USE CURSOR KEYS TO SCROLL TEXT. USE CURSOR KEYS TO SCROLL TEXT. 8 Bit HELP! MESSAGES HELP! MESSAGES To: 999 (all members) From: L1L (Jock Smylie) Subject: Printers Does anyone know if the BBC B can drive an ink-jet printer.? I know that the Beeb can be made to drive certain Laser Printers and can even produces graphics, but can the same be done for ink-jets. If this is possible presumably some sort of printer driver would be needed - does one exist ? Would the ink-jet produce better quality graphics dumps and text or is it limited by the software being used.? ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, To: 999 (all members) From: K3Y (Lorna Jenne) Subject: I have had a second-hand BBC B+ for about 4 years mainly using it with Interword, Intersheet, and more recently with Interbase. My programming abilities are very limited,but I am trying to improve them. I am trying to find out more about Shadow Ram any help or comments will be most gratefully recieved. I have recently got a second hand Wapping Editor DTP package. In the handbook it says that the DTP will use the Shadow Ram in a BBC fitted with a Watford Shadow Ram Board and will use it in the Master but not in the B+. Can anyone explain what is different about the Shadow Ram in the B+ Thanks for any help. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, To: 999 (all members) From: K2G (N.P.WILLIAMSON) Subject: Dead Master A couple of months ago i turned on the master and nothing happend, dead. There were no beep or lights lit up on the key board, all i had got was a clicking noise from the power pack. It's a good job i had read the Hints as it tells you about two fuses in the Power pack, so i opened the computer and removed the pack to have a good look, on the pack it's self had a notice saying "No servicable parts inside"? Well any way i had to take it apart abit to get access to the fuses and test them, but without removing any of them i noticed striaght away that the glass fuse, which is a 5amp 250V 20mm fuse had blown. The next day i went to a local T.V repair shop and got a replasment for 40 pence. I wonder how much it would have cost if i had sent it off to a repair shop? The problem i suspect, because i have not had any more hassle, is down to switching the Computer on and off over the years which causes a power surge. To get over this problem (This might help Colin Culpitt-Smith, Hi Colin) is to use ?&FE4E=&7F:CALL!-4 which does a power break without the surge (Well it works on my Master!!!). ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, To: 999 (all members) From: K2H (Ron Boyce) Subject: SORTING DATA HELP HELP HELP HELP HELP HELP Can any of 8BS's expert Program writers help me to 'sort' out this problem? I would be most grateful. In a weak moment I told a son-in-law (a Head Master) that I would type in, and sort alphabetically, lists of former pupils in old Registers dating back to the 1890's. They are to appear in a book he is preparing on the history of the school. There are up to 2000 names per Register and four fields - SURNAME (up to 20 letters),CHRISTIAN names (up to 30 letters), DATES at school (10) and Book/PAGE numberS (5). So far I have a Data file containing 1117 names from the first register! With excellent help & advice from Chris I have a first-class Program for entering, viewing, amending, deleting, and printing this Data file one entry per line & 60 lines per page, BUT, and this is the snag,it takes HOURS to print out 1117 names!!!!! Has anyone got a Program which would speed up the sorting - or suggest a suitable commercially available Program for my BBC MASTER 128 computer? P.S. There is a "Quicksort" Program on page 91 of "File Handling For All" ('BEEBUG' publication), but I just can not get it to work on my 1117-long Data file. In any case WOULD it be quicker? My telephone number is 0673 860892, and address is 56, Ryland road, Welton-by-Lincoln. LN2 3LZ. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, To: 999 (all members) From: K2U (DAVID BROWN) Subject: FONT CAN ANY ONE OUT THERE HELP ME WITH A DISK OR DISKS FIVE AND QUARTER SINGLE 80 TRACK ON FONTS OR IS THERE A UTILITY DISK AVAILABLE FOR MY ACORN DFS.I WILL PAY TOWARDS COST OF SUCH DAVE 0233 621053 ASHFORD KENT. PERHAPS AS THIS IS GOING OUT IN APRILS ISSUE ALL YOU BEEBS WOULD LIKE TO KEY IN THIS SIMPLE PROGRAM WATCH OUT FOR DRAMATIC RESULTS ON THE SCREEN. VDU12,31,12,13,66,73,71,32,65,80,82,73,7 ,32,70,79,76,30then return. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, To: 999 (all members) From: K3U (Lol Simmonds) Subject: Messaging System Why is it that some messages come up like this * [*@ odd characters rubbish etc +*? [[[ bleah. ? EDITOR........ This looks like it could be graphics without the graphics colour code to the left of the "rubbish". With a code it may make sense. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, To : 999 + K2Q From : 483 (Daniel Shimmin) Re : *COPY/*COMPACT destroying prog. There are five possible ways round this:(1) Get a Master Compact, which I don't think has this problem (under ADFS anyway). (2) Use *MOVE to copy files, as it doesn't destroy BASIC programs. (It's v e r y slow). (3) Under ADFS, use *COMPACT followed by two hexadecimal numbers, the first being the start of an area of memory you don't mind being corrupted, the second being its length. (?) (4) Don't use *COPY, *COMPACT etc. (5) Use Steven Flintham's solution as in the last issue To : 999 + K1Z From : 483 (Daniel Shimmin) Re : Connecting a modem The port to use is either the RS423 port at the back of the computer, or (possibly) the internal modem connector (I know there is one because an internal modem was produced, but I'm not sure where it is/how it works). To : 999 + K2P From : 483 (Daniel Shimmin) Re : What printer for Master 128? Your best bet is a dot matrix; virtually any dot matrix should be suitable, but you will need a BBC-compatible parallel printer cable (so either buy second-hand from a BBC owner, or buy from a dealer or mail-order company who have knowledge of BBC's). For better-quality print (as good as a fairly expensive typewriter) plus more fonts and features, go for a 24-pin version - the LC-20 advertised by Adrian Mews in the last issue at #70 is good value if it hasn't gone already, as it is the new version of the popular and versatile LC24-10 (which I use - come to think of it, you might be able to buy mine at Christmas). For less high-quality results (but stillperfectly acceptable), go for a 9-pin printer, which should be even cheaper. To : 999 + 0E7 From : 483 (Daniel Shimmin) Re : Printer line feed problems If your printer is having line feed problems (symptoms are either printing everything on the same line or unintentionally double-spacing lines), the quickest fix is to try *FX 6,10 or *FX 6,0 (at least one of them should work because they should have opposite and mutually exclusive effects). On a Master/Compact, the equivalent configuration commands are: *CONFIGURE IGNORE 10 *CONFIGURE IGNORE 0 To: 999 (all members) From: K3H (ALBERT SCHOFIELD) Subject: TAPE TO DISC FOR M/C PROGRAMS Most games are in several parts, each part chaining or *RUNning the next. If a program is chained then it is BASIC. If it is *RUN or *LOADed it is machine code. Let us suppose we have a three part game on tape. The first two parts are in BASIC and the last part is machine code. The first two parts can be just loaded type *DISC and then saved. If the file names are more than seven letters long then they will have to be shortened to seven letters, the maximum allowed by the DFS. To get the M/C program on to disc type *OPT1,2 (RETURN) then type *LOAD""1900 (RETURN) to load the M/C program from tape. When the program is loaded you will have four sets of numbers after the filename. Ignore the first four numbers or letters in each set. The first set is the number of blocks and can also be ignored. The second set is the length of the program. The third set is the load address and the forth set is the execution address. Now type *DISC. To save the program to disc type *SAVE"filename"1900+length execution load Put the proper filename in and the three sets of numbers where indicated. &1900 was used as a temporary address for loading an saving and is discarded when the program is saved. The three parts are now on disc so chain the first part. You may get an error message either FILE NOT FOUND or BAD FILENAME. This means that the first part CHAINS"". A null string will not work on the DFS or the first part is using a filename more than seven letters long. Alter the first part to chain the filename of the second program. The second part may also need altering. If the load address of the third part is &1100 or more, the program may now run but it will probably be less so it will have to be downloaded. The following short relocator will do this:- 10 *KEY0 *LOAD "filename"1900|M *TAPE|MFOR T%=0 TO &length STEP 4: T%!&load =T%!PAGE:NEXT|M CALL&execution|M 20 *FX138,0,128 30 END Put the filename, length, load and execution addresses in where indicated. Some DFSs include relocating utilities. The Watford DFS has the commands *MRUN and *MLOAD which will do the relocating. If you have the BEEBUG DISC MASTER this has an excellent move down routine which tags a small machine code on the end of your program for either machine code or basic programs. That's all for this month. Next month I will deal with the problem of LOCKED programs. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, To: 999 (all members) From: K2B (Colin Culpitt-Smith) Subject: InterWord I recently bought this 'piggy-back' chip, but it arrived with several legs broken off. I know one leg is supposed to be missing (the manual says so), but which one? Does anyone know? Your help appreciated. Tel ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, To: 999 (all members) From: K2B (Colin Culpitt-Smith) Subject: 'GSRead' and 'GS format' My Master manual talks about 'GSRead' and 'GSFormat', but does NOT explain what either mean. Does anyone know? Your help appreciatd. Tel EDITOR..... GSREAD is the way that unprintable characters such as control codes and characters with ASCII values greater than 127 are made printable. A GSREAD encoded character has a | character placed before it. Master users will see these characters when *TYPEing a BASIC program. |@ is the same as VDU0 |A =VDU1 ----- etc ---- |Z =VDU26 |[ =VDU27 |\ =VDU28 |] =VDU29 |^ =VDU30 |_ =VDU31 |?=VDU127 You can type these characters directly from the keyboard by holding CONTROL plus the relevant key. For instance, when setting the volume on my monitor I hold CONTROL+G, the same as VDU7 (beep). ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, To: 0E7 & 999 From: K2G (N.P.WILLIAMSON) Subject: PRINTERS Fred you told us how you got on with using WD-40 to re-new your printer ribbon, i to have used WD-40 on one of mine, it was a Epson FX100 which is a wide carrage printer i also have a Canon PW-1080A (More of that later) but with the Epson i was able to remove the lid of the ribbon cart and see all the ribbon inside. I then placed the cart on a piece of P.V.C sheeting and held the can of WD-40 about 8 inches away and blasted it, i really gave it a good soaking (the wife even came upstairs to see what the smell was) what i did next, which was different from you was i left it over night, in fact time in total was about 14 hours. Next day on went the cart top and Hey Presto, one new ribbon. You also asked about the Dip switches on your Canon PW-1080A. There are three Dip switches inside the machine SW1-SW2-SW3. To get auto line feed you need to switch SW3-4 to ON. The Dip Switches have ON and OFF marked on them, but if you want to borrow my Manual just give me a ring and i will sent it to you. Phone (0827) 52944. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, To: 999 (all members)+OE7 From: 20G ((Roy Dickens)) Subject: Local Library My thanks to Fred Nevin (OE7) for his detailed help with Viewsheet windows. I would like to pass on a tip that he gave me that I had over looked and to remind all of us. The Library will order a book for a small charge. This can be handy if you just need a little info. from a manual. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, To: 999 (all members) From: K4R (ROBIN MOROM) Subject: MICROWRITER (QUINKEY) PLEASE CAN ANYONE HELP ME TO GET THE ABOVE RUNNING ON THE MASTER128? IT WORKS FINE ON THE BBCB BUT NOT ON THE MASTER. USING 'CONVERT' FROM THE WELCOME DISC DOES NOT WORK WITH THE MACHINE CODE PROVIDED WITH THE QUINKEY. UNFORTUNATELY I DO NOT HAVE THE SOURCE CODE. SOME YEARS AGO I WROTE TO MICROWRITER ABOUT THIS PROBLEM BUT DID NOT RECEIVE ANY USEFUL REPLY AND HAD GIVEN UP UNTIL I JOINED 8BS. CAN ANY MEMBER RISE TO THE CHALLENGE ???? ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, To: 999 (all members) From: K4R (ROBIN MOROM) Subject: 8BS MESSAGE SYSTEM Is there an easy way to insert ASCII text into the message system? Simple question. Hope its a simple answer. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, To: 999 (all members) From: K4K (Graham Leng) Subject: WANTED Does anyone know of a program for the BBC model B which will handle family trees? If so please let me know. Ta. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, To: 999 (all members) From: K4K (Graham Leng) Subject: HYBRID MUSIC PUBLISHER I would be interested to hear from anyone else who uses the Hybrid Music Publisher. I have found it to be an excellent program for printing out music but there are one or two annoying problems which pop up at random (seemingly) such as missing out note stems and odd positioning of notes eg if there is one long note in a bar. Is there a way round this? Also I would like to be able to print guitar chords above the music which it won't let you do. If anyone is looking for a package which works like a word-processor for music I would strongly reccommend the Hybrid Music Publisher. It is easy to use and produces a good quality output on the printer. Files are saved as ASCI so can be manipulated by a WP. I use WW+ segment programs to set up template files, auto bar number, add words to songs etc. It copes with single stave, multi-stave, two parts to a stave, all the usual symbols including repeat signs, 1st/2nd time bars, pauses, accidentals etc. It also aligns words for songs with the appropriate notes. If anyone wants any further info please get in touch. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, To: 999 (all members) From: K4V (Trevor Crapper) Subject: HELP! Has anyone tried out the Harston HADFS System yet? I have both the standard and Advanced versions for use on my BBC B issue 7 using the 8271 DFS as a backup to the Master128 ADFS, should be a backup is more to point. I am having great difficulty in accessing the program when it has been loaded in. According to the author it should work with the Aries ram board which is fitted to the computer. I am using a single double drive 40/80 Cumana Disc Drive, although this should not make any difference. Has anyone had similar problems if so kindly drop me line with the solution please. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, To: 999 (all members) From: K2T (Jack Tourle) Subject: Printer ribbons Re 0E7's note in Issue 33 about re-inking printer ribbons, I have used "Ribbon Refresh" with a reasonable amount of success. The instructions tell you to take off the "lid" and spray sparingly over the ribbon until it is evenly black. In other words, leave the ribbon - and cogs and spring - IN the cassette. This reduces considerably the amount of floor space required! But WD40 is probably cheaper. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, To: 999 (all members) From: K2T (Jack Tourle) Subject: Printing without paper! I was interested to read K2B's note calling attention to the use of *FX5,0 as a printer "sink", to save paper. I set up one of my function keys as *FX5,0 |M, and another as *FX5,1 |M. The |M is the equivalent of RETURN. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, To: 999 (all members) From: K2T (Jack Tourle) Subject: Function keys On switching on my BBC B, I !boot up function keys thus:- f0 RUN |M f1 VDU3: CLOSE #0 f2 PRINT "End":END f3 *FX5,0 |M f4 *FX%,1 |M f5 *WORDWISE |M f6 LOAD " f7 SAVE " f8 REPEAT f9 DEF PROC f1,f2,f8 and f9 are useful in program writing, but the first two of these are mainly used when the program under development crashes! With these two keys you can disable the printer and close all files, and END the effort, while you go back to the drawing board (=scrappy bit of paper). ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, To : 999 (All members) From : 3WU (Fred Price) Subject: Printhead Repairs When you your printer breaks down it gives you a problem such as where's top pin gone to when it does a vanishing trick so I upgraded from the Panasonic KX-P1081 To a KX-P1123 and found it was go back to school time, Some of the problems are sorted out thanks to Chris and Ron, But I still have some more to find, One of them is the VDU statement to Auto Center programs instead of setting the machine, The other one is that I have a very good program to print out cassette inlay cards but in the new machine it lengthens the card I can modify the the line spaces but the main fault seems to be some missing info in the machine so can anyone help me on to sort this one out as well. OK back to the heading with thanks to Ron Marshall for the A/D but they have moved to a new A/D IMPACT Printhead Services 46 Central Road Worcester Park Surrey KT4 8HY Tel: 081-786-8128 Fax: 081-786-8093 In answer to my letter they sent me the price lists with mine marked up as `48 plus Vat so it makes you wonder what to do about it. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,