 1.5A £7-83. 3A £12-17. 6A
£20.
SWANLEY ELECTRONICS
Dept PC, 32 Goldsel Rd, Swanley, Kent BR8 8EZ Tel: Swanley (0322) 64851
Postage £3-50 on computers, £4-50 on printers and 45p on other orders. Lists 27p post free. Please add VAT to all prices. Official credit orders welcome.
Circle No. 364
`Write off your Computer Supplies problem now.
Flexible Disks Digital Cassettes Printwheels Binders Disk & Tape Storage Magnetic Tape Cartridges Ribbons Continuous Stationery Filing Systems Fire Resistant
Cabinets Disk packs
Please send me your Catalogue.
Name
Company
Address
PC12 81
WILLIS
Computer Supplies for people who know better
Post to: Willis Computer Supplies Limited, FREEPOST, PO Box 10, Southmill Road.
L
Bishop's Stortford, Herts, CM231BR or Tel, Bishop's Storttord (0279) 506491. Telex: 817425.
J
Circle No. 365
SPECIAL PRICES FOR A LIMITED PERIOD ONLY
Video Genie EG3003 16K Computer
Centronics 737-2 dot matrix printer. Interfaces for Apple and Video Genie
Wordstar - For Apple
The Mill 6809 Processor Board CP/M upgrade kit for Apple II: Z -80 Softcard with CP/M, 16K Ram Card, & Videx 80 column U/L case board
£280
£345 £170 £236
£460
* Tabs Software Stocked *
Apple & Video Genie hardware and software, Anadex, Midas Computer Systems, Televideo terminals, access-
ories and computer books.
*Specialist software written. *Hi-Fi retailers & allied trades stock control program now available.
AERCO GEMSOFT,
171 CHURCH ST. EAST, WOKING, SURREY.
Tel: (04862) 22881
Sooner or later you won't be able to manage without one.
==o Whether you spend your day prcelucong
sales foretasts. controleng stock.
Z7in.:;,',"17- ----tho-
1115Tpea,
computerSlrvre
Fuld out how Apple can help you now al
TRS -80 in Surrey
SPECIAL PRE -CHRISTMAS OFFERS AND NEW LINES
CENTRONICS P1 80 COL. THEMAL PRINTER £129 Inc. VAT. Last list price £199.00
TRS-80 POCKET COMPUTER £89.00 Inc. VAT. Normal price £119.00
VERBATIM DATAUFE 51/4 INCH DISCS, single or double density - still only £19.90 for ten inc. VAT BUDGET MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME (16K level II) £14.95 normally £19.95 ideal for your household or small business accounts
LINEPR1NTER VII -. Few left at pre -increase price of £199.00 Inc. VAT. Normally £239.00 BACK IN STOCK! TANDY PRINTER INTERFACE CABLE - connects your printer direct to your CPU £44.95 each (Video Genie model also available) PRINTER AND CASSETTE INTERFACE FOR POCKET COMPUTER £79.95. Normally £89.95 (Spare paper rolls and ribbons in stock) NEW - NEW - NEW ANTI -GLARE FILTER for your Model I, II or III computer monitor - only £10.95 MODEL I SYSTEM DESK £99.95 normally £119.95 (callers only) NEW - NEW - NEW TRS-80 COLOUR COMPUTER available in November - prices from £349.00 ATARI VIDEO GAMES COMPUTER now only £95.00 Inc. VAT. 10% off retail prices of all cartndges!
OFFERS LIMITED TO EXISTING STOCKS ONLY *** * LOOKING FOR AM EPSON OR MICROUNE PRINTER? LET US QUOTE YOU! WE
WILL DO OUR BEST TO BEAT AMY CURRENTLY ADVERTISED PRICE! **** ALL PRICES INCLUDE VAT WHERE APPLICABLE
MICRO SYSTEMS LTD /SURREY
53 WOODCOTE ROAD, WALLINGTON, SURREY TEL: 01-647 5636 Access and Barclaycard Holders may 'phone their orders - Post and Packing
extra - add 5% to order value. Send s.a.e. for full software list.
232
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Adda Computers Ltd.. a major supplier of computer systems to industry and business, have opened the Vic Centre in West London. Here you can see, discuss and buy everything to do with the new VIC 20 personal computer-in person or by mail. Hardware, software, technical advice and information is available from an experienced staff of experts. Even if you already own a VIC 20, get on our mailing list to know about new developments. Remember-everything has the backing of Adda's reputation, and there's a full 12 -month warranty on all hardware. The Vic Centre is easy to reach-Just off the A40, close to North Acton tube
station.
CAP Not just a computer but a whole
expandable system
ORC3===31110
AT ONLY £189.95 inc.VAT. Special cassette deck
£44.95 inc.VAT.
The VIC 20 is a fully-fledged, easy -to -use computer. It's the core of a great expandable system, with full-size keyboard operation. First-time users can work it immediately with plug-in program cartridges, using your own colour TV to get up to 24 colours on screen, and three different sound tones. Or write your own programs in BASIC, The VIC 20 lets you build a system as needs and budget dictate. You can expand its memory to 32k Byte with Plug-in modules, and transfer data to external storage units. So the VIC 20 is more than just a personal computer-and its system will expand to put it even further ahead. VIC 20 Dot Matrix Printer Tractor -feed, 80 character -per -line, 30 characters -per -second printer.
£229.95 incl VAT.
W111.111/1W/NIIM
VIC-RS232 INTERFACE Fully implemented (true levels)
RS232C -V24
BI-DIRECTIONAL INTERFACE Allows Vic to work as Mainframe Terminal Drive a Qume Daisywheel or a Paper Tape Punch etc. etc. FEATURE This unit contains master power supply which supports Vic's own supply when carrying Memory Expansions, Cassette Drives, Light Pens, Printers etc.
£56.35 incl VAT.
VIC-MEMORY 3K
Small size-low cost memory expansion.
Plugs into Vic and reproduces memory -port.
Can be used with other expansions gives a
total of 6k user static ramon Vic.
FEATURE This board allows Vic to move
Basic to begin at 1024 ($0400) as in Pet,
and enables the use of HIGH RESOLUTION
COLOUR GRAPHICS
£40.25 incl VAT.
VIC-TOOL KIT
£28.75 incl VAT.
For those who know tool kit on Pet we now
have same facilities for Vic.
Renumber, Auto, Append etc.
This may be used with the stack VIC Rom
Switch Board.
VIC ROM SWITCH BOARD £40.25 incl VAT. An inexpensive unit which plugs direct on to Memory Expansion Port of the VIC and allows the insertion of up to 4 ROMS for games packs or toolkit aids, etc. FEATURE. Simple software switch exchanges each pair of
ROMS into VIC's ROM space allowing 'clashing' ROMS to be
used. FEATURE. Plug-in zero force sockets are available as optional extras to help eliminate pin damage to valuable ROMS.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS: All goods sold subject to Adda terms and conditions of sale. Full details available
on request, but include: 7 day money back guarantee, Adda 12 month hardware warranty. Please allow 21 days for delivery. Allow 7 days for personal cheques to be cleared. Quoted
prices are inclusive of VAT.
VIC-LIGHT PEN This high quality light pen works in both normal and Hi -Res modes on the Vic allowing simple interaction with the Vic without keyboard entry. Easy to program and easy to use. e.g. Menu selection. Non -keyboard entry. Teaching Games. FEATURE touch sensitive "Enter" contacts to eliminate accidental entry.
£28.75 incl VAT.
VIC-Games Port Adaptor Cable games port plug. A two into one adaptor for use with both joysticks and light pens. A must for those who require full control of games with
graphics. FEATURE low-cost High quality. Robust.
£14.95 incl VAT.
VIC JOYSTICK
Single
Hand -Held joystick units for games use
available in Pair or Single configuration
N.B. (2 Singles will not work as a pair
unless modified)
£14.95 incl VAT.
Le Stick £30.75 incl VAT.
The ultimate joystick. One handed multi -directional super
sensitive stick with built in fire button.
VIC software Each of these tapes £14.95 incl VAT.
Codebreaker/Codemaker You play the VIC or the VIC plays you in this computerised
version of Mastermind. VIC Seawolf, VIC Trap and Bounce -out 3 fun games, a submarine shoot out, a beat the VIC and an old favourite pub game. Good games with different skill levels. Monster Maze and Maths Hurdler A fun game with good colour and sound and a mental arithmetic learning game. Highly rated by everyone we have shown it to. Harder than you think.
Goods Required
Price
MAIL ORDER to: Adda Computers Limited, FREEPOST. London, W13 OBR or telephone your order (24 hours a day) to
01-992 9904 quoting your BARCLAYCARD OR ACCESS number.
Add £2.00 p. & p. for orders under £50.00
Name
Total £
* I enclose a cheque, made payable to Adda Computers Limited for
' Please charge my Barclay/Access account. My account number is
Address'
Please add my name to your mailing list
SHOP ADDRESS: Adda Computers Limited,
' Delete as applicable
154. Victoria Road, Acton, London, W3. Tel 01-992 9904.
Date -
OPEN: 10 am -6 pm (Tuesday-Friday),10 am -5 pm (Saturday).
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Circle No. 367
233
CRYSTAL ELECTRONICS CC ELECTRONICS
FOR YOUR SHARP MZ8OK CP/M 2.21 (XTAL)
BASIC CP/M FACILITIES INCLUDE:
Dynamic file management Fast assembler
General purpose editor Advanced debugging utility
YOUR SHARPCP/M 2.21 (XTAL) PACKAGE INCLUDES. Hardware modification (if fitted by a SHARPdealer does NOT break the guarantee) SHARP CP/M 2.21 (latest version) on disc XTAL Monitor and Operating system 7 Digital Research manuals 12 months guarantee and up -dates (on all our products)
CP/M 2.21 (XTAL) FROM £150 + VAT
Ask your SHARP dealer for further details or contact CRYSTAL ELECTRONICS CP/M SOFTWARE HOUSES-XTAL CAN HELP YOU ESTABLISH YOUR SOFTWARE ON THE SHARP.
XTAL BASIC (SHARP)
Takes 5K less memory, has all the features of SHARP BASIC PLUS Multi dim strings, error trapping. logical operators. machine code monitor, more flexible peripheral handling. improved screen control. increased list control, auto run, If ..then.,else -and it doesn't stop there -it grows. You can extend the commands and functions at will -10K, 12K, 16K, BASIC?. SHARP to XTAL BASIC conversion program is included. £40 plus VAT.
Bi-directional serial board for your SHARP RS232 compatible 150 Baud to 2400 Baud adjustable, < 5.6.7,8 Bit words, plugs into MZ801/0 £99.50 plus VAT. Includes software for bi-directional use in XTAL BASIC. software for using SHARP BASIC with serial printer and self -diagnostic software for testing Baud rate etc
Members of Computer Retailers Association & Apple Dealers Association
Shop open 0930-1730 except Saturday & Sunday 40 Magdalene Road, Torquay, Devon, England. Tel: 0803 22699
Access and Barclaycard welcome 4411P
COMPUTERS AND
COMPONENTS
Circle No. 368
vp R S
GJ
PLYMOUTH
PHONE 0752 21256
FAST DELIVERY
All your semiconductors at incredibly low, low prices.
MEMORIES
2114 450ns 2114 300ns 2114 200ns 4116 200ns
1-100
90p 95p £1.00 80p
100 +
80p 85p 90p 70p
EPROMS
2716 450ns 2732 450ns
1-100 £2.40 £4.50
100 +
£1.95 £4.00
Please add VAT to all orders. Free delivery in the U.K.
Please make cheques and postal orders payable to Supersem Plymouth.
To order or for component quotes write to:
Supersem Plymouth Valley Road, Plympton, Plymouth PL7 3RF
Circle No. 369
The Jarogate Tape Backup System
Discs are vulnerable . . .
GET 'EM TAPED FAST This new system provides a reliable and flexible backup facility, but with a breakthrough in data transfer speed. Yet it costs no more than other systems offering only half the performance. It transfers data at 24k/bytes per second - backing up a 10M/byte hard disk in less than 20 minutes, including checking and verification. It has twice the capacity of most other units, too ... up to 24 M/bytes of data on one standard cartridge.
Standard S100 bus controller card gives full interface with your computer, plus the additional facilities of two RS232C serial channels and 10 programmable timers.
A full Jarogate software package is included, on 5" x 8" diskette. It alloWs data backup and recovery on a file -by -file basis, under the Digital Research MP/M or CP/M systems or Cromemco's CDOS system. The cartridge unit is based on the well -established Kennedy 6450 system.
Also available - the Jarogate Z2-HMP, a high-
performance multi-user, multiprocessor system for under £11,000.
JAROGATE JAROGATE LIMITED MICROPROCESSOR CONSULTANTS 67 Tulsemere Road, West Norwood, London SE27 9EH Telephone: 01-670 3674
Circle No. 370
234
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
WATFORD ELECTRONICS
33/35, CARDIFF ROAD, WATFORD, HERTS, ENGLAND Tel Watford (0923) 40588. Telex: 8956095
MAIL ORDER CALLERS WELCOME
COMPUTER
IC's
1702
299
1802CP
750
2101.2
110
2112-2
250
2114.450
90
2114L-300,7
99
2114L -200n 130
2118.3
250
2118-4
200
2147-3
495
2532-450n 525
2708
200
2716-5V
250
2732-450n 455
2147
00
4027
240
4116
85
4116-150n 100
4116-200n 85
4118-2501C 450
4164-200
798
4315-4K
795
4334-3
ICMOS2114I 325
4844-364K 760 4864-3 64K E12
6116.3 16K CMOS RAM 855
6147-3
6502 CPU 450
6503
450
6504-250 295
6505
295
6520 PIA
310
6522 VIA
435
6530 RRIOT 1350
6532 RIOT 750
6545 CRTC 6551 ACIA 6592 PC
1450 785 E26
6800
375
6802 6803
500 1360
6804
180
6805
670
6808
520
6809
999
6810
175
6820
175
6821 6840 6843
150 470 1450
6845
975
6847
850
6850
175
6852
255
6875
550
80804
350
8085A
650
811S95
115
81L596
115
81LS97
115
8166
00
8123
125
8202
E25
8212
170
8214
425
8216
170
8224
250
8226
250
8228
250
8251
370
8253
799
8255
375
8257
800
87264
99
8727
150
8T28A
135
8T31
350
8795N
135
8T97N
135
AM26L531C 125
AM26L532A 125
40-3-1015 350
AV -3-8910 620
AV -3-8912
Av-5-1013 Ay -5.2376 F01771 1M6402
MC1488 mC1489
NIC14411 mc14412 MM5280D
1110-3-2513L R0-3-25130
625
350 700 E18 380
62
82 695 800 895 700 700
SF F96364 E 800
SFC71301
820
TMS2716-3V 875
TMS601 1
365
U152003
85
U152004
150
UPD130C35C E11
280CPu 2 5 360
21304CPu4M 445
Z80 P10
350
Z804 P10
400
Z80 CTC
350
Z80 CTC
Z804 CTC
2800MA
Z8051 0-1
Z804510 Z80 DART 2806 DART ZN419CE ZN423E ZN4246 zN425E zN426E zN427E
ZN428E
ZN429E ZN1034E ZN1040E 74L00
741_30
741_47
74L75 74185
74L1 21
74L1 23 745132 746138 745188 705189 745194 745201 74S241 745262 745287 745288 745470
745471 745472 705475 745571 75150 75108 375150 75188 751 89 75322 75450 75451/2 75454 75491 2
350 400 999
E15 E23
726
725
190
195
130
350
325
625
478 210
200
775
68
50
380
145
349 165
325
138
240 210 158 360 350 540 850 325 210 325 620 1150 825 620 140 350 150
85 65 165 95 70 225 70
TTL7400
(TEXAS)
7400 11
7401
11
7402 11
7403 14
7404 14
7405 18
7406 TB
7407 28
7408 16
7409 16
7410 14
7411 20
7412 20
7413 24
7414 32
7416 25
7417 25
7420 16
7421 20
7422 20
7423 22
7425 28
7426 30
7427 27
7428 28
7430 16
8432 26
7433 27
7437 27
7438 27
7440 17
7441 68
7442 38
7443 90
7444 90
7445 65
7446 55
7447 50 7448 50
7450 16
7451
16
7453 16
7454 16
7460 16
7470 35
7472 30
7473 30
7474 25
7475
7476 30
7480 48
7481 120
7482 70
7483 50
7484 80
7485 95
7486 26
7489 205
7490 28
7491 45
7492 30
7493 30
7494 34
7495 50 7496 45
7497 120 74100 85 74104 54 74105 55 74107 32 74109 35 74110 40
74111 55 74112 170 74116 88
74118 80 74119 90 74120 75
74121 30
741 22 45
74123 50 74125 42 74126 40 74128 42
74132 48 74136 35
74141 70 74142 190 74143 250 74144 260 74145 70 74147 99 47148 75 47150 80
74151 45 74153 45 74154 75
74155 75 74156 75
74157 45 74159 99 74160 .60
74161 BO
74162 62 74163 64
747 64 84 74165 62 74166 65 74167 185 47170 168 74172 290 74173 65 74174 72 74175 72
74176 55 74177 75 74178 95 74179 68 74180 65 74181 140
74182 75
74184 99
74185 99 74188 290 74190 70 74191 70
74192 70 74193 65
74194 75 74195 65 74196 65
74197 65
74198 99 74199 99
74221 80 74246 150 74247 150 74248 150 74249 150
74251 80 74259 195 74265 85 74273 195 74276 150 74278 160 74279 90 74283 90 74284 199 74285 199 74290 105 74293 125
744229978 213060 74351 195 74365 55 47366 55 74367 55 74368 55 74390 99 47393 99 74490 120
74LS
LSOO 12
L501
13
1502 14
L503 14
15283 45
LS290 57
LS293 46
LSO4
15
LSO6
15
1508 15
1509 15
LS10 15
LS11
15
LS12 15
1513 30
LS14 48
LS15 15
L520
15
LS21
15
LS22
15
LS26
18
1527 15 LS28 20
LS30
18
LS32
15
LS33
16
LS37 16
LS38 16
LS40 16
1_542
35
LS47 40
LS48 BO
L549 60
LS51
15
LS54 15
LS55 30 L563 150 L573 25
1074 25
LS75 28
1576 20 LS78 24
LS83 50
1.5135
70
LS86 38
LS90 35
LS91
80
LS92 36
LS93
36
1.595 45
LS96 120
LS107 43 LS109 30
LS112 30 LS113 40
L5114 35 LS122 44
LS123 55 LS124 105
15125 30 L5126 30
LS132 45
LS133 35
LS136 28
LS137 35
LS139 38 15145 75
LS147 199 15148 99
LS151 39
LS153 39
LS155 39
LS156 39
LS157 35 LS158 36
LS160 41
L5161 41
LS162 41
LS163 41
LS164 48 19165 145
LS166 85 S170 170
19173 72
L5174 72
LS175 58 LS181 130 15183 275
LS190 58
15191 58 LS192 58 LS193 65 LS194 40 LS195 40 LS196 58
LS197 85
LS200 345
L5202 345 LS221 60
LS240 96 LS241 96
LS242 85 LS243 85
10244 BO
LS245 90 LS247 40 LS248 65 LS249 68 LS251 40
LS253 40
LS257 48
LS258 40
LS259 85 LS261 195
15266 25
LS273 90 LS275 290
LS279 88 LS280 250
10295 215 LS298 130 LS299 420 LS300 157
LS302 175 LS320 270 LS323 270
LS423 200 LS323 270 15324 200 LS325 320 LS326 330 15327 315 19347 150 15348 190
LS352 185
LS353 185
LS365 37
LS366 37
15367 37 LS368 90
LS373 75
L5374 75
LS375 48
15377 90 1.5378 69
LS379 65 L5384 250 LS385 378
LS390 62
LS393 60 LS395 199 L5399 220 LS445 140 LS471 620 L5490 245 LS541 135 15640 225 LS641 225 LS645 210
156613 175 LS669 150 LS670 175 15673 550 LS674 750
CMOS
4000 14
4001 14
4002 14
4006 66
4007 18
4008 62
4009 35 4010 40
4011 15
4012 18
4013 34
4014 75
4015 66
4016 32
4017 48
4018 68
4019 42
4020 61
4021 70
4022 66
4023 20
4024 45
4025 19
4026 130
4027 38
4028 58
4029 77
4030 50
4031 170
4032 125
4033 165
4034 195
4035 95
4036 275
4037 115
4038 110
4039 290 4040 59
4041 78
4042 60
4043 70
4044 65
4045 170
4046 75 4047 75
4048 55
4049 30
4050 30
4051
78
4052 78
4053 78
4054 125
4055 125
4056 120
4057 1915
4059 480
4060 90 4061 1225
4062 995
4063 99
4066 36
4067 399
4068 22
4069 20
4070 26
4071 20 4072 20 4073 20 4075 20 4076 60
4077 26
4078 26
4081 26
4082 21
4085 65 4086 70 4089 140 4093 43
4094 168 4095 90 4096 90 4097 320 4098 88 4099 95 4160 95 4161 99
4162 99 4163 99
4174 99 4175 105 4194 105 4408 790 4409 790 4410 725 4411 695 4412 800 4415 480 4419 280 4422 770 4433 770 4435 850 4440 999 4450 350 4451 350 4490 350 4500 675 4501 28
4502 90 4503 50
4504 105
4506 65 4507 40 4508 265 4510 68
4511 68
4512 75
4513 199 4514 195
4515 198 4516 75 4517 415
4518 42
4519 29 4520 78 4521 200 4522 125
4526 95 4527 115 4528 80 4529 150
4530 90 4531 130 4532 110
4534 500 4536 295 4538 115 4539 115 4541 140
4543 135
4544 150 4549 395 4553 299 4554 190 4555 50
4556 55 4557 320 4558 120 4559 395
4560 180 4561 104 4562 495 4566 175 4568 250 4569 175
4572 36 4580 460 4581 250 4582 99 4583 99 4584 48 4585 99 4597 330 4598 290 4599 595 40097 88
40100 215 00101 130 40102 180 40103 175 40104 95 40105 115 40106 75 40107 60 40108 450 40109 100 40110 300 40114 240
CRYSTALS
32768K Hz 200
100K Hz 270
200K Hz 295
455K Hz 370
M Hz
295
28M Hz 392
6M Hz 323 8M Hz 323
008M 290 8432M 220
OM Hz 240
2 4576M 220 3 2768M 220 3 57954M 150 3 6864M 300 4 OM Hz 200 4032M Hz 290
4 80M Hz 200 4 194304 M 200
4433619M 120 5 OM Hz 200 5185MHz 300 524288M 390 6 OM Hz 220
6144M Hz 240 65536MHz 200 7 OM Hz 200 7168MHz 250 768M Hz 200 80M Hz 200 8867237M 240 9 00 M Hz 200 100M Hz 200
10 7M Hz 220
1024M14, 200
12 OM Hz 290 1431818M 320 160M Hz 275
18 OM Hz 240 18 432 M 240
19968M1-1, 325
24 OM Hz 200 2669M 290 27 648M 330 27 145M 240 3866667M 290 48 OM Hz 270 1000MHz 375
1160MHz 300
'D' CONNECTORS (Cannon typal
Plug
Sockets
9 way 15 way
25 way 37 way
55p 135p 170p 290p
125p
198p 250p 398p
Covers plastic
145p 150p 130p 185p
25 WAY 'D' 18" long single end Male CONNECTOR 18" long single end Female
Jumper Lead 36" long double ended M/M Cable Assembly 36" long double ended FiF
36" long double ended M/F
520 525 1020 1010 1000
JUMPER LEADS ( Ribbon Cable Assembly Single ended I DIP 14 pin 145p 16 pin 165p: 24" length Cable 24 pin 240p 40 pin 380p.
Double ended DIP
14 pin
6" 185p 12" 198p 24" 210p 36" 230p
16 pin
205p 215p 235p 250p
24 pin
300p
315p 345p 375p
40 pin 465p 490p 540 595p
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
ALL DEVICES FULL SPEC. AND FULLY GUARANTEED. TERMS OF BUSINESS: CASH/CHEQUE/P.O.S. (OR ACCESS) WITH ORDER. GOVERNMENT AND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS OFFICIAL ORDERS ACCEPTED. TRADE AND EXPORT INQUIRIES WELCOME. (P&P ad 50p on all orders under £10.00).
VAT ALL PRICES ARE EXCLUSIVE OF VAT. PLEASE ADD 15% TO THE TOTAL COST INCLUDING P & P. SHOP HOURS: 9.00am - 6.00pm MONDAY TO SATURDAY.
AMPLE FREE CAR PARKING SPACE AVAILABLE.
I Microcomputer
At last it is here, the long awaited Commodore's VIC20 Microcomputer. Connects directly to any colour TV set. Sound reproduced through TV Speaker (Music, Language & other
Sound effects). Has PET type Graphics. Standard PET Basic. Full size Keyboard,
5K memory expandable to 32K. Attractively cased.
Price: Only £165 Cassette Deck incl Free 6 programme Cassette £34
WATFORD'S
MON U lot
nit IC.
A 4K Monitor Chip specially designed to produce the best from your Super board Series I & II, Enhanced Super board & UK 101. As reviewed by Dr. A.A. Berk in Practical Electronics. June 1981.
Price only £19.95 + 50p P&P.
ETI/WATFORD'S MICRO EXPANSION SYSTEM
This versatile economical Expansion System as published Dec 1981 in ETI provides a Cheap but reliable Expansion possibility for most of the popular Microcomputeis.
Send SAE for details.
SEIKOSHA
G P80 A
Unihammer Printer,
gives normal and double
width characters as well as dot
resolution graphics 8" Tractor feed.
Parallel Interface standard.
£195
SPECIAL
OFFER
1+
2114L -450n
90p
2114L -300n
99p
2114L -200n
130p
2708
200p
2532
525p
2716
230p
2732 4027
455p 240p
4116
85p
4334-3
325p
6116-3
855p
8216
120p
50+ 85p 85p
115p
185p 499p 199p 390p 215p
70p 290p 805p
80p
Buy it
with
Bus it with Access
EPSON
MX Series
PRINTERS
Now available from stock at very competitive prices.
MX8OT 10" Tractor Feed, 9x9
matrix, 80 column Speed 80 CPS
bi-directional Centronics Inter-
face, Baud rate 1 10-9600 (RS232)
£355
MX8OFT Has Friction & Tractor
Feed plus all the MX80T's facilities.
£395
MX8OFT2 Has high resolution
Graphics option plus all the
MX8OFT's facilities.
£435
MX100 132 Column plus all the
facilities of MX8OFT2. Value for
money.
£570
SOFTY -2
As reviewed on PE September 1981.
The complete microprocessor develop-
ment system for Engineers & Begin-
ners. New powerful instruction.
Accepts any 24 pin 5V single rail
EPROM. Supplied fully built, tested &
enclosed in a black ABS case. Price
incl. encapsulated plug in power
supply.
£169
The Currah
Mini Digital
Recorder is
the fast and
simple
alternative to Disc £195
ACCESSORIES
TEX EPROM ERASER. Erases up to
32 ICs in 1 5-30 min.
£33
Spare UV lamp bulbs
£9
5V/5A PSU Ready built and
tested
£25
Attractive Beige/Brown ABS CASE
for Superboard/UK101 or Home
Brew
£26
Extra 4K of RAM (8 off
2114L-300nS)
£7.95
Space Invaders forSuperboard £6
Full ASCII coded keyboard type
756
£39
NUMERIC Keypad(Readybuilt) f9
4 x 4 matrix keypad
(reed switch assembly)
£4
C12 Cassettes in Library Cases 40p
81/2" Fan fold paper (500 sheets)
(no VAT)
£6
91/2" Fan fold paper (500 sheets)
(no VAT)
£6
Teleprinter Roll (no VAT) £3.50
151/2" Fan fold paper
UHF Modulator 6MH2
280p
UHF Modulator 8MH2
450p
DIL PLUGS (Headers)
Ribbon Cable 10 way 22p 20 way 40p
1164 pin
44 49
24 rn
88
40 pin 255
VOL,A. WIGULATOPS
DIL SOCKETS
Low
profoirlde
8 pin
8p
14 pin
10p
16 pin
10p
18 pin
16p
20 pin
22p
22 pin
25p
24 pin
25p
28 pin
28p
36 pin
40 pin
30p
Wire
wrap
25p 35p 42p 52p 60p 70p 70p 80p
105p 99p
EDGE CONNECTORS
double type
2.10 way
2 x 15 way 2 x 18 way
2 x 22 way
2 x 25 way 2 x 30 way
2 x 36 way 2 ri 40 way 2 x 43 way
1
180p 199p 225p 245p 295p 315p 395p
156 135p 140p 146p
200p 220p
IC Test Clips DIL Gold plated contacts.
8 pin 600
14 pin 368 16 pin 389 18 pin 816 20 pin 945
22 pin 1037 24 pin 1130 28 pin 1246 36 pin 1630 40 pin 1700
ZERO Insertion Force
DIL Sockets
24 way 600p 28 way 850p 40 way 975p
VERO WIRING PEN and Spool
310p Spare Wire (Spool)
75p Combs
6p ea
Circle No. 371
235
Small businesses Buy
come in all sizes. So do SD Systems!
The long and short of it is that no two small
businesses are the same size. A fact that many small business systems seem to forget.
SD Systems appreciate the much varied requirements of 'small business' and have produced a series of microcomputers that totally adapt to your particular needs. And to help your business grow, each system will upgrade, simply and economically, as you demand
more of it.
SD200 SD605/610 SD700
2 Mb floppy disk storage 5/10 Mb Winchester storage 32/96 Mb hard disk storage
All systems can be single or multi-user (1-5), require no special operating skills and are capable of running two printers at the same time.
We deliver. FAST. Our own engineers will install free -of -charge. And
unlike most systems, we offer a full twelve month
warranty.
Programs for a better business. A wide range of tried and tested business programs
are available.
Including:-
* DMS * General Accounting * Payroll * Word Processing * Stock Control * Client Billing * The
Circle Package for Practising Accountants *
To find out which system is best suited to your
business, clip this coupon to your company letterhead
and return it to us. No stamp required. Dealer
enquiries welcome.
It's the painless way to grow
SDSystems
ALL SYSTEMS ARE GO FOR SMALL BUSINESS.
CIRCLE COMPUTE.R BUSINESS SYSTEMS
Freepost, 6 Manor Way, Old Woking, Surrey. Telephone: Woking (04862) 210l2
Video Genie
PLUS package
from BDM
& save yourselfa fortune
The Video Genie is already recognised as the best
value for money, full-scale micro computer
available today. The Genie comes complete with a
12k ROM with Basic, 16k user RAM, an integrated
cassette, a full size keyboard, a starter pack of programs and a set of manuals to get you going quickly. It can either be linked directly into your
own TV set or into one of our high clarity
monitors.
For f.,299 we will sell you the basic Genie
including all of the interconnect cables, plus some very useful free extras - like a fully fitted Sound Kit to add extra realism to your programs - like a
Lower Case Kit giving you greater screen
legibility. And if thats not enough we will throw in £130 worth of useful programs free.
This is a very special offer and stocks are
limited so complete the order form and post it to BDM NOW. Allow 21 days for delivery. You can pay by cheque, postal order or Access. If you want longer term credit, please write for full details of
our credit plan. Write also for details of the exciting range of useful extras you can buy for
the Genie.
To: BDM Computer Marketing Ltd 97c Elgin Avenue London W9 2DA
Qty Price VAT
Total
16k Genie plus sound kit plus lower case kit plus free S7,30 Programs
4899 144.88
Optional High Clarity Monitor
489 £15.58
Add post and package to Mainland addresses
411
I enclose a cheque/postal order payable to BDM for S
!III 111111111i ilE31 Please charge to my Access account no.
Please print
HI 1111111111 Name' Mr/Mrs/Miss
Address' I I
1111111111
II11111111111111111
Name Position
L
236
I
I
Circle No. 372
Signature
1
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
1
Circle No. 373
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Tuscan the all -British microcomputer
With a proven record of steady development behind it, the Tuscan S100 now goes a step forward, solving the problem of effective backup storage.
The Tuscan 5100, Britain's first S100 computer on a single board, is now available with designed -in mini Winchester drive for better performance, shorter access time and higher transfer rate. All this from Britain's own home-grown micro manufacturer.
FURTHER INFORMATION. Two new catalogues covering "systems and peripherals" and "CP/M Software" are available, giving details of our systems and services. Call or write for yours.
Systems with printer, screen and CP/M start at £2125 with twin floppies, and at £3625 with one floppy and one 5-meg. mini -Winchester.
SOFTWARE. Business accounts packages start at £800 when purchased with the Tuscan system. Word processing packages start at £315; Database packages start at £100.
HARDWARE. Flexibility is the key feature of all
Tuscan systems. A choice of storage capacity, video format and graphics is available. The Tuscan S100 can read and write in sixteen different disk formats,
with a choice of 51/ "or 8"drives.
SUPPORT. The Tuscan S100, designed and built
in Britain, is backed by Transam's substantial experi-
ence in electronics plus a dedicated hardware and
software team. National third party maintenance is
available at ten per cent of hardware costs.
i
BUSINESS SYSTEM DEALERS. Business Equipment Centre, 10 Edge Lane, Liverpool.
Tel: 263 5783. Contact: Rod Crofts.
TRANSAM COMPONENTS LIMITED
Purley Computers, 21 Bartholomew Street, Newbury, 59/61 THEOBALD'S ROAD, LONDON WC1
Berkshire. Tel: 41784. Contact: Ron Smith.
Tel: 01-405 5240/2113. Telex: 24224 (Ref. 1422) Circle No. 374
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
237
THE ATOM DEALER LIST
Computer stores are stocking Atoms - there's a list below. If there isn't one near you, fill in the coupon and
we'll rush an Atom to you within 28 days.
po e©eov©e.ow
Granite Chips Ltd. Aberdeen 22863. Inismor Holdings, Ayr 58602. Micro Style, Bath 334659. Broadway Elect, Bedford 213639. Micro -C, Birmingham 021-233-1105. Owl Computers,
Bishops Stortford 52682. Microcentre, Bognor Regis 827779. Eltec Services, Bradford 491372. Gamer, Brighton 698424. Electronic Information
Systems, Bristol 428165, Micro -C, Bristol 0272-650501. Cambridge Comp Store, Cambridge 65334. Rhombus, Cambridge 312953. Cardiff Micros,
Cardiff 373072. Bellard Elect. Chester 380123. Vixon Computer Systems, Cieethorpes 58561. Customised Electronics Ltd., Cleveland 247727.
Emprise, Colchester 865926. Ibek Systems Coventry. Lendac Data Systems, Dublin 37052. Silicon Centre,
Edinburgh 332 5277. Highland Microcomputer, Forres 73505. H.C.C.S. Associates, Gateshead 821924. Mikrotronic, Germany 05 31 72 223. Esco
Computing, Glasgow 2041811. Computer Shack Ltd., Gloucester 584343. Control Universal, Harlow
31604. Unitron Elect, Haslington. Castle Elect., Hastings 437875. Currys Micro Systems, High Wycombe 36431.Northern Micro, Huddersfield 892062. Customised Electronics, Leeds 792332.
Micro -C. Leeds 446601. D.A. Computers, Leicester 549407. Micro -C, Leicester 546224, Microdigital, Liverpool 236 0707. Barrie Elect, EC3 488 3316.
Eurocalc, London 729 4555-9. Group 70, E18 352 7333. Microage, North London 959 7119.
Ragnorak Electronic Systems, E2 981 2748. Sinclair Equip. Int. (Export), WI 235 9649. OFF Records, SW12 674 1205. Technomatic, NW10 7230233. Micro -C, Luton 425079. Micro -C, Ace Business Comp, Maidstone 677947, Manchester 834-0144.
NSC Comp Shops, Manchester, 832 2269.
Customised Electronics, Middlesborough 247727. Compshop, New Barnet 441 2922. Micro -C, New Malden 949 2091. Newbear Computing Store, Newbury 30505. H.C.C.S., Newcastle 821924. Newcastle Comp Services, Newcastle 761158. Anglia Comp Centre, Norwich 29652. Leasalink Viewdata. Nottingham 396976. Micro -C, Nottingham 412455. J.A.D. International Services, Plymouth 62616. R.D.S. Electrical, Portsmouth 812478. Computers for All, Romford 60725. Intelligent Artifacts, Royston Arrington 689. Owl Computers, Sawbridgeworth 723848. Computer Facilities. Scunthorpe 63167. Datron Micro Centre. Sheffield 585 490. Superior Systems, Sheffield 755005. Micro -C, Southampton 29676. Q-TEC Systems. Stevenage 65385. 3D Computers, Surbiton (01) 337 4317. Computer Supplies, Swansea 290047. Abacus Micro Comp., Tonbridge Paddock Wood 3861. Bellard Electronics Ltd., Upton 380123. Northern Comp, Warrington 601683. Compass Design, Wigan Standish 426252. Datex Micros, Worthing 39290.
SEE OUR ADVERTISEMENT ON PAGE 115
Circle No. 375
238
eo eo
main THE
POCKET BOOK
Also suitable for ZX 80 with 8K ROM
ADVENTURE - City of Alzan - Create your own
TUNNELS & TROLLS BUCKET CATCHING JAWS BECOME AN ARTIST * PRO -AM GOLF
PUTTER ETCH -A- SKETCH FRUIT MACHINE With hold DIGITAL CLOCK DICE ROLLING
110 PAGE BOOK
CASSETTE & B I I
plus 20 others
..
.. .......
* ruquirt. 16
Hints & tips on programming
---- Reference Sections
The ZX80 Pocket Book still available, prices as above.
ATOM BUSINESS
Suitable for the expanded Atom with floating point ROM
Each section contains:
- Management Summary - Operating Instructions - Program notes - Source listing
SSNAAOLLWEELSSINGRAR,ESA,CLPOEHRDDGSER
ADDLIST
QUEUEING CTION SEIXMPUELNASTEIOCNLAIMS
AE TBRSEILCCI:
BDSUTEADSNG/'AT.ET)T-A/LOizN) EBSION 131CP 1"DrjYU
110 Page Book
95
G
Cassette
& Book
PHIPPS 5. 02, Q I I A A I F., 5
3 DOWNS AVENUE EPSOM Surrey KT18 5HG Tel Epsom (03727) 21215 quoting your credit card reference. 24 Hour phone service.AirMail delivery in Europe add 50p, air mail elsewhere
add £1.50 per book. Prices shown above include UK postage and VAT on cassettes
Circle No. 376
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
ADVANCED BUSINESS COMPUTERS
:OMMODORE PETS
40 Col & 80 Col Pets in stock
Phone for prices!
OLYMPIA N
SCRIPTA
DAISYWHEEL
N E
KSR £945.00 RO £775.00
FANTASTIC FREE OFFER!!
VIC COMPUTER OR APPLE COMPUTERS
TANTEL ADAPTOR
with every complete business system bought or leased
(Closing date 31st Jan 82)
48K Apple II Plus £695
N
0
QUME SPRINT
N
asp
T O
The Apple III K
128K Business System FROM £2,695
From £1,800
Imo
I
Tantel Prestel Adaptor
Only £170
Starter £189.95 inc VAT
Circle No. 377
Make the right choice:
Consult our
Systems Analyst
Programmers Accountant
Engineer
OUR SALES AND SERVICE ARE SECOND TO NONE AND WE WON'T BE BEATEN ON PRICES!!
CIFER BRITISH COMPUTER SYSTEM FROM ONLY £2,357 inc CP/M
Always phone us for latest prices!!
LEASE A COMPLETE BUSINESS SYSTEM FROM
£8.75 PER WEEK
All prices quoted ex -VAT unless stated
1ST FLOOR
MICRO BUSINESS CENTRE LTD LEWIS HOUSE LINTHOUSE LANE WEDNESFIELD
219
WOLVERHAMPTON 725687
If that Apple is just out of Reach
Rent one.
Now VOI On expener
before committing yourself - its the only practical- low cost way of
iscoverio
artifrum Apples we ma vast ranw-,, of micros, printers*
accessories and software, suppli helpful, friendly and professlo
PerrPl
*ems fro n £12
'Atlanta Data Systems
350/356 Old Sheet, London, EC1V 9DT. 01-739 5889
Circle No. 378
INSTANT ROM Socket Adaptors.
These Adaptors give increased flexibility in the use of available ROM sockets.
An extra ROM/EPROM can share the same socket as an existing ROM, even when in a
Basic socket. The ROMs may be switched in and out under software control during the
running of a program.
The Adaptors plug directly into standard 24 -pin sockets, and are available for all types of
ROM/EPROM, from 2Kbytes to 8Kbytes.
GA2 - enables two 2K, 4K or 8K ROMS/EPROMs to share the same memory space
in the same socket. Switching from one ROM to the other is by a shorting link, or
under software control using GA3
£15
GA3 - 8 -bit Output Port. Gives 8 individually selectable output lines. For Software
selection of ROMs/EPROMs in the Adaptors described, or for general use. Shares
a socket with any existing ROM/EPROM, even in a Basic socket, and uses no
memory space. Accessed by a simple POKE command
£21
GA4 - 'Socket Saver. Protects ROM sockets from damage from continual insertions
and withdrawals
£3
GA5 - Allows a 2332/2532 (4K) to be used in a 2316/2516 (2K) sockets. The upper
or lower half of the ROM is selected by a shorting link, or under software control
using GA3
£4
GA6 - For using a 2732 (4K) in a 2716 (2K) socket. Selection as GA5
£4
GA7 - For using a 2364 (8K) in a 2332/2532 (4K) socket. Selection as in GA5 £4
GA8 - Permits two 2K devices to be used in a 4K socket, or two 4K devices to be used
in an 8K socket. Automatic selection
£4
ALL the above Adaptors may be used with INSTANT ROM Rom -Emulators, and will
function in any type of Microcomputer. They are especially useful in the PET.
PETCLOCK - Type GCC1: Clock/Calendar for the PET/CBM. Plugs into the User
Port: gives date, time and variable interrupt output. No power supply needed.
Battery back-up with 10 years life
£62
NEW - 8 -bit Analog -to -Digital -Converter. A lcw cost device that plugs into any ROM
socket and digitises the voltage output from an external sensor. No software
needed - jut PEEK the ROM! 1, 2 and 4 -channel versions, with optional signal
conditioning modules for scaling of outputs from thermocouples, strain gauges, etc.
SEND FOR FULL DATA SHEETS
Prices include Post and Packing in UK; VAT is extra.
GREENWICH INSTRUMENTS LTD, 22 BARDSLEY LANE GREENWICH, LONDON SE10 9RF.
Tel: 01-853 0868. Telex: 896691 TLXIR G/GIL.
Circle No. 379
if -111.11
centralem
CENTRALEX-LONDON LTD
8-12 Lee High Rd, London SE13 Tel: 01-318 4213/4/5/6/7 9.30 am -5 pm Mon to Fri -
EvenIngs and weekends by appointment
APPLE TEXAS MICROPOLIS DIABLO MICROLINE
A comprehensive range of Microcomputers Equipment, Peripherals, Software and Services for those who value Professional Standards, Guidance and Continuing Support for Hardware and Software.
PET OHIO SCIENTIFIC CENTRONICS
QUME HITACHI
ITT 2020
CROMEMCO ANADEX
DEC LEXICON
EXIDY
M ICROSTAR INTEGRAL DATA GENERAL ETC. ETC.
HORIZON SHUGART TELETYPE EPSON
INFORM EX -80 Printer £ 399+ VAT
ALSO Training, Consultancy, Systems Design, Programming and Software
Special offer - for a limited period
For PET, APPLE, EXIDY, TRS80, ETC A high quality, high speed printer (125 cps) Upper and lower case letters plus graphics as standard Interface and cable for TRS80, PET, APPLE or RS 232 £69 + VAT Tractor feed option only £39
PAYROLL - INVOICING - STOCK CONTROL SALES/PURCHASE LEDGER - VAT - MEDICAL RECORDS - EDUCATIONAL & ENGINEERING PROGRAMMES - HOTEL RESERVATION - ESTATE AGENTS - BUILDING MAINTENANCE - COBOL FORTRAN - ETC.
Maintenance Contracts including stand-by equipment during repair periods - Free Delivery Nationwide - Terms arranged - Credit Cards and official orders accepted.
a...13%11 wrnlrtXRdge/fi,
'It
Circle No. 380
240
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
The Exhibition
Which Works
For You
IRCWOSSYSETS582
WEST CENTRE HOTEL,
LONDON
FEBRUARY 24-26, 1982
Over 6300 quality visitors attended the 1981 show providing the correct balance of users and specifiers of your products and services. The formula is right - you can make MICROSYSTEMS '82 work for you by reserving your stand space NOW.
Find out how exhibiting at MICROSYSTEMS '82 can work for you by completing and returning the coupon now, to:
Exhibition Manager, MICROSYSTEMS '82, IPC Exhibitions Ltd., Surrey House, 1 Throwley Way, Sutton, Surrey SM1 4QQ.
MICROSYSTEMS '82 is
sponsored by Computer Weekly,
Systems International, Practical Computing, Your Computer, Computer Talk, Office Systems, Data Processing and Microprocessors and Microsystems and organised by IPC
Exhibitions Ltd.
Please send details of exhibiting at MICROSYSTEMS '82, to:
Name Position in company Company Address
Tel No
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
241
COMPUSE NSE 6800/9
THE SPECIALISTS
- Complete 6809/6800 systems from around £800.00.
- Twin 51/4" disks + controller, £500.00 excl.
VAT.
- Full range of software for 6809/6800. - Full range of printed circuit boards.
Announcing
rDEVELOPMENT1
EPROM -PROGRAMMER ROMULATOR
" sem "5 ""
I17
. baars, ON III
BM30.A311i141R41S.E41-1L1a,1.1.c1s.la1i,Ml NBII
IL
LaI
MO ION USW.
WO
IS.1,140r1_1 1I1{11.i1t es0M3K
IRS MN%
all MS Sr it
BM AO GM N.4
ala a a Rs
I.
.1. II,
,
Ra a 6 I es at a
RI 9.
R.
YIN.
.....a . W.4 i1.1 4. I41. no
e , .1.
. s M3..S31liIa,s1sau1ssa,s4e3w1s11.a0.as1.3Tra3ss,u3a.4esa1.s1,I 43.a1Ba13raom.3.. 13
`TABULA RASA'
Financial modelling package for 6800/6809 system in Basic, £100.00 + VAT.
Details from
COMPUSENSE LTD P.O. BOX 169
PALMERS GREEN LONDON N13 4HT
TEL: 01-882 0681
2716
2732 2532 etc.
O
Circle No. 382
WARD ELECTRONICS
BIRMINGHAM
021-554 0708
SALES AND SERVICE
tipple computer
VIDEO GENIE
From
£695
From £270
LOW PRICED AND READY TO PLUG
POWERFUL AND VERSATILE. ONE OF THE FINEST MICROCOMPUTERS AVAILABLE FOR BUSINESS, EDU-
INTO YOUR OWN TV. COLOUR f37 EXTRA. UNITS AVAILABLE EX STOCK WITH THIS AND OTHER
CATION AND LEISURE. TV COM-
OPTIONS
SOUND
EXTRA
PATIBLE WITH UHF MODULATOR.
MEMORY PRINTER INTERFACE
EPSON - PRINTERS - CENTRONICS
MOLIMERX SOFTWARE
SEE AND CHOOSE FROM THIS RANGE OF TRSBO SOFTWARE DISCS AND DISK DRIVES FOR APPLE, VIDEO GENIE, TRS80
COMPUTER BOOKS ON ALL ASPECTS OF COMPUTING
C12 CASSETTES 55p each. TA" DISCS U.95 each.
All the LOWE ELECTRONICS RANGE of equipment for the Computing, Amateur Radio, and Test Equipment Fields including Trio Oscilloscopes
PLEASE ADD VAT AT 15%
9am-5pm Tues-Sat Closed Mondays.
WARD ELECTRONICS
TO CITY
A..
SOHO ROAD
RING ROAD
BOUL TON ROAD
0060 ROOKERY ROAD
DUEENSWAT FURNITURE STORE
.1
1103
135
I * uIT I
CAR PARK
First Floor Soho House,
362-364, Soho Road, Handsworth, Birmingham B21 9QL.
Tel: 021-554 0708.
Circle No. 383
242
O MONITOR or TV output (625 line UHF). Data contents of memory visible - AWI N DOW IN THE
CHIP.
O 28 -KEY, 2 -LEVEL KEYPAD with HEX ENTRY and EDITING CAPABILITY. (BYTES and BLOCKS of code can be changed, inserted, deleted, shifted around etc.).
O INPUT and OUTPUT: SERIAL (RS232) and PARALLEL (Centronics) routines provide ready interfacewith computer or printer.
O EMULATION of PROGRAM MEMORY in -circuit is performed by plugging SOFTY into the ROM SOCKET. A lead with a 24 pin DIL PLUG is supplied.
O CASSETTE INTERFACE.
O EPROM -PROGRAMMER: an EPROM may be copied or reprogrammed at the press of a key.
O PERSONALITY SWITCH selects 2716, 2532, 2732.
SOFTY is used as an EPROM -PROGRAMMER, a production ROM CHECKER and for the DEVELOPMENT and PRODUCTION of PRODUCTS which contain MICROPROCESSORS and use EPROM for program storage.
*Price is fora BUILT and TESTED SOFTY (No kits) including POWER SUPPLY, TV LEAD, ROMULATOR LEAD, 90 DAY WARRANTY and 14 day money -back guarantee.
£169.00 + £25.35 (VAT 15%) = £194.35.
DATAMAN DESIGNS, Lombard House, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1 RX Dorchester (0305) 68066 (UK Sales) Maiden Newton (0300) 20700 (Export)
Circle No. 384
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
5T PI
STOP B
DATABASE
PROGR
INEflic
AND INCOMPLETE.
COSTLY, TkiERE IS
ONE WITSTEM WITH THE POWER, THE VER TILITY
NEED TO MAKE PROGRAMING FASTER, S1 1PLER
ERROR FREE. C.O.R.P. IS A PROGRAM GENERATOR
T WRITES SOFTWARE. COMPLETE APPLESOFT PROGRAMS
T EXECUTE INDEPENDENTLY AND MAY BE MODIFIED BY THE USER,
BASED ON INFORMATION SUPPLIED IN THE USERS OWN EVERYDAY LANGUAGE.
WHAT'S M
GRAMSPERATION TAKES ONLY A FEW MINUTES.
TM
R
rograms
CONSISTS OF 6 M BSYSTEM, A UP DIAGNOSTIC DVANCED, C
LL FORTH NERATO
PURC
BSYSTEMS: A DAT
Y PROGRAM GENERATOR
BSYSTEM, A PRI'
ERATOR AND A COMPLETE
E. TOGETHE
UBSYSTEMS MAKE C.O.R.P.
E AND USE
L AVAI LAB L
DIBLY L
E OF £199.00
S SO
E RSATI LI
THIS
°rder fmni MICROSYSTEMS LIMITED
SUMMERFIELD HOUSE, VALE, GUERNSEY, EUROPE - G.B. Telephone: 0481 47377 Telex: 4191130 (DYN MIC G)
C.O.R.P. is a registered trademark of the MAROMATY & SCOTTO SOFTWARE CORP. APPLE is a registered trademark of APPLE COMPUTER, INC.
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Circle No. 385
243
SUPERBRAI 0 SOFTWARE
LINTEX PRODUCTS present
This flexible program is vocabulary based. It was designed with ordinary business people in mind and uses YOUR names for file areas and YOUR file architectures. Using prompts in plain English, LindataTM allows you to:
* Sort a file numerically or alphabetically * Create file entries * Print out files in a number of formats * Alter or use field arithmetics * Edit a file on a constant keyed input
1175 V+AT
including disk, comprehensive manual, packing Et UK postage.
Other CP/ MImmachines by arrangement
9" BLACK ft WHITE
MONITOR
32K ADD-ON RAM
with every purchase of latest model of
Sameuroplus, 1 ft TWIN DISC DRIVE SYSTEM (as dlustratedl
Note: This is NOT a cheap U.S. import, but the genuine article backed up by the full one year warranty
You get
Apple II europlus 16K (incl one year warranty) 32K Add-on memory FREE ** 9" Black & White monitor ft cable FREE *0 3.3 DOS Disc drive Et controller 2nd 3.3 Disc drive (SYSTEM VALUE £1,625 VAT + P&P= TOTAL PRICE £1,884)
for £1377 , VAT P P
TOTAL PRICE £1599
APPLE III COMING SOON *
LINTEX PRODUCTS LIMITED
16 Suffolk Road, Potters Bar, Huts EN6 3EZ Telephone Potters Bar 10707) 52834 Regular demonstrations but ONLY by appointment
Circle No. 386
Illioset_cornPubir
CARLTON COMPUTERS LIMITED
4 Gemstone Road Great Yarmouth Norfolk MR30 3N0
Tel: Gt Yarmouth (Mn) 58898
Circle No. 387
Commodore official distributors
NEW DAISYWHEEL PRINTER IN STOCK NEW MATRIX PRINTER NOW IN STOCK THE RELIABLE VALUE FOR MONEY SYSTEM WITH FULL AFTER SALES SUPPORT.
4008/16/32
8032 - 8050
8096
48K £695 DISK WITH CON. £380
DISK ... £290
FULL RANGE OF
MONITORS
,
B/W - GREEN OR
COLOUR.
NMPAPER TIGERS.
64K From 1650
FULLY INTEGRATED \ ACCOUNTS
PACKAGE
Apple authorised distributors
The sophisticated quality system with
a reputation for advanced design and
innovation.
SHARP
Z80 K
48K = £395
DISK DRIVES PRINTERS ETC.
The incredible computer system now available ex -stock including the New Duel Drive Double Sided Floppy Disk.
QQ
MICROCOMPUTER SYSTEMS
462 COVENTRY ROAD SMALL HEATH BIRMINGHAM B10 00G Telephone: 021-773 8240 or 021-772 5718 Telex: 335909 (Camden G)
BARCLAYCRRD
INNZ111
Circle No. 388
244
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
CP/M PRIMER
MICROPROCESSOR
Programming & Interfacing
Book 2
BLXVSBUPP
New and popular
Sams books
Mitchell Waite and Michael Pardee
BASIC Primer
£8.35 672-21586-1
Jonathan Titus, Christopher Titus and David Larsen
TRS-80 Interfacing: Book 1
£7.65 672-21633-7
Mitchell Waite
Computer Graphics Primer
£10.45 672-21650-7
Stephen Murtha and Mitchell Waite
CP/MT" Primer
£10.45 672-21791-0
Leon Scanlon
6502 Software Design
£9.05 672-21656-6
Andrew C. Staugaard, Jr.
6801, 68701 and 6803 Microcomputer Programming and Interfacing
£10.45 672-21726-0
TRS-80 Interfacing: Book 2
£8.35 672-21739-2
Elizabeth Nichols, Joseph Nichols and Peter Rony
Z-80 Microprocessor Programming and Interfacing: Book 1
£9.05 672-21609-4
Z-80 Microprocessor Programming and Interfacing: Book 2
£11.15 672-21610-8
Prices are correct at the time of going to press but may be subject to change. All titles advertised are published as paperback books.
Dealer enquiries are welcome:
Please contact Roy Jones at the address below or telephone Hemel Hempstead (0442) 58531
Andrew C. Staugaard, Jr.
6809 Microcomputer Programming and Interfacing with Experiments
£10.45 672-21798-8
Prentice/Hall 11,11,.. PHI ki International
66 Wood Lane End, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire HP2 4RG, England.
Sams Books Stockists
Business & Electronic Machines 7 Castle Street Edinburgh
Byteshop Computerland Ltd P.O Box 2 St Neots Huntingdon Cambridgeshire
Cambridge Computer Store 1 Emmanuel Street Cambridge
Datron Micro Centre Latham House 2 Abbeydale Road Sheffield 7
Micro -C 5-11 Martineau Way Union Street Birmingham
Micro -C Unit 2, Channons Hill Industrial Estate Fishponds Bristol
Exclusive distributors of Howard W. Sams books in the UK and Europe.
Micro -C 57-59 Albion Street Leeds
Micro -C 127 Charles Street Leicester
Micro -C Units 91-93 Arndale Centre Luton Bedfordshire
Micro -C 19 Brown Street Manchester
Micro -C 31-35 Blagdon Road New Malden Surrey
Micro -C 2 Wheeler Gate Nottingham
Micro -C 10-11 Bargate Southampton Hampshire
Newbear Computing Store 40 Bartholomew Street Newbury Berkshire
Silicon Centre Pictaural Electronics Ltd 21 Comely Bank Road Edinburgh 4
Software House Horseshoe Yard Brooke Street London W1
Tomorrow's World Grafton Arcade Grafton Street Dublin 2
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Circle No. 389
245
--MICRO SPEECH 2m
DOES YOUR COMPUTER
SPEAK TO YOU?
MICROSPEECH 2 is a stand alone speech synthesizing unit. It converts phonetic code or any ASCII text into a speech output. MICROSPEECH 2 may be interfaced to any computer system because all the computation necessary to synthesize speech is performed by its own dedicated microprocessor. Up to one thousand phonetic characters, representing about one minute of speech, may be assembled in the units internal buffer before it is commanded to speak. FEATURES
Runs from phonetic code, giving unlimited
vocabulary and simple
operating software.
Optional English to phonetics translator
allows operation directly from ordinary text. Uses standard RS232/ V24 interface.
Totally self contained
with internal loudspeaker and power supply. No need to worry about complex interfacing or support software. PRICE Phonetic model £875.00 + VAT Phonetic model plus English to phonetics translator
£950.00 + VAT Available from:
COSTRONICS ELECTRONICS 13 Pield Heath Avenue, Hillingdon, Middlesex Uxbridge (89) 38791 TIM ORR DESIGN CONSULTANT 55 Drive Mansions, Fulham Rd, London SW6
1011 7312077
Circle No. 390
MICROCOMPUTER COMPONENTS
LOWEST PRICES - FASTEST DELIVERY
ernes
Mee
MEMORIES
2114L-200ns 1+1.28
25+1.19
2114L-300ns 1+128
25+1.19
2708 450ns
100
2716 450ns 1+2.49
25+2.37
2716 350ns
6.95
2532 450ns 1+5.50
25+5.31
2732 450ns 1+4.80
25+4.08
4116 150ns 1+1.15
25+1.08 4116 200ns 1+010
25+0.72
6116 200ns 10.95
4118 200ns
3.90
8264 200ns 12.00
5516 200ns 22.88
CRT CONTROLLERS
AND MANIC DISPLAY
PROCESSORS
EF9364
5.04
EF9365
62.90
EF9366
62.90
BUFFERS 81 LS95 81 LS96 81 LS97 81L598 8T26A 8T28A 8195
0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 1.50 1.50 1.50
OwIce
8T97A 8798
Price
1.50 1.50
OITA CONVERTERS
2N425E-5
3.50
114426E-8
3.00
75427E-8
628
ZN428E-8
4.78
ZN429E-8
2.10
Z5432CJ-10 28.09
ZN433CJ-10
22.59
ZN440
56.63
IMSCEWINEOUS
AY -3.1015
3.90
AY -5-1013
3.45
AY -5-2376
6.95
MC1488
0.64
MC1489
0.64
mC14411
6.84
MC14412
7.99
R0 -3-2513L
7.70
80-3-25130
7.70
ZN450E
7.131
7805
0.50
7812
0.50
7905 7912
0.55 055
Device
Pyles
11L00 Z80 FAMILY
Z80 CPU
4.00
180A CPU
4.12
180 CTC
4.00
1130A CTC
4.00
Z80 DART
7.18
180A DART
7.18
180 DMA
11.52
180A DMA
9.99
Z80 PIO
3.78
180A PIO
3.78
Z80 S10-0
13.95
180A S10-0
13.95
Z80 S10-1
13.95
180A S10-1
13.95
Z80 S10-2
13.95
180A S10-2
13.95
EFCIS 6800 FAMILY
EF6800
3.70
EF6802
5.11
EF6803
11.80
EF6809
11.95
EF6810
1.35
EF6821
1.74
EF6840
4.20
EF6845
9.50
E16850
1.70
CHRISTMAS SPECIAL OFFER
100/0 DAirgg-Erici)INFI ACCOMPANIED BY THIS ADVERTISEMENT
Device
Price
EF6862 EF6871-A1T EF6880 EF6887 EF68488 EF6875
6.91 16.70
1.07 0.90 9.11 4.18
6502 FAMILY SYP6502 SYP6520 SYP6522 SYP6532
4.95 3.15 4.95 7.95
8080 FAMILY 8085A 8212 8216 8224 8228 8251 8253 8255
5.50 1.70 1.70 2.45 3.05 3.05 7.95 3.05
LOW PROFILE OIL
SOCKETS
Number of Pins
8
0.07
14
0.09
16
0.09
18
0.15
20
0.17
22
0.21
24
0.23
28
025
40
0.29
CRYSTALS 1 Mhz 1 8432 Mhz 4 Mhz
3.00 2.50
1.65
OFFICIAL
CREDIT CARD ORDERS
QUANTITY
ORDERS WELCOME
WELCOME
DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE
All prices exclude post and packing on orders under E 1 0 150p) and VAT (1S%).
ALL ORDERS DESPATCHED ON DAY OF RECEIPT WITH FULL REFUND FOR OUT
OF STOCK ITEMS IF REQUESTED.
24 -hour Telephone Credit Card Orders
MIDWICH COMPUTER CO. LTD.,
(Dept PC)
HEWITT HOUSE, NORTHGATE STREET,
BURY ST EDMUNDS, SUFFOLK IP33 1 HO
TELEPHONE 10284) 701321
TELEX 817670
Circle No. 391
TRIDATA COMPLETE BUSINESS SOFTWARE PACKAGES
* SALES INVOICING * SALES LEDGER * PURCHASE LEDGER * NOMINAL LEDGER * PAYROLL * STOCK CONTROL
for use on * TANDY TRS 80 * TANDY TRS 80 Mk. II * SHARP MZ-80K * PET AND SUPERPET * APPLE
Our business packages are supplied with master diskettes, detailed operating manuals and training procedures. For small businesses and traders with up to 700 employees, 9,999 customers and 9,999 suppliers, our proven programs written by experienced DP professionals provide fast, simple control, with built in security routines for prevention of unauthorised use, abuse or mishandling. Over 550 Tridata business systems are now in use.
TRIDATA WARRANTY
Every Tridata program has a written 12 month warranty and can be automatically updated to conform to any legislation that may alter your accounting procedures
SEND THE COUPON TODAY OR TELEPHONE
021-622 6085
TR IDATAMICROS LTD., Smithfield House, Digbeth, Birmingham
246
.4.,
/
,x-
VM
V
rnd me details of the Tridata Business Software Systems. I am interested in
PURCHASE LEDGER
For
TANDY TRS 80
SALES LEDGER
TANDY TRS 80 Mk. II
PAYROLL
SHARP MZ-80K
NOMINAL LEDGER
PET
SALES INVOICING
SUPERPET
STOCK CONTROL Name
APPLE
Company
Address
PC 12/81
TRIDATA MICROS LTD., Smithfield House, Digbeth, Birmingham B5 6BS
Circle No. 392
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Over the last two years more than 1,000 completely non-
technical users in the UK alone used one British program to keep student
records, personnel files, mailing lists, sales records, parrot breeding records, man hole cover records, electoral roll records, blood donor records, pharmacy records, patient records, stock records, library lists, dating agency files, parts files, exchange rate files, employment files, accountant and solicitors records, farm records, garage records etc, etc.
How could YOU use Compsoft's DMS* (Data Management System) this year?
*Available on CP/M with link to Wordstar or Commodore machines linking to Wordcraft,
Wordpro, and Visicalc.
Designed with the non -computer expert in mind, DMS users, ranging from those in the smallest to those in the largest multi -national companies, have followed the simple screen instructions to create their own file, store, amend, sort and search for information. Searching on multiple parameters is easy, and these pre -selected batches of records can then be processed (e.g. update all my prices by 5% and recalculate the new inventory value), displayed, passed to the report generator, or merged with other files. Batches of data may be deleted, and the space automatically re -used. Most importantly the file structure can be amended, adding or deleting lines as required, while still retaining existing data. Screen layouts (as many per file as you like and all password protected), calculations and print layouts can be stored on disk for future use.
DMS can store up to 1,000 characters per record, and is backed up by its own British authors from Compsoft's base in Guildford, Surrey. We are always happy to discuss your applications or arrange demonstrations with your area dealers.
DMS will run on Equinox, PET (including 96K), Rair, Cromemco, Superbrain (including double tracking machines), Apple, Cifer, Heath, North Star, Dynabyte, Vectorgraphic, Shelton, SD. In fact on any CPM-based system with floppy or hard disks.
You can contact us at Compsoft Ltd, Great Tangley Manor Farm, Wonersh,
Guildford, Surrey GU5 OPT. Telephone: Guildford 0483 505918/39665.
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Circle No. 393
247
Software
for CP/mM
Introductory Off
,E7-3
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MICRO PRO Wordstar TM 3X
Mail Merge
Data Star Supersort I Spellstar (USA dictionary)
LIST £250
£ 60
£170 £120 £120
MICRO SOFT Basic -80 Interpreter
Basic Compiler
LIST
£150 £190
MISC
Compiler Systems Sorcim
Sorcim Ashton Tate
CBasic-2
Pascal/M
Supercalc d Base II
£ 65
£120
£150 £380
CP/M is TM of Digital Research.WORDSTAR is TM of Micro Pro
Other Products constantly being added to our range. Send large s .a.e . for latest list
TRADE ENQUIRIES WELCOME Ordering Instructions: Cash with order. Specify disk format. Deduct discount.
Add £1.50 per item P&P. Add 15% VAT
t
IS I .11U.
PO BOX 11 CRANBROOK KENT TN17 2DF Tel: (058 080) 310
Circle No. 394
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INCA
INCOMPLETE RECORDS ACCOUNTS
Written by Chartered Accountants to make the production of final accounts as simple as possible (even farm accounts)
ONLY £425
FULLY TESTED AND GUARANTEED
AVON COMPUTER RENTALS
FREEPOST THORNBURY PC BRISTOL BS12 1BR TEL (0454) 415460
Circle No. 395
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
MICRO NETWORKS
PM 1000 16 BIT CP/M86**
The PM1000 is remarkably low in cost
it offers one of the highest performance -to -price ratios of any "truly
intelligent- terminal available today. It boasts a full page display. Up to 66 lines of 80 characters. Unique
NFW PM 2010
proprietary word processing software and split-screen
display for comparing related documents. Best of all.
An 8086 based CPU. Built on a single easily accessible
you receive your PIICEON terminals when they are
PC Board with 32K of RAM standard.
promised, no excuses.
The Model 2010 is plug compatible with any computer
Languages:
supporting standard ASCII terminals and is capable of
BASIC (Microsoft)
going well beyond this via the most complete set of
CIS COBOL (Micro Focus) Free Application Software ANSI standard terminal control functions available in
Future: PASCAL
given with every system
the industry.
A CORVUS computer disk system LOW LOW PRICES provides 6.11 or 20 million Bytes of unformatted storage. The price includes: A single enclosure that contains A Winchester disk drive. A power supply and an intelligent controller. An interface card with a 5 foot cable for the specific computer. System software and installation manual mirror back-up to V.C.R. Networking and Multiplexors.
CORVUS DISK SYSTEMS
NEC SPINWRITERS
DIABLO PRINTERS
* Print speed up to 40 cps. * RS -232-C and CCITT V.24 serial
interface. * Full 128 ASCII Character set: 96
printable. * More than 120 print wheel type
styles and fonts are available. * Full word processingcapability.
The new NEC 3500, 5500 and 7700 Series of SpinwriterI SI arc top quality printers setting new standards for today's most demanding office printing tasks.
FULL RANGE OF SYSTEM APPLICATION SOFTWARE AVAILABLE
PHONE 01-839 3701
DEALERS ENQUIRIES INVITED - PHONE 01-839 3701 or VISIT OUR SHOWROOM AT 60 PALL MALL LONDON
Circle No. 396
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information handling, processing and storage
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Circle No. 397
EPROMS
LOWEST PRICE EVER FROM LEADING
MANUFACTURER BRAND SPANKING
NEW
£2.00 2708 TRIPLE RAIL
£2.50 2716 SINGLE RAIL £7.95 2532 SINGLE RAIL £7.95 2732 SINGLE RAIL
COMPLETE EPROM SERVICE
INCLUDING ERASING + PROGRAMMING,
ADDRESS CHANGES
YOU NAME IT WE'LL DO IT
DISCOUNT ON QUANTITIES POA PLEASE ADD 60p PEtP + VAT @ 15%
TNISQ4168 IL fa (TIGHOIGAIISEAVIM)
Q41.46L
PLEASE QUOTE PC1 Q
Amusement Machine Repair Specialists 307 New Kings Road, London SW6 4R F,
Telephone: 01736 5503
Circle No. 398
REAL-TIME SPECTRUM
EXPANSION MEMORY
with space for eprorn
Price
ANALYZER
£340
break-
through 24k
You can now buy, for about one -sixth the price of current products, a third -octave
£280
spectrum analyzer with more features and capabilities than were previously available at any price. What's the catch? If you don't already own a Commodore PET computer, a Radio Shack TRS-80 or Apple, you'll
32k
£325
All items can
have to get one This will raise the price to somewhat under one-half the price of competing products, but of course
be seen and demonstrated at our London showroom.
you'll also have a COMPUTER!
The THS 224 REAL-TIME FREQUENCY ANALYZER comprises a single circuit board which installs inside the PET. This board contains a set of 31 analog third -octave filters (20 Hz to 20 kHz), detectors, an analog -to -digital converter, a 1K Read Only Memory containing machine language routines which allows the PET processor to interface with the Analyzer, and the peripheral circuitry necessary to transfer analog data into the PET memory. The simplest BASIC
Orders accepted by
mail, phone or in person.
PETS 8 k inc. cassette
Prices exclude VAT. Send or phone
from £380
PET IS A TRADEMARK OF COMMODORE BUSINESS SYSTEMS
for further details and brochure
Access, Barclaycard, and Trustcard accepted.
VIKIAT.Ala VISA
MINN
program required to turn the PET into an analyzer is only
three statements long! Much longer programs can be
UK Distributors
written to allow complete user interaction with the analyzer, including many new forms of statistical signal processing,
Feldon Audio Ltd.,
curve weighting, voice recognition etc.
U126 Great Portland Street. London W t Tel 01-5804314 Telex London 28668
COUNTLESS EDUCATIONAL APPLICATIONS
Circle No. 399
250
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
f SHARP 48K MZ8OK
WITH BASIC & PASCAL
345
ROCK BOTTOM PRICES FROM SHARP'S BIG DEALER
DEAL A DEAL B DEAL C DEAL D DEAL E
DEAL F
DEAL G DEAL H DEAL J DEAL K DEAL L DEAL M DEAL N DEAL P
SHARP MZ-80K with full 48K memory, BASIC
AND PASCAL
£345
48K MZ-80K, BASIC, PASCAL, AND FORTH
+10 programs
£359
48K MZ-80K, BASIC, PASCAL, FORTH, 10
programs, AND FORTRAN
£379
everything in DEAL C AND MACHINE CODE
£395
48K SHARP, BASIC, PASCAL, FORTH, FOR-TRAN,
MACHINE CODE,
12 programs and the KNIGHT COMMANDER
£410
everything included in DEAL E plus our famous
library of
100 PROGRAMS (see separate list)
£425
MZ-80P3 printer complete with interface card
£339
MZ-8010 interface box (takes up to five cards)
£87
MZ-80FD dual disc floppy drive, interface card,
all cables
£575
MZ-80P3 printer, PASCAL, FORTH, FORTRAN
and KNIGHT COMMANDER
£389
EVERYTHING IN DEAL K, INTERFACE BOX
+ 100 programs
£499
EVERYTHING IN DEAL J, plus our new
DISC COMMANDER
£599
MZ-8OFD dual floppy, DISC COMMANDER,
FORTH, FORTRAN, + PASCAL
£625
48K SHARP MZ-80K, PRINTER, DUAL FLOPPY,
INTERFACE BOX all connecting cables and
manuals
£1345
Dear Microfans, We don't just sell computers we use them ourselves. We use the Sharp
every day in our business to check our stock, keep the sales and purchase ledgers, generate our mailing labels, and even to assist us in servicing TV sets. We also use it for our amateur radio and music hobbies. The Sharp keeps our station log, transmits test cards. sends morse and teletype, tracks satellites etc. Our articles in Electronics and Music Maker magazine detail Sharp micromusic.
Everyone who buys a micro from Knights gets free delivery, 12 months guarantee and free membership of the International Sharp User Group.
Membership costs £3 if you bought your Sharp elsewhere. The group now has 1,400 members in 37 countries thus ensuring that our customers are kept up to date with all the Sharp developments on a Worldwide basis. The latest issue details my visit to Sharp in Japan, the new languages, the compiler, double precision Basic for the B and K and masses of helpful information about Sharp which is unavailable elsewhere.
We have now produced a Disc version of our KNIGHT COMMANDER
which adds AUTO LINE NUMBER, BLOCK DELETE, DUMP, RENUMBER, REPEAT ON ALL KEYS, TRACE, SINGLE STEP, USER
DEFINED KEYS, and a NUMERIC PAD to the standard disc basic without taking any extra memory. It certainly surprised and delighted them at Sharp and is now on sale in Japan.
Although we are the largest Sharp micro dealer outside Japan we do give personal service - ring Alec or Graham Knight at any time if you have a query - we will do our very best to help you. Ring, write or Telex for your copies of our latest Newsletter, software lists and hardware offers.
Happy computing, 10-10, 73, 88, Graham Knight (GM8FFX on ham radio - Sharp one on CB)
P.S. Our new 4MHz board for the MZ-80K doubles the processing speed, requires no soldering and really makes your programs zip along - details in our newsletter.
P.P.S. We now have 80 programs for the MZ-80B and offer unbeatable package deals.
SHARP PROGRAMS FOR THE MZ-80K, B and PC 3201
DEAL F PROGRAMS INCLUDE: 10 PIN BOWLING, POKER, SKI, SPACEFIGHTER, OTHELLO, SNAKE, 3D MAZE, STAMP OUT, MUSIC BOX, B52 ATTACK, OWARI, CUSTOMER FILE, COSMIC INVASION, STARTREK, KLINGON ATTACK, DIRECTED NUMBERS, BLACK BOX, EXPLODING ATOMS, TEACH TABLES, MULTIPLICATION, MEMORY DUMPER, DISASSEMBLER, BYTE SEARCHER. MAJOR SCALES, MORSE TUTOR, BACKGAMMON, CRIBBAGE, WIZARDS CASTLE, DIVISOR? ADVISER, MULTI?GRID, CO?ORDINWARS, ARITHMETIC, KAMIKAZE PILOT, KEYBOARD MORSE. LASER ATTACK, PONTOON, STATISTICS, GOLF, CURVE FITTING, LASER DEFENCE, TRANSMIT RTTY, COMPUTER PIANO, COMPUTER COMPOSER, BIO-RHYTHM, ANNUAL RECEIPTS, STANDARD LETTERS, etc. note these are only supplied with deal F.
Send for our latest software list which details hundreds of Sharp programs covering games, business, education, hobby etc - everything from our new version of Space Invaders to a talking memory dumper which needs no extra speech boards!!
NEW MZ-80K LANGUAGE TAPES
KNIGHTS WEE PASCAL commands include: insert/delete line, find/
insert string, move, replace string, VAR, PROC, FUNC, ARRAY, IF . THEN . . ELSE, PUT, INP, OUT, OR, XOR, AND, NOT, ,+,-,,/,
REMAINDER, RND, INCREMENT/DECREMENT VARIABLES. Sup-
plied with four programs - ideal for PASCAL beginners.
£20
KNIGHTS FORTH functions include: +,-,,/, OR, AND, XOR. Stack
operators: STK, CLR, DUP, DDUP, OVER, SWAP, ROT, DROP, MV.
Graphics: SET, RESG, LINE, CORDV. Supplied with very fast demo
programs rotating cubes, drawing circles, etc and a FORTH DISCOM-
PILER (similar to a disassembler but FORTH is compiled.
£25
KNIGHTS FORTRAN takes 12K and is supplied with a 32K source
program "Monaco Grand Prix" which you can list and learn how to get
rapid movement, fast key response and sound all at the same time -
impossible in Basic. Includes: MEM, GET, IOC, LOW, MOD, IRND, ABS.I
(SIGN, ABS, SORT, SIN, ALOG, ATAN, 10R, COS, TAN, EXP, FLOAT,
IAND, XOR, IFIX, EDIT, COMPILE, ADD, INSERT, DIM, IF, DO, CALL,
PAUSE, etc. Compiled programs can be saved as machine code and will
then load from monitor or be transferred as OBJ files onto disc. £30
KNIGHTS MACHINE CODE for experts only. We have written this so that
it can be loaded with Basic and there are no restrictions on the memory
areas which can be dumped and modified. Includes FIND, TRANSFER,
HEX/DECIMAL, CHARACTER DUMP/MODIFY, REGISTER DISPLAY/
MODIFY, EXECUTE ADDRESS etc.
£25
ALL FOUR ABOVE - KNIGHTS PASCAL, FORTH, FORTRAN and
MACHINE CODE
£85
SHARP PASCAL takes 16K, very comprehensive package which sup-
ports full screen editing, case statements etc. supplied with either
KNIGHTS WEE PASCAL which we recommend if you are a beginner or
with our NUMERICAL INTEGRATION PACKAGE which comes with 20
pages of notes detailing the Simpson's Rule, Gauss Legendre and Gauss
Laguerre methods used to make up this scientific program.
£45
SHARP PASCAL FOR MZ-80B with NUMERICAL INTEGRATION
PACKAGE which makes full use of the hi-res graphics for plotting curves.
£50 KNIGHTS EASY ASSEMBLER written especially for the MZ-80B as
Sharp themselves do not have a tape based assembler.
£25
SHARP FDOS for K and B allows writing of machine code or compiled
BASIC programs to disc. Details in our latest newsletter.
ALL PRICES EXCLUDE V.A.T.
108 Rosemount Place, Aberdeen AB2 4YW
Telephone: 0224 630526 Telex: 739169 "KNIGHTS TV"
Knights TV. CaYi Puu
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Circle No. 400
251
222222222222222222222222222
GI
I g, HOW TO SAVE VAST AMOUNTS OF TIME ig ON PAPERWORK AND CALCULATIONS
1.0
Buy a Supertrain system ftun the London Micro Centre
1
1
Visit the London Micro Centre to see wad processing and
1
business programs in action. 1
1
We can supply you with standard prograns, or we can
1
write then spaially for you so that they are tailormade
to war business requirements.
1
Our existing programs include a full range of word
1
processing programs, rlus customer and invoice programs,
leads and sales programs, VAT output and debtor
1
prograns, solicitors' prograns, car sales prograns,
1
crder processing prograns, hotel reservations prograns,
1
and an amazing new sales ledger package.
1
1
SYSTEMS AVAILABLE ON RENT, LEASE, AND HP AS WELL
1
AS CASH
CALL OR WRITE NOW FOR
* DEMONSTRATIONS - QUOTATIONS - CATALOGUES *
1
1
We are main Superbrain and Scrcerer dealers.
1
We provide any printer to fit the Superbrain.
You can rent a wcrd prccessar and a micrceysten from us
far just £12.90 per week.
1
THE LONDON MICRO CENTRE
47 Lower Belgrave Street, London SW1.
1
(only 3 mans from Victoria Station)
1
TEL 01 730 8791 TODAY
1
1
Circle No. 401
"ATTENTION COMPUTER DEALERS"
Let us be your Exporter/Purchasing Agent in the United States for the following products:-
MICROCOMPUTERS:- Ohio Scientific,
Onyx.
PRINTERS:- Okidata, Centronics, NEC, Xerox/Diablo, Anadex, Printerm, Eaton. TERMINALS:- Micro -term, Televideo, Hazeltine, Zintec, Beehive.
MAG-TAPE:- Alloy engineering cart-
ridge and reel.
FURNITURE:- Printer Stands, CRT
Stands, Computer Tables.
MISC:- Blank Floppy Disks, Blank
Cartridge and reel mag tape, CRT Cables, etc.
NOTE
IF YOU DONT SEE YOUR NEEDS, PLEASE
CONTACT US WITH YOUR REQUIREMENTS.
SYSTEMS INTERNATIONAL INC 500 CHESHAM HOUSE, 150 REGENT STREET, LONDON W1R 5FA
SYSTEMS INTERNATIONAL INC 15920 LUANNE DRIVE
GAITHERSBURG, MARYLAND 20760 U.S.A.
Telephone 301-977-0100. Telex 710-828-9703 Cable Address SYSINTL. GAITHERSBURG MD
Circle No. 402
S Commercial
Ltd
rainSpecialimmes rn
Simplify all your accounting Sales, Purchases, Invoicing, Payrole, Stock control VAT Reports Even Trial ballances and P & L Accounts
SuperBrain can work as a word processor Provide All Tektronix type and graphics and even emulate a Tektronix terminal.
Communications to most mainframes and MINIS Runs IBM "BISYNC- protocol emulating 3270s or 2780s. Programming languages include PASCAL FORTRAN BASIC COBOL! Disk capacities from 360K to 10M bytes Prices from £1695 plus VAT
Full range of C.P.M. software and peripherals
NEC spinwriters. EPSON printer MICROPRO software
DEALERS BEST DISCOUNTS
26 New Broadway, Ealing, London W5
We also sell CROMEMCO and North Star Hardware. Telephone: 01-840 1926
Circle No. 403
252
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
If it's APL
.
HARDWARE
Superbrain
64K RAM, twin floppies holding up to 3/4Mbyte data. TIS-APL (our recommendation*), APL/V80 or Softronics. The ideal low-cost option. Prices from around £2,000. *Ask for our free booklet: TISAPL versus APL/V80.
TRS-80
TRS-80 level I with APL -80 for hobbyists; level II with TIS-APL for business applications.
Altos
The popular ACS -800 series for multi-user APL. Features 64K RAM plus 144K RAM as virtual storage. Up to 29Mbyte hard disk storage. Two operating systems (CP/M & TIS-OS) are always available, giving the user maximum flexibility. Prices from around
£6K.
APLDMS
Database management system. Full -
screen edit and entry of data for speedy and
convenient update. Files automatically
inverted for rapid retrievals. Unique picture
method to define output format.
£495
APLOT
High resolution plotting packages using Qume, NEC, Hewlett-Packard flat-bed plotter, screen graphics. Prices from £495
SOFTWARE
JOT series
Wordprocessing packages. Full -screen edit; mixed character sets; direct entry of control codes; calculation capability; transfer of paragraphs.
Prices: £195, £295, £395
STAPL
Statistics functions. Pictorial and descriptive statistics; stepwise, multiple regressions; total and partial correlations; analysis of variance; distributions (X2, t,Gauss, Weibull, etc). Data validation and filing, etc.
Prices from £195
APLAN
Comprehensive financial planning system. Capital structure, credit management, cash management, stock management, depreciation investment analysis, financial analysis, capital budgets, cost accounting.
Prices from £295
XAPL
Mainframe -to -micro, and micro -to -micro
communications.
£95
BOOKS
APL and Insight £2.50; Starmap £1.65; Structured Programming in APL £8.70; A Course in APL £10.25; APL - An Interactive Approach £10.25; Introduction to APL £14.00; Algebra £5.10 (Solutions, £0.80); Elementary Analysis £3.70; Introducing APL to Teachers £0.65; APL in Exposition £0.55; An Introduction to APL for Scientists and Engineers £0.65; APL Programming and Computer Techniques £12.30; Applied APL Programming £13.50; Calculus in a New Key £4.40; APL -A Short Course £10.95; APL - An Introduction £6.25; APL - The Language and its Usage £21.40; Resistive Circuit Theory £6.60; Handbook of APL £6.60; A Microprogrammed APL implementation £16.25.
BULK BUYING
Buy a system from us and get substantial reductions. Example:
Standard Superbrain APL/ASCII char. board TIS-APL interpreter APLOMS JOT wordprocessor MUTABLE report formatter XAPL
PACKAGED PRICE:
£1,900 £255 £395 £495 £195 £95 £95
£3,430
£2,950
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
CONSULTANCY
Our associates are skilled in all sorts of areas, but mostly at eliciting from you what software you need to run your business more effectively. Can you believe that s system can develop before your eyes? It's perfectly true!
COURSES
All courses are "hands-on". Nobody leaves our courses without a good working knowledge of APL. Courses & Seminars for beginners and seasoned mainframe APLers.
Alan
mathematical modellers
complete APL specialists
Barman
and Associates
Limited
Maple House Mortlake Crescent Chester CH3 5UR Tel: 0244 46024
0244 21084 Circle No. 404
253
A Itrsonal Information
Management System.
Your APPLE* computer really can track purchase
specifications. Just mark the information you want listed
orders and inventory, analyze your investment records,
and PFS: REPORT will sort it and let you specify head-
maintain client and patient histories, or even catalog
ings, totals, averages, counts, and calculations. You can
magazine abstracts and your stereo collection. Software Publishing Corporation has the answer and it doesrit require programming!
Int
save your report design for use on a regular basis.
PFS and PFS: REPORT come with simple
self teaching manuals plus a support plan that
We call it the PFS software series- an easy
includes program updates and factory experts
to use yet powerful set of programs that let you
ready to answer your questions. And all of this at
design a system that's versatile enough to
an affordable price.
manage almost any kind of information.
PFS, the personal filing system, lets
you design your own form on the screen
for organizing information. Once it's cre-
ated you just fill in the blanks. Looking
up what you've filed is just as easy. PFS
can search for a number, a single piece of
data, a word within a page of text, or any combination. All forms that match
*requires a 48K, I6 -sector disk based APPLE II system
are displayed on the screen for browsing, updating, ex-
panding, or printing. PFS can even create mailing labels.
The PFS software series is different. It is not a specialized application package nor a complex programmer oriented data base manager. It's a per, sonal information management system that lets you store, retrieve, and report information your way without
programming.
PFS: REPORT, the personal report system, uses the files PFS creates to produce a report tailored to your
PFS is a trademark of Software Publishing Corporation.
APPLE* is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.
Software Iliblishing Corporation h._4010"4,
Distributed Exdusiwly in U.K. & Eire by Peryonal Conapuler LaIllted 194/200 Bishopsgate London EC2M 4NR Tel 01-626 8121niEO
Circle No. 405
254
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
NOWONIN
4HARPSHARPSHARPshm., SHARPSHARPSHARPSHARF SHARPSHARPSHARPSHARF SHARPSHARPSHARPSHARF
SHARP° SHARPSHARPSHARPSHARP
SHARPSHARPSHARPSHARF
HARPSHARPSHARPSHAR
'"40Dcwepoct_..-
STOP PRESS... NOW AVAILABLE BASIC COMPILER
PASCAL (CASSETTE BASED) DOUBLE PRECISION DISC BASIC
Since its introduction the Sharp MZ-80K has proved to be one of the most successful and versatile microcomputer systems around. Sharp now have a comprehensive range of products ready to make the powerful MZ-80K with its Printer and Disc Drives even more adaptable.
Products include:- Universal Interface Card, Machine Language and Z-80 Assembler packages, CP/M. plus a comprehensive range of software.
°Trade mark of Digital Research Ltd.
You'll find all the help and advice you need about the MZ-80K at your Specialist Sharp Dealer in the list below.
If there is no dealer in your area, or if you require any further information write to:- Computer Division,Sharp Electronics (UK) Ltd.,
SHARP Sharp House, Thorp Road,Newton Heath, Manchester M10 9BE. 74.ot,and
GET ITALL HERE EMI
AVON BCC ComputerSystems Ltd.. Bristol. Tel 0272 425338 Decimal Business M/Cs Ltd., Bristol. Tel: 0272 294591 BERKSHIRE Computer 100, Bray. Tel: 0628 35619 Newbear Computing Store Ltd., Newbury. Tel 0635 30505 BIRMINGHAM Camden Electronics, Small Heath.Tel: 021 773 8240 Electronic Business Systems Ltd.,
Birmingham. Tel: 021 384 2513 lax Rest Ltd., Birmingham. Tel: 021 328 4555 Newbear Computing Store Ltd., Birmingham 826. Tel 021 707 7170 BUCKINGHAMSHIRE Curry's Microsystems, High Wycombe. Tel: 049440262 Interface Components Ltd., Amersha.m.Tel: 02403 22307 CAMBRIDGE The Avery Computing Co Ltd., Bar Hill. Tel 0954 80991
CHESHIRE Bel lard Electronics Ltd., Chester Tel 0244 380123 Charfesworth of Crewe Ltd., Crewe.Tel: 027056342 Chandos Products, New Mills. Tel: New Mills 44344 CR Technical Services, Chester Tel: 0244 317549 Fletcher Worthington Ltd., Hale. Tel 061 928 8928 Newbear Computing Store Ltd., Stockport. Tel 061 491 2290
Ors Group Ltd., Warrington Tel: 0925 67411 Sumlock SoftWare, Warrington.Tel: 0925 574593
CLEVELAND Hunting Computer Services Ltd., Stockton-on-Tees Tel: 0642 769709 Intex Datalog Ltd., Stockton-on-Tees.Td: 0642 781193
DEVON Crystal Electronics Ltd., Torquay Tel: 0803 22699
Plymouth Computers, Plymouth Tel: 0752 23042 DURHAM Neecos (DP) Ltd., Darlington Tel: 0325 69540
ESSEX Prorole Ltd., Westdiff -on-Sea. Tel, 0702 335298
Wilding Office Equipment, Ilford Tel 01 514 1525
GLOUCESTERSHIRE Gloucestershire Shop Equipment Ltd., Gloucester. Tel 0452 36012 The Computer Shack, Cheltenham. Tel, 0242 584343 HAMPSHIRE Advanced Business Concepts, New Milton. Tel 0425 618181 Xitan Systems Ltd., Southampton.Tel: 0703 39890 HEREFORD
BMP, Little Dewchurch.Tel, 021 643 3832
HUMBERSIDE Commercial Systems Ltd., Hull.Tel, 0482 20500 Silicon Chip Centre, Grimsby. Tel: 0472 45353 KENT Technolink Europa Ltd., Tunbridge Wells Tel: 0892 32116 Video Services (Bromley) Ltd., Bromley Tel: 01 460 8833 LANCASHIRE Nelson Computer Services, Rawtenstaff Tel: 0706 229125 Sumita Electronics Ltd., Preston. Tel: 0772 51686 The Micro Chip Shop, BlackpootTel, 0253 403122
LEICESTERSHIRE Gilbert Computers, Lubenham. Tel 0858 65894 G.W. Cowling Ltd., Leicester. Tel 0533 553232 Leicester Computing Centre, Leicester Tel 0533 556268 Mays Hi-Fi,
Leicester. Tel: 0533 22212 LINCOLNSHIRE
Howes Elect & Autom. Servs., Lincoln. Tel 0522 32379 Z.R. Business Consultants, Lincoln. Tel: 0522 31621 LONDON Bridgewater Accounting, Whetstone. Tel 01 446 0320 Butel-Comco Ltd., Hendon Tel: 01 202 0262 Central Calculators Ltd., London EC2.Tel: 01 729 5588 Deans, London WaTel: 01 937 7896
Digital Design and Development, London W1. Tel: 01 387 7388
Euro-Calc Ltd., London EC2.Tel: 01 729 4555 Lion Computing Shops Ltd., London W1. Tel' 01 637 1601
Scope Ltd., London EC2.Tel, 01 729 3035 Sumlock Bondain Ltd., London EC1. Tel 01 253 2447
MANCHESTER The Byte Shop, Manchester M1. Tel: 061 2364737 Sumlock Electronic Services Ltd., Manchester M3. Tel: 061 8344233
MERSEYSIDE Microdigital Ltd., Liverpool.Tel: 051 227 2535 NORFOLK Sumlock Bondain (East Anglia) Norwich. Tel -0603 26259 NORTHAMPTONSHIRE Computer Supermarket. Corby Tel: 0536662571 NORTHERN IRELAND Bromac (UK), Co AntrInTel, 023831 3394 O & M Systems, Belfast. Tel: 0232 49440 NOTTINGHAMSHIRE Mansfield Business M/C Ltd., Mansfield. Tel: 0623 26610 OXFORDSHIRE Oxford Computer Centre, Oxford Tel 0865 45172 REPUBLIC OF IRELAND O'Connor Computers Ltd, Galway Tel: 0009 61173 Sharptext, Dublin 2. Tel: 0001 764511 Tommorrows World Ltd., Dublin 2.Tel: 0001 776861
SALOP
SUSSEX
Computer comer,
Crown Business Centre,
Shrewsbury. Tel: 0743 59788
Eastbourne. Tel: 0323 639983
SCOTLAND
Gamer,
A & G Knight,
Brighton Tel: 0273 698424
Aberdeen.Tel: 0224 630526
M & H Office Equipment
Business and Electronics M/Cs, Brighton. Tel: 0273 697231
Edinburgh. Tel, 031 226 5454
WALES
Esco Computing Ltd.,
Limrose Electronics Ltd.,
Glasgow. Tel: 041 204 1811
Wrexham. Tel 097 883 5555
Micro Centre,
Morriston Computer Centre.
Edinbur h.Tel: 031 556 7354
Swansea. Tel. 0792 795817
Micro Change,
Sigma Systems Ltd.,
Glasgow Tel: 041 554 1462
Cardiff. Tel, 0222 21515
Microforth,
WARWICKSHIRE
Dunfermline. Tel, 0383 34954
Business & Leisure
Moray Instruments Ltd.,
Microcomputers,
Elgin Tel: 0343 3747
Kenilworth.Tel: 0926 512127
Pointer Business Equipment Ltd., WILTSHIRE
Glasgow. Tel 041 332 3621
Evervman Computers,
SOMERSET
Westbury. Tel 0373 823764
Norset Office Supplies Ltd.,
YORKSHIRE
Cheddar Tel: 0934 742184
Bits & P.C.'s
STAFFORDSHIRE
Wetherby. Tel: 0937 63744
W.B. Computer Services,
Datron Micro -Centre Ltd.,
Cannock. Tel 0543 75555
Sheffield.Tel: 0742 585490
SUFFOLK
Huddersfield Computer Centre,
C.I.R. Microtek Co. Ltd.,
Huddersfield. Tel: 0464 20774
I pswich.Tel, 0473 50152
Omega,
SURREY
Leeds Tel: 0532 704499
3D Computers,
Ram Computer Services Ltd.,
Surbiton.Tel, 01 337 4317
Bradford.Tel: 0274 391166
Microlines Ltd.,
Superior Systems Ltd.,
Kingston.Tel 01 546 9944
Sheffield. Tel 0742 755005
Petalect,
Woking.Tel: 04862 69032
R.M.B. Ltd.,
Croydon.Tel: 01684 1134
Saradan Electronic Services,
Wallington. Tel' 01 669 9483
Also at selected Lasky's and Wildings Office Equipment Branches.
Circle No. 406
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
255
Not just a light pen but a complete data entry and processing system for yourPET: it can offer a much faster, more convenient and often better alternative to the keyboard in almost any program. In fact any task involving human participation in the office, lab or classroom can be carried out faster and with fewer errors.)Especially if you can't touch
type!). Typical applications include: data input and selection, wordprocessor enhancement, graphics handling, fast program writing and editing, computer assisted design, games, etc. etc. This system is
very easy to use . All complicated machine code is out of sight in a plug in ROM -just point the pen and touch the tip! The hardware includes a stainless steel light pen with precision optics, programmable touch switch and retractable cable. the 'pen -rest' houses the control electronics (including CB2 sound) which simply plugs into the USER PORT . The firmware supports both pick and track modes' auto cursor movement (better than repeat keys for editing!), single key instant screen reverse, high resolution (1 x 2 pixels) if needed, Coordinates and screen address returned as BASIC variables. All this and more is fully explained and documented in the comprehensive manual. There is not enough room in this ad to list all its features but literature is available on request.To order just send a cheque or phone (anytime) quoting your credit card number.
ALTEK(P.C.) 1 Green Lane,
Walton -on -Thames, Surrey
Order by post or phone (093 22) 44110 . . . 24 hours Access or Visa accepted. Callers by appointment. Selected dealers needed in U.K. and overseas
Circle No. 407
COMMODORE PETS
8032 Computer 8050 Floppy Disk
4Pski
rG
^
It
Soeo"
8024 Matrix Printer
8026 Daisy Printer Keyboard * Phone for latest prices *
8027 Daisy Printer Read Only
4032 Computer
4040 Floppy Disk
4022 Matrix Printer
** VIC'S NOW IN **
* 8096 COMPUTER AND SILICON OFFICE NOW IN *
Secondhand equipment bought and sold. Call now.
Other printers we supply are: Qume, Ricoh, Epson, Centronics.
We also supply software: Visicalc, Wordcraft, Incomplete
Records, Payroll, Stock Control, Invoicing, Sales & Purchase, Time Recording, Ozz.
All accessories are available from us and our other services include installation and training and maintenance
contracts.
Please phone for a quotation of our typing, word-processing and personalised mail shot services.
rDAVINCI COMPUTER SHOP
ibk 65 High Street, Edgware, Middx
11ILi ihop
Mon -Fri 9.00-5.30. Sat 9.30-5.00
or send for details.
Tel: 01-952 0526
At\
witirll'fit AGOG.
Circle No. 408
AMERICAN MAIL ORDER & SOFTWARE
Please tick the programs you require and use this page as your order form. Including your name, address & machine type. All prices include VAT, postage & packing.
Send 50p for full catalogues
of software available.
DEALER ENQUIRIES INVITED
DYNACOMP 0 Stud Poker
Moonprobe D Alpha Fighter D Intruder Alert 0 Giant Slalom 0 Monarch O Crystals
Nominoes E Chomp Othello
C. E. SOFTWARE 0 Helicopter Battle Tractor Beam O Kend Horseracing 0 Supermaster 0 Mad Marble El Lightning Bolts & Reaction Musigame 0 Tag O War at Sea
U.S.A. SOFTWARE 0 3-0 Supergraphics
CRYSTALWARE O House of Usher 0 Galactic Quest 0 Sumer D Laser Wars 0 World War 3 0 Beneath the Pyramids 0 Sands of Mars 0 Little Crystal
ATARI 16K(C) 16K(C) 24K(G) 16K(C) 16K(C) 16K(C) 24K(C) 24K(C) 16K(C)
10.99 9.99
11.99 15.99
11.99 10.99 9.99 15.99 10.99
16K(C) 8K(C) 8K(C) 16K(C)
8K(C) 8K(C) 16K(C) 16K(C) 16K(C) 16K(C)
9.95
9.95 9.95 9.95 9.95 9.95
9.95 9.95 9.95 14.95
40K(C) 39.99
0
19.99
0
19.99
0
11.99
0
19.99
0
19.99
0
19.99
0
26.99
0
26.99
CI Fantasy Land 2041
1.1 Waterloo LI Quest for Power
ADVENTURE INTERNATIONAL LI Adventureland Pirate's Adventure 0 Mission Impossible E Voodoo Castle 0 The Count 0 Strange Odyssey 0 Mystery Fun House 0 Pyramid of Doom
Ghost Town O Savage Island Part 1 0 Savage Island Part 2
Golden Voyage 0 Star Trek 3.5 0 Lunar Lander 0 Galactic Trader 0 Galactic Empire Galatic Revolution
0
34.99
0
32.99
0
26.99
ATARI TRS-80 24K(C) 16K(C) 16.50
32K(C)
16K(C) 32K(C) 32K(C) 32K(C)
16.50/12.50
12.50 16.50/12.50 16.50/12.50 16.50/12.50
AVALON HILL D B-1 Nuclear Bomber
0 Midway Campaign 0 North Atlantic Convoy Raider 0 Planet Miners 0 Lands of Karma 0 Computer Acquire Conflict 2500 Empire of the Evermind Tanktics
16K(C) 16K(C) 12.50
32K(C) 16K(C) 12.50 16K(C) 16K(C) 12.50
24K(C) 16K(C) 12.50 40K(C) 48K(C) 17.50
N/A 16K(C) 17.50 32K(C) 16K(C) 12.50 40K(C) 48K(C) 24.95 24K(C) 16K(C) 19.95
ADVENTURE INTERNATIONAL
TRS-80
L.] Curse of Crowley Manor
16K(C)
0 Escape from Traam
16K(C)
Balrog Sampler
32K(D)
Stone of Sisyphus
32K(C)
Morton's Fork
32K(D)
0 Little Red Riding Hood
16K(C)
O Match Maker
16K(C)
0 Old McDonald's Farm
16K(C)
0 Six Micro Stories
32K(D)
0 Local Call for Death
32K(D)
0 Two Heads of the Coin
32K(D)
0 His Majesty's Ship "Impetuous" 32K(D)
Dragons of Hong Kong
32K(D)
0 Missile Attack
Frog
16K(C)
El Planetoids
0 Showdown
0 Silverflash Tunnels of Fahad
O Musical YAT-C
O Maxi Manager
48K(0)
Starfighter
16K(C)
Zossed in Space
0 Star Scout
0 Treasure Quest
0 Slag
0 FOM
0 Conquest of Chesterwoode
0 Mean Chicken Machine
O Back -40 III
Z -Chess III
0 Project Omega
0 Sinutek
16.50 16.50 24.95 24.95 24.95 12.50
12.50 12.50 12.50 16.50 16.50 16.50 16.50 12.50 12.50 16.50
12.50 12.50 12.50 12.50
4.50 20.95 12.50 12.50 12.50 12.50 17.50 16.50 12.50 12.50 20.95 12.50 12.50
The Avalon Hill games include the programs for TRS-80, Atari,
Apple & Pet on the same tape.
MIMICTRS-80 trademark of Tandy Corp Apple trademark of Apple Inc, PET trademark of CBM Inc. Atari trademark of Atari SPE CIALIBST.Shlt MICROCOMPUTERtt HARDWARE/SOFTWARE
119 John
Street
COMPUTERS LIMITED PhoBnierm: i0ng2h1a-m6B31216BE458BARCLAYCARD
Circle No. 409
256
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
HOW TO GET MORE FROM
YOUR MICRO
CP/M* Courses for micro computer users
OBJECTIVES
To familiarise the new user with the operation of the typical hardware attached to a disc -based Z80 microprocessor system.
To give the user an understanding of the facilities available in the operating system CP/M, of its management of disc files, and of its adaption to different hardware configurations.
To give the user hands-on experience which enables this knowledge to be put to practical use.
To acquaint the user with the range of programming languages and packages which are compatible with CP/M.
A 'must' for Micro Users. Learn how to get the most out of your system.
Wordstar I Wordprocessing
OBJECTIVES
To give the user an understanding of the facilities available in the Wordstar/Mailmerge Wordprocessing System.
To give the user hands-on experience which enables this knowledge to be put to practical use.
Programming in Basic
OBJECTIVES To give the student a thorough understanding of the BASIC language. To enable the student to put the knowledge gained into practical use, facilitated by hands-on sessions and practical exercises.
Programming in CIS Cobol**
OBJECTIVES
To give a sound knowledge of the Ansi '74 Cobol programming language, highlighting differences between various dialects particularly CIS Cobol. To provide an understanding of structured programming techniques as used in CIS Cobol.
Programming in PASCAL
OBJECTIVES To provide an understanding of structured programming techniques as used in PASCAL. To give a thorough knowledge of the PASCAL programming language. To provide practical experience in using PASCAL on a microcomputer.
CONTACT:
The Courses Secretary, Computer Training & Education Centre Ltd, 102-108 Clerkenwell Road, London EC1. 01-251 4010.
*CP/M is the T/M of Digital Research Corp. I Wordstar is the T/M of Micropro International Corp. **CIS Cobol is the T/M of Microfocus.
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
INTRODUCING COMPUTERS
A series of 1 -day courses for businessmen
AN INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTERS
MANAGING COMPUTERS IN YOUR BUSINESS
MANAGING WORD PROCESSING IN YOUR BUSINESS
(Course fees include lunch)
A professional organisation with first class training facilities in central London.
Please send me further information on the above courses
Name
Position
Company
Address
Tel. No.
Circle No. 410
257
I=I==0.7I.=1=N4=I1=0.I-=--1=4I==1I - Electronic Brokers I =111 = I =NI = I =s4
LOW COST VDU's
Hazeltine VDU's
H1000 The low, low priced
teletypewriter -compatible video display
terminal, offering your choice of
transmission speeds up to 9600 baud as
well as parity generation and checking.
12 x 80 display upper case ASCII, RS232
interface, choice of baud rates Standard
baud rates either (a) 110/300 or (b)
300/1200. (E25 surcharge for other
combinations up to 9600 baud).
SUPER VALUE
£199.00
H2000 Superb spec. including full XY
cursor addressing and edit facility,
27 x 74 display, upper case ASCII, RS232
interface, switch -selectable baud
rates
£299.00
H2000C NOW ALSO AVAILABLE with 25 x 80 line format and C-MOS logic
£375.00
Modular One. Now with upper/lower
case, XY cursor addressing, 24 x 80 line
display, dual intensity detachable
keyboard, choice of 8 transmission rates
up to 9600 baud
£399.00
Also available from time to time
Hazeltine 1500 from
£575.00
Hazeltine 1510 from
£650.00
1: 4',v111
r I:11 r
BRAND NEW - LOW COST MATRIX PRINTER IDEAL FOR MICROPROCESSOR USERS SUCH AS HOBBYISTS & EDUCATIONALISTS OR ANY LOW -BUDGET APPLICATION
Selkosha GP80
Full upper/lower case ASCII
NEW
PLUS GRAPHIC Mode 80 -column printing with adjustable tractor feed
Standard and double -width
1111411rAP
characters (12 cpi and 6 cpi) 30 cps print speed with 1 -line
buffer
Standard parallel (Centronics -
type) interface
Optional interfaces available
for RS232, IEEE488, Tandy,
PET, Apple II
kiajALLithtLidi ONLY
£199.00
Reconditioned ASR33 Teletype Terminals with paper tape punch and
reader, even parity keyboard and RS232 interface.
SPECAIL OFFER - SEVEN DAY WARRANTY - CASH AND CARRY
ONLY
£295.00
Low Cost Printer offer.
Teletype 33 printer mechanism including case but no keyboard or
electronics, 64 upper case ASCII. 10 cps
pinfeed platen, ideal for the electronic
hobbyist ONLY .
£85.00
DEC SALE
Huge stocks of DEC processors, peripherals, disk drives, terminals, add-on memory, option modules, etc etc. Send for latest list
Electronic Brokers Limited 61/65 Kings Cross Road London WC1X 9LN England Telephone: 01-278 3461 Telex: 298694 Elebro G
All items reconditioned unless otherwise stated. Hours o: 3usiness 9a m Sp .m Mon -Fri Closed lunch 1-2p .m ADD f 5% VAT TO ALL PRICES Carriage and Packing charge extra on all items unless otherwise stated A copy of our Trading Conditions is available on request
Circle No. 411
258
Mailing
Floppy Disks?
Use Swan Disk Mailers - and get Safety in the Mail
Now used by over 1,000 computer companies, Swan Disk Mailers provide outstanding postal security at economical prices.
Combining great strength with simplicity of use, Swan Disk Mailers are manufactured from rigid white corrugated, holding up to four disks.
There are two sizes available: 8.75"X 8.75" Er 6"x 6"
ring
01-607 9938
for Free samples
and prices
Circle No. 412
Conquer the chip!
The silicon 'Chip', the microprocessor, and the whole field of modern electronics will revolutionise every human activity over the next decade ... If you are looking for a new job or career, promotion, your own business or simply want to keep abreast of modern developments - you will need to master the subject. It can be done simply and efficiently, in a practical way. No previous knowledge is needed. Write to us now without the slightest obligation.... We have been successfully training people in electronics, at home, for over 40 years!
LEARNEITNHGE PRACTICAL WAY
MASTERELECTRONICS BY SE
AND DOING
Building an oscilloscope. Recognition of components.
Understanding circuit diagrams. Handling all types Solid State 'Chips'.
Carry out over 40 experiments on basic circuits and on digital electronics. Testing and servicing of Radio, T.V.. Hi- Fi arkd all types of modern
computerised equipment.
MASTER MICROPROCESSORS
LEARN HOW TO REALLY UNDERSTAND MICROPROCESSORS, HOW THEY WORK AND THEIR APPLICATION TO COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY.
Complete Home Study Library
Programming
Special Educational Microprocessor Equipment supplied Services of skilled tutor available throughout course
MASTER THE REST
Radio Amateurs Licence Logic/Digital techniques Examination courses (City & Guilds etc.) in electronics
Semi -conductor technology Training Kits (Signal Generators, Digital Meters etc.)
Frie,ise send your FREE brochure Fhoot oblogat oon to -
R "EAddress
E
a, rnrerested on -
PRACi CAL ELECTRONICS ..........
........
MICROPROCESSORS
. ..... ....... ........
OTHER SUBJECTS ,olesse stare your ornenestl
.............. ..... .................. .......... . ..... ........... ............
BLOCK
PLEASE
BRITISH NATIONAL RADIO E. ELECTRONICS SCHOOL
READING, BERKS. RG1 1BR
PC/12/817R
Circle No. 413
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
for ATARI Jll
DEALE maptinR
ATARI'
AUTHO-RISED
The World-beating
ATARI PERSONAL
COMPUTERS
0119figffi,f1401111#111351111118411111H .112.qadfilaug.)(111711...917)(tABRIG...-.."-1
-
. ia:fa'ara,,MJaap;ari
3 consoles available
Atari 400 with 16K RAM (AF36P)
£345
Atari 400 with 32K RAM (AF37S)
£395
Atari 800 with 16K RAM (AFO2C)
(expandable to 48K)
£645
All consoles when connected to a standard UK colour (or black and white) TV set can generate the most amazing graphics you've ever seen.
Atari 400 Console
Look at what you get:
* Background colour, plotting colour, text colour and border colour settable to any one of 16 colours with 8 levels of illuminance!
* Video display has upper and lower case characters with true descenders, double and quad size text and inverse video.
* 57 -Key keyboard (touch type on Atari 400) and four function keys.
* Full screen editing and four-way cursor control.
* 29 keystroke graphics and plottable points up to 320 x 192 1160 x 96 only with 8K
RAM).
* 40 character by 24 line display. * Extended graphics control and high speed
action using a DMA chip with its own character set. * Player missile graphics. * Four programmable sound generators can be played individually or together and each has 1785 possible sounds playable at any one of eight volume settings, for game sounds or music, * Full software control of pitch, timbre and duration of notes in 4 -octave range. * Four joystick or paddle ports, sounds output to TV. * BASIC cartridge and 10K ROM operating system and full documentation.
mown Dealer enquiries welcome
MORE HARDWARE
Atari 410 Cassette Recorder (AF28F) £50
Atari 810 Disk Drive 1AF06G)
£345
Atari 822 40 -column Thermal Printer (AF04E) Atari 850 Interface IAF29G1 Joystick Controllers (AC37S)
£265 £135 £13.95
Paddle Controllers (ACM
£13.95
16K RAM Memory Module (AFO8J) £65
MUCH MORE FOR ATARI COMING SOON
::.:
SOFTWARE Lots and lots of amazing software for Atari available now.
* Word Processor * VISI-CALC * ADVENTURE GAMES * Arcade Games * Trek Games * ASSEMBLER Et DISASSEMBLER * FORTH * Teaching * 3D GRAPHICS * Character Set
Generator
SEND S.A.E. NOW FOR OUR LEAFLET
(XH52G)
LE STICK
For Atari Computer or Video Game Replaces standard joystick, but much easier to use. Internal motion detectors sense hand movements. Large pushbutton on top of Stick. Squeeze Stick to freeze motion. A MUST for SPACE INVADERS, STAR RAIDERS Et ASTEROIDS. ONLY £24.95 (AC45Y)
Maplin Electronic Supplies Ltd P.O. Box 3, Rayleigh, Essex. Tel: Southend (0702)552911/554155
Note: Order codes shown in brackets. All prices include VAT and shipment by Datapost. (Errors excluded).
Atari 890 Console (with cover removed)
SPECIAL PACKAGE OFFER
Disk basedsystem for f725 with Le Stick The Atari 400 Console Special 32K RAM Module Atari 810 Disk Drive Disk Operating System Documentation Interconnecting Leads Everything in "Look at what you get" list Can any other computer on the market offer all this at anything like this price?
VERSAWRITER
121/2 x 8in. drawing board. Drawing on board is reproduced on TV via Atari with 32K RAM and Disk Drive. Closed areas may be filled in with one of 3 colours. Text may be added in any one of 4 fonts. Paint brush mode: select size of brush and paint away. Air brush mode: shade in your drawing- colour and density is up to you. Plus many more features. S.a.e. for price and further details.
at
See ADtaeorimuraotsnh2so8tr4pasStiLoonnnaos,dwEo.snseRxo. ad,
Westcliff-o5n5-e4000 and at 159-1T6e1l:K(0iTn7eg0l:2S0) 1t.,-7H48am0m92e6rsmith
W6.
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Circle No. 414
259
Old tricks for new Pets...
COMMAND -0 is a FOUR KILOBYTE Rom for the 4000/6000 Basic 4 Pets with all the "Toolkit" commands RENUMBER (improved), AUTO, DUMP. DELETE, FIND (improved), HELP, TRACE (improved g includes STEP), and OFF - plus PRINT USING - plus four extra disk commands INITIALIZE, MERGE. EXECUTE. and SEND - plus extra editing commands SCROLL. MOVE, OUT, BEEP, and KILL - plus SET user -definable soft key, 190 characters - plus program scroll up and down - plus 8032 control characters on key. Ask for Model CO -80N for the 8032 or CO -406 for the 4018/4032. 150.00 plus Vat
New tricks for old Pets...
DISK -O -PRO is a FOUR KILOBYTE Rom that upgrades 2000/3000 Pets, but lets you keep all your old software - including Toolkit. As well as REPEAT KEYS and PRINT USING, you get all the Basic 4 disk commands CONCAT, DOPEN, OCLOSE, RECORD, HEADER, COLLECT. BACKUP, COPY, APPEND, OSAVE, OLOAD, CATALOG, RENAME. SCRATCH and DIRECTORY - plus extra disk commands INITIALIZE, MERGE, EXECUTE and SEND - plus extra editing commands SCROLL, MOVE. OUT. BEEP and KILL - plus SET user definable soft -key. 80 characters plus program scroll -up and scroll -down. We recommend the 4040 disk or upgraded 3040 for full benefit of disk commands. Ask for Model DOP-16N for new Pets 2001-3032, and 2001-8 with retrofit Rome I TK1613P Toolkit. 150.00 plus Vat, other models available.
PRONTO -PET hard/soft reset switch for the 3000/4000 Pets. We don't think you'll 'crash' your Pet using our software, but if you do the Pronto -Pet will get you outl Also clears the Pet for the next job, without that nasty off/on power surge. 19.99 Vat
and no tricks missed!
KRAM Keyed Random Access Method. Kid your Pet it's en IBM! VSAM disk handling for 3032/4032/8032 Pets with 3040/4040/8050 disks means you retrieve your date FAST, by NAME - no tracks, sectors or blocks to worry about. Over 2.500 users worldwide have joined the 'Klub'l Now you can too, at the 1981 price, 175.00 plus Vat.
SPACEMAKER All our Rom products are compatible with each other, but should you went, say, Wordpro with Kram, or Oisk-o-pro with Visicalc, then SPACEMAKER will allow both Rome to address one Rom socket, with just the flip of a switch, for 122.50 plus Vat.
We are sole UK distributors for all the.) fine products. If your CBS dealer is out of stock, they are available by mail from us, by cheque/Access/Barclaycard (UX post paid) or send for details.
ii
Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Computers and Word Processors
but never found out because of the jargon!
COME TO A FREE SEMINAR AT THE
LONDON MICRO CENTRE and find out what a
wcrd prccessor really does:
See it in action - play with it yourself!
See what our business prograns do - and try them out fcr yourself with no obligation.
AT OUR SEMINAR, YOU CAN ASK ANY
QUESTION YOU WANT AND GET AN
ANSWER THAT YOU CAN UNDERSTAND.
(Well, almost any question!)
Every Wednesday and Saturday at the London
Micro Centre - from 10.30am till noon. Refrlasimments provided. ,,___I ------,
A N 2
TEL:
01.730-8791 7,,n,7
Lik ouoO
; o an^ ti.
''
'','4` ":,;',
Stahon
C2ICO SOliklJEFE
47, Lower Belgrave Street, London, SW1 Tel: 01.730 8791
AN EMG COMPANY
Lakeside House
Kingston Hill Surrey XT27QT Tel 07-546-7256
ivjr Circle No. 415 ..OtIPUTERS
192 HONEYPOT LANE, QUEENSBURY, STANMORE, MIDDX HA7 1EE. 01-204 7525
El
Circle No. 416
THE "PET" SPECIALISTS
GET THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS!
WE CAN SUPPLY ALL YOUR 'PET' NEEDS AT CASH & CARRY PRICES
4032 8032 4040
40 Col. PET. £585.000
80 Col. PET £755.00'
347K Disk
£585.00*
8050 4022 8024
IM Byte Disk Printer Printer
£755.00* £357.00' £975.00*
OR WE CAN SUPPLY, INSTALL AND TRAIN YOUR STAFF AT THE NORMAL PRICE WITHOUT ANY EXTRAS!!
TRY US! YOU WILL NOT BE
DISAPPOINTED
EXT CASSETTE DECKS (INC COUNTER & SOUNDBOX) 5.85-£55*
Printers CBM 4022 & 8024
Centronic 779 Centronic 737 Spinwriter 5510
CBM 8026 & 8027
Disk Drives CBM 8050 CBM 4040 CBM 3040
Sundries Interfaces:
Disks: Paper
Labels:
C12 Cassettes Library Cases
(roll & tractor teed)
Dust covers
SOFTWARE
As well as a full range of Petsoft and Commodore Software, we
have some highly reliable "Home -Brewed" programs available.
STOCK CONTROL Et INVOICING
f60
(Handles up to 500 items 32K) 1180 on 16K). Stock depleted on
invoicjng, search etc. Cassette, disk (Et print option).
3000 item; 4040/8050
£125
CASH BOOK
f90
Enter daily/weekly amounts - printout and totals, weekly/monthly
analysis, totals and balances.
4032 & 8032 versions
STOCK TAKING for the licensing trade OUTSIDE SERVICES (For Mini -Cabs etc.)
£110 & £120 £240 £220
Sae for free software booklet
VISICALC "OZZ" Commodore Business Programs
COMPSOFT DMSV Bristol Trader, Item 8- Monitor
ANAGRAM LEDGERS Superpay
Word Processing.
TOOL KITS (BASIC 2 Er 4), SUPERCHIPS, AND ALL SORTS OF OTHER CHIPS UPGRADE YOUR PET EVEN MORE!!
COME AND SEE THE NEW
at £189 (inc VAT)
THE "MUPETs" ARE HERE! 3 TO 8 PETs ONLY NEED 1 DISK DRIVE . . . Daily demonstrations: Ring for details.
PRICES DO NOT INCLUDE VAT
PERSONAL SHOPPERS WELCOME Phone & Mail Orders accepted.
FULLY WORKING AND OPERATIONAL ASK US ABOUT ALL THE ADD -ON -GOODIES THAT GO WITH THE VIC ... !
ALL GOODS SENT SAME DAY WHEREVER POSSIBLE VISA
LARGE S.A.E. FOR LISTS ETC.
Circle No. 417
260
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Ms by
TEXAS
74 SERIES
7400
7401
7402
7403 7404 7405 7406 7407 7408 7409 7410
7411 7412 7413 7414 7416 7417 7420 7421 7422 7423 7426 7427 7428 7430 7432 7433 7437 7438 7440
7441 7442A 7445 7446A 7447A 7450
7451 7453 7454 7460 7470 7472 7473 7474 7476 7480
7483A 7485
7486 7489
7490A 7491 7492A 7493A 7494 7495A 7496 7497 74100 74107 74109 74116 74118 74/19 74120
74121 74122 74123 74125 74128 74132 74136
74141 74142 74145 74147 74148 74150 74151A 74153 74154 74155 74156 74159 74160 74161 74162 74163 74164 74165 74166 74170 74173 74174 74175 74176 74177 74178 74180 74182A 74182A
74184A 74185 74186 74188 74190
74191 74192
11p 11p
12p 14p
14 189 2277pp
16p 15p 15p 20p
20p 25p 35p
25p
2157p;
301";
22p 28p
3245)pp
30p 15p 25p 27p 28p 13p 17p 70p 50p 60p 93p 45p 17p 17p 17p 17p 17p 36p 30p 30p 23p 30p 50p 45p 90p 25p 210p 309 60p 30p 30p 509
50p 45p
120p 85p
130p 140p
909 75p 90p 70p 30p 45p 48p 40p 40p 45p
32 p 65p 200p 70p 100p 75p 809 45p 459
709
50p 509 100p 66p 60p 60p 60p 65p 60p 70p 160p 75p 70p 70p 50p 70p 100p
1
160p 90p 90p
120p 500p 325p
70p 709 709
74193 74194 74195 74196 74197 74198 74199
74221 74259 74278 74279 74283 74284 74285 74290 74293 74298 74365 74366 74367
74368 74390 74393 74490
70p 70p 60p 60p 60p 100p
100p 75p
150p 150p
80p 75p 200p
200p 200p 100p 100p
50p 55p 55p 55p 100p 100p 120p
74LS SERIES
74LSOO
74LSO1 741302 74LS03
74LSO4 74LS05 74LS08 74LS09 74LS10 74LS11
741_512 74LS13 74LS14 74LS15 74LS20 74LS21 74LS22 74LS26 74LS27 74LS28 74LS30 74LS32 74LS33 74LS37 74LS38
74LS42 74LS47 74LS51 74LS55 74LS73 74LS74
741_575 74LS76 74LS83
741_585 74LS86 74LS90 74LS92
741_593 74LS95 74LS96 74LS107 74LS109 74LS112
741_5113 74LS114 74LS122 74LS123 74LS124 74LS125 74LS126
74LS132 74LS133 74LS136 74L5138 74LS139 741_5145
741_5147 74LS148 74LS151 74LS153 74LS154 74LS155 74LS156 74LS157 74LS158 74LS160
74LS161 74LS162 74LS163 74LS164 74LS165 74LS166 74LS170 74LS173 74LS174 74LS175 74LS181
74LS190 74LS191 74LS192 74LS193 74LS194
741_5195 74LS196
12p 14p 14p 14p 15p 15p 16p 15p 15p 15p 15p 25p 45p 30p 15p
159 16p 18p 18p
189 15p 16p 16p
16P
146099 401, 159 30p
751, 20p
2613
20p 45p
BOP
2413
35p
409 359
9013
100p
45P 30p 349
30P 30p 42p 50p 120p
301,
30P
4513
30P 30P 36P 36p 75p
1809
90P 30P 609 200p 409 40p 35p
389 40P 40p 40p 40p 48p 100p 90p 90p 70p 60p
SOp 140p
50p 50p 50p 60p 40p
SOp 609
74LS197 65p 74LS221 60p 74LS240 90p
74LS241 90p 74LS242 80p 74LS243 80p 74LS244 90p 74LS245 90p
74LS251 40p 74LS253 40p
74LS257 45p
74LS258 45p 74LS259 90p
74LS260 24p 74LS266 25p 74LS273 90p
74LS279 45p
74LS280 250p 74LS283 45p 74LS298 1604)
741_5299 450p 74LS323 250p 74LS324 180p 74LS348 150p 741_5365 36p
74LS367 36 74LS368 SOp 74LS373 80p 74LS374 80p 74LS375 50p 74LS377 90p 74LS378 70p 74LS390 55p 74LS393 60p 74LS399 200p 74LS445 110p
741_5540 135p 74LS541 135p 74LS640 200p 74LS641 200p 74LS642 200p 74LS643 200p 74LS644 250p 74LS645 250p 74LS668 200p 74LS669 200p 74LS670 170p
74S SERIES
74502 74504 74505 74508 74510
74S11 74520 74530
74532
74S37 74537
74S74 74585
74S86 745112 745113 745114 745124 745132 745133
745138 745139
745157 745163 745174 745175
745188 745189 745194 745200 748201 74S225 745241 745260
745261 745262 74S287 74S288
74S373 74S374 745471 745474 74S571 74S573
60PP
609 75p 75p 60p 60p 60p 60p 90p 90p 60p 90p 300p 180p 90p 90p 909
150930
09 75p 225p 225p 250p 300p 250p 320p 350p 350p 350p 450p 400p 550p 400p 709 300p £10 350p
350pp
400 400p 650p 400p 900p 900p
4000 CMOS
4000
isp
4001
189
4002
15p
4006
65p
4007
18p
4008
4009 4010
4o0pp
4011
16p
4012
4013
35p
4014
60p
4015
60p
4016
30p
4017
SOp
4018
Epp
4019 4020 4021 4022 4023 4024 4025 4026 4027 4028 4029 4030
4031 4032 4033 4034 4035 4036 4038 4040 4041 4042 4043 4044 4045 4046 4047 4048 4049 4050 4051 4052 4053 4054 4055 4056 4059 4060 4063 4066 4067 4068 4069 4070 4071 4072 4073 4075 4076 4077 4078
4081 4082 4086 4089
4093 4094 4095 4096 4097 4098 4099 40102 40103 40105 40106 40109 4501 4502
4503
44cn6504
45-0-7
4508 4510 4511 4512 4514
4515 4516 4518 4520
4521 4526 4527 4528 4532 4534 4536 4538 4539 4543
44555535 4556 4560 4566 4569
4572 4583 4584 4585 40014
4400008957
40163 40174 40175 40193 14500 14599
32p 60p 65p 70p 24p 40p 20p 130p 32p 60p 75p 40p 170p 125p 180p 160p 80p 295p 120p 60p 70p 55p 60p 70p
120p 80p 75p
55p 30p 30p 60p
430p
60p 130p 125p 120p 500p
90p
1009 35p
400p 180 20p
20p
20p 20p
20p 20p 60p 40p 20p 20p
20p 72p 150p 40p 150p 95p
LINEAR I.C4
AN103
200p
AY1 0212 600p
AY1 1313 668p
AY1 1320 320p
AY1 5050 140p
AY3 8910 700p
AY3 8912 650p
AY5 1224A 240p
AY5 1315 600p
AY5 4007D 520p
CA3028A 120p
CA3019
80p
CA3046
70p
CA3048 225p
CA3080E 72p
CA3086
48p
CA3089E 225p
CA3090AQ 375p
CA3130E 90p
CA3140E 50p
CA3160E 100p
CA3161E 140p
CA3162E 450p
CA3189E 300p
CA3240E 1209
CA3280G 200p
DAC1408 8 200p
HA1388 270p
ICL7106 850p
ICL8038 300p
ICM7555 80p
IC7120
600p
LC7130 475p
LF347
180p
LF351
48p
LF353
100p
LF356P
95p
LF357
1209
LM10C
425p
LM301A
27p
LM311
75p
LM318
2009
LM319
225p
LM324
45p
LM3352 LM339
140p 65p
LM348
75p
LM358P
75p
LM377
175p
LM380
75p
LM381AN 180p
LM382
120p
LM386
95p
LM387
120p
LM389
95p
LM393
100p
LM709
36p
MC1310P
MC1458 MC1495L MC1496 MC3340P
150p 40p
350p 70p
120p
MC3403 MK50398 ML920 MM57160
1209 750p 800p 820p
NE531 NE555
250p 20p
NE558
509
NE564
420p
NE565
130p
NE566
165p
NE567
140p
NE571
425p
NE5534A 250p
PLLO2A 6009
RC4136 RC4151
709 200p
S5668
260p
SAD1024A 1250p
SFF96364
SL490 SN76477 SP8515
600P
350P 1759 750p
TA7205 TAA621
250P 275p
T8A641811 300p
TB7120 200p
TA7204 250p
TA7222 200p
TA7310 200p
TAA621 TBA651 TBA800 TBA810
2751) 200p
901) 1009
TBA8925O0 TCA220 TCA940 TOA1004A TOA1008
80P 300P MOP 17513 300p 320p
TDA1010 TDA1022
TDA1024
TDA1034B TDA1170 TDA2002V
2259 6009 1209 250p 300p
325p
320P TLO71/81 45P TL072/82 75p
TL074
1309
TL084
1109
TL094 TL170
TL430C
2009 609 709
COMPUTER COMPONENTS
CPUs 1602CE
MEMORIES
INTERFACE ICs CRYSTALS
750p 2101A
400p AD558CI 775p 32 768KHz 250p
2650A 6502
£12 2102 21_ 4.50p 21078
120p AD561J
£14 100KHz
500p AM25510 350p 200 KHz
300p 370p
6502A
650p 2111A
300p AM26LS31 160p 1 OMHz 320p
Z806 6800
6802 6809 6809E 8035
8039 8080A 8085A 1NS8060 TMS9980
370p 5009
£10 £15 7609 6509 3509
6509
£11 £20
2112A
2114 2L 2114 4L
4027 3 4044 45 4116 15 4116 20 4118 3
4118 4 4164 2
300p
160p 130p 300p 700p 200p 200p 500p 450p
£10
AM26LS32 190p 1 008MHz 350p
DAC,80 DM8131 DP8304
£20 1 8432MHz 250p
375p 2 00MHz
25_,171.
4509 2
250p
DS8832
250p 3 276MHz4570MHz 250p
DS8833 LF13002
MC1488 MC1489
225p 3 5795MHz 1759 450p 4 00MHz 290p 65p 4 194MHz 250p 65p 4 43MHz 125p
MC3418 950p 6 OMHz 250
3709 5101
300p MC3446 300p OMHz
250;
Z80A 8088
4rt 6116P 3 6514 45 6810
900p MC3480 4009 MC3485
200p MC4024
850p 6 144MHz 250p 500p 7 OMHz 250p 325p 7 168MHz 250p
7489
210p MC4044 325p 8 00MHz 250p
745189 325p MM58174 £12 8 86MHz 250p
SUPPORT DEVICES 3242 3245 5522 6532 6551
6821 6845 6847
6850 6852 6675
8154 8155 8205 8212 8216 8224 8226 8228
74S201 745289
350p 325p
800p 450p
.7-1,.08,5'00'°o'-kp'
£10 £10 1809 370p 6009 950p
ROM & PROM
745188 325p
74S287 308p
745288 226p
74S387 325p
745471
650p
745473 8501)
745474 650p
745570 650p
74S571
650p
745573 950p
800P
3".°
180p
180P 250p
2n5,-0-0-
EPROMs
21770082A
500p 300p
2564£38 2716(.5V) 300p
2516(.5V) 300p
ULN2003A 100p
ULN2004A 100p
75017
160
75110
1609
75112 75114 75115
1609 160p 160p
75150P 75154 75182
1409 140p 220p
75324
325p
75361 75363 75365
1509 150p 160p
75451.2
72p
76453.4
72p
75491.2
70p
H126
120p
8128
140p
8195
140p
8197
1409
8255 37513' 8243
8250 8251 8253
';'`'1-'n
"°`3
850p 375p 800p
2532 2732
600p 600p
UARTs AY 3 1015P 3509
81LS95 811_596 81LS97 81LS98 9602
1209 140p
1209 140p 220o
8257 8259 8279 TMS9918 Z8OPIO
mop
800P 950p
£60 350p
AY 5 1013P 350p 1M64°2 45°P
CHARACTER GENERATORS
9637AP ZN425E 8 ZN426E 8 ZN427E 8 ZN428E 8
160p 350p 350p 650p 600p
10 00MHz 250p
10 7MHz 250p
1p OMHz 350p
16 00MHz 250p
18 00MHz 250p
18 432
250p
19 968MHz 390p
26 690MHz 300p
27 145MHz 250p
38 6667MHz
350p
48 OMHz 300p
65 5MHz 4009
110MHz 350p
KEYBOARD
ENCODER AY 6 2376 700p 740922 600p
UHF
MODULATORS
6MHz
375p
8MHz
450p
DIL SWITCHES
' Way 6 Way
90p 105p
9 Way
120p
10 Way
150p
Z80APIO 400p RO 3 25130C
DISC CONTROL ZERO
Z8OCTC 350p
750p ICS
INSERTION
Z8OACTC 400p RO 3 25131C
FD1771
£20 FORCE
Z8OADART 800p
700p FD1791
£30 SOCKETS
95p LM710 340p LM725
90p LM733
509 UAA170 170P Z8OADMA 350p UA2240 3009 280510 1 100p UDN6118 320p
£12 SN745262AN
WD1691
£20
£10 WD2143
£15 24 Pin 5599 40 Pin
600p £11
90p 150p 180p 1209
50p 100p
LM741 LM747
LM748 LM2917 LM3302 LM3900
18p 70p 35p 200p 140p 65p
UDN6184 ULN2003 UPC575 UPC592H UPC1156H XR2206
3209
1009 400p 200p
300p 300p
LOW PROFILE DIL SOCKETS BY TEXAS
8 pin 9p 18 pin 16p 24 pin 24p 14 pin 10p 20 pin 18p 28 pin 26p 16 pin 11p 22 pin 22p 40 pin 30p
WIRE WRAP SOCKETS BY TEXAS 8 pin 25p 18 pin 50p 24 pin 70p 14 pin 359 20 pin 609 28 pin 80p 16 pin 40p 22 pin 65p 40 pin 100p
28p LM3909
95p XR2207 400p
70p
50p 759
35p 40p 200p 65p
LM3911 LM3914 LM3915 LM3916
LM13600 M51513L M51516L
130p 210p 225p 225p
125p 300p 400p
XR2211 XR2215 ZN414
ZN419C ZN423E ZN424E ZN425E
600p
675p 90o
225p 150p 135p 360p
WORDMAKER
A Texas Instrument Project with a talking library of 200 words and room for expansion. Easy to interface with most micro computers. Pitch control also provides exciting electronic musical applicants. Complete Kit (include PCB) £87.00. (Reprint of the original article in June 1981 EM&M available at 65p -r
SAE).
50p 659 1509 150p 75p 50p 70p
150P
7513
9041
759 90P
M83712
2009 ZN427E 625p ZN1034E 200p
VOLTAGE REGULATORS FIXED PLASTIC
1A
5V 1A 7805 *50p 7905
55p
12V 1A 7812 *50p 7912
55p
15V 1A 7815 *55p 7915
60p
18V 1A 7818 '55p 7918
609
24V 1A 7824 '55p 7924
60p
5V 100mA
ZX80/81 USER PORT
(Described in PCW Oct/Nov 81)
ADD SOUND, PLUS RELAY CONTROL & LIGHT DETECTION TO YOUR 2X80/81.
Port module plugs directly in to ZX80/81 to provide 8 input and 8 output lines.
These allow input of data from switches, photocells, sensors, joysticks etc and control of 8 relays. Also, 7 segment displays and LED may be used -- "VARIABLE TONE AUDIO OUTPUT CAN PRODUCE YOUR OWN SOUND EFFECTS."
Port access is by simple peek and poke commands.
Kit (complete with double sided PCB). £11.50. Built and tested £15.00.
500P 78105
30p 79105
300P 12V 100mA
120p
761_05
30p 79L12
85p
ACORN ATOM
701) A personal computer with full size QWERTY keyboard and a built in UHF
1209 15V 100mA
modulator for direct connection to a domestic T.V.
100P 78L15
30p 79L15
70p Basic unit is 2K RAM + 8K ROM expandable to 12K + 12K. Basic kit £120, built
296009p
OTHER REGULATORS
£150, built and fully expanded £198. P.S.U. £10.20. P&P £2.50.
60p LM309K
64K Dynamic RAM card (fits into ATOM case) 200mA at 5V £87.50.
1130p 1A 5V 180p LM317K
135p 78HGKC 600p ATOM software also available. 325p 78HOSKC 550p
180p LM312T 3op 1A Adj
200p 78MGT2C 140p
MEMORY EXPANSION PCB
90p LM337T sop LM323K
225p 78GOIC 200p Low price versatile system for ATOM, UK101 and SUPERBOARD. Compact memory expansion PCB. 8K RAM (2114) plus four 24 pin sockets for 2708, 2716,
100p 3A 5V
500p 79GOIC 225p 2732 EPROMS OR 2K Static RAMS (6116) giving (a) 8K RAM + 16K EPROM or
90p LM723
120p 150mA Adj 37p 79HGKC
9op TL494
400p TL497
(b) 16K Static RAM. Fully buffered and decoded layout. Interfacing instruction 700p supplied. PCB £12.50.
300p
115p 95p
1009 115p 700p 290p
78S40
300p LM305AH 250p
oSPECIAL OFFER *
1-24 25-99 1004-
2114 L-200 nSec 1.00 0.90 0.85
4116 - 200 nSec 0.75 0.70 0.65
2716 ( + 5v)
2.40 2.30 2.10
UK101 : INTERFACING COMPUKIT
DECODING MODULE KIT £27.50 ANALOGUE BOARD KIT £39.95
The analogue board kit includes D/A converter, 8 -channel A/D converter. AY -3-
8910 Prog. Sound Generator, 6522 VIA giving timing and counting functions plus extra 16 bit port.
Please add p&p 40p + VAT at 15%
TECHNOMATIC LTD., MAIL ORDERS TO: 17 BURNLEYROAD, LONDON NW10 1ED Tel: 01-723 0233. TLX: 922800 SHOPS AT: 15 BURNLEY ROAD, LONDON NW10
305 EDGWARE ROAD, LONDON W2
Govt, Colleges etc orders welcome. Barclay & Access cards accepted
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
Circle No. 418
261
COMPUTER SUPENTlfiFiliET
Telephone Hastings [0404] 437875
Acorn Atom BRITISH DESIGNED PERSONAL COMPUTER
*graphics character set
plug-in programme/memory cartridges
colour
sound
programmable function keys
*5K memory expandable to 32K
*standard PETBASIC
*full-size typewriter keyboard
ONLY
*low-priced peripherals * joystick/paddles/I ightpen
£189-95 *self -teaching materials Cassette Deck now available - £44-95
8K ROM + 2K RAM Kit. . £140-00
8K ROM + 2K RAM Ass £174-50
12K ROM +
12K RAM Kit £255-00
12K ROM +
12K RAM Ass. . . £289-50
4K Floating Point
ROM
£ 23-00
Colour encoder . . £ 21-85
FROM £140 Mains Power Supply
£ 9-20
FREE POSTAGE AND PACKING ON ALL CASH/CHEQUE/P.O. ORDERS
COMPUTERS FOR PEOPLE
.111.400-),
Model 400 16K. . . . £345-00
Model 800 16K. . . £645-00
Cassette
£ 50-00
Disk Drive
£345-00
80 Col. Printer . . . £550-00
Plus All Accessories Available.
TANGERINE microtan
TANTEL PRESTEL ADAPTER - £199.00
Microtan 65 Kit . . .£79-35 Microtan 65 Built . . £90-85
Tanex Min. Config. Kit . . £49-45 20 Way Keypad . . . . £11-50
We hold a complete stock of all the Tangerine equipment. Send SAE or 'phone for details.
gappla computar BUILT IN SOUND
HIGH RES. GRAPHICS
Apple II Plus 48K
£790-00
Disc Drive + Controller. . . £383-00
D.D. without Controller . . £303-00
Pascal Card
£264-00
Eurocolour Card
£ 73-00y,
Hitachi 9" Monitor . . £146-00
We stock all the goodies for the Apple.
8K PET 16K PET 32K PET Dual Disc Drive . Printer External
Cassette
£458-85 £550-00 £599-00 £799-00 £454-25
£ 63-25
Complete range PET equipment in Stock.
CASSETTE SOFTWARE: Strathclyde Basic Course, Basic Basic Course, Invaders, Treasure Trove of Games 1 to 10 (10 selections of games), Basic Maths, Algebra, Statistical Packs and lots more!
SPECIAL OFFER - 20% OFF ALL (ICl/COM PRICES.
IMP PRINTER NOW £230. PHONE OR WRITE FOR DETAILS.
MAKE: DNT 27 MHz FM. MOBILE 4 WATTS, 40 CHANNELS. STRICTLY ACCORDING TO GOVERNMENT SPECIFICATION. ONLY £98.25. SEND SAE FOR SPECIFICATION
ALL PRICES INCLUDE VAT.
1----7 ACCEPTED. ORDERS NORMALLY DESPATCHED DAY OF RECEIPT. A
CPISTLE ELECTFEnES I Eastie St., Hastings, E.SusseH
shop hours MAO -1/.30 Mon - Sat
personal callers welcome
Circle No. 419
262
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
STOCK
J
THE NEW Et
----- EXCITING
TRS80
MODEL
III
48K
£619. VA
The Radio Shack TRS 80TM Model III is a ROM -based computer system consisting of: A 12 -inch screen to display results and other information A 65 -key console keyboard for inputting programs and data to the Computer A Z-80 Microprocessor, the "brains" of the system A Real -Time Clock Read Only Memory IROMI containing the Model III BASIC Language (fully compatible with most Model I BASIC programs) Random Access Memory (RAM) for storage of programs and data while the Computer is on (amount is expandable from "16K" to "48K", optional extra I A Cassette Interface for long-term storage of programs and data (requires a separate cassette recorder, optional/extra) A Printer Interface for hard -copy output of programs and data (requires a separate line printer, optional: extra) Expansion area for upgrading to a disk based system (optional/extra) Expansion area for an RS 232-C serial communications interface (optional 'extra) All these components are contained in a single moulded case, and all are powered via one power cord.
Disc Drives Kit with 2x40 Track Drives - E599 + VAT Disc Drives Kit with 2x80 Track Drives - E729 VAT
Add E25 for Installation
EUROPE'S FASTEST SELLING ONE BOARD COMPUTER
OMPUKIT UK101
33 III I
STOCKS LAST
*6502 based system -- best value for money on the market. *Powerful 8K Basic - Fastest around * Full Qwerty Keyboard * 1K RAM Expandable to 8K on board. a Power supply and RF Modulator on board. *No Extras needed - Plug-in and go *Kansas City Tape Interface on board. * Free Sampler Tape including powerful Dissassembler and Monitor with each Kit. * If you want to learn about Micros, but didn't know which machine to buy then this is the machine for you.
and Program your
KIT ONLY £99.95 VAT
TCMHOAEPMDRFPEOEUFAITKETISUTTSRHWIEEOSINMTATHOLHSAATLTL
COMPUTER
MARKET, NEW
KIT ON THE
Now WITH EXTENDED
FREE
CwuMhrSsiOcaohvNr,eIiTSnDOccalrRuetadee(noasnEsFTadlaviatipisnnehgg.i)n,,gEt
oBwunildC,oUmnpduetresrtafnodr only a small outlay.
Fully Assembled - £149 4- VAT
DEALER ENQUIRIES INVITED
NEW MONITOR IN ROM - available separately at E7.90 + VAT.
Improved Basic function - revised GARBAGE routine Allows correct use of STRING ARRAYS ECM
Kit
This chip can be sold separately to existing Compukit and Super board users.+VAT
MO ' VAT
THE COMPUKIT - Assembler Editor E14.110 Screen Editor Tape E1.90
GAME PACKS -- 1 Four Games £5.00 2). Four Games E5.00 31. Three Games 8K only ES Super Space Invaders 18K1 E11.50 Chequers E3.00 Realtime Clock £3.00
Case for Compuk , E29.50
40 pin Expansion Jumper Cable E8.50
All PPaces exclusive VAT
000,
CENTRONICS 737 DOT MATRIX PRINTER
£369 VAT
including cables
Standard Features 80 CPS Proportional Spaced Mode 50 CPS -Monospaced Mode Proportional Spacing, Plus 10 CP1 and 16.7 CP1 N x 9 (Proportional) or 7 x 8 I Monospaced) Dot Matrix 7 x 8 Dot Matrix 3 Way Paper Handling System 96 Characte, ASCII plus 6 European character sets Microprocessor Electronics Expanded Print Right Margin Justification Print Underlining 9 -Wire Free Flight Print Head Bidirectional Stepper Motor Paper Drive Full One Line Buffer 21 LPM With BC Columns Printed 58 LPM With 20 Columns Printed 6 Lines Per inch Vertical Spacing Raper Tear Bar Cent)onic Colours and Lo .o
SHARP
c.utig6wsaalwlgai*s
Lx
Pella
13. 110
0
PC1211 £79.90
VAT COMPUTER
POWER THAT
ONCE FILLED A ROOM
CA's A,(,0 BE CARRIED IN YOUR POCKET,
Programs in BASIC "OWERTY" Alphabetic Keyboard 1.9K Random Access Memory Long Battery Lite.
HITACHI
PROFESSIONAL
MONITORS
9" -
£99.95
12" -
£149
Reliability Solid state circuitry using an IC and silicon
transistors ensures high reliability. 500 lines horizontal
resolution Horizontal resolution in excess of 500 lines is
achieved in picture center. Stable picture Even played
back pictures of VTR can be displayed without jittering.
Looping video input Video input can be looped through with built-in termination switch. External sync opera-
tion (available as option for U and C types) Compact
construction Two monitors are mountable side by side in a
standard 19 -inch rack.
YOUR ZX80 IS NOW NO LONGER REDUNDANT Upgrade your ZX80 to the full animated graphics of the ZX81. INo screen flicker). For only £12.95 + VAT, in kit form. Works only in conjunction with new 8K ROM from
Sinclair (not included).
WE ARE NOW STOCKING THE
APPLE II AT REDUCED PRICES
AUTOSTART EURO PLUS
4-8K
£599
VAT
Getting Started APPLE li is faster, smaller, and more powerful than its predecessors. And it's more fun to use too because of built-in features like: BASIC - The Language that Makes Programming Fun. High -Resolution Graphics lin a 54,000 -Point Array) for Finely -Detailed Displays. Sound Capability that Brings Programs to Life. Hand Controls for Games and Other Human -Input Applications. Internal Memory Capacity of 48K Bytes of RAM, 12K Bytes of ROM; for Big -System Performance in a Small Package. Eight Accessory Expansion Slots to let the System Grow With Your Needs.
You don't need to be an expert to enjoy APPLE II. It is a complete, ready -to -run computer. Just connect it to a video display and start using programs (or writing your own) the first day. You'll find that its tutorial manuals help you make it your own personal problem solver.
THE VIDEO GENIE SYSTEM
Ideal 10, small businesses, schools, colleges, homes. etc. Suitable for the experienced, inexperienced, hobbyist,
teacher, etc.
EG3000
Series
WITH NEW EXTRA KEYS!
16K user RAM
plus extended 12K Microsoft BASIC in ROM Fully TRS-80 Level II
software compatible Huge range of software already available Self contained, PSU, UHF modulator, and cassette Simply plugs into video monitor or UHF TV Full expansion to disks and printer Absolutely complete - just fit into mains plug. The Video Genie is a complete computer system, requiring only connection to a domestic 625 line TV set to be fully
operational; or if required a video monitor can be connected to provide the best quality display. 51 key typewriter style keyboard, which features a 10 key rollover. Supplied with the following accessories:- BASIC demonstration tape; Video lead; Second cassetee lead; Users manual; BASIC manual; Beginners programming manual. Write useful programs in the BASIC computer language yourself.
The
PEDIGREE
PETS
RRP
its 41111apip
for 32K
32K
ONLY
£549
VAT
Very popular for home Et business use. 8K Microsoft Basic in ROM. 32K with new improved keyboard.
Cassette Deck 135 extra Interface PET IEEE Centronics Parallel Decoded E77.00 « VAT
TEAC DISK DRIVES
TEAC FD -50A has 40 tracks giving 125K Bytes unformatted single density capacity. The FD -50A can be used in double density recording
mode.
The FD -50A is Shugart SA400 interface compatible. Directly compatible with Tandy TRS80 expansion
interface. Also interfaces with Video Genie, SWTP, TRS80, North Star Horizon, Superbrain, Nascom, etc, etc. Address selection for Daisy chaining up to 4 Disks. Disks plus power supply housed in an attractive grey
case.
40 TRACK
Single Disk Drive
£225+ VAT
Double Disk Drive
£389
VAT
c,cia 77 TRACK
Single Disk Drive
- VAT
DD iosuk bplerive £4.7.7 VAT
ET Y URSELF A NEW MX70 PRINTER AND SAVE A FORTUNE
orm, £249 VAT
Interface Cards for Apple
80 Column, Upper &
lower case Apple dot Graphics
Centronics Parallel Um -dimensional TX80 - 1:229 i VAT MXBO £299
VAT
EX -
STOCK
p IN
mi.
"Europes Largest Discount Personal Computer Stores"
Delivery is added at cost. Please make cheques and postal orders payable to COMPSHOP LTD., or phone your order
quoting BARCLAYCARD, ACCESS, DINERS CLUB or AMERICAN EXPRESS number
MAIL ORDER AND SHOP:
CREDIT FACILITIES ARRANGED send S.A.E. for application form.
14 Station Road, New Barnet, Hertfordshire, EN5 1QW (Close to New Barnet BR Station3- Moorgate Line).
Telephone: 01-441 2922 (Sales) 01-449 6596 Telex: 298755 TELCOM G
OPEN (BARNET) - 10am - 7pm - Monday to Saturday
NEW WEST END SHOWROOM:
TELEPHONE SALES OPEN 24 hrs. 7 days a week
311 Edgware Road, London W2. Telephone: 01-262 0387
01-449 6596
OPEN (LONDON) - 10am - 6pm - Monday to Saturday
* IRELAND: 19 Herbert Street, Dublin 2. Telephone: Dublin 804155
* COMPSHOP USA, 1348 List Edinger, Santa Ana. California. Zip Code 92705 Telephone 0101 714 5472526
PISA IIII 01 CO4116 411INAnOroo.,
Circle No. 420
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
263
VIEWPOINT
the display terminal
you can afford
Comfortably
New to the UK market - Viewpoint,
a display terminal of uncompromising
quality. But with simplicity built-in too.
So the price comes down...
drastically.
The fact is, you could acquire three Viewpoints for the price of two terminals from another manufacturer.
lows s 1.11014111.011111.1$..10010111P1011o0,o11w1s10,I01s11p0PiOPpDoi sawmoogvoiaawa' lsa1111
No compromise on features either:
Full size screen... smaller space -saving cabinet. Crisp character legibility on dark or light background; plus blinking, underlining, cursor addressing, etc. Efficient keyboard layout plus separate 14 key cluster for cursor control keys/numerals.
Six international character sets built-in ...UK, Belgian, German, Swedish, Spanish, American, plus appropriate key caps.
Screen tilt on both models, A&B. Additionally, model B incorporates glare -reducing filter.
VIEWPOINT is available from stock through our appointed dealers. In case of difficulty contact:
*Viewpoint features a detached keyboard connected to the CRT display by a stretch cord. So the operator can adjust keyboard position to stay comfortable... and efficient.
GREEN & AMBER SCREEN
EXCLUSIVE
New to the UK... these optional extras set new
standards for clarity and easiness on the
operator's eye.
DEALERS:
low cost terminal
means outstanding new market opportunities
Contact Sigma (UK) for additional product information, volume
discounts, sales promotion aids.
Sigma (UK) 4 Cromwell Road Burgess Hill West Sussex Tel. (04446) 47676
Circle No. 421
264
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
lirepla'computar
COMPLETE SYSTEM
FOR
£1 ,190
* 48K Apple I I plus * Disc Drive W/Controller * Visicalc or
Magic Window * Video Monitor * Plus 12 Months
Warranty
AUTHORISED APPLE SALES AND LEVEL 1 SERVICE CENTRE
Verbatim FLOPPY DISCS
51/4" SS s/density £1.99
REDUCE Error Rate Use
Cleaning Kit
LOW LOW PRICES
£16.95
SHARP
MZ-80K, 20K
£399
PC 1211 Computer . £75
CE 121 Interface .. £13
CE 122 Printer .... £69
Programs in BASIC 01.9K Random Access Memory
"OWERTY" Alphabetic keyboard Long Battery Life
ATARI®
Atari 400 with 8K RAM - £225 Atari 400 with 16K RAM - £295 Atari 800 with 16K RAM - £625
........--:re Adventures: Alien Rain - Asteroid - Galaxian - Mystery Gl>".:---- House - Snoggle All at £9.95
Tarturian - Creature Venture - Apple Panic - Star Mines - Draw Poker - All at £14.95 Soft -Porn Adventure - The Wizard & The Princess - Space Eggs Trilogy of Games - Missile Defence. All at £17.95 Hi -Res Soccer - Wrap Factor - Three Mile Island at £20.95
VACANCY: Young Sales Engineer required.
Add 15% VAT Delivery is paid at cost.
DEANS
Of Kensington
191, KENSINGTON HIGH STREET, LONDON W.8. Tel. 01-937 7896 Ext. 3.
Circle No. 422
THE BODY OF ANY SYSTEM Lets face it - you can't produce as crisp an image on a domestic T.V. as you can on a Crofton monitor.
9" Crofton Monitors
Typically P4 White £64.97
P31 Green
£79.32
Monitor and floppy disc prices are dependent upon Sterling Dollar conversion
rate. Phone us for up-to-date price.
SHUGART FLOPPY DISK DRIVES
No case, No Power Supply
SA 400 5:" S.S.S.D.
SA 450 5'4" D.S.S.D. SA 800 8" S.S.S.D.
£149.05 £283.31 £340.52
FLOPPY DISKS - BOXES OF TEN
Single sided 35/40 Track
Double sided 35/40 Track 5'4"
Single sided
77 Track
Double sided
77 Track 5%"
Single sided
8"
£ 26.45 £ 37.95 £ 41.40 £ 47.15 £ 40.25
IKEGAMI 12" MONITORS P 4 White
P31 Green
£171.50 £184.97
2/3" FULLY INTERLACED C.C.T.V. CAMERAS £149.00
ALL THE ABOVE PRICES INCLUDE V.A.T. AND CARRIAGE
MIALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED -- Small surcharge c-17,71
CROFTON ELECTRONICS LTD
35 Grosvenor Road, Twickenham, Middx TVV1 4AD 01-891 1923/1513
Circle No. 425
A
Abraxus
Ace Acorn Computers ACT Adda AJD Almarc Altek A J Harding (Molimerx)
AMA Anadex Anglia A P Ltd
Atlanta Data Aurac Avon
B
BHRA Biodata Bonbest BDM Brighton Computer Centre British Nat. Radio School Brittania
Butel
C Caap Calco Calisto
Cambridge Camden Carlton Castle Channel Islands Cheshire Chromasonic Circle
Clearsons Clenlo Codified Computers
Comart
Commodore Compshop Compsoft Compusence Computace
Computech Computer Arts Computer Company Computer Fair Computer Interlace Computer Supermarket Computers For All Computing Today Computronics Control Universal Core CPS Data Systems Crofton Crystal
200 218 115, 23&
59 233
30 127 256 48 224
8 215, 221
252 240 188 248
222 190 196 236 149 258 230 52, 214
82 260 256
68 244 244 262 203
34 229 236 222 219 126 5, 114 113, 148, 149 263 247 242
4
195 123 204 102 200 107 110 250 220 196, 232 203
191 265 228, 234
Advertisement Index
CTEC
Cumana CWP 0 Detect Data Applications Dataman Data maze
Dataview Da Vinci DDP
Deans D H Wooley Digico Digitus Disking DN Computers
E Eastern Micros Eastmead Electronic Brokers Electronic Information EMG Equinox Essential Software (Visconti)
F
Feldon Audio Fulcrum
G Gate GP Industrial Graff corn Grama Winter Granata Greenwich Computers Guestel H
Hal Harmer Simpson Henrys Radios Hotel Microsystems
25/ 35. 197
213
204 140 242 208 208 256 126 265 149 224
40 183 138
230 186 258 204 89, 252, 260
42 65
250 202
228 27 199
18. 19, 20 202 240
121
21, 22, 23, 24 38
223 105
BR
CarUS
CE O Systems nformex (London) nteractive Data Systems nteram ntermark thaca Intersystems
90, 91 25, 187, 248
227 218 240 220 145
234
OBC
Jarrogate
234
J J Lloyd
206
J M Pickard
134
K
Keytronics
194
KGB
44
Kingston Computers
210
Knights TV
251
Kram
186
L
L & J Computers Laskys Leicester Computer Centre Lifeboat Assoc. Lintex Little Genius Liveport London Computer Centre Lowe L P Enterprises
LSI
Lucas Logic M
Mannesman Maplin MBS
Mediatech Melbourne House Merton Electronics Metrotech Microage Microbuscentre Microcentre Microcomputer Microfacilities Microgeneral Micronetworks Micro 8 Micropute Microspares Microsolution Microstyle Microsystems Microtanic Microtechnology Microtex
Midwich Millbank Mitsui
N Nelson Newbear Newtronics Northamber NSC
O Onyx
Oxford Computer Systems
p Pearcom Pete and Pam Personal Computers Phipps Prentice Hall Printout Printout Business Forms Professional Data Systems
0 Quadraphenia
260 54
150 10, 11
244 212 122 147, 194 12, 13 14, 15 131
6
92 259
34 28 134 202 182 214 239 IFC 192 142 206 249 266 124, 129 188 16, 17 32 243 66 120 116 246 29 226
212 189
51 26
209
IBC 37
84 132, 201
254 238 245
73 216
69
193
Rade
7, 9
Rair
106
Ram
153
Research Machines
185
Riva
36
S SBD SDM
34, 214 200
Sentov Sharp
184 121, 255
Shelton
139
Sigma UK
264
Sinclair
83, 97, 98, 99, 100
Sirton
31
Small Systems Engineering
210
Software House
180
SPD
225
Spider
206
Stage One STCS
Sumlock Bondain Supersoft Swanley Electronics Swan Packaging Symbiotics
152
251 74, 184
198 232 258 224
Systems International
251
Systemsoft
226
T Tabs Technomatic Telesystems Terminal Systems Services
Texas Tex Microsystems
130
261 230 210 t18, 119 216, 228
This Could Be Fun
250
Tim Orr Design
246
Traffic Technology
208
Transtec
231
Transam
237
Tndata Micros
246
Triumph Adler
211
Twickenham Computer Centre
220
U
University of Manchester
218
V
Verbatim
137
Visconti (Essential Software)
134
Vision Business Systems
217
Vlasak
108
w
Watford Electronics
235
Ward
242
Westfarthing
226
VVideband
198
William Stuart Systems
222
Willis
232
Windfall
190
Woodland Software
212
X
X -Data
69
PRACTICAL COMPUTING December 1981
265
If you prefer the better
things in life then you're
going to like the new
Epson MX80 New Type 2 £465 + VAT
BMC 14" Green Screen £180+ VAT
RGB Colour version available
M icro 8
(keyboard unit)
£995 + VAT
The Micro -8 is a new generation of microcomputer incorporating the very latest in technology. Based on the new 8 bit 6809 microprocessor (utilises 16 bit internal architecture and Micro -8 uses 2 of them!) along with its Z80 microprocessor (CPIM capability) and high resolution colour graphics the Micro -8 is ideal for all those discerning users, business, educational and hobbyist alike.
just look at all these STANDARD features which for most micros are expensive add on's or even just not available: -
*Utilises 2 x 6809 MPU *64k RAM *Comp Video & RGB output *High Resolution Colour Graphics 640 x 200 *48k Video RAM *Mixable high & low res. screens *Soft select 40 column or 80 column screen *10 user defined function keys *Duplex RS232 port *Parallel printer port *Real Time clock/interupt timer *Comprehensive curser and edit control keys *Graphics cursor Draw and plot with Cartesian card o/p *Z80 MPU.
Utilises 32k extended Microsoft Basic with all the standard commands plus the following: -
AUTO, RENUM, MERGE, TROFF, TRON, EXEC, HARDC, BUBINI, DEFFN, DEFUSR, DEFINT, IF-THEN--ELSE (Multiple), ON ERROR GOTO, RESUME, UNLIST, PAIN, CIRCLE, CONNECT, SYMBOL, GCURSOR, PRINTUSING, DSKOs, BUBO, BUBI, KEYLIST, FIX, CSNG, POINT, VARPTR, TIMEs, DAT Es, DSKs, ANPORT, HEXs, FEFTs, OCTs, STRs, STRINGs, XOR IMP MOD, ON TIME GOSUB, IN INTERVAL GOSUB, CSNG, CDBL, CINT.
Operating systems include:- UCSD PASCAL, FLEX, CP/M, running, Basic, Fortran, Pascal.
Future expansions include:- *BUBBLE MEMORY *MODEM *SOUND SYNTH. and many more.
doe
ii.L
To: Micro 8 Ltd., 56 Queens Road, Basingstoke, Hampshire. send me details of the amazing new Micro 8.
56 Queens Road, Basingstoke, Hants. Tel: 0256 54057/56417 (4 lines)
Address
`ONCompany
PC12
Circle No. 423
DELTA PRODUCTS' range of S-100 microcomputers
offer a flexible approach to your computing requirements. Systems are upgradable, so expansion
can follow in step with the growth of your Company or requirements. You never purchase more system than
you need or can afford. Start with a 1 or 2 Mbyte floppy disk based system with 64 Kbytes of memory, a 4 MHz Z80A processor and the industry standard CP/M* operating system. As needs require expand to a multiuser, multitasking system supporting up to 8 users sharing 400 Kbytes of memory and 5-150 Mbytes of hard disk with serial tape backup running under the MP/M* operating
system. There are few situations where up to 8 users could access a single processor and work in a satisfactory manner, generally more processors, are needed to share the work load. This is called "distributed processing". DELTA offer a distributed processing system with up to 20 users utilizing CP/NET. A computer system to the end user is the SOFTWARE. We have an extensive catalogue of proven software products to offer a complete solution to your computing requirements. Consider the possibilities. We did, together with the users of over 3000 DELTA systems now in the field.
* CP/M, MP/M and CP/NET are trademarks of Digital Research Inc.
Z80A is a trademarak of Zilog Inc.
TOO Di = C
Terodec (Microsystems) Limited
Unit 58, Sutton's Park Avenue Earley, Reading, Berkshire RG6 lAZ
Telephone: (0734) 664343
Circle No. 424
267
(169irg4Tafiama
Pft.1
Ey-74-7:
+ 77' 4
.11MINIM
PdfCompressor 6.6.1697 CVISION Technologies