Logo sta^Snqhg^
School databaSI
Special needs j
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Ecodisc reviewed
Net screen dumms
Into the Arc
with Agora
ode 7 ari
: last ,
le View!
READER SURVEY:
Archimedes plus two
Compacts to be won
MAY 1988
SUPERIOR’S BEST COMPILATION YET
for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron
Sam, an ardent fan of Superior Software’s games, has been
absolutely delighted by the success of his first selection of
chart-topping Superior Software games. Now here’s four more
games that will keep you enthralled day after day — on that you
can rely!
Repton 3 is probably the best-loved of all of Superior’s games.
Our endearing lizard, Repton, is trapped in a netherworld
amidst falling rocks, fearsome monsters and haunting spirits.
A superb strategic game which includes character and screen
designers enabling you to create your own scenarios. A & B
Computing reported: “This is top quality; arcade action at its
very best!’
BBC Micro Dual Cassette £9.95 Acorn Electron Dual Cassette £9.95
BBC Micro 5V4 M Disc £11.95 BBC Master Compact 3Va" Disc.£14.95
(Compatible with the BBC B, B+ and Master Series computers).
Crazee Rider, a fascinating motorcycle-racing game, features
seven international racetracks. “It’s fast, challenging and there’s
plenty to keep you entertained. Thoroughly recommended”
remarked The Micro User.
Galaforce is the thinking-man’s alien-zapping game; fast and
furious, yet full of strategy. Oracle enthused: “You haven’t lived
until you’ve played this game. Buy it! — it’s the ultimate in
shoot-em-up. RATING: 20 (out of 20)!*
Codename: Droid is a challenging arcade-adventure.
The quality of the graphics and animation must be seen to be
appreciated. Electron User summed the game up by saying
“CODENAME: DROID is brilliant . . . it’s worth every penny!’
THE ^
ORIGINAL
Our original selection of 4 of Superior’s biggest hits for the BBC Micro and
Acorn Electron is still available.
• CITADEL
• THRUST
• STRYKER’S RUN
• RAVENSKULL
f
/SUPERIOR
software
ACORNS*FT
Dept. 2PS10, Regent House. Skinner Lone, Leeds LS7 1AX. Telephone: 0532 459453.
Please make
all cheques
payable to
"Superior
Software Ltd".
24 HOUR TELEPHONE
ANSWERING SERVICE FOR ORDERS
OUR GUARANTEE
• All mall orders are despatched
within 24 hours by first-class post.
• Postage and packing is free.
• Faulfy cassettes and discs will be
replaced immediately.
(This does not altect your statutory rights)
JL
_ . pui_ m
lOW|STUJLPB*C|SGy^ffl^
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£300
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84
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£3.80
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CP80
£3.50
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£1 1.70 £11. 20 £10.90
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£12.50 £10.70
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£5.70
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£4.50
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£4.60
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£5.80
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STAR
DP/GEMINI/SG
£1.20
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£4.70
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£5.00
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SINCE 1982
FLOPPY DISKS
5 . 25 " BOXES OF 10 DISKS
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PLAIN WHITE WITH MICRO-PERF EDGES
3M
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£42.90 £38.90 £35.00
£2.59 each £12.95 pack
£2.29 each £22.90 pack
£12.99 £12.50 £12.25
£16.50 £16.00 £15.50
£22.00 £21.50 £19.50
£3.70
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SIZE
GSM
QUANTITY
1 BOX
2 BOXES
11 x 9J
60
2000
£13.50
£13.00
11 x 9j
70
2000
£16.50
£15.50
EXACT A4
70
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£21.90
£19.75
EXACT A4
90
1000
£14.20
£12.25
11 x 14}
60
2000
£19.00
£17.00
11 x!4J
70
2000
£21.00
£19.00
SPECIAL OFFERS ON DISKS
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20 disl
TDK 5V4"SS/DD
MAXELL 5V4"SS/DD
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Life time guarantee. Disks include envelopes, labels, hub-rings
and write protect.
3 '/? ''DS/DD £18.80 £17.80 £16.80
Life time guarantee.
20 disks
50 disks
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£8.50
£8.00
£7.50
£8.75
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LASER PRINTER CONSUMABLES
£0.80
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Epson GQ3500 £18.50
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£74.95
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PRINTERS
Amstrad DMP4000
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Oki ML182
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£284.00
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£169.00
£358.00
£429.00
£574.00
£134.00
£159.00
£253.00
£279.00
£354.00
£409.00
£699.00
£183.00
£278.00
£449.00
£158.00
£137.00
£189.00
£289.00
£479.00
Star LG0 inc l/F
£157.00
Citizen Overture Loser
£1229.00
Star LG 0 Colour
£199.00
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£1175.00
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£244.00
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£1589.00
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£314.00
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£1369.00
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£264.00
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£329.00
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£1599.00
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£379.00
£389.00
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1640
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£489.00
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£449.00
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£579.00
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£534.00
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£809.00
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£2649.00
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Brother HL-8
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£1489.00
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£259.00
■■ m m m Mm# Consumables Freedelivcryonordcrsovor
| J C 1 I \jR rasa D Y C10.0rdersunder£10pleoseadd£1.00p *p.
wmmmm w k 1% I Hardware and Software Immediate
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clearance. Securicor F Service, 4 working days £5 poi parcel. Securicor B Service, next
EPSON PRINTERS
UK'S LOWEST PRICES
ACORN ARCIMEDES
UK'S LOWEST PRICES
Epson LX800 £177.00 ,
Epson FX800 £286.00
Epson FX1 000 £372.00
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Epson EX1 000 £549.00
Epson LQ500 £278.00
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Epson LQ1 050 £564.00
Epson LQ2500+ £687.00
Epson SQ2500 £943.00
Epson GQ3500 Laser £1 1 75.00
p?|||pnnH!ll 5
FAX MACHINES
Highly discounted
prices on NEC, Sharp,
Panasonic and Canon.
working day £10 per parcol. Lasers and Fax Datapost next day including Saturdays Please call before orderinq.
£1 5 per parcel. Please ring to check availability and delivery charges. a
E & OE. All prices subject to change without notice,
ae ‘
COMPUTERS BY POST GUARANTEE If after buying anv of
the hardware or software in this advertisement, you find the same item offerea
at a lower price locally within one week, we will refund the difference.
All prices exclude \W
CREDIT CARD HOT-LINE
3 “ S 01-760 0014
Computers by Post (ACU), 14 Emmabrook Court,
Sea Road, Rustington, West Sussex BN16 2NG.
Export Enquiries Welcome
h: Computers by Post, 14 Emmabrook Court, Sea Road, Rustington, West Sussex BN16 2NG.
I wish to order
My computer is
I enclose cheque/PO for £
or charge my Access/Visa No:
Exp. date-
_inc VAT
E3
Name
Signature-
Address
Postcode-
_Tel No:.
9 I
Ac. U. 5/88
ACORN USER MAY 1988
1
Buy a Mitsubishi disk drive direct
and you save more than money.
You’re looking at a more economical and convenient
way of buying a Mitsubishi disk drive. Because now you
can order a 5V4" floppy disk drive from one of the
world’s leaders - direct from this page.
With prices that start from £99 (plus p&p) this will
save you money. With only a walk to the post box
involved it will save your soles too.
The four Mitsubishi disk drives offered here are all
BBC Micro compatible. Each comes with a 2-year
warranty from the manufacturer that’s famed for
reliability. And all are boxed and ready to plug into your
system the moment they arrive.
So fill in the coupon here and return it with your
remittance.
It’s the direct route to a better disk drive.
Mitsubishi Electric UK Limited,
Travellers Lane, Hatfield,
Herts. ALIO 8XB.
Tel: (07072) 76100.
Telex: 296196.
Fax: (07072) 78692.
TO: Mitsubishi Electric UK Limited .Travellers Lane,
Hatfield, Herts. ALIO 8XB.
Please send me (tick box applicable):
MF 50 DC Single Drive No PSU □
MF 55 DC Double Drive No PSU EH
MF 50 AC Single Drive with PSU EH
MF 55 AC Double Drive with PSU EH
£99.00 + £8 p&p
£199.00 + £8 p&p
£119.00 + £8 p&p
£229.00 + £8 p&p
I enclose a cheque/P.O. made payable to ‘Mitsubishi Electric UK Ltd.'
Name:_
Address:
Allow 28 days for delivery.
AU5
2
ACORN USER MAY 1988
ACORNUSER
ISSUE No 70 MAY 1988
COVER
COVER FEATURE
Artificial intelligence on a BBC
micro — our Micro-Sherlock
program on page 8 1
Photograph: Barbara Bellingham
O livetti has made its
strongest commitment
to Acorn so far. The
assurance of continuing Olivetti
support given to the Secretary
of State — reported in this issue
— will do much to bolster the
credibility of the company. So
will the marketing strength of
the new management team,
headed by Harvey Coleman.
Aided by the extra visibility
of the Arc, Masters arc selling as
well as they ever did. Three
quarters go into education, and
schools are still buying BBC Bs
on the second-hand market. A
few authorities are now taking
the Arc in reasonable numbers.
Some measure of confidence is
beginning to return to the
educational part of the Acorn
world. There are better
indications of forthcoming Arc
software too, with First Word
Plus and Pipedream both about
to be released.
The new boys seem to be
putting new life into Acorn.
Graham Bell , Editor
HEADE R SURV EY
WIN AN ARC 22
Your chance to say what you
want from Acorn User and win
an Archimedes or a Compact
FEAT URES
MICRO-SHERLOCK 81
David Acton’s Micro-Sherlock
lets you explore the possibili-
ties of intelligent systems on
your own micro
JOE’S JOTTINGS 88
Joe Telford comes up with a
suite of programs to monitor
the temperature in your house
LOGO 95
With a few simple procedures,
children can draw maps of the
sky — and adults can learn
about Logo programming
REGULARS
HINTS & TIPS 35
David Atherton takes over our
regular column of advice and
help. This month, text format-
ting and printing hints
STEP BY STEP 43
Setting up you own card index
database with ViewStore
ARC AGORA 49
A new feature by David Acton
for Arc owners exploring the
capabiltics of their new
machines
REVIEW S
GAMES PAGE 135
Dave Lawrence’s round up of
the latest electronic entertain-
ment, including the new Arc
tank game Conqueror
GAMES 137
Reviews of Tetris, Winter
Olympiad and Kourtyard
ELECTRON MODE 7 153
An add-on for the Electron to
give it full mode 7 capability,
looked at by Bernard Emblem
W0R0PR0CESS0RS 138
Bruce Smith is less than im-
pressed with ArcWriter and
Graphic Writer , the first word-
processors for the Arc
education
NEWS 141
Keep in touch with the world
of electronic education
COMPETITION 143
A chance for our younger read-
ers to win a copy of the BBC’s
latest bird watching software
DATABASES 149
We survey the range of data-
bases availabe to teachers for
CONCEPT KEYBOARD 99
Chris Drage and Nick Evans
conclude their look at Concept
Keyboard software
NETWORK PAGE 156
Use an old BBC B as a graphics
dump server, and free the rest
of your micros on your net-
work for other things
THEECODISC 144
Graham Bell reviews the
second Domesday system disc;
a simulation of a nature reserve
OFFERS
GENIE 90
PMS’ highly acclaimed pop-up
utility - a calendar, notepad,
diary and address book at an
unbelievable price
TELETEXT ADAPTER 108
The most advanced teletext re-
cicver yet is built by GIS and
approved by the BBC. Avail-
able to you at a special price
PRINTER 132
A unique opportunity to
purchase a wide-carriage dot-
matrix printer for surprisingly
little cash
INDEX
NEWS
7
LETTERS
31
YELLOW PAGES
111
OFFERS
129
ORDER FORMS
133
BOOK OFFER
140
ADVERTISERS INDEX
158
DIARY
160
ABC
Editor Graham Bell. Reporter Carol Atack. Technical Assistant Robert Miller. Editorial Secretary Pauline McLcrnon. Sub-Editor Stuart Andcrton. Production Assistant Teri
North. Art Editor Liz Thompson. Assistant Art Editor Paul Holmes. Ad Sales Controller Seamus Geoghegan. Ad Manager Gary Lucas. Sales Executive Shane Hussein Ad
' Production Jonathan Marsh. Publishing Services Manager Sarah Bullard. Merchandising Manager Scran Anderson Haddick. Group Editor Tony Quinn. Art Director Mike
l Lackersteen. Editorial Manager Ellen Brush. Group Ad Manager David Castle. Publishing Director Michael Potter. Editorial Director Christopher Ward. *
‘ Polished by Redwood Publishing 20-26 Brunswick Place, London Nl 6DJ. Tel: 01-490 1444. Telecom Gold 81 : RED001. M.cronet 919992492. Printed bv Riverside Press, Gillingham. Typeset by
Tabloid Eotosct London. Colour by Trumps Studio, Ware, Herts. Print production by Aquarius Print and Design, London. Distributed by Comag, West Drayton. ©Redwood Publishing 1988 All
rights reserved. Acorn is a registered trademark of Acorn Computers Ltd. Redwood Publishing is a registered data user. ISSN 0263 7456
ACORN USF.R MAY 1988
3
G BEEBUG B EE BUGBEE
FBUGBEEBUGBEEBUGBEEBUG
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BEEBUG MAIL ORDER,
Dolphin Place, Holywell Hill,
St.Albans, Herts., AL1 1EX.
Tel: 0727 40303 Multi-lines
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MEMBERS ON HARDWARE/SOFTWARE
Only If you quote your membership number.
BEEBUG Membership £14.50
RISC USER Membership £14.50
UGBEEBU
ugseeb
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LECBGGQF
JGBEEBUC
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The products in this price list are available In our
showroom in St.Albans and by mail order. Telephone
your order on 0727 40303 or send us the order form.
3BEER0GB
JGBF.EBU
Showroom open: Mon-Sat 9-5.30 and
Thursday 9-8.00pm
3UGBEEBU
EBUGBEEB
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BEEBUGBE
ORDERS CAN NOW BE PLACED VIA MICRONET. SEE US ON PAGE 800909 OR SIMPLY TYPE “BEEBUG#'
PRICES INCLUDE VAT.
qBEEBUGF
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BUGftEEBl
FQUGBEEB
EEBUGBFF
“ SBE
THERE ARE TWO PRICES LISTED BELOW FOR EACH ITEM. THE FIRST IS OUR NORMAL PRICE, THE SECOND OUR MEMBERS PRICE.
COMPACT COMPUTERS COMPUTER SPARE PARTS
1 01 99G Compact Entry System
1 01 98G Compact TV System
1 01 97G Compact Mono System
375.00 356.25
390.00 370.50
440.00 418.00
1 01 96G Compact Colour System 575.00 546.25
COMPACT ACCESSORIES
1 0227F Second 3.5" Disc Drive 108.00 102.60
1 0201 B Compact RS232 Interface 29.90 28.41
1 021 1 C PAL TV Adaptor 29.90
1 0250C Compact 5.25" Disc Lead 1232
1 0298B Compact Printer Lead 9.77
0809D Master Keyboard
0810DBBC Keyboard
0815A65C02 CPU
0820A BBC Key Switches
0821 A Spacebar Support
0822DBBC Power Supply
0823D Master Power Supply
0807B Master Battery Kit
64.00
60.80
52.90
50.25
13.80
13.11
1.73
1.64
230
2.18
67.85
64.46
69.49
66.02
3.68
3.50
1005B Comal
1007C ISO Pascal
1028B Pascal Generator
1027C Micro PROLOG
1Q33B Microtext Disc
1034C Microtext Plus ROM
1041B Forth ROM
1042B Forth Disc
240.01 228.00
45.00 42.75
'bIebuIS!
GBFEBUCE
UCBEEBIK
buGbeeb*.
3UGB£E!
~-.BUGBi
19.00 18.05
MASTER COMPUTER
1 0200G Master 128
435.91 414.11
Free Inter-word
when buying a new
Master Series Computer.
0234B Ml 28 Econet Module
1 0781 B Care Elec. Cartridge
1 0782B Care 4 Way Cart.
0230C65C102 6502 'Turbo"
1 0231 D 801 86 Co-Processor
1 0233F Universal 2nd Proc.
0207A Basic II ROM
1 0208 A 1.2 Operating System
0209B1.2 DNFS ROM
1 0212B Acorn Speech Upgrade
1 021 7B 1770 Disc Interface
0218AADFS Upgrade 1770
1 0225B Econet Upgrade BBC
0226B 64K Upgrade Kit B+
48.88
46.43
8.95
8.50
14.95
14.20
119.00
113.05
228.85
217.41
83.00
78.85
21.85
20.76
10.06
9.56
19.78
18.79
46.00
43.70
50.24
47.73
2933
27.86
48.00
45.60
39.00
37.05
Master Modem
A new internal modem for the Master 128
that requires no soldering and may be
fitted in a matter of minutes. The modem
features V21/V23 baud rates which are
ideal for Prestel, Micronet etc, auto-baud
rate selection, tone and pulse dialing, auto-
dial and auto-answer. An interesting
feature is that it uses the internal Master
speaker for call progress monitoring. The
modem is supplied with the highly
acclaimed Beebug Command ROM.
Stock Code 0759E Price £119.00
Members Price £113.05
Approval Applied For
ACORNSOFT
APPLICATIONS
1000B View 2.1 4
1022C View 3.0 ROM 6
1013B View Print Driver Cassette
1014B View Print Driver Disc
1002B Hi- View 4
1021AViewIndex Disc 1
1043B ViewSpell ROM 3
1001B ViewSheet 4
1030B ViewPlot 2
1 01 9B ViewStore ROM 4
1 023C View Professional S
1020D Overview (Ml 28) S
1 01 0D Overvie w (Compact) $
1008B Basic Editor 2
1017BGXRB 2
1018BGXRB+ 2
1 031 B Termulator ROM 2
1047B Master Termulator 2
1035B 6502 Development 4
1039B Creative Sound Disc 1
6336
8.19
9.29
42.06
GGBef;
JEEBU'GBF
FFBUGH
| I BEEBUGi
. iUGB||BU
lEBUGtei
IE.FBUGBF!
32.32
42.06 (UGBEEBU
. -BUGBEFEv
PRINTERS
ACORNSOFT LANGUAGES
See separate advert for
ARCHIMEDES
0243B Master Lisp Cart.ROM
1003B UspROM
0245B Master Logo Cart.ROM
1006B Logo
1004B BCPL
1026B BCPL Generator
59.69
48.00
67.85
62.00
53.00
43.57
56.70
45.60
64.46
58.90
50.35
4139
0299G Panasonic KX-P1081
0304G Panasonic KX-P3131
0311GTaxan KP815
0316GTaxan KP915 15”
0322 E Epson LX800
0327GStar NL-10
0328G Epson FX800
180.00 171.00
290.53 276.00
342.11 325.00
440.00 418.00
275.00 261.25 1
285.00 270.75
405.00 384.75
•B'JGBFERU
5BEEGU.GB.E
0737B Watford Battery
4.37 4.15
23.00 21.85
2.76 2.62
113.00 10735
28.75 2731
55.00 52.25
67.85 64.46
GAMES
All Superior Software games are available on
both 5.25" and 3.5" discs, telephone for prices.
1036B Elite Disc 14.95 14.20
1 01 6B Acomsoft Aviator Disc 17.08 16.22
1125B White Knight Disc 18.63 17.70
1133B Trivial Pursuit Disc 19.95 18.95
1 138B Revs incl 4 Tracks 14.95 14.20
1188B Imogen Disc 9.95 9.45
0752B Watford Diagnostic Disc
0755B Write Protect Mkl2
0739C Watford Video Digitiser
0429B Watford NLQ Epson
0748F Co-Pro Adaptor
0785C Quest Mouse & Paint
JGBEEBUGE
JUGBEE&UC
:BUCiBE6Bl
rEBUGBEEE
3EEBUG8F.E
SBEEBUGBt
JGfiHFBUCf
3UG8EEBUC
EBU^BEEBt
Ecejugreeb
UOBEEBUG:
OTHER HARDWARE
pOGBEEBUC
Ieebvobf.ee
||BEBU0,BEE
IsUpplBur
BEFRUGBEEt
iBEEBUGBEf
[U&B.EH&UGl
BRUGBEEBur
■EBUGBEEBl
|EEBXrpB£,EE
Igbebbugbi
[uQBESBUGl
IbuG6e£BU
Jf_BUGBEFSI
Ieebugbeee
ISEEBOgBE!
EBUGBFhBl
EEBUGBFEF
BE F BUG BE!
MONITORS & PLINTHS
0701 B Aries B32 RAM Card
0740B Aries B12 ROM Board
0704B ATPL ROM Board BBC
0746B ATPL ROM Board BBC
0735B ATPL Battery Backup
0705 A 2764 8K EPROM
0706A27128 16K EPROM
0707A6264 8K RAM
0708AEprom Extractor Tool
0714ABBkey strip
071 5 A Dust Cover BBC B/B+
0734ADust Cover Master
88.49
43.70
37.69
31.68
16.50
2.51
6.41
3.50
3.28
1.99
338
437
AMX MOUSE
0503G Zenith 123 12" Green
0504G Zenith 122 12" Amber
0530GMicrovitec 1431 Mon.
0531GMicrovitec 1451 Mon.
0535G Supervision 625 RGB
0536G Supervision 620 RGB
0551 E Single Master Plinth
0559F Double Master Plinth
0552E Single BBC B Plinth
0553F Double BBC B Plinth
78.85
82.65
227.05
274.55
360.53
302.62
1530
2731
12.02
21.85
1165CAMX Design
1164B AMX Extra Extra
0703C AMX Mouse
0757C AMX Mouse (Master)
1153B AMXXAM
1154C AMX Stop Press
1162C AMX Stop Press M128
1 155B AMX Superart ROM
1163B AMX Sup’art ROM M128
1 161 B AMX MAX ROM
0786B New AMX Mouse
VOLTMACE JOYSTICKS
CUMANA DISC DRIVES
Z88
Cambridge Computer
(as reviewed in December 87 Beebug)
To introduce the new Z88, we
are able to offer Beebug members
the Z88, 128K RAM pack. Mains
adaptor, and a special Z88 to
OBEEBU.GB'
UGBCEBUGf
071 8B Delta 3B Single Joystick 9.99
071 9B Delta 3B T win Joysticks 17.00
0720B Delta 14B Joystick 12.50
0721 B Delta 14B/1 Interface 13.00
0773B Delta 3S Compact Joystick 9.99
0600F CSX100 Single 40 Track 106.95
061 OF CS1 00 as above with PSU 126.50
0614F CS100E additional drive 118.45
0602 F CSX400 Single 40/80 switchablel42.60
0603F CS400 as above with PSU 162.15
0615F CS400E additional drive 155.00
0604GCD800S Double 40/80 track 28635
061 7G CS354 Single 35" with PSU 132.95
0618G CD358 Double 35" with PSU 229.42
, 0619G CCD2000S Dual 35-&S.25" 308.27
0650B 10 x Memorex Discs SS 40 15.50
0651 B 10 x Memorex Discs DS 80 25.50
0669B 10 x Memorex 3.5" Discs 25.00
0652B Disc Head Cleaner (5.25") 9.65
0648B Disc Head Cleaner (3.5") 9.65
0655C Lockable Disc Box (50) 13.80
1 0656C Lockable 3.5" Disc Box (40) 11.05
101.60
120.18
112.53
135.47
154.04
147.25
272.03
12630
217.95
292.86
14.73
24.22
23.75
9.17
9.17
13.11
10.50
BUGFiEEBUf
ESUG8EEEI
EEBUGBEEf
BEESUCBcf
GUEFBUGB!
UG'QEEBUG!
BUGBf.EBUi
FQUGBEFB'
EgBOGBEB
BEEBUGBEf
GRELTOGB
ini;
f.hugbgebi
EE0UGBEFF
BEEBUGBE:
GBEcBUGB!
UGBEEBUGi
BUGBUBIk
EBUGBEEBl
EEBUGBEEf
£347.40 incl. VAT
(BBC to Z88 Transfer package,
worth £24.95, free of charge.)
Igbeebvgb
lUdBEEEJUGi
SS
EEBUGBEEF
.96E8UG3F!
GBEEBUGB 1
0GBEE8UG
1US£EEBU<
COMPUTER CONCEPTS
WATFORD HARDWARE
Stock code 0840F
1119CMega 3 (BBC Version)
1117B Interword
1110B Intersheet
1114B Interchart
1116B In ter base
1118B Spellmaster
1 100C Word wise Plus
1102B Word wise
0214B Watford DDFS Kit
0216B Watford DFS Manual
0219B Watford 1.43 DFS Kit
0702B 32K RAM Card
0709D Watford Eprom Eraser
0717B Watford Sideways ZIF
0736B Solderless ROM Board
5635
6.95
62.10
67.28
3335
17.83
36.80
illlPl
ilsulal
GBEEBUG8
sSSgffiUG
SjJGBEEBU
EfeUGBEEB
Carriage
Carriage is denoted by the letter contained in the stock code.
A-50p, B-£l, C-£2, D-£3, E-£4, F-E5S0, G-£7. When ordering
several items, use the highest price code and half of each
subsequent code. For courier delivery use code G.
Official Orders
Orders for £25 and over are welcome from education and
government bodies. Alternatively pro-forma invoices arc
available on request.
Credit Cards Fx ^ mm
Access and Visa orders
are welcome, and may be placed by letter or telephone.
F To claim members prices it is essential to quote your membership number.
■ Code Qty Description Unit Total
ml
H miBH
[•5SSb6EbiJ
GBEEBUp]
: :G BEEBUG 1
EBUGBEEBl]
iEEBUGBEF
JBEEBUGBE
1G8EEBUGE
IjGSEEBUG
BUGBFERU
1EBUG8EE.6
1EEBUG8EF
;GBGEBUGl-
1UGBEEBUG
pUGBEEB
n:::- u: -
Name:_
Address
JEF.6UGE
1BEEBUC
IGBEEBU
sUgbfeb
fflG6.EE
■EBUG.fJE
BEEBUG LTD,
Dolphin Place, Holywell Hill,
St. Albans, Herts., AL1 1EX.
Membership No:
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lUGBl-EBbC
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The products listed here are only a
selection from our extensive
range. Please telephone and ask
for an information pack which
includes a Catalogue and details
of BEEBUG.
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NOW for only £14.50
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RISC USER, on the order form
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INCLUDE VAT.
® (0727)40303
RISC USER
For users of the BBC Micro,
Master and Compact
For Archimedes
users
Subscribeto BEEBUG or RISC Userand not only will you receivean informative
magazine mailed directly to your own address for 1 year,
But you will also benefit from:
• Unlimited access to our technical support team to assist with any computing
problems that you may have, and to provide impartial advice.
• A swift mail order service for all your hardware and software needs at competitive
prices, and with 5% members’ discount.
A showroom with knowledgeable staff on hand, where you can try out the latest
hardware, peripherals and software.
Free members’ adverts in BEEBUG to sell your unwanted kit.
A trade-in service to upgrade your BBC/Master to a new Master/Archimedes.
1 25% members’ discount on the entire Beebugsoft range of software.
An Acorn appointed specialist support and service centre.
mm
The magazine is now in its sixth
year of publication with 20,000
subscribers throughout the world.
Its proven format has been
invaluable to serious BBC Micro
and Master computer users in the
home, education and business.
Each issue of BEEBUG provides
72 pages of articles, programs
(utilities, applications etc), tutorials,
workshops, reviews, hints & tips,
news and information for beginners
and experts alike. All our programs
are tested on all versions of the BBC
Micro, and are also available monthly
on disc or tape.
RISC USER
This is the magazine for everyone
interested in Acorn’s RISC computer,
the Archimedes. Launched at the
same time as Archimedes, RISC User
provides lively and informed coverage
of what’s happening in the world of
Archimedes.
Reviews, hints, programs and articles
are all specifically written for
Archimedes, showing how to exploit
the many features of this sophisticated
computer. RISC User is all about the
Archimedes; it does not contain
modified programs originally intended
for the Model B or Master.
BEEBUG and RISC User are both published 10 times a year and are only available on subscription, not through the shops.
Subscription Special
rates for rates for
either magazine both magazines
1 Year UK, BFPO& Channel Islands £14.50 £23.00
Europe & Eire £20.00 £33.00
Middle East £25.00 £40.00
America & Africa £27.00 £44.00
Elsewhere £29.00 £48.00
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For a Free BEEBUG Information Pack Phone 0727 40303
AU5
I
News in brief
News
Acorn looking
to expand
■ The voucher scheme which
reduces the price of the
Domesday interactive video
system to a more affordable
£3000 is being extended again.
It should now run until the end
of this year, subject to approval
by Philips which makes the
laser disc player.
■ Despite much moaning from
certain quarters about the need
for business standards, little
MS-DOS software has ever
been converted to run in the
BBC environment. Now a
program is travelling the other
way. An MS-DOS version of
Pipedream , the version of View
Professional supplied with the
Z88, is being developed by
Colton Software. When this is
released later this year the
programmers will turn their
attention to other machines.
■ Using your Archimedes
with unbuffered external disc
drive cables will damage the
machine, so CJE Micros has
produced a buffered interface
for £30. Another £8 adds on a
drive-swap switch which allows
access to MS-DOS programs
which have to be in drive A:. A
DFS reader for the Archimedes
is also available for £15 but the
company warns that not all disc
drives are compatible with the
machine. Check with Acorn’s
customer services, your dealer
or CJE before switching on.
■ Acorn has produced two
Archimedes podules in com-
petition with Resource and
Computer Concepts, calling
them internal expansion cards.
A ROM card provides space
for five 16K to 128K ROMs or
EPROMs, and two static RAM
chips can also be added. This
costs £67.85. The second card
contains a variety of input and
output interfaces and allows
peripherals compatible with the
BBC to be added to the
Archimedes and costs £90.85.
ACORN USER MAY 1988
Acorn is preparing to enter the
1990s with a strategy to sup-
port its loyal base in the home
and education market, and to
develop strengths in new areas.
Although the company made a
loss last year, its future has
been guaranteed by owners
Olivetti in a message to Secret-
ary of State for Education Ken-
neth Baker.
Acorn’s managing director
Harvey Coleman said ‘We’ve
had some significant financial
problems in the past but it has
become clear that Olivetti’s
support for Acorn is a con-
tinuing element. They consider
it a very important mission as
part of their group.’ He ex-
plained this to Baker and the
DES to allay fears that Acorns’
long-term future was doubtful.
Support for education will be
seen in improving the level of
service provided, supporting
software development and en-
suring that the machines are
competitively priced for
schools’ limited budgets.
Another area of support is
software development; Cole-
man claims that over 200 pack-
ages have been released for the
Archimedes since its launch.
Work begun in the educational
sector supporting software de-
velopment is being extended to
other areas. Acorn is providing
both cash and assistance in
matters such as finding test
sites for developers.
Sales and marketing manager
Ian Laurence feels that Acorn’s
work in education brings be-
nefits for business users.
He says, ‘The nice thing ab-
Coleman: developing new areas
out being in education is that
our educational customers are
very sophisticated and do lots
of different things with the
machines. The spread of users
is huge.’ Office computers are
Telecom
A management shake-up at
British Telecom has led to the
re-organisation of electronic
mail and communication facili-
ties. From last month some
subscribers to Prestel and Tele-
com Gold were being offered
membership of a combined ser-
vice, Dialcom UK.
The first people to benefit
from the change will be users in
education. Local education au-
thorities have been offered sub-
scriptions at £292, compared
with the Prestel-only price of
£192, but with substantial dis-
counts available if they put all
the schools in their area on the
Dialcom UK system.
Links from one service to the
other are being provided by
giant ‘gateways’. Previously it
used almost entirely for one or
two applications.
Laurence envisages potential
business users being impressed
by the computers’ versatility
compared to PC clones.
Future developments will be
based on exploiting RISC tech-
nology. ‘RISC is the way com-
panies are going, the way of the
future,’ says Coleman. Acorn
will be seeking niche markets,
where particular machines are
tailored to specific uses.
New machines based on the
RISC chip are also likely, and a
Unix workstation will be the
first to become available, priced
at between £5000 and £10,000,
significantly higher than the
Archimedes range.
link-up
was possible to send mail to
users of the other system but
not much more.
Telemap Group Ltd had
already been looking for ways
to make the Prestel-based con-
Prestel: included in Dialcom UK
ferencing system Teletalk ac-
cessible in Telecom Gold for-
mat. The company is also pre-
paring to launch Inter Business,
a Telecom Gold format busi-
ness service later in the year.
7
rilCRO flEDIR Computer Supplies Ltd
Computer Paper
Plain fanfold, micro perf edges
Size Weight 1000’s Price per box
gsm perbxlbox 3bxs 5bxs
1 1 x9‘/t> 60 2000 14.50 13.90 12.90
1 1x9V6 60 1000 9.50 -
11x9'/? 80 2000 19.75 18.10 16.75
1 1x9'/? 80 1000 11.90 -
EXACT A4
11%x9'/4 70 2000 20.50 12.85 18.30
90 1000 13.90 12.85 11.90
Computer Labels
Continuous fanfold, sprocket fed
Price per 1000 1000 3000 5000
70x362%xl 7 /i6 4.85 3.85 4.30
89x363^x1 'At 5.35 4.50 4.10
89x49316x1 ’Via 7.50 6.60 5.90
Please state no of labels across sheet (1 . 2 or 3)
Disc Storage Boxes
Price each 1+ 3+ 6-f
MD1205'/4Xl20 11.90 11,30 10.75
MD1005’/4x100 9.90 9,40 8.95
MD50 51/4x50 7.50 7.10 6.75
Printer Stands pleach
Space Saver 80 col 30?50 28.50 26.95
132 col 35.50 32.90 31.25
Coated Wire 80 col 13.70 12.75 11.85
132 col 15.70 14.60 13.60
Swivel Bases Price each
12" 55x280x260 mm 12.90 11.75 10.90
14" 55x355x320 mm 14.90 13.55 12.75
Freepost, Dept. AU, Rydal Mount,
Baker St., Potters Bar, Herts. EN6 3BR
(5 lines) !■■■
r \ JA Access & Visa mSSqm
514 Unbranded Discs
25 50 100 250
SS/DD 9.30 18.40 34.60 73.60
DS/40T 10.40 19.60 36.30 76.25
DS/80T 12.20 23.10 43.10 90.85
DSHDPCArs 39.90 71.45 133.55 293.25
5Vi Coloured Discs
DS/40T 12.45 23.55 39.95 91.50
DS/80T 13.45 25.40 47.40 99.95
5 Vi Reversible
2 Index Holes 8t Notches
DS/80T 15.50 28.50 55.00 125.00
3 10 20 50 100
DSDD 11.90 22.90 54.55 104.35
5 Vi Branded flitfto ffiOlo Discs
SS/DD 6.40 12.10 28.30 51-.70
DS/40T 7.50 14.15 33.15 61.30
DS/80T 8.50 15.95 36.25 71.25
DS/HDPCAT’s 17.90 34.30 81.20 149.80
REVERSIBLE 9.75 18.50 43.85 81.50
All discs supplied are with labels 5 '/j" write protects,
envelopes & hub rings. 100% certified error free
lifetime guarantee.
Vh Branded view new Discs
SS/DD 13.70 26.90 64.40 122.60
DSDD 14.90 28.60 68.20 130.50
DSHD 38.95 74.25 176.80 327.80
Printer Ribbons
Price each Ribbon 2 6 12
Acorn Ink Jet 2.79 2.55 2.45
AcomAPlOO 2.85 2.65 2.45
Centronics GLP 3.65 3.45 3.15
R.BLGR.BR.Y 4.65 4.40 4.00
Canon 1080/1 156 2.99 2.85 2.70
R.BLGR.BR.Y 4.95 4.65 4.25
Citizen 120D 4.70 4.35 4.15
Epson MX FXRX80FX800 3.35 3.20 3.05
R.BLGR.BR.Y 4.70 4,45 4.25
MX 1 00/FX 1 000/FX 1 05 3.90 3,70 3.50
R.BLBR 4.95 4.70 4.50
LX 80/86. GX 80 2.80 2.65 2.40
R.BLGR.BR.Y 3.65 3.45 3.30
EX 800 ’ 5.98 5.65 5.20
Juki 6 100 MS 2.85 2.70 2.60
KagaKP81 0/910 2.99 2.85 2.70
R.BLGR.BR.Y 4.95 4.65 4.25
Panasonic KXP 4.65 4.40 420
R.BLGR.BR.Y 6.50 6.20 5.85
Shlnwa CP80MS 4.10 3.85 3.55
StarNLlO 5.25 4.95 4.70
R.BLGR.BR.Y 6.15 5.85 5.55
Please mix colours and types for best prices.
R = Red, BL = Blue. GR = Green. BR = Brown
Y = Yellow
If the ribbon you require Is not listed
please let us quote.
0707 52698
Out of Office Hours (Answer Machine)
Orders despatched 24 hrs
Please allow 5 days for delivery
For guaranteed next day delivery please
ring - from £1 .50 extra.
Postage covers UK only.
ALL PRICES INCLUSIVE OF DELIVERY
AND VAT
Personal callers welcome
Weekdays 8.30am - 5.30pm
Saturdays 9.30am - 1 .00pm
SPRING CATALOGUE
OUT NOW 16 PAGES
Please ring or write for your free copy.
Wire Printer Stand
adjusts by front
dial turn 360°
Tilt up &
down 25°
12" 55 x 280 x 260mm
,14" 55 x 355 x 320mm
80 col HI 00 W310 D61
132 col H100 .W430 D61
miron memo
~l IIU\U i iujii i
refolding of paper
miron mrrno miron mrrno
I IILI\U I IUJU I "I IIU\U I IUJII I
i/i
a
a
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□
L
C
K
i
Wacom
APPROVED
HCCS
Telephone: (091) 487 0760
N
W
t
Archimedes Computer Systems
Archimedes 305 £699.00
Archimedes 305 Mono System £749.00
Archimedes 305 Colour System £899.00
Archimedes 310 £775.00
Archimedes 310 Mono System £825.00
Archimedes 310 Colour System £975.00
Archimedes 410 £1399.00
Archimedes 410 Mono System £1499.00
Archimedes 410 Colour System £1599.00
Archimedes 440 £2299.00
Archimedes 440 Mono System £2349.00
Archimedes 440 Colour System £2499.00
Archimedes Podules /Upgrades
0.5Mb RAM (Archimedes 305 only) £89.00
Floppy Disc £125.00
20Mb Hard Disc+Podule (300 Series) £499.00
Podule Backplane £39.00
Archimedes/Master Econet Module £40.00
5W' Floppy Drive Module £24.00
Master Series
Master 128
£365.00
Master Turbo Module
£95.00
Master Eprom Cartridge
£11.00
Master Compact Series
Master Compact Entry System
£349.00
Master Compact TV System
£363.00
Master Compact Mono System
£399.00
Master Compact Colour System
£549.00
RS 232 Kit
£26.00
Additional Floppy Disc Drive
£99.00
Pal TV Adaptor
£26.00
Scientific Series
4Mb Workstation
£3250.00
32016 1Mb Second Processor
£1050.00
Panos 1.4 Upgrade Kit
£29.00
X25 Gateway
£2150.00
Gateway Access Pack
£130.00
BBC AIV System
BBC AIV and Domesday System Prices on request
HCCS ASSOCIATES LIMITED
575-583 Durham Road
Engine Lane
Low Fell
Gateshead
Tyne and Wear NE9 5JJ
HCCS - PRODUCTS
Video Digitiser £99.00
Includes ROM and Disc Software.
Facilities include, image grab, outlining,
smoothing, window manipulation, distance and
area measurement charting of relative eight
grey scale quantities.
Accepts standard video signals. Menu driven.
Voice Recognition System £299.00
Utilising state of the art NEC chip set.
Teaching mode 128 word capacity. Down
load from disc any number of 128 sets. Can
be used instead of keyboard after teaching.
Almost 100% recognition rate. The up and
coming input method.
EPROM adapter for 12.5V EPROMS 2764/128/
256 fits virtually all current blowers enables
the use of cheaper Eproms £15.00
CDT/TVEI componentry price list on application.
All prices are exclusive of V.A.T. All items are subject to availability. All prices are subject to change
without notice. Price and stock status available on request. Official orders welcome. Carriage free.
ECONET SERVICE EDUCATION SCIENTIFIC DOMESDAY GENERAL CUMAIU’ SERVICE VITEC SERVICE SERVICE
CENTRE CENTRE CENTRE DEALER DEALER DEALER APPROVED DEALER CENTRE APPROVED DEALER CENTRE >r (dvPsHHCb CENTRE
8
ACORN USER MAY 1988
Micro mystics
Religiously minded computer
users can turn to a new pub-
lication from Jaybooks. The
publishers believe that Sunday
school classes can be made
more interesting through the
use of computers and Micros
with a Message shows how this
can be achieved. Chapters cov-
er hardware, software and uses
as well as providing a list of
contacts for help and support.
Subtitled ‘Computers in
Christian Youth Work’ the
book costs £1.85 from religious
bookshops.
A further View
After bringing BBC Basic to
the Mac, Human-Computer
Interface has come up with a
program to transfer View files
into MacWrite keeping the ori-
ginal format. Schools can use
their familiar wordprocessor
and transmit text to the Macin-
tosh for DTP output. Including
a demonstration of the package
it costs £56.35.
Flights upturn
The recent spate of near misses
over London’s skies has revived
interest in Hewson game
Heathrow International Air
Traffic Control. Written by
real-life air traffic controller,
Mike Male, the game gives a
control tower view of aviation.
The player must guide a plane
over London and land, without
collision, at Heathrow. The
simulation is available for the
BBC B and Electron for £7.95.
Controlpower
An interface package from
Creuzet Ltd enables your BBC
B or Master to simulate a prog-
rammable controller. Aimed at
education and home enthu-
siasts, the package can examine
information programmed into
the Beeb and apply it to tech-
nical devices through the inter-
face. The package costs £300.
ACORN USER MAY 1988
Music 87 dropped
after complaints
The problematic Peartrce
Music 87 software has been
withdrawn from the market a
month after the company began
distributing copies. A letter
sent to customers explained
that owing to circumstances
‘beyond our control’ their
money was being returned.
AU reader Peter Clements
was surprised to receive the
letter and refund after waiting
almost eight months for his
software. ‘They promised it
would arrive in time for my
birthday. I’m very disillusioned
with Peartree.’
Another reader received a
copy however, Ian Griffiths
found that bugs in the program
resulted in it deleting itself. He
found it slow, ‘trying to do too
much at once’.
Peartree’s policy represents a
change of heart; around 200
No longer advertised
copies were sent out with a
delivery note saying that Pear-
tree would not allow the soft-
ware to be returned if opened.
Said Peartree managing
director Vartan Mundigian ‘We
decided to take it off the mar-
ket two weeks ago. It has
blackened our name.’
He blames Dinosaur Soft-
ware, which wrote the soft-
ware, for causing delays and
producing sub-standard work.
However Sahlan Diver of
Dinosaur claims that the prog-
ram is acceptable. ‘You would
expect there to be bugs in such
a big program. We are working
on improvements.’
Peartree also said that readers
who had received Music 87
hardware could choose either
to return it for a full refund, or
keep it as a Music 500.
■ Hybrid Technology used to
make the Music 500 on which
Peartree’s product was based
and hopes to offer an upgrade
package to leave Music 87 own-
ers with Hybrid’s Music 5000.
Anyone interested should con-
tact Hybrid Technology.
A Bedfordshire primary school
is developing the use of electro-
nic music in first schools, with
the aid of the Schools Curricu-
lum Development Council.
Headteacher Patricia O’Byrne
received £750 to buy a Hybrid
Technology Music 5000 and a
BBC Master for her school, St
Vincents Lower School.
She is encouraging the de-
velopment of electronic music
in primary schools. Children
have been using sound effects
in drama classes.
‘They are exploring the
sounds they get from the sys-
tem. They produced the sound
effects for our Easter musical’
said Mrs O’Byrne.
At the end of the school year
when the children have gained
experience and confidence there
is another treat in store. Bed-
fordshire LEA has a ‘music
bus’ containing eight complete
music systems which travels
between its secondary schools.
For the first time it will be
visiting a primary school.
A first for micro music
Pupils ‘took to the computer like ducks to water’
9
/ Computers and Upgrades
Archimedes 305
Archimedes 305 mono
Archimedes 305 col
Archimedes 310
Archimedes 310 mono
Archimedes 310 col
Archimedes 310m
Archimedes 310m mono
Archimedes 310m col
Archimedes 410
Archimedes 410 mono system
Archimedes 410 colour system
Archimedes 440
Archimedes 440 mono sytsem
Archimedes 440 colour system
Archimedes podule backplane
Archimedes ROM podule
Archimedes I/O podule
Archimedes MIDI add on to I/O podule
Master 128
Master Compact
Master Turbo Upgrade
Master 512 Upgrade
Master 128 Eprom Cartridge
Master 128 Dust Cover
Compact RS 232 Interface
Compact TV Modulater
1770 Disc Interface
ADFS ROM (B+ or B with 1770)
B+ 64 64K Upgrade
Cambridge Computers Z88
Z88 PSU £8.65 (d) 128K RAM £43.00 (e)
/ Printers (Dot Matrix)
Epson LX800 80col/150cps + 22cps NLQ £229.00 (a)
Citizen 1 20 D 80col, 20cps + 25cps NLQ £ 1 50.00 (a)
Citizen MSP10E 80col, 160cps + 40 cps NLQ £225.00 (a)
Citizen MSP50E 136c/160cps + 40cps NLQ £259.00 (a)
Citizen MSP40 80c/200cps + 50cps NLQ £300.00 (a)
Citizen MSP45 136c/200cps + 50cps NLQ £400.00 (a)
Citizen MSP50 80/250cps + 60cps NLQ £379.00 (a)
MP165 80col/165cps + 38cps NLQ £166.00 (a)
Citizen MSP55 136c/250cps + 60cps NLQ £520.00 (a)
Citizen HQP45 24pin 136col 200 cps + 60cps LQ £454.00 (a)
CITIZEN HQ P40 24pin 80col 200cps + 60cps Q £379.00 (a)
MP200 80col/200cps + 40cps NLQ £249.00 (a)
MP201 136col/200cps + 40cps NLQ £274.00 (a)
STAR LC10 120cps + 30cps NLQ £174.00 (a)
£699.00 (a)
£749.00 (a)
£899.00 (a)
£775.00 (a)
£825.00 (a)
£975.000 (a)
£835.00 (a)
£885.00 (a)
£1035.00 (a)
£1399.00 (a)
£1449.00 (a)
£1599.00 (a)
£2299.00 (a)
£2349.00 (a)
£2499.00 (a)
£39.00 (d)
£59.00 (d)
£79.00 (d)
£29.00 (e)
£369.00 (a)
from £310.00 (a)
£99.00 (c)
£189.00 (c)
£11.00 (c)
£4.50 (e)
£26.00 (c)
£26.00 (e)
£41.00 (d)
£25.00 (e)
£30.00 (d)
£244.00 (a)
128K EPROM £43.00 (e)
/ Printers (Daisy Wheel)
Juki 6100 1 lOcol 20cps £280.00 (a)
Citizen Premier 35 132col 35cps £554.00 (a)
MP26-26cps Diablo 630 compatable £234.00 (a)
MP40-40cps Diablo 630 compatable £319.00 (a)
2yr warranty on Citizen, Juki and mp printer
/ Printers (Laser)
New Citizen Laser Overture 110
10 pages/min 250 Sheet cassette
dual interface. £1.600.00 (a)
with one year on site maintenance.
/ AMX Mouse and Software
AMX Mouse + Super Art
AMX Pagemaker
Extra Extra
Mouse Mat
, / Disc Drives
Single DS 40/80T
Single DS 40/80T in psu
Dual DS 40/80T
Dual DS 40/80T in psu
Dual DS 40/80T in psu and plynth
20mB Winchester
£60.00 (d)
£37.00 (d)
£21.00 (e)
£4.34 (e)
£96.00 (a)
£11 1.00 (a)
£189.00 (a)
£209.00 (a)
1214.00 (a)
1449.00 (a)
‘ Combination 3.5 5.28 Winchester available. Phone for details.
COMPUTING
BUSINESS SYSTEMS • HARDWARE
SOFTWARE • VIDEO SYSTEMS
MEDIA SUPPLIES
OFFICIAL DOMESDAY DEALER
Acorn w
IIwcImimvoI rviHTirrirr"
ACORN APPROVED DEALER
Phone 0602 787923
/ Discs
Discs 5.25” (Boxed in 10's Lifetime auaranteo)
3M 744 SS/DD 48TPI £11.00 (d)
3M 745 DS/DD 48TPI £13.00 (d)
3M 747 DS/DD 96TPI £15.00 (d)
Add £1 for plastic library case
B & S Label 96TPI in see through LIB. Case DS/DD Cl 3 00 (d)
Disc Cleaning Kit (state 5V4” or 3 1 #’) £9.00 (d)
3.5"
3M 35SS SS/DD (Box of 10) C21 00 (d)
3M 35DS DS DD (Box of 10) C29 00 (di
B & S Label DS/DD C19 00(d)
L / ROM Boards
ATPL Sideways (state B or B+)
£34.00 (d)
Viglen ROM System (B Series)
£1125 (d)
Viglen ROM System (Master 128)
£12 00 (d)
Viglen ROM System Compact
£12.00 (d)
Viglen Spare Cartridges
£2.50 (e)
Printer Ribbons and Accessories
Epson LX 86 (Compat)
£2 89 (e)
Epson MX 80/RX 80/FX 80 FX 85/(Compat)
£2 50 (e)
Juki 5510 Citizen MSP 20 (Compat)
£2 50(e)
Citizen 120D LSP10
£3 75 (e)
Taxan 810 Canon (Compat)
£3.75 (e)
Juki 6100 MultiStrike
£2 30(e)
Tally MT85 Fabric
£5 00 (e)
Tally MT86 Carbon
£7 00 (e)
Printer lead 1 5m B B+M128ELK + 1
£6 00(e)
Pr nter lead 1 5m Compact
£8 00(e)
Pr.nter lead 2m IBM or Compatible
£10 00 Id)
80col Printer Stand
£1100(0
Universal Printer STand
£15 00(d)
Printer Switch Box 2 Way "T" Switch
£39 00 (c)
i
All Modems inc BBC Lead
Miracle WS2000
Miracle WS4000 Hayes Compat
Pace Nightingale + Commstar II
Nightingale Auto Dial Auto Answer Board + SW
Pace Commstar II ROM
Pace Linnet
NB BABT APPROVAL ON MODEMS ONLY
£9500(0
£144 00 la)
£94 00 (c)
£52 00 (d)
£28 00(e)
£124.00 (c)
Acorn Soft
Lockable Anti-Static 5.25" Storage Cases
Micro Prolog
£50 00(d)
ISO Pascal
£42 00(d)
50 Disc Capacity
£8.00 (d)
Logo
£44 00 Id)
BCPL
£39 00(c)
100 Disc Capacity
£10.00 (d)
Forth Disc
£14.00 (e)
Comal
£32 00 Id)
Lisp
£33 00(e)
Hi View
£37 00(d)
7
View professional
£75.00 (c)>
View 3.0
£3900 (d)
L / Monitors
Viewsheet
£37 00 (d)
View Store
£37 00 Id)
k/
View Spell I80T only)
£29 00 (d)
View Plot
F71 00 IpI
All Monitors include BBC Lead
View Index
£10 00(e)
Overview
1 W \zf
£69.00 (c)
Phillips Range of high resolution Mono Monitors
View Printer Driver Gen
Tape £7 00(e)
Disc
£8 00 (el
with Audio Input Green Amber or Paper White.
Computer Concepts
BM 7502 (Green)
£69.00 (a)
Interword
£39 00(d)
inter Sheet
£39 00(d)
BM 7522 (Amber)
£74.00 (a)
Interchart
£26 00(d)
Interbase
£49.00 (d)
BM 7542 (Paper White)
£74.00 (a)
Mega 3
£75.00 (c)
Spellmaster
£42.00 (d)
Phillips new tv monitor 15" flat screen
Wordwise
£30 00(d)
Wordwise +
£3700 (d)
RGB/comp video + 20 CHTV
£222.00 (a)
Mirrorsoft
Phillips Colour Monitor RGB, Composite Video,
Fleet Street Editor
£31 00 (d)
Fonts and Graphics
£11 75 (el
Audio in Linear RGB Green Screen Switchable
Clares
BBC/IBM Compatible CM8833
£220.00 Fontwise +
£1600 (e)
Replica III
£11 00(e)
Philips Multisync
VINE MICRO REPLAY (State M C and Disc Interface)
£30 00(e)
CM8873 CGA/EGA/PGA Compatible
Ideal for use with the Acorn Archimedes computers
Microvitec
1431 (Meta! or Plastic Case please specify) Std Res
1451 (Metal or Plastic Case please specify) Med Res
1441 (Metal or Piast c Case please speofyl Hgh Res
1431 AP Metal Case RGB and CV/Audio Std Res
1451 AP Metal Case only RGB and C V Audio Med Res
TILT and SWIVEL Stands for Plastic Case Only
Plinths
BBC B Single
BBC Master Single
BBC Master with Shell
UK Custome^TTieaso add 15^Tv/^7onhHceT™
(including carriage).
Government and educational establishments official orders welcomed.
When ordering please enclose a cheque or postal order for the
appropriate amount. UK Carriage Rates (a) £8.00 - courier insured
delivery (b) £3.50 (c) £2.50 (d) £1.50 (e) £1.00. All prices are correct at
time of going to press. All offers are subject to availability, all prices
are subject to change without prior notification and are available on
request. Current price list is available on request.
Good normally desptached on receipt of order.
£520.00 (a)
£17900(al
£224 00 (a)
£375 00 0)
£20900 0)
£259 00 (a)
£1900 (d)
£ 1100(0
£ 1200(0
£22 00(D)
NB It is essential to state machine and 40/80T
when ordering software
/ Books (No VAT on books)
Master Ref Manuals Ptl £14 00(d) Pt 2 £14 00(d)
Advanced Master ref Manual (Bray & Dickens) £19.95 (d)
Lisp £8.00 (e) Forth £8.00 (e) ISO Pascal £8.00 (e)
BCPL £14 00(d) View Guide £6 00(e) Into View £6 00le)
Vew 3 £9 00 (el View Sheet £9 00(e) View Store £900 (e)
, Archimedes Ref manual £29.95 (d)
Arm assembly language manual £12.95 (e)
Mastering View ViewSheet and ViewStore £ 1 2.95 (e)
Understanding Inter Word £6.50 (e)
View - A Dabhand Guide £12.95 (e) Z88 Computing £9.95 (e)
Fanfold Paper and Labels
B & S COMPUTING (NOTT’M) LTD
THE LENTON- BUSINESS CENTRE
LENTON BOULEVARD
NOTTINGHAM NG7 2BY
PHONE: 0602 787923
•2000 x 1 Pan 60gm 11x95" Micro Perf £12 50 Ic)
1 000 x 1 Pan 85gm 1 1 x 9 5" Micro Perf £ 1 2.00 (c)
1000 x 1 Part 90gm 'Perfect* A4 Micro Perf £12.00 (b)
1000 89mm x 36mm Labels £4 00 (d)
1 000 89mm x 49mm Labels £6 00 td)
1000 102mm x 36mm Labels £5 00 (d)
Please state Single or Twin Row when ordering labels
10
ACORN USER MAY 1988
NEWS
Erasure: Interviewed next month
BBC micro is a hit
THE COTVIMS COLUMN
Music fans have another oppor-
tunity to hear the BBC micro
and UMI MIDI system in ac-
tion on Top of the Pops follow-
ing the success of the new Era-
sure single ‘Ship of Fools’. The
song was ascending the Gallup
rankings ’with a bullet’ as we
went to press.
To prevent slow printers from
tying up your Archimedes for
too long, Clares Micro Supplies
has produced a 1Mb printer
buffer.
The buffer costs £19.95 and
will work with any legal prog-
Minerva Software is keeping its
promise to launch specialist
software for the Arc with the
release of accounting and
school administration prog-
rams.
School Administrator is based
on the company’s System Delta
Plus database, so much so that
you need the £69.95 database to
run the program. The educa-
tion application covers the day
to day running of schools,
pupil records and individual
timetables and costs £74.95.
‘We have had a lot of interest
from LEAs’ said Minerva’s
If you’re lucky enough to
have tickets for Erasure’s tour
take a good look at the compu-
ter sitting next to Vince’s
keyboard. That’s a BBC Master
hiding there, running much
more of the show than you
might think. Read our exclusive
interview in next month’s issue.
ram on the Arc. Clares will be
hoping to sell some to Scottish
schools; the company has
signed a deal with the Scotland
Educational Forum which rep-
resents most Scottish LEAs to
supply its programs in bulk.
Nova Fisher. ‘We are working
with them on the development
of profiling software and time-
tabling programs’.
The business accounting
suite also requires System Delta
Plus. Its five modules are avail-
able separately, at £64.95, or all
together for £280. The program
is full of features including
security passwords and cus-
tomer name archives. Details
can be exported to Minerva
spreadsheet SigmaSheet and
business graphics program
GammaPlot , both due for re-
lease soon.
■ Micronet 800, or Telemap,
as it is called these days, has
opened yet another new area
for subscribers. Teletalk is a
conferencing system, which is
something like a chatline,
already popular on the system,
except that only a couple of
lines are taken up with the
message you type, and so you
can see on screen the last few
things that have been said.
The service was launched
with an ‘on-line press confer-
ence’ attended by your intre-
pid reporter. Users enter the
conference centre, pick up
room keys and can even visit a
bar for more informal discus-
sions.
Private conversations can be
held in the rooms, and the
‘door’ can be locked if you
wish. Commands will be
familiar to anyone who plays
adventure games. It certainly
makes chatting to other users a
lot easier than using mailbox
or chatlines. Full on-line help
is available.
Teletalk is currently pro-
vided through a Prestel gate-
way, and supports only the
40-column viewdata format,
but an 80-column scrolling
version is under development.
The service costs an additional
3p a minute on top of all your
other charges.
Staying with Prestel, a new
section for 288 users has
opened on page 810429, and
there is an Acorn/Z88 gallery
on page 811220099. Micronet
is on (voice) 01-278 3143.
■ Marcus Anselm, the enter-
prising 14-year-old sysop of
the Marctel bulletin board,
(01-346 7150, V21/V23 24 hrs
scrolling 8-N-l) and publisher
of FBBS , the low-cost BBC
bulletin board software, has
just published issue three of
his free quarterly magazine,
Off-Line Release, which is
now fully typeset and printed.
The current issue contains in-
formation on how to book
holidays using a modem, a
beginner’s guide to Prestel,
bulletin board reviews, and
two competitions.
If you’d like a copy, Marcus
asks that you leave a message
on his board, or write to
Marctel, Gloucester House,
122 Gloucester Ave, London
NWl. As Marctel is non-
profit making (show me a bul-
letin board which isn’t!) an A4
(12-inch x 9-inch) SAE would
be appreciated.
■ Following from last
month’s Telecom Gold de-
monstration number, Micro-
link has opened a demonstra-
tion account. You can use it to
see the system’s facilities. To
access this, dial the usual Tele-
com Gold London number
(01-583 1275 for 1200/75
baud, or 01-583 1200 for 1200/
1200 baud), and press Return.
Then you should type CALL
72 <Return> followed by ID
MAG 111 <Return>. The
password is DATABASE.
A series of menus will guide
you through the system. Note
that both this and the demo
account reported last month
can only be accessed by direct
dial, so even if you know the
Microlink access codes for
PSS, you can’t see the demo
that way.
An interesting aside to these
demo accounts is that although
they can receive mail you can’t
read it, as you never return to
the Gold prompt. The demo
accounts have been stacking
up quite a few messages, so
you maddeningly have to quit
with unread messages still
waiting. Microlink’s voice
number is (0625) 878888.
David Atherton
If you have any comms news
for David Atherton, you can
write to him here at Acorn
User, or contact him through
his mailboxes on Prestel
942876210 and Telecom Gold
72:MAG1 1596.
Megabyte buffer
School admin on Arc
ACORN USER MAY 1988
11
Visionary
podule
Wild Vision, the video com-
pany, is anxious to remind
readers that it released one of
Wild Vision’s podule
the first and certainly the most
innovative Archimedes podule.
Its video genlock and colour
overlay expansion card (as
Acorn is now calling them) is
selling well to users eager to
exploit the Archimedes’
graphics. Two versions are
available, a domestic one at
£340 and a professional one at
£455. A chromaldck device is
also available for the Master.
News in brief
■ ‘Musicfocus’, a new Prestel
database, boasts over 2000
pages of information on popu-
lar music. Other features in-
clude a ‘gig guide’, album and
single reviews and a ‘fan line’
bulletin board. ‘Musicfocus’ can
be reached by keying :; *3450#.
■ Thrusting yuppies eager to
step into the boss’ shoes should
rush out and buy Professor
Ronald Brech’s latest business
simulation. In Don't Panic , the
owner of the Castaway Shirt
Company has a heart attack
and you, his junior, have to
take over and run the company.
The 80-track DFS program
costs £30 from RBRC software.
■ Acorn User is looking for a
sub-editor. Previous experience
of sub-editing is essential, as is
familiarity with computers. Sal-
ary is negotiable. Applications
including CV should be sent to
Julie Carman, Chief Sub-
editor, Redwood Publishing,
20-26 Brunswick Place, Lon-
don N1 6DJ.
NEWS
SID knows someone
who can help you
Troubled Acorn users with in-
soluble problems have a new
helpline* provided by the com-
pany itself. Called SID (Sup-
port Information Database) the
service is in viewdata format.
There are three sections, gener-
al advice, a telesoftware library
and a bulletin board. Access is
via the X25 network so all calls
are charged at local rates.
The catch is that there is a
£40 subscription charge to take
full advantage of SID. Anyone
who feels that that is too much
can look at some of what they
are missing; the viewdata pages
are on open access through a
Cambridge telephone number:
(0223) 243642.
Information services manager
Martin Grantham said ‘It is and
it isn’t expensive. Remember, it
costs us a lot to run the service.
If you subscribe you save on
the phone charges, and you are
able to set up closed user
groups. And of course people
subscribing in bulk as a closed
user group can negotiate a re-
duced subscription.’
Users without communica-
tions facilities should continue
to write with their problems to
Acorn’s customer services or
phone their dealer.
Artisan winners
This month’s winner of the
Artisan competition run by
Clares and Acorn User is
printed above. The landscape
shows Scotney Castle, a
National Trust property in
Kent. It’s been drawn by Paul
Gilbert of Weybridgc, also in
Kent, and he wins a bumper
box of 3.5-inch discs. The stan-
dard of the pictures is impro-
ving each month.
Can you do better? Clares
and Acorn User arc offering a
box of 20 3.5-inch discs to the
person who draws the best pic-
ture with Artisan each month.
The best of the monthly win-
ner’s pictures will be turned
into a real oil painting by
Clares’ artist-in-residence, Jon
Warmisham. Judges of the
competition will be Dave
Clare, Jon Warmisham and
Acorn User's Tony Quinn.
Send your entry on disc to
Clare Artisan Competition, 98
Middlewich Road, Northwich,
Cheshire CW9 7DA. Please in-
clude postage and self-
addressed packaging if you
want your disc returned.
Flying Start
for Acorns
Mitre Software’s Flying Start II
data management system will
now run under the Master
5 1 2’s co-processor. A fully
memory resident program, it
will also run on the Arc under
the PC emulator on the 310
and upwards.
Costing £69.95, the database
is fully relational; up to five
separate subsidiary files may be
linked to any one primary file.
Arc users need not rely on
the emulator much longer.
Mitre is currently developing a
version which will run in the
native ARM environment. It
should be ready in a month.
Special needs
in Scotland
A range of software for special
needs is now available from the
Scottish firm Scetlander.
Picture Gallery Suite is de-
signed to evaluate visual
perception. It can be adapted to
individuals needs, for example,
by controlling scan speed.
Storybook Generator enables
manually dextrous students to
create a storybook, with text
pictures. The completed story-
book can be printed out.
Developed by the Scottish
Council for Spastics, Elcctra
Pen is a high resolution draw-
ing and painting program for
the severely disabled. A speech
synthesiser allows oral com-
munication.
CAD-Master is another
graphics package with a speech
synthesiser, for high resolution
monochrome drawings.
Electra Pen (£27.50) is Mas-
ter compatible. Storybook
Generator for the Master costs
£25, and Cad-Master £22.50.
The Picture Gallery Suite is
available for the BBC B, B4-
and Master (£25), and the
Compact (£26.50).
12
ACORN USER MAY 1988
£229 for all that?
“What’s this -a new printer?”
“Yes, it’s the very latest, the industry compatible Multi-font
LC-10 from Star, there are features included as standard not
found on printers sometimes twice the price...
“Oh really - like what?”
Well, there’s the Star front control panel - so you don’t have to
fiddle with DIP switches -
a built-in push
And you
have to take the tractor
paper out to autoload single
sheets with the LC-lO’s paper
parking. There’s a large 4K
buffer -it’s even got six NLQfo
as standard. It prints at a realistic
120 cps and has a really fast NLQ
at 30 cps”.
“Hey, that sounds good, hut what
about quality? You ’d have to go a long
way to heat the print quality on that
NL-iO you ’ vegot
‘True, but they’ve even
improved on that
and you can change
all the resident fonts
at the touch of a
button”.
“Hnim, that’s ^
really easy -£229
for all that? I
wonder if my
dealer will
have any
PRINTERS FOR BUSINESS
i
I / \1 like to find out if my dealer Inis any left. Please send me an LC- 10 brochure □
I Please send me details of the Star range of dot matrix printers □ Or just call Belinda
I on 01-840 1829.
I Name Company
I Address
1
I
I
I
I
I
i
I
I
StarMicronics U.K. Ltd.,
Craven House, 40 Uxbridge Road,
Ealing, London W5 2BS.
Telephone: 01-840 1800.
A division of I Postcode I
StarMicronics Co., Ltd. Japan. I I
I Telephone I
Price excl VAT. I A?iL 5 J
II ACTION
mw Bxpenem
at the
Royal Horticultural Hall,
Westminster, London SWI
BBC MICRO
visitors
10am -6pm Friday May 13
lOam-Spm Saturday May 14
I0am-4pm Sunday May IS
You'll find the very latest software and peripherals for the
complete Acorn range at the Electron & BBC Micro User Show.
But this time there'll be so much more to enjoy.
Acorn In Action will demonstrate some of the truly
amazing projects currently involving the machines . . .
* A spectacular laser light show
controlled by a BBC Micro.
(Saturday only)
★ The research work on the BBC Micro
that has helped to bring new hope
to sufferers of the eye disease
glaucoma. (Friday and Sunday)
★ A program developed by an
amateur astronomer to locate
distant galaxies. (Saturday and Sunday)
★ The Beeb system being used by
doctors at Guy's Hospital to provide
a breakthrough in the treatment of
arterial disease. (Saturday and Sunday)
watch your own heartbeats
displayed, measure your manual
dexterity and hear your own voice
backwards - all courtesy of a BBC
Micro.
Take your seat in the Archimedes Demonstration f ant fiStlC
Theatre run by Acorn's own experts. .. j ij n to a ranw-
inute special introductory courses to the It 3ll 3CJU n Ur+l£* fanillV'
• •• ' day out for the whole
Thirty minute
new machine will be held on the hour, every hour
throughout the three days. Price just £1.
PHONE ORDERS: Ring Show Hotline: 0625 879920
PRESTEL ORDERS: Key *89 then 614568383
MICROLINK ORDERS: Mailbox 72:MAG001
Please quote credit card number
and full address
NOTICEBOARD
Competitions round-up
Our winners will enjoy a week at Grendon Hall
BLUNDERBOX
Several bugs crept into the last
issue. In Bruce Smith’s new Step
by Step feature, the last two
diagrams were switched. The
picture from the ‘Reading in
write’ section was swapped with
‘Writing the balance’.
Those of you who bought the
disc expecting Bruce’s ViewSheet
demo files might have been dis-
appointed. They now make an
appearance on this month’s disc.
Several of you pointed out the
mistakes in the Hints & Tips
listings. Listing 2 stops abruptly
at line 470 while listing 3 is too
long. Lines 480-850 in listing 3
do actually belong to listing 2.
Reference was made in the Joe’s
Jottings to a Carousel (listing 4)
program on the yellow pages.
Space was tight so here is the
missing listing:
10 MODE 2
20 REPEAT
30 *UNPACK robin
40 PROCwai t ( 10)
50 *UNPACK bear
60 PROCwai t (10)
990 UNTIL FALSE
1000 DEF PROCwai t(t)
1010 LOCAL delay
1020 delay«TIME+t*100
1030 REPEAT UNTIL TIME>
*dal ay
1040 ENDPROC
We’ll do better next month!
Acorn Users competitions are
becoming so popular that
thousands of you are entering
each one. Because of this it
sometimes take US‘ a while to
judge all these entries and send
out the prizes to the winners.
Most popular of all was our
February competition in which
we asked you to make as many
words as you could from the
letters Acorn User. How some of
you managed to make words
more than nine letters long mys-
tifies us and many hard hours
were spent checking entries
against our ancient dictionary.
With the grand total of 301
permissible words, Mr J Prinner
of Millom, Cumbria will soon be
receiving his Panasonic printer.
There were two winners of
our January competition, in
which the prizes were computer
After its Which Computer?
Show debut 1st Word Plus is
now on sale. Features included
in the £102 price are a real-time
(as you write) spelling checker
holiday weeks at Grendon Hall
in Northamptonshire. They are
Helen McQuillan from Woking-
ham, Berkshire, and R M Neal
from Derbyshire.
Our December C competition
remains to be judged owing to
and mail-merge, graphics and
multi-windowing.
Two other programs due
within the next few weeks are
Autosketch , a CAD package
the number and quality of your
entries. Results of that and other
competitions will appear in next
month’s issue.
Winners will be notified by
post with further details of their
prizes as soon as possible.
originiating on the PC, and
Architext. This second package,
from Hopesoft, is not in fact a
wordprocessor but a high-level
language editing program.
More Arc software released
POST A PROBLEM
Acorn User has a guaranteed fast reply service for enquiries. Your
answer will be returned within 10 working days for just £3
(includes VAT), or your money back.
Just write out your problem, fill in the coupon (right), and send !
both off to Acorn User with a stamped addressed envelope and !
cheque or postal order for £3 made out to Redwood Publishing. If
you want recorded delivery add the cost of this on. Include as:
much detail as possible, and a disc or cassette if a program isl I
involved, with enough space to record any corrected listing.
Please note: debugging readers’ programs or those from other
magazines is a complex task and we cannot guarantee to give a full
solution. Unless the problem can be spotted quickly, the service
will only be able to make general comments or suggest a strategy I
for the reader.
We will answer the problem and return all material I
received - within a guaranteed 10 working days from receipt. If
we fail to match this promise then your cheque or postal order i
will be returned with the answered question - you can’t lose!
ACORN USER READER SERVICE
20-26 Brunswick Place, London N1 6DJ.
NAME
ADDRESS
POSTCODE
DAYTIME PHONE NUMBER
I enclose a cheque/postal order for £3 made out to
Redwood Publishing and an sae with my problem.
OFFICE USE ONLY Date in:
Date out:
Answered by:
ACORN USER MAY 1988
15
BeebDOS version 2 (new) from MicroBoss
Software for BBC and IBM file interchange
Rum on EBM-PC-XT-AT or compatible* tnd support* DOS 2.0 or later
Supplied on 360K IBM diskette with manual and plastic wallet the software includes:
kCOPY Copy files 6BC - IBM, IBM - BBC. BBC - BBC (wild cards allowed)
BCONV Flexible IBM file translate facility enabling text to oe passed between VIEW.
WORDSTAR and Displaywrite 3 amongst other uses.
BGR APH Display BBC mode 0. 1 ,4,5 screen formal (AMX Art included) files on IBM standard
colour (CGA). enhanced colour (EGA) or Hercules screens for use in IBM PC
presentation, DTP. drawing and other graphic applications.
BeebDOS is almost a complete BBC DFS/ADFS for the IBM PC with utilities to catalogue, format,
backup, delete, kick, unlock, compact rename, alter title A options, map free space, change and create
directories of BBC diskette/files.
Inf act BeebDOS is probably the fastest and most powerful
BBC/IBM PC file transfer method available and no cables or
serial connections are required.
BBC double density diskette formats supported are Acorn ADFS, Watford, Solidisk, OPUS DDOS and
UDM. Acorn single density DFS is only supported when running BeebDOS on an IBM AT or XT286
with a 360k disk drive. Please send or phone for an information sheet
CHEQUE OR POSTAL ORDER TRADE/feDUCATlON ENQUIRIES WELCOME
MICROBOSS LTD 3 HADLEIGH RD FRINTON ESSEX C013 9HG TEL (0255) 671095
£39.99
Inclusive
signwriter/
instant display lettering £29.95
from a dot-matrix printer (BBC version)
* Signs printed across or down the page
* Sharp characters any size - the bigger the better
* Design logos, symbols on screen
* Extra fonts £5.75 each:
Fair
Shop
etc.
Also available:
LABELWRITER
for multiple labels
PAPER BASE
for bibliographies
Available from the publisher
WIGHT SCIENTIFIC
44 Roan Street London SElO ?]T
(Ol) 858 2699
This advertisement printed A4-size with 16-bit SIGNWRITER
A permanent display of
your pupils’ work in seconds
Screenprint gives you snapshot printouts at any
time, from any educational program.
In one easy step, permanent records of work are
created-simply press CTRL and P and wait a few
seconds while your printer does the work. Your
program only pauses to print then continues in the
normal way.
All you need is a BBC or Compact computer and an
Epson compatible printer.
Name
Address_
Signature_
Please send me SCREENPRINT at £25 + £3.75 VAT.
Private orders, please send payment with order inc. VAT. Cheques made
payable to ESM.
CSm Dept. 3, Duke Street, Wisbech, Cambs PEI 3 2AE.
First with a
RatocatabJe Assemble* and Linker
first with Source-Level Dobug.
Now bring you a New 'C Corrprter.
Mijas Software
* Brt>fllng th* ntw software world to YOUR BBC Micro
Updated ! Exciting ! Fast ! ' C Compiler
A NEW Software system
for performance and productivity
on YOUR BBC MICRO.
Use it for games New version 1.5
buisness or industrial software. compiles faster, runs faster
Ideal for learning structured and even easier to use
programming and compiler techniques, on ANY BBC B or Master.
Written in C' itself for speed and portability
FULL SOURCE-CODE of the 'C' Compiler
and libraries with EVERY COPY. Can be modified
and re-compiled on any BBC 'B' or MASTER.
' Small ‘C’ v 1.5 '
A true compiler. Does not use p-code
Full Source-Level Debug
Full I/O and C libraries
Separately compilable source-files
Produces ’stand-alone’ programs of minimum size
Full support of BBC Graphics
Screen Mode may be changed at any time.
^ 40-FK of Program space even without overlays ^
Shell ROM image provided giving a 'MAKE' facility.
Use any editor, a simple line editor is included.
Write your own BASIC, PASCAL FORTRAN
or Artificial Intelligence Compiler using this 'C' system
Complete System including Assembler
Linker, Debug, Shell and utilities
in ROM Image format on disk
ACCESS welcome £50 Ready-blownEPROMS
£7.50 each, set of 4 £25
From:- Mijas Software,Mijas, Winchester Rd.
Michedever, Hants S021 3DG
Official orders welcome from educational establishments
Succeed with LCL Self-Tuition Courses
Highest ever marks in
recent review.
Hons, graduate/teacher authors.
World leader (24 countries)
FOR YOU
for beginners (from
ages 4 to adult), exam candidates
or teachers with any BBC Micro (B, B+, Master, Compact,
Electr on or ARCHIMEDES H®
[2053 immediate dispatch
£5 off total for 2 courses, £10 off for 3, £17 off for four, £24 off for five
SOFTWARE. Each course includes 24 programs on up to
105 topics held on 2-4 discs/tapes and usually with 2 books
and a voice tape and costs only £24.
MICRO SPANISH (8-GCSE) with real speech and graphics adventures gam e.
PRIMARY MATHS COURSE All animated, colour graphics (4 discs)
MICRO FRENCH (8-GCSE) With real speech & graphics adventure game
Best seller, highly acclaimed
Eng. Language or EFL with real speech
(new enlarged)
A-level course with all Calculus by graphics
, :)
MICRO MATHS (11-GCSE)
MICRO ENGLISH (8-GCSE)
MEGA MATHS
HOME COLLEGE |JJ^3 Open learning courses of video, software and books.
Pass GCSE, HCND and (when available) degree.
Choice of MATHS, ENGLISH, or FRENCH. Only
£49 99 each
SEND COUPON OR PHONE ORDERS OR REQUESTS FOR FREE
COLOUR CATALOGUE AND POSTER TO:
LCL (Dept A) Melody House, 1 3 Deanfield Road, Henley, Oxon RG9 1 UG
OR RING (0491) 579345 (lOam-IOpm)
NAME
-ADDRESS
TITLE
COMPUTER
40/80/Disc/Tape/3 l /2 M disc
16
ACORN USER MAY 1988
Contacts
Acorn Computers Limited,
Fulbourn Road, Cherry Hinton,
Cambridge CB1 4JN
Tel: (0223) 245200
BBC Enterprises, Woodlands, 80 Wood
Lane, London Tel: 01-576 0202
CJE Micros, 78 Brighton Road,
Worthing, West Sussex BN1 1 2EN
Tel: (0903) 213361
Clares Micro Supplies, 98 Middlewich
Road, Rudheath, Nortlnvich, Cheshire
CW9 7DA Tel: (0606) 48511
Creuzet Ltd, 108 Hawley Lane,
Farnborough, Hampshire GUI 4 SHY
Tel: (0252) 513211
Hewson, Hewson House, 56B Milton
Park, Milton, Abingdon, Oxon 0X14
4RX Tel: (0235) 832939
Human-Computer Interface Ltd, 1 1
Brunswick Walk, Cambridge CB5 8DH
Tel: (0223) 314934
Hybrid Technology Ltd, Unit 3, Robert
Davies Court, Nuffield Road,
Cambridge CB4 1 TP Tel: (0223) 316910
Jaybrooks, Woodside, Hadlow Park,
Tonbridge, Kent Tel: (0732) 851438
Mitre Software Ltd, International
House, Creechurch Lane, London
EC3A5BA Tel: 01-283 4646
Music View Ltd, 8 Wellington Close,
Walton-on-Thames, Surrey KT12 1 AX
Tel: (0932) 242766
RBRC, Guild House, 32 Worple Road,
London SW19 4EFTcl: 01-946 8641
Watford Electronics, Jessa House, 250
Lower High Street, Watford
Wild Vision, 6 Jcsmond Road,
Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE2 4PQ Tel:
091-281 8481
Education
Finding the addresses of educational
suppliers and groups can be difficult.
Here’s a selection drawn from the
database supplied by Nick Evans.
Details of how to order the file are on
page 143
4mation, Linden Lea, Rock Park,
Barnstaple EX32 9AQ Tel: 0271 45566
AB European Marketing, Wharfdale
Road, Pentwyn, Cardiff, CF2 7HB
Tel: 0222 733485
Academic Software, Sourby Old Farm,
Timble, Otley, W. Yorks. LS21 2PW
Tel: 094 388 628
Advisory Unit, AUCBE, Endymion
Road, Hatfield, Herts, ALIO 8AU
Tel: 07072 65443
BP Education, PO Box 5, Wetherby,
W. Yorks. LS23 7EH Tel: 0937 843477
Bristol SEMERC, Polytechnic, Redland
Hill, Bristol, BS6 6UZTel: 0272 733141
British Telecom Education Service, PO
Box 10, Wetherby, W. Yorks. LS2 3EL
British Logo User Group, C.A.M.E.T.,
Univ. of Technology, Loughborough,
LEI 1 3TU
Cambridge Micro Software, Edinburgh
Building, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge,
CB2 2RU Tel: 0223 312393
Cambridgeshire Software House,
Town Hall, St Ives, Huntingdon, PE17
4AL Tel: 0480 66805
Centre for World Development
Education, Regent’s College, Inner
Circle, Regent’s Park, London NW1
4NSTel: 01-487 5474
Electronic Aids for the Blind, 28
Crofton Avenue, Orpington, Kent, BR6
8DU
Elfin Systems, Byard Road, Gloucester,
GL2 6DFTel: 0452 41 1533
Elsevier Biosoft, 68 Hills Road,
Cambridge CB2 1 LA Tel: 0223 68622
ESM, 32 Bridge Street, Cambridge, CB2
1UJ Tel: 0223 65445
Fernlcaf, 31 Old Road West, Gravesend,
Kent, DAI 1 OLH Tel: 0474 539037
GSN/MEMS, 214 Stamford Street,
Aston-under-Lyne OL6 7LP
Tel: 061 339 6635
High Level Algorithms Ltd, 12 Den
Brook Close, Wellswood, Torquay,
Devon, TQl 3TP Tel: 0803 22092
Hybrid Technology, Unit 3, Robert
Davies Court, Noffield Road,
Cambridge, CB4 1 TP Tel: 0223 316910
Inner London Education Computer
Centre, John Ruskin Street, London
SE5 OPQ Tel: 01-735 9123
Jessop Microelectronics, Unit 5, 7 Long
Street, London E2Tel: 01-729 1851
Kosmos, 1 Pilgrims Close, Harlington,
Dunstable LU5 6LX Tel: (05255) 3942
Lego UK Ltd, Educational Division,
Ruthin Road, Wrexham LL13 7TQ Tel:
(0978) 266949
Logotron Dales Brewery, Gwydir
Street, Cambridge CB1 2LJ Tel: (0223)
323656
College, Lincoln LN 1 3DY
Tel: 0522 44713
Microelectronics Education Support
Unit, Advanced Technology Building,
University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4
7EZTcl: 0203 416994
Microvitec Ltd, Futures Way, Bolling
Road, Bradford BD4 7TU
Tel: 0274 390011
MUSE, PO Box 43, Houghton on the
Hill, Leicester LE7 96X
Tel: 0533 433839
National Econet Users Club, XOB,
Balkeerie, Eassic, Forfar, Angus
NERIS, Maryland College, Leighton
Street, Woburn, MK1 7 9JD
Newcastle SEMERC, Polytechnic,
Coach Lane Campus, Newcastle upon
Tyne, NE7 7XA Tel: 0632 665057
NORICC, Resources Centre, Coach
Lane Campus, Newcastle Upon Tyne,
NE7 7XA Tel: 091 270 0424
Open Tech Training Support Unit,
24-27 Prudential Buildings, Bar St,
Southampton, SOI OFG
Tel: 0703 36429
Possum Controls, Middle Green Trad.
Est., Langley, Slough, SL3 6DF
Tel: 0753 79234
Prestel Education, Telephone House,
Temple Avenue, London, EC4Y OHL
Tel: 01-583 9811
Redbridge SEMERC, Dane Centre,
Melbourne Road, Ilford, Essex IGl 4HT
Tel: 01-478 6363
RESOURCE, Exeter Road, Doncaster,
S. Yorks DN2 4PY
Tel: 0302 63800
Rickitt Educational Media, llton,
Ilminster, T A 1 9 9HS Tel : 04605 5 1 52
Sherston Software, 8 Court Street,
Sherston, Malmesbury, SN16 OLL
Tel: 0666 840433
Special Educational Needs Database,
SCET, 74 Victoria Crescent Road,
Glasgow, G12 9HN Tel: 04 1 334 9314
System, 12 Collegiate Crescent,
Sheffield, S10 2BA
Tel: 0742 682321
Tresscll, Unit 3, 22 Campbell Road,
Brighton, Susex, BN1 4QD
Tel: 0273 600186
Unilab, Clarendon Road, Blackburn,
Lancs, BB1 9TA Tel: 0254 57643
DELTA
COMPUTERS
BBC MASTER SERIES
PRINTER RIBBONS
Archimedes Ring for price
Brother Ml 009
£3.25
Maxtor
...£395.00
Canon PC1080A
£3.25
Master Compact Entry
Epson FX.MX.RX 80
£2.70
System
,..£349.00
Epson LX 80, LX86
£2.70
Master Compact Colour
Epson FX, MX, RX 100 ....
£3.35
System
,..£555.00
Panasonic KX-P1 081
£3.99
Citizen 120D/LSP10
£4.60
DISC DRIVES
Citizen MSP10.20
£2.70
5802 400K DS DD
Citizen MSP15.25
£3.25
40/80T
....£104.95
Kaga 810
£3.25
5802DB Dual 800K
M Tally MT80
£3.50
40/80T.
,..£204.95
Seikosha GP 100/250
£2.65
5802D as 5802DB+PSU.
,...£234.95
Shinwa CP80
£3.50
j Opus DDOS (With a drive) .. £40.00
SPECIAL OFFERS
PRINTERS (Inc lead)
Tatung Std. Res. Col.
Citizen 120D
,...£169.00
Monitor
.£169.00
Star NL-10
,..£237.00
Acom Med. Col. Monitor...
.£239.00
Panasonic KX-P1081
,..£169.00
Philips 8833 Col. Monitor .
.£259.00
Amstrad DMP3160
,..£199.00
Brother HR5 Printer
.,£69.99
* A Vu-File and Vu-Calc with every Master purchased
*
All orders over £100 receive free Touchpad for BBC B (only).
Worth £49.95 (while stocks last).
1 .
MINIMUM ORDER £10.00
All prices include VAT
y
Please add £5 carriage
on orders over £100
Mail Order only at this address
Trade and Educationa
enquiries welcome
85 Union Street Oldham Lancs
061-626 3841
CommunITel
PROFESSIONAL VIEWDATA SYSTEM
CommunITel is an exciting professional viewdata system
for the BBC B, Master & Compact Micros (DFS. ADFS or Network).
IT'S USES IN EDUCATION INCLUDE
Learning Information Technology Cross-Curricular Development
Structuring Creative Learning Administration/Publicity
The systom includes a comprehensive suite of programs which enables the creation of a database with
message facilities. This can then be made available to callers using a telephone line and any viewdata
terminal The package includes comprehensive tutorial and reference manuals and a samplo database.
Available in TWO LEVELS FOR USE WITH THE DTI (DaCom or Tandnta) SCHOOLS MODEM
LEVEL1 FRAME EDITOR
SEARCH
CAROUSEL DISPLAY
FRAME PRINTER
VIEWDATA ^ TERMINAL
LEVEL 1 + £55
UPGRADE FROM LEVEL 1 - TO LEVEL 2 £45
LEVEL 2 FRAME EDITOR
SEARCH
CAROUSEL DISPLAY
FRAME PRINTER
VIEWDATA * TERMINAL
DIAL IN HOST SYSTEM
TELESOFTWARE FORMATTER
LEVEL 2 £95
UPGRADE FROM LEVEL 2 TO ADFS LEVEL 2 £45
LEVEL 2 with Auto-answor/Auto-dial MODEM from £375 (all prices exclude p&p & VAT)
The ADFS version includes responso frames and gives up to 500 pages with
a single 80 track D.S. disk or thousands of pages using a winchester disc drive.
EDUCATIONAL DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE
FOR A DEMONSTRATION of LEVEL 2 dial: Viewdata No 01-968 7402 or Telephone 01-960 7998
For more information cut out the coupon and send to:
COMMUNITEL. 189 FRESTON ROAD, LONDON W10 6TH
Please send me details of CommunITel products. I am particularly interested in (please indicate)
• NAME
| POSITION
| ESTABLISHMENT
: address
.TEL AU5
ACORN USF.R MAY 1988
17
r
'FONTAID' NLQ Font
designer for CANON/
TAXAN & STAR NL10/LC10
(Archie version available).
Ring for a leaflet.
SOFTWARE
'Multi Font NLQ' for most
THE ACORN SPECIALISTS
The widest range of Archimedes Hardware &
Software anywhere!
r-Vtdill.Md-H
"External Drive Interface'
with link option. Fully buffered. THE
BEST £30.00. NB. Not all drives are
Archimedes compatible
'Drive Swap Switch' for above
makes external drive '0', internal
drive '1'. Ideal for PC Emulator as
5V4" drive becomes A: Internal B:
£ 8.00
'Drive Select Translation
Cable' when used with above. • ,
Interface links in external drive (SWR workspace version now available).
can stay set to '0', saves hassle INFORM Sideways Ram
when moving a drive from a Beeb information system! Ring for a leaflet.
£9.00 1
'DfsReader' program. This proc
ram will transfer the files on a Df
disk globally or selectively to an
Archimedes disk quickly ana simply.
£1 5.00.
Archie/BBC 'Monitor Switch'.
Plug both a BBC and an
Archimedes into an Archimedes col-
our monitor. £1 0.00
Archimedes ◄ ► BBC RS423
link kit including file transfer soft-
ware. £1 5.00
P&P £1.00 or as Quoted.
TRADE & EXPORT
ORDERS WELCOME
please enquire for
delivery cost.
PRINTERS Star/Canon/
Panasonic/Juki MONI-
TORS Philips/Microvitec
Ring for best prices
m
Phone/Credit Card
and Official
Orders welcome.
C.J.E. MICRO'S (Dept.AU) 78 Brighton
Road, Worthing, W. Sussex BN 11 2EN
(0903) 213361 % lines)
rchimedes
Acorn $
Hie choice ol p\|M‘ri<‘nc(*.
Special offers on
ARCHIMEDES & MASTERS.
Ring for details.
Officially approved ACORN/
ARCHIMEDES Dealer &
Service Centre.
Come to our shop for a
demonstration.
18
ACORN USER MAY 1988
. STOP PRESS
Stop Press' puts you right at the heart of the Desktop Publishing
Revolution. Utilising dynamic WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You
Get) facilities, 'Stop Press’ makes it simple to create professional
newsletters, leaflets, flyers, forms or in fact anything where text and
graphics are required.
‘Stop Press' is the ideal publishing software solution for home
enthusiasts, schools, societies and small businesses.
READ all about it
Documents may be prepared using any of the superb selection of type-
faces (12 or more) supplied or alternatively a typeface of your own
design.
Text can be entered from within Stop Press' or imported from your
preferred word processor with fully automatic on-screen text formatting
as the file loads.
Centering, ragged right, and literal justification are all available. There
also is full pixel resolution control over character size and spacing.
GRAPHIC DESIGN
As well as the ability to import digitised images there are outstanding
facilities for drawing, spraying and painting using either the patterns
supplied or your own pattern designs, enabling you to produce graphs,
charts, diagrams and pictures.
These can then be pasted, cropped or re-sized to fit any layout, and for
those finishing touches a fantastic zoom is available.
HOT OFF THE PRESSES
At anytime your pages can be previewed before being output to a wide
range of Epson or compatible dot matrix printers.
AMX MOUSE -
‘Stop Press' can be used with a joystick or keyboard but the AMX MK III
Mouse gives you the control and flexibility which you would expect from
the most accurate pointing device available. Produced in Switzerland
the AMX Mouse has a unique patented design which includes high
resolution movement (D.P.I.) and superior ball technology to ensure
that contact between the
Mouse and surface is
constant at all times.
EXTRA! EXTRA!
Complimenting 'Stop Press’. Extra! Extra! is a superb collection of
ready made clip art and new typefaces covering a wide variety of
subjects and styles.
'STOP PRESS’ IS AVAILABLE FOR
SOFTWARE
ONLY
WITH AMX
MK. Ill MOUSE
EXTRA!
EXTRA!
ACORN BBC/B + /MASTER
£49.99
£79.99
£24.99
AMSTRAD PCW 8256/8512
£49.99
£89.99
—
AMSTRADCPC 6128
£49 99
£79.99
£24.99
COMMODORE 64/128
£39.99
£69.99
—
These superb products are available from all good computer dealers or
direct by cheque. Access or Visa. All prices include VAT, postage and
packing. Become your own publishing baron with ‘Stop Press’ and start
the presses rolling.
FOR INSTANT
ADVANCED MEMORY SYSTEMS LIMITED 166
ADVANCED MEMORY SYSTEMS LIMITED
Imagination at your fingertips
ACCESS OR VISA ORDERS TELEPHONE: (0925) 41 3501.
170 WILDERSPOOL CAUSEWAY. WARRINGTON W A 4 6Q A.
TELEPHONE (0925) 413501 TELEX 628672 AMS G FAX 0925 58039
TUBEUNK ON M ICR ON E T 800 *T U B E L I N K f SUPPORTS THE AMX MOUSE AND ALL AMS SOFTWARE
feV -i ‘ lJlVl'i V ‘l 'l 'l '. 'i 'i 'i ‘i S V‘i ', V ‘l 'l 'l'i
■mraa
ARCHIMEDES
305 BASE AKB 10 695.00
305 & mono monitor 728.00
305 & colour monitor 865.00
3 1 0 BASE AKB 1 5 752.00
310 & mono monitor 804.00
310 & colour monitor 952.00
A3I0M AKB30 815.00
A3 1 0M mono 865.00
A3I0M colour . 1014.00
410 SERIES
Entry System 1399.00
Mono . 1449.00
Colour 1599.00
440 SERIES
Entry System 2299.00
Mono 2349.00
Colour 2499.00
Archimedes/Master Econet 43.00
0.5 MB RAM 89.00
Floppy disk 125.00
20 Mbyte hard disk Spodule 499.00
(300 only)
Podule Backplane 35.00
Archimedes Pref Manual 29.95
Assm. Lang Prog Manual 1 1 .00
Archmedes software in stock
MASTER 128
Complete with internal
Software 346.00
Master Turbo Upgrade 99.00
Master Econet Module 40.00
Master 512 Upgrade 189.00
Universal second processor 75.00
Eprom Cartridge 13.00
Reference Manual Part I 13.00
Reference Manual Part 2 13.00
BBC MASTER COMPACT
ENTRYSYSTEM
• 1 28k* 'Single 640K Drive*
•Bundled Software*. 313.00
TVSYSTEM
* I28K* 'Single 640K Drive* *UHF
Modulator* 'Bundled Software*
326.00
MONO SYSTEM
*I28K* ‘Single 640K Drive* ‘Bundled
Software* *12" High Res Monochrome
Monitor* 358.00
COLOUR SYSTEM
*128K* ’Single 640K Drive* ‘Bundled
Software* *14" Medium Res Colour
Monitor* 491.00
MONITORS
Phillips BM 7502
12" Hi res P3I Green Phospher Screen.
CVBS input Audio input Band width 20
MHz. 2000 CHRS Display 68.00
Phillips BM 7522
Amber Screen 82.00
Phillips BM 7542
Dedicated WD phosphor Screen monitor
82.00
Phillips BM7513
12" Green IBM compatible 104.00
Taxan KX117
12" Green Screen P3 1 77.00
Taxan KX118
1 2" Green Screen P39 86.00
Taxan KX1 19
12" PUL Amber Screen 86.00
Taxan Super Vision 620 260.00
COLOUR MONITORS
Phillips CM8833
I4"CVBS and RGB medium resolution
colour monitor IBM PC compatible Fast
blankup to enable superimposing
Stereo Audio Ear phone socket 600 dots
x 285 lines vertical 234.00
Phillips CM88S2
1 4" RGB professional med res colour. 700
dots x 285 251.00
Phillips CM8873
1 4" RGB high resolution colour monitor
Res 850 x 480 478.00
MONITOR TO TV CONVERTER
AV 7300 Colour tuner module. Push
button control. 1 2 preset channels. Built
in aerial. Compact design. Composite
video only 60.00
SWIVEL BASE
Tilt and swivel base for 1 2"or 1 4"momtor
or TV. "Looks very elegant" at an
unbeatable price 9.00
SERIAL & PARALLEL T SWITCHES
Parallel T switch (2 way) 15.00
Parallel T Switch (4 way) 25.00
MITSUBISHI DISC DRIVES
Source 100% BBC compatible slimline
disk drives. All drives supplied complete
with formatting diskette,
comprehensive users manual and all
necessary cables. All drives are 40/80
Track switchable at the front and have
two years warranty.
S'A i" Drives without P.S.U.
400A Single 400K Double Sided . 98.00
SD 802C Dual 400K Double Sided
190.00
S'A" Drives with P.S.U.
400B Single 400K Double Sided
117.00
SD 802E Dual 400K Double Sided
204.00
SD 802D Dual 400K Drives horizontally
mounted in a monitor stand to fit both
the BBC B and the Master series
230.00
Mitsubishi Bave drives uncased with
40/80 switch 77.00
SOURCE DISC DRIVES
Source SD35 3V5>" disk drive, single drive
69.00
Source SD352 3'// dual drive 1 25.00
Supplied cased complete with cables,
powered from computer. Extended two
year warranty.
Source SD35S 3 '//' single drive with
PSU 99.00
Source 3S2S3'/f dual drive with P.S.U.
173.00
SPECIAL OFFER
Source 35S Combo Dual 5 'A" and 3'//'
160.00
Source SD3545S Combo dual 5'A"and
3'A" drives with P.S.U 216.00
WINCHESTER DISC DRIVES
Source HD20 Twillstar’s 20 Mbyte
winchester drive including Acorn DFS
ROM complete with P S. U 433.00
Source HDP201 Twillstar's 20 Mbyte
winchester drive and a 400K double
sided floppy drive built in a plynth to
accommodate monitor on the top and
the computer underneath. Includes
ADFS ROM and P S U 694.00
Source TS10 10 Mbyte tape streamer
backup unit with utilities 565.00
Other size hard disks are available,
please call for our latest prices.
FLOPPY DISCS
Raven S’A" pack of 1 0 in a clear library
box 13.04
Raven 5*A" rainbow colour pack of 10
in library box ... 13.04
Raven 3W single sided pack of io in
library box 12.00
Raven 3 W double sided pack of 1 0 in
library box 22.00
LOCKABLE STORAGE BOXES
Trackmaster 5’A" 70 x 5 *A" lockable
7.00
Trackmaster S’A" 100 x 5'A" lockable
9.00
Trackmaster 3'A" 40 x 3W lockable
6.00
Trackmaster 3'A" 100 x 3 W lockable
9.00
PRINTERS
CANON PW1080A
80 column. 160 cps draft 40 cps NLO
Built in friction & tractor feed. ... 21700
CANON 55 A
Wide version IBM compat 347.00
NEW JUST ARRIVED
STAR LC- 10 182.00
New enhanced version complete with
IBM & Parallel Interface
Sheetfeeder POA
STAR LC-10 Colour POA
Ribbon 4.70
STAR NB24-I0 415.00
STAR NXJ5 269.00
STAR ND 10 259.00
STAR ND IS 365.00
STAR NR IS 425.00
STAR NR 10 325.00
STAR NB IS 585.00
STARNB24-1S 525.00
MP200
200 cps draft. 40 cps NLQ. 7K buffer ( 1 28
downloadable characters in NLQ)
optional 8K memory 255.00
MICRO P MP16S
80 Columns. 1 65 cps in draft. 35 cps NLO.
Ultra high res. graphics. Friction and
traction feed. 2 Year warranty.
Epson or IBM compatible 173.00
MP201
As MP200 with 136 columns. 299.00
MP13S
135 cps. 80 column printer. Friction
tractor feed. NLQ. Epson & IBM
Compatible 126.00
MP480
480 cps dot matrix printer. 74 cps NLQ.
80 column. Epson & IBM compatible.
Std parallel 303.00
TAXAN KXP81 5
Taxan KYP 815 new enhanced KP 810
with 160 cps and fully Epson & IBM
Compatible 260.00
TAXAN KZP9 15
Taxan KXP 915 New enhanced KP
915 with 180 cps and fully Epson &
IBM Compatible 365.00
CITIZEN LSP 100P 1 75.00
1 20/25cps 80 column Centronics IBM
Parallel
CITIZEN LSP 100S 199.00
120/25cps 80 column RS232 Serial
CITIZEN MSP I0E
1 60/40cps 80 column Centronics IBM
Parallel 239.00
CITIZEN MSP 10E
l60/40cps 80 column RS232 Serial
239.00
CITIZEN MSP ISE
1 60/40cps 136 column Centronics
IBM Parallel 251.00
CITIZEN MSP 15E
1 60/40cps 136 column RS232 Serial
346.00
CITIZEN MSP ISE
200/66cps 1 36 column dual interface
561.00
PREMIER 35
Daisy Wheel 35cps 1 36 column
Centronics IBM Parallel . 434.00
PREMIER 35
Daisy Wheel 35cps column RS232
Serial 494.00
CITIZEN LASER
Overture 1 10 1303.00
TECO VP1814
Overture 1 10 173.00
EPSON PRINTERS
LX-800 199.00
FX-800 320.00
FX-1000 433.00
EX-800 399.00
Ex- 1000 545.00
LQ-800 430.00
LQ-1000 580.00
LQ-2500 865.00
SQ-2500 1126.00
PANASONIC KX-P3 13 1
Fully Formed Serial Impact Daisywheel
Printer, Print speed 1 7cps. Diablo
compatible print wheels. Print pitches
avatlableare: 10. 12. 1 5 and proportional
spacing. Standard friction feed and
optional tractor Standard Centromc
optional RS232C Built with 6K text buffer
expandable to 32K buffer 251.00
BROTHER HR 20
Daisywheel 8K standard buffer
upgradable to I6K. Standard serial and
parallel port 338.00
JUKI Daisywheel
Juki 6100 286.00
MP26 Daisywheel
Universal compatibility with almost all
personal computers at an unbeatable
price. Speed : 26 cps. 1 32 columns
Diablo 630 compatible 216.00
Optional Tractorfeed 82.00
Optional Sheet feeder 1 26.00
GAKKEN GPR-2000
Print speed of 1 8 characters per second
Fully Qume compatible. Takes Qume
exchangable Daisywheel and ribbons.
Selectable 10, 12 & 15 pitch. Supports
proportional spacing. Standard friction
feed Tractor/cut sheet feeder and serial
interface optional 146.00
Take a holiday whlleyour Computer
Is being repaired. Or take out one of
our repair contracts and be working
before you can even get to the airport
Twillstar Computers Maintenance
Division Authorised Service Centre for
Amstrad and most IBM Compatibles 24
hour on site and in house maintenance
contracts with loan equipment
provided In house repair service on Disk
Drives, Printers, Modems, Systems and
monitors For further details call our
Maintenance Hotline on
01-574 5271
" SPECIAL OFFER
NEC P2200 P1NWRITER
275.00 + vat
FREE PRINTER CABLE (to BBC Master.
Archmides, Electro . staND .
"““S^she/ts paper
SHEET FEEDER £59.00
«S®»SK r
Or switches to selection of typeface
outputs at 168 cps^ hjc capabilities. Built-in
\ options and su P er £ ^ Q P ‘ or pull feeding of
l tractor that permits pushup ^ for quick<
i continuous forms oacking slips, or other
easy removal of rec P ^ [* he f ron t feed function
1 demand documen^dthe continuous forms
lets you ,nser * ^ r S nnt 0 f the printer.
,nt0 the ri draft 1 68 cps. standard draft
° 2mm
\ Pef inCh " P "
Programmable up to rV36 p rlat , ons: Draft Gothic
Resident Type Font LQ courier: 10. 12. 15.
1 0. 1 2. 1 5. 1 7. and 2 °P^^ rtional Spacing p us
17 and 20 pitches. LQ Bow rropu 1? itches l q
C (XR e BM0
InputBtlffer: 8K standard . 360 dp|
°"9' ral snd tw0 cop,cs
5rop. r ^.2ro22, b s.
feeder
■wpfi
6 5 to 8.5 inches wan sne- —
JSmmn
iii.cn
SPECIAL urrbiT
*************** _
SAVE 29 00}
c
FREE
1 PRINTER
I STAND
FREE
200 SHEETS
OF PAPER
When you buy a
Panasonic 1
r _~c KX-P1081.
The faster and
enhanced KX-P108U20^-
cos m draft mode. 24 cps I
?n NLQ mode Fully I
RX80 and IBM Matrix and /n |
G S»ndard
1 interface is optional •; " —
SPECIAL
OFFER
APEX HOUSE
BLANDFORD ROAD
NORWOOD GREEN .
SOUTHALL
MIDD UB2 4HD
S 01-574 5271 or
® 01-571 5938
Telex: 25247 Telex G.attn TIL |
Fax: 01-547 4326
PRINTER , , oiinter Allows
*2" -
You can purchase any of the Items listed. All you have to do Is write your
requirements on a sheet of paper, and we will despatch your goods within 24
hours, subject to availability. Please add the following amounts for Postage and
Packing.
,ev'
Items below 10 00 add 1.50
Items below lOO.OOadd 3.50
Items below 50 00
Items over 100 00
add 2.50
add 8.00
(UK Mainland only) All prices exclude VAT Please add 15% VAT to all orders
Prices correct at time of going to press but subject to change without notice.
Please make cheques payable to TWILLSTAR COMPUTERS LTD.
Access/Visa Card Holders: Welcome.
VISIT OUR MEGA-COMPUSTORE OPEN 9am - 6pm Monday to Saturday
,^- b 0|o
N<£
V8i
s
MORE POWER
TO
ELBOW
In handling word processing, spreadsheets and project
W planning, the speed of Acorn’s Archimedes microcomputer
is hugely impressive.
The benefits of such power include superh graphics for
CAD and image processing, and considerable creative oppor-
tunities in the field of sound and music.
Furthermore, with the option of a PC emulator
Archimedes opens up the world ol MS-DOS and a wide choice
of business software applications.
Send for the Archimedes Power Pack. No other computer
offers such power and performance for the price.
A B R I T I S H H K O A U C ASTIN ('.
Tel: 0800 100 100 (Free call).
To: Worn Computers l.imitcd I' III! I. POST 1335, IlSI 3^ \.
Please send me the \reliimcdes Power Park.
I am particularly interested in the following areas:
□ I I Database
Spreadsheet* I I management
□ Word
prnee**ing
□ Crapliie
- -
applieat ion-
□ Informal in
retrieval
Name:
Position:
( !ompanv :_
\«lilress:_
Postcode:
Tel. \o:_
Offer applies to the l . k. only.
□ Project
I ‘la niiin<
Acorn®
llicelm'iec ol evperieno*
□ Education
□ Home
Q Uu»inr»»
Archimedes
(! () II P O II A T I 0 N M I C It O C O M
MS-DOS is a trademark of tin* Microsoft Corporation. Worn and Wrliitncdes are trademarks of Worn Computers Limited.
THE OAK MENTOR COMPUTER SYSTEM
is based on the famous Acorn Master computer.
The new Oak Mentor range offers the user a
professional computer with more facilities
for less money!
2800 1 28K processor, professional keyboard, complete £399.00
2801 1 28K processor, 80 track d/s disc drive,
professional keyboard £475.00
2802 1 28K processor, dual 80 track d/s disc drives,
professional keyboard £575.00
2820 1 28K processor, 80 track d/s disc drive,
20 Mb hard disc, professional keyboard £895.00
M2801 1 28K processor, 80 track d/s disc drive, professional
keyboard, hi- res mono monitor £549.00
M2802 1 28K processor, dual 80 track d/s disc drives,
professional keyboard, hi-res mono monitor £649.00
M2820 1 28K processor, 80 track d/s disc drive, 20 Mb hard disc,
professional keyboard, hi-res mono monitor £969.00
MC2801 128K processor, 80 track d/s disc drive, professional
keyboard, hi-res colour monitor £749.00
MC2802 1 28K processor, dual 80 track d/s disc drives,
professional keyboard, hi-res colour monitor £849.00
MC2820 1 28K processor, 80 track d/s disc drive, 20 Mb hard disc,
professional keyboard, hi-res colour monitor . £1169.00
All systems include View (word processor) Viewsheet
(spreadsheet) and are covered by our 12 Month Guarantee
Hi -res mono monitor 2000 characters/green screen.
Hi-res colour monitor . 37mm dot pitch
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★*★**★★★★★★
PURCHASE WITH CONFIDENCE
OAK GUARANTEES THE HIGHEST QUALITY ACORN
COMPATIBLES. . . .OR YOUR MONEY BACK! !
Call Oak for quotes on configuration of your choice.
Delivery single systems £14.00 We are pleased to quote for multiple
deliveries. Telephone for quantity discounts. Prices exclude V.A.T.
United Kingdom customers please add 15%.
Oak Computers, Cross Park House, Low Green,
■Biff Rawdon, Leeds LS196HA. Telephone: (0532) 502615. fpnm
1 i Government and Education Authority Orders Accepted, c v 1
READER SURVEY
Win an
Archimedes
A s a reader of Acorn User you have a vast influence on
the content of the magazine - especially when you reply
to the Reader Survey. Last year people from all over the
world made their views felt, and three won Compacts.
This year we’ve gone one better with an Archimedes
and two Compacts, all three with colour monitors, to be won if
you come up with good suggestions for a new series of articles.
We want to know who our readers are and what they think of
the magazine. Ideas that have been taken up from past surveys
include listings on Micronet, the Noticeboard, reader offers and
special theme issues.
Survey answers will be compiled statistically, but each indi-
vidual answer will be kept confidential. Please don’t exaggerate —
your replies have no influence on whether you win a micro.
You can send in a photocopy of the survey to save cutting up
the magazine, but please don’t send in more than one copy. Even
if you don’t own an Acorn micro, you can still fill in the survey,
leaving out questions which aren’t relevant.
For the best suggestion we’ve got one of Acorn’s world-beating
Archimedes micros waiting. The Archimedes 310 is one of the
world’s fastest micros, and certainly the fastest at the price. Our
prize - a complete system worth over £1000 - features a colour
monitor, 1Mb of RAM, built-in 3.5-inch disc drive and a BBC
software emulator. Unpack it, plug it in, and away you go!
And for two runners-up, we’ve got BBC Master Compacts,
complete with colour monitor and disc drive, each worth over
£500. These are ideal for home and business and we have 40 of
them on a company-wide network.
The winners will be notified by post, and their names published
in Acorn User. The Editor’s decision is final.
22
ACORN USER MAY 1988
READER SURVEY
YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM •
1 What micro(s) do you own?
□ 01 BBC model B □ 08 Archimedes 410/440
□ 02 Electron □ 09 RM Nimbus
□ 03 Master 128/B+ □ 10 Macintosh
□ 04 Master 512 d 11 Z88
□ 05 Compact □ 12 IBM PC or compatible
□ 06 Archimedes 305 d 13 None
□ 07 Archimedes 310 d 14 Other
2 How many micros are there in your household?
□ 01 0 d 03 2
□ 02 1 □ 04 3 or more
3 Which of the following do you own or hope to buy
in the next 12 months?
Own
Hope to buy
□ 01
□ 12
Disc drive
□ 02
□ 13
Printer
□ 03
□ 14
Monitor
□ 04
□ 15
Mouse/T rackerball
O 05
□ 16
Second or co-processor
□ 06
□ 17
Shadow RAM board
□ 07
□ 18
Sideways RAM
□ 08
□ 19
Modem
□ 09
□ 20
Hard disc
□ 10
□ 21
Teletext receiver
□ ll
□ 22
Other
What do
you mainly use
your micro for?
□ 01 Recreation/hobby
□ 02 School/college work
d 03 Teaching own children
d 04 Preparing teaching materials
□ 05 Home or personal affairs
□ 06 Business
□ 07 Club/society administration
□ 08 Doing office work at home
. d 09 Other
5 What are the top five applications you use your micro for?
d 01 Accounting
□ 10 Graphics/art/design
d 02 Arcade games
d 11 Home education
d 03 CAD/CAM
□ 12 Music
□ 04 Communications
d 13 Spreadsheets
d 05 Computer terminal
d 14 Statistics
d 06 Database
d 15 Teaching
□ 07 Data capture/research
□ 16 Your own programming
□ 08 Desktop publishing
□ 17 Wordprocessing
□ 09 Equipment control
d 18 Other
6 If you program, which of
the following do you use?
□ 01 6502 assembler
d 06 Logo
□ 02 ARM assembler
□ 07 Pascal
□ 03 Basic
d 08 Prolog/Lisp
d 04 C
d 09 Other
□ 05 Fortran
7 If you have a BBC or Electron disc system, which type is it?
□ 01 5.25-inch 40-track
□ 05 Hard disc
□ 02 5.25-inch 80-track
And do you use:
□ 03 5.25-inch 40/80-track
□ 06 ADFS
□ 04 3.5-inch
□ 07 DFS or compatible
Which of the following do
you have?
d 01 Basic 1
□ 09 Mini Office
d 02 Basic 2 or later
□ 10 AMSPagemaker/StopPress
□ 03 A disc sector editor
□ ll Super Art
d 04 Fleet St Editor
□ 12 Ultracalc
d 05 InterSheet
□ 13 View
d 06 InterBase
d 14 ViewSheet
d 07 InterWord
□ 15 ViewS tore
d 08 Master file
□ 16 Wordwise Plus
9 Do you use any of the following?
□ 01 Electronic mail □ 03 User group,
□ 02 Bulletin boards d 04 BBC network (eg, Econet)
10 Has your micro ever needed repair?
□ 01 Yes d 2 No
11 Where do you usually buy your hardware and software?
Hard Soft
□ 01 d 05 High street store
□ 02 d 06 Mail order
□ 03 d 07 Acorn dealer or special computer shop
□ 04 d 08 Other
12 Please estimate your personal software spending over the
past 12 months:
□ oi £20
□ 04 £100-£299
□ 02 £20-£49
□ 05 £300-£499
□ 03 £50-£99
□ 06 over £500
13 and over the next 12 months?
□ oi £20
□ 04 £100-£299
□ 02 £20-£49
□ 05 £300-£499
□ 03 £50-£99
□ 06 Over £500
ABOUT YOU
14 Are you □ 01 male? d 02 female?
15 How old are you?
d 01 under 16
□ 04 3 5-44
□ 02 16-24
□ 05 45-54
□ 03 25-34
□ 06 55 or older
16 What is your occupation?
□ 01 Student at school
□ 09 Engineering
□ 02 Student at college/university
□ 10 Other professional
□ 03 Teaching/training
□ ll Managerial
□ 04 Research and development
□ 12 Admin/clerical
□ 05 Self-employed/small business
□ 13 Manual/tradesman
□ 06 Health/welfare
□ 14 Uniformed services
□ 07 Media/creative
□ 15 Unwaged
□ 08 Computing/electronics
□ 16 Other
ACORN USHR MAY 1988
23
READER SURVEY
17 Do you use another computer at work or college?
□ 01 No □ 05 RM Nimbus
□ 02 Acorn/BBC micro □ 06 Sun-type workstation
□ 03 IBM PC or compatible □ 07 Other ^
□ 04 Macintosh
18 How many micros are there at your place of work?
□ 01 None □ 03 10-19
□ 02 1-9 □ 04 20+
19 Do you authorise expenditure on computers at work?
□ oi Yes D02No
ACORN USER
20 How do you usually get Acorn User ?
□ 01 By subscription
□ 02 Regular newsagent order
□ 03 Buy it regularly
□ 04 Read someone else’s/school/library copy
21 For how long have you read Acorn User ?
□ 01 Less than 3 months □ 04 More than a year
□ 02 4-6 months □ 05 Since 1982
□ 03 7-12 months
22 How many other people read your copy?
□ 01 None
□ 02 1-3
□ 03 4 or more
23 Which of the following do you buy/read regularly?
Buy
Read
□ 01
□ 10
Acorn User
□ 02
□ ii
A&B Computing
□ 03
□ 12
Beebug
□ 04
□ 13
Byte
□ 05
□ 14
Educational Computing
□ 06
0 15
Electron User
□ 07
□ 16
Personal Computer World
D 08
□ 17
The Micro User
□ 09
□ 18
Times Educational Supplement
24 Do you read the advertising in Acorn User ?
□ 01 Some
□ 02 Most
□ 03 All
25 Have you brought mail order products from advertise-
ments in Acorn User ?
□ oi Yes □ 02 No
26 From whom would you order products by mail-order?
□ 01 Any advertiser in Acorn User
□ 02 Only regular AU advertisers
□ 03 Only one of the well-known industry names
o
-a
£
o
X
you rate
the following features:
Good
Fair
Poor
□ oi
□ 22
□ 43 News
□ 02
□ 23
□ 44 Noticeboard
□ 03
□ 24
□ 45 Letters
□ 04
□ 25
□ 46 First Byte
□ 05
□ 26
□ 47 Step-by-Step
□ 06
□ 27
□ 48 Hints & Tips
□ 07
□ 28
□ 49 Archimedes Agora
□ 08
□ 29
□ 50 Competitions
□ 09
□ 30
□ 51 Technical features
□ 10
□ 31
□ 52 General features
□ ll
□ 32
□ 53 Joe’s Jottings
□ 12
□ 33
□ 54 Yellow pages
□ 13
□ 34
□ 55 Hardware reviews
□ 14
□ 35
□ 56 Software reviews
□ 15
□ 36
□ 57 Business section
□ 16
□ 37
□ 58 Education news
□ 17
□ 38
□ 59 Education section
□ 18
□ 39
□ 60 Network page
□ 19
□ 40
□ 61 Free ads
□ 20
□ 41
□ 62 Abuser’s Diary
□ 21
□ 42
□ 63 Reader service (if used)
Name the three best articles you have read in Acorn User
□ oi
month
year
□ 02
month_
— j
year
□ 03.
month .
year
29 Number your top three preferences for expanding Acorn
User services:
□ 01 An Acorn User bulletin board
□ 02 Phone enquiry service
□ 03 Training courses organised by Acorn User
□ 04 More Acorn User software
Suggestion:
□ 05 More reader offers
Suggestion:
PRIZE DRAW
Finally to qualify for the prize draw, think up a name
and idea for a three-part series of articles in Acorn User :
Fill in your name and address here and send it to: Acorn User Survey,
Redwood Publishing Ltd, 20-26 Brunswick Place, London N1 6DJ.
Forms should be returned by May 27 1988.
Name
Address
Postcode
24
ACORN USER MAY 1988
AMAZING OFFERS!
20%
SCOOP PURCHASE
ELECTRON
COMPUTERS IN
STOCK NOW
3 months warranty
£ 59.95
Includes power supply, aerial
lead, user free game and 90 day
warranty
DISCOUNT FROM ALL BBC PUBLICATIONS EDUCATION SOFTWARE Send 1 8p stamp for catalogue.
FOR THE ELECTRON
VIEW ROM
_£29t95*
Word Processor
£14.95
VIEW SHEET ROM
(Spreadsheet)
£14.95
BUY BOTH
£22.00
ACORN PLUS 1
iSMT
Limited stocks
£43.95
PACKAGE 1
PLUS 1
£49.95
VIEW
£14.95
VIEWSHEET
£14.95
OFFER PRICE
£65.95
PACKAGE 2
ELECTRON COMPUTER
£59.95
PLUS 1
£49.95
VIEW ROM
£14.95
OFFER PRICE
£99.95
Lloytron
DATA RECORDERS
SUITABLE FOR THE
ELECTRON
ONLY £ 19.95
ELECTRON AND BBC
ELECTRON JOYSTICK
Electron Joystick Interface & Software £1 4.95
Quickshot II Turbo Joystick £13.95
BUY BOTH FOR ONLY £25.00!
NEW
1
ACORNSOFT OVERVIEW
A sophisticated combination of Viewspell &
Viewstore on Rom Cartridge and
Viewplot, View index and Printer Driver
Generator on Disc
BBC Disc & Rom R.R.P..£9*9e-
OFFER PRICE £78.45
ACORNSOFT VIEW
PROFESSIONAL
Combines the functions of a wordprocessor
spreadsheet and database in one program.
BBC B, & all Master Series Micros
R.R.P.£9945'
OFFER PRICE ONLY £79.45
PRIMARY EDUCATION
ASK SOFTWARE - 7-1 1 yrs
THE BEST FOUR LANGUAGE PROGRAMS (SET)
THE BEST FOUR MATHS PROGRAMS (SET)
BBC DISC £17.95 per set
BBC COMPACT £18.35 per set
BBC/Elecass £17.95 per set
SPECIAL OFFER — ACORNSOFT
BBC Cassette and Disc
EDUCATION COMPENDIUM
Workshop (3 + years)
ABC (7 + years)
SPOOKY MANOR (7+ years)
TALKBACK (10+ years) SET L1 1 .9u
ELECTRON POWER SUPPLIES £9.95
LOGO (Electron) £59.95 E29.95
ARCHIMEDES !
ZARCH
£4*95
£17.96
MINOTAUR
£4* 95
£13.46
ANSIC
£44*85
£102.47
ISO PASCAL
£11*85
£102.47
FORTRAN 77
.£14*65
£102.47
COMAL
£49r85
£44.95
DELTABASE
-£2*95
£26.96
twin
-£3*55
£30.00
*BBC COMPATIBLE
c z
HOME INTEREST
Snapper
Boxer X&49-
*Watch your
Weight SJ^r
Theatre Quiz£649-
*Desk Diary £6 t 99-
^Business Games
J&99-
*Graphsand
Charts J£r99*
Complete Cocktail Maker
SELECT ANY FIVE FOR ONLY £7.95
(or £1.65 each)
RECENT RELEASES
AT SPECIAL PRICES
VOLTMACE DELTA 3B TWIN JOYSTICKS
for use with Plus 1 or BBC
Normally £1*95
Now only £17.95
EDUCATION SPECIALS
Linkword Spanish -£4435"
£ 4435 -
£4*65-
ANY TWO FOR £3.95 ,
Linkword Italian
Talkback
Workshop
Maths 'O' Level II X4£6T
Biology £4*65"
English _DA€5r
Superior Collection 1 or 2
Superior Collection 3
Codename Droid
Strykers Run
Play If Again Sam
Spellbinder
Play It Again Sam 2
BBC only
Electron only
Crazee Rider
Palace of Magic
Elixir
Bonecruncher
Quest
BBC/Electron Cass £945- £7.59
BBC Disc £U45~ £9.59
BBC Compact/Electron 3.5" £4445“ £1 1 .99
Cholo — Disc only £14.35
IMOGEN BBC Cass £7.95
BBC 40 or 80t £8.95
Master Compact £1 0.95
REMEMBER! - NEW TITLES ARE BEING
RELEASED EVERY WEEK
'PHONE FOR BARGAIN PRICES!!
MICROPOWER AND OTHER GAMES
Classic Adventures
£645- RubbleTrouble
£745- Moonraider
£745*
Giroscope
£645- Swoop
-£745- Felix & the Evil Weevils
£645*'
Bandits at 3 0'Clock
£645 - Croaker
-£745- Frenzy
£645-
Escape from Moon Base Alpha £745* Bumble Bee
-£745“ Microcosm
£345-*
Ghouls
£745 - Positron
FatmanSam
£345**
Stock Car
£745 - Felix & the Fruit Monsters
-£745- Star Drifter
£345-*
Killer Gorilla
£745 - Cybertron Mission
£745*
BBC & ELECTRON ANY FIVE FOR ONLY £7.95
BBC ONLY
MICROPOWER MAGIC COMPILATIONS I & I
10 ORIGINAL HITS ON EACH
FANTASTIC VALUE
BBC B/B + /MASTER CASSETTE .£*95 E5.95
B BC B/B + /MASTE R 80T DISC X*95 £5.95
B BC B/B + /MASTE R 40T DISC £*95 - £5.95
BBC COMPACT DISC £*95 £7.75
ELECTRON CASSETTE £*95- £5.75
BRAND NEW
FERGUSON
12" GREEN SCREEN MONITORS (MM02)
ONLY £59.95!
(carriage free if bought with Electron or Plus One
- otherwise please add £2.00)
MASTER COMPACT
★ VIEW 3
£59r8Cr
£45.00
★ VIEWSHEET
£5*80-
£45.00
VIEWSPELL
£3*95-
£31.96
★ VIEWSTORE
.£5*80-
£45.00
★ VIEW INDEX
£11.99
| ★ ARCHIMEDES COMPATIBLE
Name _
Address
Tel..
I claim my mystery gift
. AU5
SAE for comprehensive price lists
Please state for which machine
SOFTWARE BARGAINS
(a division of the MicroPower group)
Dept AU5 8/8A Regent St., Chapel Allerton, Leeds LS7 4PE
Tel: (0532) 687735
Out of Hours Answer Phone
PLEASE ADD 95p P&P
and make cheques
payable to Software Bargains
Goods despatched within 48 Hours
Subject to availability
ACORN USER MAY 1988
25
MAKE YOUR MICRO EARN!
Yes making money becomes incidental when you know how. Your
micro is, if only you knew it, a gold mine. The size and make is
irrelevant. Make the initial effort NOW by starting your own
HOME BASED BUSINESS.
This may be the most important move you will ever make!
REMEMBER: You’ll never get rich by digging someone else’s
“ditch”. Anyone in the country, including YOU, can become very rich
in a relatively short period of time just by doing a few basic things! It’s
more rewarding than playing games. The benefits are many and
varied. Full or part time. For FREE details send S.A.E. to:
31 Pilton Place (AU13)
King and Queen Street
Walworth, London SE17 1DR
S.P. ELECTRONICS
Archimedes From caoi.oo
BBC MASTER COMPACT From £359.00
BBC MASTER 128 .£425.00
Drac Operating System 8271 £75.00
Dtsc Operating System 1770 .....£49.95
G3WHO Rtty Program (Tape) £7.50
G3WHO Fitly Program (Eprom Version) £20.00
Circuit Board lor Rtty decoder (inc. instructions) Ritty PCB £1 0.00
Printer Cable (Centronics) £1 2.90
Citizen 120D120cps £199.00
“ la Recorder Acorn ALF03 £30.00
'RDWISE Word Processor .. £33.00
kWordwise Plus Word Processor £49.00
Slow Scan TV Circuit Board & Program (inc. instructions) £1 7.50
ADFS £29.90
Opus 5802 40/80 Track Disc Drive ExPSU £1 26.50
Opus 5802SD 40/80 Track Disc Drive *PSU £1 60.95
0% finance available on all Archimedes models.
Wide selection of software, books, leads, p/ups, etc. All prices only while
stocks last. All available Mail Order
2 High Street, Hucknall,
Notts. NG15 7HG
Tel: 0602 640377
Educational &
institutional
ex den welcome
(all prices include VAT)
Carriage
Extra
ROMPLUS-144
from JAFA SYSTEMS
UP TO 1 44K OF ROM AND RAM IN A PLUS ONE SLOT
The ROMPLUS-1 44 is fully buffered and has 8 sockets to hold either 8 ROMS or 7
ROMS plus a 32K RAM. The ROMs are individually software selectable via an
additional operating system ROM supplied in the unit. The RAM is configured as 2
x 1 6K sideways ROMs, each of which can be loaded either from disc/tape or from
other ROMs, for applications that require two ROMs simultaneously. The RAM
can also be used as a RAM FILING SYSTEM or a PRINTER BUFFER.
Price Only £39 + £15 if RAM required
"Here at last is a true Mode 7 adaptor.. .and very impressive it is too." - E.U., Aug. 87
"A quality product well made.. .buy it." - A.&B. Computing, Feb. '88
ELECTRON MODE 7 ADAPTOR
As reviewed in this issue
Full hardware implementation gives the Electron a true MODE 7 display.
1 K screen, direct character pokes, full teletext character set, full colour.
Compatible with Wordwise Plus.
Compatible with Prestel/Micronet and Teletext (Ceefax/Oracle) adaptors..
Compatible with long MODE 7 adventure games,
TV and RGB outputs.
Screw-in case fits between Electron and Plus One and protects connectors.
Available as a kit - bare ROM parts list and layout.
Prices: Full Unit - £89, Kit - £25+ £1 0 for case
Still available -
The Original E2P Second Processor Kit
Bare pcb, instruction booklet, software on cassette, 3.5" disc or ROM
“An excellent add-on” - A.&B. Computing, April ‘86
Prices: With software on cassette - £1 5, 3.5" disc or Rom - £20
ALL PRICES ARE INCLUSIVE OF POSTAGE, ETC.
Please allow 28 days delivery
JAFA SYSTEMS
» Lon-y-Garwa, Caerphilly, Mid-Glamorgan CF8 1NL
Telephone: (0222) 887203
The MULTIPROM EPROM programmer, based on our very popular
UVIPROM design, has the following Hardware Features:-
* Programs2764, 27128. 27256.27512.27513 &2701 1 EPROMs,
including "A” & CMOS types.
* Plugs into user port on BBC B, 128 or Master.
* High quality TextoolZIF socket.
* ZIF can be powered down.
* Quick setting of EPROM type using DIP switches.
* Custom made aluminium case in textured cream colour.
The UVP 1 . 1 ROM contains:-
* Fast or slow programming algorithm.
* Hex & ASCII screen display.
* Five ‘ commands for blank check, road, blow, view buffer &
compare.
Prices: MULTIPROM plus UVP 1.1 ROM
£45.00
MULTIPROM
EPROM PROGRAMMER
r
UVIPAC EPROM ERASER
The UVIPAC was designed especially for
the home microcomputer enthusiast,
requiring to erase up to three EPROMs at a
time.
* Very compact 90 x 80 x 40mm plastic
case.
* 230 volt mains powered ( 1 1 0 Volt
optional).
* Three EPROM or one CPU capacity.
* Positive on indication, using fibre optics.
* Fixed 15 minute timer option in (T)
version.
* Fixed timer + sounder in (TS) version.
* Spare tubes only £3.00 if required.
Prices
UVIPAC
UVIPAC (T)
UVIPAC (TS)
£21.45
£26.45
£28.45
j
UVIPROM 16 SPECIAL OFFER!!!
Basic 8/1 6K programmer. For 12.5 volt EPROMS, Programs all ‘A’ Suffix and CMOS types. Including
UVP1.1 Software. While stocks last. £20.00.
COMING SOON
New UVIPROM 8/16/32K programmer, 21 or 12.5 volt. Fully cased with ZIF Socket and
Software.
£30.00
Type 1-2 3-9 10 up
EPROMS 27C 128-25 £4.00 £3.70 £3.50
27256 25 £5.00 £4.90 £4.60
Both type require 12.5 Volts Vpp
S.A.E. for details of Uviprom conversion 21 Volts to 12.5
Volts datasheet
_ ^
'Gr&undTZ . I
X^Cvnbrol
Send orders to:
Dept. AU5
Ground Control
Alfreda Avenue
Hullbridge
Essex SS5 6LT
TEL: 0702 230324
ALL PRICES INCLUDE
VAT AND P & P.
MAIL/TELEPHONE
ORDERS ONLY PLEASE.
Educational and Government
orders welcome.
26
ACORN USER MAY 1988
WINCHESTER H PANASONIC PRINTER KIT
SPECIAL OFFERS FROM VIGLEN
The Panasonic KX-P1081 come complete with £45.00 worth of
accessories FREE including tractor feed and roll feed units with
paper, printer cable, and a specially designed metal printer stand.
Features include:
★ 120 cps draft printing 24 cps NLQ
★ IBM and Epson compatibility through dip switch settings
★ Prints 80 coloumns on A4 cut sheets, continuous stationery
or roll paper 9x9 draft and 18 x 23 NLQ
Stock Code Description Price inc. VAT
SP079 Panasonic KX-P1081 £185.95
plus accessories
Please add £8 for insured courier delivery.
MEGA BYTES
FOR MINI BUCKS
s .=-
9
= (S3
Plug in 20 to 1 12 Megabytes of extra storage with the Viglen
Winchester system.
The Viglen Winchester is ready to plug in and use on a BBC
Master micro; for a BBC B or B plus you will merely need to fit
the Acorn ADFS Rom. The Winchesters are 100% compatible
with the Acorn Winchester and Acorn ADFS and will also work
with the Acorn Master 512 board with DOS plus.
Drive 1 Winchesters are also available for backup or just more
storage and simply plug into the back of the Drive 0 unit.
The Winchester package consists of: Winchester unit (cased
with controller boards, power supply and fan). Master
reference Manual part 1, Winchester user guide and
Winchester utilities on disk (such as formatter, verifier, ADFS
menu and sophisticated backup program allowing you to make
fast backups on DFS disks, ADFS disks or Drive 1 Winchester).
Stock Code Description
Drive 0 Single
SP0150 VB20 20Meg Viglen Winchester
SP0152 VB28 28Meg Viglen Winchester
VI 55 VB40 40Meg Viglen Winchester
VI 56 VB56 56Meg Viglen Winchester
Drive 1 Second Drive
Price inc. VAT
£499.00
£519.00
£799.00
£899.00
£479.00
£499.00
£739.00
£769.00
£689.00
£29.95
SP0160 VB120 20Meg Drive 1 Winchester
SP0162 VB128 28Meg Drive 1 Winchester
V165 VB140 40Meg Drive 1 Winchester
VI 67 VB156 56Meg Drive 1 Winchester
VI 57 20MB Tape Streamer Backup
V503 Acorn ADFS Rom and Manual
(Only necessary for BBC B or B Plus)
Please add £8 for insured courier delivery.
Available for use with SJ research file
server at no extra cost, please specify when
ordering.
(A
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All disc drives are supplied with a manual, packed utilities disc
and a full 12 Months warranty (2 Year Warranty available) and
are ready to plug in and use on a BBc B (fitted with a DFS) B + or
Master micro. 40/48 Track drives have a switch which enables
operation in either 40 or 80 track mode.
The capacity quoted are given in single density mode; for
double density mode (1770 DFS + ADFS as in the Master) the
capacities should be approximately doubled.
An integral power supply is not necessary as the disc drives run
from the micro's power source however should you require
drives with their own power supply, these are also available.
If your BBC B micro does not have a DFS fitted then you will also
require the Acorn dfs kit. These are available from Viglen.
Stock Code
Description
Price inc. VAT
SP014
400K Single Drive 40/80T
£99.95
SP030
400K Single Drive 40/80T + PSU
£109.95
SP019
800K Dual Drive 40/80T
£189.95
SP020
800K Dual Drive 40/80T + PSU
£209.95
VPD0240
100K Single Drive
£105.95
VPD0241
400K Single Drive 40/80T
£113.00
VPD0242
200K Dual Drive
£195.95
VPD0243
800K Dual Drive 40/80T
£219.00
VPD0245
100K Single Drive + PSU
£119.95
VPD0246
400K Single Drive + PSU
£135.00
VPD0247
200K Dual Drive + PSU
£209.95
VPD0248
800K Dual Drive 40/80T + PSU
£235.00
VPD0249
800K Dual Drive 40/80T + PSU
in Metal Bridge Unit
£265.00
V0060
3.5" 400K Single Drive
£95.95
V0061
3.5" 800K Dual Drive
£199.95
V0062
3.5" 400K Single Drive + PSU
£135.00
V0063
3.5" 800K Dual Drive + PSU
£199.00
V0064
3.5" and 5.25" 800K Dual Drive
£219.00
V0065
3.5" and 5.25" 800K Dual Drive
with PSU
£249.00
Please add £8.00 for insured courier delivery.
The Viglen printer stands are beautifully finished in clear
perspex and raise the printer high enough to put continuous
stationary underneath.
Stock Code Description Price inc. VAT
V490 80 Column Printer Stand £19.95
(15" x 13" x 3.5")
V491 136 Column Printer Stand £29.95
(23.5" x 13" x 3.5")
Please add £3 P & P
ORDER FORM ON LAST PAGE OF VIGLEN SECTION
CONSOLE SYSTEM H DUCKS
SPECIAL OFFERS FROM VICLEN
The Viglen Data DUCK (Dualling Up Connector Kit) converts
any two single drives to a dual drive instantly. Simply plug the
duck into the micro's disk drive socket and plug two single
drives (any type and any make) into the duck to obtain a dual
drive system accessed as drive 0 (and 2 if double sided) and
drive 1 (and 3 if double sided). If neither single drive has its own
power supply then you will require a Viglen power DUCK in
order to obtain two disk drive power sockets from the micro.
★ No soldering simply plugs in.
★ No need to take disk drives apart to change links.
Stock Code Description Price inc. VAT
V084 Viglen data duck £16.95
V085 Viglen power duck £7.95
Please add £2.50 for P & P.
Give your BBC Master micro the professional PC look by
replacing your existing lid with this smartly styled package. The
system is strong and constructed in high impact ABS colour
matched to the BBC Master and it gives your Master a very neat
and impressive look.
★ Will support monitors including up to 16" TV.
★ Can house two 5W' disk or Winchester drives.
★ Capable of housing 3V2" drives.
★ Will accept Acorn cartridges and the Viglen Master Cartridge
system.
★ Full internal metal screening.
★ Also available with fitted drives (5V4", 3 V 2 " or Winchester) or
as a complete system including the Master.
The Master console unit system packages includes:
★ Remote Keyboard case with cable.
★ Metal screened main unit casing (including internal fittings
for 5V4" drives).
★ Two switches which can be used for 40/80 track switching
and can be either fitted on the front or rear of unit.
★ Two blanking plates to blank out any drive aperture that is
not used.
★ Full labelling kit.
★ Fully illustrated fitting instructions.
Stock Code
Description
Price inc. VAT
V861
Viglen Master Console unit
£59.95
Accessories for the Master Console unit
V853
Dual Drive data cable for console
unit
£9.95
V854
Dual Drive power cable for console
unit
£7.95
V855
Power supply for the console unit
£34.95
V866
Fan Kit for console unit
£34.95
V858
Fitting bracket for 3 Vi" drive
£8.95
V851
Viglen Professional Console Unit
for the BBC micro
£49.95
Fitting service available from
£15.00
Please add £8 for insured courier delivery.
2
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VIGLEN ROM CARTRIDGE SYSTEM
Having fitted the Viglen Rom cartridge system to your BBC,
Master or Master COMPACT, you can plug in your Roms/
Eproms simply by inserting each one in a Viglen cartridge and
plugging in whichever cartridge you want to use. The same
Viglen cartridge can be used on all the micros mentioned and
there is no need to switch the micro on and off between
cartridge changes.
The Viglen cartridge system for the BBC micro consists of the
cartridge cable assembly and socket, blanking off plates, 1
cartridge and cartridge storage rack. The cartridge socket when
fitted protrudes from the rectangular slot on the left of the
keyboard where the cartridges are subsequently inserted. It is
simple to fit and requires no soldering.
The Viglen cartridge system for the Master and Master
COMPACT simply plugs into your Master cartridge slot (or
COMPACT expansion port) and accepts two Viglen cartridges.
On the Master you can plug in up to two Viglen cartridge
systems thus giving you access to 4 Viglen Cartridges
simultaneously. The system comes complete with 2 cartridges
and cartridge storage rack. On the Master you can also use
Viglen cartridges which have 32 and 64K paged Roms inserted.
Stock Code
Description Price inc. VAT
V560
Viglen Rom cartridge system for BBC
£12.95
V559
Viglen Rom cartridge system for BBC
(low profile)
£12.95
V550
Viglen Rom cartridge system
for Master
£14.95
V551
Viglen Rom cartridge system
for COMPACT
£14.95
V561
Single Viglen cartridge
£3.45
Please add £2.50 P & P (£00.50 for single cartridge).
LOOK FOR
OUR AMAZING
SPECIAL OFFERS
AcornA
Authorised Dealer*^
ORDER FORM ON LAST PAGE OF VIGLEN SECTION
DISK DRIVES
SPECIAL OFFERS FROM VICLEN
★ FRONT PANEL SWITCHING
★ 800K DUAL DRIVES 40/80T WITH
PSU
Direct disk drives are manufactured to the highest standard
using high quality Japanese mechanisms. All drives are
supplied complete with user manual and utility diskette.
Stock Code Description R.R.P.
SP0249 800K Drive in Bridge Unit with £229.95
PSU
Please add £8.00 for insured courier delivery.
★ A VERY SPECIAL OFFER ★
A High Resolution
Colour Multiscan
Monitor for only
£343.85 inc VAT.
Just look at the following features:
★ Can run modes 18-20 on the Archimedes
★ Compatible with Archimedes, Master and BBC Model B
★ Manufactured in Japan by Fujitsu
★ 14" High Resolution Non Glare screen .31mm dot pitch
★ input signals TTL/Analogue, RGBI RGB rgb, RGB analog
★ Swivel base included
★ Maximum Resolution 800x560 dots
★ Scanning Frequencies: 15-17Khz, 21-52Khz, 29-34Khz
★ Also 100% Compatible with IBM PC/AT CG A/EG A/PGA/VGA.
Stock Code Description Price inc. VAT
VA079 Fujitsu General ME-503 Colour £343.85
Monitor
Please state cable required for Archimedes, Master or BBC B.
Please add £8.00 for insured Courier Delivery.
Vi^lert
Viglen Ltd.,
Unit 7
Trumpers Way
Hanwell, London W7 2QA
Telephone: 01-843 9903
Telex: 919 304 VIGLEN G
Fax: 01-574 5126
Acorn:
Authorised Dealer^*
Prices correct at time of going to press
and offers are subject to availability
VIGLEN
Access
HOW TO ORDER
Simply fill in the coupon or write to us with your requirements enclosing a cheque/postal order or your credit card no. for
the total amount. Don't forget to add the cost of delivery. Allow 7 to 10 days for delivery.
Credit card holders may order by telephone on our sales hotline 01-843 9903 (8 lines).
Orders from overseas should be exclusive of VAT (please deduct 15% from the total cost).
OFFICIAL ORDERS
Official orders from education establishments. Government departments and Pic companies accepted
Viglen has a special education department to process orders and queries from schools, colleges,
universities and Local authorities so please ask for our education department when you call. Being one of
the major suppliers to the Education market, the experienced Viglen team will be able to understand and
help you with your requirements.
Dealer and Trade
Enquiries Welcome:
Showroom opening hours
Monday to Friday 9.30 to 5.30
Saturday by appointment
Fill in and post to Viglen Ltd., Unit 7, Trumpers Way, Hanwell, London W7 2QA. Tel. No. 01-843 9903. Please make cheques and postal orders payable
to Viglen Ltd.
STOCK CODE DESCRIPTION QUANTITY TOTAL PRICE
Carriage
Please find enclosed a cheque/postal order □*
I prefer to pay by VISA D * ACCESS D * Total
* Tick one please.
Card No. Signature Expiry date
Name.
Address —
Postcode Tel. No
AU5
'e code to the forcefield
the Portals to raid the ar
Credlts ' ^en head f J Z
action with
Split-screen
each player. 1
the same area
Starship Icarus is plummeting towards the sun, and the only
hope of averting the impending cataclysm is for you to
teleport on board, disable the master computer and regain
control . . .
This spectacular fast-action game has a unique split-
screen which means that one player can complete the game
on his own - or play simultaneously with a friend - to fight
the trigger-happy droids which infest the ship. With 20
levels of nerve-racking excitement, for cefields, mines.
Europa House, Adlington Park,
Adlington, Macclesfield SK10 4IMP.
TELEPHOWE ORDERS: 0625 879920 ENQUIRIES: 0625 879940
electronic doors, emergency lifts, movable walls, and oppor-
tunities to build up your armour, blaster and health ratings,
this is one game you won't complete in a few weeks!
There can be no doubt that Icarus, with its incredible
one- or two-player action, is one of the most exciting games
ever created for the BBC Micro and Electron.
Check it out for yourself -
j> and take up the challenge!
Available from all good stockists or
order direct by sending a cheque or
postal order made payable to Man-
darin, together with your name and
address. Access or Visa owners: Phone
our hotline or send your card number
with your order. Price include P&P.
Icarus Is the result of six months'
intensive work by Powerhouse
Software, the programming team
which developed the top-selling
Dunjunz. A full three
months has been
spent play-testing
and fine-tuning to
produce an
addictive challenge
with a gameplay
that’s really out of
this worldl
Write to Letters, Acom User, 20-26 Brunswick Place, London N1 6DJ
THROUGH
THE WINDOW
Sir, I have used Chris Adie’s
program from the March issue
of Acorn User , which demons-
trated using the Archimedes’
built in window manager, with
much success. I soon modified
it to display text. Writing a new
procedure for each window be-
came tiresome, especially as I
already had most of the in-
formation in View files. Here is
a general procedure I have
written for printing a text file
in a window:
DEF PRQCrMdf ile(f
x0X f y0%>
LOCAL cX f chX f xX,y 7.
x 7.=x 07. i yX=y0X+ 1 000
c7.=QPENIN(f*>
REPEAT
ch7.»BGET#cX
IF ch7.= 13 THEN
xX-M0XiyX— 35
ELSE x7.+=20«MOVE xX,
yXi PRINT CHR* (chX)
END IF
UNTIL EOF#c7.
CLOSE #cX
ENDPROC
To call this procedure to print a
file called ‘text’, simply modify
the functions for circles,
ellipses and rectangles thus:
DEF FNtext (x07. , y0X)
PROCroadf i 1 e ( " t«x t M ,
x0X, y0X)
=0
Mark Burch
Cornwall
There was lot of interest in
Chris Adie’s article on the
Arc’s window manager, and
we are planning other articles
on the window manager by
Chris in a forthcoming issue.
We aim to cover the use of
pull-down menus and icons in
the future.
Record breaker: just three seconds
FASTER THAN
A SPEEDING. . .
Sir, I was very interested to see
your article ‘Mandelbrots in
Moments’ in the March issue.
It states in the article that
someone could probably knock
a few seconds off your time of
28 seconds. I have written a
program that takes just three
seconds. This compares with
about four minutes on the
Atari ST.
Stephen Streater
King’s College, London
Stephen’s Mandelbrot prog-
ram is included on this
month’s 3.5-inch disc - see
page 15 for details of how to
obtain the disc.
TOUCHSCREEN
ERRORS
Sir, In your roundup of educa-
tional software for the Micro-
vitec Touchscreen, there were a
couple of errors. The Arrow-
soft program referred to as
Look Alive is in fact called
Look Alike.
The quoted price of £10.50 is
for the supply of single discs.
The bundled pack costs £20 for
three discs.
Richard Ogeley
Arrowsoft
ART
CRITICISM
Sir, I teach art in a comprehen-
sive school and have been able
to introduce the pupils to the
various software available.
When Microbrush was adver-
tised, I invested in a two-ROM
system. 1 was amazed at the
facilities offered! Tony Quinn
points out in his review in the
December 1987 Acorn User
there is nothing better for the
BBC machine. But 1 have to
disagree with much of his cri-
ticism. Having spent a lot of
time with similar packages I
found Microbrush very easy to
get into at its bottom level.
Here, the routines arc straight-
forward enough to anyone who
has used art packages before.
After only two hours, I felt
really at home with the whole
system, and was beginning to
regret not having bought the
third ROM.
I have not experienced some
of the problems he mentioned
regarding overlapping text and
overwriting files. I agree that
Microbrush would benefit from
an undo facility, but there is an
excellent selective colour rub-
ber available from the menu.
What grieves me most is
what Tony fails to mention
about Microbrush - the superb
zoom shape routine or the
programmable special effects. I
could go on.
I have many 14- to 18-year-
olds using the system without
much instruction. In most cases
it is difficult to get them to use
anything else.
J Lowery
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Seattle Space Needle
SPACE
NEEDLE
Sir, A short note with regard to
your spot the difference com-
petition in the March issue of
Acorn User. Although I am
unable to tell you who pro-
duced the ‘masterpiece’, I can
tell you where it is.
The tower on the left of the
picture is the Space Needle in
Seattle; a left-over from the
World Fair held in the Sixties.
Graeme Sanders
Lewes
GAMES
NEEDED
Sir, My disabled wife recently
obtained a BBC Master. She
suffers from multiple sclerosis
and her only voluntary move-
ment is of her head. I have
written to several companies
requesting a list of suitable
games but without success. Can
any of your readers help?
F M Neale
Coventry
ACORN USER MAY 1988
31
Computer Repairs (l/lK)
2 Austins Place, High Street,
Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2 5HN.
Telephone: 217624
REPAIRS
Archimedes
BBC Model B
Electron
P.O.R.
£34.50
£26.50
<CR> REPEAT PRESCRIPTIONS
DOCTORS
At last, a software package for your surgery -To help you with
those time consuming ‘Repeat Prescriptions’. - Some features of
the system include:
★ 3500 Patients using Repat Drugs.
(Using one set of discs.)
★ Uses DHSS approved prescription form.
★ Easy to use.
★ Drug search and swap facility.
★ Fast search.
For further details write or telephone for leaflet.
Price: £197.95 inclusive post packing etc.
We specialise in 2nd user equipment
Telephone for price.
All prices include post, packing etc. in (G.B.)
USE A
PERSONAL
ORGANISER?
You need the
| FAX*FILE ORGANISER]
Combine the power of your BBC with the
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0
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*
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in
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The program is menu driven with plenty of
on-screen help. The graphics are superb and
the printed pages will match the high quality
of your personal organiser.
The Organiser will run on a BBC B or a
Master 128. It requires a fully Epson fX/80
compatible printer. Extra computer paper
(tractor feed, pre-punchcd) is available.
“ Excellent on-screen designer"
“ A simple but effective product that is very
easy to use”.
“/ suggest you. . . . buy Fax File”
ACORN USER FEU 88
| £12.95 incp&p |
disc, 40/80 track (state which)
manual
sample pack of paper.
MEWsoft
1 1 Cressy Road
London
NVV32NB
(01 267 2642)
SPECIAL OFFERS SPECIAL OFFERS SPECIAL OFFERS SPECIAL OFFERS
25 x 5-25" DS-DD DISCS
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REMEMBER THE PRICE YOU SEE IS ALL
YOU PAY. (U.K. ONLY)
THEY INCLUDE VAT AND CARRIAGE
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OR
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OR
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HEAD CLEANERS
Special offer price if bought
with discs + box offer
DISKS 51"
QTY
SS/48
DS/48
DS/96
25
£9.00
£10.00
£11.00
50
£16.00
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£20.00
100
£30.00
£33.00
£36.00
200
£58.00
£61.00
£68.00
All
includes envelope, labels and
fitted hub rings
100% guarantee
DISKS 3|"
QTY
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DS/DD
10
£10.00
£13.00
20
£19.00
£25.00
30
£28.00
£37.00
50
£46.00
£52.00
100
£90.! 10
£100.00
Price includes labels
100% guarantee
UK MADE LIBRARY CASE
51" or 3^"
(10 capacity)
ONLY 95p
bought with discs)
Cheque or Postal Order to:
Manor Court Supplies Ltd
Dept AU3, Glen Celyn House, Penybont,
Llandrindod Wells, Powys LD1 5SY.
Telephone: 0597 87784 or 0597 87792
EDUCATION AND GOVERNMENT ORDERS WELCOME
51" + Fluid £2.50
3|" + Fluid £3.50
Both for use with single or
double drives
3V 2 disc boxes
40 Capacity YU-DD40L £8.50
80 Capacity YU-DD80L £9.75
Both Boxes are lockable
TRADE ENQUIRIES ALSO WELCOME ( eoi)
32
ACORN USER MAY 1988
LETTERS
EXTRA
BOWS
Sir, At present I have a Wat-
ford DFS 1.44 and Watford
dual disc drives. I also have
Disc Doctor and Novacad
ROMs fitted and therefore
have no spare ROM sockets
left on the PCB.
I wish to add a printer and
the Watford Dumpout3 ROM
to my computer. My problem
is which ROM expansion
board to buy, bearing in mind I
wish to start wordprocessing
on a more serious level. I am
keen to stick with Watford for
compatibility.
P Comber
West Sussex
Watford’s soldcrlcss sideways
ROM board would be ideal
for your purposes. This would
add another 12 extra ROM
sockets to your computer. In
addition, the 32k shadow
RAM board would be useful
to increase the amount of
memory available when word-
processing. This board can
also be configured as a printer
buffer; useful for when print-
ing out long documents.
GRA PHICS
BO NUS?
Sir, I own a BBC B micro-
computer and have acquired a
Brother HR5 printer. I would
like to know if it is capable of
printing graphics. Unfortunate-
ly I do not have a manual, so
can only figure out the basic
functions of the printer. Are
there any commands which
would enable me to do this?
Paul Winn
Taunton
The Brother HR5 printer is
capable of printing graphics as
it supports normal and
double-density graphics. The
majority of printers are con-
trolled by Escape code sequ-
ences; sets of characters sent
to the printer to set various
functions such as enlarged
text. An explanation of
Escape code sequences was
given in Hints & Tips August
and September ’87, and a table
in the September issue showed
most of the Escape codes that
apply to the Brother HR5.
INTELLIGENT
SINCLAIR
Sir, Full marks for the Z88/
BBC file transfer program
printed in your January issue,
which has proved very useful in
expanding the capabilities of
my Z88. This falls squarely into
the ‘best thing since sliced
bread’ category.
Z88 can think
Z88/BBC users may be in-
terested to know that the three
artificial intelligence programs
from the March ’87 issue of
Acorn User, Eliza , Gus and
Lear , will all run on the Z88,
with the MODE statements at
the beginning removed.
Are there any other prog-
rams that would be suitable?
Neil Harris
Cardiff
As the Z88 uses BBC Basic,
some of the programs pub-
lished each month could work
on the Z88, but graphics-
based listings, and ones using
star commands won’t work.
We hope to start a Z88
column in the yellow pages,
including compatibility table,
in the near future.
SHORT
CIRCUIT
Sir, I have had trouble using an
Epson LX-86 printer with Joe
Telford’s PCB design program
from the December ’87 issue of
Acorn User.
When printing out the de-
signs, the vertical spacing of the
drawing is incorrect, and there-
fore the spacing between pads
is too small. This creates all
kinds of difficulties when
trying to use ICs with more
than eight pins as when you
have made the board the pins
simply will not fit the pads.
J Clyde
Hartlepool
It is possible that the dump in
the program will not work
correctly with all types of
printer. If this is the case, you
should substitute another
dump, preferably one written
specifically for your particular
model of printer. PROCdump
(lines 5030-5400) is where the
changes should be made to
the program.
AROVE
AVERAGE
Sir, With reference to your let-
ter from Victor Issacs in the
March issue of Acorn User , it
may be of interest to your
readers to learn that our cricket
club publishes a ‘Cricket Aver-
ages’ program. This includes
exactly the type of database
that Mr Issacs requires. The
program costs £20 and is avail-
able from us at the following
address:
General Secretary,
Old Isleworthian’s Cricket
Club,
9 Stanleycroft Close,
Isleworth,
Middlesex TW7 4LG.
G Hollocks
Middlesex
Wiring up joysticks
_ HOTSHOT
JOYSTICKS
Sir, I own a pair of ‘Profession-
al Hotshot’ digital joysticks
and have had difficulty in find-
ing out how to use them on my
BBC B. I would be very grate-
ful if you would advise me on
how to use joysticks in my
own programs.
C Wright
Hythe
There is a short program and
details of a connecting cable
for using digital joysticks via
the user port in the March
issue’s Acorn Forum.
MONITOR
CONVERTED
Sir, Could you please help me
locate a multi-channel monitor
to TV converter for use with a
Microvitec 1451 AP RGB 4*
PAL 4- AUDIO monitor.
B Woodgate
Uxbridge
Display Electronics markets a
monitor to television conver-
ter called Tclebox 2. Its
address is:
Display Electronics,
32 Biggin Way,
Upper Norwood,
London SE19 3XF.
Tel: 01-679 4414
ACORN USER MAY 1988
33
ALMOST £1.00 CHEAPER PER ROM
THAN USING CARTRIDGES
Tell Me more about VINE MICROS products Q
RUSH ME ROMBOARD3, I enclose £17.50 □
Name
Address
Post Code
Send To:-
VINE MICROS, Marshborough, Nr Sandwich,
KENT. CT13 OPG. or phone 0304 812276
LABELMASTER
THE MOST VERSATILE LABEL-PRINTING PROGRAM
All you label-printing requirements available in one easy-to-use program.
Messages labels - hundreds of uses for home and business, c.g. labelling samples, products,
packaging, books, discs etc., using a variety of print styles and sizes.
Address labels - create mailing lists and print them onto labels.
All formatting is done for you. Accepts variety of label sizes.
Too many features to list - telephone us for details.
Requires 80-column screen and Epson-compatible printer (address labels can also be printed on
daisywheel).
Single colour version £18 Multi-colour version (for colour printer) £23.
Available on 40- or 80 track disc for all models of BBC including Master & Compact and also
Electron (DFS only). Please state model when ordering. Please add £1 for 3.5” discs.
CAN BE VIEWED A T CARE ElECTRONICS.
15k BUFFER KIT FOR JUKI 5510
Fitted in minutes (no soldering required) full casy-to-follow instructions provided
Only £18
All prices include VAT and p&p
Calderdata, High Lee, Luddenden Foot, Halifax HX2 6LB.
Tel: 0422 885202 or 0484 846126.
IEEE488 INTERFACES FOR THE
ACORN ARCHIMEDES AND
SPRINGBOARD COMPUTER SYSTEMS
The combination of Acorn 32 bit RISC Technology and Intelligent
Interfaces hardware and software design results in a high
performance interface which fully implements the IEEE Std 488 for
communication with test and measurement instruments.
Intelligent Interfaces designed, develop, manufacture and support
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128 Microcomputers.
Officially Appointed Acorn Scientific Dealer.
Officially Appointed Compaq Dealer Associate.
Intelligent Interfaces Ltd
43b Wood Street Tel: 0789 415875
Stratford-upon-Avon or 0703 261514
Warwickshire CV37 6JQ Telex: 312242 MIDTLX G
S P I D E R 2
REAL-TIME CONTROL FOR THE BBC MICRO
Watch the SPIDER!
^ Powerful new BASIC commands for
invoking PROCs from the User
_ Pori , Serial Port or the Keyboard.
jjr: 8 independent countdown timers.
% Easy to install with no soldering.
% Comprehensive manual supplied.
New SPIDER 2 features
^ Special keywords for controlling
the Serial Port.
% Professional implementation of
Foreground/Background
processing.
* Reaction timing and pulse trains
accurate to 0.1 milliseconds!
SPIDER 2 is a RAM/ROM
combination which
uses none of the
BBC’s memory, so
BASIC programs
are unaffected.
The BBC fi+
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supported and we
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digital, analogue and serial
interfaces for use with SPIDER
using the 1MHz bus.
Ask now for details.
Paul Fray Ltd
ail
from £65 including VAT
Willowcroft, Histon Road, Cambridge CB4 3JD
Telephone: (6223) 66529
Minimum of £1 50.00 trade in for any working
BBC Model B against any of the products listed
below. (With Acorn DFS add £40.00)
Archimedes 300 series from £699.00
Acorn Master 128 £395.00
Amstrad PC 1512 full range from £399.00
Amstrad PC 1640 full range (inc software) from £499.00
Atari 520 STFM £260.00
Atari 520 STFM + Mono Monitor £346.96
Atari 1040 STF £433.91
Atari 1040 STF + Mono Monitor £522.74
Full range of peripherals and software available for all the above micros.
All the above prices exclude VAT but include carriage.
Retail shop open 9.30am to 5.30pm Monday - Saturday.
Portobello Trading Company phone 031 657 2988
300-302 Portobello High Street, Edinburgh EH15 2ASE3
34
ACORN USER MAY 1988
HINTS & TIPS
BANNER HEADLINES
As Hints & Tips changes hands, there’s advice on printing banners, text formatting
and hiding DFS catalogues, to name just a few
Starting this month, Hints & Tips is chang-
ing hands. Our thanks to Martin Phillips
for his long stewardship of the column.
HeTl now be concentrating on advising
and training teachers on the use of compu-
ters in schools but will still be writing
occasionally for Acorn User. Taking over
from him is the author of Acorn Forum,
David Atherton.
Contributions to the new Hints & Tips
column are most welcome. Submissions arc
preferred on paper and disc (which will be
returned), and should be sent to David
Atherton, Hints & Tips, Acorn User , Red-
wood Publishing, 20-26 Brunswick Place,
London N1 6DJ.
£5
BANNER
PRINTING
Starting off with a printer theme for this
month’s hints, Kieran Connell from Hull
has produced a banner program which will
print out a message in giant letters on
almost any printer which accepts con-
tinuous paper. There’s no need for the
printer to be Epson compatible, as the
printing is done using text only.
The program, listing 1 on the yellow
pages, is fairly short and neat. It works by
taking a string one character at a time. It
reads the definition of the character with
Osword 10, a call to an operating system
which uses a parameter block (an area of
memory), to store its results.
All Osword calls work by setting the X
and Y registers to the address of the
parameter block. Addresses on the Beeb
consist of two bytes, and the X register is
set to the low byte, and Y to the high byte.
In Kieran’s program he has used location
&70 for the block. So X is &70 and Y is
zero. You don’t have to use a zero page
location, but this is a good place as it’s a
memory area not used by Basic.
Note that in the program, the Osword
call assigns Basic variables X% and Y%.
ACORN USER MAY 19S8
David Atherton
Doing this before a CALL on USR state-
ment sets up the values of the X and Y
registers immediately before the machine
code call is made.
Osword 10 works by placing an ASCII
code in the first byte of the parameter
block, then making the call - which from
Basic is always CALL &FFF1. After the
routine has finished, next eight bytes of the
block, in this case &71 to &78, arc filled
with bytes representing the pattern of the
character. The bytes follow the same for-
mat as those used in the VDU 23 statement
which defines new characters, and a side
effect of the program is that if any charac-
ters are re-defined then the banner will
show their re-defined forms. Some re-
defined character sets were covered in
Acorn Forum in recent months.
When the definition is known, each byte
in the parameter block represents a row of
eight pixels making up the shape of the
character. The first is the top row, the
second is the second row and so on. The
program therefore needs to separate out
the individual bits from each byte of the
data, and this is done in a loop. The blocks
printed consist of ‘#’ characters although
this can easily be changed by altering the
ASCII character in quotes used in the
setting of b$. If your printer has a solid
block character, perhaps in the range 128-
255, then you can change the program to
use this one. If you can’t just type the
relevant code, use the CHR$ function, for
example b$=CHR$ 255.
The program allows for magnification
from 1 by 1 to 9 by 9, and the vertical and
horizontal magnification may be different.
Kieran found that 3 by 6 or 4 by 8 gives
the best results. To use the program,
switch your printer on and follow the
prompts, giving the text string, followed
by the magnification. Printing will them
commence. You might like to improve the
print quality by inserting the relevant
codes for bold type, and so on, immediate-
ly after the line starting DEFPROCsideprt.
£5
EIGHT THOUSAND
PRE-DEFINED CHARACTERS
Some of the extra mode 7 characters
Did you know that mode 7 offers you over
8000 extra characters? J K Darby of Lich-
field makes this bold claim - and he’s
provided a program to show them all. It’s a
bit of a trick really, but what he has done is
to exploit a feature of the mode 7 teletext
display chip, which is that when using
double-height displays, different characters
can be used on the top and bottom lines.
So you can get different bottom halves for
each of the 95 top half characters.
Obviously the vast majority of these
strange combinations have no conceivable
use, but there are certainly a few dozen
interesting ones which appear as you watch
the variations unfold, for example the little
stick people shown in the picture.
When you run the program, the display
cycles through every possible option. I
you want to study the output, pressing
CTRL-N for paged mode output, ie, Shift
to move on a page, will work. Note that if
you find the ideal character for your mode
7 output, then you’ll only be able to
reproduce it on a double-height line.
Another problem is that you can’t print
them out cither, as even mode 7 screen
dumps don’t actually read the screen, but
just make assumptions about what the
characters ought to look like.
35
SOLID STATE PARALLEL
PRINTSHARER/PRINTERCHANGER/PRINTERCROSSOVER
OUR SOLID STATE DATA SWITCHES CAN USE CABLES
AS LONG AS 30M ON INPUT AND OUTPUT WITHOUT ANY
DATA LOSS/ERROR
SPECIAL OFFER FOR BBC USERS
FREE INPUT CABLES
PRINTERSHARER
(SEVERAL MICROS TO 1 PRINTER)
3 WAY - 26 PIN - £60 (a) (3 x 6FT INPUT CABLES FREE)
6 WAY -26 PIN — £1 1 0 (b) (6 x 6FT INPUT CABLES FREE)
PRINTERCHANGER
(1 MICRO TO SEVERAL PRINTERS)
3 WAY - 26 PIN - £60 (a) (1 x 6FT INPUT CABLE FREE)
6 WAY-26 PIN -£110 (b) (1 x 6FT INPUT CABLE FREE)
PRINTERCROSSOVER
(2 MICROS TO 2 PRINTERS)
26 PIN - £70 (2 x 6FT INPUT CABLES FREE)
FOR IBM & COMPATIBLES
PRINTERSHARER/PRINTERCHANGER
WITHOUT INPUT CABLES WITH INPUT CABLES
2 WAY £70 (a) 2 WAY £90 (b)
3 WAY £80 (a) 3 WAY £110 (b)
6 WAY £140 (c) 6 WAY £200 (c)
FOR SERIAL & PARALLEL SMART & BUFFERED SWITCHES
& INLINE BUFFERS, PLEASE CONTACT
CUSTOM CABLE MAKING SERVICE AVAILABLE
Add Postage: (a) £4.00 (b) £6.00 (c) £7.50 + 15% V.A.T.
KEYZONE COMPUTER PRODUCTS LTD
U 1 4. Acton Business Centre.
School Road, London NWiO 6TD
Telephone 01-965 1684/1004 Telex 8013271 GECOMS G
RAM modules
"IFEL'S product comes top " — Acorn User
* Clip on Leads — no soldering
* Compatible with most ROM boards
* Use low power CMOS RAM
* Comprehensive documentation
* Supplied with utility disc
* 1 5K Printer buffer
* Available without software
— phone for details
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16K - £18.50
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PRINTER boxes
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* Supplied with all cables
* No extras — just plug in
fp-| |-p-|
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Printer box £31.50
ARCHIMEDES corner
Archimedes 305 Basic £783.75
Archimedes 305 + Mono monitor £839.80
Archimedos 305 4- Colour monitor £1008.00
Archimedes 310 Basic £868.95
Archimedes 310 4- Mono monitor £925.05
Archimedes 310 4- Colour monitor £1093.20
Backplane £41.50
Serial data cable £9.95
File transfer kit £19.50
Printer cable £9.50
Computer Concepts ROM Podule £53.00
As above with battery backup £62.00
Acorn ROM Podule £64.00
1 Megabyte RAM upgrade (305 only) £88.00
Phone for latest prices — Prices Include VA T.
[I
n.
t:
I]
T
D
BACKPLANE £41.50
CHIPS
2764 8K EPROM
£3.00
27128 16K EPROM
£3.50
27256 32K EPROM
£4.80
6264 8K RAM
£3.00
62256 32K RAM
£12.00
Phone for quantity discounts
IFEL
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Order with Access PL6 6BD
on 07555 7286 07555 7286
The Garth, Hampsfell Road, Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, LA11 6BG Telephone: 044 84 4604
36
ACORN USER MAY 1988
£5
HINTS & TIPS
ELECTRONS
ARE BETTER
‘At last!’ says Michael Stirling, from
Hounslow, ‘something that the Electron
can do that the BBC B cannot!’ Michael
reports that the Master 128 has an exten-
sion to VDU 23,1 command. Normally
VDU 23,1,0;0;0,* *0; turns off the cursor. If
the third parameter is 2, the cursor goes
from blinking to steady. The full syntax
from Basic is:
VDU 23,1 ,2;0;0 ;0;
This is only implemented on the Electron
and the Master series. The effect can be
i achieved on the BBC, but with a more
complex command that re-programs the
display chip:
VDU 23 ; 1 0,7 ;0;0;0;
Change the 7 to 18 if in mode 7. The
correct use of semi-colons and commas is
very important.
Actually, 1 found some interesting things
about the improved Electron OS when I
was preparing a list of machine differences.
For example, the ROM polling system on
the Master, which allows you to write
ROMs which perform a background task -
screen snapshots, clocks in the corner of
the screen and the like - is supported on
the Electron too, but not on the model B.
Unique to the Electron is a special com-
mand, *FX115,1, which temporarily blacks
all screen colours, and :: *FX115,0 which
restores them.
£5
CHEAPER
PRINTER STAND
A C Skinner of Blackpool offers advice on
the subject of printer stands for those with
small desks and small pockets. These de-
vices raise the printer up, letting you stack
fan-fold paper underneath. He has found
that a Babatex wire tray (stocked in DIY
stores) will make an excellent stand under
which to stack paper if you turn it over
and take off all the wire clips. Mr Skinner
paid the princely sum of £2.99 for his
34x24cm stand, which must make it the
cheapest stand around.
This reminds me of another possible
source of such a stand. If, like many
people, you made a wooden plinth for
your original BBC, but have since movec
on to a Master, or plinth disc drives, you’l
often find that the old plinth can be
pressed into service as a printer stand.
Printer stand on the cheap
£5
REMOTE
C ONTROL
Michael Johnson of Stoke Newington,
London, commenting on John Allen’s Z8S
file transfer article in the January 1988
Acorn User , has some useful tips.
The BBC micro’s keyboard can be con-
trolled by a remote computer with the
single command *FX2,l. After typing this,
the main Beeb keyboard goes dead, except
for the Escape key, and anything typed at a
remote keyboard, say a Z88 or in Michael’s
case a Tandy 100, will appear as if it were
typed on the BBC. Of course the two
machines do need to be cabled together. If
you use full duplex comms software on the
portable machine, you might also type
*FX3,1 on the portable - this will make
your typing appear on the portable micro’s
screen too.
Michael manages to transfer Wordwise
text to and from his Tandy without any
BBC comms software. He does have such
software on the Tandy, but this is built in
as it is on most portables. After cabling up
the machines, this is what he does.
BBC to portable:
■ Don’t disable the keyboard. Go into
Wordwise
m Tell BBC it has a 300 baud serial printer
with :: *FX8,3
■ Set the portable terminal software to
receive an ASCII file at 300 baud
■ Tell BBC to print the file
■ Tell portable to stop receiving and close
incoming file
Portable to BBC:
■ Go into the Wordwise command screen.
Clear text area
■ Tell BBC it has a 300-baud keyboard:
*FX7,3 followed by *FX2,1
■ Press Escape on BBC to enter text mode
■ Set portable to send ASCII file at 300
baud, and send file
After file send, type *FX2 on portable
followed by Return. This returns control
to BBC keyboard. The file is in Wordwise.
Michael found two snags.
One is that the portable does not have
RS232 handshaking. This means that neith-
er computer can tell the other when to stop
sending for a moment while it deals with
the characters it has already received. 300
baud is slow enough so that both machines
can handle every character at the speed
they come in.
The other is with Returns and Tab
characters. If a file is printed out for
transfer to the portable, extra carriage re-
turns are ‘added’ as the line length is
reached, although for further editing, they
aren’t required. Also, Tabs are expanded
into multiple spaces. Michael suggests that
each Return or Tab in the text is replaced
with a normal printable character prior to
transfer using search and replace. Wordwise
allows you to replace Tabs and Returns
using IT and III with search or replace.
Note that this method is only suitable
for sending text files. Full binary files such
as machine code programs, formatted text,
and program data files need to be transfer-
red using proper communications software
at both ends.
£5
TEXT FORMATTING
ROUTINES
Rob Anderson from Middlesbrough has
provided some Basic procedures for text
handling which could be very useful if
your program prints a lot of text on screen,
or for that matter to the printer. Word-
processing programs normally offer four
options for displaying text - left-ranged or
‘ragged right’, right-ranged, justified at
both margins, and each line centred. This
program takes a line of text, up to 255
characters long, and outputs it as a para-
graph which is formatted in the desired
way. The line length can also be specified,
as can the start and end positions. Para-
graphs can begin with an indent, including
a hanging or reverse indent. I he routine
doesn’t supply a left margin as well,
although you can, of course, add this in to
the procedure. As an alternative methoc
Rob recommends that this could be hand-
led by using a text window.
The core of listing 3 in the yellow pages
is a procedure, PROCformat, which takes
four parameters - the indent (positive or
negative), the line length, the target string,
ACORN USER MAY 1988
37
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on the Master 128, B+ & Model B, and with Epson /compatible printers
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38
ACORN USER MAY 1988
HINTS & TIPS
and the style, which is given as ‘RIGHT’,
‘CENTRE’ or ‘JUSTIFY’. Anything else is
treated as ordinary left justification. To use
the routine, call the procedure with the
first parameter set to the indent you re-
quire, including a negative number for a
hanging indent. The value passed should be
zero if no indent is required. The second
parameter is the line length, which must
not exceed the screen width (or the win-
dow width if a text window is set). If a
hanging indent is used, you should add the
indent amount to the line length when
calculating whether it will fit. The string to
be printed should be continuous text with-
TEXT FORHNTT1HO ROUTINE DEHONSTROTION
SStSh“ifS SSSfji
into t nr routine as a parameter. Th*s*
iou In be used as f*r‘
re** tor r a° spec* alt.
routines cou
elenentaru woi
require
Ich you s*av
Text formatting options
out any Returns or other control charac-
ters, and finally the style is given as one of
three text strings. Calling the procedure
prints out successive lines of text in the
desired format.
Rob suggests the instructions for a prog-
ram or a text adventure game as possible
uses. The routine generates and outputs
any extra spaces necessary, so that routine
could even be used as a part of a simple
wordprocessor, or perhaps a label printer.
Note that each formatted paragraph
must be supplied as a Basic string, restrict-
ing the paragraph size to a maximum of
255 characters. Maybe you could alter the
program so that it works on a block of
memory instead, allowing larger para-
graphs to be formatted.
Note that there are some subsidiary
procedures PROCprintbigword, PROC-
prinline, PROCalignright, PROCcentre
and PROCjustify, which must be present if
you want to incorporate the routine into
your own program.
An important point about this routine is
that it is entirely written in BBC Basic,
without specific memory addressing, and
so it should run on any machine running
that language, including the Archimedes
and Z88.
£5
HIDING DFS
CATALOGUES
How often have you been working on
your latest literary masterpiece when,
while you were out of the room, someone
had examined your discs and read your
work? How can you protect your files
from prying eyes without the need for
fancy messing around with the disc for-
mat? This question is often asked, and
whereas the method is straightforward
technically, it’s not that easy to do.
Stuart Rogers from Preston presents a
neat little pair of programs which will hide
all the files in catalogue, or show them
again. After running Stuart’s first program,
a disc will appear to be blank when cata-
logued. The second program restores all
the files, which are then revealed with
"CAT. Other commands work normally,
ie, : TNFO still shows the filenames, and
most importantly "'LOAD, "EXEC, etc,
can still access them.
The program works by using a little-
known feature of the DFS, which is that if
the first character of a filename has its top
bit set (that means that 128 is added to the
ASCII code for the character) then "'CAT
will not list that file. However, other
sections of the DFS, such as those dealing
with loading files, ignore this top bit, and
will identify a character anyway - if either
ASCII code 67 or 195 is read, the DFS still
assumes it to be ‘C’.
The Basic program in the yellow pages
generates and saves two machine code
programs. The first one, HIDE, is used to
hide all files on the disc. Type "FIIDE
followed by the drive number. All the files
present at that time will disappear from the
catalogue. The second program, SHOW, is
invoked with "SHOW and the drive num-
ber. If you omit the drive number, then
drive 0 is assumed.
On a Master 128, '"‘SHOW is also an
operating system command to display the
function key contents, so you’ll have to
type "’/SHOW, which is an abbreviation
for "RUN SHOW.
If you only want to hide certain files,
you must copy the disc, delete the files you
don’t want to hide, perform a "FIIDE, and
then copy the other files back. Any new
files you create after hiding a catalogue will
be added in a perfectly normal manner, and
will not affect the hidden ones. However,
any hidden files which are loaded and then
resaved onto the disc will probably appear
once more.
There is a problem. The "HIDE com-
mand is of course a disc-based command,
and by typing its name, you are "'RUN-
ning, it. Clearly, if you want to hide the
catalogue of another disc, this disc will
have to be in a different drive to the one
having the "HIDE command. If you have
two drives, you can have the HIDE prog-
ram in a different drive to the disc being
altered, and use the optional drive para-
meter. There is a way of getting around
this even if you only have one drive.
Firstly, you can load the HIDE program
into memory with "‘LOAD HIDE, change
discs, and run it by typing CALL &A00.
The SHOW program can be used similarly.
£5
CONTROLLABLE
ON ERROR
Jonathan Temple from Nottingham points
out that the ON ERROR system has flaws
when it’s used in programs that use the
Escape key. If you write a program which
relies on ON ERROR taking over when
Escape is pressed, then you cannot return
directly to where you were in the program,
but go to a common point, usually a main
menu, outside any loops or procedures.
Jonathan suggests that a better approach
is to be able to tell that Escape has been
pressed by reading a variable. Your prog-
ram can simply read the flag when you
need to test if Escape has been pressed.
Listing 6, which should be executed by
your program before it needs to use the
flag, will set E% to -1 if Escape is pressed.
You can therefore just test the value of E%
and act if it has been set to -1. The value o
E% must be set back to zero by you
before doing the test again.
Every time Escape is pressed, an ‘event’
is generated by the operating system. This
just means that the code pointed to by
Evntv, a vector at &220, is called with the
A register set to the event number. In the
case of Escape, A is 6. Jonathan’s code is
set to receive all events, but only event
number 6 is ‘enabled’ by "'FX14.
This may give you other ideas about
code to be executed on events. Most in-
teresting is event 4, the frame flyback,
which occurs 50 times a second. This can
be used as a ‘continuous’ event, to keep a
clock in the corner of the screen and so on.
Details of the listings are on page 111.
ACORN USER MAY 1988
39
MASTERPLAN BMgji MEMORY 1 DFSROM
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40
ACORN USER MAY 1988
Teletext (and TV)
Adapter
Compatible with Archimedes, BBC, Master
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r MENTOR the Master compatible computer system
I Monitor type No Monitor Mono Monitor Colour Monitor
One 40/80 disc drive 2801 £475.00 M2801 £549.00 MC2801 £749.00
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20 Megabyte Hard disc 2820 £895.00 M2820 £969.00 MC2820 £1169.00 1
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I OAK Disc Drives for BBC computers
New uncased 40/80 half height, double sided.Mitsubushi _
disc drives 1 2 months warranty £67.00 P&P £5.00 I
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Cased drives come complete in metal cases colour matched
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I Build your own hard disc system. I
I New 20 Megabyte hard disc Seagate ST225N £265.00 P&P £8.00
I OAK hard disc host adaptor arid software
1 Acorn ADFS compatible £55.00 P&P £3.00
1 40 Watt switch mode power supply for hard disc £45.00 P&P £4.00
I If these three items are purchased together delivery £-10.00
I Little used Master 1 28 computers (1 2 months guarantee) £295.
I Second hand BBC model B completely overhauled
I guaranteed 3 months from £249.
I BBC upgrade kit (processor & keyboard housings) £29.
I Single Disc Drive Case £7,
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I Dual Power Cable £3
I Single Data Cable £3,
I Dual Data Cable £5
00 P&P £6.00
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Keyboards £25,
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Plastic cases £12,
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Keyboards £56.00 P&P £3.50
Motherboard £246.00 P&P £5.00
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(with Batteries)
Letter quality Daisywheel printer
For only £1 1 5.00 plus £5.00 Delivery plus VAT
This compact daisywheel printer with bidirectional printing for use with
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specification
Printing method Daisywheel bidirectional Character set
Printing speed 8 characters/section T ype style
Interface Parallel (Centronics compatible) Paper feed
Page width 8 5 inches (216mm)
Printing width 6 7 inches (170mm) Copy capacity
Characters/lme 80 characters @ 1 2 cpi Power source
66 characters® 10 cpi
ASCII
Elite (Pica optional)
Frictional roller,
one sixteenth of an inch
Original and three copies
240/250 ac
Power consumption 28 Watts (max)
Dimensions 14"(W) x 4 1 "(H) x 9.7"(D)
(355 x 104 x 247mm)
Weight Approx 7lbs (3 3kg)
EDUCATION AND VOLUME DISCOUNT AVAILABLE
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ACORN USI-R MAY 1988
41
I
800 St. ALBANS ROAD, GARSTON, WATFORD,
HERTS. WD26NL TEL: 0923 672102
THE CARE MASTER ROM CARTRIDGE RANGE
DESIGNED BY CARE ELECTRONICS TO ACORNS SPECIFICATIONS HIGH
QUALITY, ROBUST CARTRIDGES THAT FIT NEATLY INTO EITHER OF THE
MASTER CARTRIDGE SLOTS. SUITABLE FOR ANY ROM inc DOUBLE
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PRICE EX VAT INC VAT
CARE STANDARD MASTER CARTRIDGE fa £9.00 £1 0.35c
CARE IxZIF + IxSTDSKT CARTRIDGE @ £13.40 £15 41c
CARE 2xZIF SOCKET CARTRIDGE (" £17 60 £20 24c
CARE QUAD (4xSOCKETS) CARTRIDGE @£1 4ioO £1 61 Oc
* NEW * CARE 2x32k SKT CARTRIDGE (a £1 2.00 £1 380c
MASTER ROM EXTENDER for BBC B CARTS (a £1 3.00 £14.95c
THE CARE BBC 'B' LOW PROFILE ROM CARTRIDGE SYSTEM
CARE BBC LOW PROFILE ROM SYSTEM @C1 2 00
CARE BBC ROM CARTRIDGE @ £3!oO
CARE BBC ZIF ROM CARTRIDGE fa £800
CARE BBC ROM CART LIBRARY RACK @E1 .60
£13.80c
£3.45c
£9. 20c
£1.84c
•NEW* THE CARE CONTROL-57 INTERFACE/CONTROL PCB
THE CONTROL-57 INCLUDES 48 PROGRAMMABLE INPUTS
OR OUTPUTS AND AN 8 CHANNEL 8 BITANALOG TO DIGITAL
CONVERTER. KIT INCLUDES PCB (EXCLUDING COMPONENTS)
& FULL INSTRUCTIONS PLEASE PHONE FOR
DETAILS (a £50.00
THE CARE READY MADE LEAD RANG
3
BBC/MASTER RGB - 6 PIN MICROVITEC RGB (a £4.00
BBC'MASTER RGB - 7 PIN HITACHI RGB @ £6 20
BBC- MASTER RGB - 7 PIN FERGUSON RGB @ £6.20
BBC/MASTER RGB - EURO (SCART) (a £8.20
ARCHIMEDES - EURO (SCART) (NOT SONY) (a>£1 2.00
BBC - CENTRONICS PRINTER LEAD 1 .Om 7a £7.00
BBC - CENTRONICS PRINTER LEAD 1 ,5m a; £9.00
ARCHIMEDES PRINTER LEAD (a £1 2 00
* NEW * RM NIMBUS PRINTER LEAD (a £1 200
CENTRONICS - CENTRONICS PRINTER LEAD ..£1 1 .00
USER PORT EXTENSION LEAD 0.5m (a £9.00
PRINTER PORT EXTENSION LEAD 1 .0m fa £10.20
IMHz BUS PORT EXTENSION LEAD 0.3m fa £10.40
BBC/MASTER RS423 - RS232C (a £1 2 00
BBC/MASTER RS423 - ARCHIMEDES RS423 (a £1 2^00
DISC DRIVE DATA (SINGLE) <5 £6.00
DISC DRIVE DATA (DUAL) (a £8.00
£57.50d
£4.60c
£7.1 3c
£7.1 3c
£9.43c
£13. 80c
£8.05c
£1 0.35c
£1 3.80c
£1 3.80c
£1 2.65c
£1 0.35c
£1 1.73c
£1 1.96c
£1 3.80c
£13.00c
£6.90c
£9. 20c
SOFTWARE RANGE (Please Specify Disc Format Required)
LABELMASTER Comprehensive label print @£1 5.00
CARE PRINTER BUFFER User definable fa £14.00
INTERWORD Word processor ( h £47.80
SPELLMASTER Spellchecker fa £50 00
MASTERCOPY DFS - ADFS ADFS - DFS fa£l 1 .26
DESFAX Teletext emulator (a £20.87
MORLEY ELECTRONICS PRODUCTS
TELETEXT ADAPTOR & ATS ROM @£1 0.00
1 Mb RAM DISC fa £1 74.00
MASTER ‘AA’ ROM BOARD .'(d £40 00
EPROM PROGRAMMER @£30.00
PSU for TELETEXT ADAPTOR @£12.00
£17.25d
£16.10d
£54.97d
£57.50d
£1 2.95c
£24.00c
£1 15.00d
£200. 10b
£46.00d
£34.50d
£13.80d
SWITCHING UNITS
BBC/MASTER 6 to 1 Printer Switcher @ £71 .00
CENTRONICS 2 to 1 (inc Lead) fa £30.00
CENTRONICS 4 to 1 (inc Lead) @£70.00
CENTRONICS 2 to 2 'X' Switcher Co £70.00
CENTRONICS 4 to 1 Automatic Switcher @£l 02.000
CENTRONICS 8 to 1 Automatic Switcher @£128.00
USER PORT 2Way & Off Position (Lead) @£33.00
USER PORT 6Way & Off Position (Lead) @ £72.00
BBC/MASTER RGB 2 to 1 Switch @£20.20
BBC/MASTER RS423 to 1 Switch @£20.20
SERIAL to PARALLEL CONVERTER (d £50.00
PARALLEL to SERIAL CONVERTER fa £50.00
PHILIPS MONITORS & TV/MONITORS inc Lead
Suitable for ARCHIMEDES, MASTER & BBC computers
PHILIPS 8833 COLOUR MONITOR !. fa £252.00
PHILIPS AV7300 TV TUNER for the 8833 @£65.00
PHILIPS 1010 TV/MONITOR PUSH BUTTON fa £228.00
PHILIPS 1210 TV/MONITOR REMOTE fa £250.00
PHILIPS MONO MONITORS POA
DISC DRIVE UNITS
3.5” & 5.25” COMBINED UNIT inc PSU (q C190.00
3.5 SINGLE UNIT inc PSU (a El 00.00
3.5" DUAL UNIT inc PSU f„ c 1 70.00
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£11 5.00b
£1 95.00a
Can I try Elite now?
Our staff are well trained and friendly, and fully
prepared to answer all your queries about our wide
range of software and hardware. We are official
Acorn dealers and take pride in efficient and
friendly service. By the way, Tristan, the cuddly dog
in the ’photo is an expert of Sabre Wulf.
NUMBER ONE IN BROMLEY
Data /tore
6 Chatterton Road. Bromley, Kent. 460 8991
Doluxe 120 disk capacity
lockable disk box
worth over £14. (Please
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We accept orders from all government bodies, schools, universities, PI.Cs etc
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FREEPOST YOUR ORDER TODAY — NO STAMP REQUIRED'
ACORN USER MAY 1988
42
iiiiuiiiiiiiiriiiiiiiiiiiii iiim ii nun hi ii^w
STEP BY STEP
A STACK OF CARDS
A straightforward guide to setting up a card index database with
ViewStore - mailshots made easy
ViewStore is a versatile tool which can
massage data into almost any format you
need. In this first step-by-step look at
ViewStore we’ll be producing a simple but
effective card index program. With this
you’ll be able to keep track of friends and
clients, print labels for envelopes and even
start off an effective mail-merge system.
Bruce Smith
As always, preparation is the most vital
stage. It lays the foundations. Sketch out
the type of record card you require and
note down the number of characters re-
quired for each item on the card.
In database jargon each card represents a
‘record’ in the database and each heading
on the card is a ‘field’. So in the example
each record (card) has 12 fields (headings).
Decide on the number of records - over
estimate if in doubt; we’ll use 100. This
will make the database about 20k long.
Finally prepare a new blank disc. If you
are using ADFS you must create director-
ies F, D and I before going any further,
and label the disc ‘Address Book’.
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Tilt* tat ot 4»t*t<««’ »»«SS
(trait (iltatat <4.t.k.1. mat)’
►«*»r ot ln4#tM’ 7
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(llMiat’ Slim*
(rttittT i
l»4»l ?!
flit* tat* (OUNIV
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| Setting up
Set ViewStore into action, place your blank
disc in one drive, the utilities disc in the
second and set the PREFIX options
PREFIX U:l.
If you’re using a single drive, don’t set the
prefix,- ViewStore will prompt you to insert
the utility disc when needed.
Using the SETUP utility (UTILITY
SETUP), create the database using the
database and file format name ‘Address’.
Card indexes are normally sorted by
surname so an index will have to be created
to allow for this. We’ll also use a second
index to sort by county. The keysizes (the
parts of the field used for sorting) are 6 and
5 respectively which will allow ViewStore
to sort both quickly.
The SETUP utility will automatically
create the files needed on your disc and
once the => prompt returns, load the
address database using:
LOAD address
1 Sttct 1(1/1
fflffimi
f I»I4 atat
HtU atar kid. t .$.0 .lea ll«lt..kl*ti liait .1 . try. In4*i mar frta
( trtatat 11 * V N (Iff
Waiat II * Y Y t SUKNHtt Lilt
Strut 1 ?• 1 V I Strt
Strut ? 71 1 V N Strt
Slrttt J ?l J Y * Strt
loan 1? * Y » lata
Ctvala I « V Y 3 tCiWIY Ctoa
fast colt 1 I It I f*(t
(tat Dll » Mtat
Marl U • N H ktrk
Hittf 1 XIV N lilt
Not at ? XIV k Matt
| Customising the record format
Once loaded press Escape to enter the
database. Press fl (Record Format) to
display the field details, which will be
blank. The format for each of the fields
must now be specified and the complete
details are listed in table 1.
Alphanumeric fields have been used for
all and scrolling has been turned off. A
numeric field could be used for both home
and work phone numbers but this would
not allow you to enter brackets or text if
you needed to.
Only two index fields are required, so
with the exception of Surname and County,
an N should be entered in this column. It is
a good ideal to make the index name match
the field name for convenience’s sake.
Finally enter your own prompt string
should you desire one.
The Decimal, Low/High Limit and Value
List fields have all been left blank. Press fO
when you have finished.
l StKf 111/1
tniKnunm
wtir
iitit atrnitntMi^H
•tilliy c
Ireerd ilia ♦ ?•
Catacita X
lain (lrld Saraaat
Strata a»4t 4
|The database header
Press Shift-f 1 (Database Header) to display
the blank header information form. The
database header defines how the card index
will look on-screen. Two displays arc
possible - card or sheet - we need card.
When each entry is made, a number of
extra bytes will be appended to allow for
adding to entries. Typing +20 will add 20
bytes to accommodate any expansion.
The ‘Capacity’ value determines the
number of records that will be loaded into
memory at any one time. Pressing Return
sets a default of 50 but if you don’t have use
of shadow or Tube memory decrease this to
speed things up.
Card indexes are normally arranged in
surname order so enter ‘Surname’ as the
index field. If you leave it blank, entries will
be indexed by entry order.
Finally screen mode - enter 6 for the time
being. Experiment with other modes later
to find which you prefer.
ACORN USER MAY 1988
43
1
4
PI]
NEA
PP1
L
SOFTWARE
Programs for the BBC model B', B+,
Master and Master Compact with disc drlue
DIAGRAM II " no " also available for ARCHIMEDES
Diagram II is a completely new version of Pineapples popular 'Diagram'
drawing software, The new version has a whole host of additional features
which make it into the most powerful and yet quick to use drawing program
available for the BBC micro, The new features mean that 'Diagram II' can
now be used for all types of drawings, not just circuit diagrams, Scale
drawings are possiBle and the facilities for producing circles and rubber
banded lines together with the pixel drawing routines make any type of
drawing possible, This advert has been produced completely using Diagram II,
Summary of Diagram II features:-
Works on all model BBC computers and makes use of Shadow memory if poss,
Rapid line drawing routines with automatic joins for circuit diagrams.
Rubber band line and circle drawing modes,
Makes use of the Acorn GXR rom to produce ellipses, arcs, sectors, chords
and flood fill ing.
Pixel drawing mode allows very fine detail to be added.
Defined areas of screen may be moved, copied, deleted or saved to disc,
fri-screen cursor position indication allows scale drawings to be made.
Keyboard keys may be defined to print User Defined Characters allowing
new character sets to be used,
Uordprocessor files may be loaded and formatted into defined areas,
Lfe to 880 UDC's if shadow memory available, 381 without shadow.
Compatible with Marconi Trackerball and most makes of 'mouse' ,
All ' Diagram Util ities' are included.
Completely 'scaleable print routines allow any area of the diagram to be
printed either horizontally or through 90deg. in scales that may be
varied in iV, steps allowing up to 18 mode 0 screens to be printed on
an A4 sheet (still with readable text).
Smooth scrolling over the whole area of the diagram.
Diagram II consists of
The disc is formatted 48T sideB and 88T side2. Please
is unsuitable for your systen, or if you require a 3.5'
set of disc files and a 16k Epron.
state if
this
Compact disc
DIAGRAM II - £55.00+ uat
P & P free
MARCONI TRACKERBALL
For Model ' B* and B+ (with Icon Artmaster)
For Master 128 (with Pointer Rom)
Bare Trackerball (no software)
Pointer Rom (available separately)
Trackerball to mouse adapters
Postage and Packing on Trackerballs
£
60.00
+
vat
£
£0.00
+
vat
£
49.00
+
vat
£
12.50
+
vat
£
8.00
+
vat
£
1.75
PCB
Pineapple's now famous PCB drafting aid produces complex double sided PCB' s
very rapidly using any model BBC micro and any FX compatible dot-matrix printer.
te program is supplied on Eprom and uses a mode 1 screen to display the two
sides of the board in red and blue either separately or superimposed. Component
layout screens are also produced for a silk screen mask.
The print routines allow a separate printout of each side of the board in an
expanded definition high contrast 1:1 or 2:1 scale. The print time is typically
about 5 mins, for a 1:1 print of a T ♦ 5" board. This program has too many
superb features to adequately describe here, so please write or 'phone for more
details and sample printouts.
£ GC; nn Plotter driver to suit
OO.LAJ ♦ vat most plotters £ 35.08 *vat
PCB AUTO -ROUTING
This brand new addition to the PCB program greatly
increases the power of the software and speeds the
design of PCB' s even more.
A list of up to 190 connections may be entered in
the form of a 'rats nest' and then the computer does
the rest! You may specify which side of the board
you wish a track to be on or you may leave the
choice to the computer, and you may also say whether
tracks should be allowed to pass between I.C. pins
The program is in the form of a second Eprom and
full features are available on a standard model' B.'
Please write or 'phone for full details,
COMPLETE RUTOROUTE PACKAGE
(Including Manual Epron)
£185.00,
UftT
ADFS Utilities Rom
ADU is an invaluable utility for all ADFS users. It adds over 22 new
♦commands to the ADFS filing system as well as providing an extensive Menu
facility with over 35 sub commands covering areas such as repeated disc
compaction, saving and loading Rom images, auto booting of files and many more,
Copying of DFS discs onto ADFS discs can be made in one pass with automatic
creation of the required directories on the ADFS disc. All functions are fully
compatible with Winchester drives including ♦BACKUP which allows backing up or
Winchesters onto multiple floppies.
New ♦commands are as follows:- ♦ADU. ♦BACKUP, CATALL, CHANGE, ♦DFSADFS,
♦DIRALL, ♦DIRCOPY, ♦DIRDESTROY, ♦DIRREN^E, ♦DIsfcEDIT, ♦DfclUE, ♦FILEFIND, ♦FfcPMAT,
♦KILLADU, COCK, CENU, ♦PURGE, ♦PWRBRK, CNLOCK, ♦VERIFY, CFORMAT, ♦WIPE
PRICE £ 29.00 ♦ vat
All orders sent by return
MTTrVCPTrr — Powerful A.C, & D.C. circuit analyser package
1 111 L. 1 Ol iwL. with Graphics output. Send for more details
- £119.00
+vat
ImSmI
39 Brownlea Gardens,Seuen Klngs,I If ord, Essex IG3 9NL Tel 01-599 1476|
writ* switch
RAM MODULES
TAPE, DISC & NETWORK systems
★ Complete with software and write switch
★ Easy-fit, 35x1 8x1 4mm fully encased, no soldering
★ 32K dual socket version is ideal for ROM boards
★ ATPL versions adds extra 16/32k. 3-position switch
★ 32K single socket version for standard BBC ‘B’
★ Software includes full Load/Save/List ROMs, “I6K £16 QR
15K Printer buffer, Network easy-loader, View WPn llo i P nn i. 0 i on./ poc nc
driver generator. Full Documentation. UUdl oOCKcl u4f\ ixD.cfj
Single Socket 32K £19.95
PRINTER SWITCH BOXES
★ Complete with all cables & connectors
★ Robust plastic case, 100 x50 x20mm
★ Selection by colour indicator button
★ Printed circuit board construction
★ Ready to use just plug in
PS1 2 BBC’S TO 1 PRINTER £31.50
PS2 1 BBC TO 2 PRINTERS £31.50
1 7M
MM
13
- Quality modern style plastic case in beige/brown, size 205x 145x40mm
★ Selection by push switches fitted y
with colour change indicator buttons
★ Data buffers fitted to the 3.7m
cables for reliable data transfer.
The cables on the PS3 box are
1 x3.7m + 2x1.7m
★ Complete and ready to use - just plug in
3
' — REAR VIEW I
►- 0 4 V i J
PS3 3 BBC’s TO 1 PRINTER £59.50
PS4 4 BBC’s TO 1 PRINTER £69.50
(Please add £2 for each BBC Compact)
]
Please add 15% VAT Free P&P Send Cheques/PO/Official Orders to:
TERRELL ELECTRONICS, 7B Essex Gardens,
Hornchurch, Essex RM11 3EH. Tel: (04024) 71426
EDUCATIONAL DISCOUNTS
7 A LOW COST DISC BASED
PROFESSIONAL
ACCOUNTING PROGRAM
For the BBC Computer
"Micro-Trader"
INTEGRATED SALES PURCHASE AND NOMINAL LEDGERS
Designed for business use by a business man. ''Micro-Trader” offers full Sales and
Purchase Ledger facilities including SALES INVOICE and STATEMENT PRINTING
with a capacity of up to 1,000 accounts and 5,000 transactions per month.
Nominal Ledger features quick and easy entry of everyday transactions. Up to 6 Bank
Accounts, full V.A.T. facilities, Journal Posting. Full Reporting for individual accounts,
Audit Trail, Trial Balance, Profit b Loss and Balance Sheet.
"MICRO-STOCK”
Stock Control program, fully integrated with
"Micro-Trader”. 4,000 Stock Items with user
defined Codes. Invoice and Credit Notes and
Cash Salos routine. Full Stock Held Reports.
£75.00 •+■ V.A.T.
"EXTENDED PAYROLL”
Micro-Aid Full Feature Extended Payroll. For use
stand alone or integrated with "Micro-Trader”.
£49.95 -+- V.A.T.
"MICRO-MAILER”
A Mailmerge program, fully
integrated with "Micro-Trader".
With a user Database.
£30.00 -+- V.A.T.
_ U-Lil
111
E\
rchimedes
PHONE TODAY FOR A FREE FACT SHEET
ItlEADOU) COmPUTERS
11. LONDON STREET. WHITCHURCH, HAMPSHIRE, RG28 7 L H
Telephone: Whitchurch (0256) 892008
44
ACORN USER MAY 1988
STEP BY STEP
!>fTXM| 1 1 1 |H |
Fnrenane H
Surnane
Street 1
Street 2
Street 3
Town
Count w
Postcode
Hone
Work
Hiitlf h
| The card layout
Pressing fO (Data) will deposit you in the
database ready to enter data, but the screen
will be a jumble of blank card entries - these
need to be positioned neatly. Press Shift-fO
(Card Layout) to display a single card. Each
field can now be moved to the required
position on the screen. Position the cursor
anywhere in the last field (Notes 2) and
press Copy - an asterisk will appear in the
field name. Then move the cursor to the
position required and press copy once
again. Do this for all the fields until the end
result is to your satisfaction.
The fields can be positioned on-screen in
any order you like, however the data entry
order will stick to the order of the fields
listed in the field formats form. So
Forename will always be highlighted before
Surname even if it comes before Surname on
the card layout.
L Space 1 9 6 2 3^Index^d^ b^^urnane
Notes:
Forename Graham
Surname Bell
Street 1 Rcorn User
Street 2 Redwood Publishing
Street 3 20-26 Brunswick Plac
T o un London
County
Postcode HI 6DJ
Home
Work 01-490 1444
Notes 2
| The final layout
A typical completed layout ; shown on the
left. To begin entering data press fO (Data).
The cursor will move from field to field
each time you press Return; should you
wish to move back to a field then use the left
and right cursor keys.
Always ensure that you complete an
entry before moving into the next one -
remember only 20 bytes can be added to the
current length and if the entry is not
complete when you move on there may not
be enough space to complete it afterwards.
You can edit entries by using CTRL and
the cursor keys to move along the line then
use Delete, Insert (f8) or just overtype the
old information. There’s never any need to
save data ViewStore does this
automatically.
IlMlUr*
tdfi Im Hill
UitlM * «»«SS
i»f«ui f.imm
krn» 1
1 Ur»ni«# 2 l«r«M 3 Str#»t 1 i Slrwl 2
3 Stmt 3 ( Um\ 7 Counts 1 PcstoWf
1 How l« tork 11 Batts 1 12 Batts 2
•xmiir uiict
miti
list ar crtttt saltct flit <1.1)2 l
lartta ar Priattr C*,P)T I
Saltct erlttrn? Sum* • 'MIL*
Saltct criteria?
Srakaa Itll Scorn Bstr lt4»o«4 fubllthins
1 raearl stlactH tot at 1
• >
| Locating information
A database is for locating information, and
perhaps the quickest way to do this in a
large file is to use the SELECT utility. This
allows you to locate a selection of records,
which can be sorted on any number of
fields. Typing LIST at the => prompt
reminds you of the fields in the database.
Entering UTILITY SELECT will set the
process rolling. If you are looking to locate
more than a few records it is worth saving
these to a file by pressing F rather than L
when prompted.
The selection criteria can involve any
field, but to locate a surname simply use:
Surname = K name” when prompted, ‘name’
being the surname in question. If a file had
several Smiths in it, say, then a forename
could be specified as well. Entering a
Return at the next prompt sets the utility
searching through the disc-based file, and
the information is listed to screen or file.
BitaStart
Hits (rat 11171
Will** I.BMMSS
F criul f.MIIISS
Scrtta aata 3
•mnin tua
(Mil
Via salact lilt <»,»)? B
Scrtta ar Priattr <S,P>? P
label britM (lints) 7 8
lints bttaatn each label? 1
ttidth at label? 14
Cbaractars batataa each label? 1
■uafctr al labels across tba east? 1
Itaa 1» I0« »«!€. SUM*
Hat 2? Slllll 1
lint 3? SIUEI 2
Hat «» Slllll 3
Hat 3* I MM
Hat i? COOBIY
Hat 7i POSICDbl
Haa »»
| Creating labels
Having names and addresses on hand means
it is a simple matter to print address labels
using the LABEL utility.
Using the LABEL utility for the first
time is a bit hit and miss as the settings you
need to use in answer to the prompts will
vary depending on the labels you use. Use
informed guesses first and edit these until it
works exactly - remember to make a note of
these in your ViewStore manual or
somewhere safe.
If you only want to create labels for all
your friends who live in Herts, for example,
you will need to create a selection file first.
As the figure shows, more than one field
can be placed on a single line thus allowing
linked fields such as Forename and Surname
to be printed side by side. If you elect to
print the labels then a test alignment option
is available (answer Y to the prompt) which
allows you to re-position the labels in the
printer after printing a test set or two.
Field name Wid T S I Key Index name
Forename 10 A Y N Postcode 9 ANN
Surname 10 A Y Y 6 Surname Home 12 ANN
Streetl 20 T N N Work 12 ANN
Town 15 ANN Notesl 25 ANN
County 15 A N Y 5 County Notes2 25 N N
Table 1. Record foimat details
ACORN USER MAY 1988
45
BBC B Sideways
32K Unit £16.40
16K Unit £14.00
• Fool proof fitting - No soldering
• 16K Unit Rom Board Compatible
• RW Protect switch as standard
• Each unit requires one rom socket
• Compatible with tape, disc & econet
• Low power slimline units
• Battery backup made obsolete by Software below
Sideways RAM & Utility Software Pack v4.0
SWR software (requires at least 16K SWR) includes:
-Intelligent menu-driven software for load/save/test/clear SWR -Toolkit
-Automatic rom loader removes need for battery backup -Printer Buffer
Utility software (no SWR required) includes 25+ useful programs:
-Graph plotter -Damaged disc recovery -Flood Fill -Disc imager
-Char definer -Screen enlarger/flipper/compacter plus much more.
Please state 40/80 track, sold with SWR £3.00, separate £8.00
Switching Boxes
User Port
Printer
RS423
1 to 2
£24.00
£24.00
£14.00
1 to 3
£28.00
£28.00
£17.00
1 to 4
£39.00
£39.00
£22.00
1 to 5
£44.00
£44.00
£27.00
1 to 6
£49.00
£49.00
£32.00
Prices apply to
Changers & Sharers. All data lines switched
Includes all connectors, lead length la, longer leads available
Please send for free catalogue
A&G ELECTRONICS (AU)
1 4 HURSTWOOD AVE,
BEXLEY,
KENT, DA5 3PH
(MAIL ORDER ONLY)
BT GOLD:72MAG90461
FRESTEL 32252231 5
TRADE & SCHOOL
DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE
ALL PRICES INCLUSIVE
Tel: 0322 521949
c
3
c HALICE
*0) SOFTWARE /HARDWARE
■ VECTOR 11
TAPE TO DISK UTILITY
+ Once only purchase FEATURES
+ Can save to any disk
+ Very user friendly, help pages on disk
+ 40/80 Format
+ No awkward ROMs, can be used on any machine
+ Can load to all available RAM &400-&7FFF
= Simply the best tape to disk utility available
Vector 1 versions compatible with Acorn
Opus, UDM, Cumana, BBC + &
Watford (Not 1-42. 1-43 DFS's.)
•VECTOR 2 »
DISK TO DISK UTILITY
FEATURES
+ 40/80 Format
+ User friendly, menu driven
+ Contains powerful features such as a disk
sector editor, Disk Compare, format,
verify and track repair
= The most powerful disk utility available
NEW IMPROVED VERSION (1.40) QPPriPY hfq
Send £3.od with old disk for upgrade. PLEASE SPECIFY DF5
Prices: £12.00 each for Vector 1 or Vector 2 £23 for both.
Scythe Toolkit £21.95 (Send for full details)
All prices shown include VAT and p&p. Please add £3.00 per disk if you
require 3" disks and specify when ordering.
Orders to:
CHALICE SOFTWARE, Dept AU
3 Merlin Way, Covingham,
Swindon SN3 5AN.
Telephone 0793 615026
vectorV^v^r^
"bbt c ° mpatible with 2 ‘
+ and Master
series, Opus 1 770
and also
Solid-Disk
Gfl
V)
75
(4
O
</)
c
I
Q>
13
04
u
H
CJ
JZ
H
—
A305
Basic
803.84
Mono
861.34
Colour
1033.85
A3 10
891.25
948.75
1121.25
A310M
960.25
1017.75
1190.25
A410
1608.85
1666.35
1638.85
A440
2643.85
2701.35
2873.05
WITH
************
EVERY ARCHIN* * DES
FREE ! !
Graphic Writer, Artisan & Zarch
****** Worth £09.85 ******
Full range of Archimedes podules
etc etc stocked - ring for price
Panasonic KX P1081 £169.00
Panasonic KX P1082 £243.80
Panasonic KX P1592 £455.40
Panasonic KX P1595 £547.40
Panasonic KX PI 083 £363.40
Citizen 1200 £171.63
Epson LX 600 £268.80
Epson LQ800 £539.05
*******
Epson GQ3500 laser £1692.68
Thi3 advert i3 printed on the
Q03500. we offer a special help
line on the QQ3500 with custom
software soon ! ! !
No PSU Drives
Ahkter 40/80 400K Single £110.95
Ahkter 40/80 800K Dual £229.44
Cunana CSX400 Single £138.54
Cunana CDX800S Dual £256.45
Pace PSD3 Single £137.13
Pace PDD3 Dual £254.86
With PSU Drives
Ahkter 40/00 400K Single £131.69
Ahkter 40/00 BOOK Dual £276.20
Cunana CS400 Single £161.95
Cunana CD800S Dual £305.94
Pace PSD3P Single £161.71
Pace PD03P Dual £302.73
•Master Series from £351.86
♦Compact series from £375.69
♦Compact Professional
Computer, Monitor, Brother Daisy
Wheel & OverView from £709.03
•Special Cambridge Z88 £267.37
ful 1 range of EPRCM/R/M packs
and all other accessories all
at discount prices
* Sec/User BBC B’s from £199.00
•Used 6502 Second Processors
from £103.50
Master 512 Module £205.96
Philips 8833 colour £251.95
Philips 8852 colour £309.46
Philips 8873 colour £624.54
Philips 7502 Creen £83.65
Microvitec 1431 £211.64
Microvitec 1441 £254.15
Microvitec 1451 £430.10
Kaga Tax an Sup/v II £335.51
Kaga Taxan Sup/v III £395.98
Special Std. Res. Tatung Colour
Monitor **** £169.00
*Wo Specialise in Trading in
Used Hardware & Software also
we will buy In certain
software & Hardware.
•Anything we have for almost
Anything you have.
*** OLD LAMPS FOR N0V ! ! ***
********
Super special offer Dot Matrix
Micro P 80col MP 135 £159.05
ACP .25meg RAM Cartridge £74.34
ACP Battery backed RAM £37.17
ACP RCM Adapter 2 £13.90
ATPL Sideways RCM Board £41.50
ATPL Mouse £32.70
Canbridge Z88 32K RAM £10.95
Canbridge Z88 32K RCM £18.95
Canbridge Z 88 128K RAM £47.43
Canbridge Z80 120K RCM £47.43
Cambridge Eprom Eraser £37.95
Cambridge Modem £94.93
Morley AA Board £43.64
Morley RAM Disc 1 Meg £189.92
Morley RAM Disc 2 Meg £332.41
Morley Teletext Adaptor £107.95
Pace Linnet Modem inc Ccrrmstar
Corrms RCM £143.86
Pace Nightingale Modem £102.46
Philips TV tuner £62.93
Vine Micros RCM Board 3 £17.94
Vine Micros RCM Board 4 £26.94
Used Watford 32KRAM Card £28.75
Used Le Modem Auto Dial £57.50
Terrel 16K SWR Module £0.05
♦The above are just a few of
The items we have on our list3
at present we have over 950 !
please telephone or send a
large SAE for up to the minute
prices on hundreds of items.
Hard Disc Units
Ahkter 20meg HD2000
£ 539.94
Ahkter 40meg HD4000
£809.94
Viglen 20meg Drive 0
£584.07
Viglen 2Cmeg Drive 1
£494.09
Viglen 4Cmeg Drive 0
£940.49
Viglen 40neg Drive 1
£737.08
WW:\T*VXM
Basic Editor
£23.92
C language
£80.03
Education Compendiim
£11.96
GXR RCM
£23.92
190 Pascal RCM
£55.20
Lisp
£18.40
Logistix (Archimedes)
£102.46
Micros in Business
£39.95
Twin (Archimedes)
£30.00
View 3.0
£47.84
View Index
£11.96
View Plot
£23.95
View Professional
£79.94
View Sheet
£47.84
View Spel 1
£31.95
View Store
£52.61
■ ADVAV.i ! ) aMI’lJTLH
n«.: ' |
Adv Disc Toolkit £32.08
Adv Disc Investigator £26.73
Adv Control Panel £32.08
Adv 1770 DFS £32.08
Adv RCM Manager £13.90
•All the above items include
VAT at 15% Post and Packing
charges 92p for light itons
£1.95 for modiun items
Expensive products £7.48
courier delivery
/MX Design
£62.98
AMX Mouse+Superart+OS
£71.94
/MX Superart
£44.94
/MX Database
£22.44
/MX Desk
£22.44
Extra Extra!
£22.44
AMX Stop Press
£44.98
Hershey Font Disc £8.05
Hershey Font Tape £4.02
Master File II Disc £11.50
Printwise Disc £14.95
Sleuth RCM £17.25
Sprites Tape £4.02
*We stock the complete range
Beebug Soft all Discounted
GLARES MICRO SUPP1 IFS
Alpha Base (Archimedes) £44.94
Artisan (Archimedes) £35.95
Toolkit (Archimedes) £35.95
Beta Base 5.25" package £26.99
Beta Base 3.5" package £30.59
Fontwiso 5.25" package £26.99
Fontwise 3.5" package £30.59
0GMRJ1 ER CONCEPTS
Inter-Base £55.20
Inter-Chart £29.44
Inter-Sheet £45.00
Inter-Word £45.08
Inter-Chart (Archimedes)£23.00
Inter-Sheet (Archimedes)£35.88
Inter-Word (Archimedes) £35. 08
Mega 3 RCM £87.97
Spell Master £47.19
Wordwise Plus £45.08
ARM A33 Lang Book £11.65
Mini Office disc 5.25 £12.70
Mini Office disc 3.5 £16.45
Inst. Mini Office ROMS £53.94
OCMRJTECK Dept ( A U )
I.O.O.F. House
69 High Street West
Glossop
Derbyshire SK13 BA Z
VISA/ ACCESS Tel . 04574 65953
B AU i aEM Ba
Master Guide Book
£11.
.65
Views tore/Sheet Book
£11.
.65
View Guide Book
£11.
.65
Master Emulator RCM
£17.
,94
Program Discs for books
£7.
,14
System Del ta+Card Index £58.45
Deltabase (Archimedes) £26.94
System Delta Plus (Arch) £62.95
Accounts Packages all at 10%
Discount *** Wo caui offer you
expert Training on all the
Accounting Modules if you run a
business and want complete
control of your stock etc etc
NIDD VALLEY PRODUCTS
Digimousef Art room £53.91
Digimouse4Graphic £35.91
Digimouse+Il lustrator £40.39
PERMANENT MEMORY SYSTEMS
Genie in a Box £71.41
Genie Junior . £22.49
Genie Master Cartridge £71.41
Genie Utilities £8.94
Genie Real Time Clock £26.08
6502C B2P Sec Processor £00.95
wmmnssa
Replay Tape to Disc £31.48
Rcmboard 3 £17.94
Romboard 4 £26.94
Write Protect Switch £8.05
Used TO RCM for BBC B £13.80
Wight Signwriter £26.94
Font3 for above each £5.17
** We Stock ALL the popular anc
unpopular games both new and
used from as little as £1.72
*We are mainly Mail Order but
personal callers aro welcome
to collect goods and arrange
for demonstration of computers
and accessories.
Please Telephone to arrange
appointment first.
46
ACORN USER MAY 1988
STEP BY STEP
■Generating macros
The address database can also be used to
generate macros for use in View , which is
ideal for general-purpose mailings. The
MACRO utility does the work and, as with
all other utilities, a select file of records can
be used. Enter the fields as requested
(Forename, Surname, etc). Supply a two-
letter macro name and a filename and the
utility will do the rest for you.
The output file can then be read into
View and a suitable macro template created.
' Ht Ah il IWI
Vottr tub.tr IM ion *« Hccrn U:*r will lir'r lltrt you A.vr
• »{♦!».# (hr Dm itilt In rntur. will li !>*' Hi
Mil lw-lvr •»*«’>'« tIIMf. Hull till I* *•» rrlwrn U»
. MUintliM rrnruil lw«,
n
IN
Hf .Atom V;rr .Mrdwcod FulliiMuy tioMNict Mur. Union
M Un.J«nrt.?)N krlvrdrrr. Union. Not ( mill. n Nottv.NIl Jv)
At Sut. lotion. lop ll*t.Jt tlrvrdnn An»4.SoiiiM irlds.li>so«,S«rrri.5l^ /H"
At btoHi pm.IoIIiim, l: MrstnorUnd krid.MiUrsidr I lull in
Things to do
One problem with creating a database
exactly to your current requirements is that
it leaves little capacity for expansion - it’s
difficult to add more fields. One way to get
around this is to get into the habit of
creating two or three dummy fields, called
Dummy 1, etc. Enter them into the field
format but set their widths to 0 which
means that they won’t request data. When
you need to use them, just edit in new field
names and set the appropriate field width.
If you decide that you want to alter the
format of your database then remember that
you can create different format files and
save and load them to and from the current
database using the SF and LF commands
from the command screen.
To create new formats you will need to
edit the current format file, so this should
be saved under a new name first. All format
files are automatically saved in the F direc-
tory on your disc.
A new format file can be used with a
database when it is loaded simply by
specifying it after the filename (minus the F)
when loading, ie:
LOAD Address Format2
ViewStore is one of the best programs
available for the BBC micro, its only real
limitations being due to the small memory
of the machine. This leads to a lot of disc
access and slows things down considerably.
We’ll be returning to ViewStore in the
future to look more closely at the utilities,
in particular the REPORT utility.
Having problems?
Are you having problems with some com-
mercial software? Or do you have a good
idea that might be suitable for Step by Step?
Let me know about it. Send them to Bruce
Smith, Step by Step, Acorn User , Redwood
Publishing 20-26 Brunswick Place, London
N16DJ.
C & F ASSOCIATES
Quality Service at
Competitive Prices
ADDICTIVE
Football Manager
ASL
Omega Orb
Graham Gooch
Impact
Thunderstruck 2
Sphere of Destiny
Ransack
Despatch Rider
ziggy
BEAU JOLLY
.Computer Hits
5 Star Games 3
BUG-BYTE
Dunjunz
Bug-Byte Compendium
CDS
Colossus Chess 4
Brian Clough Football For-
tune
DATABASE
Mini Office 2
Mini Office 2 (MASTER 80T)
French On The Run
DESIGN PEOPLE
Sink The Bismark
Tanks!
Battle of Britain
DOMARK
Trivial Pursuit
Living Daylights
Star Wars
DR. SOFT
Phantom Combat
CASS
DISC COMP
ELECTRIC DREAMS
Fi retrack
7.75
12.95
2.99
-
-
ELITE
Paper Boy
7.75
12.95
6.75
10.95
FIREBIRD
7.75
10.95
_
Sentinal
7.75
12.95
7.95
11.95
—
Cholo
-
15.95
6.75
10.95
-
IMAGINE
6.75
10.95
-
Arkanoid
7.20
-
7.75
10.95
_
Konami’s Coin-Op. Hits
7.75
-
7.20
9.95
-
Yie Ar Kung Fu 2
7.20
-
7.20
9.95
-
INCENTIVE
Graphic Adventure Creator
19.95
22.95
7.95
-
-
Ket Trilogy
7.75
10.95
7.95
—
LEISURE GENIUS
Scrabble
10.95
12.95
2.95
6.95
-
Monopoly
10.95
12.95
"
6.95
L0G0TR0N
XOR
7.75
10.95
7.75
12.95
-
XOR Designer
-
12.95
12.95
15.95
LOTHLORIAN
Roundheads
MICRO-POWER
-
10.95
12.45
14.95
19.50
Micro-Power Magic
6.75
6.75
-
17.50
-
Micro-Power Magic 2
6.75
6.75
7.75
9.95
MIRR0RS0FT
Strike Force Harrier
7.50
-
-
Spitfire 40
7.75
10.95
7.75
10.95
10.95
-
M0SIAC
Yes Prime Minister
12.95
17.50
12.95
7.75
7.95
17.50
10.95
11.95
-
R0BIC0
The Hunt
7.95
10.95
Rick Hanson
7.95
10.95
Project Thesius
7.95
10.95
7.50
10.95
Myorem
7.95
10.95
Rick Hanson Trilogy
18.95
19.95
Island of Xaan
7.95
10.95
-
-
Village of Lost Souls
7.95
10.95
-
Banjax
2.95
4.95
-
_
Beeline
2.95
4.95
-
Enthar 7
SUPERIOR
—
14.95
—
_
Spellbinder
7.95
10.95
12.95
Elixir
7.95
10.95
12.95
Bone Cruncher
7.95
10.95
12.95
Play It Again Sam
7.75
10.95
12.95
Life of Repton
5.95
6.95
7.75
Palace of Magic
7.75
10.95
12.95
Crazy Rider
7.75
10.95
12.95
-
Codename Droid
7.75
10.95
12.95
Around the World
in Forty Screens
5.95
6.95
7.75
-
Superior Collection 1
7.75
10.95
12.95
-
Superior Collection 2
7.75
10.95
12.95
Grand Prix Construction
7.75
10.95
12.95
_
Speech
7.50
10.95
12.95
_
Repton 3
7.75
10.95
12.95
Acornsofl Hits 1
7.75
10.95
12.95
-
Acornsoft Hits 2
7.75
10.95
12.95
Elite
Revs
TYNESOFT
Winter Olympiad 88
Spy Vs. Spy
Phantom
Winter Olympics
Oxbridge
Jet Set Willy
Jet Set Willy 2
The Big KO
Future Shock
Goal
US GOLD
Spy Hunter
Impossible Mission
Unbelievable Ultimate
Raid Over Moscow
10.95 12.95 17.50
10.95 12.95 17.50
7.75 12.95
7.75 12.95
6.75 10.95
6.50 -
6.75 -
6.50 -
6.50 -
6.75 -
6.75 -
6.75 -
7.75 -
7.20 12.95
7.75 -
7.75 -
10.95
ALL PRICES INCLUDE VAT AND
POSTAGE & PACKING
(Overseas Orders add £1.00 per order or Airmail £2.00 per Item)
Cheques/PO payable to:
E3 C & F ASSOCIATES Q
and send to
C & F ASSOCIATES (AU) CRANFORD HOUSE,
WOOLSERY, BIDEFORD, N. DEVON EX39 5QW
Telephone: (023 73) 619
Orders normally despatched within 24 hours of receipt but allow maximum of 7 days
For our comprehensive range of BBC and Electron Programmes please send for list
ACORN USER MAY 1988
47
RAYCOMP SOFTWARE
DATABASE - Features:
* 80 column display, up to 64 (32) fields/254 characters record/field
* merge records with other files * alphabetical, numerical sort on any field
* produces files for word proc. * field search patterns + repetitive search
* updated file information in header * full edit / search + edit facility
* file size limited only by disc ‘ print selected fields + select print style
COMPATIBLE versions for ALL ACORN microcomputers.
Electron & BBC (Basic) version £9.00, +Sideways RAM £9.50, + 6502 sec. proc. £9.50
Electron & BBC + Shadow RAM, Master, Compact £9.50, Archimedes V.1 £17.50
Additional versions (not Archimedes) £5.50
SPREADSHEET
* Variable cell size * Number of cells determined by cell sizes and memory
* Expression evaluation * Replication * Print diplays * Windows
Files compatible with RC-Database and Graphic Utilities. Electron & BBC + Shadow RAM
or 6502 sec. proc.
Master, Compact £9.50. Archimedes V.1 (80 & 132 column Modes) £17.50
FILE UTILITIES
Convert Text files from other software packages into RAYCOMP Database/ Spreadsheet
files. Alter the field structure of RAYCOMP Database/Spreadsheet files
Statistical analysis - means, standard deviation, comparison of means, line of best fit
Electron. BBC Model B. Master, Compact - £7.50. No statistics £5.50.
Archimedes - £10.00
GRAPHICS UTILITIES
Plot line or scatter graphs, pie or bar charts with data from
RC-DATABASE/SPREADSHEET files or from the keyboard. With screen Save & dump
printout.
Electron, BBC Mode; B, Master, Compact £8.50. Archimedes £12.50
DRAWING /CAD
* Modes * Palette selection * Ruler * Rubber-banding
•Rectangles * Circles/polygons ‘Triangles ‘Block delete
* Colour fill * Labelling * Screen Save * Screen dump
Electron, BBC Model B, Master, Compact £8.50
Orders/ Enquiries:
State full details of computer system, 40/80 track, DFS/ADFSto:
RAYCOMP, 46 Frenchs Avenue, Dunstable, Bed’s LU6 1BH4
ROM/RAM EXPANSION BOARD 2 for the ELECTRON PLUS 1
Will hold 7 ROMS or 6 ROMS plus 16k of sideways RAM (2x6264)
Fits inside the PLUS 1 Only five leads to solder on.
Very easy to fit yourself Clear instructions given.
Ours working with 64k Electron + dual disc drive.
4 options:
1. Bare PCB plus building instructions £17.50
2. Fully assembled board less roms and rams £30.95
3. As option 2 but including 16k of static ram £37.50
4. Send us your PLUS 1 (registered post) and we will fit it
for you and post it back to you within 7 days of receipt:
add £6.50
1MHz BUS and ROM BOARD
Plugs into any cartridge slot, 2 rom sockets, gold plated contacts,
standard idc bus connector (as BBC). £17.95
All prices incl. no more to pay (UK)
RODH Designs, 36 Sarum Road, Eastleigh, Hants, S05 2AN.
Tel. 0703 260900 (best after 3.30pm)
:::
Whatever your subject. . .
French, First Aid, Football. Spelling, Science, Spanish, Sport, Scotland,
England, English Words, German, General Knowledge, Geography,
Italian, Arithmetic, Natural History and Welsh.
Let EjDur computer
help Yjou learn
Write or phone for a FREE 20 page illustrated catalogue of our Leisure
and Educational Software
KOSMOS SOFTWARE LIMITED
FREEPOST (no stamp needed)
DUNSTABLE, Beds. LU5 6BR
Tel: 05255 3942 or 5406
Archimedes Macro Assembler
Features:
* Full ARM Instruction Set Supported
* Powerful Macro Facility
* Conditional Assembly
* Free Upgrade
£ 34.50 (inc. VAT)
The Wingpass Assembler is designed to be used in con-
junction with the ANSI *C' Compiler. No linker is supplied.
Wingpass Ltd,
2 Milestone Rd, Knebworth, HERTS SG3 6DA
SIGN CUTTING SYSTEM
Computer Controlled Knife Plotter for
Self-Adhesive Vinyl or Masking Film.
Lettering up to 300mm High with perfectly cut
edges and automatic spacing.
SOFTWARE
** NEW RELEASE **
BBC BASIC (86) For your P.C. Yes! Your
favourite language to run on your Amstrad
1512/1640 or most P.C. Compatibles.
This new version can use the whole of your
P.C. memory. Price £100 + VAT.
LETTER - ART For perfect letter
cutting/drawing, supports around 20 plotters
and can produce perfect outlines of letters
from 10mm to 1800mm (6ft) if you have a
large plotter!! Price £2000 + VAT.
L0G0CAD For perfect digitizing ol logo's or
drawings for cutting with the vinyl plotter.
Comes with Cherry A.3. graphics digitizing
tablet. Price £950 < VAT.
Ask for samples.
PLOTTER/CUTTER £4000 + VAT
NOTE All the above software runs on P.C.
Compatibles with DOS 3.0.
LEEWOOD DEVELOPMENTS LTD
UPTON, CAMBS. (0480) 890860
ENTER THE EXCITING WORLDS OF
Dinosaur Discovery, Box of Treasures
Granny’s Garden, DragonWorld,
Flowers of Crystal , The Big Calculator
Zoopak, Tele -Book, BushRescue
48
ACORN USER MAY I98S
ARC AGORA
COMPUTING COLOURS
Athens’ agora was the Greek equivalent of Rome’s forum,
so what else could we call our regular new Archimedes feature?
^ !
Mouse to
MOV*
Lett for
living
Right
for court
t cel 1
<ESC> to
Play
Life objects; glider, clock, spaceship, 11x2 block, tumbler, toad and R>pentomino
Archimedes Agora is the new, regular slot
that will be devoted to learning about the
Archimedes range of computers. Each
month, we’ll examine one particular aspect
of the new Acorn machine. This month
well look at colours and graphics. In
future issues we plan to shed light on the
Archimedes’ powerful stereo sound sys-
tem, using sprites and the complexities of
BBC Basic 5.
Above all else, Arc Agora is for you to
express your ideas, and present your prog-
rams and solutions. All submissions are
welcome, and any published will receive up
to £20.
A COLOURFUL
LIFE
Our first Arc Forum submission comes
from Kim Latt of Odense in Denmark. It’s
a particularly speedy version of John Con-
way’s classic ‘Game of Life’, listing 1 on
the yellow pages.
The mouse is used to set up a population
of ‘cells’. Select creates a cell, and the Menu
button destroys one. When complete,
pressing Escape causes the next generation
to be formed. The rules of the game are:
■ A cell will be born in a space if the space
exactly two neighbours.
■ A living cell will die of loneliness if it
has fewer than two neighbours, or of
overcrowding if it has four or more.
Press the Space bar to see the next
generation, or Escape to set up a new
pattern of cells.
Note that Kim’s version uses a 256-
colour mode to good effect: cells begin as
white and change colour with age. You
could try setting up some of the best-
known Life objects shown in the picture.
For example the glider moves slowly across
the screen, while the R-pentomino grows
continuously - a cancerous formation! The
11x2 block just remains static.
PALETTE
PROBLEM S
The graphical capabilities of the
Archimedes are initially the most impress-
ive, particularly to BBC micro users. But
to put the very much wider choice of
colour to best use, you need to. be able to
understand exactly how the Archimedes
graphics system works.
You probably know that the BBC micro
has eight screen modes with up to 16
colours and resolutions up to 640 by 256
pixels. There are, for example, two four-
colour modes on the BBC - mode 5 (with
a resolution of 160 by 256 pixels and using
up 10k) and mode 1 (320 by 256 pixels and
using up 20k). So discovering that the Arc
has a four-colour mode 8 with a resolution
of 640 by 256 pixels and using 40k is no
great surprise. Indeed, most of the Arc’s
screen modes are logical extensions of
those of the BBC micro, but featuring
twice or four times the horizontal resolu-
tion and therefore taking up twice or four
times as much memory. If you have a
multi-sync monitor, then you can also use
double the vertical resolution.
The range of colours available has also
been expanded. The BBC micro has two,
four and 16 colour modes, a single pixel in
each of these modes taking up one, two
and four bits of screen memory respective-
ly. The Archimedes has screen modes
where eight bits per pixel are used, and this
makes 256 colours available at once.
However, having 256 ‘logical’ colours is
no use unless you can define the ‘physical’
colours they produce. Although the BBC
has a 16-colour mode, it only has eight real
colours; hence the eight flashing colours in
mode 2. This is because every colour is
made up of the three primary colours, red,
ACORN USER MAY 1988
49
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RISC USER
We have launched a magazine and support group specifically
for users of Archimedes. The magazine provides news,
reviews, hints and programs, while the support group gives
Technical Advice and 5% discount on our range of
Archimedes products. UK subscription is £14.50 per annum.
New BEEBUG 0% Finance
We are now able to offer customers 0% finance on
Archimedes Computers.
Please contact us for written details.
We also offer normal finance on all other
equipment over £300.
ARCHIMEDES 300 SERIES
(Always in stock)
0190G BBC 305 Entry System 4
0191GBBC 305 Mono System 4
0192G BBC 305 Colour System 4
0193GBBC 310 Entry System 4
01 94G BBC 31 0 Mono System 4
0195G BBC 310 Colour System 4
0257GBBC 31 0M Entry System 4
0258GBBC310M Mono System 4
0259GBBC 31 OM Colour System 4
803.85
861.35
1033.85
891.25
948.75
1121.25
960.25
1017.75
1190.25
Trade-In your BBC
or Master Series
Computer for an
Archimedes.
Sample Discounts available:
BBC B issue 7 with DFS £225
Master 128 £250
Master Compact Entry £215
Computers must obviously be in good
working condition to qualify for this offer.
Please telephone for further details
PRICES INCLUDE VAT
Where two prices are shown, the first is our
full price and the second our members price.
ARCHIMEDES BOOKS
1242B Archimedes Ref. Man.
29.95
28.45
1271 B ARM Assembly Prog.
12.95
12.30
3.5" BEEBUG DISCS
0675B 10 x Beebug 3.5 M DS Discs
15.79
15.00
0676E 40 x B’Bug 3.5” with box
58.95
56.00
MINERVA
0920B Deltabase
29.95
28.45
0921 B System Delta Plus
69.95
66.45
1233B Sys. Delta Plus Ref. Man.
29.95
28.45
0922B Order Processing 4
64.95
61.70
0923B Sales Ledger 4
64.95
61.70
0924B Stock Manager 4
64.95
61.70
0925B Purchase Ledger 4
64.95
61.70
0926B Nominal Ledger 4
64.95
61.70
0927B School Administrator 4
79.95
75.95
0928B Video Rental 4
69.85
6636
0929B Reporter 4
24.95
23.70
4 Require System Delta Plus (0921)
MEMBERS SPECIAL OFFER
When buying a new Archimedes we will
give you absolutely free:
The PC Emulator software. Printer lead and
Lockable 3.5" disc box with 10 discs all
worth over £100.
Not available on 0% finance
ARCHIMEDES SOFTWARE
ARCHIMEDES 400 SERIES
4 Free software See Special Offer box for details
0263G Archimedes 440 Entry
0264G Archimedes 440 Mono
0265G Archimedes 440 Colour
2643.85
270135
2873.85
Beebug Mouse Mats
We are now able to offer high quality
Mouse Mats for your Archimedes.
Price £3.68 (£3.50 to Members)
Kermit
5635
53.53
Ansi C
113.85 108.16
ISO Pascal
113.85 108.16
Fortran 77
11335 108.16
Twin
3335
31.68
Logistix
113.85 108.16
Prolog X
228.85 217.41
Lisp
22835 217.41
PC Emulator
113.85 108.16
Artisan
39.95
37.95
Graphic Writer
29.95
28.45
Archimedes Toolkit
39.95
37.95
Alpha Base
49.95
47.45
Viewsheet (Emulation)
59.80
5631
Viewspell (Emulation)
39.85
37.86
Viewstore (Emulation)
59.80
5631
Viewindex (Emulation)
14.95
14.20
View (Emulation)
59.80
5631
ARCHIMEDES UPGRADES ARCHIMEDES LEADS
0234B Econet Board (as Ml 28)
4838
46.43
0266C 0.5Mb RAM (305 only)
10235
97.23
0267F Floppy Disc Drive
143.75
136.56
0268G20Mb Hard Disc (300 ? s)
573.85
545.16
0269C Podule Backplane
44.85
42.61
0270DROM Podule
67.85
64.46
0271 D I/O Podule
90.85
8631
G272D MIDI add-on to I/O
3335
31.68
0789B Beebug Mouse Mat
3.68
3.50
MULTISYNC MONITOR
|0505GTaxan 770 Plus
T.—
604.05 573.85
0558B SKARTLead
0425B Archimedes Printer Lead
0795C 5.25" Archie Disc Lead
0796C Serial Link Kit & Disc
10.47
10.47
29.05
18.16
9.95
9.95
27.60
17.25
OTHER HARDWARE
0805DCC ROM Podule
0806B Battery backup for above
5635
11.50
53.53
10.92
0803B Armadillo Sound Sampler 126.50 120.18
ZARCH
5.25" DISC DRIVE INTERFACE
FOR THE ARCHIMEDES
Connect up to four external disc
drives to your Archimedes with
our fully buffered disc drive
interface. It fits neatly to the
backplate of your machine and
requires NO SOLDERING.
Stock code 0795C Members price £27.60
1179B ZARCH
19.95 18.95
All Prices
Include VAT.
Carriage
Carriage Is denoted by the letter contained in the stock code.
A-50p, B-£l, C-£2, D-£3, E-£4, F-E5.50, G-E7. When ordering
several items, use the highest price code and half of each
subsequent code. For courier delivery use, code G.
Credit Cards
Access and Visa orders are welcome, and may be
placed by letter or telephone (24 hours).
BEEBUG LTD,
Dolphin Place, Holywell Hill,
St. Albans, Herts., AL1 1EX.
® (0727)40303
Please telephone for a Free Information
pack and Archimedes brochure.
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ARC AG0RA1
green and blue, and the BBC micro allo-
cates only one bit to each. The three bits
provide a range of 2 3 =8 colours.
The Archimedes has a much greater
scope however, and listing 2 on the yellow
pages demonstrates the point. The Basic
command COLOUR has been extended to
allow for three extra parameters. The VDU
19 command has been extended similarly.
The command:
COLOUR a,r,g,b
changes the physical colour of logical col-
our ‘a’ to a hue that comprises of V units
of red, ‘g’ units of green and ‘b’ units of
blue. Although these three extra para-
meters are in the range 0-&FF, only the
top four bits are recognised. So values of 0,
&10, &20 and so on to &F0 should be
used: other values will be rounded down.
Even with this limitation however, there
are 16 different levels of each primary
colour available, and this provides a total
range of 16 3 =4096 colours.
Listing 2 on the yellow pages demons-
trates how colours may be ‘mixed’ using
the RGB system. Three circles are plotted
in each of the primary colours, and the
mouse is used to vary the brightness of
each constituent colour.
The circles are plotted using the GCOL
‘or’ facility. Mode 12 is used and the
default colours for this mode happen to
produce the correct mixing effects: green
plus blue gives cyan, for example. This is
not by chance - the default colours are the
same as those for the BBC micro’s mode 2
and, as we’ve just explained, a single bit is
used in mode 2 to indicate the strength of
each primary colour. So, setting the green
and blue bits (2 and 4) we create cyan (6).
Once the circles have been plotted, the
mouse pointer is switched on and the
mouse position and buttons are examined
continuously. The distance from the poin-
ter to the centre of each circle is calculated,
and if the pointer is within the circle, the
mouse buttons are checked. The left and
right buttons increase and decrease the
intensity of any colour circle the pointer is
inside. The extended colour statement is
used to update the physical colours.
Using a 256-colour mode is much more
complicated. Selecting the logical colour
still uses COLOUR or GCOL, but there
are differences. First, higher values used in
COLOUR and GCOL statements are used
on the BBC micro to alter the background.
Partly for this reason, a TINT option has
been devised. Only the bottom six bits of a
Experiment with the Arc’s colours
colour may specified after COLOUR or
GCOL - the remaining two bits are
appended by TINT which is always a
multiple of 64. So, to select colour 203, the
command required is
COLOUR 11 TINT 192
As the palette is arranged normally, the
bottom two bits of the COLOUR number
control the amount of red, the middle two
control the amount of green and the top
two control the amount of blue.
One limitation of the VIDC chip in the
Archimedes is that it has only 16 palette
registers: there isn’t one for every colour in
a 256-colour mode. Only the bottom four
bits of the colour number are used to select
a palette register. The remaining four bits
of the colour number are fed directly to the
screen, where they control the amount of
red, green and blue.
The COLOUR number (which is also
the number stored in the screen memory)
is divided up in the following way:
Bit Meaning
7 bit 3 of blue
6 bit 3 of green
5 bit 2 of green
4 bit 3 of red
3 bit 2 of blue
2 bit 2 of red
1 bit 1
0 bit 0
So altering the palette in a 256-colour
mode can only affect the actual screen
colour subtly - because the most signifi-
cant bits of the colour number are not
affected by the palette. Bits zero and one
are sent via the palette and affect red, green
and blue elements of the colour equally.
To have provided a full four bits per
primary colour would have taken 12 bits in
all. As only eight are available, two bits are
dedicated to each colour and the remaining
two are shared by all colours. This means
that to alter the bottom two bits of any
primary colour unavoidably alters the
levels of the other primary colours as well.
Listing 3 on the yellow pages demons-
trates this. Take note that the program is
quite slow. Three primary colour circles
are drawn, but the program attempts to
scale the brightness of each circle from a
maximum in the centre to a minimum at
the edge. However, because of the limita-
tions of the palette we’ve just described, it
only half succeeds.
If you have a monitor with a ‘green
only’ button it is worth running listing 3
and viewing the results with the button in
and out. When just the green in the picture
is displayed, a nice green scale is seen in the
bottom right corner of the screen; with the
button out, the other colours are unavoid-
ably mixed in with the green.
To improve the system, Acorn would
have to have designed 256 palette registers
onto the VIDC chip, rather than the 16 it
managed. However, unless you require
specific shades provided by using TINT, it
is probably best to forget about it and just
use the top two bits of red, green and blue.
After all, this will provide 64 different
shades, which is quite enough for most
programming applications.
ONE-LINE
WONDER
One line Arc graphics
This month’s quickie one-liner (listing 4)
comes from a regular - David Lawrence.
He’s not quite sure how it works, but says
it’s based on an idea published in Scientific
American some years ago. Again a 256-
colour mode is used. Enter any three
numbers when prompted and watch the
pattern grow!
Send your ideas to: Archimedes Agora ,
Acorn User, Redwood Publishing , 20-26
Brunswick Place , London N1 6DJ , or send
them over Telecom Gold 81:RED001. The
best we receive will be suitably rewarded.
ACORN USER MAY 1988
51
TELETEXT ADAPTER
Would you like access to free high quality software
and over a thousand pages of information, but
Prestel access charges and phone bills too
expensive? Then read on!
The answer is Teletext. Yes the same system
everyone has seen incorporated into television sets,
but with a difference. When Teletext is read by a
computer you can actually use the data.
The MORLEY TELETEXT ADAPTER introduces you
to the world of Teletext at a price that won’t break the
bank. Inside it you will find the latest in second
generation Teletext chip technology, which unlike our
rivals who are still using chips designed more than
ten years ago, will be fully compatible with any future
advances in the Teletext system.
With the Morley adapter you will get a state of the art
unit that automatically tunes itself into the required
station (no more messing around with screwdrivers
or twiddling little knobs in the back of the case), a
user friendly menu driven program, easy to follow
instructions and a 12 month warranty. Add to this the
free downloadable telesoftware and we are sure that
you will agree that we are offering you one of the
best bargains on the market today.
FEATURES:
* Advanced design uses the latest technology, will
handle ANY future enhancements to the Teletext
system e.g.: full field; 8 bit data transfer; 2k pages
etc.
* Simply plugs into the user port.
* Low power consumption, less than 200ma.
Optional power supply available.
* User friendly menu driven software including
extended OSCLI and OSWord commands for access
from BASIC programs.
* Supplied with 16k ATS (Advanced Teletext
Software) and 16k support ROM software inc. printer
dumps, page
spoolers etc.
* FREE Telesoftware, no access charges (updated
weekly).
* Save selected pages to disc/tape for later retrieval.
* Full access to all Teletext services and channels
e.g.; CEEFAX, ORACLE, 4-TEL.
* Gives yoi/ a real-time clock at your disposal
(*TIME).
* Software upgrades to allow for any enhancements
to the Teletext service, e.g.: extra channels, full field
data on cable & satellite systems etc. (only the media
charge).
* Easy to follow comprehensive user guides.
* No hardware limitations, it can for example receive
virtually unlimited numbers of channels.
* Utils disc available including printer drivers allows
pages to be selected and dumped direct to a printer
(no more TV or Radio Times to buy).
WHAT THE REVIEWERS SAID:
", . .In terms of price, performance, future expansion
possibilities and those little touches that show
thought for the end user I would recommend the
Morley uri\\. m -(Acorn User, January, 1986).
". . .The Morley unit has been designed to ensure
that its operation is simple and smooth. It is the ideal
Teletext adapter for school use."-(7\<SB Computing,
June, 1986).
. .Using it over a number of months in different
schools, it has proved utterly reliable, and may
confidently be recommended ."-(The Times
Educational Supplement, September, 1986).
THISISTHEBIGGESTSELLINGTELETEXT
ADAPTERCURRENTLYIN PRODUCTION
WORLDWIDE, AND COMES WITH AFULL
MONEY BACK SATISFACTION GUARANTEE.
Now available!
The first true
MEGA capacity
RAMdisc for the
BBC, BBC B+
and MASTER
computers.
This fully
compatible unit,
currently
available in
either 1 or 2
megabyte versions comes complete with operating software on ROM, power
supply, and a comprehensive user guide.
FEATURES:
One megabyte of RAM connected to the ImHz bus. Used with the supplied ROM
software programs and files may be saved and loaded from the RAMdisc in the
same manner as from a floppy disc with a large increase of speed, for example, a
20k mode 0 screen takes about 3-4 seconds to load from disc and about 0. 2-0.3
seconds to load from the RAMdisc. The RAMdisc ROM operates as a utility ROM
RAMDISC
working with the current filing system rather than as a separate filing system.
Therefore ensures compatibility with any Acorn compatible DFS (not ADFS). The
RAMdisc can be selected by a * command to take the place of any drive number
from 0 to 9. If the RAMdisc replaces a floppy drive as 0 for example, all
commands addressed to drive 0 will be intercepted by the RAMdisc. The default
drive number is 4. Any ’Dangerous’ ‘commands such as ‘COMPACT, ‘COPY,
‘BACKUP etc can be intercepted and the BBC’s RAM from page 2 to &7FFF
saved to RAMdisc workspace, and may be recovered using a ‘command. This
prevents accidental corruption of any programs/data in RAM you may have been
using at the time. The filing system wedge ROM supplied supports load/save,
byte file access, all relevant OSFSC commands, and contains a formatter verifier
and ’sector’ editor for use with the RAMdisc. Catalogue structure allows up to
2,688 files.
Well that's the spec., add to this our usual 12 month no quibble guarantee and
we’re sure you’ll agree the Morley RAMdisc is the sensible alternative if increased
storage capacity and speed is your requirement.
EPROM
PROGRAMMER V2
The MORLEY EPROM PROGRAM-
MER V2 is a small self contained
unit that plugs into the BBC or
MASTER user port. It comes with a
high quality ZIF (zero insertion force
socket) and contrasting plastic case.
Also included in the package is it's
own user friendly menu dnven
software on ROM or disc.
This state of the art unit, allows
programming of 2764 (8k), 27128
(16k), and 27256 (32k) EPROMS.
Not only does the hardware allow
programming of the usual NMOS devices, but will handle the new generation
CMOS equally as well, and with the average time taken to program a 16k at less
than 30 seconds we believe it to be one of the fastest programmers
available today.
THEHARDWARE
The Unit is completely under software control, there are no knobs or switches to
baffle the novice, and the extended features provided should excite the pro’s.
THESOFTWARE
The comprehensive user friendly software included in the package has two main
parts, the first allows EPROMS to be read, programmed, verified and edited, also
allowing a ROM image to be loaded or saved to disc. The second is a full ROM
management system in its own right, which has a host of useful features and
routines, such as KILL and RESURRECT ROM to disable or enable a sideways
ROM, dump ROM image to buffer or disc, move ROM image in buffer to sideways
RAM, and VIEW-SEARCH any sideways ROM.
The whole system is available now for less than the price of one WORDWISE
chip. So get yourself the all new MORLEY EPROM PROGRAMMER V2 today
and start using those expansion boards for what they were made for! ROMS.
Immediate delivery no quibble 12 month guarantee.
MASTER CARTRIDGE
Designed and manufactured by Care Electronics to Acorn specifications.
These high quality Master expansion cartridges will take two 16k sideways
ROM's, and will, unlike similar cartridges available from other manufacturers,
accept the new second generation programs, such as Computer Concepts
Interword and Spellmaster ROM’s.
These Cartridges come in a high quality, robust, formed-plastic case, that fits
neatlv into either one of the Master's cartridge slots.
QUADS also available quad cartridges specifications as duels but
taking 4x1 6k roms.
MASTER SMART
CARTRIDGE
This device was designed and manufactured jointly by Morley and Care
Electronics.
The Smart cartridge will at the press of a button halt any program running in
memory and execute any one of a host of useful built in, or user defined
procedures, and once completed will return to the program and continue where it
left off. The only limiting factor with this device is the programmers imagination.
The Smart cartridge will prive useful to the novice, allowing him to do the simple
things like dump any screen to printer, and make backups of protected tape or
disc based software, but has an open ended specification for the advanced
'HACKER' allowing advanced programming techniques to be incorporated into
almost any program at the touch of a button.
BUILT IN FEATURES (at the press of a button)
Autosaves computer's entire memory.
Freeze program at any point.
Screen dump (any mode) to printer or disc.
Allows any OSCLI command without disturbing memory.
Copies 90% of protected software.
Tape to disc, disc to tape.
User friendly menu.
Sound On/Off. ALL CARTRIDGES COME WITH A
12 MONTH NQ QUIBBLE WARRANTY
MORLEY MASTER
BOARD 'AA'
■I
mu-
At long last the add-on all MASTER users have been
waiting for, an internal ROM board.
No more need to turn the computer off to insert the
cartridge containing the ROM you need to debug the
program in memory.
ThenewMORLEY MASTER BOARD "AA" allows
you to have up to 8x1 6k and 4x32k extra Roms
installed inside your MASTER and still leaves the
cartridge slots free. This in effect allows your MASTER
to support as many as 24, 16k ROMs installed
permanently, whilst retaining the standard 4 x
sideways ram banks and four banks by using car-
tridges
A staggering 32 ROM images installed and
accessible at any time
Included in the package is a utility ROM which has many useful features such as 'FICOPY
between DFS and ADFS formats or vice versa.
0 .
JH. HL
MORLEY
E L E C-T R O N I C S
a clever file transfer program that transfers files
So for less than the price of four external cartridges you get a MASTER BOARD "AA" which with twice the capacity has got to beTH E ROM
expansion for the serious MASTER user.
The unit comes with the usual Morley, full no-quibble twelve months warranty, and our usual after sales service
THECOMPLETERANGEOFTELETEXT
SOFTWAREfromM/BSOFTWARE
‘NEW . . .DESIGN 7 PLU$-now ‘the best* is even better. Held in high regard by reviewers and hundreds of satisfied owners, DESIGN 7 has
been further improved, with revised keystrip & even more features. Design/load/save and MODE 7 screen with ease, up to full CEEFAX/Oracle
standard. Will convert ANY MODE 7 screen to a BASIC procedure, for inclusion in your own programs. ROM version includes a file copier printer
dumps useable from BASIC etc. B/MASTER/COMPACT.
TELETEXT EMULATORS/ SCREEN DISPLAYS/INFORMATION SYSTEMS -Acomplete range of teletext programs to cater for all
needs, with full teletext adapter interfacing.
-NEW . . . DES FAX -totally new version - streets ahead of the competition - run your own information/display system. Stores hundreds of
screens on dual 80 track drives (96 screens on single-sided 40 track), with access to any screen with a SINGLE KEYPRESS. Lots of special
effects — screens can scroll, slide, overwrite etc. Animation, loops, subroutines - send for details — not enough space here to even begin to
describe the advanced features!! B/MASTER/COMPACT
*NEW . ■ . MASTERFAX -84 MODE 7 screens in memory at once. 148 screens possible with cartridge RAM. An advanced teletext/carousel
program featuring SINGLE KEYPRESS or 3-digit page selection. Runs entirely from memory - no disc accesses after pages are loaded. Superb
animation and other effects. MASTER/COMPACT only.
1N.E W , , f VU-FAX - 1000 screens and no disc accesses! Screens stored on MORLEY 1 MByte RAM DISC. SINGLE KEYPRESS gives instant
access to any screen (or emulate teletext). This is the ultimate MODE 7 screen management system - there is nothing else like it MODEL B/
MASTER 128.
* ALSO . . . MASTERcopy - DFS/DFS, DFS/ADFS, ADFS/DFS, ADFS/ADFS file copier. Uses the MASTER 1 28’s memory to the full to permit
fast disc copying. 31 DFS files to ADFS disc in less than 2 minutes. Creates directories automatically. You will wonder how you ever managed
without this program. Described by reviewers as ‘unexcelled’. MASTER 128 and COMPACT’S fitted with DFS ROMS.
ORDERFORM
To order simply completeand return by post enclosing your Morley Electronics, Unit 3 Maurice Road Industrial Estate, Wallsend, Tyne
cheque/P. O.madepayabletoMorley Electronlcs,orbyphone & Wear NE28 6BY Telephone Tyneside (091) 2627507
during office hours, quoting your ACCESS or VISA number. Telex: 265871 A/B MONREF G (Quoting Mag 70211)
ALL PRICES INCLUDE VAT@15%
Qty
Qty
Qty
Qty
Qty
Qty
Qty
Qty
Qty
Qty
_ Master ROM boards "A>
_ Master Quad Cartridge
P&P Rate
P&P Rate
119.83
(a)
Qty.
M/B Software Design 7+
9.89
(C)
.10.12
(b)
Qty.
M/B Software Desfax
20.01
(C)
.... 5.98
(c)
Qty.
M/B Software DesROM
12.88
(c)
199.87
(a)
Qty.
M/B Software Mastercopy Disc
12.88
(C)
349.60
(a)
Qty.
M/B Software Mastercopy ROM
... 14.95
(C)
..34.50
(b)
Qty.
M/B Software Masterfax
.... 29.90
(C)
.46.00
(b)
Qty.
M/B Software VU-Fax System inc RAMdisc...
.. 249.78
(a)
. 14.95
(b)
Qty.
5.25" Floppy discs x 10
8.05
<c)
.. 8.97
(b)
Qty.
27128 16k CMOS EPROM
3.68
(d)
.. 39.79
(b)
Qty.
Info Pack + Demo Disc of all Software
...FREE
(c)
Please delete: Adapter software on ROM/Sideways RAM format/Softwareon 40/8 0 track disc
Name Phone no.
Address
Note Teletext Adaptors for Master Compact
138.00 (a)
VISA
Post Code
Cheque No_
Access/Visa No
Amount £
Please add Postage and Packing <g> a =£3 00 b=£2.00 c=£1.00 d=£0.65 (when ordering more than one item, add PSP. on highest rate item only)
GOVERNMENT, LOCAL AUTHORITY, AND TRADE ORDERS.WELCOME. Please altow28daysfordelivery
BBC MASTER
Master 128
359.00
Master Turbo upgrade
99.00
Master 512 upgrade
199.00
Master Econet Module
37.60
BBC MASTER COMPACT
m" DRIVE)
Master Compact Entry System
299.00
Master Compact Mono System
349.00
Master Compact Colour System
499.00
RS232 Upgrade Kit
27.50
V/i to 51/2 Ext Drive Lead
12.50
Compact Printer Lead
10.00
DISC DRIVES
5 l A' r Akhter 2 Year Warranty
MD400A D/S 40/80 no PSU
109.00
MD400B D/S 40/80 with PSU
121.00
MD802C Dual D/S 40/80 no PSU
209.00
. MD802DM Dual D/S 40/80
with PSU in Plinth
254.00
3 !/ 2 " Akhter 2 Year Warranty
MD400F Single 400K no PSU
98.00
MD400G Single 400K with PSU
108.00
5W' NEC 1 Year Warranty
DN400A D/S 40/80 no PSU
99.00
DN400B D/S 40/80 no PSU
116.00
DN802C Dual D/S 40/80 no PSU
199.00
DN802E Dual D/S 40/80 no PSU
249.00
MONITORS
1431 Microvitec Std Res Colour
169.00
1451 Microvitec Med Res Colour
209.00
7502 Phillips High Res Green
69.00
7522 Phillips High Res Amber
74.00
PRINTERS (incl. Master Compact Lead)
Matrix
Citizen 120D 120cps25NLQ 8 OC 0 I
159.00
Star LC10 lOOcps 25NLQ 8 OC 0 I
209.00
Epson LX800 inc Tractor Unit
229.00
Citizen MSR 15E60cps40NLQ 136Col
329.00
Star NX 15 20cps 30NLQ 136Col
329.00
Epson FX1000 inc Tractor 136Col
455.00
Daisywheel
Panasonic Kx P3131 17cps
299.00
Brother HR20 22cps
439.00
Laser
Citizen Cl 10 Overture
1799.00
HP Laserjet RS232
2664.00
SPECIAL OFFER
Amstrad LQ3500 24 pin high quality
£249.00
While stocks last
ALL PRICES EXCLUDING VAT
BEFORE YOU PLACE YOUR
NEXT ORDER, TALK TO US!
Carriage outside Rotherham £6.00
Rotherham
Computer
Centre
135 Wellgate Rotherham S60 2NN
Tel: 0709 369912
HALF HEIGHT
WINCHESTERS
Amcom have simplified winchester design.
The result is a range of half-height winchester drives,
packing a lot of data into a little space.
Amcom have also made winchesters simpler to use.
Amcom winchesters are supplied ready formatted:
just plug into the 1 MHz bus and switch on.
Amcom winchesters use the Acorn ADFS to ensure
software compatibility. And to make full use of'this,
Amcom include powerful utilities software to man-
age the megabytes of storage space.
And Amcom have also simplified the price:
20 MByte Unit £430
40 MByte Unit £599
ADFS tapestreamer £599
As official Acorn dealers Amcom also retail the full
range of Acorn products.
(All prices exclude VAT and carriage)
To order, or request further details, about winches-
ters, tapestreamers and networking, contact:
Amcom Software Ltd
35, Carters Lane
Kiln Farm
Milton Keynes
MK 11 3HL
Tel: (0908)569212
(Major credit cards accepted)
54
ACORN USER MAY 1988
DID YOU SEE THAT?
CO
NO 2
Well, you probably won’t see
SigmaSheet calculate either!
It’s the FASTEST spreadsheet in the world.
It’s the LARGEST spreadsheet in the world.
It's as POWERFUL as the most famous
spreadsheet in the world (Lotus 123™),
yet it’s only one-sixth of the cost!
§
>
TO
m
O
TO
m
>
AFFORDABLE
EXCELLENCE
70
O
a
EXAMPLE COMPARISONS
ViewSheet
intersheet
Loglstix
SigmaSheet
Time to calculate SIN(PI)
A1 to Z50 (1300 cells)
48.00
j 6.49
5.84
0.05
Memory free with above sheet
(A310)
9272
; 12600
(estimated)
155000
555916
Speed factor of SigmaSheet
above others
1600
216.5
194.6
Note SigmaSheet calculates a spreadsheet of cashflow A1 to AL219 (year 1988 to 2020) in less than
25 seconds. No other spreadsheet can handle a cashflow this size, yet SigmaSheet still has 298,952 bytes
free!
Lotus 125 is a trade mark of Lotus
m
m
H
58 i * §N| * £ 58 if s \^»
SOFTWARE
69 SIDWELL STREET, EXETER, DEVON EX4 6PH TEL: 0392 37756
— M-TEC
At last BBCBASIC to run on YOUR IBM or IBM
Compatible running under MSDOS
All the features of BBC BASIC including:
> Multi-lined named procedures
> In-line assembler using standard mnemonics
> Serial random and indexed disk files plus the ability
to access any byte in the file
> BBCBASIC VDU commands; graphics; sound
> Full screen editing
> Plus all the standard commands
> 500 page user manual
> Program examples on disk
> Price £95.00 + £3.00 P&P + VAT
You need never say GOTO again but
we won’t stop you!
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN
Also available comms program including serial lead to
download from Acorn to IBM requires BBC Basic (86).
Please state 40 or 80 track Acorn Format.
Price £16.00 plus £1.00 carriage plus VAT
M-TEC COMPUTER SERVICES (UK)
4 Church Hill Reepham Norfolk NR10 4JL
Tel: (0603) 870620 Fax: (0603) 870436 ^
Now in its seventh
Business Programs
Payroll and Wages
venth ye3r. The only BBC program for wages, tax ariftTlational I
nployees covering Weekly, Fortnightly. Four weeklv or Monthlv
I Insurance for
. . . , 1 per employee for P45 and P60 forms.
The Payroll accepts standard, regular pay or compilation of pay from hourly, three
overtime rates, pension funds, sick-pay, SMP, SSP, holiday pay, bonuses, pre and
post-tax adjustments and oven no pay. Three summaries, two different types of payslips
and optional coin analysis. Annual contract
which keeps you up to date
with the budget changes.
Twin NCR payslips.
Send for demo disk.
Bookkeeping
£49.95 + VAT
1) Double entry bookkeeping for home or club use. All data r-j 4
kept in memory. Three character analysis code enables you ' ■
to know where the money comes from and where it goes. 48
transactions per A4 page. Analysis summary of up to 30
categories. O-JQ
2) As 1 ) + Random Access giving 2000 items. CASH/BANK U 1 *
or VAT/BANK headings. Password controlled. String sear-
ches. For schools, clubs, churches, non credit business. onn
3) As 2) + Credit facility and statements. For small working
on credit businesses.
4) As 3) + Invoicing, Orders. Quotations, etc. Full sorting of
data by 5 options. Automated statements, mailing labels. fMQ
Multiple automatic nominal ledgers. For independent schools LHU,
and VAT businesses who wish to cut the effort.
5) Micro-Trader is a full accountancy package with features
right through to final Balance Sheet. Stock Control at £75 -f P2fifl
VAT extra. For shops'firms wanting full accounting facilities. ^
Payroll can be integrated.
.95+VAT
, 95+VAT
, 95+VAT
94+VAT
00+ VAT
218 to 1875 addresses on disc.
Multiple labels, mail merge and sorts,
Mailing
£11.95 or £29.95 + VAT
Family History £19.95 inc
Archimedes Version £24.95 inc
As far as we know the only genealogical program for the BBC written and sold by
genealogists for genealogical enthusiasts.
I Send for full brochure of these & other items.
Demo payroll disk £2.50. Postage add 57p.
micro- Aid
• (AU), 25 Fore Street, Praze,
Camborne, Cornwall TR14 0JX
I or telephone 0209-831274 with ACCESS
“ONE OF THE EASIEST WAYS
OF MAKING MONEY WITHOOT
GETTING ARRESTED.”
-8000 plus, MARCH 1988
Four years ago we set out to design an expert system which would turn the
home micro into a powerful race-forecasting tool and offer the user a real
chance to make money.
One year ago we started selling it.
Have we been successful? Judge for yourself:
WHAT OUR CUSTOMERS SAY
"Very impressed " KJC. Avon
"4 investment advices since I began using it including 3 winners.”
PJB. Yorks
"Won 15/2,4/1, 11/4 an excellent set of results.” MO. Essex
“Excellent ” MS. London
“ very pleased very profitable"
“continues to give general satisfaction and profit.” RS. West Sussex
"After sales service which would be hard to beat. ” ENR. London
WHAT THE PRESS SAY
“ technology to beat the bookies." Raceform Handicap Book, May
1987
“ the initial investment in a profitable enterprise " Acorn User,
October 1987
“ has the potential to turn bookie- bashing into an art form." Micro
User, February 1988.
“ confound the septics." 8000 +, March 1988
“ technically a first class package. "Computing with the Amstrad
ROW, April 1988
* PRO-PUNTER has created more than £920 investment profit to a £1 0
level-stake from 100 race forecasts proofed to the racing press.
NEED WE SAY MORE?
The BBC edition of PRO-PUNTER now costs £49.99 inc. VAT, p & p.
ORDERS AND ENQUIRIES TO DGA SOFTWARE, P0 BOX 36,
ASHTON- UNDER-LYNE, 0L7 9AR.
DOUBLE
PHANTOM?
YES! This IS the program demonstrated on BBC TV’s "Micro Live".
The Worlds first micro multi-user combat flight simulation is now
available direct from DOCTOR SOFT via our ‘HOT LINE’ FIRST
CLASS MAIL ORDER service
DOUBLE PHANTOM is basically a TWO computer version of the
highly acclaimed PHANTOM COMBAT simulation. At least one BBC
must have a disc system. A hardware link (included) then links the
machines which become separate aircraft sharing the same airspace,
each VISIBLE and VULNERABLE to the other!
DOUBLE PHANTOM has all the usual PHANTOM features including
the fastest and smoothest 3D colour graphics around (15fps). RAF
Phantom pilot Paul Courtnage’s verdict: "Marvellous . . . quite the best
micro flight simulation I’ve ever seen . . . Totally captivating!”
Phone: Mail Order Hot line 0903 776000 with VISA/ACCESS. Mail:
PO BOX 66, East Preston, West Sussex BN16 2TX. Most orders
despatched SAME DAY, FIRST CLASS, POST FREE.
DOUBLE PHANTOM (inc link)
BBC ★
disc 9.99
LINK separately
BBC
cable 4.99
PHANTOM COMBAT
BBC ★
disc 4.99
PHANTOM COMBAT Electron &
BBC
cass2.99
747
BBC B only
disc 4.99
747
BBC B only
cass2.99
747 Electron
747 Commodore 64
747 Commodore 64
747 Commodore 64 (USA format)
cass 2.99
cass 4.99
disc 9.99
disc 9.99
(overseas orders, equiv currency, add air mail at cost)
JOYSTICKS optional with all programs
BBC means all machines from 32k up
★ SPECIFY DFS when ordering discs
DOCTOR SOFT -THE FLIGHT
SIMULATION SPECIALIST
56
ACORN USKK MAY 1988
/\ rchive
The Original Subscription Magazine for Archimedes Users
•Archive was the very first magazine written specifically for the
Archimedes range of computers.
•Archive is a professionally produced magazine (A5 laser-printed)
written by enthusiasts (i.e. people like you!) for enthusiasts.
•Archive contains news, views, reviews of software and hardware,
programming ideas, as well as more general articles but above
all, it contains reams of hints and tips.
•Archive started in October 1987 on a limited circulation but the
earlier issues have now been re-printed so that all issues from
Volume 1 N u 1 onwards are still available.
•Archive has 12 issues a year and 50 pages per issue for just £12.50!
Technical Help Service: £8/year
A telephone hot-line service for
immediate help with your
technical problems. Any member
can send written enquiries, but
for a fast response use the THS!
Members’ Discount:
7.5% off Computer Concepts,
Minerva and Clares software
purchased through Archive.
Overseas Subscription:
Europe £18, Middle East £22,
America/Africa £25, Others £27
Archive UK annual subscription: £12.50
Send cheques to: “Norwich Computer Services”,
(Sorry, no Credit Cards)
18, Mile End Road, Norwich, NR4 7QY.
For more details ring Paul Beverley on 0603-507057.
SPECIAL OFFER
27 128-250
21VPP
£4.50
27 128-250
12.5 volt
£3.90
2M 256-250
£4.30
TTL/CMOSS chips (ExcDFS ROM) for 8271 £250
27128c-250 N/S one time programmable £320
2764-250 N/S £295
2716-250 N/S £250
2732-250 N/S £350
6264- 150 8k RAM chip £250
4164-150 N/S £130
41256-150 N/S £3.05
41254-150 N/S £2.50
TC511001 (nos version (1 meg) £26.12
SPECIAL OFFER
3.5
D/S D/D 135 TPI disc
£1.25 each
3”
D/SD/DCF2
£2.85 each
5.25 D/S D/D 96 TPI complete with
envelope
.. 55peach
8271 £42.00 WD-1772 £13.50
20 meg hard disc drive adapted to use with BBC computers
compatible with P.S.U. controller board casing and also with
operating manuel £452
We also have in stock Hard disc drive up to 85 meg Price on
application.
Please Phone
24 hrs Service 01-5506514 24 Hrs Service
I \ I Micrm hins limited
PO Box IS. Essex KiSORB
Co. Reg. No: 1965704
THEORY OF MUSIC
QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES - Grades 2 to 5
LEARNING AN INSTRUMENT? This program is for you. Basic Theory of Music is vital to every musician.
You have to pass Grade 5 Theory before you can take Grade 6 instrumental. This is a practice
program: it throws questions at you as long as your stamina lasts! Full details on request.
FOR BBC B, Master, Compact
5 V4 inch disc £9
3 inch disc £10
School package (runs on ECONET) £1 2
(Please specify computer type, colour/mono, 40/80, DS/SS, DFS/ADFS)
Also available:
PLAY WHAT I PLAY
(tests your ear for notes, and helps non-piano pupils to learn their way about
the keyboard: options for all from beginner to advanced)
CAN YOU READ MUSIC?
(beginners' quiz on notes and rests) The above 2 on a disc (state format) £7
ORDERS AND ENQUIRIES to: Ted Kirk (AU)
Telephone 0744 818761
33 Humber Crescent
Sutton Leach, ST. HELENS
Merseyside WA9 4HD
WANTED - DOOM SURVIVORS
Remember your first adventure game? Rushing home, you watched the
cassette slowly unwind its mystery into your computer: the beginnings of
an addiction you’ve lived with ever since.
Maybe that game was ‘ Countdown to Doom \ by Peter Kill worth. Well, Peter
has come up with another bestseller.
‘RETURN TO DOOM’ is Part 2 of Peter’s Doom Trilogy. Will you return to
that inhospitable planet to rescue the Ambassador of Regina? You know
the scenario — well, some of it — but the puzzles are, quite simply, Peter at
his best.
BBC/Master/ -F3/PCW/CPC/PC VERSIONS ALL £12.95 INC VAT AND
FREEPOST PO Box 39 Stilton
PETERBOROUGH PE7 3BR
tel 0733 244682 (24 hrs)
{AE6|^ COMPUTER house
C()MPtFfBRC()NSUI.TA>ri^ COMPUTER SYSTEMS SUPPLIES /V TRAIN INC.
EDUCATIONAL & PERIPHERAL
SPECIALIST
Try our professional & friendly service for all
your computing requirements!
★ Software & Peripherals
★ Computer Systems
★ Networked Systems
★ Supplies
★ Repair Service
★ Installation
★ Maintenance Contracts
(Sample prices ex VAT:)
Archimedes 310M Colour 969.00
Master Compact Professional
Colour System with daisywheel Printer 769.00
Master 128 369.00
Colour Monitors from 220.00
Disk Drives Single + PSU from 115.00
Export , Educational & Official purchase orders welcome.
Open Monday-Saturday 9am-6pm. Telephone Orders Welcome .
All prices are subject to VAT end availability, and subject to change without notice
46 Christchurch Road,
Oxton, Wirral L43 5SF
Tel: 051 652 9196/7
Telex: 265871 MONREF G Quote Ref:72 MAG50053
ACORN USER MAY 1988
57
Technomatic
f BBC COMPUTERS & ECONET CENTRE
17 Burnley Road, London NYV10 1 ED Tel: 01-208 1 177 Fax: 01-452 1500
305 Edgware Road, London W2Tel: 01-723 0233 Telex: 922800
ARCHIMEDES
300 & 400 SERIES
Archimedes 305 Basic
Archimedes 310 Basic
Archimedes 310M Basic
Archimedes 410 Basic
Archimedes 440 Basic
Monochrome Monitor*
PC Emulator Software
(when purchased with computer)
Colour Monitor*
'Monitor prices applicable only when purchased with the micro.
ADD-ONS
0.5Mb Ram upgrade kit (for 305)
2nd Floppy drive (for 305, 310 & 410)
Econet Module (with stn set disc)
Backplane for 2 podules
I/O Podule
20Mb Hard Disc + Podule
Acorn Rom podule
CC Rom Podule
Acorn Midi I/O card
£699(a)
£775(a)
£835(a)
£1, 399(a)
£2, 299(a)
£50(a)
£60(d)
£79(c)
£125(b)
£43(c)
£39(b)
£79(b)
£499(a)
£59(c)
£49(d)
£29(c)
t larepadtdes arc ex inch'd in tlic coming weeks please
telephone Jar latest updates
IEEE Interface Podule £283(b)
Full implementation of IEEE std 488 1978 & supp. I EEE std 488A 1980. Full
specification on request.
SERIAL LINKS
Arc. to BBC Serial Link
(Software for both Arc & BBC)
Arc. to PC/XT
(Software for both Arc & PC)
Arc External Drive Adaptor
BOOKS: (no VAT)
£25(c)
£29(c)
£25(d)
£29(b)
£12(d)
£99(d)
ISO PASCAL
FORTRAN 77
COMAL
£9S(c)
£95(c)
POA
Arc. Ref Manual
ARM Assy Lang Prog
SOFTWARE:
PC Emulator
LANGUAGES:
ANSIC £95(c)
Prolog X £199(b)
LISP £ 1 99(b)
PROGRAMMERS TOOLS:
TWIN Editor
Arc. Toolkit Module
Software Dev T/Box
Software Dev Debug T/box
PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS:
Logistix
(incl Spreadsheet, timesheet, d/base & Graphics)
WORDPROCESSORS
£29(d)
£33(d)
POA
POA
£95(c)
First Word
Graphics Writer
View SKM3 1(c)
InterWord (c)
DATABASES
Deltabase
Systems DeltaPlus
Alphabase
Viewstore SKM27 (e)
SPREADSHEET
Viewsheet SKM07 (e)
Intersheet (e)
GRAPHICS & ART
Gammaplot
System Gammaplus
Artisan
Interchart (e)
£POA
£29(d)
£49(d)
£39(d)
£26(d)
£60(d)
£41(d)
£52(d)
£S2(d)
£39(d)
£30(d)
£60(c)
£32(d)
£25(d)
Special Offer
FREE £115 inc vat VOUCHER
£195(a)
with every Archimedes model 310, 410
and 440 purchased from us.
This voucher can be redeemed against
any future purchase made from us.
Additionally we will offer discounts
upto 10% on Archimedes software and
upto 5% on Archimedes hardware
stocked by us to all purchasers of
Archimedes computers.
This is a limited period offer so do not
miss your opportunity for a bargain not
to be repeated.
ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
Minerva’s suite 5 Modules (ea) £54(d)
Order Processing, SalcsLedger, StockManager, Purchase Ledger
& Nominal Ledger
GAMES:
ZARCH £17(d)
Minotaur £1 1(d)
Software packages marked with (e) run under 6502 emulated mode.
Please check on availability of some of the above
packages
FILESTORE
Acorn’s new file server system
Filestore E01
Filestore E02
Full details on request
£825(a)
£699(a)
ECON E l ACCESSORIES
Econet Starter Kit £85(b)
Econet Socket Set £29(c)
File Server Level II £75(b)
Master FS Utility Disc £17.25(d)
Econet Bridge
Printer Server Rom
10 Station Lead Set
£174(b)
£41(d)
£26(d)
ECOLINK
Ecolink allows you to connect a PC/XT or AT to
an econet network. Supplied complete with
comprehensive manual, software and cable.
Full spec on request £299(b)
UPGRADE KITS
1.20S ROM
DNFSROM
BASIC II ROM
£15(d) ADFS ROM
£19(d) 1770 DFS Kit
£22. 50(d) Econet Kit
£26(d)
£43.50(d)
£55(d)
EPROMS/RAMS
2764-25
27128-25 (12.5V Vpp)
27128-25 (21.0V Vpp)
6264LP-15
27256
27512
All
prices
on
application
M ASTER SERIES
AMB15 Master 128K £356(a)
Includes free Kducational/Fun software bundle from BBC
Publications range (RRP £40) and a STARdataBASE package
worth another £40.
AMC06Turbo65C102 Module £95(b)
ADC08 512 processor £185(b)
ADF10 Econet Module £40(c) Acorn Rom Cartridge £13(d)
ADJ22 Ref Manual I £14(c) ADJ23 Ref Manual II £14(c)
View User Guide £8.5fl(d) V/sheet User Guide £8.50(d)
TRC22ROM TRC44ROM Cartridge £il(d)
Cartridge £7.50(d) Master Dust Cover £4.75(d)
TRG232K RAM Carl. £29(d)
Acorn 32016 Co Processor
Acorn X25 Gateway
Acorn IEEE Interface
Universal CoProc Adapter
(incl DOS+ & GEM suite)
Send for detailed list or DOS software for 512
£949(a)
£2175(a)
£265(b)
£69(b)
MASTER COMPACT
All Compact systems come complete with 128K of
RAM, 640K 3.5" double sided drive and
educational software. Additionally we include our
Education/Fun software bundle to the package.
SYSTEM 1 Entry system £310(a)
SYSTEM 2 with 12" Hi Res Mono
Monitor £365 (2xa)
SYSTEM 3 with 14" Med Res Col Monitor
Compact 2nd Drive Kit
Serial Kit
TV Modulator
Mertec Adapter
£475 (2xa)
£95(c)
£25(d)
£26(c)
£35(c)
(upgrades Compact to almost Master level)
External Drive adapter Cable £9(d)
Z88 PORTABLE MICRO
A lightweight compact micro that can be carried
in a brief case. Software available for transferring
data to BBC and PC systems.
Z88 Micro c/w rechargeable batteries £239(a)
Mains Adaptor £8. 65(d)
NiCad Rechargeable Battery £2(d)
32K RAM or Eprom Pack £17. 35(d)
128K Ram or Eprom Pack £43. 40(d)
Z88 BBC Link with software £21 .70(d)
Parallel Printer Cable £24(d)
Serial Printer Cable £8. 65(d)
SANYO CRT 70
14" Hi Resolution RGB Monitor
£209
RRP£429 12 months Warranty
CANON PW1080 Printer
£199(a)
12 months Warranty
RAM/ROM EXPANSION
ATPL Board for Model B. Simple
to instal, no soldering. Allows
expansion to 15 Roms +2*8K RAMS
ATPL Battery backup kit
ATPL Board for BBC+
£37(c)
£18(d)
£3 1(c)
:j i i .j 1. 1 1 i - i - i. Min m-qrixiiaru-i-m-i i.i i 1 1 1 i'i 1 1 1 1 1 1 i..i.i'r.i.i.iT.i 1 1 n 1 1 1 1 m 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 m 1 1 1 1 mu
7 7 / Technomatic
M M 17 Burnley Road, London NYV10 1 El) Tel: 01-!
-208 1177
TECHNOMATIC DISC DRIVES
TS 400
A range of high quality high performance drives to meet the needs of all BBC Micro Users.
All drives fitted with high quality, slim line Mitsubishi drive mechanism and necessary cables.
*A11 drives are fitted with high quality slim line ultra low power mechanisms capable of single and double
density operation and offering fast track access and head setting times. Our confidence in their quality
enables us to offer a two year parts and labour warranty on these mechanisms without any extra charge.
*5.25" floppy drives are fitted with 40/80 track switches as standard at no extra cost. The switches are
located in the front and clearly marked to indicate the status at a glance.
*The mechanisms are set inside attractively styled, sturdy metal casings painted in BBC beige colour.
*A11 drives fitted with all necessary leads and are ready for operation on unpacking. The drives with the
mains power supply are supplied with a mains lead fitted with a suitably fused 13A moulded plug.
*TECHNOMATIC drives stand out from other drives because of the high quality of construction and use of
reliable switchmode power supply units on dual drives.
5.25" Single Drives 40/80 switchable:
TS400 400K/640K
PS400 400K/640K with integral
mains power supply
5.25" Dual Drives 40/80 switchable:
TD800 800K/1280K
PD800 800K/1280K with
integral mains power supply
£90(b)
£104(b)
£170(a)
£190(a)
PS351 single 400K/640K with
integral mains power supply
TD352 Dual 800K/1280K
£85(b)
£126(b)
PD800P 800K/1280K with
integral mainspower supply and
monitor stand
PD 800P
3.5" 80T DS Drives:
TS351 single 400K/640K
£209(a)
£67(b)
PD352 Dual 800K/1280K with
integral mains power supply
Combo Drives (5.25" & 3.5" drives)
PD853 with integral psu
PD853P with integral psu
DISC DRIVE MULTIPLEXER
see page 5 of this ad for details
For Master, B, B+ and any DFS/ADFS
TDM2 Two computers/one drive unit
TDM4 Four computers/one drive unit
£149(b)
£165(a)
£179(a)
£65(b)
£115(b)
TECHNOMATIC WINCHESTERS
Technomatic offer the most popular range of
Winchester drives for BBC micro systems at
competitive prices. The drives arc fully
compatible with Acorn ADFS system. Fan cooled
switch mode power supply ensure efficient and
reliable operation. Combination of floppy and
winchester drives in our elegant plinth housing
provides an ideal solution for need to have large
storage and ease of transferring data to floppies.
Technomatic front end utility for the Master
supplied with the winchesters at no extra cost
provides an easy and efficient file management
system. The entire contents of the drive are
displayed on the screen on boot up, each file or
directory appearing as an icon. The icon type
indicates whether directory or file and type of data
if latter.
P20HD TECHNOMATIC 20 Mbyte
Winchester Drive
P30HD 30Mb Winchester Drive
£429(a)
£449(a)
TFC10 10 Mbyte Pre-formatted
Cartridge for use with P2041HT
and TS10.
£19(d)
P40HD TECHNOMATIC 40 Mbyte
Winchester Drive with Acorn
ADFS ROM
£749(a)
P204HP TECHNOMATIC 20 Mbyte
Winchester and a 80T DS floppy Drive
built in a monitor stand.
Includes ADFS Rom.
Technomatic Winchesters can be adapted to
operate with the SJ Research FileScrver by
internal modification. However this must be
specified at the time of ordering otherwise the
drive has to be returned to us for modification.
£609(a)
Adaptor for SJ FileServer
£28
P2041HT As P204HP but also with a
10 Mbyte tape streamer backup unit
and backup utilities.
Includes ADFS Rom. £1 179(a)
WINCHESTER Drive Multiplexer
These units let you share aWinches-
ter drive between a number of com-
puters. Full details on request.
Larger capacity drives available on request.
TS10 10 Mbyte Tape Streamer
Backup unit with utilities.
£599(a)
TWM2 for two computers.
TWM4 for four Computers.
£99 (b)
£149 (b)
Following the great success enjoyed by our P20HD unit,
we are pleased to announce the launch of P30HD - a 30Mbyte
hard drive. This drive is also supplied with the free front end utility
for the Master. £449(a)
BULK DISCS
3M FLOPPY DISCS
5.25" Discs in packs of 10
74440TSS DO £8. 00(d)
74540TDSDD £9.75(d)
746 SOT SS DD £12.00(d)
74780TDSDD £12.75(d)
3.5" Discs in packs of 10
80TSSDD £13.50(d)
SOT DS DD £15.00(d)
(Add £1 for library case packing)
50 5.25" 40 T single sided discs with sleeves
in lockable box . £25(b)
50 5.25" 80 T double sided discs with sleeves
in lockable box. £32(b)
50 3.5" 80T double sided discs with sleeves
in lockable box.
£60(b)
FLOPPICLENE DRIVE HEAD
CLEANING KIT
5.25" Kit with 20 disposable discs
3.5" Kit with 20 disposable discs
£14.00(d)
£14.75(d)
FREE Leatherbound Personal Organiser
with every 50 3M discs
DISC STORAGE BOXES
DB340 Lockable 40x3.5"
DB550 Lockable 50 x 5.25"
DB570 Lockable 70 x 5.25"
DB5100 Lockable 100 x 5.25"
£8.50(c)
£6. 50(c)
£8.50(c)
£10.50(c)
V I i I I I I l-M-M-M-M-i-M-l-t-l-l-l l-l4-)-M-l-l-(-4--^LI- l-t-M4-LI-m 4 -)-U-t444-)-M-44-[-t--l-l-l-l--l-l-4-M-l-l-l-t-]4-l4-l 1 I I 1 I ■I 4 -I - H44-
Technomatic
305 Edgware Road, London VV2 Tel: 01-723 0233
PRINTERS
EPSON FX800 f 295(a)
EPSON EX 1 000 £405(a) EPSON EX80o£395(a)
EPSON EX 1000 £539(a)
EPSON LQ 1050 £529(a)
EPSON GQ3500 Laser Printer £1290(a)
TAXAN K 1*815 £249(a) TAXAN KP915 £350(a)
NATIONAL PANASONIC KXP1081
NATIONAL PANASONIC KXP1082*
STAR LC 10
INTEGREX Multicolour
Inkjet printer
BROTHER HR20
NAT PANASONIC KX P3131
includes massive buffer of 38K
JUKI 6100 Daisy wheel printer
BBC/Master Parallel Lead (1.2m)
BBC/Master Parallel Lead (2m)
Compact Parallel Printer Lead (1.2m)
Archimedes Parallel Printer Lead (2m)
* Price includes Free Master printer lead and
WYSIWYG + ROM
£ 149(a)
£175(a)
£209(a)
£519(a)
£349(a)
£249(a)
£295(a)
£5(d)
£7(d)
£9(d)
£9(d)
EPSON LX800
Epson’s latest budget printer offers a host of new
features all utilising Epson’s unrivalled knowhow
of printer technology and reliability.
★ 180 cps draft/25cps NLQ ★ two modern fonts as
std: Sans Serif and ROMAN. NLQ font selection
from front panel ★ Tractor and friction feed
★ Single sheet guide with auto load switch.
Original + 2 copies.
★ 3K input buffer with character downloading
facility
★ Fully compatible with BBC & IBM graphics
★ Centronics interface as standard
★ Price including BBC master lead £179(a)
EPSON 1.0500
Epson’s budget 24pin letter quality printer pro-
vides unrivalled print quality with two built in
letter quality fonts and widest repertoire of type
styles at low cost. Sans Serif and Roman or draft
font can be selected from the front panel as can
print speeds with max resolution of 360x180 dpi.
Friction and tractor as standard. Parallel interfa-
ce. Designed for low noise operation 55dB(A).
Introductory price incl. master lead £329(a)
EPSON LQ850
Epson’s latest 24pin letter quality printer has been
specifically designed for optimum paper handling
convenience. Both single sheets and fanfold paper
can be loaded simultaneously and a single lever
enables the selection of either for printing. Micro
adjust feature enables paper feed forward or
reverse in increments as fine as 1/180" - ideal for
form setting. Auto load of selected paper to
printing position. Very fast printing speeds 264cps
draft & 88cps LQ. Sans Serif & Roman LQ fonts
can be selected from front panel as can the
character pitch.
LQ850 has been specially insulated to keep the
noise level down to 55db(A). Parallel & Serial
interface as std.
Introductory Price including BBC Master
lead £419(a)
MODEMS
£135(b)
£244(b)
£409(b)
£537(b)
MIRACLE WS4000 V21/23
MIRACLE WS3000 V21/23
MIRACLE WS3000 V22
MIRACLE VVS3000 V22 bis
(All modems are BABT approved)
BBC Data Cable for WS3000/4000
MIRACLE WS2000V21/23 & BELL stds £92(c)
1-111 I I I 1 I 1 HI ■ IT I T -H-tt
£10(d)
PLOTTERS
Hitachi 672X1) A3 4 Colour HPGL £ 465( a)
Plotmate A4S £420(a)
Plotmate A3M £640(a)
Roland 880 A3 Flat bed 8 col £599(a)
Variety of Plotter pens and accessories in stock.
Larger Plotters available. Please enquire.
PRINTER SHARERS &
BUFFERS
£189(b)
TSB256 Printer Sharer
Buffer
Provides a massive buffer size of
256K and connects three computers
to one printer. Autoswitching
between computers. Facility to
print copies.
BUFFALO PB Buffer
Parallel buffer for internal fitting to
most Epson printers. Simple to
instal.
PB128 (128K)
PERIPHERAL & COMPUTER
SHARERS
High quality switches to allow the user to switch
between computers, printers, modems etc. Fully
shielded metal cases, all lines fully switched.
£89(c)
Parallel
Serial
2 Computers to 1 Printer 36v36-2
£25(c)
25v25-2
£25(c)
3 Computers to 1 Printer 36v36-3
£39(c)
25v25-3
£39(c)
4Computersto 1 Printer 36v36-4
£45(c)
25v25-4
£45(c)
2 Computers 2 Printers
X-over36v37-x
£49(c)
25v25-x
£49(c) •
BBC Cable Set 3 to 1 (lmea)
£24(c)
BBC Cable Set 4 to 1 ( 1 m ea)
£30(c)
BBC Computer Sharer: TCS26
1 computer to 2 printers fitted with
BBC cable £21(c)
Paper & Labels
Plain fanfold paper with microperforation:
2000 sheets 91/2 x 1 1" £12 (£3.50)
2000 sheets 14 Vi x 11" £18.50 (£4.50)
1500 sheets A490gsm £18.00 (£4.00)
Labels/1000
Single Row 3 Vi x l 7 /i6
Triple Row2 7 /i6 x l 7 /i6
£5(d)
£5(d)
PRINTER STAND
A new style printer stand with easy paper feed and
paper seperation, provides complete access to
paper. Can be used with both top and bottom
paper feed. Very space efficient. £26 (b)
PROGRAMMING
ACC ESSO R I ES/SOF1W ARE
Compatible with B, B + and Master
EpromRyter (Epromer II)
EpromRyter is compatible with
BBC Master only. See page 7.
EPROMER II
META ASSEMBLER
PORTAL EPROM
EMULATOR 5 12K
TEAM Disassembler
EPROM ERASERS
UVlB6eproms, safety cutout
UV1T 6 eproms, timer, safety cutout
l+WI+H+BHFN I I I I I I -
£89(b)
£89(b)
£145(b)
£245(b)
£145(b)
£47(b)
£59(b)
MONITORS
All Monitors supplied with a suitable lead.
12 ", 14'" and 20" MONITORS
£1 79(a)
£ 199(a)
£225(a)
£255(a)
£359(a)
Microvitec 1431
Std Res, 14"
Microvitec 1431 AP
Std Res + PAL/Aud, 14"
Microvitec 1451
Med Res, 14"
Microvitec 1451 AP
Med Res + PAL/Aud, 14"
Microvitec 1441
Hi Res, 14"
Philips 14" RGB
Med Res, 14", high contract screen,
TTL/Linear Input, Mono/Colour
Switch Sound Input. Separate
controls for brilliance and
contrast. This is the monitor used by
Acorn with Archimedes and Compact
Computers. £1 95(a)
Sanyo CRT 70
14" High Resolution Monitor £209(a)
Resolution better than Microvitec 1441, suitable for
Mtfster, Archimedes.
Microvitec 2030CS
20" Standard Resolution RGB/
Comp Video £380(a)
Microvitec 2040CS
20" High Resolution RGB/Comp
Video £675(a)
TAXAN SUPER VISION 620
12" Hi Res/Hi Contrast Option to
switch to green/amber BBC/IBM
Compatible £269(a)
TAXAN SUPER VISION 625
12" Super Hi Res and contrast RGB
Monitor with option to switch to
mono BBC/IBM compatible.
TAXAN 770+
MultiSysnc Autoscan 14", ideal for
utilising the hi res modes on
Archimedes. Our price includes a
tilt & swivel stand £499(a)
NEC MuItiSync 1114"
Enhanced version of the original NEC MuItiSync.
complete with tilt & swivel base. Suitable for
Archimedes and PC compatibles. £489(a)
£3 19(a)
12" MONOCHROME MONITORS
PHILIPS BM 7502
Hi Res green screen
£69(a)
PHILIPS BM7522
Hi Res amber screen
£75(a)
TIME WARP
Real Time Clock, Plugs into the
user port, battery back up as
standard, includes manual, demo
software including a diary/planner
application program
£29(d)
MONITOR ACCESSORIES
Microvitec Swivel Base
( 1 4" plastic monitors)
£17(c)
Monitor Stand Models B & B +
£10(0
Monitor Stand Master
£13(0
Double Tier Stand Models B ,
B+ or Master
£24(b)
Taxan RGB Lead
£7(d)
Microvitec Lead
£4(d)
Monochrome BN C/Phono Lead
£4(d)
—
mm
Technomatic
17 Burnley Road, London NVV10 I ED Tel: 01-208 1177
CAD/DRAWING PACKAGES
NOVACAD
Cad Package for B, B & MASTER.
(See page 5 for specification)
Tracker Ball/Mouse Version (TM)
TM Version plus Tracker Ball
TM Version plus Mouse
Ploller Driver Generator
£49 (d)
£94 (d)
£79 (d)
£15 (d)
MOUSE
AMX MOUSE with SUPER ART
(pse specify B, B + or Master)
£59 (d)
STOP PRESS (Pagemaker)
EXTRA/EXTRA
(utility for the Pagemaker)
MAX
STAND ALONE MOUSE
£32 (d)
£19 (d)
£17 (d)
£34 (c)
RB2 TRACKER BALL
RB2 Tracker Ball with Icon Master
(for B, B+ & Master)
£59 (c)
RB2 Tracker Ball with Cursor Control
Rom
(for Master only)
RB2 Tracker Ball ‘Stand Alone’
for use with NOVACAD & other
software)
£59 (c)
£47 (c)
Cursor Control Rom for Master
M1RRORSOFT FLEET
STREET EDITOR
£12.50 (d)
£35 (d)
CP/M SOFTWARE
Please send for details on our range of CP/M
software for Acorn/Torch Z80 2nd Processors
BBC SOFT/FIRMWARE
DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
V1EWSTORE
STARdataBASE
MASTERFILE II
ACORN OVERVIEW PACKAGE
Special Offer
(RRP £86)
£37 (d)
£39 (d)
£17 (d)
£69 (b)
WORD PROCESSORS
ACORN VIEW PROFESSIONAL
VIEW 2.1
VIEW 3.0
VIEW INDI A
VIEW PRINTK R
GENERATOR
DRIVER
VIEWSPELL
DOT PRINT PLUS
WORDWISE
WORDWISE PLUS
WYSIWYG PLUS
SPELLMASTER
INTERWORD
WORDEASE
SPELLCHECK III
EDWORD II
(BBC) £69 (C)
£35 (d)
£45 (c)
£12 (d)
£8 (d)
£29 (d)
£28 (d)
£24 (d)
£38 (d)
£21 (d)
£47 (d)
£39 (d)
£24 (d)
£31 (d)
£43 ( C )
SPREADSHEETS
£37 (d)
£15 (d)
£22 (d)
£37 (d)
£26 (d)
£26 (d)
VIEWSHEET
WINDOMATIC (A Viewshect Utility)
VIEWPLOT
INTERSHEET
INTERCHART
ULTRACALC
MINI OFFICE II DISC Version
For B & B + 40T or 80T
For Master 80T
For Compact
MINI OFFICE II ROM Version
For Master, Compact, B + & B
MEGA3Rom
CCs integrated package offering Interword,
Intersheet & Interchart on one 128K ROM. For
Master, Compact, B+ & B
£14.75 (d)
£17.30 (d)
£19 (d)
£48 (c)
£82(b)
LANGUAGES
META ASSEMBLER
£145 (b)
TEAM DISASSEMBLER
£145 (b)
MACROM
£33 (d)
ACORN MICRO PROLOG
£62 (d)
ISO-PASCAL
ISO-PASCAL STAND ALONE
£51 (c)
GENERATOR
£30 (d)
OXFORD PASCAL
(40 or 80T) Specify B or B +
£36 (d)
OXFORD PASCAL
for Master
£52 (d)
ACORN LOGO
£46 (c)
LOGOTRON LOGO
£55 (c)
BBC PUBLICATIONS OPEN LOGO
£59 (c)
ACORN LISP ROM
£39 (d)
ACORN FORTH ROM
£39 (d)
ACORN COMAL ROM
£39 (d)
MICROTEXT
£52 (c)
MICROTEXT PLUS
£229 (b)
COMMUNICATIONS
TERMULATOR
COMMSTAR II
MAY A Comms Package
See next page for details
£25 (d)
£28 (d)
£49 (d)
MODEM MASTER
£11 (d)
COMMAND
£34 (d)
MASTER TERMULATOR £34.75 (d)
UTILITIES
ACORN BASIC EDITOR
£24 (d)
MONITOR (BBC Pub)
£19 (d)
SLEUTH
£23 (d)
TOOLKIT PLUS
£31 (d)
TOOLBOX 2 (BBC Pub) Manual
£9.50 (d)
Cassette
£9 (d)
ACORN GXR GRAPHICS ROM
specify B or B +
£24(d)
PRINTMASTER
£24 (d)
PRINTWISE
£24 (d)
DUMPMASTER
£26 (d)
FONTWISE PLUS
£17 (d)
ADV TELETEXT UTILITIES ROM
£7.95 (d)
COMPACT (all on 3Vi" disc)
ART ROOM
£27 (d)
FONTWISE +
£22 (d)
FONT EDITOR
£22 (d)
BETABASE
£27 (d)
WHITE KNIGHT MKII
£16 (d)
BBC PUBLICATIONS
EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE
A series of programs developed in many cases along-
side Radio & TV programmes by BBC’s Education
Department which supplement the classroom studies
by moving and colourful displays helping in clear
understanding of a variety of subjects. Some packages
also include audio cassettes.
PRIMARY EDUCATION
ASTRONOMY £11 (d)
COMPUTERS AT WORK Aud/EC/disc£16 (c)
PICTURE CRAFT Disc£17 (d)
INTRODUCING GEOGRAPHY Disc£16 (d)
MATHS WITH A STORY 1 Cass£8 (d)
MATHS WITH A STORY 2 Cass£8 (d)
NUMBER GAMES Cass/EC£7.50 (d)
USING YOUR COMPUTER Cass£24 (c)
THE HALL OF MIRRORS Disc£13 (d)
MATHS Disc-f AudCas£17(d)
SECONDARY LEARNING
£21.50 (c)
£10.50 (d)
Disc£23 (d)
Disc£17 (d)
Prog Cass£10 (d)
Audio Cass£5 (d)
I)isc£14 (d)
DIsc£14 (d)
Disc£14 (d)
Disc£20 (d)
Disc£20 (d)
GENERAL
VU-TYPE PROFESSIONAL
WHITE KNIGHT MK II
(for 1770 DFS)
BATTLEFIELDS
A VOUS LA FRANCE
Disc£19 (d)
Disc£16 (d)
Cass£8.50 (d)
Disc£20 (d)
Book£5.25 (d) Aud Cass(2)£7 (d)
Disc£19 (d)
Book£6.95 (d)
(2) £7.50 (a)
ESPANA VIVA
Audio Cass(2)£8 (d)
TECHNOLOGY & DESIGN Ptl
ELECTRIC FIELDS
ADVANCED LEVEL
STUDIES: STATISTICS
ADVANCED STUDIES:
GEOGRAPHY
INSIDE INFORMATION
Book£8(d)
OPEN LEARNING
PACK Disc/AudCas-t book£36(b)
SCIENCE TOPICS (ST)
S.T.:WAVES
S.T. RELATIONSHIPS
S.T.:BONDING
S.T. ‘.ELECTROMAGNETIC
SPECTRUM
S.T.:ELECTRONICS IN ACTION Disc£14
S.T.:NEWTON & THE SHUTTLE I)isc£19
S.T.:ECOLOGY Disc/EC£19
S.T.:POLYMERS Disc/EC£19 (d)
S.T. CLASSIFICATION &
PERIODIC TABLE
S.T.:FOOD & POPULATION
SEC. SCIENCE
MICROTECHNOLOGY
SEC.SCIENCE-.THE
MOLE CONCEPT Disc/Aud/EC£16 (c)
BIRD SPY Disc£13(d)
GEORDIE Racer Disc£13 (d)
Cass£7 (d)
DEUTSCH DIREKT Disc/aud/EC£16 (c)
Book£5.95 (d)
BLACK QUEEN
A long awaited bridge game. (1770DFS) £13(d)
BISMARCK
I listory of the famous battleship.
( I770DFS) £ 13(d)
±fc
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it
Technomatic
305 Edgware Road, London VV2 Tel: 01-723 0233
BOOKS
No VAT Carriage Code (c)
LANGUAGES
6502 Assy Lang Prog
£19.95
6502 Programming
£13.95
8086 Book
£23.95
Acorn BCPI User Guide
£15.00
Acorn FORTH
£7.50
Acorn LISP
£7.50
Acorn ISO Pascal Ref Manual
£10.00
Intro to COMAL
£10.00
Intro to LOGO
£7.50
Micro Prolog Ref Manual
£10.00
Introduction to Turbo Pascal
£14.95
Prog the Micro with Pascal
£8.50
The Supervisor’s BBC Micro
£10.95
BBC MICRO GUIDE BOOKS
Inside Information
£8.95
Maths Prog in BBC Basic
£7.95
The Friendly Computer Book
£4.50
Toolbox 2
£10.95
ARCHIMEDES
Archimedes Reference Manual
. £29. 95(b)
ARM Assembly Language Prog
. £12.95(b)
PROGRAMMING/UTILITY
Advanced Sideways Ram User Guide .
£9.95
Advanced User Guide (BBC)
£15.95
Applied Assembly Language on the BBC ...£9.95
BBC Micro Advance Programming ....
£9.95
BBC Micro Ref Guide (B Smith)
£10.95
BBC Micro Sideways ROM’s RAM’s..
£9.95
Guide to the BBC Rom
£9.95
Beginners Guide to W.P
£7.95
Mastering Assembly Code
£8.95
Mastering Interpreters & Compilers ....
£14.95
Master Operating System
£12.95
Mastering View, Viewsheet & Viewstore ....£12.95
View by B. Smith
£12.95
View 3.0 User Guide
£9.00
Viewstore User Guide
£9.00
Viewsheet User Guide
£9.00
Wordwise Plus
£9.95
SOUND & GRAPHICS
Computer Graphics & CAD Fundementals .£9.95
Mastering Music
£6.95
DISC DRIVE SYSTEMS
Advanced Disc User Guide
£16.95
Disc Book
£3.50
Disc Programming Techniques
£7.95
Disc Systems
£6.95
File Handling on the BBC
£6.95
Discovering Disc Drives
£POA
Practical Disc File Techniques
£5.95
Mastering the Disc Drive
£12.95
Mastering DOS plus
£12.95
APPLICATIONS
Interfacing Proj for BBC
£6.95
BBC and Small Business
£5.75
The Software Business
£5.50
Mustering Operating System
(David Atherton)
£6.95
WYSIVVYC;PLL'S
WYSIWYG PLUS is a printer and screen utility for Wordwise Plus, View, Interword, and Basic users
supplied on a 16K Eprom. To obtain a particular printer effect, such as enlarged text, it used to be
necessary to discover the appropriate ‘printer control code’ from your manual and incorporate it into
your text. Secondly, you had to print several trial copies in order to position the effect correctly in
relation to the rest of your text.
WYSIWYG PLUS simplifies this trial and error approach using easily remembered 'commands. For
example, 'ENLARGED not only selects enlarged text on your printer, but uniquely shows you double
width characters on your screen, even from within Wordwise Plus!
WYSIWYG PLUS incorporates a logo editor. Just draw your design on screen using the arrow keys, and
save the results. Use the 'GRAPHICS command to incorporate your design anywhere in your text
position and sec your design in your text before faithfully reproducing a hard copy.
There is also special help for daisy wheel users. The 'WHEEL command will prompt you to change
daisy wheels whenever a change in type style is about to occur.
WYSIWYG PLUS is designed to work with the following systems:
BBC Model B 6502 Second Processor, BBC Master 128 All printers (Except lasers)
BBC Model B+ Turbo coprocessor BBC Compact
WYSIWYG PLUS workspace is relocatable.
MAYA TERMINAL EMULATOR
A comms package for the professional user. MAYA emulates DEC VT52, VT100 and Tandberg
TDV2215. Special BBC VDU mode allows full access to the BBC VDU driver.
Menu driven software allows the setting up of parameters and function key definitions which can be
saved to disc for future use.
Flexible command parser provides a uniform user interface and allows full access to * commands and
HELP facilities.
Xmodem and Kermit file transfer protocols are included as standard. Unique feature of MAYA is
that Kermit can also be used in ‘remote mode’, which allows file transfers to be initiated by other
computers connected to the BBC. File transfers can also be done with a ‘dumb’ ASCII protocol. Open
architecture allows for expansion and addition of new features. Options currently under development
are graphics drivers for Tektronix 4010/4014 emulation, TDGR driver for TDV2215 and a Viewdata
patch (provisional version included in the current issue). Registered users will be provided with regular
updates and customisation service will also be available to those interested.
The package comprises of a rom, utils disc and a comprehensive manual. It is compatible with Master,
Models B & B-K It supports DFS, ADFS, NFS and ANFS filing systems.
BLACK QUEEN
VU-TYPE
A contract bridge program from BBC Publica-
tions both for beginners and for club players.
Features include rebid and/or reply of any deal
just played. Deals can be saved to a disc. Unique
feature of Black Queen is its ability to construct
deals from standard or classic ones in newspapers
etc.
Compatible with Master, B and B+ £13(d)
EDUCATIONAL/FUN
SOFTWARE BUNDLE
Do you have finger trouble when typing?
Do your letters look like this?
Dear Sor,
I wuold like to...
then you need:
VU-type, a complete touch typing program pro-
duced by BBC/Pitman.
It allows you to learn at your own pace and has a
wide range of exercises. Screen displays show the
keys you have pressed and it will report on your
speed and accuracy.
Supplied on a 40T Disc with a manual.
Available at a special price of £7. 50(d) instead of
the usual £15. Offer valid while stocks last.
Drawstick
Locomotion
Wordmover
Wordplay Pantry Antics
These programs are supplied from the BBC
Publications Educational Software range and will
be supplied on a 5.25" disc for BBC Master, B +
and B and on a 3.5" disc for the Compact.
5.25" Disc £17. 50(d)
3.5" Disc £18. 50(d)
(Normal RRP over £40)
BISMARCK
An enthralling game of strategy involving the
famous German battleship of the same name.
You can play the role of British Navy in its quest
to find the Bismarck and sink it or take either
British or German role against another player. It
requires the highest qualities of judgement, obser-
vation and decision to plan strategy and tactics to
plot the death of Bismarck. £13(d)
PRINTER ACCESSORIES
EPSON ACCESSORIES:
Interfaces
8143 RS232 £30 (d)
8148 + RS232 + 8k £65 (d)
8I77P NLQ for FX80 +/FX100 + ..£99
(d)
Parallel & Serial Buffers of various
size also available.
LQ800 Tractor Feed £47 (b)
LQ1000 Tractor Feed £52 (b)
SHEET FEEDERS:
LQ800 £135 (b)
LQ1000 £1 79(b)
EX800 £135 (b)
EX 1000 £309 (b)
FX800 £135 (b)
FX1000 £179 (b)
Ribbons:
RX/FX100/100 + , FX105 £7 (d)
RX/FX80/80 -f , FX85 £4 (d)
LX80/LX800 £4.50 (d)
LQ800 £8.50 (d)
LQ1000 £10 (d)
EX800/1000 £7.50 (d)
H180 Pen Set (Aqueous/Ball point)
£8.25 (d)
HITACHI 672 Plotter
Aqueous Pen Set six pens ....£18.50 (d)
Oil Based Pen Set six pens ...£25.00 (d)
TAXAN CANON Accessories:
Ribbon, KP8 10/8 15/91 0/9 15 £6 (d)
Star Printer
NLH) Sheet Feeder £52 (b)
NL10 Ribbon £4.50 (d)
National Panasonic KX P1080/81
Spare Ribbon £4.50 (d)
KXP3131 Tractor £90 (a)
KXP3131 Sheet Feeder £189 (a)
JUKI 6100
Tractor Feed £149 (a)
Ribbon (Carbon) £2.00 (d)
Sheet Feeder £219 (a)
BROTHER HR20
Tractor Feed £116 (a)
Spare Ribbon Nylon £3.00 (d)
Spare Ribbon Carbon £4. 50(d)
INTEGREX INK JET COLOUR
PRINTER
Spare Ink Cartridge Black £9 (d)
Sparc Ink Cartridge Colour £15 (d)
Paper Roll £7 (d)
Printer Leads:
BBC Parallel Lead ( 1 .2m) £6 (d)
PAPER & LABELS
Plain Fanfold paper with micro
perforations:
1 1" 60 gsm/sq m ..£12
2000 sheets 91" x
(£3.50)
2000 sheets 141"
11" 60 gsm/sq m
£18.50 (£4.50)
1500 sheets A4 90 gsm £18 (£3.50)
Labels/1000:
Single Row 31 x \f 6 " £5.25 (d)
Triple Row 2h" x 1 4 £5 (d)
- Ht l 1 1 1 I II l-H Tl li I I I I Tt-l-l+m-l-l-H-lT-H+t-l-l-l-l--)-] I I I II I I I l-H-H+H+H-H+H-B-l -H+ H - H-H+H+ 1 I I I I I I-
Technomatic
MAILORDER & RETAIL
17 Burnley Road
London MY 10 I El)
lav 01-452 1500
Telex: 922800
RETAIL SI I OPS
15/17 Burn lev Road. London MV10 1E1)
Tel: 01-208 1 177 Telex: 922800
(elose lo Dollis Hill 4})
West End Branch
305 Edguare Road, London \V2
Tel: 01-723 0233, 01-402 0444
(near Edgwire Road 4E)
lor fast delivery telephone
your order on 01-208 1177
using MSA/ Access Card
msm /
Orders welcome from
government dcpts&
educational establishments
All prices c\ VAT.
Prices are subject to
change without notice
Please add carriage
(a) €8.00 (C ourier)
(b) €2.50
(c) €1.50
(d) €1.00
NOV ACAD
Computer Aided Draughting'
System
Novacad can drive a plotter to produce drawings of highest quality...
Novacad is excellent. It is flexible , genuinely easy to operate
without much practice, and a pleasure to use. Becbug Dec 86
A sophisticated CAD package with unique
facilities. Thousands of Novacad packages are
being used in widely differing fields ranging
from industries for producing engineering
drawings to accountants offices for producing
flow charts. Architects, engineers, plumbers,
kitchen planners and many other professions
requiring easy to use facilities for producing
high quality output arc making extensive use
of Novacad’s unique features. Novacad is
proving to be an invaluable teaching aid in
technical schools simply because of the ease
with which it can be used.
Novacad is compatible with all models fitted
with Acorn DFS. Hardware requirements can
be minimum; single drive and FX80
compatible printer are enough to get started,
though its performance is enhanced
considerably by use of 6502 2nd processor,
dual drive and to a degree with B + and
Master’s shadow ram.
The major features offered are:
★ Simple and easy to use with logical command
sequence.
★ A large drawing area (approx 15 screens)
★ Unique ability to create complex icons made
up of upto 500 lines instead of the usual 15 to
20 pixels, store them in a library and recall
them at different scales and orientations.
★ Zoom facility.
★ Create multi level drawings.
★ Text entry at any 90° orientation anywhere on
the screen.
★ Grid scaling and locking, displacement
measurements.
★ Printer routine for FX80/100 compatible
printers
★ Cursor control from keyboard/tracker ball/
mouse.
Plotter driver generator available as an optional
utility, configures a routine for any BBC
coompatible plotter. Pre configured routines for
popular plotters like Epson HI80, Hitachi,
Plotmate are included. Drawings can be scaled to
maximumm plotter size.
NOVACAD T/M Version f 49(d)
NOVACAD T/M + Plotter DG £61(c)
Plotter Driver Generator £15(d)
£49(d)
Plotter Driver
Generator £15(d)
META Version III
' All the good features you would expect to find in a good source code
editor are present ... Meta assembler lives in a different world. It is
structured to work with any new processor ...as new instruction sets
can be added ...as needed ... has a well featured editor with colour
highlighting, a sound modular approach.” Acorn User October 1986
# Assembles for over 30 popular processors,
including Z80, 6800/01/02/04/05/09/11 etc - and
68000 - using native mnemonics for each
processor, eg LD A, (HL) for Z80 and MOV
A0, $1000 for 68000 etc.
# Fully integrated Editor: four field, all search,
search/rcplace, block copy, delete, move,
marked save, load etc.
# Compatible with Portal Eprom Emulators and
Team Disassembler.
# Send object code in Intel Hex, S-Record,
straight binary etc. down to discs, RS232,
parallel port, Eprom Emulators etc - all
during Assembly.
# Over 50 directives included as standard:
handling nestable macros, conditional
assembly and twenty types of table definition
directives.
# 32 bit labels; 31 character names. Arithmetic
and Boolean arithmetic to 32 bits.
# Modular source code with numeric and string
parameter passing.
Serial communicator area with eight options
lines: echo, control code trap, LF suppression/
addition etc.
# Over 500 in use throughout the world in
universities and many different industries.
# Two 16K Roms, two 80 track discs, A4
ring-bound manual, functiomkey strip.
EpromRyter
♦Highly sophisticated & Advanced Programmer
♦All current single rail eproms handled
♦State of the Art Programming Algorithms
EpromRytcr is a powerful eprom programmer
designed for use with the BBC Master Computer.
It takes full advantage of the latest developments
in the eprom technology and the extra facilities on
the Master to provide fast, simple and efficient
programming and editing facilities.
The software is totally menu driven and on
screen help messages make the programming
simple for both specialists and novices alike.
The EPROMRYTER interfaces with the
Master through 1MHz bus. It is mains powered
with its own psu. 3M Textool zif socket has been
fitted to ensure consistent and reliable service
over long periods.
I The single rail eproms handled by the EpromRyter are:
| 1 2716273227642712827256275122751327011
2516 25322564 (NMOS & CMOS)
# One time eproms P27XXX, 87CXXX etc.
• Also A suffix eproms such as 27XXXA
£89(b) + VAT
EPROM KR II
A proven Eprom programmer for BBC Model B
and BT with thousands in use in industry,
educational and R&D establishments. It offers
many of the powerful features of the EpromRyter
and can program all single rail eproms upto 27256.
Full details on request. £89(b)
PORTAL EPROM
EMULATORS
• Emulates 2716, 2732, 2764, 27128, 27256,
27512 eproms at 150ns Access time.
• Load at 4Kbytes/second - No “erase” time.
• 28 pin header plugs into Eprom socket on
target system - status monitored on 13 Leds.
+ Fully software controlled from Meta
Assembler.
• 100 times faster than standard EPROM
program/erase cycle.
• Fully CMOS compatible; draws no power
from target system.
• Four portals may be independently
programmed off same user-port cable.
• Complete with all cables, manual and disc.
PORTAL 512 (2716, 2732, 2764, 27128, 27256,
27512).
TEAM DISASSEMBLER
The third part of the Universal Development
System: a Meta labelling disassembler.
Supports 1802, 8080, 8085, #HD64180, Z80,
65XX (includes 65 col, 6511 etc), 68XX (includes
00,01,02,03,08 etc):
• Up to 64K of object code translated back into
META compatible source code modules:
labels automatically inserted on all jump
targets, memory references etc.
• Pre-editing stage allows marking of object
code areas as byte, string, word, long word
etcc, tables. These areas disassembled into
appropriate directives instead of garbage
mnemonics.
# Reconstituted source code ready for
immediate re-assembly by META.
# Omniversal search/repalce for re-naming
arbitrary label names with meaningful ones.
This advertisement can only show an example
of the range of products stocked by
Technomatic. So send for our latest BBC
catalogue providing detailed information and
prices on BBC Computer Systems,
Pe ■ ■ ‘ ~ ~
■eripherals, Software and Books. To obtain
your free copy please complete and return the
coupon below.
Technomatic is a BBC Computer and Econet
Referral Centre providing a professional and
reliable service to the BBC user.
NAME
ADDRESS.
.PostCodc .
Return to Technomatic Ltd, 17 Burnley Road,
London NW101ED
■ U 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 l-l- I I 1 i 1 H -H + t-l + H-H-H-l 1 1 1 1 1 1 I I I II I I I 1 1 1 1 I H -H- H -t T -H-l 1 1 1 1 H±l± t±tH±H±l±t±±MBB
PROUDLY ANNOUNCE
M 4 45 SMBS'-
un 1
’ «)>.»» . 1 I
'irf-
§
WHAT THE
PRESS SAYS
ABOUT GENIE
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ACORK UStR Au« 8
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Rop Co«wp >V»>,
AtO Co>"|Mlt>A?
rmoMfn O'* '<•< c*+<* o' toll •»#/*
^®^Co«T>p«lt< Art, 8 »
VERSION OF THE
HIGHLY ACCLAIMED
7; ^ f GENIE •■POP-UP" SOFTWARE.
Vt^Kiev requires no special hardware-Just 1 ROM + 1 Disk
A Simple key press (CTRL* Srnn-G) nans the current usk-
recuests you insert the GENiE £>sk and GENIE Junior responds
Your Wish IS My Command When hmshed-a sm^e key stroke
drops you oack to exactly where you left ott
GENIE Junior Pops up' from within Basic. Wordwise. the Inter
Senes, the View family Ulttacatc and virtually an serious
software
GENIE Junior nas exactly the same fuqhly praised, desktop
utilities as its cattery Packed twq brother -norepaa address Pock
d<a'y calendar and calculator -but Junior stores an its data on
disk not battery backed RAM
Of h f junior is avaiiaoie tor a<i 8BC
M.cios - 8 B« Masier 1 78
Compact
0‘ik lormats supported- 3 S’
i iy Of S *CFS (Randrtk/
W-ncheste*/Nft»flrk tt'K-’V •«
o« avaiatne-Corriaci Saw 0«<e
Oetore ordering)
Companpie win sideways RAM
Shadow NAM 6SC07/5 17/780
second processors
WHOM
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t . j
m>|a
* \ i » i iii
n'siiflrii: j'
MASTER CARTRIDGE GENIE
for all you MASTER users wno are snort ot ROM sockets • here is a
version ot GENIE which simply plugs into one ot the cartridge slots All
me leaiures of the original, battery backed GENIE m a cartridge with a
high quality gold edge connector
M (tin (i* r* «sv » t*
nan
n
* - 4 V 4 J •_
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to nun uumrniiOLC Him me 314 LU*rnUttOOl
GENIE WATCH-A REAL TIME CLOCK FOR THE BBC BV
Permanent Memory Systems
38 MOUNT CAMERON DRIVE
EAST KILBRIDE G74 2ES
SCOTLAND
03552-32796 (24 Hour)
— rnntPx
Archimedes is a trademark of Acorn Computers Ltd.
BANKMANAGER for disc systems only
The most advanced and versatile personal bank account management program available for all
BBC computers. Consistently acclaimed!
"data entry is a delight . . . professional. . excellent product"
Micro User April 86
Enter cheques and receipts. Standing orders any frequency. Automatic date sequencing.
Reconcile statements. Search, amend and delete. Unreconcile. Move forwards or backwards.
Analyse expenditure. Forward cash flow forecast. Up to 36 simultaneous ‘bank accounts' online
simltaneously, inter-account transfers. 9999 standing orders. 99 analysis categories. 1 2 actual
and 1 2 budgets per category, over 4,000 postings on an 80tk disc. Reports to screen or printer.
Graphics. Foreign currency support. Password. File recovery. Auto exec file. Field editing.
Itemised look ahead. Programmable report writer.
Standard Bank Manager for the BBC B, B+ £1 7.50
BANK MANAGER MASTER for disc systems only
Version 2 now available. Includes all of the facilities of the Standard Bank Manager plus ADFS
file system support, shadow screens, uses sideways RAM, 40 or 80 column screen reports,
improved graphics, m/c windows, function key support and onscreen labels, additional
functions added to the already extensive report facilities.
Bank Manager Master for the MASTER and MASTER COMPACT £22.50
Bank Manager for the ARCHIMEDES (all models) £25.00. Phone for upgrade prices.
BANK MANAGER BUSINESS UTILITIES for disc systems only
For the ‘professional’ who also use the BANK MANAGER to control the business accounts the
BUSINESS UTILITIES add double entry trial balance and programmable spreadsheet analysis
reports. Generated from cheque and cash transactions keyed into BANK MANAGER. Just pass
the reports to your accountant! Available for all Bank Manager versions, state which.
Bank Manager Business Utility Pack 1 £12.00
TYPING TUTOR
Quickly learn to touch type. Over 90 smoothly graded lessons graduate you from the basic home
keys to complet keyboard mastery. Unique word scan line checking. Target WPM and
percentage correct. You may revise the targets or lessons as required. Audio xev °lick for
Sn ' nS i’Hftl Establish a typing rhythm using the automatic metronome. Free formal
screen £££££ RelimmendrS enhance ™ nls e 9- on screen keyboard, exact mode, on
Cassette £12.50, Disc for BBC B, B+, Master and Compact £12 50
Disc for Archimedes (all models) £1 5.00
ALL PRICES FULLY INCLUSIVE. FREE POSTAGE WITHIN UK ;
Enquiries and Access Credit card orders telephone 023 03 347
CONTEXCOMPUTING 15 Woodlands Close, Cople,
_ Bedford MK44 3UE
Please rush me 0 n cassette/disc
□40tk n80tk □p.S’' D5V4
I have a BBC: [JB [JB+ □ Master n Com P a ct- CJArchimedes
Enclosed £ or debit my Access card no AU5 A
Name
Address
PMS MULTI-FONT NTQ
Near Text Quality Typesetting Software
"Quite simply the best font software available for
the BBC" — NTQ users say it — the reviewers agree —
If you wani to produce quality worksheets, newsletters. 0HP slides, menus, leaflets, concert
programmes and tickets, exam papers, reports, invoices or just add style to your personal
letters— NTQ s for you.
Use NTQ with VIEW. WORDWISE. INTERWORD. WORDPOWER* or BASIC on BBC. B. B + .
MASTER. COMPACT and even ELECTRON with ANY EPSON compatible printer (MX and FX)
FONT LIBRARY CONTAINS OVER 35 HIGH QUALITY FONTS— standard typefaces + foreign
languages + maths/science symbols + fancy styles.
Write or phone for leaflet and full list of fonts
MIX FONTS. HEIGHTS. WIDTHS AND PITCHES IN ONE LINE OF TEXT-just like this:
MULti "HEIght MULTI-WIDTH
/All 1. 7, 1 “l-QblT- M U L T I - P I TCH
INVERSE
A 6 A 7 £££§ 66 u 61 e cx±-f x/== 7 t~~~ # | # r
Other features:
MICRO-JUSTIFICATION— right and left justified proportionally spaced texf.
DRAFT mode-for a fast, rough copy for proof reading, but showing ALL NTCTTeatures
The basic NTQ system consists of a 2 ROM set-one ROM containing the NTQ driver
software, and 3 fonts, the other containing a further 4 fonts. Any number of FONT
EXTENSION ROMs can be added to the system, each one containing any 4 fonts of the user’s
choice selected from the FONT LIBRARY. Users can create their own fonts using the FONT
DEFINER program supplied on the utilities disk. These fonts can be loaded into sideways
RAM or burnt into ROM
NTQ COStS ONLY £34(includingVAT) plus £1 post and packing.
Please state disk size (5 25"/3.5") and printer type when ordering. For details of our
Educational Site Licensing and Bulk Purchase agreements phone our Sales Office
Despite its power NTQ is a very easy package to use " (Educational
Computing).
" The quality of text is quite outstanding " (TUBELINK).
Power Font NTQ-a special version of NTQ for Ian Copestake s
WORDPOWER word processor. This combines on-screen foreign/maths symbols with NTQ
prmtout-a MUST for serious writers. (Phone 04867 4755 for info )
j
BBC COMPUTER THEFT
STOP YOUR BBC OR MASTER
COMPUTER BEING STOLEN
INSTALL THE NEW COMPUTERLOCK SYSTEM
Consists of an integrated circuit manufactured uniquely for you
which can be permanently installed in your computer.
When the computer is switched on, a display screen announces
your name, address and telephone number and asks foryour six
digit password. Three wrong passwords result in SIREN
sounding at full volume for one minute, increasing by one minute
for each three wrong passwords. Once correct password
entered, COMPUTERLOCK is invisible. COMPUTERLOCK also
(1 ) Locks up the computer when required during work on word
processing or spreadsheets without losing data thus keeping
prying eyes at bay and (2) to comply with the Data Protection Act,
scrambles individual files on disc, no matter what length. The
scrambling is intelligent as COMPUTERLOCK recognises
different types of files and whether they are DFS or ADFS.
Brilliant programming makes this the ultimate in theft protection.
COMPUTERLOCK comes complete with full instructions and
sticker for outside of computer.
LAUNCH OFFER - £25.00 FULLY INCLUSIVE
48 HOUR DELIVERY
Send cheque/postal order with full name, address, post code
and telephone number and your choice of six digit password —
numbers or letters or a combination of both to:
COMPUTERLOCK
7, GANNERS GROVE
LEEDS, LS13 2PW
Barclaycard/Visa holders may telephone their order on
0532 693393
64
ACORN USER MAY 1988
Computaccount (UK) Ltd
11 High Street, Harborne
Birmingham B17 9NT
Tel 021 427 9898
We are major suppliers to the
educational and health sectors
Please telephone for our free extensive catalogue and price list. Hundreds of products list ed^at excellent prices.
Archimedes
THE NEW RISC COMPUTER FROM ACORN. A
VERY FAST 32 BIT MACHINE, SPECIFICALLY
AIMED AT THE EDUCATION MARKET
COMPATIBLE WITH MOST EXISTING BBC
SOFTWARE
Archimedes 305
5 12k RAM. 512k ROM. 1Mbyte 3.5" drive
Archimedes 310
As 305. but 1024k RAM
Archimedes 410
As 310. but with hard disc controller,
floating point option, coprocessor bus
Archimedes 440
A^t^u^048^MA20Mb^teharddis^
Base
model
£699
£775
£1399
£2299
♦Mono
monitor
£749
£825
£1449
£2349
♦Colour
monitor
£899
£975
£1599
ACORN
NEW MASTER COMPACT series.
Standard system is 128K, single 3.5 inch
drive, bundled software.
Compact entry system 5225*22
Compact TV system £359.00
Compact with mono monitor £389.00
Compact with colour monitor £529.00
RS 232 interface for compact. £26.00
Extra 3 5m drive for compact. £99.00
PAL TV adaptor for compact £26.00
Master 128 £379.00
Master ET £30 2*22
Master econet module £43.47
Turbo upgrade £108.00
G4K upgrade kit £34.74
Master 512K upgrade £199.00
10 Mbyte Hard disc with fileserver
£1086.95
30 Mbyte Hard disc with fileserver
£1608.95
Eprom cartridges £11.95
Acorn DNFS kit £82.60
1770 upgrade kit £43.42
ADFS ROM £26*04
ATPL Sideways RAM'ROM board £39.00
CONCEPT Keyboard £124.95
View manual £10.00
Viewsheet manual £10.00
DISC DRIVES
Opus 5802 400k DS 40/80 track £109.00
Opus 5802DB dual 400k DS 40/80 track
£205.00
Opus 5802D dual 400k DS 40/8Qwith
P$U * £260.00
UpusDDOS kit £59.95
Pace PSD3P 400k 40'80T with PSU
£144.00
Pace PDD3P dual 400k 40/80T with PSU
£260.00
Akhter MD802E dual 400k DS 40/80T
mounted in monitor stand £285.00
Cumana CSX 100 100k SS 40T £99.00
Cumana CS100 100k SS 40T with PSU
£129.00
Cumana CS400S 400k DS 40/80T with
PSU £152.00
Cumana CD800S dual 400k SS 40T with
PSU £295.00
Cuman CS354 SS 3 5" with PSU£1 21.70
Cuman CD358 DS 3 5" with PSU£210.00
Cumana CCD2000S 3.5" ♦ 5.25" with
PSU £282.17
MONITORS
Mono
Sanyo DM41 12 £79.95
Sanyo DM9112 £126.00
Phillips green Hi-res 7502 £76.00
Philips amber Hi-res 7522 £82.61
Zenith green Hi-res 1230 £85.00
Zenith amber Hi-res 1220 £85.00
Colour
Microvitec std-res 1431 £191.00
Microvitec med-res 1451 £229.00
Microvitec hi-res 1441 .. £399.00
Philips 8833 RGB Med-res + composite
video £251.00
Monitor cables (state types required)
from £350.00
Master Monitor bridge single height
£18.90
double height £25.00
AMSTRAD
* New 1640 now In stock *
Amstrad 1640
Enhanced colour display
Single 3G0k floppy drive £799.00
Twin 360k floppy drives £899.00
Single 3G0k floppy drive ♦ 20Mbyte hard
disc drive £1199.00
Amstrad 1 512 :
Colour twin floppies £649.00
20mB Hard Drive £260.00
PCW 8256 £299.00
PCW 8512 £399.00
PCW 9512 with daisywheel £499.00
Amstrad 3.5" discs box of 10 £30.00
SOFTWARE:
Call for full list of IBM/Compatible and
Amstrad software
PRINTER
ACCESSORIES
Epson FX 80/85 Tractor Unit £32.00
Epson FX 80/85 Sheet Feeder £125.00
Epson FX 100/105 Sheet Feeder£139.00
Brother HR sheet feeder £209.00
Epson MX/RX/FX 80 Ribbons £3.75
Epson MX/RX/FX 100 Ribbons £4.50
Canon PW1080/115G Ribbons £5.00
Taxan Kaqa KP810 Ribbons £5.00
Citizen printer ribbons from £3.99
Ail Epson Spares available £POA
Massive range of other compatible
ribbons available
PRINTERS
DOT MATRIX
Epson LX800 150cps 80 col NLQ£229.00
I
Epson FX800 £324.75
Epson FX1000 £453.75
Epson EX800 (optional colour) ..£457.88
Epson EX1000 (optional colour) £614.63
Epson LQ 800 180cps 24 pin matrix NLQ
£479.00
Epson LQ 1000 180 cps 24 pm 132 col
NLU
Olivetti DM100 80col NLQ 120cps
£225.00
Olivetti DM280 80co! NLQ 160cps
£349.00
Canon PW1080A NLO 80col IGOcps
£258.00
Brother 1109 Par ♦ Ser lOOcps « NLQ
£209.00
Brother 1409 Par ♦ Ser £349.00
Brother 1509 Par ♦ Ser. 180cps ♦ NLO
£449.00
Brother 2024 Par./Ser NLQ24pin IGOcps
£750.00
Star NL 10 NLQ 80 col 120 cps £239.00
Star NX15 NLQ 132 COl 120 CpS £330.65
Star SD10 NLQ 80 col 160 cps . £330.65
Star SD15 NLQ 132 col 160 cps £415.65
Star NB 2415 NLQ 24 pin 216cps£645.15
Star NB15 NLQ 24 pin 300 cps £806.65
Citizen 120D 120 cps NLQ 80 col £179.00
tizen LSP100 120 cps Eps IBM comp
NLQ. £225.00
Citizen MSP10E IGOcps Eps/IBM comp
NLQ ... £2 96.00
Micro-P MP165 NLQ £208.70
Micro-P MP200 *NEW* £299.00
Parallel printer cable BBC £9.00
Parallel printer cable IBM. etc from
£15.00
DAISY WHEELS
Sanyo PR3000. £199.00
Sanyo PR5200. £299.00
Brother HR25 £550.00
Brother HR 35 £ Jj*>.00
Juki 6100 £279.75
Juki 6200 £454.00
Juki 6300 £522*22
i Juki 2200 typewriter/printer £238.00
Star Powertype 165col 18cps £219.00
LASER
Citizen overture £1750.00
Kyocera 1010 £2495.00
Kyocera 2010 £4595.00
OPUS
PC3 SF Mono 256K £4 ^22
PC3 TF Mono 768K £69 ?*22
PC3 HD Mono 1024K ,; £ 222'22
PC5 (AT) HD Mono 1024K £1295.00
EGA System available please add £300.00
Wide range of computer
books now in stock for:
BBC
ARCHIMEDES
MSDOS
ARM
AMSTRAD
BBC ROM
SOFTWARE
InterWord - £48.00
Intersheet - •• - - £48.00
Interchart .. £28.50
Interbase .. - £59.00
Acorn
View 2.1 £45.00
View 3 0 £63.00
ViewPlot (Disc) £25.75
ViewSpell £33.50
Viewsheet £45.00
Viewstore £45.00
GXR (please state whether for B or B + )
£23.00
ISO Pascal £52.00
LISP £39.00
BCPL £46.00
Logo £52.00
ADFS £26.04
Computer Concepts
Wordwise Plus £40.00
Printmaster . £25.00
Accelerator £48.00
Speech ROM £27.50
Spellmaster £46.00
Beebugsott:
Toolkit Plus £33.00
Wordease £25.00
ICON master £29.00
ROMIT £29.00
Help II ROM. £27.00
Sleuth ROM £27.00
Exmon II 112*22
Spellcheck III £32.00
MUROM £24.00
Commstar £29.57
AMX
Please state whether for BBC or Master
AMX mouse with Super Art ROM £78.00
Stop Press £43.43
Pamtpot £13.00
Desk £2170
Super Art ROM £43.43
Database £21.70
3D Zicon £21.70
Utilities £1300
ARCHIMEDES SOFTWARE
System Delta Plus Database £69.95
System Gamma Plus Graphics £69.95
System Delta Account (per module) £64.95
School Administrator - £79.95
Video Rental £69.95
Newsagent £69.95
Clares Alpha Base £49.95
Clares Image Writer £29.95
Archimedes Took-kit Module £39.95
SPECIAL
SOFTWARE
Torch Turbo Library
functions ftnd procedures for Turbo
Pascal to access the power of
Torch/BBC facilities
Newnet
Powerful friendly Torchnet management
software with password protection etc.
dBase special
dBase helper program now available for
those who want to access the powerful
facilities in dBase, without having to
learn how to program in dBase
HOW TO ORDER
NAME
ADDRESS
Item
Payment by cheque to:
COMPUTACCOUNT (UK) LTD
Carriage: Items less than
£50:£2.50, £50-100:£4.50
Carriage and insurance on Quantity
items more than £100:£9.50
Please add VAT at 15% to Total,
including Carriage.
Send to Computaccount (UK) Ltd., 1 1 High Street, Harborne, Birmingham B179NT
or telephone 021 427 9898
Price
£ £
£ £
£ £
TOTAL £
65
ACORN USER MAY 1988
Watford
Jessa House, 250 Lower High Street, Watford WD1 2AN, England * c*' " ^ 1
A A Tel: Watford (0923) 37774 Tlx: 8956095 Fax: 01 950 8989 fflll|f@|
ACOm^ Shop Hours: 9am to 6pm (Mon. -Sat.) Thursdays 9am to 8pm L ... J
The choice ^ prices exclusive of VAT; subject to change without notice & available on request. c ^°* ce
i r- - before and after
Ot txperience Credit Card Orders (ACCESS & VISA) Tel (0923) 33383 or 50234 (24 Hours) the experience
rchimedes
micro
A Computer for BUSINESS,
RESEARCH, EDUCATION &
HOME USE
ARCHIMEDES PRICES
305 Series
• Entry System £699
• with Green Monitor £749
• with Colour Monitor £899
310 Series
• Entry System £775
• with Green Monitor £825
• with Colour Monitor £975
310M Series
• Entry System £835
| • with Green Monitor £885
• with Colour Monitor £1035
440 Series
• Entry System £2299
• with Green Monitor £2349
• with Colour Monitor £2499
(Securicor carr. £7 on Micros)
• 0.5 Mb RAM for 305 £85
• Podule Backplane £37
• ROM Podule (Computer Concepts) £49
• Archimedes Ref Manual £29
• ARM Assem. Lang Prog Manual £12
• 2nd 800K floppy disc drive
(for 305, 310 8« 410) £125
• Econet Network Board £43
• Backplane for 2 podules, with fan
(305,310) £39
• I/O Podule (with User port, Analoque port
& 1MHz bus) £79
• MIDI add-on to I/O Podule £29
• ROM Podule (takes five 8 bit ROMs,
of 16, 32, 64 or 128K) £59
• Real time Video Digitiser (Watford) TBA
• Sound Sampler (Armadillo) £110
WORDPROCESSORS
Wordwise +
£20
View
£50
£26
Viewspell
£32
£39
Viewlndex
£13
DATABASES
System's Delta Plus
AlphaBase
Viewstore
SPREADSHEETS
Intersheet ROM £39 Viewsheet
BUSINESS GRAPHICS
Interchart ROM
GammaPlot
£60
£43
£52
£50
£25
£30
INTEGRATED PACKAGES
Logistix - Database, Spreadsheet, Time Manage-
ment & Business Graphics
£95
GRAPHICS, ART & DESIGN
Interchart
£25
Gamma Plot
£30
Artisan
£34
Gamma Plus
£60
Zarch £17
Toolkit (Beebug)
£33
PC EMULATION Pack
(for 310, 410 & 440), including MSDOS 3.21 £89
LANGUAGES
ANSI 'C'; ISO-PASCAL; FORTRAN 77; £95 each
Cambridge LISP; PROLOG X £199 each
TWIN EDITOR £29
SPECIAL OFFER
With every Archimedes Micro purchased from
us, we are giving away absolutely FREE a 5'/*",
double sided disc drive with PSU, (1 Megabyte
unformatted), plus the special Archimedes
interface cable, worth £125.
(P S. This offer does not apply with 0% finance
scheme mentioned below).
0% (APR) FINANCE
For a limited period, Watford Electronics are able
to offer the Archimedes range of microcomputers
at 0% (APR) finance. Credit facility available
subject to status. Please inquire for further
details.
(Watford Electronics are Licenced Credit Brokers)
NEW
CREDIT TERMS now available.
Please telephone or write in for
further information.
Archimedes to BBC SERIAL LINK
Using this simple data link, it is possible to
solve all your BBC to Archimedes data transfer
problems. The kit is supplied with a disk, and
the necessary cable to connect the two
computers. Using this package it is possible to
transfer any data from the BBC to Archimedes
at upto 19200 baud.
By far the easiest way to transfer data to your
new computer.
Only £25
Archimedes 5V473V2" Disc drive
Interface
With this interface it is possible to connect
almost any 5V473V?' disc drive with its own
power supply to the Archimedes. Upto FOUR
drives can be connected and NO SOLDERING is
involved. Supplied complete with necessary
lead.
Only £25
Note: This is not simply a lead. Attempting to
connect an external disc drive by direct
connection may result in damage to your
Archimedes.
Archimedes Printer Lead
Archimedes Monitor Lead
£8.50
£7.50
The 80186 Co-Processor
This package consists of the Master 512 board,
Watford Co-Pro Adaptor, 1770 Disc Upgrade
and Acorn ADFS. This is a complete package,
with its own power supply, ready to interface
with your BBC Micro. The Master 512 board
using the 80186 16 bit Processor at 10MHz and
running Digital Research DOS Plus, gives a high
degree of IBM compatibility at an extremely
reasonable price. Included in the 512k package
is a mouse and the amazing Digital Research
GEM suite of software; GEM Paint, GEM draw
and GEM desktop giving a complete Mouse
Icons environment (All other GEM packages will
work on the 512k). Famous packages that will
work with the 512k board include Wordstar,
Dbase II, Lotus 123 and many others. The only
requirement to upgrade any BBC Model B to
this system is you must have twin 80 track disc
drives.
£259
BBC MASTER
BBC MASTER 128K Micro incl.
Acorn's: View, Viewsheet, ADFS,
BASIC Editor & TERMINAL £379
SPECIAL OFFER
FREE ... £105 worth of Hardware
& Software
Gemini's OFFICE MATE & OFFICE MASTER
packages on Disc consisting
of: Database, Spreadsheet, Beebplot
graphics. Accounts packs: Cashbook,
Final Accounts, Mailist, Easyledger,
Invoice & Statements, Stock Control
and Watford's 3Z?" t double sided 7
Megabyte (unformated) single disc drive
complete with cables, ready to connect to
the micro - with every BBC Master
purchased from us this month.
BBC MASTER with Turbo Board -F
above SPECIAL OFFER £ 475
51 2 K Processor Add on Board
"inc. Mouse and GEM package" £185
BBC AIV (Domesday) System £4479
ADD-ONs & ACCESSORIES
Turbo 65C102 Add-on Module
£95
Econet Module for the Master
£40
Twin ROM Cartridge for Master
£7.50
Quad ROM Cartridge for Master
£12
Universal Processor Adaptor
£75
Master Reference Manual 1
(No VAT) £14
Master Reference Manual II
(No VAT) £14
Master Advance Ref. Manual
(No VAT)£19
64 K Upgrade Kit for B-f
£32
Acorn 1770 DFS Kit complete
£41
ECONET Upgrade Kit for BBC
£42
ALL ECONET UPGRADES Available
ARIES' Professional IEEE Interface
£238
Acorn IEEE Interface Complete
£265
Morley Teletext Adaptor with ATS Rom
£99
Filestore E01
£825
Filestore E20
£705
BBC MASTER COMPACT
All Master Compact Microcomputers are
supplied complete with an integral 3V:'’ Disc
Drive and various educational and professional
bundled software.
System 1 Standard Package £310
System 1 A System 1 + TV Modulator £322
System 2 System 1 + Green Hires Monitor
o £364
System 3 System 1 4- Medium Res Colour
Monitor £478
RS232 Kit for BBC Compact £25
Additional 3 1 /?” Drive for BBC Compact £90
(Securicor carriage £7)
Watford Electronics are the
main Approved Stockist of
ACORN SPARES and ECONET
Referral Centre
"1
Z88 Sinclair's
Portable Micro
1
f pr g* p p
EBB K
*
. . , ”, " ■ •
e >. y • * y
0
m O tt D
*■
ppi=E Price:£239
As an introductory offer, we are giving away, 4
rechargeable batteries and a compact Mains
Battery Charger absolutely FREE with every Z88
bought from us this this month.
ACCESSORIES
Mains Adaptor £8.65
32K RAM Pack or 32K EPROM Pack £17.35
1 28K RAM Pack or 1 28K EPROM Pack £43.40
Z88 BBC or PC Link £21.70
Z88 EPROM ERASER £34.75
Serial Printer Cable £8.65
Parallel Printer Cable £24.00
Z88 Modem £86.90
AA Nicad Rechargeable Battery £1.50
Battery Charger, Compact & Fast (3 Hours) £6
65C102 2nd PROCESSOR
(65C102 replaces the original
Acorn 6502 2nd Processor)
This amazing package consists of the Acorn
65C102 'Turbo' Board, the Watford Co-Pro
Adaptor and Acorn 1.2 DNFS ROM. The 'Turbo'
board, running at 4MHz with 64k of additional
RAM will increase the speed by between 50 and
200% depending on the application running,
and allow a BASIC program of upto 44k in any
screen mode. Simply by plugging in the Co-Pro
and the DNFS ROM with its special Tube host
code and you massively increase the power of
any Model B. This is a complete package, with
its own power supply, ready to interface with
your BBC Micro.
£135
CO-PRO Adaptor
Now for the first time you can add the Master
Co-processor boards, to your standard BBC
model B, or B Plus. With this brand new launch
from Watford Electronics you can attach any
BBC Master co-processor to the original BBC
Micro. Once again Watford strides ahead with a
new concept in BBC B Micro add-ons. This
unique external Co-Pro Adaptor, is protected by
patent applications.
Use the super fast Turbo Board with your BBC
B, it is much faster than the 6502 2nd processor
superseding it.
With the 512K addon your standard BBC
machine achieves IBM PC compatibility at a
realistic price running GEM, Lotus 123 and
many other programs. Included with the 512k
package is a high precision mouse and the
Digital Research GEM suite of software; GEM
Desktop. GEM Write GEM Paint. This requires
both the 1770 DFS and the ADFS to be fitted to
your computer.
To use other co-processors you require a BBC B
with DNFS 1.20 or higher, or BBC B-^ fitted with
1770 DFS 2.20 or greater. Co-processors work
exactly like a second processor.
Master owners may use Co-Pro to add a second
Co-processor externally.
Watford, brings power to your BBC at only:
£35 (carr £5)
BBC PCB DESIGNER
At last! A PCB design package for the BBC Micro
that eclipses some industry CAD software. Hard
to believe, isn't it? Just look at some of the
impressive package specification:
• Library Component Designer
• Component Library (over 200 parts)
• Component List Editor
• NetList Editor
• PCB Board Designer
• Plotter Driver
• Dot Matrix Printer Driver
This integrated suite of programs is packed full of
sophisticated PCB related features making the
design of a circuit board a dream instead of a
nightmare.
Input for the design may be manual, taking
components from the library and connecting
them, or highly automatic starting from a netlist
and list of components. In auto mode, PCB Desig-
ner will never allow you to forget a connection
again! And of course, either in manual or auto
mode, connectivity is maintained no matter how
you later move the parts around and route the
tracks. Connections snap together and angles are
corrected, Through hole vias and track thickness
are established automatically and many more
features, far too numerous to mention here, are
included in the system.
Some of the PCB Designer's features are:
• Over 120 library pad sizes/shapes
• Four colour adjustable palette
• Zoom range 2:1 to 1:4
• Highlighting of specific tracks
• Normal and surface mounted components
• Rapid screen review
• Menu driven
• Variable gridlock
• Switchable measurement grid
• Pre-select pan/scroll facility
• Large 24" x 24" Board size
• Copy route facility
• Connectivity held at all times
• Ratsnesting of part connections
• Auto-plaement of text references
• Text linked to parts
• Automatic placement of vias
• Printer and plotter outputs provided
• Comprehensive manual
TYPES OF PLOT OUTPUT
Top and bottom track artworks, top and bottom
silkscreens, solder resist mask, drilling detail
drawing and check plot. All these may be with
pad holes on/off, scale of 2:1 or 1:1, board edge
on/off, 90 degres rotation, mirror image, width of
pen, x & y offsets and batch plots to disc.
The above is only a taste of the superb features of
this software, surely capturing previously
unknown performance from the BBC Master
computer. BBC B owners will need to fit at least
one block of sideways RAM, Shadow screen
memory and a disc drive. A trackerball or a
mouse is also required.
BBC PCB Designer is supplied on a 32K PAL
PROM and comes complete with two discs and a
comprehensive manual containing examples and
useful information on PCB design.
By the way, as a bonus, PCB Designer is also
suitable for many other schematic drawing appli-
cations such as circuit diagram drawing.
Introductory Offer: £99
(Please write in for further technical details)
SPECIAL OFFER
EPROMs for BBC's Sideways ROMs.
2764-250nS £3.00
27128-250nS (12V5) £3.25
27128.250ns (21V) £4.50
RAMs (Low power) for ATPL, WATFORD, etc..
Sideways ROM Boards
6264LP (8K) £2.75
2 x 6264LP (16K) £5.30
PLINTHS FOR BBC MICRO,
MASTER & PRINTERS
Protect your computer from the weight and heat
of your monitor. The BBC micro plinths have
slots for maximum ventilation. The single plinth
is suitable for a BBC and monitor, whilst the
double height version provides enough room for
our stacked or side-by-side dual disc drives or
TORCH Disc pack, to be placed in the centre
section. If you use our stacked drives, the
remaining space can be used for further periph-
erals e.g. Speech Synthesizer, EPROM pro-
grammer or simply stationery. The computer
slides neatly in to the lower section allowing easy
access to remove the lid. The printer plinth is
equally sturdy but without the cooling slots. It
allows for access to the paper from the front as
well as from the rear, (a facility not often thought
of in similar products) if the paper is located
beneath the plinth. This is a very convenient way
to work especially if your work area is not deep
enough to take the printer and paper separately.
SINGLE BBC PLINTH
DOUBLE BBC PLINTH
PRINTER PLINTH
SINGLE MASTER PLINTH
DOUBLE MASTER PLINTH
£11 (carr. £1.50)
£19 (carr. £3.00)
£10 (carr. £1.50)
£14 (carr £1.50)
£24 (carr £3.00)
COPY HOLDERS
How often have you been about to type hand
written notes into your computer when you find
that there's nowhere to rest the paper or that
your notes are resting at the wrong angle to read
the type? Whether the notes be your latest pro-
gram or the draft of a new trilogy, the new
Manuscript Holders from Watford are superb for
holding your paper at the ideal height and angle
to allow you read and type in ease and comfort.
Available in 2 versions, desk resting and shelf
clamping versions, these two units hold your
paper firmly by means of a plastic retaining ruler
and a clip grip. Both units are full A4 size.
Amazing value at only
Desk Top £10 (carr. £2)
Angle poise £14 (carr. £3)
Continued
All Monitors are supplied complete with BBC
connecting leads FREE.
MICRO VITEC 14"
• 1431 - Standard resolution as used on the
BBC television computer programme £175
• 1451 - Medium resolution, suitable for word
processing in mode 0 £225
• 1441 - High res, exceeds the capabilities of
the BBC micro £359
• 1431 AP RGB + PAL and AUDIO £199
• 1451 AP RGB + PAL and AUDIO £255
• 2030 CS 20 Med Res £380
• 2040 CS 20" Hi Res £675
• Dust Cover for Microvitecs £5.50
• Touchtec 501 Touch Screen £239
TAXAN 12" & 14"
• TAXAN Super Vision 2 Type 620 Hi-res RGB
Colour monitor. Ideal for Wordprocessing £269
• TAXAN Super 3, Type 625 Ultra Hi-res, RGB
Colour) Text mode switch allows
monochrome text display in Green, Amber,
White reverse or White on Blue £319
• TAXAN 14" Multisync 770 Plus - An
autoscanning Ultra high res, colour monitor.
Ideal for Archimedes £495
• NEC JC-1401P3EE 14" Multisync Ultra
Hi-res Intelligent Colour monitor. Auto
scans frequencies between 15KHz to 35KHz.
Text switch provides 7 colours for Database
& wordprocessor. £495
• Philips BM7542 12" Paper White
Attractively finished high res monitor. Has
an etched glass anti-glare screen and a tilt
stand for optimum viewing angle. 1000 x
850 pixels resolution coupled with high
contrast makes it ideal for both word pro
and graphics. The paper white display is
ideal for DTP and CAD. Has a Video/Audio
input Only £65
STAR BUY
• PHILLIPS 14 Hi-Res, dark glass,
attiactively finished Colour Monitor -
supplied complete with RGB, SKART and
AudiOjfPhp.no Inputs. A push-button
switch toggles between Hi-Res
monochrome green text mode and full
colour display.
ONLY £195
ZENITH
"Now Test Bureau Recommended
for use in Education"
12" high resolution monochrome monitor. Ideal
for word processing as its green or amber
screen is very restful to read. (These are the
same professional quality, stylishly finished
monitors as used in the larger Zenith PC Sys.)
• Green (New Design) Hi-resolution £66
• Amber (New Design) Hi-resolution £70
N.B. carriage on Monitors £7 (securicor)
SPARE LEADS
BNC Lead for Zenith or Philips
Skart Monitor Lead
RGB lead for TAXAN Monitors
£3
£5
£3
SWIVEL BASES
for Video Monitors
Our professional type swivel bases have
front adjustable control. This alleviates
the need to lift the monitor when
adjusting the viewing angle.
for 12" Monitors £9 (carr. £2.50)
Anti-Glare VDU Screen
These extremely effective, easy to install, 12” &
14" VDU screens eliminate harmful glare,
improves contrast on colour monitors.
Increases productivity in offices. A must for all
wordprocessor users. Hundreds of these
screens are in daily use in various branches of
one of the leading High Street banks.
£12
Acorn-Olivetti JP101
Ink Jet Printer
One of the main problems with most printers is
that they are hopelessly noisy. How often have
you wanted to print something late at night but
not done so for fear of waking the children?
Also ideal for those working in quiet
environments such as libraries, etc. Silence the
complaints with the serious solution from
Watford at the amazing cost of only £59
(Offer valid while present stocks last)
JP101 accepts 9 V 2 " standard fan fold paper or
single A4 sheets. Tractor & Friction feed
supplied as standard - print speed 50 cps.
Pack of 4 refills £12
Screen Dump ROM for JP101 £11
Panasonic KX-P1081
Attractively finished in BBC beige. Bi-
directional, logic seeking. Has IBM and Epson
RX compatible command calls. Speed: 120CPS
draft mode, 24 CPS NLQ mode. Character width
range from 5 cpi to 17 cpi. Upto 40
downloadable characters. Functions include,
Proportional spacing, Justification, centering
and left & right ranging.
(Price inlu'des , FREE a 4ft Printer Lead, and a
Dump Out 3, Screen Dump ROM worth £35
with every printer purchased from us).
Special Price: £145 (carr. £6)
Optional RS232 Interface: £39
Panasonic KX-P1082
This superb printer is very similar to the
popular KX-P1081 printer but at 160 cps (40 cps'
in NLQ), a lot faster.
(Our LOW price also includes £35 worth of
FREE BBC Cable and Dump Out 3 ROM).
Introductory Offer: £172 (carr. £7)
Panasonic KX-P3131
Daisy-Wheel Printer
This low-cost high-performance Daisy Wheel
printer is ideal for anyone wishing to produce
clear, immaculate letters or reports. It delivers,
flawless text at 10, 12 & 15 CPS. Supports
proportional spacing. Is Bi-directional, logic
seeking. Printing speed: 17CPS. Has 6k printer
Buffer. A printer of similar spec could cost a lot
more than our ridiculously low price of:
Single Sheet Feeder
Tractor Feed
Only £234 (carr. £7)
£175
£90
FREE 32K extra Printer Buffer with every
KX-P3131 purchased from us this month.
NEC P2200 PINWRITER
24 pin head; 168 CPS. LQ 56 CPS. 8K Buffer,
Tractor/Friction feed. Numerous typefaces.
£285
Cut Sheet Feeder £59
NEC P660 PINWRITER
24pin; 216 CPS, LQ 76 CPS, 8K Buffer
£425
VARIOUS PRINTERS
& ACCESSORIES
• Brother HR15RS232 Daisy Wheel £275
• Brother HR20 Daisy Wheel £349
• HR20 Tractor Feed Attachment £110
• Epson EX800 Printer £395
• Epson EX1000 Printer £539
• Epson FX800 Printer £295
• Epson FX1000 Printer £399
• Epson LQ500 Printer £275
• Epson LQ800 Printer £399
• Epson LQ850 Printer £439
• Epson LQ1050 Printer £529
• Epson LQ2500+ Printer £790
• Epson LX800 Printer £186
• Epson SQ2500 Printer £975
• Epson Paper Roll Holder £17
• EX800/1000 Colour Option £55
• EX800/1000 Colour Ribbon £18
• EX800 Cut Sheet Feeder £130
• EX1000 Cut Sheet Feeder £195
• FX/LQ/LX800 Single Sheet Feeder £135
• FX/LQ1 000 Single Sheet Feeder £169
• Hi-80 Refills -Set of 4 Pens £7
• LX800 Cut Sheet Feeder £75
• LQ800 Tractor Feed £44
• LQ1 000 Tractor Feed £50
• LQ2500 Cut Sheet Feeder £195
• LX1000 Cut Sheet Feeder £305
• Hitachi 672 Colour Plotter £475
(Securicor Carriage on Printers £7
EPSON PRINTER INTERFACES
All these interfaces fit inside the printer.
RS232 £27 RS232 + 2K Buffer £52
IEEE 488 £65 RS232 + 8K Buffer £62
KAGA/TAXAN PRINTERS
(IBM/Epson compatibles)
Kaga KP81 5 Printer £249 (carr £7)
Kaga KP91 5 Printer £350 (carr £7)
RS232 Interface £49
RS232 Interface with 2K Buffer £69
RS232 Interface with 16K Buffer £89
INTEGREX COLOUR JET
PRINTER
• Colour Jet 132 Printer
£525
• Paper Roll
£6
• Screen Dump Software
£10
• Colour Cartridge
£14
• Black Cartridge
£8
# 100 A4 OHP transparencies
£55
PRINTER SHARERS
(Ideal for School environment)
Connects Serial Centronics
2 BBC Micros to 1 Printer £25 £27
3 BBC Micros to 1 Printer £36 £35
6 BBC Micros to 1 Printer - £99
PRINTER CHANGER
3 Printers to 1 Micro (Centronics) £65
(Cables extra, specify type required when
ordering)
Professional Printer Stand
This new
professional
printer stand
takes hardly
more space than
your printer. Due
to the positioning
of the paper feed
and re-fold compartments ie. one above the
other, the desk space required for your printer
functions is effectively halved. Additional
facilities include: Easy access to paper from
both sides, used with both top and bottom feed
paper and with its dial controlled paper feed
system with adjustable deflector plates it
ensures smooth paper flow and automatic
refolding.
£26 (carr. £2.50)
THE EPSON RX-FX-KAGA
PRINTER COMMANDS
REVEALED
So you bought yourself a new printer, because
the salesman in the shop showed you how clever
it is and impressed you with all sorts of printouts
to show its capabilities - he may even have
offered you a special price.
However, now that you have got it home and
connected it to your BBC microcomputer, you are
wondering how to make it perform these magical
tasks. The manual seems to give no clues, and
when you type in the example programs, the
computer throws the LPRINT statements back in
your face.
Now what do you do, when this £400 piece of
high technology refuses even to move its head,
and you have stayed up until 2 in the morning
with copious supplies of coffee, desperately
trying to print something out. Once again,
Watford Electronics comes to your help with our
new book entitled THE EPSON FX-KAGA PRIN-
TER COMMANDS REVEALED'.
This book describes in plain, easy to under-
stand English, how to use and make the most of
your KP810, PW1080A or any other Epson FX80
compatible Printers like Panasonic KX-P1080/1,
etc., with the BBC Micro, both from BASIC and
Wordwise.
It describes in detail how to obtain the
maximum in graphics capability from your prin-
ter and includes full indexes allowing you to
cross index the numerous commands. Every
command is explained in detail, with an accom-
panying BBC Basic program and an example of
its use from Wordwise.
£5.95 (No VAT)
PRINTER LEADS
Centronics lead to connect BBC micro to
EPSON, KAGA, SEIKOSHA, NEC, STAR, JUKI,
BROTHER, SHINWA, Panasonic etc. printers.
Standard length (4 feet long)
£6
Extra long (6 feet long)
£8
Compact's Special Centronics Lead
£9
RS232 Cable
P.O.A.
IBM Parallel 1 metre Cable
£7
Double ended 36 way Centronics Lead
£9
PRINTER RIBBONS &
VARIOUS DUST COVERS
Type
Ribbons Dust Covers
BBC Micro
_
£3.50
BBC Master
-
£4.00
Archimedes Micro pair
-
£9.00
Brother HR15/20
£3.00
£5.00
EX/LQ800
£7.50
£4.50
EX/LQ1000
£8.00
£5.00
RX/FX80/85/800/MX80
£4.00
£4.95
RX/FX100/1000
£7.00
-
Kaga/Texan KP810/815
£5.25
£4.00
LQ2500
£9.00
£5.50
LX80/86
£4.00
£4.50
LX800
£4.00
£4.75
M1009/GLP
£4.00
£3.75
Panasonic KX1080/81
£4.50
£4.75
SQ2500
£25.00
£5.50
Star NL10
£4.00
£4.50
Microvitec Metal
-
£5.50
Our attractive Dust Covers are manufactured
from translucent PVC.
The seams are stitched
and edges are taped to prevent splitting due to
continuous use.
Listing Paper (Perforated)
• 1 ,000 Sheets 9 V?" x 1 1” Fanfold Paper £7
• 2,000 Sheets 9 Vi” x 1 1" Fanfold Paper £12
• 1000 Sheets 9V?” x 1 V NCR 2 Part Fanfold £19
• 1,000 Sheets 15" x 11" Fanfold Paper £9
• 1000 Sheets true A4 Fanfold Paper £1 1
• 2000 Sheets true A4 Fanfold Paper £20
• Teleprinter Roll (Econo paper) £4
(All our Fanfold paper is Micro perforated leaving
a smooth clean edge when the tractor feed strips
are detached).
Carriage IK Sheets £2.50. 2K Sheets £3.00
PRINTER LABELS
(On continuous fanfold backing sheet)
TOOO 90 x 36mm (Single Row) £5.00
1,000 90 x 36mm (Twin Row) £4.90
1.000 90 x 49mm (Twin Row) £7.50
1.000 102 x 36mm (Twin Row) £6.25
Carriage on 1,000 Labels £1.00
This new Megabuffer 256 from Watford is a full
featured 256K Printer Buffer. It allows the com-
puter to print 256,000 character in a short time
thus freeing the computer very quickly. In short it
makes light work of printing large documents,
screen dumps, etc. It is extremely simple to con-
nect. The features are:
• Low Cost, High performance.
• Improves efficiency by making more efficient
use of computer and printer.
• Compatible with any computer and printer
that uses Centronics Parallel connections
including all BBCs, IBM PCs, etc.
• Total compatibility with all software.
• Cheaper phone bills when using your
Modems.
• Ideal for those doing large graphics screen
dumps that are slow to print.
• Multi-Copy facility allows you to print several
copies via Megabuffer without going through
your computer.
• Data Dump facility is included.
• Built in test unit for both the buffer & your
printer.
In conclusion it can safely be said that
MEGABUFFER 256 is the ultimate printer Buffer
for both the amateur and professional user.
Only £125 (carr £2)
OFFICE
MASTER
CASHBOOK - A complete "Stand Alone"
accounting software package for the cash based
sole trader/partnership business. It is designed
to replace your existing cashbook system and
will provide you with a computerised system
complete to trail balance.
FINAL ACCOUNTS - Will take data prepared by
the Cashbook module and produce a complete
set of accounts as following: Trial Balance with
inbuilt rounding routine; Notes to the accounts;
VAT Summary; Profit & Loss A/C; Balance
Sheet.
MAILIST - A very versatile program. Enables
you to keep records of names and addresses
and then print, examine, sort and find them, all
with special selection techniques.
EASILEDGER - A management aid software
tool designed to run alongside an existing
accounting system. Essentially a Debit/Credit
ledger system which can handle sales, purchase
and nominal ledger routines to provide instant
management information.
INVOICES & STATEMENTS - Greatly reduces
the time and cost of preparing Invoices and
Statements by storing essential information like
customer names, addresses and account
numbers. Has VAT routines and footer
messages facility.
STOCK CONTROL - Allows you to enter stock
received, stock out, summary of stock items
and current holdings together with details of
total cost, total stock to minimum level, units in
stock ordering, quantity and supplier detail.
All this for only £21 (Disc)
OFFICE
MATE
• DATABASE
• BEEBCALC SPREADSHEET
• BEEBPLOT GRAPHICS
DATABASE - Set up a computerised card index
system with powerful search facilities.
SPREADSHEET - Offers many calculation and
editing features.
BEEBPLOT - Provides visual representation
from Spreadsheet data.
OFFICE MATE Only £10 (Disc)
A Double disc drive - with a difference! Times
are changing fast for the floppy disk, and whilst
the current standard for the BBC B and Master
Series is the 5.25 inch disk, the standard for the
future will most certainly be the smaller; faster
and more reliable 3.5 inch disks - now a
standard feature of both the Master Compact
and the Archimedes Series.
To support the present disc drive users, and
cope with the future, we have designed our
own plinth-mounted disk system - called the
DP35 800S, it contains both the 5.25 inch and
the 3.5 inch drive formats as well as offer a firm
and rigid support for a monitor on top. With the
BBC Micro underneath, the plinth makes a
surprisingly small footprint on the desk -
leaving you more space to work with.
The 5.25 inch disk drive is 40/80 track
switchable, and has its very own power supply
running independently of the BBC Micro.
Watford’s new plinth enables users to read,
write and format disks both in DFS and ADFS
format - currently the accepted standard for the
Master Compact and the Archimedes, it also
enables the user to read disks written for the
Archimedes. Ideal for both BBC & Master.
Launch Offer: £165 (carr. £7)
OKIMATE
COLOUR PRINTER
The first ribbon transfer printer in its price
range which offers fully versatile colour or black
printing. A 24 element print head produces
more than 100 shades with exceptional clarity.
Ideal for use with Quest Paint or AMX Super
Art.
Only: £139
BBC Screen Dump £10
Colour Ribbon £6
Black Ribbon £6
30 Megabyte
Winchester Drive
Undoubtedly the best value for money
Winchester Hard disc available anywhere for
the BBC Micro.
This 30 Megabyte hard disc is completely
compatible with the Acorn ADFS - that's why
we have bundled it with each Winchester drive,
along with a full user guide and full utilities
including file copy, 1000K save routines, Format
and Verify - in fact all you need and more.
Finished in rugged metal and fetching BBC
beige, the Winchester has an internal fan, so
quiet you won't even hear it! A switched mode
power supply and a neon-lit on/off switch are
there along with a light on the hard disc to tell
you when it is working - just compare the price
with our competitors' 20 or 28 Mbyte discs!
Compatible with the Master, and the BBC B
(with 17* X disc interface).
Launch Offer
£425 (Carr. £12)
Panasonic KX-P1083
Fast 240CPS (48CPS NLQ);
8K Buffer, Epson compatible, etc.
Launch Offer: £299
DISC DRIVE SHARER
(Ideal for educational establishments)
SPECIAL DISC DRIVE/DDFS OFFER
• The popular Mitsubishi 400k Single Disc
Drive, Double Sided, cased with Cables.
Plugs directly to your Micro.
• Watford's popular DDFS Disc Interface
(allows 720k storage). Will run in both
Single and Double Density modes 40/80
track Software switchable.
• A comprehensive User Friendly Manual
A Bargain at Only £130 (£6 carr)
(Offer valid while stocks last)
Type CLS400
At last, a low cost alternative to the Econet system. Watford's Intelligent
Disc Drive Sharer allows you to connect 3 BBC micros (model B, B-f and
Master series) to a single or double disc drive. Running under any DFS or
DDFS, this intelligent unit will automatically queue the computers. Each
computer has a status light dedicated to it. If it is green you will get
immediate access to the disk, and red means that you are next in line.
The unit plugs directly into the disc drive socket on each computer and is
powered by the mains. (N.B. Not for use with ADFS.)
Launch Price: £59 Price includes 3 Cables
3%" DISC DRIVE OFFER
These top quality 3W Double sided, 80
track, 1 Megabyte (unformatted each Disc
Drives), are attractively finished in BBC
beige. They are supplied complete with all
cables and a Utilities Disc. They run directly
from the BBC B/Master's own PSU.
• Single 400K Drive £69
• Twin 800K Drives £126
NOW WITH EXTRA FEATURES
AT NO EXTRA COST - Watford's latest DFS 1.44
• Incorporates Acorn's Official Tube Host Code so that those with 2nd
processors no longer need to waste a ROM socket on the DNFS.
• Option to DOUBLE the speed of BPUT and BGET.
If you already have the Watford Electronics DFS and wish to incorporate
these new facilities then simply return your existing DFS ROM to us
together with £5 remittance for an upgrade. Please pack the ROM securely
and address the package to our Upgrades Dept.
WATFORD'S & ACORN's
SINGLE DENSITY DFS
Watford's popular and widely acclaimed DFS has now been available for
five years and has gained a large following amongst serious and
educational users of the BBC Micro. Owners of Acorn or any other standard
DFS can upgrade to our " Ultimate " DFS merely by replacing their DFS ROM.
See below for this upgrade. ( P.S . Watford's highly sophisticated DFS is fully
compatible with Acorn DFS). (not Acorn's 1770 DFS)
• Complete Disc Interface Kit including DFS ROM and
fitting instructions £78
• Acorn's 0.90 DFS Kit complete £79
• DFS Manual ( Comprehensive ) (no VAT) £6.95
(P.S. Our DFS manual is the only comprehensive
Manual available for the BBC micro and covers both
Acorn & Watford DFSs).
• Watford's sophisticated DFS ROM only £1 6
• We will exchange your existing DFS ROM for
Watford's Ultimate DFS ROM for only £12
• DNFS ROM only £17 • ADFS ROM only £25
WATFORD'S Mk II Double
DFS INTERFACE
Ma'ny of our customers have wanted to use our superior DDFS and Acorn
ADFS together. Now our Mkll DDFS board has been adapted to allow the
use of Acorn ADFS as well.
Added features include:
• Acorn ADFS compatible - Use ADFS on our DDFS board.
• Tube host Code - No longer any need to have the DNFS in your machine
to use Co-Processors, even the CoPro and Master 512.
• Auto 40-80 Track sensing - no need to fuss with 40/80 track switches
(even works with protected disks).
• An extremely powerful 8271 emulation - ensuring compatibility with
almost all software.
• New low profile - small footprint board.
• Fits with all third party ROM boards.
• Option to double the speed of file handling operations - BPUT and BGET.
• Operates in both single and double density modes.
• OSGBPB has been recoded, increasing still further the speed of file
handling.
Please note that not all DDFS's are capable of providing either the full 80%
storage increase or of allowing a file the full size of. the disk - Ours allows
both of thesel
If you already have a DDFS (any manufacturer), and wish to upgrade to our
Mkll version, then simply return your existing ROM and DDFS board and we
will supply the new DDFS for only £30.00..
• Special introductory offer £39.00
• DDFS Manual (No VAT) £6.95
• We will exchange your existing DFS Kit for our
sophisticated DDFS for only £25.00
Please note, as the Mkll DDFS is a hardware and software upgrade, it is not
possible for existing Watford DDFS users to simply exchange their ROM for
the new version.
Density
Mysteries of Disc Drives & DFS Revealed
Are you tired of faulty cassettes, and lengthy loading times? Do you want to
upgrade your BBC micro to take discs but you get tied up in the plethora of
jargon surrounding the choice and use of these systems.
Then The Mysteries of Disc Drives and DFS Revealed is the book for you. It
explains in detail the different types of systems available, how they are
installed and how to use them. Many examples are given including pre-
written programs to call various functions of the DFS available only through
Operating System calls. Different types of disc, 40/80 tracks etc. are all
explained. This book is ideal for the beginner confused by the plethora of
choice available in the marketplace.
£5.95 (Book No VAT)
DISC ALBUMS
Attractively finished in antique brown leather look vinyl. Stores upto 20
Discs. Each disc can be seen through the clear view pocket.
£4
FLOPPY HEAD CLEANER KIT
The heads in floppy drives are precision made and very sensitive to dirt. The
use of a cleaner Kit is a sensible precaution against losing valuable data. It
is recommended to clean the drive head once a week. It is very simple to
use. Available in 3 1 /?" & 5 W', please specify.
£6
ANTISTATIC LOCKABLE DISC
Gives double protection - Strong plastic case
that affords real protection to your discs.
Antistatic helps avoid data corruption whilst
in storage. The smoked top locks down.
Dividers and adhesive title strips are supplied
for efficient filing of discs.
• M35 - holds upto 50 5’/r discs £6.00
• M85 - holds upto 95 5*/i" discs £8.00
• M25* - holds upto 25 3 V?" Discs £5.50
• M50- holds 50 3V?" Discs £7.50
• Not lockable
STORAGE UNITS
PLASTIC
LIBRARY CASES
Holds up to 10 5’/j Discs. Only £2.00
DISC PLONKER RACK
When using ones micro, there is a tendancy to have
more than one Disc on the desk. This exposes them to
the hazards of fingerprints, scratches, dust, coffee and
an untidy desk.
Why no: protect your valuable data from all these
hazards with the help of our extremely handy and low
cost DISC PLONKER RACK. It holds up to eight 5' V
Discs.
Protection at Only: £2
DUST COVERS (For our Disc Drives)
Single CLS (without PSU) £3.20 Twin CLD (without PSU) £3.85
Single CS (with PSU) £3.95 Twin CD (with PSU) £3.90
Quality Disc Drives from Watford
To help you decide which drive is the most suitable for your needs (and
your pocket!), we have produced the table below.
The first capacity given in the first column indicates capacity in single
density mode. That within the brackets is the capacity in double density
mode. All disc drive type numbers start with the prefix "C".
The tinting on some of the boxes is used to indicate which Drives are 40
track (non-tinted) and which are 80 track (tinted). All our 80 track drives are
already fitted with a 40-80 select switch.
All our Disc Drives are Double Sided and will operate in both Single and
Double Density modes. Extensive experience of the usage of disc drives
suggests that the JAPANESE drives currently represent about the best in
terms of speed, reliability and overall " elegance " available for the BBC
Micro.
Various other “ manufacturers' ' of disc drives for the BBC micro (more
accurately, " packages " label other manufacturers drives with their own
name). We buy the high quality JVC and Mitsubishi drives in large
quantities directly from the manufacturers, package them and sell them at
“ dealer " prices direct to the public.
If you look around the popular BBC micro press, you will find that the prices
we quote for the top quality, new slimline disc drives are, virtually without
exception, some of the best around. These prices, coupled with the backup
of one of the country's largest distributors of BBC peripherals provides a
superb deal.
Unless you anticipate using dual drives in a fully expanded BBC system for
long periods of time with little ventilation, then we suggest that our range of
“CL" disc drives without the PSU (Power Supply Unit) would be quite
adequate (extensive tests within our workshops have confirmed this). All
drives are supplied complete with a SPECIAL UTILITIES Disc, Cables and
Plugs. The Drives with power supply have a mains moulded plug for safety
purposes. Ideal for Schools & Colleges. We are now able to supply all single
disc drives with Power Supply, in either single or dual case. (Dual case has a
twin data cable and a power supply capable of driving two disc drives)
allows easy expansion to a dual drive unit, at a later date. Prices stated in
the pricing boxes below are for single drives in standard single cases. Single
drives in a dual case cost an extra €5. (At Watford we anticipate your needs
of tomorrow, not just today)!
When using a BBC Micro, most people find themselves short of desk space.
The Watford's BBC Micro plinths form an ideal way of recovering some of
this precious space) your BBC, Disc Drive and Monitor can all occupy the
same vertical footprint and still be comfortably situated. With the Watford
Double plinth, your Disc Drive is mounted vertically at one side, leaving a
very valuable area directly in front of you for such useful items as spare
discs, pen, paper, reference manuals, etc. Follow the trend with Watford
plinth. (Turn to the 6th page of our advert for the Plinths).
P.S. All our 57*" Disc Drives with PSU are compatible with the Compact
Micro. All you require is the special Compact Disc Drive Cables designed by
us.
Capacity
Drives without P.S.U.
Drives with P.S.U.
Single
Twin
Single
Twin
200K
(360K)
CLS 200
£89
CS 200
£98
400K
(720K)
CLS400S
£89
CLD 400
£168
CS 400S
£99
dD400
£188
800K
(1.44M)
CLD aoos
£169
CD 800S
£188
• TWIN Disc Drive Case, complete with Power Supply & Cables £43
Securicor carriage on Disc Drives £5 to £6
Prefix C - Cased Drive
L = Less PSU
S = Single
D = Double
Suffix S = 40-80 Switchable
e.g. CLS400S = Cased Disc Drive, Less power supply unit, single 5 A" 400K,
(720K in double density); Double sided; 40/80 track switchable.
Cable to connect 5VV Disc Drives to BBC Compact
Single £9 Twin £12
Special Cable to connect both 3 V 2 " and 5Va" Disc
Drives
simultaneously to the BBC Compact £13
3M - DISKETTES
3M - SCOTCH Diskettes with Lifetime warranty from Watford Electronics
your 3M Appointed Distributor.
10 x 5Zi" S/S D/D 40 Track Diskettes (744)
10 x 5 ’A" D/S D/D 40 Track Diskettes (745)
10 x 5’A"S/S D/D 80 Track Diskettes (746)
10 x 5 A" D/S D/D 80 Track Diskettes (747)
10 x 5 ’A" 1.6M D/S D/D High Density Discs for IBM
XT and AT
10 x 37?" S/S D/D 40/80 track Discs
10 x 37?" D/S D/D 40/80 track Discs
10 x 37? High Density Diskettes
FREE
£28
£ 13.50
£15
£43
This extremely useful and attractive
Personal Leather Organiser worth
upto £50 is yours when you buy from
us, 5 Boxes of any of the 3M range
of Discs that we advertise above.
TOP QUALITY 3V 2 " & 5'A" DISKETTES
To complement the range of quality discs and disc drives that WE already
sell, WE are now supplying some special offer packs of 10 high quality
discs. Each Disc has a reinforced hub ring and carries a lifetime guarantee.
These are supplied complete with selfstick labels and packaged in an
attractive plastic library disc box. We strongly recommend these Discs.
• 10 x M3 3’ ." D/S D/D 80 Track Discs £15
• 10 x M4 5 A" S/S D/D 40 Track Discs £6.50
• 10 x M5 5 A" D/S D/D 40 Track Discs £8
• 10 x M7 5 A" D/S D/D 80 Track Discs £9
• 3" Double Sided Discs £3 each
Special BULK OFFER on SV*" DISCS
(Supplied packed in Anti-Static Lockable Storage Units)
(Lifetime warranty on Discs)
BULK PACK DISCS in lots of 100
Type S-S40T D-S40T D-S 80T
• Without Sleeves £35 £39 £45
• With Sleeves £38 £42 £48
WATFORD'S
WINCHESTER DRIVES
• 10 Megabyte Unit with ADFS £375
• 30 Megabyte Unit with ADFS £449
(Supplied complete with utilities software)
CDP800S
CDPM800S
Twin 800K Double sided 40-80 track switchable disc drives mounted in an
attractively finished Beige colour plinth for the BBC Micro. Supplied
complete with integral power supply, cables and Utilities disc. The switches
are mounted on the front panel for ease of use.
CDP 800S for BBC Micro £192 (Securicor
CDPM 800S for Master £196 Carr. £7)
(The above drive units are 2 Megabytes unformatted)
ACORN'S Twin 800K
Disc Drives
Specially mounted side by side in a j
Master Plinth. Supplied complete j
with Cables. Plugs directly to
the Master Computer.
RRP £350
Our Price
(carr £7)
7
NOMINATED
FOR
AWARDS
UEST
A
Mm IQF
Con^u
est
1987
QUEST MOUSE
the ultimate in Mouse technology, the Watford
Electronics Quest Mouse must be the most
powerful Mouse package yet produced for the
BBC Micro. Featuring state of the art 32K ROM
software the Quest Mouse package is filled with
features essential to the budding artist. The
Quest Mouse is a high precision, low profile
and large footprint mouse. It has three large
comfortable buttons and its RUBBER COATED
STEEL BALL is smooth and easy to use on
virtually any work surface. This also eliminates
any directional bias that one encounters on the
most well-known mouse for the BBC. The Quest
Mouse is FULLY HARDWARE COMPATIBLE with
the AMX MOUSE so that it will work with any
I of the AMX range of software.
The two parts of the Quest package are
available separately so that existing Mouse
owners can upgrade to the Watford's
sophisticated Quest Paint software or replace
their existing worn out mice for a minimum
cost.
QUEST PAINT
The Quest Mouse software is supplied on a
PALPROM unit to allow the sophisticated 32K
| program to be used from a single ROM socket.
It is compatible with the BBC B, BBC B Plus and
BBC Master Series machines.
The software is used to draw high resolution
Mode 1 pictures in full colour. All menu
selection and control of the drawing process is
performed with the mouse so that you will
hardly ever touch the keyboard.
SOFTWARE FEA TURES
The software is far too powerful for us to
describe it fully in such a small space. Below is
a list of the various features. Please write to us
for a fully descriptive leaflet.
Disk interface not required. Utilities disk has
facility to create and print big screens. Colours
applied can be solid, either pattern of user
defined pattern. Drawing can use brush or
airbrush. Brush shapes can be defined and
stored. Airbrush sprays colour/pattern randomly
with four jet sizes and even or center spread.
Colour cycles. Colour protection to stop
particular colours from being overwritten by
selected drawing actions. All standard drawing
facilities like: rubber, straight pencil lines,
triangles, circles, ellipses, rectangles,
parallelograms, polygons, etc are provided. All
shapes can be solid or just a boundary line.
Once a shape has been set up it can be
repeated anywhere on the screen. Global colour
replace in a rectangle. Powerful fill facility for
areas and vertical/horizontal lines. Full cut and
paste of rectangular areas with rotation and size
with screens from Watford Beeb Video digitiser.
Load and Save screens with colour pallet
information, save brush and pattern definitions
etc.
Take The Guesswork Out of Selecting a Mouse
Package
With reviews like this how can you go wrong.
Popular Computing Weekly. 9-11 June '87
"What you actually get for your money is a well
built, three button mouse (far superior to the
AMX mouse). "
"Overall the combination of a quality mouse
and decent art package gives Watford
Electronics a real chance of supplanting AMX
as mouse supremos. "
Micro User June '87
"Quest Mouse and Quest Paint can hold their
heads high in the market. . . "
A&B Computing June '87
". . . Watford Electronics, a company famed for
excellent hardware add ons and versatile
software packages. Called Quest mouse, "this is
a very special mouse driven drawing package..."
". . . you will have one of the most comfortable
and professionally built mice I have used in a
long time. The buttons are responsive, the
mouse movement is smooth and without
directional bias - a pleasure to use. "
"What we have here is probably the best art
package there is for the BBC Micro ..."
"Quest Paint is a major leap forward in BBC
programming. . ."
"Quest Paint is an original piece of
programming, it is friendly and well endowed
with many useful facilities. / would comfortably
say it is easier to draw good pictures with
Quest Paint than it is with more expensive
' Professional ' art packages for the Atari ST and
the Commodore Amiga. A recommended buy if
you are looking for the best in BBC micro based
art packages".
Acorn User, September '87
"The mouse (Quest) performs well in the face
of competition from AMX. Wigmore and the
rest ..."
". . . this package represents excellent value for
money. If you are interested in art then this
program is for you to buy".
"Given time, I can see no reason why Quest
Paint shouldn't take on the title of the definitive
art package available for the BBC Micro to
date".
"All in all. Quest Paint is a very professional
package. It contains virtually every feature the
budding artist could require".
"What makes Quest Paint so versatile is the
addition of a sub-menu which allows you
extensive control over each function".
"Until recently, Superart from AMS had been
judged as the definitive mode 1 graphics
package for the BBC micro. But now it has a
serious rival in the form of Quest Paint, from
Watford".
"As a measure of what is contained within
Quest Paint, I would say it had all the features
of Superart plus . . ."
"In most art packages, provision is given for
drawing triangles and rectangles. Quest Mouse
goes 14 better, allowing any regular polygon of
upto 16 sides".
"One facility, not found on any other Art
package to my knowledge, is the ability to
access a digitiser from within the program
The reviewer concludes by saying, "The result
is an extremely comprehensive and
professional art package".
John Kilby, Head of Computer Science, Bishop
Wulstan High School, Rugby, writes:
"Quest has been an excellent piece of
equipment. The problem that seems to occur
everyday is that at lunchtime the pupils rush to
the computer room to make sure that they are
first in the queue for the 'Quest' mouse".
Lt. Cln. C.G. Holton, G2 HQ 1 (BR) Corps, BFPO
39, writes:
"As ever your service is superb and the Quest
Mouse proves every bit as good as the adverts
claim".
Beeblet User Group, New Zealand Oct '87:
"One of its nicer features is that the top menu
is done in Mode 0, the drawing itself is in Mode
1. Thus on screen together are two different
Modes. A neat way around an old problem"
"PAN is used when a larger than one screen
size image is required. The mind boggles at an
A3 size drawing".
"I like it partly because of the mouse itself
which is smooth and easy to handle but mainly
I suppose because of the features I longed for
and previously never got. Its easy to use with
almost everything at your fingertips from the
mouse. The software is simple where needed
and complex where complexity is required".
Watford's Quest package is an extremely
powerful and flexible drawing package, with
very wide and unusual features. However, since
its launch various suggestions for even more
advanced & powerful facilities were received
from the Quest users. ConQuest allows you
these more advanced facilities, like, distortion
of a cutout to any shape and a full font
designer. If you also have a GXR ROM in your
machine or you are using a BBC Master then
ConQuest will take advantage of this to give
ellipses at any angle, sectors and arcs, etc.
Quest combined with ConQuest and Acornsoft
GXR ROM make up THE MOST POWERFUL
drawing packages available for the BBC range.
Quest Paint is able to take advantage of almost
any additions to your machine, such as Shadow
or Sideways RAM. ConQuest takes this principal
even further, by utilising the otherwise normally
incompatible Sideways RAM facility by holding
pictures in them.
Some of the features are:
• Pick filenames off the screen for loading and
saving.
• Rotate a cutout to any angle and Distort it to
any four sided shape.
• Has Built in Font editor.
• Default brushes and patterns on startup.
• 16x16 font available on start up.
• Ability to reset patterns, fonts and brushes to
default at any time.
• ROM based enhanced Epson and compatible
printer dump.
• ROM based enhanced extended picture
routine.
• Ability to create and abort extended pictures.
• Improved disk access speed for extended
pictures.
• User definable sideways RAM driver for
incompatible sideways RAM systems.
• Ellipses at any angle on Master 128 (or B
with GXR ROM).
QUEST MOUSE & QUEST PAINT £59
QUEST MOUSE, QUEST PAINT, AMX
PAGEMAKER & PAGEFONT £85
QUEST MOUSE ONLY £29
QUEST PAINT SOFTWARE £32
QUEST FONT DISC £12
ConQuest 32K ROM Package £29
QUEST MAT £3
Part-exchange your old Mouse for a New
QUEST MOUSE for only £23
GXR ROM for BBC Micro £22
N.B.
1. Quest Paint supplied complete with Software
in a 32 K ROM, Comprehensive User Guide and
a Utility Disc.
2. Quest Font Disc has 22 text FONTS for use
within Quest Mouse.
MARK II LIGHT PEN
Our Mark II Light Pen is the very latest in light
pen technology. It is totally insensitive to local
lighting conditions and works with many
different monitors. The pen only responds to
the High Frequency light produced by your
monitor/TV. An LED indicates when valid video
data is being produced. A conveniently located
switch is also fitted.
Price Only £21
(Price includes FREE software Disc and
Operating Manual )
RB2 Marconi Tracker Ball
RB2 (AMX/Quest compatible)
RB2 including Quest Paint
£59
£85
FLEET STREET EDITOR
Software pack for BBC Micro £33
Software pack for the Master £39
Software Pack for Compact £40
Admin Xtra Disc Utility £13
Walt Disney Disc Utility £13
Fonts N Graphics Disc Utility £13
8
THE NEW Mk III
AMX MOUSE
a
ONLY: £59 Inc. Super Art package
(carr £1.50)
(Please specify for BBC, Master or Compact)
FREE our popular Colour Art software pack
worth £15 with every AMX Mouse package
purchased from us.
AMX MAT
£3
AMX MOUSE ONLY
£29
AMX DESK Package
£19
AMX UTILITY Package
£11
AMX SUPERART Package
AMX STOP PRESS - A Desktop
publising software. Works with
£39
Keyboard, Joystick or a mouse
£32
We are giving away absolutely FREE, our
PAGE-FONT disc with every purchase of
STOP PRESS from us.
PAGE-FONTS - Over 20 Fonts
for
use with AMX Pagemaker
£9.50
AMX DESIGN (ROM)
£59
AMX 3D ZICON Disc
£19
AMX Database Disc
£19
AMX XAM Educational
£15
AMX EXTRA EXTRA
£19
AMX MAX A gem of desktop
(ROM)
£15
DIAGNOSTICS DISC
The BBC Micro is a very complex machine and
thus diagnosing a fault can be very difficult.
At Watford Electronics, we realise how difficult
it can be when faced with a problem, finding
yourself a long way from your nearest dealer,
or even just uncertain about your Beeb's health,
but not wanting to waste time and money
taking it to be looked at.
The solution to these problems is here now, in
the form of the Watford's Diagnostics Disc. This
excellent utility is specially designed to test out
the following areas of your Beeb:
RAMs, ROMs, ULAs, Sound, Keyboard, Disc,
RS423, ADC, User Port. Printer Port, Cassette,
Joysticks. Speech, Disc Drives. 6502 and 280
2nd Processors.
This utility is an invaluable aid for all those who
take the reliability of their system seriously. A
comprehensive manual provides full operating
details and a list of possible causes and
remedies for any faults that you may find along
the way. The package also enables a permanent
equipment and service record to be maintained.
Only £20.00
#
The WAPPING EDITOR
Watford Electronics bring professional
quality Desktop Publishing to the Beeb.
The Wapping Editor is a totally self
contained mouse-driven desktop
publishing package designed to run on
the BBC B, B-F and Master computers.
The massive 64K ROM contains ALL the
software you need to do your own
publishing. It 'Brings the Freedom of
Press' to your fingertip. The software has
a word processor, a graphics package, a
page layout section and a font designer.
Although very sophisticated, Wapping
Editor is simplicity itself to use. Anyone
already familiar with Quest Paint will
immediately feel at home.
GRAPHICS PACKAGE
Imagine Quest Paint re-written to take
advantage of the high resolution of Mode
0, well this is it. The Wapping Editor
could well be worth buying for this
section alone. This must surely be the
ultimate in mouse-driven Mode 0
graphics.
WORD PROCESSOR
This section is a fully functional word
processor specially tailored to suit the
Desktop Publishing environment. Gone
are all the unnecessary and cumbersome
text formatting commands - these are
dealt with in the 'Page-Layout' section.
The features of this word processor
include wordwrap, wordcount, insert/
overwrite, move block, copy block, delete
block, search and replace, browse, etc,
many of these features being mouse
controlled. Text input can of course be
taken from existing word processor files
like Wordwise, View, etc, but it is not
necessary to have a separate word
processor in order to use this package.
PAGE-LAYOUT SECTION
Page Layout becomes easy using these
mouse-driven routines. The user simply
'pulls' a rectangle onto the page and
states which text document or graphic is
required to fill the space - it's as simple
as that! Text can be automatically printed
in a pre-set number of columns, left
justified and/or right justified, or centered.
Several different typefaces can be held in
memory at one time. Graphics may be
stretched, squashed or cropped to fit any
size rectangle. Graphics input can be from
the software provided in the package or,
using the 'mode convert', from any
graphics mode screen.
THE FONT EDITOR
This is an enhanced version of the font
editor contained in the Con-Quest ROM
and allows the editing of ALL 95
characters. As well as being able to
design your own typefaces, fonts from
other DTP packages or from Quest Paint
may be loaded into the editor and
converted for use with the Wapping
Editor. This sophisticated editor has
numerous functions including slide, flip,
invert and rotate individual characters or
the whole font. Individual characters can
be mirrored or copied and a mask feature
allows you to superimpose two
characters. Lines and columns can be
inserted or deleted allowing the character
to be stretched or squashed. This font
editor will also allow 'font' and 'brush'
files to be designed for use with Quest
Paint.
This package is the latest in the line of
integrated professional quality mouse-
driven software from Watford Electronics,
the company that adds Power to Beeb.
P S. For details on Quest Paint and
ConQuest, please refer to Page 7 of our
advert.
BEEB
VIDEO DIGITISER
Using any source of composite video (colour or
monochrome) and the Watford Beeb Video
Digitiser, you can convert an image from your
camera into a graphics screen on the BBC
Micro.
This uses the full graphics capacity of the BBC
micro in modes 0, 1 or 2. The video source may
be a camera, video recorder or television, and
is connected via the video output socket.
Images produced can be compressed, stored to
disc, printed on an Epson compatible printer,
directly used to generate graphics, analysed for
scientific and educational use or converted to
other formats e.g. Slow Scan TV or receiving a
picture from a remote camera using a modem.
The output from the digitiser exactly matches
the graphics capability in each mode, with up to
8 levels of grey in mode 2. The unit connects
into the User Port and automatically scans a
complete picture in 1.6 seconds.
Both the black and white levels can be adjusted
manually for the optimum picture, or switched
to automatic for unattended use. The image
produced can be reversed if necessary.
Full controlling software is supplied on a
normal sideways ROM and this is easily
accessed via additional * commands. The
package i designed to allow easy input of
complex screens and give full access of the
data to the user. Once on the screen, the image
can be used as a normal graphics screen,
allowing any of the usual graphics commands
in BASIC or other ROMs to work on it.
A special print dump routine is included with
the driver programs. This is specially designed
to produce a fast, correctly proportioned
picture, with reduced "contouring", resulting in
an accurate reproduction of the original image.
Detailed examples of driving this unit from
BASIC or other languages are all provided in
the extensive manual supplied.
£109 (Carr. £3)
(Price includes) Digitiser Unit. Software in ROM
& a Comprehensive Manual)
(BBC B+ and Master compatible, except Master
with Econet)
Magazine Maker
(As seen on TV)
A combination of the Pagemaker and Watford's
Beeb Video Digitiser.
Using any video that provides a composite
signal and the digitiser, images from a camera
or TV can be converted into a graphics screen
on the BBC Micro.
They can then be used within Pagemaker to
illustrate magazines or newsletters - in fact
anything that needs to be created on A4 size
paper.
With Pagemaker’s many features, a variety of
pictures can be composed - the only limit being
the imagination.
Pictures can be doctored using Pagemaker's
graphics option to produce any number of
effects.
Text can be formatted around the digitised
photo on screen using the facilities available,
which include 16 typefaces, character and
pattern definer, text formatting and the ability
to load in wordwise and viewfiles plus much
more.
Once created the picture can be printed out.
The Magazine Maker is suitable for any use
that requires illustrated documents.
Complete Package £135.00 (carr. £3)
Continued-
ARIES
CORNER
The Aries B-32
Shadow RAM Card
Like the BBC B+. the B32 provides 20k of shadow
screen RAM and 12k of sideways RAM. Unlike the
B+, the B32 has simple software commands
which allow the user to reconfigure the RAM as
16k of shadow RAM and 16k of sideways RAM or
all 32k as sideways RAM.
With the B32, the programmer gets up to 28k of
RAM available for Basic, Logo, Comal, Forth, Lisp
and BCPL programs in any screen mode. The
business user gets extra memory for View,
ViewSheet, Wordwise Plus, Interword and many
other applications. For advanced applications,
the scientific user gets access to a massive 47k of
data storage using the Acorn approved *FX call.
Sideways RAM enables you to load sideways
ROM images from disc, allowing you to have a
large library of sideways ROMs (subject to the
copyright holder's permission) stored on disc.
The B32's sideways RAM can also be used to
extend any operating system buffer (such as the
printer buffer) or to load tape programs into a
disc system.
The B32 simply plugs into the 6502 processor
socket on your BBC micro - no flying leads to
connect and no soldering. Provision of the on-
board ROM socket means that the Aries-B32
control ROM does not use up one of your existinq
ROM sockets. y
• Recommended by Computer Concepts for use
with their Inter series of ROMs.
Price: £80 (carr. £2)
CREDIT CARD 24 HOUR
Ansaphone Hot Lines
(0923) 50234 or 33383
Aries B-12
Sideways ROM Board
This board is extremely well made, simple to
install, reliable when fully loaded and compatible
with the Aries-B20 and the Aries-B32
The B12 provides a total of twelve sideways
ROM sockets (the four in the original machine are
replaced by the twelve on the board), all fully
accessible by the MOS sideways ROM system. In
addition, there are two sockets for sideways
RAM, giving up to 16k of RAM using 6264 static
RAM chips.
The B12 system consists of two parts: a large
detachable "mother board" which carries the
extension ROM sockets and a small "base board"
on a short ribbon cable, which plugs into the
existing sideways ROM sockets. This two-board
design eliminates the reliability problems
previously associated with some other ribbon-
cable based systems.
If you do not have a B32 or B20, a small adaptor
module (the Aries-B12C) is available at a nominal
cost.
Price: Aries B-12 £40
Aries B-12C £5
ARIES B-488
IEEE-488 INTERFACE UNIT
The Aries-B488 is an interface unit to enable the
BBC micro to control and monitor IEEE-488 bus
systems. The IEEE-488 bus (also known as the
'GPIB' or 'HP-IB') is the standard method of
interconnecting programmable laboratory instru-
ments and control equipment. Using the.B488, up
to 15 devices may be connected in a single
high-speed data network.
£238 (Carr £3)
All prices in this advert are
exclusive of VAT.
SIDEWAYS
ZIF SOCKET
Allows you to change your ROMs quickly and
efficiently, without opening the lid. The ZERO
INSERTION FORCE (ZIF) socket is located into the
ROM Cartridge's position.
• Very simple to install. NO SOLDERING
required. The ZIF (Zero Insertion Force) elimi-
nates the possibility of damage to your ROM pins
when inserting & extracting.
• The low profile of the socket allows unrestric-
ted access to the Keyboard.
• All data and address lines are correctly termi-
nated to ensure correct operation of suitable
ROMs with the BBC micro. We also supply a
purpose designed see-through storage container
with anti-static lining, allowing you to store up to
12 ROMs, protecting them from mechanical and
static damage.
• This versatile hardware solves the problem of
running out of socket space. Simply lift the ROM
from the ZIF & insert a different one (No pulling
or pushing of Cartridges. It is a must for all
professionals and Hobbyists alike.)
• BBC, B+ and Master compatible.
ONLY £15 (carr £2)
Low Profile
CARTRIDGE SYSTEM
Complete System consists of: Low profile ROM
Cartridge, Socket housing, Cable assembly, 5
labels and a library storage rack for the BBC B.
• Complete System £1 1
• Spare Cartridges £2.50
• Spare Rack £1.50
ROM Cartridges
for the BBC Master
Twin £7.50; Quad £12
16 K Sideways
RAM Modules
Complete with such features as read and write
protection, these new modules from Watford
Electronics are ideal for the hobbyist, software
developer and ROM collector.
Key points to note about this new addition to the
Watford range of products are:
• Write protection (useful in a variety of circum-
stances).
• Read protection (allows recovery from ROM
crashes).
• Compact construction.
• May be fitted in systems even with a ROM
board.
• Multiple units may be fitted, even with a ROM
board.
• No overheating or overloading problems.
• Free utilities disc supplied.
• Can be used as a 16K PRINTER BUFFER.
• Ideal for professional software development.
• Supplied with utilities software disc.
Only: £24 (carr £2)
Optional extras
READ and WRITE protect Switches £2 each
Battery for Battery Backup £3
SOLDERLESS
SIDEWAYS ROM
SOCKET BOARD
In the May 1986 Micro User's independent
review, the writer concludes, "The board has
been well laid out. Its position is much better than
others - not over the HOT RAM chips and further
away from the disc controller area". "I give the
solderless ROM board the thumbs up and wish it
success".
This brand new board from Watford Electronics
is designed specifically for those wishing to add a
ROM board to their own BBC without the need to
perform any soldering.
This new board expands the total possible
number of ROMs in a BBC from 4 to 16.
Unlike our competitors inferior boards, the ONLY
upgrade required for fitting battery backup to the
Watford Solderless ROM board (all Watford ROM
boards, actually) is the fitting of the battery itself.
(No other expensive components are required.)
• The key features of this new, no fuss, easy to
install quality product from BBC leaders
Watford Electronics are as follows:
• Increase your BBCs capacity for ROMs from 4
to 16.
• No soldering required.
• Very low power consumption.
• Minimal space required.
• Compatible with Torch, DDFS, RAM Card, 2nd
Processor, etc.
• Socket 14 takes two 6264 RAM chips.
• Read protect to make RAM "Vanish") allows
recovery from ROM crashes.
• Battery backup option for RAM chips.
• Supplied ready to fit with comprehensive
instructions.
Price: Only £32
Battery backup fitted £36
(carriage £2)
• Sideways RAM Utilities Disc for Solderless
ROM Board. Includes the options to load and
save ROM Images and the facility to use Side-
ways RAM as Printer Buffer.
Only: £8
USER PORT
SPLITTER UNIT
Gone are the days when you had to plug and
unplug devices from the User Port. This
extremely useful little device allows two units to
be connected to the User Port simultaniously,
and select between them simply by toggling a
switch. This device is particularly useful for those
people using Quest Mouse and the Watford
Video Digitiser or any similar combination.
Excellent Value at £21 (carr £2)
ROM/RAM
CARD
JLe'WM&tt
APOLLO
! T=^
C
The IMEW Modem from Watford
Watford Electronics announced the first ever
commercial ROM board for the BBC micro, the
Watford Electronics 13 ROM Socket Board 3
years ago. Following the success of this board,
we have designed what probably represents the
ultimate in expansion boards, the new Watford
Electronics ROM/RAM board. This highly ver-
satile and sophisticated board represents the
latest in "2nd generation" sideways ROM tech-
nology for the BBC micro, designed to satisfy the
serious BBC user.
• NO SOLDERING required to fit the board.
• NO overheating problems.
• No User Port corruption (avoids problems
with the mouse, modems, Eprom Programmers,
etc.)
• Fully buffered for peace of mind.
• Firm mounting in BBC micro.
• Compatible with all BBC micros (not BBC+ or
Master).
• Total number of ROMs increased from 4 to 8.
• Up to 8 banks of sideways RAM (dynamic).
• Option for 16k of Battery backed CMOS RAM
(CMOS RAM needs one ROM socket).
• Software Write protect for ALL RAM.
• Read protect for CMOS RAM (ALLEVIATES
crashes during ROM development).
• Separate RAM write register (&FF30 to &FF3F).
• Automatic write to currently selected RAM
socket for convenience.
• Accepts any ROM.
• FREE utilities disc packed with software.
• Compatible with our DDFS board, 32k RAM
Card, Delta Card, sideways ZIF, etc.
• Large printer buffer.
• UNIQUE Fully implemented RAM FILING
SYSTEM (similar to the popular Watford DFS).
• ROM to RAM load and save facilities.
The SFS (Silicon Filing System) can utilise up
to the full 128k of RAM (with the SFS in any
paged RAM) as a SILICON DISC. This behaves as
a disc drive, with all the normal Watford DFS
features (including OSWORD &7F for ROM-
SPELL, etc.) to provide an environment that looks
like a disc but loads and saves MUCH faster.
The ROM-RAM Board plugs into the 6502 CPU
socket. This leaves free all the existing ROM
sockets, which can still be used normally.
Any ROM that can be plugged into the BBC
micro's own ROM sockets may be used in the
ROM-RAM Board.
The ROM-RAM Board is supplied with all
ordered options fitted as standard. Upgrade kits
(with full instructions) are available for all of the
options, for later.
Please write in for further details.
INTRODUCTORY PRICES:
• ROM/RAM card with 32k dynamic RAM €39
• ROM/RAM card with 64k dynamic RAM £52
• ROM/RAM card with a massive 128k dynamic
RAM £80
(carriage on ROM-RAM Card £3)
OPTIONAL EXTRAS:
• 16k plug-in Static RAM kit £6
• 16k Dynamic RAM for Upgrade £7.50
• Battery backup £3
• Read and Write protect switches £2 each
Complete ROM-RAM board
All options installed £89
Is your existing ROM Board overflowing with
ROMs? Do you need more Sideways RAM? Is
your Board unreliable? Then upgrade to
Watford ROM/RAM Board and pay £5 less
The MODEM from Watford
At last a professional MODEM for the BBC Micro.
Unlike other ’ Modem packages’ this is a complete
package there are no extra software costs to get
’up and running’. Of course Le MODEM is multi-
standard. i.e. 300/300. 1200/75 & 75/1200 UK and
BELL (USA) are all supported.
The features that make Le MODEM such good
value are:
• A complete communications terminal that
transforms your BBC Micro into a very powerful
World-wide data transfer system.
• Auto Dials. Auto answers, and is completely
controlled by your micro. There are no external
controls!
• Allows you to access PRESTEL, B.T. GOLD .
THE SOURCE. MICROLINK, MICRONET,
MICROWEB. THE TIMES NETWORK, MICRO LIVE
(BBC TV database), CITY BB and more.
• Designed to be SIMPLE but SOPHISTICATED.
To LOGON to a data base all you have to know is
its TELEPHONE NUMBER. Le MODEM does the
rest.
• Supplied with a comprehensive telecomms
package in a 16K sideways ROM which includes a
FULL PRESTEL terminal allowing TELE-
SOFTWARE to be downloaded.
• A comprehensive 80 column terminal. This
includes XMODEM error checked transfer proto-
col. to allow error free data transfer anywhere in
the world!
• FULLY controlled by simple '* COMMANDS
allowing you to control it from your own BASIC
programs. To get you started we supply a FREE
disc of bundled software !
• Connects to the 1MH ? bus. A * AUDIO ON-OFF
command allows you to actually hear the tele-
phone line through your BBC micro loudspeaker.
• Completely self contained with internal mains
power supply. (Even a free mains plug is fitted!)
A * TEST facility gives ON SCREEN indication that
Le MODEM is working correctly.
• Packaged in such as way that you need noth-
ing else except a BBC Micro to communicate with
computers all over the world.
• FREE Registration to Micro Link.
SPECIAL OFFER
Price: £88
(carr £3)
(Price includes, Le Modem, Software ROM,
Cables & Comprehensive Manual)
(Write in for further details)
Minerva Systems Software
System Delta with Card Index £55
System Programmers Ref. Guide £19
System Gamma £43
System Gamma Prog, Ref, Guide £19
System Mailshot £17
System Reporter £17
System IntrerA/iew Link £17
System Sales Ledger £39
System Purchase Ledger £39
System Nominal Ledger £48
System Stock Management £39
Order Processing/Invoicing £39
Following numerous requests from you, our dis-
cerning customers for an APPROVED, Low Cost &
High Performance modem with Auto Dial & Auto
Answer facilities as standard) we bring you the
versatile APOLLO Modem. Just compare the fea-
tures and look at the price (which incidentally
includes the cost of the Software, manual and
BBC connecting cable). We are sure you will
agree that Watford Electronics in their traditional
way are giving you a super 'value for money'
deal.
Just look at these features:
• V21 for Bulletin boards, Microlink, Telecom
Gold, etc.
• V23 for Prestel, Home Banking, and other
Viewdata services.
• Reverse V23 allows User run Viewdata service.
• 1200-1200 half duplex for communications.
• XMODEM. HEX and ASCII file transmission.
• Auto Dial of given 'phone number.
• Auto Answer for User's Bulletin Board.
• 80 column terminal with split screen facility.
• Prestel text screen dump.
• Fully BABT approved.
• FREE Registration to MicroLink.
• £6.50 off annual Membership to Micronet,
Prestel and Telecom Gold.
The Apollo is attractively finished in matt black. It
opens the doors to world communication to both,
the Hobbyist and the Professionals alike. With
baud rates varying from 300/300 Originate and
Answer, 1200/75 and 75/1200 full duplex and
1200/1200 half duplex, virtually all the popular
tele-services can be accessed. A comprehensive
Comms ROM oversees the use of the APOLLO,
providing simple commands for all the software
controlled facilities. APOLLO is an ideal modem
for both the first time buyer and the seasoned
user. Join the Telecommunications Revolution -
Buy a Watford APOLLO!
Only: LOO (Carr £3)
Price includes, the Modem, Comm Software
Cables & Operating Manual).
(Write in for full specification)
VOLTMACE JOYSTICKS
Delta 3B Single Joystick £12
Delta 3B Twin Joysticks £17
Delta 3C Joystick for Compact £10
Delta 14B Single Joystick £12
Delta 14B/1 Adaptor Module £12
Transfer Software Disc-Tape £7
ATTACHE CARRYING CASE
For the BBC Micro. Attractively finished in
antique brown leatherette. Lockable.
Only £10 (£2 carr.)
Versatile BEEB SPEECH
SYNTHESISER Unit
The Watford Speech Synthesiser is a very flexible
speech synthesis unit based upon the powerful
phonemes system. This system stores the
building blocks of speech (called phonemes) and
allows you to combine them quickly and easily to
form virtually any word imaginable.
Supplied with an advanced ROM, you are
provided with a 500 word dictionary to get you
started. These can easily be added to by
following the notes given in the comprehensive
manual.
SPECIAL PRICE £32 (carr £2)
Continued
COMPUTER CONCEPT'S
ROMS
ACCELERATOR
£48
CARETAKER Basic Utility
£25
DISC DOCTOR
£28
Graphics ROM
£29
TERMI
£25
COMMUNICATOR
£49
SPEECH ROM
£24
Printmaster
£28
Wordwise
£24
Wordwise plus
£40
We are giving away absolutely FREE,
the superb Word-Aid ROM worth
£24 with every WORDWISE PLUS
package bought from us.
Word-ftid
The most comprehensive
utilities ROM
for Wordwise-Plus
Extend the power of your Wordwise Plus word
processor with this most advanced ROM from
Watford. By utilising the powerful Wordwise
Plus programming language, WordAid provides
a whole host of extra features, all accessed via
a special new menu option. This ROM has been
personally approved by Mr Charles Moir, the
author of WORDWISE PLUS.
Alphabetical sorting of names and
addresses.
Text transfer options.
Chapter marker.
Epson printer codes function key option.
Search and display in preview mode.
Embedded command removal.
Print Multiple copies of a document.
Multiple file options for print and preview.
Address finder.
Label printer.
Mail-merger.
Number/delete/renumber.
Clear text-segment area.
BBC B, B+ and Master compatible.
Only £24
(N.B. Word Aid requires a Disc Interface in your
Micro)
HI-WORDWISE-PLUS DISC:
£5
SPELL MASTER
£42
Inter SHEET only £37
ICHART — i
£38
MEGA-3 ROM
Interword, Intersheet & Interchart -
3 in one ROM
£82
INTERBASE £49
All Prices Exclusive of VAT
VIEW
VIEW WORDPROCESSOR 2.1
£35
VIEW 3.0 ROM
£48
VIEW PROFESSIONAL
£79
HI-VIEW
£36
(for use with 6502 2nd Processor)
VIEW Printer Driver Generator
£9
(Please specify Disc or Cassette)
VIEWSHEET (Acornsoft)
£37
VIEWSTORE
£39
VIEWSPELL with 80 track disc
£29
VIEWPLOT Disc
£22
(Please specify for Master 128 or
Compact)
VIEW-INDEX
£12
OVERVIEW Packs 1 & 2 for the
Master
£72
Watford's own Sophisticated
VIEW PRINTER DRIVERS
Epson FX80 & Kaga KP (Disc)
£8
Juki & Brother HR15 (Disc)
£8
Silver Reed Printers (Disc)
£8
ADVANCE COMPUTER
PRODUCTS' ROMs
Adv. Disc Toolkit £29
Adv 1770 DFS for Mast/Compact £29
Adv 1770 DFS for BBC/BBC-F £29
Adv Disc Investigator £24
Adv. Control Panel £29
MINI OFFICE II
DISC Version for BBC B & B + £14.50
DISC Version for BBC Master £17.50
ROM Version £47.00
(When ordering please specify for which Micro
& 40 or 80 track Disc).
REPLICA 3
This new improved REPLICA 3 from Clares is a
very powerful disc based TAPE to DISC Utility.
It now transfers even more programs than ever
before. Replica 3 will not work with all
programs but then neither will anything else.
30,000 Replicas have been sold to date. It has to
be good.
£13 (40 or 80 track)
Acorn's Speech Synthesiser
package, complete
Special Offer £18
VIEW PRINTER DRIVER
ROM
View is a powerful word processor, but until
now has seriously lacked in terms of printer
support. With the launch of our Printer Driver
ROM, which includes an extremely powerful
and easy to use Printer Driver Generator, View
users can find themselves in the realms of
advanced word processing only at a small
outlay.
The VPD extends View's printer command
with a series of mnemonic commands. All
standard highlight sequences are also
supported. A large range of printers are
supported by drivers contained within the ROM
(the drivers can be downloaded and
customised). Printers supported include:
Epson's MX. RX, FX, FX, LX, JX80 range, HI80,
KP810/910, PW1080, JP101, HR15, M1009, GLP,
Panasonic KX-P1081/2, JUKI 6100, etc.
Other printers are readily supported by
defining a Printer Driver using the built in
Printer Driver Generator. The features
mentioned below are available to both the built
in Printer Drivers and user defined drivers
(assuming the printer supports the features).
NLQ control. Underline. Bold, Proportional
Spacing, Microspacing, Italic, Superscript,
Subscript, Condensed, Enlarged, Double Strike,
Set lines per inch numerically (e.g. LPI 6), Set
characters per inch numerically (e.g. CPI 5),
Select printer font, Select printer ribbon colour,
Translation sequences. Emulation of BBC
Character Set, Simple numeric expressions for
certain operations. Full printer setup, Send
control codes, Print prompt on screen,
Redefinable Pad character, Pause for key press,
Prompt to change daisywheel, and Execute *
command when printing.
Other features include a very powerful on
screen preview, with bold, italic, underline,
super/subscript, enlarged highlights, and a
special printer driver to allow memory based
text to be previewed by View 1.4. Of course.
View 1.4, 2.1 and 3.0 are all supported, as is
Shadow RAM and 6502 Second Processors. The
BBC B series and Master series of micros are
supported. A comprehensive manual is
supplied. All in all, a very professional product
for the discerning user who wants power at
their finger tips. (Write in for a detailed leaflet).
Price: Only £33
EPSON NLQ ROM
for the BBC Micro
Harness the full potential of your Epson RX or
FX printer. The NLQ ROM makes Epson printers
produce Near Letter Quality output with
optional proportional spacing, enlarged and
underlined. Accessed by simple * commands
from Basic. Wordwise and View (with driver) or
almost any other language.
( Send an SAE for sample printout)
Only: £25
VIEW PRINTER DRIVER for NLQ ROM £7
DUMPOUT 3
A highly sophisticated screen dump ROM. This
has to be the most flexible and powerful screen
dump ROM yet produced for the BBC micro. It
will put on paper anything you see on the
screen, including full Mode 7 graphics.
Also provided are window setting utilities and
OSWORD calls to plot and read Mode 7
graphics pixels.
Facilities:
• Vertical and horizontal scaling in all graphics
modes and mode 7
• Rotation of image by 90, 180 or 270 degrees
• Left hand margin setting
• Screen dump window setting
• Colours appear as grey scale
• Two tone fast dump
• Colour mask
• Mode 7 contrast expansion
• Mode 7 contiguous dump
• Key triggered and User Port triggered dumps
The Micro User Feb. 1985.
'Without reservation I wholeheartedly
recommend the Dump Out 3 ROM as the
ultimate screen dump facility for the BBC Micro
... it must represent excellent value for money
and surely cannot be beaten
For use with the following printers:
GLP, GP80/1 00/250, CANNON, STAR, KAGA/
TAXAN, NEC, SHINWA CP80, GEMINI, EPSON
MX/RX/FX, Ml 009, NEC PC8023, DMP100/200/
400, Panasonic KX1081/82, Mannesman Tally
and compatibles. Only' £25
BBC SOFTWARE'S
Popular Educational Software
• Maths with a Story 1 (Disc). 4 primary level
maths programs £11.25
• Maths with a Story 2 (Disc) 4 further maths
programs £11.25
• Picture Craft (Disc) 6 - 14 age group. Pack
consists of flexible geometrical design &
colouring programs £17
• WAVES: Science Topics (Disc) CSC O Level
Physics program. £14.95
• RELATIONSHIP: Science (Disc) O Level
Biology program. £20.00
• BONDING: Science (Disc) O Level Chemistry
program. £20.00
• ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM (8 Discs) O
Level program. £20.00
• ELECTRONICS IN ACTION (Disc) O Level
program £19.95
• NEWTON & THE SPACE SHUTTLE (Disc) O
Level program. £20
• ECOLOGY (Disc) O Level program. £20
• POLYMERS (Disc) O Level program. £20
• Clasification & Periodic Table O Level. The
suite is supplied with its own database of
chemical elements which can be classified
according to your own rule. £20
• FOOD & POPULATION (Disc) O Level
program. £20
• MICROTECHNOLOGY (Cassette) O Level
program. £11.25
• A VOUS LA FRANCE (2 Crssettes) A French
language home study aid. £21.70
• DEUTSCH DIREKT! (Disc & Audio
Cassette) £19.95
• Modem Master (Disc) £11.25
• ADVANCED TELETEXT SYSTEM £8.65
• PERIOD TABLE SOFTWARE £20
• Astronomy - Primary (Disc) £12
• Computers at Work - Primary £17.35
• Introducing Geography - Primary £17
• Introducing Geography 11-17yrs £17.50
• Electric Fields 6-14 years £11.25
• BlackQueen Contract Bridge £13
• Espana Viva - 3 Discs £19.95
• A Vous La France Disc £21.50
THE NLQ DESIGNER
(The First & still the Best)
Supplied with over 25 Different fonts
A massively useful utility for users of the
Taxan/Kaga KP810/910 or the Canon PW1080.
This program allows you to define NLQ
character sets to download into the printer's
memory. Full on screen editing of the font.
Requires 6264 RAM chip to be fitted in the
printer.
Supplied with disc containing over 25 example
fonts. (Please specify 40 or 80 track when
ordering.) Fonts are: Italic, Courier, Courier
Italic, Script. Copper Plate, Shadow, Bold,
Double Print and Gothic etc. (P S. This ROM is
not suitable for Epson printers.)
• NLQ Designer ROM, FONT Disc and
Manual £25
(Write in for further details on all above ROMS)
ADDER
The only low cost EPROM Programmer for the
BBC Micro that will program both the standard
21V and the new 12V5, 27128 EPROMS.
Adder is the ultimate EPROM programmer for
the BBC Micro. It will program many different
EPROMs up to the very latest 27256 32K
devices.
The Adder unit connects to the User Port and
draws its power from there too. The EPROM is
mounted in a top quality ZIF socket. There are
no switches or controls as Adder is entirely
software controlled.
The Adder software provides sophisticated
facilities for programming EPROMs from a RAM
image produced by loading disc files. The
software is menu driven and designed for ease
of use.
Features:
• Two ultra fast programming algorithms or
standard slow algorithm.
• Supports standard 21V programming and
newer 12.5 volt EPROMs. (Software switched).
• The RAM image to be programmed can be
built up in many ways. Sections of image can
be loaded separately. Part programming. Read
EPROM. Edit data in memory.
• Automatic processing to handle a list of files
to program into the EPROM.
• Automatic disc buffering to allow
programming of 32K 27256 devices from a 32K
file without extra effort.
• Verification gives detailed error list and
checksums are maintained. There is also a
blank check facility.
• Works with all standard filing systems.
Generates header code for RFS ROMs to allow
Basic programs etc. to be stored in EPROM.
More than one file per ROM permitted.
• Programs the following EPROMs
From 2K to 32K: 2516, 2716, 2532, 2732, 2764,
2764A, 27128, 27128A, 27256 (Both 12.5V and
21V).
£75 (£3 Carr)
TEX EPROM ERASERS
EPROMs need careful treatment if they are to
survive their expected lifetime. Over erasure of
EPROMs very rapidly turns them into ROMs!
The TEX erasers operate following the
manufacturers specifications to give the
maximum possible working life by not erasing
too fast. We use these erasers for all our own
erasing work
• ERASER EB - Standard version erases up to
16 chips £28(carr£2)
• ERASER GT - Deluxe version erases up to 18
chips. Has automatic safety cut-off to switch off
the UV lamp when opened. £30 (carr £2)
• Spare UV tubes. £9
SHADOW RAM-
Printer Buffer
Expansion Board
A MUST FOR WORD PROCESSING
Watford Electronics now brings you the latest
state-of-the-art MEMORY EXPANSION BOARD
for your BBC microcomputer. Don't throw away
your BBC B for a BBC B Plus or BBC Master.
Just plug the ribbon cable into the 6502
processor socket, and fit the compact board
inside the computer. Immediately you will gain
not 16K or even 20K, but a massive 32K of extra
RAM!!!
• IMPROVE your WORD PROCESSING system,
whether disc or cassette based. Don't wait for a
slow printer - type in text while printing. TWO
JOBS DONE SIMULTANEOUSLY and £100 +
saved on a printer buffer.
• "VIEW” Wordprocessor users can now type
in letters in 80 columns and have up to 28,000
bytes free - 5 times as much as normal.
• In WORDWISE (or WORDWISE-PLUS),
preview in 80 columns with the full 24K of text
in memory. This product is recommended as an
ideal complement by Computer Concepts.
• Combine GOOD GRAPHICS and LONG
PROGRAMS. Use the top 20K of the expansion
RAM as the screen display memory, leaving all
the standard BBC RAM free for programs.
Benefit from MODE 0/1/2 graphics and 28K of
program space.
• Use the FULL 32K or the bottom 12K of the
expansion RAM as a PRINTER buffer for
PARALLEL or SERIAL printers, sound channels,
RS423 etc. Print large text files while running
long graphics programs, and have all your
buffer options available as well
(*FX15,21,138,145,ADVAL etc). Please note only
a 12K printer buffer can be used with Wordwise
or Wordwise-Plus, due to the way they are
written.
• Unique facility to turn ROMs off and on
again. Unlike all other ROM managers, this
feature does not use 'unofficial' memory. Two
bytes of normally user-inaccessible memory on
the RAM card are used to ensure ROMs are
disabled WHERE OTHER ROMS FAIL.
• Recommended by Computer Concepts for
use with their Inter series of ROMs.
Only £59 (carr £2)
(Price includes a comprehensive manual
and the ROM)
INCREDIBLE
WORDPROCESSING
DEAL
Watford's 32K SHADOW RAM CARD and
Computer Concept's INTERWORD
Wordprocessor package.
at Only£89 (carr £2)
Continued-
BOOKS (No VAT on Books)
15HrWordprocessing BBC/View
1 5 Hr Wordprocessing BBC/WW &WW +
30 Hour BASIC (BBC Micro)
40 Best machine Code Routines
50 Programs in BBC BASIC
6502 Assembly Language Program
6502Application
6502 Assembly Lang. Subroutines
6502 Development Package
6502 Reference Guide
68000 Assembly Language Prog.
68000 MachineCode Programming
68000 Microprocessor Handbook
68000 Programming the
68000UserGuide
6809, Programming the
6809 Machine Code Programming
8086/8088 Assembly Language Prog.
8086/8088 Programming the
Advanced Disc User Guide
Advanced Prog. Guide to BBC
Adv. Sideways RAM User Guide
Advanced UserGuidefor BBC
AdvancedGraphicswith BBC
Assembly Language Programming on
BBC Micro
Adventure into BBC BASIC
Amiga Hardware Ref Manual
Applied Assembly Lang, for BBC
ARM Assem, Lang, Programming
Art of Microcomputer Graphics
Assembly Lang, within BBC
BasicROM UserGuide
BBC B Compendium
BBC BASICfor Beginners
BBC Forth
BBC Micro& Small Business
BBC Micro&thesmall Business
BBC Micro AdvanceProgramming
BBC Micro Basic Sound & Graphics
BBC Micro Programming Tips
BBC Micro ROM Book
BBCMaster 128forHigh Flyer
BBCMicroDiscCompanion
BCPLUserGuide
BCPLThe Languages its Compiler
C Big Red Book of
Cfor Beginners
CforProgrammers
CProgrammingLang.
Complete FORTH
Computer Graphics& CAD fundamentals
CP-M Bible
CP-M Handbook with MPM
CP-M PlusHandbook
CP-M Soul of
CP-M The software BUS
DOS Instant Reference for Versions thru
3.3
DOS, Mastering for Versions upto 3.3
Disc Drive Projects for Micros
DISC FILING SYSTEM (DFS)
Operating Manualfor BBC
DBASE Programming Language
dBaselllPlus
dBASE III Plus, Quick Ref. Guide
dBaselllTips&Tricks
DiscProgrammingTechniques
Exploring FORTH
File Handling on BBC Micro
FORTH-Acorn
FORTH-Advanced
FORTH- AText Reference
FORTH on the BBC Micro
FORTH-Starting
Functional ForthfortheBBCMicro
GuidetoBBCROMs
Graphics for Children
Hackers Handbook- New
Inside Information (Computers,
Interfacing & Control o/t BBC Micro
Introduction to COMAL
IntroductiontoLOGO
Introducing 'C'
Introduction to FORTH
Introduction to PASCAL
ISO-PASCALReference Manual
LISP2nd Edition
LISP, A Beginners Guideto
LISPonthe BBC Micro
LISP the Language of
Artificial Intelligence
Logo on the BBC Micro
Mysteries of DISC DRIVES and DFS
REVEALED
Mastering Assembly Code
Mastering CP-M
Mastering Interpreters &
Compilers £14.95
Mastering Music £6.95
MasteringtheDiscDrive £7.95
Mastering Operating System £12.95
MasterReferenceManual Parti £14.00
Master Reference Manual Part 2 £14.00
Master, Advance Reference Manual
£19
Mathematical Prog, in BBC Basic
£7.95
MicroProlog
£10.00
Microtext for the BBC
£10.00
MS-DOS Performance Programming
Under
£19.95
MS DOS Quick Referance Guide
£3.95
Practical DiscFileTechniques
£5.95
Programming the6502
£16.95
Programming theZ80
£19.95
Sinclair Z88 Computing
£9.95
Software Business
£5.50
Structured Basic
£7.95
The Epson FX-KAGA PRINTER
Commands REVEALED
£5.95
The Software Business
£5.50
Toolbox2
£10.95
Towers Int. Transistors Selectors
£12.95
Understanding Interword -
ABeginnersGuide
£6.50
Usi ng DOS + Amstrad PC
£9.95
View3.0UserGuide
£10
ViewGuide
£4.50
Mastering View, Viewsheet &
Viewstore
£12.95
VIEWDabhandGuide
£12.95
VIEWincl.ViewSpell&ViewIndex
£12.95
Viewsheet User Guide
£10
Viewstore User Guide
£10
Within the BBC Micro
£13.95
Writing Interactive Interpreters
& Compilers
£8.45
Wordprocessing BBC
BeginnersGuide
£7.95
Wordstar & CP/M made easy
£9.95
Wordwise + AUserGuide
£9.95
Z80Applications
£15.95
Z80 Assembly Language Prog.
£19.95
Z80ReferenceGuide
£9.95
THE COMPLETE BBC
^COMPUTER USER HANDBOOK
"Why has no-one written a book like this
before ? It's long overdue".
If you own a BBC-B, BBC B^ , Electron, Master
128, Master Compact or Archimedes then this
book is for you. It shows you how to get the
most from your computer, and how to make
the computer work for you. Although some
sections are machine specific, most of the
information, programs, hints and good solid
experience are for the whole range of BBC
machines. The general style and level means
that both beginner and expert will feel satisfied
with the quality and quantity of the material.
GENERAL - Uses and abuses of computers.
HARDWARE - How to design your own work
station. Hardware additions (disc drives, ROMs,
printers, 2nd processors, etc). DIY alterations.
HARDWARE RUNNING BBC-BASIC - All BBC
machines are described with their differences.
Compatibility between the various BBC
machines. Networks. The Archimedes and its
advantages.
GETTING ORGANISED - so that you keep track
of your programs and control of your software.
Setting up for easier programming sessions.
NEAT PROGRAMMING - Good style. Writing
structured programs. Getting the best from
BBC-BASIC, Graphics and screen displays.
Speeding up programs. Saving space.
GENERAL PROGRAMMING TIPS AND HINTS -
with a multitude of examples (eg input vetting,
dealing with dates, blanking out function key
messages, error trapping, disabling ESCAPE
and BREAK, use of EOR with colour, etc).
DEBUGGING - Specific errors and how to
handle them. How to test programs fully.
STANDARD PROGRAMS - Assessing word-
processors, spread-sheets, databases, graphics
packages, communications etc. How to
customise them to your own requirements.
COMPUTERS AT HOME AND IN THE OFFICE -
Introducing the computer to the office. Program
protection. Computers and the law.
Communications. Selling your own programs.
28 FULL CHAPTERS, elegantly written and
extensively indexed. To dip into, consult, or
read from cover to cover, again... and again...
and again...
Only: £14.95
£4.95
£4.95
£9.95
£7.95
£6.95
£19.95
£11.95
£19.95
£7.50
£10.95
£19.95
£13.00
£14.95
£22.95
£8.95
£16.95
£7.95
£11.95
£16.95
£16.95
£9.95
£10.95
£10.95
£10.50
£11.50
£6.95
£23.70
£9.95
£12.95
£15.95
£11.95
£11.95
£5.95
£7.95
£7.50
£5.75
£5.75
£8.95
£7.95
£8.95
£10.95
£10.95
£8.95
£14
£7.95
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£10.95
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£23.95
£6.95
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£16.50
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£5.95
£8.95
£17.95
TED
THE ULTIMATE TELETEXT SYSTEM
TED is one of a new generation of powerful 32K
ROMs for the BBC B, B+ and Master computers
and is compatible with disc, tape and network
systems. It is in everyday use in schools,
colleges and universities. Programmers, Prestel
I.P.'s, Micronetters and exhibitors have also
found it indispensable.
TED includes the most .comprehensive
teletext (Mode 7) screen editor ever written for
the BBC micro, combining flexibility with ease
of use. Its sophisticated facilities include line,
column and block copying within AND between
frames; text, in a variety of styles and sizes,
entered directly from the keyboard; graphics
and line drawing modes; search and replace;
margins; printer dump routines and a library of
in-built icons and typefaces. TED will edit ANY
mode 7 screen and can even convert high-res
graphics screens to mode 7! Included within the
ROM is a fully Epson compatable mode 7
graphics dump routine giving a grey scale
printout of exactly what appears on the screen.
Using '’SHOW' (a versatile carousel),
collections of mode 7 screens may be 'routed'
or displayed sequencially, making it ideal for
creating and running 'Viewdata' information
systems. Over 1200 frames may bestored on a
twin 80 track drive. A unique feture of TED is
'’SCROLL', which lets you create pages of up to
600 lines which may be viewed 'Wordwjse
style', automatically or manually. SHO\A/s and
SCROLLS may be freely mixed and even used
from within a BASIC program.
The package comprises a 32K ROM, a 117
page manual, a function-key strip and a
demonstration disc containing examples of real-
time animation and a sample 55-frame
database. A stand-alone machine code routine
is provided allowing SHOWs and SCROLLS to
be displayed on machines not fitted with TED.
Price: £35
ROM-SPELL
Probably the most advanced and fastest
spelling checker available for the BBC Micro.
Compatible with View, Wordwise and Wordwise
Plus ROMSPELL is simple to use with easy
editing* of incorrect words. Full facilities for
editing the user dictionary to allow
customisation to your personal needs.
Dictionary includes over 30,000 words and is
supplied with a Comprehensive manual.
NOT compatible with 1770 DFS.
(Please state 40 or 80 track disc)
Price still only: £25
ROM MANAGER
Take control of your Sideways ROMs with ROM
Manager. This powerful utility ROM gives you
power over your sideways ROMs. Disable
whole ROMs, send commands directly to
named ROMs and many other powerful
facilities.
"Provides comprehensive management of all
your installed ROMs". (BEEBUG November '84.)
ONLY £20
SURGE PROTECTOR Plug
Fitted in place of your normal mains plug, this
device protects your equipment against mains
surges. Nearby lightning strikes, thermostats
switching and many other sources which put
high voltage transient spikes on to the mains.
This can lead to data corruption in memory and
on disc and can result in spuriously crashing
machines. A must for every computer user.
Protection for only £7.50
4 WAY MAINS
DISTRIBUTION SOCKET
4 way top quality mains trailing sockets.
Supplied wired up with mains plug ready for
use. Can be screwed to floor or wall if required.
Very useful for tidying up all the mains leads
from your peripherals.
£7.95 (carr £1.50)
SPIKES CLEANER UNIT
A 4 way mains distribution unit as above with a
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ILLUSTRATIONS BY BILL BUTCHER
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
ELEMENTARY,
MY DEAR MICRO
'Intelligent 9 languages like MicroProlog have been available for the BBC for some time.
Our simple version, Micro-Sherlock, demonstrates the ideas involved
When artificial intelligence is
mentioned most people im-
mediately imagine huge super-
computers determinedly trying
to out-think Einstein. But
when so-called ‘intelligent’
programming languages such
as Lisp and Micro-Prolog were
made available for the BBC
micro, it became clear that ‘AT
could be attempted even with
just a home computer. I want
to try to demonstrate how
even the humble BBC Basic
may be used to write a ‘think-
ing’ program. My attempt at
this exercise is included as list-
ing 1 on the yellow pages. It is
entitled Micro-Sherlock - after
the master of deduction!
Just how ‘clever’ a program
is really depends upon how **.
clever you choose to make it. Of course,
you are always limited by the capacity of
the machine you use, but given this limita-
tion and some care, quite impressive results
can be achieved.
In designing Micro-Sherlock, the aim
was to provide a ‘software platform’ which
was capable of receiving pieces of informa-
tion in English and then answering ques-
tions about this information. For example,
I wanted to be able to type something of
the form ‘X is Y’, and be able to ask
questions like ‘Is X Y?’ All intelligent
programs perform this sort of function,
and the processes involved can be broadly
divided into three groups:
■ The interpretation of facts
■ The storage of facts
■ The evaluation of facts
The first process can prove to be particu-
larly difficult, because we are used to
reasoning in English, whereas a computer
has no understanding of English syntax or
grammar. For example, the opposite of the
phrase ‘I like spinach’ is ‘I do not like
spinach’, whereas the opposite of T am
hungry’ is certainly not ‘I do not am
hungry’ (unless, of course, you did went to
the same school as me).
Because English evolved many years be-
fore computers were even dreamt of, there
is no easy way of getting a computer to
understand many English expressions. A
compromise must be reached - a sort ol
‘pseudo-English’ must be used. While En-
glish words may be recognised, they must
be entered in a format that the computer
can understand. The simplified form of
English falls between the natural language
and the computer’s own artificial language.
The storage of facts can be a
rather simpler process. Before
attempting to do this, an ex-
pression must first be broken
down into its constituent parts
- single words. Micro-Sher-
lock stores all words entered
in an array called words, and
thus allocates each word en-
tered with a unique word
number. So, if we consider a
fact to be made up of three
words - T like spinach,’ for
example - then we can store
that fact as three numbers. In
practice we need to store some
extra information about each
fact - in order to describe
whether it’s true or false,
whether it depends on some-
thing else being true, and so
on. But the really ‘clever’ part
of an intelligent program comes with the
evaluation of any given query. Often, this
is just an exercise in ‘list processing’ - the
systematic examination of a list of known
facts to find one that matches the question
being asked. However, this task is made
more complicated by the use of conditional
expressions (eg, if A is B then C is D)
then an ‘evaluation path’ has to be traced
through the lists of facts in order that an
answer to a question might be deduced.
And of course, if the computer posesses
insufficient knowledge to answer a query,
the program must be capable of realising
that and reporting it.
Micro-Sherlock provides you with a
prompt and expects you to enter one of
four things:
■ A fact to be stored
■ A query
ACORN USER MAY 1988
81
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
■ A ‘keyword’ (followed by relevant pa-
rameters)
■ A star command
Because Micro-Sherlock is relatively un-
sophisticated, facts must be entered in one
of two simple forms. You can use either of
these forms:
<noun> <verb> <noun/adjective>
<noun> <vcrb> not <noun/adjective>
In fact Micro-Sherlock makes no distinc-
tion between nouns, verbs and adjectives.
It doesn’t have a dictionary against which
words may be checked to find their type.
A more advanced program could check all
words entered and report any words used
out of context. Micro-Sherlock merely
assumes that all the words you type in are
correct and in a relevant context. So, ‘I am
hungry’ or ‘ I like spinach’ are
perfectly valid expressions to
enter. However, ‘I do not like
spinach’ will not be under-
stood - because it isn’t <noun>
<verb> not <noun>. In fact the
expresson ‘I like not spinach’
will be expected! This is a
rather archaic, though poetic,
way of putting things and so
two ‘keywords’ are provided -
TRUE and FALSE.
The keyword TRUE takes
the expression after it as being
true. In practice you will
probably not need to use
TRUE since all expressions are
taken as being true unless
otherwise specified. The key-
word FALSE is more useful
without resorting to middle
English! So, instead of typing
‘I like not spinach’ you can enter FALSE I
like spinach - a rather clumsy but nonethe-
less unambiguous means of specifying that
a false statement is false.
Because English is a natural language, a
single question can be expressed in many
different ways. This makes life too difficult
for Micro-Sherlock, so we again have to
adopt a standard. Micro-Sherlock recog-
nises two forms of question - a statement
followed by ? or the keyword TEST fol-
lowed by an expression. So, if you have
entered the fact ‘You like spinach’ we can
ask the corresponding question either in
the form ‘You like spinach?’ or ‘TEST You
like spinach.’
It would be more pleasant to be able to
ask the question in the form ‘Do you like
spinach?’ But if you allow this, then there
are several various other forms of question
that are varieties of the same thing. Allow-
ing for all the variations would be far too
complex.
So, to get the show on the road, type in
listing 1, run the program and enter the
following lines of text, pressing Return
after each:
I am hungry
TEST I am hungry
I am hungry?
If all is well, the phrase ‘Statement is
TRUE’ will be displayed after the question
- the foundations of artificial intelligence
have been laid.
What’s in a brain?
Let’s take a look at how the ‘mind’ of
Micro-Sherlock works.
Commands are received at line 120. Line
130 checks to see if a star command has
been entered, and if so, it performs the
command. This is primarily so that pre-
defined lists of facts may be spooled to your
tape or disc from a word processor, and then
read in using ;: *EXEC. Make sure that you
type one fact per line, and don’t put in any
unnecessary embedded commands or rul-
ers. If the wordprocessor can spool the text
as an ASCII file - as Wordwise or Interword
can - then do so. After you’ve saved the
text, type :: 'EXEC <filename> from within
Micro-Sherlock to read the definitions in.
If your command did not begin with
then it is analysed by PROCanalyse. This
procedure breaks your command down into
constituent words and stores them in the
array named wordsS. The variable numw%
is set to the number of words entered.
Once broken down, the first word en-
tered - wordS(O) - is checked against a list
of keywords that are stored in the data
statements at the end of the program. If a
keyword matches, the appropriate function
is called, using the Basic EVAL function,
and a string containing the (unction name.
This is all dealt with at line 200. A list of
valid keywords is given in table 1.
If no keyword was entered, Micro-
Sherlock checks to see if your command
was terminated with a ‘?\ PROC analyse
treats non-alphabetic characters such as ‘?’
as separate words and so if wordS
(numw%-l)=“?” the command entered
was a question. If this is the case, then
FNquery is called to evaluate the answer:
we shall be looking at FNquery in more
detail later.
If all the above tests prove negative, it can
be assumed that what you en-
tered was a fact to be stored,
and so your command is passed
on to FNeval for further inves-
tigation. FNeval takes two pa-
rameters. The first is the num-
ber of the first word of the fact,
so if you typed ‘I like spinach’
this value will be zero; whereas
if you typed ‘FALSE 1 like
spinach,’ the keyword FALSE
has to be skipped over and so
the first parameter passed to
FNeval will have the value one.
FNeval tries to spot the two
basic forms of expression
already described. II you typed
three words, for example
<noun> <verb> <noun>, then a
true fact is added to the store at
your disposal. If you typed
four, <noun> <verb> not <noun>,
then a false fact is added.
In either case, FNfactnum is used to add
the fact to the current list, and the function
returns the reference number allocated to
the new fact. Of course, the fact may
already have been entered, so FNfactnum
checks it against all existing entries in its list.
If a match is found, the number of that
match is returned. If not, FNaddfact is
called to add the new fact onto the end of
the list.
To make life easier, all facts are reduced
to a single number. You will recall that all
words are allocated a reference number.
Thus a fact may be expressed as three
numbers. Because each of these numbers is
in the range 0-199 (Micro-Sherlock cannot
cope with more than 200 words) we can
combine these three values into a single
unique number (stored in the array called
fact%). This conversion is performed by
82
•ACORN USER MAY 19S8
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
FNcalcfactno which takes as its parameters
the positions of three words in your com-
mand. Normally the three words will be
consecutive, but if you have included a not
in your fact, this must be extracted before
storage takes place.
FNfactnum takes two parameters. The
first is the value produced by FNcalcfactno;
the second is the fact ‘type’. Each fact has its
own type, and this is stored in the array
called type%. The type of a fact is really
made up of four ‘flags’ - each stored as one
bit in type%. The meanings of these flag
bits are summarised in table 2.
So, as an example, consider what happens
when the phrase ‘water is wet’ is entered.
■ The three words are separated and stored
in word$(0), word$(l) and word$(2)
■ numw% is set to 3
■ Each word is allocated a number
■ The three word numbers are combined
to form a fact number
■ The fact number is stored in the array
fact%
■ The type of the fact is set to 1 (true) and
stored in the array type%
The keyword LIST will detail all known
words and facts. LIST WORDS will pro-
duce something like:
Words: water is wet
and LIST FACTS will display:
False
None
True
water is wet
False, supposed
None
and so on.
The command LIST when entered by
itself lists both words and facts. Note that
all words are changed to lower case. This is
done by PROCanalyse and removes the
need for complex case conversion else-
where in the program.
As with all keywords, LIST has a corres-
ponding function of the same name -
FNlist - which calls PROClistwords and
PROClistfacts as appropriate. The function
FNfax is used by PROClistfacts to convert
a fact number back into its original consti-
tuent words.
Asking questions
We have already seen the two ways in
which questions may be asked of Micro-
Sherlock. When evaluating the answer,
three special numbers are used: 0 (indicating
‘false’), -1 (indicating ‘true’) and 1 (indicat-
ing don’t know). Before a question is
evaluated, PROCcleartruths is called and
this procedure sets up the array called
ACORN USER MAY 1988
Keyword
Function
HELP
Lists valid keywords
LIST WORDS
Lists all words defined
LIST FACTS
Lists all facts defined
<x> <y> <z>
Define <x> <y> <z> as true
<x> <y> not <z>
Define <x> <y> <z> as false
TRUE <x> <y> <z>
Define <x> <y> <z> as true
FALSE <x> <y> <z>
Define <x> <y> <z> as false
IF <a> <b> <c> THEN <x> <y> <z>
Define conditional statement
SUPPOSE <x> <y> <z>
Suppose fact to be true
SUPPOSE <x> <y> NOT <z>
Suppose fact to be false
<x> <y> <z>?
Test fact
TEST <x> <y> <z>
Test fact
FORGET
Clear definitions from memory
<x>, <y> and <z> represent typical English words
Table 1. Micro-Sherlock keywords
Bit
Meaning if set/clear
0
True/false
1
Supposed/not supposed
2
Dependent/not dependent
3
Condition/not a condition
Table 2. Fact type bits
expression A> AND expression B>
Expression A
Expression B
Result
True
True
True
True
False
False
True
Don’t know
Don’t know
False
True
False
False
False
False
False
Don’t know
False
Don’t know
True
Don’t know
Don’t know
False
False
Don’t know
Don’t know
Don’t know
Table 3. AND possibilities
expression A> OR expression B>
Expression A
Expression B
Result
True
True
True
True
False
True
True
Don’t know
True
False
True
True
False
False
False
False
Don’t know
Don’t know
Don’t know
True
True
Don’t know
False
Don’t know
Don’t know
Don’t know
Don’t know
Table 4. OR possibilities
83
REALTIME SOLIDS M ODELLER
Reviews of the original REALTIME GRAPHICS SYSTEM:
"there Isn't anything yet available for the Beeb capable of producing
such Impressive and powerful graphics ”-A &B Computing,
"mere Is no other software to rival H"-Beebug.
" there Is no better package" -Acom User.
SUPER-DUMP
1
* The complete 3D Solids/Wireframe package for architectural design, art design,
interior design, teaching CDT and 3D geometry, molecular modelling, mathematical
plots, scientific processing and high speed flicker-free 3D animation.
* Hidden Surface Removal can be performed for full colour realistic solid displays at
high speed. The 3D solid images can then be incorporated into other art designs.
* Supports all plotters including HP-GL, Plotmate, Penman II, Hewlett Packard, Epson
HI-80, Hitacni 672, Watanabe, Graphtec, Calcomp, Seckonic, Houston DMP,
Roland and paper sizes from AO to A4 for professional results.
* The package consists of a 32k Realtime Graphics Language rom, Solids Design
disc, Wireframe Design disc, Multi-plotter and printer driver disc, Demonstration
1920x1024 Resolution Breakthrough !
Near Plotter Quality hardcopy at a fraction
of the cost.
* At last a printer driver which takes advantage of the highest resolution capability
of ordinary Epson compatible printers to provide 1920x1024 resolution as
opposed to the 640x256 resolution limitation of most printer dumps.
* Fully compatible with the Realtime Solids Modeller and all other CAD packages
and applications that can produce a VDU text file of a screen image.
* Unlike other printer drivers, Super-Dump does not use screen images directly
but instead operates on text files of VDU codes that represent the image to be
printed. These files can be created by your own graphics programs with the
addition of two simple ‘SPOOL statements.
* The package consists of a Super-Dump disc complete with documentation and
provides fully proportional dumps at resolutions of 1920x1024, 640x512 &
640x256. Images can also be scaled, positioned and previewed before printing.
* Minimum requirements: BBC B/single drive. Also compatible with BBC B+,
Master series, all versions of DFS & DDFS. SUPER-DUMP: £19.95 (inclusive).
disc, Applications disc, Database library disc and a fully comprehensive 150 page
manual designed for complete beginners and experts alike.
* Design facilities include 3D Solid/Wireframe Editors to design objects with lines and
surfaces, create symmetrical objects by Sweeping or Extruding simple sections, use
objects as building blocks to create more complex objects which in turn may be used
as building blocks, specify individual surface and line colours for multi-coloured
objects, dynamic 3D viewing in any graphics screen mode and a Data convertor for
interfacing to other CAD systems and applications.
* The Solids Realtime Graphics Language (RGL) rom provides 52 star commands to
write your own 3D applications. The facilities include 3D Rotation, Scaling,
Translation, Perspective and Isometric displays, Orbiting, 3D Turtlegrapnics,
Geometric processing, unique 35,000 pixels/sec line generator (faster than Acorn’s
9000/sec) for high speed 3D animation and many more options.
* The Solids RGL is compatible with all the BBC graphics screen, plotting and colour
modes including Shadow screen and is up to 5 times faster than the original RGL.
The 32k RGL behaves as a 1 6k Rom hence sideways Ram banks are not affected.
Minimum requirements: BBC B/keyboard/sinale drive. Also compatible with BBC B+,
Master series, all versions of DFS & DDFS. The system will also take advantage of a
6502 2nd Processor/Turbo or AMX/QUEST Mouse. Prices: REALTIME SOLIDS
MODELLER: £89.95 (inclusive); Original REALTIME GRAPHICS SYSTEM: £49.95
(inclusive); SOLIDS UPGRADE (return original RGL rom with order): £39.95
Contact your local dealer or order directly by cheque/P.O./Access/Mastcrcard/Eurocard from: SILICON VISION LTD, 47 DUDLEY GARDENS, HARROW,
MIDDX, HA2 ODQ. Educational & Dealer enquiries for bulk discounts are welcome. Official orders accepted. Tel: 01-422 2274 (credit card orders/enquiries).
INTERFACING ?
A'
W» h*ve Interfaces available ex-stock for many purposes including Stepper Motors, Lamps, Relays
and small DC motors. From the User Port, you can control two stepper motors and a relay, or up to
9 relays can be added to control mains devices. Full user information included with each.
VERSION 1. Powered from BBC auxiliary power supply, £ 23.0 0 inc. P ft P.
VERSION 2. Kith mains Power supply (optically isolated) £ ^9.00 inc. P ft P.
VERSION 3. High output for stepper motors or other. £ 42 .50 inc. P ft P.
Up to 3 Amps per line. Needs a separate power supply which we can supply (See below).
POWER SUPPLIES available for many voltages and currents. Write or 'phone for quote.
STEPPER MOTOR CONTROLLER
Our S.M.C. is now widely used for DIT plotters, turtles and computer control (CNC) of small machine
tools. It allows you to control two stepper motors and a relay direct from BASIC by adding 20
easy-to-use 'star' commands. Save the machine code writing time for your project.
ROM with easy fitting instructions £ 14 . 95 Ind. P & P.
SCRAPBOOK
A free-format storage & retrieval system for all types of information including colour and graphics.
Incorporates screen designers and facilities to search, sort, browse, print, extract etc, Forget
fields, records etc. Store information as you want to read it - on the screen. Store up to 320
Teletext screens on a disc. Do automatic ‘slide show' type presentations.
Disc. ( 40 or 80 Track ) and manual £ 12.95 ind. P & P.
Instant (HI'SCrGCIl Help
All BBC models can have On-Screen help with our range of ROMs and Discs. Why thumb the handbook
when you can have the important details on screen'even when wordprocessing.
WORDWISE COMPANION
For Computer Concepts Wordwise and Wordwise Plus wordprocessors.
BASIC COMPANION
Instant help for getting to grips with BASIC programming.
PROGRAMMERS COMPANION
Colours, Graphics, Sounds, VDU codes, ASCII codes, *FX commands etc.
MACHINE CODE COMPANION
Assembly language help. OS routines, 6502 Instructions, Addressing Modes, Vectors etc.
All the above ROMs come with easy to follow fitting instructions
£ 19.95 ind. P f,P.
All of the above ROMs are also available as ROM IMAGES on disc for loading into sideways RAM.
Any of the aoove ROMs £ 8.95 All FOUR Companions £ 19.95 ind. P ft P.
Disc Versions
Disc versions of Basic. Programmers and Machine code Companions. £ 9 . 95 ind. P ft P.
All three Disc Companions on one disc. 40 or 80 Track £ 19.95 ind. P ft P.
Demonstration Disc
With interactive demonstration and samples from all four Companions. £ 1 . 25 inc. P ft P.
Telephone (0492) 76925 For Details
m Mi®) mrtm \
5 HILL TERRACE LLANDUDNO, LL30 2LS
O DUST O
COVERS
PROFESSIONAL
COVERS FOR THE
BBC MICRO RANGE
o DUST O
COVERS
DIRECT FROM THE LEADING MANUFACTURER
Tailored from the best quality ivory coloured nylon that has been
coated with polyurathane to which an anti-static inhibitor has been
added. These fabric covers are tastefully finished with brown piping
and have the model name hot foil printed over the keyboard. They
are washable and can be ironed with a cool iron.
ARCHIMEDES: £9.
BBC COMPACT SET £9.00
(Please state whether colour or monochrome monitor).
BBC MASTER £5.00
BBC B/B+ £5.00
MATCHING COVERS FOR PRINTERS,
MONITORS AND DISC DRIVERS
A large range of covers for printers, monitors and disc drives are
available to match the computer covers.
PRINTERS COVERS FROM £5 00
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If you have a specific requirement please do not hesitate to
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Prices include VAT and First Class Postage. All our covers are
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mm The Standish Centre
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Callers and Dealer inquiries welcome
TEL: 0257 422968 FAX: 0257 423909
84
ACORN USER MAY 1988
Could you produce this advertisement on your Micro?
n-£150 2, 16K roms+disc utilities, BBCB and Master
Microbrush B£200 3, 15K roms+disc utilities, Master only.
Nhen ordering please remember to state which system you require., whether you need
40 or 80 track discs and a telephone no, if you have one. Orders and information requests
should be sent to-RB Designs, 81 Sutton Common Road, Sutton, Surrey. Phone 01 644 6643
There is uery little that is not
possible uihen you haue a graphics
system as fast and as powerful as
pilCROBRUSH
Microbrush is a professional graphics package
for either the BBC B or the Master. Whichever
machine you have, Microbrush transforms it into
a pouierful graphics computer. If you oum a
Master then Microbrush offers you extended
resolution in mode 0 and mode 1.
Mode □ 1216*416
Model -608*416
This uihole B4 page uras
composed as one mode 0
high resolution image
using the out- board scroll
system, and has a resolution
of 1216 * 900 pixels.
Microbrush for the BBCB is
comprised of tuio 16K roms.
The Master version contains a
third rom. The first tuuo roms can
be used in either machine.
The uuhole system is menu driven and
controlled by the Marconi RB2 tracker ball
for speed and precision, but may also be used
uiith either the BMK or the Whigmore mouse.
Please note that the tracker ball is not included.
The Colour System
This is just 1 of 33 major graphic systems
contained within Microbrush and offers you
42 colours in mode 1 and 42 grey tones in
mode 0. New colour palettes can be created
with which you can draw lines, sketch, fill,
paint in foreground, background, opaque,
transparent and combined colour. Add this to
a colour rubber which will selectively erase
any actual colour and you have a very
powerful painting system with more than
1,000,000 possible colours.
Above the painting system in mode o.
The Ikon Generator
The ikon generator is the main workhorse of
the Microbrush system as it is used for both
generating and positioning any ikon up to 6*3
character blocks. This system is also used
by the typesetter and for creating colour
palettes, rubbers, paint-brushes and type-
faces. Up to 46 ikons can be stored in
memory. The scope of the ikon facility is
immense as it allows you to transform the
Microbrush system into a purpose built
design tool that suits your needs.
The Type Setter
With the Microbrush system you will receive
50 proportionally spaced typefaces. The
smallest allows you up to 170 characters to
the line and if this is not enough then you
can design your own typefaces.
The typesetter displays the current
font as a scrollable menu allowing you to
quickly produce professional typography.
The Screen Editor and the
Special Effects Generator
The screen editor is a powerful drag system
that allows you to store up to a quarter of
the screen in memory. Once stored, images
can literally be dragged across the screen,
repeated, copied, saved to disc or fed to the
special effects generator.
The Special Effects Generator
This is a very versatile system which will
automatically outline, inline, shadow, 3°,
half-tone, etc. any image held within the
screen editor's memory.
The Injector rom
The Injector rom is the second rom in the
Microbrush system. This rom contains the
drawing functions such as lines, rectangles,
circles, ellipses, arcs, rotate, squash, stretch,
zoom, halve and quarter screens, plus a
whole host of other functions.
This is a very brief description of just 7 of
the 33 graphics systems contained within
Microbrush. fill of the systems are both fast
and easy to access. Microbrush also includes
a 7*7 character pixel editor and an Epson FXBQ
screen dump.
The Master rom
The Master rom takes you into a completely
different world of graphics with almost 4
times the resolution in modes 1 and 0, plus 2
on-board graphics screens, 10 rom based
typefaces and a 10 point perspective system.
This is linked to a 3 D generator which is soon
to be released on a 4«> rom for complex
perspective tasks such as the camera seen
above. Also available for the Master rom is an
out-board scroll system which allows you to
build images with a resolution greater than
1216*2000, plus there are high res. screen
dumps for both Epson and Integrex printers.
Lastly flick through the pages of this
magazine and see how many of the other
graphic systems are capable of producing
their own advertising.
Extentions to the Microbrush system include - The out board scroll system-MO, an extended Master rom offering you 14 colours in mode 1 and
4 colours in mode O -£85, a typeface editor plus fifteen extra typefaces -£25, the Master rom when purchased separately -£65.
ACORN USUR MAY 1988
85
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
true% according to whether facts are
known to be true or false. Any statements
that have been entered but have not yet
been established as being either true or false
are assigned a ‘don’t know’ value of 1 in
their entry in the array true%.
FNquery passes the question on to FNt,
a short but particularly useful function. FNt
checks to see if a fact is known to be true or
false. If so, a value is returned indicating its
truth. Often, however, the truth of a
statement depends upon the truth of one or
more other statements.
If...
Of course, what makes AI programs really
useful is the ability to evaluate conditional
expressions. So, for example, typing:
If season is summer then weather is warm
Season is summer
Weather is warm?
should produce the message ‘Statement is
TRUE’. A more sophisticated form of
conditional statement might use ‘wildcards’
- symbols which may be automatically
replaced by specific examples, for instance:
If x is water then x is wet
Micro-Sherlock supports the former ‘speci-
fic’ type of conditional statement, but it is
left as an exercise for interested readers to
add the ‘general’ type.
The keyword IF is used to identify
conditional statements and, as expected,
function FNif is called. After decoding an if
expression, both the conditional fact and
the facts upon which it depends are added
to the list. The conditional fact is allocated a
type of 5; 1 because it’s true plus 4 because
it depends on something else. The condi-
tions are allocated type 9; 1 because they
need to be true if the condition is to be
satisfied plus 8 because they are conditions.
Note that to avoid confusion, the condi-
tions are not listed on the screen as separate
categories by FNlist.
The keyword THEN is expected as the
means of separating the conditional state-
ment from its conditions. The keywords
AND and OR are also recognised, and are
interpreted by FNcond as extensions to the
basic conditional form. So, for example:
If season is summer or sky is sunny then
weather is warm
will be interpreted correctly. The single
conditional statement ‘Weather is warm’
will be added to the list and the conditions
‘season is summer’ and ‘sky is sunny’ will
also be added but will be given a different
type value. To establish whether the condi-
tions of a conditional statement are met or
not, a condition string is defined for each
such statement. These strings are stored in
the array cond$, and every conditional
statement has a corresponding condition
number stored in the array cond% which
points to its actual condition string.
The condition string is evaluated using
the Basic function EVAL in FNt. Note that
a condition string usually contains a refer-
ence to FNt and so FNt actually ends up
calling itself. This ‘recursive’ type of routine
is typical of AI programs since it means that
just one routine is required to evaluate as
many levels of conditions as there is room
for in the computer’s memory.
For example, if you clear the computer of
facts by entering the keyword FORGET,
and then enter the condition:
If season is summer then weather is warm
the conditional statement and its condition
Testing a statement
- >FORCET
->IF WEATHER XS WARM THEN XT IS OUNHER
->1F SUN 18 SHINING THEN WEATHER IS WARM
->1T XS SUMMER?
(Unknown : it is iu nm*r (FNt 060203) >>
(Unknown: woathwr is warm (FNt <240203) >>
Insufficient data!
->
->3UN IS SHINING
->IT IS SUMMER?
(Unknown: it la sum
(Unknown: weather i
is TRUE
Using conditionals
are added to the list. If you now enter LIST
FACTS you will see under True, dependent
a statement like:
weather is warm (FNt(40302))
The phrase ‘weather is warm’ is true if the
value of FNt(40302) is true. The number
40302 is the fact number of the condition
‘season is summer’. By including it in a call
to FNt, the program can use Basic’s EVAL
function to do all the work for us: EVAL
FNt(40302) will return a true value (-1) if
season is summer, a false value (0) if season
is not summer and a don’t know value (1) if
insufficient information could be found.
Whatever questions are asked, either -1,0
or 1 is returned, and this makes it easy to
combine results using the keywords AND
and OR. The possible outcomes of evaluat-
ing a condition string containing AND or
OR are detailed in tables 3 and 4.
FNt looks through its list of facts anc
tries to match each with the one being
evaluated. This search is performed in
ascending type value order so that ‘true’ and
‘false’ statements are searched for first ant
conditional statements last. This order of
evaluation is vital - if conditional statements
were examined first then there is a good
chance that infinite recursion would make
the program run out of memory. In general,
intelligent programs should look at the
certainties first and the possibilities last.
Note that if you define a conditional
statement and then prove the condition to
be false, Micro-Sherlock cannot deduce that
the conditional statement is itself false. For
this reason, FNonlytrue is invoked when
evaluating conditional statements. This
small function passes ‘true’ and ‘don’t
know’ values straight through, but converts
‘false’ values into ‘don’t know’s.’
As it stands, Micro-Sherlock offers an
introduction to simple expert systems. It
can answer questions where it is provided
'with enough facts to do so, or tell you if it
can’t . But there are several useful additions
to Micro-Sherlock that can be made. Lim-
ited space means that these must remain
only suggestions, but you could try and add
wildcard conditions or specific FORGET.
A special word number (for example,
zero) could be allocated to a ‘wildcard’
character ‘X’. FNt could be altered so that
‘X’ matches all words.
The keyword FORGET currently forgets
all words and definitions. It could be
extended to apply to just one class of
statements. The keyword SUPPOSE has
been included to make such an enhance-
ment easier. By prefixing a command with
SUPPOSE, your fact is still entered in the
list but the ‘suppose’ bit in its type is set. An
enhanced FORGET could check for this bit
and thus preserve real facts but at the same
time dispose of suppositions.
Details of the Micro -Sherlock listing are on
page 111.
Acorn User explored artificial intelligence in
detail in March 1987. The programs from
that issue included Lear, a computer-
generated poetry program , Eliza, which
attempts to simulate natural conversation
and Gus, a problem solving listing. The
March 1987 magazine and disc are still
available; for details seepage 134.
86
ACORN USER MAY 1988
RENDEZVOUS
CASINO
IS A COMPUTER AND MODEM
ALL YOU NEED
The doors are open, reception is ready - welcome to Hotel California,
Just dial 0898 10 0890 and you’re there.
Have fun at Hotel California. Explore Rendezvous, then perhaps try your M
r hand at winning some prizes in the Casino. Visit the Shopping Mall where Kays W
are giving away a free personal stereo to new customers. Read classified ads in the
Newsagent, or even write your own! Join Cafe Society conversation or hold a private
party in the Conference Suite. Personal problems? Visit the Night Porter for a shoulder
to cry on. Is a mysterious blonde about to enter your life? Check with our resident
istrologer - the Night Porter will put you in touch! Itchy feet? Browse through our travel
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At time of going to press all calls arc charged at 5.06p per 12 secs, off-peak and 5.06p per 8 secs, peak inclusive of VAT.
Hotel California. For 18s and over. Operate your modem at 1200/75 baud as for Micronet, Prestel and
other viewdata systems.
ACORN USER MAY 1988
87
ILLUSTRATION BY ANT PAKM R
JOE'S JOTTINGS
BLOWING
HOT
AND COLD
How much heat does your house lose at night? Wire a
thermometer to your micro to find out
i ’ i T"
I 1 13 |
| IT
[ I*- 1 16
L it | is
L ast winter, I planned to defeat the
dreaded ‘Cleverland Chill’, the bit-
ing wind that blows through this
northern outpost of humanity. My
first thought was to consider
adding double glazing and loft insulation
to Telford Towers. But the major banks
jibbed at funding these additions, and espe-
cially at the cost of refurbishing the ram-
parts and turrets. So I decided I had to
look for the cause of the cold. Why
weren’t the huge log fires keeping the place
warm in the first place?
There are a number of ways of measur-
ing temperature electronically. Of the
available options, I chose an integrated
FE33L temperature module. This comes
complete with a liquid crystal display that
can show the temperature directly, but it
also has a built-in serial link to connect it
to a micro. The whole thing is available at a
reasonable price by mail order from the
Maplin catalogue.
Its specification covers a range of -20C
to + 70C, with an accuracy of better than
1C over most of the range. Its resolution is
0.1C and it’s powered by 1.5V push-in
pen-cell battery.
The diagram in figure 2 shows the con-
nections for the sensor. The pins along the
top of the unit are only necessary if you
wish to extend the use of the unit. Pins 2,
3, 4, 5, 11, 12, 13 and 14 can be connected
to pin 16, the positive supply, via switches
and the various functions set. The other
pins are outputs, apart from the ground
(pin 1), and these have to be buffered
before they will function. A comprehensive
leaflet comes with the module and it really
is a doddle to use.
Enter the BBC micro
I thought that I would use the BBC micro
to examine the temperature during the day,
and the ability of the temperature module to
transmit the temperature via a serial link
every few seconds is ideal. But the serial
output is not quite up to the RS423 stan-
dard, so a simple interface needs to be built.
Because I wanted to plot the temperature
each minute during the day, I decided to
leave pin 5 unconnected so the temperature
is read every 10 seconds. If you want to
measure temperature every second, for ex-
ample in scientific experiments, you’ll need
to wire a link between pins 5 and 16. Fitting
a switch would give you the option.
The serial link
Pin 10, which is a clocking line, generates 13
pulses every time the temperature is trans-
mitted. These pulses only last in total for 18
milliseconds, too fast to read in Basic. As
each clock pulse appears, line 9 (the data
line) transmits a 0 or a 1 . Figure 3 shows a
typical example where the serial data line
transmits a pattern of Is and Os to the steady
pulse of the data clock. The 13 possible bits
of data on the data line are decoded as
shown in the table on page 93.
Making the link work
There are lots of different ways to connect
any peripheral device, to the BBC micro.
The approach I chose was the user port,
although you can’t connect it directly. It’s
something (said the leaflet) to do with
impedance matching. Figure 4 shows a
small interface board, and it is so simple
that it can be wired on PCB or piece .of
Stripboard, and connected directly to the
temperature module on one side and to the
user port via a parallel lead and connector
on the other.
The complete circuit uses very cheap
components; a couple of BC108 transistors
and 100k resistors. These protect the
temperature module from the BBC’s 5 Volt
supply. An optional link was designed in
because I felt that access to the user port
interrupt line might be useful. You should
expect to pay about five pounds for all the
components for an interface, including the
connecting cable.
The user port inputs are all held high via
resistors in the BBC micro and so in the
circuit which I’ve developed, these internal
resistors act as collector resistors for the
interfaced transistors.
There is one disadvantage to using such a
simple interface - at the BBC micro end of
the interface, the serial lines are inverted.
88
ACORN USER MAY 1988
JOE’S JOTTINGS
The serial lines are usually high, but pulse-
low when data is sent, and the software has
to be written with this in mind.
Simple software
The first program I tried once the system
was hooked up was:
REPEAT : P. &FE60 : UNTIL FALSE
I wasn’t particularly surprised to find that
Figure 1. Monitoring the day’s temperature
nothing happened. No little pulses or num-
bers changing, just the steady 255 of the
empty user port.
Listing 1 on the yellow pages does read
the user port fast enough. The machine
code in the listing is only used in this
program for speed of action to catch the
pulse which only last 18 milliseconds. The
assembly language is quite compact, and
handles the task of reading 13 data pulses
into a buffer then returning to Basic. The
FNreadtemp function is the part which
converts the received serial data to a
temperature value. In fact, this function
works in the same way that we would
decode any -binary-coded decimal (BCD)
data, in groups of four bits at a time.
Look at the DEFPROCassemble section
of listing 1. It functions as follows:
■ The buffer pointer is set to 0
■ Now go to a routine to wait for the first
clockpulse (JSR waitforpulse)
■ When the pulse is detected, test for a
data line pulse and convert this to a 1 or 0
and store in the buffer
■ Loop from 1 to 12
■ Wait for next clock pulse (.waitforpulse)
■ Decode data line signal (.separate)
■ Return to Basic
We use SEI and CLI to prevent any
machine interrupts, because the task of
reading the data takes 18 milliseconds.
Note, however, that SEI is only used once
the first pulse has been detected - other-
wise interrupts would be disabled for
almost all of the time.
Plotting the temperature
We can now make use of this simple routine
to measure the temperature near the BBC
micro. Listing 2 in the yellow pages does
this. Connect the temperature sensor mod-
ule and run the program. For a first attempt,
enter 10 as the lowest temperature, and 30
I as the highest. Press Return to the ‘Graph
lines every how many degrees?’ question -
this sets a default of one-degree intervals.
Now set the record time in hours to 2 and
answer the ‘Graph lines every how many
minutes?’ question with 5 - using Return by
itseli here would set a default of 60. The
program the asks for the time; use the
24-hour clock, so 12 minutes past one
o’clock is 13 hours, followed by 12 minutes.
The screen clears and a red graph page
appears, one axis marked in degrees and the
other in hours and minutes. Leave the micro
alone and when you return, a white line
should be growing across the screen, slowly
lengthening every few minutes. Its rises and
falls follow the temperature recorded on the
temperature module, at minute intervals.
Look at figure 1 - a record of a day’s
temperature at Telford Towers.
The program allows four key presses to
be accepted. The P, S, R and X keys are
acted upon at the end of a temperature-
sensing cycle, although because interrupts
are disabled part of the time, you may have
to hold them down a bit. I tend to hold
down the Caps Lock key while I tap the
keys, so that when the Caps Lock light
changes state, 1 can tell my key press has
been accepted. The ‘X’ key exits back to
Basic, and the ‘R’ key reruns the program.
The ‘P’ key prints the graph as a screen
dump to an Epson printer, and the ‘S’ key
saves the screen to disc. I’ve used "'SAVE
TEMPFILE FFFF3000 4-500, but you
ACORN USER MAY 1988
89
OFFERS
POP UP UTILITIES
How often do you have to interrupt your
on-screen work to find a telephone number
or address, make a diary note or use a
calculator? If the answer is ‘often’ then you
need your own Genie.
Genie is a revolutionary system that offers
a number of pop-up desktop utilities -
notepad, diary, address book, phone book,
100-year calendar and 1 0-digit calculator,
and it can be yours for just £69.35, a big
saving of £10.
Genie is simple to call into action using a
single keystroke from within all serious
software. When you’ve finished, another
keystroke makes Genie disappear and drops
you back were you were before.
Genie consists of a small box which
connects to the normal ROM sockets of the
BBC, Master and Compact. Master users
can use the package in the EPROM cartridge
version. With its battery back up there is no
need to save your work when Genie is called
up, it’s stored automatically.
Genie Junior has exactly the same
desktop utilities as its battery-backed brother
but Junior stores all its data on a disc, and
costs £20 .
Genie is just £69.35 (saving £1 0) and
Genie Junior can be yours for only £20.
‘Genie is a superb package. . . I couldn’t be
without it.’ Acorn User, August 1987.
Great utilities at a touch of
a button - and save £10!
Please send me:
HRINHENU
mcasir-i
YOUR HISH 15 HV COHHRNO)
t «f,<
J 3 J 5
fl | f2 I f3 I f4 I f5 I f6 I f7 I f8 I f9
copies of Genie in a Box at £69.35
copies of Genie Master Cartridge at £69.35
copies of Genie Junior at £20
UK orders add £2 P&P, Overseas orders deduct 15% VAT and add £4
Please circle as appropriate: BBC B/BBC B+/Master 128/Compact/Electron
DFS/ADFS 80T/40T 5.25-inch/3.5-inch
NAME-
ADDRESS-
-POSTCODE-
I enclose my cheque/postal order for £_
.made
payable to PERMANENT MEMORY SYSTEMS
Please charge my Access/Barclaycard
ACC/NO
mm rrm rrrr
i i i i
EXPIRY DATE
rrm
Please send this coupon with remittance to Genie Offer, Acorn User
Merchandising, Redwood Publishing Ltd, 20-26 Brunswick Place, London N1 6DJ
For more Acom User offers see page 129
90
ACORN USKR MAY 1988
JOE S JOTTINGS
Figure 2. Connections on the thermometer
18 milliseconds
0 , 0,0
I I I I
0 j 0 I 0 i 0 I 0
I I 1 I —
Data pulses
1.5 V
— ov
fLru^jmjmr^njui
Clock pulses
1.5V
— OV
Figure 3. A temperature signal
ic-
Temp
module 9C
IOC-
100k
100k
H©
* • it- 3 OV
(fy BC108
-jv O U — 3 PB7
1C)BC108 t
Optional lineL _
Impedance converter
□ PB6
□ LB1
BBC micro
user port
?&FE60=0
could save some disc space by using my
*PACK command from last month’s Acorn
User. Remember not to save two graphs
straight after each other, because the save
routine only uses one filename - TEM-
F1LE - and the first would be overwritten.
The second sensor
The Maplin package includes a second
sensor, which has to be connected before it
works properly. This is quite a task and,
although the leaflet recommends a simple
switch, to allow the computer to select
between the internal and external sensor it
really needs a relay.
Figure 5 is the underside of the tempera-'
ture module once the battery compartment
is removed. To do this first remove the
battery, then carefully unscrew the six tiny
screws on the front of the module. The
white battery cover comes away, and you’re
left with a green PCB with a black spot. At
the bottom centre of the module is an
orange bead thermistor, the temperature
sensor itself. One lead runs close to a silver
canned device - which is probably the clock
crystal - and this lead should be carefully
unsoldered.
Now look at figure 6. You have to solder
three wires to the sensor area. Make them
long, and then they can be cut shorter if
need be. The sensor can be gently glued
back in place, with its leads not touching.
Now, to use the built-in sensor, you just
connect leads Tl and T2. To use an extra
sensor, you wire it between TO and T2. This
can be done manually, but Maplin also
provides a small single-pole double-throw
(SPDT) relay, model FM91 Y, which will do
the job. It runs from the BBC micro user
port’s 5 Volt line.
Building a two-sensor interface
The circuit diagram in figure 7 shows the
extra components necessary for switching
in either the internal sensor or the external
sensor. A PCB design is available for this
circuit, by sending an SAE to the editorial
address on page 3, or a file for use with my
PCB design program (December 1987) is on
the monthly listings disc. A ZTX300 and a
user port line 0 are used to switch the relay,
which is powered from the 5V line available
on the user port.
The only critical point is making sure that
the TO, Tl and T2 leads are connected
correctly to the relay. I used PCB screw
terminals to connect these wires, and check-
ed that before connecting to the BBC
micro, the internal temperature sensor was
reading a value. Next, I connected the
Figure 4. Interface circuit
external temperature sensor (between relay
and module), and placed the external sensor
in a warm place, so it would read a much
higher value than the internal sensor.
Once the interface is connected, a couple
of lines of Basic can be used to switch
between the two sensors:
?&FE62=1
sets up user port line 1 as an output then
?&FE60=1
selects the external sensor and
selects the internal sensor.
The total cost of the complete interface
should be about £7.
Twin temperature graphing
Listing 3 on the yellow pages is an extension
of listing 2 to graph both sensors at the same
time and it is set up just like the single
temperature graphing program. We must,
of course, remember that the external sen-
ACORN USER MAY 1988
91
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sor may be in an environment with a higher
maximum or lower minimum temperature,
and the temperature range must be entered
as appropriate to the full range which might
be experienced. Figure 8 is a typical print-
out from this program.
Now 1 had the technology to monitor
heat loss night and day, so I logged the
changing temperatures, week by week, for
each room in Telford Towers.
It would be best for most programmers if
the temperature were always available by
calling up a variable. For example you could
PRINT T% and the temperature should
appear, with no complex calls to the
machine code or long waits while the 10
second temperature cycle elapsed.
Listing 4 is the program to make this
happen. It makes use of the extra link to the
CBI pin of the user port. The software
changes the user vector at ?&206 to point to
the main body of the code, sets up the user
port interrupt registers to recognise a CBI
interrupt and exits. Then when the interrupt
strikes it disables the interrupts and sets
aside four bytes for the data. It then sets the.
first byte to represent the minus or plus
state of the temperature, and set bytes 2, 3
and 4 to the 10s, units and tenths of degrees.
After converting these four bytes into BBC
micro integer format, and transfering that
integer to the memory location occupied by
T%, it re-enables the interrupts and exits
along the old interrupt vector.
Type in listing 4, then save it to disc. Run
it and it will save a machine code program
on disc, which can be run using the com-
mand *TCP. This loads the main code into
pages &900 and &A00 of memory, then sets
the user vector to point into the main code.
As soon as this is done, the temperature
module serial data will be read and placed in
T% in tenths of degrees centigrade. If
T%=254, the temperature is 25.4C. This is
no more complex than TIME being mea-
sured in hundredths of a second, and the
program should work with all versions of
the BBC range with a user port, bar the Arc.
Once the code is installed, it will continue
to work until disabled with the Break key.
But you must not load anything else into
the memory allocated to TCP (&900-
&AFF), because this will crash it.
By the way, I eventually found out why
the Towers was losing heat. Every day just
after Fd gone to work, a courtyard door
was left open. This showed up as a beautiful
trough on the graphs. Pity that no one
would own up to it, but spending that
t enner has saved me a packet!
Details of foe's listings are on page 113.
JOES JOTTINGS
Figure 5. The underside of the circuit board
T, To T 2
▲ 4
Pin 16
“□
Pin 1
TT
Soldcr wire
to loose sensor lead
Figure 6. Adding the external sensor
Figure 7. The relay circuit
Figure 8. Twin temperature measurement
Bit Meaning
Range
0 Above or below freezing 0-Above
1-Below
1-4 Temperature (10s)
0-7
5-8 Temperature (units)
0-9
9-12 Temperature (tenths)
0-9
The bit-coding of the temperatures
ACORN USER MAY 1988
93
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Government, PLC and Education Authority official orders accepted.
94
ACORN USER MAY 1988
LOGO PROGRAMMING
TO BOLDLY
LOGO
Logo can greatly simplify programming for children.
Some simple commands to draw star maps show the way
L ogo is a very versatile programming
language. Many teachers are famil-
iar with turtle graphics and the way
Logo can be used to teach geomet-
rical and mathematical concepts,
but it is still rare to find someone familiar
enough with Logo to use it creatively.
In this article we’ll look at a simple
system for drawing maps of the sky show-
ing constellations and planets. The beauty
of using Logo for this kind of work is its
simplicity - only four extra commands
needed to be added.
Drawing star maps
Before you start, read the ‘setting up’
section below. To plot a star on the map
you use the command STARPOS. The
procedure programs the function keys with
the new commands, so you can use fl
instead. The STARPOS command should
be followed by the X and Y co-ordinates of
the star you want to add, for example:
STARPOS 350 400
The co-ordinates can range from 0 to 1275
on the X axis, and 0 to 600 on the Y axis.
Planets can be drawn on the map with
PLANET (f2). As well as the X and Y
co-ordinates, the sizes of the planet must be
specified. The size can vary between 1 and
30, so to draw a planet of size 12 at 750,375
you could type:
PLANET 12 750 375
You can add labels to the stars and planets
on the map with the LABEL command (f3).
The label should be preceded with a double
quote (“) in the usual Logo style:
LABEL “Sirus 345 560
Take care with the X and Y co-ordinates so
you don’t print over any stars.
If you make a mistake, or want to change
the map, prefixing the command with
Peter Julian
Draw simple constellations with the STARMAP procedures
WIPE (fO) will undo the damage. For
instance, to remove the label in the example
above you would type:
WIPELABEL “Sirius 345 560
Setting up
Before the program can be used a certain
amount of preparation must be done.
Logo graphics use an origin (0,0) in the
centre of the screen. This would make the
co-ordinates for the stars very unwealdy to
use, so we must set the origin to be at the
bottom left-hand corner of the screen. This
requires a short machine code routine,
which is listed above right (listing 1). Type
in the program with the computer set up in
Basic, and save it on disc. Run it and a short
10 REM GRAPHICS SCREEN TEST ROUTINE
20 P7.*&780
30 C
40 LDA #S<75
50 JSR &FFF4
60 STX 8cBO
70 RTS
80 I
90 *SAVE TEST 780 788
Listing 1. Sets graphics origin to bottom left
file will be saved to the disc which will be
used by the Logo commands.
Next, enter Logo with *LOGO and type
in the procedures from listing 2. The
UPDATE procedure makes editing easier
As Logo will not allow you to overwrite a
file, UPDATE deletes the old file before
saving the revised version. When you have
95
ACORN USER MAY 198S
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If you already have a modem and computer software 021-618-1111 password 4444 ID 4444444444 for a free demonstration
LOGO PROGRAMMING
finished save the procedures your onto disc
as ‘STARMAP’.
If you want to be able to print out copies
of the maps on a dot-matrix printer, then
copy the uSDUMP program from the
Logotron Logo extension disc onto your
work disc.
The program normally uses Logo’s de-
fault mode 4 screen to display the star maps,
but will work in mode 1 if you want to use
colour. The SETUP procedure checks the
current mode and changes the colours used
accordingly, however you may have prob-
lems with lack of memory if you use mode 1
on an unexpanded model B. Changing
modes is rather complicated - Logo gives an
error because the amount of available mem-
ory changes. To get around this, load the
program into the editor, change mode and
then put the program back. Do this by
typing EDALL to load the program into
the editor, then press Escape. Delete it from
the main memory with ERALL and change
mode with SETMODE 1. Re-enter the
editor with ED and replace the program
into memory by typing CTRL-C.
To make starting up as easy as possible
for the children who will use the program, it
is best to set up the disc to boot automati-
cally when Shift-Break is pressed. To do
this you must create a ’.BOOT file by
typing:
:; 'BUILD !BOOT
A number 1 will appear on the screen. Enter
the following commands, finishing each
with Return:
•••LOGO
USE “uSDUMP
LOAD “STARMAP
SETUP 1
Finally press Escape to finish. Now make
the disc :: *EXEC the IBOOT file whenever
Shift-Break is pressed by entering:
*OPT 4,3
The disc is now ready to use for drawing
star maps - just type Shift-Break.
In the classroom
As with all programming, preparation is
essential. Rough sketches of the map can be
made on graph paper, and ideas tried out on
the computer. If you type in commands,
then be sure to note the co-ordinates as the
text will rapidly scroll off the screen. When
you have worked out what you want, enter
the map as a procedure, as in listing 3.
To save a child’s map use the SAVE
command and follow the filename with the
name of the procedure you want to save
enclosed in square brackets, for example:
SAVE “JANESMAP [GALAXY]
By building up a library of maps you can
ACORN USER MAY 1988
create a simple ‘database’ of constellations -
perhaps each pupil could take one particular
star cluster and draw it out.
Logo can be used like this to greatly
simplify programming for children. Setting
up well-chosen commands makes control-
ling the computer clear and easy - there is
more to Logo than just turtles!
TO GALAXY
cs
STARPOS 330 400
LABEL "8tella 400 400
PLANET 10 800 350
LABEL "SUN 825 350
STARPOS 100 250
STARPOS 1200 100
PLANET 1 550 600
LABEL "Planet 600 600
END
97
TO SETUP 1
♦KEY 0 "WIPE"
♦KEY 1 "STARPOS "
♦KEY 2 "PLANET "
♦KEY 3 "LABEL "
♦LOAD TEST
SETUP
END
TO STARPOS iX sY
test SETPC tC2
PU SETPOS SE sX lY
HT VDU C53
PR L*1 VDU C43
END
TO PLANET i size iX sY
test SETPC 1
HT PU SETPOS SE iX «Y PD
IF isize > 30 CMAKE "size 303
IF : size = 1 CVDU C53 PR Co3 VDU C43 ST0P3
IF i size - 0 CVDU C53 PR C.3 VDU C4D STOP 3
REPEAT 72 CFD tsize RT 53
END
TO LABEL « name :X lY
test SETPC i C3
PU SETPOS SE tX :Y
HT VDU C53
PR ( : name ) VDU C43
END
TO SETUP
CS
VDU C29 "0 "3453
VDU C24 "0 "0 "1279 "10233
CS WINDOW HT
IF ( OR EQUAL? MODE 0 EQUAL? MODE 4 ) CMAKE "C2 1 MAKE "C3 13
CMAKE "C2 2 MAKE "C3 33
END
TO test
.CALL 1920
IF ( .EXAMINE 128 > =* O CSETUP3
END
TO WIPESTARPOS iX lY
PU SETPOS SE iX lY
HT VDU C53
SETPC 0 PR C*3 VDU C43
SETPC 1
END
TO WIPEPLANET tsize iX :Y
HT PU SETPOS SE iX lY PD SETPC 0
IF tsize > 30 CMAKE "size 303
IF tsize - 1 CVDU C53 PR Co3 VDU C43 SETPC 1 8TOP3
IF tsize = 0 CVDU C53 PR C.3 VDU C43 SETPC 1 STOP 3
REPEAT 72 CFD tsize RT 53 SETPC 1
END
TO WIPELABEL iname sX «Y
PU SETPOS SE iX sY
HT VDU C53
SETPC 0 PR ( iname ) VDU C43
SETPC 1
END
TO UPDATE ifilename
PR CTo update an existing file type Y3 ♦WIPE ifilename
SAVE ifilename
END
MAKE "C3 3
MAKE "C2 2
MAKE "filename "STARMAP
Listing 2 (above). The STARMAP procedure. Listing 3 (below). A procedure to draw a map
rchimedes
HARNESS THE POWER
£49.95
Alpha-Base is the successor to Beta-Base, the top
selling database for the BBC micro. Alpha-Base really
does ' HARNESS THE POWER' of the Archimedes.
As with all Clares products we have made Alpha-
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of the functions:
* WIMP based using icons and mouse
* Hard disc compatible - massive files
* Free format screens with on line editing of field
order
* Upto 400 fields & 27600 chars per record
* Upto 2.14 billion records per file III
* Multiple display, entry and printer forms can be
used with each file
* Fast search by fields or record
* Plain English entry of search & sort criteria with
many inbuilt functions
* Five data types including formulae
* Calculation facilities with inbuilt min, max,
average, age etc
* Comprehensive print options inc labels
* Validation on each field if required
* Transfer fields from one file to another
* Password security if required
* Data stored on disc so computer failure will not
result in loss of the data
If you want a powerful database that you can boot
up and run within 5 minutes then buy Alpha-Base
now. Absolutely no programming skills required.
1
ar -I
■ 4 if 1
fv ji! ! A JSt TO J
v V .
98 Middlewich Rd
Northwich
Cheshire CW9 7DA
Tel: 0606 48511
ALL PRICES INCLUDE
VAT and P+P
OVERSEAS ORDERS
ADD £4
(PI
E 3
£29.95
Graphic writer, formerly linage writer, is a
sophisticated wimp based word processor with an
inbuilt graphics editor, it can be used as a standard
word processor or graphics can be included to
provide diagrams, graphs etc within your
document. Graphics can even be imported from
ARTISAN
1 H-i'j* ‘Jm. i'ju |
Ik
BDBT " »s a
I’irrtvi ; ;rj>iiU
•JrJiAihj : *Jji
vJiunluo
* Totally icon driven from menus
* Multiple documents in memory, upto 512k
* Super smooth scrolling
* Fast search & replace
* Justify centre etc
* Text styles give plain, bold, Italic, underlined,
subscript, superscript or combinations of these
eg bold Italic underlined subscript.
* Centered and Temporary text styles
* Block operations - move, copy, delete and recall
* Full WYSIWYG preview
* Graphics editor
* Page format controls page length, headers,
footers, pad and pound characters.
* Page Composition allows placing of graphics, mini
preview etc
* Multiple print out options
* Auto page numbering even through multiple
documents
to create a document with Graphic writer you
type in your text, using the many text styles
available, leave room for the graphics and then
place the graphics using Page Composition, it's
simple and easy to use. You can have up to 14
documents in memory on a 310, that's equivalent
to about 220 pages of A4 text.
See what the magazines say:
" OTd p,,lcc "»r for the AnSSSs® '“'" s TH!i ,
^WICRQ USER April 1988
excellent value. . . bowled over by its '
stunning use of graphics.
RISC USER December 1987 .
DON'T fORGET, YOU CAN ORDER WITH ACCESS CARD TOO!
EDUCATION
PRESS FOR ACTION
Part two of our review of Concept Keyboard software
for children with special needs
Chris Dr agean d Nick Evans
(light)
o
TURTLE CONCEPTS
(lifht)
o
Filename: GILES2
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FD30
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MOVE THE TURTLE
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Redbridae SEMERC
Designed by Thelma Shea
St. Ciles School
Crovdon
Turtle Concepts, to be released soon, allows control of a Valiant turtle
In April we started to look at the Concept
Keyboard in special needs education; this
month we’ll conclude our survey of soft-
ware for this valuable tool.
The Concept Keyboard scores heavily
over other input devices because an overlay
can be designed to be attractive and in-
formative, and it can provide an appropri-
ate input medium for any particular ap-
plication. During the past three years this
ingenious input device has become popular
in primary, nursery and special needs
education. We reviewed it in Acorn User in
May 1985. Although we are looking at the
software from the point of view of teaching
children with learning difficulties, the
majority of titles are equally useful for
children in the early stages of learning.
The ‘Project Christopher’ software
simply uses the Concept Keyboard as a
switching device. Widgit Software Ltd pro-
duces the software for children with
physical handicaps or learning difficulties,
but a number of the programs are also
suited to mainstream nursery and infant
school children. Developed in conjunction
with the Hospital for Sick Children in
London’s Great Ormond Street, the soft-
ware has been written to be used with one
of a number of switching devices. How-
ever, the Concept Keyboard option can use
the whole of the keyboard area as a press-
ure switch, which can be important. As
with all good programs the teacher has a
great deal of control over how each prog-
ram is set up.
Centred around the smiling character of
‘Blob’, the series introduces children to
computers and switches. Where's Blob f can
be used to very good effect with profound-
ly multi-handicapped children. Blob 1
(seven programs), and Blob2 (eight prog-
rams), provide simple activities which en-
courage and familarise children with switch
operation. Their attractive, clear graphics
and animation attract attention, and chil-
dren enjoy playing with Blob. Skills like
directional manipulation, selection and
visual discrimination are emphasised.
Going Places is a suit of 13 games and
activities spread over six discs. The prog-
Blob 1 : attractive graphics
rams are based on a day out. The child
must decide where to go, what to wear and
what to take. The computer simulates the
journey, and two games can be played
when you reach the destination. Finally,
there is the journey home. As each game
has three levels of difficulty, there is wide
scope for individual child development for
three- to six-year-olds. You can discuss
and plan choices and decisions with the
child. The programs encourage language
development and memory skills as well as
matching, sequencing, planning, visual
memory and counting abilities. Children
0 ^
i
Blob 2 : helping visual discrimination
find the Widgit range great fun as it offers
a wide range of interesting activities via the
vehicle of the delightful ‘Blob’.
Framework programs
Recently a number of excellent, content-
free programs have been developed by the
SEMERCs and MESU, many of which
utilise the Concept Keyboard imaginative-
ly. They all provide a framework for the
teacher’s (or pupil’s) own files, which are
used by the main program to tailor it to
meet the individual needs of the child.
A wordprocessor is a typical framework
ACORN USER MAY 1988
99
ROM/RAM PODULE
This podule accepts a variety of ROM or RAM chips and I
includes ROM and RAM filing system software.
Seven 32 pin sockets can accept
any combination of ROMs (16K to
128K) or RAMs (8K to 128K)
Battery and controller
chip. Trickle charged
battery ensures RAM
contents are retained
whilst computer is off
(optional).
The controller ROM
provided contains ROM
and RAM filing system
software, is fast, and
totally Arthur
compatible.
Links for battery backup or
normal supply
Edge connector plugs into podule
back-plane of 300 or 400 series
Archimedes
The board accepts software such as the Archimedes versions of Inter-Word, Inter-
Chart and Inter-Sheet and will accept the forthcoming document processor and
drawing programs. It is compatible and fully obeys all Acorn podule standards. It
requires the back-plane to be installed — available from us and Acorn stockists.
£49.00 + VAT (£56.35) standard
£59.00 + VAT (£67.85) with battery
and controller chip
Computer Concepts Ltd
Gaddesden Place
Hemel Hempstead
Herts HP2 6EX.
Telephone 0442 63933
ACCESS & BARCLAYCARD ACCEPTED
EDUCATION
MESU Primary Project
MESU Spoda/Needa Software Centro
©MESU 1967
Rename: SHOPS 1
Mwxk by Fbf Ojffwcrt) (HEP Low Afiartn Proper)
hn frogram •STOPSSUPSUMRKEr {NoiTwn Ucronmlj)
yoghurt
tea bags
toothpaste
toilet paper
S3)
soap
C5
box
tin
&
bottle
4lSl
MM
H
m
y
(3
1
buttor
cheese
milk
<
:offco
lemonade
jar
bag
packet
u
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Q
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dfe
margarine
fish fingers
lamb chop
sausages
hamburger
banana
onion
carrot
Up!
m3
CSl
%
till
ice cream
buns
cake
bread
pear
apple
grapes
PROMPT / WRITER
Prompt/Writer, the latest children’s wordprocessor from MESU
program. Prompt/Writer , the latest chil-
dren’s wordprocessor from MESU, is a
development of Prompt. 3 (a supportive
wordprocessor for children with learning
difficulties), and Writer (a more powerful
package) - both are used extensively in
primary and special schools. Prompt/Writer
is an enhancement of both programs, pro-
viding a really easy way to make Concept
Keyboard overlays and use four sizes of
printout. Overlay files may be also used
with Folio (from Tedimen Software).
Prompt/Writer allows children to move up
from the simpler Prompt to Writer without
having to learn a whole new set of com-
mands. It is also easier to use than either of
its predecessors. The 12 sample overlay files
provided contain many useful ideas for
teachers new to Concept Keyboards. The
production of overlays has been simplified
considerably. My only grumble with
Prompt/Writer is that work files cannot be
saved on the program disc, which causes a
lot of disc swapping for single drive users.
Introducing information handling to chil-
dren with special needs can be a problem.
List Explorer , due for release soon, provides
a unique and imaginative solution.
It allows the Concept Keyboard to be
used to search and compare data lists. The
size of each list is limited to 127 records and
headings; for example, 118 objects with
nine headings. The number of headings is
limited by the number of cells on a Concept
Keyboard. Up to seven lists can be stored
on a single disc. Given the ability of the
children involved, having a large number of
records is unimportant. What matters is
being able to have cells of a practical size.
The six sample overlays and files provided
clearly illustrate List Explorers potential:
weather, children, birds, faiths, dinosaurs
and an intriguing datafile called ‘What’s
Happening?’. The ‘children’ overlay com-
prises 16 photographs of children and 14
fields to search. Touching a photo and any
of the headings reveals the data on a
particular child. Making new lists and over-
lays is easy. Sensibly, both regular and
irregular overlays are created in a consistent
manner for all the MESU Blue File soft-
ware. This software is an excellent way to
tackle database work.
Logo concepts
Developed at Redbridge SEMERC, Turtle
Concepts allows the Concept Keyboard to
control a turtle - ideal for children who
have trouble with the conventional
• & ±
m &
keyboard. Overlays can be designed to meet
individual or group needs, providing a
structured introduction to turtle graphics.
Procedures written in Dart or Logotron
Logo can be linked to particular overlays to
explore specific areas of mathematics. The
Jessop and Valiant floor turtles can be used,
although Logo users may require additional
hardware to control the Jessop turtle.
A similar range of overlays is available
from Stockport’s Dialstone Centre but
these support only the Valiant turtle. The 13
overlays are ideal for younger children as
they are attractively designed and increase
gradually in complexity. Unlike Turtle
Concepts they are not intended to provide a
structured approach to learning Logo, but
are a teaching resource.
The software we have discussed repre-
sents only a small fraction of the Concept
Keyboard resources available, and therefore
is only a small indication of the ability of
Going Places : simulates a journey
computers to help children with learning
difficulties. However, this potential can
only be achieved if teachers are provided
with the necessary time and resources to
develo p the wider use of micros.
Blobl, Blob2 (£13.80 each ), Where’s Blob?
(£17.23), Going Places (£40.23), are avail-
able from Widgit Software Ltd, 1 The Ryde,
Hatfield , Herts AL9 3DQ.
Prompt/Writer (£3.00), List Explorer (price
to be announced), from MESU, Unit 6, Sir
William Lyons Road, Science Park , Uni-
versity of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7EZ.
Turtle Concepts will be available soon
from LEA co-ordinators or SEMERCs.
Logo/ Concept Keyboard overlays are avail-
able from Dialstone Centre , Lisburne
Road , Stockport SK2 7LL.
Software catalogues available from AB
European Marketing, Wharfdale Road,
Pentwyn, Cardiff, and Bristol SEMERC,
Bristol Polytechnic, Redland Hill, Bristol.
ACORN USER MAY 1988
101
—OFFERS
SUBSCRIPTION OFFER
BBC MASTER ELECTRONARCHIMEDES
£130
ACORNUSER
MARCH 1988 MSTSUUNG DM BIGGEST BBC ACORN MAGAZINE
KEEP IN TOUCH:
SIDEWAYS RAM:
AOFS GUIDE:
ARC WINDOWS
WIMPs for all from simple Basic programs
A year’s magazines and
discs for just £50
For a limited period only we are offering Acorn User readers
the opportunity to subscribe to Acorn User magazine and the
Acorn User monthly discs for a mere £50, a saving of £7.50.
By taking advantage of this offer we will guarantee you
receive 12 issues of Acorn User magazine and 1 2 of the
accompanying monthly discs. Each disc contains the best
quality programs, routines and utilities and saves you the
laborious chore of typing in the listings from the magazine,
to say nothing of the hours of de-bugging.
This offer is only open to UK subscribers. Hurry, post the
coupon off today!
Yes! Please start my subscription to Acorn User magazine and
monthly discs with the issue.
I enclose a cheque/postal order made payable to Redwood Publishing
Ltd for £
Please charge my Access/Visa £
ACCOUNT NUMBER
m m mm mm mm
EXPIRY DATE
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Please send this coupon with your remittance to Gail Fairhall, Subscriptions Manager,
Redwood Publishing Ltd, Lambourn Woodlands, Newbury, Berkshire
RG16 7YW.
EPROMS, 8271
Ex VAT Inc VAT
1-9 27128 250nS 21V 3.57 4.10
10+27128 250nS 21V 3.26 3.75
1-9 27128 250nS 12.5V 3.04 3.50
10+ 27128 250nS 12.5V 2.75 3.16
1-9 2764 250nS 2.60 2.99
10+ 2764 250nS 2.39 2.75
1-9 27256 250nS 4.22 4.85
10+ 27256 250nS 3.83 4.40
1-9 TTL/Cmos set 3.91 4.50
1-9 8271 controller 39 13 45.00
1-9 6264LP 150nS 2.56 2.95
Acorn 8271 DFS 43.48 50.00
DISKETTES
(lifetime warranty)
Ex VAT Inc VAT
10 Banana Reversible 8.65 9.95
10 3.5" D/S 135tpi 165 1.90
10 96tpi D/S D/D ♦ case 13.90 15.99
10 96tpi D/S D/D ♦ caso 7.39 8.50
10 96tpi D/S D/D in box 6.52 7.50
50 96tpi D/S D/D in boxos 21.70 24.95
100 96tpi D/S D/D in boxes 39.13 45.00
50 Disc Box hinged t lock 6.52 7.50
100 Disc Box hingod t lock 7.83 9.00
Black Library Caso 1.2* L39
ROMS
Ex VAT
Inter-Word 37.39
Inter-Sheet 36.52
InterBase 48.70
Wordwiso Plus 37.39
Moga 3 71.30
Spell Master 40.87
ACP Disc Investigator 22.61
ACP Disc Toolkit 26.96
Viow 2.1 38.26
ViowStore 38.26
OvorViow I & II 68.70
View Professional 68.70
Inc VAT
43.00
42.00
56.00
43.00
82.00
47.00
26.00
31.00
44.00
44.00
79.00
79.00
5V4 DISC DRIVES
Ex VAT Inc VAT
Cumana CSX100 91.30 105.00
Cumana CSX400 124.35 143.00
Cumana CD800S 260.00 299.00
MD400A 400k No PSU 88.70 102.00
MD400B 400k & PSU 103.48 119.00
MD802C 800k No PSU 173.91 200.00
MD802E 800k & PSU 191.30 220.00
MD802D 800k & stand 216.52 249.00
Phono for Viglen & Torch Winchostors
PANASONIC KXP 1 081
with BBC cable & paper
£165.00 (£143.48 + VAT)
above with Screen Dump 8t 2m cable
£171.00 (£148.70 + VAT)
Exc VAT Inc VAT
KXP 1 080 Fabric ink ribbon 4.26 4.90
KXP 1080 View Printer driver ...7.83 9.00
KXP 1080 Control Dump rom 13.00 14.95
PANASONIC KXP1082
(as 1081 but 160cps)
with BBC cable & paper
£199.00 (£173.04+ VAT)
CANON PW1080A
with BBC cable & paper
C239.00 J C207.83+VAT)
STAR LC10 COLOUR
with BBC cable and paper
£229.00 (£199.13 + VAT)
CITIZEN 120D
with BBC cable & paper
£1 65.00 (£143.48 + VAT)
JUKI 6100
with BBC cable & paper
£299.00 (£260.00 + VAT)
Amstrad LQ3500 (24)
with BBC cable & paper
£320.00 (£278.26 + VAT)
PRINTER ADD ONS
Ex VAT Inc VAT
LX800 Sheet Feeder 62.61 72.00
LX/FX 800 Print Ribbon 3.00 3.45
NL-10 Print Ribbon 4.80 5.52
120D Print Ribbon 4.00 4.00
KP/PW Print Ribbon 3.39 3.90
Printer Dust Covers 4.80 4.80
MONITORS
Ex VAT
Philips CM8533 230.43
Philips CM8852 251.00
Philips BM7502 Green 68.70
Philips BM522 Amber 73.91
Philips TV Tunor 60.00
Philips BM Tilt stand 7.78
Taxan KX P31 Green 68.70
Taxan KX P39 Green 73.91
Taxan KX Amber 73.91
Acorn ADF32 Monitor 212.17
Microvitec 1451 221.74
Microvitec 1451 AP 260.00
14" Tilt/Swivcl Stand 13.87
(Prices inc. BBC Cable)
Inc VAT
265.00
289.00
79.00
85.00
69.00
8.95
79.00
85.00
85.00
244.00
255.00
299.00
15.95
KAGA/TAXAN KP810
with BBC cable & paper
£239.00 (£207.83 + VAT)
KAGA/TAXAN KP815
with BBC cable & paper
£289.00 (£251 .30+ VAT)
STAR LC10
with BBC cable & paper
£199.00 (£173.04 + VAT)
TpsorTLX 80 fr
with BBC cable & paper
£289.00 (£199.13 + VAT)
MP 165
with BBC cable & paper
£1 95.00 (£1 69.57 + VAT)
MP 480 (480 cps)
with BBC cable & paper
i £339 ; 00J£249 ; 7|^jrAT^
PRINTERS/CABLES
Ex VAT Inc VAT
Panasonic KXP31 31 Daisy 233.91 299.00
Kaga/Taxan KP910/15 350.00 402.00
1.5m (4 foot) BBC cable 5.70 6.50
2.0m (6 foot) BBC cable 7.74 8.90
Compact printer cable 7.74 8.90
IBM/Archimedes cable 7.74 8.90
MASTER/COMPACT
Ex VAT Inc VAT
Master 128k Micro 365.22 420.00
512 Co processor 185.00 212.75
Turbo Upgrade 98.78 113.50
Acorn Z80 2nd P 317.39 365.00
Acorn Cartridge 10.87 12.50
Ponrtroo Cartridge from 8.65 9.95
Caro Cartridges from 7.65 8.80
ARM Assembler Book 12.00 12.00
Understanding Interword 6.50 6.50
Reference Manuals 14.00 14.00
View 3/View Sheet Guides 9.00 9.00
Master & B Dust Covers 3.00 3.45
Monochrome Compact 360.87 415.00
Second User BBC Bs available
Phone for our best price before placing your order
EDUCATIONAL & GOVERNMENT ORDERS WELCOME
All products have a 12 month no quibble guarantee
Prices subject to variation without prior notification
We are closed some Saturday afternoons
Carriage 92p (80p + VAT) Securicor £6.90 (£6.00 + VAT)
Acorn Dept.
UleSerue
o
Larger items
delivered
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VISA
128 West Street,
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Hants.
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Tel: 0705 325354
102
ACORN USER MAY 1988
The Quest is under way
Making Sweet Music
am
Battling through a
Killer Horde
Visiting the Elephant House
Interrogating a Computer
Terminal
Leaping over Vats of Acid
Going for a Swim?
H
wms
Walter Cobra and the Quest for the Golden Dragon
You are Walter Cobra, a clever but absent-minded young lad who spends
many hours indulging in two favourite hobbies: exploring, and inventing.
One day, to your surprise, you stumble across a faded old map which
indicates the route to a buried object marked as 'The Golden Dragon". You
recognise the starting-point on the map as being a wishing-well located a
couple of miles away from your home Full of anticipation, you decide to
begin your quest the following day.
The next day, as the sun is rising you excitedly get out of bed, pack your
rucksack with a few provisions, and then don your jet-boots — an astounding
invention which enables you to fly for short periods of time. You amble over
towards the wlshing-well and slowly climb down the walls of the well. It’s quite
deep but finally you reach the bottom. You then suddenly realise that you
have left behind a very important item, the map
You decide to press on regardless. You remember some of the places shown
on the map: 'The Music Room", ‘The Joke Shop", 'The Chapel" ; but, bearing
in mind the size of the map, this quest will surely be the greatest challenge of
your lifel
Nearly 100 Screens full of Tantalising Puzzles and Curious Adversaries
BBC Dual Cassette £9.95 Acorn Electron Dual Cassette £9.95
BBC Micro SVa" Disc £11.95 BBC Master Compact 3V2 M Disc £14.95
(Compatible with the BBC B, B+ and Master Series computers)
PRIZE COMPETITION
£100 is the first prize in our competition, with 20 congratulatory certificates
for runners-up
To enter the competition, you must locate the Golden Dragon, and write
to us describing the final messages that you receive
Closing Date: 30th June, 1988.
f
/ supcmon
< soFnunnc
AcoRNsen
Please make
all cheques
payable to
"Superior
Software Ltd".
[ Atccsi
24 HOUR TELEPHONE
ANSWERING SERVICE FOR ORDERS
OUR GUARANTEE
• All mail orders are despatched
within 24 hours by first-class post.
• Postage and packing is free.
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replaced immediately.
(This does not affect your statutory rights)
Dept. Q 3, Regent House; Skinner lane. Leeds LS7 1 AX. Telephone: 0532 459453
BMP EM
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THROUGH ANY OTHER SUPPLIER
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CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED
CARRIAGE ON
ANY ITEM
POST £3.00
COURIER £10.00
BBC MASTER SERIES
Master 128
£369.00
Master Turbo Upgrade
£99.00
Master 512 upgrade
£199.00
Eprom Cartridge
£11.00
Reference Manual Part 1
£14.95
Refeience Manual Part 2
£14.95
Advanced Reference Manual
£19.95
View Manual
£10.00
ViewSheet Manual
£10.00
Disk Filing System User Guide
£5.00
Plynth for Master
£12.00
Joystick (switched)
£15.00
ACORNSOFT
View ROM
£37.00
ViewSheet ROM
£37.00
ViewStore ROM
£37.00
ViewSpell ROM
£29.00
GXR Grafics ROM
£26.00
ISO Pascal ROM
£60.00
Basic 2 ROM
£15.00
OS 1 2 ROM
£10.00
Viewlndex
£12.00
ViewPiot
£22.00
Hiview
£36.00
Printer Driver Generator
£10.00
Speech Upgrade
£39.00
ADFS Rom
£25.00
1770 DFS upgrade
£49.00
COMPUTER CONCEPTS
Wordwise ♦
£40.00
Intersheet
£37.00
Interword
£39.00
Interchart
£26.00
Interbase
£55.00
Disc Doctor
£28.00
PrintMaster
£24.00
Communicator
£49.00
Termi II
£25.00
Accelerator
£48.00
SpeiiMaster
£47.00
Ed word 2 ROM
£46.00
A I PL Sidewise Board
£39.00
AMX Mouse
£59.00
AMX Pagemaker
£37.00
I ECONET EQUIPMENT
Upgrade for
BBC B £60.00
10 Station Lead Set £25.00
Module for
100m Cable
£86.00
Master/Archie £43.00
Installation
Clock ♦ Term Set £86.00
(per day)
£150.00
Outlet Socket Kit £26.00
Filestore EOi
Level 1 Software £80.00
(server)
£828.00
Level 2 Software £216.00
Filestore E20
Printer Server £42.00
(20Mbyte)
£721.00
| DISK SYSTEMS
Acorn Winchester
30 Mbyte with L3 S/W
£1549.00
Cumana Disk Systems lor BBC
Single without PSU
CSX100
40T/SS
100K
£89.00
CSX400
80T/DS
400K
£1 19.00
Single with PSU
CS100
40/TSS
100K
£109.00
CS400
80T/DS
400K
£139.00
CS354
3 5
400K
£1 19.00
Dual with PSU
CD200
40T/SS
200 K
£199.00
CD800S
80T/DS
800 K
£239.00
CD358
3 5'
800K
£199.00
CAB29
20MByte
Hard Disk
£599.00
Cumana Disk Systems for Atari
CSA 354
3.5"
Single 1MByte
£125.00
CDA 358
3.5"
Dual 2MByte
£225.00
CSA 1000S
5.25"
Single 1 MByte
£145.00
ACORN ARCHIMEDES
Mono
Colour
Base
Mono
Colour
Baso PC Emulator
Mono PC Emulator
Colour PC Emulator
Mono
Colour
Base
Mono
Colour
O.SMbytoRam
Floppy Disk
20 Mbyte ♦ Controller
Podule Backplane
IvO Podulo
PC Emulator Software
Archlo Reference Guide
C64B.00
C69B.OO
C849.00
C725.O0
C77S.OO
C92S.OO
C799.00
C843.00
£999.00
Cl 299.00
Cl 349.00
Cl 499.00
£2199.00
C2249.00
C2399.00
C89.00
Cl 23.00
C499.00
COS. 00
C79.00
C79.00
C29.9S
AMSTRAD COMPUTERS
PC1640SD Mono
PCI 640DD Mono
PC1640HD20 Mono
PC1640SD Colour
PCI 640DD Colour
PC1640HD20 Colour
PC1640SD Enhanced Colour
PC1640DD Enhanced Colour
PC1640HD20 Enhanced Colour
1640 Technical Ref Manual
LQ3500
DMP3160 Printer
DMP4000
Modem Card
HD20 Add-on
Wordstar 1512
Wordstar Express
Supercalc 3.1
Supercalc 3.21
Reflex
Sidekick
Infomaster
Accounts Master
Paymaster
PCW 8256
PCW8512
PCW 9512
£449.00
£549.00
£799.00
£599.00
£699.00
£949.00
£749.00
£799.00
£1099.00
£19.95
£349.00
£199.00
£349.00
£149.00
£449.00
£49.00
£69.95
£49.00
£69.00
£69.95
£29.00
£69.00
£149.00
£49.00
£299.00
£399.00
£499.00
i • sn
BARGAIN BASEMENT
Apple Disk with Controller
Cl 49.00
Applo Additional Disk Drive
C9B.OO
Duodisk with Controller
C349.00
Apple Monitor
C79.00
Super Serial Card
C69.00
Cirtech 80 Column Text Card
C49.00
Cirlech 80 Column 64K Card
C79.00
Cirtech Printer Card
C49.00
Sound + Vision Modulator
Cl 9.00
RGB colour card
C49.00
Appleworks
CB9.00
Workbench
C99.00
Juki 6 100 printer
C200.00
TEC FI 0-40
C6B9.00
Acorn Z80 Second Processor
C200.00
Acorn Tolotuxt Receiver
C75.00
Anadex 8500 (Non-runner)
Cl 00.00
Acorn 30Mbyte Winchester
with L3 Software
Cl 200.00
Apple Macintosh Add-on Drive
C200.00
| MISCELLANEOUS
BBC ‘B’ (2nd User)
PRICES FROM £175
3 Months Warranty
PLEASE CALL FOR AVAILABILITY
5 25 Datatech Diskettes per 10 80T Double Sided £15.00
3 5 Datatech Diskettes per 10 80T Double Sided £20.00
3" Diskettes per 10 Single Sided
Double Sided
5 25 Storage Box 10
30
80
3 5 Storage Box 10
30
60
Cl2 Cassettes 12 mm x 10
Ribbons
Epson MX/FX/RX80/LX800
MX/FX/RX100
LX/80
JX80 (Colour)
LQ800
LQ1000
Canon/Taxan
Colour Cartridge
Juki MS
Juki SS
Hermes (Remstar)
Imagewriter/Appie DMP
Microline
Anadex 9500/1
TEC/Cltoh/Diablo
Brother HR15/DX100
Amstrad PCW 8256/512
PCW 9512
Amstrad DMP3000
Printer lead for
BBC 1m
BBC 2m
BBC 3m
RS423
Compact
Apricot. Sanyo
IBM/Amstrad PC/Archie
IBM RS232
Custom made leads
Printer Data Switch
2-way
3way
4-way
2-Way Crossover
Selmour Desks
4X2 (with shelf)
3X2 (with shelf)
Shinecrest Desk (3x2)
Monitor/Disk/Printer Stand
Cassette Lead
Cl 2 Cassettes (per 10)
4-way mams adapter
£30.00
£50.00
£2.50
£12.00
£18.00
£3.50
£9.00
£15.00
£2.00
£4.00
£ 8.00
£4.00
£10.00
£6.00
£8.00
£6.00
£ 10.00
£3.00
£2.00
£3.00
£ 6.00
£2.50
£12.50
£5.00
£4.00
£ 6.00
CALL
£4.00
£6.00
£8.00
£10.00
£ 8.00
£15.00
£ 12.00
£ 12.00
£15.00
£25.00
£69.00
£89.00
£99.00
£99.00
£1 19.00
£99.00
£69.00
£12.00
£4.00
£4.00
£8.69
m
PART EXCHANGE YOUR BBC FOR
ANYTHING WE CARRY IN STOCK
Allowances from £75 (non-working)
to £200 (late model - DFS Machine)
1 PRINTERS
Epson
LX800
£189.00
SS Feeder
£75.00
FX800
£299.00
SS Feeder
£139.00
FX1000
£439.00
SS Feeder
£139.00
EX800
£399.00
SS Feeder
£148.00
EX 1000
£545.00
SS Feeder
£198.00
Colour Ribbon
£18.00
Colour Option
£55.00
LQ500
£299.00
SS Feeder
£75.00
LQ850
£499.00
SS Feeder
£155.00
LQ1050
£699.00
SS Feeder
£179.00
LQ2500
£789.00
SS Feeder
£198.00
SQ2500
£999.00
CQ3500 Laser
£1495.00
Data Products LZR 1 230
£2490.00
Canon PW 1080A
£249.00
A55 132 col
£449.00
Serial Interface
£79.00
PJ 1 080 Colour
£399.00
LPB-8 Series 2 Laser
£1646.00
Juki 6100 Daisywheel
£279.00
Serial Interface
£59.00
SS Feeder
£199.00
Tractor Unit
£159.00
6200
£449.00
6300
£699.00
6500
£799.00
National Panasonic Matrix
KXP 1081
£149.00
KXP3131
£245.00
SPECIAL OFFER:
EPSON LX800 - STILL ONLY 189.00
BUT ONLY WHILE STOCKS LAST!
Also available. Citizen, Star
SPECIAL OFFER
PLOTTERS
Linear Graphics Plotmate
A4 Parallel
A4M Multi-interface
A3 Paraiiol
A3M Multi-interface
Houston Instruments
EDMP52 A2/A1 1 pen
High Speed Intelligent Drum
EDMP52MP A2/AI 14pen
High Speed Intelligent Drum
C369.00
C429.00
C399.00
C549.00
C2978.00
C3726.00
MONITORS
Microvitec
1431 MS Std Res
£ 168.00
1431 DS Std Res
£ 168.00
1431MS/AP
£ 219.00
1431DS/AP
£ 219.00
1451 MS Med Res
£ 219.00
145 IDS Med Res
£ 219.00
1451MS/AP
£ 249.00
1451DS/AP
£ 249.00
1441 High Res
£ 359.00
2030CS Std Res
£ 380.00
2040CS High Res
£ 685.00
1456/DI 2 CGA
£ 349.00
1322/SI 2 EGA
£ 449.00
Touchtech501
£ 249.00
Tilt & Swivel
£ 19.00
Philips
7502 12" Green
£ 69.00
7522 12" Amber
£ 85.00
7542 12" White
£ 85.00
7513 12" Green IBM
£99
7713 14" Green IBM
£ 113.00
7723 14" Amber IBM
£ 118.00
8833 14" Colour
£ 249.00
8852 14" Colour
£ 279.00
8873 14" EGA
£ 499.00
Taxan
KX 17
£ 75.00
KX 12
£ 99.00
Acorn Philips medium resolution colour monitor suit-
able for BBC B. BBC Master. Acorn Archimedes. Atari
and many other micors.
TTL RGB input, analogue RGB input, audio input,
button to select green text, 12 months warranty.
Limited number only £ 199.00
Ideal for 80 column word processing, and for colour
graphics.
Acorn ADF32 Med Res £ 1 99.00
Colour
Miracle WS 2000 V21/23
£92.00
WS 2000 Auto Dial Card
£27.00
WS 2000 Auto Answer Card
£27.00
WS 2000 Sk. Kit
£5.00
WS 2000 User Pod Lead
£5.00
WS 4000 V21/23
£135.00
WS 3000 V21/23
£244.00
WS 3000 V22
£409.00
WS 300 V22 BIS
£537.00
(Comes complete with BBC Corns package and
Data Lead)
Pace/Nightingale Modem
£1 15.00
BBC/Commsiar Software
£29.00
1 PCB DESIGN
•Professional PCS Layout using Racai RedCAD
— no |Ob too small
•EPLD Chips designed
{Erasable Programmable Logic Devices)
•24 Hours turn round —
contact Russell Clarke 0276-684715
SATELLITE RECEIVING SYSTEMS
•Complete Systems from £499
• Satellite Decoder Boxes for Filmnet ♦ Sky ♦ BBC
from £299
EUROMICRO PC SYSTEMS
386/16
£1995.00
1 Mbyte RAM. Single 1 .2 MByte floppy
286/10
£1295.00
1 MByte RAM, Single 1.2 Mbyte floppy
Baby AT
£995.00
1 MByte RAM. Single 1 .2 MByte (loppy
XT-Turbo
££695.00
640K RAM, Single 360K floppy
All complete with Monochrome Monitor, Keyboard Serial and
Parallel ports, and MSDOS v3.21
Add-on Hard Disks (including controller where necessary)
for XT -T urbo 20 MByte
£295.00
for Baby AT 20 Mbyte
£350.00
for 286/10 20 MByte
£200.00
for 386/1 6 20 MByte
£350.00
for 386/1 6 20 MByte +
£495.00
cache
Add-on floppy
for XT-Turbo 360K
£65.00
for Baby AT. 1 .2 Mbyte
£95.00
Add-on Memory
for 286/10 1 Mbyte
£130.00
for 386/1 6 1 Mbyte
£295.00
EGA Colour monitor
£395.00
EGA Card
£195.00
Euromicro PC reviews have said:
Which Computer -‘Startling Good Value'
of 386/16
Which Computer -‘Best Buy'
of 286/10
PC User ‘Excellent’
of 386
PC SOFTWARE
Delta Professional
£399.00
Delta 4 Budget
£85.00
dBase III Plus
£399.00
PFS: Professional Filer
£199.00
Cardbox
£52.00
Cardbox Plus
£249.00
WordPerfect v4.2
£299.00
Junior WordPerfect
£86.00
Wordstar v3.4
£199.00
Wordstar Professional v4
£249.00
Wordstar 2000 rel3
£299.00
Lotus 123 rel2
£349.00
Lotus Symphony
£325.00
Psion Xchange
£325.00
Ability
£99.00
Logistix
£99.00
Sage Bookkeeper
£95.00
Sage Accountant
£135.00
Sage Accountant Plus
£165.00
Compshop was established in 1978. and in the nine
years of trading numbers among its customers BBC.
BOCC, BP. British Aerospace, British Home Stores.
British Leyland, BT, CBS. DECX, Ferodo. GEC, Hirst.
ITT, ITN, Kodak. Logica. Marconi. Metal Box. MK
Electric. Pilkmgton Glass. Radio Rentals. Rolls Royce.
Saatchi and Saatchi. STC. STL. Texas. Instruments.
Thorn EMI, UDT and Zales.
PRICES EX-VAT AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. PLEASE RING FOR STOCK SITUATION BEFORE MAKING LONG JOURNEYS.
RETAIL SHOPS
COMPSHOP LTD
OPEN
10-7 • Mon-Fn
10-4 • Sat
14 STATION ROAD,
NEW BARNET,
HERTS EN5 1QW
(NEAR BRITISH RAIL STATION)
INNOVATION HOUSE
ALBANY PARK
CAMBERLEY,
SURREY GUI 5 2PL
• ESTABLISHED EDUCATION SUPPLIERS •
WITH APPROVED ACORN'AMSTRAD'CUMANA
MICROVITEC* EPSON m SER VICE CENTRES
SALES: 01-441-2922
TECHNICAL: 01-449 6596
TELEX: 298755 TELECOM G
(BEHIND PAYLESS')
SALES: 0276-29219
TECHNICAL: 0276-684715
PERFECT
The DTP package
that does what you want!
"Pixel Perfect is a desktop publishing package of almost
awesome proportions that will fit into any BBC. Pages are
created directly onto a mode 0 screen and this should meet
every conceivable need of the most ardent DTP enthusiast."
"The graphics capabilities of Pixel Perfect are excellent - the
facilities are easy to use and a vast array of effects can be
achieved."
"A useful and exciting facility is the easy import of whole
screens created using any package in other graphics modes.
I he conversion to mode 0 and grey shading is faultless and
shades may be inverted. The printout routine is very fast and
makes page viewing redundant."
"Here is a D I P package that does what you want."
Micro User. May I9B8
AVP
To order or for more information on the best BBC desk top publishing system available write to
AVP School Hill Centre Chepstow Gwent NP6 5PH Telephone 02912 5439
QUEST64- An Advanced Information Handling (database) package
What is QUEST64?
Quest64 is a sophisticated Information Handling (database) system
for use with the BBC Master 1 28 and compact microcomputers.
What can I do with QUEST64?
As with all versions of QUEST, you can manipulate, question and
display data in a variety of ways.
What facilities does QUEST64 have?
It enables you to handle larger datafiles (up to 64K) extremely quickly. Alongside other
enhanced commands for searching, sorting and displaying data, QUEST64 also has a
video-disk ‘driver’ to control the actions of an Interactive video disc player.
Can I Use QUEST data with QUEST64?
Data created using both QUEST and QUEST-D can be used with QUEST64. There are
data files in Home Economics, Geography and History which are available separately.
When will QUEST64 be available?
QUEST64 is available now and costs £30. To order QUEST64 or to request a catalogue of
our software, contact:
The Advisory Unit for Microtechnology in Education,
Endymion Road, Hatfield, Herts ALIO 8AU
Tel: (07072) 65443
106
ACORN USER MAY 1988
ARCHIMEDES
& BBC SOFTWARE
INTER-CHART
A general purpose chart and graph
plotting program that can display
data in the most easily understood
format— graphically.
While it integrates directly with other
members of the 'INTER’ family it can
also accept data from ASCII files,
produced by WORDW1SE, VIEW and
programming languages such as
BASIC.
Supports line, and bar graphs, pie
charts and also scatter graphs.
These may be automatically
scaling, or the user may view any
portion of the scale so allowing
'zooming' into any area of interest.
Pie charts may have highlighted
segments (pulled out) with the
values optionally displayed as
percentages.
All graph displays may have
optional text headings or messages
positioned anywhere on screen.
These are saved with the graph and
may be edited at any time.
Multiple graphs can be held in
memory at the same time. Any
number of graphs may be overlaid
allowing easy comparisons etc.
(Not applicable to pie charts.)
Graphs may be displayed in any
BBC graphics mode. The colours of
bars, lines, or segments may be
altered from a simple table of
colours. In addition special striped
colour combinations and a variety
of cross hatching styles are
available for bar charts.
Where appropriate either axis may
be displayed with a log or linear
scale, and optional dotted
graduation lines are available.
INTER-CHART has built in screen
dump routines for EPSON matrix
printers and compatibles. Other
screen dump routines may be used
from within (or external to) INTER-
CHART for other printers or plotters.
BBC ROM— £32.00 + VAT
(£36.80 incl.)
Archimedes ROM £25 VAT (£28.75 incl.)
INTER-WORD
The ultimate word processor for the
BBC Micro.
The most comprehensive WYSIWYG
image of the final page showing at
all times, page breaks, headings,
footings, bold text, underlines etc,
ensuring the page on screen looks
as close as possible to the final
printout.
Works in 40, 53, 80 or a special 1 06
column screen mode and offers
super-fast scrolling in all modes,
even sideways scrolling if necessary.
All margin and tab settings are
controlled by rulers placed in the
text. These may be altered by
moving the cursor onto the ruler and
simply dragging the required margin
or tab to the new position. All text
controlled by the ruler is instantly re-
formatted to the new settings.
Pull down menus may control nearly
all operations— no complicated
commands to remember. This
ensures that it really is easy to use.
Printer control menu allows easy
access to all printers' special effects
and allows easy configuring to any
printer. Printer codes may be saved
and re-loaded— no need for special
printer drivers.
A special multi-file mode enables
very long documents to be
generated, even to the size of a disc,
yet enables simple movement to
any page in the document.
File selector for all file operations.
This enables fast and very simple file
name selection when saving,
loading etc.
Integrates directly with other
members of the INTER family and
with SPELLMASTER, the fastest and
most flexible spelling checker
available for the BBC.
BBC ROM £49 ♦VAT (£56.35 incl.)
Archimedes ROM £39 VAI (£44.85 incl.)
INTER-SHEET
A simple to use, but very powerful
spreadsheet program offering many
unique features.
The fastest spreadsheet available for
the BBC Micro.
The largest capacity spreadsheet.
This means more data and larger
spreadsheets are possible.
40, 80 and a special 106 column
screen mode. Especially useful for
viewing large sheets.
Multiple spreadsheets in memory at
once. Data from one may be
included in the calculations of other
sheets.
Super-fast replication allows
anything from a single box to an
area of the sheet to be copied to
any other position. Formulae may
be automatically updated relative
to their new positions.
Simple WORDWISE like cursor
movement.
A unique windowing system enables
any row or column to be fixed on
screen, while allowing the sheet to
scroll underneath. Simpler than
other windowing systems yet more
flexible.
While it integrates directly with INTER-
WORD it can also transfer data to
and from other word processors
such as VIEW and WORDWISE.
A large range of standard maths
functions is included in addition to
special spreadsheet functions such
as AVERAGE, COUNT, IF . . ., LOOKUP,
MAX, MIN, SUM etc.
Simple auto-prompting commands
structure. If you cqn’t remember the
complete command syntax, just
enter the first letter and INTER-SHEET
will prompt from then on.
BBC ROM (2 chips) £49 VAT
(£56.35 incl.)
Archimedes ROM £39 VAT (£44.85 incl.)
All the above ROMs are fuiiy compatible with DFS, ADFS, Econet, all BBC machine variants and Watford or Aries shadow
available. This replaces 4 chips and
so offers a more compact and more
economic way of obtaining the
above three programs.
RAM boards.
MEGA 3-
the single chip solution
A new single 1 megabit chip
ACCESS & BARCLAYCARD ACCEPTED
Computer Concepts Ltd
BBC ROM £B5 VAT (£97.75 incl.)
Archimedes ROM not yet available.
Gaddesden Place
Hemel Hempstead
Herts HP2 6EX.
Telephone 0442 63933
ACORN USER MAY 1988
107
OFFERS
TELETEXT ADAPTER
TELESOFTUARE
NEXT Micro-magazine .701
Reviews 702
DATA Forthcoming events. .... .703
REPORT Education special
- software reviews ..... 704
♦CAT Programs available now.. 710
♦INFO Program information 711
LIST Programs next week 712
TELESOFTWARE The programs 720
to 731
<
V .A
The most advanced teletext receiver
available - just £134
We are so impressed by the exceptional
quality of the new BBC teletext adapter,
that we have negotiated a special low-
price introductory offer exclusive to Acorn
User readers.
All orders received by July 31 1988 will
be supplied at £134 inclusive of VAT and
delivery (normal retail price £149). The
BBC teletext adapter is only available at
this special price through Acorn User.
The Advanced Teletext Receiver from
General Information Systems was
developed with the co-operation of the
BBC. It is the next generation of teletext
receivers for the BBC microcomputer
series and is the only BBC-approved
teletext adapter design.
The adapter incorporates many of the
advances made possible by recent
developments in teletext chip technology
all packed into a ruggedly built, compact
box, which can be either wall-mounted or
left free-standing.
Other key features include:
■ Complete access to Ceefax and Oracle.
■ Operates with BBC models B, B+ and
Master.
■ A comprehensive manual.
■ The software supplied with the adapter
is guaranteed to operate with BBC
transmissions.
■ It is the only teletext adapter with ATS
Plus software, and an on-board dedicated
microprocessor for superior performance.
■ Designed for the future: the adapter
offers upwards compatibility to full page
teletext and picture quality teletext.
The BBC is committed to developing its
telesoftware and has already made a large
amount of public domain software
available to its users.
Financial news, television information
and the latest weather forecasts are just
some of teletext’s other features.
We are pleased to accept official
educational orders, and educational
discounts are available for orders of five
or more: telephone 01-490 1444 Ext. 297
for information.
Please send me
Advanced Teletext Adapter(s) at £134.00 inclusive of VAT and delivery. NB:
Educational discounts are available - contact Seran at Acorn User.
I enclose a cheque/postal order for £ made payable to GIS (Reader Account).
Please charge my Access/American Express £
Official order number
ACCOUNT NUMBER EXPIRY DATE
rrm rrm rrm mm mm mm
NAME
ADDRESS
POSTCODE
SIGNED DATE
Please send this coupon with your remittance to Teletext Offer, Acorn User Merchandising,
20-26 Brunswick Place, London N1 6DJ.
108
ACORN USER MAY 1988
A CLOSER LOOK
The BBC-approved GIS Teletext Receiver
is bristling with features
The BBC has joined forces with General
Information Systems, creators of the Red
Box home security system, to launch the
BBC Advanced Teletext Receiver.
The adapter gives you access to the
information on Ceefax and Oracle and lets
you download free telesoftware.
A single metre-long thick lead connects
to the user port on the BBC micro or
Master 128. Master Compact owners with
an add-on user port will now be able to
add teletext for the first time.
The adapter takes its power from the
micro’s 5 V output. In addition, you are
supplied with an ATS Plus ROM to install
in one of the sideways ROM sockets or a
ROM cartridge or expansion board. This
is a new version of the Advanced Teletext
System ROM released by the BBC two
years ago.
Tuning is achieved by typing in
’TELETEXT and then pressing Shift-fO.
The screen displays a station tuning page,
and gives simple instructions for tuning.
First you have to press ‘S’ to start
scanning through the channel
wavelengths, and when a signal is located
the scan is halted. This allows you to
either save the station by pressing K, or S
to continue scanning. A strong signal is
indicated by the status report showing
‘On-tune’ and a good steady screen
display. In some areas channels are
transmitted on several wavelengths, and
so you should scan through the entire
selection before choosing one.
Individual teletext pages are called by
simply pressing their unique three-figure
number. The software also allows you to
make use of the linked-pages system. At
the bottom of the screen there are usually
a series of coloured boxes followed by
either page numbers or coloured
keywords. These correspond to the four
coloured blocks on the keystrip (fl to f4).
This linked-pages system certainly makes
selecting any desired page much easier.
The ‘kept page’ feature is a really
useful asset. If you are using teletext for
long periods of time the terminal has the
ability to keep pages for you, updating
them when it can. This means that when
you re-select them they appear
immediately, without having to wait for
them to come round.
Probably the best feature of the ATS
Plus ROM is the way the telesoftware is
handled. The Ceefax service has several
pages dedicated to computer software.
These are updated weekly. By pressing f5
a complete list of all the telesoftware
available for the week is displayed. From
this catalogue programs and files can be
downloaded and saved to disc with
tremendous ease. There is none of the
confusion that the original TFS caused
when in the telesoft mode, with its black
screen and Searching message.
Since its release, the ATS ROM has
been well supported by the BBC. For
instance, the BBC has broadcast a
program which allows a whole week’s
telesoftware to be downloaded off-air
automatically. Other packages include
programs that can collect the major news
stories and then print them out in
newspaper format. These programs will
all work with the ATS Plus ROM too.
In addition BBC Schools Broadcasting has
started to use the telesoftware service for
sending out details of its broadcasts.
The most exciting development is the
use of ATS ROM commands so that your
own programs can extract data from
teletext pages. One example of this is a
program that allows your computer to
look at the weather pages on Ceefax every
day, take the data and plot graphs. This
allows a database of weather information
from all parts of the country to be built
up. In the same way, checks can be made
on how your favourite football team is
doing. Financial information on Ceefax
also allows an automatic check on the
state of your share portfolio — and you
could even build a system that monitored
the market, then warned you of changes.
The ROM comes with a function key
strip and an excellent user guide.
There is no doubt the new Advanced
Teletext Receiver is an impressive
performer. One reason for the BBC’s
adoption of the GIS adapter is that the
BBC regards its Ceefax service, and
especially the telesoftware service, as an
important part of an integrated system.
Perhaps the most important aspect of
the adapter is that it is BBC endorsed,
and so everything that is broadcast will
work. If you want access to Ceefax and
Oracle this is a great way to receive it.
ACORN USER MAY 1988
109
NEXT MONTH
JUNE ISSUE
OVERSEAS MEDIA DISTRIBUTORS
COMPUTER SUPPLIES AT WHOLESALE PRICES
FREE CARRIAGE
UNBRANDED DISKS Certified & Guaranteed
25 50 100 200
5 % " DSDD £9.50 £17.50 £32.50 £62.00
Supplied with Labels, Envelopes & Write Protects
10 25 50 100
3 Mo" DSDD £12.50 £26.25 £54.00 £105.00
Supplied with labels
COLOURED DISK Free Library Case
5%" DSDD 48 TPI £7.90 per box of ten
Colours: RED, BLUE, GREEN., YELLOW & WHITE
CLEANING KITS
HEAD CLEANING KITS
DISK STORAGE
SYSTEM
5 %" £2.50 3'/j" £3.75
ALL IN ONE KIT
1 Bottle General Surface Cleaner
1 Bottle Anti-Static Fluid
1 Bottle CRT Cleaning Solvent
3 Manual Spray Pumps
1 5 Vi" Floppy Head Cleaning Kit
50 Lint Free Cloths
SPECIAL PRICE £9.50
PRINTER STANDS
COPY HOLDERS
PRINTER RIBBONS
PLASTIC LIBRARY
CASES
MUSIC SPECIAL
The June issue of Acorn User contains three computer music
features. Carol Atack interviews Vince Clarke, whose group
Erasure are currently riding high in the charts with ‘Ship of Fools’.
Vince uses a BBC micro and a UMI MIDI interface to control his
synthesisers in the studio. Computer musician Ian Waugh
discusses the Hybrid Technology integrated music system, centred
around the Music 5000 synthesiser, and we list a piece of Ample
music to type into your Music 5000. Plus Joe Telford shows you
how to construct a simple drum machine of your own.
BUSINESS STUDIES
In the Education section, Chris Drage and Nick Evans discuss the
use of the computer in business studies teaching. In Step By Step
next month, Bruce Smith introduces InterChart , and shows you in
easy stages how to create graphs and charts from your spreadsheet
data. Plus we continue our survey of BBC databases.
ARCHIMEDE S TIPS
Archimedes owners’ new Arc Agora column continues with an
animation program and a relocatable module to help with
dumping the screen. We also take a look at First Word Plus , the
latest Arc wordprocessor contender.
CHEQUES OR POSTAL ORDERS TO:
OVERSEAS MEDIA DISTRIBUTORS
REF AC 003, 30 GREAT MEADOW ROAD, BEAUMONT LEYS
LEICESTER LE4 OQA. TEL: 0533 340114
EDUCATIONAL & GOVERNMENT ORDERS ACCEPTED - TRADE ENQUIRIES WELCOME
YU-S24 UNIVERSAL PRINTER STAND
Knock Down type. A cantilever refold paper
troys use no table space. Fits all prmtors.
standard carriage and wide. Made of molded
plastic.
£19.50
YU-S25 KID PRINTER STAND
Made of molded plastic. Feeds and
refolds paper underneath the printer,
takes up hardly more space than the
printer itself
YU-S25A: for 80 col. printer.
YU-S25B: for 132 col. printer.
80 column £28.50
132 column £32.50
Price per
Ribbon
AMSTRAD
8512/8256
£3.95
DMP 2000/3000
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BROTHER
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CITIZEN
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COMMODORE MPS 801
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DIABLO
HYTPYE II MS
£1.90
EPSON
FX/RX80 FX800
£2.75
MX/1 00/FX 1000
£3.75
LX80/86
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6100MS
£2.50
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QUME
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STAR
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MOST OTHER MAKES OF RIBBON
AVAILABLE, PHONE FOR DETAILS
PLEASE NOTE PRICES ARE EXCLUSIVE OF
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YUD 50L 5 % " x 50
£6.25 w ,t h disks £22.50
YUDD 1 00L 5% " x 100
£7.90 with disks £38.00
YUD IzOL 5y4"x120
£10.50 with disks £47.90
YUD 40L 3y 2 "x40
£6.00 with disks £46.90
YUD 80L 3y2"x80
£8.25 with disks £78.90
All with Lock & 2 Keys
YU-H32 COPY HOLDER
WITH ADJUSTABLE ARM
Size: 9% M x1iy 2 "
With smooth slide line
guide. £ 19.50
5 ’A" x 10
£1.75 with disks £5.90
3 Vi ' ' x 1 0
£2.50 with disks £13.90
Rugged steel frame.
Height adjustable basket
for output paper & base shelf
for input paper. Self assembly -
includes castors.
80 column £45.00
132 column £57.50
110
ACORN USER MAY 1988
YELLOW PAGES
INDEX/COMPATIBILITY
Entering listings
To make the task of entering listings easier,
Acorn User has adopted several standards
in the yellow pages. Programs are listed
with line numbers in increments of 10, so
type AUTO <Return> for automatic line
numbering before you start. Before you list
what you’ve entered, type LISTO 1
<Return> to provide spaces after the line
numbers. Programs in the yellow pages are
often listed to a width of 40 characters, so
type MODE 6 <Return> before you start.
Comparing the line-endings of your listing
with the yellow pages will help you spot
extra or missing characters.
To make sure that the program you want
to enter will work on your particular
machine, check the index below. All the
listings work with Basic 1, 2 and 4 (unless
stated otherwise) and with operating sys-
tems OS1.2 or above. If a program is
accompanied by an article, please read the
care is needed when
entering, we provide an easy-to-complete
‘How To Enter’ box.
Once you’ve typed in your program,
save it to tape or disc then test it by
running it. If you have a major problem
with a listing, ask someone to check it.- If
you still have difficulties, you can also send
off for a list of Checksums which help you
find the errors. Send a large sae (26p
stamp) to At/Checksums, PO Box 641,
London NW9 8TF.
article first. If special
JOE’S JOTTINGS
ODunuuDuaLJonunr
116
Listings to monitor the temperature of
your house with only a simple accessory
// //
//
/
ELEMENTARY, MY DEAR MICRO
121
Micro-Sherlock is an artificial intelligence
program to really set you thinking
TOP OF THE LIST
128
A mode 4 screen dump for the 24-pin
Epson LQ800
DISCS AND TAPES
All the listings on these pages can be found
on this month’s listings disc or cassette. See
page 134 for details of how to order.
BACK ISS UES
&
\ <T /
For help with entering and debugging
listings see the following back issues: April
’86, June ’85, Aug ’84, Sept ’83.
ACORN USER MAY 1988
111
YELLOW PAGES
HINTS & T I P S
See Hints & Tips, page 35
Listing 1. Banner printer
10 REM Sid* Print
20 REM By Kieran Connell
30 REM For BBC B/B+/M/C/E/A
40 REM (c) Acorn User May 1988
50 i .
60 MODE 0
70 PROCsetup
80 PROCdemo
90 RUN
100 i
110 DEF PROCsetup
120 DIM bl k (7)
130 VDU 23j8202|0|0j0|
140 FOR I%=0 TO 7
150 blk(IX)«2''(7-I7.)
160 NEXT
170 ENDPROC
180 i
190 DEF PROCdemo
200 PRINT TAB (35, 1 ) j “Side Print-
210 PRINT TAB (35, 2) j"
220 PRINT TAB (31,4) | "Bv Kieran Connell
II
230 INPUT TAB (5, 7) ; "Enter your text >>
>"t*
240 IF t*="" THEN t*=" »>DEMO. . . DEMO, •
a DEMO<<< 11
250 PRINT TAB (5, 9) ; “How big do you wan
t your text ?"
260 x=FNqet
270 PRINT TAB (38, 9) ; x ; " by “ ;
280 y=FNqet
290 PRINT TAB (43, 9) ; y
300 PRINT TAB (18, 12) ; “WARNINGS Make su
re your printer is connected!"
310 PRINT TAB (32, 14) ; "Then press SPACE
n
320 REPEAT UNTIL 6ET=32
330 CLS
340 PROCsideprt (t*, x , y)
350 ENDPROC
360 i
370 DEF PROCsideprt (text*, xmag, ymag)
380 VDU 2
390 b*=STRING* (ymag, "#“ )
400 s*=STRING*(ymag, “ ")
410 FOR I7.= 1 TO LEN(t*)
420 A7.= 10
430 X7.-&70
440 Y7.-0
450 ?8<70=ASC(MID*(t*, 17., 1) )
460 CALL &FFF1
470 FOR K7.=0 TO (7*xmaq ) +xmag-l
480 PRINT 'STRING* (40- (ymag*8)/2," “);
490 FOR J7.=B TO 1 STEP-1
500 IF ? (&70+J7.) AND blk(K7. DIV xmag)
THEN PRINT b** ELSE PRINT s*'
510 NEXT
520 NEXT
530 PRINT
540 NEXT
550 VDU 3
560 ENDPROC
570 i
580 DEF FNqet
590 REPEAT
600 no=GET
610 no a no-48
620 UNTIL no>0 AND no<10
630 »no
Listing 2. Extended mode 7 characters
10 REM Extra MODE 7 characters
20 REM By John Darby
30 REM For BBC B/B+/M/C
40 REM (c) Acorn User May 1988
50 t
60 A*=“ THOUSANDS MORE MODE 7 CHARACT
ERS"
70 B*=“Using double height characters
wi th“
80 C*="dif f erent characters top and b
ottom"
90 MODE 7
100 VDU 14
110 ON ERROR GOTO 360
120 PRINT ' ' CHR*141 j A* ' CHR*141 | A* '
130 PRINT ' 'CHR*141|B*'CHR*141;B*'CHR*
1 4 1 1 C* ' CHR* 1 4 1 j C*
140 PRINT 'SPC14: "EXAMPLE"
150 PRINT ' CHR* 141 3 STRING* (9, CHR*42) ; S
TR I NG* ( 9 , CHR*94 ) 5 STRING* (18, "-*") 'CHR*141
$ STRING* (9, CHR*88) ? STRING* (9, "X") ; STRING
* (9, CHR*10?> : STRING* (9, CHR*120)
160 PRINT ''"The results of various co
mbinations are"
170 PRINT "displayed toqether with the
ASCII value"
180 PRINT "of the top and bottom halve
s makinq up"
190 PRINT "each character."
200 PRINT ' SPC7"Use SHIFT key to scrol
1
210 CLS
220 FOR 17=32 TO 126
230 FOR J 7.-32 TO 126 STEP 16
240 PRINT "TOP "*I7.|" BOTTOM "*J7.;" t
o "JJ7.+ 15
250 FOR K7.= l TO 16
260 PRINT CHR* 1 4 1 j CHR* I7.J
270 NEXT
280 PRINT
290 FOR K7.=0 TO 15
300 PRINT CHR*141|CHR*(J7.+K7.) i
310 NEXT
320 PRINT
330 NEXT
340 PRINT
350 NEXT
360 VDU 15
370 END
Listing 3. Basic text formatter
10 REM Text Formatter
20 REM by Rob Anderson
30 REM for B/B+/M/C/E/A
40 REM (c) Acorn User May 1988
50 i
60 A*="Hello, this is a text formatti
nq package which enables neat presentati
on of strings. This has applications for
any proqrams which require a lot of tex
t output, and enables left, right, centr
e and justify formatting. "
70 B*="Hanging indents are supported,
along with normal indents. By defining
text windows, text may also be given any
required left margin, and the line leng
th can also be specified, starting from
1 if required!"
Continued ►
ACORN USER MAY 1988
YELLOW PAGES
HINTS & TIPS
◄ Hints & Tips listing 3 continued
80 C*="The functions provided work wi
th normal BASIC string variables which a
re passed into the routine as a paramete
r. These routines could be used as part
of an elementary word processor which yo
u may require for a special task."
90 s
100 MODE 129
110 PROCformat (0,39, "TEXT FORMATTING R
OUT I NE DEMONSTRAT ION", " CENTRE " )
120 PROCformat (0, 39, STRING* (37, "■" ) , "C
ENTRE")
130 VDU 28,0,24,39,4; 14
140 PROCformat (0,39, "< press SHIFT to
scroll >", "CENTRE")
150 PRINT
160 COLOUR 2
170 PROCformat (5,39, A*, "RIGHT")
180 PRINT
190 COLOUR 3
200 PROCformat (-10, 30, B*, "JUSTIFY" )
210 PRINT
220 COLOUR 2
230 PROCformat (0, 39, C*, "CENTRE" )
240 END
250 :
260 DEF PROCf ormat (i nd/C, 1 17., A*, format*
)
270 LOCAL width7., tc7., startV., 1 ine*, hi 7.,
1 c/C, W*, B*
280 width7.=*117.
290 IF ABS (ind/C) >=117. OR 117.<1 OR A*=
"" PRINT "Parameter Range Error."iVDU 7i
ENDPROC
300 tc7.=0
310 start7.=TRUE
320 1 ine*=" "
330 IF SGN(ind7.)=l hi7.=FALSEi Ic7.=ind7.s
1 ine*=STRINB* (ind/C, " ")iind7.=0 ELSE ind7.
=ABS ( i nd7.) i hi 7.=* TRUE 8 1 c7.=0
340 REPEAT
350 W*=" "
360 REPEAT
370 tc7.=tc7.+ l
380 B*=MID* (A*, tc7., 1 )
390 W*=W*+B*
400 UNTIL B*=" " OR tc7.=LEN A*
410 IF RIGHT* (W*, 1)=" " AND W*<>" " W*
=LEFT*(W*,LENW*-1>
420 IF start/C AND LEN W*+lc7.>117. line*
=1 i ne*+LEFT * ( W* , 1 17.-1 c7.) 8 W*=R I GHT * ( W* , LE
N W*-ll*/C+lc7.) ilc7.=ll%
430 start /C=FALSE
440 Ic“/C=lc7.+LEN W*
450 IF lc/C>117. PROCprintl ine (format*) 8
line*=STRING*( ind/C, " ")8lc7.=LEN W*i IF hi
7. hi7.=FALSEi 11%-11%-indX
460 IF LEN W*>117. PROCpri ntbi gword ELS
E 1 ine*=l ine*+W*
470 IF lc7.+ l<«117. AND W*<>" " line*=li
ne*+" "8 Ic7.=lc7.+ 1
480 UNTIL tc7.=LEN A*
490 PROCprintl ine (format*)
500 ENDPROC
510 i
520 DEF PROCpri ntbi gword
530 LOCAL A7.
540 line*=line*+MID*(W*,0, 117.)
550 FOR A7.-117.+ 1 TO LEN W* STEP 117.
560 PROCprintl ine (format*)
570 1 ine*=STRING* ( ind7., " " ) +MID* ( W*, A7.
,117.)
580 NEXT
590 lc7.=LEN W* MOD 117.
600 IF lc7.=0 THEN lc7.=117.
610 ENDPROC
620 8
630 DEF PROCprintl ine (format*)
640 IF LEN line*<widthX 1 ine*=l ine*+ST
RING* (wi dth/C-LENl i ne*. " " )
650 IF format*=" RIGHT" PROCal i gnr i ght
660 IF f or mat *= " CENTRE " PROCcentre
670 IF f or mat *=» " J UST I F Y " PROCjustify
680 PRINT line*
690 ENDPROC
700 8
710 DEF PROCal iqnriqht
720 REPEAT
730 IF RIGHT* ( 1 i ne*, 1)=" " line*=" "+L
EFT* ( 1 i ne*, LEN1 i ne*- 1 )
740 UNTIL RIGHT* ( 1 i ne*, 1)0" "
750 ENDPROC
760 s
770 DEF PROCcentre
780 LOCAL poi nterX, C/C, spaces'/.
790 pointer7.=width7.+ l
800 C7.«-l
810 REPEAT
820 poi nter7.=pointer 7.-1
830 C7.=C7.+ 1
840 UNTIL MID* ( 1 i ne*, pointer/C, 1 ) < >" "
OR C7.=117.
850 spaces7.=C7. DIV 2
860 1 i ne*=»STRING* (spaces7., " " )+line*
870 1 i ne*=LEFT* ( 1 i ne*, LEN line*-spaces
7.)
880 ENDPROC
890 i
900 DEF PROCjustify
910 LOCAL pointer^, CX, spaces7., point7.
920 pointer7.=width7.+ l
930 C7.— 1
940 REPEAT
950 pointer‘/C=pointer7.-l
960 C7.»C7.+ 1
970 UNTIL MID* (1 ine*, pointer/C, 1)0" "
980 IF C7.=0 ENDPROC
990 pointer7;=-l
1000 REPEAT
1010 pointer7.=pointer/C+l
1020 UNTIL MID* (1 ine*, pointer 7., 1 ) < >" "
1030 point"/C=pointer /C
1040 spaces7.=C7.
1050 IF INSTR(MID*(line*,point7., (width7.
-C7.)-point7.) , " ",0)=FALSE ENDPROC
1060 REPEAT
1070 REPEAT
1080 pointer7.=pointer/C+l
1090 IF pointer7.= (width7.-C7.) +1 pointer 7.
=point/C
1100 UNTIL MID* (1 ine*, pointers, 1 ) =" "
1110 1 i ne*=LEFT* ( 1 i ne* , poi nt er 7.) +M I D* ( 1
ine*, pointer7., width7.-pointer7.)
1120 REPEAT
1130 pointer7.*»pointer7.+ l
1140 UNTIL MID* ( line*, pointer 7., 1)0" »
1150 C7.=C7.-1
1160 UNTIL C7.=0
1170 ENDPROC
ACORN USER MAY 1988
113
YELLOW PAGES
HINTS & TIPS
Listing 4. Disc catalogue hider
10
REM File hider
20
REM by Stuart Rogers
30
REM for B/B+/M/C
40
REM (c) Acorn User May 1988
50
3
60
MODE 7
70
osward=&FFFl
80
oscl i =&FFF7
90
gsi ni t=&FFC2
100
gsread=&FFC5
110
base=&A00
120
buf f er=&E00
130
a
140
FOR 1=0 TO 1
150
a
160
FOR pass=0 TO 3 STEP 3
170
P7.=base
180
C
190
OPT pass
200
SEC
210
JSR gsread
220
BCC notdefault
230
LDA #&30
240
. notdefault
250
STA string+4
260
SEC
270
SBC #&30
280
STA block
290
BMI error
300
CMP #&04
310
BPL error
320
LDA #&53
330
JSR catLS
340
l
350
LDA #&08
360
• next
370
TAX
380
LDA buffer, X
390
OPT FNaction(I)
400
STA buffer, X
410
TXA
420
CLC
430
ADC #&08
440
BNE next
450
a
460
LDA #&4B
470
JSR catLS
480
LDX # (string MOD 256)
490
LDY # (string DIV 256)
500
JSR oscli
510
RTS
520
a
530
- catLS
540
STA block+6
550
LDX # (block MOD 256)
560
LDY # (block DIV 256)
570
LDA #&7F
580
JSR osword
590
RTS
600
l
610
- error
620
BRK
630
OPT FNequb ($<FF)
640
OPT FNequs ( "Only drives 0..3
allow
ed. ")
650
OPT FNequb (0)
660
M-
670
. block
680
OPT FNequb (&0)
690
OPT FNequw (buf f er )
700
OPT FNequw (&FFFF)
Continued ►
◄ Hints & Tips listing 4 continued
710
OPT FNequb (3)
720
□PT FNequb (&53)
730
OPT FNequb (0)
740
□PT FNequb (0)
750
□PT FNequb (&21)
760
OPT FNequb (0)
770
:
780
. string
790
OPT FNequs ("CAT
")
800
□PT FNequb (&0D)
810
3
820
NEXT pass
830
:
840
IF 1=0 THEN *SAVE
HIDE A00+74
850
IF 1=1 THEN *SAVE
SHOW A00+74
860
NEXT I
870
:
880
END
890
:
900
DEF FNacti on ( i )
910
IF i =0 THEN COPT
pass s ORA #&SOa 3
920
IF i=l THEN COPT
passsAND #&7Fz 3
930
=pass
940
s
950
END
960
s
970
DEF FNequb (b7.)
980
?P7.=b7.
990
py.=py.+i
1000
=pass
1010
:
1020
DEF FNequw (bX)
1030
?PX=bX MOD 256
1040
PX?l=bX DIV 256
1050
px=px+2
1060
=pass
1070
3
1080
DEF FNequs (b^)
1090
$py.=b$
1100
P’/.=py.+LEN(b*)
1110
=pass
Listing 5. Controlled ON ERROR
10 REM Controllable ON ERROR
20 REM by Jonathan Temple
30 REM for B/B+/E/M/C
40 REM (c) Acorn User May 1988
50 i
60 base=&AOO
70 py.-bace
80 COPT 2
90 LDA #255
100 LDX #3
110 .1 oop
120 8TA &414,X
130 DEX
140 BPL loop
150 RTS
160 1
170 i
180 ?&220»ba*e
190 ?fc221-ba«e DIV 256
200 *FX 14,6
210 ETC=FALSE
220 REPEAT UNTIL EX
230 PRINT "Escape pressed"
240 PRINT "Program continues"
114
ACORN USER MAY 1988
YELLOW PAGES
ARC AGORA
See Arc Agora, page 49
Listing 1. RGB demonstration
10 REM Agora - listing 1
20 REM RGB Demonstration
30 REM by Dave Acton
40 REM for Archimedes only
50 REM ( c ) Acorn User May 1988
60 :
70 MODE 12
80 ON ERROR PROCerr
90 OFF
100 DIM cx"/. (2) ,cy7. (2) ,h7.(2)
110 COLOUR 8, &F0, &F0, &F0
120 COLOUR 8
130 PRINTTAB (0, 30) "Move mouse onto cir
cle(s) - left button increases hue, righ
t button reduces hue"
140 FOR c7.=0 TO 2
150 hVmicVm) =&F0
160 cx7. (c7.) =640+200*S INRAD <c7.*120>
1 70 cy7. ( c7. ) =5 1 2+200*C0SRAD ( c7.* 1 20 )
180 GCOL l,2~c7.
190 CIRCLE FILL cx7. (c7.) , cy7. <c7.) , 260
200 NEXT
210 ^POINTER 1
220 MOUSE ON 1
230 REPEAT
240 PRINTTAB ( 15, 0) "Red=" 5 h7.(0) " "
250 PRINTTAB (35,0) "Breen=" j h7. < 1 > " "
260 PRINTTAB (55, 0) "Blue=";h7. (2) " "
270 MOUSE x7.,y7.,b7.
280 FOR c7.=0 TO 2
290 d7.=SQR( (x7.-cx7.(c7.) ) ~2+ (y7.-cy% <c7.) )
^2)
300 IF d7.<260 THEN
310 IF b7. AND 1 THEN
320 IF h7.(c7.)>0 h7. (c7.) =h% (c7.) -2
330 END IF
340 IF b m /m AND 4 THEN
350 IF h7.(c7.X&F0 h% (c7.) =h7. (c7.) +2
360 ENDIF
370 ENDIF
380 NEXT
390 WAIT
400 FOR h7.=0 TO 7
410 IF h7. AND 1 r7.=h7.(0> ELSE r7.=0
420 IF h m /m AND 2 g7.=h7. ( 1 ) ELSE g7.=0
430 IF h% AND 4 b7.=h7.(2) ELSE b7.=0
440 COLOUR h7.,r7.,g7.,b7.
450 NEXT
460 UNTIL FALSE
470 s
480 DEF PROCerr
490 ^POINTER 0
500 CLS
510 PRINT REPORTS" at line " ; ERL
520 END
Listing 2. Tint demonstration
10 REM Agora - listing 2
20 REM Tint Demonstration
30 REM by Dave Acton
40 REM for Archimedes only
50 REM (c) Acorn User May 1988
60 :
70 MODE 13
80 OFF
90 DIM cx7.(2) ,cy7.(2) ,h7.(2)
100 FOR c7.=0 TO 2
110 h7.(c7.)=&F0
120 cx7. (c7.) =640+240*S INRAD (c7.*120)
130 cy7. (c7.) =512+240*C0SRAD (c7.* 120)
Continued ►
◄ Arc Agora listing 2 continued
140 NEXT
150 FOR x7.=0 TO 1279 STEP 4
160 FOR y7.=0 TO 1023 STEP 4
170 col7-=0
180 tint7.=0
190 FOR c7.=0 TO 2
200 d7.=SQR< (x7.-cx7. (c7.) ) ^2+ (y7.-cy7. (c7.) )
^ 2 )
210 h7.= (480-d7.) /30
220 IF h7.<0 h7.=0
230 col7.=col7.+ (h7. DIV 4)*(4^c7)
240 tint7.=tint7. OR (h% AND 3)
250 NEXT
260 GCOL col 7. TINT 64*tint7.
270 POINT x7.,y7.
280 NEXT
290 NEXT
300 END
Listing 3. Life
10 REM Agora - listinq 3
20 REM Life
30 REM by Kim Latt
40 REM for Archimedes only
50 REM (c) Acorn User May 1988
60 s
70 DIM code &2200
80 PROCsetup
90 REPEAT
100 CALL clear
110 CLG
120 MOUSE ON 1
130 CLS
140 PRINT"Use Mouse tomove"''"Le
ft forliving cel 1 " ' ' "Ri qht for countc
ell' <ESC> toplay"
150 REPEAT
160 MOUSE X7.,Y7.,F7.
170 PR0Cp(F7.,X7.,Y7.)
180 UNTIL INKEY (O) =27
190 CLS
200 PRINP'Press: — " ' ' "<SPACE>" ' "for nex
tgenera-" '"tion" # #
210 PRINT"<ESC> toredesi gn " # '
220 PRINT"<SHIFT>— <ESC> toquit"
230 MOUSE UFF
240 REPEAT
250 CALL generate
260 UNTIL GET=27
270 UNTIL INKEY-1
280 ^POINTER 0
290 MODE 3
300 END
310 s
320 DEF PROCsetup
330 FOR pass7.=0 TO 2 STEP 2
340 P7.=code
350 COPT pass'/.
360 .generate
370 STMDB R13! , CR14>
380 MOV R14, #&01F00000
390 ORR R14,R14, #&000D8000
400 ADR R0,map
410 LDR Rl, CRO, #03
420 EOR R2, Rl , #1
430 STR R2, CRO, #03
440 ADR R3,map+4
450 ADD R12, R3, Rl , LSL #12
460 ADD R 1 1 , R3 , R2 , LSL #12
470 MOV R2, #&3E
Continued ^
ACORN USER MAY 1988
115
YELLOW PAGES
Arc Agora listing 3 continued
◄ Arc Agora listing 3 continued
480 .loopl
1070 .storecell
490 MOV R1 , #&3E
1080 STRB R9, CR1 1 , RIO J
500 ADD R7,R2,R2,LSL #2
1090 ADD R3, R9, R9, LSL #8
510 ADD R7 , R 1 4 , R7 , LSL #8
1100 ORR R3, R3, R3, LSL #8
520 ADD R7,R7,R1,LSL #2
1110 STR R3, CR7D , #— 4
530 SUB R5,R2,#1
1120 STR R3, CR7, #3241
540 ADD R 8 , R 1 2 , R5 , LSL #6
1130 STR R3, CR7,#644D
550 ADD R 8 , R 8 , #&3C
1140 SUBS R1 , R1 , #1
560 LDR R4, CR 8 , #01
1150 BNE 1 oop 2
570 LDR R5, CR8, #64D
1160 SUBS R2,R2,#1
580 LDR R6, ER8, #1283
1170 BNE loopl
590 ADD RIO, R1 , R2, LSL #6
1180 LDMIA R13 ! , CPO
600 MOV R4, R4, LSR #8
1190 .clear
610 MOV R5, R5, LSR #8
1200 ADR RO,map
620 MOV R 6 , R 6 , LSR #8
1210 MOV R1,#0
630 LDRB R9, CR12,R103
1220 STR R1 , CRO J
640 B count
1230 ADR RO, map+4
650 . loop2
1240 MOV R1 , #&2000
660 ADD RIO, R1 , R2, LSL #6
1250 SUBS R1,R1,#4
670 LDRB R9,CR12,R103
1260 MOV R2, #0
680 LDRB R0,CR8D,#-1
1270 -clearloop
690 ORR R4, RO, R4 , LSL #8
1280 STR R2, CRO, RID
700 LDRB RO, CR8, #653
1290 SUBS R1,R1,#4
710 ORR R5, RO, R5, LSL #8
1300 BPL clearloop
720 LDRB RO, CR8, #129 J
1310 MOV PC, R14
730 ORR R 6 , RO, R 6 , LSL #8
1320 .map
740 .count
1330 1 : NEXT pass’/.
750 MOV RO, #0
1340 *FX 229, 1
760 TST R4, #&FF
1350 MODE 13
770 ADDNE R0,R0,#1
1360 OFF
780 TST R4, #&FFOO
1370 RECTANGLE 0,4,1019,1019
790 ADDNE R0,R0,#1
1380 RECTANGLE 8,12,1003,1003
800 TST R4, #&00FF0000
1390 VDU 24, 16? 16? 1007; 1007; 29, O 5 4? 28, 3
810 ADDNE RO, RO, #1
2,31,39,0
820 TST R5, #&FF
1400 *POINTER 1
830 ADDNE R0,R0,#1
1410 MOUSE RECTANGLE 24,24,983,983
840 TST R5, #&OOFFOOOO
1420 M7.=map+4
850 ADDNE R0,R0,#1
1430 ENDPROC
860 TST R 6 ,#&FF
1440 s
870 ADDNE R0,R0,#1
1450 DEF PROCp <F7., X7., Y7.)
880 TST R 6 , #&FFOO
1460 IF F7. ELSE ENDPROC
890 ADDNE R0,R0,#1
1 470 M7.7 ( ( 1 008-FNa ( Y7. ) < < 2 ) +X7./ 1 6 ) = ( 4=F7.
900 TST R 6 , #&OOFFOOOO
)
910 ADDNE RO, RO, #1
1480 MOVE FNa(X7.) ,FNa(Y7.)
920 MOVS R9,R9
1490 PLOT 97-2* (2=F7.) , 8,8
930 BNE alive
1500 ENDPROC
940 CMP RO, #3
1510 s
950 MOVEQ R9, #&FF
1520 DEF FNa(X7.)=X7. AND &FFO
960 B storecell
970 . al i ve
980 CMP RO, #2
Listing 4. Fractals
990 BCC dies
1000 CMP RO, #4
1 0 s=20*S I NRAD ( 45 ) : c=20*C0SRAD < 45 ) s MO
1010 BCS dies
DE 15: OFF: ORIGIN 640, 512: INPUT j,k,l:CLS
1020 SUBS R9,R9,#1
:x=0:y=0: REPEAT: GCOL RND(64)-1 TINT (RND
1030 MOVEQ R9, #255
(3) -1 ) « 6 : FOR i=l TO 500: xx=y-SGN (x ) *SQR
1040 B storecell
(ABS(k*x-l ) ) :y=j-x:x=xx: POINT x*s+y*c-48
1050 .dies
,y*s-x*c-16: NEXT: UNTIL 0
1060 MOV R9, #0
Continued ►
See Joe’s Jottings page 88
Listing 1. Temperature reader
10 REM Level 1 temperature reader
80 REPEAT
20 REM by Joe Telford
90 temp=FNreadtemp
30 REM for B/B+/M/C + Maplin temperat
100 PRINT TIME*, "Temp - "jtemp
ure module
110 UNTIL FALSE
40 REM (c) Acorn User May 1988
120 END
50 s
130 s
60 PROCassemble
140 DEF FNreadtemp
70 CLS
150 LOCAL temp
Continued ►
JOE S JOTTINGS
116
ACORN USER MAY 1988
YELLOW PAGES
JOE’S JOTTINGS
◄ Joe’s Jottings listing 1 continued
160 CALL start
170 tens=0
180 FOR y=l TO 4
190 tBns=ten**2+buf f ?y
200 NEXT y
210 uni ts=0
220 FOR y=5 TO 8
230 units=units*2+buff?y
240 NEXT y
250 tenths=0
260 FOR y=9 TO 12
270 tenths=tenths*2+buf f ?y
280 NEXT y
290 temp=tens*10+uni ts+tenths/10
300 IF ?buf f =1 THEN temp=temp*-l
310 =temp
320 s
330 DEF PROCassemb 1 e
340 DIM start $<100, buff 18
350 FOR pass=0 TO 3 STEP 3
360 P"/.=start
370 base=$<70
380 COPT pass
390 .start
400 LDY #0
410 JSR waitforpulse
420 -loopl
430 I NY
440 JSR waitwhilehigh
450 CPY #12
460 BNE loopl
470 CL1
480 RTS
490 -waitwhilehigh
500 SEI
510 LDA $<FE60
520 BPL waitwhilehigh
530 .waitforpulse
540 LDA $<FE60
550 BMI waitforpulse
560 . separate
570 AND #$<40
580 CLC
590 ROL A
600 ROL A
610 ROL A
620 EOR #1
630 STA buff , Y
640 RTS
650 3
660 NEXT pass
670 ENDPROC
Listing 2. Single temperature plotter
10
REM Single Temperature
Grapher,
20
REM by Joe Telford
30
REM for B/B+/M/C + Maplin temperat
ure module
40
REM (c) Acorn User May
1908
50
i
60
MODE 1
70
PROCassemble
80
PROCgetdetai 1 s
90
PROCdrawaxes
100
ON ERROR REPORT: END
110
1
120
1 astemp=FNreadtemp
130
REPEAT
140
mi nutes=mi nutes+1
150
FOR loop*/.= l TO 6
Continued ►
◄ Joe’s Jottings listing 2 continued
160 A*=CHR*( INKEY (0) AND 223)
170 IF A*="P M THEN TIME=Oa PROCdumpi 1 as
temp=FNreadtemp: mi nutes=mi nutes+TIME DI V
6000a loop7.=6a NEXT: UNTIL 0
180 IF A*» M S M THEN TIME=Os PROCsaves 1 as
temp=FNreadtemp: mi nutes=mi nutes+TIME DIV
6000s loop7.=6s NEXT: UNTIL 0
190 IF A*="R" THEN RUN
200 temp=FNreadtemp
210 IF A*="X" THEN loop7.=6
220 NEXT
230 GCOL 0,3
240 MOVE 1 ef tx+ ( (mi nutes-l ) /60> *xscal e
, ybase+ (1 astemp-low) *yscale
250 DRAW leftx+ (minutes/60) *xscale, yba
se+ (temp-1 ow) *yscal e
260 lastemp=temp
270 PRINT TAB (O, 0) ; STRING* (40, “ '* ) 5
280 PRINT TAB (O, O) ; TIME*; "s Temp - ";t
emp
290 UNTIL A*="X n
300 CLS
310 END
320 a
330 DEF PROCsave
340 *SAVE TEMFILE FFFF3000 +5000
350 ENDPROC
360 s
370 DEF FNreadtemp
380 LOCAL temp
390 CALL start
400 tens=0
410 FOR y=l TO 4
420 tens=tens*2+buf f ?y
430 NEXT y
440 units=0
450 FOR y=5 TO 8
460 units=uni ts*2+buf f ?y
470 NEXT y
480 tenths=0
490 FOR y=9 TO 12
500 tenths=*tenths*2+buf f ?y
510 NEXT y
520 temp=tens*10+uni ts+tenths/10
530 IF ?buf f = 1 THEN temp=»temp*-l
540 =temp
550 s
560 DEF PROCassemble
570 DIM start $<100, buff 18
580 FOR pass=0 TO 3 STEP 3
590 P7.=start
600 base=$<70
610 COPT pass
620 .start
630 LDY #0
640 JSR waitforpulse
650 .loopl
660 I NY
670 JSR waitwhilehigh
680 CPY #12
690 BNE loopl
700 CL I
710 RTS
720 .waitwhilehigh
730 LDA $<FE60
740 BPL waitwhilehigh
750 .waitforpulse
760 SEI
770 LDA $<FE60
780 BMI waitforpulse
790 .separate
BOO AND #$<40
810 CLC
Continued ►
ACORN USER MAY 1988
117
YELLOW PAGES
JOE'S JOTTINGS
◄ Joe’s Jottings listing 2 continued
820 ROL A
830 ROL A
840 ROL A
850 EOR #1
860 STA buff , Y
870 RTS
880 3
890 NEXT pass
900 ENDPROC
910 s
920 DEF PROCxaxis (t,b,x, time)
930 LOCAL loop 7.
940 FOR loop7.=t TO b STEP-8
950 PLOT 69, x, loop"/.
960 NEXT
970 IF ABS ( INT (ti me+tgap/2) -time) < (tg
ap/2) THEN MOVE x,b-16aDRAW x,b:VDU 5iPR
INT; (INT (ti me+tgap/2) MOD 24)DIV lOsMOVE
x , b-32a PRINT ; ( INT (ti me+tgap/2) MOD 24)M
OD 10: VDU 4
980 ENDPROC
990 8
1000 DEF PROCyaxi s (r , L, y, temp)
1010 LOCAL loop7.
1020 FOR loop*/.=r TO L STEP-8
1030 PLOT 69, loop*/., y
1040 NEXT
1050 IF (temp MOD 5)=0 AND temp=INT tern
p DRAW L— 16, y i MOVE 0,yiVDU 5a PRINT; temp :
VDU 4
1060 ENDPROC
1070 8
1080 DEF PROCrect (x , y, 1 , w, f )
1090 MOVE x , y
1100 DRAW x+1 , y
1110 IF f=0 DRAW x+l,y+w ELSE PLOT 85, x
,y+w
1120 IF f =0 DRAW x , y+w ELSE PLOT 85, x+1
,y+w
1130 MOVE x , y+w
1140 IF f =0 DRAW x , y ELSE MOVE x,y
1150 ENDPROC
1160 s
1170 DEF PROCdump
1180 DIM P7.3,Q7.3
1190 !P*/.=8<030 10000
1200 !Q7.=S<03020100
1210 MOVE 0,0
1220 VDU 29, OjO; 2, 1,27, 1,65, 1,8, 1, 10
1230 FOR Y7.= 1020 TO 12 STEP- 16
1240 VDU 1,27,1,76,1,192,1,3
1250 FOR X7.=0 TO 1276 STEP 4
1260 A7.=0:B7.=0
1270 FOR Z7.=0 TO 12 STEP 4
1280 C7.=P0INT(X7., Y7.-Z7.)
1290 A7.=A7.*4+P7.?Cy.
1300 B7.=B7.*4+Q7.?C7.
1310 NEXT
1320 VDU 1, A7., 1,B7., 1, A7.
1330 NEXT
1340 VDU 1,10
1350 NEXT
1360 VDU 1,27,1,64,3
1370 ENDPROC
1380 t
1390 DEF PROCgetdetai 1 s
1400 CLS
1410 PRINT
1420 INPUT "What is the lowest temp you
expect? "low
1430 INPUT '"What is the highest temp y
ou expect? "high
Continued ►
◄ Joe’s Jottings listing 2 continued
1440 INPUT '"Graph lines every how many
degrees? "degap
1450 IF degap=0 THEN degap=l
1460 INPUT '"Record for how long in hou
rs? "len
1470 INPUT '"graph lines every how many
minutes? ";tgap
1480 IF tgap=0 THEN tgap=60
1490 tgap=tgap/60
1500 INPUT '"What start time in hours?
"strt
1510 end=strt+len
1520 INPUT '"How many mins are we into
that time? "minutes
1530 lef tx=100
1540 xdi st=l 130
1550 ybase=80
1560 ydi st=844
1570 xscale=xdist/len
1580 yscal e=ydi st/ (high-low)
1590 CLS
1600 ENDPROC
1610 s
1620 DEF PROCdrawaxes
1630 GCOL 0,1
1640 PROCrect (lef tx , ybase, xdist , ydi st , 0
)
1650 FOR time=strt TO end+tgap/2 STEP t
gap
1660 xpos=l ef tx + (time-strt ) *xscal e
1670 PROCxaxis (ybase+ydi st , ybase, xpos, t
ime)
1680 NEXT
1690 FOR temp=low TO high STEP degap
1700 ypos=ybase+ (temp-low) *yscale
1710 PROCyaxis (lef tx+xdist, lef tx , ypos, t
emp)
1720 NEXT
1730 ENDPROC
Listing 3. Twin temperature plotter
10 REM Twin Temperature Grapher
20 REM by Joe Telford
30 REM for B/B+/M/C + Maplin temper at
ure module
40 REM (c) Acorn User May 1988
50 a
60 MODE 1
70 PROCassemble
80 PROCgetdetai 1 s
90 PROCdrawaxes
100 ON ERROR REPORTS END
110 s
120 ?&FE62=1
130 lastemp=FNreadtemp
140 lastemp2=FNreadtemp
150 REPEAT
160 minutes=minutes+l
170 FOR loop7.» 1 TO 6 STEP 2
180 A*=CHR* (INKEY (0) AND 223)
190 IF A*="P" THEN TIME=Os PROCdump a 1 as
temp=FNr eadtemp c 1 astemp2=FNr eadtemp s mi nu
tea»minutes+TIME DIV 6000i laop7.=6a NEXTa U
NTIL FALSE
200 IF A*«"S" THEN TIME=Oa PROCsaves 1 as
temp=FNreadt«mp s 1 a*temp2=FNreadtemp a mi nu
tes*minutes+TIME DIV 6000s 1 oopX=6a NEXT a U
NTIL FALSE
210 IF A*="R" THEN RUN
220 temD=FNreadtemp
Continued ►
118
ACORN USER MAY 1988
YELLOW PAGES
joe’s jo moos
◄ Joe’s Jottings listing 3 continued
230 temp2=FNreadtemp
240 IF A*="X" THEN loop7.=6
250 NEXT
260 GCOL 0,3
270 MOVE lef tx+( (minutes-1) /60)*xscale
, ybase+ ( 1 astemp-1 ow) *yscal e
280 DRAW lef tx+ (minutes/60) *x seal e, yba
se+ (temp-low) *yscal e
290 lastemp=temp
300 GCOL 0,2
310 MOVE lef tx+( (minutes-1) /60)*xscale
, ybase+ (lastemp2-low) *yscale
320 DRAW lef tx+ (minutes/60) *xscal e, yba
se+ (temp2-l ow) *yscal e
330 1 astemp2=temp2
340 PRINT TAB (0, 0) ; STRING* (40, " " ) ;
350 PRINT TAB (0,0) ; "Tempi - ";temp;"s
Temp2 - " ;temp2
360 UNTIL A*=" X "
370 CLS
380 END
390 s
400 DEF PROCsave
410 *SAVE TEMFILE FFFF3000 +5000
420 ENDPROC
430 3
440 DEF FNreadtemp
450 LOCAL temp
460 CALL start
470 tens=0
480 FOR y=l TO 4
490 tens=tens*2+buf f ?y
500 NEXT
510 units=0
520 FOR y=5 TO 8
530 uni ts=uni ts*2+buf f ?y
540 NEXT
550 tenths=0
560 FOR y=9 TO 12
570 tenths=tenths*2+buf f ?y
580 NEXT
590 temp«tens*10+uni ts+tenths/10
600 IF ?buf f =1 THEN temp=temp*-l
610 ?&FE60=1-(?S<FE60 AND 1)
620 =temp
630 3
640 DEF PROCassemble
650 DIM start &100,buff 18
660 FOR PASS=0 TO 3 STEP 3
670 P7.=start
680 base=&70
690 COPT PASS
700 -start
710 LDY #0
720 JSR waitforpulse
730 -loopl
740 INY
750 JSR waitwhilehigh
760 CPY #12
770 BNE loopl
780 CL I
790 RTS
800 -waitwhilehigh
810 LDA &FE60
820 BPL waitwhilehigh
830 -waitforpulse
840 SEI
850 LDA &FE60
860 BMI waitforpulse
870 -separate
880 AND #&40
890 CLC
900 ROL A
910 ROL A
920 ROL A
930 EOR #1
940 STA buff , Y
950 RTS
960 1
970 NEXT
980 ENDPROC
990 s
1000 DEF PROCx axis(t,b,x,time)
1010 LOCAL loop7.
1020 FOR loop7.=t TO b STEP-8
1030 PLOT 69, x , 1 oop7.
1040 NEXT
1050 IF ABS ( INT (time+tgap/2) -time) < (tg
ap/2) THEN MOVE x,b-16:DRAW x,bsVDU 53 PR
INT 5 (INT(time+tgap/2) MOD 24)DIV lOsMOVE
x , b-323 PRINT; ( INT (time+tgap/2) MOD 24)M
OD 10 b VDU 4
1060 ENDPROC
1070 s
1080 DEF PROCyaxi s (r , L, y, temp)
1090 LOCAL 1 oop7.
1100 FOR loop7.=r TO L STEP-8
1110 PLOT 69,loop7.,y
1120 NEXT
1130 IF (temp MOD 5)=0 AND temp=INT tern
p THEN DRAW L-16,ysM0VE 0,yrVDU 5: PRINT;
temps VDU 4
1140 ENDPROC
1150 8
1160 DEF PROCrect (x , y, 1 , w, f )
1170 MOVE x , ys DRAW x+l,y
1180 IF f =0 DRAW x+1 , y+w ELSE PLOT 85, x
,y+w
1190 IF f =0 DRAW x , y+w ELSE PLOT 85, x+1
,y+w
1200 MOVE x , y+w 8 IF f=0 DRAW x,y ELSE MO
VE x , y
1210 ENDPROC
1220 s
1230 DEF PROCdump
1240 DIM P7.3,Q7.3
1250 !P7.=S<030 10000
1260 ! Q7.=&03020100
1270 MOVE 0,0
1280 VDU 29, O 5 O 5 2, 1,27, 1,65, 1,8, 1, 10
1290 FOR Y7-=1020 TO 12 STEP- 16
1300 VDU 1,27,1,76,1,192,1,3
1310 FOR X7.=0 TO 1276 STEP 4
1320 A7.=0:B7.=0
1330 FOR Z7.=0 TO 12 STEP 4
1340 C7.=P0INT(X%, Y7.-Z7-)
1350 A7.=A7.*4+P7.?C7.
1360 B7.=B7.*4+Q7.?C7.
1370 NEXT
1380 VDU 1,A7., 1,B7., 1, A7-
1390 NEXT
1400 VDU 1,10
1410 NEXT
1420 VDU 1,27,1,64,3
1430 ENDPROC
1440 8
1450 DEF PROCgetdetai 1 s
1460 CLS
1470 PRINT
1480 INPUT "What is the lowest temp you
expect? "low
1490 INPUT '"What is the highest temp y
ou expect? "high
1500 INPUT '"Graph lines every how many
degrees? "degaps IF degap=0 THEN degap=
1
Continued ►
ACORN USER MAY 1988
119
YELLOW PAGES
JOE’S JOT TINGS
◄ Joe’s Jottings listing 3 continued
1510 INPUT ' "Record for how long in hou
rs? "len
1520 INPUT ' "graph lines every how many
minutes? ";tgap:IF tgap=0 THEN tgap=60
1530 tgap=tgap/60
1540 INPUT '"What start time in hours?
"strt
1550 end=strt+len
1560 INPUT '"How many mins are we into
that time? "minutes
1570 1 ef tx=100
1580 xdi st=l 130
1590 ybase=80
1600 ydi st=844
1610 xscale=xdist/len
1620 yscale=ydi st/ (high-low)
1630 CLS
1640 ENDPROC
1650 :
1660 DEF PROCdrawaxes
1670 GCOL 0,1
^ 1680 PROCrect ( 1 ef tx , ybase, xdi st , ydi st , 0
1690 FOR time=strt TO end+tgap/2 STEP t
gap
1700 xpos=l ef tx + (time-strt ) *xscal e
1710 PROCxax i s (ybase+ydi st , ybase, xpos, t
i me)
1720 NEXT
1730 FOR temp=low TO high STEP degap
1740 ypos=ybase+ (temp-1 ow) *yscal e
1750 PROCyaxis (lef tx+xdist, lef tx , ypos, t
emp)
1760 NEXT
1770 ENDPROC
Listing 4. Module installer
10 REM Temperature mo
dule installer
20 REM by Joe Telford
30 REM for B/B+/M/C +
Maplin temperature modu
1 e
40 REM (c) Acorn User
May 1988
50 :
60 PROCassemble
70 PROCchecksum
80 CALL code
90 *SAVE "TCP" 900+20
0
100 CLS
110 PRINT "Install wit
h *TCP / disable with BR
EAK"
120 PRINT '"Warning! d
o not use memory from $<9
00 "
130 PRINT "to $<AFF wit
hout disabling TCP"
140
END
150
l
160
DEF
PROCassemble
170
code=$<900
180
temp7.=$<450
190
FOR
PASS=0
TO 3 ST
> 3
200
P7-=code
210
base=$<70
220
oldv=$<74
230
COPT PASS
240
. code
250
SEI
260
LDA
$<206
270
STA
ol dv
280
LDA
$<207
290
STA
oldv+1
300
LDA
#start
MOD 256
310
STA
$<206
320
LDA
#start
DIV 256
330
STA
$<207
340
LDA
#$<E
350
STA
$<FE6C
360
LDA
#$<90
370
STA
$<FE6E
380
LDA
$<FE60
390.
CLI
400 RTS
410 -start
420 LDA &FC
430 PHA
440 TXA
450 PHA
460 TYA
470 PHA
480 LDA &FE6D
490 AND #&10
500 CMP #$<10
510 BEQ mine
520 JMP exit
530 -mine
540 LDA $<FE60
550 SEI
560 LDA $<FE60
570 LDA #0
580 STA base
590 STA base+1
600 STA base+2
610 STA base+3
620 JSR waitforpulse
630 STA base
640 LDX #4
650 -loopl
660 JSR wai twhi lehigh
670 CLC
680 ROL (base+1)
690 CLC
700 ADC base+1
710 STA base+1
720 CLC
730 DEX
740 BNE loopl
750 LDX #4
760 -loop2
770 JSR wai twhi lehigh
780 CLC
790 ROL (base+2)
800 CLC
810 ADC base+2
820 STA base+2
830 CLC
840 DEX
850 BNE 1 oop2
860 LDX #4
870 -loop3
880 JSR wai twhi lehigh
890 CLC
900
ROL
(base+3)
910
CLC
920
ADC
base+3
930
STA
base+3
940
CLC
950
DEX
960
BNE
loop3
970
CLC
980
LDA
#0
990
STA
temp 7.
1000
STA
temp7.+ l
1010
STA
temp7.+2
1020
STA
temp7.+3
1030
LDX
#100
1040
LDA
base+1
1050
STA
temp 7-
1060
. hundreds
1070
DEX
1080
BEQ
onward
1090
LDA
temp 7.
1100
ADC
base+1
1110
STA
temp 7.
1120
BCC
hundreds
1130
LDA
#0
1140
ADC
temp7.+ l
1150
STA
temp7.+ l
1160
CLC
1170
JMP
hundreds
1180
. onward
1190
LDX
#11
1200
CLC
1210
. tens
1220
DEX
1230
BEQ
units
1240
LDA
tempX
1250
ADC
base+2
1260
STA
temp 7.
1270
BCC
tens
1280
LDA
#0
1290
ADC
temp7.+2
1300
STA
temp 7- +2
1310
CLC
1320
JMP
tens
1330
. units
1340
CLC
1350
LDA
temp 7.
1360
ADC
base+3
1370
STA
temp 7.
1380
LDA
#0
1390
ADC
temp7.+2
Continued ►
120
ACORN USER MAY 1988
YELLOW PAGES
A R T I F I C I A L INTELLIGENCE
◄ Joe’s Jottings listing 4 continued
1400
STA
tempX+2
1640
1410
CLC
1650
1420
LDA
base
1660
1430
BEQ
exi 1 1
1670
1440
LDA
#&FF
1680
1450
EOR
tempX
1690
1460
STA
tempX
1700
1470
LDA
#&FF
1710
1480
EOR
tempX+1
1720
1490
STA
temp X+l
1730
1500
LDA
#$<FF
1740
1510
EOR
tempX+2
1750
1520
STA
tempX+2
1760
1530
LDA
#8<FF
1770
1540
EOR
tempX+3
1780
1550
STA
tempX+3
1790
1560
CLC
1800
1570
LDA
tempX
1810
1580
ADC
#1
1820
1590
STA
tempX
1830
1600
LDA
#0
1840
1610
ADC
tempX+1
1850
1620
STA
tempX+1
1860
1630
LDA
#0
1870
ADC tempX+2
1880
LDA &FE60
STA tempX+2
1890
BMI waitforpulse
LDA #0
1900
. separate
ADC tempX+3
1910
AND #&40
STA tempX+3
1920
CLC
CLC
1930
ROL A
- exi t 1
1940
BMI zero
LDA #&90
1950
LDA #1
STA &FE6E
1960
RTS
LDA &FE60
1970
. zero
CL I
1980
LDA #0
LDA &FE60
1990
RTS
.exit
2000
1
PLA
2010
NEXT
TAY
2020
ENDPROC
PLA
2040
DEF PROCchecksum
TAX
2050
C=0
PLA
2060
FOR IX=&900 TO &A4
STA &FC
E
JMP (oldv)
2070
C=C+?(IX)
. wai twhi lehigh
2080
NEXT IX
LDA &FE60
2090
IF CO&82DB PRINT
BPL wai twhi 1 ehi gh
"Check listing. "SEND
. wai tf oroulse
2100
ENDPROC
See Elementary My Dear Micro, page 81
Listing 1. Micro-Sherlock
10 REM Micro-Sherlock
20 REM by David Acton
30 REM for B/B+/M/C/E/A
40 REM (c) Acorn User May 1988
50 i
60 MODE 3
70 PROCinitvars
80 sherl yX=FNhelp
90 ON ERROR PROCerr
100 REPEAT
110 REPEAT
120 INPUT"->"com*
130 IF ASC (com*) =42 PROCoscl i (com*) a co
m*=" "
140 PROCanalyse (com*)
150 UNTIL word* (O) < >“ "
160 recogX=FALSE
170 RESTORE
180 REPEAT
190 READ key*
200 IF word* (O) =key* dummyX=EVAL ( "FN"+
key*) arecogX-TRUE
210 UNTIL key*=" " OR re cog*
220 IF word* (numw'/.-l) = "?" PRINT FNquer
y (0) i recogX=TRUE
230 IF NOT recogX daveX=FNeval (0, 1 )
240 UNTIL FALSE
250 a
260 DEF FNeval (eX,etX)
270 IF numwX*3+eX newf actX=FNf actnum (F
Ncalcfactno(eX,eX+l,eX+2) , etX) e =eX+3
280 IF numwX=4+eX AND word* (eX+2) -"not
" newf actX=FNf actnum (FNcal cf actno (eX, eX+
l,eX+3) ,et7. EOR 1 ) a =eX+4
290 PRINT"Please rephrase"
300 =0
310 a
320 DEF PROCinitvars
330 DIM fact"/- ( 100) ,cond*( 100)
340 DIM typeX(lOO) , trueX(lOO)
350 DIM condX (100) , sX 255
360 DIM vocab* (200) , word* ( 15)
370 numfX=0
380 vocsizeX=0
390 numcondX-0
400 ENDPROC
410 a
420 DEF PROCanalyse (»*)
430 **X=s*
440 numwX-0
450 pX*0
460 REPEAT
470 REPEAT
480 IF pX?sX«32 pX=pX+l
490 UNTIL pX?sX<>32
500 s2X-pX+*X
510 REPEAT
520 IF pX?*X>32 pX?sX«pX?sX OR 32*pX=p
x+i
530 UNTIL pX?sX<«32 OR pXTsX-ASC"?"
540 tx»px?*x
550 p7.?cX*=13
560 px=px+i
570 word* (numw*/.) -*s2X
580 numwX=numwX+l
590 IF tX-ASC"?" word* (numwX) *"?" « numw
7.®numwX+l a tX-pX?sX
600 UNTIL tX»13
610 ENDPROC
620 a
630 DEF FNf actnum (f actX, tX)
640 LOCAL iX
650 IF numfX=0 THEN -FNaddf act (f actX, t
X)
660 i%— 1
670 REPEAT
680 iX=iX+l
690 UNTIL iX=numfX OR f actX«f act"/, (iX)
700 IF iX»numfX OR type*/. ( iX) < >tX THEN
=FNaddf act (factX, tX)
710 =i X
720 r
730 DEF FNaddf act (factX, tX)
740 f actX (numf X) =f actX
750 typeX (numf X) =tX
760 numf X-numf X+l
770 =numfX-l
780 3 Continued ►
ACORN USER MAY 1988
121
YELLOW PABESJ
ABTIflCI G I IHTElli fi E H C E
< Elementary My Dear Micro listing 1 continued
790 DEF FNquery(qX)
800 LOCAL iX, answer X, answer*
810 IF numfX-0 THEN -"But I don't know
anything yet"
820 IF numwX<qX+3 THEN -"Please rephra
se your question"
830 queryX-FNcalcf act no (qX, q*/.+ l, qX+2)
840 PROCcleartruths
850 answer X=FNt (queryX)
860 IF answer X-0 THEN ="Statement is F
ALSE"
870 IF answer X— -1 THEN =" Statement is
TRUE"
880 =" Insufficient data!"
890 a
900 DEF FNtest
910 PRINT FNquery ( 1 )
920 =0
930 s
940 DEF FNt(factX)
950 LOCAL iX,tyX,
960 ty7.=-l
970 REPEAT
980 tyX=tyX+l
990 iX— 1
1000 REPEAT
1010 iX=iX+l
1020 UNTIL iX=numfX OR (f actX=f actX (iX>
AND tyX-typeX ( i X ) )
1030 UNTIL tyX *8 OR iX<numfX
1040 IF iX=numfX THEN =1
1050 IF trueX (iX) =1 PRINT" (Unknown: "|F
Nfax (iX) 3 "> "
1060 IF trueX (iX) =1 AND (typeX(iX) AND
4) THEN -FNonlytrue (EVAL (cond* (condX (iX)
) ) )
1070 -trueX (iX)
10B0 i
1090 DEF FNonlytrue (tX)
1100 IF tX<0 THEN — 1
1110 *1
1120 a
1130 DEF FNhelp
1140 PRINT' "Micro-Sherlock 1.0"
1150 PRINT' "Valid keywords! "
1160 RESTORE
1170 REPEAT
1180 READ key*
1190 PRINT" "key*
1200 UNTIL key*-" "
1210 =0
1220 i
1230 DEF FNlist
1240 IF word* (1)=" words" OR numwX«l PRO
Cl ist words
1250 IF word* (1)*=" facts" OR numwX-l PRO
Clistfax
1260 =0
1270 3
1280 DEF PR0C1 i stwords
1290 IF voc*izeX»0 PRINT"No words" lENDP
ROC
1300 PRINT"Wordsi "
1310 FOR 17.-0 TO vocsi zeX-1
1320 PRINT" "vocab* (iX) ;
1330 REPEAT
1340 VDU 32
1350 UNTIL POS MOD 20=0
1360 NEXT
1370 PRINT
1380 ENDPROC
1390 i
1400 DEF PROClistfax
1410 IF riumf %=0 PR I NT "No facts" i ENDPROC
1420 FOR tX=0 TO 7
1430 IF tX AND 1 PRINT"True " 3 ELSE PRIN
T"Fal se " 3
1440 IF tX AND 2 PRINT" , supposed";
1450 IF tX AND 4 PRINT" , dependent "3
1460 PRINT
1470 tot7.=0
1480 FOR iX-0 TO numfX-1
1490 IF typeX(17.)=t7. PRINT" "FNfaxdX)
1 totX=totX+l
1500 NEXT
1510 IF tot%=0 PRINT" None"
1520 NEXT
1530 ENDPROC
1540 1
1550 DEF FNfax(fX)
1560 LOCAL base*
1570 base*=vocab*(fact%(f %) MOD 200 )^"
"+vocab*< <f act7.(f X> DIV 200) MOD 200 )+"
M +vocab*(fact7.<f7.) DIV 40000)
1580 IF typaX(fX) AND 4 THEN =base*+" (
"+cond* (condX (f X) ) +" ) "
1590 =base*
1600 :
1610 DEF FNwordnum (w*)
1620 IF vocsi ze7.=0 THEN =FNaddword (w*)
1630 i7.=-l
1640 REPEAT
1650 iX=iX+l
1660 UNTIL vocab* (i7.) =w* OR i7.=vocsize%
1670 IF i7.»vocsizeX THEN =FNaddword <w*)
1680 =i V,
1690 1
1700 DEF FNaddword (w*)
1710 IF vocsi ze7.=200 PR I NT" ERROR 1 Word
memory full"'iEND
1720 vocab* (vocsi ze7.) =w*
1730 vocsi zeX=vocsize7.+ l
1740 -vocsi zeX-1
1750 3
1760 DEF FNsupposes =FNevaI ( 1 , 3)
1770 :
1780 DEF FNtrues =FNeval ( 1 , 1 )
1790 1
1800 DEF FNf al sec =FNeval ( 1 , 0 )
1810 a
1820 DEF FNif
1830 LOCAL iX
1840 iX=-l
1850 REPEAT
1860 iX""iX+l
1870 UNTIL word* (iX) — "then" OR i7.=numw7.
1880 IF iX-numwX PR I NT "No THEN" 1 -FALSE
1 890 newf ac 1 7.»FNf ac t num ( FNcal cf ac tno ( i X
+ 1 , i X+2 1 i X+3 ) , 5 )
1900 condX (newf actX) -numcondX
1910 cond* (numcondX) -FNcond ( 1 )
1920 numcondX*numcondX+l
1930 =0
1940 c
1950 DEF FNforget
1960 numfX -0
1970 vocsi zeX=0
1980 numcondX=0
1990 =0
2000 1
2010 DEF FNcond(cX)
2020 IF word* (cX+3) -"then" THEN -FNwhat
fact
2030 IF word* (cX+3) -"and" THEN-FNwhatf a
ct+" AND "+FNcond (cX+4)
Continued ^
122
ACORN USER MAY 1988
YELLOW PAGES
◄ Elementary My Dear Micro listing 1 continued
2040
IF word* <c%+3) ="or " THEN
=FNwhatf ac
2200
=FNwordnum (word* (wl7.) ) +200*FNwordn
t+" OR "+FNcond (c7.+4)
um (word* (w2%) ) +40000*FNwordnum (word* (w3X
2050
PR I NT "Bad condition"
) )
2060
II J It
2210
c
2070
1
2220
DEF PROCerr
2080
DEF FNwhatf act
2230
IF INKEY-1
CLSsEND
2090
= "FNt < "+STR* (f act7. (FNf actnum (FNcal
2240
REPORT
cf actno (c7., c7.+ l , c7.+2) ,9) ) )+") "
2250
PRINT
2100
1
2260
ENDPROC
2110
DEF PROCcleartruths
2270
E
2120
IF numf7.=0 THEN ENDPROC
2280
DEF PROCoscl i (o*)
2130
LOCAL i% f t%
2290
*s7.=o*
2140
FOR i7.=0 TO numf 7.-1
2300
X7.=b7. MOD
256
2150
IF (type7.(i7.) AND 4) true7.(i7.) =
= 1 E
2310
Y7.=s7. DIV
256
LSE true7. (i%) = ( (type7. (i7.) AND
1)«=1)
2320
CALL &FFF7
2160
NEXT
2330
ENDPROC
2170
ENDPROC
2340
>
2180
l
2350
DATA help.
1 ist, suppose, if , test
2190
DEF FNcal cf actno <wl%, w27
, w37.)
2360
DATA forget, true, false, ""
See Network Page, page 164
Listing 1. GDUMP source code
10
REM GDUMP source
450
. skipspace
930 JSR osword
20
REM by Alistair Sh
460
I NY
940 LDX cols
immin
470
LDA (8<A8) , Y
950 LDA cols+1
30
REM for B/B+/M/C w
480
CMP
#8<20
960 STA data+6, X
ith Basic 2 8< Econet
490
BEQ
skipspace
970 DEC cols
40
REM (c) Acorn User
500
CMP
#13
980 BPL col loop
May 1988
510
BEQ
noparams
990 .testescape
50
B
520
JSR
shif tparms
1000 BIT &FF
60
osword=8<FFF 1
530
JMP
noparams
1010 BPL noescape
70
osbyte=8<FFF4
540
. not334
1020 .escape
80
osargs^StFFDA
550
LDA
#1
1030 JSR resetshadow
90
zbl oc=8<A8
560
JSR
&FFDA
1040 LDA #8<7C
100
s
570
LDY
#0
1050 JMP osbyte
110
PROCclearmem
580
LDA
(8<A8) , Y
1060 .noescape
120
FOR I7.=4 TO 7 STEP
590
CMP
#13
1070 LDX #bl kl MOD 256
3
600
BEQ
noparams
1080 LDY #blkl DIV 256
130
P7.=8<E10b 07.=8<910
610
JSR
shif tparms
1090 JSR transmit
140
:
620
. noparams
1100 BMI testescape
150
COPT 17.
630
LDA
#235
1110 LDA #&A0
160
. cbyte
640
STA
bl k 1+2
1120 LDX #&4E
170
EQUB S<90
650
STA
blk2+2
1130 JSR osbyte
180
. masterf lag
660
LDA
#0
1140 STX bl k2+9
190
EQUB 0
670
STA
bl k 1+3
1150 .screenloop
200
. shadow
680
STA
bl k2+3
1160 LDA cbyte
210
EQUB 1
690
JSR
master
1170 STA blk2
220
. f inishedf 1 ag
700
LDA
#&A0
1180 LDA bl k2+9
230
EQUB 0
710
LDX
#8<55
1190 STA bl k2+5
240
EQUD 0
720
JSR
osbyte
1200 CLC
250
EQUD 0
730
STX
data
1210 ADC #&14
260
EQUD 0
740
LDX
#8<50
1220 CMP #8<80
270
EQUW 0
750
JSR
osbyte
1230 BCC notfinished
280
. start
760
STX
data+1
1240 LDA #8<80
290
LDY #0
770
STY
data+2
1250 INC finishedflag
300
LDA #2
780
SEI
1260 .notfinished
310
LDX #8<A8
790
LDA
#&A0
1270 STA bl k2+9
320
JSR &FFDA
800
LDX
#8<4E
1280 .trans2
330
CMP #2
810
JSR
osbyte
1290 LDX #blk2 MOD 256
340
BNE not334
820
STX
data+4
1300 LDY #blk2 DIV 256
350
LDA #1
830
LDA
#&A0
1310 JSR transmit
360
JSR &FFDA
840
CL I
1320 BEQ exit
370
LDY #8cFF
850
LDX
#&60
1330 JMP skipexec
380
. f indspace
860
JSR
osbyte
1340 EQUD 0
390
I NY
870
STX
data+5
1350 EQUD 0
400
LDA (8<A8) , Y
880
STX
col s
1360 EQUB 0
410
CMP #13
890
. col loop
1370 EQUD start OR 8<FFF
420
BEQ noparams
900
LDX
#cols MOD 256
FOOOO
430
CMP #8<20
910
LDY
(tools DIV 256
1380 .skipexec
440
BNE findspace
920
LDA
#&B
1390 BIT 8<FF _ . . . ^
Continued ^
NETWORK PAGE
ACORN USER MAY 1988
123
YELLOW PACES
◄ Network Page listing 1 continued
1400 BPL clear
1840
LDX #1
2270 EQUD 0
1410 JMP escape
1850
LDY #0
2280 EQUD 0
1420 .clear
1860
JSR &FFF4
2290 EQUD 0
1430 JMP trans2
1870
. noshadow
2300 EQUD 0
1440 .transmit
1880
RTS
2310 EQUD 0
1450 LDA #M0
1890
. resetshadow
2320 EQUW 0
1460 JSR osword
1900
LDX shadow
2330 EQUB 0
1470 . testtransmi t
1910
BNE exitreset
2340 EQUB 13
1480 LDA #&32
1920
LDY #0
2350 .cols
1490 JSR osbyte
1930
LDA #108
2360 EQUW 0
1500 TXA
1940
JSR &FFF4
2370 .end
1510 BMI testtransmit
1950
. exitreset
2380 3
1520 ASL A
1960
RTS
2390 NEXT
1530 RTS
1970.
shi f tparms
2400 s
1540 .exit
1980
LDX #*<17
2410 PROCchecksum
1550 LDA cbyte
1990.
nextshi f t
2420 PRINT *SAVE GDU
1560 EOR #1
2000
LDA (&A8) , Y
MP 910 " ?STR»~07.j u FFFFO
1570 STA cbyte
2010
STA data, X
E22 FFFF0E10"
1580 LDA finishedflag
2020
CMP #13
2430 PRINT ‘"Push SPACE
1590 BEQ screenloop
2030
BEQ shiftend
BAR to SAVE, or ESCAPE t
1600 LDA masterflag
2040
INX
o STOP"
1610 BEQ skipreset
2050
INY
2440 REPEAT UNTIL GET=3
1620 JSR resetshadow
2060
JMP nextshift
2
1630 .skipreset
2070
. shiftend
2450 OSCLI ( "SAVE GDUMP
1640 RTS
2080
INX
910 "+STR»~07.+ " FFFF0E22
1650 .master
2090
TXA
FFFF0E10" )
1660 LDY #255
2100
CLC
2460 END
1670 LDX #0
2110
ADC blkl+4
2470 s
1680 LDA #&81
2120
STA bl k 1+8
2480 DEF PROCclearmem
1690 JSR &FFF4
2130
LDA bl k 1+5
2490 FOR I7.=*<910 TO *<AC
1700 CPX #*<FF
2140
ADC #0
D
1710 BEQ nomaster
2150
STA bl k 1+9
2500 ?I7.=0
1720 STX masterflag
2160
RTS
2510 NEXT 17.
1730 JSR readshadowstat
2170
EQUD 0
2520 ENDPROC
e
2180
• bl kl
2530 s
1740 .nomaster
2190
EQUD &0000A090
2540 DEF PROCchecksum
1750 RTS
2200
EQUD (&FFFFOOOO
OR
2550 C=0
1760 . readshadowstate
data)
2560 FOR I7.=*<910 TO &AC
1770 LDA #*<84
2210
EQUD (&FFFFOOOO
OR
D
1780 JSR &FFF4
(data+24) )
2570 C=C+?<I7.)
1790 CPY #*<80
2220
. bl k2
2580 NEXT 17.
1800 BNE noshadow
2230
EQUD &0000A191
2590 IF CO&B541 THEN P
1810 LDA #0
2240
EQUD &FFFF0000
RINT "Check listing. " iEN
1820 STA shadow
2250
EQUD &FFFF8000
D
1830 LDA #108
2260
. data
2600 ENDPROC
Listing 2. NDUMP source code
10 REM NDUMP source
200
EQUB 1
420 JSR rxdel
20 REM by Alistair Sh
210
.finishedflag
430 BRK
immin
220
EQUB 0
440 EQUB 11
30 REM for BBC B/B+/M
230
. tries
450 EQUS"Net failure"
/C with Econet and Basic
240
EQUB 20
460 EQUB 0
2
250
. rxdel
470 -exittx
40 REM (c) Acorn User
260
LDX rxblk
480 .pollrx
May 1988
270
LDA #*<34
490 LDA #19
50 i
280
JMP &FFF4
500 JSR &FFF4
60 osword=*<FFFl
290
EQUD 0
510 LDX rxblk
70 osbyte=&FFF4
300
EQUB 0
520 LDA #*<33
80 osargs=&FFDA
310
. start
530 JSR *<FFF4
90 zbl oc=&A8
320
LDX #rxbl k MOD
256
540 TXA
100 :
330
LDY #rxbl k DIV
256
550 BMI exitrx
110 PROCclearmem
340
LDA #*<11
560 DEC tries
120 FOR I7.= 4 TO 7 STEP
350
JSR &FFF1
570 BNE pollrx
3
360
. txloop
580 JSR rxdel
130 P7.=&E10:07.=&910
370
LDX #bcastbl k MOD
590 BRK
140 COPT 17.
256
600 EQUB 11
150 .cbyte
380
LDY #bcastblk DIV
610 EQUS"No station on
160 EQUB S<90
256
line"
170 .masterflaq
390
JSR transmit
620 EQUB 0
180 EQUB 0
400
BEQ exittx
630 -exitrx
— 190 .shadow
410
. gi veup
640 LDX #rxbl k MOD 256
Continued ►
NETWORK PAGE
124
ACORN USER MAY 1988
YELLOW PAGES
◄ Network Page listing 2 continued
650
LDY #rxblk DIV 256
1370
INC finishedflag
2090 -tries
660
LDA #*<11
1380
. notf ini shed
2100 EQUB 20
670
JSR &FFF 1
1390
STA blk2+9
2110 . bl kl
6B0
. setrecei vestno
1400
. trans2
2120 EQUD *<0000A090
690
LDA rxblk+3
1410
LDX #blk2 MOD 256
2130 EQUD (*<FFFF0000 OR
700
STA blkl+2
1420
LDY #blk2 DIV 256
data)
710
STA blk2+2
1430
JSR transmit
2140 EQUD (*<FFFF0000 OR
720
LDA rxblk+4
1440
BEQ exit
(data+24) )
730
STA blkl+3
1450
BIT *<FF
2150 . bl k2
740
STA blk2+3
1460
BPL clear
2160 EQUD *<0000A191
750
JSR master
1470
JMP escape
2170 EQUD «<FFFF0000
760
LDA #*<A0
1480
. clear
2180 EQUD *<FFFF8000
770
LDX #*<55
1490
JMP trans2
2190 -bcastblk
780
JSR osbyte
1500
. transmi t
2200 EQUD *<FFFF9F90
790
STX data
1510
LDA #*<10
2210 EQUS "NDUMP "
800
LDX #*<50
1520
JSR osword
2220 EQUW 0
810
JSR osbyte
1530
- testtransmi t
2230 -rxblk
820
STX data+1
1540
LDA #*<32
2240 EQUB 0
830
STY data+2
1550
JSR osbyte
2250 EQUB *<7F
840
SEI
1560
TXA
2260 EQUB *<9E
850
LDA #*< AO
1570
BMI testtransmit
2270 EQUW 0
860
LDX #8<4E
1580
ASL A
2280 EQUD rxdata OR *<FF
870
JSR osbyte
1590
RTS
FFOOOO
880
STX data+4
1600
-exit
2290 EQUD &FFFF0000 OR
890
LDA #&A0
1610
LDA cbyte
rxdata+4
900
CL I
1620
EOR #1
2300 .rxdata
910
LDX #*<60
1630
STA cbyte
2310 EQUD 0
920
JSR osbyte
1640
LDA finishedflag
2320 .data
930
STX data+5
1650
BEQ screenloop
2330 EQUD 0
940
STX cols
1660
LDA masterflag
2340 EQUD 0
950
. col 1 oop
1670
BEQ ski preset
2350 EQUD 0
960
LDX #cols MOD 256
1680
JSR resetshadow
2360 EQUD 0
970
LDY #cols DIV 256
1690
. skipreset
2370 EQUD 0
980
LDA #*<B
1700
RTS
2380 EQUW 0
990
JSR osword
1710
. master
2390 EQUB 0
1000
LDX cols
1720
LDY #255
2400 EQUB 13
1010
LDA cols+1
1730
LDX #0
2410 .cols
1020
STA data+6, X
1740
LDA #*<81
2420 EQUW 0
1030
DEC cols
1750
JSR *<FFF4
2430 .end
1040
BPL col loop
1760
CPX #*<FF
2440 1
1050
. testescape
1770
BEQ nomaster
2450 NEXT
1060
BIT &FF
1780
STX masterflag
2460 s
1070
BPL noescape
1790
JSR readshadowstat
2470 PROCchecksum
1080
. escape
e
2480 PRINT " *SAVE NDUM
1090
JSR resetshadow
1800
. nomaster
P 910 "jSTR^O 7.| " FFFFOE
1100
LDA #*<7C
1810
RTS
22 FFFFOE 10“
1110
JMP osbyte
1820
. readshadowstate
2490 PRINT '"Push SPACE
1120
. noescape
1830
LDA #*<84
BAR to SAVE, or ESCAPE t
1130
LDX #bl kl MOD 256
1840
JSR *<FFF4
o STOP"
1140
LDY #blkl DIV 256
1850
CPY #*<80
2500 REPEAT UNTIL 6ET=3
1150
JSR transmit
1860
BNE noshadow
2
1160
BMI testescape
1870
LDA #0
2510 OSCLI ( "SAVE NDUMP
1170
LDA #*<A0
18B0
STA shadow
910 "+STRr v 07.+ " FFFF 0 E 22
1180
LDX #*<4E
1890
LDA #108
FFF0E10" )
1190
JSR osbyte
1900
LDX #1
2520 END
1200
STX blk2+9
1910
LDY #0
2530 i
1210
. screenloop
1920
JSR *<FFF4
2540 DEF PROCclearmem
1220
LDA cbyte
1930
. noshadow
2550 FOR IY.=*<910 TO *<AE
1230
STA blk2
1940
RTS
0
1240
LDA bl k2+9
1950
. resetshadow
2560 ?IX=0
1250
STA blk2+5
1960
LDX shadow
2570 NEXT 17.
1260
JMP skipexec
1970
BNE exitreset
2580 ENDPROC
1270
EQUD 0
1980
LDY #0
2590 i
1280
EQUW 0
1990
LDA #108
2600 DEF PROCchecksum
1290
EQUB 0
2000
JSR 8<FFF4
2610 C=0
1300
EQUD start OR &FFF
2010
. exitreset
2620 FOR I7.=*<910 TO *<AE
FOOOO
2020
RTS
0
1310
. skipexec
2030
. masterflag
. •
2630 D=C+?(I7.)
1320
CLC
2040
EQUB 0
2640 NEXT IX
1330
ADC #*<14
2050
. shadow
2650 IF C< >8<B9F4 THEN P
1340
CMP #*<80
2060
EQUB 1
RINT "Check listing. " jEN
1350
BCC notf ini shed
2070
. numberstore
D
1360
LDA #*<80
2080
EQUB 0
2660 ENDPROC
NETWORK PAGE
ACORN USER MAY 1988
125
YELLOW PAGES
NETWORK PAGE
Listing 3 Printer server
10 REM PSHORT
720 c=FNp(rx)
20 REM by Alistair Shimmin
730 UNTIL c >127 OR TIME>ty+t
30 REM for B/B+/M/C with Econet and B
740 IF c>127 THEN PROCe
asic 2
750 UNTIL (c AND 4) =4 OR c<128
40 REM (c) Acorn User May 1988
760 IF c< 128 THEN PROCx(rx)
50 s
770 VDU 2,1, 12,3
60 *FX 200,1
780 CLS
70 CLOSE# 0
790 ENDPROC
80 MODE 0
BOO s
90 VDU 2, 1,7,3
810 DEF PROCg
100 PROCa
820 PROCr(rx)
110 d=0: t=1000: a=10
830 m=(bl ! 9-bl !5>
120 DIM b &80,bl &30, 0 &10
840 IF cOl THEN PROCo
130 ?bl=5ibl?l=255sX7.=b!sY’/.=X7. DIV 256
850 PROCc(d)
140 A7.=S(13sCALL &FFF1
860 IF FNo>0 THEN c=0
150 ?r=FNr (&9F, 0, bu, &10)
870 ENDPROC
160 ?S<220=c7. MOD 256: ?*<221=c*/4 DIV 256
880 :
170 *FX 14,4
890 DEF PROCo
180 PROCs
900 I=c
190 s=0
910 IF c=&82 THEN ENDPROC
200 REPEAT
920 VDU 2
210 ?sa=0
930 FOR I7.= l TO m
220 rx=FNr (0, 0, b, &80)
940 VDU 1 , ? (b+I/4-1 )
230 REPEAT
950 NEXT
240 c=FNp(rx)
960 VDU 3
250 UNTIL c >127
970 ENDPROC
260 PROCr(rx)
980 i
270 p=bl?2
990 DEF PROCb
280 IF (p=*<Dl OR p=&AO) THEN PROCd
1000 VDU 2
290 UNTIL FALSE
1010 PRINT "Econet Station
300 END
1020 IF (s DIV 256) >0 THEN PRINT ;s DIV
310 s
256; "s
320 DEF PROCd
1030 PRINT ; s AND &FF ; " at ";:*PTIME
330 m=(bl ! 9-bl !5)
1040 PRINT " on " ; : PR0C1 ( "PDATE" )
340 s=bl ! 3 AND &FFFF
1050 PRINT '
350 ?st=s MOD 256
1060 VDU 3
360 st?l=s DIV 256
1070 ENDPROC
370 IF p=&Dl PROCc(d)
1080 s
380 IF FNo=0 THEN PROCy
1090 DEF PROCn
390 IF p=8<A0 THEN PROCg
1100 VDU 2,1,12,3
400 PROCs
1110 ENDPROC
410 ENDPROC
1120 i
420 s
1130 DEF PROCg
430 DEF PROCy
1140 ?sa=l
440 IF p=&Dl AND c=&82 THEN PROCp
1150 mo=?b
450 ENDPROC
1160 IF NOT (mo=3 OR mo=6> THEN PROCb
460 s
1170 sc= <b ! 1 AND &FFFFOOOO) DIV &FFFF
470 DEF PROCs
1180 sr=b ! 1 AND &FFFF
480 CLS
1190 co=b?5
490 VDU 23, 1 , 0; 0) 0; 0;
1 200 e*=FNs ( * ( b+23 > )
500 PRINT TAB<2, 10) "Graphics Dump and
1210 IF mo=7 THEN S7.= (sr DIV 2S6-&74) E
Printer Server Active"
OR &20:SL/4=sr MOD 256 ELSE S7.=sr DIV 8 D
510 ENDPROC
IV 256iSL7.=sr DIV 8 MOD 256
520 :
1220 VDU 22, mo
530 DEF PROCc(de)
1230 FOR 1/4=0 TO co
540 w=TIME
1240 VDU 19, 1%, b? (6+154) ;0;
550 REPEAT UNTIL TIME>w+de
1250 NEXT
560 ?b=0: tr=0
1260 VDU 23; 12, S/4; 0; 0; 0;
570 REPEAT
1270 VDU 23; 13, SL7.; 0; 0; O;
580 tr=tr+l
1280 ?&350=sr MOD 256
590 PROCt (c, re, s, b, 1 )
1290 ?&351=sr DIV 256
600 UNTIL FNo=0 OR tr=a
1300 cz=«<90
610 ENDPROC
1310 REPEAT
620 2
1320 rx=FNr (&A1 , s, sc , SC+&1400)
630 DEF PROCp
1330 sz=TIME
640 ?sa=l
1340 REPEAT
650 CLS
1350 c=FNp(rx>
660 PROCb
1360 UNTIL c>127 OR TIME>sz+t
670 l=c
1370 IF c>127 THEN PROCx(rx) ELSE PROCr
680 REPEAT
(rx )
690 rx=FNr (StDl , s, b, &80)
1380 IF c=cz THEN bc=sc+&1400s cz=cz EOR
700 ty=TIME
1
710 REPEAT
1390 UNTIL sc >=*<8000 OR c<128
Continued ►
126
ACORN USER MAY 198S
YELLOW PAGES
◄ Network Page listing 3 continued
1400
IF c>127 THEN PROCz
2120
PLA« YAX t PL At TAY: PL At PLPt RTS
1410
IF NOT (mo=3 OR mo=6> THEN PROCn
2130
• ra
1420
VDU 22,0
2140
LDA rsSTA rb
1430
1440
ENDPROC
l
2150
2160
LDX #rb MOD 256s LDY #rb DIV
LDA #&1 1 : JSR &FFF1
256
1450
DEF PROCz
2170
LDA rb+3: STA cy+2
1460
PROCr(rx)
2180
LDA rb+4: STA cy+3
1470
IF NOT (mo=3 OR mo=6> THEN PROCu
2190
LDX #5
1480
ENDPROC
2200
LDA #0: STA nmsSTA nesSTA nz
1490
c
2210
. na
1500
DEF PROCu
2220
LDA bu, Xs CMP #ASC"a"sBCC do
1510
VDU 2
2230
CMP #ASC"z"+lsBCS do
1520
IF mo=0 AND e*="" THEN PR0C1CGDUM
2240
AND #&5F
P 1 0
3 1") ELSE PR0C1 ("GDUMP "+e$)
2250
. do
1530
ENDPROC
2260
CMP pr , Xs BEQ th
1540
*
2270
INC nm
1550
DEF FNr (p , st , bf , 1 e)
2280
-th
1560
?bl=Os bl?l=&7F
2290
CMP pi, X: BEQ te
1570
bl ?2=p s bl !3=st
2300
INC ne
1580
bl !5=bf tbl !9=bf+le
2310
. te
1590
X*/.=bl t Y'/.=X'/. DIV 256
2320
CMP pn, X: BEQ tz
1600
A7=$<1 1 : CALL &FFF1
2330
INC nz
1610
=?bl
2340
. tz
1620
l
2350
DEXsBPL na
1630
DEF FNp(n)
2360
LDA nmsBEQ g
1640
X7.-niA7.»8<33
2370
LDA nesBEQ g
1650
= (USR (&FFF4) AND &FFOO) DIV S<100
2380
LDA nzsBEQ g
1660
3
2390
JMP ei
1670
DEF PROCr(n)
2400
- Q
1680
?bl =n
2410
LDA #5: STA tr
1690
X7.=blsY7.=X7. DIV 256
2420
. ta
1700
A7=&1 1 : CALL &FFF1
2430
J SR su
1710
ENDPROC
2440
LDA sasSTA bu
1720
l
2450
LDA st s STA bu+1
1730
DEF PROCt (cn,p,st,be, le)
2460
LDA st+lsSTA bu+2
1740
?bl =cn: bl ?l=p
2470
DEC tr s BEQ ei
1750
bl ! 2=st s bl !4=be
2480
LDX #tx MOD 256s LDY #tx DIV
256
1760
bl !8=be+le
2490
LDA #&10s JSR &FFF 1
1770
X7.=bls Y7.=X7. DIV 256
2500
. po
1780
A7=&10: CALL &FFF1
2510
LDA #&32sJSR &FFF4
1790
ENDPROC
2520
TXAsBMI po
1800
1
2530
BNE ta
1810
DEF FNo
2540
. ei
1820
REPEAT
2550
JSR se
1830
A7.=&32
2560
LDX #rb MOD 256s LDY #rb DIV
256
1840
rs= (USR (&FFF4) AND &FFOO) DIV &100
2570
LDA #&1 1 s JSR &FFF1
1850
UNTIL rs< 128
2580
LDA rbsSTA r
1860
=rs
2590
JMP ex
1870
i
2600
. se
1880
DEF PROCx(n)
2610
LDX #12
1890
A7.=S<34 1 X7.=n i CALL &FFF4
2620
. rz
1900
ENDPROC
2630
LDA cp , X s STA rb , X
1910
3
2640
DEXsBPL rz
1920
DEF FNs (A*)
2650
RTS
1930
IF R I GHT * ( A* , 1)0" " THEN =A$
2660
. su
1940
REPEAT
2670
LDX #11
1950
A*=LEFT* ( A*, LEN <A*> -1 )
2680
. tl
1960
UNTIL RIGHT* (A*, 1)0" "
2690
LDA cy, Xs STA tx,X
1970
=A$
2700
DEXsBPL tl
1980
8
2710
RTS
1990
DEF PR0C1 <*0)
2720
.tr OPT FNu(O)
2000
X7.=0s Y7.=X7. DIV 256s CALL &FFF7
2730
.r OPT FNu(O)
2010
ENDPROC
2740
.nm OPT FNu(O)
2020
3
2750
.ne OPT FNu(O)
2030
DEF PROCa
2760
-nz OPT FNu(O)
2040
DIM c7. &150
2770
. rb s OPT FNu(O)
2050
FOR I7.=0 TO 2 STEP 2
2780
OPT FNu (&7F)
2060
P7=c7.
2790
OPT FNu (&9F)
2070
COPT 17.
2800
OPT FNe(O)
2080
. ei PHPs PHAs TYAs PHAs TXAi PHA
2810
OPT FNq(bu)
OPT FNq (bu+S<10>
2090
LDX riLDA #&33sJSR &FFF4
2820
2100
TXAsBMI ra
2830
. cp s OPT FNu (0)
2110
. ex
2840
OPT FNu (&7F)
Continued
NETWORK PAGE
ACORN USER MAY 1988
127
[YELLOW PAGE!
◄ Network Page listing 3 continued
2B50 OPT FNu (&9F)
3050 3
2860 GPT FNe(O)
3060 NEXT
2870 OPT FNq(bu)
3070 ENDPROC
2880 OPT FNq (bu+&10)
30B0 s
2890 -txsOPf FNu (0)
3090 DEF FNe(w7.)
2900 OPT FNu (&9E)
3100 ! P7.=w7. : PX=PX+2
2910 OPT FNe(O)
3110 = IX
2920 OPT FNq(bu)
3120 l
2930 OPT FNq (bu+3)
3130 DEF FNq (dX)
2940 .cy:OPT FNu(&80)
3140 ! PX=dX : PX=P%+4
2950 OPT FNu (&9E)
3150 =IX
2960 OPT FNe(O)
3160 :
2970 OPT FNq(bu)
3170 DEF FNu(bX)
2980 OPT FNq (bu+3)
3180 !PX=bX:PX=PX+l
2990 .sa OPT FNu(0>
3190 =IX
3000 .st OPT FNe(O)
3200 :
3010 . pr s OPT FNA ( “NDUMP "
)
3210 DEF FNA (sS)
3020 .pis OPT FNA ("PLOT "
)
3220 FOR i7.= l TO LEN(s$)
3030 . pns OPT FNA ("PRINT "
)
3230 ?PX= ASC < M I D* ( s*
, iX, 1) ) : PX=PX+1
3040 .bus OPT FNq (0)s OPT FNq (0): OPT FNq (
3240 NEXT
0) sOPT FNq (0)
3250 =IX
Top of the List
Listing 1. Mode 4 LQ800 screen dump
460
LDA
(posl ) , Y
0: STA posl + 1, Y
1410
DEF PROCdemo
10 REM Tiny MODE 4 LQ
470
STA
space, Y
970 RTS
1420
FOR I7.=0 TO 32 STE
-800 Dump
480
LDA
(pos2) , Y
980 :
P 8
20 REM by David Lawre
490
STA
space+8, Y
990 . add280
1430
MOVE 17., 17.
nee
500
LDA
(pos3) , Y
1000 LDA posl, YsCLC: ADC
1440
DRAW 1279-17., 17.
30 REM for B/B+/M/C/E
510
STA
space+16, Y
#&80: STA posl , Y
1450
DRAW 1279-1%, 1023-
40 REM (c> Acorn User
520
DEY
1010 LDA posl+1, YsADC #
17.
April 1988
530
BPL
transf er
2: STA posl+1, Y
1460
DRAW 17., 1023-17.
50 :
540
LDA
#8
1020 RTS
1470
DRAW 17., 17.
60 *FX 5, 1
550
STA
times
1030 s
1480
NEXT
70 MODE 4
560
. output
1040 -rotate
1490
FOR R7.=0 TO 450 ST
80 PROCcode
570
LDX
#0
1050 CPX #16
EP 50
90 PROCchecksum
580
JSR
rotate
1060 BNE notendline
1500
MOVE 640,512
100 PROCdemo
590
LDX
#8
1070 LDA lines
1510
PLOT 145, R7., 0
110 CALL dump4
600
JSR
rotate
1080 BEQ print
1520
NEXT
120 END
610
LDX
#16
1090 -notendline
1530
PRINT TAB (5, 15) ; SP
130 s
620
JSR
rotate
1100 LDY #8
C30
. 140 DEF PROCcode
630
DEC
times
1110 LDA #0
1540
PRINT TAB (6, 16) ; SP
150 posl=&70: pos2=&72:
640
BNE
output
1120 -rot loop
C30
pos3=$<74
650
LDY
#0
1130 ROL space, X
1550
VDU 5
160 1 i nes=&76: chars=&7
660
JSR
add8
1140 ROL A
1560
MOVE 5*32,16*32+15
7s times=&78
670
LDY
#2
1150 I NX
1570
PRINT "This is a M
170 oswrch=&FFEE
680
JSR
addB
1160 DEY
ODE 4
demonstration"
180 FOR I7.=0 TO 2 STEP
690
LDY
#4
1170 BNE rot loop
1580
VDU 4
2
700
JSR
addB
1180 :
1590
ENDPROC
190 P7.=Sc900
710
DEC
chars
1190 -print
1600
i
200 COPT 17.
720
BNE
perchar
1200 PHA
1610
DEF FNequb (b7.)
210 .dump4
730
LDY
#0
1210 LDA #1
1620
?P7.=b7.
220 LDY #6
740
. eol loop
1220 JSR oswrch
1630
P7.-P7.+ 1
230 .initloop
750
LDA
eoldat, Y
1230 PL A
1640
= 1%
240 LDA ini t, Y
760
JSR
print
1240 JMP oswrch
1650
:
250 STA pos 1 , Y
770
INY
1250 s
1660
DEF FNequw (b%)
260 DEY
780
CPY
#7
1260 -space
1670
?P7.«b7. MOD 256
270 BPL initloop
790
BNE
eol 1 oop
1270 OPT FNequs (STRING*
1680
P7.71*b% DIV 256
280 .perline
800
LDY
#0
(24," "))
1690
P7.-P7.+2
290 LDA #2
810
JSR
add280
1280 s
1700
= 1%
300 JSR oswrch
820
LDY
#2
1290 -init
1710
i
310 LDA #27
830
JSR
add280
1300 OPT FNequw (&5800)
1720
DEF FNequs (b*)
320 JSR print
840
LDY
#4
1310 OPT FNequw (&5940)
1730
*P7.=b*
330 LDA #42
850
JSR
add280
1320 OPT FNequw (&5A80)
1740
P7.=P7.+LEN(b*)
340 JSR print
860
DEC
lines
1330 OPT FNequb (10)
1750
= 17.
350 LDA #39
870
BPL
perl ine
1340 s
1760
i
360 JSR print
880
LDA
#13
1350 -eoldat
1770
DEF PROCchecksum
370 LDA #320 MOD 256
890
JSR
oswrch
1360 OPT FNequb (27): OPT
1780
C=0
380 JSR print
900
LDA
#3
FNequb (74) : OPT FNequb (2
1790
FOR I%=S<900 TO &9F
390 LDA #320 DIV 256
910
JSR
oswrch
4)
D
400 JSR print
920
RTS
1370 OPT FNequb (27) : OPT
1800
C=C+?(I7.)
410 LDA #40
930
:
FNequb (36) : OPT FNequb (0
1810
NEXT 17.
420 STA chars
940
. add8
) : OPT FNequb (0)
1820
IF C< >24589 PRINT
430 .perchar
950
LDA
posl, YsCLC: ADC
1380 3 NEXT
"Check listing. "« END
440 LDY #7
#8s STA posl , Y
1390 ENDPROC
1830
ENDPROC
450 .transfer
960
LDA
posl + 1 , Y s ADC #
1400 :
TOP OF THE LIST
128
ACORN USER MAY 1988
OFFERS
THIS MONTH S LISTINGS
With your tomatoes beginning to show in
the greenhouse you have to watch out for
late frosts. Joe Telford’s temperature
control program could be just what you
need. Temperature levels are printed out
in graph form, so you are warned as the
weather changes. Also a great way to
monitor your fuel bills! If artificial
intelligence is in your line, use the
reasoning powers of Micro-Sherlock. Arc
Agora includes Peter Conway’s Game of
Life. Show the speed of your Arc off to
friends with our fractal program.
Have you ever wanted to print out a
banner to wish Mum a happy birthday?
Now you have the chance with the listings
disc for May. The security minded may
need our file hider program - blank out
files from prying eyes. May’s disc also
contains thousands of new characters for
mode 7. A three-second Mandlebrot is a
bonus program for Arc owners.
Taking the temperature
with Joe’s Jottings
iJjENfw y.rn
II
||
$
1
1
■
( fe
j Bb
/ fi
j!|
!
DISC SUBSCRIPTIONS
Guarantee the priority delivery of your
monthly listings by subscribing. Each
month our discs contain the very best
quality graphics, utilities and routines. A
subscription to the monthly discs will
save you hours of typing and de-bugging
leaving you time to enjoy the programs.
A subscription to the Acorn User
monthly listings discs will only cost you
£40. This small investment will give you
12 discs of listings.
Why not take advantage of our special
joint disc and magazine subscription
offer? For £50, a saving of £7.50, you
will receive 12 issues of Acorn User
magazine and the accompanying monthly
discs. Offers open to UK readers only.
Save pounds by
subscribing
MAGAZINE BINDERS
Keep your Acorn User magazine collection
in style with our smart red binder; no
more misplaced and dog-earred copies.
The binder features a wide spine with the
capacity to hold 12 issues of 200 pages.
£4.95 ensures that your valued guide
to the BBC micro, Electron and
Archimedes will always be kept in pristine
condition.
Have you missed any issues of Acorn
User magazine? Or the monthly discs or
cassettes? Acorn User has been
publishing the essential guide to Acorn
computing for more than five years. Think
what you could have missed! So take
this opportunity to make up your
collections. Most issues are still available
but you will have to hurry as our stocks
are running low! For a list of issue
contents write to: Seran Haddick,
Redwood Publishing, 20-26 Brunswick
Place, London N1 6DJ.
Keep your magazines
as good as new
ACORN USER MAY 1988
ORDER BY PHONE - RING (0672) 40825
129
TO ORDER USE THE FORM ON PAGE 134
OFFERS —
SOFTWARE GRAPHICS
Great graphics Sideways RAM
utilities made simple
The 40-track 5.25-inch Graphics Utilities disc, keenly priced at
£7.95, features 16 stand-alone machine code utilities, an advanced
teletext editor, several useful Basic procedures, an easy-to-adapt
disc header and index.
Included are: * ROTATE; rotates area through 180 degrees;
‘SWAPCOL; swaps two colours; ‘COLFILL; a colour fill routine;
*SVPIC; saves a compacted picture; *LDPIC; reloads a compacted
picture. There are many utilities to manipulate graphics.
The Acorn User sideways RAM disc gives you many more utilities
for your sideways RAM. These include: RAMpad- your computers
answer to the pad and pen; six different on-screen fonts available in
all modes; a 15k printer buffer; Screen Swap - store and recall
mode 4 or 5 screens; *ROMHEAD - standard service ROM header;
‘RLOOK- allows you to examine sideways RAM or ROM.
There are many more utilities on this 40/80-track 5.25-inch disc
and it's a snip at £9.95.
Micro masterpieces on
Portfolio for £9.95
Jonathon Inglis, freelance illustrator, has
assembled a Portfolio of his best work
exclusively tor Acorn User.
The disc contains screens that have been
used by national and regional publications.
Included are Seurat’s Bathers, a Time Out
cover from August 1985, and two familiar
Acorn User covers, Willow, (Nov ’86) and
Magician (Jan ’86), as well as several
pictures commissioned by The Times.
Three of Jonathon’s favourite
masterpieces are on the disc, Seurat’s
Riverside, Vermeer’s Lady at the Virginal
and a copy of a famous lithograph by
Matisse. Sade fans will probably be more
interested in the two stunning portraits of the
singer included on the disc.
You can create your own piece de
resistance using the Pixel Editor and Super
Painter programs. Pixel Editor allows you to
draw in and alter minute detail, while Super
Painter enables you to draw lines, texture
your screen and shade by mixing the eight
standard colours.
Portfolio comes in 80-track 5.25-inch
format with a comprehensive instruction
sheet telling you about the pictures and how
the artist created them. This disc can be
yours for only £9.95.
130
ACORN USER MAY 1988
OFFERS
USERDUMP ROM
Effiljjl The UserDump ROM will allow
laiH you to dump any screen image
in any display mode by entering a single
command - either as a line of your
program or by typing it directly from the
keyboard. A perfect dump can also be
obtained while a machine code program
is running.
UserDump can dump a graphics
window, make a distortion-free dump of
mode 0 screens using plotter graphics,
; ;
• : hjj
:
l •
translate a teletext screen into mode 1 ,
and shift any area of memory.
UserDump will work with any Epson-
compatible printer which has single-
density and double-density bit-image
graphics including the Star Gemini, Delta,
SG, SD and SR, Canon and Kaga NLQ.
Details of further commands and
printer compatibility are available from
Seran at Redwood Publishing Ltd., 20-
26 Brunswick Place, London N1 6DJ.
Trouble free screen dumps with
UserDump for £19.95
VIEWCHART DISC
ViewChart features a suite of
iH programs which can be used to
produce high-resolution graphics in pie
chart, bar chart or line graph form. Data
can be entered manually, or read from
ViewSheet, ViewStore or View files.
Present figures
with ViewChart
The charts can be labelled and shaded
to give a really professional appearance.
Epson-compatible screen dumps are
included, one of which will produce a
printout to the full width of an A4 sheet.
Screen dumps for other printers can be
painlessly installed.
The software is provided on a 5.25-
inch 40-track disc (with 80-track
converter). And the price of this
professional package? Just £12.95.
CALLIGRAPHY DISC
|3| Now you can produce
Ea ■ professional tickets,
letterheads and posters with the
Calligraphy disc.
Desalet is a font creator which
produces customised letters to your
personal design and saves you using
repetitive data statements and error- prone
calculations. All font sets can be up to 94
characters long.
Modical allows the use of disc-based
font sets created with Desalet. Modical
incorporates a modified file creation
program, which allows files to be printed
out immediately or saved for later.
An enhanced font ROM, in the form of
a sideways RAM image, allows you to
design your own fonts for use on-screen.
Any output to the printer will be in the
new font - thus giving true WYSIWYG.
This superb disc comes on 40/80-track
5.25-inch disc and is only £9.95.
Design your own fonts
with Calligraphy
ORDER WITH THE FORM ON PAGE 134
ACORN USER MAY 1988
131
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134
ACORN USER MAY 1988
REVIEWS
ARMOURED ARC
We got our first look at the new Archimedes game Conqueror this month.
Plus the latest news and hints from David Lawrence
Superior showed us three new games this
month, though in truth they could only
just wrest us away from playing Mirror-
soft’s Tetris. One was the long-awaited Arc
tank warfare game, Conqueror. The game
gives you control of a tank, and you can
drive across the Zarch- like landscape, flat-
ten houses and leave ruts in all the fields,
controlling the tank with vast numbers of
keys - eight at the last count. Success in
fighting off one tank is rewarded with a
more powerful vehicle.
Sadly, the view of the landscape is horr-
ibly foreshortened, and the arcade element
of the game is not all we hoped. But the
multiple-tank options are more interesting,
with some element of strategy being re-
quired to capture and defend a military
objective, a village or hill top, for the
necessary minute. The graphics look good,
but Jonathan Griffiths has clearly bor-
rowed from Zarch , and it doesn’t have the
instant appeal of David Braben’s game.
The Jeremy Smith and Peter Irving game
for the BBC micro we mentioned last
month will be called Exile. Ah, that’s why
it’s the next best to Elite , there’s only one
letter difference! It’s an odd sort of arcade
adventure set in space, with the objective
being rescue of a marooned band of ex-
plorers. The graphics on this look detailed
but a bit juddery when scrolling. Fun
though, and with a few new ideas and
puzzles to solve; pencil it in for May.
The third game is a bit of a puzzler. It’s
called Pipeline , and looks a bit familiar.
Why? Well, it looks like Ravenskull. And
which other game should look like Ravens-
kull, but Guildmaster from ASL, men-
tioned last month. What is going on here?
If you like a simple arcade adventure
then Bug Byte’s Tutankahmuns Revenge
could be worth searching out. This sort of
game is looking rather dated now, but it
does have screen and game designers.
New in the budget market are Pro Golf
A Panzer meets its match in Conqueror
and Creepy Cave from Atlantis, Rik the
Roadie from Alternative Software and
Warehouse and Gridiron from Top Ten.
None of them are exactly the best thing
since sliced silicon, but they are good value
for money. Also, check out Play it Again
Sam 2 from Superior; Repton 3, Crazee
Ryder, Strykers Run 2 and Galaforce on
one disc - can’t be bad.
Two Godax releases have come to my
attention. The first, Cyboto, is yet another
top-view scrolling game, nothing new here.
But the other, Bolo, is utterly different.
Written by Delos Harriman, the author of
Skirmish, it is a tank game which can be
played by up to 16 people (on 16 BBCs) at
once! You drive your tank around a huge
playing area, attempting to destroy your
fellow players’ tanks.
Reader Jarod Nash has discovered how
the animation on the Arc game Zarch looks
so good. He found that if you play Zarch
long enough to get in the highscore table,
and when it asks you to enter your name,
press Space-Home-Dclete it scrolls the
screen down slightly. If you continue
doing this until the grey status bar dis-
appears off the bottom of the screen and
press Return, the highscore table will
appear as usual, but when you play the
screen will flicker terribly and you’ll (just)
be able to see it drawing all the shapes.
What is happening is the ‘other’, shadow
screen is being displayed. Normally this
screen is updated while hidden to create
the illusion of smooth movement. So now
we know how its do ne!
Do you have any games news, opinions or
hints you want to share with Acorn User
readers ? Send games for review, cheats and
letters to The Games Page, Acorn User,
20-26 Brunswick Place, London N1 6DJ.
ACORN USER MAY 1988
135
fcersttP
fRtt
THE IMPACT
GAMES CLUB
The Fastest Growing
BBC Micro & Acorn Electron
Games Club in Britain
SAIGON
(T ynesoft)
A superb war simulation,
very good graphics, everything
Commando should have been.
ICARUS
(Mandarin Software)
A spectacular fast-action game
with over 20 levels. Its split
screen allows lor 2 player action
PLAY IT AGAIN SAM
(Superior Software)
1 Citadel
2 Strykers Run
3 Thrust
4 Ravenskull
PLAY IT AGAIN SAM 2
(Supenor Software)
1 Repton 3
2. Codoname Droid
3 Crazee Rider
4 Galaforce
6 month’s membership is absolutely FREE when you buy any of the games on this page.
What you get:
1 At least 20% discount on the latest major games releases (often more).
2. Monthly catalogues with details of
a) The latest releases for the BBC & Electron Micros.
b) The latost posters of your favourite games at less than 1/2 price
c) Free to enter prize competitions
d) Amazing scoop purchase offers
3. Hints. Tips and Game Solutions available to help you get more from your games.
4 Superb service - despatch normally same day as order - ALL games sent by
1st class post - FREE postage and packing.
PLEASE NOTE - Members are under NO obligation to make any further purchases.
I CONQUEROR
(Superior Software)
A 3 level tank game as
revolutionary as Zarch. Conqueror
can be played as an arcade game
or a full strategy gamo. Tne
best reason yet to buy an
Archimedes.
Only £19.95 (RRP £24 95)
FREE GAME HELP SHEETS WHEN YOU JOIN
You may choose any 1 of the following when joining:-
CITADEL (Solution and Map) PALACE OF MAGIC (Helpsheets and Map)
RAVENSKULL (Solution and 4 Maps) SPELLBINDER (Helpsheets and Map)
CODENAME: DROD (SoMbn and Map) ELIXIR (Helpsheets and Map)
SPYCAT
(Superior Software)
You can't buy the book but you
can buy the game. Follow the
adventures of Spycat Peter Wrong
and his exploits in the MI4L 2 .This
challenging and entertaining espionage
spoof will keep you on the edge
of your seats for many a cold
night to come.
SUPERIOR
Spycat
7.50
9.50
11.95
Quest
7.50
9.50
11.95
Play It Again Sam 2
7.50
9.50
11.95
Bonecruncher
7.50
9.50*
11.95
Spellbinder
7.50
9.50*
11.95
Play It Again Sam
7.50
9.50*
11 95*
The Life of Repton
5.50
6.35*
7.50
Elixir
7.50
9.50*
11.95*
Palace of Magic
7.50
9.50*
11.95*
Repton Around The World
5.50
6.35
7.50
Crazee Rider
7.50
9.50
1 1 95*
Codename: Droid
7.50
9.50
11,95*
Grand Prix Cons. Set (BBC Only)
7.50
9.50
11.95
Repton 3
7.50
9.50
11.95
Revs & Revs 4 Tracks (BBC Only)
10.35
11.95
15.95
Elite
10.35
1 1 .95
15.95
Acornsoft Hits Vol. 1 or 2
7.50
9.50
11.95
Superior Coll. 1 or 2 (BBC Only)
7.50
9.50
11.95
Superior Coll. 3 (Elec Only)
7.50
-
11.95*
Conqueror (Archimedes Only)
-
19.95
Zarch (Archimedes Only)
-
-
15.95
TYNESOFT
Saigon
7.50
11.95
11.95
Winter Olympiad '88
7.50
11.95
11.95
Spy vs Spy
7.50
11.95
11 95
The Big KO
6.35
10.35
10.35
Boulderdash
7.50
11.95
11.95
Indoor Sports
7.50
11.95
1 1.95
Phantom
6.35
10.35
10.35
Oxbridge
6.35
_
Commonwealth Games
6.35
10.35
10.35
Future Shock
7.50
11.95
11 95
Microvalue (4 games) Elec
3.99
Microvalue 2 (4 games) only
3.99
-
*
I TITLE & PUBLISHER
BBC or Electron
Cassette
BBC
SUi'Disc
ASL
Ziggy
6.95
8.75
Ransack
7.50
9.50
Despatch Rider
7.50
9.50
Impact
7.50
10.35
BEAU JOLLY
Five Star Games 3 (7 games)
7.50
-
Computer Hits 4(12 games)
7.50
-
Computer Hits 5 (5 games)
5.50
-
BUGBYTE
Tutankhamun’s Revenge
6.35
Bugbyte Comp (4 games)
*
6.35
Bugbyte Comp (4 games)
-
6.35
CDS
Colossus Chess 4
7.50
1 1 .95
Steve Davis Snooker
1.99
4.50
Brian Clough Football
11.95
15.95
DOMARK
Star Wars
7.50
11.95
Living Daylights (BBC Only)
7.50
10.35
Trivial Pursuits (BBC Only)
11.95
15.95
ELfTE
Paperboy
7.50
11.95
HEWSON
Evening Star
7.50
11.95
Uridium
7.50
11.95
GODAX
Skirmish
7.50
9.50
Kourtyard
7.50
9.50
MANDARN
Icarus
7.50
9.50
MIRRORSOFT
Tetris
6.95
10.35
Spitfire ’40
7.50
10.35
Strike Force Hamer
7.50
10.35
BBC and Electron
BUDGET
CASSETTES
Only £1,99 each:
Repton 1
Atom Smash
Oeathstar
Bar Boards
Tempest
Breakfreo
Stnvo Davis Snooker
Cavern Capers
30 Dotty
Contusion
MtcroboH
Cops ♦ Robbers
Olympic Spectacular
Soccer Boss (Elec Only)
Combat Lynx
Cops and Robbers
R»k the Roadie
Tho Hacktx
Licence to KXI (Elec Only)
Croopy Cave
Tbpto Decker 2
Pnn/c
Anarchy
Magic Mushrooms (8BC Only)
Howzat Triple Pack
Mango
Mmo shaft
Starhght
Trappor
Gndlron
Return o! R2
Video Card Arcade
Tnplo Decker 1
Triple Decker 3
Only £2,99 each:
Plan B2
Warehouse
Peter Scott Trilogy
Snooker (BBC Only)
Pro Golf
League Challenge
Survivors
Plan B
Uranians
Twin Kingdom Valley
Tennis
Cricket
Hunky Dory
Sky Hawk
Cricket
Sky Hawk
Hunky Doiy
Revs & Revs 4 Tracks
(BBC only)
Aviator (BBC only)
Send S.A.E. for full catalogue
HOW TO ORDER
Simpfy fill in the coupon (or write us a lottcr to
save damaging you r magazine) and send with a cheque
or postaJ order to Impact Posters. (Please make
payable to Impact Posters).
9 Despatch normally same day as ordor
9 FREE postago and packing
(Overseas add Cl)
•ALL games despatched by 1st Class post.
To: Impact Posters, Neepsend House, 1 Percy St., Sheffield, S3 8AU
Please enrol me for 6 months membership with The Impact Games Club.
Please send me the following games:
(BLOCK CAPITALS PLEASE)
Name
TITLE
FORMAT
(Cassette etc.)
COMPUTER
PRICE
Address
'Podw*
Impact Posters
Neepsend House
1 Percy St.
Sheffield S3 8AU
Tel. (0742) 769950
I enclose a cheque/PO for £
* Please note members are under no obligation fo make any further purchases.
Postcode
Please send me FREE the helpshoets/solution
and map(s) for the following game:-
REVIEWS
G A HI E S
BETTER LATE
THAN NEVER
Winter Olympiad ’88; Tynesoft; BBC,
electron; £9.95 (tape), £14.95 (disc)
It’s off to Calgary with Winter Olympiad
’88, the latest sports simulation release
from Tynesoft. The game consists of six
events from the Winter Olympics. These
are the bob sled, speed skating, ski jump,
giant slalom, ski slalom and the biathlon.
There are three heats in each, the best score
out of the three deciding which medal you
get in each event.
The controls you use vary between
events. In the bob sled you have two
brakes, which you must use to prevent
your sled from flipping over as it rises up
the sides of the run. Three of the events
involve continuously hitting two keys, one
after the other, to obtain speed. In speed
skating, this is the only thing you have to
do, making it the most boring of the six.
The graphics are good enough to rival
any I’ve seen on the Beeb. Trees half the
height of the screen rush towards you in
the blob sled. The three ski jump screens
are ‘hand’ drawn and quite detailed.
Sound in the game is also very good. It’s
obvious that a lot of thought has been put
into its design, for instance the cassette
relay is switched to produce the sound of a
rifle being cocked in the biathlon.
There are a few drawbacks with this
game. The first is the most obvious; the
hammering the keyboard receives. The
second problem is that there is no test
facility. Thus to practise the ski jump you
must first go through the bob sled and at
least one run of the speed skating.
My third grumble is that the Beeb locks
up when Break is pressed, and since there
is no built-in way of re-starting the game,
the computer must be switched off.
Apart from these points, the game is
good fun and really gets you in the spirit of
the Winter Olympics - the only thing they
haven’t managed to simulate is the cold,
and who needs it? Gavin Gillings
KOURT
OUT
Kourtyard; Go-dax; BBC/Electron;
£9.95 (cassette), £11.95 (disc)
In Kourtyard you play King Arthur as he
tries to regain his royal treasures, including
Excalibur, which have been stolen.
The game consists of four screens, one
stolen item hidden on each. When this
object has been found you progress on to a
bonus level, and then on to the next screen.
You move about within a 7x7 section of
a 64x64 playing area. When you reach the
edge of the display, it is smoothly scrolled.
Here lies one of the main problems with
the game. Only half a sprite cell is display-
ed between you and the edge of the screen
when it is scrolled, thus you get no warn-
ing of what you’re about to walk into. I
frequently found myself bumping into nas-
ties before 1 could do anything about it.
Objects encountered produce a variety
of effects, such as reversed keys, a reduc-
tion of your energy, confiscation of your
arrows or a change of screen colours. 1 he
latter sometimes sets all colours to black,
just to make life a bit more difficult.
You constantly encounter soldiers who
must be dealt with by means of your only
weapon, a bow and arrow. Initially you
have 75 arrows, but you soon find this is
not enough, and luckily they can be reple-
nished by picking up extra quivers.
An editor is supplied with the game.
This allows you to design screens, but does
not let you change the graphics. In fact to
get any graphics at all you must load in one
of the pre-designed screens and then draw
over the top of the maps.
When I first played Kourtyard , I was not
impressed. The first screen seemed very
mundane, with nothing much to do apart
from walk and fire, and very little sound to
liven things up. It improves on later
screens, however, with the introduction of
more interesting objects. Pleasant to play,
but nothing new. Gavin Gillings
AFTER
GLASNOST
tfStt! S.
SCOKSt
7»W. : *S5*
Tetris; Mirrorsoft; BBC B, Master; £8.99
(tape), £12.99 (disc)
After several somewhat disappointing
games Mirrorsoft’s latest release is a breath
of fresh air. The game is Tetris - apparently
designed in Russia (the reason for the
picture of the St Basil’s Cathedral on the
box), and it combines absolute simplicity
with total addiction.
The idea of the game is to manouvre
coloured shapes into as tightly-fitting a
mass as possible. Each shape is based on an
arrangement of four little squares. When
the game begins, you are presented with a
box-shaped area into which the shapes fall.
By moving the shapes left and right, and
by rotating where necessary, successive
layers of squares are built up. If you
manage to form a complete line of squares
across the playing area, the whole block of
squares drops down by one and you are
awarded extra points. Blocks fall at a
varying speed depending on the current
skill level. More points can be scored if
blocks are forcibly dropped into place.
As the game progresses, things start
speeding up and you soon find yourself
pressing all keys possible in total panic. By
the time the blocks reach the top of the
playing area, you need lightning reactions
to maintain control.
There is no sound to speak of, the
graphics are crude but effective and there
are few ‘frills’ - no pause key for example.
But there is something about Tetris which
makes it impossible to put away, it keeps
me up till the small hours every time. It’s
the best game for the Beeb in ages. I can
guarantee that after a few minutes with
Tetris you’ll be hooked. Rob Miller
■
:
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ACORN USER MAY 198S
137
REVIEWS
ALRIGHT OR ALL WRONG
Bruce Smith is disappointed by the first Arc wordprocessors
-ArcWriter and Graphic Writer
Placing a graph onto Graphic Writer's neat page layout screen
However good the hardware, the success
of any computer is determined by its
software. New software making good use
of the speed and graphics is vitally impor-
tant for the Archimedes, and software
development takes time. Like Graham Bell
(see the March editorial) I was amazed that
Acorn did not bundle the View family on
the Archimedes Welcome disc. It claimed
this was to encourage the development of
32-bit software. Running eight-bit BBC
software such as View under the 6502
emulator is not what the Archimedes
should be used for, but at least it would
provide some excellent applications for
users to be getting on with while waiting
for ‘proper’ Arc software.
For wordprocessors, the wait is sup-
posed to be over. But the first batch of
Archimedes software is disappointing. The
Archimedes is the world’s fastest micro:
Acorn and Clares have used this to allow
them to write their wordprocessors in
BCPL or Basic, when you would expect
them to use the machine’s native language,
ARM machine code.
Graphic Writer
Graphic Writer's visual presentation is like
Artisan , and the overall effect is both
pleasing and stylish. In addition to the
wordprocessor, a useable graphics editor is
included. Graphics may be incorporated
directly into your document.
On booting the disc a document called
‘Default’ is loaded - an excellent idea. This
document could be your standard setup
ile. The screen is simple and un-cluttered.
Clicking the middle button on the mouse
wrings up a small icon box, through which
the full range of features are accessed.
Some of the icons are a little cryptic, but
with use they become familiar. The menus
lave the annoying habit of disappearing as
soon as you move the pointer away - I
iound it infuriating. It is easier to cope
with menus that stay put until you do
something else. Annoyingly, the icons
react differently to pressing the different
mouse buttons.
The wordprocessor allows you to use all
the normal range of effects - underline,
bold, italic and so forth. But, these are not
displayed on-screen in edit mode - only
the standard 8x8 font is used. Text in italic
or bold is shown by blue markers. A fully
WYSIWYG preview option is an icon click
away, where all the effects can be seen. In
addition, a mini-preview facility shows a
whole page on screen. The text appears
‘greeked’ - unreadably small - but the page
layout including headers and footers and
any graphics can be clearly seen.
Text formatting is handled very neatly
through menus, as is the search and replace
option. Most importantly - it’s simple. Tab
stops and margins arc easy to adjust. Many
commands are available from function keys
as well as the menu system, but there’s no
key strip.
Up to 16 documents can be open at any
one time. You can cut and paste text
between documents if you wish. Moving
between documents is really simple - bring
up the correct menu and click on the
required document in the list displayed.
There is an unnecessarily small maximum
limit of 32k for a text file. Even View can
manage more than this. But longer texts
can be dealt with using a multiple docu-
ment mode. This system, akin to that
found in InterWord though rather more
sophisticated, consists of a control file
called a ‘master’. This is constructed
through the menus and contains details of
all the text files, graphics and page com-
position details making up the document.
The page composition menu is delightful
and rather than my trying to describe it,
simply have a look at it illustrated in the
screen shot.
The graphics editor offers a good range
of facilities and uses the full range of
colours and effects offered by the
Archimedes operating system.
You can have up to 64 graphics in any
one document. Inserting a graphic is quite
easy, once you’ve guessed how to do it
from the vague clues the manual gives. The
image itself can be placed and moved on
the page, and may be scaled to a suitable
size. The surrounding text won’t re-flow
around a graphic dropped into the body of
138
ACORN USER MAY 1988
it - something I would expect to see. You
have to adjust rulers to keep the text away
from the graphics.
The ability to handle graphics means that
you can design small logos and the like,
and include them as part of your letterhead
for example.
A Basic utility is also provided to allow
the printer driver to be customised to your
own requirements should you have either a
non-standard printer or wish to modify
one of the standard drivers to produce
some special effect.
ArcWriter
Everybody who has returned their
Archimedes’ registration card should have
received a free copy of ArcWriter. Its
on-screen presentation is quite pleasing. A
menu bar sits across the base of the screen
with tasteful icons. The main portion of
the screen contains the text entry window.
The font used is a Courier-like typewriter
font in either pica or elite pitch. The screen
displays excactly what will appear on pap-
er. The range of effects is adequate, though
hardly exciting. Underlined, bold, en-
larged, super and subscript text are display-
ed on screen, but the range is limited to
that found on the common dot-matrix
printers. The anti-aliased fonts appear to be
blurred and smudged at the edges. For use
on a working display, clarity is more vital
than exact size.
Using these special effects is very slow.
Having spent just a few moments tapping
Graphic Writer's style is controlled by menus
text in, it took several seconds for the
display to catch up. The characters can
almost be seen appearing one by one. Each
effect requires a different version of the
font, and these are cached in the Arc’s
memory. But on a 305 this can make
ArcWriter virtually unusable, as it needs to
re-load the fonts every time it changes to a
different effect.
Font changes are applied via a menu or
the function keys. Typing text in, you
select, say, italics, then type a section, then
reselect your normal style. Alternatively,
the style of a section can be changed by
highlighting a block of text, and selecting
the new style from another menu.
The Search and Replace options are fast.
But the searching is case sensitive - ‘A’ is
different from ‘a’ - so you have to be
careful about your use of capital and small
letters. You can’t search and replace font
changes, so you can’t change all italics to
underlined for instance.
■ JUcNritar, tin
*irt It u (ell; mar.
• it* ttu tiitt*: fast* far t U
»;.U) n.»i f jrrt \lxx it* tmii
ft* tul*i it tt* s t tt«
44t*r*1 Kltfc tt« K1I.H. t) «lUf ‘.fc
ArcWriter ' s WYSIWYG screen
The size of the text window can be
changed but often you can’t put it back.
The block operations of copy, move and
delete, function smoothly. Defining head-
ers and footers is simple enough - just click
on an icon, then enter the text into the box
thrown up on-screen.
As with View and InterWord, ArcWriter
sports a ruler, and icons on it can be
clicked to choose text width, line spacing,
justification, tabs and indents. Spacing is
limited to single, one and a half and double
line spacing - rather restrictive.
In effect, each line of text is controlled
by its own ruler. This is a nice, simple
system, but there’s a problem: changing
the style of the text after you’ve typed it in.
To justify an unjustified document, you
highlight the whole document as a block,
then select the ‘justified’ icon and ‘ok’ on
the ruler. But this applies that new ruler to
every line - any indents, tabs and line
spacing variations are lost too. This is
shocking: changing the ruler on blocks of
text should alter only one aspect of the
ruler at a time; spacing, indents, tabs or
justification, not all of them at once. This
lack of thought shows in other areas. Many
typists use two spaces after a full stop. In
ArcWriter you can’t do this, because if the
full stop falls at the end of a line, then the
second space indents the beginning of the
next line. And again, some of the icons
select only with the left mouse button,
while others require the middle one.
Acorn have kept with their traditional
approach, using a special driver to handle
printer control. Several pre-defined drivers
are supplied, catering for the popular
Epson-compatible printers. Different driv-
ers are supplied for FX, LX and LQ
printers, in both draft and NLQ modes. A
printer driver generating program is in-
cluded on the disc too, and thankfully this
is relatively easy to use - provided you can
understand your printer manual of course!
In conclusion
Both packs lack a spelling checker and
thesaurus. These are as fundamental to
major wordprocessors as search and re-
place, and are major omissions. In fact they
both offer very little more than a standard
Beeb wordprocessor.
I’m hardly over the moon about ArcWri-
ter , in fact I’m appalled that Acorn would
wish such a product on their supporters. It
is totally bug-ridden - the number of times
it left remnants of menus on the screen
instead of redrawing the text window
properly is unbelievable - and it has
obviously not been properly tested before
its release.
I wouldn’t trust it with a letter. A new
version is rumoured to be on the way, but
I’d avoid it totally. On a scale of one to
10, it gets zero. It beats Graphic Writer in
one area only - its manual.
Despite being written in Basic, the
Graphic Writer wordprocessor looks a
much more professional tool than ArcWri-
ter but the 63-page manual is abysmal. It
took me several frustrating hours to fully
comprehend how what the manual says
relates to the screen. In particular, finding
my way around the menus was a chore,
because of the cryptic icons used.
Putting Graphic Writer and ArcWriter
into perspective is difficult. On one hand,
they should be compared with the well-
known packages for the Mac, or word-
processors running on the IBM PC. Neith-
er measure up to this standard. But the
price of Graphic Writer is around a tenth
of the price of this type of software.
Perhaps more appropriate is comparison
with existing BBC micro packages.
Graphic Writer offers as much as Inter-
Word , with the added bonus of simpler
page layout control and the ability to
include graphics. And it’s also cheaper - at
£29.95 it is very good value. ArcWriter can
best be seen as an integral part of the
machine - as all existing owners shoulc
receive a free copy. All that can be said is
that View on the Master and Compact
provides you with a better wordprocessor.
Graphic Writer From Glares Micro Sup-
plies, 98 Middlewich Road , Northwich,
Cheshire CW9 7DA. Tel: (0606) 48511.
ACORN USER MAY 1988
139
OFFERS
HANDBOOK OFFER
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Especilly useful with multi-statement lines. Two versions available:-
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GRAHAM BELL
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Including ViewPlot and OverView
The ultimate guide
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Applicable to all Acorn machines and filing systems, the book
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copies of ViewSheet/ViewStore and 5.25-inch disc at £16.95'
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I enclose a cheque/postal order made payable to Dabs Press for
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BASIC 2 (model B) £16 BASIC 4 (Master) £16
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EDUCATION USERS:- Convert your BBC micro and printer into a versatile 4-channel
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A sophisticated, menu driven, user friendly CAD/CAM package with
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CAD System (EDUCAD) - £80 (ex. vat)
* geometric/schematic drawings * construction/modification
* zoom, scale and units control • text/symbol font editor
* text/symbols, any size and angle * Intersects and tangents
* mirror and duplicate * rubber banding
* generalised x-y plotter output * graphics screen dump
* area properties * revision/material info, editor
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This is an advanced series of statistical programs for the
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TESTS
Means, Chi-Squared, Student’s T-tcst, Paired T-test, Anova,
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DATA ENTRY
By on-screen scrolling editor (max of 1500 numbers, 750 pairs of
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OUTPUT
Text to Epson compatible printer, Graphics output uses a fast screen
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Order From: Newcastle Photonic Systems, The Medical School,
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140
ACORN USER MAY 1988
EDUCATION
CONTENTS
EDUCATION
NEWS
Humanities stressed
by MESU workshops
MESU is increasing its humani-
ties work with a number of
projects and in-service sessions
over the next six months. There
will be a lecture and workshops
on Learning Geography with
Computers at the Geographical
Association Conference, April
6-8, at the London School of
News in brief
■ Micro Studio has prepared a
series of clip art dies for use
with future Archimedes desk-
top publishing packages. The
digitised pictures can also be
imported into Artisan. They are
a resource for creating a broad-
sheet or advertising circular but
are suitable for general educa-
tion use.
Micro Studio already pro-
duces materials for use with
AMX Stop Press and Mirror-
soft’s Fleet Street editor.
■ Linear Graphics’ A3M plot-
ters will interface directly to
the Archimedes with an
appropriate Centronics lead.
This, and an Archimedes Wel-
come disc and manual are avail-
able for £32.00. Plotters with-
out the ‘m’ suffix will require
the upgrade kit at £165.
A range of custom-designed
software has also been pre-
pared, which includes the
popular Linsign, Linfont and
Lintrack. The first now offers a
range of fonts and utilities to
meet signwriting needs.
Economics. At the Internation-
al Conference on Computers in
the History Classroom at
Leeds University July 5-8 there
will be workshops; Digging
deeper into History , followed
by MESU and Development
Work in History.
MESU has also produced a
Sherston Software has released
two adventure packages.
Teacher's Cupboard is a very
simple infant/reception adven-
ture designed to introduce the
computer and provide some
simple problem-solving.
Children are encouraged in
the adventure’s two parts to
bring the teacher an apple and a
crown. With the help of a
mouse and a giant the apple is
found. Both parts may be oper-
supplement to the New His-
tory and New Technology
document produced by the
Historical Association. It pro-
vides an update on computer
software and other initiatives
and ideas in the humanities.
Further information from
Paula Kingston at MESU.
ated with either a concept
keyboard, or with the space bar
and function keys. Attractive
graphics continue Sherston’s
commitment to presentation.
Worst Witch , based on Jill
Murphy’s popular book, is a
more conventional adventure
game intended for the middle
school. The pupils explore the
Witches’ Academy and encoun-
ter many of the problems first
seen in the book.
Competition 143
Win birdwatching software
Ecodisc 144
The latest interactive video
Databases 149
Which database for education?
Concept keyboard 99
Software for special needs
EDUCATION OPINION
Eight million pounds of the
Government’s £19m Education
Support Grant is being spent
on hardware for schools. This
should be appearing in schools
in the next few weeks, often in
the form of desktop publishing
or CAD systems.
Advisers have been guided
by the government document
IT in Schools. Micros should
employ the latest technology
and keep up with technological
innovation. Acorn is heavily
promoting the Archimedes as
possessing these qualities.
Another prerequisite is that
machines should be capable of
running IBM-type software.
With its 32-bit technology and
PC-emulator, the Arc outstrips
its RML counterpart. Although
other machines fall within the
brief, it is likely that authorities
will accept an Archimedes on
trial before making final deci-
sions for the future.
Nick Evans
Sherston adventures
ACORN USER MAY 1988
141
LogotroN
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARCHIMEDES LOGO CONTACT:
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Mainframe 32 bit LOGO performance on a micro
Over 10 times faster than Logotron BBC LOGO.
Largest ever LOGO workspace on a micro
UP TO 4 MEGABYTES NOW, UP TO 16 MEGABYTES ON FUTURE RISC MACHINES.
Powerful Debugging Environment
Gives you complete control over the development of large projects.
Fully compatible with Logotron BBC LOGO files
Includes many primitives from the BBC LOGO extension disk
Fully extendable through installable modules
Developers' package for creating Install
modules available in 1988.
Full support for Acorn hardware floating point unit
Up TO 15 TIMES FASTER FOR ALL PRIMITIVES USING
FLOATING POINT ARITHMETIC.
132 COLUMN EDITOR AND ULTRA HIGH RESOLUTION GRAPHICS
Up to 256 colours on screen simultaneously
in certain modes.
FREE Multiple screen turtles module included
Control up to 32 turtles on screen at once.
Over 90 new primitives
Including error handling and full
REDEFINITION OF THE LOGO
ENVIRONMENT.
Comprehensive documentation
Detailed reference manual,
TUTORIAL MANUAL AND MANY
EXAMPLE FILES.
Price
Only £60 plus VAT
and Postage
142
ACORN USER MAY 1988
EDUCATION
NEWS
Children’s dictionary
out on floppy disc
Viewbook has produced the
Oxford Children’s Dictionary
on disc using its information
retrieval system. This is similar
to the HyperCard idea, which
allows a number of points on a
record card to be ‘live’ - that is,
linked to other cards. Users
may follow any path through
the information stack.
The set comes on two
double-sided 80-track discs or
five 40-track discs, and allows
children not only to locate their
word by spelling or definition,
but also to move around the
dictionary through words
which appear in the definitions
themselves. Wildcard searching,
fuzzy-matching and a guessing
game are available.
Additional options include
speech synthesis, single and
dual switch control and a Per-
kins Brailler interface.
Viewbook also produces an
authoring system for creating
your own interactive database.
Extra Pendown features
Logotron has added a series of
extra utilities called Extra 1 & 2
to the Pendown wordprocessor
suite. Utilities include a
double-strike option allowing
darker printing and the ability
to merge characters from diffe-
rent fonts into one font file.
Eight new character fonts in-
clude Infant, for the infant clas-
sroom. Two graphics fonts in-
clude animals and insects.
The adventure generator is
demonstrated with a dictionary
and help files relate specifically
to projects on pondlife and the
Romans.
Logotron has collected much
of this additional material from
existing users.
News in brief
■ Labelwritcr from Wight Sci-
entific is a powerful but cheap
utility for producing labels in a
variety of shapes and sizes.
Centred text of all the varieties
available on an Epson-style
printer is allowed, and graphic
images imported from Signwri -
ter can be used. Serial numbers
can also be included.
The BBC version of Label-
writer costs £10.
■ A datafile of educational
software and addresses is now
available for the Archimedes,
using the System Delta Plus
database management system
from Minerva. Enquiries
should be sent to Nick Evans,
PO Box 55, Grimsby, Hum-
berside DN32 OQB.
Contacts
MESU, Science Park, University of
Warwick, Coventry CV4 7EZ. Tel:
(0203) 416994.
Sherston Software, Swan Barton,
Malmesbury SN16 OLH. Tel:
(0666) 840433.
Micro Studio, 83 Clay Streer,
Soham, Ely CB7 5HL. Tel: (0353)
721736.
Linear Graphics, 28 Purdeys Way,
Rochford SS4 1NE. Tel: (0702)
541663.
Logotron, Dales Brewery, Gwydir
Street, Cambridge, CBl 2LJ. Tel:
(0223) 323656.
Wight Scientific, 44 Roan Street,
London SE10 9JT. Tel: 01-858
2699.
BBC Soft, Woodlands, 80 Wood
Lane, W12 0TT. Tel: 01-576 0202.
Viewbook, Freepost, Bedford
Street, Stoke on Trent, STl 4BR.
Tel: (0782) 281643.
■ The Education News pages
are compiled by Nick Evans
Strictly
for the
birds
Bird Spy is a specialist database
program based on the BBC
Radio 4 series Looking at Na-
ture. It enables the class to
watch and record the times up
to eight species of birds land
and depart from a bird-table.
Bird Spy , which costs £14.95, is
designed to make the use of
databases easy in the classroom.
BBC TV’s Blue Peter recent-
ly featured the software. The
fourth year juniors of Bent-
Paul and Joanne using Bird Spy
worth Primary School, who
operate the Blue Peter Birc
Patrol, were given Bird Spy.
Mike Powell , headmaster of the
school , runs a Young Omotho-
logists Club and took the chil-
dren for birdwatching sessions.
COMPETITION
This month’s competition is
gives young birdwatchers the
chance to win Bird Spy.
We have six copies to give
away, three each for under 12s
and over 12s. To enter, just
answer the questions which
apply to you, and send them on
a postcard to: May Competi-
tion, Acorn User , 20-26 Bruns-
wick Place, London N1 6DJ.
Include and your name, age
and address on your card. En-
tries should be in by May 20.
Under 12s questions:
■ Which is the smallest British
bird?
■ Do barn owls hoot?
■ Where do puffins nest?
Over 12’s questions:
■ What docs the pigeon belong
to, the duck family, the seabird
family or the birds of prey?
■ In which British country,
England, Wales or Scotland, do
red kites live all year?
■ Which common bird of prey
hovers when hunting?
ACORN USER MAY 1988
143
EDUCATION
ECOLOGY EXPLAINED
The second disc for the Domesday system simulates a Devon nature reserve.
Graham Bell tries his hand as warden
fflANCt wood'
imm {
TORCnOMK
Take a stroll around Slapton Lea up the road to the reed swamp (a). You can turn
around (b) or take a more detailed look at the vegetation (c), even view the same
scene in winter (d). And the map stops you getting lost (e)
The Ecodisc is a simulated world. It’s a
world based on the real Slapton Lea nature
reserve in Devon. Using it, anyone can do
many of the things that professional
biologists and students do on fieldwork,
and learn many of the same lessons, with-
out ever leaving the classroom.
BBC Enterprises Ecodisc is the latest
example of interactive video, a system
where pictures are played back under com-
puter control. The video pictures can be
overlaid with computer graphics and text.
Given the right software, you can control
what happens next on the screen.
The Ecodisc is only the second package
of software for the Acorn Advanced In-
teractive Video system. Sales of the system
lave been disappointing so far. The hard-
ware is expensive and the quality of the
information on the Domesday discs is
variable. £5200 for the Philips VP415
Laservision player, a modified Master 128
Turbo and Trackerball is a great deal of
money, and fewer than 2000 have been
sold. But the voucher scheme for schools,
bringing the price down to £3000, has been
extended until the end of the year.
AIV discs are like giant-size versions of
the compact discs familiar to music fans.
The main difference is that they can store
video information - moving or still pic-
tures - or computer programs and data, as
well as stereo sound. All the software for
the Ecodisc is on the disc itself.
On one side of the disc is a TV program-
me from the BBC’s Science Topics series.
Switch on the Laservision player, insert the
disc and sit back. There’s no need for the
computer at this stage. The programme
describes the Slapton Lea nature reserve
and introduces some of the problems of
landscape management. This is done via a
series of interviews with fishermen, local
farmers and biologists studying the flora
and fauna of the area.
In particular, they stress four major
concerns. Slapton Lea is a narrow lake in a
‘bay’, cut off from the sea by a long sand
bar. The lake once provided excellent
fishing, but the quality of the sport pro-
vided by pike has declined recently.
Second, the reed beds fringing the lake are
quite naturally becoming drier and over-
grown with willow bushes. This reduces
the variety of plants and birds in the
reserve. Third, the extensive oak woodland
surrounding the lea will soon be predomi-
nantly sycamore, a tree introduced into
Britain only a few hundred years ago.
Fourth, any increase in human activity
around the lea is bound to disturb the local
population of otters, an extemely rare
animal in the south of England. As one
expert says in the film, you can’t go back
to the situation of 20 years ago - manage-
ment of the area should aim to limit the
impact of change.
It’s certainly an informative programme,
but this part of the video disc could just as
144
ACORN USER MAY 1988
well be on video tape; it’s just a normal TV
programme, with no interaction. But
watching it provides vital background in-
formation for the real content of the Eco-
disc y on the other side.
To run the interactive side of the disc
press Shift-Q-Break just like the Domes-
day disc. After an opening sequence taken
from the Science Topics programme, you
are presented with a five-item menu.
the different parts of the reserve, wood-
land, reed beds, lake shore and so on. You
can save any tour of your own onto floppy
disc and replay it later.
Another of the options that you might
like to use is Watch. This gives you the
ability to find out what experts expect to
happen over the next 50 years in various
parts of the reserve, providing no drastic
management action is taken. This allows
hide in. Then a series of film clips is
presented, giving you glimpses of birds or
snatches of song. You can tick each one off
by pointing to a list - click a button on the
Trackerball and the totals mount up. Iden-
tification is helped by a ‘help’ menu. Click-
ing on the menu bar leads you to an
‘identification of birds by photograph’ op-
tion. You can flick through the photos
until you find what you’re looking for.
ras-ar — "
Plant
Plant oMmm*
Cieor
Ora in
rw wn 4 # detail# an wH«i, wrtwl
awl w* to info th*»»
You can set up cameras (a) to get photographs of hard-to-find animals (b), then
trail them through the day by radio (c). Identifying trees (d) shows that the
woods are not all the same (e). At the end you have to come up with a plan (f)
To get some idea of the environment of
Slapton Lea, you should definitely take a
ramble around the reserve. You wander
around by moving the Trackerball pointer
to direction arrows at the foot of the screen
and pressing a button. Each press takes
you 100 metres in the chosen direction.
From any point you can survey the whole
scene by turning round, and you can take a
closer look at some of the plants growing
around you. You can even ‘row’ up the
lake, or take an aerial look at the spot from
a helicopter. If you get lost, you can swap
to a map view which shows where you
have walked to. You can also go directly to
any point on the reserve, simply by picking
out the new spot on the map. The most
impressive aspect though, is the ‘change
season’ option, which reveals the marked
difference in the landscape between sum-
mer and winter. This is most startling in
the reed bed areas and along the lake shore.
An extra option allows a guided tour of
you to find out the nature of natural
changes in the fauna and flora of the
reserve. For example you should notice
that the current trend of the competition in
the woodland areas is expected to continue,
until sycamore almost completely replaces
the oak. In contrast, changes in the lea are
cyclic. Currently, the number and size of
the pike is decreasing, but like many
predator/prey systems, the smaller fish that
the pike live on will increase as a consequ-
ence. So the pike population will eventual-
ly benefit from a greater food supply, and
their size and number is expected to recov-
er. This is a good topic for classroom
discussion in biology.
Sampling the animals and plants of the
area to learn about their numbers and
habits would obviously be of great benefit
before making any plans for the future.
Perhaps the simplest option is bird-
spotting. You can choose from a map what
area of the reserve you want to set up your
Of course, different parts of the reserve
yield different mixtures of birds. Swans live
around the lake, woodpeckers tend to stick
to the woodland. Mapping the occurrence
of different species by repeated watching at
different spots makes the idea of habitat
crystal clear. Interestingly, while bird spot-
ting there is no indication if you identify a
bird wrongly - the only way of checking is
to match your habitat map against that
provided by the system. But this deliber-
ately reflects the reality of fieldwork - you
don’t get told when you make a mistake.
Another sampling method that you can
simulate is quadrat counting. This is aimed
at studying the mix of tree species in an
area of woodland called France Wood.
Essentially, you mark out square areas of
the wood and identify all the trees growing
in the square. Once you have all your
quadrats counted, the results can be dis-
played on a graph. A sensible transect of
the wood shows how the mix of species
ACORN US HR MAY 1988
145
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varies - mostly oak in one area, but
dominated by sycamore in others. The
nature of the ground flora can also be
mapped, and your results can be compared
with ‘correct* counts for your quadrats.
The most complex sampling exercise,
and perhaps the most exciting, is studying
the mammals. The reserve is an important
site for mammals, one of the few areas in
the south of England boasting a significant
population of otters. The mammals can be
studied by trapping or photography. A
map allows traps or cameras to be placed
anywhere on the reserve. The cameras are
the sort that automatically take a picture
whenever a light beam is broken - so
there’s no one there to disturb the animals
- a commonly used technique. The pictures
can be displayed, and there’s also a graph
showing when each camera ‘fired’. Again,
animals caught by the cameras have to be
identified: badgers, foxes and mink are all
common, as well as the otters.
Animals caught in a trap can be fitted
with a collar containing a radio transmitter,
released, and tracked with direction-
finding equipment. The software allows
you to do this, and by following the path
of a badger, fox or otter over a day, a great
deal can be learned about, the animal’s
habitsand territories.
The fieldwork section of the Ecodisc is
very strong. It’s no replacement for real
fieldwork, but it could help teachers give
their students experience.
The main section of the Ecodisc is the
Plan section - developing a strategy to
manage the reserve for the next 10 years.
You can learn a lot about your job as
nature reserve warden by visiting your
office. Here is your desk, with a micro,
your mail, answering machine and the local
papers. Each can be pointed at with the
Trackerball. Reading the job description
gives you important priorities for the re-
serve - maintaining the diversity of plants
and animals, and increasing the amenity
and financial value of the reserve. Listening
to the phone messages from interested
locals, and reading the papers and letters
gives some idea of the pressures that diffe-
rent groups are placing on the reserve.
Trippers and the tourist authority want
more car parks and picnic sites, the wood-
land authority want to turn the wood into
a conifer plantation, and the local eel
1EDUCATI0NT
S 0 F T W A B E
A CHEAPER ALTERNATIVE
If you don’t have £5000 to spend on a
Domesday system, you can still practise
some of the sampling and planning
exercises. BBC Soft’s Ecology and Con-
servation pack, a Science Topics software
title, is very similar in conception.
The fictitious nature reserve is again
a wetland with reedbeds, encroaching
willow carr and a population of pike
and otters.
The watch section presents an ani-
mated history of the reserve, showing
the gradual building of reed beds out
from the lake shore. As the beds extend,
they are invaded by young willow, and
the lake vegetation follows its natural
succession. At any stage, you can halt
the succession and find out more about
the bird life, the otters or the fish
population, and so gain an impression
of the consequences for the animals of
changes in the plants.
Sampling allows you to find out how
many pike, otters or birds there are in
the reserve. Otter territoriality can be
studied by identifying coloured otter
tracks. The variations in vegetation
across the reserve can be studied by
counting icons representing different
plants in quadrats.
Like the Ecodisc, you can develop a
management strategy for the reserve.
But this is presented more like a game,
with points won for improving the
environment. While you aim to opti-
mise the reserve for one particular in-
terest group, the effects of your chosen
actions on other groups can be gauged,
and you lose points if they complain. So
a keen birdwatcher may wish to reduce
tree growth to encourage reed bed-
dwelling birds. This also affects the
naturalists, fishermen and reed grow-
ers, and as with the Ecodisc their reac-
tions are weighted against any success
in helping the birds. However, the
package wins over the Ecodisc , in that
the outcome of your plan is estimated
and displayed.
Choosing options and actions is more
difficult than the Ecodisc , because com-
binations of keys sometimes need to be
used, rather than simply picking from a
menu. The presentation is less impress-
ive - but it’s a sound introduction to
the problems of conservation.
Ecology and Conservation , £23 from
BBC Soft, 80 Wood Lane, London.
poacher just wants to make a living!
Once you are aware of the pressures,
then using your knowledge of the reserve
gained in earlier sections, your objectives
furnished by the job description and your
own feelings about conservation, you
formulate a management plan. There are a
host of actions - ranging from harvesting
the reeds for thatch and encouraging pic-
nicers, to culling the pike in the lake and
felling the sycamores. But you can only
choose two. Choosing what to do means
choosing between the various interests.
A plan can be submitted for comments -
and you’ll get them. Each plan elicits a
different set of letters, phone calls and
comments from the interested parties.
You’ll be told what is likely to happen to
the value of the reserve and to its plants
and animals, and you’ll have the chance to
amend your plan. Don’t be worried if
everyone seems aghast - nature reserve
wardens don’t make many friends, because
their plans can’t please everyone. Finally,
your plan can be executed, and here is
where the Ecodisc is weakest. All you get is
a list of the reactions of various different
groups. The system tells you who is
pleased and who is disappointed, but no-
thing more. I, and many teachers, would
like to see something analogous to the
Watch option, where the expected changes
are modified in the light of your planned
actions. This would give a stronger end-
point to the work, where the planning
phase may mark the culmination of the
project. But working with the Ecodisc does
underline the fact that there’s no right
answer in the conservation business: it’s
very reliant on trial and error, and the lack
of an identifiable end is deliberate.
Everyone is in favour of ‘conservation’
as an abstract concept, but the hard ques-
tion to answer is ‘Who or what is it for?’.
This sort of issue is a wider topic than the
original concerns of the disc, and deserves
serious classroom discussion with older
school or college students. Some extra
support materials for teachers would be a
big advantage here. Certainly Peter Bratt,
the BBC producer responsible for the disc
is aware of the need, and the Countryside
disc due late this year will have such
support materials available.
The Ecodisc is available from BBC Enter-
prises, 80 Wood Lane , London W12 OTT.
ACORN USER MAY 1988
147
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ACORN USER MAY 1988
ILLUSTRATIONS BY JON An IAN 1NGLIS
REVIEWS
SJFTW^iE
EDUCATIONAL DATABASES
David Marshal surveys six of the simple databases
which are aimed at the schools market
Computers are really good at storing huge
amounts of information. The ability to
store information is of little use in itself. It
is the speed at which a computer can sort,
sift and display data that makes it such a
boon. Most areas of the school curriculum
require students to accumulate informa-
tion. Teachers are constantly asking them
to make notes, or find out about some
aspect of their environment. The use of an
electronic database makes it all so much
more accessible. Some ‘jargon’ terms like
file, field and record for example, are
daunting, but all good databases also have
the command HELP in their vocabulary. It
is worth bearing in mind that if a school
keeps data about people, then the school
should register under the Data Protection
Act, usually via the LEA.
Any part of the curriculum can be en-
hanced by the use of a database. Census
data can bring history alive for example.
There are three
very distinct acti-
vities in the use of
a data file. Each is
a good exercise in
itself.
First, you must
collect the data.
The information has to be in a form that is
compatible with the database manager
program that you are using. I remember
trying, with a number of young children,
to convince a very inflexible database sys-
tem that as far as shoes are concerned, 13 is
smaller than 1! Because of problems like
this, questionnaires have to be compiled
with great care. If all the answers you
collect are of the yes/no type then the data
file is going to be really boring when it is
searched. If the answers are too wide-
reaching then the screen display is going to
be incomprehensible - or just too big.
You should have some idea of the way
you want to use the information, the sort
of searching and comparing you want to
do when the file is complete. It’s no good
to know exactly how many children have
green eyes or pets, if you are really in-
ACORN USER MAY 1988
terested in how they get to school and
what books they read! This planning phase
can be very interesting and productive.
Teachers should resist the temptation to
tell students the types of data they should
collect. Let them decide for themselves.
The actual task of researching, eliminating,
organising and thus creating a data file
gives students a greater knowledge of the
subject they are considering.
The second phase of any work is actually
putting the information into the system.
There are a number of different database
managers aimed at school use. How easy it
is to input data varies considerably from
one to another.
Third comes the really exciting and use-
ful bit, the searching of the file when
completed. No one thinks automatically in
a systematic, linear way. Using a database
can train thinking to become more
reasoned and less random. It can also allow
for lateral thinking - ‘what if?’ queries are
answered at speed. Disparate pieces of
information can be identified and related in
a way that is impossible, or at least imprac-
tical, without a computer. Questioning
skills develop very quickly, and testing of
hypotheses becomes commonplace. It is a
lot easier for students to get the answers if
they know how to form the questions.
It is important not to collect information
just for the sake of putting it into the
micro. The use of a database might be a
useful abstract exercise, but the lesson will
be learnt far better if the data has a
purpose.
A recent project that many children in
my area have been involved in has been
concerned with the local environment. One
aspect was the number and type of birds
observed in and around the school. I
decided to look at a number of different
database management systems to see how
easily they were to use for this data file.
Two points were acknowledged before I
began. First, the most popular database for
very young primary children has been
Ourfacts - formerly called Ourselves - that
was part of the Infant Pack released by the
MEP’s Primary Project team. It is very
simple, very restricted, but a very good
introduction to the idea of collecting and
sorting information, but it is too small for
the bird files. Following the principles of
Factfile y supplied with all DTI micros, this
simple system has a useful place in the
infant classroom. Thanks to later, up-
graded, versions it is now possible to make
printed copies of Factfilc files - essential
for all database work. Some of the simple
early systems failed to acknowledge this
need. But the very simple data collection
program My Mathematical Self in the
Dudley Software package Myself has re-
cently gained a new lease of life in my
school. It used to be impossible to get a
printout of the records collected. Now
thanks to the ESM Screenprint ROM, we
can. While this program is still limited with
the screen dump, without it is useful only
as a lesson in how to enter data. The
second point to note is the place of Quest ,
the forerunner to most other school data-
base systems. It is, however, a little dated,
and is less friendly than most systems.
I have consi-
dered six data-
bases : Find and
Junior Find from
Resource, Grass
from Newman
College, Inform
Plus from Not-
tingham County Council, Supastore from
ESM and Key from ITV and GSN.
When setting up a database the first
thing to be considered is the number of
‘fields’ required. Fields are the headings
under which the data will later be collected
and searched. For the birds file these field
names were chosen: Name, Colour, Feet,
No of eggs, Colour of eggs, Voice, Nesting
place, Rare, Food, Family, Migrates, Habi-
tat, Beak, and Length.
The interesting aspect of this choice is
that it shows that two entirely separate
methods of data collection will be needed.
As with most files, certain of these answers
will be filled in from observation. Other
queries will only be answered through
149
REVIEWS
careful research in books and libraries.
The number of fields led to an immedi-
ate problem with one of the systems! The
Junior Find database only allows 10 fields.
I had chosen 14 fields. But Junior Find is a
superb, easy to use system. The handbook
is exemplary and is to be recommended to
anyone just starting out on database work.
After some thought I reduced the number
of fields to 10, but this is a restriction you
must bear in mind.
I discovered
that a file about
birds already ex-
isted for Grass ,
Junior Find and
Find , taken from
the ITV Animals
in Action series.
On Grass its structure was workable but
not perfect. There were two fields that I
would not need - predator and picture.
There was also nothing about eggs! I set
out to amend the file, but after a great deal-
of effort, I decided it would be easier to
start again from scratch. The Grass hand-
book says Tt is not possible to add field-
names later.’ However, the fieldnames can
be altered, but you cannot add a new field.
On other systems this is possible. The
maximum number of fields in Grass is 18,
and it is worth choosing a few more than
you need, so that you can add extra
information later. On Junior Find and Find
there were 10 fields already in the files -
:>ut they were well chosen. Find actually
allows up to 32 fields.
All six systems eventually accepted the
ields I wanted but some were slightly
easier than others. The hard thinking
comes in deciding how long to make each
::ield. The maximum allowed length of a
: ield varies from system to system.
Supastort , Key and Find have the
greatest flexibility - each field can be up to
255 characters long. Grass restricts you to
60 characters in a text field and 10 in a
numeric field. Inform places no limit on
the amount of text in a field, but it should
3e remembered that when Inform outputs
to the screen, only 40 characters are dis-
played. These field length restrictions are
not as important as the compromises you
lave to make. The database only exists to
lelp with the selection and understanding
of data, so if the data in a field is too long,
then it becomes cumbersome and unhelpful
to sort and it is unintelligible. This choice
is difficult and crucial.
Consideration of two or three of the
fields in the birds file will show how easy it
is to make the wrong choices. The ‘colour’
field to describe the actual appearance of
the bird needs to be quite long. Try
describing a kingfisher with only 30 char-
acters! And the ‘migrates’ field could have
two possible meanings. Does the bird mi-
grate, in which case a simple Y or N
response is enough, or where does the bird
migrate, for which a whole different field
length is required. I chose to go for the
simple short field and leave further re-
search to the library. The ‘No. of eggs’ is
numeric, and as no bird lays more than 99
eggs in a clutch the field length can be just
two. In some of the databases, numeric
field lengths do not need to be specified.
With these databases, the longer the fields
are made, the fewer records can be stored.
Rather oddly, some systems - Inform
for instance - need to be told how many
records are to be stored in advance of
determining field lengths.
There are other types of fields available
in some databases. Supastore allows tele-
phone numbers as a special type, as well as
integer numbers, floating point numbers
and dates in dd/mm/yy format. Key
accepts several other types advanced as
fields: free text, decimal numeric, byte
numeric, dependent, map co-ordinate,
date, logical, tokenised and graphic. This
last field type led to great troubles - but
more of that later.
When it came
to putting data
into a file you
have just created
or wish to add to,
there was very lit-
tle to choose be-
tween the systems
- with one exception. Inform has the most
awkward and confusing screen input form
that I have ever used. All of the systems
allowed easy editing at a later date if you
want to put more entries into an existing
file. With the exception of Inform , all lead
you through a series of menus to the point
you need to be. With Key the number of
times the discs have to be swapped during
data entry is a problem, but otherwise it is
superb. The two Finds had by far the best
looking screen presentations throughout.
Undoubtedly, the way that Supastore
enables new records to be added and
unwanted record space to be reused is
easier than the other systems.
Some databases
are menu driven,
and some are
command driven.
That is to say that
some take you
carefully, slowly,
but in a friendly
necessary to find
what you want - others don’t! Key again
needed more disc swapping than the others
to load the file require. In fact Supastore ,
Grass and Inform keep their files on a
single disc. Find and Junior Find have just
one change to access the files I wanted to
see.
Searching through the data to find par-
ticular features is done using the condition-
al comments and logical operators. Sup-
pose you decide to try to find all the birds
that are reddish in colour and therefore
have a name that includes RED, you can
search for records where the name field
contain the word ‘Red’. With Grass you
have to specify ‘Search data’ and the field
names appear on the screen.
Choosing name then invokes the menu:
■ Includes
■ Does not include
■ Is the same as
■ Is not the same as
■ Comes before
■ Comes after
Choosing ‘includes’, you then type in
RED, and it proceeds to search the file.
Easy! Except that it selects a collared dove,
as well as all the expected red birds. It is
important to ask the right question - which
is not always the first question the students
think of. Educationally, this is a great step
forward.
Key is very similar. You have an option
to make a simple or complex search right at
the beginning.
Find is marginally the easiest to use,
because all the commands stay on the
screen throughout, and they are selected
using the function keys.
Inform is the most difficult to use be-
cause it is all command driven and there’s
no list of commands on the screen. But
there is a clear guide on how to use the
function keys with advice on how to avoid
using unnecessary commands.
All the databases allowed graphs of va-
rious types to be made by using a separate
utilities disc. I particularly liked the map
and graphics facilities that Key allows. The
‘Enter Graphics Data’ facility allows either
a map or a graphics picture to be created as
way through the stages
150
ACORN USER MAY 1988
Junior Find
Find
Inform Plus
Grass
Key
Supastore
Maximum number
10
32
24
18
60
250
Maximum field
name length
15
15
8
14
14
10
Maximum record
size
2000
2000
None
None
None
3000
Field types available
Text
Text
Text
Text
Text
Text
Numeric
Numeric
Numeric
Numeric
Numeric
Graphics
and others
Numeric
Integers
Dates
Phone
Nos.
Printer options
Bar charts
Bar charts
Various
Bar chart
Bar chart
Reports
(Epson compatible)
Pie charts
Pie charts
graphs
Pie chart
Pie chart
Labels
Scattergram
Scatter table
Scattergram
Scatter table
and labels
Scatter graph Venn diagram
Cumulative Statistics
graph Graphics
Average/
median
Graphs
Cost
£20.95
£23.95
£15
£25
£4.95
£39.95
Ease of use:
8
8
5
6
7
7
Search
8
9
7
7
9
7
Documentation
7
8
8
6
8
7
Overall rating
8
9
7
7
9
7
How the databases compare
part of the file. The maps are stored as
separate files, whereas the graphics pictures
are put in with the rest of the data. But you
have to plan them in advance - you have to
select one of the ‘Advanced types’ when
first specifying the field names for the file
you are making right at the beginning. This
enables you to set aside a field for the
pictures that you can create later. At first I
didn’t do this, and graphics that were saved
on the disc were completely inaccessible.
The ‘Create Graphics’ procedure is long
and time consuming and it involves a huge
number of swaps between the program disc
and the data disc. But it is great fun, and
you can use AMX Mouse or Grafpad as an
alternative input device.
If you are to
find your way
around a database
for the first time,
then the hand-
books should be a
help. If you are to
limit the choices
for data entry, set up a sort file, configure a
search, create a sub-file, merge files or any
of the other available options then you
need to know where to look. Some of the
books really spur you on.
Junior Find and Find have easily the
most readable and lucid handbooks. The
second book with Find - a technical guide
- should only be read by those with more
experience. Key has an easy guide but with
one or two omissions and confusing pas-
sages of jargon. Grass is limited but quite
straightforward and is well structured.
Supastore is much the most complex book.
But then it is the most complex system
with the most facilities and this is, there-
fore, only to be expected.
The Inform Plus handbook was a revela-
tion. I used the original Inform and the
improvement in the booklet is amazing.
All the database managers have the abil-
ity to output data as an ASCII file for use
on wordprocessors or on-line systems. But
they can also read and write files created
by other databases. For example, Grass will
convert files to and from Quest. Find and
Junior Find files were interchangeable -
provided that the Find files have no more
than 10 fields. And Find can take files
created on Factfile. Both Inform Plus and
Find can write to and read from the
Wordwise Plus wordprocessor.
Of the six systems I looked at, Junior
Find was the simplest and most limited. It
DATA FILES AVAILABLE
AUCBE sell Quest files for subject areas
including: home economics, geography,
environment, biology, chemistry, weath-
er, art, general studies and history.
The Advisory Unit for Computer Based
Education , Endymion Road , Hatfield ,
Herts ALIO 8AU. Tel: (Hatfield) 65443.
Peterborough Educational Develop-
ment Centre produces a small catalogue
of Quest files based on Peterborough,
including: environmental studies, census
returns and Domesday material.
Peterborough Educational Development
Centre , Peterborough , Cambridgeshire.
Nottinghamshire Computer Education
Support Centre has a catalogue available
of Inform files produced jointly with
MEP East Midlands. Subject materials on
the catalogue file, which is itself in In-
form format, include: road safety, geogra-
phy, biology, chemistry, weather, history
and support material.
Notts Computer Education Support Cen-
tre , Eaton Hall y Retford y Notts.
The ITV companies produce a variety of
Key data files, for example: weather,
birds, myself, food and diet, materials,
mammals, cities, place names and
farming.
is, however, an extremely good system for
beginners. The questions at the back of the
handbook make interesting consideration
for all teachers using a micro. Its big
brother Find is really just as easy to use
and can be unreservedly recommended.
For advanced users Supastore has every-
thing you might need - look out for the
expected Supastore Plus too. Key is a
wonderful new addition to the databases
for schools. It offers extremely good value
compared to the others on offer.
Grass is very straightforward and plain
to look at, a bit like Quest on the screen,
but much more user-friendly and flexible.
Inform Plus is greatly improved and is now
quite straightforward to use. In the input
stage it looks less interesting than the other
systems, but it forms a very practical
system.
All the systems can be made to fit most
needs you may have. Choose your project
carefully and collect the data thoroughly,
because the systems to handle it are all here
just waiting to be used.
Resourcey Exeter Road y Doncaster DN2
4PY. Newman College , Bartley Greeny
Birmingham B32 3NT. Nottingham Coun-
cily Trent Bridge House y Fox Road , Not-
tingham NG2 6BT. ESMy 32 Bridge Street ,
Cambridge CB2 1UJ. GSN, 214 Stamford
Streety Ashton under Lyne.
ACORN USFR MAY 1988
151
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SOFTWARE
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152
ACORN USER MAY 1988
REVIEWS
ELECTRON A LA MDE
In case your Electron hasn’t already taken over half your house with add-ons,
there’s another to give you true mode 7. Bernard Emblem investigates
U a precipitate is forwd
then do to II
cccooooccoooco
a mm
When it launched the Electron in 1984,
Acorn made the ambitious promise that
owners would one day be able to add on
all the facilities available as standard on the
BBC micro. Little did we realise that
Acorn would soon lose interest in the
machine. But the Elk proved to be a
reliable micro with loads of potential,
which is slowly but surely being fulfilled
by independent manufacturers.
With the Elk capable of running at BBC
speed via Slogger’s Turbo board or the
PMS second processor, and a choice of
inexpensive disc interfaces and drives, user
ports and sideways RAM now available,
the machine’s lack of mode 7 has become
the only significant BBC feature not avail-
able to Elk users.
Mode 7 is important and useful for
several reasons. It offers text and limited
block graphics in any colour. It uses only
lk - far less memory than any other mode
- to display the teletext graphics used for
email and teletext, and it has by far the
most attractive character set.
However, the omission of mode 7 was
not just a case of Acorn being awkward.
Modes 0 to 6 are basically variations on a
theme, and the circuitry fits on to a single
chip in the Elk, but mode 7 requires a chip
unto itself and so is comparatively expen-
sive to install.
Jafa is a small company run by the man
who was the brains behind the excellent
second processor now marketed by PMS.
Its mode 7 adaptor is about the size, shape
and colour of a Plus One or a Slogger
ROMbox; it plugs in and bolts on to the
back of the Elk in the same way. With the
adaptor in place, mode 7 can be called with
the command :: 'MODE70N, followed by a
standard Break. A thoughtful provision is
the new command "'HELP BARS. This
gives a seven-colour bar display, which
proved very useful for adjusting brightness,
colour and contrast.
The BBC’s *TV n, where n is used to
specify the number of blank lines to be
shown at the top of a TV screen, is also
implemented. The adaptor has its own
Break key on top - functionally it replaces
Mode 7 graphics save on memory
the Elk’s own Break key, and mode 7 is
just as accessible from your programs as
modes 0 to 6.
Users also now have the option of BBC
or Elk-style function keys. Few Elk own-
ers would concede that their function keys
are inferior to the Beeb’s, so I’m not sure
the adaptor should default to Beeb settings
as it does.
Given the right hardware, the Elk will
now run ROMs such as the BBC’s Word-
wise Plus , and existing Elk ROMs such as
View , Viewsheet and Lisp in mode 7. My
Plus One and Master RAM board con-
tinued to work perfectly and BBC mode 7
adventure games ran without complaint.
As mode 7 is the teletext mode, teletext
control codes and graphics are now avail-
able. As the adaptor contains the same
mode 7 display chips as the BBC micro,
programming with the unit is just like
using mode 7 on the Beeb. Seven colours
plus black are available, as are different
backgrounds, double height letters and
flashing characters. Chunky and limited
teletext graphics arc possible, if you have
the patience to use them.
Unfortunately, Jafa’s user guide gives
only a perfunctory description of these
facilities, preferring to refer readers to
chapter 28 of the BBC User Guide. Those
without access to a Beeb might do better to
buy a beginner’s guide.
Electron users have been able to use
electronic mail for some time, but a teletext
mode, plus a bit more hardware, makes
Prestel almost as accessible as on a Beeb.
The adaptor costs a lot because it con-
tains much of the display circuitry that is
inside a BBC micro, plus a few other chips
too. At £89, the mode 7 adaptor represents
a serious financial investment. Is it worth
it? Well, it all depends. For the average
games player, probably not - but if you
have a yen for Prestel, or have a need for
BBC compatibility, for an extra 7k mem-
ory, or just can’t do without that beautiful
mode 7 character set, go on, spoil yourself.
Jafa Systems, 9 Lon-Y-Garwa , Caerphilly ,
Mid Glamorgan. Tel: (0222) 887203.
ACORN USER MAY 1988
153
MEGA-3 ROM
A single 128K ROM containing INTER-
WORD, INTER-SHEET and INTER-
CHART. The package contains all
manuals, keystrips and quick
reference cards supplied with the
individual packages, but the software
is all on one chip, occupying just one
ROM socket.
MEGA-3 ROM is compatible with the
entire range of BBC Micros: Model-B,
B+, B+128, Master and Compact.
Upgrades: Existing owners may
optionally trade-in their INTER-WORD,
INTER-SHEET or INTER-CHART for a
discount of 25% each. This means that
existing owners of all three may obtain
a trade-in discount of 75% — a cost of
just £21.25 + VAT (£24.44 incl.).
Price: full package £85.00 + VAT
(£97.75 incl.).
Computer Concepts Ltd
Gaddesden Place, Hemel Hempstead
Herts HP2 6EX. Tel 0442 63933
m ROBOTIC
VEHICLE
Registered Trademark
LOGOTRON LOGO Compatible
A new concept in CONTROL TECHNOLOGY. Provided your BBC is fitted with
the Logotron LOGO ROM, TREKKER in Response Mode can use its 6
SENSORS to FEEDBACK information about its immediate environment.
Some experiments incorporated on the Release Disc include:
‘ON GUARD’ where TREKKER uses its LIGHT SENSORS
‘STOP THIEF where TREKKER uses its MAGNETIC SENSOR
‘ESCAPE’ where TREKKER uses its BUMP/LIGHT SENSORS
TREKKER in Control Mode will
1. Move forward )
2. Move backward ) All as far
3. Pivot Right ) as you choose
4. Pivot Left )
5. Wiggle -as often as you choose
6. Draw
7. Unwind its umbilical cable
8. Sound its horn )
9. Sound its alarm ) All as often
10. Sound its siren ) as you choose
The cost of this package is
£149.95 ex VAT.
(existing TREKKER users can purchase
the enhancement for £10.00 ex VAT)
Talk to us on MOLD (0352) 741751
for further information
or if you want to place an order.
CLWYD TECHNICS, Unit 4B, Antelope Industrial Estate, Rhydymwyn, Nr. Mold, Clwyd CH7 5JH.
Fax: (0352) 741348 British Telecom Gold. Mailbox No. 87:YQQ:304
TECHS® SffSS
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ACORN USER MAY 1988
155
EDUCATION
THE NETWORK PAGE
You can set up one on your Econet micro as a
graphics dump server with these programs
One of the problems which came to light
as soon as we installed our network at
Wellington College in 1984 was the inabil-
ity to perform graphics dumps without
having a printer on every station. The
problem was a bug in the NFS 3.34 chip
which prevented screen dumps being sent
to the normal network printer server, so
there didn’t seem much that we could do
about it. But, before long, one of our
pupils devised a rather neat solution. The
idea was that if a station wanted to perfornri
a graphics dump then this could be done
by sending a copy of its screen to station
235 and station 235 would then do a dump
of its own screen to a local printer.
Since then the software has been en-
hanced several times, although the basic
principle remains the same. This software
is still one of the items the school receives
most queries about and, rather surprisingly
perhaps, we still use this technique for
graphics dumps ourselves despite having
upgraded all our machines to NFS 3.6 -
which does support graphics dumps. This
is because the time taken to copy a screen
across to station 235 is only a few seconds
- the same time required to "'VIEW a
screen. This releases the local machine to
get on with something else while the dump
is being performed by station 235. An
additional advantage is that only one dump
can be performed at a time by station 235.
Experience shows that if a program offers
the option to dump a screen, then students
always like to try this out. If all these
dumps were queued by the file server, then
a lot of disc space would be used and other
users wanting just a short listing would
have a long wait.
On our network, station 235 contains a
Computer Concepts Printmaster ROM,
and so can perform a wide variety of
dumps. The routine for copying a screen to
station 235 also allows parameters for the
Printmaster GDUMP command to be sent.
In this way every station on the network
has access to all the dumps allowed by the
ROM. It is also worth noting that as there
is only one Printmaster ROM you don’t
have to worry about a site licence! It
Alastair Shimmin & Robin Newman
Screen dumps from a remote micro
should be possible to modify the software
to use other graphics dump ROMs. Wat-
ford’s Dumpout 3 or Acorn User's own
User Dump.
The only drawback is that station 235
becomes dedicated to graphics dumps and
so is not normally used for anything else.
Such a station may be termed a ‘server’, so
we normally refer to station 235 as our
graphics dump server. Stations communi-
cating with the server are termed ‘clients’.
The graphics dump server runs a Basic
program and the client runs a machine
code transient.
A server can be a good use for very old
BBC micros approaching the end of their
life. Their keyboards are often the parts
that become most unreliable, and of course
a server doesn’t rely on the keyboard once
it is running.
Before explaining how the graphics
dump server program works, we think it’s
worth a short diversion into the method of
making two stations establish a com-
munication link.
Communication cannot commence
properly until both stations know the
other’s station number. This is not too
difficult to sort out if one of the stations is
a server. The exchange will be as follows:
The server opens a receive block on a port
allocated for user programs. These are
ports &E0-&FE. For the purpose of this
example we will assume that port &E0 is
used. The block must be open for all
stations as at this stage the client station
number is not known.
The client opens a receive block on port
&E1 ready to receive a reply from the
server. Any port other than &E0 would
do. The reason for using a different port is
so that messages from other stations trying
to find the server are not picked up.
The client then broadcasts a message,
which could be null, on port &E0. Broad-
casts are repeated until a server responds.
On reception of a message on port &E0
at the server, it reads the receive block.
This gives the station number of the client.
A message is then sent back to the client on
port &E1.
On reception of that message on port
&E1, the client reads the receive block and
this gives the client the station number of
the server micro.
Both stations now know the other’s
number and, from this point on, ordinary
transmit and receive methods can be used
pretty much on whatever ports you like, as
there is no possibility of other stations
picking up the messages.
We actually have two dedicated servers,
plus an occasional adventure game server.
The dedicated servers are for graphics
dumps and one is for sending teletext pages
from Ceefax and Oracle to any station.
Confusion when establishing communica-
tion is avoided by using a different port for
the broadcast; say &E0 for graphics dumps
and &F0 for the teletext server. If more
such programs start appearing, we will
eventually run out of ports and the trans-
mit block’s control byte would have to be
given some meaning. However this prob-
lem is unlikely to come up in the immedi-
ate future.
The graphics dump server actually re-
ceives broadcasts on port &9F because it
can also act as an ordinary printer server. A
broadcast on &9F is interpreted as an
enquiry about the printer status. The
broadcast contains six bytes of data, which
is the name of the printer you are enquir-
ing about. The server responds on port
&9E with a status byte which is 0 if it is
‘ready’ or 1 if it is ‘busy’. If busy then the
station number of the station currently
being served is also sent. The printer name
is by default ‘PRINT’ but can be any
name. The graphics dump server responds
ACORN USER MAY 1988
156
to the name ‘NDUMP’ (Network DUMP),
and this name is used by the client's
program in order to find the station num-
ber of the server. The graphics dump server
can respond to the *POLLPS command
with something like ‘Station 235 busy with
245', while performing graphics dumps, in
the same way as when a normal printer
server is busy.
Because the graphics dump server also
acts as an ordinary printer server it makes
the printer server ROM redundant. Also,
although I have assumed that the program
is running in station 235, it will run in any
station, and could be running in several at
once. As the printer status enquiry call is
implemented in full, the *PS command can
be used to select a free printer for text.
In order for a graphics dump to be
performed, several bits of information have
to be transferred to the server before the
screen itself. This information is as follows:
the mode number; then the colour palette
are sent (this is to take account of any
VDU 19 commands which the client may
have issued). Next is the start of screen
address, this is to take account of the fact
that the client's screen may have been
scrolled. Then, there are the parameters for
the GDUMP command.
This information is packaged together
into a buffer by the client and then sent to
the server, so the server can prepare to
receive the screen by changing itself to the
right screen mode and performing the
necessary VDU 19 commands.
Finally, the screen itself is sent from the
client to the server. This was how our
software worked for a couple of years,
until the school net required a bridge. This
was not a problem in establishing com-
munication, as reading a receive block gives
both the station and network number. The
snag was that the Econet bridge only has a
buffer of 5k, and so a 20k screen cannot be
transferred all in one go. The solution is
for the client to send the screen in as many
5k chunks as necessary. A complication
arises when server and client disagree about
whether one of the chunks was sent suc-
cessfully or not. This can happen if the last
part of the four-way handshake fails. This
results in the client thinking that its trans-
mit failed but the server thinking that
everything is OK. This is a rare event, but
it can happen. The same is true of any data
sent in chunks like this, and the way round
the problem is to introduce a sequence
number as part of the control byte. This is
exactly what the normal printer server
does. Successive packages of data have bit 0
JARGON BOX
Server: A network station running spe-
cial software which enables it to receive
and process commands sent to it from
other network stations which are called
client stations.
Network Packet: A group of bytes sent
along the network cable. These will
usually include details of the sending and
receiving stations' numbers, together with
some data.
Four-way handshake: This is a phrase
used to describe the normal method of
network communication which proceeds
as follows:
Station A sends to station B: Are you
there? (a scout packet)
Station B sends to station A: Yes I'm
here (an acknowledge packet)
Station A sends to station B: Here’s
some data (a data packet)
Station B sends to station A: I've got
that (an acknowledge packet)
Port: Packets carry the address or station
number of the station for which they are
intended. In addition a port number is
specified in the initial scout packets. For
the data to be received the transmitted
port number must match the port num-
ber on which the receiving station is
expecting to receive the data. The port
number is analogous to the channel num-
ber of a TV broadcast - only those TVs
which are tuned to the correct channel
will see the broadcast.
Broadcast packet: A group of eight bytes
which is transmitted without specifying
the receiving station. Thus any or all
stations can receive the packet, provided
that they are listening on the right port.
Receive block: A section of memory
which is set up with details of the station
numbers to listen for, and the port to
listen on. Once activated it will await
reception. The address of the buffer (an
area of memory) where the received mes-
sage is to be stored is also contained in
the parameter block.
Transmit block: A section of memory
which is set up with details of station
number to which a message is to be
transmitted, and the port upon which to
transmit it. The address of the buffer
containing the message to be transmitted
is also contained in the block.
You can also glean more information
from The Advanced Econet User's Guide
published by Acorn, or in the Network
Manager's Manual for an SJ fileserver.
of the control byte switched. If nothing
goes wrong then successive packages will
have control bytes of &80, &81, &80, &81
and so on. But if the client thinks a
transmit has failed then the package will be
transmitted again so the server may receive
control bytes of &80, &81, &81 &80. The
server copes with this bv ignoring any
package which has the same control byte as
the previous package. In this way client
and server get back in step with each other.
The other eventuality the server has to
cope with is a client who does something
stupid like pressing ‘Break' at the wrong
moment. To eliminate problems a timeout
is included in the server so that it gives up
communication with a client if there is no
response for 10 seconds.
Implementing the whole of the above for
the graphics server meant that some com-
promise had to be made due to the limited
amount of transient command workspace
in pages &E00 and &F00 on the client. The
compromise is to have two separate
machine code routines which can be run by
the client.
*NDUMP, listing 2 on the yellow pages,
is a full implementation of what is de-
scribed above except that parameters for
the Printmaster GDUMP command are
not allowed. In contrast, listing 1,
*GDUMP, allows parameters for the
Printmaster GDUMP command, but
assumes that the graphics dump server is
station 0.235. You can change this by
altering line 630 in the listing before
assembling GDUMP.
In practice, this means the only problem
you might have is if you want to perform
some non-standard dump across the
bridge, although it would be possible to
assemble a ‘special' version of GDUMP by
changing line 660 to allow for the network
number containing the printer server: say
LDA #2 if the network containing the
printer server was number 2.
In general, this technique can be used to
make any piece of equipment available to
all network stations, provided you are
prepared to dedicate a station to act as a
server. We recently bought a Plotmate
flatbed plotter, and found that as it accepts
standard VDU commands it was very easy
to alter the graphics dump server program
so that it could run either the Epson MX80
parallel printer for graphics dumps or the
plotter via the serial interface.
One final point. One version of the
printer server program was used to drive a
daisy-wheel printer (for text only, of
course). Because of the slow action of this
ACORN USiiR MAY 1988
157
EDUCATION
printer, a delay was added to the printer
server program to prevent the client station
from timing out. This delay can be put
back if desired by altering line 110 in the
server program. The d variable is the delay
time, in hundredths of a second.
So, to set up your graphics printer
server, make one station at the net fitted
with a printer run the PSHORT program.
Then all the other stations can use the
*GDUMP or *NDUMP commands to
print a copy of their screens.
So that you can follow what happens in
the printer server program, two versions
are included on the monthly disc. In the
first, PFULL, long variable names are
used, and REMs are included to explain
what is going on. Unfortunately, this ver-
sion is too long to work in a model B, so a
second, cryptic, version, PSHORT, is in-
cluded - and is listed on the yellow pages.
This version is short enough to work
correctly on a model B fitted with Econet
but not with DFS. In other words, the
default value of the PAGE must be &1200
or lower. Using one of the many toolbox
cruncher programs available will compact
it further, so it will work on a disc plus
network machine.
Use an old model B as a graphics dump server
In addition, one or two amendments can
be made. The printer server program uses
two utilities supplied on SJ Research file,
servers, called PTIME and PDATE. If you
do not have these you can either use the
equivalent Acorn utilities, or you can omit
line 1040 and change line 1030 in the
PSHORT version of the listing to:
PRINT;s AND &FF.
If you wish to use the server mainly with
wordprocessors as a standard printer ser-
ver, then you can suppress the banner text
printed above each printout by deleting
lines 1000 to 1060. Likewise you can
suppress the page feed at the end of each
station’s output by deleting line 770 (for
text dumps) or line 1100 (for graphics
dumps). However, I recommend you re-
tain this latter line.
If you do not have a Printmaster ROM
but have another printer dump ROM, then
you should be able to amend the PSHORT
program to allow for this. Line 1520 can be
changed to use the command(s) appropri-
ate to your ROM.
Diary dates
Finally, some dates for your diary. One-
day network courses are being offered at
Felsted School on May 7 and June 18.
Further details available from Chris Daw-
kins on (0371) 820527.
Chris will also be running a session on
Econet at the MUSE Conference held in
Nottingham, from July 25-27. Tel: (0533)
433839 for further details.
There will be a one-day network course
at Wellington College in July. This will be
mainly aimed at network managers running
SJ file servers. Tel: (0344) 779020 for
further detail s of the course.
Details of the Network Page listings are on
the index on page 111.
[M COMPUTER SERVICING f!
£rs>j£nr (established since 1 979)
WE REPAIR - ON THE PREMISES - QUICK TURNROUND
* AMSTRAD PC PCW/CPC
☆ BBC & ELECTRON COMMODORE
☆ APPROVED SERVICE CENTRE
☆ DISC DRIVES, PRINTERS, MONITORS
☆ HARDWARE HIRE - MINIMUM 10 DAYS
MAIL ORDERS by phone Access and Visa Accepted
A Range of Hardware, Software, Joysticks, Leads, Interfaces
Chips etc, and Computer Paper always in stock
CROYDON COMPUTER CENTRE
L
29 BRIGSTOCK ROAD, THORNTON HEATH,
SURREY CR4 7JJ. Tel 01-683 2646
THIS NOTICE WORTH £5
AGAINST ANY PURCHASE OF HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE OVER £50
° I
°_J
COMPUTER
FAULTY?
Contact Conistan Electronics
Acorn, BBC Repair Specialists
** Sensible Prices, Rapid Repairs **
** 4 Months, YES 4 Months Warranty **
** Free Local Collection/Delivery **
Please note, we also repair:
Amstrad, Commodore, Sinclair, Microvitec, Cumana Products
Tel: Paul on Bradford (0274) 877899
CONISTAN THE NAME TO TRUST IN YORKSHIRE
ACORN USER ADVERTISEMENT PAGES -
MAY 1988
4MATION 48
A&G Electronics 46
AB Designs 85
Acorn 21
ACS 140
Aeon Computer House 57
Alpha Microtcc 152
Amcom 54
AMS 19
Armadillo 38
Aucbe 106
A VP Computing 106
B&S Computing 10
BBD Computer Dust Covers 84
Bccbug 4,5,6,50
C&F Associates 47
Caldcrdata 34
Care Electronics 42
Chalice Software 46
CIE Microcomputers 18
Clares Micro Supplies 98
Clwyd Technics 155
Communitcl 17
Comp-Shop 104-105
Computcch 36
Computcck 46
Computer Account 65
Computer Concepts 100,107,154
Computer Repairs UK 32
Computcrlock 64
Computers By Post 1
Conistan Electronics 158
Contcx Computing 64 t
Croydon Computer Centre 158
CSS 94
Datasbase Publications 14,30
Datastorc 42
Delta Computers 17
Dept of Physiological Sciences 140
DGA Software 56
Digital Services Ltd 94
Dr Soft 56
Edusoft 140
ESM 16
Godax 159
Ground Control 26
HCCS 8
Home Based Business 26
Ifcl 36
Impact Posters 136
Integrex 146
Intelligent Interfaces 34
J&J Microchips 57
Jafa Systems 26
Kcyzone 36
Kosmos 48
LCL 16
Lccwood Developments 47
Logotron 142
M-Tcc Computer Services 56
Manor Court Supplies 32
Martclcc 152
Maths Workshop 148
Matmos 94
Mayhcw Telonics 38
Meadow Computers 44
Mcwsoft 32
Micro-Boss 16
Micro-Media 8
Microaid 52
Microhclp 84
Microman Computers 92
Micropowcr 25
Mijas Software 16
Minerva Systems 55,80
Mitsubishi 2
Morlcy Electronics 52-53
Nebulae 42
Norwich Computer Services 57
Oak Computers 22,41
Overseas Media 110
Paul Fray 34
Pineapple Software 44
PMS 64
Portobcllo Trading 34
Raycomp 48
Rodh Designs 48
Rotherham Computer Centre 54
Silicon Vision 84
Solidisk 40,41
SP Electronics 26
Star Micronics 13
Superior Software 103IFC,IBC,OBC
System Applied Technology Ltd 38
Tcch-Soft 155
Tcchnomatic 58-63
Ted Kirk 57
Tclcmap Group Ltd 87,96
Terrel Electronics 44
Topologika 57
Twillstar Computers 20
Vcrcn 94
Viglcn Computer Supplies 27,28,29
Vine Micros 34
Watford Electronics 66-79
Wc-Scrvc 102
Whittle Systems 152
Wight Scientific 16
Wing Pass 48
158
ACORN USER MAY 1988
w New Quys in tou/ni
MICRO USER GAVE 11 OUT OF 10 FOR
PLAYABILITY.
GAME OF THE MONTH IN THE MARCH
ABB COMPUTING.
Cassettes £9.95, 5'A " Disc £1 1.95, 3 ’A" Disc £14. 95
INiHOKfZOH12F£S99
BBC/Electron
Master Compatable Disc or Cassette
KOU^TYAR
► Cast in the role of King
Arthur, you are disturbed
to find that a rival clan has
invaded your castle and
stolen your crown jewels
and your sword Excalibur.
Devoid of your secret
powers, you become Arthur
King, footsoldier and must
battle to regain your
rightful inheritance. "^$§1
KOURTY AR
Kourtyard features 4 different
locations to load and a map
editor that allows you to design
your own.
COMING SOON ▼
- By Gary Pennington, Cyboto is a fast action arcade extravaganza depicting Ambrose the
Cybot in a life or death quest around the universe for the pods of Rana.
BOk - By Delos D Harriman, in his latest programme, the author of the highly acclaimed " Skirmish " has
broken new ground in producing a multi-player, multi computer, game which will allow many BBC's to be
interfaced together in a room or via a modem. Each BBC will show a screen dipicting that players forces in
this tank battle, and will also show information unique to that player. Go-Dax are immensely excited by the
prospects that Bo/o offers and feel it hints at the future of the Computer entertainment media.
M ° RDER 'i .1 "Ip| • 0794 909000 From 9°°d stores & distributors
I— 1*31 - / vJ §■ kJ\J 12 Chiltem Enterprise Centre, Station Road, Theale, Berkshire RG7 4AA. England
Flight of fancy
Our April fool on the Games
Page last month, describing a
BBC B version of the
Archimedes game Zarch , cer-
tainly caught out a few unex-
pected ‘personalities’. Among
the people who phoned us
pleading for further advance in-
formation was Steve Botterill,
the sharp-suited Johnathan
Ross of the micro world. In
real life, he’s known as General
Manager of Superior Software,
the company we claimed that
were about to launch the new
game. This speaks volumes for
communications up in Super-
ior’s Leeds office, for Steve’s
boss Richard Hansen was de-
finitely in on the spoof.
And we also caught out Ian
Burley, cuddly, polite and re-
spectful news editor of Mic-
ronet. Z88 junkie Ian apparent-
ly drew hysterical laughter
from the technical staff at the
Net when he started to enthuse
about the ‘forthcoming’ game.
Artist in residence Holly de.
Snappe did the screen shot in
an hour or so with Watford’s
Quest Paint. But perhaps the
last laugh will be on us. Just as
the spaceship plotting routines
from Elite were started on an
Atom, Zarch’s author David
Braben has been overheard
muttering ‘I’m sure it’s possi-
ble’ to himself a lot recently.
The 256 Colour art package
for the Acorn Archimedes
Features include
* 256 colours on screen at once.
* Zoom I Pixel edit.
* Epson printer, area dump.
* Save I Load, screens & sprites.
* Flip up/down, left/right.
* Circle, Rectangle, Triangle, Spray,
Rays, PLUS, MANY MORE .... '
(c) 1988 Fairhurst Instruments LTD.
Abuser art
Following last month’s
announcement of the Tony
awards, Fairhurst Instruments
has been hounding Orson for
confusing his pre-release ver-
sion of Arctist with the quality
version available to you. On
catching up with him, Fairhurst
thrust a package of four Arctists
into his trembling hands. We’ll
give them to the first four
Abusers to spot the Acorn per-
son in the picture below.
/ SUPERIOR
(SofiwRRC
Stove Botterill
general manager
Rc( , cnt Hou*. Skinner Un C .UedsLS7 1
Telephone: (0537) 459453
We’ve been waiting for months for an excuse to run this picture
Ave atque vale, Forum!
Agora? What does this mean?
Well we were going to call our
new column Arc Forum, but
ace reporter Orson Fact (cursed
with a classical education) spot-
ted a flaw. We’ve abused Acorn
for mixing Latin and Greek
with ‘Hail, Archimedes’ - and
they haven’t run that ad since.
Arc Forum would be doing the
same, so it’s Agora, Greek for
meeting place.
very one a winner
Several people have won
Archimedes machines in com-
petitions arranged by publicity-
conscious dealers.
Two winners emerging from
magican Paul Daniels’ BBC
quiz show Every Second
Counts couldn’t wait to get
their hands on Britain’s fastest
micro. Proud winner Mrs
Marie Lacey is obviously an
optimist; according to Acorn’s
press release she is ‘looking
forward to using the word-
processing facilities’ as well as
keeping her husband amused
with the wide selection of
games available. ArcWriter
(above) might well be described
as ‘family fun’. Perhaps Paul
Daniels managed to pull some
working wordprocessor soft-
ware from his magician’s hat.
Paul’s prestigious association
with Acorn is long; it stretches
back to 1985, when he helped
with the legendary Paul
Daniels' Magic Show software.
160
ACORN USER MAY 1988
In the Heat of
the Battle
A Mighty German
B J<ingJTjgenank
Selecting a Battalion
Planning your Offensive
CONQUERO
.tffWffWK.
Step into the tank of your choice and experience the thrill of
controlling one of the most powerful land vehicles In the world.
Masterfully designed and written by Jonathan Griffiths, with
graphics routines by David Braben, this astounding game will
fascinate you as your skills of driving, firing and strategical thinking
develop and improve.
Conqueror takes place in a 3-dlmensional world of roads, hills,
villages, rivers and woodland-whlch only the Archimedes
computer can portray with such reality. Set against this
envirionment is a range of tanks: each authentically reproduced
taking into account its speed, armour and firing capabilities
Three distinct types of game are supplied in Conqueror, to cater for
everyone from the novice to the expert:—
Game type 1 (Arcade) is a simple arcade-style game enabling
you to develop your control of driving and firing.
Game type 2 (Attrition) puts you in command of a small group of
tanks You must Initiate yourself with the principles of battle strategy
in addition to controlling the actions of an Individual tank.
Game type 3 (Strategy) is a full battle simulation with up to 16 tanks
per side from American, German or Russian forces You can call
upon indirect fire to knock out the enemy, and use spotter planes
to locate the opposing forces as they attempt to take the strategic
objectives
This game Is well-documented with extensive information provided
on all of the 12 types of tank involved. Now’s the time to see if you
can become . . .The Conqueror.
For the rchimedes computer: £ 24.95 (on 3V2" disc)
superior
soFTuinnc
Limited
ACORNS® FT
Dept. CQ1. Regent House. Skinner Lane. Leeds LS7 1AX. Telephone: 0532 459453
Please make
all cheques
payable to
"Superior
Sottware Ltd".
24 HOUR TELEPHONE
ANSWERING SERVICE FOR ORDERS
OUR GUARANTEE
• All mail orders are despatched
within 24 hours by first-class post.
• Postage and packing is free.
• Faulty cassettes and discs will be
replaced immediately
(this does not affect your statutory rights)
An Interactive Expose
Outside No. 10
Drowning Street
The London Skyline
Viewed trom Blackhall
Meeting the P.M.
Waiting to see "M 1
WEfisE&to
V/JNm ^8BJr ** « i ?s k
if
All the Thrills and Intrigue of the World of Espionage
Spycat is a skilfully-written arcade adventure game which takes place
amongst the corridors of power in Blackhall, Drowning Street and the
M.UV 2 underground surveillance complex.
You play the role of Spycat: a cat with a purpose. You are devoted to
spending your life embroiled within the fascinating but dangerous
arena of professional secrets. It’s a good career — full of security: and
when you retire you can always supplement your pension by
emigrating to Greenland and publishing your memoirs.
The game features nearly 100 different screens, with 30 different objects
— Including computers and passports — to locate and employ in
appropriate ways. An icon-driven control system is used to orchestrate
your manoeuvres and actions. There are secret passages to discover,
and hatches and lifts to assist your progress. Guest appearances are
made by: the Prime Minister and the spy-chiefs "Q” and "M".
Spycat Is a thoroughly captivating game. To complete the adventure,
you will need to use clear logical thought as well as fast reactions and
arcade skills. Your life as an undercover cat may not be easy but it will
always be excitingl
BBC Micro Cassette £9.95 Acorn Electron Cassette £9.95
BBC Micro 5V Disc £11.95 BBC Master Compact W Disc £14.95
(Compatible with the BBC B, B+ and Master Series computers)
PRIZE COMPETITION
The first prize In our competition Is a specially-produced ESPIONAGE KIT (worth over
£100) comprising: quality prism binoculars, a mini camera, a mini cassette-recorder,
Invisible Ink pens, and a book on codes and ciphers There are 20 congratulatory
certificates for runners-up.
To enter the competition, you must complete the game and write to us describing the
final messages that you receive.
Closing Date: 31st July, 1988.
/ SUPERIOR
SOFTWARE
ACORNS*FT
f limited.
Please make
all cheques
payable to
"Superior
Software Ltd".
24 HOUR TELEPHONE
ANSWERING SERVICE FOR ORDERS
OUR GUARANTEE
• All mail orders are despatched
within 24 hours by first-class post.
• Postage and packing Is free.
• Faulty cassettes and discs will be
replaced Immediately.
(This does not affect your statutory rights)
Dept. C 6. Regent House, Skinner lane Leeds LS7 1 AX. Telephone: 0532 459453
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