Note : some messages to individual users but sent to me under the wrong
filenames have been included in the messages for all members since they are
of general interest.
To : 999 (Everyone)
From : Andrew Snodgrass (YJ2)
Re : Welsh Boys PD
Could anyone tell me if the prices for 21+ discs from Welsh Boys PD includes
postage and packing, because 30p a disc seems to suggest an unrealistic
price to me?! If you do have to pay postage and packing, could somebody tell
me what this is charged at?
-- I also was interested in this after reading the Welsh Boys' PD catalogue
(see issue 21), and upon enquiring was told that the prices DO include
postage and packing - a very competitive offer indeed, and I have already
ordered some myself. Which will also half-answer the next question:
From : 15A (Steven Flintham)
To : 999 (All members)
Re : Floppy disc supplies
Can anyone recommend a really cheap supplier of bulk discs (both 3.5 inch
and 5.25 inch)? It might just be that I'm looking in the wrong places, but I
can only find people selling the ultra-expensive brand-name discs now. I've
heard of discs for 25p each - does anyone know where?
-- As for 3.5" disks, I know some people who got together to buy 200 in bulk
by mail order, getting them for only 30p each (I bought some myself but they
have all disappeared somehow; come on, own up, who's got them?) I haven't a
clue where they were ordered from, though, I will try to find out.
Alternatively, Maplin Electronics are selling ten 5.25" for #3.00 and ten
3.5" for #4.45; these prices are exclusive of P&P though. 0702 554161 for
their credit card hotline or try 0702 552911.
From : 20G
To : 999 (All members)
Hands up all those who saw the BBC B (it may have been a Master) on the TV
Thursday 10 Sept? In the Farnborough air show program the British space lady
was in a "G Force" set-up and there shone a Beeb! It looks as though they
can't afford a A3000 either! Or perhaps the BBC B does a better job.
-- As far as control applications etc. go - which is presumably what their
BBC B is used for - it definitely does a better job due to the greater
number of I/O facilities built-in as standard, and their easier
accessibility to the programmer.
From : 20G (Roy Dickens)
To : 999
Would any one like SIM CITY (40/80 BBC B,B+ and Master) for a fiver? On the
box price 14.95. Used once, not my type of program, original box and
instructions. Ring 0933 55556.
-- This game was reviewed in a previous 8BS issue by Andrew Black, who
commented "Buy this game - you won't regret it". I think the review in
Masterdisk was less complimentary, but I don't remember ever seeing any
complimentary reviews in Masterdisk anyway.
From : 20G
To : 999
Please advise; I have "INTERW0RD" word processor. To send text to others
such as 8-Bit I first *SPOOL<file name> without codes then *BUILD a !BOOT
with MODE 3, VDU14 (no scroll), *TYPE <file name>. Is this correct?
-- This produces perfectly readable text, so the answer is yes. For 8BS text
submissions, it is helpful to run the text through the "ASCII unformatter"
featured in issue 20 as well, apart from EDIT and (I think) WORDWISE which
can produce unformatted text themselves.
From : 483 (D.G. Shimmin)
To : 999 (All members)
Re : New EPROMing service
In issue 20 I mentioned that Andrew Black had offered to continue his
EPROMing service. Since then I have written to Andrew several times and
received no response. If anyone has a phone number on which he can be
contacted I would appreciate it. In the meantime, John Ilsley (ID 27N) has
sent me the following message:
To help your BBC A, B, B+ and Master users out, I offer an EPROMing service.
I can blow 4k, 8k or 16k chips of any voltage, and also offer an ERASEing
service. I charge 2.50 if they supply the chip or 5.00 if I have to supply
the chip. This cost includes the postage (but not recorded delivery), and
cost of electricity for the eraser and for the equipment. All I need from
the user is a disc with the 'to be' rom image on, or BASIC programs with a
list of what (if any) order they want the programs put onto, and either the
chip or the cost for the chip. I usually program and post the chips the same
day I get them, unless I receive a cheque. I do prefer cash! (recorded
delivery).
Mr John Ilsley,
61, Kingsley Road,
Eastney,
Portsmouth,
Hampshire
If anyone wants 32K EPROMs they could probably try pestering Hugh Williams
on 0873 810162.
From : 53B (John Carpenter)
To : 999 (All members)
Sorry to be totally ignorant, but can someone please tell me what shadow ram
is exactly!?? I have an idea but I really don't know what to do with it.
Thanks!
-- Shadow RAM is one of those things that makes life easier without you
actually doing much. To activate it, either *SHADOW 1, or use a mode number
128 greater than the one you mean to use (e.g. MODE 135 if you want MODE 7
with shadow RAM). HIMEM will now be at &8000 regardless of how much memory
the screen takes up, thus allowing far more memory (up to 20K more) for
programs or variables.
(You can always poke the memory control byte (&FE34) yourself to make use of
shadow RAM directly for storing data rather than the screen, but it's hardly
worth the effort unless you are in MODE 7 and very short of memory. However,
poking this address can be quite good fun from BASIC anyway...)
Shadow RAM is a clever way of getting round the 64K limit to the amount of
memory the computer can address. Whenever the VDU driver code accesses a
location between &3000 and &8000 while the computer is in a shadow mode, the
machine automatically switches the shadow RAM into these memory locations,
while programs etc. continue to access memory in the main map.
Do bear in mind, though, that the majority of users don't have shadow RAM,
and also that writing directly to screen memory won't work in shadow modes!
To : 999 (All members)
From : 0E7
Re : Disk drive switching
I have a 3.5" and 5.25" disc drive respectively set up as 0 and 1. It is not
always convenient to have this setup, as at times it would be advantageous
to have them the other way round. This can be achieved by changing over
cables, but this is a cumbersome task and I am sure there are better ways of
doing it. Does anyone know of such a system which does not involve entering
and modifying the computer? I envisage an external box of electronics to
achieve the desired results. Can anyone help or am I alone in requiring this
facility?
-- A solution for a vaguely similar problem was outlined by J.G. Harston in
a previous issue. In an article on how to connect more than one disk drive,
he stated that his setup involved a selection of different drives (5.25",
3.5", 3"), with a battery of switches not only to select which two drives to
use at any one time, but also to switch round drive 0 and drive 1 - which is
what you are after.
My own system involves a twin 5.25" drive and a single 3.5" drive. Drive 0
of the 5.25" is always drive 0 to the machine, but drive 1 can be either the
other 5.25" or the 3.5". This involves one switch box, minor modifications
to the inside of the 5.25" drive, and a whole tangle of ribbon cables at the
back of the machine. I got someone else to do this for me as I wasn't very
keen on wrecking my equipment.
My knowledge of how exactly to make such modifications is fairly limited,
but there should be a way of achieving what you want without any electronics
or anything. Incidentally, are your drives both contained in one unit?
If anyone can provide a solution to this, with full explanation, please get
in touch.
From : 483 (D.G. Shimmin)
To : 999 (All members)
Re : Lack of *TYPE in ADFS
If you cannot use the *TYPE command in your ADFS this is usually due to not
having a DFS ROM installed, as the code for *TYPE is contained in the DFS.
To : D.G. Shimmin (And all other members, as of general interest)
From : YJ2 (Andrew Snodgrass)
Re : Initialising ROM images in sideways ram
What follows is not needed on the Master Compact, as all a Compact user
needs to do to initialise a rom loaded into sideways ram is to use the "I"
parameter in the *SRLOAD command used to load the ROM.
In the letters page (p. 162) of the Micro User in the February 1988 issue it
was explained how to load ROMs into sideways ram, although I do not know if
this will work with your system.
Basically all you need to do is load your ROM image into sideways ram as
normal, then poke ?&2A<rom number + 1> with &82 for a service rom or &C2 for
a language.
e.g. Why not create a !BOOT file to load up CONVERT on the Master and
then chain a MENU program for a disc containing BBC B programs
like I have (shown below):
PROGRAM: NOTES:
>*BUILD !BOOT
10 *SRLOAD CONVERT 8000 7 Q - Load in ROM image (Bank 7)
20 ?&2A8=&82 - Initialise ROM image
30 *B. - Enter BASIC language
40 CH."MENU" - Enter MENU program
-- Thanks for the information - this will be very useful with my
co-processor(s). Interesting to note that the Compact has more advanced SRAM
facilities than the Master.
To : 999 (Everyone)
From : Andrew Snodgrass (YJ2)
Re : Masterdisk Magazine
Could anybody tell me if Andy Nibbs ever produced a 6th (7th?) issue of
Masterdisk Magazine as I have only got up to issue 5?
-- Andy Nibbs wrote to me on 21st August this year replying to a letter of
mine nearly three months earlier, saying that Masterdisk 6 would be out in
mid-September, and that he would write to me again within a week with some
articles and PD software for 8BS. I wrote back enclosing a copy of issue 20,
but since then have heard nothing. Does anyone have any further information?
To : 999 (Everyone)
From : Andrew Snodgrass (YJ2)
Re : Digitised Images/Stop Press
Could anyone who has access to PD AMX Stop Press cutouts / fonts / screens
or utilities (or any digitised images / hand-drawn artwork) please submit
them to the TBI pool, as I and many other BEEB DTP enthusiasts (I hope)
would like to see them. e.g. BBC PD discs 17, 23, 25, 45, 61, 76, 98, 120
etc.
This would the prevent users of 8-Bit software from having to pay #1.50+ a
time per disc (10p isn't going to break the bank). Also it would benefit
the user group in the long run, by encouraging other enthusiasts to join.
Which in turn hopefully would mean more programs being submitted to 8-Bit
Software. would be interested to hear the editor's view on this subject.
-- The editor is wildly enthusiastic about ANYTHING that would increase the
membership of 8BS (well not quite anything, featuring Arch software would be
going a bit too far, though I imagine Carl Wheat's software runs in BASIC V,
if a little fast). Similarly I am very happy to include in the TBI pool any
disks that anyone will find useful - I have already got BBC PD 16 which
Andrew has kindly contributed.
From : 15A (Steven Flintham)
To : 999 (All members)
Re : Hugh Williams' ROM workspace query
I'm not sure of the details (I don't have any advanced reference manuals)
but I suspect that locations &DF0+ROM number (i.e. &DF0 to &DFF) have
something to do with the start of workspace - but I'm not guaranteeing it.
-- Hugh Williams has now apparently found the time to look at his manuals
anyway. However, M.T. Farnworth has supplied the following information:
From : 16C (M.T. Farnworth)
To : 999 (All members)
Re : More technical garbage
The following information comes from the Acorn Electron Advanced User Guide
so I cannot guarantee that it is correct.
The page at which a ROM's private RAM workspace begins is stored in a table
based at &DF0 to &DFF. The table is indexed by the ROM bank number.
The Paged ROM header format is as below:
Offset size description
0 3 language entry (JMP address)
3 3 service entry (JMP address)
6 1 ROM type flag
7 1 copyright string offset pointer (=10+t+v)
8 1 version number (binary)
9 [t] title string
9+t 1 zero byte
10+t [v] version string
10+t+v 1 zero byte
11+t+v [c] copyright string
11+t+v+c 1 zero byte
12+t+v+c 4 2nd Processor relocation address
16+t+v+c ....rest of ROM, code and data
The 2nd processor relocation address is the address at which the ROM's
contents will be copied when moving it across to a 2nd processor. The
language code should be assembled to run at this location. However it
should be noted that the service code should be assembled to run from &8000
as it will be executed within the ROM in the I/O processor. [ Does he mean
RAM??? ]
If an eprom version of HiBASIC is installed in your machine so long as it is
in a higher priority socket than BASIC IV it should be automatically copied
across the TUBE and executed at &B800. The eprom should be blow in the
ordinary way.
-- I think that in fact HiBASIC is not supposed to be a ROM image but a
*RUNable file. Then again, it could quite feasibly be both (think about it).
I have tried loading it into SRAM (presumably equivalent to blowing an
EPROM) and it doesn't appear to work. Any more suggestions?
From : 15A (Steven Flintham)
To : 999 (All members)
Re : Daniel Shimmin's mention of the ADFS bug
I have a vague recollection that in a fairly old issue of The Micro User
(1988-1990?), someone wrote in to mention a similar sounding problem. They
recommended putting *FX119 as the first line of the program run by the !BOOT
file. If anyone has a bibliography disc or enough time to search through all
the back issues, maybe they could check this? By the way, the stated error
doesn't occur on my Archimedes, but it gives an address exception instead
(although this is probably just a compatibilty problem - I was using
!65Host) - the error does occur on my Master with OS 3.20. I seem to recall
mention of an OS 3.26 somewhere with a variety of additions - including the
correction of some bugs and the facility for View to store the SETUP in CMOS
RAM [like EDIT can]. Failing this, maybe some genius could disassemble the
ADFS ROM, or try an earlier copy of the ADFS on the Master.
-- *FX119 does indeed prevent the error, as it closes all currently open
*EXEC files. Thanks. Does anyone have OS 3.26?
From : 15A (Steven Flintham)
To : 999 (All members)
Re : Group project?
Would anyone in 8BS be interested in a joint computation project? It's only
a very vague idea at the moment, but I was thinking of something along the
lines of a calculation (a highly detailed Mandelbrot image, perhaps) which
could be spread over the various members - preferably something which would
take too long on an individual computer. If anyone has any
ideas/suggestions, let me know. If (for example) fifteen people took part
and left their computers on overnight for one night, that would give around
150 hours of computer time (more if the computers were also left on during
the following day while the owners were at school, work etc. - up to 240
hours (ten days of computer time)) That would take six solid days on a
single machine - personally, I think I'd go crazy if I couldn't use a
computer for six days! Admittedly, Mandelbrot calculations might not be
suitable - but someone might be able to think of something. Contact me via
8BS (preferably on 999 so everyone can read it) if you have any ideas.
-- A very interesting idea. However, surely if you want to do calculations,
your A3000 is equal in speed to at least a dozen 8-bit machines? Or you
could always leave the machine on each night then save the results in the
morning, to be continued the next night?
If you want to do a very detailed Mandelbrot I could convince an A5000-owner
(I have four in mind) to run a program, and let it use some hard disk space,
and you could do a really big Mandelbrot image, say 10Mb; but this would be
of little use as you can't view it on screen all at once and if you viewed
it in segments they would all look rather similar! (Print it on a 600dpi
laser printer, perhaps?)
I think what you're really getting at is some form of parallel processing,
with tasks divided between computers, but doing it by post is hardly fast
enough. A better solution would be to run it on an Econet (I have two in
mind); perhaps thirty Master 128s and a few RISC machines could achieve
consciousness between them! Bear in mind that the Econet interface operates
at 2 MHz; that's as fast as the internal co-processor link in the Master,
though admittedly not as efficient if you have lots of machines connected up
at once.
Anyway, Hugh Williams (ID 709) is supposed to be the expert on Econets at
the moment, and should have his first Econet game coming out "soon". Any
comments Hugh?
From : 6EE (Mick Needham)
To : C83 (D. Stillman)
Re : AMX Stop Press ROMs
Although you could program a 32k EPROM with both the AMX ROM images you
could not plug it into the BBC B as it does not have a 32k socket, you would
have to build a carrier board similar to that used for the InterWord 32k
chip together with other circuitry.
From : 6EE (Mick Needham)
To : C83 (D. Stillman)
Re : DIY hardware projects
An excellent series of hardware projects called Microcomputer Interfacing
Techniques appeared in Everyday Electronics, this ran for 12 months from
July 1983 to June 1984. The BBC B was one of four computers the series was
aimed at. It contained construction details, PCB layouts, and programs for a
User Input/Output board, User port control board, High power interface
board, Pedestrian crossing simulation, Analogue to Digital converter board,
Signal conditioning amp. board, Digital to Analogue Board, High power DAC
Driver board, Stepper motor control, 4 channel high speed ADC board, Motor
control interface board, Speech synthesis board, this list is not complete
as I do not have all 12 issues. You may be able to get copies of the
articles from your local Central Library, or Polytechnic Library.
From : C83
To : Everyone
RE :Piggy-back EPROMs
Does anybody know if it is at all possible to 'piggy back' EPROMs so you use
less space inside your computer? E.g. Put Wordwise on top of Printmaster in
order to save ROM slots.
-- See disk magazine menu.