MARCH 1992
STILL ONLY
£ 1.60
FANTASY
FONTS
PACKAGES WHICH
ADD STYLE TO
YOUR LETTERS
PIPEDREAM
HOW GOOD IS THE
NEW VERSION OF
THIS SPREADSHEET?
GO WITH
THE FLOW
WATERY
SIMULATION ON
THE ARC
THIRD DIMENSION
THE ARC TAKES YOU INTO A 3D WORLD
WRITING MUSIC • DATA LOGGING FACTS • NEW GAMES
ISSN D2b3-745b
SQUIRREL
THE REVOLUTIONARY NEW
DATABASE FOR ARCHIMEDES COMPUTERS
FRIENDLY
FAST
FLEXIBLE
Squirrel is the easiest to use
database yet, allowing simple
point ana click database creation
and queries.
Modern indexing techniques
mean superfast searches every
time.
Images, text and sound may be
stored in the same database
d
NETWORK COMPATIBLE
Intelligent
communicative
Client/server design ensures that
squirrel runs just as well on
networks as standalone.
Squirrel understands days of the
week, months of the year and
recognises files from other
popular packages.
Queries may be made onto other
popular computers such as an IBM
or Macintosh, even remotely over
telephone lines.
REPORTING
Fully relational reporting with an
entirely new grapnic approach to
data selection.
Single User Version
£129.00 + VAT
Econet/Site Licence
£516.00 + VAT
Suitable for Acorn A3000, A310 and
A400 Series.
\
V. DIGITAL SERVICES LIMITED
V. 9 WAYTE STREET, COSHAM, PORTSMOUTH, HANTS P06 3BS
Ik
TEL (0705) 210600
I24»T
n
There’s something in the air!
Fontasy converts outline fonts to Draw files, following Draw paths
and adding instant special effects
DrawBender distorts Draw files to the shape of a mould
Placard scales and prints Draw files intelligently across several
sheets of paper
QuicKey puts your function keys on screen under mouse control,
automatically showing the definitions for your current application
Padlock hinders unauthorised access to your files
TWO makes starting desktop tasks fast and easy
Special is the most convenient way to use special characters
Whisper hushes up noisy fans safely
ideA is the original (and still the greatest) range of IDE hard disc
upgrades
Please turn to pages four and five for
more information and prices
pipedreamHI
Imagine a flexible word processor in
which you can use fonts and pictures to
give stunning presentation to your
letters and reports. And a 93,000 word
spelling checker and user dictionaries
for letter-perfect writing.
Imagine the most powerful spread-
sheet package on the Archimedes.
Background recalculation so you carry
on working while it computes. 160
built-in functions, plus a programming
language for your own custom func-
tions. Arrays within slots for easy
manipulation of structured data.
Imagine dynamic charts straight from
your data. Multiple scales to compare
trends. Personalised Penguin Graphics
with bars filled by your own draw files to
dazzle your friends and colleagues.
COLTON software
■ ■
Coltonsoft Limited
2 Signet Court
Swanns Road
Cambridge
CB5 8LA
Tel: (0223) 311881
Fax: (0223) 312010
Imagine a fast and compact database
package with full sorting, searching and
selection criteria. With links straight to
the word processor for printing mail-
shots and labels.
Imagine user-friendly features such as
configurable menus, template files to
start new documents from, and auto-
matic fitting of column widths to the
data.
PipeDream 4
the works
h'ree your imagination.
RRP H 196+ VAT. Call for education prices
and site licences. PipeDream 4 is ideal for any
Archimedes. A3000 or A5000 with 2MB
RAM or more.
f or a free brochure, complete and
return this coupon.
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CONTENTS
MARCH 1992
ISSUE 116
THIRD DIMENSION
THE ARC TAKES YOU INTO A 3D WORLD I
WRITING MUSIC • DATA LOGGING TACTS ■ NL'W GAMES
COVER ILLUSTRATION
GEORGE SNOW
Editor Barry Monk
Assistant Editor Karen Donaghay
Technical Assistant Paul James
Art Editor Tony Judge
Editorial Assistant Sharon Halpern
Advertisement Manager
Duncan Pringle
Deputy Advertisement Manager
Richard Power
Sales Executive Areef Vohra,
Jack Manzoor
Ad Production Fiona Andrews
Production Manager Jennifer Jeffrey
Publisher Seamus Geoghegan
Publishing Director Michael Potter
Editorial Director Christopher Ward
Published by Redwood Publishing,
a BBC Enterprises Company, 20-
26 Brunswick Place, London N1
6DJ. Tel: 071-490 1444, Telecom
^'Gold 1 0081 :RED001 , Micronet
919992492. Bureau setting and
ad typesetting by Bold Gray Design, 52
Rosebery Avenue, London, EC 1 R 4RP.
Colour by Trumps Studio, Ware, Herts.
Printed by Riverside Press, St Ives PLC,
Gillingham. Distributed by BBC Frontline,
Park House, 117 Park Road, Peter-
borough. © Redwood Publishing 1992.
All rights reserved. Acorn is a registered
trademark of Acorn
Computers Ltd. Redwood
w.. Publ,5hin g is a registered
data user. ISSN 0263 7456.
ABC
PRODUCED ON
THE ARCHIMEDES
All the editorial pages in
BBC Acorn User are
produced on a DTP
system using Acorn
Archimedes 440/1 and
A540 computers, Com-
puter Concepts' Impres-
sion 2 with Laser Direct
printers and Taxan
monitors
NEWS
7
EDUCATION
13
COMMS
15
GRAPHICS
All that's new in the world of graphics
16
NEXT MONTH
18
LETTERS
Your views on what's happening in the Acorn world
22
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
24
SUBSCRIPTIONS
29
★ INFO
Our regular dip into the feast of readers' programs and ideas
49
ARC ASSEMBLY
The third part of our series looks at arithmetic on the Arm
58
SETTING STANDARDS
The new printer code from Epson looks set to change the dot-matrix world
61
WINDS OF CHANGE
Want to get weather data into the Archimedes? We look at the options
66
FREE ADS
Bargain secondhand computers, software or peripherals. It's all here!
70
GO WITH THE FLOW
Get your feet wet with our liquid simulation program
71
HARD 'N' EASY
Suggestions on how to improve the organisation of your hard disc
74
GRAPHS AND CHARTS
We look at some ways to portray your data more effectively
78
YELLOW PAGES
81
PIPEDREAM 4
Is Pipedream 4 the last word in spreadsheets? We find out
106
TAKE AIM
Image processing is fun. Find out just what Aim can do
109
FLIGHTS OF FANCY
We test fly the new simulation designer from Simis
113
FONTS
We check out packages that let you distort your words
116
ANEW DIMENSION
3D Construction Kit - virtual reality in the comfort of your own home
119
TAKING NOTES
We conduct a review of Notate, the new music package from Longman
123
GAME SHOW
Our regular games column reviews this month's releases
127
PUZZLE PAGE
136
119
3D DESIGN
66
DATA LOGGING
106
PIPEDREAM 4
123
NOTATE
BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992 3
1 st Word Plus
Acorn
£62
- extra manual
Acorn '
i/0 £10
3d Construction Kit
Domark
£42
A 3000 Technical Reference Manual Acorn
V0 £30
A5000 Technical Manual
Acorn
V0 £65
A 540 Technical Guide
Acorn
V0 £65
ABC Basic Compiler
Oak
£77
- ABX Utils
£39
Adventure Playground, age 5+
Storm
£16
Air Supremacy
Superior
£20
Alorion
Dabs
£13
Alien Invasion
Dabs
£13
All-In Boxing
Dabs
£13
Alpha-Base
Clares
£34
ALPS Adventure Language
Programming System
Alpine
£28
Amazing Ollie. age 4+
Storm
£13
Ancestry
Minerva
£59
ANSI C Release 3
Acom
£124
- extra manual
Acorn
V0 £19
Apocalypse
Fourth dim
£20
Arcade 3 Compilation
Clares
£12
Arcade Soccer
Fourth Dim
£14
ArcComm 2
Longman
£54
ArcDFS
Dabs
£22
Arcondium
Dabs
£13
Archimedes Assembly Language Dabs
V0 £15
- with disc
£22
Archimodos First Steps
Dabs
V0 £10
Archway 2
Simtron
£78
ArcUght
Ace
£40
ArcMonitor
CIS
£24
Arcounts Manager
Visionscan
£295
ARC-PCB
Silicon
£138
- Professional
Silicon
£269
- Schematics
Silicon
£475
Arcterm 7
Serial Port
£62
ARCticulate
Fourth Dim
£17
ARCtist
Fourth Dim
£17
ArcTrivia
Moray
£21
Armadeus
Clares
£59
Artisan II
Clares
£43
Artworks
CC
£POA
Astro
Topologika
£18
Atelier
Minerva
£63
Autosketch CAD
Autodesk
£65
Avon
Topologika
£16
Ballarena
Eterna
£14
Bambuzle
Arxe
£19
BASIC V Guide
Dabs
V0 £10
BBC Basic Guide
Acorn
V0 £19
Blaston
Eterna
£14
Blitz
Arxe
£17
Blowpipe
Eclipse
£14
Boogie Buggy
Fourth Dim
£17
Bookstore, age 7-16
ESM
£39
Break 147 & Superpool
Fourth Dim
£17
Broadcast Loader
Acom
£63
Bubble Fair
Eterna
£14
Bug Hunter / MoonDash
Minerva
£13
Bug Huntor in Space
Minerva
£13
Business Accounts
Minerva
£298
Cambridge Pascal
Oak
£60
Cartoon Collection
Micro Studio £16
Cartoon Lino
Eterna
£17
Cataclysm
Fourth Dim
£17
Caverns
Arcana
£13
C: A Dabhand Guide
Dabs
V0 £14
- with disc
£22
C Development System
Beebug
£77
Chameleon
4mation
£23
Charts & Graphs
Computer Tutorial £ 1 7
Chequered Flag
CIS
£17
- Extra Circuits
CIS
£16
Chess 3D
Micro Power £14
Children s Graphics
Micro Studio £16
Chocks Away
Fourth Dim
£17
- Compendium
Fourth Dim
£27
- Extra Missions
Fourth Dim
£14
Chopper Force
Fourth Dim
EPOA
Christmas Theme Pack
ESM
£34
Chuck Rock
Krisalis
£19
Clip Art Graphics Factory
- Vol 1 (General), sprites Cl 9
- Vol 2 (General) / Vol 3 (Animals) /
Vol 4 (Sporl) / Vol 5 (Characters) each £25
Clip Art Set 1 . drawfiles
Midnight
£26
Clip Art Sol 2. drawfiles
Midnight
£29
Coffee, age 9*
Storm
£27
Colour Screen-Mac
Human
£90
- Arc/Mac Cable
Human
£24
Compression
CC
£39
Concept Designer
Longman
£22
Conqueror
Supenor
£17
Control Logo
Longman
£22
Control Panel
Lingenuity
£14
Converta-Key
Tuple R
£14
Cops
Alpine
£15
Corruption
Magnetic
£21
Craflshop 1
4mation
£27
Craftshop 2
4mation
£27
Creator
Alpine
£31
Crisis
CIS
£12
Cross-32 Meta-Assembler
Baildon
£175
- manual for evaluation
Baildon V0 £15
DataVision
Silicon
£110
DataWord
Triple R
£14
Decorated Alphabet, sprites
Micro Studio
£17
Designer V.3
TechSoft
£193
Designer Intro
TechSoft
£75
Designer's Graphics, draw/sprites
Micro Studio
£16
DeskEdit
RISC
£17
Desktop Assembler Release 2
Desktop C Release 4
Desktop Folio, new 1992 edition
Desktop Office
Desktop Publisher
- extra manual
Detect-a-Pet. age 5*11
DFS Reader
Disc Tree
DrawBender
- site licence
Dread Dragon Droom
Dreamwave
Drop Ship
DTP Graphics 1 Mono, sprites
DTP Graphics 2 Colour
DTP Graphics combined
DTP Seeds
DTP Theme Packs, age 5-16
- Christmas
- Editor s
- Maths
Acom
£119
Acom
£185
ESM
£87
Minerva
£70
Acom
£108
Acorn V0 £10
ESM
£49
Beebug
£9
Milro
£37
ICS
£15
£50
Resource
£21
EMR
£34
Fourth Dim
£14
Micro Studio
£15
Micro Studio
£17
Micro Studio
£25
4mation
V0 £8
ESM
£35
£29
£29
Easiword Minerva E16
EasiWriter Icon £120
- Dictionaries: Danish / French / Gorman / Italian /
Norwegian / Spanish / Swedish / Welsh each £30
Einstein
Ace
EPOA
Elite
Hybrid
£33
EluciData (OCR)
Irlam
£155
- bought with Irlam Scanner
£79
Enter the Realm
Fourth Dim
£17
Equasor
CC
£39
E-Type Compendium
Foudh Dim
£17
Euclid
Ace
£40
Eureka
Longman
EPOA
Exotic Adventures of Sylvia Lain Fourth Dim
£19
P ace Off Ice Hockey
Knsahs
£22
Family Favourites
Minerva
£14
Farmer Giles Computer Tutonal
£16
Farmer Giles II Computer Tutonal
£16
Film-Maker
Silicon
£70
Financial Accountant
Silicon
£203
Finding the Way. age -5
Rainbow
£7
Fine Racer
Eterna
£14
Fireball II Xtra
CIS
£12
First Impression Word Processing
V0 £28
First Words and Pictures
Chalksoft
£19
Flexible
Minerva
£84
Flight Path, age 9+
Storm
£27
Flight Sim Toolkit
Simis
£36
Flying Start II
Mitre
£86
Fontasy
ICS
£25
Fontasy / DrawBender / Placard sito licence
£80
FontFX
Data Store
£9
- site licence
£70
Font Pack - Newhall, Starter. Symbol
- each pack
Acorn
£35
Font Pack 1 - Paladin. Swiss B.
Symbol B. Vogue
Beebug
£47
Font Pack - Avant Garde. Bookman
Pembroke - each pack
CC
£20
Fortran 77 Release 2
Acom
£75
Fourier Analysis
Armadillo
£60
Freddy's Folly
Minerva
£13
Freddy Teddy
Topologika
£18
- Balloons I The Zoo
Topologika
£27
- The Playground
Topologika
£27
- The Puddle / The Wardrobo
Topologika
£27
Freddy Teddy's Adventure
Topologika
£18
Fun School 2
Databaso
- age -6. age 6-8. age 8+
each £15
Fun School 3
Database
- age -5. age 5-7, age 8*
each £18
Gammaplot
Minerva
£35
Gate Array Design / Teaching
Silicon
£114
Genesis 1
Oak
£40
Genesis II
Oak
£99
Genesis Plus
Oak
£69
Genesis Script Language
Oak
V0 £16
GerberPlot
Silicon
£89
Giant Killer, age 10+
Topologika
£16
Giant Killer Support Disc
Topologika
£14
Good Impression Word Processing VO £27
GraphBox Minerva £55
GrnphBox Professional Minerva £105
Graphic Writer Clares £24
Greetings Graphics, draw/sprites Micro Studio £16
GridIT Widgit £30
Grievous Bodily 'ARM Fourth Dim £17
Gumshoes Fourth Dim £18
Hard Disc Companion
Beebug
£33
Hard Disc Companion release 2
Beebug
£44
Hearsay II
Beebug
£70
Herewith the Clues'
£20
History Costume, sprites
Micro Studio
£16
Holed Out
Fourth Dim
£12
- Compendium
Fourth Dim
£17
Home Accounts
Minerva
£34
Hostages
Superior
£14
Hotlink Presenter
Lingenuity
£40
House of Numbers
Chalksolt
£19
Hoverbod
Minerva
£13
Hyporbook Electronic Library (Including Reader)
Longman
£109
Hyperbook Reader
Longman
£47
Ibix the Viking
Minerva
£14
PC SWI
Baildon
£15
- bought with Oddule
£5
Illusionist
Clares
£76
Illustrators' Graphics, draw/sprites
Micro Studio
£16
Image Animator
lota
£68
Image OCR
lota EPOA
Image Outliner
lota
£78
Imagine
Topologika
£33
Impression 2.15 or latest
CC
£125
- network version
£650
- site licence
£545
. - extra hardware key tor sites only
£15
- extra manual for sites only
V0 £8
Impression Borders
CC
£12
Impression Business Supplement
CC
£39
Impression Junior
CC
£69
- site licence
£435
- extra manual for sltos only
V0 £7
Inertia
Fourth Dim
£14
Insight
Longman
£68
Instigator
Dabs
£39
Interdictor 2
Clares
£25
Investigator 2
Sena! Port
£22
Iron Lord
UBISoft
£14
ISO Pascal Release 2
Acom
£75
Jahangir Khan World Championship Squash
Krisalis
£16
James Pond
Krisalis
£20
Jet Fighter
Minerva
£10
Jiglet
4mation
£25
Jigsaw
4mation
£27
Junior Databaso
lota
£51
Junior PinPoint
Longman
£24
Kerbang
Eterna
£12
Koyboard Player
Chalksolt
£17
Knowledge Organiser
Clares
£42
Landmarks - Egypt / Rain Forost / Second
World War / Victorians - each
Longman
£22
Last Days of Doom
Topologika
£16
Lemmings
Krisalis
£19
Letters and Pictures
Chalksolt
£17
Level 4 Fileserver
Acom
£160
LISP
Acom
£145
Little Red Riding Hood, ago 5-8
Selective
£14
Logistix
Acom
£77
Logo
Longman
£58
LogoPlotter
Longman
£19
Maddingly Hall
Minerva
£12
Mad Professor Mariarti
Krisalis
£15
Magpie
Longman
£45
Mah-Jong European - The Game
CIS
£19
Mah-Jong Patience
CIS
£15
Mailshot
Minerva
£27
Man at Arms
Fourth Dim
£14
Manchester United Europe
Krisalis
£19
Manchester United Football Club
Krisalis
£19
Maps and Landscapes 1
Chalksoft
£19
Maps and Landscapes 2
Chalksolt
£19
Mark Master
Chalksoft
£67
Master Break
Supenor
£14
Masterlile II
Beebug
£19
Mazes, drawfiles
Micro Studio
£16
Memory Magic
CIS
£12
Mental Maths
CIS
£15
MtcroDrive Golf
CIS
£14
- Extra Courses
CIS
£11
- World Edition
CIS
£24
Micro Trader Accounts
PRES
£199
MiG-29 Fulcrum
Domark
£28
MiG-29 Superfulcrum
Domark
£30
Military History, sprites
Micro Studio
£16
Minotaur
Minerva
£13
Missile Control
Minerva
£13
Mogul
Ace
£15
Money Matters
Tnple R
£15
Movaword
Chalksolt
£17
Mr Doo
CIS
£16
MultiFS
Arxe
£27
Multistore version II
Minerva
£155
Nature Graphics, draw/sprites
Micro Studio
£16
Nevryon
Fourth Dim
£14
Newton
Longman
£19
No Excuses
Arcana
£17
Nominal Ledger
Minerva
£78
Notate
Longman
£54
Note Invaders
Chalksoft
£17
Numbers and Pictures
Chalksolt
£17
Numerator
Longman
£63
Numerator Chaos
Longman
£19
Oak PCB
Oak
£136
Oak Recorder
Oak
£28
Office Tools
Silicon
£276
Ollie Octopus' Sketchpad
Storm
£13
Olympics
Fourth Dim
£14
Order Processing/Invoicing
Minerva
£78
Orion
Minerva
£13
Orrery
Spacetech
£93
Ovation
Beebug
£85
Overload
Clares
£13
Pacmania
£17
Padlock
ICS
£10
- site licence
£30
Pandora's Box
Fourth Dim
£17
Parametric Design Tool
Oak
£350
PC Access
Minerva
£19
PC Emulator 1.7
Acorn
£85
Pendown
Longman
£47
- Etoile
Longman
EPOA
- Outline Fonts
Longman
£19
-Plus
Longman
£78
Personal Accounts
Apricolo
£29
Phases#»2 Northwest SEMERC
£15
Picture Book
Tnple R
£14
PinPoint
Longman
£69
PipeDream 3
Colton
£105
PipeDream 4
Colton
£179
PipeDriver Dot 1
ICS
£10
Pipe Mania
Empire
£18
PIPP1 Primary Integrated Projoct Planner
CIS
£36
PIPP2 Professional Integrated Project Planner
- 5-14 Programme
CIS
£85
- Middle
CIS
£52
- Primary
CIS
£44
- Primary: Homos
CIS
£12
- Resource Centre
CIS
£129
- Secondary
CIS
£69
Pirate, age 8-14
Chalksolt
£16
Placard
ICS
£10
- site licence
£30
Plague Planet
Alpine
£13
Poizone
Eterna
£14
Poster
4mation
£75
Powerband
Fourth Dim
£17
Prehistoric Animals, sprites
Micro Studio
£16
Premier
Circle
£71
- DataBase
Circle
£25
- WordProc
Circle
£25
Presentation System
Silicon
£61
Presenter GTi
Lingenuity
£62
Presenter II
Lingenuity
£29
Presenter Story
Lingenuity
£129
PrimeArt
Minerva
£69
Printer Driver, RISC OS
- Epson, Star colour
Beebug
£15
- JX (Epson, Star and Citizen colour) Ace
£13
- PJ (HP PaintJet Colour)
Ace
£13
Pro Artisan
Clares
£70
Prophet
Apricote
£134
Protext
Amor
£114
Provocator Computer Tutonal
£15
Puncman 1 and 2
Chalksoft
£16
Puncman 3 and 4
Chalksoft
£16
Puncman 5 to 7
Chalksoft
£17
Purchase Ledger
Minerva
£78
Pysanki
Fourth Dim
£14
Qua/ or
Fourth Dim
£9
QuicKey
ICS
£15
- site licence
£45
Realtime Solids Modeller
Silicon
£132
Real McCoy
Fourth Dim
£20
Real McCoy 2
Fourth Dim
£20
Rodshilt
Minerva
£14
Render Bender 1
Clares
£55
Render Bonder II
Clares
£95
Reporter
Minerva
£29
Repton 3
Superior
£14
Revelation
Longman
£54
Revelation 2
Longman
£99
- CD Rom
Longman
£123
Reversals
Chalksoft
£17
Rhapsody 2
Clares
£45
RiscBASIC
Silicon
£112
RiscForth Compiler
Silicon
£110
Rise OS Companion Vol 1
Oak V0 £49
Rise OS Extras and Virus Kit
Acom
£9
Rise OS Programmer's
Reference Manual
Acom V0 £79
Rise OS Style Guide
Acom V0 £1 1
RoboLogo
Silicon
£69
Rockfall
Eterna
£14
Rotor
Arcana
£19
Sales Ledger
Minerva
£78
Saloon Cars
Fourth Dim
£17
Schema
Clares
£89
School Administrator
Minerva
£65
Science, drawfiles
Micro Studio
£25
Score Draw
Clares
£50
Scorewnter
EMR
- PMS Dot matrix. Version 1
£127
- PMS Dot matrix. Version 2
£147
- PMS PostScript
£422
ScreenPlay
Widgit
£35
Screen Turtle
Topologika
£36
Seashore Guide, drawfiles
Micro Studio
£16
Sesamo Street
Electric Crayon
- Letters for You
£16
- Numbers Count
£16
SFXM
CIS
£34
Shape FX
Data Store
£10
ShareHolder
Silicon
£139
ShowPage
CC
£127
Shylock Gnomes, age 10-15
Selective
£16
Sigma Sheet
Minerva
£38
SkyHunter
Longman
4maiion
£23
smArt
£50
smArt Dinosaurs / Faces / Fashion /
Heraldry / Homes / Leisure / Trees
and Gardens - each
4mation
£15
smArlFiler
4mation
£32
Snippet
4mation
£26
SolidCAD
Silicon
£115
SolidsRender
Silicon
£115
SolidTools
Silicon
£269
Spark
David Pilling
£5
Sparkle
Mortey
£59
Special
ICS
£10
- site licence
£30
Speech!
Superior
£14
Spelling week-by-week
Chalksoft
£19
Spitfire Fury
Fourth Dim
EPOA
Splice
Ace
£22
Sporting Triangles
CDS
£20
Square Route Computer Eyes £16
Step by Step Guides (videos): Pedigree
1 Up & Running. 2 Text Processing.
3 Data Handling. 4 Art & Graphics each £12
Stock Management
Minerva
£78
Studio24Plus Vorsion 2. age 1 1 +
EMR
£139
Studio24Plus Version 3. ago 12+
EMR
£210
Super-Dump
Silicon
£20
Superior Golf
Superior
£14
Super-Plot
Silicon
£28
Supersounds
CIS
£15
Supersounds 2
CIS
£12
System Delta Plus II
Minerva
£50
- Reference Guide
Minerva V0 £25
T actic
Eterna
£15
Talisman
Minerva
£12
Target Maths
Triple R
£14
TechWnter
Icon
£245
Tolling the Time, age 3-12
Rainbow
£7
Thundermonk
Minerva
£12
Timetabler
Minerva
£549
Time Watch
Mitre
£24
Tiny Logo + Tiny Draw
Topologika
£27
Toolkit Plus
Clares
£35
Tools Graphics, drawfiles
Micro Studio
£23
Touch Type
lota
£40
Tower of Babel
Cygnus
£17
Tracer
Midnight
£46
Tracker
Serial Port
£37
Transport, drawfiles
Micro Studio
£25
Trivial Pursuit
Domark
£22
Turbo Type
CIS
£20
Tween
Ace
£20
Twin
Acom
£24
Twin World
UBI Soft
£14
TWO (Task and Window Organiser) ICS
£19
- site licence
£60
U.I.M
Fourth Dim
£23
Utility Disc 1
Data Store
£13
Utility Disc 2
Data Store
£13
Utility Disc 3
Data Store
£7
Utility Collection
Data Store
£21
View-Mac 3
Human
C65 HIGH DENSITY 3%" FLOPPY DISCS
- Arc/Mac Cable
Vox Box
Human
Clares
E24
E47
Pack of 10
£10
While Magic
Fourth Dim
E14
PRINTERS
White Magic 2 + Designer
Fourth Dim
£14
Wimp Game
Fourth Dim
£12
ArcLaser
Calligraph
£895
Wonderland
Virgin
£24
ArcServer
Calligraph
£985
Words and Pictures
Chalksolt
£17
Bubble Jet BJ-lOe
Canon
£205
World Championship Boxing Manager
Bubble Jet BJ-300
Canon
£360
Knsalis
£20
Bubble Jet BJ-330
Canon
£405
World Geography Maps, drawees
Micro Studio
£23
Laser Direct HiRes4 with 50-sheet tray CC
£895
World Map Study, age 7-16
EM FI
£42
- with optional 250-sheet cassette
£999
WorldScape
Eclipse
£15
Laser Direct HiRes8
CC
£1280
World Wildlife, sprites
Micro Studio
£16
Laser Direct LBP-4 Card
CC
£319
Worra Battle
Oak
£13
Laser Direct Qume
CC
£799
WorraCAD
Oak
£75
LBP-4
Canon
£659
Worra Plot
Oak
£24
Refill toner cartridge tor Canon EPS
£50
X-Fire
Fourth Dim
£17
New toner cartridge for Canon LBP-4
£59
Zsfi A Dabhand Guide
Dabs V0 El 5
SCANNERS, DIGITISERS
Z88 PipeDream Guide
Dabs V0 El 5
Zarch
Superior
£14
ArcScanner including Epson GT-4000
Zelanites
Micro Power
£14
Clares
£1660
FaxScan
Spacetech
£94
FX9600AT + Maintenance
Amstrad
£376
HARDWARE
Hawk V9
- A3000 version
Wild Vision
Wild Vision
£199
£278
Image (colour)
Irlam
£589
Image Scanner
lota
£389
A5000 COMPUTERS
- Colour upgrade
lota
£98
i-Scan 200
Irlam
£539
2Mb Hard Disc Colour System Acorn l
Cl 499
i-Scan 400
Irlam
£589
- as above + Learning Curve
El 530
Pineapple Colour Vidoo Digitiser
Pineapple
£195
(Finance & special purchase schemes available)
- A3000 boxed
Scan-Light A4
Pineapple
CC
£230
£277
MEMORY
- with Sheet Feeder
Scan-Light Junior
CC
CC
£370
£128
Fitting extra unless otherwise stated
- A3000 internal
CC
£128
t Fitting easy t Fitting needs expertise
Scan-Light Junior 256
CC
£199
A3000 2 Mb Non-upgradable t
IFEL
£55
- A3000 internal
CC
£199
A 3000 2 Mb Upgradable t
IFEL
£63
Scan-Light Professional
CC
£825
A3000 4 Mb f Atomwide/IFEL
£149
- as above + SCSI interface
CC
£910
A310 2 Mb Upgradable soldered t IFEL
£99
Spectra
RISC
£545
-as above -► MEMCIa
£149
- A3000 Internal
RISC
£545
- as above + MEMCIa + lilting
£200
- A3000 External
RISC
£565
A310 4 Mb soldered + MEMCIa ± IFEL
£225
- as above + fitting
£277
|2C PRODUCTS
- as above + fitting + OS3 carriers
£298
A5000 2 - 4 Mb Upgradable t
Atomwide
£109
AnDi Oddule
Baildon
£49
A5000 2 - 8 Mb including fitting
Atomwide
£500
l 2 C Adaptor (needed unless you
A5000 4 - 8 Mb including fitting
Atomwide
£391
already have an l*C socket)
Baildon
£10
A540 4 Mb t
Atomwide
£268
PC SWI (enhanced IIC Control)
Baildon
£15
- bought with Oddule
£5
MISCELLANEOUS
4-slot 4-layer Backplane
IFEL
£59
KEYBOARD COVERS
9060 S Monitor
Ei20
£450
9070S Monitor
Eizo
£640
Seal ’n Type (spill-proof)
A300/400 Fan kit
ICS
£15
- Archimedes
Kador
£14
A310 RISC OS Carrier Board t
IFEL
£25
- A3000
Kador
£14
ARM3 X
Alomwido
£249
Clares Micro Mouse
Clares
£26
FUNCTION KEY STRIP
ORGANISER
Dongle Dangle with screw fittings
ICS
£6
Fan filters (pack of 10)
ICS
£4
Arckey
ICS
V0 £3
FaxPack
CC
£289
- pack of 4
V0 £10
Monitor Stand for A3000
ICS
£18
Whisper Fan Quietener
ICS
£15
Sorry about the small print -
we plan to increase the number of pages we use soon
HOW T O ORDE R
VAT: UK customers please add 17.5% to the total price, except for the
zero-rated items marked VO. Our VAT number is 384 3312 56.
CARRIAGE IS FREE WITHIN MAINLAND UK IF YOU PAY
ON ORDERING. Remember this when you compare prices!
Overseas carriage: If you are paying by credit card we will add airmail and
insurance at cost. Otherwise please add £6 (Europe) or at least £12
(elsewhere) for each software item and send a pounds sterling bank draft
payable in England, or Eurocheques for not more than £100 each.
Credit cards are welcome. We do not charge your account until your order
has been fulfilled. The name and address for delivery of goods should be as
known to the credit card company. If you are leaving an order on our
answering machine please include your telephone number, the expiry date
of your card, and your calculation of the total payment due.
Official orders are welcome. Payment is due in 14 days. Invoices are
subject to carriage and late payment charges.
Site licences: please enquire if no price is shown.
All products, prices and specifications are offered in good faith and are
subject to change without notice. Your order will receive our attention
immediately, but suppliers sometimes keep us waiting. Goods are
guaranteed but we do not supply them on approval.
Thinking IDE?
Look at these examples of our
NEW LOW PRICES
> A3000 INTERNAL 40 MB - ONLY £399 !
20 MB £225 • 60 MB £549 • 80 MB £675
All with power save, write protect, l 2 C connector, etc
Miniature fan option for fully upgraded A3000s
> A3000 EXTERNAL 40 MB - ONLY £369 !
With power supply and metal case to hold two hard discs
> A300/400/500 SERIES INTERNAL 80 MB
- ONLY £359 !
Prices includes interface card and all fittings
We use 1 inch high discs so two can be fitted in the same
place - e.g. add an extra 40 Mb for only £195
PLUS A FREE
WORTH £57!
We offer a full range of internal and external hard disc
upgrades and separates. Telephone for more details and
friendly advice based on a year's experience in selling
IDE products.
Think jCS
There’s only one
Original
a
^AUTHORISED ACORN DEALER |0g (| an C()peStake Software)
Dept B28, 1 Kington road, West Kirby, WIRRAL, Merseyside, L48 5ET
Tel : 051 -625 1 006 Fax: 051 -625 1 007
E&OE S039 92JA28 Please use the following numbers until about 10th February - TEL: 051-632 1234 FAX: 051-632 3434 licensed credit broker
The Archimedes Specialists
A3000 Hard Drive
If you have been thinking of getting
an A3000 there has never been a
better time.
This special offer provides an excellent
system ready for immediate use. The hard
drive, RAM and Ovation are all installed
ready so you can simply turn on and start.
Ovation is the highly acclaimed package
combining word processing and DTP.
Widely used in education it offers a whole
host of features and is powerful and yet
simple to use.
Our high speed IDE drive was designed
especially for the A3000. It has an access
time faster than ST506 or 8 bit SCSI,
features auto-parking and sleep mode and
is fitted in the internal expansion slot.
DTP System
Acorn A3000 Computer
Genuine Acorn Colour Monitor
Monitor Plinth
2 Mb RAM
20 Mbyte Internal Hard Drive
Ovation DTP
Normal Price £1 299 + VAT
Save Over £300
COMPUTERS.
CMLDREH
Special Offer £999 + VAT
(£1173.83 INC VAT)
The A3000 Learning Curve is also
available if required. This includes
Pacmania & Lemmings games,
Genesis II Database, 1st Word Plus,
Acorn PC Emulator and a 120 min
audio training tape. Just add £40 +
VAT (£47.00 inc VAT).
Courier Delivery Please add £9.00.
The A5000 Learning Curve
The A5000 is now available from BEEBUG,
either from our showroom or mail-order.
BEEBUG are one of Acorns largest dealers
and have been supporting the Archimedes
range since its launch.
You can have total confidence in BEEBUG.
Our technical team are always on-hand to
provide any assistance and help that you
may need with the A5000.
BEEBUG & RISC Developments also
produce the magazine RISC User,
dedicated to the Archimedes range.
BEEBUG - The Archimedes Specialists
The A5000 Learning Curve Complete With Acorn Multi-scan
Monitor Is Now Available For £1799 Inc.
Phone Or Write To Reserve Yours Now !
Courier Delivery Please Add £9.00.
A5000 Features
□ RISC OS Version 3
□ ARM 3 For Unbelievable Speed
□ 1 .6 Mb Format Floppy Drive
□ 40 Mb IDE Hard Drive
□ Acorn Multi-Scan Monitor
The New Learning Curve Pack
□ New Multi-tasking PC Emulator
□ Genesis 2 Database
□ 1st Word Plus Wordprocessor
□ Acorn DTP
□ Lemmings and Pacmania Games
□ Audio Training Tape
□ Optional 300 dpi Ink Jet Printer
Educational Establishments
Please Ask For Our Educational A5000 Price
0% Finance Over 12 Months NOW AVAILABLE ON THE A5000.
Deposit £179 Plus 12 payments of £135. APR 0%. Please ask for a finance application form.
Phone Or Write For An Information Pack
All products covered by 1 2 months full warranty
Access / Visa / Switch / Cheque / Official Orders Welcome
Showroom hours Mon to Sat 9 am - 6 pm (Thu until 8 pm)
Beebug Ltd, 117 Hatfield Road, St. Albans, Herts. AL1 4JS. TEL 0727 40303 FAX 0727 860263
ACORN DTP PACKAGE
TAKES ON THE MAC
ACORN and Computer
Concepts have joined forces to
launch an Archimedes-based
desktop publishing system,
targeted at equivalent PC and
Apple Mac-based systems.
The DTP system includes
Acorn’s A540 computer. Com-
puter Concepts’ Impression II
software, a Laser Direct
printer and a professional
image scanner. At just under
£5000, the system offers
‘higher performance and twice
the print resolution for half the
price of an equivalent Mac
system,’ according to Charles
Moir, managing director of
Computer Concepts.
The A540 features the Arm3
Rise processor, 4Mb of Ram, a
120Mb SCSI hard disc and is
supplied with a 14in multiscan
monitor. Impression II - which
has sold around 15,000 copies
and is used to produce this
magazine’s editorial pages -
has eight Adobe-compatible
families of fonts supplied as
standard. Also included are:
Equasor , an equation editing
program, and CC’s Business
Supplement utilities (one
group of which allows the
embedded control appli-
cations. The performance, size
and relative low cost and
power consumption make the
Arm designs ideal for appli-
cations including telecom's.
importation of files from pack-
ages such as WordPerfect ,
Microsoft Word and Wordstar,
mail merging and the produc-
tion of Postscript files.
The flatbed scanner can scan
pages up to 8.5 x I4in at 256
grey levels with a resolution of
300 dots per inch. The Laser
Direct printer can produce
documents at up to 600dpi.
Acorn's marketing director,
Mike O'Riordan, said: ‘This
system has a significant price
performance advantage over
network controllers, automo-
tive control and many more
applications. For more details
any equivalent Mac- or PC-
based system. We expect it to
attract a great deal of interest,
not only from small businesses
who may have been put off by
the thought of introducing
complex DTP systems, but
also from printers who regu-
larly carry out DTP work’.
For further information on
the new Acorn DTP package,
contact Acorn Computers, Ful-
bourn Road, Cherry Hinton,
Cambridge CBI 4JN. Tel:
(0223) 245200.
contact Arm Ltd. Swaffham
Bulbeck, Cambridge CB5
0NA. Tel: (0223) 813000.
PC ON A CARD
FOR THE ARC
ALEPH ONE announced the
launch of its PC Expansion
Card for the BBC A3000/
Archimedes - first revealed in
this magazine last October -
to educationalists at the recent
BETT '92 exhibition.
The device, which is basi-
cally a PC on a standard
podule expansion card, enables
applications that are designed
for IBM-compatible PCs to
run on Rise OS machines.
According to Alex van Som-
eren, Aleph One’s technical
director, the new card will
‘provide significantly greater
performance than Acorn’s PC
Emulator software.
‘By using a real Intel
80386SX microprocessor and
a single-chip PC motherboard,
we have ensured complete
hardware and software com-
patibility with IBM and
compatible PCs'.
Parallel and serial ports allow
peripherals, such as printers
and modems, to be connected
directly to the card and Aleph
One expects the card to appeal
to educational users who need
to run PC applications.
'I'he two versions of the card
include a I Mb at £595 and a
4Mb at £725. The card works
with all Acorn Rise computers,
including the BBC A3000 and
Archimedes A5000.
• Aleph One has announced a
further reduction in the price
of its Arm3 upgrade for the
Archimedes/ A 3000 to £199.
Contact Aleph One, The Old
Courthouse, High Street. Bot-
tisham, Cambridge CB5 9BA.
Tel: (0223) 81 1679.
ARM COMPANY MOVES INTO CONTROL
ADVANCED Rise Machines,
(Arm), the Arm chip develop-
ment company formed
between Acorn. Apple and
VS LI Technology, has now
concluded a licence agreement
with GEC Plessey Semicon-
ductors (GPS).
The new agreement enables
GPS to manufacture and sell
Arm's Rise processors, includ-
ing the recently-announced
Arm6, 60, 61 and 600 and
encourage the extension of
Arm's Rise technology into
ROBIN SAXBY FROM ARM (LEFT) WITH DOUG DUNN OF GPS
BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992 7
What our readers say grS of ris c
'the W nb& in ttse m ach „ yC ell ent
0r-"
V* 0 **
, up
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be9 in
n ers.
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l wi^ n l °e a^ d h 23sinoJS£ sta" da
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of
flongti 1116
Following glowing reviews
in the computer press ...
... a new version of
has now been released
DeskEdit
(V 1.20)
DeskEdit
is the ultimate all-purpose
editor for the Archimedes, with
special features for plain text,
Basic and C source.
Edit your Basic programs on
the desktop and test them inter-
actively with a single key press.
with even more features
for text editing and
word processing tasks ,
Basic and C source
editing
A new single key save-and-
run feature in Basic mode
permits virtually instantaneous
testing of programs and
applications as you edit them.
The improved procedure
and function browser
now lets you browse in both
directions
In text mode, wordwrap
control is improved,
while in C mode syntax
checking is extended,
and a special Search
option lets you search
for function definitions.
Other new features are: •
dynamic date insertion • Left and Right
Justify • bracket matching • Align
Columns and • the Char Info option.
DeskEdit + a 48 page manual + a function keystrip
Price £24.95 inc + £1.50p&p Code PEDTb
Existing users may upgrade to V. 1.20 by sending
their original disc, together with £2.00 and SAE
marked DeskEdit Upgrade 1.2.
RISC Us 81 *
the most popular subscription
magazine devoted to the Archimedes,
A3000 and A5000 computers
ed
tr,eSS j.rtas' e, °"]
s*
For your subscription
(£19.90 a year for UK)
phone 0727 40303
or write to:
RISC Developments, 117 Hatfield
Road, St. Albans Herts A LI 4JS
Quote reference A3 and save £1 off your
subscription (subscribe for only £18.90)
ChaptWeH
ChartWell offers
24 different
graph types:
horizontal and
vertical bar charts
line graphs
scatter charts
polar plots and
pie charts.
Complete user control over:
choice of colour,
data point styles,
bar widths and spacing,
use of titles and labels,
legends to provide a key,
graduated/shaded backgrounds,
scales and tick marks, etc.
A single chart
or graph can
display up to
6 different
data sets,
including up to
six pie charts in
a single display.
A sophisticated Graph and
Chart Package
Data can be imported
from other applications, such
as spreadsheets, databases,
or created with a suitable
editor as a text file.
Output is in standard Draw
format for import into Draw
or any other application,
DTP for example.
A variety of display options:
flat or 3D bar and pie charts,
user choice of angle for 3D pie chart display,
clustered, stacked or layered bar charts,
scatter graphs with choice of curve fitting
techniques, regression lines and correlation
coefficients, and use of error bars,
line graphs with choice of normal, cumulative
area or stacked area displays.
Use of 'style
sheets' allows a
set of options to
be saved with
data for future
reference. User
choice of start-up
options.
Flexibility - you can select
only part of the data for display,
or change the order of display -
i.e. whith bar charts data can be
arranged in ascending order.
Chartwell and manual
Price £29.95 inc +1.50 p&p
Code PCHWa
RISC Developments Ltd. 117 Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. Tel. 0727 40303 Fax 0727 860263
FULL MOTION VIDEO
SYSTEM FOR THE ARC
A NEW full motion video
system, (FMV), combining the
processing power of Arm-
based Rise machines and the
mass storage capabilities of
CD-Rom, has been launched
by Acorn. Acorn Replay
allows an Archimedes compu-
ter and a CD-Rom drive to to
combined to harness the poten-
tial of full motion video as
part of a multimedia system.
Simultaneous audio and
video is supported, with the
system running at up to 25
frames per second. The display
can run in the Rise OS desk-
top, or in a low resolution full
screen mode. Full motion
video work is restricted in the
personal computer market by
the storage and performance
requirements of video.
For example, one minute of
quarter screen 25 frames per
second, 256-colour VGA
video contains some 1 15Mb of
data which has to be painted
SRS SYSTEMS has come up
with a new device which
enables people with special
needs to operate standard soft-
ware on the Archimedes and
the BBC A3000.
The Matchmaker unit allows
the connection of virtually any
input device (switch, joystick,
trackerball, concept keyboard,
and so on) to the computer.
on screen at 2Mb/sec. Most
PCs have to resort to hardware
to assist the process, or accept
limited video frame rates or
lengths.
Acorn Replay differs from
other FMV systems in that it
reads highly compressed data
from mass storage devices in
real time on a standard product
with no additional hardware,
yet it maintains a constant
frame display rate.
The system features a data
compression technique which
relies on calculating the redun-
dancy between successive
video frames, achieving com-
pression factors of between 25
and 40. The software decom-
pression algorithm runs in real
time on all Archimedes com-
puters that have at least 2Mb
of memory available.
The user can stop the video
at any point and ‘grab’ a frame
for pasting into other desktop
applications, such as DTP.
enabling access to most avail-
able ‘off-the-shelf programs.
The speed and sensitivity of
the device can be selected eas-
ily. The unit also has a key-
board and mouse emulator that
are compatible with most
available programs. For further
information on the Match-
maker unit, contact SRS
Systems on 021-643 2877.
Acorn has been working with
third party software houses to
generate applications incorpor-
ating Acorn Replay. Third
parties are also being encour-
aged to produce CDs contain-
ing compressed video clips
and these could then be used
as libraries of clip art for per-
sonal applications. The first
CD titles should be available
from next month.
Acorn’s technical director,
Malcolm Bird, said: ‘Acorn
Replay can be used either as a
stand-alone system to display
film clips, or integrated with a
controlling application to pro-
vide a video display service to
that application, such as a
database, an encyclopaedia, or
a hyperbook.’
For further information on
the full motion video system,
contact Acorn Computers, Ful-
bourn Road, Cherry Hinton,
Cambridge CBI 4JN. Tel:
(0223) 245200.
BETTER
BETAJET
INTEGREX has launched what
it claims is a laser-quality ink-
jet printer for £199. BctaJet is
a high-resolution. A4 mono-
chrome inkjet printer which is
said to give ‘laser quality out-
put at a 9-pin dot matrix cost'.
The printer emulates the HP
Deskjet Plus as standard, with
Epson FX 850 and IBM Pro-
printer emulation available on
optional memory cards.
Printing at 160cps draft and
80cps LQ (letter quality), with
an 8K buffer, the printer can
output pages at the rate of up
to two per minute. Resident
fonts include Courier, Letter
Gothic and Times Nordic, with
additional fonts available.
For more details on the
Betajet printer contact Integrcx
Ltd, Church Gresley, Swadlin-
cote, Derby DE11 9PT. Tel:
(0283)551551.
MONO
DIGITISER
UNDER £50
HCCS has come up with a
range of black and white digit-
iser for the BBC A3000 and
Archimedes which start at less
than £50.
The new Vision digitisers
are designed to lake any video
signal - from a video cassette
recorder, camcorder, laser disc
player, and so on - and turn it
into a high-quality black and
white sprite in a window on
the Rise OS desktop.
The image takes approxi-
mately 5sec to materialise, but
the image capture is in real-
time, in other words within
one video frame. Image size is
640 pixels x 256 lines, with
128 effective grey scales using
ETT (error transfer technique).
The digitiser has been
designed to incorporate a fast
preview mode for focusing and
setting up video sources,
which can be processed fully
at any time. The software
included has additional fea-
tures such as on-screen con-
trast and brightness controls,
which can be adjusted easily
before or after the video frame
is captured. This should enable
the user to obtain the best
results, first time.
The standard sprite file pro-
duced can then be saved and
edited under Paint or other
programs, perhaps to become
part of a demo sequence, or to
add to DTP documents.
Three versions of the digit-
iser are available: an internal
version for the A3000 (£49),
an external version for the
A3000 (£69) and a half-width
podule version for the Archi-
medes (£49).
A colour upgrade for the
digitisers is expected to be
launched in June and will cost
approximately £30, with a dis-
count to existing users. All
prices exclude vat.
For more information on the
range of digitisers, contact
HCCS Associates Ltd, 575-
583 Durham Road, Gateshead
NE9 5JJ. Tel: 091-487 0760.
MEET YOUR MATCH
BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992 9
ACORN KEEPS LEAD
IN SCHOOLS MARKET
ACORN has maintained its
leading position in the UK
schools marketplace, accord-
ing to a recent survey", with
total penetration of around 64
percent for the period April to
September 91.
Acorn’s penetration was
greatest in the primary sector,
where the company picked up
77 percent of purchasers, com-
pared 23 percent for Research
Machines (Nimbus). In the
secondary sector, they were
PRIMARY SECTOR
EDUCATION TOP 10
still the biggest sellers, with
around half of the purchasers
buying Acorn machines. Brand
share for Acorn across all
schools was 53 percent - 74
percent in primary schools and
42 percent in secondary.
Serious attempts have been
made by rival manufacturers,
notably RM and Apple, to
increase their share of the edu-
cation cake but, despite this,
Acorn's brand share across all
schools was practically
unchanged compared with a
similar survey carried out for
the same period in 1990.
The BBC A3000 is still the
most popular school computer,
(see the adjacent chart) fol-
lowed by the faithful BBC
Master. For further informa-
tion, contact Acorn Compu-
ters, Ful bourn Road, Cherry
Hinton, Cambridge CB1 4JN.
Tel: (0223) 245200.
*Sun>ey by Research Sup-
port and Marketing
£
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Acorn
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40
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SECONDARY SECTOR
WHAT A
BIND!
REGULAR readers who have
been waiting patiently for a
new set of binders to store
their favourite magazine can
relax - they’re here! Each new
binder costs £5.95, is finished
in white with our current BAU
logo and is designed to hold 12
issues of the magazine. To
obtain yours, please complete
the coupon below and send it
with a cheque made payable to
Redwood Publishing to: BAU
Binder Offer, PO Box 66,
Wetherby LS23 7HL.
BBC ACORN USER BINDERS
Please send me binder(s)
@ £5.95 each
Name
Address
NEW CUB COLOUR MONITOR
MICROVITEC has added a new
high resolution colour monitor
to its Cub range. The Auto
Scan 2038, seen below linked
to an A5000 machine, features
a 2()in screen and is said to
provide high-quality definition
and colour.
Intended for high resolution
and business graphics appli-
cations, the 2038 is compatible
with the BBC A3000, and the
Archimedes range of compu-
ters. The company claims to
have sold 330,000 Cubs in the
UK alone, and offers an
unconditional warranty, lasting
three years, on all monitors
sold into the education market.
The Auto Scan 2038 costs
£1495. Contact Microvitec,
Futures Way, Bolling Road,
Bradford BD4 7TU. Tel:
(0274)390011.
IN BRIEF
• COURSES covering the use and
management of Econet networks,
originally held only at Acorn's
Cambridge headquarters, have
been extended to three regional
training centres. The courses are
now being held at venues in Sur-
rey, Manchester and Durham and
are being run by experienced
Acorn-contract trainers, although
the administration will continue to
be handled centrally from Cam-
bridge. For further details on the
courses, which will be run from
next month, contact Acorn on
(0223) 245200.
• ACE COMPUTING has produced
a printer driver for Hewlett Pack-
ard's recently-released 300dpi
colour printer. It costs £18.80,
including VAT, postage and pack-
ing. The company is also working
on a driver for Rise OS 3 (the
A5000). Contact Ace Computing on
(0223) 322559.
• SPACE enthusiasts will be inter-
ested to hear that data from
NASA, the American space agency,
is now available on CD-Rom from
Spacetech. The Planetary Data
System discs contain planetary
images and data, organised in
directories so that is is easy to
work through. For details, contact
Spacetech (0305) 822753.
• EXPLAN has launched the desk-
top version of its Arcol colour art
program for the Archimedes. The
program operates in all full-colour
screen modes. It costs £50 (single
user), £250 (site licence) and £6.50
to upgrade from previous versions.
Contact Explan on (0822) 613868.
• AROUND 40,000 copies of the
hypermedia package, Genesis, are
being used in the Acorn market-
place, according to Oak Solutions.
The company claims that the suc-
cess of Acorn's Learning Curve,
which includes the package, has
contributed to its success.
• OPTECH, the Farnham-based
CD-Rom specialist, has released the
latest Rise OS version of The Dic-
tionary of the Living World, which
can now be accessed direct and
not, as previously, through the PC
Emulator. The dictionary costs
£175, with a 10 percent discount
for educational establishments.
Contact Optech on (0252) 714340.
• THE THIRD Acorn Education
Directory has just been released. It
includes details of over 1700 edu-
cational titles and costs £4.95 from
Acorn dealers.
10 BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992
A revolutionary new database which could
change the way you think and work
Meadowfkld School SMOKING ACTION COMMITTEE
PinPoint; Sacking, answer sheet; 1
SMOKING AND HEALTH SURVEY
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The idea behind PinPoint is as simple as it is
revolutionary. Imagine a program which allows you to
design and print any form as easily as using the best DTP
package. Suppose, as your design takes shape, you are
simultaneously building a complete database to handle
the information your form can display. Perhaps you want
to enter information directly onto the form electronically,
with no need to use paper. Or your data can be entered
from completed paper forms using the latest WYSIWYG
data entry techniques, optimised to save time.
The information you collect can be sorted, selected,
statistically analysed and presented graphically in any
number of ways. The powerful object-oriented graphing and
presentation tools give you 2D and 3D pie charts, bar charts,
line graphs, scattergraphs and lines of best fit. You can also
browse through information in tabular form, rearranging or
eliminating rows and columns. Information can be freely
exchanged between PinPoint and other RISC OS
applications. Instead of a database, a spreadsheet, a graphing
package and a DTP program, you now only need..J
MEAIWUFIELD SCHOOL
SMOKING ACTION
COMMITTEE
ANALYSIS
j f'ercontjqe
| vuho smoke 14
More than 50
SMOKING: AGE
11 1— J
10 II 12 13 14 16 1C
*9*
Less than 10
HOW MANY CIGARETTES
IK) YOU SMOKE PER DAY?
PinPoint
Information collection and analysis, all in one.
rtf
LONGMAN LOGOTRON
124 Cambridge Science
Park, Milton Road
Cambridge CB4 4ZS
Tel. (0223) 425558
Fax (0223) 425349
Features:
T Wide choice of database design
for graphical analysis
T WYSIWYG data entry using
mouse or keyboard
T Frequency. Percentage, Popularity
and Cumulativ e Frequency field
analysis
T Powerful table style information
browser
T Full sorting and selection of
records
T Ability to calculate a wide range
of statistics
T Multi-file analysis
▼ OOP presentation tools
▼ Full information exchange from
other RISC OS packages, using
text. CSV and draw files.
PinPoint, for the Acorn
Archimedes, is priced at £99
A Site Licence costs £400
For more details please
contact us.
FaxPack is a fax expansion board for the Archimedes
range of computers allowing your computer to take on
the job of a conventional fax machine but with the
benefits of being fully integrated into the Archimedes.
FaxPack offers full background send and receive
capability. You can send a fax simply by selecting the
PRINT option from any RISC OS application, with
control returned in just a few seconds. FaxPack then
proceeds to dial and send the fax while you carry on
using the computer.
Receiving faxes is also completely automatic. FaxPack
will answer the phone and store the fax away on your
disc while you continue to use the computer. Once
received the fax can be viewed on screen (using a
special anti-aliased display to improve on-screen
readability) and printed. Any portion of the fax image
can be saved as a conventional sprite. Alternatively
FaxPack can be made to automatically print on receipt
of a fax, which with a LaserDirect printer, is completely
automatic and in the background.
There are numerous advantages of a computer based
fax system over a conventional machine:
□ Very high quality, pixel perfect faxes - try sending a
fax of 8pt text from a conventional fax machine!
□ Since there is no need to print, then re-scan a
document, FaxPack saves time, paper and money when
sending faxes.
□ Rather than junk fax mail wasting your costly fax
paper, you can decide to delete unwanted fax files
before printing.
□ By receiving and sending from the computer
FaxPack offers a higher level of security than most
conventional fax machines.
□ FaxPack allows electronic archiving of fax
messages and is one step towards the truly paperless
office.
□ FaxPack uses your standard Archimedes printer
and so can print on plain paper rather than thermal
paper.
In addition FaxPack can be used as a data modem, to
send and receive any Archimedes file or directory of
files to other machines fitted with FaxPack. Because of
the 9600 baud rate of fax systems and the use of data
compression FaxPack is faster than practically all
conventional data modems and permits background
data transfer.
FaxPack £299 + VAT (£351.32)
ion to
specified
APPROVED fora
telecommi
in the insi
the coni
tn them.
N BOARD FOR THE ARCHIMEDES
GOING FOR GOLD AT BETT
THE SUCCESS of Desktop
Folio (Archimedes), ihe
‘interactive’ writing package
from ESM, was affirmed last
month when it secured the
gold award in the primary
category of the Educational
Technology Awards. A silver
award went to Sherston Soft-
ware for Viewpoints , its
mapping and database pro-
gram for the Archimedes. Two
companies were jointly
awarded the bronze; Black
Cal Software for Clipboard
(Nimbus), a datahandling
package and Broderbund for
Kidpix (Apple and IBM PC), a
painting package.
In the secondary category,
the gold award was presented
to The Times Network
Systems for its bundling of the
Times CD-Rom disc with the
Toshiba CD-Rom drive.
Research Machines’ Nimbus
Notebook NB220 took the
silver award. The bronze
award went to World Develop-
ment Database (Nimbus and
Archimedes) from CWDE
Software. It uses Grass , a
datahandling package, and the
judges felt that not only was it
useful in itself, but it was to be
commended for extending on
an already existing product.
This year, special presenta-
tions were also awarded to
Northwest SEMERC for its
contribution to special edu-
cational needs, especially for
Phases #2 and My World.
Sponsored by BBC Edu-
cational Computing and
Technology magazine, the
awards were presented at the
opening ceremony of BETT
'92 by the minister of state for
education, Tim Eggar. In mak-
ing the presentations, he
highlighted the need for sup-
port in IT and stressed the
growing importance of tech-
nologies such as CD-Rom.
A3000 DESIGNER PACK
A CONCEPT Keyboard pro-
vides an alternative means of
accessing computer software.
Now The Concept Keyboard
Company has bundled its CK
with Longman Logotron's
general overlay designer and
editor, Concept Designer. This
includes Touch Data, similar to
Plus, and SoftTouch, so an
overlay can be designed with-
out a CK attached. The A3000
Designer Pack costs £136
(A4), or £152 (A3), from The
Concept Keyboard Company
on (0962) 843322. A further
£50 reduction is available if
you trade in an old keyboard
CASH BACK
THROUGH an initiative
launched at BETT ’92,
Cumana aims to put £100,000
back into education. Under the
Cumana Cashback Club
scheme, schools can raise
funds, to spend as they like,
simply by distributing Cumana
catalogues, printed with their
own membership number.
Each time a customer places
an order quoting that number,
the school will collect a cash-
back value of five percent. To
obtain the catalogues, ring the
Cashback Club Hotline on
(0483) 440603.
If you are considering
investing in CD-Rom, you will
be glad to hear that Cumana’ s
range of SCSI interfaces for
the Arc includes an option
called EasyShare, enabling a
group of computers to share a
single peripheral, such as a
CD-Rom drive, without the
need for networking. Phone
Cumana on (0483) 440603.
Sharon Halpern
the original Touch Explorer (qwerty or Concept).
NEWS IN BRIEF
• DESKTOP FOLIO users will be
glad to hear that ESM has added
Editor's Pack and Maths Pack,
£29.50 each, to its range of sup-
port materials for the award-
winning program. Also released
for the Arc is Bookstore, £39.50, a
simple database of book reviews,
which pupils can browse through
and add their own, and Archi-
medes World Map Study, £42.50, a
map-based database. Contact ESM
on (0223) 65445.
• NOT TO BE left out, Sherston
has adapted two more of its BBC
titles to run on the A3000. In Toby
at the Seaside, £25, pupils practice
science and language skills with
the help of Punch and Judy, and in
Wizard's Return, £21, they can
become a dragon-friend for life, by
completing the mathematical
adventures. The BBC Emulator
needed to run the two programs is
included on the discs.
Network versions are now avail-
able for some of its BBC programs,
along with photocopiable resource
packs. For more details contact
Sherston on (0666) 840048.
• PIP INVESTIGATES Dinosaurs is
an adventure and database pro-
gram, based on the popular
character, Pip. Suitable for key
stage one, it costs £27.50 and is
available from Northern Microm-
edia on 091-270 0424.
• LONGMAN Logotron has
upgraded its painting and drawing
package, Revelation, to include
extended colour mixing, additional
image effects and more drawing
tools. Revelation 2 comes in both
floppy disc and CD-Rom format,
costing £119 and £139 respectively.
At £69, Insight is a data logging
package for the Archimedes which
can be used with most interfaces.
It has two programs, and these
allow a wide range of experiments
to be carried out. Contact Long-
man Logotron on (0223) 425558.
• PRIMARY Archimedes Toolbox
Plus was designed by teachers to
meet the software needs of pri-
mary schools using an Arc. It
contains a wide range of appli-
cations, including a selection of
Printer drivers and fonts, the pri-
mary wordprocessor Pendown,
and DataSweet2, a datahandling
package, plus photocopiable
guides to using the computer and
software. Prices start at £80. Con-
tact the Hampshire Microtechnol-
ogy Centre on (0705) 378266.
BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992 13
moving pictures want?
Render Bender is the graphics package that allows the
user to produce remarkable animated graphic sequences
using Ray Tracing.
Ray Tracing isn't nearly as complex as it sounds.
Basically, in a ray traced sequence, every pixel on the screen
takes all relevant light sources into account. Ensuring that
all the reflections and refractions are correctly calculated
even if the light is reflected off several surfaces. The image
could be no more faithful if you were filming real objects in
real light. To produce such a superb animated sequence,
however, was quite a difficult task - Until now.
Illuminator has changed all that. It is a fully RISC OS
graphical front end to Render Bender. Allowing the user to
create a series of frames manually, or to give it a start point
and an end point, leaving it to generate the frames in
between. What you are getting is the ability to take a sneak
preview. You can see what you are going to get, before you
get it. After you've created your outline frames in Illumina-
tor, you then transfer the files to Render Bender, the fully
RISC OS Ray Tracing part of the
package. Which all means that
now, to achieve powerful 3D Ani-
mation, you no longer have to be a
mathematical genius. You just
have to be the proud owner of
Render Bender 2.
For more information please
write to the address below for a Render Bender fact pack.
We're sure you'll find it quite illuminating.
Price - £135.00 inc. Vat.
To upgrade from the original Render Bender to Render
Bender 2 send us your original disc plus £ 74.95 .
98 Middlewich Road, Rudheath, Northwich, CHESHIRE CW9 7DA. Telephone: 0606 48511 Fax No-. 0606 48512
NEWS IN BRIEF
ODE TO A
NEW NIGHTINGALE
CPlublic message bases
[EJchonail nessage bases
[Main nenu
[=3 Show all filebases
[*] List ny filebases
:+] Join a filebase
M Aesign fron a filebase
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[a] Select new conference to access
Filebase Cp/j/u/d/s/l/v/o/g/i/2/i/z/=/$/Wn/x/?] Show all filebases
1 IIFil Filebase nane
A m\ Filebase nano !
30 3 Filelist
31
2 BBS Lists
39 9 I. B, S, Ltd
48
13 Arc Conns
41 65 fire Disc Utilities
42
57 Arc Ganes
43 12 fire Databases
44
21 Arc Interfaces
45 5 Arc Keyboard
46
5 Arc Haths
47 23 Arc fisnory
48
3 Arc Miscellaneous
49 9 Arc Printer
58
28 Arc Programing
51 61 Arc Screen
52
39 Arc Sillys
53 51 Arc Sounds
54
7 Arc Art
55 9 Arc Fonts
56
1 Elite Connanders (Archinedes)
68 4 PC Conns
61
1 PC Utilities
62 3 PC Banes
90 1 BBC/Electron Conns
70
B Rainbou
Press any key
1 rtil/'Y Continue
/IIpUI Abort
□:
ITT
Closed || Nightingale
Closed I 1 8:62:3?
1 NIGHTINGALE BB: JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED
THIS month’s bulletin board is
Nightingale BB, based in
Bristol and run by Paul James.
Paul is a qualified nurse and
wanted to start Nightingale to
eater for nursing and medical
matters because he says, ‘all
the boards we tried to access,
that claimed to be of this
nature, did not seem to exist*.
So far Nightingale has been
online for a couple of months
and is rapidly building up its
userbase. Certain areas are
restricted to professionals in
the medical field only and
proof of qualifications and
entry requirements are all
explained on the board itself.
However, the board does not
just cater for medical types but
covers all subjects that may
appeal to Archimedes and PC
users. At the moment there are
around 40Mb of PD and share-
ware programs available to
download and this total is
growing all the time.
There are also new areas
appearing all the time. These
include What's on in Bristol,
Bath and South Yorkshire and
a section called Rainbow,
which is run on behalf of peo-
ple with disabilities. Nightin-
gale has recently joined the
extensive Fidonet network, so
all the usual conference areas
are also included.
Paul runs Nightingale from
a 2Mb A3000 computer,
armed with an Oak SCSI inter-
face and 49Mb drive and
running ArcBBS software. He
has a Racal-Milgo Maxam IV
modem, capable of running at
all speeds up to and including
V42bis at MNP5. You can log
on to Nightingale by setting
your conims software to Ansi,
SN1 and dialling (0272)
535962, available 24 hours a ]
day, every day of the year.
Paul Vigay
THE COMMS JARGON-BUSTING GUIDE
COMMS is perhaps the most
jargon-littered subject in the
world of computers and this
amount of shorthand has pro-
bably served to shorten online
conversations, saving money
and time. However this hi-tech
language has infiltrated the
rest of the computing world
and fallen upon the ears of
unsuspecting computer users.
It forms a formidable barrier
to conims beginners, no matter
how computer literate they arc.
Abbreviations such as ACUG
and CRC are commonplace -
not to mention CCITT and
CEPT. So to help you hack
through the jargon jungle each
month, I will explain a few
such terms.
We begin with ACK - a
truncated form of the word
acknowledge. An ACK is a
non-printing character used in
some protocols to indicate that
a block of data has been
received successfully. On
receipt of an ACK, the pro-
gram which is sending the data
knows that it can send more.
An example of the complete
redundancy of some conims
terms is the following
abbreviation: DCE means Data
C i rcu it-term i n at i ng Eq u i pme n t
or in other words, a modulator
demodulator, modem for short.
Likewise, DTE or Data Termi-
nal Equipment is known in
ordinary circles as a computer.
The CCITT is the Con-
sultatif International Telepho-
nique et Telegraphique, an
organisation which sets inter-
national conims standards such
as V2I, V22m X25 and so on.
Another organisation to suffer
from this merciless name crop-
ping is CEPT - the European
organisation for communi-
cations standards.
CEPT define a number of
standards that are followed on
a European basis, such as the
CEPT Videotex standard,
which is used to define the
differences between the British
and French protocols.
Some words in the com ms
world sound quite harmless.
For instance Duplex refers to
the transmission of data in two
directions simultaneously and
EOB is the End Of Block, a
non-printing character used in
some protocols, usually in
association with ACK.
Even you, the user don’t
escape from the vicious name
shortening. An NUA is a Net-
work User Address and is how
a computer refers to you or,
more accurately, your termi-
nal. The similar sounding NUI,
Network User Identity, is used
in a PSS (public switched
system) for dial-up access by
each user, a telephone number
in other words.
Well, that’s it for this
month, watch out for more
jargon busting in next months
BBC Acorn User.
• EVER fancied learning more
about comms and networks? If so,
Learning Tree International run a
host of comms courses, ranging
from hands-on training days for
beginners, to complete expert
courses. Prices range from a few
hundred pounds upwards, but
discounts are available for com-
panies who send more than one
applicant. More details from Learn-
ing Tree International on free-
phone (0800) 282353.
• COMPUTER CONCEPT'S long
awaited fax podule is now avail-
able, priced at £200 plus VAT. More
details in later columns, but phone
Computer Concepts on (0442)
63933 for more details.
• IT'S PLUG time again and news
has come to me of the first Archi-
medes BB to be run using an
A5000 computer. Rich in Paradise
BB is based in Paignton, Devon
and offers support for all aspects
of Acorn interest, including mes-
sage areas and downloadable files.
The sysop, Richard Paddle, also
hopes to connect up to Fidonet in
the very near future, so set your
comms software to Ansi, 8N1 and
give it a ring on (0803) 666808.
• HOW often do you call Direc-
tory Enquiries? At a cost of 40p
each time, it can work out quite
expensive. But if you are a Prestel
subscriber, PhoneBase is still avail-
able on Prestel. All you need is a
viewdata terminal and you can
search the telephone directories at
your leisure.
Costing between 6p and 13p a
minute, it is far cheaper than call-
ing Directory Enquiries -just
supply a name and location and
the computer will provide a cross-
referenced list of matching entries.
You can amend your choice or
search for another entry. If you are
not a Prestel subscriber call free
phone (0800) 800878 for details on
how to access PhoneBase.
To complement PhoneBase, BT
also offer the entire UK Yellow
Pages as an online system. Elec-
tronic Yellow Pages (EYP) are
available 24 hours a day and can
be accessed via Prestel or even
called direct. There is no charge -
all you pay is the local rate. A user
guide and more info can be
obtained by calling (0734) 506506
during office hours.
BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992 15
NEWS IN BRIEF
INSPIRATION ON THE ARCHIMEDES
QUITE a few submissions are
coining in for our monthly
graphics gallery, although at
present, there’s been nothing
from any eight-bit machines.
Now we know that there are
thousands of budding, or bud-
ded artists out there with eight-
bit machines, so come on you
lot - get cracking!
The standard .of pictures for
the Archimedes is excellent.
This month’s picture is called
Stone and is by Hans Marks of
Holland. There is an equally
impressive picture from Hans
on the subscribers’ disc, called
Chain. Both were created
using his own software.
Rob Miller
THE PICTURE OF THE MONTH FROM HANS MARKS
PLANS TO REVAMP CHAMELEON SPEEDGRAPH
4MATION are to upgrade their
Draw file, colour rendering
program Chameleon. The
authors of Chameleon thought
that it was a little over-
shadowed by smArt, which
was released by 4Mation at the
same time, and have now
decided to revamp it.
Chameleon 2 will have all
the facilities of the original
program, with a few extras.
Fills will make up a large pro-
portion of Chameleon's tools
and will include straight, cir-
cular and fountain fills. All
will be fully definable by the
JUST when you thought it was
safe to compress all your pic-
ture files, along comes another
format, promising even greater
compression. A new compres-
sion standard called JPEG
(Joint Photographies Experts
Group) standard, is designed
for compressing high resolu-
tion colour images.
It works by removing ‘un-
wanted’ information from a
picture. Because of the high
resolution of pictures being
compressed, it is possible to
fool the eye by only retaining
information to which the eye is
sensitive. Decompressing a
picture is quite a complex pro-
cess and is carried out succes-
sively until the user is happy
user, utilising the full 24-bit
format that Draw files allow.
The software should be
ready sometime in the Spring.
Although the price has not yet
been Fixed, it is expected to be
slightly higher than that of the
original program, to reflect the
extra additions. A cheaper
upgrade price will of course be
available for all registered
users of Chameleon.
Further details on the
upgrade can be obtained by
contacting 4Mation, 14 Castle
Park Road, Barnstaple, Devon,
EX32 SPA. Tel: (027!) 25353.
nature of the algorithm,
decompression can take some
time, although there is some
dedicated hardware available
to speed up the process.
Irlam Instruments Ltd are
implementing the JPEG
standard into all their software
and hope other software/hard-
ware vendors for the Archi-
medes do likewise. It's no
secret that Acorn will even-
tually support 24-bit colour in
hardware and they are also
looking at ways of implement-
ing the JPEG standard in
relation to 32-bit technology.
Contact Irlam Instruments, 133
London Rd, Staines, Mid-
dlesex. Tel:(0895) 81 1401.
EVOLUTION Computer Ltd, a
company new to the Acorn
market, have just announced
the SpeedGraph expansion
card. It offers two major
improvements on the Arc's
graphics capabilities.
Firstly, SpeedGraph will
increase the possible resolu-
tion to 800x600, with 256
colours, and 1024x768, with
16 colours. Unlike the VI DC
enhancers currently available,
SpeedGraph will have no
effect on the speed of the com-
puter when using larger screen
sizes: in fact SpeedGraph will
have the bonus of speeding the
Arc up at normal resolution
modes. The new modes also
have a high refresh rate, 72
and 60Hz respectively.
Housed in an external box,
SpeedGraph requires no
podule space. As more and
more podules become avail-
able from different hardware
vendors, this comes as quite a
boon. It will work across the
full range of Acorn’s 32-bit
machines from the Archi-
medes 310 up to the new
A5000. SpeedGraph requires a
Multisync or VGA monitor to
function and costs approx.
£280. For further information,
contact Evolution Computer
Ltd, Portland Buildings, Port-
land Road. Aldridge, West
Midlands, WS9 8PP. Tel:
(0922) 55827.
THE 'POCKET-SIZED' PICTURE
with the result. Due to the
• AS a seasoned user of graphics
packages, I often have cause to
think about what an ideal art
package would contain in the way
of tools, how it might operate and
so on. I'm sure there are plenty of
users out there who have a fav-
ourite program which would be
the best thing since sliced bread, if
only it allowed you to ....?
Revelation 2 is getting close to
the mark, but it is still lacking in
various areas. It has no real grid
system for example. My favourite
package at the moment is Arcol,
which is soon to be upgraded. If
you have any favourite art pack-
ages but know what would make
them better, please write in with
details and I'll try to put together a
list of general likes and dislikes. If
there are any companies out there
who plan to revamp existing pack-
ages or write new ones, perhaps
you could take note of what users
really want.
• THE writers of 4Mation's Poster,
are hard at work on its successor.
There are no in-depth details yet,
although the new product will be
almost unrecognisable when com-
pared to the original. Everything
that is in Poster will be in the new
program, plus an extensive range
of drawing tools. The product is,
however, quite a way off, and
probably won't make an appear-
ance until the end of the year.
• CABLENEWS is a new presenta-
tion graphics system for any
Archimedes or A3000/A5000 com-
puter. It is designed primarily for
situations where you may require
a slide show type display, such as
point of sale promotions, or
exhibitions. Acorn have in fact
used it extensively for demonstrat-
ing their own products. Lingenu-
ity, the producers of CableNews,
can be contacted at: Wood Farm,
Linstead Magna, Halesworth, Suf-
folk. Tel: (0986) 85477
• ACORN Replay was launched at
the Bett show this year. It is a
system that can read highly com-
pressed video and audio data from
a mass storage device and display
it on the screen as a live video
image. This is possible because of
the implementation of a technique
which removes redundant data
between successive frames. Con-
tact Acorn on (0223) 254200
16 BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992
With the HCCS HardCard!
The HCCS HardCard45 and HardCard 100 can help to transform your computer (and your
desk) into a professional tool with a large amount of hard disc based on-line storage. All
those applications on floppy you need, and had to look for, can be at your fingertips in
seconds. The HardCard consists of the tried and trusted HCCS SCSI technology together
with a slimline hard disc drive and a fan in a case similar to a podule expansion case. The
HardCard45 gives 45Mb of storage after formatting with an access time of 25 mS. The
HardCard 100 gives 100Mb after formatting and an access time of 9mS. The HardCards are
only available for the Acom BBC A3000.
HardCard45 £349.00 ex vat carriage free
HardCardlOO £699.00 ex VAT carnage FREE.E&OE
HCCS Associates Ltd. 575-583 Durham Road Gateshead Tyne & Wear Tel (091) 487 0760 Fax (091) 491 0431
NEXT MONTH
NEXT
MONTH
DECADE OF THE
BBC MICRO
It is 10 years since the BBC computer literacy
project led to a series of TV programmes which
launched the BBC micro, and thus home computing
in the UK. We preview a special programme look-
ing back over this exciting decade, and look ahead
ARTWORKS
Computer Concept’s new package could be
described as the state-of-the-art on the Archimedes.
We give you an exclusive preview of its capabilities
A5000 MEMORY BOARDS
No sooner has the new A5000 been launched than a
range of memory upgrades come out.
We check the boards available
PLUS
PODULE EXPANSION
We look at the Pres podule expansion,
designed to get the most out of your A3000
DIGITISER FOR UNDER £50
A new range of black and white digitisers from
HCCS offer a low cost way of importing video
images into other applications. We take a look
ARC ASSEMBLER
Dave Lawrence continues his series
dedicated to the budding Arm programmer
REGULARS
• All the latest news and views
from the world of Acorn
• ★INFO - helpful advice and
ideas covering the BBC A3000,
Archimedes, BBC B and Master
• Your letters and problems
• Programs galore on the yellow pages
and much more
Watch out for the April issue of
BAU - available March 12 1992
To be sure of
your copy,
please fill in
the coupon
below and
hand it to your
newsagent. Or
why not take
out a subscrip-
tion, which
includes a free
monthly disc?
See page 29 for
details
DEAR NEWSAGENT, PLEASE ORDER MY REGULAR COPY OF BBC ACORN USER
YOUR NAME
ADDRESS ’
BBC Acorn User is published by Redwood Publishing, 20-26 Brunswick Place, London N1
6DJ. Distributed by BBC Frontline, Park House, 117 Park Road, Peterborough
18 BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992
The Complete Upgrade Solution
8Mb Memory
- Uses only eight RAM devices
- Suitable for A440, A400/1 & R140
- Fully RISC OS compatible
- Four layer printed circuit boards
- Courier collection & fitting included
8 Mb upgrade - £499
410/1 Memory
- 400 series RAM upgrade kits
- Supplied with full fitting instructions
-410/1 to 420/1 requires 1Mb
- 420/1 to 440/1 requires 2Mb
-410/1 to 440/1 requires 3Mb
1Mb - £35 2Mb - £64 3Mb - £98
Qualified
Dealer
A3 10 Memory
- Includes free MEMCla upgrade
- Four layer printed circuit boards
- Courier collection & fitting included
- Free MEMCla while stocks last
2nd Mb- £99 4th Mb -£199
2nd to 4th Mb upgrade - £1 15
A3000 Memory
- Uses only eight RAM devices
- User upgradeable from 1 to 4 Mb
- Four layer printed circuit board
- Low power consumption
- Available without RAM devices
Bare card - £35
2nd Mb Card - £56 4th Mb Card - £159
A540 Memory cards
- Uses only eight RAM devices
- Four layer printed circuit board
- Three cards may be fitted giving
a total of 16Mb of memory
A540 4Mb upgrade - £275
Two memory cards - £520
Three memory cards - £749
ARM3 Upgrades
- 3 to 4 times performance increase
- Surface mount technology
- Four layer printed circuit board
- Suitable for all ARM2 based machines
25MHz ARM 3 upgrade - £199
Collection delivery and installation on
all machines - £35
A5000 Memory & Drives
VIDC Enhancers
- Increases A5000 memory to 4Mb
- Increases resolution with all Multiscan monitors
- Ugradeable from 4 Mb to 8Mb
- Doubles desktop work area
- 4Mb to 8Mb price includes installation
- Custom modes for Taxan and Eizo monitors
- High quality Four layer circuit board
- Includes Mode designer software
- No special tools required
- Free with any multiscan monitor from Atomwide
A5000 4Mb RAM - £1 10 4Mb to 8Mb RAM - £399
A5000 2nd 105Mb IDE drive - £299
VIDC Enhancer - £25 A540 mode software £5
Syquest removable disk systems
- Including One cartridge, drive unit and all cables
- 42Mb removable cartridges
- High-flow fan fitted for improved cooling
Atomwide Syquest drive unit - £425
Drive unit with Oak SCSI card - £599
Spare 42Mb disks - £55
Quantum SCSI Hard disc's
- Including drive, metalwork and all cables
- Fast 16ms access 64K cache
- slim line disc two drives may be fitted in one frame
- Available as internal or external units
52Mb internal - £1 99 1 05Mb internal - £299
210Mb internal - £599 425Mb internal - £949
Oak 16bit card - £175 External unit add - £75
DTP & Monitors
- Impression II DTP package £130
- Impression junior DTP package £70
- LBP4 printer including sheet feeder £1045
■ Eizo 9060 £399 - Eizo 9070 £599 - Eizo T560i £1025
- Taxan 795 £490 - Taxan 875 £775
All monitors come with a Free VIDC enhancer
Carriage on all monitors is £7
Acorn Machines
A5000 & A5000LC - Free 4Mb upgrade
A540 - Free 4Mb ram card giving 8Mb
A3000 & A3000LC - Free 2nd Mb RAM
A5000 - £1499 A5000LC - £1531
With Eizo 9070 monitor A5000 - £1699 A5000LC £1731
A3000 - £599 A3000LC - £642 A540 - £2495
- All products are cross-compatible
- Combination deals available on all products
- Dealer enquires welcome
- Phone for full details on all products
All prices exclude VAT at 17.5% but include delivery with the exception of monitors
m 9
A T O
W 1
1 1
3
E
23 The Greenway Orpington Kent BR5 2AY Tel 0689 838852 Fax 0689 896088
If it's got to work...
...it's got to be one of ours
Each hard disc comes complete with the following FREE software:
Euclid, Disc Tree, RISC OS Companion, Remote Logon, Worra Battle
Oak Solutions Suite 25 Robin Enterprise Centre Leeds Road
Idle West Riding of Yorkshire BD109TE
Tel: 0274 620423 Fax: 0274 620419
QUALITY
RELIABILITY
NEW LOW :i
SCSI PRICES ;
16-bit SCSI Interfaces
A3000 £98.00 I ]
A300/400/500/5000 £98.00 j ' 1
i\ !
Worra Winnie Internal Hard Discs f j
A300/ 400/600/ 6000 K|
50 Mb
£299.00 P.j
100 Mb
£449.00 ij
200 Mb
£735.00 ?j
Worra Winnie External Hard I ■£
Discs
I.?
A3000/A300/400/500/5000 p*
50 Mb
£345.00 1
100 Mb
£495.00 |
200 Mb
£780.00 |'j
< J
High Speed Internal Hard Discs 1 i
A3C0/400/500/5000
ji
50 Mb
£339.00 ! ,
100Mb
£489.00 ;
200 Mb
£775.00 : •
High Speed External Hard Discs \ i
A3000/300/400/500/5000 F;
50Mb
£389.00 j
100 Mb
£539.00 i
200 Mb
£825.00 Q
Elite External Hard Discs
'fi
A3000/300/400/5CO/5000
w
50 Mb
£489.00 p
100 Mb
£639.00 [Vi
200 Mb
£925.00 f
300Mb
£1345.00 f
680 Mb
£1795.00 j
Worra Tape Streamer
r.
V
60 Mb
£595.00 I
150 Mb
£795.00 i
High Speed Tape Streamer M
60 Mb £765.00 ! j
150 Mb £895.00 f|
i
Elite Tape Streamer (DAT)
1Gb £1750.00
Magneto Optical R/W Drive
560 Mb £3650.00
Prices shown include SCSI interface.
Always state computer type when ordering
Kj
i 1
! J
Prices exclude £10.00 p&p
■■ and VAT
! J
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Oak Solutions SCSI
First for Quality
First for Performance
and now
First for Price too!
When we launched the Oak 16 Bit SCSI card and a range of hard disc drives in 1989, they quickly became
the market leader. As with all our products, they were manufactured under a ‘Zero Defect’ quality control
regime and enjoyed an enviable reputation for both quality and reliability.
Now we have turned our attention to the COST of our products so that they continue to be the best all
round value for money. Our new pricing structure has been made possible by our bulk buying power and
our recent move to much larger premises to keep pace with the demand for all our SCSI products.
Not only have we addressed the question of price but we have taken steps to enhance our reputation for
quality and reliability by introducing the Quantum hard disc mechanism and the low noise Papst fan into
our low cost Worra Winnie Range of hard disc drives.'
With several newcomers to the hard disc marketplace, the issue of performance has become a little clouded
of late, so to set things straight, we offer the assurance that size for size, you cannot buy a faster hard disc
drive system from any other manufacturer.
Oak SCSI software is Acom compatible, and allows hard discs to be partitioned into several logical
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Every Oak Solutions hard disc comes complete with over £250 worth of FREE software: the original Genesis
hypermedia software, Disc Tree hard disc management software which allows easy backup of your drive to
floppy disc, Euclid, the de facto standard for Archimedes 3D software, RISC OS Companion, Remote Logon,
and the addictive Worra Battle tank game.
For professional security of data under RISC OS, our tape systems provide an unrivalled solution to your
backup problems for any type of hard disc or network file server.
All our tape backup systems include !OakTape, a comprehensive and widely acclaimed RISC OS backup
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This advertisement could not hope to mention in detail all the SCSI products we manufacture, so for further
details please write or telephone.
Telephone for
Education Prices
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SOLUTIONS
COMPATIBILITY
PERFORMANCE
STAR LETTER £15
I read with interest the letter in
your magazine from a gentle-
man claiming that an IBM
clone may be seen as better
value for money than the new
A5000. He makes some inter-
esting points, but he also omits
a few relevant facts.
I was in a similar situation,
contemplating whether to buy
a 486SX or the A5000. I even-
tually chose the Acorn, and
can honestly say that I am very
pleased. Although I could have
bought a 486 for less than an
A5000 learning curve package,
when I started to price things
up on a straight value for
money basis, the Acorn pack-
age came out on top.
I needed a word processor, a
DTP package, a drawing pack-
age and a GUI (Graphical User
Interface). The Genesis and
Paint applications have all
proved useful, as have the
extras, such as bundled games,
and of course Rise OS 3,
which I am delighted with. In
addition, 1 also used Acorn's
interest free credit scheme
which saved me a further few
hundred pounds. And I do not
need to pay our for a sound
card. All in all I estimated a
saving of between six and
eight hundred pounds.
The other great inducements
to go to Acorn were that one is
not overcharged for GUI soft-
ware. Have you seen the price
for Windows-compatible pack-
ages? For the purpose I bought
the machine for - Cad - I now
have WorraCAD from Oak
Solutions and it does all I want
it to do for a song. Try buying
a GUI PC Cad package for less
than £300.
On a different subject, you
were looking for comments on
applications that run under the
PC Emulator? I have just tried
Autoroute and if you configure
the screen correctly, it runs
perfectly, even if it does make
me glad that I chose Acorn.
A G Weyman
Harrow Weald
Middlesex
This is just one of the
responses we received sup-
porting the cost-effectiveness
of Acorn machines.
QUACK QUACK OOPS!
With reference to John Fair-
weathers letter in BBC Acorn
User February 92, about con-
necting two disc drives to his
BBC. I must say that I was
very surprised that you didn't
suggest the Data Duck which
is available from Watford
Electronics. I have used a Data
Duck for the past three years,
and I am pleased to say that it
does away with the necessity
to mess around with the
‘internals' of a drive.
The duck consists of a rib-
bon cable, with a female
connector at one end to the
disc drive port and two male
connectors the other end, into
which you plug into the two
disc drive cables. Once con-
nected the disc drive at the end
of the duck automatically
becomes drive one. Watford
also produce a Power Duck
which is necessary if one has
two separate disc drives with-
out PSU's (Power Supply
Units). This device connects to
the disc power socket under
the left hand side of the BBC
and works in the same way as
the Data Duck. If one of Mr
Fairweather's disc drives has a
PSU then there is no need for
the Power Duck.
Alan Brown
Workington
Cumbria
NETWORK NICETY
We so often read in your
columns of Acorn's efforts
that I wanted to publicise the
following. Several years ago I
purchased a network system
for our BBCs from SJ
Research of Cambridge. We
recently had a problem with
part of the system. Instead of
taking the ‘Oh your equipment
is out of date... buy some new
stuff attitude of some firms.
SJ worked hard with me to get
our old system working.
Through some generosity on
their part, I once again have a
working system at very little
REVERSE OPERATION
HOW TO MAKE A MOUSE RUN BACKWARDS
cost to our college. Not all
firms exercise their right to
apply the ‘fair wear and tear'
exclusion in their warrantees,
or indeed the time limitation.
The problem might have been
said to be beyond SJ's control,
but they had sold the system,
and stood behind it.
Tom Boyd
Seaford College
Pctworth
COLOUR CONFUSION
Regarding your recent review
of colour scanners for the
Archimedes, there are a couple
of points I wish to make.
Firstly the review incor-
rectly stated that ChangeFSl
and Translator are bundled
with the package. This is not
so, although purchasers are
encouraged to obtain them
from PD libraries or other such
sources. Secondly the DT soft-
ware package will produce
sprites files as well as clear
files: selecting four, or fewer
bits per pixel results in a sprite
being produced (and a dou-
bling of scanning speed) as a
sprite can provide a reasonable
representation of that number
of colours or greys.
David Knell
DT Software
Cambridge
RE: TRACTION
The star letter in BAU Jan 92
mentioned a mouse problem.
Another one I have found is
that the pointer sometimes
moves backwards for a short
distance. The picture below
shows how this can happen.
The piece of dirt acts as an
idler between the ball and the
roller, reversing the direction
of rotation. The worst sort of
dirt comes from using an india
rubber, it seems to cling to the
ball. Taking the ball out and
cleaning it is the remedy, but
prevention is better.
E W Ayers
Nacton
Ipswich
A good mouse mat is also
important if your mouse is to
run smoothly. Here in the
Acorn User office the general
consensus is that foam mats
are the best, although there
is the other school of thought
that considers a good old
cutting mat to be superior.
22 BBC ACORN USER MARCH1992
IT PAYS TO
READ THE
SMALL PRINT.
:e else can you buy hard disc systems for these prices?
Eacff^stem includes a high quality hard disc drive and a leading SCSI
board ( the aSalBhSolutiJis super fast 16 bit card).
They come in
designed to coi
range of computers. And
mode power supply,
Send us the picture below showing the
new Warehouse Drive with OAK SCSI
card (worth £199) and we’ll give you the
OAK SCSI card FREE When you order
one of our Hard Disc Drives.
matched metal cases,
the Archimedes
contain a switched
low noise cooling fan
and are complete with all cables, ready to use straight away.
For peace of mind every Warehouse Drive is fully tested and we offer
12 months warranty and full money back guarantee.
20Mb.
Internal
External
A3000 External
,£199D ..
....£2791 I
£279 □
,£245 □ ..
....£325 □
£325 □
,£345 □ ..
....£425 EZI
£425 □
Please tick drive required
I enclose cheque /P.O. for £ made payable to Warehouse
Please debit my VISA □ ACCESS CH Expiry date □□□□
Credit card number □□□□ □□□□ □□□□
Signature Date
Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms Name
Address
.Postcode.
Drive for A3000 shown
OAK SCSI Card is RISC OS 3.00 compatible
Please return completed order form to:
Warehouse, 68 Green Street, Great Gonerby, Grantham,
Lines. NG31 8LE
Tel. /Fax. 0476 593110
Prices exclude carriage (£10.00) and VAT (17.5%)
Where else
QUESTIONS
ANSWERS
□ Upon receipt of the
December monthly disc
my son wanted to gain access
to the free screens supplied in
CFS format. But after loading
CFSRecicler and clicking on
the CFS drive icon on the icon
bar, an error was generated -
CFS has no temp directory.
After going through the
Readme file we were still
unable to get a display. Please
can you help?
R E Mealor
Wirral
The reason you are
experiencing this prob-
lem is that CFSReadcr needs
a small workspace on disc
where it can decompress
tiles. It is up to you to tell it
whereabouts it can carry out
this operation.
This can typically be inside
you System folder, or in the
root directory of the current
filing system. The temp
directory is set by pressing
menu over the CFS icon, and
moving over Temp Dir. Then
you can simply drag the CFS
icon to a directory viewer.
There was a slight prob-
lem with one of the screen
shots on the disc, in that it
was too big to decompress on
the current floppy. It is best
to move the CFS reader and
the CFS files on to a blank
floppy before decompressing.
□ I have an Archimedes
with 4Mb of memory and
a hard disc. I often use Piped -
ream for my accounts, utilis-
ing the Archimedes outline
font manager. Although I allo-
cate a large amount of memory
(1024K) to fonts, the output
using PrinterDM , still takes
almost 10 minutes per page to
print out. Is there any way I
can improve this speed?
A.B.E. Ellis
Chelmsford
Unfortunately, although
increasing the font
cache size will dramatically
reduce the time it takes for
the Archimedes to cache dif-
ferent fonts, the main cause
of delay when using Print-
erDM is the time it takes to
send the data to the printer.
This is restricted by the
speed of the hardware in the
printer so it can’t really be
improved upon. However a
printer buffer will allow the
Archimedes to send more
data to the printer at any
time, thus freeing the compu-
ter quickly so you can get on
with other tasks.
You should find that most
FD libraries advertised in
the pages of BA U will he able
to supply a printer driver
module that you can load in.
Please could you tell me
if I can connect my
Yamaha Portasound-PSS680
to my A3000? If so, will I be
able to use it with Creator.
Chris Muscat
Swieqi
With the addition of a
Midi podule you should
have no problems. This will
allow you to connect any
Midi-equipped musical key-
board to your Archimedes.
Acorn supplies a combined
Midi and User Port expan-
sion card for the A3000,
priced at £49 plus VAT. In
addition, you will require
suitable five pin Din leads to
connect your keyboard to the
computer. If Creator caters
for a Midi input then there is
no reason why you cannot
use your keyboard in con-
junction with it. However,
Creator works mainly with
sound samples, rather than
music data, so it is worth
checking your manual to see
which features can be con-
trolled via your Midi key-
board and which require the
use of internally created
Archimedes sounds.
I have recently bought a
second hand BBC Model
B, fitted with Rom expansion
board and a couple of Roms;
Floppywise and Enigma. As
no manuals were provided,
could you tell me who pro-
duced the two Roms so that I
may obtain details.
R. Thomas
Swansea
The Floppywise Rom
was produced by Soft-
ware Services in Liverpool,
but unfortunately they are
no longer trading and have
no stocks left. Enigma was
produced by Altra Compu-
ters of Leeds, who can still be
contacted on (0532) 484961.
However, Enigma is also no
longer available. Your best
bet is probably to hunt
around local dealers to see if
anyone has old stock.
Sometimes the All Formats
Computer Fairs in London,
and now around the country,
are a good source of discon-
tinued BBC Software. Also it
is well worth keeping an eye
on our free ads pages.
As a Christian minister, it
would be of great help to
have the Bible on hard disc for
the Archimedes. I have seen
PC versions around but using
them under the PC emulator is
slow and it also consumes val-
uable memory space. Does
anyone know if a Rise OS ver-
sion exists or where the texts
can be obtained ?
Philip Foster
Cambridge
As you say, there are a
number of PC versions
available, including the
range of Shareware pro-
grams. However, one PC
Shareware library can sup-
ply the entire text of the
King James version as plain
Ascii files. You can incorpor-
ate the text into your own
programs. A complete
Shareware catalogue can be
obtained from: Shareware
Marketing, 3a Queen St,
Seaton, Devon EX 12 2NY
I have written a number
of programs to produce
animated captions for use on
video tape. These often require
more than 80K of screen
memory. However, when I run
programs from the desktop, it
always seems to default back
to 80K which causes an error
to be produced.
Is there any way of chang-
ing the screen memory allo-
cation from software rather
than fiddling about with the
task manager?
Ian Cummins
Paignton
Yes, there is a short
program, supplied on
Applications disc two, which
allows you to change various
configuration options via
simple star commands. It is
24 BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992
QUESTIONS
mi
ANS
fil
Kern
1
\ Horizontal [[-46 | -
e ns/1888 L
| Vertical
ID-
e ns/1888 1
Clear
| Cancel ( j
Set f
m
hqs tel B 30 <>
:4 ;8 Printer Dungeon
MANUAL KERNING IN IMPRESSION
produced b) A I
iters of Leeds, wlv
contacted on (05
llowever, Enfant
longer available
bet is probabl
around local dea
anyone has old si
: Sometimes the
Computer Fairs
and now around
are a good sourt
tinned BBC Soft'
is well worth ke*
on our free ads p
As a Chrislii
* Arn3
m ip
called MemAlloc and is
located inside the Lander
application. To use the pro-
gram, make a copy of it
inside your application and
insert the following line into
your l Run file;
RMEnsure MemAlloc 0 RMLoad
<Obcy$Dir>.McniAlloc
You can then add the follow-
ing line: ScreenSize 256k. This
extra line will dynamically
alter the size of the con-
figured option. Type in
•HELP MEMALLOC for details
on what commands are sup-
ported. The default options
will be restored whenever
you quit your application
and return to the desktop.
□ Please can you give me
some advice about the
joysticks available for my
Archimedes. I read somewhere
that I can get one that plugs
straight into the serial port, but
I don't have this upgrade
fitted. Is there any way that I
can add a joystick without the
expense of these additional
interfaces?
Ted Francis
Lancaster
I haven’t seen any
joystick interfaces that
use the serial port. However,
you may have been confused
by one advertised by a com-
pany called The Serial Port.
They produce a joystick
that accepts standard Atari
nine pin joysticks and plugs
into the printer port. It has a
switch so that you can leave
your joysticks connected and
still use the printer.
This particular model
costs £24.95 and is available
from The Serial Port, Units
11-14, White Hays North,
West Wilts Trading Estate,
Westbury, Wiltshire BA 13
4JT, tel: (0243)531194
□ Following the hype about
the A5000 I nearly
bought one, and some
upgrades to graduate from a
Turbo Master. But for-
tunately, I stopped just in time
when I found out that there is
no hardware option to connect
an external 5. 25 in drive, as on
the A3000 and A400 series. I
would not have been able to
extract data from my existing
collection of 5.25in discs, or
use the special programs I
have written over the years.
Nor would I be able to write
programs for my son and
grandson, who still have eight-
bit machines and 5.25in drives.
Of course some clever bod
is going to suggest buying a
dual 3.5in drive and transfer-
ring the data via this, but the
drive would be redundant after
getting rid of the Master. I bet
some schools will have second
thoughts when they realise the
limitations of the machine.
E A Allchin
Bridgewater
Actually you can add an
external 5.25in drive in
exactly the same way as with
the A3000, 300/400 series, by
adding a disc buffer. A new'
type of interface is needed
but Rise Developments is
currently working on one
and the company says it
should be ready by the mid-
February, with an expected
price of around £30.
I am considering invest-
ing in an Acorn A5000
for DTP purposes and winder
if you can help me with a few
questions. Firstly, are there
any companies who can pro-
duce professional bromide
PMT’s or film from Archi-
medes format discs?
I also need to know how the
Archimedes handles kerning,
the distance between charac-
ters. For example the distance
between AB is usually greater
than that of AT - can this be
done automatically or do I
have to alter it manually?
Finally I would like to be able
to design fonts: are there any
programs available?
Simon Richardson
■ London
A number of printing
companies are becom-
ing increasingly aware of the
Archimedes DTP capability.
Try having a word with your
local printers to see if they
have access to an Archi-
medes. Alternatively, you
can output a postscript file
on to an MS-Dos format disc
(as described in previous
columns) and give them that
disc instead.
This file then drives the
Linotronic machine to create
the bromide or film. To do
this effectively you will need
to obtain the Impression
Business supplement which
will include the Expression
application. This can ensure
that all of your font names
match correctly, and that the
full resolution of the litho-
graphic printer is utilised.
Take a look at our Software
Showcase for companies that
have facilities to output film
from PostScript files.
Most DTP packages, such
as Acorn DTP and Impres-
sion by Computer Concepts,
will allow you to adjust the
kerning manually to suit
your own requirements,
although at present there are
no DTP packages for the Arc
with kerning tables, like
those in Quark on the Mac.
As for your last point,
there is a piece of software
available, written by Acorn
for designing fonts, although
it is quite an intricate task. It
is called FontEdit and your
local dealer should be able to
obtain a copy for you. Alter-
natively, you can try contact-
ing the Acorn Customer
Services Department on
(0223) 245200.
□ I have many fonts, and
this causes problems with
some applications, particularly
Edit , which crashes. Is there
any way of preventing this?
Polly Gordon
Clapham
Well, fortunately we
have just received the
following tip from Mr
Haslam in Lancashire which
can remove the fonts while
Edit is run. Remove Run
<Edit$Dir>.!RunImage %*0 from
the Edit !Run file and replace
it with the lines;
Set Font$Temp <Font$Path>
Unset Font$Path
Desktop<Edit$Dir>.!runimage %*0
Set Font$Path <Font$Temp>
Unset Font$Tenip
HELP US TO HELP YOU
The Questions and Answers page is your chance to have your problems
solved. It can be on any topic - you name it and well try to solve it.
Please send your questions, whether technical or otherwise, to:
Questions and Answers
BBC Acorn User
20-26 Brunswick Place
London, Nt 6DJ.
We are happy to answer your queries on these pages, but regret that we
are unable to send personal replies to questions sent in. If you send a
disc, please put your name and address on the disc itself. It is also useful
if you could include full details of your machine. Please enclose an SAE
where necessary and mark on your envelope whether you use a BBC
eight-bit micro or 32-bit Acorn A3000/A5000/Archimedes/A5000.
BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992 25
ARCHIMEDES
SYSTEM
ENTRY
COLOUR
MULTISCAN
A3000
*599
*819
*849
A3000
Learning Curve
£ 642- 29
£ 885 05
INC STAND
* 892-29
A420/1
Learning Curve
£ 1114.83
*1334
*1364
A540/1
*2495
*2715
*2745
SYSTEM
ENTRY
COLOUR
MULTISCAN
A5000
1Mb RAM
floppy drive
*999
*1219
*1249
A5000 2Mb
RAM 40Mb HD
—
—
*1499
A5000
Learning
Curve
—
—
* 1531 <»
A5000
Learning Curve
and Pnnter
—
—
*176596
A3000 ACCESSORIES
3.5" External Drive
£97
Monitor Stand
£15
External Podule Case
£12
Serial Upgrade
£16
A3000 Technical Manual
£28
Dust Cover Micro/Monitor
£5
Dust Cover Micro
£9
User Port/Midi Upgrade
£44
UHF TV Modulator
£29
RAM UPGRADES FOR
ARCHIMEDES
A3000
Upgrade to 2Mb RAM
£49
A3000
Upgrade to 4Mb RAM
£164
A305
Upgrade to 1Mb RAM
£48
A305/A310 Upgrade to 2Mb RAM
£229
A305/A310 Upgrade to 4Mb RAM
£419
A410/1
Upgrade to 2Mb RAM
£37
A410/1
Upgrade to 4Mb RAM
£99
A410/1
Upgrade to 8Mb RAM
£725
A420/1
Upgrade to 4Mb RAM
£72
A420/1
Upgrade to 8Mb RAM
£679
A440/1
Upgrade to 8Mb RAM
£569
R140
Upgrade to 8Mb RAM
£569
CONCEPT KEYBOARDS
A4 Standard Keyboard inc BBC Software £115
A3 Standard Keyboard inc BBC Software £140
A4 Archimedes Keyboard £116
A3 Archimedes Keyboard £141
PLOTTERS
ROLAND
SKETCHMATE £320
Dxy-iioo
£494
GRX-300 £2560
DXy-1200
£625
GRX-400 £3425
DXy-1300
£829
DPX&GRX Include
DPX-2500
£2348
12 months on-site
DPX-3500
£2960
maintenance
ARCHIMEDES ACCESSORIES
NEW Multitasking RISC OS
£28
3.5" 800K 2nd Floppy Drive (305/310)
£109
5.25" 800K External Floppy Drive
£84
I/O Podule
(Analogue & User Port & 1MHz Bus)
£75
MIDI add-on to I/O Podule
£27
MIDI Expansion Card
£64
Econet Network Board
£43
IEEE Interface Adaptor
£265
16 Bit Parallel I/O Card
£193
Software Developers Toolbox
£147
Floating Point Unit
£449
SCSI Adaptor Expansion Card
£159
Keyboard Extension Lead
£5
2 Podule Backplane
£24
4 Podule Backplane
£37
HARD DISK DRIVES (ST506)
20Mb for 410 ST506
£159
40Mb for 410 ST506
£235
53Mb for 410 ST506
£POA
A3000 20Mb + Podule
£335
A3000 40Mb + Podule
£449
SCSI HARD DRIVES FOR A400
Supplied complete with controller card.
52Mb Internal
£348
105Mb Internal
£549
170Mb Internal
£829
210Mb Internal
£899
COMMUNICATIONS
Amstrad SM2400 V22BIS
£120
Miracom WS4000
£98
Miracom WS3000 V22BIS
£230
Pace Linnett Plus
£97
Pace Linnett 1200V22
£149
Pace Linnett 2400 V22BIS
£188
Pace Linnett 32
£364
Hearsay comms software
£48
BBC/Master Modem Cable
£14
Archimedes Modem Cable
£14
BBC MASTER
SYSTEM
Acorn Master 128 Computer
CumanaCDX400 Dual Drive
Microvitec Colour Monitor
Two Tier Monitor Stand.
£ 679
BBC B and MASTER
ACCESSORIES
Turbo 65C1 02 Add-on-Module £113
Econet Module for Master £44
Twin ROM Cartridge for Master £1 2
Master Reference Manual I (No VAT) £13
Master Reference Manual II (No VAT) £13
Master Advanced Ref Manual (No VAT) P.O.A.
64K Upgrade Kit for B+ £31
Acorn 1772 DFS Complete Kit £47
MASTER 128 CUMANA
DISC DRIVES
5.25" 200K Single 40T No PSU £64
5.25" 200K Single 40T With PSU £79
5.25" 400K Single 40/80
Switchable No PSU £79
5.25" 400K Single 40/80
Switchable With PSU £89
5.25" 400K Dual 40T No PSU £125
5.25" 400K Dual 40T With PSU £149
5.25" 800K Dual 40/80
Switchable No PSU £159
5.25” 800K Dual 40/80
Switchable With PSU £179
3.5" Single Drive No PSU £64
3.5" Single Drive With PSU £79
3.5" Dual Drive With PSU £125
3.5" + 5.25" 40/80 Switchable £169
ARCHIMEDES SOFTWARE
MONITORS
ART/DESIGN/GRAPHICS
LANGUAGES
Artisan II
£92
ANSI C Rel 3
£122
Atelier
£63
Assembler
£145
Autosketch II
£66
Fortran 77
£75
Gamma Plot
£38
ISO-PASCAL
£75
Graph Box
£57
LISP
£145
Mogul
£18
Prolog X
£145
Poster
£77
SIUCON VISION
Pro Artisan
£71
Arc PCB Professional
£269
Render Bender 2
£95
Gerber Plot
£91
Sigma Plot
£38
Realtime Solids Modeller
£132
DATABASES
Rise Basic
£72
£34
Robo Logo
£52
AlphaBase
Solid Cad
£115
Genesis
£64
Solid Render
£115
Multistore
£192
Solid Tools
£269
DESKTOP PUBLISHING
Acorn DeskTop Publisher
Impression Junior
Impression II
Tempest
£125
£77
£131
£93
Super Dump
Super Plot
SPREADSHEETS
Intersheet
Schema
Sigmasheet
£19
£28
£23
£90
£38
INTEGRATED
Viewsheet
£44
Desktop Office
£96
WORDPROCESSORS
£68
Logistix
£77
1st Word Plus II
Pipedream 3
£118
Easiword
£29
Interword
£23
We also carry a wide range of GAMES and
Pendown Archi
£47
LEISURE software. Call for details.
View
£44
LASER PRINTERS
FREE Parallel Printer Cable With All Lasers
PPM
PPM
Brother HL-4
4 *
£598
Mannesman Tally MT 904
4 *
£540
Brother HL-4V
4 *
£710
NEC Silentwriter 2 S60P
Brother HL-8V
8 *
£1048
P/Script
6 *
£1086
Brother HL-8PS
NEC Silentwriter 2 290
Postscript
8 *
£1386
P/Script
8 *
£1393
Canon LBP-4 Plus
4 *
£584
NEC LC890XL Postscript
8 *
£2330
Laser Direct Hi-Res Card
NEC Colourmate PS P/Script
*
£3590
for LBP4
£319
OKI Laser 400 0.5Mb
4 *
£486
Canon LBP-8111 Plus
8 *
£973
OKI Laser 800 0.5Mb
8 *
£866
Canon LBP-IIIT Dual Bin
8 *
£1345
OKI Laser 840 P/Script 2Mb
8 *
£1200
Canon LBP-IIIR Dual Bin
Panasonic KXP4420
8 •
£625
Duplex
8 *
£1444
Panasonic KXP4450i
Epson EPL-4100
6 *
£567
Dual Bin
11 *
£930
Epson EPL-7500
Panasonic KXP4455 D/Bin
Postscript
6 *
£1163
P/Script
11 *
£1455
HP LaserJet HIP
4 *
£699
QMS PS410 Postscript
4
£1330
HP Laserjet III
8 *
£1025
QMS PS81 5 Postscript
8
£2200
HP Laserjet HID Dual Bin
Sharp JX9500H
9 *
£639
Duplex
8 *
£1580
Star LP-4
4 *
£573
IBM 4019E XL
5
£726
Star LP-4PS Postscript
4 *
£786
IBM 4019 XL
10
£948
Star LP-8 III
8 *
£915
Kyocera F800T
8 *
£920
Star LP-8 III Starscript
Laser Direct
6
£844
P/Script
8 *
£1149
All printers marked by an * include 12 months on-site maintenance.
SPECIAL OFFER
14" Multiscan Hi-Resolution 0.28 Dot Pitch, 1024x768
MICROVITEC
NEC
1431 Standard Resolution
£165
Multisync 3FG 15"
£368
1451 Medium Resolution
£199
PANASONIC
14M325 (CUB 3000) Medium Res. £167
14" Multiscan
£219
1441 High Resolution
£349
TAXAN
2040CS 20" High Resolution
£659
770LR 14" 0.31 Dot Pitch Low Rad
£365
Touchtec 501 Touch Screen
£234
775 14" 0.28 Dot Pitch Hi-Res
£365
PHILIPS
795 Trinitron 0.26 Dot Pitch
£405
BM7502 12" Hi-Res Green
£68
875 17" 0.26 Dot Pitch
£689
CM8833/I1 14" Medium Res
£167
VI DC Enhancer Board
£24
PRINTERS
FREE Parallel Printer Cable With All Printers
Canon BJIOex Portable
£186
IBM Series II 2380
£270
Canon BJ300*
£340
IBM Series II 2381
£336
Canon BJ330*
£385
IBM Series II 2390
£310
Canon BJC800
£1230
IBM Series II 2391
£370
EPSON
IBM Quickwriter 5204
£490
LX-400
£104
IBM Execjet4072
£440
LX-850X
£144
Integrex Colour Jet
£498
LX-1050
£210
Mannesman Tally MT81
£90
FX-850
£268
Nec P20
£184
FX-1050
£340
Nec P30
£247
DFX-5000
£1087
Nec P60
£335
DFX-8000
£1946
Nec P70
£403
LQ-200
£166
Nec P90
£630
LQ-450
£168
Panasonic KXP1170
£105
LQ-570
£209
Panasonic KXP1123
£133
LQ-870
£366
Panasonic KXP1124i
£177
LQ-860 Colour
£448
Panasonic KXP 1695
£277
LQ-1010
£275
Panasonic KXP 1624
£277
LQ-1070
£318
Panasonic KXP 2624 Colour*
£348
LQ-1170
£441
Panasonic KXP1654*
£378
LQ-1 060 Colour
LQ-2550 Colour
£599
£679
STAR
£178
SQ-850
£436
Starjet SJ48
SQ-2550
£630
LC20
£103
Hew/Pack Thinkjet*
£270
LC200 Colour
LC15
£147
Hew/Pack Quietjet*
£303
£178
Hew/Pack Quietjet Plus*
£389
LC24-10
£137
Hew/Pack Deskjet 500
£274
LC24-200
£168
Deskjet 500C
£476
LC24-200 Colour
£207
Deskwriter(MAC)
£317
LC24-15
£247
Hew/Pack Paintjet*
£435
ZA200 Colour*
£239
Hew/Pack Paintjet XL*
£1049
ZA250 Colour*
£302
Hew/Pack Rug/Writer*
£929
XB24-200 Colour*
£299
IBM Proprinter 24P
£209
XB24-250 Colour*
£359
Printers with
* inc 1 years on-site maintenance.
DELIVERY Archimedes Micros only- Free Delivery Hardware: £7.50 t VAT per box
Software: £7 + VAT per box Lasers: £15 + VAT per printer
Extra C2 • vat per additional box Next Working Day/ UK Offshore - call
ALL PRICES EXCLUDE VAT
CREDIT CARD MAIL ORDER HOTLINE
® 081-680 5686 : FAX: 081-680 9412
College Computers, 14 Emmabrook Court, Sea Road,
Rustington, Littlehampton, Sussex BN 16 2NG
Prices are subject to
change without
notice. Please check
suitability with the
manufacturers before
ordering. Goods are
not offered on a trial
basis. Ordersare
accepted subject to
our standard
conditions of sale -
available on request
E&OE.
Subject to
availability despatch
is normally effected
within 2 days from
receipt of cleared
payment Please
allow 7 working days
for cheque
clearance. All orders
will be fulfilled
within 28 days
unless otherwise
notified.
To: College Computers, 14 Emmabrook Court, Sea Road,
Rustington, Littlehampton, Sussex BN16 2NG. I wish to order
QUANTITY
DESCRIPTION
PRICE
Please state disk size
Delivery
1 enclose cheque/
or charge my Aco
'POforfi inc VAT
Total
ess/Visa No: Exp. date
VAT
Total £
Name
New/Old customer (please delete). Account No. (if known).
Address
Postcode.
Tel No:.
AU 3
AT THE FOREFRONT
OF A3000 UPGRADES
OTHER QUALITY PRODUCTS FROM PRES
Monitor Stand
Probably the best monitor stand available for the A3000 and the sturdy
basis of your modular system.
System Housing
When you are ready to expand the A3000 this system housing is placed
over the monitor stand, allowing two floppy drives and hard drives to be
added with ease.
Expansion Card Case
If you’re adding an expansion card (or podule) to your A3000 then
you will need this case to connect and protect it.
Podule Expansion System
Allows two podules to be added to your A3000, and be
working alongside each other simultaneously.
NEW PRODUCT A3K4
DOUBLE PODULE EXPANSION
Now you can add a second standard
| eurocard podule to your A3000. Fully
integrated with the PRES expansion
system - no soldering required, no
timing problems, no large box bolted
| around your computer, simply 'plug in
and expand 1 ... (requires A3K3
expansion card case). Remember
| A3K6 also allows for an extra internal
card; giving a total of ... 4 expansion
cards in your A3000
Disc Buffer
The definitive expansion for people that wish to
add extra floppy drives. Support for 40 and 80
tracks. Will also allow you to add SCSI. We are
continuously working on other options.
65Host 1770 DFS and DFS Filer
A Rom upgrade for the Disc Buffer that provides a
DFS drive icon on the icon bar and 1770 DFS in
65Host, the BBC Emulator.
MICRO TRADER, PROFESSIONAL
ACCOUNTS SYSTEM
A dedicated system for the serious
business user and home user alike.
Exploit the true power of the Arc with
our multi-tasking professional
accounts package. Call for your free
demo disc.
TML - THE MISSING LINK
Fast data transfer between linked
Archimedes. At 1 0 million bits per second
£74.95 each
THE SPACE KIT
Allows 400 series owners to fit a second
internal hard drive.
£ 32.95
PRES Ltd, Box 319, Lightwater, Surrey, GUI 8 5PW
t = 2 ; Tel. 0276 72046 • Fax 0276 51427 t
PRES, ADDING EXPANSION OPTIONS
SUBSCRIPTIONS
FREE MONTHLY DISCS
WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE TO BBC ACORN USER
POUNDS!!
Every month, BBC Acorn User is packed full of useful features and programs for all the Acorn
machines. That's why BAU is renowned as the leading magazine for Acorn computer users.
Now, as an additional service to new subscribers we are offering FREE monthly discs with every 12
month subscription to the magazine.
THE MONTHLY DISC
Each monthly disc contains all of the programs listed on
the yellow pages in each issue, so you can save yourself
the time, frustration and effort of typing them in by
subscribing today.
If you purchased each monthly disc separately, it would
cost you up to £5.95 per disc. So, with a 12 month sub-
scription to BAU . you could receive discs worth over £70
absolutely FREE!
WHAT DO I DO?
Simply fill in the coupon below and send it to:
BAU Subscriptions, PO Box 66, YVetherby LS23 7HL.
Or ring the credit card hotline number: (0937) 842489
NB: offer applies to UK subscriptions only, for details of
overseas subscriptions see order form on page 89
COMPATIBILITY
The 3.5 in disc is compatible
with the A3000/Archimedes,
BBC model B, BBC Master
and Master Compact with
3.5in drive and ADFS.
The 5.25in disc is 40/80-
track DFS and is suitable for
use with BBC B/B+ and
Master computers with a
5. 25 in. 40 or 80-track drive.
So, no matter which Acorn
machine you have, you can
take advantage of this fabu-
lous offer now.
I would like to subscribe to BBC Acorn User for 12 months at the cost of £22.95 and receive
my FREE monthly discs. (Discs are only sent from the beginning of a subscription period).
NAME SIGNATURE
ADDRESS
Disc size required (please tick) - J 3.5in Renewal
J 5.25in New Subsciption
J I enclose a cheque/PO made payable to Redwood Publishing Ltd.
J I wish to pay by Access/Visa
Card Number Expiry Date .
SUBSCRIBE
NOW AND
SAVE
BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992 29
Orion Computers
Acorn Key Dealer ☆ Component Level Service Centre I Network Dealer & Installer
Acorn Homputers
BBC Master Series
Master 128K 395.74 465.00
BBC A3000 Series
A3000 1 Mb Basic 595.74 700.00
A3000 Learning Curve 637.45 749.00
A3000 LC Colour System 850.21 999.00
(A3000 LC, AKF17 Monitor, Sund)
A3000 LC Col. + Printer Sys. 1085.21 1275.00
(as above plus Acorn J PI 50 Printer)
A3000 Special Access 676.50 795.00
Acorn A5000 Series
A5000 1 Mb No Monitor 994.89 1 1 69.00
A5000 2Mb + 40Mb HD 1497.87 1760.00
A5000 2Mb LC +40Mb HD 1531.06 1799.00
A5000 2Mb LC + Printer 1 765.96 2075.00
(as alxtve plus Acorn JP150 Printer)
All A5000 2MB models indude an Acorn Multisync
Monitor in tl>e price.
Acorn A500 Series
Archimedes 540 2493.62 2930.00
Special Offer when
purchased with computer!!
A3000 - £35.00 discount off other goods
bought with computer, plus either:
2Mb Upgrade F.O.C. OR
4Mb for £11 5.00 inc VAT
A 540 - Multi-Sync Monitor + Star LC20
F.O.C.
A5000- 2Mb RAM Upgrade F.O.C.
These offers cannot he combined
with any other offer.
We Operate the Acorn Educational
Scheme.
We can supply Learning Curve
Models on the Acorn 0 % Finance
Scheme.
Finance available over twelve months.
Deposit
Monthly
A3000 LC Colour System 99.00 75.00
A5000 2Mb LC 1 79.00 1 35.00
Finance Prices Shown aJxwe INCLUDE VAT
monitors
Acorn Colour (AKF1 7) 200.00 235.00
Philips CM8833 II Colour 208.51 245.00
Microvitec CUB3000 Colour 200.00 235.00
Taxan MultiVision 775 388.94 457.00
(0.28 Dot Pitch)
Taxan MultiVision 795A 439.1 5 51 6.00
(0.26 Dop Pitch. FST Black Trinitron Anti-Glare Tube)
Items nurked with * will work on A300/A540’s
21400/ 1 Accessories
1 Mb RAM Upgrade 38.30 45.00
2Mb RAM Upgrade 74.89 88.00
3Mb RAM Upgrade 1 04.68 1 23.00
(Above memory fitted for X10.00 plus courier charge)
Acorn SCSI Card
Acorn Ethernet II Card
Acorn MIDI Card
Arm 3 Upgrade (Adelph One)
4Mb to 8Mb Upgrade
C.C. Scan-Ught A4
Sheet Feeder for above
C.C. Scan-Light + Feeder
C.C. Scan-Light Junior
C.C. Scan-Ught 256
VIDC Enhancer
Econet Module
Beebug Disc Buffer
Orion TV Modulator + Audio
Replacement Floppy
238.30* 280.00
219.57* 258.00
64.68*
297.87
649.36
369.36*
148.94*
453.62*
165.11*
199.15*
27.23
47.66*
34.04
41.70*
45.96
76.00
350.00
763.00
434.00
175.00
533.00
194.00
234.00
32.00
56.00
40.00
49.00
54.00
2.540 Accessories
4Mb Upgrade (Upto 1 6Mb)
378.72
445.00
VIDC Enhancer
10.00
11.75
A5000 Accessories
Acorn 2Mb Ram Upgrade
125.11
146.00
Orion 2Mb Ram Upgrade
97.87
115.00
A3000 Accessories
Orion 1 Mb RAM Upgrade
50.21
59.00
(ExpandaHe to 4Mb using only 8 chips)
Orion 3 Mb RAM Upgrade
143.83
169.00
A3000 Podule Expansion
55.32
65.00
Two slot external podule expansion case allowing the
use of two compatible 400 series cards simultaneously.
For example, the CC Laser Direct Card with an Orion
IDE Interface.
Acorn Serial Upgrade
17.87
21.00
Orion Serial Upgrade
14.47
17.00
PRES Monitor Stand
24.68
29.00
Acorn User/Midi Port
46.81
55.00
CC Scanlight Junior A3000
165.11
194.00
CC Scanlight A4 Mk II A3000
369.36
434.00
CC Sheetfeeder for A4 Scan.
148.94
175.00
CC Scanlight A4 + feeder
453.62
533.00
CC Scanlight 256
199.15
234.00
Orion TV Modulator + Audio
41.70
49.00
Soohs/lflanuols
Programmers Ref. Manuals
77.00
77.00
Prog. Ref. Man. (RiscOS 3)
T.B.A.
T.B.A.
BASIC V Guide
19.45
19.45
A3000 Technical Guide
28.95
28.95
A5000 Technical Guide
63.00
63.00
A540 Technical Guide
63.00
63.00
Basic V: A Dabhand Guide
9.95
9.95
Arc. First Steps
9.95
9.95
Arc. Assembly Language
14.95
14.95
Acorn D.T.P. Manual
10.00
10.00
1st Word Plus Release 2
10.00
10.00
ANSI C Release 3
20.00
20.00
Acorn Desktop C
25.00
25.00
Acorn Desktop Assembler
25.00
25.00
lErinters
PLEASE NOTE
ALL our printers are UK Models and NOT grey imports.
Please take this into account when deciding where to
purchase your printer.
Computer Concepts Laser Direct
Qume 300dpi 6ppm 859.57 1010.00
600 DPI Laser Direct Card 319.15 375.00
LBP4 Laser 600dpi 4 ppm
LBP8 Laser 600dpi 8ppm
Canon
Bubblejet BJlOe
659.57 775.00
1319.15 1550.00
218.72 257.00
(Please Specify White or Black)
355.74 418.00
BJ300
BJ330
Citizen
120D+ (Parallel)
Swift 9
224 (Parallel)
Swift 24e
Swift 24xe
Hewlett Packard
Deskjet 500 338.72 398.00
Deskjet 500C (Colour) 535.32 629.00
(300dpi Full Colour)
Star
LC20
LC200 Colour
LC24-200 Mono
LC24-200 Colour
400.00 480.00
114.89 135.00
161.70 190.00
199.15 234.00
234.89 276.00
329.36 387.00
130.21 153.00
175.32 206.00
204.26 240.00
249.36 293.00
Arc/A3000ApplicotionsJ
D.T.P.
Impression II (CC) 127.66
Impression Junior (CC) 72.34
Impress. Bus. Supplement (CC) 41 .70
EasiWriter (Icon Technology) 1 33.62
Desktop Folio (ESM) 79.15
Spreadsheets
Sigmasheet (Minerva) 40.00
Schema (Clares) 98.72
Eureka (Long. Logo.) 103.83
WordProcessors
1 st Word Plus Rel. 2 (Acorn) 69.79
PenDown (Longman Logotron) 46.81
PenDown Plus (Long. Logo.) 68.08
Eas I Word (Minerva) 16.17
Protext 5.0 (Arnor) 1 1 9.1 5
Integrated Packages
Pipedream 3 (Colton) 119.15
Desk Top Office (Minerva) 69.79
Databases
Datavision (Silicon Vision) 1 1 0.64
Flexifile (Minerva) 84.26
Multistore (Minerva) 154.89
Genesis II (Oak Solutions) 1 1 9.1 5
Knowledge Organiser (Clares) 41 .70
PinPoint (Long. Logo.) 85.1 1
Accounting Software
Financial Accountant (S. Vis.) 208.51
Home Accounts (Minerva) 34.89
Business Accounts (Minerva) 298.72
Office Tools (S. Vision) 285.11
languages
ANSI C Release 3 (Acorn) 1 24.26
Desktop C (Acorn) 1 88.94
Desktop Assembler (Acorn) 1 28.51
RiscForth (S. Vision) 110.64
Music
Armadeus (Clares) 61 .28
Rhapsody II (Clares) 45.1 1
Tracker (Serial Pori) 38.72
Notate (Long. Logo.) 51 .06
Utilities
Arc DFS (Dabs Press) 22.98
Dot Matrix Colour Driver (Ace) 12.72
Compression (CC) 41 .70
Education
Fun Sch. 3 Und. 5’s (Database) 17.45
Fun Sch. 3 5-7 (Database) 17.45
Fun Sch. 3 Over 7’s (Database) 17.45
Graphics Manipulation
Poster + Fonts (4Mation) 79.15
Render Bender II (Clares) 98.72
Graphbox Professional (Minerva)104.6E
Graphics - Art
Pro Artisan (Clares) 79.1 5
Revelation (Long. Logo.) 66.38
Revelation II (Long. Logo.) 1 02.1 3
Atelier (Minerva) 69.79
Clipart Coll. Vol. 1 (General) 1 9.95
Clipart Coll. Vol. 2 (General) 25.49
Clipart Coll. Vol. 3 (Animals) 25.49
Clipart Coll. Vol. 4 (Sport) 25.49
Clipart Coll. Vol. 5 (Characters) 25.49
Misc
ARCticulate 1 7.45
PC-Emulator VI .7 (Acorn) 93.62
150.00
85.00
49.00
157.00
93.00
47.00
116.00
120.00
82.00
55.00
80.00
19.00
140.00
140.00
82.00
130.00
99.00
182.00
(Eables
Investigator II (Serial Port) 22.98
Speech (Superior) 14.04
Arc to Skart + Audio 1 .2m 8.72
Arc to Philips 8833 Mk I1 1 .2m 8.72
Arc Keyb'd Extension Cable 2m 7.87
Arc Mouse Extension Cable 2m 7.87
Arc Key'd Replacement Cable 7.02
Arc Mouse Replace. Cable 7.02
4 way trailing socket 5.1 1
Arc/A3000 Homes
|
The Fourth Dimension
Adventures of Sylvia Lain
17.45
20.50
ARCtist
17.45
20.50
Boogie Buggy
17.45
20.50
Break 1 47/Superpool
17.45
20.50
Cataclysm
17.45
20.50
Chocks Away Version II
17.45
20.50
Chocks Away Extra Missions
14.04
16.50
Chocks Away Compendium
26.81
31.50
Drop Ship
14.04
16.50
E - Type
14.04
16.50
E - Type Compendium
17.45
20.50
Enter the Realm
17.45
20.50
Grievous Bodily 'ARM
17.45
20.50
Holed Out Compend.
17.45
20.50
Inertia
14.04
16.50
Nevryon
14.04
16.50
Pandora's Box
17.45
20.50
Powerband V. II
17.45
20.50
The Real McCoy 1 or 2
20.85
24.50
Saloon Cars
17.45
20.50
Wimp Game
14.04
16.50
X-Fire
17.45
20.50
Arxe
Blitz
17.45
20.50
Bambuzle
14.04
16.50
CI.S.
Chequered Flag
17.45
20.50
Microdrive 3D World Edition
21.70
25.50
Clares
Interdicter II
23.83
28.00
Cygnus
Tower of Babel
17.45
20.50
Twin World
14.04
16.50
Iron Lord
14.04
16.50
Domarh
Mig-29 Super Fulcrum
29.79
35.00
3D Construction Set
P.O.A.
Eclipse
Blowpipe
14.04
16.50
WorldScape
14.04
16.50
Etema
Ballarena
14.04
16.50
Blaston
14.04
16.50
Bubblefair
14.45
16.50
Cartoon Line
17.45
20.50
Fine Racer
14.04
16.50
Kerbang
11.06
13.00
Leg. of the Lost Temple
17.45
20.50
Poizone
14.04
16.50
Rockfall
14.04
16.50
Thing of Darkness
20.85
24.50
Hybrid
Elite
31.92
37.50
MicroPower
Chess 3D
14.04
16.50
Zelanites
17.45
20.50
Krisalis
\ Chuck Rock
19.57
23.00
i James Pond
19.57
23.00
i Lemmings
19.57
23.00
i Mad Professor Mariarti
14.47
17.00
i Manchester Utd.
19.57
23.00
Manchester Utd. Europe
19.57
23.00
1 World Champ. Boxing Manager
■ 19.57
23.00
1 World Champ. Squash
19.57
23.00
Simis
Right Simulator Toolkit
31.49
37.00
Superior Software
) Air Supremacy
17.45
20.50
) Hostages
14.04
16.50
> Master Break
14.04
16.50
i Virgin
> Magnetic Scrolls Collection
25.11
29.50
i Wonderland
24.26
28.50
t
> Please ring for current prices on software NOT listed
) here
on standard delivery within mainland UK unless marked otherwise. Next day courier Service £6.00. Carriage on export orders charged at cost.
branded libbons
Compatible IRibbons \
Amstrad DMP2000/31 60
5.53
6.50
Amstrad DMP2000
3.40
4.00
Citizen 1 20D
3.83
4.50
Amstrad LQ3500.PCW8256
3.19
3.75
Citizen Swift 24 Black
4.00
4.70
Brother M2024
5.11
6.00
Citizen Swift 24 Colour
14.98
17.60
Brother Ml 009, Ml 109
4.00
4.70
Epson LX80/86
4.00
4.70
Brother HR1 0,1 5,20,25,35 Fabric 4.30
5.05
Epson FX80.MX80.LX800
5.02
5.90
Brother HR1 0.1 5,20,25,35 MS
4.30
5.05
Epson LQ400.550 Fabric
6.00
7.05
Canon PW1080A
4.47
5.25
Epson MX1 00.FX1 000, FX1 050
6.77
7.95
Citizen 120D/Swift 24
3.49
4.10
Epson EX800/1 000 Black
7.91
9.30
Epson LX80.86
2.98
3.50
Panasonic KXP145.KXP115
7.91
9.30
Epson FX80,MX80,LX800,LX850 3.62
4.25
Panasonic KXP140
10.00
11.75
Epson FX1050.LX1000
4.43
5.20
Star LC1 0
4.26
5.00
Epson LQ500.LQ800.LQ850
4.17
4.90
Star LC1 0 4 Colour
6.51
7.65
Epson LQ1000.LQ1 050, FX1 000 5.32
6.25
Star LC200 Black
5.96
7.00
Epson LQ2500.LQ2550
6.55
7.70
Star LC200 Colour
11.91
14.00
Epson EX800
6.55
7.70
Star LC24/1 0 / LC24 200 Black
8.00
9.40
Panasonic KXP1 081/90,1 1 80/24 4.04
4.75
Star LC24 200 Colour
13.62
16.00
Seikosha GP100
Shanwa CP80 Multistrike
Star LC10/LC20
3.53
4.15
Printer Cartridges !
4.98
3.40
5.85
4.00
oiar lci o A colour
5.53
6.50
Canon LBP4 Toner Cartridge
55.32
65.00
Star LC24/1 0.LC24/20O
4.68
5.50
Canon LBP8 Toner Cartridge
62.13
73.00
Star LC200 Black
3.40
4.00
Canon BJ1 30 (BJI481)
10.00
11.75
Canon BJlOe (BC01)
16.17
19.00
Discounts available on all ribbons for
Canon BJ300/330 (BJI642)
11.91
14.00
quantities of 3 or more.
C’jet 132/Canon PJ1080 Black
9.36
11.00
C'jet 132/Canon PJ1080 Colour 14.48
17.25
Please call for prices on any ribbons not listed
HP PaintJet Black
20.00
23.50
here. We can supply almost any ribbon required
HP Paintjet Colour
23.40
37.50
and, dependent on quantity, any colour.
HP Deskjet + (Permanent Ink)
12.77
15.00
HP Deskjet 500C Colour
22.98
27.00
IMease Note - Quoting the CARMA Group Code
Qume Crystal Print Toner Set
66.38
78.00
speeds up our search for a ribbon compatible
Qume Crystal Print Drum Set
88.51
104.00
with your printer.
New Graphics Factory ClipArt
Four new Collections totalling over 1 500 images.
Volume Two : General
The new general collection
Lots more artwork I or you to
use covering an even greater
range of topics.
c{$p Over 650 Images
Volume Four : Sport
Most sports covered including
some of the more obsure events,
A must for all sport enthusiasts
Over 280 Images
Volume Three : Animals
The first specialist collection containing
all the animals you will ever need plus
fun and poster animals.
Over 300 Images
Volume Five : Characters
Knights, Cowboys, Cavemen & Clowns.
Large choice of characters to liven up
any document. Over 30 different Topcis
Over 280 Images
Vek+A*** (0772) 623000t*t lUoul*
The Graphics Factory
250 Leyland Lane
Leyland
PRESTON
Only £29.95 Inc. VA T each PR5 3HL
Includes Graphics Factory
Sprite Utilities
M -
raphics Factory
An Orion Computers Company
High performance Hard Disc Sub-Systems
for Archimedes &A3000 Computers
Fast A.T. Bus Interface
Easy Installation.
Fit 2 Drives internally (A3/4/500)
A3000 Compatible
Interface, Manual, and Cables
£ 139.00 inc. V.A.T.
Tested with: Seagate, Quantum, Maxtor, Conner & Others.
A3000
A300/400
20Mb
289.00
199.00
43Mb
369.00
279.00
52Mb
(Cached)
419.00
329.00
105Mb
(Cached)
519.00
429.00
120Mb
(Cached)
579.00
489.00
200Mb
679.00
589.00
210Mb
(Cached)
719.00
629.00
425Mb
(Cached)
1 1 1 9.00
1029.00
120Mb Drive for A5000 Only 429.00
All prices INCLUDE VAT @ 17.5%
Prices quoted include Card, Cables, Manual and Drive
A3000 Twin Podule Expansion System
Connect two 400 Series cards to your A3000 at the same time
Both podules are available for use with no switching or extra
software needed.
Supplied in colour keyed case with full fitting instructions. No
soldering required.
£65.00 inc. V.A.T.
Sulk diskettes
All our disks cook* complete with labels etc. and are 100% certified error free. In the event that a disk fails it
will he replaced immediately. Top row of prices ex. VAT. Bottom row of prices inc. VAT.
Quantity
5V 4
3Vi
25
50
100
250
500
1000
DS/DD 96tpi
N/A
14.00
26.00
60.00
114.89
208.51
N/A
16.45
30.55
70.50
135.00
245.00
MF/2DD 1 Meg
9.74
19.57
34.00
85.11
161.70
297.87
11.45
23.00
39.95
100.00
190.00
350.00
Sony Bulk
12.51
25.11
45.11
105.53
200.00
378.72
14.70
29.50
53.00
124.00
235.00
445.00
MF/2HD 2 Meg
18.72
37.45
68.00
162.55
295.32
530.21
22.00
44.00
79.90
191.00
347.00
623.00
Ordering Information
Minimum Order Value JLHXOO Minimum Educational Order Value JL1 50(1 Please note VAT is shown at 17.5 %
r/SA
Sy Sost
Please send your orders including a signed cheque, postal
order or credit card number & expiry date (NOT CASH) to:
Department BAU3
250 Leyland Lane,
Leyland, Preston,
PR5 3HL.
All cheques and bankers drafts to be made payable to
Orion Computers Limited
3By telephone
Telephone orders may be placed between 9:30am and 5:00pm
Please have your credit card number and expiry date ready
Tel: (0772) 623000 Fax: (0772) 622917
In Person
Callers most welcome. We are situated 3 miles from M6 J28.
Open Mon-Sat 9:30am - 5pm. (Please see map for directions)
The Electronic Font Foundry
Purveyors of High Quality Fonts for Archimedes computers,
New Fonts available from EFF
Aidan £15.00
a weLL CRAfted uncial face, Reminiscent of Celtic scRipt
Allegro Shelley Allegro Script™ £35.00
CS$ vewy Seautoffl, cvfwote sc/yfU ffnl
Andante Shelley Andante Script™ £35.00
< Stf-wicwe wttfomwteel v&'Mficwi Sciiiegro
Arnold Arnold Boeklin™ £15.00
K popular Victorian decorative font
Ascot Black Linotext™ £18.00
,A pleasant blackletter face complimenting our ^Ascot face
Basia Present Script™ £18.00
;A j-ree-spi^if script fernt, with some unusual features
Bob Melior™ £35.00
Bob Regular, Bob Italic, Bob Bold, Bob Bold Italic
Digital £16.00
Fin LCD typeface, so uiell designed it can be used for body copy!
Eric 1 Gill Sans™ £35.00
Eric Regular, Eric Italic, Eric Bold, Eric Bold Italic
Eric 2 Gill Sans™ £18.00
Eric ExtraBold, Eric UltraBold
Eric 3 Gill Sans™ £25.00
Narrow, Bold Narrow, UltraBold Narrow
Franca Dom Casual™ £15.00
A script font with a handwritten look and feel
Lipa _ Juniper™ £12.00
THIS IS A UNUSUAL, SI.KJIITLY CONDENSED, EVEN FACE
Mr Jones * £25.00
Ki ultra-modern light display lace, with italics
Shel £25 - 00
A beautiful slightly cursive sans serif, with italics
Sheriff Cottonwood™ £15.00
A POPULAR “WESTERN" TYPE FONT
Soho Black Broadway™ £12.00
A decorative twemties-tvpe tent
Font names are © EFF, Adobe, Bitstream and Monotype where appropriate
£25.00
Cartograph £25.00
a map symbols font
Symphony
a music symbols font
Braille
£6.00
• • • •• •
• • • ••
• • •
Canon BJlOe Driver
360dpi using all 64 nozzles
Make full use of your BjlOe
£10.00
We have the largest range of fonts
available for the Archimedes, all
properly hinted and well made by
professionals. All of our near 250
fonts are available in all the Latin
alphabets. We have 50 foreign
fonts, including: Greek, Vietnamese,
Russian, Hebrew, Bengali, Tamil,
Punjabi, Gujarati and Devanagri.
Our DTP department is second to
none, we can provide help and
advice on any DTP matter. We sell
DTP related hardware and software
and provide a complete telephone
help service to any of our customers
who need it.
For a free catalogue and pricelist,
with details of our Fonts, Hardware
and Software, please call or write.
For all orders please add:
£2.50 p&p and 1 7V2% VAT.
The Electronic Font Foundry
Granville House
50-52, Upper Village Road
Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7AQ
Telephone: 0344 28698
Facsimile: 0344 872923
All prices are ex-delivery & VAT, and are
subject to change.
HANK MANAGER
Complete and versatile personal accounts program. Consistently acclaimed!
'data entry is a delight.. .professional.. .excellent product’ Micro User April 66
Standard version: Enter cheques and receipts. Automatic date sequencing.
Reconcile statements. Search, amend and delete. Analyze expenditure. Forward
cash flow forecast Budgets. Up to 36 bank accounts online, inter account
transfers, 9999 standing orders. 99 analysis headings, over 4,000 postings on an
80tk diskette. Reports to screen or printer. Mix foreign currencies, graphics,
password, file recovery, field editing, programmable reports.
Master/Compact version adds ADFS/hard disk support, sideways RAM, 40/80 col
screen reports, and other enhancements.
Archimedes/A3000 adds high speed native mode, RAM disks, wild card analysis
enquiries, sort and more. ’Impressed. ..ideal.. .easy to use’ Micro User March 8Q
Bank Manager (all versions; disk systems only) £25.00
HANK MANAGER HUSINESS UTILITY
For the club accounts or small business user. From the Bank Manager data files
print 'trial balance" or "P&L reports" via the programmable spreadsheet generator.
Business Utility Pack (needs the Bank Manager) £ 12.00
TYPING TUTOR
Quickly learn to touch type. Over 90 smoothly graded lessons graduate you from
the basic home keys to complete keyboard mastery. Word scan or exact key
checking, targets may be revised, rhythm metronome, key click, free format
options. Recommended for adult education. Typing Tutor £15.00
SPREADSHEET MK V
Low cost, versatile spreadsheet. 26 cols, 900 (Arch/A3000) or 99 (B/Master) rows,
many functions and facilities inc programmable report writer and input scripts.
Spreadsheet MK V disk £15.00
All programs available In B, Master/Com pad and Archimedes/A3000
versions. Archimedes /A3000 versions are RISC OS compatible
State type of computer (eg A3000.B, Master) and disk type (eg 3’/?" or 5W 40
track or 5W 80 track). Please add £1 P&P (Overseas £3.50)
CONTEX COMPUTING
(Ref AU), 15 Woodlands Close,
Cople, Bedford MK44 3UE
JR Letronics Co
■\
Proprietor:
J.H. JARLETT
Acorn!
The choice of
experience
Super Archimedes Computers
A540, A5000, A3000 & others
Computer Peripherals
Educational & Business Software
Manuals, Discs & Paper
081-977 8053 (TEL/FAX)
The Annexe 2 Broad Street Teddington
£3 (Entrance in Queens Rd) Middlesex TW11 8RF
Mon to Fri 10 to 5 Sat 10 to 2
After-sales helpline - We try to help
Select Your Own
Clipart and Data Files
Tel: 0234 838347
Columbus - £4.95
Extinct Animals - £4.95
Order directly from
DEC_dATA or send a £1 for
the Auto-Catalogue/Sample
Disc to:
DEC_dATA
60 Danes Road, Exeter EX4 4LS 0392 221702
Use the Auto-Catalogue
to choose and order the
Clip Art and Data Discs
you want for £4.95 or
make your own
selection of individual
files for just £6.95 per
disc full.
Star maps. Animals. Flags.
Famous People. India. Steam
Locomotives. Australia,
Volcanoes, Inventions,
Computers, Sailing boats,
Dolphins, DTP art.
Also • Quest. Grass. MultiStore
and SystemDelta files.
for Image. Clip Art
and Data Files
Want a dirt cheap Archimedes Computer ?...
... don’t come to us!
However, we can offer you...
• Expert advice on the best Archimedes hardware and software for your needs
• Fast, courteous mail order service, once you have decided what you want to buy
• After sales service from people who know what they are talking about
• A magazine which we publish, called “Archive”, to keep you up-to-date
• Special discounts for Archive subscribers on both hardware and software
Why not give us a call and talk to Paul or Adrian?
...Remember, price isn't everything!
Norwich Computer Services
96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich NR2 2SD. Phone 0603-766592. Fax -76401 1
Computer Holiday for young people !!
Scripture Union runs a computer holiday for 13 to 16 year olds at an attractive school set in the
Hertfordshire countryside. The dates? August 3rd to 1 1th. The price? £101. For details, write to
Jim Maddox, S.U. Holidays, 69 Cloverdale Road, London SW2 2DH or phone 081-671-8761.
BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992 33
Watford Electronics
(A member of the Jessa group of Companies - Established 1972)
Jessa House, 250 Lower High Street, Watford WD1 2AN, England
Tel: Watford (0923) 237774 Tlx: 8956095 Fax: (0923) 233642
The sign of
Quality
Shop Hours: 9am to 6pm (Mon. -Sat.) Thursday 9am to 8pm. FREE customer car park.
All prices exclusive of VAT; subject to change without notice & available on request.
Acorn*
The choice
of Experience
TA
rchimedes
micro
System
Basic
Mono Colour Multiscan
A410/1
£699
£765
£859
£1024
A540/1
£2495
£2555
£2655
£2815
A3000
£599
£665
£759
£924
A3000L/C
£642
£708
£802
£967
A5000
£999
£1065
£1159
£1324
A5000H/D
-
-
-
£1499
A5000L/C
-
-
-
£1531
Unbeatable Sale Offers
on Archimedes Micro
When you purchase an Archimedes Micro from
Watford, look what you get FREE with it
Micro Free Offer
A410/1 ARM 3 Turbo Card
A540/1 Multiscan monitor with VIDC enhancer
and LC20 Printer
A3000 2Mb RAM; Monitor plinth and Acorn’s
A3000 Shoulder Bag (carrying case)
Plus of course our no quibble 12 months FREE
On-Site Maintenance on all Archimedes Micros.
Archi Accessories
• 3.5" 800K 2nd Floppy Drive (305/310) £118
• 5.25" 800K external Floppy Drive £85
• I/O Podule (Analogue/User/1 MHz bus) £79
• I/O Podule (Analogue/User) £49
• MEMC 1 A Upgrade £42
• MIDI add-on to I/O Podule £27
• MIDI Expansion Card £65
• Sound Sampler Mono (Armadillo) £129
• Sound Sampler Stereo /Midi (Armadillo) £1 86
• Chromalock Podule (Wild Vision) £275
• Econet Network Board £42
• Archimedes IEEE Interface Adaptor £269
• Dual RS232 Podule £195
• 1 6 bit parallel I/O Card £1 95
• Archi replacement mouse - New design £32
• PC Emulator vl .7 £85
• Software Developers Toolbox £1 49
• Floating Point Unit £455
• SCSI Adaptor Expansion Card £1 56
• Keyboard Extension Lead £6
• 2 Podule Backplane £25
• 4 Podule Backplane £38
• Fan for above backplanes £8
• Rise Os Extras Software Disc £5
• Ethernet Card £220
• SCSI Card 8 bit £129
• A5000 - 2 to 4Mb RAM Upgrade £1 22
A3000 Accessories
• 3.5" External Drive£95 • Monitor Stand £15
• Technical Manual £39 • Serial Upgrade £17
• A3000 Dust Cover £5
• A3000 plus Monitor Dust Cover £9
• A3000 User Port/Midi Upgrade Card £44
• A3000 User/Analogue/1 1C I/O Card £42
• A3000 External Podule Case £1 3
VISA
CREDIT CARD 24 HOUR
—
Ansaphone Hot Lines
E3
(0923) 250234 or 233383
Coming Soon
Aries 386SX-25MHZ PC Card for the
Archimedes micro. Watford's R&D team
have spent 1000's of man hours to
bring you a full specification PC card
for the Archimedes. You no longer
require Acorn's PC Emulator as all PC
software is run locally on the expansion
card with custom written software to
interface the PC card into the RISC OS
environment. Watch this space for
further details.
Winter Sale
Archimedes A3000
DeskTop Publishing
(DTP) Offer
A3000 BBC Archimedes Micro with 3.5"
Floppy Disc Drive and a mouse,
upgraded to 2Mb RAM, COLOUR
Monitor + Lead, 20Mb fast IDE Hard
Disc Drive, 'Compression' Utility to
increase the Hard Drive capacity to
Typically 40Mb, The highly acclaimed
Computer Concept's Impression Junior
DTP software package.
RRP: £1299
Sale Offer Price: £849
Above Package plus Acorn’s
Learning Curve £892
Special Education discounts
available on above package, micros,
RAM upgrades, ARM 3 Turbo Card,
etc. Please write in or telephone:
(0923) 237774/250335
Archimedes RAM Upgrade
All our memory upgrades are simple to fit. No
soldering required. Fitting instructions supplied.
• R302-A3000 - to 2MB RAM Upgrade £39
• R303-A3000 - to 2MB RAM Upgrade
(expandable to 4MB) £65
• R304-A3000 - to 4MB RAM Upgrade £139
• R311-A305 - to 1MB RAM Upgrade £30
• R312-A305/310 - to 2MB RAM Upgrade £149
• R314-A305/310 - to 4MB RAM Upgrade £265
• R412-A410/1 - to 2MB RAM Upgrade £35
• R413-A420/1 - to 4MB RAM Upgrade £64
• R414-A410/1 - to 4MB RAM Upgrade £98
• R810-A410/1 - to 8MB RAM Upgrade £599
• R820-A420/1 - to 8MB RAM Upgrade £569
• R840-A440/1 - to 8MB RAM Upgrade £499
• R814-R140 - to 8MB RAM Upgrade £499
• A5000 - to 2MB additional RAM Upgrade £123
0% Finance & Special
Teachers/Academics’ prices
Now available on A3000L/C
and A5000 L/C Micro Systems
Convert your Archi 410 to a 420 or 440
with Watford's unique Upgrade Kits
UP10 - to 2MB RAM + 20MB Hard Disc £159
UP1 5 - to 2MB RAM + 40MB Hard Disc £245
UP20 - to 4MB RAM + 20MB Hard Disc £225
UP30 - to 4MB RAM + 40MB Hard Disc £309
UP40 - to 4MB RAM + 53MB Hard Disc £429
Graphics, Art, Design & Games
GRAPHICS
Puncman 3 & 4
£16
ARCtist
£19
Pysanki
£15
ARCticulate
£19
Quazer
£10
Atelier
£65
Real McCoy
£22
Artisan II
£45
Real McCoy 2
£23
Artisan Gallery
£16
Redshift
£14
Autosketch II
£65
Return to Doom
£16
Craftshop 1 & 2
£28
Revelation
£54
Euclid 2
£50
Repton 3
£15
Graph Box
£59
Rotor
£19
Graphbox Professional
£118
Saloon Cars
£19
HotLink Presenter
£40
Splice
£25
Kermit
£46
Sporting Triangles
£24
Mogul
£17
Star Trader
£14
Poster
£79
Superior Golf
£15
Pro Artisan
£70
Super Pool
£19
Prime Art
£69
Talisman
£12
Render Bender
£58
The Pawn
£19
Snippet
£21
Thundermonk
£11
Tween
£21
Timewatch
£24
Trivial Pursuit
£22
GAMES
Twin World
£15
Air Supremacy
£20
U.I.M.
£23
Apocalypse
£15
White Magic
£15
Arcade Soccer
£15
White Magic 2
£15
Boogie Buggy
£19
Wimp Game
£13
Break 147
£19
Worldscape
£16
Bug Hunter
£14
Caverns
£14
Miscellaneous
Chess 3D
£14
Ancestry
£59
Chocks Away
£14
Arccomm 2
£38
Chocks Away Extra
£14
Arcterm 7
£64
Conqueror
£18
Armadeus Sound
£60
Cops
£14
BBC DFS Reader
£6
Corruption
£18
Blowpipe
£17
Crisis
£21
Broadcaster Loader
£65
Elite
£33
Compression (CC)
£44
Enter the Realms
£19
Equasor
£47
Enthar Seven
£21
FlexiFile
£98
E-Type
£14
Genesis
£65
E-Type Designer
£13
Genesis 2
£113
Family Favourites
£15
Hearsay Comms
Fireball 2
£19
Pack
£50
Holed Out Designer
£13
Investigator 2
£22
Holed Out Golf
£13
JX Archi Colour Printer
Hostages
£15
Driver for Citizen &
Ibix the Viking
£14
Star Printers
£15
Inter Dictor 2
£26
Numerator
£66
Iron Lord
£15
Presenter 2
£35
Jiglet
£25
Presenter Story
£145
Jigsaw
£27
QEEM 386
£59
Lemmings
£22
Rainforest
£17
Masterbreak
£16
Revelation
£58
Magpie
£39
Rhapsody in Blue 2
£45
Man at Arms
£16
Show Page
£127
MahJong Patience
£15
Speech!
£15
Manchester United
The Victorian
£17
Europe
£19
Time Tabler
£549
Nevryon
£14
Toolkit (Clares)
£35
Olympics
£15
Touchtype
£40
Pipe Mania
£17
Tracer
£46
Pirate
£16
Tracker
£39
Power Band
£18
Vox Box
£47
Puncman 1 & 2
£16
WorldScape
£17
Archimedes Hard Disc
Watford’s ST506 Hard disc drives for A310 & A410
series fit internally into the space provided.
P.S. A310 upgrades require a backplane and a fan.
• 3HDP - Hard Disc Podule only £135
• 3HD20 - 20Meg H’ Disc + Podule for 31 0 £235
• 3HD40 - 40Meg H’ Disc + Podule for 310 £345
• 3HD50 - 53Meg H’ Disc + Podule for 310 £474
• 4HD20 - 20Meg Hard Disc for 41 0 £1 29
• 4HD40 - 40Meg Hard Disc for 410 £215
• 4HD50 - 53Meg Hard Disc for 410 £335
• A3000 20Meg Hard Disc + Podule £299
• A3000 40Meg Hard Disc + Podule £429
For Archimedes IDE Hard Disc turn to page 14
Desk Top Publisher
Acorn’s Archi DTP Package £108
Equasor £39
Impression 2 DTP Pack £125
Impression Junior £72
Expression-PS £19
Tempest DTP Package £90
More Archimedes Products
See Pages 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 14
Archi Wordprocessors
Pendown Archi £48 Archie Spell Master £25
Wordwise + Disc £24 PD Spellchecker £40
Image Writer £25 View £45
Interword Disc £24 Graphic Writer £19
1st Word Plus - 2 £63 EasiWord £18
Databases
AlphaBase £36 Magpie £40
Knowledge Organiser£42 Multistore v2.01 £185
Spreadsheets
Intersheet Disc £24 Schema £89
Viewsheet £45
Archi Mouse Port Splitter
Our handy little splitter unit eliminates the risk of
damaging your micro due to constant plugging and
unplugging of the mouse by allowing you to
connect both, a joystick and a mouse
simultaneously to your Archimedes. £1 5
Silicon Vision
Gerber Plot
£95
Solids Render
£120
Solid CAD
£120
Solid Tools
£279
Super Plot
£28
Data Vision
£110
Super Dump
£22
Share Holder
£135
Arc PCB Professional
£275
Realtime Solids Modeller
£136
Archimedes to BBC Serial Link Mk 2
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.
New RISC OS Version Only £1 5
Archimedes External Disc
Drive Interface
With this interface it is possible to connect almost
any 5.2573.5" disc drive with its own power supply
to the Archimedes. Upto 4 disc drives can be
connected. Fully Buffered Board. NO SOLDERING
is involved. Supplied complete with necessary lead.
• A300/A3000 £21 • A400 £25
Watch this space for our
Low Cost - High Performance
4Mb and 8Mb RAM Upgrades
for the A5000 ~
ULTIMUM - Archimedes A3000
Podule Racking System
THE ONLY LOGICAL WAY TO
EXPAND YOUR A3000 COMPUTER
Price: £149
Minerva's Archimedes Software
EasyWord
£18
Mailshot*
£27
Home Accounts
£35
Reporter*
£27
Time Tabler
£549
School Admin*
£65
System Delta
£59
System Delta Program Reference Manual
£29
* Requires System Delta to operate
Stand alone Business Accounts Packages
Sales; Purchase; Order Processing and Invoicing;
Nominal; Stock management
£79 per module
or Complete Business Package £325
Business Graphics
GammaPlot £39 Sigmaplot £39
Interchart Disc £17
Integrated Packages
• Logistix £79 • Pipedream 4 £149
• Desktop Office - Database, Graphs &
Charts, Wordprocessor Spreadsheet,
Communications £98
• Desktop Folio - Wordprocessor, Desktop
& Interactive Publishing. Ideal for school
environment. £75
A3000 I/O Card
(User, Analogue & IIC)
This NEW versatile I/O Card from Watford, fits inside
the A3000 and includes an Analog to Digital Converter,
a User Port, and an InterIC (IIC) connector.
The card allows many of the peripherals developed for
the BBC to be used with the Archimedes A3000. The
ADC and User Port have the same pin out and
connectors as the BBC computers.
Extensive RISC OS software is supplied to provide BBC
OSBYTE calls for support of the ADC and User Ports,
including the BASIC keyword ADVAL. The software
provides extended RISC OS support for separate
interrupts from both the ADC and User Ports, permitting
easy interrupt driven operation.
The card is provided with all the software in ROM and is
automatically loaded when the machine is turned on.
Peripherals connected to the ports can obtain up to
500mA of power at +5V. A fuse is fitted to the card to
protect the A3000 from damage arising from accidental
short circuit of the power output.
The card is provided with an extensive manual
explaining installation, all software commands,
connector pin outs, hardware addresses and example
programs.
Features
• An 8 bit User Port with a standard 20 way IDC
connector, compatible with the User Port on the BBC
computers and the Archimedes I/O Podule.
• A 10 bit Analog to Digital Converter with a standard
15 way D type connector, compatible with the ADC
on the BBC range of computers and the Archimedes
I/O podule.
• An InterIC (IIC) Port with a 5 pin DIN socket to
connect the A3000 to external IIC devices.
£42
LANGUAGES (Archimedes)
ISO-PASCAL; FORTRAN 77 £77 each
Assembler; LISP; Prolog X £149 each
ANSI C Rel. 3
£125
BASIC Compiler
£77
Cambridge Pascal
£60
Logotron Logo
£45
Macro Assembler
£40
Rise Basic
£120
Robo Logo
£69
Rise FORTH
£110
Watford proudly introduces its new innovative
256 grey-level hand scanner for the
Archimedes range of micros. It offers up to
400 dpi scanning resolution, complete with
software.
256 Grey-Scale Scanner is ideal for
incorporating pre-drawn logos, artwork,
photographs and sketches into desktop
publishing documents and other graphics
programs. Designed by our own R & D team,
it offers the best overall scanning solution for
Archimedes micro. Just compare the
competition on our price and these
outstanding features:
• Full 105mm 400dpi scanning operation in
just 3mS per line! (Twice as fast as most
scanners.)
• Selectable 256/16/4 grey levels
• Full scan preview, scale to fit windows
• Complete set of image enhancement tools
• Single width podule
• True brightness and contrast control
• Fast RISC OS printing
• Five-function edge detection software,
Laplace convolution matrix image
enhancement, image smoothing, etc.
Special Launch Price
£185
ARM 3 Turbo Card
Simply The Best
Here it is at last - the all new Mark 2 version
of Watford's highly acclaimed ARM 3
processor board for the Archimedes and now
also the A3000 series computers. Using the
latest surface mount technology on a high
quality four layer circuit board we have
reduced the overall size to a mere 53mm x
45mm, and the cost to only £199. Mk II
upgrade will increase the speed of your micro
by a factor of 3 to 6.
Any competent A300 or A400/1 series micro
owner can fit the upgrade himself, as we
provide full fitting instructions and a special
ARM chip extraction tool. However for A3000
micros and those not wishing to perform the
upgrade themselves, we will collect, upgrade
and return your micro by courier service, at an
additional cost of £18.
(A300 and old A440 series owners please note
- you will need to upgrade to MEMC1 A for
ARM3 to work.)
In response to many of our customers
requests, we have extended the Offer Price to
28/2/1992.
RRP £249
Offer Price £185
Acorn have satisfactorily evaluated Watford's
ARM 3 upgrade and the A3000 upgrades are
fitted by Acorn approved surface mount
technology centre, therefore its fitment will not
invalidate Acorn's warranty on the micro.
Continued-* -*-*-*-*-*-»-*-♦
BBC MASTER
MASTER 128K Micro incl. Acorn’s
View, Viewsheet, ADFS, BASIC Editor
& TERMINAL plus FREE OFFER
(see below) £399
Archi Real-Time Digitiser
FREE OFFER
A 5.25” Double Sided, 40/80 track
switchable 400K Disc Drive
complete with cables and a Utilities
disc incl. 2 games, plus
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.
FREE with every BBC Master purchased
from us during February
Add-Ons & Accessories
Econet Module for the Master
£45
Twin ROM Cartridge for Master
£9
Quad ROM Cartridge for Master
£14
Master Reference Manual 1
(No VAT) £14
Master Reference Manual II
(No VAT) £14
Master Advance Ref Manual
(No VAT) £17
64K Upgrade Kit for B+
£32
Acorn 1772 DFS Kit complete
£49
ECONET Upgrade Kit for BBC B
ALL ECONET UPGRADES Available
£42
ARIES’ IEEE Interface for BBC B & Master £238
Morley Teletext Adaptor with ATS Rom £99
Ecolink
£270
Z88 Portable Micro
£179
FREE
With every Z88 purchased from us, we are
giving away absolutely FREE, a Z88 to BBC
Interface Link, 4 rechargeable batteries and
a compact Mains Battery Charger worth £38.
Z88 ACCESSORIES
• 32K RAM Pack or 32K EPROM Pack
• 128K RAM Pack or 128K EPROM Pack
• 512K RAM Pack
• Z88 Eprom Eraser Unit
• Z88 Spellmaster for Pipedream
• Z88 Carrying Case
• Z88 Computing Book
• AA Nicad Rechargeable Battery
• Battery Charger Compact & Fast
• Z88 Serial Printer Cable
• Z88 Parallel Printer Cable
• Z88 to Archi Link
• Z88 to BBC Link £8
• Z88 to PC Link II £27
Z88 to Macintosh £32
Z88 Mains Adaptor £9
• Z BASE
• Z TAPE
• Z TERM
• Z88 Modem
£16
£32
£86
£38
£40
£8
£9.95
£1.50
£6
£8
£18
£15
£56
£42
£42
£114
Now supplied with NEW RISC OS Version
Software
Watfords’ Archimedes Video Digitiser is the most
sophisticated digitiser ever designed for a micro. It
provides a fast and flexible means of capturing
images from a video camera or recorder for display
and manipulation on the Archimedes range of
Micros. Off-air televison signals may also be
digitised via a video recorder or TV tuner. Please
write for further details.
Price £139
A Set of Colour Filters for colour image grabbing
using a video camera £1 6
Archi Graphic Tablet
The Archi Graphic Tablet offers performance and
accuracy comparable to other tablets priced at well
over £400, and has the useful addition of a liftable
cover, which can hold tracing material or menu
templates securely. The package is supplied
complete with sophisticated Archi software. (Now,
fully LinCAD compatible. Recommended by Linear
Graphic for use in Education).
(FREE this month, PC Mouse Drivers
& Art package)
Special Price £175
(Price includes Tablet, Leads, Software & Puck)
Stylus Optional Extra £15
Archi Graphic Tablet Junior. Working
area 9" x 6". Price includes Stylus £110
Disc Plonker
Rack
When using ones micro,
there is a tendency to have
more than one Disc on the
desk. This exposes them to
the hazards of finaerorints.
scratches, dust, coffee and
an untidy desk. Why not protect your valuable data
from all these hazards with the help of our
extremely handy and low cost DISC PLONKER
RACK. Holds up to eight 5.25" discs.
Protection at Only: £2
Acorn & Watford DFSs
• Watford sophisticated DFS ROM £16.00
• Watford DFS Kit complete £69.00
• We will exchange your existing ROM for
Watford’s ultimate DFS ROM at only £12.00
• DFS Manual (comprehensive) £6.95
• Acorn DNFS ROM £17.00
• Acorn ADFS ROM only £25.00
• Acorn 1 772 DFS ROM Kit £49.00
(The single Density DFS system is now old
technology. Like Acorn, Watford too have decided
to replace it with the their more up-to-date 1770
DDFS interface. We have informed most of the
software houses of this decision in order that they
can ensure compatibility with our highly
sophisticated and fully Acorn compatible DDFS).
Watford's Mkll 1772
Single/Double Density DFS
Many of our customers have wanted to use our
superior DDFS and Acorn ADFS together. Now our
Mk II DDFS Board with its 1770 Disc Controller,
has been adapted to allow the use of Acorn ADFS
as well. It also has all the commands of the Acorn's
1770 DFS, plus the added features.
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 these!
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 £39.00.
• SPECIAL PRICE £44.00
• DDFS Manual (No VAT) £6.95
• We will exchange your existing DFS Kit for our
sophisticated DDFS for only £30.00
Please note, as the Mkll DDFS is a hardware and
sofware upgrade, it is not possible for existing
Watford DDFS users to simply exchange the ROM
for the new version.
B
3M - Diskettes
3M - SCOTCH Diskettes with Lifetime warranty
from Watford Electonics your 3M Appointed
Distributor
• 10 x 5.25” S/S D/D 40T (744)
• 10 x 5.25” D/S D/D 40T (745)
• 10 x 5.25” S/S D/D 80 Track (746)
• 10 x 5.25” D/S D/D 80 Track (747)
• 10 x 5.25" 1.6M D/S D/D High Density for IBM
XT and AT £9
• 10 x 3.5” S/S D/D 40/80 Track £7
• 10 x 3.5” D/S D/D 40/80 Track £7
• 10 x 3.5” Double Sided High Density £13
£5
£5
£7
£7
HI
Top Quality 3.5" &
5.25" Diskettes
To complement our range of Quality Discs and Disc
Drives. WE are now supplying SPECIAL OFFER
packs of 10 Lifetime guaranteed discs. Each disc
has a reinforced hub ring. Supplied complete with
selfstick labels and a Plastic Library Disc Box.
• 10 x M3 3.5” D/S D/D 80 Track £7
• 10xM9 3.5 " D/S High Density £12
• 10 xM4 5.25 ” S/S D/D 40 Track £5
• 10 xM5 5.25" D/S D/D 40 Track £5
• 10 xM7 5.25” D/S D/D 80 Track £7
• 10 xM8 5.25” D/S H/D Hi-Density £9
• M2 3” Double Sided £2.50 each
CREDIT CARD 24 HOUR
Ansaphone Hot Lines
ES
(0923) 250234 or 233383
Quality Disc Drives from
Watford
All our Disc Drives are Double Sided and will
operate in both Single and Double Density modes.
All 5.25 " Disc Drives are 40/80 track switchable.
For ease of use, the switches are front mounted.
Various UK “manufacturers" of disc drives for the
BBC Micro (more accurately, ” packagers " label
other manufacturers drives with their own name).
We buy the high quality NEC 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, 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.
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 a Watford plinth. (Turn to the
6th page of our advert for the Plinths).
P.S. All our 5.25" Disc Drives with PSU are
compatible with the Compact Micro. All you require
is our special Compact Disc Drive cables designed
by us.
“Test Bureau Approved for Use in
Education”
Type
Description
• CLS400S:
• CLD800S:
Disc Drive without PSU
£70
Single, 40/80 track 400K
Double sided Drive
Twin, 40/80 track, 800K
Double sided Drives £138
Disc Drive with PSU
• CS400S:
• CD800S:
Single, 40/80 track, 400K
Double sided Drive
£80
Twin, 40/80 track, 800K
Double sided Drives £153
Special Cable to connect both 3.5” and 5.25”
Disc Drives simultaneously to the BBC
Compact £13
Disc Drive/DDFS Offer
• The popular CLS400S 40/80 track switchable
disc drive.
• Watford’s popular Mk II DDFS Interface (allows
up to 720K storage). Will run both in single &
double density modes.
• A comprehensive DFS Operating manual
Bargain at Only £116 (Offer valid until stocks last)
3.5" DISC DRIVE
These top quality 3.5” Double sided, 80 track, are at-
tractively finished in BBC beige. They are supplied
complete with all cables and a Utilities Disc.
Type
• CLS35:
• CLD400S
Description
Disc Drive without PSU
Single Disc Drive, 400K £62
Twin Disc Drives, 800K £109
Disc Drive with PSU
• CS35: Single Disc Drive, 400K £83
• CD35: Twin Disc Drives, 800K £126
(P.S. CS35 is supplied in a twin case with a
blanking plate to enable easy expansion to a dual
drive at a later stage)
Disc Drive Sharer
(Ideal for educational establishments)
A low cost alternative to the Econet
system. Watford’s Intelligent Disc Drive Sharer
allows you to connect 3 BBC Micros (model B, B+
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.)
Price includes 3 Cables £55
Disc Drives in Monitor Stand
• CDPM 800S- Twin 5.25", 800K Double
sided 40-80 track switchable disc drives mounted
in an attractively finished Beige colour plinth for the
BBC B & Master 128K micros. Supplied complete
with integral power supply, cables and Utilities disc.
The mains switch with neon On/Off light indicator,
and the two 40/80 track switches are mounted on
the front panel for ease of use.
£165
• DP35 800- Same as above except, one disc
drive is a 5.25" and the other is 3.5".
£154
Floppy Head Cleaner Kit
The heads in floppy drives are precision made and
very sensitive to dirt. The use of 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 3.5" &
5.25", please specify.
Price £4
Antistatic Lockable Disc
Storage Units
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 up to 50 5.25” discs £4.95
• M85 - holds up to 95 5.25" discs £6.95
• M25* - holds up to 25 3.5” discs £4.95
• M50 - holds 50 3.5" discs £6.50
• Ml 0 - holds 8 of No. 10 Data Cartridges £15
* Not lockable
Plastic
Library Cases
Holds up to 10 x 3.5” Discs.
Holds up to 10 x 5.25" Discs.
£1.50
£ 2.00
Dust Covers (For our Disc Drives)
Single CLS (without PSU)
Single CS (with PSU)
Twin CLD (without PSU)
Twin CD (with PSU)
£3.20
£3.25
£3.85
£3.90
Disc Albums
Attractively finished in black leather-look vinyl.
Stores up to 20 discs. Each disc can be seen
through the clear view pocket.
£4
Special Bulk Offer
on Discs
(Supplied packed in Anti-Static Lockable
Storage Units)
(Lifetime warranty on Discs)
y
BULK PACK DISCS in lots of 100
S/S D/S D/S
Type 40T 40T 80T
• Without Sleeves 5.25” £30 £35 £40
• With Sleeves 5.25" £33 £38 £43
• 3.5” D/S D/D £27 for 50 £49 for 100
Continued-
5
.
k
^Tr
Microvitec Monitors
• 1431 - Standard Resolution Monitor £169
• 1451 - Medium Resolution Monitor £209
• Cub3000 Medium Res for A3000 £189
• 1441 - High Resolution Monitor £359
• Dust Cover for Microvitecs £5.50
• Touchtec 501 Touch Screen £239
Now 3 years Parts & Labour warranty on all
Microvitec Monitors
Multiscan Colour
• Eizo 9060S
£389
• NEC 6FG
£1525
• Eizo 9070S
£579
• Taxan 770LR
£362
• NEC 3FG
£370
• Taxan 775
£362
• NEC 4FG
£465
• Taxan 795
£402
• NEC 5FG
£850
• Taxan 875
£685
• VIDC Enhancer Board
£25
(P.S. Taxan 795 monitor is supplied with
a FREE VIDC enhancer board)
Aries AlphaScan Monitor
Pound for Pound, the AlphaScan VGA
Multiscan monitor provides the maximum
performance and greatest flexibility of any
14" colour monitor for the Archimedes micro.
Its multiscan circuitry provides automatic
adjustment for frequencies between 30 and
60KHz horizontal, and 50 and 90Hz vertical.
Its 0.28mm dot pitch high resolution tube
provides super sharp text graphics, while a
high speed (70/72Hz) refresh rate provides a
flicker-free display easing the eye strain. The
Multivideo VIDC Adaptor supplied (free) with
the monitor allows high resolution operation
in all screen modes.
£325
Philips Monitors
• BM7502 12” Hi-res Green Monitor
• BM7522 12” Hi-res Amber Monitor
• CM8833 14" Med. Res Colour Monitor
• Dust Cover for Philips Monitors
£67
£67
£165
£6
STAR BUY
PHILIPS 14" Medium Res, dark glass,
attractively finished Colour Monitor. A push-
button switch toggles between Hi-Res
monochrome green text mode and full colour
display. (Please state the type of Connecting
^ ONLY £164
Refurbished Monitors
Philips 14“ Refurbished Colour Monitors,
same specification as the 'Star Buy’
Monitors above £119
(Offer valid while stocks last)
Spare Monitor Leads
BNC Lead for Zenith or Philips £3
Skart Monitor Lead £5
RGB lead for TAXAN Monitors £3
Archimedes Colour Monitor Lead £7.50
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 wordprocessor users.
Aries 2000 Colour Monitor
1
i
Star Printers
This attractively finished, etched screen medium res
monitor is supplied complete with built-in speaker,
volume control and video output. All controls are
located on the front panel for ease of use. Ideal for
BBC, BBC Master, Archimedes and Amiga.
A bargain at £159
Watford VIDC Enhancer
This unique VIDC add-on board for the Archimedes,
caters for all types of Multiscan and VGA monitor
and mode requirements. There are 2 versions to suit
all requirements. The multimode software supplied,
provides all the new modes for the selected monitor
type, including the now standard Computer
Concepts modes. With VGA monitor, you are no
longer restricted to a few modes. A WIMP
application supplied on disc, allows new modes to
be designed and existing modes to be modified for
particular monitors.
Super VGA VIDC Card: This provides support for
both VGA and Multisync monitors. A unique
electronic design allows the horizontal and vertical
sync to be buffered and have the polarity changed
under software control
£45
MultiVideo VIDC Card: As above but for MultiScan
monitors only.
£25
Panasonic Printers
£129
• KX-P1654
*£335
£173
• KX-P1695
£272
£100
• KX-P2624
*£295
£272
* Price includes 12 months On-site warranty
Cut Sheet Feeders
P36 - 1 1 24/24 i £79 P37 - 1 1 23/70/80
P38 - PI 624/95; P2624
Buffers
P12 4K Buffer Board for KX-P1 081
P14 32K Buffer P1 123/24/70/80
PI 540/92/95; PI 624/54/95
Serial Interfaces
PI 9 for PI 123/24/24i/70/80/1 624/54/95/2624
£69
£129
£55
£16
£49
Citizen Printers
• 120D Plus £100 • Swift 9 £129
• 124D £145 • Swift 24E# £249
•224 £185 • Swift 24X £299
• PN-48 £209 *PN48 Ribbon £4
• FREE Colour Option with Swift 24E
• Swift 24 Colour Option £29
• Swift 24 Ribbons Black £4 Colour £13
• Citizen/Archimedes Colour Printer Driver £1 5
Integrex Colour Jet
• Colour Jet 132 Printer
£449
• Paper Roll
£6.50
• BBC Screen Dump Software
£10
• Colour Cartridge
£21
• Black Cartridge
£12.40
• 100 A4 OHP transparencies
£55
• 8K Serial Interface Optional
£123
• LC15
£173
• SJ48 Inkjet
£174
• LC20
£100
• XB24-200 Colour £295
• LC24-10
£133
• XB24-250 Colour £355
• LC24-15
£240
• XB24 Colour kit
£29
• LC24-200
£164
• ZA200 Colour
£234
• LC24-200 Colour£203
• ZA250
£297
• LC200 Colour
£143
• Star/Archimedes Colour Printer Driver
£15
Star Accessories
Cut Sheet Feeder
LC 10/200/24- 10 £65 LC15/LC24-15
XB24-10 £80 XB24-15
Serial Interfaces
8K Ser LC-200; LC24-200; FRIO; FR15;
£125
£139
XB24-10; XB24-15
£55
Paper Roll Holders
LC-200; LC24-200; LC24-200 colour
£29
Buffers
32K Ram Card for LC/XB24-10;
15; LC200 £55
Ribbons
LC10; LC10-II; LC15 Black £4;
Colour £6
LC-200; LC24-200 Black £5;
Colour £12
XB24-10; XB24-15 Black £5;
Colour £12
Laser Printers
All Laser Printers include 12 months
On-site maintenance
• Canon LBP-4+
4ppm
£575
• Canon LBP-8 III
8ppm
£970
• Canon LBP-8 IIIR
8ppm
£1440
• Canon LBP-8 HIT
8ppm
£1340
• Epson EPL4100
6ppm
£620
• Epson EPL7500
6ppm
£1159
• HP Laserjet IIP+
£625
• HP Laserjet III
8ppm
£1015
• HP Laserjet HID
8ppm
£1720
• HP Laserjet HIP
4ppm
£695
• HP Laserjet lllsi
16ppm
£2695
• Panasonic KX-P4420
8ppm*
£620
• Panasonic KX-P4450i*
11 ppm*
£925
• Panasonic KX-4455 Postscript 11 ppm*
£1450
• Panasonic KX-P4430 Satin Print
£999
• Star LP-8 III 2
8ppm
£1249
• Star LP-8 III
8ppm
£910
• Star LP-8 Star(post)script
8ppm
£1140
• Star LP-4
4ppm
£565
• Star LP-4PS Postscript
4ppm
£779
* Now with 2 years On-site warranty
Laser Toners
Canon 2, 3 & 4
£46
KX-P4420/50
£19
Epson GQ
£13
Laserjet HP IIP & HIP £42
EPL7100
£82
Laserjet ll/D, Ill/D
£48
Star LP-8
£56
Qume Crystal (3)
£58
Laser RAM
Upgrades
• IIP & III 1MB
£56
• EPL7100 256K
£39
• IIP & III 2MB
£88
• GQ5000 51 2K
£42
• II & IID 1MB
£64
• KX4420/50 1M
£75
• II & IID 2MB
£99
• KX4420/50 2M
£115
• II & IID 4MB
£146
• KX4420/50 4M
£195
• Canon LBP4 1M£105
• Star LP8 1M
£139
• Canon LBP8 2M£125
• Star LP8 2M
£275
Laser Drum & Developer
• Epson Drum GQ5000 £93
• Panasonic 4420 Drum £60
• Panasonic 4450 Drum £93
• Qume Drum £76
EPL7100 £129
Developer £59
Developer £80
Developer £56
Jetpage Postscript Cartridge
• HP IIP/III £229 IID & HID
£235
Various Add-Ons
• Laserjet Appletalk Interface £1 35
• HP Adobe Postscript £399
• Pacific Page Postscript £259
• HP Premier Font Collection £28
• Jetfont Superset for II & IID £127
• Laserjet various Font cartnoges from £45
Hewlett-Packard Printers
• ft Desk Jet 500 £275 •PaintjetXL £1045
• Desk Jet 500 Col. £475 • Quiet Jet Plus £384
• Desk Jet Cartridge £14 • HP Think Jet £265
• Paint Jet Colour £430
• Now 3 years extended Parts & Labour warranty
• Paintjet Cartridges Black £19; Colour £25
• Desk Jet 500 256K RAM cartridge £1 29
• HP Epson FX Emulation Cartridge for Desk Jet £59
• Desk Jet Unlimited (Book No VAT) £1 9.75
Canon Bubblejet Printers
D'ble
Ink
Printer
CSF
Bin
Cart
BJ10EX
£185
£43
£16
BJ300
£337
£88
£65
£12
BJ330
£380
£110
£79
£12
BJC800C £1549
• Spare Battery pack for BJ10E
£33
NEC Pinwriter Printers
• P20 £180 • P70 £419
• P30 £240 • P90 £635
• P60 £335
• P60/70 Colour Option Kit £59
• Ribbons Black for P20/30 £6 for P60/70/90 £7
• Ribbons for P60/70/90 Black £9 Colour £13.50
Cut Sheet Feeders
P20 £59; P30 £85; P60 £89; P70/90 £80
Plotters
• HP7440A
£415
• HP7475A
£592
Roland Plotters
• DXY 1100
£495
• DXY1200
£625
• DXY1300
£825
• DXY2500
£2345
• DXY3500
£2955
• Sketchmate
£310
• Roland plotter Pens, Fibre tip
£7.50
Listing Paper (Perforated)
• 1 ,000 Sheets 9.5" x 1 1” Fanfold Paper £7
• 2,000 Sheets 9.5" x 11” Fanfold Paper £11
• 1 ,000 Sheets 9.5” x 1 1 ” NCR 2 Part Fanfold £21
• 1 ,000 Sheets 1 5" x 1 1 " Fanfold Paper £9
• 2,000 Sheets 1 5” x 1 1 ” Fanfold Paper £1 6
• 1 ,000 Sheets true A4 Fanfold Paper 70gms £11
• 2,000 Sheets true A4 Fanfold Paper 70gms £21
• 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)
1 ,000 90 x 36mm (Single Row) £6.00
1 ,000 90 x 36mm (Twin Row) £6.25
1 ,000 90 x 49mm (Twin Row) £7.50
1 ,000 1 02 x 36mm (Twin Row) £6.75
Laser Printer Labels on A4 Sheets
Universal
Printer Sharers/Changer
Connect up to 5 Micros to 1 printer or 5 printers to
1 Micro with our combined, Sharer/Changer switch
boxes.
Standard Low Cost Type
Connects
Serial
Parallel
• 2 to 1
£10
£11
• 3 to 1
£13
£14
• 4 to 1
£16
£17
Professional Type
Connects
Serial
Parallel
• 2to1
£17
£18
• 3 to 1
£22
£25
• 5 to 1
£34
£38
Cables extra at £6 each
2 Way Compact Printer Switch
A handy 2 way printer switch can be attached to
the micro or monitor for ease of use.
• Centronics £1 8; • Serial £1 7
(Cables extra at £6 each)
Auto Printer Sharer Switch
Connects Serial Parallel
2 to 1 £40 £45
4 to 1 £62 £49
8 to 1 - £89
Epson Printers
DFX5000
£1079
LQ1060 Colour
£595
DFX8000
£1979
LQ1070
£315
FX850
£264
LQ1170
£437
FX1050
£336
LQ2550+
£675
LQ200
£162
LX400
£101
LQ450
£165
LX850+
£140
LQ570
£205
LX1050
£206
LQ860 Colour
£440
SQ850
£432
LQ870
£368
SQ2550
£625
Cut Sheet Feeders for
LX400/800/850/LQ400/500/550 £69
EX800/FX800/850/LQ800/850 £1 30
FX/LQ 1 000/1 050/SQ850 £1 59
LQ 2550 £390 SQ2550 £390
Tractor Feed for
LQ800 £44; LQ850/FX850 £69; LQ1050/
FX1050 £85; LQ2500 £90; LQ2550 £90.
Accessories
• EX800/1 000 Colour Option £45
• EX800/1 000 Colour Ribbon £1 4
• LQ2500 Colour Option £65
• Multifont Card for LQ550/850/1 050 £95
Epson Printer Interfaces
All these interfaces fit inside the printer
RS232 £28 RS232 + 2K Buffer £52
Printer Leads
BBC Centronics 4’ long £5
BBC Centronics 6’ extra long £7
Compact’s Special Centronics Lead £7
Nimbus Centronics Lead £6
IBM/Archimedes Parallel Lead 6’ £4
IBM/Archimedes Parallel Lead 5 metres £10
IBM/Archimedes Parallel Lead 10 metres £15
Double Ended 36 way Centronics Lead 4’ £7
Double Ended 36 way Centronics Lead 6’ £9
MSX Centronics Parallel Lead 4’ £12
RS232 Leads (Various) P.O.A.
IBM Keyboard extension lead coiled £5
Concept Keyboards
Standard A3 Keyboard with BBC Software £143
Standard A4 Keyboard with BBC Software £117
Archi A3 Keyboard £144
Archi A4 Keyboard £118
3750 70 x 29mm (3 Rows) £13.50
3000 70 x 37mm (3 Rows) £13.25
2625 70 x 42mm (3 Rows) £13.00
Printer Ribbons &
Various Dust Covers
Type Ribbons Dust Covers
BBC Micro
-
£3.50
BBC Master
-
£4.00
Archimedes Micro pair
-
£9.00
Citizen 120D
£2.75
£4.50
DMP2000
£2.75
£4.75
DMP4000
£3.75
£4.85
EX800/1000
£3.50
£5.00
RX/FX80/85/800/MX80
£2.95
-
FX/MX/RX1 00/1 000
£3.95
-
Kaga/Taxan KP810/815
£3.25
£5.00
LQ400/500/550/800/850
£3.25
£6.00
LQ1050/LQ2500
£4.00
-
LX80/86/800/850
£2.75
£4.50
LX400
£3.50
£5.00
M1009/GLP
£2.95
£3.75
NEC P2200
£4.50
£5.00
Panasonic KX1 080/81
£3.25
£4.75
Panasonic KX-P1124
£7.00
£5.00
Star LC24-10
£2.95
£6.00
Olivetti Ink Jet
Cartridges (set of 4)
£6
Original Panasonic Ribbons
Guaranteed to last 3 million characters
P110 for KX-P1081, 1592 & 1595 £6
P115 for KX-P1180 £7 P145 forKX-P1124 £7
PI 40 forKX-P1540 £8 P155 for KX-P1624 £8
Colour Ribbons for KX-P1081, 1592 & 1595
Brown, Blue or Red £9 each
Professional Printer Stand
The 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. Its ergonomic design ensures
smooth paper flow and automatic refolding.
80 Column version £24 (carr. £3)
132 Column version £29(carr. £4)
256k Multi Spooler
These Auto Parallel Printer Sharers have built-in
256K of Printer Buffers. They can be used as Auto
Sharers, Printer Buffers or both.
• 2 ln/2 out £135 *4 ln/2 out £169
• 8 ln/1 out £199
Compact Converter Units
Serial to Parallel £36 Parallel to Serial £37
• Laser Direct Qume 6ppm complete £769
• Special High Res Card 600 DPI for Canon
LPB 4 & LPB 8 Laser Printers £325
• LPB 4 Printer plus High Res Card £899
• LPB 8111 Printer plus High Res Card £1299
Perspex Printer Stand
Give your Computer System a touch of Class with
our elegant, smoke finished Perspex Printer stand.
80 Column version £16 (carr £3)
136 Column version £20 (carr £4)
Continued-* -*-*-*-►-*-*-*-*
THE NEW Mk III
AMX MOUSE
BEEB
VIDEO DIGITISER
• Quest Mouse III & Quest Paint £59
• Quest Mouse III, Quest Paint, AMX
Stop Press & Pagefont £89
• Quest Mouse III only £30
• Quest Paint Software only £34
• Quest Font Disc (22 Text Fonts) £15
• Quest Mouse Mat (Red or Blue or
Green please specify) £3
• Quest Colour Dump Disc - This new
software allows you to print direct from
Quest Paint to your Integrex Colour
Printer £18
(P.S. Quest Paint is not compatible
with BBC Compact)
Quest Paint is the winner of the BBC Acorn User
1990 Award for the Best Art/Graphics software
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.
ConQuest ROM Package £30
(Price includes software in ROM and a
comprehensive Manual).
(Not Compatible with BBC Compact)
ARCHI Mk II MOUSE
An extremely reliable replacement mouse
for Archimedes Micro £32
Quest - Tracer ball
An attractively finished, extremely reliable, mouse
replacement, input device. Requires very little desk
space. Connects directly to your BBC B, BBC
Master or Archimedes Micro.
QT-10 BBC/Master Version £25
QT-20 Archimedes Version £26
RB2 Marconi
TRACKER BALL
RB2 (AMX/Quest compatible)
£36
RB2 including Quest Paint
£69
RB2-A for Archimedes
£37
• AMX Mouse plus Super Art £54
(Please specify for BBC, Master or Compact)
• AMX MOUSE ONLY £29
• AMX SUPERART Package £29
• AMX STOP PRESS - A Desktop
publishing software. Works with
Keyboard, Joystick or a mouse £25
• PAGE-FONTS - Over 20 Fonts for
use with AMX Pagemaker £13
• AMX DESIGN (ROM) £34
• AMX XAM Educational £15
• AMX EXTRA EXTRA £16
• AMX MAX A gem of desktop (ROM) £20
• MOUSE MAT £3
WE Mouse House
Treat your mouse to a cosy Mouse House. This
handy little gadget solves the problem of where to
store your mouse when it is having a rest. Made of
sturdy plastic, the WE Mouse House attaches to
the side of your computer, monitor, disc drive or
desk.
It protects it from damage when not in use, yet
within easy reach when you need it again. At £4 it
does not cost a rodent’s ransom.
Price £3
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
includes FREE software Disc and Operating
Manual)
Only £19
Fleet Street Editor
Software pack for BBC Compact
£22
Fonts N Graphics Disc Utility
£13
XTRA Admin
£12
Walt Disney
£12
‘Test Bureau Approved for
Use in Education”
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. The
software supplied includes a sophisticated, fast
screen dump routine.
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.
£99
(BBC B+ and Master compatible, except Master
with Econet)
(Price includes) Digitiser Unit, Software
in ROM & a Comprehensive Manual)
Beeb Hand Scanner
Hand-held Scanner
for the BBC Micro
Watford Electronics are pleased to announce the
launch of the first hand held scanner for the BBC
Micro. HandScan is a compact unit which will allow
photographs, diagrams, or any other documents to
be digitised quickly and easily, to then be used in a
desk top publishing package, art program, or even
in your own Basic programs! These useful devices
have been available for faster and more expensive
micros for some time, but only now is Watford
Electronics able to offer the BBC Micro computer.
The HandScan plugs directly into the 1MHz bus on
the BBC while a comprehensive set of utilities
provided by the sophisticated ROM firmware. The
scanner has a resolution of either 100 DPI or 200
DPI when accuracy is essential. Pictures as wide
as 4” may be scanned in mode 0 and various types
of dithering may be selected to simulate the grey
levels of a scanned picture.
All necessary software has been included in the
firmware to allow the scanner to read images
directly into our Wapping Editor with little more than
the click of the mouse. The digitised picture may
then be incorporated into your magazine,
newsletter, report or any other document.
Beeb HandScan & Firmware £125
Wapping Art Disc
Archi Mk II
Hand Scanner
Winner of the BBC Acorn User 1990
Award for the Best DTP/Word Processor
The Wapping Editor
The Wapping Editor from Watford Electronics
represents a breakthrough in Desktop Publishing
for the Beeb. The package includes a 64K ROM
containing ALL the software needed to get into
print fast; a very sophisticated graphics module,
professional quality typesetting software, a word
processor, a comprehensive font editor for
designing your own typefaces, and a variety of
printer dumps. This mouse-driven system is
designed for the BBC B, the B+ and Master
computers and will take full advantage of any
Sideways and Shadow RAM that may be fitted. It
will run under DFS, ADFS and Network filing
systems and requires as a minimum just a single
40 track drive.
Included with the system is a utility disc containing
several high quality fonts, various utilities and a
ROM image of a Support ROM. A comprehensive
100 page manual completes the package. The
Support ROM contains routines to allow an area to
be rotated to any angle or distorted to any four-
sided shape. Also included are facilities to draw
ellipses at any angle and sectors, segments and
arcs (in Master or BBC B with Acom GXR).
Another of the features of the Support ROM is a
Turbo DFS' which gives DFS access times
comparable with those of ADFS.
Page Layout Section
The Wapping Editor may be used to create pages
of any size from an A6 to a full A3 page. If none of
the eight default page types suit your purpose, the
stand-alone page creation program may be used to
create pages to your own requirements. By using
proportionally spaced fonts and genuine
microspacing it is possible to print over 150
characters across an A4 page. A unique feature of
the Wapping Editor is the ‘A5 x 2’ page size
allowing two A5 pages to be printed side by side
onto a single A4 sheet.
The graphics module incorporates the facilities like:
pencil, brush, airbrush, polygon, circle, eclipse, fill,
cut & paste, etc.
Text may be typeset, either justified or unjustified,
in any font anywhere on the page. Simply select
which font and text document you wish to use, and
pull out a rectangle on the page where you want
the text to be - it’s as simple as that! Multiple
columns may be printed just as easily and a special
‘expand’ feature may be used to expand the
microspacing so that the document exactly fits the
space defined.
Word-Processor
The integral word processor is the ideal tool for
producing your text documents, although text can
of course be read in from any of the other popular
word processors such as View, Wordwise etc.
The Font Editor
The font editor module will allow you to design your
own typefaces or to modify the ones provided on
the utility disc. This sophisticated editor has
numerous functions designed to take the tedium
and frustration out of producing good looking, well
balanced fonts. Each character may be individully
proportionally spaced and characters of any size
up to 16 x 16 pixels may be defined.
Pictures may also be ‘grabbed’ from a video
source by using the Watford BEEB Video Digitiser.
Wapping Editor Software Pack £59
Wapping Editor plus Mouse £79
(Wapping Editor only works with Master Compact if
a Mertec Expansion box is fitted)
Over 250K of clip art to cut and paste into your
Wapping Editor pages. Pictures include maps,
transport, people, media, sport, games etc.
Two ‘ratio’ screens for use with hi-res and rotated
A5 pages to ensure images are not distorted when
printed out.
Music writing symbols in the form of pattern and
brush for quick production of manuscripts are
included together with staves.
There are two prepared hi-res pages layed out for
printing labels, both single and double width.
Ready made label designs are included but these
can be easily replaced with your own designs.
A Mode 0 screen dump routine is also included. To
pack such a large amount of data onto the discs
the screens have been compressed and routines to
compress and expand Mode 0 screens are
included on both discs. Using the packing routine
you can archive large numbers of screens onto a
single disc.
£15
Wapping Font Disc 1
Sixteen additional fonts, including smaller version
of Oberon and Daisy and two new sizes of the
standard font for the Wapping editor.
Also included are three Mode 0 screens containing
giant ‘headline’ fonts to cut and paste to create
extra smooth headlines.
Supplied complete with instructions.
£12
Wapping Font Disc 2
This new addition to our Wapping range of DTP
software provides you with additional 23 fonts for
the Wapping Editor DTP pack. (80 track discs
only). £13
Archi A4 Scanner
This most advanced Archi A4 image scanner is
supplied complete with ROM based podule
software. Features provided include facilities for
zooming in on an image and inverting the image in
X and Y directions, saving and printing of the sprite
created. Interactive help is supplied using the
!HELP application on the Acorn applications discs.
The 216mm scanning width can cope with both
desktop scanning of single sheets, photographs,
diagrams, etc., with its fast ten page automatic
document feeder, but it can also detach from the
feeder to become a convenient hand-held full page
scanner for larger documents or pictures.
Scanned image control can be freely adjusted in
increments of 10 dots per inch from 100 up to 400
dpi resolution with 64 levels of grey scaling. A built
in shading controller and manual brightness control
achieve optimum image clarity.
Unlike some scanners, which use a red light
source, the Watford scanner uses a yellow/green
source which vastly improves the light/dark
contrast, thus eliminating the effect where any red-
based colours are faded down to white and so do
not show up in the scanned image.
All these features and facilities combine to make
the Archi Page Scanner the fast and convenient
way in which to add that extra impact, interest and
clarity to documents, reports, instruction sheets,
manuals, news letters, etc., from your Archimedes
DTP package.
New Low Prices:
Archi A4 Scanner £349
Sheet Feeder for above £95
Scanner + Sheet Feeder £41 9
(Dealers Inquiry welcome)
Computer Concept Scanlight
• Scan-Light A4
• Scan-Light A4 + Sheet Feeder
• Scan-Light Junior mono
• Scan-Light Junior 256
£375
£475
£178
£215
Watford Electronics is now able to offer a complete
hand held scanning package, possibly the most
essential addition to any desk top publishing
system, for only £149. The package includes the
most comprehensive utility software available for
the Archimedes, a high quality hand held scanner,
and all necessary documentation to get you going
straight away.
SCANNER
The scanner is capable of scanning up to an
amazing 400 dots per inch (DPI)! The scanning
area is 4" wide, and the height is only limited by the
maximum amount of memory available. The dot
resolution may be switched to 100, 200, 300 or the
maximum 400 dpi. One of four operating modes
may be selected offering either pure monochrome
scanning, or one of three grey level modes. The
grey level modes use different size dither patterns
to represent up to 16 shades of grey. There is also
a dial to allow the "brightness" to be adjusted over
a wide range, in order to optimise the quality for
any specific image. The scanner interface is a
standard, single width, expansion card (podule)
which plugs into the Archimedes' backplane. The
socket on the rear panel connects the scanner by
1 .8 metres of cable.
SCANNER SOFTWARE
Full use is made of the windowing and the multi-
tasking facilities of RiscOS. The software is sup-
plied in a 64Kbyte ROM located on the interface
board. The scanner appears as a small icon on the
desktop icon bar, and the software is retrieved from
the ROM simply by clicking on that icon. As you
scan a page, the image appears in the scanning
window on the screen, scrolling up in real time. The
other facilities included in the software are.
Cropping and scaling to any size including stretch-
ing and squashing in X and Y direction separately.
Colour tinting.
X and Y flip.
Edge detection which turns solid objects into
outlines.
Selective directional copying which allows features
(i.e. lines or text) to be made thicker or thinner.
Scanned images may be saved as sprite files or
transferred directly into other RiscOS applications
(DTP, Draw, Paint) simply by dragging the sprite file
into the application's window. Sprites may also be
generated using anti-aliasing. This greatly
improves picture quality and is particularly effective
when scanning material with a range of grey tones,
such as photographs. Images can be printed on
any printer that is supported by a RiscOS printer
driver, with optional settings for portrait or
landscape modes, image scale and positioning.
Images are printed using the full resolution of the
printer and are not limited to the screen resolution.
On-screen help is provided via the RiscOS
interactive help facility. Calls are also provided in
the ROM for users wishing to write their own
software, incorporating the use of the scanner.
AHS-4 Archi 300/400 Version £1 49
AHS-3 Archi A3000 Version £1 69
Continued-*
Sideways ROM
ZIF Socket System
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) eliminates the
possibility of damage to your ROM pins when
inserting & extracting.
• The low profile of the socket allows unrestricted
access to the Keyboard.
• All data and address lines are correctly
terminated 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 professionals
and Hobbyists alike.)
• BBC, B and B+ compatible.
ONLY £18
BBC B 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
£11
Spare Cartridges
£2.75
Spare Rack
£1.65
ROM Cartridges for the
BBC Master
Will also accept the new larger Piggy Back
ROMs like: Interword, Interbase, Quest,
Conquest, etc
Twin £8; Quad £13
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 simultaneously, 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 £22
Watford Electronics' new Commander Joystick for
the BBC B and Master 128K has a unique dual
mode of operation giving selective free floating or
self centring fully variable control in both X and Y
axis directions. Commander is particularly good for
flight simulation and drawing programs.
Features:
• Direct connection to BBC Analogue input port -
no interface needed.
• Fully compatible with all BBC Joystick controlled
games programmes.
• Switchable springs allow selection of floating or
centring operation.
• Trim adjusters for both X and Y axes for fine
centre adjustment.
• Convenient stick mounted fire button with
additional base buttons.
Price: £15
32K Shadow RAM/Printer
Buffer Card Expansion Board
A MUST FOR WORD PROCESSING
Simply plug the ribbon cable plug into the 6502
socket and gain a massive 32K of extra RAM.
• While word processing, you don't wait for a slow
printer, type in text while printing and save on
expensive printer buffers.
• “VIEW” Wordprocessor users can now type in
letters in 80 columns and have up to 28K 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. (P.S. Only 12K
printer buffer can be used with Wordwise & WW+,
due to the way they are written).
• Unique facility to turn ROMs off and on again.
Only £54
(Price includes a comprehensive manual
and the ROM)
Commander
Joystick
ARIES
CORNER
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, Cobal, 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 you BBC micro - no flying leads to
connect and no soldering. Provision of the onboard
ROM socket means that the Aries-B32 control
ROM does not use up one of your existing ROM
sockets.
• Recommended by Computer Concepts for use
with their Inter series of ROMs.
Price: £59
Aries B-12
Sideways ROM Board
The B-12 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.
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 £36
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
instruments and control equipment. Using the
B488, up to 15 devices may be connected in a
single high-speed data network.
£238
Voltmace Joysticks
Delta 3B Single Joystick £10
Delta 3B Twin Joysticks £15
Delta 3C Joystick for Compact £1 0
Delta 14B Single Joystick £11
Delta 14B/1 Adaptor Module £12
Transfer Software Disc-Tape £7
Delta-Cat A mouse eliminator Joystick
for the Archimedes £24
Delta Base B
Analogue aircraft style yoke Joystick
to run in the analogue port of the
BBC B & Master 1 28 £25
ROM/RAM Card
Watford Electronics announced the first ever
commercial ROM board for the BBC micro, the
Watford Electronics 13 ROM Socket Board 9 years
ago. Following the success of this board, we have
designed what probably represents the ultimate in
expansion boards, Watford's ROM/RAM card.
• NO SOLDERING required to fit the board.
• NO User Port corruption (avoids problems with
the mouse, modems, Eprom Programmers, etc.)
• Fully buffered for peace of mind.
• Compatible with 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.
• 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.
Solderless Sideways ROM
Socket Board
The key features of this no fuss, easy to install card
are:
• Increases your BBC Micro's ROM capacity from 4
to 16.
• No soldering required.
• Very low power consumption.
• 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 £35
Battery Backup fitted £39
Battery Backup only £3
16K Sideways RAM £8
• Sideways RAM Utilities Disc for Solderless ROM
Board. Includes the options to load and save
ROM Images and the facility to use Sideways
RAM as Printer Buffer.
Only: £8
BBC Educational Software
• Letters to French Penpals - 11 years* £26
• French Programs with Henri Beret - The
programs in this series present vocabulary,
grammar and role-play phrases in the form of
animated games. 11-16 £22
• Six German Games - Aimed at pupils in their
first year, but useful as revision for more
advanced student of German. 12 years* £22
• More German Games - Aimed at pupils in their
2nd year of learning German. 12 years* £22
• The Cloze Program - Using context clues to
predict is much more than a gap filling exercise.
All ages £26
• An Introduction to Electronics - Brings together
all the basic electronics required for a GCSE
Physics or CDT course. 14-16 years £26
• Computer Control - This is a package of 3
programs simulating control of a greenhouse, a
robotic arm & a chemical plant. 14-16 years £26
• The Nuclear Reactor- An interactive, menu
driven program for GCSE pupils. Demonstrates
& explains nuclear fission & the chain reaction.
14-16 years £22
• PUNCMAN Learning punctuation
Puncman 1 & 2 for 7- 13 years £15
Puncman 3 & 4 for 8 - 14 years £15
Puncman 5 & 6 for 8 - 15 years £15
• Yes Chancellor - A chance to take over number
11 at Downing Street. 12 years* £18
• Letters & Pictures - Introduces phonic skills to
Infants 6-8 years £15
• Numbers & Pictures - Early number learning
is a great fun (4-6 years) £1 5
• Note Invaders - Budding musicians can learn
the notes on the Clef with this elegant game 3
programs (7 to Adults) £15
• Maps & landscapes No. 1 (9-14 years) £18
• Help Your Child learn Basic Map work No. 2
(9-14 years) £18
• Pirate - Educational Adventure (8-14 years) £15
• Spelling Week by Week (6-14 years) £18
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 ROMSPELL, 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.
PRICES:
• ROM/RAM card with 32k*DRAM £45
• ROM/RAM card with 64k DRAM £59
• ROM/RAM card with a massive 128k
DRAM £99
OPTIONAL EXTRAS:
• 16k plug-in Static RAM kit £8
• 16k DRAM for Upgrade £13
• Battery backup £3
• Read and Write protect switches £2 each
Complete ROM-RAM card with all options
fitted
£109
VISA
CREDIT CARD 24 HOUR
Ansaphone Hot Lines
a
(0923) 250234 or 233383
Maths with a Story 1 (Disc). 4 primary level
maths programs £20.00
Maths with a Story 2 (Disc). 4 further
maths programs. £20.00
Picture Craft (Disc) 6-14 age group. Pack
consists of flexible geometrical design &
colouring programs. £17.00
ECOLOGY O-Level program. £20.00
POLYMERS O-Level program. £20.00
Classification & Periodic Table O-Level. The
suite is supplied with its own database of
chemical elements which can be classified
according to your own rule. £20.00
ADVANCED TELETEXT SYSTEM £8.65
PERIOD TABLE SOFTWARE £20.00
Computers at Work - Primary £17.35
Electric Fields 6-14 years £1 1 .25
Espana Viva - 3 Discs £1 9.95
WHITE KNIGHT Chess game £16.00
A Vous La France £29.00
FUN SCHOOL 2 - Red: Under 6 yrs £1 2.00
FUN SCHOOL 2 - Green: 6-8 yrs £1 2.25
FUN SCHOOL 2 -Blue: 8 yrs*. £12.50
FUN SCHOOL 3 - Red £1 8.50
FUN SCHOOL 3 - Green £18.50
FUN SCHOOL 3 - Blue £18.50
Six French Games - Aimed at pupils in their
first year of French, but also useful as revision
for more advanced students 11 years* £26
More French Games - Another 6 games
12 years* £26
Au Restaurant and Accident de Route
12 years* £26
Boulogne and Oh-Les - 2 programs for
beginners £26
Archimedes Software
• Animated Alphabet
(3-6 yrs)
£21
• Arcventure
(8-12 yrs)
£29
• Bookbinder
£43
• Bumper Disc
£14
• Bumper Disc 2
£14
• Craftshop 1
£26
• Craftshop 2
£26
• Christmas Allsorts -
Clip Art (6-1 6 yrs) £16
• Converta-Key
£16
• Data Word
£16
• Desktop Stories
£35
• DigiSim
£35
• Dream Time
(5-7 yrs)
£23
• Droom
£19
• Farm (5-7 yrs)
£19
• Fleet Street Phantom
(9-13 yrs)
£25
• Fun School 2A Red
(up to 6 years)
£12
• Fun School 2A
Green (6-8 years)£14
• Fun School 2A Blue
(8 years*) £14
• Gate Array Teaching
System £68
• Glimpse Clip Art
Utility (7-16 yrs)
£8
• Highlighter
(6-16 yrs)
£42
• Jiglet
£27
• Jigsaw
£28
• Mapventure
(9-1 3 yrs)
£24
• Microbugs
£24
• Money Matters
£16
• Nature Park Adven-
ture (7-9 yrs)
£27
• Numerator
£60
• Picture Book
£16
• Recall (6-13 yrs)
£39
• Sellardore Tales
£24
• Snippet
£26
• Space Mission
Mada (9-13 yrs)
-
• Sting of the Dump
(9-13 yrs)
£22
• Target Maths
£16
• Viewpoints
(9-12 yrs)
£33
• Wizard's Revenge
(7-10 yrs)
£17
• Worst Witch
(7-10 yrs)
£25
Continued-* ->-*-*—*-*-*-*-♦
View Printer Driver
Discs
Computer Concept's
ROMS
Communicator
£49
Disc Doctor
£18
Inter BASE
£49
Inter CHART
£25
Inter SHEET
£37
Inter WORD
£36
Mega-3 ROM
£76
Spell Master
£42
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 test-segment area.
• BBC B, B+ and Master compatible.
Only £24
(N.B. Word Aid requires a Disc
interface in your Micro)
Acorn ROMS
View 3.0 ROM
£45
Viewsheet (Acornsoft)
£36
Viewstore
£36
Viewspell with 80 track
disc
£25
Viewplot Disc
£20
(Please specify for Master 128 or Compact)
View-Index
£12
Overview packs 1 & 2
£65
Hi-View
£38
MINI OFFICE II
DISC Version for BBC
B&B+ £14.00
DISC Version for BBC
Master £16.00
DISC Version for the
Compact £18.00
(When ordering please specify for
which Micro & 40 or 80 track Disc)
Epson FX&RX 80 £10
Juki & Brother HR £10
View Printer Driver
ROM
View is a powerful word processor, but
it seriously lacks in terms of printer
driver support. With the View Printer
Driver ROM, the View users will find
themselves in the realms of advanced
word processing.
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, LX,
JX80 range, HI80, KP81 0/910,
PW1080, JP101, HR15, Ml 009, GLP,
Panasonic KX-P1 081/2, 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, Redifinable 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.
Price: Only £29
CREDIT CARD
24 HOUR
Ansaphone Hot Lines
(0923) 50234 or 33383
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 trial 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.
Only £10 (Disc)
Acorn Speech Synthesizer
package complete, for the
BBC B Microcomputer
Special Offer £14
Copy
Holder
Whether you want to type in your
latest program or the draft of a new
trilogy, Watford’s manuscript holders
are superb for holding your paper at
the ideal height and angle to allow you
to read and type in ease and comfort.
Available in 2 full A4 versions, desk
resting and shelf clamping. Paper is
held firmly by means of a plastic
retaining ruler and a clip grip, (for
resting books or magazines, the desk
top version is recommended).
Desk Top £8 (carr. £3)
Angle poise £12 (carr. £3)
The Epson RX/FX/KAGA
Printer Commands
Revealed Handbook
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 PRINTER
COMMANDS REVEALED'.
This book describes in plain, easy to
understand English, how to use and
make the most of your KP810,
PW1080A or any other Epson FX80
compatible printers like Panasonic KX-
P1 080/1, etc., with the BBC Micro,
both from Basic and Wordwise.
It describes in detail how to obtain the
maximum in graphics capability from
your printer and includes full indexes
allowing you to cross index the
numerous commands. Every
command is explained in detail, with
an accompanying BBC Basic program
and an example of its use from
Wordwise.
£5.95 (No VAT)
ALL PRICES EXCLUDE
VAT
*
New Release
ACORN TO PC
BOOKS
(No VAT on Books)
15 Hr Wordprocessing BBC/View
£6.95
15 Hr Wordprocessing BBC/WW & WW+
£6.95
30 Hour BASIC (BBC Micro)
£12.95
1st Word Plus Rel. 2 Manual
£10.00
A3000 Technical Reference Manual
£29.00
Acorn DTP A Guide to
£17.00
Advanced User Guide for BBC
£10.95
Archimedes 1st Step - Beginners Guide
£9.95
Archimedes Assembly Language
£14.95
Archimedes BBC Basic Guide
£20
Archimedes DTP Manual
£10.00
Archimedes Operating System
£14.95
Archimedes Risc-Os Programmers
Reference Manual
£79.00
Assembly Language Quick Ref.
£21.95
BASIC 2- User Guide
£2
BasicV-ADabhand Guide
£9.95
BBC Basic Guide (Archimedes)
£19.95
BBC Micro -Within the
£11.95
BCPL User Guide
£9
C Big Red Book of
£8.95
C - A Dabhand Guide to
£14.95
C Programming Lang. 2nd Edition
£24.95
COMAL - Introduction to
£9.50
Deutsch Direkt! (Book only)
£5.95
DISC FILING SYSTEM (DFS)
Operating Manual for BBC
£6.95
FORTH on the BBC Micro
£9.95
ISO-PASCAL Reference Manual
£9.95
Master 512 Guide - Dabs Press
£9.95
Master Operating System
£12.95
Master Reference Manual Part 1
£14
Master Reference Manual Part 2
£14
Master Reference Manual - Advanced
£17
MINI OFFICE II -A Dabhand Guide
£9.95
Mouse User Guide to BBC Micro -
the Complete
£5.95
Example Programs on Disc for above
£4.95
PASCAL Programming
£10.95
Rise OS Style Guide
£9.95
RISC Technical Manual 260 pg
£14.95
The Epson FX-KAGA PRINTER
Commands REVEALED
£5.95
Understanding Interword -
A Beginners Guide
£4.95
View 3.0 User Guide
£10
View Guide (View 2.1)
£5.00
View, Viewsheet & Viewstore - Mastering £12.95
Viewsheet & Viewstore Dabhand Guide
£12.95
VIEW Dabhand Guide
£12.95
Viewsheet User Guide
£10
ViewsforeUserGuide
£10
Z88- A Dabhand Guide
£14.95
Z88 Computing
£9.95
Z88 Magic
£14.95
BOOKS for IBM
PC & Compatibles
1-2-3 For Business
£25.95
1-2-3 Mastering Release 3
£22.95
1-2-3 Mastering - 2nd Ed.
£20.95
1-2-3 Quick Reference
£8.45
1-2-3 Using - Rel. 3
£25.95
8086/8088 Ass. Language Quick Ref
£8.45
8086/8088 Programming the
£17.95
Accountancy software in Business - Using£14.95
Agenda- Using
£21.95
Aldus Pagemaker
£27.95
Aldus PageMaker - Using
£21.45
Amstrad9512- Using the
£10.95
Amstrad Basic 2 User Guide
£9.95
Assembly Language Quick Ref
£8.45
Autocad 4th Ed - Mastering
£31.50
Autocad- Mastering Through Rel. 10
£28.95
Autocad - Inside Release 11
£32.45
Autocad - Inside 6th Ed
£36.95
Autocad - Mastering Through Rel II
£28.95
C Introducing
£12.95
C Programming Language 2nd Ed
£26.95
C - Teach Yourself
£19.95
Clipper- Using 2nd Ed
£22.95
Computer Users Dictionary
£9.95
Corel Draw 2nd Ed Mastering
£25.50
Core! Draw Quick Ref Thro VI. 2 £7.95
Corel Draw made easy £24.95
Corel Draw v2 Quick Ref £8.45
dBase 3/4 Complete Ref £27.45
dBase III Plus - Complete Reference £19.95
dBase III Plus Handbook 2nd Edition £22.95
dBase Instant Reference (III & 111+) £10.95
dBase IV -Handbook £21.95
Desk Jet Unlimited £19.95
DOS & BIOS Function - Quick Ref Guide £7.95
DOS Instant Ref. £9.75
DOS Instant Reference (up to 3.3) £6.95
DOS Power Tools £46.45
DOS - Programmers Ref. Manual 2nd Ed £25.95
Excel for Windows - Quick Ref. £8.95
Fax - Management with £7.95
FAX - Managing with £12.95
Framework III - Mastering £24.50
GW Basic Users Guide & Ref £1 2.95
Hard Disc Instant Ref £10.95
Hard Disc management - Quick
Reference Guide to £4.95
Hard Disc - Using Your £27.45
IBM PC & PS/2 - Inside the 3rd Ed £21 .70
Microsoft GW BASIC £17.95
Microsoft Windows 3 - Using 2nd Ed £20.95
Microsoft Windows Illustrated £21 .95
Microsoft Word 5.5 - Using £20.45
MS-DOS -ABC’s of 2nd Ed. £17.95
MS-DOS Bible 3rd Edition £24.95
MS-DOS First Book £15.50
MS DOS for Beginners £1 7.45
MS-DOS Quick Ref Guide 5 £8.95
MS-DOS - Running 4th edition £19.95
MS-DOS - Supercharging 2nd Edition £17.95
MS-DOS Users Guide 3rd Edition £27.95
MS-DOS -Using £21.95
MS-DOS 5- Quick Start £18.45
MS-DOS 5 User Hand Book £1 9.95
MS-DOS 5 - Upgrading to £14.95
MS-DOS 5 Using £29.95
MS-DOS Tricks & Tips £16.45
Netware User Guide £23.95
Networking Personal Computers 3rd Ed. £20.95
Norton Utilities - Inside the £22.95
Novell Network - Mastering £27.95
Novell Network - The ABC of £21 .95
Novell Network - Using £27.45
PageMaker on IBM PC - Using £22.95
Pagemaker- Using £22.95
PCs & Compatible Computers for
Beginners £14.95
PC Crash Course 2.0 2nd Edition £1 9.95
PC Tools - Quick Ref £8.45
Programming Guide to EGA & VGA Cards £25.95
Quattro - Mastering Pro 3 £21 .95
Quattro Pro III - Using £25.95
Quatro Pro Quick Ref. £8.45
Smart -Using £21.45
Smartware II - Mastering £22.95
Smartware II - Using £27.45
Smart, tips, tricks and traps (QUE) £22.95
Supercalc 5 - Using £27.45
Supercalc Professional £17.95
Symphony Made Easy £19.95
Symphony - Using Special Ed. £27.45
Symphony 4th Edition - Mastering £24.95
Turbo C Bible £27.95
Turbo C++ £22.95
Turbo Pascal 5 - Using £22.95
Turbo Pascal Using £27.45
Unix- Using £27.45
Upgrading & Repairing PC’s £27.45
Ventura Mastering - 2nd Ed. £22.95
Ventura Publisher- Using £22.95
Ventura- Instant Reference £10.95
Ventura - 3rd Edition £24.95
Window Programming 2nd Ed £27.95
Window 3.0 Programming £27.95
Window 3.0 Quick Ref. £7.95
Word for Windows made easy £1 5.95
WORD for Windows - Using £22.95
Wordperfect5- Using £22.95
WordPerfect - Quick Reference V5 £8.45
WordPerfect 5. 1 - ABC’s of £1 8.95
WordPerfect 5.1- 1 st Book of £1 5.50
WordPerfect 5.1 - Mastering £24.95
WordPerfect 5. 1 Quick Start £1 8.45
WordPerfect 5.1 - Using Special Ed £25.95
WordPerfect for Beginners £1 7.45
Wordstar & CPM Made Easy £15.75
Wordstar Using 5.5 & 6 3rd Ed £25.95
Wordstar 6.0 Made Easy £1 5.95
Carriage on Books vary between £2 to
£4.00, depending on their weight
Stop the Confusion!
Do you have to use both Acorn
computers and PC’s? Would you like
to use your Archimedes or A3000 in
PC-emulation mode but are unsure of
the new commands?
Although Acorn machines (such as the
BBC B, the Master, the Archimedes
and the BBC A3000) are mainly used
in education, most commercial
computers use other operating
systems, particularly MS-DOS. As a
result school computer users are at a
disadvantage when moving into
’business’ computing. PCs and other
commercial computers use MS-DOS
as the operating system, so
commands for formatting, copying,
backing up, printing and the modem
are not the same. Even file names are
written differently! And did you know
that there is one Acorn command
which, if used in MS-DOS, wipes
everything in the current directory?
’ACORN TO PC’ enables you to
change over painlessly. It shows
clearly and quicly how, why and where
the two systems (Acorn and MS-DOS)
differ. As with a foreign language
dictionary, you can use the book to
transfer either way - from Acorn to
MS-DOS, or from MS-DOS to Acorn.
’ACORN TO PC’ also acts as a handy
reference guide to all Acorn star
commands and their MS-DOS
equivalents. It also has an extensive
and readable explanation of the
directory tree and hierarchical filing
systems in general. Both DFS and
ADFS Acorn systems are covered.
’ACORN TO PC’ is written clearly and
concisely by Dr. John Lockley, who
has wide experience of writing and
broadcasting. He is currently
appearing as a regular contributor on
Radio 5, and is co-author of ’The
Complete BBC Computer User
Handbook’.
Price: £12.95 (No VAT)
The Complete BBC
Computer User
Handbook
If you own a BBC B, B+, Electron,
Master 128 or Master Compact, or
Archimedes, then this is the book for
you. It shows how to get the best from
your machine, and how to make it
work for you. The general style and
level of presentation means that both
the expert and beginner alike will feel
comfortable with the quality and
quantity of the material.
Subjects covered include the general
use of computers, hardware design
and peripheral devices like printers,
disc drives, etc, and Networking.
Programming hints and tips and
various disciplines for making a better
program are discussed in some detail,
including debugging of specific errors.
Standard programs are covered, such
as wordprocessors, spreadsheets,
databases, graphics, communications,
etc., which brings you neatly on to the
subject of using computers in the office
or at work - even giving advice on
writing and marketing your own
programs.
A book you will enjoy to use as a
reference, or read from cover to cover,
over and over.
Only: El 4.95 (No VAT)
The Complete Mouse
User Guide to
BBC Micro
This manual has been written to reveal
the secrets of the mouse. It explains all
the principles required by the hardware
and associated software, and also
example listings for inclusion into
custom programs. The manual first
details the basic principles of the
mouse and a simple program which
uses these principles. This information
should be adequate for most
applications. However, it is possible to
improve the performance of the mouse
by expanding on the principles already
used in the software. This is again fully
explained and an example program
given.
It is possible to gain a full
understanding of the mouse from this
manual. For those not interested in
exactly how the mouse functions,
complete example programs are also
included. These may be typed directly
into the micro, without the need for any
understanding of the hardware or
software involved, enabling the mouse
to be used for custom applications.
Price £5.95 (No VAT)
Example programs on Disc £4.95
Beeb PC (BASIC)
Beeb PC Basic is designed for
program authors wishing to convert
programs so that they will run on IBM
personal computers. To convert BBC
BASIC programs manually can waste
days of valuable time with every
occurrence of common statements
such as PROC, DEFPROC, TAB,
having to be changed.
Beeb PC (BASIC) automates many of
these changes, and will convert
majority of BBC statements that are
invalid for IBM BASIC into equivalent
acceptable statements. In addition
BBC BASIC data files can be
converted to IBM BASIC format, with
support provided for all BBC data
formats:- INTEGER. REAL & STRING.
Price: E38
Beeb DOS 3.0
(Now reads Archimedes Discs)
The BBC and IBM PC’s are the most
popular micros in the UK. The BBC is
firmly established in the education
sector and the IBM is the industry
standard in the business world. The
pools of information and applications
held on these computers are immense,
yet the means of passing information
between them are very limited. Beeb
DOS provides a practical method of
transferring information between these
two micros.
Beeb DOS is a collection of utilities
which run on the PC’s and enable it to
read and write information on BBC
discs. You can transfer files between
your PC’s 360K floppy, high density
floppy or hard disc and your BBC
discs. In addition Beeb DOS allows
you to catalogue, format and compact
BBC discs and delete, re-name, lock
and unlock BBC files, all on PC’s.
Each Beeb DOS utility is written in IBM
assembler and is run directly from PC
or MS-DOS. The Beeb DOS utility can
be run from floppy disc, hard disc or
RAM drive.
Beeb DOS is supplied on an IBM
5.25”, 360K disc complete with a
comprehensive operating manual.
(Will only work on 360K Disk Drives & read
only ADFS and Watford DDFS - not DFS).
Price: £39
(Please write in for technical literature)
Continued-* -*-*-*-*-*
Plinths for the BBC B
& Master 128K Micros
Protect your computer from the heat of your VDU.
Our micro plinths have slots for maximum
ventilation. The single plinth is suitable for a BBC
and VDU, whilst the double height version provides
enough room for our stacked disc drive and other
peripherals like, Eprom programmer, music unit or
simply discs & stationery. The computer slides
neatly in the lower section allowing easy access to
remove the lid. Colour: Matching BBC Beige.
Single BBC Plinth
Double BBC Plinth
Single Master Plinth
Double Master Plinth
(Carr. Single plinth £2;
420 x310 x 105mm £13
420 x310 x210mm £24
490 x 310 x 105mm £14
490 x310 x210mm £26
ble plinth £3)
CREDIT CARD 24 HOUR
dU
Ansaphone Hot Lines
□
(0923) 250234 or 233383
Servisol Foam Cleaner
This king size multipurpose foam cleaner spray is
ideal for cleaning Keyboard, Monitor, Disc Drive &
Computer furniture surfaces.
£2.50
Antistatic Aerosol Spray
Ideal for cleaning and preventing static build-up on
TV/Monitor Screens.
£2.50
Connecting Leads
(All ready made and tested)
CASSETTE LEADS 7 pin DIN Plug
to 3 pin DIN Plug + 1 Jack Plug £2.50
to 7 pin DIN Plug £3.00
to 3 Jack Plugs £2.50
6 pin DIN to 6 pin DIN Plug (RGB) £3.00
Disc Drive Power Leads
Supply from BBC power supply to standard Disc
Drive Connection: Single £3.00; Dual £3.75
Disc Drive Interface Leads
BBC to Disc Drives Ribbon Cable
Single £4 Twin £6
Aerosol Dust Spray
Ideal for removing dust & dirt from Keyboard &
similar inaccessible spaces. £3
Spares for BBC Micro
UHF Modulator
£4
16MHz Crystal
£2
Speaker Grill
£1
17.734 MHz Xtal
£2
Speaker
£3
32.768MHz Xtal
£1
Keyswitch
£1.50
BBC B Refurbish
Master PSU
£59
Casing
£25
Master Keyboard
£62
Keyboard
£46
Master Casing
£49
Power Supply
£59
Miscellaneous Connectors
RGB (6 PIN DIN)
RS423 (5 pin Domino)
Cassette (7 pin DIN)
ECONET (5 pin DIN)
Paddles (15 pin ‘D’)
Disc Drive Plug 4 way
6 way Power Connector
Plugs
Sockets
50p
75p
70p
80p
40p
95p
35p
50p
150p
250p
lOOp
-
120p
150p
Watford DATA DUCK
ADDER
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.
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: 2516, 2716,
2532,2732,2764,27128, & 27256.
£55 (£5 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.
• ERASER EB - Standard version erases
up to 16 chips. £34
• ERASER GT - Deluxe version erases up to 18
chips. Has automatic safety cut-off to switch off
the UV lamp when opened. £36
• Spare UV tubes. £12
Replacement Flexible 17 way Keyboard
Connector £4
Surge Protector Plug
Fitted in place of your normal mains plug, this
device protects your equipment (and data from
corruption), against mains high voltage transient
spikes/surges caused by lightening or thermostats
switching.
Protection for only £8.50
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.
£9.50
Aries Spike Cleaner Unit
A 4 way mains distribution unit as above with a
built-in Surge Arrester, providing protection for your
complete Computer/Hi-Fi System
£16
ROM Extraction Tool
This extremely useful tool allows you trouble free
chip insertion and removal from your computer by
distributing the removal force over the whole
body of any 24 or 28 pin chip. £2
Metal Chip Extractor £3
28pin DIL Header Plug
SOLDER type £1.50 IDC CRIMP type £1.95
8 Way DIP Switch
Increase the speed of your Disc Drives by
soldering this switch to your BBC B or B+ keyboard
Only £1.00
28 pin ZIF SOCKET (Textool) £6.95
Convert two single Disc Drives into one Dual Drive
with this simple external unit (Suitable for Disc
Drives with PSU. For Disc Drives without PSU, you
will also require Watford Power Duck, see below).
£14
Watford POWER DUCK £8
CHIP SHOP
Assorted
1 MB-10DIL D-RAM £4.50
1 MB ZIP D-RAM £4.90
256K x 4-8 DIP £4.75
256K x 4-8 ZIP £4.80
DS3691 £4.50
DS88LS120 £5.25
LM324 £0.45
SN76489 £5.50
SAA5050 £8.75
ROMS
%
UPD7002
2764-250nS
27128A-250nS
(12V5)
27128-250nS
(21V)
27256-2
27512-2
27C101G (1 Meg)
4013
4020
4164-10
4464-10
4816 RAM
41256-8
41256-10
6264LP-8K
6502A CPU
65C02 3M
65C12
6512A
6522
6522A
62256ALS-15
62256P-12
6818
6845SP
68B50
68B54
7438
74LS00
74LS04
74LS10
74LS123
74LS163
74LS244
74LS245
74ALS245
74LS373
74LS393
75453
75159
9637
ICL7673PA
£ 6.00
£3.00
£2.50
£4.00
£3.00
£4.50
£7.00
75p
£1.00
£1.55
£3.50
£2.00
£ 2.00
£1.50
£4.00
£5.00
£9.75
£9.00
£ 10.00
£4.00
£5.00
£ 10.00
£8.50
£4.00
£6.00
£2.95
£7.50
50p
50p
50p
50p
£1.00
£ 1.00
£1.00
£ 1.00
£2.75
£1.00
£1.00
£1.00
£3.00
£ 2.00
£3.00
ACORN ADFS
£25
ACORN BASIC 2 plus
User Guide
£22
Acorn BCPL
£42
ACORN DNFS
£17
Acorn FORTH
£32
Acorn Graphics
£25
Acornsoft C Disc
£36
Acorn LISP
£19
Acorn OS B+
£25
Acorn OS 1 .2
£14
Basic Editor
£24
BBC PCB Designer
£49
Beebmon
£22
Buffer & Backup
£20
Communicator
£49
Dump Out 3
£25
EPSON NLQ ROM
£25
Graphics Extension Rom
GXR-B
£21
GXR-B+
£22
ICON Master
£28
Logotron LOGO
£43
MASTER OS ROM
£38
Master ULA (47)
£15
Master ULA (60)
£10
Micro Prolog
£25
Microtext Disc
£46
Microtext Rom
£199
NLQ DESIGNER
£25
Numerator- Archi
£69
Numerator- BBC
£39
Pendown ROM
£32
Rom Manager
£20
ROMIT
£29
SERIAL ULA
£13
TED
£35
Termulator B, B+
£28
Termulator Master
£32
Video ULA
£14
ULTRACALC II
£26
1Mb OS ROM
£39
Hi-Speed, Low Cost
Archi Hard Disc Drive
Watford's NEW Innovative IDE interface card
brings the latest advances in PC hard disc
technology to within reach of the Archimedes user.
Because of the integration of the controller and
drive electronics onto one compact board, Watford
Electronics have been able to include extra
features into the drive, such as Caching, where
tracks are buffered in fast memory, reducing
access times and increasing throughput. All these
benefits make IDE drives far more attractive than
conventional ST506 drives or SCSI.
Watford's advanced interface allows IDE drives to
work on any Archimedes machine, speeds in
excess of SCSI devices can be obtained at a
fraction of the cost of a SCSI drive.
Up to four drives are supported by the IDE filing
system IDEFS, up to two drives can be attached to
each expansion card, up to four cards can be
installed in a machine. An optional 20Mb or 40Mb
hard disc can be supplied on the podule expansion
card itself, with its fast transfer rate and power
saving modes the drive is ideal for storing
commonly used software such as the IFonts
application.
A powerful security feature has been provided with
the two unique commands ‘IDELock and
‘IDEUnlock, ideal for educational establishments
where hacking or tempering may be prevalent that
may lead to loss of data. Once locked, the
configuration can not be changed until a secret
password is used. The IIDEForm Write Protect
option is particularly useful in conjunction with
‘IDELock as it will prevent any unauthorised
deletion of data.
By an innovative use of on-board memory, the card
will remember its configuration, even if moved to
another slot or even a different machine, this also
includes the unique security features.
Hardware
• Single width EuroCard
• Supports proposed ANSI ATA (IDE) specification
• Fast 16 bit MEMC interface interrupt driven to
support background disc operations
• 5 Mbytes per second peak transfer rate
• Built in Non Volatile RAM to hold configuration
• LED activity indicator
• 37 way D type socket for external drives
• Optional on-card 20Mb or 40Mb hard disc
• Up to two drives (master and slave) per card
• Multiple cards per machine (up to four)
Software
Prices
Part No.
Capacity
Access Speed
Price
ADA 0520
44Mb
28mS
£249
ADA 0530
100Mb
16mS
£379
ADA 0570
200Mb
15mS
£499
ADA 0580
330Mb
15mS
£895
NEW ^
All the above 3.5" hard drives are supplied
complete with Controller Card, cable & Software on
ROM. (Internal fitting). For use with
A300/A400/A500 series machines.
For A3000 users an additional external Case and
PSU will be required.
AAA 0300 External Case & PSU for A3000 £85
Internal Hard Disc Drives
for A3000
State of the art, 4 layer internal IDE Hard Cards for
the A3000. Software supplied in, On-board ROM.
ADA 0700 21Mb 23mS £185
ADA 0720 44Mb 19mS £385
ADA 0750 60MB 18MS £425
ADA 0730 89Mb 18mS £685
Supplied ready assembled. No soldering required.
Simply plug into the alloted space.
Archi IDE Hard Cards
"Simply plug
and play"
Watford's NEW low cost, high performance
revolutionary IDE Hard Cards for the A300
Archimedes
Cordless Mouse
Ever found that using a mouse on a busy desktop
has its problems? The cable is always being caught
up in papers, tangled round equipment and other
cables etc, and what about that cup of coffee spilled
over your work!
Watford Electronics' new Cordless Mouse solves
these problems by removing the cause for concern -
replacing the cable with a simple infra red link. It still
provides all the speed and easy control of a
conventional mouse, but with complete freedom. In
use, there are no operating differences between the
standard mouse and the new cordless mouse so all
mouse functions and mouse driven RISC software
will be fully compatible. Pinpoint accuracy is
ensured by a unique Accelerator button, which,
when pressed, moves the pointer by just a tiny
amount for a large slow movement of the mouse,
but by a large amount for a quick wizz of the
mouse.
Features
• Infra Red Signal Transmission
• High Resolution 200 DPI
• High Tracking Speed of 600mm/s up
• Anti-static Silicon Rubber Coated Ball
• Low Friction Teflon Footpads
• Power - by two AAA size batteries (not
included)
• Automatic Standby Mode after 5 seconds
inactive
• Conforms fully to the Acorn IDE Specification
• All software supplied in ROM
• Filing system 'IDEFS'
• Desktop filer with drive ready detection and disc
name under icon
• IIDEForm, WIMP based configuration and
formatting software
• Drives can be individually write protected
• Up to four drives over multiple cards
• Power saving standby modes supported with
configurable timeout
• Drives can be used without translation in native
mode for minimum overhead
• MDEFSDisk, creates PC emulator hard discs
"Commands
‘IDELock
•IDEUnlock
! DEFS
Selects the IDE filing system 'IDEFS'.
‘IDEDrives
Displays the configuration and native
characteristics of installed drives.
‘Configure IDEFSDirCache
‘Configure IDEFSBuffers
‘Configure IDEFSDrive
Typical transfer speeds
Prairie Tek 20Mb 650K bytes per second
Seagate 43Mb 800K bytes per second
and A400 series Archimedes are
unbelievably easy to install - you simply slot
one into any vacant podule backplane slot in
the rear of your computer. These stunningly
engineered, light weight but fast, 2.5"
miniature hard drives are mounted onto the
professionally designed cards, and are
supplied with the fully Acorn-conformant IDE
Filing System ready installed and ready to
run. A novel feature of the hard cards is that
they can be easily removed and transported
to another Archimedes, for example to make
a hard disc backup, or to transfer saved files
from work to home etc. Security of files on
the hard disc is ensured by our unique
security password lock, which allows files to
be read only, but not overwritten or deleted -
ideal for use in school applications where the
integrity of your master software needs to be
retained.
ADA 0650 21Mb 23mS £199
ADA 0660 44Mb 28mS £375
ADA 0670 89Mb 18mS £675
(Can be used as a Removable Hard Drive)
Auto Power Shut-Down after 20 seconds
inac,i ''* Price £59
Watford Electronics are:
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Econet Referral Centre
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change without notice. Some items vary in their availability. Watford Electronics Terms and Conditions are available upon request. Please ring for latest delivery situation.
Acorn*
ARCterm 7 £68
This new release of our popular comms package now
supports Minitel emulation and has many other
improvements. Recommended by Hampshire LEA.
Existing users return both disks and SAE for upgrade.
ARCbbs £85
Our multi-user bulletin board program is under
constant development, call for details.
A5000 IDE drives
A5000 drives usually replace the 40MB disk (if fitted)
- we pay £60 for displaced 40Mb A5000 drives. To fit
an additional drive in the second floppy slot and keep
the 40Mb internal, add £10 for new cable set. Typical
transfer rates are 800k/second for 100Mb and 900k/
second for 200Mb. Drives have a 2-year guarantee.
A5000 internal 100Mb 17/9ms Quantum £279
A5000 internal 200Mb 1 7/9ms Quantum £449
IDE
Our IDE cards can have 2.5" drives fitted directly onto
the card, making them 'hardcards'. Typical transfer
rates are 700k/second for 40Mb and 900k/second for
100Mb. Drives are 3.5" unless specified as 'hardcard'.
A3000 internal 40Mb hardcard £399
A300/400 internal 20Mb 25ms Conner £149
A300/400 internal 40Mb 28ms cached Seagate £259
A300/400 internal 100Mb 17ms cached Seagate £329
SCSI
We supply 16-bit Morley cards which are the fastest on
the market (cached card can sustain over 3.5Mb/sec,
normal card over 2Mb/sec). Typical transfer rates are
lOOOk/second for 50/ 100Mb and 2000k/second for
492Mb. All drives are cached and have 2 year
guarantees. Systems labelled (cc) come with a cached
SCSI card at no extra cost, otherwise add £50 if you
require one.
A3000 external 50Mb 17/9ms Quantum £379
A3000 external 100Mb 1 7/9ms Quantum £499
A3000 external 200Mb 17/9ms Quantum £779
A3000 external 492Mb 12ms Fujitsu (cc) £1499
A300/400 internal 50Mb 17/9ms Quantum £319
A300/400 internal 100Mb 17/9ms Quantum £429
A300/400 internal 200Mb 1 7/9ms Quantum £699
A300/400 internal 492Mb 12ms Fujitsu (cc) £1399
All hard disk systems come tested and formatted with all
necessary cables. Delivery on hard disks £10.
Please add VAT at 17.5% to all prices. Plastic welcome.
THE SERIAL PORT
The Serial Port
Burcott Manor, Wells,
Somerset, BA5 1NH
Telephone (0749) 670058
Fax (0749) 670809
Modem (0749) 670030
COMPATIBILITY KEY
B
BBC B compatible
B
BBC B+ compatible
tA
Master compatible
C
Master Compact compatible
t
Electron compatible
A
Archimedes compatible
P.
BBC A3000 compatible
—★PRIZE £20^—
GRIDLOCK
Paul Pibworth of
Gloucester has sent in a
handy printer utility. It
uses graphics mode to
print out tables or grids to
your own specification.
You are asked if the grid
is continuous or spaced -
the latter means that there
are gaps between some, or all,
of the vertical columns. If
there arc gaps you are asked
for the start and end points in
inches of each horizontal line.
If the table is continuous
this is simply the left and right
hand edges of the table. Next
you must enter the number and
position of the vertical and
horizontal lines. The table is
then printed.
Paul says the program is not
truly ‘finished’ - values out of
range are likely to crash the
program; inputs are in inches
only; there is no load or save
option and no Archimedes
desktop version. (But isn't that
what Draw is for? Ed.) Even
so, the program is both handy
and concise.
■★PRIZE £20*h
COUNTER
INTELLIGENCE
If you have ever watched a
quiz show called Count-
Down. on Channel 4 then
this submission from
Michael Rozdoba is for
you. His Numbers pro-
gram solves the Count -
Down ‘numbers game’. In
this a contestant chooses a
total of six unseen numbers
from two random selections -
r~
B
*
tA
C
t
*
DAVE ACTON and DAVE LAWRENCE
deliver their monthly mix of bits and
pieces for your eight and
32-bit machines
LISTING
NAME
BBC B
MASTER
ELECTRON
ARC
Info 1
GridMaker
★
★
★
★
Info 2
CountDown
★
Info 3
MicroArt32
★
Info 4
MicroArt8
★
★
★
★
Info 5
Fire32
★
Info 6
Fire8
★
★
★
Info 7
Henon
★
Info 8
Handy32
★
Info 9
Handy8
★
★
★
Info 10
Predictor
★
★
★
★
Info 1 1
Bugland
★
Info 12
Spikes32Arc
★
one containing ‘large’ num-
bers (25, 50, 75 and" 100) and
the other small numbers (1 to
10). The CountDown compu-
ter, affectionately known as
Cecil, selects a random target
number up to 999.
Both contestants then have
30 seconds to combine as
many of the initial numbers as
they need with the elementary
arithmetic operators (+, *
and /) to get as close as poss-
ible to the target.
No numbers may be used
twice, although not all six need
be used. The resident statisti-
cian, Carol Vorderman,
invariably does belter than the
contestants, but Michael’s pro-
gram, equally affectionately
known as Richard , invariably
does better still. When run,
Richard asks for the initial
numbers and the target to be
entered, so you can play along
with the quiz on TV.
Richard works by brute
force, although he does exhibit
some minor intelligence by
trying all possible combina-
tions of the six initial numbers
and four arithmetic operators.
The process can be thought of
as moving up and down the
branches of a tree - any par-
ticular path from the base of
the tree to the tip constitutes a
particular combination of the
numbers and symbols.
The intelligence comes in
when Richard prunes certain
branches of the tree which he
decides are wasteful. For
example, if the current calcula-
tion yields a negative number
the following branch is chop-
ped off. Similarly the opera-
tors + and * are only applied if
the first operand is greater or
equal to the second. This prev-
ents the results being dupli-
cated all the way along two
separate branches.
Although Richard often
takes longer than 30 seconds
to check all the possible
combinations (on an Arm2
machine at least), it usually
seems that when an exact solu-
tion exists there are several
BBC ACORN USER MARCH1992 49
other solutions, so Richard
will invariably find one within
the time available. As the pro-
gram runs it outputs the
calculations for the ‘best so
far' solutions which lie within
10 of the target. If it finds an
exact solution it terminates
with a report on the time
taken. Richard can be termi-
nated via SHIFT ESCAPE.
It would be nice to say that
if Richard cannot find a solu-
tion then one does not exist.
Michael admits that lie's not
certain about this, saying:
'Richard only works with inte-
ger numbers, so if a division
produces a fractional answer
the following branch is pruned
off. Although there are some
solutions which involve an
intermediate fractional calcula-
tion. I have never seen a
problem where the only solu-
tions which exist require
fractions. I don’t think this can
happen and. if this is true, you
can be certain that when
Richard tells you it can't find
an answer, one doesn't exist.
However, as yet this conjec-
ture remains unproven and
unless you can find an exam-
ple that proves otherwise, or a
bored number theorist who can
prove it, it will remain one of
the mysteries of mathematics.'
We would like to have car-
ried an eight-bit version of
Numbers , but the sheer scale
of the problem defeated us this
month. We are sure that at
least one clever reader will be
able to provide a Beeb solution
- if that reader is you, then
we'd be happy to include your
-★PRIZE £20^-
MICROART
^ Recently, a ★INFO regu-
— lar Duncan Lilly was
** rooting around on a PC
tA magazine cover disc when
C he came across the
^ inspiration for the graphi-
- cal ditty shown below.
^ After playing around with
** the program for a while he
added colour, then threw his
PC out of the window and con-
verted it to the BBC.
Since the program has arrived
on our desks, it has undergone
the intensive ★INFO treatment
and so it now only vaguely
resembles Duncan’s original.
We’ve also penned a multi-
coloured, multi-palette Archi-
medes version.
When the program is started
the screen is black, then dots
appear all over the place in
apparently random positions.
After a while a pattern will
emerge and slowly change
colour. It is unlikely that the
image will fit neatly on the
screen, so a number of keys
are provided for shifting the
image. Doing this will restart
the plotting, but you can often
get a rough idea of the extent
of the pattern early on and
reposition it as necessary.
Cursor keys move the image
in the corresponding direction,
+ and - increase and decrease
its size, < and > rotate it. Addi-
tionally, SPACE chooses new
(random) parameters and starts
a new pattern. Two methods
are used for determining the
colours plotted: by default,
plotting a point will increase
its brightness (the palette is
arranged in brightness order);
if you change to cycle (by
pressing C) each colour will be
used for a random number of
points before moving on to the
next colour. Incremental mode
can be reselected by pressing I.
The Archimedes version has
four built-in palettes. By
default a simple black and
white one is used which allows
you to find a good pattern and
position it correctly on the
screen. Keys 1-3 select the
other palettes - 1 is a 16 shade
grey scale, 2 a progression
from blue through white to red
and 3 a colour spectrum (0 is
the black and white one). As
with the BBC version you can
Increment or Cycle the
colours. Extra palettes can eas-
ily be added by providing a list
of 256-colour mode colour
byte values in data statements
at the end of the program.
Each list is terminated by hav-
ing two numbers the same, so
there is no ‘next’ colour.
The program is very similar
in operation to a one-liner car-
ried in Rise Revue many
months ago: x and y arc initial-
ised to zero, then a couple of
functions arc iterated on them
and the results plotted each
time. Most of the program is
taken up processing key
presses, but it is very simple
and very pretty.
50 BBC ACORN USER MARCH1992
-★PRIZE £20^—
FIRE-ARM
g You may remember the
striking effect produced by
** the Gwawp program (BAU
tR June 1991). Dave Lawr-
C cnee's original program
^ used Arm code to create
jH the whacky patterns, but
Jan Vibe has sent us a
remarkable piece of Basic
(yes, you really can write
graphic demos in Basic) which
produced the striking result
shown on page 50. Fire 32 \
works by plotting, then distort-
ing, a set of concentric circles.
The distortion takes the j
form of stretching the rings
horizontally or vertically
according to a randomly
chosen sinusoidal pattern. The
Basic command RECTANGLE
FILL to is used to move a sin-
gle column or row of pixels
the required amount. Note that
horizontal distortion is much
quicker than vertical, not only
because there are fewer rows
than columns, but also because
the rectangle move can be
done in words rather than
bytes of memory. In all. six
distortions are applied in each
direction and the result is a
fiery pattern that is animated
by changing the palette.
If you have an eight-bit |
machine you can experience a
similarly dramatic display by
running FireB. This uses mode
2 which, although rather
chunky, provides 16 colours.
The circle plotting is done |
using some fairly crude though
effective machine code. A
table of squares is built up.
Then each pixel has its dis-
tance from the centre of the
screen calculated using this
table. A colour is chosen
according to the distance, so
concentric rings of sequential
colours are built up. Only
colours zero to 14 are used -
colour 15 is reserved for the
black that is introduced around
the edges after distortion.
Two machine code routines
are included for quick distor-
tion - shiiicoi and shiftruw respec-
tively move a column or row
of pixels a specified amount
(passed in A). Colours are
alternated by changing the
palette - just as Fire32 does.
In fact they are changed in
order to form four sweeping
bands - magenta, red,
magenta, white. Fire 8 below
shows eight typical adjacent
rings. These are plotted in
colours zero to seven for
example. At the outset, colours
zero to three are set to green
and four to seven to red. The
next frame colour zero
becomes blue, one to four are
green and five to seven are set
to red. As this process con-
tinues the green band has been
replaced entirely by the blue
and the red by the green.
Each colour remains the
same for four consecutive
frames and this allows the ani-
mation to trick the eye more
convincingly.
—★PRIZE £20^-
HENON AND ON AND ON
Last November we issued
a challenge to write a
machine code version of
Gareth Eley’s Henon
curve plotter. Well, four
months on, and here's
what we wanted. Michael
Rozduba of Bedlington
was been beavering away
come up with Henon - the
return. On running the pro-
gram, the curve is built up
very quickly in the centre of
the screen. Holding down the
Menu button allows you to pan
over the curve using the
mouse. The Select button
zooms in and the Adjust but-
ton zooms out.
The ‘clever' bit is that the
program only plots when you
are not altering the image, so
you do not have to wait for the
h
and
zoomed image to be com-
pletely drawn before you can
zoom or pan again.
Michael managed to speed
up the program quite dramati-
cally by subtly altering the A
and B parameters in the orig-
inal. They used to be 1.4 and
0.3, but after a bit of experi-
mentation, he found that 1.5
and 0.25 worked just as well
and are much easier to work
with in fixed point arithmetic
in Arm code.
The resulting code can gen-
erate nearly 33,500 points per
second - this is almost 20
times faster than Gareth's orig-
inal version!
HANDY HINT
We recently had a request
from Richard Fortescue,
a BAU reader who has the
use of only one hand. He
explained that holding
down shift or Ctrl with
another key could be dif-
ficult and sometimes
impossible. Although caps
lock (and on eight-bit
machines, shift lock) go
some way to helping, a better
solution was needed.
We have come up with two
programs, for 32-bit and eight-
bit machines. We hope they
will go some way to helping
users who may have similar
special needs, but if you have
a better solution or indeed any
tips or programs that might
help, we would be delighted to
publish them.
H cuuly 32 is the Archimedes
version and the small Basic
program assembles a module
&
B
Hi
C
*
%
called Handy. This, when
loaded, provides two com-
mands - ■“Handy On and TlandyOIT
- used to turn the special
SHIFT and CTRL facility on and
off respectively.
When on, a single press of
SHIFT or CONTROL will cause
the next keypress to behave as
if shift or control were held
down at the same time. Any
keys may be SHlFTed or CTRLcd
in this way, including function
and cursor keys. You may
apply SHIFT and CTRL to a sub-
sequent keypress by pressing
them in order.
The short Archimedes solu-
tion is made possible by two
features unique to the 32-bit
machines. Firstly, an event
occurs when a key is pressed
or released and this can be
trapped to keep a note of when
shift and CTRL arc pressed.
Secondly, an OsByte call (202
in fact) can be used to make
the computer think shut or
ctrl are being pressed, even
when they're not.
The eight-bit solution.
Handy 8, is a little more
involved. It assembles a short
piece of code at &900 which is
saved as Handy. To install the
code simply *Run Handy. Do not
install it twice. Again, shift
and ctrl take effect on any
subsequent keypress. Inciden-
tally, with both versions of the
code you can cancel a SHIFT or
CTRL simply by pressing the
same key again.
Although OS_Byte 202 is
available on the Beeb and
other eight-bit machines, it is
only really useful for setting
BBC ACORN USER MARCH1992 51
Weathe r Data !|
Weather Satellite Systems Now available for the Acorn Archimedes A310 and A3000. This
Meteosat systems comes complete including everything from the Antenna to the software.
Animation is standard allowing the dynamic progress of weather fronts to be monitored and
tracked. High resolution images of 800 pixels by 800 lines can bo stored and manipulated in
colour or grey scales on any standard colour monitor. Acorn Change FSI registered and compat-
ible. Capable of receiving up to 400 images every day this remarkable system costs just £799.00
Other Timestep products include a fully featured LANDSAT Image Processor with 20 field study
Images and three full colour manuals. Acorn Change FSI registered and compatible at only
£99.95
PC Globe and PC USA are full colour graphical databases of the world with an amazing amount
of retrievable data. The special Timestep education price is only £59.95
Send for our full catalogue.
Timestep Weather Systems
Wickhambrook Newmarket, CB8 8QA England.
Tel: 0440 820040 Fax: 0440 820281
FREE support with all our / J
systems
* Expert advice! on system purchase ^ A |!
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♦Expert backup! software support and hardware |||i
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Government pic and education orders welcome Rl st AR ' C><
BEEBUG Magazine
the only magazine slill devoted solely to
the BBC Micro and l be Master 128
BEEBt'G was the first magazine ever published
to cater for BBC enthusiasts,
and is still going strong in its
10th year of publication
BEEBt Ci offers a wealth of information:
from articles on how to write Basic programs to
ready-to use utilities and
complete stand-alone applications.
BEEBl 'Ci also offers frequent Tun' programs and
entertaining games.
If vou want to find out more, write to us for a
FREE BEEBUG magazine
or phone oil 0~ r 2~’ -tOJOj.
7Vtvi.se (jiiolc l.i in receive ynnr Jive
RISC Developments. 1 1 ~ Hat field ltd.
Si. Albans. Herts Al l v/S
OPEN SYSTEMS INTER NETWORKING
Acorn have had the foresight to write software to allow common
links to many types of machines.
The protocol which allows this Is TCP/IP (Transport Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol). This defines the packets which travel
over Ethernet.
Chameleon sell products which allow Terminal emulation. File
Transfer, X Windows terminals and allow you to use the hard disk on
a Sun type Network file system (NFS).
These products let us link : ACORN, APPLE, IBM PC and most UNIX
machines also usefully connect to Novell Fileservers.
Pleasa do not hesitate to contact us to discuss your connectivity
problems (UNIX not required)
lECONET IS DEAD • LONG LIVE ETHERNET!
At last the A3000 has an Ethernet Adaptor!
This means that all ACORN Rise machines
can be internetworked leaving Econet to ^
the trusty 6602. [<
UNIX MACHINES PRICE DECREASE!
ACORN R225 ARM3 4Mb RAM
Discless Ethernet.... £ 1830.00
ACORN R260 ARM3 8Mb RAM
100 Mb hard Disc... £3495.00
ACORN R140 ARM2 4Mb RAM
Vv Now discontinued, we usually
r have traded-ln R 1 40s for sale!
UNIX UPGRADES
R140 OWNERS
A440 / 540 etc.
(If covered by Microcare) £349.00
(Microcare expired) £399.00
£999.00
If you want to run RISC IX 1.2 on your Acorn Archimedes,
we are offering an upgrade service. This latest version of
ACORN UNIX requires 100 Mb, an ACORN SCSI card and
4Mb of memory. We can arrange for it to be installed on
your current 100Mb SCSI anywhere in the UK mainland. Al-
ternatively It can be purchased pre-installed on the WARP
DRIVE ready for use.
This Is the same version of UNIX as supplied on the R260.
UNIX STORAGE (Also RISC OS)
In our search for the fastest drive to support RISC IX (Acorn's
UNIX), we have produced the Warp Drive a high perfor-
mance SCSI drive In conjunction with Acorn's SCSI controller
card included in R260 computers or an extra £220+VAT If
your machine Is not already fitted. These devices will work
with other controllers but UNIX will not.
Size Speed External Internal
WE
105Mb
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£ 410
£310
210Mb
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£ 675
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420Mb
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£1095
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676Mb
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1000Mb
15ms
£1735
1600Mb
16ms
£2050
NEW: SCSI Tape Streamers 150Mb or 525Mb
Two year warranty on all Warp Drives
All Prices add VAT@ 17.5% (15%+2.5% Poll Tax subsidy)
For the Serious Acorn User
Stowell Technology Centre
Montford Street
Salford M5 2SE TEL (061 ) 745 9849
52 BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1 992
the state of caps lock and
SHIFT LOCK. Bits can be set for
shift and CTRL but it seems
that the operating system
resets them whenever Girr or
inkey is used.
Also, there is no key up/
down event, so we are really
quite stuck. The solution,
although inelegant, goes as
follows. The vertical sync
event is trapped which calls a
routine of ours 50 times per
second. Each time, the CTRL
and shift keys are examined
by calling the key vector
KeyV and their state is noted.
The two calls OS_Rdch (used
by Basic GET) and OS_Byte
129 (used by Basic inkey) are
also intercepted.
The operating system rou-
tines for OsRdch and OS_Byte
129 are called by our code
which then modifies the
characters returned depending
on whether shift or CTRL pre-
ceded the keypress. This is a
fiddly process, and required
look-up tables, but it works
well enough.
Because the eight-bit solu-
tion is not ‘official’ in the way
that the Archimedes version is,
it cannot be guaranteed to
exactly emulate true shift and
CTRL. Programs that detect
keys other than by GET or
inkey, or use INKEY with a
negative value to directly
check shift or Ctrl will not
work. The Archimedes version
will always work since the
proper OS_Byte call behaves
as it should.
-★PRIZE £!()★—
YOU'RE A WINNER
|j| A short, but potentially
money-spinning offering,
** comes from Robert Place.
n* It’s a pools prediction pro-
C gram. Robert claims to
£ have had some success
using his listing, so why
— not give it a try - and tell
** us if you win a fortune!
Predictor (not to be confused
with a commercially available
product of the same name)
asks for two team names and
details. These include league
position, number of games
played and won, and the num-
ber of goals conceded. Ratings
are calculated for each team
and the expected outcome -
23
Food
6
Seasons
No
E = 871
C = 8
0 X
1 M 7 XX
2 M 372
3 B > JL 5
4 S 1
5 X
6 M 68X
THOSE BUGS HAVE ONLY TWO THINGS ON THEIR MINDS
THE LAWS OF BUGLAND
Bugland Genetic Code
A designer bug
TURN x% - Turn to a random
0 MOVE 96%
direction with an x% chance
1 SEE 0
LOOP n off - If counter is zero,
2 BREED >28
set it to n and branch back off
3 TURN 31%
instructions. Otherwise, decre-
4 JUMPO
ment the counter. If zero, proceed
5 JUMPO
otherwise branch back off
6 JUMPO
instructions.
7 JUMPO
BREED e - Breed if energy level is
greater than e*64
An intelligent life form that
ENERGY i- If energy level<256,
evolved
jump to instruction i
0 MOVE 62%
SEE i - If food can be seen, jump
1 LOOP 5 6
to instruction i
2 JUMP 6
JUMP i - Jump to instruction i
3 BREED >20
MOVE x% - Move forward with
4 MOVE 18%
an x% chance
5 MOVE 65%
XA - spare gene that does
6 SEE 3
nothing
7 TURN 65%
win or draw - is displayed.
isms or ‘bugs’ have genetic
Currently no distinction is
patterns that take the form of
made between score and non-
simple programs which control
score draws, so perhaps an
how the bug behaves. Bugland
interested reader might like to
enhance the program. Please
make cheques payable to...
MORE BUGS
Last month we brought
you I. Reeve’s Bugworld ,
the most adventurous
evolution program yet.
This month we present
Bu gland, a fast Arm code
version that takes things a
stage further. The basic
principles involved in
Bugland are very similar to the
original Bugworld and full
credit for the originality of the
idea must go to Mr Reeve.
Basically, individual organ-
bugs have programs consisting
of eight genetic instructions
and each instruction can be
one of eight types. As in Bug-
world, when bugs breed there
is a chance that their offspring
will mutate and some muta-
tions will be better equipped
for survival than their parents.
Before explaining how Bug-
world works, I’d recommend
you simply play with it for a
while. The world consists of a
256 x 256 grassy area. At the
outset, 50 entirely ‘random’
creatures are created and
placed at random locations.
They are random in the sense
that their genetic programs
consist only of eight randomly
chosen numbers. Most of the
genetic programs will be non-
sense and many of the initial
population will simply stay
still and die out, others will
have some form of urge to
move and will thus find food
and live longer, while others
may still have an urge to breed
- and this is where the pos-
sibility of evolution lies. From
quite stupid ancestors, rela-
tively intelligent creatures can
soon come about.
Bugs are shown as single
dots (for speed more than
anything). When a bug has
children they are of a different
colour if mutation has
occurred. On the right is a sim-
ple menu: select an item with
the up and down cursor keys
and alter the value/state with
left and right.
shift can be pressed for
more rapid changes. The
update rate is how often you
view Bugworld : a rate of one
means you see every move, a
rate of 30 means you only see
a snapshot every 30 moves.
Alter the value to ‘fast for-
ward’ evolution, or slow it
down for closer inspection.
The food rate is simply how
quickly the grass grows. You
can switch ‘seasons’ on by
selecting the third option on
the menu. In this case the food
value is a mean for a ‘bug
year’ and the actual grass-
growing rate rises to a peak in
the summer and falls to a low
in the winter.
Seasons can be used to
enhance and even accelerate
the evolution rate. A harsh
winter is a good way of sorting
out the bugs from the buglets!
Three numbers below the
menu show the food rate, the
number of bug moves starting
from zero (time), and the
population, which has an
arbitrary limit of 4096 .
Click on a bug with Select
and a white circle will appear
around it. The program of the
chosen creature is shown on
the right with the current
instruction highlighted. Slow
the update speed to one and
hold down CTRL or CTRL and
shut to follow the program
more carefully. You can also
place your own designer bugs
by clicking on Bugworld with
BBC ACORN USER MARCH1992 53
*INFO
Adjust. The table on page 53
shows my own designer bug’s
program, but you can easily
adapt it yourself.
Bugland differs from Bug-
world in several respects.
Firstly, the rules are a little
simpler. Each genetic instruc-
tion consists of a one byte
code - three bits of this make
up the instruction type, the
remaining five are data. Figure
one lists the valid Bugland
genes and, since each one-byte
value is a valid gene (however
stupid), mutation can be sim-
plified and indeed, Bugworld
bugs mutate by one or more
bytes of their program being
changed to random values.
Other factors are simplified
- mutation occurs with a fixed
probability for example, and
all the bugs are vegetarian! It
would slow the program down
quite a lot to add extra factors,
but feel free to try. The reason
I haven’t done so is because of
the main difference between
the two programs - namely
speed. Typically, 100 or more
‘moves’ may occur per sec-
ond, more if there are few
bugs on the screen and more
still, if you are lucky enough
to have an Arm3.
Often, major examples of
evolution occur only after
thousands of moves, so it is
vital for the program to oper-
ate quickly. Many tricks are
employed to increase the pro-
gram’s speed. Bugs are stored
in the form of a linked list - a
similar list exists for ‘bugs to
be’. When a bug dies, it is sim-
ply patched out of the list and
its workspace is patched in to
the free space list. The reverse
of this happens whenever a
new bug is born.
Another difference from
Bugworld lies in the fact that
breeding is now controlled by
a gene. Some bugs may evolve
early on and survive to a great
age without being able to
breed. On the other hand,
when food is plentiful, waves
of mutants who have nothing
but breeding on their little
buggy minds can sweep across
the screen.
The table on page 53 shows
the designer bug’s program.
Basically it moves forward
rapidly to find food - when it
can’t see any, it turns occa-
sionally and when strong
enough will breed. This is
quite a successful program and
if you introduce these to the
world at an early stage, the
designer bugs soon take over.
However, after only a few
thousand moves other bugs
often evolve that are even
more successful.
Figure four shows the pro-
gram of a bug that evolved
after 28,000 moves. It is dif-
ficult to see why this natural
bug is more successful than
the designer one, but in a com-
petition for food the natural
bug wins!
The question is: are we see-
ing the evolution of true
intelligence? Yes, since the
evolved solution to the prob-
54 BBC ACORN USER MARCH1992
lem of survival works better
than the man-made one. On
the other hand, Bu gland suf-
fers from the same problem
that all evolutionary programs
have - foresight. True evolu-
tion has no idea where it’s
going - it simply goes.
Take eyesight, for example
— our eyes have developed
over billions of years, so it’s
not surprising that we have to
give our program the advan-
tage of a pre-designed sight
gene to hurry things along. We
are also limited by population
— compare 4096 computer
bugs with a whole planet full
of organisms.
-★PRIZE £!()★—
ONE LINE CORNER
“ There is only a single
— Archimedes one-liner this
— month, but it’s a good one,
again from Jan Vibe.
You’ll need 160K , of
— screen memory to run it
* and in this it builds up
— eight complete mode 0
screens which are then
animated. The result is quite
surprising and somewhat remi-
cient of flying over the surface
of a very large and particularly
painful looking morning star!
*DISC
This is a new section for
★ INFO. As we have men-
tioned recently, we are hoping
to carry a few extra programs
on the monthly subscribers’
disc. In general these will be
large 32-bit desktop appli-
cations - too long to sensibly
list on the yellow pages. We
won’t ever go into too much
detail explaining the programs
on these pages, instead help
will be given on the disc. To
start the ball rolling, we have
an auto program ‘backing up
system’ from Brian Higgins
of Dublin - read '.Help for
more information. Not only is
this a ‘large desktop appli-
cation', it has also been written
in C. All the source code is on
the disc.
For non-programmers, there
is a collection of ditties from
regular button pusher Jan
Vlietinck. These are programs
we’ve wanted to print for quite
some time but we never seem
to have the space.
They are supplied as Jan
sent them in, so apologies in
advance for the non -BAU list-
ing style. The purpose and
function of these programs
should be self explanatory.
*QUIT
If you've written a program or
just have a good idea, why not
let us know? As we plan to
include more ‘extras' on the
subscribers’ disc, you can now
send in all those long pro-
grams (especially Rise Os
applications) that would strain
both our yellow pages and
your typing Fingers. Please
send your submissions on disc
and with an sae to: ★INFO,
BBC Acorn User. 20-26 Brun-
swick Place, London N 1 6DJ.
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Hi
PROGRAMMING
oving on from last month’s broad introduc-
tion to Arm programming, you are now
ready to learn about the arithmetic capabili-
ties of the chip, in terms of the commands that
are provided. But as always, I'm afraid that
before the practice, there has to be a little
theory...
NUMBER THEORY
As mentioned last month, the Arm has 16 regis-
ters, numbered 0 to 15. The last, R15, is known
as the program counter and is not generally
useful in calculations. Likewise, R14 (the link
register) is semi-dedicated and is not normally
used by the programmer. I also said that R13 is
out of bounds, although this is not strictly true.
The purpose of R14 and R15 is fixed, by the
Arm chip - you cannot alter their functions in
software - RI5 is always the program counter
and RI4 is always set up by a BL instruction
(we'll look at this next month); R13 is defined
by Acorn to be the stack pointer and is just like a
normal register. However it has a special pur-
pose in Rise OS. For the moment though, we
will stick to using the registers RO to R12.
So on to numbers. Normally, we can represent
any number we like by simply writing down a
string of decimal digits. Computers, being
essentially dumb machines, like things to be
more simple than that. They only know the
digits 0 and 1. rather than 0 to 9. Computers use
this binary system to represent any number
using just two digits.
Now this is real primary school stuff. A base
10 number is represented by multiplying the
column value by the number in that column. The
columns go up in powers, 10 A 0 = 1, 10 A 1 = 10,
I0 A 2 = 100, I0\3 = 1000. So 1320 is (I x 1000)
+ (3 x 100) + (2 x 10) + (0 x 1 ). Similarly, base
2 numbers go up in powers of 2: 2 A 0 = I, 2 A 1 =
2, 2 A 2 = 4, 2 A 3 = 8, 2 A 4 = 16 and so on. So the
binary number 10111 is converted into a deci-
mal number thus (1 x 16) + (0 x 8 ) + (1 x4) +
(1 x2)+( lx I) = 23.
Binary is therefore base 2 and its 0s and Is are
called binary digits or, more conveniently, bits.
All arithmetic in binary is carried out in exactly
the same way as in decimal, you just have to
remember to carry 2s rather than 10s. The only
exception is negative numbers which I'll come
on to in a while... oops, I almost said bit then!
You do not need to know about binary num-
bers yourself, the assembler converts your
decimal numbers into the Is and 0s for the
computer. As you may have heard, the Arm is a
32-bit processor. In this case, this means that the
registers are 32 bits wide - in other words they
hold 32 0s and Is. These are numbered 0 to 31
from least to most significant, so bit 0 is the
units column, bit 1 is the 2s column and so on.
The 6502 - the BBC Model B's processor - is
an eight-bit processor and has eight-bit registers.
A 32-bit processor is therefore ‘better’ than an
eight-bit one because it can handle larger num-
bers internally: the 6502's registers are limited
to the range of 0 to 255. whereas the Arm can
handle anything between 0 and 4,294,967.295.
So what about those negative numbers then?
Well here comes the bodge in binary. The top
bit of the binary number is set (so in the case of
the Arm. bit 31 is set to 1 if you arc dealing with
a negative number, 0 if it is a positive number).
The remaining bits then represent the number.
Of course life is never quite that simple. The
value of a negative number is not minus the-
rest-of-the-bits. For a start you could have zero
and minus zero using that system. Instead twos
complement is used. You needn’t know why it’s
called this, just how it works.
To make a binary number negative you
change all its 0s to Is and Is to 0s and then add
1 to the result. Here are a couple of examples (as
it is simpler, we have used an eight-bit processor
in'this example).
1 = 00000001
-> 11111110 ( 0>1 1 > 0 )
+1 11111111 (=-l)
In part two of our
series on Arm
programming
DAVE LAWRENCE
shows you
how to deal
with numbers
58 BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992
ILLUSTRATION BY PAUL SCHOFIELD
38 = 00100110
-> 11011001 ( 0>1 1 > 0 )
+1 11011010 (=-38)
0 = 00000000
-> 11111111 ( 0>1 1 > 0 )
+1 00000000 (= 0 )
As you can see, when using this system -0 is the
same as 0. The best way to visualise it is to
imagine all the numbers from 0 to 255 (eight-bit
processor again) written in a circle, 0 to 127 are
always positive, 128 to 255 can either be 128 to
255 or -128 to -1 if you are using negative
numbers. On the Arm, this system is identical
except you can represent -2,147,483,648 (-2 \31 )
toO to 2,148,483.647 (2^31-1).
INTO PRACTICE
Last month’s example program only had two
real Arm instructions, and one of those was an
operating system call. The other was mov. This
is short for move and it takes two parameters, a
source and a destination, mov simply moves the
source number to the destination. The destina-
tion must be a register, the source can either be a
register or a number. For example, mov ro,#42
will place 42 into register 0. Note that Arm
instructions read in a similar way to Basic
assignments with the destination to the left of
the arguments (A % = 42). Given this, you
should be able to work out these examples.
MOV Rl , #89
MOV R2 , R1
So, now that we can put numbers into registers,
we need some means of manipulating them. Last
month 1 mentioned that there are six instructions
for addition and subtraction and two for multi-
plication. The two simplest of these are add and
sub and I’m afraid there are no prizes for guess-
ing what these do.
Both take three parameters, a destination (as
with MOV) and two sources. As indeed do con-
ventional sums (A = B + C). The destination and
first source must be registers, but the second can
be a number as shown below.
YELLOW PAGES
To find the programs men-
tioned in this article, turn to
yellow pages, under the sec-
tion entitled Arc Assembler.
They can also be found on the
subscribers' monthly disc.
ADD R0,R1,R2 (R0=R1+R2)
ADD R0 , R0 , #1 ( R0=R0+1 )
SUB R1,R3,#4 ( R1=R3 -4 )
SUB R7,R2,R3 (R7=R2-R3)
If I now tell you one clever Basic keyword, you
can try these instructions out.
CALL and USR
Basic provides two methods of running machine
code program. Last month you met call. II you
typed call hello the demo was run. No data was
passed back to you and so CALL behaved a bit
like a simple procedure call. To get a value back
from a piece of code, the simplest way is to use
USR. This is more like a function as it returns a
value which you can assign to variable or PRINT.
If you use something like the following line
resu I t=US R( mycode) the machine code at mycode
will be executed and at the end the contents of
Arm register 0 (R0) will be returned to Basic
and, in the example above, assigned to the
variable result. To see this in action, try typing in
listing one in the yellow pages.
You should recognise the initialisation and
associated Basic blurb from last month’s exam-
ple, so I’ll start at code itself. Line numbers are
shown in the square brackets.
Firstly, 5 is stored in R0 1 1 30] and 9 in R1
1 140). These are then added together and stored
in R2 1150]: 7 is added to R2 and the result put
back in RO 1 160]. R1 is then changed to 3 1 170]
and is subtracted from R0, the result being
stored back in R1 [180]. Finally, R0 is decre-
mented by 1 1 190]. Remember that MOVpe.link
returns the computer to Basic for us? If you
work this out in your head you should come up
with a value of 17 - run the program and press
space to see if your Archimedes agrees!
I am only going to introduce one more of the
six simple instructions now. The rest will be
revealed when I deal with big numbers later on
in the series. This is RSB, or Reverse SuBtract.
It is identical in operation to sub except that the
first source is subtracted from the second rather
than the other way round. This allows you to
subtract registers from constants which you
cannot do with SUB as the first source must be a
register. The following should make this clear.
RSB R0,R1,R2 (R0=R2-R1)
RSB R1,R3,#9 (Rl=9-R3)
RSB R0 , R0 , #0 (R0=-RO)
Try changing line 190 of the demo program to
rsb R(),R(),#3() and re-running it. Is the result as
you would expect?
Feel free to fiddle with this program as much
as you like. For the moment avoid trying to load
registers with negative numbers (it won’t work)
and stick to values less than 256. First thing next
month I’ll explain why, I promise! Intermediate
results larger than 255, or less than zero, will
cause no problems and the correct result should
be printed at the end.
MULTIPLICATION
The multiplication instruction is MUL. As with
add and SUB, it takes three parameters, however
they must all be registers, so if you need to
multiply by a constant, you have to load it into a
register first. In addition, the first source register
cannot be the same as the destination. So mul
R0.R1.R2 (R0=RI*R2) is valid, but MUL R0.R0.RI
(ERROR!) is not. The two sources can be same
(thus squaring the number) and, of course, the
second source can be the same as the
destination.
MUL R0 , Rl , R0 (R0=R1*R0)
MUL R2,R4,R4 (R2=R4 3 )
The ‘other’ multiply instruction, is merely an
extension of this. The MLA stands lor MuLtiply
and Add, and allows a third source register to be
supplied. (It must be a register; there are no
numbers allowed here.) This is added to the
result of the multiplication before it is stored in
the destination.
Listing two in the yellow pages demonstrates
the use of MUL and MLA. R I is set to 5 [ 1 30] and
R2 to 9 [ 140]. These are multiplied and stored in
R0 [150]. Rl and R2 are set to 2 and 10 respec-
tively [160 and 170]. The previous result (R0) is
multiplied by Rl; R2 is added to the result and
the total is returned to RO [180]. The final sum
is: (5 x 9) x 2 + 10 = 100. As with the previous
example, please feel free to experiment with the
numbers given. As before steer clear of nega-
tives and numbers greater than 255.
Next month, we'll look at the barrel shifter,
and, no. it's not some kind of fairground ride...
BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992 59
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SIGM A
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® WILEY
Boots for the horn Archimedes
DESKTOP PUBLISHING ON THE ARCHIMEDES
DTP tor All
Brace Goatly, Head of Publishing at Britain's Leading
Scientific Society, London. UK
The Acorn Archimedes is the type of fast and powerful machine
that is essential for DTI* work. Bruce (ioatly's hook explains the
fundamentals of DTP - the terminology and the technology. The
advantages of the Acorn RISC operating systems are described
together with how to set up the Archimedes in an optimal
manner for DTP and how to choose the optional extras needed.
The Impression' DTP package is used to exemplify a leading-
edge system for the Archimedes although the author also uses
Acorn DTP' and Ovation' throughout.
This hook is prepared on the Archimedes, which makes the
author well placed to describe all the tricks of the trade for
producing text and illustrations as well as the problems of managing large documents.
IH505824H3 December 1991 2)4f >J> XI2.95/S26.95 Published by Sigma Press, UK.
PROGRAMMING IN ANSI STANDARD C
Gordon Horsington, Given/, Wales, t K
Cordon Horsington first wrote about C in a BBC telesoftware series for the Acorn master series
of computers. This new book is a major development of a tried and tested formula and hits
been thoroughly tested on the Acorn Archimedes.
Programming in ANSI Standard C will give a novice, with some experience of BASIC and
operating systems, a good working knowledge of the C language. The standards of the ANSI
dialect of C are adhered to throughout. Rather than define the syntax of c. as in a language
manual, the author teaches by examples. W ell over 100 programs are used to illustrate the
various features of the language. Topics include: the pre-processor; declaring data types;
variable storageflunctions and macros; pointers arrays; character strings; data structures; file
handling; printing lcchui(|ues and problems.
1850582572 October 199/ 26 ij)j> IN.95/SM95 Published by Sigma Press, UK.
Order from your Bookseller or send a cheque made payable to ’John W iley & Sons Ltd'.
Customer Services. Distribution Centre. Southern Cross Trading Estate. I Oldlands Way.
Bognor Regis. West Sussex. P022 9SA. Credit cards to Fax: (02-*3) 820250 or Tel: (02 *3)
829 1 2 1. Please add .tl.95/$-i.95 p&p. Postage is FRF.F. when you order two or more books
60 BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992
PRINTING
) on't be fooled into thinking that dot-matrix
printing is dead. While most of the attention
these days seems to be directed at laser and
inkjet printers, the dot-matrix printer market is
still very much alive.
In fact, dot-matrix printers account for around
60 per cent of all the printers currently sold.
Epson, the company that practically invented
dot-matrix printing, produces around half of
these machines so, understandably, it is keen to
preserve its bread and butter business.
The future of dot-matrix printers now seems
assured thanks to Epson's latest development,
ESC/P2. This is the second version of the ESC/P
control code standard (Epson Standard Code for
Printers) now known widely as Epson LQ com-
patibility. The company claims that ESC/P2
brings some features of page printers to the
world of dot-matrix printing. This will certainly
find favour among eight-bit BBC Master 128
and Model B users who cannot make use of
many of the attractive features of a laser printer.
But it isn't just the control codes which have
been developed - ESC/P2 goes further than that
with several features entirely new to dot-matrix
printer design.
NEW STANDARD
The ESC/P2 standard has been introduced
across a range of new Epson 24-pin printers and
is likely to be adopted by other manufacturers. If
they latch on to the new standard as enthusiasti-
cally as they did to the original, there will soon
be an epidemic of new 24-pin printers with
ESC/P2 compatibility.
There are four Epson ESC/P2 models avail-
able at present - the LQ-570 and LQ-870 plus
the wide carriage versions, the LQ-1070 and
LQ- 1 1 70. The good news is that the higher
standard does not mean higher prices. The new
Epson models range from £339 to £729 - fairly
typical prices for this quality and speed, which
will almost certainly be discounted by dealers.
Although the cost of the rival laser printer is
falling all the time, the running costs of a laser
can make them very expensive to use.
Mechanically, the new printers remain vir-
tually unchanged - they are 24-pin machines
which print with two rows of 12 pins hammer-
ing from the printhead, through an inked ribbon
on to the paper, to create shapes made up of
individual dots. A point to note is that ESC/P
does not apply to 9-pin printers - even Epson
seems to admit that these have had their day.
The new control codes are totally compatible
with ESC/P printers and when used with soft-
ware intended for current machines, the ESC/P2
printers will produce equally good results.
The printers offer two printing modes, draft or
near letter quality (NLQ). In fact ESC/P2 pro-
vides for all the functions catered for by the
current codes - font selection, page formatting,
user-defined characters and graphics - but offers
advances in three main areas: graphics, fonts
and general design.
Epson is ensuring
the survival of dot-
matrix printing by
introducing a new
standard code.
MALCOLM
BROWN
investigates
BETTER GRAPHICS
The graphics enhancements are based around
one simple mechanical advance. The new
machines can print two dots next to each other.
At the highest resolution of 360 dots per inch
(better than most laser printers) ESC/P printers
required two passes of the printhead over each
line of the image; ESC/P2 machines can print to
this resolution in just one pass.
This not only speeds up graphic dumps but,
because each line is produced in one go, the dots
are positioned more accurately and the resulting
images are marginally more even.
RASTER MODE
Leading from this printhead advance is a new
raster graphics mode which makes child's play
of the task of writing dump software. Rather
than split the screen image into vertical strips of
24 pixels (not a very computer-friendly number)
the raster graphics mode operates just like a
television raster display. An ESC/P2 dump
program simply outputs in turn a one or a zero
for each dot in a line across the paper. What’s
more, the dot spacing is the same vertically and
BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992 61
PRINTING
horizontally, so circles are printed as circles,
squares as squares, and so on.
The vertical and horizontal resolutions can be
set to either 360 or 180dpi and for different
screen memory maps, you can output two or
more rows of dots at once. It is also possible to
output the data in a compressed form of print
data followed by a count.
Listing one (see our Yellow Pages box below
for details) demonstrates how the raster graphics
mode can be used with graphics programs. The
program simply looks at each pixel on a mode 0
screen in turn and sends a set or reset bit to the
printer according to whether the pixel is lit or
unlit (using point). In effect, the paper has been
split into print pixels l/360in across, each of
which can be addressed individually in turn.
Writing the program in assembler, with its
register shift functions, would in fact make
things even easier, but it would be harder to
follow. The Basic program we supply has lots of
REM statements to make its operation reasonably
clear. In fact, listing one uses the printer's lower
180dpi resolution and prints each screen pixel
lour times to achieve a reasonably sized dump.
Especially clever is the fact that, although the
program outputs the data for just one line of dots
at a time, the ESC/P2 printer gathers up all this
data and then prints 24 lines at once, using all
the available pins.
FONT CHOICE
ESC/P2's advances in text are just as revolution-
ary and somewhat easier for everyone to make
use of. The four Epson ESC/P2 printers offer an
excellent range of nine NLQ fonts, two of which
(Roman and Sans Serif) are fully scaleable and
can be printed any size from 8 to 32 points high
(about 3mm to 12mm) in 2pt steps.
The different sizes tire not formed by distort-
ing the fixed size characters, (the old ESC/P
characters are printed in double height, com-
pressed, and so on) but with genuine re-sized
character outlines just like Archimedes or Post-
script characters, as shown in our second
example above. A single, albeit lengthy, com-
mand which is easy to insert into a Word wise
file or View printer driver selects the character
size and the printer looks after the rest. Larger
characters require more than a single line of
print but the printer handles this automatically.
Our third example is rather more trivial - it is
a Word wise document that demonstrates the
character sizing by producing one page of the
Sony chairman Akio Morita’s autobiography . It
shows just how close to DTP this will allow
Beeb owners to get. The entire page was cre-
ated, without too much effort, using just
Wordwise Plus and the Epson LQ-870 and it
took about 40 seconds to print.
For Acorn users, the other text addition is
somewhat minor: ESC/P2 also allows the whole
IBM character set to be printed, including Ascii j
numbers 1-20, 22-31 and 127 (card suits, smiley
faces, musical notes, arrows and so on) not
produced by old ESC/P machines.
Apart from giving a few extra characters to
print, this completes the tie up between Epson
and IBM compatibility and this should serve to
extend the popularity of the ESC/P2 code.
GENERAL DESIGN
Other general improvements include a radical,
but carefully thought out, design approach.
These machines look weird, having a strange
tilted styling that puts the controls to the fore
wherever you choose to position your printer.
The font in use and the character pitch can all
be selected from the comprehensive front panel,
along with the usual paper line and form feed.
Likewise the paper handling is as versatile as it
is possible to be. Paper can enter these machines
from the top, the rear, the front or the base.
Needless to say, paper loading is automatic.
With the various optional cut sheet feeders
(low and high capacity bins are available for
paper or envelopes and even a two-bin arranger
ment is possible), and the optional and built-in
tractor feeds, up to five different paper sources
can be fitted tit once. One paper type need not be
be unloaded to temporarily load another.
Uniquely, the new ESC/P2 printers are all
designed to use the same cut sheet feeders.
Naturally, different width feeders are required
for the narrow and wide carriage printers but the
LQ-570 and LQ-870 both use the same acces-
sories. Epson will extend common accessories to
new machines, at considerable savings - the 80
column feeders are priced at £49, while the wide
carriage feeders cost £79.
Of course, all of this would just be so much
gimmickry if the printers themselves were not
up to scratch. Fortunately that is far from the
case. The more expensive LQ-870 was put
through its paces for BAU and it performed
admirably. This machine is fast, well up to the
speed of the fastest rival machines at this price.
There are two draft modes - one gives slightly
better print quality than the other but is a touch
slower. The difference in quality is small and
most users will stick with the fastest mode that
can produce text at 174 characters per sec, or
about four pages per minute.
What's more, the quality of print is without
equal in the world of dot-matrix printing. Draft
print is quite legible and the NLQ print, in all
nine fonts, would match many laser printers.
The LQ-870 is an extremely capable machine.
Quite apart from the additions that ESC/P2
provides, it is a solid, high performance printer
with many novel but eminently useful design
features. The LQ-570 and LQ-1070 are about 25
per cent slower but otherwise found to be up to
the same standard.
CONCLUSION
It is unlikely that ESC/P2 will win over wealthy,
potential laser printer buyers to dot-matrix
printers, but it is certain that the improvements
found in the new standard make these new
printers highly desirable items to those who
cannot afford to take the laser route.
For BBC micro owners in particular, the
improved graphics and the whole new world of
scaleable fonts mean that the ESC/P2 printers
are a viable alternative to page printers. For that
reason alone, the development of the new
standard has been well worth the effort and
should prove a popular choice.
For more details on ESC/P2, and the new
range of printers, call Epson on (0442) 22722.
aA
CHARACTER SIZING...
MADE IN JAPAN
AKIO MORITA AND SONY
by Akio Moritu
with Edwin M ReingoJd and Mitsuko Shimomura
1
...AND PAGE PRINTING DETAIL
YELLOW PAGES
All of the listings mentioned in this
article can be found in Yellow
Pages under the heading Printers,
Of course, in time software will be
written to take full advantage of
the new printer codes but these
programs make an excellent start-
ing point. Instructions on how to
type in a listing can be found on
page 81. The listings can also be
found on the subscriber's monthly
disc (get yours free by subscribing
to BBC Acorn User - see page 29.)
I
62 BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992
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Printers
Canon Bubblejet BJ-lOe
£239.00
Sheetfeeder for BJ-lOe
£59.00
Citizen 120D+
£114.00
Citizen Swift 9
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Citizen Swift 24e
£239.00
Colour Kit for above
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Citizen Swift 224
£199.00
Citizen Swift 224 Colour
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Citizen PN48 Portable
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Star LC20
£130.00
Star LC200 Colour (9 pin)
£189.00
Star LC24 - 200
£219.00
Star LC24 - 200 COLOUR
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Integrex Colourjet 132
£519.00
HP DeskJet 500C
£699.00
HP Paintjet
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£749.00
Laser Direct (LBP4 Hi Res.)
£899.00
Laser Direct (LBP8 Hi Res.)
£1289.00
Oak Products
Worra Winnie (SCSI)
45 Mb Internal Hard Disc £349.00
80 Mb Internal Hard Disc £389.00
100 Mb Internal Hard Disc £489.00
200 Mb Internal Hard Disc £875.00
20 Mb External Hard Disc £344.00
45 Mb External Hard Disc £429.00
80 Mb External Hard Disc £485.00
1 00 Mb External Hard Disc £595.00
200 Mb External Hard Disc £925.00
60 Mb Tape Streamer £795.00
Econet
Broadcast Loader £60.00
Level 4 Software £199.00
Cable -100m £90.00
Econet Starter Kit £80.00
Scanners
Flatbed A4 256 Grey SCSI (CC) £849.00
Flatbed A4 with SCSI card £949.00
Scan Junior Scanner A6 £1 69.00
Scanlight Senior Scanner A4 £329.00
Sheet Feeder for above A4 £1 05.00
Printer Drivers
Midnight Graphics
Citizen Swift 9 Sprite Dump
£26.04
Citizen Swift 24 Sprite Dump
£26.04
Epson 24 Sprite Dump
£26.04
HP Deskjet 500C Sprite Dump
£26.04
HP Paintjet Sprite Dump
£26.04
Integrex 132 Sprite Dump
£26.04
Integrex Colourcel Sprite Dump
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Juki 5520 Sprite Dump
£26.04
Star LC10 Sprite Dump
£26.04
Star XB24 Sprite Dump
£26.04
Star LC200 Sprite Dump
£26.04
Star LC24-200 Sprite Dump
£26.04
Ace Computing
Printer JX (Colour Dot Matrix)
£13.00
Printer DJ (Deskjet 500C)
£13.00
Printer PJ (Paintjet)
£13.00
Printer CA (Canon Colour)
£13.00
Electronic Font Foundry
BubbleJet- BJl0e/130e
£10.00
Cables
Arc - Monitor - 8833 inc sound
£8.65
Arc - Monitor - 8833 II inc sound
£8.65
Arc - Parallel Printer Cable
£5.00
Keyboard Extender 400/500
£7.50
Mouse Extender
£7.50
Replacement Mk 1 Mouse Cable
£6.50
BBC Software
Blob 1
£18.00
Blob 2
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Chick Chase (80 Track Only)
£15.00
E-Type
£13.00
Imogen
£9.95
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Master Break
£10.39
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£17.35
Modem Master
£11.26
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Play It Again Sam No’s 1-15
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ViewPlot
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4 Mation
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£17.00
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£26.00
Tween
£26.00
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1st Word Plus
£65.00
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2125.00
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2109.00
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£1531.06
£1765.96
£1099.00
£899.00
£599.00
£642.29
£855.05
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James Pond £20.00
Lemmings £20.00
Mad Professor Mariarti £14.00
Manchester United Europe £1 9.00
World Champ. Boxing Manager £1 9.00
World Championship Squash £1 8.00
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Talisman £13.00
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Presenter Story
£129.00
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My World
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Simple Stuff Skeletons
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£40.00
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Parametric Design Tool
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£52.13
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Remote Logon
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Serious
Worra Battle
£14.00
Ancestry
£59.00
Worra Plotter
£24.00
Atelier
£69.00
WorraCAD
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Desktop Office
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Sherston Software
£15.95
Easiword
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IDraw Help
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Graphbox
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£19.00
Graphbox Professional
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Arcventure
£25.00
Home Accounts
£35.00
Dreamtime
£20.00
Multistore II
£179.00
Farm
£19.00
PCAccess
£19.00
Fleet Street Phantom
£23.00
PrimeArt
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Mapventure
£23.00
Timetabler
£599.00
Microbugs
£25.00
Games
Nature Park Adventure
£24.50
Battletank
£13.00
Selladore Tales
£24.00
— j/
The Ultimate Graphical Presentation Package
Available End March 1992 please call for Launch Pack and Sample disc - Price £51.02
Space Mission Mada
£23.00
Stig of the Dump
£22.00
Teachers Cupboard
£24.50
Teddy Bears Picnic
£23.00
Viewpoints
£35.00
Wizards Revenge
£17.00
Worst Witch
£21.50
Silicon Vision Ltd
ARC-PCB
£149.00
ARC-PCB Professional
£299.00
Data Vision
£119.00
FILM-Maker
£70.00
Financial Accountant
£199.00
GerberPlot
£89.00
Realtime Solids Modeller
£149.00
RiscBASIC
£119.00
RiscFORTH
£119.00
RoboLOGO
£70.00
ShareHolder
£149.00
SolidCAD
£119.00
SolidTOOLS
£299.00
SolidsRENDER
£119.00
SuperDump
£25.00
SuperPlot
£29.00
SIMMIS
Books (No VAT)
C: A Dabhand Guide £1 4.95
Archimedes Assembly Language £14.95
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EDUCATION
CHRIS DRAGE
looks at a range
of data loggers
designed to
monitor the
environment
WINDS OF CHANGE
f 1 m nyone who has ever harboured a secret
desire to he a weatherman will probably find
that data loggers are a joy to use. Or, on a
more serious note, data loggers are great for
school projects, and can monitor a range of
environmental changes such as temperature,
wind speed and many more. Some can even
monitor the number of footsteps across a room.
There are many different types of data log-
gers, available across the range of Acorn
machines, but they all do basically the same
thing. A data logger takes sensor readings and
stores them in memory. There are in fact two
types: digital sensors, such as on/off switches,
can be used to count events, while analogue
sensors, such as thermistors, detect subtle
changes in the environment. There are a wide
range of sensors available, allowing you to
monitor all manner of chemical, physical and
biological phenomena.
As far as schools are concerned, data logging
can play its part in fulfilling the demands of the
National Curriculum which states that pupils
should be able to “measure physical quantities
and control movement.”
For five to seven year olds (Key Stage I) the
IT orders stress that pupils should be" able to
instruct electronic devices such as program-
mable toys and computers. At ages seven to
eleven (Key Stage 2) they should be able control
computers using a sequence of instructions and
write a simple computer program. It is only
when they reach the age group of II to 14 (Key
Stage 3) that there is any real emphasis on
monitoring physical events and processing the
data. This is taken even further for the age group
of 14 to 16 (Key Stage 4) where the National
Curriculum cites a greater range of methods for
collecting data, including many in which' data is
collected automatically.
Data handling is also an important aspect of
mathematics at a number of levels. In the geo-
graphy orders too, there is some stress on using
weather data, for example for regional analysis -
66 BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992
ILLUSTRATION BY LINDA DACEY
EDUCATION
an ideal task for a data logging system. However
the most important factor for teachers will
probably be that all important question - will it
work on my machine? In this case, the answer is
yes. If you have a BBC B or Master 128 then
you do not need anything other than a data
logger and the necessary sensors. A3000 owners
must, in addition, have a serial upgrade fitted,
costing about £20, and the A3 10/400 series
needs an Acorn I/O podule. As for the range of
data logging devices on the market, there are
quite a few to choose from.
BASIC SKILLS
For younger children and older children with
learning difficulties there is The Measuring Box.
This system is made up of a small plastic box
which holds three, surface-mounted sensors, a
large pressure mat, a disc of software for BBC
B/Master 128 computers and a manual. It allows
four different items to be recorded: sound level
with a small microphone, light level with a light
detector, air temperature with a calibrated ther-
mistor and movement with the pressure mat.
The three programs provide current readings,
graph plotting over one minute and recording
over longer periods and the resulting graph may
also be printed out. This system puts the
emphasis on interpretation and not on the pro-
cess of setting up and monitoring events. It
encourages young children to use their imagina-
tion and to use facts in a precise manner.
The robust First Sense Starter Kit avoids the
need for complicated hardware, wiring or too
many instructions and includes an interface,
three sensors, connecting leads and suitable
software. The system is designed to work with a
range of computer systems found in schools
requiring only the necessary lead and software
and is aimed at the primary teacher who has no
special computer skills.
The extensive range of sensors includes: light,
temperature, sound, pressure, humidity, rotation
and position. With up to four sensors being used
simultaneously, rudimentary weather monitor-
ing can be taken from the classroom window.
Unusually, eight AA size batteries are required
for the sensors which makes this unit more
expensive to run. The sensors are very robust
and safe but are quite bulky as they are designed
to be hand-held. All sensors are self-identifying
and splash-proof with the temperature and light
sensors being waterproof as well.
The software enables children to see changes
in the environment on screen as they happen,
with the results being recorded as a bar chart, a
line graph or as simply a table of readings. It
also has the ability to build up a daily weather
file including brightness, temperature, humidity,
pressure and wind speed. If you can afford it
First Sense is a super system.
MOVING ON
At the next age range, Measure It has been
designed with the Key Stage 2 firmly in mind. It
includes an interface box, two temperature
sensors, a light sensor and a thumb switch on a
lead. The hardware is simple, well designed and
robust enough for little fingers. Measure It uses
the BBC/Mastcr computer during all its activity
and is not able to log data remotely.
Two other programs are recommended for use
with Measure It hardware. The first. Toolkit
will be familiar to many secondary schools.
Another package called PriSM is particularly
well suited to primary science activity when
combined with Measure It. Indeed, the Intro-
PriSM program introduces the concepts of data
logging extremely well and the speaking ther-
mometer is delightful and is useful for partially
sighted children.
Sense is a low-cost version of Sense and
Control, which is aimed at older children. (We
will look at Sense and Control in more detail
later.) Sense can be used successfully in multi-
subject experiments at all levels. It has six inputs
labelled one to four and A and B. Being a serial
device, Sense connects equally well with a BBC
B/Master 128 or an Archimedes (with an ana-
logue port added).
The range of self-identifying sensors is
steadily growing, with all the popular ones
available: light, temperature, position, light
gates, pressure mat and light switch. Software
for use with Sense includes Practical Science
With Microcomputers , or Intro-PriSM/PriSM.
The NCET Sensing Science Pack will appeal
to primary teachers looking to introduce IT into
their science teaching. The pack comprises the
Sense interface, Intro- PriSM and PriSM soft-
ware, two light sensors, two temperature
sensors, a turn sensor, a general digital sensor
and an input connecting block. This all adds up
to make this pack the most comprehensive
introduction to data logging.
Although they have much in common, Sense
differs from Sense and Control in one important
way - remote data capture is not possible as
Sense can only be used when connected to a
computer and so limits older children.
BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992 67
EDUCATION
PRODUCT DETAILS
Product:The Measuring Box
Supplier: Panthera, 5 Cedar
Close, Beeston, Nottingham
NG9 2HA
Machines: BBC B, Master 128
Price: £60
Product: First Sense, EMU
Supplier: Philip Harris
Tel: (0934) 413063
Prices: First Sense Starter Kit -
£232, interface only £125.
EMU -£226 (including
connecting lead)
Machines: BBC B/Master
Archimedes
Product: Measure It
Supplier: Resource
Tel: (0302) 340331
Price: £85
Machines: BBC B/Master
Product: LogIT
Supplier: Griffin 8t George
Tel: (0509) 233344
Prices: £185 (starter pack),
£29.90 (connecting lead and
Link Pack software), £9.90
(mains power supply unit)
Product: Simple Logger
Supplier: Unilab
Tel: (0254) 681222
Prices: £133 (including soft-
ware), £7.80 (input card for
Simple Logger) £56.03 (20v
bench power supply unit)
Machines: BBC B/Master,
Archimedes
Product: Sense and Sense and
Control
Supplier: Educational
Electronics
Tel: (0525) 373666
Prices: Sense £39 including
software, NCET Sensing Science
pack: £175, Sense and Control
£179 including pressure mats.
(The full data logging package
£339).
Product: Sense It
Suppliers: Deltronics
Tel: (0269) 843728
Price: £96
Machines: BBC B/Master
All prices exclude VAT.
OLDER CHILDREN
For older children who have reached Key Stages
3 to 4 and beyond, three additional features
become essential. The ability to log remotely
becomes crucial as it extends logging activities
far beyond the walls of the classroom. These
data loggers operate independently, but even-
tually they must transfer their collected data to a
host computer, where it can be stored and dis-
played for analysis. With older pupils, the ability
to be able to have snapshot and timed logging is
also important.
One attribute of the established Easy Memory
Unit (EMU) is that it does not require a compu-
ter at all to set it up and to log data, yet it can
transfer data to a computer as and when
required. It does possess some useful features,
such as its rechargeable batteries. The recording
rate can be set manually and every function can
be checked by a built-in meter. The EMU is
reliable and up to four sensors can be connected
simultaneously. Although EMU has a huge
range of sensors there are two disadvantages:
each requires a small battery box to be con-
nected, they are not automatically recognised by
the software, nor are they precalibrated.
However, the system looks dated now in the
light of recent developments and it is not cheap.
The Simple Logger also permits four sensors
to be connected simultaneously via 4mm
sockets. It will accept many types of sensor from
the Philip Harris type to simple sensors you
connect up yourself with a length of wire. This
logger is controlled by two push buttons and has
four LEDs to indicate what is happening. The
Simple Logger must be programmed from the
host computer to accept the number of sensors
and the rate at which readings are taken.
It can then log data in real time, with the
computer software displaying the values as they
are recorded. It can also log remotely. The
software includes a useful tutorial which makes
the technical nature of the software far more
easy to follow. The system includes triggered
logging (for example to start logging at a certain
temperature) and event logging (to begin
logging when a certain event has taken place).
Full data analysis and display is possible.
Although the price tag is attractive there are a
few drawbacks - there are no internal recharge-
able batteries so an external power source is
needed, manual calibration of sensors is a little
archaic and there is no on-board clock to enable
timed or preset recording of data.
Sense It Science Kit (Deltronics) comes com-
plete with seven sensors, but is not a remote
type and must remain linked to a computer. It
can handle up to four, automatically calibrated
sensors at once and is extremely sturdy, requir-
ing no batteries in use. The software includes 10
menu-driven programs for collecting, display-
ing, analysing and storing data and printing out
screens. It can also can be configured to a sim-
ple version better suited to younger pupils.
Comprehensive resources pupils are included in
the pack and offer 10 experiments (at Key
Stages 3-4) to be undertaken immediately.
Sense It is affordable, simple to use, keeps the
technology at arm's length, and provides many
useful starting points for experiments.
TWO VERSIONS FOR DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS
LogIT is extremely light and small, and is a
truly remote logger. The starter pack comprises
a LogIT, light level and temperature sensors
packaged in a plastic briefcase. LogIT can
accommodate up to three sensors and possesses
a serial port, a control interface and a power
socket. The controls comprise two push buttons:
green (to start) and red (to stop) each with an
accompanying LED. Its major attribute is the
ease with which data can be recorded - just press
a button. LogIT automatically recognises sen-
sors and gradually decreases the frequency of
measurements until the stop button is pressed,
‘sleeping' between readings to conserve battery
life and serially downloading the data to the host
computer. It can also be programmed for timed
samples, event and triggered logging and can
accept a variety of sensors.
LogIT is very versatile, portable logger which
can be set up to be as simple or complex as you
want it to be. It is well supported with human
physiology software and weather adaptor set
(lor the Digitar Weather Station) and progpack
eproms on which LogIT programs can be stored
semi-permanently. Fully Rise OS compliant
logging software will be soon be available.
However, LogIT' s biggest rival is Sense and
Control which we mentioned earlier. It comes in
two forms: the basic hardware and software kit
or the full data logging pack which includes
eight different sensors and comprehensive
National Curriculum materials from NCET
entitled Practical Science with Microcomputers.
Sense and Control can handle four analogue
and two digital sensors (all self identifying), has
a serial communication port, and BBC-style A
to D User and printer ports. With its own bat-
teries and micro processor, it can be a substitute
I/O podule on the Archimedes/A3000. Sound
and Control communicates serially with the host
computer from which it is programmed, before
it can log remotely. New Rise OS compliant
software provides timed, delayed and sensor
activated logging. Its simplicity will be appre-
ciated by non-computer literate teachers, yet the
system can be put to quite sophisticated logging
tasks. In addition, it can also double as a control
interface to environments via the Power Sac
controller. Importantly, for schools, the Sense/
Sound and Control offers coherence and con-
tinuity across the age ranges.
68 BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992
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Man at Arms (A) £15.62
Holed Out (A) £15.62
Apocalypse (A) £23.44
Nevyron (A) £15.62
The Olympics (A) £15.62
PRES
Adv. Control Panel (BMC) £27.90
Adv. Disc Investigator (BMC) £23.52
Adv. Disc Toolkit (BMC) £27.90
Adv. File Manager (BMC) £22.51
PRES Archl products all discounted !!
MINERVA SYSTEMS
System Delta+Card Index (BM) £50.83
System Delta Plus (A) £62.56
Atelier (A) £78.22
DABS PRESS
Master Guide Book £1 1 .66
Viewstore/Sheet Book £1 1 .66
Archimedes DFS Disc £23.44
"C* A Dabhand Guide £13.45
Z88 A Dabhand Guide £1 3.45
Archimedes Beginers Guide £8.95
A3000 Basic Model
SUPER Price £CALL #
OR !
A3000 Stereo Colour Model
SUPER Price £CALL*
OR1
A420/1 Stereo Colour Model
SUPER Price £CALL #
We are open ALL day Saturday
Why not visit our showroom !
We will try to better any other
DEALER PRICE ... PLEASE TELEPHONE
Acan
Acansolt
BBC Pubs
Dabs Res
Msc
Msc
MSC
Msc
Msc
Msc
Msc
MSC.
Msc
MSC.
Msc
Msc
MSC.
MSC
MSC
A3000 Model |
Basic £629. 10 Colour £653.20
A420/1 Model
Basic £1 169. 10 Colour £1367. 10
Acansolt
Acansoft
Acansolt
Acansoft
Acansoft
Audogc
Bug Byte
Claes
Domark
Domark
Firebird
Impoct
Impoct
Impact
impoct
hnpoct
Impact
impact
Incentive
Man da In
Mao Pow
Mao Pow
Msc.
Msc.
MSC.
MSC.
MSC.
Suporla
Superla
9uperla
Superla
Superla
Superla
Superla
Superla
Superla
9uper1a
Superla
9uperia
Superla
Superla
Superla
Superla
Superla
Superla
9uperla
Superla
9uperla
Superla
Superla
Superla
Superla
Superla
Superla
9uperla
Superla
Tynesoft
Tynesoft
Tynesoft
SERIOUS SOFTWARE
Master 128 £359.10
Cambridge Z 88 Lap Top £1 89.95
Panasonic KX P1081 £146.95
Citizen Swift 9 £157.00
Citizen Swift 24 £260.83
Citizen Swift colour upgrade £34.20
Star LC10 £155.40
Star LC10 Colour £294.35
Philips 8833 Colour £1 95.00#
Philips 7522 Amber Screen £69.52
Philips 8832 Colour £199.67
Ahkter 40/80 400K Sgle no PSU £99.00
Ahkfer 40/80 800K Dual no PSU £199.00
Ahkter 40/80 400K Sgle & PSU £1 1 4.53
Ahkter 40/80 800K Dual & PSU £221 .70
2500
12.00
10.00
2500
2500
700
60 00
1500
31.31
1600
22.00
60 00
60.00
6.00
21.74
3000
600
3.39
600
1200
1000
1500
6.00
15.00
12.00
12.00
1500
000
1500
BOO
800
10 00
6.00
3.50
7.00
12.00
18.00
000
1200
1500
1500
1200
600
39.00
1500
15.00
15.00
3000
1500
400
1200
1000
4000
1000
1000
26.04
26.04
7.00
2500
2500
1000
600
600
1000
1200
3000
0.65
60 00
1000
865
AMX9upor Aj l(M) DISC
Extra! Extra (BM) Disc
Max (B) ROM
Step Ress Discs (M)
Super A; t (C) Disc
Utilities (BM) Disc
PC Emulator (A) Discs
Bade Edta (BMC) ROM
BCPL ROM (B)
GXR Rom (B) ROM/Tape
HI - View (B) DISC
190 Pascal (BM) ROMs
loglstu (A) Disc
Rinter Driver Gon. (BM) Disc
View Spell (BM) ROM & Disc
View Stao (BMC) ROM
Workshop (B) Disc
Drawing (B) Tapo
VU-Typo (B) Tcpo
C Stand AJone Gerafa
Dosgn (B) Disc
Exmon II (B) ROM
Hertfiey Chars (B) Disc
icon Masta (OM) ROM
Mastorliio II (B) Disc
Masta lie li (C) Disc
Murom (B) ROM
Paintbox (B) Disc
Rtnfwlso (BM) Disc
QuickC ak: (B) Disc
QuiCkCdC (C) DI9C
Sleuth (B) ROM
Sprites Unis (B) Disc
Teletext (8) Tapo
Teletext Pock (B) Disc
Tookll (B) ROM
Tookll Rus(B) ROM
Vocab Tesla (B) Tapo
wordeaso(B) ROMs
Axtroom (C) Disc
Aitroom (M) Doc
Axiroom(M)Dtsc
Beta Base unis (B) Disc
Render Bon da (A) Disc
Disc Doctor (B) ROM
Graphics (BM) ROM
Gremlin (B) ROM
hta-Shoet (BMC) ROM
Rhtmasfa (BMC) ROM
C Rogram Dsc
Hyper Otva (C)Osc
Graphic Adv Creator (B) Tcpe
Gamma Rot (A) Drsc
In ta /View Unk (C) Disc
Mail Shot Appicatlon (C) Disc
Sales Ledga (OM) Disc
Stock Manogomont (C) Disc
Admin Extra (B)Osc
Fleet Street Editor (B) Disc
Fleet Street Edta (C) Disc
Fonts & Graphics (B) Disc
Psychic Powers PSt-Q (B) Disc
Strike Face Harrier (B) D9C
1st Wad Study Glide (A) Dsc
3D Logo (C) Disc
ADE* (M) 2xROM
AIDS H by Sol t Smith
A/chwoy (A) Disc
Bat Boot Maths 0-12(0 Disc
Busfcdc (BM) Dlsc/Supasoft
AMS
AMS
AMS
AMS
AMS
AMS
Acan
Acansoft
Acansoft
Acansoft
Acansolt
Acansoft
Acansoft
Acansolt
Acansoft
Acansolt
Acansolt
BBC Rubs
BBC Pubs
Boobug
Boobug
Boobug
Boobug
Boobug
Boobug
Boobug
Boobug
Boobug
Boobug
Boobug
Boobug
Boobug
Boobug
Boobug
Boobug
Boobug
Boobug
Boobug
Boobug
Claes
Claos
Clams
Claes
Claos
Comp Con
Comp Con
Comp Con
Comp Con
Comp Con
Dabs Res
Dabs Res
incentive
Mnava
Mnava
Mnava
Mnorva
Mnava
Mrra
Maa
Mrra
Mrra
Mrra
Mrra
MSC
MSC
MSC
MSC
MSC.
Msc
Msc.
Winter Clearance
Goupil Golf Laptop/Desk PC 1 meg 286
40meg H/disc VGA Retail £3500.00
SAVE £2,700.00 SALE Price £300.00
Amstrad PC2086HD 12* VGA cotour
30meg H/disc Retail £899.00
SAVE £200.00 SALE Price £699.00
OAK COMPUTERS
20 Mb Ext HDisc (B & Master) £51 7.75
SCSI 20Mb Add HDisc A3/4 10 £41 3.25
SCSI 20Mb Ext HDisc A3000 £508.25
SCSI 45Mb Add HDisc A3/410 £527.25
SCSI 45Mb Ext HDisc A3000 £622.25
SCSI Card for A3000 £1 89.05
SCSI Card for A3/4 1 0 £1 89.05
Amstrad PC2086SD Mono monitor
3.5' Floppy Drive Retail £499.00
SAVE £50.00 SALE Price £449.00
WE ABE LICENSED CREDIT BROKERS AND CAN OTTER
FINANCE ON COMPUTERS AND SOFTWARE. WE
OPERTATE THE ACORN TEACHER ANO ACADEMIC
SCHEMES FOR TRAINNG AND FINANCE. PlEASE
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SAVE £50.00 SALE Price £ 1 99.00
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buying Used Hardware & Software
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SMALL ADS
420/1 Learning Curve, RGB
col Monitor, Epson LX80
printer, 12 issues Acom User,
all software - £1290. Tel: F
Richardson, (0732) 359710
Electron 64K, +1, +3, +2 Rom,
View, Viewsheet, Tape
recorder, leads and manuals,
some games - £180. MX80
FTUI printer & lead 75. Ralph
Sillet. 22 Cherrybrook Drive,
Penkridge, Staffs, ST19 5EA
BBC Master Compact and sin-
gle 40/80 disc drive with
manuals - £250 ono. Tel: S
Dumford, (0455) 29 1015
BBC B, colour monitor,
recorder, twin drives, Watford
Rom/Ram board, Replay, Tele-
text, manuals, books, games.
Excellent condition, boxed -
£450. Tel: I Twisleton, (0604)
845257
A3000, 2Mb Ram, Acom
colour monitor + stand,
manuals + applications discs,
all good condition - £600 ono.
Tel: Alasdair, (0785) 760082
Cambridge Z88, 128K addi-
tional Ram, mains adaptor lead
and software for Arc connec-
tion - £125 ono. 1st Word Plus
V2 - £20. Tel: David, 081-886
4040
Pace Linnet V21/23 modem +
Hearsay - £100. Acom DTP -
£40. 1st Word Plus - £25,
Genisis - £25. PC
Emulatorl.34 + DR Dos - £25.
Break 147 & Saloon Cars - £12
each. Tel; Peter, (07683) 52269
BBC B with cassette recorder,
light pen, games and books -
£100 Tel: John: 061-494 1676
eves.
BBC B, ADFS, 5.25/3.5in
drives, genlock board, titling
software. View family. Pen-
down, Eprom erasor, Ziff,
Printer &auto sheet feeder -
£350. Tel: E Foster, (0223)
63545
A3000, 2Mb Ram, colour
monitor & stand - £710 ono.
Genisis - £35, Atelier - £40,
Logistix - £40, Art Nouveau -
£20, 3.5in drive - £45. Tel: J
Chuter, (0458) 250130
A3000 with Acom colour
monitor, PC Emulator, First
Word, games, 2Mb. As new -
£680. Tel: David, 0332 673784
BBC B with D/D disc drive,
View W/P, Viewsheet, Views-
tore, Viewspell, cassette player,
joysticks, many games - £250.
Centronics printer - £50. Tel:
G Wise, (0734) 341866
BBC Master Compact, moni-
tor, 3.5in disc drive,
Wordwise+, games - £300
ono. Tel: (0703) 556105
BBC B, upgraded, sideways
Rom, 40/80 Viglen drive,
mouse, joysticks, Wordwise,
Disc Doctor, books, data
recorder, 50 plus games -
£225. A Roulson, Savile
Coach House, Savile Road,
Halifax, W Yorks. HX1 2BA
f
Electron, immaculate condi-
tion, many games, tape
recorder, first byte joystick
interface - £150 ono. A
Stevenson, 9 Kilmrey Gdns,
Newcastle Road, Kilkeel, Co.
Down, N Ireland. BT34 4AL
53Mb Rodime hard drive
full of public domain soft-
ware - £260. T/V camera,
ideal for digitising - £100.
Tel: Sean, (0872) 571281
70 BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992
PROGRAMMING
MARK SIDEY presents a watertight case for simulating liquids on the Archimedes
Q iquid is a program that can create a truly
watery landscape - a red or blue liquid is
cascading down your screen and you can
play around with the concept by creating foun-
tains, dams and all manner of water traps.
The shapes, ranging from slopes to bowls, are
drawn using the mouse and can be altered in
mid-flow. For instance, you can change the tide
by drawing a bowl, filling it with liquid and then
making a hole in the bottom to let it all run out.
Having chosen the type of simulation from the
menu, set up the screen. Use Select for thick
lines and Menu for thin ones. To erase, or make
holes in shapes, press Adjust-Select or Adjust-
Menu. To draw sorting pixels (see later), press
tab together with Select or Menu. Pressing I
locks the y axis of the mouse, and 2 the x axis,
which helps to draw straight lines. You can also
start with a filled screen into which you erase
tunnels, by pressing F. However, this won't
work when the liquid is flowing.
If you choose two liquids flowing in opposite
directions, all mouse drawing is mirrored. This
is switched on and off by F2 and Ft respectively.
Finally, to start the flow, press ALT. Press ALT
again to return to the main menu.
THE PROGRAM
The simulated liquid consists of a number of
drops. For a drop to move, the following rules
are applied. If the pixel below it is empty (black)
it moves down. If not, left and right of the drop
are checked. If only one direction is clear it
moves that way, but if both ways are clear the
drop will move ‘randomly' in either direction.
Finally, if all three ways are blocked, but there is
an empty space above, the drop will move up.
This last rule is very important - without it. the
liquid can't flow around U-tubes, or in fact over
any vertical barrier.
To obtain the fastest possible speed, all check-
ing and plotting of drops is performed by
directly accessing the screen memory. Each
drop's position (or screen address) is stored in a
table. Another table contains status bytes for
each drop - there are three flags in each byte.
The first flag is set if the drop has not yet
started flowing. (A drop can only start if there is
space for it at the top of the screen.) The second
Hag shows the drop colour (zero or one) and the
final Hag is set if the drop is upward flowing.
The flags are all set. depending on die choice
made at the start of the program in seijlags. Note
the Noi_Sinrieil Hag must always be set at the start.
The number of drops and the colours can be
changed by altering the appropriate variables in
the sci_variables procedure. With certain numbers
YELLOW PAGES
To use this program turn to the
listings entitled Liquid in the
yellow pages and type them in.
Instructions on how to copy
the listing in and run the pro-
gram are given on page 81 .
This program is also supplied
free to subscribers on the
monthly disc.
of drops you may encounter a kind of beat effect
on-screen due to random numbers being
obtained using the centisecond clock. If the time
taken for the computer to cycle through all of
the drops once is almost exactly a multiple of
one centisecond, it loses the randomness. Coun-
ter the effect by using a few more or less drops.
THINGS TO TRY
Try drawing with sorting pixels. If a drop lands
on one, and it is clear to the left and right,
instead of random chance, the colour of the drop
determines its subsequent movement - red drops
flow left and blue drops flow right. Liquid will
spontaneously How up a tube one pixel wide so
you can design syphons and capillary tubes, or
even cheat gravity and pipe the liquid from a
basin at the bottom of the screen up to the top.
As it is, the simulation is basic. Try adding
factors, such as cohesion to form larger drops, or
take pressure and velocity into account so that
the liquid accelerates as it falls, and splashes
when it hits a surface. Or How with the tide and
add a pump or water wheel.
BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992 71
TELEPHONE:
081-205 9558
FACSIMILE:
081-205 0190
Technomatic
TECHNO HOUSE,
468 CHURCH LANE,
LONDON
NW9 8UF
techno-l
Archimedes Computers
Carriage £8/computer £1 2/system
A3000
A3000 with 2Mb RAM (no monitor) £599
A3000 with 2Mb RAM Acorn monitor £798
A3000 with 2Mb RAM CUB 3000 monitor £788
A300LC with 1 Mb with Acorn monitor £649
Learning Curve Packages
A3000LC with 2Mb RAM (no monitor) £639
A3000LC with 2Mb RAM and
Cub 3000 monitor £830
A3000LC with 2Mb + Acorn monitor
Acorn 300 dpi inkjet printer £1089
A420/1 LC with 4Mb and Cub 3000 £1 259
A420/1 LC with 4Mb and
Taxan7700 + LR £1419
NEW A5000 Learning Curve
2Mb RAM, expandable to 4Mb + 40Mb HD
with Acorn multiscan monitor £1531
A5000 LC with 300 dpi inkjet printer £1 765
A540
ARM3 + 100Mb SCSI HD, fitted with 8Mb
RAM (upgradable to 16Mb)
A540 plus Taxan 795 £2855
0% Finance on Learning Curves
Subject to Status. Ring for personal quotation
techno Tablet
Now 3 models to choose from:
technoTablet 9 £1 09(b)
6" x 9" tablet with captive 3 button stylus,
perfect for sketching and for special needs
applications.
technoTablet 12 £1 79(a)
The original 12" x 12" technoTablet with 4
button puck.
Optional Stylus for technoTablet 12 £1 5(c)
technoTablet 18 £329(a)
A new 18" x 12" tablet which will allow tracing
of drawings up to A3. 3 button stylus as
standard.
technoSCSI Packages
300/400
Single width card for internal or external
drives.
Internal are complete with all fittings, external
feature compact, professional cases and
screened cables.
47 Mb internal + card £249(a)
105 Mb internal + card £389(a)
Optional External terminator £1 2(d)
47 Mb External + card £339(a)
105 Mb External + card £469(a)
A3000
8 bit internal card with User Port. External
drives are housed in compact, professional
cases with screened cables.
47 Mb External + card £339(a)
105 Mb External + card £469(a)
Optional External terminator £12(d)
The techno-l Real-Time Colour Video
Digitiser for Archimedes computers is
one of the most advanced video
digitisers available, with features usually
found only on top-of-the-range models
for the IBM PC.
The techno-l card, with RISC OS
multitasking software, allows you to
grab a picture from a video source (TV,
Video recorder, etc.) and convert it into
a sprite. This can then be dragged to
RISC OS applications such as art or
DTP packages.
Unlike simple RGB video digitisers,
techno-l handles colour in 25 bits with 7
bits luminance and 18 bits
chrominance. By manipulating the
image using hue, saturation and
luminance, it mimics the human visual
system. The colours are therefore truly
WYSIWYG, techno-l will also give true
monochrome representation of colour
images.
The on-screen viewfinder displays live
colour or monochrome in real-time. The
viewfinder can be either 1/16 or 1/4
screen area, and can be offset vertically
and horizontally under user control.
The frame buffer resolution is up to 512
by 512, with programmable vertical and
horizontal resolution. Complex frame
manipulation features are built into the
hardware including options to grab the
current frame or previous frame and
grab the last completed frame.
All viewing, video and digitising
parameters are software controlled,
there are no presets, no setting up,
simply connect to a video signal, load
the software and digitise!
Acorn I/O card
16 bit Parallel I/O card
MIDI Add-on to Acorn I/O
MIDI Expansion Card
Archimedes Tracker Ball
£80(b)
£1 95(b)
£37(c)
£66(c)
£30(c)
A3000 Expansion
Acorn MIDI/User Port
£49(b)
Wild Vision Chroma Genlock
CGI
£2 15(b)
Serial Port Upgrade
£19(c)
A3000 Monitor Stand
£17(b)
techno I features include:
★ 25 bits resolution, 7 bits luminance
and 18 bits chrominance
★ Contrast, colour and brightness set
from Desktop
★ Image scaling up to 1280 by 1024
★ Selectable or automatic
monochrome/colour digitising
★ Auto detection of video signal, field
frequency and colour
★ Single width podule using surface
mount technology
★ Zero wait state 16 bit MEMC podule
★ Low chip count (13 chips) utilising
the latest technology
★ 40% of chips Brainsoftware
designed
★ Uses a single 5v supply only
★ Compatible with international TV
standards
★ Chrominance comb filter for studio
quality CVBS colour
★ CTI sharpens edges of coloured
objects
★ Picture signal improver enhances
the luminance content
★ Automatic black level and gain
control
★ Hardware programmable noise
filtering
★ SVHS input upgrade available
“a big improvement on the best
available from previous digitisers”
Trevor Attewell, Archimedes World
“...surprisingly good value cmpared to
the rest of the field” Rob Millar, Acorn
User
“using techno-i is a doddle ... an
excellent and easy to use product”
Steve Bruntlett, The Micro User
techno I for 300/400, 540, etc £249(b)
techno- 1 for A3000 £279(b)
(Securely boxed for external fitting)
SVHS Upgrade £1 00(d)
Wild Vision Chroma Genlock CG2 £21 5(b)
ADC 1 208 A to D Converter £495(b)
Dual RS232 Serial Card £1 95(b)
IEEE Interface £283(b)
ARC Prototyping board £35(c)
Master Series Systems
Master 128 £379(a)
Microvitec 1431 14" Std. Res.
Colour £1 69(a)
Philips CM8833/I1 14" Med.
Res. Colour £209(a)
ROM Cartridge £ 13(d)
32K RAM Cartridge and
utilities £12(d)
PS400 5.25" 40/80 drive with
PSU £90(b)
NO PRINTED PICTURE CAN DO IT JUSTICE - Send for FREE Demo Disc
Archimedes Expansion
Tel: 081-205 9558 Fax: 081-205 0190
Tel: 081-205 9558 Fax: 081-205 0190
What we can offer in addition to efficient
sales, service and professional backup !
We not only offer professional advice when you are purchasing your
system but we will also provide friendly assistance afterwards. All our
products carry a 1 2 month full warranty for parts and labour.
techno-ION Bundle
★ techno-l Real Time Colour Digitiser ★ Canon ION CCD Camera
★ SVHS Upgrade to techno-l ★ SVHS and RF cables
Capture 3-D objects in full colour on the Canon ION camera. With
rechargeable batteries you can take up to 50 pictures, storing them on
its floppy disc. They can then be digitised using techno-l to provide the
best images available on Archimedes computers.
techno-ION for 300/400/540/5000 £699(a)
techno-ION for A3000 £729{b)
Send for our free catalogue
and price list
RAM Upgrades
ifcC/7WSLRUII
Probably the definitive
monochrome
scanning package!
The all NEW technoSCAN II package provides
full monochrome operation at 400 dpi as well
as 8 and 16 level grey scale scanning and
provides the following features:
Suitable for all Archimedes micros and
integrates fully with the multitasking RISC OS
environment.
Advanced memory management system
releases memory when not required allowing
scanning and DTP in a 1MB computer.
Flexible zoom control allows palettes to be
imported, tailored and resaved with more
powerful tone and tinting features than most
painting packages.
Interactive help and a superb manual.
Direct printing with RISC OS drivers.
Saves sprites direct into PAINT and DTP or to disc.
Saves sections and palettes into any graphics mode.
At the same low price as the well tested original.
technoSCAN II complete with
interface card and manual £149(b)
technoSCAN II for A3000 £1 75(b)
technoSCAN II upgrade
for techno SCAN £22. 50(c)
Archimedes Monitors
Acorn 14” Medium Resolution,
Colour with Stereo Sound £209(a)
Philips CM8833/II Med. Res. Colour.
Stereo Sound, 1 year’s on-site
maintenance £209(a)
Taxan 770+LR Multisync High Res. Low
Radiation Colour £365(a)
Taxan 795 Flatscreen Multisync. Hi. Res.
Colour with VIDC Enhancer £399(a)
Archimedes Printers
Dot Matrix
Epson LX400 9 pin 1 50 cps £11 0(a)
Epson LQ200 24 pin 1 50 cps £1 79(a)
Star LC200 Colour 9 pin £1 59(a)
Star LC24-200 Colour 24 pin £225(a)
Inkjet
HP Deskjet 500 B/W 80 column
300dpi £295(a)
Canon BJIOex 80 column portable
360dpi £1 99(a)
Canon BJ300 80 column 360dpi £349(a)
Canon BJ330 1 32 column 360dpi £395(a)
Colour Inkjets
HP Deskjet 500C Colour 80 column
300dpi £499(a)
HP Paintjet Colour 80 column 180dpi £439(a)
HP Paintjet XL Colour
1 32 column 1 80dpi £1 059(a)
Integrex 1 32 80 column £499(a)
Laser Printers
HP Laserjet IMP 1 Mb RAM £699(a)
1 Mb RAM Upgrade for HIP £56(b)
Canon LBP4 0.5Mb for LaserDirect
HiRes £585(a)
LaserDirect HiRes4 £350(b)
1 year on-site maintenance on laser printers
a SPECIAL .
* OFFERS ^
★ ★★★★★★★★★★★★★
A305/3 1 0
Acorn Hard Disc Controller £79(b)
techno Hard Disc Controller £79(b)
Brainsoftware 4 slot
backplane £25(b)
Cooling Fan for A31 0 £ 1 3(c)
400/1 Series
2nd Floppy Disc Drive £75(b)
Replacement PSU £75{b)
300/400 Series
technoSCSI card £99(b)
ROM PODULE £1 0(c)
AKA20 Floating Point Unit £350(b)
AEDA External Floppy adapter £ 1 0(d)
A3000
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STEPPING UP
HARD ’N’ EASY
Keeping your hard disc in shape is easier than you think.
PAUL JAMES shows you how
a ll us people with hard discs face a similar
problem - that of organisation. Admittedly,
having the capacity to store thousands of
files in one place is great, but don't forget that it
has to be kept neat and tidy, just like your desk
at work or school.
However, certain aspects of this necessary
organisation will require you to understand the
set-up of the !Boot files, !Run files and other
gadgets that generally hide some of the com-
plexities of Rise OS. Keep reading and you'll
discover, among other things, how to modify
your System directory, add as many fonts as you
like and design your own icons to personalise
your desktop.
SYSTEMATIC
The System directory is an important part of
Rise OS as it contains the shared resources,
modules that can be used by more than one
application, in much the same way that your
spice rack at home stores frequently used spices.
For instance the CLib module has routines that
are used by Draw , Paint , Edit and many others.
Having shared resources cuts down on appli-
cation size and helps to standardise many
common things about the desktop.
System is a directory, as are all applications
such as Draw and Paint. An application direc-
tory however, differs in a couple of ways from a
normal directory. Most importantly, its name
begins with a pling (!). To open an application
directory you will need to hold down SHUT and
double-click on Select.
When Rise OS recognises an application
directory the '.Boot file inside it (if it exists) will
be executed. System is one of two applications
that must go into the root directory of your hard
disc, that is, the directory which is first dis-
played when you click on the hard drive icon.
This ensures that the .'Boot file inside the System
directory is the first to be executed. In the case
of the System directory the .'Boot file sets up a
few pointers that other applications can use to
locate System and its resources.
Take a look at the example System .'Boot file
on this page, noticing the comments in the first
few lines for clarity. A vertical bar symbol tells
the obey file reader to ignore the rest of the line.
It’s a good idea to add comments such as these
to your Files, and you should make extensive use
of them in your own script files.
The command iconSprites then ensures that the
.'Sprites file inside the application directory is
added to the Wimp sprite pool. This usually
includes a sprite with the same name as the
directory, which is used in the directory viewer
IconSprites (ObeySDir). [Sprites
SCSI : : Grahan. $ . ! Syst en. !
If ”<Sy5ten$Path>" =
If "<Hinp$Scrap>" = ""
RHEnsure ExtraHodes 2.6
RHEnsure ExtraModes 2.6
Then Set SystenSPath (ObeySDir).
Then Set WinpSScrap (ObeySDir). ScrapFile
RMLoad Systen:Modules.ExtraHodes
Error Can't find ExtraModes nodule
w
Run
jj lRun file for TSysfen
IconSprites (ObeySDir). ISprites
SCSI : : Grahan. ISysten. ! Run
Set Syst er»$Path (ObeySDir).
Set WinpSScrap (ObeySDir). S
I
ScrapFile
RHLoad SystemHodules. ExtraModes
Error Can't find ExtraModes nodule
RHEnsure ExtraModes 2.
RHEnsure ExtraModes 2,
I
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;9 Ijjffl Grahan 14:32:30 Printer Dungeon
THE IDEAL IBOOT AND !RUN FILES FOR YOUR SYSTEM DIRECTORY
NAMES & ADDRESSES
If you take a look at the title
bar of a directory viewer you
will notice that there is a tex-
tual representation of that
directory. Beginning with the
filing system (ADFS, SCSI and
so on), it is followed by a list of
directories separated by dots.
This is the internal format of a
filename and is not only the
file's actual name, but also its
exact location - its address if
you like.
as an icon. Drag the System ISprites file on to
Paint to see this - it may give you a hint as to
how to personalise your desktop.
Obey$Dir is a system variable which contains
the position of the last (or current) obey file to
be seen by Rise OS. Setting the SysiemSPath
variable to equal the ObeySDir variable means that
there will be a permanent record of where
System can be found; ObeySDir changes as you
move through the directory viewers. The com-
mand ii will ensure that it is only set if it was not
set before. However, notice that in the !Rnn file
of the System directory the if statement is
omitted. Double-clicking on an application
directory executes the .'Run file, as opposed to
Rise OS executing the .'Boot file automatically.
This means that double-clicking on System
unconditionally sets the current System path.
You must do this after you’ve shown your
computer any other floppy discs that contain a
System directory.
When an application needs a module from the
modules directory within the System directory,
such as Clib, the command RMLoad
Sysiem:Modules.Clib will load it into memory. This
is usually done in the application’s own .'Boot or
.'Run file.
This technique is used in my example .'Boot
file to automatically load the module Extra-
modes. RMEnsure is the same as RMLoad, but will
not load the module if it is already in memory. It
also has the ability to test the version number of
74 BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992
STEPPING UP
®K
SCSI; ;Grahatt.~$, ?Systefi. Modules
B 65Host
B 65Sound
B 65Tube
B ABCLib
B BasicEdit
B BeebModes
B CLib
B Colours
B DDEUtils
B Econet
B EuclidG
B Extranodes
B Fonts
B FornEd
B FPEnulator
B Hourglass
T DniiLi.ii
WR/
WR/
WR/
WR/
WR/
WR/r
WR/
WR/r
R/r
WR/
WR/
WR/
WR/
WR/r
WR/
Jlx_
63K Module
1112 Module
29K Module
19K Module
37K Module
3872 Module
60K Module
9K Module
3116 Module
12K Module
32K Module
4060 Module
30K Module
1797 Module
24K Module
1952 Module
14:31:07 15 Sep 1989
14 ; 26 ; 06
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Display
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06:07:59
22:54:01
12:88:59 23 Oct 1989
14:49:52 01 Mar 1990
14:35:56 16 Dec 1988
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21:55:22 25 May 1989
flO .Q,wi. l flQfl
Display
Large icons
Snail icons
Full info
Options
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Count
sort by nane
7 sort by type
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!
7 si p.
:0 RAM Grahan 14:33:14 Printer
Dungeon
| USING FULL INFO TO FIND OUT THE DATE OF MODULES
a module. On the machines in the BBC Acorn
User office the '.Boot file also loads special
Econet modules and Arm3 support modules.
ALL CHANGE
Every so often you may purchase an application
that will need an updated version of a module. If
when installed your application can’t find the
updated module in your hard disc’s System
directory you will get an error. New modules
required by applications will be supplied on a
floppy disc, inside a similar System directory,
and you will have to copy it over to your hard
d i sc ' s System d i rectory .
There are two ways to replace a module.
Sysmerge is a little application usually supplied
with a new module. It will correctly merge two
System directories by comparing version num-
bers of the modules that may need updating. If
the version number of the module on the new
disc is higher than the one in your current
System directory, then the latter will be replaced.
However, you can just as easily carry out this
procedure yourself. Open your System directory
and then open the Modules directory. Press
Menu over the directory viewer, move into the
Display submenu and click on Full info. This
will tell you the exact time and date when the
modules in your System directory were created.
Compare these with the supplied System direc-
tory on the new application disc. If a module on
the floppy disc has a later date than that of the
one in your System directory then drag the
newer version across. However, before you do
this ensure that you rename the old module, to
something like OldClib for instance. This is
probably being too careful, but an application
that runs quite happily using the older version of
the module may complain in subtle ways about
the new one. Having the old version of the
module on your hard disc at least gives you the
chance to rectify any faults resulting from the
update by temporarily renaming the old module.
If you do decide to use the Sysmerge appli-
cation then ensure that its version number is
1.02. In the case of applications, you can obtain
EDITING OBEY FILES
Edit has the ability to edit not
only text files, but any file. It
can also create Obey file com-
mand scripts. Press Menu over
the Edit icon on the icon bar
and move into the Create sub-
menu. If you click on New
Obey file what looks like a nor-
mal Edit window will pop up.
However, when you save this
file, its filetype will be that of
an Obey file. Similarly Obey
files can be dragged on to Edit
for editing.
this information from the Info menu on the icon
bar. Earlier versions of Sysmerge had a small
bug that reversed its effect, thereby actively
ensuring that your System directory was as out
of date as possible!
And don’t forget to double-click on your hard
disc’s System directory to ensure that the system
variable, SystemSPath, is pointing back to that
directory, and not the one on the floppy disc.
Another thing you can do in System ! Boot
files is to automatically run the .'Boot files of
commonly used applications. You must be
familiar with the little blank boxes that show
that the application that owns the file hasn't yet
been seen. More accurately, the .'Boot file of that
application hasn't been executed, so the sprite
for that icon isn't yet defined.
For instance, if you frequently use Draw, then
inserting a line at the end of the System ! Boot
file to execute the .'Boot file of Draw will not
only define the draw file sprite, but will also
remove the need to see Draw before you load a
draw 11 le. To do this, simply include the address
of the .'Boot file in your System .'Boot file, under
a little heading that says: Now running the .'Boot
files of popular applications.
FONTING AROUND
Your Fonts directory is another application
directory that should be in the root directory of
your hard disc. Many Rise OS applications use
fonts and there should always be a system
variable set up pointing to this directory.
Your root Fonts directory should only contain
a few fonts - mainly Trinity, Corpus, Homerton
and Dingbats (or Selwyn).
It is possible to have several outline font
directories, and only add to the list of available
fonts when you double-click on one. This
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SYSMERGE MAKES UPDATING SYSTEM EASY
method can be used to segregate fonts into fancy
and plain typefaces, or into alphabetical groups
for example. It will also alleviate the problems
that are often caused when you have too many
fonts present. For instance. Edit crashes if there
are more than about twenty, and Draw will
complain subtly if there are more than about
thirty typefaces.
It is easy to add another fonts directory to
your hard disc. Create a new directory, perhaps
calling it ’.More Fonts, and then copy the con-
tents of the core Fonts directory (.'Boot, .'Rim
and ! Sprites) into it. You will need to load the
.'Sprites file into Paint and rename the two icon
sprites to !morefonts and smlmorefonts respec-
tively. Then move your selected fonts into this
BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992 75
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DIFFERENT FONT DIRECTORIES CAN HELP CLASSIFY TYPES OF FONTS
y«tjl
OUTLINE FONTS
If you don't have outline fonts
then you should obtain them.
But be careful, you may
already have an outline font
manager. It appears in places
such as Impression, Ovation or
the Acorn PC Emulator, or you
can purchase it with a few
fonts direct from your local
dealer. Check that your font
manager is the outline version
by pressing F12 and typing
‘HELP MODULES. Look for Font
Manager; next to it will be a
version number. Any less than
2.00 and you have the old bit-
map font manager.
new IMoreFonts directory. Clicking on the new
directory will swap to the set of fonts contained
within it.
Do be aware that if you use this system, when
you double-click on the new directory your Arc
will forget about any previous set of fonts. This
is because a system variable called FontSPrefix is
set to point to the folder holding the new set.
You can modify the line in the !Run file within
the second font folder so that it reads Set
FontSPrefix <Obey$Dir>..<Font$Prefix>. Then the
variable will point at the new fonts, held in
<Obey$Dir>, and also at the old set. However,
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RAM Grahan 14:40:28 Printer Dungeon
7 c*
CLASSIFYING APPLICATIONS
don't change the !Run file of the core folder
because you may want to return to your core set
to run Edit.
Now you can create as many font directories
as you like. Double-clicking on each will add
the extra fonts to the available list, while double-
clicking on the core folder will strip the list back
down to its minimum again.
WHAT GOES WHERE?
The main problem when storing lots of files and
applications on one disc is how to classify them.
Putting all of the applications in one big direc-
tory is no good. Not only would it be confusing,
but it would also take ages to open as Rise OS
has to load each / Sprites file in each application
and obey each .'Root file. Therefore applications
have to be put into smaller directories.
It is mostly personal preference, but there are a
few ways to make things easier. A directory
called RiscOSApps, containing all the appli-
cations and files from Welcome discs One and
Two, is a must - you never know when you'll
want to play Maestro or use Madness. A direc-
tory called PDrivers, with the latest releases of
all the printer drivers, is also useful. You may
want to create a file for another printer one day.
A directory called Applications should hold
all of your applications, further divided into
individual directories. Most applications can be
filed under one of several types: text, DTP
( Impression , Ovation ), sound ( Rhapsody ,
Tracker ), picture, database, organisation, file,
sillies (PD applications such as Fish, Deskduck
and Bullwink), font and desktop.
It is important to keep all your work files in
one directory, perhaps called Work (inside, it
can be as confused as you like). The important
thing is that all your work is in one, easily
‘backupable' directory. Then it can be backed
up daily, without wasting time doing the whole
hard disc. If you have access to a network, your
network manager can set aside an area to dump
your work directory in, to back up every night.
A library is also important, for dumping
things like simple utilities, hard disc formatters,
any little programs you write to help you, clip
art, or even text files consisting of general notes.
SAVING SPACE
Unless you have a massive hard drive, space
will always be a problem: after all you only add
files, there's no point in deleting them. The most
significant space savings can be made by storing
old files in a compressed form. I find that the
biggest collection of files on my hard disc is old
games that I rarely play. Finished work also falls
under this category, and I usually keep an
archive file in each directory called OldStuff.
Also look out for large sprite files, or files that
contain large sprite files, perhaps drawfiles.
These can easily eat up to I Mb a time.
Many applications include a file called !Help,
describing what it does. To access this, press
Menu over the application in the directory
viewer, move over App. <appname>, and select
Help. However, in some cases it will go on for
pages. I recently found a help file of 40K in size
and promptly sent it up to help file heaven!
DIY DESKTOP
All the icons in the desktop are sprites, for instance
the name of the sprite for the floppy disc is floppy
disc. You can redesign the icon for the floppy disc
by simply creating another sprite with the same
name and dimensions and adding it to the ISprites
file in your System directory.
The following is a short program to grab all of
the desktop sprites and save them as Wimp sprites.
Then you can selectively save individual sprites
into your System ISprites file and redesign them.
Don't save all of them into the file as this will
waste disc space, and memory.
Press FI 2, type BASIC, and then type these lines:
SYS "Wimp_BaseOfSprites" TO base%
SYS "XOS_SpriteOp", 256+12, base%,"WimpSprs"
Type ‘QUIT and the Wimp sprites will now be in a
file called WimpSprs.
76 BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992
BBC A3000 ARM3's
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Fitting (inc courier collection and return) £ 41.13 inc VAT
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Upgrade to 2 Mb £ 200.00 inc VAT
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Upgrade 2 to 4 Mb £ 140.00 inc VAT
Includes fitting of the upgrade, courier
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Computer.
GRAPHS
Q or academics, college or school students
presenting experimental results or project
data, or for businessmen wanting to show
just how much better (or worse) the next year is
going to be, there’s no denying the attraction
and utility of a simple graph. Just as spread-
sheets can do the repetitive adding up, graphing
and charting applications can be used to turn
raw numbers into neat, simple charts.
On the Archimedes, these applications come
in two forms; there are the spreadsheets with
some graphic capability (Clares’ Schema , Col-
ton Software’s Pipedream 4 and the forthcom-
ing Eureka from Longman Logotron) which
allow you to mark out a block of numbers and
get an ‘instant graph’; and dedicated packages,
which take numbers from elsewhere and turn
them into graphs - usually the data is imported
as a CSV (comma separated value) file, which is
a text file containing a list of numbers with
commas between. All of these applications offer
a range of graph types (bar graphs, pie charts
and so on), and you can take a graph and export
it as a drawing into DTP package, direct to the
printer or into Draw for alteration.
CHARTWELL
Rise Development’s Chartwell is the latest of
the dedicated charting applications to make an
appearance, following the well-established
Presenter and Graphbox from Lingenuity and
Minerva - both have been upgraded recently.
Chartwell is deceptively simple at first, but as
with the others, you can set up some complex
graph types - for example, polar plots or scatter-
grams with a superimposed line of best fit.
Unlike early versions of Graphbox , it installs on
the icon bar, and you can drag CSV files onto it
from a spreadsheet or disc. A dialogue opens
which contains radio buttons to choose what
graph type you want - bar graphs, line or pie
charts, scattergrams or polar plots.
The menu gives access to a number of options
for each graph type - so for a pie chart you can
specify whether to explode one sector (the
biggest, the smallest or any particular one), and
whether to display some text, or the absolute or
relative value of each segment as a number in a
box just outside the pie. It is remarkably simple.
The options are broken down into a series of
relatively small dialogues for each graph type,
rather than one giant dialogue controlling all
aspects of the graph drawing process. Bar
graphs and pies can be flat or 3D-effect - the
defaults are for 3D, probably because they make
the application more impressive the first time
you use it.
The main menu also allows you to change
some overall options, such as: the colour to be
used for each bar or pie sector; the labels for
each of the columns of data (these can also come
from the CSV files); the shape and colour of
blobs to be used in line graphs; and whether to
use a background grid or shading to ‘enhance’
the graph. You can add a title to the chart too.
All the options chosen can be saved in a ‘style
sheet’ file, which makes it remarkably easy to
create the same type of graph again - just drag
in the style sheet as well as the CSV file. Once
set up, the Create button in the main dialogue
produces a standard Save as box with a draw file
DataSet 1
DataSet 2
DataSet 3
M:$,GraphFile
JkLailaLjl.
^Vertical
<(>Horizontal
<^-3D Bar Chart
<£> Clustered
O Stacked
-*0 Layered
<£>Percentage
UK Gro*t» IK Income Europe Fir E*J USA
THE PICTURE THAT SPEAKS LOUDER THAN NUMBERS, FROM CHARTWELL
Tnai'tWell
Data5
Bar Chart
Line Graph
Pie Chart
Sca tt er
Po
0 Colunn 1
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CHARTED
COURSE
GRAHAM BELL
looks at two
packages designed
to bring your
office or school
data to life
icon, which you can drag to Draw , to disc, to the
printer or any other application.
There’s no way of editing data once it’s in
Chartwell. If you spot a wayward line on the
graph, you need to go back to your spreadsheet
or CSV file and edit it. And just as you can’t see
the raw numbers, Chartwell relies on Draw to
display or print the graph. You can alter fine
details in Draw as you would expect. None of
the elements of the graph are grouped in Draw ,
which can make this a bit fiddly.
Most parts of the package are good and flex-
ible. But for example, although it uses the
SwissB font provided for labelling you can
change the font in the Run file by altering the
Chartwell$Font variable, it seems a bit of an
afterthought - it should have been alterable from
the main menu. And when you’ve imported a
CSV file, you can in effect change the order of
the columns of data or miss one out - very
useful indeed.
Also, in common with many other graphing
packages, you can’t transpose the data. You
can’t graph by row instead of by column, so you
need to make sure your spreadsheet is designed
the right way. And there’s one quite fundamen-
tal flaw: Chartwell cannot accept negative
values. An update is promised to cure this.
78 BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992
GRAPHS
GRAPHBOX PROFESSIONAL
Minerva’s Graph Box Professional is a large-
scale reworking of the original Graph Box: it
retains facilities like hotlinking to Pipedream ,
adds to the already huge selection of graph types
(there are now 43), but also improves upon the
presentation of the original and adds some
sophisticated new abilities.
You can gauge a feel for the application from
the documentation: a chunky slip-case, with a
ring binder and an exhaustive manual. But in
truth it docs a relatively simple job. It takes an
array of numbers and turns it into a drawing.
In a change from the original, GraphBox
Professional installs on the icon bar, and opens
a blank graph window only when you click on
it. You can drag data files to the icon bar too.
Like Chartwell , the best way to get data into
GraphBox Professional is to import a file from
a spreadsheet. CSV and TSV (tab separated
value) files are accepted, along with SID (soft-
ware independent data) file format.
These last are in two sections. Half contains
the data in CSV form, the other half contains a
range of commands that control a lot of the
graphing options - in effect, like the Chartwell
stylesheets. When you have one graph dis-
played, Ctrl-dragging in another SID file loads
the new style commands without the new data.
Again, this is good for producing lots of consist-
ent illustrations. (You can produce SID files
containing only the style sheet elements by
pressing Ctrl while saving.)
Unlike Chartwell , GraphBox Professional
actually shows you the graph - it doesn’t just
assemble a file for Draw to display - and it can
print directly too. You can zoom in on the graph
in a Draw-like way, and make measurements off
screen - the precise mouse position can be
shown at the top of the window. Of course, the
graph can be exported as a drawing: the ele-
ments of the graph are neatly grouped which
makes editing in Draw a bit simpler than with
the output from Chartwell.
The main GraphBox Pro. menu allows you to
choose the graph type from a huge list, or set up
a host of options to change the look of the
graphs. Another choice leads to a way of editing
the data or of typing in your own from scratch,
like a mini-spreadsheet which can’t do calcula-
tions. You can insert and delete columns, and
copy columns from one part of the table to
another by dragging with the mouse. But again
there’s no way of transposing the table so
columns become rows and vice versa.
The Options dialogue window is huge and
although it makes extensive use of boxes and
borders within the dialogue, it looks confusing
and messy. It doesn’t change, so there’s often a
lot of clutter around that simply doesn’t apply to
the graph type. And, worse, there are hidden
menus which only appear if you click in a cer-
tain place, so it’s difficult to know if you’ve
found them all. Computer Concept’s Impression
DTP package uses hidden menus too but it
changes the pointer to indicate their presence.
GraphBox Pro. does not and in the already
confusing dialogue box, the cues get lost.
The options are fairly complete, and allow the
same sort of control over background shading,
grid lines, axis limits and labels as is offered by
THE ACTION REPLAY
The line graph options are particularly good in Chartwell. As well as plain intervals along
the x-axis of a graph, x-y pairs of data points can be used to create scattergrams. You can
of course choose the colour and shape of the data points plotted. But you
superimpose a line of best fit
through the points and the graph
shows the equation of the line
and coefficient of determination
(the square of the Pearson
product-moment correlation coef-
ficient) too. If you can express
the expected errors in your data
as a percentage of each value or
as absolute values (for example
+-8per cent or +-6) then you can
also add natty error bars to the
graph. These are impressive to
look at, although such simple
error functions are rare.
GraphBox Professional can create 'picture graphs', where the bars are made up of a logo
stacked up to the correct height. Company reports are littered with them: a baker's profits
shown by stacked ears of wheat; train journey miles presented as speeding carriages, etc.
GraphBox's facility is workable
but a little rudimentary, with the
size of each tile (one ear or one
carriage) controlled by the sub-
divisions of the y-axis. The
topmost tile is squashed to fit,
rather than being truncated as is
the normal treatment. Also the
tiling doesn't work properly in
multisync or VGA modes. Setting
up is simple: choose the type of
graph, drag in the data and a
draw file containing the pattern.
The effect, in the right circums-
tances can be very impressive.
Chartwell 9 s more comprehensible dialogues.
One particularly thoughtful feature is that the
graphs can easily be produced in shades of grey,
or even in plain black and white, with a series of
hatched patterns that look better on dot-matrix
printers than grey shades.
Line fitting is also a bit more flexible in
GraphBox Professional , with linear, quadratic
and cubic line fitting using least squares regres-
sion. A range of statistics can be printed out or
exported too, giving such values as the number
of data points, the means, the standard deviation
and sum of squares of x values and the area
under a curve, as well as the coefficients of the
best fit line. This can be exported as CSV to go
back into a spreadsheet, or neatly formatted as
plain text to go into a wordprocessor.
CONCLUSION
At well over £100, GraphBox Professional costs
considerably more than its competition, and
offers an extraordinary range of graph types.
These include rainbow-shaded surface plots,
vector diagrams and ternary diagrams, so it’s
worth checking carefully. Yet unless you need
one of its more specialist graphs, this package
offers very little extra.
Chartwell scores on simpler controls over the
basic graph types. It also has enough effects to
present material prettily, at a price that makes it
attractive to the home or school user.
PRODUCT DETAILS
Product: Chartwell
Supplier: Rise Developments,
117 Hatfield Road, St Albans,
Herts AL1 4JS
Tel: (0727) 40303.
Price: £25.49
Product: GraphBox Professional
Supplier: Minerva Software,
Minerva Hse, Baring Crescent,
Exeter, Devon EX1
Tel: (0392) 437756
Price: £129
Prices exclude VAT
BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992 79
IN A PERFECT WORLD AU. INTERFACE
CARDS WOULD BE MADE THIS WAY
.4M6MEiectromcsnewi6bitSCSIinterface^
eaTdis capable Ofsupporting up to seven devices
internally and/or externally on your Acorn
computer.
...The SCSI system allows
deviceslpclf^lhard : disc
drives (fixed and removable),
CD-Rom drives, . tape
attached in a daisy chain on to
one card. There are two cards
available, astandard card and ;
a superfast Cached card. |
... Our card is the fastest available for Acorn
machines with the cached version being able to
offer data transfer rates of op to 3.9MB/S
sustained and 6MB peak. We are offering the
card as either a separate item or bundled with
one of the devices listed on 1 the right.
... All prices include mechanism, all necessary
cases, cables, software and a standard interface
card.. Tape streamers and removable hard discs
also include one tape and
cartridge respectively,
A3 000 Fixed Hard Discs •
mmm • £2*9,00
: $0MB £$7990
100MB £499*00
A300* P A400SA50D0 fixed Hard
tpfscs ...
20MB £2X9M
50MB £299.00
mm £449.00
yjtmoo
mmm
Removable Hard discs
mm £$$$.00
mm ms.00
44MB partridges . £65.00
90MB cartridge • £109.00
Flat Bed Scanners
Computer Concepts ScanUght Pro A4 .
25$ grey scaUjhtM Scanner £999,00
Interface Card
$00/400/5000 standard £149.00
please add • £50.00
... Our staff are always ready to answer any
queries you may have about any of Morley's
products especially concerning compatability
with your existing equipment
*Please note that 300 series machines require a
MEMC1A upgrade and backplane to befitted,
both available from Morley.
m 1 im m
SCSIDRIVE :4 SCSIDRIVE :5 CD-ROM
TAPEDRIVE SCANNER
MQRLEy
ELECTRONICS • LTD
Education & Dealer Enquiries Welcome
Please note all prices exclude VAT and carriage
Morley Electronics Ltd, Morley House, West Chirton,
North Shields,' Tyne & Wear, NE29 7TY
Tel 091 257 6355 Fax 091 257 6373
Program
Page
BBC B
B+
B+/
128
Master Master Electron 6502SP/ ADFS Econet Shadow Archimedes/ Monthly
128 Compact Turbo Ram A3000/A5000 disc
★Info
49
Info 1
■ □
Info 2
Info 3
Info 4
Info 5
Info 6
Info 7
Info 8
Info 9
Info 10
Info 1 1
Info 12
Arc Assembly
58
Armprogl - 2
Printers
61
ESC1 - 2
H ■
Liquid
71
Typing in listings from the yellow pages.
The yellow pages are subdivided into article headings. Each article heading corresponds with its article in the magazine.
So for instance to find listing five of ★INFO in the yellow pages (Fire32) look for the ★INFO heading, then follow the listings through until you get to listing five.
At the beginning of the program are a few lines that tell you what machines it works on. This information can also be derived from the table above.
For Archimedes owners it may not be immediately obvious how to actually type in the listings. By pressing Function key 12 you can access the command line. From here
type BASIC and the Archimedes will enter the Basic language. You may like to type MODE 12, which will turn the screen to white on black.
Then simply copy each line of the program in turn after the V prompt, pressing RETURN when finished. Save the program onto disc by typing SAVE"<filename>\ It can
then be run by typing RUN. You will probably need to debug it as you may have made some typing errors.
When you have finished debugging save the program one last time. Then it can either be double-clicked upon from the desktop, or loaded using LOAD'’<filename> M .
A more detailed description of how to type in listings from the yellow pages appears in BBC Acorn User August 91.
★Info
Listing 1
470 FOR n*=l TO 90
930 :
270 UNTIL FALSE
480 IF n*?hbuf*>0 last*=n*
940 DEF PROChoriz(a*)
280 :
490 NEXT
950 row*=a* DIV 8
290 DEF PROCinit
10 REM >GridPrint (Infol)
500 ENDPROC
960 mod*=a* MOD 8
300 DIM code* 1300
20 REM By Paul Pibvorth
510 :
970 IF mod*>0 row*=rowVl:hbu£*?row*=b
310 FOR paaa*=0 TO 2 STEP 2
30 REM For all machines
520 DEF PROCprint
bu£*?row* OR 2* (8-mod*)
320 P*=code*
40 REM (C) BAO March 1992
530 VDU 2,1,27,1,64
980 IF mod*=0 hbuf*?row*=hbuf*?row* OR
330 [OPT pass*
50 :
540 VDU 1,27,1,65,1,8
1
340 .ans*
EQUD 0
60 MODE 4
550 PRINT gim$;
990 ENDPROC
350 .bu£
EQUS STRINGS (12,
70 ON ERROR VDU 1, 27, 1, 64, 1, 10, 3:REPO
560 FOR n*=0 TO WV1
1000 :
360 .char
EQUS "♦•-/"
RT: PRINT" at line ERL: END
570 ch*=n*?tbuf*
1010 DEF PROCinit
370 .solve
STMFD rl3 1 , (rl4)
80 PROCinit
580 PRINT;CHR$(1) ;CHR$(ch*) ;
1020 W*=480
380 ADR
r0,n*
90 PROCinput
590 NEXT
1030 gim$=CHR$l+CHR$27 ♦CHR$1+CHR$75+CHR
390 ADR
rll,p*
100 PROCprint
600 PRINT
$1*CHR$ (K* HOD 256)+CHR$l*CHR$(W* DIV 25
400 MOV
r3,#5
110 END
610 FOR line*=l TO last*
6)
410 HOV
rl2, #{1<<30)
120 :
620 da t a*= line*? hbu f *
1040 DIM tbuf* 480, vbuf* 480,hbu£* 90
420 :
130 DEP PROCinput
630 PRINT gim$;
1050 FOR n*=0 TO 480
430 .11
ADD rl4, rll,r3,
140 PRINTTAB( 12); "Table-Grid maker"
640 FOR n*»0 TO W*-l
1060 tbu£*?n*=0
440 ADD
rl4, rl4,r3, LSL #2
150 PRINTTAB (12);"=======a*=o====="
650 vl*=n*?vbuf*
1070 vbu£*?n*=0
450 LDMIA
rl4, (rl,r2,r4)
160 PRINT '"(C)ontinuous or (S) paced? "
660 tp*=n*?tbuf*
1080 NEXT
460 :
1
670 IF line*=laat* vl*=FNlast
1090 FOR n*=0 TO 90
470 .12
LDR r5, [r0,r2,I
170 REPEAT
680 PRINT; CHR$(l);FNbyte;
1100 hbu£*?n*=0
480 LDR
r6, [rO,rl,LSL #2]
180 Sp$=CHR$ (GET AND 95)
690 NEXT
1110 NEXT
490 :
190 DNTILINSTR(-SC-,8p$)>0
700 VDU 1,13,1,10
1120 ENDPROC
500 .13
CMP r5,r6
200 PRINTsp$ '
210 IF ap$="C" apacea*=0 ELSE INPUT"Ho
710 NEXT
720 PRINT
Listing 2
510 BLE
520 CMP
17
r4, #2
w many spaces "spacesV
730 VDU 1,27,1,64,1,10,3
530 BLT
16
220 FOR n*=0 TO spaces*
740 ENDPROC
10 REM > Numbers (In£o2)
540 :
230 IF apacea*>0 PRINT; "Line ";n*+l;
750 :
20 REM Countdown Numbers Game Solver
550 .17
CMP r4,#0
240 INPUTTAB( 10); "start "st
760 DBF FNlast
30 REM by Michael Rozdoba
560 ADDEQ
r7,r5,r6
250 INPUTTAB(24, VPOS-1) ;"end "end
770 IF vl*=0 THEN »0
40 REM £or 32-bit machines
570 BEQ
18
260 st*=INT(60*Bt)
780 loop*=-l
50 REM (c) BAU March 1992
580 CMP
r4,«l
270 end**INT(60*end)
790 REPEAT
60 :
590 MULEQ
r7,r5,r6
280 FOR p 08 *=at* TO end*
800 1 oop*= 1 oop* 1
70 MODE 0
600 BEQ
18
290 tbuf*?poa*=l
810 UNTIL (data* AND 2 “loop*) =2 ‘loop*
80 PROCinit
610 CMP
r4 , #2
300 NEXT
820 =256- (2* loop*)
90 ON ERROR IF ERR<>17 OR INREY-1 REP
620 SUBEQ
r7,r5,r6
310 NEXT
830 :
ORT: PRINT" at line "; ERR: END
630 BEQ
18
320 INPUT' "How many vertical lines? "v
840 DEF FNbyte
100 REPEAT
640 CMP
r6, #1
lines*
850 IF tp*=0 AND vl*=0 AND data*=0
THE
110 CLS
650 BLE
16
330 FOR n*al TO vlines*
N
=CHR$ (0)
120 PRINT"Entcr Numbers:"
660 STMFD
rl3l , (r4-r6)
340 PRINT"Line ";n*;
860 IF tp*=l AND vl*=0 AND data*=0
THE
130 FOR q*=0 TO 5
670 MOV
rl4, #0
350 INPUTT AB ( 10 ) ; "pos . "poa
N
=CHR$ (0)
140 p*!(12*q*).q*
680 MOV
r4, 131
360 po8*=INT(60*pos)
870 IF tp*=0 AND vl*>0 AND data*=0
THE
150 p*! (12*q*+4) =q*-l
690 :
370 vbuf*?poa*=255
N
=CHR$(vl*)
160 p*I (12*q*f8) =3
700 .19
ADDS r5,r5,r5
380 NEXT
880 IF tp*=0 AND vl*=0 AND data*>0
THE
170 NEXT
710 ADC
rl4,rl4,rl4
390 vbu£*?479=vbu£*?480
N
=CHR$ (0)
180 FOR q*=0 TO 20 STEP 4
720 CMP
rl4,r6
400 INPUT' "How many horirontal lines?
890 IF tp*«l AND vl*>0 AND data*=0
THE
190 INPUTTAB(15+<I*,0)n*!q*
730 SUBGE
rl4,rl4,r6
"hlines*
N
=CHR$ (vl*)
200 NEXT
740 ORRGE
r5, r5, #1
410 FOR n*»l TO hlinea*
900 IP tp*=l AND vl*«0 AND data*>0
THE
210 INPUT"Target : "(ana*'
750 SUBS
r4,r4,#l
420 PRINT-Line -;n*;
N
=CHR$ (data*)
220 TIME=0
760 BPL
19
430 INPUTT AB ( 10 ) ; "pos . "pos
910 IF tp*=0 AND vl*>0 AND data*>0
THE
230 CALL solvo
770 CMP
rl4, #0
440 pos*=INT(72*poa)
N
=CHR$ (vl*)
240 PRINT '"Time: "; TIME/ 100"
780 LDMNEFD rl3!,{r4-r6)
450 PROChoriz(poa*)
920 IF tp*=l AND vl*>0 AND data*>0
THE
250 PRINT"any key to repeat"
790 BNE
16
460 NEXT
N
=CHR$ (vl*)
260 k*=GET
800 HOV
r7,r5
BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992 81
810 LDHFD
rl3!,{r4-r6)
Listing 3
1080 .timer BQUD 0
290 UNTIL g$o—
820 i
1090 .increment
300 :
830 .18
CMP r7,#0
1100 LDR RIO, Screen
310 IF g$a"," THEN angs (ang*360*5)HOD3
840 BLE
16
10 REM >HicroArt32 (Info3)
1110 CMP R0, #320
60
850 CMP
r7,r5
20 REM By Duncan Lilly
1120 MOVCS PC.R14
320 IF g$="." THEN angs (ang+360-5)MOD3
860 CMPNE
r7,r6
30 REM Based on PC version by Mike Wi
1130 CMP Rl, #256
60
870 BEQ
16
lliams
1140 MOVCS PC.R14
330 IF g$s";" THEN scale=scale*0.05
880 ADD
r8,r0,#24
40 REM For 32 bit machies only
1150 ADD RIO, RIO, Rl.ASL #6
340 IF g$="-" THEN IF scale>0.05 scale
890 STR
r7, [r8],#4
50 REM (C) BAU Harch 1992
1160 ADD R10,R10,R1,ASL #8
sscale-0.05
900 MOV
r9,r3
60 :
1170 ADR Rll.Coltab
350 IF ASC(g$)»136 THEN xcent=xcent-8
910 :
70 MODE 13
1180 LDRB R0, [RIO, RO] !
360 IF ASC(g$)-137 THEN xcent=xcent*8
920 .14
CMP r9,rl
80 OFF
1190 LDRB R0,[RU,R0]
370 IF ASC (g$) =138 THEN ycent=ycent-8
930 CMPNE
r9,r2
90 *FX 4,1
1200 STRB R0, (RIO)
380 IF ASC(g$)sl39 THEN ycent=ycent*8
940 BEQ
15
100 PROCass
1210 MOV PC.R14
390 IF g$=" " THEN PROCrand
950 LDR
rlO, [r0, r9, LSL #2]
110 plots increoent
1220 :
400 IF g$="I" THEN IF plot=cycle plot-
960 STR
rlO, I r 8 } , #4
120 PROCsetup
1230 .Screen EQUD 148
inc:count=0:col«O
970 :
130 PROCrand
1240 EQUD -1
410 IF g$s"C" THEN IP plotsinc plot«cy
980 .15
SUBS r9,r9,#l
140 oxcent=0
1250 :
cle
990 BPL
14
150 oycentsO
1260 .Coltab EQUS STRINGS ( 128, CHR$0)
420 UNTIL 0
1000 LDR
rl4,ans\
160 oscalesO
1270 EQUS STRINGS { 128, CHRS0)
430 END
1010 SUBS
r9,rl4,r7
170 oang =0
1280 ] NEXT
440 :
1020 RSBMI
r9, r9, #0
180 oplot =0
1290 SYS "OS_ReadVduVariables", Screen, S
450 DBF PROCrand
1030 SUBS
rl0,rl4,rl2
190 opal =0
creen
460 xcentsl60:ycentsl28
1040 RSBMI
rl0,rl0,#O
200 new cTRUE
1300 ENDPROC
470 a= (RND(l) *2000) -1000
1050 CMP
r9, rl0
210 :
1310 s
480 b= (RND( 1) *4) -2
1060 BGE
111
220 REPEAT
1320 DBF PROCsetup
490 C= (RND(l) *2000) -1000
1070 HOV
rl2,r7
230 IF new OR xcentooxcent OR ycento
1330 READ palettes
500 dal/ ( (RND(l) *24) -12)
1080 STHFD
rl3!,{r0-rll)
oycent OR scaleooscale OR angooang OR
1340 DIM pal(palettes-l,255)
510 timeraRND(2000) +500
1090 CMP
r9, #11
plotooplot OR paloopal THEN
1350 FOR p=0 TO palettes-l
520 scalesl
1100 BGE
112
240 CLS
1360 b»0
530 newsTRUE
1110 ADR
r9,n\
250 x=0
1370 REPEAT
540 ENDPROC
1120 ADR
rl0,p%
260 y=0
1380 a»b
550 s
1130 ADD
rlO, rl0, #60
270 oxcentsxcent
1390 READ b
560 DEF PROCsetup
1140 RSB
rll,r3,#5
280 oycentsycent
1400 pal(p,a)=b
570 ang a 0
1150 :
290 oscalesscale
1410 UNTIL asb
580 X a 0
1160 .113
LDMIA rlO, (r3-r5)
300 oang=ang
1420 NEXT
590 y a 0
1170 SUB
rlO, rlO, #12
310 oplotsplot
1430 pal»0
600 oxcent a 0
1180 LDR
r6, [r9,r4,LSL #2]
320 opalspal
1440 angsO
610 oycent = 0
1190 LDR
r7, (r9, r3, LSL #2]
330 PROCpalette(pal)
1450 x=0
620 oacale a 0
1200 ADD
r9, r9, #24
340 new= FALSE
1460 yo0
630 oang a 0
1210 LDR
r8, [r9]
350 ENDIP
1470 ENDPROC
640 oplot a 0
1220 MOV
r0,r6
360 Binsscale*SINRAD(ang)
1480 :
650 new a TRUE
1230 ADR
rl.buf
370 co8sscale*C0SRAD(ang)
1490 DEF PROCpalette(p)
660 cycle a l
1240 MOV
r2, #12
380 REPEAT
1500 FOR i=0 TO 255
670 inc a 2
1250 SWI
"OS ConvertInteger4"
390 xpsy-SGNx*d*ABS(b*x-c)
1510 Coltab?ispal(p,i)
680 FOR col=0 TO 7
1260 SWI
"OS WriteO"
4C0 y=a-x
1520 NEXT
690 READ vdu
1270 ADR
rl.char
410 x=xp
1530 lcolour=?Coltab
700 VDU 19,col,vdu;0;
1280 LDRB
r0, (rl, r5]
420 A%sxcent+x*sin+y # co8
1540 ENDPROC
710 NEXT
1290 SWI
"OS WriteC"
430 B%sycent*x*coB-y*sin
1550 :
720 ENDPROC
1300 MOV
r0,r7
440 CALL plot
1560 DATA 4
730 :
1310 ADR
rl.buf
450 g$=INKEY$(0)
1570 REM black/white
740 DATA 0,4, 1,5, 2,6, 3, 7
1320 MOV
r2, 112
460 UNTIL g$<> —
1580 DATA 255
750 :
1330 SWI
"0S_ConvertInteger4"
470 IF g$>s"0" AND g$<STR$palettes pal
1590 DATA 255
760 DEF PROCa
1340 SWI
"OS WriteO"
»VALg$
1600 i
770 CLS
1350 SWI
256*ASC"»"
480 CASE g$ OF
1610 REM Greys
780 x=0
1360 HOV
r0,r8
490 WHEN : ang= (ang*360*5)MOD3
1620 DATA 1,2,3,44,45,46,47,208,209,210
790 y=0
1370 ADR
rl.buf
60
,211,252,253,254,255
800 oxcentsxcent
1380 MOV
r2, #12
500 WHEN : ang=(ang*360-5)HOD3
1630 DATA 255
810 oycentsycent
1390 SWI
"0S_ConvertInteger4"
60
1640 :
820 oscalesscale
1400 SWI
"OS WriteO"
510 WHEN : scale+=0.05
1650 REM Cool /Hot
830 oangsang
1410 SUBS
rll, rll.il
520 WHEN --*,*_* : IF scale>0.05 Beale
1660 DATA &88,&89,&8A,&8B, &A8, &A9, &AA, i
840 oplotsplot
1420 SWIPL
256*ASC", "
-S0.05
AB
850 newsFALSE
1430 SWIPL
25602
530 WHEN CHR$136 : xcent-=8
1670 DATA &C8, &C9, &CA,&CB, 6E8, 6E9, &EA,&
860 colours©
1440 BPL
113
540 WHEN CHR$137 : xcent+=8
EB
870 counts©
1450 SWI
"OS.NewLine"
550 WHEN CHR$138 : ycent*s8
1680 DATA ScEP,&FB,iFF,&F7,&7P,&77,&76,&
880 ENDPROC
1460 :
1470 .112
ADR r0,n\
560 WHEN CHR$139 : ycent-=8
570 WHEN " " : PROCrand
75
1690 DATA 874, 457, 856,855, 154, 437,836 , i
Listing 5
1480 ADR
rl,b\
580 WHEN "i","I" i IF plotscycle plots
35
1490 HOV
r2.#3
increment
1700 DATA 834,817,816,815,814
10 REM >Fire32 (In£o5)
1500 :
590 WHEN "c","C" :
1710 DATA 814
20 REM by Ian Vibe
1510 .110
LDMIA r0!,{r3-rll)
600 IF plotsincrement THEN
1720 s
30 REM for 32-bit machines
1520 STMIA
rl!,{r3-rll)
610 plotscycle
1730 REM Rainbow
40 REM (c) BAU March 1992
1530 SUBS
r2,r2,#l
620 1 counts! timer
1740 DATA 814,815,816,817,834,835,836,8
50 :
1540 BPL
110
630 !colour=?Coltab
37
60 MODE 12
1550 LDMFD
rl3! , (rO-rll)
640 ENDIP
1750 DATA 854,855,856,857,874,875,876,8
70 OFF
1560 CM?
r7,rl4
650 ENDCASE
77
80 DIM cl%(15) , c2% (15) ,c3%(15)
1570 HOVEQ
r0,r7
660 UNTIL 0
1760 DATA 873,867,863,86B,8E3,8EB,8EA,8
90 FOR n\=l TO 15
1580 LDHEQFD rl3!,{PC)
670 END
E9
100 £l%=24*n%
1590 :
680 :
1770 DATA 8E8,8CB, 8CA,8C9, 8CB, 8AB, 8AA, 8
110 f2%=m+120
1600 .111
ADD r0, r0, #24
690 DEF PROCrand
A9
120 f 3%sf 1%*240
1610 SUBS
r3,r3,#l
700 xcentsl60:ycentsl28
1780 DATA 8A8,48B,88A, 889, 888.88C, 898, 8
130 Cl%(n*)=128*(SINRADflVl)
1620 BGT
11
710 a= (RND(l) *2000) -1000
9C
140 c2Vn\)=128*(SINRAD£2\*l)
1630 SUB
r0,r0,#24
720 b= (RND(l) *4) -2
1790 DATA 89C
150 c3\(n%) sl28* (SINRADf 3%+l)
1640 ADD
r3,r3, #1
730 c= (RND(l) *2000) -1000
Listing 4
160 COLOUR n\,clMn%) ,c2%(n\) ,c3\(n\)
1650 :
740 d=l/( (RND(1)*24)-12)
170 NEXT
1660 .16
SUBS r4.r4.#l
750 !timer=RND(600)*200
180 REPEAT
1670 ADD
rl4.rll.r3.LSL #3
760 scalesl
10 REM >MicroArt6
190 f\«l
1680 ADD
rl4,rl4,r3.LSL #2
770 newsTRUE
20 REM By Duncan Lilly
200 r\=0
1690 STRPL
r4, [rl4. #8]
780 ENDPROC
30 REM Based on PC version by Mike Wi
210 REPEAT
1700 BPL
11
790 :
lliams
220 GCOL t%
1710 MOV
r4,#3
800 DEF PROCass
40 REM For all maebimes
230 £%=f* MOD 15*1
1720 SUB
r2,r2, #1
810 DIM code 8C0
50 REM (C) BAU March 1992
240 FOR n\=0 TO 8 STEP 2
1730 CMP
r2,rl
820 FOR passsO TO 2 STEP 2:P\-code
60 :
250 CIRCLE 640,512,r\*n\
1740 SUBEQ
r2,r2,ftl
830 [OPT pass
70 MODE 2
260 CIRCLE 64O,510,rt*n\
1750 CMP
r2,#0
840 .cycle LDR RIO, Screen
80 *FX 4,1
270 IF TIME>«4 PROCs:TIMEs0
1760 ADDPL
rl4, rl4. #4
850 CMP R0, #320
90 PROCsetup
280 NEXT
1770 STHPLIA
rl4, (r2,r4)
860 MOVCS PC.R14
100 PROCrand
290 r\*=n\
1780 BPL
11
870 CMP Rl, #256
110 plotsinc
300 UNTIL t\>820
1790 MOV
r2,r3
880 MOVCS PC.R14
120 :
310 FOR n\=l TO 6
1800 SUBS
rl.rl.il
890 ADD R10.R10.R1.ASL #6
130 REPEAT
320 aH=RND(30) *20
1810 STHPLIA rl4,{rl,r2,r4)
900 ADD R10.R10.R1.ASL #8
140 IF new=TRUE OR xcentooxcent OR yc
330 zsRND(l) *1
1820 BPL
11
910 LDRB Rl, colour
entooycent OR scaleooscale OR angooan
340 f\sRND( 180)
1830 MOV
rl,r3
920 STRB Rl, [R10.R0]
g OR plotooplot THEN PROCa
350 POR x\=0 TO 1280 STEP 2
1840 SUB
r2,r3,#l
930 LDR R0, count
150 sinsscale*SINRAD(ang)
360 y\=aVSINRAD(xVz+f\)
1850 STMIA
rl4! , { rl , r2 , r4 }
940 SUBS R0,R0,#1
160 coosBcale*COSRAD(ang)
370 RECTANGLE PILL x\, 0,0, 1020 TO x\,y
1860 SUB
r0,r0, #24
950 STR R0, count
170 :
X
1870 ADD
r3,r3,#l
960 MOVPL PC.R14
180 REPEAT
380 IF TIME>=4 PROCs:TIME=0
1880 SWI
“OS ReadEscapeState"
970 LDR R0, timer
190 xp»y-SGNx*d*ABS(b*x-c)
390 NEXT
1890 CMPCC
r3.#6
980 STR R0, count
200 yaa-x
400 a\sRND(30)*20
1900 MVNBS
r0, #0
990 ADR R10,Coltab
210 XaXp
410 z=RND( 1) *1
1910 LDMHSFD rl3!,{PC)
1000 LDRB RO, [R10.R1]
220 A\axcent+x*sin+y*cos
420 f\=RND(180)
1920 LDMIA
rl4,(rl,r2,r4)
1010 CMP R0.R1
230 BN=ycent+x*cos-y*sin
430 FOR y\=0 TO 1024 STEP 4
1930 B
16
1020 LDREQB R0,Coltab
240 IF plotsinc P\=POINT(AV4,BV4)*l
440 xV=aVSINRAD(yVz*£\)
1940 }
1030 STRB R0, colour
ELSB P\scolour+lscount=count+l:IF count-
450 RECTANGLE FILL 0,/X, 1280,0 TO xVy
1950 nVP%:P\+s6*4*6
1040 MOV PC.R14
t imer count=0 : colours (colour* 1 ) M0D7
X
1960 b%=P*:P\+=6*4*6
1050 :
250 IF P\s8 P%*7
460 IF TIHE>»4 PROCs:TIHE=0
1970 p\=P*:P%*=12*6
1060 .colour EQUD 0
260 GCOL 0,P%
470 NEXT
1980 NEXT
1070 .count EQUD 0
270 PLOT 69, AV4, BV4
480 NEXT
1990 ENDPROC
280 g$sINREY$ (0)
490 TIHEsO
82 BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992
500 REPEAT
510 PROCs
520 k*INKBY(4)
530 UNTIL TIME>=3000
540 UNTIL FALSE
550 :
560 DBF PROCs
570 LOCAL n*
580 cl*(0)=cl*(15)
590 c2*(0)=c2*(15)
600 c3%(0)=c3%(15)
610 FOR n*=14 TO 0 STEP -1
620 cl\(n**l)=cl*(n*>
630 c2*(n**l)*c2*(n*)
640 c3*(n*+l)»c3*(n*)
650 NEXT
660 FOR n**l TO 15
670 COLOUR n*,cl*(n*),c2*(n*),c3*(n*)
680 NEXT
690 ENDPROC
Listing 6
10 REM >Fire8 (Info6)
20 REM by Dave Acton
30 REM for eight-bit machines
40 REH (C) BAU March 1992
50 :
60 MODE 2
70 VDU 23; 8202;0;0;0; 19,15,0,0,0,0
80 DIM code* 4100, lo* 32, hi* 32
90 DIM sqlo* 256, sqhi* 256, col* 256
100 FOR i*=0 TO 255
110 a*»iVi*
120 sqlo*?i*=a* HOD 256
130 sqhi*?i**a* DIV 256
140 GCOL 0, i* MOD 15
150 PLOT 69,8,1023
160 col*?i*=?43000
170 NEXT
180 :
190 FOR i*>0 TO 31
200 a*>&3000+640*i*
210 lo*?i*=a* MOD 256
220 hi*7i*=a* DIV 256
230 NEXT
240 :
250 shift=480
260 dira&ei
270 x«482
280 y*483
290 FOR pas8*=0 TO 2 STEP 2
300 P*»code*
310 [OPT pass*
320 .setup
330 LDA #0
340 STA dir
350 LDA #79
360 STA x
370 ;
380 .setuploopl
390 JSR cycle
400 LDA #127
410 STA y
420 :
430 .sotuploop2
440 LDA #80
450 SEC
460 SBC X
470 TAX
480 LDA #128
490 SEC
500 SBC y
510 LSR A
520 TAY
530 LDA sqlo*,X
540 CLC
550 ADC sqlo*, Y
560 STA 474
570 LDA sqhi*,X
580 ADC sqhi*,Y
590 STA 475
600 LDX #255
610 :
620 .findsq
630 I NX
640 LDA sqhi*,X
650 CMP 475
660 BCC findsq
670 BNE foundsq
680 LDA sqlo*,X
690 CMP 474
700 BCC findsq
710 :
720 .foundsq
730 LDA col*, X
740 STA 472
750 LDX X
760 LDY y
770 JSR plot
780 LDA #159
790 SEC
800 SBC X
810 TAX
820 JSR plot
830 TYA
840 EOR #255
850 TAY
860 JSR plot
870 LDX x
880 JSR plot
890 DEC y
900 BPL sctuploop2
910 DEC X
920 BPL setuploopl
930 RTS
940 :
950 .init
960 STA shift
2150 PLA
80 CLS
970 CHP #0
2160 TAY
90 CALL henon
980 BPL init2
2170 PLA
100 END
990 LDA #64
2180 TAX
110 :
1000 STA dir
2190 PLA
120 DEF PROCinitialise
1010 LDA #0
2200 STA 472
130 SYS "OS_Byte", 161, 133 TO ,,type*
1020 SEC
2210 RTS
140 type** ( type* AND 12) DIV 4
1030 SBC shift
2220 :
150 IF type*=l THEN
1040 STA Bhift
2230 .getaddr
160 MODE 18
1050 RTS
2240 BIT dir
170 v*=512
1060 :
2250 BPL dontinvy
180 m2*s4FFFFFFFE
1070 .init2
2260 TYA
190 ELSE
1080 LDA #0
2270 EOR #255
200 MODE 0
1090 STA dir
2280 TAY
210 v*=256
1100 RTS
2290 :
220 m2*=4PFFFFFFC
1110 :
2300 .dontinvy
230 BNDIF
1120 .shiftcol
2310 BIT dir
240 COLOUR 1,255,255,0
1130 JSR init
2320 BVC dontinvx
250 OFF
1140 ASL dir
2330 STX 473
260 PROCassemble
1150 LDY #0
2340 LDA #159
270 zoom*. 9
1160 :
2350 SBC
280 PROC8et(axoom,zooo)
1170 .shiftcolloop
2360 SBC 473
290 PROCset(aunzm, 1/zoon)
1180 TYA
2370 TAX
300 MOUSE OFF
1190 PHA
2380 :
310 MOUSE RECTANGLE -1024,-1024,2048,2
1200 CLC
2390 .dontinvx
048
1210 ADC shift
2400 LDA #0
320 ENDPROC
1220 BCS offl
2410 STA 471
330 :
1230 TAY
2420 TXA
340 DEF PROCassemble
1240 JSR peek
2430 AND #254
350 mea*=2048
1250 JMP onl
2440 ASL A
360 DIM code* mem*
1260 :
2450 ROL 471
370 ! code** 14 8
1270 .offl
2460 ASL A
380 code*!4*-l
1280 LDA #455
2470 ROL 471
390 SYS -OS ReadVduVariables" , code*, co
1290 STA 472
2480 STA 470
de*
1300 :
2490 TYA
400 8crst=lcode*
1310 .onl
2500 AND #7
410 L*= code** mem*
1320 PLA
2510 ORA 470
420 FOR pass*=8 TO 10 STEP 2
1330 TAY
2520 STA 470
430 P*=code*
1340 JSR plot
2530 TYA
440 [OPT pass*
1350 INY
2540 LSR A
450 .aniter EQUD 3000
1360 BNE shiftcolloop
2550 LSR A
460 .acount EQUD 0
1370 RTS
2560 LSR A
470 .aa EQUD 0
1380 :
2570 TAY
480 .ab EQUD 0
1390 .shiftrow
2580 LDA lo*,Y
490 .as EQUD 197
1400 JSR init
2590 CLC
500 .axm EQUD 466F5C2
1410 LDX #0
2600 ADC 470
510 .aym EQUD 414978D
1420 :
2610 STA 470
520 .aserst EQUD scrst*40*v**40
1430 .shiftrowloop
2620 LDA hi*,Y
530 .ax EQUD 0:EQUD 4A990DEE2
1440 TXA
2630 ADC 471
540 EQUD 400000000
1450 PHA
2640 STA 471
550 .ay EQUD 1:EQUD 4F3F039B8
1460 CLC
2650 LDY #0
560 EQUD 4FFFFFFFC
1470 ADC shift
2660 RTS
570 . stapos EQUB 3: EQUB 0:EQUB 0
1480 CMP #160
2670 :
580 EQUB 0 : EQUB 0: ALIGN
1490 BCS off2
2680 .cycle
590 .henon
1500 TAX
2690 LDX #14
600 STMFD R13 ! , (R14)
1510 JSR peek
2700 :
610 :
1520 JMP on2
2710 .cycleloop
620 .mainloop
1530 :
2720 LDA #19
630 HOV R0, #21
1540 .of f2
2730 JSR 4FFEE
640 ADR Rl,8tmpOB
1550 LDA #455
2740 TXA
650 SWI -OS Word"
1560 STA 472
2750 JSR 4FFEE
660 :
1570 :
2760 TXA
670 ADR R14,ax
1580 .on2
2770 CLC
680 LDMIA R14, (R0-R5)
1590 PLA
2780 ADC stage
690 LDR Rll, aniter
1600 TAX
2790 AND #15
700 STR Rll, acount
1610 JSR plot
2800 LSR A
710 :
1620 INX
2810 LSR A
720 .loop
1630 CPX #160
2820 TAY
730 CMP R4,#0
1640 BNE shiftrowloop
2830 LDA cols, Y
740 RSBNE R9, R5, #1
1650 RTS
2840 JSR 4FFEE
750 MOVNE R4,R4,LSR R9
1660 :
2850 LDA #0
760 CMPNE R3, #0
1670 .peek
2860 JSR 4FFEE
770 ADDEQ R7 , R4, # (1«31)
1680 TXA
2870 JSR 4FFEE
780 MOVEQ R8,#l
1690 PHA
2880 JSR 4FFEE
790 MOVNE R8, #0
1700 TYA
2890 DEX
000 RSBNE R4,R4,#(1<<31)
1710 PHA
2900 BPL cycleloop
810 ADDNE R7,R4,R4
1720 JSR getaddr
2910 DEC stage
820 HOV R6, #0
1730 TXA
2920 RTS
830 MOV R3,R0
1740 AND #1
1750 BNE peek2
1760 LDA (470), Y
1770 LSR A
1780 JMP peek3
1790 :
1800 .peek2
1810 LDA (470), Y
1820 :
1830 .peek3
1840 AND #455
1850 STA 472
1860 PLA
1870 TAY
1880 PLA
1890 TAX
1900 RTS
1910 :
1920 .plot
1930 LDA 472
1940 PHA
1950 TXA
1960 PHA
1970 TYA
1980 PHA
1990 JSR getaddr
2000 TXA
2010 AND #1
2020 BNE plot2
2030 ASL 472
2040 LDA (470), Y
2050 AND #455
2060 JMP plot3
2070 :
2080 .plot2
2090 LDA (470), Y
2100 AND #4AA
2110 :
2120 .plot!
2130 ORA 472
2140 STA (470), Y
2930 :
2940 .stage EQUB 0
2950 .cols EQUD 41050705
2960 ]
2970 NEXT pass*
2980 :
2990 CALL setup
3000 FOR n*=l TO 3
3010 a*=RND(8)+6
3020 z=RND( 1) +1
3030 f*=RND( 180)
3040 FOR X*=0 TO 159
3050 CALL cycle
3060 A*«a**SINRAD( (8*X*) *z+f*)
3070 CALL shifted
3080 NEXT
3090 a*»RND(4) +3
3100 zaRND(l) +1
3110 f*sRND(180)
3120 FOR Y*=0 TO 255
3130 CALL cycle
3140 A*»aVSINRAD(4*YVz+f*)
3150 CALL shi ft row
3160 NEXT
3170 NEXT
3180 REPEAT
3190 *FX 19
3200 CALL cycle
3210 UNTIL FALSE
3220 END
Listing 7
10 REM >Henon curve plotter (Info7)
20 REM by Michael Rozdoba
30 REM For 32-bit machines
40 REM (C) BAU March 1992
50 :
60 ON ERROR ON: REPORT: PRINT- at line
’ ; ERL : END
70 PROCinitialise
840 MOV
850 SUB
860 ADD
870 MOV
880 SUB
890 AND
900 MOV
910 MUL
920 MUL
930 MUL
940 ADDS
950 AD DCS
960 ADDS
970 ADCS
980 ADDPL
990 SUBPL
1000 MOVPL
1010 ORRPL
1020 HOV
1030 :
1040 ADDS
1050 MOVCS
1060 AD DCS
1070 CMP
1080 MOVEQ
1090 MOVEQ
1100 MOVEQ
1110 BEQ
1120 SUBS
1130 SUBMI
1140 MOVPL
1150 HOVMI
1160 MOVMI
1170 CMP
1180 BEQ
1190 SUBS
1200 BEQ
1210 MOVLO
1220 RSBLOS
1230 :
1240 .addloop
R4,R1
R5,R2,#2
R2,R2,R2
R10, # (1«16)
RIO, R10, #1
RIO, RIO, R1
Rl.Rl.LSR #16
R9,R10,R10
RO, R10, R1
R10, R1,R1
RIO, R10, # ( 1< < 16)
R9.R9.R0, LSI, #16
Rl, R10, R0, LSR #16
R1,R1,R1
R2.R2, #1
R10, R9 , LSR #31
R1.R1.R10
R0, ffl
Rl, R1.R1.LSR #1
Rl, Rl, RRX
R2,R2,#1
Rl, #0
R0.R6
R1,R7
R2,R8
adddone
R9.R2.R8
R9, R8.R2
R7.R7.LSR R9
Rl.Rl.LSR R9
R2.R8
R0.R6
addpt
R1,R1,R7
adddone
R0.R6
Rl, Rl, #0
BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992 83
1 1250 SUBPL
R2,R2,#1
2440 RSB
R2,R2,#12
1260 ADDPLS
R1,R1,R1
2450 MOV
R1.R1.LSR R2
1270 BPL
add loop
2460 CMP
R0,#1
1280 B
adddone
2470 RSBEQ
R1,R1, #0
1290 :
2480 STR
Rl.ab
1300 .addpt
2490 ADR
R14,afa
1310 ADDS
R1.R1.R7
2500 LDMIA
R14, (R0-R2)
1320 MOVCS
Rl'Rl'RRX
2510 ADR
R14, afx
1330 ADDCS
R2«R2, #1
2520 LDMIA
R14, (R3-R5)
1340 :
2530 FNmul
1350 .adddone
2540 ADR
R14,afa
1360 RSB
R14,R2,810
2550 LDMIA
R14, (R3-R5)
1370 HOV
R9,R1,LSR R14
2560 FNadd
1380 RSB
R14 , R5, #10
2570 ADR
R14,afa
1390 MOV
R10,R4,LSR R14
2580 STMIA
R14, (R0-R2)
1400 CMP
R0, #1
2590 RSB
R2, R2, #10
1410 RSBEQ
R9,R9,#0
2600 MOV
Rl, Rl, LSR R2
1420 CMP
R3, #1
2610 CMP
R0,#1
1430 RSBEQ
R1O,R10,#0
2620 RSBEQ
Rl, Rl, #0
1440 STHFD
R13 ! , (R0-R5)
2630 STR
Rl,aa
1450 ADR
R14,aa
2640 LDMFD
R13! , (R2)
1460 LDMIA
R14, {R0-R5}
2650 :
1470 SOBS
R9,R9,R0
2660 .checkselect
1480 MOVPL
R0.R9
2670 TST
R2, #4
1490 RSBMI
R0, R9, #0
2680 BEQ
checkadjust
1500 SOBS
R1O,R1,R10
2690 ADR
R0, azoom
1510 MOVPL
Rl, RIO
2700 BL
rescale
1520 RSBMI
Rl, RIO, #0
2710 B
mainloop
1530 CMP
R0,R3
2720 :
1540 BGE
next
2730 .checkadjuBt
1550 CMP
R1,R4
2740 TST
R2, #1
1560 BGE
next
2750 BEQ
mainloop
1570 MOL
R9.R2.R9
2760 LDR
R0,as
1580 MOL
R10,R2,R10
2770 CMP
RO, #128
1590 MOV
Rl , R9 , ASR #22
2780 BLE
mainloop
1600 MOV
R2, RIO, ASR #21+ (v%=512)
2790 ADR
R0, aunzm
1610 ADD
R2, R2, R2,ASL #2
2800 BL
reocale
1620 ADD
R5,R5,R2,ASL #4
2810 B
mainloop
1630 LDRB
R14, [R5, Rl, ASR #3]!
2820 s
1640 AND
R1,R1,#7
2630 .amasks
EQUD £FFFFFFFE:EQUD a!
1650 MOV
R2,ll
2840 .afs
EQUD 0: EQUD &A6666666
1660 MOV
R2, R2, LSL Rl
2850 EQOD 2
1670 ORR
R14,R14,R2
2860 .afa
EQUD 0:EQUD 0:EQUD 0
1680 STRB
R14, [R5]
2870 .afb
EQUD 0:EQUD 0:EQUD 0
1690 :
2880 .afx
EQUD 0s EQUD 0:EQUD 0
1700 .next
2890 .azoom
EQUD 0s EQUD 0s EQUD 0
1710 LDHFD
R13 ! , (R0-R5)
2900 .aunzm
EQUD Os EQUD 0s EQUD 0
1720 LDR
Rll,acount
2910 .axnsc
EQUD 0 s EQUD £9E666666
1730 SOBS
Rll, Rll, #1
2920 EQOD 22
1740 STR
Rll.acount
2930 .aymsc
EQUD Os EQUD 6FD70A3D6
1750 BNE
loop
2940 EQOD 19
1760 ADR
R14,ax
2950 :
1770 STMIA
R14, {R0-R5}
2960 .rescale
1780 SWI
"OS ReadEscapeState"
2970 STMFD
R13 ! , (R14 }
1790 LDMCSPD
R13! , (PC) *
2980 LDMIA
RO, (R0-R2)
1800 SWI
"OS Mouse"
2990 ADR
R14,afs
1810 CMP
R2, #0
3000 LDMIA
R14 , (R3-R5)
1820 BEQ
ma inloop
3010 FNmul
1830 ADR
R14,amask8
3020 ADR
R14,afo
1840 LDMIA
R14, { R3 , R4 }
3030 STMIA
R14 , (R0-R2)
1850 AND
R0,R0,R3
3040 FNmov{ 10, 0)
1860 AND
R1.R1.R4
3050 ADR
R14,axmsc
1870 TST
R2, 12
3060 LDMIA
R14, (R3-R5)
1880 BEQ
checkselect
3070 FNmul
1890 STMFD
R13!,{R2)
3080 RSB
R2,R2, #32
1900 MOV
R9,R0
3090 MOV
R1,R1,LSR R2
1910 MOV
R10, Rl
3100 CMP
R0, #1
1920 MOV
R0, #4
3110 RSBEQ
Rl . HI, #0
1930 MOV
Rl, #1280
3120 STR
Rl,axm
1940 SOB
R1,R1, #1
3130 FNnov(0, 10)
1950 MOV
R2, 11024
3140 ADR
R14,aynac
1960 SOB
R2,R2,#1
3150 LDMIA
R14, (R3-R5)
1970 SWI
"OS_Plot"
3160 FNmul
1980 HOV
R0, #4
3170 RSB
R2, R2, #32
1990 MOV
Rl, #0
3180 MOV
Rl, Rl, LSR R2
2000 HOV
R2,#0
3190 CMP
R0,#1
2010 SWI
"OS Plot"
3200 RSBEQ
R1,R1, #0
2020 MOV
R0, #185
3210 STR
Rl.ayn
2030 RSB
Rl, R9, #0
3220 FNmov(3, 10)
2040 RSB
R2, RIO, #0
3230 MOV
RO, #0
2050 SWI
"OS Plot"
3240 MOV
Rl,#(l«31)
2060 CMP
R9, #0
3250 MOV
R2, #10
2070 MOVPL
R3, #0
3260 FNdiv
2080 MOVHI
R3, #1
3270 RSB
R2, R2, #31
2090 RSBMI
R9, R9, #0
3280 MOV
Rl, Rl , LSR R2
2100 MOV
R5, #22
3290 CMP
R0,#1
2110 MOVS
R4,R9
3300 RSBEQ
Rl, Rl, #0
2120 BEQ
12
3310 ADD
Rl,Rl, #1
2130 :
3320 MOV
Rl.Rl.ASR #1
2140 .11
3330 STR
Rl,ao
2150 MOVS
R4,R4,LSL #1
3340 SWI
256+12
2160 SOB
R5, R5, #1
3350 LDMFD
R13! , (PC)
2170 BPL
11
3360 :
2180 :
3370 .mul
FNmulass
2190 .12
3380 MOV
PC, R14
2200 ADR
R14,a£x
3390 .add
FNaddass
2210 STMIA
R14, {R3-R5)
3400 MOV
PC.R14
2220 CMP
R10, #0
3410 .div
FNdivass
2230 MOVPL
R3, #0
3420 HOV
PC.R14
2240 MOVMI
R3, 11
3430 ]
2250 RSBMI
RIO, R10, #0
3440 NEXT
2260 MOV
R5, #22
3450 ENDPROC
2270 MOVS
R4.R10
3460 :
2280 BEQ
14
3470 :
2290 :
3480 DEF FNmov(d*, 1*)
2300 .13
3490 (OPT pass*
2310 HOVS
R4.R4.LSL #1
3500 MOV
d*,l*
2320 SOB
R5,R5,#1
3510 MOV
(d*+l),(l*+l)
2330 BPL
13
3520 MOV
(d*+2) , (l*+2)
2340 :
3530 J
2350 .14
3540 =0
2360 ADR
R14,afs
3550 DEF FNaddaos
2370 LDMIA
R14, {R0-R2}
3560 (OPT pass*
2380 FNmul
3570 CMP
R4, #0
2390 ADR
R14,afb
3580 BEQ
P*+4*24
2400 LDMIA
R14, (R3-R5)
3590 CMP
Rl, #0
2410 FNadd
3600 MOVEQ
R0,R3
2420 ADR
R14, afb
3610 MOVEQ
R1.R4
2430 STMIA
R14, {R0-R2}
3620 MOVEQ
R2,R5
3630 BEQ
P*+4*19
150 EQUD quit
3640 SUBS
R6,R2,R5
160 EQUD 0
3650 SUBMI
R6,R5,R2
170 EQUD title
3660 MOVPL
R4,R4,LSR R6
180 EQUD help
3670 MOVMI
Rl, Rl, LSR R6
190 EQUD commandtable
3680 MOVMI
R2,R5
200 :
3690 CHP
R0.R3
210 .title
EQUS "Handy"
3700 BEQ
PV4*9
220 EQUB
0
3710 SUBS
R1,R1,R4
230 ALIGN
3720 BEQ
P*+4*10
240 :
3730 MOVLO
R0.R3
250 .help
EQUS "Handy* +CHR$9 *CHR$
3740 RSBLOS
R1,R1, 10
9*"1.0O (04 Jan 1992)"
3750 SUBPL
R2, R2, VI
260 EQUB
0
3760 MOVPLS
Rl, Rl , LSL #1
270 ALIGN
3770 BPL
P*-4*2
280 :
3780 B
P*+4*4
290 .quit
STMFD (sp) ! , (link)
3790 ADDS
Rl , Rl , R4
300 BL
Off
3800 MOVCS
Rl, Rl, RRX
310 LDHFD
(8P) 1* (PC)
3810 ADDCS
R2,R2,#1
320 s
3820 )
330 .commandtable
3830 *0
340 EQUS
"HandyOn"
3840 DEF FNadd
350 EQUB
0
3850 (OPT pa q 8%
360 ALIGN
3660 BL
add
370 EQUD
on
3870 ]
380 EQUD
0
3880 =0
390 EQUD
onsyn
3890 DEF FNmulass
400 EQUD
onhlp
3900 (OPT pass*
410 EQUS
"HandyOff"
3910 EOR
R0,R0,R3
420 EQUB
0
3920 ADD
R2,R2,R5
430 ALIGN
3930 MOV
R6,#l«16
440 EQUD
off
3940 SUB
R6,R6,#1
450 EQUD
0
3950 HOV
R7, Rl, LSR #16
460 EQUD
offsyn
3960 MOV
R8,R4,LSR #16
470 EQUD
offhlp
3970 AND
R1,R1,R6
480 EQUD
0
3980 AND
R4,R4,R6
490 :
3990 MUL
R9,R1,R4
500 .onhlp
EQUS "*"+CHR$27+CHR$0+"
4000 MUL
R6,R7,R8
enables the SHIFT/CTRL lock."
4010 MUL
R7,R4,R7
510 EQUB
13
4020 MUL
R8,R1,R8
520 .onsyn
EQUS CHR$27+CHR$1
4030 ADDS
R7,R7,R8
530 EQUB
0
4040 ADDCS
R6,R6,»1«16
540 .offhlp EQUS — "+CHR$27+CHR$0+"
4050 ADDS
R9, R9,R7, LSL #16
disables the SHIFT/CTRL lock."
4060 ADCS
R1,R6,R7,LSR #16
550 EQUB
13
4070 MOVPL
Rl, Rl, LSL #1
560 .offsyn EQUS CHR$27+CHR$1
4080 SUBPL
R2,R2, #1
570 EQUB
0
4090 MOVPL
R6,R9, LSR #31
580 :
4100 ORRPL
Rl, Rl, R6
590 .on
BIC link, link, #1«28
4110 ]
600 STMFD
(sp) 1 , (r0-rl2, link)
4120 «0
610 MOV
r3, #14
4130 DEF FNmul
620 B
cutin
4140 (OPT pass*
630 .off
BIC link, link, #1«28
4150 BL
mul
640 STMFD
(sp)l, (r0-rl2,link)
4160 ]
650 MOV
r3, #13
4170 «0
660 .cutin
LDR r0, inuse
4180 DEF FNdivass
670 CMP
r0,r3
4190 (OPT pass*
680 LDMEQFD
(sp) l, (r0-rl2,pc)
4200 SUB
R2,R2,R5
690 MOV
r0, #eventv
4210 BOR
R0,R0,R3
700 ADR
rl, event
4220 MOV
R6, #0
710 MOV
r2, #0
4230 MOV
R7,R1
720 CHP
r3, #14
4240 MOV
Rl, #0
730 SWIEQ
"XOS Claim"
4250 MOV
R8.I32
740 CMP
r3, #13
4260 CMP
R6.ll
750 SWIEQ
"XOS.Release"
4270 CMPLO
R7.R4
760 HOV
r0,r3
4280 ADD
Rl, Rl, Rl
770 MOV
rl, #11
4290 ADDHS
R1,R1, #1
780 SWI
"XOS Byte"
4300 ADDLO
R6,R6,#1
790 HOV
rl,#2
4310 SUBHSS
R7,R7,R4
800 SWI
"XOS_Byte"
4320 SBC
R6, R6, #0
810 STR
r3. inuse
4330 ADDS
R7,R7,R7
820 LDMFD
(sp) !, (r0-rl2,pc)
4340 ADC
R6, R6.R6
830 :
4350 SUBS
R8,R8, #1
840 .mask
EQUD 0
4360 BNE
P*-4*10
850 .inuse
EQUD 13
4370 CMP
R6, #1
860 :
4380 CMPLO
R7.R4
870 .keys
EQUD &3B40
4390 ADCS
Rl, Rl, Rl
860 EQUD
£6140
4400 HOVCS
R1.R1.RRX
890 EQUD
&4C08
4410 ADDCS
R2.R2, #1
900 EQUD
£5808
4420 ]
910 EQUD
-1
4430 =0
920
4440 DEF FNdiv
4450 [OPT pass*
930 .event
)
STMFD (sp) ! , (r0-rl2, link
4460 BL
div
940 CMP
r0, #2
4470 ]
950 MOVEQ
rl, #1
4480 s0
960 BEQ
callb
4490 DEF PROCset(a*,n)
970 CMP
r0, #11
4500 LOCAL A*,B*,C*,an
980 CMPEQ
rl, #0
4510 IF n=0 THEN
990 LDMNEFD
(sp) ! , (r0-rl2,pc)*
4520 A*=0
1000 ADR
r3,keys
4530 B*s0
1010 :
4540 C*=0
1020 . findk
LDR r0, [r3] , #4
4550 ELSE
1030 CMP
r0,#0
4560 A*a(l-SGN n)/2
1040 LDMLTFD
(sp) ! , (r0-rl2,pc) *
4570 an=ABSn
1050 CMP
r2, r0, LSR #8
4580 C*=INT(LNan/LN2+l+lE-8)
1060 BNE
findk
4590 B*s( (an*
'2‘ (31-C*) ) <<1)
1070 LDRB
rl.mask
4600 ENDIF
1060 EOR
r0, rO, rl
4610 ! a*=A*
1090 STRB
rO.mask
4620 a*!4=B*
1100 MOV
rl, #0
4630 a*!8sC*
1110 :
4640 ENDPROC
1120 .callb
ADR r0,set
Listing 8
1130 MOV
1140 ORR
r9,pc
r8, r9, #3
1150 TEQP
r8, #0
10 REM >Handy32 (Info8)
1160 MOVNV
rO,r0
20 REM by Dave Acton
1170 STMFD
(sp) ! , (link)
30 REM for 32-bit machines
1180 SWI
"XOS_AddCallBack"
40 REM (c)
BAU March 1992
1190 LDMFD
(sp) ! , {link}
50 :
1200 TEQP
r9, #0
60 DIM code* £400
1210 MOVNV
r0,r0
70 eventv=&10
1220 LDHFD
(sp) !, (r0-rl2,pc}“
80 Bp»13:link«14:pc=15
1230 :
90 FOR pass*=4 TO 6 STEP 2
1240 .set
STMFD (sp) ! , (r0-rl2, link
100 P*«0
)
110 O*=code*
1250 MOV
r0, #202
120 [OPT pass*
1260 MOV
rl, #0
130 EQUD 0
1270 MOV
r2, #255
140 EQUD 0
1280 SWI
"XOS_Byte"
84 BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992
1290 LDRfi r3,maek
1300 CMP rl2,#0
1310 ORREQ rl, rl, r3
1320 BICNE rl, rl, r3
1330 MOV r2,#0
1340 STRNE r2,mask
1350 SWI “XOS_Byte"
1360 LDMFD (sp) ! , (r0-rl2,pc)*
1370 ]
1380 NEXT paaB*
1390 SYS "OS .File-, 10, “Handy", 4FPA, , cod
e*,0*
1400 END
Listing 9
10 REM >Handy8 (Info9)
20 REM by Dave Acton
30 REM for eight-bit machines
40 REM (c) BAU March 1992
50 :
60 bytev=&20A
70 rdchv=6210
80 eventv&&220
90 keyv=4228
100 osbyteafcFPF4
110 FOR paos\z0 TO 2 STEP 2
120 P*=&900
130 [OPT pass*
140 SEI
150 OPT PNr(eventv,oldevent+l,myevent)
160 OPT FNr(rdchv,oldrdch+l,myrdch)
170 OPT PNr ( by tev, oldbyte +l,mybyte)
180 CLI
190 LDA #14
200 LDX #4
210 JMP 08 byte
220 :
230 .mybyte
240 CMP #129
250 BNE mybyte2
260 CPY #255
270 BNE inkeyplus
280 CPX #254
290 BCC mybyte2
300 BEQ inkeyminus2
310 LDA mask
320 AND #128
330 JMP mybytel
340 :
350 . inkeyninus2
360 LDA mask
370 AND #64
380 :
390 .mybytel
400 PHP
410 LDA #129
420 LDX #0
430 LDY #0
440 PLP
450 BEQ isntpressed
460 DEX
470 DEY
480 :
490 .isntpressed
500 RTS
510 :
520 .inkeyplus
530 JSR oldbyte
540 PHP
550 CPY #0
560 BNE nokeypressed
570 STX temp *2
580 JSR convert
590 LDX temp+2
600 :
610 .nokeypreBsed
620 PLP
630 RTS
640 :
650 .nybyte2
660 .oldbyte
670 JMP &ABCD
680 :
690 .myrdch
700 .oldrdch'
710 JSR &ABCD
720 STA temp+2
730 :
740 .convert
750 PHP
760 TXA
770 PBA
780 TYA
790 PHA
800 BIT mask
810 BPL notctrl
820 LDA #227
830 JSR dofunc
840 BCC converted
850 LDA temp+2
860 CMP #64
870 BCC converted
880 CMP #64+32
890 BCS trylc
900 EOR #64
910 STA temp+2
920 JMP converted
930 :
940 .trylc
950 CMP #ASC*a"
960 BCC converted
970 CMP #ASC"z"+l
980 BCS converted
990 SEC
1000 SBC #96
1010 STA temp+2
1020 JMP converted
1030 :
1040 .notctrl
1050 BIT mask
1060 BVC converted
1070 LDA temp+2
1080 CMP #ASC"a"
1090 BCC checkshift
1100 CMP #ASC"z"+l
1110 BCS checkshift
1120 SBC #31
1130 BNE shifted ; = JMP
1140 :
1150 .checkshift
1160 LDA #226
1170 JSR dofunc
1180 BCC converted
1190 LDX #254
1200 :
1210 .findshift
1220 I NX
1230 I NX
1240 LDA shift, X
1250 BEQ converted
1260 CMP temp+2
1270 BNE findshift
1280 LDA shift+l,X
1290 :
1300 .shifted
1310 STA temp+2
1320 :
1330 .converted
1340 LDA #0
1350 STA mask
1360 PLA
1370 TAY
1380 PLA
1390 TAX
1400 LDA temp+2
1410 PLP
1420 RTS
1430 :
1440 .dofunc
1450 STA tcmp+5
1460 LDA #225
1470 JSR getfinfo
1480 BCC notfunc
1490 STX tcmp+3
1500 LDA temp+2
1510 CMP temp+3
1520 BCC notfunc
1530 SEC
1540 SBC #16
1550 CMP temp+3
1560 BCS notfunc
1570 LDA temp+5
1580 JSR getfinfo
1590 BCC notfunc
1600 TXA
1610 CLC
1620 ADC temp+2
1630 SEC
1640 SBC temp+3
1650 STA temp+2
1660 CLC
1670 RTS
1680 :
1690 .notfunc
1700 SEC
1710 RTS
1720 :
1730 .getfinfo
1740 LDX #0
1750 LDY #255
1760 JSR osbyte
1770 CPX #2
1780 RTS
1790 :
1800 .shift
1810 EQUS "1!2""3#4$5*6&7'8(9)0<?-
{] )_£;+:*, <•>/?*
1820 EQUB 0
1830 :
1840 .myevent
1850 PHP
1860 PHA
1870 CMP #4
1880 BNE notourevent
1890 TXA
1900 PHA
1910 TYA
1920 PHA
1930 CLC
1940 CLV
1950 JSR callkeyv
1960 PHA
1970 AND #64
1980 CMP status
1990 BEQ event2
2000 STA status
2010 CMP #0
2020 BEQ event2
2030 LDA maok
2040 EOR #64
2050 STA mask
2060 :
2070 .event2
2080 PLA
2090 AND #128
2100 CMP Btatus+1
2110 BEQ eventdone
2120 STA status+l
2130 CMP #0
2140 BEQ eventdone
2150 LDA mask
2160 EOR #128
2170 STA maBk
2100 :
2190 .eventdone
2200 PLA
2210 TAX
2220 PLA
2230 TAY
2240 :
2250 .notourevent
2260 PLA
2270 PLP
2280 :
2290 .oldevent
2300 JMP &ABCD
2310 :
2320 .callkeyv
2330 JMP (keyv)
2340 :
2350 .status EQOW 0
2360 .mask EQUB 0
2370 .temp EQUD 0:EQUW 0
2380 ]
2390 NEXT pass*
2400 PRINT"Bytes used: ";P*-fc900
2410 OSCLI("SAVE Handy 900 "+STR$’P*)
2420 END
2430 :
2440 DEF FNr(v,o,m)
2450 [OPT pas 8%
2460 LDA v
2470 STA 0
2480 LDA v+1
2490 STA o+l
2500 LDA #m MOD 256
2510 STA v
2520 LDA #m DIV 256
2530 STA v+1
2540 ]
2550 =pass*
Listing 10
10 REM >Predictor (InfolO)
20 REM Pools Predictor
30 REM by Robert Place
40 REM for all machines
50 REM (c) BAU March 1992
60 :
70 DIM name$(2) ,pre(2>
80 REPEAT
90 CLS
100 FOR rnl TO 2
110 PRINT"Team r'
120 INPUT-Name: "name$(r)
130 INPUT-League position: "po
140 INPUT-Played: "p
150 INPUT"Won: "w
160 INPUT"Ooals against: "a
170 pro (r > « ( { (2*p)/a*(p/w) ) *5)/po*4
180 PRINT"Rating for team ";r;"=";pre(
r>"
190 NEXT
200 IF pre(l) >pre (2) b=l ELSE b«2
210 IF ABS ( pre ( 1 ) -pre ( 2 ) ) < 4 PRINT"Draw
" ELSE PRINT name$(b)" will win"
220 PRINT ""Press any key..."
230 wait=GET
240 UNTIL FALSE
Listing 11
10 REM >BugLand (Inf oil)
20 REM by Dave Acton
30 REM for 32-bit machines
40 REM (c) BAU March 1992
50 :
60 MODE 13
70 OFF
80 *FX 4,1
90 ‘POINTER 1
100 VDU 24, 0;O; 1023; 1023;
110 PROCinit
120 PROCass
130 menu item\=0
140 REPEAT
150 CLS
160 PROCmenu
170 gen*=0
180 PROCclear_pop
190 PROCreBet_sprite
200 PROCfeed Unit feed*)
210 lselecta-1
220 REPEAT
230 SYS &2E, 34+512, sprite*, saddr*, 0,0
240 IF !select>-l THEN
250 CIRCLE 4* ( ( ! ( ! select+xpoa*) ) >>> (32
-logs*) ) , 1023-4* ( ( ! ( Iselect+ypos*) )>>>{3
2-logs*)), 16
260 ENDIF
270 date*»(date*+var*(0) ) MOD year*
280 IF var*(2)«l THEN
290 f*=var*(0)*var*(l)*(l+0.9*SIN(date
*/yearV2*PI) )
300 IF f*<l f*»l
310 PROCfeed(f*)
320 ELSE
330 f*=var*(0) *var*(l)
340 ENDIF
350 COLOUR 43
360 PRINTTAB( 33, 8) ; f*; " "TAB(33,9);g
en*;TAB(33, 10) ;USR(pop) ;" "
370 PROCfeed(f*)
380 FOR i*»l TO var*(0)
390 CALL generate
400 NEXT
410 gen*+svar*(0)
420 PROCmouse
430 PROCtrace
440 ref_menu*sTRUE
450 shift*-l-9*INKEY-l
460 CASE INKEY$(0) OF
470 WHEN CHR$ 1 36 :PROCset_var (-shift*)
480 WHEN CHR$137:PROCset_var (shift*)
490 WHEN CHR$138:menu_item*n(menu_item
*♦1) MOD vara*
500 WHEN CHR$139:menu_item*=(menu_item
*+vars*-l) MOD vars*
510 OTHERWISE
520 ref_menu*=FALSE
530 ENDCASE
540 IF ref_raenu* PROCmenu: *FX 15
550 UNTIL INKEY-52 AND INKEY-2
560 UNTIL FALSE
570 END
580 :
590 DEF PROCtrace
600 a%=! select
610 IF a*<>was_sel* THEN
620 wa8_sel*Ba*
630 VDU 28, 32, 31, 39, 12, 12, 26, 24 , 0;0; 10
23; 1023;
640 ENDIF
650 IF a*>0 THEN
660 COLOUR 42
670 PRINTTAB ( 33 , 12 ) "E=" ; a*! energy*; "
680 PRINTTAB (33, 13 )"C«=";a*?count*;" *
690 FOR i*=0 TO prog8ize*-l
700 op*=a*?(i*+ genes*) AND 7
710 par*=(a*?(i*+genes*))>>3
720 IF (a*lpc* AND (progsizeVl) ) si* C
OLOUR 63 ELSE COLOUR 7
730 PRINTTAB(33, 15+i*) ;i*;" ";LEFT$(co
m$ (op*) , 1) "
740 CASE op* OF
750 WHEN 1,7 : PRINT; INT(100*par*/32) ; "*
760 WHEN 2:PRIHT;par* DIV 4;" ";(i*-(p
ar* MOD 4)) AND (progsizeVl)
770 WHEN 3:PRINT;">";par*
780 WHEN 4, 5, 6: PRINT; par* AND (progsiz
e*-l)
790 ENDCASE
800 NEXT
810 ENDIF
820 ENDPROC
830 :
840 DEF PROCset_var(d*)
850 var*(menu_item*)+=d*
860 IF var*(monu_item*)<min*(menu_item
*) var*(menu_item*) 3min*(menu_.item*)
870 IF var*(menu_item*)>max*(menu_itea
*) var*(menu_item*)=aax*(menu_item*)
880 ENDPROC
890 :
900 DEF PROCmenu
910 LOCAL i*
920 FOR iV0 TO varsVl
930 IF iVmenu item* COLOUR 63 TINT 19
2 ELSE COLOUR 15
940 PRINTTAB(33,i**2)var_name$(i*)
950 COLOUR 7
960 PRINTTAB ( 3 4 , i V 2 + 1 ) SPC6TAB ( 3 4 , i** 2
♦1)/
970 IF i*<2 THEN
980 PRINT; var*(i*)
990 ELSE
1000 IP var*(i*)«0 PRINT "No" ELSE PRIN
T "Yes-
1010 ENDIF
1020 NEXT
1030 IF var*(0)ol lselect=-l
1040 ENDPROC
1050 :
1060 DEF PROCmouse
1070 MOUSE mx*,my*,mb*
1080 my*=1023-my*
1090 IF (mb* AND 1)>0 THEN
1100 PROCnew. bug(800,mx*/4,my*/4, "DESIG
NER")
1110 ENDIF
1120 IF (mb* AND 4)>0 THEN
1130 bdist*=20
1140 new*=-l
1150 a*=list!next*
1160 WHILE a*o-l
1170 IF a*!energy*>-l THEN
1180 dist*aSQR( ( ( (a*!xpos*) >>> (32-logs*
) ) -mx*/4) “2+ ( ( (a*!ypos*) >>> (32-logs*) ) -m
y*/4)*2)
1190 IF dist*<bdist* nev*=a*:bdist*=dis
t*
1200 ENDIF
1210 a*=a*lnext*
1220 ENDWHILE
1230 IP new*olselect !select«new*
1240 ENDIF
1250 ENDPROC
1260 :
1270 DEF PROCfeed(A*)
1280 CALL feed
1290 ENDPROC
1300 :
1310 DEF PROCclear_pop
1320 !free=wk*
1330 list! next*?- 1
1340 FOR i*=0 TO bugsVl
1350 a*=wk*+sizoof**i*
1360 IF i*<bugs*-l a*!next*sa*+sizeof*
ELSE a*!next*=-l
1370 NEXT
1380 FOR iVl TO 50
1390 PROCnew_bug ( 800, FNrnd (side*) ,FNrnd
(side*), -RANDOM")
1400 NEXT
1410 ENDPROC
1420 :
1430 DEF PROCnew_bug(e*,x*,y*,prog$)
1440 LOCAL a*,i*
1450 IP !freeo-l THEN
1460 a*=!free
1470 ! frees a*! next*
BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992 85
• 1480 a* ! next*=l ist ! next*
1490 liat!next*=a*
1500 aa*=a*+gene8*
1510 a*!energy*=e*
1520 a*!xpos*=x*<< (32-loga*)
1530 a*!ypoa*=y*<< (32-logs*)
1540 a*?pc*=0
1550 a*?dir*=FNrnd{4)
1560 a*?count*=0
1570 FOR k*=0 TO progsize*-l
1580 aa*?k*=FNopcode("JUHP") ♦ (0<<3)
1590 NEXT
1600 CASE prog$ OF
1610 WHEN "RANDOM" s
1620 FOR k*=0 TO progoizeVl
1630 k*? a a*= FNrnd ( 2 5 6 )
1640 NEXT
1650 REPEAT
1660 a*?col*= FNrnd ( 128 )
1670 UNTIL a*?col*ofoodbyte*
1680 WHEN "DESIGNER":
1690 aa*?0=FNopcode ( "MOVE" ) +(31«3)
1700 aa*?l=FNopcode ( "SEE" ) +{ 0«3)
1710 aa*?2=FNopcode( "BREED") + (28«3)
1720 aa*?3=FNopcode ( "TURN" ) +{10<<3)
1730 a*?col*=255
1740 OTHERWISE
1750 ERROR 0,"No such bug type as """♦p
rog$+""""
1760 ENDCASE
1770 ENDIF
1780 ENDPROC
1790 :
1800 DBF FNopcode(o$)
1810 LOCAL i*
1820 i*=-l
1830 REPEAT
1840 i\*»l
1850 UNTIL i*=commands*-l OR com$(i*)=o
$
1860 IF com$(i*)=o$ THEN = i*
2410 ap=13 : link=14 :pc=15
2420 FOR paaa*=0 TO 2 STEP 2
2430 P*=code*
2440 [OPT pass*
2450 .select EQUD -1
2460 .free EQUD 0
2470 .list EQUS STRING$(next*+4,"
•)
2480 .base EQUD sdata*
2490 .feed
25C0 STMFD (ap) ! , (rO-rl2, link)
2510 LDR rB, seed
2520 LDR r9,eor
2530 MOV rl0,r0
2540 LDR rll.base
2550 MOV r4,#foodbyte*
2560 :
2570 .feedloop
2580 FNrand(3, logs*)
2590 FNrand(0, logs*)
2600 ADD rl, rl 1, r0, LSL #loga*
2610 STRB r4, [rl, r3J
2620 SUBS rl0,rl0,#l
2630 BNE feedloop
2640 STR r8, seed
2650 LDMFD (ap) ! , (r0-rl2,pc)
2660 :
2670 .generate
2680 STMFD (ap) I . (r0-rl2, link)
2690 ADR rl2, list
2700 LDR rll, base
2710 LDR r8, seed
2720 LDR r9,eor
2730 :
2740 .bugloop
2750 MOV rlO,rl2
2760 :
2770 .bugloopb
2780 LDR rl2, [rlO, #next*]
2790 CMP rl2,#0
2800 STRLT r8, seed
3390 B
3400 :
3410 .breed
3420 CMP
3430 BLT
3440 LDR
3450 CMP
3460 BLT
free. . .
3470 LDR
3480 STR
did jump
r5, rl.LSL U6
nextinat
r3, free
r3, #0
nextinat
; no slots
3520 MOV
3530 STR
3560 LDR
3570 STR
r0, [r3,#next*J
rO.free ; remove a
lot from free list
3490 LDR r0, [rl2,#next*]
3500 STR r0, [r3,#next*]
3510 STR r3, [rl2,#next*] ; patch in
after parent
r5,r5,ASR *1
r5, [rl2, lenergy*]
3540 LDMIA rl2, (rO-r2,rl4)
3550 STMIA r3,{r0-r2,rl4)
rl4, [rl2, H16]
rl4, [r3, #16]
3580 FNrand(l,2)
3590 AND r2, r4, #6FF00
3600 ORR r0, r2 ( rl, LSL #24
3610 STR rO, [r3, #pc*]
3620 :
3630 .mutate
3640 FNrand(0,3)
3650 BNE nextinat
3660 MOV r0,r2iLSR #8
3670 ADD r0, r0, #7
3680 CMP r0,#foodbyte*
3690 ADDEQ r0,r0,#l
3700 STRB rO, [r3,#col\J
3710 FNrand(0,log2g)
3720 ADD r0, r0, r3
3730 FNrand(l,8)
3740 STRB rl, [r0,#genea*]
3750 B mutate
3760 !
1870 ERROR 17, "Unknown command: "+o$
2810 LDMLTFD
(ap) 1 , (r0-rl2,pc)
3770 .energy
1880 :
2820 LM4IA
rl2,[r5,r6,r7)
3780 CMP
r5, #256
1890 DEF PROCinit
2830 ORR
r0,r7,r6,LSR #loga*
3790 BGT
nextinat
1900 year*=2000
2840 MOV
rl, #0
3800 :
1910 initfeed\=3000
2850 STRB
rl, [rll,rO,LSR #(32-2*logs
3810 .jump
MOV r4,rl
1920 date*=0
*))
3820 B
did jump
1930 comaands*=8
2860 ADD
r3,rl2,#genes*
3830 :
1940 DIM com$ (commands*)
2870 LDR
r4, [rl2,#pc*]
3840 .see
1950 com$ { ) ="X" , "TURN", "LOOP" , "BREED " , "
2880 AND
r0, r4, #progsize*-l
3850 TST
r4,#(*10«24)
ENERGY" , "SEE" , "JUMP" , "MOVE"
2890 LDRB
r0, [r3,r0]
3860 MOVEQ
r3, #1« (32-logs*)
1960 buga*=4096
2900 MOV
rl.rO, ASR #3
3870 MOVNE
r3,#6FF«(32-loga*)
1970 log2g=3
2910 AND
rO,r0,#7
3880 TST
r4,#(*01<<24)
1980 progaize*=l<<log2g
2920 ADD
pc, pc, r0, LSL #2
3890 BEQ
see3
1990 cncrgy*=0
2930 EQUS
-Fill"
3900 t
2000 xpos* =4
2940 B
misc
3910 .aee2
2010 ypoB* =8
2950 B
turn
3920 ADD
r2,rll,r7,LSR #(32-2*logs*
2020 genes* =12
2960 B
loop
)
2030 ncoded*=genes**progaize*
2970 B
breed
3930 MOV
r0, r6
2040 next* =needed*+0
2980 B
energy
3940 ]
2050 pc* =needed*+4
2990 B
oee
3950 FOR it*=l TO 10
2060 col* =needed*+5
3000 B
jump
3960 [OPT pass*
2070 count* =needed*+6
3010 :
3970 ADD
r0,r0,r3
2080 dir* =neededV7
3020 .move
3980 LDRB
rl4, [r2,r0,LSR #(32-logs*)
2090 aizeof*=32
3030 FNrand(0, 5)
]
2100 food*= 3 00
3040 CMP
rO.rl
3990 CMP
rl4,#foodbyte*
2110 maxen*=2048
3050 BGT
nextinat
4000 BEQ
aeefood
2120 side*=256
3060 SUB
r5,r5,#10
4010 ]
2130 logs*=FNlog2 (aide*)
3070 TST
r4, # (*10«24)
4020 NEXT it*
2140 8B*=6100+side**2
3080 MOVEQ
rl, #1<< (32-logs*)
4030 [OPT pass*
2150 DIH sprite* as*
3090 MOVNE
rl, #4FF<<(32-loga*)
4040 B
nextinat
2160 PROCreset_aprite
3100 TST
r4,#(*01«24)
4050 :
2170 SYS &2E, 24+256, sprite*, “bugs" TO ,
3110 ADDEQ
r7,r7,rl
4060 .see3
,saddr*
3120 ADDNE
r6,r6,rl
4070 ADD
r2,rll,r6,LSR #(32-loga*)
2180 sdata*=Baddr*+saddr*!32
3130 B
nextinat
4080 MOV
r0,r7
2190 waa..sel*=-l
3140 :
4090 ]
2200 vare*=3
3150 .turn
FNrand(0, 5)
4100 FOR it*=l TO 10
2210 DIM var_type*(vars*-l) ,var_name$(v
3160 CMP
rO,rl
4110 [OPT pa8B*
ara*-l)
3170 BGT
nextinat
4120 ADD
r0,r0,r3
2220 DIH min*(vars*-l),max*(vara*-l)
3180 MOV
r2,r4,LSR #24
4130 LDRB
rl4, [r2, rO.LSR #(32-2*loga
2230 DIM var*(vars*-l)
3190 FNrand(0, 1)
*)]
2240 var_name$()="Update", "Food","Seaao
3200 ADDEQ
r2,r2,#l
4140 CMP
rl4,#foodbyte*
ns"
3210 ADDNE
r2,r2,#3
4150 BEQ
aeefood
2250 min*() =1,1,0
3220 AND
r2,r2,#3
4160 ]
2260 oax*() =30, 100,1
3230 STRB
r2, [rl2, #dir*]
4170 NEXT it*
2270 var*()=4,6,0
3240 B
nextinat
4180 [OPT pass*
2280 ENDPROC
3250 :
4190 B
nextinat
2290 :
3260 .loop
4200 :
2300 DEF PROCreset_aprite
3270 MOV
r0, r4, LSL #8
4210 .aeefood
2310 !aprite*=aa*
3280 MOVS
rO.rO.LSR #24
4220 MOV
r4,rl
2320 sprite*!4=0
3290 MOVEQ
r0.rl.LSR #2
4230 B
didjunp
2330 sprite*! 8=16
3300 STREQB
rO, [rl2,#count*]
4240 :
2340 sprite*! 12=16
3310 BEQ
loopback
4250 .misc
2350 SYS &2E, 15+256, sprite*, "bugs", 0, si
3320 SUBS
r0, r0, #1
4260 :
de*, aide*, 13
3330 STRB
r0, [rl2, #count*]
4270 .nextinBt
2360 ENDPROC
3340 BEQ
nextinat
4280 ADD
r4,r4, #1
2370 :
3350 :
4290 :
2380 DEF PROCaas
3360 .loopback
4300 .didjusp
2390 DIM code* tl000f (bugaVsizeof*)
3370 AND
r0,rl,#3
4310 STRB
r4, [rl2, #pc*]
2400 foodbyte*=ll
3380 SUB
r4, r4, rO
4320 ORR
r0,r7,r6,LSR Hogs*
ARM PROGRAMMING
4330 LDRB
rl, [rll, rO.LSR #(32-2»loga
*)1
4340 CMP
rl,#foodbyte*
4350 ADDEQ
r5,r5,#food*
4360 CMP
r5, #maxen*
4370 MOVGT
r5,#maxen*
4380 SUBS
r5,r5, #1
4390 STMIA
rl2, (r5,r6,r7)
4400 LDRPLB
rl,[rl2,#col*]
4410 STRPLB
rl, [rll, rO.LSR #(32-2»loga
*)]
4420 BPL
bugloop
4430 LDR
r0, select
4440 CMP
rO, rl2
4450 MVNEQ
rO, #0
4460 STREQ
r0, select
4470 LDR
r0, [rl2,#next*]
4480 STR
r0, [rl0,#next*j ; patch ou
t dead one
4490 LDR
rO.free
4500 STR
r0, [rl2,#next*]
4510 STR
rl2, free
4520 B
bugloopb
4530 :
4540 .brnd
t
STMFD (sp)!,{rl-rl2,link
/
4550 LDR
r8,aeed
4560 LDR
r9,eor
4570 BL
rand
4580 STR
r8,aeed
4590 LDMFD
(ap) !, (rl-rl2,pc)
4600 :
4610 .rand
4620 MOV
rO, #1
4630 MOV
rO,r0,LSL r2
4640 SUB
rO.rO.ll
4650 :
4660 .randloop
4670 MOVS
r8,r8, LSL #1
4680 EORCS
r8,r8,r9
4690 SUBS
r2,r2, #1
4700 BNE
randloop
4710 AND
rO,r8,r0
4720 MOV
pc, link
4730 :
4740 .eor
EQUD &1D872B41
4750 .seed
EQUD RND
4760 .pop
STMFD (op) !, (rl, link)
4770 ADR
rl.liat
4780 MOV
r0,#0
4790 :
4800 .pop2
LDR rl, [rl,#next*]
4810 CMP
rl, #0
4820 ADDGT
r0, rO, #1
4830 BGT
Pop2
4840 LDMFD
(ap) !, (rl.pc)
4850 ]
4860 WHILE (P* AND 15) >0
4870 P%+=4
4880 ENDWHILE
4890 wk*=P*
4900 NEXT pass*
4910 ENDPROC
4920 :
4930 DEF PNrand(reg,bit*)
4940 FOR r*=l TO bit*
4950 [OPT paaa*
4960 MOVS rB, r8, LSL #1
4970 EORCS r8,r8,r9
4980 ]
4990 NEXT r*
5000 [OPT pass*
5010 ANDS reg,r8,#((l«bit*)-l)
5020 ]
5030 =0
5040 :
5050 DEF FNlog2(n*)
5060 LOCAL 1*
5070 1*=-1
5080 WHILE n\>0
5090 1*+=1
5100 n*=n*>>l
5110 ENDWHILE
5120 =1*
5130 :
5140 DEF FNrnd (n*)
5150 C*=FNlog2(n*)
5160 =USR(brnd)
Listing 12
10 REM >SpikesARCl (Infol2)
20 MODE 0: OFF: FOR 1=1 TO 8:SYS 6,112,
I:CLS:NEXT:FOR N=10 TO 1 STEP -1:F0R 1=1
TO 8: SYS 6, 112, I:Z=4*N:F0R Y=16*I-128 T
0 1152 STEP 128: FOR X=16*I-128 TO 1408 S
TEP 128 :GX= ( 8-M) • (X-640) /30:GY= (8-N) * (Y-
512)/30:GC0L 0:CIRCLE FILL X+GX,Y*GY,Z:0
COL 1:CIRCLS X*GX,Y*GY,Z:NEXT:NEXT:HEXT:
NEXT: REPEAT: FOR 1=1 TO 8:WAIT:SYS 6,113,
I :NEXT:UNTIL 0
Listing 1
10 REM >ARM1 (Amprogl)
20 REM By Dave Lawrence
30 REM For 32 bit machines
40 REM (C) BAD March 1992
50 :
60 DIM code 100
70 link=14
80 pc=15
90 FOR pass=0 TO 2 STEP 2
100 P*=code
110 [OPT pass
120
. addsub
130
MOV
RO, #5
140
MOV
Rl, #9
150
ADD
R2,R0,R1
160
ADD
R0,R2, #7
170
MOV
Rl,#3
160
SUB
R0, R0, Rl
190
\
SUB
R0, R0, #1
200
rab r0,
r0, #30
210
MOV
pc, link
220
] NEXT
230
PRINT '
Preso
SPACE to run
240
IF GET
250
PRINT ’
■R0="
;USR( addsub)
Listing 2
120
130
.mul
MOV
Rl, #5
140
MOV
R2, #9
10 REM >ARM2 (Armprog2)
150
MUL
R0,R1,R2
20 REM By Dave Lawrence
160
MOV
Rl, #2
30 REM For 32 bit machines
170
HOV
R2, #10
40 REM (C) BAU March 1992
180
MLA
R0,R1,R0,R2
50 :
200
MOV
pc, link
60 DIM code 100
210
]NEXT
70 link=14
220
PRINT *Preaa
SPACE to run code";
80 pc=15
230
IPGBT
90 FOR paaa=0 TO 2 STEP 2
240
PRINT •■R0="
;USR(mul)
100 P\=code
110 [OPT pass
86 BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992
PRINTERS
Listing 1
10 REM ESC/P2 Printer dump (Escl)
20 REM by Halcom Brown
30 REM for all machines with ESC/P2 p
rinters
40 REM (C) BAO Mar 92
50 :
60 MODE 0
70 VDU 2
80 :
90 REM -- Reset printer
100 VDO 1,27,1,64
110 :
120 REM -- Select raster graphics mode
130 VDU 1,27,1,40,1,71,1,1,1,0,1,1
140 :
150 REM -- Set vert & horiz resolution
to 3600/20 dpi
160 V=2O:H=20
170 :
180 REM -- Set vertical dot count to 1
190 Nl=l
200 :
210 REM -- Set horizontal dot count to
650
220 N2=0:N3=5
230 :
240 REM -- Set movement unit to 20/360
0 inch
250 VDU 1,27,1,40,1,85,1,1,1,0,1,20
260 :
270 REM -- Load screen imago
280 *Load Screen 3000
290 :
300 FOR Y*=1023 TO 0 STEP -1
310 :
320 REM -- Output one line
330 PROCLINE(Y*)
340 :
350 REM -- Move down one movement unit
360 VDU 1,27,1,40,1,110,1,2,1,0,1,1,1,
370 NEXT Y*
380 VDU 3 :END
390 :
400 DEF PROCline(Y\)
410 REM -- Print raster graphics
420 VDU 1,27, 1,46, 1,0, 1,V,1,H,1,N1.1.N
2, 1,N3
430 FOR X%=0 TO 1279 STEP 8
440 :
450 REM -- Output one byte
460 VDU l,FNbyte(X*,Y*)
470 NEXT X*
480 :
490 REM -- Return to start of line
500 VDU 1,13
510 ENDPROC
520 :
530 DEF FNByte(X*,Y*)
540 D*=0
550 FOR N*=0 TO 7
560 :
570 REM -- Gather screen data for sing
le dot
580 D*=D*+2‘NVPOINT(X*+7-N*,Y*)
590 NEXT N*
600 =D*
Listing 2
10 REM Set character size (Esc2)
20 REH by Malcom Brown
30 REM for all machine with ESC/P0 pr
inters
40 REM (c) BAU Mar 92
50 :
60 MODE 3
70 VDU 2
80 FOR P*=8 TO 32 STEP 2
90 REM — SET POINT SIZE
100 VDU1, 27 ,1,88,1,1, 1, 2* PS, 1,0
110 REM — PRINT CHARACTERS
120 PRINT-aA";
130 NEXT
140 VDU 3
LIQUID
Listing 1
10 REM >Liquid (Liquidl)
20 REM by Mark A.Sidey
30 REM 32-bit machines only
40 REM (c) BAU Mar 92
50 :
60 ON ERROR PROCerror : PROCendrEND
70 :
80 REPEAT
90 PROCset.variables
100 PROCassemble
110 REPEAT
120 PROCmenu
130 PROCset_up_screen
140 PROCset.flags
150 REPEAT
160 PROCmouse
170 PR0Cset_register8
180 CALL liquids
190 UNTIL INKEY (-3)
200 REPEAT UNTIL NOT INKEY (-3)
210 UNTIL FALSE
220 END
230 :
240 DEF PROCmenu
250 M0DE13
260 OFF
270 COLOUR *111100 TINT *11000000
280 PRINT-Liquid Flow simulator by M.S
idey’
290 PRINT'
300 PRINT' ' -Select simulation type:"
310 COLOUR *111000 TINT *11000000
320 PRINT' '"l: Single liquid, flowing
down. •
330 PRINT’ -2: Two mixed liquids, flowi
ng down."
340 PRINT' -3: Two separate liquids, fl
owing down."
350 PRINT' *4: Two liquids, one down, o
ne up.’
360 -FX21
370 REPEAT
380 A$=GET$
390 UNTIL A$>="1" AND A$<="4"
400 type*=VAL(A$)
410 IF type*=4 mirror*=TRUE ELSE mirro
r*= FALSE
420 ENDPROC
430 :
440 DEF PROCset.variables
450 DIM input* 100
460 DIM output* 100
470 !input*=149
480 ! (input*+4)=-l
490 SYS "OS.ReadVduVariables", input*, o
utput*
500 start_8creen_address*=! output*
510 number_of_drops*=800
520 liquidl_colour*=*l 1001 111
530 liquid2_colour*=*00010111
540 DIM liquid* 1000, position* 4*numbe
r.of.drops*, flag* number.of.drops*
550 ENDPROC
560 :
570 DEF PROCset.registers
580 B*=number_of_drops*
590 C*=position*
600 D*=flag*
610 E*=start_screen_addre8B*+320- 1+160
620 F*=Btart.screen address*+320*254+l
60
630 ENDPROC
640 :
650 DEF PROCset.flags
660 FOR a*=flag* TO f lag*+number_of_dr
ops*
670 CASE type* OF
680 WHEN 1
690 ?a*=*001
700 WHEN 2
710 IF a* MOD 2=1 ?a*=*001 ELSE 7a*=*0
11
720 WHEN 3
730 IF (a*-flag*)< (number.of.drops* DI
V 2) ?a*=*001 ELSE ?a*=*011
740 WHEN 4
750 IP a* HOD 2=1 ?a*=*001 ELSE ?a*=*l
11
760 ENDCASE
770 NEXT
780 ENDPROC
790 :
800 DEF PROCassemble
810 temporary=0
820 off_set=l
830 position_polnter*2
840 flag_pointer=3
850 top_position=4
860 bottom_position=5
870 flags=6
880 liquid_colour=7
890 black=I
900 position=9
910 left=10
920 headingsll
930 right=12
940 :
950 FOR pass*=0 TO 2 STEP 2
960 P*= liquid*
970 [OPT pass*
980 MOV black, #0
990 :
1000 .loop
1010 LDRB flags, [ f lag_pointer , of f _set ]
1020 ANDS temporary, flags, #1
1030 BNE start.drop
1040 MOV temporary, flags, LSRfl
1050 ANDS temporary, temporary, #1
1060 MOVEQ liquid.colour, lliquidl.colou
r*
1070 MOVNE liquid colour, #liquid2_colou
r*
1080 LDR position, [poBition_pointer,off
.set, LSLI2]
1090 STRB black, [position, 10]
1100 MOV temporary, flags, LSRI2
1110 ANDS temporary, temporary, II
1120 CMP temporary, #0
1130 CMPEQ position, bottom .position
1140 BEQ finish.drop
1150 CMP temporary, II
1160 CMPEQ position, top .position
1170 BEQ finish.drop
1180 CMP temporary.il
1190 LDRNEB heading, [position, I320J
1200 LDREQB heading, [position, 1-320)
1210 CMP heading, black
1220 BNE sides
1230 CMP temporary, II
1240 ADDNE position, position, 1320
1250 SUBEQ position, position, 1320
1260 B output
1270 :
1280 .sides
1290 LDRB left, (position, 1-1)
1300 LDRB right, [position, #1]
1310 CMP left, black
1320 BNE look.right
1330 CMP right, black
1340 BEQ both
1350 SUB position, position, II
1360 B output
1370 :
1380 .look.right
1390 CMP right, black
1400 BNE stuck
1410 ADD position, position, II
1420 B output
1430 :
1440 .both
1450 CMP heading, 1255
1460 BEQ sort
1470 SWI "OS.ReadMonotonicTime"
1480 ANDS temporary, temporary, II
1490 ADDEQ position, position, II
1500 SUBNE position, position, II
1510 B output
1520 :
1530 .sort
1540 MOV temporary, flags, LSRll
1550 ANDS temporary, temporary, II
1560 ADDEQ position, position, 11
1570 SUBNE position, position, II
1580 B output
1S90 :
1600 .stuck
1610 MOV temporary, flags, LSRI2
1620 ANDS temporary, temporary, II
1630 LDREQB heading, [position, 1-320]
1640 LDRNEB heading, [position, 1320]
1650 CMP heading, black
1660 BNE output
1670 CMP temporary, II
1680 SUBNE position, position, 1320
1690 ADDEQ position, position, 1320
1700 :
1710 .output
1720 STRB liquid.colour, [position, 10]
1730 STR position, [position .pointer, off
_set,LSLI2]
1740 :
1750 .next
1760 SUBS off_set,off_set,ll
1770 BGT loop
1780 MOV PC,R14
1790 :
1800 .Btart.drop
1810 LDRB temporary, [top_position, 10]
1820 CMP temporary, black
1830 BNE next
1840 MOV temporary, flags, LSRI2
1850 ANDS temporary, temporary, II
1860 MOVEQ position, top .position
1870 MOVNE position, bottom .position
1880 AND flags, flags, 1*110
1890 STRB flags, [flag_pointer,off_set]
1900 B output
1910 :
1920 .finish.drop
1930 ORR flags, flags, 1*001
1940 STRB flags, [f lag_pointer,of f.set]
1950 B next
1960 ]
1970 NEXT
1980 ENDPROC
1990 :
2000 DEF PROCset.up.screen
2010 MODS 13
2020 OFF
2030 GCOL *001011 TINT 0
2040 RECTANGLE 0,0,1279,1023
2050 RECTANGLE 4,4,1268,1012
2060 IF mirror* VDU19, 0,24, 0,0, *50
2070 GCOL 0 TINT 0
2080 POINT 640,1016
2090 POINT 640,4
2100 VDU 24,8;8;1271;1012?
2110 -POINTER 1
2120 MOUSE C0L0UR1, 100, 255,0
2130 MOUSE C0L0UR2, 0,255,0
2140 MOUSE STEP 1
2150 REPEAT
2160 PROCmouse
2170 IF INKEY(-68) GCOL *001011 TINT *0
1030000: RECTANGLE FILL0.0, 1279, 1023
2180 UNTIL INKEY ( -3)
2190 REPEAT UNTIL NOT INKEY (-3)
2200 ENDPROC
2210 :
2220 DEF PROCmouse
2230 IF INKEY ( -50) THEN
2240 HOUSE STEP 0,1
2250 ELSE
2260 IF INKEY (-49) THEN
2270 MOUSE STEP 1,0
2280 ELSE
2290 HOUSE STEP 1
2300 ENDIF
2310 ENDIF
2320 MOUSE x*,y*,b*
2330 IF INKEY { -12 ) THEN
2340 GCOL 0 TINT 0: MOUSE COLOUR 2, 0,0,0
2350 ELSE
2360 IF INKEY (-97) THEN
2370 GCOL 63 TINT 192:HOUSB COLOUR 2,25
5,255,255
2380 ELSE
2390 GCOL *001011 TINT *01000000: MOUSE
COLOUR 2,0,255,0
2400 ENDIF
2410 ENDIF
2420 :
2430 IF INKEY(-114) mirrorWALSE: VDU19
,0,24,0,0,0
2440 IF INKEY(-115) mirror*=TRUE: VDU19,
0,24,600, tOO, 650
2450 IP(b* AND 4) =4 CIRCLE FILL X*,y*,8
: IF mirror* CIRCLE FILLx*, (512-y*) +512, 8
2460 IF (b* AND 2) =2 POINT x*,y*:IF mirr
or* POINT x*, (512-y*) +512
2470 ENDPROC
2480 :
2490 DEF PROCerror
2500 IF ERR<>17 MODEO : PRINT ' REP0RT$ ; ■ a
t line ■; ERL: END
2510 ENDPROC
2520 :
2530 DEF PROCend
2540 SYS’OS.Byte", 161, 194 TO dummy, duna
y.mouBe.step*
2550 mou8o_8tep*=oouse_8tep* AND *111
2560 IF mouse_Btep*=0 nouse.stepW
2570 MOUSE STEP mouse. step*
2580 ENDPROC
BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992 8 7
3V2
DISKS
6W
DISKS
TYPE QTY
25
50
100
TYPE QTY 25
50
100
BENCHMARK DS/DD
£18.00
£31.00
£45.00
BENCHMARK DS/DD £11.00
£18.00
£28.00
UNBRANDED DS/DD
£12.80
£21.00
£39.00
UNBRANDED DS/DD £9.50
£16.00
£24.00
EX WESTERN DIGITAL VGA
DRIVERS (NEW BUT FORMATTED £2b.SO 100
AND LABELLED). DS/DD
OVERLABEL DS/DD „„ OO PER 100
INC. TYVEX ENVELOPE E20 - 00 PER 100
BENCHMARK DS/HD
£33.60
£61.00
£67.00
BENCHMARK DS/HD £18.00
£31.50
£52.50
UNBRANDED DS/HD
£25.00
£36.00
£59.00
UNBRANDED DS/HD £14.00
£27.00
£48.00
EX WESTERN DIGITAL VGA $ 0/
DRIVERS (NEW BUT FORMATTED £45.&> O£J00
AND LABELLED). DS/HD 7
OVERLABEL DS/HD Sp L
INC. TYVEX ENVELOPE ^ O
ALL DISKS 100% CERTIFIED ERROR FREE. 3V 2 " INC. LABELS. 5V 4 " INC. ENVELOPE AND LABEL SET.
DISK STORAGE BOXES
3V 2 " 10 CAPACITY QTY 5 £4.50
3V 2 " 50 CAPACITY LOCKABLE £3.70
3V 2 " 100 CAPACITY LOCKABLE £4.70
3Y 2 " 240 CAPACITY STACKABLE £15.00
5Y4" 10 CAPACITY QTY 5 £4.99
5V4" 50 CAPACITY LOCKABLE £3.70
5# 100 CAPACITY LOCKABLE £4.70
PRICES ONLY IF BOUGHT WITH DISKS
ACCESSORIES
IBM PRINTER CABLE 1.8 MTR £4.90
(ALSO FOR ATARI AND AMIGA)
25 PIN M-M AND M-F 1.8 MTR £4.90
36 PIN CENTRONIC M-M 1.8 MTR £4.90
RIGID DOUBLE SIDED MOUSE MAT £4.50
ALL PRICES INCLUDE VAT & P&P UK ORDERS ONLY
Cheques and
Postal Orders to
Manor Court Supplies Ltd
Telephone: 0597 851 792 Fax No: 0597 851 4 1 6
Dept AU3. Glen Celyn House, Penybont.
Llandrindod Wells, Powys. LD1 5SY
EDUCATION AND GOVERNMENT ORDERS WELCOME
FREE demo disc ARCHWAY 2 Available NOW
"ARCHWAY is one of the most impressive and best value for money products that I have
yet seen for the Archimedes. Anyone who wishes to write RISC applications in BASIC
would have to be quite insane NOT to enlist the aid of this remarkable package."
A & B Computing. Fobruary 1990
"You get an excellent piece of software which will make the mountain of programming
needed to operate the WIMP environment into a molehill. ..you can create a complex
WIMP environment very quickly...l have had no end of use out of this easy-to-use
package."
Archive, July 1909
"I am sure ARCHWAY will cut out a lot of the work of writing simple applications for
many people...l think this could be a very good place to start."
BBC Acorn User, April 1991
"I'm extremely impressed with ARCHWAY 2. It's a very ambitious product and one that
now provides the many buddine Archimedes developers with a facility that will enable
them to get their ideas off the drawing board before they evaporate."
RJSCUsof, April 1991
ARCHWAY 2 lets YOU unleash the huge program power of RISC OS and the ARM easily and quickly.
Build powerful multi-tasking, multi-window applications with pop-up menus, icons, mouse control, etc.
of professional quality. Programs are RISC OS compliant.
If you are a little familiar with BBC BASIC then you can create applications using ARCHWAY 2. We have
optimised the facilities to let you achieve powerful results with a minimum of programming.
The price is L86.91 exc VAT but with p/p (L102.12 inc VAT at 17.5%). VISA & ACCESS are welcome.
Please add L5.00 for postage in Europe or world-wide surface mail & 1 20.00 for world airmail. For schools
a site licence is included in the price. Currently at version 2.13.
Detailed ARCHWAY leaflet and demo disc FREE on request.
Archway NEWS Archway NEWS Archway NEWS
We have a new release of ARCHWAY in test at present. It is fully RISC OS 2/3 compatible and automatically
adapts to the version you are using. There is built in support for slider icons, up to 3 panes in a window
and browser windows for scrolling lists of data. Major areas of the run-time have been ARM coded to
make your programs run even faster. Existing users can normally update their applications just by using
the new run-time.
From 1.11.91 ARCHWAY 2 is being sold with a FREE upgrade voucher for the new version. Please note
that you cannot combine our earlier special offer and this voucher.
The first of our new range of ARCHWARE products are on release this month. They use the new ARCHWAY
run-time and so are intelligently RISC OS 2/3 compatible. Please send for full details.
SIMTRON Programs to help you
4 Clarence Drive, East Grinstead, West Sussex RH19 4RZ Telephone (0342) 328188
GENEALOGY
(See review in Feb 87 and Aug 89)
FAMILY HISTORY SYSTEM The most popular program evei written lor us Enables
you to produce a lull family tree and many other genealogical listings
BBC/Master/Compact version £20.95 - Archimedes version £25.95
PAYROLL
EXTENOED PAYROLL Now in its eighth year The only BBC progra m torj
lax and National Insurance lor up lo 400 employees covens
four weekly and Monthly pay whether conlrar^^^^^^T
ol data per employee in iwonarj^i^^^^T^ M 0 <**^^^^^^^?cTsbnal
employee ml lining i i(j 1 1 ' 1 ini|ililili
4 ol pay trom hourly
ff/.Ji pension deductions sick pay SSP SMP
■'pre and post lax adjustments and even no pay Three
l wo different types ol payslip printout and an optional com analysis An
annual contract keep you up lo date with the budgel changes Send lor demo disc
BOOKKEEPING
(see review in March *89 Acorn User)
1) CASHBOOK Double entry bookkeeping foi home or club use. All data kepi m
memory Three character analysis code enables you to know where the money
comes Irom and where it goes 48 transactions per A4 page Analysis summary up
to 30 categories
2) CASHBOOK D As 1 ) -♦- random access giving 2000 items CASH/BANK or VAT/BANK
headings Password control String or numeric searches Foi schools, clubs & non
credit businesses
3) ACCOUNT As 2) + Credit facility and statements. For small businesses working
with credit
4) ACCOUNT-PLUS As 3) + Invoicing. Orders. Quotations etc Full sorting of data by
5 options Automated statements, mailing labels Multiple automatic nominal ledgers
For independent schools and VAT businesses who wish to cut the effort
5) TAXMAN This new program which has been under development for three years
allows you to enter all your transactions and to printout end of year results with
balance sheet and even calculate tax due The Inland Revenue love it and so do we
Results can be taken from our other accounting programs and entered into TAXMAN
making a superb combination
6) Micro-Trader is a lull accountancy package with teatures right through to final
balance sheet Stock Control at £75 00 extra For shops/firms, accountants wanting
lull accounting facilities Payroll can be integrated
£20 95
£25 95
£52 50
£14.95
£23 95
£35.95
£59.95
£59 95
£235 00
£88 13
MAILING
218 addresses in memory or up to 1875 on random access disc Multiple selected £14 95
and repeat labels, mail merge, lull sorts Ideal tor subscription lists, promotions, any
kind ol mailing £35.95
Ask for detailed brochure for more software and other items
Demo discs available lor £2.50 each. Micro-Trader £25. Prices include VAT add 81 p p/p
PLEASE NOTE OUR MOVE & CHANGE OF ADDRESS FROM CORNWALL
Tffiero-ftid
(FAX AVAILABLE)
KIMmm Cwrtyard, Barrfcill, S. Ayrshlrt
Scotland. KA26 OPS. Tat: 0465 82288
E3
88 BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992
The Fourth Dimension
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BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES / BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES / BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES
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"A Brutal Uninhibited Arcade Beat'em Up!”
The Plot
An evil scientist discovers a
cheap and easy way to
manufacture vast quantities of
illegal narcotics. His intentions -
to turn cities full of people into
junkies, all dependent on his
supplies.
Mass addiction spreads
throughout the city within days
- like a deadly plague. Gang
violence, looting, mugging -
people will do anything to get
their next fix, your only chance
for survival is to get the crazy
scientist yourself and make sure
he will never be able to make
any drugs again.
Punching, kicking - finding
weapons along the way, you
fight through hordes of junkies
in streets, warehouses and
sewers until you reach the mad
scientist's laboratory where you
must 'deal with him for good'.
The Development
Team
Comprises a Software Engineer
and Graphic Artist who
previously worked for years in
the American arcade and home I
console markets, writing ultra-
playable games that have sold
around 1 million copies I
worldwide. Now writing for |
the technically superior Acorn
RISC based range of computers.
Techno Stuff
Frame Rate 50 Frames/Second
Constant
Object Code Handivrittcn Arm
Code and Basic
Graphics Over 1.5 Mbyte. High
Speed Custom Written
Graphics Handlers
Sound Digitally Sampled
Computer Archimedes with
1 Mbyte or more
Inputs Keyboard or Joystick
BBC A3000 & ARCHIMEDES PRICE £24.95 Release date hopefully late November '91
Lives: P
BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES / BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES / BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES
V"''
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Combining the best features of a fast and furious racing game
with the realism of an accurate driving simulator. Work your
way up through the leagues , buy extra features and faster
cars , to become the Saloon Car Racing Driver of the Year.
Game Plot
You arc an amateur racing driver just starting in the field. You race at weekends during
the summer, and have a full time job at the office all week* which helps to pay some of
the gargantuan bills you incur at weekends! You have recently blown your life savings
on an Astra GTE and entered a season of races...
With your Astra you compete in class C against the other Astras and, if you prove
yourself worthy by working your way up through the league, you may eventually
manage to get sponsorship to race in class B. At this point you will need to buy a BMW
M3, built to your exact specifications and the manufacturer's custom price. After a few
more seasons you may even reach the exalted heights of a Cosworth Sierra...
*It is beyond the scope of this program to provide a realistic simulation of a full time
office job!
Dynamics
The mathematical simulation of the dynamics of a car in motion was set up by a
professional physicist. A Classical Newtonian model is used for the transmission and to
model the motion of the wheels on the road in both regimes of sliding. The result of all
this is a program realistic enough to allow front, rear and four wheel slides, Understeer
and Oversteer and of course handbrake turns.
Graphics
The game features 256 colour, mode 13 graphics, designed by a professional artist. The
view is a first person, cockpit view from which you can see the road ahead, the rear view
mirror and the instruments. The main view features totally customised handwritten
ARM code graphics routines which were necessary to maintain the superb frame rate
and create a view previously undreamed of. The courses (Silverstone & Brands Hatch)
feature bridges, stands, gravel traps, barriers, the pit lane, and even the man with the
chequered flag. Of course there are many other features, but we think it's better to save
most of them to be a surprise!
Technical Information
Frame Rate Up to 25 FPS
Object Code 250k of Handwritten Arm Code
Graphics 256 colour , mode 73 graphics
Handwritten, custom graphics routines
Sound Digitally sampled sound effects (Naturally!)
Computer Any Archimedes with 1Mbyte or more
Inputs Mouse, Keyboard or Joystick
Serial Link This option will be supplied on a separate disc
BRANDS HATCH
ir*’* > «♦ ^
SILVERSTONE
BBC A3000 & ARCHIMEDES PRICE £24.95
"Saloon Cars" is compatible with the BBC A3000 and ALL Archimedes computers
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BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES / BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES / BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES
ARCticulate
Holed Out
Compendium
Ferule Face
BBCtlcuLite
” The Animated
Speech Synthesizer"
This unique and revolutionary speech synthesizer actually has
faces that talk to you and to each other. You can choose from 4
main faces and voices - male , female, alien or droid - thereby
truly bringing your computer to life!
ARCticulate works in the desktop environment allowing full multi-tasking with word
processors etc.. ARCticulate will read any documents that you have written or you can
insert jokes, questions etc. etc..
You can alter the pitch, speed, volume and of course voice, during and after any
sentence, thus allowing the faces to even talk to each other. The Dictionary supplied is
a RISCOS application and is simplicity itself to use. It holds up to 600 words in any file
and you can have as many files as you wish - ideal for specialist subjects.
Also included in the package are a selection of jokes, some amusing noises to attach to
desktop events, a provisional dictionary file and a superb demonstration program
showing you just how articulate Arcticulate is!
FACTFILE
• 4 animated faces able to cover all mouth positions
• 4 meticulously sampled voices which can say absolutely anything you want
• All faces and voices can be installed together
• An individual face and voice can be installed in less than 120K
• Very easy to use dictionary application with up to 600 words per file and
limitless files
• Reads text files, word processor documents and can be easily used with
your own programs
• Entertaining Joke program, Demo program and Funny Noises program
also included
"...ARCticulate produces clearer and more natural speech than any of its
rivals. It also has talking heads." Archive, Sep '91.
"...the actual quality of the speech is excellent - 1 have never heard
computerised speech sound so real.... The male and female voices actually
sound like real people....ARCticulate is a fun program, and demonstrates high
quality speech on the Archimedes." Syracuse, Summer '91.
"An Immensely Playable
Golf Game for 1-6 Players
Includes: The Original Holed Out
This superbly enhanced version really shows the power of the Archimedes at
its best, the game is completely mouse driven and features atmospheric
digitised sound effects to convince you that you are really playing golf.
• 1 to 6 players. • 2 contrasting 18 hole courses.
• 4 skill levels for beginner to professional. Learn to play without worrying about the
wind, bunkers or rough.
• Realistic ball flight paths. • Slice and hook capabilities.
• Variable wind on each hole - every round is unique.
• Full set of 14 clubs with accurately defined performances. You must consider your
lie, the distance required, the wind conditions, the height required and the degree to
which the ball will bounce and run along the ground.
• Bunkers, trees, water and variable rough.
• Constantly updated full scoreboard. • Matchplay or strokeplay options.
"I play golf and this game is the closest thing to the real game on a computer. The I
graphics are very good with a large scale golfer complete with bag and trolley (and
a good swing!) and the sounds are very realistic." ARCHIVE, June'89.
" a great game." The Micro User, August, '89.
& The Holed Extra Courses 1 & 2
These feature 4 extra 18 hole courses which have been meticulously created to test
your golfing skills to the limit.
& The Holed Out Designer
Create your own courses with this easy to use yet highly sophisticated hole
designer. Its flexibility allows you to define all aspects of the holes from their pars to
the size, shape and position of the holes.
"The Holed Out Designer is very easy to use and it makes a perfect complement to
the original game." The Micro User, Jan'90.
BBC A3000 & ARCHIMEDES PRICE £24.95 BBC A3000 & ARCHIMEDES PRICE £24.95
ARCticulate is compatible with ALL Archimedes computers The Holed Out Compendium is compatible with ALL Archimedes computers
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The 4th Dimension
BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES / BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES / BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES
CLt Ctlx/ STTT
Scenario
Unable to escape the gravitational pull of a truly massive planet, the
cosmic exploration ship hurtles ever nearer to the planet's surface. The
moment of impact fails to happen. Horrendous creaking sounds, and
the faintly audible sound of running water provide sufficient evidence
to enable the ship's supervisor to eventually grasp the situation.
Submerged beneath a vast and alien ocean, the Orem is gradually
disintegrating...
Game
Playing the part of the ship's supervisor, your task is to expel water from
different sections of the ship via hydraulic pumps, to give the ship's semi-
organic outer shell time to repair itself. The water enters each section
through a network of pressure-relieving pipes, and must be directed
towards a collecting vessel using several manipulating blocks. This must be
accomplished within a time limit, before the pressure becomes too great.
The various sections of the ship contain numerous features to further
complicate your task. Pressure valves, dissolving blocks and filters all affect
the flow of the water. Additionally, the water's presence has disrupted the
ship's computer, which is now intent on terminating your existence using
the on board weapons' systems, although it is possible to acquire fire power
of your own.
As the Orcna is an exploration ship, it contains many strange alien life forms,
gathered from distant galaxies. The now chaotic computer has taken upon
itself to release these creatures from their confining cells, and the aliens are
rampaging freely throughout the ship. Needless to say, several of these
species are particularly unpleasant. Your task is to prevent the disaster that
would occur were the Orcna to succumb to the icy water that is flooding into
the ship. Your task is to prevent a cataclysm.
Program
Cataclysm is a stunningly original and unique game. As well as
incorporating conventional sprite and pixel plotting techniques, a cellular
automata is employed to generate realistic fluid motion. A simple set of rules
is applied to each individual droplet of water, with hundreds of droplets
forming a dynamic fluid which flows around the various on-screen objects.
The water will adopt the shape of any container, and even exhibit tiny air
bubbles. Later levels incorporate extended fluid routines to create frothing
acid, and coloured liquids that mix on contact. Optimised sprite routines
allow the presence of various aliens and over one hundred parabolic particles
and bullets, all moving extremely smoothly at a high frame update rate.
Guiding the water through the various features and into the collecting vessel
requires logical thought, coupled with arcade reflexes. Cataclysm
successfully combines both puzzle solving and shoot'em up elements to
create an immensely playable and enjoyable game.
Technical Specifications
50 Hertz cellular automata generates realistic fluid motion.
Over 1000 individual droplets of water on screen simultaneously.
Water, sprites and over a hundred independent particles and bullets
updated at 50 frames/second.
256 colour graphics, 320*640 pixel playing area with superbly smooth
animation and scrolling.
Over 500k of superb sampled music and sound effects.
40 increasingly complex and difficult levels.
Numerous features including valves, dissolving blocks, remote control
doors, drip-valves, linear and parabolic guns, increasingly available fire
power, various types of aliens, acid, coloured liquids, guided bullets etc...
obium
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"The All-Time Classic Car
The All-Time Classic Game"
The ”E-Type Compendium" includes:
The Original E-Type
Take control of £70,000's worth of gleaming M E-Type" and head off for the drive of a
lifetime. Hear the digitised roar of the 5.3 litre 12 cylinder engine as you tear along
lanes, roads and motorways at speeds over 150 m.p.h..
"E-Type" takes racing simulations into the world of 32 bit RISC processing to bring
you a game of a quality that is not often found even in the arcades.
If you are new to car driving you can take the very easy to drive automatic for a
spin but experienced drivers can optimise performance using the faster 5 speed
manual.
There are hazards galore in the 5 varied scenarios including other cars, roadworks,
pedestrians, trees, rocks, bushes, oil spills and many more.
"On the Archimedes the illusion of speed is terrifyingly real and the way the
landscape moves in three-dimensional perspective is a joy - a stunning
experience." The Independent, I)ec'89.
"This is a superb game....thc tracks are fantastic." The l imes Dec'89.
"No race game on any other machine looks as good." file Times Educational
Supplement Dec'89.
& The E-Type Extra 100 Miles
This consists of 100 extra miles of very hilly and hazardous roads. They will test
even the best drivers to the limit.
& The E-Type Designer
This highly advanced but simple to use designer allows you to design your own
tracks. It is enormously flexible to produce an endless variety of tracks to challenge
you and your friends.
"The perfect complement to E-Type." The Games Machine Feb'90.
"A Totally Original Game
with Stunning Animation"
Boogie arrives at Dodge City to find that the Evil Monster Lord has taken
control and set about converting power-ore, which is extracted from a mine in
the centre of the city, into evil-ore, which he is using to transform all the good
in Dodge City into evil. As the Evil Monster Lords' power increases, he
proceeds to turn Dodge City into a stronghold for creatures of darkness and
other evil monsters, and plots to take control of Bumper World. Boogie has
not yet been influenced by the evil-ore and so it is up to him to thwart the Evil
Monster Lords' plans.
To do this Boogie must travel across Dodge City counteracting the effect of
the evil-ore in each zone by collecting lumps of power-ore, and returning
them to the mine. Boogie must also destroy each of the Ore Conversion Plants
(O.C.P.'s), before finally meeting the Evil Monster Lord in the Ore Core.
"The first thing you notice about Boogie Buggy is that the graphics are
gorgeous. The game uses the border as well as the main playing area by
about 40% and the effect is stunning." BBC Acorn User, Sep ’91.
"Boogie Buggy sets new heights in presentation, the whole program is a
feast for the eyes. Take a look at the lily pond for example, it’s
breathtakingly good.... Boogie Buggy is totally original, packed with action,
great sound, catchy music and above all incredible graphics and
animation....it's brilliant." Syracuse, Summer ’91.
"Coming on three discs, it's certainly a vast game and only just runs on a 1
megabyte machine... Graphics are probably the most pretty and colourful I
have seen on an Archimedes, with plenty of plants, flowers and wildlife, all
well-drawn in cartoon style artwork...On the whole it’s a well thought out
and designed game which is addictive too." Micronet, July '91.
BBC A3000 & ARCHIMEDES PRICE £24.95 BBC A3000 & ARCHIMEDES PRICE £24.95
The E-Type Compendium is compatible with ALL Archimedes computers Boogie Buggy is compatible with ALL Archimedes computers
DODGE CITY
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BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES / BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES / BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES
Chocks Away EXTRA MISSIONS
CHOCKS AWAY CHOCKS AWAY EXTRA MISSIONS
This new upgraded Mark II Chocks Away with supersmooth
animation really is flight simulation the way you've always
wanted it. It has everything for the beginner and the expert:
'Beautiful 256 colour graphics and ’nerve shattering’ digitised sound
effects
‘Easy to fly, yet highly manoeuvrable bi-plane - ideal for all ages/
skill levels
‘Revolutionary 2 Player Option using split screen display. This
allows 2 players to each fly their own planes simultaneously in
practice, dogfights or missions
‘Full joystick, dual joysticks, mouse and keyboard control options
‘Amazing "Black Box Flight Recorder" included so that you can
record your own flights and then save and replay them. 90 minutes
of totally absorbing pre-recorded training flights are included with
the game
‘Internal/External views of your plane can be selected from front/
rear/left/right
‘Powerful 30mm cannon capable of very rapid fire and long range
destruction
‘Easy to read instrument panel and simple controls
*3 very varied immense maps to explore - approximately
18000 km 2 in total
*20 fascinating and varied missions of increasing complexity are
included with a promotion system from Cadet right through to
Marshal of the RAF
‘Superb range of targets/enemies including bombers, triplanes,
fighters, tanks, control towers, anti-aircraft guns, HQs, patrol boats...
This consists of a new manual and a disc
containing an additional 26 missions (6 of
which are reconnaissance missions). It is
loosely based on the original Chocks Away
and features an extensive range of extra
features and improvements. To run it you
will require the Mkll version of the original
Chocks Away. Extra features include:
‘16 new & detailed maps based over land & sea.
*20 enemy planes and 20 enemy targets are
included in each mission. Over 1000 extra targets
and planes have been carefully defined.
‘Considerably improved action on all missions
with plenty of targets to shoot at and plenty
shooting at you.
‘You can view the action from any of the enemy
planes or targets and your own control tower at
any time even while still controlling your own
plane or watching a saved flight. There is a
selection of tracking cameras (with adjustable
zoom lenses!) around the playing arena. In
addition a phantom plane can also be selected to
follow the action on any of your black box flight
recordings.
‘Improved enemy pilots capable of performing
loops, rolls, stall turns etc.. All enemy planes are
carefully modelled using the same equations
controlling your own plane. This ensures both an
accurate and fair simulation.
‘More enemy planes and targets to shoot including:
Three Engine Fighters, Enormous Cargo Planes, |
Airships, Barrage Balloons, Gun Boats, Oil Tankers,
Trains etc..
‘Six reconnaissance missions where you are I
required to take photos of various installations with |
your new on board camera.
‘Improved graphics over the 16 maps including I
Complex Cities, Houses, Railways, Roads, Rivers, |
Bridges, Lampposts, Railway Stations, Oil Rigs,
Piers, Beachs, etc. to mention but a few. In total |
over 100 different graphics have been defined.
‘Serial Port Link Up option so that you can link up 2 I
BBC A3000 or Archimedes computers and 2 pilots [
can fly simultaneously in full screen mode.
‘Extensive enemy flak guns and improved enemy I
plane guns help make the new missions both more |
interesting and challenging to say the least!
‘Improved digitised sound effects plus, of course, all I
the extensive options which are available with the |
original Chocks Away.
WIN a Superb
"Radio-Controlled Biplane"
Successful completion of all 6 Reconnaissance
Missions will allow you to enter this competition
TALLY HO GINGER!
i%yj- sas 1 k
ARCHIMEDES CHOCKS AWAY (Mark ll Version with 1 or {split screen} 2 player options) £24.95
& BBC A3000 CHOCKS AWAY EXTRA MISSIONS (With 2 player Serial link option) £1 9.95
A IiIh e Se n B S B a CA C 300rand e CHOCKS AWAY COMPENDIUM (Chocks Away & the Extra Missions) £39.95
ALL Archimedes Computers CHOCKS AWAY NETWORK (Econet/Midi etc.. - Ring for Availability & Price)
Chocks Away Reviews
Chocks Away Mark I Version was awarded GAME OF THE YEAR 1990 by Acorn User, A&B
Computing (now Archimedes World), Rise User & Micronet.
"Graphics in the game are superb, smooth and with plenty of ground detail this is a really
enthralling flight simulator with plenty of variation and features to ensure longevity." Rise
User, Dec '90.
"Chocks Away is a delightful game." Archive, Jan '91.
"Chocks Away is a brilliant game." BBC Acorn User, Dec '90.
"....it’s a really great game. Playability 10. Value 10." The Micro User, Jan '91.
" (Chocks Away Mark 11 Version ).. The increased speed obviously makes the game more
responsive and fun to play, well and truly overtaking Interdictor II as the best Archimedes
plane game." New Computer Express, Feb '91.
Extra Missions Reviews
"I reckon Chocks Away is probably still the best game available for the Archimedes/ A3000." |
BBC Acorn User, August '91.
"How do you improve on a game that left me rushing for my Thesaurus to describe it? Well, |
those guys at 4th Dimension have delivered the goods once again, and have somehow
managed to improve on the best flight simulation on our humble Arc." Club A3000,
Summer '91.
"Chocks Away remains, above all, fun. It doesn't really sacrifice realism, but it also doesn't
make controlling the aircraft so complicated that you haven't got time to enjoy the game.."
Syracuse, Summer '91.
"If you haven't yet seen this game, the screenshots in the 4th Dimension's latest adverts
don't do the game justice, simply rush out and buy it. Beware though, once you've played it
once, you'll never have another early night." Micronet, June '91.
Combining fast arcade quality action and graphics
with the element of adventure and surprise. Meet
strange characters, build up your weapons and
eventually meet evil in mortal combat.
The Background
Travel back to Karidor, a land lost in antiquity. A land of evil, a land of good. A land
where almost anything can happen and probably will. A land of magic and a land of
beauty. So your quest begins
The land of Karidor was a quiet world much like Earth. It had mountains, it had seas. It
had forests and it had deserts. Even the people were similar, but one thing was
different. This was the fact that magic did exist there.
For many aeons the land was untroubled by any great power until one fateful day
where everything changed and evil took control. Evil had always existed of course, but
had been in balance with the good of the gods, who were neutral. That day however,
the balance was tipped.
It turned out that the ancient prophecies of Karidor had proclaimed this event
thousands of years ago. The prophecy stated that evil would overthrow the Realm and
only one man, a knight of goodly heart and fearsome ability could reset the balance
again. The knight was named Kharas.
Enter the Realm challenges you to lead Kharas in his conquest against evil. On the way,
dangers will befall you and surprises will await you...
The Game Design
Enter the Realm is the first game to feature true parallax scrolling on the Archimedes
and A3000 computers. The whole play area is created from layers which slide over each
other creating a true 3 dimensional backdrop upon which the game proceeds.
The game features fast spectacular graphics which are all hand drawn and realistic
digitised sound effects and speech which are totally interactive with the action all
around you. Everything else in the game will be left as a suprise!
Specifications
Over 2 megs of high quality realistic graphics, all hand drawn.
Over 130k of in-game digitised sound effects and speech.
Over 150k of music by Peter Gillet.
50 frames per second arcade quality scrolling, animation and movement.
6 layer FULL parallax scrolling of play area (forget immitations!).
Massive sprites.
Realistic weather effects and intelligent adversaries.
Control via keyboard or RTFM joystick.
BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES / BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES / BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES
A Superfast Adventure into Arcade Action
‘BREAK 147’ and ‘SUPERPOOL’ are game simulations in
the true sense of the word. Gone are the power meters
and fixed screw and side settings of inferior simulations
and in comes a cue driven by reality software.
As in the real thing your grip on the butt of the cue (represented by the
mouse), the smoothness and power of your cue action and the way in which
you follow through with a shot, are all deciding factors in whether a pot is
successful and whether you will retain position for the next ball. The only
thing that is missing is the smokey air and a pint of beer on the edge of the
table, these you will have to provide for yourself!
In both games you can choose to play on a practice table where anything
goes. You can position balls wherever you wish so that you can improve
your potting and positional play. You can even undo unsuccessful shots so
that you can try them again. When you make that incredibly fine clip into a
pocket or miss by the merest fraction, you can watch an action replay of the
shot from any angle so that you can either gloat or see where you made that
tiny mistake that let you down.
When you feel that you are up to the task you can play a single match against
a friend or against one of the sixteen computer players. Should you feel lazy
you can just sit and watch whilst two computer players battle it out between
themselves. Alternatively you can enter a tournament where you will have
to fight your way through the preliminary rounds and on to the coveted Final.
Whilst you are playing a match or in a tournament the game will be overseen
by the referee. If in snooker you are 'on' a colour as in real life the referee
will indicate the ball to you that he thinks you are going for and it is up to
you to let him know if he is wrong. The referee will also call when a free ball
is to be given, if there is a touching ball and your score after each successful
shot.
SPECIFICATIONS
256 colour MODE 13 graphics optimized for maximum speed
225k of machine code
Over 1 47k of high quality sampled speech and sound effects
Ball plotting accuracy of +- 0.05 of an inch on a 12 foot table
Cue butt controlled by the Mouse
Bridge hand controlled by Keyboard
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Reviews
"The graphics are so good that certain photos of the game being played could be
mistaken for the real thing. The behaviour of the balls and cue are immaculately
simulated." Acorn User, Nov '91.
"All aspects of the game are staggeringly realistic, from walking round the table
and eyeing up the next shot, to the trajectories that the balls follow when they
move....No longer is taking a shot an unconvincing experience comprising of
aiming at the ball, selecting the power level, and hitting a key....The release of
Break 147 & Superpool is a giant leap from anything ever seen on our screens, to
what is arguably the most realistic snooker simulation ever to be found on a
home computer." Club A3000, Autumn '91.
Reviews
"Both Break 147 and Superpool are accurate simulations of the sport. The control
method works well and the result is two very enjoyable games in one pack....
whether you are a snooker & pool fan or not Break 147 & Superpool are highly
recommended." Archimedes World, Nov '91.
"The most realistic snooker sim I've ever seen." The Micro User, Nov '91.
"If you're a snooker or pool fan who wants a quality simulation for the computer
then this is it.... In all, an excellent implementation of the game and I'm sure that
due to the realistic 3D movement around the table, practice at Break 147 &
Superpool may even improve your real game." Micronet, Sept '91.
BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES / BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES / BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES
Break 147 & Superpool
On bill. = RED OR YELLOW
'Snooker & Pool Simulator Par Excellence
BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES / BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES / BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES
The Exotic Adventures C
of Sylvia Lain UVOp bHip
Supersmooth Superfast
Pure Arcade Action ff
A Young Woman with 9 Lives
and a License to Kill "
r
The Exotic Adventures of Sylvia Lain features 256 colour mode 13 graphics
and supersmooth scrolling using six planes of overlapped parallax with
a frame rate of 50 Hertz. The player controls a highly dextrous young
woman who can jump, somersault, roll, kick, punch and more.
Over 50 frames of animation in each direction are used on Sylvia alone.
Game Outline
Your mission will take you from the latest construction sights of New York to the
ancient temples of the Aztecs in South America. After some magic moments you will be
whisked on to the Kennedy Space Centre and finally to the 13.E.N. Headquarters hidden
in a giant oil refinery somewhere in the Middle East. The gameplay is a carefully
blended mixture of puzzle solving, arcade adventure, beat'em up and humour.
Mission Brief
The Nobel prize winner. Prof. Doughnut, was abducted yesterday only minutes before
he was due to give his historic speech explaining his solution to the world's energy
problems. It is believed that the professor has achieved room temperature fusion using
the highly unstable elements found only in camel dung. However the exact formula has
disappeared with the Prof. We believe that his abductors were none other than B.E.N..
Sources have reported that during the struggle, pages from the scientist's notes were I
left behind. Your mission is to recover all the scattered pages of the Professor's Notes.
Not only will these pages provide clues to the missing formula but the cunning
academic has managed to scribble maps on each of the pages giving clues to his next
location.
The professor was taken from outside the science faculty in New York. You will
therefore be transported there immediately by an Ecologically friendly blimp. You will
start your mission by recovering the lost pages at this location. Unfortunately our I
agents report that B.E.N. already have operatives working there. You are therefore
licensed to kill and should use any means necessary, short of damaging the
environment, to retrieve the missing papers and hopefully rescue the professor.
BBC A3000 & ARCHIMEDES PRICE £24.95
Release date hopefully mid Nov '91
Drop Ship is one of the smoothest and fastest arcade games you are likely to see.
It features superb 256 colour graphics, 15 increasingly large and diverse stages and
an excellent stereo soundtrack.
The Year is 2020 .... The government proudly announces that the new fast breeder
farm on the Mars colony is completely computer managed and totally safe,
defended from attack at all times by a fully-automated tactical defence system.
The Year is 2030 .. ..Earth receives a transmission from the Mars colony. The
radiation seems to have affected the management software at the fast breeder farm.
The defence systems have gone haywire and the whole farm is rapidly approaching
meltdown. If all the reactors are not shut down the Mars colony will be wiped out.
The defences include gun emplacements, artificial gravity generators, sporers and
hoards of deadly aliens. What is needed is a craft which is supremely
manoeuvrable, capable of great speed and possessing awesome fire power, and a
pilot of extraordinary bravery to fly it. The craft is the Drop Ship. The pilot is you.
Specifications
256 colour mode 13 graphics.
Frame Rate: 50 frames per second.
Maximum objects on screen: 150 per frame.
The ship movement in the game is accurate down to 0.0001 of a pixel.
"A brilliantly addictive game which really makes you want to barricade yourself
into a room for a week in order to finish it....The graphics and animation are
really superb." BBC Acorn User, Jan '91.
"Compared to both Rotor and Caverns, this game has to be tops. The gameplay is
even more difficult than both and the graphics and sound far better." Rise User,
Dec' 90.
"Drop Ship is very arcade-like, with excellent graphics, the smoothest movements
in town, nice sound effects and a good short demo." Archive, Jan '91.
'To sum up, a game that'll keep you hooked on your machine for many a late
night with a cup of Hot Chock." Club A3000, Summer '91.
BBC A3000 & ARCHIMEDES PRICE £19.95
Drop Ship is compatible with ALL Archimedes computers
BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES / BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES / BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES
i SPECIAL OFFER: If you buy The Real M c Coys 1 & 2 directly from us you may deduct £10 from the total cost
"This 4 Game Collection "This 4 Game Collection really
really is The Real M c Coy " is The Real M c Coy too!"
The Real M c Coy
APOCALYPSE (R.R.P. £29.95)
Apocalypse places you on the surfaces of 9 varied futuristic hostile planets colonised by
very varied but always ruthless enemies. In your highly advanced and extremely fast and
manoeuvrable craft you must find your way around the increasingly massive planets and
systematically annihilate the enemy.
“Simply, this is the best release yet for the Arc by absolutely miles. Stunning graphics, stunning
sound and masses of action. Hrilliant.”....Risc User
HOLED OUT (R.R.P. £19.95)
Whether you’re young or old, male or female, beginner or professional Holed Out has been
designed especially for you. Features include: 2 contrasting courses, 1 to 6 players, excellent
3D graphics and sound effects, full set of accurately defined clubs, slice/hook capabilities etc.
etc..
“...I play golf and this is the nearest thing I’ve seen to the real game on a computer. The graphics
are very good with a large scale golfer complete with hag and trolley (and a good swing!) and the
sounds are very realistic.”....Archive
“...it is quite a stunning piece of work.”....The Micro User
THE OLYMPICS (R.R.P. £19.95)
The Olympics can be played by 1 to 8 players and is comprised of 6 main events: Diving,
Shooting, Javelin, Swimming. Canoeing and Pole Vault. It contains a superb piece of music,
opening and closing ceremonies and 14 national anthems.
“Compilation packages of sporting events may have been round on other machines for ages but
the first one for the Arc is every bit as good .... VERDICT: A Gold Medallist.”....A&B Computing
(Now Archimedes World)
“Excellent graphics .... Classy presentation .... and plenty of variety .... Should find favour with all
members of the familv. Dcfinitelv recommended.”.... Rise User
INERTIA (R.R.P. £19.95)
Inertia is a totally original game with beautiful graphics and superb digitised sound effects and
music. There are 2 massive and varied landscapes to be explored and many special tiles to
be collected. Your craft floats freely around the landscapes and you must exert forces upon it
to guide its speed and direction. Full colour 3 dimensional maps of the 2 landscapes can be
viewed at any time and are a joy just to wander around.
“.... the accompanying music is superb .... Inertia is another reasonably priced game for all ages.
Highly recommended.”....Thc Micro User
U.I.M. (R.R.P. £29.95)
U.I.M. (Ultra Intelligent Machine) is a futuristic action adventure set in the oceans. It is a huge
game featuring solid 3 Dimensional graphics and digitised sound effects. You must travel the
oceans in your highly expandable submarine visiting the enumerous ports throughout the
ocean networks. As well as gaining combat skills you’ll need to learn to trade in commodities,
shares and currencies. There are over 250 missions to complete before you will find your goal
- the U.I.M. - created to be almost a god.
“U.I.M. is u powerful game that justifies its higher price tag through guaranteed longer life."
The Micro User
ARCADE SOCCER (R.R.P. £19.95)
Arcade Soccer really is World Cup Football action at its very best. Using an overhead view to
make gameplay as exciting as possible it features everything that you could want in a football
game. Corners, throw-ins. goal kicks, dribbling, shooting, passing and much more. The
superb graphics and smoothly scrolling pitch are complemented by a multitude of excellent
digitised sound effects and music. Furthermore Arcade Soccer is packed with options catering
for up to 24 players, weather conditions, friendlies, accurate full World Cup simulation and
replays to mention but a few.
"This game is excellent.... I’m not really a soccer buff, but I thoroughly enjoyed this desktop
version. The micro-controlled plavers behave in an amazinglv realistic manner." The Micro User
WHITE MAGIC (R.R.P.' £19.95)
White Magic is a unique arcade adventure in which you control 4 varied adventurers: a
Leprechaun, a Titan, a Warrior and an Enchanter. You can transform between all 4 characters
at will and use their much needed special abilities. It features 32 massive action-packed levels
filled with aggressive guards and trolls, haunting ghosts and spectres, curious objects to use
and find, and much more. White Magic is not a game for the faint-hearted; it is a fast action
game which requires fierce hand-to-hand combat and frantic weapon fire.
“Plnyability is good and I had to tear myself awav in order to write this update review." The Micro User
QIIAZER (R.R.P. £11.95)
Quazer is a fast action arcade style game with excellent music, sound effects and graphics. It
has 1 1 incredibly detailed and varied vertically scrolling levels filled with the most amazing
assortment of baddies you are ever likely to see. Quazer is classic arcade action and will test
oven the most competent games player to the limit.
“The power of the Archimedes is used to produce some stunning effects..." The Micro User
The Real M c Coy 2
BBC A3000 & ARCHIMEDES PRICE £29.95 BBC A3000 & ARCHIMEDES PRICE £29.95
The Real MPCoy is compatible with ALL Archimedes computers The Real M°Coy 2 is compatible with ALL Archimedes computers
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BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES / BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES / BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES
Spitfire Fury X-Fire
"A Superfast ; Action-Packed , "Highly Addictive
Fun & Accurate Simulation " Classic Arcade Action"
Spitfire Fury is the latest flight simulation game created by Andrew
Hutchings (the author of both the Chocks Away games). In this action-filled
game you take the controls of the most famous World War II fighter plane and
have to tackle a range of challenging missions and tasks. The game has been
designed to be an action-packed, superfast and accurate simulation with lots
of fun to appeal both to the beginner and the expert.
•Superfast screen update, 12 to 18 frames per second.
•Two player option using split screen or two computer serial link.
•Computer-controlled planes fighting alongside you against the common enemy.
•Lots of varied and action-filled missions with over 100 enemy targets to destroy in
certain cases. Such as Escorting Borrtbers, Bombing Raids, Torpedo Attacks on Gun
Boats, Solo and Accompanied Missions, etc.. Plus of course a range of practice
missions to help you get the hang of landings etc..
•Save and load game options are provided allowing you to save the game onto disk at
any point and return to it later.
•A Super Accurate model of the plane has been created taking into account wind
speed, airspeed over all control surfaces, gravity, drag and lift of each control surface
etc.. This makes the plane capable of performing realistic stunts such as spins, which
has not yet been seen on ANY previous Archimedes flight simulations.
•Full interaction between all planes, bullets, hills, valleys, buildings etc. This means
you can seek cover by flying close to hills, buildings etc. and the enemy planes (and
your fellow Spitfires) can make mistakes and shoot each other or crash into obstacles.
•256 colour graphics, digitised sound effects and complex scenery over huge expanses
of land including cities, rivers, roads, hills, valleys, railways, boats, etc.
•A huge selection of viewpoints and tracking cameras are provided for you to view
the action from. Plus entire flights can be recorded and watched later from any angle.
Please note that the screen shots shown are of a very early development
version and therefore do not illustrate the graphics which will be included in
the final version. Look out for the adverts around the release date for screen
shots of the final version.
X-Fire is an exciting new arcade game which represents a
welcome return to traditional arcade values.
Pit your wits and reflexes against hordes of menacing aliens within a high
tec battle arena. At your disposal is an awesome array of fire power that is
all that stands between you and certain destruction. Both cunning and
dexterity will be required to prevail against increasingly sophisticated and
dangerous opponents.
Collect bonuses to aid you in your task and augment your ship's
capabilities. Regen Bombs, Split Bombs, Shield Reserves and Zaps are just
a few of the bonuses available.
With crisp graphics and addictive arcade action, X-Fire combines the best
qualities of classic arcade games with the advanced audio and visual
capabilities of the Archimedes to create the ultimate high speed shoot’em
up.
Specifications
256 colour MODE 13 graphics
Highly optimised custom graphic routines
Up to 200 objects on screen
Over 300k of high quality sampled sound
X-Fire is an essential purchase for any serious game player in search of a
lasting challenge.
Release date hopefully February '92 Release date hopefully mid Nov '91
BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES / BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES / BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES
" State of The Art Arcade Adventure"
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An intriguing blend of classic puzzles and full-blooded
arcade action. Over 200 screens of stunning artwork
and game play of the highest quality will appeal
to the dedicated adventurer or arcade fanatic.
Prologue
Since ancient times a fastened box has symbolised the danger of our
curiosity. This box has been opened and an entire kingdom has been
poisoned by the evils unleashed.
The beast that lurked within is free and seeks the souls of men,
possessing them and devouring them at will. Feeding upon misery,
it profits by treachery and corruption, and in doing so brings the
burden of its evils upon the land.
As the finest sorceror in the kingdom you must overcome the black
magic and confine the curse once again to the only dungeon strong
enough to contain such furious depravity - Pandora's Box.
BBC
Quest
The powerful Panmetric graphics system allows you explore
complex rooms and stunning landscapes whilst still having plenty
in reserve to handle frenzied battles.
At first only armed with a keen wit you must acquire knowledge
and magical weapons as the adventure gives way to arcade action.
Exploring the length and breadth of the land you could conquer a
world of magic or die in obscurity.
Technical Information
j F rame Rate
25FPS
Object Code
150k of Handwritten Arm Code
Graphics
Over 1000 sprites totalling 3Mb of graphics
256 colour, mode 13 graphics
Panmetric graphics system
Sound
Digitally sampled sound effects
Computer
Any Archimedes with 1Mb or more
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"Anybody can be an "A Superlative Action-
Artist with ARCtist" Packed Arcade Game"
COPYRIGHT!!®
GRAPHICS AND CODING
HY GRAMME RICHARDSON 1990
I
This superb painting program has been designed to be incredibly easy
to use and yet totally jam packed with features. Developed with help
front educational specialists and professional graphic artists,
ARCtist is ideally suited to home, school and professional users.
Just- a few of ARCtist's features include:
• Full screen 256 colour mode 15 editing. RISC OS compatible.
• Intelligent spray gun that 'shades’ rather than just plotting random dots of colour.
• Rotation up to 2870% faster than ! Faint.
• Internal handling of up to 30 sprites with auto sprite naming, sorting, grabbing,
cutting, instant masking, rotation, scaling etc..
• Masking tape option lets you mask any part of the screen for spray gun work,
then lift off later to reveal what. was underneath.
• Zoom around the screen at high speed and edit with pixel accuracy.
• Several brush types available with variable size.
• Undo option undoes the last change you made to a drawing, in case of mistakes.
• Special effects to distort, detect edges, trace with colours, trace with sprites, swap
colours, dither colours, blur, anti alias etc. etc..
• Special proportionally spaced outline fonts that don’t require any memory in the
font cache. Put a rectangle around the area you want the text to fit and ARCtist
will scale it to fit.
• Rectangle copy, move, rotate and scale. Also, accurate shape cut copy, move,
rotate and scale tools to slice out the exact part of the screen you want.
• Sprite animation with built insequence editor, offset generator & flight path
editor.
• Load, edit and save fill pattern files. ARCtist fill patterns are twice the size of
normal ones.
• Two user definable drawing brushes, can be defined directly or grabbed from
anywhere on the screen.
• Several hundred Kbytes of clip art included.
During The First Great Space War of 2100 reserves of titanium, the chief metallic
element involved in ship construction, begins to run out throughout the known
universe. Only the human-colonised planet - Nevryon - has large reserves. You
must destroy all alien forces which are attempting to take over Nevryon.
To succeed you must complete 4 very different missions: destroy the alien bases
on the Surface and in the Caves of Nevryon, plus destroy from within both the
Alien Battlecruiser and the huge Alien Beast. The aliens will attempt to attack and
confuse you with every type of vessel they possess.
You begin each mission with a standard short range V5 Fighter. Anything larger
would undoubtedly mean detection and death before you could even begin.
However, once in the thick of the action, your fighter is able to collect and use a
large array of extra weaponry and shielding. You will be on your own but you will
not be forgotten....
Specifications
Over 1.5 Megs of 256 Colour Mode 13 Graphics. Over 60 Objects On Screen at Once
25 Frames/Second Scrolling and Animation. 6 Levels of True Parallax Scrolling
Big Sprites. 4 Channel Sound Played at 20kHz
6 Pieces of Superb Stereo Music. Multi-Channel ’Live’ Stereo Sound
"Fans of strategy games won't like this one, but for the masses who enjoy total
alien genocide, dushdi graphics and equally appealing sound, this game must
surely be worth a mention on your list to Santa. I wholeheartedly recommend this
game as the definite shoot'em up for the Arc..." Club A3000, Summer '91.
"Nevryon features the best graphics and sound I have ever come across. All of the
superb sprites are packed with amazing detail and the animation and scrolling
are completely flicker-free." Micro User, Nov '90.
'The 4th Dimension have come up trumps with another classic...Graphics arc
superb...The number of animated objects, missiles, scenery and details will put
many ST and Amiga to shame with the sheer power of the ARM chip." Micronet,
Aug '90.
BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES / BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES / BBC A3000 / ARCHIMEDES
"Superfast Action-Packed Chopper Sim"
Gameplay
The year is 2023 and advanced weapons' systems such as laser-guided
munitions and stealth technology has fallen into the
hands of a terrorist organisation.
You pilot a highly advanced helicopter on a number of varied and
increasingly challenging missions to attack the terrorists, 'accompanied'
by NEXT GENERATION uncannily realistic 3D graphics.
Hardened flight simulator addicts who may no longer find it challenging to
pilot a plane will just love learning how to master the controls of the
advanced and highly manoeuvrable military helicopter in Chopper
Force. And in 2023 there are new super high technology
'smart' weapons to be mastered!
In Chopper Force there are missions that you could never dream of
attempting in a plane simulator - such as picking up military hardware with
a rope and transporting it to where it is needed as quickly as possible or
conveying important intelligence information from the top of a skyscraper
in one city to where it is vitally needed in a neighbouring city.
Experience a feeling of total power by hovering a safe distance from a
convoy supplying the terrorists and picking them off from a safe
distance with your smart missiles. Knock out communication
lines going into and out of their HQ to totally cut them off.
You will come across their own advanced helicopters, jets,
tanks, laser-guided missiles, the dreaded flak, etc..
The final highly tasking mission involves attacking the enemy HQ
to totally annihilate the terrorists.
If you can get this far then you are truly worthy of the Chopper Force.
Specifications
Graphics: 256 colour mode 13 graphics
Frame Rate: Up to 25 frames per second
Polygons per frame: Up to 500
Polygons per object: Up to SO
BBC A3000 & ARCHIMEDES PRICE t.b.a. Release date hopefully March '92
The screenshots shown were taken from a young version of Chopper Force
M he r ? it rtfa i m c* n s it * //
SPECIAL OFFER: If you buy 3 or more products directly from us you may deduct £10 from the total cost
Chopper rorce (early version)
Knter The Realm
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-t • os if’vn .
msm,
Saloon Cars
The Kxotic Adventures of Svlvia Lain
Pandora's Box
Break 147 & Super pool
Grievous Bodilv 'ARM
Chocks A wav Extra Missions
ACORN BBC A3000 & ARCHIMEDES SOFTWARE
The following software is compatible with the BBC A3000 and ALL Archimedes computers
ARCADE GAMES
Grievous Bodily ' ARM (Hopefully late Nm .vi ) 24.95
Cataclysm ( Hopefully late November VI) 24.95
X-Fire (Hopefully mid November VI ) 24.95
Boogie Buggy (Arcade Graphics & Gameplay) 24.95
Nevryon (Unbelievable Graphics & Gameplay) 19.95
Inertia (Isometric Arcade Action) 19.95
Apocalypse (3D Mega Game - 9 Planets) 29.95
Drop Ship (Superfast Arcade Action) 1 9.95
Arcade Soccer (World Cup 1-24 Players) 1 9.95
The Olympics (6 Varied Events - 1-6 Players) 1 9.95
Q uazer ( Furious Arcade Action ) 11.95
EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE
(from Triple 'R' Education)
Picture Book 19.95
Money Matters 19.95
Data Word 19.95
Target Maths 19.95
Converta-Kev 19.95
3D SIMULATIONS/ GAMES
Chopper Force (Hopefully March V2) t.b.a.
Spitfire Fury (Hopefully February V2) t.b.a.
Saloon Cars (The Ultimate Driving "Game -ulation'' !) 24.95
Break 147 & Superpool 24.95
(Incredibly Realistic Snooker and Pool Simulator)
Chocks Away (Biplane Sim. for I or 2 Players) 24.95
Chocks Away Extra Missions 1 9.95
(26 Extra Missions plus some Superb Enhancements)
Chocks Away Compendium 39.95
(Chocks Away + Chocks Away Extra Missions)
Po W e r b a n d (Superfast Formula I Grand Prix ) 24.95
E-Type Compendium (3D Classic Car Racing)24.95
(E-Type + Extra WO Miles + Designer)
Holed Out Compendium (3D Golf i -6 players) 24.95
(Holed Out + Extra Courses Vol.s 1 & 2 + Designer)
GRAPHIC ADVENTURE
The Wimp Game (Unique Graphic Adventure) 19.95
ARCADE ADVENTURES
The Exotic Adventures of Sylvia Lain 24.95
(Release date hopefully mid November VI)
Pandora's Box (Stunning Graphics <6 Gameplay) 24.95
Enter 1 he Realm (Supersmooth Arcade Action) 24.95
Pysanki (Futuristic Arcade Adventure) 19.95
Man-At-Arms (Medieval Arcade Adventure) 19.95
U.I.M. (Massive 3D Action Adventure) 29.95
White Magic (Magical Arcade Adventure) 1 9.95
White Magic 2 + Designer 1 9.95
COMPILATIONS
The Real McCoy (4 Game Compilation) 29.95
(U.I.M., Arcade Soccer, White Magic & Quazer)
The Real McCoy 2 (4 Game Compilation) 29.95
(Apocalypse, Holed Out, The Olympics & Inertia)
SPEECH & ART SOFTWARE
ARCtist (Easy to use Professional Art Package) 24.95
ARCticulate (The Animated Speech Synthesizer) 24.95
BBC MICRO, MASTER, COMPACT
& ACORN ELECTRON
HOW TO ORDER
Title
BBCB&
Electron
Cassette
BBCB&
Master
5Va" Disc
Master
Compact
3Y2 " Disc
Q-Master (Realistic Pool Game)
—
14.95
15.95
Picture Book (Educational Software)
12.95
14.95
15.95
Money Matters (Educational Software)
12.95
14.95
15.95
Data Word (Educational Software)
12.95
14.95
15.95
Target Maths (Educational Software)
12.95
14.95
15.95
Converta-Key (Educational Software)
12.95
14.95
15.95
E-Type (3D Classic Car Racing)
9.95
14.95
15.95
Nevryon (Pure Arcade Action)
—
14.95
15.95
Inertia (Isometric Arcade Action)
9.95
12.95
13.95
U.I.M. (Massive 3D Action Adventure)
—
19.95
21.95
Holed Out (3D Golf for 1 to 4 Players)
12.95
14.95
15.95
Holed Out Extra Courses Vol.l
9.95
11.95
12.95
Holed Out Extra Courses Vol.2
9.95
11.95
12.95
Arcade Soccer (Fast Action - 1 or 2 Players) 9.95
12.95
13.95
White Magic (Magical Arcade Adventure) 9.95
12.95
13.95
White Magic 2 + Designer
9.95
12.95
13.95
| The Art Studio (Easy to Use Art Package) 9.95
12.95
—
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MNSPIRATION
The most comprehensive music
sequencing package available for the Archimedes.
Come and visit our demonstration area, or send a blank disc for a demo version. Fully
Rise OS compatible. Purchase with Archimedes (special price), or simply add it to your
existing system. All you need is a MIDI interface.
Ilnspinition offers a control panel featuring: Replace and Overdub record modes • Cue
Start and End • System Status Display • Multiple Save capabilities, and many other
features. Version 1.03 now being supplied
Inspiration
Pull 230 (jack 9V Reel MIDI tequencer
193.00
Clare* Rhapsody II 30 00
Clare* Rhapsody II upgrade 12.00
Clare* A/madeut
Sampler Software
Armadeus SoftwareAhardwari
Nolate (Longman Logo iron)
Tracker (serial port)
Acom Midi podule A WOO
Acorn Midi Podule A400
68 00
170 00
53 00
42.00
43.00
65.00
MUSIC PACKAGES
Inspiration ♦ Rhaptodyll ♦
Acom MIDI Podule (AJOOO) 260 OO
A3000LC colour system •»
Inspiralion ♦ Rhapsodyll ♦
Acom MIDI Podule (A.7000) 1000 00
DTP
Impression II (CC) 130.00
Impression Junior (CC) 74.00
Impression Business Supplement 45.00
Tempest (Clares) 99.00
Ovation (Beebug) 99.00
DATABASES
Multistore (Minerva) 175.00
AlphaBase (Gares) 36.00
System Delta!! Minerva 48.00
TOR OTHER SOFTWARE PLEASE RING
SOME
Alien Invasion (Ai)
Apocolypse (4»h Dim)
Apocolyp«e (4lh Dim)
ARCticulale (4th Dim)
Blowpipe (4ih Dim)
Boogie Buggy (4th Dim)
Break 147 (4th Dim)
Che** 3D (Micro power)
Chocks Away (4lh Dim)
16 00
20 00
23 00
20 00
1600
20 00
2000
1600
20 00
Chock* Away Comp'dium 30.00
Chocks Away Extra
Chuck Rock
Drop Ship (4th Dim)
Elite
E-Type (4th Dim)
16 00
20.00
16.00
32,00
1600
E-Type 100 mile* (4th Dim) 1400
GAMES
Fine Racer (Etema)
Holed Out (4th Dim)
Holed Out Vol I or 2
Hostages (Superior)
Inertia (4th Dim)
Interdictor II (Clares)
Jigsaw (4Malion)
Mig 29 (Denmark)
Nevron (4th Dim)
Powcrband (4th Dim)
Pytanki (4th Dim)
Saloon Cars (4ih Dim)
The Real McCoy (4th Dim) 2300
The Real McCoy U (4lh Dim>23.00
The Wimp Oame (4ih Dim) 1600
U I M (4th Dim) 23 00
1600
1600
1400
1300
1600
3600
28 00
34 00
1600
20 00
1600
2000
Archimedes Computer Systems
A3000 Entry system 580.00
A3000 Colour system 780.00
A3000LC MKII Entry system 640.00
A3000LC MKII Colour system 850.00
A5000 single floppy disc 990.00
A5000 40MB hard disc including
multi-scan monitor 1450.00
A5000LC 40MB hard disc including
multi-scan monitor 1530.00
A540 Entry system 2400.00
A540 Colour system 2650.00
A540 with multisync monitor 2900.00
Eizo 9060S Multiscan Monitor 399.00
Eizo 9070S Multiscan Monitor 599.00
Upgrades
A3000 2nd Mb 50.00
A3000 2nd to 4th Mb 155.00
Arm 3 for A400/ 1 280.00
Arm 3 for A3000 330.00
Syquest removable 42Mb drive 400.00
Some second hand A400/1 available.
Typical example A4 10/1 upgraded to 4Mb
and 50Mb HD £1000.00
153a Victoria Strool, St AJbans. Herts AL1 3TA
Telephone 0727 50075 Facsimile 0727 58977
Please add VAT to all above prices
Arcounts Manager
The Professional
Solution
______
✓ Sales, Purchase,
Nominal Ledgers
/ Budget Reports
/ Sales/Purchase Analysis
/ Debt Chasing and other
letters
/ Aged Debt Analysis
/ Statements (User Definable)
/ Re-Occurring Transactioi
/ Receipt/Payment/Refunj
& Contra Processing
/ Invoice Search Fj
/ RISC0S mull
Arcounts Manager is the
ultimate Archimedes
Accounting system on the
market today. It is not
written to run under an
emulator and is not ported
from another m^<fhine, it
simply takes fuKadvantage
of the raw^ower of the
ArchimejsKis and A3
is very
use, data
and logical,
e concise and to
Kor Account
f Accounts
pport included
Mouse or Keyboard Driven
KENDAL COMPUTER CENTRE
68 Stramongale, Kendal. CUMBRIA LA9 4BD
Tel: 0539 722559
Arcounts Manager
uts you in control of your
finances, it can greatly
improve your cash flow, as
well as perform the
traditional functions such as
VAT returns and Profit/Loss
reports.
Priced at only S299.00 +VAT,
there is really only one
choice if you are serious
about computerising your
accounts. Contact your
dealer for a demonstration
TODAY.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION TELEPHONE: 0635 524008 OR 0622 747416
HOURS OF BUSINESS: 9.00 AM - 5.30 PM (24 HOUR ORDERING FACILITY). PRICES EXCLUDE VAT, BUT INCLUDE CARRIAGE CHARGES (UK MAINLAND), PACKAGING AND INSURANCE
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SPREADSHEETS
olton Software's original
Piped ream package was
designed to he a veritable
jack of all trades package for
the BBC A3000/Acrhimedes,
offering a spreadsheet, plus
wordprocessor and database
capabilities. The latest incarna-
tion of this package - Piped-
ream 4 - features a number of
enhancements, including an
improved Rise OS interface
and an impressive graphs and
charts system.
I have been a Pi pad ream
user since before the Archi-
medes was unveiled - you
might remember its predeces-
sor. View Professional for the
BBC Micro. Piped ream
arrived when View Profes-
sional was enhanced and
recoded in the C language
after the Archimedes was
launched in 1987. That was in
pre-Risc OS days and the orig-
inal version of the package
was strictly a character-based
application running under the
old Arthur operating system.
Pipedream 3 was launched
with the advent of the Rise OS
desktop system we all know
and use today.
WHAT IS IT?
Pipedream is primarily a com-
prehensive spreadsheet pro-
gram which gets by as a useful
wordprocessor, spell-checker
and a simple database manager
which is also capable of mail
merge and handling illustra-
tions. I have personally used it
daily for years as a wordpro-
cessor and 1 know others who
swear by its database facilities.
This latest revision of
Pipedream (version 4.10)
doesn't offer what I would call
fundamental improvements for
wordprocessor or database
users. For example, I was dis-
appointed to find that text
highlighting in wordprocessor
mode is still restricted to
whole lines, which can make
editing fiddly. On the other
hand, text scrolls more easily
and predictably, while the cur-
sor seems better controlled.
Wordprocessor template files
make life easier too.
Colton Software is reason-
ably claiming that Pipedream
can be used as a database, but
it is very much a compromise
with the spreadsheet and is
tricky for all but the simplest
of operations. However, the
general versatility of the pack-
SUMMING
Pipedream 4 is the latest version of
the popular spreadsheet. But is it
the final word? IAN BURLEY finds out
PipeDrean: adfs: :Exanples4.$. Tutorial .Penguins *
8 C D E
PENGUIN PRESERVATION SOCIETY
MAY 1991 NEWSLETTER
During February 1991. liter ITS vein a icam • »t reseaieltcis In Antarctica.
9 using the money raised limn the luglilv successful ( liiistinas appeal Their
18 task was In highlight the need in preserve this last gieat wilderness as a
11 home for penguins
12
13 To confirm the e\tren»el> large number of penguins depending
14 no Antaictica .is a base, the team kept a record of flic number
15 of penguins sighted on mu Inur research bases during
16 i February.
17 i
IT! Base Total No .k Week I Week 2 We
e
mu -
:4
THE NEW LOOK OF PIPEDREAM 4
COMPARISONS
PIPEDREAM 3
PIPEDREAM 4
SCHEMA
VERSIONS TESTED
3.14R
4.10
1.18
Price (ex VAT)
£147
£196
£114
Initial memory used
512K
832K
640K
2000 value CSV load
12sec
9sec
80sec
Memory used by above
608K
960K
800K
Liardet recalculate
7sec
9sec
23sec
age tends to excuse its idiosyn-
crasies. To be able to create a
document containing parts of a
database and spreadsheet will
still be a welcome novelty to
many users.
PICK UP A PENGUIN
Where Pipedream 4 clearly
scores is in its brilliant new
graphs and charts section.
Previously, Pipedream users
had to buy a separate graphs
and charts utility to transform
their spreadsheets into good
graphical presentations.
Pipedream 4' s charts look
set to change all that. Boring
old solid bar charts can now be
spruced up by graphic objects
imported from Draw . Colton
decided that a penguin figure
would capture the imagination,
hence the term Penguin
Graphics. Your graphs can
have lots of little penguins
piled on top of each other, or a
single penguin stretched out or
compressed to fit the value it
represents. But you are not
restricted to penguins, the
template can be replaced by
any Draw object you choose.
You can have different
graphics objects (breeds of
penguins, perhaps) represent-
ing different values in the
same graph. Graphics can also
be pasted on to graph back-
grounds. The constituent
objects of a graph, which can
be exported as a Draw file, are
easily manipulated for refining
the layout. Naturally, graphs
are hot-linked to the spread-
sheet data they are referenced
to - change a sheet value and
the graph is instantly updated.
WHAT’S NEW
Overall, Pipedream 4 offers
the four basic types of graphs:
pie, bar, line and scatter,
including 3D options. Colton
is content to leave it at that for
the moment, since relatively
few want polar co-ordinates or
fancy scientific graphs - and if
they did, they would probably
be more likely to invest in
something like Graphbox.
However, of the graph types
you get with Pipedream 4,
they are the best I have seen
on the Archimedes so far and
that is even before the
penguins come out to play.
As well as the added graph
capabilities there are a number
of more subtle changes to the
package. Pipedream' s spread-
106 BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992
SPREADSHEETS
sheet functions have been
improved. There is now no
option for recalculating by row
or column - natural fashion
recalculation is fixed instead,
and the user is encouraged to
explore the custom function
facility more.
Some previous options, like
global iteration and file link-
ing. have been removed.
Colton's argument here is that
use of custom functions is pot-
entially more elegant and
powerful. Strings must now be
enclosed by double inverted
commas (such as "string") -
this mainly affects database
use as formerly condition
arguments were strings. As a
result, Pipeciream 4 is now
more versatile in its handling
of string types.
Pipeciream' s And, If and Or
key words are now more effi-
ciently evaluated for faster
calculation. There are some
new date and time functions,
including one to return to
today's date.
The above is just a sample
of a myriad of relatively small
changes made. Inevitably,
some users will find certain
problems when loading very
complex Pipeciream 3 sheets
into the new package, although
I managed to avoid any prob-
lems with my own library of
sheets. A useful set of compat-
ibility notes is provided for
reference.
IN USE
Immediate changes are
noticeable in the new edit win-
dow. It looks much smarter,
column widths can be altered
instantly using the mouse and
a formula icon gives conveni-
ent pointer access to spread-
sheet function keywords. Next
to this are the tick and cross
buttons used in formula edit-
ing. At the corner, where the
column and row headings
meet, is a rectangle which
darkens when a block has been
marked. This also acts as a
counter during calculations - a
useful activity indicator.
On the icon bar you now get
a current documents list
option, a document template
load option and a set of
choices or preferences for
setting things like menu ver-
bosity. spell-check defaults,
displayed colours and so on.
Pipeciream 4 is claimed to
be the fastest spreadsheet on
np^reanroiam <
... r
Fcbtu.1
•ICO
toco
7C0
701
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805
5 SO
PENGUIN GRAPHICS - NOT JUST A GIMMICK
SECOND OPINION
I immediately thought Pipedream 4 was easier and more aesthetic to use
than before. The windowed display is clearer with slot information easier to
view. Function key definitions have been simplified too, with more control
gained by using the mouse.
For example, there is the ease with which columns can be widened and
shortened just by dragging the mouse over them. However, text editing
still requires you to mark whole slots rather than individual characters
which can still lead to some confusion until you get used to it. The charts
and graphs facilities are a welcome addition which makes impressive
outputs very easy to obtain without the fuss of exporting data to secon-
dary applications. Graphical output can then be re-merged with the text to
produce professional looking documents very simply.
On the whole Pipedream 4 seems to have had a major overhaul from
previous versions, with many jagged edges smoothed out to provide a very
slick and powerful desktop application.
Paul Vigay, BAU columnist
the Archimedes. With the
standard Liardet benchmark, it
proves to be a little over twice
as fast as its nearest rival.
Schema from Clares Micro
Supplies. However, we did
manage to produce some
dummy test sheets which
proved faster on Schema ,
although exactly why this was
the case remains a mystery.
Pipeciream 4 will try and do
as much as possible in the
background in order to prevent
the user from being locked out
of the computer. This is a use-
ful point and unlike many
other Rise OS packages,
including Schema . when you
are faced with an hour-glass, a
percentage-lo-finish indicator
is provided as well.
THE SPEED TEST
Oddly enough. Pipeciream 4
proved slightly slower than
Pipeciream 3 in the Liardet
test. Pipeciream 4 is faster in
other areas, however. CSV
(comma separated value) files
are loaded by Pipeciream
almost 10 times faster than
with Schema and 25 percent
quicker than with Pipeciream
3. If you need to regularly
import large chunks of CSV
data into your spreadsheets.
CSV import speed will be an
important factor.
I must mention that much
difficulty was encountered in
moving test spreadsheets
between Schema and Pipeci-
ream. Neither have facilities to
import files from the other's
format. Colton insists that
there isn’t any demand for a
Schema loader, whereas Clares
is promising a Pipeciream
loader in its long-promised
version 2.0 of Schema.
Both have utilities to swap
Lotus 1-2-3 files, but after lots
of head scratching, the only
reliable way we found of
transferring files using this
method was from Schema to
Pipeciream. We didn't have
much luck when we tried to
make the Schema/Lotus 1-2-3
translator work properly going
in the opposite direction.
CONCLUSION
Pipedream 4 is a welcome
successor to Pipedream 3. The
graphs and charts section,
penguins and all. is excellent.
With the exception of win-
dows flickering occasionally,
the new Rise OS interface is
much smoother and the back-
ground operation works better
than before. T hese, plus auto
column widths, are very wel-
come features.
However. I am still very
frustrated by the continuing
standstill in wordprocessor
editing enhancements and Col-
ton has advised me not to hold
my breath on that point.
Whereas Pipedream 3 would
just about shoe-horn into a
I Mb A 3000/ Archimedes, this
is not the case with Pipeciream
4. You will need 2Mb to run
the new version .
Colton Software claims that
the new package is the best
spreadsheet for the Archi-
medes. I would certainly
recommend it over the existing
version of Schema , but then I
also await Schema 2 with
interest. Schema's impressive
Basic-like programming
language is potentially more
powerfu I t hail Pipeciream ' s
custom functions and, if you
need complex programmabil-
ity, you may need to study the
Pipedream 4 specifications
more closely.
On the negative side, while
still good value. Pipeciream is
not as affordable as it used it)
be and there is a lack of much-
needed improvements to the
wordprocessor. On the plus
side, Pipeciream 4 offers
improved refinement, superb
graphs and CSV speed.
For the vast majority of
users, Pipedream 4 is more
simple and versatile than the
competition and remains the
best option to go for.
PRODUCT DETAILS
Product: Pipedream 4
Supplier: Colton Software, 2
signet Court, Swanns Road,
Cambridge CB5 8LA
Tel: (0223) 311881
Price: £196 plus VAT
(Pipedream 3 users can
upgrade for £80 plus VAT).
Machines: BBC A3000 and
Archimedes with 2Mb of Ram
BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992 107
APOLOGIES TO ALL
THOSE WHO DON'T
LIVE NEAR BROMLEY
You probably won’t be able to pop in to our newly
refurbished showroom, browse through our 250+
software titles for the Archimedes/A3000/A5000 (or
100+ titles for the trusty old BBC Micro and Master
Series), sit down and use one of our seven
demonstration systems (including the new A5000),
chat with our knowledgeable staff, make use of our
high-quality repair workshop, or even just sit down for
a cup of coffee!
BUT....
at least you can use our speedy mail-order service,
even for repairs, and we also accept telephone orders
by Access/MasterCard and Visa, so all is not lost!
THE DATA STORE
_J
6 f’HATTERTON ROAD. BROMLEY. KENT. BR2 9QN
Tel: 08 1 -460 899 1 Fax: 08 1 -3 1 3 0400
(Closed Wednesdays)
A310 memory from £99
8-chip design ensures low power consumption. Compatible with ARM3 upgrades,
backplanes, hard discs etc. Larger OS ROM option. Four-layer circuitry reduces
electrical noise for trouble-free operation. We have been upgrading 300 series
computers for over 2 years. In that time, not a single upgrade which we have fitted
has developed a fault and needed repair, "we have had a lot of very positive
feedback about the IFEL memory upgrades". Archive.
2Mb RAM - £99
(4Mb version available. 2Mb board is upgradable to 4Mb)
Educational and quantity discounts apply.
Send or ring for our free information sheet. Then decide.
A5000
£1499
Acorn's new machine with RISC OS 3, multisync monitor,
ARM3, and 40Mb drive. An extra 2Mb of RAM (4Mb total) is
included free. Part exchanges considered.
A5000 learning Curve - £1530. (£1797.75 inc. VAT)
A5000
RAM
£105
Upgrades your 2Mb A5000 to 4Mb. High quality 4-layer
board as recommended by Acorn. Fitting does not involve
any soldering. Extra 2Mb (4Mb total) £105.
N.B. This upgrade is currently supplied free of charge
with both of the A5000 systems above (ie standard
version and the Learning Curve).
A3000
RAM
- Only 8 RAM chips - low power consumption
- User finable - no soldering required
- Available as a "bare board" (ie sockets, but no RAM)
- 4Mb - £148.95 2Mb - £55 Bare board - £25.50
All prices exclude VAT.
VISA
Further information and price list from; p^j
IFEL, 36 Upland Drive, Derriford, Plymouth PL6 6BD.
(0752) 847286
CL
>
<
THE
BIG
BLACK
From Britain’s largest Supplier of
Educational Software
2 Comprehensive Guides to over 2500
Educational Programs for the
BBC, Archimedes, A3000, A5000
& IBM PC
All in Stock for Immediate Delivery
1 For 5-11 age group
2 11-Adult
CAT
ALOGUE
For Your Free Copy Contact
AVP School Hill Centre
Chepstow Gwent NP6 5PH
Telephone 0291 625439
Fax 0291 629671
108 BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992
IMAGING
TAKE AIM
Image processing does not have to be expensive, as DAVID KNELL explains
hen ii comes to image pro-
cessing. AIM {Another
Image Manager), is hard
to heat for value. It costs only
i 1 in its most basic form - yet
it seems to provide image pro-
cessing under Rise OS that is
comparable with systems that
cost hundreds of pounds to run
on other, extremely expensive
workstations.
AIM is a sophisticated Pub-
lic Domain (PD) suite of
programs which has been
ported to the Archimedes. The
Rise processor in the Arc is
ideally suited to image pro-
cessing and the only limitation
is the display hardware -
ideally, the machine would be
able to display 256 levels of
grey at once, instead of the 16
available. However, there are
ways around this.
standard desktop palette) AIM
uses a Sigma-Delta, or dither-
ing technique, where errors are
spread out so that the display
appears to show 256 distinct
levels of grey. The images are
held internally to 256 levels,
and all image processing oper-
ations happen at this level -
the dithering only occurs when
the image is displayed.
AIM under Rise OS per-
forms very well compared to
similar software on other
machines. One published
benchmark shows an A5000.
running AIM. performing at
three times the speed of an
Apple Mac II lx, which costs
considerably more than the
A5000. To run, the package
requires a machine with 2MB
of memory, and preferably a
multisync monitor.
ON OFFER
So what facilities does AIM
provide? Well, just about
everything you need for pro-
cessing images. AIM comes
with a set of macro files (pro-
grams) which demonstrate
many possible uses, some of
which we have shown in the
examples here. One of the best
examples, provided with the
suite, can lake a circuit dia-
gram and identify which
components are resistors,
capacitors, and so on. Image
processing also has many com-
mercial uses, for instance the
Milk Marketing Board use it to
quantify the number of bac-
teria found in a milk sample.
AIM allows processing on
four 256 x 256 images in 256
levels of grey - this is more
than adequate for most image
processing tasks. However, it
can only cope with a scan of
about 0.5 in square at 400 dpi
(dots per inch). The resolution
is perfectly adequate for
images captured from video.
In order to display 256-level
greyscale images on a machine
which can only display eight
levels at a time (using the
CONCLUSION
AIM is. quite simply, good
fun. Reading tip on the subject
will definitely increase your
enjoyment - we published a
BAU series on image program-
ming in 1990.
Images can be scanned or
grabbed from a digitiser {AIM
provides built-in support for
the Watford one.) This pack-
age is also an excellent plat-
form for more serious image
processing work and can be
used for a large number of
everyday image processing
tasks on the Arc. And. at the
price, how can you resist
enhancing your image ?
PRODUCT DETAILS
The AIM software is Public
Domain and can be obtained
by sending a £1 coin, a for-
matted disc and an SAE to: AIM
Offer, 8 Coton Road, Grantch-
ester, Cambridge CB3 9NH.
AIM is also distributed by Lin-
genuity and costs £25 plus
VAT, including the cost of a
printed manual, which I recom-
mend. Lingenuity can be
contacted on (0986) 85476.
ALTERING IMAGES
The source picture on the left looks dim and blurred, as if it were a
photograph taken through fog. The first operation on the image was
histogram equalisation, which involves spreading out the range of
grey levels to cover the full range available. This has the effect of
increasing the contrast of the image. The second operation was to
apply a simple sharpening filter, which reverses the original blurring.
BEFORE: Original image,
slightly blurred, low contrast
AFTER: After histogram
equalisation and sharpening
Below is an example of noise removal from an image. The source
image (left) has a large amount of 'salt-and-pepper' noise (black and
white specks) which is removed using a median filter.
BEFORE: Image with large
amount of noise
AFTER: Effect of using a
median filter on the image
Images can be turned into useful information. The original image of
these cells is thresholded to separate foreground from background,
and each cell is then inspected. The results show where the cell is in
the image, its size, and how close to a circle it is (the nearer the
*p2len' measure is to 1, the closer the shape is to a circle).
BEFORE: Thresholded image,
showing how the cells have
been picked out
AFTER: Measurements are
made of the individual cells
in the image
BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1 992 109
Entrance to on-site
Car Park via Blue Gate
Your RISCOS Compliant ficorn Dealer!
New software from
TopicArt
mv
,\/ y
A new form of clip art
comprising of single discs
containing approximately 50
hand drawn high quality ^
draw format clip art images,
each on a single subject.
1 H M He-
iMaaAmma. UJ-Miffraiit
[inruTminrinii] 4? __ lirrnuirmiins
TopicArt 1 - General
+VAT
A printing utility l\ l J V J \ J \
you
specifying the size of poster
required, either by using one of the preset paper size, eg. A2, AO,
entering the exact dimensions of the poster eg. in millimetres or by
expressing the size as a
percentage of the original
size. The document will
then be increased or
decreased in size
automatically and printed
when required over
several pages with crop
marks and references
provided on each page to
assist cutting/overlapping.
+VAT
per disc
TopicArt2 - Transport
5 TopicArt subjects are
available now. Please
specify when ordering.
TopicArt4
Entertainment
Parangters
4 Portrait /Landscape User scale ; [ 188'/.
4 Print unsealed User width; 188nr>
/Print scaled User height : | 188nn
/Print user size Paper overlap i | 26nn
/Print preset page Print nargin; | 28nn |
/HP /fll /H2 Print xoffset; [ Bun | |
/ H3 >114 /tb Print goff set ; [ Bnn | j
Buy 4
TopicArt
discs get
one free
TopicArt3
Costumes
| Pronpt between pages
TopicArt5 - Bugs to Slugs
Hardware & Books (Rll prices exclude URT)
i 0% Finance
A5000
RAM Upgrades
A3000
Up to 2Mb RAM £55
Up to 4Mb RAM £156
A5000
Up to 4Mb RAM £129
A400
1Mb RAM £39
2Mb RAM £75
3Mb RAM £105
Up to 8Mb £649
A540
4Mb RAM Card £399
Upgrades
5.25“ Disc Buffer £35
ARM3 £195
Concept Keyboards £Call
Dust cover (2 piece) £12
Econet Module £46
FaxPack (CC) £289
Graphics Enhancer £169
Hawk V9 Video Dig £1 99
I/O Expansion Card £79
Joystick Interface £25
Keyboard Extender £8
Midi Upgrade to I/O £27
Midi Expansion Card £65
Monitor Stand A3000 £29
Micro Mouse (Clares) £29
Serial Upgrade A3000 £19
User/Midi Card A3000 £46
VIDC Enhancer £29
Printers
Canon BJ-IOex £209
Canon BJ-300 £359
Canon BJ-330 £409
Citizen Swift 24e £235
HP DeskJet 500 £329
HP DeskJet 500C £549
Panasonic KXP-1 123 £159
Star LC-20 £115
Star LC-200 £159
Star LC24-200 £179
LaserDirect (Qume) £859
LaserDirect HiRes4 £999
LaserDirect HiRes8 £1319
LD HiRes4 board £399
Ribbons/Toner
BJ-1 Oex Ink Cartridge £1 5
BJ-300 Ink Cartridge £10
LBP-4 Toner £65
Swift24 Mono £4
Swift24 Colour £15
Scanners
Scanlight Junior £129
Scanlight Jnr 256 £199
Scanlight A4 £289
Scanlight Professional £849
Monitors
Acorn Colour £199
Philips CM8833 II £199
Taxan MultiVision 775 £389
Taxan 795A £439
Taxan Viking II £749
Books (No VAT)
Dabs Archi Assembly Lang £14.95
Dabs Archi First Stops £9.95
Dabs Archi Oporating System ..£14.95
Dabs Budget DTP £14.95
Dabs C: A Dabhand Guide £14.95
A3000 Technical Guide £29.95
A540/A5000 Tech Guide (ea) ...£65.00
Acorn DTP Adv User Guide £14.95
Basic V: A Dabhand Guide £9.95
BBC Basic Guide (Acorn) £19.95
RISCOS PRM's £79.00
RISCOS Style Guide £9.95
1st Word+ Manual (Acorn) £10.00
Acorn DTP Manual (Acom) £10.00
AASM Manual (Acorn) £25.00
ANSI C v4 Manual (Acorn) £25.00
A5000LC System £1799
£179 Deposit plus 12 monthly
instalments of £135
A5000LC Printer Sys £2075
£215 Deposit plus 12 monthly
instalments of £155
A3000LC System £999
£99 Deposit plus 12 monthly
instalments of £75
A3000LC Printer Sys £1275
£135 Deposit plus 12 monthly
instalments of £95
A5000 4Mb RAM £1499
40Mb HD & MulliScan Monitor
A5000 4Mb RAM £1529
LEARNING CURVE SYSTEM with
Multi Scan Monitor. Acorn DTP, 1st
Word*, Gonesis+, PC Emulator,
Pacmania, introductory video etc.
A5000 4Mb RAM £1759
LEARNING CRV PRINTER SYSTEM
Including Acorn JP-150 Ink Jet Printer
A3000
Ordering by Telephone
When placing your order please have your credit/debit card ready. We will
require tho cardholders name, address, delivery address if different and the
expiry date of the card.
Ordering by Post
Please specify the goods you require and for which computer in writing including
your telephone number & delivery address. Send complete with a signed
cheque/postal order or alternatively for credit/debit cards, the card number,
cardholders name, address, and expiry date. IMPORTANT - Please write your
name, address & credit card details in BLOCK CAPITALS to avoid confusion.
Where to Find Us
From the M63 Junction 12 roundabout follow signs to Cheadle A560 passing the
glass pyramid. At the traffic lights nr Ye Olde Woolpack Inn turn left onto
Brinksway. Turn next left onto Chester St and immediately left again onto Ford
St. Enter on-site car park via Blue Gate.
Terms
UK residents add 17.5%
VAT to all prices except
books. Carriage is free
(except books, paper &
large software applications)
on mainland UK, elsewhere
at cost. Pricos and
manufacturers
specifications subject to
change without notifeation. fo M56/M62 s
Goods offered subject to
being unsold and/or
available. Goods not offered
on trial basis. Restocking
fee on non-defective
returns.
BBC A3000 2Mb £599
As above with Monitor £799
BBC A3000 2Mb £639
LEARNING CURVE with 1st Word*,
Genesis+, PC Emulator, Pacmania,
introductory video etc.
As above with Monitor £829
BBC A3000 2Mb £1089
LEARNING CRV PRINTER SYSTEM
Including Acorn JP-150 Ink Jet Printer
BBC A3000 2Mb £679
SPECIAL ACCESS
As above with Monitor £879
Archimedes
A410/1 Base Machine £729
1Mb RAM & Floppy Disc Drive
A410/1 £859
With 2Mb RAM & 20Mb HardDisc
A420/1 Learning Curve £939
With 2Mb RAM & 20Mb HardDisc
A540 ARM3, 8Mb £2495
A400 Archimedes while stocks last
WE ARE
HERE!
M63 Junction 12
Stockport West
A5145
Glass I
Pyramid
A560
Authorised Acorn Dealer
Unit 2A, Heapriding Business Park, Ford St, Stockport, Cheshire. SK3 0BT
Opening Hours Mondag-Saturdag 18.89 to 18.98
Megalltils
+VAT
All our HardDiscs come completely
formatted and tested before despatch
and also include a free copy of our
Bright Ideas Utilities installed on the
HardDisc.
A set of RISCOS utilities providing a /~\
whole host of genuinely useful, time- f /
saving functions for all users alike, all I
at the touch of a button. The disc
includes;
lAddrBook An easy to use address
book to store all your names & adds,
IDiary A place to store all those ''S
important birthdays & anniversaries etc.
ICleanUp A hot key utility for instantly redrawing window(s).
{Disable Prevents you from deleting any file whilst enabled.
IDOSForm A multi-tasking DOS 720k formatter with verify.
IFileMon Displays all the information related to any file.
ILineClock A desktop clock that can be placed anywhere.
IMegaUtils provides a window organiser for arranging filer
and/or application windows on the desktop, key short-cuts to
open/close filer windows, set copy and wipe options, set
filetypes, quick loading of basic programs, caret flasher,
selection of mouse speed, automatic opening of application
directories without using shift, mouse hider, caret grabbing.
IQuickMode An alternative to the Palette utility which allows
you to select modes quickly from a user-defineable list.
IQuickRun A user-defineable application loader.
IScrGrab Allows you to save the screen display to a Sprite.
The following are complete SCSI
HardDisc Systems comprising of a
Morley SCSI interface, HardDisc,
mounting brackets, cables, utilities
disc and manual.
Archimedes Internal
50Mb 1 7ms Cache £339
105Mb 18ms Cache £429
180Mb 18ms Cache £599
330Mb 12ms Cache £899
520Mb 1 2ms Cache £1 049
A3000/A300/A400 External
50Mb 17ms Cache £379
105Mb 18ms Cache £509
1 80Mb 1 8ms Cache £699
330Mb 12ms Cache £979
520Mb 12ms Cache £1149
The following are complete
HardDisc Systems comprising of an
IDE disc controller, HardDisc,
mounting brackets, cables, utilities
disc and manual.
Archimedes Internal
40Mb 17ms £229
80Mb 1 7ms Cache £31 5
125Mb 18ms Cache £399
180Mb 18ms Cache £449
330Mb 12ms Cache £799
520Mb 12ms Cache £999
A3000 External
40Mb 17ms £315
80Mb 17ms Cache £399
125Mb 18ms Cache £485
1 80Mb 1 8ms Cache £535
330Mb 12ms Cache £885
520Mb 12ms Cache £1089
A3000 Internal Hard Cards
20Mb £199
40Mb £495
80Mb £695
External drives are housed in
slimline colour co-ordinated case
complete with integral power supply
and fan. Internal Hard cards are
RISC Developments units.
flrchinedes, fl3608j 85000 Software
Education
Applications
Legend of the Lost Temp (Eter.)E19
Lemmings (Krisalis) El 9
Loopz (Audiogenic) E18
Maddingly Hall (Minerva) El 3
Mad Prof Mariarty (Krisalis) El 5
Mag Scrolls Collection 1 E26
Mah-Jong Patience(CIS) El 5
Man at Arms (4D) El 5
Man United (Krisalis) El 9
Man United Europe (Krisalis) El 9
Master Break (Superior) El 5
Memory Magic (CIS) E14
Micro Drive 3D Golf (CIS) El 5
Micro Drive USA Cou (CIS) £14
MIG 29 Sup Ful (Domark) £32
Minotaur (Minerva) £14
Missile Control (Minerva) £14
Nevryon (4D) £15
Orion (Minerva) £14
Pacmania (Domark) £17
Pandora's Box (4D) £19
PipeMania (Ent. Int.) El 8
Poizone (Eterna) £14
Powerband (4D) £18
Pysanki (4D) £15
Adv. Playground 5+ (Storm) ...
Amazing Ollie 4+ (Storm)
Coffe 9+ (Storm)
Concept Designer (Logotron) .
Converta-Key
Crossword+ 8+
Data Word (Triple R)
Desktop Folio (ESM)
Farmer Giles 2 (CTS)
First Words & Pictures (Chk) ..
Flight Path 9+ (Storm)
Freddy Teddy (Topologika)
Freddy Teddy's Adv (fopol.)...
Fun & Games 5-9
Fun School 2 (Database)
Fun School 3 (Database)
(Please specify age group)
Giant Killer (Topologika)
Giant Killer Support (Top)
History Costume Pk (Mic St)...
House of Numbers (Chalk)
Hyperbook Reader (Logotron)
Hyperbook Lib (Logotron)
Junior Database (lota)
Letters and Pictures (Chalk) ...
Logo (Logotron)
3D Construction Kit (Domark) ...E45
ABC Compiler (Oak) £77
Alphabase (Clares) £37
Ancestry (Minerva) £59
ANSI C v.3 (Acorn) £125
Arc DFS (Dabs) £22
ArcComm 2 (Logotron) £52
ArcLight (Ace) £40
ArcTerm 7 (Serial Port) £62
Arcticulate (4D) £18
Arctist (4D) £18
Arcounts Manager (Kendal) £295
Armadeus (Clares) £59
Artisan 2 (Clares) £43
Art Works (CC) ECall
Atelier (Minerva ) £73
Autosketch v2 (Autodesk) £65
Chameleon (4Mation) £24
Compression (CC) £42
Control Panol (Lingenuity) £14
DataVision (Silicon) £110
Desktop Assembler (Acorn) £125
Desktop C (Acorn) £185
Desktop Office (Minerva) £95
Desktop Publisher (Acorn) £125
Easiword (Minerva) £29
Easy Writer (Icon Tech) £126
Equasor (CC) £39
Euclid 2 (Ace) £50
Eureka (Longman) El 09
Film-Maker (Silicon) £71
Financial Accountant (Silicon) ....£203
First Word Plus v2 (Acorn) £67
Flexifilo Database (Minerva) £109
Flyinq-Start II (Mitre) £86
Font FX (DataStore) £9
Font Starter Pack (Acorn) £35
Gammaplot (Minerva) £36
Genesis 2 (Oak Solutions) £109
Graphbox v2 (Minerva) £57
Graphbox Pro (Minerva) £109
Hard Disc Companion ll(Beebug).£45
Hearsay II (Beebug) £58
HelixBasic (CCS) £75
Hotlink Presenter (Lingenuity) £41
Home Accounts (Minerva) £34
Illusionist (Clares) £76
Impression v2 (CC) £125
Impression Junior (CC) £75
Impression Bus Supp (CC) £39
Inter-Chart (CC) £20
Inter-Sheet II (CC) £30
Inter-Word (CC) £30
Investigator v2 (Serial Port)
ISO Pascal Rel.2 (Acorn)....
Kiddicad (Oak Sol.)
Mailshot (Minerva)
MasterFile II (Beebug)
Microstudio (EMR)
Mogul (Ace)
Multi FS (Arxe Systems)
Multistore v2 (Minerva)
Aggressor (Atomic) £18
Air Supremacy (Superior) £20
Alien Invasion (Dabs) £14
All-in-Boxing (Dabs) £14
Apocolypse (4D) £20
Arcade Soccer (4D) £15
Ballarena (Eterna) £14
Bambuzle (Arxe Systems) £19
Battle Tank (Minerva) £13
Blaston (Eterna) £15
Blitz (Arxe Systems) £21
Blowpipe (Eclipse) £15
Bobby Blockhead (Atomic) £18
Boogie Buggy (4D) £17
Break 147 & Superpool (4D) £17
Bubble Fair (Eterna) £14
Bug Hunt, MoonDash (Min) £13
Bug Hunt in Space (Minerva) £13
Cartoon Line (Eterna) £21
Casino (Minerva) £18
Cataclysm (4D) £19
Caverns (Minerva) £14
Chequered Flag (CIS) £19
Chess 3D (Micro Power) £14
Chocks Away 2 (4D) £17
Chocks Away Extra Miss(4D) £14
Chocks 2 Compendium (4D) £27
Chopper Force (4D) POA
Chuck Rock (Krisalis) £19
Conqueror (Superior) £18
Crisis (CIS) £15
Drop Ship (4D) £14
Elite (Hybrid) £33
Enter the Realm (4D) £18
E-Type Compendium (4D) £19
Exotic Adv of Sylvia Lain (4DJ...E19
Family Favourites (Minerva) £15
Fine Racer (Eterna) £14
Fire Ball Xtra (CIS) £12
Flight Sim Toolkit (Simis) £35
Freddys Folly (Minerva) £13
Grievous Bodily 'ARM (4D) £19
Gumshoes (4D) £20
HoverBod (Minerva) £13
Holed Out Compendium (4D) £18
Hostages (Superior) £14
Ibix the Viking (Minerva) £14
Inertia (4D) £14
Interdictor 2 (Clares) £26
Iron Lord (Cygnus) £14
J. Khan Squash (Krisalis) £19
James Pond (Krisalis) £19
Jet Fighter (Minerva) £13
Notate (Longman)
Office tools (Silicon)
Ovation (Beebug)
PC Access (Minerva)
PCB (Oak)
PC Emulator V 1 .7 (Acorn)
PipeDream 4 (Colton)
Poster (4Mation)
Presentation System (Silicon)...
Presenter 2 Hotlink (Lingenuity)
Presenter GTi (Ling)
Printor JX. PJ, CA (ACE)
Pro Artisan (Clares)
Realtime Solids Modeller (Sil)...
Render Bender v2 (Clares)
Reporter (Minerva)
Revelation II (Logotron)
Rhapsody v2 (Clares)
RISCBasic (Silicon)
RISCType (CIS)
Schema (Clares)
SigmaSheet (Minerva)
ShapeFX (Datastore)
ShowPage (CC)
SmArt (4Mation)
SmArtFiler (4Mation)
Snippet (4Mation)
Solid CAD (Sil Vis)
Solid Tools (Silicon)
Speech! (Superior)
Quazer (4D)
Redshift (Minerva)
Repton 3 (Superior)
Rockfall (Eterna)
Rotor (Arcana)
Real McCoy 1/2 (4D) (ea.)
Saloon Cars (4D)
Sporting Triangles (CDS)
Spitfire Fury (4D)
Superior Golf (Superior)
Sup Extra Courses (Superior).
Tactic (Eterna)
Talisman (Minerva)
The Olympics (4D)
ThunderMonk (Minerva)
The Wimp Game (4D)
Top Banana (HEX)
Tower Of Babel (Cygnus)
Trivial Pursuit (Domark)
Twin World (Cygnus)
U.I.M. (4D)
White Magic 1/2 (4D) each
Wonderland (Virgin)
World Ch. Boxing Man'r (Kris)
Worra Battle (Oak Solutions) ..
X-FIRE (4D)
Zarch (Superior)
Zelanites (Micro Power)
Magpie (Logotron)
Maps & Landsc. 1/2 (Chk) ea £19
Money Matters (Triple R) £20
Numbers and Pictures (Chalk) £18
Numerator (Logotron) £60
Numerator Chaos (Logotron) £19
Ollie Octupus Sk Pad (Storm) £14
Pondown (Logotron) £50
Pendown Fonts (Logotron) £17
PIPP (CIS) £30
Picture Book (Triple R) £20
Pin Point (Logotron) £95
Pin Point Junior (Logotron) £24
Pirate (Chalk) £18
Prime Art (Minerva) £69
Puncman 1-2, 3-4, 5-7 (Chalk) ea. £18
Reversals (Chalk) £18
Robo Logo (Sil Vis) £70
Search & Rescue 9+ £28
Spellbook 4-9 (Soft Stuff (SS)) £19
Star (Logotron) £16
Target Maths (Triple R) £20
Things to do with No's (SS) £19
Things to do with Words (SS) £19
Turtles "World Tour' 1 £15
Words and Pictures (Chalk) £18
World Scape (Eclipse) £15
Squirrel Database (Dig Serv) ...£129
Super-Dump (Silicon) £21
Super-Plot (Silicon) £28
Studio 24+ (EMR) £150
Toolkit Plus (Clares) £36
Tracer (Mid Gra) £46
Tracker (Serial Port) £37
Turbo Typo (CIS) £20
Tween (Ace) £22
Twin (Acorn) £24
Vox Box (Clares) £47
Worra CAD (Oak) £83
Worra Plot (Oak) £24
Please contact us if you are offered a better price
elsewhere, we will do our best to match it.
We operate the Acorn Teachers Scheme
& 0% Finance Schemes
This advert was produced using Impression & Draw!
All 4Mation packages for
the Archimedes carry a
FREE SITE LICENCE.
A SmArt is a Linked Graphics System. When
SWjfl/lKHr’ P icture files are loaded into smArt, different
^ parts of the picture can be changed by
making selections from a menu. The graphics components
are automatically scaled so that the parts always fit. Pictures
may be saved as Draw files or transferred to DTP programs
or any other applications which can handle Draw files.
The smArt package comes with over two dozen files on
subjects ranging from shops to cars, and churches to British
Isles maps. Available as separate products are discs of
smArt files on specific themes such as Leisure, Heraldry,
Faces, Fashion, Homes, Trees & Gardens, and Dinosaurs.
smArt £55 (NZ$ 1 98) smArt discs £1 6 (NZ$ 59)
For those wishing to create their own smArt
files, smArtFiler is an application which
compiles smArt files from your source Draw
files. Full instructions are provided along with lots of
examples. Individual components may be scaled, rotated,
and placed in front of or behind other components. Menu
entries may be specified.
If it can be drawn it can be a smArt file.
smArtFiler £35 (NZ$ 129)
suit; light blue
red
- Bl lI KUtJJ.lU.III.HM
waistcoat; orange
white blouse; orange waistcoat
jacket; dark blue
two tone shirt; dark/light blue; with tie
white; with tie
top; dark/light blue
; light green
top; decorative cut outs; yellow
with red pattern
"Wp
tie
Chameleon is an ideal companion to
// C n m c h on smArt, and a must for anyone who needs
to make quick and easy colour changes to
Draw files. As well as palettes for 1 6 and 256 colour modes,
there are options for 256 shades of grey and a RGB colour
cube which provides thousands of colours. Colours may be
selected from other Draw files so can be copied from one
picture to another. Colours may also be changed in HSV
values; Hue, Saturation and Value. Edited files may be
saved as normal Draw files or as colour separations. A clever
Undo and Redo facility allows virtually any number of colour
changes to be cancelled and then reinstated. Zoom and
Magnification facilities allow accurate editing of small areas.
Chameleon £25 (NZ$ 95)
FREE DEMO DISC
Send us a blank disc to receive a
demo copy of smArt and Chameleon.
Only the save facility is missing.
Poster demo also available.
4Mation • 1 4 Castle Park Road
Barnstaple • Devon • EX32 8PA
Tel. (0271 ) 25353 Fax. (0271 ) 22974
Poster
£89
NZ$367.50
Snippet
£29
NZ$120.00
Jigsaw
£29
NZ$120.00
Jiglet
£29
NZ$120.00
DTP Seeds*
£ 8.45
NZ$ 35.00
* (book - no VAT)
UK Prices: incl. P&P, excl. VAT @ 1 7 '/ 2 %.
NZ prices incl. GST. o
4Mation New Zealand
PO Box 12-228 • Christchurch
Fax. (03) 655-055
ILLUSTRATION BY GEORGE SNOW
3D DESIGN
A new package
allows you to
design your own
adventure games.
SAM GREENHILL
takes the controls
FLIGHTS OF FANCY
f you are a fan of either the
Interdictor or MiG-29
flight simulators for the
Archimedes, then you'll be
interested to know that Simis
- the company responsible for
both simulations - has finally
made it possible for you to
construct a customised night
simulator of your own. Flight
Simulator Toolkit ( FST ) basi-
cally puts you in control. You
decide on the scenario, the
rules of the game and the mis-
sion to be accomplished.
A LOOK INSIDE
FST includes two discs plus a
hefty manual in a laminated
box, with four main tools for
creating a simulator on one
disc and example games on the
other. The four tools are: a
Shape editor, which allows
you to design three dimen-
sional objects; a Cockpit
Designer, enabling general
layout of instruments; an Air-
craft Model editor, to define
how the plane should behave
according to its wingspan,
weight, fuel capacity, general
physique, and so on; and a
World editor which combines
the lot, defines the playing
area and sorts out your enemy
from your elbow.
The purpose of Shape is to
create 3D objects within the
simulation. The runway is an
example of a fairly flat object
created in Shape, whereas the
aircraft are solid objects that
can be viewed from any angle.
SHAPE CREATION
Objects are created in Shape
by placing points on a grid and
then defining polygons by
clicking on two or more points
in a clockwise order. You can
only ever work in two of the
three axes by masking out the
third. But by calling up view
windows it is possible to see
what the shape looks like from
different angles - the software
usefully highlights the polygon
being worked on.
But it really is hard. I
thought I'd start by creating a
nice simple cube. Big mistake!
Cubes look the same from
each viewpoint, so it is best to
start with something like a
cuboid or even a simple house
(a cuboid with a roof).
However, this took me more
than two hours to master.
I discovered that it is easier
to set up the working window
on the left of the screen, the
toolbox at top right and a 3D
wireframe image in a window
bottom right, with the 3D
image rotated 55 degrees in
the X axis and 45 degrees in
the Y axis. This helped me to
sec what was going on.
Even though you can only
deal with points and polygons
in just two axes, you still have
the problem of different layers.
If you view a normal box from
precisely above, its lid and
base will appear in the same
place and can be difficult to
distinguish without the use of
the 3D window. To overcome
this problem you use the up
and down arrows to step
through the layers of an object
- two in the case of the box
(lid and base).
Colouring a polygon is very
straightforward and standard
operations, such as delete and
move, are not badly imple-
mented. In my review version
oi mere is a lacrs. ui uuj
copy feature so that, once I'd
created a window for my
house and wanted to duplicate
it a few times, I found that I
couldn't. The final version will
incorporate copy but mine
doesn't - so my house ended
up looking like an asylum.
It is not possible to design a
cuboid by creating one side
and then extruding a copy of
itself out to form a solid.
Come to think of it, you don’t
really drag anything anywhere
in Shape: moving, rescaling
and rotating objects is all done
by typing in numbers, but
unfortunately the mouse is not
BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992 113
3D DESIGN
used to do this interactively.
Another slight oddity is the
way in which polygons are
created. Because only one side
of a polygon is drawn by the
simulator it is necessary to
create some polygons in a
clockwise fashion and others
anti-clockwise, so as to tell
Shape which side to plot.
Luckily a menu option called
Flip is provided to easily swap
the direction if you find out
you've drawn it wrongly.
DESIGNER TOOLS
The Cockpit Designer is a
refreshingly easy utility. All
you have to do is drag the
various dials, warning lights
and other bits and bobs from
one window to the cockpit dis-
play where they can be
shunted around to wherever
you think they look best.
The snag is the pictorial
design of the cockpit itself.
Sensibly, this is left to you to
design using an art package or
just Paint , but you still need to
make sure that you leave the
right sized gaps for the simula-
tor to fit things like the radar
and altimeter in. The head-up-
display is also defined.
Using the Model tool you
can tweak the aerodynamics of
your aircraft, alter the size of
the engine and general modify
the way in which it flies. The
aircraft in one of the example
games on the disc is a biplane
with a propeller at the front.
The weight, wing specification
and engine power are all com-
pletely different to that of the
other example plane, which is
a Tornado.
Whenever I changed one of
the factors 1 found the plane
very difficult to fly, so I just
stuck with the default values.
However, enthusiasts could
recreate the dynamics of other
planes, change tried and
trusted parameters to optimise
efficiency, or perhaps design a
completely new model. You
can also specify the type and
number of missiles to be used.
In World you are presented
with a large map of the playing
area looking from above. From
a menu the ground and sky
colours may be selected and
you can even specify the wind
speed and direction.
In good Rise OS fashion,
you can drag shape files from
a directory on your disc, on to
the world grid in the places
dBftICockpit * ‘Flight
|L ‘Shape v* | tornado
£ ‘World a Jf$i
* * Model
U Itlieu
fcjt Aircraft data
Mi no incidence 1-88
stall 25~
Engine type HHH
potter 25888
3 (titit »i am
.s crctfur^i Kunmhutt
SHAPE ALLOWS YOU TO CREATE AND MODIFY A TORNADO
Hi sr
' , . Weight
28818 It
Save
' I 1 . Undercarriage
%
Edit
, JL • \l/t type
Shape R
j L Drag
58
Mirelran*
Control power
IT
; e
Or nl
m
thett
m.
t tool bot
.JGitU 3B Mirefrane
A
Ordnance
I Cannon rounds
258
I Rockets
% ji
Iftir - ftir
~ r 1
Ifiir - Ground
4
you want them to appear. Once
a shape exists on the map you
can move, rotate or elevate it
up in the sky and tell the simu-
lator what the shape is to be.
By calling the shape a depot,
other shapes called trucks will
drive in and out of it. By class-
ing it as a Sam site, it will
begin to fire if you venture
near and, of course, one shape
needs to be labelled as the
plane in which you fly.
I decided to use the design
of a house with one window to
be the shape allocated to the
aircraft model. I tried to design
a flying pig but, since my pig
looked more like a house I
ended up going the whole hog
by deleting its ‘tail’ and giving
it a window. Now my world
looks like something out of
The Wizard of Oz, with houses
zooming all round the place at
Mach Two!
By using just a few simple
labels you can build up a com-
plicated game plot. Enemy
aircraft always come out of
hangers, trucks follow routes
which you can define and
depots supply missiles to Sam
sites and materials for rebuild-
ing hangers and other depots.
You can define how many
planes or trucks there are in a
particular hanger or depot and
the simulator keeps a tally on
where they are and what
they're up to. The manual sug-
gests that you could design
trucks to look like ships,
depots to look like ports and
then by colouring the ground
blue, hey presto, there is a new
sea scenario without changing
the principles. In general the
documentation is well-written
and informative, although not
completely without fault.
World has only one thing
that I found annoying. For
some reason it is often
infuriatingly impossible to
select an object - but apart
from that it is simple and
effective to use.
CONCLUSION
I have mixed feelings about
Flight Simulator Toolkit. Cer-
tainly, some things could have
been better - Shape, for
instance. The actual playing of
the finished game has been
known to cause problems. In
fact many mouse users will be
happy to know that pressing
Ctrl-M will solve one particu-
larly frustrating problem. The
reason they cannot control the
plane is because the simulator
has initially assumed that it is
dealing with a joystick.
Designing a whole game is a
long process - you can’t really
avoid that, and things will
inevitably go wrong along the
way. 1 just think that the tools
could have been much more
user-friendly. I would specu-
late that the authors are too
familiar with the tools to real-
ise that they might be quite
difficult for less experienced
designers to use, though this
criticism is levelled mainly at
Shape. My manual lacked a
tutorial section but this has
been promised for the produc-
tion version and I think it will
help considerably.
It is a pity that part of the
fun is designing things like
flying pigs - and that Shape
does not make this particularly
easy. But the main question is:
does FST offer something that
you cannot get from either
Interdictor or MiG-291 Tech-
nically, no, because the
concepts are the same - you
shoot planes, avoid Sams and
capture runways. Nonetheless,
there is still a lot of fun to be
had, if you can get over the
initial frustration.
PRODUCT DETAILS
Product: Flight Simulator
Toolkit
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FONTS
ROB MILLER tries
some packages
which help word
manipulation
B ne of the most useful parts
of Rise OS, and what
makes the Archimedes so
suited to desktop publishing, is
the outline font manager.
Rather than being made up of
dots on a grid (like traditional
bitmap fonts) outline fonts, as
their name suggests, are made
up from outlines stored as a
series of lines and curves,
similar to those that you can
create using Draw.
These outlines can be scaled
in size to give letters of any
size without the loss of smooth
edges, both on screen and on
paper. The current Rise OS 2
font manager can display out-
line fonts on screen at any
size, although only in a
straight horizontal line. For
anything off the straight and
narrow, these outline fonts
have to be converted into
Draw format outlines. When
in Draw , the text can be
rotated, coloured or tweaked
using Draw's tools and, with a
good knowledge of Draw and
some practice, some impres-
sive effects can be achieved.
Then along came FontFX
from The Data Store, which
not only allowed you to con-
vert text into Draw paths, but
also added effects, such as
shadows, and made the text
follow a predefined path. Pos-
ter from 4Mation expanded on
this idea so that text could fol-
low a Draw path that you
defined, or it could be
squashed into a mould.
Now there are a number of
applications which do the con-
version from outline font to
Draw path, as well as include
a number of different effects,
such as shadowing and rota-
tion. Most of the concepts and
terms used in Poster have been
carried over to the newer pro-
grams. Moulds and paths both
originated in this package, but
now seem to be used univer-
sally to describe the
stretching and bending of
text. Assuming that you
have a copy of Draw to
help with post produc-
tion, the effects shown
here (apart from the sten-
cil picture above) can be
achieved with all the
programs we reviewed. Rather
than detail each application in
turn, I will first explain these
effects and then go on to look
at each individual package.
A summary of the various
effects that each program can
produce is given in the table
overleaf, indicating where
Draw is necessary. Fontasy ,
for example, requires Draw for
producing Bezier paths for text
to follow. Type Studio , on the
other hand, has Bezier path
creation built in.
SPECIAL EFFECTS
All of the programs allow text
to be produced in any colour
and text can be outlined with
lines of a chosen colour and
thickness. This is also easily
done in Draw. Once text has
been converted into a Draw
outline, it is simple to rotate
words or individual letters to
any angle. However, all of the
applications allow text to be
rotated in various ways before
it is exported to Draw. Each
application also allows text to
be sheared, or leaned - this
gives the text a sloping effect,
either backwards or forwards.
SHADOWS
Creating ‘interesting’ headings
is probably the most common
reason for wanting to change
the appearance of text. Placing
a shadow behind text gives an
effect of the text appearing to
stand out from the page. These
applications will allow you to
produce wall (or drop)
shadows and floor (or pro-
jected) shadows. Wall
shadows, as their name
suggests, appear behind
the actual text and can be
offset from the text to give
an effect of different
sources of light, or can be
moved further away from
the main text to give a greater
sense of depth. Floor shadows
are a similar effect to shadows
created when the sun is setting,
or when a light source is at a
low position in relation to the
object it is lighting. Although
none of the programs create a
true shadow, with correct per-
spective, the effect is nonethe-
less realistic.
A kind of engraved effect
can be achieved by placing a
shadow behind some text and
blanking out the main text
itself. By using two shadows,
one opposite the other, text can
appear as though it is carved or
etched into a surface.
BENDING
Fontasy and Type Studio can
both allow the text to follow
any path that you provide them
with. This is a far more flex-
ible system than with FontFx
which can only draw text on a
slope or around a predefined
circle, arc or star shape.
The direction of text on a
path depends on the position
of the first point on the line
forming the path. Text is
usually drawn from the begin-
ning of a line to the end,
although it can be forced to the
left, right or centrally justified.
Text can also be made to res-
cale in size automatically to
match the length of a particu-
lar path - a useful bonus.
HOW THEY WORK
All the programs retain the
original text typed in for con-
version. In each case, text
must be typed directly into the
program concerned, to a maxi-
mum of 256 characters. There
is no option to load text from a
file, although by the very
nature of these programs, you
will only want to input a few
words at a time anyway. Once
text has been entered into an
Plain Text
Outlined Text
[Ktetow T@M
Wall Shadow
Floor Shadow
116 BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992
THE POSSIBILITIES
Shadow*
Paths
Colour
Typ«
Graduated
Depth
Etched
Stop*
Column
Arc
Draw Da
Pootaty
S
/
✓
<1>
/
✓
✓
m
PortPX
/
✓
0)
/
✓
/
Type Studio
/
✓
/
/
(1)
/
/
/
/
Poe ter
/
/
/
<1>
/
/
/
/
RlacOW Draw
/
/
/
<1>
Sealing
Script Mm
Mould*
Chang* oulllnafttLI colour
Rotation
Leaning
PoflUcy
✓
✓
/
/
/
PontFX
✓
/
✓
✓
/
Type Studio
✓
✓
✓
✓
«
/
Poatar
/
/
/
✓
/
✓
RlacOSS Draw
/
s
/
I.Poal production In
2. Draw mutt be ueed
to cfMti « path wtth
mora than two points.
X Yaa, btrt Isttsrs mutt
bs roll tad by hand.
application, it is automatically
converted into an outline. The
computer reads this as a series
of lines and curves. Text can
only be edited by typing in
new text and reconverting it.
However, Fontasy does
allow the appearance of text to
be changed back to the orig-
inal outline. For example, you
can add a shadow to some text,
place it around a circular path
and then reset it back to the
original outline.
None of the other appli-
cations allow you to do this
without having to start anew.
Another plus point for Fontasy
is that it allows the text to be
kerned easily - this is impor-
tant for headlines where letters
such as W and X may look
strange given normal spacing.
After you have applied your
effects, the final result is saved
as a Draw file. You can also
save a special script file from
Fontasy and Type Studio that
will allow you to place the
same effects on different text,
without having to reiterate the
procedures involved.
TYPE STUDIO
This is the only one of the
applications to include line
drawing tools with which to
create paths. In use, it is a lot
like Draw and should be no
problem to people familiar
with that program. The menus
are ranged in a similar fashion
and a small toolbox allows
instant access to path creation.
Because Draw is not required
for paths and moulds, Type
Studio will operate easily on a
1Mb machine.
Type Studio incorporates a
mould tool - this is one step
up from a path and squashes
text outlines between two pre-
drawn lines. Using curved
lines causes text to bulge
where lines are further apart,
and compress where they are
closer together. Offsetting the
lines allows text to be sheared
left or right, or even up or
down. Making the lines differ-
ent lengths causes text to
stretch in a kind of perspective
effect. With practice, the
mould tool is very powerful.
One tool not present in any
of the other programs is Plinth,
which merely places a
filled (or unfilled) rec-
tangle behind each
letter. This effect can be
applied to text generated
by the other programs
with post processing in
Draw . One final point is
that, like Poster , Type
Studio will allow any Draw
file to be loaded and pro-
cessed. This means that any
Draw file, not just text, can
have a shadow added or can be
squashed into a mould.
FONTFX
This application is very easy to
use, while providing some use-
ful effects. It does not have the
true path or mould facilities of
the other programs, but does
have a speciality of its own,
namely Stencil.
Setting the stencil option
when creating a text outline,
draws the outline as normal,
but makes the filled part trans-
parent. The area outside the
outline is actually filled in,
giving a rectangle with a
letter-shaped hole in it. An
additional border is placed
around each letter which can
be enlarged or shrunk to cover
up as much or as little of the
background as required.
Any object which can be
loaded into Draw can be
placed behind a stencil. This
includes Draw objects them-
selves, sprites and text areas.
Amazing effects can be
achieved using this method
and it is quite surprising that
this feature has not been
included in the other appli-
cations. FontFX is not as
flexible as the other appli-
cations but is substantially
cheaper than the competition.
It is certainly a good starting
place for producing text effects
on a small budget.
FONTASY
Text can be typed directly into
Fontasy and it will appear
instantly on the screen as an
outline. From here, text can be
kerned and any other effects
directly applied. The ability to
reset different effects to get
back to a straightforward out-
line is very useful - it can
save a lot of time if you wish
to try out different ideas on the
same piece of text. It is also
quite useful to have Draw
loaded at the same time as
Fontasy to produce multi-
pointed paths, although this
leaves little space for any other
applications in a machine with
only 1Mb of Ram.
DrawBender is a program
(also from ICS) that allows
you to take a Draw file (in
other words, an outline file
from Fontasy) and stretch it
into any shape, in a similar
way to the moulds used in
Type Studio and Poster. If you
couple this with Fontasy, you
are in theory getting virtually
the same features as Type
Studio. You will need to use
Draw in order to create
advanced paths - but since this
is included with every new
Archimedes or BBC A3000,
that is no problem.
DrawBender is also free if
you buy a site licence for Fon-
tasy, which is good value for
money at only £25 for a single
user version. If you consider
the combined cost for Fontasy
and DrawBender ; it stands up
well to Type Studio , although
the latter includes the outline
font manager.
CONCLUSION
Of the three, Type Studio is the
most comprehensive. All of
the tools you are likely to need
are included and there is no
need to use any other appli-
cation with it. Fontasy has the
useful Undo facility on all its
tools, which is handy when
you want to experiment.
Finally, FontFX is the only
one to offer a Stencil option.
Type Studio and FontFX
together are a good match -
they share common functions,
but it is their extra tools that
really make the difference.
DrawBender with Fontasy
is also a good value combina-
tion, although it requires a lot
of saving and loading between
programs - something that is
not easy when you have a
machine with little memory or
no hard disc.
PRODUCT DETAILS
Product Fontasy
Price: £25 (single usdf version),
£80 (site licence version,
including DrawBender and
Placard)
Supplier: Ian Cqpestake Sof-
ware (as below)
Product DrawBender
Price: £15
Supplier: Ian Copestake Soft-
ware, 10 Frost Drive f Wirra|,
Merseyside L614XL
Tel: 051-632 1234
Product FontFX
Price: £9.95
Supplier: The Data Store, 6
Chatterton Road, Bromley,
Kent BR2
Tel: (081 4608991)
Product: Type Studio
Price: £45
Supplier: Rise Developments
Ltd, 117 Hatfield Road, St
Albans, Herts AL14JS
Tel: (0727) 40303
Product Poster
Price: £89
Supplier: 4Mattan, 14 Castle
Park Road, Barnstaple, Devon
EX32 8PA
Tel: (0271) 25353
(All prices exclude VAT)
tncidently, the headline on
page 120 was created using
Type Studio, using the mould
option. It could be created
equally well using DrawBender
BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992 112
THE DATAFILE
The Archimedes Public Domain & Shareware Library
Over 375megs of PD and Shareware on 400 discs many are archived to give
you extra value for money and us the edge over the competition.
Wm arm now a TRENDTECH corporation sbarmwarm vendor
Oamonstrotion / Catalogue V
ICoke Can Places a dtmcbtg coke can on the icon bar by Tom Godber.
ILemWalker A cute lemm in g walks up and down the iconhar. Bryan Foley.
ILockUp A quick and simple way to stop someone seeing your work
[Notepad A neat desktop note pad by Andy Piper and Steve Tudway.
BLoboCop A sound demo with a very good title screen. Author unknown
KpaceBaU A Bat & Ball done with some good graphics. Andrew Cawte.
ITrard Ever woundered bow far your pointer has traveled? Get this.
Clip Art OnefOe of exclusive CUp Art called Smokers and another
called Bits with fun sprites.
Scramble An excellent Stand akmeCoco module. Fantastic music fast
Tunes 19 maestro files.
This disc contains 1445k of Public Domain software and the 350k Catalogue.
Our prices: Staodard discs are only £1.10 end). Super Discs and
PC emulator discs are £1 .25 .f a super disc has over 1 500k of archived
softwareJ No minimum ordet* 2 free for every 1 5 discs ordered.
Why not send your discs to us? Prices drop to 5 Op per standard discs and
all others are only 75 p. Price Includes return postage. Minimum 10 discs.
Become a registered Datafile User.
For £5 a year you will receive our Caf/Demo disc automatically
bi-monthly for a year and be entitled to 2 free discs for every 1 0
you order for the period of registration.
Far your copy of the above Demo/Cat disc Just sendJU to:
22 lyuzfcrnd Drive, Aldergrove, Co. Antrim, BT29 4BG
If you send a JL1 coin please tape it to a piece cf card to stop
it getting lost in the post.
The Datafile is now in its second year and would like to
thank all its customers for their support and business.
ArcModem
The RTFM
A brand new 2400 baud pocket
Joystick Interface
sized modem for the
Archimedes/ A3000
The interface allows up to two 9pin
Commodore® or Atari® style
joysticks to be connected to your
Archimedes/ A3000. The interface
fits inside your machine, though it
■ Fully Hayes compatible
■ BELL 103/21 2A
■ CCITT V.21 / V.22/ V.22bls
does not require a podule slot.
■ Protective cover
The RTFM Joystick Interface has
■ Elegant design in compact size
support from 4th Dimension, Eterna,
■ Mains or battery powered
Krisalis Software, Cygnus Software
■ Intelligent power/saving circuit
Engineering, Clares Micro Supplies,
Cambridge International Software
■ Long battery life
and Minerva Software.
Comes complete with drivers for
Arcterm* versions 6 and 7
Over 40 Archimedes games currently
work with the Joystick Interface, and
ArcModem, Mains adapter 9v
you can even control games running
battery, leads and driver software:
under the BBC Emulator!
Only £169.00
Only £34.95
Arcterm 7 is a fully multitasking
comms package.
Available from The Serial Port
RTFM, 43 Hill Street, St Helier, Jersey. SF=»
© kU ^ © (0534) 67870. Fax (0534) 68996. _
VIS^
raph
Speed Graph is a graphics card for the Archimedes. It will provide resolutions of up
to 1024 x 768 pixels (or even higher) with 16 colours and 800 x 600 pixels with 256
colours. High screen refresh rates guarantee professional working. But this will not
slow down the computer; in the contrary, it even will make it faster. So Speed
Graph will give you two advantages, high quality grap hics and - at the same time -
high speed.
Available end of february
LC-SERIES
A3000 external drives including 8 bit interface, hard disc, expansion box and cables.
Available while stocks last.
42 MB, 28 ms £310 360 MB, 12 ms £1104
104 MB, 19 ms £448 510 MB, 12 ms £1200
204 MB, 19 ms £620
Available also with external 16 bit interface or hard discs on their own. All hard disc
kits are also available for the A410/A540. Please phone for details.
Are you looking for the new 1.6 MB floppies, as they are used in the A5000? So why
don't you order our High Density-upgrade. It comes complete with interface, new
floppy drive and the necessary software. It does not use a podule place. It is
compatible with the A3000 / A3 10 / A410 and A540 / R260. It works with Format
D/E/F and MS-DOS 1.44 MB discs. It has been tested with RISC OS 2 & 3.
Available end of february
EVOLUTION COMPUTER Ltd.
Portland Buildings, Portland Road
Aldridge, West Midlands WS9 8PP
Tel. : 44(0)922/55 128
Fax.: 44 (0) 922 / 58 126
EVOLUTION COMPUTER
Stefan Frohling; VolmestraBe 1
D - 5882 Meinerzhagen
Tel. : 49 (0) 2354 / 14 355
Fax.: 49(0) 2354/14 254
We accept all major credit
cards. All prices are nett,
not including delivery.
Please add £9 for postage
and packing.
COMPUTER
118 BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992
3D DESIGN
$
Domark' s 3D Construction Kit is the nearest
thing yet to virtual reality on the Archimedes.
ROB MILLER looks inside an imaginary world
any readers may recall
that, in the heyday of the
BBC Model B, games
such as Cholo were the first
step into what is now known
as virtual reality.
Cholo was a three dimen-
sional game in which the
player explored a whole world
through the eyes of various
robots. All scenery, including
buildings, trees and roads, was
shown as wire frame, perspec-
tive projections. And, given a
certain amount of imagination,
you could actually believe you
were there.
Now, since the advent of
fast processing and the greatly
increased graphics ability of
the Archimedes, three dimen-
sional games have started to
emerge. The monochrome,
wireframe graphics of old have
now been replaced with full-
colour, solid images. However,
games that have made use of
three dimensional graphics
have been a bit thin on the
ground up until now, with a
only a handful of (light simu-
lators plus the odd driving
game on offer.
THE REMEDY
Domark plans to remedy the
lack of such programs with the
conversion of its 3D Construc-
tion Kit to the Archimedes
format. As the name suggests,
3D Construction Kit allows
the user to build up a world
from simple building blocks.
EDIT
/\reset [|‘v cohpit.
deieteIK/dtthib
51614
such as cubes and pyramids.
The user can interact with each
scene with various tools that
allow objects to be manipu-
lated. The finished world can
then be saved as a stand-alone
program which can be run
without the original 3DCK
program present.
Being a direct import from
the PC, the Archimedes ver-
sion of 3DCK predictably does
not make full use of the Rise
OS window environment.
Instead, it uses a system of
pull-down menus, similar in
use to those found on the
Apple Macintosh. On loading
the program, the screen blanks
and, after a few moments, you
are presented with a half-
screen view into your world.
with a selection of tools under-
neath. A top menu bar pro-
vides access to all of the tools
via the menus.
Unlike other 3D editors,
everything you edit is dis-
played dynamically in solid
3D perspective - a sort of
graphical Wysywig (What
You See Is What You Get).
There are no plan views or
side elevations, so placing
objects in line can be quite a
difficult task. On the other
hand, there is a grid system
which allows the shapes to be
positioned with a certain
degree of accuracy.
Creating an object is simply
a case of selecting the create
tool and choosing the type of
object you want to make from
a list. Two and three dimen-
sional objects can be selected,
including cubes, pyramids,
rectangles and triangles. Once
chosen, the object appears in
the view display.
The size, position and
colour of the object always
starts off the same in all cases,
but can be altered afterwards
to suite the user’s design.
NAMING OBJECTS
When a new object is created,
its name (such as CubeOl) is
added to a list of rudimentary
objects used in a scene. Hav-
ing a long list of similar names
(if several cubes have been
created they will be named
CubeOl, Cube2, Cube3, and so
on) can lead to confusion, so
there is an option to change the
attributes of the objects,
including their names. Objects
such as RectO 1 and Rect()2
could be changed to something
more meaningful, such as
Door and Window.
An object can be selected
for editing by either choosing
its name from the object list
(this is where the importance
of meaningful names becomes
apparent) or by pointing to it
in the view window. Two extra
tools make identification of a
selected object clearer.
Exclude isolates the chosen
object and only shows that
object in the view window.
This is useful if the chosen
object is the same colour or
BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992 119
3D DESIGN
close to lots of other objects,
such as a panel on a car. High-
light is used to highlight the
selected object by outlining it
with a flashing box. Either or
both tools can be toggled on or
off during editing.
Once selected, an object can
be moved or stretched in any x
or y direction. Objects can also
be rotated through steps of 90
degrees in either the x, y or z
axes. Some object shapes
allow individual points on an
object to be selected and
moved independently to the
rest - for instance, regular tri-
angles (those with three sides
of equal length) can be
stretched about to make any
type of triangle.
MOVING EXPERIENCE
As mentioned before, every-
thing you create is
immediately displayed in 3D
solid perspective. Using
various controls, you can
move in any direction. Rota-
tion around the x, y and z axes
is also possible allowing the
player to easily change direc-
tion. All objects within your
view are redrawn in real time
as you move around, although
the more objects there are on
screen, the longer the frame
update takes.
A number of different
modes are provided which
allow for various types of
movement. Walk (the default
mode) allows the player to
move around in a horizontal
plane and climb steps of sensi-
ble height. Gravity is fully
supported, so walking off a
high object causes the player
to fall to the ground or next
object down. Two fly options
allow the player to move
freely around a scene, floating
from object to object as
required. Bumping into any
object while moving will stop
the player in his or her tracks.
Cameras can be defined and
set up in a scene, and moved
around with complete disre-
gard for other objects.
Although visible, objects are
physically transparent to cam-
eras and will not halt move-
ment like the other modes.
When a stand-alone game is
created, all that is shown on
screen is the player’s point of
view. Control icons (to pro-
vide movement) can be drawn
in a separate art package, such
as Paint or Arcol, and incor-
porated into the finished item
on a border that surrounds the
view window. Such icons are
linked to the game by loading
the new border into 3DCK and
marking the area that each
icon will use when clicked on.
For example, if you wanted
controls that gave you left and
right movement, you would
firstly draw a border that had a
left and right arrow some-
where on it and then load the
border into 3DCK. Finally,
you mark the area that the left
arrow occupies by drawing a
rectangle around it and linking
this to the move left control in
3DCK. You then do the same
for the right arrow.
All controls supported in
3DCK can be carried over to a
stand-alone game and can be
placed anywhere on a border
screen. The view window
itself can be any size from
quite small up to a full screen.
In the later case, controls can
be accessed by using keys on
the keyboard to simulate all of
the necessary icons.
Being an import from the
PC, 3DCK is blessed with the
ability to utilise a 256-colour
palette, instead of the 16-
colour palette usually found in
other conversions. Each face
of an object can be set to any
one of the 256 colours avail-
able in mode 13 ( 3DCK runs
entirely in this mode) using a
simple colour selection tool.
Changing the colour of a facet
requires the shade to be chosen
from a colour palette and the
facet to be selected. There is
no shading provided by the
plotting routines in 3DCK, so
the sides of any solid object
must be coloured differently to
make them look solid.
COPYING
Commonly used objects can be
replicated easily by using the
copy tool. When an object is
copied, a direction must be
given in which the clone will
appear. The copy tool becomes
more useful when you wish to
copy several objects at once. It
can be useful in many situa-
tions - for instance when you
build a house and want to cre-
ate a street of similar houses.
Objects can be grouped and
treated as a single object and
each group can be moved
around as a whole, although
stretching or re-colouring is no
longer available. Individual
objects within a group can be
edited fully as before.
Strangely enough, groups
cannot be renamed to distin-
guish them from any other
groups in the object list. This
would have been even more
useful than renaming single
A SOUND OPTION
Like good graphics, sound can
greatly enhance the overall
feel of a game. So it's good
news that 3DCK allows sam-
pled sounds to be implemented
and played when selected
objects are activated, shot at
and so on.
Six rather boring sound
effects are built in to the pro-
gram, but there is also provi-
sion to include your own
samples. These can be created
with samplers such as Clares'
Armadeus, or extracted from
Tracker tunes and the like.
There is no option to change
the pitch of a sample so if you
want a rising tone, you would
have to incorporate a number
of samples at different pitches,
which could be played in order.
Up to 25 user samples can be
added so it would be feasible
to play tunes if the different
notes were present.
No use is made of the Archi-
medes' stereo capabilities
which is a shame, as it would
have been great to pan around
an area and the hear the noise
of an object moving around
according to your position.
objects and is a notable omis-
sion. Rather than have one
great expanse, 3DCK allows
you to create a number of
areas which can be linked
together to form your 3D
world. In most cases, you will
probably want to have more
than one room or area in a
world. For example, you may
want a house which is view-
able from outside, but with
separate rooms inside. Areas
are best thought of as different
120 BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992
3D DESIGN
rooms in a building where you
can’t see from one room to
another. Each area can have a
number of entrance and exit
points, so it is possible to have
areas ‘within’ areas, such as a
cupboard in a room in a house.
INTERACTION
One of the key features of
3DCK is its ability to interact
with objects that you have cre-
ated. There are three ways you
can interact with objects: col-
liding, activating and shooting.
This is done via a special pro-
gramming language incorpor-
ated in the editor. If you are
familiar with Basic (the langu-
age supplied with the Archi-
medes), you should have no
problems creating the small
programs that are required to
control objects.
Each object that you intend
to manipulate has its own
associated program, which is
normally quite short - typi-
cally, five to 10 lines. Most
programs are written to test if
a condition is true - have I
bumped into this object, or has
this object been activated, or
perhaps shot? Programs are
linked to objects by selecting
the object name from the
object list and creating a con-
dition for it.
A simple program to test if
the player has walked through
a doorway, or rather bumped
into the object that represents a
doorway, may look something
like this: IF COLLIDED? THEN
goto 0,2) endif which trans-
lates as - has the player
bumped into the doorway
object? If so, then move the
player to a new area and end
the condition. Of course, this
is only a very simple routine
and 3DCK contains other fea-
tures that can be implemented
via the programming language.
Objects can be made visible
or invisible, which is useful
when you want to shoot at
something and make it disap-
pear. Doors can be made to
open by having two different
states for the door to show
open and closed.
MOVE IT
Objects can not only be made
to disappear, but they may also
be moved around an area.
Using loops in an object's con-
trol program allows it to be
animated. For example, a port-
cullis could be made to slide
up or down.
But animation is not just
limited to objects - even the
player can be made to move
around an area on a predefined
course, like riding on a train.
The use of variables in a pro-
gram allow various events to
be recorded, such as particular
items being picked up, or how
many times an object has been
shot. The values held in vari-
ables can be displayed numeri-
cally or graphically on the
final game screen. One typical
use would be to show the score
of a player or the amount of
energy he or she still has.
Once you have created all
the areas you require and filled
them with the necessary
objects, the whole lot can be
merged together to create an
original stand-alone game. The
original 3DCK is not required
in order to run the final game.
In fact, games created ent-
irely by the user are not bound
by copyright and can therefore
be swapped. I'm sure it won't
be very long before we see
games created with 3DCK spr-
inging up all over the place, on
bulletin boards and Public
Domain libraries.
CONCLUSION
Because it uses none of the
window side of Rise OS, but
relies on its own system of
menus, 3DCK can take some
time to get used to. The
manual is written quite clearly,
although it suffers a little (as
does the program itself) from
being a conversion from the
PC/ST/Amiga.
3DCK is not intended as a
technical 3D design tool.
Compared to a product such as
Euclid , it is vastly lacking in a
lot of areas. For example,
there are no separate view
windows for different eleva-
tions and there is no facility to
zoom in and out. Also the fact
that no automatic shading is
implemented makes lighting
effects impossible. Although I
would not class 3DCK as a
serious product in a designing
capacity, it might find its way
into some schools on the
strength of its immediate rep-
resentation of objects when
designing - the last thing
children want to do is wait for
something to happen.
What 3DCK seems ideal for
is creating 3D game environ-
ments. Incentive, the company
which produced 3DCK, has
already come up with a num-
ber of highly acclaimed games
created with the system. Per-
haps now there is an editor, we
might see the likes of Driller ,
Darkside and Castle Master
making their way into the
Archimedes games arena in
the near future.
If you warn to get a taste of
what virtual reality is all about,
then 3D Construction Kit is
both reasonably priced and the
best product currently avail-
able for the BBC A3000/
Archimedes. In the right hands
it can provide hours of fun
and, theoretically at least, may
help to produce some decent
3D games as well.
PRODUCT DETAILS
Product: 3D Construction Kit
Suppliers: Domark Ltd, Ferry
House, 51-57 Lacy Road, Lon-
don SW15 1PR.
Tel: 081-780 2222
Price: £42.55 plus VAT
Machines: BBC A3000/
Archimedes
FREE-
Subscribers can get a taste of
what 3DCK is capable of by
looking at this month's free
subscriber's disc. A game cre-
ated with 3DCK is supplied on
the disc. All of the controls are
quite obvious: clicking on the
left arrow will move you left,
and so on. The left-hand mouse
button will fire at objects in
the view window and the mid-
dle button will pick them up or
activate them if possible. The
two mouse buttons also have
different effects on the move-
ment controls, although these
will be obvious when playing
the game. Have fun!
The subscriber's disc con-
tains many of the programs
featured in each issue. For fur-
ther details of how to sub-
scribe, please turn to page 29.
BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992 121
When danger threatens in the icy deep, when hope seems lost and the end looks nigh, there's
only one fish with the guts to save the day. Now's the time to call James Pond - underwater
agent. He's fearless, he's clever, he's Ozone-friendly. James Pond, the fish with a mission ( twelve
missions, in fact ), will take on anything, from retrieving radioactive canisters and plugging the
leaks in oil tankers to rescuing doomed lobsters, mermaids and rare orchids from extinction.
Now you can fake the part of James Pond in this all-action arcade adventure. With twelve levels
and lots of secret areas to explore, brilliant graphics and game design by Chris Sorrell, this sub-sea
spectacular is not to be missed!
12 momentous missions plus lots of bonus chambers. Choice of weapons or just blow up baddies
with bubble action! So many different enemies and pickups you'll wish you had eight tentacles!
BMEiMl
< ) 'J :“L r
V
M
£ 25.99
INCLUDING VAT
OTHER GREAT m * 0 professor mariarti £i 9.99
GAMES FROM Manchester united 1 £ 25.99
ICBL |C A lie JAHANGIR KHAN SQUASH £ 25.99
l\lll *#UI $ D0XJN6 ONAGER £ 25 .$
HOW TO ORDER
TELEPHONE
0709 372290
ACCESS 0 VISA ACCEPTED
RETAILERS
I CONTACT OUR EXCLUSIVE
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(M
EMHOUm
Tel: 0502 62 HI 1
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IMMEDIATE
SIMPLY SEND A IETTER GIVING
DETAILS OF THE GAME(S) YOU WOULD
UKE, YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS, AND
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CARD DETAIIS INCLUDING THE
EXPIRY DATE
DISPATCH
ALL ORDERS ARE DISPATCHED DY
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CARRIAGE IS PAID DY US IN THE UK.
(ORDERS FROM OVERSEAS ADD S3
PER PRODUCT).
IF FOR ANY REASON DISKS SUPPUED
BY US BECOME FAULTY WE WILL
REPUCE THEM STRAIGHT AWAY.
SIMPLY RETURN THEM TO US
ENCLOSING YOUR NAME AND
ADDRESS.
krisolls software Ltd, Teque House, Masons Yord, Downs Row, Moorgote, Rothertiom, S60 2HD. Tel: 0709 372290 Fox: 0709 366403
GUARANTEED
MUSIC
RICHARD GARRETT discovers how the Notate package
can help put your musical efforts into print
■ f you are one of those butl-
1 ding musicians who likes to
m see the music you make,
then a new music notation
package from Longman Logo-
tron could be just the ticket.
Notate is, according to the
manual, a ‘music composition
application’ - not the most
precise definition I’ve ever
heard, but there you are. Most
current music software falls
into one of two categories:
sequencers, which ‘record’
sequences of notes and then
play them back through syn-
thesizers of some sort; and
music printing software which
allows a composer to write a
complex score from the com-
puter keyboard and then print
out legible parts for whoever is
going to play it.
This new package falls
somewhere in between the two
definitions, in that it is an
eight-track, stave-based, step-
input, monophonic sequencer
with good print facilities.
Phew! But, more importantly,
it is a program that lets you
hear written music.
The manual says (perhaps
rather boldly) that Notate is
suitable for users with no par-
ticular previous musical
knowledge’. 1 found that nota-
tion was a huge obstacle to
learning music and it took me
about 10 years of playing
before I became confident
enough to know what those
funny dots actually sounded
like. So, it was with these mis-
givings that I first fired up the
program disc.
GETTING STARTED
Notate comes on two discs,
one containing the program
and the other holding extra
voices such as drum beats and
saxophones. It will run on any
Archimedes/BBC A3000 with
1Mb or more of memory,
although 2Mb is recom-
adfs: : Hot at e Songs ■ ScarFair *
Notate
Transpose "F6 0
discard it by taking it back to
the palette. The same pro-
cedure applies to inserting and
editing rests (pauses) and acci-
dentals (sharps and flats).
Blocks of notes can be
selected and then moved,
copied, deleted or transposed
by a number of semitones via
the Edit menu.
To repeat a phrase, rather
than copy the whole thing out
again, you can use a variety of
symbols to modify the struc-
ture of the tune. The simplest
of these are left and right rep-
eat marks which, when placed
like brackets around it, cause a
phrase to play twice.
In addition to this, you can
use the following musical con-
ventions: DC {da capo , or
back to the top); DS {dal
segno, or back to the squiggle;
and Fine (which stops the
music at fixed point before the
end of a repeat).
tempo from 30 to 250 beats
per minute. Only one key and
one time signature are allowed
in any single tune.
The program uses up to
eight note durations from a
semi-quaver (sixteenth note) to
a semi-breve (whole note).
When the tie symbol is used,
continuous notes can be
formed of a length equivalent
to any number of semi-
quavers. Triplet notes (twclths
of a bar) are not supported,
which is a shame, particularly
if you happen to like British
and Irish folk music.
Writing music is easy - you
just drag the note value you
want from the palette and,
when you let it go at the
appropriate point on the stave,
the note plays so that you can
check the pitch. If you put a
note in the wrong place, you
simply pick it up again and
drag it to its proper position or
mended. Once Notate is
installed, you can either load a
file from disc, or start a new
tune by selecting the N symbol
from the icon bar. When you
start a new tune, a window
opens to display a five-line
stave and a grey control panel.
It has two groups of buttons,
the first comprises ’tape
recorder’ controls: a metron-
ome and a volume knob which
together control playback of
the music. The second forms a
palette of symbols (notes,
rests, repeat marks, and so on)
which are used during com-
position. Other less frequently
used commands are available
by pressing the menu button.
WRITING MUSIC
In Notate , a piece of music can
be written in any key and any
time signature between 2/4 and
12/4, or between 2/8 and 12/8.
It will play music back in any
BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992 123
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A point to note is that there is
no facility for multiple or
nested repeats - the software
interprets two right-hand rep-
eat marks next to one another
as an endless loop command.
MULTITRACKING
Notate supports up to eight
parts or tracks, each one of
which is dedicated to an
individual Archimedes sound
channel. This means that each
track can play only one note at
a time but it allows the pro-
gram to monitor the space
available in a given bar and
prevent the user from inserting
too many notes.
Alternatively, four of the
tracks can be sacrificed in
exchange for a limited chord
accompaniment. In this mode,
a chord is selected by root note
and type from the second
palette and dragged to the bar
in which it will sound. There
are eight chord types (major,
minor, 6th. 7th, major 7th,
minor 7th, diminished and
augmented) and only one
chord can play at the begin-
ning of each bar across the
whole piece.
Each part, including the
chord accompaniment, can be
assigned to any one of about
70 instrumental voices sup-
plied on disc or to a Midi
instrument. The Voices menu
allows you to introduce a pitch
offset so that a given sound
can be heard higher or lower
than it is written on the stave.
Chords are shown by the
usual letter symbols and
monophonic parts can be dis-
played in treble or bass clef or
as a single line for untuned
percussion. One really neat
feature of Notate is that when
you copy a phrase between
treble and bass parts, it is auto-
matically transposed by two
octaves to compensate.
The program does not use
notation to control the loud-
ness of the instruments relative
to one another (dynamics) but
consigns these functions to
what looks like a neat mixing
desk. Each channel is assigned
a slider which controls its
volume and a rotary ‘pan pot'
which positions the sound in
the Arc’s stereo output.
There is also a numbered
solo button which causes that
track to play by itself. All of
this happens in a window that
can be switched on and off
from the menu.
DISPLAY OPTIONS
The screen layout of this pro-
gram is deceptively simple as
the menus hold quite a number
of useful options. The music
can be shown in large type for
easy editing or small type for
comparing several lines
together. In addition to this,
there is a rather clever horizo-
ntal split screen option which
allows you to edit two separate
areas of the music at once.
The control panel can be set
to one of three levels of dif-
ficulty, according to the user’s
needs. Lower levels offer less
note values to play with, and
leave out some of the more
advanced features, such as rep-
eat marks, accidentals and ties.
PRINTING
Notate does all its printing via
Rise OS drivers and has three
print sizes in both portrait and
landscape. There are a number
of options that add the title of
the piece, page, track and bar
numbers to hard copy, as well
as a very readable preview
screen. I did a number of high
resolution test prints on my
aged Epson FX-80 and the
quality was excellent.
File handling in Notate is
simplicity itself as it will load
and save tunes either in its
own format or as type one
Midi files. There is also a
function to save music in
Maestro format for export to
multimedia programs such as
Genesis or Magpie.
Notate is fully compatible
with Acorn Midi standards for
output but has no features for
music keyboard input. I
haven’t mentioned Midi much
in this review because it is
icing on the cake with this
package. It works very well
with Midi but can be used just
as easily connected to head-
phones or a domestic hi-fi.
CONCLUSION
1 like this package a lot. It
combines a simple, uncluttered
display with good sound sam-
ples and print facilities to
produce something that is very
‘clean’ and comfortable to use.
The authors have paid such
rigorous attention to both
Acorn and musical conven-
tions that operating instruc-
tions are almost irrelevant and,
as if that wasn’t enough, they
have supported it with one of
the best written manuals I’ve
seen for some time.
'Pile program is so easy to
use that relating notes on the
page to the sound you hear
becomes automatic. The docu-
mentation says that Notate is
for use in schools at National
Curriculum Key Stages two-
four upwards. I would recom-
mend it to anyone, at home or
in school, who wishes to
develop their understanding of
written music or to experiment
with sequencing from the per-
spective of notation. It saves a
lot of initial expenditure on
Midi gear.
My only complaint about
this package is that it doesn’t
quite do everything I want. Of
course, music is as compli-
cated as you want to make it
and the software needs of
composers expand to fill the
space available, but there are
three extra features I could
really use - triplets, multiple
time signatures for short bars
and polyrythyms - and some
method of writing dynamic
changes into the song file
(automated mixing perhaps).
That much said. Notate is a
well-designed, powerful appli-
cation and with a few more
features it could be amazing.
Apart from being suitable for
those who have no ‘particular
previous musical knowledge’,
it is also fun. To use dots, one
must hear notes and Notate
allows you to hear those notes
as you write.
I wish it had been around
when I was twelve and starting
to get into music - it would
have made life at lot easier!
PRODUCT DETAILS
Product: Notate
Supplier: Longman Logotron,
124 Cambridge Science Park,
Milton Road, Cambridge,
CB4 4ZS
Tel: (0223) 425558
Price: £59 plus VAT
Machines: Archimedes, BBC
A3000 with 1Mb (2Mb
recommended)
1 0 j £3 1 adf s: : Notate Songs . SkgeBoat
& MJHHH
D.C. fine
D.S. H
;|[7 W’JUJU«s0| Kj $ 1 $ $
— mini min?j dim! aug! j C^fDlyE | FUfjfilfflfllffiR | T
1 11 II ?
G Em flm D* *
j -j-i— =* — £4 <4 — i
:8 8.235
Preview
Skye Boat Song
M
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THE FINISHED PRODUCT ON DISPLAY
124 BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1 992
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Staff
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Computer Concepts are expanding and require staff to help in
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126 BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1 992
GAME SHOW
he past lew years have seen
an increase in the use of
virtual reality, as engineers
not only realise its potential,
but also discover that it is
possible to produce on just a
couple of microcomputers.
More often than not Acorn's
Rise OS machines play centre-
stage in such considerations.
For those not familiar with
virtual reality the buzz word is
interaction. Whereas in a nor-
mal computer game you only
react to things happening on
the screen in front of you, a
virtual reality game attempts to
put you inside the world of the
computer, to make you feel
closer to the game action. The
best known results are
achieved when the player
wears a data suit, which
records the movement of limbs
and sends signals back to the
computer. Meanwhile two tiny
colour monitors, contained in
the player's helmet, create a
game world in 3D that can be
seen and touched. When a
player moves it feels as though
he or she is actually moving
around the game scenario.
Acorn machines have been
used for experimenting in this
area and the Guildford-based
company, Simis, helped to
produce a virtual reality ver-
sion of Interdictory shown a
while back on Tomorrow's
World. As yet, nothing is
really available to the general
public, but at least one project
is underway. By the end of this
year we might be lucky
enough to see the fruits of Ray
Maidstone's hard work.
Regular readers may
remember that in the BAU
November 91 Games Supple-
ment we reported that Ray's
company was busy at work on
the mega game. Tale of
Anubus. Well. Anubus wasn't
ready in time for Christmas
because the authors did not
want to compromise on qual-
ity, but they say that it should
be finished for Easter.
Once that’s out of the way
Ray has four projects (all con-
nected with virtual reality) to
be getting on with. These
range from a £4000 profes-
sional kit (which will appeal to
slot-machine arcades some-
what more than to your aver-
age family) to a pair of 3D
glasses selling for about £10
each. Naturally, an Acorn Rise
OS machine will be at the
heart of each system.
The professional system will
probably consist of a six foot
square arena and a player's
helmet, which will be totally
self-contained to give the user
complete freedom. A sit-down
version may also be available,
for as little as £100. in which
players perform a walking
motion with their feet as they
sit on a chair. However, the
helmet itself will still cost
around £200. This is where the
3D glasses may save the day
for anyone on a tight budget -
as long as you've got two
monitors. To create a 3D scene
the glasses will simply
combine refracted images
from two slightly different
monitor images, therefore
shedding a whole new light on
games such as Gauntlet.
The systems also have pot-
ential in areas such as buying
new furniture. By recreating
your living room on-screen
you can insert sofas and chairs
before wandering around to
see how it all looks!
As if this isn't enough, Ray
Maidstone also has plans for
four sequels to Tale of Anubus.
including a space version and
a horror game involving vik-
ings. The latter was originally
intended to be made into a film
- but Ray thought he could do
it better on the Arc. We shall
see. We might also sec the
release of yet another driving
game, one that is very realistic
this lime. Apparently Saloon
Cars and Chequered Flag
aren't quite realistic enough
for Ray...
In James Pond , the under-
water adventures of a secret
agent with fins, reviewed in
BAU February 92. your aim is
to save the world from
ecological disasters - a task
easier to achieve if you cheat!
I won't spoil the game, but if
you press TAB and then type in
the name of a famous guitarist
from Sweden, you'll be able to
use the number keys on both
the keypad and the main part
of the keyboard to skip levels
and so on. Happy guessing!
It should not be long now
before The Fourth Dimension
releases Spitfire Fury . another
vintage aircraft game by the
author of Chocks Away. So
BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992 127
apart from upgrading the Tiger
Moth to a Spitfire, what’s the
big deal? Well, from early
screenshots it does look a lot
like Chocks Away and I would
imagine that the plane handles
in exactly the same way with
roughly the same capabilities,
making the two very similar.
The difference is more in
the way that the missions are
structured. For one thing there
is a much greater emphasis on
team work as opposed to the
‘us against the whole world'
philosophy of Chocks Away.
In Spitfire there can be two
teams of about 10 planes each,
the other eight or nine on your
team being controlled for you
by the computer. Given that
Spitfire supports two players
in the same way as Chocks
Away , you can both play on
the same side or captain
opposing teams.
The missions are structured
as six, increasingly large bat-
tles and it will be possible to
save the game at any point
during the mission. A few
extra features have been added
such as torpedo attacks and
bombing raids but apart from
that it looks as though many of
the original Chocks Away
enemies will be rearing their
heads once more. Watch out
for a review soon to decide
whether Spitfire is worth buy-
ing to add to Chocks Away.
On the subject of Chocks
Away , readers who have strug-
gled and can get no further
with the game may be inter-
ested to know how to access
the in-built cheat modes, cour-
tesy of Mark Botterill from
The Fourth Dimension. If
you’re playing the original
game, fly any mission, press
pause, then hold down the
letters andre and w while
pressing the space bar. This
cheat basically allows you to
fly very fast and to be reincar-
nated should you die. The
same effect can be achieved in
the Chocks Away Extra Mis-
sions game by flying around
on practice map C and doing
the same thing, this time using
the letters r I m and E instead.
The cheat can be quite fun
but odd things tend to happen
once you fly at mach 2 - for
one thing there aren’t any
brakes! Also, the bullets can't
keep up and you end up firing
out of your back.
Stranger things have also
been known to happen. For
some reason, while flying at
some large mach number and
fast forwarding at the same
time, the computer got a bit
confused and before 1 knew it,
1 was flying sort of diagonally
sideways, making it very dif-
ficult to steer. Do try the
cheats by all means, but don't
rely on them.
A new games label has
appeared in the Acorn games
world called Atomic Software,
and its first game is Bobby
Blockhead vs The Dark Planet
- perhaps, someone was
unable to design a normal
looking head? The company
plans to release another game
(a sideways-scrolling shoot-
em-up called Aggressor ), and
then see how they both sell
before dedicating any more
funds to development.
Aggressor is set in the
future and can be played by
one or two players simultane-
ously. The Earth has been
overrun by aliens and much of
the human race wiped out,
save a small handful that esca-
ped in space ships. Your task
is to invade your own planet
and rid it of the unwelcome
intruders. As is customary in
such games there are bonuses
to pick up which will enhance
your fire power or abilities in
some way.
Finally, fans of the highly
addictive game Cataclysm.
from The Fourth Dimension,
can look forward to some extra
levels. That solves one of the
main problems with the orig-
inal game, there being only 40
levels which don't last more
than a week as the game is so
addictive. By Easier time
another 40 levels will be on
sale to keep Cataclysers going
another seven days!
Sam Greenhill
If you aren’t already feeling
waterlogged from our liquid
programme on page 71 then
have a go on our playable
Cataclysm demo, free on the
monthly subscribers’ disc.
|QL?.L
IConSaver
IReadHe 1 ReConf 19
J C! adfs: :15_26_Tue. S. •Readme
[Fourth Mansion fircfiinedes loadirq Assistance
HDue to the extrene conplexity and sheer size of nosh
js you nay occasionally experience sone difficulty q
your nachme.
Ithis kind of conpatibility problen tan usually be pi
jjanqe of Rrchmedes conputers (RMM. 318. 4iili. 48#'
all of uhich are available uith different anounts
types of hard disc interface, RRI12 or f)RH3, plus
party peripherals such as diyitizers, sound sanplei
been fitted. Because oi this very uide ranye of p
daily and economcally inpossible to test a piece of
It ion of equipnent.
lln order to overcone this problen ue have produced
1 — . — •• >■ n — -‘ttk
KEEP YOUR STATUS WITH CONFIGURE
CONFIGURE
The Fourth Dimension
Tel: (0742) 700661
Rise OS machines
Free of charge
Configure is an application,
produced for users who find
loading software a problem
when there's not quite enough
memory available - a common
occurrence in 1Mb machines.
Provided free of charge, it was
developed by The Fourth
Dimension because its games
tend to be fairly memory hun-
gry. However, the company
have admitted that it will work
with any software giving you
memory problems.
The disc contains two appli-
cations, and a ReadMe file
explaining how to use the soft-
ware. If your game is failing to
load properly or cannot claim
enough workspace from Rise
OS, the application called
ReConfig is the one to run. It
will optimise the settings of
certain parameters (stored in
the computer’s CMos Ram) to
the best conditions for running
a game. However, because
CMos Ram is powered by bat-
tery, the changes will be held
in the computer even when it
is switched off.
You will have set up your
machine to your own personal
preferences using the
♦CONFIGURE command, and
probably don’t want them
messed up, which is why Con-
Saver is supplied. This will
save your machine’s CMos
Ram status to disc.
Be sure to use ConSaver
first! It installs itself on the
icon bar, and from the menu
you can either save the
machine's current configura-
tion - which you should do
before running ReConfig - or
restore a previously saved con-
figuration, which you will pro-
bably want to do after playing
a game. Of course, if you are
experiencing problems running
software, there are always a
few things you can do before
you even need to touch these
utilities. The most obvious
thing is to try adjusting the
memory allocated to different
areas of the computer’s
memory, using the Task dis-
play window (accessed via the
far right icon on the icon bar).
Anything changed there will
not affect the battery-powered
CMos settings, so you can fid-
dle about as much as you like.
If you get in a mess you can
always reset the machine to
the settings it had when it left
the factory by turning it off,
holding down the R key and
then switching the computer
on again, releasing R only
when you see the desktop.
If you would like a copy
send an SAE to The Fourth
Dimension, 1 Percy Street,
Sheffield S3 8AU and ask
them nicely to post you one.
Sam Greenhill
128 BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992
Q-MASTER
The Fourth Dimension
Tel: (0742) 700661
BBC 5.25in £12.72, Master
Compact £13.57 plus vat
The Fourth Dimension, better
known these days for its Arc
software, has released a Pool
game for the BBC.
Two people can play and the
computer will stand in for one
or both competitors. The table
is viewed from above with the
status section at the top and, in
practise mode, at the bottom as
well. It only uses four colours
(one less than the minimum
required) so both the cue ball
and the number eight are
black. Fortunately the latter is
marked with a number eight.
To hit a ball you move a
crosshair around the screen
until it is vaguely over where
you want the cue ball to go.
Pressing return, or another
user selected key, advances the
player to a fine tuning session,
letting you alter where the cue
hits the cue ball, the angle of
the cue to the table and the
power of the shot.
Power is measured by an
ungraduated bar. However, the
keys move the bar at a furious
rate and the fine adjust control
showed little evidence of
working. This seems to be the
only skill in the game. A key
press plays your shot and there
is an action replay option.
Graphics are basic to say the
least: the crosshairs are small
and hard to place accurately,
and the Bceb's nasty shade of
green is used to sickening
excess, although it does seem
to be toned down on the pack-
aging. The sound is similarly
unexciting - a bit of white
noise and the occasional beep,
although arguably that is all
that’s required.
Although the score tables
have to be loaded manually
(because none are supplied) it
is quite fun to play, the
strongest point being the com-
puter player. There are eight
levels of difficulty and a
novice can equal the computer
at level one. However it pots
balls with remarkable fre-
quency at higher skill levels. Is
Q-Master cheating by peeking
at it’s own internal co-
ordinates? Call me a cynic, but
it certainly seems that way!
Overall, it gives an impression
of having been written over-
night in Basic. I know that the
Beeb games market is a bit
quiet at the moment but I am
amazed that The Fourth
Dimension could do no better
than this.
James Weeks
THE MAGNETIC
SCROLLS
COLLECTION
Virgin Tel: 081-960 2255
Rise OS machines
£30.43 plus VAT
Almost a year ago Virgin
released Magnetic Scroll’s
Wonderland to an eagerly
awaiting public. Somewhat
pioneers amongst the adven-
turing fraternity. Magnetic
Scrolls had developed a win-
dow environment for the game
called Magnetic Windows.
Text appears in the Adventure
window in the normal way, but
with a flick of the mouse you
can summon up an inventory,
compass, graphics and even a
map-making window. Objects
can be dragged between win-
dows; to examine one double-
click on it. And if this isn’t
enough, many of the graphics
are animated and some ver-
sions, though sadly not the
Archimedes, have music.
Unfortunately the Archime-
des' own desktop wasn’t used.
Instead, a grey dithered affair
with rounded buttons was
used, somewhat reminiscent of
a waterproof overcoat. This is
a shame, but then we Arc users
were lucky to get an adventure
of this quality at all. And if
you have a multisync monitor,
then the environment makes
use of it, giving better aspect
ratios on the windows and, of
course, giving you more
screen to work with.
Virgin promised that Mag-
netic Scrolls' back catalogue
would be converted to the
Magnetic Windows environ-
ment, and sure enough Collec-
tion One is now available for
the give-away price of £25. It
contains Fish!, Corruption
(both runners-up in the Best
Game 1990) and The Guild of
Thieves. A somewhat odd
choice in my opinion; as there
have been three Kerovnian
adventures - Pawn , Thieves &
Jinxter - why not bundle these
and put Fish ! and Corruption
in a second collection.
I seem to have covered these
games many times in the past,
so I'll just give my two word
description of each: Fish! -
great fun; Corruption - very
tricky; Guild - standard adven-
ture. All have excellent puz-
zles and well thought out
scenarios. New comers should
start with Fish!, move on to
Guild , set in very odd places,
and finally Corruption.
Obviously they are the same
as their predecessors although
it is nice to see that some of
the graphics have been ani-
mated, though nothing quite as
grand as the Duchess’ house
and kitchen in Wonderland -
just a bubble here, a flicker of
flame there and the odd deck-
chair or two. Fish! and Guild
have their tongues firmly in
their cheeks. For example
there's an empty stable in
Guild', if you type shut door,
it replies ‘It's a bit late for that,
surely'. Not a game for the
serious minded. The full help
system provided is a little too
easy to access - it's very
tempting to take a quick peek.
I'd like an option not to copy it
when you install the game.
To sum up, an excellent col-
lection of very good adven-
tures. Even if you already have
some, it's worth the money to
get the window versions.
David Lawrence
Tilr T*
Vnrla
l"o
You are waring a striped sweats!
SCORE !;
Your score »s 495 from an iropo
EXAMINE ANTICUIU.
Thr anhrubc n not
•JUMP TO ItOAT
, ‘cur leap dears thr \Pstcr between thr Jett]
the hont isn’t long as your momentum r.vnr
Leaning over the side of thr boa?, thr master thirl r
and pulls you out of danger
The thief inspect > thr items you haw ’cbUiined' and
got everything. This is a most imprrs<.ivi prrfonnam
Guildrr.astrr himself May 1 br thr. first to t onpratulai
welcome you to the ranks of the Guild of Thieves *
In the Boat
boa?, however your stay in
into thr nver beyond
t ate hr s you by the arm
\Vv * E&xUct# yc
. worthy of thr
you and officially
Do you want to quit or restart (tyrjV.
^Trr
a By mi
tip
LM,pM
] I thief 1 fUstt 1 Ij rtt^j
CUbe) [chirp pot]
1
Ichtm of runcral 1
PH
~q (
MAGNETIC WINDOWS - WORTH THE UPGRADE
BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992 129
KARMA: THE FLIGHT
TRAINER
Periscope Software
Tel: (0462) 893107
Rise OS machines
£24.95
Well, Karma is here at last, but
was it worth the wait?
Actually, it's not over yet as
Periscope is releasing it in
three parts. Part one, The
Flight Trainer , is simply a
front end that lets you fly
around the galaxy and explore.
It’s a big game, and The
Flight Trainer is only a small
part, coming on two discs. The
manual describes your aims,
and the laws of physics that
shape and effect the universe
you will travel in. To load the
trainer double-click on the
Karma icon; it is fully Rise
OS-compatible. Part one runs
on a 1Mb machine, but the rest
will need at least 2Mb of Ram.
You begin in the mother
ship, designed for long range,
interstellar travel. The control
panel and view windows are
disappointing to say the least.
One shouldn't judge a book by
its cover, but in Karma's case
a little more care over presen-
tation would have made it
more interesting.
Sound is minimal, but this is
in fact more realistic than
other space games - space is a
vacuum, and nothing can be
heard in such an environment.
In part one you have to com-
plete the missions set by the
Galactic Council, such as
locating your Hopper craft,
and finding the Council's
Training Post. Simple on-
board com ms let you talk to
passing satellites, some of
which will pass on vital infor-
mation. Flying is as realistic as
you can get considering the
limitations of a mouse and
keyboard, although voltmace
joysticks arc supported.
An autopilot option makes
Hying around easy. Just select
the object you want to fly to,
drop it onto the autopilot win-
dow and your ship will head in
the right direction. However,
large distances take a long
time, often requiring a few
shorter journeys to aid naviga-
tion. A separate navigation
display shows the state of your
ship's engines, your speed and
the distance to the target.
Depending on your distance
from a selected object, in-built
sensors will provide brief or
detailed information. If you
select a sun on the other side
of the galaxy, only its size and
approximate distance are dis-
played. If you are within a
sun's system far more detailed
data can be obtained.
Within a sun's system, any
planets in the vicinity will be
displayed with full details for
each. Considering the size of
the galaxy, there are an awful
lot of stars and planets to visit
- certainly enough to keep you
busy until part two is released.
You will occasionally come
across other ships and it's here
that the promised 3D graphics
come into play. All ships are
displayed using ‘point of light
shading', that is the different
surfaces get lighter or darker,
depending on their relative
position to a light source (typi-
cally a sun). The effect is
pretty good, although if you
are looking at a ship with the
light source in the distance, it
may appear as a grey blob.
After playing (sorry, using)
The Flight Trainer for a few
hours, it soon became obvious
that Karma is not so much a
game as a complete universe
simulator. Getting used to fly-
ing your ship takes lime so
buying The Flight Trainer can
be regarded as an investment
for the future releases.
It's hard to judge only part
of a program, but the remain-
ing two parts will have to be
more involved if Karma is to
succeed in the long run.
W Rob Miller
> a
Li# uf I i
Q
} p (Qnuf g | <0 1 1
bteiMi
■
REPTON-LIKE FUN WITH BOBBY BLOCKHEAD
BOBBY BLOCKHEAD
Atomic Software
Tel: (0733) 53355
Rise OS machines
£19.95 plus VAT
Similar in idea to the old Rep-
ton saga, you have to journey
around a series of caverns, to
save the universe using,
according to the manual, only
your ‘skill, luck and fresh-
breath confidence'. What gives
it an edge is that there are with
25 fiendishly designed large
caverns full of wasps, telepor-
ters, keys and doors. Once you
have completed a level you
receive the passport so you can
carry on where you left off.
The graphics are of the re-
usable block type - the same
chunks slot together in many
variations. Because they scroll
around you in all directions, it
gives a smooth appearance.
However, they don't have a
professional quality which is a
pity - there are relatively few
of them and they only had to
be drawn once. The designs
include earth, rock, woodland,
castles, and water. There are
also clever blocks, such as
those you can only cross one
way, or which push you along
in a certain direction.
Added to this are the keys,
doors and other objects which,
when combined to form logi-
cal puzzles and traps, make it
difficult to finish the levels.
There are five variations of
keys and transporters (acti-
vated by jumping on red
buttons) will send you to inac-
cessible or cunningly hidden
bits of terrain. In each cavern
you will find a map (this gets
harder as you progress) which
you can look at by logging on
to a computer terminal. It will
also tell you how much time
you have left. It's the com-
plexity of the puzzles built-up
from simple components
which has always made games
like this fun, and Bobby Block-
head is no exception - being
on a par with Repton at its
most addictive.
Mat Tizard
130 BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992
TMJ Computer Software
15 Harborough Rd.,Desborough,N'hants.NN14
2QX
Telephone & Fax 0536 762713
FACT SYSTEMS
LTD!
What You See Is What You Pay
Arc DFS 26.99 Mig 29 Fulcrum 30.99
ArcTorm 7 69.95 Mig 29 Super Fulcrum 31.99
ARCliculalo 19.99 Nevryon 1699
Bug Hunter In Space 15.99 PC Emulator 113 99
Bug Hunter 15.99 Pacmania (Domark) 16 99
Blaston 16.99 Poworband 19 99
Break 147 & Superpool 19.99 Poizono 16 99
Bubblo Fair 16 99 Pandoras Bo* 19.99
Blitz 19 99 Repton 3 16 99
Bambuzle 16 99 Speech 16 99
Chocks Away 19 99 Spitfire Fury ??.??
Chocks Away Extra 16 99 Superior Golf 16.99
CHocks Compendium 36 00 Schema 113.99
Chess 3D 16.99 Saloon Cars 19.99
Chequered Flag 21.50 The Real McCoy 25.99
Compresion 50.50 The Roal McCoy 2 25.99
Cartoon Lino 21.50 Trivial Pursuil 25.95
Cataclysm 19.99 Top Banana 21.99
Chuck Rock 21.50 Tower of Babol 21.50
ELITE 37.99 World Champ.Boxmg 20.50
Enter tho Realm 19.99 Wondorland 29.99
E -Typo Compendium 19.99 World Champ. Squash 21.50
FlnoRacor 16 99 Zelanites 19.99
Flight Sim. Tool Kit 38.99 X-Fire 19 99
Grievous Bodily ARM 19.99 *** Music Packages ***
Holod Out Compendium 19 99 Rhapsody 2 54.99
Home Accounts 39.99 Armadeus 69.95
Hostages 16.99 * M * Art Packages ""
Interdidor 2 29.95 Atelier 09.99
James Pond 21.99 Render Bender 2 113 99
Lemmings 21.50 Illusionist 89.99
Loopz 21.99 Tracer 55.00
Mad Professor Maharti 16.99 Clip Aril 30.00
ManU Football 20.99 Euclid RISC-OS 59 00
Man U in Europe 21.99 ARCtist 19.99
Microdnve Extra Courses 12.99 ***• DTP ****
Microdnvo World Edition 25.50 Impression II 160.95
Master Broak 16 99 Impression Junior 87.95
We have moved please note the new address above and
telephone number. We regret any inconvenience caused.
MOVING SPECIAL OFFERS
l.oads of things available please ring or write.
To many offers to Fit in this space.
Such as :
Cumana I Meg Upgrade 50.00
26.99
Mig 29 Fulcrum
30 99
Desktop Office
109.95
69.95
Mig 29 Super Fulcrum
31.99
Protext V.5
134 95
19.99
Nevryon
16 99
Educational ***
15.99
PC Emulator
113 99
Fun School 2-6
1599
15.99
Pacmania (Domark)
16 99
Fun School 2:6-8
15 99
16 99
Powerband
19 99
Fun School 2 8*
15 99
19 99
Poizone
1699
Fun School 3-5
21 50
1699
Pandoras Box
19.99
Fun School 3 5-7
21 50
19 99
Replon 3
1699
Fun School 3 7*
21 50
16 99
Speech
1699
Lets Spell At Home
20 99
1999
Spitfire Fury
??.??
Lets Spell at the Shops
20 99
1699
Superior Golf
16.99
Lets Spell out and About
20 99
36 00
Schema
113.99
Things to do w Numbers
21 99
16.99
Saloon Cars
19 99
Things to do With Words
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21.50
The Real McCoy
25.99
**** Hardware ••••
50.50
The Roal McCoy 2
25.99
Armadeus Sampler 141.95
21.50
Tnvtal Pursuit
25.95
Delta Cat
31 99
19.99
Top Banana
21.99
Arc/A3000 Gamos Ctrl
35 99
21.50
Tower of Babol
21.50
MouseAJoys. Split
17.95
37.99
World Champ.Boxmg
20.50
Micro Mouse
32.00
19.99
Wondorland
29.99
VI Dl Archimedes
165.00
19.99
World Champ. Squash
21.50
**** Oddi and Enda *
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16.99
Zelaniles
19.99
3.5 inch Disc boxes: 80
7.00
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X-Firo
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100
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*•* Music Packages ‘
Printer Rlbbone
1999
Rhapsody 2
54.99
KXP1080.1081.A1 180 4.50
39.99
Armadeus
69.95
STAR LC10 & NXIOOO 3 00
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'*" Art Packages **
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Citizen 120D4.50
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Atelier
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Citizen Swift 24
4 50
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Render Bendor 2
113 99
Epson LQ400/S00/S5Q/8S0 4 50
21.50
Illusionist
89.99
Dust Covers:
21 99
Tracer
55.00
A3000(Koyboard only)
699
16.99
Clip Art 1
30 00
A 3000 4 Monitor
999
20.99
Euclid RISC-OS
5900
Arch. 2pc
999
21.99
ARCtist 19.99
Mouse mats
3.00
12.99
.... 0Tp ....
3.5 inch Hoad Cleaners
3.50
25.50
Impression II
160.95
1699
Impression Junior
87.95
Discs!
3.5 inch 13 for £5.50
5.25 inch 25 for £8.50
Cumana 4 Meg Upgrade
for A3000
Cl 59.00 (
i'll
J AII prices include VAT and P&P
Access and Visa Accepted
n Open Mon-Fri 9.30am - 12.00
ill 1.30pm-
q 5.30pm
UNIT 19. FOCUS 303 BUSINESS CENTRE. SOUTH WAY.
WALWORTH IND. EST.. ANDOVER. HANTS. SP10 5NY.
Acorn®
AUTHORISED DEALER"*
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EDUCATIONAL CLIENTS WELCOME
TEACHERS /STUDENTS SCHEME OPERATED
ANDOVER (0264) 334811 S
RISC OS Euclid is the best
multi-tasking 3D graphics and
animation system for the
Archimedes. It is effectively a
3D version of Draw.
Mogul makes full use of
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animations of 3D objects with
articulated motion and
simultaneous camera motion.
ArcLight is a multi-tasking
ray -tracer which will generate
a realistic Euclid picture, or a
complete Mogul film, while
you are free to get on with
other work.
Tween produces films from
Draw files. It uses techniques
similar to Mogul and generates
a film by calculating
intermediate frames from a set
of key positions.
Splice allows you to edit films
produced by Mogul or
Tween. You can even produce
hand-drawn cartoons by
conveiting sprites from any A
Such is the enthusiasm for Euclid
there is a user group called
Elements , now in its second year,
which provides a quarterly disk
containing hints, tips, animations^
and user pictures. Ask
ArcLight £50 A
Euclid £70
Mogul £20
Splice £30 J&r
Tween Jg
Ace Computing
27 Victoria Road,
Cambridge,
CB4 3BW.
Tek (0223) 322559
Fax: (0223) 69180
SOFTWARE SHOWCASE
EDUCATION
EDUCATION
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?NEW to Archimedes?
You need our LOW PRICED 48 page booklets
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The LIST Project
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Tel: 0509 222661 FAX: 0509 610813
The Technology Database
As reviewed in BBC Acorn Use' March 1961
A database package of *he National Curriculum Orders for
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RtCKlfl EDUCATIONAL MEDIA
FREEPOST . lit on . nrrsns*er . Somerset TA19 9HS
leiophone 0460 57152 . Fa« 0460 531 76
Please ifofe the ogos ot your chKfon ond mole otyoif computers
BROKEN MOUSE?
PREFER TO USE THE KEYBOARD?
Aid-Set Software makes
~ mouse functions available
from the keyboard including
latching, dragging, selecting
rom menus and adjusting the mouse speed.
Only one key press to access all window icons.
A MUST for all users who are
inaccurate using the mouse.
Keys easily assigned to suit the user.
Archimedes A3000 and AS 000 Compatible.
Send cheque for £30.55 inc VAT & P&P to:
Le Computer FREEPOST PO Box 29
Chelmsford Essex CM3 1BR
7t 0245 362225
^ Sxk. • R«pur. * SpMi] ♦ TucbCTi Scheme *
Home and School Events
‘f. ty.rO For the
Archimedes
K V | J end A 3 000
An exciting new
collection of National Curriculum
Maths and English games for 5-9 year olds
Send now for a HS SOFTWARE, FREEPOST,
FREE COLOUR SWANSEA SA2 fZZ.
CATALOGUE: TIL : (0792) 204519
TED KIRK
THEORY OF MUSIC Questions and Exercises
LEVEL 1 THEORY OF MUSIC - tutorial
each: Arc £16 Compact £16 Master £15
BBC B (80-track) £13.50, (40-track) £14.50
PLAY WHAT I PLAY - a music game
Arc £13.50 Compact £13.50 Mast er/B £12.50
5000 NOTES (AMPLE music) Master/B £3.95
Ted Kirk (BAU) 33 Humber Crescent, ST. HELENS,
Merseyside WA9 4HD (0744 818761)
Northern Micromedia
Quality educational software and resources
developed by teachers for the classroom
NORICC • Ri lour cts Centre • Coach Lane Campus
Coach Lane • Newcastle upon Tyne NE7 7XA
Telephone. 091 2700424
STATISTICS
STATISTICS
The ESTABLISHED system
for the Acorn Archimedes is
FIRST
Write or telephone for details to
SERIOUS STATISTICAL SOFTWARE
Lynwood, Benty Heath Lane, Willaston
South Wirral L64 ISO
Tel: 051-327 4268
NEW lower cost
FIRST JR
now available
LANGUAGES
KEYLINK PROLOG V2.0
For the Archimedes
* Uses standard Edinburgh syntax.
* Comes with 120 page tutorial/manual developed
especially for the first time Prolog user.
* Fully integrated into the RISCOS WIMP environment.
* Suitable for use with large Prolog programs such as the
Open University’s public domain MIKE system foH
Knowledge Engineering and Expert System development
making it ideal for these components of A’ level syllabuses.
£69.95 + VAT (postage included).
Keylink Computers Ltd, 2 Woodway House, Common
Lane, Kenilworth CVS 2ES. Tel/Fax: 0926 50909
1
FONTS
Pubtic 'Domain Cibrary and wid
be supptytng 'PD to even more
customers 1 .
ARCHIMEDES PUBLIC DOMAIN
LOWCOST = THE BEST NAME IN PD
TO ADVERTISE IN
SOFTWARE
SHOWCASE
CALL
AREEF VOHRA
071 490 1444
( Demo Disc 9 Crammed
with over 1600k of new
PD software.
Order the Offer Pack below , for fust
£ 6 , or send a £t coin for Demo 9.
F98 Bobby Blockhead Demo
F99 Arc Angels Mega Demo
J3 1 Archivist Demonstration Version
G93 8 Bit Stereo Sound Tracks
+++ Arcaynia Demo Package 9 +++
POB
P0 Box 1927: Sutton Coldfield : B74 3QZ
3QZ I
2 )emo C l)kc 9
W/7/i 16 Wage 'Catalogue
Only One Public
Domain Library
Gives You ;
Over 500 Discs
Rise BudgetWare
A PD Club Newsletter,
Visa & Access
& Telephone Support.
oWM
Th« Skyfall Printed Ccriologue &
Winter Demo Disc are avallobte
by Sending a fit Coin to;
SkyFall, PO Box 2220,
Birmingham. B43 5RZ.
SOFTWARE SHOWCASEn
1 Professional quality
SIGNWRITER L lettering that keeps it's
for the BBC & Archimedes ■ s 7' 0 ! h "“" ini ' at “>7“
H for 1/2 to max printer
*“■ width
quality Banners, Posters,
Letterheads, Adverts, Signs, Tickets & Notices in minutes.
BBC Disk £29.95 -
Archimedes £39.95
Black & Coloured Ribbons for many printers. Please ring for
availability and prices.
(All prices include VAT and Delivery)
WIGHT SCIENTIFIC
M KQAH STREET* GREENWICH, Access and Vi 83
LONDON 8E1 0 9JT accepted
Talphone 081-868 2699 Fax O0MJ53 JW16
SEND for LOWCOST PD‘» latest
catalogue/demo disc. It contains full details of all
our exciting £1 discs. YES, JUST £1 a disc!
Nothing but the BEST at LOWCOST PD!
Please send a £1 coin or £1 cheque made payable to
J. Michalski lor our catalogue/demo disc to:
LOWCOST PD (LC PD), 6 FURZELAND HOUSE,
CUCCDUnilCi: WAV UrWHAinCN Cimpcv VJ'X qpu
ss eMotfOuvitt c/fvt, ( Wotted on, cdVotthujbam <zN^S t
7 be Data tyream is pleased to
have taken over the Jelstcr
Why not order the brand new
Catalogue disc IV and tjienew
54 page catalogue II with over
Jllfapf great PD. Send a
cheque: made payable to ‘The
Data Stream" or a £1 .00 coin for
' yours!
□ 10 for E5 or 25 for 212.
Prices quoted include VAT & Del. UK.
Delivery Europe £2.50. Rest of the world £4.50
PO/Cheques to:- BUSY BEE COMPUTERS LTD.
PO Box 25, Ormskirk, Lancs L39 3QR.
Tel: 0695 573825
BUSY BEE
5 PD DISCS £4.50.
DEMO No. 2, PD & SOFTWARE
CATALOGUE £1
Special offers on Archimedes software
including Educational now available.
Fun School 3 £21.50, Freddy Teddy 3-7 £20, Spell
Week/Week 6-14 £21.95, Imagine £36.95. Tiny
Logo/Tiny Draw £31.75, Magpie £45.80.
Air Supremacy £20.50, All In Boxing £12.95,
Lemmings £22.99, Manchester United £22.99.
Articulate £20.50, Chuck Rock only £22.99, Elite
£37.50, The Real McCoy 1 & 2 £24.50 each.
The PD Library
Over 400 cram-packed discs of the best
Archimedes Public Domain Software.
Unlike other libraries you can pick 'n mix the programs
you want. Just £1.10 per disc for our own compiled
discs or £ 1 .50 for the pick 'n mix service.
Wkat Ike. press say:
The best organised catalogue of any of the PD suppliers
I've seen. Arch Angel has a full list of software which is
worth exploring in detail.' (BAU Oct91).
The complete catalogue of all Arch Angel PD discs is
presented in a very helpful menu system. This makes
choosing and ordering software as easy as pie. Other
PD libraries should take note as this feature gives Arch
Angel a big advantage.’ (Archimedes World Dcc91).
NEED WE SAX A\0tE?
For the latest catalogue with Arch Angel’s unique
’Pick n Mix' feature, please send a £1 coin to:
Arch Angel PD, 2 Bridge House, 17 lx>wer North Street,
Exeter, EX4 3ET. Any cheques payable to Sean Creech.
Make your own
For £10 you can have 4 !Italic\ the
the program to transform Arc outline
fonts for use in any other application.
Design Concept
30 South Oswald Road Ca „ for our free
Edinburgh EH J 2HG [55= catalogue including fonts
^ 031 668 4518 83 or send £12 inc. p&p
m, COMPUTER Ip
dPSERVICESilfill
DESK TOP PUBLISHING - SALES
HOME AND SCHOOL EVENTS’
TEACHER'S PURCHASE SCHEME
0% Finance on Learning Curves
DERBY (0332) 690691
BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992 133
SOFTWARE SHOWCASE
GAMES
CREATOR ARCADE GAMES DESIGNER £38.95
Produce your own arcade-style games w ith Creator. No
BASIC or ARM code programming know ledge needed.
ALPS ADVENTURE SYSTEM £34^95
ALPS allows you to create commercial-quality text
adventures with graphics. Full RISC OS application.
“ COPS £19.95
A humorous adventure with text and graphics - spend a
day as a cop on Hall Street and find the kidnapped Chief.
PLAGUE PLANET £14.95
A tough sci-fi text adventure with over 250 locations.
UK P+P free on all orders. EC: £2.50. Outside EC: £3.50
ALPINE SOFTWARE, Dept (BAU5)Tel: 0762 342510
PO BOX 25, Portadown, CRAIGAVON, BT63 5UT
UTILITIES
!D raw Aid,
Produce !Draw files as
varied as these from your
own BASIC programs.
•Draw Aid comes with an Introductory
Tutorial, a Reference (Juide, and
numerous F.xample Programs.
PRICE £10 iiu'likling poslnge. no VAT
or send SAE for information slieet.
CARVIC Manufacturing,
Mora) Park, Findhorn Road,
FORRES, Moray IV36 OTP
SCANNING SERVICES I
HOBBYIST
DTP
FUN
BUSINESS
DOCUMENT
AND
PICTURE
SCANNING
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HIGH QUALITY COLOUR & B/W SCANNING
FOR ALL ARCHIMEDES USERS INC. A5000
AT SENSIBLE PRICES
ONLY £4.60 FOR 6"x4 M COLOUR PICTURE
INC. DISC AND RETURN POSTAGE
* UP TO A4 SIZE * * UP TO 400 DPI *
Call 061-445 0191 for Free Information Pack
Or send Picture/Doc. stating Mode rqd.( 15/21)
and available computer memory (1/2/4 Mb) to:
DTP-Scan 27 Broad Oak Lane
East Didsbury Manchester M20 0QB
POSTSCRIPT
BUREAU
Postscript Files output to:
Bromide
Film
Canon Colour
Visuals
Adelphi Graphics
(Photosetters) Limited
52 Rosebery Avenue, London EC1R 4RP
Telephone: 071-278 6926
Fax: 071-833 2605
Modem: 071-837 7415
Phone for price list
ACORN USER ADVERTISEMENT PAGES-
MARCH 1992
4-Mation
112
Dabhand Computing
64-65
Kendal Computer Centre 105
Simtron
88
4th Dimension 89-104
Datafile
118
Keylink Computers
132
Skyfall
133
5 Star Marketing
133
Datastream
133
Krysalis Software
122
Software Bargains
115
David Adamisk
134
Kudlian Software
132
Storm Software
132
Ace Computing
131
Dec Data
33
Superior Software
OBC
Adelphi Graphics
134
Design Concept
133
Le Computer
132
Alpine Software
134
Desktop Projects Ltd 110-111
Longman Logotron
11
T.M.J. Computer Software 131
Alsystems
55
Digital Services Ltd
IFC
Loughborough University 132
Technomatic
72-73
Ampsound
105
Ted Kirk
132
Appian Way
132
Electronic Font Foundry
32
Manor Court Supplies
88
Terrell Electronics
125
Arcaynia P. D.
133
Evolution Computers
118
Micro-Aid
88
The Data Store
108
Arch Angel Ltd.
133
Minerva Software
63
The Serial Port
48
Atom wide Ltd.
19
Fact Systems Ltd.
131
Morley Electronics
80
Timestep Weather Systems 52
AVP Computing
108
Gnome Computers
60
Northern Micromedia
132
Warehouse
23
Beebug 6, 8, 52
Greyhound Marketing
60
Norwich Computer Services 33
Watford Electronics
34-47
Broomfield Electronics
126
Ground Control
105
We Serve
125
Busy Bee Computers
133
Oak Solutions
20-21
Wight Scientific
133
HCCS Associates
17
Orion Computers
30-31
Carvic Manufacturing
134
HS Software
132
Chameleon Computers
52
PRES
28
CJE Micros
77
Ian Copestake
Prime Resourses
132
Clares Micro Supplies
14
Software
i,4-5
College Computers
26-27
IFEL
108
Rickett Educational Media 132
Colton Software
2
Integrex
135
RJM
54
Computeck
69
Intelligent Interfaces
126
Computer Concepts 1 2,56-57,1 26
Selective Software
133
Computer Focus
118
John Wiley & Sons
60
Senlac Computing
125
Contex Computing
33
JR Lectronics
33
Serious Statistical Software 132
CSS
52
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132
Si mis Ltd
IBC
134 BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992
132
P PAINTJET
3
sparencies
EDUCATIONAL DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE
INTEGREX LTD., CHURCH GRESLEY, SWADLINCOTE
DERBYS DE11 9PT
Tel (0283) 551551
Fax (0283) 550325
Tlx 341727 INTEGX
s - .
■
LOW COST
\ntegrex
ColouSl 2000 Printer.
Torel-DRAW!
PUZZLE PAGE
£25 prize Pathword
How many words of 4 letters or more can you find in the
Pathword grid? Move horizontally, vertically or diagonally
between letters using none twice in a word. There is one 12 letter
word. No proper nouns, plurals or abbreviations please. Average:
65, good: 80, excellent: 100+.
Once you have found all you can, send your list to: March
competition, BBC Acorn User, Redwood Publishing, 20-26
Brunswick Place, London N1 6DJ. Please write on the back of
your envelope the number of words you found. The winner will
be the person who found the
most words (including the 12
letter one). Closing date is
Friday 13th March 1992. The
solution and winner will be
published in the May issue.
The winner of January’s
Juggler puzzle was Antony
Marsh of Ipswich with a grid
of 126 (9x14). The smallest
grid we managed was a mere
12x10, as shown below.
Solution to February’s
Colour Scheme
r
H
r
BLACK
ltTj
Zombie, zombie!
For our foray into the one line entertainment world this month, we
present a mono-linear version of that classic ZX-81 era game
Zombies. You play the part of Captian Xiran and you must rid the
land of the hideous Zombie horde. The zombies are both unbelie-
vable strong (one touch or
'zombie hug' and you're
zombie lunch) and incredibly
stupid (they have no battle
strategy at all, they simply
home in on your position).
They are also very short
sighted, and this is your one
advantage. The playing arena
is dotted with many holes
(white squares) and a zombie
will die if it falls into one. You
are free to move around the
arena with Z, X, SHUT and
CTRL but you will also perish
if you fall into a hole, so
watch your step. The game
ends when you die or you dis-
patch all the zombies.
The expanded listing is
shown on the right. You’ll
need to compress it with the
function key definition, shown
below, to fit it all on one line.
10 f =40
20 MODE7
30 b=HIMEM
40 REPEATVDUTRUE-223 *SG
N ( VPOS MOD23 *POS MOD
39* (3ANDRND) )
50 UNTILVPOS=24
60 U=4 ~7
70 FORv=u TOU+127STEP4
80 ! v=RND ( 20 ) +f *RND ( 22 )
90 NEXT
100 !u=475
110 REPEAT
120 w=v
130 REPEAT
140 v= ( v+4 ) ANDNOT128
150 UNTILACSv?2
160 j =U=v
170 b? 1 v=0
180 ! v= ! v- j * ( INKEY-98 -IN
KEY-67+f* (INKEY-2-IN
KEYTRUE) ) +SGN ( luMODf
- ! v MODf ) +f *SGN ( ! u- !
v)
190 v?2=b? ! v/255
200 b? ! v= (l-v?2) * ( 90 + 2* j
)
210 UNTILu?20R ! v= ! u* ( 1+ j
) ORw=v
*KEY0 f = PA . +4 : t = f : b=&F5 : REP .c=(bo&F5) : ?t = -?t*NOTc-58*
c : t=t-c :x=f ?-l : FOR i=lTOx-4 :b=?f : ?t=b: f =f +1 : t=t + l :N. :f
=f +4 : U . f ? -3=&FF : ? t=&D : t? 1=&FF : ? ( PA . +3 ) =t-PA . I
Mixed Bag
The following list contains 10 things that could be part of your
computer system. Can you unscramble what they are?
i)
COURTROOM LINO
2)
MIX TORRID PATTERN
3)
PARAMETER SET
4)
ESPRESSO CONCORD
5)
CINDERY MAKE-UP
6)
CADDISH DRIVER
7)
IDIOT GIVES RIDE
8)
ABORTED CONE
9)
FUNKY SECTION
10)
SUPER ALMONDS
See next month’s puzzle page for the solution.
And finally...
Rock fans (and insomniacs) may well be aware of the ITV night
time magazine program called Raw Power, which is broadcast at
the unheard of time of 3.30 on a Saturday morning. The relevance
of this to BBC Acorn Userl Well, if you watch right to the end, it
seems that the camera man is none other than Ian Copestake!
Where does he get the time from...
Grange Hill this week featured an A400/I machine sitting
quietly in a corner displaying its desktop. I’m afraid I'm not a
regular watcher of the program so I don't know who was
‘operating’ it, but in the said scene, one teacher said to the other
“All you have to do is boot it up”. He followed this by pressing
the return key. Perhaps he'd written an IRQ routine to trap
return and make it generate SHIFT break instead...
The loos in Acorn’s Fulbourn Road offices have amazingly
complicated instructions on the hot air drier, which describe in
great detail the optimum way to dry your hands. Luckily there's a
pull-towel on the wall, for the less technically minded...
136 BBC ACORN USER MARCH 1992
■-m
The flight sim toolkit contains 5 Rise OS tools
which let you create your own flight simulator !
! Model -Aerodynamic a/c model editor.
■c
\ ! Cockpit - Design instrument panel and displays.
! World - Create your virtual world, set up enemy
airfields, defences and supply lines..
Available from: Simis Limited, 26 Chittywa^ Keens Park, Guildford, Surrey GU3 3HW /N-s Ik
Telephone:^483) 233048 UP *=
I Shape - Design aircraft, building, runways,
roads and rivers.
ACORN ARCHIMEDES TITLES FROM
SUP€RIOfl SOFTWARE
SPEECH!
Give your computer a voice with this high
quality speech synthesiser, which is both easy
to use and very flexible. It can directly speak
words you input or text files, or you can use
phonetic input to add stress/intonation, speak
foreign languages or even sing! An easily
modified spelling program Is included.
' For Just 20 quid , Superior is offering o bargain
here " ...Computer Shopper (Aug. 91)
* The most sophisticated of the speech
programs'' ...Special Solutions News - Acorn
Computers (Autumn 91)
Unquestionably the best bu / ...Micro User
(July9,) £19.95
AIR SUPREMACY
In this unique game, you can swap between
air and ground/sea forces as the battle
develops. Practise with the biplanes and tanks
of 1918 Europe, the fighters and gunboats of
the Pacific 1944, and the guided missile jets
and desert tanks of the Gulf 1991 , Then to 2150
and the final challenge!
"The sense of speed when flying around is
excellent Skimming along the ground in a
stealth fighter is particularly fun " ...BBC Acorn
User (Dec. 91)
"The ultimate dog fighting game - will take
weeks of intensive play to complete - sinks its
hooks into you and doesn't let go"
. . .Archimedes World (Dec .91)
SUPERIOR GOLF
plus CONSTRUCTION SET
The complete golfing game for 1 to 4 players,
designed exclusively for the ARCHIMEDES.
Realistic gameplay with a choice of six courses
(St Andrews, The Belfry, Victoria and three Sea
Palms courses), plus Driving Range and
Practice Green. Full feature hole and course
design and editing facilities.
" Technically brilliant graphically excellent and
incredibly playable. Worth going a fairway to
buy " ...A & B Computing (now Archimedes
World) (Dec. 90)
£19.95
CONQUEROR
Step into a tank of your choice and
experience the thrill of controlling one of the
most powerful land vehicles in the world, in a
3-dimensional landscape of roads, hills,
villages, rivers and woodland. Choose the
Arcade or Attrition games to develop your
skills, and then ultimately the Strategy game, a
full battle simulation with up to 16 tanks per
side from American, German or Russian forces.
* What I want is a thinking man's shoot-em-up
and CONQUEROR fits that bilf ...Micro User
(May 88)
"A highly addictive tank simulator " ...Learning
Curve Magazine (Aug. 90) M
ZARCH
David Braben, co-author of ELITE, has harnessed
the speed and performance of the ARCHIMEDES
to create a programming masterpiece. Nerve-
tingling gameplay over a massive 3-dimensional
landscape, with realistic area shading and
accurate perspectives. Totally addictive.
* LANDER - which is supplied with the Acorn
equipment - is fun; ZARCH is a game. ZARCH has
a map , It has a string of bad guys and most
importantly of all it has a series of challenges that
develop as you play the game. And that's what
gives it the quality possessed by the greatest
game sf ...BBC Acorn User (Nov. 91)
HOSTAGES
The highly acclaimed, top-hit ATARI/AMIGA
game, now reaches the ARCHIMEDES.
Commando action and strategic planning as
you rescue the hostages from the besieged
embassy. Brilliant, realistic graphics and
exciting gameplay. ..superb digitised sound
effects and tunes.. .keyboard or mouse control.
'Graphically the game is very nice indeed.
Your men run around, jump. leap, roll and die
with great aplomb and the animation of them
is excellent' ...A & B Computing (now
Archimedes World) (Dec. 90)
REPTON 3
Four of the most popular strategy games ever
produced for Acorn computers in one great
value-for-money package. Four complete
Repton games - REPTON 3, AROUND THE
WORLD IN 40 SCREENS, THE LIFE OF REPTON and
REPTON THRU TIME - with choice of four tunes
and a position Save/Recall facility, plus easy-
to-use screen and character design and
editing facilities.
■ REPTON 3 is an on-screen strategy program
which children from seven upwards simply
adore. No library of games software is
complete without REPTON 3 - it is a must '
...BBC Acorn User (Nov. 91)
MASTER BREAK
A snooker-style trivia quiz for 1 to 4 players.
Over 2000 questions on SCIENCE & NATURE,
POP MUSIC, GEOGRAPHY, SPORTS & PASTIMES,
ARTS and HISTORY. Digitised pictures include:
sport and pop stars, famous places, animals
and world leaders. Amusing and educational.
Can you get the maximum break of 147?
* The digitised pictures and sounds are very nice
indeed. The timer really adds atmosphere - 1
panicked the first time I tried to answer a black
question.. .it's good to play on your own or with
friends' ...Micro User (Mar. 91)
SPEECH!, HOSTAGES. MASTER BREAK and the REPTON games are also available for the BBC MICRO/MASTER and ELECTRON computers.
Please write to the address below or telephone for a full list of our BBC MICRO/MASTER (including MASTER COMPACT) and ELECTRON titles.
(Superior Software is a trading name of Superior Microcomputing Ltd.)
Dept. 4E, P.O. Box 6, Brigg, S. Humberside DN20 9NH. Tel: (0652) 658585
PLEASE MAKE CHEQUES
PAYABLE TO "SUPERIOR SOFTWARE.”
24 HOUR TELEPHONE
ANSWERING SERVICE FOR ORDERS
OUR GUARANTEE
• All mail orders are despatched by
first-class post
• Postage and packing is free
• Cassettes and disks that are faulty
on receipt will be replaced
immediately
(This does not affect your statutory rights)
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